CHAPTER 7
Revelation 7:1-8 After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “[Do not harm the earth] 1 or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed: one hundred and forty-four thousand from every tribe of the sons of Israel. Then he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of every tribe, twelve thousand sealed from each tribe.”
From here, the events that occurred to the Jews in the war against the Romans are clearly shown to the evangelist, which became a cause for them regarding the cross and the mockery against the Lord.
For the four angels who hold the four corners of the land of the Jews guarded so that none of the Jews worthy of death might escape, perhaps casting into them cowardice of flight or some difficulty or a longing for a foreign land and for their wives and loved ones, which is figuratively indicated by the holding of the four corners of Judea.
As for the control of the four winds , which means that neither on the earth nor at sea nor upon any tree should they blow, it signifies that no relief or interval could be found for them in war, nor any easing of their hardships, neither for those fighting on land nor for those engaged in naval battles. For many naval battles were fought during the time of Josephus, nor did those attending to agriculture and the care of plants escape this fate. For all were utterly overtaken by calamities: cities set on fire, land ravaged, and crops destroyed. Josephus thoroughly details all these events in his account of the siege of Jerusalem 2 .
Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “ Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until the servants of our God have been sealed.” The divine angel is said to come from the east , where the sun rises, but not from the west or the evening, symbolizing announcing of the Gospel and promises of blessings.
But now the seal is set, and the prophet, foreseeing in spirit, said: “The light of your face, Lord, has been marked upon us.” (Ps. 4:6) It is well, then, that no one be wronged until those worthy of salvation among the Jews are sealed, so that the righteous do not suffer alongside the unwilling sinners.
And he says that one hundred and forty thousand were sealed ; for many were those who believed in Christ from among the Jews, who owed their salvation from the common destruction to this number. And those who spoke with Paul in Jerusalem bear witness: “Look, brother, how many myriads of Jews have believed.” (Acts 21:20)
Oecumenius commentary on Acts 21:20
“Look, brother, how many myriads.” They advise, they do not impose this on those around James; therefore they persuade. For it was an act of accommodation, not of legislation. Therefore this was not a limitation of the preaching, but accommodation. For those in Jerusalem who had believed from among the Jews wished still to observe the legal customs.
It was not only reasonable to spare the faithful but also those who, in ignorance and deception, cooperated with the crucifixion of the Lord, concerning whom He said: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) Cyril 3 , in his thirteenth book Against Julian, states that this prayer of the Lord is not found in the Gospels according to the pagans, but it is indeed present among us. And not only these individuals but also those who were not present at that time, or who were residing in Jerusalem, and therefore did not partake in the impious counsel of the accursed chief priests regarding the crucifixion, or even those who were present but did not share in the guilt of the pollution, for He blessed all under heaven, having opposed or rejected the godless council of the lawless; all of whom it was reasonable to be later sealed by the faith of Christ. For the angel would not have otherwise called them servants of God; of whom, when some were preserved, the rest, being evil, defected even to the Romans and were thoroughly corrupted, “becoming a spectacle to the world and to angels and men” (1 Cor. 4:9) in a different manner, and not as Paul spoke concerning the divine apostles. Of these, again Josephus 4 is a witness, enumerating the greatest number, tens of thousands, due to the famine.
The equality is according to the number of those sealed and also those who have believed from each tribe . It hints at an equal zeal and a unanimous confession of faith, even if from this tribe more were saved and believed in Christ, and from another fewer, He who was dishonored by the Jews; but by us and indeed by all the heavenly creation is now worshiped, always and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
[Fifth Discourse]
These things, which the discourse has narrated, have been demonstrated to the divine evangelist concerning those sealed from Israel by blood and therefore saved, and also those who have believed. But so that nothing may be lacking in his vision, the prophecy reveals to him the countless myriads of the nations, who after these things run to faith, being present both around the Lord and at the divine throne. For since the Lord is said to arrive at the second coming, which has not yet been announced in the vision, the saints are then “caught up in clouds” to meet the Savior, as the divine apostle has previously described them being caught up. (1 Thess. 4:17)
Oecumenius commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4:17
“On the clouds.” On the vehicle of God. For even Christ was taken up by a cloud. If he is about to come, why then are the faithful seized? So that they may meet him, it is an honor. Just as when a king enters a city, some meet him with honor while the condemned remain inside awaiting the judge, so then the righteous are seized, while the sinners, even if they are believers, remain.
The vision also shows that they have attained the blessedness reserved for them. For what could be more worthy than to be with Christ and to behold the divine throne? Behold what he says:
Revelation 7:9-17 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could number, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne.” And all the holy angels 5 stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders spoke and said to me, saying, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where did they come from?” I said to him, “my lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation; they have washed 6 their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and worship Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
The countless myriads of the nations, therefore, who have received the faith of Christ and have attained the blessed end, have inherited the glorious place, standing before the Lord and His Father's throne, as was said before.
It is necessary for them to be clothed in white robes , a sign of the purity existing in their life.
The palm branches , being symbols of victory, are said to boast of the victory of Christ both over the invisible enemies and the visible ones.
They proclaim: " Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb ," acknowledging that salvation is with them, confessing that those sealed as servants of God have been preserved from the total destruction of the world.
When the thanksgiving had been made, the liturgical orders in heaven, together with the elders , responded with " Amen ," applying their own consent to the things that had been said.
Then also the divine angels themselves bring a hymn to God, honoring Him with seven praises, which, as mentioned before, signifies the unending praise of the angels’ glorification; for the number seven is perfect.
And one of the elders asking the evangelist who those from the nations were, who were clothed in white robes , was not out of ignorance, but rather to provoke him to understand the matters concerning them.
Therefore, he says that these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation ; for the righteous did not only endure a considerable struggle but also a very great one under the dominion of the Antichrist.
And it says that they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb ; indeed, it was more fitting for the robes dyed in blood to become crimson rather than white. How then have they become white? Because baptism, which is accomplished through the death of the Lord, as it seems to the most wise Paul (Rom. 6:3), acts as a cleanser of all impurity arising from sin, rendering those who are baptized in it white and pure.
Oecumenius commentary on Romans 6:3
“We were baptized into his death.” To die a death like his, or to be shown to have died completely and most beneficially, this is accomplished through baptism. For when we are baptized we put off sins, which the death of Christ began to effect. For he died also for our sins, wishing to set us free from them. Thus the death of Christ effected the putting off and the mortifying of sins, and in so far as it could it bore the whole burden. What remains is only our faith and perception and will. These things are manifested through baptism; as it is performed, the death of Christ becomes all the more apparent in how it purchased salvation. Therefore he rightly says, “We were baptized into his death,” as if into dying a death like his, burying sins by baptism, and that the profit of his saving death should be shown most clearly through all things, and that by baptism we should introduce our mind and will and faith toward the completion of salvation. He uses a more admonishing tone to explain how we die to sin, and says: “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” For baptism imitates death; for this is what it signifies, “We were baptized into his death.” Even if baptism is not a bodily death, it is nevertheless a death to sins. “Through baptism into death.” Since in being baptized we confess that we have died to the world and renounce sin and the Devil.
But also the partaking of the life-giving blood of Christ grants this: for the Lord says that it is poured out for many and for the forgiveness of many concerning His own blood. (Matt. 26:28)
These, therefore, worship God forever; and God dwells among them. One of the saints said that the dwelling of God is the unceasing remembrance of Him that remains in the souls of the saints; therefore, God reasonably dwells there. They worship Him day and night .
They will hunger no more, neither thirst anymore ; for previously, those from the nations came through every kind of trial. But now they will be satisfied with the countless blessings.
Nor will the sun strike them anymore , he says. The temptation of the sun is interpreted in various ways in the Holy Scripture; in one instance, the prophet says that “the sun will not harm you by day, nor will the moon by night,” (Ps. 120:6) while in another, the evangelist writes that when the sun shone, it dried up the seeds that had sprouted in the rocky ground (Matt. 13:5), interpreting the sun as a temptation. He therefore says in the present passage that no trial would harm them any longer; for they are deemed worthy by Christ to be shepherded and to be nourished at the springs of living water.
And God says He will wipe away every tear from their eyes . For those who have therefore lived and struggled with gentleness owe no useless tears, nor “weeping or gnashing of teeth,” (Matt. 13:42, 50; 24:51) but all things are good and extraordinary.
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Translator’s notes for chapter 7.
1. In the manuscripts of the commentary by Oecumenius, there is a gap (lacuna) in the Scripture text. The missing section reads, “Do not harm the earth”, but I added it to avoid confusion.
2. Josephus, The Jewish War 5.567-69; 6.420-25.
3. Cyril of Alexandria, Against Julian 13. Note, some early manuscripts, including P75 (dated approx. AD 175–225) and Codex Vaticanus (4th century), omit the verse.
4. Josephus, The Jewish War 5.567-69.
5. “ And all the angels ”. The primary reading in the critical text reads, “and the holy ones of the elders”. There are other Oecumenius manuscripts that reads “and the angels”, that being, 203 (Salonika) and 240 (Athos). In this instance I chose to use the reading in a couple of later manuscripts instead of the reading found in some of the earlier manuscripts, simply because it is the correct reading and in my opinion, it is probably what Oecumenius originally wrote. Older manuscripts do not always equal the correct readings in all cases.
6. “ they have washed their robes ”. Like pointed out in note 5, the primary reading chosen by the editor of the critical text chose to use a variant reading different than the correct reading found in the manuscripts of the book of Revelation. The primary reading in the critical text reads “they have enlarged their robes”. Which means that the older manuscript reading has ἐπλάτυναν, while to correct reading is ἔπλυναν, which means “washed.” ἐπλάτυναν is an obvious scribal error because even when Oecumenius comments on it he uses “washed” [ἔπλυναν],not “enlarged” [ἐπλάτυναν]. The manuscripts with the correct reading is 203 (Salonika) and 240 (Athos). Using an obvious scribal error simply because it is in an older manuscript is astonishing to me.