20 “As for the amystery of the bseven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the cseven golden lampstands: the bseven stars are the angels of dthe seven churches, and the seven elampstands are the seven churches.

Chapter 2

Message to Ephesus

1 “To the angel of the church in aEphesus write:

The One who holds bthe seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks 1camong the seven golden lampstands, says this:

2 ‘aI know your deeds and your toil and 1perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you bput to the test those who call themselves capostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;

3 and you have 1perseverance and have endured afor My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.

4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have aleft your first love.

5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and arepent and bdo the 1deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your clampstand out of its place—unless you repent.

6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the aNicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 ‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. bTo him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of cthe tree of life which is in the dParadise of God.’

Message to Smyrna

8 “And to the angel of the church in aSmyrna write:

bThe first and the last, who 1cwas dead, and has come to life, says this:

9 ‘I know your atribulation and your bpoverty (but you are brich), and the blasphemy by those who csay they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of dSatan.

10 ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be atested, and you will have tribulation bfor ten days. 1Be cfaithful until death, and I will give you dthe crown of life.

11 ‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. bHe who overcomes will not be hurt by the csecond death.’

Message to Pergamum

12 “And to the angel of the church in aPergamum write:

The One who has bthe sharp two-edged sword says this:

13 ‘I know where you dwell, where aSatan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny bMy faith even in the days of Antipas, My cwitness, My dfaithful one, who was killed among you, ewhere Satan dwells.

14 ‘But aI have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the bteaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, cto eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.

15 ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the aNicolaitans.

16 ‘Therefore arepent; or else bI am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with cthe sword of My mouth.

17 ‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. aTo him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden bmanna, and I will give him a white stone, and a cnew name written on the stone dwhich no one knows but he who receives it.’

Message to Thyatira

18 “And to the angel of the church in aThyatira write:

bThe Son of God, cwho has 1eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:

19 ‘aI know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and 1perseverance, and that your 2deeds of late are greater than 3at first.

20 ‘But aI have this against you, that you tolerate the woman bJezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they ccommit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

21 ‘aI gave her time to repent, and she bdoes not want to repent of her immorality.

22 ‘Behold, I will throw her 1on a bed of sickness, and those who acommit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of 2her deeds.

23 ‘And I will kill her children with 1pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who asearches the 2minds and hearts; and bI will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

24 ‘But I say to you, the rest who are in aThyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the bdeep things of Satan, as they call them—I cplace no other burden on you.

25 ‘Nevertheless awhat you have, hold fast buntil I come.

26 ‘aHe who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds buntil the end, cto him I will give authority over the 1nations;

27 and he shall 1arule them with a rod of iron, bas the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father;

28 and I will give him athe morning star.

29 ‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Chapter 3

Message to Sardis

1 “To the angel of the church in aSardis write:

He who has bthe seven Spirits of God and cthe seven stars, says this: ‘dI know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, 1but you are edead.

2 ‘Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

3 ‘So aremember 1what you have received and heard; and keep it, and arepent. Therefore if you do not wake up, aI will come blike a thief, and you will not know at cwhat hour I will come to you.

4 ‘But you have a few 1apeople in bSardis who have not csoiled their garments; and they will walk with Me din white, for they are worthy.

5 ‘aHe who overcomes will thus be clothed in bwhite garments; and I will not cerase his name from the book of life, and dI will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

6 ‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Message to Philadelphia

7 “And to the angel of the church in aPhiladelphia write:

bHe who is holy, cwho is true, who has dthe key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:

8 ‘aI know your 1deeds. Behold, I have put before you ban open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and chave not denied My name.

9 ‘Behold, I 1will cause those of athe synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them bcome and bow down 2at your feet, and make them know that cI have loved you.

10 ‘Because you have akept the word of bMy 1perseverance, cI also will keep you from the hour of 2dtesting, that hour which is about to come upon the whole 3eworld, to 4test fthose who dwell on the earth.

11 ‘aI am coming quickly; bhold fast what you have, so that no one will take your ccrown.

12 ‘aHe who overcomes, I will make him a bpillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the cname of My God, and dthe name of the city of My God, ethe new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My fnew name.

13 ‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Message to Laodicea

14 “To the angel of the church in aLaodicea write:

bThe Amen, cthe faithful and true Witness, dthe 1Beginning of the creation of God, says this:

15 ‘aI know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; bI wish that you were cold or hot.

16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will 1spit you out of My mouth.

17 ‘Because you say, “aI am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,

18 I advise you to abuy from Me bgold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and cwhite garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that dthe shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

19 ‘aThose whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and brepent.

20 ‘Behold, I stand aat the door and bknock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, cI will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

21 ‘aHe who overcomes, I will grant to him bto sit down with Me on My throne, as cI also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

22 ‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”