Pages from Patmos: A New Testament Journey

By Norman O'Banyon

With only sparse biblical clues to follow, this fictitious account gives a creative reader an enthralling glimpse into the saga of the people and places that became the century one church. Your imagination is required to frame pictures of the birth of the church and the early challenges of the Apostles, who were given the task of preaching the Word. Marks Gospel was collaborated from the collective memories of the disciples who had journeyed with Jesus and the preaching material of Simon Peter. Follow their footsteps as first-century inspiration collides with Jewish opposition and, finally, Roman persecution. The tempered beauty of the Christian faith survived to become a world-changing force.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781532004599

Norman O'Banyon

This story is the first in the Winter Trilogy, which is an account of three siblings, Michael the Marine, Christina the troublemaker, and Ward the educator. From the disadvantage of a dysfunctional family to adult fulfillment they are a model of redemption, faith and affection. Meet Ward Winter, the youngest, who endures the foster-home maze until he discovers love and courage. He finds a creative use of a small piece of candy.

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Copyright © 2016 Norman O’Banyon.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-0458-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-0459-9 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 08/05/2016

Contents

The Confirmation Class

A Very Long While Ago

A Sinister Plan

Good News

A New Believer

A Report of Success

Another Passover

Another Report of Growth

A Challenging Assignment

Jesus Is Near

Jesus In the Terrace

A Rude Interruption

A Journey Fuelled By Fear

Unbelievable News

The Regrouping of Faith

The Beginning of the Gospel

Verification

New Life, New Joy

Names

The Scroll

Pentecost

Spiritual power

Resistance

Arrested Again

A Different Report

Conflicting Loyalties

Stephen

The Persecution Grows

Another Confirmation Class

A New Home Together

The Road to Damascus

Applied Conversion

The Gospel Grows

Missionary Journey Number One

Elymas

Irreconcilable Differences

Home

James the Leader

Yet Another Confirmation Class

The Attraction of the Missionary Road

House of Sorrow

A Bold Mission Journey

A Surprising Outcome After Failure

The Call of Ephesus

Yet Again in Confirmation Class

Return to Didyma

Grief!

Unpaid Debt

Benbusiris

A Story of Sadness

A New Land and Another Journey

The Gospel in Egypt

A Bold Beginning

A Recovering Ianthe

Return to Jerusalem

A Fresh Offer

Fellowship Success

At the Same Time in Didyma

Outstanding Response

A Happy Rescue Mission

A Wonderfully Serious Relationship

A Wedding!

Sorrow

Parenting Lesson

Shifting Political Wind

Many Years Later

After a Sleepless Night

Confirmation Class Finale

Reader Notes: Name changes may be confusing. The practical identification of Apostles with common names required clarification. Transitioning from Hebrew to Greek helps the reader refocus to an expanding geographic audience:

Jesus called Simon, Peter;

Saul of Tarsus became Paul, a more Greek name;

Silvanus became known by his Hebrew name, Silas’

John, son of Silvanus, became John Mark, and then finally, Mark.

Joseph, a relative of John Mark, became known fondly as the son of encouragement, Barnabas.

The Confirmation Class

Jerry liked this part of the old church. The classroom smelled like his Grandma’s house, old, musty, and happy. His dad had told him that these classes were very important for him to receive information that would help him understand the church and the faith that was so important to all of his family. His older sister and brother had advised him that the sessions would be boring, but they always had cookies and cocoa at the end. Reverend Thomas Randle was the teacher who tried to make the classes at least a little interesting. He was also the junior high football coach, so Jerry made at least some effort to listen.

Pastor Randle said, The drawing you have in front of you is a way for us to learn about the Bible. Bonnie, my wife, made it so you can understand that the word ‘Bible’ means ‘books’. She drew two bookcases for us. The one on the left represents the Old Testament, the Jewish Scriptures. There are forty-six books on the five shelves. The top shelf… do you see it?… are the books of Moses, called the Law. They are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The second shelf of our library is called the Prophets, which are mostly very old history and sermons. Since the first books were actually scrolls of rough paper made from papyrus, they were limited in length, so Samuel had to use two scrolls to get it all written: First and Second Samuel. Why do you suppose there is also a First and Second Kings?

Shelly, the smartest girl in the class answered, Because there were so many kings?

Exactly! Mr. Randle said with a grin. "There are twenty-one books on that shelf which is called the Major Prophets. It’s not because they were more important than the next shelf, but longer. The next shelf is called the Minor Prophets, not because of their age, but they are shorter. There are twelve books on that shelf.

The fourth shelf is called the Writings, which are mostly history, poetry, and philosophy of the Hebrew people. Do you see First and Second Chronicles? What do you think that means?

Danny quickly answered, There were lots of Chronicles? He had no idea what a chronicle might be.

Mr. Randle chuckled and said, Yeah sort of. It means the history of the Israelites from Adam to the exile was too great to be written on one scroll.

Shelly looked at Danny and shook her head.

The teacher continued, The fifth shelf contains seven books, called the ‘Second Canon’ or the ‘Apocrypha.’ That deals with the four hundred years before the time of Jesus. This bookcase covers almost two-thousand years of Hebrew history.

He pointed to the bookshelf on the right side and said, This other bookcase also has five shelves containing twenty-seven books, written in Greek as missionary handbooks. They proclaim the life and ministry of Jesus and the growth and teachings of the first century church. The top shelf holds the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Perry raised his hand and asked, What’s a Gospel?

Mr. Randle complimented the question and answered, It means Good News. The four Gospels tell pretty much the same story of Jesus’ life, teaching, miracles, his death and resurrection. Mark seems to be the first one written because both Matthew, which was written for Hebrew readers, and Luke, which was written for Greek readers, copied a bunch of his material. John was written later for instruction to the early church."

Danny once again interrupted, asking, Did they get in trouble for copying Mark’s book?

No, I’m pretty sure they didn’t get in trouble for that, the teacher said with a chuckle. But do you see the second shelf of the bookcase? How many books does it have?

Most of the confirmation class murmured, One.

That’s right, just one book, called Acts of the Apostles. If I told you it could be called Second Luke, what would you think?

Danny started to answer, Because there were a lot of …

Shelly stopped him by answering, There was too much story to write it all on one scroll.

That is so good, the teacher said with genuine satisfaction. It is a continuation of the third Gospel and is the only account of the first century Christian Church. The first 12 chapters tell of the accounts of the events in Palestine, and the last 16 chapters describe three missionary journeys of Paul. The third shelf contains 13 books, which are letters of Paul to churches and people. These were written just after the death of Jesus and might be the earliest Christian writings. The fourth shelf holds eight other books, which are letters written by other first century believers. There is First, Second, and Third John on this shelf. What do you think that means?

Danny said quietly, There must have been a lot of Johns, which made the class giggle until Mr. Randle said, No, they are just very brief letters, but written at different times and for different reasons. He shook his head as Danny smirked at Shelly for disrupting the class with his humor.

The final shelf in our bookcase contains the Revelation to John, which was written very late in the first century. It tells of the struggle against Satan and his cohorts. With his defeat, the book concludes with the triumphant return of Jesus as the new kingdom of God prevails. It is full of symbolism and mysterious descriptions.

Their time was nearly over, so the teacher said, If you remember nothing more from today than the Bible is a collection of many books, written over hundreds and hundreds of years, you’ve gained a lot. Remember, too, that when you take one of these books from the bookcase, there was a much larger story behind the limited space of the scroll the author had to work with. There was someone who wanted to tell you about God’s exciting mission to rescue and redeem his people.

A Very Long While Ago

The oil lamps cast silhouettes on the walls and a gentle warm glow on the faces of those seated comfortably around the table. All the preparations were complete as the guests arrived. The house had been thoroughly cleaned and all leavening removed. Because Silvanus, the host, was once again away on Roman assignment in the region of Cilicia, his brother-in-law, Joseph from Cyprus, was given the task of hosting the feast. Silvanus’ wife, Mary, John’s mother, began the singing when she could see two stars in the evening sky. Passover Sabbath was beginning. There were ten, as the Jewish law required, seated; most of them were also from the island of Cyprus, but now living in Jerusalem. A prayer was spoken and Joseph nodded to ten-year-old John, his nephew, who played an important role as the youngest present. In his clear soprano voice the lad asked, Why is this night different from all other nights?

Joseph rose and retold the story of the ancestor’s captivity in Egypt stemming from the famine in Israel. On the table was a roasted leg of lamb signifying the paschal Lamb; unleavened bread, representing the haste with which they departed captivity; a roasted egg represented the sacrifice; bitter herbs represented the hardship of slavery; salt water was a reminder of four hundred years of tears; a mixture of apples, nuts, and wine, called haroset symbolized the mortar from which they made bricks for Pharaoh’s projects; and finally, a green vegetable represented new life. It was a meal with an honored story. Gladly, Joseph told of the exodus of their people, interspersed by the four promises of God from the Exodus scroll, represented by cups of wine mixed with water. I will free you, Joseph’s voice was strong and clear. They all took a small drink. I will deliver you. They took another sip of wine. I will redeem you. He emphasized the word redeem. Once again they took a sip. Finally, he quoted, I will take you as my people. They drank again, grateful for their heritage and this memorable setting.

The Passover feast is drawing to a close now, Joseph’s voice was hushed dramatically. With the pouring of one more cup for the prophet Elijah, who is expected to return during the Passover to announce the day of the Lord, we wait eager for God to usher in the time of Messiah. With the final blessing, the children were invited to leave the table and search through the house to find the hidden matsah treat. Once discovered, it would be shared by them as the last item to be eaten at the meal. John had some insider knowledge of the hiding places, so just for fun he tried to make the search last a little extra long to make the reward taste a little extra sweet.

The civil service life of Silvanus, who had missed his family’s Passover meal, had begun in his father’s lending bank. His extensive training in Greek law and language skills made him an enormous asset to the bank. By devoted service to customers and limited risk-taking, the bank had flourished and developed a trustworthy reputation. The Governor’s legate had approached Silvanus to be an occasional arbitrator between the Jews and Greeks, using both his knowledge of law and just negotiation skills. There were a number of successful interventions, and Silvanus was asked to become a tax arbiter. That post was done in such a competent manner; he was given the responsibility of the northern districts of Pontius Pilate’s authority. His task was to visit each principality, accompanied by a century of Roman soldiers, collecting the Roman tribute. One quarter of the tax was delivered to the treasury of Governor Pilate, and the larger share was sent to Rome for the Emperor’s treasury. The legate instructed Silvanus to add a one percent surcharge to the tribute as his compensation. It became a task that kept him away from home for at least the first four months of the year, while building a large surplus balance in his bank account.

In his eighth year as Tribute Consul, Silvanus was asked by the legate about a proposal Governor Pilate had for creating greater security in the northern provinces. He had conceived of a plan for a prison to be constructed in Antioch of Syria. By adding another one percent surcharge to the tribute, he could have a place of detention or execution. It would be a physical expression of Pilate’s authority.

A Sinister Plan

By his return to Jerusalem the following spring, Silvanus had a concept that he thought might appeal to the legate.

The concept is sound, sir, to show the breadth and strength of the Governor’s reach, he began. However, more prisons are not needed to maintain the obedience of the population by confinement, but by the perception of power, the idea of control. If the prison is built in Antioch, it will require a large building site and extensive expenditures for secure walls and cells. However, if the Governor would grant me the use of one of the small, barren, uninhabited islands off the coast, I could create the concept of a terrible place of abandonment and starvation. We could name it, ‘Plecto Claustrum,’ or ‘Death Dungeon.’ Just the thought of exile there would build the Governor’s reputation. Just the fear of it would match the offensive force of a century of soldiers.

Are you suggesting, Silvanus, that you would undertake the cost of this project yourself?

The greatest cost would be the Governor’s grant of using an empty island as a new prison. I will only add to the image of it. I can circulate stories of starvation and madness from isolation. His smile at such an outlandish notion was contagious.

The legate chuckled, knowing that Silvanus had found a way to oblige the Governor’s need for greater respect without tapping into the tribute coffers. I’ll make the suggestion to him myself. You may have found a way to save us significant expense and yet accomplish our intent. He was thinking how he would get the credit for this idea, and Silvanus would get the task of it.

Remember, he said to Silvanus adding a dimension never promised, You pledged your own funds to make this a reality. We will want routine updates on its development.

Within a fortnight Silvanus had a sealed proclamation that Patmos Island would henceforth be known as the location of Death Dungeon, the Governor’s new prison.

Good News

Two other milestones happened that summer. John completed his studies to become a Son of the Law; his bar mitzvah was celebrated by a large gathering of family and friends from Cyprus. Secondly, Joseph introduced Silvanus to the teachings of a carpenter from Nazareth. He doesn’t claim to be a rabbi or a prophet, but I see him as both. He begins with old promises made to our fore-fathers and shows us how they lead us to a deeper, truer, more hopeful understanding of God’s covenant with Israel. I’ve only heard him speak twice, but both times my heart was touched. Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is near to us.

Joseph shook his head in disbelief.

He teaches not just the men who come to hear him, but women, outcasts, sinners. It doesn’t seem to make a difference with him what you are. He says that God’s pure and holy love is for each and every one of us.

Joseph was still for a moment, remembering a special teaching. "He told a story to demonstrate who our neighbor should be, about a traveler who was set upon by robbers who nearly killed him. A priest and a Levite came to where the man was lying in the dirt. They offered no assistance, but a cursed Samaritan cared for him and carried