ഉള്ളടക്കത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുക

Commentary

Revelation 6:5

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

In the black horse we recognize an evil people which works in concert with the devil. “He had a balance in his hand,” which indicates that while evil persons feign to have the scales of justice, they deceive many.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 6:5, HOMILY 5

Revelation 6:6

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

The wine is to be interpreted as the blood of Christ, and the oil as the unction of chrismation.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 6:6

Revelation 6:8

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

In the pale horse we perceive evil people who never cease to incite persecutions. And these three horses are one, who came out after the white horse and against it. And they have as their rider the devil, who is death. And so, the three horses are interpreted to be war, famine, and pestilence. For in the Gospel, the Lord foretold of these things, and they have already occurred, and as the day of judgment draws nearer will occur even more.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 6:8, HOMILY 5

Revelation 6:15-17

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

This signifies that the whole world, among the good and the saints, is going to find refuge in the church, so that made firm under [the church’s] protection it is able to endure unto eternal life, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 6:15, HOMILY 5

Revelation 7:9 · 2 passages

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

He did not say, “After this I saw another people,” but “I saw a people,” that is, the same people that he had seen in the mystery of the 144,000, which he now sees as without number from every tribe and tongue and nation. For by believing, all nations have been engrafted into the root. In the Gospel the Lord showed forth in the [figure of the] twelve tribes the whole church both from the Jews and from the Gentiles. He said, “You will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 7:9, HOMILY 6

By the white robes he means the gift of the Holy Spirit.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 7:9, HOMILY 6

Revelation 7:14

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

These are not, as some think, only martyrs, but rather the whole people in the church. For it does not say that they washed their robes in their own blood but in the blood of the Lamb, that is, in the grace of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. As it is written, “And the blood of his Son has cleansed us.”

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 7:14, HOMILY 6

Revelation 8:5

And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

Jesus received his body, that is, the church, and he filled her with the fire of the Holy Spirit in order that the will of the Father might be fulfilled. “And there were voices and thunder and lightning and earthquakes.” All of these things are the spiritual proclamations and virtues of the church.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 8:5, HOMILY 6

Revelation 8:11

And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

A third part of humankind was made like the star that fell upon it.… Many die from the waters. This can manifestly be interpreted to refer to those who are rebaptized.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 8:11, HOMILY 6

Revelation 9:2

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

[The devil] revealed his own heart, which sins without any fear or shame. “And smoke rose from the pit,” that is, from a people that covers and obscures the church, so that it is said that “the sun and air were darkened with the smoke.” It says that the sun was darkened, not that it fell to the earth. For the sins of evil and prideful persons, which are constantly being committed throughout the world, obscure the sun, that is, obscure the church and sometimes cause darkness for the saints and the righteous. For the number of the evil is so great that it is often with great difficulty that the good among them become evident.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 9:2, HOMILY 7

Revelation 9:5

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

There are two parts in the church, one part of those who are good and one part of those who are evil. The one part is persecuted in order that it might be corrected; the other part is given up to its own desires. A part of those who are good is handed over to humiliation that they might know the righteousness of God and might remember penance, as it is written, “It is good that you have humbled me, that I might know your righteous deeds.” [The torture like a sting of a scorpion] occurs when the devil draws near through the poison of transgressions and sins.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 9:4, HOMILY 7

Revelation 9:13

And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

In the altar that is in the sight of God we are to understand the church. In the time of the last persecution she will despise the words and commands of that most inhumane of kings and will separate from those who have submitted to him.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 9:13, HOMILY 7

Revelation 9:18-19

By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

[The smoke, fire, and sulphur from their mouths] are the blasphemies that proceed from their mouths against God. “Their tails are like serpents.” The leaders [of the heretics] we call “tails,” and the rulers of the world we call “heads.” It is through these that the devil does his harm, and without these he is not able to do harm. For either irreligious kings do harm by an evil exercise of authority, or worldly prelates do harm by teaching badly.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 9:18-19, HOMILY 7

Revelation 10:9-10

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.

“It will be sweet in your mouth but bitter in your stomach.” By the mouth we are to understand the good and spiritual Christians, while by the stomach we understand the carnal and dissolute. And so it is that when the word of God is preached, it is sweet to the spiritual, but to the carnal, whose “god is the belly” as the apostle says, it seems bitter and harsh.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:10, HOMILY 8

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.

Should anyone harm the church or wish to harm her, through the prayers of her mouth he shall be consumed by a divine fire either in the present age for his correction or in the future age for his damnation.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 11:5, HOMILY 8

Revelation 12:1

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:

[The moon under her feet] refers to the hypocrites and evil Christians which the church has under her feet.… The twelve stars are to be interpreted as the twelve apostles. That the woman is clothed in the sun signifies her hope in the resurrection. For this reason it is written, “then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE 12:1, HOMILY 9

Revelation 12:4

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

The tail symbolizes the evil prophets, that is, heretics who threw down to earth those stars of heaven who joined them through a repeated baptism. They are under the feet of the woman. Many believed that these are persons whom the devil made his companions since they were of the same mind as he. Many believe that these are angels who were thrown down with him when he fell.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:4, HOMILY 9

Revelation 12:6

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

We understand the wilderness to be this world where Christ feeds and leads the church unto the end. In this world the church herself tramples under foot through the help of Christ haughty and impious persons as though they were scorpions and vipers and all the power of Satan.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:6, HOMILY 9

Revelation 12:9

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The devil, as well as every unclean spirit along with their leader, were expelled from the hearts of the saints to the earth, that is, to persons who are wise only in earthly things and have their entire hope in earthly things.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:9, HOMILY 9

Revelation 12:12

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

It says “come down” to preserve the allegory. As all are in “heaven,” that is, in the church, which is rightly called heaven, when the devil is thrown out of the saints, he “comes down” to his followers who are the “earth” because of their earthly affection. He is said to be thrown out of heaven, not so that he might come to those who have already been made heaven but because of those who have not become what they might be. For the saints cannot become heaven, unless the devil has been expelled.

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:12, HOMILY 9

All writers