*H And I beheld: and lo a Lamb stood upon mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.
Ver. 1. Behold a Lamb, by which is divers times represented our Saviour Christ. Wi.
*H And they sung as it were a new canticle, before the throne and before the four living creatures and the ancients: and no man could say the canticle, but those hundred forty-four thousand who were purchased from the earth.
Ver. 3. They sung as it were a new canticle. In these visions, after persecutions, are sometimes introduced rejoicings to encourage the servants of God in their sufferings from the wicked world. — No man could say (or sing) the canticle, but those hundred and forty-four thousand : by which are signified the elect, who were not defiled with women. Some expound this literally of those who always lived virgins; others understand all those who lived or died with a pure and clean heart, exempt from the corruption of vices, and of whom it is said, (v. 5) that in their mouth was found no lie, and that they were without spot for the throne of God. Wi.
*H These are they who were not defiled with women: for they are virgins. These follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
Ver. 4. These are they, &c. In the style of the prophets, by fornication is meant idolatry, and virginity signifies cleanness from all sacrilegious worship. These, therefore, are virgins in this sense, who have not fallen into the impurities of creature worship. But others, as S. Augustine, understand it of persons who have lived in continency. The first, however, is the more literal sense. Calmet.
*H And I saw another angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel, to preach unto them that sit upon the earth and over every nation and tribe and tongue and people:
Ver. 6-7. Another Angel, . . saying: . . Fear the Lord. [1] By this Angel are represented the preachers of the gospel, exhorting all men to the true faith and a good life. Wi.
* Footnote * Psalms 114 : 1
Alleluia. I HAVE loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.* Footnote * Acts 14 : 14
And saying: Ye men, why do ye these things? We also are mortals, men like unto you, preaching to you to be converted from these vain things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things that are in them:*H And another angel followed, saying: That great Babylon is fallen, is fallen; which made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Ver. 8. Another Angel, . . saying: . . She is fallen, she is fallen, that great Babylon. By Babylon, as observed before, may very probably be signified all the wicked world in general, whom God will punish and destroy after the short time of this mortal life: or may be signified every great city, and perhaps Rome returned to idolatry in the time of antichrist, a little before the end of the world, or may be signified the idolatry of heathen Rome, in the fourth age, when the Christian religion, under Constantine and his successors, began to triumph over paganism, i.e. according to those interpreters followed by Alcazar, Bossuet, P. Alleman, &c. which exposition Dr. Hammond thus expresseth: "the whole impure city of heathen Rome, under the title of Babylon, that old idolatrous city that had lain so heavy upon the people of God . . . should speedily be destroyed, for advancing the heathen worship." Wi. — It is probable that here by the great Babylon is meant the city of the devil; that is, the universal society of the wicked: as Jerusalem is taken for the city and the Church of God. Ch.
* Footnote * Isaias 21 : 9
Behold this man cometh, the rider upon the chariot with two horsemen, and he answered, and said: Babylon is fallen, she is fallen, and all the graven gods thereof are broken unto the ground.* Footnote * Jeremias 51 : 8
Babylon is suddenly fallen, and destroyed: howl for her, take balm for her pain, if so she may be healed.*H And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: If any man shall adore the beast and his image and receive his character in his forehead or in his hand,
Ver. 9-10. The third Angel followed . . . if any man shall adore the beast, . . he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled with pure wine, &c. That is, he shall drink of the bitter cup of God's indignation, not mixed with water, or any thing to diminish its force, but with wine and wine; i.e. with punishments upon punishments for ever and ever. Wi.
*H Here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Ver. 12. Here is the patience of the saints. Here patience is necessary, so as not to be carried away with such pleasures and vanities as are offered in the wicked Babylon, and to remain firm under persecutions with the pious inhabitants of Jerusalem. Wi.
*H And I heard a voice from heaven, saying to me: Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours. For their works follow them.
Ver. 13. Blessed are the dead (all the dead) who die in the Lord, and not the martyrs only, for their works follow every one. Wi. — It is understood of the martyrs, who die for the Lord. Ch. — For their works follow them . It is just that they rest at length from their labours, and enjoy for eternity the recompense of their fidelity. They land on the shores of their native country, enriched with the treasures of the good works they have done in this lower world. This is said in express contradiction to those who denied the necessity of good works, and maintained the indifference of actions. This seems to have been the doctrine of the Nicolaites and other heretics of those times. Calmet. — The Holy Ghost confirms the sentence of their happiness, not only because at the moment of their departure their hard labours and penitential works cease, but their souls are admitted to a glorious immortality, the recompense of their good works. Past.
*H And I saw: and behold a white cloud and upon the cloud one sitting like to the Son of man, having on his head a crown of gold and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Ver. 14-20. Like to the Son of man. That is, to our Saviour Christ, sitting on a white cloud, with a crown of gold, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another Angel, desiring of him to do justice, by putting in his sickle, because the harvest of the earth was ripe, dry, and withered; i.e. the wicked, ripe for punishment. The like is again represented by the sickle, which is said to be put to the clusters of the vineyard: and they were cast into the great wine-press, or lake of the wrath of God, into hell, where the blood is said to come out even up to the horses' bridles, for a thousand and six hundred furlongs: a metaphorical way of expressing the exceeding great torments of the wicked in hell. But to pretend from hence to give the just dimensions of hell, is a groundless conjecture; of which see Corn. a Lapide. Wi.