By Kelly Wise Valdes
John Boanerges, one of the followers of Jesus, was recently released from being held hostage on the island of Patmos for an undisclosed amount of time. After his emancipation, he released a book called Revelation that is reported to be included as the last book of the Bible.
John is son of Zebedee and Salome, brother of James, the Apostle. John, along with his brother James and the Apostles Peter and Andrew were all partners in a fishing business prior to their calls by Jesus to follow Him. Jesus often referred to him as the Beloved Disciple.
The apostle John rose to a position of influence within Christianity and shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, he moved to Turkey. He became the pastor of the church in Turkey and had a special relationship with other churches in the area.
While in Turkey, the Roman Emperor Domitian exiled John to Patmos, a small, rocky island in the Aegean Sea. Because of its rocky, barren and desolate nature, the Roman government used the island as a place of banishment.
In what is known as the cave of the Apocalypse (located on this island), the sacred text of the Book of Revelation was given to the apostle John by Jesus.
According to his neighbor, Jonas of Bethesda, “John was a man of action; he was very ambitious; and a man with an explosive temper when he was passionate about something.”
An excerpt from the Book of Revelation gives his readers an insight of his time in exile, “I am John, your brother, and as a follower of Jesus I am your partner in patiently enduring the suffering that comes to those who belong to His Kingdom. I was put on the island of Patmos because I had proclaimed God’s Word and the truth that Jesus revealed. On the Lord’s Day the Spirit took control of me, and I heard a loud voice that sounded like a trumpet, speaking behind me. It said, ‘Write down what you see, and send the book to the churches in these seven cities.’”
In addition to his newest book, Revelation, John also authored the Gospel of John, I John, II John and III John.
Jesus inspired 12 ordinary men to leave their old lives behind and become followers of Him. Among these new followers were fishermen, a tax collector and a revolutionary. The Gospels record the failings, struggles and doubts of these twelve men who followed Jesus. This series will document one of the disciples each month in a fun way in order to learn more about how God turned each man from ordinary to extraordinary.
