Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

PATMOS

Patmos and the Seven Local Churches in Revelation

John wrote to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia while he was in exile on the island of Patmos.

Small island in the Aegean Sea, located about 35 miles (56.3 kilometers) west of the city of Miletus off the coast of Asia Minor. Patmos is about ten miles (16.1 kilometers) long and six miles (9.7 kilometers) wide at its northern end, consisting of rocky volcanic hills.

In Revelation 1:9 John says that he was on the island of Patmos “for preaching the word of God and speaking about Jesus” (NLT). He also indicates that he is a fellow participant in their “suffering.” The Roman historian Tacitus informs us that the Romans used some of the Aegean islands as places of banishment and exile during the first century (Annals 3.68; 4.30; 15.71). Thus the language of the author and the evidence of Tacitus, joined to Christian traditions from the second and third centuries about John’s banishment, support the likelihood that Patmos was a place of exile or political confinement.

Show passage in OET: REV 1:9

OET-RV REV 1:9

9 I, Yohan (John; Grk. Yoannes), am your brother and partner in the suffering that’s typical of those who follow Yeshua (Jesus; Grk. Yesus). I’ve been exiled to Patmos Island where I endure because I believe God’s message and Yeshua’s testimony and look forward to his kingdom.

OET-LV REV 1:9

9 I Yōannaʸs, the brother of _you _all, and fellow-partaker in the tribulation, and kingdom, and endurance, in Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa), became in the island which being _called Patmos, because _of the message of_ the _god and the testimony of_Yaʸsous.

Jump to OET REV 1:9 section.

In a time when the Asian churches were undergoing persecution, John wrote to them from this island. He addressed each of seven churches by means of a letter of encouragement and warning. The series of letters is followed by the author’s account of the divinely sent vision of impending judgment, which “must soon take place” (Rv 22:6). Patmos, then, was the location from which this NT writing originated.

Show passage in OET: REV 22:6

OET-RV REV 22:6

6 Then he said to me, “These messages are faithful and true, and Yahweh, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his messenger out to show his slaves what’s planned to happen soon.”

OET-LV REV 22:6

6 And he _said to _me:
These the messages are faithful and true, and the master, the god of _the spirits of _the prophets, sent _out the messenger of _him, to _show to _the slaves of _him which things it _is _fitting to _become in quickness.

Jump to OET REV 22:6 section.