Revelation 1:7-2:1

New American Standard Bible

^7 (A)Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and ^(B)every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will ^(C)mourn over Him. ^[a]So it is to be. Amen.

⁸ “I am ^(D)the Alpha and the Omega,” says the ^(E)Lord God, “^(F)who is and who was and who ^[b]is to come, the Almighty.”

The Patmos Vision

^9 (G)I, John, your ^(H)brother and ^(I)fellow participant in the tribulation and ^(J)kingdom and ^[c](K)perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(L)because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was ^(M)in the ^[d]Spirit on ^(N)the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(O)like the sound of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “^(P)Write ^[e]on a scroll what you see, and send it to the ^(Q)seven churches: to ^(R)Ephesus, ^(S)Smyrna, ^(T)Pergamum, ^(U)Thyatira, ^(V)Sardis, ^(W)Philadelphia, and ^(X)Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw ^(Y)seven golden lampstands; ¹³ and ^(Z)in the middle of the lampstands I saw one ^(AA)like ^[f]a son of man, ^(AB)clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and ^(AC)wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴ His head and His ^(AD)hair were white like white wool, like snow; and ^(AE)His eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵ His ^(AF)feet were like ^[g]burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His ^(AG)voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In His right hand He held ^(AH)seven stars, and out of His mouth came a ^(AI)sharp two-edged sword; and His ^(AJ)face was like ^(AK)the sun ^[h]shining in its strength.

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I ^(AL)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He ^(AM)placed His right hand on me, saying, “^(AN)Do not be afraid; ^(AO)I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the ^(AP)living One; and I ^[i](AQ)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have ^(AR)the keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹ Therefore ^(AS)write ^(AT)the things which you have seen, ^[j]and the things which are, and the things which will take place ^(AU)after these things. ²⁰ As for the ^(AV)mystery of the ^(AW)seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the ^(AX)seven golden lampstands: the ^(AY)seven stars are the angels of ^(AZ)the seven churches, and the seven ^(BA)lampstands are the seven churches.

Message to Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in ^(BB)Ephesus write:

The One who holds ^(BC)the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks ^[k](BD)among the seven golden lampstands, says this: