Each morning, I love to sit on my back porch and enjoy the day. Some days are sunny with puffy white clouds dotting the sky. Others the heavens are gray and rain threatens. Sometimes I cozy up on my outdoor sofa with a hot cup of coffee and watched the rain pour and lightning shoot across the sky. No matter what kind of day the Lord has given me, He also provides understanding into His Word. Suddenly, those incredible insights overflow into my mind. Truths that others have grasped before me, I’m sure, but are new to me.
Reading the book of Revelation one morning, I thought about John who was exiled on the Isle of Patmos. After Jesus’ death on the cross, His disciples began to spread the gospel. All died for their faith except one. John, the writer of the book of Revelation.
The emperor of Rome decreed that John, the Apostle, be banished to the isle of Patmos, a barren rocky island in the Aegean Sea. Patmos served as place of banishment for criminals of the Roman government. The Romans believed that they would no longer be bothered by this enemy of Rome. It would be impossible for him to spread his influence if he became stranded in the middle of the ocean.
In their worldly way of thinking, the Lord’s enemies thought that John would forever be silenced. He had no way of communicating with the outside world. Not even a cell phone. John’s teachings would be muzzled for all times.
But our Lord God is greater than any man or worldly way of thinking. He had other plans. His Word would go forth in the world and from John’s exile would come one of the most studied books of the Bible. Revelation.
Jesus, Himself, appeared to John. He assured him with these words: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the Living One.” John received visions of the past, present and the future, and he wrote what he saw. Through the Holy Spirit, he penned the last book of the Bible.
What the enemy of God meant for evil, God used for good.