7

Israel. My eyes are upon the faithful of the land, that they may sit with me.

Oh, the wonder! The earthen ones sit, and the incorporeal ones stand by. But I do not despise the angels of God; may it not be; but I proclaim the philanthropy of God, by which he honored human nature. And if the holy apostles will sit as judges of the unfaithful, it is necessary that those also who have the faith of the apostles and have believed in the same way as them, should also sit with the apostles, to be judges of those who did not accept the faith, nor confess the word of salvation. For perhaps, so to speak, there will be twelve faithful nations, 55.636 instructed by the apostles, which will judge with the apostles the twelve tribes of Israel, those who were not persuaded by the apostolic preaching, nor had faith in the Lord's will, so that they too, having been gathered in faith, might hear: My eyes are upon the faithful of the land, that they may sit with me. Then let us see what follows. What does it say? He who walks in a blameless way, this one ministered to me. The one who works arrogance did not dwell in the midst of my house; he who speaks unrighteous things did not prosper before my eyes. To the boast of the righteous man God likewise responds, and sets forth, that such must be those who have passed through by faith. He says, He who walks in a blameless way, this one ministered to me.

For I choose such ministers, those who walk in a blameless way, and turning neither to the right nor to the left, nor stumbling in the path of righteousness and truth. For blessed are the blameless in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Therefore, in response to the voice spoken by the prophet, "I will sing praises and I will understand in a blameless way," here it says: He who walks in a blameless way, this one ministered to me. And again, as it says, I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house; and, With a haughty eye and an insatiable heart, with him I did not eat; it responds saying: The one who works arrogance did not dwell in the midst of my house, but also, He who speaks, it says, unrighteous things did not prosper before my eyes. For as it says there, The one who slanders his neighbor in secret, him I drove out; so here, He who speaks unrighteous things did not prosper before my eyes. Then see what it says: In the mornings I slew all the sinners of the land, to destroy from the city of the Lord all who work iniquity.

Here, then, it alludes to the things concerning the age to come. For since the present age is night, and the coming one is day, as the most wise Paul says, The night is far spent, and the day is at hand; it names as morning the dawning of the eternal light, which the righteous are about to enjoy. In this morning, therefore, he will slay the sinners, sending them into the eternal fire. For this is also the death of sinners, as the Savior Himself says: But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. In the mornings, therefore, I slew all the sinners of the land, to destroy from the city of the Lord all, that is, from the Jerusalem above, those who work iniquity.

For in that [city] alone the righteous rest, enjoying the eternal kingdom, which may it be for both us and you all to enjoy, having been well-pleasing to him, having lived holy lives in Christ Jesus our Lord; to whom be the glory and the power, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

7

Ἰσραήλ. Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου ἐπὶ τοὺς πιστοὺς τῆς γῆς, τοῦ συγκαθῆσθαι αὐτοὺς μετ' ἐμοῦ.

Ὢ τοῦ θαύματος! Οἱ πήλινοι καθέζονται, καὶ οἱ ἀσώματοι παραστήκουσιν. Ἀλλ' οὐ τοὺς ἀγγέλους τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐξουθενῶ· μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ κηρύττω, δι' ἣν ἐτίμησε τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν. Εἰ δὲ οἱ ἅγιοι ἀπόστολοι καθίσονται κριταὶ γενόμενοι τῶν ἀπίστων, ἐπάναγκες καὶ τοὺς τῶν ἀποστόλων τὴν πίστιν ἐσχηκότας καὶ ὁμοίως αὐτοῖς πεπιστευκότας, καὶ αὐτοὺς συγκαθεσθῆναι τοῖς ἀποστόλοις, κριτὰς ἐσομένους τῶν μὴ παραδεξαμένων τὴν πίστιν, μηδὲ ὁμολογησάντων τὸν σωτήριον λόγον. Τάχα γὰρ, ἵνα οὕτως εἴπω, ἔσονται δώδεκα ἔθνη πιστὰ, 55.636 τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀποστόλων κατηχηθέντα, ἅτινα κρινεῖ σὺν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις τὰς δώδεκα φυλὰς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, τὰς μηδὲ τῷ ἀποστολικῷ πεισθείσας κηρύγματι, μηδὲ τῷ ∆εσποτικῷ πεπιστευκυίας θελήματι, ὥστε καὶ αὐτὰς τῇ πίστει συναχθείσας ἀκοῦσαι· Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου ἐπὶ τοὺς πιστοὺς τῆς γῆς, τοῦ συγκαθῆσθαι αὐτοὺς μετ' ἐμοῖ. Ἔπειτα ἴδωμεν τὰ ἑξῆς. Τί φησι; Πορευόμενος ἐν ὁδῷ ἀμώμῳ, οὗτός μοι ἐλειτούργει. Οὐ κατῴκει ἐν μέσῳ τῆς οἰκίας μου ποιῶν ὑπερηφανίαν· ὁ λαλῶν ἄδικα οὐ κατεύθυνεν ἐνώπιον τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μου. Πρὸς τὴν καύχησιν τοῦ δικαίου καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ὁμοίως ἀντ-αποκρίνεται, καὶ παρατίθησιν, ὡς τοιούτους εἶναι δεῖ τοὺς τῇ πίστει διεληλυθότας. Φησὶ, Πορευόμενος ἐν ὁδῷ ἀμώμῳ, οὗτός μοι ἐλειτούργει.

Τοιούτους γὰρ ἐγὼ ἐκλέγομαι λειτουργοὺς, τοὺς πορευομένους ἐν ὁδῷ ἀμώμῳ, καὶ μήτε δεξιὰ ἐκκλίνοντας, μήτε ἀριστερὰ, μήτε διασφαλλομένους τὰ περὶ τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας. Μακάριοι γὰρ οἱ ἄμωμοι ἐν ὁδῷ, οἱ πορευόμενοι ἐν νόμῳ Κυρίου. Πρὸς οὖν τὴν εἰρημένην φωνὴν ὑπὸ τοῦ προφήτου, τὴν, Ψαλῶ, καὶ συνήσω ἐν ὁδῷ ἀμώμῳ, ἐνταῦθα λέγει· Πορευόμενος ἐν ὁδῷ ἀμώμῳ, οὗτός μοι ἐλειτούργει. Καὶ πάλιν, ὥς φησι, ∆ιεπορευόμην ἐν ἀκακίᾳ καρδίας μου, ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ οἴκου μου· καὶ, Ὑπερηφάνῳ ὀφθαλμῷ καὶ ἀπλήστῳ καρδίᾳ, τούτῳ οὐ συνήσθιον· ἀνταποκρίνεται λέγων· Οὐ κατῴκει ἐν μέσῳ τῆς οἰκίας μου ποιῶν ὑπερηφανίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ, Λαλῶν, φησὶν, ἄδικα οὐ κατεύθυνεν ἐνώπιον τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μου. Ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖ φησι, Τὸν καταλαλοῦντα λάθρᾳ τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ, τοῦτον ἐξεδίωκον· οὕτως ἐνταῦθα, Λαλῶν ἄδικα οὐ κατεύθυνεν ἐνώπιον τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μου. Εἶτα ὅρα τί φησιν· Εἰς τὰς πρωΐας ἀπέκτεινον πάντας τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς τῆς γῆς, τοῦ ἐξολοθρεῦσαι ἐκ πόλεως Κυρίου πάντας τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν.

Ἐνταῦθα λοιπὸν αἰνίττεται τὰ περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ νύξ ἐστιν ὁ παρὼν αἰὼν, ἡμέρα δὲ ὁ μέλλων, ὥς φησιν ὁ σοφώτατος Παῦλος, Ἡ νὺξ προέκοψεν; ἡ δὲ ἡμέρα ἤγγικε· πρωΐαν ὀνομάζει τὴν ἀνατολὴν τοῦ ἀϊδίου φωτὸς, οὗ μέλλουσιν οἱ δίκαιοι ἀπολαύειν. Εἰς ταύτην οὖν τὴν πρωΐαν ἀποκτενεῖ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς, ἀποστέλλων αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον. Οὗτος γὰρ καὶ ὁ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν θάνατος, ὥς φησι καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτήρ· Φοβήθητε δὲ μᾶλλον τὸν δυνάμενον ἀποκτεῖναι καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα ἐν γεέννῃ. Εἰς τὰς πρωΐας οὖν ἀπέκτεινον πάντας τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς τῆς γῆς, τοῦ ἐξολοθρεῦσαι ἐκ πόλεως Κυρίου πάντας, τουτέστι, τῆς ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ, τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν.

Εἰς ἐκείνην γὰρ μόνον οἱ δίκαιοι ἀναπαύονται, ἀπολαύοντες τῆς αἰωνίου βασιλείας, ἧς γένοιτο καὶ ἡμᾶς καὶ ὑμᾶς πάντας ἀπολαῦσαι εὐαρεστήσαντας αὐτῷ, ὁσίως πολιτευσαμένους ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν· ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.