PATMOS
I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.--Revelation 1:9
As John, exiled upon the Isle of Patmos, was startled from his contemplation of [the works of] God in nature and as on bended knee he was praying to Him, he hears a voice saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." [Revelation 1:11.]
At the sound of the voice, John falls down in astonishment as if dead. He is unable to bear the sight of the divine glory. But a Hand raises John up, and the voice he remembers as the voice of his Master. He is strengthened and can endure to talk with the Lord Jesus. So will it be with the remnant people of God who are scattered--some in the mountain fastness, some exiled, some pursued, some persecuted.
When the voice of God is heard, and the brightness of the glory is revealed, and the trial is over, the dross removed, they know they are in the presence of One who has redeemed them by His own blood. Just what Christ was to John in his exile, He will be to His people who are made to feel the hand of oppression for the faith and testimony of Jesus Christ.
These very martyrs will one day be resplendent with the glory of God because He has faithful ones who have been loyal where the world, the churches, have made void His holy law. These were driven by the storm and tempest, of persecution to the crevices of the rocks, but were hiding in the Rock of Ages; and in the fastness of the mountains, in the caves and dens of the earth, the Saviour reveals His presence and His glory. (Manuscript 56, May 20, 1886)
REFLECTION: Patmos, a barren, rocky island in the Aegean Sea, had been chosen by the Roman government as a place of banishment for criminals; but to the servant of God this gloomy abode became the gate to heaven. Here, shut away from the busy scenes of life, and from the active labors of former years, he had the companionship of God and Christ and the heavenly angels, and from them he received instruction for the church for all future time. (The Acts of the Apostles, 570-571)
I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.--Revelation 1:9
As John, exiled upon the Isle of Patmos, was startled from his contemplation of [the works of] God in nature and as on bended knee he was praying to Him, he hears a voice saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." [Revelation 1:11.]
At the sound of the voice, John falls down in astonishment as if dead. He is unable to bear the sight of the divine glory. But a Hand raises John up, and the voice he remembers as the voice of his Master. He is strengthened and can endure to talk with the Lord Jesus. So will it be with the remnant people of God who are scattered--some in the mountain fastness, some exiled, some pursued, some persecuted.
When the voice of God is heard, and the brightness of the glory is revealed, and the trial is over, the dross removed, they know they are in the presence of One who has redeemed them by His own blood. Just what Christ was to John in his exile, He will be to His people who are made to feel the hand of oppression for the faith and testimony of Jesus Christ.
These very martyrs will one day be resplendent with the glory of God because He has faithful ones who have been loyal where the world, the churches, have made void His holy law. These were driven by the storm and tempest, of persecution to the crevices of the rocks, but were hiding in the Rock of Ages; and in the fastness of the mountains, in the caves and dens of the earth, the Saviour reveals His presence and His glory. (Manuscript 56, May 20, 1886)
REFLECTION: Patmos, a barren, rocky island in the Aegean Sea, had been chosen by the Roman government as a place of banishment for criminals; but to the servant of God this gloomy abode became the gate to heaven. Here, shut away from the busy scenes of life, and from the active labors of former years, he had the companionship of God and Christ and the heavenly angels, and from them he received instruction for the church for all future time. (The Acts of the Apostles, 570-571)
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