Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
John is commanded to measure the temple, then the court, which he hears must be given to Antichrist for 42 months. Whence in verse 3, he hears that Elias and Henoch shall prophesy against him and send forth plagues, who shall at length be slain by him in Jerusalem, and after three days and a half shall publicly rise again, and being called shall ascend into heaven, and then there shall be an earthquake, by which a third part of Jerusalem shall fall, and seven thousand men shall be slain. Secondly, in verse 15, the seventh Angel shall sound the trumpet, and presently the consummation of all things shall come about, and the glorious kingdom shall begin. Wherefore the 24 elders give thanks and celebrate God, that now the day of judgment and the resurrection, and the punishments of the wicked and the rewards of the Saints, are come. Finally, in verse 19, heaven is opened, and the ark of the testament appears, and there are lightnings, thunders, an earthquake and a great hail.
Vulgate Text: Apocalypse 11:1-19
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and it was said to me: Arise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar and them that adore therein. 2 But the court, which is without the temple, cast out, and measure it not: because it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city they shall tread under foot two and forty months: 3 And I will give unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks, that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire shall come out of their mouths, and shall devour their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, in this manner must he be slain. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and they have power over waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they will. 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast, that ascendeth out of the abyss, shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which is called spiritually, Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord also was crucified. 9 And they of the tribes, and peoples, and tongues, and nations, shall see their bodies for three days and a half: and they shall not suffer their bodies to be laid in sepulchres. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry: and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt upon the earth. 11 And after three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them that saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them: Come up hither. And they went up to heaven in a cloud: and their enemies saw them. 13 And at that hour there was made a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell: and there were slain in the earthquake names of men seven thousand: and the rest were cast into a fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe is past: and behold the third woe will come quickly. 15 And the seventh angel sounded the trumpet: and there were great voices in heaven, saying: The kingdom of this world is become our Lord's and His Christ's, and He shall reign for ever and ever. Amen. 16 And the four and twenty ancients, who sit on their seats in the sight of God, fell on their faces and adored God, saying: 17 We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and who wast, and who art to come: because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and Thou hast reigned. 18 And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest render reward to Thy servants the prophets, and the saints, and to them that fear Thy name, little and great, and shouldest destroy them who have corrupted the earth. 19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of His testament was seen in His temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Introduction: Ribera's Anticipation and the Antichrist Frame
Ribera holds that this chapter is placed here by anticipation, because the seven seals which precede Antichrist — and consequently Elias and Henoch, who are treated of in this chapter — have not yet been finished. But I say there is no anticipation here. For now that the seven seals have been opened, the book is opened, and John here begins to describe its mysteries. This therefore is the second and latter part of the Apocalypse: for the first was the explanation of the seven seals, which began at chapter VI and extends up to this point. The latter begins here and extends to the end of the Apocalypse, in which the contents of the book itself are described. That this is so is clear from the end of the preceding chapter, where John was commanded by the Angel to devour the book now opened, and from it to prophesy again. This therefore is the second part of his prophecy, in which John begins to relate the very book which in the preceding chapter he had devoured and drunk in with his eyes and mind. For although the seven seals of the sealed book — which are completely finished in this chapter at the trumpet of the seventh Angel in verse 15 — preceded the reading of the book itself which he here begins to describe: nevertheless this must be understood of the seventh seal not as fully but as inchoately opened, that is, that with the opening (or rather explanation) of the mysteries of the seventh seal having been begun but not completed (for the seal was already opened, but from it the seven Angels came forth in succession and unfolded their trumpets), John read the book formerly sealed and now opened, and so opened that all things written in it could be read, as he reads them and thereafter relates them. The whole seventh seal therefore was opened at once and at the beginning: or if you prefer that it had parts which, opened in succession, in succession produced these seven Angels with trumpets, it must be said that, when the earlier parts of it had been opened, the whole book could be read, so that its last part, producing the seventh Angel, who introduces the end or consummation of all things, was so fitted either externally or internally that its closure did not close the book, but with that closure remaining shut the book could nevertheless be opened and read — such seals as we see appended to Papal diplomas and Royal letters patent, that they may give them credit and confer authority. That this is so is clear from the fact that the seventh Angel of the seventh seal brings with Him the consummation of all things, as is said in the preceding chapter, verse 7, and in this chapter, verse 15. Wherefore he himself and his trumpet pertain to the end of the Apocalypse, and consequently before him and his trumpet-blast will occur those things which are related of Elias and Antichrist and his followers in this chapter and thereafter.
Furthermore, John begins this latter part of the Apocalypse with the trampling of the Church and the faithful which Antichrist will accomplish, to whom Elias and Henoch will at once oppose themselves, as the two captains of the faithful and of the holy war; whose deeds and miracles John therefore weaves together with one and the same thread, and so subjoins their death, martyrdom, resurrection, ascension into heaven, and the portents that follow their death — which will happen later. For the proper place of those things, and indeed of everything that is said in this chapter from verse 7 to the end of the chapter, is chapter XIX, before verse 11; for before the final war of Christ with Antichrist, Gog and Magog, which John begins to describe in that verse 11, the death of Elias and Henoch will occur, and the other things which are narrated in this chapter from verse 7 to the end; but John joined them here, that he might embrace and treat the whole history of Elias and Henoch together. See the Chronotaxis at the end of the Commentary.
Verse 1: And There Was Given Me a Reed Like a Rod; and It Was Said to Me: Rise, and Measure the Temple of God, and the Altar, and Them That Adore Therein
This reed was not for writing, but for measuring: namely, a cane for measuring the temple, with which again He measures the heavenly Jerusalem in chapter XXI, verses 16 and 17, where He says of it that it is "the measure of a man." This Alcazar explains thus: Because, he says, the measure of a man is a reed. For the reed was six cubits: but each rightly-formed man is of so many cubits, because the cubit is not, as others would have it, the fourth, but the sixth part of a man's stature: therefore six cubits are the measure of a man's stature. For Hippocrates, Aristotle and Galen call πῆχυς, that is the cubit, the principal bone of the arm, which extends from the lowest part of the hand to the bend of the arm. Therefore the measure of the cubit excludes the hand itself, and is the same measure as the foot and as the head; for the head, when rightly formed, is a sixth part of a man, and consequently is a cubit. Thus far Alcazar. But this can be said physically, not geometrically: for St. Jerome and the ancients generally call the cubit a measure which extends from the bend of the arm to the extremity of the hand and fingers, which is a fourth part of a man's stature.
Again, Alcazar by "reed" or "striking rod" — which was the ancient measure of the old Adam, and therefore greater than the reed of the later age — understands the Passion and Cross of the second Adam, that is, of Christ, which surpassed all the passions of the later Martyrs; wherefore Christ with this reed, that is, with the Cross, measured and raised up the structure of His own temple, that is, of the Church. "I think therefore," he himself says, "that the measure in chapter XI is the measure of the afflictions which the servants of Christ suffer for His sake — and especially those which the faithful of the primitive Church endured: but the measure in chapter XXI is the measure of the glory which the Blessed enjoy in their fatherland, by which is signified that one does not ascend to the perfection of virtue and glory except through great crosses and the endurance of immense labors." For this is the measure of a man, that it may denote those to be children and as it were pygmies who are led by another way — namely the sweeter and softer one. Whence also of that person who was about to measure the temple in Ezekiel XL, 3, it is said: "A man whose appearance was as the appearance of brass." This man was Christ, by nature in His passion and Cross of flesh, but in strength of brass. The altar of holocaust both here and in Ezekiel signifies the devotion and fervor of the first Christians, offering themselves to God for martyrdom in the persecution of the Jews. The sense therefore is, as if to say: Measure, O John, the greatness of the altar of holocaust of the primitive Church — that is, gather and comprehend how greatly the magnitude of persecution increased, dilated and exalted the Church, so that that mystical altar (that is, that immense devotion to martyrdom) was perfect in all numbers, and therefore most pleasing to God and most glorious to the Church. Thus he, subtly and piously, according to his scope and purpose. But less solidly. For first, he wanders from the genuine scope of the Apocalypse, as I have often said. Secondly, the reed is not the measure of a man, but exceeds it by two cubits, as I taught a little before from the common opinion of the Doctors.
Therefore this measuring reed was precisely six cubits and a palm: a palm, that is, of four fingers placed across, as Ezekiel XL, 3 expressly asserts, to which place reference is made here. This reed was like a rod, first, to signify the equity and rectitude of divine measure and justice. Secondly, that we may fear God as judge, as one ready immediately to deem him guilty whom He finds harmful or wanting in the measuring, says Viegas. Thirdly, as Nicolas Zegers says, this reed was like a rod — that is, a royal scepter — because it pertains to God as to the King of the world to measure men, that is, to judge them and either reward or punish them according to their merits.
And It Was Said to Me. — In Greek λέγων, that is "saying," as if the reed were speaking. But by a Hebraism — that is, by a Hebrew antiptosis — the nominative is put for the genitive, "of one saying" for "saying." Whence Vatablus translates, "by one saying to me." Hence the Complutensian editors read: καὶ ἔστη ὁ ἄγγελος λέγων, that is, "and the Angel stood saying."
Measure the Temple of God, and the Altar, and Them That Adore Therein. — He means the old Jewish temple, but by this he understands the Church. Moreover, the temple had two parts: one which was open only to the priests and Levites — this began from the court of the priests, which was called the inner court, and extended through the Holy Place, through which one went toward the Holy of Holies. The other was the outer court, which was as it were the temple of the laity. The former part was called the temple of God, because in it was the altar of holocausts in the court itself; and in the Holy Place was the altar of incense, on which incense was offered, as on the other the victims were offered. Now those that adore therein are the priests and Levites. In this former part of the temple, therefore, and in those that adore — namely the priests — are symbolically signified the faithful who in the time of Antichrist will be in the Church the best, most religious, most united to God, and most solid in His worship. John is commanded to measure these, that is, to number them, because they will not yield to Antichrist, but will persevere in the faith to the end, and therefore will be chosen for glory. For only these does this symbolic and imaginary dimension of the temple signify, which is here prescribed to John in the vision. For this temple signifies the holy Church, which fights so constantly for God that she shall soon become triumphant. John therefore here measures and numbers the militant Church at the end of the world, soon to be triumphant. So Aretas, Richard and Oecumenius. Furthermore, Aretas elsewhere by "temple" takes the Church of the Old Testament; by "court," the Church of Christ, which is commanded to be cast out, that is, exempted from the observances and burdens of the old law. But this is not literal, nor to the present matter.
Verse 2: But the Court Which Is Without the Temple Cast Out
He means the outer court, or temple of the laity, which, because it was farther removed from both altars, hence signified the weaker Christians of laxer life, and therefore farther from God. These (he says) "cast out," that is, outside the Church — as if to say: Reject them among the unbelievers and apostates, because these will yield to the Gentiles, that is, to Antichrist and his followers. Hence they are unworthy to be measured or numbered among the faithful. So Richard. He alludes to the outermost court of the temple, which was called the court of the Gentiles, because the Gentiles could be in it — as if to say: The Gentiles will occupy and lay waste not only their own court, but also the court of Israel, that is, of the faithful. Note the catachresis, "cast out," that is, reject, repudiate, despise; do not number and measure it. For this court was without; therefore it could not properly be cast out. Wherefore some Greek codices, which Erasmus and Vatablus cite and follow, read for "without" ἔσωθεν, that is, "within." Others, whom Our author follows, generally read ἔξωθεν, that is, "without"; both are true. For this court of the Jews was without with respect to the court of the priests; the same was within with respect to the court of the Gentiles. For it was in the temple of the faithful people, and so itself was the temple of the faithful laity.
Otherwise Ambrose: for he holds that this court was given to the Gentiles, because the Jews on account of their unbelief were joined to the pagan Gentiles. "Or for this reason," he says, "they are said to be delivered to the Gentiles, because they were delivered to the Romans, that they might be destroyed by them." So also Primasius, Pannonius and others by "court" understand heretics, schismatics and Jews, whom God commands to be expelled from the Church. But Andreas by "temple" takes the faithful, and by "court" the unfaithful.
Tropologically, Alcazar (although he himself thinks it the literal sense) holds that the outer court, or that which is without, signifies the external goods of the faithful, such as fortunes, honors, magistracies, health, life, and finally whatever is subject to profane violence. The faithful are commanded to cast these out, that is, to renounce them and tear their mind away from them, and to give them up as prey to the unbelievers and to those persecuting the Church and the faithful. By which is intimated that the Gentiles will invade all the temporal goods of the faithful, and will inflict such calamities on the faithful themselves that they will have left neither the form of a commonwealth, nor the conveniences of citizens, nor houses or possessions. But the inner court, that is the Church herself, the faith, religion and Christian virtue in the faithful, will remain unharmed and will not come into the power of the enemies; but rather will all the more flourish through persecutions, so that the Church, as a magnificent temple of God, may rise up to the greatest amplitude and glory.
So St. Gregory, Moralia XXVIII, 6: "What else," he says, "does the court signify but the breadth of the present life? And rightly are they outside the temple who are designated by the court. And therefore they are not to be measured, because narrow is the gate which leads to life; and the breadth of the life of the wicked is not admitted to the measures and rules of the elect."
And They Shall Tread Under Foot the Holy City (the Church, which He previously called temple and court, here He calls the holy city — as if to say: Antichrist and the Antichristians will pervert, lay waste and possess the greatest part of the Church) for Forty-Two Months, — that is, for three years and a half (for if you give 12 months to each year, you will find that 42 months make three years and a half), as Daniel foretold in chapter VII, verse 25: "They shall be delivered," he says, "into his hand (Antichrist's) until a time, and times, and half a time," that is, for a year, and two years, and half a year. See what is said there. Otherwise Alcazar: for he thinks that by three years and a half is symbolically signified the whole time during which the Jews persecuted Christ and the primitive Church, which was forty years, namely from Christ preaching and being crucified by the Jews in the 34th year of His age, until the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, which happened in the 72nd year of Christ.
Verse 3: And I Will Give Unto My Two Witnesses, and They Shall Prophesy
And I Will Give (namely, the office of prophesying, and together with it the spirit, courage, ardor, mouth and wisdom which no one can resist) Unto My Two Witnesses, and They Shall Prophesy, — that is, that they may prophesy. For thus often the particle "et" with the future is put for "ut" (that), as is done in Psalm 50:20: "Deal favorably, O Lord, in Thy good will with Sion, and let the walls (that is, that the walls) of Jerusalem be built up." And Psalm 79, verse 4: "O God, convert us, and shew Thy face, and we shall be saved," that is, that we may be saved. Psalm 54:7: "Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly away," that is, that I may fly. Now "they shall prophesy," that is, they shall teach, evangelize, dispute against Antichrist and his defenders: and that they may add credit to their words, they shall also truly prophesy, that is, foretell future things, and work other miracles; for all these pertain to prophecy, and in Scripture are signified by "to prophesy," as I said in the proem to the Prophets.
Two Witnesses. — First, some by these two witnesses understand not two particular men, but two kinds of witnesses. Whence Pannonius asserts that these two witnesses are the doctors and preachers of the Church, who teach and preach the two Testaments, namely the new and the old. And Arias Montanus thinks that these two witnesses are the law and prophecy — the law denoted in Moses, the prophecy in Elias. The Calvinists, especially the English, eagerly seize upon this, denying that Elias and Henoch will come at the end of the world, and teaching that these two witnesses are the new and old Testament, or the sacred Letters and assemblies of the faithful. Alcazar, however, by the two witnesses understands the great wisdom and great sanctity of the primitive Church, which gave testimony to itself and to Christ against the Jews; for to these are given and assigned by personification the persons of Moses and Elias. For Moses was the paradigm of heavenly wisdom, Elias of zeal and sanctity, and therefore Moses is here substituted for Henoch. For he himself confesses that allusion is here made to the coming of Elias and Henoch in the time of Antichrist, and that this is as it were presupposed. Moreover, Alcazar here, in note 7, elegantly enumerates twenty symbols, partly natural, partly artificial, by which is shown how much the conjunction of wisdom with sanctity confers on the Church and on each member of the faithful — all of which are beautiful, but mystical and moral, not literal.
Secondly, those who expound this of times not future but already past, as in their exposition, so also here vary. For those who expound this of the primitive Church think that the two witnesses are Christ the Lord and John the Baptist. So Ubertinus and Michael Eitsinger in his Pentaplus, p. 109. Again, Lyranus, Aureolus and St. Antoninus think the two witnesses are Pope Silverius and Mennas, Patriarch of Constantinople, who fought against the heresy of Eutyches. Finally, there are those who think that in these two are noted St. Dominic and St. Francis, which also pleased Ubertinus.
Thirdly, the common opinion of others is that these things pertain to the last times of the world and of Antichrist, and that two particular witnesses are denoted here, who shall fight for Christ against Antichrist. That one of them shall be Elias, all agree. Whence the Sibyl also sang of him, in book II:
Then also borne in a heavenly chariot from heaven
The Tishbite shall enter upon the earth.
And this is taught by Malachi chapter IV, verse 5; Ecclesiasticus chapter XLVIII, verses 9 and 10, and Christ, Matthew XVII, 10. About the other, some doubt. Victorinus, from Jeremiah I, 5, as I said there, supposed him to be Jeremiah, or at least Eliseus. But this is rejected by all. Others suspect that he will be Moses, both because Moses with Elias was present at the Transfiguration of Christ, and because Moses seems to be noted in verse 6, when it is said: "These have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague." For by these words John seems to allude to the plagues with which Moses smote Egypt. So thought St. Hilary, canon 20 on Matthew; St. Ambrose on chapter IX of Luke, Joachim, Gagneius, Catharinus, and our Maldonatus on Matthew XVII.
But all the rest with one voice assert that the companion of Elias will be Henoch. For it is certain that Moses died; but Henoch did not die, but was rapt away by God (Genesis V, 24, and Hebrews XI, 5), and that "that he might give repentance to the nations," as Ecclesiasticus XLIV, 16 says. So think Ambrose, Aretas, Ansbert, Haymo, Richard, Hugo, Thomas, Dionysius, Vatablus here, and others generally, both ancient and more recent, whom Francis Suarez cites and follows in part III, vol. II, disputation LV, section 2, and more fully in book V On Antichrist, chapter XII, and Viegas and Ribera here.
Mystically, Primasius takes this of a twofold kind of witnesses — namely, of orders — who, confirmed by Elias and Henoch, will defend Christ against Antichrist; whom Joachim asserts will be priests and monks, and recently St. Teresa, famous for her prophetic spirit, asserted that two Orders, namely that of St. Dominic and that of our Society, will most of all defend the Church against heretics and Antichristians, and therefore from both there will be illustrious doctors and preachers as well as Martyrs. So report others, and also Francis Ribera in her Life, book V, chapter V.
Furthermore, where Elias and Henoch now dwell, on what they live, what kind of life they lead, whether they are in a state of meriting, etc., I have taught at length on Genesis V, 24.
Finally, there will be two of these witnesses, both because by the law of nations and the divine law, "in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand," Deut. XIX, 15; and because Christ sent the Apostles two by two to preach: and these will be Apostles of Christ; and finally because there is allusion to the two Cherubim placed on the ark of the testimony, supporting the propitiatory: for in the same way these two by their testimony will support both the ark, that is, the Church, and the propitiatory, that is, the faith concerning Christ as propitiator and redeemer of the world. Finally, because Henoch represents the state of the Patriarchs and of the law of nature, Elias the state of the Prophets and of the Mosaic law, that it may be signified that the law and prophecy, and all the Patriarchs and Prophets of the former ages, give testimony to Christ against Antichrist.
And They Shall Prophesy a Thousand Two Hundred and Sixty Days, — that is, 42 months, as I said on verse 2. So all the Orthodox. The Lutherans and Calvinists vary wonderfully in these days, and torture themselves. They agree almost in this: that they say there is here designated the time of the persecution of Antichrist, that is, of the Roman Pontiff, by which he tyrannically has oppressed and occupies the Church of Christ. But in these days they labor and sweat. For they say the Pontiff has already exercised his tyranny for a thousand and more years. Wherefore Henry Bullinger, the Lutheran, here, in sermon 46, thinks a definite number is put for an indefinite. Chytraeus and Illyricus do not like this; in their Centuries they think these 42 months and 1260 days are angelic. Oedipus therefore is needed — nay, an angel called from heaven — to explain them. Others of their fellow-mystics laugh at this, and rightly. The Anglo-Calvinist thinks a day is here put for a year, and so himself thinks the Pontifical tyranny will last 1260 years. Others contrive other things. For heresy, being false and lying, is a hydra, which always produces new heads of errors and monsters. It is clear that here true and proper days are understood: both because these days are the same as 42 months — for these contain precisely 1260 days; and because Daniel chapter VII, verse 25, to which John here alludes, expressly affirms that Antichrist will reign for a time and times and half a time, that is, a year, two years and a half, that is, three years and a half, as all the Orthodox expound. These three things therefore are the same: 1260 days, 42 months, and three years and a half.
Wrongly also Michael Eitsinger, in the place already cited, thinks that John here defines the time of Christ's preaching: for that was three years and a half. For it is certain that the question here is of the last times of the world, and that the time is here defined during which Elias and Henoch shall prophesy against Antichrist; for what he above named 42 months, he here calls 1260 days, to indicate that Elias and Henoch in those months will preach not only on feast days, but absolutely on every single day. For to this both the necessity of the Church will urge them, and the impious zeal of Antichrist, and their kindled love for Christ and Christians, which will make them indefatigable and fiery like Paul.
Where morally note: Just as where there are poisons, their antidotes are also found, nature thus providing, as Pliny says, book XXIX, chapter IV: so where there is persecution, there God provides a remedy: where heresy spreads, there He raises up Doctors as antagonists. Thus when Arius arose, He raised up and opposed to him St. Athanasius: thus to Nestorius He opposed Cyril, to Origen Jerome, to Pelagius Augustine, to Abelard St. Bernard, to the Albigenses St. Dominic; to Luther and Calvin He opposed the modern Doctors: thus at the end of the world He will oppose to Antichrist Elias and Henoch.
Furthermore, Ribera thinks that these 1260 days are not exactly the same as 42 months, or three years and a half, but fall short by 18 days — by which it is likely that Antichrist will outlive Elias and Henoch, so that he may reign fully three years and a half, as Daniel foretold, or 42 months, as John foretold, in verse 3. For three years and a half contain precisely 1278 days; therefore from 1260 days, 18 days are wanting, that they may complete the same time. This calculation is subtle and solid.
Alcazar, however, not improbably thinks that exactly the same time is signified by 1260 days as is signified by 42 months and three years and a half. For the Greeks, Hebrews and Chaldeans commonly gave 30 days to each month: now multiply 42 (which is the number of months of Antichrist) by 30, you will have 1260 days, and consequently in a year of 12 months you will have precisely 360 days. For although the solar year has 365 days (whence Julius Caesar in the reformation of the Calendar, which we still follow, instituted a year of so many days), nevertheless the month (which they described from the course of the moon through the zodiac) has only 30 days. Whence, that they might equate these days and months with the solar year, in certain years they intercalated one month, which they called the embolismic or embolism. But this month, as being rare and as it were extraordinary, John here neglects, and does not count it, but only the ordinary days of the 42 months, which precisely make 1260 days; but Daniel, chapter XII, verse 11, does not neglect this embolismic month, which will then perhaps occur, but counts it; whence he reckons 1290 days. So Alcazar here on verse 2, note 3.
It is truer and more certain that Elias and Henoch will preach precisely for 1260 days, as John here says; but Antichrist as monarch will reign 42 months — namely, Julian months, which were then in use at Rome and in Greece (where John lived) — that is, three Julian years and a half, as Daniel asserted. Now three Julian years and a half make 1278 days; but Antichrist's monarchy will run a little further, namely for another 12 days, so that it would precisely give 1290 days, as Daniel expressly asserts, chapter XII, verse 11. But these 12 days, as small fractions of a whole number, John here neglected, and only expressed the whole 42 months, as he did also when he counted three years and a half.
But the matter is not divergent: therefore what Ribera said is true, that Antichrist will outlive Elias and Henoch not only by eighteen, but by thirty whole days. For they will reach 1260 days; but Antichrist will reach 1290 days, as Daniel says.
And from this chronological arrangement of the years of the monarchy of Antichrist and of the preaching of Elias and Henoch, "it is likely," says Suarez in disputation LV already cited, section 2, "that Elias and Henoch will come after Antichrist has already obtained the monarchy of all things, as St. Augustine signifies in book I of the Questions on the Gospels, Question XXI, saying that Elias will come to restore those whom the persecution of Antichrist has disturbed, and Anselm teaches this more clearly in the Elucidarium. And the reason can be given, that these most holy men will come to resist Antichrist; therefore they will come then, when the persecution of Antichrist will be more open and more powerful. Likewise, because (as is gathered from the same place of the Apocalypse) a little after the death of these forerunners Antichrist will perish, and his persecution will cease: therefore since this is to last a thousand two hundred and sixty days, the preaching of the forerunners will begin nearly together with it, or a little after it. You will say: How will they be able in so brief a time to preach throughout the whole world? It is answered first, that it is not necessary that they teach everywhere, but they will chiefly traverse those places in which either Antichrist himself or his more powerful ministers will be. Next, it is not to be believed that Henoch and Elias will always go together; but it is more likely that they will severally traverse different regions, until by divine command they meet in that place where they are to be slain together. Finally, it is credible that they will console and confirm the spirits of the faithful not only by word, but also by writings; whom also the fame of their virtue and their power against Antichrist will greatly raise up. Some also add that they will have disciples, whom they may send through the whole world."
You will say secondly: How will Antichrist, who will pursue them with mortal hatred, not at once kill them, but permit them to preach against him for 42 months? I answer, this will happen partly because God will protect them, partly on account of their admirable virtue and power, against which none will be able to prevail; for fire shall come out of their mouth, and shall devour their enemies, as is said in verse 5. But when the time of preaching appointed to them by God is past, they will cease to work miracles, and then Antichrist will kill them. Finally, from the words of St. John it is gathered that they will appear suddenly and unexpectedly to the world. But how they will come — whether visibly to be carried through the air in a fiery chariot or in a cloud, or in some similar way, or whether imperceptibly they will suddenly appear at Jerusalem or in some other place — neither Scripture nor the Fathers say. Furthermore, going forth from Paradise, or being let down through the air, they will begin to preach in those neighboring regions; and so they will go on traversing regions, until they reach Jerusalem to Antichrist himself.
Clothed in Sackcloth — that is, clothed in haircloth: a sack, as Galatinus and others say here, and St. Gregory, in Homily 12 on Ezechiel, Ribera on Zacharias 19, and others. Therefore these "stand before the Lord of all the earth" as legates and Apostles, namely so that they may propagate His faith and Gospel throughout the whole world, and contend against Antichrist.
Verse 4: These Are the Two Olive Trees and the Two Candlesticks That Stand Before the Lord of the Earth
He alludes to the two Cherubim which Solomon fashioned from olive-wood, 3 Kings, chapter 6, verse 32. For just as those overshadowed the propitiatory and the ark, so Elias and Henoch will sustain the Church and the faith of Christ. They are rightly called Cherubim, on account of their angelic life and wisdom. Moreover, oil and the olive denote their splendor and mercy, by which — taking pity on the destruction of perishing souls — they will spend themselves and all that they have, together with their lives, for the Jews and the salvation of men, and likewise for the glory of God and Christ to be defended; to whom that saying of Ecclesiasticus chapter 44, verse 10, applies: "These were men of mercy, whose pious deeds have not failed."
Hence note morally: The olive is a symbol of holiness and of the Saints; and this first, because olive-wood is solid, neither feeling decay, winds, nor old age: hence it is a symbol of victory, felicity and eternity. Whence Cicero, in Book 1 of De Legibus: "Athens," he says, "was able to keep an everlasting olive in the citadel." Hence also in triumphs the attendants of those triumphing were crowned with olive crowns, says Festus, because Minerva was thought to be the inventress, patroness, and goddess of war who first found the olive: whence also boxers and athletes about to compete used to anoint themselves with oil, and oil was the symbol of contest. By such constant struggle, fortitude, constancy and victory do the Saints emerge, especially Elias and Henoch, who — living and vigorous through so many thousands of years — are deservedly called by Tertullian candidates of eternity.
Secondly, because the olive is a symbol of mercy, which is the proper virtue of the Saints, as Solomon says: "The just regardeth the lives of his beasts, but the bowels of the wicked are cruel," Proverbs chapter 12, verse 10. Wherefore, as Bishop Philip of Eichstätt rightly observes in his Life of St. Willibald, chapter 36, oil flows from the bones of those Saints who were exceedingly merciful and pious (such as St. Catharine, St. Nicholas, St. Walburga), because oil is a symbol of mercy and piety; so that, as in life they exercised it, so even after death they do not cease to exercise the same, healing the wretched and infirm with this oil. For they were men of mercy, and now in heaven are so even more.
Thirdly, because the olive is a symbol of peace. Whence in Genesis 8, 11, the dove brought to Noah into the ark a branch of green olive, as a sign of the ceasing flood and the dried-out earth, as though together with the olive she might bring security from the waters, and peace and reconciliation of God to the world. Such is the peace of the Saints upon earth, and it shall be still greater in heaven, which Elias and Henoch will announce as imminent. It is commonly said: "More tranquil than oil"; which above all befits the Saints, who are mild and peaceful; for oil is so tranquil that it calms even the sea, that most savage thing, and on this account divers are said to spray oil from their mouths, because it mitigates the rough wave-tossing nature of the element and bears them along, says Pliny, Book 2, chapter 103, with whom let credit rest.
Fourthly, because olive leaves never fall: so the virtue and beauty of the Saints never withers. Wherefore concerning St. Oliva the virgin, whom the Roman Martyrology mentions on June 3, the Christian poet aptly sings: "Fear not, O virgin, that thy name can wither: In heaven and on earth the Olive ever flourishes."
Again: "If a goat by licking touch the olive with its tongue, and graze it down at the first sprouting, M. Varro is the authority that it becomes sterile," says Pliny, Book 15, chapter 82. Thus gluttony and lust, whose symbol is the goat, dry up and slay the vigor and life of holiness.
Fifthly, because the rich olive signifies the richness of spirit and grace with which the Saints are anointed. Lastly, the olive is fruitful and fertile, especially if a male is planted beside a female: for olives are distinguished by sex. Whence Ovid, Book 4 of the Fasti: "Burn the male olives, and the torch and the Sabine herbs." Again, the olive has cheap and flaccid fronds, but excellent fruit. So too the Saints despise pomp and ostentation, but produce precious fruits of good works. Wherefore, in Jeremiah chapter 11, verse 16, God says to His Church: "The Lord called thy name a plenteous olive tree, fair, fruitful, and beautiful." See there what is said.
Such olives were Sts. John and Paul, Martyrs under Julian the Apostate, in the year of Christ 362, on June 26; because by their holiness and zeal they persuaded Constantia, daughter of Constantine the Great, to virginity and the pursuit of perfection; they also brought the general of the Gallican army to Christianity, to contempt of the world, to martyrdom; and finally, fighting bravely against Julian, they underwent a glorious martyrdom for Christ. Whence the Church sings of them: "These are the two olives and the two candlesticks shining before the Lord; they have power to close heaven with clouds, and to open its gates (for they obtained a glorious victory from heaven against the Scythians for the Gallican), because their tongues have been made the keys of heaven."
So Pope Sixtus V in the Bull issued in the year of the Lord 1588, who canonized St. Bonaventure and listed him among the holy Doctors of the Church, just as Pius V had listed St. Thomas Aquinas, speaking of both: "These," he says, "are the two olives and the two candlesticks shining in the house of God, who illumine the whole Church both with the richness of charity and the light of knowledge. By God's singular providence these arose at the same time like two stars rising, from the two most illustrious families of the Regular Orders. These two Saints, since they were of the same age, devoted to the same studies, fellow-students, at once teachers, summoned together by like reason to the Council by Pope Gregory X, were honored, and in this life's pilgrimage were closely joined in fraternal charity, spiritual familiarity, and the fellowship of holy labors: and finally migrating with equal step to the heavenly country, they enjoy together, happy and glorious, that everlasting beatitude; where with the same affection of charity, as we piously believe, they pray for us laboring in this vale of tears, and implore divine aid."
And Two Candlesticks Standing in the Sight of the Lord of the Earth. — "standing" (masculine), that is, "standing" (neuter). So the Arabic. The Translator here Graecizes, as elsewhere now and again; for the Greek has λυχνίαι ἑστῶσαι. Therefore the Translator imitates the Greek gender: for λυχνίαι, that is candlesticks, is of feminine gender. The sense is, q.d. These two, namely Elias and Henoch, will set forth and show Christ to the whole world, as candlesticks set forth Him who is the true Light. Alcazar interprets otherwise: for he refers the "standing" to "these" and not to "candlesticks," and thus arranges the sentence: "These, standing before the Lord, are as two olives and two candlesticks." Whence the Syriac translates: these, who stand before the Lord of the earth.
Note: Zacharias, in chapter 4, saw only one candlestick, and on each side of it two olive trees. But John here hears: "These are the two olives and the two candlesticks," so that we may know that Elias and Henoch will be not only olives, supplying oil abundantly to the candlestick, that is to the Church, for fire and light, but they themselves will be candlesticks, who before God and the world will marvelously burn and shine. He alludes to the seven-branched candlestick which was in the Holy Place, and which therefore illumined the whole Sanctuary with various and abundant light. For this signified the light of the Gospel, and the doctors of the Gospel. So Christ says of John the Baptist: "He was a burning and a shining lamp," John 5, 35, where see Pererius, who brings forth many analogies between a lamp and a Saint. And of the early faithful St. Paul says, Philippians 2, verse 15: "Among whom you shine as lights in the world."
Verse 5: And If Any Will Hurt Them, Fire Shall Come Out of Their Mouths
And If Any Will Hurt Them ("eos" for "eis": this is a Graecism; so in the Gospel and elsewhere we read: "Non nocuit eum," that is "ei"). — In Greek ἀδικῆσαι, that is to inflict injury, to hurt, to harm, as our translator renders shortly afterward.
Fire Shall Come Forth from Their Mouth. — This will be the first miracle, or rather the first kind of miracle (for they will perform it often), which Elias and Henoch will work. He alludes to the zeal and fire of Elias, who in 4 Kings 1, 10, when the captain of fifty had been sent by Achab to seize Elias, said: "If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee"; immediately fire descending from heaven consumed him with all his men. Whence Ecclesiasticus 48, 3, says of him: "He cast down fire from heaven thrice," namely twice on the captains of fifty, in the place already mentioned, and a third time on his own sacrifice, when he contended against the prophets of Baal, 3 Kings chapter 18. For Elias seemed not so much by prayers as by command, namely by ordering with His own mouth, to call down fire from heaven and to send it against the enemies of God: and consequently this fire seemed to come forth and proceed from his very mouth. He will do the same at the end of the world. For he will insert himself into assemblies of men through villages and cities, indeed into Jerusalem itself and the palace of Antichrist, and there freely and boldly will preach that the crucified Christ is the Redeemer of the world; but that this one is a feigned Christ, indeed Antichrist. Wherefore magistrates and leaders, subjects of Antichrist, will wish to lay hands on Elias and Henoch, and to seize and kill them; but those will at once command and decree: Let fire come from heaven, and destroy these Antichristians; and at the word, more swiftly than spoken, fire will descend and destroy them.
Thus St. Hilary and Athanasius and Lucifer of Cagliari reproached to his face the Arian Emperor Constantius, the precursor of Antichrist: Thou art an Arian, thou art Antichrist. Hear their words worthy of eternity. Hilary in his book Against the Emperor Constantius: "I proclaim to thee, Constantius, what I should have spoken to Nero, what Decius and Maximian would have heard from me: thou warrest against God, thou ragest against the Church, thou persecutest the Saints, thou abolishest religion, a tyrant no longer of human but of divine things. Thou liest that thou art a Christian, thou art a new enemy of Christ, thou anticipatest Antichrist." And again: "Thou, Constantius, the cruellest of all cruelties, and the most criminal of mortals, dost rage against us more than the Pagans."
St. Athanasius in his epistle to those leading the solitary life: "Who," he says, "would dare call Constantius a Christian, and not rather an image of Antichrist? For what is lacking to him from the marks of Antichrist? or what is the reason why Constantius should not in every way be held as Antichrist, and Antichrist in turn as Constantius?" and then he calls him an apostate, a deserter of the faith, a dog, an executioner, a son of perdition, a plague, a beast, the abyss of all evils.
These men were surpassed in zeal and acrimony by Lucifer Bishop of Cagliari, whom St. Athanasius calls the Elias of his age, who in his book On Dying for the Son of God thus addresses Emperor Constantius: "Thou hast slaughtered many, mangled, scattered; but these are all Martyrs. Believe me that we have determined to be killed by thee: because we even see it better, for all ages, to have God as a lover than to be punished with thee, the imitator of Judas Iscariot of the Jews: we are all ready to undergo destruction." And further below: "Thou bearest it ill, worm of Arius, that we defend the Son of God. If at last thou wouldst open thine eyes pierced through with the bites of the serpent, thou wouldst find, most stupid Emperor, everywhere Christians, to believe as we do, and to desire to die for the Son of God as we do: but thy novel preaching and recent religion is blasphemy." And he addresses the same man with even sharper titles and names than Athanasius and Hilary did.
Verse 6: These Have Power to Shut Heaven, That It Rain Not in the Days of Their Prophecy
This will be the second miracle that Elias and Henoch will work in the time of Antichrist, namely that by their prophecy and command they may forbid rain, and as it were proclaim a stoppage upon heaven, or as it were impose a barrier, and thus bring down sterility, famine, and pestilence upon the Antichristians. The same was done by Elias, 3 Kings 17, 1, namely that for three years and a half it should not rain.
Mystically, this fire signifies the liberty, fervor, audacity, and efficacy of the preaching of Elias and Henoch, so that they freely say to Antichrist's face: Thou art not Christ, but Antichrist; and to his followers: Ye are not Christians, but Antichristians; and on this account they will at last be killed by them and undergo martyrdom. Thus once Elias said to Achab: "It is not I who have troubled Israel, but thou," 3 Kings chapter 18, verse 18.
And They Have Power Over the Waters to Turn Them into Blood. — This will be the third miracle of Elias and Henoch. The same was done by Moses (whence some thought that Moses was here meant, and that he would come with Elias), Exodus 7, 20. He says therefore that the same power will be given to Elias and Henoch contending against Antichrist, which once was given to Moses contending against Pharaoh, the precursor of Antichrist. Whence he adds:
And to Strike the Earth with Every Plague as Often as They Will. — This will be the fourth miracle of Elias and Henoch, not simple, but manifold: for it embraces many, indeed all things, in itself. They will therefore be quite thaumaturges, so that at will they may command heaven, earth, air, winds, lightnings, etc., and from thence may summon and send forth whatsoever plagues against the impious. He alludes to Moses, who, with his rod menacing and striking Egypt, sent against the Egyptians ten plagues partly from the earth, partly from heaven, partly from the waters, partly from fire. Whence he heard from God, Exodus 7, 1: "I have appointed thee the God of Pharao." For, as Philo says, Book 3 of De Vita Mosis: "Since among friends all things are common, therefore God shares His power and resources with the Saints."
Note: The ten plagues of Egypt were these: the first, the conversion of waters into blood; the second, frogs; the third, gnats; the fourth, dog-flies, indeed every kind of fly; the fifth, the pestilence of animals; the sixth, ulcers of blains; the seventh, hail; the eighth, locusts; the ninth, darkness; the tenth, the slaughter of the firstborn. These therefore and more plagues Elias and Henoch will also have power to send, as it were new and Christian Moseses. Alcazar expounds all these mystically. For by the first plague of blood, he understands the discord of the unbelieving Jews in Titus' time: by the second of frogs, their quarrels and tumults: by the third of gnats, the cares and anxieties which tormented them: by the fourth of flies, the angers and hatreds with which they boiled: by the fifth, the plague of beasts, the vanity and deprivation of temporal goods and resources which they pursued: by the sixth of ulcers, the stings and gnawings of conscience: by the seventh of hail, obstinacy in Judaism: by the eighth of locusts, the tyranny of concupiscences ruling over them: by the ninth of darkness, the miserable blindness in which they lie: by the tenth of the slaughter of the firstborn, the damnation of their souls. But that these are mystical and not literal, no one fails to see.
Verse 7: And When They Shall Have Finished Their Testimony
This will happen after the 1260 days, as I said in verse 3; therefore until then they will be invincible, indeed they will conquer all things with their fire and plagues; but when their office and the span of time decreed for them by God is completed, they will permit themselves to be conquered and killed, that by death and martyrdom they may seal their testimony of the truth and of Christ.
The Beast That Ascendeth Out of the Abyss. — This beast is Antichrist, because he will be savage and fierce as a beast, not earthly but infernal, as if rising from the abyss. For demons will drive and possess him, and through him will exercise all their cruelty against Elias and Henoch and the other saints, their followers. So commonly the Interpreters. Antichrist therefore through his ministers will kill Elias and Henoch, and so will be a parricide: for he will kill his own parent, namely Henoch; for from Henoch descended Noah, and all men after the flood, and consequently Antichrist also.
Alcazar by this beast understands the locusts which in chapter 9, verses 1, 2, were seen by John to come out of the abyss; and by the locusts he himself understands concupiscences, to which the Jews were handed over as punishment for their crimes, and on account of which they killed Elias and Henoch, that is wisdom and holiness, namely the holy and wise Apostles of Christ, Deacons, and other early Christians; but these after three days, that is, after a brief time, with the Church becoming illustrious, as it were rose again, and ascended to greater glory both on earth and in heaven; and then seven, that is many, thousands of the Jews were slain, that is, were converted to Christ: for unbelief was killed in them, that as new men, Christians, they might rise to the life of faith and the grace of God; the rest, struck down, gave glory to God, attributing the destruction of Jerusalem to the slaying of St. James the Less by the Jews, and consequently of Christ also; for James preached Him: so Eusebius narrates from Josephus, Book 2, chapter 23. But these are mystical. Add that the locusts pertain not to these times, but to preceding ones, namely to the trumpet of the fifth Angel, and have already passed, as was said in chapter 9.
Verse 8: And Their Bodies Shall Lie in the Streets of the Great City, Which Is Called Spiritually Sodom and Egypt, Where Their Lord Also Was Crucified
The Arabic: "which is called spiritually Sodom of Egypt, the place in which they crucified their Lord," that is in Jerusalem; for there the Lord of Elias and Henoch, namely Christ, was crucified. St. Jerome seems to deny this, in epistle 17, which he writes in the name of St. Paula and Eustochium to Marcella, and to take this city to be heathen and impious Rome. But this must be forgiven to women, who wish to commend their Jerusalem (for they migrated to Judea, and lived and died at Bethlehem, as did also St. Jerome), and to vindicate it from every note of infamy. For they try to entice Marcella, that she might migrate from Rome to Jerusalem, and there lead the monastic life with him.
Moreover, Jerusalem is called Sodom spiritually, that is mystically and symbolically, on account of the sodomitic lusts and sins which flourished in it, and will flourish even more in the time of Antichrist's dominion in it. So Isaiah thunders against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying in chapter 1, verse 10: "Hear the word of the Lord, ye princes of Sodom." See what is said there. And in chapter 3, verse 9: "They have proclaimed their sin as Sodom." Ezechiel too, chapter 16, verse 49, calls Sodom the sister of Jerusalem, because in crimes it was similar to her. "This," he says, "was the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance, and idleness; and they did not put forth a hand to the needy and the poor."
Again, Jerusalem is symbolically called Egypt, on account of the idolatry and superstitions which will reign in Jerusalem, when Antichrist, as it were the Messiah promised to the Jews, will dominate in it as in his royal seat. Secondly, just as Egypt and Pharao persecuted Moses and his faithful people: so Antichrist with his Jerusalemites will persecute Elias, Henoch, and the other Christians, who are the true Israelites of God: on which more in chapter 14. Hence it is clear that the seat and royal palace of Antichrist will not be Rome, but Jerusalem. For he will wish to be held as Christ, that is the Messiah promised to the Jews, the heir of the throne of David and Solomon: so in many places interpreters new and old. See Cardinal Bellarmine, Book 3 De Romanis Pontificibus, chapter 13: Therefore, to omit other things, the Roman Pontiff is not Antichrist, as the heretics contend they prove from the Apocalypse; but as far as Rome is distant from Jerusalem, and Christianity from Judaism, so far does the Roman Pontiff differ and stand distant from Antichrist.
Where Also Their Lord Was Crucified. — q.d. As the Jerusalemites killed Christ, so also will they kill His Prophets, Elias and Henoch; because it cannot be that a Prophet perish out of Jerusalem, as Christ objects to her, Luke 13, 33.
Now the bodies of Elias and Henoch will lie three days and a half in the streets of Jerusalem, while the tribes, peoples, tongues, and nations from the whole world look on, and will not be permitted to be buried in tombs: thus their enemies will heap insult upon them in death; but he encouraged the Orthodox, saying: "Stand firm, it is a little cloud that quickly passes." How brief will be the affliction and disgrace of Elias and Henoch compared with the eternity of their rewards! how brief the glory of Antichrist and the impious compared with the eternity of their punishments!
Verse 10: And They That Dwell upon the Earth Shall Rejoice: Because These Two Prophets Tormented Them
And They That Dwell upon the Earth (for at that time most men will be impious, as subjects of Antichrist, and conforming themselves to him as to their lord) Will Rejoice: Because (supply, they have been killed) These Two Prophets (who) Have Tormented Them, — namely with menacing words, fire, and the plagues we heard of in verse 5.
Verse 11: And After Three Days and a Half, the Spirit of Life from God Entered into Them
"The Spirit of life," that is, the vivifying soul. Hence it is clear that Elias and Henoch, slain by Antichrist, after three and a half days will publicly rise again, while all the followers of Antichrist from the whole world flow together to that place and look on; and a voice will descend from heaven, saying to them:
Verse 12: Come Up Hither
And then they themselves will publicly ascend into heaven before all, as Christ did at the same place: and then there will be a great earthquake, by which the tenth part of Jerusalem will collapse, and seven thousand men will be killed: the rest, struck with fear, will give praise and glory to God. For John narrates all and each of these things so distinctly that anyone who wishes to twist them otherwise must necessarily do violence to his words.
Aureolus and Lyranus by these two witnesses understand Pope Sylverius and Menna Patriarch of Constantinople, whom Theodora Augusta, wife of Emperor Justinian, in the year of Christ 538, relegated into exile, which is as it were a civil death, and so as it were killed them, because they refused to restore Arthemius, the Eutychian Bishop, to his former rank; but God soon restored to them eternal fame and glory in the Church. The trampling down of the city they refer to Totila, king of the Goths, who about the same time on account of these crimes captured Rome and devastated the Roman Empire. But these things neither agree with the words of St. John, nor cohere with each other. For St. John says that these two witnesses are killed at Jerusalem, not at Rome or at Constantinople, and not relegated into exile, and that their bodies, slain, are to remain unburied in the streets for three days, etc.
Verse 13: And the Rest Were Cast into Fear
That is, the rest, not killed in this slaughter but surviving, struck with fear, are converted through repentance to God and Christ. For then all Israel shall be saved, as the Apostle predicted in Romans 11, 26.
Verse 14: The Second Woe Is Past
The Second Woe (of those three of which he spoke at the end of chapter 8) Has Passed, — that is, has now been inflicted and gone by. For these three "woes" were the three plagues of the three last trumpet-blowing Angels, namely the fifth, sixth, and seventh Angel. John repeats this "woe," so that after the parenthesis interposed about Elias and Henoch, he may return to these three plagues, and weave them in order. Whence follows:
Verse 15: And the Seventh Angel Sounded the Trumpet: and There Were Great Voices in Heaven Saying: The Kingdom of This World Is Become Our Lord's and His Christ's
This seventh trumpet announces and brings the blessed and glorious kingdom of Christ, which Elias and Henoch, and shortly after all the Saints, will enter with Christ on the day of the resurrection and judgment. For the words clearly say so: "It is time," he says, "that the dead be judged, and that reward be given to His servants, etc., to the small and to the great, and that those be exterminated who have corrupted the earth"; so Andreas, Aretas, Primasius, Beda, Albertus, Ribera, Viegas, and others.
Hence it follows that this seventh trumpet is here placed by anticipation, that it may be joined with the other six preceding. For before this seventh trumpet will happen the things concerning Antichrist, Gog, Magog, etc. (which are the matter and writing of the book sealed with seven seals in chapter 5), narrated in this and the following chapter.
Therefore the proper place for this trumpet is chapter 19 before verse 11, where he begins to describe the war of Gog and Magog against Christ and the Christians. Whence here he says of Gog and Magog: "And the nations were angry," etc. Wherefore, with Elias and Henoch ascending into heaven, and their enemies confounded and stricken from heaven, the mystery of God will begin to be consummated, as he said in the previous chapter, verse 7, namely the glorious kingdom of Christ and of His elect: wherefore then this seventh Angel will sound the trumpet, and then the twenty-four elders and all the Blessed will praise God together, because the kingdom of sin and the impious now begins to end and be overthrown. For shortly after Antichrist will be slain with Gog, Magog, and all their followers; then will follow the resurrection of the dead and the universal judgment of all.
Hence it follows that these seven seals of the sealed book, although for the most part they contain preludes which are to be before Antichrist, yet contain certain things at the end which are to come, or are to come more perfectly, after Antichrist. For such is what is said in chapter 8, verse 12, in the trumpet of the fourth Angel, that the third part of the sun, moon, and stars was struck. Such also is what is said in chapter 6, verse 12, in the sixth seal, about the sun being darkened, the stars falling from heaven, the heaven receding. Such also is what is sounded by this trumpet. For this trumpet will be as it were a herald and proclamation of the inaugurated victory and triumph of Christ. Wherefore it pertains to the sealed book and its end: yet it is referred to the seals, both because it was the seventh and last trumpet of the seven of the seventh Angel and seal; and because it is the conclusion of all the things contained both in the seals and in the book.
Therefore, just as in sealed books — for example, in instruments of testaments — besides external seals, there are certain internal seals which seal and fortify their very end, to show that the testament is finished there, lest anything be added to them by anyone: so also is the case with this seal, that is, with this last part of the last seal. These seals therefore taken together embrace not only the beginning but also the end of the sealed book; for they bind and seal the whole of it, wrapped together, before and behind, within and without. Therefore, although they contain for the most part things which will precede the kingdom of Antichrist, yet they contain certain things which will follow it. For this kingdom of Antichrist is as it were something intermediate, which on the earlier side is bordered by the kingdoms of the impious, namely the precursors of Antichrist: but on the later side is closed and sealed by the glorious kingdom of Christ and the Saints (which this seventh trumpet announces). Therefore this trumpet will proclaim that the glorious kingdom of Christ is inaugurated in the resurrection and glorification of Elias and Henoch: which kingdom soon, after the slaughter of Antichrist and the impious, will be perfected on the day of judgment, when all the Saints will enter this kingdom with Christ.
It is therefore aptly placed in this place, as it were on the boundary of the seven seals and of the sealed book itself. For it pertains both to the seals and to the book: to the seals, because it is the conclusion and sealing-up of the book; to the book, because it will happen at the time when the mysteries of the book will be opened. John could not therefore have placed it in a more apt place than this; and for this cause he just before wove in the death and resurrection of Elias and Henoch, that he might likewise on this occasion weave in the seventh trumpet of the seventh seal, which will then begin to sound.
Mystically Alcazar (though he himself thinks it is literal) expounds, q.d. The Christian Church, the Jews having now been conquered and subdued, is Catholic and permanent, that is, embracing all nations of every age, ruling over them, and to remain forever. For in the Church Militant the triumphant and glorious kingdom of Christ is begun. Whence in the following verse the 24 elders give thanks to God, and adore and celebrate Him, especially in the sacrifice of the Mass. Wherefore "we give thanks" is the same as: we offer the sacrifice of the Eucharist for the calling of the Gentiles.
The Kingdom Is Become, etc. — q.d. Now Christ begins to reign, now He has glorified Elias and Henoch and has destroyed their enemies, and in like manner soon will destroy all other impious, and will overthrow the kingdom of impiety and sin, and will press and trample with His feet all the wicked cast down into Tartarus: now justice will reign, and the just with Christ in heavenly and eternal glory, to the praise of God their Lord. This is what Paul says, 1 Corinthians 15, 24: "Then comes the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father." See what is said there.
Aureolus with his followers refers these things to the liberty and happy and peaceful reign of Emperor Justin the Younger, who succeeding his uncle Justinian in the empire, through Narses the Roman Patrician, suppressed Totila king of the Goths, and restored the kingdom of Italy. But when Narses, accused by rivals, was recalled to Constantinople by Sophia Augusta to oversee the women's quarters (for he was himself a eunuch) and distribute wool and flax to the royal maidens, indignantly replied, "He would weave such a web as she would never unravel." Therefore he summoned the Lombards from Pannonia and handed Italy over to them, who vexed it and the Church up to Charlemagne; for he exterminated them, their king having been slain. And this is what is here said: "And the Gentiles were angry," etc. But this liberty and joy was meager and brief. Add that, although Paul the Deacon accuses Narses of treason, asserting that he himself called the Lombards into Italy, the Greek historians — whom Baronius follows, in the year of Christ 567 — refute this, and commend Narses for faith and holiness; indeed they record that he returned to Constantinople to the Empress, and there lived honorably and was buried. Finally the sequence of the Apocalypse demands that these things be referred to the last times of the world, and to the glorious kingdom of Christ.
Verse 16: And the Twenty-Four Elders
Who these are, I have said in chapter 4, verse 4.
Verse 17: Who Art, and Who Wast, and Who Art to Come
See what I have said about this name of God in chapter 1, verse 4.
Because Thou Hast Taken Thy Power. — That is, Thou hast taken up Thy strength, Thou hast clothed Thyself with Thy mightiest arms, since indeed Thou hast used Thy strength, and exerted Thy might in conquering Thine enemies, namely Antichrist and the impious, and therefore now Thou reignest and triumphest in full peace and glory. He alludes to Psalm 92, 1: "The Lord hath reigned, He is clothed with beauty: the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded Himself."
And Thou Hast Reigned. — βασιλεύσας, that is, Thou hast obtained kingdom, Thou hast begun to reign.
Verse 18: And the Nations Were Angry
The Antichristians, Gog, Magog, and other impious will be angry and rage, seeing such great plagues sent against them by God, and will prepare themselves for battle against Christ and the Christians, of which in chapter 19, verse 11. But in vain; for they will be slain, and from there snatched to the tribunal of Christ to be hurled into Gehenna: wherefore in despair they will curse God and Christ.
And Thy Wrath Is Come, and the Time of the Dead to Be Judged. — And (that is, because) Thy Wrath Is Come (so that in the final judgment Thou mayst exert Thy wrath against the reprobate by damning them to Tartarus) and the Time of the Dead to Be Judged, — q.d. The time of the resurrection and judgment is come, in which the dead will rise from death "to be judged," that is, in order that they may be judged, and as they did in life so they will receive eternal goods or evils from Christ the judge; so Andreas, Aretas, Primasius, Beda, and others.
Verse 19: And the Temple of God in Heaven Was Opened: and the Ark of His Testament Was Seen, etc. and There Were, etc. Great Hail
First, Alcazar from his own principles and premises thinks that here is signified the rejection of the Jews and their abandonment by God, and therefore that the ark, which among them was held in the highest veneration and holiness, is figured parabolically as having been translated from earth into heaven, just as Ovid in Book 1 of the Metamorphoses figures the virtues, the earth having been forsaken because of crimes, as having ascended into heaven: "Astraea, last of the heavenly ones, abandoned the earth." This is what St. Leo says in Sermon 8 On the Passion: "Thou hast drawn, O Lord, all things to Thyself, when, with the veil of the temple rent in execration of the Jewish crime, the Holy of Holies withdrew from unworthy priests, so that figure might be turned into truth, prophecy into manifestation, and the law into the Gospel." Then was made hail, that is, the hardening of the Jews: they saw voices, that is, thunders and lightnings, that is, miracles, the sanctity and efficacy of the Apostles in their evangelizing. For, as Isidore says in his book On the World, ch. xxxv: "Figuratively hail is the hardness of perfidy, frigid with the torpor of malice." Now in the ark (in which were the tablets of the law) is signified the true observance of the law according to the spirit, transferred from the Jews to the Christians; likewise also the propitiatory, that is, the remission of sins through faith in Christ; likewise also the two Cherubim, that is, true wisdom and sanctity; likewise also the rod of Aaron with the manna: the rod denotes the display of divine power against the enemies of His people; the manna, beneficence and the providence of nourishment; for both have been transferred from the Jews to the Christians, especially the manna through the Eucharist.
Secondly, Aureolus thinks that here is foretold the institution of the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, in which Christ as it were the ark of the testament was presented in the temple; which was instituted at Constantinople under the Emperor Justinian to allay the pestilence then raging, as Sigebertus testifies in his Chronicle in the year of Christ 542, Paulus or rather Joannes the Deacon in the History (Miscellaneous), Nicephorus book XVII, ch. xxviii, and from these Baronius in his Martyrology, 2 February. Whence also in the Mass of that feast is read the epistle of Malachi III, 1, in which Christ is called the Angel of the testament: "Immediately," he says, "shall come to His temple the Lord whom you seek, and the Angel of the testament whom you desire." For the ark had on either side an Angel, namely a Cherub, of the testament.
Thirdly, many sever these things from the trumpet of the seventh Angel, and think that this is a new vision and pertains to the following chapter; whence they begin chapter xii here. So Andreas, Rupert, Anselm, Hugo, Joachim, Albertus, and Pannonius.
But I say it pertains to the seventh trumpet of the seventh Angel, of which verse 15. "The temple therefore was opened in heaven," namely the dwelling-place of the Blessed, in which as in a temple they themselves continually serve and praise God. This therefore was opened to me John for this purpose, that I might see from afar through some appearance, or rather a shadow, the felicity and glory of the Blessed. Opened, I say, not in reality, but through an imaginary or mental symbolic vision.
And the Ark of His Testament Was Seen in His Temple. — This ark is the body or humanity of Christ. For the ark of the Old Testament signified this anagogically (as St. John speaks here throughout): firstly, because just as the ark was made of incorruptible setim woods, so the body of Christ was incorruptible, since it could be dissolved or putrefy neither by the stain of sin nor by the corruption of death. Secondly, because the ark within was overlaid with sheets of gold: so Christ within is most ardent and most precious charity. Thirdly, the ark had above it the propitiatory as a covering; so Christ brings with Himself the propitiation and redemption of the world. Fourthly, above the ark were two Cherubim, looking toward one another and toward the propitiatory with the ark with their faces turned, looking at one another: thus the two Testaments, namely the New and the Old, look toward one Christ. Fifth, in the ark were the tablets of the Law: thus Christ ever held the Law and the will of the Father in His mind and heart. Sixth, beside the ark was the rod of Aaron, which had blossomed: thus in Christ is royal power equally with priestly power, which this rod represented. Lastly, beside the ark was the urn with manna: thus in Christ is a wondrous sweetness and clemency, especially because He offers Himself as it were manna not only in the Eucharist, but also in heaven for the Blessed to enjoy, and wondrously feeds, refreshes, and beatifies them. By the ark, therefore, is signified Christ's most beautiful and glorious humanity, which in heaven shows itself to the Saints to behold and enjoy, and this was shown by a vision here to St. John, who, just as in this life he was wondrously delighted by the humanity of Christ and most tenderly embraced by it, so much more in that other heavenly life is he wondrously delighted by it and most tenderly embraced: thus Richard of St. Victor, Bede, and Rupert.
Again, the ark of the testament signifies the glorious body of Christ, not only the natural body, namely the humanity of Christ already mentioned, but also the mystical body, namely the Church or the congregation of the Saints, who in body and soul are blessed, and reign with Christ in the Holy of Holies, that is, in heaven. For just as the propitiatory properly signified Christ, so the ark beneath it signified the triumphant Church: for upon both, as upon the wings of the Cherubim, as upon a throne, the glorious God sits and presides, beatifying and glorifying Christ as man and His Saints. See what is said on Exodus chapter xxv, verses 10 and 17. Hence consequently the ark of the testament is the Blessed Virgin, who shines forth among the Blessed, and is the more excellent part both of the triumphant and of the militant Church.
For she enclosed within herself Christ as it were the manna, equally with the law of God. Thus St. Bernard, in his sermon On the Blessed Mary, and others, and notably Francisco Suarez, Part III, Question XXXVII, art. 4, disp. xxi, sect. 2, who by the ark of the testament understands the body of the Blessed Virgin, which rose again, and gloriously assumed into heaven here appeared to John. John therefore saw in the heavens through a shadow the glory of the Blessed Virgin and of the Saints. Beautifully does St. Ambrose, in sermon 81, compare the Blessed Virgin to the ark of the covenant. For, he says, the ark within bore the tablets of the testament, but Mary bore the heir of the testament itself. The former held the law within her, the latter the Gospel. The former had the voice of God, the latter the Word. The ark shone within and without with the brightness of gold, the Blessed Mary shone within and without with the splendor of virginity. The former was adorned with earthly gold, the latter with heavenly. Rightly therefore does the Church in the Litany of Loreto name and invoke the Blessed Virgin, saying: "Ark of the covenant, pray for us."
Note: Above in chapter vi, verse 9, John saw the souls of the Martyrs beneath the altar, namely before the resurrection; here however, after the consummation and the resurrection, he saw them translated from the Holy place (where they were resting beneath the altar of incense, praying for their resurrection, and for the end and avenging of sin and of sinners) into the Holy of Holies, namely into the ark of the testament, that is, into the glorious assembly of the fully and perfectly blessed, where they no longer ask anything more, but, blessed both in body and in soul and made divine, are sons, members of the household, heirs, members and as it were the body of God: see the comments on ch. viii, 3.
And There Were Lightnings, and Voices, and an Earthquake, and Great Hail. — All these things St. John saw symbolically through a vision: therefore they were not done in reality. So all these things signify the wrath of God and His vengeance, and the punishments of the wicked, both present (Gog and Magog, whom God shall destroy by heavenly fire, ch. xx, vers. 9) and future, in hell. For this wrath of God against the reprobate, equally with the mercy of God toward the elect, will take place at the same time, namely in the day of war against Gog and Magog, and perfectly on the day of judgment, and therefore pertains to the consummation which the seventh and last trumpet of the seventh Angel here brings in, in which all the seals and the book itself, namely the Apocalypse, begin to be ended: thus Rupert, Pannonius, Hugo. He alludes to Psalm cxlviii, 8: "Fire, hail, snow, ice, the spirit of storms, which fulfill His word," to terrify and overthrow the wicked. And to Isaiah xxviii, 2: "Behold, the Lord is mighty and strong, as a violent hailstorm." And ch. xxx, vers. 30: "The Lord shall dash down with a whirlwind, and with stones of hail"; for hail brings and indicates a great storm. I have seen hail which would lay low and kill not only crops but also animals. I have said more about hail on Exod. IX, 18.
Aureolus, pursuing his series of times and histories, refers these things to the conversion of the English, which was effected through the miracles and preaching of St. Augustine, whom St. Gregory the Great sent there with other monks. But these, like the rest of the same author's interpretations, are not so much explanations of the Apocalypse as applications and accommodations.