THE
REVELATION
ἈΠΟΚΆΛΥΨΙΣ
OF JESUS
⇐
THE
REVELATION
ἈΠΟΚΆΛΥΨΙΣ
OF JESUS
[...]
Translation in progress.
A revelation of Jesus the Anointed One, which God gave Him to show His slaves what must happen right away. He made it known through signs, having sent it through His messenger to His slave John, who swore testimony of everything he saw - to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus the Anointed One. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and obey the things written in it, because the appointed time is near!
From John to the seven gatherings which are in the province of Asia.
Grace to you and peace from He who is and who was and who is to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before His throne; and from Jesus the Anointed One, the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins through His blood and has made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father - to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Look! He is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see Him,
including those who pierced Him
and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.
Yes! Amen!
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
I, John, your brother and your partner in the tribulation, kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus. I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day when I heard behind me a loud voice that sounded like a trumpet, saying,
“Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven gatherings - to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
I turned to see who was speaking to me, and when I did this, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in their midst was One like a son of man. He was clothed with a long robe reaching to the feet and was girded around the chest with a golden belt.
His head and hairs are white like wool, even as white as snow;
His eyes are like fiery flames;
His feet look like orichalcum as if refined in a fiery furnace;
His voice sounds like the noise of rushing waters.
He’s holding seven stars in His right hand.
A large two-edged and sharp broadsword comes from His mouth.
His face shone like the Sun shining in its full strength.
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said,
“Don’t be fearing! I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look! I’m living forever and ever. I hold the keys of Death and of Hades. So write what you’ve seen, what is and what is about to be afterwards. Now this is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the pastors of the seven gatherings and the seven lampstands are the seven gatherings.”
Write this to the pastor of the gathering in Ephesus:
These are the words of the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
I know your works, your pain and endurance. I also know you can’t tolerate those who are evil. You’ve tested those who claim to be apostles, but they aren’t, and you’ve found them to be liars. You have perseverance and have endured because of My name, and you’ve not grown weary.
However I have this against you: you’ve abandoned the love you once had. So remember from where you’ve fallen, repent and return to what you were doing before. But if you don’t repent, I’m coming for you, and I’ll remove your lampstand out of its place.
But you have this: you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
If anyone can hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the gatherings. To the conqueror, I will give him the privilege to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Write this to the pastor of the gathering in Smyrna:
These are the words of the First and the Last, who became dead and came to life:
I’m aware of your suffering and poverty - even though you’re rich. I know the evil things that are being said about you by those who claim to be Jews but are not. They are of an assembly of the Adversary.
Don’t be afraid of what you’re surely about to go through painfully. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you might be tested. You will have suffering for 10 days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I’ll give you life as a reward for your victory.
If anyone can hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the gatherings. The conqueror will by no means be hurt by the second death.
Write this to the pastor of the gathering in Pergamon:
These are the words of Him who has a large double-edged and sharp broadsword:
I know where you live - where the Adversary’s throne is. Yet you hold fast to My name and not denied your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed in the presence of all of you, where the Adversary lives.
But I have a few things against you, because you have some people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who was teaching Balak to ensnare the Israelites, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to fornicate. So, in the same way, you too have some people who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent! However, if you don’t, I’m soon coming to you and I’ll fight against those people, judging them with my sword-sharp words.
If anyone can hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the gatherings. To the conqueror, I’ll give to him the manna that has been hidden and I’ll give him a white pebble and on it a new name that has been written. No one knows that name except the one who has it.
Write this to the pastor of the gathering in Thyatira:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like fiery flames and whose feet are like orichalcum:
I know your works, love, faith, service and perseverance
I heard every creature in the sky, on earth, under the earth, in the sea and everything that is in them, saying,
♪ To He who sits, who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb, be all blessings and the honor glory and might, glory and might be unto ages of ages! ♪
And the great dragon was thrown out, the ancient serpent, who is called the Slanderer and the Adversary, who deceives the whole inhabited world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his messengers were thrown down with him.
[...]
Translation in progress.
Footnotes
a. Paul (Latin: Paulus) is the Roman name of Saul (Hebrew: Shaul) and the name which he chose to use during his ministry, similar to a missionary from a country where English is not the native language choosing an English name or vice-versa. Paul means “little”.
b. Or transliterated “apostle”.
c. Greek name: Ἔφεσος (Ephesos) - possibly derived from Hittite𒀀𒉺𒀀𒊭 Apāša. A maritime city of Asia Minor, capital of Ionia and, under the Romans of proconsular Asia (see Ἀσία), situated on the Icarian Sea between Smyrna and Miletus. The city was famous in its day for the nearby Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), which has been designated one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its many monumental buildings included the Library of Celsus and a theatre capable of holding 24,000 spectators.
d. Or “devil”. Diabolos in Greek means “slanderer, false accuser”.
e. Isaiah 11:5
f. θώραξ, thorax (for which we get the word “thorax”). “the breastplate of righteousness (or justice)” - God’s justice protecting “the heart and its emotions (desires) as they bear on our decisions (resolutions, sympathies, etc.)” (HELPS Word-studies) Isaiah 59:17
g. “ἑτοιμασία” (hetoimasia) - the condition of a person or thing so far forth as prepared, preparedness, readiness (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon). Used only here in Ephesians.
h. Being always ready to announce the good news to people. Isaiah 52:7
i. θυρεός, thureos - a large, door-shaped Roman shield that gave full protection for the soldier.
j. περικεφαλαία, perikephalaia (lit. “the encirclement of the head). Used twice in the Pauline epistles - here in Ephesians as salvation, and in 1 Thessalonians as the hope of salvation.
k. It’s God’s salvation protecting your mind. “God Himself dons a “helmet of salvation,” portraying deliverance initiated and accomplished by Him. This sets the theological pattern: salvation protects and enables the people of God, not vice-versa.” (Topical Lexicon) Isaiah 59:17
l. The only offensive weapon in Paul’s list here.