Bible Readings for December 4, 2021

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Daniel 11:36–12:13; 1 John 4:1-21; Psalm 123:1-4; and Proverbs 29:2-4. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.  

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Daniel 11:36-12:13 (Contemporary English Version)

³⁶This king will do as he pleases. He will proudly claim to be greater than any god and will insult the only true God. Indeed, he will be successful until God is no longer angry with his people. ³⁷This king will reject the gods his ancestors worshiped and the god preferred by women. ^a] In fact, he will put himself above all gods ³⁸and worship only the so-called god of fortresses, who was unknown to his ancestors. And he will honor it with gold, silver, precious stones, and other costly gifts. ³⁹With the help of this foreign god, he will capture the strongest fortresses. Everyone who worships this god will be put in a position of power and rewarded with wealth and land.

Part Three: The Time of the End

 ⁴⁰ At the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the kingdom of the north. But its king will rush out like a storm with war chariots, cavalry, and many ships. Indeed, his forces will flood one country after another, ⁴¹and when they reach the holy land, ^b] tens of thousands will be killed. But the countries of Edom and Moab and the ruler of Ammon ^c] will escape. ⁴²The king of the north will invade many countries, including Egypt, ⁴³and he will take its rich treasures of gold and silver. He will also conquer Libya and Ethiopia. ^d] 44But he will be alarmed by news from the east and the north, and he will become furious and cause great destruction.⁴⁵After this, he will set up camp between the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Zion. Then he will be destroyed, and no one will be able to save him.

Daniel 12

Part Four: The Dead Will Rise to Life

 ¹ Michael, the chief of the angels, is the protector of your people, and he will come at a time of terrible suffering, the worst in all of history. And your people who have their names written in The Book ^e] will be protected. ²Many of those who lie dead in the ground will rise from death. Some of them will be given eternal life, and others will receive nothing but eternal shame and disgrace. ³Everyone who has been wise will shine as bright as the sky above, and everyone who has led others to please God will shine like the stars. ⁴Daniel, I now command you to keep the message of this book secret until the end of time, even though many people will go everywhere, searching for the knowledge to be found in it. ^f]

The End of Time

 ⁵Daniel wrote:   I looked around and saw two other people--one on this side of the river and one on the other side. ⁶The angel who had spoken to me was dressed in linen and was standing upstream from them. ^g] So one of the two beside the river asked him, " How long before these amazing things happen?" ⁷The angel then raised both hands toward heaven and said, " In the name of the God who lives forever, I solemnly promise that it will be a time, two times, and half a time. ^h] Everything will be over, when the suffering of God's holy people comes to an end." ⁸I heard what the angel said, but I didn't understand. So I asked, " Sir, how will it all end?"
   The angel in my vision then replied:
    ⁹Daniel, go about your business, because the meaning of this message will remain secret until the end of time. ¹⁰Many people will have their hearts and lives made pure and clean, but those who are evil will keep on being evil and never understand. Only the wise will understand. ¹¹There will be one thousand two hundred ninety days from the time that the daily sacrifices are stopped, until someone sets up the " Horrible Thing" that causes destruction. ¹²God will bless everyone who patiently waits until one thousand three hundred thirty-five days have gone by.
    ¹³So, Daniel, be faithful until the end! You will rest, and at the end of time, you will rise from death to receive your reward. 

Footnotes:

1. Daniel 11:37 god preferred by women: Perhaps Tammuz or Adonis, which were popular among the women of that time.
2. Daniel 11:41 the holy land: See the note at 8.9.
3. Daniel 11:41 the ruler of Ammon: Or " what is left of Ammon."
4. Daniel 11:43 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has " Cush," which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
5. Daniel 12:1 The Book: Either the book with the names of God's people in it or the book with the record of the good and evil that people have done.
6. Daniel 12:4 even though. . . in it: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Daniel 12:6 angel. . . upstream from them: See 10.4-6.
8. Daniel 12:7 a time, two times, and half a time: Or " a year, two years, and half a year," that is, about 1260 days.

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1 John 4:1-21 (Contemporary English Version)

1 John 4

God Is Love

 ¹Dear friends, don't believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit of God. Test them all to find out if they really do come from God. Many false prophets have already gone out into the world, ²and you can know which ones come from God. His Spirit says that Jesus Christ had a truly human body. ³But when someone doesn't say this about Jesus, you know that person has a spirit that doesn't come from God and is the enemy of Christ. You knew that this enemy was coming into the world and now is already here.    ⁴Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God's Spirit ^a] is in you and is more powerful than the one that is in the world. ⁵These enemies belong to this world, and the world listens to them, because they speak its language. ⁶We belong to God, and everyone who knows God will listen to us. But the people who don't know God won't listen to us. That is how we can tell the Spirit that speaks the truth from the one that tells lies. ⁷My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows that we have been given new life. We are now God's children, and we know him. ⁸God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him. ⁹God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. ¹⁰Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. ¹¹Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other.
    ¹²No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is truly in our hearts.
    ¹³God has given us his Spirit. That is how we know that we are one with him, just as he is one with us. ¹⁴God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. We saw his Son and are now telling others about him. ¹⁵God stays one with everyone who openly says that Jesus is the Son of God. That's how we stay one with God ¹⁶and are sure that God loves us.
   God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and he will stay one with us. ¹⁷If we truly love others and live as Christ did in this world, we won't be worried about the day of judgment. ¹⁸A real love for others will chase those worries away. The thought of being punished is what makes us afraid. It shows that we have not really learned to love.
    ¹⁹We love because God loved us first. ²⁰But if we say we love God and don't love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don't love the people we can see? ²¹The commandment that God has given us is: "Love God and love each other!" 

Footnotes:

1. 1 John 4:4 God's Spirit: The Greek text has "he" and may refer to the Spirit or to God or to Jesus.

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Psalm 123:1-4 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 123

(A song for worship.)

A Prayer for Mercy

 ¹Our LORD and our God,   I turn my eyes to you,
   on your throne in heaven.
    ²Servants look to their master,
   but we will look to you,
   until you have mercy on us.
    ³Please have mercy, LORD!
   We have been insulted
   more than we can stand,
    ⁴and we can't take more abuse
   from those proud,
   conceited people.

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Proverbs 29:2-4 (Contemporary English Version)

²When justice rules a nation,
   everyone is glad;
   when injustice rules,
   everyone groans.
    ³If you love wisdom
   your parents will be glad,
   but chasing after bad women
   will cost you everything.
    ⁴An honest ruler
   makes the nation strong;
   a ruler who takes bribes
   will bring it to ruin.

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Thought for the Day

 

“Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, "I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won't be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” (John 8:12 - Contemporary English Version) Jesus is the light for the world. Thought him, we have direction. And in him, we have life and hope.

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Quote for the Day

American Nobel Prize–winning bacteriologist and geneticist, Alfred Hershey wrote, “Humans love truth and justice, and rejoice in ceremonies that honor those qualities. For that sentiment we should indeed thank God.”

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Joke for Today

While working at a pizza parlor, I observed a man ordering a small pizza to go. He appeared to be alone and the cook asked him if he would like it cut into 4 pieces or 6.

He thought about it for some time then said, "Just cut it into 4 pieces; I don't think I'm hungry enough to eat 6 pieces."

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A Prayer Request

As Christians, we can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Below is the need that we're laying before God today.

That we're sensitive to all those effected by the COVID-19 pandemic.