Day 359 – December 25, 2022

Daniel 2:1-3:24

​¹ Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he had a dream. His spirit was deeply troubled, and his sleep departed from him. ² So the king gave orders to summon the enchanters, the magicians, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. Thus they came and stood before the king.
³ Then the king said to them, “The king had a dream, and my spirit is deeply troubled to know the meaning of the dream.” ⁴ Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, “O king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will tell you its interpretation.” ⁵ The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The dream has departed from me. If you do not make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you shall be destroyed, and your houses will be plundered. ⁶ But if you do make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you will receive all kinds of gifts from me and be honored by me. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
⁷ But they answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will tell you its interpretation.” ⁸ The king answered them, “Truly, I know you are trying to gain time, because you see that the thing has departed from me. ⁹ Therefore if you do not tell me the dream, I will know that you have agreed beforehand to give my dream a false and corrupt interpretation. So before any more time passes by, tell me my dream, then I will know that you can tell me its interpretation.” ¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is no man on earth who can make known the king’s dream, and there is no great king or ruler who asks such a thing as this of any enchanter, magician, or Chaldean. ¹¹ The question you ask, O king, is difficult and above expectation, for there is no man who can tell the king his dream except the gods, whose dwelling is not with any flesh.” ¹² Then the king, angry and furious, commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ He decreed that the wise men be put to death, and he sought for Daniel and his friends to kill them.
God Reveals the Dream
¹⁴ Then with counsel and intelligence, Daniel spoke to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who went out to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ He asked him for what reason the bitter decree had come from the king. Then Arioch, the king’s official, made the reason known to Daniel. ¹⁶ So Daniel went in and entreated the king to give him time, and he would tell the king his dream and its interpretation. ¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ¹⁸ They sought mercies from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, that Daniel and his friends might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
¹⁹ Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision during the night. After that, Daniel blessed the God of heaven, ²⁰ saying, “May God’s name be blessed from now on and forever, for wisdom and understanding belong to Him. ²¹ He changes times and seasons; He appoints kings and removes them; He gives wisdom to the wise and insight to those who have skill. ²² He reveals deep and hidden things, and He knows what is in the darkness, and the light is with Him. ²³ I give thanks and praise to You, O God of my fathers, for You have given me wisdom and power. Now You have made known to me what I asked from You, for You made known the king’s vision to me.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
²⁴ Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king appointed to put to death the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Take me before the king, and I will tell the interpretation to the king.” ²⁵ Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I found a man among the children of the captivity of Judah who will tell the interpretation to the king.” ²⁶ The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Can you tell me the dream I saw and its interpretation?” ²⁷ Daniel answered before the king and said, “The mystery which the king demanded to be told to the king cannot be revealed by wise men, magicians, enchanters, and diviners. ²⁸ But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what must come to pass in the last days. Your dream and the visions in your head upon your bed was this: ²⁹ As for you, O king, thoughts came to you while on your bed as to what must happen after this, and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what must take place. ³⁰ But as for me, this mystery was not made known to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for the sake of making known the interpretation to the king, that you might know the thoughts of your heart.
³¹ “As for you, O king, you saw and beheld one great image. That image was very large and its appearance excellent. It stood before you, and its vision was fearful. ³² The image had a head made of fine gold, and its hands, chest, and arms were made of silver, and its stomach and thighs, of copper. ³³ Its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly clay. ³⁴ You saw while a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ground them to powder. ³⁵ Then at once the clay, the iron, the copper, the silver, and the gold were like dust from the summer threshing floor, and a great force of wind blew them away; and their place was not to be found. Then the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled all the earth.
  ³⁶ “This is the dream, and we will tell its interpretation before the king. ³⁷ You, O king, are a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a strong, mighty, and highly regarded kingdom. ³⁸ In every place where the children of men live, as well as the wild animals of the field and the birds of heaven—He put them all in your hand, and made you the lord of them all. You are the head made of gold. ³⁹ But after you another kingdom shall arise, inferior to yours; then a third kingdom of copper, which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ Then a fourth kingdom as strong as iron shall arise, and inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues everything, so also it shall break in pieces and subdue all things. ⁴¹ Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly clay and partly iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, in the manner you saw the iron mixed with the clay. ⁴² Whereas the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so part of the kingdom shall be strong and part of it shall be broken. ⁴³ Whereas you saw iron mixed with clay, they shall mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.
⁴⁴ “Then in the times of those kings, the God of heaven will raise up a kingdom, and it shall never be destroyed. This kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it will break in pieces and crush all these kingdoms; and it will stand forever. ⁴⁵ Whereas you saw the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, it ground to powder the clay, the iron, the copper, the silver, and the gold. Thus the great God has made known to the king what must come to pass after this. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Daniel and Companions Rule Babylon
⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and worshiped Daniel, and commanded sacrifices and drink offerings be made to him. ⁴⁷ The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God, He is the God of gods and the Lord of kings, who reveals mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.” ⁴⁸ Then King Nebuchadnezzar exalted Daniel and gave him many great gifts. He set him over the whole province of Babylon and over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ Daniel also petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the king’s palace.
The Golden Image
​¹ In his eighteenth year, King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image. Its height was sixty cubits and its width, six cubits, and he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. ² Then Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather together the high officials, the commanders, the governors, the rulers, and all those in authority, along with all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image King Nebuchadnezzar set up. ³ So the governors, the high officials, the leaders, the great rulers—all those in authority who ruled the provinces came to the dedication of the image King Nebuchadnezzar set up, and they stood before the image Nebuchadnezzar made.
⁴ Then the herald cried out in a loud voice, “To you it is commanded, O peoples and tribes and languages, ⁵ that in what hour you hear the sound of the trumpet, the pipe, the harp, the four-stringed instrument, the psaltery, the symphony, and every kind of music, you shall fall down and worship the golden image King Nebuchadnezzar set up. ⁶ But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace.” ⁷ So at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the trumpet, the pipe, the harp, the four-stringed instrument, the psaltery, the symphony, and every kind of music, all the peoples, tribes, and languages fell down and worshipped the golden image King Nebuchadnezzar set up.
Daniel’s Companions Refuse Idol Worship
⁸ Then Chaldean men came forward and brought charges against the Jews, ⁹ and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever. ¹⁰ You, O king, made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the trumpet, the pipe, the harp, the four-stringed instrument, the psaltery, the symphony, and every kind of music, ¹¹ but does not fall down and worship the golden image shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace. ¹² Now there are certain Jews you set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Those men did not obey your decree, O king; and they do not serve your gods, nor do they worship the golden image you set up.”
¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So the men were brought before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar then answered and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image I set up? ¹⁵ Now then, if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, the pipe, the harp, the four-stringed instrument, the psaltery, the symphony, and every kind of music, that you shall fall down and worship the golden image I made. But indeed, if you do not worship it at that time, you shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace. Then what god is there who will deliver you from my hands?”
¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “We have no need to answer you in regard to this thing. ¹⁷ For there is a God in the heavens, whom we serve, and He is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace; and He will deliver us from your hands, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image you set up.”
  Saved as through Fire
¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of anger, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So he commanded them to heat the furnace seven times more, until it burned to its fullest. ²⁰ Then he commanded certain very strong men to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ Thereupon, those men were bound together with their sandals, caps, leg-coverings, and clothing, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ²² Because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace was exceedingly hot, ²³ these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ²⁴ But they walked about in the midst of the flame, singing to God and praising the Lord.

Psalms 144:10–21

¹⁰ O Lord, let all Your works praise You
And Your holy ones bless You.
¹¹ They shall tell of Your kingdom’s glory,
And they shall speak of Your power,
¹² That all the sons of men may know Your power
And the glory of Your kingdom’s magnificence.
¹³ Your kingdom is a kingdom of all the ages,
And Your dominion is from generation to generation.
The Lord is faithful in His words
And holy in all His works.
¹⁴ The Lord supports all who stumble
And restores all who are broken down.
¹⁵ All eyes hope in You,
And You give them their food in due season.
¹⁶ You open Your hand
And fill every living thing with Your pleasure.
¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in all His ways
And holy in all His works.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
¹⁹ He shall do the will of those who fear Him,
And He shall hear their supplications and save them.
²⁰ The Lord keeps all who love Him,
But all the sinners He shall utterly destroy.
²¹ My mouth shall speak the Lord’s praise,
And let all flesh bless His holy name
  Forever and unto ages of ages.

Proverbs 30:31–35

³¹ There are three things which walk easily,
And a fourth that strides well:
³² The cub of a lion, stronger than other animals
And does not turn away, neither fears any animal;
³³ A cock, walking about boldly among the hens;
A he-goat, leading a flock;
And a king, speaking publicly to the people.
³⁴ If you abandon yourself to merriment
And stretch forth your hand with contention, you will be dishonored.
³⁵ Churn milk, and it will become butter;
And if you squeeze someone’s nose, blood will come out;
And if you draw out words, condemnations and contentions will emerge.

Revelation 16:8–21

⁸ Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.
⁹ And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.
Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain
¹⁰ Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.
¹¹ They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up
¹² Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
¹³ And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
¹⁴ For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
¹⁵ “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
¹⁶ And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Seventh Bowl: The Earth Utterly Shaken
¹⁷ Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
¹⁸ And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.
¹⁹ Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
²⁰ Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
²¹ And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.