Patmos

In the Bible

Patmos appears only once in the Bible, in Revelation 1:9. The author, John, states that he "was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." He goes on to record that he was in the Spirit on the Lord's day and heard a great voice, and that he was commanded to write what he saw and send it to the seven churches of Asia (Revelation 1:10–11). The visions of the entire Book of Revelation are thus recorded as having begun on this island.

Background

Patmos (Greek Pátmos) is a small, rocky island in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Today it belongs to Greece as part of the Dodecanese islands. It lies across the sea to the southwest of Ephesus on the western coast of Asia Minor, not far from the churches to which Revelation was addressed. The Roman Empire practiced banishment to islands as a punishment for politically troublesome individuals, and Patmos is believed to have served as one such place.

On the basis of the writings of early church authors such as Irenaeus and Eusebius, a tradition holds that John stayed on the island during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian (AD 81–96) and returned to Ephesus after the emperor's death.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Patmos is portrayed both as a place of persecution and isolation and as a place of revelation. John calls himself a "companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ." With this expression he identifies himself with readers who were enduring persecution. Interpreters sometimes compare this scene with the experiences of Ezekiel and Daniel, who saw visions while in exile in Babylon. The common thread is that revelation came to God's people while they were far from home in a foreign land.

Interpretation and Debated Issues

• The meaning of "for": Most commentaries and church tradition read the text as saying that John was exiled because he bore witness to the gospel. The text, however, does not use the word "exile." Some interpreters therefore consider it possible to read the passage as meaning that John went to the island to preach the word or to receive revelation.
• Author and date: The author has traditionally been identified as the apostle John, though some scholars regard him as a different person of the same name. The view that the book was written late in Domitian's reign is widely accepted. Others date it to the time of Nero (the AD 60s), a view sometimes connected with the interpretation that Revelation's prophecies were largely fulfilled in the first century.
• Later tradition: According to tradition, John received the revelation in a cave on the island, and his disciple Prochorus wrote it down. Today the island is home to the Cave of the Apocalypse, associated with this tradition, and the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, founded in the late eleventh century. These stories are later traditions not found in the biblical text. The site is an important pilgrimage destination for the Eastern Orthodox Church and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

In the Korean Church

In Korean preaching, "John on Patmos" is frequently cited as an image of a person who encounters God amid suffering and isolation. Pilgrimage itineraries covering Greece and Türkiye sometimes include Patmos along with sites of Paul's missionary journeys and the sites of the seven churches of Asia.