Revelation 1-5

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Prologue

1 The revelation of^[a] Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves^(A) what must quickly^[b] take place.^(B) He sent it and signified it^[c] through His angel^(C) to His slave John,^{(D) 2} who testified to God’s word and to the testimony^[d] about Jesus Christ,^(E) in all he saw.^{[e] 3} The one who reads this is blessed,^(F) and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep^[f] what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near!

⁴ John:

To the seven churches in Asia.

Grace and peace^(G) to you from^[g] the One who is, who was, and who is coming;^(H) from the seven spirits^[h](I) before His throne; ⁵ 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^[i] from our sins by His blood, ⁶ and made us a kingdom,^[j] priests^[k](J) to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”^(N) says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

John’s Vision of the Risen Lord

⁹ I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus.^{[q](O) 10} I was in the Spirit^[r][s](P) on the Lord’s day,^[t] and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet ¹¹ saying, “Write on a scroll^[u] what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹² I turned to see whose voice^(Q) it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man,^[v](R) dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. ¹⁴ His head and hair were white like wool—white as snow—and His eyes like a fiery flame. ¹⁵ His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of cascading^[w] waters.^{(S) 16} He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth,^(T) and His face was shining like the sun at midday.^[x]

¹⁷ 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,^{(U) 18} and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. ¹⁹ Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this. ²⁰ The secret of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels^[y] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands^[z] are the seven churches.

The Letters to the Seven Churches

The Letter to Ephesus

2 “Write to the angel^[aa] of the church in Ephesus:

“The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands says: ² I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. ³ You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name and have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you^[ab] and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. ⁶ Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor^(V) the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in^[ac] God’s paradise.^(W)

The Letter to Smyrna

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

“The First and the Last, the One who was dead and came to life, says: ⁹ I know your^[ad] affliction and poverty, yet you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will have affliction for 10 days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown^[ae] of life.

¹¹ “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The victor will never be harmed by the second death.^(X)

The Letter to Pergamum

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

“The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword^(Y) says: ¹³ I know^[af] where you live—where Satan’s throne is! And you are holding on to My name and did not deny your faith in Me,^[ag] even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness who was killed among you, where Satan lives. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block^[ah] in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.^{[ai] 15} In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.^{[aj] 16} Therefore repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

¹⁷ “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor some of the hidden manna.^[ak](Z) I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name^(AA) is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.

The Letter to Thyatira

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

“The Son of God, the One whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze,^[al] says: ¹⁹ I know your works—your love, faithfulness,^[am] service, and endurance. Your last works are greater than the first. ²⁰ But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives My slaves to commit sexual immorality^[an] and to eat meat sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.^{[ao] 22} Look! I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her^[ap] practices. ²³ I will kill her children with the plague.^[aq](AB) Then all the churches will know that I am the One who examines minds^[ar] and hearts, and I will give to each of you according to your works. ²⁴ I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who haven’t known the deep things^[as] of Satan—as they say—I do not put any other burden on you. ²⁵ But hold on to what you have until I come.^{(AC) 26} The one who is victorious and keeps My works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations—

just as I have received this from My Father. ²⁸ I will also give him the morning star.^(AF)

²⁹ “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

The Letter to Sardis

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

“The One who has the seven spirits of God^(AG) and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation^[av] for being alive, but you are dead. ² Be alert and strengthen^[aw] what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come^[ax] like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you.^{[ay] 4} But you have a few people^[az] in Sardis who have not defiled^[ba] their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. ⁵ In the same way, the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life^(AH) but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels.

⁶ “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

The Letter to Philadelphia

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

“The Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens^(AI) says: ⁸ I know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that no one is able to close. ⁹ Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying—note this—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.^{(AJ) 10} Because you have kept My command to endure,^[bb] I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth. ¹¹ I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have,^(AK) so that no one takes your crown. ¹² The victor: I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God—the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God—and My new name.^(AL)

¹³ “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

The Letter to Laodicea

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

“The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator^[bc](AM) of God’s creation says: ¹⁵ I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit^[bd] you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, ¹⁸ I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed^[be] and repent. ²⁰ Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. ²¹ The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.

²² “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”

The Throne Room of Heaven

4 After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

² Immediately I was in the Spirit,^[bf](AN) and a throne was set there in heaven.^(AO) One was seated on the throne, ³ and the One seated^[bg] looked like jasper^[bh] and carnelian^[bi] stone. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne. ⁴ Around that throne were 24 thrones, and on the thrones sat 24 elders dressed in white clothes, with gold crowns on their heads. ⁵ Flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.^{(AP) 6} Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures^(AQ) covered with eyes in front and in back were in the middle^[bj] and around the throne. ⁷ The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like a calf; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings;^(AR) they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop,^[bk] saying:

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne, the One who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the 24 elders fall down before the One seated on the throne, worship the One who lives forever and ever, cast their crowns before the throne, and say:

The Lamb Takes the Scroll

5 Then I saw in the right hand of the One seated on the throne a scroll with writing on the inside and on the back,^(AS) sealed with seven seals. ² I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. ⁴ And I cried and cried because no one was found worthy to open^[bn] the scroll or even to look in it.

⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop crying. Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah,^(AT) the Root of David,^(AU) has been victorious^(AV) so that He may open the scroll and^[bo] its seven seals.” ⁶ Then I saw One like a slaughtered lamb standing between^[bp] the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God^(AW) sent into all the earth. ⁷ He came and took the scroll^[bq] out of the right hand of the One seated on the throne.

The Lamb Is Worthy

⁸ When He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song:^(AX)

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands. ¹² They said with a loud voice:

¹³ I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them say:

¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.