I. Prologue*

1The 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,a 2who gives witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw. 3Blessed 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.b

II. Letters to the Churches of Asia

Greeting.* 4John, 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,c 5and 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,d 6who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever [and ever]. Amen.e

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.”g

The First Vision.* 9I, 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. 10I was caught up in spirit on the Lord’s day* and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet, 11which 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 13and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man,* wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest.h 14The hair of his head was as white as white wool or as snow,* and his eyes were like a fiery flame. 15His feet were like polished brass refined in a furnace,* and his voice was like the sound of rushing water. 16In 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.i

17When 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,j 18the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.* 19Write down, therefore, what you have seen, and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards.* 20This 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.