St. Victorinus (d. 303)

a. "They shall tread the holy city down for forty and two months ; and I will give to my two witnesses, and they shall predict a thousand two hundred and threescore days clothed in sackcloth. " That is, three years and six months: these make forty-two months. Therefore their preaching is three years and six months, and the kingdom of Antichrist as much again.

"If any many will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies." That fire proceedeth out of the mouth of those prophets against the adversaries, bespeaks the power of the world. For all afflictions, however, many there are, shall be sent by their messengers in their word. Many think that there is Elisha, cr Moses, with Elijah; but both of these died; while the death of Elijah is not heard of, with whom all our ancients have believed that it was Jeremiah. For even the very word spoken to him testifies to him, saying: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee ; and before thou earnest forth cut of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. " But he was not a prophet unto the nations; and thus the truthful word of God makes it necessary, which it has promised to set forth, that he should be a prophet to the nations.

"These are the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth." These two candlesticks and two olive trees He has to this end spoken of, and admonished you that if, when you have read of them elsewhere, you have not understood, you may understand here. For in Zechariah, one of the twelve prophets, it is thus written: "These are the two olive trees and two candlesticks which stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth ;" that is, they are in paradise. Also, in another sense, standing in the presence of the lord of the earth, that is, in the presence of Antichrist. Therefore they must be slain by Antichrist. "

b. '"And I saw a beast rising up from the sea, like unto a leopard/ This signifies the kingdom of that time of Antichrist, and the people mingled with the variety of nations. 'His feet were as the feet of a bear/ A strong and most unclean beast, the feet are to be understood as his leaders. 'And his mouth as the mouth of a lion/ That is, his mouth armed for blood is his bidding, and tongue which will proceed to nothing else than to the shedding of blood.

c. '"His number is the name of a man, and his number is six hundred three score and six/ As they have it reckoned from the Greek characters, they thus find it among many to be. In Latin DICLUX, which letters are reckoned in this manner: since D figures five hundred, I one, C a hundred, L fifty, V five, X ten, — which by the reckoning up of the letters makes six hundred and sixty-six, by which name, we understand Antichrist, who although he be cut off from the supernal light, and deprived thereof, yet transforms himself into an angel of light, daring to call himself light.

d. '"And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth/ He is speaking of the great and false prophet who is to do signs, and portents, and falsehoods before him in the presence of men.

e. '"And he had two horns like a lamb, that is, the appearance within of a man — and he spoke like a dragon/ But the devil speaks full of malice; for he shall do these things in the presence of men, so that even the dead appear to rise again.

f. "'And he shall make fire come down from heaven in the sight of men/ Yes, (as I also have said), in the sight of men. Magicians do these things, by the aid of the apostate angels, even to this day. He shall cause also that a golden image of Antichrist shall be placed in the temple at Jerusa- lem, and that the apostate angel should enter, and thence utter voices and oracles. Moreover, he himself shall contrive that his servants and children should receive as a mark on their foreheads, or on their right hands, the number of his name, lest any one should buy or sell them."