and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood,

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last,

and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

“Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna:

“The First and the Last, the One who was dead and came to life, says:

I know where you live—where Satan’s throne is! And you are holding on to My name and did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness who was killed among you, where Satan lives.

“Write to the angel of the church in Sardis:

“The One who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.

Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people robed in white, and where did they come from?”

The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which are not able to see, hear, or walk.

And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.

Their dead bodies will lie in the public square of the great city, which prophetically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

The nations were angry,
but Your wrath has come.
The time has come
for the dead to be judged
and to give the reward
to Your servants the prophets,
to the saints, and to those who fear Your name,
both small and great,
and the time has come to destroy
those who destroy the earth.

His tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth he might devour her child.

They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not love their lives
in the face of death.

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: The dead who die in the Lord from now on are blessed.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!”

The second poured out his bowl into the sea. It turned to blood like a dead man’s, and all life in the sea died.

and people were burned by the intense heat. So they blasphemed the name of God, who had the power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give Him glory.

and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, yet they did not repent of their actions.

The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.

Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead; all were judged according to their works.

I did not see a sanctuary in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary.