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Venerdi, 29 marzo 2024 - Santi Simplicio e Costantino ( Letture di oggi)

Revelation 2


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1'Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus and say, "Here is the message of the one who holds theseven stars in his right hand and who lives among the seven golden lamp-stands:2I know your activities, your hard work and your perseverance. I know you cannot stand wicked people,and how you put to the test those who were self-styled apostles, and found them false.3I know too that you have perseverance, and have suffered for my name without growing tired.4Nevertheless, I have this complaint to make: you have less love now than formerly.5Think where you were before you fell; repent, and behave as you did at first, or else, if you will notrepent, I shal come to you and take your lamp-stand from its place.6It is in your favour, nevertheless, that you loathe as I do the way the Nicolaitans are behaving.7Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: those who prove victoriousI will feed from the tree of life set in God's paradise."8'Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna and say, "Here is the message of the First and the Last,who was dead and has come to life again:9I know your hardships and your poverty, and -- though you are rich -- the slander of the people whofalsely claim to be Jews but are real y members of the synagogue of Satan.10Do not be afraid of the sufferings that are coming to you. Look, the devil wil send some of you toprison to put you to the test, and you must face hardship for ten days. Even if you have to die, keep faithful, and Iwil give you the crown of life for your prize.11Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: for those who provevictorious wil come to no harm from the second death."12'Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum and say, "Here is the message of the one who has the sharp sword, double-edged:13I know where you live, in the place where Satan is enthroned, and that you stil hold firmly to my name,and did not disown your faith in me even when my faithful witness, Antipas, was kil ed among you, where Satanlives.14"Nevertheless, I have one or two charges against you: some of you are fol owers of Balaam, whotaught Balak to set a trap for the Israelites so that they committed adultery by eating food that had beensacrificed to idols;15and among you too there are some also who fol ow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.16So repent, or I shal soon come to you and attack these people with the sword out of my mouth.17Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: to those who provevictorious I will give some hidden manna and a white stone, with a new name written on it, known only to theperson who receives it."18'Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira and say, "Here is the message of the Son of God who haseyes like a burning flame and feet like burnished bronze:19I know your activities, your love, your faith, your service and your perseverance, and I know how youare stil making progress.20Nevertheless, I have a complaint to make: you tolerate the woman Jezebel who claims to be aprophetess, and by her teaching she is luring my servants away to commit the adultery of eating food which hasbeen sacrificed to idols.21I have given her time to repent but she is not wil ing to repent of her adulterous life.22Look, I am consigning her to a bed of pain, and al her partners in adultery to great hardship, unlessthey repent of their practices;23and I will see that her children die, so that all the churches realise that it is I who test motives andthoughts and repay you as your deeds deserve.24But on the rest of you in Thyatira, all of you who have not accepted this teaching or learnt the deepsecrets of Satan, as they are cal ed, I am not laying any other burden;25but hold on firmly to what you already have until I come.26To anyone who proves victorious, and keeps working for me until the end, I will give the authority overthe nations27which I myself have been given by my Father, to rule them with an iron sceptre and shatter them likeso many pots.28And I will give such a person the Morning Star.29Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches."