Revelation 2

¹ ‘Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus and say, “Here is the message of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who lives surrounded by the seven golden lamp-stands:

² I know all about you: how hard you work and how much you put up with. I know you cannot stand wicked men, and how you tested the impostors who called themselves apostles and proved they were liars.

³ know, too, that you have patience, and have suffered for my name without growing tired.

⁴ Nevertheless, I have this complaint to make; you have less love now than you used to.

⁵ Think where you were before you fell; repent, and do as you used to at first, or else, if you will not repent, I shall come to you and take your lamp-stand from its place.

⁶ It is in your favour, nevertheless, that you loathe as I do what the Nicolaitans are doing.

⁷ If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: those who prove victorious I will feed from the tree of life set in God’s paradise.”[*a]

⁸ ‘Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna and say, “Here is the message of the First and the Last, who was dead and has come to life again:

⁹ I know the trials you have had, and how poor you are – though you are rich – and the slanderous accusations that have been made by the people who profess to be Jews but are really members of the synagogue of Satan.

¹⁰ Do not be afraid of the sufferings that are coming to you: I tell you, the devil is going to send some of you to prison to test you, and you must face an ordeal for ten days.[*b] Even if you have to die, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life for your prize.

¹¹ If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: for those who prove victorious there is nothing to be afraid of in the second death.”

¹² ‘Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum and say, “Here is the message of the one who has the sharp sword, double-edged:

¹³ I know where you live, in the place where Satan is enthroned, and that you still hold firmly to my name, and did not disown your faith in me even when my faithful witness, Antipas, was killed in your own town, where Satan lives.[*c]

¹⁴ Nevertheless, I have one or two complaints to make: some of you are followers of Balaam, who taught Balak to set a trap for the Israelites so that they committed adultery by eating food that had been sacrificed to idols;

¹⁵ and among you, too, there are some as bad who accept what the Nicolaitans teach.

¹⁶ You must repent, or I shall soon come to you and attack these people with the sword out of my mouth.

¹⁷ If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: to those who prove victorious I will give the hidden manna and a white stone[*d] – a stone with a new name written on it, known only to the man who receives it.”

¹⁸ ‘Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira and say, “Here is the message of the Son of God who has eyes like a burning flame and feet like burnished bronze:

¹⁹ I know all about you and how charitable you are; I know your faith and devotion and how much you put up with, and I know how you are still making progress.

²⁰ Nevertheless, I have a complaint to make: you are encouraging the woman Jezebel[*e] who claims to be a prophetess, and by her teaching she is luring my servants away to commit the adultery of eating food which has been sacrificed to idols.

²¹ I have given her time to reform but she is not willing to change her adulterous life.

²² Now I am consigning her to bed, and all her partners in adultery to troubles that will test them severely, unless they repent of their practices;

²³ and I will see that her children die, so that all the churches realise that it is I who search heart and loins and give each one of you what your behaviour deserves.[*f]

²⁴ But on the rest of you in Thyatira, all of you who have not accepted this teaching or learnt the secrets of Satan, as they are called, I am not laying any special duty;

²⁵ but hold firmly on to what you already have until I come.

²⁶ To those who prove victorious, and keep working for me until the end,

²⁷ I will give the authority over the pagans[*g]

²⁸ which I myself have been given by my Father, to rule them with an iron sceptre and shatter them like earthenware. And I will give him the Morning Star.[*h]

²⁹ If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”