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2 Who plan evil things in their hearts; Grace to you and peace from Him who is
They continually gather together for and who was and who is to come, and from the
war. seven Spirits who are before His throne, and
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3 They sharpen their tongues like a from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the
serpent; firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the
The poison of asps is under their lips. kings of the earth.
Selah To Him who loved us and washed us from
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our sins in His own blood, and has made us
4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands kings and priests to His God and Father, to
of the wicked; Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Preserve me from violent men, Amen.
Who have purposed to make my steps 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and
stumble.
5 The proud have hidden a snare for me, every eye will see Him, even they who pierced
Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn
and cords; because of Him. Even so, Amen.
They have spread a net by the wayside; 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
They have set traps for me. Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who
Selah is and who was and who is to come, the Al-
mighty.”
Proverbs 29:23
9 I, John, both your brother and companion
23 A man’s pride will bring him low, in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of
But the humble in spirit will retain honor. Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called
Revelation 1:1–20 Patmos for the word of God and for the testi-
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mony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud
1 gave Him to show His servants things which voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the
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must shortly take place. And He sent and sig-
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nified it by His angel to His servant John, who
bore witness to the word of God, and to the
testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he
saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who 1:10 in the Spirit. This was not a dream. John
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hear the words of this prophecy, and keep was supernaturally transported out of the
those things which are written in it; for the material world awake—not sleeping—to an
time is near. experience beyond the normal senses. The
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Holy Spirit empowered his senses to perceive
Asia: revelation from God (Acts 10:11). Lord’s Day.
This phrase appears in many early Christian
writings and refers to Sunday, the day of the
Lord’s resurrection. Some have suggested this
phrase refers to “the Day of the Lord,” but the
1:4 seven churches which are in Asia. Asia context doesn’t support that interpretation,
Minor, equivalent to modern Turkey, was com- and the grammatical form of the word “Lord”
posed of 7 postal districts. At the center of is adjectival, thus “the Lord’s day.” loud voice.
those districts were 7 key cities which served Throughout Revelation, a loud sound or voice
as central points for the dissemination of indicates the solemnity of what God is about
information.It is to the churches in those cities to reveal.
that John writes. who is and who was and
who is to come. God’s eternal presence is not
limited by time. He has always been present
and will come in the future.the seven Spirits. Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,”
There are 2 possible meanings: 1) a reference and, “What you see, write in a book and send
to Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the 7-fold it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to
ministry of the Holy Spirit (Is. 11:2); or 2) more Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira,
likely, it is a reference to the lampstand with 7 to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
lamps (a menorah) in Zechariah—also a 12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke
description of the Holy Spirit (4:5; 5:6; Zech. with me. And having turned I saw seven gold-
4:1–10).In either case,7 is the number of com- en lampstands, and in the midst of the seven
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pleteness,so John is identifying the fullness of lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed
the Holy Spirit. with a garment down to the feet and girded
about the chest with a golden band. His head
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