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 favor: 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 scepter 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.
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!’
