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The Retirement Years
guile found in His mouth.” These words had their influence, and John
was removed from the caldron by the very men who had cast him in.
Again the hand of persecution fell heavily upon the apostle. By the
emperor’s decree, John was banished to the isle of Patmos, condemned,
“for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Here, his
enemies thought, his influence would no longer be felt, and he must
finally die of hardship and distress.
To outward appearance, the enemies of truth were triumphing,
but God’s hand was moving unseen in the darkness. God permitted
His faithful servant to be placed where Christ could give him a more
wonderful revelation of Himself, and of divine truth for the enlighten-
ment of the churches. In exiling John the enemies of truth had hoped
to silence forever the voice of the faithful disciple; but on Patmos
he received a message, the influence of which his enemies could not
destroy, and which was to continue to strengthen the church to the end
of time. Though not released from the responsibility of their wrong
act, those who exiled John became instruments in the hands of God
to carry out His purpose; and the very effort to extinguish the light
placed the truth in bold relief.
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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 of 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 events that would take place in
the closing scenes of this earth’s history were outlined before him;
and there he wrote out the visions he received from God. When his
voice could no longer testify to the One whom he loved and served,
the messages given him on that barren coast were to go forth as a lamp
that burneth, declaring the sure purpose of the Lord concerning every
nation on the earth.
Among the cliffs and rocks of Patmos, John held communion with
his Maker. He reviewed his past life, and at thought of the blessings he
had received, peace filled his heart. He had lived the life of a Christian,
and he could say in faith, “We know that we have passed from death
unto life.” Not so the emperor who had banished him. He could look
back only on fields of warfare and carnage, on desolated homes, on