Works › Commentary on the Apocalypse of Blessed John
Volume 38 · pp. 597–599
Chapter VII: conclusion and doubts
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« Et qui sedet in throno, » id est, divinitas Filii, quae sedet in humanitate sicut in throno, « habitabit super illos » id est, quia illos judicabit. Vel, « Super illos, » protegens, gubernans, et bona sua eis communicans.
Vel, « Thronus » dicitur Ecclesia in qua Dominus sedet. Unde dicit: « Qui sedet in throno, » id est, Filius Dei, « habitabit super illos, » scilicet, per amorem. Joan. XIV, 23: Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit, etc.
16. « Non esurient neque sitient amplius, nec cadet super illos sol, neque ullus aestus:
17. Quoniam Agnus qui in medio throni est reget illos, et deducet eos ad vitae fontes aquarum, et absterget Deus omnem lacrymam ab oculis eorum. »
Hic ostendit quod ibi erit carentia omnis mali.
Et primo dicit, quod carebunt omni malo. Secundo, ponitur hujus ratio, ibi, V. 17: « Quoniam Agnus. »
Item, primo excludit ab eis omnem miseriam interiorem: « Non esurient. » Secundo, exteriorem, ibi, « Nec cadet super illos sol, etc. »
Continua sic: Venerunt ex magna tribulatione: et ideo tribulationem amplius non patientur, quia « non esurient, » supple, satiati pane vivo. Joan. VI, 51: Ego sum panis vivus, « neque sitient, » supple, fonte vitae potati. Joan. IV, 13: Qui biberit ex hac aqua quam ego dabo ei, non sitiet in aeternum.
« Amplius. » Contra: Eccli. XXIV, 29: Qui edunt me, adhuc esurient, etc. Responsio. Duo sunt in esurie, scilicet, defectus, et desiderium. Defectus omnino tolletur, desiderium manebit, ut sic excludatur fastidium: et ita Sancti semper reficientur, et satiabuntur, et numquam fastidient. I Petri, I, 12: In quem desiderant Angeli prospicere. Esuries ergo hic sumitur pro defectu, in libro Ecclesiastici pro desiderio et affectu.
« Nec cadet super illos sol, » id est, major tribulatio, « neque ullus aestus, » id est, minor tribulatio. Et bene dicit: « Neque ullus aestus, » quia neque corporalis, neque spiritualis, nec aeternus, nec temporalis. De his, Psal. CXX, 6: Per diem sol non uret te, id est, major tribulatio: neque luna per noctem, id est, minor.
Et subditur ratio:
« Quoniam Agnus qui in medio throni est, »
Id est, qui est in medio Sanctorum qui sunt ejus thronus, « reget illos, » scilicet, rationem cognitione illuminando, vel reges faciet. Vel, « Reget illos, » id est, voluntates eorum ita disponet, ut nihil velle possint nisi quod Deus vult.
“And the one who sits on the throne,” that is, the divinity of the Son, which sits in the humanity as on a throne, “will dwell over them,” that is, because he will judge them. Or, “over them,” protecting, governing, and communicating his goods to them.
Or, “throne” is called the Church in which the Lord sits. Hence he says: “The one who sits on the throne,” that is, the Son of God, “will dwell over them,” namely through love. John XIV, 23: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, etc.
16. “They will not hunger nor thirst any more, nor will the sun fall upon them, nor any heat:
17. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will rule them and lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Here he shows that there will be absence of every evil there.
And first he says that they will lack every evil. Second, the reason for this is set down, there, V. 17: “For the Lamb.”
Likewise, first he excludes from them every interior misery: “They will not hunger.” Second, exterior misery, there, “Nor will the sun fall upon them, etc.”
Continue thus: They have come from great tribulation, and therefore they will no longer suffer tribulation, because “they will not hunger,” supply, being satisfied with the living bread. John VI, 51: I am the living bread; “nor thirst,” supply, having drunk from the fountain of life. John IV, 13: Whoever drinks from this water that I will give him will not thirst forever.
“Any more.” On the contrary: Ecclesiasticus XXIV, 29: Those who eat me will still hunger, etc. Response. There are two things in hunger, namely defect and desire. Defect will be entirely taken away; desire will remain, so that weariness may be excluded; and thus the Saints will always be refreshed and satisfied and will never weary. 1 Peter I, 12: Into whom the Angels desire to look. Therefore hunger is taken here for defect, but in the book of Ecclesiasticus for desire and affection.
“Nor will the sun fall upon them,” that is, a greater tribulation, “nor any heat,” that is, a lesser tribulation. And he rightly says, “nor any heat,” because neither bodily nor spiritual, neither eternal nor temporal. Concerning these, Psalm CXX, 6: By day the sun will not burn you, that is, greater tribulation; nor the moon by night, that is, lesser.
And the reason is added:
“For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne,”
That is, who is in the midst of the Saints who are his throne, “will rule them,” namely by illuminating reason with knowledge, or he will make them kings. Or, “he will rule them,” that is, he will so dispose their wills that they can wish nothing except what God wills.
« Et deducet eos, » de seipso ad seipsum, id est, de se homine ad se Deum ducet, « ad vitae fontes aquarum, » id est, ad Christum. Psal. XXXV, 10: Quoniam apud te est fons vitae: fons, dico, qui irrigat totam Ecclesiam. Genes. II, 6: Fons ascendebat e terra, irrigans universam superficiem terrae. Et dicuntur fontes pluraliter, propter pluralitatem donorum in Sanctis suis. Vel, « Vitae fontes aquarum, » id est, ad contemplandam sanctae Trinitatis majestatem, quae est fons unus propter unitatem naturae: sed plures propter Trinitatem personarum, et numerositatem gratiarum quae sunt vita spiritualis, et spiritualiter faciunt vivere, et ideo ad fontes vitae aquarum. Vel, « Vitae fontes aquarum, » dicuntur gaudia paradisi, quae erunt de visione Dei, de stola corporis, de stola animae, de Sanctorum societate. Propter hoc, Matth. XXV, 21: Intra in gaudium domini tui. Isa. XII, 3: Haurietis aquas in gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris.
« Et absterget Deus omnem lacrymam ab oculis eorum, »
Id est, omnem doloris et tristitiae causam. Bernardus: « Felix lacryma quam pia manus Conditoris absterget. » Et bene dicit: « Omnem lacrymam, » quia, sicut dicit Haymo, variae sunt lacrymae Sanctorum: quoniam alius propterea plangit, quia malum egit: alius, quia bona non fecit: alius, quia dura correptionis flagella sustinet: alius, quia intus impugnatur: alius, quia peregrinatur a regno. Sed istae lacrymae tunc penitus abstergentur.
Hic sunt dubitabilia.
Primo super illo verbo V. 2: « Habentem signum Dei vivi, » id est, signum crucis. Contra: Crux fuit signum mortui hominis: non ergo Dei vivi.
Responsio. Ideo dicitur signum Dei vivi, quia ibi vixit Deus homine moriente, cujus fuit signum clamor quem emisit in morte.
Secundo quaeritur, Cum sint plura alia signa quibus reprobi ab electis discernuntur, quare potius exponimus hoc de signo crucis quam de alio?
Responsio. Quia diabolus victus est per hoc signum: ideo ut coerceatur diaboli malitia, ne laedat signatos, exponitur de signo crucis, de quo, Ezechiel. IX, 4: Signa thau super frontes virorum gementium, etc. Sequitur, V. 6: Super quem videritis thau, ne occidatis, scilicet eum.
Tertio, super illo verbo V. 5: « Ex tribu Juda. » Cum Judas sit quartus filius Jacob 1, quare hic ponitur primo loco? et generaliter de ordine aliorum nominum: quia fere omnia sunt transposita praeter quatuor ultima.
“And he will lead them,” from himself to himself, that is, from himself as man he will lead them to himself as God, “to the fountains of the waters of life,” that is, to Christ. Psalm XXXV, 10: For with you is the fountain of life: a fountain, I say, which waters the whole Church. Genesis II, 6: A fountain rose from the earth, watering the whole surface of the earth. And fountains are spoken of in the plural because of the plurality of gifts in his Saints. Or, “the fountains of the waters of life,” that is, to contemplating the majesty of the holy Trinity, which is one fountain because of unity of nature, but many because of the Trinity of persons and the multitude of graces that are spiritual life and make one live spiritually, and therefore he leads them to the fountains of the waters of life. Or, “the fountains of the waters of life” are called the joys of paradise, which will be from the vision of God, from the robe of the body, from the robe of the soul, and from the society of the Saints. On account of this, Matthew XXV, 21: Enter into the joy of your lord. Isaiah XII, 3: You will draw waters with joy from the fountains of the Savior.
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes,”
That is, every cause of grief and sadness. Bernard says: “Happy is the tear which the pious hand of the Creator will wipe away.” And he rightly says, “every tear,” because, as Haymo says, the tears of the Saints are various: for one person weeps because he has done evil; another, because he has not done good things; another, because he bears hard scourges of correction; another, because he is attacked within; another, because he is a pilgrim away from the kingdom. But those tears will then be wholly wiped away.
Here there are things to be doubted.
First on that word, V. 2: “Having the sign of the living God,” that is, the sign of the cross. On the contrary: the cross was the sign of a dead man; therefore not of the living God.
Response. It is called the sign of the living God because there God lived while the man was dying; the sign of this was the cry that he sent forth in death.
Second it is asked: Since there are several other signs by which the reprobate are distinguished from the elect, why do we expound this as the sign of the cross rather than another?
Response. Because the devil was conquered through this sign; therefore, so that the malice of the devil may be restrained, lest he harm those signed, it is expounded of the sign of the cross, concerning which Ezekiel IX, 4 says: Sign tau upon the foreheads of the men who groan, etc. It follows, V. 6: Upon whom you see tau, do not kill him.
Third, on that word, V. 5: “From the tribe of Judah.” Since Judah is the fourth son of Jacob 1, why is he placed here in the first position? And generally concerning the order of the other names, because almost all have been transposed except the last four.
Responsio. Quia signatio quae ponitur hic, fit per gratiam, quae nec dignitatem nec genus nec tempus attendit. Vel, quia hic intendit ostendere statum Ecclesiae secundum quod procedit ascendendo a minoribus ad majores: ideo haec nomina ponit secundum congruentiam quam habent ad invicem in ascensu isto ratione interpretationis nominum: unde non ordinem terrenae generationis, sed juxta interpretationem nominum profectum Ecclesiae decrevit exponere, quae a confessione et laude praesenti ad dexteram vitae festinat aeternae, secundum illud Psalmistae, Psal. LXXXII, 8: Ibunt de virtute in virtutem.
Quarto quaeritur, Quare Simeon ponitur hic, et non ponitur in benedictionibus Deuteronomii 2. Item, Dan et Ephraim ponuntur in benedictionibus, hic autem non: quaeritur, Quare hoc fit?
Responsio. Hoc fit propter mysterium sumptum ex nominum interpretatione. Dan enim interpretatur judicium, et significat poenitentes qui se judicant hic. Ephraim interpretatur fructificans, et significat proficientes. Et tam hi quam illi digni sunt benedictione novae legis: ideo ponuntur in Deuteronomio, quia dicitur nova lex. Simeon interpretatur nomen habitaculi, et significat eos qui vocant et statuunt nomina sua in habitaculo mundi. Psal. XLVI, 12: Vocaverunt nomina sua in terris suis. Et hi non habebunt benedictionem novae legis quae est benedictio gratiae.
Quinto, super illo verbo V. 9: « Quam dinumerare nemo poterat, » quaeritur, Cum supra posita sit ista turba sub numero certo et finito, hic ponitur sub numero infinito et incerto, quare hoc facit?
Responsio. Per numerum supradictum, scilicet, centum quadraginta quatuor millia, signantur conversi de Judaeis, qui pauci fuerunt respectu aliorum: et ideo ponitur certus numerus, et finitus. Sed per turbam quae ponitur hic, signantur conversi de Gentibus, qui plures fuerunt illis: et ideo ponitur numerus infinitus. Tamen secundum Glossam, utrobique intelligitur numerus omnium electorum: qui primo ponitur finitus, quia Deo est finitus, et certus: et postea ponitur sub numero incerto, quia nobis est infinitus, et incertus.
Response. Because the sealing that is set down here occurs through grace, which attends neither dignity nor race nor time. Or, because here he intends to show the state of the Church according as it proceeds by ascending from lesser to greater; therefore he sets down these names according to the congruence that they have to one another in this ascent by reason of the interpretation of the names. Hence he decided to expound not the order of earthly generation, but the progress of the Church according to the interpretation of the names; the Church hastens from confession and present praise to the right hand of eternal life, according to that saying of the Psalmist, Psalm LXXXII, 8: They will go from virtue to virtue.
Fourth it is asked: Why is Simeon placed here and not placed in the blessings of Deuteronomy 2? Likewise, Dan and Ephraim are placed in the blessings, but not here; it is asked why this happens.
Response. This happens because of a mystery taken from the interpretation of the names. For Dan is interpreted judgment, and signifies penitents who judge themselves here. Ephraim is interpreted fruitful, and signifies those advancing. Both these and those are worthy of the blessing of the new law; therefore they are placed in Deuteronomy, because it is called the new law. Simeon is interpreted name of habitation, and signifies those who call and establish their names in the habitation of the world. Psalm XLVI, 12: They called their names in their lands. And these will not have the blessing of the new law, which is the blessing of grace.
Fifth, on that word, V. 9: “Which no one could number,” it is asked: Since above that crowd was set down under a certain and finite number, but here is set down under an infinite and uncertain number, why does he do this?
Response. By the number said above, namely one hundred forty-four thousand, are signified those converted from the Jews, who were few in comparison with the others; and therefore a certain and finite number is set down. But by the crowd which is set down here are signified those converted from the Gentiles, who were more numerous than they; and therefore an infinite number is set down. Yet according to the Gloss, in both places the number of all the elect is understood: it is first set down as finite because it is finite and certain to God; and afterward it is set down under an uncertain number because to us it is infinite and uncertain.
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