Revelation 1
The chapter in full, then what it says, what the Greek or Hebrew decides, and where readers have disagreed.
Revelation 1 WEB
- 1 This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,
- 2 who testified to God's word and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.
- 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is near.
- 4 John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne;
- 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood—
- 6 and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
- 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.
- 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
- 9 I John, your brother and partner with you in the oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God's Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
- 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet
- 11 saying, "What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."
- 12 I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Having turned, I saw seven golden lamp stands.
- 13 And among the lamp stands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest.
- 14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.
- 15 His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters.
- 16 He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
- 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, "Don't be afraid. I am the first and the last,
- 18 and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
- 19 Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter.
- 20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.
Revelation 1
What is happening
Revelation is the last book of the New Testament, written by a man who calls himself John, exiled to "the isle that is called Patmos" (1:9), a small island off the coast of what is now Turkey, "because of God's Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ." He identifies himself plainly as a fellow-sufferer with his readers: "your brother and partner with you in the oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus" (1:9). The book is addressed to seven actual congregations in the Roman province of Asia — "Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and... Laodicea" (1:11) — churches under real pressure, who will each receive a specific letter in chapters 2–3. Chapter 1 is the frame for everything that follows: it tells the reader what kind of book this is, who is speaking, and what authority stands behind it, before a single seal is opened or a single beast appears.
The passage, walked through
The book opens by naming itself: "the Revelation of Jesus Christ" (1:1) — Greek apokalypsis, an unveiling, not a puzzle to be decoded so much as a curtain pulled back. The chain of transmission is stated with unusual care: God gave it to Christ, Christ sent it by his angel to "his servant, John" (1:1), who "testified to God's word and... the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw" (1:2). This is not John's speculation; it is reported sight. A blessing follows that will recur nowhere else quite like this in the New Testament: "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is near" (1:3). Note what the blessing rests on — not merely hearing but "keep[ing]," Greek tēreō, holding fast to what is written.
The greeting (1:4-8) is a small theological universe in itself. Grace and peace come from a threefold source: "from God, who is and who was and who is to come" — a periphrasis for the divine name that refuses to be contained by past or future tense; from "the seven Spirits... before his throne" (fullness of the Spirit, not seven separate spirits); and "from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth" (1:5). Then a doxology breaks out mid-sentence: to the one "who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood" and "made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father" (1:5-6). Verse 7 announces the book's whole trajectory in advance: "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him." And God himself speaks — the only place in the chapter where a divine voice is directly quoted before the vision proper begins — "I am the Alpha and the Omega... who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (1:8).
John then describes his circumstance and the vision itself (1:9-20). "In the Spirit on the Lord's day," he hears "a loud voice, like a trumpet" (1:10) and turns to see "seven golden lamp stands" and, among them, "one like a son of man" (1:12-13). The description that follows draws on the imagery of divine glory and judgment throughout: white hair, eyes "like a flame of fire," feet "like burnished brass... refined in a furnace," a voice "like the voice of many waters," a face "like the sun shining at its brightest," a "sharp two-edged sword" from his mouth, seven stars in his right hand (1:14-16). This is overwhelming, not comforting on its surface — John falls "at his feet like a dead man" (1:17). What follows is the turn the whole chapter has been building to: a hand laid on him, and the words "Don't be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever... I have the keys of Death and of Hades" (1:17-18). The figure identifies himself by the same eternal language used of God in verse 8 — Alpha and Omega language applied to the crucified and risen Christ.
The chapter closes with a plain, stated key to the symbolism that follows: "The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies" (1:20). John is told to write three things: "the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter" (1:19) — a structural note some readers use to divide the whole book.
Where readers have disagreed
The chief dispute in this chapter concerns "the seven Spirits" (1:4) — whether this is a reference to the Holy Spirit in his sevenfold fullness (drawing on the number seven's use throughout Revelation for completeness), or to seven angelic spirits attending the throne. The majority of the church's reading takes it as the Holy Spirit, on the grounds that it stands in a Trinitarian formula alongside the Father and the Son as a source of grace and peace, which no created angel would be.
There is also long-standing discussion of "the time is near" (1:3) and "must happen soon" (1:1) — how "soon" a book written two millennia ago can mean. Readers who take the book as substantially about the first century read it as urgency for those churches; readers who take it as unfolding through the whole church age read "near" as meaning imminent in God's reckoning rather than John's. The chapter itself does not resolve this; it simply asserts the nearness without qualification.
What it asks of a reader
The chapter puts a specific figure in front of the reader before any judgment or symbol arrives, and insists that this figure is worth the fear he provokes and the reassurance he then gives. It states that the one "coming with the clouds" is the same one who "washed us from our sins by his blood" (1:5, 7) — the same face makes both a claim on the world and a claim on those who read the book. And it makes the blessing of the whole work conditional not on decoding it correctly but on "keep[ing] the things that are written in it" (1:3). Whatever else Revelation asks of its readers in the chapters to come, chapter 1 has already asked for reverence toward a figure who says of himself, unambiguously, "I am the first and the last."
The verses this turns on
This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἣν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός, δεῖξαι τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι ἐν τάχει, καὶ ἐσήμανεν ἀποστείλας διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου αὐτοῦ, τῷ δούλῳ αὐτοῦ Ἰωάνῃ,
- Ἀποκάλυψις ἀποκάλυψις noun · nominative singular feminine G602
- Ἰησοῦ Ἰησοῦς noun · genitive singular masculine G2424
- Χριστοῦ, Χριστός noun · genitive singular masculine G5547
- ἣν ὅς relative pronoun · accusative singular feminine G3739
- ἔδωκεν δίδωμι verb · aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular G1325
- αὐτῷ αὐτός personal pronoun · dative singular masculine G846
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
- Θεός, θεός noun · nominative singular masculine G2316
- δεῖξαι δείκνυμι verb · aorist active infinitive G1166
- τοῖς ὁ article · dative plural masculine G3588
- δούλοις δοῦλος (II) noun · dative plural masculine G1401
- αὐτοῦ αὐτός personal pronoun · genitive singular masculine G846
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Revelation 22:16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the assemblies. I am the root and the offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."
- Revelation 22:6 He said to me, "These words are faithful and true. The Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to show to his bondservants the things which must happen soon."
- Galatians 1:12 For I didn't receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.
- Daniel 2:28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head on your bed are these:
who testified to God's word and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
ὃς ἐμαρτύρησεν τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅσα εἶδεν.
- ὃς ὅς relative pronoun · nominative singular masculine G3739
- ἐμαρτύρησεν μαρτυρέω verb · aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular G3140
- τὸν ὁ article · accusative singular masculine G3588
- λόγον λόγος noun · accusative singular masculine G3056
- τοῦ ὁ article · genitive singular masculine G3588
- Θεοῦ θεός noun · genitive singular masculine G2316
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- τὴν ὁ article · accusative singular feminine G3588
- μαρτυρίαν μαρτυρία noun · accusative singular feminine G3141
- Ἰησοῦ Ἰησοῦς noun · genitive singular masculine G2424
- Χριστοῦ, Χριστός noun · genitive singular masculine G5547
- ὅσα ὅσος correlative pronoun · accusative plural neuter G3745
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- John 19:35 He who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, that you may believe.
- 1 Corinthians 1:6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you—
- 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life
- Revelation 1:19 Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter.
- John 21:24 This is the disciple who testifies about these things, and wrote these things. We know that his witness is true.
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is near.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Μακάριος ὁ ἀναγινώσκων καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας καὶ τηροῦντες τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ γεγραμμένα· ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς ἐγγύς.
- Μακάριος μακάριος adjective · nominative singular masculine G3107
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
- ἀναγινώσκων ἀναγινώσκω verb · present active participle, nominative singular masculine G314
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- οἱ ὁ article · nominative plural masculine G3588
- ἀκούοντες ἀκούω verb · present active participle, nominative plural masculine G191
- τοὺς ὁ article · accusative plural masculine G3588
- λόγους λόγος noun · accusative plural masculine G3056
- τῆς ὁ article · genitive singular feminine G3588
- προφητείας προφητεία noun · genitive singular feminine G4394
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- τηροῦντες τηρέω verb · present active participle, nominative plural masculine G5083
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Luke 11:28 But he said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it."
- Revelation 22:10 He said to me, "Don't seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
- Romans 13:11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.
- 1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
- Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts.
John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne;discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Ἰωάνης ταῖς ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαις ταῖς ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἑπτὰ Πνευμάτων ἃ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου αὐτοῦ,
- Ἰωάνης Ἰωάννης noun · nominative singular masculine G2491
- ταῖς ὁ article · dative plural feminine G3588
- ἑπτὰ ἑπτά numeral (indeclinable) G2033
- ἐκκλησίαις ἐκκλησία noun · dative plural feminine G1577
- ταῖς ὁ article · dative plural feminine G3588
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- τῇ ὁ article · dative singular feminine G3588
- Ἀσίᾳ· Ἀσία noun · dative singular feminine G773
- χάρις χάρις noun · nominative singular feminine G5485
- ὑμῖν σύ personal pronoun G4771
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- εἰρήνη εἰρήνη noun · nominative singular feminine G1515
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Isaiah 11:2 Yahweh's Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.
- John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
- Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
- Revelation 5:6 I saw in the middle of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood—discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
καὶ ἀπὸ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστός, ὁ πρωτότοκος τῶν νεκρῶν καὶ ὁ ἄρχων τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς. Τῷ ἀγαπῶντι ἡμᾶς καὶ λύσαντι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ,
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- ἀπὸ ἀπό preposition G575
- Ἰησοῦ Ἰησοῦς noun · genitive singular masculine G2424
- Χριστοῦ, Χριστός noun · genitive singular masculine G5547
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
- μάρτυς μάρτυς noun · nominative singular masculine G3144
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
- πιστός, πιστός adjective · nominative singular masculine G4103
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
- πρωτότοκος πρωτότοκος adjective · nominative singular masculine G4416
- τῶν ὁ article · genitive plural masculine G3588
- νεκρῶν νεκρός adjective · genitive plural masculine G3498
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Psalm 89:27 I will also appoint him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
- Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
- 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Revelation 17:14 These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with him are called, chosen, and faithful."
- Colossians 1:18 He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ, λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεός, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, ὁ Παντοκράτωρ.
- Ἐγώ ἐγώ personal pronoun G1473
- εἰμι εἰμί verb · present active indicative, 1st person singular G1510
- τὸ ὁ article · nominative singular neuter G3588
- Ἄλφα ἄλφα letter (indeclinable) G1
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- τὸ ὁ article · nominative singular neuter G3588
- Ὦ, Ὦ letter (indeclinable) G5598
- λέγει λέγω verb · present active indicative, 3rd person singular G3004
- Κύριος κύριος noun · nominative singular masculine G2962
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
- Θεός, θεός noun · nominative singular masculine G2316
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Isaiah 44:6 This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: "I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
- Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
- Isaiah 48:12 "Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he. I am the first. I am also the last.
- Isaiah 43:10 "You are my witnesses," says Yahweh, "With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.
- Revelation 21:6 He said to me, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.
I John, your brother and partner with you in the oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God's Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Ἐγὼ Ἰωάνης, ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν καὶ συνκοινωνὸς ἐν τῇ θλίψει καὶ βασιλείᾳ καὶ ὑπομονῇ ἐν Ἰησοῦ, ἐγενόμην ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάτμῳ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ.
- Ἐγὼ ἐγώ personal pronoun G1473
- Ἰωάνης, Ἰωάννης noun · nominative singular masculine G2491
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
- ἀδελφὸς ἀδελφός noun · nominative singular masculine G80
- ὑμῶν σύ personal pronoun G4771
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- συνκοινωνὸς συγκοινωνός noun · nominative singular masculine G4791
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- τῇ ὁ article · dative singular feminine G3588
- θλίψει θλῖψις noun · dative singular feminine G2347
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- βασιλείᾳ βασιλεία noun · dative singular feminine G932
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Revelation 3:10 Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
- Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into God's Kingdom.
- John 16:33 I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world."
- Revelation 1:2 who testified to God's word and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.
- Philippians 4:14 However you did well that you shared in my affliction.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpetdiscussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
ἐγενόμην ἐν Πνεύματι ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ἤκουσα ὀπίσω μου φωνὴν μεγάλην ὡς σάλπιγγος
- ἐγενόμην γίνομαι verb · aorist middle deponent indicative, 1st person singular G1096
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- Πνεύματι πνεῦμα noun · dative singular neuter G4151
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- τῇ ὁ article · dative singular feminine G3588
- κυριακῇ κυριακός adjective · dative singular feminine G2960
- ἡμέρᾳ, ἡμέρα noun · dative singular feminine G2250
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- ἤκουσα ἀκούω verb · aorist active indicative, 1st person singular G191
- ὀπίσω ὀπίσω adverb G3694
- μου ἐγώ personal pronoun G1473
- φωνὴν φωνή noun · accusative singular feminine G5456
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Revelation 21:10 He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
- Revelation 4:1 After these things I looked and saw a door opened in heaven; and the first voice that I heard, like a trumpet speaking with me, was one saying, "Come up here, and I will show you the things which must happen after this."
- 2 Corinthians 12:2 I know a man in Christ who was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago—whether in the body, I don't know, or whether out of the body, I don't know; God knows.
- Revelation 17:3 He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
- Acts 20:7 On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day; and continued his speech until midnight.
From the interpretive tradition
The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God.
The Scriptures are the product of the Spirit of God, and are therefore in the highest and truest sense the Word of God, though given through the instrumentality of men.