Victorinus of Petovium

The full extant witnesses of four early Christian commentaries on Revelation from the Latin west, written between the third and eighth centuries CE.

The commentary of Victorinus of Petovium is important since it is a third century witness; he uses some typology and sees the heretics in every antagonistic image. The commentary of Apringius of Beja is incomplete, with only the first few and last chapters preserved, but represents good typological style. Caesarius of Arles is more homiletical in expression and mostly interested in typological identification and explanation. Bede is the most thorough commentator, often speaking typologically, but also interested in making good sense of the text.

If one seeks to find the "silver bullet" of interpreting Revelation among patristic works, one is likely to be disappointed; patristic authors in general did not expound upon Revelation as much as other books of the Bible, and their interest in Revelation was mostly typological, thoroughly overshadowed by the spiritual/typological schema of Tychicus, Primasius, and Augustine. Some later controversies (amillennialism vs. premillennialism) are already manifest, but few today would follow the exegetical path of the patristic authors.

Nevertheless, an important resource for an understanding of the history of interpretation of Revelation, and useful for parallels between the "Wisdom Literature" of the OT (especially Psalms) and Revelation.… (mehr)