从拔摩海岛寄出

Dear reader, grace and peace to you from Him who is and who was and who is to come!

I am John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. At this moment, I sit on a cold rock on the Isle of Patmos, writing this letter with trembling hands. The sea wind howls, waves crash against the cliffs, sending up a low roar. This is a place of exile in the Roman Empire, a prison for political criminals and heretics. I was banished here, not for committing a crime, but "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev 1:9).

I. Remembering the Lord's Presence

I am an old man now. Years have etched deep wrinkles on my face, white hair covers my head like frost. My hands are no longer steady, my eyes are gradually dimming. But my memory remains clear, I will never forget that day that changed my life forever.

It was by the Sea of Galilee. My brother James and I were mending nets, our father Zebedee nearby. Suddenly, a voice called out: "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matt 4:19). I looked up and saw those eyes, deep as the sea, yet full of compassion. In that moment, I knew: This is the Lord I would follow all my life.

From that day, I followed Him for three and a half years. I saw Him turn water into wine at the wedding in Cana, saw Him feed five thousand with five loaves and two fish, saw Him calm the wind and sea, saw Him raise the dead. I heard Him say with my own ears, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6).

I will never forget that scene on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus took me, Peter, and James up a high mountain. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Him. We fell on our faces in terror. Then a voice from the cloud said, "While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." (Matt 17:5).

In that moment, I understood: This carpenter from Nazareth was not merely a great teacher, not merely a miracle-working prophet, He is the Son of God, the Lord of all!

II. The Cross and the Empty Tomb

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Peter 2:24)

But the most painful memory is that day on Golgotha.

I stood at the foot of the cross, watching Jesus being nailed to the wood. His hands and feet were pierced by huge nails, blood flowing down the cross. His face was twisted in agony, his lips cracked from thirst. The crowd mocked and insulted Him. Soldiers cast lots for His clothing. Heaven and earth went dark.

He saw me and His mother Mary standing nearby, and said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then to me He said, "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home." (John 19:26-27). From that hour, I took Mary into my own home.

Then He cried out with a loud voice, "It is finished!" and bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:30). In that moment, my heart broke. I thought everything was over, I thought all hope was lost.

But on the third day morning, a miracle happened!

Mary Magdalene ran to me and Peter saying, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." We ran to the tomb. I ran faster than Peter and arrived first, stooping to look in, I saw the linen cloths lying there. Then Peter arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.

Then I went in, saw, and believed (John 20:8).

That evening, the Lord appeared to us. He stood among the disciples and said, "Peace be with you!" We thought it was a spirit, but He said, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24:39). I reached out and touched the wound in His side, it was really Him! He had truly risen!

III. Pentecost and the Apostolic Mission

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Forty days after His resurrection, the Lord ascended to heaven. He said to us, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" (Matt 28:19). We returned to Jerusalem and prayed constantly in the upper room.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended! A mighty wind blew through, tongues of fire rested on each of us. We were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages. Peter stood up and preached, and three thousand people repented and were baptized that day.

From that day, the Church was born. We taught in the temple, broke bread in homes, shared all things in common, cared for the poor. The Lord added to our number daily those who were being saved. We performed many signs and wonders, the lame walked, the blind saw, demons were cast out.

But persecution followed. Stephen was stoned to death, becoming the first martyr. My brother James was killed by King Herod with the sword (Acts 12:2). Peter was imprisoned. Paul suffered afflictions, beatings, stonings, and imprisonments everywhere. Many brothers and sisters were martyred for the Lord's name.

IV. The Solitary Witness

Now, they are nearly all gone.

Peter was crucified upside down in Rome. Paul was beheaded in Rome. James the brother of the Lord was stoned to death. Thomas was speared to death while preaching in India. Andrew was crucified in Greece. Philip was crucified upside down in Phrygia. Bartholomew was flayed alive in Armenia. Matthew was killed by the sword in Ethiopia. Simon the Zealot was crucified in Persia.

One by one they departed, to see the Lord's face.

I am the last one. I am the only apostle who did not die as a martyr, but not because I fled. The Lord once said to Peter concerning me, "Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." (John 21:22). The Lord kept me in the world to complete His commission.

I shepherded the church in Ephesus for many years. I taught truth, rebuked false teachers, comforted suffering saints. I wrote the Gospel of John, wrote three epistles, that people might know: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1). And that they might know: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16).

V. The Vision on Patmos

"I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 1:9)

But now, I am exiled to this desolate island. The Roman Emperor Domitian persecutes Christians madly, commanding all in the empire to worship his image and call him "Lord and God." I refused, so I was exiled here.

There is no church here, no brothers and sisters, only cold rocks and roaring waves. By day, the scorching sun; by night, the biting wind. My food is coarse bread and salted fish. My bed is hard stone. My companion is loneliness.

But it is here, in this most desolate, most lonely place, that the Lord appeared to me!

It was the Lord's Day. I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me.

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength (Rev 1:12-16).

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Rev 1:17-18).

VI. A Message for You

Dear reader, I am about to see the Lord's face. My days are few. But before I depart, I want to leave these words for you:

First, hold fast to the truth. This world has many false teachers and false prophets who distort the gospel and preach "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:" (Gal 1:6). But remember: salvation is only through faith in Christ, not by works, not by tradition, not by mystical experiences. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8).

Second, love one another. What is the new commandment the Lord gave us? "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34-35). Do not hate your brother, do not judge, do not cause division. Bear with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit (Eph 4:2-3).

Third, do not love the world. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (1 John 2:15-17).

Fourth, persevere to the end. In the vision I saw on Patmos, what promises does the Lord make to the one who conquers! "The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death." "To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life." "The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne" (Rev 2-3). Do not abandon your faith because of persecution, affliction, or poverty. "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Rev 2:10).

Fifth, look forward to the Lord's return. What is the final vision I saw? "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev 21:1, 4). The Lord says, "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Rev 22:20). What is our response? "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!"

Epilogue

The night deepens, the cold wind on the island grows sharper. But my heart burns. For I know that these present sufferings are light and momentary, compared to the glory that will be revealed to us, which is eternal and far outweighs them all (2 Cor 4:17).

I have seen the Lord with my own eyes, touched Him with my own hands, heard His words with my own ears. This is not a fabricated myth but historical fact. The Lord truly became flesh, truly died on the cross, truly rose on the third day! Whoever believes in Him has eternal life.

I am about to see His face. But you are still alive. You must choose, will you follow this risen Lord, or continue walking in the darkness of the world?

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)

May the Lord's grace be with you!

Your brother, John on the island of Patmos

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