John is on Patmos, separated by sea from the churches he loves. His testimony concerning Jesus has brought him here. The man who once walked beside the Lord now shares in the suffering of those who follow Him. Jesus had called John and his brother James the sons of thunder. On this island, that son of thunder still has something to hear.
On the Lord’s day, John is in the Spirit when a great voice sounds behind him like a trumpet. He is told to write what he sees and send it to seven churches. Even here, there is work for him to do. Across the water are people who need to hear what their Lord has to say.
John turns. Seven golden candlesticks stand before him, and among them is One like the Son of man. His hair is white as wool, His eyes like a flame of fire, His feet like brass glowing in a furnace. His voice has the sound of many waters, and His face shines with the strength of the sun. John falls at His feet as dead.
The son of thunder is on his face before the Lord of glory.
Then Jesus lays His right hand upon him. The majesty that brought John down is joined by the mercy that speaks to him: fear not. Christ declares Himself the first and the last, the One who was dead and is alive forevermore. He holds the keys of hell and death. John’s circumstances have brought him to an island; the Lord standing before him governs matters no earthly authority can command.
There is comfort here with weight behind it. Jesus knows what death is. He has passed through it and risen. His assurance rests upon who He is, and John hears it while still on Patmos. The island has not disappeared. His Lord’s authority reaches all the way into it.
Now comes the command to write. What John has seen, what is, and what will come hereafter must be recorded. The churches will receive warning, correction, encouragement, and promises from the risen Christ. Their suffering has not escaped His notice. Their choices matter to Him. He knows their works, and He has the authority to tell them what must change.
We can understand how a restricted life might begin to feel like a finished life. Illness, rejection, or circumstances we cannot move can leave us wondering what remains for us to do. John’s story gives us reason to bring that question to the Lord. On Patmos, Christ still has a servant, and that servant still has a task.
John will write from the place where he has been confined. His words will cross the water, reach the churches, and speak to generations he will never meet.
The island could hold John. It could not hold back what Christ gave him to say.
“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” —Revelation 1:17–18
—Jeff Wager
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