Commentary On The Apocalypse
By St. Victorinus
An
ecclesiastical writer who flourished about 270, and who suffered martyrdom
probably in 303, under Diocletian.
He was bishop of the
City of
FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER
1. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to
Him, and showed unto His servants things which must
shortly come to pass, and signified it. Blessed are they who read and hear the
words of this prophecy, and keep the things which are written." The
beginning of the book promises blessing to him that reads and hears and keeps,
that he who takes pains about the reading may thence learn to do works, and may
keep the precepts.
4. "Grace unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and
which was, and which is to come." He is, because He endures continually;
He was, because with the Father He made all things, and has at this time taken
a beginning from the Virgin; He is to come, because assuredly He will come to
judgment.
"And from the seven spirits which are before His
throne." We read of a sevenfold spirit in Isaiah - namely, the spirit of
wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, of knowledge and
of piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord.
5. "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,
the first-begotten of the dead." In taking upon Him manhood, He gave a
testimony in the world, wherein also having suffered, He freed us by His blood
from sin; and having vanquished hell, He was the first who rose from the dead
and "death shall have no more dominion over Him," but by His own
reign the kingdom of the world is destroyed.
6. "And He made us a kingdom and priests unto God and
His Father." That is to say, a Church of all believers; as also the
Apostle Peter says: "A holy nation, a royal priesthood."
7. "Behold, He shall come with clouds, and every eye
shall see Him." For He who at first came hidden in the manhood that He had
undertaken, shall after a little while come to judgment manifest in majesty and
glory. And what saith He?
12. "And I turned, and saw seven golden candlesticks;
and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks one like unto the Son of
man." He says that He was like Him after His victory over death, when He
had ascended into the heavens, after the union in His body of the power which
He received from the Father with the spirit of His glory.
13. "As it were the Son of man
walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks." He says, in the midst of
the churches, as it is said in Solomon, "I will walk in the midst of the
paths of the just," whose antiquity is immortality, and the fountain of
majesty.
"Clothed with a garment down to the
ankles." In the long, that is, the priestly garment, these words
very plainly deliver the flesh which was not corrupted in dea th, and has the priesthood through suffering.
"And He was girt about the paps with a golden
girdle." His paps are the two testaments, and the golden g irdle is the
choir of saints, as gold tried in the fire. Otherwise the golden girdle bound
around His breast indicates the enlightened conscience, and the pure and
spiritual apprehension that is given to the churches.
14. "And His head and His hairs were white as it were
white wool, and as it were snow." On the head the whiteness is shown;
"but the head of Christ is God." in the white hairs is the multitude
of abbots like to wool, in respect of simple sheep; to snow, in respect of the
innumerable crowd of candidates taught from heaven.
"His eyes were as a flame of fire." God's
preceipts are those which minister light to believers, but to unbelievers
burning.
16. "And in His face was brightness as the sun."
That which He called brightness was the appearance of that in which He spoke to
men face to face. But the glory of the sun is less than the glory of the Lord.
Doubtless on account of its rising and setting, and rising again, that He was
born and suffered and rose again, therefore the Scripture gave this similitude,
likening His face to the glory of the sun.
15. "His feet were like unto yellow brass, as if burned
in a furnace." He calls the apostles His feet, who, being wrought by
suffering, preached His word in the whole world; for He rightly named those by
whose means the preaching went forth, feet. Whence also the prophet anticipated
this, and said: "We will worship in the place where His feet have
stood." Because where they first of all stood and confirmed the Church,
that is, in
16. "And out of His mouth was issuing a sharp two-edged
sword." By the twice-sharpened sword going forth out of His mouth is
shown, that it is He Himself who has both now declared the word of the Gospel,
and previously by Moses declared the knowledge of the law to the whole world.
But because from the same word, as well of the New as of the Old Testament, He
will assert Himself upon the whole human race, therefore He is spoken of as
two-edged. For the sword arms the soldier, the sword slays the enemy, the sword
punishes the deserter. And that He might show to the apostles that He was
announcing judgment, He says: "I came not to send peace, but a sword."
And after He had completed His parables, He says to them: "Have ye
understood all these things? And they said, We have.
And He added, Therefore is every scribe instructed in the kingdom of God like
unto a man that is a father of a family, bringing forth from his treasure
things new and old," - the new, the evangelical words of the apostles; the
old, the precepts of the law and the prophets: and He testified that these
proceeded out of His mouth. Moreover, He also says to Peter: "Go thou to
the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that shall first come up; and
having opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater (that is, two denarii), and
thou shalt give it for me and for thee." And similarly David says by the
Spirit: "God spake once, twice I have heard the same." Because God
once decreed from the beginning what shall be even to the end. Finally, as He
Himself is the Judge appointed by the Father. on
account of His assumption of humanity, wishing to show that men shall be judged
by the word that He had declared, He says: "Think ye that I will judge you
at the last day? Nay, but the word," says He, "which I have spoken
unto you, that shall judge you in the last day." And Paul, speaking of
Antichrist to the Thessalonians, says: "Whom the Lord Jesus will slay by
the breath of His mouth." And Isaiah says: "By the breath of His lips
He shall slay the wicked ." This, therefore, is
the two-edged sword issuing out of His mouth.
15. "And His voice as it were the voice of many
waters." The many waters are und erstood to be many peoples, or the gift
of baptism that He sent forth by the apostles, saying: "Go ye, teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost."
16. "And He had in His right hand seven stars." He
said that in His right hand He had seven stars, because the Holy Spirit of
sevenfold agency was given into His power by the Father. As Peter exclaimed to
the Jews: "Being at the right hand of God exalted, He hath shed forth this
Spirit received from the Father, which ye both see and hear." Moreover,
John the Baptist had also anticipated this, by saying to his disciples:
"For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father," says
he, "loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hands." Those
seven stars are the seven churches, which he names in his addresses by name,
old calls them to whom he wrote epistles. Not that they are themselves the
only, or even the principal churches; but what he says to one, he says to all.
For they are in no respect difent, that on that ground any one should prefer
them to the larger number of similar small ones.
In the whole world Paul taught that all the churches are
arranged by sevens, that they are called seven, and that the Catholic Church is
one. And first of all, indeed, that he himself also might maintain the type of
seven churches, he did not exceed that number. But he wrote to the Romans, to
the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Thessalonians, to
the Philippians, to the Colossians; afterwards he wrote to individual persons,
so as not to exceed the number of seven churches. And abridging in a short
space his announcement, he thus says to Timothy: "That thou mayest know
how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the Church of the living God." We
read also that this typical number is announced by the Holy Spirit by the month
of Isaiah: "Of seven women which took hold of one man." The one man
is Christ, not born of seed; but the seven women are seven churches, receiving
His bread, and clothed with his apparel, who ask that their reproach should be
taken away, only that His name should be called upon them. The bread is the
Holy Spirit, which nourishes to eternal life, promised to them, that is, by
faith. And His garments wherewith they desire to be clothed are the glory of
immortality, of which Paul the apostle says: "For this corruptible must
put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
mortality." Moreover, they ask that their reproach may be taken away -
that is, that they may be cleansed from their sins: for the reproach is the
original sin which is taken away in baptism, and they begin to be called Christian men, which is, "Let thy name be called upon
us." Therefore in these seven churches, of one Catholic Church are
believers, because it is one in seven by the quality of faith and election.
Whether writing to them who labour in the world, and live of the frugality of
their labours, and are patient, and when they see certain men in the Church
wasters, and pernicious, they hear them, lest there should become dissension,
he yet admonishes them by love, that in what respects their faith is deficient
they should repent; or to those who dwell in cruel places among persecutors,
that they should continue faithful; or to those who, under the pretext of
mercy, do unlawful sins in the Church, and make them manifest to be done by
others; or to those that are at ease in the Church; or to those who are
negligent, and Christians only in name; or to those who are meekly instructed,
that they may bravely persevere in faith; or to those who study the Scriptures,
and labour to know the mysteries of th eir announcement, and are unwilling to
do God's work that is mercy and love: to all he urges penitence, to all he
declares judgment.
FRO M THE SECOND CHAPTER
2. "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy
patience." In the first epistle He speaks thus: I know that thou sufferest
and workest, I see that thou art patient; think not that I am staying long from
thee.
"And that thou canst not bear them that are evil, and
who say that they are Jews and are not, and thou has found them liars, and thou
hast patience for My name's sake." All these
things tend to praise, and that no small praise; and it behoves such men, and
such a class, and such elected persons, by all means to be admonished, that
they may not be defrauded of such privileges granted to them of God. These few
things He said that He had against them.
4, 5. "And thou hast left thy
first love: remember whence thou hast fallen." He
who falls, falls from a height: therefore He said whence: because, even to the
very last, works of love must be practised; and this is the principal
commandment. Finally, unless this is done, He threatened to remove their
candlestick out of its place, that is, to disperse the congregation.
6. "This thou hast also, that thou hatest the deeds of
the Nicolaitanes." But because thou thyself hatedst those who hold the
doctrines of the Nicolaitanes, thou expectest praise. Moreover, to hate the
works of the Nicolaitanes, which He Himself also hated, this tends to praise.
But the works of the Nicolaitanes were in that time false and troublesome men,
who, as ministers under the name of Nicolaus, had made for themselves a heresy,
to the effect that what had been offered to idols might be exorcised and eaten,
and that whoever should have committed fornication might receive peace on the
eighth day. Therefore He extols those to whom He is writing; and to these men,
being such and so great, He promised the tree of life, which is in the paradise
of His God.
The following epistle unfolds the mode of life and habit of
another order which follows. He proceeds to say:-
9. "I know thy tribulation and thy poverty, but thou
art rich." For He knows that with such men there are riches hidden with
Him, and that they deny the blasphemy of the Jews, who say that they are Jews
and are not; but they are the synagogue of Satan, since they are gathered
together by Antichrist; and to them He says:-
10. "Be thou faithful unto death." That they should continue to be faithful even unto death.
11. "He that shall overcome,
shall not be hurt by the second death." That is, he shalt not be chastised
in hell.
The third order of the saints shows that they are men who
are strong in faith, and who are not afraid of persecution; but because even
among them there are some who are inclined to unlawful associations, He says:-
14-16. "Thou hast there some who hold the doctrine of
Balaam, who taught in the case of Balak that he should put a stumbling-block
before the children of Israel, to eat and to commit fornication. So also hast
thou them who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes; but I will fight with them
with the sword of my mouth." That is, I will say what I shall command, and
I will tell you what you shall do. For Balaam, with his doctrine, taught Balak
to cast a stumbling-block before the eyes of the children of
17. "To him that overcometh I
wil l give the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone." The
hidden manna is immortality; the white gem is adoption to be the son of God;
the new name wri tten on the stone is "Christian."
The fourth class intimates the nobility of the faithful, who
labour daily, and do greater works. But even among them also He shows that
there are men of an easy disposition to grant unlawful peace, and to listen to
new forms of prophesying; and He reproves and warns the others to whom this is
not pleasing, who know the wickedness opposed to them: for which evils He
purposes to bring upon the head of the faithful both sorrows and dangers; and
therefore He says:-
24. "I will not put upon you any other burden."
That is, I have not given you laws, observances, and duties, which is another
burden.
25, 26. "But that which ye
have, hold fast until I come; and he that overcometh, to him will I give power
over all peoples." That is, him I will appoint as judge among the rest of
the saints.
28. "And I will give him the morning star." To wit, the first resurrection. He promised the morning
star, which drives away the night, and announces the light, that is, the
beginning of day.
FROM THE THIRD CHAPTER
The fifth class, company, or association of saints, sets
forth men who are careless, and who are carrying on in the world other
transactions than those which they ought - Christians only in name. And
therefore He exhorts them that by any means they should be turned away from
negligence, and be saved; and to this effect He says:-
2. "Be watchful, and strengthen the other things which
were ready to die; for I have not found thy works perfect before God." For
it is not enough for a tree to live and to have no fruit, even as it is not
enough to be called a Christian and to confess Christ, but not to have Himself
in our work, that is, not to do His precepts.
The sixth class is the mode of life of the best election.
The habit of saints is set forth; of those, to wit, who are lowly in the world,
and unskilled in the Scriptures, and who hold the faith immoveably, and are not
at all broken down by any chance, or withdrawn from the faith by any fear.
Therefore He says to them:-
8. "I have set before thee an open door, because thou
hast kept the word of my patience." In such little
strength.
10. "And I will keep thee from the hour of
temptation." That they may know His glory to be of this kind, that they
are not indeed permitted to be given over to temptation.
12. "He that overcometh shall be made a pillar in the
Moreover, the seventh association of the Church declares
that they are rich men placed in positions of dignity, but believing that they
are rich, among whom indeed the Scriptures are discussed in their bedchamber,
while the faithful are outside; and they are understood by none, although they
boast themselves, and say that they know all things - endowed with the
confidence of learning, but ceasing from its labour. And thus He says:-
15. "That they are neither cold nor hot." That is,
neither unbelieving nor believing, for they are all things to all men. And
because he who is neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm,
gives nausea, He says:-
16. "I will vomit thee out of My
mouth." Although nausea is hateful, still it hurts no one; so also is it
with men of this kind when they have been cast forth. But because there is time
of repentance, He says:-
18. "I persuade thee to buy of Me
gold tried in the fire." That is, that in whatever manner you can, you
should suffer for the Lord's name tribula tions and passions.
"And anoint thine eyes with eye-salve." That what
you gladly know by the Scripture, you should strive also to do the work of t he
same. And because, if in these ways men return out of great destruction to
great repentance, they are not only useful to themselves, but they are able
also to be of advantage to many, He promised them no small reward - to sit,
namely, on the throne of judgment.
FROM THE FOURTH CHAPTER
"After this, I beheld, and, lo, a door was opened in
heaven." The new testament is announced as an
open door in heaven.
"And the first voice which I heard was, as it were, of
a trumpet talking with me, saying, Come up hither." Since the door is
shown to be opened, it is manifest that previously it had been closed to men.
And it was sufficiently and fully laid open when Christ ascended with His body
to the Father into heaven. Moreover, the first voice which he had heard when he
says that it spoke with him, without contradiction condemns those who say that
one spoke in the prophets, another in the Gospel; since it is rather He Himself
who comes, that is the same who spoke in the prophets. For John was of the
circumcision, and all that people which had heard the
announcement of the Old Testament was edified with his word.
"That very same voice," said he, "that I had
heard, that said unto me, Come up hither." That is the Spirit, whom a
little before he confesses that he had seen walking as the Son of man in the
midst of the golden candlesticks. And he now gathers from Him what had been
foretold in similitudes by the law, and associates with this scripture all the
former prophets, and opens up the Scriptures. And because our Lord invited in
His own name all believers into heaven, He forthwith
poured out the Holy Spirit, who should bring them to heaven. He says:-
2. "Immediately I was in the Spirit." And since
the mind of the faithful is opened by the Holy Spirit, and that is manifested
to them which was also foretold to the fathers, he
distinctly says:-
"And, behold, a throne was set in heaven." The
throne set: what is it but the throne of judgment and of the King?
3. "And He that sate upon the throne was, to look upon,
like a jasper and a sardine stone." Upon the
throne he says that he saw the likeness of a jasper
and a sardine stone. The jasper is of the colour of water, the sardine of fire.
These two are thence manifested to be placed as judgments upon God's tribunal
until the consummation of the world, of which judgments one is already
completed in the deluge of water, and the other shall be completed by fire.
"And there was a rainbow about the throne."
Moreover, the rainbow round about the throne has the same colours. The rainbow
is called a bow from what the Lord spake to Noah and
to his sons, that they should not fear any further deluge in the generation of
God, but fire. For thus He says: I will place my bow in the clouds, that ye may
now no longer fear water, but fire.
6. "And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea
of glass like to crystal." That is the gift of baptism which He sheds
forth through His Son in time of repentance, before He executes judgment. It is
therefore before the throne, that is, the judgment. And when he says a sea of
glass like to crystal, he shows that it is pure water, smooth, not agitated by
the wind, not flowing down as on a slope, but given to be immoveable as the
house of God.
"And round about the throne were four living
creatures." The four living creatures are the four Gospels.
7-10. "The first living creature was like to a lion,
and the second was like to a calf, and the third had a face like to a man, and
the fourth was like to a flying eagle; and they had six wings, and round about
and within they were full of eyes; and they had no rest, saying, Holy, holy,
holy, Lord Omnipotent. An d the four and twenty
elders, failing down before the throne, adored God." The four and twenty
elders are the twenty-four books of the prophets and of the law, which give
testimonies of the judgment. Moreover, also, they are the twenty-four fathers -
twelve apostles and twelve patriarchs.
And in that the living creatures are different in
appearance, this is the reason:
the living creature like to a lion
designates Mark, in whom is heard the voice of the lion roaring in the desert.
And in the figure of a man, Matthew strives to declare to us
the genealogy of Mary, from whom Christ took flesh. Therefore, in enumerating
from Abraham to David, and thence to Joseph, he spoke of Him as if of a man:
therefore his announcement sets forth the image of a man.
Luke, in narrating the priesthood of Zacharias as he offers
a sacrifice for the people, and the angel that appears
to him with respect of the priesthood, and the victim in the same description
bore the likeness of a calf.
John the evangelist, like to an eagle
hastening on uplifted wings to greater heights, argues about the Word of God.
Mark, therefore, as an evangelist thus beginning, "The
beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is written in Isaiah the
prophet; The voice of one crying in the
wilderness," - has the effigy of a lion. And Matthew, "The hook of
the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" -
this is the form of a man. But Luke said, "There was a priest, by name
Zachariah, of the course of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of
Aaron" - this is the likeness of a calf. But John, when he begins,
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God," sets forth the likeness of a flying eagle.
Moreover, not only do the evangelists express their four
similitudes in their respective openings of the Gospels, but also the Word
itself of God the Father Omnipotent, which is His Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
bears the same likeness in the time of His advent. When He preaches to us, He
is, as it were, a lion and a lion's whelp. And when for man's salvation He was
made man to overcome death, and to set all men free, and that He offered
Himself a victim to the Father on our behalf, He was called a calf. And that He
overcame death and ascended into the heavens, extending His wings and
protecting His people, He was named a flying eagle. Therefore these
announcements, although they are four, yet are one, because it proceeded from
one mouth. Even as the river in paradise, although it is one, was divided into
four heads. Moreover, that for the announcement of the New Testament those
bring creatures had eyes within and without, shows the spiritual providence
which both looks into the secrets of the heart, and beholds the things which
are coming after that are within and without.
8. "Six wings." These are the testimonies of the
books of the Old Testament. Thus, twenty and four make as many as there are elders
sitting upon the thrones. But as an animal cannot fly unless it have wings, so,
too, the announcement of the New Testament gains no faith unless it have the
fore-announced testimonies of the Old Testament, by which it is lifted from the
earth, and flies. For in every case, what has been told before, and is
afterwards found to have happened, that begets an undoubting faith. Again,
also, if wings be not attached to the living creatures, they have nothing
whence they may draw their life. For unless what the prophets
foretold had been consummated in Christ, their preaching was vain. For
the Catholic Church holds those things which were both be fore predicted and
afterwards accomplished. And it flies, because the living animal is reasonably
lifted up from the earth. But to heretics who do not a vail themselves
of the prophetic testimony, to them also there are present living creatures;
but they do not fly, because they are of the earth. And to the Jews who do not
receive the announcement of the New Testament there are present wings; but they
do not fly, that is, they bring a vain prophesying to men, not adjusting facts
to their words. And the books of the Old Testament that are received are
twenty-four, which you will find in the epitomes of Theodore. But, moreover (as
we have said), four and twenty elders, patriarchs and apostles, are to judge
His people. For to the apostles, when they asked, saying, "We have
forsaken all that we had, and followed Thee: what shall we have?" our Lord
replied, "When the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, ye
also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
5. "And from the throne proceeded
lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and seven torches of fire burning."
And the lightnings, and voices, and thunders proceeding from the throne of God,
and the seven torches of fire burning, signify announcements, and promises of
adoption, and threatenings. For lightnings signify the Lord's advent, and the
voices the announcements of the New Testament, and the thunders, that the words
are from heaven. The burning torches of fire signify the gift of the Holy Spirit, that it is given by the wood of the passion. And
when these things were doing, he says that all the elders fell down and adored
the Lord; while the living creatures - that is, of course, the actions recorded
in the Gospels and the teaching of the Lord - gave Him glory and honour. In
that they had fulfilled the word that had been previously foretold by them,
they worthily and with reason exult, feeling that they have ministered the
mysteries and the word of the Lord. Finally, also, because He had come who
should remove death, and who alone was worthy to take the crown of immortality,
all for the glory of His most excellent doing had crowns.
10. "And they cast their crowns under His feet."
That is, on account of the eminent glory of Christ's victory, they cast all
their victories under His feet. This is what in the Gospel the Holy Spirit
consummated by showing, For when about finally to suffer, our Lord had come to
Jerusalem, and the people had gone forth to meet Him, some strewed the road
with palm branches cut down, others threw down their garments, doubtless these
were setting forth two peoples - the one of the patriarchs, the other of the
prophets; that is to say, of t at men who had any kind of palms of their
victories against sin, and cast them under the feet of Christ, the victor of
all. And the palm and the crown signify the same things, and these are not
given save to the victor.
FROM THE FIFTH CHAPTER
1. "And I saw in the right hand of Him that sate upon
the throne, a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals."
This book signifies the Old Testament, which has been given into the hands of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who received from the Father judgment.
2, 3. "And I saw an angel full
of strength proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is
worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no one was found
worthy, neither in the earth nor under the earth, to open the book." Now
to open the book is to overcome death for man.
4. "There was none found worthy to do this."
Neither among the angels of heaven, nor among men in earth, nor among the souls
of the saints in rest, save Christ the Son of God alone, whom he says that he
saw as a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns. What had not been
then announced, and what the law had contemplated for Him by its various
oblations and sacrifices, it behoved Himself to fulfil. And because He Himself
was the testator, who had overcome death, it was just that Himself should be appointed
the Lord's heir, that He should possess the substance of the dying man, that
is, the human members.
5. "Lo, the Lion of the tribe of
8, 9. "Twenty-four
elders and four living creatures, having harps and phials, and singing a new
song." The proclamation of the Old Testament associated with the New, points out the Christian people singing a new song,
that is, bearing their confession publicly. It is a new thing that the Son of
God should become man. It is a new thing to ascend into the heavens with a
body. It is a new thing to give remission of sins to men. It is a new thing for
men to be sealed with the Holy Spirit. It is a new thing to receive the
priesthood of sacred observance, and to look for a kingdom of unbounded
promise. The harp, and the chord stretched on its wooden frame, signifies the
flesh of Christ linked with the wood of the passion. The phial signifies the
Confession, and the race of the new Priesthood. But it is the praise of many
angels, yea, of all, the salvation of all, and the testimony of the universal
creation, bringing to our Lord thanksgiving for the deliverance of men from the
destruction of death. The unsealing of the seals, as we have said, is the o
pening of the Old Testament, and the foretelling of the preachers of things to
come in the last times, which, although the prophetic Scripture speaks by
single seals, yet by all the seals opened at once, prophecy takes its rank.
FROM THE SIXTH CHAPTER
1, 2. "And when the Lamb had
opened one of the seven seals, I saw, and heard one of the four living
creatures saying, Come and see. And, lo, a white
horse, and He who sate upon him had a bow." The first seal being opened,
he says that he saw a white horse, and a crowned horseman having a bow. For
this was at first done by Himself. For after the Lord
ascended into heaven and opened all things, He sent the Holy Spirit, whose words
the preachers sent forth as arrows reaching to the human heart, that they might
overcome unbelief. And the crown on the head is promised to the preachers by
the Holy Spirit. The other three horses very plainly signify the wars, famines,
and pestilences announced by our Lord in the Gospel. And thus he says that one
of the four living creatures said (because all four are one), "Come and
see."
"Come" is said to him that is invited to faith;
"see" is said to him who saw not. Therefore the white horse is the
word of preaching with the Holy Spirit sent into the world. For the Lord says,
"This Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world for a testimony
to all nations, and then shall come the end."
3, 4. "And when He had opened
the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come and see. And
there went out another horse that was red, and to him that sate upon him was
given a great sword." The red horse, and he that sate upon him, having a
sword, signify the coming wars, as we read in the Gospel: "For nation
shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom; and there shall be great earthquakes in divers places." This is
the ruddy horse.
5. "And when He had opened the third seal. I heard the
third living creature saying, Come and see. And, lo, a black horse; and he who
sate upon it had a balance in his hand." The black horse signifies famine,
for the Lord says, "There shall be famines in divers places;" but the
word is specially extended to the times of Antichrist, when there shall be a
great famine, and when all shall be injured. Moreover, the balance in the hand
is the examining scales, wherein He might show forth the merits of every
individual. He then says:-
6. "Hurt not the wine and the oil." That is,
strike not the spiritual man with thy inflictions. This is the black horse.
7, 8. "And when He had opened
the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, Come and see. And,
lo, a pale horse; and he who sate upon him was named Death." For the pale
horse and he who sate upon him bore the name of Death. These same things also
the Lord had promised among the rest of the coming destructions - great
pestilences and deaths; since, moreover, he says:-
"And hell followed him." That is, it was waiting
for the devouring of many unrighteous souls. This is the pale horse.
9. "And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under
the altar the souls of them that were slain." He relates that he saw under
the altar of God, that is, under the earth, the souls of them that were slain.
For both heaven and earth are called God's altar, as saith the law, commanding
in the symbolical form of the truth two altars to be made - a golden one
within, and a brazen one without. But we perceive that the golden altar is thus
called heaven, by the testimony that our Lord bears to it; for He says,
"When thou bringest thy gift to the altar" (assuredly our gifts are
the prayers which we offer), "and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the
altar." Assuredly prayers ascend to heaven. Therefore heaven is understood
to be the golden altar which was within; for the priests also were accusto med
to enter once in the year - as they who had the anointing - to the golden
altar, the Holy Spirit signifying that Christ should do this once for all. As
the golden altar is acknowledged to be heaven, so also by the brazen altar is
understood the earth, under which is the Hades - a region withdrawn from
punishments and fires, and a place of repose for the saints, wherein indeed the
righteous are seen and heard by the wicked, but they cannot be carried across
to them. He who sees all things would have us to know that these saints,
therefore - that is, the souls of the slain - are asking for vengeance for
their blood, that is, of their body, from those that dwell upon the earth; but
because in the last time, moreover, the reward of the saints will be perpetual,
and the condemnation of the wicked shall come, it was told them to wait. And
for a solace to their body, there were given unto each of them white robes.
They received, says he, white robes, that is, the gift of the Holy Spirit.
12. "And I saw, when he had opened the sixth seal,
there was a great earthquake." In the sixth seal, then, was a great
earthquake: this is that very last persecution.
"And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair."
The sun becomes as sackcloth; that is, the brightness of doctrine will be
obscured by unbelievers.
"And the entire moon became as blood." By the moon
of blood is set forth the Church of the saints as pouring out her blood for
Christ.
13. "And the stars fell to the earth." The falling
of the stars are the faithful who are troubled for Christ's sake.
"Even as a fig-tree casteth her
untimely figs." The fig-tree, when shaken, loses its untimely figs
- when men are separated from the Church by persecution.
14. "And the heaven withdrew as a scroll that is rolled
up." For the heaven to be rolled away, that is, that the
Church shall be taken away.
"And every mountain and the islands were moved from
their places." Mountains and islands removed from their places intimate
that in the last persecution all men departed from their places; that is, that
the good will be removed, seeking to avoid the persecution.
FROM THE SEVENTH CHAPTER
2. "And I saw another angel ascending from the east,
having the seal of the living God." He speaks of Elias the prophet, who is
the precursor of the times of Antichrist, for the restoration and establishment
of the churches from t at and intolerable persecution. We read that these
things are predicted in the opening of the Old and New Testament; for He says
by Malachi: "Lo, I will send to you Elias the Tishbite, to turn the hearts
of the fathers to the children, according to the time of calling, to recall the
Jews to the faith of the people that succeed them." And to that end He
shows, as we have said, that the number of those that shall believe, of the
Jews and of the nations, is a great multitude which no man was able to number.
Moreover, we read in the Gospel that the prayers of the Church are sent from
heaven by an angel, and that they are received against wrath, and that the
kingdom of Antichrist is cast out and extinguished by holy angels; for He says:
"Pray that ye enter not into temptation: for there shall be a great
affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the world; and except
the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved." Therefore He
shall send these seven great archangels to smite the
9. "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude,
which no man was able to number, of every nation, tribe, and people, and
tongue, clothed with white robes." What t at multitude out of every tribe implies, is to show the number of the elect out of all
believers, who, being cleansed by baptism in the blood of the Lamb, have made
their robes white, keeping the grace which they have received.
FROM THE EIGHTH CHAPTER
1. "And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was
silence in heaven for about half an hour." Whereby is signified the
beginning of everlasting rest; but it is described as partial, because the
silence being interrupted, he repeats it in order. For if the silence had
continued, here would be an end of his narrative.
13. "And I saw an angel flying through the midst of
heaven." By the angel flying through the midst of heaven is signified the
Holy Spirit beating witness in two of the prophets that a great wrath of
plagues was imminent. If by any means, even in the last times, any one should
be willing to be converted, any one might even still be saved.
FROM THE NINTH CHAPTER
13, 14. "And I heard a voice
from the four horns of the golden altar which is in the presence of God, saying
to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels." That is,
the four corners of the earth which hold the four
winds.
"Which are bound in t at river
FROM THE TENTH CHAPTER
1, 2. "I saw another mighty
angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was upon his
head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and
he had in his hand an open book: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and
his left foot upon the earth." He signifies that that mighty angel who, he
says, descended from heaven, clothed with a cloud, is our Lord, as we have
above na .
"His face was as it were the sun." That is, with
respect to the resurrection.
"Upon his head was a rainbow." He points to the
judgment which is executed by Him, of shall be.
"An open book." A revelation of works in the future judgment, or the Apocalypse
which John received.
"His feet," as we have said above, are the
apostles. For that both things in sea and land are trodden under foot by Him,
signifies that all things are placed under His feet. Moreover, he calls Him an
angel, that is, a messenger, to wit, of the Father; for He is called the
Messenger of great counsel. He says also that He cried with a loud voice. T at
voice is to tell the words of the Omnipotent God of heaven to men, and to bear
witness that after penitence is closed there will be no hope subsequently.
3. "Seven thunders uttered their voices." The
seven thunders uttering their voices signify, the Holy Spirit of sevenfold
power, who through the prophets announced all things to come, and by His voice
John gave his testimony in the world; but because he says that he was about to
write the things which the thunders had uttered, that is, whatever things had
been obscure in the announcements of the Old Testament; he is forbidden to
write them, but he was charged to leave them sealed, because he is an apostle,
nor was it fitting that the grace of the subsequent stage should be given in
the first. "The time," says he, "is at
hand." For the apostles, by powers, by signs, by
portents, and by mighty works, have overcome unbelief. After them there
is now given to the same completed Churches the comfort of having the prophetic
Scriptures subsequently interpreted, for I said that after the apostles there
would be interpreting prophets.
For the apostle says: "And he placed in the Church
indeed, first, apostles; secondly, prophets; thirdly, teachers," and the
rest. And in another place he says: "Let the prophets speak two or three,
and let the others judge." And he says: "Every woman that prayeth or
prophesieth with her head uncovered, dishonoureth her
head" And when he says, "Let the prophets speak two or three, and let
the others judge," he is not speaking in respect of the Catholic prophecy
of things unheard and unknown, but of things both announced and known. But let
them judge whether or not the interpretation is consistent with the testimonies
of the prophetic utterance. It is plain, therefore, that to John, armed as he
was with superior virtue, this was not necessary, although the body of Christ,
which is the Church, adorned with His members, ought to respond to its
position.
10. "I took the book from the hand of the angel, and
ate it up." To take the book and eat it up, is,
when exhibition of a thing is made to one, to commit it to memory.
"And it was in my mouth as sweet as honey." To be
sweet in the mouth is the reward of the preaching of the speaker, and is most
pleasant to the hearers; but it is most bitter both to those that announce it,
and to those that persevere in its commandments through suffering.
11. "And He says unto me, Thou must again prophesy to
the peoples, and to the tongues, and to the nations, and to
many kings." He says this, because when John said these things he was in
the islan d of
FROM THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER
1. "And there was shown unto me a reed like unto a rod:
and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the
2. "The court which is within the temple leave
out." The space which is called the court is the empty altar within the
walls: these being such as were not necessary, he
commanded to be ejected from the Church.
"It is given to be trodden down by the Gentiles."
That is, to the men of this world, that it may be trodden under foot by the
nations, or with the nations. Then he repeats about the destruction and
slaughter of the last time, and says:-
3. "They shall tread the holy city down for forty and
two months; and I will give to my two witnesses, and they shall predict a
thousand two hundred and threescore days clothed in sackcloth." That is,
three years and six months: these make forty-two months. Therefore their
preaching is three years and six months, and the
5. "If any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of
their mouth, and devoureth their enemies." That fire proceedeth out of the
mouth of those prophets against the adversaries,
bespeaks the power of the world. For all afflictions, however many there are,
shall be sent by their messengers in their word. Many think that there is
Elisha, or Moses, with Elijah; but both of these died; while the death of Elijah
is not heard of, with whom all our ancients have believed that it was Jeremiah.
For even the very word spoken to him testifies to him, saying, "Before I
formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the
womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
But he was not a prophet unto the nations; and thus the truthful word of God
makes it necessary, which it has promise d to set forth, that he should be a
prophet to the nations.
4. "These are the two candlesticks standing before the
Lord of the e arth." These two candlesticks and two olive trees He has to
this end spoken of, and admonished you that if, when you have read of them
elsewhere, you have not understood, you may understand here. For in Zechariah,
one of the twelve prophets, it is thus written: "These are the two olive
trees and two candlesticks which stand in the presence of the Lord of the
earth;" that is, they are in paradise.
Also, in another sense, standing in the
presence of the lord of the earth, that is, in the presence of Antichrist.
Therefore they must be slain by Antichrist.
7. "And the beast which ascendeth from the abyss."
After many plagues completed in the world, in the end he says that a beast
ascended from the abyss. Bat that he shall ascend from the abyss is proved by
many testimonies; for he says in the thirty-first chapter of Ezekiel:
"Behold, Assur was a cypress in
8. "And their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of t
at city, which spiritually is called
19. "And the
"And there was seen in His temple the ark of the Lord's
testament." The preaching of the Gospel and the forgiveness o f sins, and
all the gifts whatever that came with Him, he says, appeared therein.
FROM THE TWELFTH CHAPTER
1. "And there was seen a great sign in heaven. A woman
clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and
on her head a crown of twelve stars. And being with child, she cried out
travailing, and bearing torments that she might bring forth." The woman
clothed with the sun, and having the moon under her feet, and wearing a crown
of twelve stars upon her head, and travailing in her pains, is the ancient
Church of fathers, and prophets, and saints, and apostles, which had the groans
and torments of its longing until it saw that Christ, the fruit of its people
according to the flesh long promised to it, had taken flesh out of the selfsame
people. Moreover, being clothed with the sun intimates the hope of resurrection
and the glory of the promise. And the moon intimates the fall of the bodies of
the saints under the obligation of death, which never can fail. For even as life is diminished, so also it is increased. Nor
is the hope of those that sleep extinguished absolutely, as some think, but
they have in their darkness a light such as the moon. And the crown of twelve
stars signifies the choir of fathers, according to the fleshly birth, of whom
Christ was to take flesh.
3. "And there appeared another sign in heaven; and
behold a red dragon, having seven heads." Now, that he says that this
dragon was of a red colour - that is, of a purple colour - the result of his
work gave him such a colour. For from the beginning (as the Lord says) he was a
murderer; and he has oppressed the whole of the human race, not so much by the
obligation of death, as, moreover, by the various forms of destruction and
fatal mischiefs. His seven heads were the seven kings of the Romans, of whom also is Antichrist, as we have said above.
"And ten horns." He says that the ten kings in the
latest times are the same as these, as we shall more fully set forth there.
4. "And his tail drew the third part of the stars of
heaven, and cast them upon the earth." Now, that he says that the dragon's
tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, this may be taken in two ways.
For many think that he may be able to seduce the third part of the men who
believe. But it should more truly be understood, that of the angels that were
subject to him, since he was still a prince when he descended from his estate,
he seduced the third part; therefore what we said above, the Apocalypse says.
"And the dragon stood before the woman who was
beginning to bring forth, that, when she had brought forth, he might devour her
child." The red dragon standing and desiring to devour her child when she
had brought him forth, is the devil - to wit, the traitor angel, who thought
that the perishing of all men would be alike by death; but He, who was not born
of seed, owed nothing to death: wherefore he could not devour Him - that is,
detain Him in death - for on the third day He rose again. Finally, also, and
before He suffered, he approached to tempt Him as man; but when he found that
He was not what he thought Him to be, he departed from Him, even till the time.
Whence it is here said:-
5. "And she brought forth a son, who begins to rule all
nations with a rod of iron." The rod of iron is the sword of persecution.
"I saw that all men withdrew from his abodes."
That is, the good will be removed, flying from persecution.
"And her son was caught up to God, and to His
throne." We read also in the Acts of the Apostles that He was caught up to
God's throne, just as speak ing with the disciples He was caught up to heaven.
6. "But the woman fled into the wilderness, and there were
given to her t wo great eagle's wings." The aid
of t at eagle's wings - to wit, the gift of prophets - was given to that
Catholic Church, whence in the last times a hundred and forty-four thousands of
men should believe on the preaching of Elias; but, moreover, he here says that
the rest of the people should be found alive on the coming of the Lord. And the
Lord says in the Gospel: "Then let them which are in Judea flee to the
mountains;" that is, as many as should be gathered together in Judea, let
them go to that place which they have ready, and let them be supported there
for three years and six months from the presence of the devil.
14. "Two great wings" are the two prophets -
Elias, and the prophet who shall be with him.
15. "And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the
woman water as a flood, that he might carry her away with the flood." He
signifies by the water which the serpent cast out of his mouth, the people who
at his command would persecute her.
16. "And the earth helped the woman, and opened her
mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth."
That the earth opened her month and swallowed up the waters,
sets forth the vengeance for the present troubles. Although, therefore, it may
signify this woman bringing forth, it shows her afterwards flying when her
offspring is brought forth, because both things did not happen at one time; for
we know that Christ was born, but that the time should arrive that she should
flee from the face of the serpent: (we do not know) that this has happened as
yet. Then he says:-
7-9. "There was a battle in heaven: Michael and his
angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon warred, and his angels, and they
prevailed not; nor was their place found any more in heaven. And that great
dragon was cast forth, that old serpent: he was cast forth into the
earth." This is the beginning of Antichrist yet previously Elias must
prophesy, and there must be times of peace. And afterwards, when the three
years and six months are completed in the preaching of Elias, he also must be
cast down from heaven, where up till that time he had had the power of
ascending; and all the apostate angels, as well as Antichrist, must be roused
up from hell. Paul the apostle says: "Except there come a falling away
first, and the man of sin shall appear, the son of perdition; and the adversary
who exalted himself above all which is called God, or which is
worshipped."
FROM THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER
1. "And I saw a beast rising up from the sea, like unto
a leopard." This signifies the kingdom of that time of Antichrist, and the
people mingled with the variety of nations.
2. "His feet were as the feet of a bear." A strong
and most unclean beast, the feet are to be understood as his leaders.
"And his mouth as the mouth of a
lion." That is, his mouth armed for blood is his bidding, and a
tongue which will proceed to nothing else than to the shedding of blood.
18. "His number is the name of a man, and his number is
six hundred threescore and six." As they have it reckoned from t ek
characters, they thus find it among many to be teitan, for teitan has this
number, which the Gentiles call Sol and Phoebus; and it is reckoned in Greek
thus: t three hundred, e five, i ten, t three hundred, a one, t fifty - which
taken together become six hundred and sixty-six. For as far as belongs to t ek
letters, they fill up this number and name.
If you wish to turn this name into Latin, it is understood
by the antiphrase DICLUX, which letters are reckoned in this manner: since D
figures five hundred, I one, C a hundred, L fifty, V five, X ten - which by the
reckoning up of the letters makes similarly six hundred and sixty-six, that is,
what in Greek gives teitan, to wit, what in Latin is called DICLUX; by which
name, expressed by anti-phrases, we understand Antichrist, who, although he be
cut off from the supernal light, and deprived thereof, yet transforms himself
into an angel of light, daring to call himself light.
Moreover, we find in a certain Greek codex antemos, which
letters being reckoned up, you will find to give the number as above: a one, n
fifty, t three hundred, e five, m forty, o seventy, s two hundred - which
together makes six hundred and sixty-six, according to t eks.
Moreover, there is another name in Gothic of him, which will
be evident of itself, that is, genshrikos, which in the same way you will
reckon in Greek letters: g three, e five, n fifty, s two hundred, h eight, r a
hundred, i ten, k twenty, o seventy, s also two hundred, which, as has been
said above, make six hundred and sixty-six.
11. "And I saw another beast coming up out of the
earth." He is speaking of t at and false prophet who is to do signs, and
portents, and falsehoods before him in the presence of men.
"And he had two horns like a lamb - that is, the
appearance within of a man - and he spoke like a dragon." But the devil
speaks full of malice; for he shall do these things in the presence of men, so
that even the dead appear to rise again.
13. "And he shall make fire come down from heaven in
the sight of men." Yes (as I also have said), in the sight of men.
Magicians do these things, by the aid of the apostate angels, even to this day.
He shall cause also that a golden image of Antichrist shall be placed in the
temple at
FROM THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER
6. "And I saw an angel flying through the midst of
heaven." The angel flying through the midst of heaven, whom
he says that he saw, we have already treated of above, as being the same Elias
who anticipates the
8. "And another angel following him." The other
angel following, he speaks of as the same prophet who is the associate of his
prophesying. But that he says:-
15. "Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather in the
grapes of the vine," he signifies it of the nations that should perish on
the advent of the Lord. And indeed in many forms he shows th
is same thing, as if to the dry harvest, and the seed for the coming of the
Lord, and the consummation of the world, and the kingdom o f Christ, and the
future appearance of the kingdom of the blessed.
19, 20. "And the angel thrust
in the sickle, and reaped the vine of the earth, and cast it into the wine-press
of the wrath of God. And the wine-press of His fury was trodden down without
the city." In that he says that it was cast into the wine-press of the
wrath of God, and trodden down without the city, the treading of the wine-press
is the retribution on the sinner.
"And blood went out from the wine-press, even unto the
horse-bridles." The vengeance of shed blood as was before predicted,
"In blood thou hast sinned, and blood shall follow thee."
"For a thousand and six hundred
furlongs." That is, through all the four parts of the world: for
there is a quadrate put together by fours, as in four faces and four
appearances, and wheels by fours; for forty times four is one thousand six
hundred. Repeating the same persecution, the Apocalypse says:-
FROM THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER
1. "And I saw another great and wonderful sign, seven
angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is completed the indignation
of God." For the wrath of God always strikes the obstinate people with
seven plagues, that is, perfectly, as it is said in Leviticus; and these shall
be in the last time, when the Church shall have gone out of the midst.
2. "Standing upon the sea of glass, having harps."
That is, that they stood stedfastly in the faith upon their baptism, and having
their confession in their mouth, that they shall exult in the kingdom before
God. But let us return to what is set before us.
FROM THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER
1-6. "There came one of the seven angels, which have
the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come, I will show thee the judgment
of that great whore who sitteth upon many waters. And I saw the woman drunk
with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs." The
decrees of that senate are always accomplished against all, contrary to the
preaching of the true faith; and now already mercy being cast aside, itself
here gave the decree among all nations.
3. "And I saw the woman herself sitting upon the
scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy." But to sit upon the
scarlet beast, the author of murders, is the image of
the devil. Where also is treated of his captivity, concerning which we have
fully considered. I remember, indeed, that this is called
9. "The seven heads are the seven hills, on which the
woman sitteth." That is, the city of
10. "And there are seven kings: five have fallen, and
one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he is come, he will be for a short
time." The time must be understood in which the written Apocalypse was
published, since then reigned Caesar Domitian; but
before him had been Titus his brother, and Vespasian, Otho, Vitellius, and
Galba. These are the five who have fallen. One remains, under whom the
Apocalypse was written - Domitian, to wit. "The other has not yet
come," speaks of Nerva; "and when he is come, he will be for a short
time," for he did not complete the period of two years.
11. "And the beast which thou sawest is of the seven."
Since before those kings Nero reigned.
"And he is the eighth." He says only when this
beast shall come, reckon it the ei ghth place, since in that is the completion.
He added: "And shall go into perdition." For that ten kings received
royal power when h e shall move from the east, he says. He shall be sent from
the city of
16. "These shall hate the whore, to wit, the city, and
shall burn her flesh with fire." Now that one of the heads was, as it
were, slain to death, and that the stroke of his death was directed, he speaks
of Nero. For it is plain that when the cavalry sent by the senate was pursuing
him, he himself cut his throat. Him therefore, when raised up, God will send as
a worthy king, but worthy in such a way as the Jews merited. And since he is to
have another name, He shall also appoint another name, that so the Jews may
receive him as if he were the Christ. Says Daniel: "He shall not know the
lust of women, although before he was most impure, and he shall know no God of
his fathers: for he will not be able to seduce the people of the circumcision,
unless he is a judge of the law." Finally, also, he will recall the
saints, not to the worship of idols, but to undertake circumcision, and, if he
is able, to seduce any; for he shall so conduct himself as to be called Christ
by them. But that he rises again from hell, we have said above in the word of
Isaiah: "Water shall nourish him, and hell hath increased him;" who, however, must come with name unchanged, and doings unchanged,
as says the Spirit.
FROM THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER
11. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse;
and he that sate upon him was called Faithful and True." The horse, and He
that sits upon him, sets forth our Lord coming to His kingdom with the heavenly
army. Because from the sea of the north, which is the Arabian Sea, even to the
sea of Phoenice, and even to the ends of the earth, they will command these
greater parts in the coming of the Lord Jesus, and all the souls of the nations
will be assembled to judgment.
FROM THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER
1-3. "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having
the key of the abyss, and a chain in his hand. And he held the dragon, that old
serpent, which is called the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand
years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him,
that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be
finished: after this he must be loosed a little season." Those years
wherein Satan is bound are in the first advent of Christ, even to the end of
the age; and they are called a thousand, according to that mode of speaking,
wherein a part is signified by the whole, just as is that passage, "the
word which He commanded for a thousand generations," although they are not
a thousand.
Moreover that he says, "and he cast him into the
abyss," he says this, because the devil, excluded from the hearts of
believers, began to take possession of the wicked, in whose hearts, blinded day
by day, he is shut up as if in a profound abyss. And he shut him up, says he,
and put a seal upon him, that he should not deceive the nations until the
thousand years should be finished.
"He shut the door upon him," it is said, that is,
he forbade and restrained his seducing those who belong to Christ. Moreover, he
put a seal upon him, because it is hidden who belong to the side of the devil,
and who to that of Christ. For we know not of those who seem to stand whether
they shall not fall, and of those who are down it is uncertain whether they may
rise.
M oreover, that he says that he is bound and shut up, that
he may not seduce the nations, the nations signify the Church, seeing that of
them it itself is formed, and which being seduced, he previously held until, he
says, the thousand years should be completed, that is, what is left of the
sixth day, to wit, of the sixth age, which subsists for a thousand years; after
this he must be loosed for a little season. The little season signifies three
years and six months, in which with all his power the devil will avenge himself
trader Antichrist against the Church. Finally, he says, after that the devil
shall be loosed, and will seduce the nations in the whole world, and will
entice war against the Church, the number of whose foes shall be as the sand of
the sea.
4, 5. "And I saw thrones, and
them that sate upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls
of them that were slain on account of the testimony of Jesus, and for the word
of God, and which had not worshipped the beast nor his image, nor have received
his writing on their forehead or in their hand; and they reigned with Christ
for a thousand years: the rest of them lived not again until the thousand years
were finished. This is the first resurrection." There are two
resurrections. But the first resurrection is now of the souls that are by the faith, which does not permit men to pass
over to the second death. Of this resurrection the apostle says: "If ye
have risen with Christ, seek those things which are above."
6. "Blessed and holy is he who has part in this
resurrection: on them the second death shall have no power, but they shall be
priests of God and Christ, and they shall reign with Him a thousand
years." I do not think the reign of a thousand years is eternal; or if it
is thus to be thought of, they cease to reign when the thousand years are
finished. But I will put forward what my capacity enables me to judge. The
tenfold number signifies the decalogue, and the hundredfold sets forth the
crown of virginity: for he who shall have kept the undertaking of virginity
completely, and shall have faithfully fulfilled the precepts of the decalogue,
and shall have destroyed the untrained nature or impure thoughts within the
retirement of the heart, that they may not rule over him, this is the true
priest of Christ, and accomplishing the millenary number thoroughly, is thought
to reign with Christ; and truly in his case the devil is bound. But he who is
entangled in the vices and the dogmas of heretics, in his case the devil is
loosed. But that it says that when the thousand years are finished he is
loosed, so the number of the perfect saints being completed, in whom there is
the glory of virginity in body and mind, by the approaching advent of the
kingdom of the hateful one, many, seduced by that love of earthly things, shall
be overthrown, and together with him shall enter the lake of fire.
8-10. "And they went up upon the
breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the
beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
And the devil who seduced them was cast into the take of fire and brimstone,
where both the beast and the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for
ever and ever." This belongs to the last judgment. And after a little time
the earth was made holy, as being at least that wherein lately had reposed the
bodies of the virgins, when they shall enter upon an eternal kingdom with an
immortal King, as they who are not only virgins in body, but, moreover, with
equal inviolability have protected themselves, both in tongue and thought, from
wickedness; and these, it shows, shall dwell in rejoicing for ever with the
Lamb.
FROM THE TWENTY-FIRST AND TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTERS
16. "And the city is placed in a square." The city
which he says is squared, he says also is resplendent with gold and precious
stones, and has a sacred street, and a river through the midst of it, and the
tree of life on either side, bearing twelve manner of fruits throughout the
twelve months; and that the light of the sun is not there, because the Lamb is
the light of it; and that its gates were of single pearls; and that there were
three gates on each of the four sides, and that they could not be shut. I say,
in respect of the square city, he shows forth the united multitude of the
saints, in whom the faith could by no means waver. As Noah is commanded to make
the ark of squared beams, that it might resist the force of the deluge, by the
precious stones he sets forth the holy men who cannot waver in persecution, who
could not be moved either by the tempest of persecutors, or be dissolved from
the true faith by the force of the rain, because they are associated of pure
gold, of whom the city of t at King is adorned. Moreover, the streets set forth
their hearts purified from all uncleanness, transparent with glowing light, that the Lord may justly walk up and down in them.
The river of life sets forth that the grace of spiritual doctrine flowed
through the minds of the faithful, and that manifold flourishing forms of odours
germinated therein. The tree of life on either bank sets forth the Advent of
Christ, according to the flesh, who satisfied the peoples wasted with famine,
that received life from One by the wood of the Cross,
with the announcement of God's word. And in that he says that the sun is not
necessary in the city, he shows, evidently, that the Creator as the immaculate
light shines in the midst of it, whose brightness no mind has been able to
conceive, nor tongue to tell.
In that he says there are three gates placed on each of the
four sides, of single pearls, I think that these are the four virtues, to wit,
prudence, fortitude, justice, temperance, which are
associated with one another. And, being involved together, they make the number
twelve. But the twelve gates we believe to be the number of the apostles, who,
shining in the four virtues as precious stones, manifesting the light of their
doctrine among the saints, cause it to enter the celestial city, that by with
them the choir of angels may be gladdened. And that the gates cannot be shut,
it is evidently shown that the doctrine of the apostles can be separated from
rectitude by no tempest of contradiction. Even though the floods of the nations
and the vain superstitions of heretics should revolt against their true faith,
they are overcome, and shall be dissolved as the foam, because Christ is the
Rock by which, and on which, the Church is founded. And thus it is overcome by
no traces of maddened men. Therefore they are not to be heard who assure themselves
that there is to be an earthly reign of a thousand years; who think, that is to
say, with the heretic Cerinthus. For the
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