Concerning this [first] resurrection he says, I saw the Lamb standing and with him—that is, standing with Christ—144,000. He is speaking of those from the Jews who at the end of time will come to faith through the preaching of Elijah, and of these the Spirit testifies that they are virgin not only in body but also in language.^[1]

In the Gospels the Lord is depicted speaking to the lawless people of the Jews, Behold, your house is desolate.^[1] For after the insanity of the cross, they were no longer worthy of the divine visitation. How is it, then, that the Lord, as though through a change of mind, is shown by the vision standing on Mount Zion? For that their city and temple and entire populace was left wholly desolate, the Romans have clearly shown, having burned the temple and having torched the cities, having laid waste to the entire land and having enslaved the capital city itself. But that now the Lord is shown having come to Mount Zion represents the conversion of Israel by faith in the last days, when indeed the Lord will make them his own possession and bring them to himself. For this was proclaimed through Isaiah, saying, The Redeemer will come from Zion and will remove ungodliness from Jacob, says the Lord.^[2] And both the prophet and the apostle stand in agreement with Isaiah. For the one sings, You will make them turn their back; among those who remain you will prepare their face,^[3] and the other writes, When the full number of the Gentiles come in, then all Israel will be saved.^[4] . . . In a previous section he said that the 144,000 were those from Israel who had come to faith, 12,000 from each of the tribes.^[5] Does he now also again refer to these? I do not think so. For he does not designate them here with a definite article—he did not say the 144,000 but only 144,000—let alone indicate that they had vigilantly practiced virginity. For virginity was in no way eagerly practiced in Israel, just as later the Gentiles were not interested in it. Therefore, we must regard those mentioned to be a mixture of persons from Israel and from the Gentiles, and the greater part from the Gentiles.

Without any doubt whatsoever, the Lamb is Christ. He is standing on Mount Zion, not the ancient city, but the new city of the living God. These thousands indicate either the full harvest of the apostolic seed, the grace in each being completed twelve times a thousand, the perfect fruit of the faith of those being saved, or they signify those from the New Testament who are chaste in both the inner and the outer person. For among the ancients the virtue of virginity was rare, found only in a very few, and from this fact one must suppose that these are different from those mentioned earlier who were introduced with the names of the tribes of Israel, to whom he did not attribute virginity. The foreheads of all of these are sealed with the light of the divine countenance, by which they are revealed as holy to the avenging angels.

By the example of his power and the safety of his protection the Lord Christ guarded his church, which was toiling under the burden of its struggles. For although the body which had been confounded by the power of the devil and marked by his brand was shown,^[1] lest you fear that the body of the Lamb had been overcome by the furor of the beast, he showed also the church rejoicing with its usual brightness and number. Note as well that the beast stands on the sand of the sea,^[2] while the Lamb stands upon Mount Zion. This finite number [144,000] should be regarded as representing an infinite number and by the meaning of a hidden mystery suitable for that virginal throng that loves God with all its heart, all its soul and all its mind, and by the integrity of the body, which consists of four qualities, is consecrated to him. For three times three makes nine, and four times four makes sixteen, and sixteen times nine completes the number of 144,000, so that there should be no doubt concerning the remaining members of the church when such a perfect multitude is seen from those who in the midst of a more difficult life are seen with the Lamb, having been deservedly placed upon Mount Zion. [His name and the name of his Father on their foreheads] stands in analogy with the mark on the forehead of the body of the beast,^[3] for it says that God and Christ were written upon the foreheads of the church.

That the sound was like that of harpists indicates the divine euphony and harmony of the song. For if praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner, as it is written,^[1] it is certainly seemly and fitting in the mouth of the righteous.

The voice of many waters and of thunder and of the harpers indicates the penetrating clarity of the singing of the saints and of the harmonious and melodious euphony of their song, which resounds throughout the assembly and festal gathering of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven^[1] and which, just as in the harmony of strings, sounds forth with the united breath of the saints and is accomplished by the dying of the desires of the body.

The loud voice of the saints is the great devotion of love, which he says he heard from heaven. When he said that those who uttered the voice stood on Mount Zion, it was to indicate that by Mount Zion he referred to nothing other than the church who, encouraged toward overcoming the distresses of her afflictions by the sublime joy of the contemplation of her king, celebrates [his] struggles at the same time by praise and by imitation. This is truly to sing to the Lamb who is standing [on Mount Zion]. . . . Although all the saints are harpists of God, who crucify their flesh with its vices and lusts and praise him with psalter and harp, how much more are they who, by the privilege of an angelic purity, render themselves totally a sacrifice to the Lord and in a particular way deny themselves and, taking up their cross, follow the Lamb wherever he goes. EXPLANATION

And no one, it says, could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. I think that no one is strong enough even to hear the mysteries of the new song except for those who are thought worthy to sing them. For knowledge is given to each according to the measure of his purity. For there are many rooms, says the Lord, or rewards of good things, with my Father.^[1] He calls those redeemed who had been purchased by the blood of Christ. For the precious blood of Christ was poured out on behalf of all humankind. Yet for some it was without profit, namely for those who willingly robbed themselves of the salvation that came from it—indeed, through the prophet the Lord reproached these, saying, What profit is there in my blood, when I go down into destruction?^[2] But for those who have been saved and made righteous, of whom these, of whom the passage now speaks, are the first fruit and the first offering, it was immensely profitable, more than anyone could say.

No one else, it says, can learn this song except these, for the knowledge [of the song] is co-extensive to the measure of their behavior, just as the servants of people are allowed to know their master’s secrets in proportion to their good will. . . . We think that, after the twenty-four elders, these are leaders of the rest who because of their chastity and purity in word and deed have, after the sojourn of Christ, come to possess the brightness of the virtues. Taught by the virtues, they sing the new song, which remains unknown to most, not only in this life but in that to come. For although when the perfection of knowledge will come, then the imperfect will cease, as the apostle says,^[1] the appearance of the divine mysteries will be proportionate to the life of the saints here. For in my Father’s house are many rooms,^[2] and star differs from star in glory,^[3] just as also there is a difference of torments. Redeeming us from these, may the Lord of all count us among those who are being saved through his own goodness, not regarding the multitude of our sins but his own mercies, on account of which he came to the earth and shed his precious blood for us, that washing away our stains and spots, he might bring us to the Father, with whom glory, power and honor are due to him, the Leader of our salvation, together with the all-holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.

The old song was this: Blessed is he who has his seed in Zion and his household in Jerusalem.^[1] However, the new song is this: Rejoice, O barren one, who did not bare,^[2] and again, To eunuchs in my house and within my walls, says the Lord, I shall give a place and a name better than sons and daughters.^[3] . . . To sing the song to the Lamb is to rejoice with him for eternity before all the faithful, especially from the incorruptibility of the flesh. Nevertheless, the other elect are able to hear the song, although they cannot sing it, because through love they have been made glad in their high status, although they do not rise to their rewards.

Nor is this an empty precaution and a vain fear that takes thought of the way of salvation, that guards the life-giving precepts of the Lord, so that those who have consecrated their lives to Christ, and, renouncing the concupiscent behaviors of the flesh, have dedicated themselves to God in body as well as in spirit, may perfect their work, destined as it is for a great reward, and may not be solicitous to adorn themselves or to please anyone except their Lord, from whom in truth they await the reward of virginity, since he himself says, All do not accept this word but those to whom it is given; for there are eunuchs who were born so from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made so by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven.^[1] Again, too, by these words of the angel the gift of continence is made clear, virginity is extolled: These are they who were not defiled with women, for they have remained virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. And indeed not to men only does the Lord promise the grace of continence, disregarding women; but since woman is a part of man and was taken and formed from him, almost universally in the Scriptures God addresses the first formed because they are two in one flesh, and in the man is signified likewise the woman. But if continence follows Christ, and virginity is destined for the kingdom of God, what have such maidens to do with worldly dress and adornments, whereby in striving to please men they offend God?

What then did the Lord, who is the Truth and the Light, take in hand when he came down from heaven? He preserved the flesh which he had taken upon himself incorrupt in virginity, so that we also, if we would come to the likeness of God and Christ, should endeavor to honor virginity. For to become like God is to the avoid corruption. John, filled with Christ, shows us that the Word, when he was incarnate, became chief Virgin in the same way as he was chief shepherd and chief prophet of the church, saying in the book of the Revelation, And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred forty-four thousand, having his name and his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters and as the voice of a great thunder; and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. And they sang as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders. And no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, who were redeemed from the earth. These are they who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever he goes, showing that the Lord is leader of the choir of virgins. And notice in addition to this how great in God’s sight is the dignity of virginity: These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault, he says, and they follow the Lamb wherever he goes. And he clearly intends by this to teach us that the number of virgins was, from the beginning, restricted to this number, namely, a hundred and forty-four thousand, while the multitude of the other saints is beyond counting. For let us consider what he means when discusses the rest. I beheld a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and people and tongues.^[1] It is plain, then, as I said, that in the case of the other saints he introduces an uncounted multitude, while in the case of those who are in a state of virginity he mentions only a very small number, so as to make a strong contrast with those who make up the uncounted number.

Out of each tribe, except the tribe of Dan, the place of which is taken by the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand virgins who have been sealed are spoken of as future believers, who have not defiled themselves with women. And that we may not suppose the reference to be to those who have not had relations with harlots, he immediately added, for they continued virgins. Whereby he shows that all who have not preserved their virginity, in comparison with pure and angelic chastity and of our Lord Jesus Christ himself, are defiled. These are they who sing a new song that no man can sing except him that is a virgin. These are firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb and are without blemish. If virgins are firstfruits, it follows that widows and the continent in marriage come after the firstfruits, that is, are in the second and third rank; nor can a lost people be saved unless it offer such sacrifices of chastity to God and with pure victims reconcile the spotless Lamb.

The man Jesus Christ, who overcame the devil by his suffering and unlocked the underworld by his resurrection, returning to heaven like a victor after having accomplished a great deed, hears from God the Father: Sit at my right hand.^[1] And it is not to be wondered at that it is given to the Son to sit on the same seat as does the Father, since by nature he is of one substance with the Father. But perhaps someone is puzzled that the Son is said to be on the right. For although there are no degrees of dignity where the fullness of divinity is concerned, nonetheless the Son sits on the right not because he is preferred to the Father but so that he not be believed to be inferior. And the Son is on the right because, according to the Gospel, the sheep will be gathered on the right but the goats on the left. It is necessary, therefore, that the first lamb occupy the place of the sheep and that the unsullied leader come before the unsullied flock that will follow him, as John says in the Apocalypse: These are the ones who follow the Lamb of God wherever he goes, who have not defiled themselves with women. Therefore the prophet David says, The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand. That is to say, the Lord who is Father offers the lofty seat of his throne to the Lord God Christ, who is his Son, and for the sake of honor he places him at his right on an eternal seat.

And we too, brothers and sisters, if we truly love him, let us imitate him. After all, we won’t be able to give a better proof of love than by imitating his example. For Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, so that we might follow in his footsteps.^[1] In this sentence the apostle Peter appears to have seen that Christ suffered only for those who follow in his footsteps and that Christ’s passion profits none but those who follow in his footsteps. The holy martyrs followed him, to the shedding of their blood, to the similarity of their sufferings.^[2] The martyrs followed, but they were not the only ones. It’s not the case, I mean to say, that after they had crossed, the bridge was cut; or that after they had drunk, the fountain dried up. What, after all, is the hope of the good faithful, who either bear the yoke of matrimony in chastity and concord in the wedded state, or tame the allurements of the flesh by living continently as widows, or even raise the standard of a loftier sanctity, and flourishing in a new kind of virginity, follow the Lamb wherever he goes? What hope, I repeat, is there for these, what hope for all of us, if the only ones who follow Christ are those who shed their blood for him? So is mother church going to lose all those children of hers, whom she has brought forth all the more abundantly, the more secure she has been in the time of peace? In order not to lose them, is she to pray for persecution, pray for trials and temptations? Perish the thought, brothers and sisters! How, I mean to say, can anyone pray for persecution who cries out every day, Do not bring us into temptation?^[3] That garden of the Lord’s brothers and sisters, includes, yes it includes, it certainly includes not only the roses of martyrs but also the lilies of virgins, and the ivy of married people and the violets of widows. There is absolutely no kind of human beings, dearly beloved, who need to despair of their vocation; Christ suffered for all. It was truly written, it is he who wishes all men to be saved and to come to the acknowledgment of the truth.^[4]

Marriages are to possess their own good, not because they bring forth children but because they bring them forth honorably, lawfully and chastely, for the good of society; and once they are begotten, they likewise bring them up in a wholesome and purposeful way. Marriage is a good also because the partners preserve for each other the fidelity of the marriage bed, and because they do not violate the sacrament of marriage. All these, however, are duties of human obligation, whereas unsullied virginity and abstention from all intercourse by devoted continence is a role assigned to angels, the intention to preserve enduring incorruption while in the corruptible flesh. All physical fertility, all marital chastity must yield precedence to this, for the first does not lie within human power, and the second does not abide in eternity; free will does not control bodily fertility, and there is no marriage, however chaste, in heaven. It is certain that those who already in the flesh possess something not of the flesh will attain a grandeur beyond the rest in that immortality that is shared by all. . . .

So there is no commandment of the Lord that binds virgins. However, in the eternal life that is to be attained by avoidance or forgiveness of sins, there is an illustrious glory that is to be assigned not to all who will dwell in eternity, but to certain individuals there, and to obtain this it is not sufficient to have been freed from sins; some vow must also be made to him who has delivered us. It is not a sin to have failed to make such a vow, but it is praiseworthy to have made and delivered it. . . . But because in that eternal life the lights of their merits will shine differently, There are many dwelling places^[1] in the Father’s house. Accordingly, since the value of the denarius remains the same, one of us will not live longer than another, but in those numerous dwelling places one will obtain brighter glory than another.

So press on, holy ones of God, boys and girls, males and females, unmarried men and women; press on unremittingly to the end. Praise the Lord in tones sweeter as your thoughts center on him more fruitfully. Hope in him more blessedly as you serve him more urgently; love him more glowingly as you please him more diligently. With loins girded and lamps alight, await the Lord’s arrival from the wedding. You will bring to the marriage of the Lamb a new song to play on your harps—not indeed one such as the whole earth sings when it is bidden, Sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord, the whole earth,^[2] but one such as none but you will be able to sing. For in the Apocalypse this is how you were seen by the man beloved of the Lamb before all others, who was wont to recline on his breast, who imbibed and vomited forth God’s description of the wonders of heaven. That man saw you, twelve times twelve thousand blessed harpists, your virginity of body undefiled, your truth of heart inviolate, and he wrote these words about you because you follow the Lamb wherever he goes. Where do we imagine this Lamb goes, when no one but you presumes or is able to follow him there? Into what glades and meadows? Where, I believe, the pasture is one of joys—not the empty joys of this world for they are deceitful lunacies, nor those joys in God’s kingdom that accrue to the rest who are not virgins, but joys distinct from the portion of those allotted to all the rest. These are the joys of Christ’s virgins, issuing from Christ, in Christ, with Christ, following Christ, through Christ, because of Christ. The joys peculiar to Christ’s virgins are not the same as those of nonvirgins, though these too are of Christ; for there are different joys for different persons, but no others obtain such as these.

Advance towards them, follow the Lamb, for the Lamb in the flesh is assuredly virginal as well; for this he preserved for himself when he was full-grown, and he did not deprive his mother of it when he was conceived and born. Follow him as you deserve, because of your virginity in heart and flesh, wherever he goes, for what does follow mean but imitate? For as the apostle Peter says, Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example to follow in his steps.^[3] Each of us follows him in as much as we imitate him, not as the Son of God through whom alone all things were made, but as the Son of man who revealed in himself all that we must imitate. Many things in him are revealed for all to imitate, but bodily virginity is not set forth for all, for those who have already lost their virginity have not the means of being virgins. So the rest of the faithful, who have lost their virginity, must follow the Lamb not wherever he goes, but so far as they themselves can go. They can in fact follow everywhere except where he has advanced into the glory of virginity. Blessed are the poor in spirit;^[4] imitate him who became poor for your sake, when he was rich. Blessed are the meek.^[5] But what is beyond doubt is that married people too can walk in his footsteps. Though they do not plant their feet perfectly in the same traces, they none the less tread the same paths. But see, that lamb treads the virgin’s path, so how will those who have lost it follow him when they never recover it? So you who are his virgins, you must follow him on that path as well, for it is on this score alone that you follow him wherever he goes. We can encourage those who are married to advance toward any other gift of sanctity to which they can follow him, excepting when they have lost this path beyond hope of recovery.

Follow him therefore, maintaining with constancy the course that you vowed with burning zeal to take. While you can, ensure that you do not lose the good of virginity, for you can do nothing to regain it. The rest of the crowd of the faithful who cannot follow on this path will observe you. They will observe you, but they will not envy you, and by sharing the joy with you they will possess in you what they do not possess in themselves. They will not be able to sing that new song that belongs to you alone, but they will be able to hear it and to take delight in that good of yours that is so surpassing. But you who are virgins will both sing and hear it, for you will also hear it from your own lips as you sing it; your joy will be the more blessed and your dominion sweeter. Those who do not attain your greater joy will experience no grief, for the Lamb whom you follow wherever he goes will not abandon those either who cannot follow him where you can. The Lamb of whom we speak is almighty; he will both go before you yet not desert them, for he will be the God who is all in all.^[6]

[The church], though she has in her diverse members different gifts, according to the grace that has been given to her, still she has received the greater grace of a gift in those members in whom she is spiritually called a virgin, so that she also gains the integrity of bodily virginity. For in other faithful members, who believe in God correctly according to the rule of the catholic faith and observe conjugal and widow’s chastity, who are not splattered by any stain of any act of fornication and remain exempt from any illicit sexual act of infidelity, the church gains a spiritual virginity only; but in those members in whom she guards the correct faith in such a way that they keep the flesh untouched by any sexual intercourse, the more the church has a fuller virginity, the more perfectly she possesses the name of the same virginity. In the former she has nothing less of its life; in the latter, however, she acquires something more for glory, because just as Paul says, The brightness of the sun is one kind, but the brightness of the moon another, and the brightness of the stars still another. For star differs from star in brightness. So also is the resurrection of the dead.^[1] Finally, under the name of eunuchs (who also in the Gospel the Lord affirms have castrated themselves for the sake of the kingdom of heaven) the Lord through Isaiah again promises virgins a better place in his house and within his walls. For so it is written: For thus says the Lord, ‘To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.’^[2] Also in the Apocalypse of blessed John, they are the ones who follow the Lord wherever he goes who have remained virgins.

In this passage we do not understand the virgins to be only those who are chaste in the body. Rather, we have especially in mind the whole church that holds to the pure faith, as the apostle says, I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.^[1] For she is not corrupted by any adulterous commixture of the heretics, nor to the end of its life is it hindered by the alluring yet deadly desires of this world or by an infelicitous perseverance in them without the remedy of penance.

The elect are doubtless imbued with one true faith, even if their merits differ in rank; for they will come to one light of eternal truth in heaven, even though the ones who endeavor to cleave to Christ higher up in this life will enjoy a closer vision of him in that life. Accordingly, it is said of certain ones on account of the merit of their great virtue, These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes; just before, it is said of others, as if of the nearby branches on the lampstand, And they were singing a new song, as it were, before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. By this it is shown that all the saints throughout the streets of that heavenly city sing a new song of gladness to God, but those who in this life transcended the common life of the faithful by the special privilege of sacred virginity are there raised up into a special position above the others in the joy of song.^[1]

The language of the vision relays how surpassingly excellent and beyond human nature are those who are in Christ.

Truly, dearest brothers, of what profit is it for a man or woman, whether cleric or monk or religious, if bodily virginity is preserved, as long as purity of the heart is violated by evil desires? Of what benefit is it to show chastity in one member and to keep corruption in all the rest? For if you notice carefully, those virgins who follow the Lamb do not do so merely because of the fact that they have preserved only bodily virginity. Finally, when he had said, These are they who did not defile themselves with women, he continued and added, and in their mouth there was found no lie; they are without blemish. Listen carefully that if anyone boasts about bodily virginity alone, as long as he loves deceit he will not be able to follow Christ along with those holy virgins. For this reason let no virgin presume only upon her physical virginity, because if she is disobedient or gossiping she knows that she will have to be excluded from the bedchamber of her heavenly Spouse. Although a virgin possesses a hundredfold and a married woman the thirtyfold, still a chaste and humble married woman is better than a proud virgin.

It does not say there was no [lie in their mouth], but no lie was found in their mouth. For whatever the Lord finds when he calls forth from here, that is what he judges. For whether through baptism or through penance we are able to be made both virgins and without falsehood in the interior person.

Virgins are not joined to the divine following because of chastity only, unless they also lead a life unblemished by any infection of sin. Tyconius does not interpret this vision to refer especially to virgins, but generally to the whole church, which the apostle betroths to one husband, to present a pure virgin to Christ,^[1] and he concludes in this way: He did not say ‘no lie was in their mouth’ but ‘no lie was found.’ As the apostle says, And such were you, but you have been washed,^[2] and the iniquity of the unjust will not harm him on the day he will have turned from his iniquity,^[3] and he will be able to be a virgin, and deceit will not be found in his mouth. For those who are chaste and pure he calls virgins.

It is Moses who hears from God all that is written down in the law of Leviticus, whereas in Deuteronomy it is the people who are represented as listening to Moses and learning from him what they could not hear from God. This indeed is why it is called Deuteronomy, meaning the second law; a fact that some will think points to this, that when the first law given through Moses came to an end, a second legislation was apparently composed, and this was specially delivered by Moses to his successor Joshua; and Joshua is certainly believed to be a figure of our Savior, by whose second law, that is, by the precepts of the Gospels, all things are brought to perfection. We must also see, however, whether the Scriptures may not perhaps indicate this further truth, that just as the legislation is presented with greater clearness and distinctness in Deuteronomy than in those books that were written at the first, so also we may gather from that coming of the Savior that he fulfilled in humility, when he took upon him the form of a servant,^[1] an indication of the more splendid and glorious second coming in the glory of the Father,^[2] at which coming, when in the kingdom of heaven all the saints shall live by the laws of the eternal gospel, the figure of Deuteronomy will be fulfilled. And just as by his present coming he has fulfilled that law which was a shadow of the good things to come,^[3] so also by that glorious coming the shadow of his first coming will be fulfilled and brought to perfection. For the prophet has spoken of it thus: The breath of our countenance is Christ the Lord, of whom we said that under his shadow we shall live among the nations,^[4] that is, at the time when he shall duly transfer all the saints from the temporal to the eternal gospel, to use a phrase employed by John in the Apocalypse, where he speaks of the eternal gospel.^[5]

The angel flying in mid-heaven which he said that he saw we have interpreted above^[1] to be that very Elijah who precedes the kingdom of the antichrist.

Mid-heaven signifies the exalted and sublime nature of the holy angel. He had an eternal gospel. The saving teaching that one should fear the Lord is from eternity, since the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, and its end is love.^[1] On the other hand, it says, the harsh beast who works spiritual death, the antichrist, is not to be feared, even though he may threaten and do the most amazing feats. For the hour of his judgment has come, and he who is fearful to those who live upon the earth will punish him in a way wholly unprecedented. Rather, [we should] worship him who made every creature rather than worship the wicked devil who is hated by God.

The phrase in mid-heaven indicates that the angel that here appears is exceedingly lofty and heavenly. It has been sent from above to people, who come from the ground, so that through this middle position it might be a mediator and lead them, in imitation of God, to heaven. And so the body of the Church will be united to Christ, our Head. The eternal gospel, which from eternity was foreordained by God, says, Fear God, but have no fear of the antichrist who cannot kill the soul with the body;^[1] rather, fervently stand opposed to him who has power but for a short time, for the time of his judgment and the reward for what he has done is near.

He refers to the messenger who runs throughout the church, which is spread far and wide and is to be extended even more. He uses the singular for the plural, or in the one [messenger] he is suggesting the unity of the single church; yet, at the same time, he is alluding to the [many] preachers of eternal life. It rightly says that he preaches an eternal gospel, by which the preacher is taught to look forward to eternal salvation. And so the one who preaches is indicated by that which is preached. Therefore the psalm says, He who makes the winds his messengers and burning fire his ministers.^[1]

Since he had described the anticipated and diverse battles that the church in the world wages against the dragon, it remains now to assign to either army the appropriate prize, showing what penalty will follow those who are evil and what reward will follow those who are good. For this reason, the preacher who runs about within the church carries the gospel of the eternal kingdom. . . . It is appropriate that those who are lifted up by celestial flight should also, through preaching, lift their earthly minds from the place of their [present] sluggishness. . . . This gospel, it says, will be preached throughout the whole world, and then the end will come.^[1]

Although from the beginning of the Christian faith we have learned that the kingdom of heaven is said to be approaching, here, however, he proclaims that the hour of his judgment will come very soon and is virtually here already. And therefore he maintains that preaching of this kind must necessarily be made known to all people, as also the Lord said, This gospel will be preached throughout the world, and then the end will come.^[1] And to show that that moment of time takes place, when the adversity of the last persecution will draw near, he has rather added that the temporal power of the beast should best be regarded as insignificant and that the Lord rather be feared, whom every one of his creatures, whom he mentions, acknowledges to be eternal.

Babylon is interpreted as confusion.^[1] By it the city and the people of the devil are signified, as is also the entire seduction of the vices that it always exercises for its own ruin and for the ruin of the human race. It says that this city, which is hastening toward its fall, has already fallen. This is a common way of speaking in the Scripture, which often refers to events as past when they are yet in the future, especially when it knows that what it predicts will inevitably be fulfilled. Here is an example of this way of speaking: They divided my clothes among themselves,^[2] and other similar statements. However, it may also speak in this manner because it was already well known then that the haughty fall whenever they dare to become proud. Therefore the psalm says, You have cast them down when they were lifted up,^[3] for, to be sure, they were then thrown down when they were lifted up. According to this habit of speaking, then, the Scripture has said, All nations have fallen because of the wine of their fornication, because this city, which is drunk and is constructed from all nations that it gathers to itself, itself has drunk from the wine of fornication. For all the nations, made drunk by errors, constitute the city itself,^[4] but the Scripture, according to its style, talks only of the one [city].

By Babylon he is referring to the confusion and arbitrarily random trials of the present life—for confusion is the meaning of Babylon—and to the manic stupefaction of those who worship idols. And the city is magnified with names, being called by them the inspired city. But were you to consider the physical Babylon itself, you would not fall down before the sight before you. By the wine of the wrath of her fornication he refers to [the city’s] apostasy from God, as it is written, You have destroyed every one that goes a whoring from you.^[1] Such fornication entails a darkness of the mature reason, for who, possessing a sound mind, would choose to worship wood and stones and call forth the wrath of God? Therefore, concerning this wine it is said, Their wine is the wrath of serpents and the incurable wrath of asps.^[2] Babylon itself at first drank of this deadly wine, and then it compelled all the nations that it ruled to drink.

He speaks of Babylon, which refers to the confusion of the world and the troubled disorder of this life, which in no way has abated. By the wine of the wrath of her fornication he means not only the frenzy that attends to idol worship and the ecstasy of their minds, but also to the drunkenness and derangement that attends all sin, by which everyone who whores against God is wholly destroyed, as the saying of the psalm goes.^[1] As it were, pulled up by its roots, such a Babylon falls completely at the appearance of the Jerusalem that is above, for those who have been workers of iniquity are sent to the everlasting fire.