Andreas of Caesarea — Commentary on Scripture

Revelation 12:14

And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

From the beginning love for God and for the neighbor and a mind receptive of him who was crucified for us was given to [the church], as were the two Testaments. All of these things are symbolized by the wings of the eagle, and they were given to [the church] so that taking flight by them into the desert, that is, into a citizenship devoid of every desire, she might be nourished. To be sure, this occurs always, but it will especially be so at the coming of the antichrist, who will rule everywhere, it is written, for the designated time of three and a half years. It may be that during that time even those who have hid themselves in the mountains and caves of the literal, physical desert will flee him.

Revelation 12:15-16

And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

When the church fled to inaccessible places where the deceiver makes his approach, out of his mouth, that is, clearly by his command, came water like a river after her. That is, he sent out against her a host of godless people and evil demons and all kinds of temptations that he might enslave her. But the earth, it says, came to [the church’s] aid. This may refer to the very great distances of travel in the desert and the aridity and dryness of those places, and in this way the river of temptations were swallowed up. Or [the demons and their temptations were overcome] by the humility of the saints who say with utter sincerity, “I am earth and dust” and so bring to naught all the snares of the devil, even as the angel said to the holy Anthony.

Revelation 13:1

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Some have interpreted this beast to be a certain power, a leader of the other demons, who is second to Satan, and that after this beast the antichrist arises from the earth. However, according to holy Methodius and holy Hippolytus and others this beast is to be interpreted as the antichrist who comes from the tumultuous and rough sea of this life. The ten horns with the diadems and the seven heads signify the unity that the devil has with him—for these characteristics were interpreted above as also belonging to him. The ten horns and seven heads also signify the division of the earthly government at the end of time into ten, and the earthly government corresponds to this world, which is calculated as consisting of seven days and is divided into seven successive kingdoms. For this reason, Satan, who operates in him, is called “the ruler of this age.” “A blasphemous name is upon its heads” clearly refers to his supporters. For from the beginning these never ceased from blaspheming Christ until the accession of Constantine. But after him, [the emperors] Julian and Valens again slandered…

Some have interpreted this beast to be a certain power, a leader of the other demons, who is second to Satan, and that after this beast the antichrist arises from the earth. However, according to holy Methodius and holy Hippolytus and others this beast is to be interpreted as the antichrist who comes from the tumultuous and rough sea of this life. The ten horns with the diadems and the seven heads signify the unity that the devil has with him—for these characteristics were interpreted above as also belonging to him. The ten horns and seven heads also signify the division of the earthly government at the end of time into ten, and the earthly government corresponds to this world, which is calculated as consisting of seven days and is divided into seven successive kingdoms. For this reason, Satan, who operates in him, is called “the ruler of this age.” “A blasphemous name is upon its heads” clearly refers to his supporters. For from the beginning these never ceased from blaspheming Christ until the accession of Constantine. But after him, [the emperors] Julian and Valens again slandered against Christ.

Revelation 13:2

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

The kingdom of the Greeks is signified by the leopard; the Persians are signified by the bear; the Babylonians are signified by the lion. The antichrist, who will come as a king of the Romans, will rule over them and destroy their empires, when he beholds the clay toes of their feet, by which is indicated the destruction of a weak and brittle kingdom. Satan, that spiritual dragon, will give all of his authority to the antichrist, who through false signs and wonders will work for the ruination of those who are weak and unstable.

Revelation 13:3-4

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

That he had a head that was wounded indicates that one of his lieutenants, having been put to death, deceptively seems to be raised again by him through his sorcery, in a way similar to Simon the magician, who, in light of his magic tricks, was unmasked by the chief of the apostles. Or the phrase could indicate that the Roman Empire, having suffered a kind of wound through division, seems to be healed by a unified rule, as occurred at the time of Augustus Caesar.… The wonder directed at the antichrist will be transferred to the devil, who is working through him. For through him the devil will be worshiped, and through him he will seem, to those blinded in the eyes of the mind, to raise the dead and perform signs.

Revelation 13:5-6

And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

With the allowance of God, it says, he will have authority for three and a half years to blaspheme against God and to harm the saints. The “dwelling of God” is the dwelling of the Word in the flesh, that is, his incarnation, as well as his repose among the saints, against whom, as also against the holy angels, he will fully direct his blasphemy.

Revelation 13:9-10

If any man have an ear, let him hear.

Every one will receive a recompense worthy of his deeds. Those who are willing to harm their neighbor will be captured by the devil and will undergo the death of his soul by the satanic sword. For, as the great James says, they are made slaves of that one by whom they have been conquered through their works. But those who have a pure faith and unshakeable endurance in trials will be indelibly written in the book of life. With such may the all-merciful God also find us partakers who consider “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed" to the saints and who walk valiantly the narrow way, so that, finding at the end of it glory in the coming age and rest and paradise, we might reign with Christ, with whom to the Father be all thanksgiving and worship with the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.

Revelation 13:11

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Some say that this beast is the antichrist, while to others its two horns signify the antichrist and the false prophet. But since also the false prophet is thought to come in his own person, it is proper to think that the dragon is to be interpreted as Satan, the beast that arises from the sea as the antichrist, and this beast that comes up from the earth as the false prophet, which is the opinion of the blessed Irenaeus. That he comes up from the earth symbolizes that he arises from an earthly and groveling manner of life. That he has two horns like a lamb indicates that in the skin of a lamb he cloaks the murderousness of the wolf hiding within and that at the beginning he will have the form of piety. Concerning him Irenaeus says, “Concerning his armorbearer, whom he also calls the false prophet, he says, ‘he spoke like a dragon.’ ” The authority of signs and wonders was given to him, so that going before the antichrist, he might prepare the way of destruction for him. We say that the healing of the wound of the beast is either the apparent, short-lived unity of the divided empire…

Some say that this beast is the antichrist, while to others its two horns signify the antichrist and the false prophet. But since also the false prophet is thought to come in his own person, it is proper to think that the dragon is to be interpreted as Satan, the beast that arises from the sea as the antichrist, and this beast that comes up from the earth as the false prophet, which is the opinion of the blessed Irenaeus. That he comes up from the earth symbolizes that he arises from an earthly and groveling manner of life. That he has two horns like a lamb indicates that in the skin of a lamb he cloaks the murderousness of the wolf hiding within and that at the beginning he will have the form of piety. Concerning him Irenaeus says, “Concerning his armorbearer, whom he also calls the false prophet, he says, ‘he spoke like a dragon.’ ” The authority of signs and wonders was given to him, so that going before the antichrist, he might prepare the way of destruction for him. We say that the healing of the wound of the beast is either the apparent, short-lived unity of the divided empire, or the temporary restoration by the antichrist of the tyranny of Satan that had been destroyed, or the fraudulent resurrection of one of his associates who had died. It says that he speaks like a dragon, because he will do and say the things of the devil, who is the author of evil.

Revelation 13:12-13

And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

The forerunner of the apostate false christ will do all things through sorcery for the deception of humankind, so that the antichrist will be regarded as God. And, since [the antichrist] receives the witness of the worker of such marvels, he receives undisputed honor, in imitation of the Baptist, who led those who believed to the Savior. For falsehood is zealous to imitate the truth for the deception of humankind. Therefore, it is not remarkable that to the eyes of those deceived, fire is seen coming down from heaven. For somewhere in the story of Job we are taught that, with the permission of God and by the activity of Satan, fire came down and consumed his flock.

Revelation 13:14-17

And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

[The beast] deceives those who continually dwell upon the earth in their hearts. For those who possess their citizenship in heaven are not deceived by fake appearances, since they have been sufficiently fortified by the prediction of his coming.… It is reported that demons often speak by sorcery through images and statues and trees and streams, also through Apollonius and others, and I think, even through dead bodies. For example, in the presence of Peter, Simon the Magician showed the Romans a dead body that he was moving. However, the apostle unmasked his deception by showing through those whom he himself raised how the dead were raised [by Simon]. And so there is nothing strange in the fact that working through demons, this standardbearer of the antichrist should make an image for the beast and contrive to show it speaking and see to it that those who did not worship it were killed. And he will eagerly strive to place the mark of the ruinous name of the apostate upon everyone. He will make the mark upon their right hands to bring to an end the doing of good works, and upon their f…

[The beast] deceives those who continually dwell upon the earth in their hearts. For those who possess their citizenship in heaven are not deceived by fake appearances, since they have been sufficiently fortified by the prediction of his coming.… It is reported that demons often speak by sorcery through images and statues and trees and streams, also through Apollonius and others, and I think, even through dead bodies. For example, in the presence of Peter, Simon the Magician showed the Romans a dead body that he was moving. However, the apostle unmasked his deception by showing through those whom he himself raised how the dead were raised [by Simon]. And so there is nothing strange in the fact that working through demons, this standardbearer of the antichrist should make an image for the beast and contrive to show it speaking and see to it that those who did not worship it were killed. And he will eagerly strive to place the mark of the ruinous name of the apostate upon everyone. He will make the mark upon their right hands to bring to an end the doing of good works, and upon their foreheads in order to teach those deceived to be bold in their deception and darkness. But those who have had their faces sealed with the divine light will not receive the mark. He will undertake to spread the mark of the beast everywhere through buying and selling, so that a violent death might come to all who do have the mark from the lack of necessities.

Revelation 13:18

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

For the sober-minded, time and experience will reveal the actual significance of the number and the truth of whatever has been written about it. For, were it necessary, as some of the teachers say, that such a name be clearly known, the seer would have revealed it. But the divine grace did not consent that the name of the destroyer be noted in the divine book.

Revelation 14:6

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

The phrase “in mid-heaven” indicates that the angel that here appears is exceedingly lofty and heavenly. It has been sent from above to people, who come from the ground, so that through this middle position it might be a mediator and lead them, in imitation of God, to heaven. And so the body of the Church will be united to Christ, our Head. The “eternal gospel,” which from eternity was foreordained by God, says, “Fear God, but have no fear of the antichrist who cannot kill the soul with the body; rather, fervently stand opposed to him who has power but for a short time, for the time of his judgment and the reward for what he has done is near.”

Revelation 14:8

And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

He speaks of “Babylon,” which refers to the confusion of the world and the troubled disorder of this life, which in no way has abated. By “the wine of the wrath of her fornication” he means not only the frenzy that attends to idol worship and the ecstasy of their minds, but also to the drunkenness and derangement that attends all sin, by which everyone who whores against God is wholly destroyed, as the saying of the psalm goes. As it were, pulled up by its roots, such a Babylon falls completely at the appearance of the Jerusalem that is above, for those who have been workers of iniquity are sent to the everlasting fire.

Revelation 14:9-10

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

It says that should anyone bow down to the beastlike antichrist and pursue an ungodly life like his, and should anyone proclaim him to be God in word and deed—for the mark given on the forehead and upon the hand would show this—that person will share with [the antichrist] in the drinking of the revenge-filled cup, which is unmixed and devoid of any divine mercy because of the justice of the judgment. And this cup is of wine poured from different punishments because of the diversity and variety of evils that were freely chosen. He aptly calls this torment the “wine of wrath,” since it follows upon the wine of godlessness, which inebriates those who drink of it, for “in that way by which one sins shall one also be punished.”

Revelation 14:11

And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

We must understand this smoke to be either the sighing of those being tormented, which arises from below along with their lamentation, or the smoke that comes from the fire that torments the fallen. It says that it “goes up forever and ever,” and by this we learn that even as the bliss of the righteous is everlasting, so also is the torment of the sinners.… He says “day and night,” not as though the condition of the future age in which the ungodly will have no rest will be measured by the sun, but he rather accommodates himself to the custom in the present time, which is reckoned in nights and days. Or it might be that the “day” is to be regarded as the life of the saints and the “night” as the torment of the impure, which those who do the works of the devil and blaspheme against Christ in the manner of the apostate beast will attain. For through the doing of these things they make an image [of the beast] and engrave his name upon their hearts as though it were precious.

Revelation 14:12

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

While the impious will be tormented eternally in the coming age, the saints here below show their patient endurance, keeping inviolate the commandments of God and their faith in Christ during the present time, which is quickly passing away.

Revelation 14:13

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

The voice from heaven does not bless all the dead, but only those who die in the Lord, who have died to the world and so carry about the dying of Jesus in the body and suffer with Christ. For these persons the departure from the body is truly a rest from their labor. Moreover, the obedience of their works is the reason for their unfading crowns and the rewards of glory that are the prizes given in great measure to those who prevail in the contests that the contestants of Christ, our God, endure to the end against invisible powers. “For the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed” to those who please God, as the apostle says. It is necessary also that we who yearn for such glory should pray unceasingly to God, saying, “Incline our hearts, O Lord, to your testimonies, and turn our eyes from every vanity,” and “enter not into judgment with your servants, for no living creature will be righteous before you.” Rather, visit us with your bountiful mercies, for the might and the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours, namely, of the…

The voice from heaven does not bless all the dead, but only those who die in the Lord, who have died to the world and so carry about the dying of Jesus in the body and suffer with Christ. For these persons the departure from the body is truly a rest from their labor. Moreover, the obedience of their works is the reason for their unfading crowns and the rewards of glory that are the prizes given in great measure to those who prevail in the contests that the contestants of Christ, our God, endure to the end against invisible powers. “For the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed” to those who please God, as the apostle says. It is necessary also that we who yearn for such glory should pray unceasingly to God, saying, “Incline our hearts, O Lord, to your testimonies, and turn our eyes from every vanity,” and “enter not into judgment with your servants, for no living creature will be righteous before you.” Rather, visit us with your bountiful mercies, for the might and the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours, namely, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Revelation 14:14

And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

We think that this cloud is either the visible cloud that took our Lord Jesus Christ from the eyes of the apostles, or that it is a certain angelic power [here called a “cloud”] because of its purity and sublimity, for the psalmist says, “He rode on a cherub and flew.” For this reason, we believe that the one seen upon the cloud similar to a son of man is Christ, and that the crown upon his head signifies his governance over both the visible and the invisible powers. The crown is gold because of the value of this substance among us. The sickle indicates the consummation, for indeed the Lord himself called the end of the world a “harvest.”

Revelation 14:15-16

And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

The cry of the angel symbolically represents the supplications of all the heavenly powers who desire to see both the honoring of the saints and the separation of the transgression of the sinners. At that time, that which is changeable and transient will cease to exist and that which is immovable and enduring will be manifested. That the harvest is ripe indicates that the time of the consummation has come when the seed of piety, having matured as ripe wheat, will be regarded as ready for the heavenly granaries and will yield for the husbandman thirtyfold, sixtyfold and a hundredfold.

Revelation 14:17

And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

Although Christ is called the “angel of great counsel” of the Father, nonetheless from the following words the present angel is shown to be one of the ministering angels, for he comes out of the heavenly temple with a sharp sickle in order to accomplish the cutting off of those who are the most impious.