Paul’s Gratitude After Tragedy

3 Praise be to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, our Father, is full of mercy. He is the God who comforts us in every way.
2 Corinthians 1: 3

4 He comforts us whenever we have a problem. So that we too may be able to comfort other people when they are in trouble. We give them the same comfort that God gives us.
2 Corinthians 1: 4

5 We became partakers of Christ’s many sufferings. In the same way, we find greater happiness through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1: 5

6 If we suffer, it is for our comfort and salvation. If we have comfort from you, it is for your comfort. It also makes us tolerant in our sufferings.
2 Corinthians 1: 6

7 We have strong hopes for you. We know that you share in our suffering. We also know that you share in our comforts.
2 Corinthians 1: 7

8 We want you to know, brothers and sisters, the trouble we have suffered in the land of Asia. We suffered a lot there. It was more than we could bear. We also gave up hope that we would live.
2 Corinthians 1: 8

9 We really thought in our hearts that we were sentenced to death. But this happened so that we would not believe in ourselves. This happened so that we could have faith in God who raises people from the dead.
2 Corinthians 1: 9

10 God saved us from this terrible danger of death and He will save us again.
2 Corinthians 1:10

11 And you can help us with your prayers. Then many people will thank us that God has blessed us with their prayers.
2 Corinthians 1:11

The first part

1 Blessed is the man that doeth not the counsel of the wicked, and liveth not as the sinners. And not like those who do not respect God.
Psalm 1: 1

2 A good man loveth the word of the LORD, and meditate on it day and night.
Psalm 1: 2

3 In this way he grows strong like a tree that grows evenly along the river. And that tree bears fruit at the right time. He is like a tree whose leaves do not wither, and he becomes fruitful in all his deeds.
Psalm 1: 3

4 But the wicked are not like that. Wicked people are like straw that is blown away by the wind.
Psalm 1: 4

5 If good people come together to judge a court case, bad people will be condemned for bad things. Those sinners will not be judged as innocent.
Psalm 1: 5

6 Why? Because the Lord protects the righteous, but destroys the wicked.
Psalm 1: 6

The fall of Babylon

1 Then I saw another angel coming down from heaven. The angel had great power. His glory made the earth shine.
Revelation 18: 1

2 The angel said in a loud voice, “She is destroyed.” The great city of Babylon is destroyed. It has become a house for demons. It is full of all kinds of unclean birds. It has become a city of unclean and hateful animals.
Revelation 18: 2

3 All the inhabitants of the earth have drunk the wine of his wickedness and the wrath of God.
Revelation 18: 3

4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying unto me, Come out of the city, my people, that ye may not be partakers of his sins.
Revelation 18: 4

5 The sin of that city is as high as the heavens. God has not forgotten the wrong things he did.
Revelation 18: 5

6 Give to the city what it has given to others. Twice as much as he has given you.
Revelation 18: 6

7 As much as she gave herself a life of glory and luxury, give her as much torment and sorrow. She says to herself, “I am a queen sitting on my throne. I am not a widow. There will be no sadness. ”
Revelation 18: 7

8 All these troubles will come on him in one day. Death, great sorrow, and famine will be destroyed by fire. For God who judges him is very powerful.
Revelation 18: 8

9 “The kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality with her and shared her luxurious life with her will see her burning smoke. Then those kings will cry and be sad because of his death.
Revelation 18: 9

10 Kings will be afraid of his torment and will stay away. The kings will say, “Horror, oh, how terrible. And the mighty city of Babylon, your punishment came in an hour.”
Revelation 18:10

11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and wail for him, because no one will buy his goods anymore.
Revelation 18:11

12 They sold gold, silver, jewels, pearls, precious garments, purple cloth, silk, chenille, all kinds of grapefruit wood, and all kinds of ivory, brass, iron, and marble.
Revelation 18:12

13 They also sold cinnamon, spices, incense, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, animals, sheep, horses, and chariots.
Revelation 18:13

14 The merchants will cry and say, ‘Babylon, the good things you wanted are gone from you. All your precious and wonderful things are gone. You will not see any more of them.’
Revelation 18:14

15 “The merchants will be afraid of his troubles and will stay away from him. These are the same people who made him rich by selling things. These people will cry and be sad.
Revelation 18:15

16 They will say, ‘Terrible. How terrible for that metropolis. She was dressed in fine cotton cloth, purple and red and she was glittering with gold, jewels and pearls.
Revelation 18:16

17 All the riches disappeared in an instant. ‘”All the captains of the navy, all those who sail in the ships, all the sailors, and all those who earn money by working at sea, will stay away from Babylon.
Revelation 18:17

18 They saw the smoke of his decay. They shouted, “There was no other city like this metropolis.”
Revelation 18:18

19 They put dust on their heads. They cried and were sad. They cried out, “How terrible for this great city. All these people whose ships were at sea became rich with his wealth. All these things have been destroyed in an hour.”
Revelation 18:19

20 Rejoice, O heavens, in this. Rejoice, holy people of God, apostles and prophets. God has punished him for the things he did to you.
Revelation 18:20

21 Then a powerful angel picked up a large stone. It was as big as a millstone. The angel threw the stone into the sea and said, “In the same way, the great city of Babylon will be thrown down. And it will not be seen again.
Revelation 18:21

You will never again hear the sound of the harp, the harp, or the harp, or the trumpet, or the trumpets. Will be heard.
Revelation 18:22

23 The light of a candle shall not shine among you, neither shall the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride be heard among you: for thy merchants were the mighty men of the earth;
Revelation 18:23

24 Babylon is guilty of killing the prophets, and of God’s holy people, and of all those who are killed on earth.
Revelation 18:24