Prologue

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God ^(A)gave him ^(B)to show to his servants^[a] the things that must soon take place. ^(C)He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ^2 (D)who bore witness to the word of God and to ^(E)the testimony of Jesus Christ, even ^(F)to all that he saw. ^3 (G)Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, ^(H)for the time is near.

Greeting to the Seven Churches

⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from ^(I)him ^(J)who is and ^(K)who was and who is to come, and from ^(L)the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ ^(M)the faithful witness, ^(N)the firstborn of the dead, and ^(O)the ruler of kings on earth.

To ^(P)him who loves us and ^(Q)has freed us from our sins by his blood ⁶ and made us ^(R)a kingdom, ^(S)priests to ^(T)his God and Father, to him be ^(U)glory and ^(V)dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷ Behold, ^(W)he is coming with the clouds, and ^(X)every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail^[b] on account of him. Even so. Amen.

^8 (Y)“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, ^(Z)“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Vision of the Son of Man

⁹ I, John, your brother and ^(AA)partner in ^(AB)the tribulation and ^(AC)the kingdom and ^(AD)the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(AE)on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ^10 (AF)I was in the Spirit ^(AG)on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(AH)like a trumpet ¹¹ saying, ^(AI)“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw ^(AJ)seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and in the midst of the lampstands ^(AK)one like ^(AL)a son of man, ^(AM)clothed with a long robe and ^(AN)with a golden sash around his chest. ^14 (AO)The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. ^(AP)His eyes were like a flame of fire, ^15 (AQ)his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and ^(AR)his voice was like the roar of many waters. ^16 (AS)In his right hand he held seven stars, ^(AT)from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and ^(AU)his face was like the sun shining ^(AV)in full strength.

^17 (AW)When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But ^(AX)he laid his right hand on me, ^(AY)saying, “Fear not, ^(AZ)I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living one. ^(BA)I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and ^(BB)I have the keys of Death and Hades. ^19 (BC)Write therefore ^(BD)the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. ²⁰ As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and ^(BE)the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and ^(BF)the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

To the Church in Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of ^(BG)him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, ^(BH)who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

^2 (BI)“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but ^(BJ)have tested those ^(BK)who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³ I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up ^(BL)for my name's sake, and you ^(BM)have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned ^(BN)the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do ^(BO)the works you did at first. If not, ^(BP)I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶ Yet this you have: you hate the works of ^(BQ)the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ^7 (BR)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(BS)To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of ^(BT)the tree of life, which is in ^(BU)the paradise of God.’

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of ^(BV)the first and the last, ^(BW)who died and came to life.

⁹ “‘I know your tribulation and ^(BX)your poverty (^(BY)but you are rich) and the slander^[c] of ^(BZ)those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, ^(CA)that you may be tested, and for ^(CB)ten days ^(CC)you will have tribulation. ^(CD)Be faithful ^(CE)unto death, and I will give you ^(CF)the crown of life. ^11 (CG)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(CH)The one who conquers will not be hurt by ^(CI)the second death.’

To the Church in Pergamum

¹² “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has ^(CJ)the sharp two-edged sword.

¹³ “‘I know where you dwell, ^(CK)where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not ^(CL)deny my faith^[d] even in the days of Antipas ^(CM)my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of ^(CN)Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might ^(CO)eat food sacrificed to idols and ^(CP)practice sexual immorality. ¹⁵ So also you have some who hold the teaching of ^(CQ)the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore repent. If not, ^(CR)I will come to you soon and ^(CS)war against them with ^(CT)the sword of my mouth. ^17 (CU)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(CV)To the one who conquers I will give some of ^(CW)the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with ^(CX)a new name written on the stone ^(CY)that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

To the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, ^(CZ)who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

^19 (DA)“‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. ²⁰ But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman ^(DB)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants ^(DC)to practice sexual immorality and ^(DD)to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I gave her time to repent, but ^(DE)she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. ²² Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, ²³ and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he ^(DF)who searches mind and heart, and ^(DG)I will give to each of you according to your works. ²⁴ But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call ^(DH)the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I ^(DI)do not lay on you any other burden. ²⁵ Only hold fast ^(DJ)what you have until I come. ^26 (DK)The one who conquers and who keeps my works ^(DL)until the end, ^(DM)to him I will give authority over the nations, ²⁷ and ^(DN)he will ^(DO)rule^[e] them with a rod of iron, ^(DP)as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. ²⁸ And I will give him ^(DQ)the morning star. ^29 (DR)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’