Lineage Pentecost to Patmos
John: The Beloved & Patmos Episode 15
John had a special place in Jesus' heart,
for scripture notes that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved.
John shared experiences with Jesus
in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Mount of Transfiguration
and he was the disciple to whom Jesus entrusted the care of His mother
when He was on the cross.
John had defects of character that earned him the nickname 'The Son of Thunder',
and Jesus saw that he needed his mother's influence
to soften his coarse and rough edges.
John was ambitious for power, vengeful, critical, and impetuous,
yet he had great potential and would go on to be the longest living disciple.
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The book of Acts mentions that John was present during Pentecost,
but after that he barely gets a mention in scripture.
Whilst the other disciples were literally traveling the then-known world--
Thomas was preaching the gospel in India, Peter was in Rome--
John has several decades of his life where there is very little written.
He was looking after Jesus' mother.
It would not have been easy to 'stay at home' so to speak,
but John needed his own version of a wilderness experience.
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We are told that Peter was crucified upside down,
Thomas was pierced with a spear, Luke was hung from an olive tree,
and Bartholomew, Simon, Philip, and Jude were beheaded,
but John was the only apostle to die of natural causes.
This was, however, due to the miraculous power of God,
as Tertullian, writing in AD 200 said,
'At Rome, the apostle John,
having been immersed in hot oil, suffered no harm at all from it.'
This attempt to boil him alive did not work,
and is alleged to have happened behind me.
He would go on to continue as the head of the church in Ephesus
before being banished to Patmos.
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This rocky island was chosen by the Roman government
as a place of banishment for criminals,
and here, away from the busyness of life,
John received visions from heaven
that outlined the closing scenes of this earth's history.
Here, amidst the rocks and cliffs, John held communion with God
as he was able to meditate on the book of nature and marvel at God's goodness.
When John was here, he was in the closing twilight years of his life,
thought by some to be past useful service, an old man,
but it was here that he received more communication from heaven
than he had during all his former years.
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The book of Revelation is written in signs and symbols
and needs to be decoded in order to be fully understood.
The purpose of this is twofold.
Firstly, to predict and preserve it from the ruling power in John's day,
and secondly, to ensure that those who wish to understand it
actually study and dig deep.
Revelation contains many messages that have relevance for our time today
and it has helped and continues to help the church to understand
where it comes from and where it's going.
If you have not yet read the book of Revelation I urge you to start,
for it begins with a blessing to all those who read and understand it.
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Here on the isle of Patmos John finally had time to write
and it is here where he wrote the gospel of John
and also the book of Revelation.
John was able to turn a negative situation into a blessing
for himself and the Christian church in ages to follow.
It is traditionally believed that he received his visions
in the Cave of the Apocalypse,
but we really don't know where he received his visions.
Today the island is populated,
but back then it would have been a barren place but also a beautiful place,
and a place where John was able to commune with God.
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Here on the isle of Patmos John experienced trials and obstacles
but these could not shake his faith.
He had developed a deep and a pure love for God
and urged in his writings, 'Beloved, let us love God'
and reiterated the point that we ought not love in word but in deed.
John lived a long and faithful life
and at the end of his life he came to realise
that the most important thing is to love God and love one another.
John says, 'A new commandment I give unto you
that you love one another as I have loved you.'
And later on he said, 'Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God.'
May we be faithful to God and serve Him
amidst the trials and adverse circumstances that come our way
and may we reflect on and live out the words of John to love one another.