Old/New Testament
11 “In the first year Darius the Mede was king, I stood up to support Michael. I supported him in his fight against the prince of Persia.
Kingdoms of the South and North
2 “Now then, Daniel, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will rule in Persia. Then a fourth king will come. He will be much richer than all the kings of Persia before him. He will use his riches to get power. And he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king will come. He will rule with great power. He will do anything he wants. 4 After that king has come, his kingdom will be broken up. It will be divided out toward the four parts of the world. His kingdom will not go to his descendants. And it will not have the power that he had. This is because his kingdom will be pulled up and given to other people.
5 “The king of the South will become strong. But one of his commanders will become even stronger. He will begin to rule his own kingdom with great power. 6 Then after a few years, the king of the South and the commander will become friends. The daughter of the king of the South will marry the king of the North. She will do this to bring peace. But she will not keep her power. And his family will not last. She, her husband, her child and those who brought her to that country will be killed.
7 “But a person from her family will become king of the South. He will attack the armies of the king of the North. He will go into that king’s strong, walled city. He will fight and win. 8 He will take their gods and their metal idols. He will also take their valuable things made of silver and gold. He will take those things to Egypt. Then he will not bother the king of the North for a few years. 9 Next, the king of the North will attack the king of the South. But he will be beaten back to his own country.
10 “The sons of the king of the North will prepare for war. They will get a large army together. That army will move through the land very quickly, like a powerful flood. Later, that army will come back and fight. They will fight all the way to the strong, walled city of the king of the South. 11 Then the king of the South will become very angry. He will march out to fight against the king of the North. The king of the North will have a large army. But he will lose the battle. 12 The soldiers will be carried away. So the king of the South will be very proud. And he will kill thousands of soldiers from the northern army. But he will not continue to be successful. 13 The king of the North will gather another army. That army will be larger than the first one. After several years he will attack. That army will be very large, and it will have plenty of weapons.
14 “In those times many people will be against the king of the South. Some of your own people who love to fight will turn against the king of the South. They will think it is time for God’s promises to come true. But it will not be the time yet. And they will fail. 15 Then the king of the North will come. He will build dirt roads to the tops of the city walls. And he will capture a strong, walled city. The southern army will not have the power to fight back. Even their best soldiers will not be strong enough to stop the northern army. 16 The king of the North will do whatever he wants. No one will be able to stand against him. He will gain power and control in the beautiful land of Israel. And he will have the power to destroy it. 17 The king of the North will decide to use all his power to fight against the king of the South. He will make an agreement with the king of the South. The king of the North will give one of his daughters as a wife to the king of the South. He will do that so he can defeat the king of the South. But those plans will not succeed or help him. 18 Then the king of the North will turn his attention to other places. He will take many cities along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. But a commander will put an end to the pride of the king of the North. The commander will turn that pride back on him. 19 After that happens the king of the North will go back to the strong, walled cities of his own country. But he will lose his power. That will be the end of him.
20 “The next king of the North will send out a tax collector. He will then have plenty of money. In a few years that ruler will be killed. But he will not die in anger or in a battle.
21 “That ruler will be followed by a very cruel and hated man. He will not have the honor of being from a king’s family. He will attack the kingdom when the people feel safe. He will take power by lying to the people. 22 He will sweep away in defeat large and powerful armies. He will even defeat a prince who made an agreement. 23 Many nations will make agreements with that cruel and hated ruler. But he will lie to them. He will gain much power. But only a few people will support him. 24 The richest areas will feel safe. But that cruel and hated ruler will attack them. And he will succeed where his ancestors did not. He will take things from the countries he defeated. And he will give those things to his followers. He will plan to defeat and destroy strong cities. He will be successful, but only for a short time.
25 “That very cruel and hated ruler will have a large army. He will use it to stir up his strength and courage. He will attack the king of the South. The king of the South will get a large and very powerful army and get ready for war. But the people who are against him will make secret plans. And the king of the South will be defeated. 26 There were people who were supposed to be good friends of the king of the South. But they will try to destroy him. His army will be swept away in defeat. Many of his soldiers will be killed in battle. 27 Those two kings will want to hurt each other. They will sit at the same table and lie to each other. But it will not do either one any good. This is because God has set a time for their end to come. 28 The king of the North will go back to his own country with much wealth. Then he will decide to go against the holy agreement. He will do what he planned. Then he will go back to his own country.
29 “At the right time the king of the North will attack the king of the South again. But this time he will not be successful as he was before. 30 Ships from the west will come and fight against the king of the North. He will see those ships coming and be afraid. Then he will return and show his anger against God’s people who obey the holy agreement. He will be good to those who have stopped obeying the holy agreement.
31 “The king of the North will send his army. They will make the Temple in Jerusalem unclean. They will stop the people from offering the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the horrible thing that destroys. 32 The king of the North will tell lies to God’s people. Those who have not obeyed God will be ruined. But there will be some who know God and obey him. They will be strong and fight back.
33 “Those who are wise will help the others understand what is happening. But some of them will be killed with swords. Some will be burned or taken captive. Some of them will have their homes and things taken away. These things will continue for many days. 34 When the wise ones are suffering, they will get a little help. Many who join the wise ones will not love God. 35 Some of the wise ones will be killed. But the hard times must come. This is so they can be made stronger and purer. They will be without faults until the time of the end comes. Then, at the right time the end will come.
The King Who Praises Himself
36 “The king of the North will do whatever he wants. He will brag about himself. He will praise himself and think he is even better than a god. He will say things against the God of gods that no one has ever heard. He will be successful until all the bad things have happened. What God has planned to happen will happen. 37 That king of the North will not care about the gods his ancestors worshiped. He won’t care about the god that women worship. He won’t care about any god. Instead, he will make himself more important than any god. 38 The king of the North will worship power and strength. His ancestors did not love power as he will. He will honor the god of power with gold and silver, expensive jewels and gifts. 39 That king will attack strong, walled cities. He will do it with the help of a foreign god. He will give much honor to the people who join him. He will make them rulers in charge of many other people. He will make those rulers pay him for the land they rule.
40 “At the time of the end, the king of the South will fight a battle against the king of the North. The king of the North will attack him. He will attack with chariots and soldiers on horses and many large ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through their lands like a flood. 41 The king of the North will attack the beautiful land of Judah. He will defeat many countries. But Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be saved from him. 42 The king of the North will show his power in many countries. Egypt will not escape. 43 The king will get treasures of gold and silver. And he will get all the riches of Egypt. The Libyan and Nubian people will obey him. 44 But the king of the North will hear news from the east and the north. And it will make him afraid and angry. He will go to destroy completely many nations. 45 He will set up his royal tents. They will be between the sea and the beautiful mountain where the Temple is built. But, finally, his end will come. There will not be anyone to help him when he dies.
The Time of the End
12 “Daniel, at that time Michael, the great prince, will stand up. (He is the one who protects your people.) There will be a time of much trouble. It will be the worst time since nations have been on earth. But your people will be saved. Everyone whose name is written in God’s book will be saved. 2 Many people who have already died will live again. Some of them will wake up to have life forever. But some will wake up to find shame and disgrace forever. 3 The wise people will shine like the brightness of the sky. Those who teach others to live right will shine like stars forever and ever.
4 “But you, Daniel, close up the book and seal it. These things will happen at the time of the end. Many people will go here and there to find true knowledge.”
5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and I saw two other men. One was standing on my side of the river. And the other was standing on the far side. 6 The man who was dressed in linen was standing over the water in the river. One of the two men spoke to him. He asked, “How long will it be before these amazing things come true?”
7 The man dressed in linen who stood over the water raised his hands toward heaven. And I heard him make a promise. He used the name of God who lives forever. He said, “It will be for three and one-half years. The power of the holy people will finally be broken. Then all these things will come true.”
8 I heard the answer, but I did not really understand. So I asked, “Master, what will happen after all these things come true?”
9 He answered, “Go your way, Daniel. The message is closed up and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many people will be made clean, pure and spotless. But the wicked will continue to be wicked. And those wicked people will not understand these things. But the wise people will understand them.
11 “The daily sacrifice will be stopped. There will be 1,290 days from that time. Then the horrible thing that destroys will be set up. 12 Those who wait for the end of the 1,335 days will be happy.
13 “As for you, Daniel, go your way till the end. You will get your rest when you die. And at the end you will rise from the dead to get your reward.”
Warnings About False Teachers
1 From Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.
To all who have been called by God. God the Father loves you, and you have been kept safe in Jesus Christ.
2 All mercy, peace, and love be yours.
God Will Punish Sinners
3 Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you about the salvation we all share together. But I felt the need to write to you about something else: I want to encourage you to fight hard for the faith that God gave his holy people. God gave this faith once, and it is good for all time. 4 Some people have secretly entered your group. They have already been judged guilty for the things they are doing. Long ago the prophets wrote about these people. They are against God. They have used the grace of our God in the wrong way—to do sinful things. They refuse to accept Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
5 I want to remind you of some things that you already know: Remember that the Lord[a] saved his people by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. But later the Lord destroyed all those who did not believe. 6 And remember the angels who had power but did not keep it. They left their own home. So the Lord has kept these angels in darkness. They are bound with everlasting chains, to be judged on the great day. 7 Also remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah[b] and the other towns around them. They acted as the angels who did not obey God. Their towns were full of sexual sin and men having physical relations with men. They suffer the punishment of eternal fire, as an example for all to see.
8 It is the same with these people who have entered your group. They are guided by dreams. They make themselves dirty with sin. They reject God’s authority and say bad things against the glorious angels. 9 Not even the archangel[c] Michael did this. He argued with the devil about who would have the body of Moses. Michael did not dare to accuse the devil with insults. He said, “The Lord punish you.” 10 But these people say bad things about what they do not understand. They do understand some things. But they understand them not by thinking, but by feeling, the way dumb animals understand things. And these are the very things that destroy them. 11 It will be bad for them. They have followed the way that Cain went. To make money, they have given themselves to doing the wrong that Balaam did. They have fought against God as Korah did. And like Korah, they will be destroyed. 12 They are like dirty spots in the special meals you share together. They eat with you and have no fear. They take care of only themselves. They are clouds without rain. The wind blows them around. They are trees that have no fruit when it is time and are pulled out of the ground. So they are dead two times. 13 They are like wild waves in the sea. These people do shameful things in the same way waves make foam. They are like stars that wander in the sky. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them forever.
14 Enoch, the seventh descendant from Adam, said this about these people: “Look, the Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy angels. 15 The Lord will judge every person. He is coming to judge everyone and to punish all who are against God. He will punish them for all the evil they have done against him. And he will punish the sinners who are against God. He will punish them for all the evil things they have said against him.”
16 These people always complain and blame others. They always do the evil things they want to do. They brag about themselves. The only reason they say good things about other people is to get what they want.
A Warning and Things to Do
17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said before. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be people who laugh about God. They will do only what they want to do—things that are against God.” 19 These are the people who divide you. They do only what their sinful selves want. They do not have the Spirit.
20 But dear friends, use your most holy faith to build yourselves up strong. Pray with the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God’s love. Wait for the Lord Jesus Christ with his mercy to give you life forever.
22 Show mercy to people who have doubts. 23 Save them. Take them out of the fire. Show mercy mixed with fear to others. Hate even their clothes which are dirty from sin.
Praise God
24 God is strong and can help you not to fall. He can bring you before his glory without any wrong in you and give you great joy. 25 He is the only God. He is the One who saves us. To him be glory, greatness, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord for all time past, now, and forever. Amen.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.