Revelation 1

₁This book tells us about the things that must happen soon. God told Jesus Christ that He must show these things to all his servants. Jesus Christ sent his angel to his servant, John, to tell him and show him these things. ₂John wrote down everything that God and Jesus Christ told him and showed him. ₃John wrote everything in this book, about all the things that will happen later. God will be good to everyone who reads this book. And everyone who listens to these things and does what is written in this book will be very happy. It will not be very long before Christ comes again. The time is near.

₄I, John, write this letter to the 7 congregations in Asia. I greet you and I pray that God and the 7 Spirits before his throne and Jesus Christ will be merciful to you and that He will give his peace to you. God is here now, He was always here and He will come again. ₅And Jesus Christ is the faithful Witness. He always does what He says. He is the first One who died but rose and who lives again. He rules over the kings of the earth. Jesus Christ loves us. He died to save us from our sins. ₆He told us about God, his Father, who rules over us. We are like the priests who work for God. That is why we will always praise Jesus Christ, who rules over all. Amen.

₈The Lord God says: ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega.’

Yes, God was always here, He is here now and He will come again. He is the Almighty God.

₉I, John, am a believer like you, and we are suffering together. God rules over all of us and that is why we are patient, as Jesus was patient. I was a prisoner on the Island of Patmos because I told people about the Word of God and what Jesus said. ₁₀The power of the Spirit came over me on the day_of_the_Lord and I heard Someone talking loudly behind me, as loudly as a trumpet. ₁₁He said: ‘I will show you things and you must write all these things in a book. Then you must send the book to the 7 congregations in the towns of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.’

₁₂I turned_around to see who was talking to me. When I turned_around, I saw 7 golden lamps. ₁₃I saw Someone among the lamps. He was like the Son of man. He had a long cloak that came down to his feet. Around his chest was a golden belt. ₁₄His head and his hair were as white as wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like flames of fire. ₁₅His feet were shining like bronze that was very hot and shining brightly in a furnace. His voice sounded like the noise of flooding water. ₁₆In his right hand he held 7 stars. A sword came out of his mouth, and the sword was very sharp on both sides. His face was shining like the sun shines in the middle of the day.

₁₇When I saw Him, I fell onto the ground at his feet like someone who was dead. But He put his right hand on me and said to me: ‘Do not be afraid, because I am the First and the Last. ₁₈I am the Living One who lives forever. I have died, but now I live. Yes, I am alive and I will never die. I have the keys to open the place where dead people go, and I can make those people live again. ₁₉That is why you must write down the things that you have seen, the things that are happening now and the things that will happen later. ₂₀I will tell you now what the meaning is of the 7 stars that you saw in my right hand and the meaning of the 7 golden lamps. No one has known this meaning before. The 7 lamps are the 7 congregations. The 7 stars are the 7 angels of the 7 congregations.’