Revelations 1, 2 & 3

John writes this book after he has been banished to Patmos, a barren rocky island ten miles long by five miles wide located forty miles off the coast of Asia Minor. Banishment to a remote island was a common form of Roman punishment especially for political prisoners. Such punishment involved the loss of civil rights and the loss of property. But prisoners were not mistreated and were free to move around within the island. The island of Patmos obviously left its mark on John's writing. Patmos is noted for it's breathtaking scenery and magnificent sunrises and sunsets. The word for sea occurs more than twenty-five times in the book of Revelation.

The book of Revelation is also full of symbolism. The number seven occurs fifty-four times. There are seven candlesticks, stars, lamps, seals, horns, eyes, thunders, angels, plagues and bowls. The ancient people regarded the number seven as the perfect number, representing completeness, and it runs all through Revelation.