Prologue

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

Greeting to the Seven Churches

⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from ^(I)him ^(J)who is and ^(K)who was and who is to come, and from ^(L)the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ ^(M)the faithful witness, ^(N)the firstborn of the dead, and ^(O)the ruler of kings on earth.

To ^(P)him who loves us and ^(Q)has freed us from our sins by his blood ⁶ and made us ^(R)a kingdom, ^(S)priests to ^(T)his God and Father, to him be ^(U)glory and ^(V)dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷ Behold, ^(W)he is coming with the clouds, and ^(X)every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail^[b] on account of him. Even so. Amen.

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

Vision of the Son of Man

⁹ I, John, your brother and ^(AA)partner in ^(AB)the tribulation and ^(AC)the kingdom and ^(AD)the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(AE)on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ^10 (AF)I was in the Spirit ^(AG)on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(AH)like a trumpet ¹¹ saying, ^(AI)“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw ^(AJ)seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and in the midst of the lampstands ^(AK)one like ^(AL)a son of man, ^(AM)clothed with a long robe and ^(AN)with a golden sash around his chest. ^14 (AO)The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. ^(AP)His eyes were like a flame of fire, ^15 (AQ)his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and ^(AR)his voice was like the roar of many waters. ^16 (AS)In his right hand he held seven stars, ^(AT)from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and ^(AU)his face was like the sun shining ^(AV)in full strength.

^17 (AW)When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But ^(AX)he laid his right hand on me, ^(AY)saying, “Fear not, ^(AZ)I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living one. ^(BA)I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and ^(BB)I have the keys of Death and Hades. ^19 (BC)Write therefore ^(BD)the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. ²⁰ As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and ^(BE)the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and ^(BF)the seven lampstands are the seven churches.