Religious
Studies 132W
Philip
Jenkins
Daniel 8
1 In
the third year of King Belshazzar's reign, I, Daniel, had a vision,
after the one that had already appeared
to me.
2 In
my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of
Elam; in the vision I was beside the
Ulai Canal.
3 I
looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing
beside the canal, and the horns were
long. One of the horns was longer
than the other but grew up later.
4 I
watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the
south. No animal could stand against
him, and none could rescue from
his power. He did as he pleased and
became great.
5 As
I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn
between his eyes came from the west,
crossing the whole earth without
touching the ground.
6 He
came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal
and charged at him in great rage.
7 I
saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his
two horns. The ram was powerless to
stand against him; the goat knocked
him to the ground and trampled on him,
and none could rescue the ram
from his power.
8
The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large
horn was broken off, and in its place
four prominent horns grew up
toward the four winds of heaven.
9
Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in
power to the south and to the east and
toward the Beautiful Land.
10
It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of
the starry host down to the earth and
trampled on them.
11
It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it took away
the daily sacrifice from him, and the
place of his sanctuary was
brought low.
12
Because of rebellion, the host [of the saints] and the daily
sacrifice were given over to it. It
prospered in everything it did, and
truth was thrown to the ground.
13
Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him,
"How long will it take for the
vision to be fulfilled--the vision
concerning the daily sacrifice, the
rebellion that causes desolation,
and the surrender of the sanctuary and
of the host that will be
trampled underfoot?"
14
He said to me, "It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the
sanctuary will be reconsecrated."
15
While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it,
there before me stood one who looked
like a man.
16
And I heard a man's voice from the Ulai calling, "Gabriel, tell this
man the meaning of the vision."
17
As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and
fell prostrate. "Son of man,"
he said to me, "understand that the
vision concerns the time of the
end."
18
While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the
ground. Then he touched me and raised me
to my feet.
19
He said: "I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of
wrath, because the vision concerns the
appointed time of the end.
20
The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and
Persia.
21
The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his
eyes is the first king.
22
The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four
kingdoms that will emerge from his
nation but will not have the same
power.
23
"In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely
wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of
intrigue, will arise.
24
He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause
astounding devastation and will succeed
in whatever he does. He will
destroy the mighty men and the holy
people.
25
He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior.
When they feel secure, he will destroy
many and take his stand against
the Prince of princes. Yet he will be
destroyed, but not by human
power.
26
"The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is
true, but seal up the vision, for it
concerns the distant future."
27
I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up
and went about the king's business. I
was appalled by the vision; it
was beyond understanding.
1 As
he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look,
Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"
2
"Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one
stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
3 As
Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James,
John and Andrew asked him privately,
4
"Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that
they are all about to be fulfilled?" 5 Jesus said to them: "Watch out
that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, `I am he,' and
will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be
alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
8
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be
earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth
pains.
9
"You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils
and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors
and kings as witnesses to them.
10
And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are
arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just
say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy
Spirit.
12
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children
will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 All men will
hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14
"When you see `the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it
does not belong--let the reader understand--then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter
the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get his
cloak. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing
mothers!
18
Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of
distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until
now--and never to be equaled again. 20 If the Lord had not cut short those
days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen,
he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, `Look, here is
the Christ !' or, `Look, there he is!' do not believe it. 22 For false Christs
and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the
elect--if that were possible. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you
everything ahead of time. 24 "But in those days, following that distress, "`the
sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars will
fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' 26 "At that
time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
27
And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the
ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. 28 "Now learn this lesson
from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you
know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you
know that it is near, right at the door. 30 I tell you the truth, this
generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
32
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert [6]! You do not know
when that time will come.
34
It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in
charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep
watch.
35
"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house
will come back--whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster
crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.
37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: `Watch!'"
1
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him,
we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some
prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day
of the Lord has already come. 3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for
that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is
revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt
himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets
himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Don't you remember
that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know
what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For
the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds
it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the
lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the
breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of
the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds
of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that
deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the
truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so
that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have
not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
1 John 2
18
Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist
is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the
last hour.
19
They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had
belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that
none of them belonged to us.
20
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
21 I
do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know
it and because no lie comes from the truth.
22
Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man
is the antichrist--he denies the Father and the Son.
1
And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of
the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on
each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had
feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the
beast his power and his throne and great authority.
3
One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal
wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4
Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they
also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make
war against him?" 5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and
blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6 He opened his
mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and
those who live in heaven. 7 He was given power to make war against the saints
and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people,
language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all
whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb
that was slain from the creation of the world. 9 He who has an ear, let him
hear. 10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If
anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This
calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints. 11 Then
I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but
he spoke like a dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast on
his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast,
whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And he performed great and miraculous
signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men.
14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast,
he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in
honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was given
power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak
and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 He also forced
everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on
his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless
he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18
This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of
the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.
.............................................
17:1
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me,
“Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is seated on
many waters,
17:2
with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine
of whose fornication the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk.”
17:3
So he carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman
sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven
heads and ten horns.
17:4
The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels
and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the
impurities of her fornication;
17:5
and on her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the great,
mother of whores and of earth’s abominations.”
17:6
And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood
of the witnesses to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly amazed.
17:7
But the angel said to me, “Why are you so amazed? I will tell you the
mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that
carries her.
17:8
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to ascend from the
bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the inhabitants of the earth, whose
names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the
world, will be amazed when they see the beast, because it was and is not and is
to come.
17:9
“This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven
mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings,
17:10
of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come; and
when he comes, he must remain only a little while.
17:11
As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the
seven, and it goes to destruction.
17:12
And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a
kingdom, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with
the beast.
17:13
These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast;
17:14
they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord
of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and
faithful.”
17:15
And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the whore is seated,
are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.
17:16
And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore; they
will make her desolate and naked; they will devour her flesh and burn her up
with fire.
17:17
For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by agreeing to
give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.
17:18
The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the
earth.”
18:1
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority;
and the earth was made bright with his splendor.
18:2
He called out with a mighty voice, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! It has
become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt of every foul and hateful bird, a
haunt of every foul and hateful beast.
18:3
For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and
the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants
of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxury.”
18:4
Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, so
that you do not take part in her sins, and so that you do not share in her
plagues;
18:5
for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
18:6
Render to her as she herself has rendered, and repay her double for her deeds;
mix a double draught for her in the cup she mixed.
18:7
As she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so give her a like measure of
torment and grief. Since in her heart she says, I rule as a queen; I am no
widow, and I will never see grief,’
18:8
therefore her plagues will come in a single day — pestilence and mourning
and famine — and she will be burned with fire; for mighty is the Lord God
who judges her.”
18:9
And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived in luxury with
her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning;
18:10
they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, Alas, alas, the great
city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.”