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.’
To the church in Ephesus
1‘To the angel2:1 Or messenger; also in verses 8, 12 and 18 of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4Yet I hold this against you: you have forsaken the love you had at first. 5Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6But you have this in your favour: you hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
To the church in Smyrna
8‘To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
9I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
11Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
To the church in Pergamum
12‘To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
13I know where you live – where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city – where Satan lives.
14Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: there are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
To the church in Thyatira
18‘To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
19I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
20Nevertheless, I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
24Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, “I will not impose any other burden on you, 25except to hold on to what you have until I come.”
26To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations – 27that one “will rule them with an iron sceptre and will dash them to pieces like pottery”2:27 Psalm 2:9 – just as I have received authority from my Father. 28I will also give that one the morning star. 29Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
