A Vision of Christ

⁹ I am John, your brother, and as a follower of Jesus I am your partner in patiently enduring the suffering that comes to those who belong to his Kingdom. I was put on the island of Patmos because I had proclaimed God's word and the truth that Jesus revealed. ¹⁰ On the Lord's day the Spirit took control of me, and I heard a loud voice, that sounded like a trumpet, speaking behind me. ¹¹ It said, “Write down what you see, and send the book to the churches in these seven cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹² I turned around to see who was talking to me, and I saw seven gold lampstands, ^13 (A)and among them there was what looked like a human being, wearing a robe that reached to his feet, and a gold band around his chest.

^17 (A)When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He placed his right hand on me and said, “Don't be afraid! I am the first and the last. ¹⁸ I am the living one! I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I have authority over death and the world of the dead. ¹⁹ Write, then, the things you see, both the things that are now and the things that will happen afterward.