Bible Gateway passage: Revelation 1:8-20 - New International Version (2024)

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,”^(A) says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come,^(B) the Almighty.”^(C)

John’s Vision of Christ

⁹I, John,^(D) your brother and companion in the suffering^(E) and kingdom^(F) and patient endurance^(G) that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God^(H) and the testimony of Jesus.^{(I) 10}On the Lord’s Day^(J) I was in the Spirit,^(K) and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,^{(L) 11}which said: “Write on a scroll what you see^(M) and send it to the seven churches:^(N) to Ephesus,^(O) Smyrna,^(P) Pergamum,^(Q) Thyatira,^(R) Sardis,^(S) Philadelphia^(T) and Laodicea.”^(U)

¹²I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,^{(V) 13}and among the lampstands^(W) was someone like a son of man,^[a](X) dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet^(Y) and with a golden sash around his chest.^{(Z) 14}The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.^{(AA) 15}His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,^(AB) and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.^{(AC) 16}In his right hand he held seven stars,^(AD) and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.^(AE) His face was like the sun^(AF) shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷When I saw him, I fell at his feet^(AG) as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me^(AH) and said: “Do not be afraid.^(AI) I am the First and the Last.^{(AJ) 18}I am the Living One; I was dead,^(AK) and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!^(AL) And I hold the keys of death and Hades.^(AM)

¹⁹“Write, therefore, what you have seen,^(AN) what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand^(AO) and of the seven golden lampstands^(AP) is this: The seven stars are the angels^[b] of the seven churches,^(AQ) and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.^(AR)

Footnotes

1. Revelation 1:13 See Daniel 7:13.
2. Revelation 1:20 Or messengers

Cross references

1. Revelation 1:8 : S ver 17; Rev 21:6; 22:13
2. Revelation 1:8 : S ver 4
3. Revelation 1:8 : Rev 4:8; 15:3; 19:6
4. Revelation 1:9 : ver 1
5. Revelation 1:9 : S Ac 14:22; 2Co 1:7; Php 4:14
6. Revelation 1:9 : ver 6
7. Revelation 1:9 : 2Ti 2:12
8. Revelation 1:9 : ver 2; S Heb 4:12
9. Revelation 1:9 : S ver 2
10. Revelation 1:10 : Ac 20:7
11. Revelation 1:10 : Rev 4:2; 17:3; 21:10
12. Revelation 1:10 : Ex 20:18; Rev 4:1
13. Revelation 1:11 : ver 19
14. Revelation 1:11 : ver 4, 20
15. Revelation 1:11 : S Ac 18:19
16. Revelation 1:11 : Rev 2:8
17. Revelation 1:11 : Rev 2:12
18. Revelation 1:11 : Ac 16:14; Rev 2:18, 24
19. Revelation 1:11 : Rev 3:1
20. Revelation 1:11 : Rev 3:7
21. Revelation 1:11 : S Col 2:1; Rev 3:14
22. Revelation 1:12 : ver 20; Ex 25:31-40; Zec 4:2; Rev 2:1
23. Revelation 1:13 : Rev 2:1
24. Revelation 1:13 : Eze 1:26; Da 7:13; 10:16; Rev 14:14
25. Revelation 1:13 : Isa 6:1
26. Revelation 1:13 : Da 10:5; Rev 15:6
27. Revelation 1:14 : Da 7:9; 10:6; Rev 2:18; 19:12
28. Revelation 1:15 : Eze 1:7; Da 10:6; Rev 2:18
29. Revelation 1:15 : Eze 43:2; Rev 14:2; 19:6
30. Revelation 1:16 : ver 20; Rev 2:1; 3:1
31. Revelation 1:16 : Isa 1:20; 49:2; Heb 4:12; Rev 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21
32. Revelation 1:16 : Jdg 5:31; Mt 17:2
33. Revelation 1:17 : Eze 1:28; Da 8:17, 18
34. Revelation 1:17 : Da 8:18
35. Revelation 1:17 : S Mt 14:27
36. Revelation 1:17 : Isa 41:4; 44:6; 48:12; Rev 2:8; 22:13
37. Revelation 1:18 : Ro 6:9; Rev 2:8
38. Revelation 1:18 : Dt 32:40; Da 4:34; 12:7; Rev 4:9, 10; 10:6; 15:7
39. Revelation 1:18 : Rev 9:1; 20:1
40. Revelation 1:19 : ver 11; Hab 2:2
41. Revelation 1:20 : S ver 16
42. Revelation 1:20 : S ver 12
43. Revelation 1:20 : ver 4, 11
44. Revelation 1:20 : Mt 5:14, 15