1, 2. “And when the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, I saw, and heard one of the four living creatures saying, Come and see. And, lo, a white horse, and He who sat upon him had a bow.” ] The first seal being opened, he says that he saw a white horse, and a crowned horseman having a bow. For this was at first done by Himself. For after the Lord ascended into heaven and opened all things, He sent the Holy Spirit, whose words the preachers sent forth as arrows reaching to the human heart, that they might overcome unbelief. And the crown on the head is promised to the preachers by the Holy Spirit. The other three horses very plainly signify the wars, famines, and pestilences announced by our Lord in the Gospel. And thus he says that one of the four living creatures said (because all four are one), “Come and see.” “Come” is said to him that is invited to faith; “see” is said to him who saw not. Therefore the white horse is the word of preaching with the Holy Spirit sent into the world. For the Lord says, “This Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world for a testimony to all nations, and then shall come the end.”
3, 4. “And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red, and to him that sat upon him was given a great sword.”] The red horse, and he that sat upon him, having a sword, signify the coming wars, as we read in the Gospel: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be great earthquakes in divers places.” This is the ruddy horse.
5. “And when He had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come and see. And, lo, a black horse; and he who sat upon it had a balance in his hand.”] The black horse signifies famine, for the Lord says, “There shall be famines in divers places;” but the word is specially extended to the times of Antichrist, when there shall be a great famine, and when all shall be injured. Moreover, the balance in the hand is the examining scales, wherein He might show forth the merits of every individual. He then says:—
6. “Hurt not the wine and the oil.”] That is, strike not the spiritual man with thy inflictions. This is the black horse.
7, 8. “And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, Come and see. And, lo, a pale horse; and he who sat upon him was named Death.”] For the pale horse and he who sat upon him bore the name of Death. These same things also the Lord had promised among the rest of the coming destructions—great pestilences and deaths; since, moreover, he says:—
“And hell followed him.”] That is, it was waiting for the devouring of many unrighteous souls. This is the pale horse.
9. “And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain.”] He relates that he saw under the altar of God, that is, under the earth, the souls of them that were slain. For both heaven and earth are called God’s altar, as saith the law, commanding in the symbolical form of the truth two altars to be made,—a golden one within, and a brazen one without. But we perceive that the golden altar is thus called heaven, by the testimony that our Lord bears to it; for He says, “When thou bringest thy gift to the altar” (assuredly our gifts are the prayers which we offer), “and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar.” Assuredly prayers ascend to heaven. Therefore heaven is understood to be the golden altar which was within; for the priests also were accustomed to enter once in the year—as they who had the anointing—to the golden altar, the Holy Spirit signifying that Christ should do this once for all. As the golden altar is acknowledged to be heaven, so also by the brazen altar is understood the earth, under which is the Hades,—a region withdrawn from punishments and fires, and a place of repose for the saints, wherein indeed the righteous are seen and heard by the wicked, but they cannot be carried across to them. He who sees all things would have us to know that these saints, therefore—that is, the souls of the slain—are asking for vengeance for their blood, that is, of their body, from those that dwell upon the earth; but because in the last time, moreover, the reward of the saints will be perpetual, and the condemnation of the wicked shall come, it was told them to wait. And for a solace to their body, there were given unto each of them white robes. They received, says he, white robes, that is, the gift of the Holy Spirit.
12. “And I saw, when he had opened the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake.”] In the sixth seal, then, was a great earthquake: this is that very last persecution.
“And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair.”] The sun becomes as sackcloth; that is, the brightness of doctrine will be obscured by unbelievers.
“And the entire moon became as blood.”] By the moon of blood is set forth the Church of the saints as pouring out her blood for Christ.
13. “And the stars fell to the earth.”] The falling of the stars are the faithful who are troubled for Christ’s sake.
“Even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs.”] The fig-tree, when shaken, loses its untimely figs—when men are separated from the Church by persecution.
14. “And the heaven withdrew as a scroll that is rolled up.”] For the heaven to be rolled away, that is, that the Church shall be taken away.
“And every mountain and the islands were moved from their places.”] Mountains and islands removed from their places intimate that in the last persecution all men departed from their places; that is, that the good will be removed, seeking to avoid the persecution.
From the seventh chapter
2. “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God.”] He speaks of Elias the prophet, who is the precursor of the times of Antichrist, for the restoration and establishment of the churches from the great and intolerable persecution. We read that these things are predicted in the opening of the Old and New Testament; for He says by Malachi: “Lo, I will send to you Elias the Tishbite, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, according to the time of calling, to recall the Jews to the faith of the people that succeed them.” And to that end He shows, as we have said, that the number of those that shall believe, of the Jews and of the nations, is a great multitude which no man was able to number. Moreover, we read in the Gospel that the prayers of the Church are sent from heaven by an angel, and that they are received against wrath, and that the kingdom of Antichrist is cast out and extinguished by holy angels; for He says: “Pray that ye enter not into temptation: for there shall be a great affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the world; and except the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved.” Therefore He shall send these seven great archangels to smite the kingdom of Antichrist; for He Himself also thus said: “Then the Son of man shall send His messengers; and they shall gather together His elect from the four corners of the wind, from the one end of heaven even to the other end thereof.” For, moreover, He previously says by the prophet: “Then shall there be peace for our land, when there shall arise in it seven shepherds and eight attacks of men; and they shall encircle Assur,” that is, Antichrist, “in the trench of Nimrod,” that is, in the nation of the devil, by the spirit of the Church. Similarly when the keepers of the house shall be moved. Moreover, the Lord Himself, in the parable to the apostles, when the labourers had come to Him and said, “Lord, did not we sow good seed in Thy field? whence, then, hath it tares? answered them, An enemy hath done this. And they said to Him, Lord, wilt Thou, then, that we go and root them up? And He said, Nay, but let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, that they gather the tares and make bundles of them, and burn them with fire everlasting, but that they gather the wheat into my barns.” The Apocalypse here shows, therefore, that these reapers, and shepherds, and labourers, are the angels. And the trumpet is the word of power. And although the same thing recurs in the phials, still it is not said as if it occurred twice, but because what is decreed by the Lord to happen shall be once for all; for this cause it is said twice. What, therefore, He said too little in the trumpets, is here found in the phials. We must not regard the order of what is said, because frequently the Holy Spirit, when He has traversed even to the end of the last times, returns again to the same times, and fills up what He had before failed to say. Nor must we look for order in the Apocalypse; but we must follow the meaning of those things which are prophesied. Therefore in the trumpets and phials is signified either the desolation of the plagues that are sent upon the earth, or the madness of Antichrist himself, or the cutting off of the peoples, or the diversity of the plagues, or the hope in the kingdom of the saints, or the ruin of states, or the great overthrow of Babylon, that is, the Roman state.
9. “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man was able to number, of every nation, tribe, and people, and tongue, clothed with white robes.”] What the great multitude out of every tribe implies, is to show the number of the elect out of all believers, who, being cleansed by baptism in the blood of the Lamb, have made their robes white, keeping the grace which they have received.
From the eighth chapter
1. “And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”] Whereby is signified the beginning of everlasting rest; but it is described as partial, because the silence being interrupted, he repeats it in order. For if the silence had continued, here would be an end of his narrative.
13. “And I saw an angel flying through the midst of heaven.”] By the angel flying through the midst of heaven is signified the Holy Spirit bearing witness in two of the prophets that a great wrath of plagues was imminent. If by any means, even in the last times, any one should be willing to be converted, any one might even still be saved.
From the ninth chapter
13, 14. “And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is in the presence of God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels.”] That is, the four corners of the earth which hold the four winds.
“Which are bound in the great river Euphrates.”] By the corners of the earth, or the four winds across the river Euphrates, are meant four nations, because to every nation is sent an angel; as said the law, “He determined them by the number of the angels of God,” until the number of the saints should be filled up. They do not overpass their bounds, because at the last they shall come with Antichrist.