Oecumenius, Commentary on Apocalypse

with fire, and smoke and brimstone and serpents, by all of which their terrible and unbearable nature is signified. And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk, and they did not repent of their murders (six), nor of their sorceries, nor of their thefts. The prophet, striking the spiritual lyre, related to us concerning those being punished in Hades, saying to God: For in death there is no one who remembers you; and in Hades who will confess to you?, depriving them of both, of joy according to God and of repentance; for through the remembrance of God he speaks of spiritual joy, for the same one writes somewhere else, I remembered God and was gladdened; and through not confessing, he speaks of repentance, for confession is a declaration of sins arising in the soul from remorse and turning back through compunction. For in fact, God has set before us two lives, the 119 present and the future. But in the present life it is given to us to live according to our will and power; but in the future life retributions are given for how we have lived, and the present life is not for judgment, unless someone might be suitably reminded, being urged toward repentance, nor is the future life for living, so that we might be reformed from a reproachable life to a better one. Since these things are so, how is it now said concerning those being punished there? And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, nor did they repent of the works of their hands. He does not mean this, that they did not repent in the life there, but that those still living did not repent from hearing and seeing the things that would then happen, from these and those lawless deeds. by this aforementioned plague, they may not die the spiritual death—calling punishment death—as they live forever with the wicked, unless they will be punished with another, worse punishment, which he attempted to speak of but fell silent for a good reason. May it be that we all become free of these things; by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit for ever, amen#556 Sixth Discourse Further, the admirable John relates to us in the present discourse the things that happened when the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, all of which I did not go through in one go, seeing the fifth discourse extending to some length. And what else does he write has happened? 120 And I saw a mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was on his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire, and he had in his hand a little book opened. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. And when he had cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying: Seal up what the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them. Therefore, as many as are still living and have heard or even seen the punishments against the sinners have not repented, but remained wicked as was said before, against these he says, I saw an angel coming down from heaven, bringing kinds of punishments. And he says his appearance and his form were as follows: he was clothed in a cloud. The cloud signifies the formless and invisible nature of the holy angels; for the cloud is a type of what cannot be seen; for the prophet, signifying the invisibility of God, says, a cloud and darkness are round about him. and a rainbow upon his head; as if he said, the chief and preeminent good among the angels is brightness; for they are angels of light. And his face, he says, was like the sun; and this is proof of pure brightness. But the rainbow

πυρί, καπνῷ τε καὶ θείῳ καὶ ὄφεσι, δι' ὧν ἁπάντων τὸ φοβερὸν καὶ ἀνύποιστον αὐτῶν διασημαίνεται. καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οἳ οὐκ ἀπεκτάνθησαν ἐν ταῖς πληγαῖς ταύταις, οὐδὲ μετενόησαν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν, ἵνα μὴ προσκυνήσωσι τὰ δαιμόνια καὶ τὰ εἴδωλα τὰ χρυσᾶ καὶ τὰ ἀργυρᾶ καὶ τὰ χαλκᾶ καὶ τὰ λίθινα καὶ τὰ ξύλινα, ἃ οὔτε βλέπειν δύνανται, οὔτε ἀκούειν, οὔτε περιπατεῖν, καὶ οὐ μετενόησαν ἐκ τῶν φώνων (σιξ) αὐτῶν, οὔτε ἐκ τῶν φαρμακειῶν αὐτῶν, οὔτε ἐκ τῶν κλεμμάτων αὐτῶν. ὁ προφήτης τὴν πνευματικὴν ἀνακρουόμενος λύραν περὶ τῶν ἐν Ἅδου κολαζομένων ἡμῖν διηγήσατο, λέγων πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ ὁ μνημονεύων σου· ἐν δὲ τῷ Ἅδῃ τίς ἐξομολογήσεταί σοι, ἀμφοτέρων αὐτοὺς ἀποστερῶν, εὐφροσύνης τε τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν καὶ μετανοίας· διὰ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ μνημονεύειν Θεοῦ τῆς πνευματικῆς εὐφροσύνης, γράφει γὰρ ὁ αὐτὸς ἀλλαχόσε που ἐμνήσθην τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ εὐφράνθην· διὰ δὲ τοῦ μὴ ἐξομολογεῖσθαι τῆς μετανοίας, ἔστι γὰρ ἡ ἐξομολόγησις, ἐξαγόρευσις τῶν πεπλημμελημένων ἐκ μεταμελείας καὶ ἐπιστροφῆς διὰ κατανύξεως ἐγγινομένη τῇ ψυχῇ. τῷ γὰρ ὄντι, δύο τινὰς βίους ἔθετο ἡμῖν ὁ Θεός, τὸν 119 παρόντα καὶ τὸν μέλλοντα. ἀλλ' ἐν μὲν τῷ παρόντι δέδοται τὸ κατὰ γνώμην καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἡμᾶς πολιτεύεσθαι· ἐν δὲ τῷ μέλλοντι αἱ ἀντιδόσεις γίνονται τῶν βεβιωμένων καὶ οὔτε ὁ παρών ἐστι κρίσεως, πλὴν εἰ μή πού τις συμφερόντως ὑπομνησθείη πρὸς μετάνοιαν προτρεπόμενος, οὔτε ὁ μέλλων πολιτείας ἵνα δὴ καὶ μεταρυθμιζώμεθα ἀπὸ διαβεβλημένης ζωῆς εἰς τὸν κρείττονα. τούτων οὕτως ὄντων, πῶς νῦν εἴρηται περὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ κολαζομένων; καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. οἳ οὐκ ἀπεκτάνθησαν ἐν ταῖς πληγαῖς ταύταις. οὔτε μετενόησαν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν. οὐ τοῦτό φησιν ὅτι οἱ μὴ μετανοήσαντες ἐν τῷ ἐκεῖσε βίῳ, ἀλλ' ὅτι οἱ ζῶντες ἔτι καὶ μὴ ἐκ τῆς ὑπακοῆς καὶ θεὰς τῶν τότε ἐσομένων μετανοήσαντες. ἀπὸ τῶνδε καὶ τῶνδε τῶν ἀθεμίτων πράξεων. ταύτῃ μὲν τῇ εἰρημένῃ πληγῇ, μὴ ἀποθάνωσι τὸν νοητὸν θάνατονθάνατον καλῶν τὴν κόλασινὡς συνδιαιωνίζουσιν τοῖς πονηροῖς εἰ μὴ ἑτέρῳ μέντοι χείρονι κολασθήσονται, ὃν καὶ εἰπεῖν ἐπιχειρήσας ἀπεσιώπησεν οἰκονομικῶς. ὧν γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐλευθέρους γενέσθαι· χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ δόξα σὺν Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἀμήν#556 Λόγος ἕκτοσ ἔτι τὰ συμβεβηκότα τοῦ ἕκτου ἀγγέλου σαλπίσαντος, καὶ ἐν τῷ παρόντι λόγῳ ὁ θεσπέσιος ἡμῖν διηγεῖται Ἰωάννης, οἷς πᾶσιν ὑφ' ἓν οὐκ ἐπεξῆλθον, εἰς μῆκος ὁρῶν τὸ πέμπτον ἐκτεινόμενον λόγον. τί δὲ καὶ ἕτερον γεγενῆσθαι γράφει; 120 καὶ εἶδον ἄγγελον ἰσχυρὸν καταβαίνοντα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, περιβεβλημένον νεφέλην, καὶ ἴρις ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, καὶ οἱ πόδες αὐτοῦ ὡς στύλοι πυρός, καὶ ἔχων ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ βιβλιδάριον ἠνεωγμένον. καὶ ἔθηκε τὸν πόδα αὐτοῦ τὸν δεξιὸν ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸν δὲ εὐώνυμον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἔκραξε φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ὥσπερ λέων μυκᾶται. καὶ ὅτε ἔκραξεν, ἐλάλησαν αἱ ἑπτὰ βρονταὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν φωνάς. καὶ ὅτε ἐλάλησαν αἱ ἑπτὰ βρονταί, ἤμελλον γράφειν· καὶ ἤκουσα φωνὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ λέγουσαν· σφράγισον ἃ ἐλάλησαν αἱ ἑπτὰ βρονταὶ καὶ μὴ αὐτὰ γράψῃς. ὅσοι τοιγαροῦν ζῶντες ἔτι καὶ ἀκηκοότες ἢ καὶ θεασάμενοι τὰς κατὰ τῶν πλημμελούντων κολάσεις οὐ μετενενοήκασιν, ἀλλ' ἔμειναν ὄντες πονηροὶ καθὼς πρόσθεν εἴρηται, κατὰ τούτων φησὶν ἄγγελον εἶδον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάντα εἴδη κολάσεων κομίζοντα. ἦν δέ φησιν ἡ ἰδέα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ σχῆμα τοιόνδε· περιεβέβλητο νεφέλην. ἡ νεφέλη τὸ ἀειδὲς καὶ ἀόρατον τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων αἰνίττεται· ἀθεωρησίας γὰρ ἡ νεφέλη τύπος· τοῦ γὰρ Θεοῦ τὸ ἀόρατον διασημαίνων ὁ προφήτης, νεφέλη φησὶ καὶ γνόφος κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἴρις ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ· ὡσεὶ ἔλεγε τὸ κεφάλαιον καὶ τὸ προὖχον τῶν ἐν ἀγγέλοις ἀγαθῶν, ἡ λαμπρότης ἐστίν· εἰσὶ γὰρ ἄγγελοι φωτός. καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ φησιν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος· καὶ τοῦτο λαμπρότητος τῆς ἀκραιφνοῦς ἀπόδειξις. ἀλλ' ἡ μὲν ἴρις