Running head: ST.

JOHN IN EXILE

St. John in Exile

ST. JOHN IN EXILE St. John played an emotionally strong role, performing the life of Jesus Christ. St.

Johns imprisonment has a great symbolic meaning: it depicts the last days of Jesus Christ on earth, showing that it was not easy for Him to remain on earth. The reason for it is obvious. There were people, His students, who became envious and wanted to kill Him. However, He was not afraid of it. He knew from the very beginning that His mission was to come to earth, glorify the kingdom of His Father, and leave earth. Despite the life conditions that surrounded Jesus Christ on earth, He developed a strong faith and intimate relations with God. St. John, being imprisoned, did not give up as well, as he had a strong faith in God and thus was supported by Him greatly. St. John heard the words of God and he wrote all those predictions in the Book of Revelations. In this book, he informed that the world will be under devils power. He said that people would suffer from a lot of problems and very few people would remain devote to God. However, those who would develop a strong faith in God would be rewarded. It was very vividly seen that the first days of St. John in prison on Patmos were difficult, as he realized that he was alone there and there was nobody who could provide him with support. Soon, however, he realized that he was not alone there and thanks to his strong faith in God he could feel His support. Being on Patmos alone, he received Gods request to write the Book of Revelations. He wrote seven letters to the representatives of seven different churches and wrote very important information to the representatives of each church. The Romans developed a very positive attitude towards St. John, as they said that he was a sacred person sent on earth by God. Having encountered with John the Baptist, St. John saw the throne, twenty-four elders and four animals. St John wrote:

ST. JOHN IN EXILE After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter (Revelation, 4:1). Having encountered with Jesus Christ, St. John felt sure that everything will be great for those who develop mutual understanding and intimate relations with God and follow His commandments, as Jesus Christ said the following words:

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful (Revelation, 21:4,5). Jesus Christ was Messiah sent by God on earth. Jesus said that people who will withstand all the difficulties and different kinds of seduction sent by Devil will live an eternal life. In order to prove that Jesus Christ told the truth, He demonstrated a number of miracles (the resurrection of a dead son, the healing of ill people, and so on and so forth). His miracles, first of all, proved that He could do impossible things thanks to the power provided by God and, secondly, His miracles demonstrated that people who follow God would live an endless life. The Last Supper has a symbolic meaning as well. Jesus Christ died to solve all people. When dying, Jesus said that people should not celebrate any holidays, but the Last Supper, as it is the action that shows that people remember Jesus Christs action and are thankful to Him for it. St. John focused our attention on the words of Jesus Christ who said that the day of resurrection will come sooner or later and then there will be the so-called Judgment Day and those people who followed Gods commandments and remained devote to Him under any circumstances would live an eternal life, as the kingdom of God will be on earth.

ST. JOHN IN EXILE References Bible: Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. Available at http://carm.org/kjv/Rev/Rev_21.htm.