"I am the Alpha and the Omega" [Note: These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and indicate "the beginning and the end" See 21:6], says the Lord God Almighty, who is [in the present], and who was [in the past] and who will come [in the future].

saying, "Write down in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicia" [Note: These seven congregations were all located in western Asia Minor].

And turning to see the voice which said these words to me, I saw seven gold vessels with lights burning in them;

Write therefore what thou hast seen, and the things that are, and the things that are about to be after these.

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

But you have this [in your favor]: You hate the [evil] deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate [Note: These people were probably followers of someone named Nicolas and were known to be false teachers. See verse 15].

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

And I will strike her children dead [or, "kill her children by some terrible calamity" See Ex. 5:3 LXX]. Then all the churches will know that I am the One who searches the inmost being of people [Note: The Greek says, "searches the kidneys and hearts." In that day these internal organs stood for the inner thoughts, emotions, etc.]. And I will repay each one of you people according to what you have done.

But for the rest of you at Thyatira, for all who do not hold these tenets, for those who have not (in their phrase) 'fathomed the deep mysteries of Satan' ??for you this is my word: I impose no fresh burden on you;

And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

He who conquers shall be clothed in these white robes, and I will not 'strike his name out of the Book of Life'; but I will own him before my Father, and before his angels.

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter.

Twenty-four [other] thrones surrounded the throne; and seated on these thrones were twenty-four elders dressed in white clothing, with crowns of gold on their heads.

And out of the throne there went lightnings and thunderings and voices; and seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne: these are the seven spirits of God.

And there was an ocean, as crystal-clear as glass, in front of the throne. And at the center, surrounding the throne were four living beings, covered with eyes in the front and back of them. [Note: In view of Isa. 6:1-3 and especially Eze. 10:20ff, these "living beings" appear to be some special order of heavenly beings who inhabit the presence of God].

These four Creatures have each of them six wings, and all round, and within, they are full of eyes; and day and night they never cease to say-- 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, our God, the Almighty, who was, and who is, and who shall be.'

And, whenever these Creatures give praise and honour and thanks to him who is 'seated on the throne, to him who lives for ever and ever,'

And I beheld, in the middle space, between the throne and the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, there stood a Lamb, which seemed to have been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes; these are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.

And, when he had taken the book, the four Creatures and the twenty-four Councillors prostrated themselves before the Lamb, each of them holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense. (These are the prayers of Christ's People.)

And as for every created thing in Heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and everything that was in any of these, I heard them say, "To Him who is seated on the throne, And to the Lamb, Be ascribed all blessing and honor And glory and might, Until the Ages of the Ages!"

And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Then he told me, "These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. That is why: "They are in front of the throne of God and worship him night and day in his Temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.

(Now the name of the star is Wormwood.) So a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned.

And the locusts were not given the power to kill these people, but [only] to torture them for five months. And the torment they would inflict was like a scorpion stinging a person.

And in these days men shall seek death, and shall not find it: and they shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them.

They had a king over them who was the angel of the deep pit [See verses 1-2]. His name in Hebrew was "Abaddon," and in Greek it was "Apollyon" [Note: These words both mean "Destroyer"].

The first woe has passed. Behold, there come yet two woes after these things.

By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

For the power of these horses is in their mouths and their tails. Their tails have heads like snakes, which they use to inflict pain.

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

and he called out in a loud voice, like a roaring lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders responded to the voice [of the angel]. [Note: These "seven thunders" have not been previously mentioned].

and when the seven thunders spake their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice out of the heaven saying to me, 'Seal the things that the seven thunders spake,' and, 'Thou mayest not write these things.'

Then I was given a measuring reed like a rod, with these words: “Go and measure God’s sanctuary and the altar, and count those who worship there.

These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

After three days and a half 'the life-giving breath of God entered these men, and they stood up upon their feet,' and a great terror took possession of those who were watching them.

with these words: "We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

Then there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; on the other side fought the dragon with his angels: but these were defeated,

but these prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.

[And] by being given [power] to perform these signs in the sight of the [first] beast, he deceived the people on earth. He told them to make a statue to [honor] the [first] beast, who had been wounded by a sword and yet lived [through it].

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

And another, the third angel followed these, saying with a great voice, If any one worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark upon his forehead, or upon his hand,

And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night—those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

And I saw another sign in the heaven, great and wonderful, seven messengers having the seven last plagues, because in these was completed the wrath of God,

And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

and I heard the messenger of the waters, saying, 'righteous, O Lord, art Thou, who art, and who wast, and who shalt be, because these things Thou didst judge,

For they [i.e., the followers of the beast. See verse 2] have shed the blood of God's holy people and [their] prophets, and you have given them blood to drink because they deserved it [i.e., these persecutors deserved the punishment they received for shedding blood].

And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

And I saw three impure spirits like frogs [proceed] from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet;??14 for [these] are spirits of demons that perform miracles, that go to the kings of all the world, to assemble them for the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

For they are spirits of demons, which perform [supernatural] signs. These spirits go out to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for battle on the great day of Almighty God.

And these are seven kings: five have fallen, and the one exists, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must abide but a little while.

These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

Therefore in one day shall these Curses befall her--death, misery, and famine, and she shall be utterly consumed by fire; for mighty is the Lord God who condemned her.

The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

for in one hour all these riches are laid waste. And every pilot, and every passenger, and the mariners, and all that bestow their labor upon the sea, stood afar off,

And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

and cast him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should not any more deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be loosed for a little time.

Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

and he will [again] go out to deceive the nations which are [located] throughout the whole world --- Gog and Magog. [Note: Based on Eze. 35-40, it appears that these names are used here figuratively for all the forces of wickedness which are enemies of God]. Satan will assemble them together for battle, and they will be as numberless as the sand on the seashore.

And these [enemies of God] crossed the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people and the much-loved city [i.e., the church of God]. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

And the devil who [had] deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire, [burning] with sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet also are. [See 19:20]. And [there] these [enemies of God] will be tortured day and night forever and ever.

And I saw dead people, the most important and the least significant ones, standing in front of the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life [Note: This refers to a record of those to whom God has granted never ending life]. And these dead people [i.e., who have now been resurrected] were judged according to their deeds, based on what was recorded in the books.

And He will wipe away all the tears from their eyes, and there will not be death anymore, or mourning, or crying, or pain anymore, for these old things have passed away."

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Then He said to me, "These things have already happened. [Note: These words express the certainty of what has been predicted in this book, even though not all the events had actually taken place yet]. I am the Alpha and the Omega [See note at 1:8], the beginning and the end. I will give the person who is [spiritually] thirsty [a drink] from the spring of water of life without his having to pay for it.

He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

It had a great high wall, in which were twelve gates; and at these gates there were twelve angels, and there were names inscribed on the gates, the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.

And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

& 10] And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and genuine, for the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets has sent his angel to show his servants what must very soon come to pass.

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.