Demonstration 5: On Wars

Demonstration on Wars This thought came to me at this time, concerning the disturbance that is destined to occur in this time, and the force that stirs itself up for the sword. The times that are earlier and appointed for God, the times of peace, are fulfilled in good and righteous days, and the times of many evils occur in evil and unjust days. For it is written thus: that good is destined to be, and blessed is the one through whom it comes; and evil is destined to be, but woe to the one through whom it comes. Good came to the people of God, and blessing abides with the one through whom good came. And evil was stirred up against the wicked force, by the evil and arrogant one who boasts; and also woe remains there with the one through whom evil is stirred up. But do not delay, my beloved, because of the evil that the evil one has cast upon the many; for the times are earlier and appointed, and the time of their fulfillment has arrived. Now, because the time is evil, hear in secret this thing that is written for you. For it is written thus: that what is placed among the chosen ones is determined before God. And again it is written: that everyone who is exalted is humbled, and everyone who is humbled is exalted. Also Jeremiah says: that the mighty should not boast in his might, nor the rich in his wealth. And the blessed Apostle again says: that he who boasts boasts in the Lord. And David says: that I saw the wicked one who was exalted and raised up like a cedar of Lebanon, and when I passed by, he was not there, and I sought him and did not find him. Everyone who boasted was humbled. Cain boasted over his brother Abel and killed him, and was cursed and became a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth. Again, the Sodomites boasted over Lot, and a fire from heaven fell upon them and consumed them, and their city was overturned upon them. And Esau boasted over Jacob and persecuted him, and Jacob received his birthright and his blessings from Esau.

The sons of Jacob boasted over Joseph, and they fell and bowed down to him in Egypt. Pharaoh boasted over Moses and his people; Pharaoh and his army sank in the sea. Dathan and Abiram boasted over Moses, and they went down alive to Sheol. Goliath boasted over David, and fell before him and was broken. Again Saul pursued David, and fell by the sword of the Philistines. Absalom rose up against him, and Joab killed him in battle. Again Ben-Hadad boasted over Ahab, and was delivered into the hand of Israel. Sennacherib blasphemed against Hezekiah and his God, and his army became dead corpses when one went out from the watchers and destroyed in his camp one hundred and eighty-five thousand by the prayer of Hezekiah, by the prayer of Isaiah the prophet, the glorious one of the prophets. Ahab rose up against Micaiah, and went up and fell at Ramoth-Gilead. Jezebel boasted over Elijah, and dogs ate her in the courtyard of Jezreel. Haman boasted over Mordecai, and his wickedness turned upon his own head. The Babylonians boasted over Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions; and Daniel came up victorious, and those who accused him fell in his place into the den. Again the Babylonians boasted and brought accusations against Hananiah and his companions, and they fell into the furnace of fire, and came up victorious, and the flame consumed the accusers. For Nebuchadnezzar said that he would ascend to the heavens, and above the stars of El he raised a throne, and sat on the high mountains of the northern slopes. Isaiah said concerning him: Because you have thus raised your heart, therefore you will descend to Sheol, and all who see you will marvel at you. And Sennacherib also spoke thus: that he ascended to the summit of the mountains, and even to the slopes of Lebanon; I will dig and drink water, and I will dry up with the hoofs of my horses all the deep rivers. And because he thus exalted himself, again the same Isaiah said concerning him.

wn into the earth. Or can the saw boast over the one who cuts with it, or the axe be raised up over the one who hews with it, or the staff be lifted up over the one who raises it? Nay, the saw is in the hands of the one who cuts, and the axe is in the hands of the one who hews, and the staff is in the hand of the one who raises it for rebellion, and the rod is for striking. You were sent against one people, and again you were commanded against another people, to take captives and seize booty, and you made all the sons of men and all the nations like merchandise in the market. And when all these things wearied you, you were raised up against the one who held you, and you boasted over the one who hewed you, and you blasphemed against the city of the Holy One, and you said to the sons of Jerusalem, "Is your God able to deliver you from my hands?" And you spoke haughtily and said, "Who is the Lord who will deliver you from my hands?" Because of this, hear the word of the Lord, who said, "I have broken the Assyrian in my land, and on the mountains I have trampled him." And when he was broken and trampled, a virgin daughter of Zion cast a shoe at him, and the daughter of Jerusalem shook her head at him, and said to him, "You whom I blasphemed and reviled, and against whom I raised my voice, you lifted your eyes to the heights against the Holy One of Israel, and through your messengers you blasphemed the Lord. Now see that the stone has fallen on your chosen one, and the bridle on your lips, and you have turned a broken heart, having come with a high heart. And he who killed him by the hands of his friends was, and his place of trust was overturned and fell before his God. And it was fitting, my beloved, that this sacrifice and offering should be against that God in whom he trusted, and in his place of worship, his body was a memorial to his idol." Again the ram was raised up and exalted, and he called to the West and to the North and to the South, and he humbled many beasts, and none stood before him until the morning came from the West and struck the ram and broke his horns, and humbled the ram greatly.

who cuts, and the axe in the hands of the one who hews, and the staff in the hands of the one who raises it. For behold, Darius, king of the Medes and Persians, and Xerxes, son of Philip the Macedonian. For he saw the ram of Daniel when it was in the east, before the gate of Shushan, the palace in the city of Elymais, on the river Ulai, and it butted to the west, north, and south, and no beast stood before it. And Xerxes of the Greeks went out from the city of the Greeks and rose up against the ram, and struck him and broke his two horns, the great and the small. But it says that he broke his two horns, because he humbled both kingdoms that he ruled, the small of the Medes and the great of the Persians. When Alexander the Greek came, he killed Darius, king of the Medes and Persians. For thus the angel said to Daniel when he interpreted for him the vision of the ram that I saw, the king of the Medes and Persians, and the goat, the king of the Greeks. For from the time that the two horns of the ram were broken, until this time, there have been one hundred and forty-eight years. Now the ram's horns are broken, and when his horns are broken, behold, he is raised up and lifted up against the fourth beast, which is strong and mighty, with teeth of iron and claws of brass, which eats and crushes, and whatever it treads under its feet it tramples. Or the ram whose horns are broken, be still before the beast and do not provoke it, lest it eat you and crush you. Before the goat the ram could not stand; before the beast of power how can it stand, whose mouth speaks great things, and whatever can be found it devours, like a lion over its prey? For he who hastens to the lion becomes his portion, and he who stirs up the beast eats him, and wherever he goes he falls under the feet of the beast that tramples him. For the beast is not killed, until the Ancient of Days sits on the throne, and the son of man fights before him.

and authority is given to him. Then that beast is slain, and his body perishes, and his kingdom carries away men, a worldly kingdom, and his authority for generations. Cease, O one who is exalted; do not boast. For if your wealth has lifted your heart, it is not greater than that of Hezekiah, who boasted of it before the Babylonians; all of it was taken and went to Babylon. And if you boast in your sons, they will be led away with you to the beast, as the sons of King Hezekiah were led away, and they became eunuchs in the temple of the king of Babylon. And if you boast in your wisdom, you are not greater than the prince of Tyre, whom Hezekiel rebuked, saying to him, "Are you wiser than Daniel? Or have you seen hidden things in your wisdom?" And if you boast in your years, which are many, your mind is not more exalted than that of the prince of Tyre, who ruled kingdoms for twelve days and two kings of the house of Judah, whose years were four hundred and forty years. And when the years of the king of Tyre were many, at that whole time, he said in his heart, "I am a god, and in the assembly of the gods I sit in the heart of the seas." For Hezekiel said to him, "You are a man, and you are not a god." For when the blameless prince of Tyre walked among the rocks of the mountain, mercies were upon him, and when his heart was exalted, a gnat destroyed him. And what are the rocks of the mountain to us? But rather the sons of Zion and the sons of Jerusalem. For in the first time, in the days of David and Solomon his son, mercy was shown to the house of Israel. And when they were taken from their land, they rejoiced and trampled with their foot, and did not remember the mercy of the house of David. And as for what you said, that the rocks of the mountain are called the sons of Judah, I did not say it from my own mind, but the prophet Jeremiah said it concerning them.

For when he weeps in his lamentations and says, "The sons of thirst were better off than good stones." And again he says, "How are the stones of holiness cast upon the head of all the streets?" And again he says in the prophet, "The holy stones that are cast in his land, and those stones are alive; a burning fire was in them," as Jeremiah says, "The word of the Lord was in my heart like a burning fire and a flame in my bones." And again he says to Jeremiah, "Behold, I have placed my word in your mouth like a fire, and this people are like wood." And again he says, "My words are like a fire that goes forth, and like iron that cuts stone." Because of this, the sons of the prophets were walking, the great Hiram of Tyre, who were called the stones of fire. And again he says to him, "I was with the Cherub of the Messiah and because of him." For the Cherub was called the king who was anointed with the oil of holiness, and he was the cause over all his people, as Jeremiah says, "The spirit of the face of the Lord is his anointed one," he who says, "Under his shadow, live among the peoples." For under the shadow of the king they were sitting while he stood over their heads. And when the crown fell from their heads, they were without shadow. And if someone says that this word is said about the Messiah, he accepts what I have written to him without dispute. And thus it is fitting, that it is said about the king. For Jeremiah says concerning the people, "Woe to you, for the crown of your head has fallen," and the Messiah did not fall, because he rose on the third day. For the king fell from the house of Judah, and their kingdom was not established again. And he says again that the Cherub destroyed because of him. For the Cherub who destroyed him was Nebuchadnezzar, as it is written, that he did deeds in Tyre, and he was not given from Tyre a reward for his army. And in exchange for the deeds of Tyre, the land of Egypt was given to him.

And why was no reward given to him from Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar? It was because his wealth went into the sea, and Nebuchadnezzar did not take it. And at that very time, the cherub of wrath destroyed him, because he was Nebuchadnezzar. For there are two cherubs: one of Christ and wrath, and one of wrath and not Christ. For above he says, "I was with the cherub of Christ and wrath," and below he says, "The cherub of wrath destroyed you," and he does not say "of Christ." For Nebuchadnezzar was not Christ, but rather David and Solomon and the other kings who were after them. And how was he called "Nebuchadnezzar of wrath" except in the vision of the tree, when he saw a tree in the midst of the earth, under which all the beasts of the field dwelt, and on whose branches all the birds of the sky rested, and from which every flesh was nourished? When Daniel interpreted his dream for him, he said to him, "You are that tree, the tree that I saw in the midst of the earth, and under you all the peoples dwell." For this reason he was the cherub of wrath, who destroyed the master of Tyre, because he rejoiced at the hearts of the children of Israel, who were taken captive from their land, and because his heart was exalted, Tyre also was laid waste for seventy years, like Jerusalem which sat in ruin for seventy years. For Isaiah said concerning her, "Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king, and will wander through all the kingdoms on the face of the earth." Or, "He who is exalted and proud, the boasting of your heart will not cause you to err, and you will say, 'Ascend upon the exhausted earth and upon the fierce beast.' For the beast is not slain by the hands of a ram when its horns are broken, for the morning star breaks the horns of the ram. Now the morning star has become a fierce beast for him, because when the children of Japheth took the kingdom, they killed Darius, the king of Persia. Now the fourth beast has swallowed the third.

And the third, the sons of Japheth; and the fourth, the sons of Shem, who are the sons of Esau. Because when Daniel saw the vision of the four beasts, he saw first the sons of Ham, the seed of Nimrod, who were the Babylonians; and the second, the Persians and the Medes, who are the sons of Japheth; and the third, the Ionians, the brothers of the Medes; and the fourth, the sons of Shem, who are the sons of Esau. For there was a partnership of the sons of Japheth with the sons of Shem; and the dominion was taken from the younger sons of Japheth and given to the elder Shem; and so it is to this day, and will be forever. But when the end of the dominion of the sons of Shem comes, the authority of the kingdom will be received by one who comes forth from the sons of Judah, when he comes at the second coming. For in the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, when he saw, Daniel made known and showed to Nebuchadnezzar, when he saw the image that stood before him: its head of gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs and feet of iron and clay. And Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, "You are the head of gold." And why was it called the head of gold? Because the word of Jeremiah was fulfilled concerning him. For Jeremiah said, "A cup of gold in the hand of the Lord, which gives drink to the whole earth from its wine." And also, "The head of all the kingdoms" was called Babylon, as it is written, that it was the head of the kingdom of Nimrod in Babylon. And he said that the chest and arms of the image were of silver. This showed concerning the kingdom of the Medes, which is lowly, because it is of Darius the Mede. For the kingdom was received by weight; the kingdom of the house of Nimrod was weighed and found wanting; and when it was found wanting, Darius received it. For this reason he said that his kingdom is lowly. And because it was wanting, the Medes did not rule over the whole earth. Its belly and thighs of the image were of bronze.

And he said that the kingdom of the third would rule over the whole earth, which is the kingdom of the sons of Yawan, who are the sons of Japheth. For the sons of Yawan rose up against the kingdom of their brothers, because Madai and Yawan were sons of Japheth. Madai was foolish, and lacking in the ability to govern the kingdom, until Yawan, his brother, who was wise and cunning, came to destroy the kingdom. For Alexander, son of Philip, ruled over the whole earth. And the shoulders and feet of the image of iron, which is the kingdom of the sons of Shem, who are the sons of Esau, who are hard like iron. And he said that just as iron crushes and pounds everything, so also the fourth kingdom will crush and subdue everything. And he explained concerning the feet and the fingers of the iron and the clay of the potter. For he said that thus they will be mixed with the seed of men, and they will not be separated one from another, just as iron is not mixed with clay. This he showed concerning the fourth kingdom, because the kingdom of the sons of Esau did not have a king, son of a king, standing to govern the kingdom. But when the sons of Esau fought for the strong city, and made a senate, and from there they would appoint heads of the city, a wise man to govern the kingdom, so that when a ruler died, they would not be found lacking in the governance of their kingdom, and the kingdom would be taken from them, just as the kingdom of the sons of Nimrod the hunter was taken and given to the foolish sons of Madai. And that king who stood, the seed of that king who was before him, would destroy him, and they were not separated one from another. However, the seed of men that was mixed with clay—such is the situation: when a king was chosen for the kingdom, he was mixed with the root of the kingdom of iron. And he showed that in the days of those kings who stand in the kingdom, God of heaven established a kingdom that for the worlds will not be destroyed, nor will it pass away.

...which is the kingdom of King Messiah, which will abolish the fourth kingdom. And further he said: "I saw a stone that was hewn without hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and of clay and of bronze, and it crushed them well." And he did not say that it struck the image on its head, nor on its chest and arms, nor even on its belly and thighs, but on its feet. Because the whole image, the feet alone are where the stone can reach. And in the word that follows he said: "Iron and bronze, silver and gold were crushed together." For after the King Messiah reigns, then the fourth kingdom will be humbled and the whole image will be destroyed. For the whole image is called the world: its head is Nebuchadnezzar; its chest and arms are the king of Media and Persia; its belly and thighs are the kingdom of the Greeks; its shins and feet are the kingdom of the sons of Esau. And the stone that struck the image and crushed it and filled the whole earth with it is the kingdom of King Messiah, which abolishes the kingdom of this world, and he will reign for ever and ever. Again, hear concerning the vision of the four beasts that Daniel saw when he came up from the sea, and they were contending with one another, and this is their vision: the first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle; and I saw that its wings were plucked, and it stood on its feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And the second beast was like a bear, and it stood on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And the third beast was like a leopard, and it had four wings and four heads. And the fourth beast was mighty, strong, and exceedingly powerful, and it had great teeth, devouring and crushing and trampling under its feet whatever it pleased. For the great sea that Daniel saw is this world, and these four beasts are these four kingdoms that are described above.

The first beast he spoke about, that it resembles a lion, and that it has the wings of an eagle. For the first beast is the kingdom of Babylon, which resembles a lion. For thus Jeremiah wrote and said: "A scattered sheep, Israel; lions have scattered it." The first one, the king of Assyria, devoured it, and this last one, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has crushed it. And Jeremiah called it a lion and said that it has the wings of an eagle. For thus it is written, that when Nebuchadnezzar went out into the wilderness with the beasts, his hair was like that of an eagle. And he said that I saw that its wings were plucked, and on its feet like a man it stood, and the heart of a man was given to it. For first, in the vision of the image, it was represented in gold, which is better than everything that is used in the world. And in the vision of the beasts, it was represented in a lion, which is better in its strength than all the beasts. And it was also represented in an eagle, which excels over all birds. What is written about him was fulfilled in him. For the Lord said concerning him: "This is the one to whom I gave the iron axe upon the rock of all the peoples, and they served the king of Babylon for seventy years." And also the beasts of the land and the birds of the sky gave service to him. For when he was king in the likeness of a head of gold, the sons of men served him as a king. And when he went out into the wilderness, the beasts served him as a lion. And when his hair was like that of an eagle, the birds of the sky served him as an eagle. And when his heart was lifted up and he did not know that authority was given to him from heaven, the iron axe was broken for him from the rock of the sons of men, and he went out with the beasts, and the heart of a king was changed, and the heart of a lion was given to him. And when he was lifted up over the beasts, the heart of a lion was taken from him, and the heart of a bird was given to him. And when his wings were plucked like an eagle's, he was raised up over the birds.

Then its wings were plucked, and it was given a heart of humility. And when it knew that the kingdom of Greece was ruling, it humbled itself as it wished, and then it praised like a man. And about the second beast he said that it resembles a bear, and that it stood on one side, because when the kingdom of Media and Persia arose, it arose in the east, and it had three ribs in its mouth, because it was devouring the west, the north, and the south, to the three winds of the sky. Those three winds it held, and it devoured in the likeness of the three ribs in the mouth of the bear, until the morning star came from the west and struck the bear and removed the ribs from its mouth. And about the third beast he said that it resembles a leopard, and it has four wings of a bird on its sides, and that beast has four heads. For the third beast is Alexander the Macedonian. For he was strong like a leopard, and the four wings and four heads that the beast has are because he gave the kingdom to his four friends who ruled after him, when he came and killed Darius and reigned in his place. And about the fourth beast he said that it is terrible and strong, and exceedingly powerful, devouring and striking, and trampling what remains under its feet. It is the kingdom of the sons of Esau, because after Alexander the Macedonian reigned, the kingdom of the Greeks came to him, since Alexander himself was from the Greeks. But the vision of the third beast ended with him, when the third and the fourth are one. For Alexander reigned twelve years, and the kings of the Greeks after Alexander were seventeen kings, and their years were one hundred and sixty-nine years, from Seleucus Nicator until Ptolemy, and they were Caesars.

From Augustus to Philip the Caesars, there were twenty-seven kings, and their years were four hundred and ninety-three years, and the years of the thirteen of Syria. For Daniel said that I was understanding, in the ten battles at the head of the beast. For ten battles, ten kings rose up at that time, until Antiochus. And he said that a small battle went up from the house of the ten Heliades, and three fell before it. For when Antiochus arose in the kingdom, he humbled three kings, and he rose up against the saints of the Most High, and he went up to Jerusalem, and he defiled the Temple, and he abolished the sacrifice and the offerings, a week and a half of a week, which were ten and a half years. And he brought abominations into the house of the Lord, and he abolished the feasts of the Law, and he killed the righteous with swords, and he gave them to the birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth. For in his days was fulfilled the word that David said: O God, the nations have entered into your inheritance, and they have defiled your holy Temple; they have made Jerusalem a ruin; they have given the corpses of your servants as food to the birds of the sky, and the flesh of your righteous to the beasts of the earth; they have shed their blood like water around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury. For this was fulfilled at that time, when the old and aged man of days, Eleazar, was killed, and the seven sons of Shamuni the Maccabee. And when Judah and his brothers were contending on behalf of their people, while they were dwelling in hiding places, at that time a battle was fought with the saints, and their strength was exhausted. And concerning the Most High, Antiochus, the wicked man, spoke, and he changed the times and the feasts, and he abolished the covenant of Abraham, and he loosed the Sabbath of rest. For he commanded concerning the Jews that they should not be circumcised. Because of this it is said concerning him, that he thought to change the times and the feasts and the laws. And they were given into his hand.

until the time of the end of the kingdom. For Diya reached Antiochus. Diya from heaven, and he was afflicted with a foul and evil disease, and from the stench of his body no one could approach him, while worms crawled and came out of him and ate his flesh, because he oppressed the worm of Jacob and rotted his flesh while he was alive, because he bound the corpses of the sons of Jerusalem and they were not buried, and he became unclean in his own eyes, because he defiled the sanctuary of God and prayed and was not heard, because he did not hear the cry of the righteous whom he killed. For he wrote a letter and sent it to the Jews and called them his friends, but God did not have mercy on him, and he died in his distress. He said again that the holy ones of the Maccabees received the kingdom. What does he say about this? Did the sons of Israel receive the kingdom of the Maccabees? No. Or did that people come upon the clouds of heaven? This passed from them. For he said about them, "The silver despised, they called them friends, because they forgot the Lord." Again he said that he did not add to strike them, and Isaiah said about them, "Pass by, pass by, and do not approach the unclean." And about the holy ones of the Maccabees he said thus about them, that forever and ever they would inherit the kingdom. For they were at rest for a little while, from the taking of kings and rulers. For after the death of Antiochus, until six and two weeks were completed, and the son of men came who freed them and subdued them, and they did not receive him. For he came to take fruits from them, and they did not give to him, because their bodies were from the vine of Sodom and from the planting of Gomorrah.

the vine, for it bore clusters, and its fruits were gall; its clusters could not be softened, nor could gall be turned into the nature of wine, nor could bitterness be changed into a sweet nature. For before, Isaiah had set judges over them, men from Judah, who were occupied with a new and beloved task, which are these judges, those who sit on twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes. And thus he said to the judges: 'Judge between me and my vine. What more shall I do? And there are no more men, judges, to work my vine, and I have not done it? For behold, its task is abandoned, and they have become a foreign body. I have surrounded its fence with the watchers of heaven, and I have built its tower as a holy temple, and I have dug its winepress as the baptism of priests, and I have brought down upon it rain of words of prophets, and I have covered it and cultivated it with the works of the Amorites. I thought it would produce fruits of righteousness, but it produced clusters of iniquity and sin. I thought it would be for judgment, but it became robbery; and for righteousness, but it became lamentation.' ... The men, judges, heard what had been done to his vine. They opened its fence and it became a threshing floor; they uprooted its tower and it became plunder; and they made it a desolation. Because it produced clusters, it was not cultivated nor covered, and clusters and shoots grew in it, and they commanded that no rain should fall upon it. For the watchers of heaven departed from the fence of the vine, and the tower was uprooted from the midst of their strong trust, and the pure winepress of their sins was overturned, while the body was without blemish. It did not go to waste. Now that fire has consumed it and it is ruined, how has it gone to waste? Fire has consumed its two branches, and its interior is ruined. For its two branches are the two kingdoms, and its interior that is ruined is Jerusalem.

They sent to them from the master of the vineyard many servants. And they killed them. And they did not send the fruits to the master of the vineyard. Finally, the servants sent a beloved son, who took the fruits from them and brought them to their sender. And they seized him, and they took him out from the vineyard. And they cut off the branches from the vines of the vineyard. And they pierced his hands. And he was hungry and asked them for food. And they took and gave him gall from the fruits of the vineyard. And he was thirsty and asked them for drink. And they gave him vinegar, and he did not want to drink. And they made thorns which they placed in the vineyard. And they placed on his head a crown of the myrtles of the vineyard. For at the time when the vineyard was, it produced bitter fruits. Its master uprooted it and cast it into the fire. And he planted in the vineyard good vines, which bear fruits and gladden the cultivator. For the vineyard is the Messiah, and his father is the cultivator. And the vines are those who drink from his cup. So then, a vineyard came in place of a vineyard. And the kingdom, again, at its coming, he delivered it to the Romans, who are called the sons of Esau. And the sons of Esau guard the kingdom to give it. And the kingdom of the world inherited the holy people, who were chosen in place of the people. For they killed them among a people without a people, and among a foolish people they angered them. And he freed the holy people. For behold, the entire standing of God frees from the taking of kings and rulers. For even the pagans serve at the head. At the very hour that one approaches the standing of God, he is freed. And the Jews serve servitude among the peoples. For thus he says concerning them, concerning the holy ones, that they have inherited the kingdom under heaven. For if he says concerning them, why do they serve servitude among the peoples? And if they say that it has not yet been, but it is a kingdom that is given to the sons of men, whether it is of heaven or of earth. And behold, they are inscribed as sons of the kingdom, and they have received their freedoms from this world.

For now, he does not wish to submit to the power of the king who came and took his kingdom. Rather, he preserves his friends in honor, because when he comes, he annuls kingdoms, and he does not come upon them in wrath. For when he comes, the kingdom is his own. At his coming, which is twofold, he takes what he gave, and he becomes king forever and ever, and his kingdom does not pass away, because the kingdom of the world is his. For from the beginning, he gave the kingdom to the sons of Jacob and subjected the sons of Esau to them, as Isaac said to Esau: "Your brother Jacob you shall serve." And when they were no longer fit for the kingdom, he took it from the sons of Jacob and gave it to the sons of Esau, until he who owns it comes, and the perfect ones deliver the pledge to its giver, and they do not stand over it, and the guardian of the kingdom submits to him to whom everything submits. Therefore, this kingdom of the sons of Esau is not delivered by the wretched forces that wish to ascend against it, because the kingdom is guarded by its giver, and he guards it. ... And concerning this that I have written to you, my beloved, that the kingdom of the sons of Esau is guarded by its giver, do not be troubled about it, that the kingdom is not victorious. For a man whose name is Jesus came with force, and his army took all the force of the kingdom, and see and observe that even the heads of the people are written with him in the poll tax. And wherever it is written in the poll tax with them, he also helps them, and his army is great in that place, and his army is clothed, and they are not guilty in battle. And if you say to me: "Why did the kings before these conquer the beast and subdue it, because the heads and kings who stood at that time in the kingdom of the sons of Esau did not wish to wage war with them against the man who is written with them in the poll tax?" Therefore, the beast was subdued a little, but it was not killed.

These things that I have written to you, my beloved, are something that is written in Daniel. I have not reached the end of the matter, but I have come to the end. And if a person should add to them, thus he says to him: that these words are not sealed, because the words of God are not completed, nor are they sealed. For a foolish person says at the beginning, "Until here the words have reached," and there is no adding to them or subtracting from them. For the wealth of God is not reckoned and is not completed. For if you take water from the sea, its deficiency is not known; and if you take salt from its shore, its quantity is not diminished; and if you count the stars of heaven, you will not reach their end; and if you kindle a fire from a flame, nothing is diminished; and if you take from the Spirit of Christ, Christ lacks nothing; and if Christ dwells in you, it is not that he has wholly come to you; and if you bring the sun into the windows of your house, it is not the whole sun that reaches you. And all these things that you have reckoned were created by the word of God. Therefore I know that no person reaches the word of God, or reaches its end. Therefore do not be anxious about these things, and say that these things are few and insufficient. But these things are enough to hear, and also for our brothers, the sons of our faith, to follow after them. For when one is distressed by the words of his brother, he also says, "My own wise ones, do not listen to his words." And concerning what I have written to you about these forces that are stirred up for war, it is not as if it were revealed to me that I should make these things known to you. But listen to the words of the beginning of the epistle: that everyone who is raised up is humbled. For even if the forces go up and conquer, know that it is the rebellion of God; and if they conquer, the wretched are condemned in judgment. Nevertheless, I know this: that life is sacrificed to him who is killed. You, however, my brother, at this time, hasten to seek mercy, that there may be peace for the people of God. Completed.

Demonstration 5: On Wars