Revelation 2
2
The Message to the Church in Ephesus
1 “Write this letter to the angel # 2:1 Or the messenger; also in 2:8, 12, 18. of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! # 2:4 Greek You have lost your first love. 5Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 6But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.
7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.
The Message to the Church in Smyrna
8 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:
9 “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. 10Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.
11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.
The Message to the Church in Pergamum
12 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword:
13 “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.
14 “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. 16Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.
The Message to the Church in Thyatira
18 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:
19 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.
20 “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. 21I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.
22 “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, # 2:22 Greek a bed. and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.
24 “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you 25except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come. 26To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end,
To them I will give authority over all the nations.
27 They will rule the nations with an iron rod
and smash them like clay pots. # 2:26-27 Ps 2:8-9 (Greek version).
28 They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!
29 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
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Revelation 2: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT:
Revelation 2
2
1“Write this to the angel of the Ephesus church: This is what the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand says, the one who walks among the seven golden candlesticks: 2I know what you've accomplished, your hard work and perseverance. I know you can't tolerate evil people, and how you investigated those who claimed to be apostles but are not, and discovered they were frauds. 3I know about your patience, and what you endured for my sake—and that you didn't give up!
4But I have something against you: you have neglected your first love. 5So remember how far you've fallen—repent and go back to what you were doing at first. Otherwise I'll come to you and I will remove your candlestick from where it is—unless you repent. 6However, you do have this to your credit: you hate the actions of the Nicolaitans,#2:6. Nicolaitans: little is known about this group. It is suggested that they taught the physical had no impact on the spiritual, so the kind of life you led was not important. just as I do. 7If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches.#2:7. In other words, if you are able to hear what is said, then listen and pay attention. I will give to those who are victorious the privilege of eating from the tree of life, which stands in the Paradise of God.
8Write this to the angel of the Smyrna church: This is what the first and last says, the one who was dead and came back to life: 9I know the troubles you are going through, and how poor you are (but you are rich), and the abuse from those who say they are Jews but are not, but belong to Satan's synagogue. 10Don't be afraid about what you are going to suffer. Yes, the devil will throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Just remain faithful, even if it means death, and I will give you the crown of life! 11If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. The second death will not harm those who are victorious.
12Write this to the angel of the Pergamum church: This is what the one holding the sharp two-edged sword says: 13I know you're living where Satan has his throne, and that you have stayed true to me. You have not denied your trust in me, even when my faithful witness Antipas was killed right among you there where Satan lives!
14But I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak#2:14. Referring to the story in Numbers 22 and following. how to entrap the children of Israel by means of eating food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual sins. 15Similarly you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16So repent, or soon I will come to you and fight against them using the sword of my mouth. 17If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. I will give the hidden manna to those who are victorious. I will give them a white stone with a new name written on it that nobody knows except those who receive it.
18Write this to the angel of the Thyatira church: This is what the Son of God says, the one who has eyes like flaming fire and feet like polished brass. 19I know what you have accomplished, your love and faithfulness and service and perseverance, and that you are doing more now than when you first believed.
20But I have something against you: you are allowing the woman called Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess to teach my followers, leading them astray into sexual sins, and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21I gave her time to repent of her sexual sins, but she's not willing to repent. 22So I'm throwing her into a bed together with her adulterous partners and they will suffer terribly unless they repent of what they have done with her. 23I will put her children to death. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who examines thoughts and motives.#2:23. “Thoughts and motives”—Literally, “kidneys and hearts.” I will repay each of you according to what you've done.
24For the rest of you there in Thyatira who don't follow this teaching, who have not learned Satan's ‘deep depravities’ as they are called, I don't place on you any other burden. I say to you, 25‘Just hold on to what you have until I come.’ 26I will give authority over the nations to those who are victorious and who do what I say until the end. 27He will rule the nations with an iron rod, breaking them into pieces like clay pots.#2:27. See Psalms 2:8-9. In the same way that I received authority from my Father, 28I will give them the morning star.#2:28. “Morning star”—an ancient reference to the planet Venus, associated with victory. It is also a title given to Christ. 29If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com