VI. ON THE APOCALPYSE CHAPTER I.

<-is to come, and in his seven spirits, and in Jesus Christ the faithful witness, just as we confess in the daily creed original: "symbolo quotidiano", not indeed in the same words or syllables, but with the same meaning and manner of expression. At the same time and by the same logic, John both confesses the faith and prays for faith and the fruit of faith upon his listeners. And while he does both, he seems to do only one thing—namely, the invocation of grace and peace alone—unless you pay close attention. Just as gold melted in fire, or as frankincense and myrrh cast upon coals, leaves its former shape, so this confession of faith, set ablaze by the great fire of brotherly love, can scarcely be recognized as a confession of faith, because the power of the prayerful invocation has almost entirely transformed it into itself. But now let us examine the words themselves in order.

The apostolic greeting, Grace & peace.
L Grace (he says) to you and peace from him who was, and who is, and who is to come. This greeting of grace and peace is established firmly in the custom of the apostles of Christ. It is especially in the manner of Paul, whom grace itself, poured into the lips of Christ, named the vas electionis chosen vessel. Indeed, in none of his epistles does he omit a greeting of this kind. The expression is therefore worthy to be weighed as if on a scale, so that its weight may be estimated, even if it cannot be fully defined.
1 Corinthians 15.
What, I ask, did the apostles, and this one beloved of Jesus Christ, receive through the same Jesus Christ, if not grace and peace? For they were called by grace, and not by works, to be what they are, namely apostles. They were honored with such great grace that the Lord Jesus himself, who called them, walked with them for a long time. But when he died for us, he paid the debt of Adam to the eternal Father. He wiped away the bond of the old sin with his blood, and rising on the third day, he brought peace to them, standing in their midst and saying to them, "Peace be to you."
Colossians 2. Luke last chapter. Ephesians 2.
For he had reconciled them to God, having broken down the wall of enmity through the death of the cross. Therefore, what they had received—first the calling of grace, and then the peace of necessary reconciliation—they ought to wish for us and offer to us. They do this not from themselves, but from him from whom they also received it: namely, from him who was, and who is, and who is to come. This, I say, they had to remind them of constantly, so that they might know they were called by God through grace, and might keep the peace and reconciliation by which they were reconciled to God through Christ.
Why Paul says to Timothy alone, Grace, mercy & peace. 1 Timothy 1.
In the meantime, it is pleasing not to pass over in silence that while the aforementioned Apostle Paul joins these two, grace and peace, in all his epistles when greeting the churches, he interposes "mercy" only in those which he writes to his disciple Timothy. He says to Timothy: "To my beloved son in the faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." For in him he was instructing all bishops, and the highest and most necessary ornament of their office is mercy. Since Timothy was, as it is said, of a more fervent zeal, it was right and timely to pray that he would have the inward parts of mercy. Among other things, he says: "Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father."
1 Timothy 5.
For we all ought to be mindful that whatever good we are or have is the grace of God and not from ourselves. In this regard, we should have compassion on those who do not yet seem to be what we are, or to have what we have. This follows the mystical example of the holy law, in which the Lord says: "You shall not trouble a stranger, for you know the souls of strangers, because you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt."
1 Corinthians 4. 2 Corinthians 3. Exodus 23.
But it is especially necessary for bishops to observe this, as they are appointed as guardians of souls, much more than it is for their subjects. Therefore, it has been dealt with quite usefully for us:
† who was specifically to be told. John last chapter.
so that he, † to whom mercy was specifically to be told in the command "Feed my lambs," might first learn in his own fall how merciful he ought to be. This refers to Peter, who was told to feed the lambs after his denial and restoration.
Who was and who is and who is to come.
¶ But now let us return to the path of the literal text. From him, he says, who was, and who is, and who is to come. It has seemed to some that these words should be understood as referring to the person of the Son, mostly because he said at the end, "and who is to come." For the Son himself is to come to judge the living and the dead. They argue that no mention of the Father's person is made here, but only of the Son and the Holy Spirit. They see the Son twice: first in "him who was, and who is, and who is to come," and later in "Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness." They see the Holy Spirit once in the "seven spirits who are in the sight of his throne." But the aforementioned Apostle Paul occurs to us, who so often distinguishes between "God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" in his greetings of grace and peace. Surely the Father of Christ is our Father, just as he says: "I ascend to my Father and your Father." He also was, and is, and is to come.
John 20. Not only the Son but also the Father is to come. Acts 1.
Only this last part, "and who is to come," seems to compel people to understand these words as spoken of the person of the Son. For concerning this person, the angels said: "He will come in the same way as you saw him going into heaven." But truly, the Father also is undoubtedly to come, that is, he will manifest himself to the faithful, who now see him through a glass darkly, but then face to face.
1 Corinthians 13
The only difference is that the Son will come in the form of a servant so that even the wicked may see that same form, not just the good, as is written below:
***
VII.
# COMMENTARY BOOK I. VII.

written. And every eye shall see him, and those who pierced him. But the Father will come, that is, he will appear, in such a way that the glory of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will be seen only by the good.->

Below in the same place. . . Daniel 7. The same. The Ancient of Days. The same.

¶ If testimony from the scriptures is needed to prove that the Father is rightly believed to come or be "to come" in that manner, behold, it is written thus in Daniel: "And I beheld until the thrones were placed: and the Ancient of Days sat." Likewise: "And behold, that horn made war against the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of Days came and gave judgment to the saints of the Most High: and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom." Who can doubt that the person of the Father is expressed in the "Ancient of Days" who comes? For concerning the person of the Son, it is written in the same place: "I beheld therefore in the vision of the night, and behold, the Son of Man came in the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the Ancient of Days." Therefore, nothing prevents us from understanding "him who was, and who is, and who is to come" as God the Father. Indeed, it is very beautiful, worthy, and venerable. When there follows "and from the seven spirits who are in the sight of his throne, and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness," it is believed that a glorious confession of the whole Trinity is preached. The Father "was," I say, meaning he remained immutable in himself before he established these changeable things. And he "is" also, meaning he remains immutable while he rules these same things as they pass changeably. He is "to come" nonetheless, meaning he will appear immutable when this corruptible appearance of changeable things has passed away. Furthermore, concerning the evil beast, which strives to oppose this purpose, it is written much further down:

† you saw Below 17. 2 Timothy 3.

"And the beast which † I saw was, and is not." Therefore, let John himself, relegated to exile, and all who wish to live piously in Christ and suffer persecution, receive consolation in this grace. For it will come to pass that it shall be said of every persecution or persecutor: "it was, and is not." But of him for whose sake they suffer, let it always be said: "He who was, and was, and shall never cease to be."

From the seven spirits. i.e. from the sevenfold Spirit. Isaiah 11.

L And from the seven spirits who are in the sight of his throne. "From the seven spirits" means from the sevenfold Spirit. In saying this, he looks back to the face of the earlier scripture, where it is written: "And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety: and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him."

The same. Mysteries of the Holy Spirit in seven.

And here he looked back very opportunely to the face of that scripture. This is especially because he of whom the prophet spoke—the flower that ascends from the root of Jesse, the Lamb of God, and the same strong Lion—signified at once the strength and the brightness of those same seven spirits resting upon him. They are seen in his seven horns, and seven eyes, and in the seven lamps burning before the throne of God, and in so many sevenfold signs of mysteries: the book sealed with seven seals, the seven trumpets of the angels, and the seven bowls, and before all things in the seven stars and seven lampstands, which are the seven churches. Therefore, by "from the seven spirits," that is, from the one holy sevenfold Spirit, understand the same "grace to you and peace."

Angels are the throne of God.

¶ These seven spirits are indeed in the sight of the same throne of the Father, which is to say, in the sight of the holy angels. The angels are so much the throne of God, and God sits in them to such an extent, that some of them are even specifically called "Thrones." They possess this quality because these spirits are in their sight—that is, because they behold these spirits. For unless they were strengthened by this sevenfold Spirit, they would in no way be able to bear the weight of God sitting upon them. For the Spirit himself is love, by which alone a rational creature is made fit for the majesty of God to sit within it. No one who does not love him can bear that majesty.

Psalm 67

For on the contrary, regarding those in whose sight these spirits are not present in diligent memory, the Psalmist says: "As wax melts before the face of the fire, so let the sinners perish before the face of God." This is so you may understand that no one can subsist before the face of God, much less be the seat of God, who does not have this spirit of love. From this sevenfold Spirit, he says, "grace and peace to the seven churches." The fruit of this grace and peace is that they themselves, along with the holy angelic spirits, may be the throne of God.

Grace and peace from Christ. 1 John 1. Ephesians 2.

L And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness: the firstborn of the dead: and the prince of the kings of the earth. J "And from Jesus Christ," he says: grace and peace are understood here, as through him this grace was made and he is our peace. For grace and peace were made through Jesus Christ, and he is (says the apostle) our peace, who made both one. This person did more in acquiring this peace and grace for us. He spent himself by assuming our nature, and by being obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross. He raised that same nature of ours in himself from the dead, and caused it to sit at the right hand of the Father, where he is now, retaining for us a firm authority over this grace and peace.

Romans 8. Ephesians 2. Why he places the person of the Son in the third place here.

¶ He rightly placed this person now in the last, that is, the third place, because he is about to say more about him here. In the things that follow, the Son is seen in various figures, and he speaks more and almost entirely. For even the seven spirits speak to each of the churches in order, as we will consider more carefully in its place. It is said through each or concerning each: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."