Revelation 2:8-17

Revelation 2

Letter to the Church in Smyrna

⁸ To the messenger of the church in Smyrna write:

The First and the Last, who was dead and came to life again, says this:

⁹ I know ^[1] your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich. And I know the blasphemy that comes from those who say they are Jews but are not; rather, they are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not fear anything that ^[2] you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you will be tested, and you will suffer for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹ Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Letter to the Church in Pergamum

¹² To the messenger of the church in Pergamum write:

The one who has the sharp, two-edged sword says this:

¹³ I know ^[3] where you live—where the throne of Satan is. And I know that you hold fast to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me even in the days when Antipas, my faithful witness, ^[4] was put to death near you, the place where Satan lives.

¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block in front of the children of Israel so that they would eat things offered to idols and commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵ Likewise, you also have some people who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore, ^[5] repent! If not, I will come to you soon, and I will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷ Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious I will give some of the hidden manna. ^[6] I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, which no one will know except the one who receives it.