Command Structure

^11^For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

^12^On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

The Parable of the Sower

13:1 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake. 13:2 And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while¹ the whole crowd stood on the shore. 13:3 He² told them many things in parables,³ saying: “Listen(https://bible.org/netbible/mat13_notes.htm#134) A sower went out to sow.⁵ 13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds⁶ fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 13:5 Other⁷ seeds fell on rocky ground⁸ where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.⁹ 13:6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. 13:7 Other seeds fell among the thorns,¹⁰ and they grew up and choked them.¹¹ 13:8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 13:9 The one who has ears had better listen!”¹²

13:10 Then¹³ the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 13:11 He replied,¹⁴ “You have been given¹⁵ the opportunity to know¹⁶ the secrets¹⁷ of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not. 13:12 For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.¹⁸ 13:13 For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. 13:14 And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

‘You will listen carefully¹⁹yet will never understand,

you will look closely²⁰yet will never comprehend.

13:15 For the heart of this people has become dull;

they are hard of hearing,

and they have shut their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts

Revelation 7

The Sealing of the 144,000

7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind could blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 7:2 Then¹ I saw another angel ascending from the east,² who had³ the seal⁴ of the living God. He⁵ shouted out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given permission⁶ to damage the earth and the sea:⁷ 7:3 “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants⁸ of our God.” 7:4 Now⁹ I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal,¹⁰ one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from all¹¹ the tribes of the people of Israel:¹²

7:5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,

7:6 from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,

7:7 from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,

7:8 from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

7:9 After these things I looked, and here was¹³ an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe,¹⁴ people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. 7:10 They were shouting out in a loud voice,

“Salvation belongs to our God,¹⁵

to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

7:11 And all the angels stood¹⁶ there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground¹⁷ before the throne and worshiped God, 7:12 saying,

“Amen! Praise and glory,

and wisdom and thanksgiving,

and honor and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

7:13 Then¹⁸ one of the elders asked¹⁹ me, “These dressed in long white robes – who are they and where have they come from?” 7:14 So²⁰ I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.”²¹ Then²² he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They²³ have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve²⁴ him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them.²⁵ 7:16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat,²⁶ 7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”²⁷