Prologue

1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gavea him to show his servants what must soon take place.b He made it known by sending his angelc to his servant John,d 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of Gode and the testimony of Jesus Christ.f 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,g because the time is near.h

Greetings and Doxology

4 John,

To the seven churchesi in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to youj from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,k and from the seven spiritsa l before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,m the firstborn from the dead,n and the ruler of the kings of the earth.o

To him who loves usp and has freed us from our sins by his blood,q 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priestsr to serve his God and Fathers—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.t

7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”b u

and “every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him”;v

and all peoples on earth “will mournw because of him.”c

So shall it be! Amen.

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

John’s Vision of Christ

9 I, John,a your brother and companion in the sufferingb and kingdomc and patient enduranced that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of Gode and the testimony of Jesus.f 10 On the Lord’s Dayg I was in the Spirit,h and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,i 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you seej and send it to the seven churches:k to Ephesus,l Smyrna,m Pergamum,n Thyatira,o Sardis,p Philadelphiaq and Laodicea.”r

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,s 13 and among the lampstandst was someone like a son of man,d u dressed in a robe reaching down to his feetv and with a golden sash around his chest.w 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.x 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,y and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.z 16 In his right hand he held seven stars,a and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.b His face was like the sunc shining in all its brilliance.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feetd as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on mee and said: “Do not be afraid.f I am the First and the Last.g 18 I am the Living One; I was dead,h and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!i And I hold the keys of death and Hades.j

19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen,k what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right handl and of the seven golden lampstandsm is this: The seven stars are the angelse of the seven churches,n and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.o