1 This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John, 

2 who testified to God’s word, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.

3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand.

4 John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne; 

5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood; 

6 and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

9 I John, your brother and partner with you in oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God’s Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet 

11 saying, “ What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies : to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

12 I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Having turned, I saw seven golden lamp stands. 

13 And among the lamp stands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest. 

14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. 

15 His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters. 

16 He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest. 

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man.

He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,

18 and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever more. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 

Only one person can say this, Jesus Christ. 

19 Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter;

John is commanded to write. And John is given an outline of how to write. He is told to write the things he had seen, the things that are happening now, and the things that will happen in the future. John had seen Jesus. He saw Him in His earthly body when he walked with Jesus on earth and he had seen Him in His heavenly body which John has written about in Chapter 1.

John is told to write the things which are. John writes this in Chapter 2 and 3. The seven churches which are written about are actual churches in Asia Minor. And these can be used to represent seven periods in church history. John is told to write things that will happen after this. In Chapter 4 John is taken to heaven and it says "after this".  John is suddenly in the presence of God and this is what he writes about in Chapter 4.

20 the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lampstands are seven assemblies.

Here we are told about some symbols. The lamp stands represent seven churches. The lampstands hold the light up so it can be seen. Do you know that Jesus said you are the light of the world? People that are lost in this dark world need to find their way. And many times it is your light that they see. And the lampstand aids in raising your light high where they can see it.