The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

Book Six: On Chapters Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen

Of Certain Special and Particular Revelations Made to Saint John Concerning the Reigns of Muhammad and Antichrist, the Last Plagues, and the Final Triumph of the Church; and Also Concerning Other Particular Matters Relating to Her.

Preliminary Observation

After Saint John had received the general revelation of the principal events of the whole course of the Church until the consummation of the ages, God made known to him in particular certain special, secret, hidden mysteries — as terrible as they are astonishing — which He would permit to be fulfilled in the various ages of the Church militant. These mysteries especially concern the reigns of Muhammad and Antichrist, and many other things which are contained in the following chapters under various figures and enigmas.

Section I: On Chapters Twelve and Thirteen — Of the War Which the Demon Has Made and Will Still Make Against the Church Through Chosroes, Muhammad, and Antichrist

The war described in the following chapters is the cruellest, the most violent, the most obstinate, and the longest that Lucifer, the prince of darkness, has ever undertaken in order to destroy the Church of God, if that were possible. But the gates of hell shall not prevail against her.

This furious struggle began through the horrible tyrant Chosroes, who, after being conquered by Heraclius, stirred up in his place an even more horrible monster in the person of Muhammad, who seized the throne of the Persians and considerably extended his empire.

The reign of this hereditary and implacable enemy, who caused floods of Christian blood to be shed, continues to last; and although it must be considerably weakened in the age of the Church's consolation by the arm of the expected Monarch, nevertheless a portion of it will remain, restricted within narrow limits, until the son of perdition comes.

The latter, by obscure plots, will reach the throne of this empire, which he will revive and restore to such a point that he will subject almost everything to his power. Then Lucifer will use this last and most powerful sovereign of that reign to bring his fury against the Church of God to its height.

§ 1. On the War Which the Demon Raised Up Through Chosroes Against the Church. Chapter 12, Verses 1–18

I. VERSE 1. And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. VERSE 2. And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. Under the figure of the woman described here, one must understand the militant Church of Christ upon earth. The prophet rightly represents her under the figure of a woman, since she is the spouse of Jesus Christ, and our mother, in that she makes us children of God by Baptism.

And a great sign appeared — that is, the Church, which is indeed a great visible sign in all times and throughout the whole earth. It is especially against this sign that the son of perdition will rise up, because of the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will blaspheme, and which few men will dare to confess under his reign of horrible tyranny.

It is said that this great sign appeared in heaven because the Church receives her light from heaven, a light which makes her visible throughout the whole world. And although she is upon the earth, exposed to the fury of persecutions, and continually agitated and beaten by the waves of the storm which this world raises against her, nevertheless she continues to remain under the protection of the God of heaven, who communicates to her the rays of His sun, and who will never permit any evils against her except those which His holy will, and that of His Christ, shall judge useful or necessary. For God is never nearer to His own whom He protects than when they are in the midst of the greatest dangers and the greatest evils.

This Church is compared to a woman clothed with the sun because Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Sun of justice, continually enlightens her, sustains her, and strengthens her by His divine assistance. He glorifies her and surrounds her with His all-powerful protection. Saint John announces her under the figure of a woman clothed with the sun because, at the end of times, in the days of her greatest tribulations, the Church will be more especially assisted by Jesus Christ, who will inspire and strengthen His elect — few in number, it is true — so that they may not succumb.

Having the moon under her feet. That is, the terrestrial globe, which increases and decreases like the moon, according as the Christians who form part of it diminish or multiply in the course of the ages. The Church is represented as having the moon under her feet because of the power which Jesus Christ has given her over the whole world, although, according to the will of God, and according as He communicates His light to the earth, the number of those who obey her increases or decreases according to the circumstances of the times.

It is specially remarked that this moon is under the feet of the Church. Now, in the last days, her feet will scarcely touch the earth, and Jesus Christ, the Sun of justice, and His Church, which reflects His light, will be eclipsed by the inhabitants of the terrestrial globe. For then there will be few men who confess His holy Name. The princes of the earth, and almost all the peoples who will oppose the light of this sun, will cover the surface of the globe like so many locusts, like the sand of the sea, or like the leaves of trees; and they will be cast into hell by the wrath of the Lamb.

And on her head a crown of twelve stars. These twelve stars signify all the saints who will rise up against the torrent of the impious, and who will fight for the Church and for her Christ, as the Apostles and the other saints did during the first centuries of the great persecutions. It is of all these saints that Daniel 12:3 says: "They that are learned shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that instruct many unto justice, as stars for all eternity." Thus these saints who will fight for the Church at the end of times will be her crown and ornament upon earth, as the stars are the ornament of heaven.

And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. These words designate the terrible anguish, the deep sorrow, and the great dangers in which the Church militant and the Roman Empire — which is also represented here, in another literal sense, by the woman — were plunged, and will continue to be plunged, in the face of the dragon, the beast, and the false messiah. For the emperor Phocas, one of the most impious, most criminal, and most effeminate princes in the world, flooded the empire with his crimes.

Then Chosroes, king of the Persians, a very cruel tyrant, and the barbarians on their side, together caused such ravages that they left the Church and the Roman Empire scarcely able to subsist. Egypt, Palestine, Libya, and Jerusalem were invaded, and ninety thousand Christians were massacred in those horrible circumstances, which lasted until the accession of Heraclius. When this prince ascended the throne of the empire, he seized Armenia and defeated the army of Chosroes, putting him to flight by a memorable victory. After that, he triumphed over the Persians, whom he conquered in three great battles; and finally he recovered the true Cross of Jesus Christ from the infidels, in order to restore it to the Catholic Church.

Now it is these anguishes, these sorrows, these difficulties, and these dangers of the Church which Saint John describes under the enigma of a woman in the pains of childbirth. Indeed, the four principal circumstances of these trials of the Church of Christ find their figurative fulfilment in a woman giving birth. First: She was with child — that is, Heraclius, her son and future emperor. Second: She cried in her pain — that is, in her tribulations. Third: She was in anguish — that is, because of the pressing danger which threatened her. Fourth: She was in pain to be delivered, ardently and anxiously desiring, with fear and solicitude, finally to bring forth, by the help of divine mercy, a son full of strength and life — that is, a good emperor who would deliver her. This was in fact granted to her, although later this emperor fell into heresy, was abandoned by God, and perished miserably, as we shall see in what follows.

Second, the Church and the Roman Empire continued, more or less until the present day, to be plunged into sorrow, dangers, and anguish by the empire of Muhammad — that is, the empire of the Turks — which Christians must regard as a very fierce beast that, because of its diabolical instinct, will not cease to pursue the Church to the utmost. Third, this danger and these anguish will become extreme in the days of Antichrist, who will be the final representative of this infernal power, but also the most formidable and the most terrible, because the ancient serpent will inspire him in order to consummate his rage and vengeance.

Thus the enigma of the woman in childbirth does not refer to one single epoch, but to various circumstances in which God will always give her male children, strong and robust — that is, emperors, kings, and princes — who will defend and protect her and her Roman Empire, to prevent her from being devoured by this cruel beast. Although the Turkish Empire is presented in history with certain modifications, nevertheless, in reality and as a whole, it forms only one monarchy from Chosroes until Antichrist, because its sovereigns have one common goal: the extermination of Christianity and of the Roman Empire.

VERSE 3. And another sign appeared in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. VERSE 4. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And another sign appeared in heaven. This sign is represented in heaven because the dragon of the abyss, with all the impious, dares to rise up even to heavenly things in order to destroy them. But whatever their efforts may be, they are always repelled and restrained by divine power, and can do harm only as far as God permits.

And behold a great red dragon. The Latin text says et ecce — "and behold." These words are full of force, and call our whole attention to the horrible and frightful monster which the prophet is about to describe. And behold a great red dragon. That is, Lucifer, the prince of all demons and of all tyrants, against whom Saint John takes care to put us on guard, lest he seduce us, by saying: "This great dragon, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world, was cast unto the earth, and his angels with him."

This dragon is called great because of the immense power which God has permitted him to exercise against the saints, against the Church, and against the Roman Empire, particularly in the time of Chosroes, of Muhammad, and above all of Antichrist, who will be the epilogue and representative of all tyrants, all criminals, all sorceries, and all impostors. When a serpent grows to monstrous proportions, it is called a dragon. Now this will be especially fulfilled in the son of perdition; for this serpent will become very great by his victories, his power, his monstrous impostures, the multitude of his false miracles, and the variety and refinement of his stratagems.

This dragon appeared red to Saint John — that is, the colour of the blood with which he has stained himself from Abel and the first martyrs down to the last of the Christians whom this monster will cause to be immolated, through jealousy of the glory of God and of the holy Name of Jesus. It is of this dragon that Saint John says, John 8:44: "He was a murderer from the beginning," because he did not persevere in the truth, and lost the place God had given him. This dragon is also red because of the infernal fire in which he is tormented with his own for ages of ages. Likewise he is red because of his ancient jealousy, his rage, and his envy, which gives him a livid colour, so much does he burn with the desire to harm the human race and the Church of Christ, constantly seeking to devour Christians and to ruin their pious designs and good works, as red serpents and toads, which are regarded as very venomous, seek to harm men.

Finally, he is red because he is, and will be toward the end of times, very cunning and very subtle, as Jesus Christ warns us in Matthew 24:24: "So as to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

This dragon appeared to Saint John with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. These seven heads signify all the kings — or rather all the tyrants — who will reign in the Turkish monarchy until the end. By the ten horns are understood all the kingdoms that will be subject to the power of the dragon. It is said that this dragon has or possesses these heads and these horns because he rules these kings and kingdoms, and drives them to tyranny against Christians. He fights with them and in them, and through them he rages against Jesus Christ and His Church. It is also said that he will have seven diadems upon his heads because royal dignity will continue to subsist in the Turkish monarchy until the son of perdition, for this reign will not be totally destroyed.

The ten horns are also ten kings, more or less powerful, who, toward the end of times, after the Roman Empire has been destroyed, will crown themselves. Each of them will wish to have his own kingdom apart. But the son of perdition will conquer them and subject them to his domination. And it is thus that he will acquire great power, for he will use these kings as his horns to fight and ruin all things, after the manner of the animal whose strength is in its horns.

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. By the tail one understands the consequences of this diabolical monarchy, which in fact drew along and enveloped the third part of the stars of heaven — that is, of the Greek Church, which separated little by little from the Roman Church after having been soiled by various errors on the occasion of the sect of Muhammad and under the yoke of the Turkish monarchy. This Greek Church is represented by the stars of heaven because formerly it flourished and shone like the stars by a great number of saints and doctors, to such a point that we ourselves must recognise that almost all the lights, and especially the greatest, of the Church of Christ shone principally in the primitive Church and in the Greek Church.

And he cast them to the earth. That is, the Greek Church was scattered and will remain thus in her sad state under the domination of the Turkish Empire until the time of the son of perdition. It is true that in the sixth age, when this Turkish Empire has been restricted within narrower limits, the Greek Church will once again be reunited with the Latin Church. But since that epoch will be short in comparison with the length of this reign, this reconciliation with our holy mother the Church cannot be regarded as constant and durable. Moreover, this Greek Church will be almost the first of all which, at the end of times, will adhere to the son of perdition and to his false prophets, and will turn against the woman clothed with the sun — that is, against the true Church of Jesus Christ.

Then, according to her old diabolical habit, she will set herself to reproduce her errors concerning the nature of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit; and she will adore, and will cause to be adored upon the earth, a false saviour of the world, and the most criminal of impostors, Antichrist. Likewise, by the tail are designated false Christians and false prophets, who, like the tail of a dragon, will be filled with the venom of the most pestilential doctrine, and will adhere to Satan in an inseparable manner, following him wherever he goes, and acting according to his will and the power which he will possess by the permission of God. They will seduce many men, according to the prophecy of Jesus Christ, Matthew 24:24: "For false Christs and false prophets shall arise, and shall show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

By the stars of heaven one also understands the doctors, religious, and even ecclesiastics of the Latin Church, who, in those last days, seeing that everything is overturned, and that God appears as though asleep and even as though powerless to restrain the impious to whom He will permit everything, will take scandal and will allow themselves to be seduced by the prodigies of the false prophets, and will defect. They will give themselves over to the pleasures of the flesh, will marry, and will plunge their hearts into illicit loves and the concupiscence of women. For then celibacy and the holy virtue of chastity will be considered a scandal and an object of derision. The times of Noah will be seen again, when all flesh had corrupted its ways; and then God will destroy the universe, not by water, but by fire.

And he cast them to the earth. That is, these apostates, united in heart and spirit with the false prophets, will adhere to their false doctrine and will work to trouble the Church of Christ in a horrible manner. They will commit very great scandals. They will seduce peoples and nations, and will persecute their brothers and their superiors who will not wish to walk in the way of their abominations. Hence the warning which Jesus Christ gives us in Matthew 24:9: "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death; and you shall be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be scandalised, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall seduce many. And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold. But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved."

III. VERSE 5. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered, that when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her son was taken up to God and to his throne. This standing before and in the face of the woman designates excessive and very pressing violence, as well as a continual and sustained tyranny against the Church of Christ and her Roman Empire.

Satan first exercised this violence in the person of Chosroes, king of the Persians, who is one with Satan. This is why he is called the dragon in a secondary and instrumental sense, because he was its tail and because he tended toward one only goal: to make the Name of Jesus Christ and of His Church disappear. The same applies, and even more so, to Muhammad, and consequently to his tyrannical empire, which will last one thousand two hundred sixty years and will be renewed by Antichrist, the son of perdition.

For it is admitted once for all as certain that this very cruel and very long war of the dragon was undertaken and begun by Chosroes, that it was continued for a very long time by Muhammad and his Turkish Empire, and that it will end by Antichrist, who will commit more crimes during the days of his reign than all the preceding ones will have produced in as many years. These days are indicated by Daniel and by Saint John, as has been said above. Besides this, we shall speak of it more at length later.

Everyone must therefore know that under the enigma of the dragon, the great chief and great director of the impious, and under the enigmas of the beasts, horns, heads, waters, and women, all the abominations of this war are described by Saint John, who himself is astonished by them, because these are indeed great and truly astonishing tribulations, which will more or less ruin the Church and in which the elect will be tried as by fire. For this reason the dragon, Chosroes, Muhammad, all the successors of his sect in the Turkish Empire, and also the son of perdition, who will be its completion, are all declared enemies of the holy Name of Jesus and of His Church, and constitute one moral body, which is the beast or the dragon.

And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered. These words signify great anguish and a very pressing danger of perishing, in which the Church and the Roman Empire found themselves in the time of the emperor Phocas, under whose reign Chosroes occupied a very great part of that empire. For he devastated all the churches, treated the faithful inhumanly, caused them to be cruelly massacred, seized the city of Jerusalem — where ninety thousand Christians were put to the sword — and carried off the true Cross of the Saviour. And if divine mercy had not raised up for the Church a powerful deliverer in her son Heraclius, this cruel tyrant, who had grown great by so many depredations and by so many kingdoms which he had seized, would perhaps have ended by devouring everything like a furious dragon.

And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered, that when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. Chosroes, in fact, having become insolent by his victories, absolutely wished to devour and destroy Heraclius when he ascended the throne of the empire, which had just suffered such violent blows. For Chosroes, swollen by his victories and full of confidence in the extent of his power and in the valour of his armies, refused to conclude a treaty of peace with Heraclius, even on the most humiliating conditions for that emperor.

IV. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. This was Heraclius, who was raised to the empire, and who truly showed manly strength from the beginning of his reign. He repressed the insolence of Chosroes by brilliant victories, cut to pieces several of his most formidable armies, occupied Persia, replanted the holy Cross upon Mount Calvary, and finally showed himself truly worthy to reign over all nations. And God would perhaps have granted him this advantage if he had not turned away from Him by supporting the heresy of the Monothelites. Thus, as much as the happy beginning of his reign was pleasing to God and to the Church, and useful to the empire, so much did he himself become miserable and odious afterward. Let kings, princes, and the powerful of the age learn from this example what they can do with the help and friendship of God, and how powerless and unhappy they become, on the contrary, when they turn away from Him.

Who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. By this rod of iron one understands a very great and very strong power, which God would have given to Heraclius to subject to his dominion and to hold in obedience and servitude the barbarous nations, if he had not separated himself from Him, and if he had not corrupted his ways by falling into heresy. This is why Saint John speaks conditionally, and not absolutely: Who was to rule, etc.

And her son was taken up to God and to his throne. These words express the protection of God toward Heraclius, and His eternal counsels against his enemies; and also the brilliant victories and the elevation of this prince to the throne of the empire. These are indeed gifts which come from God, and which He distributes as He pleases. Let one read the history of the wars, victories, and pious acts of this emperor, when he was still defending the cause of God and fighting so valiantly for the Cross of His Christ, and one will clearly see the finger of God in the crowning of this emperor, and in his brilliant triumph over the most powerful and most formidable enemies, with very weak human means. But because he abandoned the ways of justice and truth, he himself was abandoned by God, and afterward suffered every kind of misfortune and misery. His defection gave entrance to the beast in one of the most powerful, most stable, and longest reigns in the history of the world, extending from Muhammad until Antichrist.

V. VERSE 6. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred sixty days. When God had seen that Christianity and the Empire of the East could not sustain themselves in the face of the beast, and that the Catholic faith itself was beginning to be darkened by the smoke of pride, and to be soiled by the mud of arrogance of which the faithful themselves were guilty toward the Holy See; and when He had seen the darkness of heresies and schisms gradually entering into the Church, He transported both her and her Roman Empire into Germany, the principal part of which was still buried in the errors of paganism.

Therefore, wishing to show clemency toward the German race, God sent to it great saints of the ever-renowned Order of Saint Benedict, who successively converted it to the Catholic faith. Let it be permitted to cite here some of these apostolic names: Saint Goar converted the inhabitants of Trier; Saint Rupert with his companions converted Bavaria; Saint Pirminius converted western Saxony; Saint Gisalonius was the apostle of Austria. The British Isles received the light of faith from Saint Richard the abbot, Saint Augustine, Saint Boniface, and several other holy doctors. Saint Wilfrid converted the peoples of Frisia, and Saint Kilian those of Franconia. It is thus that the whole German race found itself established at the centre of the felicity and light of the faith of Christ by these holy apostles, and by many others still whom God sent to it.

The beast trembled with rage. Germany, which previously could be considered as a vast solitude or a desert, was thus fertilised by the doctrine of these holy apostles and watered by the blood of several among them, who sealed by martyrdom the truths they preached. This is why the Apostle says: And the woman fled into the wilderness. That is, God transported His Church into the West and particularly into Germany, regions which are metaphorically designated by the wilderness: first, because a wilderness is not inhabited, and there is no social life there; second, because deserts are ordinarily the lairs of wild beasts.

Now Germany and England — that is, the British Isles toward the North and West — were as though filled with wild beasts, that is, priests of idols and idolaters, who trembled with rage at the voice of the Gospel. Moreover, since faith and the true God had not yet dwelt in and enlightened these regions, the prophet calls them a wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God — that is, He had disposed these regions of the West to receive the Catholic faith, and consequently the Church of Jesus Christ, which is metaphorically figured by the woman, as has been said above. God did indeed predispose Germany and the western regions of Europe to receive the Catholic faith by the lights of His grace which He spread in hearts, and by the outward and sensible lights of His apostles.

That they should feed her there a thousand two hundred sixty days. These words designate the proper duration of the refuge of the Church of Jesus Christ in the West. And this duration will be one thousand two hundred sixty years; for here the days count as years, as often happens in Scripture. The beginning of this time dates from the origin of the Turkish monarchy, and also from the beginning of the conversion of the English and of the western nations. As in the Old Testament the people of Israel continually had an hereditary enemy in the Gentiles, so the Christian people and the Church of Christ will always have the Turkish nation and all the barbarous peoples of the sect of Muhammad as adversaries until the end of times.

This beast will indeed receive a great blow and a deep wound from the great Monarch, who will take from it the empire of Constantinople with a great part of its territory. But Antichrist, who will be the eighth horn of the beast, will heal its wound, and will even strengthen this beast so considerably that it will occupy almost all states, and will even reach a supreme degree of elevation among all the other kingdoms. I have said that it will occupy almost all states; for Antichrist, who will rise up on the ash tree of the Turkish monarchy, in the lands where the great Monarch will have relegated it, will re-establish its empire and render it more powerful than ever.

And the woman fled into the wilderness to be fed there. That is, to be maintained and preserved there. This is indeed what God, in His paternal goodness, granted to the Church of the West, and what He will grant her until the end of times: the ability to preserve her faith by the preaching of the Gospel and by the examples of her saints. In every time and in every century, God has always sent workers into His vineyard to cultivate it; and it is thus that He prevented this vineyard, or this Church, from perishing, especially in the frightening hurricane of the heresy of Luther.

VI. VERSE 7. And there was a great battle in heaven. Saint John describes in the following words the war that arose when Saint Michael and the guardian angels worked to establish the Church of the West, and when the dragon, with his evil angels, made every effort to oppose it and even to destroy it. And there was a great battle in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought against him. Saint Michael is the protector of the Church militant, and his angels are the guardians of the churches, kingdoms, and all Christendom.

Saint Michael is the prince and chief of those thousands of angels who fight, according to the will of God, against the power of darkness, in order to protect and preserve the Church, which is more or less extended throughout the whole earth according to the circumstances of the times, and which is entrusted to the guardianship of this archangel. The dragon, on the contrary, is Lucifer, the ancient serpent, the devil and Satan. His angels are the other evil and reprobate spirits whom he sends over the whole surface of the globe to make the Church and the Name of Christ disappear from it.

Thus, while the first worked to spread the Christian faith in Europe, the second did everything to oppose and destroy it, by soliciting the souls of converted nations to defect, and by exciting them to sedition, wars, tyranny, persecution, and hatred against the priests and apostles of Christ. Moreover, they stirred up false brothers, sons of Belial, within the bosom of the Church through heresies, so that these might cast trouble and confusion among the new Christians by scandal, with the aim of making them odious to the other nations which were still in darkness, and to prevent those nations from converting.

But despite all these efforts attempted by the dragon and by his rebellious angels, neither seditions, nor wars, nor defections, nor the shedding of the blood of martyrs, nor so many other difficulties of every kind were able to prevent the conversion of Germany and of the western nations, because this holy work was under the special protection of God, who showed Himself sensitive to the prayers and sacrifices of all the holy apostles of Germany, and even of the whole of Europe. So the power, combats, labours, skill, and extreme vigilance of Saint Michael and of his holy angels prevailed and obtained a full triumph.

VERSE 8. But they were the weaker, and their place was found no more in heaven. That is, in the Church of Germany and the West, either to prevent the Church from being born there, or to destroy her afterward. For the Catholic faith was established and spread far and wide throughout all Europe by the power and piety of Charlemagne, around the year 800.

VERSE 9. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. That is, Satan and his whole army were repelled, scattered, proscribed, and put to flight by Saint Michael and his angels, as a king is accustomed to repel an enemy who has dared to penetrate into his kingdom.

Saint John here explains literally what must be understood by the word dragon: namely, Lucifer, who is called a dragon because of the extent of his power, the subtlety and penetration of his intelligence, and his excessive cunning. We find an idea of this in Genesis 3:15: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." Now this passage must not be understood only of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but also of the Church, against whom the gates of hell shall not prevail.

VII. From this one sees how important it is for bishops, prelates, parish priests, and other pastors of souls to watch over the flock entrusted to them, since Lucifer, with thousands of demons, works at every hour and without ceasing for the ruin of souls. These pastors have all the more means of guarding their sheep because they possess in the Holy Spirit a high understanding of all things, and because they are appointed by God to govern the Church.

Finally, from what has just been said above, it follows how much Our Lord Jesus Christ deserves admiration, thanksgiving, and confidence from men who, although blinded by sin, are nevertheless protected in a wholly paternal manner, in the midst of so many dangers and snares, by the holy angels, whom we ought therefore to repay by tender love in invoking them. Only after having abandoned our mortal flesh shall we clearly see the horrible dangers which we ran, and which we were able to avoid only by the special protection of the holy angels. But we too must always watch, so as not to give entrance to the demon into our souls. This is what Saint Peter, who is the fundamental column of the Church of Christ, warns us of when he says in 1 Peter 5:8: "Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, strong in faith."

And that great dragon was cast unto the earth, and his angels with him. By the earth, Saint John here designates the empire and Church of the East, of which it was said that he stood before the woman in the time of Chosroes. For, having been driven out and rejected from the Church of the West, it was permitted to him to continue to exercise his fury with his own in the East, because of the wickedness and sins of those nations, and to punish, by Muhammad and by the Turkish monarchy, the pride, avarice, ambition, heresies, and schisms of the Greek Church, which had been so long rebellious against the Roman Pontiffs, as we shall see further on.

VIII. VERSE 10. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. In these words follows the joy and the testimonies of gratitude of the Church triumphant, because of the conversion of Germany and the western regions of Europe; for it belongs to the character of the saints to rejoice in good and to have aversion for evil. This voice is the voice of the conqueror — that is, of Saint Michael, who returns triumphantly into heaven after having ended his military expedition in his quality as commander-in-chief and protector of the Church militant upon earth.

Salvation comes from God, and it is granted to the nations through their conversion to the Catholic faith, without which, Saint Paul says, it is impossible to please God and obtain eternal life. Strength signifies the grace, the lights, and the miracles of the Spirit of the Lord, who sent holy and valiant workers to these nations, to bring them out of the darkness and shadow of death where they were seated, and to lead them to the truth of the faith and into the sheepfold of the elect. The kingdom indicates the submission and obedience with which these nations began to serve God their Creator and to adore Him, instead of serving idols and adoring demons, to whom they had been miserably subject before. Finally, the power of Christ signifies the jurisdiction that was acquired by the Church militant over these peoples and these nations, a power called the power of Christ because He Himself acquired it by His precious blood, in order then to give it to His Church upon earth.

Because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before God day and night. That is, the power of the dragon was proscribed and banished from hearts, as were the idolatry, imposture, and falsehood with which these nations had been soiled before. This dragon is called by the saints of the Church triumphant the accuser of our brethren, because his inborn pride continually drives him to reproach before God human fragility and the imperfections of our corrupted nature, as he did with regard to Job. Thus, despising the extreme simplicity of the monks who evangelised Germany, Satan regarded it as impossible that nations endowed with such great human prudence, and peoples so barbarous, so warlike, and so powerful, would allow themselves to be turned away from their idolatry and converted by the voice of those simple monks, deprived of all human means.

VERSE 11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony which they gave, and they loved not their lives unto death. Here Saint John expresses the victory and triumph which the servants and workers of Christ, aided by His grace, won over Satan and his angels, by gradually bringing all the nations of Germany and the western regions into the fold of the Good Shepherd. The Apostle attributes this great victory to three principal causes: to the Blood of the Lamb; to the testimony which the martyrs rendered to His word; and to contempt of life even to the suffering of death. For it is by His adorable Blood that Christ fertilised His Church. And it is by the preaching of the Gospel that the faith has been propagated throughout all the earth. The blood of the martyrs was like a seed which multiplied Christians; and these Christians became the branches of the vine of the Lord.

And they loved not their lives unto death. That is, they gave themselves, for love of the holy Name of Jesus and for the conversion of souls, to all hardships, afflictions, dangers of life, and even death itself. VERSE 12. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that dwell therein. These words express the peace, joy, happiness, gladness, and rest of the Church militant, as well as congratulations upon her victory and triumph. It is thus that a king is accustomed to congratulate his capital and his kingdom, even ordering public rejoicings after having pursued and scattered the enemies who had seized part of his states.

IX. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time. These words announce a great woe for the Greek Church and for the whole East. This woe was indeed manifested by many tribulations and persecutions, and by a great tyranny and humiliating servitude on the part of the sect of Muhammad. God permitted these evils as punishment for the hardening of the Greek Church and for the sins of the nations of the East.

The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath. Satan is the implacable and hereditary enemy of the human race; and if he cannot succeed in harming men in some part of the world, he becomes irritated, enraged, and trembles with fury. Then he takes vengeance, so far as God permits him to rage, and he ruins and destroys everything. Now, since Satan had just suffered a great defeat and a shameful flight in the Church of the West, he said in his anger, Matthew 12:44: "I will return into my house from whence I came out."

Knowing that he hath but a short time. These words show the dark envy and inexplicable ingratitude of the dragon toward his Creator, so good, so lovable, so beneficent, so merciful, and so liberal, who created Lucifer from nothing, and constituted him and all his rebellious angels in great power, wisdom, and intelligence, and endowed them all with magnificent qualities and brilliant advantages. Despite this generosity of God toward them, they revolted against Him; and now the time seems too short to them to satisfy their unbridled desire and their ardent thirst for vengeance, by exhaling their rage and jealousy and manifesting their pride and presumption against the goodness of their Creator and against the human race, whose nature was united to the Word of God.

Indeed, the principal times of the Old Testament for losing souls have passed for him; and in the law of grace he is bound and limited in his power. And since the time for doing harm and satisfying his vengeance is very short in relation to eternity, in which he will be chained with his own in horrible places of torment, the demon is filled with great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.

VERSE 13. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the man child. This male child was the emperor Charlemagne, whom the Church brought forth by raising him to the Roman Empire in the year of Jesus Christ 800. He was the first of the emperors of Germany, and showed himself an admirable protector of the Latin and Western Church. For he defended, exalted, and propagated her with all his power.

When the dragon had seen that he could not prevent the conversion of Germany and the western nations, he persecuted the woman — that is, the Latin Church — by stirring up troubles, seditions, and parties within her bosom. This is what happened in fact under Pope Leo III, who found himself forced to call Charlemagne to the help of the Church, to restore to her peace and security. This emperor was therefore a second male child whom the Church truly brought forth, since it was Leo III who crowned him and declared him emperor.

It is also said that the dragon persecuted the woman because this serpent is implacable in his wrath and jealousy against the human race and against the Church of Christ. And when he does not manage to hinder the truth and justice of God, he does not cease to tempt and torment men by raising up against them every kind of opposition and misfortune. This is what every Christian experiences only too much in his cruel and horrible temptations against faith, purity, and the other virtues. And the author of all these evils is Satan, who cannot bear that we live piously in the Lord. Let us therefore console ourselves if we are tested by many temptations, because this is a sign that we are friends of God and that we are walking in the paths of eternal life.

VERSE 14. And there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. This great eagle was Charlemagne and all his successors in the Roman Empire; for Charlemagne transported this empire into the West. The two wings of this eagle are all the states of that power, which was so great that it rose like the eagle into the air and dominated the land of Europe.

These wings of the great eagle were given to the woman — that is, to the Church of the West. And it is with these wings that this Church rose up and will continue to sustain herself for one thousand two hundred sixty years, which are a time, and times, and half a time. For one thousand years are a time of ten centuries; two hundred years are times of two centuries; and sixty years are approximately half a time, or half a century, during which the Church of the West will continue to exist. These years must be counted from the beginning of the sect of Muhammad and from the epoch when God transplanted His Church into the West.

That she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. These words signify that the Church of Christ, which was never stable in the East, would take root in the West — that is, in the wilderness — and would fix there her dwelling or her seat, which she would preserve for one thousand two hundred sixty years.

This comparison is taken from birds which go in search of forests, trees, or other favourable places, especially along waters and in mountains, in order to live there in safety from hunters. It is in these places of retreat that they like to fix their nests, to lay their eggs there, and to multiply. Now it is in this way that the Church of Christ, fleeing the presence of the serpent in the East, flew with swift wings to fix her retreat in the West, where she multiplied and begot millions of faithful for eternal life.

That she might fly into the wilderness. This flight also signifies the liberty of the Church, liberty which may be compared to birds that fly by their own wings. And it is thus that the Church of Christ will always enjoy in the West the liberty of professing the Catholic faith through the wings of the great eagle — that is, through the power and protection of the Roman Empire. And it is with the wings of this eagle that she will always fly and continue to possess her nest in the West, to multiply her race there according to the eternal designs of the divine will. For all the emperors of this Roman Empire will be Catholic until the last.

That she might fly into the wilderness — that is, into Germany, unto her place. Although heresies and defections have taken from the Church a multitude of faithful in the West, she nevertheless always preserved there her place of retreat, which God reserved for her, as may be seen in the history of the western nations.

Unto her place, from the face of the serpent. Because toward the end of times — that is, under the reign of Antichrist — the Church will have her place of retreat in the West, and will hide herself in the mountains, in arid or desert places, and in the clefts of rocks. This is why Jesus Christ says in Matthew 24:16: "Then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains; and he that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take anything out of his house; and he that is in the field, let him not go back to take his coat."

VERSE 15. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water, as a river, after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the river. The water which the serpent cast from his mouth like a river against the woman signifies the great tribulations which Lucifer stirred up against the Latin Church through the schisms which split her continually for the space of two hundred years. The water represents the peoples and their numerous armies, which Satan caused to be put in motion by the avarice and ambition of emperors, in order to introduce false popes and false bishops into the Latin Church.

It is enough to read on this subject the deplorable tragedies of the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, and one will understand what is signified by these waters cast against the woman by the serpent. It is expressly said that the serpent cast out of his mouth water like a river against the woman, because the tribulation of this schism was very great, and had to last very long. Just as a river contains much water which flows continually, so the deplorable schisms of the Latin Church in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries were like a torrent of calamities, wars, and continual tribulations.

That is, to make the faith of Jesus Christ disappear from Germany and the West. But God came to her aid, always compressing all these schisms in time, until at last they were completely extinguished. VERSE 16. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. Indeed, these schisms were never able to prevail. And when these schismatics fought the Church and wished to force her by their armies to accept their shameful idols, which they obstinately tried to introduce upon the pontifical see and upon episcopal sees, these armies perished, and their corpses were swallowed or buried in the bosom of the earth. It was by this that the Church recovered her rest and stability.

VERSE 17. And the dragon was angry against the woman. That is, against the Latin or Western Church, which is the greatest, the most extended, and the most populous. And the dragon was angry against the woman because he was never able to conquer her, whatever means he undertook to harm her.

And he went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. The other children of this woman are the Christians of the Greek Church, who are scattered in the East, and whom the dragon, after the shameful defeat he suffered in the West, set himself to persecute to the utmost. VERSE 18. And he stood upon the sand of the sea. These words show us this dragon on the shores of the sea, plunged into deep meditation on the evils he will be able to imagine in order to avenge himself upon his enemies, and to satisfy his jealousy and his black envy. This is indeed what he did, and what he will continue to do literally, through the sect of Muhammad, through his tyrannical monarchy, and through the schisms of the Greeks.

This completes Book Six, Section I, § 1: Revelation 12:1–18.