DANIEL 11:2-35
1 JOHN 3:7-24
PSALM 122:1-9
PROVERBS 29:1
DANIEL 11:2-35
" Now then, I [the one who looked like a man] will reveal the truth to you. Three more Persian kings will reign, to be succeeded by a fourth, far richer than the others. Using his wealth for political advantage, he will stir up everyone to war against the kingdom of Greece. 3 " Then a mighty king will rise to power who will rule a vast kingdom and accomplish everything he sets out to do. 4 But at the height of his power, his kingdom will be broken apart and divided into four parts. It will not be ruled by the king's descendants, nor will the kingdom hold the authority it once had. For his empire will be uprooted and given to others. 5 " The king of the south will increase in power, but one of this king's own officials will become more powerful than he and will rule his kingdom with great strength. 6 " Some years later, an alliance will be formed between the king of the north and the king of the south. The daughter of the king of the south will be given in marriage to the king of the north to secure the alliance, but she will lose her influence over him, and so will her father. She will be given up along with her supporters. 7 But when one of her relatives becomes king of the south, he will raise an army and enter the fortress of the king of the north and defeat him. 8 When he returns again to Egypt, he will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless gold and silver dishes. For some years afterward he will leave the king of the north alone. 9 " Later the king of the north will invade the realm of the king of the south but will soon return to his own land. 10 However, the sons of the king of the north will assemble a mighty army that will advance like a flood and carry the battle as far as the enemy's fortress. 11 Then the king of the south, in great anger, will rally against the vast forces assembled by the king of the north and will defeat them. 12 After the enemy army is swept away, the king of the south will be filled with pride and will have many thousands of his enemies killed. But his success will be short lived.13 " A few years later, the king of the north will return with a fully equipped army far greater than the one he lost. 14 At that time there will be a general uprising against the king of the south. Lawless ones among your own people will join them in order to fulfill the vision, but they will not succeed. 15 Then the king of the north will come and lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The best troops of the south will not be able to stand in the face of the onslaught. 16 " The king of the north will march onward unopposed; none will be able to stop him. He will pause in the glorious land of Israel, intent on destroying it. 17 He will make plans to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will form an alliance with the king of the south. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom from within, but his plan will fail. 18 " After this, he will turn his attention to the coastal cities and conquer many. But a commander from another land will put an end to his insolence and will cause him to retreat in shame. 19 He will take refuge in his own fortresses but will stumble and fall, and he will be seen no more.20 " His successor will be remembered as the king who sent a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor, but after a very brief reign, he will die, though neither in battle nor open conflict. 21 " The next to come to power will be a despicable man who is not directly in line for royal succession. But he will slip in when least expected and take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue. 22 Before him great armies will be swept away, including a covenant prince. 23 By making deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. With a mere handful of followers, he will become strong. 24 Without warning he will enter the richest areas of the land and do something that none of his predecessors ever did--distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while. 25 " Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against the king of the south. The king of the south will go to battle with a mighty army, but to no avail, for plots against him will succeed. 26 Those of his own household will bring his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed. 27 Seeking nothing but each other's harm, these kings will plot against each other at the conference table, attempting to deceive each other. But it will make no difference, for an end will still come at the appointed time. 28 " The king of the north will then return home with great riches. On the way he will set himself against the people of the holy covenant, doing much damage before continuing his journey.29 " Then at the appointed time he will once again invade the south, but this time the result will be different. 30 For warships from western coastlands will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant. 31 His army will take over the Temple fortress, polluting the sanctuary, putting a stop to the daily sacrifices, and setting up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration. 32 He will flatter those who have violated the covenant and win them over to his side. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him. 33 " Those who are wise will give instruction to many. But for a time many of these teachers will die by fire and sword, or they will be jailed and robbed. 34 While all these persecutions are going on, a little help will arrive, though many who join them will not be sincere. 35 And some who are wise will fall victim to persecution. In this way, they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come."
1 JOHN 3:7-24
Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it is because they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows they belong to the Devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the Devil. 9 Those who have been born into God's family do not sin, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the Devil. Anyone who does not obey God's commands and does not love other Christians does not belong to God. 11 This is the message we have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was right. 13 So don't be surprised, dear brothers and sisters,* if the world hates you.14 If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to eternal life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another Christian* is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don't have eternal life within them. 16 We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. 17 But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help--how can God's love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. 19 It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord, 20 even if our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our conscience is clear, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive whatever we request because we obey him and do the things that please him. 23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God's commandments live in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Holy Spirit lives in us.
PSALM 122:1-9
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
" Let us go to the house of the LORD."
2 And now we are standing here
inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is a well-built city,
knit together as a single unit.
4 All the people of Israel--the LORD's people--
make their pilgrimage here.
They come to give thanks to the name of the LORD
as the law requires.
5 Here stand the thrones where judgment is given,
the thrones of the dynasty of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
May all who love this city prosper.
7 O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say,
" Peace be with you."
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.
PROVERBS 29:1
Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be broken beyond repair.
