The End Times
1.“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2.Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3.Those who are wise12:3 Or who impart wisdom will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. 4.But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”
5.Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. 6.One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?”
7.The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time.12:7 Or a year, two years and half a year When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”
8.I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”
9.He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end. 10.Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
11.“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12.Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
13.“As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”
7.Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8.But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9.The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.10.Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.11.They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.12.Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
3.As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
15.
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’
24:15
Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16.then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
21.For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.22.
“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
29.
“Immediately after the distress of those days
“ ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
24:29
Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
30.
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth
24:30
Or
the
tribes of the land
will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14. 31.And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
11.Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12.And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13.The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14.Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15.Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
17.The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”18.He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19.I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20.However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”21.At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.22.
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
51.Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52.in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53.For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54.When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”15:54 Isaiah 25:855.“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”15:55 Hosea 13:1456.The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57.But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.58.Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
24.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25.Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26.For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27.And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.28.
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29.and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.
14.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15.Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16.In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
14.Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15.so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”2:15 Deut. 32:5 Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16.as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
Jeremiah Buys a Field
1.This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2.The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.
3.Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 4.Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians32:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 5, 24, 25, 28, 29 and 43 but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5.He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’ ”
6.Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7.Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’
8.“Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’
“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; 9.so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels32:9 That is, about 7 ounces or about 200 grams of silver. 10.I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11.I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— 12.and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.
13.“In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14.‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15.For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’
16.“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:
17.“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18.You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, 19.great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. 20.You performed signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. 21.You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. 22.You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23.They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them.
24.“See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see. 25.And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’ ”
26.Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27.“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? 28.Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. 29.The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods.
30.“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the Lord. 31.From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. 32.The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. 33.They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. 34.They set up their vile images in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. 35.They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.
36.“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37.I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38.They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39.I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40.I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41.I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.
42.“This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. 43.Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’ 44.Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes,32:44 Or will bring them back from captivity declares the Lord.”
The Two Witnesses
1.I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2.But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3.And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4.They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”11:4 See Zech. 4:3,11,14. 5.If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6.They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
7.Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8.Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9.For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10.The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
11.But after the three and a half days the breath11:11 Or Spirit (see Ezek. 37:5,14) of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12.Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
13.At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14.The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.
The Seventh Trumpet
15.The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will reign for ever and ever.”
16.And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17.saying:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18.The nations were angry,
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your people who revere your name,
both great and small—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
19.Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
13.“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,7:13 The Aramaic phrase bar enash means human being. The phrase son of man is retained here because of its use in the New Testament as a title of Jesus, probably based largely on this verse. coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14.He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.