Isle of Patmos
John was exiled to Patmos for his testimony – A fellow participant in the Tribulation and Perseverance in Jesus - Revelation 1:9.
Patmos is a small island in the Aegean
Sea approximately ninety
kilometers from the city of Ephesus. It is eleven kilometers long by seven wide, making it one of the
smaller islands of the Sporades, an archipelago off the west coast of Asia Minor. Roman literature from the period identifies
this group of islands as a place where political offenders were exiled - (Tacitus,
Ann. iii. 68; iv. 30; v. 71).
The island was NOT a penal colony. It
had a population large enough to support a gymnasium, acropolis, and shrines to
the Greek gods Artemis and Apollo. However, its physical isolation made it an
excellent place to banish political undesirables.
Political offenders were exiled under the
regulation of in insulam. This included the confiscation of
property and loss of civil rights. The purpose was banishment, not necessarily forced
labor. Only the Emperor could impose that penalty.
- (Revelation 1:9) – “I, John, your brother and fellow-partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus, came to be in the isle that is called Patmos, because of the word of God, and the witness of Jesus.”
EXILED FOR THE GOSPEL
Later church tradition claimed John was
forced to labor in the mines on Patmos. However, there is no evidence that
mines ever existed on the island during or prior to the Roman period - (William
Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches).
Another regulation under which individuals
were exiled was the sentence of relegatio in insulam. This did not
mean the loss of property or civil rights. It could be imposed by a provincial
governor if he exiled the offender to a location within his jurisdiction - (Patmos
belonged to the province of Asia). According to the church father Tertullian, John was exiled under this law - (De
Praescript. Haer. 36).
Probability supports this last option. It is
unlikely the emperor would take any interest in the case of a minor provincial.
The letter to Smyrna describes the “slander of them who say
they are Jews and are not,” using the Greek noun blasphémia (Strong's - #G988). While the
term can mean “blasphemy,” it was used commonly for “slander,” that is, false
accusations.
At Smyrna, saints were accused to local
authorities by their opponents for activities offensive to Roman sensibilities,
accusations that were “slander” in the eyes of Jesus - (Revelation
2:9-10).
John was on Patmos “on account of the word
of God and the testimony of Jesus.” The preposition dia, or “on
account of,” indicates either that he went there to proclaim the gospel or was
banished to the island because of his activities elsewhere.
The second alternative is the more probable.
First, John was a “fellow participant” in the “tribulation.”
Second, in Revelation, saints were persecuted for the “testimony of
Jesus.”
Third, an almost identical clause is found in
the fifth seal opening where the martyrs were slain “on behalf of (dia)
of the word of God and their testimony (martyria).” And fourth, the term “testimony”
or martyria has judicial overtones - (Revelation 6:9, 11:7, 12:11,
12:17, 20:4).
FELLOW SUFFERER FOR THE KINGDOM
Thus, John found himself banished to Patmos;
therefore, he identifies himself with the suffering churches of Asia; he is their
“fellow participant.” He does not call himself an “apostle” or indicate his
status or authority. He is simply “John.” This suggests a figure well-known
among the churches of Asia. And he identifies himself with the plight of his
churches.
Therefore, John is a “brother and
fellow-participant in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus.”
“Fellow-participant” or sugkoinōnos denotes joint participation -
(Strong’s - #G4791). The term is related to the Greek noun used elsewhere in
the Greek Bible for “fellowship” - (1 Corinthians 9:23, Romans 11:17,
Philippians 1:7).
In the Greek sentence, one definite article or
“the” modifies all three nouns (tribulation, kingdom, endurance).
They are grammatically linked - each is part of a whole. To be “in Jesus”
means tribulation, kingdom, and endurance, all three terms
characterize what it means to follow him.
“Tribulation” translates the Greek
noun thlipsis, a “pressing together,” hence “pressure, distress,
trouble, tribulation, affliction” - (Strong’s - #G2347). This is something the church is
experiencing already at Smyrna. Later, in his vision of the innumerable
multitude, John sees a group
“coming out of the great tribulation”
- (Revelation 2:9-10, 7:9-14).
Thus, “tribulation” occurs “in Jesus.” And in Revelation, it is not something God inflicts on the ungodly, but what faithful Christians endure on account of their testimony. In contrast, ungodly men undergo “wrath” – (Revelation 6:16, 11:18, 19:15).
The churches participate in the “kingdom.”
On some level, the reign of Christ is a present reality and believers participate
in it. The churches are members of his “kingdom and priests” - (Revelation
1:6, 5:10-12, 20:4-6).
The “endurance” also occurs “in
Jesus.” The call to endure tribulation and persecution is a theme threaded throughout the book. For
example, the assault against believers by the “Beast from the sea”
is labeled the “endurance and
the faith of the saints” - (Revelation 13:10, 14:12).
- (Revelation 3:10) - “Because you kept my word of endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial, which is about to come upon the whole habitable earth to try them that dwell upon the earth.”
Tribulation, endurance, and kingdom all occur “in
Jesus”; they typify church life because believers are identified with him,
the “faithful witness.” He inaugurated the kingdom by his Death and Resurrection,
and his disciples now reign with him as a “kingdom of priests.” However,
they do so in and despite opposition.
