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Écris à l'ange de l'Église d'Éphèse: Voici ce que dit celui qui tient les sept étoiles dans sa main droite, celui qui marche au milieu des sept chandeliers d'or:

Je connais tes oeuvres, ton travail, et ta persévérance. Je sais que tu ne peux supporter les méchants; que tu as éprouvé ceux qui se disent apôtres et qui ne le sont pas, et que tu les as trouvés menteurs;

que tu as de la persévérance, que tu as souffert à cause de mon nom, et que tu ne t'es point lassé.

Mais ce que j'ai contre toi, c'est que tu as abandonné ton premier amour.

Souviens-toi donc d'où tu es tombé, repens-toi, et pratique tes premières oeuvres; sinon, je viendrai à toi, et j'ôterai ton chandelier de sa place, à moins que tu ne te repentes.

Tu as pourtant ceci, c'est que tu hais les oeuvres des Nicolaïtes, oeuvres que je hais aussi.

Que celui qui a des oreilles entende ce que l'Esprit dit aux Églises: A celui qui vaincra je donnerai à manger de l'arbre de vie, qui est dans le paradis de Dieu.

Écris à l'ange de l'Église de Smyrne: Voici ce que dit le premier et le dernier, celui qui était mort, et qui est revenu à la vie:

Je connais ta tribulation et ta pauvreté (bien que tu sois riche), et les calomnies de la part de ceux qui se disent Juifs et ne le sont pas, mais qui sont une synagogue de Satan.

10 Ne crains pas ce que tu vas souffrir. Voici, le diable jettera quelques-uns de vous en prison, afin que vous soyez éprouvés, et vous aurez une tribulation de dix jours. Sois fidèle jusqu'à la mort, et je te donnerai la couronne de vie.

11 Que celui qui a des oreilles entende ce que l'Esprit dit aux Églises: Celui qui vaincra n'aura pas à souffrir la seconde mort.

12 Écris à l'ange de l'Église de Pergame: Voici ce que dit celui qui a l'épée aiguë, à deux tranchants:

13 Je sais où tu demeures, je sais que là est le trône de Satan. Tu retiens mon nom, et tu n'as pas renié ma foi, même aux jours d'Antipas, mon témoin fidèle, qui a été mis à mort chez vous, là où Satan a sa demeure.

14 Mais j'ai quelque chose contre toi, c'est que tu as là des gens attachés à la doctrine de Balaam, qui enseignait à Balak à mettre une pierre d'achoppement devant les fils d'Israël, pour qu'ils mangeassent des viandes sacrifiées aux idoles et qu'ils se livrassent à l'impudicité.

15 De même, toi aussi, tu as des gens attachés pareillement à la doctrine des Nicolaïtes.

16 Repens-toi donc; sinon, je viendrai à toi bientôt, et je les combattrai avec l'épée de ma bouche.

17 Que celui qui a des oreilles entende ce que l'Esprit dit aux Églises: A celui qui vaincra je donnerai de la manne cachée, et je lui donnerai un caillou blanc; et sur ce caillou est écrit un nom nouveau, que personne ne connaît, si ce n'est celui qui le reçoit.

18 Écris à l'ange de l'Église de Thyatire: Voici ce que dit le Fils de Dieu, celui qui a les yeux comme une flamme de feu, et dont les pieds sont semblables à de l'airain ardent:

19 Je connais tes oeuvres, ton amour, ta foi, ton fidèle service, ta constance, et tes dernières oeuvres plus nombreuses que les premières.

20 Mais ce que j'ai contre toi, c'est que tu laisses la femme Jézabel, qui se dit prophétesse, enseigner et séduire mes serviteurs, pour qu'ils se livrent à l'impudicité et qu'ils mangent des viandes sacrifiées aux idoles.

21 Je lui ai donné du temps, afin qu'elle se repentît, et elle ne veut pas se repentir de son impudicité.

22 Voici, je vais la jeter sur un lit, et envoyer une grande tribulation à ceux qui commettent adultère avec elle, à moins qu'ils ne se repentent de leurs oeuvres.

23 Je ferai mourir de mort ses enfants; et toutes les Églises connaîtront que je suis celui qui sonde les reins et les coeurs, et je vous rendrai à chacun selon vos oeuvres.

24 A vous, à tous les autres de Thyatire, qui ne reçoivent pas cette doctrine, et qui n'ont pas connu les profondeurs de Satan, comme ils les appellent, je vous dis: Je ne mets pas sur vous d'autre fardeau;

25 seulement, ce que vous avez, retenez-le jusqu'à ce que je vienne.

26 A celui qui vaincra, et qui gardera jusqu'à la fin mes oeuvres, je donnerai autorité sur les nations.

27 Il les paîtra avec une verge de fer, comme on brise les vases d'argile, ainsi que moi-même j'en ai reçu le pouvoir de mon Père.

28 Et je lui donnerai l'étoile du matin.

29 Que celui qui a des oreilles entende ce que l'Esprit dit aux Églises!

Jesus' message to the believers at Ephesus

‘Now write this to the angel of the church at Ephesus:[a]

“This is the message to you from the one who holds the seven stars. He holds them carefully in his right hand. He walks among the seven gold lampstands.

I know everything that you do. You have worked much for me. You have continued to work patiently. I know that you do not accept bad people as your friends. Some of these bad people say that they are apostles of Jesus. You have thought carefully about what they teach people. And you have discovered that it is not true. You have been patient and strong in times of trouble. You have continued to serve me because you believe in me. You have not stopped when you become tired.

But I have something to say against you. You loved me very much when you first believed in me. You do not love me as much now. Think carefully about this! You do not now live in the way you did at the beginning. So you must change the way you live. Do again the good things that you did at the beginning. If you do not change the way you live, I will come to punish you. I will take away your lampstand from its place. But this is something that you do well: you hate the bad things that the Nicolaitans are doing. I also hate what they do.[b]

God's Spirit is now speaking to people in the churches. You should recognize that the Spirit is speaking. Everyone who knows that should listen to what he says. I will let everyone who wins against Satan eat my fruit. This fruit is from the tree that makes us alive. And this tree grows in God's garden.” ’[c]

Jesus' message to the believers at Smyrna

‘Write this to the angel of the church at Smyrna:

“This is the message to you from the one who is the first and the last. He was dead, but he became alive again.

I know that bad people are making you suffer. I also know that you are poor. But really, you are rich. Some people say that they are Jews, but they tell lies about you. So they cannot be my true people. Instead, they belong to a group of Satan's people. 10 I know that trouble will soon come to you. But do not be afraid. Listen! The Devil will cause some of you to go to prison. He wants to see whether you will continue to believe in me. As a result, you will suffer for ten days.[d] But continue to trust me, even if you die. Then you will win against the Devil. I will give you a gift, as they give a crown to the winner of a race.[e] You will have life with me for ever.

11 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully! The second death will not hurt anyone who wins against Satan.” ’[f]

Jesus' message to the believers at Pergamum

12 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Pergamum:

“This is the message to you from the one who has the sharp sword with two edges.

13 I know where you live. It is the place where Satan sits as king.[g] But you still continue to trust me. You remember Antipas who spoke a clear message about me. Because of that, some people in your city killed him. You saw what happened to him, but you continued to believe in me. You still serve me, even there where Satan lives.[h]

14 But I have a few things to say against you. Some people among you agree with what Balaam taught long ago. He taught Balak to do a bad thing against God's people.[i] Balak caused the Israelite people to do wrong things. As a result, they ate food that people had given to idols. They also had sex with people who were not their husbands or wives. 15 Also, some people among you do the bad things that the Nicolaitans teach. 16 So you must stop doing these bad things. If you do not change how you live, I will quickly come to punish you. I will fight against those bad people with my sharp sword that comes out of my mouth.

17 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully! To everyone who wins against Satan I will give some of my special food called manna. I will also give each of them a white stone.[j] I will write a new name on that stone. Nobody will know that name except the person who receives it.” ’

Jesus' message to the believers at Thyatira

18 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Thyatira:

“This is the message to you from the Son of God. He has eyes that burn brightly like flames of fire. His feet shine like bright metal.

19 I know everything that you do. I know that you have great love. I know that you believe in me. I know that you continue to serve me well. You are patient and strong. You do these good things now more than you did at the beginning.

20 But I have something to say against you. You let that woman Jezebel teach you. She says that she is a prophet from God. But she leads my servants into bad ways. She teaches them to have sex with many people.[k] And she teaches them to eat food that people have given to idols. 21 I have given her time to stop doing these bad things. But she refuses to change how she lives. She does not stop having sex with other men. 22 Listen to this! I will cause her to suffer on her bed, so that she cannot get up. Those who join her in her sins will also suffer very much, unless they change the way they live. 23 I will send a terrible illness to kill those who obey her. Then all the people in the churches will know that I look deep inside them. I know what you really want. I know what you really think. I will give each of you what is right for you, as a result of what you have done.

24 But I say this to you other people in Thyatira. You have not agreed with what Jezebel taught. You have not learned what they call ‘Satan's deep secrets’. So I say this to you: I will not tell you to obey any other difficult rules. 25 But continue to obey my message that you have already received. Believe in me until I come.

26 Continue to obey me until the end and win the fight against Satan. If anyone does that, I will give him authority to rule over the nations of the world. 27 That person will rule the nations with strong authority. He will destroy them, like someone who breaks clay pots into many pieces.[l] 28 He will have the same authority that I received from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.[m] 29 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’

Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Many people think that the ‘angel’ here means a human messenger that God has sent. The ‘angel’ could have been the person who read this letter aloud to the church. So ‘angel’ could also mean this in Revelation 2:8,12,18; 3:1,7,14. Everywhere else in Revelation, ‘angel’ means a being from heaven.
  2. 2:6 The Nicolaitans were teaching the Christians to do wrong things. They were not teaching the same message as Jesus had taught. We do not know much about the wrong things that they taught.
  3. 2:7 If we turn against Satan, Jesus promises to give us new life. The fruit that he gives us is a picture of everything that we need to live that new life.
  4. 2:10 ‘ten days’ may mean a short time of trouble, rather than a long time.
  5. 2:10 At the time John was on earth, a winner of a race received a crown. The crown was the shape of a circle. Somebody had tied leaves together to make it.
  6. 2:11 The second death is the opposite of when someone lives always with Jesus. It means that a person must go to a place without Jesus. Nobody is happy in that place. The name of that place is hell, or the lake of fire. See Revelation 20:14.
  7. 2:13 Pergamum was a city where Satan was powerful.
  8. 2:13 There was a special building in Pergamum for people to worship the king of Rome. This king was against Christians because they would not worship him. Also, there was a very big stone table on a hill. People offered gifts to the false god Zeus on this big table. Also, many people worshipped a snake god. The Devil appears as a snake in the Bible. See Genesis 3.
  9. 2:14 Balak was the king of Moab. See Numbers 22:1—25:3.
  10. 2:17 The colour white in the Bible usually means completely good and clean. So the white stone may show that God will make us like that. He will make our spirits completely clean if we continue to believe him.
  11. 2:20 God's Law says that someone should have sex only with their wife or their husband.
  12. 2:27 The person who rules the countries will be strong. He will rule with great power and he will punish people who do wrong things.
  13. 2:28 The morning star appears in the sky just before the sunrise. It is very bright. It shows us that the day is coming. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus says that he is the morning star. He brings light when it has been dark.

To the Church in Ephesus

“To the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus(A) write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand(B) and walks among the seven golden lampstands.(C) I know your deeds,(D) your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested(E) those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.(F) You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name,(G) and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.(H) Consider how far you have fallen! Repent(I) and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand(J) from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,(K) which I also hate.

Whoever has ears, let them hear(L) what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious,(M) I will give the right to eat from the tree of life,(N) which is in the paradise(O) of God.

To the Church in Smyrna

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna(P) write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last,(Q) who died and came to life again.(R) I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!(S) I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not,(T) but are a synagogue of Satan.(U) 10 Do 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,(V) and you will suffer persecution for ten days.(W) Be faithful,(X) even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.(Y)

11 Whoever has ears, let them hear(Z) what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.(AA)

To the Church in Pergamum

12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum(AB) write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.(AC) 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me,(AD) not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness,(AE) who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.(AF)

14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you:(AG) There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam,(AH) who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols(AI) and committed sexual immorality.(AJ) 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.(AK) 16 Repent(AL) therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.(AM)

17 Whoever has ears, let them hear(AN) what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious,(AO) I will give some of the hidden manna.(AP) I will also give that person a white stone with a new name(AQ) written on it, known only to the one who receives it.(AR)

To the Church in Thyatira

18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira(AS) write:

These are the words of the Son of God,(AT) whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.(AU) 19 I know your deeds,(AV) your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel,(AW) who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.(AX) 21 I have given her time(AY) to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.(AZ) 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery(BA) with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds,(BB) and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.(BC)

24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you,(BD) 25 except to hold on to what you have(BE) until I come.’(BF)

26 To the one who is victorious(BG) and does my will to the end,(BH) I will give authority over the nations(BI) 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter(BJ) and will dash them to pieces like pottery’[b](BK)—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star.(BL) 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear(BM) what the Spirit says to the churches.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 2:1 Or messenger; also in verses 8, 12 and 18
  2. Revelation 2:27 Psalm 2:9

The Letter to the Church in Ephesus

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

“This is what the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand says, the one who walks in the midst of the seven gold lampstands: ‘I know your works, and your labor and patient endurance, and that you are not able to tolerate evil, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you found them to be false. And you have patient endurance, and have endured many things because of my name, and have not become weary. But I have this against you: that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the works you did at first[a]. But if you do not, I am coming to you, and I will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. But you do have this: that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, things which I also hate. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant to him to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.’

The Letter to the Church in Smyrna

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

“This is what the first and the last says, who was dead and came to life: ‘I know your affliction and poverty (but you are rich), and the slander of those who call themselves Jews[b] and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and you will experience affliction ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.’

The Letter to the Church in Pergamum

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

“This is what the one who has the sharp double-edged sword says: 13 ‘I know where you live, where the throne of Satan is. And you hold fast to my name and did not deny your[c] faith in me, even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan lives. 14 But I have a few things against you: that you have there those who hold fast to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat food sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. 15 So likewise you also have those who hold fast to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent! But if you do not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them with the sword from my mouth. 17 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give to him some of the hidden manna, and I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

The Letter to the Church in Thyatira

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

“This is what the Son of God says, the one who has his eyes like a fiery flame and his feet like fine bronze: 19 ‘I know your works, and your love, and faith, and service, and patient endurance—and your last works are greater than the first. 20 But I have against you that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, the one who calls herself a prophetess, and teaches and deceives my slaves to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 And I have given her time in order to repent, and she did not want to repent from her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I am throwing her into a sickbed and those who committed adultery with her into great affliction, unless they repent from her deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with deadly disease, and all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 24 But I say to you, to the rest who are in Thyatira, all those who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they say, I do not put upon you any other burden. 25 Nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come. 26 And the one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give him authority over the nations, 27 and “he will shepherd them with an iron rod; he will break them in pieces like jars made of clay,”[d] 28 as I also have received from my Father, and I will give him the morning star. 29 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 2:5 Literally “the first works”
  2. Revelation 2:9 Literally “who say themselves to be Jews”
  3. Revelation 2:13 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  4. Revelation 2:27 A quotation from Ps 2:9