Prologue
1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
Greeting to the Seven Churches
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him 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 kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of 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.”
Vision of the Son of Man
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. (ESV)
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
I’m pretty sure that is going to be my response to seeing Christ face-to-face. John, one of Jesus’ close disciples while he was alive, fell down as if he was dead! I’d bet that the LORD’s Almighty power will have the same effect on us. But what is really cool about this, though, is that Jesus immediately points out that He is alive! Jesus tells John to not be afraid because Christ has conquered death and Satan. Instead, John (and all Christians) can rejoice that God is the “Living One” who has saved us by beating death!!
7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
One day, every knee will bow to Jesus and every tongue will confess that He is LORD. It will be an awesome sight for His followers, but it will strike fear into those who have rejected Him. This should motivate us to be Christ’s ambassadors everywhere we go, so that people will acknowledge Him as LORD before it is too late.
Verses 12-16 give us a picture of jesus that seems so lost in today’s world. Very few people seem to understand that Jesus is not the bearded old man that walked the earth 2000 years ago. When we see Him fact to face, our reaction will most likely be the same as John’s in verse 17: falling face down at His feet as if we were dead. We need to take confidence in the fact that this is the God we serve, and we should be encouraged to be all the more bold for Him.
Solid comments, Matt & Mike! I, too, was struck by verses 13-16′s depiction of Christ.
14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
Definitely not the “gentle Jesus, meek and mild” description of Christ that I saw on the flannelgraph storyboards when I was growing up in Sunday School. John’s response to Jesus in verse 17 shows how awe inspiring His presence is in His glorified state. John was one of Jesus’ closest friends while He was on earth, but John did not run to embrace Christ when he saw Him because Christ’s apprearance was so overwhelming to him. When John saw Christ he fell to His knees in utter astonishment, worshipping his Lord and Savior. We need to have the same response to Christ as John did. We must be in awe of His glory and goodness and honor Him for who He is and what He has done for us…His death made us right with God and allows us to have eternal life!
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.
The description of Jesus in the preceding verses never ceases to amaze me and strike fear through my bones. John has the right response to Jesus, in humitlity, deep reverence, and fear he falls face down at his feet. Too often I approach Jesus in a casual way, for example praying when I am falling asleep on my back or letting my mind drift to other subjects. I am challenged to keep these verses in my mind everytime I address Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
8″I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
I love this verse because it is sooo difficult for me to comprehend at times!! Who is, and who was, and who is to come…He was always there!! There was no Big Bang of the Earth or evolution, God was there in the beginning to create it all!! He will reign forever!! How phenomenal is that?!?! I am filled with joy knowing that my perfect God will either come to take me away, or be there with me when I die for eternity!! Praise God!! :D
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
Wow, to fall prostrate as thoug dead?! This is what I call fear haha and this is something that I need to have as well.
When I read something like this it makes me think of how we really need to fear God and His majesty and power! Our Lord should be feared like this by us on a daily basis!
13 and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,”dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead……
I was starting to freak out when I read this! Jesus is the peaceful human guy anymore! He is now coming to judge! I do not want to be accountable for many sins I have committed In front of this guy! We need to check ourselves because this is the guy who we are going to be judged by!!! The image is so intense!!!!!!
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
Everytime I read this verse it’s so amazing everytime and such a chilling thought, whoa!!! The fear and power of God is so intense that John fell down as if he were dead, I need to have this fear of Christ, this is mind blowing. When I evangelize to people, they just think of Christ as a baby in a manger or just human, but this verse is radically different than that because Jesus Christ is the Lord, He is God, and has eyes blazing like fire and a sword coming out to judge and He is coming to judge anytime, the time is going to come when no one expects it, like a thief in the night, we got to tell people the truth about Christ so they won’t have to judge on judgement day.
wow I happen to love Revelation! I find it so interesting and exciting.
7Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
Jesus is coming back to reign! I’m soo excited and am ready for the day that awaits us! I pray for His awesome return where He will take us up and we will be with Him and reign with Him on the new Earth for a thousand years! It’s an encouraging verse and we should remind ourselves or it everyday. It should also motivate us to evangelize to those who don’t know Him! I can’t wait for school tomorrow! :)
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
I love love love this verse!! I cant wait till this day and to have this reaction to Jesus Christ in all his glory and to actually be in his presence. What a privilage that is going to be!!
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
This verse just reminds me how when anyone sees the Lord approaching them, they will fall flat on their faces. They won’t put out their hands to protect themselves from the fall, but just fall flat on their faces as if they just fainted and died. That is the power of the Lord. The Lord deserves that kind of glory.
3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Anyone can read the prophecy, but blessed are those who take it to heart. I love it, It shows that there’s a difference between knowing and doing. Because knowledge is only half the battle. And the time is near, MARANATHA!!!
8″I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
im loving this verse!!! God is the Alpha and the Omega, He is the one and only God!. God proves His diety over and over again, and He is our God. im excited about reading through Revelation, because it is such a great (and confusing) book. Christ is coming back soon, and then God will have final judgement upon everyone. this bookis encouraging if we are Christians, because it talks so much about the end days and what we can look forward too… Eternity in heaven worshipping God! but it is also motivation for evagelism. we all have friends or know people that are not saved and that are going to be judged and then consequently going to hell. forver. we should use this book as motivation to evangelize because God did give us a way for salvation, and we should be thankful for that, but we also need to care for those who are damned forever
I love reading the description of Christ Jesus in this chapter. That is how He is now; He isn’t the Jesus the world thinks of. He is coming back to judge the world! John fell facedown at Jesus’ feet as though dead, and John had been with Jesus on the earth for a long time!! Wow, this glorifies God’s power. Great chapter
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed 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, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
John falls face down when Jesus appears in His awesome power, but what’s great is that Jesus said “Do not be afraid”. We don’t have to fear God in a sense because we are in Him and can rejoice in knowing that we will not be condemned. The God of the universe is no longer against us but rather has brought us by grace into a perfect relationship with Him. We should constantly be rejoicing about this, especially because we don’t deserve it at all. But in a sense we should also fear God because as verse 3 says the time is near. God has us here for a purpose, which is to bring others to Him. And we know that those who do not repent will be condemned, so we need to take advantage of the time we still have and share the Gospel.
3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Thats great I already know that I’m on the right path since I am reading the prophecy. Now to really take it to the next level I need to take heart to all that I read in Revelation. I remember the first time I ever read this chapter was when Pastor Bobby taught on fearing Jesus (hot, cold, lukewarm). We need to fear Jesus so that we will ultimately obey all of his commands. Especially obeying our parents because I just recently learned that that is really important.
MARANATHA!!!
1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
2who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
-In my opinion, this is very self-explanatory; people who listen to god’s commands will be saved. but at the same time, millions of people around the world don’t understand the book of revelations; we are living it right now! God might not be taking out his wrath right now, but at the end of the world, He is going to look us straight in the eye and say: “you did this that time. why did you do it? are you proud of it?” living life for God isn’t just about doing good deeds, it’s about doing all if His commands, and that includes obeying our parents. there might be things that we don’t like doing, but they think for the best for us.
18I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
This verse reminded me that I need to fear God not man; especially since school is started.
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
This is what we should do when we see him one day. We should fall facedown at his feet as though dead! This should be our response when we see Christ!
13and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,”dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
15His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
16In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
I remember when Bobby first talked about when Jesus will come back. He is pretty scary looking. John fell facedown in fear. When I think of Jesus, I think of the kind and humble man who gave His life for me. But this verse rememinded me of the awesome power He has. He has a sword sticking out of His mouth and His face is really bright. This is tottaly amazing how He is portayed like this. This made me remember that this is why we fear Him and obey Him. I definetly would not want to get on His bad side. But He tells John not to be afraid. He says He is the first and the last. He knows and rules everything. He is there to make sure that we are safe and can have eternal life. This verse definetly will keep me in balance and help me remember that He is Lord of my life, and I’m not.
This chapter was so encouraging to me! I love how John describes our Savior in the intro as “who was, and who is to come,” Jesus is eternal, this is such a huge blessing! Knowing that God, who died for my sin, will be fellowshiping with me forever is so encouraging to me! I also loved the symbolism of the 7 Golden Lampstands that are the chruches; this shows us, that as a curch, we are supposed to be pure (golden) and be a guiding light to the world around us by proclaiming the truth of the gospel. I love Revelation, and I think that the discription of Jesus in this chapter was a great way to start the book.
3.) Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
As I was reading this verse it really stuck out to me right away for two main reasons. The first being that if in the third verse in the entire book it talks about taking the Words of this portion of scripture to heart, I think we should really try to do that. The second is that it also talks about the Lord’s coming being near, therefore we should definitely be getting ready for it. As Austin and Spencer said…Maranatha!!!
Let me first just say I am sooooo stoked we are reading Revelations!! Wooh!
Okay I absolutely LOVE the description of Christ in this chapter! With hair as white as snow, eyes like blazing fire!, voice was like rushing waters, and out of his mouth came a double-edged sword!! Woah! That is pretty intense! and check out this verse
18I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
wowzers!! thats pretty intense!! Like Haley said.. He is coming back to judge the world!! He isn’t a “worldy Jesus” who just loves loves loves and never judge anyone! I mean have they not read this chapter!! I don’t know about you but I do NOT want to get on the bad side of someone who has eyes like blazing fire!!! no way.. nuhuh!!
He is mighty awesome powerful and wonderful!! Praise to Jesus Christ forever and ever!!
8″I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
This is a mighty powerful verse. God is declaring who he is to everyone. I can’t wait till this day!!!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!
8″I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
This is a mighty powerful verse. God is declaring who he is to everyone. I can’t wait till this day!!!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!
Wow this chapter is amazing. It gives us a very “wow” image of Christ : ) And, I really liked what verse 3 says:
3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
It’s a very awesome thing for someone to be reading the scripture. But blessed are those who read their Bibles, meditate on it day and night, then APPLY what they’ve learned. This is something that commands us to do and if we’re calling ourself a Christian, it’s definably a requirement!! I need to make sure I keep up with reading and posting (meaningful) comments, especially with school starting. So no matter how bust I am, God always comes first!
19″Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.
20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
I love those exact words that the Son of Man says because this verse holds the truth that the Bible is really God-inspired, he is literally telling him to write it down. And of course, mysteries are so fun, but this is mind boggling…lampstands are the churches..it is so great to think about (;
3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
I like how it starts out the book. It first says that the person who reads these words are blessed. But it doesnt end there, it goes on and says that those who take to heart what is written will be blessed. So i think that this is very important to see that these words and lessons are not just here for us to read and feel good but that we should take this to heart and see the immensity of there words.
8″I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
This verse was so cool to me. Like i just really like how it put it like, who is, who was, and who is to come, like it is so cool to me. Like he is eternal. He is in the past he is here now and he is going to be here in the future. He is eternal.
And wow… verses 12-16 are so intense. Like this image of the Lord is the complete opposite of what we commonly think of him. Like here there is fire and swords coming out of his mouth. It is so crazy and strikes fear in me.
3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
We will be blessed if we put what we learn here to practice. The time is near, maranatha.