1 Prologue The revelation of Or Revelation of, or A revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what 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 Or witness of Jesus Christ, whatever he saw. Or as many as he saw 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep Or follow, or obey what is written in it, because the time is near.4 John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace to you from Other mss add God the one who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits Or the sevenfold Spirit before his throne,5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has set us free Other mss read has washed us from our sins by his blood,6 and made us a kingdom, Other mss read kings and priests Or made us into (or to be) a kingdom of priests ; Ex 19:6 to his God and Father — to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. And all the tribes Or peoples of the earth will mourn over him. Or will wail because of him So it is to be. Amen.8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”9 John’s Vision of the Risen Lord I, John, your brother and partner in the affliction, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.10 I was in the Spirit Or in spirit ; lit I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet11 saying, “Write on a scroll Or book what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,13 and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man, Or like a son of man dressed in a robe and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest.14 The hair of his head was white as wool — white as snow — and his eyes like a fiery flame.15 His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of cascading Lit many waters.16 He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face was shining like the sun at full strength.17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last,18 and the Living One. I was dead, but look — I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.19 Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this.20 The mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels Or messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.