1 To the angel of the congregation at Ephesus write, "Thus saith he who holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks,
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and that thou canst not bear with them who are evil, and hast tried them who pretend to be apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars,
3 and hast borne and dost exercise patience, and hast laboured for my name's sake, and hast not fainted.
4 But I have this against thee that thou hast lost thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from what thou hast fallen, and reform, and do thy first works; else I will come to thee quickly, and remove thy candlestick out of its place, unless thou reform.
6 But thou hast this, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate,
7 Whosoever hath an ear to hear let him hear what the spirit saith to the congregations. To him who overcometh I will give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
8 "And to the angel of the congregation at Smyrna write, "Thus saith the first and the last, who was dead and is alive,
9 "I know thy works, and thine affliction, and thy poverty, [though thou art rich] and the slander of them who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of satan.
10 Be not terrified at what thou art about to suffer. Behold the devil will soon cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and ye will have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.
11 Let him who hath an ear hear what the spirit saith to the congregations. "He who overcometh shall not be hurt by the second death."
12 And to the angel of the congregation at Pergamus write, "Thus saith he who hath the sharp two edged sword,
13 "I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where the throne of satan is; yet thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied the belief of me, even in the days in which Antipas was my faithful witness, who was slain among you where satan dwelleth.
14 Nevertheless I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication.
15 In like manner thou hast them who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which I hate.
16 Reform. If thou dost not, I am coming to thee quickly, and I will fight against; them with the sword of my mouth.
17 Let him who hath an ear hear what the spirit saith to the congregations. To him who overcometh I will grant to eat of the manna which was laid up; and I will give him a white stone, and on that stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he who receiveth it.
18 And to the angel of the congregation at Thyatira write, "Thus saith the son of God, whose eyes are like a flame of fire, and whose feet fire like fine brass;
19 "I know thy works, and thy love, and thy service, and thy faith, and thy patience, and that thy last works exceed the first:
20 but I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezabel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 Though I gave her time to reform from her fornication, yet she hath not reformed.
22 Behold I am about to cast her into a bed, and them who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they reform from their works;
23 and I will slay her children with death; and all the congregations shall know, that I am the searcher of reins and hearts, and will give to every one of you according to your works.
24 But to you I say, even to the rest at Thyatira, to as many as do not hold this doctrine, and who have not known the depths [as they call them] of satan; on you I will lay no other burthen, besides what you have;
25 hold it fast until I come.
26 As for him who overcometh, and keepeth my works to the end, to him I will give power over the nations,
27 [and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. Like vessels of potter's clay they shall be broken in pieces,]
28 as I have received from my Father; and I will give him the morning star.
29 Let him who hath an ear, hear what the spirit saith to the congregations.
Bible verses about "stagnation" | Thomson
Revelation 2:1-3:22
Revelation 3:1-22
1 And to the angel of the congregation at Sardis write, "Thus saith he, who hath the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know thy works, that thou hast the name of being alive, though thou art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the remains which are likely to die. For I have not found thy works perfect in the sight of God.
3 Remember therefore how thou hast received, and heard, and keep fast hold, and reform. For if thou wilt not watch, I will come against thee, as a thief, so that thou shall not know at what hour I shall come against thee.
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments. These shall walk with me in white robes because they are worthy.
5 He who overcometh shall be clothed with white raiment, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father, and before his angels.
6 Let him who hath an ear hem what the spirit saith to the congregations."
7 And to the angel of the congregation at Philadelphia write thus saith the Holy one and the True, who hath the key [the Son] of David, who openeth and none shutteth, and who shutteth and none openeth,
8 I know thy works. Behold I have set before thee an open door, and none can shut it. Because thou hast a little strength and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name,
9 behold I give thee some of the synagogue of satan, who say they are Jews and are not; but do lie. Behold I will make them come, and worship at thy feet, and know that I have loved thee.
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will keep thee from the hour of trial which is coming soon on the whole world, to try the inhabitants of the earth.
11 Behold I am coming quickly. Hold fast what thou hast, that none may take thy crown.
12 Him who overcometh I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [the new Jerusalem which cometh down out of heaven from my God] and mine own new name.
13 Let him who hath an ear hear what the spirit saith to the congregations.
14 "And to the angel of the congregation of the Laodicians write, Thus saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God,
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I wish thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then; because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit thee out of my mouth,
17 because thou sayest, "I am rich and become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
18 I advise thee to purchase of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayst be rich, and white raiment that thou mayst be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayst see.
19 Whomsoever I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and reform.
20 Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any one will hearken to my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me.
21 To him who overcometh I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I have overcome, and sit with my Father on his throne.
22 Let him who hath an ear hear what the spirit saith to the congregations."
1 Peter 2:2
2 like newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that by it you may thrive.
Matthew 13:1-58
1 And on the same day, Jesus having gone out of the house, sat down by the sea side;
2 but such great multitudes flocked to him that he went on board the vessel and sat down, and all the multitude stood on the shore,
3 and he spake many things to them in parables, saying, Behold the sower went out to sow;
4 and as he was sowing, some grains fell on the highway and the birds came and devoured them.
5 And others fell on rocky ground, where they had little earth; these sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil;
6 but soon as the sun arose they were scorched; and for want of root withered away:
7 and some fell among the thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choaked them.
8 And some fell on good ground and yielded increase; some an hundred; some, sixty; and some, thirty fold.
9 Whoever hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 Then the disciples accosted him, saying, Why speakest thou to them in parables?
11 And he in reply said to them, To you it hath been granted to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens; but to them it hath not been granted.
12 For to him who improveth, more shall be given and he shall abound: but from him who improveth not, even that which he hath shall be taken.
13 To them I speak in parables for this reason, because they overlook what they see, and are inattentive to what they hear; and they do not understand,
14 and in them is fulfilled this prophesy of Esaias, which saith, "Hearing you shall hear, though you may not understand, and seeing you shall see, though you may not perceive;
15 for the heart of this people is callous, and their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, that for a while they may not see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return that I may heal them."
16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.
17 For verily I say to you, "Many prophets and righteous men have earnestly desired to see what you see, and have not seen them; and to hear what you hear and have not heard them."
18 Hear then the parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the doctrine of the kingdom and doth not mind it, the evil one cometh and snatcheth away what was sown in his heart. This is the meaning of that sown on the highway.
20 And that sown on rocky ground denoteth him, who, upon hearing the word, receiveth it at first with joy,
21 but not having it rooted in him, it is only temporary; and when tribulation and persecution cometh on account of the word, he is immediately stumbled.
22 And that sown among thorns denoteth him, who heareth the word, but worldly care and the delusion of riches choak the word and it becometh unfruitful.
23 But that sown on good ground denoteth him who heareth and mindeth the word, and who beareth fruit and bringeth forth, one a hundred, and another sixty, and another thirty fold.
24 Another parable he stated to them, saying, The reign of the heavens may be compared to a man sowing good seed in his field.
25 But when the men were asleep; his enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat, and went away.
26 And when the blade sprang up and put forth the ear, then the darnel appeared.
27 Whereupon the servants of the householder came and said to him, Master, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field whence then hath it darnel?
28 And he said to them, An enemy hath done this. Then the servants said to him, Is it thy pleasure then that we go and weed it out?
29 And he said, no. Perhaps in weeding out the darnel you may pull up the wheat with it.
30 Let them both grow together till the harvest. And at the season for reaping I will say to the reapers, Gather the darnel first and bind it in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.
31 Another parable he stated to them, saying, "The reign of the heavens is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field,
32 which is indeed the smallest of all seeds, but which, when grown, is the largest of the herbs and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and take shelter among the branches."
33 Another parable he stated to them, saying, The reign of the heavens is like leaven which a woman took and covered up in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
34 All these things Jesus spake to them in parables, and did not speak to them without a parable,
35 so that there was a full accomplishment of that which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth with parables, I will utter things kept hid from the foundation of the world.
36 Then Jesus dismissed the multitude and went into the house, and his disciples came to him and said, Explain to us the parable of the darnel in the field.
37 And he answering, said to them, He who soweth the good seed is the son of man.
38 The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom, and the darnel are the children of the evil one.
39 The enemy who sowed it is the devil. The harvest is the conclusion of the age, and angels are the reapers.
40 As the darnel therefore is gathered and burned with fire, so shall it be at the conclusion of this age.
41 The son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all the stumbling blocks, and the workers of iniquity,
42 and cast them into the fiery furnace. Weeping and gnashing of teeth will be there.
43 Then shall the righteous shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. Whoever hath ears to hear, let him hear.
44 Again the kingdom of the heavens is like treasure hid in the field, which, when a man found, he concealed, and for joy thereof goeth away and selleth all that he hath, and purchaseth that field.
45 Again the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant in quest of fine pearls,
46 who, having met with one of great value, went and sold all that he had and purchased it.
47 Again the kingdom of the heavens is like a sweep net cast into the sea, which enclosed fishes of every kind,
48 which, when it was full, they dragged to the shore; and then sitting down, gathered the good into vessels and threw the bad away.
49 So shall it be at the conclusion of this age. The angels will go forth and sever the wicked from among the righteous
50 and cast them into the fiery furnace. Weeping and gnashing of teeth will be there.
51 Jesus saith to them, Have you understood all these? They say to him, Yes, Master.
52 Then he said to them, Every Scribe then who is instructed for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a family who bringeth out of his treasury things new and old.
53 Now when Jesus had finished these parables he departed thence;
54 and being come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogues, so that they were astonished, and said. Whence hath this man this wisdom and these miraculous powers?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary and his brethren, James and Joses and Simon and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all among us"? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were stumbled at him. Thereupon Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honour save in his own country and in his own family.
58 So he did not perform many miracles there because of their unbelief.
2 Timothy 1:6
6 for which cause I remind thee to kindle up that gift of God which is in thee by the laying on of my hands.
Hebrews 10:25
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the custom of some, but comforting one another; and so much the more as you see the day approaching.
James 1:4
4 Let patience then have a full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, deficient in nothing.
2 Timothy 3:1-17
1 But know this, that in the last days there will be grievous times.
2 For the men will be selfish, avaricious, vain, haughty, addicted to slander, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 void of natural affection, perfidious, false accusers, intemperate, fierce, destitute of love for goodness,
4 betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of religion but denying the power of it. From such turn away;
6 for of such sort are they who insinuate themselves into families, and lead captive weak women laden with sin, led aside by various lusts,
7 always learning, but never able to come to a knowledge of truth.
8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these men withstand the truth, having their minds corrupted, being, with respect to this belief, such as cannot stand the test
9 But they shall not advance much further; for the folly of these shall be exposed to the world, as that of those was.
10 Now as for thee, thou hast traced accurately my doctrine, my manner of life, my purpose, my belief, my long suffering, my love, my patience,
11 my persecutions, my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
12 Indeed all who wish to live holy in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
13 and wicked men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 But as for thee, continue thou in what thou hast learned; and in the belief of which thou hast been confirmed, knowing from whom thou hast learned them;
15 and that, from thy childhood, thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise for salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture, given by divine inspiration, is indeed profitable for doctrine, for conviction, for reformation, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly fitted for every good work.
Joel 2:25-27
25 [J] I will indeed make you compensation for what hath been devoured by the grasshopper and the locust, the palmer Worm and the mildew; that great army of mine which I sent against you.
26 And you shall eat plentifully and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of the Lord your God, who hath dealt wonderfully with you; and my people shall never be put to shame.
27 And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I the Lord am your God and besides me there is no other; and my people shall never be put to shame.
Deuteronomy 1:6-8
6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Choreb, saying, You have tarried long enough by this mount.
7 Turn; strike your tents, and march to the mountain of the Amorites, and to all the inhabitants around Araba; to the mountain and to the plain, and to the south, and to the land of the Chananites, on the sea shore, and to Antilibanus, till you reach the river; the great river Euphrates.
8 Behold I have delivered up the land before you. Go in, and take possession of the land, which with an oath I promised to give to your fathers; to Abraham, and Isaak, and Jacob; to them and their seed after them.