A Witness
a view of what was. We don’t know what the Apocalypse looked like in the third century. Victorinus knew and we know what his commentary looked like. It didn’t include the seven churches John wrote to. It did include the seven churches Paul wrote to. There is a reasonable explanation for this.
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A History of the Church
a dog that didn’t bark. Eusebius never associates the churches with the Apocalypse. He does mention six of the seven churches but does not connect them with the Apocalypse. Since Victorinus has the same problem, it suggests that there may have been a version of the Apocalypse that didn’t have the seven churches.
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A Commentary on the Apocalypse
a dog that didn’t bark. Victorinus didn’t mention the churches. He does mention the seven churches that Paul wrote to. So why not mention the seven churches that John wrote to? It is possible that his version of the Apocalypse didn’t have the seven churches. We need to look at Eusebius to see if he has the same problem.
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A Recapitulation
a commentary on the Apocalypse by Victorinus who introduced the theory of recapitulation. Without it misinterpretation is likely. The visions of John cannot be understood to be in chronological order. Each vision should be considered independent of the others. Some are a repetition of others. Recapitulation is a necessary tool in understanding the Apocalypse.
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A Commentary
by Victorinus modified by Jerome who was not happy with it. What he added and/or edited is not clear. It is possible that Victorinus was looking at a copy of the original Apocalypse and Jerome was not aware of this. This would also explain why so many were convinced it was not written by John the Apostle who may have added the churches at a later date.
A Clue
as to what they didn’t know. What the Fathers of the Church wrote has been thoroughly studied but what they left out has not. Victorinus in his Commentary on the Apocalypse fails to mention the seven churches. He does mention the seven churches that Paul wrote to. This by itself should concern no one but when combined with other similar omissions, it demands your attention.
A Study
of the Apocalypse. The results of this research have been presented on four different forums over the past 15 years. The latest and possibly the greatest presentation is at Theology Forums. Here using history I have specifically identified all the major parts of the Apocalypse. I don’t think you will find another presentation like this.
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A Book
A City of God includes his analysis of the Apocalypse well after Jerome’s Vulgate. Did Augustine wait for it? They did have some issues. Jerome also had some issues with Victorinus but may not have realized that Victorinus may have been looking at another version, the first version written by John the Baptist which did not include the seven churches. In his commentary Victorinus called them the seven spirits.
Watch for more pieces that fit. Blessed is the one who looks.
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