December 15th, 2022

The Letters to the Seven Churches

The Letter to Ephesus

"Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

"Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

The Letter to Smyrna

"Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life: I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Don't be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

"Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.

The Letter to Pergamum

"Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: Thus says the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword: I know where you live—where Satan's throne is. Yet you are holding on to my name and did not deny your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness who was put to death among you, where Satan lives. But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. So repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

"Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.

The Letter to Thyatira

"Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira: Thus says the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze: I know your works—your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first. But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. Look, I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction. Unless they repent of her works, I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who examines minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you according to your works. I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who haven't known "the so-called secrets of Satan" —as they say—I am not putting any other burden on you. Only hold on to what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations—

and he will rule them with an iron scepter;
he will shatter them like pottery —

just as I have received this from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.

"Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Scripture quotations have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Hear this, priests!
Pay attention, house of Israel!
Listen, royal house!
For the judgment applies to you
because you have been a snare at Mizpah
and a net spread out on Tabor.
Rebels are deeply involved in slaughter;
I will be a punishment for all of them.
I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me.
For now, Ephraim,
you have acted promiscuously;
Israel is defiled.
Their actions do not allow them
to return to their God,
for a spirit of promiscuity is among them,
and they do not know the Lord.
Israel's arrogance testifies against them.
Both Israel and Ephraim stumble
because of their iniquity;
even Judah will stumble with them.
They go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord
but do not find him;
he has withdrawn from them.
They betrayed the Lord;
indeed, they gave birth to illegitimate children.
Now the New Moon will devour them
along with their fields.

Blow the ram's horn in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah;
raise the war cry in Beth-aven:
Look behind you, Benjamin!
Ephraim will become a desolation
on the day of punishment;
I announce what is certain
among the tribes of Israel.
The princes of Judah are like those
who move boundary markers;
I will pour out my fury on them like water.
Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
for he is determined to follow what is worthless.
So I am like rot to Ephraim
and like decay to the house of Judah.
When Ephraim saw his sickness
and Judah his wound,
Ephraim went to Assyria
and sent a delegation to the great king.
But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
For I am like a lion to Ephraim
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
Yes, I will tear them to pieces and depart.
I will carry them off,
and no one can rescue them.
I will depart and return to my place
until they recognize their guilt and seek my face;
they will search for me in their distress.

A Call to Repentance

Come, let's return to the Lord.
For he has torn us,
and he will heal us;
he has wounded us,
and he will bind up our wounds.
He will revive us after two days,
and on the third day he will raise us up
so we can live in his presence.
Let's strive to know the Lord.
His appearance is as sure as the dawn.
He will come to us like the rain,
like the spring showers that water the land.

The Lord's First Lament

What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist
and like the early dew that vanishes.
This is why I have used the prophets
to cut them down;
I have killed them with the words from my mouth.
My judgment strikes like lightning.
For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant;
there they have betrayed me.

Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with bloody footprints.
Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone,
a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem.
They commit atrocities.
I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel:
Ephraim's promiscuity is there; Israel is defiled.

A harvest is also appointed for you, Judah.
When I restore the fortunes of my people,

when I heal Israel,
the iniquity of Ephraim and the crimes of Samaria
will be exposed.
For they practice fraud;
a thief breaks in;
a raiding party pillages outside.
But they never consider that I remember all their evil.
Now their actions are all around them;
they are right in front of my face.

Israel's Corruption

They please the king with their evil,
the princes with their lies.

All of them commit adultery;
they are like an oven heated by a baker
who stops stirring the fire
from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
On the day of our king,
the princes are sick with the heat of wine—
there is a conspiracy with traitors.
For they—their hearts like an oven—
draw him into their oven.
Their anger smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

All of them are as hot as an oven,
and they consume their rulers.
All their kings fall;
not one of them calls on me.
Ephraim has allowed himself to get mixed up with the nations.
Ephraim is unturned bread baked on a griddle.
Foreigners consume his strength,
but he does not notice.
Even his hair is streaked with gray,
but he does not notice.
Israel's arrogance testifies against them,
yet they do not return to the Lord their God,
and for all this, they do not seek him.

So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove;
they call to Egypt, and they go to Assyria.
As they are going, I will spread my net over them;
I will bring them down like birds of the sky.
I will discipline them in accordance
with the news that reaches their assembly.

The Lord's Second Lament

Woe to them, for they fled from me;
destruction to them, for they rebelled against me!
Though I want to redeem them,
they speak lies against me.
They do not cry to me from their hearts;
rather, they wail on their beds.
They slash themselves for grain and new wine;
they turn away from me.
I trained and strengthened their arms,
but they plot evil against me.
They turn, but not to what is above;
they are like a faulty bow.
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent tongue.
They will be ridiculed for this in the land of Egypt.

Israel's False Hopes

Put the ram's horn to your mouth!
One like an eagle comes
against the house of the Lord,
because they transgress my covenant
and rebel against my law.
Israel cries out to me,
"My God, we know you!"
Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.

They have installed kings,
but not through me.
They have appointed leaders,
but without my approval.
They make their silver and gold
into idols for themselves
for their own destruction.
Your calf-idol is rejected, Samaria.
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
For this thing is from Israel—
a craftsman made it, and it is not God.
The calf of Samaria will be smashed to bits!

Indeed, they sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.
There is no standing grain;
what sprouts fails to yield flour.
Even if they did,
foreigners would swallow it up.
Israel is swallowed up!
Now they are among the nations
like discarded pottery.
For they have gone up to Assyria
like a wild donkey going off on its own.
Ephraim has paid for love.
Even though they hire lovers among the nations,
I will now round them up,
and they will begin to decrease in number
under the burden of the king and leaders.
When Ephraim multiplied his altars for sin,
they became his altars for sinning.
Though I were to write out for him
ten thousand points of my instruction,
they would be regarded as something strange.
Though they offer sacrificial gifts
and eat the flesh,
the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their guilt
and punish their sins;
they will return to Egypt.
Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;
Judah has also multiplied fortified cities.
I will send fire on their cities,
and it will consume their citadels.

Scripture quotations have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.