“And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.’”
“Forgive me,” a man said. “I know you are nearly finished, but I am confused. What was God telling you there?”
Others tried to quiet him, scowling, apparently eager to have John finish. But the elderly revelator raised a hand. “I believe he is simply saying that once this has come to pass, the sinners and the forgiven will have sealed their own fates. If you have been unjust and filthy, that you shall remain. And if you have been righteous and holy, that you shall remain.”
The man nodded, and John continued:
“‘And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’
“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
“‘I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.’
“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
IT WAS AFTER MIDNIGHT, and John was as weary as he had been at the end of any day on Patmos. He sat on the pallet in his chamber. Polycarp sat in the chair at the table, facing him.
“When you must sleep, dismiss me,” Polycarp said, elbows on his knees, resting his red-bearded chin on his fists. “I am as exhausted as you look. And yet I won’t sleep. Not after that.”
“I do not know why my eyes remain open,” John said. “But I would not sleep either. The tasks related to the revelation weigh heavy upon me.”
“We already have many volunteers,” Polycarp said. “And I will supervise them. The work will not fall to you.”
“Do you know,” John said, smiling, “that I feared this was too much for the people when the reading was only half done?”
Polycarp threw his head back and laughed heartily. “I had the same concern! That they would be so dumbstruck with fear that they would not want to go home. That we would spend the rest of the night comforting them and praying with them.”
As it was, people had lingered for hours, raising questions, praying, talking among themselves.
Finally Polycarp rose. “I must let you sleep, master, or at least try to sleep. But let me also tell you before I take my leave that today was one of the most fulfilling of my life. Having come to faith in Christ, having the privilege of serving under you, penning your gospel, and now reading the revelation Jesus Himself gave you…nothing else can compare.”
“Just one more moment,” John said, motioning that Polycarp should sit again. “I need tell you of an assignment I wish for you to prayerfully consider, as soon as your work with the copying of the revelation is complete. You need take it first to the church at Smyrna.”
“With great joy,” Polycarp said.
“And there you must stay, as they have need of a bishop.”
“I know of that vacancy, rabbi. You wish me to fill in, teaching them the revelation, until a bishop is appointed?”
John shook his head. “A bishop has been appointed, son. You are the man.”
EPILOGUE
Following this, John, failing rapidly, dictated to Polycarp the three epistles that would become known as First, Second, and Third John.
Less than a month later the beloved apostle John died in his sleep—the only one of Jesus’ twelve disciples to die a natural death. His eyewitness account of the miracles of Jesus, his three epistles, and the revelation he received on the Isle of Patmos became five of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. His gospel has become known as the Gospel of Belief and is considered by many the cornerstone of the first four books of the New Testament, establishing Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world.
In the early years of the second century, Caesar Trajan decreed that Christians must unite with their pagan neighbors and worship their gods. So resolute was Ignatius in his opposition that he boldly spoke against Rome, even while Trajan was sojourning in Antioch.
Ignatius was dragged before the emperor to answer charges of violating the imperial edict and inciting others to do the same. Ignatius saw this as his opportunity to give his very life for Christ, as he had long desired. So he was not only forthright in his response, but also showed a spirit of exultation.
Frustrated with him, Trajan had Ignatius bound and delivered to Rome to be fed to beasts in the Flavian amphitheater for the entertainment of the people. During the trip Ignatius wrote to the churches of Asia, exhorting the people to obey their bishops and beware of heresy. But primarily he pleaded with them to not interfere or in any way hamper the designs of the empire on his life. He did not want to be deprived of his opportunity for martyrdom. And he was granted his heart’s deepest desire.
Polycarp served more than fifty years as Bishop of Smyrna and became known as a steadfast witness of truth.
Legend says that when he was arrested he warmly greeted the Roman soldiers and offered them food. They granted his request that he be allowed to pray before they hauled him to Rome, and for two hours he prayed aloud. Many of the soldiers repented.
Facing death in the Colosseum, Polycarp was urged by one of the judges to renounce his faith and save himself. “Reverence thy old age,” the judge said. “Swear by Caesar’s Fortune…and I will set thee at liberty; reproach Christ!”
Polycarp responded, “Eighty and six years have I now served Christ, and He has never done me the least wrong: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”
The judge said, “I have wild beasts ready; to those I will cast you unless you repent.”
“Call for them then,” Polycarp said. “For we Christians are fixed in our minds not to change from good to evil; but for me it will be good to be changed from evil to good.”
Furious, the judge said, “Seeing that you despise the wild beasts, I will cause you to be devoured by fire, unless you repent.”
“You threaten me with fire, which burns for an hour and is then extinguished; but do you not know of the fire of the future judgment of that eternal punishment which is reserved for the ungodly? But why tarry? Bring forth what you will!”
They took Polycarp to the stake to nail him there, but he said, “He who has given me strength to endure the fire will also enable me, without your securing me by nails, to stand without moving in the pile.” And so he was merely tied to the stake.
After Polycarp had prayed and thanked God for “bringing me to this day, and to this hour; that I should have a part in the number of your martyrs,” the executioner lit the fire. However, the flames arched around Polycarp like a sail of a ship, and he would not burn. Finally the executioner was commanded to stab him with a sword. So much blood flowed that it extinguished the fire. The fire had to be rekindled to burn Polycarp’s body to ashes.
THE WORDS OF JOHN
JOHN
The Eternal Word
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2
He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehenda it.
John’s Witness: The True Light
6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.a
10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11He came to His own,a and His ownb did not receive Him. 12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Becomes Flesh
14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only be gotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”
16Anda of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has seen God at anytime. The only begotten Son,a who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
A Voice in the Wilderness
19Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”
22Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23He said: “I am
‘ The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Make straight the way of the LORD,”’a
As the prophet Isaiah said.”
24Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28These things were done in Bethabaraa beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
The First Disciples
35Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
37The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
39He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
40One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah.a You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).
Philip and Nathanael
43The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereaftera you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Water Turned to Wine
2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
5His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
6Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
11This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
12After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
13Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eatena Me up.”b
18So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”
19Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
21But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them;a and they believed the Scripture and the w
ord which Jesus had said.
The Discerner of Hearts
23Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
The New Birth
3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12IfIhavetoldyouearthlythings and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13No one has ascended to heaven but Hewhocamedownfromheaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.a 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in Him should not perish buta have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world that He gave His only be gotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.