1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, [BL]
2 who gives witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw.
3 Blessed is the one [4] who reads aloud and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near. [BM]
4 John, to the seven churches in Asia: [6] grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, [BN]
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us [7] from our sins by his blood, [BO]
6 who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever [and ever]. Amen. [BP]
7 Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen. [BQ]
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," [8] says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."[BR]
9 [9]I, John, your brother, who share with you the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus, found myself on the island called Patmos [10] because I proclaimed God's word and gave testimony to Jesus.
10 I was caught up in spirit on the Lord's day [11] and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet,
11 which said, "Write on a scroll [12] what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."
12 [13] Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands
13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, [14] wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest. [BS]
14 The hair of his head was as white as white wool or as snow, [15] and his eyes were like a fiery flame.
15 His feet were like polished brass refined in a furnace, [16] and his voice was like the sound of rushing water.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars. [17] A sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth, and his face shone like the sun at its brightest. [BT]
17 When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. [18] He touched me with his right hand and said, "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last,[BU]
18 the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld. [19]
19 Write down, therefore, what you have seen, and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards. [20]
20 This is the secret meaning [21] of the seven stars you saw in my right hand, and of the seven gold lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.