Chronological

The Revelation Is Given

1 This is the revelation from Jesus Christ. God gave it to him to show those who serve God what will happen soon. God made it known by sending his angel to his servant John. ² John is a witness to everything he saw. What he saw is God’s word and what Jesus Christ has said. ³ Blessed is the one who reads out loud the words of this prophecy. Blessed are those who hear it and think everything it says is important. The time when these things will come true is near.

Greetings and Praise to God

⁴ I, John, am writing this letter.

I am sending it to the seven churches in Asia Minor.

May grace and peace come to you from God. He is the one who is, and who was, and who will come. May grace and peace come to you from the seven spirits. These spirits are in front of God’s throne. ⁵ May grace and peace come to you from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness, so what he has shown can be trusted. He was the first to rise from the dead. He rules over the kings of the earth.

Glory and power belong to Jesus Christ who loves us! He has set us free from our sins by pouring out his blood for us. ⁶ He has made us members of his royal family. He has made us priests who serve his God and Father. Glory and power belong to Jesus Christ for ever and ever! Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord God. “I am the God who is, and who was, and who will come. I am the Mighty One.”

John’s Vision of Christ

⁹ I, John, am a believer like you. I am a friend who suffers like you. As members of Jesus’ royal family, we can put up with anything that happens to us. I was on the island of Patmos because I taught God’s word and what Jesus said. ¹⁰ The Holy Spirit gave me a vision on the Lord’s Day. I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet. ¹¹ The voice said, “Write on a scroll what you see. Send it to the seven churches in Asia Minor. They are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

¹² I turned around to see who was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. ¹³ In the middle of them was someone who looked “like a son of man.” (Daniel 7:13) He was dressed in a long robe with a gold strip of cloth around his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze metal glowing in a furnace. His voice sounded like rushing waters. ¹⁶ He held seven stars in his right hand. Coming out of his mouth was a sharp sword with two edges. His face was like the sun shining in all its brightness.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. Then he put his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the Living One. I was dead. But now look! I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys to Death and Hell.

¹⁹ “So write down what you have seen. Write about what is happening now and what will happen later. ²⁰ Here is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand. They are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven golden lampstands you saw stand for the seven churches.

The Letter to the Church in Ephesus

2 “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Ephesus.

Here are the words of Jesus, who holds the seven stars in his right hand. He also walks among the seven golden lampstands. He says,

² ‘I know what you are doing. You work long and hard. I know you can’t put up with evil people. You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not. You have found out that they are liars. ³ You have been faithful and have put up with a lot of trouble because of me. You have not given up.

⁴ ‘But here is something I hold against you. You have turned away from the love you had at first. ⁵ Think about how far you have fallen! Turn away from your sins. Do the things you did at first. If you don’t, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But you do have this in your favor. You hate the way the Nicolaitans act. I hate it too.

⁷ ‘Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches. Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will let that person eat from the tree of life in God’s paradise.’

The Letter to the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Smyrna.

Here are the words of Jesus, who is the First and the Last. He is the one who died and came to life again. He says,

⁹ ‘I know that you suffer and are poor. But you are rich! Some people say they are Jews but are not. I know that their words are evil. Their worship comes from Satan. ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you. You will be treated badly for ten days. Be faithful, even if it means you must die. Then I will give you life as your crown of victory.

¹¹ ‘Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches. Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will not let that person be hurt at all by the second death.’

The Letter to the Church in Pergamum

¹² “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Pergamum.

Here are the words of Jesus, who has the sharp sword with two edges. He says,

¹³ ‘I know that you live where Satan has his throne. But you remain faithful to me. You did not give up your faith in me. You didn’t give it up even in the days of Antipas. Antipas, my faithful witness, was put to death in your city, where Satan lives.

¹⁴ ‘But I have a few things against you. Some of your people follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak to lead the people of Israel into sin. So they ate food that had been offered to statues of gods. And they committed sexual sins. ¹⁵ You also have people who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ So turn away from your sins! If you don’t, I will come to you soon. I will fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.

¹⁷ ‘Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches. Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will give that person hidden manna to eat. I will also give each of them a white stone with a new name written on it. Only the one who receives this name will know what it is.’

The Letter to the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Thyatira.

Here are the words of the Son of God. He is Jesus, whose eyes are like blazing fire. His feet are like polished bronze. He says,

¹⁹ ‘I know what you are doing. I know your love and your faith. I know how well you have served. I know you don’t give up easily. In fact, you are doing more now than you did at first.

²⁰ ‘But here is what I have against you. You put up with that woman Jezebel. She calls herself a prophet. With her teaching, she has led my servants into sexual sin. She has tricked them into eating food offered to statues of gods. ²¹ I’ve given her time to turn away from her sinful ways. But she doesn’t want to. ²² She lay down to commit her sin so I will make her lie down in suffering. Those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly too. Their only way out is to turn away from what she taught them to do. ²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I search hearts and minds. I will pay each of you back for what you have done.

²⁴ ‘I won’t ask the rest of you in Thyatira to do anything else. You don’t follow the teaching of Jezebel. You haven’t learned what some people call Satan’s deep secrets. ²⁵ Just hold on to what you have until I come.

²⁶ ‘Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will do it for anyone who carries out my plans to the end. I will give that person authority over the nations. ²⁷ It is written, “They will rule them with an iron scepter. They will break them to pieces like clay pots.” (Psalm 2:9) Their authority is like the authority I’ve received from my Father. ²⁸ I will also give the morning star to all who have victory. ²⁹ Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.’

The Letter to the Church in Sardis

3 “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Sardis.

Here are the words of Jesus, who holds the seven spirits of God. He has the seven stars in his hand. He says,

‘I know what you are doing. People think you are alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up! Strengthen what is left, or it will die. You have not done all that my God wants you to do. ³ So remember what you have been taught and have heard. Hold firmly to it. Turn away from your sins. If you don’t wake up, I will come like a thief. You won’t know when I will come to you.

⁴ ‘But you have a few people in Sardis who are pure. They aren’t covered with evil like dirty clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, because they are worthy. ⁵ Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will dress that person in white like those worthy people. I will never erase their names from the book of life. I will speak of them by name to my Father and his angels. ⁶ Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.’

The Letter to the Church in Philadelphia

⁷ “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Philadelphia.

Here are the words of Jesus, who is holy and true. He holds the key of David. No one can shut what he opens. And no one can open what he shuts. He says,

⁸ ‘I know what you are doing. Look! I have put an open door in front of you. No one can shut it. I know that you don’t have much strength. But you have obeyed my word. You have not said no to me. ⁹ Some people claim they are Jews but are not. They are liars. Their worship comes from Satan. I will make them come and fall down at your feet. I will make them say in public that I have loved you. ¹⁰ You have kept my command to remain strong in the faith no matter what happens. So I will keep you from the time of suffering. That time is going to come to the whole world. It will test those who live on the earth.

¹¹ ‘I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have. Then no one will take away your crown. ¹² Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will make that person a pillar in the temple of my God. They will never leave it again. I will write the name of my God on them. I will write the name of the city of my God on them. This is the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God. I will also write my new name on them. ¹³ Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.’

The Letter to the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴ “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Laodicea.

Here are the words of Jesus, who is the Amen. What he speaks is faithful and true. He rules over what God has created. He says,

¹⁵ ‘I know what you are doing. I know you aren’t cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ But you are lukewarm. You aren’t hot or cold. So I am going to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, “I am rich. I’ve become wealthy and don’t need anything.” But you don’t realize how pitiful and miserable you have become. You are poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ So here’s my advice. Buy from me gold made pure by fire. Then you will become rich. Buy from me white clothes to wear. Then you will be able to cover the shame of your naked bodies. And buy from me healing lotion to put on your eyes. Then you will be able to see.

¹⁹ ‘I warn and correct those I love. So be sincere, and turn away from your sins. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in. I will eat with that person, and they will eat with me.

²¹ ‘Here is what I will do for anyone who has victory over sin. I will give that person the right to sit with me on my throne. In the same way, I had victory. Then I sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears should listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.’ ”

The Throne in Heaven

4 After this I looked, and there in front of me was a door standing open in heaven. I heard the voice I had heard before. It sounded like a trumpet. The voice said, “Come up here. I will show you what must happen after this.” ² At once the Holy Spirit gave me a vision. There in front of me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. ³ The one who sat there shone like jasper and ruby. Around the throne was a rainbow shining like an emerald. ⁴ Twenty-four other thrones surrounded that throne. Twenty-four elders were sitting on them. The elders were dressed in white. They had gold crowns on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and thunder. Seven lamps were blazing in front of the throne. These stand for the seven spirits of God. ⁶ There was something that looked like a sea of glass in front of the throne. It was as clear as crystal.

In the inner circle, around the throne, were four living creatures. They were covered with eyes, in front and in back. ⁷ The first creature looked like a lion. The second looked like an ox. The third had a man’s face. The fourth looked like a flying eagle. ⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings. Each creature was covered all over with eyes. It had eyes even under its wings. Day and night, they never stop saying,

⁹ The living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne. He lives for ever and ever. ¹⁰ At the same time, the 24 elders fall down and worship the one who sits on the throne. He lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns in front of the throne. They say,

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides. It was sealed with seven seals. ² I saw a mighty angel calling out in a loud voice. He said, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll. No one could even look inside it. ⁴ I cried and cried. That’s because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not cry! The Lion of the tribe of Judah has won the battle. He is the Root of David. He is able to break the seven seals and open the scroll.”

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if he had been put to death. He stood at the center of the area around the throne. The Lamb was surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes. The eyes stand for the seven spirits of God, which are sent out into all the earth. ⁷ The Lamb went and took the scroll. He took it from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. ⁸ Then the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down in front of the Lamb. Each one had a harp. They were holding golden bowls full of incense. They stand for the prayers of God’s people. ⁹ Here is the new song they sang.

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of millions and millions of angels. They surrounded the throne. They surrounded the living creatures and the elders. ¹² In a loud voice they were saying,

¹³ All creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and on the sea were speaking. The whole creation was speaking. I heard all of them say,

¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.