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Revelation 3
EasyEnglish Bible

Jesus' message to the believers at Sardis

3 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Sardis:

“This is the message to you from the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

I know everything that you do. I know that people praise you. They think that you are alive. But that is not true, because really you are dead in your spirits. 2 Wake up! You must become strong again. Do not let the little bit of life that you have completely disappear! I know that there are still more things for you to do to please my Father God. 3 So remember God's message that you have heard. Obey what God has said. Turn away from the wrong things that you do. Change the way that you live. If you do not wake up, I will come to punish you. I will come secretly, like someone who robs people. So you will not know what time I will come to you.

4 But you have a few people among you in Sardis who have not done these bad things. They are like people who have kept their clothes clean. They will walk with me and they will wear white clothes. They are good people and it is right for them to wear these white clothes. 5 Everyone who wins against Satan will wear white clothes like they do. I will never remove their names from God's book of life.[a] I will say clearly to my Father and his angels that those people belong to me. 6 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’

Jesus' message to the believers at Philadelphia

7 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Philadelphia:

“This is my message to you. I am the one who is completely good, the true God. I have King David's key in my hand.[b] When I open a door, nobody can shut it. And when I shut a door, nobody can open it.

8 I know everything that you do. Look! I have opened a door that is in front of you. Nobody can shut that door. I know that you are not very strong. But you have obeyed what I told you. You have continued to believe in me. 9 Some people there say that they are Jews. But that is not true. They are telling lies. Instead, they belong to a group of Satan's people. I will cause those people to bend down low in front of you to give you honour. Then they will understand that I love you. 10 I have told you to be patient in this difficult time. You have obeyed what I told you. Because of that, I will keep you safe from the time of great trouble that will come. This trouble will come to everyone who lives in the world. It will show me what each person is really like.

11 I will come soon.[c] Continue to obey my message that you already know. Then nobody can take away your crown which is God's gift to you.[d]

12 Everyone who wins against Satan will be safe in God's house. I will make them like a strong pillar in the temple of my God. They will never leave that place again. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of his city. The name of that city is the new Jerusalem.[e] It will come down from heaven. My God will send it down to the earth. I will also write my new name on those people. 13 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’

Jesus' message to the believers at Laodicea

14 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Laodicea:

“This is my message to you. I am the one whose name is ‘Amen’.[f] I faithfully tell people God's true message. Everything that God has created starts with me.

15 I know everything that you do. I know that you are neither cold nor hot. It would be better if you were either cold or hot. 16 But you are only warm. Because you are neither cold nor hot, I am ready to throw you away completely.[g]

17 You say, ‘I am rich. God has helped me to have many things. I do not need anything more.’ But you do not know how very poor you are really! You are like people who cannot see. You are like people who are without clothes. Really, other people should feel very sorry for you. 18 So I tell you that you should buy gold from me. With my gold, you would be really rich. My gold is the best, because it has been through fire. You should also buy white clothes from me to dress yourselves. Then you will not be ashamed because you have no clothes. You should also buy medicine from me to put on your eyes. Then you will be able to see well.[h]

19 I help everyone that I love. When they have done wrong things, I tell them, ‘You have done a wrong thing.’ I show them the right thing that they should do. So be serious about how you live. Stop doing wrong things and turn to me. 20 Look! I am standing at the door of your house. I am knocking on your door. When you hear my voice, you should open the door. Then I will come in. We will eat a meal together as friends.

21 Everyone who wins against Satan will come to sit with me on my throne where I rule. I won against my enemies. Then I sat down with my Father on his throne. I will give you the same authority. 22 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’

Footnotes

  1. 3:5 ‘God's book of life’ has the names of people who will live with God for ever.
  2. 3:7 David was a great king of God's people, Israel. He lived on the earth a long time before Jesus lived here as a man. Both men belonged to the same family.
  3. 3:11 ‘soon’ or ‘quickly’.
  4. 3:11 The crown is Jesus' gift. It shows that the person has won against Satan. That person will live with God for ever. See Revelation 2:10.
  5. 3:12 Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel. Israel was the country on this earth where God's people lived. New Jerusalem will be the place where God's people will live for ever. Revelation 21—22 describes this New Jerusalem.
  6. 3:14 That name means: ‘God's promises will happen because of him’.
  7. 3:16 In a place near to Laodicea, hot water came up out of the ground. People used the hot water like a medicine. But by the time this water reached Laodicea city, it was not hot. It was only warm. Also, at another city near Laodicea, cold water came up out of the ground. This cold water was good to drink. But by the time it reached Laodicea through a pipe, it too became warm. So then people did not like to drink it. So people could use both the hot water and the cold water where they came out of the ground. But they did not like the warm water at Laodicea. In these verses, Jesus is saying that he will not use the Christians at Laodicea. They are like the warm water that is not good for anything.
  8. 3:18 Jesus is not talking about gold or clothes or medicine that we can see or touch. He is telling these people what they need inside themselves. He is talking about what they need in their spirits. These Christians must receive what only he can give them. They must stop thinking that they are all right. They thought this because they had lots of money. People with ‘white clothes’ are like a picture of people who are completely good and clean.
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Revelation 3
New International Version

To the Church in Sardis

3 “To the angel[a] of the church in Sardis(A) write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[b](B) of God and the seven stars.(C) I know your deeds;(D) you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.(E) 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.(F) But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief,(G) and you will not know at what time(H) I will come to you.

4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.(I) They will walk with me, dressed in white,(J) for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious(K) will, like them, be dressed in white.(L) I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life,(M) but will acknowledge that name before my Father(N) and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear(O) what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Philadelphia

7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia(P) write:

These are the words of him who is holy(Q) and true,(R) who holds the key of David.(S) What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds.(T) See, I have placed before you an open door(U) that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.(V) 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan,(W) who claim to be Jews though they are not,(X) but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet(Y) and acknowledge that I have loved you.(Z) 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you(AA) from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world(AB) to test(AC) the inhabitants of the earth.(AD)

11 I am coming soon.(AE) Hold on to what you have,(AF) so that no one will take your crown.(AG) 12 The one who is victorious(AH) I will make a pillar(AI) in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God(AJ) and the name of the city of my God,(AK) the new Jerusalem,(AL) which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear(AM) what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Laodicea

14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea(AN) write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness,(AO) the ruler of God’s creation.(AP) 15 I know your deeds,(AQ) that you are neither cold nor hot.(AR) I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’(AS) But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.(AT) 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire,(AU) so you can become rich; and white clothes(AV) to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness;(AW) and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.(AX) So be earnest and repent.(AY) 20 Here I am! I stand at the door(AZ) and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,(BA) I will come in(BB) and eat with that person, and they with me.

21 To the one who is victorious,(BC) I will give the right to sit with me on my throne,(BD) just as I was victorious(BE) and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear(BF) what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 3:1 Or messenger; also in verses 7 and 14
  2. Revelation 3:1 That is, the sevenfold Spirit
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Revelation 2
Revelation 4
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