Revelation 1 (NMV)
1 This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His messenger to His servant John,
2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything he saw.
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and keep what is written in it, because the time is near.
4 John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace to you and peace from the One who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits [the fullness of the Holy Spirit] before His throne,
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood—
6 and made us a kingdom and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
7 Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him. And all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. Yes. Amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "the One who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the pressure and suffering, in the kingdom, and in the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
11 saying, "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 to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 and among the lampstands was One like a Son of Man, dressed in a long robe and with a golden sash wrapped around His chest.
14 The hair of His head was white like wool, white as snow, and His eyes were like a flame of fire.
15 His feet were like fine bronze, glowing as if in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
16 He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp, double-edged sword was coming from His mouth, and His face was shining like the sun at full strength.
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me and said, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,
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 [the temporary place where the dead await judgment].
19 So write what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place after this.
20 The seven stars are the messengers [spiritual leaders of each church] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.