Wednesday in Advent

1Verse 1. “Shout for joy, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth in song and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” 2Verse 2. “Enlarge the site of your tent, stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back. Lengthen your ropes and drive your stakes in deep. 3Verse 3. For you will spread out to the right and left; your descendants will dispossess the nations and inhabit the desolate cities. 4Verse 4. Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. 5Verse 5. For your husband is your Maker — the LORD of Hosts is His name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. 6Verse 6. For the LORD has called you back, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, like the rejected wife of one’s youth,” says your God. 7Verse 7. “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back. 8Verse 8. In a surge of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer. 9Verse 9. “For to Me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you. 10Verse 10. Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

23Verse 23. At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. 24Verse 24. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. 25Verse 25. See, I have told you in advance. 26Verse 26. So if they tell you, ‘There He is, in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here He is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27Verse 27. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Verse 28. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29Verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ’ 30Verse 30. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31Verse 31. And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. 32Verse 32. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. 33Verse 33. So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door. 34Verse 34. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Verse 35. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.