Bede — Commentary on Scripture

Revelation 11:10 · 2 passages

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

For these two prophets tormented them. Because of the plagues with which the human race is scourged on account of the Testaments of God, even the sight of the righteous themselves burdens the unjust. As they themselves say: He is grievous unto us even to behold (Wisdom II).

And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them. Whenever the righteous are afflicted, the unjust rejoice and feast, just as, when the wicked prosper, the poor are inflamed.

Revelation 11:11 · 2 passages

And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

And great fear fell upon those who saw them. He spoke of all the living, for even the surviving righteous will be fearful at the resurrection of the sleeping.

And after three and a half days, the Spirit of life from God, etc. Until now, the angel has narrated what will happen, and now he introduces the event that is heard as future, that with the kingdom of the Antichrist destroyed, the saints will have risen in glory.

Revelation 11:12 · 2 passages

And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

And their enemies saw them. Here he distinguished the unjust from those whom he had said in common to have been afraid.

And they ascended to heaven in a cloud. This is what the Apostle said: We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians IV).

Revelation 11:13 · 3 passages

And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

And in that hour there was a great earthquake, etc. With the terror of the judgment impending, the entire city of the devil built upon the sand will collapse with all its builders. For both the number ten and the number seven are perfect. But if it were not, the whole would have to be understood from the part.

And the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. Who among men will boast that he has a pure heart when the powers of heaven will be shaken?

And they gave glory to the God of heaven. These are the ones built upon the rock, who, while others fall from the earthquake, glorify the Lord with a righteous confession from their stability. For the righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance of the wicked. Some interpret the two prophets as Enoch and Elijah, who, preaching for three and a half years, will strengthen the hearts of the faithful against the soon-following perfidy of the Antichrist. After they are killed, the same period of persecution will ensue, and finally, with the conflict renewed, they will be overcome by the saints, who were believed to be dead in the protection of hiding places. These same prophets are said to rise for the unity of one body, and seeing them again, those who thought them dead will face a heightened persecution, causing many of those considered worthy of the septenary or denary number to fall, as Daniel says: He will confirm a covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and in the temple will be the abomination of des…

And they gave glory to the God of heaven. These are the ones built upon the rock, who, while others fall from the earthquake, glorify the Lord with a righteous confession from their stability. For the righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance of the wicked. Some interpret the two prophets as Enoch and Elijah, who, preaching for three and a half years, will strengthen the hearts of the faithful against the soon-following perfidy of the Antichrist. After they are killed, the same period of persecution will ensue, and finally, with the conflict renewed, they will be overcome by the saints, who were believed to be dead in the protection of hiding places. These same prophets are said to rise for the unity of one body, and seeing them again, those who thought them dead will face a heightened persecution, causing many of those considered worthy of the septenary or denary number to fall, as Daniel says: He will confirm a covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and in the temple will be the abomination of desolation (Daniel IX). And later: And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days (Daniel XII). This number covers approximately three years and six months. Indeed, Elijah once destroyed his adversaries with fire and, hiding for three and a half years, withheld the rains, and finally, after the false prophets were killed, through the sacrifice that had been taken away, he turned Israel back to the Lord.

Revelation 11:14

The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

The second woe is past, and behold, the third woe comes quickly. This second woe pertains not to recapitulation but to the battle of the horses stirred by the trumpet of the sixth angel. For the eagle had predicted three woes from the voices of the three trumpets yet to come. But there, he did not say that the third would immediately follow, which pertains to the seventh angel and the end.

Revelation 11:15

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

And the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, etc. The first six trumpets, compared to the ages of this present world, announced various conflicts of wars for the Church. But the seventh, the herald of eternal Sabbath, proclaims only the victory and dominion of the true king.

Revelation 11:16

And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

And the twenty-four elders worshiped God, etc. Behold, he says, the third woe will come in the voice of the seventh angel. And when it sounded, it spoke only of the Church praising God and giving thanks. From this, we understand that the reward of the good is nothing other than the woe of the wicked.

Revelation 11:17

Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

Who are, and who were, etc. You indeed have reigned from eternity, even with the wicked rebelling, but now their fury, judged by you, will be crushed. For the Lord reigns; let the peoples be angry (Psalm XCVIII).

Revelation 11:18 · 2 passages

And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

And to destroy those who corrupt the earth. This is the final woe. Thus far concerning the seven angels blowing their trumpets, now he recapitulates from the birth of the Lord, saying the same things differently and more broadly.

And the time has come for the dead to be judged, and to reward, etc. It corresponds to the order of the gospel reading: first, all nations will be gathered before the Judge, then the righteous will be placed in the kingdom of the Father through many mansions, while the wicked, driven outside the boundaries of the kingdom, will be tormented by the flames of damnation.

Revelation 11:19 · 2 passages

And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

And the temple of God was opened in heaven, etc. The temple of the Lord, once situated on earth, covered the ark of the covenant under a mystical veil; but now in the Church, which is the temple of the living God, whose citizenship is in heaven (Philippians III), with the veil of the old temple and the middle wall of partition torn apart by the Lord’s blood, the ark of His Incarnation is now revealed to the whole world. For just as heavenly manna in pure gold, so is divinity in the holy body.

And there were lightnings, voices, etc. All these are the virtues of the Church's illumination, proclamation, and wars. He mentioned these as having occurred in the description of the preaching of the seven angels from the advent of the Lord, when He stood upon the altar, but generally from the beginning to the end. Then he described in parts how they were done: thus also now, saying that the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the battles followed, stating:

Revelation 12:1 · 3 passages

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

And upon her head a crown of twelve stars. The Church is adorned with the number of the twelve apostles on its head, whether you understand Christ, or the very beginning of the nascent Church designated by the name of the head. You have set a crown of precious stones upon his head (Psalm XXI).

The woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet. The Church of Christ, clothed in light, tramples upon temporal glory: In his days shall righteousness flourish, and abundance of peace until the moon be no more (Psalm LXXII). That is, the abundance of peace will grow until it consumes all the changeableness of mortality, when the last enemy, death, is destroyed (1 Corinthians XV). Or, because the same Church, partly in heaven, enjoys Christ the sun, partly on earth, journeys away from the Lord. This can be understood by the phrase: His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me (Song of Songs VIII).

And a great sign appeared in heaven. What now also appears in the Church: God becoming man.