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Prologue

¹ The revelation of^(F1) Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants^(C1) what must soon take place.^(C2) He made it known by sending his angel^(C3) to his servant John,^{(C4) 2} who testified to the word of God and to the testimony^(F1) of Jesus Christ,^(C1) whatever he saw.^{(F2) 3} Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy,^(C1) and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep^(F1) what is written in it, because the time is near.

⁴ John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace^(C1) to you from^(F1) the one who is, who was, and who is to come,^(C2) and from the seven spirits^(F2)(C3) before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,^(C1) the firstborn from the dead^(C2) and the ruler of the kings of the earth.^(C3)

To him who loves us and has set us free^(F1) from our sins by his blood,^{(C4) 6} and made us a kingdom,^(F1) priests^(F2)(C1) to his God and Father—to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.^(C2)

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”^(C1) says the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

John’s Vision of the Risen Lord

⁹ I, John, your brother and partner in the affliction,^(C1) kingdom,^(C2) and endurance^(C3) that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.^{(C4) 10} I was in the Spirit^(F1)(C1) on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet^{(C2) 11} saying, “Write

¹² Then I turned to see whose voice^(C1) it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,^{(C2) 13} and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man,^(F1)(C1) dressed in a robe^(C2) and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest.^{(C3) 14} The hair of his head was white as wool—white as snow^(C1)—and his eyes like a fiery flame.^{(C2) 15} His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace,^(C1) and his voice like the sound of cascading^(F1) waters.^{(C2) 16} He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth,^(C1) and his face was shining like the sun at full strength.^(C2)

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man.^(C1) He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last,¹⁸ and the Living One.¹⁹ Therefore write what you have seen,²⁰ The mystery