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of the destructive wine, then forced all the nations, which it ruled, to drink. And another, a third angel, followed them, saying in a great voice: If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured unmixed into the cup of his 163 anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends for ever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The third angel forbids men to worship the beast and to receive its seal. For to worship another as God, besides the one who is truly and really God, is most unholy. And he, it says, shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured unmixed into the cup of his anger. Of this cup and wine the divine David also makes mention, saying that a cup is in the hand of the Lord, of unmixed wine full of a mixture, and he poured from this to that; but its dregs were not emptied; all the sinners of the earth shall drink. He calls the wrath of God wine, not making the metaphor from gladness, but from the darkening and the carrying away, by which those who are possessed by the wrath of God are constrained. Of the mixed, it says, unmixed. That is, unmixedly mixed; for the wrath of God is mixed with love for mankind and goodness, it is mixed unmixedly; for there is no equal portion of wrath and of goodness, but love for mankind is many times greater. For if there were an equality of just wrath and of goodness, no living thing would have endured. Knowing this, the prophet said, If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand before you? That goodness is many times greater in the cup of God than 164 just wrath, he himself again hinted, saying, The Lord is merciful and just, and our God has mercy, placing his justice in the middle, as if it were pressed upon by the adjacent mercy and not permitted to enact its own properties; and this is the property of justice, to assign to each according to his worth. Having once made mention of wine and thus called the wrath, he persisted in the trope and named the cup that which is given to sinners from the hand of God. But someone will perhaps say, how do you say that the mercy of God is many times greater in the judgment then, when the vision, descending a little, has conveyed to us that the punishments of those being chastised are eternal? For what does it say? And the smoke of their torment ascends for ever and ever, and they have no rest day or night. To which one might say, it is possible, O sir, to be tormented eternally and not to suffer according to one's worth. For what? If someone is worthy of fire and darkness, but is condemned only to darkness, and in this is punished only, in not being in communion with the good things of God and is pained by this alone, but is not also punished sensibly. He says the smoke of torment rising is the panting of sinners, channeled from below in their wailings to the outside. Here, it says, is the patience of the saints. In this time, it says, of the antichrist, and by this trial, it is shown. For as great as the danger and the affliction then is, so great a measure of patience is needed. Then the discourse is formed as if from a question. And who, it says, are they whom you call saints and patient? Those, it says, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. For such men, even when trials 165 and death are present, will hold all things as secondary to the faith and love of God. And I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. And the Spirit says, that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow with them. He blesses those who have not chosen

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τοῦ ὀλεθρίου οἴνου, ἔπειτα πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, ὧν ἦρχε πιεῖν ἠνάγκασε. καὶ ἄλλος ἄγγελος τρίτος ἠκολούθησεν αὐτοῖς λέγων ἐν με γάλῃ φωνῇ· εἴ τις προσκυνεῖ τὸ θηρίον καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαμβάνει χάραγμα ἐπὶ τοῦ μετώπου αὐτοῦ ἢ ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸς πίεται ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ κεκερασμένου ἀκράτου ἐν τῷ ποτηρίῳ τῆς 163 ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ βασανισθήσεται ἐν πυρὶ καὶ θείῳ ἐνώπιον ἀγγέλων ἁγίων καὶ ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἀρνίου. καὶ ὁ καπνὸς τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῶν εἰς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀναβαίνει, καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀνάπαυσιν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός, οἱ προσκυνοῦντες τὸ θηρίον καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἴ τις λαμβάνει τὸ χάραγμα τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ. ὧδε ἡ ὑπομονὴ τῶν ἁγίων ἐστίν, οἱ τηροῦντες τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὴν πίστιν Ἰησοῦ. ὁ τρίτος ἄγγελος ἀπαγορεύει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὴν προσκύνησιν τοῦ θηρίου καὶ τὸ λαβεῖν αὐτοῦ τὴν σφραγῖδα. τὸ γὰρ ὡς θεὸν προσκυνεῖν ἕτερόν τινα πλὴν τοῦ ὄντως καὶ ἀληθῶς Θεοῦ, ἀνοσιώτατον. καὶ αὐτός φησι πίεται ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ κεκερασμένου ἀκράτου ἐν τῷ ποτηρίῳ τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ. τούτου τοῦ ποτηρίου καὶ τοῦ οἴνου καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος ∆αυὶδ μέμνηται λέγων ὅτι ποτήριον ἐν χειρὶ Κυρίου, οἴνου ἀκράτου πλῆρες κεράσματος, καὶ ἔκλινεν ἐκ τούτου εἰς τοῦτο· πλὴν ὁ τρυγίας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐξεκενώθη· πίονται πάντες οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τῆς γῆς. οἶνον δέ φησι τὴν ὀργὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς εὐφροσύνης τὴν μεταφορὰν ποιησάμενος, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς σκοτώσεως καὶ τῆς μεταφορᾶς, ᾗ συνέχονται οἱ τῷ θυμῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ κάτοχοι. τοῦ κεκερασμένου φησὶν ἀκράτου. τουτέστιν ἀκράτως κεκερασμένου· κεκέρασται γὰρ ὁ θυμὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, φιλανθρωπίᾳ καὶ ἀγαθότητι, κεκέρασται ἀκράτως· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἰσομοιρία τῆς ὀργῆς καὶ τῆς ἀγαθότητος, ἀλλὰ πολλαπλασίων ἡ φιλανθρωπία. εἰ γὰρ ἦν ἰσότης τοῦ τε θυμοῦ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ τῆς ἀγαθότητος, οὐκ ἂν ὑπέστη πᾶς ζῶν. τοῦτο εἰδὼς ὁ προφήτης ἔλεγεν ἐὰν ἀνομίας παρατηρήσῃ, Κύριε, Κύριε, τίς ὑποστήσεταί σοι; ὅτι δὲ πολλαπλασίων ἡ ἀγαθότης ἐν τῷ ποτηρίῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ παρὰ 164 τὴν δικαίαν ὀργήν, ὁ αὐτὸς πάλιν ᾐνίξατο, εἰπὼν ἐλεήμων ὁ Κύριος καὶ δίκαιος, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐλεεῖ, μέσην τάξας τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἂν ὑπὸ τοῦ παρακειμένου ἐλέου ἐκθλιβομένης καὶ μὴ συγχωρουμένης ἐνεργῆσαι τὰ ἴδια· τοῦτο δὲ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἴδιον, τὸ νεῖμαι τὰ κατ' ἀξίαν ἑκάστῳ. οἴνου δὲ ἅπαξ ἐπιμνησθεὶς καὶ οὕτω τὴν ὀργὴν καλέσας, ἐπέμεινε τῇ τροπῇ καὶ τὸ ποτήριον ὠνόμασε τὸ διδόμενον τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς ἐκ χειρὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ. ἀλλ' ἐρεῖ τις ἴσως, πῶς λέγεις πολλαπλασίονα τὸν ἔλεον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τῇ τότε κρίσει ὁπότε παρέδωκεν ἡμῖν ἡ ὀπτασία μικρὸν ὑποβᾶσα αἰωνίας εἶναι τῶν κολαζομένων τὰς τιμωρίας; τί γάρ φησι; καὶ ὁ καπνὸς τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῶν εἰς αἰῶνας αἰώνων ἀναβαίνει, καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀνάπαυσιν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός. πρὸς ὃν ἄν τις εἴποι; ἔστιν, ὦ οὗτος, αἰώνια βασανίζεσθαι καὶ οὐ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν πάσχειν. τί γάρ; εἰ ἄξιος τίς ἐστι πυρὸς καὶ σκότους, καταδεδίκασται δὲ εἰς σκότος, ὁ δὲ ἐν τούτῳ τιμωρεῖται μόνον, ἐν τῷ μὴ εἶναι ἐν μετουσίᾳ τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγαθῶν καὶ τούτῳ μόνον ὀδυνᾶται, οὐ μὴν καὶ κολάζεται αἰσθητῶς. καπνὸν δέ φησι βασανισμοῦ ἀναβαίνοντα τὸ ἆσθμα τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν, τὸ κάτωθεν ἐν ταῖς οἰμωγαῖς ἐξωχετευμένον ἐπὶ τὰ ἔξω. ὧδέ φησιν ἡ ὑπομονὴ τῶν ἁγίων ἐστίν. ἐν τούτῳ φησὶ τῷ καιρῷ τῷ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου, καὶ τούτῳ τῷ πειρασμῷ διαδείκνυται. ὅσῳ γὰρ μέγιστος ὁ κίνδυνος καὶ ἡ τότε θλίψις, τοσούτου μεγέθους ὑπομονῆς χρεία. εἶτα ὡς ἐξ ἐρωτήσεως ὁ λόγος ἐσχημάτισται. καὶ τίνες φησίν εἰσιν οὓς λέγεις ἁγίους καὶ ὑπομονητικούς; οἱ τηροῦντές φησιν τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὴν πίστιν Ἰησοῦ. οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι, καὶ πειρασμῶν παρόντων 165 καὶ θανάτου, πάντα δεύτερα θήσονται τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ. καὶ ἤκουσα φωνὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ λέγουσάν μοι γράψον· μακάριοι οἱ νεκροὶ οἱ ἐν Κυρίῳ ἀποθνήσκοντες ἀπάρτι· καὶ λέγει τὸ Πνεῦμα, ἵνα ἀναπαύσωνται ἐκ τῶν κόπων αὐτῶν, τὰ γὰρ ἔργα αὐτῶν ἀκολουθεῖ μετ' αὐτῶν. μακαρίζει τοὺς μὴ ἑλομένους