Revelation 1-3 - First Love

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Rev 1:1-3 LSB -
[1] The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His slaves the things which must soon happen; and He indicated [this] by sending [it] through His angel to His slave John,
[2] who bore witness to the word of God and to the witness of Jesus Christ, [even] to all that he saw.
[3] Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it, for the time is near.

Rev 22:6 LSB - [6] And he said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His slaves the things which must soon take place.

 

Message to the Seven Churches

Rev 1:4-6 LSB - 

[4] John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from the One who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 

[5] and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood-- 

[6] and He has made us [to be] a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him [be] the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.

Exo 19:6 LSB - [6] and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel."

1Pe 2:9 LSB - [9] But you are A CHOSEN FAMILY, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR [God's] OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Rev 1:7-8 LSB -
[7] BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, EVEN THOSE WHO PIERCED HIM; and all the tribes of the earth will MOURN OVER HIM. Yes, amen.
[8] "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Did Christ Already Return?

The Vision of the Son of Man

Rev 1:12-16 LSB - 

[12] Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 

[13] and in the middle of the lampstands [I saw] one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. 

[14] And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. 

[15] His feet [were] like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice [was] like the sound of many waters, 

[16] and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power.

Rev 1:17-18 LSB -
[17] And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not fear; I am the first and the last,
[18] and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

To the Church in Ephesus

Rev 2:4-5 LSB - 

[4] 'But I have [this] against you, that you have left your first love.
[5] 'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first. But if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent.

1Jo 4:19 LSB - [19] We love, because He first loved us.

 

To the Church in Smyrna

Rev 2:10 LSB - [10] 'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

To the Church in Pergamum

Rev 2:15 LSB - [15] 'So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

Rev 2:6 LSB - [6] 'Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

To the Church in Thyatira

Rev 2:26-28 LSB - 

[26] 'And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; 

[27] AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received [authority] from My Father; 

[28] and I will give him the morning star.

To the Church in Sardis

Rev 3:1-2 LSB - 

[1] "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: This is what He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says: 'I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 

[2] 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God.

To the Church in Philadelphia

Rev 3:8 LSB - [8] 'I know your deeds. Behold, I have given before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

Rev 3:10 LSB - [10] 'Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

To the Church in Laodicea

Rev 3:17-18 LSB - 

[17] 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked. 

[18] I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and [that] the shame of your nakedness will not be manifested; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

Rev 3:19 LSB - [19] 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Rev 3:20 LSB - [20] 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.