Revelation 1 (BHT-ATN)

“The Revelation of Jesus the Messiah”

1 The revelation of Jesus the Messiah, which God gave him to show his servants events that are appointed+ to unfold+ very quickly;+ he made this revelation known using signs and symbols, sending it by his angel+ to his servant John, 2 who has given a faithful account+ of this message+ from God and this solemn warning from Jesus the Messiah, that is, of as many things as he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who performs the public reading of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear its words and obey+ the things written within it, because the appointed time is near.

“To: The Seven Assemblies in the Province of Asia”

4 From: John.

To: The seven assemblies in the province of Asia.

To all of ᵖyou grace, and peace, from the I AM+ who is and who was and who is to come, and from the sevenfold Spirit+ before his throne,5 and from Jesus the Messiah—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 from our sins at the cost+ of his own blood6 and appointed us as a kingdom, as priests+ before our God and Father—to him be the glory and the supremacy forever into the ages of the ages. Amen.

7 Listen! He is “coming with the clouds,”+

and every eye will see him,

especially+ those who pierced him;

every tribe of the land+

will wail because of him.+

Yes. Amen, it is true!

8 “I AM the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

“Do Not Be Afraid! I AM the First and the Last”

9 I, John, ᵖyour brother who shares with you+ in the suffering and coming+ Kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in union with Jesus,+ had been exiled to the island called Patmos for proclaiming the word of God and the message about Jesus. 10 I came under the power of the Spirit+ on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a booming voice, as loud as a trumpet blast.+ 11 “Write down on a scroll+ what ˢyou are about to see,” the voice said, “and send it to the seven assemblies—to Ephesus and Smyrna and Pergamum and Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

12 I turned around to see who was speaking to me.+ And when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and in the center of the lampstands+ one “like a son of man,”+ dressed in a long robe reaching down to his feet, with a golden sash wrapped around his chest.+ 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes like a fiery flame. 15 His feet resembled a fine metal made glowing-hot in a furnace, and his voice was loud and powerful, like the roar of rushing waters.+ 16 He held in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was shining like the sun in its full strength at midday.+

17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. Then he placed his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid! I AM the First and the Last 18 and the Living One. I died, but look—now I am alive, forever into the ages of the ages, and I hold the keys of Death and Sheol.+ 19 Therefore, write down the things you have just seen, and the things that are happening at present,+ and the things that are destined to take place in the future.+ 20 As for the mystery concerning the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands, here is what the seven stars represent: Messengers+ to the seven assemblies. The seven lampstands, meanwhile, stand for these: The seven assemblies themselves.

+1:1Divine necessity is implied by the verb used here (see translation and notes at Mt 16:21, Jn 3:15; UBSHS [Re], 12).+1:1Cf Lk 21:31.+1:1Or happen soon, or happen suddenly.+1:1Or messenger.+1:2Cf NLT.+1:2Or word.+1:3Or and pay close attention to.+1:4Cf Ex 3:14 (LXX). See NET Bible Notes, Re 1:4, for a solid explanation of the rough grammar here (ie, John is not wanting to alter the divine name). See also Wallace, Grammar, 62.+1:4Or from the seven spirits. Cf CJB, HCSB footnote, NIV footnote, NLT. An allusion to Is 11:2-3 (LXX).+1:5Cf Ps 89:38. The nominative case is being used in apposition to the genitive here to preserve the titles from the OT (see Wallace, Grammar, 62). In other words, the grammar here is intentionally violated for the sake of theological connection to the OT.+1:5Cf Ps 89:27; Re 17:14, 19:16.+1:5Cf NET.+1:6Cf Ex 19:6; Ml 1:11; Jn 4:21-24; Rm 12:1-2, 15:16; 1 Th 1:3; 1 Pt 2:9; Heb 13:15.+1:7Dn 7:13 (LXX)+1:7Or even.+1:7Or of the earth. Cf Zc 12:10-14. The Greek word that is used here can mean “land,” “earth,” “ground,” or “region,” depending on the context. So throughout Revelation.+1:7Zc 12:10-14+1:9Lit your brother and fellow-sharer. Cf Php 1:7.+1:9IT (see UBSHS [Re], 25). Cf Ac 14:22; Rm 8:17; Php 3:10-11; Re 11:15, 12:10.+1:9Cf, eg, Rm 8:17; Php 3:10-11.+1:10Lit I became in the Spirit. ME (see UBSHS [Re], 28). The entrance into a state signaled by the verb here is difficult to convey in natural English without an ME. Hence the rendering here. Cf CEV, TEV.+1:10Lit I heard behind me a great voice like a trumpet. In English, “voice” is typically used for intelligible messages, while trumpets make “sound.” Hence the rendering here. Cf UBSHS (Re), 28.+1:11Or in a book.+1:12Lit to see the voice that was speaking with me. ME. Cf CJB, NCV, NLT, TEV.+1:13Or among the lampstands.+1:13Dn 7:13+1:13Lit girded about at the chest with a golden sash. Cf ISV, NIV, NLT.+1:15Lit [was] like the sound/voice of many waters. ME(OTB)/IT (see BDAG, 1071, sv φωνή 1; ESS [Re 1-11], 36; UBSHS [Re], 31). Cf CJB, ESV, NET, NIV; ISV, NCV, NET, NLT, TEV at Ezk 43:2; NCV, NIV, NLT, NRSV at Ps 93:4.+1:16Lit And his face was like the sun shining in its power. ME (see UBSHS [Re], 32). Cf HCSB, ISV, NET, TEV.+1:18Lit Hades. ME(OTB). Hades is the Greek word used in the LXX for Sheol, the abode of the dead (see, eg, Ps 6:6 in the LXX).+1:19Lit the things that are. ME (see UBSHS [Re], 34).+1:19Lit destined to happen after these things. ME. Cf NIV. “These things” are referring to “the things that are,” and therefore “after these things” is referring to future occurrences.+1:20Or angels.