Arethas, Bishop of Caesarea

JOANNES HENTENIUS' PREFACE

^A ...It is true that Tertullian, who lived close to the times of the apostles, asserts that he died in two places. Eusebius also has this same report in his book, *On the Evangelical Demonstration*, although in his *Chronicles* and *Ecclesiastical History* he says that this occurred under Domitian, a view which Jerome and many others follow. Yet, because these books were written as if in earlier years, they are not accorded as much authority as the work which is the *Evangelical Demonstration*, since that was composed later and with greater care.

Having established, then, that the Apocalypse was written on Patmos before the destruction of Jerusalem, it can be divided into four parts: so that it includes, from the beginning up to the sixth chapter, instructions for the Churches of Asia, while interweaving prophecies concerning various heresies, of which Epiphanius also speaks in his book, the *Panarion*. From the sixth chapter up to the twelfth, the abrogation of the Synagogue is contained. From the twelfth up to the nineteenth, the destruction of paganism is described, chiefly under the type of Babylon and Rome, which possessed seven hills—which are here said to be the horns of the beast upon which the harlot (or idolatry, or paganism) sits. For in these cities, paganism flourished above all. From the nineteenth chapter until the end, it treats of the kingdom of Christ in the present Church, with the addition of the final victory over his enemies in chapter twenty.

And let these things be said in general; for individual points are mixed with various matters, yet it is not certain to pass judgment on the details, nor is it possible that for any given interpretation every single point should fit perfectly; but it will suffice if one has an understanding in general of what is meant in each chapter. According to this disposition, the view of Johannes Annius of Viterbo, in his *Questions on the Apocalypse*, which he sent and dedicated to the Supreme Pontiff Sixtus IV and the Christian kings, will not seem altogether absurd: namely, that the beast which is commonly interpreted as the Antichrist—of whom it is spoken primarily in the thirteenth chapter of the Apocalypse, who rises from the earth having two horns like a lamb, yet speaking like a dragon, who is also Satan, who gave his power and his seat and great authority to the former beast, namely paganism, and consequently to the Saracen sect—is the false prophet Mohammed. Although he died many years ago, his sect, namely the former beast, alas! still lives and rages excessively against the people of God; and this will endure so long until, according to the seventh chapter of Daniel, the kingdom is given to the people of the saints of the Most High. This will happen when, after a long period of peace and subsequent security, the aforementioned beast fights again against this people of God with a huge army, designated by Gog and Magog (of whom Ezechiel ch. xxxviii and xxxix, and Apoc. xx), and they shall be overthrown by God in a great slaughter, just as is stated in the passages just cited. After this, there shall be true and perfect peace in the Church, and a pure worship of God, separated from every heresy and persecution, just as Ezechiel describes consecutively in chapter xl and those that follow, and as the Apocalypse does in xxi and xxii.

And because this gathering of peoples to this final war and the battle itself will last for a long time with great affliction of the Christians, it is therefore commonly called the most recent advent of the Antichrist, that is, of his sect, to which the dragon, that is, Satan, gave his virtue and his seat and great power. Conveniently, therefore, the Apostle, in treating here of the destruction of paganism, also interweaves the severity of the persecution of the Saracen sect and its subversion. Nor does it seem to be an obstacle to these things that the Apostle says in II Thess. ii, that his "advent is according to the working of Satan in signs and lying wonders and with all deception of iniquity in those who perish," and that "he is exalted against all that is called God or an object of worship, so that he sits in the temple of God as God, showing himself to be God; whom the Lord," he says, "shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." From this, and also because he had premised that the Lord would not come unless this man of sin, the son of perdition, was first revealed, it seems to imply that Christ will come to judgment immediately upon his destruction. These things, I say, do not stand in the way. First, it is manifest that it is true that the Lord will not come unless he be revealed, since he was long ago revealed—nay, he even died in his own person; yet he is said to be about to be consumed by the Lord with the spirit, etc., because, just as in the holy Scriptures there is frequently a metaphor from the head, Christ, to his members, which are said to constitute one person together with him; and what is said of Christ is often completed in his members; and what is said of Jacob, in the sons of Israel; so also it is said that he will be consumed by the Lord in the final, great battle of his sect against the Christians, by which he will be consumed, not by military skill or the strength of Christians, but by the spirit of his mouth, or the will of the Lord, and by the brightness of his coming, by which he will come openly as an aid to the Christians.

If indeed it is not the case that he wishes the Antichrist to be destroyed at that time, or that his immense persecution should be ended when the Lord is coming to the final judgment, this is clearly evident from what the same Apostle says, I Thess. v: "The day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and all things are safe, then sudden destruction shall come upon them." And even more so from the fact that in Matt. xxiv and Luke xvii, the Lord shows that before the judgment, men will be in long peace and security: "As it was," he says, "in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even unto that day in which Noe entered into the ark, and they knew not till the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Thus, the fact that it is said there shortly before, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man: And then shall all tribes of the earth mourn," does not indicate that this follows immediately, but only that it will follow afterward. This manner of perceiving "Then," or "In those days," or "At that time," is frequent in the holy Scriptures, just as our Euthymius notes regarding that passage of Matthew: "Then was offered to him one possessed with a devil," and again regarding that passage of Matthew iii: "In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the desert of Judea"; and Oecumenius regarding that passage of Acts vi: "In those days, however." Furthermore, the signs and lying wonders of the advent of the Antichrist in those who perish, nay, as Christ says, so that in ^B...

order to lead astray, if possible, even the elect, are his various and manifold stratagems for seducing and alluring the servants of God. And since he sets himself and his sect above Christianity and all other laws, does he not exalt himself above every one who is called God or an object of worship? Sitting or ruling in the temple of God, or where previously there were churches of God or the living temples of God.

He also caused, as it is said in Apoc. xiii, the fire of God’s wrath to descend upon the earth, according to that of Psalm xvii: "The smoke ascended in his anger, and fire from his face kindled; coals were set on fire by him." Or, in the sight of men, he is said to have done this—that is, what the Apostle says, "in lying wonders"—because, wishing to hide his falling sickness, he used to say that he fell due to the illumination of an angel descending to him from heaven and speaking to him; concerning which angels it is said in Psalm ciii and Heb. i: "Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." He also gave a spirit to the image of the beast, causing it to speak, when he promulgated the law of his sect to everyone with great error; doing this also to make everyone worship the image of the beast, and so that those who did not have the character of the beast could not buy or sell: when he said that he was sent by God with the sword, ordering everyone to be slaughtered who would not receive his sect.

Again, it is no obstacle that it is commonly said that Enoch and Elias will come to oppose him and confute him, because of what is said in Apoc. xi: "And I will give to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy"; which because of this is interpreted of Elias by Augustine, *De civitate Dei* xx, along with many others, because in Malach. iv it is said: "I will send you Elias the prophet before the day of the Lord comes." They make Enoch the other, because in Gen. v and Eccli. xliv it is said that Enoch was translated and did not die, just as Elias was carried into heaven in a chariot of fire, IV Reg. ii.

But, first of all, it is not said here, nor elsewhere in the Holy Scriptures, that they are to be future witnesses; and even if this were admitted, it would not be necessary that they should fight against his person, for it would be enough if they fought against his sect or the former beast, or even against paganism. Especially since, if this revelation of John proceeds in order, their prophecy and the death brought upon them by the beast that ascends from the abyss, and their resurrection, is narrated in chapter xi, namely at the time of the sixth trumpet. Furthermore, the beast which is said to designate the Antichrist, having two horns like a lamb, is said in chapter xiii and at the time of the seventh trumpet to ascend from the earth, and this because he is a mere man, although his advent was according to the working of Satan.

Moreover, Jerome on the fourth chapter of Malachi says: "The Jews and Judaizing heretics say that Elias will come before their coming." He shows this is from the fact that the disciples in Matth. xvii asked the Lord: "Why then do the Scribes say that Elias must come first?" But Christ shows their opinion is false when he answers them: "Elias is already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they would"; and it immediately follows: "Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them of John the Baptist." Jerome, however, in that place understands prophecy by Elias, just as a little before he understands the Law by Moses. For by the Law and the prophecy the hearts of the fathers—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that is, those who followed them and were descended from them—were to be turned to the Son, to Christ who had taken flesh from them. Again, in Matth. xi, speaking of John, he says: "This is he, of whom it is written: Behold, I send my angel who shall prepare thy way before thee," which was the office of Elias, and was understood of him. And therefore, what is said in Malach. iv of Elias, that he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children, Gabriel, in Luke i, announcing the conception of John, says is to be fulfilled in him. "He shall go before him," he says, "in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children."

This is the Antichrist of whom Christ said to the Jews, John v: "I came in the name of my Father, and you received me not; if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive." For to this man the Jews willingly gave tribute, and hence it is that he was never hostile to that nation. And just as Christ appeared in person only in Palestine, but afterward ran through the whole world through his disciples; so this man appeared in person only in the province of Sabaea in Arabia, but occupied very many provinces and kingdoms through the princes who were followers of his sect.

Whose final persecution—that is, their last battle with Gog and Magog, together with the preparation for it preceding it—it is possible may last for three years and a half, for which time his empire is commonly said to be going to last, because of what is said in Dan. vii, that the saints are to be delivered into the hand of this beast "until a time, and times, and half a time"; and because in Apoc. xi it is said that the nations shall tread the holy city underfoot for "forty-two months"; and in chapter xii it is said that the woman who flees from the serpent is to be fed by God in the desert for "a thousand two hundred and sixty days," and shortly after it is said that the same person is to be fed there for "a time, and times, and half a time"; and also because Christ is said to have preached for that much time in this life. Others, however, interpret "a time, and times, and half a time" differently. For it would not be possible for him to obtain so many kingdoms and provinces in so short a time.

But after this final persecution the fullness of the nations shall enter, and then all Israel shall be saved, as Paul has it, Rom. xi. For though even before this, with heresies and persecutions ceasing, they lived in long peace and the worship of God, which is also called the first resurrection, it is much more so after the Lord has brought all his enemies to destruction in that final battle. But how long this peace and security is to last before the consummation of the world is uncertain to men, but, as Christ says, Matth. xxiv: "Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven." This alone is certain, that in that long peace and security, very many will again abandon the worship of God; and then, as the Apostle says, I Thess. v: "The day of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and all things are safe, then sudden destruction shall come upon them, as the pain upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape"; which Christ also said in many places and shadowed forth in frequent parables.

As for what is commonly said, that he will arise from the tribe of Dan, because of what is said in Gen. xlix: "Dan shall be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that bites the horse's heels, so that his rider shall fall backward"; which, however, others more probably interpret of Samson. [alt-version omitted]

It can be said that this is true, not in a literal sense, but in a spiritual one: that just as Dan was born of Jacob’s handmaid, namely Bilhah, so Antichrist or Mahomet was born not from a free or faithful race, neither Christian nor Jewish, but from a handmaid or idolater. Whence he himself in the Alcoran cites God as speaking to him thus: "You were poor, and I made you rich; you served idols, and I called you." Finally, he is said to be born in Babylon and to be reared in Chorazin, because his perverse sect was received most of all and first in Babylon: and Christ [*] reproaches the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida because they would not receive him, and yet they would later most promptly receive the Mahometan sect. I would not wish for any of these things to be stated assertively, but only as an opportunity given to more learned men to investigate things that are deeper and more certain.

A BRIEF EXPLANATION FROM THE COMMENTARIES ON THE APOCALYPSE, DIVINELY INSTITUTED BY THE MOST BLESSED ANDREW, ARCHBISHOP OF CÆSAREA IN CAPPADOCIA, REDUCED TO ORDER BY ARETHAS, UNWORTHY BISHOP OF CÆSAREA IN CAPPADOCIA

We have collated the text and emended it according to the edition of J.-A. Cramer, published at Oxford in 1840. As for the many scholia which that edition brought forth from the Baroccian codex, there is room to doubt whether they are by Arethas, for they cohere poorly with the edited text and disturb the sense; we have therefore refrained from publishing them. [ED. PATR.]

^A It should be noted that this blessed man, who worked with God, divided the entire treatise of the present book into twenty-four discourses, and these into seventy-two chapters, not without reason. For the number twenty-four, taken three times, produces seventy-two. And the number twenty-four was chosen because of the twenty-four elders whom the Apocalypse designates in this place, who are a symbol of those who have been well-pleasing to God from the beginning of the world until the consummation. This number was tripled in the chapters not without purpose, but because these who have been well-pleasing to God possessed a tripartite hypostasis—namely, soul, body, and spirit—to hasten toward the appropriation of the almighty Trinity. Regarding the divinely inspired nature of this book, the ecclesiastical Fathers—Basil, among the saints; Gregory, divine of speech; and Cyril, Papias, Irenæus, and Hippolytus—are worthy vouchers to guarantee it.

CAPITULA OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN THE THEOLOGIAN

α'. The prologue of the Apocalypse, and that it was given to him by an angel.

β'. The vision in which he saw Jesus amidst the seven lampstands. γ'. The things written to the angel of the Church of the Ephesians. δ'. The things declared to the angel in the Church of the Smyrneans. ε'. The things signified to the angel of the Church of the Pergamenes. ς'. The things written to the angel of the Church of the Thyatirenes. ζ'. The things sent to the angel of the Church in Sardis. η'. The things written to the angel of the Church of the Philadelphians. θ'. The things declared to the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans. ι'. Concerning the door seen by him in heaven, and the throne, and the twenty-four elders, and the things shown subsequently. ια'. Concerning the book sealed with seven seals in the hand of God, which no one of the created nature is able to open. ιβ'. Concerning the Lamb that has the seven horns, how He opened the book. ιγ'. The breaking of the first seal, signifying the apostolic teaching. ιδ'. The breaking of the second seal, showing the war of the unbelievers against the believers. ιε'. The breaking of the third seal, showing the fall of those who had not firmly believed in Christ. ις'. The breaking of the fourth seal, showing the edifying scourges brought upon those who, through lack of endurance, denied the Lord. ιζ'. The breaking of the fifth seal, signifying the cry of the souls of the saints unto the Lord so that there might be a consummation. ιη'. The breaking of the sixth seal, signifying the plagues brought about at the consummation. ιθ'. Concerning those saved from the plague of the four angels, one hundred and forty-four thousand. κ'. Concerning the innumerable multitude from the nations who reigned with Christ. κα'. The breaking of the seventh seal, showing angelic powers bringing the prayers of the saints to God as incense. κβ'. Concerning the seven angels, at the sounding of the first of whom, hail and fire and blood are cast upon the earth. κγ'. Concerning the second angel, at whose sounding there occurs the destruction of living creatures in the sea. κδ'. The third angel makes the waters of the rivers bitter. κε'. The fourth angel darkens the third part of the sunlight and moonlight. κς'. Concerning the fifth angel, and the intellectual locusts coming up from the abyss of the earth, and the variety of their form. κζ'. Concerning the sixth angel, and the release of the angels bound at the Euphrates. κη'. Concerning the angel clothed with a cloud and a rainbow, and foretelling the common end. κθ'. How the evangelist took the little book from the hand of the angel. λ'. Concerning Enoch and Elijah, who are about to refute the Antichrist. λα'. How, having been slain by the Antichrist, they shall rise again and strike with terror those who have been deceived. λβ'. Concerning the seventh trumpet, and the saints praising God over the coming judgment. λγ'. Concerning the persecutions of the Church, both the former ones and those under the Antichrist. λδ'. Concerning the war that occurred between the holy angels and the wicked powers, and the fall of the dragon.

35. That the dragon chasing the Church does not cease.

69. Concerning the trustworthiness of the things seen by the Apostle. 70. That Christ is the God of the prophets and Lord of all. 71. How he was commanded not to seal, but to proclaim this revelation. 72. How the Church and the Spirit within her call for the glorious coming of Christ; and concerning the curse to which those are subject who corrupt this book as if it were invalid.

THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN THE THEOLOGIAN AND BELOVED

CHAPTER ONE

^A 1, 1, 2. *The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to make known unto his servants the things which must shortly come to pass; and he signified it, sending by his angel unto his servant John, who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw, and all things that he heard, and of such things as must come to pass hereafter.*

Some of the ancients consider this book to be alien to the diction and language of John the Beloved, attributing it to someone else. But it is not so. For Gregory, his namesake, numbered this book among the genuine and legitimate ones, saying: "As the Apocalypse of John teaches me." Indeed, when beginning to write his Gospel, he proceeds by theologizing about Christ, saying: *In the beginning was the Word.* Likewise, in his Epistle, he has the same proœmium and similar theology, putting forward: *That which was from the beginning.*

*The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him.* As if he were to say: This revelation of mine is given indeed to the Son by the Father, but is given by the Son to us, his servants. For having begun from the more lowly things of the dispensation, he advanced to those that befit God more greatly. For just as the divine apostle Peter, in his confession, when he had said *Christ*, immediately added that which is most perfect, namely, *the Son of God*, as if he were unable to express the dispensation of Christ in worthy words; so too here, having joined to the name *Christ* the words *unto his servants*, he signified the divinity which is in Christ.

^B For whose servants are the saints, if not God's? To whom also it has been said: "All things are thy servants." By adding that it was not Christ himself who directly accomplished this mystical instruction for him, but rather through his angel, he indicated the love of truth in him who had received the Revelation. An Apocalypse is the manifestation of hidden mysteries, when the ruling faculty of the soul is illuminated, whether through divine dreams or through clear divine radiance. This divine Apostle says that this Revelation was given while he was handling the discourse in a more human way, and not as in his Gospel and his Epistle—where he rather begins the discourse from the more divine things that are in Christ, and dwells upon them—but rather here he begins from the more humble things, as if to clearly signify that both, I mean the divine and the human, are viewed as becoming to one and the same Christ. For through the ministering angel, and the designation of those who are taught—namely, that they are servants—he manifests the magnitude of the divinity of Christ, according to that which is also said: "All things are thy servants." He promises that the outcome of these things which are being revealed will come about in a short time—not in a random way, but by measuring human things against divine; in the comparison of which even those things that are performed over a long time and over thousands of years are regarded as the day of yesterday and the night-watch. Or, more accurately, the addition of "in a short time" is intended to show infallibly that the things being declared are to meet with their outcome, inasmuch as any delay is unable to impede their completion, just as the extension of yesterday does not impede today, unless it be that it must be deferred until that for which it is stored away arrive opportunely, with no interval of delay left for the matter in its reception. The revelation, he says, is made through an angel to his servant, who as a servant bore testimony to the word of God and to his testimony. By this figure of speech, establishing the truth of his teaching, he made use of it also in the Gospels, saying: "This is the disciple who bears witness concerning these things and has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true." As, therefore, in that book, so too now he says that he is a witness of what was shown to him by the Apocalypse of the testimony given to him by Christ. Speaking of "testimony," he means as if it were a declaration, namely, that he must testify to those to whom his discourse was addressed, in order to clear himself of blame, because he was a witness of the divine word shown to him through the Revelation. And what was he to testify and proclaim to clear himself of blame? Both the things that are and the things that are to come, which are also characteristic of a prophet, of both the present time and the future. "And whatsoever he saw." In another copy are added also these: "And whatsoever he heard, and the things that are, and the things that must come to pass after these." Christ, he says, manifested to me as Lord to his servant, in order that through the things seen I might testify and proclaim for the conversion of those who hear, both the things that are and those that- [The remainder of the text is in the next column or page].

things that are to come thereafter. For he saw both things prophetically. And this is evident from what is said: “what things are, and what things must come to pass.” For these things are indicative of the present time and of the future, concerning which the approval of the prophets also consists. “Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.” He ^B prudently declares blessed not only those who read (for many would be blessed by reading alone), but also those who hear with a practical and operative hearing. Concerning these, the Lord himself testified that it is a true hearing, when he says: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” And who is this person? He who is prepared by the habit of hearing to observe and keep what is said as if they were divine laws, and who is spiritually formed, not like the natural man—that is, he who chooses to live according to sensation, like animals lacking speech—but rather he who, having despised everything pertaining to this customary and tame life, has transferred himself to the divine element within us and has become entirely formed by the goodness and providence of the Creator, who fashioned him in his own image at the beginning. “For the time is at hand.” The time or opportunity for blessedness is near. It is so because of the burning love of those who keep the commands of God; hence, endurance in this labor is gained by them, and it is not considered to be a postponement of time or a renewal. And a witness to this is the seven-year endurance of the patriarch Jacob for the sake of receiving his wives, which was reckoned as one day. Or, the time of the rewards ^C is near if we measure the brevity of the present life against the endlessness of the future age.

“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.”

By the seven churches and the hebdomadal number, he has indicated the multitude of churches located everywhere, which are correlated in this present life, whereby the hebdomadal period of days, having commenced, revealed its own power dwelling in corruptible creation, as one that extends through all things. Or it will not be considered superfluous if we concur with the opinion of Philo, the most contemplative of the Jewish men, in his book which he writes concerning the Mosaic philosophy. The blessed John now also signifies ^D that there are a corresponding number of overseers, or angels, for these churches. Furthermore, the expression “From him which is, and which was, and which is to come” is equivalent to saying: “From the God of us all.” For the Father himself, when speaking to Moses on the mountain, names himself “He who is.” But the [term] “was,”—

the present Evangelist ^A also used both in his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word,” and in the first of his catholic Epistles, when he wrote about the Word of life, “Which was from the beginning.” He calls the divine Spirit him “who comes,” as he is not only sent from the Father on the day of Pentecost, but is always arriving to those worthy to receive him, through holy baptism as well.

“From him who is.” Perhaps it is not unapproved that these things also be understood thus concerning the Father: “Who is, and who was, and who is to come,” as he contains within himself the beginning, the middle, and the end of all things that are. “And from the seven spirits.” Some have supposed the seven spirits to be the operations ^B of the Holy Spirit. It is, however, more probable to understand these as angels. Not that because they are joined with the almighty Trinity they should be reckoned as of equal honor with it, but that they are servile and ministerial, if one must believe the prophets who testify that all things are subject to him, and indeed also the forefather of God, David, who says: “Bless the Lord, all you his angels, you mighty in strength, who do his word.” For to claim that including the divine and angelic natures together serves to demonstrate an equality of honor between the Almighty and the Cause of all creation, and the ministerial substance, is not [the thought] of one who understands—or is even close to understanding—but, I think, of one who is ignorant that it is the nature of the creation ^C to take pleasure in standing by its Master, and to serve him. Paul used this exact form in his first epistle to Timothy, speaking in such a way: “I charge you in the sight of God and the elect angels.” This, then, also follows in the same [vein]. Furthermore, the addition in this place, “Which are before the throne of God,” is evidence of their ministerial order, not of an equal honor [to the Trinity].

“And he who is, the faithful witness.” One must subjoin “who is,” so that it reads: “And from Jesus Christ, who is the witness.” It should be noted that, having previously written of the divine Word as if not incarnate, in those things where he said, “Who was,” ^D he now discourses concerning him incarnate, saying: “And from Jesus Christ,” not dividing him into two by the fact that he added, “And from Jesus Christ,” but testifying that both this and that [refer] to one and the same, that he is of the Father and that he was incarnate. For this is what he wishes to signify by the name Christ: which Christ, according to the blessed Paul, testified as a witness under Pontius Pilate, when he said to him: “My kingdom is not of this world.” Therefore, through these words he rouses [us] to understand that he who is seen as a man is also God, and speaks the same. He is a witness, then, for this reason; but “faithful,” that is to say “true,” being God and man: therefore also as a man he died, but rose again as God.

For he rose again, not as those who had been raised by others through divine power, and who died once more, but having risen by his own power, as God, he was the first to initiate the endless and eternal revival hoped for from him and through him. For this reason he is also called the firstborn of the dead, as he alone among us initiated such grace of blessings.

And being the “ruler of the kings of the earth,” Christ is so called, since Daniel also said to the Babylonian king that the Most High reigns and has lordship over the kingdom of men. If this is understood and perceived in terms of the God-ruling lordship, what strength is there in the opposing argument which says that all things spoken in a God-befitting manner concerning the supersubstantial Trinity ought not to be specialized and adapted to each of the three hypostases, except for those things which induce the derivation or the hypostatic knowledge of them, but which instead audaciously and foolishly dares to assert that each hypostasis of the three departs into a divine operation peculiar to itself—and this despite the divine Gregory having adopted the usage of those words, “Who is, and who was, and who is coming,” in reference to the Son, as though these God-befitting names applied both commonly and properly to the three hypostases? It is also clear from the fact that we learn the thrice-holy hymn of the Seraphim is said to the Son according to the Gospel, which Paul, in his address in the Acts, attributed to the Spirit; yet we, according to the tradition of the Fathers, in the terrible and bloodless sacrifice, attribute it to the Father, just as the blessed Epiphanius sets forth in his discourse on the Holy Spirit.

“And the ruler of the kings of the earth.” He rules not only over earthly beings, but also over those in the heavens. But for now he speaks concerning earthly beings, though further on he shows him to also be the ruler of the holy orders in heaven.

“To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to God and his Father. To him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

This is written in two ways according to the different sense. For he who cleanses away stains and blemishes “washes” (λούεται), while he who is freed from his own crimes is “loosed” (λύεται). And one must mentally supply for the word “made” (ἐποίησεν), the relative pronoun “who,” so that the sense is, “Who made.” For if it is not understood in this way, the phrasing will be rendered useless due to a solecism. Therefore, let the statement not be taken as a continuation of being added to the proposed dative case, but rather be supplied from the nominative.

Otherwise: The sequence of the proposed passage, if it is to be understood as it ought to be without any omission, the following will demonstrate. For it is expressed in the figure that is called [alt-version omitted] an alteration. This happens when the thought brought forward is not added to the proposed phrase in the same case as what preceded, but is shifted to the subsequent meaning. Since the dative case was anticipated in the phrase, “he who washed us” (λούσαντι ἡμᾶς), he added “he made us” (ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς), elliptically of the relative pronoun. For the remaining [meaning] was thus: “To him who washed us, he made us in his blood…

and to him who made us." And if the following concept had been brought forward in the same case—thusly—"to whom he also made us," there would have been no question for us regarding this now. But since he posited an action through the verb "he made," we necessarily decline to the nominative case, desiring to learn who is the one acting. How could we have attained this without the nominative case being taken up? Wherefore, the missing article provided the nominative case to be understood thusly without ellipsis: "who also made us a kingdom," as if to say, "He led us into royal glory." Which glory the next written word is sufficient to present: "to him who washed us in his blood, and to him who made us," (to whom he also made us) "he made [us] who also made us a kingdom," "To him be the glory." The syntax of the statement returns from the final words to the first, thus: "To him be the glory and the dominion, to him who loved us and ^B washed us in his own blood." And how could he not have loved [us], who gave himself as a ransom for us like a lamb slaughtered, and by the blood and water through his cross washed us—that is, purified the form of our sins? And he did not end his benefit towards us there, but also gifted us a kingdom. And what is the kingdom? It is whence the glory given to us by Christ comes—that we should become priests and prophets of God, we who have brought nothing worthy of such a magnificent and truly divine gift. From which gifts, we are made partakers not only of the glory in the present life, but also full of hope that we shall attain the future one.

1, 7, 8. *Behold he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth shall wail over him. Yea, Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, said the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.*

Here, he says, he who was slaughtered like a lamb, and by his blood washed and released us from our sins, he himself shall come—not as before, in obscurity and shrouded, which the prophet David also hinted at through the silent descent of the rain upon the fleece, but with boldness and manifestly in the glory of the Father, so that he may be seen by every eye as the incorruptible judge of all. There is talk of clouds here as well, just as in his ascent from earth to the heavens. For Luke writes in the Acts that a cloud received the Lord. And Mark, in the Gospel written by him, introduces the Lord himself saying concerning himself: *And they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.* Whether the clouds here signify, due to their lightness, the sublime angelic powers—just as David the forefather of God attributes an ascent to God himself in a cloud—or also signify men ^D who choose to live in a divine and spiritual manner, concerning whom the same [David] also says thus:

^A “Through the brightness before him clouds passed.” ^B And Amos and Isaiah say concerning them: “Who are these that fly as clouds, and as the brood of eagles?” For it is manifest that he says these things figuratively concerning those who live in a God-pleasing manner, which is all the more to be accepted if indeed the present passage is sufficient to confirm it, asserting that the Judge comes *with* the clouds, and not carried *by* the clouds. To which [position] Paul also agrees, affirming that we shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air—those, clearly, who have lived according to Paul—in order to be always with the Lord. But if it seems better to some to think of clouds in the true sense, such as those which the account says covered the Lord and his disciples on Mount Tabor, there is no need to differ about these things. He says, moreover, that the Lord will come in such glory that he will be seen by every eye, both by those who faithfully hope for his advent, and by those who have been placed in relation to it contrary to their hope; some of whom are to be gladdened, while others entirely to be lamented. By those who pierced him, he means those who wounded him with nails and the lance during his passion on the cross, and together with them, those who, following from them, have blasphemously set themselves against him. Bearing witness to the certainty of these things that have been said, he sealed them by saying: ^C “Yea and Amen.” The “Yea,” according to Greek usage, serves to confirm precisely the immutability of what has been said; while “Amen,” among the Hebrews, is added to signify that nothing can stand in the way so as to prevent the things threatened from being fulfilled. ^D “Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Whom he called above, “Who is, and who was, and who is to come,” and whom he now also calls “the Almighty”—whom we have also shown to be none other than Christ, insofar as it is pious, and not impious, that the things which are said in a divine manner concerning that which is supersubstantially in the Trinity are again to be attributed seamlessly to each of the persons—he introduces this same one again, after having made known to him his final coming, and the manner in which this will be, indicating also these things. “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” Alpha, because it is the beginning; for indeed Alpha is the beginning of the letters in writing; Omega, because of the end of the same. And who would not understand that by “beginning and end” is meant “the first and the last”? For by “the first,” it is understood that he is without beginning, just as by “the last,” that he is without end. Since, therefore, there is nothing among men that is without beginning and without end, he has used the beginning and end which are among us to stand for that which is without beginning and without end. This he also said through Isaiah: “I am the Lord God, the first, and I also am the one after these.” And lest anyone suppose that a beginning was introduced from non-being, he adds now, “Who is, and who was, and who is to come.” What these things mean has been stated: namely, that as being eternal both in beginning and in end—in beginning, unfailingly; and in end, without succession. And he who these things, and

^A almighty, as presiding over all sensible and intelligible creation; co-eternal with the Father, and rendering to each according to their works. Having just before dwelt upon things more humble and human, he now touches upon things more divine and worthy of God, which he did when he was about to commence the present treatise. But there, indeed, not so clearly, whereas here he speaks with frankness, and as is fitting for one who is to speak of divine matters, having received the opening tone from the holy prophets.

CHAPTER II. The vision in which he beheld Jesus in the midst of seven lampstands.

I, John, your brother and partaker in the affliction and kingdom and patience in Christ Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ^B I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying, What you see, write in a book and send to the seven churches—to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.

He calls himself brother and partaker of the afflictions which, on account of the word of God and the preaching of piety, he suffered at the hands of the persecutors (wherefore he was condemned, as well, to inhabit the island of Patmos). But as of the afflictions, so also of the kingdom which the afflictions here for Christ's sake procure. If, therefore, he shows himself a partaker in all things, one might reasonably hold the things seen and heard by him to be worthy of credence.

"For the word of God." By the word of God and the testimony he means the Gospel which he wrote. That ^C he was exiled to the island of Patmos under Domitian, Eusebius Pamphili declares in his Chronicle.

"I was in the Spirit." The phrase "in the Spirit" is added because nothing indicative of any human necessity is at work, but rather things occupied by divine possession.

"On the Lord’s day." This brings the memorial of the resurrection of Christ, from which it is also likely that no business tending toward modern curiosity was transacted at the utterance of the oracle.

"A voice as of a trumpet" being heard from behind, [signifies] that the vivid and far-reaching sound was duty-bound to be given to every Church.

"Seven churches" only, to which he is ordered to send the things he wrote and saw—not that there are only so many cities in Asia, but he is ordered to do this in those cases because they had become hearers of the evangelical preaching. Or, as has been said more broadly regarding these things, because the septenary number is correlative to the present corruptible age, arriving, that is to say, at the Sabbatism and the future age. Therefore, also ^D seven heavens and seven angels exceeding the others...

the great Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, has written. — Otherwise: I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a voice. ^B It is not proper to understand "seeing" and "hearing" in the case of the divine prophets as operations of the senses, but as diviner manifestations; concerning which also Isaiah the son of Amoz speaks: “He awakens me morning by morning, he awakens my ear to hear; and the instruction of the Lord opens my ears.” This, however, is not understood of the man who is according to the flesh, but of him who is according to the Spirit, who is also an object of God’s care and who is accustomed to remain the prince of the entire sensible creation. The prophet repeated the word "morning" in this place (just as also in other prophets who say, “In the morning hear my voice,” and “In the morning I will stand before you,” and “Morning by morning”) not in vain, but to demonstrate through the time [the existence of] an intense zeal, the very time at which divine operations are accustomed to be present.

1, 12-16. ^C And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like a Son of man, clothed in a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about the breasts with a golden girdle; and his head and hair were white as white wool, as snow; and his eyes as a flame of fire; and his feet like to chalcolibanus, as if burning in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters; and he was holding in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth a sharp two-edged sword proceeding; and his face as the sun shines in its power.

That the voice was not sensible [to the senses], but was like the [mental] representations of the prophets to the ruling spirit, he manifests by saying, “I turned,” not to hear, but to see. For spiritual hearing is the same as sight, or vision. Therefore he also said that the voice spoke to him, instead of saying that it fashioned what was being set before him. Moreover, at the same time, the article must be supplied with these words for the perfection of the meaning, so that it may be: “The voice of him who was speaking with me.” For the voice itself cannot be seen, but rather he who speaks. As if to say: “I turned to see him whose voice was speaking with me.” For in this way, the sentence being organized, it would be clear and without any deficiency.

Seven lampstands. The seven lampstands, in the same way, as he will say as he proceeds, are the seven churches to which he is also ordered to write. He called them lampstands, not lamps, because the lampstand does not have its own light, but is merely a vehicle for the lamp that has the light. For this reason the holy apostle Paul also exhorts the teachers who are conformed to Christ to be as luminaries in the world, holding forth the word of life, that is, those who have received the incorruptible light from Christ who gushes forth life. To whom it is said: “Thou illuminest wonderfully from the eternal mountains,”—that is, perhaps from the angelic powers—and, “Send forth thy light and thy truth.”

^A And, “The light of thy countenance, O Lord, who illuminest the faithful spiritually.” Having therefore become partakers of such light, he exhorts them to enlighten others with the light of the knowledge of God. *Aurea* (Golden). He says the candelabra were golden, on account of the worth and excellence of those who were deemed worthy to receive the divine radiance. These were also called “luminaries” according to Paul, as they possess the “word of life”; and as the candelabra are a vehicle for the lamps, they themselves have no light of their own, but are in some way partakers of those who are capable of giving light of themselves.

*In the midst of the seven candelabra, one like unto the Son of man.* ^B Being in the midst of the seven candelabra signifies that He promised to dwell in us and walk among us, He who humbled Himself for our sake even to the form of a servant, and became the fruit of the womb of the Mother who knew no man. He says he was clothed in a garment reaching to the feet and girded about the breasts like a priest according to the order of Melchisedec, not according to the order of Aaron, since the worship handed down to us from Him is not according to the Law of Moses, but according to the new order of Melchisedec. Of Him also the divine Paul said that Christ was given to us as high priest and apostle, offering up Himself, and bringing to the Father and the Spirit our confession of faith.

^C *And girded about the breasts.* He says He was girded about the paps, and not about the loins, because He is not subject to the appetites generated below the belly, which it is salutary for other men to constrain. Nor was He girded about the parts to which there is access to these, because God is joined to these in an ineffable manner, but about the chest and the paps, so that His benevolence and humanity might contain the uncontainable, just, and divine wrath, and that the truth might be shown that girds the two Testaments, as it were the Dominical breasts by which the faithful are nourished. Of which it is also said: “And justice shall be the girdle of his loins, and truth the belt of his sides.” ^D His loins are said to be girded with justice so that they are not carried into excess beyond rational nature; and his sides are anointed with truth as if with divine oil, because the truth of His philanthropy toward His own creation acts and speaks freely.

*A golden girdle.* Behold the golden girdle, whereas the priests according to the Law used variegated garments. For it was necessary that the difference between the servants and the shadowy law, and the truth, should be manifest.

*And his head and his hairs were white.* For the mystery in Christ is precious, and even if it is recent in its manifestation because of us, yet it was eternal in the divine good pleasure. Therefore also the Apostle says concerning Him: “The mystery which has been hidden from ages, but now is made manifest to his saints.” This the hoary hair, as if it were snow, signifies.

^A “And his eyes as a flame of fire.” Either showing forth the form of light like a flame (wherefore also Christ says: “I am the light of the world”), or threatening what is burning and vindictive against the Churches, to which the contents of the Apocalypse are sent, as not having followed His laws perfectly. ^B “And his feet like unto chalcolibanus.” One must understand the God-man Jesus as having feet, following the divine man Gregory in his discourses, because He could not have descended to us in His naked divinity, but [did so] through flesh. By the copper, which is truly of a gold-like appearance, is the divine nature signified, and by the resonance, the preaching is understood. By the feet of Christ, furthermore, we must understand the foundations of the Church and the divine apostles, who were themselves also shown to be pure by the fire of tribulations, even if not perfectly so before this. But as the teacher Christ was by the disobedience of the Jews, so also they [the apostles] have demonstrated their own test of character as through fire by the savagery of the Gentiles. That Christ is also the foundation, the divine Paul, writing to the Corinthians, warrants as being trustworthy in his word, saying: “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ.” ^C He says “chalcolibanus,” whether it be that which is mined in Mount Lebanon, since He who became incarnate is likened to this, or whether one should understand a brass-like frankincense, which the physicians call male, which also itself, when coming into contact with fire, gives off sweet-smelling vapors. And that both Christ and His divine apostles are sweet-smelling, the Bride in the Canticles is worthy to bear witness, saying: “The smell of thy garments is above all spices.” And the Bridegroom Christ Himself, speaking of Himself to the Bride: “I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys.” And thus, indeed, concerning Christ. But His apostles are also of sweet fragrance; therefore also Paul says: “We are the sweet fragrance of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish.” ^D And with reason he says His voice resounds like many waters. For His voice and the Spirit’s are common, from whose operation “rivers flowed from his belly,” according to the prophetic saying, “And a fountain shall go forth from the house of the Lord and shall water the torrent of the reeds.” Who, then, would doubt that those who have prepared themselves worthily for the operation of the divine Spirit are called the house of God, who have even said themselves to be temples of God and members in part? Certainly no one, except he who willingly is ignorant of these divine and sacred Logia. And who would reject the brilliance of the sound reaching through all the earth, unless it be perhaps one who is swinish and demands that spiritual and divine illuminations take place in a sensory way? “And he had in his right hand seven stars.” These seven stars, he himself in his progress will interpret as the seven angels, which he will also say preside over each Church. And Gregorius…

as his own. For, in that which follows, he will interpret whom he will say are to preside over each Church. And the divine Gregory in his book of *Discourses* declares the same thing, drawing the persuasion for us from this Apocalypse of John. He calls the angels stars on account of the abundant light of Christ that is in them. He says they are deemed worthy of the hold of the right hand, resting as it were in a most honorable station. ^A And he says the two-edged sword is seen coming forth from his mouth, although the Progenitor of God commanded Him to gird this sword upon his thigh, since at that time the vengeance for the transgressors of the evangelical laws had not yet been instructed. And He, in order to show the delay of the punishment, for the time being hangs the sword upon his thigh. But now the sword proceeding from the mouth signifies the readiness of those things that, with inevitable danger to the soul, ^B quickly rush against those disposed to be disobedient under the New Testament, namely, for the purpose of a sundering. This the Lord also hinted at in the Gospels, threatening that the negligent servant should be divided in two. And Paul says the punishing word of God is living and active, and sharper than any sword, as proceeding from the mouth, and reaching even to the bones and marrow, though not sensibly. Whence also this sword is written down by John as sharp, which comes to the same thing as the most penetrating sword of Paul. He ^C says he shines like the sun in power, since He is also called the Sun of Justice, according to Malachi the prophet, who illuminates every man coming into the world. He does not illuminate as a transparent body does sensibly, but intellectually. And therefore he added, "in his power," as if he were to say that the light of Christ operates by power, not corporally to the sight, but illuminating the eyes of the soul intellectually. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as if dead, and he placed his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the living one, and I was dead, and behold I am living for the ages of the ages. Amen. And I have the keys of death and of Hades. ^D It is the custom of the holy prophets, when they behold a vision, to be struck with amazement at the lasting presence of human lowliness, and at how much the divine things are superior to human things and excel and surpass them. This is what happened to Jesus son of Nave, and to Daniel, the man of desires: the one before the archistrategus of the Lord's host, the other upon the visions seen by him. Therefore something akin to these has happened now to the evangelist, who says he was strengthened by the saving right hand of the Son of God, which touched him, following the divine word of comfort to him, showing him to be the first and the last—first by divine nature, last by his saving presence among us—and that he is living, even if he was dead for our sake. But since he is living and has the keys of death

^A and of Hades. Since he has such a helper, he commands him not to fear, and not to shrink back while staying near the living One who lives into endless ages, but to write without hesitation what he saw, and what they are, and what is about to come to pass; that is, the past and the present. For these strictly "are," rather than having passed into non-existence. Along with these, he is to write what is about to happen, for the knowledge of those who come after. *Fear not.* Struck with amazement at the vision, and having fallen as a dead man at the feet of the One seen, the Evangelist says he heard, "Fear not," as if the holy John would not have been able to live from the shock, had not the saving right hand touched him, which accomplished such great wonders by the touch alone. For, he says, "I am he who, for the salvation of you all, walked among you in the flesh in these last times, and the *firstborn of all creation*." How, then, would it be possible for you to suffer any harm from my appearing? For if I live and am the fountain of life (and even if I became dead for your sake, yet I lived again, having trampled upon death), how could it be possible for you, who live, to die because of me and the sight of me? But if I also have the keys of death and of Hades, I therefore also bring life and bring down to Hades and bring up, and "mine are," as the Prophet says, *the issues of death*; I would not send my worshippers to death before it is fitting, unless I should first prompt them to write things worthy of knowledge. ^B 1, 19, 20. *Write the things which you have seen, and which are, and which shall be hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven Churches, and the seven candlesticks are the seven Churches.* The things seen by the saint—some had already happened and were enjoying their fulfillment according to the time, though they had not yet yielded to non-existence. Therefore he also said of them, "Which are." Some are ready to pass away, and some are about to come to pass, as the discourse will show as it proceeds. *The mystery of the seven stars.* Since he clarified for him who the seven stars and the lamps and the candlesticks were, for this reason he also teaches him what he must say to each Church. He calls the angels who are the guardians of the Churches "stars," as being those who are provided with light from the Sun of righteousness Himself; an idea that one of the philosophers from without also held concerning the visible sun, namely that the stars receive their light from it. He calls the lamps—those holy men appointed to enrich [the world] with the illumination of Christ and to dissipate the darkness of ignorance of the present life. ^C And the candlesticks he calls the Churches, as a vehicle for the luminaries. These are teachers, according to Paul, *holding fast the word of life*; and all are golden on account of the unadulterated and precious nature of the faith within them.

That an angel presides over each, Gregory the Theologian, as we have said, confirmed by citing authorities. ^A Since he has made these things manifest, and it behooved him who heard these things from God to declare them to each of the Churches, he subjoins in order both how one must rebuke the one that has strayed completely from the divine purpose, and how one must praise the assemblies of the Gospel course, and how one must correct those that have stumbled in part by sending forth the remedies of mutual admonitions. And who is it that proclaims these things, if not He *who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth?* And to whom did He reveal these things? To the divine evangelist John, through the Apocalypse now in hand. *The seven stars are the angels of the seven Churches.* He converses with the Church through an angel, just as one might speak through a tutor to the one being tutored, knowing that the teacher is accustomed to count the pupil’s affairs as his own, whether they be achievements or failures. It is also likely that through the seven stars in the right hand of Him who utters these things, the ^B arrangement of the universe is signified, as being situated in the right hand of Christ, according to that which is sung in the Psalms: *In His hand are the deep places of the earth, and the heights of the mountains are His.*

CHAPTER III. The things written to the angel of the Church of the Ephesians.

*To the angel of the Church in Ephesus write: Thus says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and that thou canst not bear them that are evil; and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not; and hast found them liars; and hast patience, and hast borne for my name's sake, and hast not fainted.*

By the angel of Ephesus, he means the Church that is there. For the presiding angel had not sinned, such that it would be necessary for him to hear, *Repent*, he being a star existing in the right hand of the Lord on account of his holiness, and bearing this as a token of the luminous radiance corresponding to his nature by reason of purity. And what necessity was there to write to one who is present in the right hand of the Speaker, who, being of an intellectual nature, stood in no need of sensible hearing? Furthermore, it is manifest that this holy guide of the vision, as he proceeds, ^C states that what the Holy Spirit says is to be heard not by the angels, but by the Churches. And likewise, in the remaining places of the present book, wherever it may be found: *Write these things to the angel of such-and-such a Church*, one must understand that he is commanded to write these words not to the angel, but concerning the Church.

^A *And he who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.* It is similar to saying this: *Thus says* He who encompasses and governs, and contains both the heavenly angels and the men who are upon the earth. For these seven stars, as has already been said, are the seven golden lampstands and lamps, in the midst of which the Lord is proclaimed to dwell and to walk about. *I know thy works.* I know, and nothing hides itself from me, He says, who alone have fashioned your hearts, who understand all your works; and [I know] *that thou canst not bear with them that are evil*, being by nature one who hates evil, *and thou didst try them which say they themselves are apostles, and didst find them false apostles.* For those in Ephesus, while fulfilling the divine commandment which says not to believe every spirit, but to prove them—that is, whether the teaching office given to them is according to the evangelical ordinance—continued to be restrained in the exercise of their own need, and not, as with those around Cerinthus who were contemporaries of the Apostle and Evangelist, raving with food and drink and marriages, and preferring a life of indulgence to that of the temperate, and acting as heralds of spurious dogmas. *And thou hast patience.* Thou hast labored, He says, and hast endured, having flagged in nothing of the things that came upon thee *for my name's sake*, and that very fittingly. For it has been said, *Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ*. For it is likely that injuries were brought upon them by the false apostles, to whom they did not in the least study to return like for like, but endured them as though they were dislocated or weak members. *And thou hast borne.* Thou hast borne, that is, thou hast tolerated. *And thou hast not grown weary*, that is, thou hast not flagged; as if to say, thou hast not despaired, thou hast not deserted the ranks, thou hast not become a deserter. *For my name's sake.* By "name" He means fame and glory, just as it is also used in the passage, *How wonderful is thy name in all the earth*. And how is it not full of glory that Christians do not hasten to return evil for evil, just as the divine Paul exhorts, saying, *Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers*? ^B *But I have against thee, that thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works. Or else I come to thee swiftly, and will move thy lampstand out of its place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God.* Praising the Church in two respects—I mean the patience in bearing the burden and the lack of zeal [in yielding] to those who are opposed—He finds fault with this one thing; and having placed this in the middle of them both, namely, the toil and the patience, He praised the alienation from the wicked.

^A And also that you tested the false apostles, and the filthiness of the Nicolaitans. But He also finds fault with the negligence in the supply for the neighbors, which He commands to be recalled again, saying, “Do the first works in righteousness.” For it does not escape Me, He says, either that your first actions were good, or that you have cut short the charity toward those in need. Return therefore, having learned from Me that you have fallen away. ^B “I will come to you quickly.” The expression “I will come” does not signify a local movement of God, who fills all things, but a turning from long-suffering to the retribution of punishment. The “movement” of the Church is the stripping away of divine grace, on account of which she is placed in the tossing and surge caused by the evil spirits and the insignificant men who serve them, so that those who have a fellowship with this Church might say, “My eye has been troubled in anger,” and, “My heart has been troubled within me.” ^C But this you have, in that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans; He places among the sorrowful things also those that lead to comfort, so that the things of the Church might not be swallowed up by excessive sorrow. He says, therefore, that I find you ready to repent, from which I have you as a companion in My hatred regarding the Nicolaitans. Now these receive their name from Nicolaus, one of the seven deacons. And who they were, and what their filthiness was, the book of *Panarion* by Epiphanius, that divine man from Cyprus, will reveal. ^D *Otherwise*: Some have interpreted the “movement of the lampstand” as the priestly throne of the Church of Ephesus, which surrendered its primacy to Constantinople. “He that has an ear, let him hear.” Every man has a carnal ear, but the one who is borne by the Spirit has a spiritual one, which was added to Isaiah and to the forefather of God, David, to be obedient. Whence, being also disposed with a grateful soul, he sings sweetly, “He has hearkened to me for the hearing of the ear,” that is, in those things whence hearing brings something praiseworthy, he has conformed [these hearts] to my desire. Now He says that the Spirit says these things, either because He was working spiritually, demonstrating the things of this Revelation; or He calls Christ “Spirit,” in so far as He is even understood as God, just as, indeed, He is also called “Son of man,” in so far as He is and is understood as man. And that God is called Spirit, the words of Christ Himself to the Samaritan woman demonstrate, when He says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth,” and what follows. And what is it that the Spirit says? “To the one who conquers I will give to eat from the tree of life.” To the one who conquers in the war which is waged against demons, which is accustomed to be stirred up through the passions innate to us. And the tree of life, tropically, which is in the midst of Paradise, and Paradise, must be understood as the blessed and everlasting life, in which there is an abundant diffusion of wisdom, concerning which Solomon also says: “It is a tree of life to those who embrace it.”

The present evangelist says concerning Christ that He is God and eternal life, in which the saints shall be in enjoyment in Paradise in the life to come that has no end. *Of my God.* Let no one hearing these things be scandalized. For all humble things are fitting for the economy of the God-man effected for our salvation. Since the same One says in the Gospels: “I ascend to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God,” as His by nature, but theirs by adoption.

CHAPTER IV

*And to the angel of the Church in Smyrna write: These things says the first and the last, who was dead and is alive: I know your works and tribulation and poverty, but you are rich. And the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but ^B are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear.*

The *first and last* is Christ, as God and man: first by His divine nature, last as having been made man for us at the end of time. And the same One was also dead for three days, and again opened to us the way of life through His own resurrection. And what does He say here? *I know your works and tribulation and poverty,* which you endure for my sake, being scourged by the unbelievers. Do not, therefore, while being afflicted and in poverty, say yourself: “Why have we fasted, and You have not taken note of it? We have humbled our souls, and You have not regarded it?” For although these things be so, yet you are rich, having the treasure hidden in the field of your heart, which is Christ, on account of Whom you are also rich, as having Him as protector, Who, although He was rich, became poor for our sake. *I know your works.* Namely, the good ones, and the tribulation and poverty resulting from them, which is brought upon you out of envy by the blasphemous Jews, the co-workers of the devil, who are Jews by name only, but in truth are a synagogue of the devil. But although you may be poor on account of violence, having been entrusted to Me, the dispenser of all good things, you are rich. Therefore fear nothing of those ^C troublesome imprisonments and other trials to be inflicted upon you by the co-workers of the devil, the onset of which is ephemeral, and how much does it amount to if it is even equated to ten days? Be, therefore, enduring and not failing until death, for which you will receive the crown of life.

^A And the blasphemy. Supply "I know" from the common sense, so that the meaning is: I know your works, I know the blasphemy of those who are Jews in word, but in reality are the synagogue of Satan. For the one who is a Jew in the manifest is not a Jew, but he who is one in the hidden, and in the circumcision of the heart—who, through the removal of the material skin seen surrounding the genital member, signifies that he has estranged himself from this whole material life for his entire life, and has prepared his soul for divine things. For if "Judah" is interpreted as "confession," and "Israel" as "a mind that sees God," then these are the true Jews and Israel: they who confess Christ, or rather, give thanks for the great benefits with which we have been affected through His advent in the flesh toward us. For this is what that confession signifies. And "Israel" signifies one who has attained to see God with the mind, being obstructed by nothing of those things that usually distract. Therefore, neither are they Jews nor Israel who remain in unbelief without turning, but by blaspheming they show themselves to be the synagogue of Satan, being captured by him for his own will, as being led by him.

"He shall not be harmed by the second death." The statement is accurate because, while there are two deaths for men—the first is natural, which is the separation of the soul from the body, according to the just and inevitable sentence of the almighty God, namely: "Earth you are, and to earth you shall return" (Gen. III, 19)—all men, just and sinful, undergo this death without delay. But again, a second death, bringing greater ruin, is that which has been introduced through sin, which the lures of a licentious, carnal, and voluptuous life are accustomed to provide to men. Therefore, the Lord also calls those who pursue this "dead," when He says: "Let the dead bury their own dead" (Matt. VIII, 22). He who conquers this death—that is, a life given over to passions—shall not receive injury from the death of Gehenna, by passing into an interminable death.

CAPUT V. What is signified to the angel of the Church of the Pergamenes.

^B 12–15. And to the angel of the Church in Pergamum write: These things says he who has the sword with two edges, the sharp one: I know your works, and where you dwell, where the throne of Satan is. And you hold my name, and did not deny my faith in the days in which Antipas my faithful witness was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balac to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication. So you also have those who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner. He speaks of a sword with two edges, or that which, according to the evangelical word, removes all that is superfluous in this present life, and that which, from birth, shadows us.

preventing us from gazing upon divine things, or [is] the stern judgment against the impious. Moreover, because this sword is said to be not only two-edged but also sharp, it further indicates swiftness in the vengeance against those who do not obey the divine commands. He calls Pergamum the throne of Satan, as it was devoted to idolatry above all the rest of Asia. "Yet," He says, "even while inhabiting such a place, you have kept my faith uncorrupted, being in no way deflected by the neighborhood of evils, nor did you envy the wicked, seeing the peace and abundance of the unrighteous."

*Antipas my witness.* ^B Antipas the witness bore testimony in Pergamum, whose martyrdom is preserved to this day, having spoken with great boldness against the conspirators, and as far as concerned him, he proceeded even unto death. The Evangelist now makes mention of his courage through the mouth of God, to set forth his virtue and patience before the faithful, along with the cruelty of those who have been led astray, as being of the household of Satan. But since the reproof touches even those who were most holy, because "in many things we all offend," ^C according to that which is written: "Who is pure from filth?" He says: "Though you worship me in such a way, I have nevertheless somewhat in which to accuse you, even if they are few." Since this city of the Pergamenes, as it appears, possessed two adversities: namely, the majority were Greeks [infidels], and among those who were called faithful, the obscene Nicolaitans were sown like bad weeds among the good wheat. And see how He produced for them those to whom they were likened, through the history of old.

*The doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac.* He says that Balaam taught Balac, that is, he became a preceptor to Balac himself. The history is in the book of the divine Moses which is called Numbers. Josephus the Jew writes ^D that King Balac, on the advice of Balaam, led forth women to the people of Israel to commit fornication (when Phinees also performed the work of famous memory against Zambri), and besides this lewdness, [Balaam] drew the Israelite people themselves to impure feasting, using for food the meats that had been sacrificed to Beelphegor. Therefore, they also perished. He says that the Nicolaitans are similar to these, both in fornication and in impure feasting. But if anyone requires what those things were in which they erred, it may be learned from Epiphanius, the divine bishop of Cyprus, as I have already mentioned, who, for the benefit of many, did not think it unworthy to set openly before our eyes, without evasion, the stench and the turpitude of the Nicolaitans, both regarding their libidinous licentiousness and their most abominable impure feasting, which is hateful.

*Resipisce itaque: alioqui veniam tibi cito, et pugnabo cum illis in gladio oris mei. Qui habet aurem, audiat quid Spiritus dicat Ecclesiis. Vincenti...*

^A to him I will give of the hidden manna; and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except him who receives it. Oh the depth of the riches and goodness of God! That even in threats there shines forth philanthropy. "I will fight," He says, not with you, but with the Nicolaitans who are suffering from incurable and useless ailments. For He spared those in Pergamum as believers, being indignant with them only for their association with the Nicolaitans. But what of the swiftness of His coming against them? Is this not the action of one who is a guardian, and who does not allow His own inheritance to be corrupted for long, but ordains a swift retribution? "In the sword of my mouth." As to what the sword of the mouth is, and why it is said to be two-edged, we have already ^B briefly explained. "To the victor, I will give of the manna." Since, as we previously explained by citing the divine Epiphanius, the Nicolaitans dared to engage in a most blasphemous consumption in their impure commingling—a practice worthy of their own impiety—for this reason He promises to give the victor manna to eat, in place of that impure and abominable food. Manna is understood tropologically as the Bread of Life which descended from heaven for our sake; though it is also said of all future good things that they fly down from heaven, where the Jerusalem above is located. And to him who overcomes the devil, He promises to give a white stone; that is, one shining with glory. He has placed this here—the white stone—because it was known from those who competed in the theaters and stadiums and was bestowed upon the victors. The ^C "new name" is that which is unknown in this present life. For "the good things which God has prepared for those who love Him, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have they entered into the heart of man" (and the saints will inherit this name); for how is it possible for incorruptible things to be grasped by corruptible knowledge?

CAPUT III

18, 19. And to the angel of the Church in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, who has His eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze: I know your works, and love, and faith, and ministry, and your patience, and your works, and the last to be more than the first. ^D He who speaks with the evangelist provides a clearer indication of Himself, proclaiming Himself as the Son of God, having eyes indeed likened to fire, as being ready to illuminate the just but to burn the sinners; and feet likened to burnished bronze—to burnished bronze, I say, or that which is called by the physicians the male frankincense, which, when burned, emits a fragrant vapor...

since those who have joined themselves to Christ, while they converse with temptations as if in a fire, do not fail to sweeten those around them by the testing of themselves. Hence also Paul, boasting ^A of this, says: "We are the fragrance of Christ in those who are being saved and in those who are perishing." To those who are being saved, in that they persevere in the life of piety more elementary from the Mosaic law unto a more perfect life of faith according to Christ, anointing those around them with their endurance as if with a fragrance; just as also to those who are perishing, whose life that died—that is, the life truly subject to passions, having been transformed according to the death of idol-mania—is, the blameless life according to Christ knows how to sweeten. So that these also, with the same Paul, might be adorned, saying: "I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." Thus, then, is the contemplation concerning the male frankincense. It is also possible, as has already been observed, by ^B burnished bronze to understand the incarnation of the Lord, that is, of the pre-eternal Word of God in the last times, using as if some feet the humanity that was seen. The union of the two natures, divinity and humanity, without confusion, the human mind that knows how to be pious knows how to preserve inviolate, as having risen above the investigation of mortal comprehension. "I know your works." Take "works" to mean only those that are laid up with God. To "know" here signifies familiarity and benevolence, as if He were saying: You persevere familiarly with me in all things. So also when He says to Moses: "I know you above all," and "The Lord knows those who are His," He intends to signify nothing other than familiarity and benevolence: as if to say, I am disposed with benevolence towards those who have entrusted their own strivings to me. By "love," He means the confidence toward divine things; likewise also by "faith." For sincere love is strengthened by mutual achievement. By "ministry," He says the aid toward the needy, and by "patience," the endurance toward temptations. "The last are more than the first." By saying ^C that the last are more than the first, He indicated that they progress toward a better advancement, laboring with untiring toil through the execution of divine commandments. "But I have a few things against you, because you leave your woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time that she might repent, and she does not want to repent of her fornication. Behold, I cast her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will kill her children with ^D death. And all the Churches shall know, that I am He who searches the hearts and k...

kidneys; and I will give to you, to each one according to your works. ^A If, because of your faith, He says, and your provision for those in need, I accept your piety and your endurance, yet I am nonetheless justly indignant with you because you allow the heresy of the Nicolaitans to flourish in your midst. He speaks of this figuratively through the name of Jezebel, who had been wedded to Ahab, comparing to her those who follow Nicolaus because of their lasciviousness and impiety. He is indignant, therefore, that they do not persecute her—that is, they do not cast her out, confounding her as she blasphemes impudently—but instead they endure that those who are Christians only in name should participate with them; whereby, He says, she offers a scandal to the simpler of my servants, not only of fornication, but now also of the consumption of defiled things. By fornication he means either the tangible and carnal sort, or the turning away from God, according to that which has also been said: "They committed fornication in their practices," and: "They committed adultery in the wood." By the consumption of things sacrificed to idols, he seems to link together other schisms as well, which also afflict the pious, which is indeed a type that is accustomed to occur. For the Nicolaitans did not propose that things sacrificed to idols should be eaten, but they held to other things which are of extreme filth and impiety even to contemplate. And what those things are has been frequently told by us as being demonstrated in the book of the Panarion. And not only does this abominable thing accompany the heresy of the Nicolaitans, but she also feigns herself to be a prophetess, being ^B moved by an evil spirit, and perverting the divine gift into emptiness, so that she is found not to obey Moses, who cries out explicitly: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," and she is found alienated from the beatitude of the Father of God, missing the hope of God, and dwelling instead in vanities and false manias. "And to seduce my servants," those who have lived in simplicity of character, dragging them through error into fornication and the eating of forbidden things. "And I gave her time." I, He says, who do not desire the death of the sinner, but seek their conversion, have given her a time for repentance, delaying vengeance for the time being. But she abused that patience, employing it for carelessness, occupied in her own destruction, rather than clinging firmly to the consideration of her own salvation. "And she does not wish to repent." For this, as God, I know; and hence it has been said: "God is He who examines hearts and kidneys." Since, therefore, she did not use the respite granted to her for repentance, "Behold, I cast her into a bed," that is, into sickness. For Scripture is accustomed to take "bed" as meaning infirmity, as when it says: "Thou hast turned all his bed in his infirmity," calling the bed a disease, and that it has been turned toward the better, that is, toward health. So I will afflict her. But those who commit adultery with her, those who cooperate and assist her...

in the abominable and muddy dogmas, I will afflict with calamities. And her children (calling her successors the children of such abomination), he says, I will put to death. ^A And those I will treat thus. But to you, who have nothing in common with the adulteress, being simpler, and who have chosen to walk in the simplicity of life in innocence in the midst of your house—since there is no strength to stand against those who are so wicked and captious in the cunning of their words, as you say, because you have not known the deep things of the wicked one and his machinations, as you say, he says—I will lay no other burden upon you (he calls the battle through words a "burden"). It is sufficient, he says, for me, the trial by works, accurately performed through the keeping of what was handed down to you from the beginning. *Unless they repent.* Even in the threat, goodness is observed. For he does not immediately inflict the deserved punishment, but suspends the onset with a scarecrow, as it were, urging them to drag forth repentance. *And all the churches shall know.* Because the heretics do abominable things in secret, which are evidently hidden from the many (for it is hidden from the faithful that those people are obscured under the title of Christians), I, having detected them, shall provide knowledge to all the churches, that I am the one who searches the kidneys and hearts; of whom Isaiah also speaks: *Shall He be hidden in secret, and he shall not see? Do I not fill heaven and earth, says the Lord?* Since, therefore, these things are so, I shall award to each the wage in accordance with his own perversity. ^B *But to you I say, and to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say: I will cast upon you no other burden. Nevertheless, what you have, hold fast until I come. And he who overcomes and keeps My works until the end, I will give him power over the nations, and he shall shepherd them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of the potter they shall be broken. As I also have received from My Father, and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.* Having promised that each would receive the reward worthy of his own labor, he thereafter attaches that in which, by applying his effort, one will obtain what is worthy. Therefore, to those who do not have the erroneous doctrine of those who hold the heresy, receiving these, he says: I will be content with the uncorrupted preservation of the simple faith which they received, from which it also follows for them that they are ignorant of the depths of Satan, as they say. And by "burden," he means the annoyance from word-battling introduced to those who battle with words; for a servant of the Lord must not fight. Having then threatened the obscenely-acting ones with the things they deserve, he transfers the discourse to those who have proposed to live more simply, demanding nothing else from them, than the

pious deposit of faith to be kept unblemished until his arrival. By arrival, he means either his final coming—because he will enact the judgment of everyone at his second coming—or the time of each person’s departure, when we shall go to him and, having abandoned this busy life, we shall be in a safe state, possessing an un-deceived hope regarding the things we have lived through. This meaning is not improbable to be the one to rely upon. ^A *And he who conquers and who keeps.* For those who are exempt from battle on account of simplicity, the keeping of the commandments will suffice for pleasing me; but to the one who brings back the prize of victory from battle and struggle, for a triumph of victory, I shall give, he says, power over the nations—just as the Lord says in the Gospels to the one who managed the minas and talents well: "Be in authority over ten cities," and to another, "over five cities." For these things signify a certain principality and authority to be given to the saints over those who are lower and who are in need of being directed. Therefore, the saying: ^B *A rod of uprightness is the rod of your kingdom* (15) will fit this act. For it seems to hint, by means of the "rod of uprightness," that he does not introduce a punitive discipline, but a corrective one. No one says that the iron rod is being given for any other reason than for the crushing punishment of those who are wrapped in disobedience and who are assimilated to earthen vessels; just as the rod of power that is sent forth from Sion is for nothing other than for the overcoming of enemies. And since the iron rod is promised to be given to everyone who conquers, ^C and these were those who had provided themselves to Christ through obedience, these also shall be judges of the faithless. Since the Lord says that the Ninevites also will rise up for the judgment—that is, the condemnation—of the wicked generation. But the fact that he himself also received the rod from the Father, the expressions of giving and receiving slipped in because of the assumption of flesh, and indeed because of the emphasis on his humiliation. But if someone wishes to consider this in regard to the divine nature, it is not a problem, for the giving and receiving manifest what is proper to the persons of the Father and the Son. *Until the end.* Until the end of his own life; from ^D which it is clear that his arrival is not the final one, but the arrival of each of us to him. *As earthen vessels shall be broken.* Here the particle "as" is not accustomed to be taken for the sake of parable or comparison, but causally, instead of "that." For this reason, he says, an iron rod is given, that the earthen vessels might be broken. But even if the syntax is not according to the rules of Greek (for a declarative verb is never joined to a subjunctive word), it will not matter to those who pursue salvation by intellect alone, and not by the precision of words. 7. *If they shall be broken,*

^B The morning star. The prophet Isaiah calls the Assyrian, or Satan, the morning star, whom Christ also declared to have been seen falling like lightning from heaven and to have been given to the saints to be trampled under foot. Paul also says of him that God is coming to crush him under the feet of his disciples. And David, strengthening the one who approaches the Most High God, says: "You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon." Therefore, either the Deity promises to give this star, or it is that which is mentioned by Peter as the "Lucifer" (morning star) rising in the hearts of the faithful, namely, the light of Christ. Moreover, John the Baptist, who dawned before the arrival of the sun of Christ, and Elias the Thesbite, the herald of Christ's second coming, are also stars, and we believe that those who have overcome the devil shall have their portion with them. It is not to be wondered at if we have understood the same thing in the case of those who are greatly opposed, since Christ is called the lion who has sprung from the tribe of Judah, and the Antichrist is described in the divine Scripture as a lion springing forth from Bashan, with each being applied to its respective subject. It is also understood as the dawn of the future age (for the darkness of the present life, even if it is considered light, will be covered when the Sun of Righteousness appears to the saints and disperses this mist), and as the angel who brings good tidings of this; for he goes before it.

CHAPTER VII.

That which was sent to the angel of the Church in Sardis.

Hence also He rebukes the Church, as having only the name of life in faith, but being dead as regards good works. For just as Scripture is accustomed to call righteousness "life"—I mean life according to God—according to that which is said: "Your word has quickened me," that is, it has set me on the paths of that which is truly life; so also it calls a sinful life "death," as the divine Paul signifies concerning those who had passed from unbelief to faith in Christ, writing thus to them: "And you, being dead in transgressions for Christ." And in the book of the Shepherd it is stated thus, that some had descended into the water of the laver, being clearly dead, and ascended living. "Be vigilant, and strengthen what remains." Having shaken off the sleep of sloth, and strengthened your members which, on account of unbelief, were about to die completely. For not the beginning of good works crowns the worker, but perseverance unto the end. The word, "strengthen," however, is not said simply, but as if He had said: Make solid and fortify those things which are loose and most ready for a fall. Insofar, therefore, as a few practices remain to you, He says, add to them, lest you suffer total death. These, therefore, keep, which are already living, and strengthen those which are already leaning toward death; for none of your efforts is full. But some are already dead, and others are about to die. As for the phrase, "before my God," as has been said often, it has been put forward with greater condescension concerning the Son of God, as though from the assumption of humanity. "Remember how you have received." Keep the tradition, He says, which you have received from the apostles, and repent for your sloth; and as for the works that are still alive in you, preserve them in life, and as for those that are dead, provide for them a return to life through repentance. He calls repentance the turning away from worse things and a change for the better. "And you shall not know at what hour." For the time is unknown. And just as the time of the death of each one of us is unknown to us, so much more is the time of the second coming of the Lord. ^C III, 4-6. "But you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." It should be noted that the use of "names" in this way is foreign to the Greek language, and is an unapproved and debased usage. For it would have sufficed to say: "You have a few," and not "a few names." For although the distinctiveness of the person of each one is separated by the Lord's name, nevertheless the choice language of the Greek tongue does not know how to take into account in number the things of each individual

whether it says a few, or two or three men, but not two or three names; since the former is most strictly indicative of nature, which is born to remain, while the latter [indicates] particulars of succession, which almost disappears as the being of each individual is taken away. ^A [The former] do not converge into a knowledge of number, but [are] those things which are most specific.

^B “Who have not defiled [their garments].” This good thing you have obtained, he says, in having some who have not defiled this garment of the flesh with filthy actions, who will shine with me in the regeneration. And for the sake of these, I am appeased, and I delay, and I am long-suffering toward you. By garments not defiled, he means the bodies of the saints, as also the patriarch Jacob prophesies concerning Him who was to spring from Judah, who is Christ Jesus: “He shall wash his garment in wine,” [*] calling the body of the Lord Himself that which was cleansed in His immaculate passion for our illustration. For He committed no sin, says Isaiah: “For the iniquities of my people He was led to death. For He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.” [**] To this Lord, as if acting out some drama, the same Isaiah says: “Why are thy garments red as they that tread the winepress?” [***] And concerning the garments, it is worth contemplating thus, that their lack of defilement signifies the purity of the body.

“But he that overcomes, he says.” Who overcomes? The passions of the flesh. This one, therefore, shall be arrayed in the garments of his own virtues, which he cleansed through God-pleasing labors, and he shall shine like the sun in the age to come; and his name, which was written in the book ^C of those living with the life that does not fail, shall be indelible, as he is acknowledged by Me before my Father. Now the promise of this writing in the book and of the confession before the Father is recorded in the divine Gospels, where He says to His disciples thus: “Rejoice, because your names are written in the heavens.” [****] But the document of the confession of the name itself is handed down at that time in the Gospels, when He pledges that He will confess him before the Father at His second coming, who would confess Him before men: a thing which is laid up for all the saints, but especially for the martyrs.

“Before my Father, and before his angels.” “Before the Father and his angels” is said because the angels are faithful and benevolent ministers. And sometimes He calls the angels the Father’s, and sometimes His own, as when He says: “The Son of man shall send his angels with a great trumpet.” ^D Now, therefore, by saying the angels of the Father, He does not deny that the holy angels are also His own. For nothing of those things which are viewed in the divine nature can be found to be appropriated

[*] Gen. XLIX, 11. [**] Isa. LIII, 9. [***] Isa. LXIII, 2. [****] Luc. X, 20.

of those things contemplated [within the divine nature], one might find [each attribute] proper to one of its three persons, except for that which pertains to him hypostatically.

CHAPTER VIII. The things written to the angel of the Church of Philadelphia.

"And to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia write: These things says the holy one, the true one, he who has the key of David; [he who] will shut, and no one opens, and [he who] will open, and no one shuts. I know your works. Behold, I have given before you an open door, and no one is able to shut it, because you have little power, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name." ^A The true Holy One is indeed He who is also the Son of God, and the truth is declared by the triple, sanctifying hymn of the Seraphim, as it has also been proclaimed in the visionary Isaiah, with the threefold sanctification shut up into one lordship, so that both the trinity of the persons of the supersubstantial Trinity might be shown, and the inseparability of them [be shown] by the oneness of the lordship. But how could one describe in words how much this transcends the lowly and mortal natures? By the "key of David" he signifies ^B the omnipotent power, through which alone the treasures of divine wisdom are opened. The first authority he receives according to human nature, as it is possible to hear this from Himself, saying: "All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth." The second He holds according to the beginningless nature of His divinity. For Emmanuel is true God, even if Nestorius does not wish it, even though He has become man. And indeed He is also truly man, not manifesting man in a phantastic way, even though the God-hating Eutyches is distressed by this. But what He is, He is truly God, not by relation, as ^C the Nestorians babble, and [He is] true man, not by semblance and phantasy, as the thunderstruck Eutychians wish, and the most abominable race of the Manichaeans. But since some of the copies do not have the key of "David," but of "Hades," there is no difference even in this. For it is shown from this that Christ, as God, unquestionably possesses the dominion over life and death.

"He who has the key of David." He calls power a key. For whoever has the power to shut and to open a house, to him also is the house entrusted. And this is clearer to learn in the Gospels, from what ^D Christ says to Peter: "And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." And "no one will open." Since the key signifies power, what else does he who says he has the key of David say, except that "Just as David reigned over the sensible Israel, so too do I, with regard to the sensible and also the intelligible [Israel]?" even if there is an incomparable authority of man toward God. Wherefore also Gabriel said to the Virgin, [saying that] the throne of David...

was to be given to the Son by the Father as if it were temporary, although it is eternal and endless for Him; and similarly the kingdom and authority. Since, therefore, Christ bore the likeness of David's kingdom, He justly says: "He who has the key of David," for opening and closing; calling justification "opening," and condemnation "closing." For using His own divine and eternal authority, He both justifies and condemns. "Behold I have given before thee an open door." The door of good things is given as open, being most ready, and—through the very inclination toward better things—it provides entrance for enjoyment. Therefore also the Lord, in saying, "The kingdom of heaven is within you," ^B shows that it is provided, as it were, by the preference of the one who wills, and that no one is thought to impede the entrance. And the promise of this now makes those who are being introduced eager for the task, considering the difficulty of the labors, and measuring the entrance for those who have determined to enter with "little strength." When through the opened door He has displayed the swarm of good things heaped up for those who enter, He no longer allows them to be grieved by the anxiety of the labors required for the enjoyment, but exhorts them to hold fast to the labors without looking back, regarding the toil endured for their sake as sweeter than any relaxation (17). And that the inheritance of eternal goods is laborious, the divine oracle in the Gospels is sufficient to show, saying, "The kingdom of heaven suffers violence." ^C But that he who begins to sweeten his perception by making a start knows how to be unsparing of labors, the divine Spirit of David teaches, saying: "Taste and see that the Lord is kind." Or "an open door" is also understood as the entrance of the teaching proclamation, which, once opened, cannot be closed through temptations, as the promptness of those who have chosen to enter prevails, being charmed by the beauty (18) of the things laid up [which] mitigate the painfulness of temptations. In these, He says, even if you have "little strength," yet through Me an open door is given to you; yet you have endured even beyond the strength that is in you, "not having denied My name" (19). I shall not, therefore, measure the reward according to your little strength, but according to My munificence, as is My custom, I shall provide the recompense. ^D "Behold I give of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say themselves to be Jews and are not, but lie. Behold I will make them so that they shall come and worship before thy feet, and know that I have loved thee, because thou hast kept the word of My patience. And I will keep thee from the hour of temptation which is about to come upon the whole world to test those dwelling upon the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold what thou hast, that no one may take thy crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he..."

shall go out no more; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The confession, he says, regarding My name, shall be the recompense of the conversion and repentance of the Jews. They shall exchange the illumination from Me, by which they themselves have been brought unto Me, with those who in the secret of the heart show themselves to be Jews, and not in the open, as also it seems to Paul. ^A And he calls the Synagogue of the Jews the throne of Satan, as being established in falsehood, since he too, the father of falsehood, was revealed from the foundation of the world. Therefore he says that these will run to them, not in an ordinary way, but with great fervor and contrition. For this is what is hinted at by the bowing down at their feet and choosing to be placed among the last in the Church. ^B *The word of My patience.* Not that He who gives the oracle has himself suffered anything, but he calls His own patience that endurance of faith which is for His sake and toward Him; just as also when David asks of God, *Let my judgment come forth from Thy presence*, it means, "Thy righteousness which is for me."

*And I will keep thee from the hour of temptation.* He calls the hour of temptation either the persecution stirred up under Domitian, which was the second after Nero, as Eusebius Pamphili records—when even the Evangelist himself was condemned by Domitian himself to Patmos—or that universal one to come at the consummation of the age under the Antichrist against the Christians, destroying them. He promises, therefore, to free His own zealots from both of these, taking them away beforehand ^C through their departure from the things here, so that they may not be tempted beyond their power. Therefore the Lord also says, "I am coming quickly"; for after that tribulation is over, "I am coming quickly," that is, without delay. For this is what "quickly" signifies, as if to say: I shall come on the heels of the tribulations that are being brought into effect. For this reason I also warn [you] to hold fast the treasure of faith inviolate, lest the crown of your patience be lost.

*In the temple of My God.* It has been said before that the [expression] "My God," does not so much negate the divine nature which is contemplated in Christ, as it serves to demonstrate their co-existence. For it shows the indissoluble nature of the union of the two natures—I mean of the divinity and the humanity—in the person of the Lord Jesus, were it only to the level of pure conception, even though it be without confusion. ^D For they familiarly render to one another, above human comprehension, the divine [properties] to human [properties], and the human to the divine characteristics. And this one is appointed a pillar in the temple of God, supporting the munificence of God concerning him, and exhorting those who are more weakly disposed to the perfection of the faith of Christ which is among us, so that they too, by the gift of teaching...

may be raised to the dignity of a man before God. For this reason Gabriel said to the Virgin that the throne of David would be given to the Son by the Father as if it were temporary, though it was given to Him as eternal and never-ending, and likewise also the kingdom and the power. Since, therefore, Christ bore the likeness of the kingdom of David, He rightly says: *He that hath the key of David*, to open and to shut—mentioning "to open" as to justify, and "to shut" as to condemn. For using His divine and eternal power, He both justifies and condemns.

*Behold, I have set before thee an open door.* The door of good things is given opened, as being most ready, so that from this very inclination toward better things, it may provide an entry for enjoyment. Wherefore also the Lord, saying that *the kingdom of heaven is within you*, seems to mean that, being provided by the resolution of those who will it, it considers the entry to be hindered by no one. And now the promise of this—which makes those who are being introduced greedy for the undertaking, considering the difficulty of the labors, and measuring the entry for those who determine to enter with small power—once it has manifested at the opened door the swarm of good things accumulated for those who enter, no longer lets them be troubled by the anxiety of being drawn down by the labors of enjoyment, but exhorts them to cling to the labors without looking back, accounting the toil for these things to be sweeter than any relaxation. And that the inheritance of eternal goods is to be reached through labors, the divine oracle in the Gospels sufficiently manifests, saying: *The kingdom of heaven is taken by force.* But that he who begins to taste the sweetness knows how to disregard labors, the divine Spirit of David teaches, saying: *Taste and see that the Lord is sweet.*

Or also, the opened door is understood as the entry of the instructional preaching, which, once opened, cannot be shut by trials, the readiness of those who chose to enter prevailing, because they have been charmed by the beauty of the things that are laid up, which makes the laborious nature of trials seem slight. In these, He says, though your power is modest, yet from Me the opened door is given to you; you, however, have persevered even beyond the power that is in you, not denying My name. Therefore, I will not diminish the reward according to your small power, but with munificence, as is My custom, I will bestow the recompense.

*Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them that they should come and worship before thy feet, and know that I have loved thee, because thou hast kept the word of My patience. And I will keep thee from the hour of trial which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly; hold that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.*

^A concerning Him that is spoken of, that is, truth, and there is no falsehood in them. *The beginning of the creation of God* signifies His kingship and principality over all things, as He rules over the creatures. For the "beginning of the creation" is the pre-constituent cause of the creation. Perhaps the God-opposing workshop of the Arians might be influenced by this statement, as if the Lord Jesus were known through these words to be a creature. However, one must not be led away by their malicious contrivances, but must look elsewhere to see if any such thing is stated in other Scripture regarding this matter, so that one may have the means to regulate similar things by similar things. Therefore, Paul says, writing to the Colossians about Christ: *Who is the firstborn of every creature.* He is the firstborn of the creation, not a first-created being. And David: *From the womb before the morning star I have begotten Thee,* but not: I have created Thee. And Solomon: *Before all the hills He begetteth me.* But the passage: *The Lord created me the beginning of His ways,* the word "created" is taken to mean "appointed," just as also in the passage: *That He might create in Himself the two into one new man,* and in: *Create a clean heart in me, O God.* The divine Gregory of the discourses, in his sermon *On the Son*, understands "created" as referring to the Lordly body, which is animated by a rational soul, while he understands "begotteth" as referring to the divinity.

Since, therefore, by so many testimonies the "beginning of the creation"—as we have already said—wishes to signify nothing other than the Ruler of the creation of God, in accordance with the fact that *All things were made by Him,* to Him it is also given to rule over the creatures beneath Him, that is, it is established; nor do these words imply a diminution of His substance and glory.

^B *Because thou art neither cold nor hot.* A "cold" person is one who is lacking the operation and visitation of the Holy Spirit; but a "hot" person is one who is fervent in the Spirit, as Paul also says. A "tepid" person is one who is unstable in both and wavering, who indeed received participation of the Holy Spirit through baptism, but extinguished the gift that vivifies the soul, having become slothful through concern for present things. Therefore, Paul also says about the divine Spirit: *Quench not the Spirit.* Because, therefore, you are such a one—having been fervent in the Spirit through baptism, but having become cold through sloth—you have cut off from yourself the hopes of salvation for the future, having condemned the faith you had chosen. For in works, the middle way is not to be rejected; just as lawful marriage, being between virginity and fornication, is not to be cast away. But in faith, that which is in the middle and tepid is reprobate and insubstantial. For this reason, *I would that thou wert cold,* that is, that thou hadst been totally devoid of the grace of divine baptism and were unbaptized, rather than tepid. For he who has not yet received the grace of the Spirit through baptism remains in the expectation of one day receiving it.

that which is ^A salutary for him. But the tepid man, as we have already stated, has little of that fervor, and is deprived of that benefit—the fact that he might one day be baptized. *“I will begin to vomit you.”* He has used the metaphor of the tepid liquid fittingly, which physicians use to provoke vomiting. Hence, for those who vomit with difficulty, they induce vomiting by the drinking of tepid water. This is what He says now: *“I will begin to vomit you out like an abominable food,”* that is, through the word of my mouth, to render you an outcast from my intimacy. And what is the cause of this? It is because, having placed your hope in the uncertainty of wealth, and having choked the seed of the divine word with thorns—that is, with the temptations of this temporary wealth and life—you have ignored your own spiritual and everlasting poverty. *“Because you say, I am rich and have become enriched.”* He calls earthly wealth "wealth." You are ignorant that you are making yourself wretched among those who are perishing; therefore, you are indeed worthy of pity, as one who has fallen from the height of virtues, seized by dizziness and blindness in choosing what is better, ^B and stripped of the divine glory that was veiling you a moment before. *“I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich, and white garments, that you may be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness may not appear, and an eye salve, that you may anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter to him and dine with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me in my throne, as I also have overcome and have sat with my Father in his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”* If you wish to be rich, He says, acquire the true riches from Me, who know how to enrich those who possess things that endure. ^C You shall acquire with an ardent intention the pure oracles of the Lord, which have been refined seven times by fire. But what are these? The doctrinal and divine word, which does not go out to those who are being taught in vain or to no purpose, but rather from the fact that he who teaches is himself first enriched with ardent zeal; for the just man declares the faith shown forth. And the good merchant brings forth from the good treasure of his heart both old and new, bringing greater examples of virtuous deeds from the old men, and from those who are recent—and those who have labored for Him with ardent fervor—their own great achievements. But since becoming enriched with such things does not happen to anyone without the assistance from above, therefore He who speaks the oracles says, *“from Me.”* ^D The riches are the clothing of garments that can cover the unsightly nakedness of virtues, and not merely clothing in a common way, but with a pompous glory representing the triumph over the demons who are the enemies.

And collyrium. This is the command for those who are dim-sighted regarding the intelligible light of the Lord, to anoint their appropriate eyes. This is the progress through repentance being advised. Or, the collyrium represents poverty. For if gifts blind the eyes of those who see, the lack of gifts will certainly open them. *And as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.* And deservedly so. For he who loves, diligently disciplines, which is also a proof of theLord's surpassing goodness toward the disobedient. And the pledge of these riches is the love of Him who follows those who are worthy of punishment. And what is that discipline? To be zealous for the better practices, and by repentance and change of mind, that is, as it were, a change of previous sins, to resume the zeal or imitation—those who through ignorance had turned away toward discipline. And what is the reward resulting from philanthropy? An unwearied attendance at the door. And further on, He calls the heart of those called to repentance the door. ^B To those who open it—to Him who is knocking for their salvation—and to the subsequent things, the entrance of the gentle and good guest will be lavished upon them. *Behold, I stand at the door and knock.* My coming, He says, has no force. I knock at the door of the heart, and I rejoice with those who open it for their own salvation. For I deem the salvation of men, upon which they themselves are nourished, and by which they flee from the famine of hearing the word of God and the darkness of error, to be delicacies and a banquet. *To him that overcometh, I will give.* It has already been said that Greek education calls such a composition of speech and such a series of phrases a solecism, of which there is little concern in the Church.

CHAPTER X. On the door seen by him in heaven, and the throne, and the twenty-four elders, and the things that were shown hereafter.

^B

*The morning star.* The prophet Isaiah speaks of the morning star regarding the Assyrian, that is to say, Satan, whom Christ also declared he had seen falling from heaven like lightning, and that he had been given to the saints to be trampled underfoot. Paul also says of him that God is coming to crush him under the feet of his disciples. And David, confirming him who approaches the Most High God, says: "You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample on the lion and the dragon." Therefore, either the mouth of God promises to give this star, or it promises that which is called by Peter the Day-star rising in the hearts of the faithful, namely, the light of Christ. Moreover, the star that arose before the coming of Christ is John the Baptist, and Elijah the Thesbite is the harbinger of the second coming of Christ; with whom we believe that those who have been victorious over the devil will have their share. It is not to be wondered at if we have understood the same thing regarding those who are diametrically opposed, since Christ is called a lion, springing from the root of Judah, and in the Divine Scripture the Antichrist is described as a lion coming from Bashan, with each being applied to their respective subjects. And the dawn of the world to come is also understood (for the darkness of this present life, even if it is considered light, will be covered over when the Sun of Righteousness appears to the saints and disperses this gloom), as is the angel who brings good news of this, for he goes before it.

CHAPTER VII *The things sent to the angel of the Church in Sardis. Apoc. III, 1-3.*

"And to the angel of the Church in Sardis write: These things says He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, and you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are about to die; for I have not found your works complete before My God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast and repent. If therefore you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief. And you will not know what hour I will come upon you."

*Seven stars*, that is, divine angels, as we have previously said; and we understand the *seven spirits* as the same, according to that which has been said: "Who makes his angels spirits," or the operations of the life-giving Spirit, both of which are in the hand, that is, in the power of Christ. For of the former He presides as Lord, and of the latter He is the provider as being of the same essence, just as He also said: "I will send you another Helper from the Father." For nothing in the blessed and supersubstantial Trinity is seen to be appropriated, except the property constituting the person in It. *I know your works.* Here, the word "know" signifies simple acquaintance, not familiarity. Whence

^A it desired to indicate the color of the jasper stone, likening it to the greenish appearance of the emerald stone. *Twenty-four seats.* By seat, one ought to understand nothing else here than an earnest zeal for the operation of divine commandments. For only in such a way, a soul thus prepared is a divine vehicle, just as the Cherubim themselves are. *Elders sitting.* Regarding the number of the twenty-four elders, it will have to be considered in this way: the super-primordial, super-divine, and most holy Trinity, having at the beginning—according to the inscrutable depth of Its own wisdom—coiled the heptadic number, which ^B is also affined to this visible system of Its own, equally into Itself, revealed the number twenty-four. For three times seven make twenty-one, which is the number lacking from the twenty-four, and this is the ternarius, which is consecrated to the all-creating divine Trinity; therefore, also, the septenary number, being revolved triply along with the revolving ternarius, completed the number twenty-four. But can the whole of this sensible world contain the septenary number according to its own power, which is impossible for mortal nature to know? And the ones sitting are equal in number to the thrones, and they are elders, not younger, since the promise of the inheritance is also most ancient, as a kingdom prepared for us before the foundation of the world. Moreover, to those who have ^C the reward prepared before the foundation of the world, the eternal kingdom is given not as to recent arrivals, but as to those who have grown old in divine precepts. Finally, he says the crowns are golden; for he could not propose anything more precious than gold to those who are engaged in this life, in order to facilitate an effective and industrious cognition. *And seven lamps of fire burning.* He himself interpreted the seven lamps as seven spirits, which one must understand either, as Isaiah has it, as the divine gifts of the Spirit—namely wisdom, fortitude, counsel, and what follows after these—or, as Irenæus and Clement (who compiled various matters) say, as the ministering [spirits] who excel over other orders. Seven, indeed, because they preside over this world, which has some kinship with the septenary number; or, as we have already proposed; and *burning*, on account of the ^D continuous tenor and perpetuity of the holiness surrounding the divine. For such is this material fire, incessantly illuminating and inflaming; therefore the Prophet also says: "Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a burning fire."

Chapter X

^A signifying the infinite and incomparable multitude of the divine powers which surround the throne of God, which also Daniel desires to represent via the millenary and myriadic numbers. The vitreous and crystal-like sea denotes the transparency of the incorporeal natures and of the throne itself, or the tranquility of the angelic life, in that it stands immovably fixed like glass and crystal, so that it is not darkened by any stain or bent toward senseless agitations. ^B And round about the throne were four living creatures. Some have understood these four living creatures to be both the four Gospels and the four cardinal virtues: the lion signifying fortitude and the Gospel according to John, which also the holy Irenæus of Lyons says is indicative of the eternal kingdom, through the words, "In the beginning was the Word"; the calf, justice, as being content with its own labors, and the Gospel according to Luke, as one who describes the genealogy of Christ in a legal and priestly manner; the eagle, temperance, for witness is given of this to this animal, and the Gospel according to Mark, because it is concise and begins from the prophetic Spirit; and the man, prudence, and the Gospel according to Matthew, as he who preached the birth of Christ naturally and not by the law. Perhaps, also, the dispensation of Christ is signified by these: by the lion, as king; by the calf, as priest, or rather as sacrifice; by the man, because he was made a man for our sake; by the eagle, as the giver of the life-giving Spirit who descended upon all. Or, it may be that by these four living creatures, the creation gathered from the four elements—fire, water, earth, air—is attained by the gaze of God, in that these seen animals are referred to as a representation of the worldly elements: the lion, because of boldness and spirit, to fire; the calf, because of its works concerning the earth, to the earth itself; the man, to the air, since man is a heavenly and lofty creature due to the subtlety of his mind; the eagle, to the water, for it is from the waters that birds have their generation. ^C IV, 8-11. And the four living creatures each had six wings round about, and they were full of eyes within. And they have no rest day and night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. And when those living creatures shall give glory and honor and thanksgiving to him that sits upon the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders shall fall down before him that sits upon the throne, and shall worship him that lives for ever and ever. And they shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord and our God, the holy, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy will they were and were created.

^A Having spoken of the four living creatures surrounding the throne and having detailed the form of each, which we also have set forth as far as was possible for us according to the gift granted according to merit, showing that it represents the providence of God over all His terrestrial creation—wherefore there are four living creatures, equal in number to the quaternion of qualities by the mediation of which the elementary bodies of this material world came into being—he now also represents the alacrity of their service. Such is what David also represents by the words: "Mighty in strength, doing His word, to obey the voice of His words," as if the command did not precede the completion of that which was ordained, but rather the will was accomplished from the command itself. He says that speed is achieved for each by the six wings. For this [the text] hints at individually, lest anyone, hearing of six wings, might suppose them in a common sense. And the phrase "in circuit" denotes not the position of the wings, but that of the four [creatures], implying that they were not in a row, but in a circle. The number of the wings hints at the end of the ministry, and that toward which the ministry tends. For the number six is lauded among those skilled in such matters; yet for those who have transcended the senses, there is nothing imperfect, nor anything awaiting a completion derived from repentance. The divine Dionysius says that the intellectual beings are furnished with six wings: with ^B two they cover their faces, with two their feet, and with the two in the middle they fly, so that their reverence may be seen regarding the higher and deeper things of their own apprehension, for which reason it is commanded to the middle ones to extend the primary rays with divine yokes. ^C The term "in circuit" is taken to mean all-seeing; and "within," because nothing can escape the divine, not even those things performed by some in secret. And the words, "they have no rest," does not mean that they undergo any labor while ministering in ceaseless hymnody. For labor concerns the sensible creation, whereas all that is above matter is tireless. "And there," as one says, "pain, sorrow, and sighing have fled away." Therefore, the words "they have no rest" do not signify labor, but rather a ceaseless tenor regarding the divine hymnody, as if they were delighting in the glory and praise of the Divine and being perfected therein. And by the triplication of the glory and the holiness, we are able to perceive the Trinity of Persons. "The twenty-four elders shall fall down." By these it is signified that the elders whom we have considered are also partakers of the hymnody of the heavenly powers, confessing that they have received from God the power of victory over the intellectual enemies. ^D One ought to observe the precision regarding the distinctions of time in the narrative. For from the promise of present things, he proceeds to future ones—not through any lack of intelligence.

^A but manifesting that even before the final proclamation of those who have acted well, there is a certain thanksgiving for those who depart from the present laborious stadium, yielding to the term set for them, since what is advantageous for each is determined; for they also receive rewards commensurate with the future and indissoluble aeon, whether it be an abundance of miracles or some other benefits. Therefore, this representation, praise, and laudation, coming from the ministering spirits and those humans who, showing themselves rivals to them, have performed exceptionally for Jesus Christ the Son of God who became flesh, is not treasured up for the final day alone, but is even now, as the apparent transition of chronological intervals has established for those able to see sharply.

And they cast their crowns. To cast the crowns before the throne signifies victory, just as one can also see now in the case of those who win in contests; but the throne signifies dominion and authority. A crown is also a symbol of kingship. Therefore, in casting their crowns before the throne, what else are they doing but ascribing the true and real kingship, and the victory over all things, to God who is over all? Saying: To You, Master, is glory owed by all, as Creator and Maker, and as the One who brought us from non-being into being, and who preserves and holds us together.

Chapter XI. Concerning the book sealed with seven seals, which was in the hand of God, which no created nature was able to open.

V. 1-5. And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book and to loosen its seals? And no one was able in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look at it. And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, nor to look at it. And one of the elders says to me: Do not weep.

What is on the right hand of God signifies things pertaining to the soul, which are hinted as being stored in the right hand of Wisdom, things which through life He revealed, saying: "In her right hand is life." And the things on the left signify things pertaining to the body and this mortal life, which He hinted at through glory and wealth, saying: "In her left hand are riches and glory." Now, the throne, as has been said, signifies the authority and the eminence of Him who sits upon it. But what is the book? It is the all-wise and unimpeachable memory of God. This both the prophet David and Moses indicated: the former by saying: "In Your book all shall be written"; the latter by saying: "And blot me out of the book which You have written." And as for being written within and without, these are the goods which also the proverb writer Solomon ^D...

^A indicates when he says that they are placed at the right hand of wisdom, for through life, which is the meaning of the right hand, is indicated the body and this mortal life—for it is said: "At her left are riches and glory." But the throne, in that it implies power and preeminence, signifies that He sits above it. And what else is the book but the omniscient and incomprehensible memory of God? Which the prophet David and Moses prefigure: the former by saying, "In [Your] book all shall be written," and the latter by saying, "And blot me out of the book which You have written."

^B

CHAPTER XI.

"And I saw on the right of Him who sat on the throne a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book and to loosen its seals? And no one was able, neither in heaven nor on earth nor under the earth, to open the book nor to look upon it. And I wept much, that no one was found worthy to open the book nor to look upon it. And one of the elders says to me: Do not weep."

Those things which are on the right hand of God hint at spiritual goods, which the proverb writer Solomon ^D also indicates when he says that they are laid up at the right hand, for he identifies it as "the right hand of wisdom, which is life." And those at the left, the goods of the body and this mortal life, which he hints at by means of glory and riches, saying: "At her left are riches and glory." And for it to be sealed with seven seals signifies that it is secured by the sevenfold number—whether it means that within are those written from Jerusalem, as godly ones through the guidance of the Law, and without, those from the Gentiles; or that the seven seals, having their distinction in the number seven, signify the changes and successions of the days in this mortal world. What else could this provide for one to understand, than that no one except God alone is able to know precisely what awaits us in the passage of the life of each one of us? Or it signifies that the book is closed, and this is to show that no one has been deemed worthy of divine vision, except a very few. "For all have turned aside, together they have become useless"—with the uselessness contracted from the sin of Adam—"and they have lost the freedom which is toward God." And no one was able. Of men, no one was able, but through the Lamb indeed, as has already been said, and through David according to what is written: "In the morning You shall hear my voice." By morning he calls the advent of the Lord through the flesh, through which presence men were deemed worthy of divine vision, or rather deemed worthy to stand before Him who restores what has collapsed and binds up what has been shattered. On account of this His merciful approach to us was ordained, and on account of this the prayers of the prophets were heard, among which is also that: "Bow the heavens and come down."

^B And I wept, that no one was found worthy. For neither angel nor man accomplished these things, as Isaiah says: "Not a messenger, nor an angel, but He Himself saved them." Neither, therefore, did anyone of those who are without flesh, nor of those who live in the flesh, nor of those who have departed from the flesh, receive the precise knowledge of divine things. For this is what the book's being folded indicates, that to all created nature the judgments of God are inconceivable. To created nature, therefore, the book is folded, and it is impossible for anyone not only to open it, but even to look at it—that is, they were not even able to gaze steadfastly upon the divine judgments. But those who were so unworthy, after the advent of the Lamb came to them, found that what was previously obscure and inexplicable became easily traversable; and what was difficult, became easy and prompt. And one of the elders. One of the elders, that is, of the diviner powers. Even they are filled with joy at the relationship toward us, as the Lord also says: "There is joy in heaven over one sinner repenting." And if this is for one sinner, how great and of what kind would the joy be over many? Because of which also came the confidence of the Lamb, who opened the book so that He who had arrived for our salvation might be known. And that this is so, the Lord himself teaches us, saying: "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Chapter XII. Concerning the Lamb having seven horns, and how He opened the book.

^A Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed, who opens the book and its seven seals. And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. He conquered the one who had conquered us: the devil. But who is this who conquered? It is He who, as God, is the Lion, of whom also the patriarch Jacob, while reclining, prophesied: "As a lion of the tribe of Judah." But as the Root of David, he signifies the Creator on account of his divinity; and he is called "of the root of David" because it was said that a rod and flower would spring forth from the root of David on account of his humanity. ^B "Standing as though it had been slain." Christ is the Lamb, who was also prefigured by the lamb that was sacrificed according to the legal Passover. And through Isaiah, he speaks as though in the person of Christ: "I was like an innocent lamb led to the slaughter; I knew not," and that passage: "As a lamb before its shearer is silent," and whatever is consequent to this text, most clearly portraying for us the passion of the God-man. That it is not said that He was killed, but "as though it had been slain," signifies that He did not remain in death: for Christ rose again. For this is what is meant by "not allowing His holy one to see," not perdition, but corruption; as perdition signifies the separation of the soul from the body—which no pious person denies that Christ truly underwent—but corruption does not. For He was not subjected to the complete dissolution of human limbs; but at the time when He was due to undergo corruption, ^C the resurrection occurred and blunted the force of corruption. Therefore, the Lord's stay in death was also for three days, provided that he who wrote the natural history is to be accepted, stating that the bodies of those who die, if not consumed by fire, endure for three days with natural life still operative in them, and only after that are they handed over to perishing—or rather, to corruption. "Having seven horns." Horns signify power and glory, as when it speaks of power: "All the horns of the sinners I will break"; and concerning glory: "And the horn of the righteous shall be exalted." "Which are the seven spirits of God." The seven spirits are the seven operations of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, strength, piety, and the fear of the Lord; which operations have had their effect in the saints who are in all the earth. ^D

^A And he has taken the book from the right hand of him who sits upon the throne. That the Lamb has taken the book from the right hand of him who sits upon the throne is to be understood according to his humanity, just as is his being slain. For according to his divinity, there is nothing peculiar to the three persons among those things which are fitting to God, except for the mode of production of the Unbegotten, the Begotten, and the Proceeding. And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; and they sing a new song, saying: Worthy are you to take the book and to open its seals, because you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation; and have made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth. ^B Some have interpreted the four living creatures as the surpassing divine powers, whatever they may be, that manifest the almighty power of God regarding the world constituted of the four elements; others, as powers indeed, but those appointed over the very elements from which the whole subsists, maintaining it so that it may endure. They fell down before the Lamb. All who foreknew the salvation he was to perform for men, and the punishment that was necessary for the impure demons, worshipped the Lamb who received the book. Furthermore, that the elders possess harps signifies the harmonious and sonorous quality of their glorification toward God. The golden bowls are the minds of those who perform works pleasing to God (therefore they are distinguished by gold, a precious material among us), who, by the assiduity of their rising toward the divine, have found ^C rewards according to their progress. From these also go forth the incense evaporating the remedy for the just wrath of God against us, which fights against evil practices; therefore he said "incense," not "aromatics." For "remedy," as one has said, "will cause great sins to cease." And that the prayers of the saints intercede with God as a remedy for wrath is manifest, both from the Old Testament, through that which Samuel says: "If a man sins against God, he shall pray for him," and from the New, through which the holy disciples of the Lord received the power to loosen and bind sins. Furthermore, they were singing a new song, because new was the expiation of wrath, the Lamb Christ, who was slain for the cleansing and salvation of the whole world; for which reason it was also given to him to open the book and loose the seals, as he who by his blood has redeemed us from every nation and every tongue: for this is the new song, ^D because of which we who have been enlightened from all the earth, departing from the oldness of the written law and walking in the newness of life, have been taught to sing the gifts bestowed through the Holy Spirit.

^A "Out of every tribe and language." To say "out of every tribe and language," and not "every tribe and language," signifies a distinction: that not all, but rather certain ones, were deemed worthy to be purchased by their own labors through the slaughter of the Lamb and by His blood. "And Thou hast made us kings and priests unto our God." This already attains its fulfillment according to the letter, insofar as they who serve God persevere in the faith as both kings and priests. It is possible, however, to understand it more contemplatively: that those are kings who have bound upon their heads the royal crown of victory over the passions; and those are priests who have prepared themselves as a living sacrifice, acceptable unto God. According to this interpretation, he who reckons himself worthy to inherit the earth, which was promised by the Lord to the meek, cannot be counted among those who miss the mark. "And we shall reign upon the earth." The phrase, "and we shall reign upon the earth," according to the more literal and obvious view for the many, hints at the life lived according to the Law, which is more introductory and a schooling for the most perfect manner of life in Christ, inasmuch as the Law brought nothing to perfection; but according to the truly existing, it designates the blessed life in the world to come, which is eternal and indissoluble. Therefore, it is enclosed within the end.

^B "And I saw and I heard as it were the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders. And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard them all saying: Unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. And the four living creatures said: Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped." ^C The voice is to be understood spiritually, and not as one sounding sensibly and resonantly through the air. For this reason, the decree of the proclamation of the Lamb is recorded as belonging to a future time, rather than as already accomplished; in that everyone who cleaves to God, and is urged on by a sober madness until the consummation through the memory of the Lamb's philanthropic sufferings for our sakes, is accustomed to hasten toward the recompense of the Master, even though he be a servant. For it would be superfluous to speak of an equality of honor. ^D For what great thing is it for a servant to endure what the Master endured? But that power, riches, wisdom, and things of such a nature are separated by a decree, as if they were assigned by the preeminence of the receiver, while the reality is not so, is taken up by human supposition. For the Divine is in need of none of these, as It is higher than all honor, and as all things that have received their being from It are secondary to the

to their proper honor have brought them, and they are receiving them. And every creature, and so forth. From all these things—from the intellectual, I mean, as well as from the sensible, and from both the living and those that simply have existence by natural reason—God is glorified as the origin and author of all, together with His only-begotten and consubstantial Son, and the most holy and life-giving Spirit. And the four living creatures. By this is also demonstrated one fold of angels and men, perfected through Christ, acting under one shepherd, Christ; and one Church through Christ, who broke down the middle wall of the partition which the disobedience of the first parent, Adam, had built up. ^A And "Amen" is taken from the Hebrew language and is uttered for firm consent, having the power of "truly," "verily," "certainly," and "immutably." And the elders fell down. And the prostration of the elders, together with the four living creatures (concerning which living creatures it has been said what they are figures of), as well as those characterizing the fullness of men who are being saved, showed by their worship that, because the Lamb was slain, power is given to Him over things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, just as we can hear Him saying after He rose from the dead: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."

CHAPTER XIII

^A There are some who have understood the solution of each seal to be the salvific incarnation of the Lord for our sake; referring the first to the Nativity, which released us from the bonds of carnal generation, as also seems to be the mind of Paul when he writes: "Else your children would be unclean, but now they are holy." Unclean, as having acquired their existence from corruption according to the flesh; but holy, as being conformed to the incorrupt, immaculate birth of Him who came to us from the Virgin. The second, they refer to the regeneration of divine baptism, which cleansed us from the shame of generation according to the flesh. These things concern the first and the second, both the birth from the Virgin and that which is through holy baptism, which itself, being luminous, is joined as a match to that from the Virgin. The solution of the third seal [they refer] to the operation of the divine miracles of the Lord which followed after these things. The fourth, to the appearance before Pilate. The fifth, to the nailing to the cross. The sixth, to the deposition in the tomb. The seventh, to the despoiling of Hades.

"And behold a white horse." The white horse is a symbol of the apostolic preaching, inasmuch as through it and the generation of them, the greatest benefit was to come to humanity. Now he who is mounted upon the horse is he to whom that most holy Habakkuk sings divinely: "You have caused your horses to enter the sea," and the bow, which that same Habakkuk also prophesies, saying: "You shall indeed bend your bow." And the most blessed apostles themselves have received the crown, because through the truth they have conquered the leader of error in the hope of a second victory—that of the confession of the Lord’s name unto death. "And he went forth conquering, and that he might conquer." It was Christ who was conquering that he might conquer, who, having won the first victory—the turning of the nations from idols, from which he is also named "conquering"—was prepared for a second victory: that over the mortal body, which brings [support] through tortures to those who firmly hold fast to the confession of His name, and who are crowned with the crown, the symbol of their victory.

CAPUT XIV.

this is the second succession of the apostles, which we have known to be completed through martyrs and teachers. In this, when the preaching had now spread, the peace of the world was dissolved, with human nature divided against itself, according to that which was said by the Lord: "I did not come to cast peace upon the earth, but a sword, and to stir up father against son, and daughter against mother, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law, to murderous strife." From which also the martyrial offerings were brought up to the heavenly altar. ^A Now the red horse is a symbol either of the shedding of the martyrs' blood or of the fire-breathing affection of the martyrs toward Christ, because of which death seemed sweeter to them than life. Moreover, that it is written that it was given to him who sat upon the horse to take peace from the earth shows the all-wise permission of God, which tests faithful servants through temptations. "And there was given to him a great sword." To him who sat upon the red horse a sword was given, so that they might kill one another—that is, so as to cleave and cut off the concord toward evil of those who were on the earth; for while there was a concord among them, once the worship of God was engaged, they began to destroy their mutual covenants toward evil. For the insurrection of father against son and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law hints at this.

CHAPTER XV. Solving the third seal, signifying the excision of those who have not firmly believed in Christ.

in saying: "Thou hast executed my judgment and my cause." ^A *A choenix of wheat for a denarius.* The fact that wheat is sold at a high price is a sign of a future famine, which also came to pass, as will be spoken of in the following section. Morally, however, one may understand the wheat to be those who have lawfully competed for Christ, who have also been judged worthy of a denarius, as having become precise guardians of the divine image given to them. The three choinikes of barley represent those who, like animals, yielded to the judges due to a lack of courage of soul, but who proportionally repented afterward, and washed away the soiled image with tears. Now these three choinikes were valued at one denarius, as if representing the one Christ through his three-day burial for the sake of the whole world which, through sin, had soiled the divine image given to it. For He himself, by tarrying in Hades, made the first [day] for those who had sinned before the law of Moses, and the second for those under the law. For even though some exhibited repentance for the absurd things they had done, setting this against them as an equivalent, yet although they had hoped for a clear forgiveness, they had not yet attained it, because He who was able to grant it had not yet appeared. For this reason, then, there was the second stay in Hades. And there was the third, in which He also rose, since it was impossible that Life-itself should be held by corruption. And the wheat would be the evangelical and saving word, fitting for perfect men who have their senses trained for the discernment of good and evil. But the barley was the legislation of Moses; for just as barley matures before wheat, so also it did before the evangelical preaching, nourishing people who are more animal-like, namely, the Israelites who were disposed in such a gross manner toward divine things. He, therefore, who gives answers in the midst of the four living creatures, says that the choenix of wheat is sold for a denarius, but three of barley also for a denarius, as if the evangelical preaching were more scarce due to the precision of the book. ^B

CHAPTER XVI.

6. 7, 8. *And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying: Come and see. And I saw a pale horse, and he that sat upon him, his name was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.* The fourth living creature, namely the eagle, as being sharp-sighted and keen for food, comes from above, bringing down plagues from God's wrath for the vengeance of the pious.

^A *And behold, a pale horse.* The pale (or green, for this is the herb which doctors call green) horse is a symbol of wrath. And death and Hades stood ready to wage war spiritually against the wicked demons, and to exact punishment for the destruction of men. Yet, by this word, the perfect removal of the demons is not introduced, but only ^B of the fourth part, because, according to the present vision, Christ's suffering has not yet been accomplished from all three parts. Furthermore, he calls the slaughter metaphorically a devastation, and the famine the falling away of those who once worshipped them, and he calls their destruction by beasts the annihilation of their tyranny; calling the "beasts of the earth" the annoyances and assaults of the demons against us that lead to destructive passions.

Otherwise, from the work of Andrew: Eusebius Pamphili, in the eighth chapter of the ninth book of his *Ecclesiastical History*, writes as follows: "In the heat of the persecutions under Maximian, who was ruling over the Romans, when famine and pestilence were raging against them along with other calamities, countless multitudes were dying, so that they could not be committed to the grave; although the Christians at that time were striving zealously with regard to burials, and were leading those who had been deceived, by their kindness, toward the recognition of the truth. And he says that not a few were slaughtered by the sword by the Armenians who had risen up against the Romans. ^C And he says that the bodies of the dead were consumed by dogs, so that eventually those who were left turned to the slaughter of the dogs, fearing that they themselves, upon dying, might provide living tombs for them. Nor is it absurd that wild beasts should also share in the same feast, on account of the abundance of food." And in our own generation, we have known each of these things to have occurred, from what is now appearing.

CHAPTER XVII.

VI, 9-11. *And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those slaughtered for the word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had. And they cried with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Master, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood from those who dwell on the earth? And there was given to them a white robe, and it was said to them that they should rest yet for a time, until also their fellow servants and their brethren, who are to be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.*

The opening of the fifth seal: those who attribute the solution of the aforementioned four to the sufferings of Christ and to the things that were accomplished in the economy of our saving incarnation, as we have already set forth, ^D also reasonably ascribe this grievance and cry to the prophets who died beforehand and to men filled with godly wisdom, who desired the advent of Christ and his...

^A patient endurance—that which was extended even unto the cross—they who resent the divine long-suffering, invoking vengeance upon wicked and impious men, or rather upon the demons who, by the permission of God, drove them to such outrages against their own kinsmen and fellow-tribesmen, who in turn endured such things for the sake of piety. For until the saving passion through the cross, the vengeance taken by God against the impious was not so manifest; but from that time forth they suffered myriad afflictions, if Josephus is to be regarded as a trustworthy witness, who recorded not only that the Jews but also the Greeks were consumed by pestilence, famine, and seditions against one another, as we set forth a little while ago.

*I saw under the altar.* The altar, by right, may be called that which is not in need of the cleansing of blood, and the victims beneath it were separate, as being earthly and possessing a mortal substance, for that [altar] receives from the place itself the God-pleasing fragrance evaporating from the victims—not a sensible one, since it is not subject to sense, even if the transmission sent up from the victims is sensible, but one which is, by way of correspondence, perceived by the intellect alone by these souls, and by all who receive the acceptable reward at the conclusion of their good struggles. Hence, the account of the solution of the seal is more appropriately applied to those who bore witness to their worthiness during or after the time of Christ, than to those who fought for the piety of the Old Testament before the advent of Christ.

*How long, O Lord, dost thou not judge?* The vengeance is not requested against men (for it is not worthy of charity to rise up against those of one's own kin), but the saints demand this against the demons who incite men to their own destruction. Then they receive first a white robe, and by means of this robe, also the knowledge of the postponement—not absurdly, albeit not with a very profound consideration.

— *And in another way from the works of Andrew.* By these things, the saints appear to be petitioning for the consummation of the world. Therefore, they are commanded to be long-suffering until the completion of their brethren, that they may not be made perfect without them, according to the divine Apostle. ^B Now the white robes indicate the bloom of the virtues in them with which they are clothed, even if they have not yet received the promises; yet by the hope of these things, which they contemplate intellectually as in a mirror, being stripped of all grossness, they deservedly rejoice, resting in the bosom of Abraham. For this has been said by many of the saints, that each of the cultivators of virtue has been allotted a place worthy of his labor, from which they also derive a conjecture about their future glory.

*And there was given unto them a white robe.* The white robe is a sign that they have been purified by their own blood and have laid aside every stain. At the same time, the whiteness of the robe also intimates this: that it is not fitting for those who have openly and with splendor given bold testimony to Christ, for which they also manfully suffered, to be [marred by corruption... C ^D

corruptible life ^A of the world, when they have now moored themselves to an incorruptible and effortless life, having as it were taken such satiety of this world that they might receive a release from that satiety. From this, the gaze of the angels toward eternal goods has been received by one of those inspired by God; for why would he, through this gaze, seek anything other than to obtain a small knowledge of them, while remaining steadfast in incessant yearning?

CAPUT XVIII. The opening of the sixth seal, signifying the plagues brought upon the consummation.

^A*And I saw when He opened the sixth seal. And there was a great earthquake. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair; and the whole moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs, when she is shaken of a great wind.* The release of the sixth seal has wrought for us a most perfect salvation. For by this, Christ destroyed death, brought back life, and crowned the victor over humans by triumphing ^B over him, according to what is written: *Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive.* What, then, is the release of the sixth seal? The cross of the Lord and His death, which was followed by a resurrection desirable to all believers and those following their senses, which benefited not only the living, but also those who had fallen asleep before. *And there was a great earthquake.* The vision clearly depicts for us the signs that transpired at the cross: the earth-shaking and quaking, the darkness of the sun, and the transformation of the whole moon into blood. It is with great precision that the word "whole" is declared regarding the moon. For being full of light, as it is on the fourteenth day, and standing diametrically opposite the sun, how is it possible that it could obscure the sun by its own transit? For those who occupy themselves with the study of these things say that solar eclipses happen in such a way. And again, how was it possible for the moon, positioned in the middle of the day, to appear as such? From this, Dionysius the Areopagite refers what happened to the sun at the time of the Passion to a divine miracle, not to an affection customary to bodies in the heavens. Some, however, interpreting all these things in a moral sense, have referred them to the siege of the city which took place under Vespasian. But most of the interpreters have called the "earthquake" in this passage a transition from the persecutions that occurred for Christ's sake to the time of the Antichrist, as it is the custom of Scripture to call a change in things an "earthquake," just as it is said: *Yet once more I will shake.* For it signifies the removal of those things that are shaken, as the divine Paul says. And in the Old Testament, the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is called an earthquake, just as David also says: *The earth was shaken; for the heavens also dropped.* For they say that such tribulations happened as we have never known before to have occurred, wisely

^A foretelling these things so that men might be prepared beforehand, not yielding to the punishments brought on by the Antichrist. The blackness of the sun, and the moon’s lack of light and its blood-like appearance, indicate the absence of light for those left behind under the divine wrath. For thus the blessed Cyril has often explained it. The falling of the stars—that is, those who seem to be luminaries in the world—means that they collapse as if being undone by the events that occur. For this reason, they were likened to the imperfect fruits of the fig tree, namely, the green figs. *And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the chief captains, and the rich men, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?*

The rolling up of the heaven as a scroll either simply indicates the second coming of Christ—for a book is opened noiselessly and in an instant—or it signifies that the heavenly powers also grieve for those who fall away from the faith, as if they would experience a certain convolution and sadness. Through this, another thing is also suggested for us to understand by the rolling of the book: that the heavenly body will not undergo complete annihilation, as Irenaeus of Lyons also says in the fifth book of the *Refutation of Knowledge Falsely So-Called*: “For the substance and the essence of the creature will not be destroyed; for He who established it is true and firm; but the form of this world, in which the transgression also occurred, is passing away.” Therefore, David also says, *Thou wilt renew the face of the earth*, but not change it. We consider that the Apostle uses the ancient custom. For the Hebrew used that which is rolled up instead of the books that we have, whose unrolling does not effect an obscuration, but a manifestation of what is written.

*And every mountain and island.* He calls the systems of the proud demons mountains and islands, according to what is written concerning them, and *that mountains are set in the heart of the seas*, as if they were revolving these faint-hearted ones in the salty distractions of the present life toward an intense effort for their own soul’s destruction. He also calls these same ones islands, as they are troublesome to us in the aforementioned inundations of worldly calamities. For these are clever architects at obstructing our glory that is according to God.

^A *And the kings of the earth, and the great men.* By kings of the earth and great men and all such imposture, you should understand them and their leader Satan, who govern earthly things through deceit and fraud. By slaves and free men, understand those who are superior or subordinate among the demons. Therefore, the eager request for the mountains to fall upon them is spoken figuratively, by way of wishing to be hidden. It implies their desire to become fugitives from the punishment that will be brought upon them by Christ. You will also find these interpreted differently below. *Fall upon us.* To whom are the mountains addressed? To those who did not build upon the faith the precious things of works and dogmas, but rather wood and hay, which cannot endure even the scent of a fire that happens to come, let alone the threats of a fire. For "God is a consuming fire," as he said, and most of all when it is kindled from contempt for His commandments, and from the fallacious reasoning against the incomparable compassion of His Son. *For the great day of his wrath has come.* At the final consummation, an exceedingly great tribulation—not in part, but throughout the whole world—will occur without delay through the advent of the Antichrist, in which all those who are in positions of eminence, whether they are endowed with worldly power, whom he signified by "kings," or whether they are of ecclesiastical order, ^B whom he called "mountains" and "islands" figuratively—to all these, I say, that fearful tribulation will be brought. And we do not take "mountains" and "islands" simply as those who preside over the churches, but as that which is found written in Isaiah: the islands that are being renewed, which will indeed flee, changing place from place on account of the Antichrist. For who are the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the commanders, and every slave and free man, if not those who exert authority over earthly things and have no concern for the heavenly commonwealth? Slaves are those who have been enslaved to the vanity of the present world, just as the free are those who have broken away from the service of Christ and have chosen to live dissolutely.

VII, 1-3. *And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, saying: Do not harm the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.* From this point forward, it is clearly shown to the evangelist that the things which remained for the Jews in the war against the Romans were a retribution for the sufferings of the Lord. ^{C D}

For those four angels kept watch ^A over the four corners of the land of the Jews, casting into them the fear of flight, or certain difficulties and troubles, or an untimely misfortune for their country and for their most beloved wives: all of which are figuratively designated as hanging over Judea. Furthermore, the winds are forbidden to blow, neither over the land nor over the sea. Over the land, indeed, so that they might not find the slightest refreshment during the war against the Romans; neither should the farmers arise with attention to their plants, since even the trees, rejoicing in the agitation of the winds, are refreshed; nor should those fighting on foot, nor those fighting at sea—for they were also attacked in sea battles, according to Josephus; for every evil overtook them.

But although these things were done most justly, they will, however, be fulfilled more clearly ^B about the time of the coming of the Antichrist, not in a part of the land of the Jews, but in the entire world, which the ministering spirits, as those fulfilling their own services according to the four corners of the earth—namely, the east, the north, the west, and the south—have been allotted. The restraining of the winds manifestly signifies the dissolution of established order, and the inevitability of evils. For by the winds the sea is navigated for the service of men (and plants are refreshed by the blowing of the winds).

^C *Another angel ascending from the rising of the sun.* That the divine angel comes from the rising of the sun and not from the setting or the evening seems to indicate and signify a good deed and a benefit, which the progenitor of the Lord, beholding in the Spirit, said: *The light of thy countenance, O Lord, has been signed upon us.* Rightly, too, he commands that no one be harmed in the meantime until those of the Jews who deserve to be saved are sealed, lest the righteous suffer the same things as those who in iniquity stretched forth their hands against Christ. But if these things are so, yet certainly, as it has been said, at the time of the coming of the Antichrist, the sign of the life-giving Cross will show forth more clearly those who have borne upon themselves the inscription of holy baptism; for these are the inheritance of Christ.

*Do not harm.* The creation, inasmuch as it was made for our sake, when we are being chastised, is a partaker with us in our scourges; just as it also rejoices together with the saints when they are glorified. From this, moreover, we learn that those who live according to virtue are in need of angelic assistance for the onsets of temptations.

CAPUTER XIX. Concerning those who are saved from the plague of the four angels, namely, the one hundred and forty-four thousand.

VII, 4-8. *And I heard the number of the sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe*

of the children of Israel. From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed; from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand sealed; from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand sealed; from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand sealed; from the tribe of Nap

Manasseh, twelve thousand sealed; from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand sealed; from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand sealed; from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand sealed; from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand sealed; from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand sealed.

Many indeed were they, and in exceeding great number, who believed in Christ from among the Jews. And witnesses of this event, having come to Paul in Jerusalem, were saying, “You see, brother, how many myriads there are of the Jews who have believed.” ^B These are those whom the evangelist says are not yet to be overtaken by the total destruction at the hands of the Romans; for the ruin of the Jews by the Romans had not yet encompassed them, when the evangelist too uttered these things. And not in Jerusalem, but in Ionia, which is near Ephesus. For after the passion of the Lord, for fourteen years only he remained in Jerusalem, to the extent that the tabernacle of the Mother of the Lord, who in this life after the passion and resurrection of the incorruptible body was preserved by the Lord handed over to him, ^C had not yet, after this departure, taken up residence in Judea, but had changed her dwelling place to Ephesus together with the Word. According to which, as has been said, also the things of the present Apocalypse were brought to pass, of the things which were to be, at the time when, forty years after the ascension of the Lord, the affliction against the Hebrews was gathered together. And that those who were saved were clearly superior to the number, is evident. Not only did the faithful avoid the destruction by the Romans, but also those who, through ignorance, had cooperated in the passion of the Lord, had already ^D passed away. And this exact equality of the number seems to show the multiplication of the apostolic seed, twelve times twelve multiplied by the perfect number of a thousand, thus making up the aforesaid thousands. It must be noted that the tribe of Dan, although it is a tribe, is not set down with the others, because it was said from the beginning that the Antichrist is clearly to be born from its tribe.

^A who are refined by the probity of faith. And that of Asher, through which blessedness is signified, designates those who, by the observance of the divinely taught beatitudes, shall attain the blessedness that does not end. And that of Naphtali, which is interpreted as 'sagacious' or 'hanging from a stock,' designates those who lean upon him—who is the cross of Christ—and who are crowned with wisdom, and in it butt the demons. And that of Manasseh, which is interpreted as 'from forgetfulness,' designates those who forget their families for Christ’s sake, according to the text: “Forget your people and your father's house.” And that of Simeon, which signifies 'hearing,' designates those who are obedient to the divine commandments through good and pure deeds. And that of Levi, which signifies 'one taken,' designates those who have been taken by God for the election, according to the psalmic word, and who are about to dwell in the divine courts. And that of Issachar, which is 'reward,' designates those who define their virtues as a reward for the final recompense of the future prizes. And that of Zebulun, which is interpreted as 'nature taken,' designates those who distribute their wealth to the poor and are taken up by Christ. And that of Joseph, which is 'addition of goods,' designates those who have been added to the kingdom of the heavens in the manner of an addition, and receive the necessities of life from the truthful Master. And that of Benjamin, which is interpreted as 'son of sorrow' or 'son of the day,' designates those who, because of the multitude of sorrows in the heart, as David sings, receive the divine consolations. But the name of Dan, although he too is a leader of a tribe, he did not set with the others, because of what was said from the beginning, that the Antichrist is clearly to be born from his tribe.

CAPUT XX. Concerning the innumerable throng of those from the nations who shall reign with Christ.

^B After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could number, from every nation and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And all the angels were standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell before his throne on their faces and worshipped God, saying: Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen.

Consider with what words he shows how this innumerable and omnigenous multitude, manifesting the slaughter of the Lamb, was itself also sacrificed to Him. *And they cried with a loud voice.* They cried out, he says, so that we might be strengthened by the Lamb to overcome the prince of this darkness and the idolatrous men who are possessed by him. *And all the angels stood round about the throne and the elders and the four living creatures.* Behold, one church of angels and men. For what else does the standing of angels together with men indicate than the excellence of human nature in honor? *And they worshipped God, saying: Amen.* The ministering spirits among men, together with the elders, answered: Amen. The religious veneration of the Divine Majesty proceeded among them to the number of seven, not only because this number is related, as we have already set forth, to the present age, but also because, just as this number is not generated from any other number contained within the decade, so neither does God, to whom these things are acclaimed, acquire these divine excellences from elsewhere.

VII, 13-17. *And one of the elders answered and said to me: These who are clothed in white robes, who are they and whence have they come? And I said to him: My Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me: These are they who come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb: therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and he who sits upon the throne shall dwell over them. They shall not hunger nor thirst anymore, nor shall the sun fall upon them, nor any heat: for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.* He speaks of the martyrs of God who have taken up the cross of Christ and imitated His death. For this is what it means to have washed their robes, nowhere else but in the blood of the Lamb. *And they serve him day and night.* He wishes to signify either the incessancy or the certainty of thanksgiving in those who are governed by God, whether this happens openly or whether they are directed according to the inscrutable depth of His wisdom: for there is no night there, but one day, while all are illuminated by the Sun of justice. Perhaps, however, by night are understood the hidden and deep mysteries of wisdom, and by day the manifest and easily comprehensible ones. Furthermore, the temple of God is every creature which is being renewed by Him through the Spirit, but especially those who have kept the earnest of the Spirit, in whom He has promised that He will dwell and walk. *They shall not hunger.* Holy men have indeed always passed from one affliction to another, but this was more so for those from among the Gentiles during the coming of the Antichrist. After that time, however, they will be sated without intermission with unutterable goods, having as their bread the

heavenly one, who for their salvation came to earth, while the water signifies the abundant outpouring of the Spirit, of whom it was said by the Lord: "He who believes in me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." For Scripture is accustomed to calling hunger the lack of divine goods. He likened the sun to temptations; and let the seeds sown upon the rock persuade you of this, which sprang up immediately but were promptly scorched by the sun. "For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and lead them to fountains of living waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." The phrase "in the midst of the throne" is used instead of "from the midst of the throne," as if from the paternal glory, that is, the sovereignty, through the access of divine illuminations, or rather, the incommutable divinity having yielded to the economy of the flesh. Hence, it is unhesitatingly divine for our Son and Lord Jesus Christ. For it belongs to Him to shepherd and lead the flocks created by Him through the economy, for whom tears will no longer be a nuisance.

CAPUT XXI. The loosening of the seventh seal, showing that the angelic powers bring the prayers of the saints to God as incense.

And when He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. The loosening of the seventh seal signifies the loosening of the world's tumult, with seven angels ministering to the punishments owed to the impious. The silence signifies the angelic orderliness and reverence regarding both the second coming of the Lord and the ignorance of the first. The "half an hour" indicates the brevity of the time in which, after all things are brought in and those things upon earth are being concluded, the kingdom of God will appear. And there were given to them seven trumpets. Seven trumpets, as though a king were approaching; and these same ones, according to the divinely wise Paul writing to the Thessalonians, are going to awaken the dead, of whom Christ is said to be the firstborn from the dead. It must be known that although what is seen is shaped into matter and colors—whether it be an altar, or a censer, or something else—they are nevertheless invisible and intelligible things. Standing, therefore, at such an altar, the angel, holding the incense, that is, the censer which contains the incense, was manifesting the prayers of the saints as if they were aromatics. He says it is golden because this material is most precious and desirable to men, by which he signifies that the prayers of the saints are deemed worthy of such reception before God. Now, the prayers are brought to God by the angels who...

^A preside over us, as precious firstfruits or crops; which, though naturally fragrant, become more fragrant through the cooperation of the angel who handles them. They were asking that through the universal consummation of the world, with the punitive scourges against the impious and transgressors worthily prepared, an abatement might be brought about by the shortening of the inflicted affliction, and that it might not spread to more men; and for themselves, they were asking for the reward through the advent of Him who is accustomed to distribute prizes to those contending for virtue in the present life according to the dignity of their victory; for the wrestlers are none other than those who have glorified the Agonothetes with their own bodies.

VIII, 3–6. And another angel came, and stood upon the altar, having a golden censer: and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended from the hand of the angel before God. And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were thunders and lightnings. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. ^B

This altar is Christ, in whom all the holy and ministering assembly is constituted, and to whom the victims of the martyrs are brought, the type of which was the altar shown to Moses in the tabernacle on the mountain. Furthermore, the incenses or thymiama are the prayers of the saints, by which it is their vow—if there were anything else that could be offered to God—to reckon it in the portion of incense for Him, the flagitious and foul-smelling life having been evaporated by the fire of love toward Him. For such was the fervor and ardor of their love toward Christ, that they held all the pleasures of the present life to be dross, solely so that it might be granted to them to live together with Christ God. But smoke ascended from the supplication of the incenses, because smoke designates wrath, as in that place where it is said: "Smoke ascended in His wrath." ^C This, therefore, is represented as having occurred for no other reason than to manifest the grace and reveal the ardor of the saints' love toward Christ after the manner of fire, or because their wrath ascends like smoke; as if they, though having been allotted the same nature as the angels, were not striving to exhibit the same placability of mind as them.

*From the hand of the angel.* Do you see that it is from the angel that the prayers of the saints become of a sweeter fragrance, and worthy to be brought before God? *And the angel took the censer.* That the term *censer* is meant to signify the censer, and the altar to signify Christ, and the smoke to signify wrath, and the fire which is taken from the altar to signify that intensity ^D which is in the saints toward God, has been proposed for inquiry a little earlier.

^A Furthermore, that it was cast upon the earth by the angel who was the minister of punishment, this divine fire appears similar to the fire of Ezekiel taken from the hand of the Cherubim, which indeed was taken from the altar, but given to the angels sent for the vengeance of the impious inhabitants of Jerusalem. To this angel, Andrew, who deservedly obtained the oversight of Caesarea in Cappadocia before me, likens every prelate or prefect.

CAPUT XXII. Concerning the seven angels, at the sounding of the first of whom, hail and fire and blood are brought upon the earth.

VIII, 7. *And the first sounded his trumpet: and there came hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of the earth was burned up, and the third part of the trees was burned up, and all green grass was burned up.*

Various are the punishments from the pouring out of the fire taken from the altar; since various and many also are the mansions of those who love God, laid up for them in retribution: therefore the Lord also says: "In my Father's house are many mansions." And there came hail and fire mingled with blood. It is manifest that by these punishments of hail and fire mingled with blood, the present revelation does not designate the vengeance which is laid up for sinners at the last day, but that which will take place through afflictions before the ultimate day, as has been said before: for it is not the third part of sinners, but all together who will be cast off without any remedy. For what does the divine evangelist say concerning these? "And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." And the third part of the trees was burned up. Those who have referred these to the last day, understood sinners as the grass and trees, according to the divine apostle Paul, who prophesies that the day shall be revealed in fire. But those who maintained otherwise, and referred them to the affliction which shall precede the extreme day, showed these to be the conflagrations and slaughters which will be brought upon many by the hands of the Barbarians.

CAPUT XXIII. Concerning the second angel, at whose sounding of the trumpet, the destruction of those things which lived in the sea comes about.

VIII, 8, 9. *And the second angel sounded his trumpet: and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood: and the third part of the creatures which lived in the sea died: and the third part of the ships perished.*

A great mountain designates divine wrath. For although the divine Power is benign and humane, it is nevertheless also just, which is shown when, having been neglected, it brings its just wrath by desert. Furthermore, its injection into the sea designates the fluctuating and unstable composition of the present life, which, because of its sea-like commotions...

the ferocity of the waves of the present life is expressed. Furthermore, the fact that the third part of the sea becomes blood signifies that the earthly creation is reddened by the completion of martyrdom. Since, as the science of arithmetic maintains, the number three is the beginning of a multitude, by the "third part" he signified that a great number—though not all—of those who perish are meant, just as we set forth a little while ago.

*And the third part of the ships perished.* He calls the souls of the saints "ships" in a figurative sense; these are the very things that mock the dragons in the sea, as is understood allegorically in the hundred and third Psalm. In this place, however, it is necessary to accept these signs as representing the reality of things, and not as if they were the literal effect to be brought about in the present revelation. Since, therefore, it was likely that some who had been gathered into salvation would be led astray, through fear that they might lose it entirely, he guarded against total calamity by the proclamation of the third angel.

CAPUT XXIV. The third angel turns the waters of the rivers bitter.

VIII, 10, 11. *And the third angel sounded the trumpet: and a great star fell from heaven, burning as it were a lamp; and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters. And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.*

By the sounding of the third angel, he says that a great star fell, burning like a lamp; we judge this to be the devil himself. He calls the nations, figuratively, "rivers," and their clans, "fountains." The fall of this star signifies the ruin brought upon those who are to be led astray by him, with whom he shall be delivered into the fire of Gehenna for eternal and unending burning.

*And the name of the star is called Wormwood.* Wormwood is a bitter herb; however, physicians teach that it sharpens the vision for those who consume it. Therefore, he fittingly called the star which brings total ruin "Wormwood," for through pleasure he gives men bitterness and deceitful subversion to drink. For this reason, he is permitted to bring severe scourges upon them here, so that those who are able to discern it might, through patience and endurance, offer thanksgiving to Him who wisely allows them to be tested by afflictions. Therefore, those who are able to see so keenly through the ignominy of afflictions, gained glory and good fame precisely through the contempt and infamy from which they seemed to suffer loss, and in addition to this, the eternal kingdom, for which they were permitted to be tested by the Umpire of the contest.

*And the third part of the waters became wormwood.* It partakes of the disposition of the tempter, for the things that occur and are tested are also affected. It changes, however, not in that they are bitter, but in that it strengthens their vision unto salvation through that bitterness. Then he adds that

many died from the waters. Who, then, are these? They are those who, in a human manner, ^A occupy themselves with afflictions in the bitterness of the wormwood.

CHAPTER XXV

The fourth angel darkens the third part of the solar and lunar light.

Observe that by saying "the third part of the stellar arrangement," he did not say that the stars themselves were darkened, but rather that which is illuminated by them, which is the terrestrial creation. Hence, he also adds: "And its third part does not light." That is to say, so that the terrestrial ^B realm might not be illuminated by the heavenly order, from which the diurnary and nocturnal state is perfected.

"And I saw and heard one eagle flying." What is meant here by the flight of the eagle? I think it refers to the angels who were commissioned to administer punishments, being ignored, as it were, by those who, because of their disobedience and lack of self-correction, are subjected to punishments ^C moderately and out of mercy for the sake of conversion, but who take no care for their own betterment. To these, therefore, who have not repented, the eagle flies and cries out, in order to manifest the divine wrath, so that through the fear of it they might perhaps become mindful of their own salvation. He speaks "through the midst of heaven," because they are not even able to proceed beyond this nor can they exist apart from this throne and its bearer. The eagle was from those animals that were quadriform; there was no other among those made manifest around the throne, because none of the others is said to fly. Whence it was easy for this one to occupy the middle of heaven; and likewise, because it possesses an acute vision (which is natural to eagles), it is not ignorant of the future and can set before those who obey the things because of which it cries out. The "Woe" is tripled, not only for the knowledge of the abundance of ^D sorrows, but also to describe the indignation of the most holy Trinity, and because of the sympathy/joint-suffering of the heavenly beings toward us, on account of which the "Woe" is tripled for them most of all, to signify the great lamentation which they undertake for our sake, as being their fellow servants; and thus it happens that they are affected with an overflowing sadness.

"From the remaining voices." Whence did the eagle declare the "Woe" to be? From the voice, he says, of the trumpet; not that this voice itself is the creator of the evils that are to come, but since they did not turn their mind toward repentance at the trumpeting of the preceding angels, what else remains but that they should be roused again by the trumpet as if from sleep, so that they might at least perform what is salutary for them?

CHAPTER XXVIII. Concerning the fifth angel, and the conceptual locusts ascending from the abyss of the earth, and the varied appearance of their form.

^A And the fifth angel sounded; and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and there was given to him the key of the pit of the abyss, and he opened the pit of the abyss; and a smoke ascended from the pit like the smoke of a burning furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit; and out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and there was given to them power as the scorpions of the earth have power.

The star that fell from heaven is the devil; the key of the pit, which was given to this same one, signifies the certainty that those who are possessed by him shall not escape, especially if they are sinners. The pit, moreover, is in the earth; for the inevitability of the punishment could not be better indicated than by a pit. The abyss is also said to be in the earth, for the punishment is on the earth, within the pit of the abyss. ^B By "abyss," they call the great depth of the first element, either by the privation of *bebyssthai* (that is, of being covered or hidden), which, by always gaping, does not cover what is placed or cast beneath it, or by intension (for *a-* signifies both privation and intension), which represents a profound depth. That the judgment is to be on the earth, one of the holy prophets intimated through the valley of Josaphat, in which he prophesied that God would sit for judgment; for it happened that many wars occurred there, and many armies were destroyed.

Smoke is said to be released from the pit because the memory and account of the impious who are detained there bring forth things that contain the greatest wrath, and as much grief as it is probable that smoke is produced from a furnace. ^C And just as that smoke, filling whatever surrounds it with fog and darkness, obscures the sunlight, so in the same way the memory of the impious, once renewed, has caused every light of compassion to be extinguished by the magnitude of the things they dared to perpetrate.

And out of the smoke came locusts. The mention of locusts seems to signify the most cruel behavior of sinners in this temporal life; therefore, he says they had their origin from the smoke, since the generation of literal locusts also takes its occasion from some corrupting circumjacent matter. But the name "locusts" was not chosen without reason, but to signify that the punishments are brought on *kat' akras*—that is, to the very extremity or with the utmost severity. ^D Furthermore, that power was given to them as if they were living animals is arranged by way of prosopopoeia, so that the punishments might be carried out without fear and without hindrance. But lest anyone, knowing what the bites of locusts are like—since they do not provide a great torment—should suppose the pain to be tolerable, he adds the example of scorpions, which provide a more painful sensation through the pricking of their sting. Therefore, it was also stated not to hurt the fruits, but the locusts, remaining even here in the prosopopoeia, so that they might not injure the men, but the things growing from the earth. Some of the Fathers interpreted the locusts as worms...

so that this assumption might be in harmony with the declaration of Isaiah: "Their worm shall not die."

^B And it was said to them that they should not harm the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, nor any tree, but the men who do not have the seal of God upon their foreheads. And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months. And their torment is as the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. And in those days men shall seek death, and shall not find it; and they shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

If anyone wishes to proceed according to the aforementioned allegorical interpretation, one must understand the "grass of the earth" and the "green things" and "every tree" as referring symbolically and mystically to men who are like chaff and, as it were, trees—those who have degenerated into irrationality, having progressed into a sort of arboreal stupidity. The God who loves mankind, deeming them worthy of mercy, commands that they do not undergo the same torment as those evildoers who have sinned with intent and deliberation, having rejected the sealing of God. ^C But if one should be busy with the very letter of the text and think that grass and trees are meant by this proclamation, having David as a fellow witness, who says, "Thou shalt renew the face of the earth," one could certainly accept this understanding, were it not that he had taken "renewal" as a life corresponding to the renewal of creation. If, therefore, it is necessary to include beasts in the renewal, it may be possible for both grass and trees to remain for eternity. But if neither, then the literal understanding regarding the renewed face of the earth must be set aside as an unconsidered interpretation, ^D and one that is in harmony with those who imagine that they will live happily in banquets and pleasures in the thousand-year reign of Christ after the passing of this life.

"But the men." From this it is clear that the prohibition against harming does not concern grass and trees, as the command might seem to imply, but those who are compared to grass because they do not pursue virtue.

"And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months." The command "not to kill" demonstrates to those who are able to know by experience the unbearable nature of torments that they usually pave the way to death. The precept, which tends toward the good, commands the ministers of punishment to abstain from this unbearable penalty. Furthermore, that this should occur for five months, since the months also are measures of the sensible world, from which the senses themselves received the activity of knowing this, it reasonably signifies sin in an equal number by way of exhibition, to bring to the memory of men those things through which they ought to [await] the judgment. For from these and concerning these...

is the retribution. He likened the pain to the stinging of a scorpion, since this too is, for the most part, deadly. *Men shall seek death.* The seeking of death is to be understood as nothing else but the intolerability of the pain, as though death were to banish every pain; for this reason, death is also called a "rest." Since, therefore, in the incorruptible life, death will be driven away so that it shall not be found, he adds that it "shall flee." The body is ^A personified by death, to give greater emphasis to the things which are indicated through the narrative.

IX, 7-11. *And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle: and on their heads as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they have tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings: and in their tails they have power to hurt men five months, having a king over them being the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.*

The locusts are likened to horses, and to no other animal, on account of the swiftness of their attack and the spirited nature of the horse—especially at the time of battle; which ^B this very revelation has indicated, speaking of their preparation as being like to horses that are ready for battle.

*And on their heads as it were crowns like gold.* A crown, as it were, of gold is wont to represent the victory which has been carried away over those unhappy ones who have been defeated; yet this is *as* gold, but it is not gold. For the punishment which is brought about for the destruction of the divine handiwork is not in reality a prize. And their being likened to the faces of men in their appearance—that is, the fact that by the similarity of their form they represent those who are deceived, whom these vengeances for this fraudulent contrivance have overtaken on account of their seduction. There are also the women's tresses of hair, as if covering the seducers. For such too are ^C carnal pleasures, which seem to delight at their first appearance, but drag down those who have been lured into their own ruin. Therefore also the proverb-maker Solomon says that the words of a harlot soothe the throat for a time, but afterward produce in the sense a taste more bitter than bile. From this, therefore, this present portrayal, after the women's hair, also adds the teeth of lions as avengers, and the breastplates as though of iron; as if the leonine teeth were meant to show savageness, and the iron breastplates the firmness for resisting the darts of those fighting against them, implying that it is not easy to prevail against that which has been ^D once commanded. And since one may perceive that they have flight, as they are likened to locusts, the flight signifies that they supervene quickly, and that they approach from above. By the sound of their wings, he designates their onset toward their martial engagement.

^A not performed in silence, because it does not happen in any one place, but throughout the whole world; wherefore they do not attack all human customs as if they were level regions, but only some, those which offer them no firmness at all, or if they do offer it, they offer it with a more violent impetus. Whence also, as from chariot wheels, by the change and counter-change of the spokes, a voice, that is to say a clatter, is constituted. And they have tails like scorpions and stings. By the tails and stings of scorpions the assaults of demons against men are represented, since demons, not immediately upon speaking, reveal their harmfulness, just as the scorpion does not with its crab-like claws, but from behind with its tail, harms through its sting. In the meantime, however, those destructive demons, whomsoever they catch through deception, do not immediately have the punishment for their deception inflicted upon them. But being reserved for the final fire with those whom they deceived, they shall receive their due rewards. ^B But what the fact that the power of inflicting punishment is extended only to the fifth month signifies, we have already said. For who can take away the fire of sinners that endures forever, or anything else that is sensible there? For as the eye is not capable of seeing the good things, nor the ear of hearing them, nor can they ascend into the heart of man, so neither are those things that punish [capable of being understood] until they are experienced. Having over them as king the angel of the abyss. This angel, although it seemed to some that he is a wicked demon, yet this is not correct. For how, since the Lord has pronounced the punishment of fire for the devil and his angels, would any one of those who are set apart for punishment be honored with royal power? Therefore, authority was not granted to an evil angel, but to him who handles the service appropriate thereto. For not all [spirits] are sent forth as ministering spirits for the service of salvation, according to the holy Paul who said this, but also for the infliction of punishment; ^C as he who destroyed the Assyrian army gathered with Sennacherib against Jerusalem, and who brought down the fiery destruction upon Sodom. And what we signified in the preceding, we say also now, that these things, although they are announced in the past tense, are nevertheless understood as being of the future. But this is for one of two reasons: either because they will happen without any hindrance at all, or because He who was transmitting the pre-set matters to the Evangelist was proceeding according to the dignity of prophecy. To him the name in Hebrew is Abbadon. The name from the Hebrew [language] is formed from the outcome, as is manifest from the Greek. For what else does Apollyon signify than one who destroys or corrupts?

CAPUT XXVII. Concerning the sixth angel, and the loosening of the angels who were bound upon the Euphrates.

^A woes after these. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice one from the four horns of the altar of gold which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet: Loose the four angels who are bound upon the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, who were prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they might kill the third part of men. And the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; and I heard the number of them.

"Woe" is an adverb expressing lamentation; for that which brings pain is called *schetle* (misery). Has this adverb therefore departed? For how could that which happens incidentally, and does not have a subsistence, but is destroyed at the moment of its generation, possess a path of progress? But those painful things having passed away, on account of which such an exclamation occurs, it was reasonably said that the "woe" also has passed.

"And I heard a voice one from the four horns." The voice proceeded from the four horns that possessed the ^B altar; by which horns are to be understood the divine virtues that encompass [it]. Or, because in a completed altar, in which victims were burned to God by fire, at each corner an eminence in the shape of a horn was constructed, which held the rents, by which the altar, being ignited with the victims, provided for them to be sacrificed properly—from which also the lower altar, which was ordered by Moses on Sinai, was made according to the image of the upper one. Whence also He who gave the oracle to him says: "See that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain." Exod. xxv, 40. These prominent parts, therefore, which we have said are intellectual virtues, it is reasonable [to believe] contain the supersubstantial mystery, inaccessible to human nature; so that it is neither easily comprehensible according to nature by those who follow it, nor may the rational sacrifices offered upon it needlessly dissolve. Moreover, the shape of the altar is quadrangular, in equal figure to this world possessing four orders, from whence also from every part of it, pure rational sacrifices, according to the prophet, are offered.

"Loose the four angels." Some have conjectured that these angels were bound to the great river Euphrates, as if assiduously dwelling there, and occupied and gladdened by spiritual contemplation about it; for they say that this [the river] is God: concerning whom Isaiah indeed says, as if from the person of God himself: "Behold, I decline towards them as a river of peace, and as a torrent overflowing the glory of the nations," Isa. lxvi, 12. and David: "The impetuous streams of the river make glad the city of God." Psalm xlv, 5. They say, moreover, that these four angels are Michael, of whom [mention is made] ^D among Daniel; Gabriel among Matthew; Raphael among Mardochæus; and Uriel: and that they themselves were loosed from such divine occupation for the not-inappropriate ministry, both of the divine rendering...

justice and of their own glorious presence. Others, however, assert that they are not angels, but wicked demons, bound at the coming of Christ according to the divine command, but who went forth from the superhuman altar to be loosed by the divine angel, so that it might be permitted to trouble the nations; and from this trouble, that which is wheat-like in the faithful, and stored for the granaries, might be made manifest, as well as that which is chaff-like in sinners, which is prepared for burning and is useless. It is not improbable to say that the demons were bound at the Euphrates, since the Antichrist is to come forth from there, from the Jews who were kept as captives in Jerusalem and remained in those places.

And the number of the equestrian armies. Although he had not previously mentioned the armies, he provides their number. It is therefore evident that those who took the four leaders—Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael—were not brought in without cause, for a troop in some way desires to follow its leaders. We may learn of the thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand of those ministering from Daniel. Now, however, the one who sees [it] goes on to describe a multitude twice the number of the myriads following the leaders, because after the incarnation of the Lord, angels dwell with men without hindrance; therefore it was also said that they would see angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.

IX, 17–19. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those sitting upon them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and of brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three plagues was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which proceed out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

One must take the riders of the horses to be either the divine powers which have been allotted the task of correcting manners and passions and directing them toward the better (for thus also do horse-breakers, when they mount horses, guide them with bits and bridles), or else divine commandments, which on account of the zeal for those who are perishing have been likened to ^C armor of fire and jacinth and brimstone. Whence also David (I speak of the divine zeal) indicates that «A smoke ascended in his wrath, and fire out of his face kindled, and coals were burning.» Whichever of these two one might incline toward, it will be more to my liking [to consider it as] that which directs the image toward the wicked. And the heads of the horses, as the heads of lions. Whether one transfers the figure of the divine judgments to men living spiritual and angelic lives, or likewise to manners and ^D passions, it will differ nothing...

^A in one who does not love himself, but is devoted to the drama. They are likened to the heads of lions as a sign that those who serve the divine things must not perform their ministry with a dejected spirit. “For the word of God is living and more penetrating than any two-edged sword” (Heb. iv, 12). Wherefore, like a centurion, the head reveals the indignation with leonine vehemence, as if the hearer could not otherwise be brought to active assent. Paul does not dissent from this understanding when he threatens the Corinthians that he will come to them with a rod (I Cor. iv, 21). This, then, is what the heads hinted at. The mouths indicate the destructive breath from the vicinity—not expected from far-off vision, but through its closest approach, it renders the inescapable more firmly fastened. Fire signifies the vanishing, smoke that which comes with wrath (for “smoke ascended in his wrath” [Ps. xvii, 9], as it is written), and sulphur, that which indicates a divine vengeance, or that these things were brought upon the profligate by the will of God. That the Divinity is accustomed to use those who live angelically as a vehicle for his own judgments and mysteries, is sufficiently demonstrated by what the Lord himself pronounced to Ananias concerning Paul, where he says that Paul is a vessel of election, having the capacity to lift up tirelessly the divine dogmas, which he indicated through the word "name," when he said: “To bear my name.” He called his "name" his glory and majesty, and everything that exceeds speech, or rather understanding—not only human, but even angelic.

"For the power of the horses is in their mouth." What is this? Does he attribute the power to the mouth, and as it were, speak of the cause for which the horses were sent? Or, because he says "from their mouths," does he point to threats that frighten men into abstaining from wicked practices, that they might not be given over to their tails? By the tails he designates the ends and the outcomes of those who perish; and molding the very outcome itself, he compares them to serpents ^B having similar heads—showing, from the very onset and approach, that they bring inescapable ruin and an impending affliction, there being no longer any wisdom left to flee the affliction.

"And the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they might not worship demons, and idols, gold ^C and silver and stone and wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk: and they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts" (Apoc. ix, 20–21). The discourse signifies an excess of insensibility, or rather a state of apathy and wickedness, of those who wasted in vain the time which God, through philanthropy, had for the time being deferred for their salvation, and for ^D the bringing upon them of a retribution worthy of their slothfulness.

Yet the retribution for the wicked was being performed even before their eyes. But they, far from becoming better from the sight of the terrible things prepared for them, became even worse, and ran their course, being more deeply immersed in sins. *They did not repent of the works of their hands.* He does not say this meaning that they did not repent in the life to come—for how, or what kind of repentance could there be in an immutable life?—but that while still living, and even after hearing and seeing what was then about to take place, they did not repent of the works they saw were wicked, but added to their former deeds, namely to their insane worship of demons and idols, those acts that bring about hatred and enmity alongside their worship; not meaning to describe only the insensibility of things made by hand, but that they added sins to sins. Therefore they were also excluded from true justice. For what justice is there in one who kills his fellow man, either by the onset of a sword or by the treachery of poisons? And who would not hate one who does not even spare himself, and is not slow to devise against himself as much as an enemy who was insidiously disposed toward him would do? And who would not hold as detestable and abominable the filthiness and assiduousness of fornication, by which one deprives himself of being a divine tabernacle, if we are to believe the divine Paul? And he who persists in thefts has claimed for himself that which has made him his own adversary.

Chapter XXVIII. On the angel clothed with a cloud and a rainbow, who was announcing the common end.

X, 1-3. And I saw another strong angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book opened; and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth; and he cried with a great voice, as when a lion roars, and when he had cried, the seven thunders spoke their own voices.

The cloud signifies what is not manifest and invisible. The rainbow, however, upon his head describes the chief of the angelic order, which, from the fabrication of virtues that please God and from the variety concerning the mission, magnifies its proximity and station. For such is the rainbow in the clouds, appearing in varied colors from the projection of a solar ray. Now, the comparison of the face to the sun, what else would it signify but a radiance in the manner of the sun, and that wherever those who have accomplished the ordination of daily works may be, they will be illuminated by an inaccessible and supersubstantial light? *And his feet as pillars of fire.* The feet signify the descent, which happens for no other reason than to punish the impious; therefore they are also like pillars of fire. They are likened to pillars of fire, not because of illumination, but because of combustion.

^B

Further, what does it mean that he holds an open scroll in his hand? This open scroll is spoken of also by Daniel, when the judgment sits before him and the books are opened containing the deeds and names of all who have lived from the beginning of time. But if there are books in Daniel, and this one shows that he sees a scroll, there is no dissonance in this. For the books in Daniel signify the judgment of the universal creation, showing the investigation of both just and unjust, whereas this one [shows] only [the deeds] of those who have lived in wicked works; of whom in particular the actions are written not in a book, but in a small scroll, the Apostle signifying by this diminutive name the paucity of those things contained therein, if they are compared to the universal sentence of the judgment and the things that complete it.

And he set his right foot upon the sea. That he set one of his feet upon the liquid assemblage and the other upon the dry land signifies the magnitude of the one who grasped both. And that he placed the right [foot] upon the water and the left upon the land, I believe is for no other reason than that he followed the position of these elements. For to the air, which has a subtle substance, the more massive water lies beneath, just as dry land [lies] beneath the water. I think, therefore, that it is for no other reason than that the right is always more powerful than the left; for since there are more who act impiously upon the sea—I mean pirates and those who drown others in sea battles or through some other stratagem—the liquid substance provides an easier exit for the evildoers against whom they are insidiously disposed. Since, therefore, these things are so, it is fittingly and consecutively attributed to the evildoers because it is more powerful. ^C And that this is so, the Progenitor of God is worthy of trust in confirming it, when he described the attack of the demons—who are insidious toward us—against us, while we use the help of the Most High; for he marks out a thousandfold fall of those who walk in darkness and are insidious toward us from the left side, [but] he assigned a tenfold [measure] to the right. And so much for the arrival and placement of the feet.

But that he cried with a loud voice and with a leonine sound is a symbol of indignation; therefore also the sound was compared to a bellowing. And sequentially to the cry, the seven thunders spoke. These seven thunders, or seven voices uttered in a terrifying manner from one and the same angel, we believe to be the angelic powers; therefore they were also likened to thunders; or [they are] the seven spirits mentioned in what was said before. *As a lion roars.* It is not habitual for the voice of a lion to be expressed by "to bellow," for this belongs more to oxen; to lions, "to roar" or "to gnash" is assigned. However, that he did not pass over this casually in saying it, he who runs through these things makes clear, in that he did not persist in using the word "to bellow," but passed on to the word "cried." And these things indeed may be said for those who discuss accurately the roaring of lions. But in the case of sinners being punished, what is more congruent than "to gnash," from which comes "gnashing"? To gnash was named from its seeming to be for eating—just as in the case of "to bellow," "to gnash," "to bellow," "he cried"—

"—as the teeth strike one another. ^A And when the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write, and I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up what the seven thunders have spoken, and do not write them." And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be time no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, as he proclaimed to his servants the prophets.

From this it is clearly understood that the thunders are angelic powers. For it is the essence that speaks, not the thunder, which is only a sound that is taken away as soon as it begins to be. "I heard a voice from heaven saying." He was forbidden to write, that is, to make what he saw manifest to men through writing; but "Seal up," he says, which is to say, "keep it with firm retention in your mind, but do not make it public through writing." Perhaps this is because it is not profitable for these things to be revealed before the arrival of the final times, since Daniel also was taught to seal up the words of such matters. With regard to why it is profitable to store them up, we might conjecture that it is the severity of the ordained punishments, as the philanthropy of the merciful God does not bring the retribution to have equal weight with our sins. Whence also the Psalmist says that he does not measure out retribution to us according to our iniquities, nor according to our sins. "The seven thunders spoke." We must think of the thunders as angelic powers, likened to thunders because of the terror instilled by what is spoken by them. For such are the voices of the bodiless holy angels, carrying terror with them from their very manifestation, as is clear from the fact that Daniel could not bear even a gentle vision of an angel, much less a threatening one. ^C The command is given to seal up the messages of the seven thunders—that is, to keep them in secret—because the perfect apprehension and clearer knowledge of these matters is profitably stored up for the last times.

"He raised his right hand to heaven." The raising of the right hand signifies the efficacy and greater power of the one who swears. Therefore it is also said, "The right hand of the Lord has wrought power." ^D As for the phrase "in him who lives for ever," it seems to lack proper Greek usage; for one is said to swear *by* someone, not *in* someone. Nevertheless, it is not improper to say "in Him who lives," for...

^A by one's will, one presents the person by whom the oath is taken. And God indeed, since He could not swear by anyone greater—which is the custom among those who swear—swears by Himself. And He says, "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord." Angels, however, as creatures, swear by the Creator, confirming our unbelief through the assumption of the Divine. For He swore that time shall be no more, rightly and truly, that time shall not exist anymore. For that distributive ^B stream of temporal substance will be at an end and incessant, and for this reason, it will not be time. For what need is there of solar light where there is rest for animals from the labors of the day? For without these things, what is the need of solar light? The sun, indeed, will exist, because the present world is not intended to pass into non-existence, but into renewal. And just as now the stars exist even in the day, yet are not seen because the brightness of the sun's rays overcomes their radiance, and so they are unknown to be in heaven, so also then. For it is no common ignorance to be ignorant that there is no cause for the present world to pass into total ^C non-existence. "That time shall not be yet." He swore that time would not be, not from that moment, but from the time when the seventh angel is about to sound the trumpet. Therefore, it must be understood with this addition: that time shall not be from now on. For the oath was not about the present moment, but concerning "the days of the voice of the seventh angel." It is spoken as a figure of ellipsis; for that is missing: "Then there shall be a vacancy of time," such that the sun does not measure temporal intervals. For when the seventh angel is about to sound, then the temporal intervals will fail, and all the punishment of the wicked will stand ready, finished by various retributions. ^D Therefore, when he sounds the trumpet at the appropriate time, there will be a consummation, not now when the sounding is in contemplation. And at the appropriate time, those things which sound the trumpet will receive their end, he says, and "the mystery which God announced to His servants the prophets." For up to the judgment and the repayment for what each has lived, the prophets prophesied. Which also seems to the divine Paul, that languages will cease at that time, and prophesies will be abolished. And he calls the outcome of these "good tidings," because of the rest prepared for the saints. 8,9. "And the voice which I heard from heaven, speaking to me again and saying: Go and take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who is standing upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went to the angel, saying to him to give me the book, and he says to me: Take and devour it; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey."

^A It is necessary for a more complete understanding of what is being said to append the substantive verb to the proposed statement, so that it might be: "And the voice which I heard from heaven was again speaking with me and saying," or: "I heard this voice again saying to me." This is the meaning of: "I heard again saying: Go and take the open book from the hand of the angel standing upon the sea and upon the earth." Here, another higher angelic power appears to be commanding the evangelist to receive, through the book, the knowledge of the things which were oracularly delivered. And what was it saying? To take the book from the angel. "Take and devour it," and so forth. According to what was commanded me, he says, I went to the angel, requesting the book, and having received it, I consumed it according to his command, which, as it seemed to the One who gave it, was sweet at the beginning on account of the knowledge of future things; for this is hinted at through the mouth, because through it occurs the beginning of eating. But it was bitter in the belly, calling the belly the faculty of thought or the capacity for rational sustenance. For since he knew the punishments of the impious, having had their origin from the works of those who were estranged from God, he knew also that this knowledge—namely, that men of the same kind were abominable to God, and for that reason deservedly to be subjected to punishments—would be a cause of bitterness for one who was judged worthy of contemplation, on account of compassion for those who were of his own kind. It is also possible to speak of these things in this way: since all the conduct of those who have lived in this life was inscribed in this book, it seemed to grow sweet at the beginning, according to the success of good works. But when it had proceeded further, which is what the word "devouring" implies, and he had been carried into the abominations of the evildoers, he was filled with pain and bitterness: with pain, on account of the wailing of the sinners from their torments; with bitterness, because those who were of the same kind did not endure to be rivals of those who had performed good deeds. Otherwise, how would the oracle be fulfilled: "Rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep"?

CHAPTER XXIX

much experience one had been driven to this. For this reason, ^A at the beginning, on account of knowledge—which is always studied with zeal by men—it appears to provide a suggestion of sweetness, but [a suggestion] of bitterness on account of the unerring knowledge of those things which are laid up in retribution for [their] impieties. "Thou must prophesy again." Through these [words] it is shown that the outcome of the things seen does not follow immediately after the vision of the revelation, but that this blessed man must prophesy to many over a long lapse of time extending unto the consummation of this corruptible world, until these things receive their fulfillment; either through the knowledge ^B of his own Gospel, in which some of the things to come are introduced, or also through the present Revelation, as has already been said. However, one must not be ignorant that from this saying, "Thou must prophesy again," many hold the opinion that this blessed man lives until the consummation of the age, and will come about the times of the Antichrist with Enoch and Elijah, to correct those who will be living at that time, and that he will be killed by the Antichrist.

Ⅺ, 1, 2. "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod, and [one] said: Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." If one should wish to call the reed which the evangelist says was given to him, the knowledge of intelligible things—just as David also boasts that his own tongue is the reed of a swift scribe—he would not be wrong. ^C Therefore, the evangelist also says that the knowledge which came to him spiritually was signified by the giving of a reed, which was also depicted in the likeness of a rod, the rod again signifying support. It would therefore not be inappropriate for this one who provides the oracle to understand [by the reed] the knowledge of spiritual things, just as with other inanimate objects, I mean the altar and the throne and such things. For it is not proper for these to be understood as inanimate, such as they appear, but according to a better mode of existence and a spiritual [sense], one might allegorically refer them to the gift of the knowledge of discerning what is seen. ^D For how would an inanimate reed say, "Rise and measure the temple of God"? From this, therefore, it is shown that the temple of God is measured by angelic understanding. Yet because some have held differently and diversely concerning these, namely, the temple and the altar, which are commanded to be measured, and those who worship therein—proclaiming the temple of God and the altar to be the Old Testament, and the court to be the New—they do not hit the mark; for in this way those would be more spiritual and more sacred than the covenant which Christ delivered, if indeed both the temple and the altar were more precious than the court.

^A Since it is reasonable to proceed with the explanation. But if it is because those things were more rudimentary than the New [Covenant], and towards the worship of God were archaic—from which also those who bore off the prize according to it are measured—the omission has some logic. But if one looks towards the divine-fitting restoration of human character, and, to speak more clearly, the governing affection of the Creator towards us, the one according to the Law is incomparable to the New Testament. The court could therefore be the Church of God, being unlimited both in place and in the nations that are contained within it. Do not let the command to cast it outside the temple disturb you. For it is nothing other than showing it is free from the legal narrowness of meticulous observances, of circumcision, of sabbatisms, and of the other superfluous purifications. And the reason and cause is that it was given without observation to the nations that wish to live according to Christ. ^B And by [the phrase] "the holy city shall be trodden under foot for forty-two months," he called the Church the holy city, which we know to be trodden under foot by the nations to whom it was granted as if to roam within it—by Christians piously, but by unbelievers contemptuously and destructively. Since some interpreted the casting out of the court as the synagogue of the unbelieving nations and the Jews, whom they say also pursue the faithful in it insultingly, especially during the time of Antichrist, this they have also understood against the Christians.

XI, 2. "And the holy city shall they tread under foot forty-two months." We have supposed the time of forty-two months to be indicative of the brevity of the delay around the coming of Antichrist, on account of which affliction being brought upon the worshipers of God, the true God, Christ, says those days shall be shortened. The forty-two months are three and a half years, in which it will happen ^C that the faithful and approved shall be trodden down and persecuted.

CHAPTER XXX. Concerning Enoch and Elias, who are about to refute Antichrist.

"And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth, as often as they will, with all plagues."

Since all things were fashioned for the evangelist in the vision—the things concerning the dispensation of the Lord in the flesh, the birth, the temptations, the teachings, the cross, and in addition to these, the resurrection, and the second coming, and in addition to these, the things of the saints and

^A of sinners, as a kind of recompense. Only the matters concerning the second coming were omitted, and now ^B by way of restoration, one is instructed about these. And that Elias the prophet will come, it is clear, since the Scripture has predicted this, prophesying through Malachi: "Behold, I will send you Elias the Tishbite, before the great and manifest day of the Lord comes; who shall turn the heart of the father to the son, and the heart of man to his neighbor." As for Enoch, we have no testimony from Scripture regarding his coming, except for his being rendered immortal through his translation. But a report is brought down from the tradition that circulates within the Church inviolably, that he too will come with Elias the Tishbite (for both shall come to testify beforehand to those who are there then, that they should not be led astray by the signs of the Antichrist), and by this, their own testimony, they shall spend a period of three years and a half. For these one thousand two hundred and sixty days complete that interval of time. The wearing of sackcloth represents that these two go forth in humility, mourning, and sorrow, whom the prophet Zacharias likens to ^C olives and two lampstands: to olives, because they cause the oil, the nourishment of the light, to spring forth; and to lampstands, because they have become the vehicle of truth, which, through virtues, takes on the name of the true light, and gives light to those drawing near, which also falls to them as they speak freely. And what else could standing in the presence of the Lord of the earth signify, than that their approach will be very close to the coming of the Judge of the living and the dead? ^D "Fire proceeds out of their mouth." By powerful signs, he says, they too will make use, through their genuine works, refuting those things done in error and deceit, and drawing those who see them to faith and agreement. Admirable is the divine goodness that has ordered the truth as a counterweight against error! For by arming these saints with the power of genuine signs and wonders, by converting them with instructional words, and in addition to these, with scourges—I mean by the lack of rain, and by fire, and by the shifting of the elements, which proceeds to be harmful to those who are turned away without hope of return—He will put His adversaries to shame through true prodigies. And thus, then, the foolish are treated. But the better ones, and those who look towards conversion (according to "The instruction of the Lord opens my ears," and "Whom the Lord loves, He chastens"), have gained, even if violently, still the salvation awarded to them by Him who does not wish the death of the sinner, but his repentance. "And to strike the earth." Corresponding to the divine goodness, the healing is added after the plague. For since the Antichrist shall be more conspicuous in all signs and lying wonders through the operation of Satan, the good God will arm His saints with the power of genuine signs, so that they may refute the falsehood, and turn back those who have been led astray, and [B: 648]

^A those who have been seduced, and lay bare the seducer, and suffer nothing harmful from him until the end of their prophecy.

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them, and their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

*And when they shall have finished their testimony.* What testimony? That he who is then present is not Christ, but an impostor and a baneful seducer; but that the Son of God is coming shortly, in whom one ought to believe as the Savior, who came once long ago for the benefit of mankind and is now coming again.

*The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit.* He calls him beast, the Antichrist, because of his cruelty and inhumanity and bloodthirstiness; and he calls the abyss the life of men, bitter because of sins, and wretched, and unstable due to the contrary blasts and currents of evil spirits. For this wicked one will not arise from another nature, but from our own human substance. For he will be a man according to the operation of Satan, as has already been said. This beast, therefore, he says, will make war against these holy prophets and will kill them, and will cast their bodies unburied into the squares of Jerusalem. For he will reign in it as king of the Jews—whom he will deceive—and will have them as servants and obedient to him in all things. And the Lord says in John: "I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me; if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive."

He says Sodom and Egypt are called Jerusalem spiritually, that is, according to an allegory: Sodom, because of the indecency and hostility toward strangers that will exist among the Jews dwelling there at that time; and Egypt, as enslaving and doing injustice to the servants of Christ, just as that one did to the Israelites.

*Where also their Lord was crucified.* Theirs, naturally, of the two witnesses.

*And they shall see of the people.* The Jews, who have been deceived from every tribe by the Antichrist, seeing the killing of the two witnesses, will rejoice, as if their king had been victorious, and will show kindness to one another with congratulatory gifts. And they will cause their bodies to remain unburied, rendering this as a punishment to the two prophets. ^B

^A

CHAPTER XXXI. That Enoch and Elias, having been slain by the Antichrist, shall rise again, and shall strike with terror those who were deceived.

XI, 11-14. *And after three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And I heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them: Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.*

He says that they shall rise again, having been dead for a number of days equal to the years of their prophecy, ^B having again shifted the chronological indication from the future consummation of the matter to the past, and in this way he shows—with the fitting precision—the unchangeable nature of the things being signified in a somewhat wise manner. *And great fear fell upon them.* "Great fear" is mentioned either as something that will actually be sensed then, when these things are happening, or in another way; but it is not necessary to be much occupied with these things, since both states offer what is soul-saving according to the divine pleasure to those who desire to be vigilant. *And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud.* The cloud is always a minister of divine things, and is familiar to them, according to that saying: "Clouds and darkness are round about Him." ^C For the cloud is named from the mists, because they have cast off the density and the watery nature; and clouds are naturally born from the exhalation of the moist substance, taking their subsistence through evaporation. Therefore, since clouds are adapted to the state of a cloud, a certain obscurity is observed in it along with some brightness, which is completed by the refraction of the solar ray through incidence; and for this reason it always accompanies divine manifestations, signifying that divine things are neither entirely obscure to us, nor are they presented entirely manifest, but are as the illumination of pure light exercised through obscurity. ^D According to this very manner, the cloud now also ministers to the ascension of the prophets into heaven. And therefore, as is the custom, such things are taken with the article; for he says they ascended *in the cloud* (ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ), the initiation of the articles thus instructing us, as we hinted a little before, that they suggest a recollection of something previously known. And let this be considered concerning the cloud, which, according to the readiness of the term, is called a cloud (νεφέλη) because it has taken its subsistence from the mist (ἀπὸ νέφους) having shaken off all that is thick and watery. For a moist exhalation constitutes the mists, which, having been shaken off into the rain, and a digestion having occurred, as it were, the undigested portion of this goes into the generation of the cloud, with a certain thinness—

and lack of appearance, and it happens that solar light dwells within, so that it is, as it were, an illuminated and translucent cloud. And in the earthquake seven thousand names were killed. He uses the announcement in a more specific sense. For it is not the names that were killed; for how indeed could things placed in the order of accidental occurrences—which come into being and cease to be without the destruction of the underlying subject, as those skilled in these matters demonstrate—be destroyed? Rather, it must be understood that those against whom the names are set were destroyed.

CHAPTER XXXII.

XI, 15-18. And the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were great voices in heaven, saying: The kingdom of this world has become our Lord’s and his Christ’s, and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the twenty-four elders, who are before the throne of God, who sit upon their thrones, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying: We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art and who wast, because thou hast taken thy great power, and hast reigned, and the nations were angry; and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead to be judged, and to render a reward to thy servants the prophets and to the saints, and to those who fear thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy them who destroy the earth.

The trumpet blast of the seventh angel indicates those things which pertain to the third "Woe," showing voices great in heaven resounding, producing an explanation. For this is what the saying intends. What, then, is that which is signified? "The kingdom has become..." God always reigns, neither having begun nor ending, whether all things are understood or are beyond understanding (for human intelligence does not grasp everything), ^B but the Lord and Master is without beginning and without end over all things. But since worldly rule and kingdoms sometimes show themselves not subject to Him, being brought to a head by their own vanities, and the glory that comes from this is a dream to this mortal world leading to destruction, when those who reign and play the tyrant upon the earth are dissolved and cease—not truly, but as in a mirror and in an image—only He who is truly God and King is said to hold sway and reign into the ages with an unstoppable command and authority. "They fell upon their faces." Since a "falling" also signifies a simple posture, to prevent this from being surmised, he added, "upon their faces," which is the honor owed to the Master by those who are inferior.

^A *And thy wrath is come.* Much, he says, having been long-suffering toward those of old, since they profited nothing from your goodness, now in due time you have come. By the "time of the dead" he means the time of the universal resurrection, in which appropriate wages will be given to each. By the "prophets, and the saints, and them that fear God," he refers to the three orders of those one hundred and forty-four thousand who bring forth fruit to God, the apostles being deemed worthy of the first lot and of being established upon twelve thrones. Likewise, he mentions the prophets, especially those who were subjected to the tortures of kings who raged against them. "Small and great." Small, those who are less holy; great, those who more excel in holiness. And since fear is twofold—the one initial and the other consummate—the initial fear is present to those who have not yet received absolution, while the perfect fear is present to those who have already been taken up by God, who always fear lest they lack anything that is appropriate for those who love intensely. I do not think it should be rejected that those who fear are separated from the saints, as the small are truly held by fear, while the great have confidence, as it has been said, and confidence accompanies fear. Therefore, fear belongs to both on account of the retribution and reward given in accordance with their lives led: to the great, because they do not trust sufficiently in themselves to be without defect; and to the small, because they wait with hope to be saved, even when they subjected the servants of God to cruel evils, and with other absurd deeds of theirs, they defiled and corrupted the earth.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

*And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen the ark of the testament of the Lord in his temple. And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and a great hail.*

XI, 19. After the thanksgiving and glory given by the angels and by those who have lived an angelic life, he says that the heaven was opened and the ark of the testament was seen, calling that heaven the superhuman knowledge, in which are also treasured those things which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." In this heaven of knowledge the ark of the testament was also seen. What then did the vision itself wish to signify by this? This: that just as at that time it was said to Moses, that these things commanded to him were symbolic and did not possess the efficacy of truth ("See," he says, "that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount"), so now too these things are introduced, raising the knowledge of the things seen in a manner corresponding to the heavenly height. And since, in the manifestation of the ark of the testament to Moses, lightnings and thunderings were preparatory to...

the mountain in which it pleased Him that these oracles should be given, which were delivered to those who were like the irrational and the beastly—so also here, according to the manifestation of the ark, those things which corresponded to this vision followed. *And there were lightnings.* This is the third Woe which was prepared for sinners, just as the sight of the goods which are reserved for the saints, who for the time being cannot be distinguished among men, but through the opening of the temple of God in heaven, they arrive at the knowledge of them. For then those who have lived well, having been vouchsafed the new life, will attain the goods which are laid up in the kingdom of the Father.

XII, 1, 2. *And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars; and being with child, she cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.*

Some have said that this woman is the Mother of the Lord. For having set forth a short while ago the things concerning the Antichrist, since the words have been spoken regarding his standing forth and being commissioned by Satan—and since Satan seeks to persuade through deceit those who are already enrolled for Christ to retreat and defect to him, [the Antichrist]—who also, having maliciously attacked those from the beginning of the Lord’s incarnation, proposed to establish the deception from their similarity; and especially to the Hebrews, who attribute the prophecies concerning Christ more to him than to Christ—in this way, therefore, the corrected deception proposes to us the dispensation of the Lord for our sake as having already been completed, as if no other could be equal to it. Therefore, regarding the Mother, as she was pure and separated from earthly things, he writes that she is in heaven and not on earth, as one equal to the angels.

But for her to be *clothed with the sun*, and to have the moon as a footstool, Habakkuk is sufficient to demonstrate, by what he says: *“The sun was lifted up, and the moon stood in its order,”* calling the Savior Christ the Sun of righteousness, inasmuch as He was exalted and lifted on high by the evangelical preaching; but the moon—that is, the Synagogue of the Jews—did not receive further increase. For not even after the appearance of Christ did it receive increase through proselytes; rather, it has indeed even diminished, while the Jews are approaching the Christians. But we can also understand *clothed with the sun* as the blessed Virgin being covered by the intellectual sun, that is, by Christ; and the moon as the worship according to the Law, as it was brought down and became far less than itself, having been disturbed by the evangelical spirit. Perhaps, however, it would have been more consistent with what is signified to say that the woman was not clothed with the sun, but that she had clothed the sun existing in her womb. But it is in order to show that even the Lord, being carried in the womb, was superior to His own Mother and to every creature, [Habac. III, 11.]

^A shielding her, he said that she had clothed the Mother.

But others again have said that this woman is the Church, which is clothed with the sun of justice, Christ; and beneath her feet she placed the moon, that is, the Synagogue, as having now already become old. And they have adapted all that follows in a congruent manner, as do Andreas and Methodius.

And upon her head a crown.

But as for her being pregnant ^B and crying out while tortured in childbirth, they say that Isaiah the son of Amos resolved this, when he speaks: «Before she who is in labor gave birth, and before the pain of labor came, she fled and gave birth to a male child.» And both happened to the Virgin. For she did cry out and was in anguish, suspecting that her betrothed would render her liable to a charge of adultery—which even the Gospel mentions when it says that he was minded to put her away privily. But when she received relief from this suspicion by a divine angel, who established that the conception was from the Holy Spirit, ^C then she herself also fled from all the toil that was torturing her.

And another sign was seen in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems, ^D and his tail drags the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them into the earth.

He calls Satan a dragon because he is tortuous; and red, because he is bloodthirsty and irascible. But he calls the air the tail here, because the devil has not fallen from it. For how has he fallen from it, seeing that, according to Paul, he has power in it, as he says: «According to the prince of the power of this air»? But he calls his heads his more wicked powers, and those opposed to the spiritual operations; or [they are] the seven iniquities which Solomon says reside in the heart of the enemy.

«And ten horns.» The horn is significant of power and glory. The ten horns are either the sins that are opposed to the ten commandments of the Law and the perfect attempts of the satanic apostasy, or the divisions of the kingdom which bring it [the world] to him, as he rejoices in dissensions. The seven diadems, moreover, which are placed upon his heads, are equal in number to the heads, because those who prevail in demonic operations draw their crowns from thence, from where they won their victory by labors and sweat.

«And his tail drags the third part of the stars.» The third part of the stars are called those who do not acknowledge the one number of the Trinity, as, for example, Arius and Macedonius. But the desert, to which the Church comes and is fed, is that which is deserted of evils and sterile of corruption. But as for the tail dragging the third part of the stars...

this also is to be considered as follows. We believe two things are signified by these words: either his former fall from heaven together with the angels who revolted with him, through the final agitation of envy (for this is the tail; first, the pride that drew him on armed him for envy, and cast these down to earth); or the movement or fall of the enemy from heaven after the breaking of his head, which he sustained at the hands of the Lord's disciples, who received from Him the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy. Or it speaks of the final movement by which he cast down those who were not firm in the heavenly mindset, who are called stars tropically because of the brightness received in baptism. ^B *And cast them into the earth.* For he cast down with himself the greater part of the angels, persuading them to depart together from God, and he made those who had been heavenly, earthly, and those who had been brilliant like stars, he made into darkness.

XII, 4, 5. *And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, that when she had brought forth, he might devour her child. And she brought forth a man child, who was about to shepherd all the nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne; and the woman fled into the desert, where she has a place there prepared by God, that they might feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days.*

That the dragon stood by, plotting treacherously against the birth, signifies that he has brought to bear a great deal of diligence to devise difficulties for the one born; and what these were, has already been stated. *And her child was caught up to God.* The pestilential dragon lay in wait and spurred on Herod to slay the infants in Bethlehem, as though he would also kill Christ among them; but the child escaped the snare by the providence of God the Father, who warned Joseph through an oracle to take Him and His mother and flee into Egypt. He therefore expressed the salvation as a "catching up," saying, *to God, and to His throne,* as if to say that the salvation was arranged for the child through divine providence and sovereignty; for this is what the throne seeks to signify. *And the woman fled into the desert.* The woman’s flight into the desert signifies the flight of the elect, which, at the coming of the Antichrist, enacted through the operation of Satan, the most prominent members of the Church will enact, fleeing from civil disturbances and worldly pleasures for three years and a half. For the one thousand two hundred and sixty days complete this temporal interval.

Chapter XXXIV. On the battle joined between the holy angels and the wicked powers, and on the fall of the dragon.

XII, 7-9. *And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and they prevailed not, neither was place found any more for them in heaven. And the dragon was cast…*

out, the great dragon, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduces the whole world; he was cast into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. The war in heaven took place because of the original arrogance and the envy against Adam. Since, therefore, Michael, the commander of the host, could not endure the arrogance of the devil, and by the martial power of his own station had long ago cast him out of heaven, so again, upon the arrival of the Antichrist, together with the Jews and his angels who minister to him in temptations against the faithful ^A and the saints, the devil will be cast out more perfectly, as an ignominious slave, by the servants of Him who had cast him down. Some, however, say that this fall of the devil occurred after the baptism and temptation of Christ, and after Christ said to him, "Get behind me, Satan." And this seems highly agreeable to what has been said concerning the Mother of God. He is named by two titles: Satan, as being an adversary to the Lord; and devil, as slandering God to men, as he did to Adam.

XII, 10-12. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren has been cast out, who accused them before our God day and night. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul even unto death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has descended to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time."

Upon having attained the ascent into heaven, whence he had also beheld the war and the victory over the devil, he says that he heard a voice saying—to signify, as I have often adduced, that this is the meaning of the word. And what did it signify? The joy which they had over the victory concerning Satan. And what is the song? "Now is come salvation," and the kingdom and power ^B of God shone forth most clearly. The word "now" is not taken here to signify something new, but perfection and infallibility, and that which corresponds to the beginning. "Of our brethren." Angels call men brethren in imitation of their own Lord, for He says through the Prophet: "I will declare thy name to my brethren." "Day and night." The accuser, he says, is constantly meditating the accusation against our brethren, showing the continuous and unceasing insults of that wicked one against us. "And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb." The martyrs conquered him who seemed

invincible, to the point that he dared even against God, using the blood of the Lamb as their ally. For just as He shed His own blood not for His own sake, but for ours, so too did the martyrs of Christ, out of zeal for the death of their own Master, prefer the imitation of the Lord’s passion to their own soul and life. ^A "Woe to the earth and to the sea." This woe is not announced to the creature lacking sensation, but to those who are attached to earthly things and are but ashes. For the common enemy, by waging war against them, achieves his own pleasure. For against those who are watchful, sober, and intent upon God, he descends not only without doing harm, but even to their profit, as they are exercised by a trainer and rendered far more proven by his temptations. He says that he has greater wrath, as he considers his own fall to be imminent.

Capítulo XXXV. That the dragon does not cease to persecute the Church.

"And when the dragon saw that he had been cast into the earth, he persecuted the woman who had brought forth the man-child. And there were given to the woman two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, ^B where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the river; and the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was angry with the woman, and he went away to make war against the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus."

Those who interpret the woman as the mother of the Lord say that these things are a repetition of what has already been said. For it is not said that immediately after the dragon saw that he had been cast into the earth he persecuted the woman, but rather that since the dragon saw himself amidst the evils in which he existed, ^C and that he had fallen from his angelic dignity, he became extremely cruel towards men. But those who refer this woman to the Church speak of her in this way: that when the devil, who had approached to battle against Christ after His baptism, saw that he was defeated—and similarly that he had been put to shame when he armed himself against His disciples, while they had gained life under Christ through death, and he himself, as it is said, had been condemned to the earth to eat earth, that is, those who have an earthly mind and possess nothing of heavenly revival and splendor—he began, he says, to persecute the Church again, ^D from whom the male people of the Lord were born, bearing nothing womanish or soft of those things that are wont to dissolve and make soft and torpid the spirit through the pleasures of this life.

^A And there were given to the woman two wings of the great eagle. The woman, he says, did not come under the hand of Satan, but by the two wings given to her she fled into the wilderness. He calls the two wings the oracles given by the angels: the one the command given to the Magi not to return to Herod; the other the one saying, "Flee into Egypt and be there," (Matt. 2:13) which was a wilderness of godliness. And it is a marvel that the Divine was reared among the impious. The "time and times and half a time" (Rev. 12:14) refer to the time of the sojourn in the wilderness—that is, in Egypt—which is summarized as three years and a half of the time of Herod's life. "And the serpent cast out of his mouth water." Having failed in his attempts against the Virgin, the serpent introduced for us another scheme against the Virgin and her Son at the time of the passion, by which he contrived for the Mother disbelief on account of the passion, and for the Son destruction through death. He says that the serpent cast out of his mouth a river, namely tribulations, as it is customary for the Scripture to allegorize these as water and rivers. He calls the river, therefore, the temptation and affliction that befell the Mother at the passion of the Lord, which Simeon the elder also foretold to the Virgin: "And a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also," (Luke 2:35) the cause whereof was to confirm the assertion that she truly travailed and brought Him forth, and not by mere appearance. "And the earth helped the woman." That the earth swallowed the river signifies the Lord having been received into the grave after death. And in what manner did the earth help the woman? By swallowing the river that the dragon cast out of his mouth. The war, however, is against those who are called sons and brethren of Christ, according to what has been said: "I will declare thy name unto my brethren." (Ps. 22:23) He determined to wage war from wrath against these faithful ones of the Lord, who, through sincere faith and disposition toward Him, were taken into His own kindred, as it is permitted to hear Him saying: "My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it." (Luke 8:21)

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Concerning the beast having ten horns and seven heads, one of which he describes as if it had been slain.

XII, 18; XIII, 1, 2. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

^A In the preceding vision, a red dragon is seen in heaven, but now one rising from the sea. The dragon from heaven, therefore, signifies him who fell from heavenly glory at the beginning; but the one who now rises again from the sea—presenting the sea as this unstable and tumultuous life, from which the beast also rises—takes up for manifestation the sinful and unsteady deeds of men (36) in the things that are good. That is none other than the Antichrist, who proceeds as the third after the first and second Satan. Now the second and middle one, which is even now proposed for contemplation, is a certain power that fell together with the apostate Satan, less than him, indeed, but excelling the others in malice. This is the Antichrist, who proceeds according to the working of Satan and those thrown down with him—who were formerly angelic powers, but afterwards, through a perverted will, were transformed into the darkness of demons. The ten horns indicate that the sum of those who contribute to malice is present with the Antichrist, from whom glory also attends him, since a horn is accustomed to signify glory. But concerning these, some have also said that the inhabited world would then be divided into ten kingdoms. The seven heads, for their part, [exist] because kingdoms exist in this world which is arrayed according to the heptadic number, which is dissolved together with this sensible life according to the flesh, whereas there arises the incorruptible and everlasting [life], in which there is also a kingdom that is everlasting and without successor. ^B And the beast I saw was like unto a leopard. Together with the beginning of the blasphemy, it signifies that another follows, that is, the Antichrist. The Antichrist himself will be the one who uses as his precursors the Hellenizing rulers, and indeed also those who came after Constantine the Great, of whom are Julian and Valens, and the heretical emperors who follow them. Then he himself will also stand up, when the Roman empire has been divided, a little before his arrival, into ten [kingdoms], with the faith of the Christians having been sufficiently reviled. Concerning the number ten and seven, it has already been spoken. But what kind of beast is it? He says it is like a leopard, with feet like a bear's, and a mouth like a lion's; by means of the leopard, he signifies the Roman empire, as being swift to act against whomever it has fixed its impulse upon, and persistent until it reaches the end of what it has begun—which he also indicates by the feet ^C of the bear. These are also referred to the kingdom of the Persians. By the mouth is signified the Babylonian [kingdom], which one might, without error, take to mean that of the Saracens, inasmuch as their royal seat is now also in Babylon, over which the Antichrist shall rule as emperor of the Romans. And the dragon gave him his power. For Satan, the spiritual dragon, will give to the Antichrist all authority in signs and lying wonders, for the deception, however, of the unsteady. And what is ^D to be understood by the seat, if not the authority over the air of this darkness, which also itself...

the one who fell from the heavenly glory received? ^C XIII, 3-7. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. ^D This may be understood in various ways. For either it is to be understood thus: the head of Satan are the nations seduced by him; the return of these to godliness and piety has been accounted a slaying to death. But that it will not be a slaying in the proper sense, but a "slaying as it were," the series of the letter itself demonstrates, saying it is not "slain," but "as if slain," using also the particle *hos*, that is, "as" (a particle of likeness). Therefore, to this turn toward the knowledge of God, the subsequent return to the original impiety has been termed a healing of the wound. Thus, therefore, the explanation of the statement must be taken, or also in this way: "a head as it were slain," either that some one of his princes has been killed, and that as he has divided the principality into many, it seems by imposture and deceit to rise again; or that the Roman empire is thought to have perished by way of a slaying, in that it was divided into many; yet the Antichrist himself, who had dissolved it, caused that dissolution to be accounted a healing. "And all the world wondered after the beast." That is, it was struck with amazement, as if the beast were going before by means of signs, and they themselves following behind by their consent. But "all the earth" is said by the trope of metonymy, whereby the content is understood from the container. "And they worshipped the dragon." The miracle or prodigious event brought about by the Antichrist will have its reference to the devil, who will work through him; for the dragon will be worshipped through him. "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemy." These things can be accepted in a two-fold sense: either this is the ineffable tolerance of God, who endures such things for the sake of the exercise and trial of our affection toward Him; or [it means] that it was "given" by the men who, being deceived, worshipped him. But "to speak great things" is to utter words full of pride. XIII, 7-10. And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. If any man leadeth into captivity, he shall go into captivity; if any man killeth with the sword, he must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

^A It has been said in the preceding that the time of the coming of the Antichrist and of his fraudulent power is accomplished in three years and a half; for these forty-two months make up that chronological interval. *And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him.* Since the particle "all" carries with it a comprehensive concept—(so that it might not be thought that the Antichrist is to receive the worship of the entire human race here in this place)—it provided a sign of those who would worship him, saying that those who worship are "they that dwell upon the earth," whom Isaiah also sings as being destined to fall: "We shall not fall," he says, "but they shall fall who dwell upon the earth," that is, those who have no concern for heavenly things and the glory that is there, but adapt themselves to their earthly dwelling and the swinish life pursued therein. Hence, also, they have missed the inscription in the Book of Life. *Whose names are not written in the book of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.* ^B One must understand "from the foundation of the world" by transposition, so that the reading is: "Whose names are not written from the foundation of the world in the book of the life of the Lamb who was slain." For those whose names are written, they were written from the foundation of the world; for it is in this way that it must be understood, and not as the Scripture literally has it, since the slaughter of the Lamb did not take place from the foundation of the world. Now, who are they that did not worship the dragon, whose names were written in the book of the Life of the Lamb? We may say that from the Gentiles, such were Job and his four friends, and from Israel the holy prophets, and all who gave testimony for piety in the Old Testament. Luke also says that our Lord Jesus Christ made mention of this book when he says: "Rejoice because your names are written in the heavens." ^C *If any man has an ear, let him hear.* If any man has an ear, he says, by referring the concept brought forth through the words to the governing mind, let him hear what is said, and let him know that he who is quick to lead others into captivity shall receive the recompense due to his deeds. For this is what he wishes to indicate by the expression "he goeth," as if to say he is casting the labor upon himself for his own retaliation, that he also might be led into captivity by the beast, receiving no restoration from God to prevent his being led away. Here is seen the patience of the saints who have passed through the afflictions induced by Satan upon the pious with the greatest endurance and have been tested through faith, because they themselves also brought all praiseworthy things to completion by faith, if one is to believe Paul, who sets these things forth more broadly to the Hebrews.

CHAPTER XXXVII. Concerning another beast having two horns, and leading men to the former.

XIII, 11-14. *And I saw another beast ascending from the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke as a dragon; and it exercises all the power of the first beast in his sight: and it made the earth and those who dwell in it worship the first beast, whose death-wound was healed. And it does great signs, and fire that it might descend from heaven to earth in the sight of men. And it seduces my [people] who dwell on the earth, by reason of the signs which were given to it to do in the sight of the beast.*

Having made many excursions ^A from these principles, and ascending to the earlier sources that preceded us, he arrives at that which was his intention, which was nothing other than to describe the things concerning the advent of the Antichrist. And ^B see what he says concerning him: that he ascends, evidently, from the earth, from where the origin of all men also comes. For he himself is also a man, according to the operation of Satan, as also the divine Paul thinks. The horns are not of a lamb, but *like* a lamb, because he feigns and fashions himself to be kind and humane, just as Christ is, in order to deceive. Therefore, there is the likeness of the horns, or rather, of the glory. And he speaks as a dragon, though he is not a dragon. For he is not Satan himself in essence, but, by exercising power like him, he becomes, as it were, a successor to the power of the devil. ^C And *in his sight*, that is to say, following him, departing in no way from the advent or presence of the former Satan.

*Whose death-wound was healed.* Having said that he exercises all the power of the first beast in his presence (and he called the red dragon, whom he showed in the vision as described in heaven, the first of all), lest anyone should think he is now saying that he is speaking of that one—when he says that he received the power of the first beast—he says he is not speaking of that first one, but of the one who was after him, but still before the Antichrist, whom the vision showed ascending from the sea like a leopard: for the wound of this one had been healed, according to what was said earlier. For he will perform signs and wonders according to the operation of the devil. The signs will be the sending down of fire ^D from heaven, and certain other great things, such that by their magnitude even the faithful are cast into astonishment and terror. For this is what he signifies by saying, *And he seduces my people*, as Christ says in the Gospel, *so as to lead into error, if possible, even the elect*. But to show which of Christ's faithful he seduces, he added a sign of them, adding: *who dwell on the earth*, making no distinction between angels and men. For whom could he deceive among the angels, to whom such natural purity allows no impediment to be placed against the truth? But those he will cast into such terror are those whose mind is not human, but earthy.

^A In the sight of men. By deceiving the eyes of those who behold, says the precursor of Antichrist, he will perform these things through sorcery, so that Antichrist may be thought to be Christ, as one who receives testimony from such a worker of miracles and gains undisputed glory, in imitation of John the Baptist, who bore testimony to Christ the Savior and preceded Him.

*And saying to those who dwell upon the earth to make an image to the beast which had the wound and lived by the sword. And it was given to him to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should even speak, and should cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causes all, both small and great, and rich and poor, and free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads, and that no man might be able to buy or sell, save he that has the mark.*

Since, he says, an image was set up for the beast, a spirit was also given to the image, so that the image might, as it were, speak. This, however, should be considered regarding idols, since it is recorded that many of them have even sweated and spoken during the times of the Greeks, through diabolical operation. The word "that" (*ἵνα*) is to be understood in common, so that the sense may be: "that it might also speak, that it might also cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast, that these might also be killed." That statues, as has been said, used to speak, one may learn from history; for it is recorded that through sorcery even trees and waters have spoken, by means of Apollonius and other sorcerers.

*And he causes all, both small and great, etc.* The sentence structure is somewhat vulgar, and for that reason obscure. For does he say that the small and great should receive, or that they should give? Therefore, by the addition of the preposition [or prefix], the absurdity might be corrected for the sake of understanding in this way: "And he brings about unto all the small and great and those who follow, that they should give to themselves marks upon the right hand or upon the forehead." This he says as an indication of who may or may not conduct business.

^D *Upon their right hand.* The sign of identification is placed upon the right hand and upon the forehead; for the inscription of a pernicious name is opposed to the good. Upon the right hands, that it may cut off the performance of good works; upon the foreheads, that the part which hangs over the eyes being taken, it may cast a gloom and blindness upon those who are being deceived, so that they may not, walking honestly as in the day, cling to piety. But those whose faces are signed with the light of the divine countenance will not accept it.

Chapter XXXVIII. De nomine bestiae.

in the sight of men. For by beguiling the eyes of those who see, he will perform these things, says his forerunner of Antichrist, in order to be considered as Christ by such a worker of miracles, receiving glory, testified to and indubitable, in imitation of ^A John the Baptist, who bore testimony to Christ the Savior, and was his forerunner.

XIII, 14-17. *And it is given to him that he should give spirit unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should also speak: and that all who do not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he makes all, small and great, and rich and poor, and free and bond, to give them marks in their right hand or upon their forehead, that no one may buy or sell unless he has the mark.*

Since, he says, the image of the beast itself is sculpted, it is given that he should also give spirit to the image, that the image might indeed speak. Now regarding these idols, it is to be considered that many of their images were reported in the times of the Greeks to sweat and speak through diabolical operation. But accepting it in a common sense, it is as follows: "That it might also speak, and cause that all who do not worship the image of the beast should even be killed." That the images, as has been said, spoke, can be learned ^B from histories: for it is written that by impostures, trees and waters spoke, through Apollonius and other sorcerers (39).

*And he makes all, small and great, etc.* The text of the letter is more obscure, and therefore absurd. Or does it say that both small and great receive what they give? It can be corrected for the absurdities by the addition of the preposition *eis*, and reduced to a clearer sense in this way: "And he causes all, both small and great and those who follow, to give themselves marks on their right hand or on their forehead." But as he says "for a sign," by which they may or may not negotiate.

*In the right hand.* In the right hand and on the forehead is placed the sign of recognition: for it is opposed to the ruinous carving of the name of the good. In the right hand indeed, that he may cut off the occasion of good works; ^C on the forehead, that he may cast darkness and shadows upon those who are seduced, so that they may not honestly embrace piety as those who are signed with the light of the divine countenance do. But those marked with the light of the divine countenance will not accept him.

765 CAPUT XXXVIII. Of the name of the beast.

XIII, 17, 18. *Or the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him reckon the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred sixty-six.* And what the mark is, he adds, it is the name of the beast. Doubly, however, is the knowledge of this: either by the conveying of the name itself, or by calculation. And indeed, the reckoning of the name of the beast is studiously spread everywhere, both in sales and purchases, so that he who does not bear this, may die in the lack of necessary things. And that it is the number of a man, [means] that it is not strange or unusual and hidden and having a double meaning, but a calculation practiced and known to men. But the number of the calculation of the name is six hundred sixty-six. For he did not clearly set forth the name itself, because it was not even worthy to be written in the book. Wherefore, for the sake of exercise, it is not untimely to take up again the proper names and appellations that bear the calculation. Proper names, such as Lampetis, Teitan — and from *tenō* (I shall stretch), as also from *sperō* (I shall sow), comes *sporos* (seed), [so] Lateinos similarly by a diphthong. Appellative names, such as *Nikētēs* (Victor). For perhaps he will call himself thus, and "evil guide," and "truly harmful," and "long-time envious," and "unjust lamb," which will be called upon him from his opposites, harvesting his own glory in shame.

*(39)* *Poinōn*, artificers, ed.

^D From the works of Andreas: The precision of the calculation, as also the remaining things written about him, time and experience will reveal to those who are vigilant. For if it were necessary, as some of the teachers say, for such a name to be clearly known, he who saw it would have revealed it. But divine grace did not see fit for the name of the spoiler to be recorded in the divine book. But as in a matter of exercise, it is possible to find many names, according to the blessed Hippolytus and many others, that contain this number, both appellative and proper.

CAPUT XXXIX. Concerning the hundred and forty-four thousand who stood with the Lamb on Mount Sion.

XIV, 1-3. *And I saw, and behold the Lamb standing on Mount Sion, and with him a number a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder. And the voice which I heard was as of harpers harping on their harps. And they sing a common song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song, except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.*

*On Mount Sion.* Not that of the old [covenant], because even that was not obedient to the Lamb, who is Christ, but on the new, which is the city of the living God, which is now

shown that the Lamb has ascended, with the vision manifesting the conversion of Israel that shall be in the last times, which the divine Paul also hinted at when he said: "When the fullness of the nations shall have come in, then all Israel shall be saved," ^A that is, when brought into the service of Christ. *And with him a number, one hundred and forty-four thousand.* The number of these thousands is not the same as those mentioned before, of whom it was said that they believed in Christ from each tribe; for if it had been that, he would have brought it forward with the article, saying, "The one hundred and forty-four thousand." But because he brought it forward without the article, it remains to be understood that he is speaking of those who believed from the nations, while the grace of the divine seed which was in each of the Apostles worked twelve times over in a thousand-fold to produce the perfect fruit of the faith of those who are saved, to whom it is attested that they maintained chastity, as much of body as of soul, which was rare among the Hebrews. ^B And that they have the name of his Father and of the Son written upon their foreheads signifies that they are sealed by the divine light of his divine countenance, through which they become a terror to the evil and pernicious demons in this regard. *As the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder.* The voice of the waters and of the thunders and of the harp signifies the clarity of the hymnody of the saints that reaches the ear, and their melodious, sweet-sounding, and harmonious song which encompasses the entire Church of the firstborn written in heaven and the public gathering, by whom the firstborn calling is celebrated with praise. I, however, am of the opinion that no one can even hear the mysteries of the new song unless they are those deemed worthy to sing them. For to each is given knowledge ^C according to the proportion of his purity.

XIV, 4, 5. *These are they who have not been defiled with women: for they are virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were bought by Jesus from among men, the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, and in their mouth there was not found a lie: for they are without spot. These are they who follow the Lamb.* These things are not said to the reproach of matrimony. For marriage is honorable; and matrimony is not rendered unworthy because virginity receives worthy praise. But since one star differs from another in glory, we consider these to excel the rest, after the twenty-four elders, because of their virginity and their innocence in both tongue and hands, and the splendor of [their] virtues ^D which they obtained after the coming of Christ; through which they are also taught the new song, which is unknown to the multitude, not only in the present life, but also in the future age. For even though knowledge is perfect there, according to the Apostle, yet knowledge is dealt out to each according to the proportion of each one's purity. *These are they who follow the Lamb.* It is not intended to show...

^A a distinction or the superiority of the Lamb himself, but rather to indicate the difference in virtue among those who have attained the learning of this canticle. For some, who are marked by simplicity of soul and innocence, have become fit to follow the Lamb; while others, being of a more manly disposition and imbued with a deliberate resolve, have offered themselves to Christ, who has reached manhood, having taken up the power to conquer—both against their passions and against tyrants. Those also, by imitating—some the innocence of Christ the Teacher, and others that which is of the Lamb, namely, the pouring out of their own blood for their Master—in this way attained their possession by Him. And just as there are various dwelling-places of glory, so too are there of punishment; for this reason it has also been said that each one shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.

CHAPTER XL. Concerning the angel who foretold the nearness of the coming judgment.

XIV, 6, 7. *And I saw an angel flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice: Fear the Lord and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. And worship him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the fountains of waters.* The term "mid-heaven" conveys a twofold meaning. For it indicates the high and lofty [region], and the fact that it is from heaven [comes] both that which is proclaimed by him and he himself who was sent by God, and that the judgment long expected from the ages is now ^B at hand. And since this is a saving [event] for those out of every nation who have performed what is pleasing to God, it is also fearful to demons and sinners. The voice alluded to both: to the good, through its greatness, [it hints] that the coming of the just Judge is desirable, and that He will restore them to the One for whom it fell to them to contend in this miserable and arduous life while holding fast to His commandments; but to the demons and to the men who have been driven to madness by them, it causes fear—not for their safety, but from the expectation of the works which they have done. Therefore, the prophet also says: [a] "Behold, the Lord comes, and who shall sustain the day of His entrance?" ^C *And worship him.* Rightly [we are commanded] to worship Him as the Creator of heavenly, earthly, and subterranean things. For by "heaven, and earth, and sea," the visible creation is signified; but by "the fountains," the subterranean [creation], for it is unclear whence the fountains have their upwelling, just as it is for things under the earth. And if, to Him as the cause of these, the slavish...

^A subjection is deservedly owed, then justly is the ignominy and contempt owed to the destructive devil.

CAPUT XLI. Concerning the second angel proclaiming the fall of Babylon.

XIV, 8. *And another, a second angel, followed, saying: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city, because she has made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."*

The "second" is not said absolutely and simply; but to indicate that when the first had begun to threaten punishments, another angel arrived to confirm the same calamities. For this is what is conveyed by saying that he "followed." And what follows upon this pronouncement? "Fallen is Babylon the great." For after the outcome of those things that were announced, nothing else was lacking for the whole confusion of the present life to be subjected to the fall. For what else could the "fall" signify? Just as Babylon signifies nothing other than "confusion." And what is this Babylon? It is none other than this corruptible world; for this Babylon has fallen from no other place than from that state by which it led others astray. Fornication, moreover, is known in Scripture not only as the unchaste union of male and female, but also as every turning away from the Good, if what is written is true: "You have destroyed all who commit fornication away from you." And that the world is represented by the name of Babylon is indicated by the word "great" which is added; for it is not placed there to distinguish it from a small one, but to set forth what it is in itself. But if anyone wishes to direct the discourse toward the Babylon that is in Chaldea, it will make no difference if so many things that apply to the world in its vanity also design the prototype herself, if everything that happens to the world is referred back to the cause.

CAPUT XLII. Concerning the third angel strengthening the people of the Lord not to receive the Antichrist.

XIV, 9–11. *And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever. And they have no rest day and night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."*

He said "followed," wishing to signify a continuous, unbroken, and unyielding [sequence]. The "loud voice" designates the terrifying nature and that which...

is sufficient to penetrate the hearing of all those who are signified. To worship the beast and to receive his seal is to consider the Antichrist to be God, and to recount and preach those things which are pleasing to him, both in word and deed. For this is what the mark on the forehead and the hand signifies, with the forehead being taken for discourse and the hand for action. He calls the impious manner of life "the image"; and he called the wrath "wine," not because of the joy it imparts, but because of the dizziness and the frenzy—for such is wrath. To be "mixed," moreover [means] that it is poured out or added. It is so expressed, because among the ancients both were used in cups. Wrath, moreover, is called wine just as there is "wine that gladdeneth." For just as the wine that gladdeneth brings with it a forgetfulness of difficult things, so too is the punishment that follows called the wine of wrath.

"Of the undiluted wine which is mixed in the cup of his wrath." With great skill he likens the undiluted [nature] of the wrath to unmixed wine poured into a cup. For undiluted wine is more potent to intoxicate than that which is mixed, since, in the age to come, the rewards returned for what has been lived out will be pure and unmixed with any countervailing mercy or any memory of good deeds; for the life there will be true, pure from all pretense and falsehood. But if it is like this, how is it said to be "mixed" in the cup? It is manifest, therefore, that this phrase, "that which is mixed," signifies not some tempering, but an addition, so that the sense might be: "That which is mixed, that is, that which has been added into the cup of wrath." Wherefore, consistently with [such] wrath, there follows the torment of fire and brimstone, both being most caustic: fire, in that it is of a nature to burn, and brimstone, in that it is accustomed to stimulate heat continuously.

Furthermore, "in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb" wishes to denote: by the angels, the implacability toward the torment; and by the Lamb, that he brings with him a remembrance of his own slaughter for the salvation of humanity—that while he, out of love, delivered himself through the fire, they nevertheless were unwilling to be freed from their own perdition. And he called "the smoke of their torment" an ascending cloud: this signifies either the manifestation to all that the punishment is carried out by fire (for smoke is [the proof] of fire), or a sort of mist of the wailing of those being punished, rising up not for a brief time, but eternally.

XIV, 12, 13. *Here is the patience of the saints: keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying: Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth. Yes, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.* In this, he says, the patience of the saints is demonstrated during the time of the Antichrist. Then, as if from a question...

^A the discourse is structured. And who, he says, are these whom you call patient saints? Then, as if responding: Those, he says, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. For these, even when temptations and death are present, will consider all things secondary to the love of God and the faith of Jesus. Nor does he say this as one dividing and separating faith in God from faith in the Lord, but, proceeding with his argument in a more introductory way, he advances thus: for among the Jews alone was the pious conception of the Divine Being discernible, turning reverence away from many and vain gods toward one God; but Christ, because He was seen and called man, was not yet acknowledged by the many as the supersubstantial treasure of the divine nature. For this reason, he put forth faith in Jesus in a more distinct way alongside the commandments of God. However, it is possible to say that from this point the theology concerning Christ is strengthened. For if faith according to Jesus accompanies the commandments of God, what is the necessity ^B of removing from the divine commandments that which is visual concerning Jesus, even though from this the authority of the commandments is more confirmed? Because of these, being disregarded, He did not disdain to take on the vile nature of man, so that He might show through Himself that, as the human essence was powerless to lead the commandments into action, He joined Himself to it by becoming man. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. The voice from heaven does not declare all the dead to be blessed, but those who die in the Lord, those who have been dead to the world, and who carry about in their body the mortification of the Lord Jesus. For their exit from the body is in truth [a release], and a rest that frees them from their labors. Verily, says the Spirit. The arrangement of the text is thus: The Spirit says: Write from now on, as if enticing those who are striving with the promise of not only the cessation of their toils, but [also] the attainment of ^C restful goods. For at the same time as the disappearance of the labors, the retribution through works will be introduced.

CHAPTER XLIII

^A into Egypt; rising, as it were, like an exhalation from the earth, that is, escaping from earthly density, but possessed of a lightness fashioned by virtues that run to heaven, which is attributed to her because she had the good fortune that the Son of God should dwell among us through her. Or, by the cloud, understand a certain angelic power, on account of the purity and the loftiness of the angelic nature, whence it is also said to be white. *Having on his head a golden crown.* The crown signifies the Lord Jesus as king. For Christ is King both of the intelligible and of the sensible worlds. He calls the crown golden, describing the glorious by means of the precious things among us. Furthermore, that he has a sickle in his hand signifies that the consummation of this age lies in his power, through the wrath or the speed of his approach and onset.

^B *And another angel went forth crying.* Why did this angel go forth crying? By these words is signified, periphrastically, the supplication of the heavenly powers, which desire the honor of the just, inasmuch as they imitated them in their temporal life, and do not refuse to see the vengeance upon those who lived in a manner contrary to them; therefore they hasten that those things which are moved and changed may cease, and that those things which are immovable and immutable may be made manifest. *Because the harvest of the earth was dried up.* The drying up of the harvest signifies nothing other than the arrival of the time of the consummation, when the seed of mankind, having ripened like mature wheat, would be—one part, having been cultivated in piety, deemed worthy of storage in the divine barns; but the other, having grown wild and degenerate, and bringing forth nothing wheaten, nutritional, and worthy of the divine seed, subjected to the eternal fire.

CHAPTER XLIV

It is not in vain that the sign is placed by which the angel who was sent is recognized, namely, that he was sent from the heavenly temple, since in the case of no one before him had such a thing been designated, but he alone was sent from the temple. Here [in this place]—

^A a place is taken, in which the temple is. We say, therefore, that because various forms of worship are performed for the Almighty God by His incorporeal ministers—of whom some have been allotted stewardship over the altars on earth, since the time when piety was proclaimed to those on earth, which extends from Abraham and Moses until the coming of Christ, and continues even to the consummation of the present age—it is reasonable that in that instance no such mention was made, unless one should consider the mention of the Lamb to be the sign in that case as well, for the sake of whose presence on earth there existed both the oracles of angels to men and the foretelling by God-bearing men regarding His coming upon the earth. So that it may be more manifest that not only on earth are acts of worship offered to the Almighty God, but likewise in heaven, mention has necessarily been made, in the case of this angel, of the place of his presidency. He says he is also armed with a sharp sickle, indicating the brevity of the outcome. ^B "Having power over fire." Understand this one to have been appointed over the punishment of the impious. From this we learn that angelic powers preside over all creatures—the water, the air, and certain other parts—but he says that this one, who presides over punitive fire—being himself among the superior angels—exhorted with a shout the one who possessed the sickle. "And they reaped the clusters of the vine of the earth." The reaping of the grapes signifies those who are especially lawless, by whom the cup in the Lord's hand is "inebriated"—that is, "filled"—not for joyous drunkenness, but for punishment; wherefore He says that all the sinners of the earth shall drink of it. And that this is what the vision intends to depict is manifest from the fact that neither does the Lord Himself deign to make the collection, as in the case of the former ones, nor does He send one part to the storehouses and the other to the unending fire, but one of the angels is said to perform the task, who, on account of the excess of their wickedness, casts them straightway into the winepress of the wrath of God, deeming them worthy of neither apology nor interrogation. "And the angel cast his sickle into the earth." The sickle carried by the angel is cast into the earth—that is, to make the punitive harvest of those wallowing in earthly things, who, like swine, swallow up muddy deeds. "And he reaped the vine of the earth." This vine is the opposite of the one that the progenitor of God saw lifted up out of Egypt. For here the angel is commanded to reap without mercy—and the assault was severe—the vine which had rejoiced in impiety and had covered all the impious before it, especially when they were incited to frenzy by the son of perdition himself, the Antichrist. ^C "And he cast it into the winepress of the wrath of God." He proceeds in his discourse in a more human manner, wishing to show the excess of impiety of the men of that time. For what faith...

would allow the blessed and immutable nature to be caught by passions? But by saying that the grapes are trodden outside the city, he calls the "city" the way of life engaged in the commerce of this present life. And since after its consummation there is truly a recompense for what men have done, he has said with reason, "outside the city." By saying that blood flows from the winepress through the trampling of the grapes, he leaves us to understand the "grapes" as the sinners. Therefore, he figuratively interprets the blood as their wicked actions, the just vengeance for which becomes manifest to all; and it is so just that they did not even obey the angels set above them for their supervision, who, as if by certain bridles, by their own assistance restrained men from actions hateful to God. But they were so stirred to fury that they not only despised the natural ideas given them by the Creator for the acquisition of good, but also those that were suggested by the divine angels. Therefore, since their unbridled petulance was shown even against their divine auxiliaries, out of the greater abundance of their disobedience, the scourge now becomes manifest to all. ^A

CAPUT XLV.

"And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful: seven angels having seven last plagues, because in them the wrath of God is completed. And I saw as it were a glassy sea mingled with fire, and them that had gained the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing upon the glassy sea, having the harps of God; and they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, O King of nations. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest." ^B And how is this not great, which signifies universal subversion? Or how is it not wonderful that the world should be brought to its consummation by angels who are equal in number to the days of the week from which it had its beginning, and should end in that same number—the angels who were allotted that duty to destroy it, and who have the plagues for the purpose of destroying? There are seven plagues: the glassy sea, fire, the image of the beast, the beast itself, its mark, and the number of its name. These, then, are the plagues by which the wrath of God is completed; and they are called "last" because for those who have overcome them there is no other struggle remaining. For those who [have overcome] the instability of this life, ^D

which for many is wont to dry up every refreshment through its saltiness; and who, while the world has obtained this, that it might crush the fame of their name in the manner of glass, are in no way made worse—not acquiring for themselves the scorching power of fire, but the illuminating [one]; and who have not been so unhappy as to be wrestled down by the image of the beast, or the beast itself, or its character, or the number of its name, but have manfully conquered—these, standing at that time upon the glassy sea, bearing a token of their own mortification in life, according to the inactivity of the pleasures that are therein, sing such things as it is fitting for those who have conquered such adversaries to sing.

*Having seven last plagues.* That he says "seven" is not to be understood as if the number were literally seven, but it is taken to mean "many." Thus, he designates that there are many punishments against the sinners, by which the wrath of God reaches its end; which are also called "last." Now when you hear "wrath of God," do not conceive that the Divine Being is subject to passions; but since he could not otherwise indicate the excess of the crimes of sinners, proceeding from wickedness and impurity—things which could move even a nature immovable to passions—he has spoken in the human manner. The "glassy sea" should be thought to signify nothing else than, by "the sea," the multitude, and by "the glass," the splendor and purity of those who have been found worthy of the blessed life there.

*Having the harps of God, and they sing the song of Moses.* By speaking of the "harps," he signifies the mortification of the members that are on the earth. Furthermore, he says they are "of God," inasmuch as no man, however diligent and industrious, would achieve this while destitute of divine assistance. But it is likely that by the song of Moses, the servant of God, all understand that which he sang on account of the drowning of Pharaoh, king of the Egyptians. The song of the victors before the Law and under the Law, therefore, is understood from those things which were accomplished through Moses by the command of God, as has been said. And what is the song of the Lamb, if not that which is composed by Him who delivers the oracles? Which they also shall sing who, having lived becomingly from Christ and after Christ, incessantly in grace and magnificence proclaim to the Lamb, that is, to the Lord Jesus Christ, [praise] for the omnipotent, just, and true guidance dispensed to us in a saving way. Which, as King and foundation of mercy, He has wrought toward His own creation through His apostles.

XV, 5–8. *And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony was opened in heaven: and there came out seven angels having the seven plagues: who were clothed in clean and white linen, and were girded about the breasts with golden girdles. And one of the four animals gave to the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the majesty and power of God, and no one was able to enter into the temple until the seven vials of the seven angels were completed.*

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE

He calls the tabernacle here the one which is in the heavens, to the likeness of which Moses was commanded to construct the lower tabernacle. “See,” he says, “that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you on the mount.” From this temple, once opened, he says the seven angels will go forth. For before the condescending advent of Christ to us, the knowledge of things impending was obscure and beyond the understanding of men. And therefore, for a more manifest faith in these things, at the Lord’s passion, the veil of the earthly temple was also rent from top to bottom, as if to show that the divine mysteries, folded away in secrecy since the foundation of the world, were from that moment made manifest and present to all, not stored up for one nation only, but proclaimed to all nations. And it is not without cause that it is called the tabernacle of the testimony, but because from there God, who gives the response, set forth to the priests according to the law what was to be done and what was not, with accurate and unhesitating instruction, not from the legal testimony, but from the archetypal and human-like.

“Who were clothed in clean linen.” He says the saints were clothed in linen because they brought in no animal passions, which are wont to obscure the brilliance of life. “And they were girded about the breasts with golden girdles,” namely, the concupiscible part of the body, around which the heart resides that contains the propensity for desire; not having this part, that is to say, loose and uncontrolled by any belt of temperance, but restrained by a most venerable and precious fastener. For such too is gold, the most sought-after and precious of earthly materials among men.

“Seven golden vials full of the wrath of God.” He rightly says that the golden vials were filled with the wrath of God. For the wrath is precious, as it carries with it what is good and beneficial rather than justice, even if those who are punished are afflicted by it. Moreover, the wrath of God is not from passion, as we have often said; but it is just, because He from whom it proceeds is also without passion. Whence He is also called living, in distinction to the dead and passion-filled gods among the Gentiles.

“And the temple was filled with smoke.” Smoke is a sign of divine wrath, according also to that which was said: “Smoke ascended in his wrath.” For neither does smoke exist without fire, nor fire without smoke. And that the smoke is said to be from the glory of God and His power contains a certain paraphrasis. For there is not a distinction between God and His power. For God is self-power and self-glory. But as for that which is said, “No one could enter the temple,” it must be understood according to the written word, so that the sense may be: None is perfect in the presence of the Lord—for if this were the case, he would hardly be able to endure the

wrath of God: or that the saints by no means acquire rest in the heavenly Jerusalem and the holiness that is in the temple there, until those who are worthy receive the rewards of their testimony. And he who fits the seven plagues to those who are found at the consummation of the world will not go wide of what is fitting and proper.

CHAPTER XLVI. Quod effusa prima phiala fiat ulcus adversus apostatas qui a Deo defecerunt ad Antichristum (Apoc. 16:1-2)

"And I heard a great voice saying to the seven angels: Go and pour out the seven phials full of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went and poured out his phial upon the earth, and there came a bad and harmful ulcer upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and who worshipped its image." By a "great voice," he does not mean a sound—for what sense could be found in those having no need of sensible things?—but great because of the almost intolerable misery of those being punished. And the word "to say" is used here for "to signify." "He poured out his phial upon the earth." Phial here, like a cup, is to be understood as a punitive power; when it is poured out, he says, a harmful ulcer resulted, figuratively designating the torment burning within the heart. And that it is poured upon the earth refers to those who are drawn along by the vanity of earthly things. Therefore, he also adds for greater clarity, "upon wicked men." For who could these wicked ones be, but those who bear the mark of the beast or worship its image, because they have departed from the living God and have attached themselves to the Antichrist? He calls the Antichrist, that is, the devil, the image of the beast.

Chapter 47. The second plague against those things which are rebuked in the sea (Rev. 16:3).

"And the second angel poured out his phial upon the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man, and every living soul died in the sea." He wishes to signify by "sea" the instability of the present age, in that nations will then rise up in war against nation; hence, if the sea is reddened by naval battles, and the earth and rivers by the blood of those being slaughtered, it is not strange. Or perhaps this change of waters into blood may come about by divine power at the hands of the holy prophets Enoch and Elijah, for the conviction of those who will have been deceived, just as the rivers were turned in Egypt under Moses. This is what the added text is more inclined toward, saying "as of a dead man," not "of a dead man," because the particle "as," that is, "tanquam," denotes not the actual efficacy of the thing, but its likeness in general; thus, that conjecture would not be far from the mark. "Of a dead man" means of one who has been slaughtered.

CAPUT XLVIII. That by the third plague the rivers are changed into blood.

XVI, 4-7. *And the third poured out his vial into the rivers and into the fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Thou art righteous, O Lord, who art and wast, O Holy One, because thou hast judged these; for they have poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and blood thou hast given them to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another from the altar saying, Yea, O Lord, God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.*

From this it is also shown that angels are appointed over the elements, of whom he says one, he who is over the waters, praises God for the deserved punishment of the transgressors who defiled their hands with the blood of the saints: indeed, at all times before, but especially then, at the time of the Antichrist, on account of which he summoned those who dared it by reason of their fierce, varied thirst for blood. For when the rivers and the springs of fountains are corrupted, how could they slake their thirst otherwise? *And I heard the angel of the waters.* Not only are divine powers set over the nations, according to the legislator Moses, but also over the elements of the world, just as this heaven-sent revelation teaches us. Now, among the things which the angel who was over the waters said: "Just" is said of God, as it indicates bringing reward according to desert; "who art" signifies that He is without an end; "who wast," that He is from the beginning; "O Holy One," that every mortal affection is removed from Him. Therefore he also indicated these things, that they who had poured out the blood of the saints might drink blood; those, namely, of the saints who had been afflicted by the champions ^A of the Antichrist, and of the prophets, Enoch and Elias, since they will kill them as well. But how will they drink blood? Because those who engage in battle near rivers in time of war are forced by necessity to drink water frequently defiled with blood, from the slaughter of those who are dying. *And I heard another from the altar.* He who was at the altar speaks in agreement with him who was over the waters. By this one, however, Christ himself can also be understood, because even in Him and through Him the rational holocausts and living sacrifices are offered to God and the Father, which we have learned from the Apostle to offer. The angelic powers can also be understood, as those which bear our prayers and spiritual sacrifices on high. The term "altar" is used by the figure of speech which takes the container for the thing contained. From this rational and ministerial altar, therefore, he says that a voice went forth, justifying the judgments of God, as things that exceed all reason and mind.

CAPUT XLIX. That by the fourth plague men are scorched by heat.

XVI, 8, 9. *And the fourth poured out his vial upon the sun, and it was given unto him to scorch men with fire, and they were scorched...*

with great heat, and men blasphemed the name of God, who hath power over these plagues, and they repented not to give him glory.* Whatever way one might interpret these things—by allegorical discourse, I mean, or by the actual fulfillment of events—one would not be straying from what is likely. Whether one might understand it as the sun of the daylight course, through which difficulties and pressures will daily seize those who behave licentiously in order to [bring them to] repentance, or else [believe that] the sun itself, by drought and distress and the desperation of the hardships of war, will scorch [them] more effectively by its own heat, because it also punishes [them] while intending their repentance, there will be no difference between the two interpretations, provided one settles into one and the same harbor of understanding. *Who hath power over these plagues.* He calls the Lord’s presence "power," He who makes His second coming for this purpose, to render to everyone according to his works.

Chapter 50. That the kingdom of the beast is darkened by the fifth plague.

Chapter 51. That the way by the Euphrates is opened to the kings of the East by the sixth plague.

He says that the river Euphrates is diminished for the passage of the kings of the earth, for the appropriate war. For, as the Lord says in the Gospels, “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” It is likely that these are from the Scythian parts, of Gog and Magog. Nor is it to be rejected that the Antichrist originates from the eastern parts of Persia, where the tribe of Dan dwells from the root of the Hebrews, along with other kings or magnates; since at times the name of "king" is applied even to them, as when it is said, "The kings of the earth stood up," though Pilate was not truly a king.

He says that they cross the Euphrates to bring about either the death of the soul or of the body: of the soul, in that such things happen by the operation of demons and by the permission of God—or rather, by God Himself bringing them forth for a trial of His servants; not because He is ignorant, but to make manifest to others who cleave to Him and who do not. And death of the body, for those who are worthy to be blotted out from the land of the living, lest they even corrupt that land with their wicked deeds, since it is the work of a good Creator and a region undisturbed, prepared for those who are ready to live in a manner rivaling the One who made them.

*And I saw out of the mouth of the dragon three unclean spirits.* One must understand the word "coming out," so that the sense is: "I saw three unclean spirits coming out of the mouths of the three in the likeness of frogs." From this it is shown that the devil is signified as a dragon in his own person, the Antichrist as a beast, and the false prophet as one other than the Antichrist. The devil is a dragon because he uses crooked movements; the Antichrist is a beast, as one who does not live in human nature in a human way, but rather in a bestial way; the false prophet is just what he is, namely, one who, in the manner of the poet, knows how to tell lies that resemble the truth.

He says that from each of their mouths a like number of unclean spirits gush forth, similar to frogs, but not frogs. Firstly, because the harsh voice of these cannot be taken up for any praise of God, but for causing disturbances and tumults; and because it is always the custom of demons and sinners to rejoice in a muddy life, just as, on the contrary, the friends of God rejoice in hardness, in the patience and fortitude of the soul, and in magnifying God with hymns, canticles, and confessions. Both the corrupters and the demons issuing from their mouths are in the ternary number, so that by this number they might deceive, as if they were pleasing to the most praised and holy Trinity.

*Which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them into a place called in Hebrew Armageddon.*

^A And it goeth forth to assemble them unto the battle. The signs, he says, wrought by the demons to cast the kings into a bellicose frenzy, signify the goal of that great day, which is none other than the second coming of the Lord. And how is it not great, seeing it brings to light the things done by each one? The battle is not against the day (for what war could men wage against the transit of the sun?), but against those who, being continually exercised by the fear of this day, have become of the portion of God—whence also they have put on the garments of salvation and the tunic of gladness, which are nothing but the God-befitting virtues, cheering the inner man ^B with a manifest radiance. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments. He continues in the figure of the thief. Therefore, he says that there must be the keeping and watching of the garments, lest they be lost through vainglory. For he calls virtues "garments," so that we, by the casting away of these, may not be found naked or even soiled, and thus be judged unworthy of the divine marriage. And he gathered them into the place. He says that the evil spirits gathered in a certain "place" those who were then deceived by them; but by "place" one must now hear "time." In this time, therefore, those who have been deceived by the evil spirits, being caught, shall meet with a separation. For the Hebrew term Armageddon, when translated into Greek, grants us to understand this. And what is the separation? It is the division of the divine gift, which sits by every man throughout his entire present life without being lost, granting strength ^C to our inclinations toward the better things. But when the transition from these things here to the things that are truly real and eternal occur at the time of death, in those for whom the divine gift is found idle, it is divided from the one who was accounted worthy to receive it, the sloth of works having caused the removal; and according to the rigor of the Gospel, the lot of the condemned is placed with the hypocrites.

CHAPTER LII. Quod per septimam plagam grando et terraemotus fiant adversus homines.

^D Et septimus angelus effudit phialam suam in aerem. Et exivit vox magna a templo cœli de throno, dicens: Factum est. Et facta sunt fulgura et tonitrua et voces, et terræmotus magnus qualis non fuit a tempore quo homines fuerunt super terram, talis terræmotus adeo magnus. Et divisa est civitas magna in tres partes, et civitates gentium ceciderunt. Here he poured out the vial into the air, because all pestilential corruption is produced from the air, and in this, the lightnings flash and the thunders resound. Now the voice came from the heavenly temple, that is to say, from those who are initiated into the divine mysteries more divinely, who are not

some other rules over it, or rather, the Father God alone, who in a supersubstantial manner is set above all things; for this is what the throne signifies. *And there were lightnings, and thunders, and voices, and a great earthquake.* Lightnings and thunders [come] from heaven; the voices, however, [come] from those on earth, out of fear at the things causing consternation; the earthquake, [representing] the shaking of the earth, since this too is contained among the signs of the end. Or he calls "earthquake" the transformation and change of corruptible things into the incorruptible, which shall be from the second coming of Christ. And the [phrase] "such as has not been" [means]: for no such change has yet occurred, from a corruptible world to an incorruptible and everlasting one. *And the great city was divided.* Some have interpreted these things as being said of Jerusalem, not so much on account of the multitude of its people or its boast in the grandeur of magnificent buildings, as rather on account of the sufferings of Christ and the sojourn of Christ. On account of which it is distinguished from the remaining cities, which it is the custom of Scripture to call "gentile"—for it is accustomed to address those other than Israel as "nations." The division of this [city] into three parts wishes to signify the diversity of those dwelling within it: Christians, Jews, and Samaritans. It is not untimely, however, to conceive of the "great city" as the present world, divided into three parts from the advent of Christ: into the time of the Greek empire, into the time of the power under Christian kings, and into the time of the coming under the Antichrist. The cities of the nations that fall are either the various opinions regarding the pious faith, which by their discord are destined to fall easily, or else the cities themselves. ^D *Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath; and every island fled, and the mountains were not found. And a great hail, as if of a talent’s weight, descends from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for the plague of it is exceedingly great.* He does not mean by "Babylon" the ancient Rome, although many holy martyrs suffered irreparable things therein during the Greek times; nor does he mean the whole world—even if this account possesses some acceptance—as having been called Babylon and "the great" inasmuch as it possesses greatness from the vain distractions of this life. For if the world were signified by Babylon, what would be the distinction of the islands from the world, since they themselves are a part of the world? It remains, therefore, to think of another Babylon with reasonable intuition; and what is this? Certainly none other than the city of Constantine, in which righteousness was formerly honored, but now in it are those who commit murder out of mutual contention, while the civil officials strive to be equalized with the ecclesiastical—nay, not even equalized, but that someone among them might take the prize, unto the kindling of a greater divine wrath. Wherefore, the impassible nature

^A was believed to be affected by passions, such that the cup of the wine of the wrath of indignation was given to Babylon. But what are the islands? We can hear the divine words of the one who says that the Churches from among the nations are recently established and receiving their foundation. And what is the flight? It is none other than that which came to pass because lawlessness abounded and love grew cold. For this love, which had bound the faithful together for the sake of God and drawn them away from the company of the unbelievers, provided them a sea upon which to swim. That having failed, it is necessary for the islands also to flee and cease to be islands. With these, the mountains that were within them were also swept away, having been lifted up from their earthly human-mindedness and vanished into the emulation of those who dwelt with them—those who were wretched in their grovelling and had lost the high and heavenly mind. And a great hail descends from heaven. He says it was sent down from heaven as a wrath inflicted by God. And the "talent-weight" means the perfect, because of the extremity of sins, to which the retribution is also comparable, calling forth to repentance.

CHAPTER LIII. Concerning one of the seven angels showing the Evangelist the overthrow of the harlot city; and concerning the seven heads and ten horns.

^A *With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication.* These kings of the earth are those who, by their earthly sentiments, are rolled down to the refuse of this present life. And they themselves were also made drunk, in that they were sated with impiety not from a small or light use, but from a great abundance of things present. *And he took me away in the Spirit into a wilderness.* Contemplation designates that desolation which is to be in spiritual matters, which he says he saw as a woman—namely, effeminate and, as it were, a harlot and without a husband, having no sign of continence. And the being taken away *in the Spirit*—what else could it signify than that these things were not vouchsafed to be seen realistically by action, but rather through contemplation? From which it also shows that the image of another woman was signified by oracle, sitting upon a scarlet beast, representing the woman as the time in which these things are carried out, during which he who is practiced in base actions rests upon the devil, who delights in blood (for this is what the scarlet color intends to signify), and the chair suggests that this is to be understood as such. *Names of blasphemy* means to attribute to the devil the worship due to God. ^B XVII, 4-7. And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and gilded with gold and precious stone and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of the abominations and the filthiness of the fornication of the earth; and on her forehead a name written, a mystery: Babylon the Great, the mother of the fornications and the abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And I wondered when I saw her with great wonder. And the angel said to me: Why dost thou wonder? *Purple*, because it dares all things authoritatively in the manner of a queen; *scarlet*, because it sheds the blood of many saints; *gilded with gold and precious stone and pearls*, because the Word adorns her as a queen with royal ornament. For among the cruel and those who exercise power, it is given to behold the faith of Christ, like pure gold, blooming on those afflicted, like a precious stone displaying its strength in its transparency to those who are ignorant of it, and like pearls in that it has emerged from the sea of the life of this world, agitated by the storms of temptations, and has been fitted to the royal diadem of Christ. The *golden cup*: golden, because the time is held by power as if by a kingdom; in the hand, because of the efficacy of those things which are established; a cup, perhaps to show that they do not pursue vice out of satiety, but in the thirst of their own destruction. For this reason they have also multiplied her abominations—that is, the pursuits abominable to God—with which the multitude of those who love sin is made to drink, as it sucks up the abominable drunkenness of sin and the defilement of fornication from God as a sweet potion. *And with the filthiness of the fornication of the earth.* The fornication of the earth are those who are glued to earthly things. For it is not that given...

nature has bestowed upon them ^A to play the harlot with the earth, which is an inanimate and senseless creation. Moreover, that a name is written upon the forehead signifies that she works abominations without any shame. Further, in calling her the mother of harlots, you will not err from the truth, whichever you wish it to be: whether old Rome, or the new, or the time of the coming of the Antichrist. For both assumed dominion over other cities, and each has had its fill of the blood of the holy martyrs. *And I wondered, having seen.* It was expected that a good and kind man, endowed with a gentleness beyond what words can express, upon beholding the savagery of brutal men, would be seized by an overwhelming state of shock. For this is what "great wonder" ^B signifies. That this blessed John the Theologian was simple in his character, the history concerning him teaches.

Caput LIV. That the angel interpreted the mystery seen by him.

XVII, 7-11. *I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast which thou sawest was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into destruction. And the inhabitants on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) shall wonder, seeing the beast that was and is not, and shall come. And here is the understanding that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings: Five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he is come, he must remain a short time. And the beast which was, and is not, the same also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction.* The beast is the devil; he began and is not, just as things placed upon a balance are meant to be entirely moved away. Therefore he says, "The beast was," though he does not subsist now. ^C From which it is manifest that it is the devil, according to that which is said: "The beginning of the ways of the Lord." But he is not now, because he was killed regarding the efficacy of his actions through the coming of Christ. For he is not able, as he did before this, to bring it about that sons and daughters of men are offered to his own demons through sacrifices, just as he was able to act before the coming of Christ. That he is said to ascend out of the bottomless pit refers to the coming of the Antichrist. *And goeth into destruction.* He says "destruction," not non-existence, but he means condemnation to Gehenna. *And the inhabitants on the earth shall wonder.* They will wonder at the presence of the beast, not only that he perished and how he lives, but also that he has arrived in signs of error and deception. And who will wonder? "The inhabitants on the earth," regarding whom Isaiah also says: "We shall not fall, but they who dwell upon ^D

^A the earth." Such are they who do not have a firm foundation, as they are not built upon the rock, Christ. These too, therefore, will wonder, having failed to be written in the book of the living on account of their groveling nature. ^B *Seven heads are seven mountains.* They are mountains, he says, where the woman sits. We have already said that the woman signifies this mortal life, which is as it were effeminate and manifests nothing manly. By "mountains" and "seven heads," we understand those places in worldly sublimity and power that are more eminent than the others, in which we have known the empire of the world to have been established at various times: as, first, the Assyrian ^C empire in Nineveh; second, the Median dynasty in Ecbatana, which overcame the Assyrians under Arbaces, whose king, Sardanapalus, having been defeated, Arbaces killed. After them, the Chaldean power flourished in Babylon, over which king Nebuchadnezzar reigned. Then, after the overthrow of these and the Medians, with the kingdom of the Persians being established by Cyrus in Susa, and ^D after its demolition by Alexander, the rule of the Macedonians succeeded. To these followed the Roman empire and power in the older Rome, which, after its previous kings and consuls, having received a monarchy under Augustus Caesar, was occupied by the impious until Constantine, after whose dissolution the empire of the Christ-loving kings was transferred to the new Rome. According to this same understanding, seven kings are also to be accepted [in the succession of generations], whether masculine or feminine—the identity remains clear to the understanding, even if in one place he signified the seven mountains in the neuter and the heads in the neutral, while here he specifies seven kings. For Scripture is not accustomed to be overly inquisitive about such matters.

XVII, 12-15. *And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.* These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. They say that the ten horns are ten kings who will rise from the Roman empire in the last times, in the midst of whom the Antichrist will arise. But he says not that they are to receive a kingdom, but power as kings, and that for one hour; "as kings," indeed, because their kingdom will be weak and shadowy; and "one hour with the beast," wishing to signify the brevity of time, or that by which the hour of the year is completed, by which the Antichrist's...

who surpasses all, shall be subjected; alternatively, it may be understood as the hour of a life given over to pleasure. ^A And the Lamb shall conquer them..... and those with Him, who are called. Rightly, as He is the Lord of lords and King of kings, His defenders are also called, having a calling that is not casual, but timely, accurate, and immutable. Therefore they are also called faithful, because the faithful adheres to one Master, not being able to serve two masters. The waters which you saw. We spoke of these things before, that tropically and naturally the earth is from the waters, and remains in the waters, upon which this corruptible world is established, which spends its time in moist and soft pleasures. ^B Altogether, however, it is understood in no other way than this according to human races, which are nations distinguished by different languages, and in addition to these, the powers of kings are preserved. For this is what the horn wishes to signify, taking its use from horned animals, because they too are protected by their horns if there should ever be a need to contend against other animals. Just as the ordinances of kings provide for nations to remain as they are against other nations, so that they are not scattered into foreign dominations. ^C XVII, 16-18. And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall consume her themselves in fire. For God has given into their hearts to do His own will, and to do one intention, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God are completed. And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which has the kingdom over the kings of the earth. What the horns wish to signify has already been said, and that the beast is the devil. For it varies in the meaning of the beast, sometimes calling the Antichrist by that name, and at other times Satan. The kings, therefore, he says, who formerly were cruelly disposed toward the Lamb through the operation of Satan, by the admonition of God, shall hate the harlot—that is, the voluptuous way of life—and they shall render idolatry desolate and strip temples and oracles of their honors; they shall store up for themselves her flesh—that is, the animals set aside for the sacrifices of idols—and they shall abolish all the zeal that was expended on vain things, so that she shall be considered as if consumed by fire, and all shall cry out: Where now are those who were occupied by the vain care of that time? But all these things, as we have proposed, they say do not happen without divine power, but by the providence of God. And [they] to do one intention. Although the intention of these runs together with the will of God, yet as it was the care of God, and according to the inscrutable depth of His providence, it happens for the things being accomplished. ^D According to such harmony, therefore, granted to them by God, with all power having been provided to the beast, the beast shall continue to hold sway over that for which

^A the appropriate judgments—which were signified through the words—shall lead; through which he says, "Until the words of God should be completed. And the woman whom you saw is the great city." Rendering the woman more clearly, he resumes the discussion concerning her and says that she is the one who has authority over those who are encumbered by earthly things. For not all who dwell upon the earth are immediately corrupted by an affection for earthly things.

CAPUT LV. Concerning another angel signifying the fall of Babylon, and a heavenly voice commanding flight from it, and concerning the rejection of the delights which it previously possessed.

XVIII, 1-5. "And after these things I saw another angel descending from heaven, having great power, and the earth was illuminated by his glory. And he cried with a ^B strong voice, saying: Babylon the great has fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, and a prison of every unclean and hated spirit; because all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the power of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying: Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins, and that you may not receive of her plagues; because her sins have been joined together unto heaven. And God remembered her iniquities."

"And the earth was illuminated." From this we can understand that the splendor and light of the divine powers exceed the light of the stars by a great interval, since that splendor, acting and radiating freely, passes and surpasses the ^C obscurity of this corruptible world. He says, therefore, that the power of such a luminary is great, and illuminates the neighboring earth with its glory. For when heavenly and incorruptible things are compared to earthly and corruptible things, how great an excess of glory do they demonstrate! He confirms the voice as strong, demonstrating the efficacy and immutability of the things signified. And what is that, "Babylon the great has fallen"? By Babylon he means the passage of this corruptible life. "And a prison of every unclean and hated spirit." He likens the demons to birds on account of the uncertainty of their impetuous access against men; for the invasion of birds is also accustomed to come upon one from an unexpected direction. "Hated" is also not ^D unreasonably said: for what prudent person does not abhor association with demons? On account of which they have also been called abominations. "Come out of her, my people." The voice commands those whom the Lord knows to be His own to come out. To come out, however, means not to be destroyed along with the impious. For just as God commanded Lot, saying: "Saving, save your soul unto the mountain, by no means resting upon the earth," so also in this place.

^A And God has remembered her iniquities. These things are arranged in a human manner; for in the blessed nature of God, which is inaccessible to passions, it is superfluous even to conceive such things. For where there is memory, there is also forgetfulness. Forgetfulness designates that which was done as present by potentiality, but not still effective by actuality. To God, however, nothing is present by potentiality, but all things by actuality. "Render to her as she also rendered to you, and double for her double according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix for her double. As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so much give her torment and mourning. Because she says in her heart, 'I sit as a queen, and I am not a widow, and I shall not see mourning.' Therefore in one day her plagues will come, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be burned with fire: for the Lord is strong who will judge her." ^B It is not specified from whom this command or speech proceeds. It may be from the just and the martyrs who struggled for Christ at that time (that is to say, during the visitation of Antichrist), delivered over with such cruelty and bestiality to the ministers of Antichrist dwelling in life at that time, that even though they might have chosen to live in imitation of God, yet, due to the excess of their afflictions, they were overcome into uttering these things. We have said, moreover, that the woman signifies the time under Antichrist, not some city; and the cup signifies the disposition of those dwelling in the life of that time, who, glorying in the power of Satan, used an immeasurable abundance of terrors against those opposing them. Just as she did, so let it be rendered to her. "Render to her double." ^C This "double" does not signify exactly twice as much; but because God, being philanthropic and good, punishes much less than is deserved, He considers it a double rendering even when He renders a part, and not only double, but also sevenfold—unless perhaps one should think these are not threats from God. For how does He who says, "God will not take vengeance twice upon the same thing," ^D now say that He takes vengeance in double and sevenfold measure? If, then, one must not suppose that the double and sevenfold signifies according to desert, but rather something more moderate, perhaps there is nothing absurd in this. "As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously." As if to say: just as she, having been glorified and having acted wantonly in this present life, has taken no thought for the divine will, so render to her. For she says: "I shall not be deprived of reigning." "In her heart." By "heart" he refers to the perseverance of those who will then complete their lives, whom he has also fabricated as reveling with the woman. "Therefore in one day her plagues will come." By saying "one day," he signifies the unexpected and sudden nature of the time in which these things will occur. For after her enemies have become masters of her, it is possible that in a single day they will inflict every punishment upon her which...

since the Lord is as powerful in bestowing what is dear to those who please Him, as He is in punishing those who sin without repentance. ^A

XVIII, 9-14. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived wantonly with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

He persists in the tropological interpretation, so that the transgression of harlotrous impurity may be made more manifest. We have said that these are the demons, even standing afar off. For they, as being minds [or incorporeal intelligences], are able to know the outcome even before it occurs, and recognize the substance of the fire as if from its smoke. The phrase "Alas" is a lametatory exclamation which is wont to be uttered at the occurrence of calamities; wherefore it is now most fittingly employed for this universal, sudden, and collective downfall. He calls it a "mighty city" because it had, for an almost infinite time, accepted its solidity as an unbreakable bond, which it was never expected would be dissolved. ^B

And the merchants of the earth shall weep.

pearls, they signify those who make use of virtue’s possessions for the sake of ostentation, and whose splendor has been dimmed by the onset of circumstances. By fine linen, and purple, and silk threads, those who are adorned under Christ with the flowers of praiseworthy deeds. By wooden vessels, and those made of the most precious thyine wood, and ivory, and cinnamon, those who, while practicing a life of alienation from the world and remaining unknown to the many, yet once the most sweet aroma of their achievements is revealed, obtain a spiritual joy too great to be described, being of such a nature that they cannot be consumed even by the fire of envy, just as cinnamon is not consumed by material fire. By copper, and iron, and marble, those who are like gold but make use of adulterated wealth—just as iron has a shine and marble a solidity, both of which fire puts to the test, and in this way they provide the proof of themselves through fire. By oil, and wine, and fine flour, and wheat, those who traverse the ocean of life in a state of joy and cheerfulness of soul. And they might be compared to sheep and beasts of burden who are saved by the infinite mercy of God, as David says. By horses and the vehicles drawn by them—which the ancient language called *angari*, the Greeks public post-stages, and the Romans *rheda* (from which the term *rhedarius* is derived, and hence the term *rhedarum* is adopted here)—He wishes to signify those who, running the way of Thy commandments, sing to Him in their works. ^B *And the time of desire.* Custom also knows how to call the time an "autumn" (*opōra*). Since, therefore, human things pass from corruption to incorruption without error, certainly those things that incline toward corruption will also vanish together, having disappeared entirely. But for this to happen to a city still observed in the present is impossible. For according to a "more or less," no one would deny that it happens, but as to the whole, by no means.

XVIII, 15-19. Negotiatores karum rerum, qui divites facti sunt ab ea, longe stabunt propter timorem tormenti ejus, flentes et lugentes ac dicentes: Væ, væ, civitas illa magna que amicta erat bysso et purpura et cocco, et deaurata auro et lapide pretioso et margaritis, quia una hora destituta est tantis divitiis. Et omnis gubernator, et omnis qui in navibus navigabat, et nautæ et quotquot in mari operabantur, steterunt procul et clamaverunt videntes fumum incendii ejus, dicentes: Quæ similis civitati huic magnæ? Et miserunt pulverem super capita sua, et clamaverunt flentes et lugentes ac dicentes: Væ, væ, civitas illa magna, in qua divites facti sunt omnes qui habebant naves in mari de pretio ejus, quoniam una hora desolata est. ^C By the merchants, one must understand either divine powers or demons who are co-workers with the heavens toward that which is agreeable to each. And their station is at a distance from these,

^B as he says, because of fear. But for the angels, it is because of the judge's severity, which the disobedience of sinners has procured beforehand. For the demons, the participation of the sinners in the punishment will instill fear. *Woe, woe, the great city which was clothed in fine linen.* From things that are known, he provides knowledge of those that are later to come. Since, then, it is known that Babylon played the wanton with great wealth, he brings the passions under observation through the royal throne that was in her, describing the magnitude of the calamity; and he manifests the mourning not only by the wealth and its destruction, but also by the speed of the corruption, seeing that wealth accumulated from the beginning of the age perished in the interval of a few days. For the second coming of the Lord will arrive with the speed of lightning, causing the life filled with hard labor to disappear. *And every pilot, and all who sail on the ships.* The present life is tropically compared to the sea, as it is itself tossing with many affairs, especially under the spirits of demonic assault. We have rightly assumed the ships in it to be the onsets of events that occur, which men use as ships, sailing across the sea of their own lives. We must understand the pilots as those who use life without danger. The sailors, the rowers, and the sea-laborers—whom a certain wise man calls "seafaring"—are those exhausted by the affairs of this surging world, all of whom, considering the unerring and entirely inevitable end of this life, took precautions before it stood over them. For "to stand afar off" encourages one to understand this. And that punishment will inevitably follow the absurd pursuits of those engaged in the sea, just as fire is followed by smoke—which is why he compared the expectation to smoke—the Savior himself manifests, saying: "For just as the lightning comes out from the East and appears unto the West, so will the coming of the Son of Man be." ^C By fire, the rigorous examination of deeds is signified. Rightly, too, will these cry out in a terrifying manner, and they will undergo the things that follow those who lament, casting ashes upon their heads, and performing whatever else is consequential for those who lament. *Who is like the great city?* Is it impossible to find another city? Because there is no other Creator, nor another world. Yet one can find another Babylon in Egypt, and in that same Egypt another similar to it, at the Heracleotic mouth of the Nile, Alexandria; and in Europe, toward the more western and northern parts, Rome; and toward the eastern parts, the one under Byzantium that takes its name from Constantine. *In which all became rich.* From this it is absolutely certain that the discourse is not about one city, but can be taken as referring to this entire corruptible system. For neither Babylon, nor Rome, nor any other city... ^D

derives its wealth merely from the voyage of ships, unless it is this world alone. For it becomes rich allegorically, by cooling the souls of men who, like ships passing unscathed through the salt-spray, traverse the worldly swell, establishing this city mentioned as the world itself, through the trade of precious things. Therefore, as it was a locus and a foundation of salvation, from which they found the rewards for their labors, they composed a lamentation, having seen it sent away to its disappearance. "Rejoice over her, O heaven, and holy apostles and prophets, for God has judged your judgment upon her." "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying: Thus with a rush shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and flute-players, and trumpeters, shall not be heard in thee any more, and no craftsman of any craft shall be found in thee any more, and the voice of a millstone shall not be heard in thee any more, and the light of a lamp shall not shine in thee any more, and the voice of bridegroom and of bride shall not be heard in thee any more; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorcery were all the nations deceived, and in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth." And from this we are confirmed that the oracle is about the world, and not about one city. ^B But the fact that after the lamentation the scene turns to rejoicing is not the drama of those on earth, but of the heavenly ones; for now that the agonistic place is wiped out, those who in the prototype have bound on themselves the victor's crown—as many as are among the prophets, as many as are among the apostles, among the holy ones, among the hierarchs, and any other assembly of those who have pleased God—shall now partake of unending joy, having been deemed worthy of a life without labor and without business, by Him who knows how to judge according to worth, that is to say, to award the prizes of their labors.

"And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone." He subjects the consummation of the corruptible world to various moral interpretations. Therefore, in addition to those already mentioned, he brings this one forward, likening it to a millstone plunging ^C with force into a watery substance. In this way, he says, such a thing plunges suddenly, so that not even its relic is seen anymore; and in the same manner, this world also shall depart into complete obscurity. And in order that this may be more clearly understood, he adds those things which from the beginning had been practiced within it as causes of luxury and as things that incite a crowd toward wantonness. "For thy merchants." He calls those who assemble this marketplace on earth merchants; for this reason he also calls them great men. For, indeed, the softness of life does not belong to the poor, nor does it belong to any single power to bewitch all the nations with various illusions as if with drugs, or to enslave them with powerful authority, or to make them disappear with tyrannical violence, from which also the blood of those dedicated to God ^D

^A was poured out like a torrent: by the Jews, the blood of the prophets; by the Greeks, that of the holy martyrs.

Chapter 56. On the song of the saints, and on the triple Alleluia which they sang for the destruction of Babylon.

^B XIX, 1-4. Post hæc audivi tanquam vocem magnam turbæ multæ in cœlo, dicentis: Alleluia. Salus et honor et potestas et gloria Deo nostro, quia vera et justa sunt judicia ejus, quia judicavit meretricem magnam, quæ corrupit terram prostitutione sui, et ultus est sanguinem servorum suorum de manu ipsius. Rursumque dixit: Alleluia. Et fumus ipsius ascendit in sæcula sæculorum. Et prociderunt viginti quatuor seniores et quatuor animalia, et adoraverunt Deum qui sedebat super thronum, dicentes: Amen, Alleluia.

*Alleluia* signifies: Praise, bless the Lord. They sing, therefore, a song of thanksgiving because of the just judgment of God, in that He has, without respect of persons, taken away that great harlot. He refers, however, to those who are in this world. *And he said a second time: Alleluia.* Beyond the first, a second *Alleluia* is added, and beyond this, even a third. Moreover, further down, you will see the Trinity of three persons praised by them with a triple acclamation of *Alleluia*. Who the elders and the four living creatures are has been seen before. *And the smoke thereof goeth up,* that is, the expectation of punishment remains, suspended from of old for those who, by the merit of their own wicked works, are about to receive retribution.

XIX, 5, 6. *Et vox de throno exivit, dicens: Laudate Deum nostrum, omnes servi ipsius, et qui timetis ipsum, pusilli et magni. Et audivi sicut vocem turbæ multæ, et tanquam vocem aquarum multarum, et tanquam vocem tonitruorum fortium, dicentium: Alleluia, quoniam regnavit Dominus Deus noster omnipotens.* ^C The throne of God is the seraphim: if, therefore, the voice went forth from this, it certainly went forth from the seraphim. Or even if one did not wish to understand the throne as the seraphim, even in this way the praise goes forth from the seraphim. *And as the voice of many waters.* He compares this voice to the impetuous descent of a great tumult or gathering of waters and to the strong sound of thunder, signifying the penetration of the hymn of the heavenly and numberless powers.

CHAPTER LVII. On the mystical nuptials and the supper of the Lamb.

*Gaudeamus et exsultemus, et demus ipsi gloriam, quoniam venerunt nuptiæ agni, et uxor ipsius præparavit se: et datum est ipsi ut vestiatur byssino splendido et mundo. Byssinum* indeed signifies the justifications of—

the saints. And he saith unto me, Write: Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of the Son is the spirit of prophecy. The spiritual marriage of the Lord in the present life consists in the betrothal to the Church, and thus it is a perfect marriage. And this is what the divine Apostle hints at when writing to the Corinthians: “For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” And his wife. He calls the Church his wife by way of allegory; hence, marriage ^A of the Son is introduced, and there are virgins bearing lamps, of whom those who had availed themselves of sufficient oil were deemed worthy to enter the bridal chamber, but those who were found lacking this were condemned to remain outside; just as, indeed, he who was not clothed in a wedding garment was shown to have fallen away from the wedding table. He says it was given to the wife, that is, to the Church, that she should be clothed in byssine, that is to say, in splendor. For such is byssus—the bark of an Indian tree, prepared as linen. Since splendor is therefore indicated by the byssine (which the present revelation also points out, calling it bright and pure), what else could be understood than the virtues, from which splendor and subtlety are woven into the contemplations of divine justifications? Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. Truly, if they also follow the calling as they ought: for we know that many are called in the Gospel, but few are chosen. For the impulse toward the calling is not sufficient, unless an agile vigor also follows the resolve. See thou do it not. Do not worship me, says the angel, as one who predicts things to come. For this mark of prophecy is not mine, but belongs to the confession of my fellow-servants for the sake of Christ: for this is what bestows the prophetic spirit. For the testimony of the Son is the spirit of prophecy. That is, the reward of the testimony made for Christ is the prophetic gift, just as it is also similar to the same, says the angel. For it was granted to me to prophesy because of my fellow-servants, the martyrs.

CAPUT LVIII. How the Evangelist saw Christ sitting on a horse, with the angelic powers striking terror.

XIX, 11-14. And I saw heaven opened: and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire: and on his head...

^A many diadems; having a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

The heaven being opened signifies the presence of the expected Judge. He sees him mounted upon a white horse, prepared after the manner of a general; whom he also calls faithful and true, and that he judgeth and maketh war in righteousness: upon a horse, on account of the swiftness of his coming; white, on account of the brilliance and unshadowed nature of his judgments, which are enslaved under no respect of persons. The rider is faithful and true, of whom Paul also says: "He abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself."

^B His eyes were as a flame of fire. It is not that God, who fills the heaven and is circumscribed by no place, is limited to such a form, although he has appeared to the divine prophets in various forms; but that it is necessary to descend to the weakness of human understanding. Whence it is also manifest that God is not distinguished by bodily characteristics, but becomes assimilated to the times and the circumstances; just as now, since the time of judgment is at hand, and the requital according to their merits for the things each has done is present, we see his eyes compared to a flame of fire, having power to illuminate and to burn: to illuminate, indeed, the angels and the just; but to burn, the demons and the sinners.

And on his head many diadems. The many diadems are a token of authority over all things, celestial, terrestrial, and subterranean: celestial, indeed, over the angelic orders; terrestrial, over the assemblies of the saints and the scepters found among kings; subterranean, since he reigns over the dead as well as the living, bearing the tokens of victory over all.

And he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. The unknown nature of the name signifies the incomprehensibility of his substance. For he is multinamed according to his dispensations, as Good, as Shepherd, as Sun, as Light, as Life, as Sanctification, as Redemption. And likewise by his negative titles, as Incorruptible, Invisible, Immutable—the Essence is nameless, known to him alone, and to no other.

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. The vesture of the Word is his immaculate flesh, which was dipped in his own precious blood. But it is likely that someone might be perplexed, how he who a little before was called anonymous and unknown to all by name, is now here named the Word. Therefore, this must be taken as a demonstration of the Son and of the birth from the Father, just as...

our own word proceeds from the mind, or because he carries within himself the reasons of all things. ^A *And the armies which are in heaven followed him.* Being the commander-in-chief of the heavenly powers, just as he himself had declared to Joshua the son of Nun, he naturally had followers who, in accordance with the strategy, completed the ranks, especially those that are now rushing to war against the impious. These things are arranged in the Revelation in a human manner, because they could not have been indicated in any other way. Horsemen and those mounted on white horses are present; the horses signify the swiftness of the approach, while the whiteness of the horses signifies the brilliance that adorns the heavenly ranks in such a way. And indeed, the riders themselves are shown clothed in a white garment of fine linen. For what could be seen that is more suitable to the heavenly and divine company than that which is of material and earthly existence?

*And out of his mouth goeth a sharp two-edged sword, that with it he may smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of the almighty God. And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.* The sword proceeding from the mouth signifies that the punishment is inflicted upon the impious and sinners by the command of the divine will. The sword is two-edged because the punishments of God for the contemptuous proceed both from wrath and mercy; it is sharp because it swiftly brings its effectiveness to bear. *With a rod of iron.* The iron rod is not for shepherding, but for shattering those whose life is clay and ready to be broken. Why, then, is the act of shepherding attributed to it here? Not without consideration, I think, but because it is probable that while shepherding, one must also fight against beast-like men, and for this reason a rod is needed, which justly brings perdition upon those who resist. And who else treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of the anger of God but Christ? For he himself fulfills the Father's will through judgment and retribution. ^B *And he hath on his garment and on his thigh.* The garment is intended to signify the flesh. Through the thigh, however, [is signified] the nature of the flesh, as it is truly human and not in appearance; for the thigh is accepted in the Scriptures for the representation of this. Therefore, the scope of the discourse by this is to signify that the Word, having been united hypostatically to human nature and having endured a carnal birth from the holy Virgin, is nonetheless almighty, as the leader of the heavenly, earthly, and subterranean, of those who have reigned over the passions, and of those who have the authority and power against sin through the assistance of the same Christ.

*And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a great voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven: Come, and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God, that ye may...*

that to eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse and against his army. The things proposed demonstrate the change of corruptible things into incorruption, and how everything is, as it were, fully armed under military powers and prepared for a retribution worthy of each one’s works; therefore he also presents a divine angel standing in the sun, who arranges and administers the divine command most manifestly, and signifies and announces what is salutary as if in the light; and because the divine purposes were given by oracle, the revelation puts the sun as a vehicle for him: for he who fashioned the divine mandate into an angel could not have named anything more brilliant among things visible. Furthermore, using a more efficacious progression of events, he commits to him the operation of a herald of the army; for this is what is meant by the voice with a great cry. Moreover, "in the midst of heaven" are the souls of the saints, which, departing from things pressed to the earth, according to the great Paul, proceed to meet the Lord in the air. "Gather yourselves unto the supper." He calls it a supper, and not a war, referring to the resistance of the just against the sinners, since the matter stands thus: for who is sufficient to resist the Strong One? But if war is also mentioned, we say it is spoken of with regard to the impulse of the sinners, and not with regard to the thing itself. The supper is, in all respects, the antecedent will of God, which is also called good pleasure; and the most desirable supper, namely, that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. — "That you may eat the flesh of kings." He calls eating the retribution worthy of deeds done, which Chanaanite also knows how to introduce to those who have not been carried away. By the flesh of kings, and captains, and mighty men, and horses, and their riders, he speaks tropically of those things about which they had been passionately concerned, thinking these alone to be the consistency of human life, which also are sent into destruction by the approach of the delights of the incorruptible life. — Another manner, from Andrew. By the eating of the flesh is signified the destruction of all carnal things and the failure of the magnificent names that are upon the earth. He mentions horses, not that they shall rise again, but through them he designates those who have burned with lust for women, or who have lived in malice, or both; by the riders, those who have excelled in wickedness. This he also clarified in the continuation, saying: "Of the free and bond, of the small and great"; by the free and great signifying those who sin with greater power, and by the bond and small, those who transgress less, whether through judgment, or age, or infirmity. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies.

and so forth. Regarding the symbolization of the devil and those who war against the devil, he introduces a list of kings in the plural, reviewing also the armies that are under them, due to the manifold and multifarious nature of sin. But concerning the army with Christ, whom he names as sitting upon a horse, he mentions the multitude following him in the singular, calling it an [army], because of the unity of his will and of the judgment toward the Word of God, and of the satisfaction and upright conduct toward him.

CHAPTER LIX. Concerning the Antichrist, and those who are to be thrown into hell with him.

CHAPTER LX. How Satan was bound from the coming of Christ until the consummation, and concerning the thousand years.

^A condemning him to the abyss. This is shown by the demons who entreated Him not to be sent into the abyss. And that he is bound is proven by the disappearance of idolatry, the destruction of the temples of idols, the cessation of sacrifices on the altars, and the universal recognition of the divine will. The great Justin says that at the time of Christ’s first coming, the devil knew that he had been condemned to the abyss and to the gehenna of fire. It is possible, therefore, as I think, to understand through what has been said the sentence of Christ against the devil. He says that an angel is the minister of such a sentence, in order to show that he is inferior in power even to the ministering spirits, and that he rages in vain against the authority that rules over all things.

Arethas from the same: He calls the "key" the secure and inevitable detention of those who are condemned; the "abyss," that which is without limit for escape; and the "chain," the power that restrains the operation of wickedness. ^B Now it is not altogether reasonable to understand the thousand [years] as that exact number. We guess that the number of a thousand is indicative of either a multitude or of perfection. Therefore, the thousand years—whether they are those from the coming of Christ until the coming of Antichrist, or ten times a hundred, or even fewer—it is not for us to know with accuracy, because it is not given to mortal nature to know the times or seasons which the Father has set in His own authority. "And after that he must be released for a little time." What "little time"? It is the time of the coming of Antichrist, which He has contracted into a short duration because of the vehemence which could hardly be endured by those suffering for the sake of God—about which time the Savior also says in the Gospels that there will occur an affliction such as has not happened from the beginning of the world. Therefore, He says these days were shortened for the sake of the elect. ^C

CAPUT LXI. Concerning the thrones prepared for those who have kept the confession of Christ.

XX, 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And the souls of those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

He says he saw the holy apostles, through whom the nations were instructed by the word of doctrine and lived and reigned together with Christ for a thousand years. So then, regarding the thousand years, it has been spoken. ^D These holy apostles, therefore, will sit, even as the promise of the Lord says: "Judging the twelve tribes of Israel," that is to say, condemning them. For by the juxtaposition of those who are of the same kind

when a difference is observed among them between worse and better, those who are caught in the worse are worthy of no common punishment, because they did not emulate their peers who had succeeded. Therefore, judgment is given to them, meaning to condemn, as those who not only were unwilling to follow Christ, the Well-doer, by adhering to the prophetic oracles, but even proceeded to act in opposition to them. And they are condemned also on account of the souls of those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, that is, those who on account of their faith in God endured death brought by iron. Or perhaps it speaks figuratively of those being beheaded as those who have mortified their members which were on the earth. "And they did not receive the mark." The mark, he says, is a sign of recognition. Just as it was said also of Christ: "The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is marked upon us." For just as there upon the face the light is impressed as a sign of those beloved by God, so in the impious, impudence is imprinted upon their foreheads, as they show themselves without covering or shame, such as they are. And that this might be more manifest, they confirm that sign by the absurdity of their own deeds; for the hand signifies action, just as the foot signifies the limit or rule, according to that which has been said: "Let not the foot of pride come to me, and let not the hand of the sinner move me." Since, therefore, these were not caught, neither being stamped with the evil one through impudence, nor through works, deservedly they both lived and reigned with Christ, until the consummation of the age. For as we behold, being worshipped even by faithful kings and princes, they display the grace given by God against every corporal infirmity and demonic operation. For since, he says, they did not worship the beast and its image, for this reason they also lived, that is, they performed the works of the living, namely, the working of miracles. Now he calls the devil, and the Antichrist, and the false prophet, the beast and the image of the beast and the dragon.

CAPUT LXII. What is the first resurrection, and what is the second death.

XX, 5, 6. "But the rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has a part in the first resurrection. In these the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." He calls those who have remained in unbelief dead. For just as we are taught from the divine Scripture that there are two lives, so also [that there are] two deaths, or mortifications. There is, therefore, the first life, temporal and carnal after the transgression of the commandment, but the life which is promised after the observance of the divine commandments is eternal life. And deaths are likewise twofold: the one is temporary, but the one brought in the future age for the payment of sins is the other.

endless and eternal, which is the gehenna of fire. But we also recognize differences among the dead: some are to be shunned, of whom the Prophet also says: "Let the dead not see life"; others are to be praised, who for the sake of Christ put to death the voluptuous actions of the body, carrying about in their bodies the mortification of Jesus. The second resurrection is the universal one of bodies, a resurrection that becomes the beginning of the future punishment for them. But over those who have been blessed by the first resurrection, the second death, which brings one from sin to punishment, has no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ. And the "thousand years" are not those completed by the tenfold multiplication of the hundred; but since the number ten is the first perfect number constituted of units, and then that same number again through the decimal interval constitutes the hundred, and again this, multiplied by ten, constitutes the sum of a thousand—advancing from perfect to more perfect—it fittingly assigned the perfection of the conversation of the most perfect God with men; not that it is entirely that number of years, but by this perfection it displays that as long as the interval of time of Christ’s conversation with men lasts, it should in no wise be attributed to imperfection.

CAPUT LXIII. On Gog and Magog.

^D XX, 7-10. And after the thousand years, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up upon the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city. And fire came down from heaven from God, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

"A thousand years." He speaks of the time from the coming of Christ until the Antichrist, upon whose release he then introduces both the nations and the places of the inhabited world, according to which he will display his customary imposture, and who, as leaders, will form this war, and against whom it will be constituted. By "nations," therefore, he means those who are easily deceived; and by "places," those who inhabit the regions under heaven, which he also names the "four corners of the earth," calling the four ends of the world thus, named so from the courses of the sun and the appropriation of certain stars. Since, therefore, these are the nations with whom the war is to be fought, and the region in which he now introduces even the leaders, Gog and Magog, as it were, like a commander of the war—whom Ezechiel also prophesies will come in the last times with great power. But Ezechiel indeed...

^A against Jerusalem; the present revelation, however, relates to the desolation of the whole world.

Some say that these are the northern Scythian nations, which have often migrated from their own lands and destroyed those upon whom they came, and that the city of Scythopolis in Palestine was so named because it was so often destroyed by their incursions. Furthermore, they say that a certain military force of the Goths in the regions of Asia, the Thalphali, and the Gothograeci—whom we call Hunnish in common parlance—are so named, and that they are more powerful and warlike than any earthly kingdom, but are restrained by the divine hand from ruling the world until the loosing of the devil, as is predicted here.

Others interpret "Gog" from the Hebrew language as "collecting" or "collection," and "Magog" as "elevated," so that through both—the collecting and the elevation—the great and haughty evil that the incursion of this nation brings upon those against whom it comes is manifested, as we have already said. ^B Some have taken the aforementioned period of a thousand years to mean the three and a half years from the baptism of Christ until His ascension into heaven—I know not how—and supposed that the devil was loosed after that time. Others said that after the completion of six thousand years, the first resurrection of the dead would be granted to the saints alone, so that in this earth, where they showed their endurance, they might enjoy delights and glory for a thousand years, and after this the general resurrection would take place, not only of the just but also of the sinners.

Therefore, since the Church has received none of these, it is pointless even to speak of them. We, however, hearing the Lord saying to the Sadducees, "As are the angels of God in heaven, so shall the just be," and the Apostle saying, "The kingdom of God is not meat and drink," have taken the thousand years to be the duration of the evangelical preaching. For as was written before, it is not necessary to understand the thousand years by that number. For neither did that which is said in the Canticles: "He shall bring for his fruit a thousand silver pieces," and again, "The thousand are for Solomon, and two hundred for those who keep his fruit," signify this number, but rather the multitude and perfection in fruit-bearing—just as here, too, the fruit-bearing of the faith in perfection is signified, after which the son of perdition, the man of iniquity, shall come, so that all may be judged who have not believed the truth but have been pleased with ^C iniquity, according to the Apostle, and according to the Dominical oracle which said: "I have come in the name of my Father, and you have not received me; another shall come in his own name, and him you will receive." Then, therefore, as it has been said, Satan being loosed from his prison, shall deceive all the nations, and shall move Gog and Magog to war for the desolation of the world.

whose number is as the sand of the sea. As wild beasts from their dens, so, he says, shall they be spread out upon the earth, marshaled by the devil and his demons; and they shall besiege and capture the camp of the saints and the beloved city—that is to say, the Church gathered everywhere—by encircling and surrounding it. Yet they shall not last long; either by visible fire, as the two captains of fifty were consumed in the time of Elijah, or by the glorious advent of Christ, and by the spirit of his mouth—which is like a purifying fire that by nature consumes wood—he shall devour both the ^A ungodly themselves and their leader, the devil.

Chapter LXIV: Of Him Who Sits Upon the Throne, and of the General Resurrection and Judgment.

The throne is white because the entire work of the saints—in whom God is enthroned—is pure and ^B devoid of the blackness of the sins which are committed in darkness. It is "great" because of Him who sits upon it, of whom David sang, "Great is our Lord." *From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.* The flight of heaven and earth does not signify a change of place—for whither could they go?—but a flight and transition from corruption to incorruption, and the final advent of the Lord, at which this mortal body of ours shall put on incorruption, and the face of the earth shall be renewed. *And I saw the dead.* He calls them dead either because all men have undergone the death of the body, or because they were dead in their transgressions. And by "great and small," he means either those who were such in age, or those who performed the works of death (or mortification) in greater or lesser measure, and who will be punished ^C in proportion to their deeds; calling the just "great," and the sinners, because of the vileness of their soul's works, "small" and abject. *And the sea gave up the dead that were in it.* In explaining how this final and cosmic resurrection shall come to pass, he sets forth these things. For since some, being incredulous that it should ever occur, have said that it cannot happen...

the discourse now corrects this, saying: just as bodies in the beginning came forth to be from non-being—not spontaneously, but from the four elements, water, fire, air, and earth—so, quite reasonably, having been dissolved back into them, they will again take up their composition from them. Since this also implies a return and gathering together of the primordial parts for the subsistence of men, for this reason he says that the sea, or the watery substance, will pour out the moisture that had entered into it; he calls the earthy substance "death," since it has also been said concerning it: "You have brought me down into the dust of death." And who possessing a mind is ignorant that dust is earth? He calls the air "Hades," because it has no form due to the rarity of its substance. In the same way, likewise for fire. He calls it Hades, from the fact that it casts those upon whom it comes into eternal darkness and non-existence. "And death and Hades." He calls those who have committed works worthy of punishment death and Hades, as they fill up the company of the second death.

Chapter 65. On the new heaven and earth, and the heavenly Jerusalem.

XXI, 1-4. Et vidi cœlum novum et terram novam: prius enim cœlum, et prior terra abierunt, et mare non est amplius. Et vidi civitatem sanctam Jerusalem novam descendentem de cælo, a Deo paratam sicut sponsam ornatam viro suo. Et audivi vocem magnam de cælo, dicentem: Ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabit cum eis, et ipsi populus ejus erunt, et ipse Deus cum eis erit. Et cessabit omnis lacryma ab oculis eorum: et mors non erit amplius, neque luctus, neque clamor, neque labor erit amplius: quoniam prima abierunt. ^B

This does not signify the non-existence of creation, but its renewal for the better, which also the holy psalmist David foretold, singing that all things shall grow old like a garment, and as a covering be rolled up and changed. For that which has grown old and is being renewed does not receive the destruction of its substance, but the scraping away of age and wrinkles. Note well that regarding the heaven and the earth, when he says that they passed away, it is as if to say they did not pass into non-being, but were transformed (and nothing of those things which pass from one state to another perishes in the absolute sense, but is reformed by the transition from this point to that); they cast off the things that had previously attached to them and took on the things toward which they were altered. ^C Andrew says: Regarding the sea, he says, "The sea is no more." For what need is there of a sea, since men no longer have need of it for sailing, or for procuring by its means the commodities produced in far-off lands?

If this sensible world is nothing other than a system and combination of the heaven, the earth, and the things in between, then—since the heaven and the earth have been renewed, as we have already set forth—the things that complete such a system will by no means be deprived of renewal. Why then is the sea, which alone among the intermediate natures is not merely deprived of renewal, but utterly of existence? If someone says that since there are no longer those who sail upon it, it is necessary that it should not even exist as it does now, that is reasonable. But for it to come to total non-existence is to carry out the renewal only in part. What then is one to say to this, if not surely this: that because the forefather of God compared the present world to the sea, it was necessary, so that one might not ascribe to the renewal of heaven and earth the commotion found in them, that by the complete disappearance of the sea, he indicated and removed those things according to the tropology of David, as if this too were to be discarded at the time of renewal? ^C And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem. Formerly, he says, Jerusalem was considered the holiest tabernacle, in which were stored both the temple and all the mysteries of the knowledge of God. But this is now called "new," and not without reason, since those things were rendered useless by their antiquity through the advent of the Lord. It was necessary, therefore, for a new Jerusalem to appear at the renewal of all things, descending from heaven, from whence the renewer, Lord Jesus Christ, came. Therefore, it is called Jerusalem for this reason; and a city, as it is to be the dwelling place of all angels and men. And [it was] prepared by God—for what could anyone accomplish for himself toward salvation if he were devoid of the assistance that comes from God? Morally and magnificently, he adorned it as a bride, so that from the things spoken of sensibly, we might transfer our mind to the intelligible beatitude and life of the saints. And God himself shall be with them. Explaining this more clearly, the Apostle said: ^D "Then we who are alive, who remain, shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord." In this tabernacle, therefore, which is not made by hands, there shall be no weeping, nor tears—which are akin to mortal life—nor pain (I speak of the affliction of the saints which they underwent in this miserable life); but in that future life, since it is immortal, sorrow, pain, and sighing have fled away, and all these things are idle and superfluous. For the first things have passed away. The first things, which from the transgression of Adam were subjected to corruption—whether they were troublesome and painful outcomes that abounded for the friends of God on account of virtue, or outcomes that followed the godless on account of pride and folly—all have passed away.

CAPUT LXVI. On the subjects spoken of by Him who was seen sitting upon the throne.

^A “And He who sat upon the throne said: Behold, I make all things new. And He says to me: Write, because these words are faithful and true of God. And He said to me: I have become the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him who thirsts from the fountain of the water of life, freely. He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. But to the cowardly and unbelieving and sinners and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and ^B to all liars, their part shall be in the lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The throne of God is those who have made themselves a seat and vehicle of His virtues, concerning whom He who sits in them also says: “I will dwell in them, and walk among them.” “Because these words are faithful and true of God.” Do not think, O John, that which has been told to you regarding the great change in renovated things is subject to any deceptive outcome, as if by a hyperbole of imagination; for they are so true that I command you to commit these things to writing, that what is to come may not pass into oblivion. For the words are true and faithful, as being brought forth by the Truth Himself. Christ is the beginning and the end, who also claims for Himself the Alpha and the Omega: the beginning, as He is first on account of His divinity; the end, as He extends His providence from the first incorporeal creation even to the last of men. To him who thirsts, the promise is to be given from the fountain of the water of life, but to him who thirsts for righteousness, just as Christ also says: “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” The refreshment of thirst is promised from the fountain of the water of life, which fountain is no other than Christ. The supply of such water is promised freely, although elsewhere it is said that the way that leads to life is found with labor and great violence. What then is meant here by “freely,” if not that temporal things cannot be measured against those that are eternal? Concerning which even Paul says: “For the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.” “But to the cowardly and unbelieving,” and so forth. He calls those cowardly who by a voluntary weakness turn toward the pleasures of the present age, because they choose nothing manly to endure, thus disgracing the dissolution of the soul like a womanish sickness. He says “to all liars,” and not “to the liars,” so that this word may include the outward working as well. For upon what other things would he who is a liar occupy his zeal, if not upon falsehoods and things that corrupt natural beauty with painted and fraudulent enticements?

CHAPTER LXVII.

Concerning the angel who showed him the city of the saints, and measured its wall and gates.

perceptible. The wall, therefore, was seen as composed of the gemstone jasper on account of the greenness of its color. For green grass is the first of all earthly food. Moreover, the crystalline character of the jasper of the wall alludes to the purity and faultlessness of what is contained within. Furthermore, he says this wall is high and great; for it is not pleasing to the Most High to dwell among the lowly and abject, but rather among those whose minds are elevated and who grasp after heavenly holiness. The appearance of the luminary is compared to a most precious stone, yet what its specific form is like is not indicated, because the most divine things, which are not subject to the senses, cannot be exemplified by mortal and corruptible things.

XXI, 12-14. *And it had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. On the east three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.*

No difficult meaning is drawn from these things in the interest of explanation. For since the number clearly indicates the apostles of the Lord, the very use of the gates—namely, that they introduce into the chamber of life—represents His apostles, through whom the nations were introduced into the chamber of Christ. They establish twelve angels at the gates—whom they have interpreted as the apostles—through whom our entry and access to the Father is effected by the cooperation of angels who are equal in number to these leaders, or rather, who are assigned to the stewardship of the twelve tribes of Israel according to the kinship founded in holiness. And most deservedly is this stated. For if we believe that an angel follows each of the faithful, it is much more consistent that angels are to be understood as helpers in the evangelical preaching for the foundations of the Church and the sowers of the evangelical word.

*And names inscribed.* In the Mosaic worship, it was commanded that the names of the patriarchs be inscribed on the superhumeral, but in the testament of the Lord Jesus, the names of the new Israel are inscribed on the gates—that is, on those who introduce us—of whom it is also said: *I will declare thy name to my brethren* (Ps. XXI, 23). By "name," he refers to the mystery of the faith in Christ, which he promises to set forth not for ineffable secrecy, but so that it might be made manifest to all. The gates correspond to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, because all things pertaining to the Old Testament were not abolished by the faith in Christ, but only insofar as the infantile things are weaker than the mature state. *Which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.* Having called the faithful "Israel," he persists in

the count of their complement. For by speaking of twelve tribes, which are themselves divided according to the Trinity by the four-part figure of the world, and are equal in number to the distinction of the sign of the cross through a tripling—which is manifest—and having defined those named as assigned to a portion, he describes how each of these has obtained an entrance by three gates again. For it is not possible to be grandiosely mindful of the crucified Lord without having obtained that which initiates one into the super-divine Trinity. For the divine apostles, having divided among themselves all the ends of the world, and having preached the consubstantial Trinity to the nations, baptized them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. *And in them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.* He has now rightly clarified the twelve apostles, for the scope was to signify the twelve apostles, whom he calls both gates and foundations: foundations, as they have laid down the sub-base of the faith in Christ; but gates, as through them—that is, through their preaching—one finds the introduction to the faith in Christ.

^C XXI, 15-19. *And he that spoke with me had a measure of a golden reed, to measure the city and the gates thereof and the wall thereof. And the city lieth in a four-square, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed for twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is of an angel. And the building of the wall thereof was jasper.* The reed with which he was measuring the holy city was geometrical. It was golden, moreover, on account of the honor both of the angel who was measuring and of the city which was being measured. ^D Yet these things were viewed after the likeness of a man, because it was not possible for these things to be seen in any other way, existing as they do in their own nature, since they are divine. By "city" is understood the mystery regarding Christ, to which the gates were assigned the task of bringing people in, because through preaching, the faith in Christ is made known. *And the city lieth in a four-square.* The figure of the wall and of the city was quadrangular, and similarly so were the twelve gates. For the city being quadrangular, it was divided by the figure of the cross across the diameter, from which the four sides likewise obtained a rightly portioned entrance with three gates each, as we have mentioned before. *For twelve thousand furlongs.* The furlongs are equal in number to the blessed apostles. Since the fruit of their preaching is the rest stored up for the future, being of equal measure according to every dimension, and the virtues of the life which is according to God have their existence in proportion, according to the divine Paul, who knows both how to be humbled and to superabound, to be filled and to hunger. And this number has the emphasis of the blessed apostles. For the number twelve, being multiplied into itself, makes one hundred and forty-four. Now when he said that the measure of the hundred and forty-four cubits is the measure of a man, he adds that this measure is that of an angel, even if according to the

appearing to men it is declared by the cubit. Let no one, however, think that it was a man who performed the measuring, but an angel who used measurement in a human manner, and not in an angelic manner by simple apprehension and intellect. ^A And the building of its wall was of jasper. By "building" he means the construction, that is, the zeal and diligence of the apostles concerning the preaching. And the verdant jasper signifies the course of the Gospel, which keeps the preaching always verdant and unfading.

And the city was pure gold, like clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls. The life-giving preaching brings about a habitation of the blessed and unending life, which city—or habitation—is compared to pure gold, because of the splendor received, assimilated to pure glass. ^B And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone. By the precious stones he designates the virtues of the divine apostles, whom he also calls the foundations of the city. Though there were twelve stones in the breastplate of the high priest, he places only eight of these among the foundations and alters the four: so that from this there might appear the harmony of the Old Testament with the New, and the excellence of the New and those who have shone forth in it in comparison with the Old. The apostles, therefore, are adorned with every virtue represented by the precious stones.

1. The first is jasper. By the jasper, which is verdant in color like the emerald, it is likely that the leader Peter is indicated, who before the passion of the Lord was always verdant and youthful in all the questions the Lord put to him. He was taken, however, by the pallor caused by fear at the time of the Master’s passion, so much so that he arrived at a denial. ^C Nevertheless, by that same verdure being restored to a better state, he was both himself liberated from the deadly thirst by the streams of his tears, and he settled us in a place of green pasture through the water of the saving baptism.

2. The second is sapphire (this is what the color of the sea-green stone, which some call "Venetian," is named), which is likened to the heavenly color, that is, to the depth of the air that overshadows the heavenly body, if indeed such a thing is graspable by the senses, and not—according to the Stagirite—something that has fashioned the nature of a fifth body. But even if our sense of sight is not able to discern the things that are very far off, with some veil or other overshadowing them, it nevertheless strives to manifest the color, assimilating [the second foundation] to the sapphire, which sapphire is [likened] to the heavenly...

body, in the manner already spoken of; from which sapphire they say the celestial color also comes to be. It is just that the blessed Paul should be compared to this stone, he who was caught up to the third heaven and who draws to himself those who believe. ^A

3. The third, chalcedony. This is not mentioned in the priestly breastplate, but the carbuncle is, which is not placed here. We must consider, therefore, whether they might have called the carbuncle by this name. The carbuncle is the blessed Andrew, who, while in the darkness of the life under the Law, found the sought-after Messiah through his own light, and signified and displayed Him to his acquaintances. Furthermore, if the chalcedony stone is of a color similar to the carbuncle, it is so called because it is found near the strait of Chalcedon, above Chrysopolis, by the Symplegades rocks, in the inhospitable places outside of these, in the crags and cliffs of desolate shores, along with other precious stones, as those who have arranged the ancestral history of the Bithynians have said—this remains to be examined.

4. The fourth, emerald. Because the emerald manifests a green color and receives from it brilliance and beauty, we think the preaching of the evangelist John is signified, who gladdens with the divine oil the sadness arising in us from sin. ^B

5. The fifth, sardonyx. We have supposed that James the son of Zebedee is characterized by this. For just as this stone incorporates a blood-red color, so too this blessed one, as the bright, white, and divine preaching begins, is sent forth to the heavenly and everlasting abode, full of light, by the course of his blood, to his Teacher Christ.

6. The sixth, sardius. This stone, appearing red in color, brings to mind Philip because of the fiery nature of his affection for Christ. For as this stone possesses a curative power for fleshy swellings and wounds inflicted by iron, so too does the beauty of Philip’s virtue clothe him. ^C

7. The seventh, chrysolite. Bartholomew is likened to the precious chrysolite, for he too radiates the golden splendors of virtues; yet not so as to be unfortunate by being melted like gold, but rather, he is enriched with a stony firmness for the sake of his enduring preaching.

8. The eighth, beryl. Thomas is likened to this, with its sea-like and hyacinthine color, and it depicts his instability regarding faith, and especially the long journey of his apostleship, which was carried out even to the Indians and through the sea. ^D

9. The ninth, topaz. The topaz, red and glowing like a coal in appearance, and emitting a light that is a remedy for those with eye ailments, will have the divine Matthew likened to it; for he was inflamed with divine zeal, so that he even recorded the incarnation of God down to his flesh and blood and nourishment by milk; through which things he [remedied] those whose hearts were blinded and whose faith was infantile

^A I mean those who are tutored in the conduct according to the Law, leading them back to the manly maturity that is found in Christ.

10. The tenth is the chrysoprase. To this Thaddaeus is assigned, he who evangelized the faith of Christ to Abgar, king of Edessa. This [stone], being gold in its appearance, and by this gaining its value, is not devoid of the leek-[green] color, whether the Apocalypse is hinting by this at the death of the faith in Christ regarding the passions, or whether it indicates eternal life through the evergreen nature of the leek-green color.

11. The eleventh is the hyacinth. To this, being sky-colored or resembling the air, Simon the Zealot is compared, bearing the figure of the perpetually wandering crowd of Zealots (and therefore, as one who is airy and wind-blown in spirit), yet by the knowledge of the truth, albeit late, he converted his zeal toward what is best.

12. The twelfth is the amethyst. This, appearing red in color, will deservedly be apportioned to Matthias, who shared with the eleven in the vision of the fiery dew that flowed from heaven; for which reason the foolish suspected that they were overcome by drunkenness, though they were actually disposed [to be] superior to all sobriety. Therefore, he was also assigned to the amethyst, because he who wears the amethyst is reputed not to be overcome by drunkenness.

“And each of the gates was from a single pearl. And the street of the city [was] pure gold, as transparent glass. And I saw no temple in it: for the Lord God Almighty is its temple, and the Lamb. And the city has no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of God lightened it, and its light is the Lamb. And the nations shall walk through the light of it, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. And its gates shall not be shut by day. For there ^B shall be no night in it. And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it, that they may enter. And nothing shall enter into it that defiles and works abomination and falsehood, except those who are written in the lamb’s book of life.”

By pearls, ^C he likens the holy apostles, and in each of them [he shows] a paradoxical thing: not only displaying the whiteness of their life, but by now even inducing wonder by the greatness and stature of their undertakings. He compared the street of the city—that is, [the street] of the blessed dwelling—its breadth and the duration of life, to gold. “And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon.” Since all perceptible things are rendered useless, ^D the sun and moon are deservedly rendered useless as well, inasmuch as all things in that state are resplendent in a spiritual manner. “For there shall be no night in it.” Furthermore, there will be no night there, in which safety is sought by means of bolts and locks, because there the divine gates, which we have said are the apostles, will be effective for the introduction of those things which are more perfect; for since it is always day,

in which the works of light are performed, how is it possible for nocturnal inactivity to creep in there, when there is no night at all? The meaning is twofold. For it either wishes to signify that there will be peace and security, so that one does not even need to set a guard for the city by closing the gates; or [it means] that even there the divine gates of apostolic teaching are open to all for the instruction of those things that are more perfect. But it will be day there, and not night, because the latter will be allotted to the sinners. *And they shall bring the glory and the honor.* Those who have conquered earthly passions shall bring glory to the God who helps them. For nothing that has been accomplished by men could exist without divine assistance. Those whom he called "kings of the earth" above, he now calls the introducers of the glory and honor of the nations. But what does he signify by these things? Either that those who have overcome the passions that drag one down to earthly things have, by their own example, made the entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem accessible to the other nations too—the example of which is glory and honor—or that they have contributed to glory and honor for the nations.

Chapter LXVIII. Concerning the pure river that was seen to flow from the throne.

XXII, 1-5. *And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb in the midst of its street. And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no lamp, nor light of the sun, for the Lord God enlightens them: and they shall reign for ever and ever.*

We know the usefulness of the river to be twofold: the restoration of thirst and the purgation of filth, both of which are fully realized in the life that is according to the evangelical preaching of Christ. For it restored the thirst of the prophets who were before the coming of Christ and who said, "My soul hath thirsted for thee" (Ps. LXII, 2), and it purified those who are washed by the divine and efficacious baptism. And that it is the Evangelist's aim to have the river signify baptism is here a sufficient argument to confirm: for he supposes it to proceed from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and to flow through the midst of the street, that is to say, of the evangelical preaching. For it is not possible for anyone to enter the heavenly Jerusalem, according to the voice of the Lord, unless he has been born again from above through water and the Spirit. *And on this side and on that side of the river.* On this side and on that side of the evangelical preaching, on this side in the present life, and on the other side in the world to come.

By the tree of life, he means divine wisdom. The teaching that adheres to Christ will, from the success of this life, arrive at that future blessedness. What is the success of this life? It is to handle the deifying virtues properly and in due season, and not ^A inappropriately or over-eagerly to engage in vain in an exhausting pursuit. The timely handling of these corresponds to the number of those who minister; for the workers were not to fall short, nor were they to exceed the time, but to carry out all things in an orderly manner and in wisdom.

Furthermore, he says that the leaves of the tree are for the healing—that is to say, the proclaiming—of the nations. What does he wish to bring forth through this? We know that a leaf is a covering that adorns the fruit. By this we understand that those things more perfect according to God, which are irradiated by a crystalline clarity, are committed for examination to those who are most perfect in virtue, for: "The mighty shall be mightily tested." But those things that do not share in the nourishing fruit, and are only taken as a plant in token that they are not dead, are assigned to the healing of the nations. For since these have been brought under the service of Christ, it would be superfluous to investigate them with precision.

"And the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." Anyone who has prepared himself by virtues beloved of God as a divine chariot, has run without sloth toward the rest of God and the Lamb through the divine instructions of the Old and New Testaments, and has happily partaken of a divine foundation—he himself shall be a dweller of the city of the heavenly Jerusalem, and he shall see God face to face, not through riddles, but just as He was seen by the holy Apostles on the holy mountain, as the great Dionysius says.

"And they shall reign for ever and ever." The saints, clearly, shall reign together with Christ for the unending ages.

CHAPTER LXIX.

"And He said to me: These words are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent His angel to show His servants what must happen shortly." The blessed evangelist here observes what is his custom, as also in his Gospel, for a sign of acknowledgment of what is genuine: "And we know that his testimony is true." So too now, ^B sealing his testimony, he says that the words have been set forth as faithful and true, deriving their trustworthiness from thence—namely, from the Lord God, who is also the Lord of the gift of prophecy. For this is what he wishes to signify by the words, "Lord of the spirits," as if he had said, "Lord of the prophetic gift."

CHAPTER LXX. That Christ is the God of the prophets and Lord of all.

XXII, 7-9. *Behold I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book. And I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who was showing me these things. And he saith to me: See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them that keep the words of the book of this prophecy. Adore God.* By those who keep them, he means those who strive not to fall into the punishments mentioned in this book, but rather through a life pleasing to God to be free from them. *And I, John, who saw and heard these things.* This also is a characteristic of this apostolic soul; for just as he did in the Gospel, saying, "He that saw it hath given testimony, and his testimony is true," so also he does here, professing himself to be an auditor and eyewitness of the things that were prophesied; for by this he confirmed the things that were seen. He also shows, as was said before, both the reverence of the instructing angel and his own modest piety.

CHAPTER LXXI. That he was commanded not to seal, but to preach this revelation.

XXII, 10-13. *And he saith to me: Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book: for the time is near. He that hurteth, let him hurt still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is just, let him be justified still: and he that is holy, let him be sanctified still. Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to his works. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.* "Seal not," etc. That is, do not keep them shut up within yourself, but reveal them to all. By the words, "The time is near," he wishes to signify something like this: The time for the occurrence of the things said does not differ much from the time of speaking, so that it is necessary for you to hear them now. In so far as they are not yet present, there is a need to hear them; but in so far as they are just about to be present—and indeed are almost being fulfilled—it would be superfluous to hear them. "He that hurteth, let him hurt still." This is not an exhortation, but a reproof of the inclination of each toward whatever he may wish. "Behold, I come quickly." The word "quickly" is said either by comparison with the infinite ages, or for the encouragement of those who are awaiting their reward, or else because it will take place inevitably and without any delay. "I am Alpha and Omega." It is not difficult to understand that by the example of the letters he indicated the beginning and the end, since he himself proposed it. To seek, however, the…

more inquisitive find it a matter of questioning why he did not signify this by other means, rather than by letters. We say, therefore, that since the reception of such promises as are honored by the word alone can be hoped for and expected, for this reason he signified it in this way and no other. A proof of such a creation is the discovery of letters. These very things, according to the Stagirite, are symbols of men in speech that is clear and distinctly audible. For ^A this reason it seemed fitting to him to use a voice that signifies names; and deservedly he used such a creation and such examples of the beginning and the end.

XXII, 14-17. Beati qui faciunt præcepta ejus, ut sit potestas eorum in ligno vitæ, et per portas intrent in civitatem. Foris canes, et venefici, et scortatores, ac homicidæ, omnesque idololatræ, et quisquis facit et amat mendacium. Ego Jesus misi angelum meum, ut hæc testificaretur vobis Ecclesiis. Ego sum radix et genus David, stella matutina splendida. Et spiritus et sponsa dicunt: Veni; et qui audit dicat: Veni. Et qui sitit, veniat; et qui vult accipiat aquam vitæ gratis.

It has already been said that he calls the "tree of life" the god-wise oracles, which, having their exercise in practical matters according to the most prudent [way], convey the authority of the saints, being prospered freely through the apostolic sayings towards the Jerusalem above. That the gates are the apostles, has already been seen. ^B "Foris canes, et venefici, et scortatores." He drives away not only the shameless infidels, but also those who have prostituted themselves because of their shamelessness and impurity, concerning whom the inspired Moses also says: "Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, and the exchange of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God, for any of thy vows."

"Ego Jesus misi angelum meum." Here also the Lordly dignity of Him who sent the angel is shown. "Ut testificaretur": that is, to testify, not in secret, nor in a hidden place, but with all Churches everywhere hearing, so that no one, by pretending ignorance through a deliberate malice, might remain uncorrected, being evilly disposed. ^C But the phrase, "I am the root and the offspring of David," is more consistently understood thus: I am the branch that has sprouted from the root of David. "Offspring" [I say], as having sprouted from him according to the flesh, so that the Emmanuel is from both divinity and humanity. The Lord himself is called the "bright morning star": morning, indeed, as the author of all wisdom and sobriety; bright, as "lightening every man coming into the world." He calls "spirit" those who are deemed worthy of the spiritual marriage, and "bride" the Church. ^D As for the phrase, "And let him who hears," he understands these...

as those who have not yet been taken into the flock, but are prepared to hear the divine oracles, and who also hasten to know the Lord.

CHAPTER LXXII. That the Church and the Spirit within her call for the glorious appearance of Christ; and concerning the curse to which those are subject who adulterate this book as though it were invalid and abrogated.

XXII, 18-21. *I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the seven plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says: Yes, I am coming quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus Christ. The grace of Christ be with all the saints. Amen.*

^A *I testify.* This is, I protest, I affirm, I declare to be trustworthy and immutable whatever has been signified by the words of this prophecy. I testify, moreover, that all these plagues written throughout this book are inevitably to be brought about. *If anyone adds to these things.* He protests to those who hear, that they should neither take away nor add, and that they should not consider the written idioms of Attic compositions or dialectical syllogisms to be more trustworthy or more venerable. *He who testifies to these things says.* He who testifies to these things, he says, speaks through me. What does he say? *Yes, I am coming quickly.* For he interrupted ^B the sequence of his discourse, as he did also before this in his own speech, by introducing Christ in his own person. Thus, therefore, even now, perhaps for the consolation of the one to whom these oracles were given, being truly an old man, he says: "Yes, I am coming." Therefore, it should be heard either as from the one giving the oracle, or also as from the one receiving it, so that the meaning might be understood thus: "I who testify to these things, although I am driven by the necessary term of life even before these events stand present, yet I myself also, delaying nothing, say: Come, Lord Jesus Christ, at your second coming." Furthermore, the phrase, *The grace of ^C Christ be with all the saints,* is that of one confirming it.

ORATION OF ARETHAS, ARCHBISHOP OF CÆSAREA, ON THE HOLY MARTYRS SAMONAS, GURIA, AND ABIBUS.

I. How does your spirit behave toward you, holy flock? You who celebrate this festal day more splendidly for the confessors of Christ, since I see you employing many outward festivities and occupying this sacred place with the utmost cheerfulness. Is it possible that the mind which holds dominion within you has gradually turned away from its own concerns, is poured out through the senses, and is dispersed even into those things which are subject to the senses of the eyes? Or, when it has allowed these things for a little while, like some fawning little dog, to wheedle the sense, does it itself—rejoicing in its own height—become moved and affected by looking upon things that are most beautiful and peculiar to itself, and, rejecting the pleasures of the body, celebrate the true birthday of the martyrs of Christ? If these things are so, and you have judged that this honor should be held for these victors, and if you thus strive to celebrate the feast day, "Come, let us exult in the Lord, let us shout with joy to God our Savior," ^A who long ago rescued his servants like a sparrow from the snare of the hunters, and now, at the very turning of the year, has brought us the desired joy, and willed that we should more studiously partake of his sacred contests as at a kind of joyful feast.

II. And what is this? It is precisely that which strengthens the powers of the soul and, having laudably scorned the ignorant multitude, raises it up as if on wings, most prudently, toward the mansions of that other life. For such is the martyr's feast day; such is the theater of our victors; such are the things which, having brought with them, they have resolved to set before their guests. For to feast in this manner and to indulge in joy, yet to serve the belly basely—which, whatever effort one contributes to it, emits into the privy—and to strive to surpass others in the change of garments, is not only not a noble thing nor one that befits our customs and discipline, but is most alien to the very sense and mind of the revelers. Since these things are thus, and since we have already declared how the festival ought to be celebrated, nor is there lack of hope that, having cast the seeds of prayer into good ground—namely, the thoughts of your souls—we shall reap manifold sheaves: come then, I say, now at this very beginning of the discourse, let us set before you things that befit the celebration of this feast day. But indeed, I see you desire that the contests of these most valiant men be presented to you as if depicted on tablets for all to see, because nothing seems more suited to the celebration of the feast day. Let us, therefore, do this. Although we do not, without doubt, possess pigments suited for painting so noble a subject, so that divine fruit might reach our souls from the unconquered constancy of the martyrs—so that, moved by their emulation and fighting with all our might against the impotent dominion of the vices of the soul, you may gain for yourselves perennial glory from this most divine contest. But come, let us now set before you what we have, and that to the extent that our faculties allow. Moreover, whatever these things may be, I do not doubt that, when offered with zeal, they will be entirely pleasing, especially as I know that children who are legitimate and fair judges of things are not accustomed to reject the resources of their parents, but hold them dear for the reason that they are paternal. In similar fashion, let it not be held a fault against a poor man if, for some who have come for the sake of feasting, he dispenses to them from such abundance as he has at hand.

III. Certainly, Gurias, Samonas, and Abibus were both born and raised in Edessa. Furthermore, the name of this Edessa (which is a city in Mesopotamia) had been known before these martyrs, but it was made so famous and illustrated by them that, together with their fame, it spread throughout the entire world. Nor indeed did they have their dwelling within the city, but in the field outside, where they were able to lead a life more tranquil than the business of this life, removed far from civil turmoils, which are wont to disturb and pervert the firm purpose of the soul in religion, and do not give it space to be able to contemplate its own beauty as if in a mirror, and to be able to perceive and correct if anything is obstructing it and remains unknown. Therefore, the rustic life was very dear to these men; in which, even being persistent, along with the Prophet that "solitary" one, until we pass over, they refused everything most beautifully. ^B

IV. But indeed, the principal study of Guria in life was meditation and continence, which, having been made familiar and peculiar to him by long custom, caused him to be called by the surname "the Continent." For you would not have identified him otherwise than by adding "the Continent" to his name when you named him. But Samonas, while the powers of both soul and body were most flourishing...

ORATION ON THE HOLY MARTYRS SAMONAS, GURIA, AND ABIBOS

^A How does your spirit feel towards you, O holy confessors, who celebrate this festival more splendidly, as I see, than you are accustomed to do with external luxuries, and who occupy this holy place with the utmost joy? Does perhaps the mind, which holds command within you, loosen itself little by little, and is it distracted by things subject to the eyes, even when it is poured out upon the senses? Or, when these matters have for a little while flattered the senses in the manner of a puppy, is the soul itself, rejoicing in its own height and moved by the most beautiful objects suitable to itself, distracted and afflicted, and does it celebrate the birthday of Christ’s martyrs as it truly ought? If things are so, and you have considered matters thus, and therefore contend to celebrate the feast, “Come, let us exult in the Lord, let us joyfully sing to God our Savior” (Ps. XCIV, 1), who formerly snatched his own servants, like birds of a sort, from the snare of the hunters, and now, at the turn of the year, has desired to invite us more zealously, as to a joyful banquet, to satisfy our longing.

^B And what is this? It is, indeed, that whatever strengthens the powers of the soul, and—having laudably spurned the multitude of the imperious—raises them to the mansions of the other life, as if to certain heights, has been most wisely elevated. Such, indeed, is the festival of these our victors, such is the theater of these, such are the things brought to us by them, which they have determined to serve up at their banquets: when, in this way, one indulges in gluttony and gives oneself over to joy, but not for the belly, which one serves basely, and which emits whatever one has contributed to it into the sewers; but rather when we have overcome other things in turn, not only is it not noble, but the very way in which it might come to our instruction is most alien to our very sense and mind. Since these things are so, and since we have already announced that the festival ought to be celebrated, and not without the hope that, having been cast into good soil—namely, the thoughts of ^C souls—the seeds of prayer might produce an abundant harvest of ears of grain; come, I say, at the very beginning of this oration, I propose for you, and for those who follow to celebrate this feast, what I have desired. For I see that the struggles of these men, depicted for us as if on tablets, are displayed for everyone to behold, so that nothing might seem more fitting than a celebration on this day. Let us do this, then. Although a theme so noble for depiction is without doubt not available to us with pigments, so that the divine fruit of the martyrs' invincible constancy might reach our souls—namely, that, stimulated by rivalry, we might be armed against the impotent dominion of the vices of the soul with all our might—let us nonetheless apply ourselves to it. Let us bring forth now the glory that we have, and that too, insofar as our faculties suffer it. Moreover, whatever those things may be, let them be collected with zeal, for I know that they are not wont to be rejected by legitimate and fair judges of things, and for that reason are dear to them, because they are ancestral. ^D In like manner, let not even the poor man be without his own portion, but let him who has been instructed to approach Him, distribute to them the abundance of that which is at his disposal.

III. Indeed, Gurias, Samonas, and Abibos were born at Edessa, and were educated there. Furthermore, the name of this Edessa (which is a city in Mesopotamia) was known to them long before the time of peace, and it is a celebrated and illustrious fact that their fame was spread throughout the world: they did not dwell inside the house within the city but outside in the country, where they might pass a life more tranquil and removed from the troubles of this life, far from civil turmoils, which are accustomed to disturb and pervert the resolve of the soul in religion, and leave no space to contemplate and correct its beauty. Therefore, what was held as a duty and was ignored, resulted in their life being quite rustic, in which they were also assiduous, with the Prophet, in that solitude, until they departed for the best life of all.

IV. But indeed, the primary pursuit of Gurias in life was meditation and continence, which, by long custom, became familiar and peculiar to him, so that he was called by the name "the Continence": nor could one indicate him otherwise than by adding the name "the Continence" when one named him. But Samonas, with his own most excellent soul and bodily strength, 789A and since the Holy Spirit is accustomed to gather those whom He chooses from common gatherings into His own choirs—since He exhorts the young to join the elders, so that they might celebrate the song of victory together—Samonas, I say, excelling in the strength of soul and body, joined himself to Gurias, about to imitate his life’s pursuits more closely, and, if he could, even to surpass them. But the Holy Spirit, who was completing their perfect choir, was even seeking a third, who with the parity of number might perfectly express in their choir that likeness which He has with the Father and the Son, and might also stabilize the strength of their concord by that number. Therefore (O happiness!), he even found Abibos: who, although younger in age than both, nevertheless made up for what was lacking in age not only by the fact that, having examined the institutions of life of both of them, he was induced to train himself in the same course together with them, but also because, being adorned with the sacred order of the diaconate, he brought great ornament to those to whom he hastened to join himself as a companion. For having served in the midst of them, and having acted confidently with them before the Lord whom he served, he secured for the pious a respite from the persecutors. For after that time, our earth ceased to be reddened with the blood of martyrs, the reign of Licinius having been dispelled, and Constantine substituted in his place. Under which emperor the Roman state began to flourish and be amplified, and he, being the first of all the kings, turned away from impiety and openly and freely professed piety. 789B [index: entries preserved]

^A

V. Endowed with such virtues, Gurias and Samonas were no longer known only at Edessa and its confines, but their fame was spread far and wide into lands abroad: there was, as a result, joy and ornament for the Christians, while for the Greeks there was sadness and great pain, and whatever else the envy of evil is accustomed to create. Wherefore, not bearing the glory of these illustrious men spread throughout all Syria—for Diocletian was Emperor of the Romans at that time—for he thought that he had not acquired enough glory from the conquered empire among all nations, he deemed it far more glorious if he had brought the Christians over to his way of thinking, or, if they refused, had destroyed them utterly: so that by removing those who knew God, he might also remove those who offered the unbloody sacrifice of goodness, and be free to offer sacrifice to his own demons. Hence, through royal letters sent throughout the entire dominion of the Romans, he promised honor and safety to those who were pious, and punishment or disgrace to the wicked who worshiped through mute and lifeless things; conversely, for the impious who honored those who were mute and lifeless, he promised honor and safety.

VI. To this judgment and the storm of the wicked, other storms succeeded: for as the proposition was the same for everyone in such matters, so they were compelled to follow common custom. They were ready, and the tribunals were built in the open, and the instruments of torture were set up all about. It was forbidden to Christians that they should... ^B to communal, or to holy gatherings, be admitted: they were excluded from every right of commerce, whatsoever had been open to everyone promiscuously before that time, whether in public or in private: to contract with anyone was forbidden: there was a great solitude in the cities of the Christians, and to places more remote from them retreated those whom the common multitude, who were stirred up, filled. There was no reverence for those advanced in age: there was no mercy for those who were victims of the malice of the wicked, nor for those who were ignorant of it, so that the nature which confers upon them its own, by which the infirmity of men and this affection are most moved. All were practically inimical to Christians, in only one human thing, that in their minds they had shaken the pious faith of religion, and brought them to the altars of idols, which they allowed to exert the power of living badly. This indeed could not be more pernicious to the pious. A heavy storm gripped the oppressed creature, which allowed no sign of tranquility to be given to it, nor allowed any hope of a better state to shine upon the miserable from these things that have followed.

VII. Nor was Edessa itself immune to the calamity of that time. Troubles and the storm of impiety increased in the pious, which having invaded the city, had caused all men to despair of life. Individual houses had their searchers, ^C even those placed in the illustrious location of the city, which seemed to be in obscurity, or had been accustomed to provide a safe place for those desiring to hide before. Nor were the fields themselves exempt from this storm: for there was nothing more tolerable in these regions, than in the towns, the fluctuation of miseries, and in the same way, here and there, piety was tossed as if by a tempest [by the danger].

VIII. At that time, Gurias and Samonas themselves also, the one distinguished by the praise of fortitude, the other by continence, were apprehended, and because the huge multitude of Christians was addicted to nothing, and there was no one who would redeem them or save them. And the others, who were held because of the obscurity of their name or the neglect of the faith, were led out without delay or custody, since they brought nothing against their adversaries, which would be an occasion for exposure. But Gurias and Samonas, who accompanied them, the solid glory of piety, who had even acquired a surname, which is the custom to give them in the place of a reward, were on account of this Christ-worshipping, in this manner, treated badly until death. For if they are said to have remained for so long, as long as the previous prince lived, another succeeded into his place.

IX. For truly this affliction was for them a place of delight, and the endurance of inconvenience drove them toward philosophy in their minds, which was even more serious, which they would soon undergo for Christ, the torturer's... ^D way to that which he had proposed to himself, he secretly prepared. Indeed, he even wove together some nonsensical words against them, thus approaching them almost craftily.

XI. "Do not," he says, "think that I am of a hard heart, and such a one as delights in cruelty and human blood. I revere nature: I feel pity for the kinship which I have with you: and although you have entered a way of religion contrary to us, and perhaps led by ignorance of the truth, and for that reason you have induced in your mind that you are prepared to bear all extreme tortures with a willing spirit: nevertheless I indeed forgive you for this, and I attribute it to the imbecility of your judgment: since I know that no man has yet existed, who has not erred in forming his own counsel, and who, although he has felt very well in other things, has not sometimes offended in those things which were paramount to him, and especially so, where he trusted he excelled the most. Wherefore, although the commands of kings urge me on, which are innumerable, nevertheless, I would rather, as far as it can be done, since it is a manifestly dangerous thing, bear any punishment myself, rather than do anything harsh against you, until perhaps your hardness, being overcome by my patience, with gentler words I may have led you away from that obstinacy, and brought you to my way of thinking, to which you now fiercely resist." This was a sort of prelude: for they also incited others by their example, since they taught that the faith which one truly professed, was neither broken by harsh things, which were most directed for the cause of Christ, nor weakened by any endurance of evils: nor would the just umpire and moderator of the contests allow them either to always endure or to be greater than what one could be equal to bearing: especially if faith is to be had in Paul, who himself was an inspector of arcane things, and a preacher. And if the labor is much, yet it is not yet so great, but rather lesser by a very long interval, than to be compared in any part with the splendor that is to be revealed in us afterward. And these things were so for them in this way.

But truly, since it was necessary that they should give themselves to much more perfect labors, and for the sake of ennobling their glory even more, they should set forth for all a manifest document of their superior training by the very thing itself: he, who had been sent a little before to govern the province, raged with fury against the Christians. Furthermore, that fury looked toward one thing, how in all matters he might gratify the one by whom he had been sent. Therefore he omitted nothing at all of those things which it is fitting for those to perform, who serve their own fury in all things. Men of high character are seized and set before the tribunal, about to pay the penalty for their piety. But what was said then by the martyrs with great elation of spirit and great courage against him, from which they might laugh at the inconstancy of the present fortune, and magnificently proclaim the glory of the goods prepared for the future (although the nobility of pearls was cast before the swine-like race of men), or how the judge himself, while he tries those who cannot be overcome by temptations, craftily tried to subvert the invincible constancy of their mind, it would be long to pursue in a speech: nevertheless, in order that we may teach as much as is sufficient for understanding what kind of men they were, so that we may not be entirely inexperienced in the magnificent arena of the martyrs, nor lose the thing which we hoped was the most beautiful of all, such they were, or closely similar to these.

X. The one who had obtained the power of judging acted smoothly with the holy men, and gave himself now as one who did not wish to harm them, to leniency: now he deferred the punishments, lest by the cruelty of his mind he might appear to hasten them upon those who were most prepared to undergo whatever he wished, and were offended by nothing more than the delay of punishment: but it was apparent that facts were contrary to words, since those things which were done by him were not of humanity, but of savagery: of a mind not beneficent, but maleficent: since from the interposition of such delay it was apparent that he wanted to gradually undermine the firmness and strength of their mind, and to extinguish the ardor, by which, after that fresh cheerfulness had as it were cooled down from such extensions, and had been lulled to sleep, the part of life that was left to you as extreme, he might cast it aside.

XII. "For whom," he says, "would not your greyness, Gurias, which appears in you on every side, and which continence makes conspicuous, move, when he observes in this... ? Who, moreover, would not highly admire the entire strength of mind and body of Samonas, and always desire to have him as his companion in all labors? Let judicial benches, riches, honors be gone: for although these things alluringly draw the minds of all toward themselves with their blandishments, and seem to have great momentum for living well and happily, nevertheless, when you judge that it is to be done with such probity of character and modesty of man, let it be pleasing to me also that all things depend upon the rashness of fortune, by the change of which, it is necessary that those things also be changed. See how I conduct myself toward you: grant me this, that I may be able to hope for better things from you. You, Gurias, having applied to your counsel that prudence in which you are accustomed to excel, and that greatness of mind and gravity of yours which has been seen by all. You indeed, Samonas, having transferred that solid and vivid bodily strength of yours to the service of the king (which indeed also would come to pass, as the divine Sibyl confirmed to me yesterday); do not, I beseech you, so cruelly and harshly abuse your goods, with which nature has generously endowed you. For from me indeed you take away mercy toward you: but you cast yourselves into a most shameful death, and imitate the malefactors, who, wishing miserably, bring death upon themselves." And such was the counsel and speech of the crafty judge.

XIII. But what of the men, most brave and unworried?

Did they employ, pray, some arts for his capture, upon which he relied in hope of trapping them by deceit? For what is it, they say, that is able to turn us so strongly from our resolve? Is it perhaps a vehement desire for this unstable life? But what is there, I ask, among all the pleasant things contained in it, by which our mind could be moved? Do you not notice that you have in us excellent witnesses of what this body of mine is like, which is wrapped about me, content with as few things as possible to sustain itself in life, and very similar to a soldier of Christ who is most ready to execute every command of the commander, and who, as if upon a very flimsy raft, traverses the deep of this life, lest being impeded by any burden, he should necessarily complete his course more slowly? Whence, therefore, will you be able to recall me from my resolve? By what blandishments will you catch me, so that the things of this life move me, who am already dead to the greatest part of it? Seeing that to the contempt of pleasures I have surrendered myself to voluntary death, and this very thing, that I now live, I live because I do not wish to exit from life without the command of Him who brought me into life. Since we are commanded to await [the time] until He loosens the bond by which we were surely bound into it. And what, I beseech you, would it not be an act of the greatest madness, having sent word to the young man, to wish to stir them up anew with desires, and to covet more greedily in place of grace those things which I had long since willingly cast off for all who might wish for them? Especially since it was uncertain whether, as soon as I had attained them, I would be permitted to enjoy them securely in leisure. But so that all doubt in this matter may be entirely removed, undoubtedly he would show himself to be of a degenerate and ignoble spirit who would prefer fleeting things to eternal ones, and those things which flow away more quickly than they can stand to those which are stable and permanent. And as far as I am concerned, this is how [I stand]: But in what way will you be able to divert this Samonas (for I speak on his behalf, because he is my companion in both the thoughts of the mind and in this illustrious pilgrimage) from his sound resolve of mind? XIV. You will perhaps say that it is not fitting for a young man in the prime of life, and with most powerful bodily strength, to cast off his person, with open impudence, to the slaughter of the saints. ^A Since they used such arts to capture him, trusting that he would break them by craft. For what is it, they say, that could move such a man from his purpose? Perhaps the intense desire for this unstable life? But what, I ask, of all the things it contains that are pleasant, could influence our soul? Do you not see that you have in us excellent witnesses? What kind of body is this that covers me, content with the fewest of things to sustain it, and quite like a soldier of Christ, most ready to perform all the commands of the tribune, crossing the sea of this life as if on a thin raft, lest it be hindered by some weight and necessarily finish its course more slowly? Whence then can you recall me from my own resolve? With what blandishments can you catch me, so that the things of this life might move me, who have already died to its greatest part? Seeing I have delivered myself to voluntary death through despising pleasures, and lived on as I now do, because I do not wish to depart from life at another's command than His who brought me into it. For when we are commanded, we wait until He loosens the bond by which we were indeed fastened to it. And what, I ask, would it not be of the greatest madness, having sent a message to the young man, to wish to excite those desires anew, and to desire greedily, as a favor, things which I had long since willingly dismissed for all who might want them? Particularly when it was uncertain whether, as soon as I had attained them, I would be permitted to enjoy them securely in peace. But so that all doubt on this matter may be entirely removed, he would undoubtedly show himself to be of a degenerate and ignoble mind who would prefer the fleeting to the eternal, and those things that fall away faster than they can stand to those that are stable and permanent. And as far as I am concerned, this is how [I stand]: But in what way will you be able to divert this Samonas (for I speak for him, since he is a companion to me both in the sensibilities of the mind and in this illustrious journey) from his sound resolve of mind? XIV. You will perhaps say it is not fitting for a youth in his prime, and of very powerful bodily strength, ^B to wish to depart from life before the predetermined day. I confess, he is indeed vigorous in age, but he is vigorous in God, from whom he also received that vigor: he is likewise vigorous in strength, but this also is among the things most praiseworthy, that those who are in the prime of life and of firm strength should offer them to Him to whom even the old law offers a grateful sacrifice: a young calf, flourishing in age, with horns now first pushing themselves out, and beautiful in its hooves. Let such a Samonas also be sacrificed in like manner, still in his prime, and with a shining face: not one already verging into old age, lest perhaps the victim be defiled by the wrinkles of the years that beset us. Having heard these things, that crafty and veteran [judge] immediately lost the hope he had conceived. Wherefore he believed that he would some day bring into his own power him who had been tempted, either softened by blandishments or broken by torments, or finally that, when he saw the torments to which others were subjected, he would learn from another's danger how he himself, by changing his mind, might avoid them. But as for Samonas, because he saw him to be both young and robust, he attacks him again with a torment far more atrocious and greater than can be said or thought, greater than before. For, having set him up aloft by one foot and his head, he ordered the other leg to be pulled in a different direction by an incredible weight of iron, since it was certain that he desired by this means to tear him apart as soon as possible. From which it came to pass ^C that, with the joint of the hip loosened, he fell headlong. Therefore, burning with amazing anger, and having quickly summoned those whose duty it is to practice such executions, he orders them to bind the martyrs by one hand and hold them aloft for a long time in that manner: and besides the fact that they were torn apart, weighed down by the burden of their whole body, for the sake of an even greater sense of pain, he orders an intolerable weight to be attached to their feet. XV. Most men know, but those experienced in the art of medicine most of all, who have more subtly investigated the secrets of nature, how intolerable is that torture of pain in any living creature if it is held suspended by some extreme part of its body, and the weight of the whole body rests upon that single point: for the structure of the bones is such that they are on the verge of being separated, and the nerves themselves are stretched beyond measure, and the muscles are pulled apart, and the whole trunk of the body is constricted, drawn out by its own and also by an extraneous weight: then when the natural moisture, along with the animal spirit, is compressed into the outer parts, and is prohibited from exiting because of the blockage of the passages, a more grievous force of pain is excited in the living creature, above all things else, also for this very reason, that the exit is precluded by the compression, and the more so if the tension which is made exists from the diameter, which is indeed thought to be longer than any mean line of the straight parts. With such and so great a torment prepared by the craft of Satan's ministers, when they had persevered in it constantly for the space of half a day, and even longer, when the impious judge noticed that he was achieving nothing, he orders the martyrs to be released from the punishment and thrust into a most dark prison, and there to be macerated by long-standing hunger. Then again, the questioning, and torments far more grievous and cruel than all those which had preceded them. XVI. But he decided not to vex Gurias further with torments, as he was almost undone by old age, by hunger, and by the tortures he had endured a little earlier, lest, if that were done, he should breathe out his soul during the torments before he himself had wished, and having inflicted slow punishments upon him—and in this way make an end of his life, and deprive him of the hope of life before the time predetermined for him. ^D

^A ...so that, the joint of his hip being loosened, that lame man afterwards might not without reason have remained so.

XVII. But when the most valiant men had held these things also for nothing, and had utterly cut off from him every hope that they could ever be conquered or overcome, he again committed them to custody; and when they had remained there for some time, he later ordered them to be beheaded in the dead of night, so that in this way they might depart from life. Oh, how great was the joy of this sentence to the martyrs, not indeed for the reason that they saw that an end would thus be brought to their bitterness and miseries, and that they would arrive, as if from some perpetual tossing and fluctuation, into tranquil and peaceful harbors; but because they were beginning that journey from which they would soon be with Christ, with whom they also hoped most certainly to reign, just as they had also imitated his footsteps in bearing adversities. And the contest and victory of Gurias and Samonas were such and so distinguished.

XVIII. But it is time that we now set forth what a stadium Abibus also ran. When he was held to be one of the ministers of Christ's mysteries, and was accounted to possess that same rusticity as those who had been perfected before him, he began to be accused before the persecutors, because he ministered to many who were being saved those things that pertained to their salvation. When Diocletian, having rightly ended his life by fatal necessity, the fury which was exercised against us had devolved to Licinius, like some inheritance cursed and devoted, having fallen from him to this man under a miserable guise of empire. Furthermore, since it could not seem tolerable to men devoid of sense if they were numbered in the same flock with the cultivators of piety, persecution was again excited by them; but the whole mass of the danger rested upon Abibus alone, whose conquest was to be for the impious as if they had utterly destroyed all the Christians alike.

XIX. Everywhere was Abibus searched for, through habitable and uninhabitable places, but yet the wily men could not find him anywhere. Therefore, when they were fatigued with searching and had already abandoned every hope of booty, he himself, whom they were hunting, spontaneously presented himself to those seeking him, and was led before the judge, by whom, because it seemed difficult to move him from his fixed opinion regarding the sane religion by any word or deed, he was sent through fire ^B to him for whom he burned with desire: and thus he was given to the martyrs who had preceded him, and was made their companion in the tomb, just as he had formerly been a companion in the traffic of labors and glory. Since they also conquered in a similar way the pestiferous spirits of the devil, overcame the powers of this world, crossed over to the arbiter of the contest, Christ, sweating and still dripping with blood because of the labors and contests exhausted in the stadium, he extends to them his right hand ^C as a manager of the games, and places his athletes in eternal tabernacles.

XX. But what are these things? Namely, where each is awarded his own prize according to his merit, and you perhaps desire to know what kind of thing this is. Truly of such a kind, to which no one can show any equal, either before the law or in the law. Why so? Namely, because none of them was a peer to these, because any of them at a long interval was surpassed by these. If indeed the institutions of living of the old law are more established than those which are according to Christ: yet among those who were after Christ, none could seem second, inasmuch as they were martyrs among martyrs, monks among monks, and participants of the priestly dignity among those endowed with priestly dignity. For they struggled, and even before undertaking the contest they behaved themselves strenuously in the cultivation of piety, and they were all participants of the sacred order, because Abibus was a deacon. For in the society which each of them has, he shares it with another, and by mutual offices individuals become participants of that thing in which another excels. Nay—but perhaps I shall seem excessive to someone—if they are compared with those things which are according to Christ, we shall be able easily to observe that in certain things they exist as superior: the martyrs, indeed, through the monastic way before martyrdom; the monks, however, through martyrdom; and the martyrs again, who occupied themselves in military or civil offices, through that splendor which shines forth from the priestly dignity. Such was the course for the blessed men, so great the labor: such was the peril on earth, and such the rewards of these most celebrated labors.

XXI. Among which that ^D also must by no means be passed over in silence, concerning the girl, which because of the wondrousness of the occurrence exceeds every belief. For she, while living, when she had been cast by wicked men into a tomb newly filled with corpses, in a barbarian region and one very far removed from her fatherland, there implored the faith of the holy martyrs with prayers, relying on whose help, she had undertaken so long a pilgrimage, and obtained that which she had most certainly expected. For in the evening, when she had been placed in the height of desperation and weeping, early in the morning she was restored with joy to her fatherland, her mother, and the tomb of the saints, having been miraculously led out of the tomb, as one who could not be seen by the guards sitting around it, and taken away from there by them with an admirable celerity. For they, carried on white horses (O the wondrous promptness and speed of the saints in bringing help!), when they had called to the girl and lifted her onto their horses, brought her into their own shrine, from whence they were pursuing the wicked man a little while before, having received sureties from him; which ones, being given, most holily and religiously kept the promised faith, and brought health to this one, and to him who had violated the faith, a little later, his merited destruction. O swift and ready saviors! O strenuous and invincible helpers of those who implore your faith! O to those things which you promised to fulfill—»

without delay you are most prompt, and in bestowing what is due to each, you are in no wise slow.

XXII. Now, therefore, O holy assembly and God-dedicated congregation, what I promised you has been fulfilled by me, the banquet of the discourse is prepared, and whatever pertained to representing the contests of the martyrs has been, to the best of my ability, delineated for you as if on the white tablet of your ears. But what of you? You who have gathered for the feast, who are the guests, who are the hearers, who are the rational sheep: what, I ask, will you return to these confessors, these martyrs? You will surely attend them with hymns and praises, and you will strive with all your might to pursue more and more each day the things that are good; for it is pleasing to the martyrs if their feast days are celebrated in this way. It is praiseworthy to honor the strenuous athletes of Christ in this way, with such zeal and such fruits; and you will manifest obedience, gentleness, peace, and concord to us, and furthermore, holiness as well: which it is fitting for one to attain, rather than anything else, by mortifying the members which are upon the earth—a term by which I think that life is called which is subject to the turbulent motions of the soul. But you must strive with the greatest zeal to sanctify and dedicate yourselves, [He] who grants to those who have purged their hearts of material filth the prize of beholding Himself clearly and being filled from that source with that heavenly glory, as Moses was. In this way, I, your father, and you, my children, shall perhaps find a most dear and most lovable name, when we have been translated to that eternal inheritance, that we may be able to live together and rejoice together; when, clearly, I am also honored by the crown of glorying concerning you, I shall cry out to our common Lord, "Behold I and the children whom Thou hast given me, O Lord; to Him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

ORATION OF ARETHAS OF CAESAREA ON THE TRANSLATION OF SAINT EUTHYMIUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE

What is this, holy assembly, inheritance sanctified, people inspired by God? What is this new concourse of yours and this unusual solemnity? For where no signs of joy appear, no marks of greater dignity, but on the contrary, where everything is sad and mournful, nothing not lamentable and tearful, nothing not of those things which are accustomed to be a source of bitterness and grief to men in the greatest calamities, pours itself out in such abundance that it might seem to all practically to be a funeral oration? What, therefore, is this plague that is so vehement? Or what is this grief that has taken possession of all our hearts, contrary to our custom? That it does not even permit you the free power to lift your eyes, empty of the sadness of tears? It is Euthymius, that great pontiff of God, who is the cause of this lamentation for you—the innocent man treated injuriously, driven far from his see, condemned by the impious hand of the wicked, and now at last punished with death, and finally brought, as he is here before our eyes, to this sepulcher. And what, I ask, of these things should have aroused such great weeping in you? Nay, rather, what is there in which one ought not to have the greatest joy and the greatest gladness? Or what is there of such a kind that anyone who is consecrated to God from the age [of youth] should not glory as if honored? For the memory of the just is accustomed to be contained with praises, and [his] eulogy with cheerful thanksgiving and praise, not with sad lamentation and mourning, with which you are now troubled. Believe me, these things are not of those who wish to be temperate; what you are now doing is foreign to our flock.

For the illustrious lover has risen to Him for whom he was held by longing; the runner has set out on a journey to the official; the illustrious athlete has gone to Him from whom the prize was rightfully to be given to him, still wet with the sweat from the vehement struggle he practiced in contending, and heavily panting from the labor of the race, and barely supporting himself through weariness and the infirmity of his morale, he arrived at the rest prepared for him in the next life, of which he has now become a participant, free from all troubles. In it, he now contemplates the beauties themselves, for whose sake he had descended into those contests; he has received the prizes of his labors from the right hand of Him who is powerful over all things, and he enjoys eternal beatitude. Wherefore, one must leap for joy and be carried away with gladness, because he enjoys the heavenly prizes, because the seeds of his tears, which he scattered weeping upon the earth, he is now gathering like sheaves while rejoicing, and he triumphs as one blessed.

themselves, and the same I shall pursue, only those things which were done by him afterward. But you, from what things ought you to take your greatest joy, for those same things do you think you must mourn and lament? And yet these things are neither pleasing to God, nor do they befit Euthymius. For even if he seemed in the eyes of the foolish to die (as it is in the Holy Scriptures), and his exit was thought to be an affliction, and his departure from us a destruction; nevertheless, he is now in peace, because God took him, tested him, and found him worthy of Himself; like gold in a furnace He proved him, and as a whole burnt offering of a sacrifice He accepted him; and for that reason in the time of his visitation he shall shine, when, naturally, all the just shall shine as the sun, joined to that most clear light, and those positioned on the left shall be surrounded by darkness and gloom; and the just man shall stand against those who oppressed him, if any trust is to be given to the divine prophet, who describes the punishments by which unjust men shall afterward be afflicted for their deserts. But what is there in these things of such a kind that we should pursue it with lamentations? What is the cause of this sadness that has occupied us, or whence so great a grief that afflicts our minds? Or rather, what is there that does not befit the soul of this most holy man? And what does not correspond to the laudable course of his whole life from the cradle? For indeed, he had Seleucia as his mother, which by the relationship of kinship touched that divine man Gregory, whom that age, which preceded this one of ours a little, brought forth for its own great good as another Thaumaturgus, he himself also being sprung from Decapolis in Isauria; and he taught and confirmed that saying to be true: The generation of the upright shall be blessed. He was received shortly after by Olympus, the most illustrious dwelling of Christian discipline. Whence, afterward, he was handed over to the monastery which is at the gulf of Askyneum, where likewise, by fighting excellently, his outstanding virtue shone forth. ^C From that time on, this royal and most celebrated city had in its midst our illustrious champion, who, when he was kindly received into hospitality by private citizens, would repay them with that reward for the service bestowed upon him by them which it was fitting for those to obtain who might treat a man of such excellent virtues with kindness and humanity. Since even that woman of Sarepta was not defrauded of the due reward for the merit she had conferred upon that Elijah the Tishbite; for the reason that she had hospitably welcomed him, greater divine aids were returned to her for leading her life. Now the fame of his name was spreading everywhere. For neither, as the Lord says, can a city set upon a mountain be hidden. Hence he came to the notice of the king, who admired the remarkable character of his virtue, joined him to himself as a friend, and made him a companion of the patriarch who was at that time. ^D Not long after, a violent storm invaded the Church, which the arrogance of him who then held the helm had stirred up. In which tumult, when its author, he who had been, had lost heart and had given a record of the renunciation of his sacred office to the Church, the wicked man departed in a wicked way. There was present one at that time suitable to take up that office deserted by him. For who could be judged more apt and more worthy to be preferred to that office than he who was in favor with all? From which it truly came to pass that which seldom happens to many others, that by the suffrage of the entire Church which is under heaven he was chosen to undertake the governing of this Constantinopolitan see. You observe what kind of man he is and how great, and with what sort of rewards he is affected on account of the excellence of his virtue? But how shall I be able to pursue these things which followed thereafter? The envy of wicked men, the slaughter committed by the impious, the cruel and violent judgment, by those judges (O divine justice, O incorrupt tribunal of God!) who had no care for sacred things, but were wholly intent upon one thing only, gain. Because of which they themselves were cut off from the entire and sound part of the Church, and could not return to health, and having seized that which they had most desired, ^B they refrained from no wicked type of shameful deeds and crimes, not even if there had been need to dig through walls or cut purses, for they hastened to fill the houses of iniquity with the darkness of the earth. Hence an incredible rabies flared up in them, because now no pretense of law remained to them by which they might cloak the audacity of their crimes; and there followed a selling of the entire sacred order which was done openly, all shame now having been cast aside. Hence, beyond others, against this man also who was most full of holiness, those proud and contumelious injuries—now to be passed over by us in silence; for I think it a sacrilege for me if I should pollute my tongue by recounting their filthiness once again. As for the trophies which he raised one by one against the common adversary of us all, and the remarkable signs of victory which he brought back from those contests in which he conducted himself most excellently, I shall leave the commemoration of all those things to those who were present at the contests of this unconquered man. Since they, having seen them with their own eyes, will be able to be most credible witnesses of those things which, as occasion offered, were done ^D by him, such as his endurance of extreme hunger and thirst, and of extreme nakedness; for with only a single garment he sustained that intolerable force of cold, and furthermore of the hooks or barbs hanging from on high, by which as if by a certain necessity he warded off sleep from his eyes, because by the example of David he vehemently desired to find an abode, and a place where he might rest, where, naturally, there is no fluctuation of the cares of this life, no storm of souls, no tempest more grave brought on by wicked spirits. Of all these things, I say, the commemoration, and the glory from the commemoration, I shall leave to those who saw them while present, and those things which he himself purposed to pursue, only those things which were done by him ^A afterward. But you, from what things ought you to take your greatest joy, for those same things do you think you must mourn and lament? And yet these things are neither pleasing to God, nor do they befit Euthymius. For even if he seemed in the eyes of the foolish to die (as it is in the Holy Scriptures), and his exit was thought to be an affliction, and his departure from us a destruction; nevertheless, he is now in peace, because God took him, tested him, and found him worthy of Himself; like gold in a furnace He proved him, and as a whole burnt offering of a sacrifice He accepted him; and for that reason in the time of his visitation he shall shine, when, naturally, all the just shall shine as the sun, joined to that most clear light, and those positioned on the left shall be surrounded by darkness and gloom; and the just man shall stand against those who oppressed him, if any trust is to be given to the divine prophet, who describes the punishments by which unjust men shall afterward be afflicted for their deserts. But what is there in these things of such a kind that we should pursue it with lamentations? What is the cause of this sadness that has occupied us, or whence so great a grief that afflicts our minds? Or rather, what is there that does not befit the soul of this most holy man? And what does not correspond to the laudable course of his whole life from the cradle? For indeed, he had Seleucia as his mother, which by the relationship of kinship touched that divine man Gregory, whom that age, which preceded this one of ours a little, brought forth for its own great good as another Thaumaturgus, he himself also being sprung from Decapolis in Isauria; and he taught and confirmed that saying to be true: The generation of the upright shall be blessed. He was received shortly after by Olympus, the most illustrious dwelling of Christian discipline. Whence, afterward, he was handed over to the monastery which is at the gulf of Askyneum, where likewise, by fighting excellently, his outstanding virtue shone forth. ^C From that time on, this royal and most celebrated city had in its midst our illustrious champion, who, when he was kindly received into hospitality by private citizens, would repay them with that reward for the service bestowed upon him by them which it was fitting for those to obtain who might treat a man of such excellent virtues with kindness and humanity. Since even that woman of Sarepta was not defrauded of the due reward for the merit she had conferred upon that Elijah the Tishbite; for the reason that she had hospitably welcomed him, greater divine aids were returned to her for leading her life. Now the fame of his name was spreading everywhere. For neither, as the Lord says, can a city set upon a mountain be hidden. Hence he came to the notice of the king, who admired the remarkable character of his virtue, joined him to himself as a friend, and made him a companion of the patriarch who was at that time. Not long after, a violent storm invaded the Church, which the arrogance of him who then held the helm had stirred up. In which tumult, when its author, he who had been, had lost heart and had given a record of the renunciation of his sacred office to the Church, the wicked man departed in a wicked way. There was present one at that time suitable to take up that office deserted by him. For who could be judged more apt and more worthy to be preferred to that office than he who was in favor with all? From which it truly came to pass that which seldom happens to many others, that by the suffrage of the entire Church which is under heaven he was chosen to undertake the governing of this Constantinopolitan see. You observe what kind of man he is and how great, and with what sort of rewards he is affected on account of the excellence of his virtue? But how shall I be able to pursue these things which followed thereafter? The envy of wicked men, the slaughter committed by the impious, the cruel and violent judgment, by those judges (O divine justice, O incorrupt tribunal of God!) who had no care for sacred things, but were wholly intent upon one thing only, gain. Because of which they themselves were cut off from the entire and sound part of the Church, and could not return to health, and having seized that which they had most desired, ^D they refrained from no wicked type of shameful deeds and crimes, not even if there had been need to dig through walls or cut purses, for they hastened to fill the houses of iniquity with the darkness of the earth. Hence an incredible rabies flared up in them, because now no pretense of law remained to them by which they might cloak the audacity of their crimes; and there followed a selling of the entire sacred order which was done openly, all shame now having been cast aside. Hence, beyond others, against this man also who was most full of holiness, those proud and contumelious injuries—now to be passed over by us in silence; for I think it a sacrilege for me if I should pollute my tongue by recounting their filthiness once again.

ORATION ON THE TRANSLATION OF ST. EUTHYMIUS

^A for even the eyes of the barbarians would have justly averted themselves from them and shrunk away in horror; since there were also Saracens present for the sake of an embassy, and they were witnesses no less than actors of all that filth, greater than any scene-play or tragedy—since it was otherwise a profanity that these things should be viewed in the theater of the impious, regarding the deeds so wickedly performed by the impious. Furthermore, these initial notable offerings were soon followed by many of exile, the flight of his acquaintances due to the impending fears in those harsh circumstances, as those who bore him malice were compelled to see the very man whom they pursued with hatred; but even these were far removed, either because their rigid military duty and guard kept them away, or because, owing to the innate inconstancy in the minds of many, they became perversely useless in the very moment of their need, and him whom they had hitherto admired with wonder, they now, as their wills had changed to the contrary, vehemently traduced; for nature is so constituted that in prosperous times adversities are always wont to lie in wait; wherefore there is nothing in human affairs that remains pure and untouched from the stain of its contrary, and not even the most glorious thing is free from being sullied by the envy and jaundice of base men. ^B And just as they, when they had departed from God, would cry out that the primary defender and the guide of the boy’s discipline had been [lost], all finally, each for himself, would call him their refuge, in whom the opportunity for relieving their own needs resided. And so, while the funeral was being celebrated with such praise, there was a gathering of everyone at this most religious temple, where, after the completion of the rest of the rites that were lacking for the discharge of the funeral duties, when there was already a danger that the remnants of the most holy man’s tabernacle might be torn apart because of the multitude of those who had flocked there, it was violently snatched and rescued from the hands of the spoilers, and in this way we placed the truly holy man of God into this sacred coffin which we see.

Dost thou think these to be of small moment for declaring the virtue of this man, and for indicating God’s care for His servants while they are still in this life, in prosperous times as well as in adverse? There is no one, I believe, who would object, unless one be of the sort who thinks the reward of virtue lies only in this: that one should proceed through a continuous course of good things in this life without any stumbling, and on the contrary, considers the more difficult progression along one’s path to be a kind of punishment, by which the misdeeds of men are constantly punished divinely according to their merits—an opinion both pernicious to those who hold it, and far removed from the wisdom of God, the righteous moderator of all things.

But since, by speaking, we have reached this part of the oration, let us compare, if you please, the things that happened to this holy man and, in turn, those that had happened previously to Alexander, and let us see how the justice of God most rightly orders all things in distributing rewards to each according to his merit. For he, when he was both king and born of royal lineage, and had unhappily breathed out his wretched little soul in the very dignity of his empery—with what praises was he endowed after he had finished his life? When, having retraced the reasoning a little higher, we diligently consider the things that were in both, this man, whom we have buried in this place, was raised and educated in the way we have described after so many adversities with which he had been conflicted, and so many notable proofs of his virtue he had exhibited—such and as much as we have mentioned above—he had such an end to his life, and he obtained such a burial as you yourselves certainly see, magnificent and glorious, and the kind which it is fitting for men dedicated to God to attain; which ought to seem even now more wonderful, that the head of the dragon, by which he had been struck with incurable bite, was still palpitating with the rest of its body, and rushing and being carried along with great audacity, fearing, that is, lest it should show itself as something better, even though all those attempts of his were destined to fall to naught, since the earthly power had acted so that his waves would depart into foam, and he indeed in this way. But on the contrary, Alexander. For he, whatever he had ^C and this tomb, placed here in our sight, in which he is preserved, surmounting with its humanity the inhumanity and ferocity of the surviving tyrant—by whose works, for the most part, he had been thrown into those calamities—and even he, who had been wickedly condemned, was at least restored after death, so that the land of promise might have again the bones of the beloved Joseph, for whom justice might be rendered by all the most select men of the sacred order. For the kings had opportunely promulgated an edict, and suddenly from all sides, as if by collusion (for why should these things not be done with such great celebration?), a huge multitude flocked together, and with a certain great pomp they began to accompany that victor returning from exile, with innumerable torches, a good part of which the royal piety supplied, illuminating the whole sea, and with most sweet incense driving away that troubling sea-sickness, and celebrating the bishop with perpetual modulation of hymns. But ^D as they brought him to the Virga (this is the name of a coastal tract), that most holy tabernacle was removed from the royal boat and brought into the church of the divine Emilianus, and there likewise the servant of God was sung with hymns, and honored by the praise of one of the number of the bishops. These things having been thus performed, when the sacred bier was carried from there and was being brought into this most honorable place, a shout was taken up everywhere by all—magistrates, private citizens, the rich, the needy, men, women, the small, the mature, the immature—of whom some called him father after God, others sought a pastor, others longed for a champion. For he had the end of life of which [original-script column: see facsimile]

^A you are witnesses, and he bore such fruits of his life as you yourselves see, and he attained the burial which you surely behold—magnificent, indeed, and glorious—such as is fitting for men dedicated to God to attain. And what is even more wonderful, that which the serpent—by whose bite he had been incurably wounded—still wreathed in the remaining parts of his body, trembled with great fear, as if he were trying to show—though in vain, as it turned out—that he was better, even when the earthly power, having acted to dissolve his kingdom into foam, had departed, and in this way he perished.

But against Alexander: for whatever he had of pleasure or delight in the lands, I believe I have already fully declared his perversion of morals, which he had always possessed abundantly from his very swaddling clothes. He had been brought up by his brother, a kindly man, endued with the highest sanctity and innocence, and more worthy of the name than his brother. For he, although he had plotted many new things against him and had therefore been apprehended by him, suffered no graver penalty for the crime he had conceived against his brother (such as many have been subjected to many times before that period) than simply to be committed to custody and prevented from bringing to a conclusion those things he had thought to perpetrate impiously ^B against his brother. Although he was attacked by him in this way, he was kept safe in his kingdom—and would that he had never done so!—because he thought it right, that since fate had given him a partner in the kingdom, he should hand it over to him peaceful and intact. But when the most humane, and likewise most sweet, King Leo had been dismissed from this life in peace, and the supreme power of all things had passed from him to this man, he immediately at the very beginning declared what sort of person he was. He showed how little the manner of life he had lived with his brother had profited him, and how he had been treated kindly by him; he proved the truth of the proverb: “A man holding power turns to the worse.” For suddenly, as the most villainous and most wicked of men, covered in shameful deeds and crimes, had betaken themselves to him and begun to be his followers, he held them in the highest favor; he admitted them into the number of his counselors, and a certain part of the administration of the empire was entrusted to them. From this, indeed, if anything of the things that were being secretly plotted against his brother had previously been hidden from the public up to that time, it was then laid open clearly and openly, and shamelessly boasted of. For the will of his most merciful brother began to be rescinded, his old friends were treated ^C arrogantly and contumeliously and rejected; furthermore, the innocent royal bed itself was insulted and removed from the palace; and if the Lord had not left a seed of the royal stock on earth, he would have ejected even this man, whom we now see happily holding the Empire, Constantine, and the Roman Empire would have been handed over to be governed by a youth, a Sclavonian of base face and even baser morals.

From this most iniquitous novelty also proceeded the injuries by which this holy man was affected. For having used as counselors those whom Leo had clearly convicted of having frequently plotted against his life, and for that reason had even driven from the churches—or rather, they themselves, for fear of being detected, had removed themselves of their own will—he treated them as men whom he thought to be of the same opinion as himself, men who were savage and wild, and who gaped only after gain; he displayed against him [Euthymius] such examples of cruelty as are fitting to be displayed against one who is handed over to the hands of such wicked men. And I think I shall omit the rest of the contumelious acts that he committed against holy men, and I shall commemorate only those [deeds] from which most beautifully ^D our own man is declared. It is a custom of Christian kings, which is common to them with all Christians, that whenever they enter the basilicas of God, they enter them with uncovered head. This indeed the Apostle Paul himself first introduced and commanded to be observed by all in the Christian commonwealth. When those most wise and good men had removed this custom, they persuaded a man of thick mind and of a swinish nature—and who was all but grunting (for to what, I pray, could that man be more justly compared than to the Boeotian sow?)—to enter the sacrosanct places with his head covered. When he had accepted that discipline, and was showing himself prepared to learn even much greater crimes, he surely also met a fine outcome. For when they had introduced the man, persuaded in this way, and covered with a mantle of violet color, to the sacred table, to the great disgrace of both himself and the other (since, I think, this punishment was to be for the murder brought upon the holy man), he was immediately, after that crime, so bold that he was struck in his mind, and from that day on he was no longer in his own power. For he heaped upon that most audacious—yet not in every part reproachable—crime another, greater and more pernicious one. For when he had caused the sacrifice accustomed to Bacchus to be offered to those statues that are in the hippodrome, he surely received the well-deserved reward for that deed immediately: since, before they were even finished, he was miserably carried up into his own bedroom. With a result no better than that of Herod, who, having killed James the son of Zebedee to please those who had killed Christ, and having attacked Peter the prince of the apostles in the same way, himself received the deserved reward of his crime; for, in the greatest throng of mortals that had gathered for the solemn day, supported by a royal guard of soldiers, he departed from life in the greatest torment, with worms swarming everywhere from his body.

How, then, did our own man [fare]? You truly know how miserably he was carried out, and what great haste was used in performing his funeral; the royal litter, in which his body was carried, was pulled tight, just as if it had borne with difficulty the burden of having been pressed by that most wicked [corpse]. You can remember, furthermore, how heavily and foully that unhappy body stank, and how great and how pungent was that odor which it wafted to the nostrils of those who came near, a kind, indeed, that obscured the scent of all the aromatics that were being burned. Furthermore, it had swollen in a wondrous way. And these indeed were the signs of divine providence now in human affairs of this life; for with his body already dissolving into rot, it had drawn out the putrid flesh from the lower parts of him while he was still breathing; from which indeed it happened that he was carried with difficulty to the destined tomb, and ignominiously cast out. Let there now be conferred with ours, if you please, those things which to this

^A end have come to pass, and let it be shown what a religious and pious man, and what, on the contrary, a contemner of God and an impious man is, and how the end of a pious man is wont to be accompanied by honor, and conversely that of the wicked by mockery and contempt. For to the things which we have said, there is also added this fact: that not even the funeral rites customarily rendered to pious men after death were duly paid to him, nor was there any royal pomp employed by the magistrates—except for a very few, and those most contemptible, who would have performed the same service for any commoner. And yet he had many who were devoted to him, nor was the power to flock to him hindered for anyone; unless perhaps some were present who, as mercenaries, were bound to appear before the emperors without delay. But indeed it was fitting that the most importunate ^B man of all should obtain just such a burial, which would represent for him the punishments of another life, due for the wicked deeds he had committed. But this man, to be sure, in this way paid the earned penalties of his crimes.

What, then, of the authors of his primary counsel, and especially that tail which palpably wags around that wicked head? We have already seen the end of some, whose memory perished with a sound, and we see that the same impends for others even now; for "the groaning of the poor shall not perish forever," and the chorus of the young, I mean our age’s churches, shall sing a song of victory, now that a new and importunate Pharaoh has been sunk together with his chariots and horsemen. ^C Indeed, the power of the priests of God! You who rejoice with those who have suffered injuries for the sake of virtue; you who are exposed to envy with Abel; you who are assiduously vexed by rivals with that ancient Jacob; you who are slain with Zechariah; you who are sacrificed for the sake of the Jews with James; you who are driven from your seats with the divine Athanasius; you who are honored with the shackles of exile—just as here—with the confession of Paul; you who are adorned with the flights and deaths of famous men, with Nicephorus and Photius. The tomb did not cover you, but opened you to all the lands that are under heaven. The earth did not conceal you, but displayed you to all parts whatsoever they may be, a worthy pontiff to the God who had created you, a fit herald of His magnificently wrought deeds, having attained ^D even an end of your labors similar to those which He Himself had endured. Nevertheless, you who have already received the rewards of your labors, and are one with the Leader and Master Christ, reconcile Him to us from where you are, that He may still the storm, restrain the tempest, settle the tumult of the sea, and render deserved rewards to those who have been afflicted with injuries just as we have; whether the judgment may be converted into justice, or that the authors of injuries may recognize that they have sinned, and may begin a fitting song, contrary to what has been done by them heretofore.

JOANNES GEOMETRA · NOTITIA

(From the preface of the Rev. Fr. Ant. Ballerini, S. J., in the distinguished *Collection of Monuments for Illustrating the Mystery of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mother of God*, edited at Rome, 1856.)

Regarding the certain age in which Geometra lived, it is not yet established, although some boundaries of time, wide ones indeed, can already be assigned, for which he should be judged as neither older nor more recent. This very oration, which we edit, offers us another boundary, if I am not mistaken. For when John sets out to explain the mystery of the Lord’s incarnation, he quite clearly touches upon and attacks not only the Eutychian, but also the Monothelite heretical confusion (§ XXI). The discourse was written, therefore, after the heresy of the Monothelites had arisen. Another certain boundary is fixed by the *Catena of the Fathers on Luke*, edited in Greek by the most eminent Angelo Mai in *Script. vet.* vol. IX, and having Nicetas, the deacon of Constantinople, as its author. For since Nicetas culled many things from the writings of Joannes Geometra and inserted them into his own collection—and he did this after the middle of the eleventh century—it is manifest that Geometra flourished before that time. But that certain persons, for no other reason, as it seems, than that they might not be entirely silent about him, have preferred to designate some certain epoch—as, for example, Casimir Oudin, who (a) in the year 1050, and Combefis, who (b) in the middle of the tenth or eleventh century, asserted that Geometra lived—is to be held as nothing. For could we not with equal right assign him to—

(a) *De script. eccl.* II, 615. (b) *Bibl. Conc.* vol. I, p. 23.

that which has occurred, and let it be pointed out what is appropriate for a religious and pious man, and what, in turn, is appropriate for a despiser of God and an impious man, and in what manner the exit of pious men is usually honored, and, in contrast, the exit of the wicked is treated with derision. For besides what we have said, there is also this, that not even the customary honors due to pious men after death were offered to him, nor did he receive kingly or magisterial pomp, except from a very few, and those most contemptible, who would have been readily gathered in by the common crowd. Yet he had many followers, nor could any power have prevented them from flocking to him; unless, perhaps, even some of these had been prevented, since they, being sanctioned in this way, ought to appear before the emperors without delay. But it was impossible for a man so very importunate to obtain such a burial, nor the debt for his crimes and the past life of another to be held against him. Everything else was, in this manner, justly repaid with the penalties of his crimes.

What indeed of the primary cause of his counsel, and especially that which palpitates around the nefarious head? We have already seen the exit of others, whose memory has perished with a sound, and others whom we now see to be impending; for neither does the groaning of the poor perish at last, but a chorus of our century's Churches, I say, sings a song of victory against a new and importunate Pharaoh, having been drowned with chariots and horsemen. As the harshness and implacability of habits await such an end. But let us leave these things aside, and let us pursue what was proposed to us at the beginning, and let us bring our speech to an end here.

O power of the pontiffs of God! Which, with those who have suffered injuries for the sake of virtue, exults in joy; which, with that ancient Jacob, you were already vexed by rivals; which, with the slaughtered Zacharias; which, with James, slaughtered for the sake of the Jews; which, with divine Athanasius, you were expelled from your sees; which, with Paul, you were honored with the anklets of exile, just as he, a martyr of confession, with Nicephorus and Photius, men most illustrious, was adorned with exiles and deaths. The earth did not cover the one who was buried, but it opened to all things which are under heaven. Nor does the earth cover him, but reveals to all the parts of the world where it is, dignifying the pontiff who created you for God, as a suitable herald of the works of whom you have borne, and attaining the outcome of the labors which you yourself carried. And you have begun, together with the leader and guide Christ, to reconcile with us that which is there, so that he may stop the storm, calm the tumult of the sea, and grant due rewards to those who have been affected by injuries as we have been, or that the judgment may be turned into righteousness, or that the authors of the injuries may recognize that they have sinned, and begin a song of praise suitable to what has been done by them until now.

AT THE BEGINNING, IT SEEMS, OF THE TENTH CENTURY: JOANNES GEOMETRA — NOTITIA.

Regarding the certain time when Geometra lived, it is not yet established, although certain bounds of time, and broad ones at that, can already be assigned, within which he must be said to be neither older nor more recent. The other bound for us is this very work, if I am not mistaken, which we have edited. For where it treats of explaining the mystery of the Lord’s incarnation, Joannes approaches [the subject], and refutes and severely censures not only the Eutychian but also the Monothelite heresy (§ XXI). Therefore, after the Monothelite heresy had arisen, and from the time it was fixed by the most eminent Angelo Mai, edited in Greek in *Script. vet. t. IX*, and having Nicetas, a deacon of Constantinople, as its author. For since Nicetas took many things from the writings of Joannes Geometra and inserted them into his own collection, and since he outperformed the middle of the century, it is evident that Geometra flourished before that time. What some have supposed, for no other reason, it seems, than that they preferred to designate some certain epoch, unless they were entirely silent, as for example Casimir Oudinus, who (a) in the year 1050, and Combelisius (b) in the middle of the tenth or eleventh century affirmed that Geometra lived, must be held for nothing. For could one not with equal right refer that writer to the ninth century? Hippolytus Marraccius (Biblioth. Marian., part 1, ad v. Joannes Geometra) writes that he flourished around the year of salvation restored through Christ, 980. Whence, however, he learned that, he leaves in silence. But if something must be attributed to probable conjectures, perhaps this one thing will seem not to be denied, from the very fact that Nicetas derived so many things from Geometra into his chain, all circumstances of the matter being weighed, reasons for opining that Nicetas was not separated from Geometra by an entirely short interval of years can be led as not improbable. But who he was, has remained unknown to all until now. Yet one thing can be learned with certainty from the Vatican codex among the Palatine Greeks No. 402, that he was graced with the order of the presbyterate; for there exists in it his speech, *eis heauton hēnika presbyteros exeirotonēthē*; "on himself when he was ordained presbyter"; from which we also know that he was ordained a presbyter not only at a mature, but at a sufficiently advanced age, when he was already becoming gray and beginning to languish in strength. His words are: *Ei de tis eie tōn hoios egō, hē polia men hē thrix, nōthra de hypo tou chronou hē dynamis, hypotromos de kai hyposkazōn ho logos, toutou en tois hidrōsi tōn agōnistōn emphaineatai*, etc. That he professed the monastic life, his own short work provides an unambiguous sign, titled *Paradise*, which we already have in the published works with the Morellian version. It will be sufficient here to have described the first of the ninety-nine tetrastichs by which the whole work is completed:

The cycle of the saints is truly a pleasant paradise, Whence a sweet and nourishing scent breathes into the souls. Therefore, let him whose breast is wounded by deep affection Come here, let him pluck the flower and ambrosia.

That by the assembly of the saints, to whom the author invites, nothing else is designated than a monastery of cenobites, not only does the thing itself proclaim, but other tetrastichs confirm it, where also mention of monks is made and monastic virtues are treated, having proposed the examples of the older cenobites: Anthony, Arsenius, Bessarion, Agathon, Achilles. Nay, if faith is to be had in the title of another speech, which both Christopher Harles reports in his additions to Fabricius’s *Bibliotheca Graeca*, and Joannes Iriarte in his review of the Greek Manuscripts of the Madrid Library, who also exhibits a lengthy fragment of the same speech, one could not entirely without reason conjecture that our Joannes was afterwards also decorated with the episcopal dignity. For the title is: *Iōannou Prōtothronou tou Geōmetrou peri tou mēlou*. "Joannes Prototrhonus Geometra’s speech on the apple." Furthermore, whatever testimonies of the ancients exist regarding the use of the word *Prōtothronou*, they all point to the conclusion that no one, unless he held some episcopal throne, should be thought to be adorned with this title (a). Although, indeed, both the deeds and the certain age of Joannes Geometra still remain unknown, it is not, however, equally obscure what judgment ought to be passed on him, having inspected his writings. Balthassar Corderius, in the preliminary index of the Fathers whose writings compose the chain which he published on Luke, thought that this opinion should be passed on Geometra: That he wrote much in prose no less elegantly than forcefully, is apparent from his fragments, not a few nor small, cited in this Chain, in which he acts as a sublime theologian, a learned historian, and an excellent interpreter and orator. Marraccius proclaims him as an orator and poet distinguished in his time. Nor does Combelisius otherwise praise him as a devout and learned author.

(a) Cf. Du Cong. Gloss. Graec. ad v. THRONOS, and Gloss. Lat. ad v. Prototronus.

There are ascribed to Geometra: NOTITIA ALTERA. (FABRIC. Biblioth. Gr. ed. Harles, tom. VIII, p. 625.) Four elegiac hymns to the Holy Virgin, with a paraphrase by Federicus Morellus, with eight iambic verses appended, in which the author says that he celebrated the parent of one of the Holy Trinity with a perfect decade, [in] three hundred verses (for those hymns contain so many *stichous*), and [that he] joined hexameters, as more perfect, to less perfect pentameters, so that the former might denote the divine and the latter the human nature of Christ. An alphabetic hymn to the Blessed Mother of God, such that individual verses consist of words beginning with the same letter in the order of the alphabet. Federicus Morellus first published these hymns in the *Corpus of Greek Heroic and Elegiac Poets*, also published in both languages in Geneva, 1614, fol., p. 746, with his own Latin paraphrase and dedicated to Pope Gregory XIV, Paris 1591, 8. By the same [author], in the year 1595, 8, *Joannes Geometra’s Paradise*, or 99 tetrastich epigrams of moral argument, was edited into the light in Greek and Latin, and relating the sayings and deeds of the Holy Ascetics, Achilles, Agathon, Apollos, Anthony, Arsenius, Bessarion, Carion, Isaiah, Eutropius, Heliodorus (al. Isidore), Lucius, Matois, Miltiades, Pior, Pittacus, Pityrion, Simon, Sisoes, Theon, and Zeno.