Study Desk

But I have a few things against you. You have some people who follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak to set a trap for the Jews. He taught them to eat food that had been given as a gift in worship to false gods and to do sex sins.

But I have this against you: You are allowing Jezebel who calls herself a preacher to teach my servants. She is leading them in the wrong way and they are doing sex sins. And they are eating food that has been given as a gift in worship to false gods.

But the rest of you there in the city of Thyatira have not followed this false teaching. You have not learned what they call the secrets of Satan. So I will put no other load on you.

But hold on to what you have until I come.

"Write this to the angel of the church in the city of Sardis: ‘The One Who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: I know what you are doing. I know people think you are alive, but you are dead.

But there are a few people in the church in the city of Sardis whose clothes are not dirty with sins. They will walk with Me wearing white clothes. They have done what they should.

I know what you are doing. See! You do not have much power, but you have obeyed My Word. You have not turned against Me. So I have given you an open door that no man can shut.

See! There are some who belong to Satan. They say they are Jews, but they are not. They are liars. See! I will make them come to you and get down at your feet. Then they will know that I love you.

But because you are warm, and not hot or cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.

You say that you are rich and that you need nothing, but you do not know that you are so troubled in mind and heart. You are poor and blind and without clothes.

Men will look for ways to die during those days, but they will not find any way. They will want to die, but death will be kept from them.

The first time of trouble is past. But see, there are two more times of trouble coming after this.

I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. He said, "Take it and eat it. It will taste like honey in your mouth. But after you have eaten it, it will make your stomach sour."

Then I took it from the angel's hand and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but it made my stomach sour after I had eaten it.

The second time of trouble is past. But look, the third time of trouble is coming soon.

Then the woman gave birth to a son. He is to be the leader of the world using a piece of iron. But this child was taken away to God and His throne.

But the dragon was not strong enough to win. There was no more room in heaven for them.

They had power over him and won because of the blood of the Lamb and by telling what He had done for them. They did not love their lives but were willing to die.

The Woman and the Dragon Something very special was seen in heaven. A woman was there dressed with the sun. The moon was under her feet. A crown with twelve stars in it was on her head. She was about to become a mother. She cried out with pain waiting for the child to be born. Something else special was seen in heaven. A large dragon was there. It was red and had seven heads and ten horns. There was a crown on each head. With his tail he pulled one-third part of the stars out of heaven. He threw them down to the earth. This dragon stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth to her child. He was waiting to eat her child as soon as it was born. Then the woman gave birth to a son. He is to be the leader of the world using a piece of iron. But this child was taken away to God and His throne. The woman ran away into the desert. God had made the place ready for her. He will care for her there 1,260 days. Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against this dragon. This animal and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough to win. There was no more room in heaven for them. The dragon was thrown down to earth from heaven. This animal is the old snake. He is also called the Devil or Satan. He is the one who has fooled the whole world. He was thrown down to earth and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, "Now God has saved from the punishment of sin! God's power as King has come! God's holy nation has come! God's Christ is here with power! The one who spoke against our Christian brothers has been thrown down to earth. He stood before God speaking against them day and night. They had power over him and won because of the blood of the Lamb and by telling what He had done for them. They did not love their lives but were willing to die. For this reason, O heavens and you who are there, be full of joy. It is bad for you, O earth and sea. For the devil has come down to you. He is very angry because he knows he has only a short time." When the dragon which is the devil saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he began to hunt for the woman who had given birth to the boy baby. The woman was given two wings like the wings of a very large bird so she could fly to her place in the desert. She was to be cared for there and kept safe from the snake, which is the devil, for three-and one-half years. Then the snake spit water from his mouth so the woman might be carried away with a flood. The earth helped the woman by opening its mouth. It drank in the flood of water that this dragon spit from his mouth. This dragon was very angry with the woman. He went off to fight with the rest of her children. They are the ones who obey the Laws of God and are faithful to the teachings of Jesus.

One of the heads of the wild animal looked as if it had been killed. But the bad cut given to kill him was healed. The whole world was surprised and wondered about this, and they followed after the wild animal.