Revelation 1

Prologue

1The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave^a him to show his servants what must soon take place.^b He made it known by sending his angel^c to his servant John,^{d 2}who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God^e 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

⁴John,

To the seven churchesⁱ in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you^j from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,^k and from the seven spirits^al before his throne, ⁵and 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 us^p and has freed us from our sins by his blood,^{q 6}and has made us to be a kingdom and priests^r to serve his God and Father^s—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.^t

⁷“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”^bu

and “every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him”;^v

and all peoples on earth “will mourn^w 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

⁹I, John,^a your brother and companion in the suffering^b and kingdom^c and patient endurance^d that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God^e and the testimony of Jesus.^{f 10}On the Lord’s Day^g 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 see^j and send it to the seven churches:^k to Ephesus,^l Smyrna,^m Pergamum,ⁿ Thyatira,^o Sardis,^p Philadelphia^q and Laodicea.”^r

¹²I 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 lampstands^t was someone like a son of man,^du dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet^v 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 sun^c shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷When I saw him, I fell at his feet^d as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me^e 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. ²⁰The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand^l and of the seven golden lampstands^m is this: The seven stars are the angels^e of the seven churches,ⁿ and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.^o