Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalypse

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ON CHAPTER 17

v. 1. Come. The multitude of the lost which left the Creator, and prostituted itself to commit adultery with demons, is spoken of as sitting upon the waves, that is, the discord of the peoples. But on the contrary, “of the multitude of the believers there was one heart and one soul,” whom the Apostle “espoused to one husband, to present them a pure virgin to Christm.”

2. kings. The whole is superior to its parts. For the king and inhabitants of the earth are all those who seek proudly for earthly things, whom through the lust of vices, the allurement of the world defiles, and madness of the mind makes drunk.

3. wilderness. By the wilderness, he represents the absence of Deity, Whose presence is paradise.

scarlet beast. The devil, through ungodliness, blood-stained, blasphemous, inflated with the arrogance of presumption, extols the corruption of the wicked.

seven. That is, which has both the kings and kingdoms of the world, whose glory he also shewed to the Lord upon the mountain. For as we said before, universality is often indicated both by the number seven, and the number ten.

4. purple. In purple is shewn the false appearance of simulated rule, in scarlet the blood-stained dress of ungodliness.

gilded. That is, with all the allurements of simulated truth. Lastly, he explains what is within this beauteousness, as follows.

cup. The golden cup full of abominations is hypocrisy, because hypocrites “outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within are full of all uncleanness.”

5. forehead. This corrupter at once on her very countenance is shewn to be the nurse of vices. But because she is only discerned by wisdom and prudence, especially under precious ornament, it is indicated that this is a mystical name.

6. saints. There is one body adverse within and without, and although it may seem separate in place, yet it acts in common by unity of spirit. So the ancestors of the wicked are in sense accused of stoning Zacharias, though they did it not themselves.

8. was, and is not. That is to say, the devil aforetime ruled in the world, and when the Lord was crucified, he was cast out. But at the end of the world he is loosed from the stronghold of his prison, and by the breath of the Lord’s mouth will perish for ever. Tichonius refers the beast to the whole body of the devil, which is made up by the course of generations, as they pass away and succeed each other; for this reason above others, that he shews the woman sitting upon the beast, whom he had promised to shew sitting upon the waters, that is, the peoples.

9. heads. The heads of the beast, he says, are the kings of the world, who through the swelling of pride are said to be like exceeding high mountains, on whom there rests a wanton ungodliness, so that they both oppress by violence, and deceive by fraud.

10. five. Seeing that he had described in the number seven the fulness of worldly dominion, the last part of which, that is, the kingdom of Antichrist, had not yet come; he now accordingly testifies that five kings had passed away, that the sixth was present, that the seventh was to come.

short space. Because the Lord beholds us both proud and weak, he says, that the days which he has introduced as singularly evil, are mercifully shortened; in truth, that he may both alarm their pride by the adversity of the time, and refresh their weakness by the shortness of it.

11. eighth. Antichrist, who is to reign at the end of the age, because of the unity of the body of the ungodly of which he is the head, pertains to the number of the kingdoms of the world. But because of his singular power of wickedness, he is also retained in the order of his own proper place.

12. horns. The kingdoms of the world have not yet fully displayed their power in persecuting the Church. For although these even now have rule over the greatest part, yet there will be the stronger power of insane boasting when they have also deceived such by signs. Some understand it, that when the last persecution draws near, there will be ten kings who are to divide the world between, them; according to the prophecy of Daniel also, who said of the fourth beast, “And he had ten horns; and behold another little horn came up from the midst of them, and three of the first horns were plucked up before his face;” and that Antichrist who should arise from Babylon, should subdue the king of Egypt, and of Africa, and that after they were slain, seven other kings should also submit their necks to the conqueror. But others say that Antichrist is placed in the number eleven, to signify prevarication. For eleven indicates a departure from the perfection of the number ten.

as kings. He says, “as kings,” because they only reign as in a dream, who oppose the kingdom of Christ.

13. mind. That is, with like consent they make war for the devil with all their will. For this is to receive a kingdom after the beast, by imitating the devil to be adversaries of Christ.

14. overcome. That the weakness of man might not fear the cruelty of the old enemy, he describes the beast which has seven heads, and is armed with the horns of a secular kingdom, as vanquished by Christ triumphant: and then, to denote that He is triumphant in His own, he has added the following.

chosen. He has well premised chosen, for “many are called, but few chosen.”

16. hate. They will begin to hate with extreme abhorrence the glory of the world, which they now embrace with wanton love, when at the end they see, now that the Lamb is conqueror, that they themselves are to be condemned. It may also be otherwise understood, either that there are always contentions among the proud; or, that every one “who loves iniquity hates his own soul.”

desolate. For they make the world waste through the wrath of God, while they are given up to it, and use it unrighteously.

flesh. When she is deprived of her accustomed delights, they will burn her in the fires of hell.

17. hearts. God, the Judge, he says, just and mighty, and to Whom justice is always pleasing, for the punishment of their former sins suffered the ungodly to do such things, for whose sake He might with reason bring to an end the whole world; as the Gospels testify to have been done in the instance of Sodom, and of the flood.

give. That is, that they should obey the devil until the Scriptures should be fulfilled, in which God said, that in the time of the fourth kingdom He would bring the earth to its consummation; as we read in Daniel, “There shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be more powerful than all these kingdoms, and shall devour, and overthrow, and destroy the whole earthy.”

18. city. So also below, when he was bidden to behold the Lamb’s wife, he saw the holy city coming down from heaven; and when he described it, he said, “And the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it.” For there are two cities in the world, the one proceeding from the abyss, the other from heaven. And therefore he now compares the same ungodliness, which he had described under the appearance of a harlot naked and burned up, with the ruins of a deserted city.

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ON CHAPTER 18

v. 1. another angel. This angel, who is mighty and lightens the earth, may be understood to be as well the Lord Himself incarnate, as the doctors of the Church, who are endued with heavenly light, and announce the end of the world, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

2. fallen. O Jerusalem, he says, fear thou not the power of the earthly city, which falls spiritually by the very thing in which it prevails over thee, through the hostility of unholy citizens. Isaiah also describes Babylon as “an habitation of unclean monsters.” For it is no other than the city of the devil which receives every unclean spirit, in which all the uncleanness throughout the world abides.

3. rich. He calls those rich in sins, who by an infelicitous traffic exchange their souls for temporal abundance. For excess of luxuries makes poor instead of rich.

4. Come out. So also Isaiah says, “Come out of the midst of them, and touch no unclean thing. Be ye clean who bear the vessels of the Lord.” When the fall of Babylon is foretold, he brings in the departure, which is the fall of Babylon. For when Lot has departed from Sodom, it will be utterly destroyed.

6. render. It is from the Church that plagues, both visible and invisible, go forth into the world.

double. In order that she who enjoyed temporal delights may be racked with eternal torments.

7. queen. Because, amid the delights of present luxuries she was unwilling to guard against future vengeance, therefore in a short time will she be punished with destruction, both of the spirit and of the flesh. But, on the contrary, the citizens of the heavenly country, who “set before them Jerusalem as the beginning of their joy, will not sing the Lord’s song in a strange land;” that is, they will not entertain at the present time the joy which belongs to the age to come.

9. bewail. This wailing of the kings, and merchants, and sailors of Babylon, may be understood in two ways. It may either be, when, at the day of judgment, all the glory of the world is perishing, and there remains to the ungodly only the presence of their past life, and they say, “What has pride profited us? or what has the vaunting of riches brought us? All these things are passed away as a shadow;” or, when, in the present time, as the abundance of things ceases, and the breaking in pieces of divers nations is at hand, the occasion of carnal delights, ever present for the fulfilment of the desires of the wicked, shall have been taken away.

smoke. This is the indication of perdition, because fire is preceded by smoke. For what else is the confusion and breaking in pieces of the world, than the smoke of a present hell.

10. afar. They stand afar off, not in body, but in mind, while each one fears for himself that which he sees another suffer, through calumny and power.

Babylon. The Spirit mentions the name of the city. But they lament for the world, for that it is overtaken with punishment in so short a time, and all its industry is ruined and made to cease.

11. merchants. They lament that all the pomps of the world, and whatsoever is either pleasant to the bodily senses, or suited to external uses, fails. For the different kinds of metals appertain to the sight, the odours to the smell, the unguents to the touch, the wine, wheat, and oil, to the taste. Moreover, under the name of “beasts and of slaves,” they complain that all other aids to humanity perish; and that in a twofold manner, as I said, either because they fail, on the death of the world, or, because the miserable survivors of those who have left the joys of the world through death, mourn, as it were, over the ruins of their city; and who therefore through fear of a similar punishment, are said “to stand afar off.”

15. made rich. Wherever the Spirit saith, “made rich by her,” He signifies the riches of transgressions. Below, where the voice of the unrighteous is of those who say, “Alas, alas, that great city, wherein all those who have ships in the sea were made rich,” material riches are understood. For they think that they were made rich by the craftiness of their own faction.

16. linen. Is the city clothed with fine linen, or with purple, and not with men? Well, it is they who lament for themselves, while they are spoiled of the things which are mentioned above.

17. sailors. Will all they who sail on the sea be able to be present to see the burning of the city? Rather he means, that all the husbandmen and artificers of the age fear for themselves, when they see the ruin of their hope.

18. like this. That is, that the world cannot be restored anew.

19. dust That is. As defaming the face of their leaders, through whom they were reduced and perished; or, as accusing the madness of their own heart, which is the chief part of man, with a too late repentance.

desolate. Observe that every single person of those who lament, weeps not only for the loss of riches, but for the sudden and unforeseen ruin of the deceitful world.

20. rejoice. So also the Lord in the Gospel, when predicting the ruin of the world, added, “When ye shall see these things come to pass, look up and lift up your heads;” that is, make your hearts glad.

avenged. This is the judgment which the souls of the saints sought with the great cry, “How long, O Lord God, holy and true, dost Thou not avenge our blood?”

21. sea. He said, “With this violence shall Babylon be cast;” or, as another version has it, “Thus with violence shall Babylon, the great city, be thrown down.” The city of the age, because of the weight and transgression of sins, is compared with an unstable mass. For “the ungodly walk round about.” And justly is it swallowed up by the waves of vengeance, because it overwhelmed the city of Jerusalem with the waves of unbelief, when, as they sat by the streams of Babylon, they bewailed their absence from the heavenly Sion. So the Lord says, “that they who cause offence,” shall be visited with a similar punishment. And the Church, indeed, is represented as like a stone, but one that is stable and firm, which despises the assaults of the tempests. The mass may also be understood of the breaking to pieces by punishments. For so the blessed Ignatius, when about to suffer, is reported to have said, “I am the corn of God, I shall be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may be made a pure loaf.”

22. voice. Of the five senses he had deferred sound, which he now says is taken away from the world among other things. As if he said, that which is beautiful to see, melodious to hear, smooth to touch, sweet to smell, delicious to taste, is to pass away from the world.

craftsman. All things, he says, which appertain to the use or pleasure of human life, are taken from the ungodly; and he has added the reason in that which follows.

23. great men. That is, because “in life thou receivedst thy good things.”

24. prophets. Did the same city kill the Apostles, which also killed the prophets, or all the saints? Rather is this the city which Cain founded in the blood of his brother, and called by the name of his son Enoch, that is, of all his posterity, as seven generations of Cain are described. For the building or that city, then, is shed “all the righteous blood, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias,” that is, of people and priest.

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ON CHAPTER 19

v. 1. trumpets (multitudes). These things the Church now says in part, but will say perfectly when the separation has taken place, and when it has been more openly avenged.

2. corrupted. He relates two actions of the harlot, namely, that she corrupted herself with the bad, and persecuted the good; and in these two, I suppose, he comprehends all the crimes of the wicked.

3. Alleluia. The Church extols the Lord for His judgments with unceasing love. For Alleluia signifies, “Praise ye the Lord.” Lastly, the Psalms which have for the beginning, “Praise ye the Lord,” begin in the Hebrew with Alleluia.

rises up. “Rises up,” he says, not “will rise up.” But Babylon always goes into perdition, and is in part already burning, while Jerusalem passes into paradise, as the Lord manifests in the poor man and the rich.

4. worshipped. The Church worships God, not with the service of the lips alone, but with the sweetness of the highest devotion.

Amen; Alleluia. Although these words can be interpreted, for they are translated, as I said, “to the faith,” or “truth,” and “praise of the Lord,” yet in reverence for their sacredness the authority of the original language is preserved to them. For the Church also continually sings Alleluia on the Lord’s day, and the whole period of the fifty days, because of the hope of the resurrection, which is to be in praise of the Lord.

5. Praise ye. Seeing he commands this to be done, and mentions that it was done, he indicates, that the praise of the elect servants was approved. “Small,” he says, “and great,” for slightness of understanding does not harm, where heart and tongue are filled with the praise of the Lord.

6. trumpet. (multitude.) Great is the voice of those who sing, great the devotion of heart. For with a manifold repetition of praise it celebrates at once the fall of the ungodly, and the eternal glory of the Lord and His own.

7 marriage. It is the marriage of the Lamb, when the Church is to be united unto the Lord in the marriage-chamber of the heavenly kingdom.

ready. By always insisting on works of righteousness, she has shewn herself worthy of the spiritual feast and the everlasting kingdom. It may also be taken in accordance with the parable of the Gospel, which relates, that on the bridegroom’s coming, “the virgins arise and trim their lamps,” that is, reckon with themselves their works, for which they expect to receive eternal blessedness.

8. arrayed. It was given to her to be arrayed in her own deeds. But on the contrary, they who according to Isaiah “weave a spider’s web,” will not be clothed with their own works. For their works are unprofitable works.

9. supper. He relates that they are called not to dinner, but to supper, because assuredly the banquet at the end of the day is a supper. Accordingly, they who come to the refection of heavenly contemplation, when the time of the present life is ended, are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb.

true. That is, the things will assuredly come to pass which I have announced as future.

10. fellowservant. He had said above, “I am the first and the last.” He shews, therefore, that the angel was sent as a figure of the Lord and the Church. In the same manner he also says at the end, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to you in the churches.”

testimony. After that the Lord Jesus Christ raised the person of man, which He assumed, above the heavens, the angel feared to be worshipped by man, namely, as worshipping the God-man above himself. Yet we read of this having been done before the Incarnation of the Lord by men, and not in any wise forbidden by the angels.

prophecy. For whatever the Spirit of prophecy said, is the testimony of Jesus, Who receives testimony from the law and the prophets. Do not thou, then, worship me, he says, as God, seeing that I have come to bear testimony to His powers. Thus far concerning the fall of Babylon, henceforth concerning the future glory of Jerusalem.

11. White. The Lord, “Who is the way, the truth, and the life.,” and to Whom it is said by the prophet, “Because thou hast wrought wonderful things, the faithful counsels of old, Amen,” ascends upon a white, that is, an immaculate body, to vanquish the powers of the air.

judge. He judges, as the King of ages. He makes war, because in His members He Himself of His compassion always contends.

12 eyes. He sometimes calls the precepts, sometimes the Spirit, the eyes of the Lord. He says, “Thy word, O Lord, is a lantern unto my feet,” and of the Spirit, “I have come to send a fire upon the earth.”

diadems, (crowns). In Him, in Whom we shall do mighty things, the multitude of the saints is said to have the ornament of a crown.

name. “No one knows but He Himself,” he says, because all the Church is in Him. For the perfect knowledge of the Word of God is manifested to those who have obtained to be the body of Christ and His members. In the same manner the Lord says, “No one has ascended up to heaven, but He Who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, Who is in heaven.”

13. vesture. The vesture of Christ ought to be understood according to the place. Here, accordingly, it appears to indicate the very act of the Passion, so that in the white horse is designated the immaculate birth, in the vesture stained with blood, the innocent death.

The Word. Because the same Who appeared for a time as a man of suffering, “in the beginning was God with God.” He is called the Word, because nothing in His nature was visible, nor corporeal; or, because the Father made all things by Him, the perfect knowledge of Whose nature, as he says above, is known to Himself alone, and to the Father. For, “the peace of God passeth all understanding;” that is, the peace by which God Himself was reconciled unto Himself, exceeds the wisdom of any creature, whether human or angelic, for “Of his wisdom there is no number.” For when it is said, “And he, to whom the Son will reveal,” that is, the Father and the Son, “knows,” this has respect to the capacity of the creature.

14. armies. That is to say, the Church in white bodies imitated Him. For because of the intensity of its conflict, it rightly receives the name of an army.

linen. This he himself explained above to be “the righteousness of saints;” as it is said by the Psalmist, “Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness.”

15. sword. So also Isaiah says, “And he hath set my mouth as a sharp sword;” and the Apostle, “And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

winepress. It is even so. For now also He treads until He tread without the city.

16. Name. This is the Name, which no one of the proud knows. But it is written on the Church, “not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God,” that is to say, “on the tables of the heart.” For by the thigh is designated the posterity of seed. Therefore Abraham also, in order that his posterity might not be mixed with aliens, made use of his thigh for a third testimony between himself and his servant. And of this also the Apostle, as it were raising up seed to a brother who has died, says, “In Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel.” It may also be understood, that the Church by serving reigns in Christ, and has lordship over lords. The same Name is also inscribed on the vesture, because by the mystery of the Nativity, and the act of the Passion, His majesty and kingdom are revealed to us. In that which follows, he explains what the appearance of the King and of the army signifies, namely, the glory of the last conflict, and of the kingdom which succeeds to it.

17. sun. That is, preaching in the Church, which shines the more brightly, and thunders forth the more freely, the more it is oppressed.

birds. He calls the saints birds, as passing their life in heaven. For “wheresoever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together;” and as bringing them together into one body, he had said, “flying in the midst of heaven;”

Come. Come, he says, ye who hunger and thirst after righteousness, to the banquet of the kingdom to come, when, the fierceness of the proud repressed, ye shall be satisfied with the light of divine justice.

18. sit. I suppose that these are the horsemen whom, at the opening of the seals, he had described as having come against the white horse of the Lord.

19. beast. He explains in what manner the supper of the Lord was prepared, namely, in that the devil fought against the Church, and was vanquished.

20. both. He appears to signify, that the devil and Antichrist are to be visited with so much greater a punishment than the rest of men and demons, as it is more grievous to be burned alive with flames of brimstone, than to die quickly, and be slain with the stroke of a sword; unless, perhaps, he intends that the divine attention was directed to them first. For “he who does not believe is already judged;” whether thou understand Antichrist to be intended by the false prophet, or heretics, for not one of mortal men sins more obstinately than heretics, who after they have known Christ, deny Him.

21. filled. “If the righteous shall even now rejoice when he seeth the vengeance” upon the wicked, how much more then, when in the presence of the Judge Himself, he will be made one spirit with Him. The birds may also be understood to be evil spirits, who will be satiated from their destruction. Tichonius expounds this supper as follows: “In all time the Church devours the flesh of its enemies, while it is devoured by them. But in the resurrection it will be satiated, as avenged for their carnal work.

[Stone]

ON CHAPTER 20

v. 1. abyss. He recapitulates from the beginning, and more fully, in what way he had said above, “The beast which thou sawest was, and is not; and is to ascend from the abyss, and will go into perdition.” The Lord, therefore, endued with His Father’s power, descends and is incarnate, to wage war with the prince of the world, and when he is bound to spoil his goods.

2. devil. “Diabolus,” is interpreted, “flowing downward.” But in Greek he is called “the accuser.” “Satan is “the adversary,” or “prevaricator.” So he is called “the dragon,” on account of his malice in hurting; “the serpent,” on account of cunning in deceiving; “the devil,” on account of the fall of his estate; “Satan,” on account of obstinacy in opposition against the Lord.

bound him. That is, he kept back and restrained his power from seducing men who were to be set free. For if he were permitted to exert the whole of this, either by force, or deceit, he would beguile most of the weak in so long a time. By the “thousand years,” he intended a part, namely, the remainder of the thousand years of the sixth day, in which the Lord was born and suffered.

3. cast. He cast him, that is, into the hearts of the persecuting people. Not that the devil was not there before; when he was sent forth from believers, he began to possess the ungodly, who are not only alienated from God, but who hate more grievously those who serve God. And this the Lord openly shewed, when He sent him forth from men into the swine.

seal. He interdicted him, and as by a royal seal prevented him from seducing the nations; namely those which were appointed unto life, which he seduced before, that they should not be reconciled to God.

loosed. “Then,” as St. Augustine says, “he will be loosed, when also the time will be short. For, as we read, he will rage three years and a-half with all his own powers, and the powers of his own, and they with whom he will make war will be such, that his violence and wiles, great as they are, will not be able to overcome them. But if he was never loosed, his malignant power would the less appear, the most faithful patience of the holy city the less be proved, the less finally would it be discerned, how well the Almighty God made use of his great evil.”

4. judgment. He indicates that which is done in the thousand years in which Satan is bound. For the Church, which in Christ will sit on twelve thrones to judge, now sits and judges, seeing that she has obtained to hear from her King, “whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”

souls. That which he is to say afterwards is understood, “they reigned with Christ a thousand years.” The Church therefore reigns with Christ in the living and in the dead. For “to this end,” as the Apostle says, “Christ died, that He might be Lord both of the living and the dead;” and for this reason he has mentioned the souls of the martyrs alone, that they chiefly reign after death, who even unto death have contended for the truth.

worshipped. We ought to understand this both of the living and of the dead. For they who are still alive in this mortal flesh, as well as they who are departed, even now reign with Christ, through all the interval which is signified by the number of a thousand years, in a certain manner which is congruous with this present time.

5. the rest. Whosoever have not heard the voice of the Son of God, and passed to life from death, during all that time in which the first resurrection takes place, that is, the resurrection of souls, in the second resurrection, which is the resurrection of the flesh, will assuredly pass with the flesh itself into the second death, that is, into eternal torments.

first resurrection. That certainly is the first resurrection in which we rise again through baptism, as the Apostle says, “If ye have risen with Christ, seek the things which are above.” For as the first death in this life is through sins, since “the soul that sinneth, it shall die,” so also the first resurrection is in this life through remission of sins.

6. Blessed. That is, he who has kept the state of being born again.

saints. Another version has “priests of God and of Christ,” and it is not said of bishops only and of presbyters, who properly are called “priests” in the Church. But as we are all called Christs because of the mystical chrism, so are we all called priests, because we are members of the one Priest, of Whom the Apostle Peter says, “a holy people, a royal priesthood.”

reign. The Spirit when He wrote this, declared that the Church would reign a thousand years, that is, unto the end of the world; and a doubt might arise from this. For that it is concerning a perpetual kingdom is manifest.

7. finished. By “finished” he intended a part by the whole. For he will be loosed in such a manner that there will remain the three years and six months of the last conflict. But apart from this figure, the time is rightly said to be ended. For so small a remnant is not to be taken into account, when seven hundred years, and as many as God wills, are called by the Apostle “an hour.

8. seduce. He will then seduce them, to the end that he may gather them together to this battle. For even before he used to seduce them in whatever manner he was able, through many different evils. And “he will go out” means, he will burst forth into open persecution from the hiding-places of his hatred. Moreover, Gog and Magog either denote the whole by a part, or according to the interpretation of the names, which signify “a roof” and “from a roof,” “they indicate secret and open enemies. For they themselves are both “a roof,” because the enemy is now shut up in them, and ruled, and they will also be “from a roof,” when they shall burst forth into open hatred.

9. breadth. They certainly are not represented as having come, or as about to come, to one place, as if the beloved city, that is, the Church, were to be confined within some one place. For much rather wished he to intimate by “the breadth of the earth,” that it would be persecuted in all nations; and by the term “camp,” that not even then would it forsake its warfare.

fire. It must not be supposed that this is the final punishment But it is rather the fire of envy, with which the adversary will be tormented through the firmness of the saints. For “heaven” is the firmament. This is the fire which went forth from the mouth of the witnesses of God, and it will devour their enemies. For in the last day He will not rain fire upon them, but when they have been gathered together before Him and judged, He will send them into eternal fire, concerning which it is here added, as follows.

10. cast. That is, at the last judgment the devil will be cast into eternal fire, where also are all those whom he sent before him, that is, the greatest part of the ungodly city, inasmuch as the beast is to be taken according to the place, sometimes as the devil, sometimes as Antichrist, sometimes as the ungodly city itself. But under the name of “fire coming down from heaven,” may also be designated the sudden destruction of the ungodly, when the Lord at His coming will slay Antichrist with the breath of His mouth. He explains more fully how, when Christ is Judge, the devil with his own is cast into the fire.

11. throne. He said that he “saw Him sitting on the throne, from Whose sight the heaven and the earth fled away.” For after the judgment is ended, the heaven and the earth cease to be, when there begin to be a new heaven and a new earth; that is, by the change of the things that are, and not by any means by their destruction. For “the fashion of this world passeth away.” He said not also the substance, in that we believe that the same is to be changed for the better.

12. stand. “When the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, then will be gathered before Him all nations.”

book of life. Another version has, “which is of the life of each one.” So then by “the opened books,” he means the Testaments of God, for the world will be judged according to both Testaments. By “the book of the life of each one,” he means the memory of our actions, and not that the discerner of hidden things has a memorial book.

written. That is to say, they were judged out of the Testaments, namely, according to that they did from them or did not. The hooks may also be understood to be the deeds of the righteous. For while the reprobate are condemned by comparison with these, in the spreading out of these they read, as it were, the good which they themselves were unwilling to do.

13. sea. This, without doubt, took place before that the dead were judged. Having, therefore, recapitulated that which he had passed over, he pursues the order of things.

14. death and Hades. So he signifies that the bodies are to be gathered from the earth, and the souls from their own places. For by the name of “death” he designates good souls, which have only suffered the dissolution of the flesh, and not punishment too; and by the term Hades, bad. And it may also be taken literally, that all the bodies, even those which the deep has swallowed, or the wild beast has devoured, will rise again. And Tichonius expounds it thus: “The people which he will here find alive are the dead of the sea, ‘And death and Hades gave up their dead.’ These are the people which are buried. But when he had said, that ‘they were judged, every one according to works,’ he briefly subjoined, that “both death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.’ He means the devil and his own, whom Hades followed above, as he sat on the pale horse. So he repeats what he had already said more plainly by anticipation, ‘And the devil who seduced them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.’ But that which he had added above more obscurely concerning the beast and the false prophet, he here more openly sets forth.

15. found written. That is, who was not judged by God to be alive. And so they appear to me to speak more correctly, who interpret the opened books above to be the consciences and works of each one; and the book of life the fore-knowledge of God, which cannot be deceived, concerning those to whom eternal life will be given, in which they are written, that is, foreknown. As the judgment is ended in which he saw the bad to be condemned, it remains that he also speak concerning the good.

[Stone]

ON CHAPTER 21

v. 1. new. This is the order in which that will take place which he has already spoken of by anticipation, that he “saw one sitting on the throne, from whose face the heaven and the earth fled away;” namely, when the ungodly were judged. Then the fashion of this world will pass away by the conflagration of the supernal fires, that when the heaven and the earth are changed for the better, the incorruption and immortality of holy bodies may have a condition of existence corresponding with the twofold change.

sea. As to what he here says, whether it is dried up in that extreme heat, or whether it also is changed for the better, I could not easily say. For we read of “a new heaven and a new earth” as future, but not also of a new sea. But as it is not unusual in prophetical language to intermix metaphysical with proper terms, it may perhaps be, that he has represented the turbulent life of this age, which will then come to an end, under the name of the sea

2. new Jerusalem. This city is said to “come down from heaven,” for that God made it by heavenly grace.

adorned. For there is another Jerusalem which is not adorned for her husband, but for an adulterer.

3. people. God Himself will be to the elect the reward of eternal blessedness, which, as possessed by Him, they will possess for ever.

4. tears. So great and so exalted will the glory of that city appear from the gift of God, as that there remain in it no vestiges of old age, since both a heavenly incorruption will refine their bodies, and the sight of the eternal King will feed their mind.

death. For he had said that death was cast into the lake of fire. For the same sentence may also be understood thus, that when the holy city is glorified at the last judgment, pain, grief, and mortality only remain in hell.

6. write. These things it behoves to be believed, not explained, especially because he says, that “it is done” of the past, so as not to suffer any one to doubt of the future.

Omega. As He testified at the beginning of the book that He was this, so it had need to be repeated the third time, that “neither before Him,” as Isaiah says, “nor after Him,” should there be believed to be another. And because the discourse is of the end of the world, the finisher of the age Himself, Who is called the Creator, may be understood.

athirst. He now sprinkles believers in the way from the fountain, which, in their own country, He grants to those who overcome to be abundantly drawn forth. And both are a free gift. For “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” and “of His fulness have we all received, and grace for grace.”

8. fearful. To introduce a caution, he always mingles with the bland the austere. So also the hundred-and-forty-fourth Psalm, when making known abundantly the grace of the Lord’s mercies, suddenly brings in His severe judgment, saying, “The Lord preserveth all them that love Him, and all sinners will He destroy.” And he joins the fearful with the unbelieving, because he fears to incur the danger of the contest, who doubts of the reward of the conqueror.

liars. He shews that there are many kinds of lying, but that the most dangerous and most detestable is that in which there is sin against religion, concerning which he says above, “They say that they are Jews, and are not, but they lie, for they are the synagogue of Satan.”

9. seven. The same preachers who inflict the sevenfold, that is, the universal plague upon the ungodly, reveal also to the Church the joys that are to come.

bride. He calls the Church the “bride” and “wife,” in that it remains immaculate, and always brings forth spiritual sons to God. Or, this is because she is now betrothed to God, and is then to be brought to an immortal marriage.

10. mountain. After the fall of Babylon, the holy city, which is the bride of the Lamb, is seen placed on a mountain. For the stone “cut out from the mountain without hands,” broke in pieces the image of worldly glory, and became a great mountain, and filled the whole world.

11. glory. For she will then appear more beautiful, when through the Spirit by Whom her husband is believed to have been conceived and born, she has attained to bear fully the heavenly image.

precious. The precious stone is Christ, Who says, “The glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them.”

jasper. It is compared with jasper from the whiteness of virtues; to crystal, from the inner purity of the mind, and faith unfeigned.

12. wall. That is, the impregnable firmness of faith, hope, and love. The Lord also Himself Who protects the Church on every side, may be understood to be the wall, of Whom also Isaiah says, “There shall be placed in her a wall and bulwark;” that is, the protection of the Lord, and the intercession of the saints, who make a way for Him by teaching to the heart of believers.

gates. These gates are the Apostles, who primarily, either by writing, or by work, laid open to all nations an entrance into the Church.

angels. These are doctors, who follow the footsteps of the Apostles in the mystery of the faith and word.

names. He signifies the memory of the ancient fathers implanted in the hearts of preachers. And so also the high-priest, when about to enter the tabernacle, was commanded to bear the memorial of the fathers upon the breastplate of judgment.

13. east. By this so elaborate description of the gates, he wished, I suppose, to indicate the mystery of the number twelve, by which, accordingly, either the sum of the Apostles, or the perfection of the Church, may be represented; for that the faith of the Holy Trinity was to be made known by it to the four-square world.

14. foundations. That which the gates are, the same are the foundations; that which the city is, the same are the walls. But the patriarchs may also be signified by the term “foundations,” in that they contained within themselves the names, that is, the figure of the Apostles. For by them, as foundations, although by the Apostles, as by gates, this city has been opened to the nations which shall believe. And it is to be noted, that “the foundations,” when they are spoken of in the plural, signify the doctors, or virtues, of the Church; but when in the singular, the Lord Himself, Who is the foundation of foundations.

15. measure. Christ, Who is the “wisdom of God,” “reaching from one end to another mightily, and ordering all things sweetly,” measures the holy city. For, “ordering all things in number and measure and weight,” He distributes to each one of the faithful the gifts of spiritual graces. The doctors of the Church may also be understood, in that with frail bodies, but heavenly minds, they carefully examine the deserts of every one.

16. foursquare. The city is therefore said to be set in a square, and to be placed of an equal dimension on every side, in that it is not suffered to be marked by any inequality. For “to be perfect,” as the Apostle says, that is, “to be wise, to have peace,” is truly to subsist in the solidity of a square.

furlongs. That is, He beheld the Church, or gave her to be, perfect in faith and deeds. For the perfection of the four principal virtues, exalted by the faith of the Holy Trinity, composes as by the number ten the dignity of the Church.

equal. This is the solidity of invincible truth, by which the Church is not suffered to be “carried about by every wind of doctrine,” as resting upon the length of faith, the breadth of love, the height of hope. And if it has but one the less of these, there will not be the perfect stability of the Church.

17. an hundred and forty-four. This sum contains the square of the number twelve, for twelve times twelve are an hundred and forty-four, and itself also signifies the perfection of the holy city.

a man. The Church exists, as chosen from among men, and as exalted by the promises of Christ it hopes for an equality with angels. But literally he signifies, that the angel appeared to him in the form of a man.

18. building. This is the same with the exhortation of the Apostle Peter, “and be ye, as spiritual stones, built upon spiritual houses.”

glass. The Church is represented by gold, since it is often described as adorned with golden candle-sticks and bowls, because of the attire of wisdom. But he refers the glass to a belief of the truth. For the same that appears without is also within, and there is nothing simulated, and which is not perspicuous, in the saints of the Church. It may also be referred to the time when the thoughts of all towards each other are perspicuous and declared.

19. precious stones. By the names of the several stones is shewn either the form, or the order, or the variety of the virtues, of which the whole heavenly Jerusalem is built up. For it is a difficult thing for each one singly to flourish in all virtues. Finally, Isaiah, in describing the adornment of the same city when he said, “Behold I will lay thy stones in order, and lay thy foundations in sapphires,” and the rest, immediately subjoined, as if in explanation, “All thy children taught of the Lord.”

jasper. here are many kinds of jaspers. For one appears of a green colour, and marked, as it were, with flowers. Another resembles an emerald, but is of an opaque colour, and it is supposed that all phantasms are put to flight by it. Another is glistering, as of a mixed colour, with snow and the foam of sea waves. By the jasper, therefore, is shewn the unfading verdure of faith, which is imbued with the sacrament of the Lord’s Passion by the water of Baptism, and is prepared by increasing deserts for all the flowers of spiritual graces. And he who has this puts to flight vain fears, as the blessed Peter admonishes, “Your adversary the devil goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, whom resist stedfast in the faith;” and he is able to say with the spouse, “My beloved is white and ruddy.” Therefore with good reason in Isaiah also, the bulwarks of the same city are alike fortified and adorned by this stone and structure of the wall.

sapphire. Moses set forth alike the colour and the sacrament of this stone, when in describing the appearance of God he said, “Under His feet, as it were, a work of a sapphire stone, and as the heaven when it is clear.” Ezekiel also says, that the place in which the throne of God is, “has the likeness of a sapphire,” and that the glory of the Lord consists of this colour, which bears the image of the super-celestial; so that he who is such, is able to say with the Apostle, “But our conversation is in heaven;” and when struck by the rays of the sun, emits a radiant brightness from himself; because the mind of the saints, which is always intent on heavenly things, in that it is daily renewed by the rays of divine light, with more compunction in some sort, and more fervency, diligently seeks for the things eternal, and commends them to others for their seeking. For that it is said to be found in the Red Sea signifies, that by the Passion of the Lord, and the laver of holy Baptism, the minds of mortal men are raised on high, to anticipate the things of heaven.

chalcedony. The chalcedony shines with a pale light, as of the flame of a lamp, and has its brilliancy in the open air, and not in the house. And by it are described those who rest upon a heavenly desire, and yet escape the notice of men, and who practise as in a secret place their fasting, and alms, and prayers; but when they are bidden to go forth for teaching, or other necessities of the saints, shew presently how much brilliancy they have borne within. For that which is said to resist cutting, but to attract bits of chaff if it is struck by the rays of the sun, or is heated by the rubbing of the fingers, deservedly corresponds with those who do not allow their fortitude to be overcome by another; but rather themselves make the weak attain to the privileges of their own light and ardour. And of one of them it is said, “he was a burning and a shining lamp,” burning, that is, in love, shining in discourse. For they always rekindle the light of their virtues with the oil of internal charity, that it may not fail. And that it is produced among the Nasamones, who form a province of Ethiopia, indicates that these under the ardent fervour of love, yet with obscure fame, as with a black skin, are accounted vile.

emerald. The emerald is of so exceedingly deep a green as to surpass all the green herbs, leaves, and gems, and it colours green the air reflected round, and it deservedly increases in greenness although naturally imbued with it. And there are very many kinds of this stone, but the most famous are the Scythian; the Bactrian hold the second place, the Egyptian the third. Accordingly, it represents souls always flourishing in faith, which the more they are tried by the opposition of the world, which is denoted by the cold of Scythia, strive the more to conceive in their mind by hope “the unfading and eternal inheritance which is reserved in heaven,” and extend it to their neighbours by preaching. And these also by the cup of the Lord’s Passion, and the unction of internal charity which is given through the Holy Spirit, advance toward the contempt of the world. With these also the land which is the country of the same stone corresponds in a beautiful manner, a land which is rich but uninhabitable. For although it is plentiful in gold and gems, the whole of it is occupied by griffons, very fierce birds, or rather flying beasts, Since they are fourfooted, and in body indeed are like lions, but in head and wings like eagles. The Arimaspians, who are said to be remarkable for a Single eye in the middle of the forehead, fight with them, that they may obtain these stones, which these creatures seize with wonderful avidity, and the Arimaspians guard. It was to this land, abounding in treasures of virtues, that the Psalmist had gone, when he said, “Behold, I fled away far off, and remained in the wilderness;” that is, by fleeing far off, I withdrew my soul from the allurements of the world. Here he had met with the wild beasts which were opposed to him, when he said, under inspiration, “Let the deceitful lips he made dumb, which speak iniquity against the righteous, in pride and contempt.” Here also he shews that he found desirable riches, in that with gladsome admonition he proceeded to add this, “How great is the abundance of Thy sweetness, O Lord, which Thou hast laid up in secret for them that fear Thee,” and the rest to the end of the Psalm. Against birds of this kind, which desire greedily to snatch away from us the seed of the divine word, all the saints watch with a single intention through heavenly desire, as if to be admired for one eye; that they may be able to search out and dig up the gem of faith and of all other virtues. For indeed the higher any virtue is, the fewer admirers has it, and the heavier persecution does it endure from unclean spirits, who like horrible griffons, are of the earth in the baseness of their deserts, but of the air in the loftiness of their proud mind; and who strive with unwearied labour not to possess spiritual riches for their own use, but to take them away from men. And because such sublimity of faith has become known to the world through the Gospel, in that there are four books of the Gospel, the emerald is fitly put in the fourth place.

20. sardonyx. This derives its whiteness from the onyx, and redness from the sard, and it has received from the two the name sardonyx. But there are very many kinds of it: for one preserves a likeness to red earth; another appears to be of two colours, as the blood shines through the human nail; another consists of three colours, the lowest black, the middle white, the highest vermillion. And with this are compared men reddened through suffering of the body, white through purity of spirit, but lowly in their own eyes through humility of mind, protesting with the Apostle, “Though our outward man perish, yet our inward man is ‘renewed day by day;” and again, “I know nothing against myself, yet am I not hereby justified.” And so also the Psalmist says, “Although man walk in the image” of God, that is, from the power of the mind, “yet he will be disquieted in vain,” that is, from the weakness of the flesh. This suffering also is through the weakness of the body, for they “who kill the body are not able to kill the soul;” and humility descends from the frailness of the same body, when it is said, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” The sardonyx is rightly placed in the fifth foundation, for it is certain that our body depends on five senses.

a sard. The sard, which is entirely of a blood-red colour, signifies the glory of martyrs, of which it is said, “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints,” and is with reason put in the sixth place, seeing that our Lord was incarnate in the sixth period of the age, and was crucified on the sixth day of the week for the salvation of the whole world.

a chrysolite. The chrysolite shines as if it were gold, with burning sparks. And by the appearance of this stone are represented those who shine through their knowledge of the heavenly wisdom, and who impart to their neighbours the words of exhortation, or even the signs of powers, as sparks of fire. And of these, as Arator says,—

“Their minds with love instinct, their ardent zeal

In words breaks forth.”

And because this is accomplished through the gift of spiritual grace alone, the chrysolite is most becomingly in the seventh foundation. For the grace of the Holy Spirit is wont very commonly to be represented by the number seven, as it is said of Him above, “And from the seven spirits which are before the throne.” And it is consonant also with this sense, that a certain kind of the same stone is found of an azure green colour, whence also among the Hebrews, from the resemblance to the colour of the sea, it is called Tharsis. For greenness appertains to the integrity of faith, which is called “the beginning of wisdom,” but water in a figurative sense to the Holy Spirit, the Lord bearing witness, Who says, “He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive.”

beryl. The beryl is as if thou shouldest imagine water to be struck by the rays of the sun, and to give out a ruddy and beautiful colour. But it does not shine unless it is shaped by polishing to an hexangular form. For the reflected brightness of the angles is intensified. But it signifies men who are naturally sagacious in intellect, but who shine the more by the light of heavenly grace. For that water designates the depth of understanding, Solomon is witness, who says, “The words of a man’s mouth are as deep water.” But neither human, nor indeed divine wisdom is of perfect brilliancy, unless the consummation of works is superadded. For perfection of action is often designated by the number six, especially as in this number the work of the world was consummated. And in that it is said to burn the hand of one who holds it, this is beyond doubt apparent, that whosoever is united to a holy man is indeed refreshed by the fire of his good conversation.

topaz. As the opportunity is rare for the discovery of this stone, so also is the quantity of the commodity scanty. It is said to have two colours, one of the purest gold, the other shining with ethereal brightness. There is a rosy plumpness, and modest purity. It is close to the chrysoprase in size, or colour, as it is in an especial manner a lamp, when it is struck by the rays of the sun, and surpasses the most precious brilliancy of all gems, and attracts in a singular way the most eager desire of the eyes. And if thou wilt polish it, thou makest it dark; if thou wilt leave it in its own proper nature, it is radiant. This stone is said to be an object of admiration to kings themselves, so that they recognise no possession like it among their riches; and the most beautiful quality of its nature is with the best reason compared with the grace of the contemplative life. For holy kings, “whose heart is in the hand of God,” deservedly prefer this to all the riches of good works, and the gems of virtues; and they direct towards it most of all the glance of their pure thought, and their sight; and they embrace in their mind the more ardently the sweetness of the spiritual life, as they more frequently receive in themselves the reflected splendour of supernal grace. Holy men, therefore, have a golden colour from the flame of internal charity; and they have also an ethereal one from the contemplation of supernal sweetness; and this often deteriorates from the whirl of the present age, as from the rubbing of a file. For in one and the same moment the mind cannot easily be tormented by earthly labours, sorrows, cares, and pains, and behold with delight, in the condition of a tranquil mind, the joys of the heavenly life. Yea, rather it proclaims this by its groans; “Mine eye,” it says, “is confused, because of anger; I have grown old among all mine enemies.” But that it is said to be found in an island, of Thebes, which is named Topazion from whence it has also received its name, is to be understood in two ways; namely, that those regions, that is, of the Egyptians, abound most of all in companies of monks, and that whosoever dwells near the Sun of righteousness is indeed coloured by the brightness of ethereal light. And the gem of contemplative sweetness is beautifully put the ninth in order, as the perfection of active life is the eighth; or, because nine orders of angels, whose life it imitates, are found in holy Scripture; or, because it is removed from the denarius of perfect blessedness by the one step of death. It was for this that the prophet panted with the greatest desire, when he said, “Therefore I have loved Thy commandments above gold and the topaz,” that is, I was delighted with the most sweet love of Thy commandments, above all the glory of approved action, and above all the sublimity of contemplative joy, which can come to pass in this age; and “the first and greatest of these is, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, all thy soul, all thy strength.’ ” But it is most certain that this can only be brought to perfection in the height of the heavenly kingdom.

chrysoprase. The chrysoprase has a mixture of green and gold, deriving from it a certain purple gleam, with specks of gold interspersed. It is found in India; and it signifies, that they who well deserve the verdure of the eternal country by the brightness of perfect love, make it manifest also to others by the purple light of their own martyrdom. For since they follow the example of the Lord manifest in the flesh, in that they despise the present life, and prefer eternal glory, they shew even now, as if in India, that is, near the rising of the sun, the brightness of their own deserts. And because they desire to “shine as the sun in the kingdom of the Father,” and there to reign with their King with Whom they now suffer, and wait for this, they are rightly put in the tenth place. For by the denarius, with which the dressers of the Lord’s vineyard are rewarded, is represented the image of the eternal King, which is to be received when, as it could not be in the ninth degree, through the perfect love of God and of our neighbour, the decalogue will in all points be fulfilled.

jacinth. The jacinth is found in Ethiopia, and has an azure colour. The best is that which is neither transparent nor dull from its opacity, but has a clearness from the two qualities, and resembles the sweetly purified flower. It is not always equally glistering, but changes with the face of the sky. For when this is serene, it is clear and pleasing; but when it is cloudy, it pales and becomes dull before the eyes. And it indicates souls which are always given up to heavenly contemplation, and which, in a certain way, and so far as is permitted to mortals, approach the angelical life. These are enjoined, “to preserve the heart with all keeping of observation,” lest on the one hand, with too much subtlety of thought, they dare to inquire into things higher and better than themselves. For, “It is the glory of the Lord to conceal a word.” And this is to philosophise with caution concerning God, and the Man Christ; or, lest on the other hand, through the torpor of sloth, they fall back on the weak beginnings of faith, and “the first principles of the words of God.” Yea, rather let them walk in the pathway of the King, and go on, protected by “the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,” and by a fit observance of the time let them change their face with the sky, and say to the beholders, “For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God; or whether we be sober, it is for you.” As a jacinth surrounded by a cloud, he speaks thus, “Ye are not straitened in us, but in your own bowels;” and again, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” And as one seen in a serene light, he says, “But we speak wisdom among those who are perfect.”

amethyst. The amethyst is purple, mixed with a violet colour, and as it were the bloom of the rose, and it emits gently certain small flames. But there appears also to be something in its purple, which is not altogether fiery, but like red wine. So, then, the beautiful tint of the purple designates the condition of the heavenly kingdom, but that of the rose and violet, the lowly modesty and precious death of the saints, namely, in that their mind indeed is chiefly raised on high, even when they are seen outwardly to endure what is vile. For in adversity they are ever mindful of the promise of the Lord,” Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” And they not only extend the flame of love to one another, but also to their persecutors themselves. And on their knees they implore, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Moreover, while they drink the cup of passion, they are inebriated instead with the remembrance of the wine “which makes glad the heart of man,” of which the Lord promised, that He would drink it new with them in His Father’s kingdom.”

In the jasper, therefore, is, represented the verdure of faith; in the sapphire the light of heavenly hope; in the chalcedony the flame of internal charity. Again, in the emerald is expressed the bold confession of the same faith in the midst of opposition; in the sardonyx, the humility of the saints amid their virtues; in the sard, the revered blood of martyrs. So in the chrysolyte is shewn spiritual preaching in the midst of miracles; in the beryl, the perfect work of preachers; in the topaz, their fervent contemplation. Moreover, in the chrysoprase are designated at once the work and the reward of the blessed martyrs; in the jacinth, the heavenly exaltation of doctors to things on high, and their humble descent for the sake of the weak to human things; in the amethyst, the continual memory of the heavenly kingdom in the mind of the humble. And each of the precious stones is assigned to a separate foundation. For although all the perfect, by whom the city of our God in His holy mountain is adorned and established, are refulgent with the light of spiritual grace, yet, “To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith in the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing in the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.” And God. “the builder and maker” of this city, Who is the foundation of foundations, and Who vouchsafed also to be made a High-Priest for us, that He might both cleanse and dedicate the walls of the same city by the offering of His blood, possesses all things as His own, “whatsoever the Father hath.” Therefore, also, the same stones, inscribed too with the names of the twelve patriarchs, were commanded to be placed upon the breast of the high-priest, that in a most beautiful mystery it might be shewn that all the spiritual gifts which each of the saints individually and partially received, were equally and perfectly complete in “the mediator between God and man, the Man Jesus Christ.”

This exposition of the precious stones I seem, perhaps, to have made more fully than the method of interpretation by clauses expressed. For it was necessary to explain carefully their qualities and their country, then to inquire into their sacramental meaning, and further to treat of their order and number. But as regards the profoundness of the subject itself, I seem to myself to have said very few things, and those briefly and summarily. And I suppliantly beseech the reader, if he shall perceive that I have trod in the right path, to give thanks to God; and if he shall discover that it has happened otherwise than as I desired, then to pray for pardon unto my error from the Lord. But these things so far: let us see also those which remain.

21. pearls. All the glory of the Head is imputed to the body. And as “the true light which lighteth every man,” gave to the saints to be “the light of the world;” so also, although He Himself is the matchless pearl which the wise merchant sells all that he has to buy, He nevertheless compares His own with the brightness of pearls.

gold. He forms the streets of the same metals with which he had already said that the city was adorned For there are many, even of a commoner and lower life, who are surrounded with the highest virtues in the Church, and who shine with a purity of mind and an effulgence of work.

22. no temple. Although, he says, I have spoken of the city as built up of stones, I have shewn that the rest of the saints is not in a material building. For God Himself is their only home, and light, and rest.

23. no need. That is, because the Church is not guided by the light, nor the elements of the world, but is conducted by Christ, the eternal Sun, through the darkness of the world.

lighten. This is, we shall enjoy in that country the very light itself, by which we are now guided while we walk in the way; and being made blessed, we shall then perceive only that which is good, through the same by which we are now taught to discern between good and evil.

24. walk. He signifies that the same Lamb Himself is now to travellers the way, Who will then be to citizens the life.

kings. He here means spiritual kings, who bestow all the riches of their virtues upon the praises of the Church.

25. night. He relates that there will be the perpetual light of the Lamb; yea, rather that He Himself will be for an everlasting light in that city when the time of night is taken away. But that the gates will not be shut is a proof of the fullest security. For there it is no longer said, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation,” but rather, “Be still then, and know that I am God.”

26. bring. It is for this reason that it is to be gathered together from all nations.

27. enter. He describes the Church of that time, When, the bad having already been separated from the midst of it, the good alone will reign with Christ. But even now, too, every one who is unclean and false, is not in the Church, nor sees the light of the city of God, Who hateth him, “because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

[Stone]

ON CHAPTER 22

v. 1. river. In the river of life which flows in the midst of the city, there is no longer indicated the celebration of Baptism, but the fruit of that sacrament is now revealed. For in the present time the Church “sows in the Spirit, that it may then reap eternal life.”

2. life. The tree of life is seen by the fountain of life; and whether thou interpret this to be the glory of the holy cross, or the Lord Christ, Who even before baptism was revealed already in the Old Testament, as He is now by the mystery of baptism becoming manifest, it alike endues the saints with heavenly fruit. For “Neither is there any other name under heaven given to men in which we must be saved;” seeing that the same tree which John described as flourishing in the golden Jerusalem and Moses in Paradise, Solomon pronounced to be “a tree of life to those who laid hold upon it.” This I think to have been prefigured by the Jordan, on the other side of which Moses made known to the people the precepts of salvation, as Jesus on this side of it the land of promise.

month. In the twelve months he intimates all the time of life; the life, namely, in which it is said, “And thy years shall not fail;” and again, “It shall be month after month, and Sabbath after Sabbath;” where the face of the Lord is present, and is the eternal health, the eternal food of life. It may also be understood simply that the cross of Christ bears fruit through the doctrine of the twelve Apostles.

leaves. If the fruit is taken to be the reward of a blessed immortality, the leaves are rightly understood to be a perpetual song, in that it is for health to those who sing in their now blissful lot For there is the true healing of the nations, full redemption, everlasting bliss.

4. see. The vision of God is reserved to us as the reward of faith, and Philip understood this to be the chief good, when he said, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” For it was diligently to be inculcated, that the saints would see and possess in reality that which they believe while living from faith.

name. The confession of the holy Name, which is now maintained in the midst of enemies, then in their own country makes glorious the conquerors.

5. night. There no frailness of the body needs either the repose of night or the light of fire, at the time in which God, Who is the true light, and the eternal rest of the saints, will be all in all. But if thou refer the words to an allegory, there no exhortation of the prophets, no preaching of the law, are necessary, which are now said to be “a lamp shining in a dark place;” seeing that in the contemplation of God all things are fulfilled, and the promise is possessed in its completeness.

6. faithful. He doubted not as to a want of faith in John. But he commended the truth of the vision to all the Church, in which he knew that there would also be little ones.

prophets. Doubt not, he says, of the person of him who shews. For God Himself, Who is wont to imbue the spirits of the prophets with heavenly vision, sent me to shew to thee beforehand that these things will be.

servants. He taught that the profit of all men generally has by him been foreseen.

7. book. “I am blessed,” is understood. So the blessed Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, connects these clauses. For upon certain heresies arising on occasion of this book, he both refuted the error, and at the same time transferred to the eternal and heavenly promises the sense of the same prophecy, which he had purified from every cloud of carnal interpretation.

fell. He either did a second time that which had once been done, and which, when forbidden, he did not dare to repeat; or he is overwhelmed with amazement at the vision, and confesses that he again desires to worship.

9. fellowservant. Observe how often he both names John a prophet, and this book a prophecy. For he has many things in accordance with the prophets, and that not in sense alone, but also in words; for how many verses of Isaiah, how many of Zechariah, and of other prophets, wilt thou find here?

10. Seal. When the judgment which is to come draws near, it behoves the divine precepts, judgments, and promises to be manifested, by toe observation of which the meek are to obtain a reward, and through neglect of them the obstinate to incur punishment.

11. still. He here demonstrates the secret but just judgments of God, by which bad men are permitted to advance to something worse, that is, to arrive at the highest wickedness, that it may find a just judgment. Like to this is that, “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad.”

13. Omega. In Α he designates the divinity of the Word, and in Ω the humanity assumed, the beginning without end; which is confirmed by frequent repetition this book, either to intimate the divinity and humanity of the one Christ from time to time; or that the whole Trinity may be declared to be of one nature, Which saith by the prophet, “Before Me was there no God formed, neither shall there be after Me.”

14. right. He promises a fit reward to “white robes,” that is, an immaculate life, namely, that it may enjoy the sight of God, Who is eternal life. For, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

enter. They who keep the commandments of the Lord, Who says, “I am the door; by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture,” that assuredly which is here also promised of the tree of life; these without doubt enter in through the gates into the Church, the gates, namely, of righteousness, which the Psalmist desires to be opened unto himself. But he who endeavours “to climb up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber;” and of such also is added that which follows.

15. without. For all the madness of the wicked even now attack the Church from within. But when the “Master of the house shall have entered in, and as he saints enter with him unto the marriage,” shall have closed the door, “then will they begin to stand without, and knock at the door.”

16. David. Here he expressed the twofold nature of His person, namely, that the same was David’s Maker, according to His divinity, Who “was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh.” And this question the Lord proposes to the Jews in the Gospel, namely, how “Christ is the Son of David,” when “David in the Spirit called Him Lord?”

star. For by appearing after the night of a single Passion, He shewed to the ages the light of resurrection and of life, by word and example. And of Him it is said to the blessed Job, “Dost thou bring forth Lucifer in his season?”

17. bride. The Head and the body of the Church exhort each one of the members to faith.

Come. Whosoever has received in his mind the inner light of faith, or of love, let him invite others also to this.

will. So far forth is free-will allowed by saying, “He who will, let him take;” that grace is set forth immediately in that which follows, “The water of life,” with no merits assuredly preceding. For even to will is the gift of God.

18. add. These things he said on account of falsifiers, not on account of those who simply say what they think, without mutilating the prophecy in any respect.

20. testimony. The same Christ gives testimony, Who announces to the Church that He will come, to Whom after the manner of the Song of Songs the Church devoutly answers, “Amen; come, Lord Jesus Christ.” And this she cries continually, saying, “Thy kingdom come;” and in the Psalm, “I will sing, and have understanding in the perfect way, when Thou shalt come unto me.”

21. grace. Let the Pelagians, if they will, be confident in their own virtue, and deprive themselves of the grace of the Lord. But when the Apostle Paul seeks for help, and says, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death,” let John make answer, mindful of his own name, and say, “The grace of God, by Jesus Christ our Lord.” And that the Donatists may not flatter themselves as having a singular gift of God, let them hear that when he imparted the grace of God, as a last farewell he added, “With you all. Amen.”

And now that at length so great and hazardous a labour has been completed, I suppliantly and earnestly entreat, that if any shall think this little work of mine worth reading or transcribing, they will also remember to commend unto the Lord the author of the work, inasmuch as “I have not laboured for myself alone, but for them also.” May I in return be rewarded by the vows and prayers of those who have the benefit of my toil; and may they, by their good offices, cause me to gain the right to and fruition of the tree of life, the odour and good report of which I have in some measure communicated to them.