Idolatrous Worship Denounced

6 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face toward the ^(A)mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them ³ and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord ^[a]God! This is what the Lord ^[b]God says to the mountains, the hills, the ravines, and the valleys: “Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword against you, and ^(B)I will destroy your high places. ⁴ So your ^(C)altars will become deserted and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will make your slain fall in front of your idols. ⁵ I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter your ^(D)bones around your altars. ^6 [c]Everywhere you live, ^(E)cities will be in ruins and the high places will be deserted, so that your altars will be in ruins and ^[d]deserted, your ^(F)idols will be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars will be cut down, and your works wiped out. ⁷ The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.

⁸ “However, I will leave a ^(G)remnant, in that you will have those who ^(H)escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries. ⁹ Then those of you who escape will ^(I)remember Me among the nations to which they will be taken captive, how I have ^[e](J)been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which committed infidelity with their idols; and they will ^(K)loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations. ¹⁰ Then they will know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them.”’

¹¹ “This is what the Lord ^[f]God says: ‘Clap your hands, ^(L)stamp your foot and say, “^(M)Woe, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by the ^(N)sword, famine, and plague! ¹² Anyone who is ^(O)far away will die by the plague, anyone who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who remains and is spared from these will die by the famine. So I will ^(P)expend My wrath on them. ¹³ Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their ^(Q)dead are among their idols around their altars, on ^(R)every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every leafy tree and under every massive oak with thick branches—the places where they offered a soothing aroma to all their idols. ¹⁴ So through all their dwelling places I will ^(S)stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; so they will know that I am the Lord.”’”

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which ^(A)God gave Him to ^(B)show to His bond-servants, ^(C)the things which must soon take place; and He sent and ^[a]communicated it ^(D)by His angel to His bond-servant ^(E)John, ² who testified to ^(F)the word of God and to ^(G)the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. ^3 (H)Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and ^[b]keep the things which are written in it; ^(I)for the time is near.

Message to the Seven Churches

^4 (J)John to ^(K)the seven churches that are in ^(L)Asia: ^(M)Grace to you and peace from ^(N)Him who is, and who was, and who ^[c]is to come, and from ^(O)the ^[d]seven spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, ^(P)the faithful witness, the ^(Q)firstborn of the dead, and the ^(R)ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who ^(S)loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— ⁶ and He made us into a ^(T)kingdom, ^(U)priests to ^[e](V)His God and Father—^(W)to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ^7 (X)Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and ^(Y)every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will ^(Z)mourn over Him. ^[f]So it is to be. Amen.

⁸ “I am ^(AA)the Alpha and the Omega,” says the ^(AB)Lord God, “^(AC)who is and who was and who ^[g]is to come, the Almighty.”

The Patmos Vision

^9 (AD)I, John, your ^(AE)brother and ^(AF)fellow participant in the tribulation and ^(AG)kingdom and ^[h](AH)perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(AI)because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was ^(AJ)in the ^[i]Spirit on ^(AK)the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(AL)like the sound of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “^(AM)Write ^[j]on a scroll what you see, and send it to the ^(AN)seven churches: to ^(AO)Ephesus, ^(AP)Smyrna, ^(AQ)Pergamum, ^(AR)Thyatira, ^(AS)Sardis, ^(AT)Philadelphia, and ^(AU)Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw ^(AV)seven golden lampstands; ¹³ and ^(AW)in the middle of the lampstands I saw one ^(AX)like ^[k]a son of man, ^(AY)clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and ^(AZ)wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴ His head and His ^(BA)hair were white like white wool, like snow; and ^(BB)His eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵ His ^(BC)feet were like ^[l]burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His ^(BD)voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In His right hand He held ^(BE)seven stars, and out of His mouth came a ^(BF)sharp two-edged sword; and His ^(BG)face was like ^(BH)the sun ^[m]shining in its strength.

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I ^(BI)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He ^(BJ)placed His right hand on me, saying, “^(BK)Do not be afraid; ^(BL)I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the ^(BM)living One; and I ^[n](BN)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have ^(BO)the keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹ Therefore ^(BP)write ^(BQ)the things which you have seen, ^[o]and the things which are, and the things which will take place ^(BR)after these things. ²⁰ As for the ^(BS)mystery of the ^(BT)seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the ^(BU)seven golden lampstands: the ^(BV)seven stars are the angels of ^(BW)the seven churches, and the seven ^(BX)lampstands are the seven churches.

Message to Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in ^(BY)Ephesus write:

The One who holds ^(BZ)the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks ^[p](CA)among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

² ‘^(CB)I know your deeds and your labor and ^[q]perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have ^(CC)put those who call themselves ^(CD)apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; ³ and you have ^[r]perseverance and have endured ^(CE)on account of My name, and have not become weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have ^(CF)left your first love. ⁵ Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and ^(CG)repent, and ^(CH)do the ^[s]deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your ^(CI)lampstand from its place—unless you repent. ⁶ But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the ^(CJ)Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ^7 (CK)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(CL)To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from ^(CM)the tree of life, which is in the ^(CN)Paradise of God.’

Message to Smyrna

⁸ “And to the angel of the church in ^(CO)Smyrna write:

^(CP)The first and the last, who ^[t](CQ)was dead, and has come to life, says this:

⁹ ‘I know your ^(CR)tribulation and your ^(CS)poverty (but you are ^(CT)rich), and the ^[u]slander by those who ^(CU)say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of ^(CV)Satan. ¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be ^(CW)tested, and you will have tribulation ^(CX)for ten days. ^[v]Be ^(CY)faithful until death, and I will give you ^(CZ)the crown of life. ^11 (DA)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(DB)The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the ^(DC)second death.’

Message to Pergamum

¹² “And to the angel of the church in ^(DD)Pergamum write:

The One who has ^(DE)the sharp two-edged sword says this:

¹³ ‘I know where you dwell, where ^(DF)Satan’s throne is; and you hold firmly to My name, and did not deny ^(DG)My faith even in the days of Antipas, My ^(DH)witness, My ^(DI)faithful one, who was killed among you, ^(DJ)where Satan dwells. ¹⁴ But ^(DK)I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the ^(DL)teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a ^[w]stumbling block before the sons of Israel, ^(DM)to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵ So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the ^(DN)Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore ^(DO)repent; or else ^(DP)I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with ^(DQ)the sword of My mouth. ^17 (DR)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(DS)To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden ^(DT)manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a ^(DU)new name written on the stone ^(DV)which no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Message to Thyatira

¹⁸ “And to the angel of the church in ^(DW)Thyatira write:

^(DX)The Son of God, ^(DY)who has ^[x]eyes like a flame of fire, and ^[y]feet like burnished bronze, says this:

¹⁹ ‘^(DZ)I know your deeds, and your love and faith, and service and ^[z]perseverance, and that your ^[aa]deeds of late are greater than ^[ab]at first. ²⁰ But ^(EA)I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman ^(EB)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they ^(EC)commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ^21 (ED)I gave her time to repent, and she ^(EE)does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. ²² Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who ^(EF)commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of ^[ac]her deeds. ²³ And I will kill her children with ^[ad]plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who ^(EG)searches the ^[ae]minds and hearts; and ^(EH)I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. ²⁴ But I say to you, the rest who are in ^(EI)Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the ^(EJ)deep things of Satan, as they call them—I ^(EK)place no other burden on you. ²⁵ Nevertheless ^(EL)what you have, hold firmly ^(EM)until I come. ^26 (EN)The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds ^(EO)until the end, ^(EP)I will give him authority over the ^[af]nations; ²⁷ and he shall ^[ag](EQ)rule them with a rod of iron, ^(ER)as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father; ²⁸ and I will give him ^(ES)the morning star. ^29 (ET)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’