Dec 9th

O king, the Most High God granted the kingdom, grandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father.

And because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue feared and were in dread before him; whomever he wished he killed, and whomever he wished he kept alive, and whomever he wished he raised up, and whomever he wished he made low.

But when his heart was raised up and his spirit became so strong that he behaved arrogantly, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken away from him.

He was also driven away from the sons of men, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his place of habitation was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of the sky until he knew that the Most High God is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankind and that He sets up over it whomever He wishes.

Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not made your heart lowly, even though you knew all this,

but you have raised yourself up against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear, or know. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not honored.

Then the hand was sent from Him, and this writing was inscribed.

“Now this is the writing that was inscribed: ‘MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN.’

This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENĒ’—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.

‘TEKĒL’—you have been weighed on the scales and found lacking.

‘PERĒS’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

Then Belshazzar said the word, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now would be the third powerful ruler in the kingdom.

That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.

So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.

It seemed good to Darius that he set 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom,

and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss.

Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because an extraordinary spirit was in him, and the king planned to set him over the entire kingdom.

Then the commissioners and satraps began seeking to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to matters of the kingdom; but they were not able to find any ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him.

Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”

Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever!

All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have counseled together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who seeks to make a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den.

Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the written document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.”

Therefore King Darius signed the written document, that is, the injunction.

Now when Daniel knew that the written document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.

Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel seeking to make a petition and making supplication before his God.

Then they came near and said before the king concerning the king’s injunction, “Did you not sign an injunction that any man who seeks to make a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?” The king answered and said, “The word is certain, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.”

Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps seeking to make his petition three times a day.”

Then, as soon as the king heard this word, he was greatly distressed within himself and set his mind on saving Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to deliver him.

Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”

Then the king said the word, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself save you.”

And a stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel.

Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.

Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and hurriedly went to the lions’ den.

When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to save you from the lions?”

Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!

My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have done no harm.”

Then the king was greatly pleased and said for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no harm whatsoever was found on him because he had believed in his God.

The king then said the word, and they brought those men who had brought charges against Daniel, and they cast them, their children, and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue who were inhabiting all the land: “May your peace abound!

I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and be in dread before the God of Daniel;

So this Daniel enjoyed success in the kingdom of Darius and in the kingdom of Cyrus the Persian.

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his head as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and said the following summary of the matter.

Daniel answered and said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.

And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.

The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; and a heart of a man was given to it.

And behold, another beast, a second one in the likeness of a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’

After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, fearsome and terrifying and extraordinarily strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great boasts.

Then I kept looking because of the sound of the great boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was killed, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire.

As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for an appointed season of time.

See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we would be called children of God; and we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Everyone who does sin also does lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

And you know that He was manifested in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.

No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or has come to know Him.

Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

The one who does sin is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. The Son of God was manifested for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifested: everyone who does not do righteousness is not of God, as well as the one who does not love his brother.

For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

Do not marvel, brothers, if the world hates you.

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. The one who does not love abides in death.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

And by this we will know that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him

in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He gave a commandment to us.

And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He gave us.