a thread opens
Truly I say to you, Whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
The Vigil
Today’s scroll, one verse at a time — each linked to the last by the cross-references rather than by any model of you. The same vigil for everyone, and a different one tomorrow.
And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
from Matthew 18:18 · a strong link
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
from Matthew 16:19 · a strong link
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things says he who is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens;
from Isaiah 22:22 · a strong link
And I saw heaven opened, and look, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war.
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
from Revelation of John 19:11 · a strong link
a thread opens
As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
from I Corinthians 8:4
You believe that there is one God; you do well: the demons also believe, and tremble.
from Mark 12:29
Saying, Leave us alone; what have we to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are; the Holy One of God.
from James 2:19 · a strong link
And they cried out, saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God? have you come here to torment us before the time?
from Luke 4:34 · a strong link
a thread opens
By this we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit:
from I John 3:16
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation.
from I Peter 3:18 · a strong link
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;
from Hebrews 9:28 · a strong link
a thread opens
But the anointing which you have received of him remains in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall remain in him.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
from I John 2:27
Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
from Hebrews 8:10
And Moses said to him, As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands to the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that you may know how that the earth is the LORD’s.
from Exodus 19:5 · a strong link
And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
from Exodus 9:29 · a strong link
And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my grief; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
from I Kings 8:22 · a strong link
For Solomon had made a bronze scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven,
from Ezra 9:5
a thread opens
And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, varieties of tongues.
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
from I Corinthians 12:28
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.
from Romans 12:6
He that loves not knows not God; for God is love.
from I Corinthians 13:2
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
from I John 4:8
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
from Ephesians 2:4 · a strong link
a thread opens
I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy your people, who are present here, to offer willingly to you.
But the LORD said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.
from I Chronicles 29:17
But, O LORD of hosts, that try the righteous, and see the inmost thoughts and the heart, let me see your vengeance on them: for to you have I opened my cause.
from I Samuel 16:7 · a strong link
Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my inmost thoughts and my heart.
from Jeremiah 20:12
You have proved my heart; you have visited me in the night; you have tried me, and shall find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
from Psalms 26:2 · a strong link
a thread opens
Clean out therefore the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:
And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said to him, Where will you that we go and prepare that you may eat the Passover?
from I Corinthians 5:7
And you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
from Mark 14:12
Then they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD.
from Exodus 12:6
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Matthew 18:18 along this chain. Today’s own vigil is laid separately.
Each verse follows the one before it along the chain a study Bible draws — a century old, public, and compiled by people arguing about Scripture rather than about how long you stay. Every card says which verse it came from and opens the chapter it belongs to. Today’s vigil is the same for every reader and is worked out from the date alone, so there is no account, no counter, and nothing stored in your browser or ours.
The text is the Lantern Modern Standard. The links are openbible.info’s cross-reference set (CC BY), the same apparatus behind the reader’s Echoes drawer. Read a whole book · Today’s table