8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "the one who is and was and is coming, the Almighty."
9 I, John, your brother who shares with you in the hardship, kingdom, and endurance that we have in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and my witness about Jesus.
10 I was in a Spirit-inspired trance on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice that sounded like a trumpet.
11 It said, "Write down on a scroll whatever you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."
12 I turned to see who was speaking to me, and when I turned, I saw seven oil lamps burning on top of seven gold stands.
13 In the middle of the lampstands I saw someone who looked like the Human One. He wore a robe that stretched down to his feet, and he had a gold sash around his chest.
14 His head and hair were white as white wool—like snow—and his eyes were like a fiery flame.