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He is responsible for helping and defending me.
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And what I am now going to tell you is true." The angel said, "Three more kings will rule over Persia, followed by a fourth, who will be richer than all the others. At the height of his power and wealth he will challenge the kingdom of Greece.
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"Then a heroic king will appear. He will rule over a huge empire and do whatever he wants.
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But at the height of his power his empire will break up and be divided into four parts. Kings not descended from him will rule in his place, but they will not have the power that he had.
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"The king of Egypt will be strong. One of his generals, however, will be even stronger and rule a greater kingdom.
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After a number of years the king of Egypt will make an alliance with the king of Syria and give him his daughter in marriage. But the alliance will not last, and she, her husband, her child, and the servants who went with her will all be killed.
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Soon afterward one of her relatives will become king. He will attack the army of the king of Syria, enter their fortress, and defeat them.
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He will carry back to Egypt the images of their gods and the articles of gold and silver dedicated to those gods. After several years of peace
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the king of Syria will invade Egypt, but he will be forced to retreat.
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"The sons of the king of Syria will prepare for war and gather a large army. One of them will sweep on like a flood and attack an enemy fortress.
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In his anger the king of Egypt will go to war against the king of Syria and capture his huge army.
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He will be proud of his victory and of the many soldiers he has killed, but he will not continue to be victorious.
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"The king of Syria will go back and gather a larger army than he had before. When the proper time comes, he will return with a large, well-equipped army.
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Then many people will rebel against the king of Egypt. And some violent people from your nation, Daniel, will rebel because of a vision they have seen, but they will be defeated.
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So the king of Syria will lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The soldiers of Egypt will not continue to fight; even the best of them will not have enough strength.
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The Syrian invader will do with them as he pleases, without opposition. He will stand in the Promised Land and have it completely in his power.
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"The king of Syria will plan an expedition, using his whole army. Then, in order to destroy his enemy's kingdom, he will make an alliance with him and offer him his daughter in marriage; but his plan will not succeed.
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After that he will attack the nations by the sea and conquer many of them. But a foreign leader will defeat him and put an end to his arrogance; indeed he will turn the arrogance of Syria's king back on him.
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The king will return to the fortresses of his own land, but he will be defeated, and that will be the end of him.
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"He will be followed by another king, who will send an officer to oppress the people with taxes in order to increase the wealth of his kingdom. In a short time that king will be killed, but not publicly and not in battle."
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The angel went on to explain: "The next king of Syria will be an evil man who has no right to be king, but he will come unexpectedly and seize power by trickery.
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Anyone who opposes him, even God's High Priest, will be swept away and wiped out.
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By making treaties, he will deceive other nations, and he will grow stronger and stronger, even though he rules only a small nation.
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He will invade a wealthy province without warning and will do things that none of his ancestors ever did. Then he will divide among his followers the goods and property he has captured in war. He will make plans to attack fortresses, but his time will soon run out.
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"He will boldly raise a large army to attack the king of Egypt, who will prepare to fight back with a huge and powerful army. But the king of Egypt will be deceived and will not be successful.
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His closest advisers will ruin him. Many of his soldiers will be killed, and his army will be wiped out.
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Then the two kings will sit down to eat at the same table, but their motives will be evil, and they will lie to each other. They will not get what they want, because the time for it has not yet come.
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The king of Syria will return home with all the loot he has captured, determined to destroy the religion of God's people. He will do as he pleases and then return to his own land.
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"Later on he will invade Egypt again, but this time things will turn out differently.
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The Romans will come in ships and oppose him, and he will be frightened. "Then he will turn back in a rage and try to destroy the religion of God's people. He will follow the advice of those who have abandoned that religion.
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Some of his soldiers will make the Temple ritually unclean. They will stop the daily sacrifices and set up The Awful Horror.
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By deceit the king will win the support of those who have already abandoned their religion, but those who follow God will fight back.
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Wise leaders of the people will share their wisdom with many others. But for a while some of them will be killed in battle or be burned to death, and some will be robbed and made prisoners.
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While the killing is going on, God's people will receive a little help, even though many who join them will do so for selfish reasons.
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Some of those wise leaders will be killed, but as a result of this the people will be purified. This will continue until the end comes, the time that God has set.
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"The king of Syria will do as he pleases. He will boast that he is greater than any god, superior even to the Supreme God. He will be able to do this until the time when God punishes him. God will do exactly what he has planned.
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The king will ignore the god his ancestors served, and also the god that women love. In fact, he will ignore every god, because he will think he is greater than any of them.
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Instead, he will honor the god who protects fortresses. He will offer gold, silver, jewels, and other rich gifts to a god his ancestors never worshiped.
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To defend his fortresses, he will use people who worship a foreign god. He will give great honor to those who accept him as ruler, put them into high offices, and give them land as a reward.
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"When the king of Syria's final hour has almost come, the king of Egypt will attack him, and the king of Syria will fight back with all his power, using chariots, horses, and many ships. He will invade many countries, like the waters of a flood.
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He will even invade the Promised Land and kill tens of thousands, but the countries of Edom, Moab, and what is left of Ammon will escape.
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When he invades all those countries, even Egypt will not be spared.
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He will take away Egypt's hidden treasures of gold and silver and its other prized possessions. He will conquer Libya and Ethiopia.
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Then news that comes from the east and the north will frighten him, and he will fight furiously, killing many people.
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He will even set up his huge royal tents between the sea and the mountain on which the Temple stands. But he will die, with no one there to help him."
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The angel wearing linen clothes said, "At that time the great angel Michael, who guards your people, will appear. Then there will be a time of troubles, the worst since nations first came into existence. When that time comes, all the people of your nation whose names are written in God's book will be saved.
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Many of those who have already died will live again: some will enjoy eternal life, and some will suffer eternal disgrace.
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The wise leaders will shine with all the brightness of the sky. And those who have taught many people to do what is right will shine like the stars forever."
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He said to me, "And now, Daniel, close the book and put a seal on it until the end of the world. Meanwhile, many people will waste their efforts trying to understand what is happening."
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Then I saw two men standing by a river, one on each bank.
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One of them asked the angel who was standing further upstream, "How long will it be until these amazing events come to an end?"
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The angel raised both hands toward the sky and made a solemn promise in the name of the Eternal God. I heard him say, "It will be three and a half years. When the persecution of God's people ends, all these things will have happened."
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I heard what he said, but I did not understand it. So I asked, "But, sir, how will it all end?"
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He answered, "You must go now, Daniel, because these words are to be kept secret and hidden until the end comes.
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Many people will be purified. Those who are wicked will not understand but will go on being wicked; only those who are wise will understand.
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"From the time the daily sacrifices are stopped, that is, from the time of The Awful Horror, 1,290 days will pass.
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Happy are those who remain faithful until 1,335 days are over!
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"And you, Daniel, be faithful to the end. Then you will die, but you will rise to receive your reward at the end of time."
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Jesus was walking through some wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples began to pick the heads of wheat, rub them in their hands, and eat the grain.
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Some Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what our Law says you cannot do on the Sabbath?"
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Jesus answered them, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his men were hungry?
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He went into the house of God, took the bread offered to God, ate it, and gave it also to his men. Yet it is against our Law for anyone except the priests to eat that bread."
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And Jesus concluded, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
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On another Sabbath Jesus went into a synagogue and taught. A man was there whose right hand was paralyzed.
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Some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees wanted a reason to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.
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But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man, "Stand up and come here to the front." The man got up and stood there.
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Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you: What does our Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To help or to harm? To save someone's life or destroy it?"
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He looked around at them all; then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand became well again.
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They were filled with rage and began to discuss among themselves what they could do to Jesus.
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At that time Jesus went up a hill to pray and spent the whole night there praying to God.
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When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he named apostles:
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Simon (whom he named Peter) and his brother Andrew; James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
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Matthew and Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon (who was called the Patriot),
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Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became the traitor.
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When Jesus had come down from the hill with the apostles, he stood on a level place with a large number of his disciples. A large crowd of people was there from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from the coast cities of Tyre and Sidon;
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they had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those who were troubled by evil spirits also came and were healed.
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All the people tried to touch him, for power was going out from him and healing them all.
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Jesus looked at his disciples and said, "Happy are you poor; the Kingdom of God is yours!
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"Happy are you who are hungry now; you will be filled! "Happy are you who weep now; you will laugh!
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"Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and say that you are evil, all because of the Son of Man!
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Be glad when that happens and dance for joy, because a great reward is kept for you in heaven. For their ancestors did the very same things to the prophets.
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"But how terrible for you who are rich now; you have had your easy life!
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"How terrible for you who are full now; you will go hungry! "How terrible for you who laugh now; you will mourn and weep!
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"How terrible when all people speak well of you; their ancestors said the very same things about the false prophets.
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"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
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bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.
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If anyone hits you on one cheek, let him hit the other one too; if someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well.
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Give to everyone who asks you for something, and when someone takes what is yours, do not ask for it back.
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Do for others just what you want them to do for you.
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"If you love only the people who love you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners love those who love them!
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And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners do that!
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And if you lend only to those from whom you hope to get it back, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount!
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No! Love your enemies and do good to them; lend and expect nothing back. You will then have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked.
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Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.
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"Do not judge others, and God will not judge you; do not condemn others, and God will not condemn you; forgive others, and God will forgive you.
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Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands---all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you."
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And Jesus told them this parable: "One blind man cannot lead another one; if he does, both will fall into a ditch.
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No pupils are greater than their teacher; but all pupils, when they have completed their training, will be like their teacher.
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"Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but pay no attention to the log in your own eye?
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How can you say to your brother, 'Please, brother, let me take that speck out of your eye,' yet cannot even see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
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"A healthy tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a poor tree bear good fruit.
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Every tree is known by the fruit it bears; you do not pick figs from thorn bushes or gather grapes from bramble bushes.
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A good person brings good out of the treasure of good things in his heart; a bad person brings bad out of his treasure of bad things. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
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"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and yet don't do what I tell you?
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Anyone who comes to me and listens to my words and obeys them---I will show you what he is like.
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He is like a man who, in building his house, dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. The river flooded over and hit that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
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But anyone who hears my words and does not obey them is like a man who built his house without laying a foundation; when the flood hit that house it fell at once---and what a terrible crash that was!"
