24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found ^xamong the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26 The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 ^ybut there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and ^zhe has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the ^avisions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, ^bnot because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a ^cstone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ^dbroke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became ^elike the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that ^fnot a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the ^gking of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And there shall be a ^hfourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,¹ but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And ⁱin the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom ^jthat shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ^kit shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel Is Promoted

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar ^lfell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is ^mGod of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler ⁿover the whole province of Babylon and ^ochief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and ^phe appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.

Rejoicing in Heaven

1 After this I heard what seemed to be the ^vloud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

3 Once more they cried out,

4 And the ^ctwenty-four elders and the ^dfour living creatures ^efell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, ^f“Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying,

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, ^jlike the roar of many waters and ^klike the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said¹ to me, ^o“Write this: ^pBlessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, ^q“These are the true words of God.” 10 Then ^rI fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is ^sthe spirit of prophecy.

The Rider on a White Horse

11 Then I saw ^theaven opened, and behold, a ^uwhite horse! The one sitting on it is called ^vFaithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 ^wHis eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written ^xthat no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe ^ydipped in² blood, and the name by which he is called is ^zThe Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 ^aFrom his mouth comes a sharp sword ^bwith which to strike down the nations, and ^che will rule³ them ^dwith a rod of iron. He will ^etread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, ^fKing of kings and Lord of lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice ^ghe called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 ^hto eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,⁴ both small and great.” 19 And I saw ⁱthe beast and the kings of the earth with their armies ^jgathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it ^kthe false prophet ^lwho in its presence⁵ had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who ^mworshiped its image. ⁿThese two were thrown alive into the ^olake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.