“O Lord, You showed favour to Your land; You restored the captivity of Jacob.  You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin.  You withdrew all Your fury; You turned away from Your burning anger.  Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your indignation toward us to cease. 

“Will You be angry with us forever?  Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?  Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?  Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation.,,

“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!  May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!  May He send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion!

“May He remember all your meal offerings and find your burnt offering acceptable.

“May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your counsel! …

“For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.  But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

“I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 

For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

“Wretched man that I am!  Who will set me free…

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’  And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’  And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. 

“I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book; if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy….

“Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 

“Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. 

“‘I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches.  I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’” Revelation 21:14-16

If you’ve ever tried to get a blood stain out of your favourite shirt, this illustration seems nonsense…

[Jesus speaking] “’Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’”  Revelation 22:12-13

[Jesus teaching] “’Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent…

“And he [the angel] said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true’; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond servants the things must soon take place. 

“’And behold, I am coming quickly.  Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.’….

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. 

“On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations….

“I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.  And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.  For nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it... 

“And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’  And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ 

“Then He said to me, ‘It is done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.  

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were open; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.  

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and

https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/

“Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them.  And I saw:

• the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God,

• and those who had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and...

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 

“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

“’Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’  It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 

“Then he said to me, ‘Write,

[To the angel of the church in Philadelphia]

“’I know your deeds:  Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.  Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie – I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.

“’Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.  I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

“’I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.  

“’Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 

“’I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.’” Revelation 3:15-18

This church was filled with heaps of lukewarm fence-sitters who didn’t stand for or against

“’Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, therefore be zealous and repent.  

“’Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.  

“’He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father of His throne.’” Revelation 3:19-21 

I’ve been writing and typing out Scripture for nearly half a century and

“Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, ‘These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?’  I said to him, ‘My lord, you know.’ 

“And he said to me, ‘These are they who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” Revelation 1:1-3

“John to the seven churches that are in Asia:  Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.