Revelation, chapters 1 - 3

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Chapter 1 Written by the apostle John (in addition to the Gospel of John); note that these 4 later books by John (1st-3rdJoh & Reve) were the only books written after Rome was destroyed-- all the books after the Gospels are listed/described on the HOMEPAGE

Preamble:

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which GOD gave HIM to show HIS Servants what must soon take place. HE made it known by sending HIS Angel to HIS Servant John, who testifies to everything He saw-- that is, the Word of GOD & the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the 1 who reads the words of this prophecy, & blessed are Those who hear it & take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Salutation:

John, to the 7 churches in the province of Asia: Grace & peace to You

• from:
  • HIM the FATHER who was, & who is, & who is to come,
  • the 7 spirits of the 7 churches before HIS Throne, &
  • Jesus Christ the SON, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, & the ruler of the kings of the earth.
• To HIM the SON who:
  • loves Us &
  • has freed Us from Our sins by His blood, &
  • has made Us to be a kingdom of priests to serve HIS GOD & FATHER--
• to HIM the 3-in-ONE be glory & power for ever & ever! Amen.

Wow:

• Look, HE the SON is coming with the clouds, & every eye will see HIM, even those who pierced Him, & all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of HIM. So shall it be! Amen.
• I the SON am the ALPHA & the OMEGA, says the LORD GOD, who was, & who is, & who is to come, the Almighty. Alpha & Omega are the names of the 1st & last letters of the Greek alphabet-- in scripture written in Greek they appear as capitalized single letters.

I, John, Your brother & companion in the suffering & kingdom & patient endurance that are Ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the Word of GOD & the testimony of Jesus. Reportedly, John was the only 1 of Jesus' 12 disciples that was not martyred; he was exiled to Patmos (50 mi. SW of Ephesus) at some point after the "empire-wide" Roman persecution began in A.D. 90. On the Christian LORD's Day of worship I was in the Spirit, & I heard behind Me a loud voice of a trumpet, which said: Write on a scroll what You see & send it to the 7 churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia & Laodicea.

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to Me-- recall that Jesus made it known by sending HIS Angel to HIS Servant John. And when I turned I saw 7 golden lampstands, & among the lampstands was someone somewhat like a son of man [regular human, but an angel] (Dan 7:13b) dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet & with a golden sash around his chest. But, his head & hair were white like wool, as white as snow, & his eyes were blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, & his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held 7 stars, & out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on Me & said [relaying the message]: Do not be afraid. I am the 1st [Alpha] & the Last [Omega]. I am the Living ONE; I was dead, & now resurrected, behold I am alive for ever & ever! And I hold the keys of death & the outcome of the unrepentant, Hades. Write, therefore, John, what You have seen, what is now & what will take place later. The mystery of the 7 stars that You saw in MY Right Hand & of the 7 golden lampstands is this: The 7 stars are the angels of the 7 churches & the 7 lampstands are the 7 churches.

Chapters 2 - 3 Written by the apostle John

Note that the following messages were written to the angels of the 7 churches; note also that these 7 messages were written in a scroll, which was then sealed with 7 seals; we shall see in ch. 5 that only 1 "person" then was worthy to break these seals & open the scroll-- the Lamb:

1. To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the Words of HIM who holds all of the 7 stars [angels of the 7 churches] in HIS Right Hand & walks among all of the 7 golden lampstands [churches]-- you are just 1 of 7 of 7:
   • Good report: I know Your deeds, Your hard work & Your perseverance. I know that You cannot tolerate wicked men, that You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, & have found them false. You have persevered & have endured hardships for MY Name, & have not grown weary.
   • Bad report: Yet I hold this against You: You have forsaken Your 1st love. Remember the height from which You have fallen-- the height you were at after you 1st repented! Repent again & do the things You did at 1st. If You do not repent, I will come & remove Your lampstand [church] from its place.
   • More good: But You have this in Your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
   • The following 2 are repeated to all 7 churches:
     • Repeated verbatim to each church-- He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
     • Repeated differently to each church-- To Him who overcomes (eventually participating in the 1st resurrection), I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of GOD.
2. To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the Words of HIM who is the 1st & the Last, who died & came to life again.
   • Good report only!: I know Your afflictions & Your poverty-- yet You are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews & are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what You are about to suffer. I tell You, the devil will put some of You in prison to test You, & You will suffer for 10 days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, & I will give You the crown of life.
   • The following 2 are repeated to all 7 churches:
     • Repeated verbatim to each church-- He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
     • Repeated differently to each church-- He who overcomes (eventually participating in the 1st resurrection) will not be hurt at all in the 2nd death.
3. To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the Words of HIM who has the sharp, doubled-edged sword.
   • Good report: I know where You live-- where Satan has his throne. Yet You remain true to MY Name. You did not renounce Your faith in ME, even in the days of Antipas, MY Faithful Witness, who was put to death in Your city-- where Satan lives.
   • Bad report: Nevertheless, I have a few things against You: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols & by committing sexual immorality. Likewise You also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to You & will fight against them with the Sword of MY Mouth.
   • The following 2 are repeated to all 7 churches:
     • Repeated verbatim to each church-- He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
     • Repeated differently to each church-- To Him who overcomes (eventually participating in the 1st resurrection), I will give give some of the hidden manna. I will also give Him a white stone with MY New Name written on it, known only to Him who receives it.
4. To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the Words of the SON of GOD, whose eyes are like blazing fire & whose feet are like burnished bronze.
   • Good report: I know Your deeds, Your love & Your faith, Your service & perseverance, & that You are more than You did at 1st.
   • Bad report: Nevertheless, I have this against You: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By Her teaching She misleads MY Servants into sexual immorality & the eating of food offered to idols. I have given Her time to repent of Her immorality, but She is unwilling. So I will cast Her on a bed of suffering, & I will make Those who commit adultery with Her suffer intensely, unless They repent of Her ways. I will strike Her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am HE who searches hearts & minds, & I will repay each of You according to Your deeds.
   • Advice: Now I say to the rest of You in Thyatira, to You who do not & never did hold to Her teachings & have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on You): Only hold on to what You have until I come.
   • The following 2 are repeated to all 7 churches:
     • Repeated differently to each church-- To Him who overcomes & does MY Will to the end (eventually participating in the 1st resurrection, I will give authority over the nations-- via giving them authority, HE will rule them with an iron scepter; HE will dash them to pieces like pottery (Psa 2:9)-- (Isa 30:13-14a says the high wall of sin will break in pieces like pottery) just as I have received authority from MY FATHER. I will also give Him the morning star.
     • Repeated verbatim to each church-- He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
5. To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the Words of HIM who holds the 7 Spirits of GOD & the 7 stars [angels of the 7 churches].
   • Bad report: I know Your deeds; You have a reputation of being alive, but You are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains & is about to die, for I have not found Your deeds complete in the sight of MY GOD. Remember, therefore, what You have received & heard; obey it. & repent. But if You do not wake up, I will come like a thief, & You will not know at what time I will come to You.
   • Good report: Yet You have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled Their clothes. They will walk with ME dressed in white, for They are worthy.
   • The following 2 are repeated to all 7 churches:
     • Repeated differently to each church-- He who overcomes (eventually participating in the 1st resurrection) will, like Them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out His name from the book of life, but will acknowledge His name before MY FATHER & HIS Angels.
     • Repeated verbatim to each church-- He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
6. To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the Words of HIM who is holy & true, who holds the key of David. What HE opens no man can shut, & what HE shuts no man can open-- both, no matter the inspiration of Satan.
   • Good report only: See, I have placed before You an open door that no 1 can shut. I know that You have little strength, yet You have kept MY Word & have not denied MY Name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars-- I will make them come & fall down at Your feet & acknowledge that I have loved You. Since You have kept MY Command to endure patiently, I will also keep You from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what You have, so that no 1 will take Your crown.
   • The following 2 are repeated to all 7 churches:
     • Repeated differently to each church-- He who overcomes (eventually participating in the 1st resurrection) I will make a pillar in the Temple of MY GOD. Never again will He leave it. I will write on Him MY New Name.
     • Repeated verbatim to each church-- He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
7. To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the Words of the Amen, the faithful & true witness, the Ruler of GOD's Creation.
   • Bad report only!: I know Your deeds, that You are neither cold nor hot. I wish You either 1 or the other! So, because You are lukewarm-- neither hot nor cold --I am about to spit You out of MY Mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth & do not need a thing.' But You are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind & naked.
   • Advice: I counsel You to buy from ME gold refined in the fire, so that You can become rich; & white clothes to wear, so that You can cover Your shameful nakedness; & salve to put on Your eyes, so that You can see. Those whom I love I rebuke & discipline. So be earnest, & repent. Here I am! I stand at the door & knock. If anyone hears MY Voice & opens the door, I will come in & eat with Him, & He with ME.
   • The following 2 are repeated to all 7 churches:
     • Repeated differently to each church-- To Him who overcomes (eventually participating in the 1st resurrection) I will give the right to sit with ME on MY Throne, just as I overcame & sat down with MY FATHER on HIS Throne.
     • Repeated verbatim to each church-- He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.