Revelation 1–7

Prologue

1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God ^agave him ^bto show to his servants¹ the things that must soon take place. ^cHe made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ^2dwho bore witness to the word of God and to ^ethe testimony of Jesus Christ, even ^fto all that he saw. ^3gBlessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, ^hfor the time is near.

Greeting to the Seven Churches

⁴John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from ⁱhim ^jwho is and ^kwho was and who is to come, and from ^lthe seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ ^mthe faithful witness, ⁿthe firstborn of the dead, and ^othe ruler of kings on earth.

To ^phim who loves us and ^qhas freed us from our sins by his blood ⁶and made us ^ra kingdom, ^rpriests to ^shis God and Father, to him be ^tglory and ^udominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷Behold, ^vhe is coming with the clouds, and ^wevery eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail³ on account of him. Even so. Amen.

^8x“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, ^y“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Vision of the Son of Man

⁹I, John, your brother and ^zpartner in ^athe tribulation and ^bthe kingdom and ^cthe patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^don account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ^10eI was in the Spirit ^fon the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^glike a trumpet ¹¹saying, ^h“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

¹²Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw ⁱseven golden lampstands, ¹³and in the midst of the lampstands ^jone like ^ka son of man, ^lclothed with a long robe and ^mwith a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ⁿThe hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. ^oHis eyes were like a flame of fire, ^15phis feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and ^qhis voice was like the roar of many waters. ^16rIn his right hand he held seven stars, ^sfrom his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and ^this face was like the sun shining ^uin full strength.

^17vWhen I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But ^vhe laid his right hand on me, ^wsaying, “Fear not, ^xI am the first and the last, ¹⁸and the living one. ^yI died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and ^zI have the keys of Death and Hades. ^19aWrite therefore ^bthe things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. ²⁰As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and ^cthe seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and ^dthe seven lampstands are the seven churches.

To the Church in Ephesus

2“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of ^ehim who holds the seven stars in his right hand, ^fwho walks among the seven golden lampstands.

^2g“ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but ^hhave tested those ⁱwho call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up ^jfor my name’s sake, and you ^khave not grown weary. ⁴But I have this against you, that you have abandoned ^lthe love you had at first. ⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do ^mthe works you did at first. If not, ⁿI will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶Yet this you have: you hate the works of ^othe Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ^7pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^qTo the one who conquers I will grant to eat of ^rthe tree of life, which is in ^sthe paradise of God.’

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of ^tthe first and the last, ^uwho died and came to life.

⁹“ ‘I know your tribulation and ^vyour poverty (^vbut you are rich) and the slander¹ of ^wthose who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, ^wthat you may be tested, and for ^xten days ^yyou will have tribulation. ^zBe faithful ^aunto death, and I will give you ^bthe crown of life. ^11cHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^cThe one who conquers will not be hurt by ^dthe second death.’

To the Church in Pergamum

¹²“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has ^ethe sharp two-edged sword.

¹³“ ‘I know where you dwell, ^fwhere Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not ^gdeny my faith² even in the days of Antipas ^hmy faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of ⁱBalaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might ^jeat food sacrificed to idols and ^kpractice sexual immorality. ¹⁵So also you have some who hold the teaching of ^lthe Nicolaitans. ¹⁶Therefore repent. If not, ^mI will come to you soon and ⁿwar against them with ^ethe sword of my mouth. ^17cHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^cTo the one who conquers I will give some of ^othe hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with ^pa new name written on the stone ^qthat no one knows except the one who receives it.’

To the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, ^rwho has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

^19s“ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. ²⁰But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman ^tJezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants ^uto practice sexual immorality and ^uto eat food sacrificed to idols. ²¹I gave her time to repent, but ^vshe refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. ²²Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, ²³and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he ^wwho searches mind and heart, and ^xI will give to each of you according to your works. ²⁴But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call ^ythe deep things of Satan, to you I say, I ^zdo not lay on you any other burden. ²⁵Only hold fast ^awhat you have until I come. ^26bThe one who conquers and who keeps my works ^cuntil the end, ^dto him I will give authority over the nations, ²⁷and ^ehe will ^frule³ them with a rod of iron, ^gas when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. ²⁸And I will give him ^hthe morning star. ^29pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Sardis

3“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him ⁱwho has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation ^jof being alive, ^kbut you are dead. ²Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works ^lcomplete in the sight of my God. ^3mRemember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, ⁿI will come ^olike a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. ⁴Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not ^psoiled their garments, and they will walk with me ^qin white, for they are ^rworthy. ^5sThe one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never ^tblot his name out of ^uthe book of life. ^vI will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ^6pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of ^wthe holy one, ^xthe true one, ^ywho has the key of David, ^zwho opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

⁸“ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you ^aan open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹Behold, I will make those of ^bthe synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, ^cI will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that ^dI have loved you. ^10eBecause you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try ^fthose who dwell on the earth. ^11gI am coming soon. ^hHold fast what you have, so that no one may seize ⁱyour crown. ^12jThe one who conquers, I will make him ^ka pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him ^lthe name of my God, and ^mthe name of the city of my God, ^mthe new Jerusalem, ⁿwhich comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own ^onew name. ^13pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the ^pAmen, ^qthe faithful and true witness, ^rthe beginning of God’s creation.

¹⁵“ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. ^sWould that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ^17tFor you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, ^ublind, and naked. ¹⁸I counsel you ^vto buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and ^wwhite garments so that you may clothe yourself and ^xthe shame of your…