Слово 4

Chapter 10. About the door seen in heaven and about the 24 elders and other things Rev.4:1. “After this I saw, and behold, the doors of heaven were opened, and the first voice I heard sounded like a trumpet speaking to me, saying; bring this up, and I will show you how it ought to be.” The opening of the door means the discovery of the hidden secrets of the Spirit, and the trumpet is the great voice of the opener. And the words: go up this mean that the thought of the listener will completely renounce the earthly and rush to the heavenly. Rev.4:2–3. “And he was in Dus, and behold a throne stood in heaven, and he sat on a throne 3. And the gray-haired man was like the vision of a jasper and sardine stone, and the arc around the throne was like a vision of emerald.” And Abiye would be in the mood. Hearing, he says, the voice and being overcome by a sovereign spirit, I saw the throne, through which it is signified who God is in the saints, for He sits on them, as on a throne. since he represents the Father in this vision, he does not attach any bodily sign to Him, as in the previous vision of the Son, but likens Him to precious stones. Jasper, since it turns green, means that the Divine Being is ever-blooming, life-giving and a dispenser of food, and from Him every seed grows green grass, and therefore He is terribly disgusting. For he says that jasper is terrible for wild animals and ghosts, and benefits those who need spiritual healing, for the great Epiphanius says that this stone heals ulcers and wounds received from the sword. An arc similar to the vision of emerald denotes the difference in the virtues of the angelic ranks. Rev.4:4. “And around the throne there were twenty and four thrones: and on the thrones I saw twenty and four elders sitting, clothed in white robes, and I named them with golden crowns on their heads.” By the name of 24 elders, one of those who came before us meant Abel and the other twenty saints of the Old Testament and three of the New. Is this so, or is it better to mean by the signified 24 letters those adorned in deed and word? Let the reader think about this. It seems to us more appropriate to understand by the 12 elders those who shone in the Old Testament, and by the other 12 - those who pleased in the New, 12 of those are Patriarchs, and the twelve New Testament ones are the Apostles, to whom the Lord promised to sit on twelve thrones. White clothes are a sign of a bright life and unceasing joy and fun; crowns are a sign of the victory that those who labored received over evil demons. Rev.4:5. “And from the throne proceeded lightning and thunder and voices.” This shows how terrible and terrible God is in relation to those who are unworthy of His long-suffering. For those who are worthy of salvation, each of these provides enlightenment, one entering into the eyes of the mind, the other into spiritual hearing. Rev.4:5–6. “And the seven candles of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne the sea was glass, like crystal.” By the seven spirits of God we must understand, or, as Irenaeus says, the seven Angels, superior to the others, or the actions of the Life-giving Spirit, as Isaiah mentioned. I think that both are not without reason. The glass sea means many holy powers, purity and equanimity of the future life; Perhaps this designates the heavens of heavens, covered, according to the Psalmist, with species incomprehensible to us. If it seems to someone that the nature of the sky is called crystalline, then one needs to look to see if the very essence of the God-moved space, which has at the same time brilliance and strength, is not meant. But the test of what is beyond the concept is worthy of ridicule. Rev.4:6. “And in the middle of the throne and around the throne were four animals full of feathers in front and behind.” This means that the throne means the kingdom of God and peace, for in it and around it he saw the seraphim, with many eyes indicating that they are capable of contemplating the Divine light. In front and behind - because they are enlightened by the knowledge of what happened before and what will happen after. Rev.4:7. “And the first living creature is like a lion, and the second living creature is like a calf, and the third living creature has the face of a man, and the fourth living creature is like a flying eagle.” We know that Isaiah also saw these four animals, denoting four faces or God’s management and preservation of the four elements, as it seemed to some, or God’s dominion over the heavenly, earthly, sea and underworld. Or four virtues, or four Gospels, as some thought well. Leo signifies courage and the Gospel, from John, as Irenaeus says, signifying His eternal kingdom, for he declared that in the beginning was the Word. Taurus - because it is content with its own labors - signifies truth and the Gospel of Luke, as representing the legal and priestly genealogy of Christ. The eagle is moderation (for they testify that this animal loves him) and the Gospel of Mark, as abbreviated and begun by the prophetic spirit, Man is wisdom and the Gospel of Matthew, since by nature, and not by law, announcing the birth of Christ. It is likely that this also signifies the economy of Christ - a lion as a king; a calf, as a priest or a sacred victim; a man, as one made man for us; an eagle, as the giver of the Life-giving Spirit, lifting us up to grief. Rev.4:8. “And there were four animals, each of them having six wings all around, and the inside was full of hair.” They, as the great Dionysius says, cover their faces with two wings and their legs with two, and fly with the middle ones, so that their sublime and deep respect for the revelation given to them is evident, with which they, possessing Divine enlightenment, descend to the middle Divine ranks. Rev.4:8. “And they have no rest day and night, saying: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who is and is and who is to come.” Rest for the Divine powers is not to get tired, not to stop the Divine psalmody and to offer the Trisagion to the Trinitarian Deity. The words who are, who are and who are to come (Almighty) mean the Holy Trinity. Rev. 4:9–10. “And when the living things had given glory and honor and thanksgiving to him who sat on the throne, who lived forever and ever, the twenty and four elders fell down before him who sat on the throne and bowed down to him who lived forever and ever.” From this it is clear that the elders known to us are participants in the chants of the heavenly powers and confess that victory over mental enemies is granted by God. Chapter 11. About the book sealed with seven seals, which no created being could open Rev. 5:1. “And I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written on the inside and on the outside sealed with the seventh seal.” By book we mean the all-wise memory of God, in which everything is written according to the Divine David, as well as the depth of Divine judgments. Because of the spirit, its interior is difficult to comprehend; and the external, due to the letter, is more understandable. The seven seals, I think, mean either the perfect safety of the book and its unknownness to everyone, or the dispensation of the Divine Spirit testing the depths, which no created nature can resolve. Of course, under the book there is also a prophecy, about which Christ himself said that it was fulfilled in the Gospel, and what more than this will be fulfilled in the last days. Rev.5:2–3. “And I saw a mighty angel preaching with a great voice: Who is worthy to open the book and loose its seals; and no one else is able, neither in heaven nor on earth, nor below the earth, to open the book, nor to see it.” With the words of no one who can open the book, it is shown that neither the Angels, nor those in the flesh, nor the saints who departed from the flesh, received full knowledge of Divine destinies, except the Lamb of God, Who by His coming completely resolved the prediction of those who prophesied about Him from ancient times. Rev.5:4. “And I wept a lot, because not a single one was found worthy of unraveling and reading the book, lower than to see.” And I cried, he says, perhaps that the purest nature of Angelic beings has not fallen into ignorance. Rev.5:5. “And one of the elders said to me: Do not weep: behold, the lion who is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome, to open the book and loose its seven seals.” Do not cry, for although it is said that the book is inaccessible even to angels, it is not for God, for the sake of people who became man, who is the root of David, as from his root according to humanity. Chapter 12. About the vision of what was in the middle of the throne and four living creatures Rev.5:6. “And I saw, and behold, in the midst of a throne and four living creatures, and in the midst was an old man, a lamb standing like one that had been slain, having seven horns and seven feathers, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” The seven horns and seven eyes of the Lamb show the seven spirits of Christ mentioned by Isaiah and Zechariah. The words “as if he were slain” show His life after the slaughter, in which He, after the resurrection from the dead, showed signs of His suffering, as if He were truly slain. Rev. 5:7–8. “And he came and received the book from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when the book was received, the four living creatures and the twenty and the four elders fell before the Lamb, each having harps, and golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Gusli means the consonant and euphonious word of the Divine. And incense is the fragrant sacrifice of the faithful, offered by them through a pure life (as the Apostle says: Christ’s fragrance is). Vials signify thoughts, from which comes the fragrance of good deeds and pure prayer. Rev.5:9–10. “And they sing a new song, saying: Thou art worthy to receive the book, and to open its seal: for thou wast slain, and thou hast redeemed us unto God with thy blood from every tribe and tongue, and people, and nations. And thou hast made us kings and priests unto our God: and we will reign upon the earth.” The elders are those who in the Old and New Testaments pleased God and did what was pleasing to the Lamb of the Gods, who was slain for the whole world and redeemed us. The new song, which the letters freed from decay and sanctified from every tribe and tongue were taught to sing; He says that they will reign on the new earth, which God promised to the meek. Rev. 5:11–13. “And I saw and heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elder: and the number of them was thousands upon thousands, saying with a great voice: The Lamb who was slain is worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And all the reward that is in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, which they are and are in them, I heard them all say: To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” And I heard the voice of many angels, both animals and the elder, for from everything - both rational and sensory, living and simply existing by natural forces - God is glorified, as the beginning of the existence of all, as the one who gave renewal to man, and through him future restoration, although it is written that He, as a man, received power over the heavenly and earthly. Rev.5:14. “And the four living creatures said: Amen, and the twenty and four elders fell and worshiped him who lives forever and ever.” The four animals and elders show that from angels and men one flock and one church were made through Christ God, who gathered and destroyed the mediastinum of the fence: for behold, as we have heard, together with the four animals, who are superior to the other ranks of the Angels, the elders, who signify the fullness of the people being saved, are found worthy to offer psalmody and worship to God, which may we also be worthy in Himself Christ, Giver of Peace and our God; with Him to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power and authority, now and ever and to endless ages. Amen. Word: sitting too much. Smaragdov.