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in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which look upon all the earth." Therefore, the seven eyes that watch over all creation are the aforementioned wondrous oracles of the Holy Spirit. And he said a tin stone, because with tin, damaged vessels, both iron and bronze, are mended and restored, and tin is a unifier. But some say, that with skill it also distinguishes in the furnace the genuine and the counterfeit from gold, or silver, or bronze. I think that what was likewise said in secret by Solomon, "Wisdom has built her house, and has set up seven pillars," seeks to indicate what was announced to the Virgin by Gabriel: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you;" which also indicates that the angels minister to it; and that it is the sustainer of all things, and the divine Spirit illumines our lives with ineffable light-giving, with the Father and the Son, in an ineffable union and concord. Therefore, the Apostle, teaching us that those who are being enlightened should be deemed worthy of it, wrote letters to the Galatians such as this: "This only I wish to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" David also does not pass these things over in silence. For clearly joining together the nature and oneness of mind of the Son, who was begotten light from light, and of the Holy Spirit, who proceeded truth from truth, he sings, in the 42nd: "Send forth your light and your truth;" and in the 147th: "He will send forth his Word, and will melt them; his Spirit will blow, and waters will flow." To which follows the saying of Paul: "We were all made to drink of one Spirit." 39.708 Why shall I not also show something else harmonious and splendid, by the interpreter Zechariah, the last prophet, that we may marvel even more? But I will remind you with his own words, which are as follows: "In those days living water will go out from Jerusalem." And the "living water," proceeding also from the Jerusalem above, therefore also begets living ones. We might find in addition to the things mentioned also the pool in Jerusalem, whose name in Hebrew is Bethesda, admittedly an image of baptism, but not being the truth itself; for the image is for a time, but the truth is judged for eternity. For this reason also the water in it, stirred once a year by an angel, and only the first one to go down, it healed a bodily ailment, but not a spiritual one. For the authentic baptism, after the manifestation of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and on each day, or rather hour; and more truly, unceasingly and for all who go down, it eternally frees from all sin; and for the many and various, and irregular, and stubborn conditions, both spiritual and bodily, the healing is found to be one, and no old pain at all follows any longer, either of things within or of things without. In addition to these things, it shows all by grace to be first-born and new-born brothers, both the old and the young; and to these very ones, to whom according to worldly law earthly wealth, because of the insecurity of their years, whether few or many, is not entrusted, all divine blessedness is found to be securely deposited; so that they sing rejoicingly: "The Lord shepherds me, and I shall want nothing; in a place of green pasture, there he has made me dwell; beside the water of rest he has nourished me;" and, "You have prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my 39.709 head with oil, and your cup which inebriates me is the best." 39.712 And the angel himself who stirred the water, was a forerunner of the Holy Spirit; in the likeness of which angel John was called both an angel of the Lord, and became the forerunner of the Master, and baptized in water. And the anointing oil, with which Aaron was anointed by Moses, and moreover all those from the priestly horn, who were called anointed ones from the anointing, bore a type of the sanctified chrism, which we receive. For even if this runs bodily,
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ἐν χειρὶ Ζοροβάβελ. Ἑπτὰ οὗτοι ὀφθαλμοὶ Κυρίου εἰσὶν, οἱ ἐπιβλέποντες ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν." Οἱ οὖν τὴν πᾶσαν κτίσιν ἐφορῶντες ἑπτὰ ὀφθαλμοὶ, οἱ προλεχθέντες παράδοξοι χρηματισμοὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματός εἰσιν. Κασσιτέρινον δὲ λίθον εἶπεν, ἐπειδὴ ἐν τῷ κασσιτέρῳ τὰ πεπονθότα σκεύη, σιδηρᾶ τε καὶ χαλκᾶ, θεραπεύεται καὶ ἀναπληροῦται, καὶ ἑνωτικός ἐστιν ὁ κασσίτερος. Φασὶ δέ τινες, ὅτι σὺν τέχνῃ καὶ διακρίνει ἐν τῇ χώνῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ χρυσοῦ, ἢ ἀργύρου, ἢ χαλκοῦ τὸ δόκιμον καὶ ἀδόκιμον. Ἐγᾦμαι, ὡς καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ Σολομῶνος ὁμοίως ἐν ἀποῤῥήτῳ λεχθὲν, "Ἡ σοφία ᾠκοδόμησεν ἑαυτῇ οἶκον, καὶ ὑπήρεισε στύλους ἑπτὰ," παραδηλοῦν ἐφίεται τὸ τῇ Παρθένῳ εὐαγγελισθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Γαβριήλ· "Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐλεύσεται ἐπὶ σέ·" ὅπερ καὶ λειτουργεῖν αὐτῷ τοὺς ἀγγέλους δηλοῖ· καὶ ὡς τῶν ὅλων ὑποστάτης ἐστὶ, καὶ τὰς ζωὰς ἀῤῥήτῳ φωταγωγίᾳ περιλάμπει τὸ θεϊκὸν Πνεῦμα, σὺν τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ, μετὰ ἀφράστου ἑνώσεως καὶ συμπνοίας. Ἀξιοῦσθαι οὖν αὐτοῦ τοὺς φωτιζομένους παιδεύων ἡμᾶς ὁ Ἀπόστολος, Γαλάταις ἐχάραξε γράμματα καὶ τοιάδε· "Τοῦτο μόνον θέλω μαθεῖν ἀφ' ὑμῶν· Ἐξ ἔργων νόμου τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐλάβετε, ἢ ἐξ ἀκοῆς πίστεως;" Ταῦτα καὶ ∆αυῒδ οὐ σιωπῇ παρατρέχει. Συνάπτων γὰρ προφανῶς τὴν φύσιν καὶ ὁμοφροσύνην τοῦ ἐκ φωτὸς φῶς γεννηθέντος Υἱοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἀληθείᾳ ἐξ ἀληθείας ἐκπορευθέντος ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ψάλλει, ἐν μὲν μβʹ· "Ἐξαπόστειλον τὸ φῶς σου καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου·" ἐν δὲ ρμζʹ· "Ἐξαποστελεῖ τὸν Λόγον αὑτοῦ, καὶ τήξει αὐτά· πνεύσει τὸ Πνεῦμα αὑτοῦ, καὶ ῥυήσεται ὕδατα." Ὧ ἕπεται τὸ Παύλου ῥητόν· "Ἡμεῖς πάντες ἓν Πνεῦμα ἐποτίσθημεν." 39.708 Τί οὐ καὶ ἄλλο συνῳδόν τι καὶ λαμπρὸν ἐνδείξομαι, ὑπὸ ἐξηγητῇ Ζαχαρίᾳ τῷ ὑστάτῳ προφήτῃ, ἵν' ἔτι καὶ μᾶλλον θαυμάζωμεν; Αὐτοῖς δὲ ἀναμνήσω τοῖς ῥήμασιν αὐτοῦ, ἔχουσιν ὧδε· "Ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐξελεύσεται ὕδωρ ζῶν ἐξ Ἱερουσαλήμ." Τὸ δὲ "ζῶν ὕδωρ," καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἄνω ἐκπορευόμενον Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἄρα καὶ ζῶντας γεννᾷ. Εὕροιμεν δὲ ἂν πρὸς τοῖς μνημονευθεῖσι καὶ τὴν κολυμβήθραν τὴν ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ᾗ ὄνομα Ἑβραϊστὶ Βηθεσδὰ, ὁμολογουμένως εἰκόνα τοῦ βαπτίσματος, ἀλλ' οὐκ αὐτὴν τυγχάνουσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν· ἡ γὰρ εἰκὼν πρὸς καιρὸν, ἡ δὲ ἀλήθεια εἰς αἰωνιότητα κρίνεται. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἅπαξ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ὑπὸ ἀγγέλου κινηθὲν τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ ὕδωρ, καὶ ἕνα μόνον τὸν πρῶτον κατιόντα, καὶ σωματικὸν πάθος, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ ψυχικὸν ἐθεράπευεν Τὸ γὰρ αὐθεντικὸν βάπτισμα, μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐπιφάνειαν, καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, μᾶλλον δὲ ὥραν· ἀληθέστερον δὲ, ἀδιαλείπτως καὶ πάντας τοὺς κατιόντας, καὶ ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας αἰωνίως ἐλευθεροῖ· καὶ τῶν πολλῶν καὶ διαφόρων, καὶ ἀνωμάλων, καὶ δυσλύτων διαθέσεων ψυχικῶν τε καὶ σωματικῶν ἡ ἴασις εὑρίσκεται μία, καὶ οὐδὲν καθοτιοῦν ἔτι παλαιὸν ἕπεται ἄλγημα τῶν ἐντὸς, ἢ τῶν ἐκτός. Πρὸς ἐπὶ τούτοις, πάντας ἐκ χάριτος ἀδελφοὺς πρωτοτόκους καὶ ἀρτιτόκους, καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἐξήλικας καὶ ἀφήλικας ἀναδείκνυσι· καὶ τούτοις αὐτοῖς, οἷς κατὰ νόμον κοσμικὸν τὰ γήϊνα χρήματα, διὰ τὸ ἀνασφαλὲς τῶν ἐτῶν, ἢ τῶν ὀλίγων, ἢ τῶν πολλῶν, οὐ καταπιστεύεται, ὁ θεῖος ἅπας ὄλβος ἀσφαλῶς παρακατατεθεὶς εὑρίσκεται· ὡς γεγηθότας ψάλλειν· "Κύριος ποιμαίνει με, καὶ οὐδέν με ὑστερήσει· εἰς τόπον χλόης, ἐκεῖ με κατεσκήνωσεν· ἐπὶ ὕδατος ἀναπαύσεως ἐξέθρεψέ με·" καὶ, "Ἡτοίμασας ἐνώπιόν μου τράπεζαν ἐξ ἐναντίας τῶν θλιβόντων με. Ἐλίπανας ἐν ἐλαίῳ τὴν 39.709 κεφαλήν μου, καὶ τὸ ποτήριόν σου μεθύσκον με ὡσεὶ κράτιστον." 39.712 Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ ἄγγελος ὁ τὸ ὕδωρ ταράσσων, πρόδρομος ἦν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος· οὗτινος ἀγγέλου καθ' ὁμοιότητα Ἰωάννης ἄγγελός τε τοῦ Κυρίου ἐκλήθη, καὶ πρόδρομος ἐγένετο τοῦ ∆εσπότου, καὶ ἐν ὕδασιν ἐβάπτισεν. Καὶ τὸ χρίσμα δὲ, ὅπερ ἐχρίσθησαν Ἀαρών τε ὑπὸ Μωϋσέως, ἔτι μὴν καὶ πάντες οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱερατικοῦ κέρατος, οἱ ἐπικληθέντες ἀπὸ τοῦ χρίσματος χρηστοὶ, τύπον ἔφερε τοῦ ἡγιασμένου χρίσματος, οὗ λαμβάνομεν ἡμεῖς. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ σωματικῶς τοῦτο τρέχει,