Apocalipse 14
Cyprian · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Apocalipse 14:1
That in this sign of the Cross is salvation for all people who are marked on their foreheads. In Ezekiel the Lord says: "Pass through the midst of Jerusalem, and thou shalt mark the sign I upon the men's foreheads, who groan and grieve for the iniquities which are done in the midst of them." Also in the same place: "Go and smite, and do not spare your eyes. Have no pity on the old man, and the youth, and the virgin, and slay little children and women, that they may be utterly destroyed. But ye shall not touch any one upon whom the sign is written, and begin with my holy places themselves." Also in Exodus God says to Moses: "And there shall be blood for a sign to you upon the houses wherein ye shall be; and I will look on the blood, and will protect you. And there shall not be in you the plague of wasting when I shall smite the land of Egypt." Also in the Apocalypse: "And I saw a Lamb standing on Mount Sion, and with Him a hundred and forty and four thousand; and they had His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads." Also in the same place: "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have power over the tree of life." — Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews
Apocalipse 14:4
Of the benefit of virginity and of continency. In Genesis: "Multiplying I will multiply thy sorrows and thy groanings, and in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children; and thy turning shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: "All men do not receive the word, but they to whom it is given: for there are some eunuchs who were born so from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who have been constrained by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who can receive it, let him receive it." Also according to Luke: "The children of this world beget, and are begotten. But they who have been considered worthy of that world, and the resurrection from the dead, do not marry, nor are married: for neither shall they begin to die: for they are equal to the angels of God, since they are the children of the resurrection. But, that the dead rise again, Moses intimates when he says in the bush, The Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto Him." Also in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "It is good for a man not to touch a woman. But, on account of fornication, let every man have his own wife, and every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render what is due to the wife, and similarly the wife to the husband. The wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband. And in like manner, the husband hath not power over his own body, but the wife. Defraud not one the other, except by agreement for a time, that ye may have leisure for prayer; and again return to the same point, lest Satan tempt you on account of your incontinency. This I say by way of allowance, not by way of command. But I wish that all men should be even as I am. But every one has his proper gift from God; one in one way, but another in another way." Also in the same place: "An unmarried man thinks of those things which are the Lord's, in what way he may please God; but he who has contracted marriage thinks of those things that are of this world, in what way he may please his wife. Thus also, both the woman and the unmarried virgin thinketh of those things which are the Lord's, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit; but she that hath married thinks of those things which are of this world, in what way she may please her husband." Also in Exodus, when the Lord had commanded Moses that he should sanctify the people for the third day, he sanctified them, and added: "Be ye ready, for three days ye shall not approach to women." Also in the first book of Kings: "And the priest answered to David, and said, There are no profane loaves in my hand, except one sacred loaf. If the young men have been kept back from women, they shall eat." Also in the Apocalypse: "These are they who have not defiled themselves with women, for they have continued virgins; these are they who follow the Lamb whithersoever He shall go." — Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews
Apocalipse 14:6
That God alone must be worshipped. "As it is written, Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Also in Exodus: "Thou shalt have none other gods beside me." Also in Deuteronomy: "See ye, see ye that I am He, and that there is no God beside me. I will kill, and will make alive; I will smite, and I will heal; and there is none who can deliver out of mine hands." In the Apocalypse, moreover: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach over the earth, and over all nations, and tribes, and tongues, and peoples, saying with a loud voice, Fear God rather, and give glory to Him: for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that therein is." So also the Lord, in His Gospel, makes mention of the first and second commandment, saying, "Hear, O Israel, The Lord thy God is one God; " and, "Thou shalt love thy Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength. This is the first; and the second is like unto it, Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." And once more: "And this is life eternal, that they may know Thee, the only and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." — Treatise XI Exhortation to Martyrdom Addressed to Fortunatus
Apocalipse 14:9
What is God's threatening against those who sacrifice to idols? In Exodus: "He that sacrificeth unto any gods but the Lord only, shall be rooted out." Also in Deuteronomy: "They sacrificed unto demons, and not to God." In Isaiah also: "They worshipped those which their fingers have made; and the mean man was bowed down, and the great man was humbled: and I will not forgive them." And again: "To them hast thou poured out drink-offerings, and to them thou hast offered sacrifices. For these, therefore, shall I not be angry, saith the Lord? " In Jeremiah also: "Walk ye not after other gods, to serve them; and worship them not, and provoke me not in the works of your hands, to destroy you." In the Apocalypse too: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, he shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in the cup of His wrath, and shall be punished with fire and brimstone before the eyes of the holy angels, and before the eyes of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torments shall ascend for ever and ever: and they shall have no rest day or night, whosoever worship the beast and his image." — Treatise XI Exhortation to Martyrdom Addressed to Fortunatus
Apocalipse 14:9
Of the idols which the Gentiles think to be gods. In the Wisdom of Solomon: "All the idols of the nations they counted gods, which neither have the use of their eyes for seeing, nor their nostrils to receive breath, nor their ears for hearing, nor the fingers on their hands for handling; but their feet also are slow to walk. For man made them; and he who has borrowed his breath, he fashioned them. But no man will be able to fashion a god like to himself. For since he is mortal, he fashioneth a dead thing with wicked hands. But he himself is better than they whom he worships, since he indeed lived, but they never." On this same matter: "Neither have they who have regarded the works known who was the artificer, but have thought that either fire, or wind, or the rapid air, or the circle of the stars, or the abundant water, or the sun and moon, were the gods that rule over the world; and if, on account of the beauty of these, they have thought thus, let them know how much more beautiful than these is the Lord; or if they have admired their powers and operations, let them perceive from these very things that He who has established these mighty things is stronger than they." Also in the cxxxivth Psalm: "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have a mouth, and speak not; they have eyes, and see not; they have ears, and hear not; and neither is there any breath in their mouth. Let them who make them become like unto them, and all those who trust in them." Also in the ninety-fifth Psalm: "All the gods of the nations are demons, but the Lord made the heavens." Also in Exodus: "Ye shall not make unto yourselves gods of silver nor of gold." And again: "Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol, nor the likeness of any thing." Also in Jeremiah: "Thus saith the Lord, Walk not according to the ways of the heathen; for they fear those things in their own persons, because the lawful things of the heathen are vain. Wood cut out from the forest is made. the work of the carpenter, and melted silver and gold are beautifully arranged: they strengthen them with hammers and nails, and they shall not be moved, for they are fixed. The silver is brought from Tharsis, the gold comes from Moab. All things are the works of the artificers; they will clothe it with blue and purple; lifting them, they will carry them, because they will not go forward. Be not afraid of them, because they do no evil, neither is there good in them. Say thus, The gods that have not made the heaven and the earth perish from the earth, and from under this heaven. The heaven hath trembled at this, and hath shuddered much more vehemently, saith the Lord. These evil things hath my people done. They have forsaken the fountain of living water, and have dug out for themselves worn-out wells, which could not hold water. Thy love hath smitten thee, and thy wickedness shall accuse thee. And know and see that it shall be a bitter thing for thee that thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord thy God, and thou hast not hoped in me, saith thy Lord. Because of old time thou hast resented my yoke, and hast broken thy bonds, and hast said, I will not serve, but I will go upon every lofty mountain, and upon every high hill, and upon every shady tree: there I will be confounded with fornication. To the wood and to the stone they have said, Thou art my father; and to the stone, Thou hast begotten me: and they turned to me their back, and not their face." In Isaiah: "The dragon hath fallen or is dissolved; their carved works have become as beasts and cattle. Labouring and hungry, and without strength, ye shall bear them bound upon your neck as a heavy burden." And again: "Gathered together, they shall not be able to be saved from war; but they themselves have been led captive with thee." And again: "To whom have ye likened me? See and understand that ye err in your heart, who lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, bringing it up to the weight. The workmen have made with their hand the things made; and, bowing themselves, they have adored it, and have raised it on their shoulders: and thus they walked. But if they should place them down, they will abide in their place, and will not be moved; and they will not hear those who cry unto them: they will not save them from evils." Also in Jeremiah: "The Lord, who made heaven and earth, in strength hath ordered the world, in His wisdom hath stretched forth the heaven, and the multitude of the waters in the heaven. He hath brought out the clouds from the end of the earth, the lightnings in the clouds; and He hath brought forth the winds from His treasures. Every man is made foolish by his knowledge, every artificer is confounded by his graven images; because he hath molten a falsehood: there is no breath in them. The works shut up in them are made vain; in the time of their consideration they shall perish." And in the Apocalypse: "And the sixth angel sounded with his trumpet. And I heard one of the four corners of the golden ark, which is in the presence of God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound upon the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, to slay the third part of men; and the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred thousand of thousand: I heard the number of them. And then I saw the horses in the vision, and those that sate upon them, having breastplates of fire, and of hyacinth, and of sulphur: and the heads of the horses (as the heads of lions); and out of their mouth went fire, and smoke, and sulphur. By these three plagues the third part of men was slain, by the fire, and the smoke, and the sulphur which went forth from their mouth, and is in their tails: for their tails were like unto eels; for they had heads, and with them they do mischief. And the rest of the men who were not slain by these plagues, nor repented of the works of the deeds of their hands, that they should not worship demons and idols, that is, images of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which can neither see nor walk, repented not also of their, murders." Also in the same place: "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and hath received his mark in his forehead or upon his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of His wrath, and shall be punished with fire and sulphur, under the eyes of the holy angels, and under the eyes of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever." — Treatise XII. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews.
Apocalipse 14:16
That the foundation and strength of hope and faith is fear. In the cxth Psalm: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Of the same thing in the Wisdom of Solomon: "The beginning of wisdom is to fear God." Also in the Proverbs of the same: "Blessed is the man who reverences all things with fear." Of the same thing [in Isaiah: "And upon whom else will I look, except upon him that is lowly and peaceful, and that trembleth at my words? " Of this same thing in Genesis: "And the angel of the Lord called him from heaven, and said unto him, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest thy God, and hast not spared thy beloved son for my sake." Also in the second Psalm: "Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice unto Him in trembling." Also in Deuteronomy, the word of God to Moses: "Call the people together to me, and let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they themselves shall live upon the earth." Also in Jeremiah: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perfect upon the house of Israel, and in the house of Judah, a new covenant: not according to the covenant that I had ordered with their fathers in the day when I laid hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; because they have not abode in my covenant, and I have been unmindful of them, saith the Lord; because this is the covenant which I will ordain for the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will give my law, and will write it in their mind and I will be to them for a God, and they shall be to me for a people. And they shall not teach every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord because all shall know me, from the least even to the greatest of them: because I will be favourable to their iniquities, and their sins I will not remember any more. If the heaven should be lifted up on high, saith the Lord, and if the earth should be made low from beneath, yet I will not cast away the people of Israel, saith the Lord, for all the things which they have done. Behold, I will gather them together from every land in which I have scattered them in anger, and in my fury, and in great indignation; and I will grind them down into that place, and I will leave them in fear; and they shall be to me for a people, and I will be to them for a God: and I will give them another way, and another heart, that they may fear me all their days in prosperity with their children: and I will perfect for them an everlasting covenant, which I will not turn away after them; and I will put my fear into their heart, that they may not depart from me: and I will visit upon them to do them good, and to plant them in their land in faith, and with all the heart, and with all the mind." Also in the Apocalypse: "And the four and twenty elders which sit on their thrones in the sight (of God), fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God omnipotent, which art and which wast; because Thou hast taken Thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time in which it should be judged concerning the dead, and the reward should be given to Thy servants the prophets, and the saints that fear Thy name, small and great; and to disperse those who have corrupted the earth." Also in the same place: "And I saw another angel flying through the midst of the heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell upon the earth, and to all the nations, and tribes, and tongues, and peoples, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Him honour, because the hour of His judgment is come; and adore Him who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Also in the same place: "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and the beasts were feeding with His lambs; and the number of His name a hundred and forty and four, standing upon the sea of glass, having the harps of God; and they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. Who would not fear Thee, and give honour to Thy name? for Thou only art holy: and because all nations shall come and worship in Thy sight, because Thy righteousnesses have been made manifest." Also in Daniel: "There was a man dwelling in Babylon whose name was Joachim; and he took a wife by name Susanna, the daughter of Helchias, a very beautiful woman, and one that feared the Lord. And her parents were righteous, and taught their daughter according to the law of Moses." Moreover, in Daniel: "And we are lowly this day in all the earth because of our sins, and there is not at this time any prince, or prophet, or leader, or burnt-offering, or oblation, or sacrifice, or incense, or place to sacrifice before Thee, and to find mercy from Thee. And yet in the soul and spirit of lowliness let us be accepted as the burnt-offerings of rams and bulls, and as it were many thousands of lambs which are fattest. If our offering may be made in Thy presence this day, their power shall be consumed, for they shall not be ashamed who put their trust in Thee. And now we follow with our whole heart, and we fear and seek Thy face. Give us not over unto reproach, but do with us according to Thy tranquillity, and according to the multitude of Thy mercy deliver us." Also in the same place: "And the king exceedingly rejoiced, and commanded Daniel to be taken up out of the den of lions; and the lions had done him no hurt, because he trusted and had believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel; and they cast them in the den of lions, and their wives and their children. And before they had reached the pavement of the den they were seized by the lions, and they brake all their bones in pieces. Then Darius the king wrote, To all peoples, tribes, and languages which are in my kingdom, peace be unto you from my face. I decree and ordain that all those who are in my kingdom shall fear and tremble before the most high God whom Daniel serves, because He is the God who liveth and abideth for ever, and His kingdom shall not pass away, and His dominion goeth on for ever; and He alone doeth signs, and prodigies, and marvellous things in the heaven and the earth, who snatched Daniel from the den of lions." Also in Micah: "Wherewith shall I approach the Lord, and lay hold upon Him? in sacrifices, in burnt-offerings, in calves of a year old? Does the Lord favour and receive me with thousands of fat goats? or shall I give my first-fruits of unrighteousness, the fruit of my belly, the sin of my soul? It is told thee, O man, what is good; or what else the Lord doth require, save that thou shouldst do judgment and justice, and love mercy, and be ready to go with the Lord thy God. The voice of the Lord shall be invoked in the city, and He will save those who fear His name." Also in Micah: "Feed Thy people with Thy rod, the sheep of Thine inheritance; and pluck up those who dwell separately in the midst of Carmel. They shall prepare Bashan and Gilead according to the days of the age; and according to the days of their going forth from the land of Egypt I will show them wonderful things. The nations shall see, and be confounded at all their might; and they shall place their hand upon their mouth. Their ears shall be deafened, and they shall lick the dust as do serpents. Dragging the earth, they shall be disturbed, and they shall lick the dust: in their end they shall be afraid towards the Lord their God, and they shall fear because of Thee. Who is a God as Thou art, raising up unrighteousness, and passing over impiety? " And in Nahum: "The mountains were moved at Him, and the hills trembled; and the earth was laid bare before His face, and all who dwell therein. From the face of His anger who shall bear it, and who withstandeth in the fury of His soul? His rage causes the beginnings to flow, and the rocks were melted by Him. The Lord is good to those who sustain Him in the day of affliction, and knoweth those who fear Him." Also in Haggai: "And Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Judah, and Jesus the son of Josedech, the high priest, and all who remained of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, because the Lord sent him to them, and the people feared from the face of God." Also in Malachi: "The covenant was with life and peace; and I gave to them the fear to fear me from the face of my name." Also in the thirty-third Psalm: "Fear the Lord, all ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him." Also in the eighteenth Psalm: "The fear of the Lord is chaste, abiding for ever." — Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews