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as if it said: was filled with smoke from the wrath of God, for God himself is power and he himself is glory, and who could bear his wrath? And he says, no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed; for who will tread upon the wrath of God, or being in it, live? For if no one has stood in the council of the Lord, as it is written, how much less could one endure the wrath of God. And he says, I heard a command come forth, that they should pour out the seven bowls of the divine wrath upon the earth. And the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth; and a foul and painful sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. And the second poured out his bowl upon the sea; and it became blood like that of a 174 dead man, and every living soul died. And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: You are righteous, who is and who was and who is holy, because you have judged these things, because they shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard the altar saying: Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments. One might understand these things in two ways, either as literally coming to pass in the time of the consummation or allegorically. For since the Lord, addressing his own disciples concerning the signs of the end, then presented many of the evils that would come to pass, saying, you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. And nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in various places; but all these are the beginning of birth pangs, and a little after, for then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be, to those things the present sayings might be interpreted as having happened, as each of the seven bowls is poured out, the sore which came from the first bowl signifying the tribulations and pains, which smoulder in the souls of the men of that time because of the rumors of wars; and the blood of the rivers and the waters likely indicates the slaughters in the land battles of those encamped by the waters. 175 And he says, I heard the angel of the waters saying. God is indeed all-powerful and provides for his creatures and is sufficient for the well-being of all, so as not to need any co-worker for this; for he whose mere will is a completed work and by the impulse of whose design all things came into being, how could he need one to cooperate and assist in his good deeds? But since, being good, he wishes also the holy angels to be benefited through their assistance to those in need, for he who helps another in need does not so much benefit that one as himself, but no one among the angelic powers was needy and requiring assistance from another, God ordained that those on earth who are in need of every good thing should be cared for by the holy angels. Therefore, in what has gone before, we learned of angels presiding over the churches, and the most wise Daniel has written that Michael, the prince among the angels, provides for the race of the Jews. And now the revelation tells us of an angel set over the waters. For since the earthly creation is composed of the four elements—air, fire, earth, and water (for some have wished that the heavenly bodies were constructed of a certain fifth body which they say is ethereal and circular in motion) three of the elements, fire and earth and air, are poured out richly for the use of breathing and other common benefits. And of fire, although they say the entire element is the ether, yet it is abundant and self-sufficient on the earth, nesting in its hollows and in stones; and some even draw fire from waters contained in glass vessels, when 176 they are placed opposite the rising sun. The earth is set forth as a common mother and tomb and safe seat for all. But of water alone there is not an abundance for all of the drinkable kind that is in springs and fountains and

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ὡς ἂν εἶπεν· ἐπλήσθη καπνοῦ ἐκ τοῦ θυμοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, αὐτὸ γὰρ δύναμις καὶ αὐτὸ δόξα ὁ Θεός, καὶ τίς ἐνέγκοι τὸν θυμὸν αὐτοῦ; καὶ οὐδείς φησιν ἠδύνατο εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸν ναὸν ἄχρι πληρωθῶσιν αἱ ἑπτὰ πληγαὶ τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλων· τίς γὰρ ἐπιβήσεται τοῦ θυμοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἢ ἐν αὐτῷ γενόμενος ζήσεται; εἰ γὰρ οὐδεὶς ἔστη ἐν ὑποστήματι Κυρίου, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, σχολή γ' ἂν ὑπενέγκοι τὴν ὀργὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ. καὶ ἤκουσά φησιν πρόσταγμα ἐξελθόντος, ἵνα τὰς ἑπτὰ φιάλας τῆς θείας ὀργῆς ἐκχέωσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ἐξέχεε τὴν φιάλην αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν· καὶ ἐγένετο ἕλκος κακὸν καὶ πονηρὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς ἔχοντας τὸ χάραγμα τοῦ θηρίου καὶ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας τῇ εἰκόνι αὐτοῦ. καὶ ὁ δεύτερος ἐξέχεε τὴν φιάλην αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ ἐγένετο αἷμα ὡς 174 νεκροῦ, καὶ ἅπασα ψυχὴ ζῶσα ἀπέθανε. καὶ ὁ τρίτος ἐξέχεε τὴν φιάλην αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς ποταμοὺς καὶ τὰς πηγὰς τῶν ὑδάτων· καὶ ἐγένοντο αἷμα. καὶ ἤκουσα τοῦ ἀγγέλου τῶν ὑδάτων λέγοντος· δίκαιος εἶ, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ὅσιος, ὅτι ταῦτα ἔκρινας, ὅτι αἷμα ἁγίων καὶ προφητῶν ἐξέχεον, καὶ αἷμα αὐτοῖς ἔδωκας πιεῖν· ἄξιοι γάρ εἰσι. καὶ ἤκουσα τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου λέγοντος· ναὶ, Κύριε, ὁ Θεὸς, ὁ παντοκρά τωρ, ἀληθιναὶ καὶ δίκαιαι αἱ κρίσεις σου. ταῦτα δισσῶς ἄν τις νοήσειεν, ἢ αἰσθητῶς συμβησόμενα ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς συντελείας ἢ ἀλληγορικῶς. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὰ σημεῖα τοῦ τέλους ὁ Κύριος προσαγορεύων τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς πολλὰ τὸ τηνικάδε παρέστησε τὰ συμβησόμενα κακά, λέγων μελλήσετε ἀκούειν πολέμους καὶ ἀκοὰς πολέμων. καὶ ἐγερθήσεται ἔθνος ἐπὶ ἔθνος καὶ βασιλεία ἐπὶ βασιλείαν, καὶ ἔσονται λιμοὶ καὶ λοιμοὶ καὶ σεισμοὶ κατὰ τόπους· ταῦτα δὲ πάντα ἀρχὴ ὠδίνων, καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα, ἔσται γὰρ τότε θλίψις μεγάλῃ οἷα οὐ γέγονεν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς κόσμου ἕως τοῦ νῦν οὐδ' οὐ μὴ γένηται, εἰς ἐκεῖνα ἂν ἑρμηνευθείη τὰ νῦν λεγόμενα συμβεβηκέναι, ἑκάστης τῶν ἑπτὰ φιαλῶν ἐκχεομένης, τοῦ μὲν ἕλκους τοῦ γενομένου ἐκ τῆς πρώτης φιάλης τὰς θλίψεις καὶ τὰς ἀλγηδόνας αἰνιττομένου, αἳ ὑποσμύχουσι τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν τότε ἀνθρώπων διὰ τὰς τῶν πολέμων ἀκοάς· τὸ δὲ αἷμα τὸ τῶν ποταμῶν καὶ τῶν ὑδάτων τοὺς ἐν ταῖς πεζομαχίαις φόνους τῶν παρὰ τὰ ὕδατα στρατοπεδευομένων 175 ὡς εἰκὸς παραδηλοῦσι. καὶ ἤκουσά φησι τοῦ ἀγγέλου τῶν ὑδάτων λέγοντος. παντοδύναμος μὲν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ προνοῶν τῶν αὐτοῦ κτισμάτων καὶ ἐξαρκῶν πρὸς τὴν ἁπάντων εὐεργεσίαν, ὡς μὴ δεῖσθαι πρὸς τοῦτο τοῦ συνεργοῦντός τινος· οὗ γὰρ τὸ θελῆσαι μόνον ἔργον ἐστὶ συντετελεσμένον καὶ οὗ τῇ ὁρμῇ τοῦ βουλήματος οὐσιώθη τὰ πάντα, πῶς ἂν δεηθείη τοῦ συμπράττοντος καὶ πρὸς τὰς εὐεργεσίας συλληψομένου; ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἀγαθὸς ὢν βούλεται καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους ἀγγέλους εὐεργετεῖσθαι διὰ τῆς πρὸς τοὺς δεομένους ἐπικουρίας, ὁ γὰρ ἑτέρῳ χρήζοντι βοηθῶν οὐ τοσοῦτον ἐκεῖνον ὅσον ἑαυτὸν ὠφελεῖ, οὐδεὶς δὲ ἦν ἐν ταῖς ἀγγελικαῖς δυνάμεσιν ἐνδεὴς καὶ χρήζων ἐπικουρίας τῆς ἐξ ἑτέρου τινός, ἔταξεν ὁ Θεὸς τοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς τοῦ παντὸς ἐνδεεῖς ἀγαθοῦ ὑπὸ τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων προνοεῖσθαι. τοιγαροῦν ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἔγνωμεν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν προστατοῦντας ἀγγέλους, καὶ ὁ σοφώτατος δὲ γέγραφε ∆ανιὴλ τὸν ἐν ἀγγέλοις ἄρχοντα Μιχαὴλ τοῦ Ἰουδαίων προνοεῖν φύλου. καὶ νῦν ἡ ἀποκάλυψις ἄγγελον ἡμῖν διηγεῖται ἐπὶ τῶν ὑδάτων τεταγμένον. τῆς γὰρ ἐπιγείου κτίσεως ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων συμπεπηγμένης ἀέρος, πυρός, γῆς τε καὶ ὕδατοςτὰ γὰρ οὐράνια τινὲς ἐβουλήθησαν πέμπτῳ τινὶ σώματι κατασκευάσθαι ὅπερ αἰθέριόν τε εἶναί φασι καὶ κυκλοφορικόν τὰ μὲν τρία τῶν στοιχείων, πῦρ καὶ γῆ καὶ ἀήρ, κέχυται πλουσίως πρὸς χρῆσιν ἀναπνοῆς καὶ ἑτέρων κοινωφελῶν. τοῦ δέ γε πυρὸς εἰ καὶ τὸ στοιχεῖον ἅπαν τὸν αἰθέρα φασί, πλὴν δαψιλές ἐστι καὶ αὔταρκες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἐν ταῖς λαγόσιν αὐτῆς καὶ λίθοις ἐμφωλεῦον· ἤδη δέ τινες καὶ ἐξ ὑδάτων ἐν σκεύεσιν ὑάλου στεγομένων ἕλκουσι πῦρ, ὅταν 176 πρὸς ἥλιον ἀνίσχοντα ἀντιπρόσωποι γέγωνται. ἡ δὲ γῆ κοινὴ πᾶσιν μητὴρ καὶ τάφος καὶ ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς πρόκειται. μόνου δὲ τοῦ ὕδατος οὐ πᾶσιν ἀφθονία πάρεστι τοῦ ποτίμου τοῦ τε ἐν πηγαῖς καὶ κρήναις καὶ