by Beth Moore
Sabbath moments! We live in a hard world. If you have guts enough not to disconnect and hide from the overwhelming needs out there, you need some Sabbath moments to help you keep your head on straight. Start taking them!
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 2 KJV).
I wouldst wish for thou to goeth and concludest by thinking of thine own example of a Sabbath moment. If thou canst remember one, get thy rest-rebellious self out of thy workplace before thou collapseth.
Part 8
AMONG THE
LAMP STANDS
Next we take a turn with the apostle John that he couldn't have expected. We can be quite sure he never sketched Patmos on his personal itinerary. I wonder what the old man felt as he was shipped like a criminal from his loved ones in Ephesus to a remote, unfriendly island in the Aegean Sea. He had no idea what awaited him. God's ways are so peculiar at times. The greatest privilege of John's life waited for him in the gravest circumstances. Have you ever noticed how Christ suddenly seems to reveal Himself to us in the places that seem most remote? Our brief overview of the study of Revelation will remind us afresh that Jesus will never send us anywhere He will not meet us.
Chapter 36
BANISHED TO PATMOS
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. (Revelation 1:9)
I am both sobered and elated over the present stage in our study. For the remainder of our journey together, we will join John in exile on the island of Patmos in the Aegean. Don't bother packing your swimsuit. This six mile-wide, ten-mile-long island is not exactly paradise. In John's day its rocky, barren terrain attracted the eye of the Romans as a perfect place to banish criminals. Under the rule of the Roman emperor Domitian (A.D. 81-96), Christianity was a criminal offense, and the apostle John had a fierce case of it.
We don't know the detailed reason for John's confinement on the island. The only absolutes we have are those explained by John himself in Revelation 1:9. He was there "because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." Beloved, if we must suffer, I can't think of a greater reason.
I am curious why John, an undeniable Son of Thunder, was exiled rather than killed under the authority of Roman rule like the other apostles. Scholars agree we can assume he was harshly treated even at his age and forced into hard labor in the mines and quarries on the island. I still wonder why the Romans bothered since they publicly and inhumanely took the lives of so many other Christians. Ultimately, God wasn't finished with John's work on earth, and no one was taking him without his Father's permission. I wonder if the traditional teaching of the early church fathers is accurate-that the Romans tried to kill him ... and couldn't.
Many scholars through the centuries have believed that John journeyed to Rome for at least a brief stay. Tertullian, often called the "father of Latin theology," lived during the generation closely following that of the apostles (A.D. 150-225). In a work called On Prescription against Heretics, Tertullian made a stunning claim: "The apostle John was first plunged, unhurt, into boiling oil, and then remitted to his island exile!"'
Very few scholars question the reliability of the early traditions held about Peter's death on a cross to which Tertullian referred. Yes, he endured a passion like his Lord's; yet because he felt unworthy to die in exactly the same manner, early tradition says that Peter requested he be crucified upside down. Likewise, I've never read a commentary that cited reason to question the traditional information that Paul was beheaded like John the Baptist. We are, therefore, left to wonder whether the account of Tertullian regarding John the apostle was simply fiction.
I certainly don't know if the account regarding john's plunge into boiling oil is reliable, but if you ask me if such an event is possible, I could only answer yes! In Acts 12, God wasn't ready for Peter's work on earth to end, so He loosed his chains and caused him to walk right out of the prison. I can't even count the times the apostle Paul narrowly escaped death. I seem to recall a trio in the Old Testament who experienced fire without even the smell of smoke (see Dan. 3). Beloved, don't let the modern church make you cynical. Ours is a God of wonders, and don't you forget it! Never let the words of Jeremiah 32:17 only be a popular chorus. "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
If Tertullian's account has any accuracy, the Romans may have tried to take John's life and in their foiled efforts banished him to exile on Patmos. His charge may have been failing to die when told.
Though a number of chronological orders are proposed for John's stays outside Jerusalem and Judea, I lean toward the following proposition: John lived and ministered in Ephesus first. At some point he made a trip to Rome where he fell into persecution, then he was banished to Patmos where most scholars believe he remained for about eighteen months.
Though I used to believe differently, I am now most convinced by the commentators and early teachers who said he returned to the city of Ephesus where he spent the time until his death.
With these thoughts in mind, perhaps in pencil rather than permanent marker, let's read our introduction to the mysterious and wonderful Book of Revelation. Keep in mind that our approach to the last book of the Bible will be general and not primarily a study of eschatology, or last things. We will search Revelation for insights into the apostle John himself and for the facts and concepts he most wanted us to know.
The Book of Revelation is unique in its inspired promise of blessing to those who read it, hear it, and take it to heart (1:3). Please read Revelation 1:1-10.
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw-that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
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.
Even though our approach to the Book of Revelation will not include verse-by-verse exposition, I believe we can expect a measure of blessing as a direct result of our study. I'm going to be looking for mine, and I hope you will look for yours, too. The most profound revelation in Revelation is the revealing of Jesus Christ Himself, not only in visions but in authority.
The word revelation meaning "unveiling" is translated from the Greek word apokalupsis. Thrown onto a boat transferring criminals, John had no idea what God would unveil to him upon the island of Patmos. Imagine John's frail, aging frame as he held on tight while the sea vessel tossed its long way across the Aegean.
John probably pushed his gray hair out of his face to look at the few other prisoners sharing his destination. Don't picture a bonding experience.
No one would likely carry him through a small group of worshipers while he said, "Dear children, love one another." Exile was intended not only for overwork and overexposure to elements; it was purposed for crazing isolation. The tactic would be wasted on John just as it can be wasted on us when Satan tries to force us into isolation.
John most likely would have preferred death. His long life may have frustrated him. If forced to remain on earth, exile from ministry and isolation from those he loved was certainly not the way he envisioned spending his senior years. I can't imagine at one point or another in the labors forced upon him that John didn't slip on the jagged, rocky surfaces and rip his thinning skin like paper. He had no bedding for his aching body at the end of a day. I also can't imagine that he thought, Finally! A little peace and quiet for writing a new book! He couldn't have expected to meet Jesus on that island as he did. Beloved one, how many testimonies do we need to hear before we accept that sometimes the places and seasons we expect Jesus least, we find Him most? And oddly, sometimes the places we expect Him most, we find Him least.
Revelation 1:7 says, "Look, he is coming with the clouds, / and every eye will see him." When Christ returns to this groaning soil in His glorious splendor, every eye will see Him. Until then, He sometimes comes with clouds. God's glory is so inconceivably brilliant to the human eye that He often shrouds His presence in a cloud (see Exod. 16:10; 24:15-16; Lev. 16:2; 1 Kings 8:10; Luke 9:34).
One day the clouds will roll back like a scroll and Christ will stand before us revealed. He has much to disclose to us in the meantime, and we'll be greatly helped when we accept that clouds are not signs of His absence. Indeed, within them we most often find His presence. In the July 29 entry of My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers wrote figuratively of clouds:
In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. "The clouds are the dust of His feet" (Nahum 1:3). They are a sign that God is there.... Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child-a relationship simply between God and our own souls, and where other people are but shadows.... Until we can come face-to-face with the deepest, darkest fact of life without damaging our view of God's character, we do not yet know Him.
Is your life covered in dark clouds right now? Or perhaps the clouds aren't dark. They are simply obscuring clarity and tempting you to be confused by your circumstances. I've been on Patmos when the clouds that settled on the island obscured what might otherwise have been a beautiful view. I wonder if the clouds covered the island as Domitian thought he left John to the island's harsh volcanic mercy? I wonder how the old apostle "viewed" his circumstances? I wonder if he ever imagined getting off that island? Or what he'd see while he was there?
John had a critical decision to make while exiled on the unkind island. Would he relax his walk with God at the very least and at most resist? After all, no one from his church or ministry was watching. Would he lie down and die? Goodness knows he was weary. Or would John the Beloved love Christ all the more and seek Him with his whole heart amid the rock and wasteland? His answer rises like a fresh morning tide baptizing the jagged shore: "On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit" (1:10). And there He was: the Alpha and Omega. The first and last Word on every life. Every trial. Every exile.
When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. (Edward Mote, 1834)
Chapter 37
TO THE CHURCH
IN EPHESUS
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (Revelation 2:4)
Without exception in every book or letter he wrote, John was adamant that we know Jesus Christ Himself. The letter begins with a salutation followed by a majestic vision of Christ. Drawing images from Daniel and Ezekiel, John described the resurrected Lord in terms of unmistakable power.
In Revelation 1:19 Christ supplied a basic three-part outline for the entire book. He said, "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later." I believe the vision of Christ and His introduction as recorded in 1:12-20 may have constituted "what you have seen." Christ's specific address to each of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 may have constituted "what is now."
All seven of the cities were locations where believers in Christ lived and practiced their faith at the time of John's exile. Years ago I learned a good rule of thumb that I've tried to keep before me in study: when plain sense makes common sense, seek no other sense. Through the ages various interpreters have sought to make the churches symbolic, but what we can know for certain is that they were actual believers and real churches. The order of scriptural presentation is actually geographic in Revelation 2 and 3. All seven cities were located in Asia Minor, and their orders in Scripture suggest a very practical route a messenger might take if he began a journey in Ephesus and traveled on to the other six cities.
Much of the future prophecy in the Book of Revelation is beyond chapter 4; therefore, the remainder of the message is considered by many scholars to fall under the third category: "what will take place later." To the chagrin of many, we cannot dogmatically interpret most of the symbolism in Revelation. Christ did, however, identify the mystery of the seven stars and the seven lampstands. "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches" (Rev. 1:20).
Scholars disagree over the exact interpretation of the "angels" of the seven churches. Some believe the angels are literal celestial beings assigned to each church. Since the basic meaning of the word is "messenger," however, others think the messenger is a man and perhaps the pastor or overseer at each church. Thankfully, the message is the same no matter who Christ deemed messenger. We will spend much of our focused time in Revelation on the messages to the seven churches. The fact that God included the communication in Holy Writ tells us they have something to say to us. In fact, Christ Himself pointed out their relevance to others as He drew all seven letters to a close with a broad invitation.
Christ's invitation is first recorded in Revelation 2:7: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Now, feel the side of your head. Do you feel an ear? Try either side, for you only need one: "He who has an ear...." If you have one, Jesus would like you to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. I have one, too, so I'm in with you. The reason is obvious. We of His church today have much to learn from the successes, failures, victories, and defeats of the early churches. The generations may be far removed, but our basic nature and the truth of Scripture remain consistent.
Actually, Christ had more in mind than talking to people who had at least one physical ear on the sides of their heads. I certainly had ears throughout my young years, but I'm not sure how well I used them to listen to God. For the most part my ears were important hair accessories. Will I put my hair behind both ears today? One ear? Or shall I let my hair hang over both ears? I was so deep. The messages to the seven churches are for people with a little more depth than that. Christ's broad invitation was more like this: What I've said to them will speak volumes to anyone who really wants to hear and respond.
The prophetic portions of Revelation are going to occur just as God wills according to His kingdom calendar. Our thorough study of them may increase our knowledge and understanding of future events, but their personal application in our daily lives is a little more challenging. On the other hand, Christ's messages to the seven churches could be applied by the Holy Spirit to change us and indeed a
ffect the condition of Christ's church today.
So let's each grab an ear and hear!
The first message appears in Revelation 2:1-7. The letters contain several repeated elements that I want you to identify from the very beginning. Pinpoint these where they appear in each letter. Here are the common components in Christ's messages to the churches. (An asterisk [*] marks the components that don't appear in all seven letters.)
· Identification. Christ identified Himself in a specific way using some element of the first vision in Revelation 1:12-18.
· Commendation. Christ issued a commendation* based on intimate acquaintance. While not every letter contains a commendation, all seven include the phrase "I know your...." I practically shudder every time my eyes settle on the Scripture that tells us Christ "walks among the seven golden lampstands" (2:1). We already know that the lampstands are the seven churches. The verb tense suggests a continuous action.
As surely as Christ "walked" among the churches and knew them intimately in the first century, He walks among our churches today. We would be tragically amiss to think Christ is uninvolved and unmoved by the conditions, activities, and inner workings of His present churches. He walks among us. Nothing is more important to Christ in any generation than the health of His church since it is the vehicle through which He purposes to reach the lost and minister to the hurting.
· Rebuke. Based on His intimate knowledge, Christ issued a rebuke.*
· Exhortation. Christ issued an exhortation of some kind. He instructs each church to do something specific.
· Encouragement. Christ issued an encouragement to overcome. Celebrate the fact that no condition was utterly irreversible! In each case, the church (made up of individual believers) is invited to overcome, but we also must be aware that time is of the essence!