APOKALUPSIS | 008 | Why was John at Patmos?

Let us take time to examine the historical setting in which the book of Revelation was written. Says the apostle, "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 1:8)

During the reign of Domitian (r. 81-96 CE), Christians were persecuted for their refusal to participate in the imperial and state cults of Rome, which held the emperor as a god who should be worshipped. Christians were charged with atheism, or disbelief in the gods. This was a crime, that of treason, as angering the gods meant that you could threaten the prosperity of the Empire. Thus, Christians to the lions for their refusal to honor the gods.

According to the theologian Tertullian (155AD-220AD) in his book On The Prescription of Heretics, John was banished to Patmos after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing from it. It is said that all in the audience of Colosseum were converted to Christianity upon witnessing this miracle.

Exiled on the island of Patmos near the end of the 1st century CE, John recorded his visions of the future, utilizing the books of the Old Testament for his point of reference and foundation. John envisioned a world that was polarized between good and evil; Christians and Rome. In terms of symbolic language and images, Revelation is one of the most complicated of apocalyptic texts.

It was important for God to separate him from the rest of the world, putting him in an environment where he can focus with clarity upon one of the most solemn and important series of visions God was about to reveal to him. He was placed on the island for two Biblical reasons:

1. The Word of God
   During his younger days with his Master, John had witnessed Him say, "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake." (Matthew 24:9)
   
   
2. The Testimony of Jesus
   The Bible identifies prophets as people chosen by God to bear the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9) John was also a prophet who was given the gift of the Spirit of Prophecy. Throughout the ages, the prophets of God were always persecuted by those to which they were sent. In His own words, Jesus once cried, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 13:34)

These two things are the identifying marks of God's true people who will, again and again, be persecuted for the truth on which they stand. In the later stages of the book, John writes about the kindling of the Dragon's (Satan) wrath against a people who "keep the commandments of God, and the testimony of Jesus". (Revelation 12:17)

There is another and more important question that should engage the attention of the churches of today. The apostle Paul declares that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12) Why is it, then, that persecution seems in a great degree to slumber?—The only reason is, that the church has conformed to the world's standard, and therefore awakens no opposition. The religion which is current in our day is not of the pure and holy character that marked the Christian faith in the days of Christ and his apostles. It is only because of the spirit of compromise with sin, because the great truths of the Word of God are so indifferently regarded, because there is so little vital godliness in the church, that Christianity is apparently so popular with the world. Let there be a revival of the faith and power of the early church, and the spirit of persecution will be revived, and the fires of persecution will be rekindled. (E. G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 48)