Leo de Siqueira

Seven Love Letters Leo de Siqueira

The harsh tone of the Greek text is inescapable. Most of our modern Bibles are translations based on the Greek New Testament. So when I began to read the New Testament from the Aramaic language, it was like re-reading the Bible for the first time. The text came alive in a different way, and the burning love of God toward us permeated through the text more than I had ever seen.
While translating chapters 2 and 3 of John's Revelation, that this dichotomy became ever more apparent. The Jesus that is so often portrayed as harsh and even violent (Rev 2:23) is seen in a completely different light in the original Aramaic language. He is the same Jesus we read and experience in the Gospels; loving, tender, compassionate.
It is with great joy and reverential awe of our Lord Jesus that I present to you the seven letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation from Aramaic, the language of Jesus. My hope is that as you meditate on these words, you would experience a cleansing from religiosity, "by the washing of water with the word" (Eph 5:26). May this short read catapult you into a deeper encounter with His love! Here are a few sample texts from this book:
"I will come for your sake, immediately, and I will cause them to have an encounter with the sword of my mouth" (Revelation 2:16).
"Behold! I will make them come and prostrate themselves before your feet, and they will know that I burn with love for you" (Revelation 3:9).
"But you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot. Therefore I am preparing to be causing you to be restored by my mouth" (Revelation 3:16).