Revelation 2
EasyEnglish Bible
Jesus' message to the believers at Ephesus
2 ‘Now write this to the angel of the church at Ephesus:[a]
“This is the message to you from the one who holds the seven stars. He holds them carefully in his right hand. He walks among the seven gold lampstands.
2 I know everything that you do. You have worked much for me. You have continued to work patiently. I know that you do not accept bad people as your friends. Some of these bad people say that they are apostles of Jesus. You have thought carefully about what they teach people. And you have discovered that it is not true. 3 You have been patient and strong in times of trouble. You have continued to serve me because you believe in me. You have not stopped when you become tired.
4 But I have something to say against you. You loved me very much when you first believed in me. You do not love me as much now. 5 Think carefully about this! You do not now live in the way you did at the beginning. So you must change the way you live. Do again the good things that you did at the beginning. If you do not change the way you live, I will come to punish you. I will take away your lampstand from its place. 6 But this is something that you do well: you hate the bad things that the Nicolaitans are doing. I also hate what they do.[b]
7 God's Spirit is now speaking to people in the churches. You should recognize that the Spirit is speaking. Everyone who knows that should listen to what he says. I will let everyone who wins against Satan eat my fruit. This fruit is from the tree that makes us alive. And this tree grows in God's garden.” ’[c]
Jesus' message to the believers at Smyrna
8 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Smyrna:
“This is the message to you from the one who is the first and the last. He was dead, but he became alive again.
9 I know that bad people are making you suffer. I also know that you are poor. But really, you are rich. Some people say that they are Jews, but they tell lies about you. So they cannot be my true people. Instead, they belong to a group of Satan's people. 10 I know that trouble will soon come to you. But do not be afraid. Listen! The Devil will cause some of you to go to prison. He wants to see whether you will continue to believe in me. As a result, you will suffer for ten days.[d] But continue to trust me, even if you die. Then you will win against the Devil. I will give you a gift, as they give a crown to the winner of a race.[e] You will have life with me for ever.
11 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully! The second death will not hurt anyone who wins against Satan.” ’[f]
Jesus' message to the believers at Pergamum
12 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Pergamum:
“This is the message to you from the one who has the sharp sword with two edges.
13 I know where you live. It is the place where Satan sits as king.[g] But you still continue to trust me. You remember Antipas who spoke a clear message about me. Because of that, some people in your city killed him. You saw what happened to him, but you continued to believe in me. You still serve me, even there where Satan lives.[h]
14 But I have a few things to say against you. Some people among you agree with what Balaam taught long ago. He taught Balak to do a bad thing against God's people.[i] Balak caused the Israelite people to do wrong things. As a result, they ate food that people had given to idols. They also had sex with people who were not their husbands or wives. 15 Also, some people among you do the bad things that the Nicolaitans teach. 16 So you must stop doing these bad things. If you do not change how you live, I will quickly come to punish you. I will fight against those bad people with my sharp sword that comes out of my mouth.
17 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully! To everyone who wins against Satan I will give some of my special food called manna. I will also give each of them a white stone.[j] I will write a new name on that stone. Nobody will know that name except the person who receives it.” ’
Jesus' message to the believers at Thyatira
18 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Thyatira:
“This is the message to you from the Son of God. He has eyes that burn brightly like flames of fire. His feet shine like bright metal.
19 I know everything that you do. I know that you have great love. I know that you believe in me. I know that you continue to serve me well. You are patient and strong. You do these good things now more than you did at the beginning.
20 But I have something to say against you. You let that woman Jezebel teach you. She says that she is a prophet from God. But she leads my servants into bad ways. She teaches them to have sex with many people.[k] And she teaches them to eat food that people have given to idols. 21 I have given her time to stop doing these bad things. But she refuses to change how she lives. She does not stop having sex with other men. 22 Listen to this! I will cause her to suffer on her bed, so that she cannot get up. Those who join her in her sins will also suffer very much, unless they change the way they live. 23 I will send a terrible illness to kill those who obey her. Then all the people in the churches will know that I look deep inside them. I know what you really want. I know what you really think. I will give each of you what is right for you, as a result of what you have done.
24 But I say this to you other people in Thyatira. You have not agreed with what Jezebel taught. You have not learned what they call ‘Satan's deep secrets’. So I say this to you: I will not tell you to obey any other difficult rules. 25 But continue to obey my message that you have already received. Believe in me until I come.
26 Continue to obey me until the end and win the fight against Satan. If anyone does that, I will give him authority to rule over the nations of the world. 27 That person will rule the nations with strong authority. He will destroy them, like someone who breaks clay pots into many pieces.[l] 28 He will have the same authority that I received from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.[m] 29 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’
Footnotes
- 2:1 Many people think that the ‘angel’ here means a human messenger that God has sent. The ‘angel’ could have been the person who read this letter aloud to the church. So ‘angel’ could also mean this in Revelation 2:8,12,18; 3:1,7,14. Everywhere else in Revelation, ‘angel’ means a being from heaven.
- 2:6 The Nicolaitans were teaching the Christians to do wrong things. They were not teaching the same message as Jesus had taught. We do not know much about the wrong things that they taught.
- 2:7 If we turn against Satan, Jesus promises to give us new life. The fruit that he gives us is a picture of everything that we need to live that new life.
- 2:10 ‘ten days’ may mean a short time of trouble, rather than a long time.
- 2:10 At the time John was on earth, a winner of a race received a crown. The crown was the shape of a circle. Somebody had tied leaves together to make it.
- 2:11 The second death is the opposite of when someone lives always with Jesus. It means that a person must go to a place without Jesus. Nobody is happy in that place. The name of that place is hell, or the lake of fire. See Revelation 20:14.
- 2:13 Pergamum was a city where Satan was powerful.
- 2:13 There was a special building in Pergamum for people to worship the king of Rome. This king was against Christians because they would not worship him. Also, there was a very big stone table on a hill. People offered gifts to the false god Zeus on this big table. Also, many people worshipped a snake god. The Devil appears as a snake in the Bible. See Genesis 3.
- 2:14 Balak was the king of Moab. See Numbers 22:1—25:3.
- 2:17 The colour white in the Bible usually means completely good and clean. So the white stone may show that God will make us like that. He will make our spirits completely clean if we continue to believe him.
- 2:20 God's Law says that someone should have sex only with their wife or their husband.
- 2:27 The person who rules the countries will be strong. He will rule with great power and he will punish people who do wrong things.
- 2:28 The morning star appears in the sky just before the sunrise. It is very bright. It shows us that the day is coming. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus says that he is the morning star. He brings light when it has been dark.
启示录 2
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
給以弗所教會的信
2 “你要寫信給在以弗所教會的使者，說：
‘那右手拿著七星，在七個金燈臺中間行走的，這樣說： 2 我知道你的行為、你的勞苦、你的忍耐，也知道你不能容忍惡人。你也曾經試驗那些自稱是使徒，而其實不是使徒的人，看出他們是假的。 3 你有忍耐，曾為我的名的緣故忍受一切，並不困倦。 4 然而有一件事我要責備你，就是你已經離棄了你起初的愛。 5 所以，你應當回想你是從哪裡墜落的，並且要悔改，作起初所作的事。你若不悔改，我就要來到你那裡，把你的燈臺從原處移去。 6 不過你有這一個優點，就是你恨惡尼哥拉黨的作為，那也是我所恨惡的。 7 聖靈向眾教會所說的話，有耳的就應當聽。得勝的，我必定把 神樂園裡生命樹的果子賜給他吃。’
給士每拿教會的信
8 “你要寫信給在士每拿教會的使者，說：
‘那首先的、末後的、曾經死去而又活過來的，這樣說： 9 我知道你的患難和貧窮，但你卻是富足的。我也知道那些自稱是猶太人所說毀謗的話，其實他們不是猶太人，而是撒但的黨徒。 10 你不要怕你將要受的苦。看哪！魔鬼將要把你們中間幾個人下在監裡，叫你們受試煉，你們要受患難十天。你要忠心至死，我就把那生命的冠冕賜給你。 11 聖靈向眾教會所說的話，有耳的就應當聽。得勝的，決不會受第二次死的害。’
給別迦摩教會的信
12 “你要寫信給在別迦摩教會的使者，說：
‘那有一把兩刃利劍的，這樣說： 13 我知道你居住的地方，就是撒但王座所在的地方。當我忠心的見證人安提帕在你們那裡，就是在撒但居住的地方被殺的那些日子，你還持守我的名，沒有否認對我的信仰。 14 然而有幾件事我要責備你，因為在你那裡有些人持守巴蘭的教訓。這巴蘭曾經教導巴勒把絆腳石放在以色列人面前，叫他們吃祭過偶像的食物，並且行淫亂。 15 同樣，你也有些人持守尼哥拉黨的教訓。 16 所以，你應當悔改；如果不悔改，我就很快地來到你們那裡，用我口中的劍跟他們作戰。 17 聖靈向眾教會所說的話，有耳的就應當聽。得勝的，我必定把那隱藏的嗎哪賜給他，並且賜他一塊白石，石上寫著新的名字，這名字除了那領受的人以外，是沒有人能知道的。’
給推雅推拉教會的信
18 “你要寫信給在推雅推拉教會的使者，說：
‘ 神的兒子，那眼睛像火燄、兩腳像光銅的，這樣說： 19 我知道你的行為，你的愛心、信心、服侍和忍耐，也知道你後來所作的比先前的還要多。 20 然而有一件事我要責備你，就是你容讓那自稱是先知的婦人耶洗別，教導和引誘我的眾僕人行淫亂，吃祭過偶像的食物。 21 我曾給她時間，讓她悔改，她卻不肯為她的淫行悔改。 22 看哪，我要把她拋在大患難的床上；那些跟她行淫亂的人，如果不為她的行為悔改，我也要把他們拋在大患難中。 23 我必以死亡擊殺她的兒女；眾教會就都知道我是察驗人肺腑心腸的，我要照著你們的行為報應你們各人。 24 至於你們其餘在推雅推拉的人，就是不跟從那教訓，不認識所謂撒但深奧的事的人，我告訴你們，我不會把別的重擔放在你們身上。 25 不過，你們要持守已經得著的，直到我來。 26 得勝的，又遵守我的旨意到底的，
我必把統治列國的權柄賜給他，
27 他必用鐵杖治理他們，
好像打碎陶器一樣粉碎他們，（“我必把……粉碎他們”引自詩2:8~9）
好像我從父領受了權柄一樣； 28 我還要把晨星賜給他。 29 聖靈向眾教會所說的話，有耳的就應當聽。’”
Revelation 2
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
2 To the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him Who holds the seven stars [which are the messengers of the seven churches] in His right hand, Who goes about among the seven golden lampstands [which are the seven churches]:
2 I know your industry and activities, laborious toil and trouble, and your patient endurance, and how you cannot tolerate wicked [men] and have tested and critically appraised those who call [themselves] apostles (special messengers of Christ) and yet are not, and have found them to be impostors and liars.
3 I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary.
4 But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].
5 Remember then from what heights you have fallen. Repent (change the inner man to meet God’s will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord], or else I will visit you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you change your mind and repent.
6 Yet you have this [in your favor and to your credit]: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans [what they are doing as corrupters of the people], which I Myself also detest.
7 He who is able to hear, let him listen to and give heed to what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). To him who overcomes (is victorious), I will grant to eat [of the fruit] of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.(A)
8 And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last, Who died and came to life again:(B)
9 I know your affliction and distress and pressing trouble and your poverty—but you are rich! and how you are abused and reviled and slandered by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10 Fear nothing that you are about to suffer. [Dismiss your dread and your fears!] Behold, the devil is indeed about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested and proved and critically appraised, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be loyally faithful unto death [even if you must die for it], and I will give you the crown of life.(C)
11 He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). He who overcomes (is victorious) shall in no way be injured by the second death.
12 Then to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Pergamum write: These are the words of Him Who has and wields the sharp two-edged sword:
13 I know where you live—a place where Satan sits enthroned. [Yet] you are clinging to and holding fast My name, and you did not deny My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed (martyred) in your midst—where Satan dwells.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: you have some people there who are clinging to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to set a trap and a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, [to entice them] to eat food that had been sacrificed to idols and to practice lewdness [giving themselves up to sexual vice].(D)
15 You also have some who in a similar way are clinging to the teaching of the Nicolaitans [those corrupters of the people] which thing I hate.
16 Repent [then]! Or else I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
17 He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). To him who overcomes (conquers), I will give to eat of the manna that is hidden, and I will give him a white stone with a new name engraved on the stone, which no one knows or understands except he who receives it.(E)
18 And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, Who has eyes that flash like a flame of fire, and Whose feet glow like bright and burnished and white-hot bronze:(F)
19 I know your record and what you are doing, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your recent works are more numerous and greater than your first ones.
20 But I have this against you: that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess [claiming to be inspired], and who is teaching and leading astray my servants and beguiling them into practicing sexual vice and eating food sacrificed to idols.(G)
21 I gave her time to repent, but she has no desire to repent of her immorality [symbolic of idolatry] and refuses to do so.
22 Take note: I will throw her on a bed [[a]of anguish], and those who commit adultery with her [her paramours] I will bring down to [b]pressing distress and severe affliction, unless they turn away their minds from conduct [such as] hers and repent of [c]their doings.
23 And I will strike her children (her proper followers) dead [thoroughly exterminating them]. And all the assemblies (churches) shall recognize and understand that I am He Who searches minds (the thoughts, feelings, and purposes) and the [inmost] hearts, and I will give to each of you [the reward for what you have done] as your work deserves.(H)
24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not explored and known the depths of Satan, as they say—I tell you that I do not lay upon you any other [fresh] burden:
25 Only hold fast to what you have until I come.
26 And he who overcomes (is victorious) and who obeys My commands to the [very] end [doing the works that please Me], I will give him authority and power over the nations;
27 And he shall rule them with a sceptre (rod) of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, and [his power over them shall be] like that which I Myself have received from My Father;(I)
28 And I will give him the Morning Star.
29 He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the [Holy] Spirit says to the assemblies (churches).
Footnotes
- Revelation 2:22 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Revelation 2:22 Literal translation.
- Revelation 2:22 Many ancient manuscripts so read.
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