REVELATION
4 John, to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace and peace to you from[f] Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the sevenfold[g] Spirit who is before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness,[h] the firstborn from among the dead,[i] and the ruler of the kings of the earth.[j]
7 Take note, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him.[l] And all the tribes of the earth will beat their breasts [in dismay] because of Him. Yea, verily![m]
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”[n] says the Lord God, “He who is and who was and who is coming, The Almighty.”[o]
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance[p] in Christ Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the Word of God and on account of the testimony of Jesus Christ.[q] 10 I was in spirit[r] on the Lord's day and I heard a voice behind me, loud as a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” 12 And there I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me.[s] And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands one similar to a son of man,[t] clothed down to the feet and girded at the nipples[u] with a golden belt. 14 Now His head, that is His hair, was white, like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; 15 and His feet were like fine brass, as when refined in a furnace; and His voice was like the sound of many waters;[v] 16 and He had seven stars on His right hand and a sharp two-edged sword coming out of His mouth; and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.[w]
17 And when I saw Him I fell at His feet as if dead. And He placed His right hand[x] upon me saying: “Do not fear. I am the First and the Last, 18 even the Living One—I became dead, to be sure, and now I am living for ever and ever! Oh yes!! And I have the keys of Death and of Hades![y] 19 Therefore[z] write the things that you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that are going to occur after these.[aa] 20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the messengers§The Greek word αγγελος may mean messenger or angel (they are often messengers). Since 2:20 below says “your wife”, referring to the messenger, we should presumably understand ‘messenger’ here as referring to a man. It is possible that messengers from these churches were visiting John, on Patmos, or had visited him earlier. of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands that you saw are seven churches.
Revelation 2 ->