In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king,
he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”
Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.
. . .
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, and it concerned a great conflict. And the understanding of the message was given to him in a vision.
In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.
I ate no rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I did not anoint myself with oil until the three weeks were completed.
On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,
I lifted up my eyes, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.
. . .
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.
I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
With one accord they all continued in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring in some Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—
young men without blemish, handsome, gifted in all wisdom, knowledgeable, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace—and to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans.
The king assigned them daily provisions of the royal food and wine. They were to be trained for three years, after which they were to enter the king’s service.
. . .
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
. . .
These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.
. . .
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
. . .
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”
Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech.
And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.
“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”
Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building.
. . .
“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
. . .
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.
Now when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them,
the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.”
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
. . .
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.
Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.
. . .
“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”
A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
. . .
After the anguish of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
. . .
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”
And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him, but they were unable to reach Him because of the crowd.
He was told, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see You.”
But He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and carry it out.”
Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to summon Him,
and a crowd was sitting around Him. “Look,” He was told, “Your mother and brothers are outside, asking for You.”
But Jesus replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?”
Looking at those seated in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”
This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.
Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
. . .
While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him.
Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.”
But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?”
Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers.
For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
. . .
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain.
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.
Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first resurrection.
. . .
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.