BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE – 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… (Revelation 1:9-10a, NIV 1984)
My Musings – In apocalyptic literature the identity of the writer is always prominent to validate the authenticity and the authoritativeness of the visions. Like “I Daniel” in Daniel 7:28; 9:2; and 10:2, the apostle identifies himself as “I, John.” This is one of the many features of resemblance between the Old Testament and the New Testament apocalyptic seers. No other Scripture writer uses this particular phrase.
Persecution is a persistent theme of Revelation. John identifies with those undergoing persecution (“companion in suffering’) because he likewise endures hardship (imprisoned “on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus”) for the cause of Christ. Affliction and being part of Jesus’ Kingdom go hand in hand. The language here clearly affirms that the believers to whom John is writing (and John himself) are in a period of persecution (tribulation) and that the Kingdom is, at least in the spiritual sense, already present with the Church. “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought [past tense] us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13–14, NIV 2011).
The most common places of Roman banishment were the rocky Aegean islands off the coast of Asia. These included Patmos, which was forty to fifty miles southwest of Ephesus. Patmos was not a deserted island. It included a gymnasium and temple of Artemis (the island’s patron deity). The most common belief is that John wrote Revelation around 95 AD during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian. This emperor had demanded that he be worshiped as Lord and God, something John would have refused.
By this time, John would have been a very old man, in his eighties or nineties. According to several early church fathers (Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Eusebius), John was sent to this island as a prisoner following his pastorate at Ephesus. Victorinus, the first commentator on the Book of Revelation, stated that John worked as a prisoner in the mines on this small island. When the Emperor Domitian died in 96 AD his successor Nerva let John return to Ephesus. Church tradition holds that John had been banished to Patmos in order to hinder the growth of the Church and because his message opposed the dominant religious practices of Rome, which included the aforementioned emperor worship.
Because the Old Testament and ancient Judaism especially associated the Spirit of God with prophecy, “in the Spirit” may mean that John was in some sort of charismatic worship. Or, it could simple mean his writings were inspired by the Spirit (which we know is true), “for prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21, NIV 1984)
Some have indicated that “the Lord’s Day” refers to the first day of the week. However, this expression was never used in the Bible to refer to the first day of the week. The idea that the entire Book of Revelation was given to John in one 24-hour day (the first day of the week – Sunday) seems unlikely, especially if he had to write it all down.
It could be that John was referring to the “day of the Lord,” a familiar expression in both Testaments. If so, this could mean that he was actually projected forward (“in the Spirit” seems to imply an out-of-body vision) and actually witnessed the events taking place (God is not bound by time or space). Modern science fiction, which depicts time-travel that encompasses large blocks of time in the future with a return to where no time has passed at all (and vice versa), has nothing over eschatology.
My Advice – Like Paul and His being “caught up to the third heaven,” we really cannot say “whether [it was] in the body or apart from the body.” And that is really not that important, because “God knows.” (2 Corinthians 12:2, NIV 1984). But God used this time of banishment to reveal the mysteries of the last days. That is the message we really should focus on. So, when we are going through times of “suffering…and patient endurance,” we should ask ourselves what God is trying to teach or reveal to us.
Sources:
Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Re 1:9). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.
Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 552). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Re 1:9). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Re 1:9-10). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 566). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher’s commentary (p. 1073). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Walvoord, John F. (1985). Revelation. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 930). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (p. 796). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
The Brew Is A Musing 