De theophania

Just as in the case of our own example, the invisible and unseen mind within us—what it is and what its substance is, no man has ever known—like a king established in his secret inner chambers, deliberates on what is to be done; and the word proceeds from it, only-begotten, as if born from the innermost recesses of a father, which indeed becomes the first messenger of the father's thoughts to all, proclaims openly what has been deliberated in secret by the father, and accomplishes the plans in deeds, going forth to the ears of all; then some partake of the benefit from the word, but the unseen and invisible mind, the father of the word, no one has ever seen with eyes. In like manner, but rather beyond every image and example, the perfect word of the all-ruling God, as the only-begotten son of the father, not constituted by a power of utterance, nor constructed in nature from syllables, names, and verbs, nor signified in voice through air struck, but existing as the living and active son-word of God over all, subsisting in substance as "power of God and wisdom of God," proceeds from the father's divinity and kingship, being a good offspring of a good father; and as a common savior of all, he supplies all things. Who else among those proclaimed from eternity has been known and foretold from above by prophetic voices thousands of years before, among the ancient God-loving children of the Hebrews, as this one who is theologized among us?

They also deposited in sacred books the place of his theophany, the times of his arrival, the manner of his life, his powers, his words, and his achievements. But so that my discourse may not now be extended at length over all his great works, let his death be set before our eyes, which the interpreter of the covering of the divine Logos—the revealed image—is acknowledged by all to have undergone. And this proclaimed death itself partakes of great wonder, not having been common to other men. For he was not destroyed by disease, nor by the noose, nor by fire, nor indeed by the trophy of the cross itself, cut short by iron like other malefactors, nor did he suffer at all from any man any of the violent ends that are customary, but as if of his own will he gave up his instrument to those plotting against him. He was immediately raised from the earth, and having cried out loudly and said that he was commending his spirit to the Father, he himself, free, made his departure from the body of his own accord. Therefore, before his death, he taught and said this to his disciples: "No one takes my soul from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the authority to lay it down and again I have the authority to take it up." And again: "I am the good shepherd, and I know my own, and my own know me," and "I lay down my soul for the sheep." And he sets forth the cause of death in brief, saying: "Unless the grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Such proofs, then, as these he provided at the time of his death, freely and of his own accord making his departure from the body. Then, when his body had been taken by his acquaintances and given over to the proper burial, on the third day he himself, the one who had willingly departed, recovered it again. And again he showed himself incarnate, that same embodied one, just as he was at first, to his own disciples, with whom he conversed briefly and spent some time, and then ascended whence he had come, making his journey and ascent into the heavens before their eyes, having delivered to them instructions concerning what was to be done, and having appointed them teachers of all nations of the highest piety. What then remains in these matters but to state the very sum of the whole, that is, the much-discussed end of his life, the manner of his passion, and the great wonder of his revival after death? And after the contemplation of these things, we shall again proceed to the proofs, confirming them by clear testimonies. He, then, using a mortal instrument for the reasons we have previously stated, as if employing a godlike statue, and through this very instrument, as a great king through an interpreter, having passed through human life, accomplished all things in a manner worthy of divine power.

If, then, he had somehow, after his sojourn among men, become invisible and suddenly flown away, stealthily stealing his interpreter and his own image, hastening to escape death by flight, and then somewhere had himself consigned the mortal element to corruption and destruction, he would have seemed a phantom to all, and he would not have done what was fitting for himself—being Life and the Word of God and the Power of God, yet delivering his own interpreter to corruption and destruction—nor would his deeds against the demons have been brought to a fitting conclusion through the encounter with death, nor would it have been known whither he had gone, nor would he have been believed by those who had not received him, nor would he have appeared superior to the nature of death, nor would he have freed the mortal part of his own nature, nor would he have been heard of throughout the whole inhabited world, nor would he have persuaded his disciples to despise death, nor would he have set before those who followed his teaching the hope of life with God after death, nor would he have fulfilled the promises of his own words, nor would he have provided results in harmony with the prophetic utterances concerning him, nor would he have contended in the final contest of all. This contest was that against death. Therefore, for all these reasons, since it was absolutely necessary that the mortal instrument, after the sufficient service it had rendered to the divine Word, should meet with a fitting end, death was ordained for him in this way.

For two things remained for the end: either to consign the whole to corruption and destruction and make the most shameful conclusion of life for the whole drama, or to show himself superior to death, having set forth the mortal as immortal by divine power. The first was unsuitable to the promise. For it is not proper for fire to cool, nor for light to darken; so neither is it proper for life to cause death, nor for the Word of God to act irrationally. What reason, then, would there be for him who promised life to others to overlook his own instrument being destroyed and to consign his own image to destruction, and to allow the interpreter of his divinity to be marred by death—he who procures immortality for his suppliants? Therefore the second was necessary, I mean to show himself superior to death. How, then, ought this to be done? Secretly and stealthily, or in a manner conspicuous and evident to all? But a deed accomplished by him in darkness and concealment, and known to no one, would have benefited no one; whereas, if seen and heard by all, it would provide to everyone the benefit arising from the miracle. Reasonably, then, since it was necessary to show his own instrument superior to death and to do this not in secret but before the eyes of men, he does not flee death; for he would have been considered cowardly and worse than death; but through his engagement with death, as with an antagonist, he sets forth the mortal as immortal, having undertaken this final contest for the salvation and immortality of all. For his first contest was waged against demons for the overthrow of polytheistic error.

Since the contest against these had reached its end, the all-victorious saviour then came to dwell in the life of men. The second contest was for the dissolution of the tyranny of death. For it was necessary that the victory over death, which is superior to the godless and demonic deception, consistent with the divine Word, and worthy of his own work, should be received as the honour due to him. For the demons gathered against him, together with their leader and the spirits that roam the air above the earth, invisible to mortal eyes, having yielded ground at the first encounter with him, now looked to the second trial, awaiting the final catastrophe of life and expecting that the end of the mortal would be like that of all men. For they never expected that the nature of mortals could become superior to death, but believed death to be the common king of all who had once partaken of mortal generation. But while they thought death to be the most terrible thing of all, which none could escape or avoid, he, after the first trophies against the demons, was already marshalling himself against death.

Just as if someone wished to show us a vessel that is unburnable and superior to the nature of fire, he would not present the wonder otherwise than by delivering the object in hand to fire and then removing it safe and undamaged from the fire, so too the life-giving Word of God, wishing to show the mortal instrument which he had used for the salvation of men as superior to death and to make it a partaker of his own life and immortality, very fittingly underwent the economy, leaving the body for a short time and surrendering the mortal to death for a refutation of its own nature, then shortly after removing it again from death, for a demonstration of the divine power through which he revealed the eternal life proclaimed by him as stronger than any death. This then was the first cause; the second was the indication of the divine power that dwelt in the body. For since previously men deified those who had been conquered by death, truly mortal men who had met a common end, and called them heroes and gods, those who had been overcome by death, the benevolent Word of God fittingly revealed himself for this reason, showing to men a nature stronger than death, and leading the mortal after its dissolution to a second life, providing for all to see a trophy of immortality over death, and teaching that only he who has won the prizes of victory over death should be acknowledged as a true god in death. A third cause of the saving death would be that which secret accounts contain. What are these?

It was a sacrifice offered up in place of the common race, a victim given over to death, a victim slaughtered on behalf of the common flock of humanity, a victim to avert demonic error. Indeed, as a single and great offering, the all-holy body of our Saviour, slaughtered like a sheep on behalf of the human race and offered up as a substitute for all nations previously entangled in the impiety of demonic error, thereafter the entire power of the unclean and unholy demons was destroyed, and every earthly and deceitful error was at once dissolved and undone by a mightier power. Thus the saving sacrifice from among men, the bodily instrument of the divine Logos itself, was consecrated on behalf of the common flock of humanity, and this was the victim exposed to death through human calumny, concerning which the voices of holy scriptures cry out, sometimes speaking thus: "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," and elsewhere proclaiming beforehand: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb voiceless before its shearer," and they teach the reason by adding: "He bears our sins, and suffers for us. And we thought him to be in pain and in plague and in affliction, but he was wounded for our sins, and he is bruised for our iniquities; the discipline of our peace is upon him. To the

By his wound we were healed. All of us wandered like sheep, each astray on his own path. And the Lord gave himself over to our sins. So then, the bodily instrument of the divine Word was consecrated for these reasons. But the great high priest, ministering to the all-ruling and all-king God, being other than the sacrificial victim—the Word of God and "power of God and wisdom of God"—soon recalled the mortal from death and made it a partaker of divine life and immortality, the firstfruits of our common salvation, raising up this trophy of victory over death and over the demonic array and over the human sacrifices once performed, an averting offering on behalf of all humanity. Hence the appellation of Christ, conformed to that of the high priest among the Hebrews, was also imposed upon him. He thus received two names: the name Jesus signifies the saving victim, while the name Christ, according to Hebrew custom, denotes the high priest, the Word of God ministering on behalf of all of us. In addition to what has been said, there would be another very great cause of the saving death, which will now be stated. Since it was necessary for his disciples to see with their own eyes the manifest regeneration of life after death—upon which he taught them to fix their hopes, and for which he urged them to hold fast to the yoke of piety—he fittingly provided them with a precise vision of this with their own eyes.

For it was necessary that those who were about to pursue a pious life should first of all receive this most necessary lesson through clear sight, and much more so those who were about to proclaim him throughout the whole world as soon as possible and to announce to all men the teaching and knowledge of God set forth by him to all nations. They needed to receive the greatest proof of life after death, so that they might fearlessly and without dread of death eagerly undertake the struggle against polytheistic error; for if they had not practiced despising death, they would never have prepared themselves for the terrors. Therefore, necessarily arming them against the power of death, he did not impart the lesson with little words and sounds, nor did he compose arguments about the immortality of the soul persuasively and from probabilities like men, but he showed them the trophies against death by deed itself. For formerly, death, the destroyer of the mortal race, was terrible to all; and its power was considered the dissolution of the whole nature of man, both soul and body together, and there was no one from eternity who was able to remove this terror from men, but all cowered in fear, small and great, rulers and slaves, kings and peoples, multitudes of all nations and tribes, before death; and there was no consolation for this evil for men, no word, no way, no life, no reasoning of the wise, no writings of the ancients, no oracles of prophets, no appearances of angels.

But superior to all and higher, death held sway over all, lofty, boastful, proud, to which the mortal race, enslaved, wallowed in all manner of lawlessness, bloodshed, unholy deeds, impieties, and manifold error; for death was the cause of all these things. For, as if no longer existing after death, they lived doing deeds worthy of countless deaths, and as if subject to no penalties because of the dissolution brought by death, they lived a life not worth living, taking no thought of God, expecting no just judgments of divine justice, not rekindling the memory of their own intellectual essence in the soul, but using one terrible patron, Death, and having persuaded themselves that the corruption of bodies from this was the dissolution of the whole, they proclaimed Death a god, rich, and therefore also Pluto. And Death was not only a god to them, but also the things honored before this, those things that contributed to a life of pleasure. Thus, to them, the pleasure of the flesh was a god, food was a god, the seed into the earth was a god, its sprouting was a god, the growth of fruit trees was a god, the luxury of drunkenness was a god, the desire for bodies was a god, the pleasure of these was a god. Hence the mysteries of Demeter and Persephone and the abduction of Kore by Hades and again her return. Hence the rites of Dionysus and Heracles overcome as by a stronger god, drunkenness; hence the adulterous orgies of Eros and Aphrodite. Hence Zeus himself, mad for women and loving Ganymede, and the licentious fictions of pleasure-loving and passion-loving gods. And death was the cause of all these things.

For they supposed that the end and consummation of all things, the dissolution and destruction of souls together with bodies, was death, and that there was no other life than that of the body and the flesh, and they led a life worse than that of any irrational animal. Taking pity on them, the all-kingly Word of God, at the nod of the philanthropic Father, hastened to their defense. Then, like a most philanthropic king, he devised the refutation of death through human nature, being himself life and the Word of God and the power of God, but judging that he should not refute the terror of men without the aid of the one being helped. Therefore, using a human and mortal body as a weapon, the incorporeal one conquered death through the mortal. Hence the first mystery of the body was prepared, hence the trophy of the cross, hence the memory of immortal and eternal life became a "remembrance of him." For having used a mortal weapon and shown a great wonder to all, he set up a trophy of immortality against death through the mortal weapon. For he gave up the mortal to the beast as prey, and it was immediately nailed to the cross and crucified, so that the nature of the mortal might be recognized by all, and that what was done might escape no one—neither men, nor demons, nor higher powers. For it was necessary that all should see the mortal exactly, as in a great theater, confessing its own nature, so that death, coming next like a terrible beast, whatever it was, might refute itself, and then the power of life, coming after death, might again demonstrate to all the victory over death, showing the mortal to be immortal.

Therefore, the power of the divine Word that sustained the body released it for a short time, and the body suspended on the wood was immediately dead, but the life-giving Word of all was not that which was dead; rather, the mortal part acknowledged its own nature. Then the corpse, now held by death, was taken down by men and received the customary care. It was given over to a tomb according to human customs. The tomb was a newly hewn cave, a cave recently carved out of rock, which had not yet received any other body; for it was necessary that it be reserved for this one, the only extraordinary corpse. The rock itself was also wondrous to see, standing upright alone in an open space and containing only one cave within itself, so that it might not, by being made for many, overshadow the marvel of the one who had conquered death. There the corpse lay, the instrument of the living Word, and a very large stone sealed the cave, and death greatly exulted in this, as if it had now taken even this one captive along with those from eternity, but not yet three days had passed when life again showed itself after the sufficient refutation of death. For if he had risen sooner, he would not have been thought to have died at all; but when he had truly been raised and had truly died, and had truly undergone death in time, then indeed the life-giving Word of all demonstrated to all men the hope that awaits them through the regeneration of that mortal one at that time. What then happens after this? I would no longer be your teacher of what was done.

Those who were eyewitnesses of these events would be entirely trustworthy witnesses, those who, by blood and soul, in the spectacle, confirmed the truth of what was done and filled the whole inhabited world with the power of the one testified to, of the piety proclaimed by them. Indeed, having become observers of what was then done, they handed down in their testimonies the regeneration perceived by their own eyes. For what was done was not heard by them merely in word and voice, but was already seen in deeds and even precisely touched by those who had testified to these things. Therefore, having grasped the evident by autopsy and truth, and having beheld the trophies of victory over death, they naturally learned to despise death, and taught the same to their disciples, having received from the Savior the guarantees of immortal life. There was a certain man of repute among the military, who had attained Roman rank and office. When his genuine servant, excellent in limb, lay at home prostrate, having observed what kind of powers the Savior displayed toward others, healing the sick, curing "every disease and every infirmity," judging by reason that the wonder was not human, he approached as to a god, not looking at the visible instrument of the body through which he held converse with men, but at the invisible god who through the mortal revealed his own virtues. Therefore, he fell down and worshipped and earnestly begged that he too might obtain the divine beneficence for his boy.

With what authority, then, the voice of the Savior was uttered, and what virtue it displayed, and with what power it was filled, and how great was its philanthropy and readiness to confer benefit, as it promised his presence from the outset, and what a marvel the benefit was, it is not possible to conceive worthily. For that he said no more to the chiliarch than "As you believed, so shall it be for you," and at the same word both provided healing for his son and immediately freed from sickness the one who had been near death, does this not present him as truly a god speaking through a mortal voice? But if someone is incredulous at this because of the excess of the miracle, yet he could reasonably take refuge in the prophecy, in which a greater proof of the deed will be shown, if one considers that at that time there was one Roman chiliarch who had approached the Savior, displaying a greater and more grateful confession toward him than the Jewish nation, and our Savior prophesies that many instead of one would in the future approach him from the regions toward the east and the rising sun and from those dwelling in the west, who through recognition and confession of him would be deemed worthy of the same honor before God as the Hebrew forefathers.

That indeed the forefather of those men, the very Abraham who is celebrated, coming from a line of superstitious ancestors, changed his way of life, withdrawing from polytheistic error and recognizing the one God over all, here foretells that he and his children Isaac and Jacob would have countless imitators throughout the whole inhabited world, especially among the nations toward the east and those dwelling toward the setting sun. And to these he adds the greatest part of the prophecy: that the Jews themselves, the descendants of those God-beloved men, boasting of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because of their opposition and disbelief toward him, as though deprived of the light of knowledge, would be cast out into the outer darkness, having thus proclaimed beforehand their ignorance and utter lack of understanding and their deprivation of the saving light. Here it is fitting to apply the mind to the outcomes and to take them in with one's own eyes, how the Jews, who pride themselves on being the race of those God-beloved men, have become outcasts not only from the kingdom of God but also from their own sacred and royal metropolis... and instead of the one chiliarch who long ago approached the Savior, an inexpressible number of men from

all the nations, not only the chiliarchs but also the multitude of the Roman camp, as well as ten thousand rulers and governors who hold sway over nations and regions, and others superior to them in honor and rank who are glorified in the palaces, approaching the God Christ like that chiliarch and through his teaching recognizing the God of the God-beloved men who shone among the Hebrews, have been deemed worthy of the same reward from the universal King God as those men. For when a great crowd pressed upon Jesus, he went, it is said, into one of the boats, which was Simon's. And sitting in it, he interpreted to the crowds. After sufficient teaching, since it was necessary to add a divine work to the words, beneficial to the beholders, the Lord commanded Peter to let down the nets for a catch. And he said to him: "Having labored all night, we found nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets," and he did as commanded. And when "they enclosed a great multitude of fish" and the nets were being torn, weighed down by the multitude, they called for help from those in the neighboring boat, then, hauling up the fish, they filled both vessels, so that they were in danger of being swamped. At this Peter, marveling, was astonished and confessed himself unworthy of the saving embarkation. And he, as if showing him the image of the future, explained the interpretation, and Jesus said to him: "Do not fear; from now on you will catch men alive." And to all: "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Galileans, men of lowly birth, rustics knowing nothing more than the Syriac tongue, and moreover pursuing the humble and lowly occupation of fishing, our Saviour naturally promised to make hunters of men and heralds of his teaching, and he has done so, not falsifying his promise, demonstrating the effective power of God, which surpasses every human virtue. For if he had taken as his disciples some learned and wise men, or even some of the illustrious and wealthy among the Jews, and employed them as teachers of his words, the matter might plausibly have been conceived in a more human way. For thus the majority of men are accustomed to submit, either lured by the wealth of the rich, or deceived by the trappings of eloquence and the pretence of wisdom, or overawed by the superiority of illustrious persons. But he, not using such disciples, but on the contrary poor, obscure, and in speech unlettered Syrians in tongue and lowly and mean in appearance, was manifestly employing only the divine power, which he displayed first by summoning them with a single word and making them his followers, and then by promising to make them netters and heralds of men, so that, in place of the nets they had, they might take from him the net woven from all kinds of words, both legal and prophetic, and from his own inspired teaching, and cast it into the sea of human life, and enclose whomever they found, filling their own rational nets with every kind of rational fish. But these things, then heard through the voice, were words and sounds and nothing more.

The work of divine power he demonstrated not long after, accomplishing in deeds these very things foretold in words, so that in a short time the whole inhabited world of men acquired countless multitudes caught by these poor and humble men, and every place of Greeks and barbarians was filled with churches through that one promise of the divine voice, by which he promised not to teach his disciples but himself to make them hunters of men, so that he not only foreknew and foretold the future, but also proved to be the maker of such knowledge, and spoke in word and wrought in deed.

He also presented the future through symbol and image and fulfilled it through actual operation. For to those who had long before been oppressed in the darkness of truth's light and knowledge of God, in night, and had been unable to hunt anyone for salvation, having shone his own radiance upon them when they had become in day and light, he commands them, not trusting in their own skill but in his word, to cast the nets into the deep. And they gathered such multitudes of fish that the hunting instruments were torn apart, and the boats were in danger of sinking from the load. And since these things happening thus brought Peter not ordinary astonishment and fear, he says to him, "Do not be astonished at these things yet. For these are still playthings and images of things to come. For these fish are voiceless and irrational, and these boats and nets are constructed from inanimate matter, but the examples of these are not such.

A little later, or rather from that point onward, "from now on you will be catching men alive," having been freed from this wretched and useless fishing, becoming a hunter of rational animals instead of irrational ones, and no longer from the depths of the sea, but from the bitter saltiness of life and from the dark recesses of godlessness and wickedness you will draw up those who will be hunted by you into the light of the mind and pure air, or rather you will catch them alive by procuring life for them, not death. For fish from the deep, previously living in darkness and the depths, as soon as they partake of light and air, perish; but those among men who will be hunted by you, when changed from the darkness of ignorance, will be captured into a godly life. Therefore it says, "you will be catching men alive from now on." These things the Savior foretold with divine power; these same things he demonstrated to be trustworthy and true by his deeds. That fisherman, that angler, the Syrian, instead of the hunt for fish, how many tens of thousands of men he netted with nets of secret teachings woven by divine power, it is not possible to encompass by number. The visible reveals the invisible. For what the long age of life before the theophany of the Savior did not produce, what neither Moses the lawgiver of the Hebrews nor the prophets of God after Moses nor countless other hunters who long ago proclaimed divine teaching to men, laboring much throughout the entire night before his epiphany, were unable to accomplish—these things the Galilean, the poor man, the barbarian in speech, that very Peter, accomplished.

A proof of what was accomplished then by Peter are the churches that shine to this day, far more than the boats of that time, teeming with rational fish, such as the one in Caesarea of Palestine, such as the one in Antioch of Syria, such as the one in the city of Rome itself. For Peter himself is remembered to have established these churches and all those around them, and those in Egypt, in Alexandria itself, again he, not through himself, but through Mark, his disciple, set them up. For he himself was occupied with Italy and all the nations around it, and he appointed his disciple Mark as teacher and netter of those in Egypt. And apply your mind also to the rest of our Savior’s disciples, whom, having promised to make fishers of men, he showed the word in deed. For even now he still acts and works, being present everywhere on earth and filling the whole inhabited world with his rational nets, drawing up from every race of rational fish, both barbarians and Greeks, the souls of men from the depth of evil and the darkness of godlessness, and drawing them up each day and each hour to the light of the divine knowledge handed down by him... And thus again also John, the son of Zebedee, whom, while he was repairing the nets with his father and brother at the fishing, having seen him of the same

He deemed worthy of a calling and a promise; throughout the whole world his name shines, and his words illuminate the souls of men through the gospel writing handed down by him, translated into every tongue, both Greek and barbarian, and proclaimed audibly to all nations each day. And since in the prophetic writings it was said prophetically concerning his person: "Ask of me, and I will give you nations as your inheritance and your possession the ends of the earth," therefore, as if the prophetic testimony were now fulfilled in deed, he says to his disciples: "All authority has been given to me, both in heaven and on earth." For he had held the kingdom of the heavens from eternity, but the rule "on earth" he says has now been given to him "by the Father," in accordance with "Ask of me, and I will give you nations as your inheritance." For in former times, as Moses testifies, "when the Most High divided the nations, he set the boundaries of nations according to the number of angels," angels of God were all those previously entrusted with the earth. But when humanity turned to polytheistic error, and the presiding angels were unable to provide any help against this, then the common savior of all, through his theophany after the victory over death, teaches that the authority over the nations on earth has been given no longer to angels but to him by the Father. Therefore he commanded his disciples not earlier, but now, to go around and teach all nations. And he necessarily adds also the mystery of purification.

For it was necessary that those who had turned from the nations be purified from every defilement and stain through his power, being befouled by demonic and idolatrous error and entangled in all kinds of pollutions, and having only just now been converted from a dissolute and lawless life. And he exhorts them to teach after the purification through his mystical teaching, not the Jewish precepts nor the laws of Moses, but what he himself commanded them to observe. And these were what all, in harmony, going around to every nation, have handed down to all their disciples and to all the churches throughout the whole world. And necessarily he urges them and makes them more eager to hunt out and traverse all nations and to disciple every race of men, by the promise he made to them, saying: "And behold, I am with you." And to this word of promise he added the deed, being present with each by divine power and present with all together, breathing with them and cooperating, and he confirmed the achievement, showing them to be teachers of all nations of the piety handed down by him. So, emboldened by this promise, they fulfilled his words in deed.

immediately, without any delay, with all eagerness they proceeded to the teaching of the nations, having received him in deed and seeing with their own eyes the one who had recently died alive, and whom they had abjured, denying him because of what had happened, this same one manifestly and in person present and conversing with them as usual, promising them the things previously mentioned, and they had no way to disbelieve the promises because of the visible sight. For they would have hesitated at the command, recognizing their own rusticity and lack of skill in speech, on account of which they might perhaps have declined, reasonably thinking that it was not possible for Syrians in tongue and knowing nothing more than fishing to become teachers of Greeks and Romans, Egyptians and Persians, and the remaining barbarian nations, and to legislate contrary to the lawgivers and kings everywhere on earth, opposing the decrees concerning the ancestral gods given from all eternity. But it was not possible for them to consider these things, having heard

of a divine voice saying to them, "Behold, I am with you all the days," and they see clearly the divinity of the speaker, which appeared superior to death. Therefore, fear of disobedience entered them, and from that point they advanced together into dangers, having received from the teacher the guarantees of life after death, and they proceeded confidently to the circuit of all nations, the promises of their teacher being confirmed by deeds. Once he declared that repentance must be proclaimed in his name to all nations, if the work had not followed the word, nor the things of his resurrection from the dead be believed; but if even now the things of the prophecy proceed to fulfillment, and his word is seen living and active throughout the whole world with the eyes, then it is time not to disbelieve the one who uttered the word. For where the power is seen living and active, it is absolutely necessary to confess much earlier that this one lives and that he fulfills the life of God, whose living works are shown to be in harmony with his words. At any rate, his words have passed through every hearing of all kinds of nations, being changed and translated into every language, both Greek and barbarian, so that his teaching, made audible to all nations, has led countless multitudes, who previously lived in polytheistic error and idolatry, living improperly and indecently, to conversion and repentance. And he commands not to proclaim remission first and then repentance, but repentance first and then remission.

For those who had previously shown genuine repentance for their evils, the saving grace granted forgiveness for their deeds, on whose account he also underwent death, offering himself as a ransom and a substitute for those who were to be saved through him. Thus indeed his disciples, men inexperienced in learning and utterly uneducated, poor and humble in appearance, emboldened by the power of the one who was seen after death and who visibly dwelt with them, beginning from the city of Jerusalem according to his instructions—so that the disbelief of the Jews might be inexcusable—went forth to all the nations and did what was commanded, proclaiming repentance to all and release from the former sins of the soul.....10..... the knowledge of and friendship with God, which he procured for his disciples, and the tranquility of soul and the calm and stability of mind, calling this the way. Now when the rulers of the Jewish nation, the high priests and teachers of the law, were assembled together in Jerusalem, and he himself was spending time in the temple itself, he foretold in a veiled manner through a parable the things that were to be dared against him and the destruction that would overtake them for their audacity................................................ The parable is akin to that in the prophet Isaiah, where it runs as follows:

I became a vine-grower for the beloved in a horn, in a fertile place, and I placed a fence around it, and I staked it, and I planted it, and I built a tower in its midst, and I dug a winepress, and I waited to produce a grape, but it produced thorns.” But the prophet has disparaged the vineyard, and he also interpreted what it once was, saying: “For the vineyard of the Lord Sabaoth is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is a newly planted beloved; I waited to produce judgment, but he produced lawlessness and not righteousness, but outcry.” The Savior’s parable, however, is spoken similarly to that of the prophet, so that it might be recognized and observed by those present and listening; it is not, indeed, spoken concerning the vineyard, since the prophet had already given the prophecy about this beforehand. But what had been passed over in silence by the prophet, he himself sets forth in the parable—I mean the matters concerning the workers of the vineyard. These were the elders of the people and the high priests, rulers and teachers, who indeed, with the whole multitude,

They became responsible for the growth of evil fruits, through whom the vineyard has been left deserted, that is, their entire nation, and its fence has been demolished, namely those who formerly fought for the nation and guarded the people together with the place itself, and the tower in it, the temple itself, and the winepress and the altar. All these things were utterly razed from their foundations because of the bloodguilt of the vine-growers, who killed the first and second slaves sent to them, that is, the prophets sent in succession. The ancient scripture bears witness to this account, and also the prophet Elijah in a prayer to God, saying: "Lord, they killed your prophets and demolished your altars, and I alone was left behind, and they seek my soul to take it." So the prophet accuses the rulers of the Jewish nation through this prayer, and they, not content with the bloodguilt against the prophets, later also killed the son himself, that is, the son of God, not being ignorant of him but knowing well and precisely that he was the heir. The Savior hinted at these things about himself before his passion, anticipating the future according to foreknowledge. And he says these things while staying in the temple itself to the vine-growers of his time, the high priests and the teachers and the rest of those set over the people, preparing them to bring the verdict against themselves very clearly through the parable. He asks them at the end of the parable, saying: "When the master of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?

But those who did not yet understand that it was spoken about themselves brought the verdict against themselves. Since the word of God also gave an oracle concerning the place, let us consider his utterances on this matter. The rulers of the city among the Jews, unable to bear his solemn teaching nor his frankness and reproofs, caused him to depart. And as he withdrew from Jerusalem, he uttered such words against the city: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I wished to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not. Behold, your house is left desolate to you. For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'" For after a polluted and abominable defilement was perpetrated by them in the subsequent time—this was the outrage they dared against the Savior—it was necessary, of course, that not only the inhabitants of the city, but also the very ground on which they prided themselves, should suffer the consequences of what the inhabitants had done, which indeed they suffered not long after, when the Romans came against the city and, by the law of war, slaughtered some of the inhabitants, led others away as captives, destroyed others by famine, drove others out and scattered them to every place, and burned their house and temple, reducing them to utter desolation. But since these things happened in the times thereafter, the Savior, anticipating the future by his foreknowledge as God the Word, foretells what would happen through the preceding utterances.

He calls the whole nation of the Jews children of the city, and he calls their house the temple. Then he testifies that because of their own fault the grievous things will come upon them, since he himself has often wished to gather their children under the yoke of piety, being beforehand over the whole and from eternity having made provision for them through each prophet and in every generation, turning them back and calling them, but they were unwilling to heed the call, for which reason he has brought forward the sentence against them, saying: "Behold, your house is left to you desolate." And very precisely he does not say that the city will be desolate, but the house in it, that is, the temple, which he no longer wishes to be called his own house nor the house of God, but says it is theirs. And he prophesies that it will be desolate, not otherwise than as being abandoned by the providence that formerly watched over it, because of which he said: "Behold, your house is left to you desolate." And indeed one may marvel at the fulfillment of the word, because never at any other time did the place undergo such desolation, not even when, on account of their excessive impiety and idolatry and the bloodshed against the prophets, it was captured by the Babylonians; for the entire time of the desolation of the place in that period was seventy years. Therefore it would not have been properly said to them then: "Behold, your house is left to you desolate." For it was not left, but received oversight after no long time, during which it was deemed worthy of a greater renewal than before, as one of the prophets foretold that "the glory of this house will be the last greater than the former.

After the voice of our savior, how their house was abandoned and, by the decree of God, was driven to the utmost desolation, the very sight of the place shows the outcome more clearly to those who arrive there than any account. And the time, having become many years and long, so that it is not only double the seventy-year desolation that occurred at Babylon but even exceeds fourfold, confirms the declaration of our savior. And again, at another time, when the savior was walking near the said temple, and his disciples, marveling exceedingly at the buildings of the enclosure and at the size and beauty of the temple itself, pointed them out to him, "he answered and said to them: Do you not see all these things? I tell you, not a stone will be left here upon a stone that will not be thrown down." And that all the works of the building and the other construction of the temple there were worthy of admiration, the histories make clear. For the sake of example, even to this day some remnants have been preserved, through which the traces of the ancient constructions are discerned. But more wonderful than all is the divine voice of our savior's foreknowledge, which he fittingly declared to those who were astonished at the buildings, in which they marveled how not a stone would remain upon a stone undemolished. For it was necessary that, because of the deeds that would be dared by the inhabitants, the place should undergo complete destruction and desolation, since it had become a dwelling place of impious men.

How the words of the prophecy advanced to fulfillment, and how the entire temple and its precinct, and all the sacred and beautiful structures within it, surpassing any description, have endured desolation from that time to this, and how the power of the word increases over time and spreads, so that in some places not even a trace of the foundations is visible, is open to anyone who wishes to perceive with their own eyes. But if someone should say that certain parts still stand, even so one must expect their obliteration as the desolation daily increases and the aforementioned prophecy, by an ineffable power, perpetually takes effect. I have heard some interpret the saying in question differently: that it was not spoken about all the buildings, but about a certain part, which his disciples, marveling, pointed out to him, and that he uttered the prophecy concerning that part. Again, the disciples’ account concerning him teaches these things about the besiegers of the place. The earlier words were uttered about the temple, the following about the city itself, which the Jews called the “city of God” because of the temple of God established in it. The lover of humanity laments the entire city, not so much the buildings or the ground itself, but the souls of its former inhabitants and their ruin, pitying them, and he also sets forth the causes of their desolation, saying, “If you had known, even you, on this day, what is for your peace.” He indicates that his own presence has come for the peace of the whole world. For he was the one of whom it was said, “He will rise in the

In his days, justice and an abundance of peace. And he had come for this very purpose to proclaim "peace to those near and far," and to those who receive him, he says, "I release peace to you, I give you my peace," which peace the nations throughout the whole world that believed in him received. But the people of the circumcision, not having believed in him, did not know what was for their own peace. Therefore he adds, "But now it has been hidden from your eyes, because days will come upon you and your enemies will surround you." For what was about to overtake them shortly afterward in the siege against them, because they did not accept the peace that had been announced to them, was hidden from their eyes. They, then, did not foresee what would happen to them afterward, but he, through his prophecy, foretells these things most clearly, indicating the siege by the Romans that overtook them: "For days will come upon you," because you did not know what was for your peace. For this reason, "days will come upon you and your enemies will surround you and encircle you and hem you in from all sides and raze you and your children within you," thus describing through these words the manner of the war that would be waged against them. And how these things were brought to completion, it is possible to read from the writing of Josephus, who, being a Jew and of the Jewish tribe among them, and one of the notable and prominent men in the nation, recorded in the time of the siege each of the events that took place, presenting the outcomes in accordance with the prophecies set forth.

Through the foregoing signs he gives evidence of the time of the complete desolation of the place, which he sets forth saying, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has drawn near." For let no one, he says, expect that after the impending siege and the subsequent desolation of the place there will be another renewal of it, as happened in the time of Cyrus, king of the Persians, and later under Antiochus Epiphanes, and again under Pompey. For the place has already undergone siege many times and afterward been deemed worthy of greater honor. But now know that the final desolation of the city and its complete annihilation will come upon it, when you "see it besieged by armies." And by the desolation of Jerusalem he means the destruction of the temple and the abolition of the rites formerly performed in it according to the law of Moses. For do not suppose that the desolation of the city itself is indicated by these words, as if no one would ever dwell in it again. For he adds next that the city will be inhabited, but not by Jews, saying somewhere, "And Jerusalem will be trodden by nations." Therefore he knows that it will be inhabited by nations. But he calls its desolation the fact that it will no longer be established by its own people nor according to the lawful worship. And how these things were fulfilled, there is no need of many words. For it is present to see with one's own eyes Jews scattered among all nations, and foreigners and aliens as inhabitants of what was once Jerusalem, now renamed Aelia after the besieger Aelius Hadrian.

The paradox of the oracle would be this, that it speaks concerning the Jews, "They will be taken captive into all the nations," and concerning the nations, "And Jerusalem will be trodden upon by the nations." The outcome is astonishing, if indeed the Jews, filling the whole inhabited world of men, so as to have reached even the Ethiopians and the Scythians and the very ends of the earth, are not able to set foot in their own city and the place formerly worshipped by them. And if the city were completely desolate and uninhabited, one might suppose this to be the cause. But now, with the place being inhabited by alien and foreign nations, it is inaccessible to them alone, so that they cannot even from a distance behold their ancestral soil. This has been accomplished in this manner, in accordance with the oracle that declared, "That they will be taken captive into all the nations and Jerusalem will be trodden upon by the nations." And it also signifies the war before the captivity, saying, "For there will be distress upon the land and great wrath among this people, and they will fall by the edge of the sword." How these things were done in detail, and how the predictions of our Savior were fulfilled in deed, it is possible to learn from the history of Flavius Josephus, who also clearly presents the outcome of the prophecy of our Savior, "Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days," mentioning how women roasted their own infants with fire and ate them because of the extremity of the famine that seized the city.

For it was this very famine that was to occur in the city that the Savior foresaw, and he advised his disciples that in the coming siege against the Jews they should not flee to the city as to a safe place guarded by God, which is what the many have suffered, but rather depart from there, flee to the mountains, and those in the midst of Judea should withdraw to the nations, and those in the countryside should not take refuge in it as in a fortified place. Therefore he says: "And those in the countryside shall not enter into it, because these are days of vengeance for the fulfillment of all that has been written." These calamities I have set forth from countless sources on account of the divine prophecy of our Savior which said, "Woe to those who are pregnant and those who are nursing in those days." And since this also is attached to the prophecies of the Savior, that "there will be great necessity upon the land and great wrath upon this people," or according to Matthew, "for then there will be great affliction, such as has never happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor will it happen," it is good to hear the historian recording the outcomes of these very things somewhere thus: "To go through each instance of their lawlessness is impossible. To put it concisely, no other city has suffered such things, nor has any generation from the beginning of time been more fertile in wickedness. They themselves overturned the city, and they compelled the unwilling Romans to be credited with a grim achievement, and they all but dragged the fire that was slow to come upon the temple. Indeed, looking from the upper city at the temple burning, they neither grieved nor wept.

These things because "there will then be a great affliction, such as has never happened since the beginning of the world," which indeed was foretold by the Savior and is attested by the writer, being fulfilled forty years later during the reign of Vespasian, emperor of the Romans. The Savior adds to his prophecies, defining a time until which Jerusalem will be trampled by the nations. He says, then, "until the times of the nations are fulfilled," thus signifying the end of the world. Therefore the Lord thoroughly lays bare the differences in souls of those who are to receive his teaching in the times thereafter. And he foretells that there will be three orders of those who do not genuinely receive the seed of his teaching, and likewise three choruses of the good, who, like fertile land, bear much fruit and multiply the word. Of those who destroy the seeds sown in their own soul, he says there are three causes. For either, buried by the cares of life and zeal for non-essentials, under wealth and luxury, they choke the seed within them, like those stifled by thorns; or, not having received it from the depth of their mind, they are quickly extinguished when a circumstance overtakes them; or, according to a third cause, they become responsible for the destruction of the seed within them, freely giving their ears to those who wish to deceive and to snatch away what has been sown in their soul.

seeds. Those men, then, are deprived of their fruitfulness in God in no other way than by one of the modes mentioned. But those who are disposed in the opposite way, having received the saving seed with a pure soul and genuine intention, in turn multiply their own fruits according to the capacity of their soul. For immediately, the Samaritans, after the times of the Savior, were persuaded that Dositheus, who arose, was the prophet prophesied by Moses, having been deceived by him into declaring that he was the Christ himself. Others again, in the times of the apostles, called Simon the Magus the great power of God, thinking him to be the Christ. And in Phrygia, others considered Montanus, and elsewhere still others have considered different men, and the deceivers will not cease. For one must expect that there will be even more such men, from whom indeed the truth of the saving prophecies has received its testimony. The apostle Matthew did not begin his former life from a respectable occupation, but from among those engaged in tax-collecting and greed, and none of the other evangelists made this clear to us, not his fellow apostle John, nor Luke, nor Mark, the writers of the other gospels, but Matthew himself, exposing his own life and becoming his own accuser. Listen, then, to how he, explicitly naming himself, records in his own writing in this manner: "And passing by from there, Jesus saw a man sitting at the tax office, named Matthew, and said to him: 'Follow me.' And rising, he followed him.

And it came to pass that while he was reclining in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And again, proceeding next, as he enumerates the list of the remaining disciples, he himself adds the name of the tax collector to himself. So he says: "Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector." Thus Matthew, through an excess of modesty, revealing the truthfulness of his own character, calls himself a tax collector, not concealing his former life, and counts himself among sinners and places himself second among his fellow apostle. Indeed, paired with Thomas as Peter with Andrew and James with John, Philip with Bartholomew, he puts Thomas before himself, honoring his fellow apostle as superior, while the other evangelists have done the opposite. For if their purpose had been to fabricate and to exalt the teacher with false words and adorn him with miracles, they would never have recorded the aforementioned things against themselves, nor would they have revealed to later men that the one they championed was grieved and distressed and troubled in soul, or that they themselves had left him and gone away, or that the one preferred above all of them, that apostle and disciple, the renowned Peter himself, without tortures and without the threat of a magistrate, denied him three times.