A Young Person of this Generation Who Concludes this Age

Chapter 5

Springs of Water Gushing Up

Scripture Reading: John 7:37-39

The Experience of the Island of Patmos

We know that John passed through three phases in his life. The first phase was when he was with the Lord Jesus and the other disciples. He saw many things; he observed many things. He left his boat, his father and his mother to follow the Lord. In this period he got to know who the Lord Jesus was. His second phase was when he went to serve in the church in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, we don’t seem to see much of John, but we do see that he was one serving together with James and Peter.

After that, the Lord raised up Paul to complete the word of God (Col. 1:25). Paul was very much used by the Lord, and we also know that he served in Ephesus for a long period of time. We know that he sent Aquila and Priscilla and even Timothy to Ephesus. When he wrote to the Ephesians, the reaction was not too positive.

Then we see in Revelation 1 that John was exiled to the island called Patmos. This was probably for a period of 20 years. We saw from the previous messages that John was a very strong and impulsive person. This could have been the reason for him not being so useful in the church in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord that He lifts us up to work on our person. The Lord loves us because He has an economy; He works through people but not just any kind of person. Before the Lord uses someone, He works in that person. This is what the Lord did in those 20 years with John. He gave him more life, added more of Himself into him.

We need to see that our natural life is still negative and corrupted. Sometime we try to do the Lord’s work ourselves. Then the Lord cannot do anything through us. To be delivered from our self, we need the island of Patmos. Praise the Lord for the island of Patmos. It is there that the Lord can perfect us and speak to us!

For the Lord to reveal to John the four great visions in Revelation, first of all the Lord needed to show him who he was. John came before the Lord quietly, just him and the Lord. There the Lord could shed light on his real condition. John confessed his sins; he repented before the Lord. Therefore, he could be used by the Lord.

We need to establish this experience of the island of Patmos in our daily living. We each need a time when we come together with the Lord to have fellowship with Him so that He can reveal both Himself to us and to show us our real condition.

After John’s exile, he went to serve in the church in Ephesus. It was there that he saw that the only way to release the saints from lukewarmness was the life of God which he himself experienced. When he left the island of Patmos, John wrote many things which he had seen and experienced.

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