Through the Scriptures we are instructed in two advents of the Christ and Savior. The first after the flesh was in humiliation, because he was manifested in lowly estate. So then his second advent is declared to be in glory, for he comes from heaven with power and angels and the glory of his Father. His first advent had John the Baptist as its forerunner, and his second, in which he is to come in glory, will exhibit Enoch and Elijah and John the Theologian.^[1] Behold, too, the Lord’s kindness to humankind; how even in the last times he shows his care for mortals and pities them. For even then he will not leave us without prophets but will send them to us for our instruction and assurance and to make us give heed to the advent of the adversary, as he intimated also of old in Daniel. For he says, I shall make a covenant of one week, and in the midst of the week my sacrifice and libation will be removed. For by one week he indicates the showing forth of the seven years, which shall be in the last times. And the half of the week the two prophets, along with John, will take for the purpose of proclaiming to all the world the advent of antichrist, that is to say, for a thousand two hundred and sixty days clothed in sackcloth.

Many think that either Elisha or Moses was with Elijah. However, both of these died. However, the death of Jeremiah was never discovered. Our ancients have handed over the opinion that [the other witness] was in every respect Jeremiah.^[1] For the very word, which was given to him, is witness of this: Before I formed you in the womb of your mother, I knew you; and I appointed you prophet to the nations.^[2] However, he was never a prophet among the nations, and so, since the two words are divine, it is necessary that what God promised, that he also demonstrate, namely, that he be a prophet among the nations.

He had earlier said that you must prophesy again. Now he desires to show this in his two witnesses. In the two witnesses, he wants us to understand the two Testaments by which his church is governed and ruled. For he did not say, I make witnesses for myself, as though they did not yet exist. Rather, he said, I shall give to my witnesses, who were with me from the beginning and have never at all departed from me. The 1,260 days are not a time of peace but of the last persecution, during which time the devil shall break out against the Christians, namely, when he receives power to test the church. And just as before the flood, when the sins of humankind raised their head to the heavens, there was not absent someone who might proclaim the wrath of God to those who were perishing, so also at that time there will be those who will announce the kingdom of God and the last day and by their own example will show the way of repentance to sinners. [The witnesses] were clothed in sackcloth, it says, that is, they were established in confession. As the prophet said, When they troubled me, I clothed myself in sackcloth.^[1] And Job said, They have sewed sackcloth upon my skin.^[2]

Since the vision outlined for the Evangelist the entire economy of the Lord’s incarnation—his birth, the temptation, his teachings, the beatings, also the cross and resurrection, the second coming and the reward of both the holy and the sinners—it had left unmentioned any information about the forerunners of his second coming. Now, as though by a sharp U-turn, [the vision] teaches him about them. When Malachi said, Behold, I will send you Elijah the Tishbite before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, who will turn the heart of a father to the son and the heart of a man to his neighbor, lest I come to trample the land utterly,^[1] the holy Scripture with great clarity foretold that Elijah the Tishbite will come. And in Matthew, the Lord spoke of the Baptist: And if you are willing to accept it, this is Elijah who is to come.^[2] Concerning other forerunners we have heard nothing with clarity except that Genesis said concerning Enoch that having pleased God, he was taken,^[3] and the wise apostle said concerning him, By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him.^[4] An old, traditional saying is prevalent in the church, that with Elijah the Tishbite also Enoch will come as a forerunner of the second coming of Christ and at the coming of the antichrist.^[5] This passage says that they come and proclaim beforehand that the signs performed by [the antichrist] are deceptive and that it is not necessary to believe the sinful one. Using either a figurative number or a literal description of what will be, the vision now reports of these [forerunners] that they will prophesy so many days. They will prophesy clothed in sackcloth, for they will lament over the disobedience of those who live at that time.

While he had said that you must prophesy again, here it is that I will grant to my two witnesses and they will prophesy. As there he spoke of John, here of the two witnesses, that is, of the church that preaches and prophesies on the basis of the two Testaments.^[1] There is another interpretation. The Truth proposes that there are two kinds of witness. On the one hand, there is the witness by way of one’s manner and character. This witness occurs in the heart and is known to God alone, also when there is but minimal approval during times of suffering. On the other hand, there is the witness by way of deed, which is accomplished publicly in the view of all when the opportunity of persecution arises. For sometimes witness seems to fail the soul, while at other times the soul in some seems to fail the witness. Therefore, the blessed Cyprian said, The first title to victory is for him who has fallen at the hands of the Gentiles confessing the Lord; the second step to glory is to make a cautious withdrawal and then to keep himself for God. The one is a public confession; the other private. The former conquers the judge of the world; the latter satisfied with God as his judge guards a conscience pure by integrity of heart.^[2] But the point is also very clearly demonstrated in the two sons of Zebedee. James, who was killed by Herod,^[3] is accounted a martyr because of his public confession, while his brother, John the Evangelist, is crowned because of his secret witness [as one who was] with Jesus. Moreover, it is clear that earlier the Lord had said to both, You will drink my cup.^[4] That is, one would give witness by way of deed, the other by way of his manner and practice. They are clothed in sackcloth. This means that they were both established in confession, for the humility of confession is characteristic to both kinds of witness.

These are those who stand, it says, not those who shall stand as though they were not able to stand. In the two lampstands he signifies the church, which is fortified by the protection of the two Testaments. For in the seven angels and in the seven lampstands he designated the one church, so that when he spoke of one, he had also spoken of the others. When Zechariah who prophesied of our figure was awakened from sleep that he might behold the light of the church, he saw a single sevenform lampstand in which was declared the mystery of the sevenform church. For the two olive trees are the two Testaments, which pour out the oil of knowledge into the lampstand. And therefore the same prophet said, He waked me, like a man that is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ I said, ‘Behold, I see a lampstand all out of gold, with torches upon it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips of light which are upon it, and two olive trees upon it, one on the right of the torch and one on the left.’^[1] And I asked what these might be. And the angel answered and said, these seven lights are seven spirits which are the seven eyes of the Lord that range through the whole earth.^[2] And when I inquired of the two olive trees, he said to me, These are the two anointed sons who are with the Lord of the whole earth.^[3]

That the two olive branches have been interpreted as the two peoples, that from the Jews and that from the nations, is not unknown to the saints. However, it is also possible that these two of whom the present passage speaks are two prophets.

He shows now that he is speaking not of future realities but of present things when he says, These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. This refers to the church, which is illuminated and made strong by the light of the two Testaments and is equipped by the two kinds of witness that by divine inspiration is allowed in various of its members. The two lampstands represent the [one] church, but he has spoken of two because of the two Testaments or because [the church] is gathered from the circumcision and uncircumcision and exists in union with the chief cornerstone.

This means that should anyone wish to harm the church, as one condemned he is consumed by a fire, which harms in the very same manner as a sort of reciprocal judgment. That is, he receives justly that very thing which he desired to inflict unjustly. Or, in a good sense this means that through the prayers of the church’s mouth one is consumed spiritually by fire so that one might be changed for the better, since when one is turned away from error, error ceases and one is saved.

Should anyone harm the church or wish to harm her, through the prayers of her mouth he shall be consumed by a divine fire either in the present age for his correction or in the future age for his damnation.

It says, they have, not they will have. For whoever remains in the faith of the one church of God will in no way be wanting in that power conferred upon him by God. They have power to turn the waters into blood and to smite the earth with every plague as often as they desire. We have often said that everything that God is said to have done for the sake of his church is attached to the powers of the church. The Lord gives power to the church so that what is bound on earth is also bound in heaven.^[1] Heaven is spiritually closed that no rain fall, that is, that no rain of blessing fall upon the dry land. The Lord spoke of this concerning the vineyard of the Jews: I shall also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.^[2] And not only did they suspend the rain but even made useless that rain which had fallen. For the water was changed into blood, even as the very earth was struck with every plague. Nor did these things occur by way of accident or fortuitously. Rather, as often as they desired, that is, as often as he desired who conceded to them such power. As the apostle says of the Holy Spirit, apportioning to each one individually as he wills.^[3] And again, As God assigns to each one a measure of faith.

Such is [the power] of these very persuasive individuals. For if one of them, Elijah the Tishbite, had such power even before he fulfills the service of Christ, how would he remain unpersuasive as the precursor of Christ? And they had power, it says, over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague as often as they wish. For since the coming of the antichrist will be by the activity of Satan with all power and with deceitful signs and wonders, as Paul says in his second letter to the Thessalonians,^[1] these signs will lead to agreement and faith. And for this reason these two prophets who refer to him as a deceiver and a cheat will also make use of various signs, so that they might attract those who hear to faith.

Not only do they suspend the rain, but also they make useless that rain that falls. That is, they turn the waters into blood on account of those who judge in a carnal way those things which the church gives to be discerned in a spiritual manner. Therefore, they deservedly die, being struck by the church with a just condemnation. And so they incur the defect of death from that source which for others brings forth spiritual life. For the apostle says that to think according to the flesh is death.^[1] The good aroma of Christ, which rises up from the church, is to some a fragrance of death to death, to others a fragrance of life to life.^[2] And so [the church] is said to strike the earthly with plagues when by the power of binding and loosing that she has she assigns to each a proper penalty for the variety of their merits and sins.

How deep is the divine goodness! For he brings a healing that is commensurate with the wound. For since he has received the full operation of the devil, the antichrist will come with every false sign and wonder and will be more wondrous than every sorcery and enchantment. And so in the power of true signs and wonders, God will equip these saints for the promotion of truth and light, and they will expose the lies and darkness [of the antichrist], and to those who have been deceived they will give correction through the word of their teaching and through chastising scourges (drought, fire, changes in the elements and the like), and they will make an example of the deceiver, while until the completion of their prophesying they will remain uninfluenced either by him or by someone other.

When they have proclaimed all these things, they will fall on the sword, cut off by the accuser. And they will fulfill their testimony, as Daniel also says; for he foresaw that the beast that came up out of the abyss would make war with them, namely with Enoch, Elijah and John, and would overcome them and kill them, because of their refusal to give glory to the accuser, that is, the little horn that sprang up. And he, being lifted up in heart, begins in the end to exalt himself and glorify himself as God, persecuting the saints and blaspheming Christ.

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth,^[1] that is, in paradise. It is necessary that after many plagues have come to the world these be killed by the antichrist, who, it says, is the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit. That he will ascend from the pit is attested by many witnesses. For Isaiah says, Behold, Assyria is a cypress on Mount Lebanon.^[2] Assyria is a deeply rooted cypress, high and full of branches, that is, [Assyria possesses] a numerous people. It is on Mount Lebanon, that is, a kingdom among kingdoms. It is beautiful in its offshoots, that is, it is strong in its armies. Water nourishes it, it says^[3]; that is, there are many thousands of persons who will be submitted to it. The abyss increased him, that is, it vomited him forth. Ezekiel often speaks in such words. Paul also gives witness that antichrist is in a kingdom among kingdoms and was among the Caesars. He writes to the Thessalonians, If only he restrains, who is seen [to be restraining], until he be taken from the way. And then he will appear whose coming is like the activity of Satan with signs and deceptive works.^[4] And that they might know that he who was to come was then emperor, he adds, he is already working the mystery of wickedness.^[5] That is, he is working in a mysterious way that wickedness which he will do. But he will not be aroused [to this work] by his own strength or by that of his father but by the command of God. And for this reason Paul said, Therefore, since they did not receive the love of God, God sends upon them a spirit of error, that all of them might be persuaded by delusion, who were not persuaded by the truth.^[6] Isaiah says, Darkness arose upon them who were awaiting the light.^[7]

When he says, when they have finished their witness, he clearly explains that these things will take place before the last persecution, at least that which they relate until the revelation of the beast who will ascend from the abyss, that is, from the depths of the iniquity of the hearts of the Jews. For, according to tradition, the antichrist will arise from the tribe of Dan. And he will conquer them, namely, in those who will have succumbed. However, he will kill them, indicating those who for the name of Christ will have been killed by a praiseworthy suffering. And he will lay their bodies in the middle of that great city which is spiritually called Sodom, where also their Lord was crucified. Another translation renders it [in the singular] body. And so it speaks of one body of the two, while elsewhere in subsequent verses it speaks of the bodies. In this way, he preserves the number of the Testaments, while the two witnesses demonstrate the one body of the church. This body—he speaks not only of those killed but also of those who are living—is thrown down, that is, it is despised, as [the psalmist says], You have cast my words behind you.^[1] [He casts them down] in the middle, that is, openly and visibly. This is, to be sure, that Jerusalem which killed the prophets, according to the words of the Lord who reproached it, saying, and stoned those who were sent to you.^[2] Rightly was [Jerusalem] reproved, nor did it deserve to be restored.

[The prophets] will testify that the one who is present is not the Christ but a certain rogue, a deceiver and a destroyer. He will in no way come as the Son of God in whom one must believe as Savior and as God and who came for the benefit of humankind both in his appearance long ago and in his present appearing. It speaks of the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit. He calls the antichrist a beast because of his savagery, his inhumanity and his thirst for blood. He calls the life of people a bottomless pit, for it is bitter and distasteful on account of sins and unstable because it is buffeted about by evil spirits. For the sinful one will not arise out of any other substance but out of our own human nature, for he will be a man whose coming is in the activity of Satan, as was just now said. This beast, it says, will kill the two witnesses and will cast their dead bodies unburied in the streets of Jerusalem. For in it he will rule as king of the Jews whom he will deceive, and he will come to those who assist and trust him in every thing. As the Lord said in [the Gospel of] John: I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.^[1] He calls Jerusalem Sodom, not in a literal sense but in a spiritual sense on account of the licentiousness and ill-repute it possessed at that time. And he calls it Egypt because it had enslaved and abused the servants of Christ, just as the actual Egypt did to Israel. And it was there where also their Lord, that is, [the Lord] of the two witnesses, was crucified.

After [the two witnesses] have witnessed and urged escape from this deceit, the beast, that is, the antichrist, comes forth from the dark and deep recesses of the earth to which the devil had been condemned. And, with God’s allowance, he will kill them and leave their unburied bodies in Jerusalem itself, no doubt the ancient one which is now in ruins and in which the Lord also suffered. As it seems, he will establish his kingdom in Jerusalem in imitation of David, whose son is Christ, our true God, who is come in the flesh. In this way [the antichrist] intends to prove that he is the Christ who is fulfilling the prophetic word that says, I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and rebuild its ruins.^[1] And having been deceived at his coming, the Jews will accept this.

He clearly shows that all this will happen before the final persecution, for he says, when they have finished their testimony. At least that will happen which they show until the revelation of the beast who will emerge from the hearts of the wicked. They will strive at that time valiantly to resist the enemy with the same testimony; however, it is believed that at that time the church will be made destitute of the gift of miracles, while the adversary will be openly active with deceptive signs. As the Lord says, Want will go before his face.^[1] And he will conquer and kill them. He will conquer in those who will have succumbed, and he will kill those who by a praiseworthy suffering for the name of Christ will be slain. Or, should he conquer and kill in a spiritual manner, we understand this to refer to a portion of the witnesses, as it says in the Gospel, They will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death.^[2] And the Evangelist Luke indicates that this was spoken of a part, saying, Some of you they will put to death.^[3] And they will throw their bodies onto the streets of the great city. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you, it says.^[4] Therefore, it is not surprising if the city of the wicked, which did not fear to crucify the Lord, should also hold his servants in derision, even if they are dead. The history of the church relates that such things often occurred. Which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt. Sodom and Egypt mean silent and dark, for this city possesses neither the light of faith nor the sound of confession. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.^[5] As a sign of spiritual punishment, these regions were oppressed with these plagues, that is, [Sodom] by a ravaging fire and [Egypt] by water turned into blood.

Since they do not allow their bodies to be gathered in a suitable place, they prevent a day for their memory to be indicated by a sacred celebration of the living. . . . It is no wonder that the earthly minded rejoice over the deaths of the righteous. For in addition to the plagues that beset the human race on account of the testaments of God, even the very sight of the righteous oppresses the unrighteous, as it is written, Even the sight of him is a burden to us.^[1] Not only does it oppress, it also causes him to melt away, and so the psalm says, The sinner will see and be angry; he will gnash his teeth and melt away.^[2]

And seeing the destruction of the witnesses, those from every nation who have been deceived by the antichrist will rejoice over them, as though their own king had conquered. That they exchange gifts is another indication of their glee and delight. It says, Because the two prophets had been a torment to those living on the earth. [The prophets] will not torment them with any physical torment, but spiritually by mocking and reproving them for their sins and by making utterly clear their deceit.

The intentions are expressed by which the impious strive to remove the church of Christ from the world, as the psalmist says, Let the name of Israel be remembered no more!^[1] And although they are unable to fulfill their desire, yet they make their evil intention known.

Those Jews and Gentiles, who once were overpowered by the false wonders of the antichrist and who had indelibly engrafted that abominable name upon their hearts, prohibited the holy bodies from being buried, and they rejoiced because they were free from the torments that [the prophets] gave for their correction. For they did not acknowledge that the Lord reproves him whom he loves,^[1] and that he scourges every son whom he receives and by muzzle and bridle he will pull and tug at those who are not near to him.^[2] And God works in this way so that they might turn from necessity into the straight way from which they turned aside when they were deceived. We must make petition of the Lord and pray, It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes,^[3] and Turn us, O God of our salvation, that you do not enter into judgment with your servant.^[4] When we are judged by you, our beneficent master, we are chastened so that we may not be condemned along with the world^[5] but may rather through a few torments escape an eternal punishment.

And they went up to heaven in a cloud. The apostle spoke of this, saying, We will be caught up in the clouds to meet Christ in the air.^[1] It is written that this cannot happen to anyone before the coming of the Lord,^[2] since at his coming all flesh is approved to arise from their graves. And so the faulty idea of those is excluded who think that these two witnesses are only two men who ascend on the clouds before the coming of Christ. For how could those who dwell on the earth rejoice at the death of two men if they died in only one city? Or how do they exchange presents if in a short period of time those who threw their bodies in the streets were disquieted by their resurrection although shortly beforehand they were rejoicing at their death? Their courage and reason were stupefied because throughout the earth the announcement came not of their death but of their resurrection. What kind of joy would it be, or what kind of pleasure for those who are feasting would it be, if along with the feast there was the stench of the dead? And a great fear fell on those who saw them. He says this of those who are alive when they see the resurrection of those who sleep and are shaken by a horrible fear. And their enemies saw them [ascend]. Here he separates the unrighteous from the righteous and those who were steadfast in faith from those who were timid.

Being dead for as many days as there were years of their prophecy, they will rise up and ascend into heaven on a cloud, that dominical chariot. And fear and perplexity will seize those who see it.

In that hour there was a great earthquake. By mentioning again the persecution, he confirms what he had said above. The Lord also expressed an opinion that is in harmony with this passage. He said, In that hour let him who is on the housetop not come down to take whatever is in the house, nor let him who is in the field turn back.^[1] When he says in that hour, he is indicating all time. And a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand were killed in the earthquake. The number ten and the number seven are perfect. Even were it not the case, it would be fitting to understand the whole from the part. He says that a tenth of the city, that is, all of it, fell, along with its builders who allowed the construction of perverse doctrine in the temple of their hearts. For there are two kinds of structures in the church. One structure is laid upon the Rock. The other structure is founded upon the sand and is not able to withstand the onslaught of present dangers. Rather, it crumbles straightway and topples with it whoever had not kept the faith of the true church with a pure heart.^[2] The rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. These are those who have been laid upon the Rock. When the unrighteous are dying from the earthquake, these fear lest they also become partakers with the unrighteous in this punishment. And through the confession of the Christian name and by the despising of their souls, they glorify the Lord, since they have been spared the torments of the unrighteous. The saint sang of this when he said, The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance; he will wash his hands in the blood of the sinner.^[3] For when the righteous sees the death of the sinner, he increases all the more in obedience to the commandments and does them with greater joy and purity, since he is himself being freed from the punishments of the wicked. As it is written, When a just man sees the wicked punished, he becomes wise.^[4]

It is possible that these things will happen at that time in a physical way. But we think that the earthquake symbolizes the transposition of those things that are shaking and tottering to something more firm and secure. That a tenth of the city falls refers to the corpse of impiety, which was not wise in the seizing of those prophets. The seven thousand who are killed signify those who remained attached to the seven days of the present life but did not wait for the eighth day of the resurrection and who must also be killed with the second death in Gehenna, namely, eternal punishment. Or, perhaps the seven thousand will be those Jews who were persuaded by the antichrist.

By way of digression the vision related the attacks upon the two witnesses or prophets and discussed everything about them. The vision now returns to the previous narrative from which it departed. It has spoken of the future reward of the saints and that those from the nations were more numerous than those from Israel, and those who pleased God in the New Testament more numerous than those who pleased him in the Old Testament. And, it says, when the seventh angel blew his trumpet there were voices in heaven saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of God and of his Christ.’ To be sure, God always is king and has never begun nor indeed shall ever cease to rule the heaven and the earth and that which is visible and invisible in them, for he is without beginning and without ending Master and Lord of all things. However, since also people take the title of king upon earth and after a manner God has those who reign with him, when the earthly kingdom of people is dissolved at the consummation of the present age, God alone will rule. And for this reason it says that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of God and of his Christ, because those people who rule on the earth and the tyrannical demons have been destroyed and brought to an end.

The seventh trumpet reveals the day of judgment in which the Lord will reward his own followers and banish those who have corrupted the earth. . . . The six previous trumpets, corresponding to the periods of the present age, proclaimed the course of the various struggles of the church. This seventh trumpet is the messenger of the eternal sabbath and of the victory and dominion of the true King.

He speaks of the beginning and the end. When he says, You have begun to reign and the nations raged, he indicates the first coming, for at his birth Herod and the people of Jerusalem were troubled.^[1] However, the time of the second coming is declared by wrath and judgment. . . . Behold, the third woe has come, it says. By the sound of the trumpet of the seventh angel he refers to nothing other than the church, which is praising the Lord and is in the sound of the trumpet giving thanks to him without end. And from this we understand that the rewarding of those who are good is not without the punishment of the wicked. To reward your saints and to corrupt the corrupters of the earth, it says. This means that [the Lord] gives to the righteous a recompense proper to their merits and to those who were corrupters he gives evil proper to their [wicked] deeds. For whoever has corrupted in himself the temple of the Lord, that is, the church of the body of Christ in baptism, he will without doubt be subjected to corruption. As the apostle said, If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.^[2]

He is now mentioning both the beginning and the end of the dispensation of Christ. For when he says, You have begun to reign and the nations raged, he is speaking of the first coming of Christ. But, indeed, when it follows that your wrath has come and the time of the dead, or as another translation has it, at which time he will judge concerning the dead, he is speaking of the second coming, when the saints and the prophets and those who fear his name, the small and the great and the old and the young, will receive their reward. As it says, Your eyes beheld my imperfection, and in your book everything will be written.^[1] And lest the wicked think that they may act with impunity, he subjects to destruction whomever has corrupted the earth. As the psalmist says, The face of the Lord is against those who do evil.^[2] It says that the third woe comes at the sound of the seventh angel, and when he sounded [his trumpet], only the church is mentioned as she praises the Lord and gives him thanks. And from this we learn that the recompense of the good is not apart from the woe of the wicked. And so the psalmist said, When his wrath is quickly kindled, certainly upon the wicked, blessed are all those who trust in him.^[3] And so now the church herself says, Your wrath has come and the time for death, to reward your servants, and following. This is the final woe. Since the bodily nativity of the Lord has been nicely recapitulated, he suggests that he is about to speak of the same things but in a different and more extensive manner.

When the voice was heard, the elders worshiped God, bringing their own thanksgiving and saying, We give you thanks, O God, the Almighty, who is and who was. The phrases who is and who was are fitting to be used of the holy Trinity, although usually who is is used of the Father and who was of the Son. For to be is true of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and we speak rightly when we say was of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore, the thanksgiving of the elders is ascribed to the holy Trinity. For it says, You have taken your great power from those on the earth, and you have taken your rule which you gave to them, and you now alone rule. And since the earthly kingdom is destroyed, naturally the nations raged, for they had been deprived of their dominion—by nations he speaks of the ranks of the demons and of unfaithful people. But your wrath has come, it says, and the lot of the nations to be judged and to give reward to your servants the prophets and the saints. Although, it says, you exercised great long-suffering toward them in the past, they made no use of your kindness, and now, that is, in the day of judgment, you have brought your wrath against them, and that fate that has been determined for the nations has come and is present. And what is this? This, that they are judged and that recompense is given to the saints who had suffered evil from them, and that they who had corrupted the earth by polluting it with their sins be destroyed by the recompense of punishment.

Here again he says that the holy angels and those who live as do the angels send a hymn of thanksgiving to God, because for our sake he has become worthy to receive as man that kingdom that as God he possessed from the beginning. And having been patient with the unbelieving nations who were enraged at this as though it were a new and strange teaching, at the end he brings judgment upon them. . . . The time of the dead is the time of the resurrection of the dead, at which time recompense will be given to each, one after the other. In the prophets and saints and those who fear God we are perhaps to recognize the three orders of those who produce fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold.^[1] However, certainly the apostles will receive the first place and sit upon the twelve thrones. We think that the small and great are either the lesser saints and those who are rather more preeminent than they, or the small are the sinners who are subjects of contempt and the great are the righteous.

To be sure, from eternity you have reigned, although the wicked are in rebellion, but now their anger is suppressed and ceases to exist. For the Lord reigns, let the people be angry.^[1] And the time for the dead to be judged and for the rewarding of your servants, et cetera. This corresponds to the order we have in the Gospel narrative. First, all the nations are to be gathered before the judge; then those on the right will be placed in many mansions in the kingdom of the Father, while those on the left will be tossed outside the limits of the kingdom and cast into the flames of their condemnation.