01 Rev.1:9: John on the Isle of Patmos

I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:9 KJV)

(photo by Chris Vlachos)

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John introduces himself as the author of the Book of Revelation, speaking of himself as a Christian brother who shares the persecution and hard times that the seven Churches, whom he is addressing to, are going through. The seven churches stand for all the churches, because seven is the number of completeness. (cf. Rev.1:4-8: John addresses the Seven Churches)

John was banished, and the churches were persecuted, something which all of the churches have to go through. If we have a look into this world, this has continued until today, and the Bible says that there is no Christian that would not suffer persecution.

John is in tribulation, but on the other hand he has the inner peace of Jesus Christ, and can be patient and wait on Patmos, an island that was probably not much populated in those times, if at all. The early Christians dated his stay to about 94 or 95 a.d., and believed that John was banished to Patmos by the Roman Emperor Domitian as a punishment for preaching the Gospel, like he writes himself in the verses above and which was forbidden under the Romans and often ended in banishment or being killed for it. Thus a Christian was hindered to spread God's Word by sending him into banishment. Domitian, who ruled from 81–96 a.d., had continued the persecution of Jews and Christians for rejecting the Roman gods. The Romans did not really see a difference between the Jews and the Christians, so whenever there were problems, both were persecuted the same for it.

The first Christians could obviously preach the Gospel without being persecuted much. Pontius Pilate was not much interested in the conflicts among the Jews after Jesus was crucified. But the Sanhedrin had some Christians arrested after they had succeeded in converting a number of Jews to Christianity. The first Christian who was killed for his faith in Jesus Christ was Stephanus, stoned probably in 36 a.d. (read Acts 6:8 - 7:60).

When the Jewish King Harod Agrippa I wanted to please the Sanhedrin in 44 a.d., he had Apostle James beheaded and also Simon Peter executed. 66 a.d. the zealots had started a riot, which had ended in the destruction of the Herod Temple in Jerusalem. Many Jews had to flee, but came back to Jerusalem later. Emperor Hadrian prohibited all the Jews to settle in Jerusalem in 135 a.d., and Judah was no longer called Judah, but Syria Palestine. After Emperor Nero (54-68) had blamed the terrible fire in Rome on the Christians in 64 a.d., many Christians were arrested and accused of arson, and they were sent into the circus for a show where they had to suffer a cruel death. They were devoured by dogs or lions, crucified or burnt.

The past tense "was" suggests that John wrote parts of Revelation after his banishment on Patmos, which would mean he did not have to spend all his life there in this isle which looks like a paradise for tourists today, but which surely was no fun to stay in ancient times. I have the notion that John might not have written all of Revelation chronologically, but later added things before he sent the book to the seven Churches, while he might have written down the visions on Patmos. We do not know if he could escape from there, or if he was set free again. But it is said that Emperor Domitian lost his interested in the persecution of Christians when they explained that their kingdom was not of this world but a Spiritual matter.

This was the time when John wrote the Book of Revelation on Patmos. All of the four Gospels are said to be written down after 70 a.d., which was after the big loss of the Temple for the Jews and the ongoing suppression of Jews and Christians under the Romans conquerors.

We do not know much about Patmos in those times, but it is a beautiful Greek island today, good for vacations. A visit to http://www.patmos.gr/ or to the pictures on the official website on http://www.12net.gr/photos/index.htm is worthwhile to get a better impression of this island with its beautiful beaches, architecture and villages. But on the other hand, please keep in mind that the place where John received the visions is not really important, and could have been anywhere else.

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John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:9 KJV)

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As a Christian I feel personally addressed by John in this verse, and know that he is a family member in the family of Christian believers, the Body of Christ. We have something important in common, and that is one Lord, one faith. I am glad to live in a country (Germany) where Christians are not persecuted yet. It is more a kind of rejection which most confessing Christians have to face, like being excluded from parties, or excluded from getting a job. Confessing Christians are often mocked, but Jesus is more often. We have to stand that, and it might get easier when we think of all the martyrs who even had to give up their lives for their faith.

There is still a lot of Christian persecution in this world, and also a lot of anti-Semitism. The number of those Christians who are killed for their faith ("for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ") every year are many thousands. Please pray for them, and also for their families, and pray for protection against any form of persecution in the world. I do not know what might be worse, slaughtered Christians for their faith, or Christians that slaughter for their faith. Jesus does not need this. God is in control anyway, so please have faith. Just think of the Israelites, and how they won the most useless looking battle if the Lord was on their side. The devil is defeated, and everything will be good. All it takes is patience, but faith even more. John writes that he was in this patience, and in this faith, "the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ".

"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." (John 18:36 KJV)

John was in the kingdom of God, which Jesus had preached in His time on earth already: "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:14-15 KJV)

John was on an island where he might have been alone, far away from his Christian brothers and sisters. He might have prayed much, and the Lord was always around him there. In tribulation we are often much closer to God than in times of peace and joy. Many people start to ask for God in times of trouble, and they forget about him afterwards. He was not banished because of a crime, but just for the testimony as a Christian. We Christians have all to reckon with that, but like John, we can be assured that the Lord is with us, no matter what happens.

Lets us all pray that we will be "in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ" in times of tribulation and trouble, and reckon with the Lord's help to give us the necessary strength, also to those who already need it right now. Let us pray the Lord allows meet our brothers and sisters in peace. My heart goes out to those brothers and sisters in Christ who cannot do that. Let us all become like eagles and get away from places of horror, and let us fly back into His kingdom which nobody can take away from us.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31 KJV)

Amen.