Patmos

Patmos is a small, rocky island in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Asia Minor. It is named only once in Scripture, but that single mention gave the world the Bible's final book.

John's exile

The apostle John writes that he "was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:9) — exiled there, by ancient tradition, under the emperor Domitian.

The visions of Revelation

On the Lord's day, "in the Spirit," John heard a great voice like a trumpet and turned to see the glorified Christ among seven golden lampstands (Revelation 1:10–13). From Patmos he was given the letters to the seven churches and the sweeping visions of the end and of the new heaven and new earth.

A place of revelation

So the lonely island of exile became the place where the risen Lord unveiled the consummation of all things to his servant.

Patmos remains a Greek island in the Dodecanese. A grotto on the island, the "Cave of the Apocalypse," has been venerated since early times as the place of John's visions, and the fortified Monastery of St. John (founded 1088) crowns the hilltop above it — together a UNESCO World Heritage Site.