37. (Vers. 20. 21.). And therefore he adds: Answering them, he said : The kingdom of God does not come with observation: nor will they say: Behold here, or behold there, through human comprehension. For human comprehension does not extend itself to knowing the time of judgment: whence he says: It does not come with observation: the Gloss: "Of time"; Matthew twenty-four: "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the Angels of heaven, but the Father alone"; and First Thessalonians five: "The day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night." Nor does it extend itself even to knowing the place: on account of which he says: Nor will they say: Behold, here, etc.; the Gloss: "Nor will a determinate place be known." — But the contrary seems to be said in Joel three: "I will gather all nations and will contend with them in the valley of Jehoshaphat." But that is to be understood in the sense that Jehoshaphat is taken according to its interpretation: for it is interpreted as the valley of judgment. For the judgment will not take place with the Lord being on earth, but rather in the air, as Jerome says on this passage. — And since idle inquiry is not excluded except by diligent inquiry, therefore he adds: For behold, the kingdom of God is within you, through the offering of divine grace, which indeed was made at the coming of Christ: concerning which John one says: "There has stood in your midst one whom you do not know." Whence Bede: "He calls the kingdom of God himself placed within them, that is, reigning in the hearts of those who have believed." On account of which it is said above in chapter eleven: "If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you," that is to say, that of which it is said in Romans fourteen: "The kingdom of God is not food and drink," etc. He wishes therefore to say that they ought to consider the first coming and cease to investigate the time of the second coming; whence Bede: "When it shall come can be observed neither by men nor by Angels, just as the time of the Lord's incarnation was foretold by the most certain prophecies of the Prophets and made manifest by the proclamations of the Angels."
38. (Vers. 22.). Secondly, as regards the approbation of the charity of the desiring disciples, he adds: And he said to his disciples: The days will come when you will desire to see one day of the Son of Man, namely days of tribulation, in which the desire for eternity is increased, according to that of the Psalm: "In the day of my tribulation I sought God, with my hands," etc. And that will be a day of the harshest tribulation, according to that of Matthew twenty-four: "There will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now."
39. And note that he says days in the plural on account of the plurality of tribulations which the Church was to suffer after Christ's ascension. There are, however, four principal ones: the first, that of tyrants; the second, of heretics; the third, of false Christians; and the fourth will be compounded from all of them, which will be that of the Antichrist and his accomplices. And these were signified in the four beasts which Daniel saw, Daniel 7. The first was like a lion, the second a bear, the third a leopard; the fourth is not described, because in it there will be a convergence of all perversities. And this tribulation gives birth to a desire for the day of glory, concerning which Zechariah, last chapter: "There shall be one day, which is known to the Lord of hosts." And this day is desirable, according to that word of the Psalm: "One day in your courts is better than a thousand." And just men desire this, as Paul; Philippians 1: "Having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, which is far better." The afflicted also desire it, as the disciples; whence Bede: "After my ascension, you, groaning in this exile of the world, will desire to see me in my glory. This desire is to be praised, yet it is not to be fulfilled in this world."
And therefore it follows: And you shall not see. Yet this will be fulfilled at some time, because, Proverbs 10, "the desire of the just shall be granted to them." Moreover, this desire is aroused by tribulation, both because this world is more despised, and because a stronger hope of eternal things is conceived, and because the fire of love is more vehemently inflamed. On account of which, 2 Corinthians 5: "We know that if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens. For in this also we groan, desiring to be clothed upon with our habitation that is from heaven," etc.
40. (Verse 23). Third, as regards the condemnation of the opposition of deceiving heretics, he adds: And they will say to you: Behold here, and behold there. The Gloss: "Christ is in this person, or in this time."
For heretics have sometimes dared and will dare to say this, and especially that son of perdition. Whence Bede: "Many heretics have been and will be who assert themselves to be Christs, of whom the first was Simon Magus, and the last the Antichrist." Whence also he who was the leader of the Manichaean sect said that he was the Holy Spirit, as Augustine says. Whence, because heretics disagree—one says one thing, another holds the contrary—therefore he says that one says: behold here, another: behold there. Whence Matthew 24: "Many will come in my name, saying: I am Christ, and they will seduce many." Moreover, those are seduced who receive their doctrine and follow their way of life.
Therefore he adds: Do not go with them: the Gloss: "So that you believe what they say"; Isaiah twenty-eight: "He who believes shall not hasten"; nor follow them: the Gloss: "Their way of life"; Proverbs one: "My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent to them." He warns so diligently because it will be difficult to avoid the deceptions of those false prophets and preachers; Matthew twenty-four: "False christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders, so as to lead into error, if it were possible, even the elect." Hence Chrysostom: "A man near death sees phantoms; so too the world at its end will suffer many errors."
Concerning the reason for this rebuke, three points.
41. For as lightning etc. After the rebuke of Jewish curiosity, there is here added the reason for the rebuke, which is taken from the manner of coming of the Son of God himself, who will not be able to be hidden when he comes, nor foreseen beforehand. This part is divided into three: in the first of which he treats of the manner of appearing; in the second, of the manner of coming, at the words: And as it was in the days of Noah; in the third, of the manner of escaping, at the words: In that day etc.
Concerning the manner of appearing, two things are introduced, namely the manifestation of Christ appearing and the order of the appearing.
42. (Verse 24). First, therefore, with regard to the manifestation of the appearing, he says: For as lightning flashing from under heaven shines upon those things that are under heaven, namely swiftly and openly. Chrysostom: "Lightning needs no herald, but in a moment is made manifest in chambers and in houses and throughout the whole world." — So will the Son of Man be in his day: the Gloss: "Sudden and flashing, so that no one may be permitted to hide in his own mind without being pierced by the splendor of the Judge." And note that the appearing of the Lord in judgment is compared to the flashing of lightning, because it is manifest: the Psalm: "God shall come manifestly, our God, and shall not keep silence"; because it is terrible: Ezekiel one: "This was the vision running to and fro, the splendor of fire, and lightning going forth from the fire"; because it is sudden: Isaiah twenty-nine: "And it shall be suddenly; by the Lord of hosts it shall be visited with thunder and earthquake and a great voice of whirlwind and tempest and the flame of devouring fire."
Therefore, just as it is foolish to be anxious at night about the appearing of the sun — when it will appear — since its rising can in no way be hidden, and it is even more foolish concerning the appearing of lightning: so too concerning the coming of that day, by inquiring into the certain moment of time, since it will become manifestly known to all, according to that passage of Revelation one: "Behold, he comes with clouds, and every eye shall see him" etc. And from this we can manifestly distinguish Christ from the antichrist, because the antichrist will not be able to make himself manifest to all in a moment of time.
43. (Vers. 25.). Second, as to the order of the appearing, he adds: But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. This is understood of Christ the head and the perfidious generation of the Jews, from whom he suffered many things, of whom Deuteronomy thirty-two says: "It is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children"; and Proverbs thirty: "A generation that curses its father, and that does not bless its mother." By this generation Christ suffered many reproaches, insults, blows, and torments, according to Isaiah fifty-three: "We esteemed him as a leper and struck by God and humiliated. But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins."
44. Now this passion began from the head and descended into all the members of Christ; when it is consummated, then the end will come and the time of the second advent. Whence the Gloss: " He must be rejected by this generation, not only of the Jews, but of all the reprobate, from whom Christ daily suffers in his body"; on account of which Paul also says in Colossians one: "I fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh for his body, which is the Church." - But when this passion in the body of Christ is consummated, nothing remains but glorification and full retribution; on account of which in Apocalypse six it is said to the Saints desiring the second stole: "Rest yet a little time, until the number of your brethren be fulfilled"; and Apocalypse seven: "Hurt not the earth nor the sea nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads." This is the sign of the living God, which is the sign of the cross, with which all the elect must be sealed; Ezekiel nine: "Mark thau upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and mourn"; and after: "Pass through the midst of the city and slay." "But everyone upon whom you see the thau, do not kill." - And note that the passion of the just precedes the reprobation of the reprobate, because justice is stirred to vengeance on account of the perfidy of supreme iniquity; Isaiah fifty-nine: "Judgment is turned back, and justice stood far off, because truth has fallen in the street, and equity could not enter. And truth has been given over to oblivion, and he that departed from evil lay open as prey: and the Lord saw, and it appeared evil in his eyes, because there is no judgment." "And he put on justice as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance and was clad as with a cloak of zeal, as for vengeance," etc.
45. (Vers. 26.). And as it was in the days etc. After he described the manner of appearing, here secondly he describes the manner of coming. The advent of Christ is described as sudden with respect to sinners through a twofold comparison and example. First indeed it is shown through a comparison on the part of the inundating flood: second, on the part of the consuming fire, at the passage: Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot. Concerning the comparison of the inundating flood, three things are introduced, namely the flood's figure, cause, and punishment. First therefore, as regards the figure of the flood itself, he says: And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. For this was fitting, because Noah bore the figure of Christ, who calls himself the Son of man: Noah is interpreted as rest, and in Christ alone is rest and peace. For, in Ephesians 2, "he is our peace, who has made both one"; and John 16: "In the world you shall have tribulation, but in me peace." Whence Augustine: "Restless is my heart, O Lord, until it rests in you." Therefore he himself says: "Take my yoke upon you, and you shall find rest for your souls."
46. Not only by name does he signify Christ, but also by deed. For just as Noah saved the seed of men through wood, so also Christ through the gibbet of the cross; Wisdom 14: "The hope of the world, fleeing to a raft, bequeathed to the age the seed of generation, which was governed by your hand. For blessed is the wood through which justice is done." Whence he also states beforehand: "Men entrust their souls to a small piece of wood," etc. And just as Noah built the ark, so also Christ built the Church, which is constructed after the manner of the ark from smooth timbers joined together with the pitch of charity, having upper rooms and third stories on account of the diversities of offices, grades, and dignities; Ephesians 4: "He himself gave some as Apostles, some indeed as Prophets, others as Evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ"; in which, that is, the length, breadth, and height of the ark shall be most nobly brought to completion. Likewise, just as those who were within the ark were saved, so those who are within the Church are saved through water and baptism; 1 Peter 3: "In the days of Noah, when the ark was being built, in which few, that is eight souls, were saved through water. Which also now, in a similar figure, saves you by baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ." And just as those who were outside the ark were destroyed, so all who are outside the Church shall be condemned through the final judgment; in designation of which, Acts 27, "Paul said: Unless these remain in the ship, you cannot be saved."
47. (Verse 27). Second, as to the cause of the flood, he adds: They were eating and drinking, marrying wives and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, that is, they were entirely devoted to the works of the flesh, and therefore were worthy to be corrupted and destroyed in their corruptible flesh. Hence the Gloss of Ambrose: "Neither marriages nor food are condemned, since in the former the supports of succession, and in the latter those of nature, are established; but the immoderate use of lawful things is reproved. For because by giving themselves entirely to these things they despised the judgments of God, they perished by fire or water." Hence in these acts their carnality is intimated, on account of which they were worthy of divine wrath; Genesis 6: "And when God saw that the earth was corrupt—for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth—he said to Noah: The end of all flesh has come before me; the earth is filled with iniquity, and I will destroy them with the earth." But their principal fault came from carnality, and he intimates this in the four acts which he touches upon: they were eating, that is, they were given over to feasting as gluttons, and therefore worthy of wrath; the Psalm: "While their food was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God ascended upon them." They were drinking, as drunkards, and therefore worthy of wrath, according to that passage of Proverbs 23: "Who has woe? Whose father has woe?" "Is it not those who linger over wine?" etc. Isaiah 5: "Woe to you who are mighty at drinking wine and valiant men at mixing drunkenness"; and [Isaiah] 22: "Behold, joy and gladness, eating flesh and drinking wine"; "and this voice was revealed in my ears: Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you until you die, says the Lord of hosts." They were marrying wives, as the lustful; Genesis 6: "And when men began to multiply upon the earth and had begotten children, the sons of God, seeing that the daughters of men were beautiful, took for themselves wives from all whom they had chosen." And there follows: "The Lord said: My spirit shall not remain in man, because he is flesh." And they were given in marriage, as the heedless, and therefore disposed to destruction, according to that passage of 1 Thessalonians 5: "When they shall say: Peace and security, then sudden destruction shall come upon them." Hence whoever is absorbed in these vices, it is necessary that he be engulfed by the flood; on account of which, 1 Thessalonians 5: "You, brothers, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." "Therefore let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober." But the manner is described in Romans 13: "The night has passed, and the day has drawn near. Let us therefore cast off" etc.; and after: "Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and wantonness." "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ."
48. Third, as regards the punishment of the flood, he adds: And the flood came and destroyed them all, namely those who were outside the ark, immediately after the entry of Noah, according to that passage in Genesis 7: "On that very day Noah entered the ark." "And the flood continued for forty days and forty nights," "and all flesh that moved upon the earth was consumed." Whence also in 2 Peter 2: "He did not spare the original world, but preserved Noah, the eighth person, a herald of justice, bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly." From this it is understood that the punishment of the future judgment will come upon those who are outside the Church of Christ, while nevertheless the few just are saved; for the Gloss says: "Noah builds the ark when the Lord gathers the faithful in the Church; which, once completed, he enters when he illuminates it by his presence on the day of judgment; but while the ark is being built, the wicked live in luxury, and when it is entered, they are punished with eternal damnation." Moreover, this is said to happen at the turning point of the day, because at the beginning of the eighth resurrection; whence the Psalm: "In the morning I shall stand before you and shall see, for you are not a God who wills iniquity; nor shall the malicious dwell near you, nor shall the unjust endure before your eyes"; and in 2 Peter 2: "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly from trial, but to reserve the wicked for the day of judgment to be tormented."
From this figurative example it appears, both from the allegorical signification and from the expressed similitude, that the day of judgment will come upon carnal and sensual men suddenly and for the universal destruction of those who are outside the unity of the Church; but to those who are in the ark, although it will come suddenly, it does no harm, because it finds them prepared. Whence below in chapter twenty-one: "Take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly. For as a snare it shall come upon all who sit upon the face of the whole earth," etc.
49. (Verse 28). Likewise, as it happened, etc. After the similitude taken from the flooding deluge, he introduces a similitude from the consuming fire; concerning which similitude three things are introduced, namely the demerit, the punishment, and the example of the Sodomites themselves.
First, as regards the demerit, he says: Likewise, as it happened in the days of Lot, namely, a just man. And note that in the description of the iniquity of the shameless people, the justice of the just man is set forth first, because from this their impiety appears more clearly, since a just man was among them; on account of which, Second Peter two: "He rescued just Lot, oppressed by the injury and wantonness of the wicked. For in sight and hearing he was just, dwelling among those who from day to day tormented his just soul with their wicked works." Whence, on account of the justice of the just man, the enormity of sin is aggravated in the impious. —As to which he adds: They were eating and drinking, namely the Sodomites, as wanton, like those of whom Exodus thirty-two says: "The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play"; and he does not add that they were marrying wives, as before, because they were not sinning according to nature, but against nature: Genesis thirteen: "The men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners before the Lord"; and in Genesis nineteen it is said that "they surrounded the house of Lot, from boy to old man, all the people together, and they called Lot and said to him: Where are the men who entered your house? Bring them out here, that we may know them."
They were buying and selling, as greedy: Ecclesiasticus twenty-seven: "He who seeks to become rich turns away his eye. As a stake is fixed in the midst of a joining of stones, so between buying and selling sin shall be pressed in." On account of which it is said against these in First Corinthians seven: "Those who buy, as though not possessing, and those who use this world, as though not using it; for the figure of this world passes away."
They were planting and building, as those who were secure, who expected to dwell in their houses and eat the fruit of their trees, like that rich man above in chapter twelve: "My soul, you have many goods laid up for many years." But the Lord said to him: "Fool, this night," etc. And therefore Amos five: "You shall build houses of hewn stone, and you shall not dwell in them; you shall plant most delightful vineyards, and you shall not drink the wine of them, because I know your many crimes." Therefore Isaiah five: "Woe to you who join house to house and unite field to field even to the end of the place!" Because therefore the Sodomites were both wanton and greedy and secure, therefore they were worthy of divine wrath: Ezekiel sixteen: "This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance, and the idleness of her and of her daughters; and they did not extend a hand to the needy and the poor."
50. (Verse 29). As to the second, regarding punishment, he adds: But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, through the equity of divine justice that delivers: Genesis 19: "The Angels seized the hand of Lot and the hand of his wife and the hand of his two daughters, because the Lord spared them. They led him out and placed him outside the city, and there they stationed themselves beside him, saying: Save your soul," etc.; and below in the same chapter: "The Lord delivered Lot from the overthrow of the cities in which he had dwelt." In this, Lot bears the type of the just, who go out from the midst of the wicked; whence the Gloss: "Lot, who is interpreted as turning aside, is the people of the elect, who, while dwelling in Sodom, that is, among the reprobate, as a stranger, turns aside from their crimes as much as he can"; and this according to that passage in 2 Corinthians 6: "Go out from the midst of them and be separated, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you and will be a father to you, and you shall be to me sons and daughters." Therefore divine justice delivered just Lot, and on the contrary destroyed the impious people.
And therefore he adds: It rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all, namely the Lord, through the severity of avenging justice: Genesis 19: "Therefore the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from heaven from the Lord, and he overthrew these cities and the entire surrounding region, all the inhabitants of the cities, and everything growing from the earth."