In the beginning, we find the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos, a penal colony, where he has been exiled due to his faithful preaching of the Word of God. Was he filled with self-pity, having a pity-patter party, feeling sorry for himself? Was he depressed having been a victim for obeying his Lord? No, it says clearly he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. He had been worshipping Jesus for who He was and what He had done. In other words, his eyes were not on his circumstances, he was captivated by his Lord, in deep ecstasy of worship. No wonder God had chosen John to give this revelation of Himself, as a record for us today. Jesus told him to write all down that he saw, as he was given these startling visions of the future.
One has to put themselves in John’s place in 95 AD to understand what a shock these visions were to him. After all he had never seen a car, train, plane, radio, rocket, or T.V., or even heard of the technology we, and especially our young people, have been exposed to today. Many of my generation born in the 1930’s or even before, have grappled with this book, especially when we first read it. Today, we understand it much more clearly. Part of this is due to our need today to understand the vital message it brings.