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The Revelation of St. John the Divine

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- Chapter 1 -

(Daniel 12:1–13)
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The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, in order to make known to his servants the things that must soon occur, and which he signified by sending his Angel to his servant John;(a)
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he has offered testimony to the Word of God, and whatever he saw is the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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Blessed is he who reads or hears the words of this Prophecy, and who keeps the things that have been written in it. For the time is near.(b)

John Greets the Seven Churches

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John, to the seven Churches, which are in Asia. Grace and peace to you, from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are in the sight of his throne,
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and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the leader over the kings of the earth, who has loved us and has washed us from our sins with his blood,
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and who has made us into a kingdom and into priests for God and for his Father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.(c)
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Behold, he arrives with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth shall lament for themselves over him. Even so. Amen.(d)
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“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.(e) (f) (g)

John’s Vision on Patmos

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I, John, your brother, and a sharer in the tribulation and in the kingdom and in patient endurance for Christ Jesus, was on the island which is called Patmos, because of the Word of God and the testimony to Jesus.(h)
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I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice, like that of a trumpet,
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saying, “What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven Churches, which are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamus, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
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And I turned around, so as to see the voice which was speaking with me. And having turned around, I saw seven golden lampstands.
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And in the midst of the seven golden lampstands was one resembling the Son of man, clothed to the feet with a vestment, and wrapped to the breast with a wide belt of gold.
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But his head and hair were bright, like white wool, or like snow; and his eyes were like a flame of fire;
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and his feet resembled shining brass, just as in a burning furnace; and his voice was like the voice of many waters.
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And in his right hand, he held the seven stars; and from his mouth went out a sharp two-edged sword; and his face was like the sun, shining with all its might.
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And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet, like one who is dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
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And I am alive, though I was dead. And, behold, I live forever and ever. And I hold the keys of death and of Hell.
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Therefore, write the things which you have seen, and which are, and which must occur afterward:
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the mystery of the seven stars, which you have seen in my right hand, and of the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the Angels of the seven Churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven Churches.”

Footnotes

(a)1:1 The things which must shortly come;:and again it is said, ver. 3, “The time is at hand” This can not be meant of all the things prophesied in the Apocalypse, where mention is made also of the day of judgment, and of the glory of heaven at the end of the world. That some things were to come to pass shortly, is evident, by what is said to the Seven Churches, chap. 2 and 3, Or that the persecutions foretold should begin shortly. Or that these words signified, that all time is short, and that from the coming of Christ, we are now in the last age or last hour. See 1 John. 2:18.(Challoner)
(b)1:3 Here is an example where the meaning of ‘et’ clearly corresponds to the English word ‘or’, not to the word ‘and’. These first three verses appear to have been added afterward by John’s disciples, when they were translating this book from the original Aramaic, in which John wrote, into Greek.(Conte)
(c)1:6 Here the word ‘et’ is translated as ‘and’ but actually has a slightly different meaning; it does not mean that God and the Father are two completely different things. It means ‘God and [especially/specifically] his Father.’(Conte)
(d)1:7 Christ will return bodily, descending visibly from the sky, just as at his Ascension he ascended visibly into the sky and then invisibly into Heaven. His return will not be in secret. When Christ returns, all will see and know, throughout the world, even those who pierced him by crucifying His Church.(Conte)
(e)1:8 John originally wrote the Book of Revelation in Aramaic (see my article on this point). And when Christ spoke to John saying ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ he probably did not speak in Greek, but in Aramaic or Hebrew. So the words Alpha and Omega are a translation. So this sentence becomes either, in Aramaic, “I am the Alap and the Tau,” or, in Hebrew, “I am the Aleph and the Tof.”(Conte)
(f)1:8 I am Alpha and Omega:These are the names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and signify the same as what follows: The beginning and the end: the first cause and last end of all beings.(Challoner)
(g)1:8 Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty:These words signify the true God only, and are here applied to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is to come again to judge the living and the dead.(Challoner)
(h)1:9 John was on Patmos, in my chronology, in the early A.D. 80’s, beginning about A.D. 82, for about 2 or 3 years or so. He was put there by the emperor Domitian, who had first tried to have John killed. John was placed in a pot of boiling oil. All the other 11 of the 12 Apostles (Matthias replacing Judas) had already been martyred. But John was not martyred. When he came out of the boiling oil, he was unharmed and looked refreshed, as if he had just taken a bath in water, rather than boiling oil. So the emperor, unaffected by this miracle, exiled John to Patmos, where other Christians also had been exiled, working in the copper mines there. John became a target of Domitian because John had, some years earlier, written the Gospel of John.(Conte)
(Daniel 12:1–13)
1
This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ,(a) which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel(b) to his servant, John,
2
who testified to God’s word and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.
3
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is near.

John Greets the Seven Churches

4
John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne;
5
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood—
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and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests (c) to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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Behold,(d) he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.
8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, (e) ” says the Lord God,(f) “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

John’s Vision on Patmos

9
I John, your brother and partner with you in the oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God’s Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet
11
saying,(g) “What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: (h) to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
12
I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Having turned, I saw seven golden lamp stands.
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And among the lamp stands was one like a son of man,(i) clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest.
14
His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.
15
His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters.
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He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
17
When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
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and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades. (j)
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Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter.
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The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels (k) of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.

Footnotes

(a)1:1 “Christ” means “Anointed One”.
(b)1:1 or, messenger (here and wherever angel is mentioned)
(c)1:6 ℘ Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 61:6
(d)1:7 “Behold”, from “ἰδοὺ”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
(e)1:8 TR adds “the Beginning and the End”
(f)1:8 TR omits “God”
(g)1:11 TR adds “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.”
(h)1:11 TR adds “which are in Asia”
(i)1:13 ℘ Daniel 7:13
(j)1:18 or, Hell
(k)1:20 or, messengers (here and wherever angels are mentioned)
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