Revelation 1
1 [This book tells the message] that God revealed to Jesus Christ. God revealed it to him in order that he might reveal to his servants the [things/events] that must happen soon. Jesus communicated [this message] to [me], his servant John, by sending his angel to me.
A revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave to Him to show to His servants what things must quickly come to pass; and He signified [it], having sent through His messenger to His servant John,
2 [As I write it, I], John, am truthfully reporting everything that I saw [and heard], the message from God that Jesus Christ [truthfully reported to me].
who testified [to] the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, as many things as he also saw.
3 [God is] pleased with those who read [this book to the congregations], and he will be pleased with those who listen carefully to it and obey what [he has commanded in this prophetic message that I] am writing. [So read this message to the congregations, listen carefully to it, and obey it], because [these things that Jesus has revealed] will happen soon.
Blessed is he who is reading, and those hearing the words of the prophecy, and keeping the things written in it, for the time is near!
4 [I], John, am [writing this] to [you believers in] the seven congregations [that are located] in Asia [province]. [I pray that God the Father, God’s Spirit, and Jesus Christ] be kind to (OR, bless) you and cause you to have [inner] peace. [God the Father is] the one who exists, who has always existed, and who will always exist. The Spirit [of God, who] is in front of God’s throne, has [all kinds of power] (OR, The Spirit of God [is symbolized] by seven spirits who are in front of God’s throne).
John, to the seven assemblies that [are] in Asia: Grace to you, and peace, from Him who is, and who was, and who is coming, and from the Seven Spirits that are before His throne,
5 Jesus Christ is the one who has faithfully told [people about God]. He is the first one (whom God has raised from the dead/who became alive again after being dead), in order [to show that God will raise us who trust in Jesus]. Jesus is the one who rules the kings of the earth. He is the one who loves us. He is the one who has erased the record our sins. He did that by shedding his blood [when he died on the cross].
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn out of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth; to Him loving us and having released us from our sins in His blood,
6 He is [the one who] has caused us to become people whose lives God rules, and he has made us to be priests [who serve] God his Father. [As a result of this, we acknowledge that] Jesus Christ is eternally divine and eternally powerful. (Amen!/That is true!) (aiōn g165)
[He] has also made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him—the glory and the power through the ages of the ages! Amen. (aiōn g165)
7 Listen carefully! Christ will surely come in the midst of the clouds [in order that he may judge the rebellious people of earth], and everyone [SYN] will see him [come]. Even those who [are responsible for] piercing [and killing] him [MTY] [will see him come. People from] all people-groups on earth will mourn because he [will punish them]. (Amen!/May it be so.)
Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the land will wail because of Him. Yes! Amen!
8 The Lord God declares, “I am the one who created [everything], and I am the [one who will cause everything to] end [MET].” He is the one who exists, who has always existed, and who will always exist. He is the Almighty One.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, beginning and end, says the LORD, who is, and who was, and who is coming—the Almighty.”
9 I, John, your fellow believer, am suffering as you [are] because of our letting Jesus rule [our lives]. We are steadfastly enduring [trials] because of our relationship with him. I was punished by being sent/exiled to Patmos island because [of my proclaiming] God’s message and telling [people about] Jesus.
I, John, who [am] also your brother, and fellow-partner in the tribulation, and in the kingdom and endurance of Jesus Christ, was in the island that is called Patmos, because of the word of God, and because of the testimony of Jesus Christ;
10 [God’s] Spirit took control of me on one of the days [that we believers met to worship] the Lord.
I was in the Spirit on the LORD’s Day, and I heard a great voice behind me, as of a trumpet, saying,
11 [At that time], I heard behind me someone [speaking to me as loudly and as clearly] [SIM] as a trumpet. He was saying [to me], “Write on a scroll what you see, and send it to seven congregations. Send it to [the congregations] in Ephesus [city], in Smyrna [city], in Pergamum [city], in Thyatira [city], in Sardis [city], in Philadelphia [city], and in Laodicea [city].”
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “Write what you see in a scroll, and send [it] to the seven assemblies that [are] in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
12 [In this vision] I turned in order that I might see who had spoken to me [SYN]. When I turned,
And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 I saw seven golden lampstands. In the midst of the lampstands there was [someone] who looked like he came from heaven. He wore a robe that reached to his feet, and he wore a gold band around his chest.
and in the midst of the seven lampstands, [One] like a Son of Man, clothed to the foot, and having been girded around at the breasts with a golden girdle,
14 The hair on his head was white like white wool [or] like snow. His eyes were [shining brightly] [SIM], like a flame of fire.
and His head and hairs [were] white, as if white wool—as snow, and His eyes as a flame of fire;
15 His feet [looked] like brass that glows [as it is being] purified {as [people] purify it} in a furnace. [When he spoke], his voice [sounded] like the sound [made by] a huge waterfall (OR, a great/wide river of rushing water).
and His feet like to frankincense-colored brass, as having been fired in a furnace, and His voice as a sound of many waters;
16 In his right hand he held seven stars. A sword that had two sharp edges extended from his mouth. His face [shone as bright] as the sun shines [at midday] [MTY].
and having seven stars in His right hand, and out of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword is proceeding, and His countenance—as the sun shining in its might.
17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet [and was unable to move or speak] [SIM], as though [I were] dead. But he put his right hand on me and said to me, “Don’t be afraid! I am the one who created [all things] and the [one who will cause all things to] end.
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead, and He placed His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last,
19 So write the [vision] that you are seeing. Write about the [conditions] that exist now, and the [events] that are about to happen next.
Write the things that you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that are about to come after these things;
20 The meaning of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands [that you saw is this]: The seven stars [in my hand represent the leaders, who are like] angels, [who watch over] the seven congregations, and the [seven] lampstands [represent] the seven congregations.”
the secret of the seven stars that you have seen on My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are messengers of the seven assemblies, and the seven lampstands that you have seen are seven assemblies.”
