Revelation 1
Good News Translation
1 This book is the record of the events that Jesus Christ revealed. God gave him this revelation in order to show to his servants what must happen very soon. Christ made these things known to his servant John by sending his angel to him, 2 and John has told all that he has seen. This is his report concerning the message from God and the truth revealed by Jesus Christ. 3 Happy is the one who reads this book, and happy are those who listen to the words of this prophetic message and obey what is written in this book! For the time is near when all these things will happen.
Greetings to the Seven Churches
4 (A)From John to the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace be yours from God, who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits in front of his throne, 5 (B)and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from death and who is also the ruler of the kings of the world.
He loves us, and by his sacrificial death he has freed us from our sins 6 (C)and made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. To Jesus Christ be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
7 (D)Look, he is coming on the clouds! Everyone will see him, including those who pierced him. All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be!
8 (E)“I am the first and the last,” says the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come.
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 (F)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. 14 (G)His hair was white as wool, or as snow, and his eyes blazed like fire; 15 (H)his feet shone like brass that has been refined and polished, and his voice sounded like a roaring waterfall. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth. His face was as bright as the midday sun. 17 (I)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. 20 Here is the secret meaning of the seven stars that you see in my right hand, and of the seven gold lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Revelation 1
Tree of Life Version
Yeshua’s Revelation to John
1 The revelation of Yeshua the Messiah, which God gave Him to show to His servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah—to everything he saw. 3 How fortunate is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and those who hear and keep what has been written in it—for the time is near.
4 John,
To Messiah’s seven communities in Asia:[a]
Grace to you and shalom from Him who is and who was and who is to come, as well as from the seven spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Messiah Yeshua, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood 6 and made us a kingdom, kohanim to His God and Father—to Him be glory and power forever! Amen!
7 “Look, He is coming with the clouds,[b]
and every eye shall see Him,
even those who pierced Him.
And all the tribes of the earth
shall mourn because of Him.[c]
Yes, amen!”
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”[d] says Adonai Elohim, “Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty!”
9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance that are in Yeshua, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Yeshua. 10 I was in the Ruach on the Day of the Lord,[e] and I heard behind me a loud voice like that of a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write what you see in a scroll,[f] and send it to Messiah’s seven communities—to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
Vision of the Glorious Son of Man
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned, I saw seven golden menorot. [g] 13 In the midst of the menorot, I saw One like a Son of Man, clothed in a robe down to His feet, with a golden belt wrapped around His chest. [h] 14 His head and His hair were white like wool, white like snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire. [i] 15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace,[j] and His voice was like the roar of rushing waters. [k] 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came forth a sharp, two-edged sword.[l] His face was like the sun shining at full strength.[m]
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man.[n] But He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last, [o] 18 and the One who lives. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever! Moreover, I hold the keys of death and Sheol. [p] 19 Therefore write down what you have seen, what is, and what will happen after these things. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden menorot—the seven stars are the angels of Messiah’s seven communities, and the seven menorahs are the seven communities.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 1:4 The Roman province of Asia, in the western part of Asia Minor (now part of Turkey).
- Revelation 1:7 Dan. 7:13.
- Revelation 1:7 Zech. 12:10-14.
- Revelation 1:8 cf. Rev. 21:6; 22:13. cf. Isa. 9:5-6(6-7); 41:4.
- Revelation 1:10 cf. Isa. 13:6, 9; Ezek. 30:3; Joel 2:1; 3:4(2:31); Amos 5:18; Obad. 15; Zeph. 1:7, 14; Mal. 3:17.
- Revelation 1:11 cf. Isa. 30:8; Jer. 36:2, 4.
- Revelation 1:13 cf. Exod. 25:37; 37:23; Zech. 4:2.
- Revelation 1:14 cf. Dan 7:13; 10:5; also Ex. 29:5; Lev 8:7.
- Revelation 1:15 cf. Isa. 1:18; Dan. 7:9.
- Revelation 1:15 cf. Ezek. 1:7; Dan. 10:6.
- Revelation 1:16 cf. Ps. 93:4; Ezek. 1:24; 43:2.
- Revelation 1:16 cf. Isa. 49:2; Heb. 4:12.
- Revelation 1:16 cf. Exod. 34:29.
- Revelation 1:17 cf. Dan. 8:17-18; 10:9-10, 15.
- Revelation 1:18 cf. Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12.
- Revelation 1:19 cf. Job 38:17; Jn. 5:25-27.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.