Revelation 2
2
To the Church in Ephesus
1“Write this to the angel of the church in Ephesus:
“The One who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands says this: 2I know what you do, how you work hard and never give up. I know you do not put up with the false teachings of evil people. You have tested those who say they are apostles but really are not, and you found they are liars. 3You have patience and have suffered troubles for my name and have not given up.
4“But I have this against you: You have left the love you had in the beginning. 5So remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did at first. If you do not change, I will come to you and will take away your lampstand from its place. 6But there is something you do that is right: You hate what the Nicolaitans do, as much as I.
7“Every person who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To those who win the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life, which is in the garden of God.
To the Church in Smyrna
8“Write this to the angel of the church in Smyrna:
“The One who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again, says this: 9I know your troubles and that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the bad things some people say about you. They say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews. They are a synagogue that belongs to Satan. 10Do 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, and you will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life.
11“Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.
To the Church in Pergamum
12“Write this to the angel of the church in Pergamum:
“The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword says this: 13I know where you live. It is where Satan has his throne. But you are true to me. You did not refuse to tell about your faith in me even during the time of Antipas, my faithful witness who was killed in your city, where Satan lives.
14“But I have a few things against you: You have some there who follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak how to cause the people of Israel to sin by eating food offered to idols and by taking part in sexual sins. 15You also have some who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16So change your hearts and lives. If you do not, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword that comes out of my mouth.
17“Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
“I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give to each one who wins the victory a white stone with a new name written on it. No one knows this new name except the one who receives it.
To the Church in Thyatira
18“Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira:
“The Son of God, who has eyes that blaze like fire and feet like shining bronze, says this: 19I know what you do. I know about your love, your faith, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first.
20“But I have this against you: You let that woman Jezebel spread false teachings. She says she is a prophetess, but by her teaching she leads my people to take part in sexual sins and to eat food that is offered to idols. 21I have given her time to change her heart and turn away from her sin, but she does not want to change. 22So I will throw her on a bed of suffering. And all those who take part in adultery with her will suffer greatly if they do not turn away from the wrongs she does. 23I will also kill her followers. Then all the churches will know I am the One who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you for what you have done.
24“But others of you in Thyatira have not followed her teaching and have not learned what some call Satan’s deep secrets. I say to you that I will not put any other load on you. 25Only continue in your loyalty until I come.
26“I will give power over the nations to everyone who wins the victory and continues to be obedient to me until the end.
27‘You will rule over them with an iron rod,
as when pottery is broken into pieces.’#Psalm 2:9
28This is the same power I received from my Father. I will also give him the morning star. 29Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Revelation 2
2
The Letter to Ephesus
1This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Ephesus:
I am the one who holds the seven stars in my right hand, and I walk among the seven gold lampstands. Listen to what I say.
2I know everything you have done, including your hard work and how you have endured. I know you won't put up with anyone who is evil. When some people pretended to be apostles, you tested them and found out they were liars. 3You have endured and gone through hard times because of me, yet you have not given up.
4But I do have something against you! And it is this: You don't have as much love as you used to. 5Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first. If you don't turn back, I will come and take away your lampstand. 6But there is one thing you are doing right. You hate what the Nicolaitans#2.6 Nicolaitans: Nothing else is known about these people, though it is possible that they claimed to be followers of Nicolaus from Antioch (see Acts 6.5). are doing, and so do I.
7 #
Gn 2.9; 2 Esd 2.12; Rev 22.2;
Ez 28.13; 31.8 (LXX). If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will let everyone who wins the victory eat from the life-giving tree in God's wonderful garden.
The Letter to Smyrna
8 #
Is 44.6; 48.12; Rev 1.17; 22.13. This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Smyrna:
I am the first and the last. I died, but now I am alive! Listen to what I say.
9I know how much you suffer and how poor you are, but you are rich. I also know the cruel things being said about you by people who claim to be God's people. But they are not really God's people. They are a group that belongs to Satan.
10Don't worry about what you will suffer. The devil will throw some of you into jail, and you will be tested and made to suffer for ten days. But if you are faithful until you die, I will reward you with a glorious life.#2.10 a glorious life: The Greek text has “a crown of life.” In ancient times an athlete who had won a contest was rewarded with a crown of flowers as a sign of victory.
11 #
Rev 20.14; 21.8. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Whoever wins the victory will not be hurt by the second death.#2.11 second death: The first death is physical death, and the “second death” is eternal death.
The Letter to Pergamum
12This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Pergamum:
I am the one who has the sharp double-edged sword! Listen to what I say.
13I know you live where Satan has his throne.#2.13 where Satan has his throne: The meaning is uncertain, but it may refer to the city as a center of pagan worship or of Emperor worship. But you have kept true to my name. Right there where Satan lives, my faithful witness Antipas#2.13 Antipas: Nothing else is known about this man, who is mentioned only here in the New Testament. was taken from you and put to death. Even then you did not give up your faith in me.
14 #
Nu 22.5,7; 31.16; Dt 23.4;
Nu 25.1-3. I do have a few things against you. Some of you are following the teaching of Balaam.#2.14 Balaam: According to Numbers 22–24, Balaam refused to disobey the Lord. But in other books of the Old Testament, he is spoken of as evil (see Deuteronomy 23.4,5; Joshua 13.22; 24.9,10; Nehemiah 13.2). Long ago he told Balak to teach the people of Israel to eat food that had been offered to idols and to be immoral. 15Now some of you are following the teaching of the Nicolaitans.#2.15 Nicolaitans: See the note at 2.6. 16Turn back! If you don't, I will come quickly and fight against these people. And my words will cut like a sword.
17 #
Ex 16.14,15; 16.33,34; Jn 6.48-50;
Is 62.2; 65.15. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To everyone who wins the victory, I will give some of the hidden food.#2.17 hidden food: When the people of Israel were going through the desert, the Lord provided a special food for them. Some of this was placed in a jar and stored in the sacred chest (see Exodus 16). According to later Jewish teaching, the prophet Jeremiah rescued the sacred chest when the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. He hid the chest in a cave, where it would stay until God came to save his people. I will also give each one a white stone#2.17 white stone: The meaning of this is uncertain, though it may be the same as a ticket that lets a person into God's banquet where the “hidden food” is eaten. Or it may be a symbol of victory. with a new name#2.17 a new name: Either the name of Christ or God or the name of the follower who is given the stone. written on it. No one will know that name except the one who is given the stone.
The Letter to Thyatira
18This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Thyatira:
I am the Son of God! My eyes are like flames of fire, and my feet are like bronze. Listen to what I say.
19I know everything about you, including your love, your faith, your service, and how you have endured. I know you are doing more now than you have ever done before. 20#1 K 16.31; 2 K 9.22,30. But I still have something against you because of that woman Jezebel.#2.20 Jezebel: Nothing else is known about her. This may have been her real name or a name that was given to her because she was like Queen Jezebel, who opposed the Lord (see 1 Kings 19.1,2; 21.1-26). She calls herself a prophet, and you let her teach and mislead my servants to do immoral things and to eat food offered to idols. 21I gave her a chance to turn from her sins, but she did not want to stop doing these immoral things.
22I am going to strike down Jezebel. Everyone who does these immoral things with her will also be punished, if they don't stop. 23#Ps 7.9; Jr 17.10; Ps 62.12. I will even kill her followers.#2.23 her followers: Or “her children.” Then all the churches will see that I know everyone's thoughts and feelings. I will treat each of you as you deserve.
24Some of you in Thyatira don't follow Jezebel's teaching. You don't know anything about what her followers call the “deep secrets of Satan.” So I won't burden you down with any other commands. 25But until I come, you must hold firmly to the teaching you have.
26 # Ps 2.8,9 (LXX). I will give power over the nations to everyone who wins the victory and keeps on obeying me until the end. 27-28I will give each of them the same power my Father has given me. They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash those nations to pieces like clay pots. I will also give them the morning star.#2.27,28 the morning star: Probably thought of as the star that signals the end of night and the beginning of day. In 22.16 Christ is called the “morning star.”
29If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.