Royal Hours of Theophany; Forefeast of Theophany

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went. ⁹By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰For he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

¹¹By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive, and she bore a child when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as innumerable as the sand which is by the sea shore, were fathered by one man, and him as good as dead.

¹³These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and embraced them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. ¹⁵If indeed they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had enough time to return. ¹⁶But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

As he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, see what kind of stones and what kind of buildings!”

²Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down.”

³As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴“Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are all about to be fulfilled?”

⁵Jesus, answering, began to tell them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. ⁶For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and will lead many astray.

⁷“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be troubled. For those must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁸For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines and troubles. These things are the beginning of birth pains.