Die frühe Kirche
John on Patmos and the vision of the risen one
John is in exile on the island of Patmos for the sake of God's word. On the Lord's day he comes into the Spirit and hears a voice like a trumpet, telling him to write to the seven churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. He sees a figure resembling the Son of Man standing among seven golden lampstands, with seven stars in his right hand and a double-edged sword coming out of his mouth. John falls down as though dead, but Christ says: "Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last, the Living One. I was dead, but see, I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades." He explains that the stars are the angels of the churches and the lampstands are the churches.
Offenbarung 1,9-20
9I, John, your brother who shares with you in the suffering and the kingdom and the patient endurance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Ἐγὼ Ἰωάννης, ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν καὶ ⸀συγκοινωνὸς ἐν τῇ θλίψει καὶ βασιλείᾳ καὶ ὑπομονῇ ⸀ἐν Ἰησοῦ, ἐγενόμην ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάτμῳ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ ⸀καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ⸀Ἰησοῦ.
10On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
ἐγενόμην ἐν πνεύματι ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ἤκουσα ⸂ὀπίσω μου φωνὴν⸃ μεγάλην ὡς σάλπιγγος
11saying, "Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."
λεγούσης· Ὃ βλέπεις γράψον εἰς βιβλίον καὶ πέμψον ταῖς ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαις, εἰς Ἔφεσον καὶ εἰς Σμύρναν καὶ εἰς Πέργαμον καὶ εἰς Θυάτειρα καὶ εἰς Σάρδεις καὶ εἰς Φιλαδέλφειαν καὶ εἰς Λαοδίκειαν.
12I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
⸀Καὶ ἐπέστρεψα βλέπειν τὴν φωνὴν ἥτις ἐλάλει μετʼ ἐμοῦ· καὶ ἐπιστρέψας εἶδον ἑπτὰ λυχνίας χρυσᾶς,
13and among the lampstands one like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching to his feet, with a golden sash around his chest.
καὶ ἐν μέσῳ ⸀τῶν λυχνιῶν ὅμοιον ⸀υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου, ἐνδεδυμένον ποδήρη καὶ περιεζωσμένον πρὸς τοῖς μαστοῖς ζώνην χρυσᾶν·
14His head and his hair were white as wool, white as snow, and his eyes were like a blazing fire.
ἡ δὲ κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ αἱ τρίχες λευκαὶ ὡς ἔριον λευκόν, ὡς χιών, καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς φλὸξ πυρός,
15His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.
καὶ οἱ πόδες αὐτοῦ ὅμοιοι χαλκολιβάνῳ, ὡς ἐν καμίνῳ ⸀πεπυρωμένης, καὶ ἡ φωνὴ αὐτοῦ ὡς φωνὴ ὑδάτων πολλῶν,
16In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in full strength.
καὶ ἔχων ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ ⸂χειρὶ αὐτοῦ⸃ ἀστέρας ἑπτά, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ῥομφαία δίστομος ὀξεῖα ἐκπορευομένη, καὶ ἡ ὄψις αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος φαίνει ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ.
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last,
Καὶ ὅτε εἶδον αὐτόν, ἔπεσα πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ὡς νεκρός· καὶ ἔθηκεν τὴν δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ ἐπʼ ἐμὲ λέγων· Μὴ φοβοῦ· ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος,
18and the living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades.
καὶ ὁ ζῶν— καὶ ἐγενόμην νεκρὸς καὶ ἰδοὺ ζῶν εἰμι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν ⸀αἰώνων— καὶ ἔχω τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου.
19So write what you have seen, what is now, and what is to happen after this.
γράψον οὖν ἃ εἶδες καὶ ἃ εἰσὶν καὶ ἃ μέλλει ⸀γίνεσθαι μετὰ ταῦτα.
20As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
τὸ μυστήριον τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀστέρων ⸀οὓς εἶδες ἐπὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς μου, καὶ τὰς ἑπτὰ λυχνίας τὰς χρυσᾶς· οἱ ἑπτὰ ἀστέρες ἄγγελοι τῶν ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησιῶν εἰσίν, καὶ αἱ λυχνίαι αἱ ἑπτὰ ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαι εἰσίν.