Revelation 1:4-12

Holman Christian Standard Bible

⁴ John:

To the seven churches in Asia.

Grace and peace^(A) to you from^[a] the One who is, who was, and who is coming;^(B) from the seven spirits^[b](C) before His throne; ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us and has set us free^[c] from our sins by His blood, ⁶ and made us a kingdom,^[d] priests^[e](D) to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”^(H) says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

John’s Vision of the Risen Lord

⁹ I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus.^{[k](I) 10} I was in the Spirit^[l][m](J) on the Lord’s day,^[n] and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet ¹¹ saying, “Write on a scroll^[o] what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹² I turned to see whose voice^(K) it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands,