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of all things will be dissolved by fire, or rather it will be remelted and reconstituted and will become bright and newer, incomparably so than the one now seen.

And thus when the apostle Peter had written about these things, after a little he says again: "Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him in peace, without spot or blemish, and count the longsuffering of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters, in which there are some things hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures"; And this we suffer from ignorance, not only those then, but also now most or even, one might almost say, all of us, confusing everything, twisting or rather misinterpreting all things of the divine Scripture to our destruction, striving to have and make the divine Scriptures as it were advocates (67) for our own passions and desires and for our destruction.

But let us see what the divine Paul also says concerning creation and its renewal. So after saying: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us," he added: "For the earnest expectation of creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God." By "earnest expectation" he means the expectation, the intense desire, and by "revealing" the manifestation at the resurrection; for in this, through the coming of Christ and God, the sons of God must be manifested and their beauty must appear and they themselves whole as they are, as it is written: "Then the righteous will shine like the sun," that is, the sons of the righteous God. And so that you might not suppose the divine apostle is speaking of some other creation, he adds, saying: "For creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope."

Do you see how I was not off the mark when I said that creation no longer wished to serve the transgressor Adam, seeing him fallen from divine glory as one who had offended God his maker? For this very reason, God, having predestined his salvation from regeneration before the foundation of the world, subjected creation to him, having cursed it so that, since the man for whom it was brought forth had become corruptible, it too would become corruptible, so that it might provide him with corruptible food annually. But when He renews man and makes him incorruptible and immortal and spiritual, then He will also transform, I say, the whole of creation itself along with him and will make it everlasting. For he declared this through what he said: (68) "For creation," he says, "was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope." As if to say, not of itself was it subjected to humanity, not willingly was it changed to corruption and brings forth corruptible fruits and sprouts thorns and thistles, but obeying the command of God who ordained these things in hope of renewal again. And wishing to make this clearer, he said: "For creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God."

Did you see how it was not unlikely what we said, that this creation was at first entirely incorruptible and was brought forth by God in the order of paradise, but having been cursed it was changed to corruption and bondage, being subjected to the futility of men. And see what its final splendor will be.

5. What the final splendor of creation will also be. Therefore, when it is renewed, it will not again be such as it was brought forth from the beginning

will it become. May it not be! But, just as it is sown a natural body, as the oracle says, and

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τῶν ὅλων διά πυρός λυθήσεται, εἴτ᾿ οὖν ἀναχωνευθήσεται καί ἀναστοιχειωθήσεται καί λαμπρά καί καινοτέρα ἀσυγκρίτως τῆς νυνί ὁρωμένης γενήσεται.

Οὕτως δέ περί τούτων τοῦ ἀποστόλου γράψαντος Πέτρου, μετ᾿ ὀλίγα πάλιν φησί· "∆ιό, ἀγαπητοί, ταῦτα προσδοκῶντες σπουδάσατε ἄσπιλοι εὑρεθῆναι ἐν εἰρήνῃ καί τήν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν μακροθυμίαν σωτηρίαν ἡγεῖσθε, καθώς καί ὁ ἀγαπητός ἡμῶν ἀδελφός Παῦλος κατά τήν αὐτῷ δοθεῖσαν σοφίαν ἔγραψεν ὑμῖν, ὡς καί ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς λαλῶν ἐν αὐταῖς περί τούτων, ἐν οἷς ἐστι δυσνόητά τινα, ἅ οἱ ἀμαθεῖς καί ἀστήρικτοι στρεβλοῦσιν ὡς καί τάς λοιπάς γραφάς πρός τήν ἰδίαν αὐτῶν ἀπώλειαν"· Τοῦτο δέ οὐχ οἱ τότε μόνον, ἀλλά καί νῦν οἱ πλεῖστοι ἤ καί οἱ πάντες σχεδόν εἰπεῖν πάσχομεν ἐξ ἀγνοίας, πάντα συγχέοντες, πάντα τά τῆς θείας Γραφῆς πρός τήν ἀπώλειαν ἡμῶν στρεβλοῦντες ἤγουν παρερμηνεύοντες, συνηγόρους οἱονεί (67) τῶν ἰδίων παθῶν καί ἐπιθυμιῶν καί τῆς ἀπωλείας ἡμῶν σπουδάζοντες ἔχειν καί ποιεῖν τάς θείας Γραφάς.

Ἀλλ᾿ ἴδωμεν τί καί Παῦλος ὁ θεῖός φησι περί τῆς κτίσεως καί τοῦ ταύτης ἀνακαινισμοῦ· εἰπών τοίνυν· "Λογίζομαι ὅτι οὐκ ἄξια τά παθήματα τοῦ νῦν καιροῦ πρός τήν μέλλουσαν δόξαν ἀποκαλυφθῆναι εἰς ἡμᾶς", ἐπήγαγεν· "Ἡ γάρ ἀποκαραδοκία τῆς κτίσεως τήν ἀποκάλυψιν τῶν υἱῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπεκδέχεται". Ἀποκαραδοκίαν τήν προσδοκίαν, τήν σφοδράν ἐπιθυμίαν φησίν, ἀποκάλυψιν δέ τήν ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει φανέρωσιν· ἐν ταύτῃ γάρ διά τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ καί Θεοῦ παρουσίας φανερωθῆναι δεῖ τούς υἱούς τοῦ Θεοῦ καί φανῆναι τό κάλλος αὐτῶν καί αὐτούς ὅλους οἷοί εἰσι, καθώς γέγραπται· "Τότε λάμψουσιν οἱ δίκαιοι ὡς ὁ ἥλιος", οἱ τοῦ δικαίου Θεοῦ υἱοί δηλονότι. Ἵνα δέ μή ὑπολάβῃς ἑτέραν τινά κτίσιν τόν θεῖον λέγειν ἀπόστολον, ἐπιφέρων φησί· "Τῇ γάρ ματαιότητι ἡ κτίσις ὑπετάγη, οὐχ ἑκοῦσα, ἀλλά διά τόν ὑποτάξαντα, ἐπ᾿ ἐλπίδι".

Ὁρᾷς ὅπως οὐκ ἀπό σκοποῦ ἔφθην εἰπών ὅτι οὐκέτι δουλεῦσαι τῷ παραβάντι Ἀδάμ ἡ κτίσις ἐβούλετο, τοῦτον ἰδοῦσα ἐκπεπτωκότα τῆς θείας δόξης ὡς προσκεκρουκότα Θεῷ τῷ αὐτοῦ ποιητῇ; ∆ιά δή τοῦτο, πρό καταβολῆς κόσμου τήν ἐκ παλιγγενεσίας αὐτοῦ σωτηρίαν ὁ Θεός προορίσας, ὑπέταξεν αὐτῷ τήν κτίσιν, καταρασάμενος ταύτην ἵνα, φθαρτῷ γενομένῳ τῷ δι᾿ ὅν παρήχθη ἀνθρώπῳ, φθαρτή καί αὐτή γένηται, ὡς ἄν φθαρτήν αὐτῷ τήν τροφήν ἐτησίως παρέχῃ· ὁπόταν δέ ἀνακαινίσῃ τόν ἄνθρωπον καί ἄφθαρτον καί ἀθάνατον καί πνευματικόν αὐτόν ἀπεργάσηται, τηνικαῦτα καί αὐτήν ὅλην τήν κτίσιν, φημί, σύν αὐτῷ ἀλλιώσει καί ἀΐδιον ταύτην ἀποτελέσει· τοῦτο γάρ δι᾿ ὧν εἶπεν ἐδήλωσεν· (68) "Τῇ γάρ ματαιότητι, φησίν, ἡ κτίσις ὑπετάγη, οὐχ ἑκοῦσα, ἀλλά διά τόν ὑποτάξαντα, ἐπ᾿ ἐλπίδι". Οἷον, οὐκ ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῆς, φησί, τῇ ἀνθρωπότητι ὑπετάγη, οὐχ ἑκοῦσα εἰς φθοράν μετήχθη καί φθαρτούς προφέρει καρπούς καί βλαστάνει ἀκάνθας ὁμοῦ καί τριβόλους, ἀλλά τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ πειθαρχοῦσα προστάξει τοῦ ἐπ᾿ἐλπίδι πάλιν ἀνακαινίσεως ταῦτα διορισαμένου. Τοῦτο δέ ποιῆσαι σαφέστερον βουληθείς ἔφη· "Καί γάρ καί αὐτή ἡ κτίσις ἐλευθερωθήσεται ἀπό τῆς δουλείας τῆς φθορᾶς εἰς τήν ἐλευθερίαν τῆς δόξης τῶν τέκνων τοῦ Θεοῦ".

Εἶδες πῶς οὐκ ἀπεικός εἴπομεν ὅτι καί ἡ κτίσις αὕτη ἄφθαρτος πᾶσα τό κατ᾿ ἀρχάς καί εἰς παραδείσου τάξιν παρήχθη παρά Θεοῦ, καταραθεῖσα δέ εἰς φθοράν καί δουλείαν μετήχθη, τῇ ματαιότητι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑποταγεῖσα. Ὅρα δέ καί οἵα ἔσται ἡ ἐσχάτη λαμπρότης αὐτῆς.

ε΄. Ὁποία ἔσται καί ἡ ἐσχάτη λαμπρότης τῆς κτίσεως. Τοιγαροῦν καί ἀνακαινιζομένη, οὐχί οἵα ἐξ ἀρχῆς παρήχθη τοιαύτη καί αὖθις

γενήσεται. Μή γένοιτο! Ἀλλά, καθάπερ σπείρεται σῶμα ψυχικόν, ὡς τό λόγιον, καί