Program Details
Starring Richard Harris,
Vittoria Belvedere, Benjamin Sadler, Christian Kohlund, Bruce Payne, Ian Duncan
Distinguished screen actor
Richard Harris portrays the aged apostle John, prisoner on Patmos and prey
to physically and emotionally depleting visions that he records for posterity
- as admonishment and warning to all mankind.
Asia Minor, 90 A.D. Roman
Emperor Domitian has unleashed a virulent campaign against the Christians.
Held captive by the Romans on the island of Patmos, the apostle John struggles
to save Christianity from extinction by sending letters to the Christian communities
of Asia Minor. Having seen one of the letters, the young Christian Irene -
driven by the wish to meet the last living witness of the Lord's passion -
succeeds on gaining access to John's prison. Entrusting the written record
of his visions to her, John begs Irene to spread its message among the Christians.
Meanwhile, Irene's lover
Valerius is also held on Patmos, but not because he is a Christian: unbeknown
to Irene, he is a Roman soldier, the foster son of the Roman general Quintus,
who has sent Valerius to Patmos to spy on John and the Christians. As Emperor
Domitian intensifies his persecution of the Christians, Irene helps many imprisoned
Christians try to escape from Patmos. John is too old and remains behind with
Valerius, who has now become a believer. They are all captured, however, but
before they can be executed, Quintus receives word that Domitian is dead.
The persecution of the Christians is over!
Today, the mystifying
and terrifying visions recorded by the apostle John in the Book of Revelation
evoke the end of the world to some, or the spiritual struggles facing Christians
of all eras to others. But no matter how they are interpreted, they remain
powerful images capable of moving us all.