A Vision of the Altar
Amos 9, verse 1. I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said, “Strike the mercy seat, and the gateway of the temple shall be shaken. And cut through to the heads of all of them, and I will slay the remnant of them with the sword. He who flees shall not get away, and he who escapes from them shall not be delivered. Amos 9, verse 2. Though they may attempt to bury themselves in Hades, from there My hand shall drag them out, and though they climb up to heaven, from there I shall bring them down. Amos 9, verse 3. Though they hide themselves on top of Carmel, from there I shall search and take them. Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea, from there I shall command the serpent, and it will bite them. Amos 9, verse 4. And though they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I shall command the sword, and it will slay them. And I shall set My eyes on them for evil and not for good.” Amos 9, verse 5. The Lord, the Lord God Almighty, is He who takes hold of the land and causes it to shake, and all who dwell there shall mourn; for its destruction shall come up as the flood of a river and shall then return to its banks as the River of Egypt. Amos 9, verse 6. He who builds his ascent to the heaven and establishes His promise on the earth, who calls the water of the sea, and pours it out on the face of the earth—the Lord God Almighty is His name. Amos 9, verse 7. “O sons of Israel, are you not as the sons of the Ethiopian to Me?” says the Lord. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians out of Kir? Amos 9, verse 8. “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the kingdom of sinners, and I shall destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I shall not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says the Lord. Amos 9, verse 9. “For I commanded, and I will winnow the house of Israel among all the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not a grain will fall upon the ground. Amos 9, verse 10. All the sinners of My people who say, ‘No evil will draw near, neither will it overcome us,’ shall die by the sword.
Restoration after Judgment Is Past
Amos 9, verse 11. “In that day I shall raise up the fallen tabernacle of David, and I shall rebuild its ruins and repair its damages and rebuild it as in the days of old, Amos 9, verse 12. that the remnant of men and all the nations upon whom My name is called will seek Me,” says the Lord, who does this thing. Amos 9, verse 13. “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when the threshing will overtake the harvest, and grapes will ripen at the time the seed is sown, and the mountains will drip sweetness, and all the hills shall share in it. Amos 9, verse 14. I shall bring back the captives of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and drink wine from them. They also will make gardens and eat fruit from them. Amos 9, verse 15. I shall plant them on their land; no longer will they be uprooted from the land which I have given them,” says the Lord God Almighty.