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,

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 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.

4 John, to the seven churches in Asia: 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,

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 from our sins by his blood,

6 who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever (and ever). Amen.

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.

8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."

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 because I proclaimed God's word and gave testimony to Jesus.

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

11 which said, "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."

12 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, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest.

14 The hair of his head was as white as white wool or as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame.

15 His feet were like polished brass refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing water.

16 In his right hand he held seven stars. A sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth, and his face shone like the sun at its brightest.

17 When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. He touched me with his right hand and said, "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last,

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 Write down, therefore, what you have seen, and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards.

20 This is the secret meaning 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.