Revelation

Revelation

Introduction

The Revelation to John was written at a time when Christians were being persecuted because of their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. The writer’s main concern is to give his readers hope and encouragement, and to urge them to remain faithful during times of suffering and persecution.

For the most part the book consists of several revelations and visions presented in symbolic language that would have been understood by Christians of that day, but would have remained a mystery to all others. As with the themes of a symphony, the themes of this book are repeated again and again in different ways through the various series of visions. Although there are differences of opinion regarding the details of interpretation of the book, the central theme is clear: through Christ the Lord, God will finally and totally defeat all of his enemies, including Satan, and will reward his faithful people with the blessings of a new heaven and a new earth when this victory is complete.

Outline of Contents

Introduction 1:1–8

Opening vision and the letters to the seven churches 1:9–3:22

The scroll with seven seals 4:1–8:1

The seven trumpets 8:2–11:19

The dragon and the two beasts 12:1–13:18

Various visions 14:1–15:8

The seven bowls of God’s anger 16:1–21

The destruction of Babylon, and the defeat of the beast, the false prophet, and the Devil 17:1–20:10

The final judgement 20:11–15

The new heaven, the new earth, the new Jerusalem 21:1–22:5

Conclusion 22:6–21

1 This book is the record of the events that Jesus Christ revealed. God gave him this revelation in order to show his servants what must happen very soon. Christ made these things known to his servant John by sending his angel to him, 2and John has told all that he has seen. This is his report concerning the message from God and the truth revealed by Jesus Christ. 3Happy is the one who reads this book, and happy are those who listen to the words of this prophetic message and obey what is written in this book! For the time is near when all these things will happen.

Greetings to the Seven Churches

4 *From John to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace be yours from God, who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits in front of his throne, 5*and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from death and who is also the ruler of the kings of the world.

He loves us, and by his sacrificial death he has freed us from our sins 6*and made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. To Jesus Christ be the glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

7 *Look, he is coming on the clouds! Everyone will see him, including those who pierced him. All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be!

8 *“I am the first and the last,” says the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come.

A Vision of Christ

9 I am John, your brother, and as a follower of Jesus I am your partner in patiently enduring the suffering that comes to those who belong to his Kingdom. I was put on the island of Patmos because I had proclaimed God’s word and the truth that Jesus revealed. 10On the Lord’s day the Spirit took control of me, and I heard a loud voice, that sounded like a trumpet, speaking behind me. 11It said, “Write down what you see, and send the book to the churches in these seven cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

12 I turned round to see who was talking to me, and I saw seven gold lamp-stands, 13*and among them there was what looked like a human being, wearing a robe that reached to his feet, and a gold belt round his chest. 14*His hair was white as wool, or as snow, and his eyes blazed like fire; 15*his feet shone like brass that has been refined and polished, and his voice sounded like a roaring waterfall. 16He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth. His face was as bright as the midday sun. 17*When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He placed his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the first and the last. 18I am the living one! I was dead, but now I am alive for ever and ever. I have authority over death and the world of the dead. 19Write, then, the things you see, both the things that are now and the things that will happen afterwards. 20This is the secret meaning of the seven stars that you see in my right hand, and of the seven gold lamp-stands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp-stands are the seven churches.

The Message to Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

“This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven gold lamp-stands. 2I know what you have done; I know how hard you have worked and how patient you have been. I know that you cannot tolerate evil people and that you have tested those who say they are apostles but are not, and have found out that they are liars. 3You are patient, you have suffered for my sake, and you have not given up. 4But this is what I have against you: you do not love me now as you did at first. 5Think how far you have fallen! Turn from your sins and do what you did at first. If you don’t turn from your sins, I will come to you and take your lamp-stand from its place. 6But this is what you have in your favour: you hate what the Nicolaitans do, as much as I do.

7 *“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

“To those who win the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit of the tree of life that grows in the Garden of God.

The Message to Smyrna

8 *“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: “This is the message from the one who is the first and the last, who died and lived again. 9I know your troubles; I know that you are poor—but really you are rich! I know the evil things said against you by those who claim to be Jews but are not; they are a group that belongs to Satan! 10Don’t be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory.

11 *“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

“Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.

The Message to Pergamum

12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: “This is the message from the one who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13I know where you live, there where Satan has his throne. You are true to me, and you did not abandon your faith in me even during the time when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed there where Satan lives. 14*But there are a few things I have against you: there are some among you who follow the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak how to lead the people of Israel into sin by persuading them to eat food that had been offered to idols and to practice sexual immorality. 15In the same way you have people among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Now turn from your sins! If you don’t, I will come to you soon and fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.

17 *“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

“To those who win the victory I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give each of them a white stone on which is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.

The Message to Thyatira

18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

“This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes blaze like fire, whose feet shine like polished brass. 19I know what you do. I know your love, your faithfulness, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first. 20*But this is what I have against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a messenger of God. By her teaching she misleads my servants into practising sexual immorality and eating food that has been offered to idols. 21I have given her time to repent of her sins, but she does not want to turn from her immorality. 22And so I will throw her on to a bed where she and those who committed adultery with her will suffer terribly. I will do this now unless they repent of the wicked things they did with her. 23*I will also kill her followers, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who knows everyone’s thoughts and wishes. I will repay each of you according to what you have done.

24 “But the rest of you in Thyatira have not followed this evil teaching; you have not learnt what the others call ‘the deep secrets of Satan’. I say to you that I will not put any other burden on you. 25But until I come, you must hold firmly to what you have. 26–28*To those who win the victory, who continue to the end to do what I want, I will give the same authority that I received from my Father: I will give them authority over the nations, to rule them with an iron rod and to break them to pieces like clay pots. I will also give them the morning star.

29 “If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

The Message to Sardis

3 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

“This is the message from the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know what you are doing; I know that you have the reputation of being alive, even though you are dead! 2So wake up, and strengthen what you still have before it dies completely. For I find that what you have done is not yet perfect in the sight of my God. 3*Remember, then, what you were taught and what you heard; obey it and turn from your sins. If you do not wake up, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not even know the time when I will come. 4But a few of you there in Sardis have kept your clothes clean. You will walk with me, clothed in white, because you are worthy to do so. 5*Those who win the victory will be clothed like this in white,…