The Letter to the Church in Ephesus
1“Here is what I command you to write to the church in Ephesus.
Here are the words of Jesus, who holds the seven stars in his right hand. He also walks among the seven golden lampstands. He says,
2‘I know what you are doing. You work long and hard. I know you can’t put up with evil people. You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not. You have found out that they are liars. 3You have been faithful and have put up with a lot of trouble because of me. You have not given up.
4‘But here is something I hold against you. You have turned away from the love you had at first. 5Think about how far you have fallen! Turn away from your sins. Do the things you did at first. If you don’t, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6But you do have this in your favor. You hate the way the Nicolaitans act. I hate it too.
7‘Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches. Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will let that person eat from the tree of life in God’s paradise.’
The Letter to the Church in Smyrna
8“Here is what I command you to write to the church in Smyrna.
Here are the words of Jesus, who is the First and the Last. He is the one who died and came to life again. He says,
9‘I know that you suffer and are poor. But you are rich! Some people say they are Jews but are not. I know that their words are evil. Their worship comes from Satan. 10Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you. You will be treated badly for ten days. Be faithful, even if it means you must die. Then I will give you life as your crown of victory.
11‘Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches. Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will not let that person be hurt at all by the second death.’
The Letter to the Church in Pergamum
12“Here is what I command you to write to the church in Pergamum.
Here are the words of Jesus, who has the sharp sword with two edges. He says,
13‘I know that you live where Satan has his throne. But you remain faithful to me. You did not give up your faith in me. You didn’t give it up even in the days of Antipas. Antipas, my faithful witness, was put to death in your city, where Satan lives.
14‘But I have a few things against you. Some of your people follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak to lead the people of Israel into sin. So they ate food that had been offered to statues of gods. And they committed sexual sins. 15You also have people who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16So turn away from your sins! If you don’t, I will come to you soon. I will fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.
17‘Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches. Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will give that person hidden manna to eat. I will also give each of them a white stone with a new name written on it. Only the one who receives this name will know what it is.’
The Letter to the Church in Thyatira
18“Here is what I command you to write to the church in Thyatira.
Here are the words of the Son of God. He is Jesus, whose eyes are like blazing fire. His feet are like polished bronze. He says,
19‘I know what you are doing. I know your love and your faith. I know how well you have served. I know you don’t give up easily. In fact, you are doing more now than you did at first.
20‘But here is what I have against you. You put up with that woman Jezebel. She calls herself a prophet. With her teaching, she has led my servants into sexual sin. She has tricked them into eating food offered to statues of gods. 21I’ve given her time to turn away from her sinful ways. But she doesn’t want to. 22She lay down to commit her sin so I will make her lie down in suffering. Those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly too. Their only way out is to turn away from what she taught them to do. 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I search hearts and minds. I will pay each of you back for what you have done.
24‘I won’t ask the rest of you in Thyatira to do anything else. You don’t follow the teaching of Jezebel. You haven’t learned what some people call Satan’s deep secrets. 25Just hold on to what you have until I come.
26‘Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will do it for anyone who carries out my plans to the end. I will give that person authority over the nations. 27It is written, “They will rule them with an iron scepter. They will break them to pieces like clay pots.” (Psalm 2:9) Their authority is like the authority I’ve received from my Father. 28I will also give the morning star to all who have victory. 29Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.’
Poruka Crkvi u Efezu
1Anđelu2:1 Ili: glasniku. Crkve u Efezu napiši:
‘Ovo govori Onaj koji drži sedam zvijezda u desnici, Onaj koji hodi između sedam zlatnih svijećnjaka: 2Znam za tvoja dobra djela. Vidio sam tvoj trud i postojanost. Ne podnosiš opake. Iskušao si one koji tvrde da su apostoli, a nisu, i otkrio da su lažljivci. 3Strpljivo si za mene trpio i nisi posustao.
4Ali imam i prigovor na tebe. Napustio si prvu ljubav: ne voliš me i ne volite se međusobno žarko kao u početku! 5Prisjeti se dakle kako si volio u početku i pogledaj na što si spao! Obrati se ponovno k meni i čini opet kao u početku. Ne učiniš li to, doći ću i ukloniti tvoj svijećnjak s njegova mjesta među crkvama. 6Ali dobro je što mrziš djela pokvarenih nikolaita jednako kao i ja.
7Slušajte, kad već imate uši, što Duh govori crkvama! Svakome tko pobijedi dat ću da jede sa stabla života u Božjemu raju.’
Poruka Crkvi u Smirni
8Anđelu Crkve u Smirni napiši:
‘Ovo govori Prvi i Posljednji, koji je bio mrtav i oživio: 9Znam za tvoje patnje i tvoje siromaštvo—ali bogat si! Trpiš pogrde od onih koji sebe nazivaju Židovima, ali to nisu. Sotonina su sinagoga! 10Ne boj se onoga što ćete pretrpjeti. Đavao će neke od vas baciti u tamnici da vas iskuša. Trpjet ćete nevolju deset dana. Ostanite vjerni i kad se suočite sa smrću pa ću vam dati vijenac života.
11Slušajte, kad već imate uši, što Duh govori crkvama! Nikome tko pobijedi neće nauditi druga smrt!’
Poruka Crkvi u Pergamu
12Anđelu Crkve u Pergamu napiši:
‘Ovo je poruka od onoga koji ima oštar dvosjekli mač: 13Znam da živiš u gradu u kojemu je Sotonino prijestolje, a ipak si ostao vjeran mojemu imenu. Nisi zanijekao vjeru u mene ni onda kad su kod vas, gdje Sotona prebiva, ubili mojega vjernog svjedoka Antipu.
14Ali imam ti ponešto prigovoriti. Trpiš ondje neke ljude nalik Bileamu, koji je poučio Balaka da izraelskome narodu postavi stupicu pa ih je naučio da blaguju meso žrtvovano idolima i odaju se bludu. 15Tako i ti u svojoj sredini imaš takvih koji slijede nikolaitsko učenje i počinjaju iste grijehe. 16Obrati se zato ili ću ubrzo doći k tebi i boriti se protiv njih mačem svojih usta.
17Slušajte, kad već imate uši, što Duh govori crkvama! Svaki koji pobijedi jest će manu skrivenu i dat ću mu bijel kamen na kojemu će pisati njegovo novo ime, koje ne zna nitko osim onoga koji ga prima.’
Poruka Crkvi u Tijatiri
18Anđelu Crkve u Tijatiri napiši:
‘Ovo govori Božji Sin, čije su oči poput ognjenog plamena a noge poput ulaštene mjedi: 19Znam za tvoja dobra djela, za tvoju ljubav i vjeru, služenje i postojanost. Znam i da si u tomu sve revniji.
20Ali imam i prigovor na tebe: dopuštaš onoj ženi Jezabeli, koja sebe naziva proročicom, da moje sluge odvlači na stranputicu te se odaju bludu, štuju idole i jedu meso njima žrtvovano. 21Dao sam joj vremena da se pokaje i obrati od svojega bluda, ali nije htjela. 22Bacit ću je zato na postelju, a i svi koji s njome bludno griješe mnogo će trpjeti ne odvrate li se od zlih djela. 23I djeca će joj umrijeti. Sve će crkve znati da sam ja onaj koji ispituje misli i nakane2:23 U grčkome: bubrege i srca. svakoga čovjeka. Svakome ću dati što zaslužuje.
24A od vas ostalih u Tijatiri, koji ne slijedite to lažno učenje (“duboke istine”, kako nazivaju te sotonske dubine), tražim samo 25da se čvrsto držite onoga što znate dok ne dođem.
26Svakome tko pobijedi, tko do konca bude vršio što mu kažem, dat ću vlast nad narodima. 27Vladat će nad njima željeznom palicom i razbijati ih kao glineno posuđe 28istom vlašću koju je meni dao moj Otac. Dat ću im i zvijezdu Danicu.
29Slušajte, kad već imate uši, što Duh govori crkvama!’
