Revelation 21:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The one who conquers in the battle against the invisible demons will receive these good things when he becomes a son of God, and he will enjoy spiritual delights.

St. Andrew explains this as follows. He who conquers in the war against the invisible demons, and who overcomes all the passions and snares of the devil, will receive all these blessings, having become a spiritual son of God. But all the cowardly, and those who lack courage in the struggle against the devil, will be cast into the lake of fire unto the second death.

Thus the saint of Caesarea continues: “God, who desires our salvation, turns us all toward the inheritance of His good things by both pleasant and grievous means. He sets before us the brightness of the Jerusalem on high, and the dark and sorrowful straitness of the fire of Gehenna. Thus we may do good while there is time, either from desire for eternal glory or from fear of endless shame.”

By liars, the interpreters understand people who, proceeding from purely earthly interests, knowingly present falsehood as truth.

Know, pious monk, that when Satan comes to you with his temptation, your omnipresent Lord is there. He looks upon you, upon your mind and heart, and awaits the crown with which your struggle will end.

Will it end in preserving fidelity to the Lord, or in betraying Him? In manifesting love for the Lord and entering into communion with Him, or in manifesting love for Satan and entering into communion with him? One or the other necessarily follows from the clash with the invisible enemy.

True monasticism is an invisible martyrdom. The life of a monk is a chain of continual struggles and sufferings. To the victor is given eternal life, the pledge of the Holy Spirit. Strong battles are permitted to the monk whom God wishes to enrich with spiritual understanding and spiritual gifts.