The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God {Or, gave unto him, to show unto his servants the things &c.}gave him to show unto his {Greek: bondservants.}servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified {Or, them}it by his angel unto his servant John;
who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all things that he saw.
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand.
John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from him who is and who was and {Or, who cometh}who is to come; and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne;
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and {Many authorities, some ancient, read washed. Hebrews 9:14; compare chapter 7:14.}loosed us from our sins {Greek: in.}by his blood;
and he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto {Or, God and his Father}his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion {Greek: unto the ages of the ages. Many ancient authorities omit of the ages.}for ever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, {Or, he who}who is and who was and {Or, he who}who is to come, the Almighty.
I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and {Or, stedfastness}patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet
saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And having turned I saw seven golden candlesticks;
and in the midst of the {Greek: lampstands.}candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters.
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last,
and the Living one; and I {Greek: became.}was dead, and behold, I am alive {Greek: unto the ages of the ages.}for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter;
the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden {Greek: lampstands.}candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven {Greek: lampstands.}candlesticks are seven churches.
Querverweise zu Offenbarung 1,19 Off 1,19
saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden {Greek: lampstands.}candlesticks:
I know thy works, and thy toil and {Or, stedfastness}patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false;
and thou hast {Or, stedfastness}patience and didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not grown weary.
After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must {Or, come to pass. After these things straightway & c.}come to pass hereafter.
Straightway I was in the Spirit: and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting upon the throne;
and he that sat was to look upon like a jasper stone and a sardius: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, like an emerald to look upon.
And round about the throne were four and twenty thrones: and upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting, arrayed in white garments; and on their heads crowns of gold.
And out of the throne proceed lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
and before the throne, as it were a {Or, glassy sea}sea of glass like unto crystal; and in the midst {Or, before See chapter 7:17; compare 5:6}of the throne, and round about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind.
And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face as of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.
And the four living creatures, having each one of them six wings, are full of eyes round about and within: and they have no rest day and night, saying,Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and {Or, who cometh}who is to come.
And when the living creatures shall give glory and honor and thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, to him that liveth {Greek: unto the ages of the ages.}for ever and ever,
the four and twenty elders shall fall down before him that sitteth on the throne, and shall worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created.
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And having turned I saw seven golden candlesticks;
and in the midst of the {Greek: lampstands.}candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters.
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last,
and the Living one; and I {Greek: became.}was dead, and behold, I am alive {Greek: unto the ages of the ages.}for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter;
the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden {Greek: lampstands.}candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven {Greek: lampstands.}candlesticks are seven churches.