Are you Alone On The Isle of Patmos?

Revelation 1:9-10  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. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Throughout the holiday season leading up top the New Year, conversations, social media status, and preached messages have been inundated with hopes and expectations for the coming year.  Many are glorying in the success of their hard labor and their expectations, which is a light to many but a stumbling block to some.  Many non-definitive statement such as, I am expecting God to do great things for me this year", is the crust of many well-prepared messages. These type of messages resonate well with a majority within an assembly,  and for that reason, they are popular during any season. But, there are those who like John who is exiled on their own Isle of Patmos, and because of circumstances in their lives are forced to look at things differently. 

To some, the New Year will always remind them of the lost of a love one, to other it will remind them of their battle with a type of sickness.  Sickness, death or separations are some of the types of tribulation that we must endure.  There is a false rendering of Deuteronomy 7:15 that teaches that sickness separates the righteous from the unrighteous and trials and tribulations is not in accordance with God's plan. John was aware of the tribulation the church was facing, therefore he identified himself as, "your brother, and companion in tribulation".  The strangeness of John's writing was that nowhere in his message did he proclaim, "God is going to do great things 'FOR' me", therefore, because of his attitude, God was able to do a great thing through him.  The wording of Revelation 1:10 seems to indicate that John was praising God in or regardless of his tribulation and waiting for a message, not an act of deliverance.  

I often find myself wondering why do we have such a 'high expectation' of God. Why is it necessary for God to be always active and doing things to make our life here on earth better?  True, in the Old Testament we have God delivering the Children of Israel, we have the stories of the three Hebrew boys and even Daniel in the lions den, just to name a few.  We can easily end up with a testimony of God is a deliverer.   As we emerge into the New Testament the deliverance of God seems to diminish. Jesus and the New Testament writers began to speak of enduring hardship as if were a virtue.  Mark 4:17  And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.  Paul encouraged Timothy to endure.  2 Timothy 2:3  Thou, therefore, endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 

For a moment of study, I invite you to take a step backward, shift your perspective.  Compare how 'God, in the capacity of the Father' dealt with Moses and the Children of Israel.  He actively fought battles for them.  Now consider how 'God in the capacity of the Son' dealt with his twelve Apostles, even Paul and many others that followed him.  He allowed them, even himself to be delivered up and prosecuted   It is clear, under the dispensation of the Law, God operating in the capacity of 'God the Father' was the protector of his earthly Children. Their mission was to establish 'The Kingdom of God' or the Promise land here on earth.  Failing to carry out the mandate of God, a divorce action, and scattering of his people was implemented.  When the dispensation of the Law came to an end it was the dispensation of Grace that followed.  Even under the presumption of Grace, God protected his Son from Herod the King.  Once, 'God the Son' declared "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand", persecution began to intensify.   John the forerunner of Christ did not live to see a ripe old age. 

The early Christians profound belief in the Kingdom of Heaven did not allow them to place the same value on this earthly life as we do today.  Consider the antic of Stephen, (Acts 7:54-60), rather than reverse his stance or toning down his rhetoric he seems to choose to incite the mob to act.  In the early days, even the Church ordained by Christ suffered intense persecution.  Matthew 21:35  And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.  It was only after the church laid aside the mandates of Christ and polluted the Gospel was it able to boast of its great blessings (Revelation 3: 14-22).

  

The transformation of the Bible into a study guide to enhance world economy, rather than a spiritual economy is causing many to turn away from God.  The conversion of the church into a place to attract people to come and have a good time is merely a technique used to promote and enhance an emotional experience.  The ordained church has entered into the entertainment business, spiritual guidance that Jesus offered to his church in Revelation 1-3 is no longer fashionable, it is out of date.   Like the crowd that assembles to view the football game, the cheers go up, and we walk away with and emotional high that might sustain us till the next big game.  As a parent and grandparent, I attended quite a number of football games.  I was a fixture in the bleachers because it was something expected of me.  The truth remains, at the end of the day I was one of those in my age bracket who didn't understand the game.

The entertainment field is flourishing, it is a high paying profession.  Men and women enter the arena and draw out a following through words that resonate and high energy performances.   The antic of humanity is not lost on the organized church has begun a process of assimilation and emulation.  Where is the spiritual value? But I, like the Apostle Paul, and many of us, we are aware that we adrift upon a turbulence sea, and our deliverance will only further  our persecution, our tribulation.   Like John, the Apostle, we have been cast upon our own Isle of Patmos and the message that Jesus is sending is not a message of sunshine and favors. Revelation 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Verse 9. I John, who also am your brother. Your Christian brother; who am a fellow-Christian with you. The reference here is doubtless to the members of the seven churches in Asia, to whom the epistles in the following chapters were addressed, and to whom the whole book seems to have been sent. In the previous verse, the writer had closed the salutation, and he here commences a description of the Circumstances under which the vision appeared to him. He was in a lonely island, to which he had been banished on account of his attachment to religion; he was in a state of high spiritual enjoyment on the day devoted to the sacred remembrance of the Redeemer; he suddenly heard a voice behind him, and turning saw the Son of man himself in glorious form in the midst of seven golden lamps, and fell at his feet as dead.

And companion in tribulation. Your partner in affliction. That is, he and they were suffering substantially the same kind of trials on account of their religion. It is evident from this, that some form of persecution was then raging in which they were also sufferers though in their case it did not lead to banishment. The leader, the apostle, the aged and influential preacher, was banished; but there were many other forms of trial which they might be called to endure who remained at home. 

In the first three chapters of Revelation, Jesus is sending a profound message to his church.  These letters are often cast aside or invalidated as being dated and of no value to today's church.   Yet we do not hesitate to surgically remove segments of scripture from the Old Testament and present them as a message to the church.  Thus, we have a beautiful and highly motivational message  of the church standing on the banks of the Red Sea, and the message is "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.   We can shout on that.  But Jesus is saying something different.  Revelation 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.  Revelation 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.