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.
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel 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].
John testified about the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, all the things that he 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 the one who reads aloud this prophecy, and those who listen to the words of this prophecy and who obey what is written in it, because 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 churches in Asia: May grace be to you and peace from the one who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who 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, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has released us from our sins by 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 made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father—to him be the glory and the power forever and ever. 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.)
Look, he is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn 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,” says the Lord God, “the one who is, and who was, and who is to come, 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—your brother and the one who shares with you in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are in Jesus—was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.
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. I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.
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].”
It said, “Write what you see in a book, and send it to the seven churches—to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, 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,
I turned around to see whose voice was speaking to me, and as I 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.
In the middle of the lampstands there was one like a son of man, wearing a long robe that reached down to his feet and a golden sash around his chest.
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.
His head and hair were as white as wool—as white as snow—and his eyes were like 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).
His feet were like polished bronze, like bronze that had been refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many rushing 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].
He had seven stars in his right hand, and a sword with two sharp edges was coming out of his mouth. His face was shining like the sun at its strongest.
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.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He placed his right hand on me and said, “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.
Therefore write down what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place after this.
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.”
As for the hidden meaning about the seven stars you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
