1Verse 1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,Verse 2who testified to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he+saw.Verse 3Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
Greeting to the Seven Churches
Verse 4John to the seven churches in Asia: Grace to you and peace from+God, who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne,Verse 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who+loves us and+washed us from our sins with his bloodVerse 6and made us+to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the power forever+and ever. Amen.Verse 7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. So shall it be! Amen.Verse 8“I am the Alpha and the+Omega,”says the Lord+God,“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John's Vision of Christ
Verse 9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are+in Christ Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus+Christ.Verse 10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like that of a trumpet,Verse 11saying,“+Write what yoʋ see in a book and send it to the+seven+churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”Verse 12Then I turned+in that direction to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,Verse 13and in the midst of the+seven lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest.Verse 14His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,Verse 15his feet were like burnished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.Verse 16In his right hand he held seven stars, out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in its strength.Verse 17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though I were dead. But he placed his right hand upon me and+said,“Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last,Verse 18the living one. I was dead, but behold, I am alive forevermore.+Amen. I have the keys of+Death and Hades.Verse 19+Therefore write what yoʋ have seen, what is now and what will take place after this.Verse 20This is the mystery of the seven stars that yoʋ saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven+lampstands are the seven churches.