Saturday in Easter

24Verse 24. Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.” 25Verse 25. Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.” 26Verse 26. The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?” 27Verse 27. Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires. 28Verse 28. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these: 29Verse 29. As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen. 30Verse 30. And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind. 31Verse 31. As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome. 32Verse 32. The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, 33Verse 33. its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay. 34Verse 34. As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. 35Verse 35. Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36Verse 36. This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37Verse 37. You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory. 38Verse 38. Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. 39Verse 39. But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth. 40Verse 40. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; for iron shatters and crushes all things, and like iron that crushes all things, it will shatter and crush all the others. 41Verse 41. And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it — just as you saw the iron mixed with clay. 42Verse 42. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43Verse 43. As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so the peoples will mix with one another but will not hold together any more than iron mixes with clay. 44Verse 44. In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever. 45Verse 45. And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.” 46Verse 46. At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47Verse 47. The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.” 48Verse 48. Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 49Verse 49. And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

44Verse 44. Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me alone, but in the One who sent Me. 45Verse 45. And whoever sees Me sees the One who sent Me. 46Verse 46. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness. 47Verse 47. As for anyone who hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48Verse 48. There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words: The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49Verse 49. I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it. 50Verse 50. And I know that His command leads to eternal life. So I speak exactly what the Father has told Me to say.”