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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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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