They that have overcome the beast glorify God. Of the seven angels with the seven vials.
2 They that had novv ouercome the beast and his image and the number of his name, do glorifie God. 6 To seuen Angels hauing the seuen last plagues, are giuen seuen cuppes full of the vvrath of God.
1And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful: seven angels having the seven last plagues. For in them is filled up the wrath of God.E vidi un altro prodigio grande, e mirabile nel cielo, sette Angeli, che portavano le sette piaghe ultime: perché con queste si sazia l'ira di Dio.AND I savv an other signe in heauen great and maruelous: seuen Angels hauing the seuen last plagues. Because in them the wrath of God is consummate.Et vidi aliud signum in cælo magnum et mirabile, angelos septem, habentes plagas septem novissimas: quoniam in illis consummata est ira Dei. 2And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God:E vidi come un mare di vetro misto di fuoco, e quelli, che hanno vinta la bestia, e la sua immagine, e il numero del nome di essa, stanno sul mare di vetro, tenendo cetere divine:And I savv as it vvere a sea of glasse mingled vvith fire, and them that ouercame the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing vpon the sea of glasse, hauing the harpes of God:Et vidi tamquam mare vitreum mistum igne, et eos, qui vicerunt bestiam, et imaginem ejus, et numerum nominis ejus, stantes super mare vitreum, habentes citharas Dei: 3And singing the canticle of Moses, the servant of God, and the canticle of the Lamb, saying: Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty. Just and true are thy ways, O King of ages.E cantavano il cantico di Mosè servo di Dio, e il cantico dell'Agnello, dicendo: grandi, e mirabili sono le opere tue, Signore Dio onnipotente: giuste, e vere sono le tue vie, o Re de' secoli.and singing the song of Moyses the seruant of God, and the song of the Lambe, saying, Great and maruelous are thy vvorkes Lord God omnipotent: iust and true are thy vvaies King of the vvorldes'.et cantantes canticum Moysi servi Dei, et canticum Agni, dicentes: Magna et mirabilia sunt opera tua, Domine Deus omnipotens: justæ et veræ sunt viæ tuæ, Rex sæculorum. 4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and magnify thy name? For thou only art holy. For all nations shall come and shall adore in thy sight, because thy judgments are manifest.Chi non ti temerà, o Signore, e non glorificherà il nome tuo? imperocché tu solo se' Dio: onde le nazioni tutte verranno, e si incurveranno davanti a te, perché i giudizi tuoi sono renduti manifesti.Vvho shal not feare thee o Lord, and magnifie thy name? because thou only art holy, because al nations shal come, & adore in thy sight, because thy iudgements be manifest.Quis non timebit te, Domine, et magnificabit nomen tuum ? quia solus pius es: quoniam omnes gentes venient, et adorabunt in conspectu tuo, quoniam judicia tua manifesta sunt.
5And after these things, I looked: and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.Dopo di ciò mirai, ed ecco si apri il tempio del tabernacolo del testimonio del cielo:And after these things I looked, and behold the temple of the tabernacle of testimonie was opened in heauen:Et post hæc vidi: et ecce apertum est templum tabernaculi testimonii in cælo, 6And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed with clean and white linen and girt about the breasts with golden girdles.E usciron dal tempio i sette Angeli, che portavano le sette piaghe, vestiti di lino puro, e candido, e cinti intorno al petto con fascie d'oro.and there issued forth the seuen Angels, hauing the seuen plagues, from the temple: reuested vvith cleane and vvhite stone', & girded about the breastes vvith girdles of gold.et exierunt septem angeli habentes septem plagas de templo, vestiti lino mundo et candido, et præcincti circa pectora zonis aureis. 7And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.E uno de' quattro animali diede a' sette Angeli sette calici d'oro, pieni dell'ira di Dio vivente ne' secoli de' secoli.And one of the foure beastes, gaue to the seuen Angels seuen vials of gold ful of the vvrath of the God that liueth for euer and euer.Et unum de quatuor animalibus dedit septem angelis septem phialas aureas, plenas iracundiæ Dei viventis in sæcula sæculorum. 8And the temple was filled with smoke from the majesty of God and from his power. And no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.E il tempio s'empi di fumo per la maestà di Dio, e per la virtù di esso: né poteva alcuno entrare nel tempio, sino che compiate non fossero le sette piaghe de' sette Angeli.And the temple vvas filled vvith smoke at the maiestie of God, and at his povver: and no man could enter into the temple, til the seuen plagues of the seuen Angels vvere consummate.Et impletum est templum fumo a majestate Dei, et de virtute ejus: et nemo poterat introire in templum, donec consummarentur septem plagæ septem angelorum.
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Witham
I saw....seven Angels, having the seven last plagues. Many by these understand chastisements that will fall upon the wicked a little before the end of the world, and so take these plagues and vials that are poured out, in the next chapter, mostly in a literal sense. Others apply them to different calamities that happened to heathen Rome; but the applications are so different, that they serve to convince us how uncertain they are. In the mean time St. John seems to repeat the same things in a different manner, and some times by way of anticipation, as here the saints are introduced rejoicing, in view of that happiness in heaven which is prepared for them. (Witham)
Pastorini
Here is a new vision, great and wonderful, seven Angels holding the figurative symbols of seven plagues. They are called the last, because in them is completed the wrath of God, being inflicted on mankind in the last period of the world, the period of Christianity. The first of these scourges takes place shortly after the commencement of the Christian era, and the seventh puts an end to the world. (Pastorini)
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Witham
I saw....a sea of glass, mingled with fire: by which are signified the storms and dangers which they had happily passed: now they are said to be singing the canticle of Moses after he had passed the Red Sea, Cantemus Domino, "Let us sing to the Lord," etc. [Exodus xv.] As Moses was a figure of Christ, and the Israelites of the Christians, so it is now called the canticle of the Lamb. (Witham)
Pastorini
By the sea of glass is meant the firmament that makes the floor of heaven, which is here said to be mingled with fire, in allusion to the troubles and persecutions which the faithful, who are standing on this sea, have sustained. The beast that is here mentioned is an allusion to idolatry or heresy (Pastorini)
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Calmet
And singing. This sea of glass and fire may also represent the sea which Moses passed in leaving Egypt; and the memory of this famous event, in every respect so similar to the deliverance of the saints from the persecutions to which they had been exposed during their lives, affords them the opportunity of singing the canticle of Moses, at the conclusion of which, they join in the praises of the Almighty for their own particular deliverance. (Calmet)
Witham
O King of ages. In the common Greek is now read, O king of saints. (Witham)
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Pastorini
And after these things. Here the scene changes, and is carried back to the period of time that immediately precedes the seven plagues. This removal of the scene St. John insinuates by the unusual circumlocution, "after these things I beheld," and looked on the commencement of this scene. The temple opens, and the seven Angels with the seven plagues proceed from the sanctuary to execute the work they are charged with. (Pastorini)
Calmet
One ought not to be surprised to see the good Angels employed in these kinds of offices, as justice is no less an attribute of the Deity than mercy, and therefore equally the object of the ministry of the Angels. (Calmet)
Witham
Behold, the temple of the tabernacle....in heaven, was opened. We have before observed, that these visions were shewn to St. John as it were in a temple in heaven, and with an allusion to the sanctuary and its parts under Moses. The Angels are seen coming out with clean and white linen, and with golden girdles, being an allusion to the habits of the priests in the ancient law. (Witham)
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Witham
The temple was filled with smoke, etc., as in the time of Solomon. (2 Paralipomenon vii.) (Witham)
Pastorini
The vials are given to the Angels by one of the four living creatures, that is, by a prophet, because at that time the effects had not happened, but were to happen in time to come, and are therefore announced by way of prophecy; and the temple was filled with smoke, manifesting first the majesty of God, and secondly his power. (Pastorini)
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The tribulations about the day of iudgement.
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Baptisme.
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The song of Moyses and Christ, is the new Testamēt and the old.
Saincts
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THE EIETH VISION.
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linen
〈Greek〉
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〈Greek〉.
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.21
… 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.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 20.16
… For we read that there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, but I do not remember to have anywhere read anything of a new sea, unless what I find in this same book, “As it were a sea of glass like crystal.”
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Decease of His Brother Satyrus 2.132
… “For great are Thy marvellous works, O Lord God Almighty, just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations; who shall not fear and magnify Thy Name, for Thou only art holy, for all nations shall come and worship before Thee”),
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 23
… 3 .) This He says also to all the prophets, and this He says again to Moses, to be girded. And He Himself also appears to Ezekiel ( Ezek. ix. 11 , Sept.) girded. Nay more, and the Angels, too, appear to us girded (
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Verse 1. "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels, having the seven last plagues," — namely, the last ones which God shall inflict upon sinners in this life. Whence he subjoins: "For in them is filled up the wrath of God." He will recount these plagues in order in the following chapter. This is a hysteron proteron: for this verse ought to be placed after the second, third and fourth verses. For John first saw the Saints standing upon a sea of glass, and singing the canticle of Moses: after this vision he subjoins, verse 5: "And after these things I saw, and behold the temple was opened, and there came out the seven angels having the seven plagues." Yet he sets forth these plagues here in passing and in general, so that he might signify that all these things pertain to the sea of glass and the Saints standing upon it, so that they, already as it were victors and triumphing, from heaven as it were send forth and hurl these plagues upon the impious, as being enemies of God, equally as their own. It is therefore here as it were a proposition, or a summary of those things which are to be said in these two chapters, and which begin to be expounded verse 2, and are continued through to the end of the following chapter. Moreover these plagues are called last, not mathematically, but morally, because namely they will be at the end of the world, and will be among the last. For otherwise strictly after these plagues there will follow the plague and destruction of Babylon, and after that the plague and destruction of Antichrist, Gog and Magog, etc.
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2. "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God." — First, Alcazar says: The sea, he says, of glass in chapter IV signified the brazen sea which Solomon made in the temple: but here it signifies the very waves of the Red Sea congealed. For here there is an allusion to the passage of the Hebrews with dry feet through the Red Sea. Therefore the figure of the glassy sea here is similar to the Red Sea, yet so that the waters appear burning and congealed into glassy solidity. For the glassy sea here is the same as a frozen and solid sea. It is signified therefore here that the Apostles and the first faithful, as it were new Israelites, having entered the sea of paganism, walked over it as over a solid sea unharmed, and set it on fire with the flames of the Gospel: as a symbol of which thing St. Peter, supported by the grace of Christ, walked upon the sea and went to Christ, Matthew xiv, 28. Standing therefore upon the sea of glass are those very 144,000 sealed, of whom in chapter vii and xiv. For the ancient Israelites crossed the Red Sea, but divided, and therefore below, namely in the bed, not above: but these new faithful, treading upon the sea, the earth, and all earthly things, stand and walk above the sea and the earth. Second, Aureolus thinks that here is described the piety and zeal of Charlemagne. And so the glassy sea is the Gallic people, who passing through the waters of the sea, that is of baptism, into the faith of Christ, adhered to it so constantly that they received the name "Most Christian." This glassy sea was mingled with fire, that is with zeal and fervor of faith, which subdued the beast, that is the Saxons, Saracens and Huns, and either inflamed them with the love of Christ or drove them out and killed them. They sing the song of the Lamb, because Charlemagne instituted that all the Churches of Gaul should follow the chant and office of the Roman Church. This is an elegant allusion and adaptation. Third, Primasius, Richard, Ansbert and others understand by the glassy sea the Sacrament of baptism; for this is joined to the Red Sea, to which here there is an allusion, as appears I Corinthians x, 1. It is glassy, because it makes Christians pure and sincere like glass. It is mingled with fire, because it bestows the Holy Spirit. Or, as Ansbert says: a sea which by fire and heat is converted into solid glass is faith formed and solidified by charity; or, as others say, the fire here is the ardor of persecutions; whence over this sea the conquerors of Antichrist stand as if triumphing. Thus Viegas. Fourth and genuinely, Ribera understands by the glassy sea this world, or the earth, air and water, which shine like glass; likewise the men of this age, who are mingled with the fire of the conflagration of the world, which God will send upon the earth as a punishment for sins, of which in chapter xiv, verse 18. For this age is called a dangerous and tempestuous sea, as I said in chapter xii, last verse. It is called glassy, first, because thus it is named by the poets, in that it is transparent; second, because it has the color of glass; third, because it is fragile like glass. And so the glassy sea is understood here differently than in chapter IV, verse 6: for there the glassy sea signifies the crystalline heaven, or rather the empyrean, and the angels who are in it round about the throne of God. But here the glassy sea is said to be mingled with fire, and the Saints are said to stand upon it, because namely they have passed through and overcome this world holily, prudently and happily, and now as it were victors stand on the shore which overhangs the sea, and is above the sea, because they have now arrived at the port of salvation, and stand blessed in heaven. For it alludes to the Red Sea, which the Hebrews under the leadership of Moses crossed with dry feet, while Pharaoh pursued them, Exodus xiv. For in like manner the Saints pass through this world, so that they remain unharmed by Pharaoh, that is by the devil and Antichrist: whence also they sing the song of Moses. In a similar scheme the Poet says: "Sea-monsters play in the glassy brine." Just as therefore in Genesis 1, 1, there are said to be twofold waters, maim in Hebrew, that is, waters, and consequently twofold heavens, scamaim in Hebrew, that is, skies, namely some above the firmament, others below the firmament: so also this glassy sea is twofold, namely one sublunary and terrestrial, another celestial, and from that into this the Saints pass and ascend: of the sublunary it is treated here, of the celestial in chapter IV, verse 6. If anyone, however, should contend that the glassy sea is to be understood in the same way here as in chapter IV, where it says the Saints stand above, that is, beside the glassy sea, or in the very glassy sea itself, that is in heaven, and indeed the Saints can properly be said to stand above heaven, that is, above the concave part of heaven, even if they do not stand above the convex: for the concave is the lower part, indeed the lowest; but the convex is the upper part, indeed the highest part and surface of heaven. This heaven is mixed with fire, that is, with the fervor of the charity of angels. Morally, learn here that all the pomp of this age, riches, joys and glory are fragile like glass; whence the Arabic translator for "glassy sea" rendered it "sea of glass," as if the whole were made of glass and were glassy. The tragedian rightly said: "Fortune is of glass; while it shines it breaks." Again: "If glass is worth so much, why not a pearl?" if the earth is so beautiful, how beautiful will heaven be? if the impious Nero, Decius, Diocletian were so glorious, how much more glorious are St. Peter, Paul, John? Excellently Horace, book II of Satires, satire 3: "And he will be mad whom glassy fame has seized:" "Glassy," that is fragile, as if to say: He goes mad who pursues fame, a thing so fragile like glass. Most excellently Boethius, Meter 3, book II: "If rare its form consists in the world, If it varies such great changes, Believe in the fleeting fortunes of men, Believe in fugitive goods. It stands, placed by eternal law, That nothing generated stands." For, as Aristotle says, book I On the Heavens: "What is generated and corruptible follow one another mutually." And Seneca, epistle 88: "To whom it has fallen to be born, to him it remains to die." And Maximianus: "All things seek their own origins, and seek their mother." That old saying of Varro is well known: "Man is a bubble," concerning which Faustus says: "Mortal bodies are subject to a fixed fate, And all things flowing in swift time rush down. So swiftly does the human race perish in an hour, As a swollen bubble melts in rain water." "What is man," says Seneca, "any broken vessel, and any fragile thing by being tossed about. What is man? a most weak and fragile body, naked by its own nature, unarmed, needing another's help, cast down to every insult of fortune, unable to bear cold and labor, composed of weak and fluid parts. Odor and taste, and weariness, and waking, moisture and food, without which he cannot live, are deadly to him." Valerius Maximus, book VI: "Fleeting," he says, "excessively, and fragile, and suited to childish toys are those things which are called the strength and riches of men. They flow in suddenly, they suddenly slip away; resting on no stable roots in any place, in any person, they do not consist; but driven hither and thither by the most uncertain breath of fortune, those whom it has raised on high it miserably plunges into the depths of ruin by an unexpected reversal." Add to these this saying of Seneca: "It is a point, and even less than a point, which we inhabit." Furthermore, just as the joyful and prosperous things, so also the sad and adverse things of this world are glassy: enemies and persecutors (such as the Antichrist will be at the end of the world, of whom it is treated here) are glassy, and like fictitious and glassy soldiers, whom Ovid thus depicts in his work to Piso in the game of draughts or chess: "The board is varied in a more cunning way, And battles are waged with a glassy soldier." All enemies therefore are glassy, all diseases glassy: poverty is glassy, infamy is glassy, labors are glassy. Wherefore holy and wise men do not fear these glassy enemies, but stand upon this glassy sea, and lifting up their spirit to heaven they say with St. Jerome that Socratic saying: "I ascend to the aether, and despise the sun alone." For they feel, and obtain from God that which was said by Isaiah, and promised to them, cap. lviii, 14: "Then shalt thou be delighted in the Lord, and I will lift thee up above the heights of the earth, and will feed thee with the inheritance of Jacob thy father." See the things said there. These therefore are the Anicii, that is, the unconquered; and the Nicetae, that is, the conquerors and triumphers. Francis Zazzera writes from St. Gaudentius, St. Thomas, Giselbert and others, tract. De Familia Anicia, that it took its origin from a legion of Greek soldiers, which was called Anicia, that is, unconquered: and from it came St. George the soldier and martyr. Again, from it were born unconquered wrestlers, Virgins, Martyrs, Doctors, Pontiffs, such as St. Paulinus of Nola the Bishop, St. Benedict the founder of the Order, St. Scholastica, St. Gregory, St. Thomas, Severinus Boethius, of whom Giselbert therefore truly says: "Worthily was he called Anicius by fortitude, Severinus by gravity, Boethius by assistance, Manlius by merits." Such likewise are these Anicii of St. John, who therefore as conquerors stand above the glassy sea. Anthracites is a burning stone and coal, cast into fire as if among the dead is extinguished; but on the contrary when sprinkled with water it blazes up, says Isidore, lib. XVI, Origin., cap. xiii. Such is the virtue of heavenly constancy, which when exercised by adversities shines forth more brightly. "Contraries have always made a way for virtue." Edward II, king of England, painted in his emblem a spider elaborating its web, which a violent wind blows through, with this motto: "I shall go more ardently." The same was the sense of Alexander the Great, as appears from Plutarch, De Fortuna Alexandri. What now does Christian Alexander feel, what does he do? "Harps of God." — Concerning these harps of exultation and jubilation I spoke cap. xiv, vers. 2, and cap. v, vers. 8.
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3. "And singing the song of Moses." — Not that of Deuter. xxxii: "Hear, O heavens," but that which is found in Exodus xv: "Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified," by which Moses and the Hebrews after the passage of the Red Sea give thanks to God for so miraculous a passage of the sea and deliverance from Pharaoh. As therefore Moses and the Hebrews then cheerfully and gratefully sang this eucharistic and as it were triumphal song: "Let us sing to the Lord," etc.; so Christ, who is the Christian Moses, and his faithful and Saints, who are true Israelites, after they have happily passed through the sea of this world, with Pharaoh, that is, the devil and Antichrist, drowned in it, as conquerors standing upon it shall sing and say: "Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified: he hath thrown both horse and rider into the sea;" because namely now at our prayers and merits, he will punish the Antichrist with his followers with the seven vials of his wrath in this life, and soon with the fire of hell in the future. "And the song of the Lamb." — The song of the Lamb and of Moses is the same, but it is called of Moses, as of the figure and type; but of the Lamb, as of the exemplar and antitype, and because by this song the Blessed praise the Lamb. Alcazar adds that this song in the literal sense signifies both, namely both the passage of the faithful through the sea of paganism to faith and salvation, and the passage of the Hebrews through the Red Sea. For since this was to them a type, Moses seems to have embraced both, namely both the type and the antitype, in the same literal sense: for thus St. John seems to hint at and explain the antitype here. But it is clear that the literal sense of that song of Moses is of the passage of the Hebrews alone through the Red Sea into Chanaan; but the allegorical sense is of the passage of the Gentiles through faith and baptism into the Church, as appears I Corinth. cap. x, vers. 1; the anagogical sense finally is of the passage of the faithful through death or martyrdom into heaven, which alone John here embraces literally. For he speaks literally of the triumph, joy and glory of the Blessed, which Moses signified and represented anagogically in the passage of the Red Sea, and in this his song described in Exodus xv. See the things said there. Let those therefore say who have prudently and happily passed through the sea of this life, and now from the high mountains of eternity despise it, and rejoice: "We have passed through fire and water, and thou hast brought us out into a place of refreshment." "Just and true are thy ways, O King of ages." — "Ways," that is, thy works and judgments are just, because thou hast now taken just vengeance on the impious and our persecutors. They are the same "true," that is, faithful, because thou faithfully dost rescue the Saints here afflicted from dangers, and givest them rewards and crowns, as thou hast promised: just as of old thou didst rescue the Hebrews passing through the Red Sea from Pharaoh and the Egyptians pursuing them, while thou didst drown them in the sea. "King of ages." — The Interpreter reads αἰώνων, that is "of ages": now they read ἁγίων, that is "of Saints"; but Andrew and Aretas read ἐθνῶν, that is "of Gentiles." It alludes to Daniel, cap. xiv (or vii), vers. 31, where God is called "living for ever"; in Chaldaic, "living of ages"; in Syriac, "giant of ages." See the things said there.
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4. "Because thou alone art holy." — For "holy" in Greek is ὅσιος, that is, holy, just, pure, innocent; this therefore is "holy": from which is said "to make holy" and "to expiate" for to purge and cleanse. Thus Ribera. But more simply and piously you may take ὅσιος for holy and merciful, that is, one who exhibits and shows the bowels of mercy and piety, as if to say: Thou, O Lord, once as a father and mother didst show to Moses and the Hebrews the bowels of mercy and piety, when thou didst free them from Pharaoh, and didst lead them safe through the Red Sea into Chanaan, but thou hast shown the same now much more to Christ and to thy Christian Saints and elect, when thou didst lead them safe and unharmed through the sea of this turbulent and tempestuous age, in which so many souls perish, to the harbor of salvation. "Because all nations shall come." — The "because" here is not causal, but διηγητικόν, or explanatory and denotative, and is put for "that", as if to say: Who will not magnify thee, O Lord, saying that thou alone art just and holy, as thou hast shown in our protection and salvation, and that all nations will deservedly come to adore thee, and that thy judgments both upon the pious and upon the impious are clear and manifest? Or more briefly and clearly, as if to say: Who will not magnify thee, O Lord, saying that thou alone art holy and that all nations shall come to adore thee, and that thy judgments are manifest? Thus in Isaiah, chapter three, verse ten, it is said: "Say ye to the just, that it is well," that is, that it shall be well with him. Otherwise Alcazar. For the "because" he takes properly and causally, in this sense: "Who will not magnify thee, O Lord?" as if to say: Assuredly all shall magnify thee, because thou hast converted all the Gentiles through thy Christ and the Apostles to thee and thy worship. For Alcazar takes all these things of the first conversion of the Gentiles to God and Christ through the Apostles, as I have said many times already.
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5. "And after these things I saw, and behold the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony was opened," — that is, the temple which is the tabernacle of the testimony, or in which the testimony was kept, that is, the law, and the tables of the law or the Decalogue. This temple, and especially its more sacred part, namely the Holy of Holies, signifies the place of the Blessed. For in the Holy of Holies was the ark with the tables of the law, so that it might be signified that in the keeping of the law, as it were in the root and cause, beatitude is virtually contained: wherefore these seven angels are seen by John here to come forth from it, as being about to be avengers of the violated law of God. John therefore saw this temple in heaven similar to the tabernacle of Moses, and from its Holy of Holies these avenging angels of God and authors of plagues to come forth. Indeed Alcazar by "temple of the tabernacle" takes precisely the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle; for this was as it were the temple, that is, the choir of the tabernacle. Whence, Psalm twenty-eight, verse two, Aquila and Symmachus for "temple" render "oracle," which was in the Holy of Holies.
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6. "And there came out seven angels." — First, Alcazar interprets these angels and plagues mystically, namely that they are plagues in appearance, but in reality they are the greatest benefits by which God fought against paganism and subdued it to faith and Christ. His reasoning is this: for the last of these plagues is the division of Babylon, which precedes its destruction. Now the destruction of Babylon signifies the conversion of Rome to Christ. For the destruction of Babylon itself is followed by the thousand years of peace, chapter xx. Wherefore it must be held for certain, he says, that these plagues will occur before the beginning of the thousand years; they therefore signify the mystical war of evangelical preaching, by which God fought for the Church against paganism. For just as the seven plagues of the trumpets in chapter viii were sent upon the Jews: so here seven plagues are sent upon the Gentiles for their conversion. Moreover these seven plagues are: first, the shame of the Gentiles, when they are convicted of sins; second, the cruelty of persecution against preachers of the Gospel; third, wonderful savagery against the Gentiles themselves converted to faith; fourth, the gravest offense from the wisdom of Christians; fifth, the greatest blindness in persecution itself; sixth, after the invasion of Rome, wonderful persecution; seventh, the manifest division of the city of Rome. For in the time of the Emperor Constantine and St. Sylvester the Pontiff, the number of Christians in Rome so increased that it could be compared to the Gentiles, and then Rome was as it were divided into Christians, Gentiles and neutrals. The first angel, therefore, he says, is St. Paul, who is chief among all men in convicting of sins, so that he might show that all need the grace of God: "For all, he himself says, have sinned, and do need the glory (that is, the glorious grace) of God." The second angel is St. Peter; for he himself provoked Nero by his preaching. The third is St. Clement the Pope, who is said to have been outstanding in bringing many of the Gentiles to faith, and in encouraging them to martyrdom. The fourth is another Pontiff, through whose aid the wisdom of Christians shone forth greatly, for example Alexander the First, who was the sixth from St. Peter, and by his wisdom and holiness converted many noble Romans. The fifth will be he who by his preaching stirred up the rabid persecution that followed afterwards, in which stood out on the one hand the blindness of the Gentiles, on the other the most steadfast patience of God and of Christians. The sixth will be he who shone forth more in the conversion of many Senators. See whether it be St. Fabian. The seventh appears to have been St. Sylvester. For under him, and through him, that great division of Rome occurred between Christians and Pagans. Moreover these plagues are called the last, not as the final, but because they are new and wonderful, and an unheard-of kind of God's vengeance, by which he made friends out of enemies; and because through them God put an end to sin and paganism, equally to his wrath and offense; this is what he means when he says: "Because in them is consummated," in Greek ἐτελείωθη, that is, is completed, "the wrath of God." Thus he himself in his usual manner from his own logical sequence ingeniously and aptly but mystically and allegorically, not literally, not genuinely. Second, others accommodate these to the plagues which God sends upon sinners on account of the seven capital sins. Third, our Viegas thinks that here a certain and definite number is put for an uncertain and indefinite one, namely that seven phials and plagues signify many. Fourth, Rupertus, Bede, Haymo, Richard, Ansbert and others, by these seven angels understand all (for the number seven is a symbol of universality) preachers, who were at the beginning of the world and thereafter, and especially will be at its end. These will pour out the phials of the wrath of God upon the earth, that is, they will announce the terrible punishments decreed by God for sinners, and this from golden phials, that is, from charity: their plagues therefore are threats of plagues. They come out of the temple, because they will be devoted to contemplation and prayer. Thus Christ, spending the night in prayer to God, by day preached, says St. Gregory, book VI of the Morals, xvi. Third, they are clothed in "fine linen," that is, in the purity of life and mortification. For linen, because it is soaked and combed in various ways and for a long time, is a symbol of mortification, as I taught in Jeremiah xiii, 1. Fourth, they have girdles, that is, continence, and golden ones, on account of charity; or, as Primasius says, on account of the wisdom in which they excel. Others for "linen" read "stone," because the preacher ought to be adamant through patience, but a magnet through gentleness. Whence of St. Athanasius the Nazianzen says in his oration on his praises: "Athanasius became adamant to those striking, a magnet to those doubting." But these are tropological interpretations. According to the literal sense, true angels are to be understood here, who will pour out the judgments and punishments of God, which are signified symbolically by the phials, upon men at the end of the world; for these are the ministers and executors of divine providence and vengeance. Wherefore Ribera probably holds that these seven angels of the phials are the same ones who, in chapter 1, verse 4, are called "the seven Spirits which are in the sight of the throne." And in chapter viii, verse 2, they are called seven angels "standing in the sight of God, and there were given to them seven trumpets." "Clothed in clean linen." — Thus it should be read with the Roman and Complutensian editions, namely λίνῳ, that is "linen," not λίθῳ, that is "stone," as some read. This clothing signifies the brightness and purity of the angels: the "girdles" represent their chastity, the "golden" ones their charity. Secondly, clean and white linen signifies the purity of the divine judgments which the angels exercise and execute in pouring out the phials, and the bright and clean equity of divine justice free from all either passion of favor or hatred, or crime. Thirdly, white raiment is a symbol of joy. For the angels rejoice while the impious are punished, as those who have injured divine majesty: because they see in them the divine counsel fulfilled, and the honor of their Lord and God, which was injured by them, avenged. Others who read "clothed in clean stone" thus expound it, as if to say, The angels by this their raiment, namely clean stone, that is, by clear and shining gems, represent that God has promised and prepared the most beautiful and precious stones and gems, as well as golden girdles, that is, the ornament of all virtues and of grace and glory, most rich and most beautiful, for those who, broken by the punishments inflicted by him, correct and amend their life.
15:7
7. "And one of the four animals gave to the seven angels seven phials." — Note: He gave these phials to the angels in the temple before their departure; for it is clearly stated in the preceding verse, when it says: "And the seven angels went forth having the seven plagues out of the temple." "He gave," therefore, that is, he had given. Now "one," that is, the first animal, namely the lion, as is evident from chapter IV, verse 7. For the lion is the symbol of strength, wrath and vengeance. It is signified therefore that God and the angels in pouring out these plagues and phials are like lions about to roar and rage against the wicked. Now those who through the four animals, in chapter IV, understand the four Evangelists, thus explain it, as if to say: One of the Evangelists who wrote the Evangelical law, by which the impious rebels against God shall be judged and condemned, is here symbolically shown to me, John, giving to the seven angels seven phials of the wrath of God; because on account of the Evangelical law published by him, neglected by the impious, these plagues shall be given to the angels, so that they might punish with them the impious violators of the Evangelical law, thus Ribera and Viegas. Moreover, this one Evangelist is St. Luke, says Aureolus. For he foretells the most sorrowful punishments of Jerusalem and of the Antichrist at the end of the world, chapter xxi and elsewhere. Others, however, understand St. Mark: for he is signified among the four animals, the symbols of the four Evangelists, by the lion. But, because these four animals of Ezekiel and John are not men, nor Evangelists in the literal sense, but primary angels, namely Cherubim attending upon God, as I have shown in chapter IV, hence it must be said that this one animal was the first of these four Cherubim, who, as it were the supreme president of divine justice, gave to the seven inferior angels these plagues of punishments, that is, the power of inflicting these plagues upon the impious, and ordered and commanded that they be inflicted upon them. "Seven phials." — Isidore, book XX, chapter xx, thinks phials are called so from hyalos, that is "glass," because they were made of glass. But the orthography stands in the way; for phiala is written with an i, ὑάλη with a y; moreover, in phiala the letter ph is added: for although the rough breathing or aspiration, which is in ὑάλη, is often turned into the letter s among the Latins, as from ὗς comes sus, from ὕλη sylva, from ὑπέρ super, yet it is never turned into ph. Add that phials were often made of gold, not of glass, whence also Juvenal, Satires 5, calls them golden phials. There exists also in Martial, book XIV, an epigram concerning a golden phial. For from phials kings and princes drank. Whence concerning Jael, who gave milk to Sisara the prince, and thus lulled him to sleep and killed him, it is said in Judges v, 25: "He asked for water, and she gave him milk, and offered him butter in a phial of the princes." It is better therefore that the Greeks think the phial is called as it were πιάλη, from πίνειν (π changed into φ), that is from drinking; hence it is called πιάλιος, that is moist, drinkable. Now as to the sense, Alcazar thinks these phials were of sacrifice; for in sacrifice wine was poured out from phials, that is poured out to God, as is evident from Exodus chapter xxxvii, 16, and chapter xxv, verse 29. The liquid in this phial to be poured out to God is the wrath of God, that is the blood of Christ, and its most efficacious power. For Christ in his plagues and blood received and exhausted all the indignation and wrath of God against men. The angels therefore, that is the Apostles, poured out to the Gentiles in their mystical sacrifice, that is in the preaching of the Gospel, this libation of the blood of Christ, when by its power they converted them, washed them, and reconciled them to God. Again, in the phials there is an allusion to the sacrifice of the Eucharist, which is made in phials, that is chalices: by the power of which it came to pass that the Apostles and their preaching were of such efficacy, that so many thousands of men, indeed all nations, were converted to Christ. But these are not only mystical, but also analogous. For they transform wrath into love and into the blood of Christ, when it is manifestly treated here of wrath properly so called, and of the sevenfold vengeance which God through the seven angels shall pour out against the impious at the end of the world. Wherefore you might rather say these phials are of a sacrifice, which shall be offered to divine justice and vengeance, through the slaughter and destruction of the impious; for this is a victim honorable, and equally pleasing to God, of which it is said in Isaiah xxxiv, 6: "The victim of the Lord is in Bosra, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom." And Ezekiel xxxix, 17: "Gather yourselves together from every side to my victim which I sacrifice for you." Therefore, according to the letter, the phials, says Pannonius, are the decrees, sentences and judgments of God, in which the wrath, that is, the vengeance and punishments of God to be inflicted upon the impious, are reserved as it were as treasures of divine justice, just as vinegar, balm, and other distilled substances; or rather just as frankincense, aromatics and perfumes are preserved and set forth in phials. For thus Scripture often says that God prepares and offers to the impious a cup or phial of His wrath. For it alludes to the master of the feast, or symposiarch, who at table once tempered and offered to each guest his cup: thus also God, as it were a symposiarch and master of the feast, gives to each man his portion as a cup, and to each sinner his own punishment which he deserves, and distributes it. Note first: The wrath and vengeance of God is a precious thing; hence it is preserved in golden phials like perfume. For it is itself an act of supreme justice, by which the guilty are punished, and the innocent are deterred from sin and harm. Secondly, this wrath is not in a broad bowl, but in a phial, which has a narrow and tight opening, says Viegas; because these judgments and decrees of God's vengeance are compressed by the same God's mercy, lest they pour forth, but only drip wrath. Hence Ezech. xx, 46, it is said: "Drop toward the south," "so that not all," says St. Jerome in the same place, "the wrath of God may be seen poured out, but some drop and part. But if a drop of such cruelty is so great, what must be estimated in whole storms?" But although phials sometimes signify vessels of narrow opening, as when we call glass flasks in which rose water, aqua vitae, aqua fortis, etc., are preserved, phials, nevertheless in this place phials are to be understood as broad and wide, such as are bowls, says Alcazar. Thus it is evident first, because such bowls are phials from which one drinks, of which it is said Amos vi, 6: "Drinking wine in phials." And Zach. ix, 15: "Drinking they shall be inebriated as with wine, and shall be filled as phials." Much more are such phials those from which libation is made and sacrifice is offered, such as these are: whence also in them frankincense and perfume were placed and burned, as is evident both from Exodus xxv, 29, and from what is said here, cap. v, vers. 8, where the 24 elders are said to have phials full of odours. Secondly, because these phials are of God's extreme and supreme wrath: whence they will not drip, but like a bowl will pour out all at once upon the impious at the end of the world. Thirdly, these phials are golden, because God's vengeance in this life proceeds from love, not from hatred. For He wills through it to correct and heal the perverse mind of man; it is otherwise in the other life and in hell. When therefore you are chastised here by God, think that God loves you; but when He leaves your sins unpunished, think that He is angry with you, and is preparing hell for you; and therefore giving you here paradise, so that the small good which you have done may be rewarded with present and small pleasure. See II Mach. vi, 12. In like manner angels proceed to punish from charity, so that by these penalties they may lead sinners to the amendment of life. In this therefore let judges and Prelates imitate God and the angels, so that they inflict punishments, not from anger or hatred, but from love: from love, I say, both of the guilty and of the commonwealth and the common good, so that they may keep it safe and unharmed from the violence and crimes of the wicked by the terror of punishments.
15:8
8. "And the temple was filled with smoke from the majesty of God, and from His power" (that is, strength; for in Greek it is δύναμις). — He alludes to the dedication both of the temple and of the tabernacle; for then God covered both with a cloud and mist, as is evident from Exodus xl, 32, and III Kings viii, 10. For thus Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle on account of the tumult of the people, Num. xvi, 34, where it is said: "A cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared." So also Ezech. x, 3: "A cloud, he says, shall fill the court, and the house was filled with a cloud." The same happened to Isaiah cap. vi, vers. 4: "And the house was filled with smoke." For "majesty" in Greek is δόξα, that is, glory, brightness. Alcazar expounds it, as if to say: From the brightness of the preaching of the Gospel in the primitive Church proceeded "smoke," that is, the utmost danger of the Church, so that it seemed to the Gentiles to be burned and reduced to ashes; but God turned this danger into a protection. For the power, that is, the strength, glory and brightness of God is perfected in the weakness, ignobility and abjection of men, while He thus protects, advances and exalts such weak, rude and ignoble apostles, exposed to so many perils, that they subject the whole world to themselves and to Christ. Whence he adds: "And no one could enter into the temple, until the seven plagues were fulfilled"; not that no one entered into the Church of Christ, but that the splendor and brightness of the Church did not appear, and therefore those who entered into it seemed to cast themselves into smoke, into labor, into danger; but in the pouring out of the seventh plague this smoke was soon converted into brightness, deformity into beauty, danger and tears into consolation and security. But I say truly: This smoke symbolically signifies first, the obscurity and incomprehensibility of the judgments and punishments which the divine majesty and power will exercise upon the impious at the end of the world, namely in such a way that men then living upon the earth, and seeing so many and so great plagues, and such great power and vengeance of God, shall be as it were moving about in darkness, amazed and not knowing whither they tend, and what God means by such an ostentation of His majesty and strength. Thus Primasius, Ansbertus, Ambrose and Ribera. Whence it follows: "And no one could enter," etc. Hence consequently this smoke is a symbol and prognostication of the greatest devastation in this life, and of the infernal fire in hell, where the smoke of torments ascends for ever and ever. "And no one could enter into the temple" (to contemplate these profound judgments of God, and their causes, modes and reasons), "until the seven plagues were fulfilled", — that is, until when the seven plagues were completed there would follow the universal judgment, in which God will manifest all things to the whole world. He alludes to Psalm lxxii, 16: "I thought to understand this: it is a labor before me; until I enter into the sanctuary of God, and understand in their last end," that is, until I enter into the secret chamber of the judgments of God; which will happen when I shall see the end and exit of the impious. Thus Primasius, Richard and Ansbertus.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
15:1
… B. Allo refers Apoc. 1:4 and 4:5 to the Holy Spirit "sevenfold"; but J. Michl demonstrates that these (as also Apoc. 3:1; 5:6; 8:2; 15:1) are seven angelic princes.
15:5
Tabernacle (Tent) of Meeting (Hebrew 'Ohel, usually followed by Me'eth: "Tabernacle of Convene")
… In the court, finally, there were the altar of holocausts and the bronze basin ("sea"), with a stand for the water of the ablutions of the officiating priests (Ex. 30:17-21; 38:8). The symbolism of the T. is evident (cf. Heb. 8-9; Rev. 13:6; 15:5; 21:3). Each object had its own symbolism.
15:6
… In it we find again, definitively as well, the type that will dominate in art: a human figure of youthful appearance, almost always beardless, in sacred garments, that is, tunic and pallium, of white color, according to the Gospel texts (Mt. 28, 3; Jn. 20, 2; Rev. 15, 6; Acts 10, 30). In a fragmentary painting of an hypogeum between St. Callixtus and St. Sebastian, two youths in tunic and pallium flanked the inscription of the deceased; near the surviving …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Rheims 1582), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.