Mal. 4
4:1 (3:19) “For indeed the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “It will not leave them even a root or branch. 2But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication will rise with healing wings, and you will skip about like calves released from the stall. 3You will trample on the wicked, for they will be like ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am preparing,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
4“Remember the law of my servant Moses, to whom at Horeb I gave rules and regulations for all Israel to obey. 5Look, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives. 6He will encourage fathers and their children to return to me, so that I will not come and strike the earth with judgment.”
(NET Bible)Ps. 150
150:1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength!
2Praise him for his mighty acts;
praise him for his surpassing greatness!
3Praise him with the blast of the horn;
praise him with the lyre and the harp!
4Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing;
praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!
5Praise him with loud cymbals;
praise him with clanging cymbals!
6Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
(NET Bible)Rev. 22:6–21
22:6 Then the angel said to me, “These words are reliable and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.”
7(Look ! I am coming soon!
Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy expressed in this book.)
8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw them, I threw myself down to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing them to me. 9But he said to me, “Do not do this! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets, and with those who obey the words of this book. Worship God!” 10Then he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy contained in this book, because the time is near. 11The evildoer must continue to do evil, and the one who is morally filthy must continue to be filthy. The one who is righteous must continue to act righteously, and the one who is holy must continue to be holy.”
12(Look ! I am coming soon,
and my reward is with me to pay each one according to what he has done!
13I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the first and the last,
the beginning and the end!)
14Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates. 15Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood!
16“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star!” 17And 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 wants it take the water of life free of charge.
18I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.
20The one who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! 21The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. (NET Bible)
Alternative:
[Luther writes:] “Paul takes them all together, himself, an angel from heaven, teachers upon earth, and masters of all kinds, and subjects them to the holy Scripture. Scripture must reign as queen (haec regina debet dominari), her all must obey and be subject to. Not teachers, judges, or arbiters over her, but they must be simple witnesses, pupils and confessors of it, whether they may be the Pope or Luther or Augustine or Paul or an angel from heaven” … —“I let you cry in your hostility that Scripture contradicts itself, ascribing righteousness now to faith and then to works. It is impossible that Scripture contradict itself; it only seems so to foolish, coarse, and hardened hypocrites” … — “We abandon the talk of the Jews and stick to St. Paul’s understanding which, not without cause, emphasizes the little word ‘seed’ and thereby indicates that Holy Scripture in Gen. 12:3 and 22:18 speaks of a single seed not of many, and says plainly that Christ is such seed. Paul does so out of a genuine apostolic spirit and understanding. We Christians do not care if such interpretation does not please the Jews. Paul’s interpretation weighs more with us than all glosses of the rabbis” … — “One letter, even a single tittle of Scripture means more to us than heaven and earth. Therefore we cannot permit even the most minute change.” (82–83)
–Johann Michael Reu, Luther on the Scriptures
This daily Bible reading guide, Reading the Word of God, was conceived and prepared as a result of the ongoing discussions between representatives of three church bodies: Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The following individuals have represented their church bodies and approved this introduction and the reading guide: LCC: President Robert Bugbee; NALC: Bishop John Bradosky, Revs. Mark Chavez, James Nestingen, and David Wendel; LCMS: Revs. Albert Collver, Joel Lehenbauer, John Pless, and Larry Vogel.