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Revelation · Chapter 1

Revelation 1

Berean Standard Bible · Public domain · Source credits

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Prologue

(Daniel 12:1–13)

1This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,*

2who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.

John Greets the Seven Churches

4John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne,*

5and 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 released us from our sins by His blood,

6who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.

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

John’s Vision on Patmos

9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.

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

11saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”*

12Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,

13and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest.*

14The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire.

15His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.

16He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.

17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

18the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

19Therefore write down the things you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that will happen after this.

20This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Source notes

  1. 1:1 Or suddenly or quickly
  2. 1:4 Literally in Asia; Asia was a Roman province in what is now western Turkey. Or the sevenfold Spirit
  3. 1:8 TR the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End
  4. 1:11 TR saying, “I am Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and,
  5. 1:13 Or one like a son of man; see Daniel 7:13. Read Daniel 7:13

Old Testament references

References from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Text from the Berean Standard Bible.

Daniel 7:13

In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.

Daniel 2:28

But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:

Daniel 2:29

As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen.

Amos 3:7

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.

Psalms 25:14

The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.

Daniel 8:16

And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

Daniel 9:21

while I was still praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.

Daniel 9:23

At the beginning of your petitions, an answer went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly precious. So consider the message and understand the vision:

Proverbs 8:34

Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway.

Daniel 12:12

Blessed is he who waits and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

Daniel 12:13

But as for you, go on your way until the end. You will rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”

Exodus 3:14

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Psalms 90:2

Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

Read the commentary on Revelation 1

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