Message to Ephesus
1 “To the angel (divine messenger) of the church inEphesus write:
“These are the words of the One who holds[firmly]the seven stars[which are the angels or messengers of the seven churches]in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands (the seven churches):
2 ‘I knowyour deeds and your toil, and your patient endurance, and that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and have testedandcritically appraised those who call themselves apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives, of Christ), and[in fact]are not, and have found them to be liarsandimpostors;
3 and[I know that]you[who believe]are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and that you have not grown weary[of being faithful to the truth].
4 ~‘But I havethis[charge]against you, that you have left your first love[you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me].
5 ~‘So rememberthe heightsfrom which you have fallen, and repent[change your inner self–your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior–seek God’s will]and do the works you did at first[when you first knew Me];otherwise, I will visit you and remove your lampstand (the church, its impact) from its place–unless you repent.
6 ~‘Yet you have this[to your credit],that you hate the worksandcorrupt teachings of theNicolaitans[that mislead and delude the people],which I also hate.
7 ~‘He who has an ear, let him hearandheed what the Spirit says to the churches. To him whoovercomes[the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God],I will grant[the privilege]to eat[the fruit]from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’
Message to Smyrna
8 “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church inSmyrna write:
“These are the words of the First and the Last[absolute Deity, the Son of God]who died and came to life[again]:
9 ‘I know your suffering and your poverty (but you are rich), and how you are blasphemedandslandered by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan[they are Jews only by blood, and do not believe and truly honor the God whom they claim to worship].
10 ~‘Fear nothing that you are about to suffer. Be aware that the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested[in your faith],and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful to the point of death[if you must die for your faith],and I will give you the crown[consisting]of life.
11 ~‘He who has an ear, let him hearandheed what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes[the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God]will not be hurt by the second death (the lake of fire).’
Message to Pergamum
12 “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church inPergamum write:
“These are the words of Him who hasandwields the sharp two-edged sword[in judgment]:
13 ‘I know where you dwell,[a place]where Satan sits enthroned. Yet you are holding fast to My name, and you did not denyMy faith even in the days ofAntipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed (martyred) among you, where Satan dwells.
14 ~‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some[among you]who are holding to the[corrupt]teaching of Balaam, who taughtBalak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel,[enticing them]to eat things that had been sacrificed to idols and to commit[acts of sexual]immorality.
15 ~‘You also have some who in the same way are holding to the teaching of theNicolaitans.
16 ~‘Therefore repent[change your inner self–your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior–seek God’s will];or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make warandfight against them with the sword of My mouth[in judgment].
17 ~‘He who has an ear, let him hearandheed what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes[the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God],to him I will give[the privilege of eating]someof thehidden manna, and I will give him awhite stone with a new name engraved on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.’
Message to Thyatira
18 “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church inThyatira write:
“These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes[that flash]like a flame of fire[in righteous judgment],and whose feet are like burnished[white-hot]bronze:
19 ‘I know your deeds, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your last deeds are more numerousandgreater than the first.
20 ~‘But I have this[charge]against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess[claiming to be inspired],and she teaches and misleads My bond-servants so that they commit[acts of sexual]immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols.
21 ~‘I gave her time to repent[to change her inner self and her sinful way of thinking],but she has no desire to repent of her immoralityandrefuses to do so.
22 ~‘Listen carefully, I will throw her on a bedof sickness,and those who commit adultery with her[I will bring]into great anguish, unless they repent of her deeds.
23 ~‘And I will kill her children (followers) withpestilence[thoroughly annihilating them],and all the churches will know[without any doubt]that I am He who searches theminds and hearts[the innermost thoughts, purposes];and I will give to each one of you[a reward or punishment]according to your deeds.
24 ~‘But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not exploredandknown thedepths of Satan, as they call them–I place no other burden on you,
25 except to hold tightly to what you have until I come.
26 ~‘And he who overcomes[the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God]and he who keeps My deeds[doing things that please Me]until the[very]end,to himIwill give authorityandpower over the nations;
27 and he shallshepherdandrule them with a rod of iron,as the earthen pots are broken in pieces, as I also have receivedauthority[and power to rule them]from My Father;
28 and I will give him theMorning Star.
29 ~‘He who has an ear, let him hearandheed what the Spirit says to the churches.’