Revelations of St. John the Theologian. Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills
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Chapter 21
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them; they will be His people, and God Himself with them will be their God.
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more; there will be no more mourning, no outcry, no sickness, for the former has passed away.
5 And he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he says to me: write; for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said to me, It is done! I am Alpha and Omega, beginning and end; to the thirsty I will give freely from the source of living water.
7 He who overcomes shall inherit all, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their fate is in the lake burning with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.
9 And one of the seven angels came to me, who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, and said to me, Come, I will show you a wife, the bride of the Lamb.
10 And he lifted me up in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem, which descended from heaven from God.
11 He has the glory of God. It shone like a precious stone, like a crystal-like jasper stone.
12 He has a great and high wall, has twelve gates, and twelve angels are on them; The names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel are written on the gate:
13 Three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
14 The wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
15 He who spoke to me had a golden reed to measure the city, and its gates, and its walls.
16 The city is located in a quadrangle, and its length is the same as its breadth. And he measured the city with a reed twelve thousand stadia; its length and breadth and height are equal.
17 And he measured its wall to a hundred and forty-four cubits, with the measure of a man, as is the measure of an angel.
18 Its wall was built of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like pure glass.
19 The foundations of the city wall are decorated with all sorts of precious stones: base first jasper, second sapphire, third chalcedon, fourth emerald,
20 the fifth is sardonyx, the sixth is carnelian, the seventh is chrysolite, the eighth is viril, the ninth is topaz, the tenth is chrysoprase, the eleventh is hyacinth, the twelfth is amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: each gate was of one pearl. The street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty is its temple, and the Lamb.
23 And the city has no need of the sun or the moon to light it up, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
24 The saved nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honor into it.
25 Its gates will not be locked by day; and there will be no night.
26 And they will bring into it the glory and honor of the nations.
27 And nothing unclean will enter into it, and no one given over to abomination and falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The revelation of John describes the events that will precede the second appearance of Jesus on earth, the appearance of the messiah and life after the Second Coming. It was the description of the events before the Second Coming, and in particular various cataclysms, that led to the modern use of the word APOCALYPSE in the meaning of the end of the world.
Authorship, time and place of writing the Apocalypse.
In the text, the author refers to himself as John. There are two versions of authorship. The most popular of them (traditional) attributes the authorship of Revelation to John the Theologian. In favor of the fact that the author was John the Theologian, the following facts speak:
- Four times in the text the author identifies himself as John;
- It is known from apostolic history that John the Theologian was imprisoned on the island of Patmos;
- The similarity of some characteristic expressions with the Gospel of John.
- Patristic studies confirm the authorship of John the Theologian.
Many modern researchers, however, dispute the traditional version, citing the following arguments:
- The difference between the language and style of the Apocalypse and the language and style of the Gospel written by John the Theologian;
- The difference between the problems of the Apocalypse and
The difference in the language can be explained by the fact that, although John knew the Greek language, but, being in captivity, far from the living spoken Greek language, naturally, being a natural Jew, he wrote under the influence of the Hebrew language.
It should be said that, refuting the traditional authorship, these researchers do not offer any reasoned alternative opinion. The difficulty lies in the fact that there were several Johns in the apostolic environment, and which of them the Revelation was written is not yet possible. The mention by the author himself in the text of the fact that he received a vision on the island of Patmos, the author of the Apocalypse is sometimes called John of Patmos. The Roman presbyter Caius believed that Revelation was created by the heretic Cerinth.
As for the date of writing the Revelation of John the Theologian, the fact that Papias of Hierapolis was familiar with the text indicates that the Apocalypse was written no later than the 2nd century. Most modern researchers consider the time of writing 81 - 96 years. Revelation 11 speaks of a "dimension" of the temple. This fact leads researchers to an earlier dating - 60 years. However, most believe that these lines are not factual, but symbolic in nature and attribute the writing to the end of the reign of Domitian (81 - 96 years). This version is supported by the fact that the Revelation came to the author on the island of Patmos, and it was there that Domitian exiled people who were objectionable to him. Moreover, the end of the reign of Domitian is characterized as a difficult time of persecution of Christians, most likely it was in such an environment that the Apocalypse was written. Saint John himself points to the purpose of writing Revelation - "to show what must soon be." The author shows and predicts the triumph of the Church and Faith. It was at the time of sorrow and severe trials that such a work was needed as support and consolation in the struggle for the truth of the Christian faith.
When and how did the Apocalypse of John the Theologian enter the canon of the New Testament?
As we said earlier, the first mention of the Revelation of John the Theologian falls on the second century. The Apocalypse is mentioned in the works of Tertullian, Irenaeus, Eusebius, Clement of Alexandria and others. However, the text of Revelation remained uncanonized for a long time. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Gregory the Theologian opposed the canonization of the Apocalypse of John. The canon of the Bible, approved by the Council of Laodicea in 364, did not include the Apocalypse. Only at the end of the 4th century, thanks to the authority of the opinion of Athanasius the Great, who insisted on the canonization of the Revelation of John, did the Apocalypse enter the New Testament canon by decision of the Council of Hippo in 383. This decision was confirmed and enshrined at the Council of Carthage in 419.
Ancient manuscripts of the Apocalypse.
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The oldest version of the manuscript of the Revelation of John dates from the middle of the third century. This is the so-called third papyrus Chester Beatty or papyrus P47. third papyrus Chester Beatty contains 10 of the 32 leaves of the Revelation of John.
The text of the Revelation of John the Theologian is also contained in the Codex Sinaiticus. In total, about 300 manuscripts of the Apocalypse are known today. Not all of them contain the full version of Revelation. The Apocalypse is the least documented book in the Old Testament.
How is the Revelation of John the Evangelist used in Divine Services?
Due to the fact that the Revelation of John was relatively late included in the canon, it was practically not used in the divine services of the Eastern Church. This is one of the reasons for the small number of manuscripts of the Apocalypse mentioned earlier in the article.
According to the Jerusalem Rule (Typicon), which establishes the order Orthodox divine services, the reading of the Revelation is prescribed at the “great readings” at all-night vigils. IN Catholicism The Apocalypse is read during the Easter period at Sunday masses. Songs from revelation are also included in the "Liturgy of the Hours"
However, it should be noted that in real life Apocalypse almost never not used at worship services.
Revelation of John the Evangelist - interpretation
In the text of the Apocalypse, John the Theologian describes the revelation he received in visions. The visions describe the birth of the Antichrist, the Second Coming of Christ, the end of the world and the Last Judgment. The figurative side of the text is rich and varied. Images of the Apocalypse have become very popular in world culture. In the Revelation of John the Theologian, the number of the beast is mentioned - 666. Many images were borrowed by the author from Old Testament prophecies. Thus, the author emphasizes the continuity of the Old and New Testaments. The Apocalypse ends with a prophecy about the victory of God over the Devil.
The Apocalypse of John the Theologian gave rise to a huge number of points of view and attempts at interpretation and explanation. So, for example, there is an attempt to explain the Revelation from the point of view of astronomy in the book by N.A. Morozov “Revelation in Thunderstorm and Storm”. Attempts to interpret the Revelation are multiplied in terrible times for mankind - in times of upheavals, disasters and wars.
The sequence of visions and their interpretation.
The mysterious nature of the Revelation of John the Theologian, on the one hand, complicates its understanding and interpretation, and, on the other hand, attracts inquisitive minds trying to decipher the mysterious visions.
Vision 1 (Chapter 1). The Son of Man with seven stars in his hands, who is in the midst of the seven candlesticks.
Interpretation. The loud trumpet voice that John heard belonged to the Son of God. He calls himself in Greek Alpha and Omega. This naming emphasizes that the Son, like the Father, contains all that exists. He stood in the midst of the seven lampstands, which personified the seven churches. The revelation of John the Theologian is given to the seven churches that at that time constituted the Ephesian Metropolis. The number seven in those days had a special mystical meaning, meaning completeness. Thus, it can be said that Revelation was given to all Churches.
The Son of Man was dressed in a cape and girded with a golden sash. Podir symbolizes high priestly dignity, and the golden belt - royal. His white hair personifies wisdom and old age, thereby indicating his unity with God the Father. The fiery flame in the eyes says that nothing is hidden from His gaze. His feet from Chalcolivan are shown at the union in Him of the human and the divine. Halkolivan is an alloy in which the khalk (presumably copper) marks the human principle, and the Lebanon - the divine.
The Son of Man held seven stars in his hands. The seven stars symbolized the seven bishops of the seven churches that at that time constituted the Metropolis of Ephesus. The vision means that Jesus holds the Church and the shepherds in his hands. Christ appears as King, and Priest, and Judge—as he will be at His Second Coming.
The Son of Man, who appeared, orders John to write down everything that appears in visions, as it should be.
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Vision 2(Chapters 4 - 5). Ascension of John to the heavenly throne. Vision of the One seated on the throne, surrounded by 24 elders and 4 animals.
Interpretation. Entering the door of heaven, John sees God the Father on the throne. Its appearance is like precious stones - green (the personification of life), yellow-red (the personification of purity and holiness, as well as God's wrath towards sinners). The combination of colors indicates that God punishes sinners, but forgives and gives life to the penitent. The combination of these colors predicts the Last Judgment as destruction and renewal.
24 elders in white robes and golden crowns are representatives of humanity who pleased the Lord. Probably these are 12 representatives of the Old Testament history and 12 Christ's apostles. The white color of the clothes represents purity and innocence. Golden crowns symbolize victory over demons.
Around the throne are burning "seven candlesticks". These are the seven angels or the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The sea in front of the throne - quiet and clean - symbolizes the souls of the righteous, living by the gifts of God's grace.
The four animals represent the four elements over which the Lord rules - earth, heaven, sea and the underworld. According to another version, these are angelic forces.
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Vision 3(Chapters 6 - 7). The opening of the seven seals from the sealed book by the Lamb that was slain.
Interpretation: The Lord, sitting on the throne, held in his hand a Book sealed with seven seals. This book symbolizes God's wisdom and God's Providence. The seals represent the impossibility of a person to comprehend all the plans of the Lord. According to another understanding, the Book is a prophecy that was partially fulfilled in the Gospel, and the rest will be fulfilled in the last days.
One of the Angels is calling for someone to open the book, removing the seals. However, there is no one worthy "neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth" who could break the seals. One of the elders said that "The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, ... can open this book and break its seven seals." These lines are about Jesus, who appeared in the form of a lamb with seven horns and eyes. Only he, who sacrificed himself for humanity, was worthy to know the wisdom of God. The seven eyes symbolize the seven spirits of God, as well as the omniscience of God. The Lamb stood next to God, where a son of God should have stood.
When the lamb picked up the book, 24 elders in white robes and 4 animals sang a hitherto unheard-of song in which they glorified the coming of the new Kingdom of the Son of God, in which He reigned as the God-man.
Let's talk now about the seven seals and their meaning.
- Removal of the first seal. The first seal is a white horse with a victorious rider holding a bow. The white horse symbolizes the activity of the holy apostles, who sent their forces (bow) against the demons in the form of Gospel sermons.
- Removal of the second seal. The second seal is a red horse with a rider who took peace from the earth. This seal represents the rebellion of the infidels against the believers.
- Removal of the third seal. The third seal is a black horse with a rider. This is the personification of unsteady faith and rejection of Christ. According to another version, the black horse symbolizes hunger.
- Opening of the fourth seal. The fourth seal is a pale horse with a rider named "death". The seal personifies the manifestation of the wrath of God, including the prediction of future disasters.
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- The removal of the fifth seal. Fifth seal - those killed for the Word of God put on white clothes. The souls of the affected righteous are under the altar of the Heavenly Temple. The prayer of the righteous sounds like a harbinger of retribution for everyone's sins. The white robes worn by the righteous symbolize virtue and purity of faith.
- The breaking of the sixth seal. The Sixth Seal is the day of wrath, natural disasters and horrors before the end of the world.
- The removal of the seventh seal. After the opening of the seventh seal, complete silence reigned in heaven for half an hour.
Vision 4(Chapters 8 - 11). Seven Angels with seven trumpets.
Interpretation. After the opening of the seventh seal, silence reigned in heaven, which was the calm before the storm. Soon seven angels appeared with seven trumpets. These angels are the punishers of the human race. The angels blew their trumpets and unleashed the seven great plagues on mankind.
- The first angel - hail with fire falls to the Earth, as a result of which a third of the trees disappear, all the grass burns, including all the bread.
- The second angel, a mountain burning with fire, was cast into the sea; as a result of this disaster, a third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the ships and a third of the creatures of the sea perished.
- The third angel is the fall of a star from the sky. A third of the rivers and water sources are poisoned and many will die drinking this water.
- The fourth angel - the third part of the sun, moon and stars went out (eclipsed). The day was reduced by a third, which led to crop failures and famine.
- The fifth angel is the fall of a star from the sky and the appearance of locusts. For five months, locusts tormented people who did not have the seal of God. This locust looks like a man, has female hair and lion's teeth. According to many interpretations of the Revelation of John, this locust symbolizes the sinfulness of human passions.
- The sixth angel is the appearance of four angels connected at the Euphrates River. Angels exterminate a third of the people. After that, a cavalry army appears, whose horses have the heads of a lion and the tails of snakes. Four Angels - crafty demons.
- The seventh angel, most likely Christ himself, descends from heaven to earth. A rainbow is above his head, and in his hands is an open book, which was recently sealed with seven seals. The angel has one foot on the ground, the other on the sea. The angel speaks of the end of time and the reign of eternity.
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Vision 5(Chapter 12). The red serpent pursues the woman clothed in the sun. War between Michael and the beast in heaven.
Interpretation. Under the wife clothed in the sun, some interpreters of the Apocalypse of John the Theologian understand the Most Holy Theotokos, but most see in this image the Church, clothed in the radiance of the Word of God.
The moon under the feet of the wife is a symbol of constancy. The crown of twelve stars on the head of the wife is a sign that she was originally assembled from the 12 tribes of Israel, and subsequently led by 12 Apostles. The wife experiences birth pangs - that is, those difficulties in affirming God's will.
A great red serpent appears with seven heads and ten horns. This is the devil himself. Seven heads mean great ferocity, ten horns mean anger directed against the 10 commandments, and red means bloodthirstiness. The crown on each of the heads indicates that before us is the ruler of the dark kingdom. According to some interpretations of the Apocalypse, the seven crowns symbolize the seven rulers who rebelled against the Church. The tail of the serpent swept away a third of all the stars from the sky - that is, it led sinners to a spiritual fall.
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The serpent wants to steal the child that is to be born to his wife. A wife gives birth to a son, as the Church daily gives birth to Christ for believers. The child goes to heaven to God, and the wife flees into the desert. In this prophecy, many see a description of the flight of Christians from Jerusalem besieged by the Romans to the Jordanian desert.
What follows is a description of the battle between Michael and his angels and the serpent. Under the image of this battle, many see the confrontation between Christianity and paganism. The serpent was defeated, but not destroyed. He stayed on the ground and pursued his wife. The woman was given two wings - the Old and the New Testament, with the help of which she is transferred to the desert, probably, here the desert of the spirit is meant. The serpent lets out a river from his mouth, wanting to drown his wife. But the earth opened up and swallowed up the river. The river here symbolizes the temptations that the believer must resist. According to another version, these are terrible persecutions of the Christian church, characteristic of the time of writing the Apocalypse of John the Theologian.
Angered, the serpent unleashed its fury on the seeds of the wife. This is a symbol of the endless struggle of Christianity with sinfulness.
Vision 6(Chapter 13). A beast with seven heads and ten horns comes out of the sea. Appearance of a beast with lamb horns. The number of the beast.
Interpretation. The beast coming out of the sea is the Antichrist coming out of the sea of life. It follows from this that the Antichrist is a product of the human race, he is a man. Therefore, one should not confuse the devil and the Antichrist, these are different concepts. The Antichrist, like the devil, has seven heads. Ten heads with crowns indicate that the Antichrist will have power on earth, which he will receive with the help of the devil. Mankind will try to rise up against the Antichrist, but then he will reign over the world. The power of the Antichrist will last 42 months.
Another beast described in the Revelation of John the Theologian is a beast with lamb horns. This is a symbolic representation of false prophetic activity. This beast emerges from the earth. The Beast will show false miracles to humanity, using deception.
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All who worship the Antichrist will have the name of the Antichrist written on their face or on their right hand. The name of the Antichrist and "the number of his name" cause a lot of controversy and interpretation. His number is 666. His name is unknown, but in different eras interpreters attributed his name to different historical figures trying to link the name and number of the beast.
Vision 7(Chapter 14). Apparition of the Lamb on Mount Zion. Appearance of angels.
Interpretation. After a vision of the reign of the Antichrist on earth, John raises his eyes to heaven and sees a lamb standing on Mount Sinai surrounded by 144,000 of God's chosen ones from all nations. The name of God is written on their face. They are joined by a host of people playing the harp "a new song" about redemption and renewal.
Next, John sees Three angels soaring in the sky. The first angel proclaimed the “eternal gospel” to people, the second one heralds the fall of Babylon (this is a symbol of the kingdom of sin), the third one threatens with eternal torment those who serve the Antichrist.
Looking at the sky, John sees the Son of God in a golden crown and with a sickle in his hand. Angels announce the beginning of the harvest. The Son of God throws the sickle on the ground and the harvest begins - it also symbolizes the end of the world. An angel reaps grapes. By bunches of grapes are meant the most dangerous enemies of the Church. Wine flowed from the grapes and the rivers of grapes reached the horse's bridles.
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Vision 8 ( Chapters 15 - 19). Seven bowls of wrath.
Interpretation. After the harvest, John in his Revelation describes a vision of a sea of glass mingled with fire. The Sea of Glass represents the pure souls of those who survived the harvest. Fire can be understood as the grace of the Life-Giving Spirit. John hears "the song of Moses" and "the song of the Lamb".
After that, the gates of the heavenly temple were opened and seven angels in white robes came out and received from 4 animals seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of the Lord. Angels are instructed by God to pour out the seven bowls before the final judgment on the living and the dead.
The seven bowls of wrath are reminiscent of the Plagues of Egypt, which were a prototype of the massacre of the false Christian kingdom.
- The first angel poured out the cup - and an epidemic of disgusting sores began.
- The second angel poured the cup into the sea, and the water became like the blood of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died.
- The third angel poured the cup into the rivers and springs of water - and all the water turned into blood.
- The fourth angel poured out a bowl on the sun - and the sun burned people. Under this solar heat, the interpreters of the Revelation of John the Theologian understand the heat of temptations and temptations.
- The fifth angel poured out a cup on the throne of the beast - and his kingdom was darkened. Adherents of the Antichrist bit their tongues in suffering, but did not repent.
- The sixth angel poured out the bowl into the Euphrates, and the water dried up in the river. The Euphrates River has always been the natural defense of the Roman Empire from the attacks of the peoples of the East. The drying up of the Euphrates symbolizes the emergence of a path for the soldiers of the Lord.
- With the outpouring of the last cup, the realm of the beast will be finally smitten. John Describes the Fall of Babylon, the Great Whore
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Vision 9. Last Judgment (Chapter 20)
In this chapter, John describes visions related to the history of the Church. He speaks of the general resurrection and the terrible judgment.
Vision 10(Chapters 21-22). New Jerusalem.
John was shown the greatness of the new Jerusalem - the Kingdom of Christ, which will reign after the victory over the devil. In the new kingdom there will be no sea - for the sea is a symbol of impermanence. In the new world there will be no hunger, no disease, no tears.
Only those who win in the confrontation with the demons will get into the new Kingdom, others will be condemned to eternal torment.
The church appeared before John in the form of a beautiful city descending from the heavens of Jerusalem. There is no visible temple in the city, since the city itself is a temple. The heavenly city does not need consecration also because God lives in it.
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The Apocalypse of St. John the Theologian is the logical conclusion of the New Testament cycle. From the historical books of the New Testament, believers can learn about the foundation and development of the Church. From law-positive books - a guide to life in Christ. The Apocalypse prophesies about the future of the Church and the world.
The Revelation of John the Evangelist is the last book of the Bible. Its author was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ - the Apostle John. He wrote it around the 90s from being in exile on the island of Patmos.
Revealing God's Mystery
Sometimes this book is called the Apocalypse, because that is how the word "Revelation" sounds in translation from the Greek language. It would be a mistake to think that God's Revelation is contained only in this final book of Holy Scripture. The entire Bible is an initiation into the mysteries of God's plan. The last book is the completion, the generalization of all Divine truths "sown" in the very first biblical book - Genesis, and consistently developing in subsequent chapters of the Old, and especially
Prophecy in Scripture
The Revelation of John the Evangelist is also a book of prophecies. The visions that the author received from Christ are mainly of the future. Although in the eyes of God, who exists outside of time, all these events have already happened and are shown to the seer. Therefore, the narration is conducted with the help of past tense verbs. This is important if you read Revelation not out of idle curiosity for predictions, but as part of the Church of Christ, which finally defeated Satan here and became a magnificent New Jerusalem. Believers can gratefully exclaim, “Praise the Lord! Everything has already happened.”
Summary of the Revelation of St. John the Theologian
The final book of the Bible tells how the Antichrist (the incarnation of Satan) was born on earth, how the Lord Jesus Christ came a second time, how a battle took place between them, and God's enemy was thrown into the lake of fire. The Revelation of John the Theologian tells how the end of the world and the judgment of all people happened, and how the Church became free from grief, sin and death.
seven churches
John's first vision was of the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) in the midst of seven golden candlesticks that symbolize the seven churches. Through the mouth of John, God addresses each of them, characterizing its essence and giving it promises. These seven represent the one Church at different times of its existence. The first, Ephesus, is its initial stage, the second - in Smyrna - characterizes the Christian church during the period of persecution, the third, Pergamon, corresponds to the times when God's assembly became too worldly. The fourth - in Thyatira - personifies the church, which has apostatized from God's truths, which has turned into an administrative apparatus. Bible scholars say it is consistent with the medieval Roman Catholic religious system. While the fifth church in Sardis commemorates the Reformation, Philadelphia's congregation symbolizes the return to the truth that all who are redeemed by the blood of Christ are members of His universal Church. The seventh, Laodicean, represents the time when the believers "faded" in their zeal, became: "not cold and not hot." Christ is sick of such a church, he is ready to “spew it out of his mouth” (Rev. 3:16).
Who is around the throne
From the fourth chapter, the Revelation of John the Theologian (Apocalypse) tells about the throne seen in heaven with the Lamb (Jesus Christ) sitting on it, surrounded by 24 elders and 4 animals worshiping Him. The elders denote angels, and the animals denote living beings on earth. One who looks like a lion symbolizes wild animals, like a calf - livestock. The one with the "face of a man" represents humanity, while the one like an eagle represents the bird kingdom. There are no reptiles and animals that live in the water, because in the coming kingdom of God they will not be either. The Redeemer is worthy to remove the seven seals from the scroll sealed for the time being.
Seven seals and seven trumpets
The first seal: a white horse with a rider symbolizes the gospel. The second seal - a red horse with a rider means countless wars. The third - a black horse and its rider portend famine times, the fourth - a pale horse with its rider denote the spread of death. The fifth seal is the cry of the martyrs for vengeance, the sixth is anger, sorrow, a warning to the living. And finally, the seventh seal is opened with silence, and then with a loud praising of the Lord and the fulfillment of His plan. Seven angels sounded seven trumpets, judging the earth, waters, luminaries, living people. The seventh trumpet proclaims the eternal kingdom of Christ, the judgment of the dead, the reward of the prophets.
great drama
From the 12th chapter, the Revelation of John the Theologian shows the events that are destined to happen next. The apostle sees a Woman clothed in the sun, who is tormented in childbirth, she is pursued by a Woman - a prototype of the church, a child - Christ, a dragon - Satan. The child is raptured to God. There is a war between the devil and the archangel Michael. God's enemy is cast down to earth. The dragon drives the woman and others "out of her seed."
Three harvests
Then the seer tells about two beasts that appeared from the sea (Antichrist) and from the earth (False Prophet). This is an attempt by the devil to seduce those who live on earth. The deceived people take the number of the beast - 666. Further, it is said about three symbolic harvests, personifying one hundred and forty-four thousand righteous uplifted to God before the beginning of the great tribulation, the righteous who heeded the gospel during the tribulation and were raptured to God for it. The third harvest is the pagans thrown into the "pressure of the wrath of God." Angels appear, carrying the Gospel to the people, announcing the fall of Babylon (a symbol of sin), warning those who worship the beast and accepted its seal.
End of old times
These visions are followed by images of the seven bowls of wrath being poured out on the unrepentant Earth. Satan deceives sinners to go to battle with Christ. Armageddon takes place - the last battle, after which the "ancient serpent" is thrown into the abyss and imprisoned there for a thousand years. Then John shows how the chosen saints rule the earth together with Christ for a thousand years. Then Satan is released to deceive the nations, there is the last rebellion of people who did not submit to God, the judgment of the living and the dead, and the final death of Satan and his followers in the lake of fire.
God's plan fulfilled
The New Heaven and the New Earth are presented in the last two chapters of the Revelation of John the Theologian. The interpretation of this part of the book goes back to the idea that God's kingdom - Heavenly Jerusalem - descends to Earth, and not vice versa. The holy city, saturated with God's nature, becomes the dwelling place of God and His redeemed people. Here flows the river of water of life and grows the very thing that Adam and Eve once neglected, and therefore were torn away from him.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE APOCALYPSE AND INTEREST IN IT
The Apocalypse, or in Greek the Revelation of St. John the Theologian, is the only prophetic book in the New Testament. It is the natural conclusion of the entire range of New Testament sacred books. In law-positive, historical and educational books, a Christian will gain knowledge about the foundation and historical growth of the life of the Church of Christ and guidance for his personal life; in the Apocalypse, the believing mind and heart are given mysterious prophetic indications about the future fate of the Church and the whole world. The Apocalypse is a mysterious book, very difficult to correctly understand and interpret, as a result of which the church charter does not require readings from it during Divine services. But at the same time, it is precisely this mysterious nature of this book that attracts the eyes of both believing Christians and simply inquisitive thinkers, who throughout the entire New Testament history of mankind have been trying to unravel the meaning and significance of the mysterious visions described in it. There is an enormous literature on the Apocalypse, among which there are also many absurd works concerning the origin and content of this mysterious book. As one of such works of recent times, it is necessary to point to the book by N.A. Morozov "Revelation in Thunderstorm and Storm". Based on the preconceived idea that the visions described in the Apocalypse depict the state of the starry sky at a certain point in time with the accuracy of an astronomer-observer, N.A. Morozov makes an astronomical calculation and comes to the conclusion that such was the starry sky on September 30, 395. Replacing the faces, actions and pictures of the Apocalypse with planets, stars and constellations, N.A. Morozov widely uses the vague outlines of clouds, replacing the missing names of stars, planets and constellations with them to depict a complete picture of the sky in accordance with the data of the Apocalypse. If the clouds do not help, with all the softness and suppleness of this material in capable hands, then N.A. Morozov remakes the text of the Apocalypse in the sense he needs. N.A. Morozov justifies such a free handling of the text of the sacred book either by a clerical error and ignorance of the scribes of the Apocalypse, "who did not understand the astronomical meaning of the picture", or even by the consideration that the writer of the Apocalypse himself, "thanks to a preconceived idea", made exaggerations in the description of the picture starry sky. The same "scientific" method determines N.A. Morozov that the writer of the Apocalypse was St. John Chrysostom (b. 347, d. 407), Archbishop of Constantinople. N.A. Morozov does not pay any attention to the complete historical inconsistency of his conclusions. (Prot. Nik. Alexandrov.) In our time - the period of the First World War and the Russian Revolution, and then the even more terrible Second World War, when humanity experienced so many terrible upheavals and disasters - attempts to interpret the Apocalypse in relation to the events experienced have increased even more, more or less successful. At the same time, one thing is important and must be remembered: when interpreting the Apocalypse, as in general with any interpretation of this or that book of Holy Scripture, it is necessary to use the data of other sacred books that are part of our Bible, and the interpretive works of St. Fathers and teachers of the Church. Of the special patristic works on the interpretation of the Apocalypse, the "Explanation on the Apocalypse" by St. Andrew, Archbishop of Caesarea, which is the result of the entire understanding of the Apocalypse in the pre-Nicene period (before the 1st Ecumenical Council). Very valuable is also the Apology to the Apocalypse of St. Hippolytus of Rome (c. 230). IN modern times so many interpretative works on the Apocalypse appeared that by the end of the 19th century their number reached 90. Of the Russian works, the most valuable are: 1) A. Zhdanova - "The Revelation of the Lord about the Seven Asian Churches" (the experience of explaining the first three chapters of the Apocalypse); 2) Bishop Peter - "Explanation of the Apocalypse of St. Apostle John the Theologian"; 3) N. A. Nikolsky - "Apocalypse and false prophecy denounced by him"; 4) N. Vinogradova - "On the final fate of the world and man" and 5) M. Barsova - "Collection of articles on the interpretative and instructive reading of the Apocalypse."
ABOUT THE WRITER OF THE APOCALYPSE
The writer of the Apocalypse calls himself "John" (1:1, 4, 9). According to the general belief of the Church, it was St. The Apostle John, beloved disciple of Christ, for the height of his teaching about God the Word, received the distinctive title of "Theologian", whose inspired pen also belongs to the 4th canonical Gospel and 3 conciliar epistles. This belief of the Church is justified both by the data indicated in the Apocalypse itself and by various internal and external signs. 1) The writer of the Apocalypse calls himself "John" at the very beginning, saying that he was given the "Revelation of Jesus Christ" (1:1). Welcoming further the seven churches of Asia Minor, he again calls himself "John" (1:4). He further speaks of himself, again calling himself "John", that he was "in the island called Patmos, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ" (1:9). It is known from the Apostolic History that St. John the Theologian was imprisoned on Fr. Patmos. And, finally, finishing the Apocalypse, the writer again calls himself "John" (22:8). In verse 2 of chapter 1 he calls himself a witness of Jesus Christ (cf. 1 John 1-3). The opinion that the Apocalypse was written by some "Presbyter John" is completely untenable. The very identity of this "Elder John" as a person separate from the Apostle John is rather doubtful. The only evidence that gives reason to speak of "prester John" is a passage from the writings of Papias, preserved by the historian Eusebius. It is extremely indefinite and gives place only to conjectures and assumptions that contradict one another. The opinion that attributed the writing of the Apocalypse to John Mark, that is, the Evangelist Mark, is not based on anything. Even more absurd is the opinion of the Roman presbyter Caius (third century) that the Apocalypse was written by the heretic Cerinth. 2) The second proof that the Apocalypse belongs to the Apostle John the Theologian is its similarity with the Gospel and the Epistles of John, not only in spirit, but also in style, and especially in certain characteristic expressions. Thus, for example, the apostolic preaching is called here "testimony" (Rev. 1:2-9; 20:4 cf. John 1:7, 3:11, 21:24; 1 John 5:9-11). The Lord Jesus Christ is called the "Word" (Rev. 19:13 cf. John 1:1-14 and 1 John 1:1) and the "Lamb" (Rev. 5:6 and 17:14 cf. John 1: 36). prophetic words Zechariah: "And they will look upon Him as a probodosha" (12:10) both in the Gospel and in the Apocalypse are given in the same way according to the translation of 70 (Apoc. 1:7 and John. 19:37). Some have found that the language of the Apocalypse differs from that of other writings of St. Apostle John. This difference is easily explained both by the difference in content and by the circumstances of the origin of the writings of St. Apostle. St. John, although he knew the Greek language, but, being in prison, far from the living colloquial Greek language, naturally put on the Apocalypse the stamp of the strong influence of the Hebrew language, like a natural Jew. For the unprejudiced reader of the Apocalypse there is no doubt that all its contents bear the seal of the great spirit of the Apostle of love and contemplation. 3) All ancient and later patristic testimonies recognize the author of the Apocalypse of St. John the Evangelist. His disciple St. Papias of Hierapolis calls the "Elder John" the writer of the Apocalypse, by which name St. Apostle in his epistles (1 John 1 and 3 John 1). The important testimony of St. Justin Martyr, who, even before his conversion to Christianity, lived for a long time in Ephesus, the city where the great Apostle lived and rested for a long time. Many St. the fathers cite passages from the Apocalypse, as from an inspired book belonging to St. John the Theologian. These are: St. Irenaeus of Lyons, disciple of St. Polycarp of Smyrna, disciple of St. John the Evangelist, St. Hippolytus, Pope of Rome, disciple of Irenaeus, who even wrote an apology for the Apocalypse. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian and Origen also recognize St. Apostle John the writer of the Apocalypse. St. Ephraim the Syrian, Epiphanius, Basil the Great, Hilary, Athanasius the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Didymos, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome are equally convinced of this. Canon 33 of the Council of Carthage, attributing the Apocalypse to St. John the Theologian, puts it among other canonical books. The absence of the Apocalypse in Pescito's translation is explained solely by the fact that this translation was made for liturgical reading, and the Apocalypse was not read during Divine services. In Canon 60 of the Council of Laodicea, the Apocalypse is not mentioned, since the mysterious content of the book did not allow anyone to recommend a book that could give rise to false interpretations.
TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING THE APOCALYPSE
We do not have exact data on the time when the Apocalypse was written. Ancient tradition indicates the end of the 1st century for this. Yes, St. Irenaeus writes: "The Apocalypse appeared shortly before and almost in our time, at the end of the reign of Domitian" ("Against Heresies" 5:30). Church historian Eusebius reports that contemporary pagan writers also mention the exile of St. Apostle John to Patmos for the testimony of Divine Word and attribute this event to the 15th year of the reign of Domitian (95-96 AD). The same is affirmed by Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and the blessed Jerome. Church writers of the first three centuries also agree in indicating the place of writing the Apocalypse, which they recognize as the island of Patmos, mentioned by the Apostle himself as the place where he received revelations (1:9-10). But after the discovery of the Syrian translation of the Apocalypse of the 6th century (“Pokoke”), where Nero is named instead of Domitian in the inscription, many began to attribute the writing of the Apocalypse to the time of Nero (to the 60s AD). St. Hippolytus of Rome also attributes the link to St. John on about. Patmos to Nero. They also find that it is impossible to attribute the time of writing the Apocalypse to the reign of Domitian, because, judging by verses 1-2 of the 11th chapter of the Apocalypse, the Jerusalem temple was not yet destroyed, since in these verses they see a prediction about the future destruction of the temple, which under Domitian it was already done. The references to the Roman emperors that some see in v. 10. 17th chapter, come closest to the successors of Nero. They also find that the number of the beast (13:18) can be found in the name of Nero: "Nero Caesar" - 666. The very language of the Apocalypse, full of Hebraisms, also, according to some, indicates its earlier compared with the 4th Gospel and epistles St. John origin. Full name Nero was: "Claudius Nero Domitius", as a result of which it was possible to confuse him with the emperor who reigned later. Domitian. According to this opinion, the Apocalypse was written about two years before the destruction of Jerusalem, that is, in the year 68 AD. But it is objected to this that the state of Christian life, as it is presented in the Apocalypse, speaks of a later date. Each of the seven churches of Asia Minor to which St. John, already has its own history and one way or another determined direction of religious life: Christianity in them is no longer in the first stage of purity and truth - false Christianity is trying to take a place in them along with true Christianity. All this suggests that the activity of St. The Apostle Paul, who preached for a long time in Ephesus, was a thing of the distant past. This point of view, based on the testimony of St. Irenaeus and Eusebius, relates the time of writing the Apocalypse to 95-96 years. according to R. X. It is quite difficult to accept the opinion of St. Epiphanius, who says that St. John returned from Patmos under the emperor Claudius (4154). Under Claudius, there was no general persecution of Christians in the provinces, but only the expulsion from Rome of the Jews, among whom there could be Christians. Incredible is the assumption that the Apocalypse was written at an even later time, under the emperor Trajan (98-108), when St. John died his life. Regarding the place where the Apocalypse was written, there is also an opinion that it was written in Ephesus, after the return of the Apostle there from exile, although the first opinion is much more natural that the message to the churches of Asia Minor, contained in the Apocalypse, was sent from Patmos. It is also hard to imagine that St. The apostle would not have fulfilled the command to write everything he had seen at once (1:10-11).
THE MAIN OBJECT AND PURPOSE OF WRITING THE APOCALYPSE
Beginning the Apocalypse, St. John himself points to the main subject and purpose of his writing - "to show what must soon be" (1:1). Thus, the main subject of the Apocalypse is the mysterious image of the future fate of the Church of Christ and the whole world. From the very beginning of its existence, the Church of Christ had to enter into a difficult struggle with the delusions of Judaism and paganism in order to bring the triumph of the Divine Truth brought to earth by the incarnate Son of God, and through this to give man bliss and eternal life. The purpose of the Apocalypse is to depict this struggle of the Church and Her triumph over all enemies; to show visually the death of the enemies of the Church and the glorification of Her faithful children. This was especially important and necessary for believers in those times when terrible bloody persecutions began against Christians, in order to give them consolation and encouragement in the sorrows and hard trials that befell them. This vivid picture of the battle of the dark kingdom of Satan with the Church and the final victory of the Church over the "ancient serpent" (12:9) is needed for believers of all times, all with the same goal of comforting and strengthening them in the struggle for the truth of the Christian faith, which they constantly have to wage with servants of the dark infernal forces, seeking in their blind malice to destroy the Church.
THE CHURCH'S VIEW ON THE CONTENT OF THE APOCALYPSE
All the ancient Fathers of the Church, who interpreted the sacred books of the New Testament, unanimously regard the Apocalypse as a prophetic picture of last times world and events that have to take place before the Second Coming of Christ to earth and at the opening of the Kingdom of Glory, prepared for all true believing Christians. Despite the darkness under which the mysterious meaning of this book is hidden and as a result of which many unbelievers tried in every possible way to discredit it, the deeply enlightened fathers and God-wise teachers of the Church always treated it with great reverence. Yes, St. Dionysius of Alexandria writes: "The darkness of this book does not prevent her from being surprised. And if I do not understand everything in it, then only because of my inability. I cannot be a judge of the truths contained in it, and measure them by the poverty of my mind; more guided by faith, than reason, I find them only beyond my comprehension." Blessed Jerome speaks of the same kind about the Apocalypse: "It contains as many mysteries as words. But what am I saying? Any praise of this book will be below its dignity." Many believe that Caius, the presbyter of Rome, does not consider the Apocalypse to be the work of the heretic Cerinthus, as some deduce from his words, for Caius is not talking about a book called "Revelation", but about "revelations". Eusebius himself, citing these words of Caius, does not say a word about the fact that Cerinthus was the author of the book of the Apocalypse. Blessed Jerome and other fathers, who knew this place in the work of Caius and recognized the authenticity of the Apocalypse, would not have left it without objection if they considered the words of Caius to be related to the Apocalypse of St. John the Evangelist. But during Divine Liturgy the Apocalypse was not read and is not read: presumably because in ancient times the reading of Holy Scripture during Divine Liturgy was always accompanied by an interpretation of it, and the Apocalypse is too difficult to interpret. This also explains the absence of it in Peshito's Syrian translation, which was appointed specifically for liturgical use. As proven by researchers, the Apocalypse was originally on the Peshito list and was excluded from there after the time of Ephraim the Syrian, for St. Ephraim the Syrian cites the Apocalypse in his writings as the canonical book of the New Testament and makes extensive use of it in his inspirational teachings.
RULES FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF THE APOCALYPSE
As a book of God's judgments about the world and the Church, the Apocalypse has always attracted the attention of Christians, and especially at a time when external persecutions and internal temptations began to embarrass the believers with particular force, threatening all sorts of dangers from all sides. In such periods, believers naturally turned to this book for consolation and encouragement and tried to unravel the meaning and significance of the events taking place in it. Meanwhile, the figurativeness and mystery of this book makes it very difficult to understand, and therefore for careless interpreters there is always the risk of being carried away beyond the boundaries of truth and an occasion for unrealizable hopes and beliefs. Thus, for example, a literalistic understanding of the images of this book gave rise and still continues to give rise to a false teaching about the so-called "chiliasm" - the thousand-year kingdom of Christ on earth. The horrors of persecution experienced by Christians in the first century and interpreted in the light of the Apocalypse gave some reason to believe in the onset of the "last times" and the imminent Second Coming of Christ, even then, in the first century. Over the past 19 centuries, there have been many interpretations of the Apocalypse of the most diverse nature. All these interpreters can be divided into four categories. Some of them attribute all the visions and symbols of the Apocalypse to the "end times" - the end of the world, the appearance of the Antichrist and the Second Coming of Christ, others - give the Apocalypse a purely historical meaning, relating all the visions to the historical events of the first century - to the times of persecution raised against the Church by pagan emperors. Still others are trying to find the realization of apocalyptic predictions in the historical events of later times. In their opinion, for example, the Pope of Rome is the Antichrist, and all apocalyptic disasters are proclaimed for the Roman Church itself, etc. The fourth, finally, see in the Apocalypse only an allegory, believing that the visions described in it have not so much a prophetic as a moral meaning. , the allegory is introduced only to enhance the impression in order to capture the imagination of readers. It is necessary to recognize as more correct the interpretation that unites all these directions, and it should not be lost sight of the fact that, as the ancient interpreters and Fathers of the Church clearly taught about this, the content of the Apocalypse in the end is directed to the final destinies of the world. There can be no doubt, however, that throughout the past Christian history Many of the predictions of St. John the Seer about the future destinies of the Church and the world, but great care is needed in applying the apocalyptic content to historical events, and this should not be abused too much. The remark of one interpreter is fair, that the content of the Apocalypse will only gradually become clear, as events occur and the prophecies predicted in it are fulfilled. The correct understanding of the Apocalypse, of course, is hindered most of all by the departure of people from faith and truly Christian life, which always leads to dulling, and even complete loss of spiritual vision, which is necessary for a correct understanding and spiritual assessment of events taking place in the world. This total devotion modern man sinful passions, depriving the purity of the heart and, consequently, spiritual vision (Matt. 5:8), is the reason that some modern interpreters of the Apocalypse want to see in it only an allegory, and even the Second Coming of Christ is taught to be understood allegorically. The historical events and faces of the time we are currently experiencing, which, in all fairness, many already call apocalyptic, convince us that to see one allegory in the book of the Apocalypse truly means to be spiritually blind, so everything that is happening in the world now resembles terrible images and visions. Apocalypse.
The Apocalypse contains only twenty-two chapters. According to its content, it can be divided into the following sections:
1) The introductory picture of the Son of Man appearing to John, commanding John to write to the seven churches of Asia Minor - 1st chapter.
2) Instructions to the seven churches of Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, Thyatira, Sardis. Philadelphia and Laodicea - chapters 2 and 3.
3) The vision of God sitting on the throne and the Lamb - chapters 4 and 5.
4) The opening by the Lamb of the seven seals of the mysterious book - chapters 6 and 7.
5) The voices of the seven angelic trumpets, which announced various disasters to those living on earth at the opening of the seventh seal - chapters 8, 9, 10 and 11.
6) The Church of Christ under the image of a woman clothed with the sun, who was in birth pains - chapter 12.
7) The Beast-Antichrist and his accomplice-false prophet - Chapter 13.
8) Preparatory events before the general resurrection and the Last Judgment - chapters 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19. a) Praise of 144,000 righteous and angels announcing the fate of the world - chapter 14; b) The seven angels having the seven last plagues - chapter 15. c) Seven angels pouring out the seven bowls of God's wrath - chapter 16. d) Judgment on the great harlot who sits on many waters and sits on a scarlet beast - chapter 17. e) The fall of Babylon - the great harlot - chapter 18. f) The battle of the Word of God with the beast and its host, and the destruction of the latter - chapter 19.
9) Common Resurrection and the Last Judgment - chapter 20.
10) Opening of a new heaven and a new earth; the new Jerusalem and the happiness of its inhabitants - chapters 21 and 22 to verse 5.
11) Conclusion: a confirmation of the truth of everything said and a testament to keep the commandments of God. The teaching of blessing is chapter 22:6-21.
EXEGETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE APOCALYPSE
Chapter first. THE PURPOSE OF THE APOCALYPSE AND THE METHOD OF GIVING IT TO JOHN
"The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, which God has given Him, show His servant, as it befits to be soon" - these words clearly define the nature and purpose of the Apocalypse as a prophetic book. In this the Apocalypse essentially differs from the rest of the books of the New Testament, the content of which is predominantly religious and moralistic. The importance of the Apocalypse is evident here from the fact that its writing was the result of a direct revelation and a direct command given by St. Apostle by the Head of the Church Himself - the Lord Jesus Christ. The expression "soon" indicates that the prophecies of the Apocalypse began to be fulfilled at the same time, after its writing, as well as the fact that in the eyes of God "a thousand years, as one day" (Peter's Epistle 2: 3-8). The expression of the Apocalypse about the revelation of Jesus Christ, that “it was given to Him from God,” must be understood by those who relate to Christ according to humanity, for He Himself during His earthly life spoke of Himself as not omniscient (Mark 13:32) and receiving revelation from the Father (John 5:20).
"Blessed is he who hears the words of prophecy and keeps the writings in it: for the time is at hand" (v. 3). The book of the Apocalypse, therefore, has not only a prophetic, but also a moral significance. The meaning of these words is this: blessed is he who, while reading this book, will prepare himself for eternity by his life and deeds of piety, for the transition to eternity is near for each of us.
"John to the seven churches, which are in Asia" - the number seven is usually taken to express fullness. St. John addresses here only seven churches with which, as he lived in Ephesus, he was in especially close and frequent relations, but in the person of these seven he addresses at the same time to the whole Christian Church generally. "From the seven spirits, who are before His throne" - under these "seven spirits" it is most natural to understand the seven main Angels, which are spoken of in Tov. 12:15. St. Andrew of Caesarea, however, understands by them the angels who govern the seven churches. Many interpreters mean by this expression the Holy Spirit Himself, manifesting Himself in seven main gifts: the spirit of the fear of God, the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of power, the spirit of light, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of the Lord, or the gift of piety and inspiration in the highest degree (See Isaiah 11:1-3). The Lord Jesus Christ is here called "the faithful witness" in the sense that He testified before people of His divinity and the truth of His teaching by His death on the cross (in Greek "martis"). "He made us kings and priests to his God and Father" - not in the proper sense, of course, but in the sense in which God promised this to the still chosen people through the prophets (Exodus 19: 6), that is, he made us, true believers, better , the most holy nation, which for other peoples is the same as the priest and the king in relation to other people.
“Behold, he is coming from the cloud, and every eye will see Him, and those who probodosha, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn for Him” - here the Second glorious Coming of Christ is depicted in full accordance with the image of this coming in the Gospels (cf. Matt. 24:30 and 25:31; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27 cf. John 19:37). After the greeting in this verse, St. The apostle immediately speaks of the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgment in order to designate main theme of his book, to prepare his readers for the great and terrible revelations he had received about it (v. 7). To confirm the immutability and inevitability of the Second Coming and the Last Judgment of God, St. The apostle pronounces from himself: “Yes, amen,” and then testifies to the truth of this by pointing to Him Who is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End of all things: the Lord Jesus Christ is the only beginningless and endless originator of all that exists, He is eternal, He is - the end and goal toward which everything strives (v. 8).
As for the method of giving revelations to him, St. John names first of all the place where he was deemed worthy to receive them. This is the island of Patmos, one of the Sporadic islands in the Aegean Sea, deserted and rocky, having 56 versts in circumference, between the island of Ikaria and the Cape of Miletus, sparsely populated due to lack of water, an unhealthy climate and barren land. Now it is called "Palmosa". In the cave of one mountain and now they show the place where John received revelations. There is a small Greek monastery called "Apocalypse" (v. 9). The same verse also speaks of the time of receiving St. John of the Apocalypse. This was when St. John was imprisoned on Fr. Patmos, in his own words, "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ", that is, for the zealous apostolic preaching about Jesus Christ. The most fierce persecution of Christians in the 1st century was under the emperor Nero. Tradition says that St. John was first thrown into a boiling oil cauldron, from which he emerged unharmed with renewed and strengthened strength. The expression "in sorrow," according to the meaning of the original Greek expression, here means "suffering," which comes from persecution and torment, the same as "martyrdom." In the next verse, verse 10, St. John also designates the very day on which he received the revelations. It was a "day of the week", in Greek "kyriaki imera" - "the day of the Lord". It was the first day of the week, which the Jews called "mia savvaton", that is, "the first day of the Sabbath", while the Christians called it "the day of the Lord" in honor of the risen Lord. The very existence of such a name already indicates that Christians celebrated this day instead of the Old Testament Sabbath. Having designated the place and time, St. John also indicates his state, in which he was honored with apocalyptic visions. "I was in the spirit on Sunday," he says. In the language of the prophets, “to be in the spirit” means to be in such a spiritual state when a person sees, hears and feels not with bodily organs, but with his whole inner being. This is not a dream, because such a state occurs during wakefulness. In such an extraordinary state of mind, St. John heard a loud voice, like a trumpet, which said: "I am Alpha and Omega. First and Last; what you see, write in a book and send it to the churches that are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea" (vv. 10-11). Further, four visions are described, according to which many usually divide the content of the Apocalypse into 4 main parts: the 1st vision is set forth in chapters 1:1-4; 2nd vision - in 4-11th chapters; The 3rd vision is in chapters 12-14 and the 4th vision is in chapters 15-22. The first vision is the appearance of St. John, Someone "Like the Son of Man." The loud voice, like a trumpet, which John heard behind him, belonged to Him. He called himself not in Hebrew, but in Greek: Alpha and Omega, First and Last. To the Jews in the Old Testament He revealed Himself under the name "Jehovah", which means: "Existing from the beginning", or "Existing", and here He means Himself with the initial and last letters Greek alphabet, indicating by the fact that He contains in Himself, like the Father, everything that exists in all phenomena of being from beginning to end. It is characteristic that He declares Himself here, as it were, under a new and, moreover, Greek name "Alpha and Omega", as if wishing to show that He is the Messiah for all peoples who then spoke Greek everywhere and used Greek writing. Revelation is given to the seven churches that make up the Ephesian Metropolis, which was then ruled by St. John the Theologian, as being constantly in Ephesus, but, of course, in the person of these seven churches, it is given to the whole Church. The number seven, moreover, has a mysterious meaning, meaning fullness, and therefore can be placed here as an emblem of the universal Church, to which the Apocalypse is generally addressed. In verses 12-16, the appearance of the one who appeared to John "like the Son of Man" is described. He stood in the middle of seven candlesticks, symbolizing the seven churches, and was clothed in a "podir" - the long clothes of the Jewish high priests, was, like kings, girded around his chest with a golden belt. These features indicate the high priestly and royal dignity of the One Who Appeared (vv. 12-13). His head and hair were as white as a white wave, like snow, and His eyes were like a flame of fire. White hair is usually a sign of old age. This sign testifies that the Son of Man who has appeared is one with the Father, that He is one with the "Ancient of the Days", whom St. Prophet Daniel (7:13) that He is the same Eternal God as God the Father. His eyes were like a fiery flame, which means His divine zeal for the salvation of the human race, that before His eyes there is nothing hidden and dark, and that He is burning with anger at all iniquity (v. 14). His feet were like chalcolevan, like red-hot in a furnace. Halkolivan is a precious metal alloy with a fiery red or golden yellow sheen. According to some interpretations, the halq is copper and marks the human nature in Jesus Christ, and the lebanon, like fragrant incense, is the Divine nature. "And His voice is like the noise of many waters," that is, His voice is like the voice of a formidable judge, striking with awe the troubled souls of judged people (v. 15). "He held in His right hand seven stars" - according to the following further explanation (v. 20) of Himself who appeared to John, these seven stars denoted the seven primates of the churches, or bishops, here called "Angels of the churches." This suggests to us that the Lord Jesus Christ holds in His right hand the shepherds of the church. “And out of His mouth went out a sword sharp on both sides” – this symbolizes the all-pervading power of the word that proceeds from the mouth of God (cf. Heb. 4:12). “And His face is like the sun shining in its power” – this is an image of that ineffable glory of God, which the Lord shone in his time and on Tabor (v. 16). All these features present us with a holistic image of the Terrible Judge, High Priest and King, as the Lord Jesus Christ will once appear on earth at His Second Coming, in order to judge the living and the dead. In great fear John fell at His feet as if dead. From this we can conclude that the beloved disciple, who once reclined on the Persians of Jesus, did not recognize in Him who appeared a single feature familiar to him, and this is not surprising, for if the disciples did not easily recognize their Lord after the Resurrection in His glorified body on earth, then it is all the more difficult to recognize Him in radiant heavenly glory. The Lord Himself had to reassure the Apostle, placing His right hand on him with the words: "Do not be afraid, Az seven, the First and the Last, and the living, and the former dead, and I am alive forever and ever, amen: and imam the keys of hell and death" ( vv. 17-18) - from these words of St. John had to understand that the One who appeared is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, and that His appearance for the Apostle cannot be fatal, but, on the contrary, life-giving. To have the keys to something meant that the Jews had power over something. Thus, the "keys of hell and death" signify power over the death of the body and soul. In conclusion, the One Who Appeared commands John to write what he sees and what should be, explaining that the seven stars are the Angels, or the leaders of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks designate these churches themselves.
Chapter two. INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR: EPHESIA, SMYRNIA, PERGAMA AND THYATIRA
In the second, as well as in the next, third chapter, the revelations received by St. John about each of the seven churches of Asia Minor, and the corresponding instructions to them. These revelations contain praises of their Christian life and faith, censure of their shortcomings, exhortations and comforts, threats and promises. The content of these revelations and instructions are closely related to the state of church life in the churches of Asia Minor at the end of the first century, but at the same time it applies to the entire Church in general throughout its entire existence on earth. Some even see here an indication of seven periods in the life of the entire Christian Church from apostolic times to the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ.
First of all, the Lord commands to write to the Angel of the Ephesian Church. The Ephesian Church boasts of her first deeds - for her labors, patience and resistance to false teachers, but at the same time she is condemned for leaving her first love and hears a terrible threat that her lamp will be moved from her place if she does not repent. However, it is good for the Ephesians that they hate the "works of the Nicolaitans." The Lord promises to reward those who overcome temptations and passions with a taste of the fruit of the tree of life. Ephesus is an ancient trading city on the shores of the Aegean Sea, famous for its wealth and huge population. There, for more than two years, St. The Apostle Paul, who finally placed his beloved disciple Timothy as bishop of Ephesus, lived there for a long time and died St. Apostle John the Theologian. Subsequently, in Ephesus there was the Third Ecumenical Council, which confessed the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Theotokos. The threat to move the candlestick over the Ephesian church came true. From the great center of the world, Ephesus soon turned into nothing: from the former magnificent city, only a pile of ruins and a small Muslim village remained. The great lamp of primitive Christianity has gone out completely. The Nicolaitans mentioned here were heretics, representing a branch of the Gnostics and distinguished by depravity. They are also denounced in their conciliar epistles by St. Apostles Peter and Jude (2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4). The beginning of this heresy was laid by the proselyte Nicholas of Antioch, who was one of the first seven deacons of Jerusalem (Acts 6:5), who fell away from the true faith. The reward for the winners from among the Ephesian Christians is the eating of the paradise tree of life. By this we must understand in general the blessings of the future blessed life of the righteous, the prototype of which was the tree of life in the primeval paradise where our forefathers lived (vv. 1-7).
The Smyrna church, which consisted of the poor, but spiritually rich, is predicted to suffer tribulation and persecution from the Jews, whom the Lord calls "the congregation of Satan." The prediction of sorrows is accompanied by a broadcast to endure these sorrows, which will last "up to ten days," to the end, and a promise is given of deliverance "from the second death." Smyrna is also one of the most ancient cities of Asia Minor, enlightened and glorious in pagan antiquity. Smyrna was no less remarkable in the history of the first times of Christianity, as a city that very early lit up with the light of Christianity and retained the guarantee of faith and piety in the midst of persecution. Smyrna Church, according to legend, was founded by St. Apostle John the Theologian, and the latter's disciple St. Polycarp, who was a bishop in her, glorified her with his martyrdom. According to the church historian Eusebius, almost immediately after the apocalyptic prediction, there was a fierce persecution of Christians in Asia Minor, during which St. Polycarp of Smyrna. According to one interpretation, "ten days" signifies the shortness of the time of persecution; according to others, on the contrary, it is a certain lengthy period, for the Lord commands the myrrhs to stock up on “faithfulness unto death,” that is, for a certain lengthy period. Some mean by this the persecution that took place under Domitian and lasted ten years. Others see this as a prediction of all ten persecutions that Christians suffered from pagan emperors during the first three centuries. By the "second death" that will come for the unbelievers after bodily death, is meant their condemnation to eternal torment (see Rep. 21:8). The one who overcomes, that is, the one who endures all persecution, is promised the "crown of life" or the inheritance of eternal blessings. Smyrna to this day remains a significant city and has the dignity of an Orthodox Christian metropolis (vv. 8-11).
The Church of Pergamon boasts of the Lord that it contains His Name and did not reject faith in Him, although it was planted in the midst of a city extremely corrupted by paganism, which means a figurative expression: “you live where the throne of Satan is,” and was subjected to severe persecution, during which "the faithful witness of the Lord Antipas was put to death." Although many tried to understand the name "Antipas" symbolically, it is known from the martyrologies that have come down to us that Antipas was the bishop of Pergamum and, for his zealous confession of the Christian faith, was burned in the inside of a red-hot bull. But then the Lord also points to negative phenomena in the life of the Pergamon church, namely, that the Nicolaitans appeared there too, legitimizing the eating of idolater and all kinds of adulterous indecency, to which the Israelites were brought by Balaam in their time. Pergamum is located north of Smyrna, and in ancient times it competed with Smyrna and Ephesus, it had a temple of the pagan deity Aesculapius, the patron saint of doctors. Its priests practiced medicine and put up strong resistance to the preachers of Christianity. Pergamum, under the name of Bergamo, and the Christian church in it have survived to the present, although in great poverty, since nothing remains of their former splendor, except for the huge ruins of the once beautiful church in honor of St. John the Theologian, built by Emperor Theodosius. “To the victorious lady eat from the hidden manna, and gave him a white stone, and a new name was written on the stone, no one knows it, only accept it” - the image is taken from the Old Testament manna, which was a type of “Heavenly Bread that came down from heaven”, that is, the Lord Himself Jesus Christ. By this manna one must understand living communion in the future blessed life with the Lord. The metaphorical expression about the "white stone" has its basis in the custom of antiquity, according to which the winners of public games and competitions were given white stone tablets, which they then presented to receive the awards awarded to them. It was the custom of the Roman judges to collect the votes with white and black stones. White meant approval, black meant condemnation. In the mouth of the Seer, the white stone symbolically denotes the purity and innocence of Christians, for which they receive a reward in the coming age. Giving names to new members of the kingdom is characteristic of kings and lords. And the Heavenly King will give all the chosen sons of His Kingdom new names that will signify their inner qualities and their purpose and service in the Kingdom of Glory. But since no one "messages from a man that is in a man, it's just the spirit of a man that lives in him" (1 Cor. 2:11), then a new name, given to man Omniscient Master, will be known only to the recipient of this name (vv. 12-17).
The Church of Thyatira boasts of her faith, love and patience, but at the same time she is reproached for allowing some false prophetess Jezebel to commit lawlessness and corrupt people in her bowels. The Lord predicts great sorrow for her and those who commit adultery with her, if they do not repent, and death for her children; the good and faithful Christians of the Church of Thyatira must only keep their faith and keep the commandments of God to the end. The Lord promises the victorious one to give strong power over the pagans and the morning star. Thyatira is a small town in Lydia, which did not mark itself in history, but is known in the history of Christianity for the fact that Lydia came from it, which was enlightened by the light of the Christian faith of St. Apostle Paul during his 2nd evangelistic journey in the city of Philippi (Acts 16:14, 15, 40). Probably, this contributed to the rapid establishment of Christianity in Thyatira, and, as can be seen from the words “your last deeds are greater than the first,” all the good Christian qualities of the inhabitants of Thyatira, indicated before, developed and strengthened more and more in them over time. The name Jezebel is used here, apparently in the same figurative sense as the name of Balaam above. It is known that Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Sidon, entered into marriage with Ahab, the king of Israel, carried him away to worship all the abominations of Sidon and Tyre, and was the cause of the fall of the Israelites into idolatry. It can be assumed that the name of "Jezebel" is here called the same fornicating-idol trend of the Nikolaites. Here the teaching of the Nicolaitans is called "the depths of Satan", as the forerunner of the Gnostics, who called their false teaching "the depths of God". Paganism fell as a result of the struggle with Christianity. In this sense, the Lord promises the victorious "power over the Gentiles." "And I will give him the morning star" - these words have a double interpretation. The prophet Isaiah calls the "morning star" (Dennitsa) Satan, who fell from heaven (Is. 14:12). Then these words signify the dominion of the believing Christian over Satan (see Luke 10:18-19). On the other hand, St. The Apostle Peter in his 2 epistle (1:19) "the morning star", which shines in the hearts of men, calls the Lord Jesus Christ. In this sense, the true Christian is promised the enlightenment of his soul with the light of Christ and participation in the future heavenly glory (vv. 18-29).
Chapter three. INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR: Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea
The Lord commands the angel of the Church of Sardis to write more reproachful than consolatory: this Church contains only the name of living faith, but in fact it is spiritually dead. The Lord threatens the Christians of Sardis with sudden disaster if they do not repent. There are, however, and among them very few, "who have not defiled their clothes." The Lord promises to clothe the conquerors (over passions) in white clothes, their names will not be blotted out from the book of life and will be confessed by the Lord before His Heavenly Father.
Sardis in ancient times was a large and rich city, the capital of the Lydian region, and now it is a poor Turkish village of Sardis. There are few Christians there, and they do not have their own church. Under Julian the Apostate, the spiritual deadness of this city was clearly revealed: it quickly returned to idolatry, for which God's punishment befell it: it was destroyed to the ground. Under the "defiled clothes" spiritual filth is metaphorically depicted here, and therefore those who did not defile their clothes are those whose minds remained uninvolved in heretical false teachings, and whose life was not stained by passions and vices. By "white robes" are meant wedding garments, in which the guests will be clothed at the wedding feast of the royal son, under the image of which the Lord presented in the parable the future bliss of the righteous in His Heavenly Kingdom (Mat. 22:11-12). These are clothes that will be like the clothes of the Savior during the Transfiguration, made white as light (Mat. 17:2). The definitions of God about the fate of people are symbolically depicted under the image of a book in which the Lord, as an omniscient and all-righteous Judge, writes down all the deeds of people. This symbolic image is often used in Holy Scripture (Ps. 68:29, Ps. 139:16, Isaiah 4:3; Dan. 7:10, Malach. 3:16; Exod. 32:32-33; Luke 10: 20; Phil. 4:3). In accordance with this idea, the one who lives worthy of a higher purpose, as it were, fits into the book of life, and the one who lives unworthy is, as it were, erased from this book, thereby losing the right to eternal life. Therefore, the promise to the conqueror of sin not to blot out his name from the book of life is equivalent to the promise not to deprive him of the heavenly blessings prepared for the righteous in the future life. "And I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels" - this is the same thing that the Lord promised during His life on earth to His true followers (Mat. 10:32), that is, I recognize and proclaim him My faithful disciple (v. 1-6). The Lord commands the angel of the Philadelphia Church to write a lot of consolation and praise. Despite its weakness (probably meaning a small number), this Church did not renounce the name of Jesus in the face of a satanic gathering of Jewish persecutors. For this, the Lord will make them come and bow before her, and in a difficult time of temptation for the entire universe, she will find protection and protection from the Lord Himself. Therefore, the task of the Philadelphians is to keep only what they have, so that no one will take their crown. The Lord promises to make the winner a pillar in the temple and write on it the Name of God and the name of the city of God - the new Jerusalem, and the new name of Jesus. Philadelphia is the second large city in Lydia, named after its founder, Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamon. This city, one of all the cities of Asia Minor, did not surrender to the Turks for a long time. It is remarkable that even today Christianity is in its most flourishing state in Philadelphia, surpassing all other cities of Asia Minor: a large Christian population has survived here, having its own bishop and 25 churches. The residents are very hospitable and kind. The Turks call Philadelphia "Allah-Sher", that is, "God's city", and this name involuntarily recalls the promise of the Lord: "I will write on him who overcomes the name of my God and the name of the city of my God" (v. 12). "Thus says the true Holy One, having the key of David" - the Son of God calls Himself having the key of David in the sense of having supreme power in the house of David, for the key is the symbol of power. The House of David, or the Kingdom of David, means the same as the Kingdom of God, of which it was a type in the Old Testament. Further, it is said that if the Lord favors someone to open the doors of this Kingdom, then no one can prevent him, and vice versa. This is a figurative indication of the firm faith of the Philadelphians, which the Judaizing false teachers could not break. The latter will come and bow down before the feet of the Philadelphians, that is, they will apparently admit that they have been defeated. Under the "year of temptations" during which the Lord promises to keep the Philadelphians faithful to Him, some understand the terrible persecution of Christians by the pagan Roman emperors, which engulfed "the whole world," as the Roman Empire was then called (cf. Luke 2:1); others suggest that Philadelphia should be understood as one of the Christian Churches or the entire Christian Church in general in the last times before the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ. In this latter sense, the saying is especially clear: "Behold, I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, lest anyone take your crown." Then the danger of losing faith from many temptations will increase, but on the other hand, the reward for fidelity will, so to speak, be at hand, and therefore one must be especially vigilant so that, through frivolity, one does not lose the possibility of salvation, as, for example, his wife Lotova lost. Being placed as a “pillar” in the insurmountable gates of hell of the Church of Christ, figuratively represented in the form of a house, shows the inviolable belonging of the victor in temptations to the Church of Christ, that is, the most stable position in the Kingdom of Heaven. A high reward for such a person will also be the inscription on it of a triple name: the name of a child of God, as inseparably belonging to God, the name of a citizen of the new or heavenly Jerusalem, and the name of a Christian, as a true member of the Body of Christ. The New Jerusalem is undoubtedly the heavenly, triumphant Church, which is called "descending from heaven" because the very origin of the Church from the Son of God, who descended from heaven, is heavenly, she bestows heavenly gifts on people and raises them up to heaven (v. 7-13 ).
The angel of Laodicea, the last, the seventh Church, is commanded to write a lot of accusations. The Lord does not speak a single word of approval about her. He reproaches her that she is neither cold nor hot, and therefore threatens to spew her out of His mouth, like warm water that arouses nausea, despite the arrogant confidence of the Laodiceans in their moral perfections, the Lord calls them unfortunate, miserable, poor, blind and naked, urging them to take care to cover their nakedness and heal their blindness. At the same time, He calls for repentance, saying that He stands with love at the door of the heart of every penitent and is ready to come to him with His mercy and forgiveness. The Lord promises to seat the victorious over his pride and, in general, over his moral ailments with Himself on His throne. Laodicea, now called by the Turks "Eski-Hissar", that is, the Old Fortress, is located in Phrygia, by the river Lyka and near the city of Colossus. In ancient times, it was famous for its trade, soil fertility and cattle breeding; its population was very numerous and rich, as evidenced by the excavations, in which they find many precious pieces of sculptural art, fragments of luxurious marble decorations, cornices, pedestals, etc. It can be assumed that wealth made the Laodiceans so lukewarm in relation to the Christian faith , for which their city was subjected to the punishment of God - complete ruin and devastation by the Turks. "Thus says... The beginning of God's creation" - the Lord is called so, of course, not in the sense that He is the first creation of God, but in the fact that "all that was, and without Him it was nothing, even if it was" (John 1:3), and also in the fact that He is the author of the restoration of fallen mankind (Gal. 6:15 and Col. 3:10). "... Oh, if you were cold or hot" - a cold person who has not known faith can sooner believe and become an ardent believer than a Christian who has cooled down and become indifferent to faith. Even an obvious sinner is better than a lukewarm Pharisee, satisfied with his moral state. That is why the Lord Jesus Christ condemned the Pharisees, preferring to them penitent tax collectors and harlots. Manifest and open sinners can more easily come to the consciousness of their sinfulness and sincere repentance than people with a lukewarm conscience who are unaware of their moral ailments. “Gold refined by fire, white robes and eye salve (collurium)”, which the Lord advises the Laodiceans to buy from Him, means the love and favor of God acquired by repentance, good deeds, pure and blameless behavior and the highest heavenly wisdom that gives spiritual sight. It can also be assumed that the Laodiceans really did over-reliance on their wealth, trying to combine the service of God and Mammon. Some believe that here we are talking about pastors who are striving to enrich themselves with earthly riches and who imagine that through wealth they are called to rule over the heritage of God, impressing with their wealth. The Lord advises such people to buy from Him, that is, not to ask only and receive not for free, but to buy, that is, to acquire from Christ Himself at the cost of labor, repentance, “gold purified by fire,” that is, genuine spiritual, grace-filled wealth, which for a shepherd consists , by the way, and in the teaching word, dissolved with salt, "white clothes", that is, the gift of doing good to others, and "collurium", or the virtue of non-possession, which opens one's eyes to the vanity and futility of all the riches of this perishable world. The "conqueror" is given a promise to seat him on the throne of God, which means the highest dignity of the heir to the Kingdom of Heaven, co-reigning with Christ Himself, the Conqueror of the devil.
There is an opinion that the seven churches signify the seven periods of the life of the entire Church of Christ from its founding to the end of the world: 1) The Church of Ephesus denotes the first period - the Apostolic Church, which labored and did not fail, fought the first heresies - the "Nicolaites", but soon abandoned the good custom doing good - "communion of property" ("first love"); 2) The Smyrna Church denotes the second period - the period of persecution of the Church, of which there were only ten; 3) The Church of Pergamon marks the third period - the era of the Ecumenical Councils and the fight against heresies with the sword of the word of God; 4) Thyatira Church - the 4th period, or the period of flowering of Christianity among the new peoples of Europe; 5) Sardis Church - the era of humanism and materialism of the XVI-XVIII centuries; 6) Philadelphia Church - the penultimate period of the life of Christ's Church - our contemporary era, when the Church really has "a little power" in modern humanity, and persecution will begin again when patience is needed; 7) The Laodicean Church is the last, most terrible epoch before the end of the world, characterized by indifference to faith and outward prosperity.
Chapter Four. SECOND VISION: A VISION OF GOD SITTING ON A THRONE AND THE LAMB
The fourth chapter contains the beginning of a new, second vision. The image of a new majestic spectacle that opened before the eyes of St. John, begins by commanding him to enter into the open door of heaven to see "what must be up to now." The opening of the door signifies the discovery of the innermost mysteries of the Spirit. With the words "arise semo," the listener is commanded to completely renounce earthly thoughts and turn to heavenly ones. “And abie was in the soul,” that is, again in a state of admiration, St. John saw, this time, God the Father Himself, Sitting on the throne. His appearance was similar to the precious stones "iaspis" ("green stone, like emeralds") and "sardinovi" (sardis, or serdonik, yellow-fiery color). The first of these colors is green, according to St. Andrew of Caesarea, meant that the Divine nature is ever-blossoming, life-giving and nourishing, and the second - yellow-red-fiery - purity and holiness, eternally abiding in God, and His formidable anger towards those who violate His will. The combination of these two colors indicates that God punishes sinners, but at the same time is always ready to forgive the sincerely penitent. The appearance of the One sitting on the throne was surrounded by an "arc" (rainbow), like an emerald, a green stone, which meant, like the rainbow that appeared after the flood, God's eternal mercy to mankind. The very sitting on the throne meant the opening of the Judgment of God, which is to be revealed in the last times. This is not the last Last Judgment, but a preliminary judgment, similar to those judgments of God that have been repeatedly in the history of mankind over sinned people (the Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the destruction of Jerusalem, and many others). The precious stones jasper and cornelian, as well as the rainbow around the throne, which is a symbol of the cessation of God's wrath and the renewal of the world, indicate that God's judgment on the world, that is, its fiery destruction, will end with its renewal. This is especially indicated by the property of the jasper to heal ulcers and wounds received from the sword (v. 1-3).
Around the throne on 24 other thrones sat 24 elders, dressed in white clothes, with golden crowns on their heads. There are many different opinions and assumptions about who should be understood by these elders. One thing is certain, that these are representatives of humanity that has pleased the Lord. Many believe, based on the promise given to St. To the Apostles: "You will also sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matt. 19:28), that under these 24 elders one must understand 12 representatives of the Old Testament humanity - St. Patriarchs and Prophets, and 12 representatives of the New Testament humanity, which the 12 Apostles of Christ can rightly be considered. White robes are a symbol of purity and eternal celebration, and golden crowns are a sign of victory over demons. From the throne "lightning and thunder and voices come out" - this indicates how terrible and terrible God is for unrepentant sinners, unworthy of his mercy and forgiveness. "And the seven priests of fire, burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God" - by these "seven spirits" one must understand either the seven main angels, as St. Irina, or the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit listed by St. the prophet Isaiah (11:2). "And before the throne the sea is glassy, like crystal" - the crystal sea, as still and still, in contrast to the stormy sea, seen later by St. John (13:1), should mean, according to many interpreters, "a multitude of holy powers of heaven, pure and immortal" (St. Andrew of Caesarea), these are the souls of people who were not agitated by the storms of the sea of \u200b\u200blife, but, like a crystal, reflecting seven iridescent colors, imbued with the seven gifts of the grace of the Holy Spirit. “And in the midst of the throne and around the throne, four animals were full of eyes in front and behind” - some think that these animals mean the four elements and God’s control and preservation of them, or God’s dominion over the heavenly, earthly, sea and underworld. But, as is clear from the further description of the species of these animals, these are, without a doubt, the same angelic forces that, in the mysterious vision of St. prophet Ezekiel (1:28) on the river Chebar they supported a mysterious chariot, on which, as a king, the Lord God sat. These four animals served as emblems of the four Evangelists. Their many eyes signify Divine omniscience, knowledge of everything past, present and future. These are the highest and closest angelic beings to God, constantly glorifying God.
Chapter five. THE SECOND VISION CONTINUED: THE SEALED BOOK AND THE LAMB AS THAT IS SPOKEN
Lord Almighty, whom St. John seated on the throne, held in his right hand the Book written on the outside and inside and sealed with seven seals. Books in ancient times consisted of pieces of parchment rolled into a tube or wound around a round stick. A cord was threaded inside such a scroll, which was tied on the outside and attached with a seal. Sometimes the book consisted of a piece of parchment, which was folded into a fan shape and tied over the top with a cord sealed with seals on each fold or fold of the book. In this case, the opening of one seal made it possible to open and read only one part of the book. Writing was usually done on only one side of the parchment, but in rare cases it was written on both sides. According to the explanation of St. Andrew of Caesarea and others under the book seen by St. John, one should understand "God's wise memory", in which everything is inscribed, as well as the depth of Divine destinies. In this book, therefore, all the mysterious definitions of God's wise providence concerning the salvation of people were inscribed. The seven seals signify either the perfect and unfamiliar affirmation of the book, or the dispensation of the Divine Spirit, testing the depths, which none of the created beings can resolve. The book also refers to prophecies, about which Christ Himself said that some of them were fulfilled in the Gospel (Luke 24:44), but that the rest will be fulfilled in the last days. One of the strong Angels in a loud voice called out for someone to open this book, removing its seven seals, but no one was found worthy "neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under earth," who would dare to do this. This means that none of the created beings has access to the knowledge of the mysteries of God. This inaccessibility is strengthened by the expression "below the sight," that is, even "look into it" (vv. 1-3). The seer mourned a lot about this, but was consoled by one of the elders, who said: "Do not cry: behold, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered and can open this book and break its seven seals." "Lion" here means "strong", "hero". This points to the prophecy of Patriarch Jacob about the "Lion of the tribe of Judah", which meant the Messiah - Christ (Genesis 49:9-10). Glancing, the Seer saw "a Lamb as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes." This Lamb, bearing the marks of being sacrificed, is, of course, "the Lamb of God, take away the sins of the world" (John 1:29), that is, our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone was worthy to open the book of God's judgments, for He, as He who offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of people, Himself appeared as the fulfiller of God's decrees about the salvation of the human race. The further opening of the seven seals of the book by Him signifies the very fulfillment of Divine determinations by the Only Begotten Son of God, as the Savior of mankind. The seven horns are the symbols of His strength (Ps. 74:11), and the seven eyes mean, as it is immediately explained, "the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth," that is, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit resting in Christ as the Anointed of God , about which St. Prophet Isaiah (11:2) and St. Prophet Zechariah (4 ch.). The seven eyes also symbolize the omniscience of God. The Lamb stood "in the middle of the throne", that is, where the Son of God was supposed to be - at the right hand of God the Father (vv. 4-6). The Lamb took the book from the hand of the One sitting on the throne, and immediately four animals - Seraphim, and 24 elders, fell down on their faces, rendered Divine worship to Him. The harp, which they had in their hands, means the harmonious and harmonious Divine praise, the sonorous singing of their souls; golden bowls, as it is immediately explained - filled with incense, the prayers of the saints. And they sang to the Son of God, the Redeemer of mankind, a truly "new song", unheard of since the creation of the world, about which the psalmist King David foretold (Ps. 97:1). In this song, the new Kingdom of the Son of God is glorified, in which He reigned as the God-Man, who bought this Kingdom at the high price of His Blood. The redemption of mankind, although it actually applied only to mankind, was so amazing, so majestic, touching and sacred that it aroused the most lively participation in the entire heavenly host, so that all together, both Angels and people, glorified God for this work "and bow down to Him who lives forever and ever" (vv. 7-14).
Chapter six. THE LAMB'S OPENING OF THE SEALS OF THE MYSTERIOUS BOOK: FIRST - SIXTH SEALS
The sixth chapter tells about the removal by the Lamb of the first six seals of the mysterious book in turn and about what signs this was accompanied by. By the very opening of the seals one should understand the fulfillment of Divine decrees by the Son of God, who gave Himself as a Lamb to the slaughter. According to the explanation of St. Andrew of Caesarea, the opening of the first seal is an embassy in the world of St. The apostles, who, like a bow, having directed the Gospel sermon against the demons, brought the wounded to Christ with saving arrows and received a crown for defeating the head of darkness with the truth - this is what symbolizes the "white horse" and "sit on it" with a bow in their hands ( v. 1-2). The opening of the second seal and the appearance of a red horse, sitting on which "it was given to take peace from the earth," denotes the excitement of the infidels against the believers, when the gospel sermon broke the world in fulfillment of the words of Christ: "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10 :34), and when the blood of confessors and martyrs for Christ was abundantly poured into the earth. The "red horse" is a sign either of the shedding of blood, or of the heartfelt zeal of those who suffered for Christ (vv. 3-4). The removal of the third seal and the appearance after that of a black horse with a rider who had "a measure in his hand" signifies the falling away from Christ who do not have firm faith in Him. The black color of the horse symbolizes "weeping for those who have fallen away from the faith in Christ because of the severity of the torment." "A measure of wheat for a dinar" signifies those who labored lawfully and carefully preserved the Divine image given to them; “three measures of barley” are those who, like cattle, due to lack of courage, submitted to the persecutors out of fear, but then repented and washed the defiled image with tears; “and do no harm to oil and wine” means that one should not reject Christ’s healing because of fear, leave without it the wounded and “fallen” into robbers, but bring them “wine of consolation” and “oil of compassion”. Many understand the calamity of famine by the black horse (vv. 5-6).
The opening of the fourth seal and the appearance of a pale horse with a rider, whose name is death, means the manifestation of God's wrath in vengeance for sinners - these are various disasters of the last times, predicted by Christ the Savior (Mat. 24:6-7) (v. 7-8).
The lifting of the fifth seal is the prayer of the holy martyrs at the throne of God for the acceleration of the end of the world and the coming of the Last Judgment. St. John sees "under the altar the souls of those who were beaten for the word of God and for the testimony, even having them. And crying out with a great voice, saying: until, O Lord, Holy and True, do not judge and avenge our blood from those who live on earth." The souls of the righteous who suffered for Christ, as can be seen from this, are under the altar of the heavenly temple, just as it has become a custom on earth since the time of the martyrs Christian churches and altars to place particles of the relics of St. martyrs. The prayer of the righteous is explained, of course, not by the desire of their personal revenge, but by the acceleration of the triumph of God's truth on earth and that reward to each according to his deeds, which should take place at the Last Judgment and make them partakers of eternal bliss, as those who gave their lives for Christ and His Divine teaching . They were given white robes - a symbol of their virtue - and they were told to endure "still little time", until both their employees and the brethren who will be killed, like them, will complete the number, so that they all together receive a worthy reward from God (v. 9 -eleven).
The opening of the sixth seal symbolizes those natural disasters and horrors that will occur on earth in the last period of its existence immediately before the end of the world, the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgment. These will be the same signs that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself predicted shortly before His suffering on the Cross (Mat. 24:29; Luke 21:25-26): like blood, and the stars of heaven fell to the earth." These signs will cause mortal fear and horror in people of all states who will then live on earth, starting from kings, nobles and commanders of thousands and ending with slaves. All will tremble at the coming of the day of His great wrath, and the mountains and stones will pray: "Cover us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Similar horrors were experienced by the murderers of Christ during the destruction of Jerusalem. On an even greater scale, such horrors will befall all mankind before the end of the world.
Chapter seven. THE APPEARANCE AFTER THE SIXTH SEAL IS OPENED: 144,000 SEALED ON EARTH AND CLOTHED IN WHITE IN HEAVEN
Following that, St. The seer sees four Angels "standing at the four corners of the earth," "to whom it is given to harm the earth and the sea." They appeared, obviously, as the executors of God's judgment on the universe. One of the tasks set by him: "retaining the winds." As St. Andrew of Caesarea, this "clearly testifies to the destruction of the subjugation of the creature and the inevitability of evil, because everything growing on the earth vegetates and feeds on the winds; with the help of them, they also swim in the sea." But immediately another "angel" appeared, who had the "seal of the living God" in order to put this seal on the foreheads of God's servants and thereby deliver them from the coming executions of God. This is something similar to what was once discovered by St. to the prophet Ezekiel about a man clothed in a podir, that is, in a long linen garment, and imposing a seal "on the faces of those who groan" (Ezek. 9: 4), so that the righteous would not be destroyed with the unrighteous (for even the angels do not know the hidden virtues of the Saints). This Angel commanded the first four not to do any harm "neither to the earth, nor to the sea, nor to the trees," until he put a seal on the foreheads of God's servants. What this seal consists of, we do not know, and there is no need to seek it out. Perhaps this will be a sign of the Holy Cross of the Lord, by which it will be easy to distinguish believers from unbelievers and apostates; maybe it will be the seal of martyrdom for Christ. This sealing will begin with the Israelites, who before the end of the world will turn to Christ, as St. Apostle Paul (Rom. 9:27, also chapters 10 and 11). In each of the 12 tribes there will be 12,000 sealed, and only 144,000. Among these tribes, the tribe of Dan is not mentioned, because, according to legend, the Antichrist will come from it. Instead of the tribe of Dan, the priestly tribe of Leviino is mentioned, which was not previously included in the number of 12 tribes. Such a limited number is exhibited, perhaps, in order to show how few the saved children of Israel are in comparison with the innumerable multitude of those who loved the Lord Jesus Christ from all the other nations of the earth who were Gentiles (v. 1-8).
Following that, St. John is presented with another wondrous sight: “Many people, which no one can wipe out, from every tongue and tribe and people and tribes, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and dates in their hands. And crying out with a great voice, saying: salvation our God and the Lamb who sits on the throne," according to St. Andrew of Caesarea, "these are those" about whom David says: "I will number them and multiply more than sand" (Ps. 139:18), - who previously suffered martyrdom for Christ and from every tribe and nation having in recent times with courage to accept suffering. By the outpouring of their blood for Christ, some of them have made white, while others will whiten the garments of their deeds. In their hands are palm branches - signs of victory over the devil. Their fate is eternal rejoicing before the throne of God. One of the heavenly elders explained to St. John that these are "these beings who came from great tribulation, and asked (washed) their garments, and whitened their garments in the blood of the Lamb." All these signs clearly point to them as martyrs for Christ, and the expression that they "came from the great tribulation" leads some interpreters to suppose that these are Christians who will be beaten by the Antichrist in the last period of the existence of the world. For Christ the Savior Himself proclaimed this tribulation, saying: "Then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, and will not be" (Matt. 24:21). This will be that addition to the number of martyrs, which is mentioned in (Rev. 6:11). As the highest reward they will receive, it is indicated that they will remain before the throne of God, serving God "day and night", which figuratively indicates the continuity of this service, for, as St. Andrey, "there will be no night there, but one day, illuminated not by the sensual sun, but by the spirit-bearing Sun of Truth." The features of the bliss of these righteous are expressed in the words: “They will not yearn for that, they thirst below, they will not have the sun to graze on them, below all heat,” that is, they will no longer endure any disasters. The "Lamb" himself will "shepherd them", that is, lead them, they will be vouchsafed an abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit ("animal springs of water"), "and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (v. 9-17).
Chapter eight. THE OPENING OF THE SEVENTH SEAL AND THE THANKS OF THE ANGEL'S PIPES: FIRST - FOURTH
When the Lamb opened the last, seventh seal, "there was silence in heaven, like half an hour" - so it is in the physical world: the onset of a storm is often preceded by deep silence. This silence in heaven meant the concentration of the reverent attention of the angels and people standing before the throne of God, in anticipation of the terrible signs of God's wrath before the end of this age and the appearance of the Kingdom of Christ. Seven angels appeared, to whom seven trumpets were given, and another angel stood before the altar with a golden censer. "And many incense was given to him, so that he would give the prayers of the saints all on the altar of gold that exists before the throne." Before the first seven Angels, as punishers of the erring human race, begin their work, the saints intercede before God for the people, with the Angel of prayer at the head. St. Andrew of Caesarea says that the Saints will implore God that "according to the calamities that strike at the end of the world, the torments of ungodly and lawless people in the next age will be weakened and that with His coming He will reward those who labor." At the same time, the saints will again and again pray to God, as they prayed at the opening of the fifth seal (Rev. 6:9-11), that God would manifest His justice over the lawless and persecutors of the Christian faith and stop the ferocity of the tormentors. The executions described after that were undoubtedly the result of this prayer. The Lord shows here that he does not disregard the prayers of His faithful servants. And this is how strong this prayer turned out to be: “And the incense smoke came out with the prayers of the saints from the hand of an angel before God. And the angel took the censer, and filled it from the fire that existed on the altars, and put it on the earth. and the seven angels, who had seven trumpets, were prepared to sound the trumpet." All this denotes the horrors that will occur at the end of the world.
After that, the trumpet sounds of all seven Angels follow one after another, which are accompanied each time by great disasters - executions for the earth and its inhabitants (v. 1-6).
"And the first angel sounded, and it was hail and fire, mixed with blood, and falling to the ground: and the third part of the tree was on fire, and every green grass was on fire" - God's punishments follow gradually, which indicates God's mercy and long-suffering, calling sinners to repentance. First, God's punishment strikes a third of the trees and all the grass. Bread and other herbs necessary for the nutrition of people and livestock are burned at the root. Under "hail falling on the ground" and exterminating "fire mixed with blood" many interpreters understood a war of extermination. Is it not aerial bombardment with its destructive and incendiary bombs (v. 7)?
"And the second angel sounded, and like a great mountain with a burning fire, it was thrown into the sea: and there was a third part of the sea blood, and a third part of the creatures that are in the sea, having souls, and a third part of the ships perished" - it can be assumed that at the bottom of one a volcano will open from the oceans, the fiery lava of which will fill a third of the earth's water basins, bringing death to all living things. Others believe that this refers to terrible bloody sea battles with the help of newly invented murderous weapons (vv. 8-9).
"And the third Angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning, like a candle, and fell on a third part of the rivers, and on water sources. And the name of the star is said Apsinthos (which means: wormwood): and there was a third part of the waters like wormwood: and many people have died from the waters, like bitter besha "- some think that this meteor will fall to the ground and poison the water sources on the earth, which will become poisonous. Or maybe this is also one of the newly invented methods of a future terrible war (vv. 10-11).
“And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was wounded, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, so that the third part of them would be eclipsed, and let the third part not shine during the day, and the night like that” - it is now impossible for us to understand this; one thing is clear, that this will have to be accompanied by various disasters for people - crop failures, famine, etc. The "third part" indicates the moderation of all disasters. "Woe, woe, woe to those who live on earth" - this voice of the Angel indicates the philanthropy and compassion of the Divine Angels, who regret the unrepentant people who are subjected to such disasters. Under the Angels with trumpets, some understand Christian preachers calling for admonition and repentance.
Chapter nine. VOICES OF THE FIFTH AND SIXTH ANGELIC BLASTERS: LOCUST AND HORSE TROOPS
According to the trumpet voice of the fifth Angel, a star fell from heaven, and “the key to the treasury of the abyss was given to her. She opened the treasury of the abyss, and smoke came out of the treasury, like smoke from a great furnace: and the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke from the treasury. And from the smoke locusts came out on the ground..." These locusts, like scorpions, were commanded to torment people who did not have the seal of God on them for "five months". St. Andrew of Caesarea under this star understands the Angel sent to punish people, under the "treasury of the abyss" - Gehenna, "pruzi", or locust, these, in his opinion, are worms, about which the prophet said: "Their worm will not die" ( Isaiah 66:24); the darkening of the sun and air indicates the spiritual blindness of people, "five months" means the short duration of this execution, since "if the days had not ceased, all flesh would not have been saved" (Matt. 24:22); one can also see here the correspondence to the five external senses through which sin enters the human soul. And that this locust “does not harm the grasses of the earth, but only men,” this is so because the whole creation is freed from corruption, for whose sake it is now slaves. , female hair, has lion's teeth, a body covered with iron scales, as if with armor, wings that make noise and crackle, as if from many chariots rushing to war, and, finally, a tail armed with a sting, like that of scorpions - all this leads some interpreters to the idea that this locust is nothing but an allegorical representation of human passions.Each of these passions, having reached a certain limit, has all the signs of this monstrous locust (see F. Yakovlev's interpretation). "Five months" indicate on the short duration of vicious pleasures in comparison with the eternity of torment that then follows.Describing the approach of the day of the Lord, the holy prophet Joel also describes the appearance of destroyers in front of him, somewhat reminiscent of these locusts. Modern interpreters, not without some measure of justice, find similarities in these locusts with airplanes - bombers. The horrors to which people will then be subjected will be such that they will seek death, but will not find it; "Desire to die, and death will flee from them." This indicates the torment of the sufferings that have to comprehend people. Under the king of these locusts, bearing the name of the angel of the abyss - "Abvadon", or in Greek "Apollyon", the interpreters understand the devil (v. 1-12).
When the trumpet of the sixth angel sounded, he was ordered to free the third part of the people of the four angels who were bound by the Euphrates river to defeat the third part of the people. But so that this defeat does not happen suddenly and in one go. Angels are appointed to act at a certain hour, day, month and summer. Following this, a large cavalry army appeared. The riders were in fiery armor, hyacinth (violet or dark crimson) and sulfur (flaming sulfur); their horses with lion heads emitting fire, smoke and brimstone from their jaws, the tails of the horses were like snakes that stung. St. Andrew understands these four Angels as "sly demons" who are freed from their bonds to punish people. By "horses" he means womanizing and bestial people; under the "horsemen" - those who control them, under the "fiery armor" - the devouring activity of crafty spirits, whose murderousness and brutality are described under the guise of "lion heads". “The fire that comes out of their mouths with smoke and brimstone,” by which a third of the people will be destroyed, means either sins, with the poisonous suggestions, teachings and temptations, burning the fruits of the heart, or by God’s allowance, the devastation of cities and bloodshed by the barbarians. Their "tails" are like serpents with heads, for the end of demonic sowing is poisonous sin and spiritual death. Other interpreters understand this image as an allegorical representation of a terrible bloody war, monstrous, merciless. Rare in its horrors and ruthlessness was the Second World War we recently experienced. This is why some see tanks spewing fire under this terrible cavalry. It is also quite characteristic that the people who survived these horrors, "do not repent from the works of their hands ... and do not repent from their murders, nor from their sorcery, lower from their fornication, lower from their thieves" - such will be before the end of the world general bitterness and petrified insensitivity. This is already being observed.
Chapter ten. ABOUT THE ANGEL CLOTHED WITH A CLOUD AND A RAINBOW, FORETELLING THE DEATH
This phenomenon has the form of an introductory legend. It stops the continuation of prophetic parables, but does not interrupt them. - Before the last, seventh trumpet sound of St. John saw a majestic Angel descending from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, with a face shining like the sun; his fiery feet became one on the sea, the other on land; in his hand was an open book. Some think that this Angel is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself or the Holy Spirit, but St. John called him "Angel", and St. Andrew of Caesarea believes that this is precisely the Angel, perhaps one of the Seraphim, adorned with the glory of the Lord. His standing on the sea and on land means dominion over the elements of the earthly world, according to St. Andrew - "Induced by the Angel of fear and punishment to the wicked, robbers on land and on the sea." The book he held in his hand, according to St. Andrew, contained "the names and deeds of those of the most crafty who rob or otherwise commit atrocities on land and kill at sea", according to other interpretations, contained in general prophecies about the future fate of the world and mankind. The angel exclaimed in a loud voice: "Seven thunders speak their voices" - but when St. John wished to write down these thunderous words, he was forbidden to do so. St. Andrew of Caesarea believes that these "seven thunders" or "seven voices" of one threatening Angel, or seven other Angels, foreshadowing the future. What they said is "now unknown, but will later be explained by the very experience and the course of things." The final knowledge and explanation of what they proclaimed belongs to the last times. Some believe that these are seven periods in the history of mankind: 1) The triumph of Christianity over paganism, 2) the Great Migration of Nations and the collapse of the Roman Empire, on the site of which new Christian states arise, 3) The emergence of Mohammedanism and the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, 4) The era of the Crusades campaigns, 5) The fall of piety in Byzantium, conquered by Islam, and in Ancient Rome, where the spirit of papism prevailed, resulting in apostasy from the Church in the form of the Reformation, 6) Revolutions and the establishment of social anarchy everywhere, from which the "son of perdition" must emerge - Antichrist and 7) the restoration of the Roman, that is, the world, empire with Antichrist at the head and the end of the world. There was no need to depict all these events ahead, for they unfold in time (10:1-4). But after that, the Angel, raising his hand, swore to those who live forever and ever that "time will no longer be", that is, the usual circulation of the elemental world will stop, and there will be no time measured by the sun, but eternity will come. It is important here that the Angel swore by "he who lives forever and ever," that is, by God Himself. Therefore, the sectarians are not right, considering that no oath is generally inadmissible (v. 5-6). “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when the trumpet is sounded, then the mystery of God will end, as if the prophets were to preach the good news,” that is, the last, seventh epoch of the existence of the world will soon come, when the seventh angel will sound, and then the “mystery of God” predicted by the prophets will take place , that is, the end of the world will come, and everything that should happen in connection with it (v. 7).
Following that, St. John, at the command of a voice from heaven, went up to the Angel, and the Angel gave him the little book to swallow, which he held open in his hand. "And it was in my mouth as sweet as honey: and when I ate, it was bitter in my womb." It is indicated here that St. John received the prophetic gift, just as the Old Testament prophets, such as St. the prophet Ezekiel, who was also commanded to eat a book scroll before he was sent by the Lord to preach to the House of Israel (Ezek. 2:8-10; 3:1-4). Sweetness and bitterness, according to St. Andrew, mean the following: "Sweet for you, he says, is the knowledge of the future, but at the same time it is bitter for the womb, that is, the heart - the receptacle of verbal food, because of compassion for those who must endure the punishment sent down by the Divine definition." Another meaning of this is this: "Because the holy Evangelist did not experience evil deeds by swallowing a book containing the deeds of the wicked, it is shown to him that at the beginning of a sin there is sweetness, and after it is committed - bitterness, because of vengeance and retribution." The compassionate heart of the Apostle could not but feel all the bitterness of sorrow that awaited sinful mankind. In conclusion, St. John is commanded to prophesy (vv. 8-11).
Chapter Eleven. PROPHECIES OF THE TEMPLE, OF ENOCH AND ELIJAH, THE trumpet of the seventh angel
After that, the Apostle was given "a reed like a rod, and said: Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it, but exclude the outer court of the temple and do not measure it, for it was given to the Gentiles: they will trample the holy city for forty-two months ". According to the interpretation of St. Andrew, "the temple of the Living God is the Church in which we offer verbal sacrifices. The outer court is a society of unbelievers and Jews unworthy of the angelic dimension (that is, determining the degree of their moral perfection and corresponding bliss) for their impiety." The trampling of the holy city of Jerusalem or the Universal Church for 42 months means that at the coming of Antichrist the faithful will be persecuted for three and a half years. Some interpreters suggest that this dimension of the temple signifies the imminent destruction of Jerusalem. Old Testament temple, in whose place the New Testament Christian Church will be erected, just as a similar measurement of the temple with a cane in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel (chapters 40-45) signified the restoration of the destroyed temple. Others believe that the inner court, which was measured by the Apostle, means "the Church of the firstborn in heaven (Heb. 12:23)", the heavenly sanctuary, and the outer court, left without measurement, is the Church of Christ on earth, which must endure persecution first from the Gentiles, and then in the last times from the Antichrist. The plight of the earthly Church is limited, however, to a period of 42 months. Some interpreters saw the fulfillment of the prediction about 42 months in the persecution of Diocletian, which was distinguished by the greatest cruelty and lasted from February 23, 305 to July 25, 308, that is, just about three and a half years. The persecution will affect only the outer court, that is, the outer side of the life of Christians, from whom their property will be taken away, they will be subjected to torment; but the inner sanctuary of their souls will remain untouched (v. 1-2).
During the same time, or 1260 days, people will preach repentance and turn them away from the deceit of the Antichrist "two witnesses of God", under which all St. the fathers and teachers of the Church, almost unanimously, understood the Old Testament righteous Enoch and Elijah taken to heaven alive. During their preaching activities, having power and authority over the elements to punish and admonish the wicked, they themselves will be invulnerable. And only at the end of their mission, after three and a half years, "the beast coming out of the abyss", that is, the Antichrist, will be allowed by God to kill the preachers, and their corpses will be thrown on the streets of the great city, "which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was also crucified", that is, apparently, the city of Jerusalem, where the Antichrist will establish his kingdom, posing as the Messiah, foretold by the prophets. Enticed by the false miracles of the Antichrist, who, with the help of the devil, will be the most glorious of all magicians and deceivers, they will not allow the body of St. prophets and rejoice in their death. "Because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth," awakening their consciences. The gloating of the wicked will not last. Three and a half days later, St. the prophets will be quickened by God and caught up into heaven. At the same time, a great earthquake will occur, a tenth of the city will be destroyed and seven thousand people will die, and the rest, seized with fear, will give glory to the God of heaven. Thus the cause of the Antichrist will be dealt a decisive blow (vv. 3-13).
After that, the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and joyful exclamations were heard in heaven: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and will reign forever and ever," and twenty-four elders, falling on their faces, rendered worship to God, giving thanks to Him and praise for the beginning of His righteous judgment over the human race. "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple; and there were lightnings and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail" - through this, according to the interpretation of St. Andrew, points to the revelation of the blessings prepared for the Holy One, which, according to the Apostle, "are all hidden in Christ, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwells" (Col. 2:3, 9). They will be opened when terrible voices, lightning, thunder and hail are sent to the lawless and wicked, bringing the torment of Gehenna in an earthquake.
Chapter twelve. THE THIRD VISION: THE STRUGGLE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITH THE ANTI-CHRIST FORCES, HOSTILE TO IT. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST UNDER THE IMAGE OF A WIFE IN DISEASES OF BIRTH
"And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman is clothed with the sun, and the moon is under her feet, and on her head is a crown of twelve stars." Some interpreters saw in this mysterious woman the Most Holy Theotokos, but such prominent interpreters of the Apocalypse as St. Hippolyte, St. Methodius and St. Andrew of Caesarea, they find that this is "the Church clothed in the Word of the Father, shining more than the sun." This brilliance of the sun also means that she has a true knowledge of God, His laws and contains His revelations. The moon under her feet is a sign that she is above all that is changeable. St. Methodius "allegorically considers faith to be the bath of those cleansed from corruption by the moon, since the moist nature depends on the moon." On her head is a crown of 12 stars as a sign that, being originally assembled from the 12 tribes of Israel, she was subsequently led by 12 Apostles, who made up her luminous glory. “And in the womb of the mother, she cries out sick and suffering to give birth” - this is what shows that it is wrong to see the Most Holy Theotokos in this wife, for the birth of the Son of God from Her was painless. These birth pangs signify the difficulties that had to be overcome by the Church of Christ in establishing it in the world (martyrdom, the spread of heresies). However, this means, according to St. Andrew that "the Church is in pain for each of those regenerated by water and the Spirit" until, as the Divine Apostle said, "Christ is imagined in them." "The church hurts," says St. Methodius, "regenerating those of the soul into spiritual ones and transforming them in form and manner in the likeness of Christ" (vv. 1-2).
"And another sign appeared in heaven, and behold, a great black (red) serpent, having seven heads and ten horns: and on its heads a seven crown" - in this image of the serpent one cannot help but see the "ancient serpent", called "the devil and Satan ", which is spoken of below (v. 9). The red-purple color means his bloodthirsty ferocity, the seven heads denote his extreme cunning and deceit (as opposed to the "seven spirits" of God or the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit); 10 horns - its evil power and strength, directed against the 10 commandments of the Law of God; the crowns on his heads signify the reigning power of the devil in his gloomy kingdom. In the application to the history of the Church, some see in these 7 crowns seven kings who rebelled against the Church, and in 10 horns - 10 persecutions against the Church (v. 3).
“And his trunk (in Russian: tail) is torn away by a third of the stars of heaven, and I put it in the ground” - under these stars, which the devil dragged along to fall, the interpreters understand the fallen angels or demons. They also mean the heads of churches and teachers, corrupted by satanic power... "And the serpent standing before the woman who wants to give birth, yes, when she gives birth, to bear her child" - "the devil always takes arms against the Church, strenuously trying to make those who are reborn with his food" (St. Andrew) (Art. 4).
"And give birth to a son of a man, who has to fall all tongues with a rod of iron" - the image of Jesus Christ, for, as St. Andrew, "in the person of those who are baptized, the Church unceasingly brings forth Christ," as according to the Apostle, "who is portrayed in them even to the full stature of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). And St. Hippolytus also says that "the Church will not cease to give birth to the Word from the heart, which is persecuted in the world by the unbelievers" - the Church always gives birth to the people of Christ, whom from the very beginning, in the person of Herod, Satan sought to devour (v. 5).
“And her child was caught up to God and to His throne” – so the Lord Jesus Christ was caught up into heaven on the day of His glorious ascension and sat on the throne of His Father, at His right hand; so also all the saints, in whom Christ is imagined, rapture to God, so as not to be overcome by temptations that exceed their strength; so all Christians of the last times will be raptured "to the meeting of the Lord in the air" (1 Thess. 4:17) (v. 5).
“But the woman fled into the wilderness, where a place was prepared for her by God, but there she eats for a thousand two hundred and sixty days” - under this flight of the wife into the wilderness, many see the flight of Christians from Jerusalem besieged by the Romans during the great Jewish war of 66-70 years. in the city of Pella and the Jordanian desert. This war actually lasted three and a half years. Beneath this desert one can see both the desert where the first Christians fled from persecutors, and the desert in which the venerable ascetics fled from the wiles of the devil (v. 6).
"And there was a battle in heaven: Michael and his angels made war with the serpent, and the serpent, and his angels ... and not being able to ... and the great serpent, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, flatter the whole universe .. to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him" - according to the interpretation of St. Andrew, these words can also be attributed to the first devilish overthrow from the Angelic rank for pride and envy, as well as his defeat by the Sovereign Cross, when, says the Lord, "the prince of this world was condemned" and expelled from his former dominion (John 12:31 ). Under the image of this battle, they also see the victory of Christianity over paganism, since the devil and his demons with all their might aroused and armed the pagans to fight against the Church of Christ. In this victory over the devil, the Christians themselves took an active part, who "overcame him with the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony: and did not love their souls even to death," which were St. martyrs. Defeated in two battles - with Michael the Archangel and his heavenly armies in heaven and with the martyrs of Christ on earth - Satan still retained some appearance of power on earth, crawling over it like a snake. Living out his last days on earth, Satan plots the last and decisive battle with God and believing Christians with the help of the Antichrist and his accomplice the false prophet (vv. 7-12).
"And when he saw the serpent, it was as if he was cast down to the ground, persecuting the woman ... and two winged wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, so that she soars into the wilderness in her place, where she was soaked" ... the devil will not stop persecuting the Church, but the Church, having two eagle wings - the Old and the New Testament - will hide from the devil into the wilderness, by which one can understand both the spiritual and sensual wilderness, into which true Christian ascetics hid and are hiding (vv. 13-14).
And let the serpent out of your mouth after the woman, like a river, so that it will drown me in the river. And help the earth to the woman, and the earth opened its mouth, and devoured the river, which brought the serpents out of their mouths" - by this "water" St. Andrew means "a multitude of either evil demons, or various temptations," , - "the humility of the saints, who, speaking from the heart" "I am earth and ashes (Gen. 18:27)", thereby dissolve all the devil's nets, for, as revealed by the Angel to Divine Anthony, nothing so stops and crushes the forces devil, as humility. Some understand by this the terrible persecution of the Church from pagan emperors, and the rivers of Christian blood that then flowed. Like a river that overflows the earth and is swallowed up by it, all the evil efforts of Satan collapsed and disappeared without a trace when Christianity triumphed over paganism under Emperor Constantine the Great (v. 16).
"And the serpent was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the remaining seed of her, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" - this is that continuous and centuries-old struggle that the devil waged against all the true sons of the Church after the establishment of Christianity on earth and which he will lead increasingly to the end of the world, until his efforts are exhausted and terminate in the person of Antichrist (v. 17).
Chapter thirteen. THE BEAST-ANTICHRIST AND HIS ASSISTANT-FALSE PROPHET
By this "beast coming out of the sea," almost all interpreters understand the Antichrist coming out of the "sea of life," that is, from the midst of the human race, which is agitated like the sea. From this it is clear that the Antichrist will not be any spirit or demon, but a pernicious offspring of the human race, not the incarnated devil, as some thought, but a man. Some understood this “beast” as a God-fighting state, such as the Roman Empire in the days of early Christianity, and in the last times there will be the world kingdom of the Antichrist. Gloomy features draws St. The seer is the image of this last enemy of Christ's Church. This is a beast that looks like a leopard, with legs like a bear, and with a lion's mouth. Thus, in the personality of the Antichrist, the properties and qualities of the most ferocious animals will be combined. He has the same seven heads as the devil-dragon himself, and these heads are covered with blasphemous names to visually depict his inner wickedness and contempt for everything holy. His ten horns are crowned with diadems as a sign that he will use his God-fighting strength with the power of a king on earth. This power he will receive with the help of the dragon, or the devil, who will give him his throne (vv. 1-2).
The mystic noticed that one of the heads of the beast was, as it were, mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed, and this surprised the whole earth that followed the beast, and forced the frightened people to submit, both to the dragon that gave power to the beast, and to the beast itself. All bowed down to him, saying: Who is like this beast, and who can fight with him? All this means that it will not be easy for the Antichrist to gain power over all mankind, that at first he will have to wage cruel wars and even experience a strong defeat, but then his amazing victories and reign over the world will follow. The Antichrist who reigns will be given a mouth that speaks proudly and blasphemies, and the power to act for forty-two months. Thus, his power will be short-lived, because otherwise, according to the Savior's word, no flesh would be saved (Matt. 24:22). In (v. 6-10) the mode of action of the Antichrist is indicated: he will be distinguished by blasphemy, violence against people who do not submit to him, and "it will be given to him to wage war with the saints and defeat them," that is, to force them to obey himself, of course, purely outwardly, for only those whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life will worship the Antichrist. By patience and faith alone, the saints will defend themselves against the Antichrist, and the Seer comforts them with the assurance that "he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword," that is, that righteous retribution awaits the Antichrist (vv. 1-10).
Further in (v. 11-17) the Seer speaks of the accomplice of the Antichrist - the false prophet and his activities. This is also a "beast" (in Greek "Firion", which means a beast in which its bestial nature is especially pronounced, as, for example, in wild animals: a hyena, a jackal, a tiger), but it is depicted not coming out of the sea, as the first, but "out of the earth". This means that all his feelings and thoughts will be of a completely earthly, sensual nature. He has "two horns like a lamb," according to St. Andrew, in order "to cover the murderousness of the hidden wolf with the skin of a sheep, and because at first he will try to have an image of piety. St. Irenaeus says that this is" the armor-bearer of the Antichrist and a false prophet. He was given the power of signs and wonders, in order to precede the Antichrist, to prepare for him the path of destruction. The healing of the bestial sore, we say, is either an apparent union for a short time of a divided kingdom, or a fleeting restoration by the Antichrist of the dominion of Satan, destroyed by the cross of the Lord, or an imaginary resurrection of someone close to him who has died. He will speak like a serpent, for he will do and speak what is characteristic of the head of evil - the devil. "Imitating the Lord Jesus Christ, he will also use two forces to establish the power of Antichrist: the power of words and the power of miracles. But he will say," as dragon", that is, blasphemous, and the fruit of his speeches will be godlessness and extreme wickedness. For the sake of seducing people, he will create "signs of greatness", so that fire will be able to bring down from heaven, and what is especially noteworthy, "it will be given to him to put the spirit into the image beast, that is, the Antichrist, so that the image of the beast speaks and acts. "But these will not be true miracles, which only God does, but "false miracles" (2 Thess. 2:9). They will consist in dexterity, in deceiving the senses and in the use of the natural, but secret forces of nature, with the help of the devil, within the limits of the power of his devilish powers. right hand them or on their foreheads, "just as in ancient times the slaves wore once burned marks on their foreheads, and the soldiers on their hands. The dominion of the Antichrist will be so despotic that "no one will be able to buy or sell, except those who have this mark , or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Extreme mystery is associated with the name of the Antichrist and "the number of his name." The Apocalypse says this about it: "Here is wisdom. Whoever has a mind, count the number of the beast, for this is the number of a man; his number is six hundred and sixty-six. "Many efforts have been made, since ancient times, in order to unravel the meaning and meaning of these words, but they did not lead to anything positive. Most often, attempts were made to find the name of the Antichrist from the addition of letters of various numerical values. For example, according to St. Irenaeus, the animal number 666 is formed by adding the numerical value of the letters, the name "Lateinos" or "Teitan". Some found the animal number in the name of Julian the Apostate; later - in the title of the Pope - "Vicarius Filia Dei" ("Vicar of the Son God's"), in the name of Napoleon, etc. Our schismatics tried to deduce the number 666 from the name of Patriarch Nikon. Arguing about the name of the Antichrist, St. Andrew says: "If there was a need to know his name, the Seer would have revealed it, but the grace of God did not deign to have this pernicious name written in the Divine book. "If you examine the words, then, according to St. Hippolytus, you can find many names, both proper and common nouns, corresponding to this number (v. 18).
Chapter fourteen. PREPARATORY EVENTS BEFORE THE GENERAL RESURRECTION AND THE TERRIBLE JUDGMENT; PRAISE OF 144,000 RIGHTEOUS AND ANGELS SHOWING THE FATE OF THE WORLD
Depicting the highest stage of the triumph of the devil through his servant - the Antichrist on earth, St. John turns his gaze to heaven and sees: "Behold the Lamb standing on Mount Zionstae, and with Him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having the name of His Father written on their foreheads." They are those "who are not defiled with women, for they are virgins; they are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes." This vision depicts the Church, the pure bride of Christ, during the prosperity of the empire of the beast. The number 144,000 seems to have the same meaning here as in ch. Art. 2-8. These are the chosen ones of God from all the peoples of the earth, figuratively represented in the form of 12 tribes of Israel. The fact that the name of the Father of the Lamb is written on their foreheads means the distinctive qualities of their inner disposition - their moral character and way of life, their entire dedication to serving God. They are joined by a host of people playing the harp "like a new song." This is a song about the new creation of God, a song about the redemption and renewal of mankind by the blood of the Lamb of God. Only the redeemed part of mankind sings this song, and therefore "no one could learn this song, except these one hundred and forty-four thousand redeemed from the earth" (vv. 1-5). Some interpreters here understand by "virgins" not virgins in the literal sense of the word, but those who were saved from the mire of paganism and idolatry, since in the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament idolatry is often called fornication.
Following that, St. The psychic had a second vision: three angels soaring in the sky. One proclaimed to people the "eternal gospel" and seemed to say: "Fear God and do not be afraid of the Antichrist, who cannot destroy your body and souls, and resist him with boldness, for judgment and retribution are near, and he has power only for a short time. "(St. Andrew of Caesarea). Some under this "Angel" understand the preachers of the Gospel in general. Another Angel announced the fall of Babylon, which is usually understood as the kingdom of evil and sin in the world. Some interpreters understood by this "Babylon" the ancient pagan Rome, which made all nations drunk with the "wine of wandering" or idolatry. Others see under this symbol a false Christian Empire, and under the "wine of fornication" - a false teaching of religion (cf. Jeremiah 51:7). The third angel threatened with eternal torment all those who serve the beast and worship him and his image, and receive his mark on the forehead or hand. Under the "wine of God's wrath" one must understand the heavy judgments of God, which lead people into a frenzy and, like drunkards, disturb the spirit. In Palestine, wine is never consumed whole, undiluted with water. Therefore, the wrath of God, in its powerful effect, is here likened to undissolved wine. The wicked will be subjected to eternal torment, but the Saints will be saved by their patience. At the same time, St. The apostle heard a voice from heaven saying: “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors, and their deeds will follow them. "The voice of heaven," explains St. Andrew, "does not please everyone, but only those who, having mortified themselves for the world, die in the Lord they bear in their bodies the deadness of Jesus, and they sympathize with Christ. For these, the departure from the body is, in truth, rest from labor.” Here we also find further evidence of the importance of good works for salvation, denied by the Protestants (vv. 6-13).
Looking up at the sky, St. The apostle saw the Son of God sitting on a cloud in a golden crown and with a sickle in his hand. The angels announced to Him that the harvest was ready and that the grapes were already ripe. Then "he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle to the ground, and the earth was reaped." By this "harvest" we must understand the end of the world (cf. Matt. 13:39). At the same time, the angel threw his sickle to the ground and cut the bunches of grapes "and threw them into the great winepress of the wrath of God." By "the winepress of God's wrath" is meant the place of punishment prepared for the devil and his angels. According to the multitude of those tormented in it, it is called "great." By “grapes” are meant the enemies of the Church, whose iniquities have grown to the extreme (“the berries have ripened on him”), so that the measure of their crimes has overflowed (vv. 14-20).
"And the winepress was in good order outside the city, and blood came out from the winepress even to the horse's bridles, from the stages of a thousand and six hundred" - in Russian: "and the berries were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress even to the horse's bridles, on one thousand six hundred stades." This hints at the city of Jerusalem, outside of which, on the Mount of Olives, there were many winepresses in which olives and grapes were pressed (cf. Joel 3:13). horse bridle. Used here St. The psychic hyperbolic expression shows that the defeat of the enemies of God will be the most terrible, so that their blood will flow like rivers. 1600 stadia is a definite number, taken instead of an indefinite one, and means in general a vast field of battle (v. 20).
Chapter fifteen. THE FOURTH VISION: SEVEN ANGELS HAVING THE SEVEN LAST PELLERS
This chapter begins the last, fourth vision, embracing the last eight chapters of the Apocalypse (ch. 15-22). St. John saw "like a sea of glass mixed with fire; and those who conquered the beast and his image, and his mark, and the number of his name, stand on this glass sea", and to the accompaniment of the harp they glorify the Lord "with the song of Moses, the servant of God and the song of the Lamb." "Glass Sea", according to St. Andrew of Caesarea, means the multitude of those who are being saved, the purity of the future rest and the lordship of the Saints, with the virtuous rays of which they "shine like the sun" (Matt. 13:43). And that fire is mixed there, this can be understood from what the Apostle wrote: "Everyone's work, as it is, the fire will test" (1 Cor. 3:13). It does not in the least harm the pure and undefiled, because, according to the Psalm saying (Psalm 28:7), it has two properties: one - scorching sinners, the other - as Basil the Great understood, enlightening the righteous. It is also plausible if by fire we mean Divine knowledge and the grace of the Life-giving Spirit, for in fire God revealed himself to Moses, and in the form of fiery tongues the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles. The fact that the righteous sing "the song of Moses" and "the song of the Lamb" obviously indicates "those who were justified to grace under the law" and "those who lived righteously after the coming of Christ." The song of Moses is also sung as a song of victory: “those who celebrate the last important victory over the enemy decently recall the first successes of their struggle, which in the history of the chosen people of God was the victory of Moses over Pharaoh. His song is now sung by the victorious Christians.” This song sounds very solemn: "Let us sing to the Lord, for you have been glorified" - and in this case it is quite appropriate (vv. 2-4).
"Gusli" means the harmony of virtues in the well-organized spiritual life of the righteous, or the agreement that is observed among them between the word of truth and the deed of truth. The righteous in their song glorify God and for the revelation of His judgments: "As Thy justifications appear."
After this, “the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,” in the image of which God commanded Moses in the Old Testament to build an earthly tabernacle, and “seven angels went out of the temple, even having seven plagues.” The seer says that they were dressed in clean and bright linen clothes, as a sign of the purity and lordship of their virtue, and they were girded around their chests with golden belts as a sign of power, purity of their being, honesty and unlimitedness in service (St. Andrew of Caesarea). From one of the four "animals", that is, the elder Angels, they received "seven golden phials", or seven golden bowls, "full of the wrath (wrath) of God who lives forever and ever." These "animals" are the Cherubim or Seraphim, the supreme zealots of the glory of God, filled with the deepest knowledge of the destinies of God, both past and future, as indicated by the very appearance of these blessed beings, full of eyes before and behind. They will receive God's command to empower the other seven Angels to pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth before the end of the world and the final judgment on the living and the dead. "And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power" - through this smoke, says St. Andrei, "we learn that the wrath of God is terrible, terrible and painful, which, having filled the temple, on the day of judgment visits those worthy of it and, above all, those who submitted to the Antichrist and did deeds of apostasy." This is confirmed by the following, for he says: “And no one can go into the temple, until the seven plagues of the seven Angels die” - “first the plagues must end,” that is, the punishment of sinners, “and then the Saints will be granted dwelling in the highest city” ( St. Andrew) (v. 5-8).
Chapter sixteen. SEVEN ANGELS POURING THE SEVEN BOWLS OF GOD'S WRATH ON THE EARTH
This chapter depicts the judgment of God over the enemies of the Church under the emblem of the seven phials, or seven bowls of God's wrath, poured out by seven angels. The emblem of these executions was taken from the executions that struck Ancient Egypt, whose defeat was a type of the defeat of the false Christian kingdom, which above (11:8) is called Egypt, and then Babylon.
When the first angel poured out the cup, "there were cruel and disgusting festering wounds on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image." This emblem is apparently taken from the sixth plague that struck Egypt. According to the explanation of some, here we must understand the bodily epidemic. According to the interpretation of St. Andrew of Caesarea, festering wounds are “sorrow that occurs in the hearts of apostates, tormenting them like heart suppuration, for those punished by God will not receive any relief from the Antichrist they deify.”
When the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, the water in the sea became like the blood of a dead man, and everything that was alive died in the sea. Bloody international and civil wars are here understood (vv. 1-3).
When the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and fountains of water, the water in them turned into blood. "And I heard," says the Seer, "the angel of the waters, who said: Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art thou art, and holy, because so judged; because they shed the blood of saints and prophets. You gave them blood to drink : They deserve it." “From here it is clear,” says St. Andrew, “that angels are placed over the elements.” Here we are also talking about the terrible bloodshed that will take place before the end of the world in the time of the Antichrist (vv. 4-7).
When the fourth angel poured out his cup on the sun, the sun was given the power to burn people with intense heat, so that they, not understanding this execution, blasphemed God in despair. St. Andrew says that this execution can be understood either literally, or under this heat one should understand "the heat of temptations, so that people, through the test of sorrows, would hate their culprit - sin." Foolish people, however, in their bitterness will no longer be able to repent (vv. 8-9).
The fifth angel poured out his cup on the throne of the beast: and his kingdom became dark, and they bit their tongues from suffering and blasphemed the God of Heaven from their sufferings and their ulcers, and did not repent of their deeds. It's like the ninth Egyptian execution(Ex. 10:21). This execution should be understood as a significant decrease in the greatness and power of the Antichrist, the brilliance of which hitherto struck people, and at the same time the stubborn impenitence of the admirers of the Antichrist (vv. 10-11).
The sixth angel poured out his bowl into the great river Euphrates: and the water in it dried up, so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun was ready. Here the Euphrates is presented as a stronghold that prevented the kings with the army from going to carry out the judgments of God over the kingdom of Antichrist. This emblem is taken from the position of the Ancient Roman Empire, for which the Euphrates served as a stronghold from the attacks of the Eastern peoples. After that, from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet came three unclean spirits like frogs; they are demonic spirits, working signs; they go out to the kings of the earth of the whole universe in order to gather them for battle on that great day of God Almighty. By these "demonic spirits" are meant false teachers, talkative, obsessive, gluttonous, shameless and inflated, who will attract the people to themselves with false miracles. The Great Day of God Almighty is the time when God will manifest His glory in punishing the enemies of the Church. "Behold, I come like a thief"... Here we are talking about the suddenness of the Second Coming of Christ (cf. Matt. 24:43-44). "And gather them together in the place called in Hebrew Armageddon" - this word means "cutting" or "killing." "In that place, we believe," says St. Andrew, "the nations gathered and led by the devil will be beaten, for he is comforted by the blood of man." The name is taken from the valley of Mageddo, where King Josiah fell in battle with Pharaoh Necho (2 Chronicles 35:22). With the outpouring of the seventh cup, the realm of the beast will be finally smitten. As a result of a terrible earthquake, "the great city fell into three parts and the pagan cities fell." Beneath this "great city" St. Andrew understands the capital of the kingdom of Antichrist, which will be Jerusalem. "And every island flees, and the mountains are not found" - "from the Divine Scripture", explains St. Andrew, “We are taught to understand the “islands” as the holy churches, and under the “mountains” as those who rule in them. in the west - to the east. For then there will be great sorrow, for it has not been from the beginning of the world hitherto, below to be "(Matt. 24:21). If we take these words literally, then this will be a picture of terrible destruction, which in our time, when atomic and hydrogen bombs, it is not difficult to imagine. Further, in verse 21, it is precisely that hail falls from the sky on people "the size of a talent" ... "and the people of God were blasphemed from a hailstone ulcer, as if there was a great ulcer." Not bombs Is it necessary to understand this deadly hail?And in our time we often observe such hardening of hearts, when people are not admonished by anything, but only blaspheme God (19-21).
Chapter seventeen. THE JUDGMENT OVER THE GREAT LORT, SITTING ON MANY WATER
One of the seven angels offered St. John to show him the judgment of the great harlot sitting on the waters of many, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the wine of fornication, which the inhabitants of the earth were drunk on. The angel led St. John in the spirit into the wilderness, and he saw "a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, which had seven heads and ten horns." Some mistook this harlot for ancient Rome, as being located on seven hills. The seven heads of the beast bearing it were considered the seven most impious of all kings, who from Domitian to Diocletian persecuted the Church. St. Andrew, citing this opinion, further says: “But we, guided by and in accordance with the sequence of what is happening, think that the earthly kingdom is generally called a harlot, as if represented in one body, or a city that has to reign even before the coming of the Antichrist.” Some interpreters see in this harlot an unfaithful church to Christ that bowed to the Antichrist, or an apostate society - that part of Christian humanity that will enter into close communion with the sinful world, will serve it and rely entirely on its brute force - the power of the beast Antichrist, why is this wife and was shown to the Seer seated on a scarlet beast. "And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet" ... all these are symbols of her royal power and dominance; "having a cup of gold in your hand full of abomination and filth of her fornication" - "the cup shows the sweetness of evil deeds before eating them, and gold is their jewel" (St. Andrew). The members of this unfaithful to Christ Church, or apostate society, will be men of the flesh, devoted to sensuality. As one of the interpreters says, “Full of outward piety and at the same time not alien to feelings of coarse ambition and conceited love of glory, the members of the unfaithful church will love luxury and comfort, will arrange magnificent ceremonies for the powerful of the world (17:2; 18:3, 9 ), to achieve holy goals by sinful means, they will preach exclusively with a sword and gold" (17:4) (N. Vinogradov). "And on her forehead is written the name: Mystery, Babylon the Great, mother to whoremongers and abominations of the earth" - "the mark on her forehead shows the shamelessness of untruth, the fullness of sins and embarrassment of the heart; she is a mother, for in the subordinate cities she leads spiritual fornication, giving rise to those vile before God iniquity" (St. Andrew). More general interpretation I am inclined to see in this harlot, bearing the name of Babylon, the whole base-sensual and anti-Christian culture of mankind of the last times, which awaits a terrible worldwide catastrophe at the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ. The fall of this "Babylon" is presented in the Apocalypse as the first act of victory in the world struggle of the Church of Christ with the sinful kingdom of the devil (vv. 1-5). “And I saw a woman drunk with the blood of the saints” – here we mean all the martyrs for Christ who suffered throughout the history of the world, especially during the time of the Antichrist (v. 6). Further, the Angel, showing St. John the harlot, gives him an explanation of the whole vision. "The beast, whom he saw, be, and bear and have, rise from the abyss, and go into destruction" - St. Andrew says that this beast "Satan, who, having been put to death by the Cross of Christ, again, they say, will come to life at his death and will act through the Antichrist with false signs and wonders to reject Christ. Therefore, he was and acted before the cross, and he is not, because of the saving passion weakened and deprived of the power which through idolatry he had over the nations. At the end of the world, Satan will again “come, in the manner indicated by us, coming out of the abyss or from where he was condemned and where the demons expelled by Christ asked Him not to send them, but into pigs; or he will come out of real life, which is called "the abyss" allegorically because of the sinful depths of life, overwhelmed and agitated by the winds of passions. From here also the Antichrist, who has Satan in himself, will come out to destroy people, so that he will soon receive destruction in the next age" (vv. 7-8).
"Seven chapters, the mountains are seven, where the woman sits on them, and the king is seven" - St. Andrew of Caesarea sees seven kingdoms in these seven heads and seven mountains, distinguished by their special world significance and power. These are: 1) Assyrian, 2) Median, 3) Babylonian, 4) Persian, 5) Macedonian, 6) Roman in its two periods - the period of the republic and the period of the empire, or the period of the Ancient Roman and the period of the new Roman from the emperor Constantine. “Under the name of the “five kings” who fell, St. Hippolytus understands the five past centuries, the sixth is the one in which the vision of the Apostle was, and the seventh, which has not yet come, but which will not last long (vv. 9-10). "And here, which was, and there is, and that osm is" ... this beast is the Antichrist; he is called "the eighth", because "after the seven kingdoms he will rise to deceive and desolate the earth"; "from the seven" he, as having appeared from one of these kingdoms. "And ten horns, which thou hast seen, are ten kings, even though they have not yet received the kingdom, but the region as kings for one hour will receive with the beast" - here all sorts of fortune-telling and assumptions cannot lead to anything "Some wanted to see in all these kings, as in the beast, Roman emperors, but all this is an undoubted exaggeration. We are talking about the end times here, of course. All these kings, of one mind with the beast, that is, the Antichrist, will wage war with the Lamb, that is, with Christ, and they shall be overcome (v. 11-14).
It is noteworthy that the fornicating wife, bearing the name of Babylon, about whom St. Seer in the 18th century directly says that it is "a great city reigning over earthly kings", and that the "waters" on which it sits, "the essence of people and peoples, tribes and languages", will be punished and destroyed by the very same beast-antichrist, whose ten horns "They will hate her and make her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire" (vv. 15-18).
Chapter eighteen. THE FALL OF BABYLON THE GREAT HART
In this chapter, the death of Babylon, the great harlot, is depicted extremely vividly and figuratively, which was accompanied, on the one hand, by the weeping of the kings of the earth who fornicated with her, and the merchants of the earth, who sold various kinds of precious goods to her, and on the other hand, joy in heaven over a just judgment of God. Some modern interpreters believe that this Babylon will indeed be some kind of huge city, a world center, the capital of the kingdom of Antichrist, which will be distinguished by wealth and at the same time by extreme depravity of morals, which has always distinguished large and rich cities in general. The last verses of this chapter (21-23) indicate the suddenness of God's punishment that will befall this city. His death will happen as quickly as a millstone plunges into the sea, and this death will be so amazing that not the slightest trace will remain of the city, which is figuratively indicated in the words: “and the voices of those who play the harp and sing and play the pipes and trumpet you will no longer hear the trumpets,” etc. In the last, 24th verse, it is also indicated, as the reason for the death of Babylon, that “the blood of the prophets and saints and all the slain on earth was found in it.”
Chapter nineteen. BATTLE THE WORD OF GOD WITH THE BEAST AND HIS ARMY AND THE DEATH OF THE LAST
In the first 10 verses of this chapter, the rejoicing in heaven among numerous hosts of saints is also extremely figuratively described over the destruction of the hostile antichrist kingdom and the advent of the kingdom of Christ. The latter is portrayed under the guise of the "marriage of the Lamb" and the participation of the righteous in the "marriage supper of the Lamb" (cf. Matt. 22:1-14; also Luke 14:16-24). The mystic heard in heaven "a loud voice, as it were, of a numerous people, who said:" Alleluia: salvation and glory, and honor and strength to our Lord "... and falling down twenty and four elders and four living creatures, and bowing to God sitting on the throne, saying : amen, alleluia" - "Alleluia", according to St. Andrew of Caesarea, "means Divine glorification"; "Amen" - truly, so be it. It says that Angelic forces, together with equal-angelic people, are sung to God “three times”, because of the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the One God, Who marked the blood of His servants from the hand of Babylon, blessed the punishment of its inhabitants and stopped sin. "Alleluia" from the Hebrew "Gallem Yag" means literally: "Praise God." "And her smoke rises forever and ever" - this is said that the punishment that befell the harlot Babylon will continue forever. "Let us rejoice and be glad, and let us give glory to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come" - the subject of rejoicing is that the time is coming to celebrate the marriage of the Lamb. By "marriage" or "wedding feast" is meant in general the state of spiritual joy of the Church. By the bridegroom of the Church is meant the Lamb - the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of His mysterious Body; by the bride and wife of the Lamb is meant the Church (see Ephesians 5:25). Marriage itself means the close union of the Lord Jesus Christ with His Church, sealed by fidelity, confirmed on both sides by a covenant, as if by a mutual agreement (cf. Hosea 2:18-20). The marriage feast means enjoying the fullness of God's grace, which, by the power of the redemptive merits of Christ, will be abundantly served to all true members of the Church of Christ, rejoicing and amusing them with inexpressible blessings. “And His wife prepared to eat for herself, and it was given to her, clothed in linen, clean and bright” - “that the Church is clothed in linen, this means her lordship in virtues, subtlety in understanding and her height in reflection and contemplation, for from these they consist Divine justifications" (St. Andrew of Caesarea). "Blessed are you who are called to the Lamb's marriage supper" - "Christ's Supper", as St. Andrew, "there is the triumph of those who are being saved and their concordant joy, which the blessed will receive when they enter the eternal chamber with the Holy Bridegroom of pure souls:" it is not wrong to eat the one who promised. As many are the blessings of the future age, which surpass all thought, so many are the names by which they are called. They are sometimes called the Kingdom of Heaven because of its glory and honesty, sometimes a paradise because of the inexhaustible meal of pleasures, sometimes the bosom of Abraham because of the reassurance of the dead in it, and sometimes the palace and marriage, not only because of endless fun, but also for the sake of a pure, true and indescribable union. God with His servants - a union so superior to bodily communication with each other, as far as light differs from darkness and the world from stench. Jesus'; Bow to God: the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" - the meaning of these words is this: do not bow to me, for I am just your fellow minister. The same Holy Spirit Who speaks and acts through the Apostles, in particular through St. John, who preaches the testimony of Jesus , speaks through the Angels, as through the same messengers of God. "Your dignity is the same as mine", as if the Angel says: "you, endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, testify of the words and deeds of Jesus Christ; and I, having received the revelation of future events from the same Holy Spirit, communicate it to you and the Church. In other words, the Spirit of Christ's testimony is the Spirit of prophecy, that is, of the same dignity. " St. Andrew of Caesarea notes here the humility of angels, "who do not appropriate for themselves, like evil demons, Divine glory, but attribute it to the Lord" (v. 1- 10).
The next part of the chapter (vv. 11-12) depicts the appearance of the Divine Bridegroom Himself - the Word of God - His battle with the beast and His army and the final victory over him. St. John saw an open sky, from where the Lord Jesus Christ descended in the form of a rider on a white horse, followed by the heavenly armies also on white horses. "White horse", according to St. Andrew, "means the lordship of the saints, sitting on which he will judge the nations, emitting from His fiery and fiery eyes, that is, from His all-seeing power, a fiery flame, the righteous, however, not scorching, but enlightening, and sinners, on the contrary, devouring, but not enlightening." He appears as a King, with many diadems on his head, which means that He has been given all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18) and over all the kingdoms of the world. "His name is written, if no one knows, only He Himself" - the unknown name indicates the incomprehensibility of His Divine Being. Further, in verse 13, this name is called: the Word of God. This name is really incomprehensible to people, for it refers to the essence and origin of the Divine nature of Jesus Christ, which no mortal can comprehend. That is why it is also called wonderful in the Old Testament Scriptures (Judg. 13:18; Isa. 9:6; Proverbs 30:4). "And he is clothed in a robe of scarlet blood" - "The garment of God the Word," says St. Andrew, "His flesh was pure and incorruptible, stained with His blood during free sufferings." “And the heavenly hosts follow His footsteps on white horses, clothed in white and pure linen” - “these are heavenly forces, distinguished by the subtlety of nature, the height of understanding and the lordship of virtues and honored by the indissolubility of strong and close union with Christ” (St. Andrew). “Out of His mouth came forth a sharp weapon, so that it will beat tongues: and He will save me with a rod of iron: and He will grind the winepress of the rage and wrath of God Almighty” - this is the sword of Christ, in this case, not so much as a teacher (cf. 1:16) but rather as a King who executes His judgments as a weapon to punish the wicked (Isaiah 11:4). They will be shepherd with a rod of iron - this expression is taken from (Ps. 2:9; Is. 63:4-5), and explained in (Rev. 2:27; 12:5). “And to have on His robe and paddle His name is written: The King is king and the Lord is the Lord” - this name, testifying to the Divine dignity of its bearer, was written on the thigh, that is, on the royal cloak, near that part of the body, in which, according to the custom of the eastern nations, hung a sword at his belt (vv. 11-16).
Next, St. The seer saw an Angel standing in the sun, who, urging everyone to rejoice in the punishment of sinners and the suppression of sin, cried out: "Come and gather together at the great supper of God ... and eat away the flesh of kings, and the flesh of strong ones" - this is the Angel's appeal to the birds of prey symbolically means that the defeat of the enemies of God is the most terrible, as in a bloody battle, when the bodies of the slain, due to their multitude, remain unburied, and the birds devour them. “And there was a beast and with him a lying prophet, who did signs before him, in the image of the deception that received the mark of a beast, and bowed to his icon; alive, both were quickly cast into the lake of fire, burning with a bogey” - such is the result of the battle that took place. "Perhaps," says St. Andrew, “that they will not undergo a common death, but those who are put to death in the twinkling of an eye will be condemned to a second death in the lake of fire. Cor. 15:52), so, on the contrary, these two adversaries of God will pass not to judgment, but to judgment. some teacher that the living will be even after the slaying of the Antichrist, some interpret this, but we affirm that the living are those who are blessed by David and that these two, after the suppression of their power by God, in non-corruptible bodies will be thrown into the fire of Gehenna, which will be death for them and killing by the divine command of Christ." Just as a blessed life begins even in this life, so the hell of those hardened and tormented by an evil conscience begins even in this life, continues and intensifies to the highest degree in the life to come. "And the rest slew the former with the weapon of him that sat on the horse, which came out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh." “There are two deaths,” explains St. Andrew, “one is the separation of the soul from the body, the other is the plunge into hell. Applying this to those who are militant together with the Antichrist, we not without reason assume that the first death will be inflicted on them by the sword or the command of God - bodily, and the second will follow; and this is right. If this is not so, then they, along with those who deceived them, will be participants in the second death - eternal torment" (v. 17-21).
Chapter Twenty. GENERAL RESURRECTION AND THE LAST JUDGMENT
Following the defeat of the Antichrist, St. John saw an angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. This angel is "the yat of the serpent, the ancient serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and is bound for a thousand years, and shut him into the abyss, and shut him up ... until a thousand years pass away: and still it is fitting for him to be cut off for a little time" - as St. Andrew of Caesarea, under this "thousand years" must be understood all the time from the incarnation of Christ to the coming of the Antichrist. With the coming of the Incarnate Son of God to earth, and especially from the moment He redeemed humanity by His death on the Cross, Satan was bound, paganism was overthrown, and the millennium Kingdom of Christ came to earth. By this thousand-year Kingdom of Christ on earth is meant the victory of Christianity over paganism and the establishment of the Church of Christ on earth. The number 1000 - definite - is taken here instead of indefinite, meaning in general a long period of time before the Second Coming of Christ. “And I saw the thrones, and those who sat on them, and judgment was given to them” and so on, - this picture symbolically draws the coming kingdom of the Christian faith, after the overthrow of paganism. Those who received judgment and sat on thrones are all Christians who have achieved salvation, for to all of them is given the promise of the kingdom and glory of Christ (1 Thess. 2:12). In this face of St. The seer singles out in particular "those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God," that is, the holy martyrs. "And videh," we say St. John, "souls of the torn apart" - this clearly shows that these saints, participating in the 1000-year Kingdom of Christ, reign with Christ and "do judgment" not on earth, but in heaven, for here it is only about their souls that have not yet united with bodies. From these words it is clear that the Saints take part in the management of the Church of Christ on earth, and therefore it is natural and correct to turn to them with prayers, asking them for intercession before Christ, with whom they co-reign. "And revived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years" - the revival here is, of course, moral and spiritual. The Holy Seer calls this the "first resurrection" (v. 5), but he goes on about the second, bodily resurrection. This co-reigning of the Saints with Christ will continue until the final victory over the dark forces of wickedness under the Antichrist, when the resurrection of the bodies will take place and the last Last Judgment will come. Then the souls of the saints will be united with the bodies and will reign with Christ for eternity. “The rest of the dead are not revived, until a thousand years pass away; this is the first resurrection” - this expression “do not revive” expresses the gloomy and painful state after the bodily death of the souls of ungodly sinners. It will continue "until a thousand years pass away" - as in many other places in the Holy Scriptures, this particle "until" (in Greek "eos") does not mean the continuation of the action to a certain limit, but, on the contrary, the complete negation of it (for example, Matt 1:25). In these words, therefore, they mean the denial of a forever blessed life for the dead wicked. “Blessed and holy, who have a part in the first resurrection, on them the second death has no region” - this is how St. Andrew of Caesarea: “From the Divine Scriptures we know that there are two lives and two mortifications, that is, deaths: the first life is temporary and carnal for the transgression of the commandments, the second is according to the observance of the Divine commandments, eternal life promised to the Saints. Accordingly, there are two kind of death: one is carnal and temporary, and the other is sent in the future as a punishment for sins, eternal, that is, fiery hell. Therefore, the meaning of these words is this: there is nothing to be afraid of the second death, that is, fiery hell, to those who are still here on earth He lived in Christ Jesus, and having received grace from Him, and with ardent faith in Him, stood before Him after the first, that is, bodily death (vv. 1-6).
These first 6 verses of the 20th chapter of the Apocalypse served as a pretext for the emergence of a false doctrine of the "thousand-year Kingdom of Christ on earth", which received the name "chiliasm". The essence of this teaching is this: long before the end of the world, Christ the Savior will again come to earth, defeat the Antichrist, resurrect only the righteous and establish a new kingdom on earth in which the righteous, as a reward for their deeds and sufferings, will reign with Him for a thousand years. enjoying all the benefits of temporary life. Then will follow - the second, universal resurrection of the dead, universal judgment and universal eternal recompense. This doctrine was known in two forms. Some said that Christ would restore Jerusalem in all its glory, would again introduce the fulfillment of the ritual law of Moses with all the sacrifices, and that the bliss of the righteous would consist in all sorts of sensual pleasures. Thus taught in the first century the heretic Cerinthus and other Judaizing heretics: the Ebionites, the Montanists, and in the fourth century Apollinaris. Others, on the contrary, argued that this bliss would consist in purely spiritual pleasures. In this last form, thoughts about chiliasm were first expressed by Papias of Hierapolis; they then meet at St. Martyr Justin, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Methodius and Lactantius; in later times it has been revived, with some peculiarities, by the Anabaptists, the followers of Schwedenborg, the Illuminati mystics, and the Adventists. However, it must be seen that neither in the first nor in the second form the doctrine of chiliasm can be accepted. Orthodox Christian, and that's why:
1) According to the teachings of the Chiliasts, the resurrection of the dead will be twofold: the first a thousand years before the end of the world, when only the righteous are resurrected, the second - before the very end of the world, when sinners are also resurrected. Meanwhile, Christ the Savior clearly taught only one general resurrection of the dead, when both the righteous and sinners will be resurrected and everyone will receive the final reward (John 6:39, 40; Matt. 13:37-43).
2) The Word of God speaks of only two comings of Christ into the world: the first, in humiliation, when He came to redeem us, and the second, in glory, when He appears to judge the living and the dead. Chiliasm introduces yet another - the third coming of Christ a thousand years before the end of the world, which the Word of God does not know.
3) The Word of God teaches only about two kingdoms of Christ: the Kingdom of grace, which will continue until the end of the world (1 Cor. 15:23-26), and the Kingdom of glory, which will begin after the Last Judgment and will have no end (Luke 1: 33; 2 Peter 1:11); chiliasm allows for some kind of middle, third kingdom of Christ, which will last only 1000 years.
4) The teaching about the sensual Kingdom of Christ is clearly contrary to the Word of God, according to which the Kingdom of God is not "tobacco and drink" (Rom. 14:17); the ceremonial law of Moses had only a transformative meaning and was forever abolished by the most perfect New Testament law (Acts 15:23-30; Romans 6:14; Gal. 5:6; Heb. 10:1).
5) Some ancient teachers of the Church, like Justin, Irenaeus and Methodius, held chiliasm only as a private opinion. At the same time, others resolutely rebelled against him, such as: Caius, presbyter of Rome, St. Dionysius of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Epiphanius, blessed Jerome, blessed Augustine. Ever since the Church on the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, she condemned the teachings of the heretic Apollinaris about the millennium of Christ and for this included the words “His Kingdom will have no end” in the creed, it was no longer permissible to hold on to chiliasm, even as a private opinion.
It is also necessary to know that the Apocalypse is a deeply mysterious book, and therefore to understand and interpret the prophecies contained in it literally, especially if this literal understanding clearly contradicts other places of Holy Scripture, it is completely contrary to the rules of sacred hermeneutics. In such cases, it is correct to look for the allegorical, allegorical meaning of perplexed places.
"And when a thousand years pass away, Satan will be released from his prison, and he will come out to deceive the tongues that exist on the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, gather them for battle, their number is like the sand of the sea" - under "Satan's permission from his prison" means the appearance before the end of the world of Antichrist. The liberated Satan will try in the person of Antichrist to deceive all the peoples of the earth and raise up Gog and Magog to fight against the Christian Church. "Some think," says St. Andrew of Caesarea, "that Gog and Magog are the midnight and most distant peoples of the Scythians, or, as we call them, the Huns, the most warlike and numerous of all earthly peoples. Only by the Divine right hand they are held until the devil is freed from taking possession of the entire universe. Others, translating from Hebrew , they say that Gog denotes a gatherer or an assembly, and Magog an exalted or exaltation. So, these names denote either an assembly of peoples, or their exaltation. "It must be assumed that these names are used in a metaphorical sense to denote those fierce hordes that will arm themselves before the end of the world against the Church of Christ under the leadership of Antichrist. "And ascending to the breadth of the earth, and going around the holy camps and the beloved city" - this means that the enemies of Christ will spread throughout the earth and the persecution of Christianity will begin everywhere. "And bring down the fire from God from heaven, and I will eat" - in the same features he depicted the defeat of the ferocious hordes of Gog and St. Prophet Ezekiel (38:18-22; 39:1-6). This is an image of the wrath of God, which will be poured out on the enemies of God at the Second Coming of Christ. "And the devil, flattering them, will be cast into the lake, fiery and bogus, where the beast and the false prophet: and there will be torment day and night forever and ever" - such will be the eternal fate of the devil and his servants, the Antichrist and the false prophet: they will be doomed to endless hellish torments (vv. 7-20).
This final victory over the devil will be followed by the general resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment.
"And I saw a great white throne, and Him who sat on it" - this is a picture of the universal judgment of God over the human race. The whiteness of the throne, on which the supreme Judge of the universe sits, means the holiness and truth of this Judge... universe that will take place before the last Dread Judgment (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10). "And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were abhorred, and another book was opened, even if it is animal: and the dead were judged from those written in books, according to their deeds" - unfolded books symbolically denote the omniscience of God, who knows all the works of people. There is only one book of life, as a sign of the small number of God's chosen ones who have to inherit salvation. "Opened books", says St. Andrei, "they mean the deeds and conscience of everyone. One of them, he says, is the" book of life "in which the names of the Saints are written" - "And let the sea give its own dead, and death and hell give its own dead: and judgment is received according to its deeds" - the idea here is that all people, without any exception, will be resurrected and stand before the Judgment of God. “And death and hell were quickly cast into the lake of fire: and this is the second death. hell, nor death: for them, death and hell will cease to exist forever. By "lake of fire" and "second death" is meant the eternal condemnation of sinners whose names were not written by the Lord in the book of life (vv. 11-15).
Chapter twenty one. THE OPENING OF A NEW SKY AND A NEW EARTH - THE NEW JERUSALEM
Following that, St. John was shown the spiritual beauty and greatness of the new Jerusalem, that is, the Kingdom of Christ, which has to be revealed in all its glory at the Second Coming of Christ after the victory over the devil.
"And I saw the new heaven and the new earth: for the first heaven and earth were gone, and there is no sea for anyone" - here it is not about the non-existence of the creature, but about a change for the better, as the Apostle testifies: "the creation itself is freed from the work of decay into the freedom of the glory of children God's (Rom. 8:21). And the Divine Song-Singer says: "Like a garment I fold, and they will be changed" (Psalm 101, 27). Renewal of the obsolete does not mean erasure and destruction, but the elimination of obsolescence and wrinkles (St. Andrew of Caesarea) "This newness of heaven and earth will consist in their transformation by fire and in the newness of forms and qualities, but not in a change in the very essence. The sea as a fickle and agitated element will disappear. "And I John saw the city of holy Jerusalem descending from God again from heaven, prepared like a bride adorned by her husband" - under the image of this "New Jerusalem" is represented here the triumphant Church of Christ, adorned, as it were, the bride of the Lord, with the purity and virtues of the Saints. "This city," says St. , about which it is written: "the stone is lying holy on his land" (Zakhar. 9:16). "And I heard a great voice from heaven, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men and dwell with them: and these people will be His, and God Himself will be with them, their God. And God will take away every tear from their eyes. And there will be no death to anyone: neither weeping, nor crying, nor sickness will be to anyone: like the first mimoidosha "- the Old Testament tabernacle was only a prototype of God's habitation with people, which will begin in the future eternal blessed life and will be a source of bliss for people freed from all the sorrows of the present earthly life (v. .1-4). "And the Sit on the throne said: I create all new things ... And I say: I am done," that is, I create a new life, completely different from the former; everything that was promised was fulfilled. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,” that is, everything that I promise is already fulfilled, as it were, for before my eyes the future and the present are one and the same inseparable moment. “To the one who thirsts for ladies from the source of water, animal tuna,” that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit, figuratively represented in Holy Scripture under the image of living water (cf. John 4:10-14, 7:37-39). “He who overcomes will inherit everything, and God will be his, and that will be my Son,” that is, he who overcomes in the battle against invisible demons will receive all these blessings and will become the son of God. "To the fearful, and the unfaithful, and the vile, and the murderers, and those who commit fornication, and those who do enchantments, idolaters, and all the deceitful, part of them in the lake burning with fire and a bogey, which is the second death" - fearful and lacking courage in the fight against the devil, sinners those who are devoted to passions and vices will be condemned to the “second death,” that is, to eternal hellish torment (v. 1-8).
After this, one of the seven angels, "having seven phials, filled with seven last plagues," came to John, "saying: Come, I will show you the bride of the Lamb's wife." "Bride" and "wife of the Lamb" is called here, as is clear from what follows, the Church of Christ. "Correctly calls," says St. Andrew, "the bride of the Lamb's wife," for when Christ was slain as a Lamb, then He made her unhappy with His own blood. Just as a wife was created for Adam during his sleep through the taking of a rib, so the Church, composed by the outpouring of blood from the ribs of Christ during His free rest on the cross, was combined with the sleep of death wounded for us. John, "on a great and high mountain, and showed me a great city, holy Jerusalem descending from heaven from God, having the glory of God" - the bride of the Lamb, or the Holy Church, appeared before the spiritual gaze of the Holy Seer in the form of a beautiful great city, Jerusalem descending from heaven. The rest of the chapter is devoted to detailed description this wonderful city. Shining with precious stones, this city had 12 gates with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel and 12 foundations with the names of the 12 Apostles. A characteristic feature of the city is that "it shone like a precious stone, like crystal-like stones to iaspis." - "Luminary of the Church," says St. Andrei, "there is Christ, called "jasper", as always growing, blooming, life-giving and pure." A high wall surrounds the city as a sign that no unworthy person can enter there; the same thought is expressed by the fact that the angels of God keep guard on its 12 gates. The gates bear the names of the 12 tribes of Israel, for just as on earth these tribes constituted the society of the chosen people of God, so their names are adopted by the chosen ones of heaven - the new Israel. The names of the 12 Apostles of the Lamb are written on 12 wall bases, of course, as a sign that the Apostles are the foundations on which the Church is established, as the founders of the Christian faith among all peoples of the earth. Here it is impossible not to see a refutation of the false dogma of the Latins, that the Church of Christ is founded on one Apostle Peter (vv. 9-14).
The city is measured by an angel in front of St. Mystery, with the help of a golden cane. "Golden cane", says St. Andrew, "shows the honesty of the measuring Angel, whom he saw in a human form, as well as the veracity of the measured city, under the "wall" of which we mean Christ." The city has the appearance of a regular quadrangle, and the uniformity of its height, longitude and latitude, 12,000 stadia each, indicates the shape of a cube, which marks its hardness and strength. The height of the wall of the city is 144 cubits. All these numerical expressions are used, presumably, to denote the perfection, firmness and amazing symmetry of the integral building of the Church of God. The wall of the city is built of jasper, symbolizing divine glory (see v. 11) and the ever-blooming and unfading life of the Saints. The city itself was made of pure gold, like pure glass, as a sign of the honesty and lordship of its inhabitants. The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with all sorts of precious stones; in fact, each of the 12 bases was a solid gem. As St. Andrew, out of these 12 precious stones, eight were worn on the armlet of the ancient high priest, and four others - to show the agreement of the New Testament with the Old and the advantage of those who shone in it. And it is true, for the Apostles, signified by precious stones, were adorned with every virtue. According to the interpretation of St. Andrew, the meaning of these 12 stones is as follows: The first foundation - Jaspis - a greenish stone, means the supreme Apostle Peter, who carried the death of Christ in his body and showed blossoming and unfading love for Him; the second - sapphire - from which there is also azure, denotes the blessed Paul, raptured even to the third heaven; the third - chalcedon - apparently the same as the anerax, which was in the high priest's amice, means the blessed Andrew the Apostle, like coal, kindled by the Spirit; fourth - smaragd - having green color, eating oil and receiving shine and beauty from it, means St. John the Evangelist, who with divine oil softens the regret and despondency that occurs in us from sins, and with the precious gift of theology, which gives us faith that never weakens; the fifth - sardonyx, a stone that has the color of a shiny human nail, means Jacob, who, before others, underwent bodily mortification for Christ; the sixth - sardium - orange in color and this brilliant stone, healing for tumors and ulcers from iron, denotes the beauty of the virtues of blessed Philip, enlightened by the fire of the Divine Spirit and healing the spiritual ulcers of the deceived; the seventh - chrysolif - shining like gold, denotes, perhaps, Bartholomew, shining with valuable virtues and Divine preaching; the eighth - viril - having the color of the sea and air, denotes Thomas, who made a long journey to save the Indians; the ninth - topazium - a black stone exuding, as they say, a milky juice, healing for those suffering from eye diseases, denotes the blessed Matthew, who heals the blind in heart with the Gospel and gives milk to newborns in faith; the tenth - chrysopras - surpassing gold itself in brilliance, denotes the blessed Thaddeus, who to Abgar, the king of Edes, announced the annunciation of the Kingdom of Christ, signified by gold, and death in it, signified by Pras; the first ten - Iakinf - azure or sky-like hyacinth, plausibly designates Simon as a zealot of Christ's gifts, having heavenly wisdom; the second to ten - an amephist - a scarlet-colored stone, denotes Matthias, who was honored with Divine fire at the separation of languages and for his fiery attraction to please the Chosen One who replaced the place of the fallen (v. 15-20).
The twelve gates of the city were made of 12 whole pearls. "Twelve gates", says St. Andrew, obviously the essence of the 12 disciples of Christ, through whom we learned the door and the way of life. They are also 12 beads, as having received enlightenment and brilliance from the only precious beads - Christ. The street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass. All these details express the same thought, that in the heavenly Church of God all is holy, pure, beautiful, and enduring, all majestic, spiritual, and precious (v. 21).
Further, the inner life of the inhabitants of this wonderful heavenly city is described. Firstly, there is no visible temple in it, for "the Lord God the Almighty has a temple to him, and the Lamb" - the Lord God will be given direct worship there, and therefore there will be no need for a material temple, nor for any rites and sacred rites ; secondly, this heavenly city will not need any lighting, "for the glory of God enlighten it, and its lamp is the Lamb." The common internal sign that distinguishes this heavenly Church from the earthly one is that while in the earthly Church good coexists with evil and the tares grow together with wheat, in the heavenly Church only good, pure and holy will be gathered from all the peoples of the earth. All that is evil, filthy and impure, accumulated over the entire time of world history, will be separated from here and merged, as it were, into one stinking reservoir, the impurity of which will in no way touch this wondrous abode of blessed beings alone" (vv. 22-27).
Chapter twenty two. FINAL FEATURES OF THE IMAGE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM. CERTIFICATION OF THE TRUTH OF ALL THE SAYINGS, A TESTAMENT TO OBSERVE THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND EXPECT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST, WHICH WILL BE SOON
The continuity of the blessedness of the members of the heavenly Church is depicted in a number of symbols. The first symbol is "a clear, like a crystal, pure river of the water of life. This river, continuously flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, symbolically depicts the grace of the Life-Giving Spirit, which fills the stacks of the Holy City, that is, the entire multitude of its inhabitants, "increased", according to the Psalmist, "more than sand" (Ps. 139:18).This is the grace and mercy of God, which will always be poured out inexhaustibly on the inhabitants of the heavenly city, filling their hearts with inexpressible bliss (cf. Isaiah 35:9-10).The second symbol - this is the "tree of life", in the likeness of the one that was once in the earthly paradise, before the fall of the forefathers. "The tree of life in heavenly Jerusalem will have special excellent qualities: it will bear fruit twelve times a year, and its leaves will serve for healing peoples. St. Andrew believes that “the tree of life signifies Christ, understood in the Spirit and about the Holy Spirit: for the Spirit is in Him, and we worship in the Spirit and is the giver of the Spirit. Through Him, the twelve fruits of the Apostle’s face, give us the unfailing fruit of God’s understanding. The leaves of the tree of life, that is, Christ, mean the subtlest and highest and most enlightened understanding of the Divine destinies, and its fruits are the most perfect knowledge, revealed in the future age.These leaves will be for healing, that is, the purification of the ignorance of peoples, the lowest of others in the performance of virtues.Because "one is the glory of the sun, and another is the glory of the moon, and another is the glory of the stars" (1 Cor. 15:41), and "there are many dwelling places with the Father" (John 14:2), in order to deign worthy of one less, according to the nature of deeds, and the other - a greater lordship. "And every anathema will not be to anyone" - every curse will forever be removed from the inhabitants of this heavenly city, "and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will serve Him, and they will see His face, and His name on their foreheads" - worthy become the inhabitants of this city, they will see God face to face, "not in fortune-telling, but, as the great Dionysius testifies, in the very form in which he was seen by the holy Apostles on Mount Holy. Instead of the golden chest that the ancient high priest wore (Ex. 28: 36), they will have the mark of the name of God, and not only on their foreheads, but also in their hearts, that is, firm, immutable and bold love for Him. For the mark on the forehead means the adornment of boldness "(St. Andrew). "And the night will not be there and will not require light from a lamp, nor the light of the sun, as the Lord God enlightens me, and they will reign forever and ever" - all these features indicate the continuous and most complete communion of the members of the heavenly Church with their Lord, united even with the sight of Him. This will be for them a source of inexhaustible bliss (cf. Ezek. 47:12) (vv. 1-5).
In the closing verses of the Apocalypse (vv. 6-21) St. The Apostle John certifies the truth and fidelity of everything that has been said and speaks of the nearness of the fulfillment of everything that was shown to him, as well as the nearness of the Second Coming of Christ and with him retribution for everyone according to his deeds. "Behold, I am coming soon" - these words, according to the explanation of St. Andrew, show either the short duration of the present life in comparison with the future, or the suddenness or speed of the death of each, since the death from here is the end for everyone. And since he does not know "at what hour the thief comes," then we are commanded to "watch and have our loins girded and our lamps burning" (Luke 12:35). We must remember that there is no time for our God, that "one day before Him is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day" (2 Pet. 3:8). He is coming soon, because He is coming steadfastly - nothing will stop His coming, just as nothing will stop and destroy His immutable definitions and promises. Man counts days, months, and years, but the Lord does not count time, but human rights and falsities, and by the measure of His chosen ones determines the measure of the approach of that great and enlightened day, when “time will be no more,” but the non-evening day of His Kingdom will begin. The Spirit and the bride, that is, the Church of Christ, call everyone to come and draw the water of life for free, in order to become worthy to become citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem. Finishes St. John the Apocalypse with the blessing of those who fulfill the commandments of God and with a stern warning not to distort the words of the prophecy, under the threat of imposing the plagues "written in this book." In conclusion, St. John expresses the wish for the speedy coming of Christ in the words: "Amen. Yea, come, Lord Jesus," and gives the usual Apostolic blessing, which shows that the Apocalypse was originally appointed in the form of an epistle to the churches of Asia Minor (v. 1:11).
The end and glory to God