The People Urged to Build the Temple

11 In the second year of Darius the king , on the first day of the sixth month , the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel , governor of Judah , and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak , the high priest , saying , 2 "Thus says the Lord of [1]hosts , 'This people says , "The time has not come , even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt .""' 3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet , saying , 4 "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate ?" 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts , "[2]Consider e e your ways ! 6 "You have sown much , but [3]harvest little ; you eat , but there is not enough to be satisfied ; you drink , but there is [4]not enough to become drunk ; you put on clothing , but no one is warm enough; and he who earns , earns wages to put into a purse with holes ." 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts , "[5]Consider e e your ways ! 8 "Go up to the [6]mountains , bring wood and rebuild the [7]temple , that I may be pleased with it and be glorified ," says the Lord . 9 " You look for much , but behold , it comes to little ; when you bring it home , I blow it away. Why e ?" declares the Lord of hosts , "Because of My house which lies desolate , while each of you runs to his own house . 10 "Therefore e , because of you the sky has withheld [8]its dew and the earth has withheld its produce . 11 "I called for a drought on the land , on the mountains , on the grain , on the new wine , on the oil , on what the ground produces , on men , on cattle , and on all the labor of [9]your hands ."

12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel , and Joshua the son of Jehozadak , the high priest , with all the remnant of the people , obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet , as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people [10] showed reverence for the Lord . 13 Then Haggai , the messenger of the Lord , spoke [11]by the commission of the Lord to the people saying , " ' I am with you,' declares the Lord ." 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel , governor of Judah , and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak , the high priest , and the spirit of all the remnant of the people ; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts , their God , 15 on the twenty-fourth e day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king .

The Glory of the New Temple

21 On the twenty-first e of the seventh month , the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet saying , 2 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel , governor of Judah , and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak , the high priest , and to the remnant of the people saying , 3 'Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory ? And how do you see it now ? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison ? 4 'But now take courage , Zerubbabel ,' declares the Lord , 'take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak , the high priest , and all you people of the land take courage ,' declares the Lord , 'and work ; for I am with you,' declares the Lord of hosts . 5 'As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt , My Spirit is abiding in your midst ; do not fear !' 6 "For thus says the Lord of hosts , ' Once more in a little while , I am going to shake the heavens and the earth , the sea also and the dry land . 7 'I will shake all the nations ; and they will come with the wealth of all nations , and I will fill this house with glory ,' says the Lord of hosts . 8 'The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the Lord of hosts . 9 'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former ,' says the Lord of hosts , 'and in this place I will give peace ,' declares the Lord of hosts ."

The People's Unfaithfulness Reproved

10 On the twenty-fourth e of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius , the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet , saying , 11 "Thus says the Lord of hosts , ' Ask now the priests for a ruling : 12 'If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment , and touches bread with this fold , or cooked food , wine , oil , or any other food , will it become holy ?' " And the priests answered , "No ." 13 Then Haggai said , " If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these , will the latter become unclean ?" And the priests answered , "It will become unclean ." 14 Then Haggai said , " ' So is this people . And so is this nation before Me,' declares the Lord , 'and so is every work of their hands ; and what they offer there is unclean . 15 'But now , do consider e from this day onward : before e one stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord , 16 from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten ; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures , there would be only twenty . 17 'I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting wind , mildew and hail ; yet you did not come back to Me,' declares the Lord . 18 'Do consider e from this day onward , from the twenty-fourth e day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded , consider e : 19 'Is the seed still in the barn ? Even including the vine , the fig tree , the pomegranate and the olive tree , it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you."'

The LORD's Promise to Zerubbabel

20 Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth e day of the month , saying , 21 "Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah , saying , 'I am going to shake the heavens and the earth . 22 'I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations ; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders , and the horses and their riders will go down , everyone by the sword of another .' 23 'On that day ,' declares the Lord of hosts , 'I will take you, Zerubbabel , son of Shealtiel , My servant ,' declares the Lord , 'and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,' " declares the Lord of hosts .

The Judgment of the Great Harlot

171 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying , "Come here , I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters , 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality , and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality ." 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness ; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast , full of blasphemous names , having seven heads and ten horns . 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet , and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls , having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality , 5 and on her forehead a name was written , a mystery , " BABYLON THE GREAT , THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH ." 6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints , and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus . When I saw her, I wondered greatly e .

7 And the angel said to me, "Why e do you wonder ? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns . 8 " The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction . And those who dwell on the earth , whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world , will wonder when they see the beast , that he was and is not and will come . 9 " Here is the mind which has wisdom . The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits , 10 and they are seven kings ; five have fallen , one is, the other has not yet come ; and when he comes , he must remain a little while . 11 "The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven , and he goes to destruction . 12 "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom , but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour . 13 "These have one purpose , and they give their power and authority to the beast .

14 "These will wage war against the Lamb , and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings , and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful ." 15 And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits , are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues . 16 "And the ten horns which you saw , and the beast , these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked , and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire . 17 "For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose , and by giving their kingdom to the beast , until the words of God will be fulfilled . 18 "The woman whom you saw is the great city , which reigns e over the kings of the earth ."