The Apostle John In Exile

by George Prasher, Manchester, England | Category: The Lord Among The Lampstands | Apr 1994

Let us continue our exploration of precious truths from the early chapters of the Book of Revelation by considering the stirring doxology: 'Onto Him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by His blood; and He made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (1:5,6).

How our hearts respond to this adoration of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ! All we have of eternal value is because He loved us. We could never have been freed (or loosed) from our sins except by His blood, the sacrifice of Calvary; but He has done much more than free us from the judgement we so richly deserved for our sins. He has also made it possible for us to serve His God and Father in spiritual worship.

John had been told to write what he knew on a scroll, and send it to the seven churches of God in the Roman province of Asia. Disciples of Christ in those churches of God had been brought together in subjection to the will of their risen Lord and Master. Linked with many other churches of God, they had together constituted the kingdom of God' where the authority of the Lord Jesus was owned and His word put into practice. Whether other churches of God still remained loyal to the principles of the kingdom may be a matter of conjecture: but in any case the disciples in the seven churches in Asia would rejoice with John that the Lord Jesus had made them to he a kingdom, to be priests unto His God and Father. They were not only subjects of the kingdom, but also priests within a holy priesthood, together fulfilling principles of divine service in worship. How far-reaching the effects of the redeeming work of Christ. We thankfully and gladly echo the words of adoration: "To Him he the glory and the dominion for ever and ever".

Immediately following this ascription of praise, we are reminded of Christ's future manifestation in glory:

Behold, He cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they which pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over Him (1:7).

It is as though the aged apostle was given a glimpse of that glorious moment when the Lord Jesus will return to this earth to take His great power and reign. Our spirits also till to the thought of that future manifestation of the glory of the Lord Jesus at His coming as Son of Man. Like the disciples to whom John wrote, we may at present serve the Master in a spiritual kingdom unrecognized by the world. We have the privilege of serving Christ in a world which has rejected its rightful King. Faith draws tremendous inspiration and hope from the assurance that "He must reign" (1 Cor. 15:25). What a dramatic moment that will he when He comes "with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him"! Those who pierced Him are specially mentioned, doubtless referring to His own people, Israel. But not only Israel: all peoples on earth will mourn because of Him. Why the mourning? In recognition of sin and unbelief; in wonder that the rejected Man of Calvary has been made both Lord and Christ. From John's heart came the exclamation: "Even so, Amen"! Reflecting the same longing for the Lord's return, a Christian poet has written:

We wait for His coming,

we long for that day;

Bright star of the morning,

Thou wilt not delay.

Let the purchased possession

be gathered to Thee,

Let the groaning creation

from sorrow be free.

The apostle John tells us the circumstances in which he received the revelation of Jesus Christ:

I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus (1:9).

Let us look back for a moment to the early days when John was a young fisherman in Galilee. He had been aroused by the mighty preaching of John the Baptist, when all Israel was astir with the call to repentance in expectation of the Messiah. The wonderful day came when John heard the Baptist point to Jesus as the Lamb of God. With his friend Andrew, John followed Jesus, who invited them to stay with Him that day. Nothing was ever the same again. Andrew voiced their conviction. "We have found the Messiah" (John 1:41). A little later, as John was mending his nets with his brother James, Jesus called them to follow Him. Without hesitation they left all and followed Christ. Throughout the Lord's earthly ministry John was privileged to witness so intimately the life and service of his Master. "We beheld His glory", he recorded in his Gospel, "glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth" (1:14); later confirmed by his testimony, "This is the disciple which heareth witness of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his witness is true" (21:24).

The Lord gave to John and his brother James the name Boanerges,

which means "sons of thunder", doubtless suggesting that they were men of forceful temperament, perhaps soon angered. Was this not reflected when the people of a certain Samaritan village would not receive Jesus, and James and John suggested to the Lord that He should call down fire from heaven to destroy them? (Luke 9:52-54). Or when they felt free to ask the Master: "Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and one on Thy left hand, in Thy glory". The Lord replied: "Are ye able to drink the cup that I drink? or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.' They answered, "We are able". Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink ye shall drink; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: but to sit on My right hand or on My left hand is not Mine to give: but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared" (Mark 10:3540). How little at that time did John realize that the sufferings of Christ must come before the glories that would follow! He was in due course to witness the agonies of Gethsemane and the tortures of Calvary. How radically John's natural temperament was changed under the influence of the Master's example and teaching! When the Holy Spirit was poured forth after the Lord's resurrection, John the apostle was wonderfully strengthened to share the reproach and sufferings of Christ. John learned that as Christ had been, so must he be in the world (1 John 4:17). He must be ready to accept reviling, suffering, and even death for the sake of the Name.

In this spirit he served the Lord Jesus until the first century was drawing to its close. Most, if not all the other apostles, had finished their earthly course. Regarding John, the Master had said to Peter: "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" (John 21:22). How often John must have thought of those words as he lived on into a ripe old age. Now he writes to the disciples in the seven churches in Asia, and identifies himself with them in their sufferings for Christ's sake. How touchingly he described himself as "your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus" (1:9). How this would appeal to the hearts of the disciples in those seven churches, many of them suffering deeply for the sake of Christ! The thought of their aged leader patiently enduring affliction in exile would inspire fresh devotion and sacrifice. The apostle's noble words echo down the centuries for our encouragement too. We appreciate also that it was in circumstances of suffering that he was given such an outstanding revelation of the purposes of God. For us too it is often in circumstances of spiritual testing that the hope of Christ's coming and the strength of divine promise are most vividly renewed to our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

George Prasher, Manchester, England | Apr 1994
The Lord Among The Lampstands