From John. To the seven churches in Asia: Grace and peace to you from the One who is and was and is coming, and from the seven spirits before his throne,
The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon that king. The Spirit will give him wisdom and understanding, guidance and power. The Spirit will teach him to know and respect the Lord.
Who caused this to happen? Who has controlled history since the beginning? I, the Lord, am the one. I was here at the beginning, and I will be here when all things are finished.”
And this is the reason: God lives forever and is holy. He is high and lifted up. He says, “I live in a high and holy place, but I also live with people who are sad and humble. I give new life to those who are humble and to those whose hearts are broken.
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are too small to be among the army groups from Judah, from you will come one who will rule Israel for me. He comes from very old times, from days long ago.”
Look, I put this stone in front of Joshua, a stone with seven sides. I will carve a message on it,’ says the Lord All-Powerful. ‘And in one day I will take away the sin of this land.’
“The people should not think that small beginnings are unimportant. They will be happy when they see Zerubbabel with tools, building the Temple. “(These are the seven eyes of the Lord, which look back and forth across the earth.)”
Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows.
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must soon happen. And Jesus sent his angel to show it to his servant John,
The voice said, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
Here is the secret of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven lampstands are the seven churches, and the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.
I, John, am your brother. All of us share with Christ in suffering, in the kingdom, and in patience to continue. I was on the island of Patmos, because I had preached the word of God and the message about Jesus.
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you these things for the churches. I am the descendant from the family of David, and I am the bright morning star.”
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed these things to me.
“Write this to the angel of the church in Sardis: “The One who has the seven spirits and the seven stars says this: I know what you do. People say that you are alive, but really you are dead.
“Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: “This is what the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David, says. When he opens a door, no one can close it. And when he closes it, no one can open it.
Each of these four living creatures had six wings and was covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. He was, he is, and he is coming.”
Then I saw a Lamb standing in the center of the throne and in the middle of the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb looked as if he had been killed. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that were sent into all the world.