Revelation 1-5

Easy-to-Read Version

John Tells About This Book

1 This is a revelation^[a] from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must happen soon. And Christ sent his angel to show it to his servant John, ² who has told everything he saw. It is the truth that Jesus Christ told him; it is the message from God. ³ Great blessings belong to the person who reads the words of this message from God and to those who hear this message and do what is written in it. There is not much time left.

John Writes to the Churches

⁴ From John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is coming; and from the seven spirits before his throne; ⁵ and from Jesus Christ. Jesus is the faithful witness. He is first among all who will be raised from death. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Jesus is the one who loves us and has made us free from our sins with his blood sacrifice. ⁶ He made us his kingdom and priests who serve God his Father. To Jesus be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

⁷ Look, Jesus is coming with the clouds! Everyone will see him, even those who pierced^[b] him. All peoples of the earth will cry loudly because of him. Yes, this will happen! Amen.

⁸ The Lord God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.^[c] I am the one who is, who always was, and who is coming. I am the All-Powerful.”

⁹ I am John, your fellow believer. We are together in Jesus, and we share these things: suffering, the kingdom, and patient endurance. I was on the island of Patmos^[d] because I was faithful to God’s message and to the truth of Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord’s Day, the Spirit took control of me. I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet. ¹¹ It said, “Write down in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹² I turned to see who was talking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. ¹³ I saw someone among the lampstands who looked like the Son of Man. He was dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash tied around his chest. ¹⁴ His head and hair were white like wool—wool that is white as snow. His eyes were like flames of fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like brass that glows hot in a furnace. His voice was like the noise of flooding water. ¹⁶ He held seven stars in his right hand. A sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth. He looked like the sun shining at its brightest time.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He put his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the one who lives. I was dead, but look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. ¹⁹ So write what you see. Write the things that happen now and the things that will happen later. ²⁰ Here is the hidden meaning of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands that you saw: The seven lampstands are the seven churches. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Ephesus

2 “Write this to the angel of the church in Ephesus:

“Here is a message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.

² “I know what you do, how hard you work and never give up. I know that you don’t accept evil people. You have tested those who say they are apostles but are not. You found that they are liars. ³ You never stop trying. You have endured troubles for my name and have not given up.

⁴ “But I have this against you: You have left the love you had in the beginning. ⁵ So remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did at first. If you don’t change, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But there is something you do that is right—you hate the things that the Nicolaitans^[e] do. I also hate what they do.

⁷ “Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To those who win the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life, which is in God’s paradise.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “Write this to the angel of the church in Smyrna:

“Here is a message from the one who is the First and the Last, the one who died and came to life again.

⁹ “I know your troubles, and I know that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the insults you have suffered from people who say they are Jews. But they are not true Jews. They are a group^[f] that belongs to Satan. ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what will happen to you. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison. He will do this to test you. You will suffer for ten days, but be faithful, even if you have to die. If you continue to be faithful, I will give you the reward^[g] of life.

¹¹ “Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Pergamum

¹² “Write this to the angel of the church in Pergamum:

“Here is a message from the one who has the sharp two-edged sword.

¹³ “I know where you live. You live where Satan has his throne, but you are true to me. You did not refuse to tell about your faith in me even during the time of Antipas. Antipas was my faithful witness^[h] who was killed in your city, the city where Satan lives.

¹⁴ “But I have a few things against you. You have people there who follow the teaching of Balaam. Balaam taught Balak how to make the people of Israel sin. They sinned by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sins. ¹⁵ It is the same in your group. You have people who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ So change your hearts! If you don’t change, I will come to you quickly and fight against these people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.

¹⁷ “Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

“I will give the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give each one a white stone that has a new name written on it. And no one will know this name except the one who gets the stone.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira:

“Here is a message from the Son of God, the one who has eyes that blaze like fire and feet like shining brass.

¹⁹ “I know what you do. I know about your love, your faith, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first. ²⁰ But I have this against you: You let that woman Jezebel do what she wants. She says that she is a prophet,^[i] but she is leading my people away with her teaching. Jezebel leads my people to commit sexual sins and to eat food that is offered to idols. ²¹ I have given her time to change her heart and turn away from her sin, but she does not want to change.

²² “So I will throw her on a bed of suffering. And all those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly. I will do this now if they don’t turn away from the things she does. ²³ I will also kill her followers. Then all the churches will see that I am the one who knows what people feel and think. And I will repay each of you for what you have done.

²⁴ “But others of you in Thyatira have not followed her teaching. You have not learned the things they call ‘Satan’s deep secrets.’ This is what I say to you: I will not put any other burden on you. ²⁵ Only hold on to the truth you have until I come.

²⁶ “I will give power over the nations to all those who win the victory and continue until the end to do what I want. ²⁷ They will rule the nations with an iron rod. They will break them to pieces like clay pots.^{[j] 28} They will have the same power I received from my Father, and I will give them the morning star. ²⁹ Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Sardis

3 “Write this to the angel of the church in Sardis:

“Here is a message from the one who has the seven spirits and the seven stars.

“I know what you do. People say that you are alive, but really you are dead. ² Wake up! Make yourselves stronger before what little strength you have left is completely gone. I find that what you do is not good enough for my God. ³ So don’t forget what you have received and heard. Obey it. Change your hearts and lives! You must wake up, or I will come to you and surprise you like a thief. You will not know when I will come.

⁴ “But you have a few people in your group there in Sardis who have kept themselves clean. They will walk with me. They will wear white clothes, because they are worthy. ⁵ Everyone who wins the victory will be dressed in white clothes like them. I will not remove their names from the book of life. I will say that they belong to me before my Father and before his angels. ⁶ Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Philadelphia

⁷ “Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:

“Here is a message from the one who is holy and true, the one who holds the key of David. When he opens something, it cannot be closed. And when he closes something, it cannot be opened.

⁸ “I know what you do. I have put before you an open door that no one can close. I know you are weak, but you have followed my teaching. You were not afraid to speak my name. ⁹ Listen! There is a group^[k] that belongs to Satan. They say they are Jews, but they are liars. They are not true Jews. I will make them come before you and bow at your feet. They will know that you are the people I have loved. ¹⁰ You followed my command to endure patiently. So I will keep you from the time of trouble that will come to the world—a time that will test everyone living on earth.

¹¹ “I am coming soon. Hold on to the faith you have, so that no one can take away your crown. ¹² Those who win the victory will be pillars in the temple of my God. I will make that happen for them. They will never again have to leave God’s temple. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God. That city is the new Jerusalem.^[l] It is coming down out of heaven from my God. I will also write my new name on them. ¹³ Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴ “Write this to the angel of the church in Laodicea:

“Here is a message from the Amen,^[m] the faithful and true witness, the ruler of all that God has made.

¹⁵ “I know what you do. You are not hot or cold. I wish that you were hot or cold! ¹⁶ But you are only warm—not hot, not cold. So I am ready to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say you are rich. You think you have become wealthy and don’t need anything. But you don’t know that you are really miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸ I advise you to buy gold from me—gold made pure in fire. Then you will be rich. I tell you this: Buy clothes that are white. Then you will be able to cover your shameful nakedness. I also tell you to buy medicine to put on your eyes. Then you will be able to see.

¹⁹ “I correct and punish the people I love. So show that nothing is more important to you than living right. Change your hearts and lives. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you. And you will eat with me.

²¹ “I will let everyone who wins the victory sit with me on my throne. It was the same with me. I won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”

John Sees Heaven

4 Then I looked, and there before me was an open door in heaven. And I heard the same voice that spoke to me before. It was the voice that sounded like a trumpet. It said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” ² Immediately the Spirit took control of me, and there in heaven was a throne with someone sitting on it. ³ The one sitting there was as beautiful as precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow with clear colors like an emerald.

⁴ In a circle around the throne were 24 other thrones with 24 elders sitting on them. The elders were dressed in white, and they had golden crowns on their heads. ⁵ Lightning flashes and noises of thunder came from the throne. Before the throne there were seven lamps burning, which are the seven Spirits of God. ⁶ Also before the throne there was something that looked like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal.

In front of the throne and on each side of it there were four living beings. They had eyes all over them, in front and in back. ⁷ The first living being was like a lion. The second was like a bull. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. ⁸ Each of these four living beings had six wings. They were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stopped saying,

⁹ These living beings were giving glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever. And every time they did this, ¹⁰ the 24 elders bowed down before the one who sits on the throne. They worshiped him who lives forever and ever. They put their crowns down before the throne and said,

Who Can Open the Scroll?

5 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides and was kept closed with seven seals. ² And I saw a powerful angel, who called in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth who could open the scroll or look inside it. ⁴ I cried and cried because there was no one who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ But one of the elders said to me, “Don’t cry! The Lion^[n] from the tribe of Judah has won the victory. He is David’s descendant. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb standing in the center near the throne with the four living beings around it. The elders were also around the Lamb. The Lamb looked as if it had been killed. It had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that were sent into all the world. ⁷ The Lamb came and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. ⁸ After the Lamb took the scroll, the four living beings and the 24 elders bowed down before the Lamb. Each one of them had a harp. Also, they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s holy people. ⁹ And they all sang a new song to the Lamb:

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels. The angels were around the throne, the four living beings, and the elders. There were thousands and thousands of angels—10,000 times 10,000. ¹² The angels said in a loud voice,

¹³ Then I heard every created being that is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in all these places, saying,

¹⁴ The four living beings said, “Amen!” And the elders bowed down and worshiped.