Woodhaven Ramblings: A Moving Day in Patmos

Patmos is a tiny island in the southeastern part of Greece. It is only 13 square miles in size and has only about 3,000 residents. But today we were one of four cruise ships that stopped for at least part of the day. The reason is Biblical.

John the Apostle was one of the guys who hung out with Jesus…hence the “Apostle” title. After Jesus left Earth, John ended up in a town called Ephesus in Turkey where he preached the Gospel and evangelized about Christianity. Well, Christians weren’t a terribly appreciated group and the Emperor at the time was big into persecution, so in 95 AD he banished John into exile to Patmos where John joined other people who were not favored by the Roman Empire.

That emperor was replaced almost 2 years later by a much more humane ruler who set John and other Patmos prisoners free. John left the island and returned to Ephesus where he lived out the rest of his life.

Ok, so this John guy lived on Patmos for two years. Big whoop. Why all the cruise ships?

Well, while he was there, John found a cave that he went to for prayer. And in that cave, he had some pretty intense interactions with God and ended up composing the Book of Revelation – the last book of the Bible. So people today come to this small island to visit the cave as well as a monastery built nearby in John’s honor about 1000 years later.

I will admit, I have not read Revelation. Everything I have heard about it intimidates me and sounds incredibly symbolic and difficult to decipher. Not to mention scary since it prophesizes about the end of days of the earth as we know it. In fact, the only part of Revelation I have read is Chapter 1 which I read this morning in preparation for our tour. In it, John says he wrote the rest of the book while in Patmos at the divine direction of God.

Okey dokey then. With that, we were off to Patmos and a cave and I had no idea what to expect.

Much to my utter surprise, it was unlike any experience I have ever had. I won’t try to interpret it; instead I will just describe the few minutes in the cave and let you decide the meaning – or not - of what I experienced.

The tour guide spoke outside the cave and explained the cave’s history and importance. She showed us some photos and reminded us a number of times that we were not allowed to take any photos ourselves. She also explained that once we entered the cave, she would not talk and we shouldn’t either so as to allow ourselves and others to experience the cave and reflect on its meaning.

The cave was about as big as a good-sized living room, with another slightly smaller area just to the left that was made into a chapel in later years. The ceiling in the cave was natural rugged rock; the ceiling in the chapel area was smoothed and formed and had obviously been manipulated or manufactured.

There was a large screen of a painting in the cave depicting John’s visions. There were also decorative silver frames around two holes in the rock wall; one was where John rested his head as he was laying down in prayer, the other was a niche he put his hand in to lift himself up. The hole for his head was blocked off by ropes but the one for his hand was open.

As I entered the cave, I immediately became very quiet and my heart started beating faster and my breathing became deeper. I felt a sense of power and strength and purpose in the area. It felt weighty. As I approached the holes in the cave’s wall, I touched the rock and then put my hand in the open niche surrounded by silver. That sense of power and strength and purpose magnified. I felt very present in the moment and yet not like myself at all. I wandered over to the chapel area and the feelings lessened. Curious, I went back to the natural cave and the feelings intensified.

We only had a few minutes in the cave. I knew I had to leave in order to keep up with the group. Rob kept looking at me. Apparently I looked clearly affected by something. I assured him I was fine but I didn’t explain much else because frankly, I couldn’t. I walked back to the bus filled with emotion. Back in my seat, I wiped away tears. They weren’t sad tears. I’m not even sure I would say they were happy tears. They were simply tears from being very unexpectedly moved by something I don’t think I saw.

This might be one heck of trip.