except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.
Parallel translations
- WEB Nevertheless, hold that which you have firmly until I come.
- KJV But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
- BSB Nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come.
- NKJV But hold fast what you have till I come.
- NASB Nevertheless what you have, hold firmly until I come.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He calls them simply to hold fast what they have until he comes. It matters because perseverance, not novelty, is the path of faithfulness.
Overview
The faithful are urged to maintain their sound faith and conduct firmly until Christ returns. No new demand is added beyond steadfastness. The forward look to his coming gives endurance its motive and hope.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Rev 3:11I am coming quickly! Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown.
- Rev 3:3Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If therefore you won’t watch, I will come as a thief, and you won’t know what hour I will come upon you.
- Heb 10:23let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.
- Rev 22:7“Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
- 1 Th 5:21Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.
- Rom 12:9Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.
- Rev 1:7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.
- Rev 22:20He who testifies these things says, “Yes, I come quickly.” Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus.
- John 14:3If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
- Heb 3:6but Christ is faithful as a Son over his house; whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.
- John 21:22–23Jesus said to him, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.”
- Heb 4:14Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold tightly to our confession.
- 2 Pet 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
- 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
- 1 Cor 11:26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
- Acts 11:28One of them named Agabus stood up, and indicated by the Spirit that there should be a great famine all over the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 2:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.