The Early Church · Not dated
Chapter 45
Letters to Seven Churches
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me.
For parents
In these letters, the one who speaks to the assemblies says that the devil is about to throw some in Smyrna into prison, and he names Antipas, who was killed in Pergamum (Revelation 2:10, 13). He warns that he will make war with the sword of his mouth against some in Pergamum (2:16), and that he will throw a woman in Thyatira called Jezebel, and those who commit adultery with her, into a bed of great oppression and kill her children (2:20–23). The letters also name sexual sin (2:14, 20–21). All of it is told plainly, with no detail.
This is the Revelation of , which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon. He sent it by his and made it known to his servant . John testified to God’s word and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, telling everything that he saw.
The one who reads the words of the prophecy is blessed, and so are those who hear them and keep the things written in it, because the time is near.
John wrote to the seven that are in : “Grace and peace to you from God, who is and who was and who is to come; from the seven Spirits who are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us. He washed us from our sins by his blood, and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father. May the glory and the power to rule be his forever and ever. .
“Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Yes. Amen.”
“I am the ,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the .”
Then John wrote of what he saw: “I am John, your brother and your partner in the oppression, the Kingdom and the perseverance in Christ Jesus. I was on the island called because of God’s Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and behind me I heard a loud voice, like a trumpet. It said, ‘Write in a book the things you see, and send it to the seven assemblies: to , , , , , , and to .’
“I turned to see whose voice was speaking with me. Turning around, I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was one like a son of man. He was dressed in a robe that reached down to his feet, with a gold sash around his chest.
“His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow, and his eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like polished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace, and his voice sounded like many waters. In his right hand he had seven stars. A sharp two-edged sword was coming out of his mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the Living one. I was dead, and look, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of .
“‘So write the things you have seen, the things that are, and the things that will happen later. This is the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies, and the seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.’”
The one like a son of man went on, and told John what to write to the angel of each of the seven assemblies. “Write to the angel of the assembly in Ephesus: He who holds the seven stars in his right hand, he who walks among the seven golden lamp stands, says this:
“I know your works, your labor and perseverance. I know that you can’t put up with evil people. You tested those who call themselves but are not, and you found that they were false. You have perseverance. You have endured because of my name, and you haven’t grown tired.
“But I have this against you: you left your first love. So remember where you have fallen from. , and do what you did at first. Or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will move your lamp stand out of its place, unless you repent.
“But you have this: you hate the works of the , and I hate them too.
“Anyone who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. I will let the one who overcomes eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of my God.
“Write to the angel of the assembly in Smyrna: The first and the last, who was dead and has come to life, says this:
“I know your works, your oppression, and your poverty, and yet you are rich. I know the of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a of .
“Don’t be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. Look, the will soon throw some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful all the way to death, and I will give you the crown of life.
“Anyone who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. The one who overcomes won’t be harmed by the second death.
“Write to the angel of the assembly in Pergamum: He who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:
“I know your works, and where you live, where Satan’s throne is. You hold firmly to my name. You didn’t deny my faith in the days of , my witness, my faithful one. He was killed among you, where Satan lives.
“But I have a few things against you, because you have some people there who hold to the teaching of . He taught to throw a stumbling block in front of the people of , to eat things sacrificed to , and to commit sexual sin. In the same way, you too have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
“So repent, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.
“Anyone who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. I will give the one who overcomes a share of the hidden . I will give him a white stone. A new name is written on that stone, and no one knows the name except the one who receives it.
“Write to the angel of the assembly in Thyatira: The Son of God, with eyes like a flame of fire and feet like polished brass, says this:
“I know your works, your love, faith, service and your patient endurance. I know that you do more now than you did in the beginning.
“But I have this against you: you put up with your woman , who calls herself a . She teaches my servants and leads them astray to commit sexual sin and to eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual sin.
“Look, I will throw her, and those who commit with her, into a bed of great oppression, unless they repent of her works. I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am the one who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
“But I say this to the rest of you in Thyatira, to all who don’t have this teaching and don’t know what some call ‘the deep things of Satan.’ I am not putting any other burden on you. Still, hold firmly to what you have until I come.
“I will give authority over the nations to the one who overcomes, and to the one who keeps my works to the end. He will rule them with a rod of iron, shattering them like clay pots, just as my Father has given this to me. And I will give him the morning star.
“Anyone who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
“And write to the angel of the assembly in Sardis: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says this:
“I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, because I have found no works of yours complete in the sight of my God.
“Remember, then, how you received it and heard it. Keep it, and repent. So if you won’t keep watch, I will come like a thief. You won’t know the hour when I will come upon you.
“Still, there are a few people in Sardis who haven’t stained their clothes. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
“The one who overcomes will be dressed in white clothes. I will never wipe his name out of the , and I will declare his name in front of my Father and in front of his angels. Anyone who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
“Write to the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia: He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of , he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:
“I know your works: that you have a little power, that you kept my word and didn’t deny my name. Look, I have put an open door in front of you, and no one can shut it.
“Look, there are some of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie. Look, I will make them come and worship at your feet, and know that I have loved you.
“Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is to come on the whole world, to test those living on the earth. I am coming quickly! Keep a firm hold on what you have, so no one takes your crown.
“I will make the one who overcomes a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from there anymore. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God. I will write my own new name on him too. Anyone who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
“Write to the angel of the assembly in Laodicea: The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation, says this:
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.
“You say, ‘I am rich, I have grown rich, and I need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind and naked. So here is my advice: buy gold from me, gold refined by fire, so that you can become rich. Buy white clothes to wear, so that the shame of your nakedness won’t be seen. And buy ointment to put on your eyes, so that you can see.
“I tell everyone I love when they are wrong, and I discipline them. So be eager, and repent.
“Look, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me.
“I will let the one who overcomes sit down with me on my throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. Anyone who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”