Translated by Sarah Van Der Pas BOOK 1 HERE BEGINS ALCUIN'S PREFACE TO THE EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE According to blessed Bede,1 the Apocalypse consists of seven sections. In the first, after a salutation, the author mentions the sufferings and glories of the Lord in order to encourage the weak; then, after mentioning the things that have been done and must be done in the seven churches, he describes the fights and victories of the universal Church. In the second, he sees four beasts, twenty-four ancients, the Lamb standing, and a book sealed with seven seals; he also recounts fights and triumphs of the Church. In the third, under the appearance of seven angels sounding trumpets, he describes various events in the Church. In the fourth, under the symbol of a woman and a dragon, he recounts the fights and victories of the Church, and here he relates the things said and done by the seven angels, although not in the same way as previously. In the fifth, he strikes the earth with seven plagues through the seven angels. In the sixth, he recounts the damnation of the harlot. In the seventh, he says that the wife of the Lamb comes down adorned from heaven. About the seven rules of Tychonius, the first of which is concerning the Lord and his body, the second is concerning the true and simulated body of the Lord, the third is concerning the promises and the law, the fourth is concerning species and genus, the fifth is concerning times, the sixth is recapitulation, the seventh is concerning the Devil and his body, these seven rules are found not only in the Apocalypse but also in other books, though especially in the prophetic ones.
The first one to comment on the Apocalypse was martyr Victorinus. Following him, blessed Jerome, removing some things the former had interpreted literally and adding a few things of his own, composed one book on it, promising that working on the Apocalypse would be his priority if he lived long enough; but it is uncertain whether that work was completed. The Donatist Tychonius also published a manifold exposition on it, but he mingled it with the poison of perfidy. After him, Primasius, bishop of the African church, a man in all respects Catholic and learned in the divine Scriptures, explained it in five books, in which, as he himself affirms, he did not so much write his own ideas as those of others, selecting what the same Tychonius had interpreted correctly, but also adding a few chapters exposed by blessed Augustine. Although he explained the Apocalypse more fully than others did, he nonetheless composed his work in a very elevated language. Then, a few chapters (few in number, but treated in a most exquisite manner) were explained by Saint Gregory throughout his various works. Lastly, the blessed priest Ambrose Autpert very beautifully analyzed some of these writings, adding however many things of his own.
HERE ENDS THE PREFACE
1 [Beda, Explanatio Apocalypsis, EPISTOLA AD EUSEBIUM, PL 93]
EXPOSITION OF THE PROPHECY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Among all the other books of the New Testament, the Apocalypse is the only one to be called a prophecy, according to this: Blessed is he that reads and they that hear the words of the prophecy of this book,1 etc. Therefore, since it is a new prophecy, it surpasses the old prophecy in the same way as the Gospel surpasses the observance of the law, because the things that the old prophecy foretold as needing to be revealed concerning Christ and the Church, this prophecy announces as already revealed. This is also why it is titled “Apocalypse,” that is “Revelation.” Moreover, this book's authority is great, because it was sent to John by the Trinity through an angel: by the Father, as it is said in which God gave unto him, to make known;2 by the Son, as it is said in I Jesus have sent my angel, to testify to you,3 and also by the Holy Spirit, as it is said in the Lord God Omnipotent spirit of the prophets sent his angel,4 etc. Then, it is demonstrated that the words of the Apocalypse themselves teach us that nothing in it has a historical5 meaning; for neither are there in heaven smiths to forge breastplates, nor could a woman have given birth in heaven. Now it remains for us to discuss the nature of the vision. So, our fathers taught us that we should understand three kinds of visions: a physical one, as when we see the sun, the moon, and the rest through our eyes; a spiritual one, which happens through ecstasy to men either sleeping or awake, when they behold in spirit not physical things, but likenesses of physical things, as Pharaoh saw the seven cows,6 Nebuchadnezzar the stone cut out of a mountain without hands,7 and Peter the linen sheet.8 The third kind of vision is the one called intellectual, in which it is neither physical things nor likenesses of them that are manifested to the beholders, but the very truth of things; which blessed Jerome ascribes only to this Apocalypse. Saint Augustine,9 on the other hand, tells us in every possible way that we must understand in it a spiritual vision exposed to view through likenesses of physical things; but let them see for themselves who of them was closer to the truth. The arrangement of the narration is as follows: sometimes he begins with the Lord's coming and leads us all the way to the end of the world; sometimes he begins with the Lord's coming, and, before ending, he goes back to the beginning and runs over things he had omitted, or things he had already said, repeating them with different symbols, thus until the second coming of the Lord; sometimes he starts with the last persecution, but, before he reaches the end, he recapitulates and joins both narrations together; sometimes he interrupts for a little while the narration undertaken and interposes something else that does not concern it, and after this break in the order he finishes to teach the things he had started to; sometimes, in his very way of speaking, he changes a figure in such a way that he somehow intermingles other things, so that it comes to mean something rather different from what he had started to say. Note moreover that in this revelation both the angel and John very rarely keep their own roles. The speech reverts from species to genus, as when he added, after rebuking Jezebel specifically, and I will give to every one of you according to your works,10 which seems to be able to refer generally to either the good or the wicked. Likewise, it passes from genus to species, as when, while he was saying, under the species of the bishop of the Pergamenians, to the church, which lives among wicked people, I know where thou dwellest, where the seat of Satan is,11 etc., he says right after that against the negligent bishop, I have against thee a few things,12 etc. From this species it passes to another when he adds immediately after that, so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaites:13 for as he says not “thou hast there also” but “so hast thou also”, he is obviously hinting that he is turning his speech from one species to another. You can also find a genus in a species: for in saying I John, your brother, etc.,14 he proclaims in his own person the persecutions of the whole Church which it suffers every day for the Word of God. It also happens for genus to be joined to genus, when a throne is said to be set in heaven:15 for both of these, i.e. both heaven and the throne, mentioned on their own, frequently signify the Church in this revelation, and when they are joined together, they symbolize one and the same Church.
(1) Variant of Rev. 1:3. (2) Rev. 1:1. (3) Rev. 22:16. (4) Variant of Rev. 22:6. The Latin of the here-found variant could also be interpreted as « the Lord God Omnipotent of the spirit of the prophets... » (5) As opposed to mystical, spiritual, allegorical. (6) Ref. Gen. 41. (7) Ref. Dan. 2:34/45. (8) Ref. Acts 10:9 et seq. (9) Literal Interpretation of Genesis, Book 12. (10) Rev. 2:23. (11) Rev. 2:13. (12) Rev. 2:14. (13) Rev. 2:15. (14) Rev. 1:9. (15) Ref. Rev. 4:2.
CHAPTER 1 VERSE 1 The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. First, it is to be noted that the meaning would be expressed more fully if he said “this is the Apocalypse;” but it is a habit of the Scriptures to leave those little words implied for brevity's sake. This is why Solomon did not say “these are the parables of Solomon”1 or “these are the words of Ecclesiastes.”2 Apocalypse, as already said, comes from the Greek for “revelation.” Jesus in Hebrew translates to soter in Greek and salutaris3 in Latin. Christ comes from the Greek for “anointed”; for chrisma means “unction”. It is told in the book of Exodus4 that Moses was the first to prepare chrisma at the Lord's bidding, with which kings and priests used to be anointed, prefiguring Christ invisibly anointed by the Father. Which God gave unto him, to make known to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass. Here also it is to be noted that “‘by’ which God gave unto him” would be a more usual way of saying it; but it is a habit of the sacred Scripture frequently to put the accusative instead of the ablative without preposition5. Whence this in a psalm: Hear, O Lord, my voice, which I have cried to thee,6 and Paul: I have fought a good fight.7 Indeed what is shown by these words is that this revelation is that of Jesus Christ, and that he received from God the task to make known to his servants by his revelation the things which must shortly come to pass. This is why it is necessary to mark it thus: the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, and then to introduce, which God gave unto him, to make known to his servants, etc., the former referring to his divinity, according to which he reveals all the mysteries with the Father; the latter referring to his humanity, according to which he received not only from the Father and the Holy Spirit, but also from himself, the task to manifest to his servants by his revelation the things which must shortly come to pass. Whence it is not said, “which God ‘the Father’ gave unto him,” but, indeterminately, which God, that is the Trinity, gave unto him. Note also that in saying to his servants, he also shows the Son in the form of a servant, but not a servant, as his humanity is proclaimed master of the servants. He says his, which means “subject to divine grace”, according to this: I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these
(1) Cf. Prov. 1:1. (2) Cf. Eccles. 1:1. (3) Soter= saviour; salutaris= salutary. (4) Ex. 30:22-25. (5) This is about the grammatical construction of the Latin. The accusative is the form of a word (noun, pronoun, or adjective) used for the direct object (or internal object, but I will not enter into too much detail for this is not supposed to be a grammar book!) of a verb, as quam, « which », is the direct object of dedit, « gave », in quam dedit illi Deus palam facere servis suis, quae oportet fieri cito, « which God gave unto him, to make known to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass. » The ablative without preposition is used, among other things, to denote an instrument or means by which something is done, as qua, « with which/by (means of) which », in the phrasing the author suggests would have been more usual: qua dedit illi Deus, « with which/by (means of) which God gave unto him ». The author was interpreting the Apocalypse as a means by which God gave unto John to make known to his servants the things that must shortly come to pass, rather than as something God gave unto him in order to make those things known, and so thought the ablative would have been more usual to express the idea. His interpretation seems however erroneous. (6) Variant of Psalm 26:7. (7) 2 Tim. 4:7. Latin could have used the ablative here, so as to say literally something to the effect of « I have fought in/by a good fight », but the accusative is not exceptional either. things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones.1 In what is said afterwards, the things which must shortly come to pass, although one could understand countless things by it, his particular intention was nonetheless to speak of the Church's temporal afflictions and everlasting joys to come, and of the wicked's present happiness and future eternal torments. These things all come to pass shortly, because this present time is forced to fly by until the end without a moment's interruption; whence the same John says elsewhere, little children, it is the last hour.2 And signified, sending by his angel to his servant John. Signified. That is “sealed.” For signum means “seal,” whence it is also said to Daniel, clausi sunt signatique sermones, and to Isaiah, signavi visionem in discipulis meis.3 But what does it mean that this vision is said to be sealed, while it is said later, seal not the words of the prophecy of this book,4 if not that these words are opened for the good, and closed with a seal for the wicked? For it is not because of faithful servants, but because of thieves that riches are sealed. Whence it is said to Daniel, the wicked shall deal wickedly, but the learned understand.5 Moreover, by saying signified, he showed that it should not be taken literally, but by the word signification he made us intent on examining the mysteries more deeply. So this vision was sent through an angel; but the unbounded Spirit that sent it was there both in the one through whom he sent it and in the one to whom he sent it. The same angel who appeared wore the figure of the Word incarnate alone and of his body, which is the Church. John himself as well, whom he appeared to, presented the symbol of the Church. However, one should not believe that the angel and John prefigured two churches; but when the angel possesses the symbol of the Head, John possesses that of the preachers, and when the angel possesses that of the preachers, John possesses that of the listeners; and when by the angel are represented the members that lead the way, by John are represented those that follow; or in the angel we understand the Church glorified after the resurrection, and in John the present Church needing to be instructed by Christ. Furthermore, one should know that the Lord appears after his Ascension in the same way as he appeared to the fathers before his Incarnation, namely through an angelic creature. By this fact he clearly shows that he must not now be sought physically for teaching, as he is present everywhere in majesty; for we should not think that his humanity taken from the Virgin was present in the angel, but that the angel expressed its figure. It is not at all surprising either that he is called like to the Son of man,6 when the prophet Daniel is said to have called the angel Gabriel a man.7 Moreover, it is
(1) Lk. 10:21. (2) 1 John 2:18. (3) Dan. 12:9: « The words are shut up, and sealed. » The Isaiah quote means « I have sealed the vision among my disciples », which seems to be a variant of Is. 8:16. Signum means a sign, an ensign, or the image on a signet ring, and hence a seal. The verb signare, which derives from signum, means « to mark », « to designate », or « to seal », and it is the past participle of this verb (signati) that is used in the Daniel passage, and another form of the verb (signavi) in the Isaiah variant. The verb significare, used in the Revelation verse discussed here, and also derived from the noun signum, means « to signify », but is here interpreted by the commentator as having a different meaning beside the usual one. (4) Rev. 22:10. (5) Slight variant of Dan. 12:10. (6) Rev. 1:13. (7) Dan. 9:21. said by this angel, I am the First and the Last,1 etc., just as, before the Incarnation, God said in the person of an angel he had assumed, I am the God of Abraham,2 etc. Indeed, just as Moses calls the one who appeared to him in the bush sometimes “angel,” sometimes “God,” so does John say that this revelation was sent to him through an angel, and affirm that it was the Lord Jesus Christ himself in the mystery and figure. Therefore it was also through an angel that the Lord appeared to Paul on the road,3 because if he had been to appear in the substance of his own flesh, he would appear thus to John, whom he particularly loved. It is also to be noted that John speaks of himself as if of someone else, as others do. Indeed Moses says, Moses was a man exceeding meek,4 and Job, there was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job5 etc.; for they were not speaking by themselves, but it was the Holy Spirit speaking through them.
VERSE 2 Who hath given testimony to the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, what things soever he hath seen. John gave testimony then, and now the Church does, whose symbol he was bearing when he saw this Apocalypse. He makes a distinction between the Word and Jesus Christ because of the two substances of Christ — he who gave testimony to both, saying, in the beginning was the Word,6 as well as the Word was made flesh.7 Saw refers to both: for he saw the Word with his spiritual eyes, and with his physical eyes he saw everything that is told about his humanity.
VERSE 3 Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of the prophecy of this book, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is at hand. Here it is made clear how great this book's authority is, since it is the only one among all prophecies to promise blessedness in return with a promise that is in some way specific. In saying he that readeth and they that hear, he indicated the persons of the teachers and of the listeners. What is said after that, and keep those things, pertains to both, because not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.8 Then, in order to stimulate the minds of both to observe those things, he added, for the time is at hand; namely the time either for the just to be rewarded after their observance of the commandments or for the unjust to be punished after their negligence of them.
(1) Rev. 1:17. (2) Ex. 3:6. (3) Acts 9:1-19 (4) Num. 12:3. (5) Job 1:1. (6) John 1:1. (7) Ibid. 14. (8) Rom. 2:13.
VERSES 4-5 John to the seven churches which are in Asia. By the number seven is represented the universal Church, because of the seven gifts of him who has filled the earth. Hence Elisha made the child upon whom he lay gape seven times,1 because the people that died from unfaithfulness is brought back to life by the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. So the number seven is perfect, being formed by the number three and the number four; for the number three is considered perfect in the divine Scriptures because of the mystery of the Trinity, because of the three virtues: faith, hope, and love, or because of the three classes of the faithful: preachers, celibates, and married people. As for the number four, it is perfect because of the four parts of the world, because of the four cardinal virtues (namely prudence, temperance, courage, and justice) or because of the four books of the Gospels. Therefore, because knowledge of the Trinity encompasses the four cardinal points of the sky, because hope, faith, and love complete the sum of the four cardinal virtues, or because the three classes of believers submit to the commandments of the four Gospels, it is right for the universal Church to be symbolized by this number seven. One should nonetheless know that it was especially to the seven churches of the Ephesians that he sent these mysteries he wrote in exile. So species is not excluded, but in the species a genus is shown, namely the universal Church. It is appropriate to say that the universal Church is in Asia, for Asia translates to “pride.” The word “pride” is not always used to refer to a vice, but sometimes to the summit of virtue, as in I will make thee to be the pride of worlds,2 that is “I will make you despise all pleasures and low honors;” and elsewhere, He hath lifted thee up above the height of the earth.3 So it is in this height of pride that the Church takes its place. Alternatively, if “pride” is being used to refer to a vice, we should not take it to mean that the Church will remain proud, but that it was raised in the arrogance of pride some time ago, but is predestined to become humble through a heavenly gift, according to this: Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, or has thou beheld the treasures of the hail: Which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, against the day of battle and war?4 Grace be unto you and peace from him that is, and that was, and that is to come, and from the seven spirits which are in the sight of his throne, and from Jesus Christ. Grace means forgiveness granted freely,5 and it is with it shining on us when we were servants of sin that we were adopted as children of justice. It is this grace that Peter and Paul first mentioned in their salutations when they were about to write to the faithful, in order to show, before exhorting the peoples of grace, that the whole sum of the salutation was in this grace. It is proper for grace to
(1) 2 Kings 4:32 et seq. (2) Is. 60:15. (3) Cf. Is. 58:14. Note that one of the Latin words for « pride » (the one used in the Latin text in «« Asia » translates to « pride ». The word « pride »... »), elatio, also means « elevation » and derives from the verb used in the Latin in « he hath lifted thee up». The word used for « pride » in the Isaiah quote is a different one. (4) Job 38:22-23. (5) « Freely » = gratis, which is nothing else but the ablative plural of gratia, which means, among other things, « gratitude », « grace », and, in the plural, « thanks ». Hence gratis means literally « for thanks (and nothing more) ». be put before peace, because no one could have come to God's peace reconciled if the grace of mercy had not preceded them. As for the fact that he says from him that is, and that was, and that is to come, it should be taken as referring specifically to the only-begotten Son of God. He is in essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and has never been affected by mutability, according to this saying of Paul's: There was not in him « it is » and « it is not », but « it is » was in him,1 because, before he was born of the Virgin in time, he spent all times with the Father. Whence the same John says, in the beginning was the Word.2 It is also the same who is to come to judge the living and the dead in the humanity he assumed, as it is written: He shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven.3 So, since it is certain that the Church has received this grace from the Son and the Holy Spirit as well as from the Father through the Son and the Holy Spirit, why is the person of the Father not mentioned in this passage? Because it is habitual in the sacred Scriptures, where one or two of the persons of the Trinity are mentioned, for the whole Trinity to be understood at the same time. As for the words from the seven spirits, he says this because of the sevenfold operation of one spirit; and this spirit is said to be alone in the sight of the throne, that is of the Church, that is in the memory of the saints, because it is to this same spirit in particular that the remission of sins is ascribed, according to this: Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them.4 Or if not, then surely the whole Trinity is understood in the Spirit. In saying from Jesus Christ, he mentions the person of the Son again, because the one referred to existed before the ages, and was made man in the end of the ages. Who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. It is obviously a way of speaking when he calls Christ specifically the faithful witness, while there are three who give testimony: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the three are one God.5 One may also call the Son specifically, in the role of man he assumed, a faithful witness, in that he went as far as the death of the flesh for the sake of the testimony of the truth. For while the whole Church, in the holy preachers, gives testimony concerning Christ, the ones called martyrs, that is “witnesses,” 6 are principally those who suffered physical death for Christ. He is called first begotten because no one before him rose never to die. A different interpretation would be that all the saints are dead to the world, as it is said in for you are dead,7 but he is so in a special way, because there has been no sin in him. By the kings, he means either all the saints, who know how to govern themselves well, or at any rate the preachers, who become partners with the good but raise themselves above the wicked, like Peter above Ananias,8
(1) Variant of 2 Cor. 1:19. There would actually be no difference in Latin between « it is » and « he is ». (2) John 1:1. (3) Acts 1:11. (4) John 20:22-23. (5) Cf. 1 John 5:7. (6) The word « martyr » comes from Greek, where it means « witness ». (7) Col. 3:3. (8) Acts 5:1 et seq.
and Paul who brandishes his scepter, saying, What will you? shall I come to you with a rod?1 Because he hath loved us. How he has loved us, the pains he suffered clearly show. He did not however love us as we were, that is wicked ones, but as he made us by love itself. Whence it is added right afterwards, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; but in what way he has washed us in his own blood, the apostle indicated, saying, All we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in his death.2
VERSE 6 And hath made our kingdom priests to God and his Father. Because our Head is a king and priest, all the limbs are kings and priests, as the apostle Peter says in You are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood.3 They are kings by governing themselves, and priests by offering themselves to God, according to this: I beseech you therefore by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.4 So, in saying to God and his Father, he indicates one person (although, according to the rule mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit is there understood) in the same way as the apostle also says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,5 with the intention that one person should be understood by God and Father; hence it needs to be said, to him be glory forever and ever: to him, that is to him who has made us kings and priests, namely the Father and the Son, in which we understand the love of both, which is the Holy Spirit: for the love of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.6 Moreover, the Church is right to attribute glory for these things not to itself, but to the one it received them from, according to this: Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to thy name give glory.7
VERSE 7 Behold, he cometh with the clouds. If we are to take this literally, when the Lord comes for the judgment, there will be a white cloud overshadowing the saints to protect them from the fire burning the world. This cloud will be frightening, and the reprobates will be terrified by its din. However, hardly anything in this Apocalypse is to be taken literally. So, in the sacred Scripture, when clouds are mentioned in the plural, they represent the holy preachers, who are light by the cleanness of their minds, and keep watering the hearts of their listeners with drops of preaching.
(1) 1 Cor. 4:21. (2) Rom. 6:3. (3) 1 Pet. 2:9. (4) Rom. 12:1. (5) 2 Cor. 1:3. (6) Rom. 5:5. (7) Ps. 113:9.
Therefore it is with these clouds that the Lord will come for the judgment, according to this saying of the prophet: Behold, the Lord comes for the judgment with the ancients of his people.1 And every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him. Every eye shall see him, that is, every man shall (the whole is meant by a part) who shall then have been resurrected, either to life or to death — but not the eyes of animals, to which it is not given to rise again after death. Every man shall see him in the form of a servant in which he was judged by the wicked, not in the form of the divinity, which cannot be seen by the wicked. Note also that another translator says, “all the earth shall see him such,” as if he were saying, “such as the wicked did not believe he would be when he was here.” And all the tribes of the earth shall bewail themselves because of him. In this place it is to be noted that he says with an addition, the tribes of the earth, as if he were saying “those who long for earthly things and devote themselves to greed,” to whom it is said, Woe to you that are rich,2 as well as, Woe to you that laugh.3 As for what the cause of their pain is, it is disclosed with the words because of him: for even though there will then be mourning due to many afflictions, it will be nothing compared to the lamentation caused by the sight of Christ's glory; for the unfortunate will then feel more pained by the fact that they have lost such a Lord than by the fact that they have fallen into the most atrocious torment. Now, look: he confirms the things that have been said with the insertion of an oath, when he adds, Even so. Amen. Amen is for the Hebrews what even so is for us. Both are adverbs of affirmation: therefore he says Even so. Amen as if he were saying with duplication, “It is true. It is true.”
VERSE 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come. By saying I am, he lets us know clearly that God was speaking through him. Whence the Apostle: Do you seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me?4, and David: Attend, O my people, to my law,5 while neither the people nor the law was David's. Alpha and Omega means the same as the beginning and the end, for alpha for the Greeks is the beginning of the alphabet, and omega its end. Christ is called the beginning because all the creation has got its beginning from him, and he is called the end because he encloses everything like a boundary. Alternatively, he is called the beginning and the end because he is God before the ages and a man in the end of the ages; whence John: In the beginning was the Word,6 as well as: The Word was made flesh.7
(1) Variant of Is. 3:14. (2) Luke 6:24. (3) Ibid. 25. (4) 2 Cor. 13:3. (5) Ps. 77:1. (6) John 1:1. (7) Ibid. 14.
VERSE 9 I John, your brother and your partner in tribulation, and in the kingdom, and patience in Christ Jesus, was in the island, which is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus. In this place John represents both his own person specifically and that of the Church generally. It is also to be noted that the kingdom pertains to the Head, tribulation to the limbs, and patience to both, and all this can be found in Jesus alone. Indeed, the Head was suffering tribulation with the limbs when he said, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?1. The kingdom is in the Head, as in Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,2 which is like saying clearly, “Come, ye limbs, reign with the Head, because I am the kingdom.” For he will grant himself to his people, as it is written: The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant (himself) to us.3 Patience awaits us, according to this: Knowest thou not, that the benignity of God leadeth thee to patience?4, and we, in our patience, shall possess our souls.5 By the island of Patmos, which translates to “strait,”6 in which John was in exile, are represented the persecutions and hardships suffered by John and the Church (that is, a species and a genus) but for the Word of God, not for their own bad actions, according to this saying of the apostle Peter: Let none of you suffer as a thief,7 but as a disciple of Christ.
VERSES 10-11 I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. Here we need to start speaking about species and genus individually. John's spirit did not leave his flesh altogether when he saw this, because his body could not have survived without spirit; but, being in ecstasy, he could not feel or understand anything through his body. Note also that he says he was in the spirit not on the Sabbath, but on the Lord's day, because the old law, which produced death, had already passed, and the new one, which gives life, had become well-known with Christ's Resurrection. Allegorically, the Church is also shown to be the Lord's day,8 because, in the elect, it mortifies the deeds of the flesh by the spirit9 so that it may rise in the spirit in the conduct of a new life. Whence this saying of the apostle: You are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.10
(1) Acts 9:4. (2) Matt. 25:34. (3) Luke 1:73. This quote in the Latin contains an ambiguity that makes so that its last words could be understood as « that he would grant to us » as well as « that he would grant himself to us » , although the former is a more likely interpretation. (4) Variant of Rom. 2:4. (5) Cf. Luke 21:19. (6) Or « heat » or « violence ». These are the principal possible translations for the Latin word used here. The actual etymology of the name « Patmos » itself seems to be very uncertain. (7) 1 Pet. 4:15. (8) « The Church is also shown to be the Lord's day » is a conjecture on my part. The Latin in this place does not make much sense to me and may be corrupt. (9) Rom. 8:13. (10) Ibid. 9. And heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying: What thou seest, write. What one should know is that just as John heard it in the spirit, so was the voice spoken to him spiritual. We should however ask the question of what back a spirit could have to be able to hear a voice behind him. It seems then that the face of that spirit was the very force of divine contemplation, and its back, obliviousness of present matters. Therefore he heard the voice in the things he had forgotten, the purpose of this being to make him turn his mind's face towards them and write in a book everything he saw; as if the voice were saying to him, “Those things which you are beginning to see in the spirit of God, either have been done or must be done here, where you hear me sounding without sound, that is on earth.” With the words What thou seest, write, it is as if he were saying “what thou art about to see,” for he had not seen anything yet. Allegorically, the Church hears a voice concerning its union with Christ, behind it, from the law and the prophets, like this: They shall be two in one flesh.1 This voice, whether with regards to the Church or with regards to John, is rightly called great, because it speaks of the highest mysteries, and because of that it is compared to a trumpet and spread by the mouths of the preachers; whence it is said to one of them, Lift up thy voice like a trumpet.2 This voice, through John, tells the Church to write what it sees, that is, to keep it in mind. And send to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamus, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. We need to say how the interpretations of these names tally with the universal Church. Ephesus translates to “my will” or “my counsel”: and whose counsel, but that of the one who casteth away the counsels of princes, but his counsel standeth forever?3 Moreover, the Church is the will of God, to which it is said through the prophet, Thou shalt be called My will.4 Note also that will pertains to love, while counsel pertains to correction. Indeed, someone is the will of God when they submit to the Creator not out of fear of punishment, but willingly; whereas if someone wants to join neither for fear nor for love, they are given a speech of correction through the action of divine mercy so that they may abandon their error and receive the counsel of salvation. Smyrna translates to “their canticle,” that is the elect's, and that canticle is the new commandment. Therefore the Church sings this canticle every day when it fulfills the new commandment by loving God and neighbor. Pergamus translates to “separating their horns”: and whose horns but Christ's and the Devil's? So by Christ's horns is represented his kingdom, that is the Church, and by the Devil's horns, it is also his kingdom that is represented, that is the wicked. Hear therefore the separation of the horns: I will break all the horns of sinners, and the horns of the just shall be exalted.5 Thyatira means “enlightened”: and what other enlightened one are we to understand, but the one to whom it is said by Isaiah, Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem?6 It is appropriate for the Church to be called enlightened, so that it should remember that it used to be darkness; whence the apostle to its members: You were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord.7 Sardis means “for the
(1) Gen. 2:24. (2) Is. 58:1. (3) Ps. 32:10-11. (4) Is. 62:4. (5) Ps. 74:11. (6) Is. 60:1. (7) Eph. 5:8. prince of beauty,” and “fitted” or “prepared” is implied. The prince of beauty is the one about whom the Psalmist says, beautiful above the sons of men.1 And who is prepared for him, if not the one about whom the prophet says to the same prince, The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety?2 Philadelphia translates to “saving the inheritance for the Lord.” From this it is right to understand the Church of the elect, which strives to save itself with divine help. Indeed it is about this inheritance that it is said, I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance.3 Laodicea translates to “tribe lovely to the Lord” or “they were in vomit”: this interpretation shows the good mingled with the wicked in the Church.
VERSES 12- 13 And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. By saying to see, he shows that it was not a physical voice, which cannot be seen, but a spiritual one, with which seeing it is no different from hearing it. Allegorically, the Church turned to see the voice, because it directed its attention, out of the desire of its mind, to the words of the law and of the prophets, so as to see their mysteries now fulfilled. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks: and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the Son of man. By the seven candlesticks is represented the sevenfold Church, in whose midst is Christ, who is called like to the Son of man because he was now immortal, or because he appeared not with sin, but in the likeness of the flesh of sin. We read that he appeared in the midst according to this: Where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.4 It is appropriate for the Church to be symbolized by seven golden candlesticks, for the sevenfold operation of the Holy Spirit is symbolized by the number, and the brightness of eternal wisdom is symbolized by gold. So just as gold, tried by fire and stretched by blows, is made into a candlestick, so does the Church, melted by the fire of tribulation until purification, and extended into long-suffering by the blows of temptations, reach completion; whence Isaiah says, The Lord hath said it, whose fire is in Sion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.5 Furthermore, one should know that one Church is represented by both the seven candlesticks and the Son of man, because the person of Christ and of the Church is one. So the same Lord who appeared clothed with a garment down to the feet in the midst of the candlesticks, put on as a garment the candlesticks themselves. Therefore, Christ's clothes are the same as the seven candlesticks, that is the Church. Indeed genus is joined to genus, when the Church is meant by both the seven candlesticks and the Son of man. Note also that the likeness to the Son of man concerns us, because just as our Head has risen again in deed, so have we in hope. (1) Ps. 44:3. (2) Ibid. 10. (3) Ps. 2:8. (4) Matt. 18:20. (5) Is. 31:9.
Clothed with a garment down to the feet (a poderes).1 Podes means “feet” in Greek. What do we understand by the poderes, that is a tunic reaching the ankles, which Zechariah says is a priestly garment,2 if not the flesh of Christ specifically, and the whole Church generally? Indeed, by offering himself on the cross to God the Father, he carried out a priesthood. Now, this priestly garment is down to the ankles because his body, which is the Church, down to its very last members, fills up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ;3 or if not, then certainly his garment down to the ankles was his work of love to the suffering of death. And girt about the paps with a golden girdle. What one should know is that Daniel saw a man girt about the loins4 and John saw him girt about the paps because the Old Testament restrains the lust of the flesh, whereas the New restrains also that of the mind. However, that double girding does not refer to the Head, but to the limbs, since it is certain that our Redeemer has been touched by neither the lust of the body nor that of the heart. So it is fitting to say that this girdle was golden, because whoever is a citizen of the heavenly fatherland, forsakes uncleanness, not out of fear of punishment, but out of love for heavenly brightness. The order given to the apostles in the New Testament, Let your loins be girt,5 is given, through their persons, to those who, not yet restraining the fornication of the flesh, belong to the man of the old life; for the apostles themselves had already forsaken the uncleanness of the flesh. Alternatively, the angel is girt about the paps with a golden girdle because the Church, coming from two peoples, is united in Christ by the bond of love.
VERSE 14 And his head and his hairs were white, as white wool, and as snow. Christ's head is God the Father; whence the apostle: The head of Christ is God;6 whose eternity is represented, according to the habit of human speech, by the whiteness of the head. Allegorically, the head of the Church is its Redeemer, according to this: The head of man is Christ.7 The hairs are the most excellent people in the Church, who are compared to lambs, that is to wool, because of their innocence, and to snow because of the resurrection. Because Christ has shown both in himself (i.e. innocence and resurrection, the former of which we are ordered to imitate, the latter of which we are ordered to expect) not only the hairs, but also the whole head is assimilated to white wool and snow.
(1) « A garment down to the feet » renders Latin poderes, a word of Greek origin. (2) Probable reference to Zec. 3:4 LXX (the standard Vulgate and the Douay-Rheims lack the reference to the « poderes »). (3) Cf. Col. 1:24. (4) Dan. 10:5. (5) Luke 12:35. (6) 1 Cor. 11:3. (7) Ibid.
And his eyes were as a flame of fire. These eyes are those concerning which it is said later, I saw a Lamb as it were slain, having seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God;1 for since the Holy Spirit both enlightens the Church to faith and burns it to the love of God, it is right for him to be assimilated to the lights of eyes and to a flame of fire. These eyes may also represent spiritual angels in the Church who enlighten the same Church with the light of knowledge and provide the fire of love.
VERSE 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as in a burning furnace. The fabrication of fine brass is said to be as follows: copper is thrown into a furnace, a violent fire is applied to it, a certain medicine is also thrown into it all, and the copper as a result both gains a greater solidity and turns into the brightness of gold: whence it is appropriate for the feet like unto fine brass to refer to those last members of the Church that are to be melted by an intense fire of tribulation under the Antichrist, but will be found to be stronger and brighter after using the medicine of endurance. Because the trouble will be even more severe in Judea, where the Lord was crucified by the wicked Jews, another translation has “fine brass of Lebanon,” which is said to be a mountain in Judea. And his voice as the voice of many waters. Above, he compared the voice of the one who appeared to a trumpet, and now he compares it to the voice of many waters, because what was first proclaimed by a few preachers, was afterwards proclaimed by the whole world. Alternatively, we could understand, by the voice of the trumpet, the voice of the Old and of the New Testament, and by the voice of many waters, love, whose law is manifold, as it is said in and thou shalt know that his law is manifold.2
VERSE 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars. By the seven stars, as the same angel explains below, angels are meant; not however those spirits of the heavenly fatherland, in whom nothing reprehensible can be found, but preachers of the Church, about whom it is said, The angels of peace shall weep bitterly.3 It is right for these to be represented by stars and angels, because they both shine in the night of this world by the cleanness of their lives, and prove to be angels of truth by announcing heavenly things to their listeners. Because they are seven not truly in number, but in the signification of totality, this species includes all the preachers of the Church. Whence in signification there are no longer seven angels, but one, that is the perfected order of
(1) Rev. 5:6. (2) Cf. Job 11:6. (3) Is. 33:7.
preachers, just as the seven candlesticks represent not only the churches of Asia, but the universal Church; and if we pay subtle attention, we also find the candlesticks in these seven stars, that is, the universal Church in the holy preachers. Whence, when the Lord speaks to one angel, he says in the end: Let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.1 The right hand in this passage should be understood to mean the utmost blessedness, which now is there in hope, and will then be there in fact; whence this saying of Isaiah: The right hand of my just one will uphold thee.2 Then, when we hear that the Church is held in the right hand, from the whole we must understand a part, which must be placed on the right hand in the future. And from his mouth came out a sharp two-edged sword. What is symbolized by the sword but the preaching of the Old and of the New Testament? As in this saying of Paul's: and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.3 It is right for it to be called two-edged, because it cuts off faults committed in deed on one side, and forbidden thoughts on the other; or because it informs imperfect people on the outside according to the literal meaning, and instructs perfect people on the inside according to the mystical meaning. And his face was as the sun shineth in his power. By the face shining as the sun, we may understand the elect, as in The just shall shine as the sun.4 If we wish to understand the sun mentioned in this sentence to mean the visible sun, we should know that it will then be of a greater brightness than it now is, and the glory of the saints will then be greater, as Isaiah attests, who says, The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days: in the day when the Lord shall bind up the wound of his people;5 whence in this passage it is added in his power. Alternatively: what is symbolized by the face of the angel but the Redeemer's manifest incarnation, which had, as it were, a rising in being born, a setting in dying, and again a rising in being resurrected? And since his resurrection had already become well-known throughout the world, it is as if the sun had gone up to the hours around midday when John was seeing these things, and this is why he said, with those words added, as the sun shineth in his power.
VERSES 17-18 And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet as dead. In this passage John signifies Christ's limbs, and the angel signifies Christ specifically. Therefore John falls as dead at the angel's feet because the Church follows Christ's footprints to die to the world. It is appropriate to say that he is as dead, because even if the Church dies to the world and to vices, it still lives to God. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not. The right hand of the angel in this place represents the preachers. Hence it is said by Moses, In his right hand a fiery law,6 that is, in the
(1) Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22. (2) Variant of Is. 41:10. (3) Eph. 6:17. (4) Matt. 13:43. (5) Is. 30:26. (6) Deut. 33:2.
holy preachers the teaching of the Holy Spirit. It is not mentioned at all what the angel did with his hand laid upon him, but we deduce with a certain reasoning that he lifted up from the ground either John or the Church in him. Now, can it be that the Church was put away from the imitation of the sufferings of Christ? No. Therefore the angel laying his hand upon John who lay at his feet as dead and raising him from the ground, is the Redeemer Lord lifting up the Church which imitates his sufferings from sorrow of the heart to the hope of future glory by encouraging it through the holy preachers, as in The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us.1 He fittingly says Fear not, as if the Lord were saying to the Church, “Receive confidence from above, and drive human fear away.” I am the First and the Last, and I was alive, and dead, and behold I am living for ever and ever. Here it is made clear that this angel specifically bore the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom all this corresponds to. And have the keys of death and of hell. By the keys is represented the divine judgment’s power, which no one can escape, but it shuts everyone in like a key, according to this: He shutteth, and no man openeth;2 by death is meant the one about whom it is written, By the envy of the devil, death came into the world;3 and by hell are represented those who belong to him. So with the latter set of keys the Devil is released to tempt the Church, and with the former he is bound; whence it is written, God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able.4
VERSE 19 Write therefore the things which thou hast seen, and which are, and which must be done hereafter. It passes from genus to species, for here John represents the preachers specifically. Note also that he repeats things he had already said, so that the fault of sluggishness should be put away. Write therefore, he says, the things which thou hast seen, as if he were saying “the things foretold concerning me in the law and the prophets,” “and which are — namely the things fulfilled by me — and which must be done hereafter — that is the things that are to be fulfilled among my limbs.” But we should now close this book in its due end, so that we not get tired in the flat of plains before we come to climb the mountains of this Apocalypse.
HERE ENDS THE FIRST BOOK
(1) Rom. 8:18. (2) Rev. 3:7. (3) Wis. 2:24. (4) 1 Cor. 10:13. HERE BEGINS THE SECOND BOOK As we have already said in the previous book, some affirm that this vision is a spiritual one, while others affirm it is an intellectual one. If it is an intellectual one, it is not in his own person, but in that of others that he learns. If, on the other hand, it is a spiritual one, he says in some places how he received understanding of the vision, and keeps silent about it in other places. This he of course does with the right moderation, because if the vision were made altogether clear, it would lose its worth, and if it remained completely obscure, it would be despised.
VERSE 20 The mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest 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. Enough has already been said about this.
CHAPTER 2
VERSES 1-2 And unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write: These things saith he, who holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience. In this place, blessed John, either in his own person or in that of preceding preachers, writes the Lord's words at the latter's bidding to the universal Church, which is represented by the angel. In this angel, sometimes the whole body of the elect, which consists of holy preachers and good listeners, is extolled by the proclamation of its merits, sometimes a part in particular is censured as wicked. So, what does it mean that the Redeemer Lord holds stars in his right hand, if not that he has predestined his elect to the blessedness of success? What does it mean that the same walks in the midst of the candlesticks, if not that he is present everywhere by bestowing the grace of gifts on every one of the saints through his inward discernment? If by the stars and candlesticks we understand the whole body of the Church, which consists of the elect and of the reprobates, by the right hand of Christ we should understand the power of his divinity, which no one can escape, for in his hand are all the ends of the earth;1 and he walks among the candlesticks, visiting the just and forsaking the
(1) Ps. 94:4. unjust. The Lord says he knows the works, labor, and patience of the saints, which means that he approves them by the grace of choosing. But then the speech turns back to a specific weak part of the body when it is said after that, and how thou canst not bear them that are evil: for it is not a sign of merit, but of great weakness, that the angel cannot bear them that are evil. It is also to be noted that he says below to the same angel, Thou hast endured for my name:1 which is not incompatible with this passage, because in the one is indicated the weakness of some limbs, and in the other the strength of others. And thou hast tried them, who say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars. It is to be believed that false apostles had then spread in the Church of Ephesus, whom the same John calls Antichrists in his epistle,2 and in whose persons is denoted the perfidy of all heretics. As for trying, it is sometimes done with a view to approbation, as in The Lord your God trieth you.3 So the Church tries the false ones when, through the preachers, it interrogates the heretics about faith, to see whether they are disciples of the truth or of falsehood.
VERSE 3 And thou hast patience, and hast endured for my name, and hast not fainted. As this is obvious, let us pass over it.
VERSES 4-5 But I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity. Be mindful therefore from whence thou art fallen: and do penance, and do the first works. Let us not believe that the one who has left his first charity is the one he honored with such great praise in the previous verse; but from this species he turns his speech towards another, which he judges worthy of reprimand. By the first charity, he means that of earlier times, using a human way of speaking. Or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance. What does it mean to say to an unrepentant man, I come to thee, if not “I will make thee feel the presence of my wrath?” And since the angel and the candlestick are one in signification, what does it mean to say I will move thy candlestick out of its place, if not “I will move thee?” Here we must understand not the whole angel, but the unrepentant part of him, and its place is the Church; for since he is dealing not with genus but with species in the angel, he shows the place of the species in the genus. It is also to be noted that he does not say “I will throw away,” but I will move, showing that an unrepentant person is by no means totally torn away from the Church as long as they are in this life, but that, because of their unrepentant heart,
(1) Rev. 2:3. (2) 1 John 2:18. (3) Deut. 13:3. they do not deserve the gift of holiness by which they shone before human eyes. The Lord is said to move a candlestick (that is, not to set it up) in the same way as he is said to harden Pharaoh's heart.1 So when someone commits a fault, then their candlestick is moved in the sight of men; but if they quickly stand up through penitence, it is mercifully put back in the same place; and that is why many are standing in the sight of God, who in the sight of men seem to be lying down. Therefore he says, I will quickly move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance, that is “Thou shalt not get the gift of holiness back after thy fall, except thou take care to soften thy heart to penance.”
VERSE 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaites, which I also hate. As if the universal angel were told, “Not in the species that I have just frightened, but in another one, thou hast this, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaites, which I also hate.” As for what the specific deeds of the Nicolaites are, blessed Augustine explained it in his book on heresies,2 saying: “Nicolas, according to the story, was one of the seven deacons who were ordained by the apostles.3 As he was censured for jealousy towards his wife, who was very beautiful, he is said, in order to exculpate himself, to have given permission for anyone who so wished to use her. This deed of his gave rise to a most shameful sect, which has as a principle the promiscuous use of women. Its followers also do not even keep their food free of things sacrificed to idols.” Moreover, all the heretics generally, are Nicolaites: indeed “Nicolas” translates to “foolish people.” Therefore all those who do not hold the right views concerning the Father's wisdom, which is the Son, even if they are wise for the world, show that they are fools for God. We find Nicolaites even in the Church: namely those we see foolishly amassing treasure in their love for the world. Finally, it is to be noted that he does not say “Thou hatest the Nicolaites,” but the deeds of the Nicolaites, because it is demonstrated that the Lord and those who are on his side do not hate in them the nature, which was created good in them, but their execrable deeds.
VERSE 7 He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. By saying this, he clearly shows that in the one church of the Ephesians, he includes the totality of believers. He is not after the ears of the body, but after those of the heart, according to this: I say to you that hear.4 Now, since the angel bore the person of the Son specifically, what does it mean that it is
(1) Ex. 4:21; 7:3, 13, 22; 8:19; 9:12, 35; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8. (2) [Augustinus Hipponensis, De haeresibus, PL 42.26.5] (3) Cf. Acts 6. (4) Luke 6:27. not said “what the Son of God” but what the Spirit saith to the churches, if not that, to instruct human manners, the words of the Son are the words of the Spirit? Or, alternatively, we should understand in the Spirit not the person of the Holy Spirit specifically, but the whole Trinity. To him, that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God. The tree of life is the wisdom of God the Father, according to this saying of Solomon's: Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, a tree of life, etc.1 It is fitting for it to be called a tree of life, because in the present it protects its elect from the heat of vices, and in the future blessedness it will provide those who desire wisdom with the food of eternal contemplation; whence this: I shall be filled when thy glory shall appear to me.2 So to him who overcomes, that is to him who, in Christ and through Christ, prevails over the temptations of the old enemy, Christ will, according to his humanity, give to eat of the tree of life, because, when he comes for the judgment, he will bring him to contemplate the majesty of his divinity. As for the paradise the tree of life is in, it is eternal life, which is in the tree of life. Note also that he says he has a God as he speaks according to his humanity which he assumed for us. Furthermore, the fact that he both partly praises and partly blames this angel, is in accordance with the latter's name: for “Ephesus” means both “great fall” and “my will.”
VERSES 8-9 And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write: These things saith the First and the Last, who was dead, and is alive: I know thy tribulation and thy poverty, but thou art rich. This is not only said to one, but rather to the union of saints, whose tribulation is manifold; whence another translation has “tribulations” in the plural. As for poverty, we should understand two kinds of it: for there is one poverty in renouncing earthly things, and another in the contrition of the spirit, by which pride is decreased and humility increased; which is the one about which the Lord says, Blessed are the poor in spirit;3 for the one who is poor in spirit is the one who, when he does good things, always notes that he is useless. Therefore with the words, I know thy poverty, but thou art rich, it is as if he were saying, “By the very fact that thou, by humility of spirit, considerest thyself poor, thou art proven to be rich in all respects.” With the words I know, it is as if it were said “I make thee know.” Any one of the elect may also be called poor and rich because he does not yet have in fact the riches of the heavenly fatherland, while he possesses them in hope. And thou art blasphemed by them that say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. This is said to the universal Church, which is blasphemed by its enemies in its individual limbs throughout various places, and in its whole body throughout the world. For it is not to be believed that there were or are blaspheming Jews only in
(1) Prov. 3:13-18. (2) Variant of Ps. 16:15. (3) Matt. 5:3.
Smyrna. We should however ask the question of when the Jews lost their own name, since the sacred Scripture calls them so even after the murder of the Redeemer, as in the Acts of Apostles; but one should know that, while they falsely display this name literally on the outside, they lost it in spirit on the inside when they refused to confess Christ. Indeed, “Jew” translates to “confessor.” Symbolically, these things correspond to the heretics, who falsely take possession of the name of “Jews,” that is “confessing one.”
VERSE 10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. According to this saying of the Gospel: Fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul.1 Behold, the devil will cast some of you into prison that you may be tried: and you shall have tribulation ten days. Here it is clearly shown that he is addressing several people in one angel: for while he first said Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer in the singular, he said some of you in the plural, as well as that you may be tried; but he did not say either “that they may be tried” or “they shall have,” but that you may be tried and you shall have: he did so in order to let us know by saying this that many are standing together in one. So it is all the straits of oppressions that he indicated by the name of prison. When he says not “you” but some of you, he wants us to understand by this those who emerge victorious from the tribulations inflicted on them. Now what does it mean that he confines the tribulation of the Church to a number of ten days, if not that the Church is doing battle against the various sufferings of persecutions and diverse enticements of desires while submitting to the commandments of the Decalogue? Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life. This is said to the whole Church generally, and to every one of the faithful specifically. Hence the Lord in the Gospel: He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.2
VERSE 11 He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: He that shall overcome, shall not be hurt by the second death. When the sacred Scripture usually mentions three deaths, namely one of sin, one of the flesh, and one of damnation, why is the last damnation in this passage not called the third, but the second death, if not because it seems that here are mentioned only the deaths that are demonstrated to harm? Namely the death of sin and the death of eternal punishment, compared to which that of the flesh is not worthy to be called death. By the word hurting, we should understand decay in afflictions.
(1) Matt. 10:28. (2) Ibid. 22.
VERSE 12 And to the angel of the church of Pergamus write: These things, saith he, that hath the sharp two-edged sword. This was explained earlier.
VERSE 13 I know where thou dwellest, where the seat of Satan is. This is said to the Church generally, which dwells throughout the whole world, in which the Devil reigns. And thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith. Even in those days Antipas my faithful witness, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. This sentence either was corrupted by scribes' fault, or it must be explained by some words being left implied, so that the order of words should be the following: “In those days, Antipas my faithful witness, who was slain among you, did not deny my faith;” or if not, then certainly “In those days there was Antipas my witness, who was slain among you.” In this martyr, it is all witnesses that are praised by the proclamation of their merits. He says among you not because he was slain by them, but among them by those in whom Satan dwells. Note also that first comes thou holdest in the singular, and then comes you in the plural, because he is addressing several in one person.
VERSE 14 But I have against thee a few things: thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat, and to commit fornication. These things do not at all correspond to the one to whom he had previously said, “Thou holdest fast my name”, etc.; but the speech turns towards another species. What he calls the doctrine of Balaam is the advice he gave Balac to put very beautiful women before the children of Israel so that, delighted by their looks, they might rush into forbidden embraces; enticed by their flatteries, they might eat of Beelphegor's sacrifices; and because of this be forsaken by God and fall before their enemies.1 Now if we turn from the literal meaning to the symbol, we find how things happened afterwards or are still to happen. Balaam indeed translates to “varying people;” whence it suitably indicates the heretics, who are weakened by their divergent errors. As for Balac, it translates to “knocking out”, and by him are represented the powers of this world, which (most of the time on the advice of heretics) bring the dignity of the Church down for a time. By Israel, “man seeing the Lord God,” are symbolized the elect. So, on Balaam's advice, Balac casts before the children of Israel the stumbling block (that is the
(1) Num. 31:16.
deception) of women so that they should eat of things sacrificed to idols and fornicate with them, because, on the heretics' advice, the princes of this world present in their discourses on the outside the sects of the heretics as if they were beautiful, while we know that they are full of all filth inside. Alternatively, Balaam, that is the Devil, teaches Balac, that is the flesh, to cast women, that is pleasures of the world, for souls to perish from.
VERSES 15-16 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaites. Enough has already been said concerning the deeds of the Nicolaites. When he says not “thou hast there” but so hast thou also, he shows that the speech is turning from one species to another. Now since it makes no difference whether one is convicted of tolerating in silence the doctrine of Balaam or that of the Nicolaites, it is suitably said after that, In like manner do penance. With these words are also secretly invited to penance those whom the same sluggish preachers are reprimanded for having completely failed to correct; whence it is also said after that, If not, I come to thee, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Why indeed does he not say “I will fight against thee” but I will fight against them, if not because, as already said, he is exhorting to come to lamentation of their faults also those who he knew had perished because of the sluggishness of the preachers? Which is the same as if he said, “I come to thee, and will fight against thee,” as another translation shows, or “I come to you all, and will fight against you.” Now what does it mean to say I come to thee, if not “I make thee feel consideration for my wrath?” Or what does it mean to say I will fight against them with the sword of my mouth, if not “I will damn them with the sharp sentences of my words?”
VERSE 17 He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: To him that overcometh, I will give the hidden manna. By the hidden manna he means the invisible bread that came down from heaven and was made man so that man might eat the bread of angels.1 This manna is now consumed in the sacrament by faith, and will someday be consumed in reality by sight, according to this saying of the Psalmist: I shall be filled when thy glory shall appear to me.2 Indeed if we translate manna, it means “What is this?”, which we say only of a thing we have not seen before. Therefore it is appropriate for that satiety of heavenly glory to be called manna, because, according to Paul's words, neither hath eye seen, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him.3
(1) Cf. John 6:51; Ps. 77:24-25 (2) Variant of Ps. 16:15. (3) Part of 1 Cor. 2:9. And will give him a white counter, and in the counter, a new name, which no man knoweth, but he that receiveth it. The counter is a precious stone which is also called carbuncle, because this stone is said to do the same as a kindled piece of coal,1 which shines in the darkness with the size in which it stopped. Therefore, what is indicated by the white counter but Jesus Christ, who appeared clean among men without any dark stain of sin, and illuminated the darkness of our mortality with the light of his divinity? The meaning is: I will make the one who triumphs over the author of death my coheir in the Father's kingdom. Another translation has “pearl” instead of counter. The new name he is talking about is “Christian,” which was previously unheard of, concerning which the Lord says through Isaiah to the Church, Thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.2 Yet, since many who have been overcome by the Devil are called by this name, how is it that he promises to give it only to those who overcome, if not because the gift we must understand here is the one by which we know those who are predestined to life in the heavenly city have been chosen? Here it is suitably said after that, which no man knoweth, but he that receiveth it, as if he were saying, “No one defends the dignity of the Christian name by their life and manners but the one who has gained it through divine predestination to eternal life.” For knowing the name of Christ is about keeping the commandments, while receiving it is traced back to the grace of divine predestination.
VERSES 18-19 And to the angel of the church of Thyatira write: These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like to a flame of fire, and his feet like to fine brass. I know thy works, and thy faith, and thy charity, and thy ministry, and thy patience, and thy last works which are more than the former. This is said to the universal Church, whose works, charity, and faith the Lord knows because he approves them by the grace of choosing. However, these things are mentioned out of order: for you first need to believe, then to love what you believe, and lastly to do the works love and belief force you to. By ministry in this passage he wants us to understand ample almsgiving in extreme poverty. We should however ask the question of why the last works of the Church are declared to be more than the former. So, one should know that at first, the Gentiles converted to Christ were ordered by the apostles to keep only four laws: namely to abstain from things sacrificed, fornication, meat of animals killed by suffocation, and blood; but after a little time had passed, they attained the summit of perfection, so that many of the believers disregarded all things of the world. Either this is the explanation, or it is because starting from the persecution of the Antichrist a greater virtue of works will shine in the Church. Indeed, while the Church made up of Gentiles is now working alone, it will then also bring the Jews to faith, and thus work twice as much.
(1) « Carbuncle » < Latin carbunculus, meaning primarily a small piece of coal. (2) Variant of Is. 62:2. VERSE 20 But I have somewhat against thee: because thou sufferest the woman Jezabel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, and to eat of things sacrificed to idols. These things do not correspond to the one he honored with such great praise above, but they refer specifically to the bad preachers who allow fornication and idolatry in the Church by their negligence. It is not to be believed that Jezabel the wife of Ahab, who we know was crushed by the hoofs of horses,1 physically survived until that time; but since there were then in that church some people who imitated her sexual intercourses, the very mother of fornications was censured in them: for the reprobates, united in an equality of vices, constitute one body, which is that of the old enemy, just as the elect, by the bond of virtues, make up one body, which is that of Christ. Jezebel's fornication is of four kinds: there is fornication in pleasure, as in Whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart;2 there is also fornication in deed, whence the apostle: Fly fornication, brethren;3 there is the fornication of idolatry, according to this: She played the harlot with stones and with stocks;4 and there is also the fornication of covetousness, according to this: covetousness, which is the service of idols.5 It is also to be noted that Jezabel calls herself a prophetess, and seduces God's servants because of that. So, when anyone says to a celibate, “Come, let us enjoy what we desire, because if God did not wish this to happen, he would not have created man and woman,” they are seeking to seduce a soldier of God as though by prophesying. So, Jezabel translates to “flow of blood,” “flowing,” or “dunghill.” By the name of blood are symbolized sins, according to this: Deliver me from bloods.6 It is said that what happens to women when they suffer their flow of blood is that humor of blood collected during several days overflows and is discharged when the menstrual time has come. It is demonstrated that it is what happens to the universal Jezabel: a shameful pleasure accumulated during a long time springs forth to open ugliness of works when the time has come. Then the mind grows excessively anxious, and the man melts just like wax in front of fire; whence it is right for her to be called “flowing.” Finally, by the very repetition of the perpetration of lust, a stench of bad reputation is emitted far and wide, whence it is fittingly that Jezabel translates to “dunghill.”
VERSE 21 And I gave her a time that she might do penance, and she will not repent of her fornication. Hence it is said by blessed Job concerning any reprobate, The Lord hath given him place for penance, and he abuseth it unto pride.7 Now, since in the previous verse he blamed the sluggish preacher for Jezabel's fornication, why is it not said, “I gave you and her,” but only her?
(1) 2 Kings 9:33. (2) Matt. 5:28. (3) Variant of 1 Cor. 6:18. (4) Jer. 3:9. (5) Col. 3:5. (6) Ps. 50:16. (7) Variant of Job 24:23. Especially since the apostle affirms that not only those who do evil, but also those who consent to those who do it, must be punished with eternal death.1 One should know therefore that God's speech is passing from species to genus, and it is as if in it he covertly blamed as unrepentant the reprobate part of the species that he had overtly reproved above, so that one and the same species appears now guilty, now worthy, when it is blamed both overtly as negligent and non-overtly as unrepentant. He did this in order that the part of the species that consists of holy preachers should not seem to be joined to the one that is part of the reprobates.
VERSES 22, 23, and 24 Behold, I put her into a bed: and they that commit adultery with her shall be in very great tribulation, except they do penance from their deeds. And I will kill her children unto death. Jezabel, those who fornicate in her, and her children are one body, that of Satan, which is put in a bed not in order that it may rest, but that it may run into madness: for by the name of bed are meant the audacity and feeling of security to commit wrongs. She is said to be put in it by God not because he himself impels her, but because he does not snatch her away from this illusion of security by punishing her; and since increases of vices are like some kinds of torments, it is right for the bed to be called a great tribulation. The bed may also indicate eternal torment; it seems to me this is why another translator put “mourning” instead of bed.2 And the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts. By the reins he wants us to understand the very perpetrated wickedness of physical lust, because the seed of human conception comes from the loins of men. By the word hearts he wants us to understand incitements to spiritual adultery. Whence the Psalmist: Burn my reins and my heart.3 But can it be that before the Lord publicly unmasks idolaters and fornicators and massacres them, the Church does not know that he is the Knower of secrets? Or how can it be called Church, if it gets to know it by this outcome of events rather than by faith? We should therefore hold the firm belief that, as far as the present state of things is concerned, they are punished with a hidden death, so that the meaning should be the following: When I condemn the reprobates hiddenly and secretly, even then the faithful do not doubt that I know the actions of everyone. And I will give to every one of you according to his works. He comes back from species to genus. There is nothing more to be explained here, but there is more to be feared. To you I say, to the rest who are at Thyatira: Whosoever have not this doctrine, and who have not known the depth of Satan. In this passage the discourse returns to the elect. By the depth of Satan we should understand his ruinous pride, because of which he was the first to carry himself high and swell with vanity against God. The elect are said not to know this pride, that is, not to agree to take it
(1) Rom. 1:32 (2) The two words differ only in one letter in Latin, so it is easy to imagine how variants could have arisen. (3) Ps. 25:2. as an example to imitate; in the same way as the sacred Scripture says that unmarried women have not known men, which means that they have no experience whatsoever of the actions of men in sexual acts, and in the same way as we say that a truthful person knows nothing about lying. As they say, I will not put upon you any other burthen. Who are those who say this but the peoples of the Jews, who say that the observances of the old law are being put on the shoulders of believers? Whence Luke the evangelist: Some coming down from Judea, taught the brethren: That except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.1
VERSE 25 Yet that, which you have, hold fast till I come. That is, do not give up the light burden that you are called to, namely the grace of the Redeemer. By saying till I come, he shows that the Church remains under grace until the times of the renewal.
VERSES 26, 27, and 28 And he that shall overcome, and keep my works unto the end, I will give him power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and as the vessel of a potter they shall be broken, as I also have received of my Father. The Son did not receive this power from the Father in his divinity, but in his humanity, in which he is inferior to the Father; whence this: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth;2 and since the elect are his limbs, they also receive this power in their Head, according to this: Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven, etc.3 By the rod of iron is represented the authority of preachers; for a rod of iron has straightness without weakness: so are the holy preachers capable neither of sparing themselves nor others when it comes to fighting vices, but they only strive to build the path of justice in themselves and others; whence it is said to Christ: The rod of thy kingdom is a straight rod.4 It is appropriate for believers to be compared to earthen vessels, for they are vessels in that they bear the treasure hidden from eternity, and they are earthen because they are burdened by the decay of the flesh; whence the apostle: We have this treasure in earthen vessels.5 As for the fact that these vessels are said to be broken when touched by the rod, we should understand here a part of the vessels that is still being destroyed in order to be remoulded for the better. Hence it is said to the potter of mankind: Turn the wicked, and they shall not be,6 implying “they shall not be wicked, but good.” Now what is meant by the first words, he that shall overcome, and keep my works unto the end? Is no one ruling believers until he triumphs
(1) Acts 15:1. (2) Matt. 28:18. (3) Matt. 18:18. (4) Variant of Ps. 44:7. (5) 2 Cor. 4:7. (6) Prov. 12:7. over the Devil by reaching the end? Or maybe he will rule afterwards? Therefore one should know that the Lord, using the future instead of the past, is indicating that those to whom he proclaims he will give power over the nations, have already overcome by the grace of predestination, and have already kept his works unto the end; as if he were saying, “I will rightly give the duty of ruling to the one who I find out for certain is victorious and will continue my works unto the end.” This is because for him the future is the present. And I will give him the morning star. In the sacred Scripture, the morning star in the singular signifies Christ (whence he says later, I am the morning star)1 and in the plural it signifies angels. So the Lord will give the morning star to those who overcome, when he remoulds the body of our humility, that is, when all those who are in the graves hear the voice of the Lord and come forth:2 he will bring them to the perfect day3 when he shows them the brightness of his divinity.
(1) Rev. 22:16. (2) John 5:28-29. (3) Prov. 4:18.
CHAPTER 3
VERSES 1-2 And to the angel of the church of Sardis, write: These things saith he, that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast the name of being alive: but thou art dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain, which were ready to die. The Lord has the seven spirits in a different way from the way he has the stars, for he has the sevenfold Spirit as an entity equal to him in the nature of the divinity, while he has the sevenfold Church as an entity subject to him in his power, as a servant. Now if he indicates that this angel, whether in the preachers or in some of his listeners, has the name of being alive through confession of faith alone, but is dead in works, how is it that he adds in order to warn the same, Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, which were ready to die? One should know therefore that he shows that he is partly dead through his faults, and partly alive through good works. Now how can someone be partly alive if he is dead, even because of one fault, if not because, if he rises again from sin through penance, he does not even lose, once he is alive, the good things he did when he was dead, because those things are themselves brought back to life with him? This is why he hears, Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, which were ready to die, which means, “If you come back to life in that part in which you are dead, you strengthen the other things that are still alive in you, in order that they do not die.” Alternatively, there are many people within the bosom of the Church who, keeping their lives from all fault, are considered alive by men, but are regarded as dead by God because their intention is not right, and these are told, Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, which were ready to die, as if they were told, “If you want the framework of your merits to be alive, watch the intention behind your works; pride will be alive.”1 For I find not thy works full before my God. That is, since the head, which is intention, has lost its vigor, the limbs, which are the merits, are by no means vigorous, full or plump, but they languish, meagre and almost dead.
VERSE 3 Have in mind therefore in what manner thou hast received and heard: and observe, and do penance. This sentence can be ascribed to both senses. Indeed he had heard, Whosoever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one point, is become guilty of all,2 as well as If thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome.3 If then thou shalt not watch, I will come to thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know when I will come. To watch is to rise from the sleep of sin to justice through the tears of repentance. The comparison with a thief that is introduced here is a fit one, since when a thief arrives unexpectedly, he massacres everyone he finds asleep and plunders their possessions: so does the heavenly judge kill the unrepentant with a sentence of punishment when he comes to them unexpectedly, and destroy their actions like a very strong robber.
VERSE 4 But I have a few names in Sardis, who have not defiled their garments: and they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy. Those who do not stain their garments with filth are those who commit no deadly sin after the sacrament of baptism; but since they are rare, it is first said a few names. Where then, Lord, shall they walk with you to? Where from, and where to, if not from you into you? For they walk with you every day, because they follow and observe the footprints of your Passion. You lead the way by giving examples, and they follow by imitating those examples. By worthy he means either “clean” or “wholly deserving my esteem.” Now should those who defile their lives after baptism lose hope? No. Let them therefore run to the blood of the Lamb, not so that they may be wetted in it by the water of baptism again, but that they may be washed from the stains of their sins by a fountain of tears; whence there soon follows:
(1) Although it is still possible to make some sense of this as it is, I wonder if the Latin text here may not be corrupt, and if it should not have been something along the lines of « Watch that pride should not corrupt the intention behind your works », or, alternatively, if there was not an « or » left out by someone: « Watch the intentions behind your works, or pride will be alive (rather than the framework of your merits). » (2) James 2:10. (3) Matt. 6:23. VERSE 5 He that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments. That is, he who fights against the enemy to get his garments back, and overcomes, will be clothed in the same garments again and shine in the same way as those who have kept them unstained. This can also apply to the unfaithful, who are exhorted to overcome, that is to believe in Christ; because this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith.1 And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life. A great question arises for us in this place: for these words seem to mean that the name of the one who does not overcome is blotted out from the book, while it is well-known that only the elect are kept in heaven's book, written there by the pen of blessed predestination. Then it remains for us to understand the names of the reprobates being blotted out from the book of life as a way of speaking, usual in the sacred Scripture, meaning that, due to reprobation, they are not written at all; in the same way as Pharaoh's heart is said to be hardened by the Lord.2 As for this book, it is some kind of divine force which predestined before the ages a certain and determined number of elect to be in glory in the future. So we should take what is said about the victor, I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, as if he were saying, “The one who I know will be victorious, I am already keeping his name written in heaven.” And I will confess his name before my Father and his angels. What does it mean for the Son of God to confess the victor's name before the Father and the angels, if not to show that he who has overcome is united to him by his good works? Which will happen principally when he says to the elect, Come, ye blessed of my Father, etc.3
VERSES 7-8 And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, write: These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David; he that openeth, and no man shutteth; shutteth, and no man openeth: Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut. The Lord is called the Holy One and the True One as if he were the only one, because compared to him no one is holy or truthful. It is indeed written, No one is clean from filth,4 as well as, Every man is a liar.5 We take the key of David to mean our Redeemer's incarnation, which he got from the seed of David. The door, which the same key opens and shuts, is Christ himself, according to this: I am the door, etc.6 For he is called the key and the door in the same way as in the Gospel he is called the shepherd as well as both the porter and the door.7 So the open door is Christ born according to the flesh, having suffered, and resurrected on the third day; the door however is not open to the incredulous, but to believers. The Jews were trying to
(1) 1 John 5:4. (2) Ex. 4:21; 7:3, 13, 22; 8:19; 9:12, 35; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8. (3) Matt. 25:34. (4) Variant of Job 14:4, very close to the LXX version. (5) Ps. 115:11. (6) John 10:9. (7) Ibid.1-5. shut this door when they scourged the apostles and charged them that they should not speak in the name of Jesus;1 but since when he opens, no man shuts, they replied immediately, We cannot but speak the things which we have heard.2 As this door was shut to the Asians, the apostles tried to open it; but since when he shuts, no man opens, the spirit of Jesus stopped them.3 The open door may also be taken to mean the Scripture, through which we come in towards Christ with the steps of faith. So he opens the door with the key of David, and no man shuts, because no one is able, with any veil of the Jews, to cast a shadow in the elect's hearts over the words of the sacred Scripture, which he made his elect understand spiritually by the grace of his incarnation. On the other hand, he shuts it for the unbelieving Jews, and it cannot be opened by anyone. This too can be analyzed symbolically: because thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Here it is no small question that arises: how can someone have only a little strength if they keep the word of God and do not deny his name? We should know therefore that it was said according to the estimation of human weakness, because, while the elect are capable of many things through Christ, they presume that they are capable of little. Indeed Thou hast a little strength is said as if it were said “Thou thinkest that thou hast a little strength.”
VERSE 9 Behold, I will bring of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and adore before thy feet. And they shall know that I have loved thee. In this passage is foretold the faith of the Jews, according to this: until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in, and so all Israel should be saved.4 Now they say they are Jews, but are not, because they have lost on the inside spiritually the name they bear on the outside literally; for the expression of the name of Jews is the confession of Christ. However, when Elijah and Enoch are preaching,5 they will come to adore before the Church's feet, because they will venerate it by following the examples of its action.
VERSE 10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, etc. The word of patience is what the Lord showed in example when he prayed on the cross for his persecutors,6 and taught in words,
(1) Acts 5:40. (2) Acts 4:17-20. (3) Acts 16:7. (4) Rom. 11:25-26. (5) According to a tradition followed by many early Church writers, Enoch and Elijah are expected to come prior to the second coming of Christ at the end of the world. These two OT prophets have been linked to the two witnesses found in Rev. 11:1-14. (6) Luke 23:34. saying, In your patience you shall possess your souls.1 As for what follows, I will also keep thee from the hour of the temptation, which shall come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth, it should be taken as referring to the times of the Antichrist, under whom there will be so great a tribulation as has never been from the beginning of the world.2 For bodily wounds will be hard, but more grievous will be the miracles3 of the enemies. But the saints will be preserved from the trial of deception, because they will not be provoked to the negation of Christ.
VERSE 11 I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast. The Lord says he will come quickly, so that no one should give up in the struggle. For everything that passes happens quickly. What he tells him to hold fast is the conduct of heavenly life, and he gives the reason, adding, that no other man take thy crown. In this phrase we see that the certain and determined number of the elect is embraced, and we contemplate with an absolutely amazing thought the fact that no one can be added to or subtracted from it.
VERSES 12-13 He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. God's temple is the Church, according to this: The temple of God is holy, which you are.4 Since not only the preachers, but also the good listeners triumph over the old enemy, and in this verse everyone who overcomes is said to become a pillar in God's temple, we are forced to confess that a pillar is the same as the temple, that is the universal Church. In what follows, and he shall go out no more, it is openly shown that the Church, in the younger brother, had once passed from the unity of faith and work it kept in the prophets under the law to the error of perfidy and perverse work; but it was recovered through the killing of the fatted calf.5 Alternatively, all of us, Jews as well as Gentiles, went out in Adam; but after we have been brought in victorious to the second Adam, we are made into a pillar of God's temple, because, overcoming the temptations of the old enemy through the blood of that same Mediator of ours, we are established in the heavenly glory of the saints by that steadfastness in the commandments which we are demonstrated to have lost in the first Adam. But we shall never go out again, because no incitements of the enemy shall
(1) Luke 21:19. (2) Matt. 24:21. (3) Both editions I have used indicate in the margin that the MS has « miracles », but change it to « darts » in the body of the text. « Miracles » makes sense to me, since the Antichrist and his disciples will do miracles to seduce people, which would be the « deception » mentioned in the next sentence. (4) 1 Cor. 3:17. (5) Luke 15:11-31. tear us away from that common happiness of the heavenly fatherland. Note also that he says he has a God as he speaks according to his humanity. 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 ears, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. The name of the Father being written on the one who overcomes means that he becomes his Son by adoption of the Spirit. Indeed, with what pen is it written, if not with the grace of the Spirit of both? Whence the apostle: The Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God.1 As for Jerusalem, it translates to “sight of peace.” It is said to come down out of heaven from God because the Church of the elect, which directs its course towards the sight of heavenly peace with the steps of love, went down, as it was predestined to, into the womb of the Virgin together with the Lord, whose body it is; or it is because its number increases every day through heavenly grace. It is called new because, through baptism and love, it is stripped of the oldness of the earthly man and clothed in heavenly newness; whence this: The old things are passed away, and behold all things are made new.2 So the name of Jerusalem is written on the victor when he joins the number of the saints. As for where we get all this from, it is revealed when it is added and my new name (implying I will write) namely the one that was given in time to the same Mediator, that is “Christ.” This is where our dignity and high position comes from, this is the cause of our being called sons of God, New Jerusalem, and Christians. Therefore, where we hear the sum of all salvation, let us at last put a due end to this book.
HERE ENDS THE SECOND BOOK
(1) Rom. 8:16. (2) 2 Cor. 5:17.
HERE BEGINS THE THIRD BOOK
VERSE 14 And to the angel of the church of Laodicea, write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the beginning of the creation of God. Amen translates to “true,” which we should take as referring to that Truth which said about itself, I am the truth.1 Although the Lord has many faithful and true witnesses, it is appropriate for him to be called the faithful and true one as if he were the only one, because compared to him no one is faithful and truthful: for he is faithful, truthful, and good by nature, whereas we are so because he shares those qualities with us. As for how it is that the Son alone is called the witness when there are three that give testimony,2 it has already been explained in the first book. Finally, the Son is called the beginning of the creation of God because it is from him that all things have got the beginning of existence; for, as it is written, All things were made by him.3
VERSES 15-16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. The cold ones are those whom either the perfidy of the Jews or the error of the Gentiles keeps bound, because the one who said, I will sit in the sides of the North,4 binds them with his ice. On the other hand, the hot ones are those whose hearts the South wind, that is the Holy Spirit, comes to and touches with the heat of faith, so that, the hardness of incredulity being softened and the cold of error being lost, they emanate the heat of good works. Both someone cold and someone hot often become lukewarm: someone cold becomes lukewarm when they turn away from the cold of iniquity but do not pass to the perfect heat of justice, and someone hot becomes lukewarm if they come down from the heat of justice to the inactivity of sluggishness. Then, we have all learned from experience that something cold or hot easily passes into our body, but something lukewarm provokes nausea and is thrown right out of the mouth. So teachers can more easily attract an unfaithful person to faith or a perverted Christian to fervor for good work, than they can a lukewarm person; and so they forsake him, as a farmer leaves an unfruitful land and cultivates the one from which he has already plucked out the thorns and which is fruitful, or the one which, albeit still full of thorns, seems to promise it will be fruitful.
(1) John 14:6. (2) 1 John 5:7. (3) John 1:3. (4) Is. 14:13.
VERSE 17 Because thou sayest: I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing: and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind. Whoever boasts of being rich on account of the confession of the right faith, if he does not cease to do evil, is not rich, but poor; and any one of the lukewarm, since he does not understand this, can rightly be blamed by the Lord as wretched, miserable, poor, naked, and blind: wretched, because he is deceiving himself; miserable, because he does not realize he is fooling himself; poor and naked, because he is void of true virtues; but in an even worse manner because he is not even conscious of it, whence he is also deservedly called blind. But since divine kindness calls some of the lukewarm to the heat of justice, it is suitably said after that:
VERSE 18 I counsel thee to buy gold fire-tried, that thou mayest be made rich. Gold in this passage is taken to mean God's wisdom incarnate, concerning which it is said elsewhere, Take wisdom as gold.1 It is right for this gold to be called fire-tried, because our Redeemer was tested by the fire of the Passion. The meaning is: If you want to be rich in virtues, take me as an example, so that you too may become gold melted by fire. Now what price shall a poor person give for this gold but a pious state of mind in his prayer? To him it is said in addition: and mayest be clothed in white garments, that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear. Someone is clothed in white garments to cover the shame of their nakedness when they buy gold fire-tried, convert to a new life to avoid the shame of lukewarmness, and deserve, thanks to their imitation of him, to be connected with the new and heavenly man. And anoint thy eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. As if it were saying: Apply the divine commandments to your blind mind, so that you may see the nakedness in virtues you are suffering from and hurry to cover it. Indeed, if the divine commandments were not eye salve, the Psalmist would not say, The commandment of the Lord is lightsome, enlightening the eyes.2 Eye salve, which is made from earth and removes the dust of the earth from the eyes, may represent the temporal poverty our Redeemer assumed for us. Therefore let him who has his eyes blinded with dust put eye salve on them to recover sight, that is, let him who gets lost due to earthly pleasures bring back to his mind his Redeemer's temporal poverty, so that he may contemplate with his inward eyes the future rewards of the saints.
(1) Variant of Prov. 16:16. (2) Ps. 18:9.
VERSE 19 Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Rebuke is about words, chastisement is about whips. There is nothing more that needs explaining in this sentence, but it just needs to be embraced willingly. Be zealous therefore, and do penance. As if he were saying, “If you do not take whip blows temporarily here with them, you shall be subjected to eternal torments without them.”1
VERSE 20 Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear my voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. This is not to be taken as a physical act of standing, but as a placeless one, because when the Lord dwells in someone, he does not leave him to pass to someone else. The gate signifies the mind's entrance, which the Lord knocks at on his own, with no companion, by inspiring: his voice is heard by whoever keeps the advice of his commandments out of love, and this person opens the door when he broadens his heart to see the highest good of eternity. Finally, when the door has been opened, the Lord comes in to him, because he illuminates through inner sweetness the soul burning with desire. So the Head sups..... because by doing the Father's will every day..... the limbs..... 2 with the Head, the limbs which die with him every day in order to do the Father's will, as in for you are dead, etc.3
VERSE 21 To him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me in my throne: as I also have overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne. The Lord victorious sits in the Father's throne because, after the Passion and Resurrection, he showed that he was equal to the Father. He says that we also sit in it, because we receive power of judgment in the Son's power, according to this: You, who have followed me, you shall sit on twelve seats, etc.4 It is not inconsistent with the truth that he says elsewhere we will sit on twelve thrones and here on his throne; for by the twelve thrones is indicated universal judgment, and by the throne of the Son a unique summit of judicial power. Therefore the same thing is indicated by the twelve thrones and by the one throne of the Son. We should however ask the question of how it is that he says all victors will judge, whereas not all will, but some of those who overcome will judge, and others will be judged. One should know then that they will have in others the power they do not have in
(1) The first meaning of the Latin verb here translated as « be zealous » is « emulate ». (2) Gaps in the Latin text. (3) Col. 3:3. (4) Matt. 19:28. themselves, in the same way as the whole body of a man has the power to speak through the mouth and to see through the eyes. Now if we look more subtly at the phrase in which it is said as I also have overcome, we find that it indicates those who are more brilliant and outstanding in their victory.
CHAPTER 4
VERSE 1 After these things I looked, and behold a door was opened in heaven. The Redeemer's Nativity is recapitulated, and these things had already been said with various other symbols; as when one relates one event in different ways, the narrations will each have a different time, but not the event itself, which happened in one time. We should however ask the question of why John does not disclose the time of his prophecy, while other prophets used to disclose by the kings the length of the interval between one vision and another. It is because he is informing us that the whole time of the Church should be related to that continuous day of resurrection about which it is said, Blessed is he that hath part in the first resurrection;1 for the first resurrection, that is the one by which souls rise again from the death of sin to the life of justice, is now going on all the time. Now with what eyes did John see this door? As far as the figurative vision is concerned, he did not of course see it with the eyes of the flesh, but with those of the mind; but for what concerns the truth of the thing itself, truth which had already been manifested when the Lord had appeared in the flesh, not only did he see it with the eyes of the flesh, but he even touched it with his hands. The open door represents Christ, who has already been manifested to all the faithful by being born, dying, and rising again. It is appropriate for this door to be seen in heaven, that is in the Church, because it is in the Church that people proclaim and believe that our Redeemer was born, suffered, was resurrected, and went up to heaven. And the first voice which I heard, was, as it were, of a trumpet speaking with me, saying: Come up hither. Whither, but to the door and heaven, that is Christ and the Church? And with what steps, but those of faith? It is right for John to be invited to this by the first voice, because every one of the elect, in order that they may reach the mysteries of the true faith through the Gospel without the foot of belief striking against any obstacle, is strengthened by the teaching of the Old Testament, which preceded the new teaching. It is also right for this voice to be compared to a trumpet, because it is calling us to a spiritual war; whence this: Lift up thy voice like a trumpet.2 In what is said after that, I will shew thee the things which must be done hereafter, he does not deny that the Church already has high honors, but he shows that they will last until the end of the world.
(1) Rev. 20:6. (2) Is. 58:1. VERSE 2 And immediately I was in the spirit. If this is taken as referring to John, it means that he was taken into ecstasy; if it is taken as referring to the Church, these words show its spiritual conversion. And behold there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne one sitting. Both heaven and the throne represent the Church, for genus is joined to genus in such a way that not two things are understood, but one. So the throne is set in heaven when heaven itself, that is the Church, deserves to be presided over by the Lord. As for the one sitting on the throne, he is nothing else but the Son of man appearing in the midst of the golden candlesticks: the only difference is that there he is walking, that is bestowing gifts, and here he is sitting, that is making judgment between everyone by administering justice according to the gifts they have been offered. Indeed the fact that the one sitting in this passage represents the Son is disclosed when it is said after that:
VERSE 3 And he that sat, was to the sight like the jasper and the sardine stone. By the jasper, which is green, are represented the green pastures of the paradise; and what are those pastures but Christ's divinity, in which all things live? As the same John said, He that hath the Son, hath life.1 By the sardine stone, which has a resemblance to red earth, is represented our Redeemer's humanity, because truth is sprung out of the earth.2 The species of these stones may also represent the Church. And there was a rainbow round about the throne, like to the sight of an emerald. By the rainbow is represented the reconciliation of the world achieved through the plan of the Word incarnate. Indeed the sun illuminated a cloud and a rainbow appeared, because when the Father's Word, which is the Sun of justice,3 shed rays of light on human nature by adopting it, this very adoption of his humanity, which is called a cloud by the prophet,4 became the reconciliation of the world. The very interpretation of the noun agrees with this, for if you add one letter and say irini, it means “peace” in Greek.5 When he illuminates the solid hearts of the saints, which are called clouds, they give the appearance of a bow, because they are bent towards piety by the fact of praying to God. There is here a fitting connection of symbols, because below, lightnings and thunders are said to proceed from the throne, as though from a cloud. Then, since a rainbow shines principally with two colors, namely that of water and that of fire, what is represented is either baptism by water and by the Holy Spirit, or the preceding
(1) 1 John 5:12. (2) Ps. 84:12. (3) Mal. 4:2. (4) This reference of the “cloud by the prophet,” is probably linked to Rev. 10:1, since Alcuin gives the same interpretation of the cloud as symbolizing his humanity/flesh. (5) If you take the word used in the Latin for « rainbow », which is the Greek-borrowed word iris, or irin in one of its grammatical cases, and add i to the latter, it gives irini, which resembles (and probably yet more so in the pronunciation used by the author) Greek εἰρήνη (eirene), « peace ».
judgment through the flood and the following one through fire. It is in order that it may be shown more openly in this passage that the divinity was propitiated to the world again by him, that it is compared to the sight of an emerald; for this stone is of a very green color, which it is not unfitting to apply to the nature of the divinity.
VERSE 4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats, four and twenty ancients sitting. As in the Gospel the Lord mentions twelve thrones,1 what does it mean that John says there are twenty-four, if not that, because of the two testaments, the number of the twelve tribes is also doubled? Therefore, regarding the distinction between both testaments, there are twenty-four thrones, and as many ancients; but regarding the unity and harmony between those same testaments, there are only twelve. We should not however understand things only carnally and think that the one throne is one thing and the twenty-four seats another; for because it is specifically and chiefly the Lord who will judge the whole Church, the ancients and the seats are for this reason said to be one throne; but because the holy preachers of both testaments will examine with him the people below them, consequently twenty-four ancients sit on twenty-four seats round about the throne. As for what is said after that concerning the ancients, clothed in white garments, and on their heads were crowns of gold, it refers to the whole Church, which clothes in white garments, that is in the inviolate sacraments of baptism. It has crowns of gold on its head because it truly triumphs over the author of death. Alternatively, this number may symbolize the holy Church because of the perfection of the number six, completed by the four books of the Gospel; or if not, then surely because the Church uses the twenty-four books of the Old Testament.
VERSES 5- 6 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, and voices, and thunders. Here it is clearly shown that the throne symbolizes the Church, which all these things tally with. For by lightnings we understand miraculous signs; whence the Psalmist: Thy lightnings enlightened the world,2 and by voices and thunders is represented the preaching of the truth, as the same Psalmist said: The voice of thy thunder in a wheel.3 Note also that, passing obliquely, as it were, from one symbol to another, he says that these things proceed from the throne while they do not correspond to a throne but to a cloud. Therefore by the throne he wants us to understand the
(1) Matt. 19:28. (2) Ps. 76:19. (3) Ibid.
cloud. It is fitting for the Church of the just to be symbolized by a cloud, because its preachers rain words, thunder with threats, and flash with miracles. And there were seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. And in the sight of the throne was, as it were, a sea of glass like to crystal. It is fitting for the Holy Spirit to be compared to lamps, because he kindles the hearts of the elect to the love of God and neighbor. As for the sea of glass, what is symbolized by it but baptism? And why is it of glass, if not because the faith of those who go through it is being indicated with a figurative expression, in which what is caused is being represented by what causes it? Indeed, just as in glass you can see nothing from the outside but that which is carried inside of it, so is the Church's faith sincere in its belief on the inside, and so does it appear truthful in confession on the outside. Yet, so that it should not be thought to be fragile like glass, it was added like to crystal. Indeed, just as ice compressed by the winter's cold, after many years, hardens in such a way that it resembles a stone and becomes crystal, so is the faith of the saints solidified with time among oppressions. And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes before and behind. No one doubts that by these four living creatures are represented the four evangelists. But if they are in the midst of the throne, how can they be said to be round about the throne? Especially since it has already been said that the Lord was sitting in the midst of the throne, and the twenty-four ancients round about the throne. One should know then that the living creatures are found in the Lord, and the Lord in the living creatures; and again the living creatures in the ancients, and the ancients in the living creatures. The species of the four creatures may also indicate the Church in general. So the living creatures are full of eyes because as many words of the sacred Scriptures as there are, there are so many spiritual lights for the elect, by which they are illuminated to faith. Their eyes are before and behind because they contain in themselves the mysteries of the Old and of the New Testament. For before is used in this passage to mean the past. Alternatively, they have eyes before and behind because they announce some things that have been fulfilled and some that are to be fulfilled, or because they lament past sins and guard against future ones.
VERSE 7 And the first living creature was like a lion: and the second living creature like a calf: and the third living creature, having the face, as it were, of a man: and the fourth living creature was like an eagle flying. We should ask the question of why John said that the first living creature was like a lion while Ezekiel says that the appearance of man was in the first animal.1 So, either the historical order (which the mystical words of the Scriptures do not always keep) has been changed, or he put the symbol of the lion first because it is not on account of the Nativity or of the Passion that people have believed in Christ, but on account of the Resurrection,
(1) Ezek. 1:5 et seq. However, Ezekiel rather speaks of four living creatures each having four faces (one of a man, one of a lion, one of an ox, and one of an eagle) ; but the likeness of man is the first thing mentioned in the description of the living creatures, and the man face is also the first of the faces to be mentioned. which is symbolized by the lion. Finally, since he began1 with the human generation,2 Matthew is appropriately represented by the man; since he began with the cry in the desert,3 Mark is appropriately represented by the lion; since he started with a sacrifice,4 Luke is well represented by the calf; and John, who began with the divinity,5 is fittingly represented by the eagle. All this can also refer to Christ and all his limbs. However, for brevity's sake, let us content ourselves with what we have said here.
VERSE 8 And the four living creatures had each of them six wings. We take the wings of the four living creatures to mean the words of the two Testaments. Then, although these wings are two, because of the doubled number twelve found in the tribes of Israel and the apostles, they are multiplied by twelve, and give twenty-four. In the same way, because of the knowledge of the Trinity that they spread throughout the world, they are also multiplied by three, and six appear in all. Alternatively, the six wings may be taken to mean the six laws: the first which is the natural law, the second which is that of Moses, the third which is that of the prophets, the fourth which is that of grace, the fifth which is that of the apostles, and the sixth which is that of the synods; by all of which the Church flies to heaven. And round about and within they are full of eyes. The living creatures are full of eyes both round about and within because the holy Church shows the light of preaching to believers, but conceals it from the unfaithful; or because the holy preachers show the way of faith and holiness to the minds of little people as though on the outside through the history only, and to the minds of perfect people as though on the inside through allegory; or because they incessantly see to it to provide their brothers with good examples on the outside, and to persevere in right intention on the inside. And they rest not day and night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who is, and who was, and who is to come. They rest not, that is, they do not desist from their cry; whence it is clear that the four living creatures represent the whole Church, because not only the evangelists, but also all the faithful do not desist from praising God day and night, that is in success and in adversity. By the fact of saying holy thrice, they indicate the three Persons. On the other hand, by saying Lord God Almighty, they show the one-substanced God in these three Persons. Yet, how can the words who is to come in the aforementioned praise correspond to the Trinity, when only the Son will come in his humanity to judge? One should know then that the invisible Trinity will assume the person of the Son and examine the just and sinners through it. It will not however come by passing from one place to another, but by showing its manifest power through the human form adopted by it, which will come down from heaven to the lower regions. We may also understand in this passage the divinity's present coming by which its saints are illuminated every day.
(1) His Gospel. (2) Sc. of Jesus. Matt. 1:1 et seq. (3) Mark 1:3. (4) Luke 1:8. (5) John 1:1 et seq. VERSES 9-10 And when those living creatures gave glory, and honour, and benediction to him that sitteth on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever; the four and twenty ancients fell down, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever. Here the living creatures no longer indicate a genus, but a species, namely the evangelists; but by the twenty-four ancients is represented the universal Church in its superior and inferior members. So the living creatures give glory and honor to him that sits on the throne, when the holy evangelists teach us that he ought to be praised for all good things, as in Every best gift, etc.1 As the evangelists are thus speaking, the twenty-four ancients, that is all the saints, fall down, because they feel humble. They adore God at the same time as they fall, because they honor God by the very fact of attributing nothing to themselves. This fall and adoration should be understood as spiritual, according to this: God is a spirit; and they that adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth.2 And cast their crowns before the throne, saying, etc. He is repeating the very same thing: for the ancients laying their crowns before the throne mean the elect, with a pious confession of the mind, laying down before their consciences, which God presides over, the swelling of pride for the virtues they have received, and attributing everything to him who presides over them; which is also why they say:
VERSE 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power, as if they were saying, “These things principally fit thee, from whom, by whom, and in whom is the glory, honor, and power3 of the saints.” Yet, what is meant by what follows, because thou hast created all things; and for thy will they were, and have been created? If they have been created, how can they have been before they were created? One should know then that they were in the predestination before they came into being in deed.
(1) James 1:17. (2) John 4:24. (3) The Latin word can also translate as « virtue ».
CHAPTER 5
VERSE 1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book written within and without. By the one sitting on the throne is indicated the person of the Father, and by the right hand of the one sitting, the same Father's Son through whom all things were made, and concerning whom it is said by the voice of the Father, I will lift up my hand to heaven, and I will swear by my right hand.1 As for the book written within and without, it seems to contain both Testaments, namely the Old and the New; and while the Old was open without with regards to its literal meaning, with regards to its mystical meaning, it was hiding the New within. Alternatively, written within, the book represents the allegory, and written without it represents the history. The reason why the Old and the New Testament are said to be one book is that neither can the New be separated from the Old nor the Old from the New. It is right for the book to be said to be in his right hand, because the principal focus of the divine Scriptures is on the plan of our Redeemer. Sealed with seven seals. The number seven often indicates totality. The book is said to be sealed with seven seals because the plan of the Savior Lord, before it had been revealed in the fullness of the time,2 lay concealed in the divine volumes by a fullness of all sorts of hidden mysteries. If there is someone for whom this interpretation is not enough, let them know that in the seven seals are encompassed the seven moods of verbs: the indicative, as in this answer given to the prophet: I am the Lord that speak justice;3 the enunciative, as in Hearken to me, O Jacob, and thou Israel whom I call, etc.;4 the imperative, as in Cry, cease not;5 the optative, like in O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments!;6 the conjunctive, as in If you will keep my covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession;7 the infinitive, as in To abstain from evil, is understanding;8 and impersonal, such as in Who shall declare the powers of the Lord?(9)(10)
VERSE 2 And I saw a strong angel, proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? By the strong angel we should understand a herald of the law, for the lips of the priest keep knowledge, and they seek the law at his mouth: because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts.11 Now what does it mean to ask who is worthy to open the book, if
(1) Deut. 32:40 acc. to LXX. (2) Cf. Gal. 4:4. (3) Is. 45:19. (4) Is. 48:12. (5) Is. 58:1. (6) Is. 48:18. (7) Ex. 19:5. (8) Job 28:28 acc. to LXX. (9) Ps. 105:2. (10) Not all of these classifications would be approved by a modern grammarian — I mean not even in Latin, which this list was of course intended for rather than English. (11) Mal. 2:7. not to anxiously long for Christ, who could show that the law had been fulfilled and revealed in him, so that it no longer needed to be kept and understood carnally, but spiritually? It is right for the book to be opened first, and for its seven seals to be loosed afterwards, because the proclamations of the divine law were first fulfilled in Christ, and then in a certain manner in the whole body, as shown by the opening of the individual seals. Then since Christ had not yet come, it is fittingly said after that:
VERSE 3 And no man was able, neither in heaven, that is no angel was able to, nor on earth, that is no human being, nor under the earth, that is no soul, to open the book, nor to look on it: for none of these was able to achieve the plan for the salvation of man. But, blessed John, how could no one look on the book, while you yourself say, “I saw a book in the right hand of God?” Perhaps you were neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth? Then, in order for it not to be contradictory, we should take look on to mean “comprehend.” Indeed, who is able to comprehend how God can become incarnate without seed, how a man God can come out of the closed womb of a virgin, and how the Lord of glory can be crucified, when only the flesh dies?
VERSE 4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it. By no means is it believed that John, who wrote this after the opening of this book, wept in his own person, but in that of the Church of before Christ's coming, which, burdened with the weight of sins, was anxiously seeking the presence of its Mediator. It is also in the person of this Church that David says, My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily: Where is thy God?1 A consolation is directed at it in what is said after that:
VERSE 5 And one of the ancients said to me: Weep not; behold the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof. By this ancient we understand the order of the prophets, by whose prophecies the Church was comforted, as in The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thighs, till he come that is to be sent.2 Note also that Christ is here called a lion because he overcame the Devil, while in the following verse he is called a lamb because he redeemed the world by sacrificing himself. As for the root of David, it means the kin and son of David. Moreover it should be noted that in the words hath prevailed, he used the past for the future, as in They have dug my hands, etc.3
(1) Ps. 41:4. (2) Gen. 49:10. (3) Ps. 21:17. VERSE 6 And I saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes: which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. As already said, the throne, the living creatures, and the ancients signify the Church, in the middle of which stands the Lamb, according to this: I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I praise thee.1 As for what we read elsewhere, The Lord is round about his people,2 it is not incompatible, because he both presides in the middle where he rules and judges it, and goes round about it to protect and defend it. Now why do we read here that he is standing while we read above that he is sitting, if not because there were shown examination and kingdom, while here is shown assistance? Indeed sitting is the attitude of one reigning and judging, while standing is the attitude of one giving assistance. Note also that he is seen not slain, but as it were slain; for even though he was crucified due to weakness, he lives by the power of God. Alternatively, Christ is, not slain, but as it were slain, every time his limbs either mortify themselves voluntarily or endure persecutions so as to fill up in themselves those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ.3 By the seven horns, as John himself has explained, is represented the Holy Spirit's sevenfold operation, which is demonstrated not only to have rested in the Head, but also to have illuminated the entire body, which is why in this passage the seven spirits of God are said to have been sent forth into all the earth. This sevenfold operation, which is symbolized by the horns because of its kingdom and strength, is also fittingly represented by the eyes because it illuminates the Church. Alternatively, by the horns, which rise above the flesh, we may also understand the more outstanding people in the Church, to whom it is said, You are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.4
VERSE 7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. The right hand of him that sits on the throne is the same as the Lamb as it were slain in the midst of the throne, because the Son of God through whom the world was created and the Son of man through whom man was redeemed are not two, but one Christ. Therefore the Lamb, that is the Son of man, took the book, that is the plan for the salvation of man, to which every page of the Scriptures bears witness, from himself, that is from his divinity.
(1) Ps. 21:23. (2) Ps. 124:2. (3) Cf. Col. 1:24. (4) Rom. 8:9.
VERSE 8 And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. The Lamb opened the book when he fulfilled the work of his voluntary Passion. Now what does it mean that the living creatures and the ancients have harps, if not that the Church of the elect is filling up those things which are wanting of the afflictions of Christ?1 It is fitting for the sufferings of Christ to be symbolized by harps, for in a harp some strings are stretched more tightly and others more loosely, but, albeit stretched differently, they do not at all produce each a different song: it is the same with the different members in the body of Christ: some imitate his sufferings more fully and others less, but they resound with one praise in harmony. So the living creatures and the ancients fall before the Lamb with harps because all the saints attribute the merit of everything they suffer for Christ to Christ and not to themselves. By the golden vials we understand love, a love capable of praying not only for friends but also for enemies, which is why it is said that they were full. It is right for the vials to be mentioned after the harps, because the Lord first climbed the cross, and then thus prayed for his persecutors with an incomparable love, saying, Father, forgive them, etc.2
VERSE 9 And they sung a new canticle, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to take the book, etc. Christ sang a new canticle by preaching it in words and following it in acts. Now what does it mean to say, Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, if not “Compared to our victories, thy victory alone is considered one, by which we were redeemed from the prince of death and the malediction of the law?” By the fact that the four living creatures and the twenty-four ancients say they have been redeemed out of every tribe, and tongue, and nation, it is clearly shown that by them is represented the universal Church.
VERSE 10 And hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. The elect are kings, when, by restraining their bodies, it is as if they were reigning over a subjected earth with the law of virtue, which is why they affirm they have received a kingdom on earth too. They are priests because they offer themselves to God by chastising themselves every day, according to this: A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit.3
(1) Cf. Col. 1:24. (2) Luke 23:34. (3) Ps. 50:19. VERSES 11, 12, and 13 And I saw, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the ancients. By saying that he heard the voice, he shows what kind of seeing this was; for he sees sounds and hears visions. Now if, as already said, the living creatures and the ancients are round about the throne, how can there be any angel round about the same throne, if not because those same living creatures and ancients are angels? About whom it is said, The angels of peace shall weep bitterly.1 Though the heavenly military may also be understood by the name of angels; but whether it is about the latter or about the former, their countless multitude is shown when it is said after that, and the number of them was thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction, and every creature, which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and under the sea, and the things that are in it. The sea and the things that are in it represent this world. I heard all saying: To him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, benediction, and honour, and glory, and power, for ever and ever. Saying all, he means again those whom he said above the whole Church was made up of, that is the living creatures, the ancients, and the angels. In the one who sits and the Lamb, that is in the Father and the Son, according to the rule mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit is also understood.
VERSE 14 And the four living creatures said: Amen. And the four and twenty ancients fell down on their faces, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever. Since the living creatures and the ancients are one, that is one Church, the living creatures fall down and adore him with the ancients, and the ancients confirm with the living creatures that the praises are true, replying Amen in an affirmative expression. Their fall and adoration, as already said, must be taken as spiritual. Now, so that we should not get tired beyond measure by going on too long, let us put an end to this book here.
HERE ENDS THE THIRD BOOK
(1) Is. 33:7.
HERE BEGINS THE FOURTH BOOK
CHAPTER 6
VERSE 1 And when the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, I heard one of the four living creatures, as it were the voice of a great thunder, saying: Come, and see. The opening of a seal is the revelation of a mystery. Now since there is not one, but many mysteries, and it would be long to speak about every one of them individually, all of them can be encompassed in three kinds, namely one kind pertaining to speech, one pertaining to cognition, and one pertaining to action. Speech includes in itself all commandments. Cognition, when applied according to the rules, teaches us the forms of understanding. As for action, it is in harmony with both. After one of the seven seals has been opened, one of the four living creatures invites John, in the manner of a great thunder, to come and see, because, after the truth has been manifested, the Church that precedes, consisting of the apostles, calls to faith the one that follows.
VERSE 2 And behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow. By the white horse is represented Christ's humanity, free of all dark stain of sin, which the Father's Word wanted to govern alone; or it is all the elect. By the bow are represented the Old and the New Testament, from which come as many darts as there are words in the Testaments. It is said about this bow to the same rider, stretching and extending thy bow over the sceptres.1 As for what follows, and there was a crown given him, it does not only refer to the Head, but also to the body. And he went forth conquering that he might conquer. Where did he come forth from but from the open seal? For from the revealed mystery of the Scriptures, the very truth of the mystery appeared manifestly. The Head came forth conquering first, so that he might afterwards conquer daily through the body the temptations of the Devil and the persecutions of evil people.
VERSE 3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature, saying: Come, and see. What does it mean that a similar order is given in a dissimilar situation, if not that concern for the future struggle is here given in the same way as joy for the achieved victory was above?
(1) Variant of Hab. 3:9, close to the LXX version.
VERSE 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and to him that sat thereon, it was given that he should take peace from the earth. The red horse is the body of the old enemy, that is all the reprobates, blood-red due to their killing of souls. While the rider of the elect says, My peace I give unto you,1 the rider of the reprobates takes peace from the earth, because the former is the author of concord, while the latter is the author of discord. Note also that he takes peace not from heaven, but from the earth, that is from those who seek earthly things. And that they should kill one another. It is not a fleshly but a spiritual killing that should be understood in this sentence. As for how the reprobates are to kill one another, it is disclosed when it is said after that about the prince of the Jews, and a great sword was given to him, that is a spiritual and evil sword with which not the bodies, but the souls of the reprobates are killed. The Devil uses this sword in two ways: he either deceives people by himself on the inside with a spiritual speech or achieves the killing of the soul by assailing them from the outside through the tongues of his fleshly servants. All this is said to have been given him, which means that it was permitted him by the just God who disposes everything.
VERSE 5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying: Come, and see. And behold a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand. By the blackness of this horse is represented that hunger of the wicked by which they long to devour eagerly the body of Christ and to send it into the stomach of their evilness. Their rider has a pair of scales in his hand because he seeks to buy the lives of the good with temporal payments in order to be able to satiate his hunger and that of his people. He held this pair of scales in his hand when he offered one fruit to eat, and bought the whole world to cause its ruin. One should know indeed that the Devil first takes away the food that consists of hearing the Word of God, so that he may the more easily absorb people to increase his body when they suffer from starvation because they are deprived of spiritual food; whence the Lord says through the prophet, Behold I will send forth a famine into the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of God.2 Indeed the Lord does this by forsaking people, and the Devil by invading them. Yet how could those who are God's grain, wine, and oil, suffer from this famine? No; let the chaff, husks, and oil dregs suffer from it, and let them, who are worth no price, fall in with the pair of scales; not those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ; whence it is said soon after that:
(1) John 14:27. (2) Am. 8:11.
VERSE 6 And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying: Two pounds of wheat for a penny, and thrice two pounds of barley for a penny, and see thou hurt not the wine and the oil. This voice sounded in the midst of the four living creatures, that is in the midst of the Church, when, after the nations had been united in faith, the divine power restrained the Devil from hurting the elect; as if he were told by mockery, “The rider of the white horse has chosen and purchased the wheat, barley, wine, and oil for one penny; and he has left for you the chaff, husks, and oil dregs.” So one two-pound measure, which is made up of two sextarii, is the Church based on love of God and neighbor from the two Testaments. However we should understand here one Church consisting of the holy preachers or men of great merit, not of everyone in general. Indeed it is not without reason that barley is here mentioned after the wheat. Therefore let us take the two pounds of wheat as representing the new preachers of the Church, coming from two peoples, and men more outstanding in virtues, who, after being shattered by the mill of tribulations and cooked by the fire of persecutions, have deserved to become a beautiful white bread for Christ. Let us take thrice two pounds of barley as representing the lives of the inferiors and weak from both peoples. Note also that the price of the wheat and of the barley is the same, because even though the work of the saints is unequal, they were nonetheless bought for the same price, and they will receive the same penny after their work.1 Furthermore, it should be noted that the same idea is repeated when it is said afterwards See thou hurt not the wine and the oil. How indeed could the Church not be wine and oil when it is trodden like a grape in the wine press of oppressions and dissolved as a crushed olive in the oil press of straits?
VERSES 7- 8 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature, saying: Come, and see. And behold a pale horse, and he that sat upon him, his name was Death, and hell followed him. The people represented by the pale horse are the same as those represented by the red horse, their spiritual death being now symbolized by the pallor of the horse. It is right to say that death, that is the Devil intending to fight against the living, sits on them, because he seeks to extinguish the lives of the elect by the agency of those he has already killed spiritually. Hell means those in whom death dwells. Therefore hell follows death, because the wicked imitate the Devil. We may also understand by the pale horse the heretics specifically. And power was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to kill with sword, with famine, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. There are two parts in this world, namely Christ's and the Devil's; but Christ's part is not divided, according to this: One is my dove;2 whereas the Devil's part is divided into four parts: pagans, Jews, heretics, and bad
(1) Ref. Matt. 20:1-16. (2) Song 6:8. Catholics. Therefore there are as many plagues as there are parts of the Devil. It has already been explained how he kills with sword, with famine, and with death. As for the beasts, by them are represented ungoverned pulsions. So our enemy kills the souls of the reprobates with beasts because when fleshly pulsions are not restrained by the cages of the divine commandments, they are made wild, so to speak, by the impulse of diabolic incitement, and hurl the lives of the wretched down every precipice.
VERSE 9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar of God the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. By the souls of the slain we understand the souls of all the elect, who are oppressed with either physical or spiritual attacks from the reprobates; for there are two kinds of martyrs: one apparent, the other hidden. By the altar we understand Christ: we offer on him our sacrifices to God the Father when, imitating his only begotten Son, we appear in his sight as a living sacrifice. Therefore the souls of the slain are under the altar because they are under our Mediator; but if by the altar we understand the elect themselves, they are under themselves, because they have not yet been clothed in immortality of the body.
VERSE 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord (holy and true) dost thou not revenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? What does it mean that the souls of the saints ask for revenge for their blood about the persecutions, if not that they are waiting for the day of the last judgment? It is not by the stomach being drawn by the gullet that the words of the souls are formed, but their great cry is a great longing. However, since a mind that is asking for something is generally moved in a different way from a mind that is asked for something, and since the souls of the saints cling to God in such a way that they rest in clinging to him, how can they be said to ask for this, while it is certain that they are ignorant of neither the will of God nor things that will happen? One should know then that the reason why they are said to ask something from him while they are in him is not that they long for a revenge because it is in disagreement with the will of him whom they see, but they receive from him himself the task to ask from him what they know he wants to do.
VERSE 11 And white robes were given to every one of them one; and it was said to them, that they should rest yet for a little time, till the number of their fellow servants, and of their brethren, who are to be slain, even as they, should be filled up. What is meant by the white robes but the reward of martyrs? Indeed, before the resurrection, the elect are said to have received one robe each because so far they enjoy eternal happiness only in the soul. Note also that the words of the souls are what lovers desire; then it is the role of God to reply that they should wait for their brethren to be gathered together, and it is theirs to willingly instill the patience to wait into their minds. So they are wishing for the resurrection of bodies, but they hear that they should wait willingly for their brethren to be gathered together.
VERSE 12 And I saw when he had opened the sixth seal: there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair: and the moon became as blood. By the earthquake we should understand the last persecution under the Antichrist. It is called great because, according to the Lord's saying, there will then be a tribulation such as has never been, neither shall be.1 The sun is Christ, according to this: Unto you that fear God, the Sun of justice shall arise.2 This sun will be darkened for the last people when those who looked as though they were shining in the body of Christ fall into the darkness of overt error. The sun may also indicate the shining life of those who preach. So in the last times the sun will be as sackcloth of hair because the shining life of those who preach will appear rough and despicable in the eyes of the reprobates. Indeed cilice is fit for criminals and sinners. By the moon turned into blood we recognize the holy Church stained in the elect by the blood of suffering. It is said to be entirely3 stained because no one who remains in the faith of the Mediator will be immune from that last persecution; whence Joel says, The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood: before the great and manifest day doth come.4
VERSE 13 And the stars of heaven fell upon the earth, as the fig tree casteth its green figs when it is shaken by a great wind. Heaven is the Church of the saints, which, as it contains countless lives of saints, shines in the night of this life as if stars were radiating light on it from above. Therefore the stars falling from heaven upon the earth mean those who seem to stick to the faith or works of the saints rushing down to the iniquity of overt error out of love for the earth. This is also what is meant by the fig tree casting its green figs, for when all the Church is shaken by the last persecution, it is as if a fig tree were shaken by a great wind. Furthermore, another translation has “bitter green fig.”
(1) Matt. 24:21. (2) Cf. Mal. 4:2. (3) Cf. D-R, « the whole moon became as blood. » Although « whole » was not written in the version of the verse given in the comment (whether it was forgotten by the author himself or later by a scribe) the author obviously had it in mind. (4) Variant of Joel 2:31 close to the LXX version, where it is numbered 3:4. VERSE 14 And the heaven departed as a book folded up. Just as the reprobates fall from the Church not physically but through their transgressions, so does the same Church, in its elect, depart from among the wicked not by a physical departure but by faith and work. Moreover it is right for the Church to be represented by a book, because it contains in itself the commandments for all heavenly life, not only written on parchments with a pen, but also written on the fleshly tablets of the heart by the Spirit of God. Note also that the book is said to be folded up, for just as no one can see what a folded-up book contains except those for whom it is voluntarily opened, so does the Church of the elect, in time of persecution, shut its innermost parts for strangers and discreetly open them inside for its people. And every mountain, and the islands were moved out of their places. By the mountains we should understand men of very high dignity who surpass others in words and virtues, about whom it is said, I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains.1 By the islands we understand people of lesser justice who still waver2 in tribulations. So the fact that mountains and islands are said to have been moved out of their places is related to the above interpretation in which the Church of the saints departs by faith and work from the company of the wicked; for a familiarity with the wicked it was mixed with was a little like its place.
VERSE 15 And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and tribunes, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains. The kings are those who govern themselves well. Likewise for the princes, who do not resist vices as well as the kings, but still do so as they can. Likewise, the tribunes have still less power than the princes, but they too nonetheless resist the Devil as they can. By the rich he means the rich in virtues, not in possessions; and by the strong also he means not the strong in body, but in mind. So these people, in the last persecution, presuming nothing of their virtues, hide themselves in the caves and dens of mountains because they seek the intercessions of saints, who are rightly called mountains because they are high in virtues and look down on earthly things, and rightly called rocks because they are strong, as they are necessarily strengthened in Christ, who is a rock. Hence the Lord says in the Gospel, Then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains;3 and Solomon, The rabbit, a weak people, maketh its bed in the rock;4 and Isaiah says, They shall go into the holes of rocks, and into the caves of the earth
(1) Ps. 120:1. (2) The Latin verb I have translated here as « waver » has as its first meaning « to move in waves » or « to be carried by waves »; hence there is a wordplay between this first sea-related meaning (as actual islands are in the sea) and the figurative one of « wavering ». (3) Matt. 24:16. (4) Variant of Prov. 30:26. from the face of the strength of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty, when he shall rise up to strike the earth.1 He even tells us that one should do so, saying, Enter thou into the rock, and hide thee in a pit in the ground.2 These things may also mean heavenly virtues, according to what we read in the book of Job: She abideth among the rocks, and dwelleth among cragged flints, and stony hills, where there is no access.3 But let us hear what the fleeing people say to either the angels or the saints.
VERSE 16 And they say to the mountains and the rocks: Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. As if they were overtly saying, “Bend your hearts with mercy, and protect us from the wrath of the judge with kind intercessions. Do not hide us from his face when he is having mercy, but hide us from his face when he is angry.” As for why they are so terrified, they also say it afterwards:
VERSE 17 For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? As if they were saying, “If even a saint is terrified by the wrath of that God, who of us shall hold out?” We may disregard all that has been said about saints, and understand those things as referring to the reprobates: the mountains are the proud; the islands are the greedy (according to this: Be silent, you that dwell in the island, the merchants of Sidon);4 the kings, princes, and tribunes represent the reprobates according to their qualities; by the rich he means those who need no help from others to do evil; by the strong he means the strong at drunkenness;5 by bondman he means bondman of sin; by freeman he means free of justice. There is no doubt that when the future judgment is imminent, all these will run to seek the help of demons as they are desperate and do not dare to come to any of the saints. This is indeed what is meant by their seeking hiding places in the dens and rocks of mountains; but how will demons defend others from the furious wrath when they will be the first ones to receive it? Finally, all this inspires listeners with great fear even if taken literally, but this is not a reason to violently reduce figurative statements to their literal meaning.
(1) Variant of Is. 2:19. The Latin word used here for « strength » and the one used for « fear » in the standard Vulgate resemble each other a little, so we can easily imagine how those variants arose. (2) Ibid. 10. (3) Job 39:28. (4) Is. 23:2. (5) Ref. to Is. 5:22. « At drunkenness » is how the Douay-Rheims bible translates the Latin phrase used here (ad miscendam ebrietatem); however it literally means « at mingling drunkenness ». The Latin verb for « to mingle » can also mean « to share » or « to stir up ». The Hebrew original (as a friend kindly told me; I do not myself know Hebrew) has something that means « mixing strong drink », as reflected in the KJV translation. It is hard to say how the author of our text himself interpreted the phrase, but it is likely that he had access to the Latin version only and not the Hebrew. CHAPTER 7
VERSE 1 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 upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor on any tree. It should be noted that he seems to have kept the order all the way from the first to the sixth seal, but, omitting the seventh, he comes back to the beginning of Christ's incarnation and briefly recapitulates with different allegorical symbols the things he had already related, and then he concludes these same two narrations with the seventh seal. Recapitulation is not always done in this way, but in various ways. So what do we understand to be symbolized by the four angels but the body of the old enemy? It is because of the four principal kingdoms of the world, namely that of the Assyrians, that of the Medes, that of the Persians or Macedonians, and that of the Romans, in which the Devil reigned through the cult of idolatry, that four angels are put into the reprobate category. This is why Nebuchadnezzar saw a statue whose head was of gold, but the breast and the arms of silver, and the belly and the thighs of brass, and the legs of iron;1 for the kingdom of the Assyrians is symbolized by gold, that of the Medes by silver, that of the Persians or Macedonians by brass, and that of the Romans by iron. It is not surprising that bad people are symbolized by angels, since it was said about Judas, One of you is a devil.2 One should also know that the four angels are the same as the four winds, according to the prophecy of Daniel, who says, Behold the four winds strove upon the great sea, and four beasts, different one from another, came down out of the sea.3 Indeed he indicates that the winds and the beasts are the same, that is the four aforesaid kingdoms. Therefore when the angels hold the winds, they necessarily hold themselves; and since all people of this kind are the Devil's body, he himself is also understood in them. So what does it mean that the four angels held the four winds of the earth that they should not blow, if not that the hidden enemy and his whole body united and bound themselves together, and blocked the mouth of everyone in such a way that no one dared to breathe out the word of truth against the cult of idolatry? By the earth is represented the diversity of provinces, and by the sea the numerousness of islands. The trees as well, since he has mentioned no genus, because of their diversity, symbolize the various offices of people. Now since they were being choked by the Devil, they were saved by the coming of their Lord. Whence it soon follows:
(1) Dan. 2:32-33. (2) John 6:71. (3) Variant of Dan. 7:2.
VERSES 2-3 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying: Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads. Christ is an angel because we know he announced1 the joys of the new life to the world, he about whom it is said, angel of great counsel.2 The ascent from the rising of the sun meant here is the one by which, starting from the Resurrection itself, which sprang up like a new sun, he grew and filled up the whole world, and illuminated it with the evangelical teaching. With that voice he also prevented the noxious power of the four angels from doing harm, and destroyed it in both initiators and subordinates at the same time; whence Nebuchadnezzar also saw a stone cut out of a mountain without hands strike the aforesaid statue on its iron feet and break it in pieces.3 By this stone is represented the Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of Jewish stock without conjugal act, who struck the statue on the feet and made it fall, because he reached the extremity of the kingdom of the Romans with the preaching of the Word, and converted the aforesaid kingdoms of the world to rebuild them wholesomely. This same Mediator is said to have the sign of the living God, that is the mystery of the cross. By the fact that he says not “till I sign” but till we sign, he shows that there are in him many people through whom that mystery is being fulfilled. When he says in their foreheads, he indicates the inner forehead, for we smear both side posts with the blood of the Lamb,4 and it is no use for anyone to wear it on the outside if they do not also receive it on the inside, because faith without works is idle.5
VERSE 4 And I heard the number of them that were signed, an hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel. It is a definite number put for an indefinite one, and it does not refer only to the twelve tribes of Israel, but all the Church, in the elect, is represented by it. Indeed the number three is a perfect number in the sacred Scripture, especially because it represents the Trinity; same for the number four because of the four parts of the world, the four Gospels, or the four cardinal virtues: if we multiply these by each other, we reach the number twelve, which also is hallowed because of the twelve tribes or the twelve apostles. As for the number thousand, it represents totality, according to this: unto a thousand generations.6 Therefore, since the Church is brought together from all nations by knowledge of the Trinity and nourished by the four books of the Gospels, it is appropriate for it to be symbolized by twelve thousand; but in order for it to be perfected in what it has believed in, the number twelve
(1) « Angel » is, via Latin, from Greek ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning « messenger ». (2) Is. 9:6 acc. to LXX, where the verse is number 5. (3) Dan. 2:34. (4) Ref. to Ex. 12:5 et seq. (5) James 2:20 acc. to the Greek version. (6) Deut. 7:9, 1 Chron. 16:15, Ps. 104:8 thousand needs to be joined together by the solidity of the cube: therefore, let twelve thousand be multiplied by four, and it makes forty-eight thousand; then, in order for it to reach what it has believed in, that is the contemplation of the Trinity, let forty-eight thousand be multiplied by three, and it gives a hundred forty-four thousand.
VERSES 5-8 Of the tribe of Juda, were twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Ruben, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Aser, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Nephthali, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Manasses, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Zabulon, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand signed. If we go back to the story of Genesis, we find the names of these introduced according to the birth of each of them, not at all in this order: for Juda is there put in the fourth place, here in the first; Ruben there in the first place, here in the second; Gad there in the eighth place, here in the third; Aser there in the ninth place, here in the fourth; Nephthali there in the seventh place, here in the fifth; Manasses there in the ninth place, here in the sixth; Simeon there in the second place, here in the seventh; Levi there in the third place, here in the eighth. Only Issachar, Zabulon, Joseph, and Benjamin are put in the same place here as there.1 Dan, the fifth son of Jacob, is altogether excluded from this spiritual list. We easily find out why this was done if we stop concentrating on the birth of the flesh and search for their spiritual lineage in the names with their interpretations.2 So Juda translates to “confession” or “laudation.” What else does this name's interpretation indicate but the confession of sins and the praise of virtues? Though the word “confession” appears to be sometimes used for “praise,” whence the Lord, who had no sin whatsoever, said, I confess to thee, O Father, etc.3 By Ruben, which means “he who sees the child” or “they who see the child,” are represented the very works of virtues, for the fruit of good works is often symbolized by the word “children,” according to this: Mayest thou see thy children' s children,4 which means the virtues born from your virtues. Then since works of virtues must serve the progress of others, he is rightly called “he who sees the child.” This means that we should show others the things in which we see we have progressed, according to this saying of the Lord: that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.5 It is therefore right for Juda to be put first and for Ruben to
(1) See Gen. 29:32-35, 30:1-24, 35:18, 41:51. I have translated the text as it stands, but there seems to be some confusion in there. The order is actually Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Juda, (Dan,) Nephthali, Gad, Aser, Issachar, Zabulon, Joseph, Benjamin, Manasses. (2) Many of the Church Fathers would seek the etymology of names of each patriarch, understanding the names to have an allegorical meaning. (3) Matt. 11:25. (4) Ps. 127:6. (5) Matt. 5:16. follow, because if we do not renounce bad actions through confession, we cannot be instructed for right and prescribed actions. So who would not see now that if he had begun with the firstborn in the flesh and put Juda in the fourth place, he would have been bound to confuse the spiritual lineage of the Church? Then, since those who do good works are usually always tested by temptation, it is right for Ruben to be followed by Gad, which means “temptation;” and since those who are girded with divine strength prove to be strong against temptation, it fits them well because the same Gad also means “girded.” Since we ought to direct the end of our good struggles towards God rather than towards the facade of human praise, the aforesaid Gad also means “robber,” as if he acquired secretly the goods of the heart to offer them to God in order that they may be approved, rather than exposed them to human eyes in order that they may be exalted. So since the tribulation inflicted on them tests the elect and crowns them after the test, it is right for Gad to be followed by Aser, which means “blessed;” and since the warriors of the Church, strengthened by the promise of blessedness, are prompted by feelings of love to spread even among the wicked, it is fitting for Aser to be followed by Nephthali, which means “wideness.” Since when they run through this greatest commandment of love, they both forget the things that are behind and stretch forth1 to the eternal riches that are to come, it is appropriate for Nephthali to be followed by Manasses, which is taken to mean “having forgotten” or “necessity:” “having forgotten” because he has only let go of what was behind, and “necessity” because he has not yet reached what he is stretching towards. Since their desire is often put off for a long time, it is right for Manasses to be followed by Simeon, which translates to “I have heard sorrow;” but those who hear sorrow must necessarily also hear “the name of the dwelling,” which Simeon also seems to mean, so that those who mourn in the tabernacle of decay should rejoice in the dwelling of eternal rest. As for what kind of people all these are, it is indicated by the one listed next, Levi, which means “added;” for such people, going further than the general commandments, add many things that have not been ordered, like celibacy in holy virginity, and all other things of the kind: since these things are not ordered, but advised, it is necessarily the case that non-ordered things are being voluntarily added. It is quite fitting for these people that Levi is followed by Issachar, which translates to “reward,” because an exceptional and special reward is owed to those who do these things; whence Jeremiah says to one of them, Let thy voice cease from weeping, and thy eyes from tears: for there is a reward for thy work, saith the Lord.2 However, before people doing such things are rewarded, persecutions are usually inflicted on them, and test them, but do not overcome them. Therefore it is not without good reason that Issachar is followed by Zabulon, which means “dwelling of strength,” for any of these people becomes its dwelling when power is made perfect in infirmity.3 Then, since they freely expend the talent of the divine Word not only for their friends in time of peace, but also for their enemies in the very middle of persecution, it
(1) Cf. Phil. 3:13. (2) Jer. 31:16. (3) 2 Cor. 12:9. is fitting for Zabulon to be followed by Joseph, which means “increment;” for in order to make profit off the money they have received, they do not hesitate to expend it even for their enemies. Then, so that you should understand that all these are to be placed on the right hand of the eternal King, it is beautiful that Benjamin, which means “son of the right hand,” comes in the last place, as if he himself were the end of the sequence, where the happiness of the eternal reward is promised. Therefore the holy Church is clearly shown to be, in Juda, praiseworthy through confession; in Ruben, fruitful in good works; in Gad, tested by the trials of temptations; in Aser, blessed after overcoming the temptations; in Nephthali, widened by love; in Manasses, forgetting the things that are behind and stretching forth to the things that are to come; in Simeon, as if it were so far sad in the valley of weeping, but rejoicing in hope at the dwellings of heavenly citizens; in Levi, beautiful in virginity and extremely abundant in pious mercy; in Issachar, resting on the expectation of the future reward; in Zabulon, crowned with martyrdom; in Joseph, enriched with the doubled talent of spiritual substance; and in Benjamin it is demonstrated to have been allotted the right hand, which is eternal happiness. However, let no one think that there are twelve vocations in the Church, since there are only three, namely the virtues of virgins, celibates, and good married people. Among all this, we should by no means omit the question of why Dan, who is undoubtedly a son of Jacob, is, whether in Genesis or in Exodus, counted with all his brothers, but was rejected from the spiritual list in this Apocalypse, while Manasses, who was born among strangers, and was indubitably not his son although he was adopted as his son,1 seems to have been substituted in the sixth place. So, “Dan” translates to “the judgment” or “the judging one of the Hebrews who go by.” What is this “judgment of the Hebrews who go by” but the rejection of the old priesthood? Therefore Dan, rejected from the spiritual list, teaches us by the very interpretation of his name that in the sixth age of the world the perfidious Jewish people was, by a mysterious but just judgment, altogether expelled from its place and lost the dignity of priesthood, while Manasses, that is the people of the Gentiles, gained by grace to be substituted in its place.
VERSE 9 After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues. Here it is clearly revealed that the aforementioned number does not only consist of Jews, but of all the elect; for it is the same people that are indicated by the countless multitude and by the hundred forty-four thousand signed. This multitude is not countless for God, but for us; for he himself said, I will number them, and they shall be multiplied above the sand.2 Standing before the throne. Although the countless multitude is
(1) Gen. 41:50-51 and 48:1-5. (2) Ps. 138:18. itself the throne of God, it is nonetheless said to be standing before the throne, because the vision changes as it is obscured by symbols, although the thing represented by the symbols does not change at all. But does it mean something that this multitude is said to be standing whereas the same was described above as sitting with the ancients round about the throne? It clearly does: it is sitting when it examines the acts of others through some of its members, and it is standing when it strengthens its heart in the solidity of faith and love in all its elect. And in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes. What is represented by the white robes but their disposition of mind? These robes were not however white before the Lord's coming, because the hearts of mankind were besprinkled with the stains of original sins. And palms in their hands. By the palms is represented victory, and by the hands, work. Therefore to have palms in one's hands means to triumph over the old enemy and the pleasures of the world.
VERSE 10 And they cried with a loud1 voice, saying. We understand here not a cry of the body, but of the heart: this great1 voice is a great feeling of devotion, because one cries with their voice more the more they love God. Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb. The order can also be, “To our God, and to the Lamb who sitteth upon the throne, salvation.” The person of the Holy Spirit is also understood in them, according to the rule already mentioned. Note also that they show with a wonderful way of speaking that there is one substance and two persons in the Father and the Son. Moreover, one should know that, as they ascribe all their salvation to God, the doctrine of Pelagius and Caelestius is gotten rid of, who uphold free will to such an extent that they say people can be saved without the grace of God.
VERSES 11-12 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures; and they fell down before the throne upon their faces. The angels as well as the throne and the ancients, and also the living creatures, symbolize the Church. Therefore he symbolizes one and the same thing in various ways: for since Christ alone reigns and judges in the Church, it is right for all the saints to be symbolized by one throne; since the Church itself also examines the acts of others, it is appropriate for it to be symbolized by ancients; and since it is sticking to the green pastures of the paradise, still only by faith in some of its members, and already enjoys them by sight in some other members, it is right for it to be symbolized by animals.2 Then, since it announces all things to come in its preaching, it is fitting for it to be
(1) A « loud voice » in Latin is literally a « great voice ». (2) The same Latin word can translate to « animal » or « living creature ».
symbolized by angels; and since it is brought together from various nations, it is right for it to be symbolized by a multitude. So they fell down upon their faces before the throne, that is, in the secret of their minds, where the inner judge sits. And adored, saying: Amen. Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever. All these things correspond well to the Trinity.
VERSES 13-14 And one of the ancients answered, saying to me: These that are clothed in white robes, who are they? and whence came they? As no question preceded, what does it mean that one of the ancients is said to have answered? It is a habit of the sacred Scripture to use this verb like that, but it does not seem to have any meaning, so neither is ignorance of it harmful nor is knowledge of it praiseworthy. So, by this one ancient we understand the unity of the preachers of both Testaments, or him who is more ancient than ancients, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, who interrogates John in order that the latter may himself ask, and, after asking, hear, understand, and rouse himself up to imitate. By the white robes we understand both purity of mind and the glory they will be granted in the future. When John responds to this, in the person of good listeners, My Lord, thou knowest, the ancient replies, in the person of the Lord or of his good preachers, These are they who are come out of great tribulation, etc. In are come, three tenses are contained: it is here used for “are come, are coming, and are to come.” Therefore, since the whole number of the elect is defined by this sentence, it is greatly to be feared that if someone comes from somewhere else, they should not belong to the fellowship of the elect. The tribulations of the just, as the Psalmist says, are many;1 and among these tribulations there is that general one which consists of the fact that none of us knows whether they belong to the fellowship of the elect, as Solomon attests, who says, Man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love, or hatred: but all things are kept uncertain for the time to come.2 And have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. All the elect make their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, that is to say they beautify their disposition of mind in the sufferings of Christ and prepare it to receive the future joys.
VERSE 15 Therefore they are before the throne, and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he, that sitteth on the throne, dwelleth over them. As if he were saying, “The same people are the throne of God and his temple because we see they are clothed in this kind of garments and have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.” Note also that he does not say “dwelleth in them” but over3 them in order to show that they are the throne and the temple at the same time. By day and night he means in success and in adversity.
(1) Ps. 33:20. (2) Eccles. 9:1-2. (3) The same Latin word can translate to « over » or « on ». VERSES 16-17 They shall no more hunger nor thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life. They suffer no trouble, because the Lamb rules them. Now where is he leading them to, but to the fountain of waters, that is to the Trinity, which is signified by a fountain? And by what way, but himself? For he himself said, I am the way.1 It should also be noted that it is one and the same fountain that takes away hunger because it is the living bread, and thirst because it is the drink of life; for, as the apostle says, God will be all in all.2 So the fountain is said to be one because of the unity of nature of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; and it is presented as a fountain of waters so that the multiplicity of God's gifts in the saints may be expressed by this phrase. So the person who is led to this satiety of water by the Lamb as the latter rules them, suffers neither sun nor any heat, because they are not burned by the heat of vices. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. What a wonderful tenderness! He shows himself a father, as well as a mother, as he wipes away the tears of his bewailing children; whence Isaiah justly says, For thou art our father, and Abraham hath not known us: thou, O Lord, art our father.3 Now what are these tears? The fact that one person bewails the evil they have done, another the fact that they have not done good, and many other similar things. These tears of his children are to be wiped away when they are back from exile to their fatherland.
(1) John 14:6. (2) 1 Cor. 15:28. (3) Is. 63:16.
CHAPTER 8
VERSE 1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven, as it were for half an hour. Heaven, as we have often said, means the Church, which produces, as it were, silence for God when, through some of its members, it departs from the abundance of material things to seek the retreat of inner contemplation; but because this silence cannot be perfect in this life, it is said to have lasted as it were for half an hour. Note also that he ended the recapitulation where he said, After this I saw a great multitude,1 and now he concludes the narration with the seventh seal.
(1) Rev. 7:9. VERSES 2, 3, and 4 And I saw seven angels standing in the sight of God; and there were given to them seven trumpets. And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer. In this place he upsets the order of the narration and interposes something; for, as the following will show, the angel with the censer came and stood before the altar before they received the seven trumpets. He interposes something because he introduced this angel with the censer in the middle before he had finished talking about the others. So, what do we understand by the seven angels but the holy Church in its preachers, who are the announcers of eternal life? It is also right for them to be said to be seven in number, because they are filled up with the sevenfold Spirit, or because they are put in charge of the totality of believers. They are said to be standing in the sight of God because they have trodden earthly desires underfoot and stick to divine contemplation. What is shown by their seven trumpets but the perfect preaching of the Old and of the New Testament? According to this: Lift up thy voice like a trumpet.1 By the fact that it is the office of a priest to stand by the altar and burn incense prepared with spices, we realize that this angel is the Mediator between God and men, the Angel of the seven angels, and, so to speak, the Pontiff of the seven priests, he about whom the prophet said, angel of great counsel.2 From this we clearly gather that he came before the seven angels received the trumpets. By the altar are represented the elect, in whom a spiritual sacrifice is being performed. So, the angel came by the flesh, and stood by the divinity. Also, what is represented by the censer but Christ's humanity? It is appropriate for it to be called golden, because the flesh assumed by the Word of God is, together with him, the wisdom about which it is said, Take wisdom as gold.3 The censer, in which spices are burned, may also symbolize the Church, which says every day, kindled by the fire of divine love, Let my prayer be directed as incense, etc.4 Then it is rightly said after that concerning Christ alone: And there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne. And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel. Just as smoke comes out of burned spices, so is the virtue of devotion produced by zeal for prayer. However, in order for the incense to become pleasing to God, it is given to the angel, which means that the zeal of prayers is entrusted to our Redeemer. The body is totally unable to speak to God but by the agency of the Head. The fact that the incense is offered on the golden altar shows that the sacrifice of prayers is accepted by him nowhere else but in the body of Christ, all of which shines with the wisdom of the divine Word. Note also that the throne and the altar before the throne do not signify two Churches, but one, just like Noah's ark and the eight souls in it.5
(1) Is. 58:1. (2) Is. 9:6 acc. to LXX, where the verse is number 5. (3) Variant of Prov. 16:16. (4) Ps. 140:2. (5) Cf. Gen. 6; 1 Peter 3:20
VERSE 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it on the earth. The angel took the censer when the Lord joined human nature to himself within the Virgin's womb; or we may take it as referring to the body, when he first chose his disciples in Judea. Since the angel, the censer, and the altar are one body, we should understand the censer being said to have been filled with the fire of the altar as if he were saying, “Both the Head and the body have been kindled with no other fire but their own, that is the Holy Spirit.” Then he cast it on the earth, that is, he brought it into this pagan people; whence it is fittingly said after that, And there were thunders and voices, that is terrors caused by preachings, and lightnings, that is miraculous signs, and an earthquake, that is persecutions.
VERSE 6 And the seven angels prepared themselves to sound the trumpet. What does it mean that the holy teachers prepare themselves to sound the trumpet, if not that they carefully study the divine Scriptures in order to know what they should speak about to whom, and how? Therefore the reader should be warned that in the following he should not understand seven angels more than one, but always recognize the seven in each of them, although he finds them divided into seven because of the figurative contents of the sayings, which cannot be recounted with one angel.
VERSE 7 And the first angel sounded the trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood, and it was cast on the earth, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. By hail is represented the wrath of God Almighty, according to this: The wrath of the Lord is like hail coming down.1 By fire is indicated jealousy or hatred, and it is right to say that it is mingled with blood, because, according to John's saying, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.2 The Lord promises through Isaiah that the Church cannot be burned by this fire, saying, When thou shalt walk through fire, thou shalt not be burnt, and the flame shall not burn in thee.3 Moreover it should be noted that when he says the third part perished, we should not think that two parts consisting of the elect remained, which would contradict this: Many are called, but few are chosen.4 Indeed this number does not seem to pertain to literal
(1) Possibly from a variant of Is. 30:30 acc. to LXX, which says, « And the Lord shall make the glory of his voice to be heard, and shall shew the furor of his arm, with furor, and wrath, and devouring flame of fire; he shall hurl lightnings, violently, and like water, and hail coming down with force. » (2) 1 John 3:15. (3) Is. 43:2. (4) Matt. 22:14. quality, but to figurative quantity, and this is shown by the very change that says in one place that two thirds came into the lot of the reprobates, in another place that it was three thirds, and in a third place one third. What is more, above he divided the whole body of the Devil into four parts, now in two thirds, then in three, then in one; but one third is not smaller than two or three; for when he divides the Devil's body into four parts, he wants us to understand one part in the Church, consisting of false brothers, and three outside, namely the heretics, the Jews, and the pagans. When he divides the whole body into three thirds, we should understand one onefold part inside consisting of the wicked faithful, one twofold part outside consisting of the Jews and heretics, and also one onefold part outside, consisting of the Gentiles. When he symbolizes one part of the body by the same tripled number three, making two parts in all out of the three thirds, he wants us to understand there both hidden and overt heretics. There remains one third inside and outside, which retains in itself the symbols of all. When he divides the Devil's body into two thirds, he wants us to understand one onefold third inside consisting of bad Christians, and one threefold third outside consisting of the Jews, heretics, and pagans. One should also know that the earth is the same as the trees, that is the sum of the wicked encompassed in two thirds, one of which is onefold, and the other threefold: for sinners are the earth because they seek earthly things, and they are trees because they sway to and fro in their instability. About these it is said by Jude, These are trees of the autumn, unfruitful, plucked up by the roots, twice dead.1 So two thirds are burned up by the sending of hail and fire with blood, and one is left unharmed by this, because, as the wrath of the heavenly Judge increases and the society of the old enemy is not gathered together by the preaching of the saints, this society is put on fire by the flames of its own hatred, whereas Christ's congregation is harassed by the hatred of the wicked, but it is not consumed by it. As for what is said after that, All green grass was burnt up, it seems to be a repetition of the same idea: all green grass was burned up in the two thirds; all green grass, that is the said part of the wicked, consumed by the flames of its own hatred. The greenness of grass indeed signifies here the enticements of the flesh, according to this: All flesh is grass;2 whence, on the other hand, it is told that the crowds fed by the Lord sat upon green grass,3 which means that they subdue the pleasures of the flesh by repressing them.
VERSES 8- 9 And the second angel sounded the 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 those creatures died in it, which had life, and the third part of the ships was destroyed. The Devil is called a great mountain, whether because he wanted to be like the one about which it is said, In the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared,4 or because in the
(1) Jude 12. (2) Is. 40:6.
(3) Mark 6:39. (4) Is. 2:2. end he will exalt himself above all that is called, or worshipped as, God.1 He is called burning because he is tormented by his own evilness and envy, because, ejected from among the saints by the angel sounding the trumpet, that is by the Church preaching, he is cast into the sea, that is into the incredulous — not that he was not already in them before, but since he has been ejected from among the saints, he starts ruling over the incredulous all the more. It seems that by the third that was turned into blood is symbolized the kind of death by which the two other thirds die, so that in one third is denoted the death, and in two thirds the number of the dying. The water turned into blood is fleshly wisdom, which kills souls; whence the apostle: Being wise according to the flesh is death.2 This wisdom means both bad credulity and wrong work; for with regards to wrong doctrine it is said, The letter killeth,3 and with regards to wrong work, Deliver me from bloods.4
VERSE 10 And the third angel sounded the trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, as it were a burning torch. The Devil is called a star, whether because of the rank he first had or because he transformeth himself into an angel of light;5 a great star because he was given precedence over all other angels, and a burning torch because of the fervor of his evilness. We should not understand this fall to be the one when he was first ejected from the heavenly abodes, but the one when he was excluded from among the elect by the angel sounding the trumpet, that is by the Church preaching; for heaven is the Church, which the Lord inhabits by presiding over it. And it fell on the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters, that is upon human nature, which flows by from its birth with the currents of carnal pleasures and thus runs down to death.
VERSE 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood. Because the Devil withdrew from the sweetness of truth to turn into the bitterness of falsehood, it is right for him to be allotted the name of Wormwood. Then, since a great many people perish from the examples of the wicked, it is fittingly said after that, and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. Indeed when fleshly men perish spiritually for having been enticed by the doctrines of wicked people or the examples of their works, it is as if they died of bitter waters.
(1) 2 Thes. 2:4. (2) Variant of Rom. 8:6. (3) 2 Cor. 3:6. (4) Ps. 50:16. (5) 2 Cor. 11:14.
VERSE 12 And the fourth angel sounded the trumpet, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, so that the third part of them was1 darkened, and the day did not shine for a third part of it, and the night in like manner. By the sun, the moon, and the stars is symbolized the Church, and their darkness refers particularly to the perfidy of the heretics. Although two parts are made out of three thirds, namely one part belonging to the day with the sun, and another belonging to the night with the moon and the stars, the two nonetheless make one, or one is subdivided into two. He does this in order to indicate its overt error by the day, and its hidden error by the night, that is, respectively, the public conflicts of the heretics and their secret machinations. The reason why it is not said “the third part was smitten and darkened” but the third part was smitten so that it might be1 darkened (in due time), is that it is when they are openly separated from the Church that the heretics are truly darkened; for before that they are, as it were, hiddenly wounded. They are smitten out of the light of faith and the brightness of the divine Word. This destruction should not be ascribed to God, but understood in the same way as Pharaoh's heart being hardened.2
VERSE 13 And I beheld, and heard the voice of one eagle flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth: by reason of the rest of the voices of the trumpets of the three angels, who were yet to sound the trumpet. John as well as the eagle and the angels bear the symbol of the Church. It is right for the Church to be called one eagle, because it is based on unity of faith and lifts itself up towards heavenly things after treading earthly pleasures underfoot. So in John it is the Church that sees itself; in the eagle it is the Church that flies; and in the three angels it is the Church that announces the evils to come in the last times. Note also that in a spiritual vision, seeing is the same as hearing. By the fact that the eagle is said to lament not because of the preceding voices but because of those of the following angels, it is shown that the Church laments and proclaims the future plagues of a different calamity at different times. It laments in the eagle and proclaims in the angels. Then it is said to fly through the midst of heaven because it possesses the world on either side, and its preaching is called a great voice because it has resounded in the whole world.
(1) « So that it was darkened » and « so that it might be darkened » are said the same in Latin. (2) Ex. 4:21; 7:3, 13, 22; 8:19; 9:12, 35; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8.
CHAPTER 9
VERSES 1- 2 And the fifth angel sounded the trumpet, and I saw a star fall from heaven upon 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 the smoke of the pit arose, as the smoke of a great furnace. What is represented by the angel and the star has already been said. By the abyss are symbolized the hearts of the wicked, darkened by the darkness of errors. By the pit of the abyss, we should understand preachers of errors, for if the mouth of an abyss is a pit, it is right to symbolize by the pit those through whom the iniquity of the wicked pours out the venoms of its heart. By the key of the pit is represented temporal power, with which the old adversary unlocks the mouths of the reprobates so that they may speak wrong doctrines, and it is right for these doctrines to be compared to smoke because they turn the light of truth into darkness for themselves, and even seem to darken the brightness of faith in others. As for the great furnace, it is the Antichrist's persecution, out of which comes smoke, that is wrong doctrine, to turn the souls of those who perish into darkness. However, how can it be said that this smoke is similar to that of a great furnace whereas the Lord says concerning that tribulation, There shall be then great tribulation, etc.?1 One should know then that it is not on account of torments or false doctrines that that tribulation is said to be more terrible than all the others (among which is this “similar” one) but on account of miraculous signs through which it will deceive people more easily. And the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke of the pit. See, the fifth angel says that what the fourth had foretold would happen with the sun, the moon, and the stars, has already happened with the sun and the air.
VERSE 3 And from the smoke there came out locusts upon the earth. It is fitting for the heretics to be represented by locusts, for just as we see locusts, neither flying perfectly like birds nor walking by steps, but making leaps, chew up the crops of the earth, so do the heretics, having neither the flight of full knowledge nor the walk of perfect work, but only moved by the leaps of pride, kill the souls of the wicked by preaching unheard-of things. So locusts come out of the smoke when heretics are born from heretics. And power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. The power of scorpions is in the tail, which is at the end of the body: so is temporality left behind as it withdraws from itself; for everything that passes is, as it were, behind, while everything that remains is before. So the locusts receive power to hurt as the scorpions of the earth because the heretics, sustained by temporal powers, hurt only with what is behind.
(1) Matt. 24:21. VERSE 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree: but only the men who have not the sign of God on their foreheads. This is repeating the same idea as above, where the angel ascending from the rising of the sun commanded the four angels, who are now understood in the locusts, not to hurt the earth and the sea or the trees: for by the grass, which is not the food of men but of animals, are represented the little ones in Christ, the kind of people about whom the apostle said, The sensual man perceiveth not those things that are of the Spirit of God.1 By green things, a great many of which are commonly used as food by men, are represented those who are progressing in faith and are in some way more fit to desire the green things of the paradise. By the trees are represented the strong who are rooted with some stability among the winds of temptations. Why are the locusts forbidden from hurting any green thing or any tree? By the whole we should understand a part, which is preserved from that hurting. Then the men who do not have the sign of God on their foreheads are those who are not strong in the faith that works through love.
VERSE 5 And it was given unto them that they should not kill them; but that they should torment them five months yet. If those who do not have the sign are reprobates, how can the locusts be forbidden from killing them? And can it be that those who do not have the sign of God are alive? Therefore it is implied that this refers to the previous sentence. So let us take It was given unto them that they should not kill them; but that they should be tormented five months to mean that the heretics cannot deceive the signed, but only test them by tormenting them in this life, which is ruled by the five senses. What follows corresponds well to them: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man. Which means that the elect, who despise the things that are behind and stretch forth to the things that are before,2 are believed to be afflicted by others by means of what they themselves have visibly rejected out of contempt for the world, that is by means of either secular power or the error of bad credulity.
VERSE 6 And in those days men shall seek death, and shall not find it: they shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them. The days in question run all the way from the Lord's coming to the end of the world. Indeed the elect seek death when they want to stick to God through a retired way of life; but death flies from them because they are bound either by the indissoluble chain of a responsibility of government or by that of an inferior status.
(1) 1 Cor. 2:14. The same Latin word can translate to « animal » or « sensual ». (2) Cf. Phil. 3:13. VERSES 7-8 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle: and on their heads were, as it were, crowns like gold. It is right for the heretics to be represented by horses because of their rapidity in running about. They are prepared unto battle against those about whom it is said in Habakkuk, Thou sentest into the sea thy horses, stirring many waters.1 However, since, by God's favor, they do not win, they are not said to have crowns, but as it were crowns, as if it were said, “They were neither crowns nor of gold, but some kind of invention of falsehood.” And their faces were as the faces of men. And they had women's hair. The faces of the locusts being like human faces mean pretense of reason. As for women's hair, it is the effeminate manners of the heretics. Alternatively, by faces of men, we may understand males; and by women's hair, the sex itself; for heretics have also had women's support. And their teeth were as of lions. The teeth of lions usually bring a natural shame; by them is indicated the stench of the heretics.
VERSE 9 As for what follows, And they had breastplates as breastplates of iron, it indicates their hearts, which are hard and obdurate against the truth so that they may not be penetrated by the arrow of truth. And the noise of their wings was as the noise of chariots, the noise of many horses running to battle. By the wings of the locusts we understand the proud science of the heretics. It is fitting to say that the noise of these wings is like that of the chariots of horses that are many and run together to battle: the heretics both divide themselves with their doctrines and fight together against the Church.
VERSE 10 And they had tails like to scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. We have already spoken about scorpions' tails. Note also that the apostle calls sin a sting.2 We have already spoken about the five months in the above; but there he is talking about the good, and here about the wicked, because the locusts torment the people mentioned in the previous passage, but do not kill them, whereas they do not torment the people mentioned here, but kill them when they hurt them, either with wrong doctrine or with temporal power.
(1) Hab. 3:15. acc. to LXX. (2) 1 Cor. 15:56.
VERSE 11 And they had over them a king, the angel of the abyss; whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon; in Latin Exterminans. The old enemy is not called the king of the wicked because he created them or leads them, but because he exercises the tyranny of his domination over them with God's just permission. Note also that, as already said, they are the abyss. So since he tries deceitfully to usurp the name of Christ for himself through the damned man, he is consequently mentioned by names in the three languages in which the authority of the Gospels attests that the Redeemer's name was written by Pilate on the title.1 However, since blessed Jerome, in his interpretation of Hebrew names,2 does not say Abaddon but “Labaddon,” it is certain that it lost its first letter by the fault of scribes. It is also fitting for the Devil to be called Exterminans,3 because many people are banished from the boundaries of the elect and brought to the exile of eternal death because of him.
VERSE 12 One woe is past. That is, it preceded in the narration, or was actually fulfilled in the past. Behold there come yet two woes more hereafter. That is, in the narration, or they are actually to be fulfilled in the future.
VERSES 13-14 After these things the sixth angel also sounded the trumpet: and I heard the voice of one of the horns of the golden altar, which is before the eyes of God, saying to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet: Loose the four angels, who are bound in the great river Euphrates. The altar is the Church, and it is golden because it is illuminated by heavenly wisdom. Note also that the altar is before the eyes of God because the eyes of the Lord are upon the just.4 The horns of the altar are holy preachers, and by this one horn we understand the leader of preachers, that is Christ. He tells the sixth angel sounding the trumpet, that is, he proclaims to the Church, to loose the four angels, because he has granted it the power to bind and loose in heaven and on earth, according to this: Whatsoever thou shalt bind, etc.5 In the four angels we recognize the entire body of the reprobates, which consists of evil spirits and wicked men, of course separate in nature, but united in iniquity. Indeed the number four is frequently used to signify totality, whence it is said that in the end of the world the elect will be taken from the four winds of the sky by angels.6 By the Euphrates, which is often mentioned with a negative meaning, is
(1) Luke 23:38 and John 19:19-20. (2) Tom. 3. Edit. Veronen. 1735. col. 118 (3) Among the possible translations for this word is « banishing », which is the interpretation « chosen » by the commentator, but also « destroying », « exterminating », which corresponds to the meaning of the Greek « Apollyon », whereas « banishing » does not. (4) Ps. 33:16. (5) Matt. 16:19. (6) Matt. 24:31 and Mark 13:27. represented the worldly kingdom’s power, hostile to Christ and the Church; and the old enemy is said to be bound in this power with his body because he is not permitted to do as much harm as he wants. So let us take Loose the four angels who are bound in the great river Euphrates as if the Church were told, “Loose both men in angels, and angels in men, and bear in mind how much you ought to endure the hardships of persecution with equanimity, since your enemies are not able to inflict them on you except by your own judgment, which is in your Head, which proclaims for you and in you, All power is given to me in heaven and in earth.”1
VERSE 15 And the four angels were loosed, who were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year: for to kill the third part of men. The loosing of these angels represents the beginning of the last persecution. He says prepared, because the Devil is always waiting for the good's failure. By an hour, a day, a month, and a year we understand by metalepsis four times, namely three years and six months, during which that persecution will rage. The third part of men of which it is said that it will be killed consists of superiors and inferiors, that is of persuaders and persuaded, because the dead will kill the dead.
VERSE 16 And the number of the army of horsemen was twenty thousand times ten thousand. I heard the number of them. This number refers specifically to preachers of errors, but in such a way that the seduced people are also understood in the seducers. We see that this number coming against the number of the elect is both double and multiplied by two thousand; for it is said about the elect, The chariot of God is ten thousands,2 and about these people, twenty thousand times ten thousand. It is double, then, because it consists of evil spirits and reprobate men. There remains therefore for the twofold evil to be fought against by the onefold good.
VERSES 17-18 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: and they that sat on them, had breastplates of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone. These horses, that is preachers of errors, in whom the seduced people are also understood, have demons as riders, not to guide them, but to make them fall headlong. By the name of breastplates are symbolized the torments of the wicked, hard and impossible to get rid of with any prayer. By of hyacinth we should understand “of smoke,” for
(1) Matt. 28:18. (2) Variant of Ps. 67:18.
out of fire comes smoke. The very color of hyacinth also indicates this, as it has the appearance of air. And the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions. The heads of the horses are initiators of errors, who are both strong at crushing the weak and full of bad smells; whence it is rightly said after that, and from their mouths proceeded fire, and smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues was slain the third part of men, by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. This is because bad people's preaching prepares eternal torments for its followers, and these torments are metaphorically symbolized by this preaching, the effect being represented by the cause.
VERSES 19, 20, and 21 The power of the horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. By the mouth is represented the knowledge of teachers, and by the tail, which should be placed behind, temporal power. So their power is in their mouths and tails because their way of preaching is to persuade people of wrong things; but as they are sustained by temporal powers, they are exalted through the things that are behind. For their tails are like to serpents, and have heads: and with them they hurt. Here, inversely, wicked teachers are represented by the tails, and secular power by the heads. It is fitting to say that bad preachers are like serpents, because it is with the voice of the one whose hiss Eve was allured by that they advise bad things. Since it is with the support of powerful people that they violently bring many people to do forbidden things, it is right to say that they have heads, which, according to another translation, are called dragons' heads. Then, in order to show that the Gentiles also belong to this body, he said after that, And the rest of the men, who are not, and did not do penance from the works of their hands, that they should not adore devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: and did not do penance from their murders, nor from their fornication, nor from their thefts, as if he were saying, “People of this kind also seem to belong to the aforementioned number.”
HERE ENDS THE FOURTH BOOK
HERE BEGINS THE FIFTH BOOK
CHAPTER 10 Whereas throughout the other prophecies we find a great many things that correspond to our Mediator symbolized by earthly things and few by heavenly things, in this prophecy John has quite often represented his coming by an angel. To what end, if not to show that this prophecy is richer than others? Whence it is now said:
VERSE 1 And I heard another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. It is right for him to be called an angel, because he appeared to men as the new messenger of eternal life, about whom we read, angel of great counsel;1 and to be called strong, because it is demonstrated that he overcame the aerial powers when he died, whence this: the Lord mighty in battle.2 When he says another, it does not mean that he is actually talking about something different, but it is the habit of recapitulation: he saw another angel because he repeated another vision. The angel appeared clothed with a cloud because it was clothed in the flesh that the Lord was seen among men, and his descent from heaven was precisely his adoption of the flesh. And a rainbow was on his head. The head of Christ, as the apostle says, is the divinity itself.3 By the rainbow is symbolized the reconciliation of the world that was achieved by the plan of the Word incarnate; its mystery was explained earlier. Note also that, having described the last struggle, and passing over the seventh seal, with which both the end of the consummation and the Lord's coming are expected to take place, he comes back to the beginning of Christ's incarnation, which has just been spoken about, and describes his preaching. Once this narration is finished, he comes back to the things he had left aside for a while. Let us however remember that when he has brought this narration to its end, the end needs to be joined to the broken order; for the passage where it is said, in the following, The second woe is past,4 implicitly refers to the one where, in the end of the previous book, we spoke of the destruction of the wicked horses and Gentiles. Note also that he behaves in an unusual manner in this narration, and delimits both narrations not with one end, but with two, because he distinguishes the interrupted order and the recapitulation separately, as will become apparent a bit later. And his face was as the sun. The angel's face is Christ's incarnation, by means of which he became known to mortals, and concerning which the Psalmist says, Shew us thy face, and we shall be saved.5 This face is not compared to the sun because of its brightness, in which it is incomparably greater than the sun, but because, like the sun, it had
(1) See notes (1) and (2) to 7:2-3. (2) Ps. 23:8. (3) 1 Cor. 11:3. (4) Rev. 11:14. (5) Ps. 79:4. a rising in being born, a setting in dying, and again a rising in being resurrected; whence Solomon, The sun riseth, and goeth down, etc.1 The face may also be understood to mean the saints. And his foot as a pillar of fire. The angel's feet are the preachers, thanks to whom God's wisdom incarnate has, so to speak, walked through the whole world. It is fitting for them to be compared to a pillar and to fire because they both bear the Church's edifice, which is laid upon them, and, kindled by the Holy Spirit, set the hearts of their listeners on fire to the love of God by their preaching.
VERSE 2 And he had in his hand a little book open. The angel's hand is the working of our salvation, that is Christ's incarnation. The little book open is the declared grace of the New Testament. Note also that if the angel's face had not shone first, he would not be holding the little book open in his hand, because it is in his plan that the whole sum of the Scriptures was revealed. And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth. In this sentence, a distinction is shown between preachers and between times: those who are, as it were, the right foot, are the stronger ones who are neither lifted up by success nor thrown down by adversity, and say, The darkness thereof, and the light thereof are alike.2 These are set upon the sea, that is, to endure the persecutions of the wicked. As for the left foot, it is those of lesser strength: as they are sent in time of peace, it is as if they were set upon the solidity of the earth. For just as a king sends his stronger men to face the enemy, so does Christ.
VERSES 3- 4 And he cried with a loud voice as when a lion roareth. Just as the lion's cry inspires beasts with fear, so does Christ inspire beastlike men with fear by threatening through the holy preachers, according to this: The lion roareth, who will not fear?3 And when he had cried, the seven thunders spoke their voices. The seven thunders signify the same thing as the lion's voice, namely the preaching of the Word, as in The voice of thy thunder in a wheel.4 Note also that the seven thunders are said to have spoken after the lion's voice because the sevenfold Spirit also taught the apostles to preach what the Lord taught, whence they are called the sons of thunder.5 They spoke their voices because the holy doctrine does not receive the fables of the Jews or the rubbish of philosophers into its dogmas. However, a very complicated question arises for us in what is said after that: And I was about to write the things which the seven thunders spoke: and I heard a voice from heaven, saying: Seal up the things which the seven
(1) Eccles. 1:5. (2) Ps. 138:12. (3) Variant of Amos 3:8. (4) Ps. 76:19. (5) Mark 3:17. thunders have spoken; and write them not. If the holy preaching had not been written, how would it have come to us? It seems therefore that we should understand in this place only a specific kind of writing; for one should know that the reason why we shut something under seal is in order that it should not be open to all, but that it may be loosed in due time for those we trust; whereas what we write openly, we bring to the knowledge of all. Therefore we are ordered not to divulge the mysteries of God's words to everyone indiscriminately, but to supply them with measure and as though from under a seal, according to how able we see people are to receive them; and we are ordered to give milk to drink to some people, and solid food to others.1 The divine mysteries are also shut under a protective seal in order that they should not be disclosed to people who were not going to believe in them at all, because when they do not accept them, they start laughing at them.
VERSES 5, 6, and 7 And the angel, whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, and he swore by him that liveth for ever and ever. When the Lord forbids swearing, what does it mean that he himself swears, if not that men are often mistaken in swearing, whereas he, who is the truth, is never mistaken? So, the angel lifting up his hand to heaven was our Redeemer carrying his humanity up to the Father's seat by his own power. His swearing by him that lives for ever and ever means that he shows that he, who is the Father's Word, and his flesh, which indicates the whole man, who consists of flesh and soul, are one person of God and the true God of man; or if it is not this, then certainly he swears by the Father because he attributes him everything. In what is said after that, who created heaven, and the things which are therein; and the earth, and the things which are in it; and the sea, and the things which are therein, he refutes the error of the heretics who are not afraid to claim that some things were made by the good prince and others by the prince of darkness. Now let us hear what he swore: That time shall be no longer, but in the days of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God shall be finished, as he hath declared by his servants the prophets. The seventh angel and the seventh trumpet are the end of the Church's preaching, with the completion of which the second coming of the Lord is expected to take place. However, if time shall be no longer when holy preaching has come to an end, how can the Psalmist say, Their time shall be forever?2 One should know then that for the just, whom the eternity of immortality will receive, no time of changeableness will come after that; whereas the unjust, whom an eternal decline will take possession of, will be as if they were confronted with times of mutability: for, since time declines moment by moment, it is fitting for the decline of the wicked to be called by the name of time. Therefore the Psalmist affirms concerning the unjust
(1) Ref. to 1 Cor. 3:1-2. (2) Ps. 80:16. what the Lord denies concerning the just. Finally, when he says that the mystery of God shall be finished, it is not meant in the sense of destruction, but in the sense of completion. He says that it was foretold by the prophets because nearly all their focus was on the Lord's first and second coming and the end of the world.
VERSE 8 And the voice which I heard again speaking to me, and saying: Go, take the book from the hand of the angel who standeth upon the sea, and upon the earth. The voice that ordered him above to seal the voices of the thunders for those who would not believe them or for little people, is now inviting the holy Church, in its preachers, to the book open. This voice is understood to be a spiritual one with which God instructs the hearts of preachers so that they may understand the manifest truth of the law and the prophets, which is shut, whether in the seven thunders or in the seven seals, for those who are doomed to perish altogether. The steps with which the holy Church goes to the angel are not physical, but spiritual; they are the mental desire by which it is seen to come closer to God. Then since the voice of the angel giving this order is followed by a most ready state of mind on the saints' part, it is rightly said after that:
VERSE 9 And I went to the angel, saying unto him, that he should give me the book. Then since the one who invites him to what he promised deceives no one, it is fittingly said after that, And he said to me: Take the book, and eat it up. To eat up the book means to store away understanding of the Scriptures in the recesses of one's heart. One should know indeed that the sacred Scripture is for us a food in its obscure passages, which cannot be swallowed down unless they are chewed by means of explanation, and a drink in its obvious passages, which we easily drink just as they are found, without explanation. This is why, although the holy preachers, in John's person, already understood that the revealed mysteries of the Scriptures were about the Lord, because they still needed explanations as to how they concerned him, it is not said about the book, “Take the book, and drink it,” but eat it up, as if it were said, “Study it as if you were chewing it, and understand it, and then swallow it down.” And it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey. The order is inverted, but it is found in the right order a little below, for there follows:
VERSE 10 And I took the book from the hand of the angel, and ate it up: and it was in my mouth, sweet as honey: and when I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. It is right for the mouth, out of which preaching emanates, to represent those who meditate on God's law day and night and say with the Psalmist, How sweet are thy words to my palate!1 On the other hand, it is right for the belly, out of which excrements come, to represent fleshly people devoted to earthly pleasures, about whom the elect say, Our belly cleaveth to the earth.2 Therefore it is as if food came down through the mouth into the belly, when knowledge of the Scriptures comes through the Church's preachers even to those who live in a fleshly manner. This is why the book, which is sweet in the mouth, becomes bitter in the belly; for what can be more bitter to them than what the Lord commands, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor anything that is his?3 Alternatively, the book is sweet in the mouth when eternal joys are promised in it to readers, like The just shall shine as the sun;4 but in the belly, that is in the secret of the mind, it is bitter, since one is confronted in it with strict commandments, like Unless you become as this little child, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.5
VERSE 11 And he said to me: Thou must prophesy again to many peoples, and nations, and kings, and tongues. This is said to John specifically, and to preachers generally. They are ordered to prophesy, that is to preach, again, so as to proclaim again by their actions what they preach with their mouths.
(1) Ps. 118:103. (2) Ps. 43:25. (3) Deut. 5:21. (4) Matt. 13:43. (5) Variant of Matt. 18:3.
CHAPTER 11
VERSE 1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod, saying: Arise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar and them that adore therein. He says this in the person of preachers in general. The reed represents metaphorically the divine preaching written by it, and it is called like unto a rod because holy preaching is not pliant but straight. The temple of God is the faithful, to whom it is said, You are the temple of the living God.1 The altar in the temple is the
(1) 2 Cor. 6:16. life of the religious among the people of the faithful, in whom the fire of holy devotion principally and continuously remains without declining. By them that adore therein he means in the temple and the altar, words by which they that adore therein are themselves represented. So, what does it mean to measure the temple and the altar with a reed, if not to bestow the grace of gifts through holy preaching? Which the Church certainly does in Christ, that is in its Head. Note also that he who must measure the temple of God, is told to arise, that is, to rise to high summits of virtues through the practice of work, so as to become higher than the building he is measuring.
VERSE 2 But the court, which is without the temple, cast out, and measure it not: because it is given unto the Gentiles.1 He says The court which is without, cast out with the same way of speaking as when we order to cast someone out if someone knocks at the door and we do not want to let them in. What then do we understand the court to mean but the Jews, heretics and Gentiles? It is said to be given unto the Gentiles because they all pass into the number of the incredulous nations.1 And the holy city they shall tread under foot two and forty months. The holy city is the temple and the altar, that is the heavenly Jerusalem, which is being built like a city. What does it mean, then, for the Church of the saints to be trodden underfoot by those who are without, if not to be persecuted with words and torments? Two and forty months signify a time and times, and half a time,2 that is the time of the Antichrist, yet also the whole time of this life because of its seven ages and the seven days that constitute its cycle; for six times seven make forty-two.3 This is also what was signified by the fact that the children of Israel entered the Land of Promise at the forty-second mansion.4
VERSE 3 And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. Martyr Victorinus understands the two witnesses to be Elijah and Jeremiah, for he says that we nowhere read Jeremiah's death;5 but others interpret it better in thinking that they are Elijah and Enoch.6 Let us for our part understand a genus in the species; that is, by the two witnesses let us understand the Church; and a thousand two hundred forty7
(1) The Latin word used in these two places can translate to « Gentiles » as well as « nations ». (2) Rev. 12:14. (3) Perhaps it should have been “its six ages,” or else the number six is here used for a reason left unexplained. (4) Num. 33:1-49. (5) [Victorinus Petavionensis, Scholia in Apocalypsin Ioannis, PL 5.12.334C] (6) The interpretation of the two witnesses being Enoch and Elijah goes at least as far back as St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 5.5.1 (AD 175-185). (7) Sic in the text, though it should be sixty. days are not only the cycle of the time of the Antichrist, but also that of previous times. It is appropriate for the Church to be represented by two witnesses, because of the two Testaments, the two peoples, the two commandments of love, and the two kinds of martyrdom. By sackcloth we understand confession of humility or the saints' brightness despised by the wicked.
VERSE 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks, that stand in the sight of the Lord of the earth. The Church, whether in those two men or in all preachers in general, is represented by the olive tree because of the unction of the Holy Spirit, and by candlesticks because of the light of faith and work. While there is one olive tree and one candlestick made up of two peoples, they are called two olive trees and two candlesticks because of the two Testaments. They stand in the sight of the Lord because they stick to their Creator through inner contemplation. Hence Elijah, whom this is taken to refer to specifically, says, The Lord liveth, in whose sight I stand.1 With another interpretation, this may refer to Elijah and Enoch specifically, who, taken away from human eyes, stick to God in secret.
VERSE 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire shall come out of their mouths, and shall devour their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, in this manner must he be slain. What is symbolized by fire but holy preaching kindled by the firebrands of the Holy Spirit? It is not surprising if preaching makes the wicked die, since the apostles says, We are the good odour of Christ unto God in them that perish, etc.2 Alternatively, fire coming out of the mouths of the witnesses kills their enemies because the Church strikes those who persevere in evil with the lightning of anathema. Alternatively again, we may understand by the whole a part which is burned so as to be changed for the better. So out of the Church comes a fire of brightness by which the wicked are changed for the better.
VERSE 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy. What do we understand by heaven but the same thing as by the two witnesses, namely the holy preachers of the Church? When they shut heaven that it rain not, it is indubitably themselves that they shut. They shut themselves not so that they do not rain at all, but that they do not rain upon an earth
(1) 1 Kings 17:1. (2) 2 Cor. 2:15. that is thorny and very close to malediction. The limbs possess this power in the Head. And they have power over waters to turn them into blood. It is the sword of the letter, which the Church uses spiritually to pierce through the hearts of the elect to give their hearts life in the spirit, that makes this blood flow in the hearts of people who understand things wrongly. And to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they will. Every time they shut the divine mysteries to the faithful, they strike them with an incurable plague. On the other hand, every time they disclose God's mysteries to the faithful, they bring some to life, others to death. Note also that it is not said that they will have this power, but that they already have it, in order that we may understand that this is not said only about those two men but also about the present preachers.
VERSE 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast, that shall ascend out of the abyss, shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. When they shall have finished means when they shall have reached the point at which they must finish their testimony, that is the time of the Antichrist. Whence it is clear that these things are happening before the last persecution; for due to the brevity of those days, about which the Lord says, For the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened,1 the Church's testimony is presented as if it were already finished when that time has been reached. Then the beast, that is the whole body of the Devil, is said to ascend out of the abyss, because it is given permission to speak by divine judgment; for the judgments of the Lord are a great abyss,2 therefore it ascends from where the permission for it to rise comes from. If on the other hand we understand by the beast the Antichrist alone, its ascent from the abyss is its carnal birth from the very deeply wicked people of the Jews, that it from the tribe of Dan. As for the fight, it will be both physical and spiritual. So in and shall overcome them, there is a certain part, mixed with the body of Christ, about which it is said that it can be overcome, either with threats or with flatteries. Hence the previous sentence by no means referred only to the two witnesses; for if it were the case (God forbid!) the beast would overcome them. Let us therefore understand these two as being in the part of the Church about which it is said, and kill them, that is in the elect part, which can be killed, but cannot be overcome.
VERSE 8 And their bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which is called spiritually, Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord also was crucified. By the fact that the Church of the saints is described as lying dead in the street of the great city, it is shown that it has been strongly
(1) Matt. 24:22. (2) Ps. 35:7. afflicted and spiritually laid under its enemies by God's judgment. Note also that we should understand here not only the bodies of those who are killed by the sword but also of those who are still alive, the kind of people about whom the apostle says, for you are dead, etc.1 Since the persecution will be more cruel in Jerusalem, consequently the martyrdoms of the saints are said to take place there; and here it is shown that it is principally the Jews who will stick to the Antichrist, until those who must be saved are converted when Elijah and Enoch are preaching. That city is called spiritually Egypt and Sodom because of its imitation of them. Also, since that persecution will take place throughout the world, we may understand by this city the whole globe raging against the Church; for the Lord did not suffer his Passion inside that city, but outside its gates, so that he might be believed to have been crucified in the whole world, and to have taken possession of the whole world. By Egypt and Sodom is represented the iniquity of persecutors.
VERSE 9 And they of the peoples, and tribes, and tongues, and nations, shall see their bodies for three days and a half: and they shall not suffer their bodies to be laid in sepulchres. Just as graves protect bodies from human eyes, so do quiet times protect the saints from tribulation. Therefore since there will be no peace for the saints, consequently they are said to remain unburied. Let it look contradictory to no one if we have said that the dead men can be understood to mean not only the slain but also the afflicted, because he is metaphorically indicating the whole men by the bodies. So is the sum of three years and six months represented by the time of three days and a half: the whole is symbolized by a part.
VERSE 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry: and shall send gifts one to another, because these two tormented them that dwelt upon the earth. How they are tormented by them, we have explained a little earlier: by their devouring them with spiritual fire, stopping salutary rain, and turning waters into blood.
VERSE 11 And after three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upon their feet. In this place is declared the general resurrection of all the saints after that
(1) Col. 3:3. last persecution. The spirit of life from God entering into them does not mean that they will receive another spirit, but that they will get back the same that they had. Standing upon one's feet means not staggering with any changeableness of spiritual things any more. So, let us hear what happens to the reprobates when the saints awaken: and great fear fell upon them that saw them. It is not surprising if fear seizes the reprobates, since even the elect themselves will be scared, albeit with a serene fear.
VERSE 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them: Come up hither. This voice is the one about which the apostle says, The Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.1 And they went up to heaven in a cloud: and their enemies saw them. They go up in a cloud, that is, in the power of him who judges. This is why the Lord, after subduing death, went up to the Father's seat in a cloud. As for what we said earlier, that the bodies of the two witnesses consisted of living and dead people, we bring here a suitable witness to confirm it, Paul, who says, We who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord.2 So if, as the apostle says, those who are found alive will be taken up in the clouds into the air to meet Christ, is the Psalmist then lying when he says, Who is the man that liveth, and shall not see death?3 And the book of Genesis when it says, Earth thou art, and into earth thou shalt go?4 No! For, as father Augustine says, at the very moment when they are taken up in the clouds, they will taste a momentaneous death. It is the same for the body to return into the earth and for the body to remain there when the soul leaves it, because the body is earth anyway. As for how quick both changes will be, the apostle indicates it, affirming that it will all happen in the twinkling of an eye.5
VERSE 13 And at that hour there was made a great earthquake. After showing the resurrection, he recapitulates starting from the last persecution. It is not surprising if he calls the time shortened for the sake of the elect an hour, when he says elsewhere concerning all this time, Little children, it is the last hour.6 Note also that he says it is a great earthquake because, according to the Lord's saying, there shall be a tribulation such as hath not been from the beginning.7 And the
(1) 1 Thess. 4:15. (2) Ibid. 16. (3) Variant of Ps. 88:49. (4) Gen. 3:19 acc. to LXX. (5) 1 Cor. 15:52. (6) 1 John 2:18. (7) Matt. 24:21.
tenth part of the city fell. The tenth part of the city falls in those who do not belong to the number of the elect. The elect indeed, joining the nine orders of angels, make up for the fallen demons with their own multitude, and fill up the tenth place, which is that of their order. Therefore it is not the whole tenth that we should understand here, but a part of the tenth, which falls, that is the part which, not joining the nine orders of angels, by no means holds the place of the tenth order. And there were slain in the earthquake names of men seven thousand. By these we should understand the part that is now hiding among the lambs, but will be brought to publicly visible error when the last persecution takes place, and will be sent into the body of the beast to be devoured by it. The rest were cast into a fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven. Who are the rest he is talking about? Those who have remained in faith throughout? Or those who denied it, but came back to it afterwards? Or those who have been faithless, but will believe afterwards when Elijah and Enoch are preaching? We may actually understand all of these.
VERSE 14 The second woe is past: behold the third woe cometh quickly. This is the end of the double recapitulation, but the second woe does not belong to this recapitulation. Indeed it had been said earlier, after the battle with the locusts was finished, that one woe was past and two were to come; then, when all that pertained to the second woe had been told (with the loosing of the four angels etc.) the second woe was not mentioned again. The reason for this is that there followed the recapitulation starting from Christ's coming, and he did not want us to think, if The second woe is past had been said there, that the third woe referred to the recapitulation. Therefore the second woe does not refer to this passage, but to the one above: the recapitulation that broke the order being finished, the second woe is mentioned with reference to where the order was broken. As for what the third woe is, it is disclosed when it is said after that:
VERSE 15 And the seventh sounded the trumpet: and there were great voices in heaven. This seventh angel sounds the trumpet as the Lord appears for the judgment. By this angel we understand the Church, no longer preaching, but singing mercy and judgment for the Lord. This is why the angel standing upon the earth and the sea swears that time shall be no longer but the end will come with the seventh trumpet. The great voices in heaven, that is in the Church, are thanksgivings; and it is right to call them great, because a great desire is arising concerning great things. John shows where these voices come from, adding, saying: The kingdom of this world— that is the kingdom in which the old enemy used to reign — is become God's and his Christ's, and they shall reign for ever and ever. In them, that is the Father and the Son, the Trinity is understood. VERSES 16, 17, and 18 And the four and twenty ancients, who sit on their seats in the sight of God, fell on their faces. Concerning the ancients, it has already been said that they signify the preachers, because a genus should be understood in the species. It is right for them to be twenty-four because of the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles. By the seats and the ancients is understood one seat, that of Christ, consisting of superiors and inferiors. It is right to say that the ancients sit in the sight of God, because, when they examine the actions of their inferiors, they do not seek thereby human gratitude, but God's glory. They fall on their faces because they attribute all good not to themselves, but to God. And adored God, saying: We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who wast, and who art. By the fact that they do not say “who art to come,” it is made clear that all this will be said or done at the last judgment. As for what follows, because thou hast received thy great power, and the nations were angry, it refers to his first coming. He received in his humanity the great power he has always had by his divinity. On the other hand, what is said next, because thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, refers to his second coming. Yet since the Lord says, Love your enemies,1 how can it be said that these people are giving thanks for the coming of his wrath against the reprobates? Therefore they are not rejoicing at the destruction of the wicked, but at their own resurrection and glorification, which they know cannot possibly be fulfilled unless the damnation of the wicked comes first. It is according to this interpretation that the souls of the slain under the altar of God are said to cry, How long, O Lord, etc.;2 for they are not asking for revenge, but to be themselves rewarded after revenge has been taken on the wicked. Hence the Psalmist: The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge.3 The Judge's wrath does not mean a perturbation of the mind, but its straightness. So one shall see him such as one's own conscience is like. That thou shouldest judge them, and render reward to thy servants the prophets and the saints, and to them that fear thy name, little and great. When the apostle says that we are saved by grace,4 how can the Lord be said here to render reward? One should know then that when the Lord renders reward to his servants, it is his own gifts that he rewards in them, for we could not have any work worthy of reward if we had not received from him the ability to do works. Note also that by the name of prophets are represented the apostles. Meanwhile, let no one despair on account of their imperfection, if they nonetheless strive to do perfect things but do not succeed; because even the little ones shall obtain that reward; whence blessed Job: The small and great are there.5 And shouldest banish6 them who have corrupted the earth. They are said to be banished rather than killed so as to show the everlasting exile of damnation, their eternal indigence. To
(1) Matt. 5:44 and Luke 6:27/35. (2) Rev. 6:10. (3) Ps. 57:11. (4) Eph. 2:8. (5) Job 3:19. (6) The Latin word used here is usually translated here as « destroy », and that is indeed how the Latin translator meant it, because it is what the word in the original Greek means; but the Latin word can also mean « banish », and our commentator interpreted it that way. Cf. note 2 on 9:11; it is the same Latin verb (although the Greek it translates is a different synonym). corrupt the earth is to pervert one's life with wicked works. So it is from this that the third woe of the wicked results, about which it was foretold that it would come quickly with the seventh angel.
VERSE 19 And the temple was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple. This saying goes back to the beginning of faith, and describes the battles of the Church with new symbols. What indeed does God's temple signify but Christ, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells corporeally?1 It is said to be open because Christ has already been born, suffered, been resurrected, and been elevated, and since it is in the Church that Christ is proclaimed to have done all this, consequently he is said to open the temple in heaven. The ark of the testament, in which the power of the two Testaments was written by God's finger, means the Church; according to Exodus, this ark has four golden rings with bars through them to be carried on,2 that is the four Gospels through which the Church is governed by the holy preachers. In it there is a golden pot with manna inside, that is the wisdom of the divine Word with the food of life; and also Aaron's rod,3 that is the proof of kingly priesthood. And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail. Lightnings are miraculous signs, by which the minds of the unfaithful were struck so that they submitted to humility; whence the Psalmist: Thou wilt multiply lightnings, and trouble them.4 It is appropriate for the voices, that is the preachers, to come after the lightnings, because, in order to bring the incredulous to faith by speaking, the preachers first displayed new miracles. After words there follow thunders in order for those who despise voices to be shaken by terror of the judgment. Then an earthquake, that is persecution, which is also indicated by hail; for just as hail gets crushed as it crushes the fruits of the earth, and the earth bears fruit again, when the furious multitude of the Gentiles tried to take the name of God away from the earth, it was itself reduced to naught, either by force or by being changed for the better — for quite many of them came to Christ's faith.
(1) Col. 2:9. (2) Ex. 25:12-14. (3) Heb. 9:4. (4) Probably a variant of Ps. 143:6, but also reminiscent of Ps. 17:15.
CHAPTER 12
VERSE 1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet. The woman clothed with the sun is blessed Virgin Mary, covered with the power of the Most High. A genus, namely the Church, is also understood in her. The Church is not called a woman by reason of weakness, but because it gives birth every day to new people, with whom the general body of Christ is being formed. So the Church is clothed with the sun according to this: As many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ.1 Indeed Christ is the Sun of justice,2 and the brightness of eternal light.3 The moon, which wanes as time passes, represents the mutability of time; and since the Church despises it, it is as if it pressed it down under its feet. Note also that there are some things in the following that do not correspond to the species, but to the genus. And on her head a crown of twelve stars. The twelve stars the crown is fitted with are the twelve apostles, through whom the Head of the Church, that is Christ, first won victory. They are called stars because the reason of truth illuminates the darkness of ignorance.
VERSE 2 And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. This cannot refer specifically to blessed Mary, but it refers to the Church, which suffers here a certain difficulty in childbirth when it tries to give birth once again to people it had already given birth to, until, according to the apostle's saying, we all meet unto a perfect man.4
VERSE 3 And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his heads seven diadems. The Devil is called a dragon because of his evilness, great because of the manifoldness of his snares, and red because of his murders. He is seen in heaven, that is in the Church, not because he possesses it, but because he opposes it. By his heads and horns is indicated his entire kingdom, as if seven heads were coming against the seven churches, seven wicked spirits against the sevenfold Spirit of God, and ten horns against the ten commandments of the law — but we shall speak about all this more at length in the following.
(1) Gal. 3:27. (2) Mal. 4:2.
(3) Wis. 7:26. (4) Eph. 4:13. VERSE 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. The dragon's tail is depraved preachers, according to this: The prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.1 People who from the outside seem to stick to the pursuit of heavenly life are made to fall into the iniquity of overt error by false preachers out of love for the earth. About these people Job says, Let the stars be darkened with the mist thereof.2 Now since the tail is the end of the body, we may understand by it the Antichrist and his preachers, if we take it that the past is here being used for the future — and indeed the casting down of these stars will be more manifest then. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. The dragon then stood that he might swallow down the Head after it was born, and he is always standing that he may swallow down the limbs of the Head; but, as the following shows, the woman's son escaped the dragon's bite because he was taken up to the Father's throne. From this there arises a serious question; for neither did Christ physically climb to heaven as soon as he was born and sought by Herod, nor do his limbs avoid the dragon's teeth by leaving the body altogether to come to their Head. One should know then that the right faith, which keeps the commandments of life and is revealed by the sacred pages of the Scriptures, is an ascent of the mind towards God, by means of which one avoids the dragon's evilness. Therefore he does not mean an ascent in the physical sense. Note also that those whom the dragon is not said to stand behind, but before, are those who know his tricks.
VERSE 5 And she brought forth a man son.3 The one gave birth to the Head, the other gives birth to the limbs of the Head. But why did he add man, since he already said son? Because it can be said either in a positive sense with regards to someone's excellence in strength, or in a negative sense with regards to the immensity of their wickedness: just as it is here used in a positive sense, so is it used in a negative sense in Jeremiah when he says, Cursed be the man that brought the tidings to my father, saying: A man child is born to thee.4 For the rest, the Church does not give birth to any effeminate, any slack child. Who is to rule all nations with an iron rod. This refers both to
(1) Is. 9:15. (2) Job 3:9. (3) The Latin word is usually translated here as « child », but « son » better conveys the masculine character of the Latin word, which is what is under discussion here. « Son » is the most literal and classical translation of the word, but at a certain point Latin came to use it sometimes as « child ». (4) Jer. 20:15. The Latin word used here can translate to either « child » or « boy ». So it is also masculine; it means a male child, albeit it can also be used for any child in a « gender-unmarked », generalized manner, the masculine being Latin's default gender for human beings — e.g. if you wanted to say in Latin that someone had adopted a child, without yourself knowing the child's gender or without wishing to specify it, you would use the masculine word for « child », by default. All in all, the two expressions used in Rev. and Jer. for « man child » do not sound quite as pleonastic in Latin as « man/male son » or « man/male boy » do in English, but still enough for commentators to see something in it. the Head and to the body. By the rod is represented the straightness of justice; whence the Psalmist, The rod of thy kingdom is a straight rod.1 Now, what is meant by what is said after that, as the vessel of a potter they shall be broken, if not that vile works among the inferiors are broken by the severity of justice so that they may be turned from worthless vessels into vessels of honor and sanctification? Though it could also refer to Christ's reprobates. And her son was taken up to God, and to his throne. This was explained a little earlier.
VERSE 6 And the woman shall flee into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared by God, that there they should feed her a thousand two hundred sixty days. The woman's fleeing into the wilderness means the same as her son's being taken up to God; for the Church flees, not in a physical ascent, but in a spiritual one. The wilderness is the secret of the mind; for, in order to escape the serpent's venom, holy men make themselves a desert by contemning all transitory and fleshly desires. Note also that it is the duty of preachers to feed this woman. As for the place where she is fed, it is he to whom it is said, Be thou unto me a protective God, and a place of refuge.2 He is also the food she is fed with, he who says, I am the living bread.3 The number of days mentioned here signifies the times of the Antichrist, but while still also including the whole time of this life from the preaching and Passion of Christ. Indeed evangelical preaching was performed by the Lord during the same number of days as it will be finished in the end by the last preachers.
VERSE 7 And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels. Let the faithful's hearts not believe that this battle happened when the old enemy fell from heaven with his followers because of his pride; but it should be believed without any doubt that it has been on-going since the beginning of the Christian faith and will last until the end of this life, because it is demonstrated that the dragon, that is the Devil, has been fighting back and offering opposition in heaven, that is in the Church (whence it is proclaimed by the apostle's voice, Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against the spirits of wickedness in the high places)4 ever since the beginning. Now if we are fighting, why is it said, contradictorily with this idea, that Michael is fighting? With regards to this, one should
(1) Variant of Ps. 44:7. (2) Variant of Ps. 30:3. (3) John 6:51. (4) Eph. 6:12.
know that it is shown in numerous other passages too that the struggle against the Devil belongs both to us and to angels; for while Peter said, Whom resist ye, strong in faith,1 and James, Resist the devil, and he will fly from you,2 yet David declares that this same thing is done by angels, saying, The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them.3 By these examples it is shown that neither do we fight without the angels' fighting, nor do the angels without our fighting. Some angels are said to be Michael's not because, as the perfidy of some heretics would have it, he created them, but because he received them from God as a help, or because it is believed that they are soldiers under one king and from one city, in the same way as the angels who are demonstrated to belong to the dragon and to do his will are called the dragon's angels — and bad men are included in their number, just as we are included in the number of the good angels.
VERSE 8 And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. How can it be said that evil spirits prevail not, while they deceive many people, and people who used to be the Redeemer’s dwelling become the deceiver's place? Therefore by the whole we should understand a part, over which the multitude of evil spirits cannot prevail to cause their eternal death; for one gives a place to the old enemy when one commits a deadly fault. Or if it is not this, then surely this prophecy refers to the time of the Antichrist, when they have been driven away from among the elect and have no time to deceive any more.
VERSE 9 And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Our enemy is called a dragon because of his evilness, great because of the hugeness of his wickedness, a serpent because of his snares, old because of the long duration of his deception, and devil because of his fall from heaven and his accusation of the faithful and elect: indeed, devil means both “flowing downwards” and “slanderer;”4 as for Satan, it means “adversary.” In saying who seduceth the whole world, he mentioned the whole to mean a part. So, where was the dragon cast from, and where to, if not from heaven to the earth, that is from the minds of the elect into the hearts of the reprobates? Not that he was not already in them before, but once he has been driven out of the elect, he rules over the reprobates all the more.
(1) 1 Pet. 5:9. (2) James 4:7. (3) Ps. 33:8. (4) English « devil » < Latin diabolus < Greek διάβολος (diabolos), meaning « slandering » or « slanderer », derived from the verb διαβάλλειν (diaballein), which means 1. to throw over or across, 2. to set at variance, 3. to slander. The verb διαβάλλειν is itself composed of δια—, meaning« through » or « asunder », and βάλλειν, the basic meaning of which is « to throw », but which can also mean « to throw oneself », « to fall », notably with reference to a river; this is where the « flowing » interpretation must come from. VERSE 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now is there made salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our God day and night. Since the dragon falls from heaven to the earth every day, it is certain that this voice, which is a desire of the mind for praising, starts from the Lord's coming, and does not stop clamoring in heaven, that is in the Church, until the end of the world. Therefore it is all time that is included in the adverb now. They say that salvation is made because we have been saved by the free goodness of God; strength because we have been strengthened by it; and power because we have been raised to a high glory. Indeed all these things have been made among men, although not by man, but by Jesus Christ. The Devil accuses people day and night when he takes care that some be lifted up in success, and others broken in adversity. The Devil accuses the saints not by speaking on the outside, but by listening on the inside; for his evilness is his accusation of the saints.
VERSE 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. They overcome him by the blood of the Lamb because they follow the example of the sufferings of Christ, and by the word of their testimony because they keep the rightness of faith. It is then added concerning them, and they loved not their lives unto death, which means that they put themselves to death so as not to love their lives wickedly.
VERSE 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that dwell therein. He invites the heavens in the plural to rejoice, because he is here indicating the numerousness of the churches, which all make up one. By those who dwell in heaven he means angels or holy men, for whom it is right to rejoice together in harmony in the Lord when, the enemy vanquished, men come back to the fellowship of angels. There is nothing more here that needs explaining, except that, with this joy remaining, this book should come to its due end.
HERE ENDS THE FIFTH BOOK
The exposition of the remaining chapters is missing from the manuscript, whether Alcuin wrote it or not — though in verse 3 of this last chapter he does promise that he will write more.1 (1) This is a note by the editor of the Latin text. |
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