Revelation 11:16

That the foundation and strength of hope and faith is fear. In the cxth Psalm: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Of the same thing in the Wisdom of Solomon: "The beginning of wisdom is to fear God." Also in the Proverbs of the same: "Blessed is the man who reverences all things with fear." Of the same thing [in Isaiah: "And upon whom else will I look, except upon him that is lowly and peaceful, and that trembleth at my words? " Of this same thing in Genesis: "And the angel of the Lord called him from heaven, and said unto him, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest thy God, and hast not spared thy beloved son for my sake." Also in the second Psalm: "Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice unto Him in trembling." Also in Deuteronomy, the word of God to Moses: "Call the people together to me, and let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they themselves shall live upon the earth." Also in Jeremiah: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perfect upon the house of Israel, and in the house of Judah, a new covenant: not according to the covenant that I had ordered with their fathers in the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; because they have not abode in my covenant, and I have been unmindful of them, saith the Lord; because this is the covenant which I will ordain for the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will give my law, and will write it in their mind and I will be to them for a God, and they shall be to me for a people. And they shall not teach every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord because all shall know me, from the least even to the greatest of them: because I will be favourable to their iniquities, and their sins I will not remember any more. If the heaven should be lifted up on high, saith the Lord, and if the earth should be made low from beneath, yet I will not cast away the people of Israel, saith the Lord, for all the things which they have done. Behold, I will gather them together from every land in which I have scattered them in anger, and in my fury, and in great indignation; and I will grind them down into that place, and I will leave them in fear; and they shall be to me for a people, and I will be to them for a God: and I will give them another way, and another heart, that they may fear me all their days in prosperity with their children: and I will perfect for them an everlasting covenant, which I will not turn away after them; and I will put my fear into their heart, that they may not depart from me: and I will visit upon them to do them good, and to plant them in their land in faith, and with all the heart, and with all the mind." Also in the Apocalypse: "And the four and twenty elders which sit on their thrones in the sight (of God), fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God omnipotent, which art and which wast; because Thou hast taken Thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time in which it should be judged concerning the dead, and the reward should be given to Thy servants the prophets, and the saints that fear Thy name, small and great; and to disperse those who have corrupted the earth." Also in the same place: "And I saw another angel flying through the midst of the heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell upon the earth, and to all the nations, and tribes, and tongues, and peoples, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Him honour, because the hour of His judgment is come; and adore Him who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Also in the same place: "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and the beasts were feeding with His lambs; and the number of His name a hundred and forty and four, standing upon the sea of glass, having the harps of God; and they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. Who would not fear Thee, and give honour to Thy name? for Thou only art holy: and because all nations shall come and worship in Thy sight, because Thy righteousnesses have been made manifest." Also in Daniel: "There was a man dwelling in Babylon whose name was Joachim; and he took a wife by name Susanna, the daughter of Helchias, a very beautiful woman, and one that feared the Lord. And her parents were righteous, and taught their daughter according to the law of Moses." Moreover, in Daniel: "And we are lowly this day in all the earth because of our sins, and there is not at this time any prince, or prophet, or leader, or burnt-offering, or oblation, or sacrifice, or incense, or place to sacrifice before Thee, and to find mercy from Thee. And yet in the soul and spirit of lowliness let us be accepted as the burnt-offerings of rams and bulls, and as it were many thousands of lambs which are fattest. If our offering may be made in Thy presence this day, their power shall be consumed, for they shall not be ashamed who put their trust in Thee. And now we follow with our whole heart, and we fear and seek Thy face. Give us not over unto reproach, but do with us according to Thy tranquillity, and according to the multitude of Thy mercy deliver us." Also in the same place: "And the king exceedingly rejoiced, and commanded Daniel to be taken up out of the den of lions; and the lions had done him no hurt, because he trusted and had believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel; and they cast them in the den of lions, and their wives and their children. And before they had reached the pavement of the den they were seized by the lions, and they brake all their bones in pieces. Then Darius the king wrote, To all peoples, tribes, and languages which are in my kingdom, peace be unto you from my face. I decree and ordain that all those who are in my kingdom shall fear and tremble before the most high God whom Daniel serves, because He is the God who liveth and abideth for ever, and His kingdom shall not pass away, and His dominion goeth on for ever; and He alone doeth signs, and prodigies, and marvellous things in the heaven and the earth, who snatched Daniel from the den of lions." Also in Micah: "Wherewith shall I approach the Lord, and lay hold upon Him? in sacrifices, in burnt-offerings, in calves of a year old? Does the Lord favour and receive me with thousands of fat goats? or shall I give my first-fruits of unrighteousness, the fruit of my belly, the sin of my soul? It is told thee, O man, what is good; or what else the Lord doth require, save that thou shouldst do judgment and justice, and love mercy, and be ready to go with the Lord thy God. The voice of the Lord shall be invoked in the city, and He will save those who fear His name." Also in Micah: "Feed Thy people with Thy rod, the sheep of Thine inheritance; and pluck up those who dwell separately in the midst of Carmel. They shall prepare Bashan and Gilead according to the days of the age; and according to the days of their going forth from the land of Egypt I will show them wonderful things. The nations shall see, and be confounded at all their might; and they shall place their hand upon their mouth. Their ears shall be deafened, and they shall lick the dust as do serpents. Dragging the earth, they shall be disturbed, and they shall lick the dust: in their end they shall be afraid towards the Lord their God, and they shall fear because of Thee. Who is a God as Thou art, raising up unrighteousness, and passing over impiety? " And in Nahum: "The mountains were moved at Him, and the hills trembled; and the earth was laid bare before His face, and all who dwell therein. From the face of His anger who shall bear it, and who withstandeth in the fury of His soul? His rage causes the beginnings to flow, and the rocks were melted by Him. The Lord is good to those who sustain Him in the day of affliction, and knoweth those who fear Him." Also in Haggai: "And Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Judah, and Jesus the son of Josedech, the high priest, and all who remained of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, because the Lord sent him to them, and the people feared from the face of God." Also in Malachi: "The covenant was with life and peace; and I gave to them the fear to fear me from the face of my name." Also in the thirty-third Psalm: "Fear the Lord, all ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him." Also in the eighteenth Psalm: "The fear of the Lord is chaste, abiding for ever."

He speaks of the beginning and the end. When he says, “You have begun to reign and the nations raged,” he indicates the first coming, for at his birth Herod and the people of Jerusalem were troubled. However, the time of the second coming is declared by wrath and judgment.… “Behold, the third woe has come,” it says. By the sound of the trumpet of the seventh angel he refers to nothing other than the church, which is praising the Lord and is in the sound of the trumpet giving thanks to him without end. And from this we understand that the rewarding of those who are good is not without the punishment of the wicked. “To reward your saints and to corrupt the corrupters of the earth,” it says. This means that [the Lord] gives to the righteous a recompense proper to their merits and to those who were corrupters he gives evil proper to their [wicked] deeds. For whoever has corrupted in himself the temple of the Lord, that is, the church of the body of Christ in baptism, he will without doubt be subjected to corruption. As the apostle said, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.”

He is now mentioning both the beginning and the end of the dispensation of Christ. For when he says, “You have begun to reign and the nations raged,” he is speaking of the first coming of Christ. But, indeed, when it follows that “your wrath has come and the time of the dead,” or as another translation has it, “at which time he will judge concerning the dead,” he is speaking of the second coming, when the saints and the prophets and those who fear his name, the small and the great and the old and the young, will receive their reward. As it says, “Your eyes beheld my imperfection, and in your book everything will be written.” And lest the wicked think that they may act with impunity, he subjects to destruction whomever has corrupted the earth. As the psalmist says, “The face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” It says that the third woe comes at the sound of the seventh angel, and when he sounded [his trumpet], only the church is mentioned as she praises the Lord and gives him thanks. And from this we learn that the recompense of the good is not apart from the woe of the wicked. And so the psalmist said, “When his wrath is quickly kindled,” certainly upon the wicked, “blessed are all those who trust in him.” And so now the church herself says, “Your wrath has come and the time for death, to reward your servants,” and following. This is the final woe. Since the bodily nativity of the Lord has been nicely recapitulated, he suggests that he is about to speak of the same things but in a different and more extensive manner.

When this voice arose, the elders worshiped God, also offering their own thanksgiving, saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was." The phrase "who is" is properly attributed to the Holy Trinity, and "who was," although primarily said concerning the Father, is also applied to the Son, for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all exist eternally. Thus, the term "who was" is rightly spoken of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the thanksgiving of the elders is dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

That you say you have taken your great power and your kingdom from those on earth, and that you alone now reign; but concerning the earthly kingdom that is perishing, it is understandable that the nations became angry, as their dominion was overthrown, referring to the orders of both the demons and the unbelieving men.

Here again he says that the holy angels and those who live as do the angels send a hymn of thanksgiving to God, because for our sake he has become worthy to receive as man that kingdom that as God he possessed from the beginning. And having been patient with the unbelieving nations who were enraged at this as though it were a new and strange teaching, at the end he brings judgment upon them.… “The time of the dead” is the time of the resurrection of the dead, at which time recompense will be given to each, one after the other. In the “prophets and saints and those who fear God” we are perhaps to recognize the three orders of those who produce fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold. However, certainly the apostles will receive the first place and sit upon the twelve thrones. We think that the “small and great” are either the lesser saints and those who are rather more preeminent than they, or the “small” are the sinners who are subjects of contempt and the “great” are the righteous.

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.

And the four and twenty ancients, who sit on their seats in the sight of God, fell on their faces. Concerning the ancients, it has already been said that they signify the preachers, because a genus should be understood in the species. It is right for them to be twenty-four because of the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles. By the seats and the ancients is understood one seat, that of Christ, consisting of superiors and inferiors. It is right to say that the ancients sit in the sight of God, because, when they examine the actions of their inferiors, they do not seek thereby human gratitude, but God's glory. They fall on their faces because they attribute all good not to themselves, but to God. And adored God, saying: We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who wast, and who art. By the fact that they do not say “who art to come,” it is made clear that all this will be said or done at the last judgment. As for what follows, because thou hast received thy great power, and the nations were angry, it refers to his first coming. He received in his humanity the great power he has always had by his divinity. On the other hand, what is said next, because thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, refers to his second coming. Yet since the Lord says, Love your enemies, [Matt. 5:44 and Luke 6:27/35] how can it be said that these people are giving thanks for the coming of his wrath against the reprobates? Therefore they are not rejoicing at the destruction of the wicked, but at their own resurrection and glorification, which they know cannot possibly be fulfilled unless the damnation of the wicked comes first. It is according to this interpretation that the souls of the slain under the altar of God are said to cry, How long, O Lord, etc.; [Rev. 6:10] for they are not asking for revenge, but to be themselves rewarded after revenge has been taken on the wicked. Hence the Psalmist: The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge. [Ps. 57:11] The Judge's wrath does not mean a perturbation of the mind, but its straightness. So one shall see him such as one's own conscience is like. That thou shouldest judge them, and render reward to thy servants the prophets and the saints, and to them that fear thy name, little and great. When the apostle says that we are saved by grace, [Eph. 2:8] how can the Lord be said here to render reward? One should know then that when the Lord renders reward to his servants, it is his own gifts that he rewards in them, for we could not have any work worthy of reward if we had not received from him the ability to do works. Note also that by the name of prophets are represented the apostles. Meanwhile, let no one despair on account of their imperfection, if they nonetheless strive to do perfect things but do not succeed; because even the little ones shall obtain that reward; whence blessed Job: The small and great are there. [Job 3:19] And shouldest banish them who have corrupted the earth. They are said to be banished rather than killed so as to show the everlasting exile of damnation, their eternal indigence. To corrupt the earth is to pervert one's life with wicked works. So it is from this that the third woe of the wicked results, about which it was foretold that it would come quickly with the seventh angel.