Chronological

John's message

1 This book describes the things that God showed to Jesus Christ. He wanted Jesus to show these things to his own servants. They are events that must happen soon. Jesus sent his angel to show them to me, his servant John.

² I, John, have written about everything that God showed me. These things are a true message from God. They are the things that Jesus Christ says are true. ³ If anyone reads aloud the words of this prophecy, God will bless that person. God will also bless the people who listen to these words, if they continue to obey them. The things that are written here will soon happen.

John writes to the seven churches

⁴ I am John. I am writing to the seven churches that are in the region of Asia. I pray that God will be very kind to you. I pray that he will give you peace in your minds. God is alive now. He has always been alive. He will continue to be alive for ever.

God will help you, and the seven spirits that are in front of his throne will help you.^[a]

⁵ Jesus Christ will also help you. He always speaks a true message. He is the first person who became alive again after death.^[b] He rules the kings of the earth.

Jesus loves us and he died for us. That is how he made us free. Because of Jesus, God will not punish us for the bad things that we have done. ⁶ Jesus has brought us into his family, so that we belong to God's kingdom. He has made us priests, so that we serve his God and Father.

So we praise Jesus Christ! He will always be very great! He has power for all time. Amen. This is true!

⁸ The Lord God says, ‘I caused all things to begin and I will cause the end of all things. I have all power and authority. I am alive. I have always been alive. I will continue to be alive for ever.’

Jesus appears to John

⁹ I am John. I am a believer, as you are. I am like your brother and your friend. Because we belong to Jesus' kingdom, we are having trouble and pain. So we all need to be strong and patient, as Jesus helps us. The Roman leaders punished me because I taught God's message. I told people the true message about Jesus. That is why they sent me to Patmos island.^[d]

¹⁰ On the Lord's day, God's Spirit caused me to see and to hear things.^[e] I heard a voice speak behind me. The sound was as loud as a trumpet. ¹¹ The voice said: ‘When you see these things, write them in a book. Then you must send the book to the seven churches in these cities:

¹² I turned round to see who was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands with their lights. ¹³ In the middle of the lights, I saw someone like a son of man.^[f] He was wearing long clothes that reached down to his feet. He wore a gold belt around the top part of his body. ¹⁴ His head and his hair were white like sheep's hair. They were very white, like snow. His eyes were like fires that were burning brightly. ¹⁵ His feet shone like a metal that shines brightly in a very hot fire. When he spoke, his voice was very loud. It was like the sound of water that pours along a river very quickly. ¹⁶ He held seven stars in his right hand. A sword with two sharp edges came out of his mouth. His face was like the sun when it shines very brightly.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead person. Then he put his right hand on me, and he said to me, ‘Do not be afraid! I am the one who is the first and also the last. ¹⁸ I am the one who always lives. I died once. But look! Now I am alive and I will be alive for ever. I have authority over death and over Hades, the place for dead people.^{[g] 19} So write down the things that you have seen. Write about what you see that is happening now. Also write about the things that will happen later.

²⁰ You saw seven stars that I held in my right hand. You saw seven lights in their gold lampstands. Now I will tell you what they mean. The seven stars show what the angels of the seven churches are like.^[h] The seven lights in their lampstands show what the seven churches themselves are like.’

Jesus' message to the believers at Ephesus

2 ‘Now write this to the angel of the church at Ephesus:^[i]

“This is the message to you from the one who holds the seven stars. He holds them carefully in his right hand. He walks among the seven gold lampstands.

² I know everything that you do. You have worked much for me. You have continued to work patiently. I know that you do not accept bad people as your friends. Some of these bad people say that they are apostles of Jesus. You have thought carefully about what they teach people. And you have discovered that it is not true. ³ You have been patient and strong in times of trouble. You have continued to serve me because you believe in me. You have not stopped when you become tired.

⁴ But I have something to say against you. You loved me very much when you first believed in me. You do not love me as much now. ⁵ Think carefully about this! You do not now live in the way you did at the beginning. So you must change the way you live. Do again the good things that you did at the beginning. If you do not change the way you live, I will come to punish you. I will take away your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But this is something that you do well: you hate the bad things that the Nicolaitans are doing. I also hate what they do.^[j]

⁷ God's Spirit is now speaking to people in the churches. You should recognize that the Spirit is speaking. Everyone who knows that should listen to what he says. I will let everyone who wins against Satan eat my fruit. This fruit is from the tree that makes us alive. And this tree grows in God's garden.” ’^[k]

Jesus' message to the believers at Smyrna

⁸ ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Smyrna:

“This is the message to you from the one who is the first and the last. He was dead, but he became alive again.

⁹ I know that bad people are making you suffer. I also know that you are poor. But really, you are rich. Some people say that they are Jews, but they tell lies about you. So they cannot be my true people. Instead, they belong to a group of Satan's people. ¹⁰ I know that trouble will soon come to you. But do not be afraid. Listen! The Devil will cause some of you to go to prison. He wants to see whether you will continue to believe in me. As a result, you will suffer for ten days.^[l] But continue to trust me, even if you die. Then you will win against the Devil. I will give you a gift, as they give a crown to the winner of a race.^[m] You will have life with me for ever.

¹¹ God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully! The second death will not hurt anyone who wins against Satan.” ’^[n]

Jesus' message to the believers at Pergamum

¹² ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Pergamum:

“This is the message to you from the one who has the sharp sword with two edges.

¹³ I know where you live. It is the place where Satan sits as king.^[o] But you still continue to trust me. You remember Antipas who spoke a clear message about me. Because of that, some people in your city killed him. You saw what happened to him, but you continued to believe in me. You still serve me, even there where Satan lives.^[p]

¹⁴ But I have a few things to say against you. Some people among you agree with what Balaam taught long ago. He taught Balak to do a bad thing against God's people.^[q] Balak caused the Israelite people to do wrong things. As a result, they ate food that people had given to idols. They also had sex with people who were not their husbands or wives. ¹⁵ Also, some people among you do the bad things that the Nicolaitans teach. ¹⁶ So you must stop doing these bad things. If you do not change how you live, I will quickly come to punish you. I will fight against those bad people with my sharp sword that comes out of my mouth.

¹⁷ God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully! To everyone who wins against Satan I will give some of my special food called manna. I will also give each of them a white stone.^[r] I will write a new name on that stone. Nobody will know that name except the person who receives it.” ’

Jesus' message to the believers at Thyatira

¹⁸ ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Thyatira:

“This is the message to you from the Son of God. He has eyes that burn brightly like flames of fire. His feet shine like bright metal.

¹⁹ I know everything that you do. I know that you have great love. I know that you believe in me. I know that you continue to serve me well. You are patient and strong. You do these good things now more than you did at the beginning.

²⁰ But I have something to say against you. You let that woman Jezebel teach you. She says that she is a prophet from God. But she leads my servants into bad ways. She teaches them to have sex with many people.^[s] And she teaches them to eat food that people have given to idols. ²¹ I have given her time to stop doing these bad things. But she refuses to change how she lives. She does not stop having sex with other men. ²² Listen to this! I will cause her to suffer on her bed, so that she cannot get up. Those who join her in her sins will also suffer very much, unless they change the way they live. ²³ I will send a terrible illness to kill those who obey her. Then all the people in the churches will know that I look deep inside them. I know what you really want. I know what you really think. I will give each of you what is right for you, as a result of what you have done.

²⁴ But I say this to you other people in Thyatira. You have not agreed with what Jezebel taught. You have not learned what they call ‘Satan's deep secrets’. So I say this to you: I will not tell you to obey any other difficult rules. ²⁵ But continue to obey my message that you have already received. Believe in me until I come.

²⁶ Continue to obey me until the end and win the fight against Satan. If anyone does that, I will give him authority to rule over the nations of the world. ²⁷ That person will rule the nations with strong authority. He will destroy them, like someone who breaks clay pots into many pieces.^{[t] 28} He will have the same authority that I received from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.^{[u] 29} God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’

Jesus' message to the believers at Sardis

3 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Sardis:

“This is the message to you from the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

I know everything that you do. I know that people praise you. They think that you are alive. But that is not true, because really you are dead in your spirits. ² Wake up! You must become strong again. Do not let the little bit of life that you have completely disappear! I know that there are still more things for you to do to please my Father God. ³ So remember God's message that you have heard. Obey what God has said. Turn away from the wrong things that you do. Change the way that you live. If you do not wake up, I will come to punish you. I will come secretly, like someone who robs people. So you will not know what time I will come to you.

⁴ But you have a few people among you in Sardis who have not done these bad things. They are like people who have kept their clothes clean. They will walk with me and they will wear white clothes. They are good people and it is right for them to wear these white clothes. ⁵ Everyone who wins against Satan will wear white clothes like they do. I will never remove their names from God's book of life.^[v] I will say clearly to my Father and his angels that those people belong to me. ⁶ God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’

Jesus' message to the believers at Philadelphia

⁷ ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Philadelphia:

“This is my message to you. I am the one who is completely good, the true God. I have King David's key in my hand.^[w] When I open a door, nobody can shut it. And when I shut a door, nobody can open it.

⁸ I know everything that you do. Look! I have opened a door that is in front of you. Nobody can shut that door. I know that you are not very strong. But you have obeyed what I told you. You have continued to believe in me. ⁹ Some people there say that they are Jews. But that is not true. They are telling lies. Instead, they belong to a group of Satan's people. I will cause those people to bend down low in front of you to give you honour. Then they will understand that I love you. ¹⁰ I have told you to be patient in this difficult time. You have obeyed what I told you. Because of that, I will keep you safe from the time of great trouble that will come. This trouble will come to everyone who lives in the world. It will show me what each person is really like.

¹¹ I will come soon.^[x] Continue to obey my message that you already know. Then nobody can take away your crown which is God's gift to you.^[y]

¹² Everyone who wins against Satan will be safe in God's house. I will make them like a strong pillar in the temple of my God. They will never leave that place again. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of his city. The name of that city is the new Jerusalem.^[z] It will come down from heaven. My God will send it down to the earth. I will also write my new name on those people. ¹³ God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’

Jesus' message to the believers at Laodicea

¹⁴ ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Laodicea:

“This is my message to you. I am the one whose name is ‘Amen’.^[aa] I faithfully tell people God's true message. Everything that God has created starts with me.

¹⁵ I know everything that you do. I know that you are neither cold nor hot. It would be better if you were either cold or hot. ¹⁶ But you are only warm. Because you are neither cold nor hot, I am ready to throw you away completely.^[ab]

¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich. God has helped me to have many things. I do not need anything more.’ But you do not know how very poor you are really! You are like people who cannot see. You are like people who are without clothes. Really, other people should feel very sorry for you. ¹⁸ So I tell you that you should buy gold from me. With my gold, you would be really rich. My gold is the best, because it has been through fire. You should also buy white clothes from me to dress yourselves. Then you will not be ashamed because you have no clothes. You should also buy medicine from me to put on your eyes. Then you will be able to see well.^[ac]

¹⁹ I help everyone that I love. When they have done wrong things, I tell them, ‘You have done a wrong thing.’ I show them the right thing that they should do. So be serious about how you live. Stop doing wrong things and turn to me. ²⁰ Look! I am standing at the door of your house. I am knocking on your door. When you hear my voice, you should open the door. Then I will come in. We will eat a meal together as friends.

²¹ Everyone who wins against Satan will come to sit with me on my throne where I rule. I won against my enemies. Then I sat down with my Father on his throne. I will give you the same authority. ²² God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’

God on his throne

4 After this, I looked. There in front of me was an open door in heaven. I heard the same voice that I had heard before. It spoke like the sound of a trumpet. It said to me, ‘Come up here. I will show you the things that must happen after this.’

² Immediately God's Spirit caused me to see and to hear more things. I saw a throne in heaven, with someone sitting on it. ³ The person who sat there shone with bright red and white light, like jewels called jasper and ruby. Around the throne there was a rainbow that shone with bright green light like an emerald jewel. ⁴ All around the throne there were 24 other thrones. 24 leaders were sitting on these thrones. They were wearing white clothes and they had gold crowns on their heads. ⁵ A storm with bright lightning came from the throne. There was the loud noise of thunder. In front of the throne there were seven lights of fire burning brightly. These lights are the seven spirits of God.^{[ad] 6} Also in front of the throne there was something like a sea of glass that shone with light.

In the middle, round the throne, there were four other beings that were alive. They had eyes all over them, on their fronts and on their backs. ⁷ The first of these beings was like a lion. The second being was like an ox. The third being had a face like a man's face. And the fourth being was like an eagle that was flying. ⁸ Each of these four beings had six wings. They had eyes all over them, even under their wings. All day and all night they never stop saying:

⁹ God sits on the throne and he is alive for ever. The four beings that are alive worship him and they thank him. ¹⁰ When they do this, the 24 leaders bend down to the ground. They also worship the Lord God, who sits on the throne and is alive for ever. They put their crowns in front of God's throne, and they praise him. They say:

The book and the Lamb

5 Then I looked at the one who was sitting on the throne. I saw that he held a book in his right hand.^[ae] Words were written on both sides, the inside and the outside. Seven seals kept the book closed. ² Then I saw a powerful angel. He said with a loud voice, ‘Who is so good that they can break the seals? Who can open the book?’ ³ But nobody in heaven could open the book and look inside it. Neither could anyone on the earth or anyone under the earth open it.^[af]

⁴ I wept much because there was nobody who was good enough. Nobody was so good that they could open the book. Nobody could look inside it. ⁵ Then one of the leaders said to me, ‘Do not weep! Look! There is someone who can break the seven seals and then open the book. His name is the Lion from Judah's tribe. He is called the Root of King David. He has won over all his enemies.’^[ag]

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb. He was standing in the middle of the throne. The four beings that are alive and the leaders were around him. The Lamb appeared to be like a lamb that someone had killed. He had seven horns and seven eyes. His eyes are the seven spirits of God, that God has sent into all parts of the world. ⁷ The Lamb came and he took the book. He took it from the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. ⁸ When he had taken the book, the four beings and the 24 leaders fell down to the ground in front of the Lamb. They worshipped him. Each leader had a harp to make music. They were also holding gold bowls which were full of incense. That nice smell shows what it is like when God's people pray to him. ⁹ The beings that are alive and the leaders sang a new song. They sang:

¹¹ Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of many angels. There were thousands and millions of them. They were standing around the throne, with the beings that are alive and the leaders. ¹² They all sang with loud voices:

¹³ Then I heard everything that is alive singing. That was everything in heaven and everything on the earth, and everything under the earth and everything in the sea. They were singing:

¹⁴ The four beings that are alive agreed. They said, ‘Yes, this is true.’ The leaders fell down and they worshipped God and the Lamb.^[ah]