Revelation 1
1
Prologue
1The revelation of#1:1 Or Revelation of, or A revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants#Ac 2:18; Rm 6:19; 1Pt 2:16; Rv 22:6 what must soon take place.#Dn 2:28–29,45; Rv 22:6 He made it known by sending his angel#Gn 24:7; Mt 1:24; Ac 12:11 to his servant John,#Jn 21:7; Rv 22:8 2who testified to the word of God and to the testimony#1:2 Or witness of Jesus Christ,#1Co 1:6; Rv 12:17; 19:10; 20:4 whatever he saw.#1:2 Or as many as he saw 3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy,#Rv 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7,14 and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep#1:3 Or follow, or obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
4John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace#Ti 1:4 to you from#1:4 Other mss add God the one who is, who was, and who is to come,#Rv 1:8,17; 4:8; 16:5 and from the seven spirits#1:4 Or the sevenfold Spirit#Rv 3:1; 4:5; 5:6 before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,#Ps 89:37; Jn 18:37; Rv 2:13; 3:14 the firstborn from the dead#Ps 89:27; Ac 26:23; Rm 8:29; 1Co 15:20–23; Col 1:18 and the ruler of the kings of the earth.#Ps 89:27; Rv 17:14; 19:16
To him who loves us and has set us free#1:5 Other mss read has washed us from our sins by his blood,#Dt 7:8; Rm 8:2 6and made us a kingdom,#1:6 Other mss read kings and priests#1:6 Or made us into (or to be) a kingdom of priests; Ex 19:6#Ex 19:6; 1Pt 2:9; Rv 5:10; 20:6 to his God and Father — to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.#Rm 11:36; 1Pt 4:11; Jd 25; Rv 7:12
7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, #
Is 19:1; Zch 12:10; Jn 19:34–37
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
And all the tribes # 1:7 Or peoples of the earth#1:7 Gn 12:3; 28:14; Zch 14:17#Gn 12:3; 28:14; Zch 14:17
will mourn over him. # 1:7 Or will wail because of him # 1:7 Dn 7:13; Zch 12:10 #
Dn 7:13; Zch 12:10
So it is to be. Amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,”#Is 44:6; Rv 21:6; 22:13 says the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John’s Vision of the Risen Lord
9I, John, your brother and partner in the affliction,#Jn 16:33; Ac 14:22; Rm 5:3; 2Tm 2:12; Rv 2:9 kingdom,#Mt 25:34; Jms 2:5 and endurance#Rm 5:3–4; 8:25; 15:4; Col 1:11; 2Th 1:4; Heb 10:36; 12:1; Jms 1:3–4; Rv 2:3; 3:10; 13:10; 14:12 that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.#Rv 1:2; 6:9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4 10I was in the Spirit#1:10 Or in spirit; lit I became in the Spirit#1Kg 18:12; Ezk 3:12; 2Co 12:2; Rv 4:2; 17:3; 21:10 on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet#Ex 19:16,19; 20:18; Ps 47:5 11saying, “Write#Ex 34:27; Dt 31:19; Is 8:1; 30:8; Jr 30:2; 36:2,28; Hab 2:2; Rv 2:1,8,12,18; 3:1,7,14; 14:3; 19:9; 21:5 on a scroll#1:11 Or book what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12Then I turned to see whose voice#Ex 20:18 it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,#Ex 25:37; 37:23; 2Ch 4:20; Zch 4:2 13and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man,#1:13 Or like a son of man#Dn 7:13; 10:16; Rv 14:14 dressed in a robe#Dn 10:5 and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest.#Rv 15:6 14The hair of his head was white as wool — white as snow#Is 1:18; Dn 7:9 — and his eyes like a fiery flame.#Dn 10:6; Rv 2:18; 19:12 15His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace,#Ezk 1:7; Dn 10:6; Rv 2:18 and his voice like the sound of cascading#1:15 Lit many waters.#Ezk 1:24; 43:2; Rv 14:2; 19:6 16He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth,#Is 49:2; Heb 4:12; Rv 2:12,16; 19:15 and his face was shining like the sun at full strength.#Mt 17:2; Rv 10:1
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man.#Gn 17:3; Jdg 6:22–23; 13:20; Jb 42:5–6; Is 6:5; Ezk 1:28; Dn 8:17; Mt 17:6; Lk 1:12; 5:8 He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last,#Is 41:4; 44:6; 48:12; Rv 2:8; 22:13 18and the Living One.#Mt 16:16; 26:63; Jn 6:57; Rv 4:10; 10:6 I was dead, but look — I am alive forever and ever,#Rm 6:9; 14:9; Rv 2:8; 10:6 and I hold the keys#Mt 16:19 of death and Hades. 19Therefore write what you have seen,#Ex 17:14; 34:27; Dt 31:19; Jr 30:2; Hab 2:2 what is, and what will take place after this. 20The mystery#Mt 13:35; Rm 16:25 of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels#1:20 Or messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands#1:20 Other mss add that you saw are the seven churches.#Mt 5:14–15
The Letters to the Seven Churches
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Revelation 1: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Revelation 1
1
Prologue
1This is a revelation from#1:1a Or of. Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon#1:1b Or suddenly, or quickly. take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John, 2who faithfully reported everything he saw. This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.
John’s Greeting to the Seven Churches
4This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia.#1:4a Asia was a Roman province in what is now western Turkey.
Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit#1:4b Greek the seven spirits. before his throne; 5and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world.
All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. 6He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
7Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.
And everyone will see him—
even those who pierced him.
And all the nations of the world
will mourn for him.
Yes! Amen!
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,”#1:8 Greek I am the Alpha and the Omega, referring to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
Vision of the Son of Man
9I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. 10It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit.#1:10 Or in spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. 11It said, “Write in a book#1:11 Or on a scroll. everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 13And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man.#1:13 Or like a son of man. See Dan 7:13. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. 14His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. 15His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. 16He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.#1:18 Greek and Hades.
19 “Write down what you have seen—both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen. # 1:19 Or what you have seen and what they mean—the things that have already begun to happen. 20This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels#1:20 Or the messengers. of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
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