In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to arrest me,

Elders who provide effective leadership must be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching.

For he did not put the world to come, about which we are speaking, under the control of angels.

Greetings to all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings.

But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?

or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those who do good.

Yet these men, as a result of their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and insult the glorious ones.

And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground and worshiped.

Then one of the elders asked me, “These dressed in long white robes – who are they and where have they come from?”

Then the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and worshiped God

Then I heard the altar reply, “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, your judgments are true and just!”

Now the spirits gathered the kings and their armies to the place that is called Armageddon in Hebrew.

As for the woman you saw, she is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth.”

Now I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God – the All-Powerful – and the Lamb are its temple.

So the five men journeyed on and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there were living securely, like the Sidonians do, undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.

So they assembled all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “Get the ark of the God of Israel out of here! Let it go back to its own place so that it won’t kill us and our people!” The terror of death was throughout the entire city; God was attacking them very severely there.

Then the cows went directly on the road to Beth Shemesh. They went along, mooing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left. The leaders of the Philistines were walking along behind them all the way to the border of Beth Shemesh.

“At this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin. You must consecrate him as a leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked with favor on my people. Their cry has reached me!”

The leaders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for quite some time? I have found no fault with him from the day of his defection until the present time!”

So Achish summoned David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you serving with me in the army. I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion of the leaders, you are not reliable.