** A Roar in Heaven **

After this

I heard what sounded like the roar

of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

"Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

for true and just are His judgments.

He has condemned the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.

He has avenged on her 

the blood of His servants."

And again they shouted:

"Hallelujah!

The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever."

The twenty-four elders 

and the four living creatures

fell down and worshiped God,

who was seated on the throne.

And they cried:

"Amen, Hallelujah!"

Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

"Praise our God, all you His servants,

you who fear Him, both small and great!"

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude,

like the roar of rushing waters

and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

"Hallelujah!

For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!

For the wedding of the Lamb has come,

and His bride has made herself ready.

Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

Then the angel said to me, "Write:

'Blessed are those who are invited

to the wedding supper of the Lamb!"

And he added,

"These are the true words of God."

At this I fell at his feet to worship him,

But he said to me,

"Do not do it!

I am a fellow servant with you

and with your brothers

who hold to the testimony of Jesus.

Worship God!

For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

Revelation 19:1-10)

AC 2371 - Doing Good

AC 2371 [5]

Those who strive to do good of themselves,

because the Lord has so commanded,

are they who at length receive this good;

and who, being afterwards instructed,

acknowledge with faith that all good is from the Lord;

and they are then so averse to self-merit

that when they merely think of it they grow sad,

and perceive their blessedness and happiness

to be proportionately diminished.

Jesus Writes On the Ground

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

At dawn He appeared again in the temple courts,

where all the people gathered around Him,

and He sat down to teach them.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees

brought in a woman caught in adultery.

They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus,

"Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.

Now what do You say?"

They were using this question as a trap,

in order to have a basis for accusing Him.

But Jesus bent down

and started to write on the ground with His finger.

When they kept on questioning Him,

He straightened up and said to them,

"If any one of you is without sin,

let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard

began to go away one at a time,

the older ones first,

until only Jesus was left,

with the woman still standing there.

Jesus straightened up and asked her,

"Women, where are they

Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, sir," she said.

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared.

"Go now and leave your life of sin."

(John 8:1-11)

** The Fall of Babylon **

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven.

He had great authority,

and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.

With a mighty voice he shouted:

"Fallen!  Fallen is Babylon the Great!

She has become a home for demons

and a haunt for every evil spirit,

a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.

For all the nations have drunk

the maddening wine of her adulteries.

The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,

and the merchants of the earth grew rich

from her excessive luxuries."

Then I heard another voice from heaven say:

"Come out of her, my people,

so that you will not share in her sins,

so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

for her sins are piled up to heaven,

and God has remembered her crimes.

Give back to her as she has given;

pay her back double for what she has done.

Mix her a double portion from her own cup.

Give her as much torture and grief

as the glory and luxury she gave herself.

In her heart she boasts,

'I sit as queen; I am not a widow,

and I will never morn.'

Therefore in one day 

her plagues will overtake her:

death, mourning and famine.

She will be consumed by fire,

for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

"When the kings of the earth

who committed adultery with her

and shared her luxury 

see the smoke of her burning,

they will and mourn over her.

Terrified at her torment,

they will stand far off and cry:

"'Woe!  Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power!

In one hour your doom has come!'

"The merchants of the earth

will weep and mourn over her

because no one buys their cargoes any more --

cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls;

fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth;

every sort of citron wood,

and articles of every kind made of 

ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;

cargoes of cinnamon and spice,

of incense, myrrh and frankincense,

of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat;

cattle and sheep; horses and carriages;

and bodies and souls of men.

"They will say,

'The fruit you longed for is gone from you.

All your riches and splendor have vanished,

never to be recovered.'

The merchants who sold these things

and gained their wealth from her

will stand far off,

terrified at her torment.

They will weep and mourn and cry out:

"'Woe!  Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen,

purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold,

precious stones and pearls!

In one hour

such great wealth has been brought to ruin!'

"Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship,

the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea,

will stand far off.

When they see the smoke of her burning,

they will exclaim,

'Was there ever a city like this great city?'

They will throw dust on their heads,

and with weeping and mourning cry out:

"Woe! Woe, O great city,

where all who had ships on the sea

became rich through her wealth!

In one hour she has been brought to ruin!

Rejoice over her, O heaven!

Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets!

God has judged her for the way she treated you.'"

Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder

the size of a large millstone

and threw it into the sea, and said:

"With such violence the great city of Babylon

will be thrown down,

never to be found again.

The music of harpists and musicians,

flute players and trumpeters,

will never be heard in you again.

No workman of any trade

will ever be found in you again.

The sound of a millstone

will never be heard in you again.

The light of a lamp

will never shine in you again.

The voice of a bridegroom and bride

will never be heard in you again.

Your merchants were the world's great men.

By your magic spell all nations were led astray.

In her was found

the blood of prophets and of the saints,

and of all who have been killed on the earth.

(Revelation 18)