Add parallel Print Page Options

20 This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels[a] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:20 Or the messengers.

The Message to the Church in Ephesus

“Write this letter to the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Or the messenger; also in 2:8, 12, 18.

The Message to the Church in Sardis

“Write this letter to the angel[a] of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit[b] of God and the seven stars:

“I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 3:1a Or the messenger; also in 3:7, 14.
  2. 3:1b Greek the seven spirits.

16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.

Read full chapter

“What do you see now?” he asked.

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl of oil on top of it. Around the bowl are seven lamps, each having seven spouts with wicks.

Read full chapter

The Message to the Church in Philadelphia

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.

This is the message from the one who is holy and true,
    the one who has the key of David.
What he opens, no one can close;
    and what he closes, no one can open:[a]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 3:7 Isa 22:22.

The Message to the Church in Laodicea

14 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning[a] of God’s new creation:

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 3:14 Or the ruler, or the source.

The Message to the Church in Thyatira

18 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

Read full chapter

The Message to the Church in Pergamum

12 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword:

Read full chapter

The Message to the Church in Smyrna

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:

Read full chapter

12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 13 And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man.[a] He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:13 Or like a son of man. See Dan 7:13. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.

The Truths of Our Faith

14 I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon, 15 so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith[a]:

Christ[b] was revealed in a human body
    and vindicated by the Spirit.[c]
He was seen by angels
    and announced to the nations.
He was believed in throughout the world
    and taken to heaven in glory.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 3:16a Or of godliness.
  2. 3:16b Greek He who; other manuscripts read God.
  3. 3:16c Or in his spirit.

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Read full chapter

15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.

Read full chapter

10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets[a] of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they look, they won’t really see.
    When they hear, they won’t understand.’[b]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 8:10a Greek mysteries.
  2. 8:10b Isa 6:9 (Greek version).

11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets[a] of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 13:11 Greek the mysteries.

“The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends