Oecumenius, Commentary on Apocalypse

to Egypt, as Herod was about to seek the life of the child. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God, that they might feed her there 142 for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Was the child then saved from the plot of the dragon, but the woman was handed over to destruction? Certainly not, but she herself was also saved by the flight into Egypt, which was a wilderness and free from Herod's plotting. And there, it says, she stayed and was nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, which amount to three and a half years, lacking a few. For perhaps the Theotokos spent so much time in Egypt, until the death of Herod, after which a divine message from an angel drew them back to Judea. And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels to fight with the dragon. And the dragon fought, and his angels. And they did not prevail, nor was a place found for him in heaven. And the great dragon was cast down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. As if by a constant return to the aforementioned beginning, it conceives of an older beginning, which it also mentioned in part before, when the vision was about to relate to us the things concerning the antichrist; for the first beginning of the things concerning them is the fall of Satan from heaven. concerning which the Lord also says, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." What then does it mean, "And there was war in heaven"? The divine Scripture says that Satan was stiff-necked against God, that is, he raised a hard 143 and arrogant neck against Him, and plotted rebellion. But God, being good by nature and forbearing, was patient with him; but the divine angels, not enduring the insolence against their own master, cast him out from their company. This it now says, that Michael, one of the great rulers among the angels, warred against Satan and those under him. But Satan did not prevail in the war against him; nor, it says, was a place found for him for flight or even for dwelling in heaven, and he was cast down to the earth, either suffering this in a perceptible way, or because having been stripped of his angelic and heavenly dignity, he was cast down to an earthly way of thinking. Then, as if taking revenge on God for his fall, since he was not able to harm Him, he harms His servants, men, and deceives them and tries to make them rebel from God, thinking in this way to harm their same master. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” The holy angels, therefore, making known their own joy which they had at the casting down of Satan, sing a victory 144 ode to God, saying, it says, "Now has come the salvation and the kingdom," and the power of God has shone forth, and the authority of His Christ, how he is all-powerful; for by its cooperation, it says, we have conquered the enemy. And the accuser of our brothers has departed from us, who accuses them before our God day and night. O the humility of the holy angels! How they are imitators of their own master. They call men their brothers. And what is surprising? Since even the common master did not disdain to call them this, saying, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." And what do they say about Satan? He has departed. He was deposed from his dignity. There is no longer a place for him to stand before God and to accuse men. And they, it says, repelled him with equal measures, conquering the one who seemed

εἰς Αἴγυπτον, ὡς μέλλοντος τοῦ Ἡρώδου ζητεῖν τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ παιδίου. καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἔφυγεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ὅπου ἔχει τόπον ἡτοιμασμένον ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα ἐκεῖ τρέφωσιν αὐτὴν 142 ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα. ἆρα οὖν τὸ μὲν παιδίον διεσώθη ἐκ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς τοῦ δράκοντος, ἡ δὲ γυνὴ παρεδόθη εἰς διαφθοράν; οὐ μὲν οὖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὴ διεσώθη τῇ εἰς Αἴγυπτον φυγῇ, ἥτις ἔρημος ἦν καὶ σχολάζουσα τῆς Ἡρώδου ἐπιβουλῆς. καὶ ἐκεῖ διῆγέ φησι καὶ διεστρέφετο ἡμέρας χιλίας διακόσιας ἑξήκοντα, αἳ συνάγουσιν ἔτη τρία ἥμισυ ὀλίγων λειπόντων. τοσοῦτον γὰρ ἴσως χρόνον ἐν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ διεγένετο ἡ θεοτόκος, ἄχρι τῆς Ἡρώδου τελευτῆς, μεθ' ἣν πάλιν αὐτοὺς χρηματισμὸς ἀγγέλου πρὸς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν εἵλκυσε. καὶ ἐγένετο πόλεμος ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ὁ Μιχαὴλ καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ πολεμῆσαι μετὰ τοῦ δράκοντος. καὶ ὁ δράκων ἐπο λέμησε καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ. καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυσαν, οὐδὲ τόπος εὑρέθη αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ. καὶ ἐβλήθη ὁ δράκων ὁ μέγας, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὁ καλούμενος ∆ιάβολος· καὶ ὁ Σατανᾶς, ὁ πλανῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην, ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι μετ' αὐτοῦ ἐβλήθησαν. ὥσπερ κατ' ἐπανάβασιν ἀεὶ τῆς εἰρημένης ἀρχῆς, ἀρχὴν πρεσβυτέραν ἐπινοεῖ, ἧς ἐν μέρει καὶ πρόσθεν ἐπεμνήσθη, τὰ κατὰ τὸν ἀντίχριστον ἡμῖν διηγεῖσθαι μέλλουσα ἡ ὀπτασία· ἀρχὴ γὰρ πρώτη τῶν κατ' αὐτῶν, ἡ τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἡ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πτῶσις. περὶ ἧς καὶ ὁ Κύριός φησιν εἶδον τὸν Σατανᾶν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὡς ἀστραπὴν πεσόντα. τί οὖν λέγει καὶ ἐγένετο πόλεμος ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ; φησὶν ἡ θεῖα γραφὴ τὸν Σατανᾶν τραχηλιᾶσαι κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τουτέστι σκληρὸν 143 αὐτῷ καὶ ἀγέρωχον ἀντανατεῖναι τράχηλον, καὶ ἀποστασίαν μελετῆσαι. ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν Θεός, ἅτε φύσει ἀγαθὸς ὢν καὶ ἀνεξίκακος, ἐμακροθύμει ἐπ' αὐτῷ· οἱ δέ γε θεῖοι ἄγγελοι μὴ ἐνεγκόντες τὴν ὕβριν τοῦ σφῶν δεσπότου ἐξώθησαν αὐτὸν τῆς μετ' αὐτῶν διαγωγῆς. τοῦτο νῦν φησιν ὅτι ὁ Μιχαήλ, εἷς δὲ οὗτος τῶν ἐν ἀγγέλοις μεγάλων ἀρχόντων, ἐπολέμησε κατὰ τοῦ Σατανᾶ καὶ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτόν. ὁ δέ γε Σατανᾶς οὐκ ἴσχυσε πρὸς τὸν κατ' αὐτοῦ πόλεμον· οὐδὲ τόπος ηὑρέθη φησὶ φυγῆς αὐτῷ ἢ γοῦν οἰκήσεως ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἐβλήθη κάτω εἰς τὴν γῆν, ἢ τοῦτο αἰσθητῶς παθών, ἢ ὅτι τοῦ ἀγγελικοῦ καὶ οὐρανίου περιαιρεθεὶς ἀξιώματος, εἰς γήϊνον κατερρίφη φρόνημα. εἶτα ὥσπερ ἀμυνόμενος, τὸν Θεὸν διὰ τὴν πτῶσιν, ἐπεὶ μὴ αὐτὸν ἀδικῆσαι ἐνῆν, τοὺς αὐτοῦ δούλους ἀδικεῖ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, καὶ πλανᾷ καὶ ἀφιστᾶν πειρᾶται Θεοῦ, ταύτῃ τὸν αὐτὸν δεσπότην ἀδικεῖν οἰόμενος. καὶ ἤκουσα φωνὴν μεγάλην ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ λέγουσαν ἄρτι ἐγένετο ἡ σωτηρία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ ἡ ἐξουσία τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐβλήθη ὁ κατήγο ρος τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν, ὁ κατηγορῶν αὐτῶν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός· καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐνίκησαν αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀρνίου καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς μαρτυρίας αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἠγάπησαν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἄχρι θανάτου· διὰ τοῦτο εὐφραίνεσθε οὐρανοὶ καὶ οἱ ἐν αὐτοῖς σκηνοῦντες· οὐαὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν, ὅτι κατέβη ὁ ∆ιάβολος πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἔχων θυμὸν μέγαν, εἰδὼς ὅτι ὀλίγον καιρὸν ἔχει. τὴν οἰκείαν οὖν εὐφροσύνην οἱ ἅγιοι παραδηλοῦντες ἄγγελοι ἣν ἔσχον ἐπὶ τῇ καθαιρέσει τοῦ Σατανᾶ, ἐπινίκιον 144 ᾄδουσιν ὠδὴν τῷ Θεῷ, ἄρτι λέγοντές φησιν ἐγένετο ἡ σωτηρία καὶ ἡ βασιλεία, καὶ ἔλαμψεν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ δύναμις, καὶ ἡ ἐξουσία τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὅπως ἐστὶ παντοδύναμος· αὐτῆς γάρ φησι τῇ συνεργίᾳ νενικήκαμεν τὸν ἐχθρόν. καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἐξ ἡμῶν ὁ κατήγορος τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν, ὁ κατηγορῶν αὐτῶν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός. ὢ τῆς μετριότητος τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων· πῶς εἰσι μιμηταὶ τοῦ οἰκείου δεσπότου. ἀδελφοὺς ἑαυτῶν, καλοῦσιν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. καὶ τί θαυμαστόν; ὁπότε καὶ ὁ κοινὸς δεσπότης τοῦτο αὐτοὺς καλεῖν οὐκ ἀπηξίωσεν, ἀπαγγελῶ λέγων τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου· ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε. τι δέ φασι περὶ τοῦ Σατανᾶ; ἀπῆλθεν. καθηρέθη τῆς ἀξίας. οὐκέτι αὐτῷ χώρα ἐνώπιον ἑστάναι τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ κατηγορεῖν τῶν ἀνθρώπων. καὶ αὐτοί φησι τοῖς ἴσοις αὐτὸν ἠμύναντο, νικήσαντες τὸν δοκοῦντα