Excerpt from «Commentary on the Apocalypse»:

      19 And a white horse, and one sitting upon him shows our Lord coming with the heavenly army to reign, at Whose coming all the nations will be gathered [Rev 19:11—16], and will fall by the sword [Rev 19:21]. And others who were nobles will serve in the service of the saints [Rev 20:4]; and of these (nobles) also he shows they will be killed in the end time, at the finish of the reign of the saints, before the judgment, after the release of the devil [Rev 20:7—8]. On these all the prophets likewise agree.

      20,1 And the scarlet devil is imprisoned and all his fugitive angels in the Tartarus of Gehenna at the coming of the Lord; no one is ignorant of this [Rev 20:1—3]. And after the thousand years he is released, because of the nations which will have served Antichrist: so that they alone might perish, as they deserved [Rev 20:7—10]. Then is the general judgment. Therefore he says: And they lived, he says, the dead who were written in the book of life, and they reigned with Christ a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has a part in the first resurrection: toward this one the second death has no power [Rev 20:4—6]. Of this resurrection, he says: And I saw the Lamb standing, and with him 144 thousands, that is, standing with Christ, namely those of the Jews in the last time who become believers through the preaching of Elijah, those who, the Spirit bears witness, are virgins not only in body, but also in language [Rev 14:1—5]. Therefore, as he reminds above, the 24 elder-aged said: Grace we bring to You, O Lord God who has reigned; and the nations are angry [Rev 11:16—18].

      20,2 At this same first resurrection will also appear the City and the splendid things expressed through this Scripture [Rev 21:2, 10]. Of this first resurrection Paul also spoke to the Macedonian church, thus: For as we have thus said to you, he says, by the Word of God, that at the trumpet of God, the Lord Himself will descend from heaven for raising up; and the dead in Christ will stand first, then we who are living, as we will be taken up with Him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord [1 Thess 4:16—17]. We have heard the trumpet spoken of; it is observed that in another place the Apostle names another trumpet. Therefore he says to the Corinthians: At the last trumpet, the dead will rise, will become immortal, and we will be changed [1 Cor 15:51—52]. He says the dead will be be raised immortal for bearing punishments, but it is shown that we are to be changed and to be covered in glory. Therefore where we hear «the last trumpet,» we must understand also a first, for these are two resurrections. Therefore, however many were not previously to rise in the first resurrection and to reign with Christ over the world, over all nations, will rise at the last trumpet, after the thousand years, that is, in the last resurrection, among the impious and sinners and perpetrators of various kinds. He rightly adds, saying: Blessed and holy is he who has a part in the first anastasis: toward this one the second death has no power [Rev 20:7]. For the second death is being thrown into hell.

      21,1 Therefore in the kingdom and in the first resurrection appears the holy city, of which he speaks, descending from heaven [Rev 21:2, 10], foursquare, walled around with stones of different and precious and coloured and various kinds, like fine gold, that is, bright [Rev 21:12—20]. In crystal, he says, is its street paved [Rev 21:21]; the river of life flowing through the middle, and springs of waters of life; the tree of life around it, making different fruits for every month [Rev 21:1—2]; no light of the sun is there, because of a greater glory. The Lamb, he says, is its light [Rev 21:11, 23; 22:1—5].

      21,2 Its gates, truly, are each a single pearl, three from each part, not closed, but to be open [Rev 21:21, 25]. Scripture shows many reasons for the gifts of the kings of regions and nations, (kings) who will be servants, being brought there: he speaks of the subjection of the last ones, which we have treated. But the city is not thus understood, as one (?) we have known; for we are not able to testify any further, without a guide, to that which we have heard and seen. Otherwise, the city is spoken of as all those provinces of the Eastern region promissed to the Patriarch Abraham. Look, he says, to the heavens, from the place in which you are now standing [Gen 13:14], that is, from the great river Euphrates to the river of Egypt [Gen 15:18]; all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your seed [Gen 13:15]. Finally, the Holy Spirit says: It will be ruled from sea to sea, that is, from the Red Sea, which is in Arabia, to the North Sea, which is the Sea of Phoenicia, and to the ends of the earth [Ps 72:8 (Ps 71:8 rus)]: which are the major parts of Syria. Therefore, all these provinces are to be levelled and cleansed at the coming of the Lord and (His) brightness descending from heaven like a cloud, outshining the brightness of the sun, and are shown contained in the circuit (of its walls).

      21,3 For as the Holy Spirit has also testified through Isaiah: Like a smoke of light burning with fire; with all the glory it will be covered [Is 4:5]; and in another place he says, Shine, Jerusalem! For your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen for you. For the sun will not illuminate for you by day, nor the moon for you by night; the Lord your God will be for you an eternal light [Is 60:1, 19—20]. And David says: And there will be on the earth a firmament above the peaks of the mountains, and his fruit will be exalted over that of Lebanon, and they of the city will flourish like the grass of the earth [Ps 72:16 (Ps 71:16 rus)]. And Daniel spoke of the stone cut out without hands to strike the statue having four in it, that is, gold and silver, bronze and iron, and clay in the last; and this stone, after it will have reduced the statue to dust, will become a great mountain, filling the whole earth [Dan 2:31—35]. And he interpreted the dream for the king, and says: You are, he says, the gold head, and your nation. Another kingdom, he says, will rise, lesser than you, and there will be a third kingdom which will rule the whole earth. And the fourth kingdom: very hard and very strong, like iron which subdues everything and cuts down every tree [Dan 2:37—40]. And in the end time, he says, like clay mixed with iron will men be mixed, and there will not be treaties nor agreement. i And in those times the Lord God will raise up another kingdom, which kingdom, he says, the saints of the Most High God will take up [Dan 7:18]. And this kingdom will not be captured by another nation; for God will strike and capture all the kingdoms of the earth, and His will remain forever [Dan 2:44].

      21,4 Paul also, speaking to the Corinthians, recalled mention of His kingdom: He must reign until He puts His enemies under His feet [1 Cor 15:25]. The saints are spoken of in this kingdom: I have rejoiced [Ps 60:6 (Ps 59:8 rus)] just as we have have heard [Ps 48:8 (Ps 47:9 rus)]. In the same kingdom he will find those serving a perfect faith, of whom he says: they stood upon the sea of glass, having kitharas and bowls, that is, firmly established upon their baptism, and having their confession in their mouth, they are rejoicing there [Rev 5:8; 14:1—5; 15:2—4].

      21,5 In this kingdom, He has promised to His servants, saying: Whoever will leave father or mother or brother or sister for the sake of My