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The Revelation of Jesus Christ

¹ The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which ^(C1)God gave Him to ^(C2)show to His bond-servants, ^(C3)the things which must soon take place; and He sent and ^(F1)communicated it ^(C4)by His angel to His bond-servant ^(C5)John,² who testified to ^(C1)the word of God and to ^(C2)the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw.^3 (C1)Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and ^(F1)keep the things which are written in it; ^(C2)for the time is near.

Message to the Seven Churches

^4 (C1)John to ^(C2)the seven churches that are in ^(C3)Asia: ^(C4)Grace to you and peace from ^(C5)Him who is, and who was, and who ^(F1)is to come, and from ^(C6)the ^(F2)seven spirits who are before His throne,⁵ and from Jesus Christ, ^(C1)the faithful witness, the ^(C2)firstborn of the dead, and the ^(C3)ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who ^(C4)loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—⁶ and He made us into a ^(C1)kingdom, ^(C1)priests to ^(F1)(C2)His God and Father—^(C3)to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.^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 of the earth will ^(C3)mourn over Him. ^(F1)So it is to be. Amen.

⁸ "I am ^(C1)the Alpha and the Omega," says the ^(C2)Lord God, "^(C3)who is and who was and who ^(F1)is to come, the Almighty."

The Patmos Vision

^9 (C1)I, John, your ^(C2)brother and ^(C3)fellow participant in the tribulation and ^(C4)kingdom and ^(F1)(C5)perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(C6)because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.¹⁰ I was ^(C1)in the ^(F1)Spirit on ^(C2)the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(C3)like the sound of a trumpet,¹¹ saying, "^(C1)Write ^(F1)on a scroll what you see, and send it to the ^(C2)seven churches: to ^(C3)Ephesus, ^(C4)Smyrna, ^(C5)Pergamum, ^(C6)Thyatira, ^(C7)Sardis, ^(C8)Philadelphia, and ^(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 middle of the lampstands I saw one ^(C2)like ^(F1)a son of man, ^(C3)clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and ^(C4)wrapped around the chest with a golden sash.¹⁴ His head and His ^(C1)hair were white like white wool, like snow; and ^(C2)His eyes were like a flame of fire.¹⁵ His ^(C1)feet were like ^(F1)burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His ^(C2)voice was like the sound of many waters.¹⁶ In His right hand He held ^(C1)seven stars, and out of His mouth came a ^(C2)sharp two-edged sword; and His ^(C3)face was like ^(C4)the sun ^(F1)shining in its strength.

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I ^(C1)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He ^(C2)placed His right hand on me, saying, "^(C3)Do not be afraid; ^(C4)I am the first and the last,¹⁸ and the ^(C1)living One; and I ^(F1)(C2)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have ^(C3)the keys of death and of Hades.¹⁹ "Therefore ^(C1)write ^(C2)the things which you have seen, ^(F1)and the things which are, and the things 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 of ^(C4)the seven churches, and the seven ^(C5)lampstands are the seven churches.