Oecumenius

Of the righteous, having been deemed worthy of the blessed end [λήξεως], as it is said to me concerning the release of the sixth seal at the fulfilment, like those who are also caught up before the Lord's coming in the clouds, into the air so that they may meet the coming Lord according to the testimony of the apostle presented to me there (1 Thess. 4:17), the vision then proceeds to the end of the rest of humanity and to the punishment of sinners. When a complete defeat is about to occur, various forms of death and the punishment of the impious will inevitably follow; most of these will be brought about by fire, for on that day fire is destined to reveal itself, as the divine apostle wrote to the Corinthians in his first epistle. (1 Cor. 3:13) For if there are many abodes of rest, as the Lord says (Jn. 14:2), and different places of punishment, the same trumpets that bring death to those on earth will also afterward awaken the dead.

What then does it mean when the first angel sounded the trumpet, and hail and fire are cast down upon the earth? One who considers this literally will not stray from the correct interpretation; and if one understands it figuratively, nothing inappropriate will be said. The fire in this context signifies destruction and deep suffering; it represents the pain of sinners who see the saints "caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord," (1 Thess. 4:17) while they themselves remain on earth dishonored and deemed unworthy of any consideration.

For the word metaphorically refers to sinners as trees and grass burning, because of their folly, and the insensibility of the soul, which is wooden and suitable for burning.

The divine apostle writes to the Romans, saying: "that creation was subjected to futility, not willingly but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself will be set free from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Rom. 8:20-21)

But when will it be freed? When there will be "new heavens and a new earth according to His promises," as Peter proclaims to us, writing in his second epistle. (2 Peter 3:13) In order for the earth, when it is renewed, to be freed from corruption and to become new, it is necessary that the sea also undergo this transformation; for the sea is within the earth. And how could it be purified itself, except through the cleansing of fire? Therefore, fire having fallen into it, it transformed the sea into blood, and killed a third of those within it. This, then, in relation to the letter and the perceptible, you might also conceive of as the sea, both by analogy and according to the laws of transformation, representing the present life because of the turmoil within it and the varied distractions; and fish and ships, symbolizing people immersed in the salty and bitter mud of sins, who, overwhelmed by sorrows, will ultimately fall into fruitless regrets over the lives they have lived.

We have been taught by Joel the prophet that "the sun" will turn "into darkness, and the moon into blood before the coming of the day of the Lord, the great and glorious day." (Joel 2:31) This will happen when all these things take place. And Peter said in the second of his epistles: "The day of the Lord will come like a thief, during which the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved by fire." (2 Peter 3:10) But the Lord himself, according to Matthew (24:29), says that "immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven."

These things are now also taught through Revelation to occur at the end of the present age. But what does it mean that not all things on the earth, and in the sea and rivers, and also the elements in the heavens mentioned, will endure suffering, but only a third of them? This too is a precise demonstration of God's love for humanity, calling to repentance those people then living who are affected partially, not all the elements; and for those who do not turn back, it brings about total destruction thereafter. Such a thing the prophet also says: "he made a path by his anger, not sparing their souls from death." (Ps. 78:50) For the partial and gradual manifestation of God's wrath, as if proceeding along a road, is a door opened by repentance, calling people through the fear of what is happening to change their minds. But if this does not advance among them, he does not spare their souls from death.

And it was said to them "that they should not harm the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, except for the" humans alone, "who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads", because the earth is undergoing a renewal. For it is said somewhere that "if you send forth your spirit, they shall be created, and you will renew the face of the earth." (Ps. 104:30) It was no longer good to strike any of the creatures that inhabit the earth, neither "tree" nor any of the growing things, except only the humans; and among the humans, "those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads".

For among the humans, some are entirely holy and pure, having taken possession of the space mentioned earlier, always united with Christ, and beholding the divine throne. Yet they are nevertheless holy, having been baptized, and bearing the sign of Christ "on their foreheads", and not entirely despairing, though they have deeply defiled themselves by the absurdity of their actions; but, because of their baptism, as if being somewhat intermediate, they remain on earth in both virtue and vice, yet unpunished. For if this were not so, how could those who are well-disposed manage the entrusted resources? It has been said by the Lord, "He who has authority over ten cities," and another "over five cities." (Luke 19:17, 19.) As those who are about to rule the less capable, and yet the rulers remain completely unpunished. For who would choose to rule if they were to be punished and relentlessly hear the gnashing of teeth, and the inconsolable weeping (not of the holy ones, I do not say, but not even of ordinary people who nonetheless sympathize) unless he himself were also about to suffer similarly to those being punished for the sake of those under his care?

The third fate of humans is indeed handed over to punishment, being sinners and impious, and not accepting the faith of Christ. Therefore, it is said that these people are struck; for they are not sealed with "the seal of God."

Could it be that some of the Fathers accepted the concept of restoration [ἀποκατάστασιν] from this point onward, saying that sinners are punished only up to this time, but thereafter no longer, as if they have been purified by the punishment? But what should be done regarding the many others among the Fathers, and the approved Scriptures, which speak of the punishments of those who were then being punished as eternal?

What then might one say, or how should one regulate the parts? One must blend the opinions of both sides. I say this as in a kind of exercise, and not as a definitive statement; for I add to the doctrine of the Church that which wishes the punishments in the future to be eternal, since even this was said by the Lord in the Gospel according to Matthew, saying, "And these will go away into eternal punishment" (Matt. 25:46); and Isaiah said, "Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched." (Isa. 66:24)

As in an exercise, therefore, this must be said: a middle portion of each part of the path is to be marked out, because until a certain time—"five months", as the present Revelation, having employed a certain secret number, has said—the sinners will be severely "tormented" "as if" stung "by a scorpion"; but after this, gradually, although we will not be entirely free from punishment, it will be to such an extent that we "will seek death and not find it".

For who would have a need to seek death for those who are not punished at all? "Death", he says, "will flee from them", for they share in punishment eternally.

Who then is "the voice that was heard from the horns of the altar"? It says, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." The divine Scripture calls the apostate an angel, and I say it is Satan and those who have rebelled with him. For indeed, he has been handed over to us as if they are kept "in eternal chains under darkness," (Jude 6) and as if they are condemned to the abyss of the sea.

For in the second epistle of Peter it says, "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them into chains of gloomy Tartarus, delivering them to be kept for judgment," (2 Peter 2:4) and in the epistle of Jude it refers to angels who "did not keep their own position, but left their own dwelling, in eternal chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day." (Jude 6) Indeed, the book of Job in the sea says that the apostate has been defiled in various ways by altering his form, size, and the bitterness of his character; and it also states that "he is mocked by the angels of God." (Job 41:25)

And Isaiah also cried out concerning him that "the sword of God will be brought down upon the dragon, the fleeing serpent, upon the crooked serpent; and he will destroy the dragon on that day who is in the sea." (Isa. 27:1) And the prophet, speaking about him after all creatures have passed away, adds this concerning those who are in the sea: "This dragon which you have fashioned to mock him" (Ps. 104:26); following these words, the divine prophet Ezekiel also speaks concerning the Egyptian, saying: "You are like a lion among the nations, and like a dragon in the sea, and you mingle with your rivers." (Ezek. 32:2)

No one, indeed, has transmitted a tradition to us that they were "bound in the Euphrates River", nor will they ever be released, nor will people be punished through them. For Jude, who said that they are "bound with eternal chains," forbade that they should ever be loosed; and the one who said through Isaiah that the Dragon in the sea will be destroyed on the day of judgment, declared that no one else would destroy him but that very one. And the Lord, sending forth in the Gospels those who have sinned into "the fire prepared for the Devil and his angels," (Matt. 25:41) declared that He would use them as punishers and executors of justice, and that they themselves are destined to suffer punishment. How then could one understand the previously mentioned statement that they are "bound in the river Euphrates" and that they will be released and will themselves punish the sinners? I believe that what was said is metaphorical, as if it were a law established for every vision; for I consider that it refers to the angels who are bound to the divine contemplation that spiritually delights God.

The "river" is allegorically used to represent the divine, both by Isaiah, who says, "Behold, I will turn toward them like a river of peace, and like torrents washing over the glory of nations," (Isa. 66:12) and by the prophet, who states, "The impulses of the river delight the city of God." (Ps. 46:4)

And the Lord Himself said to John, in the twentieth section concerning the Spirit, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from his belly." (Jn. 7:38-39) He says that these are those released from the vision of God, sent as punishment to the impious; for he says these are the ones who are condemned for the present day.

Then, which "four angels" does he mention? Perhaps those narrated in Scripture: Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael.