Patmos

Biblical Text

Patmos is mentioned once in the Bible, in Revelation 1:9. John introduces himself as the readers' "brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ," and states that he "was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." In Revelation 1:10–11 he says that he "was in the Spirit on the Lord's day" (Lord's Day) and heard a great voice. The voice commanded him to write what he saw in a book and send it to the seven churches of Asia Minor, beginning with Ephesus. The visions of Revelation begin on this island.

Background

Patmos (Greek Patmos) is a small, rocky island in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Today it belongs to the Dodecanese islands of Greece. In the first century it lay off the coast of the Roman province of Asia, opposite Ephesus and Miletus, and was therefore connected by sea routes to the region of the seven churches.

The Roman Empire used banishment to islands as a penalty for people regarded as politically or religiously troublesome. The early church father Irenaeus wrote that John's revelation was given near the end of the reign of the emperor Domitian. The fourth-century church historian Eusebius records a tradition that John was exiled to Patmos under Domitian and returned to Ephesus after the emperor's death. It remains uncertain, however, whether Patmos was an official place of exile and what facilities, if any, existed on the island.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Patmos is read as the place where a persecuted witness received revelation in isolation. From a place of suffering, John conveys to the churches the victory of Christ and the hope of the Second Coming. In this respect Patmos is closely tied to the overarching theme of Revelation: patient endurance in tribulation.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Reason for his presence: Most interpreters read the phrase "for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ" as indicating exile imposed because of his witness to the gospel. Some take it to mean that he went to the island voluntarily, whether for evangelism or to receive revelation. The text does not use the word "exile."
• Date: Tradition places the setting in the reign of Domitian (late first century). Some interpreters who read Revelation as focused on first-century events argue for the time of Nero (the AD 60s).
• Author: Church tradition identifies this John as the apostle John. Some scholars hold that he was a different John, such as John the Elder.
• Later tradition: The island has a "Cave of the Apocalypse," where John is said to have received the revelation, and the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, founded in the late eleventh century. These sites rest on later tradition; the biblical text does not identify them.

In the Korean Church

Patmos is frequently included, together with the sites of the seven churches of Asia Minor, in the itineraries of Korean church pilgrimages to Greece and Turkey. In preaching, "John on Patmos" is often cited as an example of someone who received God's revelation and comfort amid suffering and isolation.