1This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must happen soon. Christ sent his angel to make it known to his servant John,
2who faithfully reported God’s word and the testimony of Jesus Christ—everything he saw.
3Blessed is the person who reads this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
4John, to the seven churches in Asia: May you have grace and peace from God, who is, who was, and who is coming; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne;
5and from Jesus Christ, the trustworthy witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood;
6and who made us a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
7Look! He is coming with the clouds, and everyone will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. Yes, amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”
9I, John, your brother and partner in the suffering, the Kingdom, and the patient endurance that are ours in Christ Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony of Jesus.
10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard a loud voice behind me, like a trumpet,
11which said, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12Then I turned around to see who was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
13and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
15His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
16He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp, two-edged sword came out of his mouth. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
18I am the Living One. I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
19Therefore, write down what you have seen, what is now, and what will happen in the future.
20Here is the secret meaning of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches themselves.