On the Antichrist

On the Coming of the Antichrist A Memrā. On the coming of the Antichrist, that is, the false Messiah. And on the revelation of the Lord Christ. It is said, moreover, on one of the Sabbaths of the Entrance of the Fast of Mār Elijah. A discourse. The wicked one will be armed with the armor of virtues that cannot be conquered by the arrows of evil. Woe! A dark cloud will hear that he comes at the end of times, and it will be very difficult for the Church to endure his confusion. A great cry is destined to be uttered among the nations, and the mouth cannot say how bitter his name is. An evil proclamation will announce evil among the living, and there is no human who is not shaken and whose face does not become ashamed. A weeping is fitting for what is destined to be spoken, and wretched voices will be heard that will be mounted upon his falsehood. With pain will hear whoever hears distinctly, and with bitterness will weep whoever listens well. With shame he will read, and with trembling he will pour out tears, and instead of joys, sighs will be justified over what is destined. A harsh punishment is destined to be mounted, a glutton, and with a shout he will arm himself against the living. The rebel of iniquity desires to rise up against the truth, and the name of the Creator is profaned that is set upon the edge of his death. He seeks a high rank to which his arrogant mind will ascend, and he makes light of existence with a reckless ember. Impudence, clothed in folly in the form of a weapon, will oppose the throne against the truth iniquitously.

In the name of the Victorious One, he conceals his person, full of wiles, And the sound of praise that does not cease, the sinner the magician. He says, "I am the Messiah," [...] what and not being doubted, And in him are completed the mysteries and types that the priests delineated. Like a deceiver, he seeks the destruction of his opponents, And he errs and leads astray until he is separated from the priesthood. By his error he leads astray, and with likenesses he shows powers, Until that daughter of the voice ceases at the end. After a little while, the curse silences all voices, And he strives and ascends to a high rank, though he does not ascend. By his rebellion, the chosen herald Paul marvels, And he precedes his cry in the writings that everyone saw. With rebellion he calls the Father, who is revealed in him, Who raises up a rebel and a hindrance, a truth that is not spoken. His cunning went forth from the beginning of the proclamation of the herald, And men began to seek the sign of his coming. The apostle heard the sign concerning him from his disciples, And he taught them not to be hasty in the cunning of his name. "Do not accept that the time of the end of the sacrifices is near, And do not be attached to the letter nor to the revelation." If rebellion does not come, the known is revealed, The conduct of earthly life is not completed. If the son of Abraham does not come, who errs and leads astray, The truth of the new covenant is not examined.

If he does not show the evil of his nature to all creatures, The unceasing beast stirs up his sign by means of his deeds. The sacrificer determines from the worker the works of his hands, Until he completes, he does not release the erring one who leads astray. The framer of the sign stands in his face at the beginning of death, He has turned aside from the rebellion of the sign of his rebelliousness. He was very desirous to fulfill his desire, behold, from the sacrificer, And he does not release until he completes the division that divides. To that commander who determines, and all of them the mighty one covers, When the parousia is completed and his fraud is revealed. Like a fire he kindles himself with the logs of wrath, When he gathers the fire of his anger and burns the fire. The snares of deceit he renews, he hides by night and by day, And he sits and waits until the hunter comes for the prey. Like a hunter he draws his spirit, his thought is twisted, And he looks intently until it ascends to the height of his intention. To the deceiver his nature is like within the deceiver, the lowly one, And better than the milk he is desirous and awaits the day of completion. And if not for the hidden, harsh, secret strife of his companion, He would have already been eager and would have swallowed the body at every hour. From his will they would have been lost, behold, from the furnace: If not for all that command that read his image. They were of his reading that he not be revealed outside of the order, And again it stops until the day set in his knowledge.

cleverly he conceals all within the boundary of his sign, and cleverly he opens his face and goes out and leads astray. For the day of his revelation is more abundant, if he does not diminish, that he might teach every man the evil of his stars against man. He teaches two things from his evil to the watchers of man: his destruction and the power of the creator that restrains his wrath. As with a finger he shows the good of his love toward us, that if not for him, he would have destroyed all from the beginning. If now at the end of the ages he is so evil, how much more evil would he have been if he had been left from the day of his existence? He makes a test of his nature for us and for all, that in his evil he might seek the gold of our discernment. By it he teaches us the tricks of deceit against the truth, and by it he makes known to us his help that saves us. At the end he keeps for us the great cup that he has prepared, that man and the heavens might see the evil of his nature. Before that day when he renews creation in the outer realm, he gives a sign that he will come to reveal his iniquity. It is not that the sluggish mind might doubt concerning this his abandonment, but that the heat of his madness and the weakness of our soul might be revealed. As is known, he goads us sharply with it, that we might not fall into the cup of sufferings that replaces the truth. It is the great cup that he has prepared for us to do with us, and in every turn he seeks to make us stray from the path of truth.

See him, the deceiver, how he casts down his might, and lo, he is stirred up as if from a place of rest, and is spread abroad. See how one from his race has gone astray in him and made him a mockery, and lo, he is spread abroad, that his city might be followed by his relatives. See how he has ascended to the high rank of the name of being, and lo, he is reckoned as if he would pass beyond his rank by the freedom of death. See how the cities and the land have been subjected under his dominion, and lo, it is possible that a rebel might rise up against his power. He heard that he who is destined to come at the end will bring an end, and he prepares the weapon of his iniquity, that he might come in his likeness. He heard that by the glory of the heavens he will descend to earth, and he also prepares the walls of demons for their shining. He heard that by a sign without end he is destined to be silenced, and he sets his foot in the abyss against the power that silences him. See how the apophasis of the church of his lowliness has drawn near, and lo, he is silenced like a murderer in the church of his death. It is certain for him that he will not escape from sorrow, and he sets his foot and hastens upon all fears, a capsizing of hope. He saw that there is no place where he might hide on the day of burning, and he strives greatly to accomplish his evil purpose wickedly. The multitude of his wickedness made him act wickedly without mercy, and his wanderings made him rage beyond measure. Beyond the measure of what he ought to do, he went out a wanderer, and upon the doer and the work of his hands he seeks to be consumed.

against the power that he gave, he sets up a boastful power, and is not ashamed that he himself is the one who brings low his own race. With the will of a man who honors, the deceiver offers, and through a man he dares to cast his lot upon existence. Through a man the Creator saves the children of men, and through a man he also desires to destroy man. For man, God chose and freed all, and one man enslaved even him who would enslave all. The Creator called man "Christ" and "king" of the chosen, and in that likeness he covers the man who is to be his dwelling. Without a pair, he was formed in the womb to save man, and he also later brings this against that deceiver. From the stream of the house of Abraham he took his beginning, and the blood of a Jew is he who will be the vessel for that error. In all the generations of Adam, he too is something of both, and he performs mighty deeds while not truly performing. In that form in which he came into the world bodily, he also comes into the world in the body of a man. One man chooses hidden ones from humanity, and in him he dwells like a hidden one in a man. In a man he dwells, a measure of men who lead man astray, and he covers him as the son of God, as if he were that. The son of God covers the hidden one, the son of destruction, and the name of God he seizes in his hand and affixes to his own name. The heavy name places a spell upon his madness.

and the steps that he ascended to the high stage [...] he does not appease him. With foolish arrogance he raises up a boast against the essence. And in the end he cuts down the powers of divinity, like a boastful one he passes through the earth full of height. And he subjugates the people who were his servants to his rebellion. At the head of the captivity he brings out a people from that place, and in place of thrones he squanders the wealth of their thoughts. To that one he subjugates and strips the thought of the mind, and in place of the body he plunders and oppresses the soul with the self. With hidden thoughts he offers artfully, so that he might subjugate all of humanity to his desires. Artfully he arranges a throne that he has prepared, and he prepares the wretched demons for the sacrifice that he has established. With the artistry of demons he deceives the spectators, and he shows unreal apparitions to the eyes. With water he raises up specters before the eyes of the onlookers, and upon nothing he establishes sensations as if upon something. The likeness of sensations that are seen he makes in the earth, and he makes them appear as if they were when they are not. Demons become a vision that exists when it does not, and he confirms it by means of unreal images. They become blind, deaf, dumb, and mute. And the son of perdition despises their error while not despising. They cry out like the afflicted before his command, and he is silent and stretches out his hand toward the sick.

He does not give the healing of truth to the sick one in sin. He is eager for the healing of the soul, that he may destroy the confession of his words. He is the figure of a physician who came into the world, wearing a crown, and called to the people, "Come, be healed by that one who is dead." A harsh death filled the healing of the boastful physician, and with a good figure he distributes a reward to his hearers. In the figure of the Messiah, the Messiah of deceit imitates, and he draws to his side the tribes of the peoples by his deception. Like a righteous one, he raises his voice toward sinners: "Come, take forgiveness; cancel your debts, that one who is guilty." Like a humble one, he bends his words, full of pride, and humbly sows his word in the thought of the people. And sometimes he speaks freely, like a savior: "Look at me, that I am a brother, and be freed from distress by my figure of brotherhood." And sometimes he proclaims forgiveness, a wicked one, wicked in all, and he lies in wait for the evil ones, an evil one for whom there is no limit to his mind. And sometimes he begins lots and charms of Chaldean art, as if to confirm his crown without disturbance. And sometimes he becomes the opposite of his art, because he changes his evil nature against his Lord. And sometimes he denies the brotherhood of the bearers of his mystery, because he snatches the honored name of remembrance for his own name. And sometimes he rebukes the priests whom he set up in the houses of his worship, because he sets up that worship which is to be worshipped.

And he increases the error of those who err, who follow after their error, so that no man tastes the truth that heals men. Oh, how skilled is the physician of men and of the flock! Yet the power that he gives them gives them no strength. Oh, how arrogant is the rebel who tramples upon being! Yet the being that is, and is, does not subdue him. Upon being, the rebel rebels with the loftiness of his spirit, and upon that sign of his Creator, with all flesh and blood. In the name of the living, he calls himself dead in his sins, and divinely he shows his wealth to the eyes of his beholders. "Messiah and king," he says, "I am the Messiah in the Church," and he calls his servants "apostles of righteousness." He sends out demons like heralds to all regions, and they sow the tares of the evil seed of the day of his coming. They cast confused voices into the ears of their hearers, and there is no hearing that is not disturbed by their doings. The veil of mysteries and types has gone up, and the truth that was in the books spiritually has come. "Arise, go out, receive the truth revealed in the children of the kingdoms, and take the good things of the good king for your desire. Cease from meditation and from the contemplation of the completion of mysteries, and seal the books of the order of the bodily types. For what is necessary, show the types to your thoughts; look and be confirmed certainly in the truth.

they remain from the labor of righteousness, whose toil is great. And they delight in the signs of the times, which are hidden in the depth. Oh, from a mouth that speaks folly that cannot be spoken, how much it ascends and is not diminished even a little! Oh, from a body that is poorer than a dog, yet its nature is good, and it brings forth poison that cannot be discerned by the one who drinks it. Oh, the wrestler who wrestles himself without being seen, and casts confusion between the earthly and the heavenly. He stirs up the wakeful and the sleeping with the wrath of the wrathful one, and over spirits and over bodies he spreads his bitterness. In the sleeping one he dwells, as he dwelt in the serpent at the beginning, and through him he poisons the sleepers, as with a snake. As a garment, he covers his nature with corporeality, as he was covered in the serpent at the time of deceit and error. Like a magician, the body becomes for his deception, and through the limbs he interprets the signs that are full of folly. He and his legions enter and dwell in a foul vessel, and they receive in him the worship of iniquity from the erring. All his power he gathers, he begins the time of his body, so that he may cause the poor bodies to be broken by bodies. All the demons run before him, the demon that is embodied, so that their hope, as if it were true, is for the deceiver of all. All the demons disturb the earth on the day of his revelation, so that the name of his error runs swiftly.

over all and in every place he spreads his nets, which are his snares, to catch the world with his cunning. Woe to the hunters from the hunters, how much they ascend, for they lead you astray from the truth, which you do not perceive. Woe to the deceiver from the deceiver, who mingles with his people and deceives them, and is not ashamed in his power. Woe to the type from the son of a type of spiritual ones, and he mocks him, and his mockery is upon his thought. Woe to us from that evil neighbor who is at our border, who daily overflows and whose overflow is not filled. Behold, six thousand years have nearly passed, and again it is set that even the days of our lives will be taken. For our lives he seeks to cut off from us at the end of times, and that desire which formed his image does not cease. With this sign, he came to hunt us with the fire of men, by which the hunters hunt the hunters like a snare. A snare becomes that man for that hunter, and he enters and hides within the flesh of the one who hunts with it. See how by the fire of men the good one escapes from his evil, and behold, he is spread out to save his prey from the hand of man. See that he is not able alone to bring forth our signs, and he sent the fire of men to fight with him against our freedom. By the hand of man he wields the sword of his bitterness, and destroys the ranks of the enemies who are without mercy.

into the visible body he enters and lies in wait, and casts into it the arrows of his wrath. Not openly does he offer battle with the world, nor with a sword does he cut off the race that is to be enslaved by him. With a man he converses as with a friend, with cunning words, and casts down the net like a hunter upon his prey. It is a man who raises his voice in the land and cries out to a man, "I am a man, I have saved a man, and again I will save a man." "Come, take in my hands the living [...]" cries the cunning one, while his gift is death, all of it without end. He desires death, and in all causes is eager for likenesses, and were it not for the restraint of a sign upon his face, he would destroy you. A hidden sign restrains all his harsh wrath within the boundary, and when he slackens it, again he checks it, that he may not destroy you. He slackens it that he may complete his desire, thirsting for you, and he checks it that he may make known his love for the race. From the race he sends his sign and restrains his wrath, that he may see and be ashamed that there is in the race one who goes forth to meet his way. He sends a messenger from them against his wickedness, and calms his agitation with the sound of his words. When the shoot of the sword from the sphere withers from the quiet, and pursues the darkness of his snares from humanity. Like a commander he [...] the way of the son of the inhabitants, and removes from him the captivity of man by the power of the spirit.

with the power of the spirit he comes at the end, the spirit of falsehood. He offers battle with the rebel, the interpreter of wrath. Spiritually he offers battle with the wrathful one, and shows him that there is in the body the power of the spirit. By the sacrifice he thinks to complete his desire in the bodily ones, he despises the bodily and spreads out his dominion. On the day of his running, from when he has reigned over all, he raises up a man, the word of his mouth, and draws him out. From it the man goes out to meet the one full of confidence, and takes up with him a contest openly for the sake of all creatures. From the camps the spirit stirs up a mighty man and sends him to wage war with his rebel. In the body he fights with the free ones and sins against it, and from it the body also sins and destroys all in it. In the body that he sees when it is corrupted by his members, in it he shows also his own heroic power. The body that rebels from the corruption of death understands, it wages war with the rebel who brought death. A great war will be in the land at the end of times, in which two bodies are arrayed with their forces. Truth and falsehood put on armor over their senses, and shoot arrows of their words one against the other. In truth the son of the inhabitants strengthens himself entirely, and the son of destruction is clothed in the form of falsehood. The son of the sea puts on the armor of righteousness, and the son of destruction covers the shields of iniquity with a garment.

the champion of truth sets the seal of faith, and the mighty worker places the crown of victory on his head. He offers battle in the name of righteousness, mightily, and casts all iniquity into the words of falsehood. Falsely the evil one offers battle with the evil one, his fellow, and truly truth triumphs through the mouth of Elijah. For all the armor of the son of perdition is falsehood, and the spirit refines the proclamation of the one who hates right thought. In spirit he cries out like a trumpet, the champion of the spirit, and his voice is heard among the spiritual orders. The mighty apostle contends with the liars in error, and is heard by them like the one who shows the serpent to the serpent. For the destruction of all the power of the deceiver comes the champion, so that his error may not be established in the thought of man. For the one who fulfills what is written comes at the end, to turn the heart of the perverse of heart toward understanding. To the word of truth the voice of the herald of truth is sealed, for the first cry is, “Behold, Elijah has come and is coming.” Elijah has not come to proclaim the way of truth, for it is clearly known that in him all that is written is sealed. For the confirmation of the words of falsehood comes the liar, and he leads many astray and spreads falsehood openly. Like an athlete he stands in the midst of demons, and takes up the contest with the righteous one and his hosts.

All the demons take hold with him, a harsh generation, and he with all of them, and he does not fear for his valor. The power of the spirit strengthens his body and the movements of his soul, and he is not wearied from the contest on behalf of his Lord. That command which conquers him in the crown of the priests of Baal, he also conquers in the battle with the rebel. In this sign, he gives him power in the days of Ahab, that the way of victory in the end may be shown. A terror was kindled in him because of what the priests of Baal did, for this sword that is prepared to be wielded in the camp of demons. A mystery was sealed in him, a sign of his election to combat, and it is prepared to fulfill the truth of his words through deeds. By the mystery he slays the wicked of falsehood, the wicked of truth, as it was, so it is at the end of the sacrifices. In his hands he hides the fallen of the demons, to the shame of the demons, and through him the great one of falsehood is also refuted. To the falsehood of that false one, the priest refutes, and he confounds the eye of the angels and the watchers. In the sacrifice of the strength of his falsehood, he offers with him, and he contends, and he cries out falsely in the pit. He alone puts to shame the pride of his deceit, and he makes known the power of the Creator that is placed in the vessels. In his evil formation, the Creator burned from the beginning, and beforehand he placed in them the power of his help that he might offer with him.

Through Elijah he offers with him the whole race, and he destroys his valor by his weaknesses. As if to a fool he takes hold of the face of the ascetic's vision, and he strikes him with all his arrows and does not weary him. All the demons run to his aid in the son of perdition, and not one of the darts of their malice reaches him. He is a great wonder, a spectacle that the son of men makes, who alone overturns thousands and is not defeated. The power of his essence, which is weak, is like a wonder, as if one strikes many on the head with a single blow. How great is the help that is in his limbs, that the strong demons are not able to weaken his strength. [...] How great is the clamor and the speech of his mouth, which is bodily, that calms the troubled waves of that camp. Come, be amazed at him, at that wrestler who is not yet defeated, that when he is not defeated by the hardness of his name. Come, marvel discerningly at the man of the race, who makes a spectacle with spirits harsher than he. Come, weep certainly at the terror upon him, that the ranks of battles are diminished and he is not diminished. What man from the beginning has ever seen like Elijah, who is crowned with thousands of demons and they do not weary him? Who has been found in a man who conquers death, that is, and turns his face even to the evil one who brings death?

Death and evil are ashamed before the son of mortals, and they cannot disturb the greatness of the rank that was honored in him. A great fall falls from silence upon Satan, when he sees that he comes with strength against his power. The angels strike his forces with the sound of his commands, when they hear him raise his voice over their ranks. Not from the voice of the fleshly one who is afraid of corpses, but from that power that is hidden within his words. A great mourning increases over them, the sons of calculation, when he is revealed in the light of the words of the son of mortals. On the day of their victory, the lowly are condemned by the son of the lowly, and they marvel at him, how he [...] the priests of their kind. All of them together join in union with one man, and they help him, and he cannot conquer one man. One man summoned Elijah, son of the inhabitants, and then the son of destruction, who destroys utterly, was troubled. Man and man make a contract one against the other, the evil one in fraud and the son of destruction by the power of Satan. For that man is the man who comes to err, and the end of man is accomplished by his hands, the errors of his name. He cannot err except by man for the evil ones, and for this reason man chooses wickedness to be wicked by his hand. Great wickedness was wrought by the hands of that son of man, and upon the deed and the work of his hands he is judged by him.

The wicked one boldly opens his mouth against being, and with his lies he defames the name that is holy above all. The holy name he desires to snatch, the defiler of the defiled, and the worship of the Lord he longs to receive, the servant of servants. Into the temple of holiness he enters and sits, the dwelling of demons, and he cries out and says, "I am, I am the Messiah and the Son of God." Even his servants cry out wickedly, "This is God, the great one and his disciples." In the name of God he errs and leads astray those who err with him, and when he cries out, he conceals his own nature with the names of help. The helper, with a pure one, seeks to please not what is fitting, but to adorn the beauty of his appearance with his ugliness. The helper does not know how to adorn the face that is not changed, for he himself adorns with the hand that acts wantonly. Wantonness is what makes the snatcher of the name a maker, and full wickedness of the clay-formed image, to cast a shadow, not to the side. To the side he strives, a curse like a serpent, and to the serpent he gives the rank of headship. To the head of the air he calls the skilled one, head of everything, and he himself justifies the worship of humanity to the killer of humanity. The killer of humanity is he who dwells in the destruction of life, and he himself seeks to kill humanity with the sword of wickedness. The sword of wickedness is held in the hand of the one filled with wickedness, and he destroys the ranks of the living wickedly.

In the guise of a demon, the defiled one deceives the demon, the defiled one leads astray the demon, and like the poison of life he sows his word in the ears of humanity. He proclaims peace on the day of his revelation, which is hidden in envy, and in the likeness of a lover he shows the face of falsehood. All the teachings that he sows in the earth he abolishes the sign, and he turns and seeks his own glory in hypocrisy. Artfully he establishes his great teaching of error, and humanity does not know that it will be caught in his craft. He abolishes priests, also rulers and festivals, and he compels humanity to sacrifice to him according to their will. He looses kings and changes the orders of dominion, and he alone calls himself king and lord. Under his dominion the neck of free men bends, and they offer him their thoughts instead of tribute. They weave a crown of praises and place it on the head of the one who is worthy of death, and they crown him as a king with their words. Only the priests are not deceived under his authority, and they are not disturbed by the voice of his confusion. Thousands of traps he sets deep to catch the simple, and in every opportunity he reaches the simple to catch them. He sharpens the sword against the priests for the sake of his party, and through his servants he shoots arrows at the champions of truth. With the hand of the peoples he seizes and persecutes the righteous, and with visible members he oppresses the upright.

In the body he offers the incorporeal with the corporeal, and with the sword of the word he destroys the destroyers of the word. He makes a great war with all who do not submit to him, until he hears that voice which destroys him. He arrays battle against every one who does not confess him, until he is shamed by the command of the ruler over all. Over all he casts and for all he schemes, a cunning mind, until [...] the king over all and spreads him out. To all places the flood of his confusion flies, until the powers of Rome cry out and silence him. Over all the deceived he spreads the nets of his falsehood, until he sees the heavens that go out against him. On earth he stands and plots and leads astray the earth-dwellers, until evil is refined in [...] and he rises from it. He and Elijah array battle, one against the other, until the end of the dispensation of the world of the sacrifice. In him, in the contest, the just one stands with the unjust, until the hidden sign opens the gates of Rome. In him, in the war, the true one is cast with the deceiver, until the throne of the one who knows all is set. In him, in the firmament, the earth-dwellers and the heavens are cast, until one command silences all the ranks. The watchers and the fire cry out together in their minds, when they are weary of when the war of the unjust will end. The just and the chaste are more burdened by the weight of pain, and more than all they suffer in that evil in the evil.

He strikes hard bonds every hour against their thoughts, and like a mother he subdues the evils of the life of the dead. He has put on heaven and [...] and everything in them, until that renewal which cannot be changed comes. Like one who weeps for the dead, creation weeps for its standing, until it lives in that indestructible life. Like one accustomed, he has set its sorrow before its fathers, and is lamented in him until it sees him in new life. The voice of the depths cries out in the earth from all mouths, and bitterly the deaf weep over the speaker. For one meaning he subdues all of them in one equality, until his love, which cannot be comprehended, rests in the fullness. The voice of that call of completion stirs the ear to listen, and unless they hear, they cannot be freed from sorrow. Only the one who hears the future of that which will call at the end, and the day of its revelation is hidden and concealed from all creatures. Only one knows the day on which it will be heard, that which is hidden in him, the hidden will of the revealer of all. He, with the hidden one, knows the day of its revelation, and when he wishes, he reveals his power and shows it. For the duration of the life of the dwelling of the sacrifice, his sign endures, until it is completed and, like a seal, finishes the fulfillment of his words. From the silence, he kindles the spark of death upon the dwelling, and covers the height and depth with the light of his words.

A great light, unspeakable, flashes from him, and the light becomes as no light in the measure of his light. He opens the firmament by his descent and like a seal he stamps, and the powers of the height summon the proclamation of his victory. All together, his hunters are darkened from every place, and they exalt him in love that befits the greatness of his rank. Thousands upon thousands proclaim his glory without satiety, and myriads upon myriads proclaim his glory without end. Glory and holiness are mingled in all the movements that are in them, and the crown of victory that befits his name is placed upon him. Blessed victor, all the orders cry out to the orders, and they make the earth tremble with the sound of their sanctities. Glorious life-giver, all the ranks proclaim their purity, and he amazes the world with the wonder of their words. A great wonder, full of the voice of their trumpets, and no mouth is able to describe its harshness. For the vision of the faces that are revealed in it is exceedingly wondrous, and the light of the eyes of flesh that gaze upon it is diminished. Flashes of light issue from them like lightning, and they disturb the visions to change the form of their faces. Full of grace and love are their vision and the sound of their word, grace for the wicked and goodness for the good, goodness for those who love. Blessings and thorns [...] in the form that is revealed in him, blessings for the envious and thorns for the foolish, woe to those without repentance.

The good news of the renewal of all things he sows in the earth, and like seeds he causes bodies to fall into the field of life. Before the face of one person they fall and stand, and they entreat him that his power might work through their authority. Under his authority all are subdued as if by force, and they taste the flavor of his name from every mouth. Upon the throne of the Spirit sits the King of kings, and thousands of spirits, countless, are subdued in it. He sets a limit to the powers that exalt him, and he does not [...] the sound of holiness that sanctifies his hours. In great splendor he shows himself to the eyes of all creatures, and in his glory, earth and heavens glorify him. The sign of his passion and of his victory comes before him, and the wonder of creation, how it was exalted in the crucified man. At that time, demons along with the crucifiers are ashamed, when they see the sign of him whom they crucified, as he is exalted. In great wonder, pagans and Jews stand, as they are confounded by the man whom they crucified, who was to rule over all. A loud cry falls from the silence upon the adversary, and the name that thirsts proclaims his glory, heaven and earth. But he is the harsh wailer, without consolation, for the son of perdition, who destroys the whole assembly of angels and of men. The voice of power makes heard against him the name that denies him, and he denies it from life, in himself and his body.

All of it he destroys, the deceiver who would destroy himself. And no remnant remains in him of the living or the dead. A single cry [of distress] he utters against him, Christ the King, and he annihilates all of it, and the pride of its greatness is consumed. Anew the watchers and men see on the day of his destruction, and they marvel greatly at the power of the maker of the power of the Almighty. Anew the Lord shows to his servants by the work of his hands, and when he is able to do something, he does it as if it were nothing. From nothing he creates everything as he pleases, and when he pleases, he turns something into nothing. He fittingly brings all things into being from nothing, and he fittingly destroys the creature without loss. He makes the good wise through his destruction for the sake of speech, that it might be fitting for her to preserve the order of his creation. Outside the order of creation, a curse goes forth; upon this he destroys and annihilates him from life. But a vehement lamentation increases for its greatness through his destruction, and a harsh cord is added to him in the destruction of his life. He also strikes the one who would destroy his disciple utterly, and he does not shake mightily without end. Wisely he executes against him the sign of his Creator, and no man knows to say how great is the mercy of his love. Great love fills the activity that he performs, so that he does not burn the side of the wicked as if it were one.

With a single blow of the destroyer he shows that he is the avenger, he who is also the merciful one, that as he destroyed one, he was able to destroy many as well. He does not hasten to the destruction of the son of destruction, but to reveal his justice and his goodness. He makes known to both sides, the good and the evil, that while he is good, the good one is mingled with his goodness and also with his justice. For the good, all discipline that comes from his knowledge is set in motion, and those who know his love know only his praise. He governs the stewards of the wealth of his goodness well, and he guards the keepers of the mystery of his faith well. [...] The just king burns the wicked and righteousness, and at his sign he raises up the rational ones in their actions. He brings all to the test of choice through one man, and places in his hands goodness for the good and punishment for the evil. He distinguished this from the beginning of his creation, that he might distinguish in it the ranks of the just and the wicked. He set this from when he formed it without mixture, that through it the creation that had grown old in deaths might be renewed. He renews the entire creation by his sign through his mediation, and makes it wise so that it may know itself and its maker. At the time of death he raises it before him on the day of his revelation, and it glorifies him with a voice of praise that cannot be grasped. The whole world together with its inhabitants he brings forth on his path, that the crown of praises that befits his name might be magnified for his name.

The holy name of the one who bore him is hidden in his vision, and by it he is sanctified from spirits and from bodies. His revelations are glorious and unspeakable, the vision of his body, and the mouth of the speakers of words is too small to say how great it is. Thousands of watchers and angels are amazed at his mind, and they glorify him and are glorified by him as is fitting. On the faces of the height they stand arrayed, showing themselves, and they receive him with the voice of the cymbals of their sanctities. In the likeness of [...] he descends, measured from the height to the face of the earth, and he illuminates the world from the flashes of the greatness of his light. The sun flees and the moon hides, even its flashes, and the course of the stars ceases, their light and their brightness. The air ceases from the turbulence of its swiftness, and the sea, the restless stirrer of its waves, becomes still. The sorcerers turn toward that which they were from him, and the world becomes as it was in the beginning of creation. Nature, the speaker, stands alone and is not destroyed, and he alone enters the furnace of trial of his creation. At the end of the world, a sign comes at the last, and it calls out in the earth, a single daughter of a voice that fills her. In the four directions his voice runs like a messenger, and creation trembles as from the hour of heaviness. The power of life sows in the earth through the word of his mouth, and dust is cast up and calls forth senses, his moving limbs.

Like seeds, bodies sprout from the living one, and the vision of their thoughts shines brighter than the sun. His whole body gives life to the living, not to the dead, and not even the smallest part of a hair is lost in him. He stands entirely in one place, every limb of his form, and not a leaf of him remains on the earth. The sign of his creator burns within him from the midst of the air, and he composes him artfully so that he will not perish again. He speaks with Satan and Death on his behalf, and from them he obtains the renewal of his youth and his dominion. In the prison of pain he casts down the demons who oppose him, and with the chains of flame he dissolves the evil spirits. With his hands he binds and casts into their mouths the dust of silence, and he looses them from the bonds of mortality. With the waters of mercy he washes the filth from his limbs, and he adorns him with the garment of glory that cannot be destroyed. Destruction and death are driven from him, the corruptible one, and instead of a body he causes his body to fly to the height above. By his weight he stirs up spiritual storms, which, like a heavy cloud, fly without a path. Even his own standing is amazed at him, without satiety, by what power his lightness has attained flight. And again he says, "The nature of the dead is his garment; what nature is this? Or perhaps it is another, a substitute.

If he were able to run, this would be like other runners, but he is not able to be uprooted, not even knowledge. That one who warms his dead from the living, he strengthens him without division over his change. With his renewal, the power of the silent one from all stands, and pains are not able to be inflicted upon his thoughts. By the abundance of power given to him, even I am astonished, and my words are silenced from his rebellion toward his greatness. In the narrative of the erring one, their thoughts grew strong from the beginning, and in the history of the son of destruction, I desired to speak. Against his pride, I desired to be adorned with the measure of words, and when I saw that it was destined to be spread out, I desisted from it. At the height of his spirit, I desired that he speak with the voice of his utterances, and I anticipated the end by means of the fall of that harsh one. At his wanton lawlessness, I was greatly astonished, and at his cessation without end, I was greatly amazed. His turbulence called my mind, which was entirely weary, and my heart inclined to the razor of knowledge prepared for him. By the harshness of his sinews, my words were mocked from his harshness, and I said to myself, "How can I revile the evil one who is lost?" Cease now from his tyranny, for he is a tyrant, and take counsel with yourself, lest you be cast into the great conflict with his people. A great conflict is destined to be set against his people; come, let us consider the weapon of the silent one against his enmity.

Arrows of wrath he makes ready, he casts in the camp of the body. He seizes by its face the lock of the crown of faith. With the sword of his nature he is eager to destroy the life of the living. He sets the crown of good hope upon the head of his thought. With the spear of his wrath he set himself to uproot the house of his self. He put on love as a garment that cannot be rent. In all his skill he is arrayed for that which is like victory. Come, the contest that cannot be conquered, arrows of the evil one. Its end. Glory to your power, O Savior, by which you conquered the slanderer. The last one stirs up battles from the serpents of the earth; he abolishes from them the battles of the devourer.