Cave of the Apocalypse, Patmos
About halfway up to the Monastery of St. John on Patmos is the Cave of the Apocalypse. This sacred grotto is believed to mark the spot where St. John received his visions from Christ that he recorded in the Book of Revelation.
History of the Cave of the Apocalypse
St. John the Theologian, commonly identified with the Apostle John, was exiled on Patmos around 95 AD and received revelations from God by means of a voice from a cleft in the rock.
It is thought by some scholars that John was from Ephesus, which is a short boat ride from Patmos and which received the first of the letters addressed to the Seven Churches of Revelation.
A sanctuary and the Monastery of the Apocalypse were later built around the cave that tradition identified as the site of John’s visions.
What to See at the Cave of the Apocalypse
The cave entrance is marked with a mosaic portraying the visions of John and inside the small grotto, you can see the nightly resting place of John’s head, fenced off and outlined in beaten silver.
Available here is a brochure written by Archimandrite Koutsanellos, Superior of the Cave, which provides an excellent description of the religious significance of each niche in the rocks, as well as the many icons in the cave.
In the Bible
“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet…” (Revelation 1:9-10).
Source by: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/greece/patmos-cave-of-apocalypse
