1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show his servants the things that must come to pass shortly; and he made it known by sending it through his angel to his servant John,
2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and to whatever he saw.
3 Blessed is he who reads, and they who hear the words of the prophecy and observe what is written in it; for the time is near.
4 John, to the seven churches in Asia: grace be to you, and peace, from the One who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven spirits that are in front of his throne,
5 and from Jesus Christ, the witness who is faithful, the firstborn from among the dead, and the ruler of the earth's kings. To the one who loved us and in his own blood washed us from our sins,
6 and made us kings and priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.
7 See, he is coming with the clouds! Every eye will see him, and those as well who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will beat their breasts over him. Yes, amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end," says the Lord, "the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty."
9 I, John, who am also your brother and a sharer with you in the tribulation, in the kingdom, and in the patient endurance of Jesus Christ, was on the island called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10 On the Lord's day I came to be in the Spirit, and behind me I heard a great voice, like that of a trumpet,
11 which said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last," and, "What you see, write it in a book, and send it to the seven churches in Asia—to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."
12 And I turned to see the voice that was talking with me; and when I had turned, I saw seven lampstands of gold,
13 and in the middle of the seven lampstands one like a son of man, wearing a robe that reached to his feet, and with a golden sash tied around his chest.
14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame;
15 his feet resembled polished bronze, as if they had been fired in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters.
16 He had seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword came out of his mouth, and his appearance was as the sun when it shines in its might.
17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like one dead. Then he put his right hand on me and said to me, "Do not fear. I am the first and the last,
18 and the one who lives. I was dead, and see, I am living forever and ever. Amen. And I hold the keys of Hades and of death.
19 Write down what you saw, and what is, and what is going to happen after these things.
20 Here is the mystery of the seven stars you saw on my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands you saw are the seven churches."