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Alcuin of York
Medieval · AD 800–1500
361 passages across 3 books of the Bible · Who was this?
On Revelation
20 of 194-
Revelation 3:1-2
And to the angel of the church of Sardis, write: These things saith he, that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast the name of being alive: but thou art dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain, which were ready to die. The Lord has the seven spirits in a different way from the way he has the stars, for he has the sevenfold Spirit as an entity equal to him in the nature of the divinity, while he has the sevenfold Church as an entity subject to him in his power, as a servant. Now if he indicates that this angel, whether in the preachers or in some of his listeners, has the name of being alive through confession of faith alone, but is dead in works, how is it that he adds in order to warn the same, Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, which were ready to die? One should know therefore that he shows that he is partly dead through his faults, and partly alive through good works. Now how can someone be partly alive if he is dead, even because of one fault, if not because, if he rises again from sin through penanc…
And to the angel of the church of Sardis, write: These things saith he, that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast the name of being alive: but thou art dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain, which were ready to die. The Lord has the seven spirits in a different way from the way he has the stars, for he has the sevenfold Spirit as an entity equal to him in the nature of the divinity, while he has the sevenfold Church as an entity subject to him in his power, as a servant. Now if he indicates that this angel, whether in the preachers or in some of his listeners, has the name of being alive through confession of faith alone, but is dead in works, how is it that he adds in order to warn the same, Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, which were ready to die? One should know therefore that he shows that he is partly dead through his faults, and partly alive through good works. Now how can someone be partly alive if he is dead, even because of one fault, if not because, if he rises again from sin through penance, he does not even lose, once he is alive, the good things he did when he was dead, because those things are themselves brought back to life with him? This is why he hears, Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, which were ready to die, which means, “If you come back to life in that part in which you are dead, you strengthen the other things that are still alive in you, in order that they do not die.” Alternatively, there are many people within the bosom of the Church who, keeping their lives from all fault, are considered alive by men, but are regarded as dead by God because their intention is not right, and these are told, Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, which were ready to die, as if they were told, “If you want the framework of your merits to be alive, watch the intention behind your works; pride will be alive.” For I find not thy works full before my God. That is, since the head, which is intention, has lost its vigor, the limbs, which are the merits, are by no means vigorous, full or plump, but they languish, meagre and almost dead. -
Revelation 3:1
QUESTION: What is meant by what he says to the angel of the church of Sardis, I know thy works, that thou hast the name of being alive: and thou art dead? ANSWER: To yourself you do look alive, but if you are not watchful in the correction of the wicked, you shall soon be counted among the dead, because it is no use for leaders to live a good life themselves if they fail to correct others; which is also why Solomon says, Thou shalt not give sleep to thy eyes, neither slumber to thy eyelids. [Variant of Prov. 6:4]
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Revelation 3:2
QUESTION: What is meant by for I find not thy works full before my God? ANSWER: A leader's works are not full before God if he does not strive to rouse others as well, however innocent he may seem to people.
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Revelation 3:3
Have in mind therefore in what manner thou hast received and heard: and observe, and do penance. This sentence can be ascribed to both senses. Indeed he had heard, Whosoever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one point, is become guilty of all, [James 2:10] as well as If thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. [Matt. 6:23] If then thou shalt not watch, I will come to thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know when I will come. To watch is to rise from the sleep of sin to justice through the tears of repentance. The comparison with a thief that is introduced here is a fit one, since when a thief arrives unexpectedly, he massacres everyone he finds asleep and plunders their possessions: so does the heavenly judge kill the unrepentant with a sentence of punishment when he comes to them unexpectedly, and destroy their actions like a very strong robber.
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Revelation 3:4
But I have a few names in Sardis, who have not defiled their garments: and they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy. Those who do not stain their garments with filth are those who commit no deadly sin after the sacrament of baptism; but since they are rare, it is first said a few names. Where then, Lord, shall they walk with you to? Where from, and where to, if not from you into you? For they walk with you every day, because they follow and observe the footprints of your Passion. You lead the way by giving examples, and they follow by imitating those examples. By worthy he means either “clean” or “wholly deserving my esteem.” Now should those who defile their lives after baptism lose hope? No. Let them therefore run to the blood of the Lamb, not so that they may be wetted in it by the water of baptism again, but that they may be washed from the stains of their sins by a fountain of tears; whence there soon follows:
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Revelation 3:5
He that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments. That is, he who fights against the enemy to get his garments back, and overcomes, will be clothed in the same garments again and shine in the same way as those who have kept them unstained. This can also apply to the unfaithful, who are exhorted to overcome, that is to believe in Christ; because this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. [1 John 5:4] And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life. A great question arises for us in this place: for these words seem to mean that the name of the one who does not overcome is blotted out from the book, while it is well-known that only the elect are kept in heaven's book, written there by the pen of blessed predestination. Then it remains for us to understand the names of the reprobates being blotted out from the book of life as a way of speaking, usual in the sacred Scripture, meaning that, due to reprobation, they are not written at all; in the same way as Pharaoh's heart is said to be hardened by the Lord. [Ex. 4:21; 7:3, 13, 22; 8:19; 9:12, 35; 10…
He that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments. That is, he who fights against the enemy to get his garments back, and overcomes, will be clothed in the same garments again and shine in the same way as those who have kept them unstained. This can also apply to the unfaithful, who are exhorted to overcome, that is to believe in Christ; because this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. [1 John 5:4] And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life. A great question arises for us in this place: for these words seem to mean that the name of the one who does not overcome is blotted out from the book, while it is well-known that only the elect are kept in heaven's book, written there by the pen of blessed predestination. Then it remains for us to understand the names of the reprobates being blotted out from the book of life as a way of speaking, usual in the sacred Scripture, meaning that, due to reprobation, they are not written at all; in the same way as Pharaoh's heart is said to be hardened by the Lord. [Ex. 4:21; 7:3, 13, 22; 8:19; 9:12, 35; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8] As for this book, it is a kind of divine force which predestined before the ages a certain and determined number of elect to be in glory in the future. So we should take what is said about the victor, I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, as if he were saying, “The one who I know will be victorious, I am already keeping his name written in heaven.” And I will confess his name before my Father and his angels. What does it mean for the Son of God to confess the victor's name before the Father and the angels, if not to show that he who has overcome is united to him by his good works? Which will happen principally when he says to the elect, Come, ye blessed of my Father, etc. [Matt. 25:34] -
Revelation 3:7-8
And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, write: These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David; he that openeth, and no man shutteth; shutteth, and no man openeth: Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut. The Lord is called the Holy One and the True One as if he were the only one, because compared to him no one is holy or truthful. It is indeed written, No one is clean from filth, [Variant of Job 14:4, very close to the LXX version.] as well as, Every man is a liar. [Ps. 115:11] We take the key of David to mean our Redeemer's incarnation, which he got from the seed of David. The door, which the same key opens and shuts, is Christ himself, according to this: I am the door, etc. [John 10:9] For he is called the key and the door in the same way as in the Gospel he is called the shepherd as well as both the porter and the door. [Ibid.1-5] So the open door is Christ born according to the flesh, having suffered, and resurrected on the third day; the door however is not open to the incredulous, but to believers. The Jews…
And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, write: These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David; he that openeth, and no man shutteth; shutteth, and no man openeth: Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut. The Lord is called the Holy One and the True One as if he were the only one, because compared to him no one is holy or truthful. It is indeed written, No one is clean from filth, [Variant of Job 14:4, very close to the LXX version.] as well as, Every man is a liar. [Ps. 115:11] We take the key of David to mean our Redeemer's incarnation, which he got from the seed of David. The door, which the same key opens and shuts, is Christ himself, according to this: I am the door, etc. [John 10:9] For he is called the key and the door in the same way as in the Gospel he is called the shepherd as well as both the porter and the door. [Ibid.1-5] So the open door is Christ born according to the flesh, having suffered, and resurrected on the third day; the door however is not open to the incredulous, but to believers. The Jews were trying to shut this door when they scourged the apostles and charged them that they should not speak in the name of Jesus; [Acts 5:40] but since when he opens, no man shuts, they replied immediately, We cannot but speak the things which we have heard. [Acts 4:17-20] As this door was shut to the Asians, the apostles tried to open it; but since when he shuts, no man opens, the spirit of Jesus stopped them. [Acts 16:7] The open door may also be taken to mean the Scripture, through which we come in towards Christ with the steps of faith. So he opens the door with the key of David, and no man shuts, because no one is able, with any veil of the Jews, to cast a shadow in the elect's hearts over the words of the sacred Scripture, which he made his elect understand spiritually by the grace of his incarnation. On the other hand, he shuts it for the unbelieving Jews, and it cannot be opened by anyone. This too can be analyzed symbolically: because thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Here it is no small question that arises: how can someone have only a little strength if they keep the word of God and do not deny his name? We should know therefore that it was said according to the estimation of human weakness, because, while the elect are capable of many things through Christ, they presume that they are capable of little. Indeed Thou hast a little strength is said as if it were said “Thou thinkest that thou hast a little strength.” -
Revelation 3:9
Behold, I will bring of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and adore before thy feet. And they shall know that I have loved thee. In this passage is foretold the faith of the Jews, according to this: until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in, and so all Israel should be saved. [Rom. 11:25-26] Now they say they are Jews, but are not, because they have lost on the inside spiritually the name they bear on the outside literally; for the expression of the name of Jews is the confession of Christ. However, when Elijah and Enoch are preaching, they will come to adore before the Church's feet, because they will venerate it by following the examples of its action.
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Revelation 3:10
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, etc. The word of patience is what the Lord showed in example when he prayed on the cross for his persecutors, [Luke 23:34] and taught in words, saying, In your patience you shall possess your souls. [Luke 21:19] As for what follows, I will also keep thee from the hour of the temptation, which shall come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth, it should be taken as referring to the times of the Antichrist, under whom there will be so great a tribulation as has never been from the beginning of the world. [Matt. 24:21] For bodily wounds will be hard, but more grievous will be the miracles of the enemies. But the saints will be preserved from the trial of deception, because they will not be provoked to the negation of Christ.
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Revelation 3:11
I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast. The Lord says he will come quickly, so that no one should give up in the struggle. For everything that passes happens quickly. What he tells him to hold fast is the conduct of heavenly life, and he gives the reason, adding, that no other man take thy crown. In this phrase we see that the certain and determined number of the elect is embraced, and we contemplate with an absolutely amazing thought the fact that no one can be added to or subtracted from it.
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Revelation 3:12-13
He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. God's temple is the Church, according to this: The temple of God is holy, which you are. [1 Cor. 3:17] Since not only the preachers, but also the good listeners triumph over the old enemy, and in this verse everyone who overcomes is said to become a pillar in God's temple, we are forced to confess that a pillar is the same as the temple, that is the universal Church. In what follows, and he shall go out no more, it is openly shown that the Church, in the younger brother, had once passed from the unity of faith and work it kept in the prophets under the law to the error of perfidy and perverse work; but it was recovered through the killing of the fatted calf. [Luke 15:11-31] Alternatively, all of us, Jews as well as Gentiles, went out in Adam; but after we have been brought in victorious to the second Adam, we are made into a pillar of God's temple, because, overcoming the temptations of the old enemy through the blood of that same Mediator of ours, we are established in the heavenly glory of the saints by that…
He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. God's temple is the Church, according to this: The temple of God is holy, which you are. [1 Cor. 3:17] Since not only the preachers, but also the good listeners triumph over the old enemy, and in this verse everyone who overcomes is said to become a pillar in God's temple, we are forced to confess that a pillar is the same as the temple, that is the universal Church. In what follows, and he shall go out no more, it is openly shown that the Church, in the younger brother, had once passed from the unity of faith and work it kept in the prophets under the law to the error of perfidy and perverse work; but it was recovered through the killing of the fatted calf. [Luke 15:11-31] Alternatively, all of us, Jews as well as Gentiles, went out in Adam; but after we have been brought in victorious to the second Adam, we are made into a pillar of God's temple, because, overcoming the temptations of the old enemy through the blood of that same Mediator of ours, we are established in the heavenly glory of the saints by that steadfastness in the commandments which we are demonstrated to have lost in the first Adam. But we shall never go out again, because no incitements of the enemy shall tear us away from that common happiness of the heavenly fatherland. Note also that he says he has a God as he speaks according to his humanity. And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and my new name. He that hath ears, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. The name of the Father being written on the one who overcomes means that he becomes his Son by adoption of the Spirit. Indeed, with what pen is it written, if not with the grace of the Spirit of both? Whence the apostle: The Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God. [Rom. 8:16] As for Jerusalem, it translates to “sight of peace.” It is said to come down out of heaven from God because the Church of the elect, which directs its course towards the sight of heavenly peace with the steps of love, went down, as it was predestined to, into the womb of the Virgin together with the Lord, whose body it is; or it is because its number increases every day through heavenly grace. It is called new because, through baptism and love, it is stripped of the oldness of the earthly man and clothed in heavenly newness; whence this: The old things are passed away, and behold all things are made new. [2 Cor. 5:17] So the name of Jerusalem is written on the victor when he joins the number of the saints. As for where we get all this from, it is revealed when it is added and my new name (implying I will write) namely the one that was given in time to the same Mediator, that is “Christ.” This is where our dignity and high position comes from, this is the cause of our being called sons of God, New Jerusalem, and Christians. Therefore, where we hear the sum of all salvation, let us at last put a due end to this book. -
Revelation 3:14
And to the angel of the church of Laodicea, write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the beginning of the creation of God. Amen translates to “true,” which we should take as referring to that Truth which said about itself, I am the truth. [John 14:6] Although the Lord has many faithful and true witnesses, it is appropriate for him to be called the faithful and true one as if he were the only one, because compared to him no one is faithful and truthful: for he is faithful, truthful, and good by nature, whereas we are so because he shares those qualities with us. As for how it is that the Son alone is called the witness when there are three that give testimony, [1 John 5:7] it has already been explained in the first book. Finally, the Son is called the beginning of the creation of God because it is from him that all things have got the beginning of existence; for, as it is written, All things were made by him. [John 1:3]
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Revelation 3:15
QUESTION: What is meant by what he says to the angel of Laodicea, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot? ANSWER: You are neither ardent in faith nor completely unfaithful. If you were still unfaithful, there would be some hope left for you to convert; but now, since you know the Lord's will and do not do it, you are thrown out of the inside of my Church. (3:19) THERE FOLLOWS: Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. ANSWER: Do not shrink from suffering adversity, since it is a specific sign of being loved by the Lord.
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Revelation 3:15-16
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. The cold ones are those whom either the perfidy of the Jews or the error of the Gentiles keeps bound, because the one who said, I will sit in the sides of the North, [Is. 14:13] binds them with his ice. On the other hand, the hot ones are those whose hearts the South wind, that is the Holy Spirit, comes to and touches with the heat of faith, so that, the hardness of incredulity being softened and the cold of error being lost, they emanate the heat of good works. Both someone cold and someone hot often become lukewarm: someone cold becomes lukewarm when they turn away from the cold of iniquity but do not pass to the perfect heat of justice, and someone hot becomes lukewarm if they come down from the heat of justice to the inactivity of sluggishness. Then, we have all learned from experience that something cold or hot easily passes into our body, but something lukewarm provokes nausea and is thrown r…
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. The cold ones are those whom either the perfidy of the Jews or the error of the Gentiles keeps bound, because the one who said, I will sit in the sides of the North, [Is. 14:13] binds them with his ice. On the other hand, the hot ones are those whose hearts the South wind, that is the Holy Spirit, comes to and touches with the heat of faith, so that, the hardness of incredulity being softened and the cold of error being lost, they emanate the heat of good works. Both someone cold and someone hot often become lukewarm: someone cold becomes lukewarm when they turn away from the cold of iniquity but do not pass to the perfect heat of justice, and someone hot becomes lukewarm if they come down from the heat of justice to the inactivity of sluggishness. Then, we have all learned from experience that something cold or hot easily passes into our body, but something lukewarm provokes nausea and is thrown right out of the mouth. So can teachers more easily attract an unfaithful person to faith or a perverted Christian to fervor for good work, than they can a lukewarm person; and so they forsake him, as a farmer leaves an unfruitful land and cultivates the one from which he has already plucked out the thorns and which is fruitful, or the one which, albeit still full of thorns, seems to promise it will be fruitful. -
Revelation 3:17
Because thou sayest: I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing: and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind. Whoever boasts of being rich on account of the confession of the right faith, if he does not cease to do evil, is not rich, but poor; and any one of the lukewarm, since he does not understand this, can rightly be blamed by the Lord as wretched, miserable, poor, naked, and blind: wretched, because he is deceiving himself; miserable, because he does not realize he is fooling himself; poor and naked, because he is void of true virtues; but in an even worse manner because he is not even conscious of it, whence he is also deservedly called blind. But since divine kindness calls some of the lukewarm to the heat of justice, it is suitably said after that:
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Revelation 3:18
I counsel thee to buy gold fire-tried, that thou mayest be made rich. Gold in this passage is taken to mean God's wisdom incarnate, concerning which it is said elsewhere, Take wisdom as gold. [Variant of Prov. 16:16] It is right for this gold to be called fire-tried, because our Redeemer was tested by the fire of the Passion. The meaning is: If you want to be rich in virtues, take me as an example, so that you too may become gold melted by fire. Now what price shall a poor person give for this gold but a pious state of mind in his prayer? To him it is said in addition: and mayest be clothed in white garments, that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear. Someone is clothed in white garments to cover the shame of their nakedness when they buy gold fire-tried, convert to a new life to avoid the shame of lukewarmness, and deserve, thanks to their imitation of him, to be connected with the new and heavenly man. And anoint thy eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. As if it were saying: Apply the divine commandments to your blind mind, so that you may see the nakedness in virtues yo…
I counsel thee to buy gold fire-tried, that thou mayest be made rich. Gold in this passage is taken to mean God's wisdom incarnate, concerning which it is said elsewhere, Take wisdom as gold. [Variant of Prov. 16:16] It is right for this gold to be called fire-tried, because our Redeemer was tested by the fire of the Passion. The meaning is: If you want to be rich in virtues, take me as an example, so that you too may become gold melted by fire. Now what price shall a poor person give for this gold but a pious state of mind in his prayer? To him it is said in addition: and mayest be clothed in white garments, that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear. Someone is clothed in white garments to cover the shame of their nakedness when they buy gold fire-tried, convert to a new life to avoid the shame of lukewarmness, and deserve, thanks to their imitation of him, to be connected with the new and heavenly man. And anoint thy eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. As if it were saying: Apply the divine commandments to your blind mind, so that you may see the nakedness in virtues you are suffering from and hurry to cover it. Indeed, if the divine commandments were not eye salve, the Psalmist would not say, The commandment of the Lord is lightsome, enlightening the eyes. [Ps. 18:9] Eye salve, which is made from earth and removes the dust of the earth from the eyes, may represent the temporal poverty our Redeemer assumed for us. Therefore let him who has his eyes blinded with dust put eye salve on them to recover sight, that is, let him who gets lost due to earthly pleasures bring back to his mind his Redeemer's temporal poverty, so that he may contemplate with his inward eyes the future rewards of the saints. -
Revelation 3:19
Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Rebuke is about words, chastisement is about whips. There is nothing more that needs explaining in this sentence, but it just needs to be embraced willingly. Be zealous therefore, and do penance. As if he were saying, “If you do not take whip blows temporarily here with them, you shall be subjected to eternal torments without them.”
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Revelation 3:20
Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear my voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. This is not to be taken as a physical act of standing, but as a placeless one, because when the Lord dwells in someone, he does not leave him to pass to someone else. The gate signifies the mind's entrance, which the Lord knocks at on his own, with no companion, by inspiring: his voice is heard by whoever keeps the advice of his commandments out of love, and this person opens the door when he broadens his heart to see the highest good of eternity. Finally, when the door has been opened, the Lord comes in to him, because he illuminates through inner sweetness the soul burning with desire. So the Head sups..... because by doing the Father's will every day..... the limbs..... 5 with the Head, the limbs which die with him every day in order to do the Father's will, as in for you are dead, etc. [Col. 3:3]
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Revelation 3:20
QUESTION: What is meant by Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock? ANSWER: I am in any case knocking at your heart's door with the hand of exhortation, and if you receive it willingly, you shall be considered worthy to have me as an inhabitant and coheir.
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Revelation 3:21
To him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me in my throne: as I also have overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne. The Lord victorious sits in the Father's throne because, after the Passion and Resurrection, he showed that he was equal to the Father. He says that we also sit in it, because we receive power of judgment in the Son's power, according to this: You, who have followed me, you shall sit on twelve seats, etc. [Matt. 19:28] It is not inconsistent with the truth that he says elsewhere we will sit on twelve thrones and here on his throne; for by the twelve thrones is indicated universal judgment, and by the throne of the Son a unique summit of judicial power. Therefore the same thing is indicated by the twelve thrones and by the one throne of the Son. We should however ask the question of how it is that he says all victors will judge, whereas not all will, but some of those who overcome will judge, and others will be judged. One should know then that they will have in others the power they do not have in themselves, in the same way as the whole body of…
To him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me in my throne: as I also have overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne. The Lord victorious sits in the Father's throne because, after the Passion and Resurrection, he showed that he was equal to the Father. He says that we also sit in it, because we receive power of judgment in the Son's power, according to this: You, who have followed me, you shall sit on twelve seats, etc. [Matt. 19:28] It is not inconsistent with the truth that he says elsewhere we will sit on twelve thrones and here on his throne; for by the twelve thrones is indicated universal judgment, and by the throne of the Son a unique summit of judicial power. Therefore the same thing is indicated by the twelve thrones and by the one throne of the Son. We should however ask the question of how it is that he says all victors will judge, whereas not all will, but some of those who overcome will judge, and others will be judged. One should know then that they will have in others the power they do not have in themselves, in the same way as the whole body of a man has the power to speak through the mouth and to see through the eyes. Now if we look more subtly at the phrase in which it is said as I also have overcome, we find that it indicates those who are more brilliant and outstanding in their victory.