end times letter from a disciple: To those who are called, set apart

This is an open letter to all Christians. Read this together with Jesus’ letters in the Book of Revelation 22：
¹² “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”^[f]
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments,^[g] that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ But^[h] outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches.
——————————————————
Jude 1 New King James Version (NKJV)

Greeting to the Called

¹ Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are called, sanctified^[a] by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
² Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Contend for the Faith

³ Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God^[b] and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Old and New Apostates

⁵ But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; ⁷ as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
⁸ Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. ⁹ Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰ But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. ¹¹ Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Apostates Depraved and Doomed

¹² These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about^[c] by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; ¹³ raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
¹⁴ Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Apostates Predicted

¹⁶ These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. ¹⁷ But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: ¹⁸ how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. ¹⁹ These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

Maintain Your Life with God

²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
²² And on some have compassion, making a distinction;^{[d] 23} but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire,^[e] hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Glory to God

²⁴ Now to Him who is able to keep you^[f] from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
²⁵ To God our Savior,^[g]
Who alone is wise,^[h]
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,^[i]
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Footnotes:

1. Jude 1:1 NU-Text reads beloved.
2. Jude 1:4 NU-Text omits God.
3. Jude 1:12 NU-Text and M-Text read along.
4. Jude 1:22 NU-Text reads who are doubting (or making distinctions).
5. Jude 1:23 NU-Text adds and on some have mercy with fear and omits with fear in first clause.
6. Jude 1:24 M-Text reads them.
7. Jude 1:25 NU-Text reads To the only God our Savior.
8. Jude 1:25 NU-Text omits Who . . . is wise and adds Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
9. Jude 1:25 NU-Text adds Before all time.

End times church countdown: God wants these two things

God is consuming fire

As 2012 had closed and 2013 is well on its way to closing the first quarter, the watchman sees more signs more clearly. Looking through old notes he noted many prophetic words, signs, dreams, and visions from the Lord had indeed come to pass. Reading the Bible as a whole, he realized that this Book speaks more to spiritually discerning Christians than those who continue to walk in the flesh (not discerning spiritual things).

The latest message is: Revelation time is here. Even the world has described significant extreme weather related events and phenomena as ‘almost Biblical’ or simply ‘Biblical’. People round the globe are asking what all these signs mean. Do churches have an answer? What churches (or individuals rather) should now ask is, as questioned by Apostle Peter: “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness”? (2 Peter 3:11)

“Holiness” and ‘Godliness” are the two things that God looks for. Are end times churches and Christians who attend church ready in these two characteristics? How may one attain such divine qualities?

2 Peter 3:10-13

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ¹² waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

HOLINESS: SANCTIFIED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

1 Peter 1:2

English Standard Version (ESV)

² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

1 Peter 1:13-16

English Standard Version (ESV)

Called to Be Holy

¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

1 Peter 2:9, 11

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

GODLINESS: GIVEN BY GOD; OBTAINED BY FAITH

2 Peter 1:1

Greeting

1 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

2 Peter 1:3-4

Confirm Your Calling and Election

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, throughthe knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

2 Peter 1:10-11

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁰ Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

THE LORD JESUS HAS THUS COMMANDED US

Luke 21:32-36

English Standard Version (ESV)

³² Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Watch Yourselves

³⁴ “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

OUR PART IS TO PAY ATTENTION AND OBEY, JOINED TO THE LORD, BE OF ONE SPIRIT WITH THE LORD, MADE HOLY BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

Hebrews 2:1, 4

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation

2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

⁴ while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Hebrews 3:12-13

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹² Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

1 Corinthians 6:11

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹¹ Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you weremade right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:17

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁷ But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

PAUL’S ADVICE TO TIMOTHY: AVOID AND FLEE FROM UNHOLINESS AND UNGODLINESS!  DRAW NEAR TO THOSE WHO CALL ON THE LORD FROM A PURE HEART.

2 Timothy 3:1,2, 5

English Standard Version (ESV)

Godlessness in the Last Days

3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

² For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

 

⁵ having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

2 Timothy 2:22

English Standard Version (ESV)

²² So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 

The Lord says: Be Filled with MY Spirit, see My Holiness!

1. BE HOLY FOR I AM HOLY!

   
   

   Verse of the Day

   

   “[Mary’s Song] And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.” Luke 1:46-47, 49 NIV
   
   Exodus 19:6
   And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
   Exodus 19:5-7 (in Context) Exodus 19 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2. Leviticus 11:45 For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
   Leviticus 11:44-46 (in Context) Leviticus 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
3. 1 Samuel 2:2
   “No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.
   1 Samuel 2:1-3 (in Context) 1 Samuel 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
4. 1 Chronicles 22:19
   Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the LORD.”
   1 Chronicles 22:18-19 (in Context) 1 Chronicles 22 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
5. Psalm 11:4
   The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
   Psalm 11:3-5 (in Context) Psalm 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
6. Isaiah 56:7
   Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
   Isaiah 56:6-8 (in Context) Isaiah 56 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
7. Matthew 12:32
   Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
   Matthew 12:31-33 (in Context) Matthew 12 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
8. Luke 1:35
   And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
   Luke 1:34-36 (in Context) Luke 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
9. Luke 3:22
   And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
   Luke 3:21-23 (in Context) Luke 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
10. Luke 11:13
    If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
    Luke 11:12-14 (in Context) Luke 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
11. Acts 1:8
    But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
    Acts 1:7-9 (in Context) Acts 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
12. Acts 7:55
    But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
    Acts 7:54-56 (in Context) Acts 7 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
13. 
    

Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty

Text: Reginald Heber
Music: John B. Dykes
Tune: NICAEA, Meter: 11 12.12 10

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1. Holy, holy, holy!  Lord God Almighty!
 Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
 Holy, holy, holy!  Merciful and mighty,
 God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

2. Holy, holy, holy!  All the saints adore thee,
 casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
 cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
 which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

3. Holy, holy, holy!  Though the darkness hide thee,
 though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
 only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
 perfect in power, in love and purity.4. Holy, holy, holy!  Lord God Almighty!
 All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea.
 Holy, holy, holy!  Merciful and mighty,
 God in three persons, blessed Trinity.

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On the third day after the superstorm: They have washed their robes

On the third day after the superstorm, the watchman heard, Revelation 7. So he opened his Bible and read.

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

^{Revelation 7: 9} After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

________________________More verses on 'washing' and 'wearing white garments':

1 Corinthians 6:11
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:10-12 (in Context) 1 Corinthians 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10:21-23 (in Context) Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Acts 22:16
And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
Acts 22:15-17 (in Context) Acts 22 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Ephesians 5:26
that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
Ephesians 5:25-27 (in Context) Ephesians 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Isaiah 1:16
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
Isaiah 1:15-17 (in Context) Isaiah 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

 

Jeremiah 4:14
O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?
Jeremiah 4:13-15 (in Context) Jeremiah 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

 

What qualified them to wear white robes?

1. The blood of the Lamb.
2. They have not soiled their garments by sins.
3. They are considered worthy by the Lord.
4. The one who conquers (overcomes sins)
    
   Revelation 3:4-5
   Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
   Revelation 3:3-5 (in Context) Revelation 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
   Rewards for those who get to wear white garments in heaven
   
   1. The Lord will allow them to walk with Him (in white).
      
   2. Their names will be kept in the book of life.
      
   3. Jesus will grant them to sit with Him on His throne. (Rev.3:21)
   Revelation 3:18
   I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
   Revelation 3:17-19 (in Context) Revelation 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
   Revelation 4:4
   Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.
   Revelation 4:3-5 (in Context) Revelation 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

 How to be sanctified?

BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BY THE TRUTH -THE WORD OF GOD

2 Thessalonians 2:13

[ Stand Firm ] But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

John 17:17
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
John 17:16-18 (in Context) John 17 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

John 17:19
And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
John 17:18-20 (in Context) John 17 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

 ABSTAIN FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY

1 Thessalonians 4:3
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
1 Thessalonians 4:2-4 (in Context) 1 Thessalonians 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

THE GOD OF PEACE SANCTIFIES YOU -BY HIS (JESUS) BLOOD

1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:22-24 (in Context) 1 Thessalonians 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
Hebrews 10:28-30 (in Context) Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Hebrews 13:12
So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
Hebrews 13:11-13 (in Context) Hebrews 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

   BY FAITH, BELIEF, AND OBEDIENCE TO JESUS (RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD)

Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Acts 26:17-19 (in Context) Acts 26 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Romans 6:19
I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
Romans 6:18-20 (in Context) Romans 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Romans 6:22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
Romans 6:21-23 (in Context) Romans 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

The all times righteousness plumb line of God

TODAY’S MESSAGE IS FOR ALL WHO FEAR THE LORD AND ARE PURPOSED IN THEIR HEARTS TO SEEK THE LORD AND KNOW HIM. THE LORD DEMANDS PURITY IN HEARTS TO SEE HIM AND DWELL WITH HIM IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
As evident in the following verses, the fruit of righteousness can be seen. DO RIGHTEOUSNESS. As the Lord does righteousness, so do we. We all want to awake in His likeness one day and not in the likeness of the enemy of God!
Psalm 17:15  ^“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” David was a man after God’s heart and he knew that only those with the righteous likeness of God can awake before Him. How else does anyone expect to see God? Jesus said only those who are pure in heart can see God. (Matt.5:8)

PSALM 106 Praise the Lord!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

² Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?
Who can declare all His praise?
³ Blessed are those who keep justice,
And he who does righteousness at all times!
(Watchman’s study motes: God expects His children to do righteousness at all times, not just once in a while. Not to do it just for show before men. God demands integrity. This is the constant standard in His kingdom! God wants each individual’s life be a worshipful life before Him, in Spirit and in truth.)

Proverbs 11:18
The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
Proverbs 11:17-19 (in Context) Proverbs 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Isaiah 59:9
[ Sin Confessed ] Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
Isaiah 59:8-10 (in Context) Isaiah 59 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Isaiah 64:5
You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned— In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.
Isaiah 64:4-6 (in Context) Isaiah 64 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Amos 6:12
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into gall, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
Amos 6:11-13 (in Context) Amos 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Psalm 1:6
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalm 1:5-6 (in Context) Psalm 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Lamentations 1:18
“The LORD is righteous, For I rebelled against His commandment. Hear now, all peoples, And behold my sorrow; My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity.
Lamentations 1:17-19 (in Context) Lamentations 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Daniel 9:14
Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice.
Daniel 9:13-15 (in Context) Daniel 9 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsDaniel 9:18
O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.
Daniel 9:17-19 (in Context) Daniel 9 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Zephaniah 3:4-6

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴ Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have polluted the sanctuary,
They have done violence to the law.
⁵ The Lord is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But the unjust knows no shame.

⁶ “I have cut off nations,
Their fortresses are devastated;
I have made their streets desolate,
With none passing by.
Their cities are destroyed;
There is no one, no inhabitant.
(Watchman’s study notes: God is righteous and does not change.)

Hosea 14:8-9

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁸ “Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’
I have heard and observed him.
I am like a green cypress tree;
Your fruit is found in Me.”

⁹ Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.
(Watchman’s study notes: we are required to know God’s way and walk/live/conduct our lives in His way!)

2 Timothy 2:21-23

New King James Version (NKJV)

²¹ Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. ²² Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.
(Watchman’s study notes: Even Apostle Paul urged his disciple, Timothy to pursue righteousness and categorized this godly characteristic together with faith, love and peace!)

Titus 1:16

¹⁶ They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
(Watchman’s study notes: today this warning is still in force. When a man’s works show clearly that they deny the holy and righteous standards of God, they fall under this category of being disqualified for every good work. God does not accept any work of the flesh. Read the warning letters from Jesus to the seven churches in the end times. Revelation 2-3)

Galatians 5 (NKJV) Walking in the Spirit¹⁶

 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
(Watchman’s study notes: Praise the Lord. The Holy Spirit has given all who follow Jesus the sure way to righteousness, that is, to live in and walk in the Spirit of Christ. Indeed, there is only one key:
” ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” )