Rev 1-3 | ESV | STEP | The revelation of Jesus Christ , which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place . He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John ,

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God ^agave him ^bto show to his servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants} the things that must soon take place. ^dHe made it known by sending his angel to his servant ^{▼▼Greek bondservant} John, 2 ^fwho bore witness to the word of God and to ^gthe testimony of Jesus Christ, even ^hto all that he saw. 3 ⁱBlessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, ^jfor the time is near.

Greeting to the Seven Churches

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from ^khim ^lwho is and ^mwho was and who is to come, and from ⁿthe seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ ^othe faithful witness, ^pthe firstborn of the dead, and ^qthe ruler of kings on earth.

To ^rhim who loves us and ^shas freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us ^ta kingdom, ^upriests to ^vhis God and Father, to him be ^wglory and ^xdominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, ^yhe is coming with the clouds, and ^zevery eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail ^{▼▼Or mourn} on account of him. Even so. Amen.

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

Vision of the Son of Man

9 I, John, your brother and ^adpartner in ^aethe tribulation and ^afthe kingdom and ^agthe patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^ahon account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 ^aiI was in the Spirit ^ajon the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^aklike a trumpet 11 saying, ^al“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw ^amseven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands ^anone like ^aoa son of man, ^apclothed with a long robe and ^aqwith a golden sash around his chest. 14 ^arThe hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. ^asHis eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 ^athis feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and ^auhis voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 ^avIn his right hand he held seven stars, ^awfrom his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and ^axhis face was like the sun shining ^ayin full strength.

17 ^azWhen I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But ^bahe laid his right hand on me, ^bbsaying, “Fear not, ^bcI am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. ^bdI died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and ^beI have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 ^bfWrite therefore ^bgthe things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and ^bhthe seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and ^bithe seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Revelation of John 2

To the Church in Ephesus

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of ^bjhim who holds the seven stars in his right hand, ^bkwho walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 ^bl“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but ^bmhave tested those ^bnwho call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up ^bofor my name’s sake, and you ^bphave not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned ^bqthe love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do ^brthe works you did at first. If not, ^bsI will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of ^btthe Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 ^buHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^bvTo the one who conquers I will grant to eat of ^bwthe tree of life, which is in ^bxthe paradise of God.’

To the Church in Smyrna

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of ^bythe first and the last, ^bzwho died and came to life.

9 “‘I know your tribulation and ^cayour poverty ( ^cbbut you are rich) and the slander ^{▼▼Greek blasphemy} of ^cdthose who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, ^cethat you may be tested, and for ^cften days ^cgyou will have tribulation. ^chBe faithful ^ciunto death, and I will give you ^cjthe crown of life. 11 ^ckHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^clThe one who conquers will not be hurt by ^cmthe second death.’

To the Church in Pergamum

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has ^cnthe sharp two-edged sword.

13 “‘I know where you dwell, ^cowhere Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not ^cpdeny my faith ^{▼▼Or your faith in me} even in the days of Antipas ^crmy faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of ^csBalaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might ^cteat food sacrificed to idols and ^cupractice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of ^cvthe Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, ^cwI will come to you soon and ^cxwar against them with ^cythe sword of my mouth. 17 ^czHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^daTo the one who conquers I will give some of ^dbthe hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with ^dca new name written on the stone ^ddthat no one knows except the one who receives it.’

To the Church in Thyatira

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, ^dewho has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

19 ^df“‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman ^dgJezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants} ^dito practice sexual immorality and ^djto eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but ^dkshe refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he ^dlwho searches mind and heart, and ^dmI will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call ^dnthe deep things of Satan, to you I say, I ^dodo not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast ^dpwhat you have until I come. 26 ^dqThe one who conquers and who keeps my works ^druntil the end, ^dsto him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and ^dthe will ^durule them with a rod of iron, ^dvas when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him ^dwthe morning star. 29 ^dxHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Revelation of John 3

To the Church in Sardis

1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him ^dywho has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation ^dzof being alive, ^eabut you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works ^ebcomplete in the sight of my God. 3 ^ecRemember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, ^edI will come ^eelike a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not ^efsoiled their garments, and they will walk with me ^egin white, for they are ^ehworthy. 5 ^eiThe one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never ^ejblot his name out of ^ekthe book of life. ^elI will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 ^emHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Philadelphia

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of ^enthe holy one, ^eothe true one, ^epwho has the key of David, ^eqwho opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you ^eran open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of ^esthe synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, ^etI will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that ^euI have loved you. 10 ^evBecause you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try ^ewthose who dwell on the earth. 11 ^exI am coming soon. ^eyHold fast what you have, so that no one may seize ^ezyour crown. 12 ^faThe one who conquers, I will make him ^fba pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him ^fcthe name of my God, and ^fdthe name of the city of my God, ^fethe new Jerusalem, ^ffwhich comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own ^fgnew name. 13 ^fhHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Laodicea

14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the ^fiAmen, ^fjthe faithful and true witness, ^fkthe beginning of God’s creation.

15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. ^flWould that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 ^fmFor you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, ^fnblind, and naked. 18 I counsel you ^foto buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and ^fpwhite garments so that you may clothe yourself and ^fqthe shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, ^frso that you may see. 19 ^fsThose whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and ^ftknock. ^fuIf anyone hears my voice and opens the door, ^fvI will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 ^fwThe one who conquers, ^fxI will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as ^fyI also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 ^fzHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”