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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 angel
to his servant John,
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who tesrtifies to everything he saw - that is, the word of God
and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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Blessed is the one who reads the words of the prophecy,
and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,
because the time is near.
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John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits before his throne,
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and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead,
and the ruler of tyhe kings of the earth. To him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
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and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father -
to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
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Look,he is coming withthe clouds, and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth
will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
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"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God,
"who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
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I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and
patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos
because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
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On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice
like a trumpet,
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which said:
"Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches,
to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatria, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."
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I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned
I saw seven golden lampstands.
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and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man,"
dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash
around his chest.
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His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow,
and his eyes were like blazing fire.
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His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,
and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
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In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp
double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
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When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand
on me and said: "Don't be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
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I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!
And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
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"Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.
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The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the
seven golden lampstands is this:
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches,
and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
