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.
15. His feet were like fine brass that has been purified in a furnace, and his voice sounded like rushing water.
16. He held seven stars in his right hand, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword. His appearance was like the sun shining with all its power.
17. When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. But he put his right hand on me and said, "Don’t be afraid. I’m the first and the last,
18. and the living one. I was dead, but look! Now I’m alive forever and always. I have the keys of Death and the Grave.