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THE PATMOS PRISONER |
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I read about a prisoner that received a letter from his wife: “Dear husband, I have decided to plant some lettuce in the back yard. When is the best time to plant them?” The prisoner, knowing that the prison guards read all mail, wrote his wife, “Dear wife, whatever you do, do not touch the back yard. That is where I hid all the money I stole.” A week or so later he received another letter from his wife: “Dear husband; you wouldn’t believe what happened. Some men came with shovels and dug up the back yard.” The prisoner wrote back: “Dear wife; now is the best time to plant the lettuce.”
As we continue our study of Revelation, we learn in verse 9 that John was a prisoner. He was not a prisoner for some crime he had committed, but because of the Christ to whom he was committed. He wasn’t in prison because he had stolen something. He was in prison because he had served someone. He was in prison because of his faith in Christ and his faithfulness to Christ. As we see in our text, it was while he was a prisoner that he was taken on a trip through the future and allowed to see the events that are recorded in the Book of Revelation. Let’s notice verses 9-11 and learn about John the Patmos Prisoner.
First, we see:
1. THE TRIBULATION OF JOHN
In verse 9 John seeks to relate to those who would read his book. He speaks of how there are two things they share. First, there is what they shared in Christ. He calls himself a “brother.” The word “brother” that he used means, “from the same womb.” John was speaking of their spiritual birth. John says, “Like you, I have experienced a spiritual birth. We are brothers in the family of God.” When you read the books that the Holy Spirit used John to write you will find that he was very fond of this term.
Secondly, he speaks of what they shared for Christ. He also speaks of himself as a “companion in tribulation.” The word “companion” simply speaks of a “partner.” John states that he was a partner with other believers in “tribulation.” The word “tribulation” is the Greek word thlipsis that means “pressure.” The word was used such as in the case of the pressure caused by a large and heavy stone being placed on a man’s body. The word is used throughout the New Testament to describe persecution. The word is actually translated “persecution” in Acts 11:19 where we read, “Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose…”
Think with me a little further about this companionship in tribulation of which John refers. First, think with me about:
A) An Era Of Persecution
John’s words indicate that other believers were undergoing tribulation and persecution in their life. After the resurrection the number of Christians multiplied. We read of 3,000 being saved on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2:47 tells us that people were getting saved on a daily basis. We also read in Acts 16:5, “And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.” The number of Christians increased drastically in those first few years.
In A.D. 54 Nero came to the Roman throne. It was under his rule that the first imperial persecution of Christians took place. It was Nero that burned Rome and blamed Christians, igniting a bloody time for all who named the name of Christ. Some of the things that Nero did are almost too horrible to name. He would cover Christians with the skins of wild animals and allow them to be attacked and torn to pieces by famished dogs. He would make made sport of them in the great Coliseum of Rome by having chariot races and having the Christians mingled among, only to be crushed to death under hoof and wheel.
Probably, the most telling of his hatred and torture of Christian occurred on the grounds of what is now the Square of St. Peter’s in Rome. At the time the place marked the spot of Nero’s gardens. Burning torches lit the pathway through the garden, torches comprised of living torches, the bodies of Christians hanging on crosses and then their clothes set on fire to give light in his gardens. It was during this time that Paul was beheaded and Peter was martyred.
The second imperial persecution of Christians began in A.D. 81 when the savage and wicked Domitian ascended to the Roman throne. Domitian saw Christianity as an unlicensed religion and ordered its persecution in A.D. 91. He issued an order stating, “No Christian, once brought before the tribunal, should be exempt from punishment.” According to many, his hatred and persecution exceeded that of Nero. Christians were brutally massacred. It is said that there spies in every house and an executioner at every door. Domitian took possession of the properties of Christians and cast them into prison. Hundreds upon hundreds were marched into the Roman Coliseum where they killed by the swords and spears of the Gladiators with the cheers of crowds in the backgrounds. It was during this time that Timothy was beaten to death.
It was during the time of Domitian’s reign that John was writing. It was an era of tribulation and persecution for Christians.
We not only see an era of persecution, but also:
B) An Example Of Persecution
Christians were no stranger to persecution. John was no exception. He speaks of his own persecution. In verse 9 he speaks of how he “was in the isle that is called Patmos.” The Isle of Patmos was a small, rocky, volcanic island off the coast of Turkey. It was an island about 10 miles long and 6 miles wide. The Romans used the island for the banishment of political prisoners and criminals.
Political prisoners were not all ill-treated and confined. They had the freedom to wander around the island. But that was not the case with criminals. They were forced to do hard labor in the quarries and mines. They were in perpetual fetters, had scanty clothing, insufficient food, slept on the bare ground in caves. Christians were considered criminals; therefore John was forced to endure such hardships.
This was a time when it was costly to be a Christian. It was an era of persecution and John was an example of a Christian being persecuted. Domitian had John exiled to Patmos. Tradition says that before he was banished to the island, he was plunged into a pot of boiling oil.
It has been said that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church. In our time it is hard for us to imagine that costs that some Christians have had to pay simply because they were Christians. At the worst, we have someone mock us or laugh at is because we are Christians. However, for many of the early Christians, there was a great cost in naming the name of Christ. We must never forget that our faith is stained with those who paid the ultimate price.
The writer of Hebrews described many of these believers as those who “had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:36-38).
There is something extremely moving about being in a place where Christians gave their life. I have walked through the Coliseum of Rome where many Christians gave their life. While in Italy, the pastor I was with carried me to an arena between Rome and Naples, where numerous Christians that were martyred there. I have stood at the sight in Edinburgh where hundreds of Christians were either burned at the stake or hanged. I have stood at the spot where George Whishart was burned at the stake. It is an overwhelming feeling to stand on such spots. There comes over you a great sense of your own littleness and unworthiness when you stand upon such sacred ground. The epitaph that was given of the early martyrs, “of whom the world was not worthy,” is very fitting.
Secondly, think with me of not only the tribulation of John, but also:
2. THE DEDICATION OF JOHN
In verse 9 John declares the reason he was banished to Patmos. He says it was “for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” John’s dedication is seen in the:
A) The Trust He Kept Faithfully
John had been entrusted with the sacred task of preaching the Word of God. He had received God’s call and God had received his commitment. In spite of the days in which he lived, John was faithful to that trust. Regardless of the days in which he lived or the difficulties that he faced, he was faithful to the “word of God.”
As Americans, we do not live under the fear of being persecuted for our faith. I can preach the Word of God and you can serve God without being arrested and imprisoned. The worst we have to face is someone mocking us or making fun of us for being a Christian. Yet, how shallow is our commitment to that of the early Christians. We are up and down, in and out, on and off, and hot and cold. Faithfulness to God’s Word and Will should be a given for us.
I mentioned earlier that it was during this time that Timothy was martyred. He was the bishop of Ephesus. There was a celebration of a feast called Catagogion. Timothy, meeting the procession, rebuked the people for their ridiculous idolatry. The people became so angry they fell upon him with their clubs, and beat him in so dreadful a manner that he died of his bruises two days later. Timothy, the celebrated disciple of the Apostle Paul, regardless of the cost, was faithful to the “Word of God.” May we be as faithful to whatever God has entrusted us to do.
Secondly, there was not only the trust he kept faithfully, but also:
B) The Testimony He Bore Fearlessly
John was not only exiled to Patmos because of the “word of God” but also “for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” In a day and time when simply being identified as being a Christian could mean banishment or even death, John had not been ashamed that He was a Christian, and did not hide the fact. He bore the testimony of Jesus Christ without shame or fear.
I think of Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, who was executed who the persecution of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (A.D. 162). He was arrested and brought before the proconsul. The proconsul sought to get him to recant: “Swear, and I will release thee – reproach Christ.” Polycarp answered, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never once wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, Who hath saved me?” He was tied to the stake and burnt to death.
I can only imagine how small we will feel when we stand at the Judgment Seat surrounded by those who were willing to pay the ultimate cost for naming the name of Christ. When I think of how we often blush when asked if we are Christians and how we often hide the fact that are Christians at school and in the workplace, there is no doubt that we bow our heads in embarrassment when we stand with those who were fearless in their testimony of Jesus Christ.
What if were forced to stand before some judge and ordered to renounce our faith or deny the name of Christ, with the understanding that if we did not, it could mean imprisonment, or even death; what would our response be. If a gun was placed to our head and we were told to deny Christ or die, what would we do?
I am not sure what we would do, but as for John, his dedication is without question. He was faithful to his trust and fearless in his testimony. Keep in mind, John was 91 years old at the time. Our motto ought to be, “Faithful and fearless until death.”
Lastly, think with me of:
3. THE REVELATION OF JOHN
We read in verse 10, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.” It was while exiled on the Isle of Patmos that John received the revelation we have recorded for us in the Book of Revelation. I love the phrase, “I was in the Spirit.” His cave was turned into a Cathedral. In the darkest hours of his life he enjoyed the wonderful presence of the Spirit of God. John was living in two environments. He was in Patmos and he was in the Spirit. Praise God we can live in the same two environments. One may be grievous, but the other is glorious.
The phrase, “the Lord’s Day” does not necessarily refer to Sunday in this verse. It refers to what is commonly known as the “Day of the Lord.” It refers to a period of time, rather than a particular day. The “Lord’s Day” or the “Day of the Lord” commences with the rapture and concludes with a new heaven and earth. John was describing how the Spirit of God took him on a tour of the events that will occur in the future.
Verse ten tells us that he heard the voice of the Lord. John described his voice as “a great voice, as of a trumpet.” I think it is very interesting that John described the Lord’s voice as a trumpet. Trumpets played a significant role in the history of Israel. At Sinai, when God gave the law, Exodus 19:16 describes the voice of God as a “trumpet exceeding loud.” As well, the year of Jubilee was ushered in by the sounding of a silver trumpet (Lev. 25:9). The trumpet was used to assemble the Children of Israel, to call them to the Tabernacle, for the blowing of alarms and at certain feasts. It is said that when the Temple services began in the morning and the door was opened, it was with the sound of a trumpet. In the New Testament, the Bible tells us that when Christ returns for His Children, He “descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God.”
The voice of the Lord John heard was an announcement of the things that were to come. Just as the Lord will announce the actual commencement of the events recorded in Revelation, the Lord began His revelation to John with a voice like a trumpet.
There were two specific instruction the Lord gave to John. First, he was told that there was:
A) Something To Be Seen
We read in verse 11, “Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book…” John was to be given, as we saw in an earlier study, a sneak preview of coming events. He was ushered into the future and privileged to see what the future held. It was more than a pleasure trip, but one in which he was to take careful note for the purpose of recording it in a book for others to read.
I think about what Paul said to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” Paul was saying that he did not want them to be without understanding when it came to the future events. The same idea is expressed in the Lord’s instructions to John to write in a book the things that he would see. The Lord wants us to know what is going to happen in the future.
There was also:
B) Something To Be Sent
We also read in verse 11 that he was record the events he would see in a book and “send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”
In later studies we will examine these 7 churches more in detail. In chapters two through three we will learn quite a bit about them. For the time being let me just say that these were seven actual Churches existed throughout Asia Minor. These Churches were to receive a copy of John’s revelation in printed form. Why? The pastors of these Churches were to read it to their congregations so that every believer would understand what the future held. Today, we possess a copy of the same book they received that we as well might know what the future holds.
Our possession of John’s book gives us the same responsibility of informing others about the future. We read and teach it as both a warning and an announcement. It is a warning to those who are not saved. It is an announcement to those who are saved. It warns the lost they need to be saved. It announces to the saved that there are better days ahead. |
