The Chapters

The complete fifteen and a half chapters of the Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser's interpretation of the Apocalypse of Saint John.

Revelation 1

The Vision of the Son of Man and the Seven Churches

Holzhauser's commentary on the inscription, authority, and purpose of the Apocalypse, and on Saint John's vision of the Son of Man amid the seven golden candlesticks — Revelation 1.

Revelation 2:1–29

Letters to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira

Holzhauser's commentary on the letters to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira, the types of the four first ages of the Church Militant — the Ages of Sowing, Irrigation, the Doctors, and Peace — Revelation 2:1–29.

Revelation 3:1–22

Letters to Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea

Holzhauser's commentary on the letters to Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, types of the fifth, sixth, and seventh ages of the Church Militant — the Ages of Affliction, Consolation, and Desolation — Revelation 3:1–22.

Revelation 4:1–11

On the Hierarchical Nature of the Church Militant

Holzhauser reveals the Church's hierarchical constitution as shown to Saint John: the apostolic throne, the four Evangelists as archchancellors, the twenty-four ancients as bishops worldwide, the sea of glass as Baptism, and the six wings of evangelical doctrine — Revelation 4:1–11.

Revelation 5:1–14

The Book of Seven Seals and the Lamb Who Was Slain

Holzhauser expounds the sealed book held by God — the secrets of the Church through all ages — and the acclamation of the Lamb: why only Christ, the Lion of Judah, could open it, and the sevenfold canticle of adoration sung by angels, ancients, and all creation — Revelation 5:1–14.

Revelation 6:1–17

The Opening of the Six Seals

Holzhauser opens Book Three with the six seals: the four horsemen of Apostolic mission, Nero's persecution, Jerusalem's fall, and Domitian's terror; the martyrs' cry beneath the altar; and the great earthquake of Diocletian's final, cruelest persecution — Revelation 6:1–17.

Revelation 7:1–17

The Sealing of the 144,000

Holzhauser closes Book Three with the twin consolations after Diocletian's terror: Constantine's deliverance of the Church militant, sealed by the sign of the Cross, and the Church triumphant's martyrs in white robes before the throne — Revelation 7:1–17.

Revelation 8:1–13

The Seventh Seal and the First Four Trumpets

Holzhauser completes Book Four's four founding heresies: Julian's brief persecution and Damasus's golden censer, then the trumpets of Arius, Macedonius, Pelagius, and Nestorius — each darkening a third of the Church — closing with the eagle's threefold cry of woe, Revelation 8:1–13.

Revelation 9:1–21

The Fifth and Sixth Trumpets

Holzhauser completes Book Four, Section II: the fifth trumpet's Arian star Valens and the locust-Goths, the sixth trumpet's identification of Martin Luther as the demon-ridden 'angel of the abyss,' and a closing examination of conscience on the seven sins by which even faithful Catholics shared the guilt for Europe's ruin — Revelation 9:1–21.

Revelation 10:1–11:3

The Angel and the Little Scroll

Holzhauser completes Book Five, Section I: the mighty angel of the sixth age, the sealed seven thunders, Saint John's bittersweet scroll, the reed measuring the Church's worldwide extension, and the solemn warning that Jerusalem and the Holy Land are reserved to the Gentiles and Antichrist, never to belong to Christ's Church — Revelation 10:1–11:3.

Revelation 11:3–19

The Two Witnesses and the Seventh Trumpet

Holzhauser completes Book Five: the two witnesses Enoch and Elijah, their death and resurrection, the seventh trumpet sounded by Saint Michael announcing Christ's eternal reign, the Cross appearing in heaven amid lightning and earthquake, and a closing concordance reconciling Daniel's and Saint John's day-counts for Antichrist's reign — Revelation 11:3–19.

Revelation 12:1–18

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

Holzhauser opens Book Six with the woman clothed with the sun (the Church), the great red dragon (Lucifer, working through Chosroes, Muhammad, and Antichrist), the birth of Heraclius and Charlemagne, and the Church's flight into the German wilderness — Revelation 12:1–18.

Revelation 13:1–18

The Beast from the Sea and the Beast from the Earth

Holzhauser completes Book Six's account of the two beasts: Muhammad's empire healed and exalted by Antichrist (§2, Rev 13:1–10), and the idolatrous antipope who deceives the nations with false wonders, sets up the image of the beast, and forces all to bear its mark or the number 666 upon pain of death (§3, Rev 13:11–18).

Revelation 14:1–20

The Lamb on Mount Zion and the Harvest of the Earth

Opening Book Six, Section II: the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with the 144,000, the eternal Gospel preached anew, the twice-repeated fall of Babylon, the last Pope's warning against Antichrist's fire-and-brimstone judgment, the beatitude of those who die in the Lord, and the great Monarch's harvest and vintage of the earth — the future extirpation of the Turkish Empire and of heresies — Revelation 14:1–20.

Revelation 15:1–4

The Triumph of the Jews and Christians Who Survive Antichrist

The final chapter of Holzhauser's commentary: the sea of glass mingled with fire, the remnant of Jews and Christians who overcome the beast and are baptised after Antichrist's fall, and their united canticle of Moses and of the Lamb glorifying God's justice, truth, and mercy — Revelation 15:1–4.