Revelation 1-2

New International Version

Prologue

1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave^(A) him to show his servants what must soon take place.^(B) He made it known by sending his angel^(C) to his servant John,^(D) ²who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God^(E) and the testimony of Jesus Christ.^(F) ³Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,^(G) because the time is near.^(H)

Greetings and Doxology

⁴John,

To the seven churches^(I) in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you^(J) from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,^(K) and from the seven spirits^[a]^(L) before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,^(M) the firstborn from the dead,^(N) and the ruler of the kings of the earth.^(O)

To him who loves us^(P) and has freed us from our sins by his blood,^(Q) ⁶and has made us to be a kingdom and priests^(R) to serve his God and Father^(S)—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.^(T)

⁷“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”^[b]^(U)
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;^(V)
and all peoples on earth “will mourn^(W) because of him.”^[c]
So shall it be! Amen.

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

John’s Vision of Christ

⁹I, John,^(AA) your brother and companion in the suffering^(AB) and kingdom^(AC) and patient endurance^(AD) that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God^(AE) and the testimony of Jesus.^(AF) ¹⁰On the Lord’s Day^(AG) I was in the Spirit,^(AH) and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,^(AI) ¹¹which said: “Write on a scroll what you see^(AJ) and send it to the seven churches:^(AK) to Ephesus,^(AL) Smyrna,^(AM) Pergamum,^(AN) Thyatira,^(AO) Sardis,^(AP) Philadelphia^(AQ) and Laodicea.”^(AR)

¹²I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,^(AS) ¹³and among the lampstands^(AT) was someone like a son of man,^[d]^(AU) dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet^(AV) and with a golden sash around his chest.^(AW) ¹⁴The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.^(AX) ¹⁵His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,^(AY) and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.^(AZ) ¹⁶In his right hand he held seven stars,^(BA) and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.^(BB) His face was like the sun^(BC) shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷When I saw him, I fell at his feet^(BD) as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me^(BE) and said: “Do not be afraid.^(BF) I am the First and the Last.^(BG) ¹⁸I am the Living One; I was dead,^(BH) and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!^(BI) And I hold the keys of death and Hades.^(BJ)

¹⁹“Write, therefore, what you have seen,^(BK) what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand^(BL) and of the seven golden lampstands^(BM) is this: The seven stars are the angels^[e] of the seven churches,^(BN) and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.^(BO)

To the Church in Ephesus

2 “To the angel^[f] of the church in Ephesus^(BP) write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand^(BQ) and walks among the seven golden lampstands.^(BR) ²I know your deeds,^(BS) your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested^(BT) those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.^(BU) ³You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name,^(BV) and have not grown weary.

⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.^(BW) ⁵Consider how far you have fallen! Repent^(BX) and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand^(BY) from its place. ⁶But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,^(BZ) which I also hate.

⁷Whoever has ears, let them hear^(CA) what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious,^(CB) I will give the right to eat from the tree of life,^(CC) which is in the paradise^(CD) of God.

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸“To the angel of the church in Smyrna^(CE) write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last,^(CF) who died and came to life again.^(CG) ⁹I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!^(CH) I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not,^(CI) but are a synagogue of Satan.^(CJ) ¹⁰Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you,^(CK) and you will suffer persecution for ten days.^(CL) Be faithful,^(CM) even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.^(CN)

¹¹Whoever has ears, let them hear^(CO) what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.^(CP)

To the Church in Pergamum

¹²“To the angel of the church in Pergamum^(CQ) write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.^(CR) ¹³I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me,^(CS) not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness,^(CT) who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.^(CU)

¹⁴Nevertheless, I have a few things against you:^(CV) There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam,^(CW) who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols^(CX) and committed sexual immorality.^(CY) ¹⁵Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.^(CZ) ¹⁶Repent^(DA) therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.^(DB)

¹⁷Whoever has ears, let them hear^(DC) what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious,^(DD) I will give some of the hidden manna.^(DE) I will also give that person a white stone with a new name^(DF) written on it, known only to the one who receives it.^(DG)

To the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸“To the angel of the church in Thyatira^(DH) write:

These are the words of the Son of God,^(DI) whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.^(DJ) ¹⁹I know your deeds,^(DK) your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

²⁰Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel,^(DL) who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.^(DM) ²¹I have given her time^(DN) to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.^(DO) ²²So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery^(DP) with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. ²³I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds,^(DQ) and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.^(DR)

²⁴Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you,^(DS) ²⁵except to hold on to what you have^(DT) until I come.’^(DU)

²⁶To the one who is victorious^(DV) and does my will to the end,^(DW) I will give authority over the nations^(DX)— ²⁷that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter^(DY) and will dash them to pieces like pottery’^[g]^(DZ)—just as I have received authority from my Father. ²⁸I will also give that one the morning star.^(EA) ²⁹Whoever has ears, let them hear^(EB) what the Spirit says to the churches.