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Bede

Late Patristic · AD 500–800 · 6,271 passages across 45 books

On Revelation

261–280 of 640
Revelation 10:9

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

And I went to the angel, saying to him that he should give me the book. Let him approach the Lord who wishes to receive the mysteries of teaching.
Revelation 10:10

And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

And it will make your belly bitter, etc. When you receive it, you will be delighted by the sweetness of the divine word, but you will feel bitterness when you begin to preach and act upon what you have understood. Or indeed, it should be understood according to Ezekiel, who, when he said he had devoured the book, added, And I went in bitterness in the indignation of my spirit.
Revelation 10:11

And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

And he said to me: You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations. He explains what the book eaten and the sweetness mixed with bitterness signify, namely, that, being freed from exile, he would preach the Gospel to the nations, sweet indeed with love, but bitter with the persecutions to be endured.
Revelation 11:1 · 3 passages

And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

And a reed like a rod was given to me. In the reed, he received the ministry of writing the Gospel, which is not superfluous in vain elegance, but like a rod of righteousness, the rod of the kingdom of God (Hebrews I). For he describes the eternal kingdom of Christ.
And those who worship in it. Because not all who seem to worship in it do so, just as he who confesses me. Finally, he commands that a part not be counted, saying:
Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar. He said rise, not because John was hearing these things while sitting, but because with this word he rouses the hearts of each one to measure the evangelical Scripture and deeds. For there they find how much each one advances and how much they conform to the divine rule.
Revelation 11:2 · 2 passages

But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

And they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. Not only are they expelled from the Church, but they also, together with their Gentile allies, attack the same Church for three and a half years. It is not that they will trample it only during that time, that is, the time of the Antichrist, but because the entire body of the wicked, as if belonging to its own head, is already now working in the ministry of iniquity.
But the court which is outside the temple, cast out, etc. Those who are joined to the Church in name only, and neither approach the altar nor the holy of holies, are cast out from the rule of the Gospel and joined with the Gentiles. For all the glory of the king’s daughter is within (Psalm XLIV).
Revelation 11:3 · 2 passages

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

And I will give to my two witnesses, etc. Lest the savagery of the wicked frighten the listener, he recalls that the Church, united from two peoples, will be illuminated by the grace of virtues. And it is always looking at its head, namely Christ teaching in the flesh, and it is said to prophesy for three and a half years. The months of three and a half years, that is, thirty times forty-two, make up one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Daniel, however, writes of one thousand two hundred and ninety days for the same time, in which the abomination of desolation is to be set up.
Clothed in sackcloth. That is, in penitential mourning. As the prophet says: But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth (Psalm XXXV).
Revelation 11:4

These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

These are the two olive trees, etc. The Church, illuminated by the light of the two Testaments, always stands by the commands of the Lord. For the prophet Zechariah saw one seven-branched candlestick, and these two olive trees, that is, the Testaments, pouring oil into the candlestick. This is the Church with its unfailing oil, which makes it burn with light in the world.
Revelation 11:5

And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth, etc. If anyone harms the Church, he is consumed by the fire of judgment, reciprocating the harm. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword (Matthew XXVI). Hence, the Chaldean flame, which was cast on the children of God, consumed the ministers of impiety themselves. Or spiritually, by the prayers of the Church's mouth, one is consumed by spiritual fire to be changed for the better. Coals of fire, he says, you will heap upon his head (Romans XII).
Revelation 11:6 · 2 passages

These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

These have the power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls, etc. All power in heaven and on earth is given to the Church in Christ, with the keys to bind and loose entrusted to it (Matthew XXVIII). But spiritually, the heaven is shut so that it does not rain, so that the blessing does not descend on the barren earth from the Church. As the Lord said about the vineyard of His Father: I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it (Isaiah V).
And they have the power over waters, etc. They not only withhold waters but also make those that descended useless, which is to turn waters into blood. The good fragrance of Christ emanating from the Church, to some is the smell of death unto death, to others the smell of life unto life (2 Corinthians XVI).
Revelation 11:7 · 2 passages

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

And when they have finished their testimony, the beast, etc. He openly shows that all these things happen before the final persecution by saying, When they have finished their testimony, that is, the testimony they bear up to the revelation of the beast, which is to emerge in the hearts of the impious. Not that they will not continue to bear the same testimony then, strongly resisting the enemy, but that at that time the Church is believed to be deprived of the grace of virtues, while the adversary openly dazzles with signs of deceit. For want will precede his face, as the Lord says (Job XLI).
And will overcome them and kill them. He will overcome those who succumb and kill those who are slain for the name of Christ with praiseworthy patience. Or if he overcomes and kills spiritually, we will understand a part of the witnesses. As the Lord says in the Gospel: They will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you (Matthew XXIV). Which the evangelist Luke suggests in part by saying: They will kill some of you (Luke XI).
Revelation 11:8 · 2 passages

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Which is spiritually called Sodom, etc. That is, mute and dark, having neither the light of faith nor the voice of confession. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans X). These provinces were visibly struck with these plagues, that is, with devouring fire and water turned into blood, as a sign of spiritual punishment.
And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city. If they persecuted me, he says, they will also persecute you. It is therefore not surprising if the city of the impious, which did not fear to crucify the Lord, also holds His servants in derision, even those who have been killed. Such things are often recorded in ecclesiastical history.
Revelation 11:9 · 2 passages

And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

And those from the peoples and tribes, etc. He did not say: The peoples and tribes will see, but many from the peoples, who, while others believe, openly mock the saints.
And they will not allow their bodies to be laid in tombs. He spoke of their intention and opposition. Not that they are able to prevent the Church from being remembered. As: Neither do you enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in (Matthew XXIII), while they enter, though being opposed by them. But they will clearly act concerning the bodies of the living and the dead, for they will not allow the living to be gathered for sacred celebrations in memory, nor the dead to be commemorated, nor their bodies to be buried in memory of the witnesses of God.

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