Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

This is a song that David wrote for the music leader.

A prayer for help^[a]

An angel explains Daniel's vision

¹⁵ When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. Then someone came to stand in front of me. He seemed like a man. ¹⁶ I heard a person's voice. It was coming across the Ulai river. The voice said, ‘Gabriel, help this man to understand the vision.’ ¹⁷ So Gabriel came towards me, where I was standing. I was very afraid and I fell down onto the ground. He said to me, ‘You, as a human, need to understand that the vision is about the end of time.’

¹⁸ While Gabriel spoke to me I was lying with my face on the ground. I was asleep. But he touched me and he caused me to stand up. ¹⁹ Then he said to me, ‘I will tell you what will happen at the end of time. It will be a time when God is very angry. The vision shows what will happen at the time that God has chosen. That will be the time for everything to finish.

²⁰ You saw a male sheep with two horns. Those horns mean the kingdoms of Media and Persia. ²¹ The male goat means the kingdom of Greece. The large horn between its eyes means the first king of Greece. ²² When that large horn broke, four horns grew in its place. Those horns show that the nation of Greece will become four separate kingdoms. But they will not be as powerful as the first kingdom.

²³ Near the end of the time when those kings rule, the people will be completely wicked. Then a proud, cruel king will appear. He will deceive people. ²⁴ He will become very strong, but this will not be a result of his own power. He will completely destroy many things. He will be successful in everything that he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and the holy people who belong to God. ²⁵ Because he is clever, he will completely deceive people. He will boast about his power. People will think that they are safe, but he will kill many of them. He will stand against the Ruler of all rulers. But God will destroy him, without human help.

²⁶ This vision about the evenings and the mornings is true. I have told you what it means. But keep the vision as a secret now. It will be a long time before these things happen.’

²⁷ After I, Daniel, saw this vision, I became very weak. I was sick for many days. Then I got up. I returned to my work to serve the king. The vision caused me to be very upset. I could not understand it.

³² Remember what happened to you in those early days. When you first understood the message about Christ, you had many troubles. But you continued to be strong. ³³ Sometimes people insulted you. They made you ashamed in front of other people. Sometimes you chose to help other Christians who had trouble like that. Their troubles became your troubles. ³⁴ You were kind to Christians who were in prison. When people took away your own things, you still chose to be happy. You knew that you had something better that would belong to you for ever.^[a]

³⁵ So continue to be strong in your thoughts. If you continue to trust God, you will receive great things. ³⁶ You need to be patient and strong. Then you will continue to do what God wants. As a result, you will receive what God has promised. ³⁷ This is what the Bible says:

³⁹ But we are not like those people who are afraid and who turn back. If we were, God would destroy us. But we are people who continue to trust God. And so, our lives are safe with God.