and of all that were slain upon the earth. CHAP. XIX. The saints glorify God for his judg. ments on the great harlot. Christ's victory over the beast, and the kings of the earth. AFTER these things I heard as it were the voice of much people in heaven, saying: Alleluia. Salvation, and glory, and power is to our God. 2 For true and just are his Judgments, who hath judged the great harlot, which corrupted the earth with her fornication, and hath revenged the blood of his servants, at her hands. 3 And again they said: Alleluia. And her smoke ascendeth for ever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty ancients, and the four living creatures fell down and adored God that sitteth upon the throne, saying: Amen: Alleluia. 5 And a voice came out from the throne, saying: Give praise to our God, all ye his servants: and you that fear him, little and great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunders, saying, Alleluia; for the Alleluia; for the Lord our God the almighty hath reigned. 9 And he said to me: Write: Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith to me: These words of God are true. 10 And I fell down before his feet, to adore him: And he saith to me: See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren who have the testimony of JESUS. Adore God. For the testimony of JESUS is the spirit of prophecy. 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse: and he that sat upon him, was called faithful and true, and with Justice doth he judge and fight. 12 And his eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many diadems, and he had a name written, which no man knoweth but himself. 13 And he was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood; and his name is called, THE WORD OF GOD. 14 And the armies that are in heaven followed him on. white horses, clothed in fine. linen white and clean. a Matt. 22. 2. Luke 14. 16.-b Isaias 63. 1. before, &c. St. Aug. (1. 20. contra CHAP. XIX. Ver. 10. I fell down Faust. c. 21) is of opinion, that this angel appeared in so glorious a manner, that St. John took him to be God; and therefore would have given divine 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, honour, had not the angel stopped him, and give glory to him: for the by telling him he was but his fellow. marriage of the Lamb is come, rather thinks, that the veneration offerservant. St. Gregory (hom. 8, in Evang.) and his wife hath prepared her-ed by St. John, was not divine honour, self. 8 And it is granted to her that she should clothe herself with fine linen glittering and white. For the fine linen are the justifications of saints. or indeed any other than what might lawfully be given; but was neverthe. less refused by the Angel, in considera. tion of the dignity to which our human nature had been raised by the incarna tion of the Son of God, and the dignity of St. John, an apostle, prophet," and martyr. 15 And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp two-edged sword: that with it he may strike 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 the almighty. 16 And he hath on his garment and on his thigh written: & KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw an Angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that did fly through the midst of heaven: Come, gather yourselves together to the great supper of God: 18 That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of tribunes, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all freemen and bondmen, and of little and and of little and of great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war with him that sat his CHAP. XX. Satan is bound for a thousand years: the souls of the martyrs reign with Christ in the first resurrection. The last attempts of satan against the church: the last judgment. AND I saw an Angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 And he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should no more seduce the nations, till the thousand years be finished. And after that, he must be loosed a little time. 4 And I saw seats: and they sat upon them: and judgment was given unto them: and the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of JESUS, and for the word of God, and who had not adored the beast nor his image, nor re upon the horse, and with Ceived his character on their 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, who wrought signs before him, wherewith he seduced them who received the character of the beast, and who adored his image. These two were cast alive into the pool of fire burning with brimstone.. foreheads, or in their and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead lived not, till the thousand years were CHAP. XX. Ver. 2. Bound him, &c. The power of satan has been very much limited by the passion of Christ; for a thousand years; that is, for the whole time of the new testa ment; but especially from the time of Rome, till the new efforts of Gog and the destruction of Babylon or Pagan Magog against the church, towards the end of the world. During which time the souls of the martyrs and heaven, in the first resurrection, which saints live and reign with Christ in is that of the soul to the life of glory; as the second resurrection will be that a Ps. 2. 9.-5 1 Tim. 6. 15. Supra, of the body, at the day of the general 21 And the rest were slain by the sword of him that sitteth upon the horse, which proceedeth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh. 17 14. 428 Judgment. finished. This is the first rethe first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. In these the second death hath no power: but they shall be priests of God and of Christ: and shall reign with him a thousand years. 7 And when the thousand years shall be finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth, and seduce the nations, which are over the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. and hell gave up their dead that were in them: and they were judged every one according to their works. 14 And hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire. CHAP. XXI. The new Jerusalem described. and a new earth. For the AND I saw a new heaven first heaven, and the first earth was gone, and the sea is now no more. 8 And they came upon the 2 And I John saw the holy breadth of the earth, and en-city the new Jerusalem coming compassed the camp of the down out of heaven from God, saints, and the beloved city. 9 And there came down fire prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. from God out of heaven, and devoured them: and the devil, who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, where both the beast 10 And the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11 And I saw a great white throne, and one sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death a Ezec. 38 14. 3 And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold, the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people: and God himself with them shall be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat on the throne, said: d Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true. b Isaias 65. 17. and 66. 22. 2 Pet. 3. 13.-c Isaias 25. 8. Supra, 7. 17.d Isaias 43. 19. 2 Cor. 5. 17. CHAP. XXI. Ver. 1. The first hea. ven, and the first earth was gone, being changed, not as to their substance, but in their qualities. 6 And he said to me: It is done: I am alpha and omega: the beginning and the end. To bim that thirsteth I will give of the fountain of the water of life, freely. 7 He that shall overcome shall possess these things, and I will be his God; and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolafers, and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. 9 And there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: Come, and I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. 10 And he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain and he shewed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of God, and the light thereof was like to a precious stone, as to the Jasper-stone, even as crystal. 12 And it had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. 13 On the east, three gates: and on the north, three gates: and on the south, three gates: and on the west, three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them, the twelve names of the. twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he that spoke with me, had a measure of a reed of 430 gold, to measure the city and the gates thereof, and the wall. 16 And the city lieth in a four-square, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth and he measured the city with a golden reed for twelve thousand furlongs, ar the length and the height and the breadth thereof are equal. 17 And he measured the wall thereof an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is of an angel. 18 And the building of the wall thereof wasthereof was of jasperstone; but the city itself pure gold, like to clear glass. 19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper: the second, sapphire: the third, a chalcedony : the fourth, an emerald: 20 The fifth, sardonyx: the sixth, sardius: the seventh, chrysolite: the eighth, beryl: the ninth, a topaz: the tenth, a chrysoprasus: the eleventh, a jacinth: the twelfth, an amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, one to each: and every several gate was of one several pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 22 And I saw no temple therein. For the Lord God Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb. 23 And the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, a Isaias 60. 19. Ver. 17. The measure of a man, i. e According to the measure of men, and true meaning of these words. used by the angel: This seems to be the to shine in it. For the glory of God hath enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof. 24 And the nations shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into it. 25 And the gates thereof shall not be shut by day: for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27 There shall not enter into it anything defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb. CHAP. XXII. The water and tree of life. The Conclusion. And he said to me: These words are most faithful and true. And the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his Angel to shew his servants the things which must be done shortly. 7 And, Behold I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book. 8 And I John who have heard and seen these things. And after I had heard and seen, I fell down to adore before the feet of the Angel, who shewed me these things. 9 And he said to me: See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them that keep the words of the God. AND he shewed me a river of prophecy of this book, Adore water of life, clear as crystal proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 10 And he saith to me: Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. CHAP. XXII. Ver. 10. For the time is at hand. That is, when com pared to eternity, all time and temporal things vanish, and are but of short duration. As to the time when the chief predictions should come to pass, we have no certainty, as appears by the different opinions, both of the Many think that most things set down ancient fathers and late intepreters. from the 4th chapter to the end, will not be fulfilled till a little time before the end of the world. Others are of opinion, that a great part of them, and particularly the fall of the wicked Babylon, happened at the destruction of Paganism, by the destruction of heathen Rome, and its persecuting heathen Emperors. Of these interpretations, see Alcazar, in his long Bishop of Meaux, in his treatise on commentary, see the learned Bossuet, this Book, and P. Alleman, in his notes on the same Apocalypse, tom. 12, who in his Preface says that this, in a great measure, may be now looked upon as the opinion followed by the learned |