1 This is the[1] revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries], which God [the Father] gave to Him to show to His bond-servants (believers) the things which must soon take place [in their entirety]; and He sent and communicated it by His angel (divine messenger) to His bond-servant John,
2 who testified and gave supporting evidence to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to everything that he saw [in his visions].
3 [2] Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and who keep the things which are written in it [heeding them and taking them to heart]; for the time [of fulfillment] is near.
4 [3] John, to the seven churches that are in [the province of][4] Asia:[5] Grace [be granted] to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being], from Him Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, and from[6] the seven Spirits that are before His throne,
5 and from Jesus Christ, the[7] faithful and trustworthy Witness, the[8] Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who [always] loves us and who [has once for all][9] freed us [or washed us] from our sins by His own blood (His sacrificial death)—
6 and formed us into a kingdom [as His subjects],[10] priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes (nations) of the earth will mourn over Him [realizing their sin and guilt, and anticipating the coming wrath].[11] So it is to be. Amen.
8 "I am the[12] Alpha and the Omega [the Beginning and the End]," says the Lord God, "Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all]."
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the[13] tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, [exiled there] because of [my preaching of] the word of God [regarding eternal salvation] and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10 I was in the[14] Spirit [in special communication with the Holy Spirit and empowered to receive and record the revelation from Jesus Christ] on the[15] Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,
11 saying, "Write on a scroll what you see [in this revelation], and send it to the[16] 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 with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands;
13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw someone[17] like the Son of Man, dressed in a robe reaching to His feet, and with a golden sash wrapped around His chest.
14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, [glistening white] like snow; and His [all-seeing] eyes were [flashing] like a flame of fire [piercing into my being].
15 His feet were like burnished [white-hot] bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was [powerful] like the sound of many waters.
16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword [of judgment]; and His face [reflecting His majesty and the[18] Shekinah glory] was like the sun shining in [all] its power [at midday].
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. And He placed His right hand on me and said, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last [absolute Deity, the Son of God],
18 and the Ever-living One [living in and beyond all time and space]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of [absolute control and victory over] death and of Hades (the realm of the dead).
19 So write the things[19] which you have seen [in the vision], and the things[20] which are [now happening], and the things[21] which will take place after these things.
20 As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels ([22] divine messengers) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.