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The Revelation of Jesus Christ

¹ This is the ^(F1)revelation of Jesus Christ His unveiling of the divine mysteries, which ^(C1)God the Father gave to Him to ^(C2)show to His bond-servants (believers) ^(C3)the things which must soon take place in their entirety; and He sent and communicated it ^(C4)by His angel (divine messenger) to His bond-servant ^(C5)John,² who testified and gave supporting evidence to ^(C1)the word of God and to ^(C2)the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to everything that he saw in his visions.^3 (F1)(C1)Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and who keep the things which are written in it heeding them and taking them to heart; ^(C2)for the time of fulfillment is near.

Message to the Seven Churches

^4 (F1)(C1)John, to ^(C2)the seven churches that are in the province of ^(F2)(C3)Asia: ^{Heb <i>shalom</i>} to you" and modifies it by adding <i>grace,</i> without which no one could obtain peace with God.">(F3)^(C4)Grace be granted to you and peace inner calm and spiritual well-being, from ^(C5)Him Who is existing forever and Who was continually existing in the past and Who is to come, and from ^(F4)(C6)the seven Spirits that are before His throne, ^(VR1)5 and from Jesus Christ, ^(C1)the ^(F1)faithful and trustworthy Witness, the ^(F2)(C2)Firstborn of the dead, and the ^(C3)Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who always ^(C4)loves us and who has once for all ^(F3)freed us or washed us from our sins by His own blood (His sacrificial death)— ^(VR1)6 and formed us into a ^(C1)kingdom as His subjects, ^(F1)(C1)priests to ^(C2)His God and Father—^(C3)to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ^(VR1)7 (C1)BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and ^(C2)every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes (nations) of the earth will ^(C3)mourn over Him realizing their sin and guilt, and anticipating the coming wrath. ^(F1)So it is to be. Amen. ^(VR1)

⁸ "I am ^(C1)the ^(F1)Alpha and the Omega the Beginning and the End," says the ^(C2)Lord God, "^(C3)Who is existing forever and Who was continually existing in the past and Who is to come, the Almighty the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all." ^(VR1)

The Patmos Vision

^9 (C1)I, John, your ^(C2)brother and ^(C3)companion in the ^(F1)tribulation and ^(C4)kingdom and patient ^(C5)endurance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, exiled there ^(C6)because of my preaching of the word of God regarding eternal salvation and the testimony of Jesus Christ.¹⁰ I was ^(C1)in the ^(F1)Spirit in special communication with the Holy Spirit and empowered to receive and record the revelation from Jesus Christ on ^(C2)the ^(F2)Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(C3)like the sound of a trumpet,¹¹ saying, "^(C1)Write on a scroll what you see in this revelation, and send it to the ^(F1)(C2)seven churches—to ^(C3)Ephesus and to ^(C4)Smyrna and to ^(C5)Pergamum and to ^(C6)Thyatira and to ^(C7)Sardis and to ^(C8)Philadelphia and to ^(C9)Laodicea."

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw ^(C1)seven golden lampstands;¹³ and ^(C1)in the midst of the lampstands I saw someone ^(F1)(C2)like the Son of Man, ^(C3)dressed in a robe reaching to His feet, and with a golden sash ^(C4)wrapped around His chest. ^(VR1)14 His head and His ^(C1)hair were white like white wool, glistening white like snow; and ^(C2)His all-seeing eyes were flashing like a flame of fire piercing into my being. ^(VR1)15 His ^(C1)feet were like burnished white-hot bronze, refined in a furnace, and His ^(C2)voice was powerful like the sound of many waters. ^(VR1)16 In His right hand He held ^(C1)seven stars, and from His mouth came a ^(C2)sharp two-edged sword of judgment; and His ^(C3)face reflecting His majesty and the ^(F1)Shekinah glory was like ^(C4)the sun shining in all its power at midday. ^(VR1)

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I ^(C1)fell at His feet as though dead. And He ^(C2)placed His right hand on me and said, "^(C3)Do not be afraid; ^(C4)I am the First and the Last absolute Deity, the Son of God, ^(VR1)18 and the ^(C1)Ever-living One living in and beyond all time and space. I ^(C2)died, but see, I am alive forevermore, and I have ^(C3)the keys of absolute control and victory over death and of Hades (the realm of the dead).¹⁹ "So ^(C1)write ^(C2)the things ^(F1)which you have seen in the vision, and the things ^(F2)which are now happening, and the things ^(F3)which will take place ^(C3)after these things.²⁰ "As for the ^(C1)mystery of the ^(C2)seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the ^(C3)seven golden lampstands: the ^(C2)seven stars are the angels (^(F1)divine messengers) of ^(C4)the seven churches, and the seven ^(C5)lampstands are the seven churches.