The Island of St. John is God's Modern Day Patmos
God could have directed us to create this retreat in the States (it would be far cheaper!!), but God directed us to create the retreat on this island paradise because this location is a sign and a prophetic signal to all those willing to see it – that the Island of St. John is a modern-day Patmos Island, that island where God sequestered the Apostle John so as to impart to John the revelation that is the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation begins as follows: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw – that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ” Rev. 1:1-2). This is what God has called us to do at the St. John Pastoral Retreat – revealing Jesus’ work on the cross that culminated in the destruction of the devil’s work, in accordance with I John 3:8: “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work”. The devil's work consisted of invading our bodies with sin and breaking our spirit fellowship with God via the death of our spirits. Jesus' victory on the cross allows us to crucify our Inherited Sinful Nature with a simple prayer, and drive out the sinful nature that operates through demonic strongholds through the process called Sanctification (i.e. Salvation of our Souls). By doing these two things, the devil's work in a person is destroyed! Do you see how cool this is? God sequestered John (one of his Apostles and leaders) on an island to reveal Jesus, and now God is creating a retreat on the island named after John to sequester his modern day leaders and once again reveal Jesus! Just as John was an apostle who literally walked with Jesus, and described himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” many times throughout the book of John (and who became a leader of the church of his day), so now is God doing a similar work today with us. Today’s Pastors (and those who exercise God’s authority within the Body of Christ) are His leaders today, and are called to walk with God and obey Him, and impart to their flocks God’s redemptive plan, His righteousness and His Kingdom, that breaks every yoke and sets the people free so they too can rise up and walk with God and be used as a threshing tool in His kingdom (i.e. the revelation of Jesus). This means that they all must come to maturity in the spirit, as defined in Hebrews 5:12-14. Our e-book Jesus' Love Message to His Bride describes this entire process in great detail, and I encourage you to read it. The book will challenge what you think and what you have been taught, and great care has been taken to provide the biblical basis for all claims made therein.
How do we know if we love God? How do we know if we are a “disciple whom Jesus loved”? The answer is clearly defined in I John 5:3: “This is love for God: to obey his commandments”. Our commission from God is to ensure you have the knowledge, understanding and wisdom and tools to obey God, thereby ensuring you are walking with God. When you walk with God, there you will find the abundant life Jesus promised, continually being conformed into His likeness, and walking with God will ensure that you will fulfill your life’s calling, in accordance with His perfect will.