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December 4
Ezekiel 47-48: The river that flows from the Temple to the Dead Sea does something miraculous in Ezek 47:8. What? What is special about the trees in 47:12? Do they remind you of the Tree of Life that you will encounter in Revelation? What will the name of the city be in 48:35?
1 John 3: Why are Christians misunderstood and even persecuted (1 John 3:1b)? [John gives puzzling statements in 3:5-9, suggesting that Christians do not sin, contrary to his statement in 1:8. He no doubt is referring in Chapter 3 to habitual sin or a life of sin without repentance.] What attitude or activity should characterize the Christian (3:10-23)?
December 5
Daniel 1-2: What were the names of the four Hebrew young men taken into captivity (1:6, 7,11, 19)? What were their Babylonian names (1:7)? How did Daniel determine the content of the king’s dream (2:16-23)? What was the basic content of the king’s dream? What reward did the king give Daniel (2:46-49)? What was the king’s attitude toward the God of Daniel (2:47)?
1 John 4: How can we detect the Spirit of God (4:2-3)? What promise do we find in 4:4? What attitude is recommended again in 4:12-21?
December 6
Daniel 3-4: What was the king’s attitude toward God in 3:26, 28-29? What was the basic content of the king’s second dream? What was the result (4:28-33)? What was the king’s attitude toward God in 4:34-37?
1 John 5: How is love of God demonstrated (5:2-4)? How do we achieve victory (5:4)? What is John’s warning in 5:21? Do we have idols in our day?
December 7
Daniel 5-7: [Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus, who usurped the throne upon the death of Nebuchadnezzar; Nabonidus soon relinquished power to his son and retreated to his country home to worship the moon God. That is how Belshazzar comes to rule as second in the kingdom (5:1, 7, 16)]. What does Belshazzar see at the banquet (5:5)? What interpretation does Daniel give Belshazzar (5:25-28)? What happens later that night (5:30-31)? Was King Darius pleased with his decree (6:14)? What did the king do (6:16, 19-20)? What did the king write (6:25-27)? [Chapter 7 records an earlier vision which Daniel received while Belshazzar was still ruling]. Does the vision of 7:1-8 correspond to the dream in 2:31-45? What happens to the Son of Man in 7:13-14? Was “Son of Man” a good title for Jesus to use for himself?
2 John: What pleases John in v.4? What does he ask Christians to do in v. 5? How is love demonstrated (v. 6)? Does this sound like 1 John 5:2-4? What is the obvious sin [the Gnostic heresy] in v. 7?
December 8
Daniel 8-10: What do the ram (8:20) and the goat (8:21-22) represent? When will Daniel’s vision materialize (8:26)? Is the short verse of petitions in 9:19 a prayer that we could pray today? [Daniel 9:24-27 speaks of seventy “weeks” which represent seventy sets of seven “years” of 360 days each. The period begins with Artaxerxes’ decree to restore Jerusalem, 445BC. ] How is the prince identified in 9:25? Why was the answer to Daniel’s prayer delayed (10:12-13, 20-21)?
3 John: How does v.4 compare with 2 John v.4? What do the brethren and strangers bear witness to in v.6? What is Diotrephes’ sin in vv.9-10?
December 9
Daniel 11-12: [Daniel 11 recounts the career of a ruler who sounds a good deal like Antiochus Epiphanes, ruler of Syria, (175-163BC), but it may refer to spiritual warfare as well, as was recorded earlier in Chapter 10]. Who is finally victorious in 12:1? What are the two destinies of people, as recorded in 12:2? What will happen to the righteous (12:3)? When will Daniel finally see the fulfillment of his visions (12:13)?
Jude: Whom does Jude identify as enemies in vv.4-19? How can the Christians keep themselves in the true faith (v.21)? What is our final goal (v.24)?
December 10
Hosea 1-4: What is the name of Hosea’s first son, and why (Hos 1:4-5)? What did he call his daughter, and why (1:6)? What did he call his second son, and why (1:9)? What is God’s promise in 1:11-2:1? How is Israel described in 2:2-13? What will happen in 2:14-23? What is the significance of Hosea’s re-marriage (3:4-5)? What is Israel’s main problem (4:1, 11-13, 17-19)?
Revelation 1: To whom is the original book of Revelation addressed (1:4)? How does 1:7 compare with Zechariah 12:10? John walked with Jesus for three years as the Beloved Disciple; how does John describe him now (1:13-16)? How does Jesus describe himself (1:17-18)?
