³⁶ “And the king shall ^(A)do as he wills. ^(B)He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, ^(C)and shall speak astonishing things against ^(D)the God of gods. ^(E)He shall prosper ^(F)till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. ³⁷ He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for ^(G)he shall magnify himself above all. ³⁸ He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor ^(H)with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. ³⁹ He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and ^(I)shall divide the land for a price.^[a]

^40 (J)“At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack^[b] him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him ^(K)like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and ^(L)shall overflow and pass through. ⁴¹ He shall come into ^(M)the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: ^(N)Edom and ^(O)Moab and the main part of the ^(P)Ammonites. 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 precious things of Egypt, and the ^(Q)Libyans and the ^(R)Cushites shall follow in his train. ⁴⁴ But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. ⁴⁵ And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

The Time of the End

12 “At that time shall arise ^(S)Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And ^(T)there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, ^(U)everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. ² And many of those who ^(V)sleep in ^(W)the dust of the earth shall ^(X)awake, ^(Y)some to everlasting life, and ^(Z)some to shame and everlasting contempt. ^3 (AA)And those who are wise ^(AB)shall shine like the brightness of the sky above;^[c] and ^(AC)those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, ^(AD)shut up the words and ^(AE)seal the book, until ^(AF)the time of the end. ^(AG)Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on ^(AH)this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. ⁶ And someone said to ^(AI)the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream,^{[d] (AJ)}“How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” ⁷ And I heard ^(AK)the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; ^(AL)he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and ^(AM)swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a ^(AN)time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of ^(AO)the power of ^(AP)the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. ⁸ I heard, ^(AQ)but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” ⁹ He said, ^(AR)“Go your way, Daniel, ^(AS)for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. ^10 (AT)Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but ^(AU)the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, ^(AV)but those who are wise shall understand. ¹¹ And from the time that ^(AW)the regular burnt offering is taken away and ^(AX)the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. ^12 (AY)Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. ^13 (AZ)But go your way till the end. ^(BA)And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at ^(BB)the end of the days.”

Test the Spirits

4 Beloved, ^(A)do not believe every spirit, but ^(B)test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^(C)many ^(D)false prophets ^(E)have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(F)every spirit that confesses that ^(G)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit ^(H)that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and ^(I)now is in the world already. ⁴ Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for ^(J)he who is in you is greater than ^(K)he who is in the world. ^5 (L)They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and ^(M)the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. ^(N)Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(O)the Spirit of truth and ^(P)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, ^(Q)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(R)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ^8 (S)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(T)God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(U)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(V)not that we have loved God ^(W)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(X)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ^12 (Y)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(Z)his love is perfected in us.

^13 (AA)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(AB)we have seen and testify that ^(AC)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(AD)the world. ^15 (AE)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ So ^(AF)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(AG)God is love, and ^(AH)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this ^(AI)is love perfected with us, so that ^(AJ)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(AK)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(AL)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(AM)been perfected in love. ^19 (AN)We love because he first loved us. ^20 (AO)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(AP)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[a] love God ^(AQ)whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(AR)this commandment we have from him: ^(AS)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.