Island of Patmos free essay sample

Why he was exiled 2. Living conditions a. Challenges of shelter b. Challenges of food c. His age v. Revelation written there by Paul 3. Paul’s willingness to do anything God asked of him c. What it means to me. vi. Things I saw 4. The beauty of the place. 5. The cave where Paul could of lived vii. Feelings 6. Just the feeling of being where Paul once was 7. Being where the book of Revelation was written 8. The persecution that was going on in the time it was written d. Conclusion viii. Overview of the intro, the biblical importance and what it means to me. Keith McAllister Professor Patterson Greco Roman 26 April 2013 The Island of Patmos The island of Patmos is a Greek island that is located just off the coast of Asia Minor in the eastern borderline of the Aegean Sea. It is one of the northern most islands of the Dodecanese complex and is between the islands of Leros and Ikaria. The island of Patmos has an area of 13. 15 square miles and has a population of 2,998 people. Detailed census) The island of Patmos is about 158 miles from the main harbor of Athens, Piraeus. The history of the island of Patmos goes extremely far back. According to a legend from Greek mythology the island of Patmos was first named Letois after one of their goddess’. (The Book of Apocalypse written on Patmos. ) They believed that Patmos came into existence due to the goddess’ divine intervention. They believed that the island was at the bottom of the sea and the goddess would visit another god on a nearby island. The other god wanted the goddess to bring the island up to life and over time the goddess did. The earliest remains of human settlements date back to the Middle Bronze Age which is believed to be 2000 BC. Throughout history the island of Patmos is mentioned by very few ancient writers. Because of this there is not much known about the ancient history of the island of Patmos. Although there is not much known, we do know that during the 3rd century BC in the Hellenistic period there was a settlement on the island of Patmos that had the form of an acropolis with an improved defense with fortification walls and towers. Patmos is also mentioned in Christian scriptures in the Book of Revelation. The book tells us that the author was put onto the island and was given a vision from Jesus. On the island there is a cave where the writer, John the Apostle, was believed to stay and several monasteries. After the death of John the Apostle many Christians came onto the island and settled on the island. Although many Christians settled on the island Christian life hardly survived from the 7th century BC through the 9th century BC because of the Muslims raiding the island. In 1912 the island was captured during the Turkish-Italian War and the Italians occupied it until 1943 when Nazi Germany took over the island of Patmos. In 1945 the Germans left the island of Patmos and the island remained autonomous until 1948 when it and the rest of the Dodecanese islands chose to join independent Greece. The geography of the island of Patmos is an island with many colorful mountains and rocky places with many small caves scattered all over the island. The highest point on the island of Patmos is Mount Profitis Elias which rises at 270 meters. Although it has many mountains and rocky places and caves is also has low barren hills and small plateaus. The island of Patmos being an island also means that it has numerous gulfs that form countless beautiful bays and coves. The island of Patmos also has some beautiful beaches that most people would dream of visiting. The most important gulf on the island is Porto Skala because it is the main harbor of the island and the only commercial harbor on the entire island. Now that you know where the island of Patmos is located, the history of the island and the Geography of this beautiful island, I am going to tell you about the biblical importance of the island of Patmos. The island of Patmos is an extremely important island when it comes to the Bible. On the island of Patmos the book of Revelation was written. â€Å"The Book of Revelation or The Apocalypse of John, is the last and only prophetical book of the New Testament in the Bible. † (Patmos Island, the island of the Apocalypse) The book of Revelation was written by John as he lived on the island of Patmos. The text of Revelation states that the author is called John and that he lives on the Greek island of Patmos, where by some, he is considered to be in exile as a result of anti-Christian persecution under the Roman emperor Domitian. Weeks Stephen) Christians during this time were being persecuted by the Roman government. The biblical scholar Adela Yarbro Collins from Yale Divinity School explains why this is credible that John would have been banished to the island of Patmos. Early tradition says that John was banished to Patmos by the Roman authorities. This tradition is credible beca use banishment was a common punishment used during the Imperial period for a number of offenses. Among such offenses were the practices of magic and astrology. Prophecy was viewed by the Romans as belonging to the same category†¦.. Prophecy with political implications, like that expressed by John in the book of Revelation, would have been perceived as a threat to Roman political power and order†¦. † (Adela Collins) The story of St John is central to Patmos. â€Å"Exiled by Emperor Domitian in AD 95 to this backwater, he settled in a cave. † (Cole Teresa L. ) John was in his nineties when he was banished to the island of Patmos by the Roman government. He had been sent there due to proclaiming his faith and living a life for Jesus. When he was sent to the island of Patmos it was not an island where people were living or people had settled on. It was an island where the only people living on it were the people who had been banished also. John had to find his own supply for basic needs and it would have been extremely hard for a man in his nineties to do. John had to find a safe place to stay where he could stay sheltered from the weather and also be able to find himself food. For a man in his nineties this would have been extreme hard to do but rather than giving up and dying he pursued on. He did the exact opposite of that. He did not want to die, rather he went and found a cave up on a hill to stay and live in. â€Å"He lived in a cave above the Islands capital of Skala as a hermit. Today this cave is one of the most revered locations for all Christians. Not only is it revered as a place where one of the Disciples lived in exile. It’s also a place where God revealed himself to a human being. † (Adkins Mike) Many people go to visit this cave today so that they can be where it is believed that John stayed while on the island of Patmos and to be where God revealed to John about the book of Revelation. Although this is a huge and very common belief no one really knows if this particular cave in fact is where John lived while he was on the island of Patmos. Although no one knows the truth about this cave it is a very accurate description and example of where John would have lived to shelter himself from the weather of the island. For me it is hard to imagine a ninety something year old man living and sleep on the floor of a cave away from all other human life and having to find his own food and water and him still wanting to fight for God’s word. John has been ripped away from everything he loved; all of his churches, his friends and other Christians that kept encouraging his work. Even after all of this John still fought on and did what pleased God. God revealed to John the book of Revelation and John still wrote it knowing full well that the reason he was on the Island of Patmos was because of his belief, but this did not stop John. Nothing could stop John from worshipping God. John had proven this by still worshipping God after all he had been through. Anyone who knew the basic struggles of what John went through on the island of Patmos, the lack of shelter, food, water, and of people, would agree that it was not an easy task to survive there, especially for a man in his nineties. Most people in his circumstance would have given up and died. John did not give up and I am extremely grateful for this Because of John we have the last book of the Bible, Revelation. Due to John’s great amount of faith in Christ Jesus and his amount of perseverance we now have the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the very last book in the Bible. The purpose of the book of Revelation is to reveal Gods plan for the future of the entire world. No one can escape what the book of Revelation says is to come. The book of Revelation tells of coming judgment on the world and all the people in it for all of the sins that they have committed. Souvay, Charles) In the book of Revelation there are many thing that we cannot imagine that are going to happen to this world and because of this there has been a lot of criticism about the book. The island of Patmos will always have an impact on me. The island left an impressive image for me and I will never forget what the island of Patmos meant to me, the things I saw, and the feeling that I f elt there. They will be with me for as long as I live. This island did not mean much to me just a few months ago. I knew it was where John wrote the book of Revelation but that to me was not a big deal. It was just the place where the book of Revelation was written and that was it. That whole idea and concept to me was not that special, but that all changed dramatically after I had the chance to actually go and visit the island of Patmos itself. The island of Patmos was a great experience for me and I was excited that I had the opportunity to go but what I underestimated the lasting impression it was going to leave on me. While I was on the island of Patmos I saw many things that I will never forget. The first of them was just the sheer beauty of the island itself. I had never been to such a beautiful place before in my entire life. This island had many mountain’s full of colorful flowers and trees and many designs and shapes of the mountain and rocks surrounding it. The waters of the island are some of the clearest waters I have ever seen. You could look down into the beautiful blue sea and see the coral resting on the bottom and the colorful fish swimming around the coral looking for something to eat and a place to rest. (Swick Thomas) It was a beautiful sight that you could sit and watch for hours and lose track of the time doing so. Another thing I saw on the island of Patmos was the monastery. It was a very old building that had been built to worship God. As you walked into the monastery you walked through doors that were 900 years old. (The divine island of Patmos) The further you went into the monastery the more paintings you saw. There were many paintings all over the inside of the monastery some being as old as dating back to the 12th century. Each painting represented a story of their beliefs. Every face that was in the painting had the same facial expression. It was not an expression of fear as some pictures showed the people being attacked, or of sorrow watching people they loved being murdered, or of happiness while eating dinner around a table. Every face in the entire monastery had a face of blankness, no expression whatsoever and that was very weird to me. Another thing that I saw was the cave that supposedly John stayed in. It was a cave above the main city and the only commercial harbor. The cave was on a hill that was accessible by a car. Once we got to the cave we had to wait outside and talk to the man who kept it who hardly spoke English. Once we finally got to go into the cave it had been turned into a building and a room to preserve it. Inside there were paintings of John and him holding a book that was supposed to be the book of Revelation. The cave was no more than a space that was 20 feet by 20 feet. I know that this cave has not been proven to be the actual cave where John stayed during his punishment but it is a good description and example of what he would have lived in. The fact that a man in his nineties would have been able to live in a cave like this and still be happy and willing to do what God has asked him to do amazes me. John was an extremely devoted man of God to be willing to do such a thing. Some of the memories that will stay with me the longest are the feelings I had while visiting the island of Patmos. It was a feeling of amazement, awe, excitement, sadness and hope all at the same time. When I first learned that I was going to be on the island of Patmos where John wrote the book of Revelation I did not think much of it. Just that It was going to be a place that didn’t mean much to me. Once I actually got to the island of Patmos it was completely different feeling than I was expecting to have. It was one of the most amazing feelings being on the island knowing that this is where John wrote the book of Revelation. Knowing that God revealed the end times to John on the island that you were now standing on was a once in a lifetime feeling that put you in an awe of Gods greatness, and excitement knowing that you are standing in a place that was of great importance to the Bible. Such a beautiful place like the island of Patmos and God revealing the fate of the world to a single man named John. As I was on the island of Patmos I did some reading on location and as I sat reading the book of Revelation it just gave the book a whole new meaning and importance. It is like it gives the book of Revelation a whole new perspective to the reader. It made the book of Revelation feel so much more real and closer as I read it reading of what was to come and realizing that the end times are coming. It was a sad feeling knowing that the world was going to be destroyed through famine, war and by God’s wrath and everything on it would be killed. But yet also knowing that the Christians of the world would be saved from it all and would win the war in the end also gave me a huge feeling of hope knowing that God will take care of me through everything. It also made me realize that there is not much time left to go out unto the nations preaching the word of God and that as Christians we cannot stress the importance of this enough. It gave me a new â€Å"fire† to run and to go out and tell people of Gods wonderful news of salvation by the grace of God through his son Christ Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. Another feeling that I had while on the island was sadness it was a sad feeling knowing the entire reason John was on the island of Patmos was because he was being persecuted for his faith. Just knowing that John and so many other believers were facing so many trials is saddening to me to know what they were going through. Also knowing that many of us who have little to no persecution and yet we are more scared to go out and talk to people about God’s Word than the Christian’s were that were being killed for doing so. The strongest feeling I had while on the island of Patmos was that of just pure gratefulness knowing that this is the place that God revealed to man the end of the world and that we as Christians had hope for the end times. The island of Patmos has a great and very long history. The island of Patmos was where the book of Revelation was written. It has been part of many different countries since it has been founded and is now part of Greece. It is a beautiful island full of many different colors and is full of history. Its history is a rich and vast history that involves anything from wars to the last book of the Bible being written on the island, talking about the end times of the world. The entire time I was on the island of Patmos I learned a lot about the end times and what the Bible has to say bout it through the reading I did out of the book of Revelation and what people taught me about this island of Patmos. During the time I spent on the island of Patmos I had a variety of different emotions while I was there also. It was one of the most amazing experiences that I ever had and I will never forget the feelings I experienced or what I have learned while visiting the island of Patmos.