Vision of the Son of Man

⁹ I, John, ^[a]both your brother and ^(A)companion in the tribulation and ^(B)kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. ^10 (C)I was in the Spirit on ^(D)the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me ^(E)a loud voice, as of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, ^[b]“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches ^[c]which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned ^(F)I saw seven golden lampstands, ^13 (G)and in the midst of the seven lampstands ^(H)One like the Son of Man, ^(I)clothed with a garment down to the feet and ^(J)girded about the chest with a golden band. ¹⁴ His head and ^(K)hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and ^(L)His eyes like a flame of fire; ^15 (M)His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and ^(N)His voice as the sound of many waters; ^16 (O)He had in His right hand seven stars, ^(P)out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, ^(Q)and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. ¹⁷ And ^(R)when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But ^(S)He laid His right hand on me, saying ^[d]to me, “Do not be afraid; ^(T)I am the First and the Last. ^18 (U)I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, ^(V)I am alive forevermore. Amen. And ^(W)I have the keys of ^[e]Hades and of Death. ^19 [f]Write the things which you have ^(X)seen, ^(Y)and the things which are, ^(Z)and the things which will take place after this. ²⁰ The ^[g]mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are ^(AA)the ^[h]angels of the seven churches, and ^(AB)the seven lampstands ^[i]which you saw are the seven churches.

⁶ And I looked, ^[a]and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood ^(A)a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and ^(B)seven eyes, which are ^(C)the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Assurance of the Resurrection

5 For we know that if ^(A)our earthly ^[a]house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house ^(B)not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this ^(C)we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our ^[b]habitation which is from heaven, ³ if indeed, ^(D)having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, ^(E)but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also ^(F)has given us the Spirit as ^[c]a guarantee.

⁶ So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷ For ^(G)we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, yes, ^(H)well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

⁹ Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. ^10 (I)For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ^(J)that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. ¹¹ Knowing, therefore, ^(K)the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

²¹ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I ^[a]cannot tell. ^23 [b]For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a ^(A)desire to depart and be with Christ, which is ^(B)far better.

¹⁶ For ^(A)the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with ^(B)the trumpet of God. ^(C)And the dead in Christ will rise first. ^17 (D)Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them ^(E)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus ^(F)we shall always be with the Lord. ^18 (G)Therefore comfort one another with these words.