John "The Beloved Disciple" - Exiled to Patmos!
John “The Beloved” Disciple – Exiled to Patmos!
“I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God's Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus.” Revelation 1 v 9
John the beloved Disciple of Jesus was banished to Patmos during the latter years of his life because of the Word of God and HIS testimony of Jesus. When Rome had exiled John to Patmos, he was the last remaining member of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus Christ. John was a close follower of Christ who was also called the Disciple that Jesus loved.
The prison of Patmos becomes the place of vision, revelation and manifestation for the age disciple of Jesus.
Whether it be Daniel in the den or Joseph in the jail we see God by the power of His Holy Spirit ministering to the faithful saints in their confinement.
Rome tried their very best to silence this last remaining disciple of Jesus Christ. Little did they know that the final and greatest revelation was about to be given on the infamous isle of Patmos that they had exiled him to. As God used the whale as his transporting agent with Jonah, God used the exiling of John to Patmos by Rome to bring about the final revelation of HIS SON.
Whatever the confinement, prison or restriction maybe in our lives today we can rejoice in the “I JOHN” message. We can say like John I may be confined or imprisoned yet I am a partner in the suffering of Christ – patiently enduring as Christ our beloved Savior and forerunner has instructed us to do.
Through John’s imprisonment he saw so much of CHRIST – He saw Him as the Alpha and Omega, The Lamb Slain before the foundation of the World, Christ the Victor The final rider of the white horse. He also saw The Emerald Throne, The New Jerusalem, and The Tabernacle of God among men.
About John
John the Apostle was one of the original 12 apostles. He is the author of five New Testament books, including the Gospel of John, which is sometimes called the book of John. John, his brother James and their father Zebedee were Galilean fisherman. Jesus called John and James to leave their careers as fishermen and to become His apostles. Soon after, John and James became part of an inner circle around Jesus with Peter and sometimes Andrew. John along with Andrew had been disciples of John the Baptist and became followers of Jesus after He was baptized by John the Baptist.
John was the "beloved disciple" who leaned on Jesus during the Last Supper (John 13:23), who was "known to the high priest" (John 18:15), who was entrusted by Jesus with the care of His mother Mary (John 19:26), and who outran Peter to the empty tomb (John 20:2-4). After the resurrection, John appears as one of the leaders of the early church.
According to Papias, one of John's disciples, John later went to the city of Ephesus. He was exiled under Emperor Domitian to the island Patmos. It was there that he wrote the Book of Revelation, which is the 27th book of the New Testament.
His Service to Christ
Jesus first encountered John and his brother James on the shores of Galilee. He invited them to become his followers and they complied. John then joined Jesus as he went about his public ministry. John traveled with Jesus during the course of his ministry and was chosen to be in his inner circle as one the Twelve Disciples. This was a special privilege because Jesus had many followers. John was the only disciple that was present when Christ was crucified and he also was extremely loyal to Jesus during the course of his ministry in Jerusalem. Christ told him to watch over Mary his mother who was also present at the crucifixion.
The Early Church
When Jesus came back to life after his crucifix he met John and Peter while they were fishing. Christ referred to him as the Disciple whom Jesus loved. John and Peter told the others what had happened and they went back to Jerusalem until the arrival of the Holy Spirit. John was present with the believers in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit had arrived. He received power and played a critical role with the expansion of the early church.
In the book of Acts John helped Peter to heal people, spread the Gospel and he was imprisoned for preaching the message of Christ. He also cared for Mary, Jesus’ mother, until the time she had died in 54 A.D. King Herod Agrippa I attacked the Christians and caused them to scatter outside of Jerusalem (Acts 12: 1 -17). John ended up in Ephesus.
John Imprisoned
Some parts of John’s life are not clear and historical sources claim that he was a leader of the church at Ephesus. Eventually he was captured in a persecution campaign by the Roman Emperor Domitian. John was ultimately sentenced to Patmos (Revelation 1:9). Patmos was a small, rocky and barren area where many criminals of Rome were sent to serve out their prison terms in harsh conditions. There were mines on the island that the criminals were forced to work. John was sent to the island for the same reasons because the early Christians were considered a strange cult group who were known for causing trouble within the empire. After John had arrived he began to have visions that were written into the Book of Revelation of the Bible.
Some historians and scholars claim that John died while on Patmos and others say that he was freed from the island before his death. No one is certain when or where he died but many people do agree that he was not executed like the other apostles.
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