Глава 10

About the Angel clothed in a cloud and a rainbow, foretelling the death Rev.10:1. And I saw another mighty angel descending from heaven, clothed with a cloud; over his head was a rainbow, and his face was like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire, Here, of course, is the Holy Angel; this is indicated by the cloud, the rainbow and its light, similar to the sun, because they indicate the heavenly dignity of the angelic being, the variety of his virtues, his lordship and knowledge. “Pillars of fire” indicate the fear and punishment brought by the Angel on the wicked who commit robbery on land and sea. To indicate the universality of this punishment, the Angel placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth. Rev.10:2. he had an open book in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, Rev.10:3. and he cried out with a loud voice, like a lion roars; and when he cried, then the seven thunders spoke with their voices. The “book,” being small and written very finely, I think, contains the names and deeds of those very evil ones who rob or otherwise commit outrages on earth and kill at sea, for whose punishment the Angel set his feet both here and here. The Angel's voice, like the roar of a lion, indicates his terrible and unbearable punishments, as evidenced by Daniel, who could not painlessly see the Angel not only non-threatening, but meek and quiet (Dan. 10: 8–10). “Seven thunders,” we think, indicate either the seven voices of one formidable Angel, or seven other Angels foretelling the future, since these Angels are considered to be repeating the words of the first. They receive from him, according to the angelic order indicated by blessed Dionysius, not only a command, but also time for prophecy. Rev.10:4. And when the seven thunders spoke with their voices, I wanted to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me: Conceal what the seven thunders said, and do not write it. The imprinting (content in memory. - Ed.) of what the seven thunders said indicates what is now unknown, but will later be discovered experimentally by the flow of things. The divine voice taught the apostle to imprint these voices only in his mind, and attributed their final knowledge and revelation to the last times. So Daniel was once warned that similar words were sealed and hidden. Rev.10:5. And the Angel, whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth, raised his hand to heaven Rev.10:6. and he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in it, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, that time would be no more; "Angel... they swear by the Living One." God, since He cannot swear by anyone higher, swears by Himself (Heb. 6:13), but the Angels, as created ones, assure our unbelief in what they swore by the name of the Creator. The Angel swears that there will be no more time in the next century, when in fact there will be no time that is calculated by the sun, but there will be eternal life, inaccessible to temporal calculation, or this indicates that after the six voices of the Angel, not much time will pass before the fulfillment. Therefore he says further: Rev.10:7. but in those days when the seventh angel proclaims, when he blows the trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, as He preached to His servants the prophets. This, I think, means that everything predicted by the holy prophets will be fulfilled after six centuries in the seventh, signified by the seventh trumpet. The fulfillment of this is called gospel because of the rest prepared for the saints. About how the evangelist received a book from an Angel Rev.10:8. And the voice that I heard from heaven began to speak to me again and said: Go, take the open book from the hand of the Angel who stands on the sea and on the earth. Another highest Angel here commands the evangelist, under the guise of a book, to accept the understanding of what was revealed in the vision. Rev.10:9. And I went to the Angel and said to him: give me the book. He said to me: take it and eat it; she will be bitter in your belly, but in your mouth she will be sweet as honey. “Sweet” for you, says the Angel, is the knowledge of the future, but at the same time it is also bitter for the belly, that is, the heart, where verbal food is contained, because of compassion for those who must endure punishments sent down by Divine determination. This can also be understood differently: since the evangelist did not know the evil deeds of the book, which contains the deeds of the wicked, it is shown to him that sin at the beginning delights, and when completed it brings with it the bitterness of vengeance and retribution. Rev.10:10. And I took the book from the Angel’s hand and ate it; and she was as sweet as honey in my mouth; When I ate it, my stomach became bitter. “And when I was devoured, there was bitterness in my belly.” The book is sweet at the beginning because of its joyful content, but bitter in the end because of its plagues, just as sin is sweet when it is tasted, but its reward is bitter when it is committed. The saints, in their compassion, according to the word of the Apostle, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15). Rev.10:11. And he said to me: You must prophesy again about peoples and nations and languages ​​and many kings. This indicates that everything predicted will be fulfilled not immediately after the vision of Divine Revelation, but through the Gospel, and the blessed one should predict to those reading this revelation about the future until the end of the world; or it means that he will not taste death, but at his death will appear again to prevent the deception of the Antichrist. You might be interested in: