Oecumenius, Commentary on Apocalypse

spoken by the prophet, 'the voice of the Lord dividing the flame of fire,' is thus interpreted by the saints as the illuminating element being cut off from the fire of Gehenna, and only the burning element remaining with darkness in it; and it says, 'the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the pit;' not that these elements were darkened, but that those cast into the pit, being filled with darkness because of the punishment, have the air and the sun invisible. For so one of the holy prophets also said: 'the sun will be darkened at noon,' explaining the calamities of the Jews, not that the sun was darkened, but that those in the affliction suffered this and did not see the sun; for the greatness of calamities is accustomed to fill with vertigo. And from the smoke, it says, 'locusts came out upon the earth.' I think he calls the worms 'locusts,' about which Isaiah says: 'their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched,' perhaps calling the biting of the soul and the unceasing and creeping pain a 'worm'. And it says, 'authority was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have authority.' And it was said to them that they should not harm the grass of the earth, nor any 111 green thing, nor any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads, since the earth had become new by the change. For it is said somewhere about it, 'You will send forth your spirit, and they will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth.' It was no longer good for anything that adorns the earth to be struck, neither tree nor any growing thing, but only men; and of men, those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. For of men, some who are entirely holy and pure have received the place spoken of before, being always with Christ, and beholding the divine throne. But those who are less holy, yet baptized, and bearing the sign for Christ on their foreheads, and not altogether despaired of, nor having deeply defiled themselves and their baptism by the wickedness of their actions, but being, as it were, midway between virtue and vice, remain on the earth, yet unpunished. For if this were not so, how to those who had well managed the minas entrusted to them? was it said by the Lord, 'have authority over ten cities;' and to another, 'over five cities?' as if the lesser are to rule, and the ruled are in every way unpunished. For who would choose to rule over those being punished and unceasingly gnashing their teeth, and weeping inconsolably—I do not say of the saints, but not even of any sort of men, yet compassionate men, unless he himself were about to suffer things similar to the punished in their incurable state? The 112 third portion of men is given over to punishment, being both sinners and impious and not having accepted the faith of Christ. Therefore it is said that the men were to be struck; who are not sealed with the seal of God. And it was given to them, it says, that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented for five months; and their torment was like the torment of scorpions, when it strikes a man. And in those days men will seek death, and will not find it, and they will desire to die, and death flees from them. Might it not be from this that some of the fathers accepted the restoration, saying that sinners are punished up to this point, but after this no longer, as being cleansed by the punishment? But what is to be done, when many other fathers on the one hand, and approved scriptures on the other, say that the punishments of those then being punished are eternal? What then might one say, or how would one arbitrate between the parts? One must blend the opinions of both. And I say this as in a certain exercise and not as in an affirmation; for I adhere to the dogma of the church which wills that the punishments in the future are eternal, since also the Lord said this in the Gospel according to Matthew, saying, 'and these will go away into eternal punishment;' and Isaiah, 'their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched.' as in

εἰρημένον τῷ προφήτῃ φωνὴ Κυρίου διακόπτοντος φλόγα πυρός, οὕτως ἑρμηνεύεται τοῖς ἁγίοις ὡς διακοπησομένου τοῦ φωτιστικοῦ ἐκ τοῦ τῆς Γεέννης πυρὸς καὶ μένοντος μόνου τοῦ καυστικοῦ μετὰ σκότους ἐν αὐτῷ· καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη φησὶν ὁ ἥλιος καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ ἐκ τοῦ καπνοῦ τοῦ φρέατος· οὐχ ὅτι ταῦτα ἐσκοτίσθη τὰ στοιχεῖα, ἀλλ' ὅτι οἱ ἐν τῷ φρέατι βληθέντες, σκότους διὰ τὴν κόλασιν πληρωθέντες, ἀθέατον ἔχουσι τὸν ἀέρα καὶ τὸν ἥλιον. οὕτω γάρ τις καὶ τῶν ἁγίων ἔφη προφητῶν· σκοτισθήσεται ὁ ἥλιος μεσημβρίας, τὰς Ἰουδαίων συμφορὰς ἐξηγούμενος, οὐ τοῦ ἡλίου σκοτισθέντος, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ θλίψει τοῦτο παθόντων καὶ οὐχ ὁρώντων τὸν ἥλιον· σκοτοδίνης γὰρ πληροῦν εἴωθε τὰ μεγέθη τῶν συμφορῶν. καὶ ἐκ τοῦ καπνοῦ φησιν ἐξῆλθον ἀκρίδες εἰς τὴν γῆν. ἀκρίδας οἶμαι καλεῖ τοὺς σκώληκας, περὶ ὧν ὁ Ἡσαΐας φησίν· ὁ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτήσει, καὶ τὸ πῦρ αὐτῶν οὐ σβεσθήσεται, ἴσως τὴν δῆξιν τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τὴν ἀνένδοτον καὶ ἑρπυστικὴν ἀλγηδόνα σκώληκα καλέσας. καὶ ἐδόθη αὐταῖς φησιν ἐξουσία, ὡς ἔχουσιν ἐξουσίαν οἱ σκορπίοι τῆς γῆς. καὶ ἐρρέθη αὐταῖς, ἵνα μὴ ἀδικήσωσι τὸν χόρτον τῆς γῆς οὐδὲ πᾶν 111 χλωρὸν οὐδὲ πᾶν δένδρον, εἰ μὴ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους μόνους, οἵτινες οὐκ ἔχουσι τὴν σφραγῖδα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων, τῆς γῆς τῇ ἐναλλαγῇ καινῆς γενομένης. εἴρηται γάρ που περὶ αὐτῆς ἐξαποστελεῖς τὸ πνεῦμά σου καὶ κτισθήσονται, καὶ ἀνακαινιεῖς τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς. οὐκ ἔτι καλὸν ἦν πληγῆναί τι τῶν κοσμούντων τὴν γῆν οὔτε δένδρον οὔτε τι τῶν φυομένων, εἰ μὴ μόνον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους· καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων δὲ ἐκείνους ὅσοι οὐκ ἔχουσι τὴν σφραγῖδα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων. τῶν γὰρ ἀνθρώπων οἱ μὲν εἰς ἅπαν ἅγιοι καὶ καθαροὶ τὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν εἰρημένον ἀπειλήφασι χῶρον, Χριστῷ συνόντες ἀεὶ, καὶ τὸν θεῖον ἐποπτεύοντες θρόνον. οἱ δέ γε ἧττον ἅγιοι βεβαπτισμένοι δὲ ὅμως, καὶ τὸ σημεῖον φέροντες Χριστῷ ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων, καὶ οὐ παντάπασιν ἀπεγνωσμένοι, καὶ ῥυπώσαντες κατὰ βάθους ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα τῇ ἀτοπίᾳ τῶν πράξεων, ἀλλ' οἷον μέσοι τινὲς ὄντες ἀρετῆς καὶ κακίας μένουσι μὲν ἐν τῇ γῇ, ἀτιμωρητοὶ μέντοι. εἰ γὰρ μὴ τοῦτο ἦν, πῶς τοῖς καλῶς διατεθεὶς τὰς ἐμπιστευθείσας αὐτοῖς μνᾶς; εἴρηται παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου ἴσθι ἐξουσίαν ἔχων ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων· καὶ ἄλλον ἐπὶ πέντε πόλεων; ὡς ἄρχειν μελλόντων τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων, καὶ ἀτιμώρητοι δὲ πάντως οἱ ἀρχόμενοι. τίς γὰρ ἂν ἄρχειν ἕλοιτο τιμωρουμένων καὶ ἀνενδότως τοὺς ὀδόντας βρυχόντων, καὶ ἀποκλαιομένων ἀπαραμύθηταοὐ λέγω τῶν ἁγίων, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τῶν οἵων δή, ἀνθρώπων δὲ ὅμως συμπαθῶν, πλὴν εἰ μὴ καὶ αὐτὸς μέλλοι τῷ περὶ αὐτοὺς ἀνιάτῳ ὅμοια πείσεσθαι τοῖς κολαζομένοις; ἡ δέ 112 γε τρίτη τῶν ἀνθρώπων μοῖρα κολάσει παραδίδοται, ἁμαρτωλοί τε ὄντες καὶ ἀσεβεῖς καὶ τὴν Χριστοῦ μὴ παραδεξάμενοι πίστιν. διὸ εἴρηται πληγῆναι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους· οἳ οὔκ εἰσιν ἐσφραγισμένοι τῇ σφραγῖδι τοῦ Θεοῦ. καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς φησιν ἵνα μὴ ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτούς, ἀλλ' ἵνα βασανισθήσονται μῆνας πέντε· καὶ ὁ βασανισμὸς αὐτῶν ὡς βασανισμὸς σκορπίων, ὅταν παίσῃ ἄνθρωπον. καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ζητήσουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὸν θάνατον, καὶ οὐ μὴ εὕρωσιν αὐτόν, καὶ ἐπιθυμήσουσιν ἀπο θανεῖν καὶ φεύγει ὁ θάνατος ἀπ' αὐτῶν. ἆρα μὴ ἐντεῦθέν τινες τῶν πατέρων τὴν ἀποκατάστασιν παρεδέξαντο, τὸ ἄχρι μὲν τοῦδε κολάζεσθαι τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς λέγοντες, μετὰ τοῦτο δὲ οὐκέτι, ὡς καθαρισθέντας τῇ τιμωρίᾳ; ἀλλὰ τί ποιητέον, ἄλλων πλειόνων τοῦτο μὲν πατέρων, τοῦτο δὲ ἐγκρίτων γραφῶν αἰωνίας λεγόντων τὰς τιμωρίας τῶν τότε κολαζομένων; τί οὖν ἄν τις εἴποι, ἢ πῶς διαιτήσοι τοῖς μέρεσι; κεράσαι δεῖ τὰς ἀμφοτέρων δόξας. λέγω δὲ τοῦτο ὡς ἐν γυμνασίᾳ τινὶ καὶ οὐχ' ὡς ἐν καταφάσει· ἐγὼ γὰρ τῷ δόγματι τῆς ἐκκλησίας προστίθεμαι τῷ βουλομένῳ αἰωνίας εἶναι τὰς ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι κολάσεις, ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦτο ὅτε Κύριος εἴρηκεν ἐν τῷ κατὰ Ματθαῖον εὐαγγελίῳ, εἰπὼν καὶ ἀπελεύσονται οὗτοι εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον· καὶ ὁ Ἡσαΐας ὁ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτήσει, καὶ τὸ πῦρ αὐτῶν οὐ σβεσθήσεται. ὡς ἐν