The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday December 2, 2017 (NIV)

Daniel 9:1-11

Daniel Prays for the People

1-2 Daniel wrote:

Some years later, Darius the Mede,[a] who was the son of Xerxes,[b] had become king of Babylonia. And during his first year as king, I found out from studying the writings of the prophets that the Lord had said to Jeremiah, “Jerusalem will lie in ruins for seventy years.”[c] 3-4 Then, to show my sorrow, I went without eating and dressed in sackcloth[d] and sat in ashes. I confessed my sins and earnestly prayed to the Lord my God:

Our Lord, you are a great and fearsome God, and you faithfully keep your agreement with those who love and obey you. But we have sinned terribly by rebelling against you and rejecting your laws and teachings. We have ignored the message your servants the prophets spoke to our kings, our leaders, our ancestors, and everyone else.

Everything you do is right, our Lord. But still we suffer public disgrace because we have been unfaithful and have sinned against you. This includes all of us, both far and near—the people of Judah, Jerusalem, and Israel, as well as those you dragged away to foreign lands, and even our kings, our officials, and our ancestors. Lord God, you are merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against you 10 and rejected your teachings that came to us from your servants the prophets.

11 Everyone in Israel has stubbornly refused to obey your laws, and so those curses written by your servant Moses have fallen upon us. 12 You warned us and our leaders that Jerusalem would suffer the worst disaster in human history, and you did exactly as you had threatened. 13 We have not escaped any of the terrible curses written by Moses, and yet we have refused to beg you for mercy and to remind ourselves of how faithful you have always been. 14 And when you finally punished us with this horrible disaster, that was also the right thing to do, because we deserved it so much.

15 Our Lord God, with your own mighty arm you rescued us from Egypt and made yourself famous to this very day, but we have sinned terribly. 16 In the past, you treated us with such kindness, that we now beg you to stop being so terribly angry with Jerusalem. After all, it is your chosen city built on your holy mountain, even though it has suffered public disgrace because of our sins and those of our ancestors.

17 I am your servant, Lord God, and I beg you to answer my prayers and bring honor to yourself by having pity on your temple that lies in ruins. 18 Please show mercy to your chosen city, not because we deserve it, but because of your great kindness. 19 Forgive us! Hurry and do something, not only for your city and your chosen people, but to bring honor to yourself.

The Seventy Weeks

Daniel wrote:

20 I was still confessing my sins and those of all Israel to the Lord my God, and I was praying for the good of his holy mountain,[e] 21 when Gabriel suddenly came flying in at the time of the evening sacrifice. This was the same Gabriel I had seen in my vision, 22 and he explained:

Daniel, I am here to help you understand the vision. 23 God thinks highly of you, and at the very moment you started praying, I was sent to give you the answer. 24 God has decided that for seventy weeks,[f] your people and your holy city must suffer as the price of their sins. Then evil will disappear, and justice will rule forever; the visions and words of the prophets will come true, and a most holy place will be dedicated.[g]

25 You need to realize that from the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Chosen Leader,[h] it will be seven weeks and another sixty-two weeks.[i] Streets will be built in Jerusalem, and a trench will be dug around the city for protection, but these will be difficult times.[j] 26 At the end of the sixty-two weeks,[k] the Chosen Leader[l] will be killed and left with nothing.[m]

A foreign ruler and his army will sweep down like a mighty flood, leaving both the city and the temple in ruins, and war and destruction will continue until the end, just as God has decided. 27 For one week[n] this foreigner[o] will make a firm agreement with many people, and halfway through this week,[p] he will end all sacrifices and offerings. Then the “Horrible Thing” that causes destruction will be put there. And it will stay there until the time God has decided to destroy this one who destroys.

Daniel’s Vision beside the Tigris River

10 In the third year[q] of Cyrus the king of Persia, a message came to Daniel[r] from God, and it was explained in a vision. The message was about a horrible war, and it was true. Daniel wrote:

For three weeks I was in sorrow. I ate no fancy food or meat, I drank no wine, and I put no olive oil on my face or hair.[s] Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the first month,[t] I was standing on the banks of the great Tigris River, when I looked up and saw someone dressed in linen and wearing a solid gold belt.[u] His body was like a precious stone,[v] his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming fires, his arms and legs like polished bronze, and his voice like the roar of a crowd. Although the people who were with me did not see the vision, they became so frightened that they scattered and hid. Only I saw this great vision. I became weak and pale, and at the sound of his voice, I fell facedown in a deep sleep.

10 He raised me to my hands and knees 11 and then said, “Daniel, your God thinks highly of you, and he has sent me. So stand up and pay close attention.” I stood trembling, while the angel said:

12 Daniel, don’t be afraid! God has listened to your prayers since the first day you humbly asked for understanding, and he has sent me here. 13 But the guardian angel[w] of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, who is one of the strongest guardian angels,[x] came to rescue me from the kings of Persia.[y] 14 Now I have come here to give you another vision about what will happen to your people in the future.

15 While this angel was speaking to me, I stared at the ground, speechless. 16 Then he appeared in human form and touched my lips. I said, “Sir, this vision has brought me great pain and has drained my strength. 17 I am merely your servant. How can I possibly speak with someone so powerful, when I am almost too weak to get my breath?”

18-19 The angel touched me a second time and said, “Don’t be frightened! God thinks highly of you, and he intends this for your good, so be brave and strong.”

At this, I regained my strength and replied, “Please speak! You have already made me feel much better.”

20 Then the angel said:

Now do you understand why I have come? Soon I must leave to fight against the guardian angel of Persia. Then after I have defeated him, the guardian angel of Greece will attack me. 21 I will tell you what is written in The Book of Truth. But first, you must realize that no one except Michael, the guardian angel of Israel, is on my side. 11 You also need to know that I protected and helped Darius the Mede[z] in his first year as king.

Footnotes:

  1. 9.1,2 Darius the Mede: See 5.31.
  2. 9.1,2 Xerxes: Hebrew “Ahasuerus.”
  3. 9.1,2 seventy years: See Jeremiah 25.11-13; 29.10.
  4. 9.3,4 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
  5. 9.20 holy mountain: Jerusalem (see verse 16) or the temple.
  6. 9.24 seventy weeks: Or “seventy times seven years.”
  7. 9.24 a most holy place will be dedicated: Or “God’s Holy One will appear.”
  8. 9.25 the Chosen Leader: Or “a chosen leader.” In Hebrew the word “chosen” means “to pour oil (on someone’s head).” In Old Testament times it was the custom to pour oil on a person’s head when that person was chosen to be a priest or a king.
  9. 9.25 seven weeks and another sixty-two weeks: Or “seven times seven years and another sixty-two times seven years.”
  10. 9.25 it will be seven. . . difficult times: Or “it will be seven weeks. Then streets will be built in Jerusalem, and a trench will be dug around the city for protection. But Jerusalem will have difficult times for sixty-two weeks.”
  11. 9.26 sixty-two weeks: Or “sixty-two times seven years.”
  12. 9.26 the Chosen Leader: See the note at 9.25.
  13. 9.26 left with nothing: Or “no one will take his place.”
  14. 9.27 one week: Or “seven years.”
  15. 9.27 this foreigner: Or “the Chosen Leader.”
  16. 9.27 halfway through this week: Or “for half of this week of seven years.”
  17. 10.1 third year: 536 B.C.
  18. 10.1 Daniel: See the note at 2.26.
  19. 10.3 olive oil. . . hair: On special occasions, it was the custom to put olive oil on one’s face and hair.
  20. 10.4 first month: Nisan (also known as Abib), the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
  21. 10.5 solid gold belt: Hebrew “belt of gold from Uphaz.”
  22. 10.6 a precious stone: The Hebrew text has “beryl,” which is green or bluish-green.
  23. 10.13 guardian angel: Hebrew “prince.”
  24. 10.13 one of the strongest guardian angels: Hebrew “chief prince.”
  25. 10.13 came. . . Persia: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  26. 11.1 Darius the Mede: See 5.30.

1 John 2:18-3:16

The Enemy of Christ

18 Children, this is the last hour. You heard that the enemy of Christ would appear at this time, and many of Christ’s enemies have already appeared. So we know that the last hour is here. 19 These people came from our own group, yet they were not part of us. If they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. But they left, which proves that they did not belong to our group.

20 Christ, the Holy One,[a] has blessed[b] you, and now all of you understand.[c] 21 I did not need to write you about the truth, since you already know it. You also know that liars do not belong to the truth. 22 And a liar is anyone who says that Jesus isn’t truly Christ. Anyone who says this is an enemy of Christ and rejects both the Father and the Son. 23 If we reject the Son, we reject the Father. But if we say that we accept the Son, we have the Father. 24 Keep thinking about the message you first heard, and you will always be one in your heart with the Son and with the Father. 25 The Son[d] has promised us[e] eternal life.

26 I am writing to warn you about those people who are misleading you. 27 But Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit.[f] Now the Spirit stays in you, and you don’t need any teachers. The Spirit is truthful and teaches you everything. So stay one in your heart with Christ, just as the Spirit has taught you to do.

Children of God

28 Children, stay one in your hearts with Christ. Then when he returns, we will have confidence and won’t have to hide in shame. 29 You know that Christ always does right and that everyone who does right is a child of God.

Think how much the Father loves us. He loves us so much that he lets us be called his children, as we truly are. But since the people of this world did not know who Christ[g] is, they don’t know who we are. My dear friends, we are already God’s children, though what we will be hasn’t yet been seen. But we do know that when Christ returns, we will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is. This hope makes us keep ourselves holy, just as Christ[h] is holy.

Everyone who sins breaks God’s law, because sin is the same as breaking God’s law. You know that Christ came to take away sins. He isn’t sinful, and people who stay one in their hearts with him won’t keep on sinning. If they do keep on sinning, they don’t know Christ, and they have never seen him.

Children, don’t be fooled. Anyone who does right is good, just like Christ himself. Anyone who keeps on sinning belongs to the devil. He has sinned from the beginning, but the Son of God came to destroy all that he has done. God’s children cannot keep on being sinful. His life-giving power[i] lives in them and makes them his children, so that they cannot keep on sinning. 10 You can tell God’s children from the devil’s children, because those who belong to the devil refuse to do right or to love each other.

Love Each Other

11 From the beginning you were told that we must love each other. 12 Don’t be like Cain, who belonged to the devil and murdered his own brother. Why did he murder him? He did it because his brother was good, and he was evil. 13 My friends, don’t be surprised if the people of this world hate you. 14 Our love for each other proves that we have gone from death to life. But if you don’t love each other, you are still under the power of death.

15 If you hate each other, you are murderers, and we know that murderers do not have eternal life. 16 We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That’s why we must give our lives for each other.

Footnotes:

  1. 2.20 Christ, the Holy One: The Greek text has “the Holy One” which may refer either to Christ or to God the Father.
  2. 2.20 blessed: This translates a word which means “to pour olive oil on (someone’s head).” In Old Testament times it was the custom to pour olive oil on a person’s head when that person was chosen to be a priest or a king. Here the meaning is not clear. It may refer to the ceremony of pouring olive oil on the followers of the Lord right before they were baptized or it may refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit which they were given at baptism (see verse 27).
  3. 2.20 now all of you understand: Some manuscripts have “you understand all things.”
  4. 2.25 The Son: The Greek text has “he” and may refer to God the Father.
  5. 2.25 us: Some manuscripts have “you.”
  6. 2.27 Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit: The Greek text has “You received a pouring on of olive oil from him” (see verse 20). The “pouring on of olive oil” is here taken to refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit, and “he” may refer either to Christ or to the Father.
  7. 3.1 Christ: The Greek text has “he” and may refer to God.
  8. 3.3 Christ: The Greek text has “that one” and may refer to God.
  9. 3.9 His life-giving power: The Greek text has “his seed.”

Psalm 121

(A song for worship.)

The Lord Will Protect His People

121 I look to the hills!
Where will I find help?
It will come from the Lord,
who created the heavens
and the earth.

The Lord is your protector,
and he won’t go to sleep
or let you stumble.
The protector of Israel
doesn’t doze
or ever get drowsy.

The Lord is your protector,
there at your right side
to shade you from the sun.
You won’t be harmed
by the sun during the day
or by the moon[a] at night.

The Lord will protect you
and keep you safe
from all dangers.
The Lord will protect you
now and always
wherever you go.

Footnotes:

  1. 121.6 harmed. . . sun. . . moon: In ancient times people saw the harmful effects of the rays of the sun, and they thought that certain illnesses (especially mental disorders) were also caused by the rays of the moon.

Proverbs 28:27-28

27 Giving to the poor
will keep you from poverty,
but if you close your eyes
to their needs,
everyone will curse you.
28 When crooks are in control,
everyone tries to hide,
but when they lose power,
good people are everywhere.

12/01/2017 DAB Transcript

Daniel 8:1-27, 1 John 2:1-17, Psalms 120:1-7, Proverbs 28:25-26

Today is December 1st. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and, of course, it is great to be here with you today as we greet this, the final month of the year. So, today is the 335th day of the year 2017 and we just have a short distance to go in time to complete this year, but we have a lot of ground to cover in the Scriptures and we’ll be covering it quickly as we move through the final books of the Bible. So, this week we’ve been reading from the Contemporary English Version, which is what we’ll continue to do. Daniel chapter 8 verses 1 through 27 today.

Commentary:

So, as we begin to explore the second chapter of first John, we see a juxtaposition between our claims and our actions. So, the difference between what we say and what we do. So, basically, John starts out saying, I’m writing this letter, what’s being said here is to help you remember that you do not have to live in sin, but if you do sin, Jesus is an advocate to the Father for us because Jesus sacrifice takes away all sin, all of our sin, and all of the world’s peoples sin. So, basically, he’s saying, if what I’m about to tell you convicts you in your heart and exposes sin in your actions then you know there is forgiveness and a way to move forward. And then he moves into our claims. If we claim to know God and don’t obey God. Right? So, if we say we know God but don’t, through our deeds and thoughts and words, obey him, we’re lying. The truth isn’t in our hearts. It’s an indicator to us that we know God and belong to Him if we obey Him and walk with Him. And if we say we are His then we must follow the example of Christ. In other words, we must be Christ-like, we must be like Christ. So, in other words, this isn’t just something you can say, it’s something that you have to become and it’s something that you have to be. And just because you say it doesn’t mean it’s true. Your life is actually speaking the truth. And then he goes on to say, like, this isn’t a new story, like, I’m not issuing a new commandment here, this is what you’ve been told from the very beginning. And if you will open your eyes to it, you will be able to see that the darkness is fading away around you and the true light is already shining. And if we’re going to claim that we’re walking in that light then you can’t just say that you’re walking in the light and it be so. So, to quote John, ‘if we claim, if we say, that were in the light and hate someone, we’re not in the light, we’re still in the dark. If we love others we’re in the light, but if we live with hate in our heart toward people then we’re in the dark.’ And if we’re in the dark, well, that should explain a lot. We don’t know where we’re going because we can’t see. So, John is bringing important point - talk is cheap. You can say anything, but if your thoughts and deeds do not match your words, then it’s not true. So, what is it that pulls us toward this mismatch? So, there is a dichotomy between the person who says all the right things but doesn’t live them at all and the person who lives what they say. What is it that pulls us toward being false? According to John, it’s the world. And he’s not referring to planet Earth. He’s talking about the world system. So, what are we talking about when we talk about the world system? Are we talking about grocery stores? Are we talking about national governments? Are we talking about the Internet? Are we talking about drive-through windows? It’s bigger than that. Way back at the beginning of the year we read Genesis chapter 3 and the fall of man and separation of God and humanity, a total breaking of how things were always supposed to be. And, so, what we’re talking about here is everything that came next, mankind’s attempt to create for itself an existence on this earth apart from God. So, he’s saying, if you put your faith and hope in that system, a system that was invented to exalt the ingenuity of man and diminish the need for God, then man is at the top of that pyramid, there’s nowhere else to go, and God is not in that. So, to quote John, ‘if you love the world, you cannot love the Father.’ But then he explains it, and in explaining it, he concisely explains pretty much all of our conflicts. ‘Our foolish pride comes from this world’, John says. And how is that? Because without God there is no other place to get identity than from other people and our value is based on how well were doing compared to someone else, which can only lead us to pride. And John says that leads us into all of our selfish desires. Right? So, our self-absorption, our desire to acquire more, to do more, to achieve more. And those things aren’t wrong, but when the underlying motivator, the reason for them, is to give ourselves a sense of progress by rising above others, and shining a light on ourselves, then this comes from the world system and it won’t work. Or our desire to have everything we see. Right? So, to fill our lives with stuff so that we don’t have to deal with the emptiness in the center of our soul. This is the world system and it won’t work. And, so, all the sudden this does really become vivid and clear and with a bit of self-examination it definitely cuts through the clutter and gets down to what is motivating our actions and our words and the things that we think about. According to John, none of this comes from the Father and it will get us nowhere because that whole system is in the process of disappearing and fading away. And if we’re going to live by that system then we’re going to disappear and fade away with it. But, John says, if we obey God, which was his first point, not that we say we belong to God, but that we walk with God, and obey God, and know that we belong to God and are God’s people. If we obey God, John says, we will live forever. So, the pull of culture is no small thing. It influences us in every conceivable way. And we could just denounce the whole cultural system of interaction among people, but that would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater because what we’re talking about here is what is underneath that, the plot behind the story - what motivates us to do the things that we do. It brings us to the ‘why of things’. If we take some time to examine ourselves and our motivations, we find that our deepest insecurities are tied to our attempts to make life work without God. And, so, we react in pride, we react in selfishness. We react by trying to surround ourselves with stuff so that we don’t have to think about the emptiness, the fear of trying to create an identity outside of God. And this gets us in touch with our true self. The whole point John’s trying to make is, hey, if you acknowledge that there’s forgiveness, you don’t have to live like this. You’re invited to be swept up into a dance with eternal life. You’re invited to be given an identity by your Creator and not by people who are ultimately going to let you down, no matter what. You’re invited into a much larger story here. And things are only going to work as they were designed to work and humans were created to be intertwined in relationship with God.

Prayer:

Father, this gives us plenty to think about, and it’s at the core level. It’s at the level of our motivations and the why of what we do. And, so, we invite Your Holy Spirit there because that’s as deep as we can go, that’s at the core of our identity. And this world system has told us a lot of things about ourselves and we’ve believed a lot of things. And in a lot of ways we develop those convictions aside from you, without You. And we see that that’s never going to work. And, so, we throw our hands up in surrender and invite Your Holy Spirit to envelop and indwell us, speaking words of truth about who we really are, and especially who we are to You because what else matters? Your approval, Your smile upon us is so much more valuable that any construct we could make that would give us context and identity. And it would be false anyway. It is You we seek and it is us You seek. So, come, Holy Spirit and speak truth into our lives and keep us here because we also acknowledge that this will get stolen from us if we will let it. Come, Holy Spirit, show us our true identity wrapped up in You and You alone. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow as we begin the final month of the year.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hey Daily Audio Bible family. It’s Elbonita from Kentucky, once in Charlotte, now actually in Virginia. So, last time I called I told you my nephew David got hit by a car. I’m happy to report that he’s doing well, he’s healing well. So, thank you all so much for the prayers. I am a month behind in the Daily Audio Bible readings. So, I’m trying to get caught up but I wanted you all to know how he’s doing and how he’s recovering. I got married October 6th to a lovely man named David and so we just moved to Virginia and so if you all could keep us in prayer as we transition to this this new place, 2 becoming the 1. I can’t believe I married a pastor but I did. And, so, I will keep you all posted on our adventures. I hope all is well and talk to you all soon. Love you much. Bye.

Hi, this is a call in for Joyful Noise from Southern California. As I listened to your message I saw a vision of two women around a table and I was there and I put my hands up to pray for the one woman in need and as I did the power of God came into me in such a way that it forced me down to my knees. And, so, I heard your prayer request for your daughter and I’m going to be praying for you because when I heard the word, the command for her soul, my spirit was on fire. So, you know that, sister, that I’ll be praying for your daughter, daily, as I do and God bless you. Be reassured that God’s power is great in this and I’ve never been forced down like that before. So, trust in God and be faithful to Him and you’ll get through this. God bless you.

Hi this message is for Zoey’s mom, Zoey who just turned 21 on November 19th, which is also my birthday. So, that’s part of the reason I called I guess. So, I wanted to call because I have three pieces of…you know…just motivation for you and hopefully this will bring a little more ease. For one thing, when your message played, it was the same day that Brian read Daniel’s asking his friends Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego, to pray for him to be able to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and it came through. So, anyway, I thought that was kind of cool. The second thing is, I also have a 20-year-old son who, he’s in New York and I’m in California, and he’s…we are…you know…very similar…he’s not…he’s a great kid…he really is…but needs to…just hasn’t found God and I think he’s…he’s got other issues going on too…and sexually identity and stuff like that that he’s working on. And, you know, he’s just part of this world and the only thing that I’ve been able to do successfully is pray for him. Your message was just wonderful and I’m sure God’s putting on your heart exactly right but you know it’s the thing we have to do for our children, especially when they become adults because God gave us free will…you know…from the day…from the day that Adam and Eve took the apple and we are able to do what we want and turning to God is a choice that we have to make as an adult. And, in fact, that being said, me turning to God didn’t happen until I was 35. In fact, there was a point in time when I even told my grandmother I was a Christian. I stepped away…I am a scientist…I stepped away from God for a long, long, time and one day things just happened that connected and it took me a really…

Hey everybody. Hey, this is Annette from the swamplands of Louisiana. Oh Lord. I have three praise reports I’ve got to tell you guys. You’re not even going to believe this. Okay. First of all, I have had the most awesome trip going across the nation from Oklahoma down to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama…boy… South Carolina, the beautiful cotton fields of Georgia.  I have gone through every back road town in this whole country and I have had an amazing trip and meeting so many wonderful, wonderful people. It actually has restored me faith in this country of how many good and wonderful people there actually are here, despite what the news says…uhhhh. Okay. Praise report number two. I went to go see my brother up in Edgefield South Carolina and when my dad had gone to the bathroom, I like point blank asked my brother Charlie…I said…you know Charlie…I’ve got something on my mind…I’ve got to ask you. And he’s like oh what’s that Netty? And I said…you know…I said…you know…I think about this all the time and…you know…I just got to know that you are square with the Lord. He’s like, you mean have I killed somebody? I go no, no, no man. I was like…you know…if you were to die today do you know with all certainty that you are going to go to heaven? And he goes…like…do you mean do I believe in God and all that stuff? And I was like ya…you know…and you know. And he’s goes…well of course I do…what would make you think I that I don’t?. And I’m just like…he kicked my tail man…it was awesome. He goes…what do think it is that gets me through all these days in this prison?

This is Candice from Oregon. I heard your call Kayla from Nashville and I went back to…actually looking for something else because of a really big and difficult event that’s going on between me and my husband’s family as of yesterday. But it was you I heard again. I know the Lord wanted me to hear you again. Kayla, I have a message for you. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father love you so deeply. And the voice that you hear in the morning that says that you’re not loved, that is not from them. So, take every thought captive, lift it up high over your head, and through it crashing to the ground because that is a lie. You are so loved. He has counted every hair on your head. And Kayla, we’re not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, we are of those who believe and are saved. I have been really directed by God through callers to the Daily Audio Bible to reconcile with my sister and it’s unimaginable. I can’t imagine how this is going to take place, but I know I need to move forward on it in any way that I can find. And I’m really motivated now because we got news that my husband’s sister died and I realized that every day is a gift, every day matters. Be loved Kayla.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday December 1, 2017 (NIV)

Daniel 8

Vision of a Ram and a Goat

Daniel wrote:

In the third year of King Belshazzar of Babylonia,[a] I had a second vision in which I was in Susa, the chief city of Babylonia’s Elam Province. I was beside the Ulai River,[b] when I looked up and saw a ram standing there with two horns on its head—both of them were long, but the second one was longer than the first. The ram went charging toward the west, the north, and the south. No other animals were strong enough to oppose him, and nothing could save them from his power. So he did as he pleased and became even more powerful.

I kept on watching and saw a goat come from the west and charge across the entire earth, without even touching the ground. Between his eyes was a powerful horn,[c] and with tremendous anger the goat started toward the ram that I had seen beside the river.[d] The goat was so fierce that its attack broke both horns of the ram, leaving him powerless. Then the goat stomped on the ram, and no one could do anything to help. After this, the goat became even more powerful. But at the peak of his power, his mighty horn was broken, and four other mighty horns took its place—one pointing to the north and one to the east, one to the south and one to the west.

A little horn came from one of these, and its power reached to the south, the east, and even to the holy land.[e] 10 It became so strong that it attacked the stars in the sky, which were heaven’s army.[f] Then it threw some of them down to the earth and stomped on them. 11-12 It humiliated heaven’s army and dishonored its leader[g] by keeping him from offering the daily sacrifices. In fact, it was so terrible that it even disgraced the temple and wiped out true worship. It also did everything else it wanted to do.

13 Then one of the holy angels asked another, “When will the daily sacrifices be offered again? What about this horrible rebellion? When will the temple and heaven’s army no longer be trampled in the dust?”

14 The other answered, “It will be two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings before the temple is dedicated and in use again.”

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

15 Daniel wrote:

I was trying to figure out the meaning of the vision, when someone suddenly appeared there beside me. 16 And from beside the Ulai River,[h] a voice like that of a human said, “Gabriel, help him understand the vision.”

17 Gabriel came over, and I fell to the ground in fear. Then he said, “You are merely a human, but you need to understand that this vision is about the end of time.”

18 While he was speaking, I fell facedown in a deep sleep. But he lifted me to my feet 19 and said:

Listen, and I will tell you what will happen at the end of time, when God has chosen to show his anger. 20 The two horns of the ram are the kings of Media and Persia, 21 the goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the powerful horn between his eyes is the first of its kings. 22 After this horn is broken, four other kingdoms will appear, but they won’t be as strong.

23 When these rulers have become as evil as possible, their power will end, and then a king who is dangerous and cannot be trusted will appear. 24 He will gain strength, but not on his own, and he will cause terrible destruction. He will wipe out powerful leaders and God’s people as well. 25 His deceitful lies will make him so successful, that he will think he is really great. Suddenly he will kill many people, and he will even attack God, the Supreme Ruler. But God will crush him!

26 This vision about the evenings and mornings is true, but these things won’t happen for a long time, so don’t tell it to others.

27 After this, I was so worn out and weak that it was several days before I could get out of bed and go about my duties for the king. I was disturbed by this vision that made no sense to me.

Footnotes:

  1. 8.1 third year. . . Babylonia: 552 B.C., two years after the first vision (see 7.1,2).
  2. 8.2 River: Or “Gate.”
  3. 8.5 powerful horn: Hebrew “horn of vision.”
  4. 8.6 river: See the note at 8.2.
  5. 8.9 holy land: Hebrew “the lovely land.”
  6. 8.10 heaven’s army: In verses 10-13 the Hebrew word translated “heaven’s army” may also mean “God’s people.”
  7. 8.11,12 leader: Hebrew “prince.”
  8. 8.16 River: See the note at 8.2.

1 John 2:1-17

Christ Helps Us

My children, I am writing this so that you won’t sin. But if you do sin, Jesus Christ always does the right thing, and he will speak to the Father for us. Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world’s people.

When we obey God, we are sure that we know him. But if we claim to know him and don’t obey him, we are lying and the truth isn’t in our hearts. We truly love God only when we obey him as we should, and then we know that we belong to him. If we say we are his, we must follow the example of Christ.

The New Commandment

My dear friends, I am not writing to give you a new commandment. It is the same one that you were first given, and it is the message you heard. But it really is a new commandment, and you know its true meaning, just as Christ does. You can see the darkness fading away and the true light already shining.

If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark. 10 But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don’t cause problems for them.[a] 11 If we hate others, we are living and walking in the dark. We don’t know where we are going, because we can’t see in the dark.

12 Children, I am writing you,
because your sins
have been forgiven
in the name of Christ.
13 Parents, I am writing you,
because you have known
the one who was there
from the beginning.
Young people, I am writing you,
because you have defeated
the evil one.
14 Children, I am writing you,
because you have known
the Father.
Parents, I am writing you,
because you have known
the one who was there
from the beginning.
Young people, I am writing you,
because you are strong.
God’s message is firm
in your hearts,
and you have defeated
the evil one.

15 Don’t love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you cannot love the Father. 16 Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father. 17 The world and the desires it causes are disappearing. But if we obey God, we will live forever.

Footnotes:

  1. 2.10 and we don’t cause problems for them: Or “and we can see anything that might make us fall.”

Psalm 120

(A song for worship.)

A Prayer for the Lord’s Help

120 When I am in trouble, I pray,
“Come and save me, Lord,
from deceitful liars!”

What punishment is fitting
for you deceitful liars?
Your reward should be
sharp and flaming arrows!

But I must live as a foreigner
among the people of Meshech
and in the tents of Kedar.[a]
I have spent too much time
living among people
who hate peace.
I am in favor of peace,
but when I speak of it,
all they want is war.

Footnotes:

  1. 120.5 Meshech. . . Kedar: Meshech was a country near the Black Sea, and Kedar was a tribe of the Syrian desert.

Proverbs 28:25-26

25 Selfish people cause trouble,
but you will live a full life
if you trust the Lord.
26 Only fools would trust
what they alone think,
but if you live by wisdom,
you will do all right.