The LORD's Universal Reign

4¹ In the last days, the mountain of the Lord 's house will be the highest of all- the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. ² People from many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob's God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For the Lord 's teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem. ³ The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. ⁴ Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord of Heaven's Armies has made this promise! ⁵ Though the nations around us follow their idols, we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever.

Israel's Redemption from Captivity

⁶ "In that coming day," says the Lord, "I will gather together those who are lame, those who have been exiles, and those whom I have filled with grief. ⁷ Those who are weak will survive as a remnant; those who were exiles will become a strong nation. Then I, the Lord, will rule from Jerusalem as their king forever."

⁸ As for you, Jerusalem, the citadel of God's people, your royal might and power will come back to you again. The kingship will be restored to my precious Jerusalem. ⁹ But why are you now screaming in terror? Have you no king to lead you? Have your wise people all died? Pain has gripped you like a woman in childbirth. ¹⁰ Writhe and groan like a woman in labor, you people of Jerusalem, for now you must leave this city to live in the open country. You will soon be sent in exile to distant Babylon. But the Lord will rescue you there; he will redeem you from the grip of your enemies. ¹¹ Now many nations have gathered against you. "Let her be desecrated," they say. "Let us see the destruction of Jerusalem. " ¹² But they do not know the Lord 's thoughts or understand his plan. These nations don't know that he is gathering them together to be beaten and trampled like sheaves of grain on a threshing floor. ¹³ "Rise up and crush the nations, O Jerusalem!" says the Lord . "For I will give you iron horns and bronze hooves, so you can trample many nations to pieces. You will present their stolen riches to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth."

The Rule of the Deliverer from Bethlehem

5¹ Mobilize! Marshal your troops! The enemy is laying siege to Jerusalem. They will strike Israel's leader in the face with a rod. ² But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf. ³ The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then at last his fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land. ⁴ And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord 's strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world. ⁵ And he will be the source of peace. When the Assyrians invade our land and break through our defenses, we will appoint seven rulers to watch over us, eight princes to lead us. ⁶ They will rule Assyria with drawn swords and enter the gates of the land of Nimrod. He will rescue us from the Assyrians when they pour over the borders to invade our land.

⁷ Then the remnant left in Israel will take their place among the nations. They will be like dew sent by the Lord or like rain falling on the grass, which no one can hold back and no one can restrain. ⁸ The remnant left in Israel will take their place among the nations. They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a strong young lion among flocks of sheep and goats, pouncing and tearing as they go with no rescuer in sight. ⁹ The people of Israel will stand up to their foes, and all their enemies will be wiped out. ¹⁰ "In that day," says the Lord, "I will slaughter your horses and destroy your chariots. ¹¹ I will tear down your walls and demolish your defenses. ¹² I will put an end to all witchcraft, and there will be no more fortune-tellers. ¹³ I will destroy all your idols and sacred pillars, so you will never again worship the work of your own hands. ¹⁴ I will abolish your idol shrines with their Asherah poles and destroy your pagan cities. ¹⁵ I will pour out my vengeance on all the nations that refuse to obey me."

The Woman and the Dragon

12¹ Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ² She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth. ³ Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. ⁴ His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. ⁶ And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days. ⁷ Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. ⁸ And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. ⁹ This great dragon-the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world-was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. ¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, "It has come at last- salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth- the one who accuses them before our God day and night. ¹¹ And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

¹² Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time." ¹³ When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴ But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time. ¹⁵ Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth. ¹⁶ But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. ¹⁷ And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children-all who keep God's commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. ¹⁸ Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea.