1:4 From John, 8 to the seven churches that are in the province of Asia: 9 Grace and peace to you 10 from “he who is,” 11 and who was, and who is still to come, 12 and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 1:5 and from Jesus Christ – the faithful 13 witness, 14 the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free 15 from our sins at the cost of 16 his own blood 1:6 and has appointed 17 us as a kingdom, 18 as priests 19 serving his God and Father – to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever! 20 Amen.
1:7 (Look! He is returning with the clouds, 21
and every eye will see him,
even 22 those who pierced him, 23
and all the tribes 24 on the earth will mourn because 25 of him.
This will certainly come to pass! 26 Amen.) 27
1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” 28 says the Lord God – the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come – the All-Powerful! 29
1:9 I, John, your brother and the one who shares 30 with you in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance that 31 are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus. 32 1:10 I was in the Spirit 33 on the Lord’s Day 34 when 35 I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 1:11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches – to Ephesus, 36 Smyrna, 37 Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
1:12 I 38 turned to see whose voice was speaking to me, 39 and when I did so, 40 I saw seven golden lampstands, 1:13 and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man. 41 He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt 42 around his chest. 1:14 His 43 head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow, 44 and his eyes were like a fiery 45 flame. 1:15 His feet were like polished bronze 46 refined 47 in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar 48 of many waters. 1:16 He held 49 seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His 50 face shone like the sun shining at full strength. 1:17 When 51 I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but 52 he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, 1:18 and the one who lives! I 53 was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades! 54 1:19 Therefore write what you saw, what is, and what will be after these things. 55 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: 56 The seven stars are the angels 57 of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.