End-Time Insights

At the start of his vision, John identified himself as a “ fellow participant ” with the Assemblies of Asia in “ the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus .” He was banished to the Isle of Patmos for his “ testimony ” for Jesus, and like the seven congregations on the Asian mainland, he had endured “ tribulation ” for the sake of the “ Kingdom ” and his witness for the exalted Sovereign over all things, the “ Ruler of the Kings of the Earth .”

John was exiled to Patmos because of his testimony – A fellow participant in the Tribulation and Perseverance in Jesus.  Patmos is a small island in the Aegean Sea approximately ninety kilometers from the city of Ephesus. It is eleven kilometers long by seven wide, making it one of the smaller islands of the  Sporades , an archipelago off the west coast of Asia Minor. Roman literature from the period identifies this group of islands as a place where political offenders were exiled - ( Tacitus, Ann. iii . 68; iv. 30; v. 71).