Prologue

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

⁴ John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace^(G) to you from^[e] the one who is, who was, and who is to come,^(H) and from the seven spirits^[f](I) before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,^(J) the firstborn from the dead^(K) and the ruler of the kings of the earth.^(L)

To him who loves us and has set us free^[g] from our sins by his blood,^{(M) 6} and made us a kingdom,^[h] priests^[i](N) to his God and Father—to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.^(O)

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

John’s Vision of the Risen Lord

⁹ I, John, your brother and partner in the affliction,^(T) kingdom,^(U) and endurance^(V) that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.^{(W) 10} I was in the Spirit^[n](X) on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet^{(Y) 11} saying, “Write^(Z) on a scroll^[o] what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see whose voice^(AA) it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,^{(AB) 13} and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man,^[p](AC) dressed in a robe^(AD) and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest.^{(AE) 14} The hair of his head was white as wool—white as snow^(AF)—and his eyes like a fiery flame.^{(AG) 15} His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace,^(AH) and his voice like the sound of cascading^[q] waters.^{(AI) 16} He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth,^(AJ) and his face was shining like the sun at full strength.^(AK)

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man.^(AL) He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last,^{(AM) 18} and the Living One.^(AN) I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever,^(AO) and I hold the keys^(AP) of death and Hades. ¹⁹ Therefore write what you have seen,^(AQ) what is, and what will take place after this. ²⁰ The mystery^(AR) of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels^[r] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands^[s] are the seven churches.^(AS)

The Throne Room of Heaven

4 After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet^(A) said, “Come up here,^(B) and I will show you what must take place after this.”^(C)

² Immediately I was in the Spirit,^(D) and there was a throne in heaven^(E) and someone was seated on it. ³ The one seated^[a] there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian stone.^(F) A rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne.^(G)

⁴ Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four elders^(H) dressed in white clothes,^(I) with golden crowns on their heads.^(J)

⁵ Flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder came from the throne.^(K) Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.^{(L) 6} Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne.^(M)

Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were around the throne on each side. ⁷ The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like an ox; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.^{(N) 8} Each of the four living creatures had six wings;^(O) they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night^(P) they never stop,^[b] saying,

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever,^{(R) 10} the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne^(S) and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,