26

and is separated from the body, immediately they too are given over to corruption and are gradually dissolved; but some remain for many years, neither remaining completely incorruptible, nor again being completely destroyed, but preserve in themselves the marks of both incorruption and corruption, being kept to be made completely incorruptible and to be renewed for the final resurrection.

For what reason then and why? Because it was not fitting for the bodies of men to be resurrected and made incorruptible before the renewal of creation, but just as this was brought forth first incorruptible, then man afterwards, so again must creation first be transformed from corruption to incorruption, or rather be changed, and so with it and at the same time as it, the corrupted bodies of men must be renewed, so that again man, having become spiritual and immortal, might dwell in an incorruptible and eternal and spiritual place. And that this is true, hear the apostle Peter saying: "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, in which the heavens, being set on fire, (65) will be dissolved, and the elements, being burned, shall melt," not as these things being destroyed, but as being recast, that is, and re-constituted into a better and eternal end. From where is this clear? Again from the very words of the apostle, through which he adds, saying: "But we await a new heavens and a new earth according to His promise." According to what promise and whose? According to that of Christ, certainly, and our God, who said: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." He spoke of the passing away of heaven as its alteration, for even if heaven, he says, will be changed, yet my words will have unchangeableness and stability. For the prophet David also proclaimed this beforehand, saying thus: "And like a mantle You will roll them up, and they will be changed; but You are the same, and Your years will not fail." What then could be clearer than these words?

But let us consider how creation will be renewed and restored to its ancient beauty.

4. How all creation is to be renewed again and become new

heavens and a new earth according to the divine Apostle. (65) Therefore, since he has promised a new heavens and a new earth, no one

of the faithful will deny; nor indeed will he disbelieve the Lord who says these things. For just as our dissolved bodies do not pass into utter non-existence, but are renewed again through the resurrection, so indeed also the heaven and the earth and all things in them, that is, all creation, will be renewed and will be set free from the slavery of corruption and; and these elements will share with us in the splendor from there and (66) in the way that fire will test us all, according to the divine apostle, so also all creation will be renewed through fire. And this is to be learned through what the apostle Peter writes: "For the day of the Lord, he says, will come like a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements, being burned, will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up." Do you see how he says all things will be recast and altered through fire? Therefore he also adds, saying: "Since all these things are to be dissolved, what sort of people ought we to be in holy conduct and piety?" But how then will they be dissolved? Just as a bronze vessel that has grown old, become soiled and useless from rust, is handed over to the fire by the craftsman and thus being recast, it is fashioned anew again by him, in the same way also creation, since it has grown old and been soiled by our sins, by the creator

26

καί τοῦ σώματος χωρισθῇ, εὐθύς καί αὐτά τῇ φθορᾷ παραδίδονται καί ἐκ τοῦ κατά μικρόν διαλύονται· τά δέ καί ἐπί πολλούς χρόνους διαμένουσι, μήτε ἄφθαρτα μένοντα παντελῶς, μήτε πάλιν τελείως φθειρόμενα, ἀλλά καί τῆς ἀφθαρσίας καί τῆς φθορᾶς τά γνωρίσματα ἐν ἑαυτοῖς διασῴζουσιν, εἰς τήν τελευταίαν ἐξανάστασιν ἀφθαρτωθῆναι τελείως καί καί ἀνακαινισθῆναι τηρούμενα.

Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν καί διά τι; Ὅτι οὐκ ἔπρεπε πρό τῆς τῶν κτισμάτων ἀνακαινίσεως τά τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀναστήσεσθαι καί ἀφθαρτωθήσεσθαι σώματα, ἀλλ᾿ ὥσπερ αὕτη παρήχθη πρῶτον ἄφθαρτος, ἔπειτα ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὕστερον, οὕτω πάλιν πρῶτον τήν κτίσιν ἀπό τῆς φθορᾶς εἰς τήν ἀφθαρσίαν χρή μεταποιηθῆναι, εἴτ᾿ οὖν ἀλλαγῆναι, καί οὕτω σύν αὐτῇ καί ἅμα αὐτῇ καί τά φθαρέντα σώματα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀνακαινισθῆναι, ἵνα καί αὖθις πνευματικός καί ἀθάνατος ὁ ἄνθρωπος γεγονώς ἐν ἀφθάρτῳ χωρίῳ καί ἀϊδίῳ καί πνευματικῷ κατοικῇ. Καί ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθές, ἄκουε Πέτρου λέγοντος τοῦ ἀποστόλου· "Ἥξει δέ ἠ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτί, ἐν ᾗ οὐρανοί πυρούμενοι (65) λυθήσονται καί στιχεῖα καυσούμενα τήκεται", οὐχ ὡς ἀπολλυμένων τούτων, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἀναχωνευομένων δηλονότι καί ἀναστοιχειουμένων εἰς κρείττονά τε καί ἀΐδιον λῆξιν. Πόθεν τοῦτο δῆλον; Ἐξ αὐτῶν πάλιν τῶν ῥημάτων τοῦ ἀποστόλου, δι᾿ ὧν ἐπιφέρει λέγων· "Καινούς δέ οὐρανούς καί καινήν γῆν κατά τό ἐπάγγελμα αὐτοῦ προσδοκῶμεν". Κατά ποῖον καί τίνος ἐπάγγελμα; Κατά τό τοῦ Χριστοῦ πάντως καί Θεοῦ ἡμῶν εἰπόντος· Ὁ οὐρανός καί ἡ γῆ παρελεύσεται, οἱ δέ λόγοι μου οὐ μή παρέλθωσιν". Παρέλευσιν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τήν ἐναλλαγήν αὐτοῦ εἰρηκώς, κἄν γάρ ὁ οὐρανός, φησίν, ἀλλαγήσεται, ἀλλ᾿ οἱ ἐμοί λόγοι τό ἀναλλοίωτον καί πάγιον ἕξουσι. Τοῦτο γάρ καί ὁ προφήτης ∆αυίδ προανακέκραγε οὕτως εἰπών· "Καί ὡσεί περιβόλαιον ἐλίξεις αὐτούς καί ἀλλαγήσονται· σύ δέ ὁ αὐτός εἶ καί τά ἔτη σου οὐκ ἐκλείψουσι". Τί τοίνυν τῶν λόγων τούτων σαφέστερον γένοιτ᾿ ἄν;

Ἀλλά σκοπήσωμεν πῶς ἡ κτίσις ἀνακαινισθήσεται καί εἰς τό ἀρχαῖον ἀποκατασταθήσεται κάλλος.

δ΄. Πῶς αὖθις ἡ κτίσις μέλλει πᾶσα ἀνακαινισθῆναι καί γενέσθαι καινούς

οὐρανούς καί καινήν γῆν κατά τόν θεῖον Ἀπόστολον. (65) Καινούς τοιγαροῦν οὐρανούς καί καινήν γῆν ἐπαγγειλαμένου αὐτοῦ, οὐδείς

ἀντερεῖ τῶν πιστῶν· οὐδέ μήν ἄρα τῷ Κυρίῳ ταῦτα λέγοντι ἀπιστήσει. Καθάπερ γάρ τά ἡμέτερα λυόμενα σώματα οὐκ εἰς τό μηδαμῇ μηδαμῶς εἶναι χωρεῖ, ἀλλά πάλιν διά τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἀνακαινίζεται, οὕτω δή καί ὁ οὐρανός καί ἡ γῆ καί τά ἐν αὐτῇ πάντα, ἤγουν πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις, ἀνακαινισθήσεται καί ἐλευθερωθήσεται ἀπό τῆς δουλείας τῆς φθορᾶς καί· καί συμμεθέξει τά στοιχεῖα ταῦτα μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν τῆς ἐκεῖθεν λαμπρότητος καί (66) ὅν τρόπον ἅπαντας ἡμᾶς τό πῦρ δοκιμάσει, κατά τόν θεῖον ἀπόστολον, οὕτως καί ἡ κτίσις πᾶσα διά πυρός ἀνακαινισθήσεται. Καί τοῦτο, δι᾿ ὧν ὁ ἀπόστολος Πέτρος γράφει, μαθεῖν ἐστιν· "Ἥξει γάρ, φησίν, ἡ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτί, ἐν ᾗ οὐρανοί ῥοιζηδόν παρελεύσονται, στοιχεῖα δέ καυσούμενα λυθήσονται καί γῆ καί τά ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα κατακαήσεται". Ὁρᾷς πῶς διά πυρός λέγει τά πάντα ἀναχωνευθήσεσθαι καί ἀλλοιωθήσεσθαι; ∆ιό καί ἐπιφέρων φησί· "Τούτων οὖν πάντων λυομένων, ποταπούς δεῖ ὑπάρχειν ἡμᾶς ἐν ἁγίαις ἀναστροφαῖς καί εὐσεβείαις; " Λυθήσονται δέ ἄρα πῶς; Ὥσπερ σκεῦος χαλκοῦν πεπαλαιωμένον, ῥυπωθέν καί ἀχρειωθέν ὑπό ἰοῦ, τῷ πυρί παραδίδοται ὑπό τοῦ τεχνίτου καί οὕτως ἀναχωνευόμενον καινόν ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ πάλιν κατασκευάζεται, τόν αὐτόν τρόπον καί ἡ κτίσις, ἐπεί ἐπαλαιώθη καί ὑπό τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐρρυπώθη, ὑπό τοῦ δημιουργοῦ