Undoubtedly the most mysterious book in the whole Bible is the Apocalypse of St. John. Written, according to St. Jerome, in the fourteenth year of the reign of Domitian, that is, some sixty years after the Ascension of Our Lord, its first purpose was to give courage and assurance to the persecuted faithful of the infant Church, confronted by the tremendous forces of Paganism. But that was not its sole purpose. It is written for the Church of every age, to keep Christians in mind of that fierce and ceaseless conflict between the Kingdom of God and the Powers of Darkness, and to encourage them by the certainty of the ultimate triumph of the former. On the one side is the Church of Christ built on a rock, on the other are the Gates of Hell. The struggle goes on throughout the ages. Often it seems that victory for the Gates of Hell is imminent, but " they shall not prevail."

To read the accounts of this conflict portrayed in the vivid imagery and symbolism of the Apocalypse, produces in the soul feelings of intense awe. The mind is lifted from earth to heaven ; it is brought back to earth, and taken midway to the sky ; it is lowered again to earth, to beneath the earth, to the bottom-most pit, then up again to earth or heaven, and so on, till time and space seem to count for nothing, and a new earth and new heaven appear. Night is gone, tears are wiped away, the great conflict is at an end, and alone the Throne of God stands out in brilliant majesty, holding our gaze until we fall down in worship with the mighty Seer who has heard and seen, and has drawn the curtain aside, that every generation of Christians may see and hear. But before the end is reached, what a succession of vivid scenes, imagery and symbolism ! The seven Letters are as so many invitations to the great drama about to be enacted. Then the veil is lifted. Seven seals, seven trumpets, seven signs, seven vials, seven stages of Babylon's ruin, seven visions--until the number symbolic of completeness has unfolded the whole revelation in seven septenaries ! And how varied and animated the scenes ! Horses white, red, black, and pale, each with its rider a harbinger of woe ! The white robed martyrs under the altar of God, the white robed host which no man could number before the throne of God. The earth set on fire, the sea turned into blood, locusts like unto horses arrayed for battle, an avenging host of cavalry to the number of two hundred millions ! A Woman clothed with the sun who gives birth to a male Child ; the watching dragon ; the battle in the sky, Michael and his angels against the dragon and his angels ! A beast from the sea, a beast from the earth, a Lamb and His men-virgins, angels flying in mid-sky; and so on, with a might and a flow that is terrific and sublime!

Naturally, a book so full of symbolical representation has lent itself to a variety of interpretations. An apocalypse is a prophecy, and it is of the nature of prophecy to be vague. Hence, although the main argument of the book is quite clear--the great warfare between good and evil, God and His saints on the one side, Satan and his emissaries (whether on earth or in the sky) on the other, Paganism versus Christianity, Injustice against Justice, until the eternal victory for the Kingdom of Heaven is gained--yet the identification of the various symbols is no easy matter. For the fight" is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in regions above " (Ephes. vi, 12). Only by a careful study of the language and imagery of the great Hebrew prophets, notably Daniel, Ezechiel and Isaias, of the figurative expressions used elsewhere in the New Testament, and (to a much lesser extent than is sometimes demanded) by reference to Jewish and early Christian apocalyptic literature, can the interpreter of St. John's Apocalypse hope to find the keys to fit the symbolism in its details.

Father Robert Eaton of the Birmingham Oratory here presents to Catholic readers an exposition of the Apocalypse which is based on sure scholarship, is expressed with admirable simplicity, and which gives a clear insight into the meaning of the prophecy. His intention has not been to produce a critical commentary useful only for the advanced student of Sacred Scripture--though the latter, if he has not yet studied the Apocalypse in detail, could not do better than begin with Fr. Eaton's commentary. Instead, he has had in mind the intelligent Catholic reader who is eager to know more about the Sacred Writings, but who cannot afford time for prolonged study. Like the Ethiopian civil servant of Acts viii, 27, many of our Catholic men and women find that the only leisure for reading is at odd times, as when travelling to and from business. There is no reason why the Scriptures should not be read at these times ; and Father Eaton, like another St. Philip the Deacon, is ready to lend his services to such as these, in order to show them what the Scriptures mean. They will find him a sure and safe interpreter. May his little commentary obtain all the success it so well deserves.

Today, when the forces of Modernism and Paganism are gathering together for a renewed, and perhaps the final, assault on the Church of God, the two parts of the Scriptures that especially deserve serious meditation are the Books of the Machabees at the end of the Old Testament, and the Apocalypse of St. John at the end of the New Testament. The former describes Hellenistic Modernism which almost succeeded in wiping out the religion of Israel; the latter describes Paganism in its onslaughts against the religion of Christ throughout the ages. And in order to meet the next attack from Paganism, we do well to have in our hands a commentary on the Apocalypse.--PREFACE

All praise and thanksgiving; be to the ever-blessed Trinity, Who hath shown unto us Mary, ever-Virgin, clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a mystic crown of twelve stars.

R. For ever and ever. Amen.


Let us praise and give thanks to God the Father, Who elected her for his daughter.
R. Amen. Pater noster.

Praise be to God the Father, Who predestined her to be the Mother of His Son.
R. Amen. Ave Maria.

Praise be to God the Father, Who preserved her from all stain in her conception.
R. Amen. Ave Maria.

Praise be to God the Father, Who on her birthday adorned her with His choicest gifts.
R. Amen. Ave Maria

Praise be to God the Father, Who gave her Joseph for her pure spouse and companion.
R. Amen. Ave Maria

Let us praise and give thanks to God the Son, Who chose her for His Mother.
R. Amen. Pater noster.

Praise be to God the Son, Who became Incarnate in her womb, and abode there nine months.
R. Amen. Ave Maria

Praise be to God the Son, Who was born of her and was nourished at her breast.
R. Amen. Ave Maria.

Praise be to God the Son, Who in His childhood willed that Mary should teach Him.
R. Amen. Ave Maria

Praise is to God the Son, Who revealed to her the mysteries of the redemption of the world.
R. Amen. Ave Maria and Gloria Patri.

Let us praise and give thanks to God the Holy Ghost who made her His spouse.
R. Amen. Pater noster.

Praise be to God the Holy Ghost, Who revealed to her first His name of Holy Ghost.
R. Amen. Ave Maria

Praise be to God the Holy Ghost, through whose operation she became at once Virgin and Mother.
R. Amen. Ave Maria

Praise be to God the Holy Ghost, through whom she became the living temple of the Most Holy Trinity.
R. Amen. Ave Maria.

Praise be to God the Holy Ghost, by whom she was exalted in Heaven high above all creatures.
R. Amen. Ave Maria and Gloria Patri.

For the Holy Catholic Church, for the propagation of the faith, for peace among Christian princes, and for the uprooting of heresies, let us say Salve Regina.


Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Hail our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.


V. Make me worthy to praise thee, O Holy Virgin.
R. Give me strength against thine enemies.
V. Blessed be God in his saints.
R. Amen


(100 days Indulgence)