Revelation 2
1 “And to the Angel of the Church of Ephesus write: Thus says the One who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
“Write this to the angel of the Ephesus church: This is what the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand says, the one who walks among the seven golden candlesticks:
2 I know your works, and your hardship and patient endurance, and that you cannot stand those who are evil. And so, you have tested those who declare themselves to be Apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars.
I know what you've accomplished, your hard work and perseverance. I know you can't tolerate evil people, and how you investigated those who claimed to be apostles but are not, and discovered they were frauds.
3 And you have patient endurance for the sake of my name, and you have not fallen away.
I know about your patience, and what you endured for my sake—and that you didn't give up!
4 But I have this against you: that you have relinquished your first charity.
But I have something against you: you have neglected your first love.
5 And so, call to mind the place from which you have fallen, and do penance, and do the first works. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
So remember how far you've fallen—repent and go back to what you were doing at first. Otherwise I'll come to you and I will remove your candlestick from where it is—unless you repent.
6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
However, you do have this to your credit: you hate the actions of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.
7 Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. To him who prevails, I will give to eat from the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of my God.
If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. I will give to those who are victorious the privilege of eating from the tree of life, which stands in the Paradise of God.
8 And to the Angel of the Church of Smyrna write: Thus says the First and the Last, he who was dead and now lives:
Write this to the angel of the Smyrna church: This is what the first and last says, the one who was dead and came back to life:
9 I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich, and that you are blasphemed by those who declare themselves to be Jews and are not, but who are a synagogue of Satan.
I know the troubles you are going through, and how poor you are (but you are rich), and the abuse from those who say they are Jews but are not, but belong to Satan's synagogue.
10 You should fear nothing amid those things which you will suffer. Behold, the devil will cast some of you into prison, so that you may be tested. And you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give to you the crown of life.
Don't be afraid about what you are going to suffer. Yes, the devil will throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Just remain faithful, even if it means death, and I will give you the crown of life!
11 Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. Whoever will prevail, he shall not be harmed by the second death.
If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. The second death will not harm those who are victorious.
12 And to the Angel of the Church of Pergamus write: Thus says he who holds the sharp two-edged spear:
Write this to the angel of the Pergamum church: This is what the one holding the sharp two-edged sword says:
13 I know where you dwell, where the seat of Satan is, and that you hold to my name and have not denied my faith, even in those days when Antipas was my faithful witness, who was slain among you, where Satan dwells.
I know you're living where Satan has his throne, and that you have stayed true to me. You have not denied your trust in me, even when my faithful witness Antipas was killed right among you there where Satan lives!
14 But I have a few things against you. For you have, in that place, those who hold to the doctrine of Balaam, who instructed Balak to cast a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat and to commit fornication.
But I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak how to entrap the children of Israel by means of eating food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual sins.
15 And you also have those who hold to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.
Similarly you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 So do penance to the same extent. If you do less, I will come to you quickly and I will fight against these ones with the sword of my mouth.
So repent, or soon I will come to you and fight against them using the sword of my mouth.
17 Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. To him who prevails, I will give the hidden manna. And I will give to him a white emblem, and on the emblem, a new name has been written, which no one knows, except the one who receives it.
If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. I will give the hidden manna to those who are victorious. I will give them a white stone with a new name written on it that nobody knows except those who receive it.
18 And to the Angel of the Church of Thyatira write: Thus says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like shining brass.
Write this to the angel of the Thyatira church: This is what the Son of God says, the one who has eyes like flaming fire and feet like polished brass.
19 I know your works, and your faith and charity, and your ministry and patient endurance, and that your more recent works are greater than the earlier ones.
I know what you have accomplished, your love and faithfulness and service and perseverance, and that you are doing more now than when you first believed.
20 But I have a few things against you. For you permit the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication and to eat the food of idolatry.
But I have something against you: you are allowing the woman called Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess to teach my followers, leading them astray into sexual sins, and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
21 And I gave her a time, so that she might do penance, but she is not willing to repent from her fornication.
I gave her time to repent of her sexual sins, but she's not willing to repent.
22 Behold, I will cast her onto a bed, and those who commit adultery with her shall be in a very great tribulation, unless they repent from their works.
So I'm throwing her into a bed together with her adulterous partners and they will suffer terribly unless they repent of what they have done with her.
23 And I will put her sons to death, and all the Churches shall know that I am the one who examines temperaments and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. But I say to you,
I will put her children to death. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who examines thoughts and motives. I will repay each of you according to what you've done.
24 and to the others who are at Thyatira: Whoever does not hold to this doctrine, and who has not ‘known the depths of Satan,’ as they say, I will not set any other weight upon you.
For the rest of you there in Thyatira who don't follow this teaching, who have not learned Satan's ‘deep depravities’ as they are called, I don't place on you any other burden. I say to you,
25 Even so, that which you have, hold on to it until I return.
‘Just hold on to what you have until I come.’
26 And whoever will prevail and will observe my works even unto the end, I will give to him authority over the nations.
I will give authority over the nations to those who are victorious and who do what I say until the end.
27 And he shall rule them with an iron rod, and they shall be broken like the earthenware of a potter.
He will rule the nations with an iron rod, breaking them into pieces like clay pots. In the same way that I received authority from my Father,
28 The same I also have received from my Father. And I will give to him the morning star.
I will give them the morning star.
29 Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.”
If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches.”
