From John to the seven churches in Asia. May grace and peace be yours from the one who is, who was, and who is coming, from the seven spirits who are in front of his throne,

I came to be in the Spirit on the Day of the Lord, when I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet,

Then I turned to see who was talking to me, and when I turned I saw seven gold lamp stands.

When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. But he placed his right hand on me and said, "Stop being afraid! I am the first and the last,

The secret meaning of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lamp stands is this: the seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches."

You have endured and suffered because of my name, yet you have not grown weary.

Don't be afraid of what you are going to suffer. Look! The Devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. For ten days you will undergo suffering. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the victor's crown of life.

"I know where you live. Satan's throne is there. Yet you hold on to my name and have not denied your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed in your presence, where Satan lives.

So repent. If you don't, I will come to you quickly and wage war against them with the sword of my mouth.

But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and who teaches and leads my servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

"Just as I have received authority from my Father, I will also give him the morning star.

"I know what you've been doing. You are known for being alive, but you are dead. Be alert, and strengthen the things that are left, which are about to die. I note that your actions are incomplete before my God.

But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me in white clothes because they are worthy.

The person who conquers in this way will wear white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the Book of Life. I will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and his angels.

"I know what you've been doing. Look! I have put in front of you an open door that no one can shut. You have only a little strength, but you have obeyed my word and have not denied my name.

Because you have obeyed my command to endure, I will keep you from the hour of testing that is coming to the whole world to test those living on the earth.

I will make the one who conquers to become a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, and he will never go out of it again. I will write on him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God), and my own new name.

Since you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth.

Therefore, I advise you to buy from me gold purified in fire so you may be rich, white clothes to wear so your shameful nakedness won't show, and ointment to put on your eyes so you may see.

Look! I am standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he will eat with me.

To the one who conquers I will give a place to sit with me on my throne, just as I have conquered and have sat down with my Father on his throne.

After these things, I saw a door standing open in heaven. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this."

"Stop crying," one of the elders told me. "Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered. He can open the scroll and its seven seals."

"Who are these people wearing white robes," one of the elders asked me, "and where did they come from?"

Then he told me, "These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. That is why: "They are in front of the throne of God and worship him night and day in his Temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.

This was how I saw the horses in my vision: The riders wore breastplates that had the color of fire, sapphire, and sulfur. The heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur came out of their mouths.

Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, "Go and take the opened scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll. "Take it and eat it," he told me. "It will turn bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth."

So I took the small scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, it turned bitter in my stomach.

Then the seven thunders told me, "You must prophesy again about many nations, nations, languages, and kings."

I will give my two witnesses who wear sackcloth the authority to prophesy for 1,260 days."

so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the mark, which is the beast's name or the number of its name.

Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls came and told me, "Come, I will show you how the notorious prostitute who sits on many waters will be judged.

Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was controlled by blasphemy. It had seven heads and ten horns.

"Why are you surprised?" The angel asked me. "I will tell you the secret of the woman and the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns that carries her.

The angel also told me, "The bodies of water you saw, on which the prostitute is sitting, are nations, multitudes, nations, and languages.

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you don't participate in her sins and also suffer from her diseases.

Then the angel told me, "Write this: "How blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb!'" He also told me, "These are the true words of God."

I bowed down at his feet to worship him, but he told me, "Don't do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who rely on what Jesus is saying. Worship God, because what Jesus is saying is the spirit of prophecy!"

Then he told me, "It has happened! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give a drink from the spring of the water of life to the one who is thirsty.

The person who conquers will inherit these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son.

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came to me and said, "Come! I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb."

He carried me away in the Spirit to a large, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.

The angel who was talking to me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its walls.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal. It was flowing from the throne of God and the lamb.

He told me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord God of the spirits and of the prophets has sent his messenger to show his servants the things that must happen soon."

I, John, heard and saw these things. When I had heard and seen them, I bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing me these things.

But he told me, "Don't do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words in this book. Worship God!"

Then he told me, "Don't seal up the words of the prophecy in this book, because the time is near.

"See! I am coming soon! My reward is with me to repay everyone according to his behavior.

"How blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city!

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give this testimony to you for the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star."

May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.