ACC ~ Revelation 14 v9 - 10

GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS IS CONSTRAINED BY HIS MERCY. OECUMENIUS: The third angel forbids people to worship the beast and to receive its mark. For to worship any other as God rather than he who really and truly is God is most unholy. “And he also shall drink the wine of God’s wrath poured unmixed into the cup of his anger.” The holy David mentioned this cup and this wine when he said, “There is a cup in the hand of the Lord, full of unmixed wine; and he has turned it from side to side, but its dregs have not been wholly poured out; all the sinners of the earth shall drink [them].” He calls the wrath of God “wine,” not using this metaphor because of the gladness elicited by wine but because of the darkness and the derangement that oppress those brought under the wrath of God. And, it says, it is “poured out unmixed,” that is, utterly poured out. For the wrath of God is poured out along with his benevolence and goodness, wholly poured out. For there is not an equal measure of wrath and goodness, but the benevolence of God is many times greater. Indeed, were the righteous anger and the goodness of God in equal measure, no one would be able to withstand it. Aware of this, the prophet said, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?” And the same writer indicated that goodness is much greater in the cup of God than is his righteous anger, when he said, “Merciful is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.”In this passage he placed God’s righteousness in the middle, so that hemmed in by mercy on either side, his righteousness would not work its way without constraint. For it is characteristic of justice to meet each according to his merit. Having mentioned wine, and by this referring to God’s wrath, he continues the metaphor and calls the “cup” what is given from the hand of God to sinners. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 14.9-12.

MERITING THE WINE OF DIVINE WRATH. PRIMASIUS: Certain heretics withdraw from us because of their evil belief, while with a different depravity of morals, others turn aside from our traditions, and in addition there are yet others ordained to perish from both faith and morals. Here in summary fashion he includes all those among the living who have the inscription of the beast on their forehead or on their hand. Here the cup of wrath must not only be understood as the one of which the Lord spoke, “He must endure God’s wrath” showing original sin, but also the cup that he mentions to the arrogant Jews, when he says, “You will die in your sin,” indicating the merit obtained through their accursed actions. … It says that they will be tormented in the sight of the Lamb for whose condemnation they suffer, whom they haughtily condemned and over whose members they inappropriately pretended to be masters. They will also be tormented in the sight of his angels who know by God’s revelation that they are paying a just penalty. COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 14.9-10.

SHARING THE CUP DEVOID OF DIVINE MERCY. ANDREW OF CAESAREA: It says that should anyone bow down to the beastlike antichrist and pursue an ungodly life like his, and should anyone proclaim him to be God in word and deed—for the mark given on the forehead and upon the hand would show this—that person will share with [the antichrist] in the drinking of the revenge-filled cup, which is unmixed and devoid of any divine mercy because of the justice of the judgment. And this cup is of wine poured from different punishments because of the diversity and variety of evils that were freely chosen. He aptly calls this torment the “wine of wrath,” since it follows upon the wine of godlessness, which inebriates those who drink of it, for “in that way by which one sins shall one also be punished.” COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 14.9-10.

THE SAINTS WILL GIVE PRAISE TO THEIR REDEEMER. BEDE: [He will be tormented in the sight of the holy angels.] The saints who reign with the Lord are always able to observe the punishment of the wicked, so that they might give the greater thanks to their Redeemer and sing forever of the mercies of the Lord. For the torments of the wicked that are seen do not distress those who are in agreement with the just Judge, just as the rest of Lazarus that was seen was able to give no refreshment to the rich man who was buried in the flames. EXPLANATION OF THE APOCALYPSE 14.10.

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