John’s Vision on Patmos

9 I, 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. 10 On the Lord’s day I was in [the] Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 saying,[fn] “Write on a scroll what you see and send [it] to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands [was One] like [the] Son of Man,[fn] dressed in a long robe with a golden sash around [His] chest. 14 The hair of His head [was] white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes [were] like a blazing fire. 15 His feet [were] like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice [was] like [the] roar of many waters. 16 He 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.

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

19 Therefore write down the things you have seen, the things that are, and the things that will happen after this. 20 [This 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.[’’]