"I am the Alpha and the Omega" [Note: These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and indicate "the beginning and the end" See 21:6], says the Lord God Almighty, who is [in the present], and who was [in the past] and who will come [in the future].

saying, "Write down in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicia" [Note: These seven congregations were all located in western Asia Minor].

And turning to see the voice which said these words to me, I saw seven gold vessels with lights burning in them;

Write the things which thou seest, and the things which are, and the things which shall be in future after these,

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "He who holds the seven stars in his right hand, he who walks among the seven golden lampstands says these things:

But you have this [in your favor]: You hate the [evil] deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate [Note: These people were probably followers of someone named Nicolas and were known to be false teachers. See verse 15].

"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: "The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things:

"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: "He who has the sharp two-edged sword says these things:

"To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: "The Son of God, who has his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like burnished brass, says these things:

And I will strike her children dead [or, "kill her children by some terrible calamity" See Ex. 5:3 LXX]. Then all the churches will know that I am the One who searches the inmost being of people [Note: The Greek says, "searches the kidneys and hearts." In that day these internal organs stood for the inner thoughts, emotions, etc.]. And I will repay each one of you people according to what you have done.

But for the rest of you at Thyatira, for all who do not hold these tenets, for those who have not (in their phrase) 'fathomed the deep mysteries of Satan' ??for you this is my word: I impose no fresh burden on you;

"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: "He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars says these things: "I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

He who conquers shall be clothed in these white robes, and I will not 'strike his name out of the Book of Life'; but I will own him before my Father, and before his angels.

"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: "These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens:

"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: "The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Head of God's creation, says these things:

After these things I looked and saw a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, like a trumpet speaking with me, was one saying, "Come up here, and I will show you the things which must happen after this."

And around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon these thrones I saw twenty-four presbyters seated, clothed in white robes; and they had on their heads golden crowns.

From the throne issued lightning and voices and thunders. Seven blazing lamps were burning before the throne; these are the seven Spirits of God.

And there was an ocean, as crystal-clear as glass, in front of the throne. And at the center, surrounding the throne were four living beings, covered with eyes in the front and back of them. [Note: In view of Isa. 6:1-3 and especially Eze. 10:20ff, these "living beings" appear to be some special order of heavenly beings who inhabit the presence of God].

These four Creatures have each of them six wings, and all round, and within, they are full of eyes; and day and night they never cease to say-- 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, our God, the Almighty, who was, and who is, and who shall be.'

And when these living beings give glory, and honour, and thanksgiving to him that sitteth on the throne, to him who liveth for ever and ever,

Then I saw standing in the center of the throne and of the four animals and of the elders a Lamb which seemed to have been slaughtered. He had seven horns and seven eyes; these are the seven spirits of God, which are sent on errands to all parts of the earth.

And, when he had taken the book, the four Creatures and the twenty-four Councillors prostrated themselves before the Lamb, each of them holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense. (These are the prayers of Christ's People.)

And as for every created thing in Heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and everything that was in any of these, I heard them say, "To Him who is seated on the throne, And to the Lamb, Be ascribed all blessing and honor And glory and might, Until the Ages of the Ages!"

AND after these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, to hold back the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, neither on the sea, nor on any tree.

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

One of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are arrayed in white robes, who are they, and from where did they come?"

So I said to him, "My lord, you know." He said to me, "These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb's blood.

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.

(Now the name of the star is Wormwood.) So a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned.

And it was given them in charge that they should not kill these men outright, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment is as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man.

And in these days men shall seek death, and shall not find it: and they shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them.

They had a king over them who was the angel of the deep pit [See verses 1-2]. His name in Hebrew was "Abaddon," and in Greek it was "Apollyon" [Note: These words both mean "Destroyer"].

One woe is past; and, behold, there are coming yet two woes after these.

By these three plagues were one third of mankind killed: from the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur, which proceeded out of their mouths.

For the power of these horses is in their mouths and their tails. Their tails have heads like snakes, which they use to inflict pain.

The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they would not worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk.

and he called out in a loud voice, like a roaring lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders responded to the voice [of the angel]. [Note: These "seven thunders" have not been previously mentioned].

and when the seven thunders spake their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice out of the heaven saying to me, 'Seal the things that the seven thunders spake,' and, 'Thou mayest not write these things.'

Then I was given a measuring reed like a rod, with these words: “Go and measure God’s sanctuary and the altar, and count those who worship there.

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, standing before the Lord of the earth.

These have the power to shut up the sky, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

After three days and a half 'the life-giving breath of God entered these men, and they stood up upon their feet,' and a great terror took possession of those who were watching them.

with these words: "We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

Then there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; on the other side fought the dragon with his angels: but these were defeated,

but these prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.

[And] by being given [power] to perform these signs in the sight of the [first] beast, he deceived the people on earth. He told them to make a statue to [honor] the [first] beast, who had been wounded by a sword and yet lived [through it].

These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb.

And another, the third angel followed these, saying with a great voice, If any one worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark upon his forehead, or upon his hand,

the smoke of their torture rises for ever and ever, and they get no rest from it, day and night, these worshippers of the Beast and his statue, and all who are marked with his name."

And I saw another sign in the heaven, great and wonderful, seven messengers having the seven last plagues, because in these was completed the wrath of God,

After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.

I heard the angel of the waters saying, "You are righteous, who is and who was, the Holy One, because you have judged these things.

For they [i.e., the followers of the beast. See verse 2] have shed the blood of God's holy people and [their] prophets, and you have given them blood to drink because they deserved it [i.e., these persecutors deserved the punishment they received for shedding blood].

People were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

And I saw three impure spirits like frogs [proceed] from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet;??14 for [these] are spirits of demons that perform miracles, that go to the kings of all the world, to assemble them for the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

For these are the spirits of demons performing miracles, who go forth to the kings of the habitable earth, to gather them together for the battle of the great Day of God, the Almighty.

And these are seven kings: five have fallen, and the one exists, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must abide but a little while.

These have one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful."

The ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire.

After these things, I saw another angel coming down out of the sky, having great authority. The earth was illuminated with his glory.

Therefore in one day shall these plagues come upon her, Death and mourning and famine, And she shall be burnt with fire; For mighty is the Lord God, her judge.

The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand far away for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning;

for in one hour all these riches are laid waste. And every pilot, and every passenger, and the mariners, and all that bestow their labor upon the sea, stood afar off,

After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah. Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God:

He said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" He said to me, "These are true words of God."

The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

and he cast him to the abyss, and did shut him up, and put a seal upon him, that he may not lead astray the nations any more, till the thousand years may be finished; and after these it behoveth him to be loosed a little time.

Then I saw thrones, with individuals sitting on them who had been given [authority] to judge. And I [also] saw the souls of those who had been decapitated because they had testified about Jesus and [had proclaimed] the message of God. [They are] the ones who had refused to worship the beast or his statue, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And these ones lived again and ruled with Christ for a thousand years.

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him one thousand years.

and shall go out to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together to battle: the number of these is as the sand of the sea.

And these [enemies of God] crossed the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people and the much-loved city [i.e., the church of God]. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

And the devil who [had] deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire, [burning] with sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet also are. [See 19:20]. And [there] these [enemies of God] will be tortured day and night forever and ever.

And I saw the dead, high and low, standing before the throne, and books were opened ??also another book, the book of Life, was opened ??and the dead were judged by what was written in these books, by what they had done.

And He will wipe away all the tears from their eyes, and there will not be death anymore, or mourning, or crying, or pain anymore, for these old things have passed away."

He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."

Then He said to me, "These things have already happened. [Note: These words express the certainty of what has been predicted in this book, even though not all the events had actually taken place yet]. I am the Alpha and the Omega [See note at 1:8], the beginning and the end. I will give the person who is [spiritually] thirsty [a drink] from the spring of water of life without his having to pay for it.

He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son.

But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

It had a great high wall, in which were twelve gates; and at these gates there were twelve angels, and there were names inscribed on the gates, the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.

He said to me, "These words are faithful and true. The Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to show to his bondservants the things which must happen soon."

Now I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who had shown me these things.

& 10] And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and genuine, for the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets has sent his angel to show his servants what must very soon come to pass.

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David; the Bright and Morning Star."

For I testify to every one who heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man add to these things, God will lay upon him the plagues that are written in this book:

and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.

He who testifies these things says, "Yes, I come quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.