¹⁵ This is what the Almighty Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

The Lord Will Heal His People’s Wounds

¹⁹ You will live in Zion, in Jerusalem. You won’t cry anymore. The Lord will certainly have pity on you when you cry for help. As soon as he hears you, he will answer you. ²⁰ The Lord may give you troubles and hardships. But your teacher will no longer be hidden from you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. ²¹ You will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way. Follow it, whether it turns to the right or to the left.” ²² Then you will dishonor your silver-plated idols and your gold-covered statues. You will throw them away like clothing ruined by stains. You will say to them, “Get out!”

²³ The Lord will give you rain for the seed that you plant in the ground, and the food that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. When that day comes, your cattle will graze in large pastures. ²⁴ The oxen and the donkeys which work the soil will eat a mixture of food that has been winnowed ^[a] with forks and shovels. ²⁵ There will be brooks and streams on every lofty mountain and every high hill. When the day of the great slaughter comes, towers will fall. ²⁶ Then the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun. The light of the sun will be seven times as strong, like the light of seven days. When that day comes, the Lord will bandage his people’s injuries and heal the wounds he inflicted.

A 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, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands, says: ² I know what you have done—how hard you have worked and how you have endured. I also know that you cannot tolerate wicked people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not apostles. You have discovered that they are liars. ³ You have endured, suffered trouble because of my name, and have not grown weary. ⁴ However, I have this against you: The love you had at first is gone. ⁵ Remember how far you have fallen. Return to me and change the way you think and act, and do what you did at first. I will come to you and take your lamp stand from its place if you don’t change. ⁶ But you have this in your favor—you hate what the Nicolaitans are doing. I also hate what they’re doing.

⁷ “Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the privilege of eating from the tree of life, which stands in the paradise of God, to everyone who wins the victory.

A 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 became alive, says:

⁹ I know how you are suffering, how poor you are—but you are rich. I also know that those who claim to be Jews slander you. They are the synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. The devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. Your suffering will go on for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹ Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Everyone who wins the victory will never be hurt by the second death.

A Letter to the Church in Pergamum

¹² “To the messenger of the church in Pergamum, write: The one who holds the sharp two-edged sword says:

¹³ I know where you live. Satan’s throne is there. You hold on to my name and have not denied your belief in me, even in the days of Antipas. He was my faithful witness who was killed in your presence, where Satan lives. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: You have among you those who follow what Balaam taught Balak. Balak trapped the people of Israel by ⌞encouraging⌟ them to eat food sacrificed to idols and to sin sexually. ¹⁵ You also have some who follow what the Nicolaitans teach. ¹⁶ So return to me and change the way you think and act, or I will come to you quickly and wage war against them with the sword from my mouth. ¹⁷ Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give each person a white stone with a new name written on it, a name that is known only to the person who receives it.

A Letter to the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “To the messenger of the church in Thyatira, write: The Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire and whose feet are like glowing bronze, says:

¹⁹ I know what you do. I know your love, faith, service, and endurance. I also know that what you are doing now is greater than what you did at first. ²⁰ But I have something against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. She teaches and misleads my servants to sin sexually and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I gave her time to turn to me and change the way she thinks and acts, but she refuses to turn away from her sexual sins. ²² Watch me! I’m going to throw her into a sickbed. Those who commit sexual sins with her will also suffer a lot, unless they turn away from what she is doing. ²³ I will kill her children. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches hearts and minds. I will reward each of you for what you have done. ²⁴ But the rest of you in Thyatira—all who don’t hold on to Jezebel’s teaching, who haven’t learned what are called the deep things of Satan—I won’t burden you with anything else. ²⁵ Just hold on to what you have until I come. ²⁶ I have received authority from my Father.^[a] I will give authority over the nations to everyone who wins the victory and continues to do what I want until the end. ²⁷ Those people will rule the nations with iron scepters and shatter them like pottery. ²⁸ I will also give them the morning star. ²⁹ Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.