After Ephesus, we took a cruise to the nearby island of Patmos. You may remember that this is where John the Apostle was exiled and where he wrote the book of the Revelation. What many don't realize is that he was not likely the only one exiled to this island, that it actually served as sort of a home for exiled enemies of Rome, somewhat like Australia did for the British Empire several centuries later. Here are some of the pics we took.
This cave is held by the Catholic church to be the location where John received the vision of the Revelation. Though this is a bit fanciful, it does serve to help you think about what it may have been like for John to write there as a prisoner.
Pictures are not allowed inside the cave, but our irreverent theology professor broke the rules! We're all glad he did, because we get to share them with you.
One of the things I loved at this point in the journey was all of the Greek writings that we found. It was a great way to practice what I learned in seminary, as well as to impress my bride. Below is the first chapter of Revelation as it appears in the Greek New Testament.
Here Dr. Vang and I are translating the inscriptions on a mosaic at St. John's monastery which depicts John the Apostle and Christodoulos, the monk who founded St. John's in the 5th century. The figure on the left is identified as "Saint John, the Theologian." The one on the right is "Saint Christodoulos." Christodoulos is clearly holding a copy of the book of Revelation.
Here we are just outside St. John's monastery.
