Chapter 19
[Revelation 19:1] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:2] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:3] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:3] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:4] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:4] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:5] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:6] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:7] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:7] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:8] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:9] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:9] -- These are the true words of God. That is, what I have foretold will truly happen.
[Revelation 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).
[Revelation 19:10] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:10] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:11] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:11] -- 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.
[Revelation 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).
[Revelation 19:12] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:12] -- 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).
[Revelation 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.
[Revelation 19:13] -- 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.
[Revelation 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.
[Revelation 19:14] -- 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).
[Revelation 19:15] -- 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).
[Revelation 19:15] -- 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.
[Revelation 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.
[Revelation 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.
[Revelation 19:17] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:17] -- 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.
[Revelation 19:18] -- 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.
[Revelation 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.
[Revelation 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.
[Revelation 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.”