TRV
Oecumenius
Medieval · AD 800–1500
987 passages across 19 books of the Bible · Who was this?
On Revelation
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Revelation 14:13
Blessed are those who are not permitted to worship the image of the beast nor to receive the mark upon their forehead and their hand, and because of this are put to death; for these, having taken up the crown of martyrdom, attain the same end as the other martyrs.
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Revelation 14:14
He sees the Lord who was worthy to become the Son of man, riding a cloud. It was truly a cloud, since the Gospel also says this, that which I have offered as demonstration above is of some angelic power; or it is written, "and he mounted upon the cherubim and flew; he sped upon the wings of the wind." (Ps. 18:10) He calls the angels a cloud, because of the loftiness and exalted nature and worth of their being; or at least he calls the Mother of God a cloud upon whom honor rests, and this mother according to the flesh; for so Isaiah likewise foresees her, saying, "Behold, the Lord sits upon a swift cloud, and he will come into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall tremble before his face." (Isa. 19:1) Interpreting this statement, Aquila says that the cloud is of light thickness; thick, as I think, because it is human and flesh, but light because it is pure and blameless and not burdened by any sin, and also because of the exalted and heaven-reaching nature of the soul. Therefore, you should understand the cloud; white because of the purity and the luminous appearance of the things perce…
He sees the Lord who was worthy to become the Son of man, riding a cloud. It was truly a cloud, since the Gospel also says this, that which I have offered as demonstration above is of some angelic power; or it is written, "and he mounted upon the cherubim and flew; he sped upon the wings of the wind." (Ps. 18:10) He calls the angels a cloud, because of the loftiness and exalted nature and worth of their being; or at least he calls the Mother of God a cloud upon whom honor rests, and this mother according to the flesh; for so Isaiah likewise foresees her, saying, "Behold, the Lord sits upon a swift cloud, and he will come into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall tremble before his face." (Isa. 19:1) Interpreting this statement, Aquila says that the cloud is of light thickness; thick, as I think, because it is human and flesh, but light because it is pure and blameless and not burdened by any sin, and also because of the exalted and heaven-reaching nature of the soul. Therefore, you should understand the cloud; white because of the purity and the luminous appearance of the things perceived.
But the crown signifies the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ; for Christ is King of both the spiritual and the sensible, and the crown of gold, from the precious things among us, sets forth the splendor of the kingdom.
And the sickle shown in his hand plainly indicates that in his power he sits over the end of the age. -
Revelation 14:15-16
And the angel said to him, Send forth your sickle, and reap: for the time to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he says he cast his sickle upon the earth and it was reaped? A harvest is often spoken of in the Gospels; "but the workers are few." (Matt. 9:37; Luke 10:2) There, the harvest signified the gathering of the faithful; here, it signifies the end of humanity, so that if any in them were chaff, unripe and worthy of fire, it would be delivered to the fire.
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Revelation 14:17
The angel who has the sickle, who came forth from the heavenly temple, is himself also a minister and servant of the coming end. Being heavenly and a minister of God, having come forth from the heavenly temple he is described.
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Revelation 14:18
And another, it is said, an angel from the altar who had power over fire. And this, I understand, is appointed for the punishment of the ungodly. Then he says, send and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth. Now the previously mentioned (Rev. 14:15) harvest represents the righteous and the sinners being gathered together at the same time, whose separation "the Lord's winnowing fan will make, who will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor; and he will gather the wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire," as is said in the Gospels. (Matt. 3:12; Luke 9:17) But the vintage of the grapes plainly signifies the very lawless ones, from their drunkenness and the madness of the vision depicting them; and it is clear from these that neither the Lord deems them worthy to be gathered as the former, but some of the angels, and they are immediately cast out into the winepress of the wrath of God, not being granted defense nor asked, nor brought to judgment, as sinners also are introduced in the Gospels (Matt. 25:46; Luke 16:19-31), for whom the inexhaust…
And another, it is said, an angel from the altar who had power over fire. And this, I understand, is appointed for the punishment of the ungodly.
Then he says, send and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth. Now the previously mentioned (Rev. 14:15) harvest represents the righteous and the sinners being gathered together at the same time, whose separation "the Lord's winnowing fan will make, who will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor; and he will gather the wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire," as is said in the Gospels. (Matt. 3:12; Luke 9:17) But the vintage of the grapes plainly signifies the very lawless ones, from their drunkenness and the madness of the vision depicting them; and it is clear from these that neither the Lord deems them worthy to be gathered as the former, but some of the angels, and they are immediately cast out into the winepress of the wrath of God, not being granted defense nor asked, nor brought to judgment, as sinners also are introduced in the Gospels (Matt. 25:46; Luke 16:19-31), for whom the inexhaustible and unshared cause has become the reason of punishment. Concerning these things I think the prophet says that "the wicked shall not be raised in judgment." (Ps. 1:5) He has appropriately called the punishment a winepress by the metaphor of grapes and the harvest. -
Revelation 14:20
And he says the winepress was trodden outside of the city; for it was not lawful that those being punished should receive the returns of evils and defile the joy of the holy ones in the heavenly Jerusalem, which has been called out, through sympathy for those rightly punished, not that a great chasm does not separate the pious from the impious according to the words of the patriarch Abraham, which he made toward the rich in the Gospels. (Luke 16:26) And blood, it says, flowed from the winepress. He rightly said blood, to show that having spoken of a cluster of grapes he had spoken metaphorically, since indeed the sufferers and the thrashers were people, and they thresh with the bridles of horses for a thousand six hundred stadia, he says. Certain horses of God are handed over to us in the divine Scripture, signifying angelic power that holds God's dominion; for he says in the Song of Songs to the bride, "The heavenly bridegroom I likened to my horse in Pharaoh's chariot, the near one, my near one." (Song 1:9) And the prophet Habakkuk sings to God that he will "mount upon your horses…
And he says the winepress was trodden outside of the city; for it was not lawful that those being punished should receive the returns of evils and defile the joy of the holy ones in the heavenly Jerusalem, which has been called out, through sympathy for those rightly punished, not that a great chasm does not separate the pious from the impious according to the words of the patriarch Abraham, which he made toward the rich in the Gospels. (Luke 16:26)
And blood, it says, flowed from the winepress. He rightly said blood, to show that having spoken of a cluster of grapes he had spoken metaphorically, since indeed the sufferers and the thrashers were people, and they thresh with the bridles of horses for a thousand six hundred stadia, he says. Certain horses of God are handed over to us in the divine Scripture, signifying angelic power that holds God's dominion; for he says in the Song of Songs to the bride, "The heavenly bridegroom I likened to my horse in Pharaoh's chariot, the near one, my near one." (Song 1:9) And the prophet Habakkuk sings to God that he will "mount upon your horses, and your cavalry is salvation." (Hab. 3:8) The Revelation says that the bridles of these horses are wet with the blood of sinners, not nearby but standing apart by length; and the whole statement is figurative, the riddle showing that the blood is so great. For those who travel the broad way are far more numerous than those on the narrow and pressed path (Matt. 7:14), just as those bridles might well be soaked from the horses set over punishment, whether of angels or whatever else. -
Revelation 15:1
He saw, he says, seven angels having seven plagues. Seven, he says, are the many, the ones prepared against the sinners, by which the wrath of God receives its completion.
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Revelation 15:2
And he saw, he says, a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the glassy sea, having the harps of God. He says somewhere in his own words the wisest Paul: "If anyone builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will be tested by fire; for it will be revealed by fire." (1 Cor. 3:12-13) So then will not only the wicked, who heap upon themselves the careless burdens of sin, but also the righteous be tested by fire, even though they bring gold and the precious materials? This is what he now says: those who have conquered the beast in every way, standing on the sea made of glass mingled with fire, glass because of the brilliant and pure nature of the righteous in it, mingled with fire because of the smoky and purifying influence of every kind of filth, since even the righteous need purification. For we all sin in many ways according to what is written (James 3:2); "and who will be clean from defilement? But not even if his life upon the earth should be one…
And he saw, he says, a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the glassy sea, having the harps of God. He says somewhere in his own words the wisest Paul: "If anyone builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will be tested by fire; for it will be revealed by fire." (1 Cor. 3:12-13)
So then will not only the wicked, who heap upon themselves the careless burdens of sin, but also the righteous be tested by fire, even though they bring gold and the precious materials? This is what he now says: those who have conquered the beast in every way, standing on the sea made of glass mingled with fire, glass because of the brilliant and pure nature of the righteous in it, mingled with fire because of the smoky and purifying influence of every kind of filth, since even the righteous need purification. For we all sin in many ways according to what is written (James 3:2); "and who will be clean from defilement? But not even if his life upon the earth should be one day." (Job 14:4-5) -
Revelation 15:3
The harps, as has often been said, signify the sweet-sounding hymn of the saints to God.
And he says, let us sing that song of Moses, the one which he sang when the host of Pharaoh was drowned, "let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously glorified; he cast horse and rider into the sea; he became to me a helper and a cover for salvation." (Ex. 15:1-2) And the song is a victory-song concerning the punishment of the ungodly and the victory against the Devil and the son of lawlessness, the Antichrist. And he calls the song of the Lamb that which is fitting, namely toward the Lord and toward his righteous judgment against the ungodly; therefore they admire the truth and the righteousness of the Lord. -
Revelation 15:4
He says that Christ is indeed King of all nations, but since it is said to Isaiah: "and the root of Jesse and the one who rises to rule the nations, upon him the nations shall hope," (Isa. 11:10) therefore for this reason the vision also calls him King of the nations and that all the peoples shall come and worship him, appropriately announcing beforehand the calling of the nations and their faith toward the Lord.
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Revelation 15:5
The tent of testimony, the tent that had been compacted in the wilderness, that tent which Bezalel the chief craftsperson of the works then made had the custom to call in the divine Scripture (see Ex. 35:30), because it was the tent of the testimonies and commandments of God. For there was the ark of the covenant, the mercy seat, the table, the altars of incense and of offerings, the lampstand (see Ex. 31:7-8), and all that God commanded the divine Moses to construct, saying, "and you shall make for me according to all that I show you on the mountain" (Ex. 25:9); and by metaphor from the ancient tent and also the heavenly temple which is what it is called, it was named the tent of testimony.
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Revelation 15:6
From there, the seven angels, he says, came out. For where else should the heavenly ministers of God be seen as coming forth but from the heavenly temple? And he says they had in their hands seven plagues which they would pour out upon the earth. For many signs will occur on the earth in the time of the end; of these even Christ recalled in the Gospels, teaching concerning the end (Mark 13). But that the angels are clothed in a bright, pure stone turns out to be a sign of their honor and of a nature that is pure and luminous and steadfastly inclined toward the good, if indeed they were clothed with Christ. For the Lord is called a stone by divine Scripture, as by Isaiah: "Behold, I lay in Zion a precious, chosen stone in the foundations" (Isa. 28:16); and by the prophet: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner." (Ps. 118:22) That the stone be put on, and the wisest Paul exhorts us likewise: to "put on our" stone "Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh" (Rom. 13:14); for he who has put this on is outside all soul-destroying…
From there, the seven angels, he says, came out. For where else should the heavenly ministers of God be seen as coming forth but from the heavenly temple?
And he says they had in their hands seven plagues which they would pour out upon the earth. For many signs will occur on the earth in the time of the end; of these even Christ recalled in the Gospels, teaching concerning the end (Mark 13).
But that the angels are clothed in a bright, pure stone turns out to be a sign of their honor and of a nature that is pure and luminous and steadfastly inclined toward the good, if indeed they were clothed with Christ. For the Lord is called a stone by divine Scripture, as by Isaiah: "Behold, I lay in Zion a precious, chosen stone in the foundations" (Isa. 28:16); and by the prophet: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner." (Ps. 118:22) That the stone be put on, and the wisest Paul exhorts us likewise: to "put on our" stone "Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh" (Rom. 13:14); for he who has put this on is outside all soul-destroying desires. And as for those living, their practical matters and stability are hinted at; for it has been said concerning them that, "they are mighty, doing His word with strength." -
Revelation 15:7
These then are the seven angels taken from one of the four living creatures, before whom there is much said, the wrath of God in seven golden bowls.
Golden is well said; for the wrath of God is honorable too, bearing good and advantage in itself rather than justice, even if those punished are made to faint. -
Revelation 15:8
And the temple, he says, was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. The smoke is an emblem of divine wrath. For it is written, "smoke went up in his anger." (Ps. 18:8) The smoke, however, is suggestive of fire, yet also the smoke which the prophet Isaiah saw, where he says, "and the joist shook because of the voice with which the Seraphim cried out 'holy,' and the house was filled with smoke." (Isa. 6:4) He revealed the wrath of God against Jerusalem. And the phrase smoke from the glory of God and from his power has a certain figurative meaning, as if one would say: "it was filled with smoke from the wrath of God," for God is power and glory itself; and who could endure his wrath? And no one, he says, could enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled; for who will withstand the wrath of God, or live after being subject to it? For if no one stood in the place of the Lord, according to what is written (Jer. 23:18), then indeed he would spare not to bring down the wrath of God. And I heard, so he says, a command issuing forth…
And the temple, he says, was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. The smoke is an emblem of divine wrath. For it is written, "smoke went up in his anger." (Ps. 18:8) The smoke, however, is suggestive of fire, yet also the smoke which the prophet Isaiah saw, where he says, "and the joist shook because of the voice with which the Seraphim cried out 'holy,' and the house was filled with smoke." (Isa. 6:4) He revealed the wrath of God against Jerusalem.
And the phrase smoke from the glory of God and from his power has a certain figurative meaning, as if one would say: "it was filled with smoke from the wrath of God," for God is power and glory itself; and who could endure his wrath?
And no one, he says, could enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled; for who will withstand the wrath of God, or live after being subject to it?
For if no one stood in the place of the Lord, according to what is written (Jer. 23:18), then indeed he would spare not to bring down the wrath of God. And I heard, so he says, a command issuing forth, that the seven bowls of the divine wrath be poured out upon the earth. -
Revelation 16:2
These things could be understood in two ways: either as events that will occur sensibly at the time of the end, or allegorically. For when the Lord, addressing the signs of the end to his own disciples, set forth many of the evils that were then to occur, saying "you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. And there will arise nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in places; and all these are the beginning of birth-pains, and after a little while, for then there will be a great tribulation such as has not occurred from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be." (Matt. 24:6-8)
If the things now said were to be interpreted as having happened when each of the seven bowls is poured out, the beginning of the suffering and the pains signified by the sore that arose from the first bowl would be the afflictions and anguishes that distress the souls of men then because of the reports of wars. -
Revelation 16:3
The blood of the sea and waters plainly indicate the killings of those encamped near the waters in land battles, as is natural.
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Revelation 16:4
The blood of the sea and waters plainly indicate the killings of those encamped near the waters in land battles, as is natural.
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Revelation 16:5
And I heard, he says, the angel of the waters speaking. Almighty is God and foreseeing of His creatures and sufficient for the benefit of all, so that there is no need for any collaborator for this; for where the mere willing is the sole work accomplished and where by the impulse of the will all things have been made existent, how could there be need of one who assists and partakes in the conferring of benefits? But since God is good and desires also to show kindness to the holy angels through assistance given to those who pray, for by aiding one who is in need one benefits not so much that other as oneself, and because there was no one among the angelic powers who was in want and in need of assistance from another, God appointed that those on earth who are in every respect needy of good should be provided for by the holy angels. Therefore, in previous passages (see Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14) we recognized angels as the guardians of the churches, and Daniel the wisest wrote that Michael, the chief among angels, watches over the tribe of the Jews. (Dan. 12:1) And now the Revela…
And I heard, he says, the angel of the waters speaking. Almighty is God and foreseeing of His creatures and sufficient for the benefit of all, so that there is no need for any collaborator for this; for where the mere willing is the sole work accomplished and where by the impulse of the will all things have been made existent, how could there be need of one who assists and partakes in the conferring of benefits? But since God is good and desires also to show kindness to the holy angels through assistance given to those who pray, for by aiding one who is in need one benefits not so much that other as oneself, and because there was no one among the angelic powers who was in want and in need of assistance from another, God appointed that those on earth who are in every respect needy of good should be provided for by the holy angels.
Therefore, in previous passages (see Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14) we recognized angels as the guardians of the churches, and Daniel the wisest wrote that Michael, the chief among angels, watches over the tribe of the Jews. (Dan. 12:1) And now the Revelation recounts to us an angel appointed over the waters. For the earthly creation, composed of the four elements, has the air conjoined with fire, earth, and water. For some among the heavens wished to be fashioned into a fifth kind of body, which they say it is ethereal and circular in its motion; the three elements, fire and earth and air, are lavishly diffused for the purposes of respiration and other common uses. That indeed fire, though the element is said to saturate the whole ether, is abundant and self-sufficient upon the earth, and dwells in its cavities and stones; and already some draw fire from waters in vessels lined with glass, whenever, when lifted up toward the sun, they become mirrors facing it.
But the earth is common to all, a mother and a tomb and a secure dwelling. Yet the water is not abundant for everyone: there is drinkable water in springs, fountains, wells and rivers, and the aerial water retained in the clouds in the heights gives us timely rain by divine command and nourishes every living thing on the earth. Since therefore water is not abundant for all, one of the holy angels has been appointed over it, so that it may be provided sufficient and adequate for the needs of those who lack it, which indeed often, through our wickedness, cuts off and causes scarcity, famines and the plagues that follow them.
Of this angel, appointed by God's providence over the waters, I heard him say: Righteous are you, who are and who was and who are holy. That "who are," then, shows the unending nature of God; and that "who was," the one without beginning; and He "who is" holy is righteous in all things through all things. -
Revelation 16:6
Because he says these things you have judged, for they shed the blood of saints may drink blood; for it is necessary that those encamped by the waters and the rivers in time of war should drink water defiled with blood from the slaying of the dying.
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Revelation 16:7
To which an angel likewise sends up thanksgiving and those who circle the heavenly altar. For I heard the altar say this, indicating those who minister at the altar. May it be that we all, delivered from all the hardships spoken of, send up a thankful hymn to Christ, to whom be glory unto the ages. Amen.