1Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
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They ... shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them. 11:10
Trivia: What happened when the sixth vial of God's wrath was poured out (Rev 16)?
1Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Write this to the angel of the church of Ephesus: [1]
I hold seven stars in my right hand
and I walk among the seven candlesticks.
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
You examined the false apostles
and found them to be liars.
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
And you've worked hard for my name.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
But I've got something against you,
because you left your first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Repent or I'll remove your candlestick.
6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
But you hate the deeds of Nicolaitanes,
which I also hate.
7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Listen to what the Spirit says to the churches:
If you overcome, I'll let you eat from the tree of life,
which is in the middle of God's paradise.
8And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Write this to the angel of the church in Smyrna: [2]
I'm the first and last.
I was dead, but now I'm alive.
9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews,
but are not.
They belong to the synagogue of Satan.
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
The devil will cast some of you into prison.
You'll have tribulation for ten days.
Be faithful unto death, and I'll give you a crown of life.
11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Hear what the Spirit says to the churches:
If you overcome, you won't be hurt by the second death.
12And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
13I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Write this to the angel of the church in Pergamos: [3]
I am the one with a sharp, two-edged sword.
I know you live where Satan's throne is.
You didn't deny my faith,
even when Antipas, my faithful martyr, [4]
was killed where Satan lives.
14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
But I have a few things against you.
Some of you believe the doctrine of Balaam,
who taught Balak to eat things sacrificed to idols
and to commit fornication.
15So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
Some of you also believe the doctrine of Nicolaitanes,
which I hate.
16Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Repent, or I'll come quickly,
and fight you with the sword of my mouth.
17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Hear what the Spirit says to the churches:
If you overcome, I'll give you hidden manna to eat,
and a white stone with a new name one it,
which no one knows (except the one who gets it.)
18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira: [5]
I am the Son of God,
who has eyes like fire and feet like brass.
20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
I have a few things against you,
because you let Jezebel
seduce my servants to commit fornication,
and eat things sacrficed to idols.
I gave her a chance to repent, but she didn't.
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
So I'll cast her into a bed
with those who will commit adultery with her.
23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
To those who overcome and keep my words to the end,
I'll give power over the nations.
27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
They will rule them with an iron rod,
and smash them like they were clay pots.
28And I will give him the morning star.
And I'll give them the morning star.
29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
If you have an ear,
listen to what the spirit says to the churches.
Jesus has something against the church of Ephesus. It left its first love and unless it repents, he will take away its candlestick. Still, Jesus and Ephesus have something in common: they hate the deeds of Nicolaitanes.
Whoever overcomes, will eat from the tree of life.
No one knows who Nicolaitanes was, but Jesus does. And he hates his deeds. You should too.
Jesus knows all about those blaspheming false Jews who are card-carrying members of the synagogue of Satan.
Those that overcome will not be hurt by the second death.
Jesus knows where Satan lives: the town of Pergamos! And Jesus has a few things against that town, too.
There was that stuff a while back with Balaam and Balak, eating things sacrificed to idols, fornication, and whatnot. (See Balaam's story and The Midianite massacre)
But what he really hates is the doctrine of Nicolaitanes. Repent or Jesus will fight with the sword that sticks out of his mouth. Whoever overcomes will get some mana to eat, along with a white stone with their own secret name written on it.
Jesus's faithful martyr isn't mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.
Jesus has a few things against Thyatira, too.
Jezebel has taught them to fornicate and eat things sacrificed to idols. So Jesus will throw Jezebel and her sex partners into a bed of torture. Then he'll kill her children (with death).
Whoever overcomes will rule everyone else with an iron rod, smashing the others to pieces. Jesus will even throw in the morning star (the planet Venus?) as a bonus prize.
Children to Be Killed as Warning |