Ezekiel — Chapter 7
Chapter 7: 'Finis venit, finis venit super quatuor plagas terrae' — the announcement of the End. Lapide reads this as a type of the final judgment at the end of time, which will likewise come suddenly and irresistibly. He cites Gregory's Moralia on the four last things (death, judgment, heaven, hell) as the ultimate referent of this prophetic 'end.'
Verse 2
'Finis venit super quatuor plagas terrae' — the end comes upon the four corners of the earth: Lapide follows Augustine in reading 'four' as the number of universality (four cardinal directions), indicating no one will escape the final divine reckoning.
Verse 16
Those who escape the sword flee to the mountains and mourn like doves of the valley: Lapide reads the mourning doves as an image of penitent sinners who have escaped divine punishment through repentance. The dove is the Holy Spirit's symbol; mourning over sin is the beginning of conversion.
Verse 19
They cast their silver into the streets and their gold becomes an unclean thing: Lapide develops his theology of eschatological uselessness of worldly wealth. In the day of divine wrath, money cannot buy off God's justice; almsgiving alone transforms wealth from perishable to imperishable (cf. Lk. 16:9). He cites Ambrose's De Nabuthe and Chrysostom's De Eleemosyna.
Verse 27
The king mourns, the prince is clothed in desolation: Lapide notes that in divine judgment, rank provides no protection — the highest are struck alongside the lowest. He applies this to the Catholic understanding that no sacramental character or ecclesiastical dignity gives immunity from the consequences of personal sin.