|
CHURCH OF EPHESUS
Revelation 2:1"To
the angel[a]
of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his
right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:
2I know your deeds, your
hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate
wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but
are not, and have found them false.
3You have persevered and
have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4Yet I hold this against
you: You have forsaken your first love.
5Remember the height from
which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If
you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from
its place. 6But you have
this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which
I also hate. 7He who has
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him
who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life,
which is in the paradise of God.
Outside View
CHURCH OF EPHESUS
Inside View
CHURCH OF SMYRNA
8"To
the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and
came to life again. 9I know your
afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those
who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10Do not be afraid of what you
are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to
test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to
the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at
all by the second death.
Outside View
CHURCH OF SMYRNA
Inside View
CHURCH OF PERGAMUM
12"To the angel of the church in
Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
13I know where you live—where
Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce
your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was
put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
14Nevertheless, I have a few
things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of
Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food
sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.
15Likewise you also have those
who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I
will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my
mouth. 17He who has an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will
give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new
name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
Outside View
CHURCH OF PERGAMUM
Inside View
CHURCH OF THYATIRA
18"To the angel of the church in
Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing
fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
19I know your deeds, your love
and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more
than you did at first. 20Nevertheless,
I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself
a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual
immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
21I have given her time to repent
of her immorality, but she is unwilling.
22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who
commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.
23I will strike her children
dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and
minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
24Now I say to the rest of you in
Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned
Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you):
25Only hold on to what you have
until I come. 26To him who
overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the
nations—
27'He will rule them with an
iron scepter;
he will dash them to pieces like pottery'[b]—
just as I have received authority from my Father.
28I will also give him the
morning star. 29He who has an
ear, let him
hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Outside View
CHURCH OF THYATIRA
Inside View
CHURCH OF SARDIS
Revelation 3: 1"To
the angel[a]
of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[b]of
God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of
being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake
up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not
found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
3Remember, therefore,
what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do
not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what
time I will come to you. 4Yet
you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.
They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.
5He who overcomes will,
like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from
the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and
his angels. 6He who has
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Outside View
CHURCH OF SARDIS
Inside View
CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA
7"To the angel of the church in
Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of
David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
8I know your deeds. See, I have
placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have
little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
9I will make those who are of the
synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are
liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that
I have loved you. 10Since you
have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour
of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live
on the earth. 11I am coming soon.
Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
12Him who overcomes I will make a
pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write
on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new
Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also
write on him my new name. 13He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Outside View
CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA
Inside View
CHURCH OF LAODICIA
14"To the angel of the church in
Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the
ruler of God's creation. 15I know
your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or
the other! 16So, because you are
lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17You say, 'I am rich; I have
acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you
are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
18I counsel you to buy from me
gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear,
so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so
you can see. 19Those whom I love
I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
20Here I am! I stand at the door
and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and
eat with him, and he with me. 21To
him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just
as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
22He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches."
Only View
Artist: Devi Anne Moore
|
