On Monday of the Third Week of Easter our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Revelation (7:1-17) entitled "The great multitude of those marked with the seal of God". Our treasure, which follows, is from a commentary on the first letter of Peter by Saint Bede, priest.
Saint Bede was an early eighth century English monk and an author and scholar. Saint Bede, trained by Saint Benedict, is one of the few saints honored as such during his lifetime. His writings were filled with such faith and learning that, even while he was still alive, a church Council ordered them to be read publicly in the churches. He is best known for his work, the "Ecclesial History of the English People", a source vital to the history of the conversion to Christianity of the Anglo-Saxon tribes.
Saint Bede's commentary on the first letter of Saint Peter offers a thorough, line-by-line interpretation, making it a valuable resource for understanding the epistle. Bede's commentary is unique in its approach to these lesser letters, favoring a more literal interpretation than his later, more allegorical commentaries. He highlights themes like the chosen race, the royal priesthood, and encouragement for believers facing persecution, emphasizing the importance of faith, submission to God, and enduring suffering with hope in Christ.
The Apocalypse, or Revelation to John, the last book of the Bible, is one of the most difficult to understand because it abounds in unfamiliar and extravagant symbolism, which at best appears unusual to the modern reader. Symbolic language, however, is one of the chief characteristics of apocalyptic literature, of which this book is an outstanding example. Such literature enjoyed wide popularity in both Jewish and Christian circles from ca. 200 B.C. to A.D. 200.
This book contains an account of visions in symbolic and allegorical language borrowed extensively from the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel. Whether or not these visions were real experiences of the author or simply literary conventions employed by him is an open question.
