What the Bible Says About the 7 C’s of History

Scripture

¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
⁴ And God saw that the light was good.
⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
⁶ And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
⁷ And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
⁸ And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
⁹ And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
¹¹ And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.
¹² The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,
¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.
¹⁶ And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.
¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”
²¹ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
³¹ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 1:1-31

Genesis 3:1-24: ¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden,
³ but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
¹⁴ The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
¹⁶ To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
¹⁷ And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
¹⁸ thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
²⁰ The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
²¹ And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.
²⁴ He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 6:1-22: ⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
² the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.
³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”
⁴ There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
⁶ And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
⁷ So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
⁹ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
¹⁰ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.
¹² And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
¹³ And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.
¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
¹⁶ Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.
¹⁷ For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.
¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
¹⁹ And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.
²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.
²¹ And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself, and it shall be food for you and for them.
²² Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Genesis 7:1-24: ¹ Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
² Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate,
³ and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth.
⁴ For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.
⁵ And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth.
⁷ And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
⁸ Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground,
⁹ two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah.
¹⁰ And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
¹² And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
¹³ On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark,
¹⁴ they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature.
¹⁵ They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life.
¹⁶ And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.
¹⁷ The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
¹⁸ The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
¹⁹ And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.
²⁰ The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.
²¹ And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind.
²² Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
²³ He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.
²⁴ And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

Genesis 11:1-9: ¹ Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
² And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
³ And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
⁵ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
⁶ And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
⁷ Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.
⁸ So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
⁹ Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Genesis 12:1-9: ¹ Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
⁵ Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan.
⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
⁸ From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
⁹ And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Exodus 20:1-17: ¹ And God spoke all these words, saying,
² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
³ “You shall have no other gods before me.
⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
⁵ You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
⁶ but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
⁷ You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
⁹ Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
¹¹ For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
¹² “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
¹³ “You shall not murder.”
¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.”
¹⁵ “You shall not steal.”
¹⁶ “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Isaiah 53:1-12: ¹ Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
⁹ And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
¹⁰ Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
¹¹ Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Matthew 1:18-25: ¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Matthew 27:32-56: ³² As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.
³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull),
³⁴ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.
³⁵ And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.
³⁶ Then sitting down, they kept watch over him there.
³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
³⁸ Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.
³⁹ And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads
⁴⁰ and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying,
⁴² “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.”
⁴³ He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
⁴⁴ And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.”
⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.
⁴⁹ And the rest said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”
⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
⁵¹ And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,
⁵³ They came out of the tombs after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many.
⁵⁴ When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
⁵⁵ There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him,
⁵⁶ among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Matthew 28:1-10: ¹ Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

John 1:1-14: ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 3:16-21: ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
¹⁹ And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
²⁰ For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
²¹ But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

Acts 2:1-41: ¹ When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.
⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.
⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,
¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
¹³ But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.
¹⁵ For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.
¹⁶ But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
¹⁷ “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;”
¹⁸ even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
²⁰ the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
²¹ And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—
²³ this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
²⁴ God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
²⁵ For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
²⁶ therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.
²⁷ For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.
²⁹ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
³⁰ Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
³¹ he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
³² This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
³³ Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
³⁴ For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
³⁵ until I make your enemies your footstool.”
³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
³⁷ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
³⁸ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”
⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Romans 5:12-21: ¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
¹³ for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.
¹⁷ For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
¹⁹ For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
²⁰ Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:1-58: ¹ Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
²¹ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
²⁷ For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.
²⁸ When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
²⁹ Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?
³⁰ Why are we in danger every hour?
³¹ I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!
³² What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
³⁴ Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God.
³⁵ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”
You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
³⁷ And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
³⁹ For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
⁴⁰ There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.
⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
⁴² So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
⁴³ It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
⁴⁵ Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
⁴⁶ But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.
⁴⁷ The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
⁵⁰ I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
⁵¹ Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
⁵³ For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
⁵⁴ “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’”
⁵⁵ “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Revelation 21:1-27: ¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
⁵ And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
⁶ And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
⁷ The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
⁸ But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
⁹ Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
¹¹ having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
¹² It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—
¹³ On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
¹⁵ And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.
¹⁶ The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.
¹⁷ He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement.
¹⁸ The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
¹⁹ The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,
²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
²¹ And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
²² And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
²³ And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
²⁴ By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,
²⁵ Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.
²⁶ They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
²⁷ But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 22:1-21: ¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb,
² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
³ No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.
⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
⁵ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
⁶ And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
⁷ “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me,
⁹ but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
¹¹ Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
¹² “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.