Revelation 1

Prologue

¹The revelation of ^a Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants ^b what must soon take place. ^c He made it known by sending his angel ^d to his servant John, ^{e 2}who testified to the word of God and to the testimony ^f of Jesus Christ, ^g whatever he saw. ^{h 3}Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, ⁱ and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep ^j what is written in it, because the time is near.

⁴John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace ^k to you from ^l the one who is, who was, and who is to come, ^m and from the seven spirits ⁿ,^o before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, ^p the firstborn from the dead ^q and the ruler of the kings of the earth. ^r

To him who loves us and has set us free ^s from our sins by his blood, ^{t 6}and made us a kingdom, ^u priests ^v,^w to his God and Father #— #to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ^x

⁷Look, he is coming with the clouds,^y

and every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him.

And all the tribes^zof the earth^aa,^ab

will mourn over him.^ac,^ad,^ae

So it is to be. Amen.

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

John’s Vision of the Risen Lord

⁹I, John, your brother and partner in the affliction, ^ag kingdom, ^ah and endurance ^ai that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ^{aj 10}I was in the Spirit ^ak,^al on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet ^{am 11}saying, “Write^an on a scroll^ao what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹²Then I turned to see whose voice ^ap it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ^{aq 13}and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man, ^ar,^as dressed in a robe ^at and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest. ^{au 14}The hair of his head was white as wool #— #white as snow ^av #— #and his eyes like a fiery flame. ^{aw 15}His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, ^ax and his voice like the sound of cascading ^ay waters. ^{az 16}He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth, ^ba and his face was shining like the sun at full strength. ^bb

¹⁷When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. ^bc He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last,^{bd 18}and the Living One.^be I was dead, but look #— #I am alive forever and ever,^bf and I hold the keys^bg of death and Hades. ¹⁹Therefore write what you have seen,^bh what is, and what will take place after this. ²⁰The mystery^bi of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels^bj of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands^bk are the seven churches.^bl