Study Desk

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which ^(a)God gave Him to ^(b)show to His bond-servants, ^(c)the things which must soon take place; and He sent and ^[a]communicated it ^(d)by His angel to His bond-servant ^(e)John,

who testified to ^(f)the word of God and to ^(g)the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

^(h)Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and ^[b]heed the things which are written in it; ⁽ⁱ⁾for the time is near.

^(j)John to ^(k)the seven churches that are in ^(l)Asia: ^(m)Grace to you and peace, from ⁽ⁿ⁾Him who is and who was and who ^[c]is to come, and from ^(o)the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

and from Jesus Christ, ^(p)the faithful witness, the ^(q)firstborn of the dead, and the ^(r)ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who ^(s)loves us and released us from our sins ^[d]by His blood—

and He has made us to be a ^(t)kingdom, ^(u)priests to ^[e](v)His God and Father—^(w)to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

^(x) Behold, He is coming with the clouds , and ^(y)every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will ^(z)mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

"I am ^(aa)the Alpha and the Omega," says the ^(ab)Lord God, "^(ac)who is and who was and who ^[f]is to come, the Almighty."

^(ad)I, John, your ^(ae)brother and ^(af)fellow partaker in the tribulation and ^(ag)kingdom and ^[g](ah)perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(ai)because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

I was ^[h](aj)in the Spirit on ^(ak)the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(al)like the sound of a trumpet,

saying, "^(am)Write in a ^[i]book what you see, and send it to the ^(an)seven churches: to ^(ao)Ephesus and to ^(ap)Smyrna and to ^(aq)Pergamum and to ^(ar)Thyatira and to ^(as)Sardis and to ^(at)Philadelphia and to ^(au)Laodicea."

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw ^(av)seven golden lampstands;

and ^(aw)in the middle of the lampstands I saw one ^(ax)like ^[j]a son of man, ^(ay)clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and ^(az)girded across His chest with a golden sash.

His head and His ^(ba)hair were white like white wool, like snow; and ^(bb)His eyes were like a flame of fire.

His ^(bc)feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His ^(bd)voice was like the sound of many waters.

In His right hand He held ^(be)seven stars, and out of His mouth came a ^(bf)sharp two-edged sword; and His ^(bg)face was like ^(bh)the sun ^[k]shining in its strength.

When I saw Him, I ^(bi)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He ^(bj)placed His right hand on me, saying, "^(bk)Do not be afraid; ^(bl)I am the first and the last,

and the ^(bm)living One; and I ^[l](bn)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have ^(bo)the keys of death and of Hades.

Therefore ^(bp)write ^(bq)the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place ^(br)after these things.

As for the ^(bs)mystery of the ^(bt)seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the ^(bu)seven golden lampstands: the ^(bv)seven stars are the angels of ^(bw)the seven churches, and the seven ^(bx)lampstands are the seven churches.

"To the angel of the church in ^(a)Ephesus write: The One who holds ^(b)the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks ^[a](c)among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

‘^(d)I know your deeds and your toil and ^[b]perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you ^(e)put to the test those who call themselves ^(f)apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;

and you have ^[c]perseverance and have endured ^(g)for My name's sake, and have not grown weary.

But I have this against you, that you have ^(h)left your first love.

Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and ⁽ⁱ⁾repent and ^(j)do the ^[d]deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your ^(k)lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.

Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the ^(l)Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

^(m)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ⁽ⁿ⁾To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of ^(o)the tree of life which is in the ^(p)Paradise of God.'

"And to the angel of the church in ^(q)Smyrna write: ^(r)The first and the last, who ^[e](s)was dead, and has come to life, says this:

‘I know your ^(t)tribulation and your ^(u)poverty (but you are ^(v)rich), and the blasphemy by those who ^(w)say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of ^(x)Satan.

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be ^(y)tested, and you will have tribulation ^(z)for ten days. ^[f]Be ^(aa)faithful until death, and I will give you ^(ab)the crown of life.

^(ac)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(ad)He who overcomes will not be hurt by the ^(ae)second death.'

"And to the angel of the church in ^(af)Pergamum write: The One who has ^(ag)the sharp two-edged sword says this:

‘I know where you dwell, where ^(ah)Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny ^(ai)My faith even in the days of Antipas, My ^(aj)witness, My ^(ak)faithful one, who was killed among you, ^(al)where Satan dwells.

But ^(am)I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the ^(an)teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, ^(ao)to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.

So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the ^(ap)Nicolaitans.

Therefore ^(aq)repent; or else ^(ar)I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with ^(as)the sword of My mouth.

^(at)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(au)To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden ^(av)manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a ^(aw)new name written on the stone ^(ax)which no one knows but he who receives it.'

"And to the angel of the church in ^(ay)Thyatira write: ^(az)The Son of God, ^(ba)who has ^[g]eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:

‘^(bb)I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and ^[h]perseverance, and that your ^[i]deeds of late are greater than ^[j]at first.

But ^(bc)I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman ^(bd)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they ^(be)commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

^(bf)I gave her time to repent, and she ^(bg)does not want to repent of her immorality.

Behold, I will throw her ^[k]on a bed of sickness, and those who ^(bh)commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of ^[l]her deeds.

And I will kill her children with ^[m]pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who ^(bi)searches the ^[n]minds and hearts; and ^(bj)I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

But I say to you, the rest who are in ^(bk)Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the ^(bl)deep things of Satan, as they call them—I ^(bm)place no other burden on you.

Nevertheless ^(bn)what you have, hold fast ^(bo)until I come.

^(bp)He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds ^(bq)until the end, ^(br) to him I will give authority over the ^[o] nations ;

and he shall ^[p](bs) rule them with a rod of iron , ^(bt) as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father;

and I will give him ^(bu)the morning star.

^(bv)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

"To the angel of the church in ^(a)Sardis write: He who has ^(b)the seven Spirits of God and ^(c)the seven stars, says this: ‘^(d)I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, ^[a]but you are ^(e)dead.

Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

So ^(f)remember ^[b]what you have received and heard; and keep it, and ^(g)repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, ^(h)I will come ⁽ⁱ⁾like a thief, and you will not know at ^(j)what hour I will come to you.

But you have a few ^[c](k)people in ^(l)Sardis who have not ^(m)soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me ⁽ⁿ⁾in white, for they are worthy.

^(o)He who overcomes will thus be clothed in ^(p)white garments; and I will not ^(q)erase his name from the book of life, and ^(r)I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

^(s)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

"And to the angel of the church in ^(t)Philadelphia write: ^(u)He who is holy, ^(v)who is true, who has ^(w)the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:

‘^(x)I know your ^[d]deeds. Behold, I have put before you ^(y)an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and ^(z)have not denied My name.

Behold, I ^[e]will cause those of ^(aa)the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them ^(ab)come and bow down ^[f]at your feet, and make them know that ^(ac)I have loved you.

Because you have ^(ad)kept the word of ^(ae)My ^[g]perseverance, ^(af)I also will keep you from the hour of ^[h](ag)testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole ^[i](ah)world, to ^[j]test ^(ai)those who dwell on the earth.

^(aj)I am coming quickly; ^(ak)hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your ^(al)crown.

^(am)He who overcomes, I will make him a ^(an)pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the ^(ao)name of My God, and ^(ap)the name of the city of My God, ^(aq)the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My ^(ar)new name.

^(as)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

"To the angel of the church in ^(at)Laodicea write: ^(au)The Amen, ^(av)the faithful and true Witness, ^(aw)the ^[k]Beginning of the creation of God, says this:

‘^(ax)I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; ^(ay)I wish that you were cold or hot.

So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will ^[l]spit you out of My mouth.

Because you say, "^(az)I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,

I advise you to ^(ba)buy from Me ^(bb)gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and ^(bc)white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that ^(bd)the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

^(be)Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and ^(bf)repent.

Behold, I stand ^(bg)at the door and ^(bh)knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, ^(bi)I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

^(bj)He who overcomes, I will grant to him ^(bk)to sit down with Me on My throne, as ^(bl)I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

^(bm)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"

After ^(a)these things I looked, and behold, ^(b)a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, ^(c)like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "^(d)Come up here, and I will ^(e)show you what must take place after these things."

Immediately I was ^[a](f)in the Spirit; and behold, ^(g)a throne was standing in heaven, and ^(h)One sitting on the throne.

And He who was sitting was like a ⁽ⁱ⁾jasper stone and a ^(j)sardius in appearance; and there was a ^[b](k)rainbow around the throne, like an ^(l)emerald in appearance.

^(m)Around the throne were ⁽ⁿ⁾twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw ^(o)twenty-four elders ^(p)sitting, clothed in ^(q)white garments, and ^(r)golden crowns on their heads.

Out from the throne come ^(s)flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were ^(t)seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are ^(u)the seven Spirits of God;

and before the throne there was something like a ^(v)sea of glass, like crystal; and in the ^[c]center and ^(w)around the throne, ^(x)four living creatures ^(y)full of eyes in front and behind.

^(z)The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.

And the ^(aa)four living creatures, each one of them having ^(ab)six wings, are ^(ac)full of eyes around and within; and ^(ad)day and night ^[d]they do not cease to say, "^(ae) Holy, holy, holy is the ^(af) Lord God, the Almighty , ^(ag) who was and who is and who ^[e] is to come ."

And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who ^(ah)sits on the throne, to ^(ai)Him who lives forever and ever,

the ^(aj)twenty-four elders will ^(ak)fall down before Him who ^(al)sits on the throne, and will worship ^(am)Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their ^(an)crowns before the throne, saying,

"^(ao)Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You ^(ap)created all things, and because of Your will they ^[f]existed, and were created."