Book of Revelation Ch 1-7

Book of Revelation: Chapters: 1-7

Chapter 1

John's message

v1 This book describes the things that God showed to Jesus Christ. He wanted Jesus to show these things to his own servants. These events must happen soon. Jesus sent his *angel to show these things to his servant John.

v2 John has told everything that he saw then. These things are a true message from God. Jesus Christ really said these things. v3 God will be good to the person who reads aloud the words of this *prophecy. God will also be good to all those people who listen to these words. So, if they obey these words, all these people will be really happy. I, John, have written all that I saw. Those people who hear these words should remember them. These things are very important and they will happen soon.

John writes to the 7 *churches

v4 I am John, and I am writing to the 7 *churches. You live in the country called Asia. I pray that God will continue to be very kind to you. I pray also that he will cause you to be without trouble inside yourselves. God will do these things for you. He is alive now and he has always been alive. And he will come.

The 7 *spirits that are in front of God's *throne will also do these things for you.

v5 And Jesus Christ will also do these things for you. He always says and shows true things. He is the first person who became alive again after death for all time. He rules the rulers on the earth.

Jesus loves us. He bled and died for us. That is how he made us free. We are free from all the bad things that we have done. v6 He has made us belong to his family, who rule as kings. He has made us *priests, to be servants of his God and Father. Jesus Christ will always be very great! All authority is his for all time. This is true.

v7 Look, he will come on the clouds! Everyone will see him, even those who pierced him. People from all the countries on earth will be sad because of him. Yes, this is true.

v8 'I cause all things to begin and I cause the end of all things', says the *Lord God. 'I have all authority. I am alive and I was always alive. And I will come.'

Jesus appears to John

v9 I am John, and, like you, I believe Christ. So I am like a brother to you. Jesus is our king. And because we are his people, we are having trouble. So, like you, I need to be strong and patient. I was on Patmos island because I had taught God's message. I told people what is true about Jesus.

v10 On the *Lord's day, God's Spirit caused me to see and to hear things. It was like a dream as the Spirit showed me things. I heard somebody speak behind me. The sound was as loud as a *trumpet. v11 The person said: 'Write what you see in a book. You must send the book to the 7 *churches in these cities:

Ephesus
Smyrna
Pergamum
Thyatira
Sardis
Philadelphia and
Laodicea.'

v12 I turned round to see who was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw 7 lights in gold *lampstands. v13 In the middle of the lights, I saw someone like a man. He was wearing long clothes that reached down to his feet. And he wore a gold belt round the top half of his body. v14 His head and his hair were white like sheep's hair. They were very white, like snow. And his eyes were like fires that were burning. v15 His feet shone like yellow metal that shines brightly in a very hot fire. When he spoke, his voice was like the sound of many rivers. It was like many rivers that were moving very fast. v16 He held 7 stars in his right hand. And there was a sharp *sword with two edges coming out of his mouth. His face was like the sun when it shines very brightly.

v17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead person. Then he put his right hand on me. 'Do not be afraid', he said to me. 'I am first and I am last. v18 I am God who is alive. I died once. But look, I am alive. And I will be alive always. And I have the keys to death and Hades. v19 So write down the things that you have seen. Write about what is happening now. And write about what will happen later.'

v20 'You saw 7 stars in my right hand. You saw 7 lights, in gold *lampstands. This is what they mean. The 7 stars mean the *angels of you 7 *churches. And the 7 lights in their *lampstands mean you 7 *churches.'

Chapter 2

Jesus' message to the believers at Ephesus

v1 'Write this to the *angel of the *church at Ephesus:

This is the message from the one who holds the 7 stars. He holds them in his right hand. He also walks among the 7 lights in gold *lampstands.

v2 I know everything that you do. You have worked much for me. You have been patient through trouble. I know that you will not let bad men stay among you. Some men among you say that God has sent them to teach you. But he did not send them. You have thought carefully about what they say. And you have discovered that it is not true. v3 You have been patient and strong. You have had trouble because you are my servants. And still you have not become tired of obeying me.

v4 But I have something to say against you. You loved me very much when you first believed in me. You do not love me as much now. v5 So remember how much you once loved me. Be sorry about the bad things that you do. Do again the good things that you did at the beginning. Unless you are sorry about the bad things, I will come to you. Then I will take away your *lampstand from its place. v6 You *hate what the Nicolaitans are doing. It is very good that you *hate it. I also *hate it.

v7 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the *churches. You should recognise that the Spirit is speaking. Everybody who recognises that should listen. They should listen to what he says. I will let everyone who wins against *Satan eat my fruit. This fruit is from the tree that makes us alive. And this tree grows in God's garden.'

Jesus' message to the believers at Smyrna

v8 'Write this to the *angel of the *church at Smyrna:

This is the message from the one who is first and last. He was dead, and he became alive again.

v9 I know that bad people are hurting you very much. I know that you are poor. But really, you are rich. Some people there say that they are *Jews. But I know that they say bad things about you. And I know that these things are not true. So they are not really my people, who obey me. They are really a group of *Satan's people. v10 I know that trouble will soon come to you. But do not be afraid. Listen! The *Devil will cause some of you to go to prison. He wants to see whether you will continue to believe me. And you will have trouble and pain for 10 days. But go on believing, even if you must die. You may have to die because you believe. But if you continue to believe, you can win against the *Devil. And then I will give you a gift because you have won. I will cause you to live with me always. I will give you this gift, as they give a *crown to a winner.

v11 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the *churches. You should recognise that the Spirit is speaking. Everybody who recognises that should listen. They should listen to what he says. The second death will not hurt anyone who wins against *Satan.'

Jesus' message to the believers at Pergamum

v12 'Write this to the *angel of the *church at Pergamum:

This is the message from the one who has the sharp *sword. That *sword has two edges.

v13 I know where you live. It is the place where *Satan sits as king. But still you go on *serving me. You remember Antipas. He continued to speak about me. Some people who live in Pergamum killed him because of that. You saw it happen. But you continued to believe me and you told others about me. And you still do this, even there in that place where *Satan lives.

v14 But I have a few things to say against you. Some people among you do what Balaam taught. He taught Balak to do what was wrong. And Balak caused Israel's people to want to do wrong things. He caused them to eat food that people had given to false gods. And he caused them to have sex with people who were not their husbands or wives. v15 Also, some people among you do the bad things that the Nicolaitans teach. v16 So be sorry and stop doing all these bad things. If you are not sorry, I will come to you quickly. Then I will fight against those bad people with my *sword. This *sword comes out of my mouth.

v17 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the *churches. You should recognise that the Spirit is speaking. Everybody who recognises that should listen. They should listen to what he says. I will give my special food to everyone who wins against *Satan. I will also give them a white stone. And I will write a new name on that stone. Nobody will know that name except the person who receives it.'

Jesus' message to the believers at Thyatira

v18 'Write this to the *angel of the *church at Thyatira:

This is the message from the Son of God. He has eyes that burn like fires. His feet shine like bright yellow metal.

v19 I know everything that you do. I know how much you love me. I know that you go on believing me. I know that you are my servants. I know that you are patient and strong. I know that you do more work now than you did before.

v20 But I have something to say against you. You let that woman Jezebel teach you. She says that she speaks God's messages. But she leads my servants the wrong way. God's rules say that someone should have sex only with their wife or their husband. But she teaches my servants to have sex with other people. And she teaches them to eat food that people have given to false gods. v21 I have given her time to be sorry about these bad things. But she refuses to stop having sex with other men. v22 She has done bad things on a bed. So I will hurt her on a bed. I will cause a lot of trouble for those who loved her. They did bad things because of her. They will have very bad trouble unless they are sorry about those bad things. They must stop doing the bad things that she taught them to do. v23 And I will kill those who obey her. Then all the *churches will know that I look deep inside people. I know what they really want. I know what they really think. And I will give each person among you what you ought to have. I will give you this because of what you have done.

v24 But you other people in Thyatira, you have not done what Jezebel taught. You have not learned what they call '*Satan's deep secrets'. I say something else to you. I will not ask you to do anything that is too difficult. I do not want you to be like people who must carry something heavy. v25 Only be careful that you continue to believe in me. Believe me until I come.

v26 Everyone who goes on doing what I say will win. They will win against *Satan if they obey me until the end. I will give those people authority to rule all the countries on the earth. v27 They will rule those countries with an iron stick. They will rule like someone who breaks clay pots into pieces. I have received this authority from my Father. v28 I will also give those people the morning star. v29 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the *churches. You should recognise that the Spirit is speaking. Everybody who recognises that should listen. They should listen to what he says.'

Chapter 3

Jesus' message to the believers at Sardis

v1 'Write this to the *angel of the *church at Sardis:

This is the message from the one who holds the 7 *spirits of God and the 7 stars.

I know everything that you do. I know what people think about you. They think that you are alive. But that is not true, because really you are dead. v2 Wake up! You still do a few things because you believe Christ. Make your lives as believers strong again, because they are ready to die. I have discovered that you have not done everything right. You have not done everything that God wanted. v3 So remember what you have heard. Remember what you have learned. Obey God, and turn away from wrong things. Be sorry for the wrong things that you have done. If you do not wake up, I will come to you. I will come secretly, like someone who robs. So, you will have no idea about what time I will come to you.

v4 But you have a few people among you in Sardis who have not done anything bad. They are like people who have kept their clothes clean. They will walk with me and they will wear white clothes. The white clothes show that they are good. v5 Everyone who wins against *Satan will wear white clothes. I will never remove their names from God's book. That book says who will live with me always. And I will tell my Father and his *angels that those people are mine. v6 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the *churches. You should recognise that the Spirit is speaking. Everybody who recognises that should listen. They should listen to what he says.'

Jesus' message to the believers at Philadelphia

v7 'Write this to the *angel of the *church at Philadelphia:

This is the message from the one who is completely good. He is really God. He has David's key that shows his authority. What he opens, nobody can shut. And what he shuts, nobody can open.

v8 I know everything that you do. Look, I have opened a door in front of you. Nobody can shut that door. I know that you are not very strong. But you have obeyed what I told you. And you have continued to believe me. v9 Some people there say that they themselves are *Jews. But that is not true; they are not really God's people. They are a group of *Satan's people. I will cause them to come and to bend down in front of you. Then they will know that I love you. v10 You have done what I told you. So you have continued to be very patient. So, I will keep you safe from the time of trouble that will come. It will come to the whole world. Trouble will come to everyone who lives on the earth. This difficult time will show me what each person will do.

v11 I will come quickly. Be careful that you continue to believe me. Then nobody can take away your *crown.

v12 Everyone who wins against *Satan will always remain in God's house. I will make them like the strong part of God's house that holds it up. They will never leave God's house again. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of my God's city. The name of that city is New Jerusalem. It will come down from my God. It will come from his home above the earth. I will also write my new name on those people. v13 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the *churches. You should recognise that the Spirit is speaking. Everybody who recognises that should listen. They should listen to what he says.'

Jesus' message to the believers at Laodicea

v14 'Write this to the *angel of the *church at Laodicea:

This is the message from the one whose name is Amen. That name means: 'God's promises and purposes will happen because of him'. He always obeys God. He says and shows only true things. Everything that God has made comes from him.

v15 I, Jesus, know everything that you do. I know that you are neither cold nor hot. It would be better if you were either cold or hot. v16 But you are only warm. You are neither cold nor hot. So I am ready to throw you away completely.

v17 “I am rich”, you say. “I have done well and I do not need anything.” But you do not know how very poor you are really! You are like people who cannot see. You are like people who are without clothes. So that really, other people should feel very sorry for you. v18 I tell you that you should buy gold from me. With my gold, you would be really rich. I have made my gold the very best, because it has been through fire. You should also buy white clothes from me to dress yourselves. Then you will not be ashamed because you have no clothes. You should also buy medicine from me to put on your eyes. Then you will see.

v19 I explain things to everyone that I love. When they have done wrong things, I *punish them. So choose only to obey me. Be sorry for what you have done. v20 Look! I am standing at the door of your house. I am knocking on your door. You can hear what I say. So, if you open the door, I will come in. Then we will eat a meal together.

v21 I beat my enemies. Then I sat down with my Father on his *throne. I will let everyone who wins against my enemies sit with me. They will sit on my *throne with me. v22 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the *churches. You should recognise that the Spirit is speaking. Everybody who recognises that should listen. They should listen to what he says.'

Chapter 4

God on his *throne

v1 After this I looked. And there in front of me was an open door in *heaven. As before, I heard someone speak like a *trumpet. 'Come up here', he said. 'I will show you what must happen after this.' v2 Immediately the Spirit caused me to see and to hear things. It was like a dream. I saw a *throne in *heaven, with someone sitting on it. v3 The one who sat there shone with bright red and white light, like beautiful stones. Round the *throne there was a rainbow that shone with bright green light. v4 All round the *throne there were 24 other *thrones. And 24 leaders were sitting on these *thrones. They were wearing white clothes and they had gold *crowns on their heads. v5 It was like a storm as bright lights and loud noises came out from the *throne. There were 7 lights of fire burning brightly in front of the *throne. These lights are the 7 *spirits of God. v6 Also in front of the *throne there was something like a sea of glass. This sea shone with light like a mirror.

In the middle, round the *throne, there were 4 other *beings that were alive. They had eyes all over them, on their fronts and on their backs. v7 The first of these *beings was like a *lion and the second *being was like a male cow. The next *being had a face like a man's face. And the last *being was like a big, strong bird called an eagle, that was flying. v8 Each *being had 6 *wings. And they had eyes all over them, even under their *wings. All day and all night they never stop saying:

'The *Lord God is completely good and clean.

He is separate from everything that is bad. And he has all authority.

He was always alive and he is alive now.

And he will come.'

v9 The 4 *beings that are alive say how great and powerful God is. They thank God, who sits on the *throne. He is alive always. v10 When the 4 *beings do this, the 24 leaders bend down to the ground. They bend down in front of God, who sits on the *throne. They bend down to *worship him. He is alive always. They throw their *crowns in front of the *throne. And they say:

v11 'Our *Lord and our God, you are so great and so good!

Everyone should say how great and powerful you are!

Everyone should recognise your authority, because you made all things.

You wanted to make them.

And they are alive and they are here now.

That is only because you made them.'

Chapter 5

The book and the *Lamb

v1 Then I saw a book. God, who was sitting on the *throne, was holding the book. He was holding it in his right hand. He had written inside the book and on the back of it. And he had locked the book with 7 *locks. v2 And I saw a strong *angel who spoke with a loud voice. 'Who is so good that they can break the *locks?' he said. 'Who can open the book?' v3 But nobody in *heaven could open the book. Neither could anyone on the earth nor anyone under the earth open it.

v4 I wept much because there was nobody. Nobody was so good that they could open the book. So nobody could look inside it. v5 Then one of the leaders spoke to me. 'Do not weep', he said. 'Look! The one who is stronger than everyone else has won the fight. His name is the *Lion from Judah's family group. His name is also the Root of David. He belongs to David's family, but he is greater than David. He can break the 7 *locks on the book so that he can open it.'

v6 Then I saw a *Lamb. He was standing in the middle of the *throne. The 4 *beings that were alive, and the leaders, were round him. He appeared to be the *Lamb that someone had killed. This *Lamb had 7 *horns and 7 eyes. His eyes are the 7 *spirits of God, that God has sent into all parts of the world. v7 The *Lamb came and took the book. He took it from the right hand of God, who was sitting on the *throne. v8 And when he had taken the book, the 4 *beings and the 24 leaders *worshipped him. They bent down to the ground in front of the *Lamb. Each leader had a *harp to make music. And they were holding gold cups which were full of *incense. This *incense makes a nice smell when it burns. These cups of *incense are like a picture of everything that God's people pray to him. v9 The *beings and the leaders sang a new song. This is their song:

'You are so good!

You can take the book and break its *locks.

You can do this because they killed you.

That is how you bought people for God with your blood.

You bought them from every family group,

from every language and every country.

v10 You have caused them to belong to your family,

the family that rules over everything.

You have made them *priests,

*priests who are servants of our God.

And they will rule on the earth.'

v11 Then I looked again, and I heard the sound of many *angels. There were thousands and millions of them, and they were standing round the *throne. They stood round the *beings that were alive and round the leaders. v12 They sang like this with loud voices:

'The *Lamb that they killed is very good!

He is so good that he must receive all authority.

He is rich and strong and he always knows everything.

Everyone must say how great and important he is.

Everyone must thank him!'

v13 Then I heard everyone singing. Everything that God has made alive was singing. That included everything in God's home and everything on the earth. It also included everything under the earth and on the sea. They were singing:

'We thank you, who sit on the *throne.

And we thank the *Lamb.

You must have authority always!

Everyone must always recognise how great you are!

They must recognise how powerful you are!'

v14 The 4 *beings that were alive spoke then. 'Yes, this is true', they said. And the leaders bent down and they *worshipped God and the *Lamb.

Chapter 6

The *Lamb opens the *locks

v1 Then I watched while the *Lamb opened one of the 7 *locks. And I heard one of the 4 *beings say: 'Come!' It spoke very loudly. The noise was like a storm. v2 I looked, and there was a white horse. The person who was sitting on the horse was holding a bow. Someone gave him a *crown. He had won many wars. Now he rode out to win many more wars.

v3 Then the *Lamb opened the second *lock. And I heard another of the *beings say: 'Come!' v4 Then another horse came out. This horse was bright red, like fire. The person who was sitting on the horse had authority. He could bring war on the earth, so that people killed each other. Someone gave him a large *sword.

v5 Then the *Lamb opened the third *lock. And I heard the next *being say: 'Come!' I looked, and there was a black horse. The person who was sitting on the horse was holding something in his hand. He used it to weigh things. v6 Then I heard a sound like somebody speaking among the 4 *beings. 'A litre of wheat is worth one day's work', it said. 'And 3 litres of barley is also worth one day's work. But do not hurt the *olive oil and the *wine.'

v7 Then the *Lamb opened the next (fourth) *lock. And I heard the last *being say: 'Come!' v8 I looked, and there was a grey horse. The name of the person who was sitting on the horse was Death. And Hades, the name of the place for dead people, was following, near to him. They had authority to kill people in a quarter of the earth. They could kill people in wars, or they could cause people to have no food. They could cause people to be very ill so that they died. They could also cause the wild animals on the earth to kill people.

v9 Then the *Lamb opened the next (fifth) *lock. And I saw a special table where people offered gifts to God. I saw the *spirits of some dead people under the table. These people had died because they had spoken about Jesus Christ. They had said that God's words are true. Other people had killed them because they had gone on speaking about Jesus. v10 These dead servants of Christ shouted loudly. '*Lord, you have all authority', they shouted. 'You are completely good. You always do what is right. When will you decide to do what is fair to people? You must decide about all the people who live on the earth. How much more time must pass before you decide? When will you *punish the people who killed us?'

v11 Then each dead servant of Christ received white clothes. And God told them to wait for a short time. They must wait until other servants of Christ have died too. God will still let the people on the earth kill a certain number of his servants.

v12 I watched when the *Lamb opened the next (sixth) *lock. Then the ground moved and everything on the earth moved very much. The sun became black like thick black cloth. The whole moon became red like blood. v13 The stars in the sky fell to the earth. They fell like fruits fall from a tree when a strong wind blows. v14 The sky rolled up and went away. Every mountain and every island moved from its place. v15 Then everyone on the earth hid themselves. They hid in holes in the rocks. They hid among the rocks in the mountains. Even the rulers and the powerful people hid. Even the army rulers, the rich people and other people with authority, they all hid. Also all the other people hid, whether they were slaves or free people.

v16 They shouted to the mountains and to the rocks: 'Fall on us. Hide us from God, who sits on the *throne. Do not let him see us. Hide us, because the *Lamb is very angry with us. v17 The great day has come. And God will show that he is angry. Nobody can do anything to stop him.'

Chapter 7

God marks his people from Israel

v1 After this I saw 4 *angels who were standing at the 4 corners of the earth. They were stopping the 4 winds of the earth. So, no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. v2 Then I saw another *angel who was coming up from the east. He was carrying something to make a mark. It was the mark of the God who is alive. This *angel shouted loudly to the 4 *angels. They had received authority to destroy the land and the sea. v3 But he shouted to them: 'Do not destroy the land or the sea or the trees yet. Wait until we put a mark on our God's servants. We must put a mark on the front of their heads.'

v4 Then I heard how many people received God's mark. The number was 144 000 from all the family groups of Israel's people. v5 There were 12 000 from each family group:

12 000 from Judah's family group
12 000 from Reuben's family group
12 000 from Gad's family group

v6 12 000 from Asher's family group
12 000 from Naphtali's family group
12 000 from Manasseh's family group

v7 12 000 from Simeon's family group
12 000 from Levi's family group
12 000 from Issachar's family group

v8 12 000 from Zebulun's family group
12 000 from Joseph's family group
12 000 from Benjamin's family group

The large crowd who were wearing white clothes

v9 After this, I looked, and I saw a very big crowd of people. There were so many people that nobody could count them. They came from every country, from every family group and from every language. They were standing in front of the *throne and in front of the *Lamb. They were wearing white clothes and they were holding branches of palm trees in their hands.

v10 And they shouted loudly:

'It is our God and the *Lamb who have saved us.

They saved us from trouble and danger.

Our God sits on the *throne.'

v11 All the *angels were standing round the *throne and round the leaders and round the 4 *beings. They bent down so that their faces touched the ground in front of the *throne. That was how they *worshipped God. v12 They said:

'This is true!

We want to *worship our God.

We want to say how great and powerful he is.

Because he knows everything and we thank him.

He has authority and he will be strong always.

This is true!'

v13 Then one of the leaders spoke to me. 'Who are these people in white clothes?' he asked. 'Where did they come from?' v14 'Only you know who they are, sir', I replied. 'They are the people who have come out of the time of bad trouble', he said to me. 'They have washed their clothes and they have made them white in the *Lamb's blood.'

v15 'That is why they are in front of God's *throne. They are in his house all day and all night because they are his servants. And God, who sits on the *throne, will live among them. He will keep them safe. v16 They will never again be hungry. They will never be without anything to drink. Neither the sun nor any other strong heat will burn them. v17 The *Lamb is in the middle of the *throne. He will supply everything that they need. He will lead them to water that comes up from the ground. It is the water that makes people alive. Their eyes were wet because they have cried. But God will make them happy. He will cause their eyes to be dry.'