The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday December 4, 2020 (NIV)

Daniel 11:36-12:13

36 “Then the king will do whatever he wants.(A) He will exalt and magnify himself above every god,(B) and he will say outrageous things against the God of gods.(C) He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed,(D) because what has been decreed will be accomplished. 37 He will not show regard for the gods[a] of his ancestors, the god desired by women, or for any other god,(E) because he will magnify himself above all. 38 Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his ancestors did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. 39 He will deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will greatly honor those who acknowledge him,[b] making them rulers over many and distributing land as a reward.

40 “At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm against him(F) with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will invade countries and sweep through them like a flood.(G) 41 He will also invade the beautiful land,(H) and many will fall. But these will escape from his power: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people[c] of the Ammonites.(I) 42 He will extend his power against the countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. 43 He will get control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and Cushites will also be in submission.[d](J) 44 But reports from the east(K) and the north will terrify him, and he will go out with great fury to annihilate and completely destroy many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and[e] the beautiful holy mountain,(L) but he will meet his end with no one to help him.

12 At that time
Michael,(M) the great prince
who stands watch over your people, will rise up.
There will be a time of distress(N)
such as never has occurred(O)
since nations came into being until that time.(P)
But at that time all your people
who are found written in the book(Q) will escape.(R)
Many who sleep in the dust(S)
of the earth will awake,
some to eternal life,(T)
and some to disgrace and eternal contempt.(U)
Those who have insight will shine
like the bright expanse of the heavens,(V)
and those who lead many to righteousness,(W)
like the stars forever and ever.

“But you, Daniel, keep these words secret(X) and seal the book(Y) until the time of the end.(Z) Many will roam about,(AA) and knowledge will increase.”[f]

Then I, Daniel, looked, and two others were standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the other. One of them said to the man dressed in linen,(AB) who was above the water of the river,(AC) “How long until the end(AD) of these wondrous things?” Then I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river. He raised both his hands[g](AE) toward heaven and swore by him who lives eternally(AF) that it would be for a time, times, and half a time.(AG) When the power of the holy people is shattered, all these things will be completed.

I heard but did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?” (AH)

He said, “Go on your way, Daniel, for the words are secret(AI) and sealed until the time of the end.(AJ) 10 Many will be purified,(AK) cleansed, and refined,(AL) but the wicked will act wickedly;(AM) none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.(AN) 11 From the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation(AO) is set up,(AP) there will be 1,290 days. 12 Happy is the one who waits(AQ) for and reaches 1,335 days. 13 But as for you, go on your way to the end;[h] you will rest, and then you will rise[i] to receive(AR) your allotted inheritance at the end of the days.”

Footnotes:

  1. 11:37 Or God
  2. 11:39 Or those he acknowledges
  3. 11:41 Lit the first
  4. 11:43 Lit Cushites at his steps
  5. 11:45 Or the seas at
  6. 12:4 LXX reads and the earth will be filled with unrighteousness
  7. 12:7 Lit raised his right and his left
  8. 12:13 LXX omits to the end
  9. 12:13 Or stand
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

1 John 4

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits(A) to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh(B) is from God,(C) but every spirit that does not confess Jesus[a] is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist,(D) which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.

You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you(E) is greater than the one who is in the world.(F) They are from the world.(G) Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us;(H) anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.(I)

Knowing God through Love

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God(J) and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God’s love was revealed among us[b] in this way: God sent(K) his one and only Son(L) into the world so that we might live(M) through him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us(N) and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice[c](O) for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.(P) 12 No one has ever seen God.(Q) If we love one another, God remains in[d] us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in him(R) and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.(S) 14 And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son(T) as the world’s Savior. 15 Whoever confesses(U) that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17 In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment,(V) because as he is, so also are we in this world.(W) 18 There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear,(X) because fear involves punishment.[e] So the one who fears is not complete in love.(Y) 19 We love[f] because he first loved us.(Z) 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister,(AA) he is a liar.(AB) For the person who does not love his brother or sister(AC) whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.[g] 21 And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.

Footnotes:

  1. 4:3 Other mss read confess that Jesus has come in the flesh
  2. 4:9 Or in us
  3. 4:10 Or the propitiation
  4. 4:12 Or remains among
  5. 4:18 Or fear has its own punishment or torment
  6. 4:19 Other mss add him
  7. 4:20 Other mss read has seen, how is he able to love ... seen? (as a question)
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Psalm 123

Psalm 123

Looking for God’s Favor

A song of ascents.

I lift my eyes to you,
the one enthroned in heaven.(A)
Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand,
like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
until he shows us favor.(B)

Show us favor, Lord, show us favor,
for we’ve had more than enough contempt.(C)
We’ve had more than enough
scorn from the arrogant
and contempt from the proud.(D)

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Proverbs 29:2-4

When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice,
but when the wicked rule, people groan.(A)

A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,(B)
but one who consorts with prostitutes destroys his wealth.(C)

By justice a king brings stability to a land,(D)
but a person who demands “contributions”[a]
demolishes it.(E)

Footnotes:

  1. 29:4 The Hb word for contributions usually refers to offerings in worship.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

12/03/2020 DAB Transcript

Daniel 11:2-35, 1 John 3:7-24, Psalms 122:1-9, Proverbs 29:1

Today is the 3rd day of December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is great to be here with you today. It is great to come in out of the storm of everything that…that goes on in a day and just exhale and just be here and let God’s words speak. So, it’s so good to be here with you today. And what we do here every day is pick up where we left off yesterday in this never-ending rhythm that allows the word of God, the Scriptures to speak into our lives. And, so, here we are to take the next step and the next step leads us back into the book of Daniel in the Old Testament today. Daniel chapter 11 versus 2 through 35. And we’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So, there were a number of clarifications written down in the letter that we’re reading right now, first John. And a lot of times when we’re reading the letters…well…you may have noticed, as we’ve been reading these letters, there’s not like a whole lot of personal stuff going on, like “Aunt Mary’s doing fine. Uncle Joe broke his arm in a fall.” Like, there’s not that kinda stuff in here. The letters are pretty direct about what they’re saying. And a lot of times when there’s clarifications then we can assume that there was a question at some point that needed clarified, some kind of question had been raised, even if it was a proverbial question, even if the writer John here wanted to answer a question that hadn’t been asked just to simply help encourage the people. And a lot of times we can assume because these churches were spread out and communicated by letter. And, so, between letters a lot of things happen. Ironically, the clarification of the answers to the questions today are things we ask. So, let’s just go back through here and try to ask the question and then receive the answer from first John. So, the first one we encounter would be, “why was the son of God revealed?” And, so, from first John we read. “The son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the devil’s works. Everyone who has been born of God does not sin. Because His seed remains in him, he is not able to sin because he has been born of God.” Okay, and then moving deeper into this topic, the next question would be, “how can you tell the difference then? How can you tell the difference between God’s children and children of darkness?” And the answer, I’m reading from first John, again. “This is how God’s children and the Devils children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.” We could look at something like that and go, “that’s kinda harsh”, but the distinction of our love for one another is the foundational evidence that we are disciples of Jesus. If you will remember before his crucifixion at his last meal Jesus told His disciples, “a new commandment I give to you, that you will love one another as I have loved you.” This is a fundamental distinction of the body of Christ, which should bring a bit of conviction as we look at our own lives. What we are supposed to be doing is showing and modeling for the world how to love one another because if everyone loves one another as they love themselves, if everyone loves one another as Christ loved us the problems in the world go away. And yet we look inside of ourselves and see we’ve got work to do. It’s so easy for us to point out how somebody else isn’t loving their brother or sister and so difficult for us. We give ourselves such a pass for the ways that we behave sometimes. And like James said, it’s not right. It’s not right. Peter said similar things. John is saying similar things. Let’s move on and just kind of telegraph another question. John has been talking about holding on to the things that you were taught from the beginning. And, so, the question would be…well…remind me, what’s the message, what is the core message that we’ve heard from the beginning that we’re supposed to hold onto? And the answer…and again I’m reading from first John, “for this is the message you have heard from the beginning. We should love one another unlike Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brothers were righteous.” Okay. So, we move into all things here, all kinds of things here. The murder…the murder of Abel by Cain didn’t just happen at a whim. His deeds were evil according to first John. And, so, leading up to that murder what do we have? Things like envy, things like jealousy, things like comparison, things that lead us away from loving one another. These are the things that lead to worse and worse and worse things. What John is bringing out here, “the message that you heard at first is the message that you must love one another.” Okay, let’s move on to another question. How is it that we know God’s love? And I’m answering again by quoting first John. “This is how we have come to know love. He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has this world’s goods, and sees a fellow believer in need, but withholds compassion from him, how does God’s love reside in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.” Okay. So, we see the theme that’s arising here is the reminder that this whole thing does not work without love. I mean the fundamental commandments in the law in the Old Testament would be that we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, with everything that we are and that we love our neighbor as ourselves. The fundamental commandment of the New Testament coming from the lips of the Savior would be, “a new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you.” This is basically all John’s saying. He’s saying like, “this is the core. This is what you’ve heard from the beginning. This is the essence. This is the starting point.”  And very similarly to James, John is here saying, “look, you can say what you want to say. If it’s not borne out of new life it’s not true” or quoting him, “let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.” In other words, truly from our hearts we are putting ourselves into action the action of loving our brothers and sisters as Christ has loved us. Then John goes on to say like, “it’s in your love that you begin to know that you belong to the truth and that you are going where you’re supposed to go.” Like, “if you are loving your brothers and sisters as Christ loved you then you know you are on the right path.” John says it this way. “This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before Him whenever our hearts condemn us, for God is greater than our hearts and He knows all things.” John is referring to our love for one another, reassuring us that we are doing the right thing. And then last question from our reading today, if we’re holding on to what we heard from the beginning, what is the command of God, what are we supposed to be doing? And I answer again from John. “Now this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ and to love one another as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commands remains in Him and He in Him. And the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He has given us.” So, again this all does boil down to loving one another and that love transforming us and that love compounding upon itself so that it grows, so that we walk around on this planet with the Spirit of Christ in us operating precisely as Jesus did. This is the goal. Christ-like is the goal, that Jesus came and this one man, the very image of God in human form, lived a life modeling how this is supposed to look. If everyone looked that way then the world would experience shalom, things as they were intended to be. This is what the body of Christ is supposed to be modeling. I guess I’m getting a little bit passionate here. I have plenty of work to do. I have plenty of work to do to but it’s not enough anymore to just say we have work to do. It’s actually time that we do the work because it’s time to move forward. I remember at the beginning of this year praying for vision and believing that we would see vision and we did. It was nothing like we intended it to look, but we were exposed, humanity was exposed. We have seen ourselves at our worst. We have seen things more clearly than we have seen maybe in decades. We see how things are. The thing is we can’t keep talking about how things are. The way forward from here is loving one another as Christ loved us. This is His command. There is no way forward without that element and we aren’t capable outside of the fact that we have the Spirit of Christ within us. I know we are at the beginning of this month. I know what this month represents. I know how crazy this month can get and I know that we’re going to blink our eyes three times and it’s going to be New Year’s Day. What we do right now through this season is gonna round out what this year meant for us and for our lives. And if love, actual genuine love coming forth from our very being and spilling out into the world isn’t a part of the equation we’re just gonna keep having the same kinds of years over and over and over. Maybe not with…maybe not with a virus, but the same circle. We will just keep making the same circle pointing out everyone else’s failures and never addressing the work that we must do to love one another as Christ loved us.

Prayer:

Father, this is kind of pointed and kind of hard but it’s kinda true. In fact, it is true. This is the leading edge of the work that we must do. We keep trying to correct all kinds of symptoms without actually dealing with the problem. And, so, we keep bandaiding things together just to get us down the road without dealing with the issue. So, Holy Spirit, come. Well up within us. We become aware of where You are leading us. And we pray most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word and deed by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole hearts. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We are truly sorry. And we humbly repent. In Your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are and direct what we will be, that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You, our God. We pray this in the name of Jesus. 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.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi siblings this is your little sis, His little Cherry in Canada and I’m calling because I want to call so many times and I don’t and I’m not sure why. Well there are thousand reasons why, but I won’t get into all of that. But I am calling because I’ve decided that I need you guys and even if my messages don’t sound perfect, even if I’m not exactly happy with what I…what came out of my mouth I’m just gonna call when I feel I need to and I hope that’s okay. Of course, that’s okay, right? If it was anyone else, I would tell them it’s okay, call, we need you, we need you. And, so, I am calling not so much because you need me but because I need you. But anyway. Blah blah blah. I’m calling because tomorrow is the first day of Advent and I am celebrating Advent with all my heart this year. Advent is about waiting, preparing, expecting, salvation. And boy I don’t know about you, but I need that. If there was ever a year that begged for Advent, it’s 2020. So, I’m refocusing on waiting, waiting for salvation because that’s the part that I can really relate to. So, tomorrow as I deliberately observed the first Sunday of Advent I am really wholeheartedly waiting for salvation and I know that can only come from the Messiah.

Greetings Daily Audio Bible family this is Egbert from Belize by the way of California. I’m calling in for a young lady by the name of Asherah she’s a college student and the spirit of fear is evident in her life. I ask that you would pray for her, that she would be able to be healed from whatever traumatic circumstances she is facing, whether it’s friendship that she’s in need of. Asherah be advised that you do have a virtual family with the Daily Audio Bible family and we will pray for you. I will pray for you. And sometimes you may not hear your actual name, or you may not hear the prayers that others choose to pray for you. They may just do it based on hearing the request and not announce it. So, I’m calling to assure you that this virtual family do pray and that’s what we do through the Spirit of the living God in us and we know that in the times we’re living in that prayer is one of the most essential things that we have to combat the enemy. So, rest assured that you’re being prayed for and we pray for your families, other people, and other students that may be dealing with a similar situation. We love you. God bless you and we are sending you a virtual hug in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Hey everyone, this is Gigi from Gainesville and I just want to add my thanks to the Thanksgiving prayer list because everyone else has been so…been encouraging and thought you’d at least find my story amusing because I’ve had time. I’ve been having a hard time recording this. I keep like feeling so awkward. I don’t know why. So, I just want to say thanks to God for bringing me the man that I would fall in love with and get married to. I’ve just been this odd type of person I guess that never has felt like that was for me and…but I told God, you know, I’m open to your will and if you do want me to engage in such behavior you need to bring the person directly to my doorstep. And he did so. And it was strange. I mean as soon as I saw the person, Seth, it was just like unlike any other person and I treated him very differently. I was not very composed. And, so, my whole life has changed because, you know, the plans that I had were for a single woman, you know, maybe in the mission field or something but now I probably will have a family and he’s been just so wonderful and he fits in so perfectly. We live with my mom because actually my dad’s passing it’s just so much nicer to stay together and we’re…it’s just so encouraging to be altogether, and it’s so blessed and it’s just so many happy feelings and emotions. It’s great. And I just wanted to wish you guys all a happy new year. Very Christmas.

Hey Daily Audio Bible this is Hope from the Heartland. Listen every day love each one of you so much. Thank you for your voices and your prayers and for this ministry Brian of reading the word every day. And I’ve been meaning to call in for a while and just wasn’t sure what exactly to say so I thought I would just begin to pray for myself and others and…and leave the rest to God. Father God we just come before you today Lord just with hearts full of praise for who you are. God you are sovereign, and you are good. You’re our anchor in these hard days. You see us God as you saw Hagar in the desert and Lord we just lift our hearts to You. I pray You’d be with each one that is listening to this Lord and that You would just continue their work in their…Your work in their lives. And Lord I just lift up my own family today Lord. My husband has been out of work for a while and I’m not sure where he stands with You. The dynamics of our family are very very hard. Tomorrow I’m going to be starting some part-time work and Lord You know that my desire is just for my husband to walk with You and to find joy and for our family to have peace father in the midst of this chaos and that we would love You and serve You with all of our hearts for all of our days. And right now, Lord people are just not getting along. And I just want to have You be high and lifted up Lord. Please bless each member of the Daily Audio Bible. I love You. In Your name I pray. Amen.

Hi China, congratulations on finding out the…that the baby was a girl. And we are so happy for all your friends are missing you. They’re saying God bless. We pray that the child doesn’t miscarriage __ the child come to full term and be born a most healthy baby. We pray that she will be a great prophetess of God and close to God’s heart in influencing the children of God all over the world and all children of God and we also pray that she never be having __ problems and this thing that thing, you know, all the problems that she may have a perfectly happy life. God bless China harden and Ben. Bye everybody. It’s been lovely talking with you.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday December 3, 2020 (NIV)

Daniel 11:2-35

Now I will tell you the truth.(A)

Prophecies about Persia and Greece

“Three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than the others. By the power he gains through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.(B) Then a warrior king will arise; he will rule a vast realm and do whatever he wants.(C) But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven,(D) but not to his descendants; it will not be the same kingdom that he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and will go to others besides them.(E)

Kings of the South and the North

“The king of the South(F) will grow powerful, but one of his commanders will grow more powerful and will rule a kingdom greater than his. After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North(G) to seal the agreement. She will not retain power, and his strength will not endure. She will be given up, together with her entourage, her father,[a] and the one who supported her during those times. In the place of the king of the South, one from her family[b] will rise up, come against the army, and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will take action against them and triumph. He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious articles of silver and gold.(H) For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, who will enter the kingdom of the king of the South and then return to his own land.

10 “His sons will mobilize for war and assemble a large number of armed forces. They will advance, sweeping through like a flood,[c](I) and will again wage war as far as his fortress. 11 Infuriated, the king of the South will march out to fight with the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but they will be handed over to his enemy. 12 When the army is carried off, he will become arrogant and cause tens of thousands to fall, but he will not triumph. 13 The king of the North will again raise a multitude larger than the first. After some years[d](J) he will advance with a great army and many supplies.

14 “In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will assert themselves to fulfill a vision, but they will fail. 15 Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp,(K) and capture a well-fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their select troops will not be able to resist. 16 The king of the North who comes against him will do whatever he wants,(L) and no one can oppose him. He will establish himself in the beautiful land[e](M) with total destruction in his hand. 17 He will resolve(N) to come with the force of his whole kingdom and will reach an agreement with him.[f] He will give him a daughter in marriage[g] to destroy it,[h] but she will not stand with him or support him. 18 Then he will turn his attention to the coasts and islands[i](O) and capture many. But a commander will put an end to his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him.(P) 19 He will turn his attention back to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble, fall,(Q) and be no more.(R)

20 “In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector(S) for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger[j] or in battle.

21 “In his place a despised(T) person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace[k](U) and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 A flood of forces will be swept away before him; they will be broken, as well as the covenant prince. 23 After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation.[l] 24 During a time of peace,[m] he will come into the richest parts of the province(V) and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a time.

25 “With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him. 26 Those who eat his provisions(W) will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain. 27 The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies(X) at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.(Y) 28 The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant;[n] he will take action, then return to his own land.

29 “At the appointed time he will come again to the South, but this time[o] will not be like the first. 30 Ships of Kittim[p](Z) will come against him, and being intimidated, he will withdraw. Then he will rage against the holy covenant and take action. On his return, he will favor those who abandon the holy covenant. 31 His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the regular sacrifice(AA) and set up the abomination of desolation.(AB) 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.(AC) 33 Those who have insight among the people(AD) will give understanding to many, yet they will fall by the sword and flame,(AE) and they will be captured and plundered for a time. 34 When they fall, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely.(AF) 35 Some of those who have insight will fall so that they may be refined,(AG) purified, and cleansed(AH) until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

Footnotes:

  1. 11:6 Some Hb mss, Theod read the child; Syr, Vg read her children
  2. 11:7 Lit from the shoot of her roots
  3. 11:10 Lit advance and overflow and pass through
  4. 11:13 Lit At the end of the times
  5. 11:16 = Israel
  6. 11:17 = the king of the South
  7. 11:17 Lit him the daughter of women
  8. 11:17 Perhaps the kingdom
  9. 11:18 of the Mediterranean
  10. 11:20 Or not openly
  11. 11:21 Or come without warning
  12. 11:23 Or a few people
  13. 11:24 Or Without warning
  14. 11:28 Or the Jewish people and religion
  15. 11:29 Lit but the last
  16. 11:30 = the Romans
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

1 John 3:7-24

Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who commits[a] sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God(A) was revealed(B) for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works. Everyone who has been born of God(C) does not sin,[b] because his seed(D) remains in him; he is not able to sin,[c] because he has been born of God. 10 This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.(E)

Love in Action

11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, 12 unlike Cain,(F) who was of the evil one(G) and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

13 Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates(H) you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death.(I) 15 Everyone who hates his brother or sister(J) is a murderer,(K) and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life(L) for us.(M) We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.(N) 17 If anyone has this world’s goods(O) and sees a fellow believer[d] in need(P) but withholds compassion(Q) from him—how does God’s love reside in him?(R) 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.(S)

19 This is how we will know that we belong to the truth(T) and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things.(U)

21 Dear friends, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive whatever we ask from him because we keep his commands(V) and do what is pleasing in his sight. 23 Now this is his command: that we believe in the name(W) of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps his commands remains in him,(X) and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us(Y) is from the Spirit(Z) he has given us.

Footnotes:

  1. 3:8 Or practices
  2. 3:9 Or not practice sin
  3. 3:9 Or to keep on sinning
  4. 3:17 Lit sees his brother or sister
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Psalm 122

Psalm 122

A Prayer for Jerusalem

A song of ascents. Of David.

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”(A)
Our feet were standing
within your gates, Jerusalem(B)

Jerusalem, built as a city should be,
solidly united,(C)
where the tribes, the Lord’s tribes, go up
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.(D)
(This is an ordinance for Israel.(E))
There, thrones for judgment are placed,
thrones of the house of David.(F)

Pray for the well-being[a] of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure;(G)
may there be peace within your walls,
security within your fortresses.”(H)
Because of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “May peace be in you.”[b](I)
Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I will pursue your prosperity.(J)

Footnotes:

  1. 122:6 Or peace
  2. 122:8 = Jerusalem
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Proverbs 29:1

29 One who becomes stiff-necked,
after many reprimands
will be shattered instantly—
beyond recovery.(A)

Cross references:

  1. 29:1 : Pr 1:24–31; 6:14–15
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

12/02/2020 DAB Transcript

Daniel 9:1-11:1, 1 John 2:18-3:6, Psalms 121:1-8, Proverbs 28:27-28

Today is the 2nd day of December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today. Always remember this day would’ve been my father’s birthday. I lost him a couple years before the Daily Audio Bible began, but I can assure you it’s on his back that I stand. I don’t think that I would be able to do what I’m doing, I don’t think I would be able to do this had it not been for his guidance, his fathering me. So, yeah, happy birthday dad. And, so, we are moving through our new week and getting settled into our new month. And, so, let’s put…put…put our foot forward and take the next step. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Today, Daniel chapter 9 verse 1 through 11 verse 1.

Commentary:

Okay. Let’s talk about doubt for a second because that really is the…sort of the underpinning to what we read in first John in his letter today. People were falling away…were falling away from the church, walking away from their faith just kind of disappearing back into the fabric of the culture. This kind of thing doesn’t usually happen without spiritual doubt preceding it. And where does that come from? Like, where does the dissonance come from that would lead us into doubt? Typically, it's…it’s because we were expecting something that didn’t happen that caused us to question and caused us to doubt in our faith, like expectations went unmet. We prayed, we believed, we stood on promises, we lived into something that we thought God was going to come through on and then somehow it’s taken too long or it’s not happening the way that we envisioned it and then we…well…we reveal to ourselves what our expectations were, but it also leads us to discontent and doubt and then we can be let into deception quite easily and pretty soon…pretty soon we’re…we’re stepping away, we’re disappearing into the wall work…we’re walking away. And sometimes when these things happen people are estranged from God. Like, they don’t just go, “well that didn’t work.” They are angry at everyone who led them to God, and they are angry at God. They become anti-God or anti-Christ. This is what John is talking about. And I quote, “children. it is the last hour and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; however, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.” But why would they, whoever they are in…in this equation, why would they do that? Why would they depart? Why would they become anti-Christ? This is where we have to understand the context that we’re dealing with. The early church had an apocalyptic worldview and Jesus preached an apocalyptic message, as did Paul, as does the…basically the entire New Testament…have this apocalyptic worldview that everything is going somewhere, that…the world…that we are headed somewhere and that somewhere is ultimately good, but not before it’s bad. So, an understanding that everything is headed somewhere but it’s headed into a time of real turmoil and trouble upon the earth. Very, very difficult times. And then, as is the backdrop of the whole Bible, against all odds, then God comes through. It is only God that could save. It is only His mighty power. But this is what they’re looking at. The thing about it is they’re expecting this imminently. So, people come to faith as they are quickened and awakened by the Holy Spirit, they come to faith at the message of Jesus and they are told that His arrival and the restoration of all things and the establishment of the kingdom of God is imminent, this gonna happen very, very soon. So, people would come into the faith really understanding that they’re some of the first people to be in. This is like a…this is the ground floor opportunity in the kingdom of God, but instead of being respected and instead of things moving forward they instead received ridicule and they were persecuted and they were marginalized and it just…they didn’t get what they were expecting when they were expecting it. And this is why John would say something like what he has. “They…they never really were with us. If they really ever had been with us they would’ve stayed.” And, so, John basically aims his pen at an essential truth. So, he’s trying to cut through all of the different arguments and all the different reasons for why people do the things they do, just cut to the chase and tells us who…who is the liar if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This one is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the father. He who confesses the Son has the Father as well. So, John is clarifying this because some have fallen away and become antagonistic and become anti-Christ’s, but also because some were falling away because…because there was a swirl, a cauldron of different kinds of teachings beginning to emerge. And John wants to speak to both of those things because the end result is the same, people falling away from their faith, falling away from what they had been taught at the beginning. And, so, John writes words that are very hopeful and very encouraging as we face doubt, as we face deception, as we face anything that would draw us away. He says, “I have written these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead His anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie. Just as it has taught you, remain in Him.

Prayer:

Father, we certainly can find ourselves in some of these types of categories. We have been a person who has walked away into rebellion before. We have been people who have walked into doubt before in an unhealthy way. We have at times allowed ourselves to feel separation or estrangement from you because of unmet expectations, as if you owe us something. So, the letter that we are reading here may have come from a couple of thousand years ago and the recipients of this letter may have been from far back in history and perhaps we don’t have the same culture that they did, but we…we certainly do find ourselves in the posture of heart that’s being spoken of. And, so, we acknowledge. We owe you everything. There is no way to repay you for your goodness and for the gift of eternal life that you’ve bestowed upon us. And, so, we ask Holy Spirit that you would teach us, that you would lead us into all truth, that we would hold true to what we were taught from the beginning. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

And today…today I have my daughter China here in the studio to…to share some things that are going on around here, but just before we get to that. I want to play you something.

[China reading] This is the family history of Jesus Christ. He came from the family of David. David came from the family of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Sarah. Their mother was Tamar.

Brian - That is that is so profoundly sweet to me. That was more than half of China’s life ago on her first day of reading the Bible out loud and recording it, the first day of Daily Audio Bible kids. So, it has been a year for the record books this year 2020 and sitting here with China and just talking about all of the transitions because it’s been a hard year, but it’s also been a really beautiful year and some…in…in the midst of it all some really, really beautiful things have happened in our family. Well China got married a couple of years ago but this year she finds herself like Mary, with child and she’s laughing but she doesn’t it want it to be on the mic

China – I can’t believe you just compared me to the virgin Mary.

Brian – Yeah, with child. You find yourself with child at this time of year. And, so, that’s exciting because it’s Christmas time. But this coming spring it won’t be a pregnancy, it will be a baby, But without you having a baby, especially this being your first baby. Oh, and by the way, for those of you who are like not aware, this is baby girl

China – Yup.

Brain - This is a baby girl coming into our family and China was the only girl in a sea of boys growing up. And, so, to have another little girl running around in little dresses or whatever she’s gonna run around in. I don’t care check, She can run around in a diaper. That’ll be fine. But just to have her, that’s gonna be new life in our family and I’m really excited. But you have been at this now since 2009.

China – Yeah

Brain - I remember we went to India together. I think it was in 2009 and you were just a little girl. I remember that. And coming out of that was an inspiration to do Daily Audio Bible kids, even launch that. That was your vision. That’s something that you felt led to do, even as a child. And, so, we did. So we started and more than half of your life now has been spent reading the Bible and recording it every day just like your dear old dad.

China – Yeah

Brain - And we’ve been like at this every day for all of these years. But it’s unique for you because it really spans your childhood and you’ve been at this every single day. I don’t know anybody else like you…

China – Yeah

Brain - …in that regard, and I’m proud of that and I’m proud of how wise you’ve become over those years. You…you let the Bible be a part of your childhood and your teenage years. Now you are with child with a husband and about to become a mother, which brings tremendous transition. And, so, we were talking a couple of months ago about those transitions and what they would be like and what you felt like you were going to need to live into motherhood well. And we talked about it then, but now we’re talking about it now. And, so, I feel like I’m doing all the talking here, but China is going to step away and take a breather from the Daily…and believe me…it is a big responsibility when you have a seven day a week thing that never ends. And she’s been faithful to it, but in preparation for the new life in a whole new set of parameters that she…she’s never experienced before, it’s just best for her to get ready for motherhood. And, so, as we and this year 2020, China will be stepping away from Daily Audio Bible Chronological and taking a break to be a mom and in her place will be Jill, China’s moms goona kinda step into that that role and begin the daily broadcast for Daily Audio Bible Chronological, and I’m looking forward to seeing what that brings for her. But we wanted to honor you and we wanted to have you here. This is a good thing. We wanted to both be here saying this is…this is a good thing; this is what needs to happen. So, I just wonder, like 10 years, what’s it gonna be like the first day you don’t have to do this.

China – Gosh, I don’t even know like what looks like because it is…it’s…when something becomes daily, when it’s your routine and a legit hard-core routine that isn’t just your 30-day routine that becomes over a decade

Brian - Right.

China - It’s like ingrained into you. You can’t even try to put your head on the pillow at night and be like we do something and needed to do today. Like like it had to of been done. And so thinking about not doing it is like wow that’s that’s like a on wiring almost.

Brian - Yeah

China - But really around Thanksgiving every year we’d be praying about the word for next year and what the word’s supposed to look like direction wise. And I heard the Lord say probably mid-June or July when you started asking what 2021 looks like. And I was like, oh that’s kind of a jump. And just felt like I was supposed to come to a halt. That’s all I kept hearing and I was very confused by it and sat with it for about a month, was praying on it was nervous about it. Like it’s a single word. We have never heard that before and then about a month later found out I was pregnant and kinda was like, “ah okay”. Yeah, the Lord was preparing me for that and so once we announced to my parents, you and mom, we’d been having that conversation. Really what it comes down to is you can’t do both well. And I have no idea, you know, what it’s like to be pregnant and I don’t know what it’s like to have a newborn and I don’t know that I could do both well. And, so, instead of sucking at one thing or both things I think…well…really the Lord knew what was needed was to take a step back. And I don’t really know…I know there’s probably some questions that the community might have and here’s the only one that I think…I think I can answer right now, is that I actually don’t know when I will come back. That is a pretty big question that the Lord hasn’t answered yet but as soon as that is made clear we will let you guys know.

Brain – Absolutely. Well, I mean, that was one of my first questions when we were having this conversation

China – Naturally

Brian - Just to…well…just to plan and pray into and understand what you’re thinking and just really did seem best to…why nail that down right this second. It’s not necessary.

China – Yeah

Brian - This whole thing that we’ve been doing all of these years has been on faith basically

China – Yeah

Brian - Just being faithful every day, showing up every day. And, so, it’s best that you show up for your daughter first…

China – Yeah

Brain - …as this gift and let mom kind of step into this role. She’s equipped for it. It’s part of the rhythm of our family. And, so, super excited to see what that looks like and how that grows and morphs and becomes as…as she takes over for now.

China – Yeah

Brain - And then we’ll just…we’ll just see. The…the point is, you’re not gone.

China – Yeah. No. I have no intentions of like disappearing or vanishing where you hear that I’m pregnant and you never see or hear from me or been for our little one. It’s just necessary and this is I have to steward my family well in order to do that and not properly leave something every day. This is … This is the best and this is what the Lord has and it’s going to be good. So, it’s bittersweet and exciting. It’s all the things all the things.

Brain – Yeah. It’s all of the things. And, so, we should all just sit with all the things. And, so, mainly I just wanted you to come on with me. We started like this.

China – Yeah

Brain - On day 1 all of those years ago, sitting together like this reading the very very first one when you were just a little girl with a sweet little voice. Now you’re a grown woman and this has been the thread.

China – Yeah

Brian - Like since that day one you’ve never stopped. This has been the thread up until now. And, so, I want to honor that because I don’t know anybody else in the world like that, that’s been able to, through their childhood, record the Bible and I…I think that’s unique and a beautiful thing that has shaped your life. And, so, we’re just honoring you for all of these years and looking forward to years to come. I don’t know whether you gonna have one baby and then come back or whether you’re gonna build a whole family…we don’t know.

China – Yeah

Brian – and that’s fine. We just don’t know those things.

China – Yeah

Brian – And, so, we’re just gonna do what we’ve always done and just live by faith.

China – Yeah

Brian - And trust that any kind of major pivots that the Lord is gonna have us do, that He’s not gonna thrust them upon us, he’s gonna tell us

China – Yeah

Brian - And lead us as He always has throughout this ministry. And, so, thank you China. You have no idea…I mean you get told it and I get told it. You have no idea the hundreds of thousands of people that know your voice that have traveled the Bible together with you over these years. And, so, I remember…I mean…I got…after you announced you were pregnant I got a letter or not a letter…it was an email of somebody that was…I told you about it…they were sending it to you and it was somebody who had grown up with you…

China – Yeah

Brian - …that was right around your same age and who remembered being a kid with you going through the Bible as a kid and they were still around and still a part of keeping the rhythm of the Bible in their lives. So, you have made a profound difference in so many lives and now there’s one life, one life, your baby girl that you’re going to make an irreversible difference in her life. And, so, we’re excited to send you off to do that knowing that you're…you’re just down the road.

China – Yeah

Brian - And you’re not planning to be a stranger around here. And, so, when the babies born, we’re gonna hear about it and probably be able to hear about it right directly from you.

China – Yeah

Brain – And, so, we’re looking for to that. But we just wanted to make this announcement together, that this is…that this is the right thing.

China - Yeah

Brian - Transitions are always disruptive and not always easy but necessary

China – Yeah

Brain - And this is a necessary one so that you can focus on the things that really, really do need to be focused on because this is a first go around.

China – Yeah

Brian – And, so, super excited for that and super…super excited for the future, whatever that might be. We just want to honor and thank you for all of these years.

China - it’s a pleasure seriously such an honor and a pleasure to be in people’s headphones or cars or workplaces, schools, bedrooms, kitchens, all…all of that. You can’t take it lightly. If you did then you would be doing it for 10 years plus.

Brian – Yeah

China - so it’s a big deal.

Brian – Yeah

China - and I’m grateful

Brian – we’re all grateful and we thank you. And there are no goodbyes in the Daily Audio Bible. There’s only until we meet again’s. And with China you can be sure that you’ll meet her again down the path.

Prayer:

Father, we bless China today and we thank you for all that she has done to bring your spoken word to anyone who will listen to it anywhere on this planet any time of day or night, and to build community around that rhythm so that we know are not alone. That has been the mission you’ve given us and she has carried that mission with integrity and wisdom beyond her years the whole time. And, so, as we prepare to move into new seasons, we just pray your blessing upon her and Ben and upon this new baby girl that we just cannot wait to see. And I pray…pray over her from the Daily Audio Bible, I pray over her speaking for the community, but I pray over as her father that You would instruct her, that You would guide her, that you would protect her, that you would direct her and that she and Ben and their family be sealed in Christ all the days of their lives walking with you into the great unknown that is life and I pray this, we all pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday December 2, 2020 (NIV)

Daniel 9:1-11

Daniel’s Prayer

In the first year of Darius,(A) the son of Ahasuerus, a Mede by birth, who was made king over the Chaldean kingdom— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books according to the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah that the number of years for the desolation of Jerusalem would be seventy.(B) So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.(C)

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

Ah, Lord—the great and awe-inspiring God(D) who keeps his gracious covenant(E) with those who love him(F) and keep his commands(G) we have sinned,(H) done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled,(I) and turned away from your commands and ordinances.(J) We have not listened to your servants the prophets,(K) who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the people of the land.

Lord, righteousness belongs to you,(L) but this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel—those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where you have banished them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward you. Lord, public shame(M) belongs to us, our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, because we have sinned against you.(N) Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the Lord our God by following his instructions that he set before us through his servants(O) the prophets.

11 All Israel has broken your law and turned away,(P) refusing to obey you. The promised curse[a] written in the law of Moses,(Q) the servant of God, has been poured out on us because we have sinned against him. 12 He has carried out his words(R) that he spoke against us and against our rulers[b](S) by bringing on us a disaster that is so great that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done(T) under all of heaven. 13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses,(U) all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of(V) the Lord our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to your truth.(W) 14 So the Lord kept the disaster in mind and brought it on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all he has done. But we have not obeyed him.

15 Now, Lord our God—who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand(X) and made your name renowned(Y) as it is this day—we have sinned, we have acted wickedly. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, may your anger and wrath(Z) turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain;(AA) for because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us.

17 Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of your servant. Make your face shine(AB) on your desolate sanctuary(AC) for the Lord’s sake. 18 Listen closely,[c] my God, and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that bears your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before you based on our righteous acts, but based on your abundant compassion. 19 Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for your own sake, do not delay,(AD) because your city and your people bear your name.

The Seventy Weeks of Years

20 While I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel,(AE) and presenting my petition before the Lord my God concerning the holy mountain of my God— 21 while I was praying, Gabriel,(AF) the man I had seen in the first vision,(AG) reached me in my extreme weariness, about the time of the evening offering.(AH) 22 He gave me this explanation: “Daniel, I’ve come now to give you understanding.(AI) 23 At the beginning of your petitions an answer went out, and I have come to give it, for you are treasured by God.[d](AJ) So consider the message and understand the vision:(AK)

24 Seventy weeks are decreed(AL)
about your people and your holy city—
to bring the rebellion to an end,
to put a stop to sin,
to atone for iniquity,
to bring in everlasting righteousness,(AM)
to seal up vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the most holy place.
25 Know and understand this:
From the issuing of the decree
to restore and rebuild Jerusalem(AN)
until an Anointed One,(AO) the ruler,[e]
will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat,
but in difficult times.
26 After those sixty-two weeks
the Anointed One will be cut off(AP)
and will have nothing.
The people of the coming ruler
will destroy the city(AQ) and the sanctuary.[f]
The[g] end will come with a flood,(AR)
and until the end there will be[h] war;
desolations are decreed.
27 He will make a firm covenant[i]
with many for one week,
but in the middle of the week
he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering.
And the abomination of desolation(AS)
will be on a wing(AT) of the temple[j][k]
until the decreed destruction(AU)
is poured out on the desolator.”

Vision of a Glorious One

10 In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia,(AV) a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar.(AW) The message was true and was about a great conflict. He understood the message and had understanding of the vision.(AX)

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.(AY) I didn’t eat any rich food,(AZ) no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month,[l] as I was standing on the bank of the great river,(BA) the Tigris, I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen,(BB) with a belt of gold(BC) from Uphaz[m](BD) around his waist. His body was like beryl,[n] his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches,(BE) his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.(BF)

Only I, Daniel, saw the vision.(BG) The men who were with me did not see it,(BH) but a great terror fell on them,(BI) and they ran and hid. I was left alone, looking at this great vision.(BJ) No strength was left in me; my face grew deathly pale,[o](BK) and I was powerless. I heard the words he said, and when I heard them I fell into a deep sleep,[p](BL) with my face to the ground.

Angelic Conflict

10 Suddenly, a hand touched me and set me shaking on my hands and knees. 11 He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God.[q](BM) Understand the words that I’m saying to you. Stand on your feet,(BN) for I have now been sent to you.”(BO) After he said this to me, I stood trembling.

12 “Don’t be afraid,(BP) Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God,(BQ) your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers.(BR) 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael,(BS) one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia.(BT) 14 Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days,(BU) for the vision refers to those days.”(BV)

15 While he was saying these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless.(BW) 16 Suddenly one with human likeness(BX) touched my lips.(BY) I opened my mouth and said to the one standing in front of me, “My lord, because of the vision, anguish overwhelms me and I am powerless.(BZ) 17 How can someone like me,(CA) your servant,[r] speak with someone like you, my lord? Now I have no strength, and there is no breath in me.”

18 Then the one with a human appearance touched me again and strengthened me.(CB) 19 He said, “Don’t be afraid,(CC) you who are[s] treasured by God.(CD) Peace to you; be very strong!” (CE)

As he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”(CF)

20 He said, “Do you know why I’ve come to you? I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come.(CG) 21 However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth. (No one has the courage to support me against those princes except Michael,(CH) your prince.

11 In the first year of Darius the Mede,(CI) I stood up to strengthen and protect him.)

Footnotes:

  1. 9:11 Lit The curse and the oath
  2. 9:12 Lit against rulers who ruled us
  3. 9:18 Lit Stretch out your ear
  4. 9:23 by God added for clarity
  5. 9:25 Or until an anointed one, a prince
  6. 9:26 MT; Theod, some mss read The city and the sanctuary will be destroyed when the ruler comes.
  7. 9:26 Lit Its, or His
  8. 9:26 Or end of a
  9. 9:27 Or will enforce a covenant
  10. 9:27 LXX; MT reads of abominations
  11. 9:27 Or And the desolator will be on the wing of abominations, or And the desolator will come on the wings of monsters (or of horror); Hb obscure
  12. 10:4 = Nisan (March–April)
  13. 10:5 Some Hb mss read Ophir
  14. 10:6 The identity of this stone is uncertain.
  15. 10:8 Lit my splendor was turned on me to ruin
  16. 10:9 Lit a sleep on my face
  17. 10:11 by God added for clarity, also in v. 19
  18. 10:17 Lit Can I, a servant of my lord
  19. 10:19 Lit afraid, man

Cross references:

  1. 9:1 : Dn 5:31; 6:1; 11:1
  2. 9:2 : 2Ch 36:21; Ezr 1:1; Jr 25:11–12; 29:10; Zch 7:5
  3. 9:3 : Neh 1:4; Jb 2:8; Is 61:3; Lk 10:13
  4. 9:4 : Dt 7:21; Neh 9:32
  5. 9:4 : Dt 7:9
  6. 9:4 : 1Jn 4:20
  7. 9:4 : Dt 7:9; Neh 1:5
  8. 9:5 : 1Kg 8:48; Neh 9:33; Ps 106:6; Is 64:5–7; Jr 14:7
  9. 9:5 : Lm 1:18,20
  10. 9:5 : Ps 119:176; Is 53:6; Dn 9:11
  11. 9:6 : 2Ch 36:16; Jr 44:4–5
  12. 9:7 : Jr 23:6; 33:16; Dn 9:18
  13. 9:8 : Ps 37:1–2
  14. 9:8 : Ps 78:56–64
  15. 9:10 : 2Kg 17:13–15; 18:12
  16. 9:11 : Is 1:3–4; Jr 8:5–10
  17. 9:11 : Dt 28:15–68; 29:16–30:20; Lk 2:22
  18. 9:12 : Is 44:26; Jr 44:2–6; Lm 2:17; Zch 1:6
  19. 9:12 : Jb 12:17; Ps 82:2–7; 148:11
  20. 9:12 : Lm 1:12; 2:13; Ezk 5:9
  21. 9:13 : Lv 26:14–45; Dt 28:15–68; Dn 9:11
  22. 9:13 : Jb 36:13; Is 9:13; Jr 2:30; 5:3; Mal 1:9
  23. 9:13 : Jr 31:18
  24. 9:15 : Dt 5:15
  25. 9:15 : Neh 9:10; Jr 32:20
  26. 9:16 : Jr 32:31–32
  27. 9:16 : Ps 87:1–3; Dn 9:20; Jl 3:17; Zch 8:3
  28. 9:17 : Nm 6:25; Ps 31:17; 67:2
  29. 9:17 : Lm 5:18
  30. 9:19 : Ps 44:23; 74:10–11
  31. 9:20 : Ps 145:18; Is 58:9; Dn 9:3; 10:12
  32. 9:21 : Dn 8:16; Lk 1:19,26
  33. 9:21 : Dn 8:1,15
  34. 9:21 : Ex 29:39; 1Kg 18:36; Ezr 9:4
  35. 9:22 : Dn 8:16; 10:21; Zch 1:9
  36. 9:23 : Dn 10:11,19
  37. 9:23 : Mt 24:15
  38. 9:24 : Lv 25:8; Nm 14:34; Ezk 4:5–6
  39. 9:24 : Is 51:6,8; 56:1; Jr 23:5–6; Rm 3:21–22
  40. 9:25 : Ezr 4:24; 6:1–15; Neh 2:1–8; 3:1
  41. 9:25 : Mt 1:17; Jn 1:41; 4:25
  42. 9:26 : Is 53:8; Mk 9:12; Lk 24:26
  43. 9:26 : Mt 24:2; Mk 13:2; Lk 19:43–44
  44. 9:26 : Nah 1:8
  45. 9:27 : Dn 11:31; Mt 24:15; Mk 13:14; Lk 21:20
  46. 9:27 : Is 7:7–8; Mt 4:5
  47. 9:27 : Is 10:23; 28:22
  48. 10:1 : Dn 1:21; 6:28
  49. 10:1 : Dn 1:7
  50. 10:1 : Dn 1:17; 2:21
  51. 10:2 : Ezr 9:4–5; Neh 1:4
  52. 10:3 : Dn 6:18; Am 6:6; Mt 6:17
  53. 10:4 : Ezk 1:3; Dn 8:2
  54. 10:5 : Ezk 9:2; Dn 12:6–7
  55. 10:5 : Rv 1:13; 15:6
  56. 10:5 : Jr 10:9
  57. 10:6 : Rv 1:14; 2:18; 19:12
  58. 10:6 : Rv 19:6
  59. 10:7 : 2Kg 6:17–20
  60. 10:7 : Ac 9:7
  61. 10:7 : Ezk 12:18
  62. 10:8 : Gn 32:24
  63. 10:8 : Dn 7:28; 8:27; Hab 3:16
  64. 10:9 : Gn 15:12; Jb 4:13; Dn 8:18
  65. 10:11 : Dn 9:23; 10:19
  66. 10:11 : Ezk 2:2; Dn 8:18
  67. 10:11 : Heb 11:14
  68. 10:12 : Is 41:10,14; Dn 10:19
  69. 10:12 : Dn 9:2–23; 10:2–3
  70. 10:12 : Ac 10:30–31
  71. 10:13 : Dn 10:21; 12:1; Jd 9; Rv 12:7
  72. 10:13 : Dn 7:17; 8:21
  73. 10:14 : Dt 31:29; Dn 2:28
  74. 10:14 : Dn 8:26; 12:4,9
  75. 10:15 : Ezk 3:26; 24:27; Lk 1:20
  76. 10:16 : Dn 8:15
  77. 10:16 : Is 6:7; Jr 1:9
  78. 10:16 : Dn 7:15,28; 8:17,27; 10:8–9
  79. 10:17 : Ex 24:10–11; Is 6:1–5
  80. 10:18 : Is 35:3–4
  81. 10:19 : Jdg 6:23; Is 43:1; Dn 10:12
  82. 10:19 : Dn 9:23; 10:11
  83. 10:19 : Jos 1:6–7,9; Is 35:4
  84. 10:19 : Ps 138:2; 2Co 12:9
  85. 10:20 : Dn 8:21; 11:2
  86. 10:21 : Dn 10:13; Rv 12:7
  87. 11:1 : Dn 5:31; 9:1
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

1 John 2:18-3:6

The Last Hour

18 Children, it is the last hour.(A) And as you have heard that antichrist(B) is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.

20 But you have an anointing(C) from the Holy One,(D) and all of you know the truth.[a] 21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?(E) This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father;(F) he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.(G)

Remaining with God

24 What you have heard from the beginning is to remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son(H) and in the Father.(I) 25 And this is the promise that he himself made to us: eternal life.(J)

26 I have written these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, his anointing teaches you about all things(K) and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you,[b] remain in him.(L)

God’s Children

28 So now, little children, remain in him so that when he appears(M) we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.(N) 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right(O) has been born of him.(P)

See what great love[c] the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed.(Q) We know that when he appears,[d] we will be like him(R) because we will see him as he is.(S) And everyone who has this hope(T) in him purifies himself just as he is pure.(U)

Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins,[e](V) and there is no sin in him.(W) Everyone who remains in him(X) does not sin;[f](Y) everyone who sins[g] has not seen him or known him.

Footnotes:

  1. 2:20 Other mss read and you know all things
  2. 2:27 Or as he has taught you
  3. 3:1 Or what sort of love
  4. 3:2 Or when it appears
  5. 3:5 Other mss read our sins
  6. 3:6 Or not keep on sinning
  7. 3:6 Or who keeps on sinning
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Psalm 121

Psalm 121

The Lord Our Protector

A song of ascents.

I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?(A)
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(B)

He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.(C)
Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.(D)

The Lord protects you;
the Lord is a shelter right by your side.[a](E)
The sun will not strike you by day
or the moon by night.(F)

The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.(G)
The Lord will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.(H)

Footnotes:

  1. 121:5 Lit is your shelter at your right hand
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Proverbs 28:27-28

27 The one who gives to the poor
will not be in need,
but one who turns his eyes away[a]
will receive many curses.(A)

28 When the wicked come to power,
people hide,
but when they are destroyed,
the righteous flourish.(B)

Footnotes:

  1. 28:27 Lit who shuts his eyes
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

12/01/2020 DAB Transcript

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

Today is the 1st day of December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you as we collectively greet a new month, the final month of the year, the final leg of our journey, although this journey is a never ending one and…and should be as we find ourselves more and more in a relationship with the Scriptures instead of in some kind of obligatory devotional state that we never can quite get to. Nevertheless, it is December 1st and here we are. We made it to the 12th month of the year. I think that was…well…I don’t think that was ultimately questionable it was…just there’s been days and weeks during this year where it’s like, “what is going on?” We made it. We made it. Well done! Let’s dive into this month. Let’s finish strong as we move through it and prepare for the brand-new year. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Daniel chapter 8.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in first John, today we could probably notice that John, at least in his letters…well…at least in this letter because where just at the very first one…in this letter he doesn’t sound so dissimilar to James or so dissimilar to Peter and their letters in that you can claim faith but the evidence of like a faith filled life ends up being a transformed life otherwise you can say whatever you want. So, let me just quote a portion of…of what we read today. “The one who says, I have come to know Him, and yet doesn’t keep His commands is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in Him. The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.” Alright, so we can see this is more than just giving lip service to a religious belief system. The evidence of your true faith in Christ is that Christ is within you, transforming you and that is evident. And, so, easy enough, easy enough here to step back and look at our own lives and ask what’s the evidence here? Like I am my own evidence to where my faith is at. So, John’s being direct because this is something to be direct about, this is foundational. Like, the goal of our faith is that we would be transformed into the likeness of Jesus, that our lives would be lived like Jesus, that we would be the hands and feet of Jesus, that we would be the body of Christ in this world. And that’s not just something you can say. Like, if everybody in the world just said, “yeah, I guess I believe in this Jesus. Okay, Jesus is now my Savior” and then just went about their lives and there was no transformation whatsoever nothing would happen in the world. Being Christlike isn’t something we say it’s something we are becoming. And that means we have to participate. We are in collaboration. Our role is to be aware, to be humble and to be surrendered to God’s will and ways and to obey and walk with Him. What a relief. If you’re walking with God, well, how much safer can that be? And being transformed isn’t just for us and it isn’t just so we have a better prayer life. Like everything…if we’re being transformed then everything is being touched. If you are being…if something is transformed, its very nature is altered into something else. That’s pretty big. We are not who we were at all. And this continuing transformation process with in us that we would also know as sanctification touches everything about us. So, picking up with John and putting it back into John’s words, “the one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother or sister remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him, but the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” So again, not dissimilar to James or Peter. Talk is cheap. You can say whatever you want, but if the words that you say are not consistent with the life that you live, then you’re not living true and you’re not living truthfully. And John says that this happens because, basically because our faith, our trust is put in the world instead of in Christ. And the world that…according to John is passing away. So, hope and trust are put into something that is not going to last, which is a theme that we have seen since we began reading the letters of the New Testament. So, we are at the beginning of the last month of the year and we have talked several times over the last couple months as we came into the last quarter of the year about finishing strong. And John…John is forthright today in giving us ways to look into that as we move toward the end of the year and finishing the year strong. Are our claims about our faith consistent with the lives we are living?

Prayer:

Father we acknowledge the question. It's…it’s been a fundamental question for a very, very long time and it exposes so much within us. And if we were honest, we…we would say sometimes…sometimes like the first half of the day can be great and the second half of the day can be awful, one hour can be fantastic another hour can be horrible. We have an ebb and flow and we are tossed around and pulled in all kinds of directions and this shows us how much we swing back and forth putting our trust in the world, putting our trust in You and trying to make both reconcile when they won’t ever. We were made for You. We were made for earth, but we are in this world and not of it. And, so, help us Lord. Expose the system of the world that is all around us and ubiquitous so that we can’t see it unless we’re focusing our full attention. We can’t do that. We’re or pulled in all kinds of directions. But You are the most-high God. You are the sovereign Lord, and You know who we are, and You love us, and You are Fathering us. And, so, we trust in You to lead us forward. And Father these areas where the things that we say and the things we do don’t match and are actually far away from each other, forgive us Lord. This has just exposed the sin. And help us as we repent to move toward wholeness. This is what a fully sanctified person will look like, whole, like Jesus, like the Savior. This is the goal and we want to be fully participating in it. So, come Holy Spirit and lead us as we move into the busiest time of the year. We hold on to You for dear life. We declare this and we pray these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, its where you…well…its home, it’s where you find out everything that’s going on around here.

It is indeed Christmas time around here, so I think that’s what’s going on pretty much everywhere now, in one form or another. For us this year we have the Daily Audio Bible Shop open and we’ve put as many things on sale as we can. We’re not doing a Christmas Box this year as I’ve explained. Normally that’s what we do but with just this year, and all the different lockdowns and protocols and everything that happens we’ve decided just to open up the store and say you can make your own, you can make your own box. Pick all of the things that you like, things you want to give away, things you want to keep for yourself. And if you spend $40 or more in the Daily Audio Bible Shop we will send you the 2020 Daily Audio Bible ornament. That’s something that we’ve had in the Christmas box all along. And, so, we’ll send that to you along with your order. We have…we have Global Campfire Klean Kanteens in stock right now although that’s probably going to not be the case over the next couple of days. But these are beautiful. The only time we’ve had them this year and so get them while you can. They will not last long, but they are…well…I mean there this double-walled food grade stainless steel constructed like thermos that I use literally every day of my life because it keeps my coffee warm all day. Like, I’m…I had to turn my head, but now I’m looking one that’s full of…of coffee right now. So, check them out while they last. Check out the other stuff that’s in the…in the DAB Shop, the like coffee. Like you can send a coffee subscription to somebody and have that land freshly roasted every month on their door. You can do that for yourself. Check…check out the tea. Check out the nitrogen filled portable windfarm coffee that we have in…in the steeped packaging. This is…it’s kind of like a coffee filter…kinda like a teabag, right, but only made out of coffee filter with the right amount of coffee inside of it then nitro sealed to get the oxygen out of it so it won’t deteriorate so that it will last and stay fresh and then you just crack that open, pop it into your coffee mug, pour hot water over it, and then just steep it, steep it for a couple minutes and you have really great coffee on the go. And most on the go coffee, well, at least in my experience isn’t all that great. So, check all of this out, as well as the Global Campfire line of resources and all of the different media resources, books, and videos and music. So, check it out at dailyaudiobible.com in the Shop.

One thing I should mention is shipping cutoffs. And for international…if you are outside of the United States then the…the shipping cutoff is today. And we’re just taking our queues trying to get things to arrive by Christmas. We have an arrangement with FedEx that allows us to ship pretty close to the price of domestic shipping. It just takes…it’s just a little bit more unpredictable because they then bring it…import it into the country and then send it through the regular mail of the country. And, so, at some point it ends up in the…in the local mail system and we have no control of and it’s just a lot cheaper. So, that cutoff is today. You can order internationally any day any time but if you’re hoping for something to arrive for Christmas time for Christmas day today would be the cutoff date for international. If you are domestic, if you are with in the United States we have a little bit of time and we’ll keep you posted there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link on the homepage, and I thank you humbly and profoundly for your partnership here at the end of the year. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or if you prefer the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

[singing starts] Dear Lord please help the people that are homeless to know You. Please help them to know You. Please help them to know that they’re just not through this by themselves. Please help them to get through this with Your help. Please help someone to feed them and to give them a little bit of food please help them to be happy to have food and closer to live. Amen [singing stops]. Hi I’m Jaylin.

Hi family it’s Carla Jean from Nevada I’ve been posting on the Facebook DAB friends page but I thought I’d call and let you know that my husband Marty not only has Covid, but he has diabetic ketoacidosis. His blood sugars are over 1500. He’s a in the ICU in Las Vegas and it doesn’t look good. He was diagnosed with coronavirus two weeks ago and didn’t want to go to the hospital. He had to diabetic seizures that me and my 15-year-old son had to bring him out of. Finally, we convinced him to go to the hospital on Tuesday. On Wednesday both Elisha and I started being symptomatic for coronavirus. Family, I need you to really pray okay? I love you all very much.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family my name is El and I’m from the UK and this is my first time calling and I’m just calling today because me and my husband are going through some fertility issues. We’ve been trying for a baby now for two years and it just doesn’t seem to be working out for us the way we had hoped. So, I just ask that you pray for us during this time. Pray that God will bless us with a baby and pray for our marriage as we go fertility struggles. And, yeah, just if you wouldn’t mind to keep us in your prayers. Thank you.

Hi DAB family it’s Friday, November 27th and this is Peggy in California. I called a few weeks ago and asked for your prayers for my son Mason and I have felt the power of that in my conversations with him. I just thank you so very much and I ask that you would continue to pray for him because I think he’s on the brink of making some…a real positive move and he needs to be resolved and it’s going to be hard but I just pray that you would continue to reach out with me in that. And I also want to just lift up all the other adult children that have been mentioned in so many of the calls. It is definitely a struggle that many of us share. And, so, I want to lift up this prayer. Lord I pray that You will give all of the adult children of DAB family the discernment they need to understand the clear choices between good and evil and right and wrong, between what is life giving and life destroying and between a path into a secure and good future and a dead-end street. I pray that they will not allow the world to shape them but instead they will be shaped by You. I know that the influence of the enemy can come in so subtly as being nearly unobserved until it’s too late. But I pray that the Holy Spirit given wisdom and discernment they can be prepared for the enemy and anticipate his plans. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. Bye family God bless you all.

Hi this is Pamela from Pennsylvania calling again. This time I just want to thank Brian and his family, China. And I never said anything, but congratulations on the beautiful baby that you’re welcoming into your family. I’m welcoming my third grandchild in February, which is a beautiful thing. My daughter’s a missionary and they’re…it’s just a wonderful loving family. But I wanted to thank Brian for the commentary and the long-standing wisdom in your words in understanding the Scriptures. It comes across very clear and I appreciate that very much because if anybody kept track of my other phone calls I did grow up in a very dysfunctional place and that led to some very dark places in my life. But…and actually all three of my children have gone to Christian school and because of the influence of the Christian school that my daughters went to I became saved and came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior. So, I’m very thankful for that. And since that time little by little God has been putting the pieces back together in my life the way it was intended to be according to God. So, growing up in a dysfunctional environment I’m way behind all the people who grew up in a Christian environment and I’ve been scampering to catch up. Brian, I just appreciate your help. It’s making things make sense. So, I appreciate that. Thank you very much.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday December 1, 2020 (NIV)

Daniel 8

The Vision of a Ram and a Goat

In the third year of King Belshazzar’s(A) reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me earlier.(B) I saw the vision, and as I watched, I was in the fortress city of Susa,(C) in the province of Elam.(D) I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal. I looked up,[a] and there was a ram(E) standing beside the canal. He had two horns. The two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up last. I saw the ram charging to the west, the north, and the south.(F) No animal could stand against him, and there was no rescue from his power. He did whatever he wanted(G) and became great.

As I was observing, a male goat appeared, coming from the west across the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground. The goat had a conspicuous horn[b] between his eyes.(H) He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with savage fury. I saw him approaching the ram, and infuriated with him, he struck the ram, breaking his two horns, and the ram was not strong enough to stand against him. The goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and there was no one to rescue the ram from his power. Then the male goat acted even more arrogantly,(I) but when he became powerful, the large horn was broken.(J) Four conspicuous horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.(K)

The Little Horn

From one of them a little horn(L) emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land.[c](M) 10 It grew as high as the heavenly army, made some of the army and some of the stars[d] fall to the earth,(N) and trampled them.(O) 11 It acted arrogantly(P) even against the Prince of the heavenly army;(Q) it revoked his regular sacrifice(R) and overthrew the place of his sanctuary. 12 In the rebellion, the army was given up, together with the regular sacrifice. The horn threw truth to the ground and was successful(S) in what it did.

13 Then I heard a holy one speaking,(T) and another holy one said to the speaker, “How long will the events of this vision last(U)—the regular sacrifice, the rebellion that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and of the army to be trampled?” (V)

14 He said to me,[e] “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be restored.”

Interpretation of the Vision

15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me someone who appeared to be a man.(W) 16 I heard a human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai: “Gabriel,(X) explain the vision to this man.”

17 So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell facedown.(Y) “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.”(Z) 18 While he was speaking to me, I fell into a deep sleep,(AA) with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, made me stand up,(AB) 19 and said, “I am here to tell you what will happen at the conclusion of the time of wrath, because it refers to the appointed time of the end.(AC) 20 The two-horned ram(AD) that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes represents the first king.[f] 22 The four horns that took the place of the broken horn represent four kingdoms. They will rise from that nation, but without its power.

23 Near the end of their kingdoms,
when the rebels have reached
the full measure of their sin,[g](AE)
a ruthless[h] king, skilled in intrigue,[i]
will come to the throne.
24 His power will be great,
but it will not be his own.
He will cause outrageous destruction(AF)
and succeed in whatever he does.
He will destroy the powerful
along with the holy people.(AG)
25 He will cause deceit to prosper
through his cunning and by his influence,
and in his own mind he will exalt himself.
He will destroy many in a time of peace;
he will even stand against the Prince of princes.
Yet he will be broken—not by human hands.(AH)
26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings
that has been told is true.
Now you are to seal up the vision(AI)
because it refers to many days in the future.”

27 I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for days.(AJ) Then I got up and went about the king’s business.(AK) I was greatly disturbed by the vision and could not understand it.

Footnotes:

  1. 8:3 Lit I lifted my eyes and looked
  2. 8:5 Lit a horn of a vision
  3. 8:9 = Israel
  4. 8:10 Or some of the army, that is, some of the stars
  5. 8:14 LXX, Theod, Syr, Vg read him
  6. 8:21 = Alexander the Great
  7. 8:23 Lit have become complete
  8. 8:23 Lit strong of face
  9. 8:23 Lit king, and understanding riddles
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

1 John 2:1-17

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate(A) with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice[a](B) for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.(C)

God’s Commands

This is how we know(D) that we know him: if we keep his commands.(E) The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word,(F) truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him:(G) The one who says he remains in him(H) should walk just as he walked.

Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command(I) but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the word(J) you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away(K) and the true light(L) is already shining.(M) The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister(N) is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother or sister(O) remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.[b] 11 But the one who hates his brother or sister(P) is in the darkness, walks in the darkness,(Q) and doesn’t know where he’s going,(R) because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Reasons for Writing

12 I am writing to you, little children,
since your sins have been forgiven
on account of his name.(S)
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.(T)
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have conquered the evil one.(U)
14 I have written to you, children,
because you have come to know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong,
God’s word(V) remains in you,
and you have conquered the evil one.

A Warning about the World

15 Do not love the world(W) or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,(X) the lust of the eyes,(Y) and the pride(Z) in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away,(AA) but the one who does the will of God(AB) remains forever.(AC)

Footnotes:

  1. 2:2 Or the propitiation
  2. 2:10 Or it
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Psalm 120

Psalm 120

A Cry for Truth and Peace

A song of ascents.

In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.(A)
Lord, rescue me from lying lips
and a deceitful tongue.”(B)

What will he give you,
and what will he do to you,
you deceitful tongue?(C)
A warrior’s sharp arrows
with burning charcoal![a](D)

What misery that I have stayed in Meshech,[b](E)
that I have lived among the tents of Kedar![c](F)
I have dwelt too long
with those who hate peace.(G)
I am for peace; but when I speak,
they are for war.(H)

Footnotes:

  1. 120:4 Lit with coals of the broom bush
  2. 120:5 = a people far to the north of Palestine
  3. 120:5 = a nomadic people of the desert to the southeast
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Proverbs 28:25-26

25 A greedy person stirs up conflict,(A)
but whoever trusts in the Lord will prosper.(B)

26 The one who trusts in himself[a] is a fool,
but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.(C)

Footnotes:

  1. 28:26 Lit his heart
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.