The Lord's Day on Patmos

The Apostle John, the human author of the Gospel of John, 1, 2, 3 John and Revelation. The "beloved" disciple. He was the last personal disciple still alive, most likely since he was one of the youngest of the disciples. All the other faithful disciples had been martyred long before. John was the only male disciple to be at the recorded crucifixion of Jesus. The rest were women (John 19:25-27). Imagine that same John dipped in boiling oil, yet amongst the living he remained.

Seeking to isolate him for good John was exiled to Patmos. A very small isle less than 70 miles from Ephesus and the other churches Christ would later command him to write in Revelation. He was left there to die.

If we really knew what John had been through and where he was we would say, “Poor Old John!” At the time he wrote about the Apocalypse by the revelation of Jesus Christ it was almost the end of the First Century (AD 96). The early church was greatly persecuted and yet now John is writing this revelation, in his eighties, while he dies alone on an island.

What was he thinking?

• Can it get any worse?
• Will it get any better?
• Is there hope?
• Can I keep believing?

Imagine yourself in this place. In fact, we are being persecuted daily and have been since the 1st Century. The persecution of Christians may get worse before it ever gets better. We will never be subject to the wrath of God though, upon unbelievers only does this fate fall.

We see the blatant sins of our culture displayed all over our media. Radio stations air the insane lyrics of boys and men who know nothing of responsibility but of getting high daily and exploiting women. The Internet and common community websites like MySpace have become a place for refuse and rubbish. Television is a literal sewer being pumped into the homes of millions by homosexuals, reprobate Jews, gnostics, and atheists blindly driven to establish an agenda.

Homosexuality and Humanism are great symptoms of our culture's glorification and exaltation of sexuality and self. These are characteristics that have surfaced amidst the pile of postmodern morality that is blind and impotent.

Our times sound very similar to those of old John. They are all questions or feelings that relate to the future. What does the future hold for me, for my family, for those I love, etc?

John records that it was on the Lord’s Day (1:10) that the Spirit of God came to Him. Jesus, Himself, had come to John. He had come to John with a revelation and a vision about the future. The message is about HOPE for His Church. It is a message that He will never leave us nor forsake us! It is a message that He has not left this world in decay and lostness but has come to redeem those that believe! Jesus is coming again!