Alcuin of York

For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? As if they were saying, “If even a saint is terrified by the wrath of that God, who of us shall hold out?” We may disregard all that has been said about saints, and understand those things as referring to the reprobates: the mountains are the proud; the islands are the greedy (according to this: Be silent, you that dwell in the island, the merchants of Sidon); [Is. 23:2] the kings, princes, and tribunes represent the reprobates according to their qualities; by the rich he means those who need no help from others to do evil; by the strong he means the strong at drunkenness; [Ref. to Is. 5:22] by bondman he means bondman of sin; by freeman he means free of justice. There is no doubt that when the future judgment is imminent, all these will run to seek the help of demons as they are desperate and do not dare to come to any of the saints. This is indeed what is meant by their seeking hiding places in the dens and rocks of mountains; but how will demons defend others from the furious wrath when they will be the first ones to receive it? Finally, all this inspires listeners with great fear even if taken literally, but this is not a reason to violently reduce figurative statements to their literal meaning.

And after these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor on any tree. It should be noted that he seems to have kept the order all the way from the first to the sixth seal, but, omitting the seventh, he comes back to the beginning of Christ's incarnation and briefly recapitulates with different allegorical symbols the things he had already related, and then he concludes these same two narrations with the seventh seal. Recapitulation is not always done in this way, but in various ways. So what do we understand to be symbolized by the four angels but the body of the old enemy? It is because of the four principal kingdoms of the world, namely that of the Assyrians, that of the Medes, that of the Persians or Macedonians, and that of the Romans, in which the Devil reigned through the cult of idolatry, that four angels are put into the reprobate category. This is why Nebuchadnezzar saw a statue whose head was of gold, but the breast and the arms of silver, and the belly and the thighs of brass, and the legs of iron; [Dan. 2:32-33] for the kingdom of the Assyrians is symbolized by gold, that of the Medes by silver, that of the Persians or Macedonians by brass, and that of the Romans by iron. It is not surprising that bad people are symbolized by angels, since it was said about Judas, One of you is a devil. [John 6:71] One should also know that the four angels are the same as the four winds, according to the prophecy of Daniel, who says, Behold the four winds strove upon the great sea, and four beasts, different one from another, came down out of the sea. [Variant of Dan. 7:2-3] Indeed he indicates that the winds and the beasts are the same, that is the four aforesaid kingdoms. Therefore when the angels hold the winds, they necessarily hold themselves; and since all people of this kind are the Devil's body, he himself is also understood in them. So what does it mean that the four angels held the four winds of the earth that they should not blow, if not that the hidden enemy and his whole body united and bound themselves together, and blocked the mouth of everyone in such a way that no one dared to breathe out the word of truth against the cult of idolatry? By the earth is represented the diversity of provinces, and by the sea the numerousness of islands. The trees as well, since he has mentioned no genus, because of their diversity, symbolize the various offices of people. Now since they were being choked by the Devil, they were saved by the coming of their Lord. Whence it soon follows:

And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying: Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads. Christ is an angel because we know he announced the joys of the new life to the world, he about whom it is said, angel of great counsel. [Is. 9:6 acc. to LXX, where the verse is number 5.] The ascent from the rising of the sun meant here is the one by which, starting from the Resurrection itself, which sprang up like a new sun, he grew and filled up the whole world, and illuminated it with the evangelical teaching. With that voice he also prevented the noxious power of the four angels from doing harm, and destroyed it in both initiators and subordinates at the same time; whence Nebuchadnezzar also saw a stone cut out of a mountain without hands strike the aforesaid statue on its iron feet and break it in pieces. [Dan. 2:34] By this stone is represented the Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of Jewish stock without conjugal act, who struck the statue on the feet and made it fall, because he reached the extremity of the kingdom of the Romans with the preaching of the Word, and converted the aforesaid kingdoms of the world to rebuild them wholesomely. This same Mediator is said to have the sign of the living God, that is the mystery of the cross. By the fact that he says not “till I sign” but till we sign, he shows that there are in him many people through whom that mystery is being fulfilled. When he says in their foreheads, he indicates the inner forehead, for we smear both side posts with the blood of the Lamb, [Ref. to Ex. 12:5 et seq.] and it is no use for anyone to wear it on the outside if they do not also receive it on the inside, because faith without works is idle. [James 2:20 acc. to the Greek version.]

QUESTION: What is meant by And I heard the number of them that were signed, an hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel? ANSWER: By this finite number is signified the innumerable multitude of the whole Church, which was born of the patriarchs through imitation, whether by lineage of the flesh or by lineage of faith — for, he says, If you be Christ's, then are you the seed of Abraham. [Gal. 3:29] It conduces to an increase in perfection that the number twelve itself is multiplied by twelve, and completed, to form the entire sum, by the number thousand, which is the cube number of ten, signifying the stable life of the Church. The reason why the Church is often symbolized by the number twelve is that it is present throughout the world, which is divided into four parts, and it is based on faith in the holy Trinity; for three times four make twelve. Finally, the apostles chosen to preach the same faith to the world were also twelve in number, symbolizing by their number the mystery of their work. So, of the tribe of Juda were twelve thousand signed. It is fitting for him to start with Juda, which is the tribe that our Lord was born of, and to omit Dan, which it is said that the Antichrist will be born of (as it is written: Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse's heels that his rider may fall); [Gen. 49:17] for it is not the order of earthly generation that he decided to present here, but the virtues of the Church, according to the interpretations of the names — the Church, which, with its present confession and praise, hastens to the right hand which is eternal life: this is indeed what the names Juda, who is put first, and Benjamin, who is put last, mean. So Juda, which translates to “confession” or “laudation,” is put first because no one lays hold of the summit of goods before the beginning of confession, and if we do not renounce bad actions through confession, we cannot be instructed for right actions. Second comes Ruben, which translates to “he who sees the child.” The Psalmist testifies that what is indicated by children is works, as he says in the blessings of the blessed man, Thy children as young plants of olive-trees, [Ps. 127:3] and also, And mayest thou see thy children's children; [Ibid. 6] for it is not because someone who fears the Lord has not begotten children and had grandchildren that he cannot be blessed, since a greater reward awaits the virgin faithful; but by children, the Psalmist means works, and by one's children's children, the fruits of one's works, that is the eternal reward. Therefore after Juda comes Ruben, that is, after the beginnings of divine confession and praise comes perfection of action. Yet, since through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God, [Acts 14:21] after Ruben follows Gad, which translates to “temptation” or “girded.” After the beginning of good work, a person must be tested with greater temptations and gird themselves for harder battles, so that the strength of their faith may be tested. As Solomon says, Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear; prepare thy soul for temptation. [Sir. 2:1] Then, since we consider blessed those who have endured suffering, after Gad comes Aser, which means “blessed.” This order is fitting enough, for blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive a crown of life. [James 1:12] Now, since, feeling secure because of the faithful promise of this blessedness, they do not feel afflicted, but, rejoicing in hope and patient in tribulation, they sing together with the Psalmist, I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart, [Ps. 118:32] and say, rejoicing with the mother of blessed Samuel, My mouth is enlarged over my enemies: because I have joyed in thy salvation, [1 Sam. 2:1] for this reason, next comes Nephthali, which means “wideness.” Nephthali himself is followed by Manasses, which translates to “having forgotten” or “necessity.” By the mystery of this name, we are told, taught by the torments of present temptations, to forget the things that are behind and to stretch forth, like the Apostle, to those that are before, [Phil. 3:13] without making provision for the flesh in its concupiscences, [Rom. 13:14] but only when we are forced to by the necessity of human condition, which the Psalmist was talking about when he prayed, sighing for better things, Deliver me from my necessities. [Ps. 24:17] After this one comes Simeon, which means “He has heard sorrow” or “the name of the dwelling,” so that by the nature of this word too he may inculcate in us the more evidently both what we must get here and what we must expect to good effect; for the joy of the heavenly dwelling will be given to those whose minds are here saddened with a fruitful penitence. It is also said to these people, Your sorrow shall be turned into joy. [John 16:20] Then follows Levi, which means “added,” in whom we understand either those who buy eternal things at the cost of temporal ones (as Solomon says, The ransom of a man's life are his riches) [Prov. 13:8] or those who, because they follow God's counsel, receive a hundredfold in this world with tribulations, and in the world to come life everlasting. [Mark 10:30] These people are also being referred to in what is written: He that addeth knowledge, addeth labour. [Eccles. 1:18] Indeed the reason why tribulations were heaped on saint Job was in order for a bigger reward to be rendered to him once he had been successfully tested. Whence it is not without reason that Issachar, which translates to “reward,” comes directly after this one; because, as the apostle teaches us, The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us. [Rom. 8:18] Indeed battle is fought more effectively when a sure reward is expected. God works and completes all this in the dwelling of strength, which is what Zabulon means, when power is made perfect in infirmity [2 Cor. 12:9] so that a body that is thought weak by one's enemies, and through whose matter they try to inflict death on the soul as well, turns out to be invincible when God strengthens it. There follows a happy increase, which is what the name Joseph means, denoting more gifts of graces to be given, whether you understand by this the spiritual interests gained from the twofold return of the talents, [Ref. to Matt. 25:14-30] or whether you take it to mean those rendered to God the Redeemer by the faithful's votive piety. Then, so that you may understand that all these people, whose order and names' interpretations both show that they have been placed here in a way that signifies something, will be on the right hand of Christ the eternal King in the future judgment, in last position, as we said earlier, comes Benjamin, which means “son of the right hand,” as if he were the end of the sequence, when the last enemy, death, has been destroyed, [Cf. 1 Cor. 15:26] and the elect are given the eternal happiness of their inheritance — whether it is every one of the faithful that is entitled to be called “son of the right hand,” or the whole assembly of the Church, about which we sing, The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety. [Ps. 44:10] So, there are twelve thousand signed out of each tribe because whatever virtues every one of the faithful has succeeded in, they must necessarily always be strengthened by the faith of the ancient fathers and instructed by their examples. It is indeed absolutely certain that the number twelve often represents either the teachers or the whole Church, because of the total number of the apostles or of the patriarchs; for whether the individual faithful are praiseworthy in confession, like in Juda; outstanding in offspring of works in Ruben; strong in the trial of temptations in Gad; successful by their victory in battles in Aser; enlarged by bountiful works of compassion in Nephthali; forgetting the things that are behind in Manasses; or as though sad thus far in the valley of tears, but always rejoicing in the name of the dwelling, and sighing for the heavenly Jerusalem in Simeon; whether those in Levi, who rejoice in the promises both of the present life and of the future one, as they receive temporal goods in addition, while having the eternal good as their foundation; those in Issachar, who are strengthened by the contemplation of the future reward; those in Zabulon, who lay down their lives for Christ; those in Joseph, who also strive after an increase in spiritual substance, and offer something more in addition to God's commandments, whether in virginity or from their resources; or those in Benjamin, who seek with tireless wishes after the right hand which is eternal happiness, it is fitting that each of these, in their own calling, be marked by the rule of the preceding fathers as though by the number twelve, and that from the merits of all individuals there be reckoned the most perfect beauty of the Church, as the sum of a hundred forty-four thousand.

And I heard the number of them that were signed, an hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel. It is a definite number put for an indefinite one, and it does not refer only to the twelve tribes of Israel, but all the Church, in the elect, is represented by it. Indeed the number three is a perfect number in the sacred Scripture, especially because it represents the Trinity; same for the number four because of the four parts of the world, the four Gospels, or the four cardinal virtues: if we multiply these by each other, we reach the number twelve, which also is hallowed because of the twelve tribes or the twelve apostles. As for the number thousand, it represents totality, according to this: unto a thousand generations. [Deut. 7:9, 1 Chron. 16:15, Ps. 104:8] Therefore, since the Church is brought together from all nations by knowledge of the Trinity and nourished by the four books of the Gospels, it is appropriate for it to be symbolized by twelve thousand; but in order for it to be perfected in what it has believed in, the number twelve thousand needs to be joined together by the solidity of the cube: therefore, let twelve thousand be multiplied by four, and it makes forty-eight thousand; then, in order for it to reach what it has believed in, that is the contemplation of the Trinity, let forty-eight thousand be multiplied by three, and it gives a hundred forty-four thousand.

Of the tribe of Juda, were twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Ruben, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Aser, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Nephthali, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Manasses, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Zabulon, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand signed. If we go back to the story of Genesis, we find the names of these introduced according to the birth of each of them, not at all in this order: for Juda is there put in the fourth place, here in the first; Ruben there in the first place, here in the second; Gad there in the eighth place, here in the third; Aser there in the ninth place, here in the fourth; Nephthali there in the seventh place, here in the fifth; Manasses there in the ninth place, here in the sixth; Simeon there in the second place, here in the seventh; Levi there in the third place, here in the eighth. Only Issachar, Zabulon, Joseph, and Benjamin are put in the same place here as there. Dan, the fifth son of Jacob, is altogether excluded from this spiritual list. We easily find out why this was done if we stop concentrating on the birth of the flesh and search for their spiritual lineage in the names with their interpretations. So Juda translates to “confession” or “laudation.” What else does this name's interpretation indicate but the confession of sins and the praise of virtues? Though the word “confession” appears to be sometimes used for “praise,” whence the Lord, who had no sin whatsoever, said, I confess to thee, O Father, etc. [Matt. 11:25] By Ruben, which means “he who sees the child” or “they who see the child,” are represented the very works of virtues, for the fruit of good works is often symbolized by the word “children,” according to this: Mayest thou see thy children' s children, [Ps. 127:6] which means the virtues born from your virtues. Then since works of virtues must serve the progress of others, he is rightly called “he who sees the child.” This means that we should show others the things in which we see we have progressed, according to this saying of the Lord: that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. [Matt. 5:16] It is therefore right for Juda to be put first and for Ruben to follow, because if we do not renounce bad actions through confession, we cannot be instructed for right and prescribed actions. So who would not see now that if he had begun with the firstborn in the flesh and put Juda in the fourth place, he would have been bound to confuse the spiritual lineage of the Church? Then, since those who do good works are usually always tested by temptation, it is right for Ruben to be followed by Gad, which means “temptation;” and since those who are girded with divine strength prove to be strong against temptation, it fits them well because the same Gad also means “girded.” Since we ought to direct the end of our good struggles towards God rather than towards the facade of human praise, the aforesaid Gad also means “robber,” as if he acquired secretly the goods of the heart to offer them to God in order that they may be approved, rather than exposed them to human eyes in order that they may be exalted. So since the tribulation inflicted on them tests the elect and crowns them after the test, it is right for Gad to be followed by Aser, which means “blessed;” and since the warriors of the Church, strengthened by the promise of blessedness, are prompted by feelings of love to spread even among the wicked, it is fitting for Aser to be followed by Nephthali, which means “wideness.” Since when they run through this greatest commandment of love, they both forget the things that are behind and stretch forth [Cf. Phil. 3:13] to the eternal riches that are to come, it is appropriate for Nephthali to be followed by Manasses, which is taken to mean “having forgotten” or “necessity:” “having forgotten” because he has only let go of what was behind, and “necessity” because he has not yet reached what he is stretching towards. Since their desire is often put off for a long time, it is right for Manasses to be followed by Simeon, which translates to “I have heard sorrow;” but those who hear sorrow must necessarily also hear “the name of the dwelling,” which Simeon also seems to mean, so that those who mourn in the tabernacle of decay should rejoice in the dwelling of eternal rest. As for what kind of people all these are, it is indicated by the one listed next, Levi, which means “added;” for such people, going further than the general commandments, add many things that have not been ordered, like celibacy in holy virginity, and all other things of the kind: since these things are not ordered, but advised, it is necessarily the case that non-ordered things are being voluntarily added. It is quite fitting for these people that Levi is followed by Issachar, which translates to “reward,” because an exceptional and special reward is owed to those who do these things; whence Jeremiah says to one of them, Let thy voice cease from weeping, and thy eyes from tears: for there is a reward for thy work, saith the Lord. [Jer. 31:16] However, before people doing such things are rewarded, persecutions are usually inflicted on them, and test them, but do not overcome them. Therefore it is not without good reason that Issachar is followed by Zabulon, which means “dwelling of strength,” for any of these people becomes its dwelling when power is made perfect in infirmity. [2 Cor. 12:9] Then, since they freely expend the talent of the divine Word not only for their friends in time of peace, but also for their enemies in the very middle of persecution, it is fitting for Zabulon to be followed by Joseph, which means “increment;” for in order to make profit off the money they have received, they do not hesitate to expend it even for their enemies. Then, so that you should understand that all these are to be placed on the right hand of the eternal King, it is beautiful that Benjamin, which means “son of the right hand,” comes in the last place, as if he himself were the end of the sequence, where the happiness of the eternal reward is promised. Therefore the holy Church is clearly shown to be, in Juda, praiseworthy through confession; in Ruben, fruitful in good works; in Gad, tested by the trials of temptations; in Aser, blessed after overcoming the temptations; in Nephthali, widened by love; in Manasses, forgetting the things that are behind and stretching forth to the things that are to come; in Simeon, as if it were so far sad in the valley of weeping, but rejoicing in hope at the dwellings of heavenly citizens; in Levi, beautiful in virginity and extremely abundant in pious mercy; in Issachar, resting on the expectation of the future reward; in Zabulon, crowned with martyrdom; in Joseph, enriched with the doubled talent of spiritual substance; and in Benjamin it is demonstrated to have been allotted the right hand, which is eternal happiness. However, let no one think that there are twelve vocations in the Church, since there are only three, namely the virtues of virgins, celibates, and good married people. Among all this, we should by no means omit the question of why Dan, who is undoubtedly a son of Jacob, is, whether in Genesis or in Exodus, counted with all his brothers, but was rejected from the spiritual list in this Apocalypse, while Manasses, who was born among strangers, and was indubitably not his son although he was adopted as his son, [Gen. 41:50-51 and 48:1-5] seems to have been substituted in the sixth place. So, “Dan” translates to “the judgment” or “the judging one of the Hebrews who pass by.” What is this “judgment of the Hebrews who pass by” but the rejection of the old priesthood? Therefore Dan, rejected from the spiritual list, teaches us by the very interpretation of his name that in the sixth age of the world the perfidious Jewish people was, by a mysterious but just judgment, altogether expelled from its place and lost the dignity of priesthood, while Manasses, that is the people of the Gentiles, gained by grace to be substituted in its place.

After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues. Here it is clearly revealed that the aforementioned number does not only consist of Jews, but of all the elect; for it is the same people that are indicated by the countless multitude and by the hundred forty-four thousand signed. This multitude is not countless for God, but for us; for he himself said, I will number them, and they shall be multiplied above the sand. [Ps. 138:18] Standing before the throne. Although the countless multitude is itself the throne of God, it is nonetheless said to be standing before the throne, because the vision changes as it is obscured by symbols, although the thing represented by the symbols does not change at all. But does it mean something that this multitude is said to be standing whereas the same was described above as sitting with the ancients round about the throne? It clearly does: it is sitting when it examines the acts of others through some of its members, and it is standing when it strengthens its heart in the solidity of faith and love in all its elect. And in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes. What is represented by the white robes but their disposition of mind? These robes were not however white before the Lord's coming, because the hearts of mankind were besprinkled with the stains of original sins. And palms in their hands. By the palms is represented victory, and by the hands, work. Therefore to have palms in one's hands means to triumph over the old enemy and the pleasures of the world.

And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures; and they fell down before the throne upon their faces. The angels as well as the throne and the ancients, and also the living creatures, symbolize the Church. Therefore he symbolizes one and the same thing in various ways: for since Christ alone reigns and judges in the Church, it is right for all the saints to be symbolized by one throne; since the Church itself also examines the acts of others, it is appropriate for it to be symbolized by ancients; and since it is sticking to the green pastures of the paradise, still only by faith in some of its members, and already enjoys them by sight in some other members, it is right for it to be symbolized by animals. Then, since it announces all things to come in its preaching, it is fitting for it to be symbolized by angels; and since it is brought together from various nations, it is right for it to be symbolized by a multitude. So they fell down upon their faces before the throne, that is, in the secret of their minds, where the inner judge sits. And adored, saying: Amen. Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever. All these things correspond well to the Trinity.

And one of the ancients answered, saying to me: These that are clothed in white robes, who are they? and whence came they? As no question preceded, what does it mean that one of the ancients is said to have answered? It is a habit of the sacred Scripture to use this verb like that, but it does not seem to have any meaning, so neither is ignorance of it harmful nor is knowledge of it praiseworthy. So, by this one ancient we understand the unity of the preachers of both Testaments, or him who is more ancient than ancients, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, who interrogates John in order that the latter may himself ask, and, after asking, hear, understand, and rouse himself up to imitate. By the white robes we understand both purity of mind and the glory they will be granted in the future. When John responds to this, in the person of good listeners, My Lord, thou knowest, the ancient replies, in the person of the Lord or of his good preachers, These are they who are come out of great tribulation, etc. In are come, three tenses are contained: it is here used for “are come, are coming, and are to come.” Therefore, since the whole number of the elect is defined by this sentence, it is greatly to be feared that if someone comes from somewhere else, they should not belong to the fellowship of the elect. The tribulations of the just, as the Psalmist says, are many; [Ps. 33:20] and among these tribulations there is that general one which consists of the fact that none of us knows whether they belong to the fellowship of the elect, as Solomon attests, who says, Man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love, or hatred: but all things are kept uncertain for the time to come. [Eccles. 9:1-2] And have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. All the elect make their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, that is to say they beautify their disposition of mind in the sufferings of Christ and prepare it to receive the future joys.

They shall no more hunger nor thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life. They suffer no trouble, because the Lamb rules them. Now where is he leading them to, but to the fountain of waters, that is to the Trinity, which is signified by a fountain? And by what way, but himself? For he himself said, I am the way. [John 14:6] It should also be noted that it is one and the same fountain that takes away hunger because it is the living bread, and thirst because it is the drink of life; for, as the apostle says, God will be all in all. [1 Cor. 15:28] So the fountain is said to be one because of the unity of nature of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; and it is presented as a fountain of waters so that the multiplicity of God's gifts in the saints may be expressed by this phrase. So the person who is led to this satiety of water by the Lamb as the latter rules them, suffers neither sun nor any heat, because they are not burned by the heat of vices. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. What a wonderful tenderness! He shows himself a father, as well as a mother, as he wipes away the tears of his bewailing children; whence Isaiah justly says, For thou art our father, and Abraham hath not known us: thou, O Lord, art our father. [Is. 63:16] Now what are these tears? The fact that one person bewails the evil they have done, another the fact that they have not done good, and many other similar things. These tears of his children are to be wiped away when they are back from exile to their fatherland.

And I saw seven angels standing in the sight of God; and there were given to them seven trumpets. And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer. In this place he upsets the order of the narration and interposes something; for, as the following will show, the angel with the censer came and stood before the altar before they received the seven trumpets. He interposes something because he introduced this angel with the censer in the middle before he had finished talking about the others. So, what do we understand by the seven angels but the holy Church in its preachers, who are the announcers of eternal life? It is also right for them to be said to be seven in number, because they are filled up with the sevenfold Spirit, or because they are put in charge of the totality of believers. They are said to be standing in the sight of God because they have trodden earthly desires underfoot and stick to divine contemplation. What is shown by their seven trumpets but the perfect preaching of the Old and of the New Testament? According to this: Lift up thy voice like a trumpet. [Is. 58:1] By the fact that it is the office of a priest to stand by the altar and burn incense prepared with spices, we realize that this angel is the Mediator between God and men, the Angel of the seven angels, and, so to speak, the Pontiff of the seven priests, he about whom the prophet said, angel of great counsel. [Is. 9:6 acc. to LXX, where the verse is number 5.] From this we clearly gather that he came before the seven angels received the trumpets. By the altar are represented the elect, in whom a spiritual sacrifice is being performed. So, the angel came by the flesh, and stood by the divinity. Also, what is represented by the censer but Christ's humanity? It is appropriate for it to be called golden, because the flesh assumed by the Word of God is, together with him, the wisdom about which it is said, Take wisdom as gold. [Variant of Prov. 16:16] The censer, in which spices are burned, may also symbolize the Church, which says every day, kindled by the fire of divine love, Let my prayer be directed as incense, etc. [Ps. 140:2] Then it is rightly said after that concerning Christ alone: And there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne. And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel. Just as smoke comes out of burned spices, so is the virtue of devotion produced by zeal for prayer. However, in order for the incense to become pleasing to God, it is given to the angel, which means that the zeal of prayers is entrusted to our Redeemer. The body is totally unable to speak to God but by the agency of the Head. The fact that the incense is offered on the golden altar shows that the sacrifice of prayers is accepted by him nowhere else but in the body of Christ, all of which shines with the wisdom of the divine Word. Note also that the throne and the altar before the throne do not signify two Churches, but one, just like Noah's ark and the eight souls in it. [Cf. Gen. 6; 1 Peter 3:20]

And the first angel sounded the trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood, and it was cast on the earth, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. By hail is represented the wrath of God Almighty, according to this: The wrath of the Lord is like hail coming down. By fire is indicated jealousy or hatred, and it is right to say that it is mingled with blood, because, according to John's saying, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. [1 John 3:15] The Lord promises through Isaiah that the Church cannot be burned by this fire, saying, When thou shalt walk through fire, thou shalt not be burnt, and the flame shall not burn in thee. [Is. 43:2] Moreover it should be noted that when he says the third part perished, we should not think that two parts consisting of the elect remained, which would contradict this: Many are called, but few are chosen. [Matt. 22:14] Indeed this number does not seem to pertain to literal quality, but to figurative quantity, and this is shown by the very change that says in one place that two thirds came into the lot of the reprobates, in another place that it was three thirds, and in a third place one third. What is more, above he divided the whole body of the Devil into four parts, now in two thirds, then in three, then in one; but one third is not smaller than two or three; for when he divides the Devil's body into four parts, he wants us to understand one part in the Church, consisting of false brothers, and three outside, namely the heretics, the Jews, and the pagans. When he divides the whole body into three thirds, we should understand one onefold part inside consisting of the wicked faithful, one twofold part outside consisting of the Jews and heretics, and also one onefold part outside, consisting of the Gentiles. When he symbolizes one part of the body by the same tripled number three, making two parts in all out of the three thirds, he wants us to understand there both hidden and overt heretics. There remains one third inside and outside, which retains in itself the symbols of all. When he divides the Devil's body into two thirds, he wants us to understand one onefold third inside consisting of bad Christians, and one threefold third outside consisting of the Jews, heretics, and pagans. One should also know that the earth is the same as the trees, that is the sum of the wicked encompassed in two thirds, one of which is onefold, and the other threefold: for sinners are the earth because they seek earthly things, and they are trees because they sway to and fro in their instability. About these it is said by Jude, These are trees of the autumn, unfruitful, plucked up by the roots, twice dead. [Jude 12] So two thirds are burned up by the sending of hail and fire with blood, and one is left unharmed by this, because, as the wrath of the heavenly Judge increases and the society of the old enemy is not gathered together by the preaching of the saints, this society is put on fire by the flames of its own hatred, whereas Christ's congregation is harassed by the hatred of the wicked, but it is not consumed by it. As for what is said after that, All green grass was burnt up, it seems to be a repetition of the same idea: all green grass was burned up in the two thirds; all green grass, that is the said part of the wicked, consumed by the flames of its own hatred. The greenness of grass indeed signifies here the enticements of the flesh, according to this: All flesh is grass; [Is. 40:6] whence, on the other hand, it is told that the crowds fed by the Lord sat upon green grass, [Mark 6:39] which means that they subdue the pleasures of the flesh by repressing them.

And the second angel sounded the trumpet: and as it were a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood: and the third part of those creatures died in it, which had life, and the third part of the ships was destroyed. The Devil is called a great mountain, whether because he wanted to be like the one about which it is said, In the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared, [Is. 2:2] or because in the end he will exalt himself above all that is called, or worshipped as, God. [2 Thes. 2:4] He is called burning because he is tormented by his own evilness and envy, because, ejected from among the saints by the angel sounding the trumpet, that is by the Church preaching, he is cast into the sea, that is into the incredulous — not that he was not already in them before, but since he has been ejected from among the saints, he starts ruling over the incredulous all the more. It seems that by the third that was turned into blood is symbolized the kind of death by which the two other thirds die, so that in one third is denoted the death, and in two thirds the number of the dying. The water turned into blood is fleshly wisdom, which kills souls; whence the apostle: Being wise according to the flesh is death. [Variant of Rom. 8:6] This wisdom means both bad credulity and wrong work; for with regards to wrong doctrine it is said, The letter killeth, [2 Cor. 3:6] and with regards to wrong work, Deliver me from bloods. [Ps. 50:16]