HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1522
REVELAT I O N 2
dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said,
“Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last.
18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive
forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death
and the grave.*
19 “Write down what you have seen—both the
things that are now happening and the things
that will happen.* 20 This is the meaning of the
mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right
hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven
stars are the angels* of the seven churches, and
the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
The Message to the Church in Ephesus
“Write this letter to the angel* of the church
in Ephesus. This is the message from the
one who holds the seven stars in his right
hand, the one who walks among the seven gold
lampstands:
2
2 “I
know all the things you do. I have seen
your hard work and your patient endurance.
I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You
have examined the claims of those who say
they are apostles but are not. You have
discovered they are liars. 3 You have
patiently suffered for me without quitting.
4 “But I have this complaint against you.
You don’t love me or each other as you did
at first!* 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn
back to me and do the works you did at first.
If you don’t repent, I will come and remove
your lampstand from its place among the
churches. 6 But this is in your favor: You
hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just
as I do.
7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen
to the Spirit and understand what he is
saying to the churches. To everyone who
• Faithfulness
R E V E LAT IO N 2 :1 0
The message to the church of Smyrna
was an exhortation to remain faithful
through suffering, because God is in
ultimate control of the world’s ultimate
outcome, and his promises of eternal life
to believers are reliable. Jesus never said
that by being faithful to him we would
avoid trouble, suffering, or persecution. Rather, we must be faithful to him
in our sufferings. Only then will our faith
prove itself genuine. We remain faithful
by keeping our eyes on Christ. We need
to remind ourselves and others of his
promises of help and comfort now and
of joy and perfect peace in our eternal
life to come.
page 1152
is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of
life in the paradise of God.
The Message to the Church in Smyrna
8 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in
Smyrna. This is the message from the one who
is the First and the Last, who was dead but is
now alive:
9 “I
know about your suffering and your
poverty—but you are rich! I know the
blasphemy of those opposing you. They
say they are Jews, but they are not, because
their synagogue belongs to Satan. 10 Don’t be
afraid of what you are about to suffer. The
devil will throw some of you into prison to
test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if
you remain faithful even when facing death,
I will give you the crown of life.
11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to
the Spirit and understand what he is saying
to the churches. Whoever is victorious will
not be harmed by the second death.
The Message to the Church in Pergamum
12 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in
Pergamum. This is the message from the one
with the sharp two-edged sword:
13 “I
know that you live in the city where
Satan has his throne, yet you have remained
loyal to me. You refused to deny me even
when Antipas, my faithful witness, was
martyred among you there in Satan’s city.
14 “But I have a few complaints against
you. You tolerate some among you whose
teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed
Balak how to trip up the people of Israel.
He taught them to sin by eating food offered
to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15 In
a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans
among you who follow the same teaching.
16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you
suddenly and fight against them with the
sword of my mouth.
17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen
to the Spirit and understand what he is
saying to the churches. To everyone who
is victorious I will give some of the manna
that has been hidden away in heaven. And
I will give to each one a white stone, and on
the stone will be engraved a new name that
no one understands except the one who
receives it.
The Message to the Church in Thyatira
18 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in
Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of
God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose
feet are like polished bronze:
1:18 Greek and Hades. 1:19 Or what you have seen and what
they mean—the things that have already begun to happen.
1:20 Or the messengers. 2:1 Or the messenger; also in 2:8,
12, 18. 2:4 Greek You have lost your first love.