The Explanation of the Apocalypse: St. Bede: Trial

The Explanation of the Apocalypse by Ven. Bede (672 - 735) is one of the earliest surviving commentaries on the Revelation of St. John. Bede considers the visions not to be necessarily in order, but contemporaneous, with occasional recapitulations. He says the visions representing the condition of the Church in all ages, under different aspects. For example the thousand years, in the twentieth chapter, are interpreted of the present period of the Church's existence, in accordance with the opinion of St. Augustine. Previous to Bede is an exposition by Tichonius, which gives a similar interpretation. Bede also appears to have adopted several opinions from St. Gregory the Great, and Primasius, as well as St. Augustine. The date of the "Explanation" is circ. A.D. 710-716.

Bede was one of the greatest teachers and writers of the Early Middle Ages and is considered by many historians to be the single most important scholar of antiquity for the period between the death of Pope Gregory I in 604 and the coronation of Charlemagne in 800. In 1899, he was declared a Doctor of the Church. He is the only native of Great Britain to achieve this designation.

This app form of the work is illustrated and linked to the World English Bible.