Revelation 1

Prologue

1The revelation of ^aJesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves ^bwhat must quickly ^ctake place. ^dHe sent it and signified it ^ethrough His angel ^fto His slave John, ^g2who testified to God’s word and to the testimony ^habout Jesus Christ, ⁱin all he saw. ^j3The one who reads this is blessed, ^kand those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep ^lwhat is written in it are blessed, because the time is near!

⁴John:

To the seven churches in Asia.

Grace and peace ^mto you from ⁿthe One who is, who was, and who is coming; ^ofrom the seven spirits ^pqbefore His throne; ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, ^rthe firstborn from the dead ^sand the ruler of the kings of the earth. ^t

To Him who loves us and has set us free ^ufrom our sins by His blood, ^v6and made us a kingdom, ^wpriests ^xyto His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen. ^z

⁷Look! He is coming with the clouds, ^a

and every eye will see Him,

including those who pierced ^b Him.

And all the families of the earth ^cde

will mourn over Him. ^fgh

This is certain. Amen.

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” ⁱsays the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

John’s Vision of the Risen Lord

⁹I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, ^jkingdom, ^kand endurance ^lthat are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus. ^mn10I was in the Spirit ^opqon the Lord’s day, ^rand I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet ^s11saying, “Write ^ton a scroll^u what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹²I turned to see whose voice ^vit was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, ^w13and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, ^xydressed in a long robe ^zand with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. ^a14His head and hair were white like wool—white as snow ^b—and His eyes like a fiery flame. ^c15His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, ^dand His voice like the sound of cascading ^ewaters. ^f16He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth, ^gand His face was shining like the sun at midday. ^hi

¹⁷When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. ^jHe laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last, ^k18and the Living One. ^lI was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, ^mand I hold the keys ⁿof death and ^•Hades. ¹⁹Therefore write what you have seen, ^owhat is, and what will take place after this. ²⁰The ^•secret ^pof the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels ^qof the seven churches, and the seven lampstands ^rare the seven churches. ^s