Revelatio Matthaei (prima) de Novissimis
Standard abbreviation: Rev. Matt. End
Other titles: none
Clavis numbers: ECCA 510
Category: Apocalypses
Related literature: 2 Revelation of Matthew about the End Times, Acts of Matthew in the City of the Priests, Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius, Dialogue between Jesus and the Devil, Revelation of John about the Antichrist, Tiburtine Sibyl; Commodian, Carmen apologeticum and Instructiones
Compiled by: Stephen Pelle, University of Toronto ([email protected])
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Pelle, Stephen. “Revelation of Matthew about the End Times.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/1-revelation-of-matthew-about-the-end-times/.
Created June 2018. Current as of Sept. 2022.
1. SUMMARY
The Latin 1 Revelation of Matthew about the End Times (unrelated to 2 Revelation of Matthew about the End Times except in subject matter) can be divided into two parts. The first purports to describe a conversation between Christ and the apostle Matthew about Antichrist and the Last Judgment. In the days leading up to the Passion, Christ informs Matthew that, in the last days, Antichrist will come from the east proclaiming himself to be the Messiah and performing great signs and wonders. (He will, however, be unable to raise the dead.) A physical description of Antichrist follows. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Antichrist will be worshiped by a king named “Flato” or “Flaccus” but opposed by eighteen unnamed righteous men, whom he will martyr. Christ will then come with an army of the elect (who are currently living an idyllic life in some unnamed location) to fight against Antichrist and his forces. When Christ arrives in Jerusalem, Antichrist will flee to the north to gather Gog and Magog. He will return to do battle with Christ on the Mount of Olives, but he and his forces will be struck down by an angel. A general resurrection and judgment will ensue immediately, followed (apparently) by a millennial reign of the saints on earth. At the end of this thousand-year period, the elect will be taken to heaven. Matthew asks what he should do in those days and is told by Christ to “preach the kingdom of God to every creature.”
The second part of the Latin Revelation of Matthew, at least as it survives in its two known manuscript copies, is a later addition derived from a version of the Apocalypse of Ps.-Methodius and displays no narrative continuity with the text’s first part. Here, the rise and fall of Antichrist are described in entirely different terms. The nations of Gog and Magog will escape their prison in the north and ravage the land of Israel. The last Roman emperor will arise to protect Christians and subjugate the Saracens; he will then go to Golgotha and give up his crown, laying it on the cross, which will subsequently be taken up to heaven. Worldwide chaos will follow, culminating in the appearance of Antichrist, whose three-and-a-half-year reign will be marked by pestilence, drought, and mass starvation. Finally, the cross will appear in the sky and the Lord will kill Antichrist “with the breath of his mouth,” ushering in the Last Judgment.
Named historical figures and characters: Alexander (the Great), Antichrist, David (king), Flato/Flaccus, Gog, Holy Spirit, Ishmael, Jesus Christ, Magog, Matthew (apostle), Michael (angel).
Geographical locations: Ethiopia, Galilee, Gehenna, Golgotha, Israel, Jerusalem, Mount of Olives.
2. RESOURCES
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
C: Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, 404, fol. 7r (ca. 14th cent.)
D: Dublin, Trinity College, 347, fols. 165r–166r (ca. 13th cent.)
James, M. R. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. 2 vols. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1912 (transcription of C text, vol. 2 pp. 270–72).
Pelle, Stephen. “The Latin Revelation of Matthew about the End Times.” Forthcoming in Apocrypha (synoptic edition of C and D texts with English translation and commentary).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 English
Pelle, Stephen. “1 Revelation of Matthew about the End Times.” Pages 584–95 in vol. 3 of New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. 3 vols. Edited by Tony Burke with Brent Landau. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016–2023 (combined translation of C and D).
Pelle, Stephen. “The Latin Revelation of Matthew about the End Times.” Apocrypha 30 (2019): 107–50 (synoptic edition of C and D texts with English translation and commentary).
3.3 General Works
Daniel, E. Randolph. “Henry of Kirkestede’s De antichristo et de fine mundi.” In Abbot Joachim of Fiore and Joachimism: Selected Articles. Farnham: Ashgate/Variorum, 2011 (pp. 8–9).
Ford, J. Massyngbaerde. “The Physical Features of the Antichrist.” JSP 14 (1996): 23–41 (p. 28 and passim).
James, M. R. The Lost Apocrypha of the Old Testament: Their Titles and Fragments. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1920 (p. 59).
Kaestli, Jean-Daniel and Enrico Norelli. “Un nuovo apocrifo da aggiungere al dossier dell’Antichristo: la Revelatio Iohannis recentemente scoperta in un manoscritto latino di Praga.” Pages 47–83 in L’ultimo nemico di Dio: il ruolo dell’Anticristo nel cristianesimo antico e tardoantico. Edited by Alberto D’Anna and Emanuela Valeriani. Bologna: Edizioni Dehoniane, 2013 (pp. 62–64).
McGinn, Bernard. Antichrist: Two Thousand Years of the Human Fascination with Evil. New York: HarperCollins, 1994 (pp. 68–70, 72–73).
McGinn, Bernard. “Portraying Antichrist in the Middle Ages.” Pages 1–29 in The Use and Abuse of Eschatology in the Middle Ages. Edited by Werner Verbeke, Daniel Verhelst, and Andries Welkenhuysen. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1988 (pp. 10–11, 26–27).
Rosenstiehl, Jean-Marc. “Le portrait de l’Antichrist.” Pages 45–60 in Pseudépigraphes de l’Ancien Testament et manuscrits de la Mer morte. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1967 (p. 47 and passim).
Wright, Charles D. “The Revelation of John about Antichrist.” Forthcoming in Apocrypha Hiberniae II.3. Edited by Martin McNamara. CCSA. Turnhout: Brepols.