2 Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ

He rightly declares the deluge to have been caused by our sins, for God did not create evil, but our deservings found it out for themselves. Let it not however be supposed that marriages, or again meat and drink, are condemned, seeing that by the one succession is sustained, by the other nature, but moderation is to be sought for in all things. For whatsoever is more than this is of evil.

In the days of Noah this preaching to them was futile because they did not believe when the patience of God waited for them for many years in which the ark was built. Its building was in a sense a kind of preaching. In the same way today, their imitators do not believe. They are shut up in the darkness of ignorance. They are like in a prison, looking in vain on the church being built throughout the whole world. Judgment threatens them as did the flood in which all the unbelievers perished. The Lord says, "As in the days of Noah, so will it be also in the days of the Son of man. They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." Since this signified a future event, the flood also signified baptism for believers and death for unbelievers. There is also a symbol in what was spoken and not done, where it is written about the stone that signifies Christ. Two effects were foretold. It is a stumbling block for unbelievers and a building for believers.

And as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. He affirms the suddenness of His coming with many examples. For what He had compared to lightning quickly traversing everything, He compares to the days of Noah or Lot, when sudden destruction came upon mortals.

The coming of our Lord, which He had compared to lightning flying swiftly across the heavens, He now likens to the days of Noah and Lot, when a sudden destruction came upon mankind.

And as it was in the days etc. After he described the manner of appearing, here secondly he describes the manner of coming. The advent of Christ is described as sudden with respect to sinners through a twofold comparison and example. First indeed it is shown through a comparison on the part of the inundating flood: second, on the part of the consuming fire, at the passage: Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot. Concerning the comparison of the inundating flood, three things are introduced, namely the flood's figure, cause, and punishment. First therefore, as regards the figure of the flood itself, he says: And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. For this was fitting, because Noah bore the figure of Christ, who calls himself the Son of man: Noah is interpreted as rest, and in Christ alone is rest and peace. For, in Ephesians 2, "he is our peace, who has made both one"; and John 16: "In the world you shall have tribulation, but in me peace." Whence Augustine: "Restless is my heart, O Lord, until it rests in you." Therefore he himself says: "Take my yoke upon you, and you shall find rest for your souls."

Not only by name does he signify Christ, but also by deed. For just as Noah saved the seed of men through wood, so also Christ through the gibbet of the cross; Wisdom 14: "The hope of the world, fleeing to a raft, bequeathed to the age the seed of generation, which was governed by your hand. For blessed is the wood through which justice is done." Whence he also states beforehand: "Men entrust their souls to a small piece of wood," etc. And just as Noah built the ark, so also Christ built the Church, which is constructed after the manner of the ark from smooth timbers joined together with the pitch of charity, having upper rooms and third stories on account of the diversities of offices, grades, and dignities; Ephesians 4: "He himself gave some as Apostles, some indeed as Prophets, others as Evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ"; in which, that is, the length, breadth, and height of the ark shall be most nobly brought to completion. Likewise, just as those who were within the ark were saved, so those who are within the Church are saved through water and baptism; 1 Peter 3: "In the days of Noah, when the ark was being built, in which few, that is eight souls, were saved through water. Which also now, in a similar figure, saves you by baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ." And just as those who were outside the ark were destroyed, so all who are outside the Church shall be condemned through the final judgment; in designation of which, Acts 27, "Paul said: Unless these remain in the ship, you cannot be saved."

To show that he will appear unexpectedly and with no one knowing it, the Lord says that the end of the world will come and be as it was in the days of Noah and Lot. He says, "They were eating and drinking, and were taking wives and being made the wives of men. They were selling and buying and building," but the coming of the waters destroyed the one, while the others were the prey and food of fire and brimstone. What does this signify? It signifies that he requires us to be always watchful and ready to make our defense before the tribunal of God.

And therefore did the Lord say to His disciples, to make us become good workmen: "Take heed to yourselves, and watch continually upon every occasion, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day shall come upon you unawares; for as a snare shall it come upon all dwelling upon the face of the earth." "Let your loins, therefore, be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding." "For as it was in the days of Noe, they did eat and drink, they bought and sold, they married and were given in marriage, and they knew not, until Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all; as also it was in the days of Lot, they did eat and drink, they bought and sold, they planted and builded, until the time that Lot went out of Sodom; it rained fire from heaven, and destroyed them all: so shall it also be at the coming of the Son of man." "Watch ye therefore, for ye know not in what day your Lord shall come." [In these passages] He declares one and the same Lord, who in the times of Noah brought the deluge because of man's disobedience, and who also in the days of Lot rained fire from heaven because of the multitude of sinners among the Sodomites, and who, on account of this same disobedience and similar sins, will bring on the day of judgment at the end of time; on which day He declares that it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city and house which shall not receive the word of His apostles. "And thou, Capernaum," He said, "is it that thou shalt be exalted to heaven? Thou shalt go down to hell. For if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day. Verily I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

If, however, He speaks of His own coming, why does He compare it with the days of Noe and of Lot, which were dark and terrible-a mild and gentle God as He is? Why does He bid us "remember Lot's wife," who despised the Creator's command, and was punished for her contempt, if He does not come with judgment to avenge the infraction of His precepts? If He really does punish, like the Creator, if He is my Judge, He ought not to have adduced examples for the purpose of instructing me from Him whom He yet destroys, that He might not seem to be my instructor.

And here the Lord points to the suddenness and unexpectedness of His coming. For just as in the days of Noah the flood came suddenly and destroyed everyone, so also will His coming be. By these examples, that is, the example of the people before the flood and the Sodomites (before the fire), it is also hinted that at the coming of the Antichrist all manner of indecent pleasures will multiply among people, that people will be dissolute and given over to criminal pleasures, as the Apostle also said that "in the last days... people will be... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Tim. 3:1–2, 4). And it is no wonder that under the reign of the deceiver evil will flourish. For he is the haven of the malice of every sin. What else will he endeavor to instill in the wretched generation of people at that time, if not his own qualities? For from the unclean, what can become clean? And so, people will then be sunk in every sensual pleasure, just as in the days of Noah, and will not expect any misfortune, nor will they even believe it if someone speaks to them of the occurrence of any calamity, just like the people who lived in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot.

For when Antichrist has come, then shall men become wanton, given up to abominable vices, as the Apostle says, Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (2 Tim. 3:4.) For if Antichrist is the dwelling-place of every sin, what else will he then implant in the miserable race of men, but what belongs to himself. And this our Lord implies by the instances of the deluge and the people of Sodom.

They ate and drank, they married wives, and they were given in marriage. This does not condemn marriages or food as per the insane doctrines of Marcion, Manichaeus, and Tatian the leader of the Encratites, as in these matters lie the supports of succession, and in those of nature, but, as the Apostle says: "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful" (1 Corinthians 6), it is rather the immoderate use of permissible things that is condemned. For it is not because they gave themselves wholly to these things and despised God's judgments that they perished by water or by fire.

Until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Noah builds the ark, just as the Lord constructs the Church by uniting faithful men, as if they were smoothed timbers. He enters it perfectly completed, when, in the day of judgment, He illuminates it with the presence of His eternal vision. But while the ark is being built, the wicked indulge in pleasure: when it is entered, they perish because those who here insult the struggling saints will be punished with eternal damnation when they are crowned there.

Now Noah builds the ark mystically. The Lord builds His Church of Christ's faithful servants, by uniting them together in one, as smooth pieces of wood; and when it is perfectly finished, He enters it: as at the day of Judgment, He who ever dwells within His Church enlightens it with His visible presence. But while the ark is in building, the wicked flourish, when it is entered, they perish; as they who revile the saints in their warfare here, shall when they are crowned hereafter be smitten with eternal condemnation.

Second, as to the cause of the flood, he adds: They were eating and drinking, marrying wives and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, that is, they were entirely devoted to the works of the flesh, and therefore were worthy to be corrupted and destroyed in their corruptible flesh. Hence the Gloss of Ambrose: "Neither marriages nor food are condemned, since in the former the supports of succession, and in the latter those of nature, are established; but the immoderate use of lawful things is reproved. For because by giving themselves entirely to these things they despised the judgments of God, they perished by fire or water." Hence in these acts their carnality is intimated, on account of which they were worthy of divine wrath; Genesis 6: "And when God saw that the earth was corrupt—for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth—he said to Noah: The end of all flesh has come before me; the earth is filled with iniquity, and I will destroy them with the earth." But their principal fault came from carnality, and he intimates this in the four acts which he touches upon: they were eating, that is, they were given over to feasting as gluttons, and therefore worthy of wrath; the Psalm: "While their food was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God ascended upon them." They were drinking, as drunkards, and therefore worthy of wrath, according to that passage of Proverbs 23: "Who has woe? Whose father has woe?" "Is it not those who linger over wine?" etc. Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who are mighty at drinking wine and valiant men at mixing drunkenness"; and Isaiah 22: "Behold, joy and gladness, eating flesh and drinking wine"; "and this voice was revealed in my ears: Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you until you die, says the Lord of hosts." They were marrying wives, as the lustful; Genesis 6: "And when men began to multiply upon the earth and had begotten children, the sons of God, seeing that the daughters of men were beautiful, took for themselves wives from all whom they had chosen." And there follows: "The Lord said: My spirit shall not remain in man, because he is flesh." And they were given in marriage, as the heedless, and therefore disposed to destruction, according to that passage of 1 Thessalonians 5: "When they shall say: Peace and security, then sudden destruction shall come upon them." Hence whoever is absorbed in these vices, it is necessary that he be engulfed by the flood; on account of which, 1 Thessalonians 5: "You, brothers, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." "Therefore let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober." But the manner is described in Romans 13: "The night has passed, and the day has drawn near. Let us therefore cast off" etc.; and after: "Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and wantonness." "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ."

Third, as regards the punishment of the flood, he adds: And the flood came and destroyed them all, namely those who were outside the ark, immediately after the entry of Noah, according to that passage in Genesis 7: "On that very day Noah entered the ark." "And the flood continued for forty days and forty nights," "and all flesh that moved upon the earth was consumed." Whence also in 2 Peter 2: "He did not spare the original world, but preserved Noah, the eighth person, a herald of justice, bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly." From this it is understood that the punishment of the future judgment will come upon those who are outside the Church of Christ, while nevertheless the few just are saved; for the Gloss says: "Noah builds the ark when the Lord gathers the faithful in the Church; which, once completed, he enters when he illuminates it by his presence on the day of judgment; but while the ark is being built, the wicked live in luxury, and when it is entered, they are punished with eternal damnation." Moreover, this is said to happen at the turning point of the day, because at the beginning of the eighth resurrection; whence the Psalm: "In the morning I shall stand before you and shall see, for you are not a God who wills iniquity; nor shall the malicious dwell near you, nor shall the unjust endure before your eyes"; and in 2 Peter 2: "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly from trial, but to reserve the wicked for the day of judgment to be tormented."

From this figurative example it appears, both from the allegorical signification and from the expressed similitude, that the day of judgment will come upon carnal and sensual men suddenly and for the universal destruction of those who are outside the unity of the Church; but to those who are in the ark, although it will come suddenly, it does no harm, because it finds them prepared. Whence below in chapter twenty-one: "Take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly. For as a snare it shall come upon all who sit upon the face of the whole earth," etc.

(Hom. 1, in Ep. 1. ad Thess.) For refusing to believe the words of warning they were suddenly visited with a real punishment from God; but their unbelief proceeded from self-indulgence, and softness of mind. For such as a man's wishes and inclinations are, will also be his expectations. Therefore it follows, they eat and drank.

Similarly as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. The Lord, omitting that great and abominable crime of the Sodomites, mentions only those sins which could have been considered light or none at all, so that one may understand what punishment illicit actions may receive, if lawful actions and those without which this life cannot be led, when done immoderately, are punished by fire and sulfur. Therefore, the blessed Augustine, upon seeing the allurements of a harmful habit and stirred by just sorrow, exclaims: "Woe to the sins of men, which alone we shudder at only because they are unusual; yet the usual ones, for the purging of which the blood of the Son of God was shed, although they are so great that they entirely block the kingdom of God against them, by seeing them repeatedly, we are often compelled to tolerate all, and often by tolerating, even to commit some of them. And would that, O Lord, we do not commit everything that we could not prohibit."

Passing by the unutterable wickedness of the Sodomites, He mentions only those which may be thought trifling offences, or none at all; that you may understand how fearfully unlawful pleasures are punished, when lawful pleasures taken to excess receive for their reward fire and brimstone.

Now mystically, Lot, which is interpreted 'turning aside,' is the people of the elect, who, while in Sodom, i. e. among the wicked, live as strangers, to the utmost of their power turning aside from all their wicked ways. But when Lot went out, Sodom is destroyed, for at the end of the world, the angels shall go forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and cast them into a furnace of fire. (Matt. 13:49.) The fire and brimstone, however, which He relates to have rained from heaven, does not signify the flame itself of everlasting punishment, but the sudden coming of that day.

Likewise, as it happened, etc. After the similitude taken from the flooding deluge, he introduces a similitude from the consuming fire; concerning which similitude three things are introduced, namely the demerit, the punishment, and the example of the Sodomites themselves.

First, as regards the demerit, he says: Likewise, as it happened in the days of Lot, namely, a just man. And note that in the description of the iniquity of the shameless people, the justice of the just man is set forth first, because from this their impiety appears more clearly, since a just man was among them; on account of which, Second Peter two: "He rescued just Lot, oppressed by the injury and wantonness of the wicked. For in sight and hearing he was just, dwelling among those who from day to day tormented his just soul with their wicked works." Whence, on account of the justice of the just man, the enormity of sin is aggravated in the impious. —As to which he adds: They were eating and drinking, namely the Sodomites, as wanton, like those of whom Exodus thirty-two says: "The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play"; and he does not add that they were marrying wives, as before, because they were not sinning according to nature, but against nature: Genesis thirteen: "The men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners before the Lord"; and in Genesis nineteen it is said that "they surrounded the house of Lot, from boy to old man, all the people together, and they called Lot and said to him: Where are the men who entered your house? Bring them out here, that we may know them."

They were buying and selling, as greedy: Ecclesiasticus twenty-seven: "He who seeks to become rich turns away his eye. As a stake is fixed in the midst of a joining of stones, so between buying and selling sin shall be pressed in." On account of which it is said against these in First Corinthians seven: "Those who buy, as though not possessing, and those who use this world, as though not using it; for the figure of this world passes away."

They were planting and building, as those who were secure, who expected to dwell in their houses and eat the fruit of their trees, like that rich man above in chapter twelve: "My soul, you have many goods laid up for many years." But the Lord said to him: "Fool, this night," etc. And therefore Amos five: "You shall build houses of hewn stone, and you shall not dwell in them; you shall plant most delightful vineyards, and you shall not drink the wine of them, because I know your many crimes." Therefore Isaiah five: "Woe to you who join house to house and unite field to field even to the end of the place!" Because therefore the Sodomites were both wanton and greedy and secure, therefore they were worthy of divine wrath: Ezekiel sixteen: "This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance, and the idleness of her and of her daughters; and they did not extend a hand to the needy and the poor."

There are some who say outright that marriage is fornication and teach that it was introduced by the devil. They proudly say that they are imitating the Lord who neither married nor had any possession in this world, boasting that they understand the gospel better than anyone else. The Scripture says to them: "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." Further, they do not know the reason why the Lord did not marry. In the first place he had his own bride, the Church; and in the next place he was no ordinary man that he should also be in need of some helpmeet after the flesh. Nor was it necessary for him to beget children since he abides eternally and was born the only Son of God. It is the Lord himself who says: "That which God has joined together, let no man put asunder." And again: "As it was in the days of Noah, they were marrying, and giving in marriage, building and planting, and as it was in the days of Lot, so shall be the coming of the Son of man." And to show that he is not referring to the heathen he adds: "When the Son of man is come, shall he find faith on the earth?" And again: "Woe to those who are with child and are giving suck in those days," a saying, I admit, to be understood allegorically. The reason why he did not determine "the times which the Father has appointed by his own power" was that the world might continue from generation to generation.

Let us marry daily, and in the midst of our marrying let us be overtaken, like Sodom and Gomorrah, by that day of fear! For there it was not only, of course, that they were dealing in marriage and merchandise; but when He says, "They were marrying and buying," He sets a brand upon the very leading vices of the flesh and of the world, which call men off the most from divine disciplines-the one through the pleasure of rioting, the other though the greed of acquiring.

But on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed them all. Hitherto Lot in Sodom, that is, the chosen people among the reprobate, dwells as a stranger, both just in sight and hearing, and according to the interpretation of the name Lot, avoiding their crimes as much as he could. But with Lot departing, Sodom will perish. Because at the end of the age, the angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the just and cast them into the fiery furnace. Here it should be noted that the fire and sulfur which he recalls rained from heaven do not signify the very flame of perpetual punishment but the sudden advent of that day. For that perpetual fire will not come and punish the impious, but rather they will be cast out from the sight of the Judge and sent into the eternal fire, although we do not doubt that sulfur is also present in that fire, as testified by John, who describes both fires, that of sudden chastisement and of eternal burning, saying: "And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them, and the devil who seduced them was cast into the lake of fire and sulfur, where both the beast and the false prophets are and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20).

As to the second, regarding punishment, he adds: But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, through the equity of divine justice that delivers: Genesis 19: "The Angels seized the hand of Lot and the hand of his wife and the hand of his two daughters, because the Lord spared them. They led him out and placed him outside the city, and there they stationed themselves beside him, saying: Save your soul," etc.; and below in the same chapter: "The Lord delivered Lot from the overthrow of the cities in which he had dwelt." In this, Lot bears the type of the just, who go out from the midst of the wicked; whence the Gloss: "Lot, who is interpreted as turning aside, is the people of the elect, who, while dwelling in Sodom, that is, among the reprobate, as a stranger, turns aside from their crimes as much as he can"; and this according to that passage in 2 Corinthians 6: "Go out from the midst of them and be separated, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you and will be a father to you, and you shall be to me sons and daughters." Therefore divine justice delivered just Lot, and on the contrary destroyed the impious people.

And therefore he adds: It rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all, namely the Lord, through the severity of avenging justice: Genesis 19: "Therefore the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from heaven from the Lord, and he overthrew these cities and the entire surrounding region, all the inhabitants of the cities, and everything growing from the earth."

And note that he says pointedly that the Lord rained from the Lord, because, although all judgment is owed to the Lord the Son, according to that passage in John 5: "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son," "because he is the Son of man"; nevertheless the judgment of this sin is specially owed to him, because it is directly against the incarnate Word, and it makes the nature which the Son of God made heavenly, angelic, and divine viler than brute nature, by subverting the laws of nature which brute animals observe. And therefore this vice is punished not only with fire but also with brimstone, on account of the burning and the stench of most disordered lust. Concerning the burning, Romans 1: "They burned in their desires toward one another, males working shame upon males"; concerning the stench, Isaiah 34: "From their corpses shall rise a stench, the mountains shall waste away from their blood," etc.; and the Psalm: "They are corrupt and have become abominable," etc. On account of these things they were deservedly consumed by fire and brimstone; whence Bernard: "The flame of Gehenna, brooking no delay, came beforehand to destroy this accursed nation, and moreover fire and the spirit of tempests consumed the very earth itself, as being privy to so great a disgrace."

Having used the example of the deluge, that no one might expect a future deluge by water, our Lord cites, secondly, the example of Lot, to show the manner of the destruction of the wicked, namely, that the wrath of God would descend upon them by fire from heaven.

According to these things will be the day when the Son of Man will be revealed. Beautifully He will be revealed, because He who now unseen sees everything, then seen will judge everything. However, He will appear to judge at the very time when He will see all forgotten of His judgments, given over to this world. For although the end of the world is set to come at a predetermined time, yet with the love of many growing cold towards the end, the iniquity of the human race will increase so much that it must deservedly be destroyed along with the world it inhabits. Even now we see countless people so devoted to revelry and drunkenness, buying and selling, and other worldly matters, that it's clear they provoked the wrath of the strict judge, but we fear that worse things are yet to come, things which no wise person can even think about without grave sorrow. For what was once said about one sinful nation to be destroyed: The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure (Genesis 15), undoubtedly must be understood concerning the entire mass of the wicked to be condemned.

For He who in the mean time though we see Him not yet sees all things, shall then appear to judge all things. And He shall come especially at that time, when He shall see all who are forgetful of His judgments in bondage to this world.

Third, as regards the example, he adds: According to these things it will be, on the day the Son of man is revealed. This is the day of judgment, on which there will be a revelation of Christ himself as Savior with respect to the good: First Peter 1: "You are guarded through faith, unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." There will also be a revelation of Christ as Judge with respect to the wicked: First Corinthians 4: "Do not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both illuminate the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts." Concerning both, Isaiah 56: "My salvation is near, that it may come, and my justice, that it may be revealed." This day of revelation is similar to the burning of Sodom, because in that event its example preceded; in the Epistle of Jude: "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities, having in like manner given themselves over to fornication and gone after other flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire"; and similarly Second Peter 2: "Reducing the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, he condemned them with overthrow, making them an example for those who would act impiously."

And therefore he says according to these things, so that the example may be similar as regards demerit, as regards the manner of judging, and as regards punishment. As regards demerit, because, just as in Sodom many were wicked and very few were good, so at the time of the final judgment, according to that passage below in chapter 18: "Do you think, when the Son of man comes, he will find faith on the earth?" Whence the Gloss: "He who in the meantime, not appearing, sees all things, will then, appearing, judge all things, when he shall have beheld all men, forgetful of his judgments, enslaved to this world, so that they deservedly ought to be destroyed along with the very world they inhabited."

According to these things it will also be with regard to the mode of judging, because the Lord is said to have descended: Genesis 18: "The Lord said to Abraham: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied, and their sin is aggravated exceedingly. I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that has come to me." So also the Lord will descend on the day of judgment: 1 Thessalonians 4: "For the Lord himself with commandment and with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of God shall descend from heaven." Just as he also delivered Lot the just man, condemning the impious: Wisdom 10: "She delivered the just man from those who were perishing, when fire descended upon the Pentapolis, to whose wickedness a smoking wasteland bears witness, a deserted land, and trees bearing fruit at uncertain times, and a pillar of salt standing as a memorial of an unbelieving soul, etc.": so also will it be at the final judgment. Whence the Gloss: "When Lot departed, Sodom perished, because at the consummation of the age the Angels will go out and separate the wicked from the midst of the just and cast them into the furnace of fire," as is said in Matthew 13. Just as also the wrath of God came upon the impious suddenly, so also will it be at the final judgment: Isaiah 30: "Suddenly, when it is not expected, his destruction will come, and he will be shattered like a potter's vessel," etc.; and Matthew 25: "But while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered," etc.

According to these things it will also be with regard to punishment. For those were punished with fire and brimstone: Genesis 19: "Abraham rose in the morning," "and he saw the ashes ascending from the earth like the smoke of a furnace." So will it be in the punishment of the impious at the judgment: the Psalm: "He shall rain upon sinners snares, fire and brimstone and a blast of storms, the portion of their cup"; and Ezekiel 38: "I will rain fire and brimstone upon him and upon his army and upon the many peoples who are with him"; whence also Apocalypse 14: "If anyone shall worship the beast, he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled with pure wine in the cup of his wrath, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy Angels." "And the smoke of their torments shall ascend forever and ever."

He does not say that fire came down from heaven upon the wicked Sodomites before that Lot went out from them, just as the deluge did not swallow up the inhabitants of the earth before that Noah entered the ark; for as long as Noah and Lot dwelt with the wicked, God suspended His anger that they might not perish together with the sinners, but when He would destroy those, He withdrew the righteous. So also at the end of the world, the consummation shall not come before all the just are separated from the wicked.

"He that will be on the housetop, do not let him go down. He that will be in the field, do not let him turn back." How may I understand what is the field unless Jesus himself teaches me? He says, "No one putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God." The lazy person sits in the farmhouse, but the industrious person plants in the field. The weak are at the fireplace, but the strong are at the plough. The smell of a field is good, because the smell of Jacob is the smell of a full field. A field is full of flowers. It is full of different fruits. Plough your field if you want to be sent to the kingdom of God. Let your field flower, fruitful with good rewards. Let there be a fruitful vine on the sides of your house and young olive plants around your table. Already aware of its fertility, let your soul, sown with the Word of God and tilled by spiritual farming, say to Christ, "Come, my brother, let us go out into the field." Let him reply, "I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride. I have gathered my vintage of myrrh." What is better than the vintage of faith, by which the fruit of the resurrection is stored and the spring of eternal rejoicing is watered?

Because good men must needs on account of the wicked be sore vexed in this world, in order that they may receive a more plentiful reward in the world to come, they are here punished with certain remedies, as it is here said, In that day, &c. that is, if a man goes up to the top of his house and rises to the summit of the highest virtues, let him not fall back to the grovelling business of this world.

Because thus she looked behind, she lost the gift of her nature. For Satan is behind, behind also Sodom. Wherefore flee from intemperance, turn away from lust, for recollect, that he who turned not back to his old pursuits escaped, because he reached the mount; whereas she looking back to what was left behind, could not even by the aid of her husband reach the mount, but remained fixed.

Regarding the saying, "He that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take anything out of his house, and he that is in the field, let him not go back to take his coat," it can be suitably taken in a spiritual sense. In all our trials, each one must take care not to be overcome or to come down from a spiritual height to a carnal life. He who had progressed should not look back by turning toward the past or failing to reach out to the future. This is true of every trial. How much greater care must be prescribed in a trial such as that foretold for the city as "Such as has not been from the beginning, neither will be"? How much more this is true for that final tribulation which is to come on the world, that is, the church spread through the whole world?

For he is on the housetop who, departing from carnal things, breathes as it were the free air of a spiritual life. But the vessels in the house are the carnal senses, which many using to discover truth which is only taken in by the intellect, have entirely missed it. Let the spiritual man then beware, lest in the day of tribulation he again take pleasure in the carnal life which is fed by the bodily senses, and descend to take away this world's vessels. It follows, And he that is in the field, let him not return back; that is, He who labours in the Church, as Paul planting and Apollos watering, let him not look back upon the worldly prospects which he has renounced.

In that hour, whoever is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. So far it has been mentioned that the kingdom of God, that is Christ, will come not with observation, but unexpectedly; now it is shown by whom this same coming should be expected. Therefore, he is on the housetop who, exceeding the carnal, lives spiritually as if in free air. His goods in the house are carnal desires, which he had loved too much, but seeking heavenly things had left in this world, which he must by no means retrieve with the judgment impending. For He does not speak of that hour when the judge comes, but when He is about to come, not when the fire descended on Sodom, but when Lot is compelled to leave, or rather when he, hesitating, is seized and taken out by the angels. For no one, when the judge is already coming and appearing, would be able or willing to descend into this world to take anything from it. But this hour is happening today as we anxiously watch for the coming judge, not knowing when He will come. About this, John said: "Dear children, this is the last hour" (1 John 2).

And he who is in the field, likewise, let him not turn back. He who works in the Church, and like Paul and Apollo plants and waters, let him not look back to secular hope, to which he has renounced.

In that day, he who shall be on the housetop, etc. After he described the mode of appearing and the mode of coming, here thirdly he describes the mode of escaping. This part has three parts: in the first of which the mode of escaping is described; in the second, the state of those escaping, at the words: I say to you: In that night; in the third, the end-point or place of escape, at the words: They answering say to him.

Concerning the mode of escaping, four things are introduced, namely the mode of fleeing, the mode of being in danger, the reason for the danger, and the reason for the remedy.

First, therefore, as regards the mode of escape, he says: In that day, he who shall be on the housetop, through the love of spiritual things; whence the Gloss: "On the housetop is he who, surpassing carnal things, lives spiritually as if in the free air." Upon this housetop the preacher of truth ought to ascend, so that he may do what he persuades others to do; Matthew 10: "What you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops." For in Isaiah 40 it is said: "Get up upon a high mountain, you who evangelize Zion," etc.

And his goods in the house, through contempt of carnal things; the Gloss: "His goods in the house are the carnal concupiscences which he had formerly loved, but seeking heavenly things, had left behind in the world," according to that passage of First Thessalonians 4: "Let each one know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, and not in the passion of desire, as do the Gentiles who know not God"; concerning whom Isaiah 65 says: "They eat swine's flesh, and profane broth is in their vessels." Let him not come down to take them away, through relapse into sin, as that man of whom it is said above in chapter 10: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves"; Isaiah 31: "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, trusting in horses," etc. And he who is in the field, through the exercise of virtues; the Gloss: "In the field is he who labors in the Church, planting and watering"; Proverbs 24: "Diligently cultivate your field, so that afterward you may build your house"; likewise let him not turn back, to the works of vice, because, as is said above in chapter 9, "No one putting his hand to the plow and looking back," etc. He wishes therefore to say that whoever wants to escape that day of judgment so as not to perish must, by despising worldly things, tend most perseveringly toward eternal things, as Paul both did and said in Philippians 3: "Forgetting the things that are behind and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press toward the mark, toward the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus." Although this perseverance is necessary for all, it is most especially so when the future judgment is imminent, when tribulations and many evil examples and teachings will press upon them; Matthew 24: "False prophets shall arise and shall seduce many. And because iniquity shall abound, the charity of many shall grow cold; but he who shall persevere unto the end," etc.

That those who are snatched from the jaws of the devil, and delivered from the snares of this world, ought not again to return to the world, lest they should lose the advantage of their withdrawal therefrom. In Exodus the Jewish people, prefigured as a shadow and image of us, when, with God for their guardian and avenger, they had escaped the most severe slavery of Pharaoh and of Egypt-that is, of the devil and the world-faithless and ungrateful in respect of God, murmur against Moses, looking back to the discomforts of the desert and of their labour; and, not understanding the divine benefits of liberty and salvation, they seek to return to the slavery of Egypt-that is, of the world whence they had been drawn forth-when they ought rather to have trusted and believed on God, since He who delivers His people from the devil and the world, protects them also when delivered. "Wherefore hast thou thus done with us," say they, "in casting us forth out of Egypt? It is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in this wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Trust, and stand fast, and see the salvation which is from the Lord, which He shall do to you to-day. The Lord Himself shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." The Lord, admonishing us of this in His Gospel, and teaching that we should not return again to the devil and to the world, which we have renounced, and whence we have escaped, says: "No man looking back, land putting his hand to the plough, is fit for the kingdom of God." And again: "And let him that is in the field not return back. Remember Lot's wife." And lest any one should be retarded by any covetousness of wealth or attraction of his own people from following Christ, He adds, and says: "He that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple."

To a purpose thus excellent, and a proportionate earnestness the Saviour bids us hold fast, thus saying; "In that day he who is upon the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to carry them away: and he who is in the field, let him in like manner not return back." He was speaking of the last day, that is, of the end of this world; for as it was, He said, in the days of Noah and Lot: they were eating, and drinking, and were taking wives, and being made the wives of men, until the flood came; and upon Sodom fire descended, and destroyed them all: so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Strengthening them therefore for the remembrance of the last day, and the final time, He commands them to disregard all earthly and temporal matters, and look only unto one end, the duty namely of every one saving his soul. "He therefore, He says, that is upon the housetop, let him not go down to the house to carry away his goods." And in these words He apparently means the man who is at ease, living in wealth and worldly glory: for always those that stand upon the housetops are conspicuous in the eyes of them who are round about the house. If therefore, He says, there be any one in this condition, let him at that time make no account of the goods stored up in his house. For vain henceforth are such things, and unavailing to his advantage. For, as it is written, "Treasures profit not the wicked: but righteousness delivers from death."

But even "if any one be, He says, in the field, in like manner let him not return back." That is, if any one be found devoted to industry, and occupied in labours, earnestly desirous of spiritual fruitfulness, and gathering the wages of virtuous toil, let him hold firmly to this diligence: "let him not return back:" for, as Christ Himself again has somewhere said, "No man that puts his hand to the plough, and turns back, is fit also for the kingdom of heaven." For it is our duty to maintain our religious exertions without wavering, and to persevere in them with undaunted wills, lest we suffer some such fate as befell the woman at Sodom, taking whom as an example, He says, "Remember Lot's wife." For when she had been rescued from Sodom, but would afterwards have returned, she became a pillar of salt, became, that is, foolish and stone-like.

He hereby implies that a persecution will come from the son of perdition upon Christ's faithful. By that day then He means the time previous to the end of the world, in which let not him who is flying return, nor care to lose his goods, lest he imitate Lot's wife, who when she fled out of the city of Sodom, turning back, died, and became a pillar of salt.

On that day of the coming of the Antichrist, "whoever is on the housetop," that is, on the height of virtue, let him not come down from it, let him not descend for any worldly object. For all worldly objects are called vessels for a person, serving one for virtue and another for evil deeds. Therefore, you who stand on the height of virtue, do not come down for anything worldly and do not fall from your height, but resist evil and do not grow weary. Likewise also he "who is in the field" should not turn back. For he who is in the field, that is, in this world cultivating virtue, must not turn back, but must press forward, as it is also said in another place: "No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62).

Matthew relates all these things to have been said by our Lord, with reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, that when the Romans came upon them, they who were on the housetop should not come down to take any thing, but fly at once, nor they that were in the field return home. And surely so it was at the taking of Jerusalem, and again will be at the coming of Antichrist, but much more at the completion of all things, when that intolerable destruction shall come.

Next follows the promise, Whosoever shall seek, &c. as if he said, Let no man in the persecutions of Antichrist seek to secure his life, for he shall lose it, but whoso shall expose himself to trials and death shall be safe, never submitting himself to the tyrant from his love of life.

For this reason, the Lord says, "Remember Lot's wife," who because she looked back, lost the function of her own nature. Satan and Sodom are behind. Flee excess and shun extravagance. Know that not everyone can flee to the mountain. Remember that the one who did not return to his old pursuits, as if to Sodom, escaped because he came to the mountain. She, who was weaker since she looked back, could not come to the mountain. She remained, although her husband's help supported her.

Lot's wife represents those who in time of trouble look back and turn aside from the hope of the divine promise, and hence she was made a pillar of salt as a warning to men not to do likewise, and to season as it were their hearts, lest they become corrupt.

Remember Lot's wife. Lot's wife signifies those who in tribulation look back and turn away from the hope of God's promise. Therefore, she was made into a pillar of salt, as a warning to people not to do this, as if they season their heart, so that they may not be foolish.

Second, regarding the manner of endangerment which must be avoided, he adds: Remember the wife of Lot, about whom it is said in Genesis 19: "The wife of Lot, looking back behind her, was turned into a pillar of salt." And the reason for this is that she acted against the command of the Lord, which is stated in Genesis 19: "Do not look back behind you, nor stand still in all the surrounding region, but save yourself on the mountain, lest you also perish together." In this it is understood that the entire danger to salvation in those converted to Christ consists in turning back; whence 2 Peter 2: "It is better not to know the way of truth than, after knowing it, to turn back." And he gives the reason for this when he states beforehand: "For if, having fled the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter things have become worse for them than the former." And therefore, for the detestation of apostasy and relapse and regression, the Lord placed that memorial about the wife of Lot; about whom Wisdom 10: "A standing pillar of salt, the memorial of an unbelieving soul." Therefore he says pointedly: Remember the wife of Lot. For she was turned into a pillar of salt so that by thus displaying her foolishness she might give others the seasoning of wisdom, so that no one would look back, according to what is said above in chapter 14: "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its savor, with what shall it be seasoned? It is good for nothing further," etc. Whence the Gloss: "The wife of Lot signifies those who in tribulation look back and turn themselves away from the hope of the divine promise; and therefore she was made a pillar of salt, because by admonishing people not to do similar things, she seasons their hearts, lest they be foolish." This, however, is not only an example but also a figure and a foreshadowing. For just as that conflagration signifies the final judgment that is imminent, so the wife of Lot looking back signifies effeminate and carnal souls who will turn back and apostatize in that tribulation.

It is our duty to maintain our religious exertions without wavering and to persevere in them with undaunted wills or else we may suffer the kind of fate that befell the woman at Sodom. We take her as an example because he says, "Remember Lot's wife. For when she was rescued from Sodom, but would afterward have returned, she became a pillar of salt." That means she became foolish and stonelike.

"The law is spiritual" and the things that happened to the ancients "happened figuratively." Let us see if perhaps Lot, who did not look back, is the rational understanding and the courageous soul. His wife here represents the flesh. The flesh always looks to vices. When the soul is going toward salvation, it looks backward and seeks pleasures. Concerning this, the Lord also said, "No man putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God." He adds, "Remember Lot's wife." The fact that "she became a little statue of salt" appears to be an open indication of her foolishness. Salt represents the wisdom that she lacked.

Thou hast gone forth after Jesus, follow Him then and turn not back, and remember Lot's wife, who, because the love of her kinsfolk and the outcries of her beloved ones constrained her, turned and looked back behind her, and became a pillar of salt, even as is written concerning her; and because her soul had not been salted with the fear of the Highest she became a destructible salted thing. Remember then this woman who was in doubt, and who perished, and be thou not in doubt like unto her, and turn not thyself backwards, lest thou remain in the place where thou art, and thou wilt arrive at this condition, although not in thy body, yet in thy soul. For the soul that turneth and looketh backward after it hath gone forth on the journey in this path becometh a senseless pillar, and as in the case above, the wife of Lot ceased from bodily feeling, and thereby became a pillar of salt, even so also here the mind, which looketh behind it always at corruptible things, ceaseth to feel, and becometh stupefied at spiritual things; because the remembrance of the world maketh us to possess dulness of heart, and it defileth the purity and innocency of the soul, and this carnal mind blackeneth and darkeneth that pure sight which worked for the understanding by the constant vision of God. And if the thought which is set upon carnal things removeth us from the sight of spiritual things, how much more will the possession of them absolutely remove us? And if, in looking upon them whilst they are in the hands of others, they bind us to them, how much more shall we be bound so long as they are found in our hands?

If, however, He speaks of His own coming, why does He compare it with the days of Noe and of Lot, which were dark and terrible-a mild and gentle God as He is? Why does He bid us "remember Lot's wife," who despised the Creator's command, and was punished for her contempt, if He does not come with judgment to avenge the infraction of His precepts? If He really does punish, like the Creator, if He is my Judge, He ought not to have adduced examples for the purpose of instructing me from Him whom He yet destroys, that He might not seem to be my instructor.

The Lord presents the wife of Lot as an example. She, having looked back, became a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26), that is, not having departed from wickedness, she remained in its saltiness, having become entirely wicked, and, having sunk and remained in evil, she stands as a monument of the defeat which she suffered.

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it. This sentence can be correctly understood in two ways, but both meanings refer to one single end, namely, to suffer adversities for Christ, indeed not to fear to endure death itself. For he who, with death threatening from a persecutor, if he does not deny Christ, prefers rather to save his life for a time by denying, undoubtedly prepares it for eternal perdition. Likewise, he who seeks the eternal salvation of his soul, does not doubt to lose it temporally into the hands of persecutors, that is, to give it into death. But to both meanings, what follows fits aptly:

And whoever loses it will save it. That is, whoever loses it here, will save it there, he who has delivered it to death for Christ, considering it all day as a sheep to be slaughtered (Romans 8), then with Christ rising and helping, will find it free for the sake of the name of Christ.

Third, regarding the reason for the danger, he adds: Whoever shall seek to save his life, through private love; for soul is taken here for the carnal life, about which Leviticus 17: "The soul of all flesh is in the blood"; the Gloss there: "He called the life of the body soul — not the soul which departs from the body, but that which ends with death." He who loves it too much seeks to save this; whence the Gloss on whoever shall seek to save his life: "He who wishes to save his carnal life in the world by denying Christ."

Concerning which he adds: He will lose it, that is, by divine judgment; John 12: "He who loves his soul will lose it." And indeed this happens by the just judgment of God, so that he who by immoderate love of himself offends God loses at once both divine happiness and the salvation of his soul. And this is because, by loving the changeable good above the unchangeable, he loves iniquity; Psalm: "He who loves iniquity hates his own soul"; and truly, because, as is said in Matthew 16, "what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his own soul?" The reason, therefore, for all that peril is the turning toward private good, by which one loves himself too much, and by loving himself too much, is affected beyond what is due concerning private good—by hoping for and rejoicing at its presence, by fearing and grieving at its absence. And all this comes from the love of private good, which will reign most of all at the end of the world; 2 Timothy 3: "In the last days perilous times shall come, and men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, proud," etc.; and by loving themselves too much, they will render themselves hateful to God; Isaiah 28: "The bed is narrowed, so that one must fall off, and the short covering cannot cover both," etc.

Fourth, as regards the reason of the remedy, he adds: And whoever shall lose it, through hatred of all carnality. For he is said to lose his life who pursues its carnality by crucifying it, as Paul says in Galatians 5: "Those who belong to Christ have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences." Therefore he himself said in Galatians 2: "I am nailed to the cross with Christ. Yet I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me." He showed an example of this in Acts 20: "Chains and tribulations await me at Jerusalem. But I fear none of these things, for I do not count my life more precious than myself, provided that I may finish my course and the word of the ministry which I have received." He therefore loses who exposes to destruction for the love of Jesus Christ; and concerning this it is added: He shall preserve it alive, through the reward of eternal happiness: John 12: "He who hates his life in this world keeps it unto life eternal." And the reason for this is that he is worthy to be delivered by the Lord who loves Him even to the hatred of himself: Apocalypse 12: "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives even unto death." He who loves thus loves God supremely, according to that passage in John 15: "Greater charity no one has than that one lay down his life for his friends." And since he is thus loving, he is worthy to be loved, according to that passage in Proverbs 8: "I love those who love me"; he is also deservedly worthy to be eternally given life and to be delivered from every danger: Apocalypse 7: "These who are clothed in white robes, who are they and whence have they come? And he said to me: These are they who have come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God; they shall neither hunger nor thirst anymore, nor shall the sun fall upon them nor any heat, for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall rule them and lead them to the fountains of the waters of life."

But the way in which a man loses his life that he may save it, and how he who imagines that he is saving loses it, Paul clearly shows, where he says of the saints, "They that are Jesus Christ's have crucified the flesh, with its affections and lusts." For those who have really become true followers of Christ our common Saviour, crucify their flesh, and put it to death, by being constantly engaged in labours and struggles unto piety, and by mortifying its natural desire. For it is written, "Mortify your members that are upon earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and covetousness." But those who love a voluptuous course of life, imagine probably that they are gaining their soul by living in pleasure and effeminacy: whereas certainly they lose it. "For he that sows, it says, to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption."

But on the other hand, whosoever loses his life shall of a certainty save it. This the blessed martyrs did, enduring conflicts even unto blood and life, and placing on their heads as their crown their true love unto Christ. But those who, from weakness of resolution and mind, denied the faith, and fled from the present death of the flesh, became their own murderers: for they will go down into hell to suffer the penalties of their wicked cowardice. For the Judge shall descend from heaven: and those who with all their heart have loved Him, and earnestly practised entire virtuousness of life, He will call, saying, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world." But those who have led careless and dissolute lives, nor maintained the glory of faith in Him, on them will He pass a severe and overwhelming sentence, saying unto them, "Depart, you cursed, into everlasting fire."

How a man may lose his own life to save it, St. Paul explains when he speaks of some who crucified their flesh with the affections and lusts, (Gal. 5:24.) that is, with perseverance and devotion engaging in the conflict.

And again He saith, "Whosoever wisheth to save his soul shall destroy it; and whosoever wisheth to destroy his soul for My sake shall make it to live." And again He saith, "Whosoever destroyeth his soul shall preserve it unto everlasting life; and whosoever ministereth unto Me the Father shall honour."

Then the Lord adds what also relates to the foregoing: "Whoever seeks to save his life shall lose it." Let no one, He says, during the persecution of the Antichrist try to save his life, for such a person shall lose it. But whoever gives himself over to death and to suffering in general shall be saved, not bowing before the tyrant out of love for life. Above, the Lord said that he who stands on the height of virtue should not come down from it for worldly things, should not be carried away by either gain or possessions, nor grow weak in the struggle because of them. Likewise now, extending the point further, He says: and why do I say, do not go back for your goods? No, do not abandon virtue even for the sake of outward goods, nor even for the sake of preserving your very life should you resolve to bow before the deceiver and persecutor. The Evangelist Matthew (Matt. 24) says that the Lord spoke all of this concerning the captivity of Jerusalem, alluding to the siege by enemies and to the fact that during the invasion of the Romans one must flee from them without looking back: those on the rooftop need not go down into the house to take anything of their belongings, but must flee at once, for this is no time of tranquility in which to gather vessels; likewise, those in the field need not return home, and even one who is at home must flee. There is nothing surprising, however, if this was fulfilled at the taking of Jerusalem and will again be fulfilled at the coming of the Antichrist, especially if before the very time of the end of the world there is to be an unbearably heavy tribulation.

He fittingly said, "night," because the Antichrist is the hour of darkness. The Antichrist spreads darkness in the hearts of people, when he says he is the Christ.… Christ, like flashing lightning, scatters the spheres of his light throughout the world. He does not wander through the desert. He is not enclosed in some other places, because the Lord says, "I fill heaven and earth." He shines with the light of his splendor, so that we may see his glory in that night of the resurrection.

Two people in this world, which is very often compared with a field, are believers and unbelievers. One will receive the reward of their merits; therefore the faithful one is taken, but the faithless is left.

He rightly says, night, for Antichrist is the hour of darkness, because he pours a dark cloud over the minds of men while he declares himself to be Christ. But Christ as lightning shines brightly, that we may be able to see in that night the glory of the resurrection.

(de Qu. Ev. lib. ii. qu. 41.) Or He says, in that night, meaning in that tribulation.

(de Qu. Ev. ut sup) Or there are three classes of men here represented. The first is composed of those who prefer their ease and quiet, and busy not themselves in secular or ecclesiastical concerns. And this quiet life of theirs is signified by the bed. The next class embraces those who being placed among the people are governed by teachers. And such he has described by the name of women, because it is best for them to be ruled by the advice of those who are set over them; and he has described these as grinding at the mill, because in their hands revolves the wheel and circle of temporal concerns. And with reference to these matters he has represented them as grinding together, inasmuch as they give their services to the benefit of the Church. The third class are those who labour in the ministry of the Church as in the field of God. In each of these three classes then there are two sorts of men, of which the one abide in the Church and are taken up, the other fall away and are left.

(de Con. Ev. l. ii. c. 7.) these things which Luke has given us in a different place from Matthew, he either relates by anticipation, so as to mention beforehand what was afterwards spoken by our Lord, or he means us to understand that they were twice uttered by Him.

I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed. The Lord had said above that he who is in the field should not turn back, so that you would not think that it was said only about those who openly intend to turn back from the field, that is, to deny the Lord. He continues to show that there are some who, even though they seem to have their faces turned forward, still look back with their mind and spirit. Therefore, in that night, he said, in that tribulation so dark, that even the elect might be led astray, if it were possible (Matthew 24), there will be two in one bed, those namely who choose ease and rest, neither occupied with secular affairs, nor with ecclesiastical matters, which their rest by the name of bed signifies.

One will be taken, and the other left. It is not as if it was said about two men, but about two kinds of affections. For he who has strived for continence for the sake of God, so that living without anxiety he may consider the things of God (I Cor. VII), will be taken by God; but he who has wounded the monastic state of life with which he is imbued, either from love of human praise or by any other corruption of vices, he, as to where he is to be left, the lamentations of Jeremiah hint, who describing the fall of any idle and sinful soul under the image of Judea, says: The enemies have seen her, and have laughed at her Sabbaths (Lam. I).

I say to you: In that night, etc. After he has described the manner of escaping, here he describes the state of those who escape, which he describes as threefold, namely of contemplatives, actives, and prelates, according to that passage in Ezekiel 14: "If these three men were in the midst of it — Noah, Daniel, and Job — they themselves shall deliver their own souls"; in whom is understood the threefold state of those to be saved, such that in Noah, who presided over the ark, prelates are understood; in Daniel, contemplatives; and in Job, actives. In every state, however, there are some good and some evil, some just and some unjust, so that every state may be stirred by fear, "and the whole world may be made subject to God."

First, therefore, as regards the state of contemplatives, he says: I say to you: In that night there shall be two in one bed, as regards the state of those contemplating, which is rightly called a little bed, according to that passage of Song of Songs 3: "In my little bed I sought by night him whom my soul loves," etc. Moreover, by the little bed is understood the state of contemplatives, because it is a place of rest: Song of Songs 3: "Behold, the little bed of Solomon, sixty strong men surround it"; likewise, a place of solitude: Matthew 6: "But you, when you pray, enter into your chamber," etc.; likewise, a place of nuptial companionship: Song of Songs 1: "Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved; behold, you are beautiful, your eyes are as doves. Behold, you are handsome, my beloved, and comely. — Our little bed is flowering."

In this bed, therefore, both the elect and the reprobate are sometimes admitted; on account of which he adds: One shall be taken, namely to the divine fellowship. As a figure of which, Matthew 17: "Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart." Whence that holy contemplative said in the Psalm: "You have held my right hand, and in your will you have led me, and with glory you have received me"; and again: "For our assumption is of the Lord, and of the Holy One of Israel, our king."

And the other shall be left, namely to eternal punishment; Job 20: "A fire that is not kindled shall devour him, and he that is left in his tabernacle shall be afflicted."

And note that whereas he had previously stated in that day, now he says in that night: for the final tribulation is called day on account of the revelation of the judge himself, and is called night on account of the horror of the tribulations, according to that passage of Wisdom 17: "Nor could the brightest flames of the stars illuminate that horrendous night." Whence the Gloss: "in that night, that is, in that tribulation so dark that even the elect, if it were possible, would be led into error." And concerning this, the Psalm: "You have appointed darkness, and it became night: in it all the beasts of the forest shall pass through." In this, not only the simple shall fall, but also some contemplatives and great ones. As a figure of which it is said in Matthew 24: "The stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken."

By the two who are in one bed, he seems to hint at those who live in rest and plenty. They are equal to one another, as far as being possessed of worldly affluence. The bed is the symbol of rest. He says, "One of them will be taken, and one will be left." How is one taken? Not all those who are possessed of wealth and ease in this world are wicked and merciless.

For by the two men in one bed, He seems to denote the rich who repose themselves in worldly pleasures, for a bed is a sign of rest. But not all who abound in riches are wicked, but if one is good and elect in the faith, he will be taken, but another who is not so will be left. For when our Lord descends to judgment, He will send His Angels, who while they leave behind on the earth the rest to suffer punishment, will bring the holy and righteous men to Him; according to the Apostle's words, We shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet Christ in the air. (1 Thess 4:17.)

The two in one bed are those who preach alike the Lord's rest after His passion, about which heretics and catholics have the same confession; but because the Catholic Faith preaches the unity of the Godhead of the Father and the Son, and the false creed of the heretics impugns that, therefore shall the Divine judgment decide between the confession of these two by taking one and leaving the other.

If the Father, then, does not exercise judgment, [it follows] that judgment does not belong to Him, or that He consents to all those actions which take place; and if He does not judge, all persons will be equal, and accounted in the same condition. The advent of Christ will therefore be without an object, yea, absurd, inasmuch as [in that case] He exercises no judicial power. For "He came to divide a man against his father, and the daughter against the mother, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law;" and when two are in one bed, to take the one, and to leave the other; and of two women grinding at the mill, to take one and leave the other: [also] at the time of the end, to order the reapers to collect first the tares together, and bind them in bundles, and burn them with unquenchable fire, but to gather up the wheat into the barn; and to call the lambs into the kingdom prepared for them, but to send the goats into everlasting fire, which has been prepared by His Father for the devil and his angels. And why is this? Has the Word come for the ruin and for the resurrection of many? For the ruin, certainly, of those who do not believe Him, to whom also He has threatened a greater damnation in the judgment-day than that of Sodom and Gomorrah; but for the resurrection of believers, and those who do the will of His Father in heaven. If then the advent of the Son comes indeed alike to all, but is for the purpose of judging, and separating the believing from the unbelieving, since, as those who believe do His will agreeably to their own choice, and as, [also] agreeably to their own choice, the disobedient do not consent to His doctrine; it is manifest that His Father has made all in a like condition, each person having a choice of his own, and a free understanding; and that He has regard to all things, and exercises a providence over all, "making His sun to rise upon the evil and on the good, and sending rain upon the just and unjust."

And from this we learn that the coming of the Lord will follow unexpectedly and suddenly. For the saying that "two... will be... in one bed" shows the carefree state of people. Likewise the grinding indicates the unexpectedness of the coming. We also learn that the coming will follow at night. So the Lord says that even among the rich, resting in bed, some will be saved, and others will not. The Lord once said that the rich are saved with difficulty (Matt. 19:23–24). Now He shows that not all the rich perish, nor are all the poor saved, but even among the rich one will be taken and will be caught up "to meet the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17), as one light in spirit and heavenly, while the other will be left below, as one condemned.

Or He teaches us the suddenness of Christ's coming, which we are told will be in the night. And having said that the rich can scarcely be saved, He shows that not all the rich perish, nor all the poor are saved.

Or out of the same bed of human infirmity, one is left, that is, rejected, another is taken up, that is, is caught to meet Christ in the air. By the two grinding together, he seems to imply the poor and the oppressed. To which belongs what follows. Two men shall be in the field, &c. For in these there is no slight difference. For some nobly bear up against the burden of poverty, leading a lowly but honest life, and these shall be taken up; but the others are very active in wickedness, and they shall be left. Or those grinding at the mill seem to represent such as seek nourishment from hidden sources, and from secret places draw forth things openly to view. And perhaps the world is a kind of corn mill, in which the soul is shut up as in a bodily prison. And in this corn mill either the synagogue or the soul exposed to sin, like the wheat, softened by grinding and spoilt by too great moisture, cannot separate the outward from the inner parts, and so is left because its flour dissatisfies. But the holy Church, or the soul which is not soiled by the stains of sin, which grinds such wheat as is ripened by the heat of the eternal sun, presents to God a good flour from the secret shrines of the heart. Who the two men in the field are we may discover if we consider, that there are two minds in us, one of the outer man which wasteth away, the other of the inner man which is renewed by the Sacrament. These are then the labourers in the field, the one of which by diligence brings forth good fruit, the other by idleness loses that which he has. Or those who are compared we may interpret to be two nations, one of which being faithful is taken, the other being unfaithful is left.

For God is not unjust that He should separate in His reward of their deserts men of like pursuits in life, and not differing in the quality of their actions. But the habit of living together does not equalize the merits of men, for not all accomplish what they attempt, but he only who shall persevere to the end shall be saved.

There will be two grinding at the mill. He calls those grinding at the mill who are placed among the people and are governed by teachers, doing the things of this world, whom he also signifies by the name of women, because, as I said, it is expedient for them to be governed by the counsels of the skilled. And he said grinding, on account of the circle and cycle of temporal affairs. Yet he said in one grinding, inasmuch as they provide for the uses of the Church out of their own resources and businesses. For every action of this world is a mill, which while it gathers many cares, it turns human minds as if in a circle, and casts forth like flour, because it constantly generates minute thoughts in a restless heart.

One will be taken, and the other left. That part which has engaged in marriage only for the love of offspring and has dispensed earthly substance for acquiring heavenly things will be taken; but that which has served marriages for the allurements of the flesh, and whatever earthly things it may have offered to the Church or the poor, did so in order that, as if having made a bargain with the Lord, it might more abundantly abound with these things, will be left.

Secondly, as regards the state of actives, he adds: Two shall be grinding together, through engagement in the active life, which is rightly understood by the millstone, because those who are occupied with the acts of the active life go around and run about in the manner of a millstone and do not stop at one work, as was said to Martha above in chapter 10: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things."

Or because such persons ought to be raised up by the hope of eternal rewards and cast down by the terror of punishments, namely by hope and fear, by which, as by millstones, the spiritual mill is moved; whence Deuteronomy 24: "You shall not take as a pledge the lower and the upper millstone." And since man is occupied with this with respect to the lower portion of reason, therefore he speaks in the feminine gender: Two women shall be grinding: whence the Gloss: "'Two' signifies the differences of those following the circuit of changeable things, who are designated by the feminine gender, because they are governed by evil counsel, as women by men, who nevertheless grind as one, insofar as from their affairs they serve the uses of the Church."

And because among these there are some who are good, therefore it is added: One shall be taken, namely unto glory, according to that word of the Psalm: "He sent from on high and took me and drew me out of many waters." — And the other shall be left, namely unto Gehenna; Isaiah 1: "The daughter of Sion shall be left as a shelter in a vineyard and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers and as a city that is laid waste"; and Matthew 23: "Behold, your house shall be left unto you desolate."

He says, "Two women will be grinding at a mill. The one will be taken, and the other left." By these he again seems to mean those who live in poverty and labor. Even in these, he says that there is a certain vast difference. Some have carried the burden of poverty courageously, honoring a serious and virtuous way of life. Others have been of a different character. They are planners for every wicked practice and all shamefulness. There will be even in their case a full and exact investigation of their manners. The good will be taken, and he that is not good will be left.

In like manner, of the poor as well, who are signified by those grinding, one will be saved and another will not. For not all the poor are righteous: some of them are thieves and cut purses. By grinding is indicated the laboriousness of the life of the poor.

Two will be in the field; one will be taken, and the other left. Just as above, with two in one bed and two women grinding at the mill, so here it is understood to be in one field. This signifies those who labor in the ministry of the Church, as in the field of God, to whom his farmer said: "You are God's field" (1 Corinthians 3:9). The one who will be taken is the one who does not adulterate the word of God (2 Corinthians 2:17), but speaks in Christ truthfully before God. The one who preaches Christ insincerely, but out of selfish motivation, will be left behind. I do not think there are other kinds of people within the Church, except these three pairs distinguished by being taken or left behind, although within each pair many diversities of pursuits and wills can be found, converging nevertheless towards harmony and unity. Therefore, the prophet Ezekiel saw three who were saved: Noah, Daniel, and Job, in whom preachers, those who live in continence, and those who are married, are represented. For Noah ruled the ark on the waters, and thus held the figure of those who govern. Daniel, devoted to abstinence even in the royal court, thus signified the life of those who live in continence. Job, placed in marriage and taking care of his own household, pleased God, and through him the order of good spouses is worthily represented.

Our Lord had just before said, that he who is in the field must not return back; and lest this should seem to have been spoken of those only who would openly return from the field, that is, who would publicly deny their Lord, He goes on to show, that there are some who, while seeming to turn their face forward, are yet in their heart looking behind.

Thirdly, with respect to the state of prelates, he adds: Two shall be in the field, through the guardianship of Churches; the Gloss: "'Two' signifies the differences of preachers laboring in the Church as in a field." Whence the Apostle also calls the prelate and preacher a farmer; 2 Timothy 2: "The laboring farmer ought first to partake of the fruits"; and therefore 1 Corinthians 3: "You are God's husbandry, you are God's building." On account of which it was said in Jeremiah 1: "Behold, I have set you over nations and over kingdoms, to root up and to tear down and to scatter and to overthrow and to build and to plant." In this field of the Church grow the fruits of good works: Genesis 27: "Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a full field, which the Lord has blessed"; there grow also the flowers of the Saints, namely the roses of Martyrs, the lilies of Virgins, and the violets of Confessors; the Psalm: "The beauty of the field is with me."

Among these farmers, however, some shall be saved, and therefore he adds: One shall be taken, namely to the summit of eternal goods; Haggai 2: "I will take you, O Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and I will make you as a signet ring, because I have chosen you." — And the other shall be left, namely in the calamity of infernal reproaches; Isaiah 27: "The fortified city shall be desolate, the fair city shall be left and abandoned like a wilderness."

From all these things it is gathered that in any state of those to be saved, some will be good and some will be evil; and thus all should fear, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 9: "There are just and wise men, and their works are in the hand of God; and yet man does not know whether he is worthy of love or of hatred, but all things are kept uncertain for the future." On account of which, if anyone wishes to escape the future judgment, there is necessary for him not only contempt of the world, but also divine fear, according to that passage of Isaiah 2: "Enter into the rock and hide in the pit of the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord and from the glory of His Majesty"; "for He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens." Therefore let each one, terrified, cry out with the Apostle and say: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments," etc.