^17-18 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead; but he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! Though I am the First and Last, the Living One who died, who is now alive forevermore, who has the keys of hell and death—don’t be afraid! ¹⁹ Write down what you have just seen and what will soon be shown to you. ²⁰ This is the meaning of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks: The seven stars are the leaders^[a] of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks are the churches themselves.