THE DIVINE VISION
The seer said:
I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet;
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me.
On turning I saw seven golden lampstands,
And in the midst of the lampstands one like a Son of Man.
He was clothed with a long robe,
And with a golden girdle round his breast.
His eyes were like a flame of fire,
His feet were like burnished bronze
Refined as in a furnace.
His voice was like the sound of many waters,
And in his right hand he held seven stars.
His face was like the sun,
Shining in full strength.
When I saw him,
I fell at his feet As though dead.
But he laid his right hand upon me, saying,
Fear not; I am the First and the Last,
And the Living One.
I am the holy one, the true one,
Who opens and no one shall shut,
Who shuts and no one opens.
Heavenly beings sing praises:
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come.
Worthy art thou, our Lord and God,
To receive glory and honour and power.
For thou didst create all things,
And by thy will they existed and were created.
The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,
And he shall reign for ever and ever.
Great and wonderful are thy deeds,
Just and true are thy ways.
Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord?
For thou alone art holy.
A devotee said:
He reflects the glory of God
And bears the very stamp of his nature.
He is the image of the invisible God,
For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily.
The grace of God was manifested
For the salvation of all men.
Great is the mystery —
He was manifested in the body.
The seer bears witness:
The Word embodied himself and dwelt among us.
He was full of grace and truth.
In him was life,
And the life was the light of men.
The true light that enlightens every man
Was coming into the world.
The life was made manifest, and we saw it;
That which we have seen and heard
We proclaim also to you.
So say all his companions:
We were eyewitnesses
Of his Majesty.
