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1. Introduction: John Is Banned to the Isle of Patmos (Revelation 1:9)
REVELATION: 1:9
9 I John, your brother and partner with you in oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God’s Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
I, John: After Yahweh, the Almighty, introduced Himself as the Alpha and Omega and the First and the Last, John manages to begin the account of his first vision with another “I”. He does not conceal his identity any longer, as he did as an eyewitness in his account of the Gospel that bears his name. John was entrusted with a task at a stormy time in history. He is the voice of God to the persecuted Church, His representative and envoy; moreover, at the time he was the oldest and the only apostle of Jesus Christ who was still living. He is the prophet of his Lord, called to portray the events of the end-times. In light of this fact, his very name – John – is also the theme of the last days against the backdrop of the gathering storm clouds: Yahweh is merciful, Yahweh is compassionate. Proclaiming the faithfulness, grace, and mercy of his Lord is the ministry of his name.
Your Brother: John could introduce himself as bishop, archbishop, patriarch, pope, or apostle. But he selects a better, more elevated and more humble title and refers to himself as the brother of all born-again Christians in the family of our Heavenly Father. Jesus called him and the other apostles His brothers (Matthew 23:8; 25:40; 28:10); thus, he has the right to call himself a brother among brothers. He belongs to the new spiritual and heavenly family (Ephesians 2:19; 1 John 3:1-3).
True siblings are responsible for one another both in good and in bad times. They tell one another the truth in love, even when it hurts. They pray for and suffer alongside one another. Privation draws them closer together.
John was no director, sultan, or philosopher, but the first among equals, the responsible elder among brothers. He had to speak, deal, and suffer on others’ behalf in critical times.
The Companion in Tribulation: The growing pressures and commencing persecutions in the Roman Empire reached not only John, but also the churches. The persecution of Christians after the burning of Rome (AD 64), as well as the nascent deification of Caesar Domitian, brought new guidelines and laws in order to bring stability to the empire. This created a difficult situation for Christians: they were indeed to pray for Caesars, kings, and princes, but not worship them. They are subject to the authorities governing them, yet they live in a spiritual kingdom, a theocracy. They give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. The demand to place themselves at the total disposal of Caesar, who wants to rule everyone and everything, will inevitably lead to a head-on collision. The waves of persecution under later Caesars bear witness to the impossibility of uniting both demands for total obedience.
With its visions, the Revelation of Jesus Christ offers refreshment, comfort, and guidance for persecuted churches in all continents – even today. Wherever a worldview or a law, such as the Sharia, tries to place demands on people or subject them completely, this book can help and show those affected that Jesus is present in the midst of His suffering churches, comforting, strengthening, protecting, and guiding them.
The Companion in the Kingdom: With his reference to being a companion in the kingdom, John touches on one of the most important concepts of the New Testament. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Thy kingdom come!” Jesus commands us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). He assures us that His Father will give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32).
In the New Testament, we read about the kingdom 35 times, about the kingdom of God 37 times, and about the kingdom of heaven 33 times. In each of these instances, the subject is the kingdom of God, realized through the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, “My kingdom is not of this world. … You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:36-37).
Jesus did not come into the world with the intention of building His Church, but with the desire to bring all and everything under the dominion of His Father. He created everything in the Universe, so the entire world belongs to Him. However, most Jews and heathens shirked His demands with their rebelliousness. Only at this point in the Scriptures did Jesus start referring to His followers as the Church, or “called out ones” (ecclesia). That is why, in the accounts of the Gospel, we find the word ecclesia mentioned only three times, whereas the word “kingdom” (basileia) is mentioned more than one hundred times. But this changed dramatically with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Since that event, we live in the age of the Church. In The Acts of the Apostles and in the New Testament letters, the word for “church” (ecclesia) appears twice as frequently as the word for “kingdom” (basileia). The church is the dawning of the kingdom of God, a spiritual and new creation in which the power of God is at work. Every born-again man, woman, and child is a responsible citizen of this realm.
The churches in Asia Minor experienced increasing persecution on account of their faith in the God-King Jesus Christ and in His spiritual kingdom. The Romans would not tolerate any other kingdom in their empire. They mocked Jesus, the “King of the Jews”, whom they crucified, and they occasionally made sketches of Him on walls as a crucified donkey. For the Church, faith in the kingdom of Jesus Christ meant they would be interrogated, pressured, treated with hostility, spied on, persecuted, and killed. The divine kingdom of God – then and now – stands diametrically opposed to all the kingdoms of man.
The Companion in the Patience of Christ: John and other devoted members of the Church understood themselves to be genuine citizens of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. That is why they were put under pressure by the kingdoms of this world. The prince of this world fights against the kingdom of God, in an attempt to undermine it from the inside or to destroy it from without. He is no friend of grace. Wherever evangelistic work is underway, one does not have to wait long for attacks. Since John was the most important preacher in the churches of Asia Minor, he was deported and isolated, despite his exemplary way of life. Other church members also met with interrogations, prison, physical abuse, hunger, cold, and torture. Wherever outside pressure increases, one quickly also finds betrayals and apostasies among fellow church members, thereby increasing distress, fear, and uncertainty.
John neither writes his churches that these difficulties will soon end, nor does he recommend fleeing to another location; rather, he encourages them to endure and persevere, so that they can become steadfast not only in love but also in patience.
Outside pressure often produces an even more intimate fellowship among the genuine believers in the Church. Their testing generates trust among them. Their perseverance in Christ becomes evident to all. It is precisely during times of persecution that the word of Jesus is realized: “See, I am with you, even until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). His presence is the secret of the growing endurance of individual Christians. They do not generate the power to endure in and of themselves; no, their strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). They live “in” Him, and He lives “in” them.
Patience in suffering produces hope in the imminent return of Jesus. A longing for the coming of the promised King generates more perseverance in those experiencing distress. Those under persecution do not live their lives in a superficial, self-satisfied, or self-confident manner. They exert themselves for the realization of their goal, and they find freedom in their “spiritual homesickness” as they long for the kingdom of God. Serving the Church and evangelizing the lost are what still keeps them on this earth.
Christians would not be able to withstand the temptations and attacks of Satan if Jesus did not grant them the privilege of resting “in Him”. In the New Testament, our being and remaining in Christ is mentioned roughly 175 times. He is our “air raid shelter”, our armor, and our life. He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
The Apostle Deported to the Island Patmos: The quiet cry of John – “I was on the island that is called Patmos” – bears witness to the beginning of the final stage of life for this venerable old apostle of Jesus. As a young man he had been a fisherman on Lake Genezareth. He let himself be baptized by John the Baptist as a sign of his repentance. Then Jesus called James, his brother, as well as John himself, to discipleship. He was the disciple, whom Jesus was particularly fond of (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7,20). John watched with horror how Jesus died on the Cross, took in His mother Mary following Christ's death, stared with Peter into the empty tomb, met the risen Lord personally, was a witness to His ascension into heaven, and received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He suffered flogging, along with the other apostles, for his testimony before the Jewish council (Acts 5:40-42), and he carried sorrow over the death of his brother James, whom Herod had killed (Acts 12:1-2). He experienced the arrest of Peter and his release from prison, and he was gladdened by the explosion in missions outreach in Antioch and Asia Minor. He participated in the apostolic council in Jerusalem as one of the pillars of the original Church (Galatians 2:9). Later, John experienced the death of Paul by the sword, as well as the crucifixion of Peter in Rome. He remained unharmed as the Romans conquered Jerusalem in AD 70, moved away to Ephesus, the center of Christianity at that time, led the growing churches in Anatolia, and wrote his account of the Gospel for them. In the end he was banned to the lonesome island Patmos in the Aegean Sea. Was this deportation to mark the final phase of his life?
As the last apostle living at the time, John carried the responsibility for all of Christendom in his heart. He found himself suddenly banned to the loneliness of a deserted island that was continually receiving more and more undesirable deportees. What was he to do in this situation? The monotonous rhythm of the waves on the beach sought to dampen his spirits, but John dwelt steadfastly upon the coming of Jesus. He prayed for the strengthening of his abandoned churches, and he kept on believing for them, as their representative. John was led into a deep peace by Jesus, so that he could see and hear, in a representative way, what the Spirit wanted to say to him and all of Jesus’ followers.
Banned for the Word of God and for the Testimony of Jesus Christ: In the isolation of his surroundings, John wondered again and again, if there was something lacking in his handling of his position or if there was some other issue behind his difficulties. He found no reason for his situation other than what he had already succinctly described in the introduction of his revelation. It was his responsibility to the Semitic church members to bear witness to the conformance in agreement between the laws and promises of the Old Testament and the testimony of Jesus in the New Testament. That was the single reason he was banned. He suffered for the Word of God.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we praise You because Your Son Jesus used the imprisonment of John the Apostle on the isle of Patmos as a world forum to inform the world of the signs of the last hour. He suffered for us and for Your testimony. Don't allow us to flee from the hardships coming to us, but help us to boldly testify the truth of Your salvation.
QUESTION:
- Why did the Romans deport John to the empty island of Patmos?