Revelation 2:2-4
New American Standard Bible
2 ‘(A)I know your deeds and your labor and [a]perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have (B)put those who call themselves (C)apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have [b]perseverance and have endured (D)on account of My name, and have not become weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have (E)left your first love.
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- Revelation 2:2 Or steadfastness
- Revelation 2:3 Or steadfastness
Revelation 2:2-4
Amplified Bible
2 ‘I know [a]your deeds and your toil, and your patient endurance, and that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and have tested and critically appraised those who call themselves apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives, of Christ), and [in fact] are not, and have found them to be liars and impostors; 3 and [I know that] you [who believe] are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and that you have not grown weary [of being faithful to the truth]. 4 But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me].
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- Revelation 2:2 Here through 3:18, “your” and “you” are in the singular, referring to the angel of each church. Much of what is said is rebuke and admonishment, so if the angels are heavenly beings, they may serve in some way as representatives of the sinful people in their churches. Jewish tradition maintained that every nation and individual has a guardian angel, and that when God is about to punish a nation, He first punishes its angel. There is even a story of Michael, the guardian angel of Israel, being rebuked by God for the sins committed in the time of Ezekiel. So the original readers of Revelation might have assumed that the angels here are the guardian angels of the individual churches, sharing responsibility for the actions of the members.
Revelation 2:2-4
King James Version
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
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