Conflict of Nations and Heavenly Powers

10 In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. The word was true, and it concerned a great conflict. He understood the word, having received understanding in the vision.

² At that time I, Daniel, had been mourning for three weeks. ³ I had eaten no rich food, no meat or wine had entered my mouth, and I had not anointed myself at all, for the full three weeks. ⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris), ⁵ I looked up and saw a man clothed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like beryl, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the roar of a multitude. ⁷ I, Daniel, alone saw the vision; the people who were with me did not see the vision, though a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled and hid themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone to see this great vision. My strength left me, and my complexion grew deathly pale, and I retained no strength. ⁹ Then I heard the sound of his words; and when I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a trance, face to the ground.

¹⁰ But then a hand touched me and roused me to my hands and knees. ¹¹ He said to me, “Daniel, greatly beloved, pay attention to the words that I am going to speak to you. Stand on your feet, for I have now been sent to you.” So while he was speaking this word to me, I stood up trembling. ¹² He said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. ¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me twenty-one days. So Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia,^{[a] 14} and have come to help you understand what is to happen to your people at the end of days. For there is a further vision for those days.”

¹⁵ While he was speaking these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless. ¹⁶ Then one in human form touched my lips, and I opened my mouth to speak, and said to the one who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision such pains have come upon me that I retain no strength. ¹⁷ How can my lord’s servant talk with my lord? For I am shaking,^[b] no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.”

¹⁸ Again one in human form touched me and strengthened me. ¹⁹ He said, “Do not fear, greatly beloved, you are safe. Be strong and courageous!” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” ²⁰ Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I am through with him, the prince of Greece will come. ²¹ But I am to tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth. There is no one with me who contends against these princes except Michael, your prince. 11 ¹ As for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to support and strengthen him.

² “Now I will announce the truth to you. Three more kings shall arise in Persia. The fourth shall be far richer than all of them, and when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. ³ Then a warrior king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and take action as he pleases. ⁴ And while still rising in power, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted and go to others besides these.

⁵ “Then the king of the south shall grow strong, but one of his officers shall grow stronger than he and shall rule a realm greater than his own realm. ⁶ After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to ratify the agreement. But she shall not retain her power, and his offspring shall not endure. She shall be given up, she and her attendants and her child and the one who supported her.

“In those times ⁷ a branch from her roots shall rise up in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall take action against them and prevail. ⁸ Even their gods, with their idols and with their precious vessels of silver and gold, he shall carry off to Egypt as spoils of war. For some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north; ⁹ then the latter shall invade the realm of the king of the south, but will return to his own land.

¹⁰ “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance like a flood and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. ¹¹ Moved with rage, the king of the south shall go out and do battle against the king of the north, who shall muster a great multitude, which shall, however, be defeated by his enemy. ¹² When the multitude has been carried off, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall overthrow tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. ¹³ For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, larger than the former, and after some years^[c] he shall advance with a great army and abundant supplies.

¹⁴ “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south. The lawless among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. ¹⁵ Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks, and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, not even his picked troops, for there shall be no strength to resist. ¹⁶ But he who comes against him shall take the actions he pleases, and no one shall withstand him. He shall take a position in the beautiful land, and all of it shall be in his power. ¹⁷ He shall set his mind to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of peace^[d] and perform them. In order to destroy the kingdom,^[e] he shall give him a woman in marriage; but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage. ¹⁸ Afterward he shall turn to the coastlands, and shall capture many. But a commander shall put an end to his insolence; indeed,^[f] he shall turn his insolence back upon him. ¹⁹ Then he shall turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.

²⁰ “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an official for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he shall be broken, though not in anger or in battle. ²¹ In his place shall arise a contemptible person on whom royal majesty had not been conferred; he shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom through intrigue. ²² Armies shall be utterly swept away and broken before him, and the prince of the covenant as well. ²³ And after an alliance is made with him, he shall act deceitfully and become strong with a small party. ²⁴ Without warning he shall come into the richest parts^[g] of the province and do what none of his predecessors had ever done, lavishing plunder, spoil, and wealth on them. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. ²⁵ He shall stir up his power and determination against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall wage war with a much greater and stronger army. But he shall not succeed, for plots shall be devised against him ²⁶ by those who eat of the royal rations. They shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall slain. ²⁷ The two kings, their minds bent on evil, shall sit at one table and exchange lies. But it shall not succeed, for there remains an end at the time appointed. ²⁸ He shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. He shall work his will, and return to his own land.

²⁹ “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but this time it shall not be as it was before. ³⁰ For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart and withdraw. He shall be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay heed to those who forsake the holy covenant. ³¹ Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the abomination that makes desolate. ³² He shall seduce with intrigue those who violate the covenant; but the people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take action. ³³ The wise among the people shall give understanding to many; for some days, however, they shall fall by sword and flame, and suffer captivity and plunder. ³⁴ When they fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely. ³⁵ Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed,^[h] until the time of the end, for there is still an interval until the time appointed.

³⁶ “The king shall act as he pleases. He shall exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god, and shall speak horrendous things against the God of gods. He shall prosper until the period of wrath is completed, for what is determined shall be done. ³⁷ He shall pay no respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to the one beloved by women; he shall pay no respect to any other god, for he shall consider himself greater than all. ³⁸ He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these; a god whom his ancestors did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. ³⁹ He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall make more wealthy, and shall appoint them as rulers over many, and shall distribute the land for a price.

The Time of the End

⁴⁰ “At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him. But the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He shall advance against countries and pass through like a flood. ⁴¹ He shall come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands shall fall victim, but Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power. ⁴² He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. ⁴³ He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians^[i] shall follow in his train. ⁴⁴ But reports from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to bring ruin and complete destruction to many. ⁴⁵ He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 “At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. ² Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth^[j] shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ³ Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky,^[k] and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil^[l] shall increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked, and two others appeared, one standing on this bank of the stream and one on the other. ⁶ One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was upstream, “How long shall it be until the end of these wonders?” ⁷ The man clothed in linen, who was upstream, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven. And I heard him swear by the one who lives forever that it would be for a time, two times, and half a time,^[m] and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end, all these things would be accomplished. ⁸ I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” ⁹ He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are to remain secret and sealed until the time of the end. ¹⁰ Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked shall continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. ¹¹ From the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that desolates is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days. ¹² Happy are those who persevere and attain the thousand three hundred thirty-five days. ¹³ But you, go your way,^[n] and rest; you shall rise for your reward at the end of the days.”

The Joys of Life

The Disgrace of Begging

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, ³ and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth. ⁴ It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, ⁵ and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless.

The Messages of the Three Angels

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live^[a] on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸ Then another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

⁹ Then another angel, a third, followed them, crying with a loud voice, “Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands, ¹⁰ they will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image and for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

¹² Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of^[b] Jesus.

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

¹⁴ Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand! ¹⁵ Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” ¹⁶ So the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷ Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Then another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over fire, and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the vintage of the earth, and he threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. ²⁰ And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press, as high as a horse’s bridle, for a distance of about two hundred miles.^[c]