…“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty—
the one who always was,
who is,
and who is still to come.”
“You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
…and I saw a throne in heaven
and someone sitting on it.
The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant
as gemstones—
like jasper and carnelian.
And the glow of an emerald circled his throne
like a rainbow.
From the throne came flashes of lightning
and the rumble of thunder.
In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass,
sparkling like crystal.
(Sorrel River Ranch, Moab, UT)
Look!
I stand at the door and knock.
If you hear my voice
and open the door,
I will come in…
Because you have kept My word of perseverance,
I also will keep you from the hour of testing,
that hour which is about to come upon the whole world,
to test those who live on the earth.
I am coming quickly;
hold firmly to what you have,
so that no one will take your crown.
…This is the message from the one who is holy and true,
the one who has the key of David.
What he opens, no one can close;
and what he closes,
no one can open:
I know all the things you do,
and I have opened a door for you that no one can close.
You have little strength,
yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.
…To everyone who is victorious
I will give some of the manna
that has been hidden away in heaven.
And I will give to each one a white stone,
and on the stone will be engraved a new name
that no one understands
except the one who receives it.
…his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.
…his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
When I saw him,
I fell at his feet as if I were dead.
But he laid his right hand on me and said,
“Don’t be afraid!
I am the First and the Last.
I am the living one.
I died,
but look—
I am alive forever and ever!
And I hold the keys of death and the grave.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega—
the beginning and the end,”
says the Lord God.
“I am the one who is,
who always was,
and who is still to come—
the Almighty One.”
…Grace and peace to you
from the one who is,
who always was,
and who is still to come;
from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne;
and from Jesus Christ.
He is the faithful witness to these things,
the first to rise from the dead,
and the ruler of all the kings of the world.
All glory to him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins
by shedding his blood for us.
God blesses the one
who reads the words of this prophecy to the church,
and he blesses all who listen to its message
and obey what it says,
for the time is near.
(Entrance to the church built over the cave of the Apocalypse, Patmos Island, Greece)