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Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalypse - Stone - 01-19-2021
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
RE: Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalyps - Stone - 01-19-2021
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.
RE: Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalyps - Stone - 01-19-2021
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,
RE: Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalyps - Stone - 01-19-2021
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.
RE: Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalyps - Stone - 01-19-2021
ON CHAPTER 7
v. 1. four angels. That is, four principal kingdoms, namely, of the Assyrians, and Persians, and Greeks, and Romans. And as in the former seals, after the manifold conflicts of the Church, he saw the joys of triumphant souls, so now, also, he is to prove by examples the victory over the preceding kingdoms of the world, who have now submitted to the Church of Christ, which is to follow the reign of Antichrist. For greater matters must of necessity be confirmed by greater proofs.winds. These, in a manner, stifled all things by their might, and suffered no one to breathe of his own free-will. In “the earth” is signified the variety of provinces, in “the sea” of islands, in “the trees” the different quality and condition of men. Otherwise: by the four angels are to be understood four winds, according to the prophecy of Daniel, who says, “Behold the four winds of heaven strove upon the great sea, and four beasts came up from the sea.”
2. east. The Lord incarnate, Who is the Angel of the great counsel, that is, the Messenger of His Father’s will, has visited us, “the day-spring from on high,” bearing the ensign of the cross, with which to seal His own in their foreheads.
voice. The “loud voice of the Lord” is the cry which is lifted up on high, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
3. Hurt not. From the time that the Lord suffered, not only was the dominion of the enemy who opposed Him destroyed, but that of worldly power too, as we both see with our eyes, and read of in the image which the stone from the mountain “broke in pieces.”
foreheads. For to this end was the empire of the nations broken up, that the face of the saints might be freely marked with the seal of faith, which these had resisted. For, again, the figure of the cross itself represents the kingdom of the Lord extending everywhere, as the old saying proves:—
“Behold the world four-square, in parts distinct,
To shew the realm of faith possessing all.”
And not in vain was the sacred Name of the Lord, of four letters, written on the forehead of the High Priest, inasmuch as this is the sign on the forehead of the faithful, of which it is also sung in; the Psalm “for the winefats,” “O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Thy Name in all the earth?” and the rest, until he says, “That thou mayest destroy the enemy and the defender.”
4. number. By this definite number is signified the innumerable multitude of the whole Church, which is descended from the patriarchs either by the lineage of nature, or the imitation of faith. For, he says, “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed.” And it tends to additional completeness, that the twelve also should be multiplied by twelve, and brought to a sum of thousands, which is the cube of the number ten, by which is represented the enduring life of the Church. And for this reason, too, it is often denoted by the number twelve, because throughout the foursquare world it subsists by faith in the Holy Trinity, for three times four are ten and two. Finally, also, when the Apostles were to preach the same faith to the whole world, twelve were chosen, as signifying by their number the mystery of their work.
5. Judah. With good reason, he begins with Judah, from which tribe our Lord sprang; and has omitted Dan, from whom, as it is said, Antichrist is to be born; for it is written, “Let Dan become an adder in the way, a horned serpent in the path, biting the horse-hoofs, that his rider may fall.” For he has not proposed to set forth the order of earthly generation, but according to the interpretation of the names the powers of the Church, which from present confession and praise is hastening to the right hand of eternal life. For this is the meaning of the name of Judah, who is placed first, and of Benjamin, who comes last So, then, Judah is placed first, who is interpreted “confession,” or “praise;” for before the first step of confession no one reaches the height of good works, and unless we renounce evil deeds by confession, we are not fashioned in such as are good.
The second is Reuben, who is interpreted, “seeing the son.” That works are denoted in “sons,” the Psalmist testifies, when among the benedictions of the man who is blessed, he says with the rest, “Thy sons like olive-plants;” and below, “That thou mayest see thy sons’ sons.” For it is not, that he who fears the Lord cannot be blessed, unless he has begotten sons, and raised up grandsons, since a better reward awaits the faithful virgins; but in “sons,” he designates works, and in “sons’ sons” the fruits of works, namely, an eternal reward. Accordingly, after Judah there follows Reuben, that is, after the commencement of divine confession and praise, the perfection of action.
But because “we must through many tribulations enter into the kingdom of God,” after Reuben follows Gad, who is interpreted “temptation,” or, “girt.” For after the beginning of a good work, it is needful that a man should be proved by greater temptations, and be girt about for greater conflicts, that the strength of his faith may be approved. And so Solomon says, “My son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in righteousness and fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation;” and the Psalmist also, “Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle.”
And because “we esteem them blessed who have maintained sufferance,” for this reason, after Gad is placed Asher, that is, “the blessed,” an order which is not unsuitable. For “Blessed is he who endures temptation, for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life.” But, inasmuch as they who rely upon the sure promise of this blessedness, are not straitened, but “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation,” sing with the author of the Psalm, “In tribulation Thou hast enlarged me,” and also, “I ran in the way of Thy commandments, while Thou didst enlarge my heart;” and say, exultingly, with the mother of the blessed Samuel, “My heart is enlarged above mine enemies, because I rejoiced in Thy salvation;” therefore, Nepthali succeeds, that is, “enlargement.” Moreover, he is followed by Manasseh, who is interpreted “forgetting,” or, “necessity.” And by the mystery of this name we are admonished, that being taught by the anguish of the present temptations, and “forgetting the things which are behind,” we should so “reach forward,” as the Apostle says, “to the things which are before,” as “not to make provision for the flesh in lust,” but as compelled by the necessity of human nature alone. And concerning this the Psalmist prayed, when sighing for better things, “Deliver me out of my necessities.”
Next to him is placed Simeon, that is, “he heard of sorrow,” or, “the name of his habitation;” in order that, by the character of this name also, he might more plainly inculcate both what it to be possessed here, and what is to be profitably expected. For the joy of the heavenly habitation will be given to those whose mind is here made sorrowful by a fruitful repentance; to whom it is also said, “Your sorrow shall be turned into joy.”
In the next place follows Levi, that is, “added,” in whom we either understand those who by temporal obtain eternal things; as Solomon says, “The ransom of a man’s life are his riches;” or those who, by following the counsel of God, “receive in this world a hundredfold with tribulations, but in the world to come, eternal life.” And to these, also, belongs this that is written, “He who adds knowledge, adds grief.” For to this end also the bitterness of tribulation was added to the blessed Job, that having been proved, he might receive a greater recompense of reward. And so, not without reason, there succeeds him in direct order, Issachar, who is interpreted “reward,” because, as the Apostle teaches, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory which shall be revealed in us,” inasmuch as we fight with better success when there is hope of a sure reward. But God operates and perfects this in the habitation of strength, which Zabulon means, when “strength is made perfect in weakness.” So that the body, which is considered weak by its enemies, and through the material substance of which they also strive to bring destruction to the soul, is found to be invincible through God Who strengthens it; and there succeeds a happy increase in this. This is also denoted by the word Joseph, for it signifies, gifts and graces to be added, whether thou understand the increase of spiritual gain from the double return of the talents, or whether thou take it in respect of the offerings which are made to God the Redeemer by the devotion of the faithful.
Now, in order that thou mayest perceive that all these, who both by the succession and interpretation of the names are shewn not to be placed without significance, will be at the right hand of Christ, the eternal King, in the judgment to come; Benjamin, that is, “the son of the right hand,” is set last, as I said before, as the end of the line. For, after the last enemy, death, has been destroyed, the bliss of the eternal inheritance will be given to the elect. And this, whether each one of the faithful is rightly called the son of the right hand, or the whole assembly of the Church, of which it is sung: “Upon Thy right hand stood the queen, in a vesture of gold, clothed in variety.”
So, then, from each tribe are sealed ten thousand. For in whatsoever virtues each one of the faithful has made progress, he must needs be ever strengthened by the faith, and instructed by the examples of the fathers of old. And it is most certain that frequently the body of doctors, frequently that of the whole Church, is designated by the number twelve, because of the sum of the Apostles, or patriarchs. For whether each one is counted worthy of praise from confession, as in Judah; or is illustrious from the progeny of works, in Reuben; or is strong from the discipline of temptations, in Gad; or is happy from victory in conflicts, in Asher; or is enlarged by abundant works of mercy, in Napthali; or is forgetful of the things which are behind, in Manasseh; or is still sorrowful, as in the valley of tears, but always rejoicing in the name of his habitation, while sighing for the heavenly Jerusalem, in Simeon; or is rejoicing together in the promises of the life that now is, and of that which is to come, resting upon temporal good things, added to the eternal good, in Levi; or is strengthened by the contemplation of the future reward, in Issachar; or is laying down his life for Christ, in Zabulon; or is labouring earnestly for an increase of spiritual substance, and offering something more beyond the commands of God, either in virginity, or from the abundance of his means, in Joseph; or is expecting the right hand of eternal bliss, with unwearied prayer, in Benjamin; it is fitting that each should be sealed in his own profession by the rule of the preceding fathers, as by the number twelve, and that from the merits of individuals, should the most perfect beauty of the Church, as the sum of a hundred and forty-four thousand, be made up.
9. multitude. On the conclusion of the recapitulation, which had been interposed for the sake of example, he returns to the previous order, and announces the glory of those who are to overcome the wickedness of the last persecution. And that which follows, “From all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues,” may also be thus understood, that, after enumerating the tribes of Israel, to whom the Gospel was first preached, he desires to make mention of the salvation of the Gentiles as well.
robes. By “robes” he signifies baptism, by “palms” the triumph of the Cross, and he intimates that in Christ they have overcome the world. But robes may also double the glory which is given by the Holy Spirit.
10. cried. They proclaim with a loud voice, that is, with great devotion, an unceasing praise, that on the throne, namely, in the Church, there reign the Father and the Son; the Holy Spirit, nevertheless, reigning together with them. For it is said, “To Him Who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb;” in the same manner as it is said in the Gospel, “And may know Thee, the true and only God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent;” in which place, “may know the only and true God” is understood.
11. angels. In all the angels he has represented the persons of the great multitude worshipping the Lord. “All they,” he says, “who are round about Him will offer gifts.”
fell. In this passage he relates, that neither the multitude, nor the living creatures, nor the elders worshipped, but the angels alone. For these are the multitude, these the living creatures and the elders. But it may also be understood of the angelic spirits themselves, of whom, as rejoicing together at the salvation of the Gentiles, it is said, “Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people,” and, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
12. blessing. The Church offers the sevenfold praise of excellence unto the Lord, and in each of its members confesses to have received this from Him.
13. who? He asks for this end, that he may teach.
14. tribulation. “Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God,” but who knows not that the tribulation of Antichrist will be greater than all the rest?
washed. He speaks not of martyrs alone. They are washed in their own blood. But the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, cleanses the whole Church from all sin, therefore are they before the throne of God. For they are accounted worthy to stand there together in the service of God, who in the midst of adverse things are faithful confessors of His Name.
15. day and night. He speaks after out manner, and signifies eternity.
throne. The saints are the throne of God, above whom and among whom the Lord for ever dwells.
16. hunger. This it is which the Lord Himself promised, saying, “I am the bread of life: he who cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he who believeth in Me shall never thirst.” Yea, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
the sun. “We passed,” he says, “through fire and water, and thou broughtest us out into a place of refreshment.”
17. the Lamb. He says, that the Lamb is in the midst of the throne, in that he had said above, that “the Lamb received the book from Him Who sitteth upon the throne;” and teaches that the Church is one throne for the Father and the Son, in which one God, the undivided Trinity, dwells through faith.
fountains. That is to say, to the company of the saints, who are the fountains of heavenly doctrine. The vision of God itself may also be signified, “in Whom are hidden the treasures of wisdom and knowledge;” according to this that David says, “As the hart longeth for the fountains of waters, so longeth my soul after Thee, O God.”
tears. When the fulness of immortal bliss is gained, all sorrow will be at once consigned to forgetfulness. For, “Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” The vision of the white-robed multitude may also be understood of the present time, when “we are saved in hope,” and “hoping for that which we see not, in patience wait for it.”
RE: Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalyps - Stone - 01-19-2021
ON CHAPTER 8
v. 1. seal. It is believed that after the death of Antichrist, there will be some little rest in the Church, which Daniel thus foretold: “Blessed is he who waiteth and cometh to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.” And it is thus interpreted by the blessed Jerome: “Blessed,” he says, “is he, who when Antichrist is slain, beyond the one thousand two hundred and ninety days, that is, three years and a half, waits for the forty-five days, in which the Lord and Saviour is to come in His own Majesty. Now for what reason, after the destruction of Antichrist, there is silence for forty-five days, is a subject of divine knowledge, unless perhaps we say, the deferring of the kingdom of the saints is the trial of patience.” Observe that at the sixth seal, he sees the greatest afflictions of the Church, at the seventh, rest. For the Lord was crucified on the sixth day of the week, and rested on the Sabbath, awaiting the time of resurrection. Thus far concerning the opening of the closed book, and the six seals. But now he recapitulates from the beginning, as he is about to say the same things in another manner.
RE: Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalyps - Stone - 01-19-2021
ON CHAPTER 9
v. 1. star. He declares with what fuel the flame of heretics, of which he had spoken briefly, was kindled. The old enemy forsooth, whom the Lord saw “like lightning fall from heaven,” opened the heart of his own by blasphemous doctrine, and taught them to speak impiety against the Most High.2. smoke. The madness of heresy rages to announce beforehand the great furnace, namely, the last persecution; and it labours to obscure not the weak alone, who like the air touch, as it were, the confines of earth and heaven, but the light also of the lofty, though unable to extinguish it For even the elect, if it be possible, will be led into error.
3. locusts. As the saints are the body of Christ and members one of another, so also the members of the flesh of the dragon cleave to one another, and are born one from the other, and the smoke of heretical blindness generates the pride of the ungodly, which hurts with its mouth. And although these are shaken by the wind of exaltation, yet they leave not the places of earth, for so also the smoke from which they are produced, though it seek to ascend, always sinks back into itself.
power. Heretics are compared with hostile powers, and appear harmless in their countenance, but keep poison in their hinder parts.
4. grass. He shews that the locusts are men, for they are not sent to the grass, but to men, for we understand locusts simply in this place.
seal. They are said to have the seal of God on their foreheads who have it, as they ought to have; and the number of these was reckoned above, as being inviolate and fixed by the angel, who brought from the east the seal of the living God. For here he has been pleased to use the form of speech in which it is said, “No man saith that Jesus is the Lord, but in the Holy Ghost,” that is, perfectly and truly.
5. kill. Although heretics are supported by the secular power, and are permitted for a time to assail the good, yet, as the Lord saith, “they are not able to kill the soul.” For by the five months he signifies the time of the age, because of the division into five of the sense which we use in this life. But in that another translation has “six months,” it agrees with this interpretation, because of the six periods of the age.
scorpion. As the scorpion diffuses poison from its hinder parts, so the ungodliness of the wicked injures from their hinder parts, when by threats or blandishments it causes the temporal things which are behind to be preferred to the eternal good things which are before. In opposition to the parable of the Gospel, the generation of vipers gives this scorpion to its own offspring.
6. death. They would rather that a life of misery should be ended by a speedy death, as the blessed Cyprian complained that it happened under the Decian persecution. “When they wished to the,” he says, “it was not permitted them to be slain.”
7. horses. That is, they are like the last persecutors. For in the last war which he is to describe under the next angel, he says that horses fight; or simply, as horses are urged to battle, not by any reason of their own, but by the impulse of the rider; so evil teachers, urged by a demoniacal spirit, attack the Church.
crowns. The twenty-four angels, who are the Church, have crowns of gold. But these have crowns like gold, as pretending to false triumphs from an empty victory.
faces. In the human face he represents a pretence of reason; in the hair of women, lax and effeminate manners; in the teeth of lions, which are wont to tear in pieces, and which bring with them a natural stench, ferocity of mind and the infamy of evil doctrine; and in breastplates of iron, hearts which are hardened against the truth. For “these having a form of godliness, but denying its power,” “come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.”
9. wings. It is matter for fear rather than exposition, that this army has its powers so greatly increased. First, the smoke ascends, then it produces locusts, which at first are compared to scorpions, and presently afterwards to horses and lions. Their power too would be great enough, even if they did not come armed with breastplates; but now they are said to be winged, and like chariots of war.
10. tails. As the scorpion goes along softly, but strikes with its tail, so the pernicious craftiness of the wicked seems in appearance gentle and harmless, but in that it secretly destroys as in some hidden manner, it brings with it death.
five months. Again he signifies this life, in which falsehood may avail either to catch the unprofitable, or torment for a time the spiritual.
11. king. God, supremely good, in His secret but just counsels, permitted an angel, not unfit for such as these, to have rule over them.
12. past. Since he had foretold that three woes were to come, he now mentions that one hath already come, in the deceit of heresy, and that two remain, which will happen to the perverse in the time of Antichrist, and at the day of judgment.
13. sixth. The sixth angel denotes the preachers of the last conflict, who, as the Gospel forewarns, detect the frauds of Antichrist. For the horns of the golden altar are the Gospels, which rise above the Church.
14. four. He signifies how much the Church will be persecuted at the end of the world, by the old enemy with his satellites, who from the time of the Lord’s Passion is shut up in the hearts of the ungodly, and is restrained by the divine power from injuring it as much as he desires. For the Euphrates, which is a river of Babylon, signifies the power of the kingdom of the world, and the waves of persecutors. This is the great mountain, which he had foretold would be cast in burning fire into the sea.
15. loosed. In the same manner as prophecy, which points out to us things to come, he himself in spirit sees them come to pass. And he has said four angels, because the persecution will rage in the four parts of the world. For these are they whom he saw above, standing at the four corners of the earth, and restrained from injuring the earth and the sea for the sealing of the servants of God.
prepared. The malignant spirits, who at every moment of the hours and times hunger for the death of man, are then permitted for the trial of the Church to rage more freely, and are to be destroyed in their time? But what, thinkest thou, will they do, when they are loosed, who now injure so much while they are bound?
16. number. This number designates the crafty duplicity of the perverse army; and this may more easily be perceived in another translation, which says, “two myriads of myriads.” This is the number which the parable of the Gospel opposes to the king who has ten thousand, as if the duplicity of the wicked resists the simple faith of Christ, for “thousands of thousands minister unto Him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stand before Him.”
17. horses. The malignant spirits are involved in the same punishments with those over whose hearts they preside. For we read, that “they who worship the beast are to be tormented with fire and brimstone,” and that “the smoke of their torments goes up for ages of ages.” Observe, that in the plague of locusts, he said not that he saw horsemen, but only horses. For here the magnitude of the persecutions make manifest the presence of a contrary power. Lastly, here there are heads of lions, but there there is the face of men, and the teeth alone of brutes. For heretics often make a shew of humanity, but the ministers of the last persecution exact by punishments even that which they recommend by words and signs.
mouths. He shews that he said “jacinth” for smoke. These things do not proceed visibly from their mouth; but they are the source of punishment to themselves and their hearers by their injurious preaching. “I will bring fire,” he says, “out of the midst of thee, which is to devour thee.”
19. tails. That is, in their speech and office. For “the prophet that teacheth a lie, he is the tail,” for he conceals a part which is in a manner hidden and unclean by the volubility of a flattering tongue, saying to the ungodly, “Thou art good.”
serpents. For the false teachers of the old serpent who deceived man, like those who are supported by the protection of princes, hurt more than if they persuaded by words alone. “He sitteth,” he says, “lying in wait with the rich.”
20. the rest. As he had described the false Christians and heretics, in order that he may comprehend the whole body of the devil, he now mentions also the error of the heathen, to whom it is of no avail not to have been slain by these plagues, as it is evident that they still continue in heathen wickedness. For not even in that last persecution will the heathen be compelled to yield their assent by the things mentioned above, but will die in their unbelief.
repented not. To an ungodly religion they add also an unholy manner of life. After he has described the cruelty of Antichrist, in order to shew his fall, he recapitulates in the usual way the commencement from the birth of Christ, and the glory of the Church.
RE: Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalyps - Stone - 01-19-2021
ON CHAPTER 10
v. 1. angel. The Lord, the angel of the great counsel, comes down from heaven clothed with a cloud of flesh; as also Isaiah says, “Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt.”
rainbow. That is, the promise of propitiation abiding around the good.
face. When the face of the Lord becomes bright, that is, when the knowledge of Him is manifested by the glory of the resurrection, His feet which are to preach glad tidings upon the mountains, and proclaim peace, are illumined with the fire of the Holy Spirit and are made firm like a pillar, for “James, Cephas, and John, seemed to be pillars,” of the Church.
2. book. This is the book which was mentioned above, and which was closed by a long-continued covering, and was at last unfastened by the grace of the Lord, that, as the Prophet says, even “the deaf might hear the words of the book.” And with reason is His face as the sun, because He now carries an open book.
earth. The preaching of the Christian faith is extended by land and sea. But, allegorically, the stronger members are placed in the greater dangers, the others in such as are suited to them. For God “does not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able.”
3. thunders. When the Lord proclaims mightily, the Church also, filled with sevenfold grace, lifts up her voice to preach. For “the lion shall roar, who will riot fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who will not prophesy?” seeing that the seven thunders of which he is speaking are the same as the seven trumpets.
4. Seal. Neither do thou exhibit to all indiscriminately the mysteries of the Christian faith, lest they become of low esteem; nor close them to the good, lest they be entirely hidden. And for the same reason he heard at a later time, “Seal not the words of this prophecy.” Both these are comprised in a single verse in Daniel, for it is said to him by the angel, “seal the book, and shut up the words even unto the time appointed.”
5. hand. The angel swears by Him. who liveth for ever, while Christ, Who comes in the Father’s Name, confirms the words of His own unchangeable truth, saying, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”
6. created. He who stands on the sea and on the earth, and stretches forth his hand to heaven, swears fitly by the Creator of the heaven, the earth, and the sea.
no longer. Assuredly, as the Psalmist says, “The time of the godly will be for ever.” But the changeable variety of secular times will cease at the last trumpet, for “the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall arise incorrupt,” and “their inheritance shall be for ever.”
7. mystery. The mystery of the Gospel which is now preached will then be finished, when “the ungodly shall go into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
8. voice. When the Lord lays open the mysteries of future time, and says, “For the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” the Church also is admonished to receive the same book of preaching. But these words may also be suitable to John himself, who is to return to preaching after his banishment.
9. Give. Let him come to the Lord who wishes to receive the sacraments of teaching.
Take. That is, place it in thy inward parts, and write it down in the breadth of thy heart.
bitter. When thou hast received it, thou wilt be delighted by the sweetness of the divine oracle; but thou wilt perceive a bitterness on beginning to preach, and to practise what thou hast learned, or, at least, it is to be so understood according to Ezekiel, who, when he said that he had eaten the book, added, “And I went away in bitterness, in the indignation of my spirit.”
11. prophesy. He shews what was signified by the book eaten up, and the sweetness mingled with bitterness, namely, that he was to be delivered from banishment, and was to preach the Gospel to the nations, which is sweet indeed through love, but is bitter through the persecutions that are to be endured.
RE: Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalyps - Stone - 01-19-2021
ON CHAPTER 11
v. 1. reed. He received the office of writing the Gospel in the reed, which is not useless with a vain lustre, but is like “the rod of equity, the rod of the kingdom of God,” for it describes the eternal kingdom of Christ.
Rise. “Rise,” he said: not that John was seated, but that the hearts of all are aroused by this word to measure the writings and actions of the Gospel, for then they find what progress they each one make, and how far they agree with the divine rule.
worship. For not all they who are seen therein worship, as he “who shall confess Me.” He commands, that is, in what he says, that a part should not be reckoned.
2. without. They who in name alone are united to the Church, and who neither draw near to the altar nor the most holy place, are cast forth by the rule of the Gospel, and are joined to the nations. For “all the glory of her who is the daughter of kings is from within.”
tread. Not only are they driven from the Church, but they also fight against the Church itself, with the heathen as their allies, for three years and a-half. It is not that they only trample upon it then in the time of Antichrist; but that in that time all the body of the wicked, “in whom the ministry of iniquity already works,” is joined as it were, to its own head.
3. witnesses. That the cruelty of the bad may not alarm the hearer, he mentions, that the Church also, which of two races is made one, is to become illustrious by the gift of miracles. The Church, too, ever contemplating its head, namely Christ, teaching in the flesh, will prophesy, it is said, for two years and a-half. For the months of three years and a-half, namely, thirty times forty-two, make up two hundred and sixty days. But Daniel writes, that the days of the same period in which the abomination of desolation is to be set up are one thousand two hundred and ninety.
sackcloth. That is, who are made to stand in penance; as the prophet says, “But I clothed myself in sackcloth of hair, while they were vexatious unto me.”
4. olive trees. The Church is irradiated by the light of the two Testaments, and ever waits upon the commands of the Lord. So also the prophet Zechariah saw one candlestick with seven branches, and these two olive-trees, that is, testaments, pouring oil into the candlestick. This is the Church with its oil, which never fails, which makes it shine for the light of the world.
5. fire. If any one harms the Church, he is condemned by a retributive sentence of the same harm; and is consumed by fire. For “all they who take the sword shall perish with the sword.” And so the Chaldean flame which was prepared for the children of God, slew the ministers of ungodliness themselves. Or: he who is to be changed for the better, is spiritually consumed in a good fire, by the prayers of the mouth of the Church. “Thou wilt heap,” he says, “coals of fire upon his head.”
6. power. All power in heaven and earth is given to the Church in Christ, for the keys of binding and loosing are committed to it. But spiritually also, the heaven is shut, that it rain no rain, in order that blessing from the Church may not come down upon the barren earth. As the Lord saith of the Father to His vineyard, “I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.”
waters. Not only do they make to cease the waters, but they also render those which had come down useless; and this is, to turn the waters into blood. The sweet savour of Christ, which comes with fragrance from the Church, is “to some a savour of death unto death, to others a savour of life unto life.”
7. testimony. He shews clearly, that all these things take place before the last persecution, by saying, “when they shall have finished their testimony;” namely, that which they give, until the revelation of the beast, who is to come forth from the hearts of the ungodly. It is not that they do not then strive boldly to resist the enemy by the same testimony, but that the Church, as is supposed, will then be left destitute of the gift of miracles, while the adversary is resplendent with them in the sight of all through lying wonders. For, as the Lord says, “Want shall go before his face.”
kill. He will overcome in those who shall succumb, he will kill in those who, with laudable patience, shall be slain. Or: if he shall overcome and kill spiritually, we may take it of a part of the witnesses, as the Lord says in the Gospel, “They will deliver you up to affliction, and kill you;” which Luke the Evangelist intimates to have been spoken of a part, saying, “Some of you they will kill.”
8. bodies. “If they have persecuted Me,” He says, “they will also persecute you.” It is no wonder, then, if the city of the ungodly, which feared not to crucify the Lord, has His servants also in derision, even when they are slain. And such things as these ecclesiastical history relates to have often occurred.
Sodom. That is, “silent and dark,” having forsooth neither the light of faith, nor the voice of confession. For “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” These regions, for a sign of spiritual punishment, were visibly smitten with these plagues, that is, with devouring fire, and water turned into blood.
9. see. He said not the peoples and tribes will see, but, many from among the peoples who openly deride the saints, when others believe.
tombs. He has spoken of their wish and their opposition: not that they are able to effect that the Church should not be their memorial; as it is said, “Ye neither enter in, nor suffer others to enter in,” seeing that some do enter in, although they oppose. But they will evidently effect, in respect of the bodies of the living and of the slain, that neither are the living suffered to meet together for their memory by the celebration of holy offices, nor the slain to have their names recited for their memory, nor to have their bodies buried for their memory as witnesses of God.
10. rejoice. As often as the righteous are afflicted, the unrighteous exult and feast, as, “while the ungodly is lifted up, the poor is consumed.”
tormented. Because of the plagues with which the human race is vexed, because of their testimony to God, even the very sight of the righteous oppresses the unrighteous; as they themselves say, “He is grievous unto us even to behold.”
11. days. Thus far the angel has spoken of the future, and now he brings in, as accomplished, that which he hears is to come to pass, namely that, after the reign of Antichrist has been destroyed, the saints have risen to glory.
fear. He has spoken of all the living, because even the righteous who shall remain alive will greatly fear at the resurrection of those who sleep.
12. cloud. This is the same that the Apostle said, “We shall be caught up in the clouds into the air, to meet the Lord.”
enemies. Here he has distinguished the unrighteous from those of whom he had said, that they feared in common with them.
13. earthquake. When the terror of the judgment comes upon them, all the city of the devil, which is built upon the sand, with all its builders, will fall to the ground. For, both ten and seven are perfect numbers. But if it were not so, the whole would be to be understood from a part.
affrighted. Who of all men will boast that he has a pure heart, when “the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”
gave glory. They are built upon a rock, who, from their own stability, glorify the Lord when others fall at the earthquake. For “the righteous will rejoice when he seeth the punishment of the wicked.” Some understand the two prophets to be Enoch and Elijah, and that they are to preach for three years and a-half, and confirm the hearts of the faithful against the perfidy of Antichrist, which is presently to follow; and that, after their death, his cruelty is to rage for the same period of time, and then, when the conflict is at length renewed by the saints, who in the protection of their hiding-places were supposed to be dead, is to be overcome. And these, because of their fellowship in one body, are said to rise as prophets themselves; and when the persecution is intensified at the sight of those who were already thought to be dead, many of those who were supposed to be worthy of the number seven, or ten, will fall. For Daniel says, “He will confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the half of the week the oblation and sacrifice will cease, and the abomination of desolation shall be in the temple;” and the following, “and when the abomination which makes desolate shall be set up, there will be a thousand two hundred and ninety days,” which number is close upon the course of three years and a-half. Finally, Elijah of old destroyed his adversaries by fire, and was hidden for three years and a-half, and withheld the rain; and at length, when the false prophets were put to death, by means of the sacrifice which had been consumed, he turned Israel unto the Lord.
14. second. The second woe does not belong to the recapitulation, but to the battle of the horses, which was stirred up by the trumpet of the sixth angel; for the eagle had foretold three woes, from the voice of the three trumpets which was to come. But he did not utter it then, lest that which belongs to the seventh angel, and the end, should be supposed to follow immediately upon the third.
15. seventh. The six former trumpets, corresponding with the periods of the present age, announced the various conflicts of the wars of the Church. But the seventh, heralds in the eternal sabbath, and shews alone the victory and the dominion of the true King.
16. worshipped. Behold, he says, the third woe will come at the voice of the seventh angel. And when he had sounded, he only spoke of the Church as praising God and giving thanks, from which we understand that the retribution of the faithful will be nothing else than the woe of the evil ones.
17. who art. “Thou hast reigned from the age, although the ungodly are rebellious against Thee. But now that Thou art Judge, their fury will be repressed, and will cease.” For, “The Lord hath reigned, let the people be angry.”
18. dead. It agrees with the order, as we read in the Gospel, that first, indeed, all nations should be gathered together before the Judge, then that those on the right hand should be disposed in many mansions in the Kingdom of the Father, but that the ungodly should be driven out beyond the limits of the kingdom, to be burned in the accursed flames.
corrupted. This is the last woe. Therefore, concerning the seven angels sounding with the trumpet, he now recapitulates from the birth of the Lord, as about to say the same things in another manner, and more comprehensively.
19. The temple of God, which was placed aforetime on the earth, had the ark of the covenant, inclosed within the mystical veil. But now, in the Church, which is “the temple of the living God,” whose “conversation is in heaven,” the ark of His Incarnation is laid open to the whole world, as the veil of the old temple, and the middle wall of partition, have been rent asunder by the blood of the Lord. For like the heavenly manna in clean gold is the Divinity in a holy body.
lightnings. These all are the miracles of the splendour, and preaching, and wars of the Church. He had said also that these things took place in the description of the announcement of the seven angels, from the Advent of the Lord, when He stood upon the altar, but generally from the begining to the end. Then he described particularly in what manner they took place, as he also does now, that the temple of God is opened in heaven, and that conflicts follow.
RE: Venerable Bede: The Explanation of the Apocalyps - Stone - 01-19-2021
ON CHAPTER 12
v. 1. sign. It is the same sign which now also appears in the Church, that God is born of man.a woman. The Church is clothed with the light of Christ, and treads upon temporal glory. “Righteousness,” he says, “will arise in his days, and abundance of peace, until the moon be taken away, or consumed.” That is, the abundance of peace will greatly increase, until it consume all the changeableness of mortality, and then death, the last enemy, will be destroyed. Or: because the same Church has partly the fruition of Christ, the Sun, in heaven, and is partly absent from the Lord, that which he says, “His left hand is under my head, and his right embraceth me,” may be understood here.
stars. The Head of the Church is adorned with the number of the Apostles, which is twelve, whether Christ is understood, or whether the first beginning of the Church itself is designated under the name of the head. “Thou hast set,” he says, “upon his head a crown of precious stone.”
2. birth. The Church, in a spiritual sense, both brings forth those with whom it travails, and ceases not to travail with them when already born. As she herself says, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you.”
delivered. So the Lord says in the Gospel, “A woman, when she is in travail, hath sorrow because her hour is come, but when she hath brought forth a son, she remembers the anguish no more for joy.” And He Himself expounded this to His disciples, and added, “And ye now, therefore, have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice.”
3. dragon. The devil, blood-stained in his cruelty, is armed against the Church with the power of an earthly king. For in the seven heads he describes all his kings, and in the ten horns every kingdom.
4. tail. He intimates the power and malice of the enemy, whom the Church overcomes by the help of the Lord, for he has cast down an innumerable host of angels and men by deceptive testimony, as with a tail. For the tail is a part of the body which is removed from sight, and unclean; and which conceals the parts which are unclean by the covering which it affords, that they may not appear. Tichonius, as his manner is, interprets the third part of the stars which fell, of false brethren, so that another third would be the Church, and the enemies external to it a third.
devour. The devil plots against the Church, and strives to extinguish the faith of Christ in the hearts of the faithful, that he may, as it were, kill him who has been taught, and to whom by teaching he has given birth. And a figure of this deceit was shewn in Herod, who, like an intestine foe, pretends that he desires to worship the Lord, in order that he may put Him to death.
5. man child. Although the dragon oppose, the Church ever brings forth Christ. But he spoke of the man child as conqueror of the devil, who had conquered the woman. For who but the man child, who is “to rule all nations with a rod of iron,” rules the good with inflexible justice, breaks in pieces the bad? And this is also promised to the Church, in that it is said above, “I will give Him power over the nations, and He shall rule them with a rod of iron.” For the Church, too, daily generates the Church, which rules the world in Christ.
caught up. Therefore ungodliness cannot apprehend Christ, Who is spiritually born in the minds of the hearers, because at the same time He reigns with the Father in heaven, “Who has raised up us also together with Him, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ.”
6. wilderness. The Church rejoices in her sojourning in this present wilderness, as living in hope of things eternal. For she has received power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the red dragon, like the Israelitish multitude which was fed with heavenly bread, and overcame the fiery serpents by the sight of the serpent of brass.
place. “Be thou to me,” he says, “as God my protector, and as a place of refuge, that I may be safe.”
days. In this number of days, which makes three years and a-half, he comprehends all the times of Christianity, because Christ, Whose body the Church is, preached the same length of time in the flesh.
7. heaven. The heaven signifies the Church, in which he says that Michael, with his angels, fights against the devil, for that, according to the will of God, he contends for the Church in her sojourning, by praying and ministering help; of whom Daniel also said, that he would come to the aid of the Church in the last and most grievous affliction; from which they suppose that Antichrist is to be slain by him. And they are said to be his angels in the same way that our angels also are. For the Lord says, “Their angels do always behold the face of My Father,” the angels, that is, of those whose citizens they are.
fought. The angels of Satan are not those alone who are like him in nature and will, but men who are entangled in their snares are also to be understood.
8. prevailed not. That is, they prevailed not through all time.
found. It was not found, that is, in holy men, who, by his expulsion from them, have already become a heaven themselves, and who through faith no more receive him back, who has once been expelled.
9. earth. The old enemy, who is expelled from the spiritual, is more closely shut up in the earthly. This is to be hurled down from heaven, and sent into the earth. For to him it is said, “Earth shalt thou eat all the days;” and in this earth he is bruised by the feet of the saints, as it is written, “Thou shalt tread upon the asp and the basilisk.”
10. salvation. It is clearly shewn in what heaven these things take place, for we know that in the Church salvation is procured by the victory of Christ, and because of this He says, “All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth;” not that power which He Himself always had, but that which He began to have in the Church, as the Head in the members, from the time that He Himself willed.
brethren. The angels express joy at the salvation of their brethren, that is, of those who will become citizens, but who now are strangers.
accused. For he suggests, that they both make an ill-use of prosperity, and have not patience in adversity.
11. lives. With good reason do they despise their lives for Christ’s sake, who have overcome so great an adversary by the blood of Christ.
12. rejoice. Here, by dwellers in heaven, must be understood both angels and holy men, and it belongs to both to rejoice in the Lord, since both men are joined with angels, and angels minister to man’s nature in Christ.
Woe. As he has shewn that joy is to be the expectation of the redeemed, so, also, is lamentation of those who perish. And a great woe is impending over those of whom the most wicked enemy has possession in his wrath.
13. saw. The devil assails the Church with inextricable craft, and the more he is cast down, so much the more does he persecute.
14. wings. The Church is upheld by the two Testaments, and avoids the envenomed tumult of the world, and seeks in the affection of her mind the solitude of a “meek and quiet spirit,” while she thus sings with joy, “Behold I got me away far off in flight, and abode in the wilderness.” Nor does it make any difference that there she asks for the wings of a dove, but here receives those of an eagle. For as the Church, “whose youth is renewed as an eagle’s,” is represented in the former because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, so also is it in the latter, because of the lofty flight and heavenly vision, by which it beholds God with a clean heart.
nourished. The whole time of the Church is signified, as being comprised in the number of the days above. For a “time” denotes one year, “times” two, “half a time” six months.
15. flood. Water signifies the vehemence of persecutors; whence it is said, “Perhaps like water they would have swallowed us up.” So, then, the Church is not only raised up by the word of God, but is driven onward by the violence of persecution, and hastens to fly away from the earth.
16. swallowed. The holy earth is the flesh of the Lord, which by swallowing up death which it accepted, and which for a time prevailed against it, has taught us also to swallow up death. The Church may also be understood, by the warnings and prayers of whose mouth the plots of the enemy are avoided.
17. wroth. When he saw that the persecutions could not be continued, because they were averted by the mouth of the holy earth, he prepared himself the more to rest upon the mystery of iniquity, that he might be able to plot continually.
commandments. To keep the commandments of God in the faith of Jesus Christ is to fight with the dragon, and provoke him to battle; and thanks be to God, Who has made the attempts of the cruel dragon of no effect. For, behold, while he endeavoured to annihilate the Lord incarnate, he is defeated by His resurrection. Afterwards, by striving to deprive the Apostles of their boldness in teaching, he was urgent, as it were, to take away from the world the woman, that is, the whole Church. But as he has laboured in vain to effect this, he assails indiscriminately every age of the faithful. And so it is, as follows.
18. sea. That is, the same enemy, when he is to excite plotting and war, stands upon the multitude of the people, “which the wind scattereth away from the face of the earth,” and which is wont to accept his devices.