Revelation 19

1–3

This is the voice of the church when the separation has already occurred and when all wicked persons have gone out of her to be consumed with eternal fire. “And their smoke goes up for ever and ever.” Hear, O brothers, and fear and know that Babylon and the harlot whose smoke ascends forever and ever are not to be understood as anything other than lustful, adulterous and arrogant persons. And, therefore, if you wish to avoid these punishments, do not desire to commit such grievous sins.… Is it smoke of a burned-out city that is visible and goes up forever and ever, and not rather [the smoke] of people who remain in their arrogance? It says “it goes up,” not “it will go up,” for in the present age Babylon is always going into destruction and burning up in part, just as Jerusalem is moving into paradise in those saints who leave the world. The Lord showed this in the story of the poor man and the rich man.

Exposition on the Apocalypse 19:1-3, Homily 18

As from a great multitude I heard a voice from heaven: for the ranks of the holy angels are innumerable; as one of the Fathers said, the ninety-nine are the sheep (see Matt. 18:12, Luke 15:4) preserved and steadfast, the angels, and the one that was led astray is all humanity. And they said, "Alleluia." The word alleluia is Hebrew; it means "praise" or "give thanks, praise God." Therefore they sing a song of thanksgiving at the righteous judgment of spiritual Babylon.

Commentary on Revelation

1–3

The saints exult over the destruction of the traitorous city, and they praise God with the jubilation of praise. What does this describe other than the coming of the retribution of the evildoers and the rewarding of the good? This is that of which Daniel spoke, “Some will rise to everlasting life, and some to everlasting reproach,” so that they might see [this] forever. For this reason it is said, “The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:1-3

“Hallelujah” signifies divine praise, while “Amen” means “truly” or “let it be so.” This praise is common both from the angelic powers as well as from humankind, which is similar to the angels, and this praise is sent up to God three times on account of the tri-hypostatic deity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:1-4

After this, I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying: Alleluia, etc. Now the Church says this in part; but then it will be said perfectly when the separation has been made, and when it has been more openly avenged.

Commentary on Revelation

God has “avenged the blood of his servants from the hand” of Babylon and has benefited her inhabitants by accomplishing the cessation of sin through its punishment.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:1-4

Who corrupted the earth with her prostitution, etc. He recalls two acts of the harlot: that she corrupted herself with evil and persecuted the good, in which I think all the crimes of the wicked are comprehended.

Commentary on Revelation

Concerning the harlot it says, "The smoke from her goes up forever and ever." That is to say, while the church remains in her joyful praise, the smoke of the destruction of the wicked also remains. Just as the beginning of fire is in smoke, so smoke is present as long as fire remains. I think that the Lord gave us an example of these good and evil persons in the figures of the pauper and the rich man.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:3

And a second time they raised the same hymn, and again he uttered it even more softly, that with the three times repeated alleluia the holy and much-praised Trinity might be glorified by them (see Rev 19:1, 3, 4); for this is God.

He says, And the smoke of her torment goes up for ever and ever. In the midst the alleluia being praised interrupted the sequence of the discourse, since this indeed is the course of the arrangement; and has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand; And the smoke of her torment goes up for ever and ever. For smoke it says as of the city being utterly burned about which these things are said; for smoke is a sign of fire.

Commentary on Revelation

The words that the “smoke from the city goes up forever and ever” show either the unforgettable nature of the punishment that has come upon the city, or that although she meted out punishments in part and to some extent, she will, nonetheless, be punished eternally in the coming age.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:1-4

And again they said: Alleluia. The Church praises the Lord with an unceasing affection over His judgments. For Alleluia means Praise the Lord. Indeed, the psalms that begin with Praise the Lord start with Alleluia among the Hebrews.

Commentary on Revelation

And her smoke rises forever and ever. He said ascends, not will ascend. Babylon always goes into perdition and is already burning in part, just as Jerusalem passes into paradise, with the Lord manifesting it in the poor man and the rich man.

Commentary on Revelation

But in Leviticus He says: "Go not ye after idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God." And in other passages: "The children of Israel are my household servants; these are they whom I led forth from the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Scorpiace

But to have the elders and the living creatures say Amen denotes assent to the doxology brought by the holy angels; for the Amen signifies the voice transferred into Greek from the Hebrews, "so be it."

Commentary on Revelation

4–5

When [the voice] commands that this [praise] be done and then it is reported that [such praise] was given, it indicates that [God] has accepted the praise of his elect as pleasing, indeed, giving his approval to the praise that had been given and indicating that it is to be perpetual. The “great” in the church are those of whom the apostle said, “We speak wisdom among the perfect,” and of whom the Lord said, “Whoever teaches men so shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” The “small” are those of whom it is said, “As babes in Christ, I have given you milk to drink, not solid food.”

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:5

4–5

The throne of God is the seraphim and the cherubim. Whether these be great or small in their accomplishments, all are urged to praise God according to their abilities. However, I think that also those who are small in age and children who are not yet grown shall be great when they sing to God who has done such great things.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:5

And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God. The Church venerates God not only with the office of the lips but with the utmost sweetness of devotion.

Commentary on Revelation

Saying: Amen, Alleluia. Although these words can be interpreted (for they translate to faith or truth and the praise of the Lord, as I have said), out of reverence for the sanctity of the original language, the first authority of that tongue is preserved. For the Church continually sings Alleluia on the Lord's days and throughout the entire Easter season because of the hope of the resurrection, which is to be in the praise of the Lord.

Commentary on Revelation

"Praise our God," it says, "you small and you great"; for he calls small those greater in sanctification, and great those who reign.

Commentary on Revelation

And a voice came from the throne, saying: Praise our God, etc. When He commands this to be done and recalls it being done, He indicates the approved praise of the servants of the elect. He says, small and great, because the smallness of the mind does not harm, whose heart and tongue are filled with the praise of the Lord.

Commentary on Revelation

That Christ is the Bridegroom, having the Church as His bride, from which spiritual children were to be born. In Joel: "Blow with the trumpet in Sion; sanctify a fast, and call a healing; assemble the people, sanctify the Church, gather the elders, collect the little ones that suck the breast; let the Bridegroom go forth of His chamber, and the bride out of her closet." Also in Jeremiah: "And I will take away from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of the joyous, and the voice of the glad; the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride." Also in the eighteenth Psalm: "And he is as a bridegroom going forth from his chamber; he exulted as a giant to run his course. From the height of heaven is his going forth, and his circuit even to the end of it; and there is nothing which is hid from his heat." Also in the Apocalypse: "Come, I will show thee the new bride, the Lamb's wife. And he took me in the Spirit to a great mountain, and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God." Also in the Gospel according to John: "Ye are my witnesses, that I said to them who were sent from Jerusalem to me, that I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him. For he who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom is he who standeth and heareth him with joy, and rejoiceth because of the voice of the bridegroom." The mystery of this matter was shown in Jesus the son of Nave, when he was bidden to put his shoes from off him, doubt less because he himself was not the bridegroom. For it was in the law, that whoever should refuse marriage should put off his shoe, but that he should be shod who was to be the bridegroom: "And it happened, when Jesus was in Jericho, he looked around with his eyes, and saw a man standing before his face, and holding a javelin in his hand, and said, Art thou for us or for our enemies? And he said, I am the leader of the host of the Lord; now draw near. And Jesus fell on his rice to the earth, and said to him, Lord, what dost Thou command unto Thy servant. And the leader of the Lord's host said, Loose thy shoe from thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Also, in Exodus, Moses is bidden to put off his shoe, because he, too, was not the bridegroom: "And there appeared unto him the angel of the Lord in a flame of fire out of a bush; and he saw that the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will pass over and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed. But when He saw that he drew near to see, the Lord God called him from the bush, saying, Moses, Moses. And he said, What is it? And He said, Draw not nigh hither, unless thou hast loosed thy shoe from off thy feet; for the place on which thou standest is holy ground. And He said unto him, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." This was also made plain in the Gospel according to John: "And John answered them, I indeed baptize with water, but there standeth One in the midst of you whom ye know not: He it is of whom I said, The man that cometh after me is made before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose." Also according to Luke: "Let your loins be girt, and your lamps burning, and ye like to men that wait for their master when he shall come from the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him. Blessed are those servants whom their Lord, when He cometh, shall find watching." Also in the Apocalypse: "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth: let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give to Him the honour of glory; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready."

Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews

We know that later on the apostles also [sang psalms and hymns], since not even in prison did they cease to sing. So, too, Paul speaks to the prophets of the church: “When you come together, each of you has a hymn, has an instruction, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” And again, in another place: “I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the understanding also.” So, too, James sets down in his epistle: “Is any one of you sad? Let him pray. Is any one in good spirits? Let him sing a hymn.” And John in the Apocalypse reports that when the Spirit revealed himself to him, he saw and heard “a voice of the heavenly army, as it were the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Alleluia.” From all this we may conclude that no one should doubt that this ministry, if only it is celebrated with true faith and devotion, is one with that of the angels, who, as we know, unhindered by sleep or other occupation, cease not to praise the Lord in heaven and to bless the Savior.

Liturgical Singing 10

Just as the Seraphim before the divine prophet Isaiah, having three times cried "Holy," (Isa. 6:3) enclosed the threefold hymn into one lordship, signifying the three as to their properties and persons, whereby the hymned are called beloved, but one as to the essence of the Godhead, so here likewise the heavenly angels, having three times in the front chanted the Alleluia, and having set the reverence upon each of the holy three hypostases, now sing the Alleluia in the Holy Trinity, showing that the holy and most-praised Trinity exists in a single essence and Godhead.

For he says, "The Lord our God reigns." Our Lord Jesus Christ, both before the saving incarnation the One who reigned in heaven and on earth together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as the only-begotten Son and the Word of the Father and the Creator of all. And after the incarnation he is likewise Lord and King of all, in no way diminished by the flesh with respect to the source and kingdom of all.

But since, according to the most wise apostle (see 1 Cor 15:27-28), we do not yet see all things subjected to him, and in the age to come all things will be subjected and even those who now proudly lift up their necks against him will submit, just as even death itself will be subjected; "for death is abolished as the last enemy." (1 Cor. 15:26)

For the heavenly angels fittingly say, "The Lord our God has reigned," making the offering of praise unto the age to come, when, upon the most complete subjection of all things to Christ, whose kingdom is acquired over all, some will be delivered to punishment, others to personal knowledge, and not by a mirror or a riddle as now will they effect that subjection. (1 Cor. 13:12)

Commentary on Revelation

The trumpets signify that preaching of which Isaiah spoke, saying, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet.” In this preaching the dread of the divine judgment is also indicated, which I think is also suggested by the mention of the thunder.… In the many waters those peoples are symbolized who praise God by saying “Hallelujah.” And so, when the church preaches and fears and praises, she exults with trembling, as we read, “Serve the Lord with fear; praise him with trembling.” “For our Lord the Almighty reigns.” The voice rightly mentions God’s omnipotence. For he created from nothing that which did not exist, and he sought those who had perished from sin, and he found those who were deserving of punishment, and from these he mercifully made righteous those whom he willed. Then from these, as though from members, he made for himself the church, and when he had redeemed her for such a dignity, he made her to be his bride since she did not merit to be his servant girl.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:6

“The voice of a great multitude and of many waters and thunderpeals” signifies the piercing clarity of the hymn, for all the angelic and heavenly powers are without number, and some have interpreted these to be the waters above the heavens. With these [heavenly powers] the whole body of the righteous give glory to the Creator. Indeed, Christ rules as King. By nature he governs all those of whom he is the Creator, but he rules these also by virtue of his incarnation, either according to his free and purposeful fellowship [with them] or according to the authority which is proper to him as King and Judge.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:6-7

And I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great trumpet and the voice of many waters, etc. The great voice of the singers is the great devotion of the heart; which, with the repeated multitude of praises, celebrates both the ruin of the wicked and the eternal glory of the Lord and His own.

Commentary on Revelation

For, he says, the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. The marriage present with the Lord is still an engagement to the church and not yet a completed marriage. And this the divine apostle associates, writing the second letter to the Corinthians, in which he says: "for I engaged you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." (2 Cor. 11:2)

Therefore the matter is still an engagement; for "I engaged you": truly. And as the sign of the engagement, we receive "the pledge of the Spirit." (2 Cor. 1:22) When, however, the church becomes one spirit with Christ, just as a husband is one body with his wife, then it is the perfect marriage. For even while philosophizing about the physical marriage, the wise apostle, adducing the scriptural statement that "the two shall be one flesh," brings forward that "this mystery is great; but I say it of Christ and the church." (Eph. 5:31-32)

Therefore the holy angels say: "The marriage of the Lamb has come," signifying then the marriage that will be celebrated in the present engagement; for the Gospel clearly handed this down to us, where first it introduces marriages of a king's son celebrated by the father, and many called to the feast, some partaking of the banquet, others refusing the dinner, and one cast out who was not clothed in a wedding garment (Matt. 22:2-14); Then the same Gospel (Matt. 25:1-13) speaks of ten virgins, of whom five, whom it also calls wise, bringing their lamps to meet the bridegroom for that blessed wedding feast, while the excluded ones, when they had no oil left, extinguished their lamps; none of this is to be understood for the present time, but for the time to come.

Commentary on Revelation

7–8

The fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. After thanksgiving has been given and after the voice of exhortation has been heard, the praise to God, as though the sound of claps of thunder, is loudly proclaimed by those who rejoice that the marriage feast of the Lamb has come. This will occur when, after the consummation of the world, “every rule and authority will have been destroyed and he will have delivered the kingdom to God the Father, so that God will be all in all.” This will occur, that is, when his wife, namely the catholic church, will be joined to him in the purity of faith. Concerning this the holy apostle said: “For I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure virgin to one husband.” And so, the fine linen which she [the church] wears does not represent the beauty of a vestment, but the righteousness of the saints.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:6-8

And let us give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come. The marriage of the Lamb is when the Church will be united with the Lord in the bridal chamber of the heavenly kingdom.

Commentary on Revelation

And his wife has made herself ready. By constantly engaging in works of righteousness, she has shown herself worthy of the spiritual feast and eternal kingdom. This can also be understood according to the parable of the Gospel, which narrates the virgins rising at the arrival of the bridegroom, adorning their lamps, that is, accounting for their works, for which they expect to receive eternal beatitude.

Commentary on Revelation

Yet there is a difference, and it is just what I suggested. The Eastern mysticism is an ecstasy of unity; the Christian mysticism is an ecstasy of creation, that is of separation and mutual surprise. The latter says, like St. Francis, “My brother fire and my sister water”; the former says, “Myself fire and myself water.” Whether you call the Eastern attitude an extension of oneself into everything or a contraction of oneself into nothing is a matter of metaphysical definition. The effect is the same, an effect which lives and throbs throughout all the exquisite arts of the East. This effect is the thing called rhythm, a pulsation of pattern, or of ritual, or of colours, or of cosmic theory, but always suggesting the unification of the individual with the world. But there is quite another kind of sympathy--the sympathy with a thing because it is different. No one will say that Rembrandt did not sympathise with an old woman; but no one will say that Rembrandt painted like an old woman. No one will say that Reynolds did not appreciate children; but no one will say he did it childishly. The supreme instance of this divine division is sex, and that explains (what I could never understand in my youth) why Christendom called the soul the bride of God. For real love is an intense realisation of the “separateness” of all our souls. The most heroic and human love-poetry of the world is never mere passion; precisely because mere passion really is a melting back into Nature, a meeting of the waters. And water is plunging and powerful; but it is only powerful downhill. The high and human love-poetry is all about division rather than identity; and in the great love-poems even the man as he embraces the woman sees her, in the same instant, afar off; a virgin and a stranger.

A Miscellany of Men, The Separatist and Sacred Things (1912)

And all who went into the tower had the same clothing-white as snow.

Hermas, Similitude 8

Then came the marriage of the Lamb, and his bride, the Church, was ready to partake of those inexhaustible blessings that come from communion with Christ. She is said to be clothed in the garment of virtues, clothed with fine linen. Fine linen, because of its brightness and simple style: bright with blameless life and conduct, and simple in style with respect to doctrines and reflections concerning God.

Commentary on Revelation

And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and pure. It was given to her to be clothed with her own deeds. In contrast, the wicked, who, according to Isaiah, weave the spider's web, will not be covered by their works. For their works are useless works.

Commentary on Revelation

And he says to me, "Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb," and indeed go forth as is proper; for we know many who are called in the Gospels, but who have renounced the spiritual banquet or even, though they have gone away, are cast out as not having wedding garments, (Matt. 22:11-12) as is shortly shown. But the divine apostle also said, "many are called, but few are chosen." (Matt. 22:14)

Commentary on Revelation

The Lord spoke of this, saying, “They will recline at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,” and again, “He will come and serve them.” Certainly [the Lord] is indicating those “who are called according to his purpose” and who enter the full number of the elect. “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:9

Who are those who have been invited to the feast of the Lamb, unless those to whom it is said: “I will not drink from this fruit of the vine until I will drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father who is in heaven.” And again, “Many will come from east and west and will recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” This is to drink the new cup, to prepare the new bodies of those being raised, to keep a new joy, and to repay the sincere righteousness of a true faith. These are the blessed who are prepared for this feast and for this repast.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:9-10

The marriage supper of Christ is the feast of those who are being saved and the joy that accompanies it. The blessed will come into these things when they enter into the eternal bridal chamber with the holy Bridegroom of their purified souls. For he who has promised this is faithful. Since there are many blessings in the coming age, which surpass every understanding, the participation in them is indicated through various terms. Sometimes they are called the “kingdom of heaven” on account of their glory and honor; sometimes they are called “paradise” on account of the everlasting banquet of good things; sometimes they are called the “bosom of Abraham” on account of the rest of those who repose there, or the “bridechamber” and “marriage” because of the endless joy and the perfect and inexpressible union of God with his servants. This union surpasses every carnal and bodily union as much as light is separated from darkness or a perfume from a foul odor.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:7-9

And he said to me: Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He says they are called not to lunch, but to supper, because indeed the feast at the end of the day is supper. Therefore, those who, at the end of the present life, come to the refreshment of heavenly contemplation are surely called to the supper of the Lamb.

Commentary on Revelation

These are the true words of God. That is, what I have foretold will truly happen.

Commentary on Revelation

Yet these also have spoken beforehand of the punishments that are to light upon the profane and unbelieving, in order that none be left without a witness, or be able to say, "We have not heard, neither have we known." But do you also, if you please, give reverential attention to the prophetic Scriptures, and they will make your way plainer for escaping the eternal punishments, and obtaining the eternal prizes of God. For He who gave the mouth for speech, and formed the ear to hear, and made the eye to see, will examine all things, and will judge righteous judgment, rendering merited awards to each.

to Autolycus, Book 1, Chapter XIV

The lowest person must worship the same God as is worshiped by the highest angel. In fact it is by refusing to worship him that human nature has been brought low. The source of wisdom and of truth is the same for angel and humankind, namely, the one unchangeable Wisdom and Truth. The very Virtue and changeless Wisdom of God who is consubstantial and coeternal with the Father, for our salvation deigned, in the temporal dispensation, to take upon himself our nature in order to teach us that humanity must worship what every rational intellectual creature must also worship. Let us believe that the highest angels and most excellent ministers of God want us to join them in the worship of the one God, in contemplation of whom they find their happiness. Even we are not made happy by seeing an angel but by seeing the Truth, by which we love the angels too and rejoice with them. We do not grudge that they should have readier access to the Truth and enjoy him without obstacle. Rather, we love them because we are bidden by our common Lord to hope for the same condition hereafter. So we honor them with love but not with divine worship. We do not build temples for them. They do not wish to be honored by us in that way, because they know that when we are good people we are ourselves the temples of the most high God.

Of True Religion 110

The accursed and God-hating Greeks, hearing how it is a doctrine among us that holy angels by the good pleasure of God protect nations and churches and each one individually. Of the nations it is written by the most wise Daniel and "I came because of your words. And the prince of the kingdom of the Persians stood against me," (Dan.10:12-13) and again "now I return to make war with the prince of the Persians; and I was going out, and the prince of the Greeks was coming," (Dan.10:20) and again "there is none to resist me on this matter except Michael your prince;" (Dan.10:21) and again "at that time shall arise Michael the great prince who stands over the sons of your people." (Dan. 12:1) But concerning the churches of the present unveiling it says this in those who have reached it, to which a companion writer, Gregory among the saints, says concerning the holy angels: "for I believe that different angels protect different churches, as John teaches me through the Revelation"; and concerning each one, in the prophet's saying "an angel of the Lord will be set around those who fear him and he will deliver them." (Ps. 33:8) Moreover also the apostle writing about the holy angels: "Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" (Heb.1:14)

Since then the Greeks hear these things being taught by us, they say to us, "Why do you, who hold the same opinions as we do, reproach the teaching among us that regards the leaders of nations as gods? For those whom you call angels we call gods," as if only our names were in dispute and not also the matters themselves. Not that you indeed call the order of angels gods, so that there would be no difference even in names between us. To these men, accursed and worshipping with the works of your hands, and having set up as gods yesterday and the day before those whom you became acquainted with in all shameful things, who, having taken away most of the divine doctrines from us and bringing them into your destructive teachings, mingled them with your doctrines, but because you followed a guide who was a man and not God, you were not able to preserve the gentleness of all our teachings, and having followed him but a little, you shipwrecked perhaps about the first starting-point.

Therefore, nothing is common between us and you, just as neither is light common with darkness, nor Christ with Beliar (see 2 Cor. 6:14-15), as it is written.

For you, while setting up ethnic rulers as gods, or rather impure demons, introduce yourselves to them by assigning and wishing to offer reverence and worship as to gods; and indeed you treat some among you as divine and make no account of the One who appointed guardianship of men to God, but govern the nations by your own will as you yourselves may desire. Therefore you assigned to Ares the most savage and bloodthirsty peoples, the Scythians and the Germans, those who came to be governed by Ares as a scanty and murderous mortal would be; but to Athena you assigned the Greeks as wise, having received their intelligence from her; and you distributed other peoples to other gods, each of the gods arranging the nations according to his own dispositions. As for us, what shall we say concerning recognition from present things? For when one wished to worship the divine angel of the evangelist, and not to worship him as a god, for who more than John knew who is by nature and in truth God, and who the angels are, that they are ministers and servants and creatures of God?—nevertheless he appears to refuse even that worship as due to an angel, since worship in any case is present, and saying, See that you do not do that; I am your fellow servant and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. The "See" is not merely a word preventing the act but is a claiming declaration. And he also calls himself a fellow servant of all who profess themselves servants of Christ and bear witness that God has been made flesh. What then is to be done, most divine angel, since you forbade yourself to be worshiped? Worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, as if he said: Is that why you seek to worship me, because I have foretold to you the things that are to come? All those who testify to the lordship and divinity of Christ are filled with a prophetic gift, and I am not alone. Why then, he says, do you worship the same gift as is granted to my fellow servants? Likewise the Greeks are similarly glorified concerning their national founders, and Christians speak so concerning the holy angels.

Commentary on Revelation

Indeed, the whole point of prophecy and of the sanctifying work of the Spirit lies in the testimony of Jesus Christ, whom the entire law and all prophecy serve [as though slaves]. For this reason, when he manifested himself on the mountain between Moses and Elijah, his face and his clothing were resplendent with his brightness, and he declared that the law and the prophets had truly testified of him. And so, whatever they had foretold, he himself testifies that it serves Christ and the church, for he said of Moses, “For he wrote of me.” And when he had risen from the dead, he said, “Everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.”

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:10

When the royal commands of God were heard, he fell down to worship him who was speaking with him. However, to respect the nature of his own office and to show that God is above all things, he prohibited this, saying, “Do not do this, because I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus.” The testimony of Jesus is the true profession of the catholic confession. “For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.” The Spirit of prophecy is truth and judgment and justice, which in their fullness are contained in the catholic faith.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:9-10

“Do not worship me as one who is foretelling the future,” the holy angel says. For the confession of Christ, that is, the testimony is the gift of the prophetic Spirit. And you should note also this. The prophecy [is given] for this reason, so that the testimony of Christ may be made strong and the faith be given witness by the saints. Therefore, do not pay homage to me, as fellow servant, but to him who possesses power over all things. From this passage we also learn of the humble disposition of the holy angels, for they do not claim for themselves divine glory as do the evil demons but ascribe this glory to the Lord. May it be that we “outdo one another” with a humble mind, thus fulfilling the saying of the Lord: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” And may we receive rest in the coming age, where “sorrow and pain and groaning have fled,” and where the dwelling is of all who rejoice and gaze upon the light of the face of Christ our God, to whom every song of praise, honor and worship be given, together with the Father and the life-giving Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:10

See that you do not do that. I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren. He had said earlier: I am the first and the last (Rev. 1). Therefore, he shows that the angel was sent in the figure of the Lord and the Church. For at the end, he also says: I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches (Rev. 22).

Commentary on Revelation

Who hold the testimony of Jesus. After the Lord Jesus elevated the assumed man above the heavens, the angel feared being worshipped by a man, evidently worshipping the man-God above himself, which we read was done by men before the Lord's Incarnation and was not forbidden by angels.

Commentary on Revelation

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. For whatever the spirit of prophecy said is the testimony of Jesus, who has the testimony from the Law and the Prophets. Therefore, he says, do not worship me as God, since I have come to bear witness to His virtues. Thus far concerning the fall of Babylon, henceforth concerning the future glory of Jerusalem.

Commentary on Revelation

And again, he says, speaking of this very same Lamb: "And behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True; and in righteousness doth He judge and make war. And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; having a name written, that no man knoweth but Himself: and He was girded around with a vesture sprinkled with blood: and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies of heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in pure white linen. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He may smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of God Almighty. And He hath upon His vesture and upon His thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords." Thus does the Word of God always preserve the outlines, as it were, of things to come, and points out to men the various forms, as it were, of the dispensations of the Father, teaching us the things pertaining to God.

Against Heresies Book 4

I think that heaven has been closed to those who are impious and who bear “the image of the earthly” but opened to those who are just and who have been adorned with “the image of the heavenly.” For the higher things have been closed to the impious, inasmuch as they are below and are still in the flesh. They cannot understand them or their beauty. They do not wish to perceive them, in that they are stooped over and do not devote themselves to lifting up their heads. But he opened the heavenly places with the key of David to be contemplated by the just, inasmuch as they have citizenship in heaven. The divine Word opens them and explains them by riding a horse. The horse signifies the words that proclaim the meanings. He is white because the nature of the knowledge is remarkable and white and luminous. And he who is called “Faithful” sits on the white horse, seated more firmly and, if I may so speak, royally, on words that cannot be overturned, words that run faster and swifter than any horse and that surpass every opponent in their rush, that is, every supposed word that is a dissembler of the Word and every dissembler of truth that seems to be truth. But he who is on the white horse is called “Faithful,” not so much because he trusts as because he is trustworthy, that is, he is worthy of being trusted, for according to Moses, the Lord is faithful and true. For he is also true in contradistinction to a shadow, and a type, and an image, since the Word in the opened heaven is such. For the Word on earth is not like the Word in heaven, inasmuch as he has become flesh and is expressed by means of a shadow and types and images.… This Word of God, indeed, who is called faithful is also called true, and he judges and fights justly. He has received the ability from God to impart what each creature deserves and to judge with absolute justice and judgment.… Now just as it is said that the task of the Word is to judge with justice, so also his task is said to be to fight according to justice, that by thus fighting the soul’s enemies with reason and justice, he may dwell in it and justify it when the irrational elements and injustice are destroyed. He casts out the hostile elements from that soul which, if I may speak in this way, has been taken captive by Christ for salvation.

Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.47-54

That the same Christ is the Word of God. In the forty-fourth Psalm: "My heart hath breathed out a good Word. I tell my works to the King." Also in the thirty-second Psalm: "By the Word of God were the heavens made fast; and all their strength by the breath of His mouth." Also in Isaiah: "A Word completing and shortening in righteousness, because a shortened word will God make in the whole earth." Also in the cvith Psalm: "He sent His Word, and healed them." Moreover, in the Gospel according to John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." Also in the Apocalypse: "And I saw the heaven opened, and lo, a white horse; and he who sate upon him was called Faithful and True, judging rightly and justly; and He made war. And He was covered with a garment sprinkled with blood; and His name is called the Word of God."

Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sate upon him was called Faithful and True." The horse, and He that sits upon him, sets forth our Lord coming to His kingdom with the heavenly army. Because from the sea of the north, which is the Arabian Sea, even to the sea of Phoenice, and even to the ends of the earth, they will command these greater parts in the coming of the Lord Jesus, and all the souls of the nations will be assembled to judgment.

Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John

After the hour of Babylon's destruction; and it is clear who Babylon is understood to be, and this is further shown to the evangelist, the fall of the Antichrist and of the arch-evil Dragon, and into what relentless punishment at the time of the end and of retribution, and the destruction of the kings who will arise against the servants of Christ at that time, and see what he says.

I saw the heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness. The Lord alone I behold fighting alongside and leading in battle the saints and warring against the adversaries.

Therefore the vision also bestows upon him a military form, handing him a horse and a sword and the leadership of armies. And behold, it says a white horse on which the Lord rode, signifying by the riddle that Christ rests not with others but with the pure and with those unspotted by the filth of sin. Therefore concerning the vessel of Paul's calling it is said by the Lord, "to bear my name before the nations and the kings of the sons of Israel." (Acts 9:15) Observe then that Christ rests and rides upon those who are according to Paul.

And he who sits upon him, that is, upon the horse, is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and wages war. Faithful is the true one according to the apostle who speaks concerning him; "he remains faithful; he cannot deny himself." (2 Tim. 2:13)

Therefore Faithful and True; for of the same one it has been said, two names applied to one matter. And because he judges righteously and wars against the sensible enemies on behalf of his servants, the prophet who speaks is witness, "Give to the king your judgment, and to the son of the king your righteousness," (Ps. 72:1) that is, to Christ; for the Christ according to the flesh is the son of Solomon, to whom the Psalm is then assigned, going on "to judge your people in righteousness and your poor with judgment." (Ps. 72:2)

That the same one also wages war, he shows that he arms him militarily by saying: "tighten your sword upon your thigh, mighty one, for your beauty and your splendor, and be strong, and show kindness and reign"; then adding "your sharpened arrows, mighty one: peoples will fall under you." (Ps. 45:3-5)

Commentary on Revelation

He judges as the King of all ages. He makes war as one who always suffers in his members. When he fights, he conquers; he crowns himself; he offers himself as strength to those who struggle; he promises himself as the prize for those who overcome.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:11

The white horse is the body which [Christ] assumed. He who sits upon it is the Lord of Majesty; he is the Word of the most high Father; he is the only begotten of the unbegotten Father. Therefore, the true character of his person is expressed when he is called “Faithful” and “True.” For of God it is said, “God is faithful, in whom there is no iniquity.” And “in righteousness he judges and makes war.” For concerning him it is written, “God is a judge, just, strong and patient.” He makes war by freeing us from the adversity of sin; he is patient by enduring the sins we commit; he is called strong because he repels whatever opposes him.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:11-13

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, etc. The Lord, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14), and to whom it is said through the prophet: For you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure (Isaiah 25), ascends a white horse, that is, the seat of an immaculate body, to defeat the aerial powers.

Commentary on Revelation

And in righteousness he judges and makes war. He judges as the King of the ages. He makes war because he always fights, sharing the struggles of his members.

Commentary on Revelation

As the flame is bright and at the same time illuminating, and further also has a nature that is fiery and consumes the more material elements, so the eyes of the Word, if I may speak in this way, with which he sees, and everyone who participates in him, destroy and obliterate the more material and gross elements of thoughts by grasping them by means of the spiritual powers inherent in him. Everything false, in any way whatsoever, has fled the subtlety and precision of the truth.… If the lie were one and simple against which the Word who is “faithful and true” prevailed, who received the crown when the lie was overcome, the Word who became master of God’s opponents would also reasonably have been recorded to wear one diadem. But now, since the lies that profess the truth are many against which the Word has fought and is crowned, there are many diadems surrounding the head of him who has conquered them all.

Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.57-59

The living Word alone understands some things because of the natural inferiority in those who came into existence after him. None of them can contemplate all the things that he grasps. And perhaps also only those who share in the Word, in contradistinction to those who do not, know what the others are missing.

Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.60

-testify that He was born of God. His name is known to none, except to Himself and the Father, as John teaches in the Revelation.

In him “in whom we shall perform great deeds,” in him the multitude of the saints are said to have the beauty of crowns.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:12

And his eyes, he says, are a flame of fire. The wrath against the enemies, he shows by the burning of the eyes.

And on his head he says many crowns, as many certainly as there are orders reigning in heaven and on earth.

He says he had a name written, that no man knew but himself. God says in the Exodus of the seventh day to the prophetic Moses: "I am the Lord who appeared to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob being their God; and I did not declare to them my name, the Lord," (Ex. 6:2-3) as clearer than or capable of being conveyed by human hearing. Therefore, and as the Lord instructed the apostles to baptize those returning to the knowledge of God, he said, "baptizing them into the name," and by saying "name" he did not hand over the proper names; for he did not have the strength to sustain their proclamation, but instead he delivered it in relational and nominative terms in place of the proper names, relational when saying "into the name of the Father and of the Son," and nominative when also invoking "and of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19) Therefore, very securely and in the Revelation the divine name of the Only-Begotten is allowed to be unknown to all.

Commentary on Revelation

Perfect knowledge of the Word of God is revealed to those who are worthy to be the body of Christ and members [of him], since the Head especially gives knowledge of himself to the body, and he knows what the church is worthy to know in him. The apostle says, “He who is united to the Lord is one spirit, for the two shall be one flesh.” Neither the Jews nor the foreigners nor the heretics will ever know this name, for “if they had [known], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory,” and again, “The world has not known you.” And the Lord said again to his disciples, “You will see me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” And the disciples answered, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?” Concerning the heretics, the Lord said, “To you it has been given to know the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive.” He has a great name inscribed that no one knows except himself. However, we must beware lest by a purely carnal wisdom we think that the name of the Son is unknown to the Father or to the Holy Spirit.… If the Son alone is said to know something, the whole Trinity is also regarded as knowing it. Similarly, if the Father alone is said to know something, he is without doubt thought to know it together with his Wisdom, who is Christ, and with his Spirit, who is believed to be the Spirit of the Father and of the Son. For when the Father alone was said to know the day of judgment, certainly it was not denied that the Son and the Spirit also knew it. So also, when the Holy Spirit alone is said to know something, and the names of the Father and of the Son are unspoken, nevertheless it is declared that they know in the same manner. When the apostle says, “What person knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God,” it would be foolish to separate the Father and the Son from such knowledge. When he says elsewhere, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption,” she is not excluding the persons of the Father and of the Son from the work of our redemption, even though he does not mention their names. For through the undivided power of the one nature, we teach that the works of the Trinity are inseparable.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:12

As fire penetrates everything which contains it and leaves no portion untouched by the force of its burning heat, so the eyes of the Lord cannot be avoided, for they are everywhere and pervade all things, and seeing all things which people do, they investigate them with a holy scrutiny.… There are many [diadems] because he brings to God, who gathers all, all the glory of the saints and all the honor of the blessed. And these do not remain quiet, but bring forth praise and thanksgiving.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:11-13

The flames of fire come forth from his eyes, that is, from his all-seeing power. For those who are righteous, this fire does no harm but illumines and makes bright. However, for the sinners this fire burns but does not make bright. The multiple diadems symbolize either his kingdom, which is over all things in heaven and on earth—as many as there are ranks of angels and kingdoms upon the earth and assemblies among holy people—or they signify the victory against the sinners that was won for us by all of his acts of mercy, as a certain holy person said, “And you will gain victory when you are judged.”

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:11-12

That his name is unknown signifies the incomprehensibility of his essence. By virtue of his works he is known by many names, such as Good, Shepherd, Sun, Light, Life, Righteousness, Holiness, Redemption. Similarly, he is called by terms of negation, such as Incorruptible, Invisible, Immortal, Unchangeable. However, according to his essence he is without name and is unapproachable, being known by himself alone with the Father and the Spirit.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:12

His eyes are like a flame of fire. Sometimes the eyes of God are called his commandments, sometimes the spirit. Your word is a lamp to my feet, O Lord (Psalm 119). And of the Spirit: I came to cast fire on the earth (Luke 12).

Commentary on Revelation

And on his head are many diadems. In him we find our strength; in him, the multitude of saints is said to be adorned with a crown.

Commentary on Revelation

He has a name written that no one knows but himself. He says, no one knows but himself, because all the Church is in him. The perfect knowledge of the Word of God is revealed to those who have deserved to be the body and members of Christ. In the same way, the Lord says: No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man (John 3).

Commentary on Revelation

John does not see the Word of God mounted on a horse naked. He is clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood, since the Word who became flesh, and died because he became flesh, is invested with traces of that passion, since his blood also was poured forth upon the earth when the soldier pierced his side. For perhaps, even if in some way we attain the most sublime and highest contemplation of the Word and of the truth, we shall not forget completely that we were introduced to him by his coming in our body.

Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.61

He says he was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood; for in the vision the Lord also bore the symbols of the Passion and showed the all-holy body stained only with his precious blood.

And his name is called the Word of God. Do you see how, fleeing the divine name in the heavens above, the vision has now set a nominative in its place, saying "the Word of God"?

Commentary on Revelation

If no one is allowed to know his name, why is he now openly called the “Word of God”? When we read, “No one has ascended into heaven, but he who has descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven,” we are to understand that whoever of his members will ascend is allowed to ascend in the Head himself and through him. By promising this to his members, he has granted them hope, and by fulfilling this, he will give to them the possibility [to receive this]. So here, the Son alone is said to know what is allowed to his bride to know in him, through whom and in whom the church is instructed. In speaking of the robe sprinkled with blood, it is indicating the tokens of his passion, whether this be in the Head himself or in his body, which is the church. For this reason, the apostle teaches the Hebrews that from the beginning in the animal sacrifices demanded by the law there was no remission of sins with the shedding of blood. Concerning the church he says, “that in my flesh I might complete what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings,” remembering the words which he heard, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” For whatever the church suffers, Christ also truly suffers, and of him Paul says, “he suffered once to take away the sins of many,” however, he suffers frequently in his members. Isaiah spoke of the appearance of this robe in this way, “Who is this that comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah? He is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength. It is I who speaks righteousness and who am a fighter for salvation. Why then is your garment red, and your apparel as though freshly trodden in a winepress? I alone have trodden the winepress, and from the peoples no one was with me.”

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:13

How is it that he who is without name and is unknown to all is here named “Word”? This is either to demonstrate his filial personhood and his impassible generation from the Father, just as our speech comes from our minds [impassibly], or his name suggests that he bears within himself the causes of all things, or that he is the interpreter of the wisdom and power of the Father.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:13

He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood. The robe of Christ should be understood according to the context. Here, it seems to indicate the very work of the passion, so that on the white horse signifies the incorruptible birth, and in the blood-stained robe, the innocent death.

Commentary on Revelation

And his name is called the Word of God. Because he who appeared as a man to suffer for a time was in the beginning with God (John 1). He is called the Word because there is nothing visible or corporeal in the substance of his nature, or because the Father created all things through him. The complete knowledge of whose nature, as he said above, is known only to himself and the Father. For the peace of God surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4), that is, the peace by which God himself is at peace transcends all the understanding of creatures, whether human or even angelic. For his wisdom is without number. What is said: And no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him (Matt. 11), refers to the manner of the creature.

Commentary on Revelation

All the hosts of heaven follow this Word of God. They follow the Word who leads them and imitate him in all things, especially in having mounted white horses like him, for all things are open to those who understand. And just as “pain and grief and groaning fled” at the end of things, so, I think, obscurity and dismay fled when all the mysteries of God’s wisdom burst forth with precision and clarity. And consider the white horses of those who follow the Word, clothed in “pure white linen.” [What does this mean] unless the linen garments, since linen comes from the earth, are types of the languages on earth in which the sounds have been clothed, which indicate the realities in a pure manner?

Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.62-63

And heavenly hosts followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen; for the Lord is both the commander of the heavenly powers and has so named himself, speaking as Joshua son of Nun. (see Jos. 5:14) Saying, "I the commander-in-chief of the power of the Lord, have now appeared." (Jos. 5:14)

And the horses are white even to the holy angels; for they likewise take pleasure in those pure of men, since they are pure in nature and unmingled with any stain. And this is shown by that garment of white and fine linen.

Commentary on Revelation

In heaven the churches, as though “with unveiled face beholding the glory of God,” all being pure in heart and made whiter than snow by grace, are said to follow Christ.… They always go forward on white horses, that is, with pure bodies and minds, following the footsteps of Christ, who is going before and to whom it is said in the Song of Songs, “We run after you for the aroma of your ointments.”

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:14

We interpret the armies of heaven to be the bride herself, who above was said to be prepared for the marriage of the Lamb. When it says that they were “on white horses,” it is speaking either of the purity of faith, or it is alluding to the members of our bodies made new through the resurrection. [The fine linen] is the righteous works of the saints.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:14

[The heavenly armies] signify the heavenly orders that are resplendent with the excellence of their nature, with the sublimity of their thoughts and with the brightness of their virtues and their intimate union with God.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:14

And the armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. That is, the Church in pure bodies imitates him, which, because of the struggle of its contest, rightly receives the name of army.

Commentary on Revelation

Clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Which he previously explained to be the righteous acts of the saints, as the Psalmist says: Let your priests be clothed with righteousness (Psalm 132).

Commentary on Revelation

Who will ply the sword without practising the contraries to lenity and justice; that is, guile, and asperity, and injustice, proper (of course) to the business of battles? See we, then, whether that which has another action be not another sword,-that is, the Divine word of God, doubly sharpened with the two Testaments of the ancient law and the new law; sharpened by the equity of its own wisdom; rendering to each one according to his own action.

An Answer to the Jews

The two-edged sharp sword is the power of Christ by which the righteous are defended and the unrighteous are punished. The rod of iron is the righteousness of God by which the humble are instructed but the proud are broken to pieces as though they were a clay pot.… He treads [the winepress of God’s wrath] even now, when he permits the evil to persecute the good and leaves them to their own desires. However, later he will seek repayment, when he sends those into Gehenna who have not repented.

Exposition on the Apocalypse 19:15, Homily 17

And out of his mouth, namely of the commander-in-chief, a sword proceeds. Therefore the divine prophet gives the sword to the Lord's thigh for use placed a little before (Ps. 44:4); but the vision, writing more precisely, presents it at the mouth. By which it is signified that by the word of God all things subsist, and whoever transgresses it in any way will not go unpunished, so that by him he may strike the nations. What kind of nations? Those who join with the Antichrist against the servants of Christ and are placed under him.

And he says that he shall rule them with a rod of iron; for the Lord, being supremely good and merciful, would shepherd these nations about whom the word speaks with a shepherd's and consoling rod, "leading them to a place of pasture and nourishing them at waters of rest." (Ps. 22:2) But since they have not willed this, they shall be shepherded with an iron rod, that is, with strict and deadly discipline. For whom the word does not reform, those it certainly submits to punishment. And because the iron rod denotes strict and punitive action, the prophet, intending to signify the rule of the Romans about which Daniel says, "Arise, devour much flesh," (Dan. 7:5) said to God, "You shepherd them with an iron rod: as with earthen vessels you will crush them." (Ps. 2:5) But when the season was favorable God shepherded by means of that; in the last time by means of this.

And he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. The Lord in the Gospels said concerning the heavenly Father, "The Father judges no one; and he gave all judgment to the Son." (Jn. 5:22) It is therefore most fittingly said in the Revelation that he himself treads the winepress of the fury of the anger of God; for by judgment and recompense of the wicked he fulfills the paternal will and becomes the fulfiller of the righteous anger of the Father.

Commentary on Revelation

The sharp sword symbolizes either the two Testaments or what we read concerning wisdom, “She carries law and kindness on her tongue,” namely, judgment and mercy. On the other hand, the rod of iron symbolizes the unbending standard of justice.… As the action of threshing separates the wheat from the chaff so that it is stored in the barn, so also the weight of the pressure of the winepress purifies the wine as it is separated from the grape skins or the oil from the dregs. The prophet referred to this when he said, “He dug out a wine vat in her.” This occurs in the church when persecution arises or some other kind of calamity happens. Then, some like dregs will run down by an irremediable fall, while others will shine more brightly by their faith which now is tested.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:15

The sharp sword that issues from his mouth is the authority of the law and the severity of the judge. It remains sharp for justice, so that he might separate all things and reckon the deeds of every person. Then it says, “so that he might smite the nations with [the sword].” To smite means to strike, to determine, to free, to damn, to justify, to rescue, to save.… The rod of iron is the discipline of power by which he will make right all nations, equally changing them and judging them.… The wine press is hell, and the wine is the judgment by which those are restrained and subdued upon whom the righteous anger of God will have come.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:15-16

And from his mouth proceeds a sharp sword. Thus Isaiah says: And he made my mouth like a sharp sword (Isa. 49). And the Apostle: And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6).

Commentary on Revelation

And he treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. He treads now also, until he treads it outside the city.

Commentary on Revelation

This is a name that the proud do not know. For by serving [Christ], the church reigns in Christ, and she is lord of lords, that is, she conquers vices and sins.

Exposition of the Apocalypse 19:16, Homily 17

And it is written upon his garment and on his thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords. The garment is understood to be the flesh of the Lord; it is interpreted spiritually as flesh and blood, according to the holy interpreters who cite Isaiah: "Why are your garments red, and your clothing like one who treads the fully trampled winepress?" (Isa. 63:2-3)

But the thigh signifies the fleshly birth; for it is written in Genesis, "all the souls that went into Egypt with Jacob are those who came forth from his loins." (Gen. 46:26) This, then, shows the riddle written on the garment and on the thigh: that the King of all is Emmanuel. For although the Word was united to flesh in hypostasis and endured the fleshly birth from the Virgin, he nevertheless was established as King and Lord of all (Isa. 7:14), both of those in heaven and of those on earth, not diminished in worth by the incarnation; for he was and is and will be God.

Commentary on Revelation

[The name is inscribed] on his robe, that is, on the church with which Christ is clothed and which, according to the apostle, “he cleansed by the washing of water with the word, that he might present to himself a church glorious, without spot or wrinkle.” He cleansed the robe that it might have no spot, and he stretched it that it might have no wrinkle. The thigh symbolizes the posterity of his offspring, by which all nations will be blessed, according to the apostle who teaches, “It does not say, ‘and to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘and to your offspring,’ which is Christ.” As though to a dead brother, according to ancient custom, the same apostle raises offspring spiritually, saying, “Lest any one should say that you were baptized in my name,” since he says that from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum he has done all things for the gospel, so that he might truthfully say to the Gentiles, “I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Therefore, on this thigh, as though on children, the knowledge of Christ is written “not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts,” which confess him to be the King of kings and the Lord of all lords.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:16

Christ is the basis and the foundation on which Paul builds as an architect. Christ is the good Shepherd “who gives his life for the sheep.” Christ is the head of every dominion and power. He is himself the head of the church, wherefore it is said, “the head of man is Christ,” because he is the head of the church. He is the father, because by him through baptism all the nations of the earth are born again. His thigh, on which his name is written, are the believers whom the Son of God, that is, Christ, has willed to name “sons” through the adoption of faith. His robe is the assumed man, and because there is one person of two substances, we recognize his divinity in his robe, that is, in the sacrament of the Lord’s body. Upon the vestment of his body it is said that his name was written, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” Indeed, it is written on his thigh, because all who are called “sons” through faith witness with an unswerving confession that he is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:15-16

This name reveals the unity of the divine incarnation. For in this unity he who is God suffered in the flesh, and although man, he is King of kings and Lord of lords. Those who have ruled the passions and in cooperation with Christ have possessed the authority and power over sin shall also rule with him in the coming age.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:16

And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords. This is the name that none of the proud know. But it is inscribed on the Church not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, on the tablets of the heart (2 Cor. 3). For the thigh signifies the progeny of the seed. Hence, Abraham used his thigh as a third witness between himself and his servant to ensure his progeny would not intermix with foreigners. About this, the Apostle, like raising seed to a deceased brother, says: For in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the Gospel (1 Cor. 4). It can also be understood that the Church reigns in Christ through service, and dominates the rulers. The same name is written on the garment because the majesty and kingdom are revealed to us through the mystery of his birth and the work of his passion. He explains in the following what this garment and the king’s army signify, namely the labor of the last battle and the glory of the ensuing kingdom.

Commentary on Revelation

17–18

We know that this in fact happens in the church. For when all nations are incorporated in the church, they are spiritually devoured. Indeed, those who have been devoured by the devil become the body of the devil, while those who have been received by the church are made to be members of Christ.

Exposition on the Apocalypse 19:17-18, Homily 17

[The angel in the sun] is the preaching that takes place in the church.… Depending on the context, we interpret birds or beasts to represent the good or the wicked. For example, “The wild beast will bless me,” or, “The Lion from the tribe of Judah.” In the present passage the birds flying in mid-heaven are the churches that, being considered as one body, it had said was an eagle flying in mid-heaven.

Exposition on the Apocalypse 19:18, Homily 17

I believe this holy angel about whom the speech now is to be some sort of military herald of the divine host. And that he commands all the holy angels in heaven, whom he conventionally calls birds because of their elevation and ability to fly through the air, to share in the slaughter against the enemies; not that a single angel were unable to destroy the whole host of enemies, for that was clearly shown by him who in one night struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians (see 2 Kings 19:35), but so that all might become participants in the joy over the enemies. For I think he even says with the prophet, "Did I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and was I not hostile to your enemies? I utterly hated them; they became enemies to me." (Ps. 139:21)

And when he commissioned the angels flying in midheaven, he himself also stood in midheaven and proclaimed; for the sun is set in the midst of the seven planets, having three above it and three below it. Either therefore this, or that the proclamation was made in the light as in a spirit, and he was speaking of the doom of those murders about to be, for the spirit is an intelligible light toward God, as the prophet teaches; and making his words a father and saying, "In your light we shall behold light," (Ps. 138:21-22) that is, we will see the Spirit in the Son.

Commentary on Revelation

The angel refers to the church in her preaching. Rightly it adds “one,” for “my dove is only one.” In this manner the mystery of unity is preserved. [The angel] is “in the sun,” where it may be already brightly visible and not further hidden because of fear. “And with a loud voice it called out.” In the loud voice we recognize the liberty of a great trust.… In some contexts birds are interpreted by the qualities of evil birds, in other contexts they are interpreted by the qualities of good birds. As earlier the form of an eagle in flight was mentioned, so in this passage those who are spiritual are invited to the feast. Peter, who bore the image of the present church, was told of this feast when it was said to him, “Kill and eat.” Since they kill what they had been so that they might become what he is, that is, faithful, they are transformed into the body of the church, and having been planted with the members of the Christ, they reign with them. For whatever we eat, we bring over into our body.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:17

He saw an angel standing upon the sun. The sun upon which this angel is standing is the Faith of the catholic church. Concerning this angel also Daniel spoke as follows: “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who stands before the sons of your people.” For just as then this holy archangel stood in the sight of God on behalf of the sons of the ancient people, so now he unceasingly intervenes for the people of the whole catholic church. “And there shall be a time, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.” In the Revelation the holy John says that in that time the birds of the earth shall gather to consume the bodies of the impious.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:17-18

17–18

That will of God is to be regarded as foremost which is called both his “good pleasure” and the supper most desired by him, namely, that “people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” and that they turn and live. But second, it is his will that those who have trusted in themselves suffer punishment. Therefore, Christ said that his food was the will of the Father. In this passage he calls this the “supper of God,” since each of those who are present desired through their works either the supper of the kingdom or the supper of torment. Through the eating of flesh it indicates the destruction of everything fleshly and the end of kings and rulers on the earth. It mentions horses, not because they will rise again, but through them it signifies either the excessive desire for women or those who have submitted to evil, or perhaps both. In the riders it symbolizes those who are especially wicked. A little further on it further clarifies, saying, “both free and slave, both great and small.” By the free and great it refers to those who sinned freely and willingly, and by the slave and small it indicates those who transgressed in a lesser manner, either because of their intent or because of their age or because of weakness.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:17-18

We think that this angel is one of the highest of the angels and exhorts the others to rejoice over the punishment of the sinners and the cessation of sin. He has called the angels “birds” due to the exalted and sublime nature that they have in comparison with ours. In imitation of Christ, their food is the fulfilling of the divine will. They are “in mid-heaven” so that they might share their ascent and joy, just mentioned, with those people who are similar to the angels. For through their mediation there is a way up from the things below, and through them the saints “are caught up to meet the Lord.”

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:17

And I saw an angel standing in the sun, etc. That is, the proclamation in the Church, which the more it is oppressed, the more it shines clearly and resounds more freely.

Commentary on Revelation

Saying to all the birds, etc. He calls the saints birds, living in the life of heaven: Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles will gather (Matt. 24). Bringing them together into one body, he referred to them as an eagle flying in mid-heaven.

Commentary on Revelation

Come, gather for the great supper of God, etc. Come, he says, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt. 5), to the feast of the coming kingdom, where, with the fury of the proud subdued, you may be satisfied with the light of divine justice.

Commentary on Revelation

He says, that you may eat the flesh of kings. And he calls the feast over the death of enemies an eating of these and those; for therefore also the Lord names joy when speaking to his disciples and apostles: "I have a food to eat which you do not know," (Jn. 4:32) calling in this way the gladness that is to come upon the believers.

Commentary on Revelation

And the flesh of horses and those who sit on them. I think these are the riders he described as coming against the white horse of the Lord during the opening of the seals.

Commentary on Revelation

The war with the Lord and the divine angels was waged by both the Devil and the Antichrist, for he calls him a false prophet of the beastly Devil, and kings who band together with them; but they were defeated sooner than speech.

What do the divine Scriptures say about them? Isaiah says, "Let the impious be taken away, so that he may not see the glory of the Lord," (Isa. 26:10) the sudden annihilation; but the apostle, "whom the Lord will consume by the breath of his mouth." (2 Thess. 2:8) What is swifter than to breathe upon and blow the enemies away?

Commentary on Revelation

If you compare the words of the blessed Daniel, you will find one and the same thing. “He will come with a great multitude so that he might exterminate and destroy many.” However, in the Revelation it is said that, when the kings of the earth and their armies are gathered together, they will war against him who sits on the horse, that is, against Jesus Christ, and against his army, that is, against all saints who follow him.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:19

It speaks of the armies allied with the devil in the plural, because of the many forms of their sin and their divisions and various opinions. [By contrast], it speaks of the angelic powers and of those persons like the angels who follow Christ in the singular as an army, because of the unity of their mind and their will which is well-pleasing to the divine Word.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:19

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth ... to make war, etc. He explains how that supper of God is prepared, namely by the devil attacking the Church but being defeated.

Commentary on Revelation

And for this reason the apostle says: "Because they received not the love of God, that they might be saved, therefore God shall also send them the operation of error, that they may believe a lie, that they all may be judged who have not believed the truth, but consented to unrighteousness." For when he (Antichrist) is come, and of his own accord concentrates in his own person the apostasy, and accomplishes whatever he shall do according to his own will and choice, sitting also in the temple of God, so that his dupes may adore him as the Christ; wherefore also shall he deservedly "be cast into the lake of fire:" [this will happen according to divine appointment], God by His prescience foreseeing all this, and at the proper time sending such a man, "that they may believe a lie, that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but consented to unrighteousness;"...

Against Heresies Book 5

"And those two," he says, "were cast alive into the lake of fire, and the rest were slain by the sword." O excess of justice! He did not deem the authors of the war and those co-responsible worthy of the same punishment; but the two, namely the Devil and the Antichrist, were condemned to fire, in which they will live forever, for this is hinted by their being cast alive into the fire; the rest were slain by the sword. By far it is preferable to give judgment by the sword briefly than by fire.

Commentary on Revelation

And Daniel says, “No one will help him.” When the Lord fights against him, no one is able to bring assistance to him.… [The two thrown into the fire were] the devil, the leader of every evil being, and that one who is most wicked, who is called the antichrist.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:20

Although these, together with the kings and rulers who trusted them, arrayed themselves against Christ the Savior, both the antichrist and the false prophet, who by signs and wonders made the rogue acceptable, are bested and overcome by the divine wrath.… Perhaps these will not die that death that is common to all, but in the twinkling of an eye will be made immortal by being condemned to the second death of the lake of fire, just as the apostle spoke of others who “will not sleep but will be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” These [mentioned by Paul] will rightly go to judgment. But the two mentioned in this passage, being wicked and against God, will not go to judgment but to condemnation. And although some do not hold this opinion, we base ourselves on the saying of the apostle that the antichrist will be destroyed by the spirit of the command of God and on one of our teachers who said that some will be found living after the destruction of the antichrist. We affirm that those living are those blessed by Daniel, but that after the destruction of their power these two will be handed over with their incorruptible bodies to the fire of Gehenna. This will be their death and destruction by the divine command of Christ.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:20

The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur, etc. This seems to indicate that the devil and the Antichrist will be punished with a greater penalty than other humans or demons, as it is much more severe to be burned alive in sulfurous flames than to be quickly killed by the blow of a sword. Unless it signifies the divine retribution already being preempted against them. For he who does not believe is already judged (John 3). Whether you understand the Antichrist as the false prophet or heretics, no mortal sins more grievously than heretics, who, after knowing Christ, deny Him.

Commentary on Revelation

Having begun once to speak about the judgment which he will give to the Devil, guarding the continuity of the discourse, he also recounts what he suffered in the incarnation of the Lord; and taking this as his theme, he speaks more at length about the Lord's presence in the flesh.

Commentary on Revelation

“The beast was captured and with him the false prophet.” This refers to the devil and the antichrist or the leaders and their entire following.… There are two, the head and the body, the devil and his society … which shall continue until the end of time. “The rest were slain by the sword … which issues from his mouth.” It divides the one body into parts, wishing to show both those who have been dead a long time and those whom Christ will find living at his second coming, as we read, “whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the brightness of his coming.”

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:20-21

“And all the birds were gorged with their flesh.” We ought not think of this in a carnal manner so that we believe that the saints, who seek higher things, are sated on the flesh of the impious. Rather, when the equity of the divine judgment has been revealed, through which [God] will determine the full number of the elect and so decree that the others are to be damned, [the saints] are said to be sated with the knowledge of that righteousness after which they hungered and thirsted in this life but were unable to comprehend perfectly. For even Isaiah said of the impious, “And they shall be a complete spectacle to all flesh.” I think it is the satiety of the birds that is mentioned in this passage. Also the apostle admits that he has not yet understood perfectly when he says, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on so that I might understand because I have been known by Christ.” And so, they shall not rejoice at the damnation of the wicked, but sated by the light of the divine righteousness, they will at that time rejoice. One might interpret the birds in a negative way and regard them as the transgressing angels. Having led their followers into destruction, these angels are said to have fulfilled their evil desire and to be filled on the flesh of the lost. Thus, they acquire their satiety from the damnation of those to whom they had offered themselves as guides to error.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:21

All who have believed [the beast] will be killed by the judgment of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the breath of his mouth, and their flesh will be put out for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.

Tractate on the Apocalypse 19:21

There are two deaths, the first that of the separation of the soul and body, and the second that of being sent to Gehenna. Concerning those who ally themselves with the antichrist, there is reason to think that they will suffer the first death, that of the flesh, by the sword of God, that is, by his command, and that then the second death will follow. However, should this not be the case, then they will share with those who deceived them the second death, that of eternal torment. The birds are gorged on their flesh. To this we might add, that just as God spoke to some through Isaiah, “You have become loathsome to me,” so every fleshly deed is tiresome, grievous and loathsome to the saints.

Commentary on the Apocalypse 19:21

And all the birds were filled with their flesh. If now the righteous will rejoice when they see the vengeance of the wicked, how much more will they then, when present with the judge himself, become one spirit with Him. However, the birds can also be understood as unclean spirits, who will be satiated with the destruction of their own. Tyconius explains this supper as follows: “At all times, the Church eats the flesh of its enemies, while it is being eaten by them; it will be satiated in the resurrection, being vindicated from their carnal work.”

Commentary on Revelation