The water and tree of life. The conclusion.
The tree of life being vvatered vvith liuing vvater, yeldeth fruictes euery moneth. 3 There is neither curse nor night in the citie. 6 The Angel that shevved Iohn al these things, refuseth to be adored of him. 14 He telleth him that the iust shal enter into the citie, but the rest shal be cast forth. 18 Lastly, •e protesteth and threateneth against them that shal presume to adde to this prophecie, or take avvay from the same.
1And he shewed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.E mostrommi un fiume di acqua viva, limpido come cristallo, che scaturiva dal trono di Dio, e dell'Agnello.AND he shevved me a riuer of • liuing water', cleere as crystal, proceding from the seate of God and of the Lambe.Et ostendit mihi fluvium aquæ vitæ, splendidum tamquam crystallum, procedentem de sede Dei et Agni. 2In the midst of the street thereof, and on both sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruits every month: and the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations.Nel mezzo della sua piazza, e da ambe le parti del fiume l'albero della vita, che porta dodici frutti, dando mese per mese il suo frutto, e le foglie dell'albero (sono) per medicina delle nazioni.In the middes of the streate thereof, and on both sides of the riuer, the tree of life, yelding tvvelue fruites, rendring his fruite euery moneth, and the leaues of the tree for the curing of the Gentiles.In medio plateæ ejus, et ex utraque parte fluminis, lignum vitæ, afferens fructus duodecim per menses singulos, reddens fructum suum et folia ligni ad sanitatem gentium. 3And there shall be no curse any more: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. And his servants shall serve him.Né vi sarà più maledizione: ma la sede di Dio, e dell'Agnello sarà in essa, e i servi di lui lo serviranno.And no curse shal be any more: and the seate of God and of the Lambe shal be in it, and his seruantes shal serue him.Et omne maledictum non erit amplius: sed sedes Dei et Agni in illa erunt, et servi ejus servient illi. 4And they shall see his face: and his name shall be on their foreheads.E vedrai la faccia di lui: e il nome di lui sulle loro fronti.And they shal see his face: and his name in their foreheads.Et videbunt faciem ejus: et nomen ejus in frontibus eorum. 5And night shall be no more. And they shall not need the light of the lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall enlighten them. And they shall reign for ever and ever.Nè saravvi più notte: nè avran bisogno più di lume di lucerna, né di lume di sole, perché il Signore Dio gli illuminerà, e regneranno pe' secoli de' secoli.And night shal be no more: and they shal not neede the light of lampe, nor the light of the sunne, because our Lord God doth illuminate them, and they shal reigne for euer and euer.Et nox ultra non erit: et non egebunt lumine lucernæ, neque lumine solis, quoniam Dominus Deus illuminabit illos, et regnabunt in sæcula sæculorum.
6And he said to me: These words are most faithful and true. And the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to shew his servants the things which must be done shortly.E disarmi: queste parole sono fedelissime, e vere. E il Signore Dio degli spiriti de' profeti ha spedito il suo Angelo a dimostrare a' suoi servi le cose, che debbon tosto seguire.And he said to me, These vvordes are most faithful and true. And our Lord the God of the spirites of the prophetes, sent his Angel to shevv his seruantes those thinges vvhich must be done quickly.Et dixit mihi: Hæc verba fidelissima sunt, et vera. Et Dominus Deus spirituum prophetarum misit angelum suum ostendere servis suis quæ oportet fieri cito. 7And: Behold I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book.Ed ecco, che presto io vengo. Beato, chi osserva le parole di profezia di questo libro.And behold I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the vvordes of the prophecie of this booke.Et ecce venio velociter. Beatus, qui custodit verba prophetiæ libri hujus. 8And I, John, who have heard and seen these things. And, after I had heard and seen, I fell down to adore before the feet of the angel who shewed me these things.Ed io Giovanni (son) quegli, che udii, e vidi queste cose. E quand'ebbi visto, e udito, mi prostrai a' piedi dell'Angelo, che tali cose mostravami, per adorarlo.And I Iohn vvhich haue heard, and seen these thinges. And after I had heard and seen, I fel dovvne to adore before the feete of the Angel vvhich shevved me these thinges:Et ego Joannes, qui audivi, et vidi hæc. Et postquam audissem, et vidissem, cecidi ut adorarem ante pedes angeli, qui mihi hæc ostendebat: 9And he said to me: See thou do it not. For I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets and of them that keep the words of the prophecy of this book. Adore God.E dissemi: guardati dal far ciò: imperocché sono servo come te, e come i tuoi fratelli i profeti, e quegli, che osservan le parole di profezia di questo libro: adora Dio.and he said to me, See thou doe not, for I am thy fellow-seruant, and of thy brethren, the prophetes, and of them that keepe the vvordes of this booke. Adore God.et dixit mihi: Vide ne feceris: conservus enim tuus sum, et fratrum tuorum prophetarum, et eorum qui servant verba prophetiæ libri hujus: Deum adora. 10And he saith to me: Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book. For the time is at hand.E dissemi: non sigillare le parole di profezia di questo libro: conciossiaché il tempo è vicino.And he saith to me, Seale not the vvordes of the prophecie of this booke. for the time is neere.Et dicit mihi: Ne signaveris verba prophetiæ libri hujus: tempus enim prope est.
11He that hurteth, let him hurt still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is just, let him be justified still: and he that is holy, let him be sanctified still.Chi altrui nuoce, noccia tuttora e chi è nella sozzura, diventi tuttavia più sozzo: e chi è giusto, si faccia tuttora più giusto: e chi è santo, tuttor si santifichi.He that hurteth, let him hurt yet: and he that is in filth, let him be filthie yet: and he that is iust, let him be iustified yet: and let the holy be sanctified yet.Qui nocet, noceat adhuc: et qui in sordibus est, sordescat adhuc: et qui justus est, justificetur adhuc: et sanctus, sanctificetur adhuc. 12Behold, I come quickly: and my reward is with me, to render to every, man according to his works.Ecco, che io vengo tosto, e meco porto, onde dar la mercede, e rendere a ciascuno secondo il suo operare.Behold I come quickly and my revvard is vvith me, to render to euery man according to his vvorkes,Ecce venio cito, et merces mea mecum est, reddere unicuique secundum opera sua. 13I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.Io sono alfa, e omega, primo, e ultimo, principio, e fine.I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.Ego sum alpha et omega, primus et novissimus, principium et finis. 14Blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb: that they may have a right to the tree of life and may enter in by the gates into the city.Beati coloro, che lavan le loro stole nel sangue dell'Agnello: affine d'aver diritto all'albero della vita, e entrar per le porte nella città.Blessed are they that vvash their stoles: that their povver may be in the tree of life, and they may enter by the gates into the citie.Beati, qui lavant stolas suas in sanguine Agni: ut sit potestas eorum in ligno vitæ, et per portas intrent in civitatem. 15Without are dogs and sorcerers and unchaste and murderers and servers of idols and every one that loveth and maketh a lie.Fuora i cani, e i venefici, e gl'impudichi, e gli omicidi, e gli idolatri, e chiunque ama, e pratica la menzogna.Vvithout are dogges and sorcerers, and the vnchast, and murderers, and seruers of Idols, & euery one that loueth and maketh a lie.Foris canes, et venefici, et impudici, et homicidæ, et idolis servientes, et omnis qui amat et facit mendacium. 16I, Jesus, have sent my angel, to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and stock of David, the bright and morning star.Io Gesù ho spedito il mio Angelo a notificare a voi queste cose nelle Chiese, io sono la stirpe, e la progenie di David, la stella splendente, e mattutina.I IESVS haue sent mine Angel, to testifie to you these thinges in the Churches. I am the roote and stocke of Dauid, the bright and morning starre.Ego Jesus misi angelum meum testificari vobis hæc in ecclesiis. Ego sum radix, et genus David, stella splendida et matutina.
17And the spirit and the bride say: Come. And he that heareth, let him say: Come. And he that thirsteth, let him come. And he that will, let him take the water of life, freely.E lo Spirito, e la sposa dicono: vieni. E chi ascolta, dica: vieni. E chi ha sete, venga: e chi vuole, prenda dell'acqua di vita gratuitamente.And the Spirit & the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that thirsteth, let him come: and he that vvil, let him take the vvater of life gratis.Et spiritus, et sponsa dicunt: Veni. Et qui audit, dicat: Veni. Et qui sitit, veniat: et qui vult, accipiat aquam vitæ, gratis. 18For I testify to every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book.Imperocché fo insieme sapere a chiunque ascolta le parole di profezia di questo libro, che se alcuno vi aggiungerà, porrà Dio sopra di lui le piaghe scritte in questo libro.For I testifie to euery one hearing the vvordes of the prophecie of this booke, • If any mā shal adde to these things, God shal adde vpon him the plagues vvritten in this booke.Contestor enim omni audienti verba prophetiæ libri hujus: si quis apposuerit ad hæc, apponet Deus super illum plagas scriptas in libro isto. 19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book.E se alcuno torrà qualche cosa delle parole di profezia di questo libro, torrà Dio la porzione di lui dal libro della vita, e dalla città santa, e dalle cose, che sono scritte in questo libro:And if any man shal diminish of the wordes of the booke of this prophecie: God shal take avvay his part out of the booke of life, and out of the holy citie, and of these thinges that be vvritten in this booke.Et si quis diminuerit de verbis libri prophetiæ hujus, auferet Deus partem ejus de libro vitæ, et de civitate sancta, et de his quæ scripta sunt in libro isto: 20He that giveth testimony of these things, saith: Surely, I come quickly: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.Dice colui, che fa fede di tali cose. Certamente io vengo ben presto: così sia. Vieni, Signor Gesù.saith he that giueth testimonie of these things. Yea I come quickely: Amen. • Come Lord IESVS.dicit qui testimonium perhibet istorum. Etiam venio cito: amen. Veni, Domine Jesu.
21The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.La grazia del Signor nostro Gesù Cristo con tutti voi. Così sia.The grace of our Lord IESVS Christ be vvith you al. Amen.Gratia Domini nostri Jesu Christi cum omnibus vobis. Amen.
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Witham
A river of water of life, or of living water. It is spoken with allusion to the rivers of paradise and to the tree of life. (Witham)
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Witham
For the healing of the nations, or Gentiles, to signify the call of all Gentiles or nations to this heavenly happiness. (Witham)
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Witham
They shall see his face. Thus in a few words is expressed the happiness of the blessed in heaven; they shall see God, from which vision proceed love, joy, and everlasting praises of the divine Majesty. (Witham)
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These words are most faithful. Here begins the conclusion and close of all these revelations.
Witham
The Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his Angel to shew, etc. and in the 16th verse it is said: I, Jesus, have sent my Angel to testify: from whence we may understand that Jesus, as to his person, is the same Lord God with the Father, though as man he is the root of the offspring of David, of the race of David, as the Messias was to be. (Witham)
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Witham
Behold I come quickly. Man's life is short, and at his death he must give an account to God. All time is short, if compared with eternity. St. John (ver. 8) was again for casting himself at the feet of the Angel, though here it is not expressed whether it were to adore God, or whether it were by an inferior veneration to the Angel, often expressed by adoration. (Witham)
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Bible de Vence
This is the second time the saint wishes to adore the Angel, but not with the supreme worship of latria, as he knew the object of his worship was only an Angel, and of course a mere creature; but the Angel, through respect for St. John, still refuses the proffered honour, (see Apocalypse 19:10.) and to shew the holy society that was hereafter to exist between Angels and men, who were to compose but one and the same family. (Bible de Vence)
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Witham
Seal not the words; as not designed to be kept sealed or secret, but to be delivered to the faithful for their instruction, that they may be prepared to suffer persecutions; that their faith, hope, and charity may be enlivened and increased by a firm expectation of their happiness in the next world, after short sufferings in this. (Witham)
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Witham
He that hurteth, (by living in sins against God, himself, and his neighbours) let him hurt still; that is he shall be permitted; and he that is just, let him be justified still, and increase in virtues by God's assistance. (Witham)
Challoner
It is not an exhortation or license to go on in sin, but an intimation that how far soever the wicked may proceed, their progress shall quickly end, and then they must expect to meet with proportionable punishments. (Challoner)
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Witham
I am alpha and omega. See Apocalypse 1:8. (Witham)
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Witham
That they may have a right or power to eat of the tree of life. A right grounded on the promises of God and his graces. (Witham)
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Witham
Without are dogs; meaning unbelievers, and whosever loveth and maketh a lie, that is all the wicked, who have not walked in the ways of truth. (Witham)
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Witham
And the Spirit and the bride say: Come. That is, the Spirit of God, who moves us to love and praise him; and the bride, that is the Church, the spouse of Christ, which earnestly desires to be happy in the enjoyment of God: and every one that heareth these divine promises, let him with all the affections of his soul, with his whole heart, say: Come. He that thirsteth after justice, the Author and Fountain of all justice, let him come and be filled gratis by the bounty and liberality of our merciful God. (Witham)
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Witham
I, John, testify and bear witness of all the truths contained in this revelation: If any man shall add to these things, he becomes guilty of sin, and makes himself liable to the punishments and plagues that are written in this book. (Witham)
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He that giveth testimony of these things, that is God, and Jesus Christ by an Angel, saith, surely, (or even so, or truly, these are certain truths) I come quickly, to reward the good and punish the evil. To which words St. John himself replieth with a zealous prayer and earnest desire, saying, Amen, let it be so.
Witham
Come, Lord Jesus: come, and remain always in my soul by thy grace, and make me partaker of thy glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Witham)
Conclusion. The Church in sighs and groans, and by the mouth of her children, solicits the coming of Jesus Christ, her divine Spouse. The fruit to be drawn from the perusal of this sacred book, is ardently to desire the kingdom of God, to sigh after the day of eternity, to feel the weight of the yoke of the present life, and the disgrace of our exile, and to live here below as strangers. Enkindle in me, O Lord, this desire; enable my poor soul to join with the beloved disciple in this prayer: Come, Lord Jesus; that she may go and lose herself in Thee, who art her Centre, her God, her All.
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For the time is at hand.... That is, when compared to eternity, all time and temporal things vanish, and are but of short duration. As to the time when the chief predictions should come to pass, we have no certainty, as appears by the different opinions, both of the ancient fathers and late interpreters. Many think that most things set down from the 4th chapter to the end, will not be fulfilled till a little time before the end of the world. Others are of opinion, that a great part of them, and particularly the fall of the wicked Babylon, happened at the destruction of paganism, by the destruction of heathen Rome, and its persecuting heathen emperors. Of these interpretations, see Aleazar, in his long commentary; see the learned Bossnet, bishop of Meaux, in his treatise on this Book; and P. Alleman, in his notes on the same Apocalypse, tom. 12, who in his Preface says, that this, in a great measure, may be now looked upon as the opinion followed by the learned men. In fine, others think that St. John’s design was in a mystical way, by metaphors and allegories, to represent the attempts and persecutions of the wicked against the servants of God, the punishments that should in a short time fall upon Babylon, that is, upon all the wicked in general: the eternal happiness and reward, which God had reserved for the pious inhabitants of Jerusalem, that is, for his faithful servants, after their short trials and the tribulations of this mortal life. In the mean time we meet with many profitable instructions and admonitions, which we may easily enough understand: but we have no certainty when we apply these predictions to particular events: for as St. Jerome takes notice, the Apocalypse has as many mysteries as words, or rather mysteries in every word. Apocalypsis Joannis tot habet Sacramenta quot verba—parum dixi, in verbis singulis multiplices latent intelligentiae. Ep. ad Paulin, t. 4. p. 574. Edit. Benedict.
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Let him hurt still.... It is not an exhortation, or license to go on in sin; but an intimation, that how far soever the wicked may proceed, their progress shall quickly end, and then they must expect to meet with proportionable punishments.
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vvater of life,
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Christ is our tree of life: in the Church, by the B. Sacramé: & in heauen, by his visible presence and influence of life euer lasting both to our bodies and soules: of vv•ō Salomon saith, The tree of life to al that apprehend him. Prou. 3.
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Concordance Apo. 21. Esa. 60
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THE CONCLVSION.
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Concordance Apo. 19, 10.
You see it is al one to adore before the feete of the angel, & to adore the Angel: though, to adore him, •e not expressed as in the 19 chap. See the an̄otatiō there v. 10.
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11. He that hurteth.] It is not an exhortation, but a commination or threatening, that hovv far soeuer the vvicked increase in naughtines. God hath prouided ansvverable punishment for them.
Man by Gods grace & doing good workes, doth increase his iustice.
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Heauen is the reward, hire, & repaiment for good workes, in al the Scriptures. yet the aduersaries wil not see it.
Concordance Ro. 2, 6.
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Concordance Apo. 21, 6. 1, 8.
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Concordance Es. 55, 1.
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18. If any man shal adde.] The curse agaīst adding or diminishing, is against Heretikes, not Catholike expositours. The author of the commentaries vpon this booke, bearing the name of S. Ambrose, saith thus of this point. He maketh not this protestation against the expositours of his prophecie, but against Heretikes, for the expositour doth adde or diminish nothing, but openeth: the obscuritie of the narration, or shevveth the moral or spiritual sense. He curseth therfore Heretikes, that vsed to adde somevvhat of their ovvne that vvas false, and to take avvay other things that vvere contrarie to their heresies. So saith this auncient vvriter. And this vvas the propertie of them in al ages, and so is it of ours novv, as vve haue noted through the vvhole Bible, and as vve haue in sundrie places set forth to the sight of al indifferent readers, in the nevv Testament, that al the vvorld may see that the Apostles curse is fallen vpon them, and may bevvare of them.
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20. Come Lord Iesus.] A breefe petitiō vnto IESVS Christ, to come quickly, as S. Iohn here speaketh, and to iudge the cause of Catholikes & Protestants. And novv ô Lord Christ, most iust and merciful, vve they poore creatures that are so afflicted for confession and defense of the holy, Catholike, and Apostolike truth, conteined in this thy sacred booke, and in the infallible doctrine of thy deere spouse our mother the Church, vve crie also vnto thy Maiestie vvith tendernesse of our hartes vnspeakable, COME LORD IESVS QUICKLY, and iudge betvvixt vs and our Aduersaries, and in the meane time giue patience, comfort, and constancie to al that suffer for thy name, and trust in thee. ô Lord God our onely helper and protector, tarie not long. AMEN.
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Tertullian † AD 220 An Answer to the Jews 13
… “because these two evils hath My People done; Me,” He says, “they have quite forsaken, the fount of water of life,
St Hilary of Poitiers † AD 367 Homilies on the Psalms 1
… And He shewed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb; in the midst of the street of it and on either side of the river the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree are for the healing the nations
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 3.20
… “And He showed me a river of living water, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street thereof, and on either side, was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of all nations.”
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St Dionysius of Alexandria † AD 265 Containing Various Sections of the Works 1.4
… “For blessed,” says he, “is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book; and I John who saw and heard these things.”
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 7.25
“Having finished all the prophecy, so to speak, the prophet pronounces those blessed who shall observe it, and also himself. For he says, ‘Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book, and I, John, who saw and heard these things.’
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 13.2
… For we find an angel forbidding a man to fall at his feet. For example, when in the Apocalypse an angel was showing certain things to John, the writer of this Gospel, John, terrified at the greatness of the vision, fell down at the angel’s feet. But said the angel, “Rise; see thou do it not: worship God, for I am thy fellow-servant, and the brethren’s.”
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 On the Advantage of Patience 24
… “See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren. Worship Jesus the Lord.”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.16
… Thus Peter the Apostle hinders Cornelius who would worship him, saying, ‘I myself also am a man .’ And an Angel, when John would worship him in the Apocalypse, hinders him, saying, ‘See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the Prophets, and of them that keep the sayings of this book: worship God
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 On the Advantage of Patience 21
… for now the time is at hand for them that persevere in injuring to injure, and for him that is filthy to be filthy still; but for him that is righteous to do things still more righteous, and likewise for him that is holy to do things still more holy. Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to his deeds.”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.24
… because now the time is at hand. And let those who persist in hurting, hurt: and let him who is filthy, be filthy still: but let the righteous do still more righteousness: and in like manner, let him that is holy do still more holiness. Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to his deeds.”
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Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 5.1.58
… that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘He that is lawless, let him be lawless still, and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still.’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 78.9
… whence I suppose that to them applies the word written in the Apocalypse, “He that is righteous, let him be still more righteous; and he that is filthy, let him be still more filthy.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 7.9
9. “But let the wickedness of sinners be consummated” ( ver. 9 ). He says, “be consummated,” be completed, according to that in the Apocalypse, “Let the righteous become more righteous, and let the filthy be filthy still.”
Pseudo-Irenaeus Pseud-Irenæus 1
… but their defeat only the more inflamed their rage, and governor and people, like a wild beast, showed a like unjust hatred of us, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still.’
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Pope St Clement I † AD 99 The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians 34
… the lazy and slothful cannot look his employer in the face. It is requisite, therefore, that we be prompt in the practice of well-doing; for of Him are all things. And thus He forewarns us: “Behold, the Lord [cometh], and His reward is before His face, to render to every man according to his work.”
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Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 1.22
… And we should add that having created, so to speak, ensouled wisdom, He left her to hand over, from the types which were in her, to things existing and to matter, the actual emergence of them, their moulding and their forms . But I consider, if it be permitted to say this, that the beginning (arche) of real existence was the Son of God, saying:
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 1.23
… But in the Apocalypse of John, too, He says, “I am the first and the last, and the living One, and I was dead. Behold, I am alive for evermore.” And again,
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 2.23
… and they had His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.” Also in the same place: “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have power over the tree of life.”
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 4.26
… I Jesus have sent My Angel, to testify these things in the Churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star. And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come; and let him that heareth say, Come; and let him that is athirst, Come; and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 19
… “Blessed they who act according to the precepts, that they may have power over the tree of life and over the gates, for entering into the holy city. Dogs, sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, out!”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.9
… the Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.” He does not mean the gates which we see to-day in dust and ashes; the gates he means are those against which hell prevails not and through which the multitude of those who believe in Christ enter in.
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 2.5
Now then, ye dogs, whom the apostle puts outside,
St Hippolytus † AD 235 Treatise on Christ and Antichrist 65
… “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, which my Father hath prepared.” And John says, “Without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever maketh and loveth a lie; for your part is in the hell of fire.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 118.14
14. But consider how the gates of righteousness are entered into. “These are the gates of the Lord” he saith, “the righteous shall enter into them” ( ver. 20 ). At least let no wicked man enter there, that Jerusalem which receiveth not one uncircumcised, where it is said, “Without are dogs.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 6
… iii. 10, 11 .) And again that Christ is the foundation. What then means all this? You observe that the comparisons have all referred to the subject-matters, and that we must not expound them to the very letter. The Apostle speaks from analogy as Christ does, where He calls the Father an husbandman, ( John xv. 1 .) and Himself a root. (
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.4.1
1. Since therefore we have such proofs, it is not necessary to seek the truth among others which it is easy to obtain from the Church; since the apostles, like a rich man [depositing his money] in a bank, lodged in her hands most copiously all things pertaining to the truth: so that every man, whosoever will, can draw from her the water of life.
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 3.25
… for l have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God ( Acts xx. 26, 27 ). Let them hear how John is admonished by the angelic voice, when it is said, Let him that heareth say, Come (
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Tertullian † AD 220 Against Hermogenes 22
… But whether all things were made out of any underlying Matter, I have as yet failed anywhere to find. Where such a statement is written, Hermogenes’ shop must tell us. If it is nowhere written, then let it fear the woe which impends on all who add to or take away from the written word .
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 4.23.12
12. The same writer also speaks as follows concerning his own epistles, alleging that they had been mutilated: “As the brethren desired me to write epistles, I wrote. And these epistles the apostles of the devil have filled with tares, cutting out some things and adding others. For them a woe is reserved.
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 5.20.2
2. At the close of the treatise we have found a most beautiful note which we are constrained to insert in this work.
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 80.3
In the sight of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.30.1
… Now, in the first place, it is loss to wander from the truth, and to imagine that as being the case which is not; then again, as there shall be no light punishment [inflicted] upon him who either adds or subtracts anything from the Scripture,
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1. AND HE SHEWED ME A RIVER OF WATER OF LIFE (Syriac, of living waters), SHINING AS CRYSTAL, PROCEEDING FROM THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB. — The Arabic version renders it: And he shewed me a river of water of life proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the streets thereof; and the sea on this side, and on that side (on either side), and the tree of life bearing twelve fruits according to the number of the months. He calls this heavenly river a sea, because it was great and vast like a sea. For understanding this vision and symbol note that St. John saw the throne of God and of the Lamb in the midst of the city, placed in a high place, and from this throne a river proceeds, which runs through the individual streets of the city, both for the pleasure and for the utility of the citizens, and that twofold, namely first, that it may give drink to the thirsty, as is said in verse 17; second, that it may give food to the hungry. For it has and nourishes on either side most beautiful trees, bearing fruits and the most excellent produce, like the divine paradise: wherefore both the river, and the trees, and the fruits and all other things here are divine. This river is called the river of life, that is, vital, giving forth living and ever-springing waters, by which it confers perpetual and blessed life upon the thirsty and those who drink. You will ask: What is this river of life? First, Richard and Joachim answer that it is the grace of the Holy Spirit. Second, Rupertus says it is the Holy Spirit himself, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, just as this river is said to emanate from the throne of God and of the Lamb; for the Holy Spirit is, as the source of grace, so also the most abundant source of glory, happiness and pleasure, who supplies to the elect and the Blessed continually all things suitable for pleasure, so that through each month and day before eternity they may feed upon the most sweet fruits. Thus also St. Ambrose in book III On the Holy Spirit, chapter xxi. "This," he says, "is surely the river proceeding from God's throne, it is the Holy Spirit whom he drinks who believes in Christ, as he himself says: If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. He that believeth in me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this he said of the Spirit. Therefore the river is the Spirit. This therefore is in God's throne." Third, Haymo and Ansbertus say this river is the preaching of the Gospel, which like a river has spread through all nations. But St. John here treats of the Blessed, and of blessedness, not of the conversion of the nations. Therefore I say that he alludes here to the earthly paradise, and its fountain and tree of life, of which Genesis chapter ii speaks. The river therefore signifies the abundance of gifts and pleasures poured forth by God and Christ upon the Blessed. It is called "a river of water of life," or, as others read, "of living water," which namely always from itself, as it were from a vital heart or liver, pours forth water, or which always flows, and never dries up or fails: which if it flows through the city, brings great pleasantness and utility to it. Whence it is said Psalm xlv, 5: "The impetus of the river maketh the city of God joyful." Such therefore is the river in heaven, the beatific vision of God, by which God communicates himself and all his goods to the Saints, and pours his joys into them so abundantly, that of them it is said Psalm xxxv, 9: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures." And Isaiah lxvi, 12: "I will decline upon her as a river of peace, and as a torrent overflowing with glory." Wherefore piously and truly St. Bernard, sermon 1 On Various Subjects, comparing the labors and pains of this life with this river of heavenly pleasures: "Pain," he says, "is drunk drop by drop, taken little by little, passes through in small portions; for in the recompense it is a torrent of pleasure, and the impetus of a river, a torrent overflowing and making joyful, a river of glory, and a river of peace. It is truly a river, but one that flows in, not one that flows or flows out. It is called a river, not because it passes or passes through, but because it abounds." This river was foreshadowed anagogically by that river of the temple in Ezekiel chapter xlvii, verses 1 and 5, as St. Jerome says. For that of Ezekiel is of the Church militant, but this of John is of the Church triumphant: for the river of doctrine and wisdom of the Church militant corresponds the river of heavenly wisdom and the beatific vision. Wherefore of this wisdom it is said Ecclesiasticus xxiv, 40: "I wisdom have poured out rivers: I have gone out as a river dioryx (that is an aqueduct; whence explaining it he adds), and as an aqueduct have I come out of Paradise. I will water my garden of plantations, and I will inebriate the fruit of my meadow." You will say: The beatific vision is the sun of this city, namely the clarity of God illuminating the city, as was said in chapter xxi, verse 23. Therefore the same cannot be the river of the city. I answer, I deny the consequence. For in symbolic and enigmatic visions, the same thing is represented through diverse symbols and enigmas, especially since the thing itself has various properties, which cannot be adequately figured and expressed through one symbol. Thus here the vision of God is compared to the sun of the heavenly Jerusalem, because it illuminates and glorifies it. The same vision is compared to the river of the city, because it fulfills and satisfies every thirst and every desire of the Blessed, and suffuses and inebriates them with ineffable pleasure. Wherefore Alcazar compares it to the river which Mordecai saw in a dream converted into the sun, Esther x, 6: "A small fountain," he says, "grew into a river, and was converted into light and sun, and overflowed into many waters." Moreover this fountain represented "Esther, whom the King took as wife, and wished to make queen." Thus likewise mystically wisdom, which all the Blessed join to themselves in spiritual marriage, is shadowed forth through the sun and through the river. Hence its water is called "of life," just as Italians call distilled wine aqua vitae, because it is as it were the vital spirit of wine, which spirit animates and suggests life and instills it to the drinker; or life here signifies happiness, because life in Scripture is often the same as beatitude. Wherefore the river of the water of life will be the same as the blessed river, or rather the beatifying river. In a similar sense it is called the tree or wood of life. Thus Alcazar. Similar to this vital river is the fountain of the Virgin nourishing balm. For Burchard, who explored the holy land three hundred years ago, in his Description, final chapter, and from him Thomas Bozius, On the Signs of the Church, book II, chapter vii, relates that he saw in Egypt a garden of balsam, which did not produce fruit from itself, unless it were irrigated by a nearby fountain, in which the Blessed Virgin frequently washed the boy Jesus; and that the Saracens, experienced in this, testified that it was in vain to irrigate it with other waters: wherefore they brought water into it from elsewhere, so that drawing divine virtue from it, it would suffice abundantly for irrigation. Thus tropologically, all our thoughts and deeds wither like sterile plants, unless they are irrigated by that water of life. O thou alone among virgins mother, and among mothers Virgin; thou alone mother of thy Son and his daughter, to thee and to thy Jesus belongs this motto: "Whatever thou waterest grows." Thus Nicholas Causinus, book I, Parables of History, lxv. Add that this river is like the sun, because it is pellucid like crystal: by which is signified the purity and sanctity of the pleasure which the Blessed draw from spiritual wisdom and the beatific vision, whereas concerning carnal wisdom and carnal pleasures Jeremiah says, II, 18: "What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the troubled water?" Moreover light and spiritual life are inseparable companions and associates, and they give most abundant fruits of the clearest virtues. Wherefore Scripture is accustomed to associate them, as Psalm xxxv, 10: "For with thee is the fountain of life, and in thy light we shall see light." And John i, 4: "In him was life, and the life was the light of men." Some think the river here is compared to crystal, because water is the matter of crystal, and ice long preserved in the coldest mountains is finally converted into crystal. But this is refuted by Anselm Boetius, book II, On Gems, chapter lxxiii: "Never," he says, "can water be changed into crystal; yet without water it is not generated: for the finest portion of earth must be dissolved by water, or some other portion must be mixed with it, which, when the water recedes, then for the first time congeals into crystal. If crystal consisted of congealed water, it would be dissolved by fire (for things which congeal by cold are dissolved by heat), and the watery parts would be dissolved by fire, which does not happen in experience. For when burned by fire it shows lime, or earth, and salt, by whose spirit it was coagulated." The true cause, therefore, why this river is compared to crystal, is that which I have given, namely that it is clear and shining like crystal. Whence he says: "Bright as crystal." Thus the Poet sings: The fountain was clear, silvery with bright waters. Thus the Roman Gentiles believed that the souls of their people after death were transferred to heaven to the milky circle (or galaxy), which appears to be as it were a river of water, or rather of milk white and shining: for there the souls of heroes dwell on account of a similar brightness of life, namely innocence, purity, sanctity, as Cicero relates in the Dream of Scipio. Whence Manilius, book I, assigning the reason why the milky circle shines with thick light, thus sings: Do strong souls, and names worthy of heaven, Released from their bodies and sent from earth, Migrate hither from the world, and dwelling in their own heaven, Live ethereal years, and enjoy the world? And here we venerate the Aeacids, here also the Atridae. To this Virgil alluded, Eclogue 5, where celebrating the apotheosis of Julius Caesar whom he calls Daphnis (because he was accustomed to bind his head with a laurel crown in place of a diadem: for Daphne in Greek is laurel), thus he sings: Bright Daphnis wonders at the unaccustomed threshold of Olympus, And beneath his feet sees clouds and stars.
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2. IN THE MIDST OF THE STREET THEREOF, AND ON BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVER THE TREE OF LIFE, BEARING TWELVE FRUITS, YIELDING ITS FRUIT EVERY MONTH, AND THE LEAVES OF THE TREE FOR THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS. "Tree," that is, trees, that is, vital trees: for neither can one and the same tree be on both sides of the river's bank. He alludes both to the tree of life, which was in the earthly paradise, concerning which I have spoken Genesis ii, 8 and 9: and to Ezekiel xlvii, 7: "Behold on the bank of the torrent very many trees," and verse 12: "On its banks on both sides shall grow all manner of fruit trees: their leaf shall not fall off, and their fruit shall not fail; every month shall they bring forth firstfruits." Where note: In the earthly paradise there were various species of trees, of which one was called the tree of life; in the heavenly paradise, however, all species of trees are of life, that is, bringing forth life and joyful and blessed immortality, as if to say: Truly the Blessed are immortal, and their joys and happiness, because wherever they turn, through all paths these vital trees arranged in a twofold order meet them, whose fruits they continually feed upon and enjoy. Hence the palm is similar to the tree of life, "which at each rising of the moon produces single branches also, so that by the production of twelve branches the year is completed. Wherefore the Egyptians, indicating the year, painted a palm," says Horus Apollo in Hieroglyphics, chapter ii. Thus in the Life of St. Onuphrius we read, when he had fled into the desert and sat down beside a fountain, and a palm, which produced fruit for him every month, namely dates: "Every month," he says, "it brings forth for me one cluster of dates, which suffices me for thirty days, and after this another ripens." Thus in the Lives of the Fathers, book VI, booklet III, number 11. In Italy also we see fig trees that are bifera, that is, bearing fruit twice in a year, namely in June and September; again trees of melons, or golden apples, citrons, etc., which are green throughout the year and bear fruit, some ripe and saffron-colored, or golden, others green and ripening. Homer and the Poets also celebrate the gardens of Alcinous, because they are bifera, and always furnished with green leaves, which St. Justin in his Exhortation to the Gentiles teaches that Homer took from Moses (for Homer was far later than Moses; but earlier and more ancient than Ezekiel, to whom John here alludes), and that the gardens of Alcinous are none other than the earthly paradise. But these trees of St. John bring forth new fruits, and those vital, every month; and they bear leaves always green and conferring health. Hear St. Justin reciting verses of Homer: "Homer described an image of paradise in the gardens of Alcinous, which he says are always green, full of continuous fruits." For thus he sings in Odyssey VII: There grew great trees, tall Pears, and pomegranates, and fruitful apples, Sweet figs, and long olives: Whose fruit never perishes, nor fails Nor in winter nor in summer, ever-lasting; but always the breeze Zephyrian blowing produces some, ripens others, Pear after pear grows old, and apple after apple, And grape after grape, and fig after fig. Aelianus relates, book III, chapter xviii, a story, or rather a fable (certainly it is an allegory of the infernal Styx and of this heavenly river), that in the borders of the Meropes there is a place called Anostus, from which there is no return; in it two rivers flow, one of pleasure, the other of sadness, and on both sides trees are situated, of the size of a plane tree. Those which are at the river of sadness produce such fruits that, if anyone eats of them, he weeps continually and abundantly throughout his whole life, and is dissolved in tears and mourning, and thus ends his life. But the others, which are known to the river of pleasure, produce the contrary fruit. For whoever tastes it is drawn away from all his former desires, and if he loved anyone, he forgets him, and gradually becomes younger, and brings back and resumes his past age, so that from old age he returns to vigor and the flower of youth. Surely such is this river of the heavenly paradise, such are the trees and fruits, nay far more excellent. Wherefore Beza wrongly translated "street" as "forum," as if this tree and fruit were only in the forum. For these trees were on both sides of the river's bank; but this river not only flowed through the forum, but the whole city; it gladdened and nourished it through its fruits, so that the citizens might have them at hand and before their eyes continually. Thus almost all the streets of Venice are irrigated by streams. Finally, the Greek πλατεία means "street," not "forum": a street, I say, notable, long and wide, which befits so great a city. Whence the Syriac and Arabic translate "street." Question: What are these trees of life? First, Ticonius here, homily 18, thinks it is the cross: "The wood," he says, "beside the river is the cross, which throughout the whole world not only in all months, but also in all days in those who are baptized, exhibits fruit to God. There is no wood that bears fruit at all times, except the cross of Christ which the faithful bear, who are watered by the water of the Ecclesiastical river, and render perpetual fruit at all times." But truly these trees seen by John are in the heavenly paradise: the cross, however, is on earth and in the Church militant. Therefore these trees are not the cross, unless one should say that the cross of Christ and also of the Saints will be in heaven, as a trophy and eternal triumph: because the cross which they suffered here will bring them perpetual joy and glory; whence either it itself, or its image and symbol will remain in the Blessed. For just as Christ in heaven retains the scars of his wounds, but now glorious and shining with wondrous glory: so it appears that the Martyrs and other Saints will retain similar marks. Indeed, the cross of Christ will also appear outwardly in heaven, as it were a trophy of victory. This is what Christ says in Matthew 24:30: "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven." Whence also the Church sings: "This sign of the cross shall be in heaven, when the Lord shall come to judge." And the Sibyl in book VI of the Carmina: O blessed wood, on which God himself hung! The earth does not contain you, but you shall see the vaults of heaven, When God's renewed face shall shine forth ignited. Second, some, as Viegas, think they are the Saints and the Blessed themselves: for these are compared to a tree in Psalm 1:3: "And he shall be," it says, "as a tree which is planted beside the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit in due season, and his leaf shall not fall off, and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper." But these trees of life are the food of the Blessed, which confers immortal life upon them; therefore they are not the Blessed themselves, whence in chapter 2, verse 7, he said: "To him that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God." Third, Bede, Rupert, Ansbert, Ribera and others, by the tree of life understand Christ the Lord, who by his vision and enjoyment gives the Blessed immortal life, just as the tree of life gave to Adam in paradise. This tree bears twelve fruits in twelve months, that is, perpetually supplies to the Blessed its fruit for food and fresh pleasure, and without any disgust, indeed with ever new eagerness. The leaves of the tree are the words of Christ, by which he himself will soothe and console the Blessed of all nations. Whence Peter said to him: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Fourth, more aptly and genuinely Alcazar holds that divine wisdom, or the beatific vision, is represented here by two symbols, namely by the river of the water of life, and by the tree of life. For it is called itself a river of the water of life, because it satisfies all the thirst and desires of the Saints, and inebriates them with the highest pleasure. The same is called the tree of life, because after the manner of it, it confers immortality on the Blessed. For the beatific vision (which is the most perfect act of wisdom) necessarily brings with it the highest pleasure, and likewise immortality. But these two are most aptly figured by the drink of life and the food of life, because from drink and food, drink seems more apt to indicate pleasure; food, however, to the sustenance of life. For in drink there is greater pleasure, in nourishment there is more robust sustenance. Moreover, that these trees bring forth new fruits each month signifies that in the Blessed there is a continual renewal of immortality and blessedness, and that it is always new, complete and perfect: so that each month, day and hour, the vision of God and the enjoyment of it is so new, savory and delightful to them, as it was on the first day when they began to enjoy it; for never, not even after a thousand million years, will any trace of oldness, disgust or satiety creep upon them. Third, "the leaves thereof are for the healing of the nations," not for restoring and curing: for this cannot happen, since there are no diseases there, no defect of strength; but for preserving and prolonging it into all eternity. Add that these leaves heal all diseases and infirmities of body and soul, which the Saints suffered in this life; therefore they heal them as soon as anyone enters heaven, and then keep them healed in all ages. Moreover, these leaves signify the accidental gifts of the beatific vision, which adorn it, as leaves adorn a tree, such as in the soul the highest delight, enjoyment, comprehension of the supreme good: in the body complete health, vigor, strength; likewise agility, clarity, subtlety, impassibility. Alcazar adds that these leaves are the holy ceremonies and pious words, likewise the Sacraments, with which the Catholic Church is adorned; for the Blessed even now rejoice and delight in these, especially when they see that through them they have attained to blessedness. For these are the leaves of the tree of Ezechiel xlvii, 7, to which St. John here alludes anagogically; for Ezechiel's river and tree of life is the Church militant, but John's river here and tree of life is the Church triumphant. In sum, these leaves signify symbolically that in the heavenly glory and beatific vision there is nothing, however small, which does not wonderfully recreate, vivify, invigorate and bless the Blessed. This fountain of life with its trees and gems St. Augustine thus depicts in the book of Meditations, chapter xxv, volume IX: To the fountain of eternal life the parched mind thirsted, The barriers of flesh press to be broken, the soul seeks them closed, Where living pearls arise buildings, Where lofty roofs gleam with gold, and dining halls shine. With pure gold as with glass the way of the city is strewn, Mud is absent, filth is lacking, no plague is seen. Dreadful winter, scorching summer, there never rage. And again: The perpetual flower of roses brings perpetual spring, Lilies gleam white, the crocus blushes, balsam sweats, The meadows are green, the crops flourish, rivers of honey flow. The fragrance of spices breathes forth, and the liquid of aromatics, Fruits hang from flowering groves never to fall, The hungry always eat, and eating always hunger. By which words he signifies that there will be there things flourishing, fragrant, pleasant, which nourish the sight, smell and other senses, and fill them with wonderful delight. St. Anselm teaches the same thing, in his book On Similitudes, chapter lvii: "The eyes," he says, "ears, nostrils, mouth, hands, throat, liver, lungs, bones, marrow, etc., are filled with the wonderful sense of delight and sweetness of the Blessed." Blessed Lawrence Justinian asserts the same thing, in On Monastic Discipline, conversation chapter xxiii. The same is evident from the vision which St. Gregory recounts, book IV of the Dialogues, chapter xxxvi. For the Blessed will be in heaven in the empyrean, as it were in a most pleasant and most happy ether, which therefore can be divided and split like our air (lest the Blessed be packed in it as if in a wall), as Dr. Thomas teaches, in II, distinction II, Question II, article 2, Richard in IV, distinction xlix, Question III, article 4, indeed St. Basil, Ambrose, Damascene, whom I cited on Genesis i, 6, and Sebastian Barradius, volume III, book X, chapter III, and others. Finally, all the senses of the Blessed will have their own and wonderful delights, and their own pleasures which neither eye has seen nor ear heard, in heaven, as Dr. Thomas, Scotus, Dr. Soto, Henry, Major and others teach, whom Suarez cites and follows, III part., volume II, disputation xlvii, final section, and John Salas, III, Question V, article 5, tract 2, disputation 14, section 14. This is what the Psalmist longed for: "I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living." Wherefore this river, trees and fruits can be understood literally, as they sound. For what prevents it? For if Adam enjoyed these things in the earthly paradise, much more will the Blessed enjoy them in the heavenly paradise; for the earthly was a specimen and image of this. Wherefore I taught on Genesis i, 6 that there are true and natural waters above the heavens, from Moses and from the common opinion of the Fathers. But through these things mystically and symbolically the beatifying gifts already mentioned, and the abundance of goods and joys, are signified and represented. St. Dorothy, virgin and martyr, thirsting for these waters and delights of the heavenly paradise, when she was being severely tortured on the rack, said to the tyrant with great constancy and serenity: "Why do you delay? Exercise all your torments upon me: do at once what you think to do, that through them I may come to my Spouse, for whose love I do not fear you, but rather desire your torments. For my Spouse invites me: we go through these brief and slight sufferings to the paradise of delights, where there are fruits of wonderful beauty, roses, lilies and innumerable flowers, which never wither, where there are fountains of living water, which never dry up, which the souls of the Saints enjoy and exult in Christ." And when Theophilus, the assessor of the Prefect, mocking (for it was winter, namely February 6), said: "Send me fruits from the paradise of your Spouse, when you arrive there." "I will," she said; and she did so. For she sent to him an Angel in the form of a most elegant boy, with fruits and most beautiful roses. By which miracle Theophilus was converted, confessed Christ, and likewise obtained the crown of martyrdom. Truly therefore Dorothy was δῶρον Θεοῦ, that is, a gift of God, as in name, so in reality. Tropologically, the tree of life is holy perfection, planted in the hearts of the just beside the streams of grace. The root is the fear of God, Ecclesiasticus i, 16. The branches are all the virtues, which proceed from the fear and love of God, concerning which Ecclesiasticus i, 25: "Her branches are long-lived." The leaves are the divine precepts, because this tree protects and adorns them, by which nations are freed from the diseases of sins, and obtain the health of justice. The twelve fruits are: first, purity of minds; second, rejection of temporal things; third, rest of appetites; fourth, circumspection of words; fifth, cleanness of thoughts; sixth, impatience of heavenly desires; seventh, solicitude for virtues; eighth, beauty of works; ninth, endurance of adversities; tenth, collection of internal powers; eleventh, harmony of wills; twelfth, transformation into God, which our James Alvarez de Paz recounts and treats at length, book III On the Nature of Perfection, part II, chapter xiii and following.
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3. AND EVERY CURSE SHALL BE NO MORE. — That is to say, nothing worthy of curse, namely no sin, shall be any more; for this is what κατάθεμα signifies. Again metonymically, "no curse," that is, no effect and punishment of curse, or of sin, namely no disease, no pain, no misery shall be there. Therefore every curse shall be taken away in heaven, that is, sin with its offspring, namely all guilt and punishment: and in their place shall succeed every blessing, that is, all grace and glory, all good, all happiness; among which the first shall be, that they will continually have before them the throne of God and the Lamb, and will deal familiarly with both, will see both, will enjoy both, will be cherished by both, will be refreshed and made blessed by both; whence he adds: "The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it," and they themselves as it were "shall serve him." For to serve God, especially in heaven, is to reign. "And they shall see his face."
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4. AND HIS NAME IN THEIR FOREHEADS, — that is to say, They will openly profess and glory that they are servants of God, as if they bore His name openly inscribed on their foreheads. For this is a metalepsis. Yet this servitude will not be so much servitude as royal dominion: for all the Blessed will be kings and princes; whence he adds in verse 5: "And they shall reign for ever and ever." He alludes to the plate of the high priest, on which was inscribed, "Holy to the Lord," Exodus xxviii, 36: for just as this inscription on the plate signified that he was a minister and high priest of the holy God, so in heaven all will recognize from the face and countenance of the Blessed that they are servants and priests of the blessed God, and therefore (as Alcazar adds) that they are advocates for those who dwell in this mortal life, and are more powerful than Aaron in this matter. This latter is true, but not to the point; for after the resurrection and the day of judgment, and the glory of the Blessed, of which the matter here concerns, there will be no men on earth for whom the Blessed in heaven might intercede with God.
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5. AND NIGHT SHALL BE NO MORE. — He repeats and emphasizes what he said in chapter xxi, verse 23. Here ends the description and portrayal of the heavenly Jerusalem, which St. John began in chapter xxi, 1, and has carried through to this point. A similar description, drawn almost from this passage, is found in St. Vigilantius in the Life of St. Astion, which is extant in the Lives of the Fathers by P. Heribert. For when Astion was crowned with the laurel of martyrdom, he appeared to Vigilantius in a dream, asking him to go to his parents, and to convert them, still pagans, to Christ, and to announce to them his death and martyrdom directly. Vigilantius obeyed, and in order to ease the parents' sorrow over their son's death, he at first concealed the matter, and said that Astion was still alive. When his mother asked in what region and city, in what manner and way he lived, he answered: "It is a region of strong and mighty men. Many (...) and very noble ones dwell there, whose possession is called paradise, whose tabernacles are constructed of light, whose life is God, and whose conversation is immortal; whose garments are sprinkled with blood, and on their heads are crowns made of the purest gold with various gems. Their king is most powerful, whose name is God of gods, and Lord of lords; whose messengers are called Angels of justice, whose garment is one for all, and their touch is like burning fire. The senate of this Emperor is held to be very illustrious: the middle part is called Prophets, others are pronounced to be Apostles. A city very renowned, and its name is Christicolis (as if worshipping Christ, unless it should be read Christipolis, as if the city of Christ), whose wall is of the purest gold, having twelve gates, and in each of them hangs a pearl, and each of the Senators sits at each one. The first gate is called Peter's, the second Paul's, the third Andrew's, the fourth John's, the fifth James's, the sixth Philip's, the seventh Bartholomew's, the eighth Thomas's, the ninth Matthew's, the tenth Thaddaeus's, the eleventh Simon's, the twelfth Matthias's." He continues to describe its temple. "But the temple in it is also wonderful, having the Holy of Holies, and a golden altar, before whose sight a certain wonderful man stands, holding a ten-stringed psaltery, and continually exhorting those dwelling there to the praise of that king, saying: Praise the Lord in the heavens; praise him, all his Angels; praise him, all his virtues. The name of this one, therefore, is pronounced to be David, son of Jesse. But the streets of this city are also paved with the purest gold: its river flows forth into eternal life, its fruit-bearing trees yield their fruits in each month, and their leaves serve as medicine for souls; its light is indescribable; and the gates are never closed, because there will never be night there, nor any darkness; but always joy and perpetual gladness dwell there." Excellently also St. Anselm in the Proslogion, chapter xxv, depicts heavenly happiness thus: "Whoever enjoys this good, what will be his, and what will not be his? Certainly whatever he wishes will be; and what he does not wish will not be. For there will be goods of body and soul such as neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man conceived. Why therefore do you wander through many things, little man, seeking the goods of your soul and your body? Love one good, in which are all goods, and it suffices. Desire the simple good, which is all good, and it is enough. For what do you love, my flesh? what do you desire, my soul? There it is, there it is, whatever you love, whatever you desire. If beauty delights, the just shall shine as the sun. If swiftness, or strength, or freedom of body to which nothing can resist, they shall be like the Angels of God: because it is sown a natural body, and shall rise a spiritual body, in power certainly, not in nature. If long and healthful life, there health is eternal, and health is eternal: because the just shall live forever, and the salvation of the just is from the Lord. If satiety, they shall be satisfied when the glory of God appears. If intoxication, they shall be inebriated with the abundance of the house of God. If melody, there the choirs of Angels sing without end to God. If any pure, not unclean, pleasure, God shall give them to drink of the torrent of your delights. If wisdom, wisdom itself of God shall show itself to them. If friendship, they shall love God more than themselves, and one another as themselves, and God shall love them more than they love themselves, because they love Him, and themselves, and one another through Him, and He loves Himself, and them through Himself. If harmony, all of them shall have one will, because there shall be in them no will save the will of God alone. If power, they shall be almighty in their own will, as God in His. For as God will be able to do what He wills, through Himself, so they will be able to do what they will, through Him; because as they will wish nothing other than what He wills: so He will wish whatever they will, and what He wills cannot fail to be. If honor and riches, God shall set His good and faithful servants over many things, nay they shall be called sons of God and gods; and where the Son shall be, there shall they also be, heirs indeed of God, and co-heirs with Christ. If true security, certainly they shall be so certain that never and in no way shall this, or rather this good, fail them, as they shall be certain that they will not lose it of their own will, nor shall the loving God take it from His lovers against their will, nor shall anything more powerful than God separate the unwilling God and them. But what joy, or how great, is there where such or so great a good is? O human heart, needy heart, heart experienced in troubles, nay overwhelmed with troubles, how greatly would you rejoice if you abounded in all these things!" St. Gregory at the end of the seventh Penitential Psalm: "There," he says, "is light without defect, joy without lamentation, desire without pain, love without sadness, satiety without disgust, safety without vice, life without death, health without sickness. There the saints and humble of heart, there the spirits and souls of the just, there all the citizens of the heavenly fatherland, and the orders of blessed spirits seeing the King in His beauty, and exulting in the glory of His power. Perfect charity flourishes in all, one joy of all, one gladness. Good Jesus, Word of the Father, splendor of the paternal glory, whom the Angels desire to behold, teach me to do Your will, that led by Your good Spirit, I may come to that blessed city, where is eternal day, and one spirit of all: where is certain security, and secure eternity, eternal tranquility, and tranquil happiness, happy sweetness, and sweet gladness: where You, God, with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign forever and ever. Amen."
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6. AND HE SAID TO ME: THESE WORDS ARE MOST FAITHFUL. — "He said," supply the Angel, who showed John in chapter xxi, verse 1, the heavenly Jerusalem, and up to this point explained its goods and joys to him. Moreover Alcazar thinks this Angel was St. Paul, who showed John the glory which the Roman Church, that is the Pontiffs, Martyrs and other faithful Romans, were soon to obtain in heaven after death; and therefore he says: "These words are most faithful and true," that is to say, They will soon be faithfully and truly fulfilled. But I said above that this Angel was a true and properly so-called one, who concludes the whole Apocalypse in the final times, namely by the revelation of judgment, resurrection and the glory of the Blessed. AND THE LORD GOD OF THE SPIRITS OF THE PROPHETS (that is to say, the Lord God, who gave to the Prophets, and consequently to me, the spirit of prophecy) SENT HIS ANGEL TO SHOW TO HIS SERVANTS (to me John, and through me to other servants of Christ and the faithful) WHAT THINGS MUST BE DONE QUICKLY, — because with respect to eternity all temporal things come quickly, and pass away equally quickly. Add that certain things of this Apocalypse happened quickly after John, such as those which he predicted in the first chapters to the seven Bishops of Asia.
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7. AND BEHOLD I COME QUICKLY. — These are the words, not of an Angel, but of the Lord God of the spirits of the Prophets, concerning whom the Angel was speaking in the preceding verse, as if to say: Act, O Christians, be steadfast, stand firm in my faith against Domitian, Trajan, Decius, etc.; for I am your God and Lord and shall come to you shortly, and shall reward you with eternal happiness, which I have described through the Angel: but your tyrants and persecutors I shall condemn to eternal punishments; whence also he adds: "Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book."
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8. AND I JOHN (namely, I am, or I testify that I am he) WHO HEARD AND SAW THESE THINGS. — This is as it were a subscription by which John, as a scribe and notary, subscribes to this book and the prophecy of the Apocalypse, and confirms it and testifies that it is true, so that all may know that this Apocalypse is that of St. John the Apostle, which he himself received from God by revelation, especially with the testimony of the Church added, which teaches that this is the true and certain subscription of St. John, not a spurious one, without which testimony this subscription would not have full authority and credibility. For many writings, indeed even Gospels, inscribed with the names of Apostles, are known to be apocryphal.
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10. AND HE SAID TO ME: SEAL NOT THE WORDS OF THE PROPHECY OF THIS BOOK; FOR THE TIME IS AT HAND, — as if to say: Do not seal, do not close, do not hide these oracles, but rather write them and expound them to all for reading, because they shall profit all. God is accustomed, as appears in Daniel viii, 26, and xii, 4, to command Prophets to seal their prophecies, when they expect remote times, as though they ought not now to be read, or would be read with little sense and fruit. But truly when those prophecies concern times that are near at hand, he commands that they not be sealed, as is done here. For many things, especially those which concern the persecutions of tyrants and heretics, touched upon the times of St. John. And this is what he says: "The time (in which this prophecy is to be fulfilled) is at hand;" and in cap. 1, vers. 1: "The Apocalypse," he says, "of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to make known to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass." Add to this: all these things were directed toward encouraging the faithful at that time in persecution, especially those things which are said concerning God's providence toward his own, and his vengeance upon enemies, the damnation of the impious, the glory and happiness of the pious and steadfast, which he described in these chapters, and repeatedly inculcated; whence in vers. 2, he says: "Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to every one according to his works." For Scripture commands that prophecies be sealed from time to time, when they, although not so remote, nevertheless bring little fruit to the present time, but shall bring fruit in the future, when they are fulfilled. But it forbids them to be sealed when, although they are to come to pass after a long time, nevertheless they shall now bring great utility to the faithful, because they encourage them to steadfastness in faith and the worship of God. Such is this one, and therefore he forbids it to be sealed. Thus Alcazar.
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11. HE THAT HURTETH, LET HIM HURT STILL (Arabic, he that oppresseth, or slandereth, let him oppress also); AND HE THAT IS FILTHY, LET HIM BE FILTHY STILL; AND HE THAT IS JUST, LET HIM BE JUSTIFIED STILL (Syriac, let him do justice still); AND HE THAT IS HOLY, LET HIM BE SANCTIFIED STILL. — St. John signifies that there is still space and time remaining before all these things are completed, and especially before the general judgment, and in that time each one is permitted by God to his own liberty, that he may act well or ill. Therefore the former words are permissive, as if to say: I permit now him that hurteth to hurt, him that is filthy to be filthy more, but in his own time I shall punish him. Whence there is a tacit irony, just as in Ecclesiastes xi, 9, where it is said: "Rejoice therefore, O young man, in thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, etc., and know that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." But what follows: "He that is just, let him be justified still," etc., are serious words of one admonishing and exhorting: thus Viegas and Ribera. Hence it is clear against the heretics that justice and injustice are not equal in all things, nor consist in an indivisible, but can grow and be increased by good and evil works. For those who become more filthy certainly become filthy through evil works and new sins: therefore also those who are more justified, are more justified through new good works. Secondly, more strictly and forcefully Alcazar holds these words to be comparative, as if to say: Just as he that hurteth, continueth to hurt, so let he that is holy continue to be sanctified. For sometimes the imperative is not of one commanding, but of one comparing. The sense therefore is: when the adversary and persecutor conducts himself worse and more savagely, then let the just man strive to grow more and increase in holiness. For in this way both the punishment of persecutors and the reward of the just shall at last reach their full measure. For thus in Proverbs, in individual hemistichs often the copula "and" is comparative, and does not merely couple, but also compares the latter hemistich with the former; as in Proverbs xxv, 23: "The north wind driveth away rain, and (that is, so also) an angry countenance a backbiting tongue." For here he compares and opposes two degrees of the impious to two degrees of the pious. The first is: "He that hurteth" and is injurious to his neighbor, let him hurt still; to this he opposes: "He that is just, let him be justified still." The second is: "He that," although he be injurious to no one, is yet intemperate to himself, and in "filthiness" in gluttony, lust, etc., "let him be filthy still;" to this he opposes: "He that is holy, let him be sanctified still," through greater daily abstinence, continence, prayer, etc. Truly St. Augustine, epistle 137 to the people of Hippo: "As," he says, "I have found it difficult to find better men than those who have made progress in the monastery: so I have not found worse men than those who have fallen away in the monastery, so that from this I judge that in the Apocalypse, chapter xxii, it is written: Let the just be more just, and let the filthy be filthy still." This same thing rightly applies to the primitive Church, of which especially St. John speaks here. The sense therefore is, as if to say: Let each pious man accumulate merits, just as and where the impious accumulate demerits. Excellently Faustus, Bishop of Riez, in his Instruction to Monks, which is found in the appendix of the Library of the Holy Fathers: "Let him, he says, set no end to his progress, let him establish no limit to his acquisition, since he hears himself addressed: Prepare thy work in thy going out; and again: Fear not to be justified even unto death; and again: Wisdom is sung in the going out. Therefore the more we advance, the more let us humble ourselves, because the more we shall have been humbled, the more abundantly do we advance. Let no one appear to him (to God and to his Superior) as an elder while unlearned, so that he might think that obedience does not befit him, which befitted God. For humility and obedience, in the younger are still a necessity, in the elders are now a dignity. He advances well, he finishes well, who acts daily as if he were always beginning. Wherefore Scripture pronounces that the increase of merits is an incentive to the perfect." And after some things: "Let us therefore be unwearied in the work of God on account of eternal retribution, and let us tend daily to better things. For that very eagerness of apprehending, that very habit of advancing, let it always provoke us to greater things; and where God shall see the devotion of the soul, He will instill a more ardent affection; and the more we shall have burned with zeal, so much the more shall He add help; the more we shall have applied ourselves to diligence, so much the more shall He add to glory. To him that hath, it shall be given, and he shall abound. And in another place He says: I have laid help upon the mighty. Grace therefore is born of grace, and progress serves progresses, gains serve gains, and merits make room for merits, so that the more anyone shall have begun to acquire, the more shall he strive to acquire; and the more eagerly he shall have drawn from the goods of wisdom, the more shall he desire to draw; as wisdom itself speaks of itself: They that eat me, shall yet hunger. Let us urge on our course, that our life may grow in the end. Let us seek even to the end, whence we may deserve to rejoice without end. But if we cannot exercise the labors of the body, let us apply ourselves to the desire of spiritual goods, to the increase of compunction and charity. If daily in our hearts we arrange ascents, by no infirmity, by no age can minds be wearied, so that we may deserve to ascend by certain spiritual steps to the promises of our Lord Jesus Christ." Most excellently St. Bernard, in epistle 253 to Guarinus, urges each one to progress in the way of God: "Because, he says, to be unwilling to advance is to fall back; not to go forward is to go backward." See him.
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12. BEHOLD I COME QUICKLY, AND MY REWARD IS WITH ME,—that is, it is ready and as it were in my hands, so that I may immediately render it to each one according to his merits; and this he proves from what he adds: "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end," as if to say, Therefore it is mine to assign to each one his own end and reward, either blessed or miserable according to his merits. Again, as if to say, Therefore it is mine to give to the Church and to the just an end to their labors and persecutions, just as I gave them a beginning. Stand firm therefore, O my faithful ones, in tribulations; God will give to these also an end and a speedy end, with reward and eternal crown: see the sayings at chapter 1, verse 8. Thus St. Furseus heard Angels singing: "No labor ought to seem hard, no length of time by which eternal glory is acquired," as the Venerable Bede relates, book III of the History of the English, chapter xix. Symbolically, Tertullian, in the book On Monogamy, chapter v: "Thus also, he says, the two Greek letters, the first and the last, the Lord took upon Himself, the figures of the beginning and end concurring in Him, so that just as Alpha rolls to Omega, and again Omega folds back to Alpha, thus He might show in Himself both the course of the beginning to the end, and the return of the end to the beginning, so that all arrangement ending in Him through whom it began, through the Word of God, namely, who was made flesh, should therefore end just as it also began. And so completely in Christ are all things recalled to the beginning, that even faith is turned back from circumcision to the integrity of His flesh, as it was from the beginning; and freedom of foods, and abstinence from blood alone, as it was from the beginning; and the indissolubility of marriage, as it was from the beginning; and the prohibition of divorce, which was not from the beginning; and finally the whole man is recalled to paradise, where he was from the beginning." But then Tertullian extends this opinion too far, and from it strives to prove that second marriages are unlawful for a Christian, because they were not in paradise, which is his error, which he endeavors to persuade in this book.
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14. BLESSED ARE THEY THAT WASH THEIR ROBES IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. — Some codices lack this sentence: hence the Louvain scholars thought it was transferred here from chapter vii, verse 14. But the Roman Bible and many others read it, and the word "blessed" is not found in chapter vii, verse 14. Again, for πλύνοντες τὰς στολὰς αὐτῶν, that is, who wash their robes, the Greek codices, which St. Cyprian and Aretas follow, read ποιοῦντες τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ, that is, who do his commandments. But the former reading is more common and more true, and its meaning is this: A robe, or white garment of the soul, is the purity, innocence and holiness of the soul; this is sometimes stained by venial faults: it must therefore be washed by penance in the blood of the Lamb, if we wish to be blessed. Note here: The blood of the Lamb is as it were soap, by which the stains of sins are washed from the soul: for through the merits of the passion of Christ, and through faith, by which we believe, hope and beseech that through those same merits we shall obtain pardon of sins and grace from God, God bestows this pardon and grace upon us. THAT THEY MAY HAVE POWER (ἐξουσία, that is, right, faculty) OVER THE TREE OF LIFE, — that they may enjoy the fruit of the tree of life, namely the beatific vision of God, as I said in verse 2. Note: It is first necessary to have right to the tree of life, before one actually enters the city through the gates, as follows. AND MAY ENTER IN THROUGH THE GATES INTO THE CITY — the heavenly one. Hence it is clear that the Angels, as guardians appointed by God, kept watch over the earthly paradise, lest Adam, or any man after Adam's sin, should enter it, Gen. iii, 24: so likewise by God's command they guard the gates of the heavenly paradise, lest anyone enter it unless he have his robe and garment fully washed and white. The same is clearly evident from the preceding chapter, verse 12: "And in the gates twelve angels."
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15. WITHOUT (namely outside the heavenly city, let them be cast into hell and go) DOGS, — that is, persecutors, who like rabid dogs tear apart the bodies of the Saints, or their fame and name, such as many were in the time of St. John, and more will be in the time of Antichrist; hence Aretas by "dogs" understands Jews, heretics, and other infidels, enemies of the faithful. These indeed "dogs" Paul calls them Philip. iii, 2. SORECERS (evildoers and magicians) AND EVERYONE THAT LOVETH AND MAKETH A LIE — a pernicious one, as I said chapter xxi, verse 8, that is, everyone that is perjured, a deceiver, a slanderer, a false witness, etc. These crimes abounded in the time of St. John, and will abound more in the time of Antichrist, of whom St. John speaks chiefly throughout this work.
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16. I JESUS SENT MY ANGEL TO TESTIFY TO YOU THESE THINGS IN THE CHURCHES, — as if to say, I Christ through an angel revealed this Apocalypse, and its oracles, and especially these last things concerning the greatness of the city and the glory of heaven, as well as the city and punishment of hell, to John, so that he might preach and write the same to the whole Church, that all the faithful might be stirred up by them to care for their salvation, to constancy in faith, and to enduring martyrdom for it, if need be. I AM THE ROOT AND THE OFFSPRING OF DAVID. — I am descended from the stock, root and offspring of David; see what is said chapter v, verse 5, as if to say, I am the Messiah, or Christ promised to David, who speak, preach and promise these things, and consequently will truly perform them. I am he who shall raise up the glorious kingdom of David, almost extinct, as a son and heir, and shall make it more glorious and spiritual in the Church both militant and especially triumphant. THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR. — Arabic: The star that rises in the morning; Syriac: Like that illustrious star, that morning star, of which I spoke chapter ii, verse 28, as if to say, I am Lucifer the herald of the approaching sun, that is, of blessed life and glory. Act therefore, endure, be steadfast in persecutions: for I announce to you that the sun of your glory and the day of eternity is at hand. Hence St. Gregory, XXIX Moral., xvii: "Christ, he says, appearing alive after death, became the morning star for us; because when he showed himself as an example to us of resurrection, he indicated what light should follow." Tropologically: Stars are the Apostles and Doctors, concerning whom hear St. Chrysostom, hom. 1 On Pentecost, near the end of vol. III: "What, he says, are such stars as the Apostles? stars in heaven, Apostles above the heavens. What are above, says the Apostle, think on, where Christ sits at the right hand of the Father. Stars of fire (according to the opinion of the Platonists, according to which the Poet: You eternal fires) insensible, Apostles of intelligible fire. Stars shine in the night, are obscured in the day: Apostles in day and night shine with their rays, that is, virtues. Stars are obscured when the sun rises: Apostles, with the sun of justice shining, shine with their own brightness. Stars in the resurrection fall like leaves: Apostles in the resurrection shall be caught up into the air with clouds. And in those heavenly bodies indeed one is called Antifer, another Lucifer: but in the Apostles there is no Antifer, all are Lucifers; and therefore the Apostles are greater than the stars. And whoever calls them the lights of the world will not err, not only while they were in the body, but even more now when they have departed from life." See what is said Daniel xii, 3.
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17. AND THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE SAY: COME. — "The Spirit," namely the Holy Spirit; "and the bride," that is the Church, "say," that is they teach us to say, to desire and to pray for the coming of Christ, so that we may say: "Come," namely Lord Jesus, to judgment, in which You may lead us together with Your bride our mother, that is the Church, into the heavenly bridal chamber. Wherefore the Arabic version wrongly divides these words and punctuates thus: "I am the root and offspring of David, and the star that rises in the morning, and the spirit, and the bride; and it shall be said: Come." AND HE THAT HEARS (in himself this voice, and this instinct of the Spirit, the same) LET HIM SAY, (namely) COME, — Lord Jesus. AND HE THAT THIRSTS (for justice and eternal life), LET HIM COME; AND HE THAT (the same) WILL, LET HIM TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE (the Syrian version, living water) FREELY, — of which I spoke verse 1, as if to say: While we say to Christ: "Come," we in turn ought to proceed toward Him with spiritual steps, and to sharpen this thirst for Him in ourselves, so that, inflamed with thirst and desire for His life and blessed glory, we may pant after it, and say: "As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after Thee, O God." For to him thus thirsting and panting this water of life shall be obtained: for God is so munificent that He does not require great labors, but only desires that we thirst, as Nazianzen says. Nothing therefore remains, except that we who thirst hasten to the water of life. Wherefore piously and wisely St. Eugenius, Archbishop of Toledo, predecessor of St. Ildefonsus, in the year of the Lord 636, was accustomed to pray thus: King God by whom the machinery of the immense world stands, let my mind thirst for You, let my speech sing of You, let my action bring You forth. Our Browerus recites his complete prayer expressed in verse, at the end of the poems of Venantius Fortunatus.
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18. I TESTIFY INDEED. — "Indeed," that is however, as if to say: Indeed truly I testify: for γάρ, that is "indeed," among the Greeks is often enclitic, and is redundant. Alcazar, however, takes "indeed" properly, as causal, and gives this sense. What I have said concerning those who thirst, and concerning giving them the water of life, and therefore concerning this whole book, are most certain, and so true, that it may be most truly pronounced against him: Woe to him who dares to add anything to or take away anything from its words. This is as it were the seal of the book, by which John testifies with grave asseveration and threat that all these things and each one are acceptable to God, and are the oracles of God. IF ANY ONE SHALL ADD TO THESE THINGS. — It signifies that there will be heretics who would adulterate the Apocalypse, and Holy Scripture, of which the Apocalypse is as it were the end and conclusion, either by adding or by diminishing, as Marcion did, whom for this reason Tertullian, in the book On the Flesh of Christ, chapter iv, calls "a devourer; or a Pontic mouse" (for he was indeed from Pontus). Thus Ticonius, Bede and others. John therefore does not here find fault with human laws, Apostolic or Ecclesiastical, which are added to divine laws, and to the Gospel itself: for they are not added as divine laws or Scripture, but as human laws derived from divine ones. See what is said Deuteronomy iv, 2.
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20. HE SAYS (not John, as Aretas and Ribera wish, but Christ) WHO BEARS WITNESS TO THESE THINGS (to John, Christ, I say, "says," both that which preceded: "If anyone shall add," etc., and that which follows): BEHOLD I COME QUICKLY (The Arabic version translates, and he comes, that is, he will come, quickly). AMEN. That is to say, I Christ will most certainly and most speedily come, so that I may reward those who are faithful and steadfast to me; but the unfaithful, the inconstant and the failing I will punish: therefore observe these my warnings and precepts. Moreover, to Christ responds St. John now an old man, thirsting for the water of heavenly life, and desiring to enjoy Christ: "Amen," that is, let it be; "come," or, as it is in Greek, ναὶ ἔρχου, that is, come also, "Lord Jesus;" I beseech thee come, come altogether, my love, my joy, my desire; and the same he tacitly admonishes us to say and to desire by his example: For this is what he expressed in verse 17: "He that heareth, let him say: Come." Thus Rupert, Ansbert, Haymo and Viegas. Whence the Arabic version translates: Come, Lord Jesus Christ, to all the saints for ever and ever. Amen. For he who is of pure conscience, and loves Jesus purely and intensely, desires to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. "For Jesus himself, who is sweet in voice, sweet in face, sweet in name, sweet in work, will appear sweeter in the vision of his divinity," says St. Bernard (or whoever is the author), sermon On the Lord's Supper, page 391. A certain learned man in Salmerón, Prolegomena 7, page 97: "Amen," he says, "is a word familiar to John, which he used more than others in the Gospel, because he wrote it when already worn out by old age. For the letters Ἀμήν signify 99, as also Gratian transmits, distinction 83, chapter How indeed. For indeed alpha in Ἀμήν denotes 1, mu 40, eta 8, nu 50; which numbers collected make 99, how many years St. John is said to have lived." But these are light and uncertain matters. St. Gregory relates, book I of the Dialogues, chapter viii, that St. Anastasius was called by a similar voice fallen from heaven: "Come, Anastasius," called to death, or rather to immortality; whence soon giving up his soul to God, he flew to it. Tropologically the same Gregory, homily 14 on Ezekiel: "He that heareth," he says, "let him say: Come. For to whom the voice of God calling has become in the heart, it is necessary that it burst forth in voice to the neighbor through the office of preaching; and for this reason let him call others, because he himself has already been called." The same, book IV of the Dialogues, chapter xiii, relates of St. Galla, that she was called by St. Peter into heaven. For when seeing him she exulted and asked: "What is it, my Lord, have my sins been forgiven me?" she heard from him: "They are forgiven, come." The same, in the same place chapter xii, relates St. Probus Bishop of Rieti, called into heaven by St. Juvenal and Eleutherius the Martyrs. The same chapter xiv relates St. Servulus the paralytic, who "was always eager in pain to give thanks, to be occupied in hymns to God and praises day and night," invited by the singing of angels to eternal glory. And chapter xv he relates St. Romuald suffering wonderfully in paralysis, called forth by two of her disciples with this voice: "Mother, come; mother, come," and led into heaven by two choirs of heavenly singers, leaving behind her a wonderful fragrance of odor. And chapter xvi relates St. Tarsilla, his aunt, summoned by St. Felix the Pontiff his ancestor, showing her the dwelling of perpetual brightness, with this voice: "Come, because I will receive thee in this dwelling of light." Wherefore seized by fever, looking upward, she saw Jesus coming, and began to cry out saying: "Depart, depart, Jesus comes." And when she fixed her gaze on him whom she saw, that holy soul departed from the body. But while her body was being washed, by the use of a long prayer on her elbows and knees, a hardened skin grew out after the manner of camels. And chapter xvii relates Musa a girl invited by the Blessed Virgin to her company of virgins, soon changed childish ways into aged ones, and on the thirtieth day after, when she was plainly called forth by the Blessed Virgin, having reverently cast down her eyes cried out with open voice: "Behold, lady, I come; behold, lady, I come." In which voice she gave up her spirit, and from her virginal body departed to dwell with the holy virgins. Thus St. Mary of Oignies yearned to pass over to Christ. For, as the Cardinal of Vitriaco writes in his Life, book II, chapter x, in the last year of her life, no longer able to contain herself, she yearned, sighed, cried out with desire, as if impatient of delay, when she embraced the Lord (Christ, with whom she conversed familiarly): "I do not wish, Lord, that Thou depart without me: I do not desire to remain here any longer, I wish to go home." And shortly after, when she had recounted to him her revelation of her passage into heaven: "She could not then, overcome by the intoxication of the spirit, remain silent, but crying out said: I heard from the Lord that I am to go into the Holy of Holies. O sweetest word! Tell me, my Clemency (for thus her handmaid was called), what is the Holy of Holies? From her handmaid she wished to know what those words signified, when neither of them knew it; but, as I said, intoxicated by the spirit she did so." And soon after: "She also heard the voice of the Lord calling and saying: Come, my beloved, my spouse, my dove; now thou shalt be crowned." But when death drew near, as the same Cardinal writes in chapter xi and following: "She began to sing with a clear and loud voice, and did not cease for the space of three days and nights to praise God," with a Seraphic angel suggesting hymn verses to her; and when the final hour approached she sang: "How beautiful art Thou, our King, O Lord! Alleluia." Thus the Saints have life in patience; death, or rather immortality, in longing, because they sigh after Christ their love. Whence St. Bernard in the Form of Honest Life: "Let Jesus, he says, always be in thy heart; and never let the image of the Crucified depart from thy mind. Let this be to thee food and drink, sweetness and consolation, thy honey and thy desire, thy sweetness and meditation, thy prayer and contemplation, thy life and death, and thy resurrection." Read the sighs of St. Augustine yearning toward heaven, in the book of Meditations and Soliloquies, volume IX; read and imitate the sighs of St. Bernard toward Jesus in the Jubilo, where among other things he says: O my sweetest Jesus, Hope of the sighing soul. Thee do pious tears seek. Thee the cry of the inmost mind. Jesus sweetness of hearts, Living fountain, light of minds. Exceeding all joy, And all desire. When Thou visitest our heart, Then truth shines forth to it, The vanity of the world grows vile, And charity burns within. O my good Jesus, let me feel The abundance of Thy love, Grant me through Thy presence To see Thy glory. I desire Thee a thousand times: My Jesus, when wilt Thou come? When wilt Thou make me glad? When wilt Thou satisfy me with Thee? Now what I sought I see. What I coveted I hold, I languish with love of Jesus, And my whole heart burns. O blessed fire, And burning desire! Taking away all disgust, Honey, nectar, melody, sweetness. Jesus, crown of Martyrs, And perennial flower of virgins, Thou lily of the chaste heart, Thou reward of the contending. Hear the prayers of suppliants, Seeking nothing outside Thee. O sweet refreshment, To love the Son of God! Thou delight of the mind, Consummation of love. Thou my glorying, Jesus salvation of the world. Thou true joy of heaven. Jesus exultation of the heart,
22:21
21. THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST BE WITH YOU ALL (Syriac, with all the saints). AMEN. — Apostolic letters are wont to begin and end with an invocation of the grace of Christ. Thus here the Apocalypse (which is in the manner of an epistle: whence it contains at the beginning seven epistles to seven Bishops of Asia; and here at the end concludes in the manner of an epistle) St. John concludes with the same invocation.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
22:1
… him. A compendium of the whole doctrine of the New Testament on the procession of the Holy Spirit is the phrase of the Apocalypse, which shows the Holy Spirit as a "fluvium aquae vivæ, splendidum tamquam crystallum, procedentem de throno Dei et Agno" (Apoc. 22:1; cf. J. Lebreton, op. cit., I, p. 538).
22:2
… primosca, Rome 1934, pp. 104-107, 135 ff.; R. Bauerreis, Arbor vitae: Der «Lebensbaum» und seine Verwendung in Liturgie, Kunst und Brauchtem des Abendlandes, Munich 1938; H. Bergema, De Boom des Levens in Schrift en historie, Hilversum 1938; R. Schran, Zu Apoc. 22, 2: Die Frage nach dem Standort des Lebensbaumes, in Biblische Zeitschrift, 24 (1938), p. 208; R. Marcus, The tree life in Proverbs, in Journ. of Bibl. …
22:4
… happiness promised to "the upright" and "innocent" (Ps. 11:7; 17:15; cf. 15:11), who are the "pure of heart." This "vision of God" characterizes the Kingdom founded by Jesus (Jn. 14:6-11; 19-23) and will culminate in eternal glory (I Cor. 13:12; I Jn. 3:2; Apoc. 22:4).
22:7
… In the New Testament similar beatitudes occur: Mt. 11:6; 13:16; 16:17; 24:46; Lk. 11:28; 12:37 f., 43; 14:15; Jn. 20:29; Jas. 1:12; 1 Pet. 3:14; 4:14; Rev. 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14. To this day the Christians of the East call the beatitudes "macarisms." The Arabic Diatessaron interprets the initial adjective "blessed" in an adverbial sense: "long live!" (E. Preuschen, …
… to meet Jesus will have passed through death and resurrection (ibid. 14:13; 20:6, 12-13). The "end" is considered in the broadest sense, and the final universal p. is there conjoined with the present personal p. awaited and invoked (ibid. 1:7; 3:20; 22:7, 11, 12, 20; v. MARANATHA).
22:9
St. John often declares that he must write the Apocalypse by order of God (Apoc. 1:11, 19; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14; 19:9) and calls his book a "prophecy," to which nothing must be added or taken away, by divine disposition (ibid. 22:9, 10, 18-19). In I Tim. 5:18 it seems that Paul cites Lk. 1:9, 7, equating it with Deut. 25:4. Peter places the letters of Paul and the "other Scriptures," that is, those of the Old …
22:10
… through the acceptance of faith in Christ the Messiah. c) Finally the future, which, guaranteed by the prophetic structure of history, saves both past and present and thus constitutes the final καιρός that will give definitive order to humanity (Apoc. 1:3; 22:10; ὁ καιρὸς ἐγγύς ἐστιν. …
22:11
All the faithful are called to holiness, at least in a general way. This truth is established by Sacred Scripture (Mt. 5:48; Lk. 14:25; Phil. 4:8; I Cor. 7:29-31; Eph. 1:4; II Tim. 3:10; I Pt. 1:15; I Io. 2:15; Apoc. 22:11), by the holy Fathers (St. Augustine, Sermo 96, 7; PL. 38, 588; St. Basil, Sermo de renunciatione saeculi; PG 31, 628), by constant tradition (cf. Pius XI: AAS, 15 [1922], pp. 49-63). …
22:13
… letters, in measuring land; and since this X had the form of the decussate cross and of the first letter of the name of Christ (Χριστός), this ceremony came to indicate that Christ was taking possession of that place; the recollection then of the phrase of Apoc. 22, 13 ("I am the alpha and the omega") suggested the idea of inscribing in the two lines of the X the Greek alphabet, to which later the Latin was added, and in some places also the Hebrew (v. ABECEDARIO).
22:15
1. The punishment of loss (Lat. damnum = "loss," "misfortune") is the privation of the possession of God, solemnly indicated in the words "Discedite a me, maledicti" (Mt. 25:41). Other biblical texts suggest the same idea (Mt. 25:10-12; I Cor. 6:9; Apoc. 22:15), which the Fathers develop with breadth and depth (cf. St. John Chrysostom, In Mt. hom., 23, 9: PG 57, 317; St. Augustine, Enchiridion, 112: PL 40, 285). This punishment, which is …
22:16
… among other things: "A star shall rise out of Jacob, a scepter shall arise from Israel" (24:17); an oracle announcing the appearance among the chosen people of a personage distinguished for his splendor (symbolized by the star: cf. Gen. 49:10; Is. 14:2; Apoc. 22:16), a powerful king ("scepter").
… In the New Testament it indicates Jesus, "the morning star that rises in the hearts" with the faith that prepares for the parousia (II Pt. 1:19); Jesus is "the bright morning star" (Apoc. 22:16: ὁ ἀστήρ ὁ λαμπρός ὁ προινός), and he will give to the victor "the morning star" (τὸν ἀστήρς τὸν προινός; Apoc. 2:28), that is, his glory. …
22:17
… "They will be satisfied": the recompense was assured (Jer. 31:25) in the messianic kingdom to all who had toiled (Is. 49:10; 55:1-2 "without money"; cf. Eccl. 51:33; Apoc. 22:17). The expression is spiritually evocative, for in the Bible "hunger and thirst" often indicates the desire for supersensible goods (Is. 56:1; Jer. 31:25; Am. 8:11; Ps. 41:2-3; 106:9), …
22:20
… The ancients understood māran 'āthā' as "our Lord has come," which must have the sense of "he is present among us." Many moderns prefer to read māranā thā' as "our Lord, come!" in the sense of Rev. 22:20 (and of Mt. 6:10).
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.