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and he became my protector for salvation. And the ode is a victory song over the punishment of the impious and over the victory against the Devil and the son of lawlessness, the antichrist. And he says "the song of the Lamb," that is, the one fitting for the Lord and for his righteous judgment against the impious; therefore they marvel at the Lord's truth and righteousness. He says "the king of the nations." Christ is indeed king of all, but since it is said in Isaiah: "and there shall be the root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to rule over the nations, in him shall the nations hope," 171 for this reason the oracle also says he is king of the nations and that all the nations will come and worship him, elegantly proclaiming beforehand the calling of the nations and their faith in the Lord. And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony was opened in heaven, and seven angels having seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in pure, bright stone, and girded about the breasts with golden sashes. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one was able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels: Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God upon the earth. "The tabernacle of testimony": it is the custom in the divine scripture to call the tabernacle constructed in the desert by Bezalel, the architect of the works made at that time, by this name, because it was the tabernacle of the testimonies and commandments of God. For there was the ark of the covenant, the mercy seat, the table, the altars for both incense and burnt offerings, the lampstand, and all that God commanded the divine Moses to construct, saying "and you shall make for me according to all that I show you on the mountain," therefore, by a metaphor from the ancient tabernacle, he has called the super-celestial temple, whatever it may be, the "tabernacle of testimony." 172 From there, he says, the seven angels came out. For from where ought the heavenly ministers of God to be seen coming out, if not from the heavenly temple? And they had, he says, in their hands seven plagues which they will release upon the earth. For many signs will occur on the earth at the time of the consummation, which Christ also mentioned in the Gospels, when teaching about the end. The angels' being clothed in pure, bright stone is a sign of their honorable, pure, and luminous nature, which is firmly fixed in goodness, if indeed they have put on Christ. For the Lord is called a stone by the divine scripture, as in Isaiah: "Behold, I lay in the foundations of Zion a precious, elect stone;" and in the prophet: "the stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner." The most wise Paul also exhorts us to be clothed with this stone: "put on our stone Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its desires;" for he who has put on this is beyond all soul-harming desire. And the sashes signify their active and well-ordered nature; for it is said of them, "mighty in strength, who do his word." These seven angels, then, have received from one of the four living creatures, of whom much was said before, the wrath of God in seven golden bowls. Rightly golden; for the wrath of God is also precious, bringing in itself what is good and profitable rather than what is merely just, even if those who are punished are distressed. And the temple, he says, was filled 173 with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. The smoke is a sign of the divine wrath. For it is written, "smoke went up in his wrath." And smoke is indicative of fire, but also the smoke which the divine Isaiah saw where he says: "and the lintel was lifted up at the voice with which the holy Seraphim cried out, and the house was filled with smoke." It signified the wrath of God against that of Jerusalem. But for the smoke to come from the glory of God and from his power has a certain periphrasis,

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καὶ σκεπαστὴς ἐγένετό μοι εἰς σωτηρίαν. ἐπινίκιος δὲ ἡ ὠδὴ ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν ἀσεβῶν κολάσει καὶ τῇ κατὰ τοῦ ∆ιαβόλου νίκῃ καὶ τοῦ τῆς ἀνομίας υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου. καὶ τὴν ὠδήν φησι τοῦ ἀρνίου, τὴν ἁρμοδίαν τουτέστιν εἰς τὸν Κύριον καὶ εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν δικαιοκρισίαν· τοιγαροῦν θαυμάζουσι τοῦ Κυρίου τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην. ὁ βασιλεύς φησι τῶν ἐθνῶν πάντων μὲν βασιλεὺς ὁ Χριστός, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ εἴρηται τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ· καὶ ἔσται ἡ ῥίζα τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ καὶ ὁ ἀνιστάμενος ἄρχειν ἐθνῶν, ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἔθνη ἐλπι 171 οῦσι, τούτου χάριν καὶ ὁ χρηματισμὸς βασιλέα τε αὐτόν φησι τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἥξειν καὶ προσκυνήσειν αὐτῷ, προαναφωνῶν ἀστείως τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν κλῆσιν καὶ τὴν εἰς τὸν Κύριον αὐτῶν πίστιν. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἶδον, καὶ ἠνοίγει ὁ ναὸς τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρ τυρίου ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἐξῆλθον ἑπτὰ ἄγγελοι ἔχοντες ἑπτὰ πληγὰς ἐκ τοῦ ναοῦ, ἐνδεδυμένοι λίθον καθαρὸν λαμ πρόν, καὶ περιεζωσμένοι περὶ τὰ στήθη ζώνας χρυσᾶς. καὶ ἓν ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων ζώων ἔδωκε τοῖς ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλοις ἑπτὰ φιά λας χρυσὰς γεμούσας τοῦ θυμοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. καὶ ἐγεμίσθη ὁ ναὸς καπνοῦ ἐκ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἠδύνατο εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸν ναὸν ἄχρι τελεσθῶσιν αἱ ἑπτὰ πληγαὶ τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλων. καὶ ἤκουσα φωνῆς μεγάλης ἐκ τοῦ ναοῦ λεγούσης τοῖς ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλοις· ὑπάγετε καὶ ἐκχέετε τὰς ἑπτὰ φιάλας τοῦ θυμοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς τὴν γῆν. σκηνὴν μαρτυρίου τὴν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ συμπηχθεῖσαν σκηνὴν ὑπὸ Βεσεὴλ τοῦ ἀρχιτέκτονος τῶν τότε γεγενημένων ἔργων ἔθος καλεῖν τῇ θείᾳ γραφῇ διὰ τὸ τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ μαρτυρίων καὶ προσταγμάτων εἶναι σκηνήν. ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἦν ἡ κιβωτὸς τῆς διαθήκης. τὸ ἱλαστήριον, ἡ τράπεζα, τὰ θυσιαστήρια τῶν τε θυμιαμάτων καὶ τῶν καρπωμάτων, ἡ λυχνία, καὶ ὅσα ὁ Θεὸς προστέταχε τῷ θεσπεσίῳ Μωϋσῇ κατασκευάσαι, εἰπὼν καὶ ποιήσεις μοι κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ἐγὼ δεικνύω σοι ἐν τῷ ὄρει, ἐκ μεταφορᾶς οὖν τῆς πάλαι σκηνῆς καὶ τὸν ὑπερουράνιον ναὸν ὅς τίς ποτέ ἐστι, σκηνὴν μαρτυρίου κέκλη 172 κεν. ἐκεῖθεν ἐξῆλθόν φησιν οἱ ἑπτὰ ἄγγελοι. πόθεν γὰρ ἔδει τοὺς οὐρανίους τοῦ Θεοῦ λειτουργοὺς ὀφθῆναι ἐξιόντας ἢ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανίου ναοῦ; εἶχον δέ φησιν ἐν χερσὶν ἑπτὰ πληγὰς ἃς ἀφήσουσι κατὰ τῆς γῆς. πολλὰ γὰρ ἐν τῷ τῆς συντελείας καιρῷ γενήσεται δείγματα ἐν τῇ γῇ· ὧν καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις ἐμνημόνευσε, τὰ περὶ τοῦ τέλους διδάσκων. τὸ δὲ ἐνδεδύσθαι τοὺς ἀγγέλους λίθον καθαρὸν λαμπρὸν δεῖγμα τυγχάνει τῆς τιμίας αὐτῶν καὶ καθαρᾶς καὶ φωτεινῆς καὶ εἰς τὸ καλὸν παγίως ἐχούσης φύσεως, εἰ ἄρα τὸν Χριστὸν ἐνεδέδυντο. λίθος γὰρ ὁ Κύριος παρὰ τῆς θείας ὠνόμασται γραφῆς, ὡς παρὰ Ἡσαΐᾳ· ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐμβάλλω εἰς τὰ θεμέλια Σιὼν λίθον πολυτελῆ ἐκλεκτόν· καὶ παρὰ τῷ προφήτῃ· λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας. τοῦτον ἐνδεδύσθαι τὸν λίθον καὶ ἡμῖν ὁ σοφώτατος Παῦλος παραινεῖ· ἐνδύσασθαι τὸν λίθον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν καὶ τῆς σαρκὸς πρόνοιαν μὴ ποιεῖσθε εἰς ἐπιθυμίας· ἔξω γὰρ πάσης ἐπιθυμίας ψυχοβλαβοῦς ὁ τοῦτον ἐνδεδυμένος. αἱ δέ γε ζῶναι τὸ πρακτικὸν αὐτῶν καὶ εὐσταλὲς αἰνίττονται· εἴρηται γὰρ περὶ αὐτῶν δυνατοὶ ἰσχύι ποιοῦντες τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ. οὗτοι δὴ οἱ ἑπτὰ ἄγγελοι εἰλήφασιν ἐξ ἑνὸς τῶν τεσσάρων ζώων, ὧν ἔμπροσθεν πολὺς ὁ λόγος, τὸν θυμὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν ἑπτὰ φιάλαις χρυσαῖς. καλῶς χρυσαῖς· τιμία γὰρ καὶ ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ συμφέρον ἐν ἑαυτῇ φέρουσα μᾶλλον ἢ τὸ δίκαιον κἂν ἀνιῶνται οἱ κολαζόμενοι. καὶ ἐγεμίσθη φησὶν ὁ ναὸς 173 καπνοῦ ἐκ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ. ὁ καπνὸς τῆς θείας ὀργῆς δεῖγμα τυγχάνει. γέγραπται γὰρ ἀνέβη καπνὸς ἐν ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ καπνὸς πυρός ἐστι σημαντικός, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ καπνὸς ὃν Ἡσαΐας ὁ θεσπέσιος εἶδεν ἔνθα φησίν· καὶ ἐπήρθη τὸ ὑπέρθυρον ἀπὸ τῆς φωνῆς ἧς ἐκέκραγον τὰ ἅγια Σεραφὶμ καὶ ὁ οἶκος ἐπλήσθη καπνοῦ. τὸν θυμὸν ἐδήλου τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν κατὰ τὸν τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ. τὸ δὲ ἐκ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι τὸν καπνὸν περίφρασιν ἔχει τινά,