Revelation 2:1–29

¹“To the angel of the congregation in Eph′e‧sus write: These are the things that he says who holds the seven stars in his right hand, he who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands,²‘I know your deeds, and your labor and endurance, and that you cannot bear bad men, and that you put those to the test who say they are apostles, but they are not, and you found them liars.³You are also showing endurance, and you have borne up for my name’s sake and have not grown weary.⁴Nevertheless, I hold [this] against you, that you have left the love you had at first.

⁵“‘Therefore remember from what you have fallen, and repent and do the former deeds. If you do not, I am coming to you, and I will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.⁶Still, you do have this, that you hate the deeds of the sect of Nic‧o‧la′us, which I also hate.⁷Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations: To him that conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

⁸“And to the angel of the congregation in Smyr′na write: These are the things that he says, ‘the First and the Last,’ who became dead and came to life [again],⁹‘I know your tribulation and poverty—but you are rich—and the blasphemy by those who say they themselves are Jews, and yet they are not but are a synagogue of Satan.¹⁰Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of ​YOU​ into prison that ​YOU​ may be fully put to the test, and that ​YOU​ may have tribulation ten days. Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life.¹¹Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations: He that conquers will by no means be harmed by the second death.’

¹²“And to the angel of the congregation in Per′ga‧mum write: These are the things that he says who has the sharp, long two‐edged sword,¹³‘I know where you are dwelling, that is, where the throne of Satan is; and yet you keep on holding fast my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of An′ti‧pas, my witness, the faithful one, who was killed by ​YOUR​ side, where Satan is dwelling.

¹⁴“‘Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, that you have there those holding fast the teaching of Ba′laam, who went teaching Ba′lak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication.¹⁵So you, also, have those holding fast the teaching of the sect of Nic‧o‧la′us likewise.¹⁶Therefore repent. If you do not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will war with them with the long sword of my mouth.

¹⁷“‘Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations: To him that conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white pebble, and upon the pebble a new name written which no one knows except the one receiving it.’

¹⁸“And to the angel of the congregation in Thy‧a‧ti′ra write: These are the things that the Son of God says, he who has his eyes like a fiery flame, and his feet are like fine copper,¹⁹‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and ministry and endurance, and that your deeds of late are more than those formerly.

²⁰“‘Nevertheless, I do hold [this] against you, that you tolerate that woman Jez′e‧bel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and misleads my slaves to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols.²¹And I gave her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her fornication.²²Look! I am about to throw her into a sickbed, and those committing adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.²³And her children I will kill with deadly plague, so that all the congregations will know that I am he who searches the kidneys and hearts, and I will give to ​YOU​ individually according to ​YOUR​ deeds.

²⁴“‘However, I say to the rest of ​YOU​ who are in Thy‧a‧ti′ra, all those who do not have this teaching, the very ones who did not get to know the “deep things of Satan,” as they say: I am not putting upon ​YOU​ any other burden.²⁵Just the same, hold fast what ​YOU​ have until I come.²⁶And to him that conquers and observes my deeds down to the end I will give authority over the nations,²⁷and he shall shepherd the people with an iron rod so that they will be broken to pieces like clay vessels, the same as I have received from my Father,²⁸and I will give him the morning star.²⁹Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations.’