At that time he will stand on the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem. Then the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west by a large valley. Half of the mountain will move northward, and half of it southward.

You will escape through this valley that divides the mountain in two. You will flee as your ancestors did when the earthquake struck in the time of King Uzziah of Judah. The LORD my God will come, bringing all the angels with him.

The mountains skipped like goats; the hills jumped around like lambs.

You mountains, why did you skip like goats? You hills, why did you jump around like lambs?

A voice cries out, "Prepare in the wilderness a road for the LORD! Clear the way in the desert for our God!

Fill every valley; level every mountain. The hills will become a plain, and the rough country will be made smooth.

I will make you like a threshing board, with spikes that are new and sharp. You will thresh mountains and destroy them; hills will crumble into dust.

Why don't you tear the sky open and come down? The mountains would see you and shake with fear.

There was a time when you came and did terrifying things that we did not expect; the mountains saw you and shook with fear.

Babylonia, you are like a mountain that destroys the whole world, but I, the LORD, am your enemy. I will take hold of you, level you to the ground, and leave you in ashes.

While you were looking at it, a great stone broke loose from a cliff without anyone touching it, struck the iron and clay feet of the statue, and shattered them.

At once the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold crumbled and became like the dust on a threshing place in summer. The wind carried it all away, leaving not a trace. But the stone grew to be a mountain that covered the whole earth.

Then the mountains will melt under him like wax in a fire; they will pour down into the valleys like water pouring down a hill.

In days to come the mountain where the Temple stands will be the highest one of all, towering above all the hills. Many nations will come streaming to it,

Mountains quake in the presence of the LORD; hills melt before him. The earth shakes when the LORD appears; the world and all its people tremble.

When he is angry, who can survive? Who can survive his terrible fury? He pours out his flaming anger; rocks crumble to dust before him.

When he stops, the earth shakes; at his glance the nations tremble. The eternal mountains are shattered; the everlasting hills sink down, the hills where he walked in ancient times.

"Before long I will shake heaven and earth, land and sea.

All the silver and gold of the world is mine.

for Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah: "I am about to shake heaven and earth

On that day I will take you, Zerubbabel my servant, and I will appoint you to rule in my name. You are the one I have chosen." The LORD Almighty has spoken.

Jesus answered, "I assure you that if you believe and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I have done to this fig tree. And not only this, but you will even be able to say to this hill, 'Get up and throw yourself in the sea,' and it will.

Every valley must be filled up, every hill and mountain leveled off. The winding roads must be made straight, and the rough paths made smooth.

All the islands disappeared, all the mountains vanished.

He said, "Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of the Temple, and he will finish the building. When this happens, my people will know that it is I who sent you to them.

The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.

This, now, is what the Sovereign LORD says: "I am placing in Zion a foundation that is firm and strong. In it I am putting a solid cornerstone on which are written the words, 'Faith that is firm is also patient.'

Jesus said to them, "Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say? 'The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!'

Surely you have read this scripture? 'The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.

Jesus looked at them and asked, "What, then, does this scripture mean? 'The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.'

Jesus is the one of whom the scripture says, 'The stone that you the builders despised turned out to be the most important of all.'

You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself.

This stone is of great value for you that believe; but for those who do not believe: "The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all."

They sang the LORD's praises, repeating the refrain: "The LORD is good, and his love for Israel is eternal." Everyone shouted with all their might, praising the LORD, because the work on the foundation of the Temple had been started.

No one could distinguish between the joyful shouts and the crying, because the noise they made was so loud that it could be heard for miles.

They finished the Temple on the third day of the month Adar in the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Darius.

For the dedication they offered 100 bulls, 200 sheep, and 400 lambs as sacrifices, and 12 goats as offerings for sin, one for each tribe of Israel.

What holds up the pillars that support the earth? Who laid the cornerstone of the world?

In the dawn of that day the stars sang together, and the heavenly beings shouted for joy.

They sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to break open its seals. For you were killed, and by your sacrificial death you bought for God people from every tribe, language, nation, and race.

Again I looked, and I heard angels, thousands and millions of them! They stood around the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders,

And I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, in the world below, and in the sea---all living beings in the universe---and they were singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor, glory and might, forever and ever!"

After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a large crowd of people in heaven, saying, "Praise God! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God!

Again they shouted, "Praise God! The smoke from the flames that consume the great city goes up forever and ever!"

Then there came from the throne the sound of a voice, saying, "Praise our God, all his servants and all people, both great and small, who have reverence for him!"

the shouts of gladness and joy and the happy sounds of wedding feasts. You will hear people sing as they bring thank offerings to my Temple; they will say, 'Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, because he is good and his love is eternal.' I will make this land as prosperous as it was before. I, the LORD, have spoken."

His choice is based on his grace, not on what they have done. For if God's choice were based on what people do, then his grace would not be real grace.

Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son!

For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God,

But God's mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great,

In our union with Christ Jesus he raised us up with him to rule with him in the heavenly world.

For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it.