The Revelation Is Given
1This is the revelation from Jesus Christ. God gave it to him to show those who serve God what will happen soon. God made it known by sending his angel to his servant John. 2John is a witness to everything he saw. What he saw is God’s word and what Jesus Christ has said. 3Blessed is the one who reads out loud the words of this prophecy. Blessed are those who hear it and think everything it says is important. The time when these things will come true is near.
Greetings and Praise to God
4I, John, am writing this letter.
I am sending it to the seven churches in Asia Minor.
May grace and peace come to you from God. He is the one who is, and who was, and who will come. May grace and peace come to you from the seven spirits. These spirits are in front of God’s throne. 5May grace and peace come to you from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness, so what he has shown can be trusted. He was the first to rise from the dead. He rules over the kings of the earth.
Glory and power belong to Jesus Christ who loves us! He has set us free from our sins by pouring out his blood for us. 6He has made us members of his royal family. He has made us priests who serve his God and Father. Glory and power belong to Jesus Christ for ever and ever! Amen.
7“Look! He is coming with the clouds!” (Daniel 7:13)
“Every eye will see him.
Even those who pierced him will see him.”
All the nations of the earth “will mourn because of him.” (Zechariah 12:10)
This will really happen! Amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord God. “I am the God who is, and who was, and who will come. I am the Mighty One.”
John’s Vision of Christ
9I, John, am a believer like you. I am a friend who suffers like you. As members of Jesus’ royal family, we can put up with anything that happens to us. I was on the island of Patmos because I taught God’s word and what Jesus said. 10The Holy Spirit gave me a vision on the Lord’s Day. I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet. 11The voice said, “Write on a scroll what you see. Send it to the seven churches in Asia Minor. They are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
12I turned around to see who was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. 13In the middle of them was someone who looked “like a son of man.” (Daniel 7:13) He was dressed in a long robe with a gold strip of cloth around his chest. 14The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a blazing fire. 15His feet were like bronze metal glowing in a furnace. His voice sounded like rushing waters. 16He held seven stars in his right hand. Coming out of his mouth was a sharp sword with two edges. His face was like the sun shining in all its brightness.
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. Then he put his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One. I was dead. But now look! I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys to Death and Hell.
19“So write down what you have seen. Write about what is happening now and what will happen later. 20Here is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand. They are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven golden lampstands you saw stand for the seven churches.
1以下是上帝賜給耶穌基督的啟示,讓祂把必很快發生的事指示祂的眾奴僕。因此,祂差遣天使告訴祂的奴僕約翰。 2約翰便為所看見的一切關乎上帝的道和耶穌基督的事作見證。 3宣讀這預言的人和那些聽見並遵守其中內容的人有福了,因為日期近了。
問候七教會
4-5我約翰寫信給你們亞細亞的七間教會。願昔在、今在、以後永在的上帝,祂寶座前的七靈1·4‑5 「七靈」指的就是聖靈,數字七代表完全,不是說有七個靈。和耶穌基督賜給你們恩典和平安。耶穌基督是忠心的見證人,是首先從死裡復活的,是世上君王的首領。祂愛我們,用自己的血救我們脫離罪惡, 6使我們成為祭司的國度1·6 「成為祭司的國度」或譯「成為國度,做祭司」。來事奉祂的父上帝。願榮耀和權柄都歸給祂,直到永永遠遠。阿們!
7看啊!祂要駕雲降臨,1·7 但以理書7·13。世人都要看見祂,包括曾經刺祂的人。地上的萬族都必因祂而哀哭。1·7 撒迦利亞書12·10。這事必定實現。阿們!
8主上帝說:「我是阿拉法,我是俄梅加1·8 「阿拉法」和「俄梅加」分別是希臘文第一個和最後一個字母,故此句意即「我是始,我是終」。,我是昔在、今在、以後永在的全能者。」
基督的顯現
9我約翰是你們的弟兄,在耶穌裡和你們患難與共,同享國度,一起忍耐。我因傳揚上帝的道、為主耶穌作見證而到了拔摩海島上。 10主日,我被聖靈感動,聽見身後有號角般響亮的聲音說: 11「把你所看見的寫在書上,送給以弗所、士每拿、別迦摩、推雅推喇、撒狄、非拉鐵非和老底嘉七間教會。」
12我轉身看是誰在對我說話,我看見七個金燈臺, 13有一位好像人子的站在這些燈臺中間。1·13 但以理書7·13。祂長袍垂腳,金帶圍胸, 14頭與髮白如羊毛、甚至潔白如雪,雙目如炬, 15雙腳像爐中冶煉的銅一樣光亮,聲音如洪濤。 16祂右手拿著七顆星,口中吐出一把兩刃的利劍,面貌如午間烈日。
17我一看見祂,便仆倒在祂腳前,像死了一樣。祂把右手按在我身上,說:「不要害怕!我是首先的,我是末後的, 18我是永活者。我曾經死過,但看啊,我永永遠遠活著。我掌握死亡和陰間的鑰匙。 19所以,你要將所看見的一切,就是現在和將來要發生的事都記錄下來。 20你所看見在我右手中的七顆星和七個金燈臺的奧祕是:七顆星是七間教會的天使1·20 「天使」或譯「信使」或「使者」,下同,可能指教會的守護天使,或者是教會的領袖。,七個燈臺是七間教會。