The Book of Revelation-step by step

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Commentary by Apringius:

(verse 4) Most evidently John has described the chorus of the Patriarchs and the Apostles, who sit upon the chair of holy doctrine. These he calls “elders,” that is, “fathers,” and they are clothed in white garments, that is, and they are clothed in works of righteousness and in purity. They carry upon their heads golden crowns, for they have been made victors in present struggles, since that evil enemy, the Devil, has been thrown down, and they have received their crowns from the Lord. Concerning this crown, the vessel of election says, “*I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which he Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on the day, and not only to me but also to those who love His appearing *(2 Tim. 4:7-8).”

(verse 5) He desires that we understand that the entire original preaching of the apostles and indeed the Heavenly and sacred doctrine proceeds from the judgment and inspiration of God. We interpret therefore the flashes of lightning to be the words of all the saints, and likewise the thunder to be the voices of the preachers. We confess that all these things come forth from one source, namely, God. Concerning these flashes of lightning and sounds of thunder, it is said: “*The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightning illumined the whole world *(Ps. 77:18).”

(verse 6) The sea of glass is like crystal, that is, it is clear, indicating that it is infused by a certain whiteness and an uncommon purity. With good reason we think that this is said of the font of baptism and of the grace of regeneration. For baptism cleanses and illumines those who have been led to purity with the splendor of righteousness. These are the waters of which it is written in the prophets: “*In those days living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the western sea. They shall continue in summer and in winter *(Zec. 14:8).”

(verse 7) And the first living creature was like a lion Most of our interpreters say that this signifies the person of Mark, the Evangelist. And indeed this seems most apt and true, for his Gospel begins in this way: “*The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ‘Behold, I send my messenger who shall prepare the way before your face *(Mk. 1:1).’” Nor is it strange that here Isaiah is mentioned instead of Malachi, for most certainly this testimony occurs in Malachi.

However, “Isaiah” means “the salvation of the Lord.” And “Malachi” means “angel.” And so at the beginning of the Gospel he prefers to speak of the salvation of the Lord, which is “Isaiah,” rather than of the angel, which is Malachi, in order that through the faith of the gospel he might suggest the immovable perpetuity of the present and future life.

And then, to be sure, he mentions the “messenger,” which is “angel,” and he adds the words Isaiah: “*Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the highways of our God *(Is. 40:3),” so that salvation having been both promised and foretold, he might show the messenger of the truth and might prepare the hearts of humankind for the reception of grace. And the form of the lion is in this, which he reports that John was in the desert, as he says: “*John was in the desert baptizing and proclaiming the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins *(Mk. 1:4).”

The words “the second creature was like an ox” introduce Luke. For a bull is representative of the priesthood, as it is said in Isaiah: “Blessed are you who sow upon all the waters, letting the feet of the ox and the *** go free (Is. 32:20).” And so at the beginning of his Gospel, he speaks of Zechariah the priest: “*In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah *(Lk. 1:5).”

“The third living creature with the face of a man” indicates Matthew, for at the beginning of his Gospel, Matthew wished to report the genealogy of the Lord according to the flesh.

The words “the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle” indicate John. For, at the beginning of his Gospel, John did not speak of the humanity of the Lord or the priesthood or of John preaching in the desert. Rather, desiring like an eagle to reach toward the height of Heaven itself, he left behind all things lowly and spoke properly of him as God: “*In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God *(Jn. 1:1).”

Commentary by St. Bede:

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 judgement, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

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8b-11: And they have no rest day and night, exclaiming:

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.”

And whenever the Living Creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the Throne, who lives to the ages of ages, the twenty-four Elders fall down before Him who sits on the Throne and worship Him who lives to the ages of ages, and they throw down their crowns before the Throne, exclaiming:

“Worthy are you, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honor, and power, for You created all things; because of Your will they came to be, and were created.”

http://www.apocalypsetheunveiling.com/08264ed0.jpg

Holy, holy, holy: cf. Isaiah 6:3.

The Christian Church joins with these four Living Creatures in singing the Thrice-Holy at every Liturgy with the ancient hymn called the Sanctus. Here it would suffice to quote an example from the Divine Liturgy of St. James, which says thus:

Truly it is right and fitting, proper and necessary, to praise You, to hymn You, to bless You, to worship You, to glorify you, to give thanks to You, Fashioner of every creature, visible and invisible, the Treasury of the eternal good things, the Source of life and immortality, the God and Master of all, whose praise is sung by the heavens and the heavens of heavens and all their powers, the sun and the moon and the whole choir of stars, earth, sea and all that they contain; the heavenly Jerusalem, festival of the chosen, church of the first-born, who are inscribed in heaven; spirits of the Just and of Prophets, souls of Martyrs and Apostles; Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Authorities and dread Powers, the many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim, that with two wings cover their faces, with two their feet and with two they fly, as they cry out to one another with unceasing voices and with never silent hymns of glory, with radiant voices singing the triumphant hymn of your majestic glory, shouting, glorifying, crying aloud and saying:

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Hosts; Heaven and Earth are filled with Your glory, Hosanna in the Highest.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the Highest.”

The Almighty: cf. Rev. 1:8. The Greek word used here (and in chapter 1) is ‘Pantokratōr’, which can also be translated as ‘the Ruler of all’.

Commentary by St. Bede:

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.

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 the have, for that He created all things out of nothing.

Commentary by St. Nicolas of Lyra:

“And the four living creatures had each of them six wings:” The first wing is the natural law; the second the law of Moses; the third the oracles of the prophets; the fourth the message of the councils; the fifth the teaching of the apostles; and the sixth the decrees of the general councils. By these six wings ecclesiasts ought to ascend upwards through the contemplation of divine things and to descend downwards to the edification of their neighbors; to fly to the right by the benefit of grace in prosperity and to the left by patience in adversity. and round about and within they are full of eyes: By considering the present, the past, and the future.

“And they rested not:” This shows the majesty of God in reverent worship, and first in the patriarchates. not day and night, saying: Holy: In these churches the divine office was first celebrated devotedly both day and night. The three “Holies” designate the persons of the Trinity, and at the same time it is added: "Lord God Almighty,” To signify the unity of essence; three persons are one God, and God omnipotent.

“Who was, and who is, and who is to come:” This expresses the eternity of God, which we do not apprehend along the way unless by comparison to distinctions in time, as was said in chapter 1.

This describes the worship of the divine praise in the other cathedral churches established throughout the world, which in celebrating the divine offices ought to follow the order of the 4 patriarchates, although the Roman Church, which is first, is head of all, and this is what is said: “And when those living creatures gave glory”…By serving and praising God in many kinds of ceremonies and by administering the sacraments.

“The four and twenty ancients:” That is, other cathedral churches conforming to them. and cast their crowns before the throne: As a sign of reverence they confess that they have the clarity of virtue and of wisdom, which is designated by the golden crowns, as was said above.

“Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory:” This does not mean that God receives something new or that something new adds to God, as a result of human works and praises, but that humans who have received benefits from God rise to praise and glorify the excellence of the eternal majesty.

“Because thou hast created all things:” By creating them out of nothing.

“And for thy will they were:” By your disposition from eternity before it is in effect preexists in the mind of the artisan; accordingly this is said in Book seven of the Metaphysics that a house in matter is from a house which is in the mind (Aristotle Bk. 7 Ch. 7).Indeed all things find themselves created before God as things made before the artificer.

“And have been created:” That is, produced in time and out of divine will, not out of necessity.

 

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5:1-5: And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the Throne a scroll, written inside it and on the backside, and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty Angel who proclaimed in a loud voice: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in Heaven or on Earth, or under the Earth was able to open the scroll, or to examine it.

And I wept much because no one was found worthy to open the scroll, or to examine it; and one of the Elders said to me, “Do not weep; behold, the Lion, who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

*http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/7057/jesus1ey7.png
And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the Throne a scroll (book), sealed with seven seals…
*
Sealed with seven seals: it is totally hidden from all but God. Only the Lamb (Rev 5:7-9) has the right to carry out the Divine plan.

The Lion, who is of the tribe of Judah: cf. Rev 22:16; Genesis 49:9.

The root of David: cf. Isaiah 11:1, 10; Matthew 1:1; 22:41-46.

Commentary by Apringius:

The book, which is said to be written on the inside and on the outside, is the entire present world that is a creature of God. God perceives the inner thoughts of every creature and He knows their outer deeds. For, by the virtue of His Power He surpasses this world that is contained by Him and by the clarity of His majesty He searches into the inmost parts.

The book is said to be sealed by seven seals, so that the decree and limit of the present seven days, in which the world was made, might be manifested. Another interpretation: This book signifies the teaching of the Old Testament, which was given into the hands of our Lord, who accepted the judgment from the Father.

The seven seals are these: First, incarnation; second, birth; third, passion; fourth, death, resurrection; sixth, glory; seventh, kingdom. These seals, therefore, are Christ. Since He compared all things through His humanity, He opened and unsealed everything that had been closed and sealed in the Scriptures.

Commentary by Oecumenius:

(verse 1) Holy Scripture describes for us a certain scroll of God in which all human beings have been written down. Perhaps it calls the scroll figuratively God’s record of us, except that the prophet names it a little scroll, saying, “*Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in your little scroll all people will be written *(Ps. 136:16).” On the other hand, Moses the most wise, pleading for Israel, who had sinned, wept aloud to God and cried, “*But now, if you will forgive their sin, forgive-and if not, blot me out of your scroll which you have written *(Ex. 32:32).”

This is the scroll which the divine Evangelist sees written within and without. Within would be those of the gentile who were idolatrous before believing in Christ. The little scroll was in the right hand of God; it refers, I imagine, to the ways of the saints who were triumphant in the Old Covenant. The little scroll had been shut and sealed with seven seals. The number seven, being a perfect number, indicates that the little scroll had been truly and very securely shut and sealed up. The fact that the scroll was closed and sealed indicates, as has been said, the lack of a free approach to God by those whose names were written in the scroll.

(verse 2) No one, most divine Angel, one would say to him, only the incarnate God, who took away sin and who canceled "*the bond which stood against us *(Col. 2:14)” and with his own “obedience” healed our “*disobedience *(Rom. 5:19).”

(verse 3) For neither did an Angel accomplish this for us, as Isaiah says, “*Not an envoy, nor an Angel, but he himself saved them because he loved them *(Is. 63:9),” neither a living man, nor even one of the dead. “a brother cannot ransom himself- a man cannot ransom himself,” as it is written somewhere (Ps. 48:8). And why does he say, “I tell you to open the little scroll,” when no human being was strong enough to look into it? For who could anyone of those filled with the mist of sin look into it in the presence of the Divine Throne, on which the scroll was laid “The unworthiness of all of them caused me to lament.” But one of the elders encouraged me, pointing to the one who had opened it.

(verse 5) He, he says, who has conquered the Devil, is He who opened the little scroll and its seals. And who was the Lion of the tribe of Judah? Certainly the Christ, about whom the patriarch Jacob said, “*He stooped down, he crouched as a lion and as a lion’s cub. Who will raise him up *(Gn. 49:9)?”

That the Lord according to his humanity arose from Judah, the divine Apostle is witness when he said, “For it is evident that our Lord Jesus Christ has risen from Judah (Heb. 7:14).” One might be surprised that he did not say of him, “A shoot from the root of Jesse,” or “A flower sprung up from the root,” as Isaiah said (Isa. 11:1), but he called him a root of David. He says this to show that according to His human nature He was a shoot sprung from the root of Jesse and David; but according to His Divine nature, He himself is the root, not only of David but of all visible and invisible creation, since he is the cause of the universe, as was also said earlier.

Commentary by St. Augustine:

Why is He called a lamb in His passion? Because He underwent death without being guilty of any sin.
Why a lion in His passion? Because in being slain He slew death.
Why a lamb in His resurrection? Because His innocence is everlasting.
Why a lion in His resurrection? Because everlasting also is His might.

Commentary by St. Bede:

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Commentary by St. Victorinus:

And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne, a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals. This book signifies the Old Testament, which has been given into the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ, who received from the Father judgment.

And I saw an angel full of strength proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no one was found worthy, neither in the earth nor under the earth, to open the book. Now to open the book is to overcome death for man.

There was none found worthy to do this. Neither among the angels of heaven, nor among men in earth, nor among the souls of the saints in rest, save Christ the Son of God alone, whom he says that he saw as a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns. What had not been then announced, and what the law had contemplated for Him by its various oblations and sacrifices, it behoved Himself to fulfil. And because He Himself was the testator, who had overcome death, it was just that Himself should be appointed the Lord’s heir, that He should possess the substance of the dying man, that is, the human members.

Lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed. We read in Genesis that this lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, when the patriarch Jacob says, Judah, your brethren shall praise you; you have lain down and slept, and have risen up again as a lion, and as a lion’s cub.

 

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6-7: And I saw, in the midst of the Throne and of the four Living Creatures, and in the midst of the Elders, a Lamb standing as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, (which are the seven Spirits of God, which are sent into all the Earth); and He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat upon the Throne.

A Lamb standing as though it had been slain: cf. Exodus 12; Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 1:18-19.

Seven horns and seven eyes: Christ has the fullness of power (horns) and knowledge (eyes).

Seven spirits: cf. Rev 1:4; 3:1; 4:5.

Commentary from the Catechism:

The book of Revelation of St. John, read in the Church’s liturgy, first reveals to us, “A throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne”: “the Lord God.” It then shows the Lamb, “standing, as though it had been slain”: Christ crucified and risen, the one high priest of the true sanctuary, the same one “who offers and is offered, who gives and is given.”

Commentary by St. Nicholas of Lyra:

“And I saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb:” that is, Christ in the middle of the Church established in His name throughout the world, as He Himself says in Mt. 28:20, “Lo, I am with you always to the end of the age.” Just as He was called the lion by virtue of His resurrection, so He is called the lamb by virtue of His sacrifice; therefore it is also said: standing, because He was raised to eternal life (Rom. 6:9): “Christ being raised from the dead will never die again.”

And “as it were slain”; He is sacrificed daily in the Church, not dying according to the flesh, because He was raised to eternal life, as has been said, but according to the effect and representation. In the oblation of the Eucharist, the effect of His passion is communicated to us. The same is also a representative likeness of it, according to which it is said in Lk. 22:19: “Do this remembrance of me.”

For that which represents something is called by its name, just as the image of Peter is called Peter, and for the same reason the Eucharist is called the sacrificed Lamb to designate this. It is not said the lamb was simply slain, but as it were slain.

“Having seven horns:” That is, powers. The same is indicated by the seven spirits, Because the seven gift of the Spirit are like seven horns or powers to reprimand the power of the enemy.

(verse 7) By this one should not understand that Christ received the knowledge of the course of the Church at that moment. The Spirit of Christ having been joined to the divinity from the instant of His creation knew all things that God knows by the knowledge of vision, including the course of the Church, as is clear from what has been said. Therefore, John’s seeing him receive the scroll designates the reception of Christ’s soul, but revealed anew to John and through him to the Catholic Church.

Commentary by Apringius:

(verse 6) He called the Lord a Lamb on account of his guilelessness, and his ability to provide. For just as the lamb is the provider with its yearly production of wool, so also the Lord opens his hand and fills every living thing with delight (Ps. 144:16). This at least is what prophecy calls him, saying through Isaiah, “*like a lamb he was led to slaughter, and like a sheep before its shearer he was dumb *(Is. 53:7).”

But the lamb is described not as slaughtered, but as though it had been slaughtered. For Christ came to life again, trampling death underfoot, and despoiling Hades of the souls in its possession. For the death of Christ was not an absolute death, but as it were a death cut short by the resurrection.

The seven horns bear witness to his great strength, as the number seven, being the perfect number, often indicates, as has also been said earlier. The horns are the symbol of power, according to the prophet who said, “*And all the horns of the wicked I will break off, but the horn of the just shall be exalted *(Ps. 74:11).” And also Habakkuk has, “*there are horns in his hands *(3:4).”

The seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the Earth, Isaiah interprets for us, saying, “*And there shall rest upon him a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and reverence; a spirit of fear of God will fill him *(11:2-3).”

These spirits, that is, spiritual gifts of grace, have been sent to everyone from God, but no one ever received them in the same way as they rested upon Christ in their work among practically all people. And *He grew stronger in word and understanding *(Luke 2:40). For the spirits which he himself as God sent from above, these received below as a human being. For he was both a human being and God.

(verse 7) To be sure, the Lamb is the assumed man who for our salvation willingly offered Himself over to death. Worthily he received the book, that is, the power of all the works of God, and from the right hand of Him who is seated on the throne, that is, He received all things from god the Father, as He Himself said: “*All which the Father has is mine *(Jn. 16:15).” Then did He receive this book, when raising from the dead He showed the mystery of the Trinity, which had been hidden from the ages, and revealed it to the world.

Commentary by Primasius:

The Son of man is said to have received the book from the right hand of God as both the dispensation from the Father and an arrangement from Himself, for each reigns upon the throne with the Holy Spirit. And also here we ought understand the right hand to represent the blessedness of the victory. Nor ought it be understood in a fleshly manner as though He received the book from another hand of the Father, since the self-same is Son of the Father and the self-same the right hand of God. But since He who said, “*Rejoice, for I have overcome the world *(Jn. 16:33),” always conquers in those who belong to Him, He also makes His own Church to exist as a conqueror, and it is declared of Her that She receives the book.

Commentary by St. Bede:

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.

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.

 

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8-14: And when He had taken the scroll, the four Living Creatures and the twenty-four Elders fell before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the Saints, and they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to break open its seals;
for You were slain, and with Your blood had purchased for God those out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation;
and have made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they shall reign on the Earth.”

And I looked again and heard the voices of many Angels who surrounded the throne and the Living Creatures and the Elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying in a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and blessing.”

And I heard every creature that is in Heaven, and on the Earth and under the Earth, and the things that are upon the sea, and all of the things in them, cry out:

“To Him who sits upon the Throne, and to the Lamb be the blessing, and the honor, the glory and might, to the ages of ages!”

The four living creatures answered, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Incense, which are the prayers of the saints: cf. Ps 141:2.

And have made them a kingdom and priests for our God: cf. Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 2:9-10, Rev. 1:6.

And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands: Signifying ‘countless myriads’; a similar expression occurs in Daniel 7:10.

Commentary by St. Nicolas of Lyra:

“And when he had opened the book:” Here he describes the joy of those assisting Christ: first those assisting him in the Church militant; and second in the Church triumphant, at the place: *Then I looked, and I heard *(Rev. 5:11).

Concerning the first it is said: And when he had opened the book: To reveal the progression of the Church.

“The four living creatures:” That is, the four patriarchates of the Church.

“And the four and twenty ancients:” That is, the cathedrals of the Catholic Church dispersed throughout the world, an through this others established by them are understood.

“Fell down before the Lamb:” For this they held the materials to venerate Him.

“Having every one of them harps:” Which is explained by what follows: “which are the prayers of saints:” Metaphorically-and through these and through similes the method is revealed to explain the rest, as has been said above.

“And they sung a new canticle:” That is, pertaining to the New Testament.

“Thou art worthy:” The meaning is clear from what has been said above.

“Out of every tribe:” The church is gathered from all nations.

“And I beheld:” Here he describes the joy of those assisting Christ in the church triumphant:

“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels:” In this, the greatest number of them is noted, according to Job 25:3, “Is there any number to His armies?” and the same is designated in that which follows: “and the number of them was thousands of thousands.”

“The Lamb that was slain is worthy:” All things he held or more before the passion as I say, on account of the glory of the body and of that which followed. Therefore, this reception is accepted here for the manifestation of those things to the praise and the honor of the name of Christ. Consequently the praise of Christ is placed in all creatures when it is said:

“Every creature which is in heaven:” The people who are already home.

“And on the earth:” The living still on the way.

“And under the earth:” For all creatures, animals, and things lacking life are called to praise Christ inasmuch as they are matter and have the occasion of praising Him, because intellectual creature ascend through them to understand God and, as a consequence, to praise and glorify Him. The rest that follows is clear from what has been said.

Commentary by St. Bede:

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.

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.”

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

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.”

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.

Commentary by St. Victorinus:

“Twenty-four elders and four living creatures, having harps and phials, and singing a new song.” The proclamation of the Old Testament associated with the New, points out the Christian people singing a new song, that is, bearing their confession publicly.

It is a new thing that the Son of God should become man.
It is a new thing to ascend into the heavens with a body.
It is a new thing to give remission of sins to men.
It is a new thing for men to be sealed with the Holy Spirit.
It is a new thing to receive the priesthood of sacred observance, and to look for a kingdom of unbounded promise.

The harp, and the chord stretched on its wooden frame, signifies the flesh of Christ linked with the wood of the passion.
The phial signifies the Confession, and the race of the new Priesthood.

But it is the praise of many angels, yea, of all, the salvation of all, and the testimony of the universal creation, bringing to our Lord thanksgiving for the deliverance of men from the destruction of death.

The unsealing of the seals, as we have said, is the opening of the Old Testament, and the foretelling of the preachers of things to come in the last times, which, although the prophetic Scripture speaks by single seals, yet by all the seals opened at once, prophecy takes its rank.

 

[patrick457]

6:1-2: And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four Living Creatures saying, as if in a voice of thunder: “Come!”

And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who was seated on it had a bow; and there was given to him a crown, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/761/cccrg1.png

The four riders and their horses: cf. Zechariah 6:1-8.

White horse…bow: this may perhaps allude specifically to the Parthians on the eastern border of the Roman Empire. Expert in the use of the bow and, at least during the 1st century, the only mounted archers (riding on white horses, which were their trademark), they constantly harassed the Romans and won a major victory in the Battle of Rhandeia (62 A.D.), during the Roman-Parthian War of 58–63 A.D.

He who was seated in it: The identity of this first rider is usually interpreted as either referring to Christ, the message of the Gospel, or the Church throughout the world (“and he went forth conquering”), citing the positive connotations of the color white in the book of Revelation, and John’s vision of the Rider on the white horse in 19:11-16.

Other interpretations are that he is the Antichrist (who is by definition a counterfeit of Jesus), with some pointing out that the other three riders are bearers of judgment, not salvation, and thus wonder if the same is not true of the first, false prophets and false Messiahs, the god Apollo (who in Hellenistic mythology was linked to prophecy and was often depicted as carrying a bow), military conquest as a kind of abstraction or the dreaded Parthian empire beyond the eastern borders of Rome’s dominion, citing the Parthian skill in bows and use of white horses, as pointed in the above footnote.

Commentary by Primasius:

(verse 1) He said, “I heard one of the four animals say, ‘Come and see.’” This one animal is the whole Church preaching with a great voice and inviting the Church to greater faith, “Come and see!” If anyone thirsts, let him come and drink (Jn. 3:37).” *Approach him and you will be illuminated *(Ps. 34:5).” “*Arise, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will illuminate you *(Eph. 5:14).”

(verse 2) This white horse can be understood as the Church of truth, represented in the persons of the Apostles and preachers, which was made whiter than snow by grace. The rider upon the horse is Christ. Therefore, it was said to him through the prophet, “*For you mounted your horses and your army is salvation *(Hab. 3:8).” For the same reason he is said to hold an arrow. And arrow is aptly compared with the preaching of the Word of God, for when the hearts of people are pierced, they are able to bear the fruit of faith. And so we read, “*Your sharp arrows are very powerful; people fall before you *(Ps. 45:5).” The crown indicates the reward rightly given to preachers.

Commentary by Oecumenius:

(verse 1) The successive removal of the seals, then, symbolizes the redemption little by little of the openness and intimacy towards God that the Only-begotten by his incarnation made possible for us, making amends for our faults by his own acts of reparation. We must understand that the undoing of each seal denoted one of the works of the Lord effected for our salvation, and of his acts against our spiritual enemies. Therefore, the first benefit of our Savior Christ to our race, which loosed the first seal of the scroll and has begun our restoration to the place from which we were banished as a result of Adam’s transgression, and the recovery of the intimacy with God which we lost, and the change of our inability to speak into frank confidence, was established by the physical birth of the Lord.

(verse 2) The white horse is a symbol of the Gospel, as the benefit due to be conferred on human beings. The crown symbolizes might and victory. And he came out carrying the crown for Christ, (John 19:5) as for one who had begun to conquer the Devil, who had enslaved our race, He says he went out so that the conqueror might conquer: Christ was the conqueror, so that he might make a complete defeat, and the rider carried the crown for him as a symbol of victory. This then is the first benefit.

Commentary by St. Bede:

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.

Commentary by St. Victorinus:

“And when the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, I saw, and heard one of the four living creatures saying, Come and see. And, lo, a white horse, and He who sat upon him had a bow.”

The first seal being opened, he says that he saw a white horse, and a crowned horseman having a bow. For this was at first done by Himself. For after the Lord ascended into heaven and opened all things, He sent the Holy Spirit, whose words the preachers sent forth as arrows reaching to the human heart, that they might overcome unbelief. And the crown on the head is promised to the preachers by the Holy Spirit. The other three horses very plainly signify the wars, famines, and pestilences announced by our Lord in the Gospel. And thus he says that one of the four living creatures said (because all four are one), “Come and see.” “Come” is said to him that is invited to faith; “see” is said to him who saw not. Therefore the white horse is the word of preaching with the Holy Spirit sent into the world. For the Lord says, “*This Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world for a testimony to all nations, and then shall come the end *(Matt. 24:14).”

 

[patrick457]

3-4: And when He opened the second seal, I heard the second Living Creature say: “Come!”

And there went forth another horse–a fiery-red one; and to him who sat on it, it was granted take the peace from the Earth, and that they should kill one another, and a great sword was given to him.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/5566/cccve2.jpg
And to him who sat on the red horse, it was granted take the peace from the Earth, and that they should kill one another…

Fiery-red: The Greek word used here, ‘pyrros’, means “the color of fire” (compare English words “pyre,” “pyromania,” “pyrosis”). This is not the normal Greek word for red (which is erythros), but a more specialized term that suggests fieriness or flickering reds, oranges, and yellows like a flame.

A great sword (Greek: Machaira megalē): The word machaira (also machaera, makhaira) is a term used by modern scholars to describe a type of ancient bladed weapon, generally a large knife with a slight backwards curve. In period texts, macharia has a variety of meanings, and can refer to virtually any knife or sword, even a surgeon’s scalpel, but in a martial context it frequently does seem to refer to a type of one-edged, curved sword.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Makhaira_griega.jpg
A Greek machaira.

However, New Testament Greek uses the word makhaira to refer to a sword generically, not making any particular distinction between native blades and the gladius of the Roman soldier. This ambiguity appears to have contributed to the apocryphal malchus, a supposedly short curved sword used by Peter to cut off the ear of a slave named Malchus during the arrest of Jesus. While such a weapon clearly is a makhaira by ancient definition, the imprecise nature of the word as used in the New Testament cannot provide any conclusive answer.

The word entered classical Latin as machaera, “a sword”. In modern Greek, machairi means “knife.”

Frequently, a machaira is the knife used to prepare a sacrifice or to slaughter an animal for food. It is also the sword worn by magistrates and executioners. That the red horseman’s sword is “great” (megalē) means either that it is larger or longer than usual or that it is highly effective in doing its job.

Commentary by St. Nicolas of Lyra:

And when he had opened the second seal: This is the second part, in which the status of the Church from the time of Nero up to that of Emperor Titus is described, when it is said:

I heard the second living creature: According to what was said before, this was the first patriarch of the church of Antioch, namely St. Peter, who first ruled that church, as is said in the Lives of Illustrious Men, and had already died through martyrdom.

He said: Come, and see: That status of the Church under Nero.

And there went out another horse that was red: That is, the Roman people, which is called red at the time of Nero because Nero killed many of the Romans out of cruelty-even his own mother and wife, and he is sad to have killed his brother, sister, and even his teacher, Seneca. In another way more properly “red” because Nero caused the City of Rome to be burned for it to seem like fire of ancient Troy. In such a fire, out of the mixture of smoke and fire the appearance of redness is caused.

And to him that sat thereon: Namely, Nero having the power.

It was given: That is, having been permitted by God.

That he should take: That is, to carry off.

Peace from the earth: Because the populace was thrown into confusion throughout the Roman Empire doe to his evil deeds.

And that they should kill one another: As a result of Nero’s perfidy and after he killed himself, Otho, Galba, and Vitellius wanted to usurp the office. Out of their mutual struggle many were killed.

And a great sword was given to him: That is, the power of killing Christians. He started the first persecution against the Church, that is, persecutions instigated by Roman emperors. The Church had entered persecution earlier by the Jews. Indeed, the severe commands of Caligula were not directed against the Church, but against the inhabitants of Judah, of whom comparatively few were Christian; nor was the order executed, and, therefore, the first persecution of the Church is attributed to Nero. Even Claudius, who was emperor between Caligula and Nero, is not reputed to have persecuted the Christians. Nero, however, killed the leaders of the apostles and many other Christians in Rome to be killed.

Commentary by St. Andrew of Caesarea:

(verse 3) I suppose that the second living creature is the bull to depict the sacred sacrifices of the holy martyrs, since the first creature signified the apostolic authority.

(verse 4) We suggest this second seal is to be interpreted as the succession of the apostles that is fulfilled through the martyrs and teachers. During this succession, as the proclamation is extended abroad, the peace of the world is taken away, creation being divided against itself, as was spoken by the Lord, “*I have not come to bring peace on earth, but a sword *(Mt. 10:34).” And by this sword the sacrifices of the martyrs are offered on the Heavenly alter. The “red horse” is symbolic either of the shedding of blood or of the red-hot disposition of those who suffer for Christ. The words “it was permitted to its rider to take peace” show the all-wise permission of God that tests his faithful servants through temptation.

Commentary by St. Caesarius of Arles:

The red horse comes out against the victorious and conquering Church. That is, there comes an evil and wicked people, made bloody from its rider, the Devil. This is just as we read in Zechariah concerning the red horse of the Lord, except that there it is red from his own blood, while here it is red from the blood of others (Zec. 1:8).

And to him a great sword was given, to take peace of the earth, for the Church posses an eternal peace that Christ left behind for himself. As we noted, the white horse is the Church and its rider is Christ or the Holy Spirit in whose had is a bow that sends forth his commandments, as though they were powerful, sharp arrows, throughout the whole world both to kill sins and to enliven the hearts of the faithful. The crown upon his head is the promise of eternal life.

Here, the red horse is an evil people whose rider is the Devil. It is said to be red because it has been made red with the blood of multitudes. And a sharp sword was given to it to take peace from the earth. This means that with the Devil’s participation and influence evil people join together and do not cease to incite among themselves strife and conflict, even unto death.

Commentary by St. Bede:

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.

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.

 

[patrick457]

5-6: And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third Living Creature say: “Come!”

And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat on it had a scale in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four Living Creatures saying: “A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius; and do not injure the oil and the wine!”

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/921/800pxbambergapocalypseftq5.jpg
And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat on it had a scale in his hand…

A black horse (Greek: hippos melas): A symbol of famine, the usual accompaniment of war in antiquity; cf. Leviticus 26:26; Ezekiel 4:12-13.

A scale in his hand: A symbol of shortage of food with a corresponding rise in price.

Choenix: A Greek dry measure equivalent to three or four cotylae (a cotylae is approximately equivalent to half a pint English), almost equal to either one quart (=two pints) or a pint and a half. A man, for example, a slave’s minimum daily ration consists of a choenix of grain.

Denarius: (plural denarii) An ancient Roman coin made of silver. It was originally equal to 10 asses (singular as, a bronze or copper Roman coin), hence its name, although its value and silver content decreased through the Roman Empire’s existence. The denarius was struck from approximately 211 B.C. to 270 A.D.

At that time, the ordinary minimum daily wage of the laborer and the common soldier was one denarius (as per the custom of giving a silver coin as daily wage). Comparing today’s prices for bread at the supermarket might suggest that one as was worth a bit over a dollar US placing the denarius at about 20 USD.

http://z.about.com/d/ancienthistory/1/6/E/S/2/DomitianDenarius.jpg
A denarius from the reign of Domitian.

Under the Augustan currency values (in use from 27 B.C. to 301 A.D.), the denarius’ value was equivalent to two quinarii, four sestertii, eight dupondii, sixteen asses, and sixty-four quadrantes.

Barley: Barley, as a grain lower than wheat in quality, was commonly used as animal fodder and eaten by poor people.

Do not injure the oil and the wine: As the olive tree and grapevine do not bear their fruit until some months after the wheat and barley harvest, and grow without much attention, their crops would not be so much affected by war, and therefore the olive trees and grapevines were not to be ruthlessly destroyed by invaders as they were needed for medicinal purposes.

Commentary by St. Bede:

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.”

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.

Commentary by Oecumenius:

(verse 5) The third mercy of Christ to us broke the third seal, and brought us from condemnation back to God the Father. This mercy is his saving teaching and the benefits effected through his divine miracles. For these contributed the destruction of the Devil.

And behold a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand: The black horse represents sorrow and grief, now that the destruction of the Devil had been achieved by the divine instructions. On this account the Devil was grieving for his release, which was being postponed for so many ages. The scales are the symbol of equity and righteousness. The scales are the symbol of the righteous judgment of the Lord on our behalf.

(verse 6) The gospel and the teaching is described allegorically by Holy Scripture as “seed,” for it is written in Matthew, “*The sower went out to sow *(Matt. 13:1),” and again the better-disposed of the slaves said to their lord, “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds? (13:27)” Some of the seed is wheat, signifying the proclamation of the gospel as being the proper food for mature people, who “*have senses trained to discriminate between good and evil *(Heb. 5:14).”

What is the barley? It is the teaching according to the law of Moses, as being ripe fodder, more fitting than wheat, for nourishing the infant Israel. Therefore, the speaker, God, in the midst of the four living creatures, saying: "Two pounds of wheat for a penny, and thrice two pounds of barley for a penny;” these words symbolize that there was a famine and scarcity among people of that time of teaching both of the gospel of the Lord and of the law as Scripture says, “*I will give them not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord *(Am. 8:11).”

Even if those who despise all teaching and attention had especially to suffer this and that, he says, “do not harm the oil and wine, forgive them and do not bring any punishment on them; I shall still have mercy on them,” says God, “since they have hope of being spiritually gladdened by the divine proclamations of my only Son.” For these are “*the wine that spiritually makes glad a man’s heart *(Ps. 103:15).”

Commentary by St. Andrew of Caesarea:

(verse 5) I believe that the third living creature here is the man and this passage shows the fall of men and for this reason his punishment because of his inclination toward sin by the power of free will we think that the “black horse” depicts the sorrow that comes upon those who have fallen away from faith in Christ on account of the abundance of torments. The “balance” is He who tests those who wither by inconstancy of the mind or by vainglory have fallen from the faith through weakness of the body.

(verse 6) The phrase “a quart of wheat for a denarius” figuratively indicates those who have struggled lawfully to have carefully preserved the divine image given to them. The phrase “three quarts of barley for a denarius” speaks of those who like cattle have through cowardice bowed the neck to persecutors but have later repented and have washed their defiled image with tears. The command “do not harm wine and oil” indicates that the healing of Christ through repentance, which healed him who fell among the thieves, ought not be rejected, nor that those be allowed to be seized prematurely by death who through patience would be retrieved from defeat.

Therefore, that we also might posses God as our beneficent physician for the suffering of our souls, let us be zealous to be such to our brothers who have fallen, bringing to them the wine of consolation mixed with the oil of compassion, “so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed,” as the apostle says (Heb 12:13). And so becoming fellow workers with God, we may eternally enjoy his blessings by the grace and good will of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

[patrick457]

7-8: And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth Living Creature say: “Come!”

And I saw, and behold, a green horse: and he who sat upon it, his name is Death; and Hades followed with him; and there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the Earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the Earth.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5213/53391688ha9.jpg

Green horse (Greek: hippos chlōros): The Greek word chlōros is used elsewhere to describe the bright green color of vegetation (cf. 8:7; 9:4; Mark 6:39). Here it is used to evoke the color of a corpse, as a symbol of death and decay (the reason it is translated as ‘pale’ or ‘sickly green’ in English translations); cf Ezekiel 14:21.

Commentary by St. Nicolas of Lyra:

And when he had opened the fourth seal: Here the fourth part begins describing the status of the Church at the time of Domitian, because he persecuted the Church and did many other evil things in the Roman Empire.

Therefore it is said: I heard the voice of the fourth living creature, saying: That is, of the patriarchate or the Bishop of Constantinople, who was already dead, just as it has been said in the other three seals.

And behold a pale horse: That is, the Roman people. Domitian killed a large part of the senators and sent a great number of other nobles into exile charging them with crimes so that he might take their goods. Therefore, the rest of Rome and other were in great fear lest it also happened to them. Fear, moreover, make the exterior limbs pale, and especially the face. Thus, the Roman Empire at that time is signified by the pale horse.

And he that sat upon him: Namely, Emperor Domitian. his name was Death: Actively and passively because he killed many innocents, as it has been said, especially Christians, whom he persecuted. Finally he was killed by the Roman Senate because of his cruelty, as it is reported in The Legend of St. John the Evangelist.

And hell followed him: Because after the course of this present life, he was immediately dragged off to punishment of Gehenna.

And power was given to him over the four parts of the earth: In that he had enlarged the Roman Empire.

To kill with sword: Because in all these regions, many Christians had been killed by the sword in his hand.

Famine: Many had died had been tortured by starvation and prisons.

And with the beasts of the earth: Because many of them were handed over to be devoured by wild beasts, as is clear in the legends of many martyrs. Some were martyred in many other ways, namely, by hanging, drowning, and burning.

And with death: As every method of afflicting the martyrs is included. From the above it is clear that just as in Zec. 6 various horses in fourfold color designated four kingdoms, as it has been said in that place, so in this the reign of Christ is designated by the white horse, just as it was among the twelve apostles and the first believers. The other three horses designating Roman rule, the status of which was different in three periods.

Commentary by St. Victorinus:

“And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, Come and see. And, lo, a pale horse; and he who sate upon him was named Death.” For the pale horse and he who sat upon him bore the name of Death. These same things also the Lord had promised among the rest of the coming destructions — great pestilences and deaths;

“And hell followed him.” That is, it was waiting for the devouring of many unrighteous souls. This is the pale horse.

Commentary by St. Andrew of Caesarea:

(verse 7) The soaring flight and the swiftness upon its prey of the fourth Living Creature, namely, the Eagle, suggests those plagues that come from above, from the divine wrath for the vindication of the pious and for the punishment of the impious, unless these should turn from their sins through improvement.

(verse 8) This sequence of events has happened before and reflects also contemporary occurrences. For as Eusebius says in the eighth chapter of the ninth book of his Church History, at the height of the persecution, when Maximinius was a Roman emperor, both famine and plagues along with other things fell upon them, so that such an innumerable multitude perished that they could not be buried. At that time ndeed the Christians zealously undertook the task of burying the dead and by their love of humanity led those who had been deceived to the recognition of the truth. Moreover, the Armenians resisted the Romans, he says, so that many were killed with the sword and the bodies of the dead were eaten by dogs. Finally, those left alive began to kill the dogs, fearing that they themselves might die and that the living would become their tombs. For it was not impossible that even wild animals shared the same meal with the dogs on account of the abundance of food (Church History 9.8.1-12). We know that even in our own times similar things have happened.

Commentary by Oecumenius:

(verse 7) The breaking of the 4th seal and the rest marks the beginning of release from sin resulting from Adam’s transgression. For release from this clearly brings affinity with God. What effected this release? The blows struck on Christ (Mark 14:65), by which we have been set free.

(verse 8) The pale greenish horse is the symbol of wrath, for bile, as doctors call it, is greenish. Death and Hades were sent for the spiritual overthrow of the sinful demons and to exact retribution from them for the destruction of humankind. But since the saving passion of Christ, by which he paid for all our sins, had not yet been described in the vision, the complete destruction of the demons had not yet come about, but only the 4th part. This destruction he calls metaphorically slaughter and a famine of those who were formerly worshipping them and death, so laying bare the end of their tyranny by death, and their destruction by the wild beasts of the earth. These passions consume and devour them as they are being ousted from their dominion over human beings. Even though they are naturally incorporeal, the demons are earthly in that they exult in their earthly wrigglings.

Commentary by St. Bede:

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.

 

[patrick457]

Does anyone have any suggestion for this thread?

 

[COPLAND_3]

Patrick

If you would, please contact me by my home email. Thank you! litteralchristianlibrary.wetpaint.com/page/Contact+me

 

[patrick457]

9-11: And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the Altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony that they held; and they cried with a great voice, saying: “How long, O Master, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the Earth?”

And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said to them that they should rest yet for a little time, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/328/86773660qy3.jpg
And there was given them to each one a white robe…

The Altar (Greek Thysiastērion): This altar corresponds to either the altar of incense or the altar of holocausts in the Tabernacle, and later, in the temple in Jerusalem; cf. Rev. 8:3 (twice), 8:5, 9:13, 14:18, 16:7; Rev. 11:1.

Interestingly enough John speaks of the Altar (with a definite article), even though he now introduces it for the first time. No altar was included in his description of the Heavenly Throne Room in chapters 4-5. The closest he came to mentioning an “Altar” was his reference to “golden bowls of incense” (Greek thymiamata), representing as he said “the prayers of the Saints” (5:8).

1.) The altar of incense, also known as the “golden altar” or the “inner altar,” was the location of regular incense offerings. The altar was constructed of shittim (usually translated as acacia) wood and covered in pure gold. It was an upright rectangular stand, measuring one cubit wide, one cubit deep, and two cubits high, with a “horn” on each corner, a border of gold around the top, and rings on opposite sides through which poles could be passed to carry it (Ex. 37:25-26). The poles were made of shittim wood covered with gold. Moses consecrated the altar with the anointing oil when the Tabernacle was dedicated (Lev. 40:9).

On this altar incense was burned daily at the time of the morning and the evening sacrifices. The coals used on this altar had to be taken from the Altar of Burnt Offerings. The incense used had to be made according to a specific formula (Ex. 30:34-35), and no other incense was permitted (Ex. 30:9).

http://www.bibleplaces.com/images/Tabernacle_altar_of_incense2_tb_n030301.jpg
A reconstruction of the Altar of incense.

Whenever certain sin-offerings were brought, the coals from the incense that was lit that morning were pushed aside and the blood of the “inner sin-offering” was sprinkled seven times on the top of the Golden Altar (Lev. 4:5-7).

Once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Altar of Incense was purified (Ex. 30:10, Lev. 16:18-19). The High Priest, after sacrificing a bull and a goat and purifying the Holy of Holies with their blood, would mix the blood of the two animals together. Then, starting at the northeast corner, he smeared the mixture of blood on each of the four corners of the Golden Altar. He then sprinkled the blood eight times on the altar.

In Solomon’s temple the altar was similar in size, but was made of cedar-wood (1 Kings 6:20; 7:48) overlaid with gold.

2.) The altar of burnt offering, sometimes called the bronze altar, was located in the court between the entrance and the Tabernacle. It was a hollow box of bronze-plated shittim wood, five cubits square and three cubits high, with a horn projection at each corner.

It was upon this altar that the various prescribed sacrifices were burned; their blood was sprinkled against its base through a grating around the bottom half of all four sides of the altar. Various bronze implements were provided for its service: pans and shovels for the ashes, forks for handling the meat, and fire pans. According to Lev. 6:13, the fire of this altar was never allowed to go out.

http://www.bibleplaces.com/images/Tabernacle_with_altar_129-09tb.jpg
A reconstruction of the Tabernacle, with the bronze altar in front.

The horns of this altar were smeared with blood in the consecration of priests (Ex. 29:12), in connection with the sin offering (Lev. 4:18, 34), and on the annual Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:18). It is believed that John is referring to this custom when he speaks of the martyrs as being ‘under the altar’.

In Solomon’s temple the altar was of larger dimensions (2 Chr. 4:1; 1 Kings 8:22, 64; 9:25), and was made wholly of brass, covering a structure of stone or earth. Because this altar was larger than the one used in the wilderness, it had a ramp leading up to it.

Under the Altar: The preposition translated under (Greek hypokato) is a strong one, meaning ‘below’ or ‘beneath’ (compare the phrase “under the earth,” in distinction from “in heaven” or “on earth,” in 5:3, 13).

Souls: John uses the word ‘psyche’ here, which is also translated as ‘life’ in other contexts.

Because of the word of God, and because of the testimony that they held: The second time that John uses the phrase; cf. Rev: 1:9, 12:17. These souls are not disembodied spirits, nor are they the ‘lives’ or ‘selves’ of slaughtered victims as a kind of abstraction, but are people with voices and real bodies, like the ‘beheaded’ souls of 20:4. They are martyrs, not just in the sense of bearing testimony (Greek: martyria), but in the sense of having been ‘killed’ (v. 11) for their testimony.

A white robe (Greek: stolē leukē): A stolē is a long, flowing robe reaching to the ground, as a mark of dignity. The crowd that John sees in 7:9 are described as wearing the same garments.

1.) Commentary by St. Bede:

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.”

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 judgement, 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.”

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.

 

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2.) Commentary by Oecumenius:

(verse 9) So the fifth salvation of the Lord given to the human race, the One which broke the fifth seal of the Lord and effected the removal of our sins and the restoration of our intimacy with God, was found in the bonds and wounds with which the Lord was held when he was brought before Pilate, and which He suffered at the hands of Pilate himself who showed a half-hearted reverence. The Devil, then, was not aware that his wicked action was directed against himself, and that in his drunken violence against the Lord he was thrusting the sword into himself, as he fell out of his evilly created domain.

I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the church (Oecumenius used church, not testimony) which they held: For the martyrs do not die only for their own sakes, but they bring about a benefit for the whole community. For their courage becomes an encouragement for other, and the knowledge of God is built up by the blood of God’s people.

(verse 10) They made their prayer not against human beings, but against the demons who make their home with mortal beings. For it was not the loving purpose of God’s people to rise up against their own kind, but against those who were urging human beings on their destruction.

(verse 11) The white robes was the symbol of their cleansing by their own blood, and the removal of all pollution.

That they should rest for a little time, till their fellow servants, and their brethren, who are to be slain, even as they, should be filled up: for it was not right that those who had shown the same courage as they had should be thwarted and lose their crowns of martyrdom by the premature destruction of the demons who were drilling them.

3.) Commentary by St. Nicolas of Lyra:

And when he had opened the fifth seal: Here the fifth part begins in which he describes the persecution of the Church from Emperor Trajan, who succeeded Domitian, to Diocletian. Trajan directed the third persecution of the Church; Marcus Aurtelius, the fourth; Severus, the fifth; Maximinus, the sixth; Decius, the seventh; Valerian, the eighth; Aurelian, the ninth. Although there were many emperors between them, in whose reigns many Christians were martyred, these are especially known to have conducted persecutions of the Christians, because they made and renewed edicts against them. When some were martyred during other reigns, this was because of the edicts of their predecessors, which they did not renew.

Therefore, in the times of the emperors noted above the altars of the churches were not fixed but set in secret places and especially in the crypts of the martyrs in which their bodies were buried, and wooden altars were carried and erected for the celebration of Mass.

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain: That is, the martyrs who were killed whose bodies were there. It is similar to the manner of speaking in Ex. 1:5, “The total number of people born to Jacob.” In other words, people.

Their souls did not come from the thigh of Jacob, as if from a vine, but were infused by God through creation-their bodies were taken from Jacob through generation.

For the word of God: This refers to the teachers who were martyred because they preached the divine word.

And for the testimony: This refers to the simple Christians who were martyred because they refused to deny Christ, but protested, nonetheless, by believing in him.

And they cried with a loud voice: This cry is nothing other than the manifestation of the wickedness of the tyrants before God who deserve to be punished and of the innocence of the martyrs who deserve to be rewarded, just as the Lord himself declares to Cain in Gn. 4:10, “Listen; your brother Abel’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!” That is, his innocence proclaims that your wickedness needs to be punished in satisfaction for his death. Therefore it is added: How long, O Lord: Make things right!

You who are (holy and true) dost thou not judge and revenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? That is, on the ruling tyrants on the earth.

And white robes were given to every one of them one: Because the glory of the soul was given to each.

And it was said to them, that they should rest: Their bodies in the graves.

For a little time: That is, to the judgment, which is a little while compared to eternity; whereupon it is said in 1 John 2:18, “Children, it is the last hour!” They will rise in glorious bodies, and thus they will have a second robe, which is the glory of the body.

Should be filled up: Afterwards many Christians were killed, and still more will be killed in the persecution of the Antichrist.

3.) Commentary by St. Victorinus:

And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain. He relates that he saw under the altar of God, that is, under the earth, the souls of them that were slain. For both heaven and earth are called God’s Altar, as says the law, commanding in the symbolic form of the truth two altars to be made—a golden one within, and a brazen one without.

But we perceive that the golden Altar is thus called Heaven, by the testimony that our Lord bears to it; for He says, “When you bring your gift to the altar (assuredly our gifts are the prayers which we offer), and there rememberest that your brother has ought against you, leave there your gift before the altar.” Assuredly prayers ascend to Heaven. Therefore Heaven is understood to be the golden Altar which was within; for the priests also were accustomed to enter once in the year— as they who had the anointing— to the golden altar, the Holy Spirit signifying that Christ should do this once for all.

As the golden Altar is acknowledged to be Heaven, so also by the brazen altar is understood the Earth, under which is the Hades,— a region withdrawn from punishments and fires, and a place of repose for the saints, wherein indeed the righteous are seen and heard by the wicked, but they cannot be carried across to them.

He who sees all things would have us to know that these saints, therefore— that is, the souls of the slain— are asking for vengeance for their blood, that is, of their body, from those that dwell upon the earth; but because in the last time, moreover, the reward of the saints will be perpetual, and the condemnation of the wicked shall come, it was told them to wait. And for a solace to their body, there were given unto each of them white robes. They received, says he, white robes, that is, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

5.) St. Jerome on the souls under the Altar (Homily on the Psalms, 63):

They were under the altar of God because they had been immolated in martyrdom for Christ; the victim of the Lord Savior was deserving to be in Heaven under the altar.

6.) St. Thomas Aquinas on the souls (Summa Theologica, Question 93, Article 1: “Whether the happiness of the saints will be greater after the judgment than before?”):

A gloss on Apocalypse 6:9, “I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain,” says: “At present the souls of the saints are under the altar, i.e. less exalted than they will be.” Therefore their happiness will be greater after the resurrection than after their death.

Further, just as happiness is bestowed on the good as a reward, so is unhappiness awarded to the wicked. But the unhappiness of the wicked after reunion with their bodies will be greater than before, since they will be punished not only in the soul but also in the body. Therefore the happiness of the saints will be greater after the resurrection of the body than before.

7.) Pope St. Gregory the Great on the robes that the souls received (Dialogues, Book 4, Chapter 25: “Whether the souls of just men be received into Heaven, before the general resurrection of our bodies”):

Peter: If just men’s souls be already in Heaven: what then shall they receive for a reward of their virtuous and just life at the day of judgment?

Gregory: Whereas now their souls be only in heaven, at the day of judgment this further increase of joy shall they have, that their bodies also shall be partakers of eternal bliss, and they shall in their flesh receive joy: in which, for Christ’s sake, they suffered grief and torments.

In respect of this their double glory, the Scripture says: “In their land, they shall possess double things” (Isaiah 61:7.); and it is written of the souls of the just, that, before the day of resurrection: “To every one of them white stoles were given; and it was said to them: that they should rest yet a little time, until the number of their fellow-servants and brethren were complete.” (Rev. 6:11)

They, therefore, that now receive but one robe, in the day of judgment shall every one have two: because now they rejoice only for the felicity of their souls, but then shall they enjoy the endless glory of body and soul together.

 

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12-14: And I saw when He opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the Earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the sky was split as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island – out of their places they were moved.

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Sackcloth of hair (Greek: Melas os sakkōs): Sakkōs refers to a dark coarse cloth made of a black goat’s hair which is usually worn when mourning.

Unripe figs (Greek: Olynthos): literally, ‘summer (or winter) fruit’; i.e. a fruit that is unripe (because it is out of season).

Was split: Like a broken papyrus roll torn in two, each half then curling up to form a roll on either side.

And the sun became black…and the whole moon became as blood: cf. Joel 2:31, Zeph. 1:14-15, Mk. 13:24-25, Mt 24:29, Lk 21:25-26.

1.) Commentary by Oecumenius:

(verse 12) The breaking of the sixth seal accomplished our complete salvation: it destroyed death; it restored life, it robbed the conqueror of human beings of his crown, openly triumphing over him. What is the breaking of the sixth seal? The cross of the Lord and His death, which were followed by the resurrection and ascension in response to the prayers of all spiritual and sensible creation, opening for us a new living way.

The vision clearly describes for us the miracles that took place at the Cross- the earthquake and the turbulence of the earth, the darkness of the sun, and the changing of the full moon into blood. Quite accurately, he added the word full to the moon; for the moon on the day of the Crucifixion, and in its fullness it beheld the Passion. This is what usually happens in the illuminated part during lunar Eclipses.

The prophet Joel, too, predicted that this would happen, saying, “*The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and wonderful day of the Lord *(Joel 2:31).”

(verse 13) The falling of the stars perhaps actually took place, but if not, the account of symbolically means that the heavenly light ceased, and that it became completely dark.

(verse 14) By the heaven he means the heavenly powers of the Angels, who themselves, too, were shaken, since they were unable to bear the insult done to their Master, in Heaven as here on earth. They rushed like a scroll rolled up and shaken.

And every mountain, and the islands were moved out of their places: He calls the regiments of the haughty demons mountains and islands, according to what Scripture says of them: “*the mountains were being moved in the heart of the seas *(Ps. 45:3).” Again he says of the islands that they are lifted high and raised up (Is. 23:2-6) by the vain folly of their attitude in the unstable and bitter distractions of this life.

2.) Commentary by St. Nicolas of Lyra:

And I saw, when he had opened the sixth seal: Here he describes the status of the Church under Diocletian, his partner, Maximian. This persecution was more vicious than the earlier ones, such that within thirty days he crowned 17,000 men and women with martyrdom. This is what John describes in the opening of the sixth seal. It is divided into two parts: first, the imminence of the persecution, and the place: of Rev. 7:1 “After this.”

Concerning the first it is said: and behold there was a great earthquake. By order of Diocletian and Maximian, the judges and rulers killed Christians in all parts of the Roman Empire.

And the sun: That is, Christ, who is the sun of Justice, was belittled; that is, His good name and also His Body, that was impugned with the charge that his followers were evildoers and magicians. For they were instructed by Christ through the apostles and the other disciples whom he had taught concerning the things the unbelievers called them. Thus, as he was in them, they belittled the name of Christ.

And the whole moon became: Because then the whole Church was filled with the red blood of the martyrs.

And the stars from heaven fell upon the earth: That is, many leaders in the Church in fear of death apostized-Pope Marcellinus in fear of death sacrificed to the idols, and because of this one can conclude that many others did the same. Nevertheless, St. Marcellinus repented and became a martyr of Christ; the see of Rome ceased for seven-and-a-half years because of this threatening persecution.

And the heaven departed as a book folded up: Here the sky represents the Church of the present time as in Matt. 13:44, “The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.” As Gregory explains in Homily 37, Christians were hiding themselves insofar as they were able, except a few who out of fervor offered themselves for martyrdom.

And every mountain: The Christians were sought out and killed on remote mountains and cliffs and the islands of the sea where they were hidden. These places are said to move because the inhabitants moved, just as it is said of Paris that it does or experiences what its people do or experience.

3.) Commentary by St. Bede:

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.”

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.

heaven. As a scroll rolled up contains indeed mysteries within, 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.

 

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15-17: And the kings of the Earth, and the nobles, and the chiliarchs, and the rich, and the strong, and every slave and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they say to the mountains and to the rocks: “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of Their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”

http://www.apocalyptic-theories.com/gallery/bookofseals/durersixthseal.jpg
Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb…

The nobles: The Greek word here is ‘megistanes’, the plural form of ‘megistos’, meaning ‘greatest or very great:–exceeding great’.

Chiliarchs: literally meaning “the commander of a thousand soldiers”, the word was used in Josephus and other Greek authors as the equivalent of the Roman Tribunus Militum.

A tribunus militum was an officer in a Roman legion. A single legion had six tribunes. Under the Republic, all were recruited from the senatorial class, and command of the legion rotated among them. Because tribunes belonged to influential families, they could seize the initiative during a battle, without having to fear repercussions from commanders. (The Battle of Cynoscephalae in 197 BC was a Roman victory because a tribune ignored his orders.)

After the reforms of Gaius Marius of 108 BC, the legion was commanded by a legate, supported by six tribunes, five from the equestrian order and one, the tribunus laticlavius (tribune of the broad stripe), of senatorial rank, who acted as second in command. The tribunes were officially responsible for commanding the legion after the death of its legate.

It was a beginner’s function and a tribune served for a year only. Service as a military tribune was typically the first step for a young man with senatorial ambitions.

Hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains: cf. Isaiah 2:10, 12, 19, 21.

Fall on us, and hide us: cf. Hosea 10:8, Lk. 23:30, Rev. 9:6.

Who is able to stand? cf. 1 Sam. 6:20, Ps. 76:7; Nah. 1:6, Mal. 3:2, Lk. 21:36.

1.) Commentary by St. Nicolas of Lyra:

(verse 15) In all of these parts of the world the Catholic faith had already spread to persons from every station in life-some believed, who, not enduring the rage of the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian, sought to hide themselves in the caves under the mountains. Therefore it is added: Hid.

Some of them fearing to be captures there and to be put to death by prolonged torture desired to die more quickly, lest during the torture they would be inclined to deny Christ.

(verse 16) Of the one angered against us, although anger does not properly occur in God; nevertheless, he is said to be angry against some metaphorically, when he punished them, because he conducts himself according to the manner of anger. When he punishes the elect, however, he does it more out of kindness to increase their merits and rewards.

And from the wrath of the Lamb: That is, of the human Christ, who was seen to be angry against His Church in a manner of speaking.

For the great day of their wrath is come: That is, the time of the great persecution permitted by God.

And who shall be able to stand: By the mountains and rocks the saints are understood, who were in that country, and are called mountains because of their exultation to Heaven, and rocks because they were firm in their goodness; the faithful requested their prayers in the midst of persecution. And this is the sense: And they call to the mountains, That is, stoop to us.

And hide us from the face of the One seated: That is, protect us by your prayer against God and the Lamb, so that the rage of this persecution may cease. But the other exposition seems more literal.

2.) Commentary by St. Andrew of Caesarea:

(verse 15) The kings of the earth, that is, those who exert power over it and possess nothing in Heaven, they too shall pray with all the great and rich and with the servants of the things below and those free of the service of Christ, that they be hidden by the caves and the rocks and the mountains. For they do not want to experience the divine wrath that with divine consent will pour down upon them either at the coming of the Antichrist in the form of punishments from the famine and other plagues of in endless torments which are expected after the resurrection. For then the divine anger will burn righteously as a furnace, consuming those who built upon the foundation of faith with wood and chaff and stubble, as though food for the fire.

(verse 16) “At the coming of the Antichrist, those (called here symbolically mountains) who are leaders either over the good order of the Church or over the worldly dominions, and the churches of the faithful which are presented here under the image of islands…will fall from their places.”

3.) Commentary by Oecumenius:

(verse 15) He calls the guilty demons kings and princes and tribunes and the rich and the strong, since they have ruled over those upon the earth through deceit and guile. The slaves and the free refer to those demons who are in power and those who are subject.

(verse 16-17) The demons hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains and even cried, Fall upon us, and hide us, is figurative. It symbolizes their attempts to escape the punishment being brought upon them by Christ. One could suppose that these things recounted in Revelation were the sufferings not only of demons but also of the lawless Jews who erected the cross for the Lord, when they were oppressed by the war against the Romans and became fugitives in the mountains and caves and holes of the earth, and on every side were afflicted by hardship and stress.

4.) Commentary by St. Bede:

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.” (Ps. 103 [104]:18)

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

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 judgement 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 (Lk. 16: 19), we read that it has already taken place.

 

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7:1-3: After this I saw four Angels standing at the four corners of the Earth, holding the four winds of the Earth, that the wind may not blow upon the Earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree.

And I saw another Angel ascend from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a great voice to the four Angels, to whom it was given to injure the Earth and the sea, saying: “Do not hurt the Earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we shall have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

http://beatus.saint-sever.fr/folios/f119.JPG

Four winds of the Earth: cf. Jer. 49:36; Dan. 7:2; Zech. 6:5; Matt. 24:31.

Until we have sealed the servants of our God: cf. Ezekiel 9:1-6:

Then the LORD cried out in my ears with a loud voice saying, “Draw near, O executioners of the city, and each man with his destroying weapon in his hand!”

And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each with a destroying weapon in his hand; and among them was a certain man clothed in linen with a scribe’s inkpot at his side. And they went in and stood beside the bronze Altar.

And the glory of the God of Israel went up from the Cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the House. And He cried out to the man clothed in linen who had the scribe’s inkpot at his side.

And the LORD said to him: “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and mark Taw on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.”

And to the others He said in my hearing: “Pass on into the city after him and smite! Do not let your eye have pity and do not spare! Utterly slay the old man, the young man, and the maiden, and little children, and women; but do not touch any man on whom is Taw; and begin from My sanctuary.”

And He said to them: “Defile the House, and fill the courts with the slain: go forth!” And they went forth and struck in the city.

Compare the following passage from the Apocryphal Psalms of Solomon (15:7-10 [5-10]):

**For the mark of God is upon the righteous that they may be saved. **
Famine and sword and pestilence (shall be) far from the righteous,
for they shall flee away from the pious as men pursued in war;
But they shall pursue sinners and overtake (them),
and they that do lawlessness shall not escape the judgement of God;
as by enemies experienced (in war) shall they be overtaken,
for the mark of destruction is upon their forehead.

1.) Commentary by St. Bede:

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 the 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 *(Dan. 7:2).”

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 (Lk. 1:78),” 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 *(Matt. 4:17).”

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 (Dan. 2:34, 45).”

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 (Ps. 8:1 [2]): “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.”

2.) Commentary by St. Victorinus:

And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. He speaks of Elias the prophet, who is the precursor of the times of the Antichrist, for the restoration and establishment of the churches from the great and intolerable persecution. We read that these things are predicted in the opening of the Old and New Testament; for He says by Malachi: Lo, I will send to you Elias the Tishbite, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, (Malachi 3:23-24) according to the time of calling, to recall the Jews to the faith of the people that succeed them.

And to that end He shows, as we have said, that the number of those that shall believe, of the Jews and of the nations, is a great multitude which no man was able to number. Moreover, we read in the Gospel that the prayers of the Church are sent from heaven by an angel, and that they are received against wrath, and that the kingdom of the Antichrist is cast out and extinguished by holy angels; for He says: Pray that you enter not into temptation: for there shall be a great affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the world; and except the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved; (Lk. 23: ; Mark 13:18-20) therefore He shall send these seven great Archangels to smite the kingdom of the Antichrist; for He Himself also thus said: Then the Son of man shall send His messengers; and they shall gather together His elect from the four corners of the wind, from the one end of Heaven even to the other end thereof (Mark 13:27).

For, moreover, He previously says by the prophet: Then shall there be peace for our land, when there shall arise in it seven shepherds and eight attacks of men; and they shall encircle Assur, (that is, the Antichrist) in the trench of Nimrod (Micah 5:5-6), that is, in the nation of the devil, by the spirit of the Church.

Similarly when the keepers of the house shall be moved. Moreover, the Lord Himself, in the parable to the Apostles,* when the labourers had come to Him and said, Lord, did not we sow good seed in Your field? whence, then, has it tares? answered them, An enemy has done this. And they said to Him, Lord, will You, then, that we go and root them up? And He said, Nay, but let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, that they gather the tares and make bundles of them, and burn them with fire everlasting, but that they gather the wheat into my barns* (Matthew 13:27-30).

The Apocalypse here shows, therefore, that these reapers, and shepherds, and labourers, are the angels. And the trumpet is the word of power. And although the same thing recurs in the phials, still it is not said as if it occurred twice, but because what is decreed by the Lord to happen shall be once for all; for this cause it is said twice. What, therefore, He said too little in the trumpets, is here found in the phials.

We must not regard the order of what is said, because frequently the Holy Spirit, when He has traversed even to the end of the last times, returns again to the same times, and fills up what He had before failed to say. Nor must we look for order in the Apocalypse; but we must follow the meaning of those things which are prophesied. Therefore in the trumpets and phials is signified either the desolation of the plagues that are sent upon the earth, or the madness of Antichrist himself, or the cutting off of the peoples, or the diversity of the plagues, or the hope in the kingdom of the saints, or the ruin of states, or the great overthrow of Babylon, that is, the Roman state.

 

[ellammcg]

I like what you are doing here. It is a good mixture of illustration, definition, and commentary.

 

[patrick457]

3.) From the Haydock Commentary:

1.) I saw four Angels, &c. Though some understand here evil spirits, whom God may make use of as instruments to punish the wicked, yet we may rather, with other interpreters, understand good angels sent from God to guard and protect his faithful servants both from evil spirits and wicked men. (Witham)

2.) Having the seal. This sign is generally supposed to be the sign of the Cross. In the East, it was the custom to impress some indelible mark upon the soldiers. This sign [the sign of the Cross] amongst the ancient Christians was used on every occasion. (Calmet)

3.) Hurt not the earth, &c. Some understand Christ himself, who gives his commands in this manner to the Angels; others, an Angel of a higher rank or order. — Till we seal the servants of our God in their foreheads, which may be expounded, let not persecutions and trials come upon them till they are strengthened by the spirit and grace of God, with which St. Paul sometimes says the servants of God are signed and sealed. See 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13.

He alludes to the passages of Ezekiel (9:4) where God bids and Angel mark with the letter Tau the foreheads of those who should not be hurt by the judgments that were to fall upon Jerusalem; so God would protect the faithful Christians, who believe and put their trust in Christ crucified, and who from the first ages [centuries], in testimony of this faith, used to sign themselves by making the sign of the Cross on their foreheads, of which the letter Tau was a figure or resemblance. See Tertullian,* de lib. Corona militis*.

I beg the readers patience, if I here set down what I find in the great Synopsis Papismi, in folio, put out by Mr. Andrew Willet, and dedicated first to Queen Elizabeth, and afterwards to King James the first. Among his demonstrations, as he calls them, that the Pope is the Antichrist, (Controv. iv. q. 10. p. 232 and 233) he tells us in plain terms, “that the sign of the cross is one of the visible signs of Antichrist. And who,” saith he, “*hath taught the papists that the sign of the cross is to be borne or made on men’s foreheads? And that with crossing the forehead we are preserved from dangers? The superstitious marks of the cross had their beginning from the beast’s name, since the number of the beast’s name in the Revelation of St. John is by these Greek letters, Greek: *chxs. The first letter, Greek: ch, is a cross; the middle letter, Greek: x, (in Latin, X) is also a side long cross; and the last letter, Greek: s, contains both Greek: s and Greek: t of which the latter is called a headless cross;” and then Mr. Willet concludes in these words, “And thus it plainly appears, that the marks whereby the papists say they honour Christ, are rather a dishonour to him, and are in very deed the cognizance of the Antichrist.”

Such an ingenious, and at the same time learned fancy, may perhaps outvie even those we have cited out of Mr. Brightman [in the annotations on Chap. 3:14-22], and may be equally serviceable to any country parson on the fifth of November, or on any day when he shall think fit to hold forth against the Pope or popery. I suppose that Mr. Willet did not know that the Christians in the first ages [centuries] (as all Catholics to this day) made so frequent use of the sign of the Cross, as it is witnessed by Tertullian above two hundred years before even any Protestant pretended that the Popes began to be Antichrists, or the great Antichrist. And this, says he, they do by a tradition** from father to son. At every setting forward or going about any thing, at coming home or going out, at putting on our clothes, at going to bathe, to table, to light a candle, to bed, to sit down, to any thing, we make the sign of the cross on our foreheads. And this is a tradition. The like is witnessed by St. Chrysostom, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, and many of the Fathers.

At the same time that with our hand we make the sign of the cross, we say these words, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;” the words used when any one is made a Christian, according to the command of Christ. So that the action itself puts us in mind that Jesus Christ died for us on the cross; and by the words, we make a profession of our Christian faith, that we believe in one God and three Persons. Can we do this too often? Dare we be ashamed of doing it? Was ever any thing more ridiculous than to call this in very deed the cognizance of antichrist? What must Mr. Willet have thought of the Protestants, or what can they think of him, and such like folio scribbers, to prove the Popes the beast of St. John’s Revelation? What must, I say, Mr. Willet think of the public Liturgy, or the Book of Common Prayer, approved and used by the Church of England in his time, and which ordains that the sign of the Cross shall be made by the priest on the forehead of every one that is baptized? This, according to Mr. Willet, is (when any one is made a Christian) to give him the badge, and visible sign of the Antichrist, to the dishonour of Christ, and what in very deed is the cognizance of the Antichrist. (Witham)

4.) Commentary by Origen (from his Commentary on the Gospel of John**):

1. How Christians are the Spiritual Israel.

That people which was called of old the people of God was divided into twelve tribes, and over and above the other tribes it had the Levitical order, which itself again carried on the service of God in various Priestly and Levitical suborders. In the same manner, it appears to me that the whole people of Christ, when we regard it in the aspect of the hidden man of the heart (Romans 2:29), that people which is called “Jew inwardly,” and is circumcised in the spirit, has in a more mystic way the characteristics of the tribes.

This may be more plainly gathered from John in his Apocalypse, though the other prophets also do not by any means conceal the state of matters from those who have the faculty of hearing them. John speaks as follows: “And I saw another angel ascending from the sunrising, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not either the earth, or the sea, or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand who were sealed, out of every tribe of the children of lsrael; of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand, of the tribe of Roubem twelve thousand.” (Rev. 7:2-5) And he mentioned each of the tribes singly, with the exception of Dan.

Then, some way further on, he continues: “And I saw, and behold the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder. And the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps; and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders, and no one could learn the song but the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb whithersover He goeth. These were purchased from among men, a first fruits to God and to the Lamb; and in their mouth was found no lie, for they are without blemish.” (Rev. 14:1-5)

Now this is said in John with reference to those who have believed in Christ, for they also, even if their bodily descent cannot be traced to the seed of the Patriarchs, are yet gathered out of the tribes. That this is so we may conclude from what is further said about them: “Hurt not,” he says, “the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from every tribe of the children of Israel.”

 

[spauline]

are we allowed to give any personal meditations, or just stick with the various Fathers?

 

[patrick457]

are we allowed to give any personal meditations, or just stick with the various Fathers?

Well, this is mostly a ‘Book of Revelation according to the Church Fathers and saints’ thread…