THE APOSTLE JOHN ON PATMOS | ANCHORS THAT HOLD IN OUR PATMOS OF THE PANDEMIC

by Jill Roberts and Michael Canalé

 

Michael and I continue to talk about how we want this week’s blog to bear upon and strongly connect with our lives today in the age of Covid. We have been discussing the effects of living during a pandemic and agree that one of the most difficult is its clear tendency to cause isolation. It does, at times, separate us from family, friends, church, the workplace and school, to name a few. Truly, it is not a stretch to say that it causes a form of exile from so many and so much that we love and from which we draw comfort and a good sense of the familiar. This subject of exile is replete in the Bible, Scripture that is a rich source of divine guidance for successfully navigating our present times.

 

This being the case, we want to look at one Biblical example of exile, that regarding the Apostle John, who was sent away from all that was familiar to him to live in isolation on Patmos, a small Greek island. One of Jesus’ Original Twelve Apostles, often referred to as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” (John 13:23), NIV, John was sent there by Roman Emperor Domitian. At the point in time when this occurred, the other eleven Apostles had been martyred. The season of being with them and in the physical presence of Jesus had long since passed. Using the term that Michael described so well in last week’s blog, that ANCHOR, or life stabilizer, was gone. An earlier blog chronicled the many years John had cared for Mary, Jesus’ Mother, as he was directed to do by Jesus from the cross. That ANCHOR and purpose had also ended with the apparent passing of the beloved Mary. After this, John led the Church in Ephesus, enjoying all the beauty of a Christian community of like-minded believers. Now, torn from this great mission, John’s only remaining “anchor,” was hardly one at all. It was Patmos, that hard and barren rock of an island in the Aegean Sea – a true isolation, far from the warmth and love of Christian fellowship and  loving souls. Further, it is believed that John was between 86 and 96 years old at the time of his separation from his ANCHORS, his lifelong family and friends. He was forcibly removed to live out his days on a rock in the ocean.

 

But, there was another Rock, the one that the hymnist called “The Rock that is Higher than I,” in John’s life. There was this True North Who promises to be a mainstay when, like John, our other ANCHORS no longer hold fast the ship of our lives. This divine ANCHOR, Jesus, specializes in circumstances like John found himself in on Patmos.

 

We have been exiled to our own Patmos of one kind or another these past two years – away from the familiar rhythms of life before Covid. Some of our ANCHORS have been diminished or, in certain instances, ripped away entirely. We have been isolated in ways unimaginable to us not so very long ago. No, we are not exiled to a literal island, as John was, though it can sometimes feel that way. Because it can often seem like this, we have something profound to take away from John’s story. It is encapsulated in two amazing verses – Revelation 1:9-10, NIV:

 

“I, John, your BROTHER and COMPANION, in the suffering and Kingdom and PATIENT endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the Island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day, I WAS IN THE SPIRIT and I HEARD behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.” (emphasis added).

 

The New Living Translation of these verses is also illuminative:

 

“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. It was the Lord’s Day and I WAS WORSHIPPING IN THE SPIRIT. Suddenly, I HEARD behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast…” (emphasis added).

 

Several key words are in bold in meaning in these verses. First, when we, as did John, find ourselves in an isolating situation, we can remember that there are seasons when we are able, with God’s help, to summon patience that is beyond our abilities on our own. One excellent definition of this is “self-possessed.” We don’t often see this word but it speaks volumes in this case. We are actually able to, in modern parlance, remain cool and collected during isolating times. This is what John did on Patmos.

 

With regard to John, Jesus used his isolation in ways that he used his own during his time on Earth. In fact, he sought it, himself, on many occasions. Michael always reminds us that Jesus’ practices should be our example and what we should model. With regard to isolation, the following verses set forth exactly Jesus’ practices in this regard:

 

“But, Jesus often withdrew to LONELY PLACES and prayed.” (emphasis added).

(Luke 5:16) NIV

 

The English Standard Version says,

 

“But he would withdraw to DESOLATE PLACES and pray.” (emphasis added).

 

The Message translation is,

 

“As OFTEN as possible, Jesus withdrew to OUT-OF-THE-WAY PLACES for prayer.”

(emphasis added).

 

Matthew 14:23 NUV, states,

 

“…he went up on a MOUNTAINSIDE BY HIMSELF to pray.” (emphasis added).

 

Clearly, Jesus, himself, practiced what had now fallen on John to do – pray, alone, in a remote place. It is difficult to picture a more desolate one than Patmos. Pulled away from society during this age of Covid, we sometimes are called to some quite lonely places ourselves, many of them more within us than on a rock in the Aegean Sea, like John, or a mountainside, as with Jesus. There is, however, a remoteness like these in the way we have had to work, school, church and socialize, one that takes us away from our friends, co-workers and, most of all, family. Many read this blog today, look at John on Patmos and completely relate to his being removed from the familiarity of life that he, like we, thought would never change.

 

Having said this, is there a silver lining to our solitude these past two years? Let’s return to Revelation 1:10:

 

“On the Lord’s Day, I WAS IN THE SPIRIT AND I HEARD BEHIND ME A LOUD VOICE…”

(emphasis added).

 

There, alone, on this bleak island, John was IN THE SPIRIT. What does it really mean to be “in the Spirit?” The following translations of this verse are so helpful:

 

Revelation 1:10:

 

“The Spirit took CONTROL of me…”

(Good News Bible)

 

“I was CAUGHT UP by the Spirit.”

(New English Bible)

 

“I was in the Spirit – RAPT in His power.”

(Amplified Bible)

 

“On the Lord’s Day, I knew myself INSPIRED by the Spirit.”

(J.B. Phillips)

 

(Thank you to Margaret Hunter and her blog, “John Exiled to Patmos,” for these verses.)

 

John was alone on a barren rock in the middle of the sea, but at these moments, he was, in a sense, in Heaven. He felt a high only experienced when in touch with the Most High. And the result of all that isolation?

 

“…and I HEARD behind me, a LOUD VOICE like a trumpet…

(Revelation 1:10) NIV

 

It was, of course, the voice of Jesus, himself, heard loud and clear. The result of John hearing that voice? – he wrote the Bible Book of Revelation, as important and apocalyptic a Word as exists. The place where he wrote it was Patmos, where he and Jesus could be alone, where John could pray in the Spirit. Jesus spoke and John wrote down exactly what he said.

 

In her blog, Margaret Hunter wrote,

 

“What circumstances had been designed to break ( and then destroy) John’s heart and faith, was turned into a tremendous victory.”

 

Today, we have a spiritual enemy who believes that this pandemic will reduce us, dismantle us and leave us weak, our faith destroyed. God, however, knows better. His confidence is in us to take this Patmos of a plague and turn it into prayer, time alone with Him and spiritual victories that can take place while “in the Spirit.” We will one day return to our “normal” lives, ones that will be marked by a NEW NORMAL, a life in which we will know that we were battle tested during a Patmos kind of pandemic. We will have been isolated by Covid but not defeated  On the other side of this scourge, will be the prayer warriors and the patient souls, YOU, heroes of this challenging age.

 

Michael’s term, ANCHOR, again, comes to mind. We have this amazing God Who will continue to hold our ships steady in the storm, ANCHORING us until our seas are calm, our family and friends are close and we have conquered a Patmos experience with courage and faith. Hemingway called it “Grace under Pressure.” God calls it VICTORY!