Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

To the director: A song of David.

The Vision Is Explained to Daniel

¹⁵ I, Daniel, saw this vision and tried to understand what it meant. While I was thinking about the vision, someone who looked like a man suddenly stood in front of me. ¹⁶ Then I heard a man’s voice. This voice came from above the Ulai River. The voice called out, “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

¹⁷ So Gabriel, the angel who looked like a man, came to me. I was very afraid and fell down to the ground. But Gabriel said to me, “Human,^[a] understand that this vision is about the time of the end.”

¹⁸ While Gabriel was speaking, I fell to the ground and went to sleep. It was a very deep sleep. Then Gabriel touched me and lifted me to my feet. ¹⁹ He said, “Now, I will explain the vision to you. I will tell you what will happen in the future. Your vision was about the end times.

²⁰ “You saw a ram with two horns. The horns are the countries of Media and Persia. ²¹ The goat is the king of Greece. The big horn between its eyes is the first king. ²² That horn broke off and four horns grew in its place. The four horns are four kingdoms. Those four kingdoms will come from the nation of the first king, but they will not be as strong as the first king.

²³ “When the end is near for those kingdoms, there will be a very bold and cruel king who will be very tricky. This will happen when many people have turned against God. ²⁴ This king will be very powerful, but his power does not come from himself.^[b] This king will cause terrible destruction. He will be successful in everything he does. He will destroy powerful people—even God’s holy people.

²⁵ “This king will be very smart and tricky. He will use his wisdom and lies to be successful. He will think that he is very important. He will destroy many people, when they least expect it. He will try to fight even the Prince of Princes. But that cruel king’s power will be destroyed, and it will not be a human hand that destroys him.

²⁶ “What I said and the vision about those times are true. But seal up the vision, because those things will not happen for a long, long time.”

²⁷ I, Daniel, became very weak. I was sick for several days after that vision. Then I got up and went back to work for the king, but I was very upset about the vision. I did not understand what it meant.

Keep the Courage and Patience You Had

³² Remember the days when you first learned the truth. You had a hard struggle with much suffering, but you continued strong. ³³ Sometimes people said hateful things to you and mistreated you in public. And sometimes you helped others who were being treated that same way. ³⁴ Yes, you helped them in prison and shared in their suffering. And you were still happy when everything you owned was taken away from you. You continued to be happy, because you knew that you had something much better—something that would continue forever.

³⁵ So don’t lose the courage that you had in the past. Your courage will be rewarded richly. ³⁶ You must be patient. After you have done what God wants, you will get what he promised you. ³⁷ He says,

³⁹ But we are not those who turn back and are lost. No, we are the people who have faith and are saved.