8 The Lord God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the one who is, who always was, and who is coming. I am the All-Powerful.”
9 I am John, your fellow believer. We are together in Jesus, and we share these things: suffering, the kingdom, and patient endurance. I was on the island of Patmos because I was faithful to God’s message and to the truth of Jesus.
10 On the Lord’s Day, the Spirit took control of me. I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet.
11 It said, “Write down in a book what 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 talking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.
13 I saw someone among the lampstands who looked like the Son of Man. He was dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash tied around his chest.
14 His head and hair were white like wool—wool that is white as snow. His eyes were like flames of fire.