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For he did not name them with the article, for he did not say *the* one hundred forty-four thousand, but only one hundred forty-four thousand; not that he also testifies that they have achieved virginity. For virginity was not very much sought after among Israel, just as it was indeed later among those from the nations; so that it must be considered that those named are a mixture from both Israel and from the nations, and indeed the majority from the nations. But to have the name of the Father and of his Son written shows that they happen to be crowned with a certain divine glory. And I heard, he says, a voice as of cithara players singing a new song before the throne and the living creatures and the elders. The melodious and harmonious nature of the song according to God is shown by the sound going forth as of cithara players; for if praise is not beautiful in the mouth of a sinner, according to what is written, it is certainly beautiful and melodious in the mouth of the just. And no one, he says, was able to learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand, who were purchased from the earth. But I think that no one was able to hear the mysteries of the new song, except those who were deemed worthy to sing it; for to each, knowledge is according to the proportion of purity; for many mansions, says the Lord, that is, recompenses of good things, are with my Father. And he says that those purchased were bought with the blood of Christ. For the precious blood of Christ was shed for all 161 men, but for some, unprofitably, as many as willingly deprived themselves of the salvation from here, to whom also the Lord, reproaching through the prophet, says, What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to corruption; but for those who are saved and justified, of whom these, about whom the discourse is now, are the firstfruits and the first crop, and very profitably, and as much as one could not say. These are they, he says, who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins; these are they who follow the Lamb wherever he goes; these were purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no lie, they are blameless, as the word of the vision testifies to those who are in Christ as being beyond nature and surpassing what is human. And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying in a loud voice: Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters. The midheaven hints at the high and lofty nature of the divine angel. And he had an eternal gospel; for from eternity the lesson is salvific, to fear the Lord, since the fear of God is also the beginning of wisdom, and the end is love. But he says that one must not fear the harsh and soul-destroying beast, the antichrist, even if he threatens and does more grievous things. For, he says, the hour of his judgment has come, and 162 he who terrifies those on earth will himself very soon pay the penalty. And worship, he says, the one who made all creation, and not the vagrant and God-hated Devil. And another, a second angel, followed, saying: Fallen is Babylon the great, which has made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. I think he calls Babylon the confusion of the present life and the vain temptation; for Babylon is interpreted as confusion and the madness of those who are frenzied with idols. And it is made grand by its names, being called enthusiasm among them. But if you also understand it as the physical Babylon, you would not fall outside the intended scope. And he calls the wine of the wrath of fornication the apostasy from God, according to what is written: You have destroyed all who commit fornication against you, which fornication provides a darkening of the established reason; for who, being of sound mind, would choose to worship wood and stones, and to provoke the wrath of God? Was it about this wine, then, that it was said, Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the incurable poison of asps? But this Babylon first drank it herself

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οὔτε γὰρ μετὰ τοῦ ἄρθρου ὠνόμακεν αὐτάς, οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν αἱ ἑκατὸν τεσσαράκοντα τέσσαρες χιλιάδες, ἀλλὰ μόνον ἑκατὸν τεσσαράκοντα τέσσαρες χιλιάδες· μὴ ὅτι καὶ παρθενίαν αὐτοὺς κατωρθωκέναι μαρτυρεῖ. παρθενία γὰρ οὐ πάνυ παρὰ τῷ Ἰσραὴλ ἐσπουδάζετο, ὥσπερ ἀμέλει παρὰ τῶν ἐξ ἐθνῶν ὕστερον· ὥστε ἀναμὶξ ἔκ τε τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἔκ τε τῶν ἐθνῶν εἶναι νομιστέον τοὺς ὠνομασμένους, καὶ τοὺς πλείους γε ἐκ τῶν ἐθνῶν. τὸ δὲ ἔχειν τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ γεγραμμένον δηλοῖ θείᾳ τινὶ δόξῃ τυγχάνειν αὐτοὺς κατεστεμμένους. καὶ ἤκουσά φησι φωνῆς ὡς κιθαρωδῶν ᾀδόντων ὠδὴν καινὴν ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου καὶ τῶν ζώων καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων. τὸ εὔηχον κατὰ Θεὸν καὶ ἐναρμόνιον τῆς ὠδῆς δηλοῖ τὸ ὡς κιθαριζόντων ἐξιέναι τὴν ἠχήν· εἰ γὰρ οὐχ ὡραῖος αἶνος ἐν στόματι ἁμαρτωλοῦ κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, πάντως ὡραῖος καὶ ἐμμελὴς ἐν στόματι δικαίων. καὶ οὐδείς φησιν ἠδύνατο μαθεῖν τὴν ὠδήν, εἰ μὴ ἑκατὸν τεσσαράκοντα τέσσαρες χιλιάδες, οἱ ἀγορασμένοι ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς. ἐγὼ δὲ οἶμαι ὡς οὔτε ἀκοῦσαί τις ἴσχυε τὰ τῆς νέας ὠδὴς μυστήρια, εἰ μὴ οἱ τοῦ ᾄδειν αὐτὰ ἠξιωμένοι· ἑκάστῳ γὰρ ἡ γνῶσις κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς καθαρότητος· πολλαὶ γὰρ μοναί φησιν ὁ Κύριος, ἤτοι ἀγαθῶν ἀντιδόσεις, παρὰ τῶ Πατρί μου. ἠγορασμένους δέ φησι τοὺς τῷ αἵματι Χριστοῦ ἐξωνηθέντας. ὑπὲρ πάντων μὲν 161 γὰρ ἀνθρώπων ἐκκέχυται τὸ τίμιον αἷμα Χριστοῦ, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ μέν τινων ἀνωφελῶς, ὅσοι τῆς ἐντεῦθεν σωτηρίας ἑκόντες ἑαυτοὺς ἀπεστέρησαν, οἷς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐπονειδίζων διὰ τοῦ προφήτου φησὶ τίς ὠφέλεια ἐν τῷ αἵματι μου ἐν τῷ καταβαίνειν με εἰς διαφθοράν· ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν σωθέντων καὶ δικαιωθέντων, ὧν εἰσιν ἀπαρχὴ καὶ πρωτόλιον οὗτοι περὶ ὧν νῦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ σφόδρα ἐπωφελῶς, καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἂν εἴποι τις ὅσον. οὗτοί εἰσί φησι οἳ μετὰ γυναικῶν οὐκ ἐμολύνθησαν· παρθένοι γάρ εἰσιν· οὗτοι οἱ ἀκολουθοῦντες τῷ ἀρνίῳ ὅπου δ' ἂν ὑπάγη· οὗτοι ἠγοράσθησαν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀπαρχὴ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τῷ ἀρνίῳ. καὶ ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν οὐχ εὑρέθη ψεῦδος, ἄμωμοί εἰσιν, ὡς ὑπερφερῆ τῆς φύσεως καὶ ἐπέκεινα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ὁ λόγος τῆς θεωρίας μαρτυρεῖ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Χριστῷ. καὶ εἶδον ἄλλον ἄγγελον πετώμενον ἐν μεσουρανήματι, ἔχοντα εὐαγγέλιον αἰώνιον εὐαγγελίσαι ἐπὶ τοὺς καθημένους ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶν ἔθνος καὶ φυλὴν καὶ γλῶσσαν καὶ λαόν, λέγοντα ἐν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ· φοβήθητε τὸν Θεὸν καὶ δότε αὐτῷ δόξαν, ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ προσ κυνήσατε τῷ ποιήσαντι τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ πηγὰς ὑδάτων. τὸ μεσουράνημα τὸ ὑψηλὸν καὶ μετέωρον κατὰ τὴν φύσιν αἰνίττεται τοῦ θεσπεσίου ἀγγέλου. εὐαγγέλιον δὲ εἶχεν αἰώνιον· ἐξ αἰῶνος γὰρ σωτήριον τὸ μάθημα, φοβεῖσθαι τὸν Κύριον, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἀρχὴ σοφίας ἐστὶν ὁ φόβος τοῦ Θεοῦ, τέλος δὲ ἡ ἀγάπη. οὐ μὴν φοβητέον φησὶ τὸ ἀπηνὲς καὶ ψυχοφθόρον θηρίον τὸν ἀντίχριστον κἂν ἀπειλῇ καὶ δρᾷ χαλεπώτερα. ἦλθε γάρ φησιν ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ 162 δώσει δίκην ὅσον οὐδέπω καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ ἐκφοβῶν τοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς. καὶ προσκυνήσατέ φησι τῷ ποιήσαντι πᾶσαν τὴν κτίσιν, καὶ μὴ τῷ ἀλητηρίῳ καὶ θεοστυγεῖ ∆ιαβόλῳ. καὶ ἄλλος ἄγγελος δεύτερος ἠκολούθησε λέγων· ἔπεσε Βαβυ λὼν ἡ μεγάλη, ἣ ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς πεπότικε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. Βαβυλῶνα οἶμαι λέγειν αὐτὸν τὴν τοῦ παρόντος βίου σύγχυσιν καὶ τὸν εἰκαῖον πειρασμόν· σύγχυσις γὰρ ἡ Βαβυλὼν ἑρμηνεύεται καὶ τὴν τῶν εἰδωλομανούντων ἐμπληξίαν. καὶ σεμνοποιεῖται τοῖς ὀνόμασιν, ἐνθουσιασμὸς παρ' αὐτοῖς ὀνομαζομένη. εἰ δὲ καὶ αὐτὴν νοήσεις τὴν αἰσθητὴν Βαβυλῶνα, οὐκ ἂν ἔξω πέσοις τοῦ προκειμένου σκοποῦ. οἶνον δὲ θυμοῦ πορνείας τὴν ἐκ Θεοῦ φησιν ἀποστασίαν κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· ἐξωλόθρευσας πάντα τὸν πορνεύοντα ἀπὸ σοῦ, ἥτις πορνεία σκότωσιν παρέχει τοῦ καθεστῶτος λογισμοῦ· τίς γὰρ τὸν νοῦν ὑγιαίνων ἕλοιτο ξύλοις καὶ λίθοις προσκυνεῖν, καὶ τὸν θυμὸν ἐκκαλεῖσθαι τοῦ Θεοῦ; περὶ τούτου ἆρα εἴρητο τοῦ οἴνου, θυμὸς δρακόντων ὁ οἶνος αὐτῶν, καὶ θυμὸς ἀσπίδων ἀνίατος αὕτη δὲ ἡ Βαβυλὼν πρῶτον μὲν πεπότικεν αὐτὴ