Revelation 2
Living Bible
2
“I write to inform you of a message from him who walks among the churches and holds their leaders in his right hand.
“He says to you: 2 I know how many good things you are doing. I have watched your hard work and your patience; I know you don’t tolerate sin among your members, and you have carefully examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but aren’t. You have found out how they lie. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
4 “Yet there is one thing wrong; you don’t love me as at first! 5 Think about those times of your first love (how different now!) and turn back to me again and work as you did before; or else I will come and remove your candlestick from its place among the churches.
6 “But there is this about you that is good: You hate the deeds of the licentious Nicolaitans,[b] just as I do.
7 “Let this message sink into the ears of anyone who listens to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: To everyone who is victorious, I will give fruit from the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God.
8
“This message is from him who is the First and Last, who was dead and then came back to life.
9 “I know how much you suffer for the Lord, and I know all about your poverty (but you have heavenly riches!). I know the slander of those opposing you, who say that they are Jews—the children of God—but they aren’t, for they support the cause of Satan. 10 Stop being afraid of what you are about to suffer—for the devil will soon throw some of you into prison to test you. You will be persecuted for ‘ten days.’ Remain faithful even when facing death and I will give you the crown of life—an unending, glorious future.[c] 11 Let everyone who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: He who is victorious shall not be hurt by the Second Death.
12
“This message is from him who wields the sharp and double-bladed sword. 13 I am fully aware that you live in the city where Satan’s throne is, at the center of satanic worship; and yet you have remained loyal to me and refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you by Satan’s devotees.
14 “And yet I have a few things against you. You tolerate some among you who do as Balaam did when he taught Balak how to ruin the people of Israel by involving them in sexual sin and encouraging them to go to idol feasts. 15 Yes, you have some of these very same followers of Balaam[d] among you!
16 “Change your mind and attitude, or else I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 “Let everyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: Everyone who is victorious shall eat of the hidden manna, the secret nourishment from heaven; and I will give to each a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one else knows except the one receiving it.
18
“This is a message from the Son of God, whose eyes penetrate like flames of fire, whose feet are like glowing brass.
19 “I am aware of all your good deeds—your kindness to the poor, your gifts and service to them; also I know your love and faith and patience, and I can see your constant improvement in all these things.
20 “Yet I have this against you: You are permitting that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach my servants that sex sin is not a serious matter; she urges them to practice immorality and to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to change her mind and attitude, but she refused. 22 Pay attention now to what I am saying: I will lay her upon a sickbed of intense affliction, along with all her immoral followers,[e] unless they turn again to me, repenting of their sin with her; 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches shall know that I am he who searches deep within men’s hearts, and minds; I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.
24-25 “As for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, really), I will ask nothing further of you; only hold tightly to what you have until I come.
26 “To everyone who overcomes—who to the very end keeps on doing things that please me—I will give power over the nations. 27 You will rule them with a rod of iron just as my Father gave me the authority to rule them; they will be shattered like a pot of clay that is broken into tiny pieces. 28 And I will give you the Morning Star!
29 “Let all who can hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
Footnotes
- Revelation 2:1 leader, literally, “angel” and so also in 2:8; 2:12; 2:18; 3:1; 3:7; 3:14. from him who walks among the churches, literally, “from him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the golden candlesticks.”
- Revelation 2:6 Nicolaitans, which, when translated from Greek to Hebrew, becomes Balaamites, who were followers of the man who induced the Israelites to fall by lust. (See 2:14 and Numbers 31:15-16.)
- Revelation 2:10 an unending, glorious future, implied.
- Revelation 2:15 Balaam, literally, “Nicolaitans,” Greek form of “Balaamites.”
- Revelation 2:22 along with all her immoral followers, literally, “together with all those who commit adultery with her.”
Revelation 2
Complete Jewish Bible
2 “To the angel of the Messianic Community in Ephesus, write: ‘Here is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven gold menorahs: 2 “I know what you have been doing, how hard you have worked, how you have persevered, and how you can’t stand wicked people; so you tested those who call themselves emissaries but aren’t — and you found them to be liars. 3 You are persevering, and you have suffered for my sake without growing weary. 4 But I have this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. 5 Therefore, remember where you were before you fell, turn from this sin, and do what you used to do before. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your menorah from its place — if you don’t turn from your sin! 6 But you have this in your favor: you hate what the Nicolaitans do — I hate it too. 7 Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities. To him winning the victory I will give the right to eat from the Tree of Life which is in God’s Gan-‘Eden.”’
8 “To the angel of the Messianic Community in Smyrna, write: ‘Here is the message from the First and the Last, who died and came alive again: 9 “I know how you are suffering and how poor you are (though in fact you are rich!), and I know the insults of those who call themselves Jews but aren’t — on the contrary, they are a synagogue of the Adversary. 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the Adversary is going to have some of you thrown in prison, in order to put you to the test; and you will face an ordeal for ten days. Remain faithful, even to the point of death; and I will give you life as your crown. 11 Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities. He who wins the victory will not be hurt at all by the second death.”’
12 “To the angel of the Messianic Community in Pergamum, write: ‘Here is the message from the one who has the sharp double-edged sword: 13 “I know where you are living, there where the Adversary’s throne is. Yet you are holding onto my name. You did not deny trusting me even at the time when my faithful witness Antipas was put to death in your town, there where the Adversary lives. 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: you have some people who hold to the teaching of Bil‘am, who taught Balak to set a trap for the people of Isra’el, so that they would eat food that had been sacrificed to idols and commit sexual sin. 15 Likewise, you too have people who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore, turn from these sins. Otherwise, I will come to you very soon and make war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities. To him winning the victory I will give some of the hidden man. I will also give him a white stone, on which is written a new name that nobody knows except the one receiving it.”’
18 “To the angel of the Messianic Community in Thyatira, write: ‘Here is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like burnished brass: 19 I know what you are doing, your love, trust, service and perseverance. And I know that you are doing more now than before. 20 But I have this against you: you continue to tolerate that Izevel woman, the one who claims to be a prophet, but is teaching and deceiving my servants to commit sexual sin and eat food that has been sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to turn from her sin, but she doesn’t want to repent of her immorality. 22 So I am throwing her into a sickbed; and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great trouble, unless they turn from the sins connected with what she does; 23 and I will strike her children dead! Then all the Messianic communities will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and that I will give to each of you what your deeds deserve. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, to those who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some people call the ‘deep things’ of the Adversary, I say this: I am not loading you up with another burden; 25 only hold fast to what you have until I come. 26 To him who wins the victory and does what I want until the goal is reached,
I will give him authority over the nations;
27 he will rule them with a staff of iron
and dash them to pieces like pottery,[a]
28 just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star. 29 Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities.”’
Footnotes
- Revelation 2:27 Psalm 2:8–9
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.