³⁶ “Then the king will ^(A)do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself and ^(B)boast against every god and will ^(C)speak ^[a]dreadful things against the ^(D)God of gods; and he will be successful until the ^(E)indignation is finished, because that which is ^(F)determined will be done. ³⁷ And he will show no regard for the ^[b]gods of his fathers or for the ^[c]desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will boast against them all. ³⁸ But ^[d]instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, precious stones, and treasures. ³⁹ And he will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to ^[e]those who acknowledge him and will make them rulers over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

⁴⁰ “And at the ^(G)end time the ^(H)king of the South will wage war with him, and the ^(I)king of the North will ^(J)storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter countries, ^(K)overflow them, and pass through. ⁴¹ He will also enter the ^[f](L)Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, ^(M)Moab, and the foremost of the sons of ^(N)Ammon. ⁴² Then he will reach out with his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. ⁴³ But he will ^[g]gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and ^(O)Libyans and ^(P)Ethiopians will follow at his ^[h]heels. ⁴⁴ But rumors from the East and from the North will terrify him, and he will go out with great wrath to eliminate and ^[i]annihilate many. ⁴⁵ And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful ^(Q)Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

The Time of the End

12 “Now at that time ^(R)Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a ^(S)time of distress ^(T)such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the ^(U)book, will be rescued. ² And ^(V)many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, ^(W)these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting ^[j]contempt. ³ And ^[k]those who have ^(X)insight will ^(Y)shine like the glow of the ^[l]expanse of heaven, and those who ^[m](Z)lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. ⁴ But as for you, Daniel, ^(AA)keep these words secret and ^(AB)seal up the book until the ^(AC)end of time; ^(AD)many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the stream and the other on that bank of the stream. ⁶ And ^(AE)someone said to the man ^(AF)dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “^(AG)How long will it be until the end of these wonders?” ⁷ And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, ^[n]as he ^(AH)raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by ^(AI)Him who lives forever that it would be for a ^[o](AJ)time, ^[p]times, and half a ^[q]time; and as soon as ^[r]they finish ^(AK)smashing the ^[s]power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. ⁸ But as for me, I heard but did not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the ^[t]outcome of these events?” ⁹ And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words will be kept secret and ^(AL)sealed up until the end time. ^10 (AM)Many will be purged, ^[u]cleansed, and refined, but the ^(AN)wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but ^[v]those who ^(AO)have insight will understand. ¹¹ And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the ^(AP)abomination ^[w]of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. ^12 (AQ)Blessed is the one who is patient and attains to the ^(AR)1,335 days! ¹³ But as for you, go your way to the ^[x]end; then you will ^(AS)rest and ^[y]rise for your ^(AT)allotted portion at the end of the ^[z]age.”

Testing the Spirits

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

God Is Love

^7 (T)Beloved, let’s ^(U)love one another; for love is from God, and ^(V)everyone who loves has been ^(W)born of God and ^(X)knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because ^(Y)God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was revealed ^[a](Z)in us, that ^(AA)God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(AB)not that we loved God, but that ^(AC)He loved us and sent His Son to be ^(AD)the ^[b]propitiation for our sins. ^11 (AE)Beloved, if God so loved us, ^(AF)we also ought to love one another. ^12 (AG)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His ^(AH)love is perfected in us. ^13 (AI)By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen and ^(AJ)testify that the Father has ^(AK)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

^15 (AL)Whoever confesses that ^(AM)Jesus is the Son of God, God ^(AN)remains in him, and he in God. ^16 (AO)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has ^[c](AP)for us. ^(AQ)God is love, and the one who ^(AR)remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. ¹⁷ By this, ^(AS)love is perfected with us, so that we may have ^(AT)confidence in ^(AU)the day of judgment; because ^(AV)as He is, we also are in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(AW)perfect love drives out fear, because fear ^[d]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not ^(AX)perfected in love. ^19 (AY)We love, because He first loved us. ^20 (AZ)If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he ^(BA)hates his brother or sister, he is a ^(BB)liar; for ^(BC)the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, ^(BD)cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(BE)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God ^(BF)must also love his brother and sister.

Prayer for the Lord’s Help.

A Song of Ascents.