| Church | The things which Jesus knows and commends | The things by which Jesus is dissatisfied | Instructions and Warnings | Promises to the Overcomers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ephesus (Rev 2:1-7) | – Their hard work, patient endurance and bearing up for the sake of God’s name without growing weary. – Testing the self-styled apostles and finding them to be false. – Hating the practices of Nicolaitans. | Left the first love or not loving God as they did in the beginning. | Think, repent and do the first works otherwise God will come quickly and remove the lampstand from its place. | They will be granted to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God. |
| Smyrna (Rev 2:8-11) | Their tribulation, poverty and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. | Nil | – In the face of suffering, do not fear. – Be faithful unto death. | – They will be given the Crown of life. – They will not be hurt by the second death. |
| Pergamum (Rev 2:12-17) | – Their place of residence-a place where satan sits enthroned. – Their holding fast to His name and not denying the faith even in those days wherein Antipas, the faithful witness, was killed among them in the very house of satan. | – Some people among them followed the teaching of Balaam (the man who taught Balak how to entice the children of Israel into eating meat sacrificed to idols and into sexual immorality). – Some members of the church adhered to the teachings of Nicolaitans (a teaching that the clergy should rule the people in the churches). | Repent or else Jesus will come quickly and fight against these peoples with the sword of His mouth. | – They will be given hidden manna to eat. – They will be given a white stone with a new name written upon it which no man knows except the man who receives it. |
| Thyatira (Rev 2:18-29) | – Their works, love, faith, service and perseverance. – That their last works are greater than the first. | – Toleration of a false prophetess named Jezebel (who mislead the members of the church into sexual immorality and to eat the food sacrificed to idols). – Jezebel’s unwillingness to repent of her sins, though time was given to her. | – The false prophetess Jezebel will be thrown into sickbed. – Those church members who followed her teachings will be thrown into great tribulation unless they repent of their deeds. – Her followers will taste death at the hands of God. As a result, all the churches will know that Jesus searches the mind and heart, and repays each person according to his works. – To the faithful remnant Jesus says, “hold on to what you have until I come!” | – They will be given authority over nations to rule them with an iron sceptre and to dash them to pieces like pottery. – They will be given the morning star. |
| Sardis (Rev 3:1-6) | Few people who had not defiled their garments or kept themselves pure. | – Reputation of being alive, but in fact they are dead. – Their deeds are incomplete in the sight of God. | – Wake up and strengthen the remaining things before it dies. – Remember the truth once received and heard. Hold fast to it and repent. Otherwise, Jesus will come against the unrepentant like a thief. | – They will walk with Jesus dressed in white. – Jesus will never blot out their names from the book of life. – Jesus will acknowledge them before Father and his angels. |
| Philadelphia (Rev 3:7-13) | – Though they had little strength, they kept the words of Jesus and not denied His name. – They kept Jesus command about patient endurance. | Nil | – Jesus is coming soon so hold on to what you have so that no one seize your crown. | – False Jews will acknowledge the believers’ valid faith in Jesus and recognize that Jesus loves the believers. – They will be kept safe from the hour of trial which is to come upon the whole world. – They will be made pillar in the temple of God. -Name of the Father, name of the new Jerusalem and new name of Jesus will be inscribed on them. |
| Laodicea (Rev 3:14-22) | Nil | – They were lukewarm. As a result, Jesus was about to spit them out. – They didn’t recognize their actual condition of being wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. | – Jesus advises them to buy from him pure gold, white garments and eye salve to become rich, to cover spiritual nakedness and to cure spiritual blindness respectively. – Be earnest and repent. – Jesus is knocking at the door. Anyone who hears can open and let him in to have fellowship. | – They will be given right to sit with Jesus on his throne. |
