001:016 In His right hand He held seven stars, and a sharp,
two-edged sword was seen coming from His mouth; and His glance
resembled the sun when it is shining with its full strength.
001:017 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead.
But He laid His right hand upon me and said, "Do not be afraid:
I am the First and the Last, and the ever-living One.
001:018 I died; but I am now alive until the Ages of the Ages, and I have the keys of the gates of Death and of Hades!
001:019 Write down therefore the things you have just seen, and those which are now taking place, and those which are soon to follow:
001:020 the secret meaning of the seven stars which you have seen
in My right hand, and of the seven lampstands of gold.
The seven stars are the ministers of the seven Churches,
and the seven lampstands are the seven Churches.
002:001 "To the minister of the Church in Ephesus write as follows:
"'This is what He who holds the seven stars in the grasp of His
right hand says—He who walks to and fro among the seven
lampstands of gold.
002:002 I know your doings and your toil and patient suffering.
And I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, but have put
to the test those who say that they themselves are Apostles
but are not, and you have found them to be liars.
002:003 And you endure patiently and have borne burdens for My sake
and have never grown weary.
002:004 Yet I have this against you—that you no longer love Me as you
did at first.
002:005 Be mindful, therefore, of the height from which you have fallen. Repent at once, and act as you did at first, or else I will surely come and remove your lampstand out of its place— unless you repent.