Day 97 – Messages to the Churches

₁“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

“This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right-hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands. ₂I know what you have done; I know how hard you have worked and how patient you have been. I know that you cannot tolerate evil people and that you have tested those who say they are apostles but are not, and have found out that they are liars. ₃You are patient, you have suffered for my sake, and you have not given up. ₄But this is what I have against you: you do not love me now as you did at first. ₅Think how far you have fallen! Turn from your sins and do what you did at first. If you don't turn from your sins, I will come to you and take your lampstand from its place. ₆But this is what you have in your favour: you hate what the Nicolaitans do, as much as I do.

₇“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

“To those who win the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit of the tree of life that grows in the Garden of God.

₈“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

“This is the message from the one who is the first and the last, who died and lived again. ₉I know your troubles; I know that you are poor — but really you are rich! I know the evil things said against you by those who claim to be Jews but are not; they are a group that belongs to Satan! ₁₀Don't be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory.

₁₁“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

“Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.

₁₂“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

“This is the message from the one who has the sharp two-edged sword. ₁₃I know where you live, there where Satan has his throne. You are true to me, and you did not abandon your faith in me even during the time when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed there where Satan lives. ₁₄But there are a few things I have against you: there are some among you who follow the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak how to lead the people of Israel into sin by persuading them to eat food that had been offered to idols and to practise sexual immorality. ₁₅In the same way you have people among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ₁₆Now turn from your sins! If you don't, I will come to you soon and fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.

₁₇“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

“To those who win the victory I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give each of them a white stone on which is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.

₁₈“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

“This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes blaze like fire, whose feet shine like polished brass. ₁₉I know what you do. I know your love, your faithfulness, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first. ₂₀But this is what I have against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a messenger of God. By her teaching she misleads my servants into practising sexual immorality and eating food that has been offered to idols. ₂₁I have given her time to repent of her sins, but she does not want to turn from her immorality. ₂₂And so I will throw her on to a bed where she and those who committed adultery with her will suffer terribly. I will do this now unless they repent of the wicked things they did with her. ₂₃I will also kill her followers, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who knows everyone's thoughts and wishes. I will repay each of you according to what you have done.

₂₄“But the rest of you in Thyatira have not followed this evil teaching; you have not learnt what the others call ‘the deep secrets of Satan’. I say to you that I will not put any other burden on you. ₂₅But until I come, you must hold firmly to what you have. _26-28To those who win the victory, who continue to the end to do what I want, I will give the same authority that I received from my Father: I will give them authority over the nations, to rule them with an iron rod and to break them to pieces like clay pots. I will also give them the morning star.

₂₉“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

₁“To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

“This is the message from the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know what you are doing; I know that you have the reputation of being alive, even though you are dead! ₂So wake up, and strengthen what you still have before it dies completely. For I find that what you have done is not yet perfect in the sight of my God. ₃Remember, then, what you were taught and what you heard; obey it and turn from your sins. If you do not wake up, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not even know the time when I will come. ₄But a few of you there in Sardis have kept your clothes clean. You will walk with me, clothed in white, because you are worthy to do so. ₅Those who win the victory will be clothed like this in white, and I will not remove their names from the book of the living. In the presence of my Father and of his angels I will declare openly that they belong to me.

₆“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

₇“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

“This is the message from the one who is holy and true. He has the key that belonged to David, and when he opens a door, no one can close it, and when he closes it, no one can open it. ₈I know what you do; I know that you have a little power; you have followed my teaching and have been faithful to me. I have opened a door in front of you, which no one can close. ₉Listen! As for that group that belongs to Satan, those liars who claim that they are Jews but are not, I will make them come and bow down at your feet. They will all know that I love you. ₁₀Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you safe from the time of trouble which is coming upon the world to test all the people on earth. ₁₁I am coming soon. Keep safe what you have, so that no one will rob you of your victory prize. ₁₂I will make those who are victorious pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my new name.

₁₃“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

₁₄“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

“This is the message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the origin of all that God has created. ₁₅I know what you have done; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other! ₁₆But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth! ₁₇You say, ‘I am rich and well off; I have all I need.’ But you do not know how miserable and pitiful you are! You are poor, naked, and blind. ₁₈I advise you, then, to buy gold from me, pure gold, in order to be rich. Buy also white clothing to dress yourself and cover up your shameful nakedness. Buy also some ointment to put on your eyes, so that you may see. ₁₉I rebuke and punish all whom I love. Be in earnest, then, and turn from your sins. ₂₀Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they will eat with me. ₂₁To those who win the victory I will give the right to sit beside me on my throne, just as I have been victorious and now sit by my Father on his throne.

₂₂“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!”