Chapter VIII.
(Vers. 1.)
(Verse 1.) And when He opened the seventh seal. The opening of the seventh seal pertains to the birth of Christ: but we must inquire why it is placed in the seventh, not the fifth position. It is written in Genesis that God created all things, which took their origin from heaven and earth, in six days, but on the seventh day He rested; and for this reason, He called the seventh day the Sabbath, that is, rest (Gen. II, 2). And what is our rest, if not Christ? Therefore, it is not unfitting that the birth of Christ is placed in the opening of the seventh seal; for He is the rest of all His saints, which is symbolized by the seventh day. And because the things that happened in the birth of Christ obtain spiritual understanding, Christ opened the seventh seal when He revealed to the teachers of the Church, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the things that were accomplished through their significance. There was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Peace, which was established throughout the entire world with the birth of Christ during the reign of Octavian Augustus, is symbolized by silence. However, at the third hour silence was broken, because the peace that the Church had at the beginning of its faith among the pagans remained for only a short time; for it was interrupted by the emperor Nero, and after Peter and Paul were killed, he commanded that all Christians be persecuted.
(Vers. 2.)
(Verse 2.) And I saw seven angels standing before God, and they were given seven trumpets. The order of these seven angels is as follows: just as a herald is sent before a king or prince to announce his coming, so John, because the things that were signified by the angels were great, wanted to make mention of them before he came to their narration.
(Vers. 3.)
(Verse 3) And another angel came and stood before the altar, holding a golden censer in his hand. And a lot of incense was given to him, so that he could offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the Lord. This angel signifies Christ, who came into the world through the mystery of the Incarnation. The golden altar represents the Church. It is said that he stood before the altar, for Christ was rejected by the unbelievers who regarded him as merely a human, but he stood with the faithful who believed that he was the true God. Therefore he stood before the altar, because he made it known to the apostles and the other believers, from whom the Church was then comprised, that God exists. Through the censer that he held in his hand, the hearts of the apostles and the other faithful are demonstrated. It is said to have been made of gold, because the hearts of the disciples were purified by faith and gilded by the wisdom they had learned from Christ. It is said that he held the censer in his hand, because the hearts of the apostles were in the hand of God, as Solomon says: \"The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.\" (Proverbs 21:1) Was the heart of Solomon in the hand of God when he worshiped idols? Was the heart of Antiochus or Herod in the hand of God? Were the hearts of kings who persecuted the saints of God in the hand of God? They were in the hand of the devil, who inclined them to any evil deeds he desired. But the hearts of spiritual kings, that is, the saints, are in the hand of God, and therefore He will incline them wherever He pleases.
It follows: And many incenses were given to him. Many incenses are the precepts of the Gospel; for incenses are placed in the censer, so that, having received the heat of fire, they spread the fragrance of their odor all around: in a similar way, Christ placed the teaching of the Gospel in the hearts of his disciples, who, inflamed by the fire of charity, spread the fragrance of their faith to all nations. Therefore, it follows: That he might give from the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which is in the sight of God. There are many types of prayers; the faithful pray, using words, asking God to forgive all their sins: they also pray by giving alms, as the Lord says in the Gospel: Give alms, and behold, all things are clean to you (Luke 11:42). And in another place it is written: Just as water extinguishes fire, so does almsgiving extinguish sin (Ecclesiasticus 3:33). They also pray by forgiving those who have sinned against them, as the Lord says in the Gospel: If you forgive men their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your offenses (Matthew 6:15). Nevertheless, while praying and keeping the precepts of charity, as it is written, for charity covers all sins (James 5:20). Therefore, one prays to God in a wholesome manner who keeps the commandments of God; for it is not profitable for us to implore the mercy of God with words and provoke Him with our actions. Therefore, God placed upon the golden altar the prayers of the saints, when He placed faith, doctrine, and the actions of the apostles and other preachers upon the hearts of the believers; so that they would have from where they might be instructed and what they might imitate.
(Vers. 4.)
(Verse 4) And so it follows: And the smoke of the incense ascended from the prayers of the saints, from the hand of the angel before God. By the smoke of the incense, not only the prayers of the faithful are signified, but also the fervor of good works, which incessantly ascends from the Church before God. This smoke is said to ascend from the hand of the angel because whatever good the faithful do, they do it with the help of God, as He Himself says: Without me, you can do nothing (John 15).
(Vers. 5.)
(Verse 5) And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it onto the earth. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and an earthquake. The Holy Spirit is symbolized by fire: therefore, the angel, that is, Christ, filled the censer, that is, the hearts of the disciples, with fire from the altar, that is, with the Holy Spirit; when, after his ascension into heaven, on the tenth day, the Holy Spirit was sent from heaven, he filled the hearts of the disciples and gave them the knowledge of all languages. And if by altar the Church is designated, why is the Holy Spirit said to be the fire of the altar before He was given, just as the same John says: The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified? But the Holy Spirit was the fire of the altar before He was given, because the Church already possessed Him by the grace of remission. For the Lord, before His passion, promised to give the Holy Spirit to His disciples; and the same John, after putting the words of Caiaphas, who said: It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and not the whole nation perish, added, saying: And this he did not say from himself, but, being the high priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus was to die for the people; and not only for the people, but also in order to gather together into one the children of God who were scattered (John 11:50-52). Were those who were going to believe in Christ, who were scattered among all the nations and serving idols, children of God? Indeed, they were already children of God by predestination; for they were already predestined to eternal life. Afterwards, they were gathered together when they were united to the body of the Church through the faith they received in baptism. Therefore, the angel sent fire, which he had placed in the censer, to the earth; for he poured out the teaching of faith, which he had placed in the hearts of the apostles, into the hearts of the Jews, who were on earth due to their unbelief, through the mouths of the apostles by the coming of the Holy Spirit.
There were thunderbolts, voices, and thunderings, and earthquakes. Through the thunderbolts, the miracles that were performed by the apostles are represented, through the voices, the preaching, and through the thunderings, the threat of eternal fire is indicated. But through the earthquakes, we can understand the conversion of the Jews; for they were converted to repentance through the preaching of blessed Peter, as the book of Acts of the Apostles narrates: When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: Men, brethren, what shall we do? Show us (Acts 2:37). And in the following it is written that three thousand believed in this first preaching of Peter, and afterwards countless ones. May the Lord our Jesus Christ deign to pour out this fire, that is, the Holy Spirit, upon us who are of the earth, through His mercy; so that we may be transformed from carnal to spiritual beings, who lives and reigns forever and ever, amen.
De Visione Quarta.
By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have spoken briefly about the opening of the seven seals; now let us discuss the seven angelic trumpets that follow. The seven angelic doctors, who were sent by God to instruct the people of God and will be sent until the end, are designated. And because the order of reason demanded that the seven angels be placed after the opening of the seals, which signifies the opening of the divine Scriptures, in which the doctors of the Church have understood more clearly, inspired by God, than others, they are shown, through whom all the doctors of the people of God are designated, who have received a richer understanding of the divine Scriptures. We have divided the entire body of the elect into seven parts, and it appears that the seven angels were singing with trumpets: through whom all the teachers of the people of God are designated, although they differ a little from that order. For above, through the robe that reaches to the feet, and the first is placed in the Lord's ornaments, as we said that the just men who were before the flood were designated in the following through the first horn of the Lamb: but through the golden belt in the body of Christ, and through the second horn the patriarchs and others who were before the Law: but here through the first angel the teachers who were from the beginning of the world until the Law are designated, and through the second the teachers of the Law.
(Vers. 6)
(Verse 6) And seven angels prepared themselves to play their trumpets. The sound of the trumpet signifies proclamation; for holy preachers are always ready to acquire for God whomever they can through the teaching of their proclamation.
(Vers. 7.)
(Verse 7) And the first angel sounded the trumpet. By the first angel, as we have already said, the preachers who were before the Law are designated. Therefore, the first angel sounded the trumpet, because the holy men who were before the Law, although they had no law except the natural law, are believed to have exhorted all to fear and love their Creator God and not to do unto others what they would not have done unto themselves. And there was hail and fire, mixed with blood, and it was thrown down to the earth. These things that were seen to have been done by the seven angels with their trumpets, should be understood as being for the good, as it seems to me: just as, on the contrary, the pouring out of the seven bowls of the angels, which follows, is for evil. Therefore, the hail that strikes, represents the words of the holy men, which by reproving strike the hearts of wicked men. The hail is described as having fire and blood mixed in it: by the fire is meant the Holy Spirit, who, dwelling in his saints, was the minister of their words: but by the blood is meant Christ, who is often foretold by the Fathers, and prefigured by their actions: but the earth signifies worldly men subjected to sin.
And the third part of the earth was burned... and all green grass was burned. By the third part of the earth, we must understand those who, through the teaching and examples of good men, have been saved: they have burned and destroyed whatever evil was in themselves with the fire of the fear and love of God. The trees, however, signify those who have held power among them: from which many have been saved through the teaching and examples of good men (Gen. 20:17), like Abimelech through Abraham and Job's three friends (Job 42:8). But by green hay, which is said to have been completely burned, those are designated who, both earlier by a third part of the earth and trees which have been burned, that is, the chosen ones who were there at that time; for green hay is difficult to ignite, but dry hay is easily consumed. But by green hay the chosen ones are designated, and by dry hay the reprobate. Concerning this dry hay, the prophet says: 'Surely the people is grass. The hay is withered, and the flower has fallen: but the word of the Lord remains forever' (Isaiah XL, 7); therefore, by green hay, those who had faith are designated, who burned up everything that was reprobate in themselves with the fire of charity.
(Vers. 8.)
(Verse 8) And the second angel sounded his trumpet. By the second angel, Moses and the other teachers of the Law are signified. And behold, there was as a great mountain burning with fire, cast into the sea. By the great mountain, the Law of Moses is signified, which, on account of its weightiness, is likened to a very heavy mountain; and by its spiritual intelligence, which shone forth in the Law, it is said to burn with fire. But the Hebrew people themselves are signified by the sea on account of the greatness of their sins.
(Vers. 9.)
(Verse 9) And the third part of the sea became blood, and the third part of the creatures in the sea died, and the third part of the ships were destroyed. Every remission in the Law was made through the shedding and sprinkling of blood; therefore Moses also sprinkled the people with blood, saying: This is the blood of the Testament, which God has commanded to you (Hebrews 9:20). And Aaron and his sons, in order to be purified for offering sacrifices to God, Moses also sprinkled with blood, for without the shedding of blood there could be no remission (Exodus 24:8). Therefore, by the third part of the chosen sea who were there at that time, are designated: by the blood, indeed, in this place we can receive the remission of sins. Therefore, the third part of the sea was turned into blood; because the chosen ones who were there at that time deserved to be purified from their sins by observing the Law. Likewise, the third part of the creature, which had souls in the sea, and is said to have died, has the same significance as the third part of the sea which was turned into blood. But through the sea, as we have already said, a multitude of sins is designated: but when the fishes are drawn out of the waters, they lose their lives. Therefore, as long as the elect are involved in the waters of their vices, they have souls like the sea, namely, involved in the darkness of sins; but when they are drawn out of the waters of vices either by baptism or by penance, they lose their former souls as it were, since they are made good out of evil, and they die to the devil, in order that they may live to God. Therefore, the third part of the fish released their souls, because those who were chosen at that time died to sin through the observation of the Law, and they began to live for God. But through the ships that have water beneath them and that rise above it, the leaders of that nation are designated. However, the third part that perished designates those who were righteous among them according to the sense we have mentioned; because they perished and died to sin, and they lived for God.
(Vers. 10.)
(Verse 10) And the third angel sounded the trumpet, and a burning star fell from heaven like a torch. This star has the same meaning as the angel; it symbolizes the prophets: but we must ask ourselves, how can it be said that it fell from heaven to earth? The saints, in a sense, ascend to heaven when divine love lifts them up to contemplate heavenly things: they fall to earth when the love of their neighbors draws them down to the depths; so that through their preaching they may lead sinners back to the path of truth; and the torch is lit to dispel the darkness of night. Therefore, the words of the prophets were like torches, for they dispelled the darkness of sin from the minds of men. We can also understand the Holy Spirit as a torch of fire, with which the prophets were inflamed, and they corrected many from their wicked ways, and foretold things to come. And it fell into the third part of the rivers, and into the fountains of waters. The rivers and fountains represent the twelve tribes with their families, but the third part represents those who were destined for eternal life. Therefore, the star fell into the third part of the rivers, because they received the teaching of the prophets and planted it in their hearts, who were predestined for eternal life.
(Vers. 11.)
(Verse 11) And the name of the star is called Wormwood. Wormwood is very bitter: therefore, the curses of the prophets are symbolized by wormwood, which they would impose upon the sinful people, preaching to them that unless they repented, they would be given as prey and captives to their enemies; and if they did not repent even then, they would be condemned to eternal death. And the third part of the waters became wormwood. They took on the bitterness of repentance through the curses of the prophets, whom we previously said were designated by the third part of the waters, that is, the chosen ones. And many men died because of the waters, for they became bitter. Indeed, the bitterness of repentance brought them death, who deserved to be saved; for the dead were according to what they were evil, and they lived according to what they began to be good.
(Vers. 12.)
(Verse 12.) And the fourth angel sounded the trumpet. The fourth angel signifies Christ and his apostles. And the third part of the sun was struck, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so that the third part of them was darkened, and the day did not shine for the third part, and the night likewise. The sun, moon, and stars all have the same meaning; for by the sun the people of the Jews, by the moon the Synagogue, and by the stars the chief priests and the Pharisees are designated. But if we wish to transfer the obscuration of the sun and moon and stars to those who did not want to believe in Christ, the higher order will be disturbed. For we have shown that the burning of a third part of the earth, which is said to have been done by the sounding of the trumpet of the first angel, the turning of a third part of the sea into blood, which was seen to have been done by the sounding of the trumpet of the second angel, and the turning of a third part of the waters into wormwood, which is said to have been done by the sounding of the trumpet of the third angel, are to be understood in a positive sense; and therefore pertain to the elect. Therefore, it follows that we interpret the eclipses of the sun, moon, and stars in a positive way. By the third part of the sun, which is struck, that is, obscured, those among the Jewish people who believed in Christ are represented; for they were obscured by the wicked Jews, but shone brightly in the sight of God. Similarly, by the third part of the moon and stars that are obscured, those who believed in Christ from among the leaders of the synagogues, the priests, and the Pharisees are represented; for they too were obscured by those whose minds the devil had blinded, so that they would not believe in Christ; for the brightness of the sun blinds the weak eyes more than it illuminates. We can certainly understand the apostles during the third part of the day, and during the third part of the night those who believed from the Gentiles. For the apostles were hidden from them who not only rejected their teaching, but also persecuted them in every way. Concerning this concealment, the Lord says: But you will be handed over by your parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all people because of my name (Luke 21:16).
(Vers. 13.)
(Verse 13) And I saw and heard the voice of an eagle flying in the middle of the sky, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, from the voices of the three angels who are about to sound their trumpets. In this place, the Church is represented by the sky, and the eagle represents Christ and his apostles. Therefore, the eagle was flying in the middle of the sky and crying out, because Christ first preached through Judea, and his apostles preached the Gospel to all nations. They also foretold in many ways the persecutions that the Church would suffer from its adversaries. And so he placed three woes, of which the first pertains to the heretics, who have tried in many ways to attack the Church of God; the second to the pagans, who have persecuted the same Church of God and killed a great multitude of the faithful; the third to the Antichrist, who will wage war against the people of God at the end of the world. And we should not think that the three woes pertain to the elect, who have suffered various calamities from the wicked, but rather to the same wicked ones who have inflicted those same calamities. Wherefore, Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on earth, says he; for the wicked, who seek nothing but the earth, are called inhabitants of the earth by right: but the righteous, who always desire heavenly things, are rightly called inhabitants of heaven, as the apostle Paul says: But our conversation is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).