Highlights from Revelation

Revelation 1:4-8

4I, John, am writing to you, the seven churches in the province of Asia. May you all receive more grace – special undeserved love, kindness and favour and peace:

  • from God the Father, the eternal One, who is always present, who was in the past and who is to come in the future, and
  • from the seven spirits, the full sevenfold activity of the perfect Holy Spirit, who are in front of his throne;
  • 5and from Jesus Christ. He persevered as the faithful witness. He is the firstborn from the dead: his resurrection proves he is the most exalted One. He is the all-powerful ruler who reigns supreme over all the rulers on earth.

Praise Jesus Christ! He loves us deeply and constantly. He has set us free from the controlling power of our sins. He did this by giving up his life when he shed his blood for us in his death. 6He has made us a new people: kings and priests to serve his God and Father. Stop and realise afresh our new identity in Jesus Christ. Yes! Celebrate him in praise for his radiant majesty and power for ever and ever! Amen!

7In fact, look up! Focus on Jesus Christ.
He is coming with the clouds,’
He is coming to this earth gloriously
and visibly: ‘The eyes of every person will see him,
even those who pierced him.’
All the peoples throughout the earth
‘will mourn because they have rejected him.’
Yes! Amen!

8The Lord God himself says, ‘I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the ultimate source and supreme goal of all things. I am the One who is always present, who was in the past and who is to come in the future. I am the eternal all-powerful One.’

Revelation 1:12-18
12I turned round to see whose voice was speaking to me. But when I turned, I first saw seven golden lampstands. 13In the middle of the lampstands I then saw a majestic heavenly being like a Son of Man present among the lampstands. He was dressed in a long robe, like the one worn by a priest, and with a golden sash round his chest. 14The hair on his head was white like wool, or even snow, showing his wisdom. His eyes were like blazing flames, having the insight of a judge. 15His feet were glowing like polished bronze as if purified in a furnace. His voice was as powerful as a roaring waterfall. 16In his right hand he was holding seven stars. Out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword of incisive judgment. I glimpsed his face shining as radiantly as the sun in its full intensity.

17This vision of the risen Jesus was so glorious and overpowering that when I saw him, I fell unconscious at his feet in awe and terror as though dead. But I felt the gentle touch of his right hand on me, and he spoke with authority and reassurance, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One. I was dead, but look! I have been raised to life and am alive for ever and ever. Be confident because I am Lord of all. I am with you always. I hold the keys of death and Hades, the realm of the dead. I exercise absolute authority over the power of death.

Revelation 2:4-5
4‘But although I praise you for your zeal for the truth, I also criticise you. I have this against you: you’ve abandoned the first love you had for me and your brothers and sisters when you started to follow me. Your passion for God has grown cold. You no longer serve others from a heart of love. 5So remember how far you have fallen! Turn back to God and change your ways. Rekindle the fire of your devotion for the Lord. Go back to doing the works that you did when you first followed me. Find practical ways to show your compassion towards others. But if you don’t turn back to me, I warn you, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. This church will stop being a source of light to your community.

Revelation 3:20
20Listen! Recognise that all you need is me. I’m standing outside the door of your lives and am knocking. I invite you to open the door. Take down the “Keep out” sign and let me in. If you hear my voice and respond by opening the door, I promise that I will come in and eat with you, and you with me. We will enjoy each other’s company and share a meal together as close friends.

Revelation 4:8-14
8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and were covered with eyes all around, on the inside and outside of their bodies. They never stop singing. They worship God continually 24/7, singing together:

‘Holy, holy, holy,
He is completely holy, full of pure, perfect and majestic holiness.
He is the Lord God Almighty,
He is the greatest Lord, the infinite all-powerful God.
He was in the past, is always present and is to come in the future,
He reigns eternally over time and history.’
9The four living creatures and the 24 elders were completely captivated by the Lamb. They sang a fresh and glorious song of worship to the Lamb:

‘You are worthy –
only you, Lamb of God, have the right –
to take the scroll
and break open its seals,
because you were killed,
and with your blood
you paid the price to set people free from slavery to sin
and present them to God,
people from every tribe, every language, every people and every ethnic group.
10You have made all of them in their diversity to be one kingdom, kings and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.’

11Then I looked and I heard the voice of countless millions of angels. They surrounded the throne, the living creatures and the elders. 12They were filled with an all-consuming passion for the Lamb and burst into a loud song of adoration:

‘The Lamb who was killed is worthy!
Only he has the right
to receive all power and wealth,
wisdom and strength
and honour, glory and praise!’

13Then I heard every creature throughout the universe, in heaven, on earth and under the earth and even in the sea … and everything in them … singing joyfully:

May the glorious One who sits on the throne
and the Lamb
receive all praise and honour and glory and power
for ever and ever!’

14The four living creatures responded with a grand ‘Yes! Amen!’ and the elders fell on their faces and worshipped.

Revelation 5:9-10
<9>The four living creatures and the 24 elders were completely captivated by the Lamb. They sang a fresh and glorious song of worship to the Lamb:

‘You are worthy –
only you, Lamb of God, have the right –
to take the scroll
and break open its seals,
because you were killed,
and with your blood
you paid the price to set people free from slavery to sin
and present them to God,
people from every tribe, every language, every people and every ethnic group.
10You have made all of them in their diversity to be one kingdom, kings and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.’

Revelation 7:9-12
9After this I had a further vision. I saw a huge crowd of people … in fact, a countless number … from every ethnic group, every tribe, every people and every language throughout the world. They were all standing in front of the glorious One on the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing pure white robes and were waving palm branches of victory in their hands. 10They cheered loudly and excitedly in celebration:

‘Salvation comes only from our God!
We give honour to the glorious One
who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb!’

11Then all the angels were standing round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures. They fell on their faces in awe and joy in front of the glorious One on the throne and worshipped him, 12saying:

‘Amen! How wonderful God is!
May all praise and glory;
wisdom, thanksgiving and honour;
and power and strength
be given only to our God
always and for ever and ever!
Amen! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Revelation 7:14-17
He said to me, ‘They are the ones who are coming out of the terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Their trust in Jesus’ death brings forgiveness of their sins and cleansing.

15‘Therefore they stand as priests
in front of the glorious One on the throne of God
and worship and serve him day and night in his temple.
The One who sits on the throne
will protect them with the shelter of his glorious presence.

16He will take away all their suffering:
“They will never again be hungry
and never again be thirsty.
Neither the sun nor any scorching heat
will strike them.”
They will be kept safe and secure.
17This is because the Lamb at the centre of the throne
will take care of them as a shepherd looks after his sheep.
“He will guide them to ever-fresh springs of living water,”
“and God himself will wipe away every tear of grief or pain from their eyes.”’
Those who have remained faithful
will be filled with pure joy;
their deepest longings will be satisfied for ever.
They will fully enjoy the closest presence of God himself.

Revelation 11:15
15Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven. They shouted out their affirmation:

‘The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord God and of his Messiah.
He will reign for ever and ever!
Our Lord God and his Messiah
now at last exercise supreme sovereign authority.

Revelation 12:11-12
11Our brothers and sisters have overcome him because
they trusted in the blood of the Lamb,
that Jesus gave up his life for them
when he died on the cross.
They trusted that Jesus had forgiven all their sins.
They faithfully declared the word of truth
,
the message of their testimony.
They did not cling tightly to their lives
but were willing to be persecuted
even to the point of death.
12Because Satan has been defeated and
the Messiah’s powerful reign has now arrived in its fullness,
come on and celebrate!

Take delight, therefore, you heavens
and everyone who lives there!
But disaster will come on the earth and sea
because the devil has gone down to you.
He is furious
because he knows
that his time is short!’

Revelation 19:6-8
6Then I heard what sounded like the roar of a vast cheering crowd, as powerful as a roaring waterfall and booming thunder bolts, shouting out this joyful song of thanksgiving and worship:

‘Praise God
because our Lord God, the All-powerful One,
reigns over all.
7Let’s celebrate!
Take delight in him, jump for joy
and give him glory
because the time has now come
for the wedding of the Lamb.
His bride has made herself ready.
8She has been given the privilege
of wearing radiantly pure fine linen clothes,
(because fine linen stands for
the righteous acts of God’s holy people).’

Revelation 20:1-4
1I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding in his hand the key to the Abyss and a heavy chain. 2He grabbed hold of the dragon – that ancient snake called the devil or Satan – and put him in chains for a thousand years. 3The angel threw him into the Abyss, locked it up and sealed its entrance over him. This was to restrict Satan’s power so that he might no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed. After that he must be set free for a short time.

4I saw thrones in heaven, and those sitting on the thrones were given authority to rule and judge. I also saw the souls of martyrs, those who had been persecuted and beheaded because they had remained faithful to the testimony of Jesus and the word of God. These martyrs had been vindicated by God and rewarded for their faithfulness. They had not worshipped the beast or its idol and had not been branded with the mark on their foreheads or on their hands. They came back to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Revelation 21:1-7
1Then I saw an incredible vision of a completely transformed creation. I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea of evil no longer existed. 2I saw the pure and holy city, the new Jerusalem, joyfully coming down out of heaven from God himself, prepared as a bride dressed beautifully for her husband on their wedding day. 3Then I heard a loud voice coming from the throne. The voice called out triumphantly:

‘Look at this glorious city,
full of life, full of God himself!

God’s home is now among his people.
He will make his home among them;
they will enjoy his immediate presence for ever.
They will be his one people,
from all the world’s diverse peoples, tribes, languages and ethnic groups.
God himself will be with them and will be their God.
4Be encouraged!
He will care for them so much that

he will personally wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will no longer exist;
neither will any form of grief, crying, suffering or pain exist any more.
All evil will be excluded,
because the old order of things has passed away
to be replaced by the new order of perfect peace, love and joy.

5Then the glorious One seated on the throne said, ‘Look! I am making all things radically new. Nothing will be the same; everything will be changed.’ He added, ‘Write this down, because you can trust these true words. He will certainly fulfil his word.’ 6Then he spoke to me personally, ‘It is done; everything is completed. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I am the ultimate source and supreme goal of all things. To those who sense their need and are thirsty, I will freely give water from the ever-fresh spring of living water. As they drink that water, their deepest spiritual longings will be satisfied. 7Here is a challenge to remain faithful! Those who have been victorious throughout life will inherit all the privileges of the promised blessing that I will be their God and they will be my children.

Revelation 22:1-5
1Then the angel showed me the river of ever-fresh living water, sparkling brightly as crystal. This river flowed from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the main street of the city. On both sides of the river stood the tree of life, which produced thriving crops: twelve kinds of fruit, one fresh crop each month of the year. The tree’s leaves bring the healing power of God to the nations of the world. 3No longer will there be a curse on anything. The judgment of humanity’s original rebellion will be taken away and the glorious presence of God – the throne of God and of the Lamb – will fill the city. His servants will worship and serve him. 4They will even see his face with their own eyes: this is the highest possible privilege! His name will be on their foreheads; they will enjoy his security and protection. 5There will never be any night again; it will always be light. They will not need any lamp or the light of the sun, because the glory of the Lord God himself will shine on them, and they will reign joyfully with him for ever and ever.

Revelation 22:17-21
17The Holy Spirit together with the church, the Bride,
urge Jesus, ‘Come soon!’
May those who listen to this
also say, ‘Come!’
May those who are thirsty come,
and may those who want to
freely take the gift of living water.
As they drink that water,
their lives will be sustained
and their deepest spiritual longings will be satisfied
.

18I warn everyone who is listening to the words of the prophetic message of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the punishment of the plagues described in this book. 19Similarly, if anyone removes anything from the words of this prophetic message, God will remove from that person any share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. This revelation must not be tampered with or distorted in any way. Respect this book; obey its contents. Do not alter, ignore or turn away from its message at all.

20The One who declares these things says, ‘Yes, I repeat this promise, I really am coming back soon.’

We respond with deep longing, ‘Yes! Amen! Lord Jesus, come back as quickly as possible.’

21May the Lord Jesus generously pour out his grace – his special undeserved love, kindness and favour – on you all. Yes!