Revelation 2–3

To the Church in Ephesus

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus^a write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand^b and walks among the seven golden lampstands.^c I know your deeds,^d your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested^e those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.^f You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name,^g and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.^h Consider how far you have fallen! Repentⁱ and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand^j from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,^k which I also hate.

Whoever has ears, let them hear^l what the Spirit says to the churches. To those who are victorious,^m I will give the right to eat from the tree of life,ⁿ which is in the paradise^o of God.

To the Church in Smyrna

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna^a write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last,^b who died and came to life again.^c I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!^d I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not,^e but are a synagogue of Satan.^f Do 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,^g and you will suffer persecution for ten days.^h Be faithful,ⁱ even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.^j

Whoever has ears, let them hear^k what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who are victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.^l

To the Church in Pergamum

“To the angel of the church in Pergamum^a write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.^b I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me,^c not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness,^d who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.^e

Nevertheless, I have a few things against you:^f There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam,^g who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols^h and committed sexual immorality.ⁱ Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.^j Repent^k therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.^l

Whoever has ears, let them hear^m what the Spirit says to the churches. To those who are victorious,ⁿ I will give some of the hidden manna.^o I will also give each of them a white stone with a new name^p written on it, known only to the one who receives it.^q

To the Church in Thyatira

“To the angel of the church in Thyatira^a write:

These are the words of the Son of God,^b whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.^c I know your deeds,^d your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel,^e who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.^f I have given her time^g to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.^h So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adulteryⁱ with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds,^j and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.^k Now 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,^l except to hold on to what you have^m until I come.’ⁿ

To those who are victorious^o and do my will to the end,^p I will give authority over the nations^q— they ‘will rule them with an iron scepter^r and will dash them to pieces like pottery’^s—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give them the morning star.^t Whoever has ears, let them hear^u what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Sardis

“To the angel of the church in Sardis^a write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits^b of God and the seven stars.^c I know your deeds;^d you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.^e Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.^f But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief,^g and you will not know at what time^h I will come to you.

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.ⁱ They will walk with me, dressed in white,^j for they are worthy. Those who are victorious^k will, like them, be dressed in white.^l I will never blot out their names from the book of life,^m but will acknowledge their names before my Fatherⁿ and his angels. Whoever has ears, let them hear^o what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Philadelphia

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia^a write:

These are the words of him who is holy^b and true,^c who holds the key of David.^d What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds.^e See, I have placed before you an open door^f that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.^g I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan,^h who claim to be Jews though they are not,ⁱ but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet^j and acknowledge that I have loved you.^k Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you^l from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world^m to testⁿ those who live on the earth.^o

I am coming soon.^p Hold on to what you have,^q so that no one will take your crown.^r Those who are victorious^s I will make pillars^t in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God^u and the name of the city of my God,^v the new Jerusalem,^w which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear^x what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Laodicea

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea^a write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness,^b the ruler of God’s creation.^c I know your deeds,^d that you are neither cold nor hot.^e I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’^f But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.^g I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire,^h so you can become rich; and white clothesⁱ to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness;^j and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.^k So be earnest, and repent.^l Here I am! I stand at the door^m and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,ⁿ I will come in^o and eat with them, and they with me.

To those who are victorious,^p I will give the right to sit with me on my throne,^q just as I was victorious^r and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear^s what the Spirit says to the churches.”