1Jesus Christ's revelation, which God gave Him to show to His slaves ⁰—things that must occur shortly. ¹And He communicated it, sending it by His angel to His slave John,

2who gave witness to the word of God, even the testimony of Jesus Christ ²—the things that He saw, ³both things that are and those that must happen after these.

3Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it; ⁴because the time is near.

4John, to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace and peace to you from ⁵Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the sevenfold ⁶Spirit who is before His throne,

5and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, ⁷the firstborn from among the dead, ⁸and the ruler of the kings of the earth. ⁹To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins with His own blood

6—indeed, He made us a kingdom, priests ¹⁰to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

7Take note, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him. ¹¹And all the tribes of the earth will beat their breasts [in dismay] because of Him. Yea, verily! ¹²

8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” ¹³says the Lord God, “He who is and who was and who is coming, The Almighty.” ¹⁴

9I, John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance ¹⁵in Christ Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the Word of God and on account of the testimony of Jesus Christ. ¹⁶

10I was in spirit ¹⁷on the Lord's day and I heard a voice behind me, loud as a trumpet,

11saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

12And there I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. ¹⁸And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

13and in the midst of the seven lampstands one similar to a son of man, ¹⁹clothed down to the feet and girded at the nipples ²⁰with a golden belt.

14Now His head, that is His hair, was white, like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire;

15and His feet were like fine brass, as when refined in a furnace; and His voice was like the sound of many waters; ²¹

16and He had seven stars on His right hand and a sharp two-edged sword coming out of His mouth; and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. ²²

17And when I saw Him I fell at His feet as if dead. And He placed His right hand ²³upon me saying: “Do not fear. I am the First and the Last,

18even the Living One—I became dead, to be sure, and now I am living for ever and ever! Oh yes!! And I have the keys of Death and of Hades! ²⁴

19Therefore ²⁵write the things that you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that are going to occur after these. ²⁶

20The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the messengers ²⁷of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands that you saw are seven churches.