Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Prayer for God to Be Near

For the director of music. A song of David.

¹⁵ I, Daniel, saw this vision. And I tried to understand what it meant. Then someone who looked like a man suddenly stood before me. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice calling from the Ulai River: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

¹⁷ Gabriel came to where I was standing. When he came close to me, I was very afraid. I bowed facedown on the ground. But Gabriel said to me, “Human being, understand that this vision is about the time of the end.”

¹⁸ While Gabriel was speaking, I fell into a deep sleep. My face was on the ground. Then he 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 later, in the time of God’s anger. Your vision was about the set time of the end.

²⁰ “You saw a male sheep with two horns. Those horns are the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ The male goat is the king of Greece. The big horn between its eyes is the first king. ²² After that horn broke, four horns grew in its place. Those 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 comes near for those kingdoms, a bold and cruel king will come. This king will tell lies. This will happen when many people have turned against God. ²⁴ This king will be very powerful. But his power will not come from himself. He will cause terrible destruction. He will be successful in everything he does. He will destroy powerful people and even God’s people. ²⁵ This king will use his wisdom to make lies successful. He will think that he is very important. He will destroy many people without warning. He will try to fight even God, the Prince of princes! But that cruel king will be destroyed. And it will not be human power that destroys him.

²⁶ “The vision that has been shown to you about those times is true. But seal up the vision. Those things won’t happen for a 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 didn’t understand what it meant.

³² Remember those days in the past when you first learned the truth. You had a hard struggle with many sufferings, but you continued strong. ³³ Sometimes you were hurt and persecuted before crowds of people. And sometimes you shared with those who were being treated that way. ³⁴ You helped the prisoners. And you even had joy when all that you owned was taken from you. You were joyful because you knew that you had something better and more lasting.

³⁵ So do not lose the courage that you had in the past. It has a great reward. ³⁶ You must hold on, so you can do what God wants and receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For in a very short time,

³⁹ But we are not those who turn back and are lost. We are people who have faith and are saved.