"To the angelof the churchin Laodiceawrite:The Amen,the faithfuland true Witness,the Beginningof the creationof God,saysthis:
"Reuben,you are my firstborn;My mightand the beginningof my strength,Preeminentin dignityand preeminentin power.
A trustworthywitnesswill not lie,But a false witnessutterslies.
"The LORDpossessedme at the beginningof His way,BeforeHis worksof old.
"Behold,I have madehim a witnessto the peoples,A leaderand commanderfor the peoples.
"Becausehe who is blessedin the earthWill be blessedby the Godof truth;And he who swearsin the earthWill swearby the Godof truth;Becausethe formertroublesare forgotten,And becausethey are hiddenfrom My sight!
Then they saidto Jeremiah,"May the LORDbe a true and faithfulwitnessagainst us ifwe do not actin accordance with the wholemessagewith whichthe LORDyour Godwill sendyou to us.
All thingscameinto beingthroughHim, and apartfrom Him nothingcame into being that has come into being.
Jesusansweredand saidto them, "Even ifI testifyaboutMyself,My testimonyis true,for I knowwhereI camefrom and whereI am going;but you do not knowwhereI comefrom orwhereI am going.
For as manyas are the promisesof God,in Him they are yes;thereforealsothroughHim is our Amento the gloryof Godthroughus.
"But he shall acknowledgethe firstborn,the sonof the unloved,by givinghim a doubleportionof allthat he has,for he is the beginningof his strength;to him belongs the rightof the firstborn.
He is the imageof the invisibleGod,the firstbornof allcreation.
He is alsoheadof the body,the church;and He is the beginning,the firstbornfrom the dead,sothat He Himselfwill cometo have first placein everything.
For I wantyou to knowhow greata struggleI haveon your behalfand for thosewhoare at Laodicea,and for all those whohave not personallyseenmy face,
Whenthisletteris readamongyou, haveit alsoreadin the churchof the Laodiceans;and you, for your part readmy letter [that is coming] from Laodicea.
saying,"Writein a bookwhatyou see,and send[it] to the sevenchurches:to Ephesusand to Smyrnaand to Pergamumand to Thyatiraand to Sardisand to Philadelphiaand to Laodicea."
and from JesusChrist,the faithfulwitness,the firstbornof the dead,and the rulerof the kingsof the earth.To Him who lovesus and releasedus from our sinsby His blood--
And I sawheavenopened,and behold,a whitehorse,and He who saton it [is] calledFaithfuland true,and in righteousnessHe judgesand wages war.
"To the angelof the churchin Ephesuswrite:The One who holdsthe sevenstarsin His right hand,the One who walksamongthe sevengoldenlampstands,saysthis:
ThenHe saidto me, "It is done.I am the Alphaand the Omega,the beginningand the end.I will giveto the one who thirstsfrom the springof the waterof lifewithout cost.
"I am the Alphaand the Omega,the firstand the last,the beginningand the end."
And he saidto me, "Thesewordsare faithfuland true";and the Lord,the Godof the spiritsof the prophets,sentHis angelto showto His bond-servantsthe things whichmustsoontake place.
"And to the angelof the churchin Philadelphiawrite:He who is holy,who is true,who hasthe keyof David,who opensand noonewill shut,and who shutsand no oneopens,saysthis:
