Chapter 1 (4 - 8)

From John, to the seven churches of Asia province:
grace and peace to you
from him who is, who was, and who is to come,
from the seven spirits at his throne,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
the First-born from the dead,
the Ruler of the kings of the earth

Jesus Christ loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings
and priests to serve his God and Father

It is he who will come on the clouds.
Everyone, in every part of the world, will see him.
All hearts will be moved by his coming

"I am the beginning and the end", says the Lord God.
"I am the originator and goal of all things"

Jesus, please help more and more people know who you are

Chapter 1 (9 - 17)

I, John, share your sufferings. I was on the island of Patmos, imprisoned for having preached about Jesus

One Sunday the Spirit possessed me. I heard a voice shouting
"Write down all you see, and send it to the seven churches of
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea"

I turned to see who had spoken to me, and I saw Jesus,
full of glory. His face was like the sun shining with all its force

He said to me "Do not be afraid. It is I, the First and the Last. I am the Living One"

Jesus, Living One, we praise and adore you, Lord

Chapter 2 (1 - 4)

The Son of Man gave me this message for the church in Ephesus:

"I know all about you. I know how much you have suffered for me.

But your love has grown cold. 
Repent, and revive your original love"

Jesus, keep my love for you strong. Don't let it grow cold

Chapter 2 (8 - 10)

He gave me this message for the church in Smyrna:

"I know the trials you have been through, and how poor you are, and the slanderous attacks that have been made on you.

Do not be afraid of suffering, afraid of prison.
Even if you have to die, keep faithful,
and I will give you the prize of eternal life"

Jesus, help me stay faithful when I experience trials and suffering

Chapter 2 (12 -16)

He gave me this message for the church in Pergamum:

"I know you live in a place where idol worship is strong.
I know you have stayed faithful, even after one of you was killed

But some of you have compromised yourselves by eating food sacrificed to idols. And some of you have followed false teachers

Listen to this message and repent"

Jesus, don't let me ever compromise my faith

Chapter 2 (18 - 22)

He gave me this message for the church in Thyatira:

"I know how charitable you are.
I see your faith and devotion, and your courage in suffering

But some of you are being misled by a false teacher.
You are imitating her bad behavior

Listen to this message and repent"

Jesus, please don't let me imitate bad behavior

Chapter 3 (1 - 3)

He gave me this message for the church in Sardis:

"I know all about you. You are a shining red apple on the outside,
but inside you are rotten

Wake up, revive your faith and love.
Remember the eagerness you showed
when you first heard the Good News

Listen to this message and repent"

Jesus, don't ever let me become a rotten apple 

Chapter 3 (7 - 9)

He gave me this message for the church in Philadelphia:

"I am opening a new door of opportunity for you
to spread the Good News

I will move people to accept the Good News from you.
I will keep you safe in time of trial"

Jesus, please give me more opportunities to spread the Good News

Chapter 3 (14 -17)

He gave me this message for the church in Laodicea:

"You are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other.
But since you are lukewarm, you are cutting yourself off from me

You are rich in this word's goods, but you are spiritually poor

Listen to this message and repent"

Jesus, please don't ever let me become a lukewarm Christian

Chapter 4 (1 - 11)

In my vision I saw a door open in heaven.
The same voice as before said to me
"Come up here. I will show you what is to come in the future"

I saw God in all his glory,
being worshipped by the angels who sang:

"Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty"

And I saw 24 elders around the throne.
They were praising God saying

"You are our Lord and our God.
You are worthy of glory and honor and power
because you are the Creator of the universe"

"Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God, Almighty.
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee"

Chapter 5 (1 - 10)

I saw a sealed scroll that no one could open.
Then I saw a Lamb, which seemed to have been sacrificed

The Lamb took the scroll, and the 24 elders sang a new song:

"You are worthy to take the scroll
and break its seals
because you were sacrificed, and by your blood
you ransomed us for God
out of every race, language, people and nation"

Jesus, Lamb of God in heaven. We praise you Lord

Chapter 5 (11 - 14)

I heard the sound of an immense number of angels gathered around God's throne. There were 10,000 times 10,000 of them, shouting:

"The Lamb that was sacrificed is worthy  to be given power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing"

I heard all living things in creation - angels, people, animals - crying out: "To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb, be all praise, honor, glory and power for ever and ever"

"Thou are worthy, Thou art worthy, Thou are worthy O Lord,
to receive glory, glory and honor, glory and honor and power"

Chapter 7 (9 -17)

I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, and language

They were standing in front of the throne, with palms in their hands.
They shouted: "Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb"

One of the elders told me who these people are:
"These are the people who have been through the great persecution.
They now serve God day and night in his sanctuary. The Lamb is their Shepherd. He leads them to springs of living water. God has wiped away all tears from their eyes"

Jesus, please help sorrowing people who are crying today

Chapter 8.1 - 11.18

I saw how punishment is coming for all evil doers on the earth

I heard voices shouting: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. He will reign for ever and ever"

The 24 elders worshipped God saying:

"We give thanks to you, Almighty Lord God.
The time has come for everyone to be judged.
The time has come for good people to be rewarded
and bad people to be punished"

Jesus, please help bad people stop being bad

Chapter 12 (1 - 6)

A great sign appeared in heaven:
a woman, dressed in the sun, standing on the moon,
crowned with 12 stars

She was giving birth to a child,
and she cried out in the pain of childbirth

Then a second sign appeared:
a huge red dragon, which wanted to eat the child

The woman gave birth to a son, the ruler of all nations

The son was taken straight up to heaven, to God on his throne.
The woman escaped to safety in the desert,
to a place prepared for her by God

Jesus, protect us from Satan
who goes round like a hungry lion wanting to eat us

Chapter 12 (7 - 14)

Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought the dragon and his angels

Michael won. Satan and his followers were driven out of heaven

The great dragon, the serpent, known as the Devil or Satan,
was hurled down to earth. His angels were hurled down with him

The dragon began to make war on the children of the Woman
- those who obey God and bear witness to Jesus

Jesus, may your holy angels protect us from Satan

Chapter 13 (2 - 12)

The dragon gave authority and power to a beast with seven heads.
For a time, the beast waged war on the saints

Then I saw a second beast. It was a servant of the first beast, and made people everywhere worship the first beast

Father, Son and Holy Spirit - may people worship you,
and not worship Satan and the two beasts

Chapter 14 (6 - 13)

I saw an angel flying high in the sky, sent to announce
the Good News of eternity to every nation, race, language and tribe

He was calling: "Honor God and praise him.
Worship the maker of heaven and earth and sea.
The time has come for him to judge the world"

A voice from heaven said to me
"Happy are those who are the Lord's friends when they die. Now they can rejoice for ever,
since their good deeds go with them"

Jesus, may I live, grow and die in your friendship

Chapter 15 (1 - 4)

Then I saw something great and wonderful: those who had fought against the beast and won, were singing the Song of the Lamb:

"Great and wonderful are all your works,
Lord God almighty.
Just and true are all your ways,
King of nations.
All nations will come and adore you"

Jesus, may all the nations of the earth adore you

Chapter 18 (1 - 4)

I saw another angel, shouting at the top of his voice:
"Babylon has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen.
Gone for ever, never to return, is your life of magnificence and ease"

Another voice spoke from heaven:
"Come out, my people, away from Babylon,
so that you do not experience her punishment"

Jesus, please help us not be contaminated by worldly values

Chapter 19 (1 - 9)

After this I heard the sound of a huge crowd in heaven singing: "Alleluia! Victory and glory and power to our God!"

The sound of the crowd  was like the sound of the ocean
or the roar of thunder as they called out:

"Alleluia! The reign of the Lord our God the Almighty has begun.
Let us be glad and joyful, and give praise to God,
because this is the time for the marriage of the Lamb"

And an angel said "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb"

Jesus, even on this earth, may I start to hear the sounds of heaven

Chapter 20 (11 - 15)

Then I saw God sitting on a great white throne

I saw the dead, both great and small, standing in front of his throne, while the Book of Life was opened, in which was the record of everyone's life

Everyone was judged according to the way they had lived

Then Death and Hades were thrown into a burning lake.
This burning lake is the second death

Anyone whose name could not be found in the Book of Life
was thrown into the burning lake

Jesus, may all near and dear to me, be in the Book of Life

Chapter 21 (1 - 4)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The first heaven and the first earth
had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea

I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven,
as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband

I heard a voice call from the throne: "You see this city?
Here God lives among people. He will make his home among them. They shall be his people. He will be their God.
His name is God-with-them

He will wipe away all tears from their eyes.
There will be no more death, no more sadness.
The world of the past has gone

Jesus, may the thought of heaven give us courage here on earth

Chapter 21 (5 - 8)

Then the One sitting on the throne said
"Now I am making the whole of creation new.
I am the Beginning and the End

I give Eternal Life to all who die in my friendship

But for those whose evil deeds have removed themselves from my friendship, there is Eternal Death"

Jesus, have mercy on people who are rejecting your friendship

Chapter 21 (10 - 23)

I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. It had God's glory, and glittered like a precious diamond

There was no temple in the city, since the Lord God and the Lamb were themselves the temple

The city did not need sun or  moon for light, since it was lit by the radiant glory of God and of the Lamb

Jesus, Light of the world, Light of Heaven, we adore you, Lord!

Chapter 22 (1 - 5)

Then an angel showed me the River of Life,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb,
 flowing crystal-clear through the middle of the city

Here God's servants will worship him.
They will see him face to face,
and his name will be written on their foreheads

It will never be night again.
They will not need lamplight or sunlight,
because the Lord God will be shining on them

Jesus, may your name be written on my forehead

Chapter 22 (16 - 20)

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to make these revelations to you
for the sake of the churches

I am of David's line, the Root of David,
the Bright Star of the Morning"

The Spirit and the Bride say: "Come".
Let all who want eternal life say: "Come"

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Come Lord Jesus! Come into my heart! Come into our world!