The Persecuted Church

⁸ “And to the ^[a]angel of the church in Smyrna write,

‘These things says ^(A)the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:

¹⁷ And ^(A)when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But ^(B)He laid His right hand on me, saying ^[a]to me, “Do not be afraid; ^(C)I am the First and the Last. ^18 (D)I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, ^(E)I am alive forevermore. Amen. And ^(F)I have the keys of ^[b]Hades and of Death.

^8 (A)“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ^[a]the Beginning and the End,” says the ^[b]Lord, ^(B)“who is and who was and who is to come, the ^(C)Almighty.”

¹¹ saying, ^[a]“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches ^[b]which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

The Loveless Church

2 “To the ^[a]angel of the church of Ephesus write,

‘These things says ^(A)He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, ^(B)who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: