³⁶ “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall ^(A)exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. ³⁷ He shall regard neither the ^[a]God of his fathers nor the desire of women, ^(B)nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. ³⁸ But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. ³⁹ Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for ^[b]gain.

The Northern King’s Conquests

⁴⁰ “At the ^(C)time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him ^(D)like a whirlwind, with chariots, ^(E)horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. ⁴¹ He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: ^(F)Edom, Moab, and the ^[c]prominent people of Ammon. ⁴² He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of ^(G)Egypt shall not escape. ⁴³ He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow ^(H)at his heels. ⁴⁴ But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. ⁴⁵ And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and ^(I)the glorious holy mountain; ^(J)yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

Prophecy of the End Time

⁴ “But you, Daniel, ^(S)shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall ^(T)run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that ^(U)riverbank. ⁶ And one said to the man clothed in ^(V)linen, who was above the waters of the river, ^(W)“How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?”

⁷ Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he ^(X)held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him ^(Y)who lives forever, ^(Z)that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; ^(AA)and when the power of ^(AB)the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

⁸ Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?”

⁹ And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. ^10 (AC)Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, ^(AD)but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but ^(AE)the wise shall understand.

¹¹ “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. ¹² Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

¹³ “But you, go your way till the end; ^(AF)for you shall rest, ^(AG)and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”

Love for God and One Another

4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but ^(A)test the spirits, whether they are of God; because ^(B)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(C)Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess ^[a]that Jesus ^[b]Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

⁴ You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than ^(D)he who is in the world. ^5 (E)They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and ^(F)the world hears them. ⁶ We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. ^(G)By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Knowing God Through Love^(H)

^7 (I)Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who ^(J)loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ^9 (K)In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten ^(L)Son into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(M)not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son ^(N)to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, ^(O)if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

^12 (P)No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ^13 (Q)By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(R)we have seen and testify that ^(S)the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ^15 (T)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and ^(U)he who abides in love abides in God, and God ^(V)in him.

The Consummation of Love

¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that ^(W)we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ^19 (X)We love ^[c]Him because He first loved us.

Obedience by Faith

^20 (Y)If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, ^[d]how can he love God ^(Z)whom he has not seen? ²¹ And ^(AA)this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Prayer for Relief from Contempt

A Song of Ascents.