Revelation 1
1 The revelation given by Jesus Christ, which God granted Him, that He might make known to His servants certain events which must shortly come to pass: and He sent His angel and communicated it to His servant John.
[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.
2 This is the John who taught the truth concerning the Word of God and the truth told us by Jesus Christ-- a faithful account of what he had seen.
[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].
3 Blessed is he who reads and blessed are those who listen to the words of this prophecy and lay to heart what is written in it; for the time for its fulfillment is now close at hand.
[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.
4 John sends greetings to the seven Churches in the province of Asia. May grace be granted to you, and peace, from Him who is and was and evermore will be; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne;
[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).
5 and from Jesus Christ, the truthful witness, the first of the dead to be born to Life, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins with His own blood,
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].
6 and has formed us into a Kingdom, to be priests to God, His Father--to Him be ascribed the glory and the power until the Ages of the Ages. Amen. (aiōn g165)
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)
7 He is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and so will those who pierced Him; and all the nations of the earth will gaze on Him and mourn. Even so. Amen.
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.)
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "He who is and was and evermore will be--the Ruler of all."
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.
9 I John, your brother, and a sharer with you in the sorrows and Kingship and patient endurance of Jesus, found myself in the island of Patmos, on account of the Word of God and the truth told us by Jesus.
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.
10 In the Spirit I found myself present on the day of the Lord, and I heard behind me a loud voice which resembled the blast of a trumpet.
[God’s] Spirit took control of me on one of the days [that we believers met to worship] the Lord.
11 It said, "Write forthwith in a roll an account of what you see, and send it to the seven Churches--to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyateira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."
[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].”
12 I turned to see who it was that was speaking to me; and then I saw seven golden lampstands,
[In this vision] I turned in order that I might see who had spoken to me [SYN]. When I turned,
13 and in the center of the lampstands some One resembling the Son of Man, clothed in a robe which reached to His feet, and with a girdle of gold across His breast.
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.
14 His head and His hair were white, like white wool--as white as snow; and His eyes resembled a flame of fire.
The hair on his head was white like white wool [or] like snow. His eyes were [shining brightly] [SIM], like a flame of fire.
15 His feet were like silver-bronze, when it is white-hot in a furnace; and His voice resembled the sound of many waters.
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).
16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and a sharp, two-edged sword was seen coming from His mouth; and His glance resembled the sun when it is shining with its full strength.
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].
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. But He laid His right hand upon me and said, "Do not be afraid: I am the First and the Last, and the ever-living One.
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.
19 Write down therefore the things you have just seen, and those which are now taking place, and those which are soon to follow:
So write the [vision] that you are seeing. Write about the [conditions] that exist now, and the [events] that are about to happen next.
20 the secret meaning of the seven stars which you have seen in My right hand, and of the seven lampstands of gold. The seven stars are the ministers of the seven Churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven Churches.
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.”
