The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday December 4, 2018 (NIV)

³⁶ “The king will do as he pleases. He will highly honor himself above every god. He will say amazing things against the God of gods. He will succeed until God’s anger is over, because what has been decided must be done. ³⁷ He will have no interest in the gods of his ancestors or desire for women. He will have no interest in any god, because he will make himself greater than anyone else. ³⁸ Instead, he will honor the god of fortresses. With gold, silver, precious stones, and other expensive things he will honor a god his ancestors never heard of. ³⁹ With the help of a foreign god, he will deal with strong fortresses. He will give high honors to those who acknowledge him, make them rulers over many people, and distribute land for a price.

⁴⁰ “In the end times the southern king will attack him. The northern king will rush at him like a storm with chariots, horses, and many ships. He will invade countries, overwhelm them, and pass through their land. ⁴¹ He will invade the beautiful land, and tens of thousands will be defeated. But Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites will escape from his power. ⁴² He will use his power against many countries. Even Egypt will not escape. ⁴³ He will control gold and silver treasures and all Egypt’s treasuries. Libya and Sudan will surrender to him. ⁴⁴ But news from the east and the north will frighten him. He will leave very angry to destroy and exterminate many. ⁴⁵ He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at a beautiful holy mountain. When he comes to his end, there will be no one to help him.”

12 The person who looked like a human continued, “At that time Michael, the great commander, will stand up on behalf of the descendants of your people. It will be a time of trouble unlike any that has existed from the time there have been nations until that time. But at that time your people, everyone written in the book, will be rescued. ² Many sleeping in the ground will wake up. Some will wake up to live forever, but others will wake up to be ashamed and disgraced forever. ³ Those who are wise will shine like the brightness on the horizon. Those who lead many people to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.

⁴ “But you, Daniel, keep these words secret, and seal the book until the end times. Many will travel everywhere, and knowledge will grow.”

The Words Are Sealed Up

⁵ When I, Daniel, looked up, I saw two men standing there. One man stood on one side of the river, and the other one stood on the other side. ⁶ One of them asked the man dressed in linen clothes who was above the river, “How long will it be until these miracles are over?” ⁷ I heard the man dressed in linen clothes who was above the river. He raised his right hand and left hand to heaven and swore an oath by the one who lives forever. He said, “It will be for a time, times, and half of a time. When the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, then all these things will be finished.”

⁸ I heard him, but I did not understand. So I asked him, “Sir, how will these things end?”

⁹ He replied, “Go, Daniel. These words are to be kept secret and sealed until the end times. ¹⁰ Many will be purified, made white, and refined. But wicked people will do wicked things, and none of them will understand. Only wise people will understand. ¹¹ From the time the daily burnt offering is taken away and the disgusting thing that causes destruction is set up, there will be 1,290 days. ¹² Blessed are those who wait until they reach 1,335 days. ¹³ But go on until the end. You will rest, and you will rise for your inheritance at the end of time.”

Test People Who Say They Have God’s Spirit

4 Dear friends, don’t believe all people who say that they have the Spirit. Instead, test them. See whether the spirit they have is from God, because there are many false prophets in the world. ² This is how you can recognize God’s Spirit: Every person who declares that Jesus Christ has come as a human has the Spirit that is from God. ³ But every person who doesn’t declare that Jesus Christ has come as a human has a spirit that isn’t from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that you have heard is coming. That spirit is already in the world.

⁴ Dear children, you belong to God. So you have won the victory over these people, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵ These people belong to the world. That’s why they speak the thoughts of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We belong to God. The person who knows God listens to us. Whoever doesn’t belong to God doesn’t listen to us. That’s how we can tell the Spirit of truth from the spirit of lies.

God’s Love Lives in His People

⁷ Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. ⁸ The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love. ⁹ God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. ¹³ We know that we live in him and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit.

¹⁴ We have seen and testify to the fact that the Father sent his Son as the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ God lives in those who declare that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God. ¹⁶ We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them.

¹⁷ God’s love has reached its goal in us. So we look ahead with confidence to the day of judgment. While we are in this world, we are exactly like him with regard to love. ¹⁸ No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.

¹⁹ We love because God loved us first. ²⁰ Whoever says, “I love God,” but hates another believer is a liar. People who don’t love other believers, whom they have seen, can’t love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ Christ has given us this commandment: The person who loves God must also love other believers.

Psalm 124

A song by David for going up to worship.