On the Revelations to Abraham

On the Revelations to Abraham Third Memra Of the Fourth Sunday of the Fast On the Revelations to Abraham The Lord of creation chose one people to be his own, and by his hand he taught great power to all the peoples. He left all peoples in the freedom of the will he placed in them, and he set around them an inheritance by his revelations. He cast upon them the seal of his name and marked them, so that they would not be mixed with the lineages and would be lost to his name. He went forth before them, his words like a wall, and he bound them with covenants as with a rope. He chose a dwelling in the people he had chosen to be his own, so that he might teach them how to love the sons of his house. He sought for them through the cause of sacrifices of flesh and blood, so that they might offer to him sacrifices of love as to a hidden one. He honored them before the feasts of the lineages by the power of his help, and he exalted them above the peoples by the victory of his might. He showed that he was angry when they sinned, and he proclaimed his might through the victory he gave in battles. He ordered all the peoples and set up rulers, and the people he had chosen he led in his own name. Not from evil did he forget the peoples, and he chose a people, for that which was prepared beforehand he first sought in the chosen people. By means of one people he desired to make all the peoples wise, for by his sign he made everything, and in him everything stands.

Like a foundation for the beginning of a house, he set the people, and upon him he completed the building of the peoples as it pleased him. He planted Abraham as the root of the peoples, and raised his stature by divine revelations. He cut off the bitter shoot from the bitter tree, and turned his planting, and the branches bore fruits of glory. From the hidden root of spiritual fruits, he gave forth a fruit full of delights, the love of Abraham. He himself from his own person began and gave a voice of thanksgiving, and like a firstfruit he offered the land of his faith. The sign of the Creator's power showed him from within Babylon, that he should leave his place and go dwell in the land of remembrance. This was revealed to him mysteriously by the one who knows all, that he should leave his errors and come be purified by the light of my knowledge. He loosed his will from the chains of the sorcerers, which were bound, and I gave him freedom of soul, that he might no longer worship. He left the inheritance of the house of his fathers, full of idols, and I gave him an inheritance of love toward my lordship. It was not difficult for him to leave his place and his people, nor was he troubled as to why he should go to another place. The name of Chaldea, full of deceits, did not distress him, nor did the hiddenness of the love of the house of the Chaldeans trouble him. He set out from his place on a path full of pains and sorrows, and with his limbs his thoughts set out after his Lord.

He was a memorial to the brotherhood of the sons of his people, and he loved and cherished the intimacy of being with his Lord. He went out from Babylon, seeking to uproot Chaldeanism, and he arrived at Harran, the mother that gave birth to sorcery. The serenity of his soul was not disturbed by the incantations of Babylon, nor was his faith shaken by the sorcerers of Harran. The desire of his love was not altered by the change of place, nor was he led by causes to the worship of images. It was not the place that caused his righteousness to slacken; by the desire of his love he would strengthen his faith. His body was circumcised from the birth of the flesh, and he continually bore fruits of glory within his mind. Barrenness was a lament to him, to him and to his foundation, and he always caused their thoughts to produce the voice of thanksgiving. His Lord tested him through barrenness as with a firstborn, and showed his beauty through thanksgiving without division. He was not a disciple who knew him before his time; to the coming generations he revealed the zeal of their faith. He was preparing for himself the dwelling of the memorial house, to sow love and faith in the barren land. He left Harran to go to the land that had been promised to him, and there to cast the foundation of his love and to kindle the forest. He went out, trusting in the promise of his Lord that cannot be falsified, and without hope for hope he believed that he would inherit the land.

The righteous one went out in the confidence of the land that had been promised to him, and he believed and affirmed that his seed would fill the nations. He was a sojourner in the land that he received as a kingdom, and like a stranger he dwelt in the region that he acknowledged. He multiplied his worship in the land of the Chaldeans by means of revelations, and he bore fruits of hope, love, and faith. Every day he hears a voice: "Your seed will inherit the land, and there is no heir, and the voice of the unspeakable will cease." He lifted his eyes and looked at the heavens with flashes of light, and he tasted the sand of the seashore if he could. Thus the child of your tears called out to him, a voice, and your seed would be without number, as you said. Stretch your thoughts to the four winds and look at the lands that are destined for your seed to conquer them in one generation. By me, die and do not lie, O man, in my hidden weeping, that in you the peoples of the land will be blessed in faith. Instead of casting them down to the pit of the name of idolatry, O man, cover with your faith the shame of the peoples. Because you have opened a way by the confession of one Creator, on the path of your love, O man, all will walk towards my faith. Because you have opened a door to the hiddenness of my lordship by your will, through you, O man, I open the door of life to the dead of iniquity.

that it was not divided over the kingdoms, though they were far off. The Head of Life will make you a sign in the high kingdom. “Your dominion is hidden within your secret thought,” it is said, “From you shall come the one who subdues the nations to one.” In place of the census among the regions, full of tumults, the Head of Life will make you a sign for all who are oppressed. Upon you the Head of Life seeks to build love and faith, and in you the Head of Life will strengthen the hope of life for all the nations. Through the kingdoms, by their voice, the one who knows all made the far-off believe, believe, O father, as if they were near. And when he knew that it was not divided over his kingdoms, by a hidden sign he revealed the truth of his faith. He knew it before he tested it, that her love was true, and he awaited the time, calling it “not divided.” To the sons of his race he desired to hasten through his deeds, and he wrote, “I will come in the book of his words, that in him they may be likened.” In the likeness of an image he formed the beauty of his faith, so that every one might fix the seal of his soul within his thought. His body withered through asceticism, as if dried up, and he watered his soul with the draught of the spirit and bore fruits. To his seed he said, “I will give the land that is promised, and I will drive them from it like a fugitive to the land of Egypt.

He raised the rod and struck the earth with a hard blow, so that it fled from it because of the blow to another place. He increased his search through the change of places, so that every blow might hear that it was not divided before the branches. He fled from the blow to save himself in the land of Egypt, and they divided it in half and snatched from him the rib of his side. He did not intend that the wicked should take the land of his seed, nor was it divided that they should take from him the foundation of his fruits. He was certain for him that the voice that called him would not be falsified, that another side would not reach the land of his side. He grew rich in that land and greatly increased in his strength, and the wealth of his faith surpassed the earthly regions. He dwelt in the plain which demons served with sorcery, and they placed the fruits of his faith within the treasures. O tree that grew, extending itself in the midst of thorns, and struck the air with its branches, casting down the fruits of the wicked. O inhabitant who went up on the Acropolis in the house of the Huns, and kings and free men bowed before him against their will. O Hun who came to fill the measure of his life, and raised the rod and struck the air, the inhabitants of the place. The Lord struck Pharaoh the king and the sons of his house, because Sarah the wife of Abraham was taken from him.

And while he was being tormented with the world, his wealth increased through the command of his Lord by means of the causes. The wise man became rich in the place of the poor from knowledge, and he buried his wealth that it might go to the land that had been given to him in counsel. He turned and dwelt in that land which he had chosen as his own, while he was looking to the promise of his Lord that he would give it to him. The number of the years of his life was completed, ninety-nine, and he spoke with him through a revelation that would cut his flesh. The servant fell on his face and worshipped before his maker, and made a covenant with him that would mark his seed with his name. He changed his name, which had been hidden under the name of one people, and called him by the name that was to be interpreted as the father of peoples. With the change that he made, he called him the father of peoples; he called him by the voice that Michael would receive, the child of the queen. Behold, the promise is delivered to you through the deeds, and I give you a son from grace, beyond the order. Behold, I clothe your dead body and give seed, and I cause growth from the root that was old and worn out. I bring forth Sarah the barren from her barrenness, and I cause the razor to cut the fruit from her.

He would pass the grace of the body of Shem to the barren women, and he would give the reward of childbirth through her conception. The confessions were completed and the covenants began with the barren ones, that the hidden one would come and give reward to the mourners in secret. The Lord revealed himself to Abraham in the land of the Mamre, and he was sitting at the door of his house while the day was hot. O heat that did not trouble him, the severity of the heat, and it scorched the travelers without being disturbed by its reception. He lifted his eyes while he was looking at the crossroads, that he might complete his love through the guide toward the ascetic. Abraham saw a new vision, a river full of three youths who were clothed in the form of a man. He ran rejoicing and fell and prostrated before the spirits, and he begged that he might complete his love through their travels. Shem the firstborn called out to them through revelations, "O Lord, do not pass from the house of your servant who serves you." O hidden essence from all and not seen, she revealed herself to Abraham in the form of a man. O righteous one who is worthy to see mysteries mystically, the Word of the Father who was destined to put on the body of a man. They came down to the house of Abraham in form, and Abraham spoke with one alone as with God.

The word of the Father put on the garment of Sodom mysteriously, and Abraham alone saw what was hidden in the chosen body. He made a confession to the Lord and the servants before the one whom he saw. And he brought bread and water as he had hoped. And the spirits also showed themselves to him according to his love, that they showed that they ate when they did not eat because of his love. There is no corporeal being that receives food from the spirits, nor are heavenly ones nourished by earthly things. Because of Abraham’s love, they came in the food that they showed they ate, and they were a sign of nourishment without satiety, as is customary. The Lord received his love and the servants of the good servant, and he rewarded him with a reward of the womb and a portion without corporeality. For this sacrifice, turn towards me, speak with him, and it will be a fruit for Sarah the barren while she lives. He received his love and gave a reward in the hope of the womb, and he revealed and examined the pursuit of the wicked who trampled his ordinances. The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah came towards him; let me see if the deed was as the report. Or does he who knows all know his love for the difficulty of the flesh, that while he knows its evil, he stirs up the creature to his wrath? He revealed to Abraham that the fire would rain down on the wanton ones, and he showed that he would be appeased if there were righteous ones, and he would calm his wrath. Abraham saw the will of his Lord, that he was eager to forgive, and he sought and pleaded that he might be and remain from his anger.

He bowed himself before the Lord of the servants by means of his prayer, that he might see his nature, the small one who was added to the remnant. He received from him the prayer of his love, as he was reconciled, that if there were righteous ones, he would not destroy the place by his wrath. Abraham asked if there were fifty righteous ones in the place, and the gentle one descended with him as far as ten. If there were ten righteous ones in Sodom, he would leave the place. And when he knew that there was only one, if there were any, the righteous ones departed from the side of Abraham and came to Sodom. And Lot received the brothers of Abraham in the likeness of Abraham. The bodies lusted after the flesh of the righteous ones, for they saw that Lot was clothed in flames. By this sign, the one who knows all sent Lot, that the witnesses in the wickedness of man might destroy the order. And the evil nature, which was widespread, destroyed his way, and the good mercy did not mingle with the wrath when Lot judged. By fire he quenched the lust of the bodies, and he made the place a spectacle of the wickedness of the man of whom they had spoken. He saved the righteous one from destruction along with the wicked, and he showed his mercy in the one who escaped, that he who loves man is he. Abraham rejoiced that he saw the hidden one by means of his revelations, and though he was dust, he was worthy to speak with the Being.

He received from his Lord the prayer of his love in a manner that was reconciled, and he entreated himself and gave him a reward, a pregnant woman and a child. The confessions ceased and the circumcisions began, and the barrenness of Sarah and the childbirth of the child to the son, apart from the ordinance that was established in the covenant. The priests who had despaired of recompense received a reward, and they gave thanks to the voice that had raised their members. Through Isaac the priests, the barren ones, received their circumcisions, and they rejoiced that they saw in that near one that distant one. In a single wonder, the one who knows all entreated and showed himself as a mystery to that which was prepared. Instead of the will that they had separated, they made him one as for the Lord, they made him worthy to see the mystery of the meaning of the peoples. He gave recompense to the wills of the circumcisers, that from then on, the one who increases hope would give hope to the one without hope. They rejoiced and entreated, that they saw the hope that cannot be deceived, which with oaths the one who confessed sealed and gave. Also the beginning of the completion of the mysteries with the priests, he sealed and said, "Abraham saw and rejoiced in the meaning." Through the birth of Isaac, he entreated from barrenness, and he entered as a firstborn into the mystery of his sacrifice. The Lord called to Abraham, "Abraham, father by revelation, that I may take your only one and offer him up to me as an offering on the mountain." A new sacrifice I ask of you, that you may offer to me, for I know your love for me that is not deceived.

The good servant did not delay at his Lord's command, nor did he hesitate to turn and take up the covenant of his words. The father came forward on the following day as he was commanded, and prepared the wood for the fire that his son might kindle with sincerity of heart. For three days the voice of the ram resounded on the path, and the grief of the anxious one was not divided from his answer. He revealed and showed him the place of that sacrifice which he had called him to, and left him to his servants, and took his son according to his will. He took the knife, the fire, and the wood for the answer of the sacrifice, and did not reveal the secret of Isaac's slaying to the members of his household. The servants stood firm in this amazement at the base of the mountain, that he who went up to worship with the youth might return and come back. The sacrifice spoke with his father, the begetter of the son to his father: "Behold, here are the fire and the wood for the sacrifice; where is the lamb?" The father turned to his offspring with a voice of hope: "God will see and prepare the lamb for the sacrifice." He entreated his son by the meaning of his Lord, that he might not deny him, and he himself received, without falsehood, the word of his father. He sought the reason, arranged the wood, and bound the sacrifice according to his will; he drew the knife to cover his son. O thought that mingled his love with the members, that the love of his bondage might be loosed by the mercy of his Lord. O death, evil in its bitterness, of the pains of the flesh, that when the pangs of the womb strike him, they constrain his loins.

O the athlete who took hold of the fire with his own self, and conquered the pains of the body by the power of his mind. The heavenly ones marveled at the humility of the new priest, who took hold of the mercy of his Lord, binding his sin with the compassion of his Lord. The sacrifice of the ram, which covered his son without dispute, and all of them, a voice that does not desire the fire of the sacrifice of man. The Lord called him, "Abraham, Abraham," and spoke with him: "Cleanse your hand from your inheritance, and do not destroy it. Accept your sacrifice with your will, like one who has sacrificed, for behold, I have made known your love for me to the spiritual ones. In return for your having heard and not delayed my command toward you, let your seed be like the sand on the seashore. Do not withhold your son from the sacrifice of the ram, which is to be a sacrifice. By my command, I will die, that I may pour out my blessings upon your generations. In return for the offering which your hands have brought with a whole heart, through you I will bind the fire that is to pass over the command." It was not the sacrifice of man that was to be offered to me, that which was destined to be revealed to you in this that you have done. By the sacrifice of man, I am destined to bind the fire of all, and beforehand you have burned in the sacrifice of your son the death of my beloved. Your son, if he comes, will not pay the debts of his race, for from your seed the dominion of death was loosed by his death.

One takes fire from your seed at the end of the sacrifices, and makes of it a perfect offering that covers all. By the death of Isaac was signed the death of him who died while dying, so that he too might die and his body not be destroyed in Sheol. In the hands of Isaac, the coals withered in his hands; here in the mystery and there in the truth, he is in the deeds. For Isaac, love and mercy bent him because of his Lord, and he bent love and mercy because of his race. In Isaac, love and mercy toward my lordship were perfected, and through him one shows wealth and love toward all. In Isaac, the sign of his death and the renewal of his life are seen, for one raises him after his death and he is not destroyed. For Isaac, the silent lamb is redeemed by the command, and he is redeemed by the hidden power that dwells in him. The head of life, Abraham, made you here and there, in the mystery of truth one completes the confession toward you. Behold, I have shown you the mystery of salvation through the sacrifice of your son, that one may sacrifice at the end of the sacrifices for the salvation of all. Behold, I have given you the silent sacrifice; complete your will, loose the speaker, cover the silent, and perfect your sacrifice. See, Abraham, that I have given a reward for your love toward me, that the mystery hidden from the high ones has been revealed to you.

Your seed, Abraham, is destined to become a body that will clothe itself in the likeness of the Church, and by its revelation it will proclaim the power of the only Son. Through the sacrifice, a father dwells in him in the beginning of your seed, and at the face of the gate of his flesh every man worships your offering. Behold, I have accepted the sacrifice of your hands along with your will, for when you rejoiced at the completion of your sacrifice, it was the salvation of the peoples. Abraham lifted his eyes and saw a ram in the mountain, and the sign bound him at the head of the thicket of the deliverance of his son. He fulfilled his will and completed his sacrifice with the silent ram, and rejoiced when he saw the truth in the mystery of the service of his hands. In this meaning, the good Job rejoiced over the afflicted, and Job passed over the head of the covenant of the high kingdom. In that, he confessed to all who were assembled in their conduct, that as in a feast he gave rest to their side for those who had none. Job was honored by the promises of the future, and he inscribed the image of their conduct for the generations to come. He gathered the peoples to the four winds of their regions, that they might come and rejoice spiritually in their feasts. Abraham was equal to being a head in the high kingdom, that he might teach the way of salvation to the peoples through his faith. His confession was like a foundation of the beginning of the house, and in it were perfected love, hope, and faith. That the afflicted one might bear the barrenness of his flesh and not be divided, the father placed him for the peoples who are like him in his faith.

Abraham becomes like a vision through his ways, and sees himself, that the blood of the lamb is hidden in the ram. He sows in the land of his faith hope and love, and reaps spiritual fruits without end. In him the hidden roots from the kingdom are revealed, and a son without end stands in his likeness. In the garment of his love he follows the narrow paths of the monastery, so that he may be with them a living bread for their fragments. By the pattern of his wealth, a wealth also stands for the rich, and they are with him in the houses of inheritance in the wealth of height. To him the earthly treasures of the land are likened, and with him the heavenly ones that are not dissolved stand. His beauty becomes like a vision to all who see, and love stands toward the poor in the offering of the sacrifice. Through Sarah the rich daughters of many priests are seen, who, when she was a priestess in her hands, served the spiritual ones. The humility of her soul and the restraint of her eyes for the riches, so that the goodness of Abraham is not changed by the wealth of Egypt. Her eyes are restrained from the violence of her faith, from the festivals of the questions that a son without end asks the unclean demons. The laughter of her eyes is hidden from the deceptions, lest the son without end take the laughter of the eyes. Sarah becomes like a vision showing the daughters of Eve, and they look at her and are not divided concerning the Creator.

In Abraham he saw the types of his two loves of wealth, who spreads his wealth and humbles himself like a poor man. They were priests in their conduct, revealed images, and each one formed the image of their beauty within his thought. By the love of his self he bound the bond of love toward the Creator, who gives reward to our faith with his true ones.