John Tells About This Book

1 This is the revelation ·of Jesus Christ [about Jesus Christ; or given by Jesus Christ; ^Cthe author could be intentionally ambiguous], which God gave to him, to show his servants what must ·soon [quickly] happen. And Jesus sent his angel to ·show it [make it known] to his servant John, ² who has ·told [witnessed; testified to] everything he has seen. It is the word of God; it is the ·message [witness; testimony] from Jesus Christ. ³ ·Blessed [Happy] is the one who reads the words of ·God’s message [^Lthe prophecy], and ·blessed [happy] are the people who hear this message and ·do [keep; obey] what is written in it [^Cthe context envisioned is a leader reading to a congregation]. ·The time is near when all of this will happen [^LFor the time is near].

Jesus’ Message to the Churches

⁴ From John.

To the seven churches in Asia [^Cthe Roman province of Asia, today part of western Turkey]:

Grace and peace to you from the One who is and [the One who] was and [the One who] is coming [^Cthese three descriptions function like titles for God; Ex. 3:14–15], and from ·the seven spirits [^Creferring either to angels or to the “sevenfold Spirit”—the Holy Spirit portrayed in his perfection (the number seven indicating completeness)] before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ. Jesus is ·the faithful witness [or the faithful one, the witness], the ·first among those raised from [^Lfirstborn of/from among] the dead. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth.

·He is the One [^LTo him] who loves us, who made us free^[a] from our sins ·with the blood of his death [^Lby his blood]. ⁶ He made us to be a ·kingdom of priests [or kingdom and priests; or kingdom, that is, priests; Ex. 19:6] who serve ·God his Father [^Lhis God and Father]. To ·Jesus Christ [^Lhim] be glory and ·power [dominion] forever and ever! Amen.

⁷ Look [^TBehold], Jesus is coming with the clouds [Dan. 7:13–14], and ·everyone [^Levery eye] will see him, even those who ·stabbed [pierced] him [^Ca reference to the crucifixion; Zech. 12:10]. And all ·peoples [people groups; tribes] of the earth will ·cry loudly [wail; mourn] because of him. ·Yes, this will happen [So it shall be; ^LYes]! Amen.

⁸ The Lord God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega [^Cthe first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; 21:6; 22:13]. I am the One who is and [the One who] was and [the One who] is coming [see 1:4]. I am the ·Almighty [All-powerful].”

⁹ I, John, ·am your brother. All of us share [^Lyour brother and partner] ·with Jesus [or in Jesus; ^Creferring to salvation as joining oneself to Christ] in ·suffering [persecution], in the kingdom, and in ·patience to continue [perseverance]. I was on the island of Patmos [^Ca small island in the Aegean Sea near Asia Minor, present-day Turkey], because ·I had preached [^Lof] the word of God and the ·message [witness; testimony] about Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord’s day [^Cprobably a reference to the first day of the week, Sunday, when Christians met for worship] I was in the ·Spirit [or spirit; ^Ca state of deep spiritual communion with God], and I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet [^Ctrumpet blasts often precede a divine appearance or speech; Ex. 19:16, 19]. ¹¹ The voice said, “Write what you see in a ·book [scroll] and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea [^Clocations in western Asia Minor, present-day Turkey].”

¹² I turned to see who was talking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands ¹³ and someone among the lampstands who was “like a Son of Man [^Creferring to Jesus; the title he most often used to refer to himself; Dan. 7:13–14].” He was dressed in a long robe and had a gold ·band [sash] around his chest [^Cthe clothes of a dignitary; Dan. 10:5]. ¹⁴ His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow [Dan. 7:9], and his eyes were like ·flames of [blazing] fire [Dan. 10:6]. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze ·that glows hot [refined; fired] in a furnace [Dan. 10:6], and his voice was like the noise of ·flooding water [rushing water; ^Lmany waters; Ezek. 43:2]. ¹⁶ He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword came out of his mouth. ·He [^LHis face] looked like the sun shining ·at its brightest time [or with full power/force; ^Lin its strength].

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He put his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the One who lives; I was dead, but ·look [^Tbehold], I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys to death and ·to the place of the dead [^LHades]. ¹⁹ So write the things you ·see [or have seen], ·what is now [^Lwhat is] and what will happen ·later [^Lafter these things]. ²⁰ Here is the ·secret [mystery] of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the ·angels [or messengers; ^Cthese may be guardian angels, human leaders, or the personified “spirit” of each church] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.