Oecumenius, Commentary on Apocalypse

Rightly says the one who has the key of David. Then, having dwelt on the figure of the key, he adds: he who opens, and no one shuts; and shuts, and no one opens. For God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? God is the one who condemns; who is the one who justifies? For to open and to shut, he says, is to justify and to condemn. I know your works, he says, that they are God-fearing; and I have given you the door of good things opened. And having said before: he who opens and no one shuts, therefore also the door which I have given opened no one will shut. because, he says, you have a little strength and have kept my word and have not denied my name. Philadelphia is a small city, on account of which its power is also small. But in keeping the faith of Christ, it rose up beyond its own strength, so as to remain undaunted by those troubling the faithful. Then, as a gift in return for their sincerity toward him, he promises that many from the Jewish register will run to it and receive the faith of Christ. For this, to worship at its feet, signifies choosing to be ranked even in the last places in the church, only to be a part of the church. This also the prophet said, embracing it: I have chosen to be cast aside in the house of my God rather than to dwell in the tents of sinners. Since, therefore, in patience you have kept my faith, I also will keep you from the hour of the evil trial. And he speaks of the persecution against the Christians which happened under the emperor Domitian, who became the second persecutor after Nero, as Eusebius relates both in the Ecclesiastical History 62 and in the Chronicon; under whom also the divine evangelist was condemned to inhabit Patmos, a small and desolate little island. I am coming quickly, he says, to help you. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may take your crown. But what should you hold fast? Clearly, the sincere love for the Lord, in which having striven until the end, you will have the crown of life. For the prizes of victory belong to those who endure; and the one who conquers the trials, he says, I will make to rejoice forever in the vision of God; for this is what it means to become a pillar of the divine temple. For indeed the pillar would never go out for its own good from the place in which it has been fixed and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, of the heavenly Jerusalem, and the new name. Through all these things he reveals the enjoyment of God and the dwelling in good things and the blessedness, which they will have in the age to come and he says a new name, that until now has nowhere been heard, which the saints obtain reigning with Christ, being called friends and brothers and servants. But the new name is indeed even beyond these things. For these things have both been written in the divine scripture and have come to the ears of men; but the new is altogether unnameable. And for it to have been said by him "of my God" is not of one who disdains the measures of the emptying nor the lowliness of his humanity. For if he disdained it, who is the one who compelled him to be united to flesh in substance, and thus to weave our salvation? to him be the glory forever and ever. 63 Third Discourse. He has ordained what he has ordained to be sent to the six cities, concerning which I have gone through in the second discourse: to the one in Ephesus, and Smyrna, and Pergamum and Thyatira, and those in Sardis, and Philadelphia. But now, what must be written to it also are these things. And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot, so, because you are lukewarm, and not hot nor cold; I am about to vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are the lowly and pitiable and blind and naked and poor. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and new white garments, so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness not be revealed; and eye-salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears

εἰκότως λέγει ὁ ἔχων τὴν κλεῖν ∆αυίδ. εἶτα ἐπιμείνας τῇ τροπῇ τῆς κλειδός, ἐπάγει· ὁ ἀνοίγων, καὶ οὐδεὶς κλείει· καὶ κλείων, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀνοίγει. Θεὸς γὰρ ὁ δικαιῶν· τίς ὁ κατακρίνων; Θεὸς ὁ κατακρίνων· τίς ὁ δικαιῶν; ἀνοῖξαι γὰρ καὶ κλεῖσαι τὸ δικαιῶσαί φησιν καὶ κατακρῖναι. οἶδά σού φησιν τὰ ἔργα ὅτι ἐστὶ θεοσεβῆ· καὶ δέδωκά σοι τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν θύραν ἠνεωγμένην. προλαβὼν δὲ ἔφη· ὁ ἀνοίγων καὶ οὐδεὶς κλείει οὐκοῦν καὶ τὴν θύραν ἣν δέδωκα ἠνεωγμένην οὒ κλείσει τις. ὅτι φησὶν μικρὰν ἔχεις δύναμιν καὶ ἐτήρησας μου τὸν λόγον καὶ οὐκ ἠρνήσω τὸ ὄνομα μου. μικρὰ πόλις ἡ Φιλαδέλφεια, δι' ὃ καὶ μικρὰ αὐτῆς ἡ δύναμις. ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ φυλάξαι τὴν Χριστοῦ πίστιν ὑπὲρ τὴν οἰκείαν ἰσχὺν ἀνέστη ὡς ἀπτόητος, μεῖναι παρὰ τῶν τοὺς πιστοὺς διενοχλούντων. εἶτα ὥσπερ ἀντίδωρον τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν γνησιότητος ἐπαγγέλλεται πολλοὺς τοῦ Ἰουδαϊκοῦ καταλόγου προσδραμεῖσθαι αὐτῇ καὶ τὴν Χριστοῦ δέξασθαι πίστιν. τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ προσκυνῆσαι τοὺς πόδας αὐτῆς αἰνίττεται τὸ καὶ ἐν ἐσχάτοις ἑλέσθαι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τετάχθαιμόνον εἶναι μέρος τῆς ἐκκλησίας. τοῦτο καὶ ὁ προφήτης ἀσπαζόμενος ἔλεγεν· ἐξελεξάμην παραρρίπτεσθαι ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ μου μᾶλλον ἢ οἰκεῖν με ἐν σκηνώμασιν ἁμαρτωλῶν. ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐν ὑπομονῇ ἐτήρησάς μου τὴν πίστιν, κἀγὼ τηρήσω σε ἐκ τῆς ὥρας τοῦ πονηροῦ πειρασμοῦ. λέγει δὲ τὸν ἐπὶ ∆ομετιανοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως γενόμενον κατὰ Χριστιανῶν διωγμόν, ὃς δεύτερος μετὰ Νέρωνα γέγονε διώκτης, ὡς Εὐσέβιος ἱστορεῖ ἔν τε τῇ Ἐκκλησιαστικῇ Ἱστορίᾳ 62 καὶ ἐν τῷ Χρονικῷ Κανόνι· ἐφ' οὗ καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος εὐαγγελιστὴς τὴν Πάτμον οἰκεῖν κατεδικάσθη, νησίον ἔρημον καὶ βραχύ. ἔρχομαι ταχύ φησιν ἀντιληψόμενός σου. κράτει ὃ ἔχεις ἵνα μηδεὶς λάβῃ τὸν στέφανόν σου. τί δὲ κράτει; τὴν εἰς τὸν Κύριον γνησίαν ἀγάπην δηλονότι, ἐν ᾗ ἄχρι τέλους ἐναθλήσας ἕξεις τὸν στέφανον τῆς ζωῆς. τῶν γὰρ ὑπομενόντων τὰ νικητήρια· καὶ τὸν νικῶντά φησιν τοὺς πειρασμοὺς ποιήσω διὰ παντὸς ἐπευφραίνεσθαι τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρίᾳ· τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ στῦλον τοῦ ναοῦ γενέσθαι τοῦ θείου. ὁ γάρ τοι στῦλος οὐκ ἂν ἐπ' ἀγαθῷ ἐξέλθοι ποτὲ τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἐνήρεισται τόπου καὶ γράψω ἐπ' αὐτὸν τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ μου, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς πόλεως τοῦ Θεοῦ μου, τοῦ τῆς ἐπουρανίου Ἱερουσαλήμ, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τὸ καινόν. διὰ πάντων τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπόλαυσιν καὶ τὴν ἐπ' ἀγαθοῖς κατοίκησιν καὶ τὴν μακαριότητα παραγυμνοῖ, ὅ, τι σχήσουσιν ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι ὄνομα δέ φησιν καινόν, τὸ ἄχρι νῦν μή που ἀκουσθέν, οὗ τύχωσιν οἱ ἅγιοι Χριστῷ συμβασιλεύοντες, φίλοι καὶ ἀδελφοὶ καὶ θεράποντες ὀνομαζόμενοι. τὸ δέ γε καινὸν ὄνομα καὶ ὑπὲρ ταῦτα τυγχάνει. τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἀναγέγραπται τε τῇ θείᾳ γραφῇ καὶ εἰς ἀκοὰς ἦλθεν ἀνθρώπων· τὸ δὲ καινὸν ἀκατονόμαστον πάντη τυγχάνει. τὸ δὲ εἴρησθαι αὐτῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ μου οὐκ ἀπαξιοῦντός ἐστιν τὰ τῆς κενώσεως μέτρα οὐδὲ τὸ μικροπρεπὲς τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος. εἰ γὰρ ἀπηξίου, τίς ὁ ἀναγκάσας αὐτὸν σαρκὶ καθ' ὑπόστασιν ἑνωθῆναι, καὶ οὕτω τὴν ἡμῶν διαπλέξαι σωτηρίαν; αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. 63 Λόγος τρίτοσ ταῖς μὲν ἓξ πόλεσιν διαπεμφθῆναι τεθέσπικεν ἅπερ τεθέσπικεν, περὶ ὧν ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ διελήλυθα λόγῳ τῇ ἐν Ἐφέσῳ, καὶ Σμύρνῃ, Περγάμῳ τε καὶ Θυατείροις, καὶ ταῖς ἐν Σάρδεσιν, καὶ Φιλαδελφείᾳ. νῦν δὲ ἃ δεῖ γραφῆναι καὶ αὐτῇ τάδε. καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· τάδε λέγει ὁ ἀμήν, ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστός, ὁ ἀληθινός, ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ· οἶδά σου τὰ ἔργα, ὅτι οὔτε ψυχρὸς εἶ οὔτε ζεστός. ὄφελον ψυχρὸς ἦς, ἢ ζεστὸς, οὕτως ὅτι χλια ρὸς εἶ, καὶ οὐ ζεστὸς οὔτε ψυχρός· μέλλω σε ἐμέσαι τοῦ στόματός μου. ὅτι λέγεις, πλούσιός εἰμι, καὶ πεπλού τηκα, καὶ οὐδὲν χρείαν ἔχω, καὶ οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ ταπει νὸς καὶ ἐλεεινὸς καὶ τυφλὸς καὶ γυμνὸς καὶ πτωχός. συμβουλεύω σοι ἀγοράσαι παρ' ἐμοῦ χρυσίον πεπυρωμένον ἐκ πυρός, ἵνα πλουτήσῃς, καὶ ἱμάτια καινὰ λευκά, ἵνα περι βάλλῃ, καὶ μὴ φανερωθῇ ἡ αἰσχύνη τῆς γυμνότητός σου· καὶ κουλλούριον ἐγχρῖσαι τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου, ἵνα βλέπῃς. ἐγὼ ὅσους ἂν φιλῶ, ἐλέγχω καὶ παιδεύω· ζήλωσον οὖν καὶ μετανόησον. ἰδού, ἕστηκα ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν καὶ κρούω· ἐάν τις ἀκούσῃ