And to the messenger of the church in Pergamum, let it be written: Thus says the Possessor of the Two-Edged Sharp Sword.
I know where you reside, at the seat of Satan, and you hold to My Name and you have not denied My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My trustworthy one, who was killed among you where Satan resides. But I have somewhat against you, because you have there adherents of the teaching of Balaam, who would teach Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol-sacrifices and to whore. Thus likewise you also have adherents of the teachings of the Nikolaitans. Therefore repent. But if not, I am coming to you swiftly and I will war against them with the sword of My mouth.
Who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To the victorious: I will give him the concealed manna; and I will give him white stone, and on the stone written a fresh name, which none know if not the receiver.
***
And to the messenger of the church in Thyatira, let it be written: Thus says the Son of God, the One Having His Eyes Like a Flame of Fire and His Feet like Bronze-Incense.
I know your works and devotion and trustworthiness and service, and your endurance; and your final works are greater than your first. But I have against you that you permit the woman Jezebel, she calling herself a prophetess, and teaching and deceiving My servants to whore and to eat idol-sacrifices. And I have given her time to repent and she is not willing to repent of her whoredom. See, I will throw her into bed and her adulterers into great oppression, if they shall not repent of her deeds. And her children I will destroy with death. And all the churches will know that I am the Searcher of Guts and Hearts and will give to each of you according to your works. But to you, to the rest of those in Thyatira, however many do not have this teaching, who have not known the abysses of Satan, as they say, I will not throw on you another burden. But what you have, hold until I am present.
And to the victorious and guardian until the end of my works: I will give him authority over the peoples, and he will shepherd them with a staff of iron, as the vessels of the potter are shattered, just as I also have received from My Father. And I will give to him the star of dawn.
Who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
[Revelation 2:12-29, my very rough translation. The word for 'two-edged' could also be translated more literally as 'two-mouthed' (the metaphor being that the sword bites the flesh), and 'sharp' could also be translated as 'swift' (as in the "Battle Hymn of the Republic"'s "terrible swift sword"). We know nothing for certain about St. Antipas, although later tradition holds that he was a bishop, perhaps originally a physician, ordained by St. John the Apostle and died when he was burned alive in a bull-shaped altar. Balaam, a prophet from the book of Numbers, is regularly used in the New Testament as a symbol of a false teacher associated with sneaky subversion of doctrine (cf. Num. 31:16). In Numbers 25, the seduction of the children of Israel by the people of Moab is explicitly connected to sexual sin and idolatry. White stones (the word here literally means 'pebble') were sometimes used in trials to vote that someone was innocent, but some suggest that there is a reference to the use of white stones, with names inscribed, as a proof of having won an athletic contest. Again, it's entirely possible that both are in view here.
Nobody quite knows what the word used to describe the feet is supposed to mean; chalkolibanon literally is the word for bronze/brass/copper combined with the word for frankincense. It's usually translated as 'burnished bronze', which is the meaning of the Hebrew used in Daniel's similar vision in Daniel 10. But in context, it seems clear that the point is not that the bronze is burnished but that the bronze is burning (cf. Rev 1:15). That is to say, while the vision no doubt has reference to Daniel, the word is intended to indicate the feet are like bronze that is burning like incense. The name Jezebel suggests a reference to the queen of 1& 2 Kings, who encouraged the worship of Baal, worship that was associated with sexual immorality and eating sacrifices to idols. 'Searcher of Guts and Hearts' is literally 'the one who searches kidneys and hearts', both kidneys and hearts being associated with one's internal sense of self. The staff of iron is a reference to Psalm 2.]
