Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalypse

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The Explanation of the Apocalypse

by the VENERABLE BEDE

“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.” — Apoc. 1:3.

“Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” — Apoc. 22:7.

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CONTENTS

PREFACE

EXPLANATION OF THE APOCALYPSE

ON THE BLESSED JOHN AND HIS APOCALYPSE


ON CHAPTER 1

ON CHAPTER 2

ON CHAPTER 3

ON CHAPTER 4

ON CHAPTER 5

ON CHAPTER 6

ON CHAPTER 7

ON CHAPTER 8

ON CHAPTER 9

ON CHAPTER 10

ON CHAPTER 11

ON CHAPTER 12

ON CHAPTER 13

ON CHAPTER 14

ON CHAPTER 15

ON CHAPTER 16

ON CHAPTER 17

ON CHAPTER 18

ON CHAPTER 19

ON CHAPTER 20

ON CHAPTER 21

ON CHAPTER 22

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PREFACE

THE Explanation of the Apocalypse by Ven. Beda is the earliest of the many works of our own writers on that Book, and, as such, may well deserve to appear in a form accessible to English readers. But independently of this, it is a commentary of much value and interest in itself, as is shewn by the constant use of it by Isaac Williams in his volume on the Apocalypse (The Apocalypse, with Notes and Reflections, Lond. 1852), and the notices of it in two recently-published Lectures of the Bishop of Lincoln (On the Millennium, Lond. 1875), who also, in his “Introduction to the Book of Revelation,” terms it, “A valuable and interesting exposition” (Greek Testament, Gen. Ep. and Rev., p. 152, 1872).

The chief characteristics of Beda’s method of exposition may be thus stated. The several visions are considered not to be successive, but contemporaneous, with occasional recapitulations, and to represent the condition of the Church in all ages, under different aspects. The thousand years, in the twentieth chapter, are interpreted of the present period of the Church’s existence, in accordance with the opinion of St. Augustine, in the second part of his De Civitate Dei. The attention is closely directed to the text, and to corresponding passages of Holy Scripture, that the meaning of the symbolic language may be elicited. The previous exposition of Tichonius is mainly, but not exclusively followed. Beda appears, for example, to have adopted several opinions from St. Gregory the Great, and Primasius, as well as St. Augustine.

The date of the “Explanation” is circ. A.D. 710–716. It is described by Beda as an “Exposition” (see note p. 1). But it is called an “Explanation” in the printed editions of his works.
The translation is made from the edition of the Works of Beda by Dr. Giles, Lond. 1844, vol. xii., which, in this part at least, is merely a reprint of the earlier text. The notes are limited to the references required by the text, and the occasional notice of various readings, with some illustrations from other writers. Some additional notes will be found at the end.

For the sake of conciseness, the text, as read by Beda, which is not given completely even in the editions of the original Latin, where there frequently occurs the sign of omission, has not been translated in full. But the Commentary itself, by the addition of the usual numbering of the verses, and the insertion of catchwords in Clarendon type, has been rendered available for use with the original Greek, or with any translation. These words, though not necessarily so, are yet, by far the most frequently, from the Authorised Version. Care has been taken that the version may be as literal an one as is consistent with a proper rendering into English.

It may be stated, on information derived through the favour of Mr. E. A. Bond, that the MS. of the thirteenth century in the British Museum, No. 223 of the Harleian Collection, containing a Commentary on the Apocalypse, ascribed in the colophon to Beda, is a different work from that printed in Dr. Giles’ edition.

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LETTER OF BEDA TO EUSEBIUS

TO THE BELOVED BROTHER, EUSEBIUS, BEDA SENDS GREETING

THE Apocalypse of St. John, in which God was pleased to reveal by words and figures the wars and intestine tumults of the Church, seems to me, Brother Eusebius, to be divided into several sections

In the first of these, after a copious preface to strengthen the faith of the weak, and a description of, the sufferings of the Lord and of the glories which followed, he sees one like unto the Son of Man clothed with the Church, Who, after He has related what has happened, or is about to happen, in the seven Churches of Asia in particular, recounts the general conflicts and victories of the whole Church. And here, designedly, in the sixth place He has foretold that the Jews are to be made subject to the Church, and that there is to be a trial of the world at large, and that He Himself will come quickly; and He places in the seventh the lukewarm Laodicea. For “when the Son of Man cometh will He,” dost thou think, “find the faith in the earth?”

Then in the second section, after that the four living creatures in the throne of God, and the twenty-four elders, have been described, he sees the Lamb, on the opening of the seven seals of the closed book, unfold the future conflicts and triumphs of the Church. And here, according to the custom of this book, he preserves the order unto the sixth number in the series; and then he passes by the seventh, recapitulates, and concludes the two narrations with the seventh. But the recapitulation is also itself to be understood according to its place, for sometimes he recapitulates from the commencement of suffering, sometimes from the middle period, and sometimes with a view to speak of the last affliction only, or a short time before. But this he observes as a fixed point, to recapitulate after the sixth.

Next, in the third section, under the likeness of seven angels sounding with a trumpet, he describes the various events of the Church.

In the fourth, under the figure of a woman bringing forth, and a dragon persecuting her, he reveals the toils and victories of the same Church, and assigns to both combatants their due rewards. And here the words and aetions of seven angels are also recorded, but not in the same manner as above. So in mystic wisdom he almost always retains this number, for neither in his gospel nor his epistles is the same John accustomed to say anything with remissness and brevity.

Then, in the fifth section, by seven angels he has overspread the earth with the seven last plagues.

In the sixth, he has manifested the condemnation of the great whore, that is, of the ungodly city.

In the seventh, he has shewn the ornament of the Lamb’s wife, the holy Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

I have also thought that the seven rules of Tichonius, a man of the most learning among those of his sect, should be briefly enumerated, inasmuch as those who are desirous to learn, receive great assistance from them for understanding the Scriptures. The first of these is concerning the Lord and His body, when there is a transition from the Head to the body, or from the body to the Head, and yet no recession from one and the same person. For one person speaks, saying, “He set a chaplet upon me, as a bridegroom, and adorned me with an ornament as a bride;” and yet, certainly, it must be understood how much of this belongs to the Head, how much to the body; that is, how much to Christ, how much to the Church.

The second is concerning the twofold body of the Lord, or rather, concerning the true and simulated body of the Lord, as St. Augustine was better pleased that it should be termed. So the Church says, “I am dark and comely, as the tents of Kedar, and as the curtains of Solomon;” for she does not say, I was dark and am comely, but she has said that she is both, because of the fellowship in sacraments, and the commingling for a time of the good and bad fish within one net, seeing that the tents of Kedar belong to Ishmael, “for that he shall not be heir with the son of the free woman.”

The third is concerning the promises and the law, which may otherwise be expressed as concerning the spirit and the letter, or concerning grace and the commandment. This appears to St. Augustine to be itself a great question, rather than a rule to be applied to the solution of questions. For it was through failing to understand this that the Pelagians either began, or increased their heresy.

The fourth is concerning species and genus. For species is a part, but genus the whole of which it is a part, as each state is a part of the whole province, and each province a part of the whole world. These terms, accordingly, have come to the knowledge of persons in general, so that even the unlearned understand what is enjoined in any imperial command. This takes place also in respect of men, as the things which are said of Solomon are out of proportion to him; and it is only when they are referred to Christ and the Church, of which He is part, that they become clear. Yet the species is not always exceeded, for such things are often said as more evidently agree with it also, or perhaps with it alone. But when there is a transition from the species to the genus, as if Scripture were still speaking of the species, there the attention of the reader ought to be on the watch.

He lays down a fifth rule, which he names concerning times, and it may, as appears to me, also be called concerning numbers. This he states to be of force, even in the case of legitimate numbers, by the figure synecdoche. For the figure synecdoche is either to infer the whole from a part, or a part from the whole. And by this manner of speaking is the question of the resurrection of Christ also solved. For unless the last part of the day on which He suffered is taken for the whole day, that is, with the addition of the past night too, and unless the night in the latter part of which He rose again is taken for a whole day, that is, with the addition of the dawning Lord’s day, there cannot be the three days and three nights, in which He foretold that He should be in the heart of the earth. Now by legitimate numbers he means those which the divine Scripture more eminently commends, as the seventh, or tenth, or twelfth; by which, for the most part, either the whole course of time, or the perfection of anything is designated, as, “seven times in a day I sing praise unto Thee,” is nothing else than, “His praise was ever in my mouth.” And they are of the same value also when they are multiplied either by ten, as seventy and seven hundred, in which case, the seventy years of Jerusalem may be taken spiritually for all the time during which the Church is among aliens; or by themselves, as ten by ten are a hundred, and twelve by twelve are a hundred and forty-four, by which number the whole body of the saints is denoted in the Apocalypse.

The sixth rule Tichonius calls recapitulation. For some things are stated in the Scriptures as if they follow in the order of time, or are related in the succession of events, when, indeed, the narration is tacitly recalled to what has been omitted. As it is said in Genesis, “These are the sons of Noah, in their tribes and their tongues. By these are the isles of the nations upon the earth overspread;” and immediately, “But the whole earth was of one lip, and of the same speech.” So it seems to be stated, as if at the very time when they were dispersed, they all had one language, when rather, by a recapitulation, he was secretly adding in what manner the tongues were divided.

His seventh rule is, concerning the devil and his body. For sometimes that is stated in respect of the devil which cannot be recognised in himself, but only in his body; as the Lord saith, among other things, to the blessed Job, in exposing the deceit and power of this enemy, “Will he make many prayers to thee, or will he speak soft things to thee?” And it is not the devil himself who is anywhere read of as repentant, but his body, which, when condemned at the last, will say, “Lord, Lord, open unto us.”

So then, if any one will observe carefully, he will find these rules to prevail in all the canonical Scriptures, and especially in the prophetical parts, as well as in the Apocalypse, that is, the Revelation of St. John the Apostle, which the same Tichonius both understood with a lively apprehension, and expounded with truthfulness, and in a sufficiently Catholic sense, excepting only those places in which he endeavoured to defend the schism of his party, that is, the Donatists. For here he laments the persecutions which they endured from the religious Emperor Valentinian, as heretics, when their churches, and followers, and houses, and possessions were given up into the hands of the Catholics, and their priests were driven into exile; and he calls these things martyrdoms, and boasts that they were foretold in the same Apocalypse. Now we have followed on our part the sense of this author in the present work, but in so doing we have omitted some things beyond the purpose which he inserted, in order that we may be more compendious; and we have taken care to add many more, which to him, as a man of genius, and who flourished, as was said of him, like an open rose among thorns, appeared plain and unworthy of investigation; and this we have done, so far as we have been able to attain, either by the tradition of masters, or the recollection of reading, or even our own capacity; for this, too, is among the commandments which we have received, to return to the Lord with usury the talents which have been committed to us. Now, although it had seemed fit that the aforesaid work should be divided into three short books to relieve the mind; for in some way or other, as the blessed Augustine says, “The attention of the reader is refreshed by the termination of a book, as the toil of the traveller by resting at an inn;” nevertheless, that it might be rendered more easy for those who search to find, it was thought good that the continuous order of paragraphs should be preserved throughout, which I had previously noted in the book itself by prefixing marks. For, as I think that the indolence of our nation, I mean of the English, ought to be taken into account,—which too, not long since, that is, in the time of the blessed Pope Gregory, received the seed of faith, and has cultivated the same remissly enough, so far as reading is concerned,—I have arranged my plan, so as not only to elucidate the sense, but also to compress the sentences, inasmuch as brevity, if it is clear, is wont to be fixed in the memory more than prolix discussion.

I bid thee farewell in Christ, most beloved brother, and desire that thou mayest deign to be ever mindful of thy Beda.

EPIGRAM OF BEDA,

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ON THE BLESSED JOHN AND HIS APOCALYPSE

AN exile from the busy haunts of men,

Forbidden now to see his country’s soil,

He, loved of God, to heaven triumphant soars,

And joins the choir around the high-throned King.

His sacred eye the world below surveys,

As o’er its waters pass the fleeting ships.

Babel and Solyma in conflict join

Their several hosts. In quick succession here

They turn in flight, and here the strife renew.

The white-robed soldier of the gentle Lamb

May with his leader gain the realms of joy;

The scaly serpent in the dark abyss

O’erwhelms in hunger, flame, and pestilence,

His gathering bands. This warfare’s dread array,

And art, and numbers, and its victories

Desirous to unfold, I’ve wandered through

The sacred plains, where those of old have sown,

Collecting thence some fruits. But few they are,

That no profusion cause to loathe the feast,

Nor e’en forbid the meaner guest to attempt

A preparation all too great. And now,

If these my scanty morsels please thy taste,

Give praise to God, Who reigns above the skies;

Or else, accept a friendly heart’s intent,

And, armed with pumice, this my verse erase.

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ON CHAPTER 1

v. 1. The revelation of Jesus Christ. The progress with which the Church that had been founded by the Apostles was to be extended, or the end with which it was to be perfected, had need to be revealed, in order to strengthen the preachers of the faith against the opposition of the world. And John, in his own manner, refers the glory of the Son to the Father, and testifies that Jesus Christ has received from God.

shortly. That is, which are to happen to the Church in the present time.

signified. He wrapped up this revelation in mystical words, that it might not be manifested to all, and become lightly esteemed.

angel. For an angel appeared to John in the form of Christ, as will be seen more clearly in that which follows.

John. That through John He might lay open to all His servants the things which he, by the privilege of a peculiar chastity, obtained above all others to behold.

2. testimony. That thou mayest not doubt of the person of John, he is the same who gave testimony to the eternal Word of God incarnate, according as he saw, saying, “Whose glory we saw, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father.”

3. Blessed. Teachers and hearers are therefore blessed, because they who keep the Word of God find that a short time of labour is followed by everlasting joys.

4. seven. By these seven churches he writes to every church, for universality is wont to be denoted by the number seven, in that all the time of this age is evolved from seven days.

Grace. Grace he desires for us, and peace from God, the eternal Father, and from the sevenfold Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, Who gave testimony to the Father in His Incarnation. He names the Son in the third place, as he was to speak further of Him. He names Him also the last in order, as He is the first and the last; for He had already named Him in the Father by saying, “Who was to come.”

5. the first-begotten. This is the same that the Apostle says, “We have seen Jesus Christ for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour.” And in another place, in setting forth the reproach of the cross, he added, “Wherefore also God highly exalted Him, and gave Him the Name which is above every name.”

6. priests. Because the King of kings and heavenly Priest united us unto His own body by offering Himself for us, there is not one of the saints who has not spiritually the office of priesthood, in that he is a member of the eternal Priest

7. cometh. He Who was concealed, when at the first He came to be judged, will be manifested at the time when He shall come to judge. He mentions this, that the Church which is now oppressed by enemies, but is then to reign with Christ, may be strengthened for the endurance of sufferings.

pierced. When they see Him as a Judge with power, in the same form in which they pierced Him as the least of all, they will mourn for themselves with a repentance that is too late.

Amen. By interposing an Amen, he confirms that without doubt that will happen, which, by the revelation of God, he knows most surely is to come to pass.

8. Α and Ω. He is the beginning Whom no one precedes, the end Whom no one succeeds in His kingdom.

Who is. He had said this same thing of the Father, for God the Father came, as He also is to come, in the Son.

9. I John. He indicates the person, the place, and the reason of the vision; and he also testifies that he saw this in the spirit, lest he should be supposed to have been deluded by a fleshly apparition.

Patmos. It is a well-known story that John was banished to this island by the Emperor Domitian for the Gospel’s sake, and it was fitly given him to penetrate the secrets of heaven, at a time when it was denied him to go beyond a certain spot on earth.

10. the Lord’s day. He indicates also a fit time for a spiritual vision, for Scripture is wont to express the reason of things in terms, as, frequently, of the place, or the body, or the air, and in like manner, the time. The Angels, namely, visit Abraham at noon, Sodom in the evening; Adam after midday was afraid at the voice of the Lord, walking up and down; and Solomon received at night the wisdom which it was not to be his to retain.

heard. He is first admonished by a voice, that he may direct his attention to the vision.

11. seven churches. The Church of Christ was not at the time in these places alone, but all fulness is comprised in the number seven. Asia, which is interpreted elevation, denotes the proud exaltation of the world in which the Church is sojourning, and, as is the method of the divine mystery, the genus is contained in the species. For the Apostle Paul also writes to seven churches, but not to the same as St. John. And although these seven churches are a sevenfold figure of the whole Church, still the things which he blames, or praises, came to pass in them one by one.

12. turned. Here the figure of the Church is beautifully represented, as holding forth the light of divine love in the brightness of a chaste breast, according to that which the Lord saith, “Let your loins be girt, and your lamps burning.” And he denotes its perfection within and without by the two parts of the number seven; and the individual members of it, consisting of the four qualities of the body, “love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength.”

13. Son of Man. He means that he is like the Son of man when He had overcome death, and had ascended into heaven. For “Although we knew Christ after the flesh, yet henceforth know we Him no more.” And it is well said, “in the midst,” for “All,” he says, “who are round about Him shall offer gifts.”

garment. “Poderis,” which is called in Latin, “tunica talaris,” and is a sacerdotal vestment, shews the priesthood of Christ, by which He offered Himself for us, as a victim to the Father, upon the altar of the cross.

girdle. By the “paps” he here means the two Testaments, with which He feeds the body of the saints in communion with Himself. For the golden girdle is the choir of saints, which cleaves to the Lord in harmonious love, and embraces the Testaments, “keeping,” as the Apostle says, “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

14. white. The antiquity and eternity of majesty are represented by whiteness on the head, to which all the chief ones adhere, as hairs, who, because of the sheep which are to be on the right hand are white, like wool, and because of the innumerable multitude of the white-robed and the elect, who come forth from heaven, are glistering like snow.

eyes. The eyes of the Lord are preachers, who, with spiritual fire, bring light to the faithful, and to the unbelieving a consuming flame.

15. feet. By the “fiery feet” he means the Church of the last time, which is to be searched and proved by severe afflictions. For orichalcum is brass, which, by much fire and various ingredients, is brought to the colour of gold. Another translation, which renders it, “like orichalcum of Lebanon,” signifies that in Judæa, of which Lebanon is a mountain, the Church will be persecuted, and especially at the last. The temple also frequently received the name of Lebanon, as there is said to it, “Open, O Lebanon, thy gates, and let the fire devour thy cedars.”

voice. The voice of confession, and preaching, and praise does not resound in Judæa alone, but among many peoples.

16. right hand. In the right hand of Christ is the spiritual Church. “On Thy right hand,” he says, “stood the queen in a vesture of gold.” And as it stands on His right hand, He saith, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom.”

mouth. He, the Judge of all things visible and invisible, “after He has killed, has power to cast into hell fire.”

countenance. Such as the Lord appeared on the Mount, will He appear after the judgment to all the saints, for at the judgment the ungodly will behold Him Whom they pierced. But all this appearance of the Son of Man belongs also to the Church, for He Himself was made the Christ in the same nature with it, and He gives to it a sacerdotal dignity and a judicial power, and to “shine as the sun in the kingdom of His Father.”

17. I fell. As a man, he trembles at the spiritual vision, but his human fear is banished by the clemency of the Lord.

the first. He is the first, because “by Him were all things made;” the last, because in Him are all things restored.

18. keys. Not only, He saith, have I conquered death by resurrection, but I have dominion also over death itself. And this He also bestowed upon the Church by breathing upon it the Holy Spirit, saying, “Whose sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them,” and the rest.

19. Write. Reveal to all the things which thou alone hast seen, that is, the various labours of the Church, and that the evil are to be mingled in it with the good unto the end of the world.

20. stars. That is, the rulers of the Church. For the priest, as Malachi says, is “the angel of the Lord of hosts.”

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ON CHAPTER 2

v. 1. Ephesus. Part of this Church he blames, and part he praises, according to the character of the name. For Ephesus is said to be interpreted, “a great fall,” as well as “my will in it.”

stars. That is, Who has you in His right hand, and seeks you by His power.

walketh. Who goes about in the midst of you, and searches the hearts and the reins of all.

2. I know. I see, that is, that thou art diligent in the practice of good works, and bearest calmly the insufferable injuries of the wicked, for thou hast diligently examined the words and works of the false Apostles, and hast not been willing to give way to them in anything.

4. love. In the person of some, thou hast forsaken the love which began at first, and if they do not regain it, I will deprive them of the promised reward of light. But in others, thou hatest the examples of evil men, idolatry, that is, and fornication, for these are the deeds of the Nicolaitans, as is shewn in what follows.

7. ear. He indicates that he writes for all the churches the things which he addresses to them individually; for it was not the Church of the Ephesians alone, which, if it did not repent, was to be removed from its place; nor was Satan’s seat at Pergamos alone, and not rather in every place. In like manner also, the other things of the several churches are common to every church.

overcometh. The “tree of life” is Christ, by the vision of Whom in the celestial paradise, and in the present body of the Church, holy souls are refreshed.

8. Smyrna. He speaks to this church of enduring persecution, and its name also agrees with this. For Smyrna is interpreted “myrrh,” which denotes the mortification of the flesh.

the first. He who both created all things, and renewed all things by His death. This is a suitable preface when he is going to enjoin patience.

9. tribulation. Yea, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Fortunatus has beautifully expressed this in a short verse, saying:

“In narrow realm the poor man reigns possessing God.”

Jews. “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him.” For Jew is a name of religion. And so also the Apostle says, “who is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart,” “not in the letter.”

10. devil. These words apply to the Universal Church, against which the devil is always exercising an enmity from which there is no escape.

ten days. He means the whole of the time during which the commandments of the decalogue are necessary. For as long as thou shalt follow the light of the divine word, thou must needs suffer imprisonment from the enemy who opposes thee. Some understand that the ten persecutions of the heathen, from the Emperor Nero to Domitian, are signified.

death. He shews how far the ten days reach, in that he counsels them to keep the faith unto death.

11. second death. He who shall have remained faithful unto the death of the flesh, will not fear the death of the soul.

12. Pergamos. Pergamos is interpreted, “dividing their horns,” for by his judgment he made a distinction between the virtues of the faithful and the perfidy of the Nicolaitans, that “the horns of the sinners might be broken, and the horns of the righteous one exalted.”

sword. He has fitly mentioned first His judicial power, for He was to assign rewards to the victors, and punishment to the transgressors.

13. seat. I approve indeed of thy patience, because although thou dwellest among the reprobate, thou dost not honour Me in name alone, as called Christian, but with perfect faith, even in the time of a persecution unto death. But I do not approve of this, that I see seducing teachers even in thee.

Antipas. Some understand a martyr who suffered at Pergamos, others the Lord Christ, who even now is put to death by the unbelieving, so far as in them lies.

14. eat. These are the two principal things in which all the carnal exercise themselves, “whose god is their belly, and their glory in their shame.” But besides this, every evil work is idolatry and spiritual fornication.

15. Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans are named from Nicolas the deacon, of whom Clement relates that, when he was reproved for his jealousy of a most beautiful wife, he answered that whoever would might take her to wife, and says that, on account of this, unbelievers taught that the Apostles allowed to all a promiscuous and common intercourse with women. And the Nicolaitans are reported to have put forth some fabulous and almost heathen statements concerning the beginning of the world, and not to have kept their meats separate from things offered to idols.

17. manna. He who shall have despised the allurements of the flesh in spite of the advice of hypocrites, will of right be satisfied with the sweetness of the invisible bread which comes down from heaven.

stone. That is, a body which is now made white by baptism, and is then refulgent with the glory of incorruption.

name. That we should be named, and should be, sons of God.

knoweth. Because “he who says that he knows God, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar,” for the hypocrite tastes not how sweet the Lord is.

18. Thyatira. Thyatira is translated, “for a sacrifice;” and the saints “present their bodies a living sacrifice.”

eyes. He explains farther on what eyes of flame are, saying, “I am He Who searcheth the reins and the hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works.”

feet. This also he explains to be, that “the last works of this church are more than the first.”

20. Jezebel. In thy work indeed, and thy faith, thou art to be praised. But in this thou art to be blamed, that thou dost not confute with proper energy the synagogue of false Apostles, which pretends to be Christian. The name Jezebel, which implies “an issue of blood,” belongs to heretics; and in particular, she is conjectured to be a woman in the aforenamed church, who teaches the evil deeds which have been mentioned, who was to be a figure of the Jezebel throughout the world, whom also he manifestly threatens with vengeance.

seduce. Under the name of Christ forsooth, she taught spiritual fornication and idolatry, for how could she openly teach the worship of idols, when she said that she was a prophetess in the Church.

22. bed. It is brought to pass by the just judgment of God, that she should lie in a lied of eternal punishment, who made the wretched lie down in a bed of lust.

23. children. He here names the posterity and works of the woman, “children,” and he threatens them not with the momentary death of the body, but the eternal death of the soul.

hearts. Under the reins he signifies delights, under the heart thoughts.

works. Our works and words, no doubt, may be known to men. But with what intention they are accomplished, and whereunto we desire to attain by their means, He alone knows Who perceives what each one thinks, and in what he takes delight. And with what consistency in punishing fornication and idolatry, which are open faults, can He be said to be a discerner of secret things, unless these names may be applied even to the least offences? “Thou wilt destroy,” he says, “all those who commit fornication from Thee.” And the same Apostle John, who heard this, when he reasoned of false brethren, ended by saying, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

24. you. As he commends repentance to the ungodly, and threatens them with punishment, so he exhorts the godly to patience by holding forth eternal rewards.

known. So, again, they who work iniquity know not God, although they preach Him. In this way also, God Who knoweth all men, knoweth not those who work iniquity.

send. I will not suffer you to be tempted above that which ye are able to endure; otherwise: “Beware,” He says, “of false prophets,” for I send unto you no new doctrine; but keep that which ye have received unto the end.

25. overcometh. The Church has this power in Christ, as the body in the Lord: for “in Him,” according to the Apostle, “God has given unto us all things.”

27. iron. With inflexible justice He rules the meek, that they may the more bring forth fruit, but overthrows the contumacious, that they may either perish for ever, or that earthly desires may be destroyed in them, and the impure things of the old man, whatever has been contracted and wrought in them from the sinful clay.

28. star. Christ is “the morning star,” Who promises and reveals to the saints the eternal light of life, when the night of the world is past.

[Stone]

ON CHAPTER 3

1. Sardis. He reproves this angel, that is, the bishop, as not sufficiently diligent in correcting the bad. He commends him, however, as having some who walk in white, and the name Sardis agrees with these, as that of a precious stone.

name. To thyself, indeed, thou seemest to be alive. But if thou art not watchful in the correction of the wicked, thou wilt henceforth be numbered among the dead.

2. works. If a ruler has not striven to incite others as well, although he may appear guiltless before men, his works are not perfect before God.

3. thief. Here also, as in the parable of the Gospel, he warns us to be watchful by the example of taking precaution against a thief.

4. few. He said not a “few,” but a “few names.” For “He calleth His own sheep by name,” Who knew Moses by name, and Who writes the names of His saints in heaven.

5. overcometh. He invites all men to imitate those who have kept the silken robe of baptism undefiled.

7. Philadelphia. Philadelphia is interpreted “brotherly love,” and to it is the door of the kingdom opened, and the promise made of being beloved by the Lord.

key. That is, royal power, either because He was born of the family of David, or because the prophecy of David was made manifest by the dispensation of Christ.

openeth. The secrets of the divine law are opened to the faithful, and shut to the unbelieving, by the power of Christ alone.

8. door. By no man’s power is the gate of heavenly knowledge, which Christ has opened to His Church, ever shut against it.

strength. He shews the reason on account of which the Church obtains these gifts, namely, that it does not trust in its own powers, but in the grace of Christ, the King. And it is the praise of God the protector, and of the devotion of the Church, that the gate of victory is opened to a little faith, and that a little power is strengthened by faith.

9. synagogue. He promises this to all the Church of that time, for it was not at Philadelphia alone that there were believers from the synagogue of the Jews, as we find in the Acts of the Apostles.

10. Kept. Because thou hast kept My example in suffering adversity, I also will keep thee from the impending afflictions, not, indeed, that thou mayest not be tempted, but that thou mayest not be overcome by adversity. And although the Church is always tried by adversity, yet, in this place, the hour of temptation, and the humiliation of the Jews in the time of antichrist, may be signified; that, as frequently happens in the course of this book at the sixth in order, so here also at the sixth angel, the last persecution may be designated. But as to this, it is believed that the wicked Jews will be deceived as well as deceive, but that others will understand the law spiritually through the instruction of the great prophet Elijah, and will be incorporated among the members of the Church, and bravely overcome the enemy.

11. hold fast. Do not grow weary in endurance, for I will help thee quickly, lest perhaps another, through thy failure, receive the reward which was decreed for thee. So it is impossible that the number of the saints which is fixed with God should be diminished by the faithlessness of the increasing tares. For if the lost crown is delivered to another, the place of him who has lost it is not vacant.

12. temple. He who has overcome adverse things for My sake shall be glorious in the temple of the Church, and shall no more fear any loss which adversity can bring. The pillars, that is, holy men, at one time strengthen the Church by their support, at another adorn it by their elevation, like the two pillars at the door of Solomon’s temple.

Name. That is, because we are called “the sons of God” by adoption.

city. He shall be joined to the unity of the Church, which, by heavenly grace, is born again to a new life.

new name. This is the Christian name, not that it is new to the Son of God, Who had this glory before the world was made, but new to the Son of Man, Who died and rose again, and sitteth on the right hand of God.

14. Laodicea. Laodicea means “the lovely tribe of the Lord,” or, “they were in vomiting.” For there were there both those to whom He said, “I will spew thee out of My mouth,” and those also to whom He said this, “Whom I love, I rebuke and chasten.” But, according to the Greek, it is interpreted, “a just people.”

Amen. Amen is interpreted, “truly,” or “faithfully.” Christ, therefore, Who in the essence of His divinity is truth, declared that, by the mystery of His Incarnation, He was made “the beginning of the creation of God,” that He may train the Church by these things for the endurance of sufferings.

16. lukewarm. Thou art neither fervent in faith, nor entirely unbelieving. But, if thou wert still unbelieving, there would yet remain to thee the hope of conversion, whereas now, in that thou doest not the will of the Lord which thou knowest, thou shalt be cast forth from the bosom of My Church.

17. rich. Thou art content with faith alone, and it is in vain that thou layest claim to the treasures of righteousness. But if thou desirest to be truly rich, forsake all things, and buy the fervour of love, proved in the flame of afflictions, and anoint the eyes of thy mind, not with the antimony of deceitful boasting, but with the eye-salve of divine knowledge. To anoint the eyes with eye-salve is to gain an understanding of holy Scripture by the performance of a good work.

19. chasten. Do not shrink from suffering adversity, seeing that this is an especial proof that thou art loved by the Lord.

repent. He shews that there had been there such as were emulated and followed.

20. knock. I knock, indeed, at the door of thy heart with the right hand of exhortation, and if thou receive it willingly, thou shalt be deemed worthy of My dwelling with thee, and being fellow-heir with thee.

21. sit. By “sitting with Him” He means, being a partner in power and judgment “Who has made us sit together,” he says, “in heavenly places in Christ.”

overcame. The Lord, as a Conqueror, sat down with the Father on the throne, in that, after the conflict of His passion, after the victory of His resurrection, He manifested Himself more clearly to all, as coequal with the Father in power. Observe, that in all the churches the Lord first declares His own power, then recounts the works of the Church as worthy either of praise or blame, but always with admonition intermixed, and that in the last place He assigns to either part the reward which is due, and which may be understood both of the present and the future. But when He subjoins, “Who hath ears, let him hear;” we are without doubt to understand the ears of the heart for obedience to the commands.

[Stone]

ON CHAPTER 4

1. door. After describing the works of the Church and its future condition, he recapitulates from the birth of Christ, with an intention to repeat the same things in a different manner, for in this book he repeats under various figures the whole period of the Church’s history. “Behold,” he says, “a door opened in heaven.” He fitly sees a door in heaven, as he is about to ascend, for that it is promised that the heavenly mysteries are to be opened to him, or, because Christ is the door. He who believes that He was born, and suffered, mounts up to heaven, that is, the light of the Church, and so is made spiritual, and beholds the things which shall be, as he says.

voice. That is, it was like the former voice which had said “What thou seest, write in a book.”

2. a throne. The Lord dwells within the Church, which is fixed in a heavenly abode. Pope Gregoryinterprets the throne of God in the vision of Micaiah of the angelic powers, “over whose minds presiding on high, He disposeth all things below.”

3. jasper. The colour of the jasper signifies water, of the sard fire, and we know that judgment is represented by these two. For “as it was,” He says, “in the days of Noah, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”

rainbow. The rainbow, which is caused by the rays of the sun shining upon the clouds, and which was first produced after the deluge for a sign of propitiation, denotes that the Church is protected by the intercession of the saints whom the Lord enlightens, and these are well compared with an emerald, a stone of a deep green. For as they wait with a more perfect faith for an inheritance that fadeth not away, so do they by their prayer more powerfully protect the rest.

4. seats. The same Church which because of its fellowship in faith he had seen on one throne, he beholds, as sprung by a twofold testament from patriarchs and Apostles, on twenty-four seats, and it is seated because of its judicial dignity in Christ. So all the members will sit and judge, but in one and by one Head. For how will saints be able to sit in the judgment, while they are standing at the right hand of the Judge? The twenty-four elders may also be understood of those who, by their loud preaching of the gospel, complete the perfection of work, which is represented in the number six for four times six make twenty-four.

crowns. That is, clothed with good works, seeking with an unfailing recollection of the mind the joys which are above. For frequently, under the name of the head, the mind is wont to be understood.

5. proceed. This is the same that Mark says, “But they went forth preaching everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by signs following.”

lamps. He means the one sevenfold Spirit, for “there is one Spirit,” and to be sevenfold implies perfection and fulness. But when the Holy Spirit has been mentioned, there fitly follows the water of baptism. For in it the same Spirit is believed to be received.

6. glass. Because of our faith in the true baptism, this is compared to glass, in which nothing else appears on the outside than that which it has within. The grace of baptism is also represented by crystal, which is formed from water, congealed into a precious stone.

eyes. All the parts of the throne of God, that is, of the Church, are filled by the light of the gospel, with the knowledge of the past and of the future.

7. living creature. The living creatures are interpreted in various ways. But the blessed Augustine, to follow the order in this book, says, that Matthew is intended in the lion, in that he describes the ancestral line of regal dignity in Christ, Who also has conquered as the lion of the tribe of Judah, for “Judah is a lion’s whelp;” and in his gospel, as a king, he is feared by a king, is worshipped by the Magi, in which also the king takes account of his servants, the king makes a marriage-feast for his son, and at the last the king separates the sheep from the goats;—that Luke is intended in the calf, which was the great victim under the Law, for that not only does his gospel at the commencement begin about the temple and the sacrifices, but it thus concludes, “and they were continually in the Temple praising and blessing God.” But the face of a man, he says, signifies Mark, who says nothing of the regal, or of the sacerdotal power of the Lord, and only relates simply the actions of the man Christ; and the eagle is John, for with keen sight he beholds the nativity of the Word, as the risen Sun. The living creatures, again, at one time denote the Evangelists, at another the whole Church; for its fortitude is represented in the lion, its sacrificial offering in the calf, its humility in the man, and its sublimity in the flying eagle.

8. wings. They raise the Church on high by the perfection of their doctrine. For the number six is called perfect, because it is the first which is made complete by its several parts, in that one which is the sixth part of six, and two which are the third, and three which are the half, make up the number six. Otherwise: the six wings of the four living creatures, which are twenty-four in number, intimate as many books of the Old Testament, by which the authority of the Evangelists is supported, and their truth proved.

eyes. The holy Church observes itself with vigilance, both before God and before men. The Psalmist had beheld its eyes within, when he says, “All the glory of that daughter of kings is within;” and its eyes without, when he adds immediately, “clothed around with golden fringes in variety.” Otherwise: whether thou shalt attend to the letter, or seek for. an allegory, in the Gospel thou wilt always find light. Another translation has: “Full of eyes before and behind;” because the light of the Gospel both illumines the dark sayings of the Law, and pours upon it the brightness of a new grace.

rest. The holy living creatures for all the time of the age proclaim the sole dominion of the Godhead, the omnipotence and eternity of the Holy Trinity. For there abides in the heavenly places the continual praise of the intelligent creation.

10. fall. When the living creatures utter the sound of praise, that is, when the Evangelists preach the dispensation of Christ, the whole Church, which is composed of rulers and people, for so much is signified by the number twelve being doubled, falls at once upon its face, and adores Him “Who liveth for ever and ever.”

cast. They assign, that is, to God whatever power, whatever dignity they have, for that He created all things out of nothing.

[Stone]

ON CHAPTER 5

v. 1. book. This vision represents the mysteries of holy Scripture, as laid open to us through the Incarnation of the Lord. And its concordant unity contains, so to say, the Old Testament without, and the New within.

seals. That is, it was either covered by all the fulness of the hidden mysteries, or written as a roll by the direction of the sevenfold Spirit.

2. angel. He indicates the promulgation of the Law. For “many” prophets and wise men “desired to see the things which the Apostles saw;” and, “of this salvation,” as Peter says, “the prophets inquired diligently, and searched.” This is the book which is closed both to the learned and unlearned in Isaiah, but of which even there the opening is thus announced, “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book.” And of this Ezekiel also says, “And I saw, and behold a hand was sent unto me, in which was the roll of a book, and He opened it before me, and it was written within and without;” when he also added that which John concealed, namely, that which was written in the book, saying, “And there was written therein lamentations, and a dirge, and woe.” For the whole course of the Old and New Testament forewarns, that sins are to be repented of, the kingdom of heaven to be sought, and the wailings of hell to be escaped.

3. able. Neither an angel, nor any one of the just, although delivered from the bond of the flesh, was able to reveal, nor to search into the mysteries of the divine law, nor to look into the book, that is, to contemplate the brightness of the grace of the New Testament, even as the children of Israel could not look upon the face of the lawgiver of the Old Testament, which contains the New.

4. wept. He was grieved, as recognising the common misery of the human race.

5. Weep not. He is forbidden to weep, because even then had been fulfilled in the Passion of Christ the mystery which long lay hidden, when, as He yielded up His spirit, the veil of the temple was rent For to Him it is said, “Judah is a lion’s whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting, thou couchedst as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall raise him up?” He proceeds to describe how, and when, the Lion of the tribe of Judah prevailed.

6. a Lamb. The same Lord, Who is a Lamb in dying innocently, became also a Lion in boldly conquering death. Tichonius says that the Lamb is the Church, which has received all power in Christ.

seven. The sevenfold Spirit in Christ is compared with horns, because of the excellency of power; and with eyes, because of the illumination of grace.

7. took. The Son of Man is said to have taken the book from the right hand of God, namely, the economy of the Incarnation, appointed by the Father and by Himself, in that He is God; because both dwell with the Holy Spirit upon the throne. For Christ, Who in His humanity is a Lamb, is also in His deity the right hand of the Father.

8. opened. For that the Lord, by His Passion, proved that the announcements of both Testaments were fulfilled in Himself, the Church gives thanks, and offers herself to suffering, that, as the Apostle says, “She may fill up that which is wanting of the sufferings of Christ in her flesh.” For by “harps,” in which strings are stretched on wood, are represented bodies prepared to die, and by “bowls” hearts expanded in breadth of love.

9. sang. They laud the sacraments of the New Testament, which are complete in Christ, while they extol with praise that same dispensation of it which they confess to belong to Christ alone.

redeemed. Here is further declared, that the living creatures and the elders are the Church, which is redeemed by the blood of Christ, and gathered out of the nations. For he shews in what heaven they are by saying, “And they shall reign upon the earth.”

11. voice. Countless thousands of the peoples flow together unto the Church, and praise God.

13. in heaven. If the just are called “the sons of God,” why not also the angels? But again, the heavenly host may also unite in singing that song, by rejoicing with us upon our redemption, as the holy Pope Gregory also has expounded it, saying, “For the voice of angels in praise of the Creator is the very admiration itself of inmost contemplation.”

14. Amen. When the people within the Church make the praise of the Lord resound, the teachers confirm the same, and for example’s sake, together with them adore the Lord.

[Stone]

ON CHAPTER 6

v. 1. opened. Seeing that the seals are first loosed, and the book is then opened, he has purposely changed the accustomed order. For in that He suffered and rose again, the Lord taught the Church that He was the end of the law; and in that He ascended into heaven, by the mission of the Holy Spirit, He strengthened the Church with the gift of a more hidden mystery. So He then opened the book, and now He looses the seals of it. In the first seal, accordingly, he beholds the glory of the primitive Church, in the following three the threefold war against it, in the fifth the glory of those who triumph in this war, in the sixth the things which are to come in the time of Antichrist, and that with a brief recapitulation of former events, in the seventh the beginning of eternal rest.

Come. We also are admonished by the loud voice of the Gospel to behold the glory of the Lord.

white. The Lord presides over the Church, which is made whiter than snow by grace, and He bears the arms of spiritual teaching against the ungodly; and in the persons of His own He receives, as conqueror, a crown; as it is said of Him, “He received gifts in men.” In their persons also, although Lord of heaven, He was persecuted by Saul.

3. second. He is wisely bidden to observe the opposing horsemen, that, as he derives joy from the prosperity of the Church, so he may acquire caution also from its adversity, by foreknowledge of it.

4. red. Against the Church victorious and conquering there went out a red horse, that is, a malignant people, bloody from its rider, the devil. Yet we have read in Zechariah of the red horse of the Lord. But the former one is red with his own blood, this with the blood of others.

earth. That is, its own peace. But the Church has received an eternal peace, which has been left to it by Christ.

sword. That is, either against those whom he makes betrayers of the faith, or whom he makes martyrs. And concerning this it is said to the blessed Job, “He who made him has made His sword to approach;” that is, either that he may not try the saints, as much as the ungodly one wills, or, that the vengeance of his own rage may return upon himself.

5. black. The black horse is the band of false brethren who have the balance of a right profession, but hurt their fellows through works of darkness. For when it is said in the midst of the living creatures, “hurt not,” it is shewn that one is there who hurts. Of the running forward of this horse, the Apostle says, “Without were fightings, within were fears.”

6. hurt. Beware, he says, lest, by your most evil example, ye offend your brother for whom Christ died, and who bears the seal of the sacred blood, and of the chrism. For whether they are perfect in merits, or are even the least, yet whosoever in the Church are imbued with the faith of the Holy Trinity, are redeemed by the same perfect price of the Lord’s blood. And not without reason is the perfection of faith, or work, expressed by a measure of two pounds, and not by a single pound. For both alike have their root in a twofold love.

8. pale. Heretics who assume the garb of Catholics, are worthy to have death abide in their midst, and they draw after them the army of the lost. For the devil and his servants are, by a metonymy, called death and hell. It may also be taken simply, that there eternal punishment follows those who here are spiritually dead.

four (the fourth part). Behold the madness of Arius, which arose from Alexandria, and reached as far as the Gallic ocean, and pursued the godly, not only with a famine of the word of God, but also as wild beasts, with a material sword. Another version has translated it, “the fourth part,” because the three evil horses, confident in their rider, the devil, attack the fourth, the horsemen of the Church.

9. fifth. Because he had said that the Church was afflicted in manifold ways in the present time, he speaks also of the glory of souls after the punishment of the body. “I saw them,” he says, “under the altar,” that is, in the secret place of eternal praise. For the altar, which is of gold, and is placed within, and near the ark of the Lord’s body, does not, as the altar which is without, present flesh and blood to the Lord, but only the incense of praise; and they who now “offer their bodies a living sacrifice,” when the bonds of the flesh are broken, thus offer to Him the sacrifice of praise. It may also be by transposition that he did not see them under the altar, but those who had been slain under the altar, namely, under the testimony to the name of Christ, as it is said also of the Maccabees, “They fell under the covenant of God.”

10. voice. The great cry of the souls is their great desire for those things which they know that the Lord wills to do. For it is not right to suppose, that they wish for anything against the good pleasure of God, when their desires are dependent upon His will.

How long? They ask not this in hatred of their enemies, for whom they made supplication in this age. But in a love of justice, in which, as they who are placed near the Judge Himself, they agree with Him, they pray for the coming of the day of judgment, in which the reign of sin may be destroyed, and the resurrection of their lifeless bodies may come. For we also, in the present time, when we are commanded to pray for our enemies, say nevertheless, when we pray to the Lord, “Thy kingdom come.”

11. robes. The souls of the saints which rejoice in their blessed immortality, have now each one robe. But when their bodies arise, as Isaiah says, “they will possess double in their own land.”

rest. The desire of resurrection is not denied, but deferred, that the brethren may be gathered in and multiplied. For the joy of souls itself may also be represented by white robes, when they learn by the revelation of the Lord, that the ungodly are to be condemned at the last, and that even unto the end of the age many are to be joined to their number by martyrdom. Therefore, imbued with internal charity, and content with this consolation, they have been willing rather that their own joys should be deferred for the completion of the number of the faithful.

12. sixth. By the opening of the sixth seal the last persecution is announced, and that the world is shaken with darkness and fear, as when the Lord was crucified on the sixth day of the week.

sun. This is, as if the power of Christ were hidden, or His doctrine temporarily obscured, or covered by a veil, when the servants of Antichrist are brought to attack the servants of Christ.

moon. The Church, more than is wont, will shed her blood for Christ And he said “the whole,” because the last earthquake will be in the whole world. But before that, as it is written, “there will be earthquakes through divers places.”

13. stars. They who shine as heavenly ones in the Church, and that in appearance alone, when they are driven by the wind of the last persecution, will be proved to have been of earth. And their works are fitly compared to green figs, that is to the untimely, and useless, and falling fruit of the fig-tree.

14. heaven. As a scroll rolled up contains indeed mysteries within, while there is no appearance of them without, so will it be with the Church. At that time, known only to her own, she will prudently avoid persecution in retirement, that by such concealment she may remain unperceived by those without.

mountain. He speaks of the members of the Church, as differing according to the character of their offices or powers, and foretells, that no one will be without his share in this whirlwind. But the movement caused by it will be dissimilar, for in the good it will be one of precaution by flight, but in the bad, of giving way by compliance.

15. kings. The “kings” we take to be those who are powerful. For he will have persons of every degree and condition to be understood. Besides, who will then be kings except the persecutor alone?

hid. While all the weak at that time seek to be strengthened by the examples of the highest in the Church, and to be fortified by their counsels, protected by their advice, and sheltered by their prayers, they entreat the very mountains to fall upon them with a feeling of compassion. For “the high mountains are a refuge for the hinds, and the rocks for the hedgehogs.”

16. hide. That is, in order that He may not find us reprobates when He comes, but stedfast in the faith, with our sins covered by the intercession of the saints, and the mercy of God.

17. stand. He surely will be able to stand in that day who has now taken care to be watchful, to stand in the faith, to act manfully. But if thou refer this earthquake literally to the day of judgment itself, it is no marvel if the kings and princes of the earth are then afraid, and seek the refuge of the holy hills. For so, in the rich man clothed in purple, and the poor Lazarus, we read that it has already taken place.