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"I will now tell
you the whole truth; I will conceal nothing at all from you. I
have already said to you, 'A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.' I can
now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed, it was I who
presented and read the record of your prayer before the Glory of
the Lord; and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead.
When you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner in order
to go and bury the dead, I was sent to put you to the test. At the
same time, however, God commissioned me to heal you and your
daughter-in-law Sarah. I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who
enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord." [TOBIT
12:11-15] He spoke with them peacefully and swore to them, "We will not try to injure you or your friends." So they trusted him. But he arrested sixty of them and killed them in one day, according to the text of Scripture: "The flesh of your saints they have strewn, and their blood they have shed round about Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them."
[1MACC 7:15-17] When he had armed each of them, not so much with
the safety of shield and spear as with the encouragement of noble
words, he cheered them all by relating a dream, a kind of vision,
worthy of belief. What he saw was this: Onias, the former high
priest, a good and virtuous man, modest in appearance, gentle in
manners, distinguished in speech, and trained from childhood in
every virtuous practice, was praying with outstretched arms for
the whole Jewish community. Then in the same way another man
appeared, distinguished by his white hair and dignity, and with an
air about him of extraordinary, majestic authority. Onias then
said of him, "This is God's prophet Jeremiah, who loves his
brethren and fervently prays for his people and their holy
city." Stretching out his right hand, Jeremiah presented a
gold sword to Judas. As he gave it to him he said, "Accept
this holy sword as a gift from God; with it you shall crush your
adversaries." [2MACC 15:11-16]
Then shall the just one with great assurance
confront his oppressors who set at nought his labors. Seeing this,
they shall be shaken with dreadful fear, and amazed at the
unlooked-for salvation. They shall say among themselves, rueful
and groaning through anguish of spirit: "This is he whom once
we held as a laughingstock and as a type for mockery, fools that
we were! His life we accounted madness, and his death dishonored.
See how he is accounted among the sons of God; how his lot is with
the saints!" [WISDOM 5:1-5]
The LORD said to me: Even if Moses and Samuel
stood before me, my heart would not turn toward this people. Send
them away from me. [JER 15:1]
"I say to you, many will come from the east and
the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the
banquet in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be
wailing and grinding of teeth." [MT 8:11-12]
After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.
[MT 17:1-3]
Jesus said to them in reply, "You are misled because you
do not know the scriptures or the power of God. At the
resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are
like the angels in heaven. And concerning the resurrection of the
dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 'I am the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the
God of the dead but of the living." [MT 22:29-32]
But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and
gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn
in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split,
tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen
asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his
resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. The
centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus
feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was
happening, and they said, "Truly, this was the Son of
God!" [MT 27:50-54]
After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them
up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured
before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no
fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them
along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter
said to Jesus in reply, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah." He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud
came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus
alone with them. [MK 9:2-8]
Jesus said to them, "Are you not misled because you do not
know the scriptures or the power of God? When they rise from the
dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are
like the angels in heaven. As for the dead being raised, have you
not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how
God told him, 'I am the God of Abraham, (the) God of Isaac, and
(the) God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead but of the living.
You are greatly misled." [MK 12:24-27]
About eight days after he said this, he took Peter, John, and
James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his
face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to
accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been
overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory
and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from
him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are
here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one
for Elijah." But he did not know what he was saying. While he
was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and
they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the
cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son; listen
to him." After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they
had seen. [LK 9:28-36]
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one
of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after
the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets
it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he
calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you,
in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one
sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have
no need of repentance. Or what woman having ten coins and losing
one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching
carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls
together her friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with
me because I have found the coin that I lost.' In just the same
way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents." [LK 15:4-10]
Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and
remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming
age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are
given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like
angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones
who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in
the passage about the bush, when he called 'Lord' the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God
of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
[LK
20:34-38]
Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church
was fervently being made to God on his behalf. On the very night
before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double
chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door
guards kept watch on the prison. Suddenly the angel of the Lord
stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the
side and awakened him, saying, "Get up quickly." The
chains fell from his wrists. [ACTS 12:5-7]
I urge you, (brothers,) by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the
love of the Spirit, to join me in the struggle by your prayers to
God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the disobedient in
Judea, and that my ministry for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the
holy ones, so that I may come to you with joy by the will of God
and be refreshed together with you. [ROM 15:30-32]
As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of
the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one
Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks,
slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one
Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many. If a foot
should say, "Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the
body," it does not for this reason belong any less to the
body. Or if an ear should say, "Because I am not an eye I do
not belong to the body," it does not for this reason belong
any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would
the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the
sense of smell be? But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of
them, in the body as he intended. If they were all one part, where
would the body be? But as it is, there are many parts, yet one
body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need
you," nor again the head to the feet, "I do not need
you." Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker
are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we
consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our
less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, whereas
our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so
constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is
without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that
the parts may have the same concern for one another. If (one) part
suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all
the parts share its joy. [Taken from 1COR 12:12-26]
May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know
what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of
glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the
surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord
with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ,
raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the
heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and
dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but
also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet
and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his
body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
[EPH 1:18-23]
So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are
fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of
God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with
Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole
structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the
Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling
place of God in the Spirit. [EPH 2:19-22]
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every
family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in
accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power
through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the
breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of
Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with
all the fullness of God. [EPH 3:14-19]
With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in
the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and
supplication for all the holy ones and also for me, that speech
may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the
mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, so
that I may have the courage to speak as I must. [EPH 6:18-20]
Therefore, from the day we heard this, we do not cease praying
for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of
his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to live in
a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every
good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God,
strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might,
for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the
Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the
holy ones in light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and
transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins. [COL 1:9-14]
What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you, for all
the joy we feel on your account before our God? Night and day we
pray beyond measure to see you in person and to remedy the
deficiencies of your faith. Now may God himself, our Father, and
our Lord Jesus direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you
increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as
we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless
in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord
Jesus with all his holy ones. (Amen.) [1THES 3:9-13]
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that
clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of
faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the
cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of
the throne of God. [HEB 12:1-2]
No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living
God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal
gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven,
and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made
perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the
sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.
[HEB 12:22-24]
Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne
and the four living creatures and the elders, a Lamb that seemed
to have been slain. He had seven horns and seven eyes; these are
the (seven) spirits of God sent out into the whole world. He came
and received the scroll from the right hand of the one who sat on
the throne. When he took it, the four living creatures and the
twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of the elders
held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the
prayers of the holy ones. [RV 5:6-8]
When he broke open the fifth seal, I saw
underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered
because of the witness they bore to the word of God. They cried
out in a loud voice, "How long will it be, holy and true
master, before you sit in judgment and avenge our blood on the
inhabitants of the earth?" Each of them was given a white
robe, and they were told to be patient a little while longer until
the number was filled of their fellow servants and brothers who
were going to be killed as they had been. [RV 6:9-11]
After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and
tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing
white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried
out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who is
seated on the throne, and from the Lamb." All the angels
stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living
creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshiped
God, and exclaimed: "Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and
thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and
ever. Amen." Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
"Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come
from?" I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who
knows." He said to me, "These are the ones who have
survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this
reason they stand before God's throne and worship him day and
night in his temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter
them. They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or
any heat strike them. For the Lamb who is in the center of the
throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving
water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
[RV 7:9-17]
Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne.
The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel.
[RV 8:3-4]
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. There
were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world
now belongs to our Lord and to his Anointed, and he will reign
forever and ever." The twenty-four elders who sat on their
thrones before God prostrated themselves and worshiped God and
said: "We give thanks to you, Lord God almighty, who are and
who were. For you have assumed your great power and have
established your reign. The nations raged, but your wrath has
come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to recompense
your servants, the prophets, and the holy ones and those who fear
your name, the small and the great alike, and to destroy those who
destroy the earth." Then God's temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. There
were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an
earthquake, and a violent hailstorm. [RV 11:15-19]
Then I looked and there was the Lamb standing on
Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had
his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. I heard
a sound from heaven like the sound of rushing water or a loud peal
of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing
their harps. They were singing (what seemed to be) a new hymn
before the throne, before the four living creatures and the
elders. No one could learn this hymn except the hundred and
forty-four thousand who had been ransomed from the earth. These
are they who were not defiled with women; they are virgins and
these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have
been ransomed as the firstfruits of the human race for God and the
Lamb. On their lips no deceit has been found; they are
unblemished. [RV 14:1-5]
Here is what sustains the holy ones who keep God's
commandments and their faith in Jesus. I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," said the Spirit, "let them find rest from their labors, for their works accompany
them."
[RV 14:12-13]
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory.
For the wedding day of the Lamb has come, his bride has made
herself ready. She was allowed to wear a bright, clean linen
garment." (The linen represents the righteous deeds of the
holy ones.) Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed
are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the
Lamb." And he said to me, "These words are true; they
come from God." [Taken from RV 19:7-9]
Then I saw thrones; those who sat on them were
entrusted with judgment. I also saw the souls of those who had
been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God,
and who had not worshiped the beast or its image nor had accepted
its mark on their foreheads or hands. They came to life and they
reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did
not come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the
first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the
first resurrection. The second death has no power over these; they
will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him
for (the) thousand years. [RV 20:4-6]
Also try:
holy
/ holiness [H14a]
pray
/ prayed / prayer [P11a]
grace
/ graced / graceful [G6]
honor
/ honors / honored / honorable [H16]
Heaven
/ heaven / heavens / heavenly [H8a]
angels
[A2]
purgatory
[The final purification, after death, of imperfectly
purified souls, before they attain Heaven] [P24]
resurrection
[R7]
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