Revelation 2-3

Evangelical Heritage Version

Letter to the Church in Ephesus

2 To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write:

The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven gold lampstands, says this:

² I know your works, your^[a] labor, and your patient endurance, and that you are not able to tolerate evil people. You have tested those who say they are apostles, but are not, and have found them to be liars. ³ Indeed, you do have patient endurance. You have endured hardships on account of my name and have not become weary.

⁴ But I have this against you: You have forsaken your first love.^{[b] 5} Remember, therefore, the state from which you have fallen! Repent and do the works you did at first. Otherwise I will come to you^[c] and remove your lampstand from its place, if you do not repent.

⁶ But you do have this: You hate the actions of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious I will give the privilege to eat from the tree of life, which is in^[d] the paradise of God.

Letter to the Church in Smyrna

⁸ To the messenger of the church in Smyrna write:

The First and the Last, who was dead and came to life again, says this:

⁹ I know^[e] your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich. And I know the blasphemy that comes from those who say they are Jews but are not; rather, they are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not fear anything that^[f] you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you will be tested, and you will suffer for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹ Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Letter to the Church in Pergamum

¹² To the messenger of the church in Pergamum write:

The one who has the sharp, two-edged sword says this:

¹³ I know^[g] where you live—where the throne of Satan is. And I know that you hold fast to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me even in the days when Antipas, my faithful witness,^[h] was put to death near you, the place where Satan lives.

¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block in front of the children of Israel so that they would eat things offered to idols and commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵ Likewise, you also have some people who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore,^[i] repent! If not, I will come to you soon, and I will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷ Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious I will give some of the hidden manna.^[j] I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, which no one will know except the one who receives it.

Letter to the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ To the messenger of the church in Thyatira write:

The Son of God, whose eyes are like fiery flames and whose feet are like polished bronze, says this:

¹⁹ I know your works and love and faith and service, as well as your patient endurance, and that you are doing more now than you did at first.

²⁰ But I have this against you: You allow that woman Jezebel, the one who calls herself a prophetess, to deceive my servants and to teach them to commit sexual immorality and eat things offered to idols. ²¹ I gave her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. ²² Look, I am going to throw her onto a bed and throw those who commit adultery with her into great suffering, if they do not repent of her^[k] works. ²³ And I will put her children to death. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches hearts and minds, and that I will give to each of you according to your works.

²⁴ To the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to this teaching, who do not know Satan’s “deep things,” as they call them, I say that I will not lay any other burden on you. ²⁵ Only hold fast to what you have until I come.

²⁶ To the one who is victorious and continues to do my works until the end, I will give him authority over the nations, ²⁷ and he will rule them with an iron staff and shatter them like clay pots, ²⁸ just as I myself have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.

²⁹ Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Letter to the Church in Sardis

3 To the messenger of the church in Sardis write:

The one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this:

I know your works. You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up, and strengthen what is left, which is about to die, for I have found that your works are not complete in the sight of my God. ³ Therefore remember what you received and heard. Hold on to it and repent! If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come upon you.

⁴ Yet you have a few names in Sardis, people who have not defiled their clothes. They will walk with me in white clothing, for they are worthy.

⁵ The one who is victorious in this way^[l] will be clothed in white clothing. I certainly will not erase his name from the Book of Life, and I will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.

⁶ Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Letter to the Church in Philadelphia

⁷ To the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write:

The Holy One, the one who is true, the one who has the key of David, the one who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one can open, says this:

⁸ I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ Look, I will make those who are from the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not but are lying—look, I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them realize that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will also keep you from the hour of testing, which is about to come over the whole inhabited world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one takes your crown.

¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never leave it again. I will also write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God—the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God—and my new name.

¹³ Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Letter to the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴ To the messenger of the church in Laodicea write:

The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation, says this:

¹⁵ I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. If only you were cold or hot! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm and not hot or cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, “I am rich. I have become very wealthy and need nothing.” But you do not know that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸ I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments, so that you may be clothed and the shame of your nakedness may not become public, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

¹⁹ I rebuke and discipline those whom I love. So take this seriously and repent.

²⁰ Look, I stand at the door and I am knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in with him and dine with him, and he with me. ²¹ To the one who is victorious I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.

²² Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.