This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
You're welcome to read one, two, or all three of the readings every weekday. And if you fall behind, don't worry! You can either use the weekends to catch up or you can simply dive in to the reading for that day, even if you've missed a few days, weeks, or even months!
You can download a foldable bookmark here: 2026
6:1 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart1 of wheat for a denarius,2 and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers3 should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave4 and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
[1] 6:6
[2] 6:6
[3] 6:11
[4] 6:15
(ESV)
"Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace. I wanna see my Savior's face cause heaven is a wonderful place. I wanna go there!" Those are the lyrics to a song about heaven I learned as a child. And these words are a great synopsis of what we are taught about heaven growing up: It's wonderful! Jesus lives there! And we want to go there because of the eternal bliss and joy we will experience.
Indeed, heaven is a wonderful place. And that's part of the reason why our reading for today from Revelation 6 seems so odd. As the chapter commences, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, is opening seals on a scroll, symbolizing the march of history toward its impending conclusion while its closing days are marked by sin-wreaked trouble. But there seems to be trouble not only on earth, but in heaven as well:
When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. (verses 9-11)
Instead of shouting for joy at the eternal glories of heaven, these souls are lamenting: "How long?" they cry. This is the same cry of despair uttered by the Psalmist when he writes, "My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long" (Psalm 6:3)? Similarly, the prophet Habakkuk complains, "How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not save" (Habakkuk 1:2)? Lamenting? Complaining? Anguish in heaven? That hardly sounds right! After all, "heaven is a wonderful place!"
Yes, heaven is a wonderful place. That's not the issue with the lament of these heavenly martyrs. The issue with these heavenly martyrs is that although heaven is a wonderful place, it's not the final place. That place comes in Revelation 21:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:1-4)
The conclusive place of history is not just a new heaven, but a new heaven and a new earth. It is the place where Satan is finally and fully conquered (cf. Revelation 20:10) and where sin, suffering, sorrow, and tears are no more (cf. Revelation 21:4). Thus, although heaven is a wonderful place, the martyrs in heaven, like us, are anxiously anticipating God's final place which will arrive on the Last Day: His new heaven and earth. In the mean time, God tells these martyrs, "Wait a little longer" (verse 11).
Perhaps your life is racked and riddled by some tragedy, hardship, or terror. And perhaps you, like these heavenly martyrs, are crying out to God, "How long, O Lord? Why must I suffer such anguish?" If this is you, know this: God will rescue you, deliver you, and save you... even if you have to wait a little longer. And if you do have to wait a little longer, remember, the martyrs of heaven are waiting with you. And it seems to me, they're pretty good company.
26 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire;1 and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. 27 And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him.2 28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
2:1 And he said to me, “Son of man,3 stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ 5 And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions.4 Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.
8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
3:1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.
4 And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel—6 not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. 8 Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. 11 And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.”
[1] 1:26
[2] 1:27
[3] 2:1
[4] 2:6
(ESV)
As Ezekiel moved from his description of the living creatures to his vision of God himself, he was careful to use language such as "likeness" and "appearance" to show that what he saw was no ordinary human figure. On what appeared to be a throne sat One who appeared in human likeness, gleaming like fiery metal, surrounded by a brightly shining rainbow. The glory of the LORD caused Ezekiel to fall on his face. Immediately God told Ezekiel to stand up, and God's Spirit set him on his feet to hear the LORD's charge. "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me." Ezekiel was to inform them that a prophet of God was among them, and God told him not to be afraid of them. God warned Ezekiel not to be rebellious like Israel, but to open his mouth and eat what was given to him. God gave Ezekiel a scroll and commanded him to eat. Ezekiel experienced a taste as sweet as honey, in spite of the fact that his was a message of judgment. God's Word is always sweet to His people because it is always true, even when it announces well-deserved judgment. God warned Ezekiel that even though he would not be speaking to foreigners who could not understand his language, Israel would be foreigners to his words because they did not want to hear his message. They were hard headed and had stubborn hearts. But God promised to make Ezekiel's forehead as hard as flint so that he could stand up to these rebellious people and would not be afraid. Ezekiel was to receive God's message willingly and take it to the exiles fearlessly, saying to them, "Thus says the LORD God," whether they would listen or not.
105:1 Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
4 Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
7 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
16 When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply1 of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the LORD tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind2 his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.
(ESV)