Apocalypse commentaries

Tyconius, Exposition of the Apocalypse

June 20, 2017 by Frank Leave a Comment

My English translation of Tyconius’s Exposition of the Apocalypse has been published. It is in Volume 134 of the Fathers of the Church series. I hope you get a copy and enjoy reading his explanations of the Book of Revelation.

Tyconius wrote this Exposition about 380 AD. It is useful in many ways. He interpreted John’s visions to make them relevant for the church of all times, similar to modern “idealist” interpretations. He also believed that some passages in Revelation were symbolic of the future persecution of Antichrist, the Second Coming, and the Last Judgment.

He believed that the Book of Revelation is recapitulatory, rather than visions of events that reflect chronological order. On some familiar passages and themes, Tyconius saw the 144,000 as a symbol of the whole church. Likewise, the two witnesses are symbolic of the church prophesying in both testaments. Those sitting on thrones and reigning for a thousand years represent the present reign of the saints; and the first resurrection “is in this life through forgiveness of sins.”

The introduction and notes to the translation of Tyconius were written by David Charles Robinson of Toronto.

For a review of our book in Augustinian Studies 50:2 (2019), click here.

To order Tyconius of Carthage, Exposition of the Apocalypse from Amazon, click here.

I leave you with an encouragement from a Syriac commentator: “Let us spiritually refresh ourselves in the Apocalypse of the Son of God which is very dear and wonderful.”

Early Latin Commentaries on the Apocalypse

January 16, 2017 by Frank Leave a Comment

Early Latin Commentaries on the Apocalypse contains translations of two Hiberno-Latin commentaries on the Book of Revelation from the seventh and eighth centuries. They are the pseudo-Jerome Handbook on the Apocalypse of the Apostle John and On the Mysteries of the Apocalypse of John found in the anonymous eighth-century Reference Bible. These commentaries use earlier Latin commentaries, such as those of Victorinus and Tyconius, as source material. However, they contain unique interpretations of the Book of Revelation. The Handbook has the number of the beast (Rev 13:18) as 666, 000, which the author says may be the number of Antichrist’s army or disciples. It also says that they are heretics who interpret the thousand years of Rev 20 in a carnal manner and who think that Christ has not already bound the devil. On the Mysteries implies that Nero was reigning when John wrote the Apocalypse (On Rev 17:10), and that the mark of the beast will be a slight counterfeit of the Chi-Rho symbol for Christ.

Early Latin Commentaries on the Apocalypse by Francis X. Gumerlock is reasonably priced and available on Amazon. To purchase a copy, click here.

To read a review of Early Latin Commentaries on the Apocalypse by Dr. James Palmer of the University of St. Andrews, click here.

I Will Show Wonders in Heaven

August 5, 2014 by Frank Leave a Comment

NEW ARTICLES: Under the sidebar “Published Articles by the Author” are two new articles. The first is “I Will Show Wonders in the Heaven Above” published in Trinity Journal. It examines the eschatology of an eighteenth century Baptist community in Pennsylvania, called Ephrata, and how they viewed certain comets, which had appeared at that time, as signals of end time events.

The second is “Arnobius the Younger against the Predestined One” published recently in Augustinian Studies. Arnobius had many negative things to say in his Psalms commentary and Praedestinatus about a certain person whom he called pejoratively “predestined one.” This article makes a case that his predestinarian opponent was the defender of Saint Augustine, Prosper of Aquitaine, who resided in Rome at the same time as Arnobius.

NEW CONFERENCE PAPERS: Four new conference papers were posted recently on this website. These include papers on the theology of grace of Prosper of Aquitaine, the interpretation of the 144,000 in Revelation 7 & 14, an 8th century predestination controversy in Spain, and an early Christological heresy called Nestorianism.

FORTHCOMING is my review IN Augustinian Studies of the first English translation of Fulgentius of Ruspe’s “On the Truth of Predestination” in the Fathers of the Church series.

CURRENT PROJECTS: On the Latin to English translation of Tyconius’ Exposition of the Apocalypse, I have finished the translation, and am going over it one more time. David Robinson is working on the introduction and footnotes. I have also finished translations of the Apocalypse commentary in the Reference Bible, another by pseudo-Jerome, and one by Theodulph of Orleans, all from around 650-810 AD. I am going over them one more time, and then I need to write the introduction, before sending it to publication.