John Chrysostom, On False Prophets

perdition. What then shall I say first? about our end? or shall I denounce the profane dogmas of the atheist heretics? If it were the time, I would have triumphed over and publicly exposed their profane dogmas, and their lawless practices; but the struggle is great, and the speech long, to lay bare and triumph over their unclean dogmas. But for the present it is necessary to present these from the holy Scriptures as enemies of Christ, and wolves of his flock, everywhere driven out, and cast out from Christ's sheep. ∆Therefore they were rightly called wolves by the prophets, and by the Lord Himself, and by the blessed apostles; and not only wolves, but also plagues, and impious, and adversaries, and enemies, and plotters, and blasphemers, and hypocrites, and thieves, and robbers, and abominable, and false prophets, and false teachers, and blind guides, and wanderers, and evil men, and antichrists, and stumbling blocks, and sons of the evil one, and tares, and atheists, and fighters against the Spirit, those who have blasphemed the 59.556 Spirit of grace; for whom there will be no forgiveness, neither in this age, nor in the one to come; ∆because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in addition to these, also children of the evil devil, as the Theologian says: The children of the devil are manifest. It is necessary then first to be occupied with these, and then to speak of the end. Since then the ends of the ages have come upon us, as the Apostle says, and difficult times have arisen, and lawlessness has abounded, and the love of many has grown cold, and the deceivers are many, and the deceived more numerous; come then, let us unfold the sacred books, in which finding the way of truth, we may walk, running up to the holy mountains, I mean prophets and apostles, so that we may not be deceived, and be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, with a view to the method of deceit. Let us not remain below, but let us go up with the holy disciples to the blessed mountain, and let us hear our shepherd saying: See that you are not deceived; See that no one deceives you; look everywhere. And John says similar things: So that you do not lose what you have worked for; and Paul, Beware of dogs; See how you walk. But this, "See," and "See," is nothing other than what has been said for your security concerning those who deceive with the fleece, and hide the wolf and deceive the more careless. It is indeed very necessarily said everywhere in the Scriptures, "See," and "Behold," and "Watch," and "Pay attention," not only to yourselves, but also to all the flock. For the divine Scripture has passed over in silence nothing that is profitable for us. 3. But it comes to me to weep, whenever I hear some from our Church saying that these things have not been said in the divine Scriptures; and this not only from the laity, but also from those who seem to be shepherds, and hold the places of apostles and prophets, but not their ways; to whom it is opportune to say: Woe to you, blind guides, and ignorant, and unstable; you who are adorners of garments, and not of books; you who have abandoned the word of God, and serve the belly; whose God is their belly, and their glory in their shame; who misuse the milk and the wool and the flesh of the flock, but do not care for the sheep? How then will you escape, having neglected so great a salvation? I, having been urged by the word, will bring forward more abundant testimonies, proving from the holy Scriptures, both Gospels and prophets and apostles, with Christ providing, how the mouth of those speaking unrighteous things may be stopped, and the heart of those who long for the word may be enlightened. And from where shall we begin, or from the

ἀπώλεια. Τί οὖν εἴπω πρῶτον; περὶ τῆς συντελείας ἡμῶν; ἢ τῶν ἀθέων αἱρετικῶν στηλιτεύσω τὰ βέβηλα δόγματα; Εἰ καιρὸς ἦν, εἶχον ἂν θριαμβεῦσαι καὶ δημοσιεῦσαι αὐτῶν τὰ βέβηλα δόγματα, καὶ τὰ ἄθεσμα πράγματα· ἀλλὰ μέγας ἐστὶν ὁ ἀγὼν, καὶ πολὺς ὁ λόγος, τὰ τούτων γυμνῶσαι καὶ θριαμβεῦσαι ἀκάθαρτα δόγματα. Πλὴν πρὸς τὸ παρὸν ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι παραστῆσαι ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν τούτους ὡς ἐχθροὺς τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ λύκους τῆς αὐτοῦ ποίμνης, πανταχοῦ ἐλαυνομένους, καὶ ἐκβαλλομένους τῶν Χριστοῦ προβάτων. ∆ιὸ καὶ λύκοι δικαίως ἐκλήθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν προφητῶν, καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ∆εσπότου, καὶ τῶν μακαρίων ἀποστόλων· καὶ οὐ μόνον λύκοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ λοιμοὶ, καὶ ἀσεβεῖς, καὶ ἀντίδικοι, καὶ ἐχθροὶ, καὶ ἐπίβουλοι, καὶ βλάσφημοι, καὶ ὑποκριταὶ, καὶ κλέπται, καὶ λῃσταὶ, καὶ βδελυκτοὶ, καὶ ψευδοπροφῆται, καὶ ψευδοδιδάσκαλοι, καὶ ὁδηγοὶ τυφλοὶ, καὶ πλανῆται, καὶ πονηροὶ, καὶ ἀντίχριστοι, καὶ σκάνδαλα, καὶ υἱοὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ, καὶ ζιζάνια, καὶ ἄθεοι, καὶ πνευματομάχοι, οἱ βλασφημήσαντες τὸ 59.556 Πνεῦμα τῆς χάριτος· οἷς οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται οὔτε ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι, οὔτε ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι· ∆ι' οὓς ἡ ὁδὸς τῆς ἀληθείας βλασφημηθήσεται. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ τέκνα τοῦ πονηροῦ διαβόλου, καθώς φησιν ὁ θεολόγος· Φανερά ἐστι τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου. ∆εῖ οὖν πρῶτον περὶ τούτων ἀσχοληθῆναι, καὶ τότε περὶ τῆς συντελείας λαλῆσαι. Ἐπεὶ οὖν εἰς ἡμᾶς τὰ τέλη τῶν αἰώνων ἔφθασεν, ὡς λέγει ὁ Ἀπόστολος, καὶ ἀνέστησαν οἱ χαλεποὶ καιροὶ, καὶ ἡ ἀνομία ἐπληθύνθη, καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν πολλῶν ἐψύγη, καὶ οἱ πλανῶντες πολλοὶ, καὶ οἱ πλανώμενοι πλείονες· φέρε οὖν ἀναπτύξωμεν τὰς ἱερὰς βίβλους, ἐν αἷς εὑρόντες τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς ἀληθείας, βαδίζωμεν, ἀνατρέχοντες ἐπὶ τὰ ἅγια ὄρη, προφήτας λέγω καὶ ἀποστόλους, ὅπως μὴ πλανηθῶμεν, καὶ Περιφερώμεθα ἐν παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας, ἐν τῇ κυβείᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης. Μὴ κάτω μείνωμεν, ἀλλὰ συνανέλθωμεν τοῖς ἁγίοις μαθηταῖς ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τὸ μακάριον, καὶ ἀκούσωμεν τοῦ ἡμετέρου ποιμένος λέγοντος· Βλέπετε μὴ πλανηθῆτε· Βλέπετε μή τις ὑμᾶς πλανήσῃ· πανταχοῦ βλέπετε. Καὶ Ἰωάννης ὅμοια λέγει· Ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσητε ἃ εἰργάσασθε· καὶ Παῦλος, Βλέπετε τοὺς κύνας· Βλέπετε πῶς περιπατεῖτε. Τὸ δὲ, Βλέπετε, καὶ Βλέπετε, οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν, εἰ μὴ πρὸς ὑμετέραν ἀσφάλειαν εἰρημένον περὶ τῶν πλανώντων τῷ κωδίῳ, καὶ τὸν λύκον ὑποκρυπτόντων καὶ ἀπατώντων τοὺς ἀμελεστέρους. Πάνυ δὲ ἀναγκαίως πανταχοῦ εἴρηται ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς, τὸ, Βλέπετε, καὶ Ὁρᾶτε, καὶ Γρηγορεῖτε, καὶ Προσέχετε, οὐ μόνον ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ παντὶ τῷ ποιμνίῳ. Οὐδὲν γὰρ παρεσιώπησε τῶν ἡμῖν συμφερόντων ἡ θεία Γραφή. γʹ. Ἐμοὶ δὲ δακρύειν ἐπέρχεται, ὅταν ἀκούσω ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμετέρας Ἐκκλησίας τινὰς λέγοντας, μὴ εἰρῆσθαι ταῦτα ἐν ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς· καὶ τοῦτο οὐ μόνον παρὰ λαϊκῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ τῶν δοκούντων εἶναι ποιμένων, καὶ τόπους ἐπεχόντων ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν, ἀλλ' οὐ τρόπους· πρὸς οὓς εὔκαιρον εἰπεῖν· Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, οἱ ὁδηγοὶ τυφλοὶ, καὶ ἀμαθεῖς, καὶ ἀστήρικτοι· οἱ ἱματίων καλλωπισταὶ, καὶ οὐχὶ βιβλίων· οἱ καταλιπόντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τῇ γαστρὶ διακονοῦντες· Ὧν ὁ Θεὸς ἡ κοιλία, καὶ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ· οἱ τὸ γάλα καὶ τὸ ἔριον καὶ τὰ κρέα τῆς ποίμνης καταχρώμενοι, περὶ δὲ τῶν προβάτων οὐ φροντίζοντες; Πῶς οὖν ἐκφεύξεσθε τηλικαύτης ἀμελήσαντες σωτηρίας; Ἐγὼ ὑπαρθεὶς τῷ λόγῳ εἰς μέσον προσθήσω περισσοτέρας μαρτυρίας, ἀποδεικνύων ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν, Εὐαγγελίων τε καὶ προφητῶν καὶ ἀποστόλων, τοῦ Χριστοῦ χορηγοῦντος, πῶς ἐμφράττῃ στόμα λαλούντων ἄδικα, τῶν δὲ ποθούντων τὸν λόγον φωτισθῇ ἡ καρδία. Ἀρξώμεθα δὲ πόθεν, ἢ ἐκ τοῦ