Revelation

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him so he could show his servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.

1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Note"Revelation" translates the Greek *apokalypsis*, an uncovering or unveiling of something previously hidden. The phrase "the revelation of Jesus Christ" is grammatically ambiguous in Greek and can mean the revelation that belongs to or comes from Jesus, or the revelation whose content is Jesus; the sentence that follows leans toward the first, since God gives it to him to pass on. "Angel" translates *angelos*, which simply means messenger.

2John reported what he saw. He gave witness to the word of God, to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and to everything he saw.

2Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

3The one who reads the words of this prophecy out loud is blessed, and so are those who hear them and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.

3Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

NoteThe blessing falls on one reader and many hearers because this is how a letter reached a congregation: a single literate person read it aloud to the assembled group. Most of the audience would hear this book, not read it. "Keep" in 1611 English means to observe or obey, not to hold on to.

4From John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia. May you have grace and peace from him who is, and who was, and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are in front of his throne,

4John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

Note"Asia" here is not the continent but the Roman province of Asia, occupying the western end of what is now Turkey. "Grace be unto you, and peace" is the standard opening greeting of a first-century Christian letter, blending the Greek greeting with the Hebrew one. "The seven Spirits" is disputed: it may be a way of describing the one Spirit in a sevenfold fullness, or it may mean seven distinct spirit beings attending the throne. The Greek does not settle it.

5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To him who loved us and washed us clean from our sins with his own blood,

5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Note"Faithful witness" translates *martys*, a courtroom word for someone who testifies to what he has seen; because such testifying cost lives, the word later gave us "martyr." "First begotten of the dead" renders *prototokos*, firstborn, a term that carries rank and inheritance rights as much as birth order. "Washed us from our sins" reflects the Greek manuscripts the KJV translators used (*lousanti*, washed); other early manuscripts read *lysanti*, released or freed us from our sins. The two words differ by a single letter and sounded alike.

6and who made us kings and priests to serve God, his Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

NoteThe Greek here reads more literally "made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father." In Israel the priesthood was restricted to one family, and only priests could approach the altar on the people's behalf; applying the word to an entire congregation is the point being made.

7Look, he is coming with the clouds. Every eye will see him, including those who stabbed him. All the peoples of the earth will cry out in grief because of him. Yes. Amen.

7Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Note"He cometh with clouds" picks up the wording of Daniel 7:13, where a figure like a son of man arrives on the clouds of heaven. "Kindreds" is the KJV's word for tribes or family groupings of people. "Wail" describes loud public mourning, the beating of the breast and open crying that marked grief in that culture. "Even so, Amen" is a doubled affirmation, the Greek *nai* (yes) followed by the Hebrew *amen* (so be it), the same assent said twice in two languages.

8"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end," says the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.

8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

NoteAlpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, so the phrase means roughly "the A and the Z," the whole span from start to finish. "Almighty" translates *pantokrator*, the one who holds power over all things.

9I, John, am your brother. I share with you the suffering, the kingdom, and the patient endurance that are ours in Jesus Christ. I was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

9I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Note"Tribulation" translates a Greek word whose root sense is pressure or crushing, used for hardship and persecution. "Patience" in 1611 English means steadfast endurance under strain, not quiet waiting. Patmos is a small rocky island in the Aegean Sea, about forty miles off the coast of the province of Asia; Rome used such islands to hold people it wanted removed from public life.

10On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit, and I heard a loud voice behind me, like a trumpet.

10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Note"In the Spirit" describes a state of prophetic vision rather than ordinary waking perception. "The Lord's day" is the earliest surviving use of this phrase; it most likely means the first day of the week, the day Christians gathered, though some readers have taken it to mean the day of the Lord's judgment. The trumpet was not a musical instrument here but a signaling horn used to summon troops or crowds, valued for carrying volume rather than melody.

11It said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches in Asia: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."

11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

NoteA "book" in this period was a scroll, a long sheet of papyrus or parchment rolled on a rod. The seven cities are listed in the order a messenger would reach them traveling a circular road route north from Ephesus and then inland and south. "Pergamos" is the city usually called Pergamum. The opening words "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" appear in the manuscripts behind the KJV but not in the oldest Greek copies, which begin the sentence at "What thou seest."

12I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands.

12And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

Note"Candlesticks" is the KJV's word for lampstands: stands holding oil lamps, small clay or metal vessels burning a wick in olive oil. Wax candles are not in view. "Turned to see the voice" is a compressed way of saying he turned to see who was speaking.

13Among the seven lampstands stood someone like the Son of Man. He wore a robe that reached his feet, with a gold sash across his chest.

13And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Note"Son of man" is a Hebrew and Aramaic idiom meaning simply a human being, a member of the human race; it is also the title of the figure who receives dominion in Daniel 7:13, and the phrase is doing both jobs at once here. "Paps" is the KJV's word for the chest, and "girdle" means a sash or belt. A sash worn high across the chest rather than at the waist marked rank or priestly office.

14His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like a burning flame.

14His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

NoteThe white hair repeats the description of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9, where the same whiteness signals age and authority rather than frailty.

15His feet were like polished bronze, glowing as if heated in a furnace, and his voice sounded like rushing water.

15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Note"Fine brass" translates *chalkolibanon*, a word found nowhere else in Greek literature, so its exact meaning is unknown; it evidently names some copper alloy. In 1611 English "brass" covered bronze and copper alloys generally. "The sound of many waters" is the roar of a large volume of moving water, a cataract or heavy surf.

16He held seven stars in his right hand. A sharp sword with two cutting edges came out of his mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.

16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

NoteThe sword is a *rhomphaia*, a long broad-bladed weapon, not the short stabbing sword of the Roman legions. "Twoedged" means sharpened along both edges, so it cuts in either direction. "Countenance" means face. "As the sun shineth in his strength" means the sun at full noon force, too bright to look at.

17When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He put his right hand on me and said, "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last.

17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

18I am the one who lives. I was dead, and look, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. And I hold the keys of the place of the dead, and of death itself.

18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Note"Hell" here translates *hades*, the Greek name for the realm of the dead where all the dead were thought to go, not the later English sense of a place of punishment. Holding the keys means holding the authority to lock and unlock, that is, control over who enters and who leaves.

19So write down the things you have seen, the things that are now, and the things that will happen after this.

19Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

NoteThe Greek grammar of this threefold command is disputed. It can be read as three separate assignments (what you saw, what is now, what comes later), or as one assignment with two parts: write what you saw, that is, both what now is and what is to come after this.

20Here is the hidden meaning of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and of the seven gold lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."

20The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Note"Mystery" translates *mysterion*, which in this sort of writing means a secret that has been kept hidden and is now being disclosed, not a puzzle left unsolved. "Angels of the seven churches" is ambiguous: *angelos* means messenger, so these may be heavenly beings assigned to each congregation, or human leaders or couriers who would receive and read the letters aloud.