The Island Of Banishment

Revelation 1:9

"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." 

        John tells us about the visions of the Revelation that came to him, while on the isle called Patmos. Patmos, a barren rocky little island belonging to a group of islands called the Sporades,
it is ten miles long by five miles wide. It is crescent shaped, with the horns of the crescent pointing to the east. John was a leader of the Christians, and Christians were criminals, and treated as such. It is a wonder that he was not executed quickly; however banishment for him would involve hard labor in the quarries. John's banishment would be "preceded by scourging, marked by perpetual fetters, scanty clothing, insufficient food, sleeping on the bare ground, a dark prison, and work under the lash of the military overseer."
        Patmos left its mark on John's writing. To this day they show visitors a cave in a cliff overlooking the sea, where, they say, "the Revelation was written". There are magnificent views of the sea from Patmos "Nowhere is the voice of many waters more musical than in Patmos; nowhere does the rising and setting sun make a more splendid, sea of glass mingled with fire. It was to all the hardships and pain and weariness of banishment, and hard labor on Patmos that John went for the sake of God's given Word. And it was John's unshakable loyalty to the word of God, and his insistence on preaching the message of Jesus Christ which brought him to banishment in Patmos.
        The way to the kingdom is the way of endurance. That endurance is to be found in Christ. He himself endured to the end, and he is able to enable those who walk with him to achieve the same endurance and to reach the same goal.
        Amen!!

Reading: (Rev. 1:9-10)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry