VIII. ON THE APOCALYPSE CHAPTER I.

tretus

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...to the churches: but this very thing that the spirit speaks, he speaks in this person, saying this to this and that church, or "write to the angel of the church." Therefore, for the sake of the matter at hand, the same person is adorned and commended with fitting praises: so that in all things he speaks, in this scripture as in others, faith may be applied without hesitation. He who is, he says, the faithful witness. And he immediately adds, the firstborn of the dead. He further adds, and the prince of the kings of the earth. And even more abundantly:

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¶ To him who loved us (he says) and washed us from our sins in his own blood: and made us a kingdom and priests to God and his Father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen. Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth shall wail over him: even so, amen. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord God: who was, and who is, and who is to come, the Almighty.

The majesty of the broadest sense in a few syllables.

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¶ In this way, as has already been said above, the beloved apostle confesses the catholic faith of Christ Jesus in the form of a prayer: and he prays for the grace of that same faith upon the churches at the same time. While he does both most beautifully, in a marvelous way he seems to do only one thing, that is, the invocation of grace and peace alone. Each word proceeds with the highest dignity, each containing within a few syllables the majesty of the broadest meaning.

Christ is called the faithful witness

John 18.

John 8.

John 15.

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¶ He who is (he says) the faithful witness. ¶ Truly a witness, which in Greek is called a martyr witness, because he was both born to bear witness to the truth and died for you by the testimony of the truth, just as he himself said to Pilate: "For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth." For the Father is indeed a witness, of whom Jesus Christ himself says, "and the Father who sent me bears witness of me." And the Holy Spirit is a witness, of whom he says, "when the paracletus advocate or comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness of me." But this is the only person who sustained death for the testimony of the truth, wherefore this same Son alone is worthily called the witness.

Martyrs testify less perfectly than Christ.

John 3.

¶ And indeed many witnesses of the truth have suffered death because of the word of their testimony, for which reason the holy Church has been accustomed to name them by the Greek name "martyrs." But there is no small distance by which this one is also called, with a splendid addition, the faithful witness. For what this witness testified, he first saw and heard before he came into this world: I say he first saw and heard, and afterward was born into this, and for this came into the world, to bear witness to the truth, as he himself said before the aforementioned governor. Hence also John the Baptist says: "He who comes from heaven is above all: and what he has seen and heard, this he testifies." All others came from the earth, and were born before they knew anything: and afterward they received from elsewhere, from another indicator, what they should say in testifying: and even this not perfectly, but in part: as one of them, the apostle Paul, says: "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part."

1 Corinthians 13.

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Therefore, he alone is that faithful witness, that is, one who saw and heard the matter before he came here to testify: so certain that he did not know and prophesy in part, but the whole perfectly. Add that, having died for that same testimony of the truth, he conquered death itself and rose from the dead: which other witnesses before him did not do.

Firstborn of the dead.

Matthew 19.

Romans 6.

John 11, 16.

Acts 2.

1 Peter 1.

¶ For this is what is said next: ¶ The firstborn of the dead. ¶ That is, the first of those rising from the dead. For resurrection will be a regeneration for us, because, having been generated to corruption by our birth now, we will then be regenerated to incorruption by rising again. Wherefore the Lord says: "In the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his majesty." He said "in the regeneration" instead of saying "in the universal resurrection." In this regeneration of the dead, this witness is brought forward as the firstborn: because he rose before all of them: specifically, to die no more. Truly no one before him rose in such a way as to die no more. But he also gave this to other witnesses, of whom the first was Abel the just, and he brought it about that they should rise and die no more. It is a very beautiful and splendid expression, that he should be called the firstborn of the dead instead of the "first rising." Delighted by such splendor, we say that in such a birth, the blessed souls of the apostles stood as mothers, as it were, who grieved with maternal affection for the dying Lord Jesus Christ until he should rise. For he used such a likeness to them or for them: "A woman when she is in labor has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has brought forth the child, she no longer remembers the pressure for joy, because a man is born into the world." Finally, this witness having been thus regenerated to immortality and incorruption, what did he do? He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God. "Him," says Peter, "God raised up, and exalted as Prince and Savior."

Prince of the kings of the earth.

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¶ He adds therefore, ¶ And the prince of the kings of the earth. ¶ Of which or what kind of kings of the earth? Surely not of those or such as stood up against the Lord and against—

Kings but slaves of the earth.

Romans 6.

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—and against his Christ? Certainly he is not the prince of such as these: rather, he is their judge. ¶ For such men call themselves kings of the earth and are not, but are slaves of the slaves of the earth, since they are slaves of sin, subjected to the desires of the earth. This one is the prince of those who, even if they are not commonly called kings, are nevertheless kings of the earth: because they know how to rule their own earthliness: free from sin, but slaves of justice. Therefore he is the prince only of these kings. For all who wish to be his must be such.

below [Rev] 1.

The Principality of Christ

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O truly beautiful and glorious principality of this prince, who makes all his subjects kings, or a kingdom and a royal priesthood. For this is what is said afterward: And he made us a kingdom and priests.

Luke 22.

John 13.

Luke 22.

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¶ This principality differs greatly from the tyranny of this world. "The kings of the gentiles," he says, "exercise lordship over them, and those who have authority over them are called benefactors." Saying these and other things to his ministers, this prince of kings even washed their feet. This having been done, he confirmed what he was saying by a slave-like act: "but I am in your midst as one who serves." For how much further would a diligent servant lower himself to serve the kings of the nations? Yet in serving thus, he was still Lord and Master. For they stood in need of that mastery. But indeed there, where he ascended after his resurrection, just as he did not need service, so they did not need mastery. Therefore, much more there he will not be the king of those who soldier, or the lord of those who serve, but as it is written: the King of kings and Lord of lords. It follows:

below [Rev] 1.

The beautiful order of the speech.

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¶ Who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. ¶ That which was greatest in the work of the faithful witness he had deferred for a little while, by saying "who is the faithful witness," and immediately adding "the firstborn of the dead." This is because, by anticipating the glory of the resurrection, he had leaped over the health-giving sacrament of his passion: but now, more beautifully and more splendidly, he repeats it with a gracious word, saying: who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

Psalm 18 and 118 [19 and 119].

Who loved us.

Ephesians 1.

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Let us linger for a while in this most sweet honeycomb of thanksgiving, and let us release speech sweet to our palates, beyond honey and the honeycomb to our mouths. ¶ Who loved us, he says. Certainly before the secular ages: and this Son loved us in the Father, and the Father loved us in this Son. Hence also the apostle Paul says to the Ephesians: "Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. Having predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself according to the purpose of his will: to the praise of his glorious grace, in which he has made us accepted in his beloved Son."

Christ the beloved bridegroom of the church

Song of Songs 1.

¶ Sighing for the act of this love, the Church says with its first voice in the Song of Songs: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." That which she desired was done. The loving and beloved one came, the one totally desirable, and with all the ointments of every grace: in the secret chamber of the virginal womb, he offered the long-desired kiss to his beloved: specifically where the nature of God joined himself to the nature of man, true God to true flesh and a true rational soul. From there, proceeding as a bridegroom from his chamber, he directed his entire diligent mind toward the writing of a heavenly dowry in the testament of his bride and for her whole race. For her race, I say, that is, for all souls who are one race, one Church, one body with that flesh through a single faith.

Christ free from the judgment of the world.

John 12.

It came to the judgment, of which he also said: "Now is the judgment of the world, now the prince of this world shall be cast out." He shows that in the equity of the judges, he has a human nature free from the fault of Adam's transgression.

Exodus 34.

Deuteronomy 16.

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"For the prince of this world comes," he says, "and in me he has nothing." I say he also shows himself obedient in this: that he arrived in Jerusalem, where he was seeking to be killed. For God had commanded in the law thus: "Three times in each year you shall celebrate feasts to me. You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread, and the feast of the harvest of firstfruits, also the feast at the end of the year, when you have gathered all your fruits from the field. Three times in the year every male of yours shall appear before the Lord your God."

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When, therefore, according to the mandate of the law he had come to Jerusalem, the already mentioned reckless prince of this world rushed against him. And though he did not have a cause of death in him, that is, sin, he demanded the penalty of death: having forgotten, through his foolishness, the tenor of that law by which he claimed for himself to possess all men because of the sin of one man. For if because of one man's offense many were made sinners, why should not many be made righteous because of one man's righteousness? Loving us, therefore, he died for us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

Christ washed us from our sins.

John 19.

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How? "One of the soldiers opened his side with a spear: and immediately there came out blood and water." By that blood he redeemed us: by that water he washed us from our sins. Us, says the beloved Apostle of Jesus Christ, counting himself among those who have sinned. Do not think he makes any distinction between Jew and Greek.

Ephesians 2.

Isaiah 64.

But also a certain other man of those of the Israelite race says: "For we also were once by nature children of wrath, even as the rest." And likewise another of noted holiness from that race: "As a pannus rag..." A reference to Isaiah 64:6, "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."