Commentary on the Apocalypse Part II
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 bearing 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 the great river Euphrates. By the corners of the earth, or the
four winds across the river Euphrates, are meant four nations, because to every
nation is sent an angel; as said the law, He determined them by the number of
the angels of God, until the number of the saints should be filled up. They do
not overpass their bounds, because at the last they shall come with Antichrist.
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 narrated.
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, or
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. The great 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, 1 Corinthians 12:28 and the rest. And in
another place he says: Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the others
judge. 1 Corinthians 14:29 And he says: Every woman that prays or prophesies
with her head uncovered, dishonours her head. 1 Corinthians 11:5 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, You 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 island of Patmos, condemned to the labour of
the mines by Cæsar Domitian. There, therefore, he saw the Apocalypse; and when
grown old, he thought that he should at length receive his quittance by
suffering, Domitian being killed, all his judgments were discharged. And John
being dismissed from the mines, thus subsequently delivered the same Apocalypse
which he had received from God. This, therefore, is what He says: You must
again prophesy to all nations, because you see the crowds of Antichrist rise
up; and against them other crowds shall stand, and they shall fall by the sword
on the one side and on the other.
From
the Eleventh Chapter
1.
And there was shown unto me a reed like a rod: and the angel stood, saying,
Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship
therein. A reed was shown like to a rod. This itself is the Apocalypse which he
subsequently exhibited to the churches; for the Gospel of the complete faith he
subsequently wrote for the sake of our salvation. For when Valentinus, and
Cerinthus, and Ebion, and others of the school of Satan, were scattered abroad
throughout the world, there assembled together to him from the neighbouring
provinces all the bishops, and compelled him himself also to draw up his
testimony. Moreover, we say that the measure of God's temple is the command of
God to confess the Father Almighty, and that His Son Christ was begotten by the
Father before the beginning of the world, and was made man in very soul and
flesh, both of them having overcome misery and death; and that, when received
with His body into heaven by the Father, He shed forth the Holy Spirit, the
gift and pledge of immortality, that He was announced by the prophets, He was
described by the law, He was God's hand, and the Word of the Father from God,
Lord over all, and founder of the world: this is the reed and the measure of
faith; and no one worships the holy altar save he who confesses this faith.
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 kingdom of Antichrist as much again.
5.
If any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth, and devours their
enemies. That fire proceeds 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 you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb
I sanctified you, and I ordained you 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 promised to set forth, that he should be a prophet to
the nations.
4.
These are the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth. 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; Zechariah 4:14 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 ascends from the abyss. After many plagues completed in the
world, in the end he says that a beast ascended from the abyss. But 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 Mount Lebanon.
Assur, deeply rooted, was a lofty and branching cypress— that is, a numerous
people— in Mount Lebanon, in the kingdom of kingdoms, that is, of the Romans.
Moreover, that he says he was beautiful in offshoots, he says he was strong in
armies. The water, he says, shall nourish him, that is, the many thousands of
men which were subjected to him; and the abyss increased him, that is, belched
him forth. For even Isaiah speaks almost in the same words; moreover, that he
was in the kingdom of the Romans, and that he was among the Cæsars. The Apostle
Paul also bears witness, for he says to the Thessalonians: Let him who now
restrains restrain, until he be taken out of the way; and then shall appear
that Wicked One, even he whose coming is after the working of Satan, with signs
and lying wonders. And that they might know that he should come who then was
the prince, he added: He already endeavours after the secret of mischief 2
Thessalonians 2:10 — that is, the mischief which he is about to do he strives
to do secretly; but he is not raised up by his own power, nor by that of his
father, but by command of God, of which thing Paul says in the same passage:
For this cause, because they have not received the love of God, He will send
upon them a spirit of error, that they all may be persuaded of a lie, who have
not been persuaded of the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:11 And Isaiah says: While
they waited for the light, darkness arose upon them. Isaiah 59:9 Therefore the
Apocalypse sets forth that these prophets are killed by the same, and on the
fourth day rise again, that none might be found equal to God.
8.
And their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which
spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt. But He calls Jerusalem Sodom and Egypt,
since it had become the heaping up of the persecuting people. Therefore it
behooves us diligently, and with the utmost care, to follow the prophetic
announcement, and to understand what the Spirit from the Father both announces
and anticipates, and how, when He has gone forward to the last times, He again
repeats the former ones. And now, what He will do once for all, He sometimes
sets forth as if it were done; and unless you understand this, as sometimes
done, and sometimes as about to be done, you will fall into a great confusion.
Therefore the interpretation of the following sayings has shown therein, that
not the order of the reading, but the order of the discourse, must be
understood.
19.
And the temple of God was opened which is in heaven. The temple opened is a
manifestation of our Lord. For the temple of God is the Son, as He Himself
says: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. And when the
Jews said, Forty and six years was this temple in building, the evangelist
says, He spoke of the temple of His body.
And
there was seen in His temple the ark of the Lord's testament. The preaching of
the Gospel and the forgiveness of 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 speaking with the
disciples He was caught up to heaven.
6.
But the woman fled into the wilderness, and there were given to her two great
eagle's wings. The aid of the great 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 in 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; Luke 21:21 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. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
From
the Thirteenth chapter.
1.
And I saw a beast rising up from the sea, like 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.
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18.
His number is the name of a man, and his number is Six hundred threescore and
six. As they have it reckoned from the Greek characters, they thus find it
among many to be τειταν, for τειταν has this number, which the Gentiles call
Sol and Phœbus; and it is reckoned in Greek thus: τ three hundred, ε five, ι
ten, τ three hundred, α one, ν fifty—which taken together become six hundred
and sixty-six. For as far as belongs to the Greek letters, they fill up this
number and name; which name if you wish to turn 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 τειταν, to wit, what in Latin is called DICLUX; by which
name, expressed by antiphrases, 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 αντεμος, which letters being reckoned up, you will find to
give the number as above: α one, ν fifty, τ three hundred, ε five, μ forty, ο
seventy, ς two hundred—which together makes six hundred and sixty-six,
according to the Greeks. Moreover, there is another name in Gothic of him,
which will be evident of itself, that is, γενσήρικος, which in the same way you
will reckon in Greek letters: γ three, ε five, ν fifty, σ two hundred, η eight,
ρ a hundred, ι ten, κ twenty, ο seventy, ς 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 the great
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 Jerusalem, and that the apostate
angel should enter, and thence utter voices and oracles. Moreover, he himself
shall contrive that his servants and children should receive as a mark on their
foreheads, or on their right hands, the number of his name, lest any one should
buy or sell them. Daniel had previously predicted his contempt and provocation
of God. And he shall place, says he, his temple within Samaria, upon the
illustrious and holy mountain that is at Jerusalem, an image such as Nebuchadnezzar
had made. Daniel 11:45 Thence here he places, and by and by here he renews,
that of which the Lord, admonishing His churches concerning the last times and
their dangers, says: But when you shall see the contempt which is spoken of by
Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, let him who reads understand.
Matthew 24:15; Daniel 9:27 It is called a contempt when God is provoked,
because idols are worshipped instead of God, or when the dogma of heretics is
introduced in the churches. But it is a turning away because steadfast men,
seduced by false signs and portents, are turned away from their salvation.
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 kingdom of Antichrist in his
prophecy.
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 your 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 this 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 of
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 you have sinned, and blood
shall follow you.
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
steadfastly 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 spoke with
me, saying, Come, I will show you the judgment of that great whore who sits
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 Babylon
also in the Apocalypse, on account of confusion; and in Isaiah also; and
Ezekiel called it Sodom. In fine, if you compare what is said against Sodom,
and what Isaiah says against Babylon, and what the Apocalypse says, you will
find that they are all one.
9.
The seven heads are the seven hills, on which the woman sits. That is, the city
of Rome.
10.
And there are seven kings: five have fallen, and one is, and the other is not
yet come; and when he has come, he will be for a short time. The time must be
understood in which the written Apocalypse was published, since then reigned
Cæsar 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 has come, he will be for a short time, for he did
not complete the period of two years.
11.
And the beast which you saw 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 eighth
place, since in that is the completion. He added:—
And
shall go into perdition. For that ten kings received royal power when he shall
move from the east, he says. He shall be sent from the city of Rome with his
armies. And Daniel sets forth the ten horns and the ten diadems. And that these
are eradicated from the former ones—that is, that three of the principal
leaders are killed by Antichrist: that the other seven give him honour and
wisdom and power, of whom he says:—
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.
Daniel 11:37 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 has 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 sat 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 Phœnice, 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. Moreover, 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 under 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 sat 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 you 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 lake 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 the great 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 intercourse
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 kingdom of Christ is now
eternal in the saints, although the glory of the saints shall be manifested
after the resurrection.
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