Apringius of Beja — Commentary on Scripture

Revelation 2:14

Nevertheless, the Lord has something against this church because there are some who “hold the teaching of Balaam,” which is interpreted “without people” or “without property.” For Balaam is a type of the adversary who does not gather a people for salvation, nor does he rejoice in the number of the multitude that is being saved. Rather, as long as he destroys all and remains without a people and without any property, then he rejoices. It is he himself who “taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel.” For Balak is interpreted to mean “throwing down” or “devouring.” He has thrown Israel down so that it might be consecrated to the idol, Phogor, and he has devoured them by the eating of pleasure and luxury.

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 2:14

Revelation 2:18

[His eyes like flames signify] his gaze which discerns all things, and [his feet like burnished bronze signify] his unstained flesh which glows, just like bronze in a fire is bright with clarity.

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Revelation 2:19

He says that he knows the work, the love, the faith, the service and the patience of his church. “And that your latter works exceed the first.” He indicates that at the end of time there will be a great number of saints, when, with the coming of the man of sin, the son of perdition, innumerable thousands of saints will be consecrated with their own blood.

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Revelation 2:21

The Lord promises that a sickness and a weariness will come to this doctrine, and a weakness of the sickbed, that is, the pleasure of this world. And to those who commit adultery through this teaching, he promises that a very great tribulation will come upon them on the Day of Judgment. For Jezebel herself is interpreted as “dung heap” or a “flowing of blood.” What else is thought to be in the filth of a dung heap or in blood, unless the evil deed and sin which is committed through fault? Therefore, rightly does he foretell a future condemnation for them, unless they strongly repent of their works. For he also mentions that he will damn her sons, that is, her disciples with the second death.

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 2:22

Revelation 2:26-27

God promises that he will give to him power over the nations and kingdoms, so that he might reign over them with an iron rod and destroy them as though they were a clay pot. He refers to the apostate angels who abandoned their own dominion, for they are going to be judged by the saints on the day of judgment and damned and thrown into eternal destruction, as the apostle says.

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 2:26-27

Revelation 2:28

“And I will give him the morning star,” that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom evening never overtakes, but who is eternal light, and who is himself always in light. Or, another interpretation: He promises the morning star, namely, the first resurrection; [the resurrection is] the morning star which causes night to flee and announces the light.

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 2:28

Revelation 3:2-3

He rebukes those idle persons who do not trust in God with the whole mind and keep the right faith only hypocritically. They are Christians in name only. And so they are said to be living, but in fact they are dead. For that reason they are rebuked that they might be vigilant and strengthen what remains of that from which they had fallen. And so he urges them, “Remember what you received and heard, and repent.” He wishes that they remember the apostolic doctrine, and he warns them to preserve that which they received at the beginning of their faith and to repent of their past sins. And so he threatens whomever does not do this, “If you will not be vigilant, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you.” The judgment of God will be sudden, and no one knows the secret hour when he intends to come.

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 3:2-3

Revelation 3:4

Everyone who is not soiled with the filth of sin walks with the Lord in white, and he is made worthy so that he might follow the footsteps of the Lamb.

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Revelation 3:12

[I will write on him the name of my God] so that he might be signed with the divine name and be adorned with the glory of immortality and might receive the name of the divine city of Jerusalem, which is the vision of peace, and so fully enjoy the society of perpetual quiet and security. This is that city which descends out of heaven from God, so that the saints might dwell and repose within it “And my new name.” In God nothing is old, because he does grow old with age. But the name of the Lord is always new, always fresh. And if any is named by this name, having been changed by the eternal power, he will obtain eternal life.

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 3:12

Revelation 4:2-3

Who would think that he speaks anything fleshly who reports that he had entered in the spirit? A man so thoroughly tested by his God receives nothing fleshly, nothing earthly. But he was in the spirit so that he might see the Lord of majesty, whom he perceives in the spirit, but does not behold in the flesh. He thereby fulfilled what the apostle said: “Even though we knew Christ according to the flesh, we know him thus no longer.”

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 4:2

Revelation 4:2-3

The jasper stone shines with a green and radiant brightness, so that he might know that the flesh of the assumed man, taken up without a hint of sin, shines with the vigor of everlasting sincerity and glows through the indwelling of the divine power. However, the carnelian stone is red and glimmers with a certain darkness, so that you might recognize the integrity of the undefiled flesh assumed from the modest and humble Virgin.

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 4:3

Revelation 4:4

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

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Revelation 4:5

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

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Revelation 4:6-7

“The first animal was like a lion.” Most of our interpreters say that this signifies the person of Mark, the Evangelist. And indeed this seems most apt and true, for his Gospel begins in this way: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ‘Behold, I send my messenger who shall prepare the way before your face.’ ” Nor is it strange that here Isaiah is mentioned instead of Malachi, for most certainly this testimony occurs in Malachi. However, “Isaiah” means “the salvation of the Lord,” and “Malachi” means “angel.” And so at the beginning of the Gospel he prefers to speak of the salvation of the Lord, which is “Isaiah,” rather than of the angel, which is “Malachi,” in order that through the faith of the gospel he might suggest the immovable perpetuity of the present and future life. And then, to be sure, he mentions the “messenger,” which is “angel,” and he adds the words of Isaiah: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the highways of our God,” so that, salvation having been both promised and foretold, he might show the…

“The first animal was like a lion.” Most of our interpreters say that this signifies the person of Mark, the Evangelist. And indeed this seems most apt and true, for his Gospel begins in this way: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ‘Behold, I send my messenger who shall prepare the way before your face.’ ” Nor is it strange that here Isaiah is mentioned instead of Malachi, for most certainly this testimony occurs in Malachi. However, “Isaiah” means “the salvation of the Lord,” and “Malachi” means “angel.” And so at the beginning of the Gospel he prefers to speak of the salvation of the Lord, which is “Isaiah,” rather than of the angel, which is “Malachi,” in order that through the faith of the gospel he might suggest the immovable perpetuity of the present and future life. And then, to be sure, he mentions the “messenger,” which is “angel,” and he adds the words of Isaiah: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the highways of our God,” so that, salvation having been both promised and foretold, he might show the messenger of the truth and might prepare the hearts of humankind for the reception of grace. And the form of the lion is in this, that he reports that John was in the desert preaching and enjoying the desert, as he says: “John was in the desert baptizing and proclaiming the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” The words “the second creature was like an ox” introduce Luke. For a bull is representative of the priesthood, as it is said in Isaiah: “Blessed are you who sow upon all the waters, letting the feet of the ox and the ass go free.” And so at the beginning of his Gospel, he speaks of Zechariah the priest: “In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah.” “The third living creature with the face of a man” indicates Matthew, for at the beginning of his Gospel, Matthew wished to report the genealogy of the Lord according to the flesh. The words “the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle” indicate John. For, at the beginning of his Gospel, John did not speak of the humanity of the Lord or of the priesthood or of John preaching in the desert. Rather, desiring like an eagle to reach toward the height of heaven itself, he left behind all things lowly and spoke properly of him as God: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; he was in the beginning with God.”

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 4:7

Revelation 4:6

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

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 4:6

Revelation 5:1

book. This book is the creation of the entire present world.

Revelation 5:1

This scroll, which is said to be written on the inside and on the outside, is all of the present world which is a creature [of God]. God perceives the inner [thoughts of every creature] and he knows their outer deeds. For, by the virtue of his power he surpasses this world which is contained [by him] and by the clarity of his majesty he searches into the inmost parts. The book is said to be sealed by seven seals, so that the decree and limit of the present seven days, in which the world was made, might be manifested. Another interpretation: This book signifies the teaching of the Old Testament, which was given into the hands of our Lord, who accepted the judgment from the Father. The seven seals are these: First, incarnation; second, birth; third, passion; fourth, death; fifth, resurrection; sixth, glory; seventh, kingdom. These seals, therefore, are Christ. Since he completed all things through his humanity, he opened and unsealed everything which had been closed and sealed in the Scriptures.

TRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 5:1

Revelation 5:1

seven seals. the seven seals are first, the incarnation; second, the nativity; third, the passion; fourth, the death; fifth, the resurrection; sixth, the glory; and seventh, the kingdom. Therefore, Christ fulfilled all these things through his humanity. All Scriptures that were closed and sealed, he opened and unsealed.

Revelation 5:2

a strong angel. this should be interpreted as the chorus of holy fathers who, having lived in divine friendship, and seeing with the eyes of faith that the arrangement of the present times and the order of all things were entirely sealed by the providence of God, understand their Operator to be the Lord of majesty.

Revelation 5:3

or another sense; For a human to conquer death no one was found worthy to do this, neither among the angels of heaven, nor among humans on earth, nor among the souls of the saints in their rest, except Jesus Christ the Son of God alone.