The letter to Ephesus

2 “Write this to the angel of the church in Ephesus. ‘These are the words of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, and who walks in among the seven golden lampstands. ² I know what you have done, your hard labor and patience. I know that you cannot tolerate evil people, and that you have tested those who pass themselves off as apostles, but are not, and you have demonstrated them to be frauds. ³ You have patience, and you have put up with a great deal because of my name, and you haven’t grown weary. ⁴ I do, however, have one thing against you: you have abandoned the love you showed at the beginning. ⁵ So remember the place from which you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at the beginning. If not—if you don’t repent—I will come and remove your lampstand out of its place. ⁶ You do, though, have this in your favor: you hate what the Nicolaitans are doing, and I hate it too. ⁷ Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the spirit is saying to the churches. The tree of life stands in God’s paradise, and I will give the right to eat from it to anyone who conquers.’

The letter to Smyrna

⁸ “Write this to the angel of the church in Smyrna. ‘These are the words of the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life. ⁹ I know your suffering and poverty (but you are rich!). I know the blasphemy of those self-styled Jews. They are nothing of the kind. They are a satan-synagogue. ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. Look: the devil is going to throw some of you into prison, so that you may be put to the test. You will have ten days of affliction. Be faithful all the way to death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹ Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the spirit is saying to the churches. The second death will not harm the one who conquers.’

The letter to Pergamum

¹² “Write this to the angel of the church in Pergamum. ‘These are the words of the one who has the sharp two-edged sword. ¹³ I know where you live—right there where the satan has his throne! You have clung on to my name, and have not denied my faith, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed in your midst, right there where the satan lives. ¹⁴ But I do have a few things against you: you have some people there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to cause the children of Israel to stumble, making them eat idol-food and engage in fornication. ¹⁵ So, too, you have some among you who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ So: repent! If you don’t, I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. ¹⁷ Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the spirit is saying to the churches. To anyone who conquers I will give secret manna, and a white stone, with a new name written on that stone which nobody knows except the one who receives it.’

The letter to Thyatira

¹⁸ “Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira. ‘These are the words of the son of God, whose eyes are like flaming fire and whose feet are like exquisite brass. ¹⁹ I know what you have done: I know your love, your faith, your service and your patience. I know that your works have been more impressive recently than they were before. ²⁰ But I have something against you: you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and deceives my servants by teaching them to practice fornication and to eat idol-food. ²¹ I gave her time to repent, but she had no wish to repent of her immorality. ²² Look! I am going to throw her on a bed, and those who have committed fornication with her will have great distress, unless they repent of the works into which she has led them. ²³ I will utterly slaughter her children, and all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will give to each of you what your deeds deserve. ²⁴ For the rest of you in Thyatira, those who have not held this teaching, who haven’t discovered the so-called “satanic depths”: I’m not going to put any other pressure on you. ²⁵ Just hold on tightly to what you have until I come. ²⁶ To anyone who conquers, who keeps my works right through to the end, I will give authority over the nations, ²⁷ to rule them with a rod of iron, smashing them like clay pots! ²⁸ That is the authority I myself received from my father. What’s more, I will give them the morning star. ²⁹ Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the spirit says to the churches.’