a thread opens
And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things says the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
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.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
And he said to me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely.
from Revelation of John 1:8 · a strong link
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
a thread opens
Then Moses said to Aaron, This is it that the LORD spoke, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
And said to me, You are my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
from Leviticus 10:3
Look, my servant, whom I uphold; my elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
from Isaiah 49:3
Therefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Look, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious: and he that believes on him shall not be put to shame.
from Isaiah 42:1
For the Scripture says, Whoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.
from I Peter 2:6
Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
from Romans 10:11
Blessed is that man that makes the LORD his trust, and respects not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
from Jeremiah 17:7 · a strong link
a thread opens
Now to him that is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me to his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
from Jude 1:24
The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
from II Timothy 4:18
In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old.
from Genesis 48:16
Look, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: look, he shall come, says the LORD of hosts.
from Isaiah 63:9
Then said Paul, John truly baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
from Malachi 3:1
a thread opens
Woe to them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
And in process of time it happened, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD.
from Jude 1:11
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer to the LORD, them have I given you.
from Genesis 4:3
The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in his mother’s milk.
from Numbers 18:12
You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself: you shall give it to the stranger in your gates, so that he may eat it; or you may sell it to an alien: for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in his mother’s milk.
from Exodus 34:26
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
from Luke 2:14 · a strong link
The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
from Luke 1:79 · a strong link
Seek him that makes the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night: that calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:
from Matthew 4:16
a thread opens
And shall not God give justice to his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them?
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
from Luke 18:7 · 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 Revelation of John 6:10 · a strong link
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give to him the throne of his father David:
from Revelation of John 3:7 · a strong link
The LORD has sworn in truth to David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne.
from Luke 1:32 · a strong link
Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that your children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as you have walked before me.
from Psalms 132:11
That the LORD may continue his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you (he said) a man on the throne of Israel.
from II Chronicles 6:16 · a strong link
a thread opens
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart;
from Acts 20:24 · a strong link
Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power.
from II Corinthians 4:1
Yes, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
from Ephesians 3:7
For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who shall annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
from Isaiah 43:13
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Revelation of John 2:8 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