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Truly I say to you, that you who have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of God shall sit on the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. The white garments are a sign of the purity of their life. And the crowns, of overcoming the passions and the spiritual enemies. And the proceeding from the throne of lightnings and voices of thunders signifies again the terribleness of God. For divine beauty does not have its joy in some diffusion and pleasure of delight, but in the terrible with wonder. And knowing this the prophet said: Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice in him with trembling. And seven lamps of fire, it says, burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God; that the rulers among the angels are seven. Clement says in the sixth Stromata, perhaps led from here to say these things, the seven spirits, like lamps of fire. For it is said somewhere concerning angels: who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire, the divine scripture signifying these, about whom is now the discussion and before, it says, 72 the throne a sea of glass like crystal. The vision of the sea, the multitude; and the glass and the crystal? The pure. And it shows the holy fathers around God to be unmixed with any stain, who are a sea as far as multitude; for a thousand thousands stood by him, says Daniel, and ten thousand times ten thousand ministered to him. And being so many, they are all pure, like glass and crystal. And around the throne and in the midst of the throne four living creatures full of eyes, before and behind. And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature had the face as of a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings apiece, round about; and within they are full of eyes; and they rest not day and night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. It cannot be said that these holy living creatures are those of which vision the prophet Ezekiel was deemed worthy. For each of those was four-faced and eight-winged, and dragged certain wheels which were called gelgel, even if those were also many-eyed just as these. But here, each has one face, though different, and six wings. And those were the Cherubim, for so they are called by Ezekiel, but these, as I think, are the Seraphim, those shown to the divine Isaiah, even if Isaiah neither mentioned if they had any 73 faces, but only that with their wings they covered their own faces; nor a multitude of eyes, but that they were six-winged. But what did these things shown to the evangelist signify? It is good to explain. There was a certain error among some of the Jews. That God provides for the holy orders in heaven and dwells among them alone, but stands aloof from and neglects those on earth, because of the transgression in Adam. Wherefore also they said in Isaiah: Why have we fasted, and you have not known? We have humbled our souls, and you have not regarded? And such an error was present with them from a certain scriptural saying that says Lord in heaven, your mercy and your truth are up to the clouds. As if divine providence disdained to proceed further down because of the sins on earth, the vision therefore shows to the evangelist that the providence of God extends through all things, providing for those in heaven and having set foot on those on earth. And this is signified by the four holy living creatures being around the divine throne. For since every perceptible and earthly body is mixed from the four elements—fire, earth, air, water. Each of the living creatures indicates one of these: the lion, fire, because of the animal's heat and spirit; the calf, earth, because the calf's work is concerned with the earth; man, the air, for man is a heavenly and lofty plant because of the subtlety of his mind; the eagle, water, for from waters to the

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ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὑμεῖς οἱ ἀκολουθήσαντές μοι ἐν τῇ παλιγγενεσίᾳ, ὁτὰν καθίσῃ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης αὐτοῦ, καθίσεσθε καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐπὶ δώδεκα θρόνους, κρίνοντες τὰς δώδεκα φυλὰς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. τὰ δὲ λευκὰ ἱμάτια δεῖγμα τυγχάνει τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον αὐτῶν καθαρότητος. οἱ δέ γε στέφανοι, τοῦ νικῆσαι τὰ πάθη καὶ τοὺς νοητοὺς ἐχθρούς. τὸ δὲ ἐκπορεύεσθαι τοῦ θρόνου ἀστραπὰς καὶ φωνὰς βροντῶν, τὸ φοβερὸν αἰνίττεται πάλιν τοῦ Θεοῦ. τὸ γὰρ θεῖον κάλλος οὐκ ἐν διαχύσει τινὶ καὶ ἡδονῇ τέρψεως τὴν εὐφροσύνην ἔχει, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ μετὰ θαύματος φοβερῷ. καὶ τοῦτο εἰδὼς ὁ προφήτης ἔλεγε· δουλεύσατε τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν φόβῳ, καὶ ἀγαλλίασθε αὐτῷ ἐν τρόμῳ. καὶ ἑπτά φησι λαμπάδες πυρός, καιόμεναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου, ἅ εἰσι τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἑπτὰ τυγχάνειν τοὺς ἐν ἀγγέλοις ἄρχοντας. ὁ Κλήμης φησὶν ἐν ἕκτῳ Στρώματι, ἴσως ἐντεῦθεν ὁδηγηθεὶς ταῦτα λέγειν, τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα, ὅμοια λαμπάσι πυρός. εἴρηται γάρ που περὶ ἀγγέλων· ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα, τούτους αἰνιττομένης τῆς θείας γραφῆς, περὶ ὧν νῦν ὁ λόγος καὶ ἐνώπιόν φησι 72 τοῦ θρόνου θάλασσα ὑαλίνη ὁμοία κρυστάλλῳ. ἡ τῆς θαλάσσης ὀπτασία, τὸ πλῆθος· ἡ δὲ ὕαλος καὶ ὁ κρύσταλλος; τὸ καθαρόν. καὶ πάσης ἀμιγὲς κηλῖδος ἐνδείκνυται τῶν περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἁγίων πατέρων, οἳ θάλασσά τέ εἰσιν ὅσον εἰς πλῆθος· χίλιαι γὰρ χιλιάδες παρειστήκεισαν αὐτῷ φησιν ὁ ∆ανιήλ, καὶ μύριαι μυριάδες ἐλειτούργουν αὐτῷ. καὶ τοσοῦτοι τυγχάνοντες, πάντες εἰσὶ καθαροί, ὑάλῳ καὶ κρυστάλλῳ παραπλήσιοι. καὶ κύκλω τοῦ θρόνου καὶ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ θρόνου τέσσαρα ζῶα γέμοντα ὀφθαλμῶν, ἔμπροσθεν καὶ ὄπισθεν. καὶ τὸ ζῶον τὸ πρῶτον ὅμοιον λέοντι, καὶ τὸ δεύτερον ζῶον ὅμοιον μόσχῳ, καὶ τὸ τρίτον ζῶιον ἔχον τὸ πρόσωπον ὡς ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τὸ τέταρτον ζῶιον ὅμοιον ἀετῷ πετομένῳ. καὶ τὰ τέσσαρα ζῶα, ἓν καθ' ἓν αὐτῶν ἔχον ἀνὰ πτέρυγας ἕξ, κυκλόθεν· καὶ ἔσωθεν γέμουσιν ὀφθαλμῶν· καὶ ἀνάπαυσιν οὐκ ἔχοντες ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς λέγοντες· ἅγιος ἅγιος ἅγιος Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ, ὁ ὤν, καὶ ὁ ἦν, καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος. οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὡς ταῦτα τὰ ἅγια ζῶα ἐκεῖνα τυγχάνει, ὧν τῆς ὀπτασίας ἠξιώθη Ἱεζεκιὴλ ὁ προφήτης. ἐκείνων μὲν γὰρ ἕκαστον τετραπρόσωπόν τε ἦν καὶ ὀκταπτέρυγον, καὶ τρόχους τινὰς ἐπεσύρετο οἳ ἐπεκέκληντο γὲλγέλ, εἰ καὶ πολυόμματα ἦν κἀκεῖνα ὥσπερ καὶ ταῦτα. ἐνταῦθα δέ, ἕν τε ἕκαστον πρόσωπον, εἰ καὶ διάφορον, καὶ πτέρυγας ἕξ. καὶ ἐκεῖνα μὲν ἦν τὰ Χερουβίμ, οὕτω γὰρ κέκληται παρὰ τῷ Ἱεζεκιήλ, ταῦτα δέ, ὡς οἶμαι, ἐστὶ τὰ Σεραφίμ, τὰ Ἡσαΐᾳ τῷ θεσπεσίῳ δειχθέντα, εἰ καὶ ὁ Ἡσαΐας οὔτε εἰ πρό 73 σωπά τινα ἦν αὐτοῖς ἐπεμνήσθη, μόνον δὲ ὅτι ταῖς πτέρυξιν ἔσκεπαν τὰ πρόσωπα ἑαυτῶν· οὔτε ὀφθαλμῶν πλῆθος, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἦν ἑξαπτέρυγα. τί δὲ ταῦτα ἠνίττετο τὰ τῷ εὐαγγελιστῇ δειχθέντα καλὸν ἐξηγήσασθαι; πλάνη τίς ἦν παρά τισι τῶν Ἰουδαίων; ὡς τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν μὲν ἐν οὐρανῷ ἁγίων ταγμάτων προνοοῦντος καὶ αὐτοῖς ἐμφιλοχωροῦντος μόνοις, ἀφισταμένου δὲ καὶ ἀμελοῦντος τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς, διὰ τὴν ἐν Ἀδὰμ παράβασιν. διὸ καὶ ἔλεγον παρὰ τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ· τί ὅτι ἐνηστεύσαμεν, καὶ οὐκ ἔγνως; ἐταπεινώσαμεν τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν, καὶ οὐ προσέσχες; ἡ δὲ τοιαύτη πλάνη προσῆν αὐτοῖς ἔκ τινος ῥητοῦ γραφικοῦ λέγοντος Κύριε ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, τὸ ἔλεός σου καὶ ἡ ἀλήθειά σου ἕως τῶν νεφελῶν. ὡς κατωτέρω τῆς θείας προνοίας προϊέναι ἀπαξιούσης διὰ τὰς ἐπὶ γῆς ἁμαρτίας, δείκνυσιν οὖν ἡ ὀπτασία τῷ εὐαγγελιστῇ ὅτι διὰ πάντων ἡ πρόνοια διήκει τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῶν τε ἐν οὐρανοῖς προνοοῦσα καὶ ἐπιβεβηκυῖα τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς. καὶ τοῦτο αἰνίττεται τὰ τέσσαρα ἅγια ζῶα περὶ τὸν θεῖον ὑπάρχοντα θρόνον. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἅπαν αἰσθητὸν καὶ γήϊνον σῶμα ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων κέκραται στοιχείωνπυρός, γῆς, ἀέρος, ὕδατος. ἕκαστον τῶν ζώων ἕν τι τούτων ἐνδείκνυταιὁ μὲν λέων τὸ πῦρ, διὰ τὸ θερμόν τε καὶ θυμικὸν τοῦ ζώου· ὁ δέ γε μόσχος τὴν γῆν, διὰ τὸ περὶ γῆν εἶναι τῷ μόσχῳ τὴν ἐργασίαν· ὁ δέ γε ἄνθρωπος τὸν ἀέρα, οὐράνιον γὰρ φυτὸν καὶ μετάρσιον ὁ ἄνθρωπος διὰ τὴν τοῦ νοῦ λεπτότητα· ὁ δὲ ἀετὸς τὸ ὕδωρ, ἐξ ὑδάτων γὰρ τοῖς