Revelation of John 8 · The Lantern

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

"And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour." Whereby is signified the beginning of everlasting rest; but it is described as partial, because the silence being interrupted, he repeats it in order. For if the silence had continued, here would be an end of his narrative.

Often the number of seven is taken by this saint to correspond to this age and the sabbath rest of the saints. Therefore, also here at the loosing of the seventh seal, the dissolution of the earthly city is signified, the seven angels administering the torments against those people who are deserving of chastisement or punishment.

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven, as it were for half an hour. Heaven, as we have often said, means the Church, which produces, as it were, silence for God when, through some of its members, it departs from the abundance of material things to seek the retreat of inner contemplation; but because this silence cannot be perfect in this life, it…

And I saw seven Angels standing in the sight of God. And seven trumpets were given to them.

In the seven angels we shall recognize again the church according to that rule that indicates that universality is often to be acknowledged in the number seven. [The church] is said to have received a most powerful trumpet of proclamation by which she is strong and by which, we believe, every age comes to faith. For we read, "Life up your voice like a trumpet."

And I saw seven angels standing before God, etc. The Church, often commended by the number seven, is devoted to the duty of preaching, the first trumpet signifying the common destruction of the impious by fire and hail; the second, the devil expelled from the Church, more fervently inflaming the sea of the world; the third, heretics falling away from the Church, corrupting the…

And I saw seven angels standing in the sight of God; and there were given to them seven trumpets. And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer.

And another Angel approached, and he stood before the altar, holding a golden censer. And much incense was given to him, so that he might offer upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God, the prayers of all the saints.

Now after the angel had finished these things, he said to the Shepherd, "I am going away, and you will send these away within the walls, according as each one is worthy to have his dwelling. And examine their branches carefully, and so dismiss them; but examine them with care.

The altar is said to be incense [λιβανωτὸν], as it receives the incense. When Christ appeared, as a kind of first fruits and precious offering, the prayers of the saints are presented to Him by the angels who oversee us. These prayers are naturally fragrant and become even more fragrant through the cooperation of the holy angels.

And there was given unto him much incense, etc. From the prayers of the saints he offered the incense. For to them the Church entrusted its prayers, saying: "Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight" (Psalm 140). It is said that he received from the prayers of the saints and offered it, because through him the prayers of all can sweetly reach God.

And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended, in the presence of God, from the hand of the Angel.

And the Angel received the golden censer, and he filled it from the fire of the altar, and he cast it down upon the earth, and there were thunders and voices and lightnings and a great earthquake.

The Lord received his body, that is, the church, and filled her with fire from the altar to accomplish the Father's will. This is to say that he filled [the church] with the power of loosing and of binding, which consists in sacrifices and the propitiation of God.

The prayers of the saints offered through an administering angel cause the censer filled with the avenging fire to be poured out upon the earth. This is just as it was revealed long ago to Ezekiel by one of the cherubim, that he should receive from such a fire and give it to the angels that they might send the fire for the punishment of the wicked inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it on the earth. The angel took the censer when the Lord joined human nature to himself within the Virgin's womb; or we may take it as referring to the body, when he first chose his disciples in Judea.

And the seven Angels who hold the seven trumpets prepared themselves, in order to sound the trumpet.

And the first Angel sounded the trumpet. And there came hail and fire, mixed with blood; and it was cast down upon the earth. And a third part of the earth was burned, and a third part of the trees was entirely burned up, and all the green plants were burned.

And the second Angel sounded the trumpet. And something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast down into the sea. And a third part of the sea became like blood.

He speaks of the devil as a burning mountain, for he consumed those near to him as though he were a fire. He is called "great" because he is one angel among others and is himself a creature.… He calls the world a "sea," in which he saw the devil who had been cast down from heaven as a burning fire.

We are aware that according to the opinion of some this shows the sea with those in it burning by a purifying fire after the resurrection. However, the mention of a third seems to us ill-suited for this interpretation. For, as it is said, those who are being punished are more than those being saved.

'On this, Caius the heretic objected to this revelation, and said that it is not possible that these things should be, inasmuch as as a thief that cometh in the night, so is the coming of the Lord [1 Thess. v. 2]. Hippolytus of Rome answered him, and said that, in like manner as God wrought signs such as these in Egypt, so is He to work when Christ appears.

And a third part of the creatures that were living in the sea died. And a third part of the ships were destroyed.

And the third Angel sounded the trumpet. And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch. And it fell upon a third part of the rivers and upon the sources of water.

The "great star" is the devil, of whom the Lord spoke in the Gospel, "I saw Satan fall from heaven as fire or lightning." It is possible that this passage also refers to ecclesiastical people, who living the spiritual life in the church, have become forgetful of themselves and like animals bend down to the things of the earth and fall from their positions of authority.

Some say that the bitterness revealed through the wormwood is symbolic of the torment that comes to those sinners being punished in Gehenna, who, on account of their number, are reasonably called "waters." But we think that these depictions signify the sufferings at the time, which has been shown.

And the third angel sounded the trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, as it were a burning torch. The Devil is called a star, whether because of the rank he first had or because he transformeth himself into an angel of light; [2 Cor. 11:14] a great star because he was given precedence over all other angels, and a burning torch because of the fervor of his evilness.

And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And a third part of the waters were turned into wormwood. And many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.

The rivers and fountains of waters signify the teachers of the divine Scriptures who instruct others but turn themselves away from the way of truth. Indeed, the name Wormwood indicates either the bitterness or the sweetness of sins, which give a present sweetness to those who desire them but afterwards change themselves into bitterness.

Since the ruin of those who are great often confuses many, it says that the star fell upon part of the rivers and fountains, and that its name was Wormwood because of its great bitterness. We know that many are weakened by the fall of such persons and are corrupted by an evil imitation of their teaching.

And the name of the star is called Wormwood. Because the Devil withdrew from the sweetness of truth to turn into the bitterness of falsehood, it is right for him to be allotted the name of Wormwood. Then, since a great many people perish from the examples of the wicked, it is fittingly said after that, and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

And the fourth Angel sounded the trumpet. And a third part of the sun, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars were struck, in such a way that a third part of them was obscured. And a third part of the day did not shine, and similarly the night.

And I saw, and I heard the voice of a lone eagle flying through the midst of heaven, calling with a great voice: “Woe, Woe, Woe, to the inhabitants of the earth, from the remaining voices of the three Angels, who will soon sound the trumpet!”

"And I saw an angel flying through the midst of heaven." By the angel flying through the midst of heaven is signified the Holy Spirit beating witness in two of the prophets that a great wrath of plagues was imminent. If by any means, even in the last times, any one should be willing to be converted, any one might even still be saved.

He speaks of an eagle that moves through the heavens in swift flight out of contempt for the earth. He speaks of the church flying in mid-heaven, for she is going to possess the whole world, and she says, "Our abode is in the heavens." And he rightly says that she was "in the middle," for "all who are around him offer gifts," and God works his way in the midst and "works salvat…

And I beheld, and heard the voice of one eagle flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth: by reason of the rest of the voices of the trumpets of the three angels, who were yet to sound the trumpet. John as well as the eagle and the angels bear the symbol of the Church.

Revelation of John8