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It is consistent to understand the altar itself as all the ministering spirits; on account of offering a rational sacrifice to God. But what is the voice heard from the horns of the altar? Release, it says, the four angels who are bound at 116 the great river Euphrates. Divine scripture—I mean the apostate angel, Satan, and those who apostatized with him—has in some places handed down to us that they are kept in eternal chains under darkness, and in other places that they are condemned to the depth of the sea. For through the second epistle of Peter it says, "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into Tartarus and committed them to chains of darkness, reserved for judgment," and through Jude it says He has kept "angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper dwelling, in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day." And the book of Job says that the apostate has been cast into the sea, tropologically describing his form and size and the bitterness of his character in various ways; whom it also says is mocked by the angels of God. And Isaiah also cried out concerning him that "the sword of God will be brought upon the dragon, the fleeing serpent, upon the dragon, the twisted serpent; and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea on that day." And the prophet, speaking of him after going through all things in creation, adds this also concerning those who happen to be in the sea: "This is the dragon which you formed to mock him." Consistent with these things, the divine prophet Ezekiel also says when speaking about the Egyptian: "You were like a lion of the nations," he says, "and like a dragon in the sea, and you gored with your rivers." But no one has handed down to us that they are bound in the river Euphrates, nor indeed that they will ever be released, nor that men will be punished by them. For Jude, who said that they are bound in eternal chains, forbade the idea that they would ever 117 be released; and Isaiah, who said that the dragon in the sea will be slain on the day of judgment, did not say that it slays others, but that it itself is slain. And the Lord, when in the Gospels he sends those who have sinned into the fire prepared for the Devil and his angels, denied that he would use them as punishers and avengers, but that they themselves are about to undergo punishment. How then could one understand what is now said, that they are bound at the river Euphrates and that they will be released and that they themselves will punish the sinners? I think what is said is a tropology, just as is the rule for every vision. For I consider him to be speaking of the angels, he says, who are bound to the spiritually gladdening contemplation of God; for the divine is allegorized as a river by Isaiah: "Behold, I will extend peace to them like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream"; and by the prophet: "The streams of the river make glad the city of God." And the Lord himself, in John, title twenty-two, said concerning the Spirit, "He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.’" These, he says, having been released from the contemplation of God, send for the punishment of the impious; for he says these are the ones set apart for the present day. So which four angels does he mean? Perhaps those recounted in the scripture: Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael. When this happened, they went out with an innumerable cavalry force. This, he says, is the invincible power of the divine angels, which he compared to a very great cavalry; and those sitting on the horses, he says he saw having breastplates 118 of fire and of jacinth and of brimstone. The fire is a symbol of wrath and of punishment; the jacinth indicates that those sent are heavenly, for the sky resembles jacinth; but "godlike" means that they are pleasing to God, as if being 'God-pleasing', for 'adein' (to sing) means to please. For who would be more pleasing to God than the holy angels? Then the vision diversifies and extols the power of the holy angels, comparing them to lions and

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αὐτὸ τὸ θυσιαστήριον πάντα τὰ λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα νοεῖν ἀκόλουθον· διὰ τὸ λογικὴν θυσίαν προσάγειν τῷ Θεῷ. τίς δέ γε ἡ φωνὴ ἡ ἀκουσθεῖσα ἐκ τῶν κεράτων τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου; λῦσόν φησι τοὺς τέσσαρας ἀγγέλους τοὺς δεδεμένους ἐπὶ 116 τῷ ποταμῷ τῷ μεγάλῳ Εὐφράτῃ. ἡ θεῖα γραφὴ τὸν ἀποστάτην ἄγγελόνφημι δὲ τὸν Σατανᾶν καὶ τοὺς συναποστάντας αὐτῷπὴ μὲν ἡμῖν παρέδωκεν ὡς ὑπὸ ζόφου εἰσὶν ἐν δεσμοῖς ἀϊδίοις τετηρημένοι, πὴ δὲ ὡς τὸν βυθόν εἰσι τῆς θαλάσσης καταδεδικασμένοι. διὰ γὰρ μὲν τῆς Πέτρου δευτέρας ἐπιστολῆς φησιν εἰ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἀγγέλων ἁμαρτησάντων οὐκ ἐφείσατο, ἀλλὰ σειραῖς ζόφου ταρταρώσας παρέδωκεν εἰς κρίσιν τηρουμένους, διὰ δὲ τῆς Ἰούδα ἀγγέλους λέγει μὴ τηρήσαντας τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχὴν ἀλλὰ ἀπολιπόντας τὸ ἴδιον οἰκητήριον εἰς κρίσιν μεγάλης ἡμέρας δεσμοῖς ἀϊδίοις ὑπὸ ζοφὸν τετήρηκεν. ἡ δέ γε βίβλος τοῦ Ἰὼβ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ λέγει, βεβλῆσθαι τὸν ἀποστάτην ποικίλως αὐτοῦ τροπολογήσασα μορφήν τε καὶ μέγεθος καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἤθους πικρόν· ὃν καί φησιν ἐμπαίζεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων τοῦ Θεοῦ. καὶ ὁ Ἡσαΐας δὲ κέκραγε περὶ αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐπαχθήσεται ἡ μάχαιρα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα τὸν ὄφιν τὸν φεύγοντα, ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα τὸν ὄφιν τὸν σκολιόν· καὶ ἀνελεῖ τὸν δράκοντα ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ τὸν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ. καὶ ὁ προφήτης δέ γε περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγων μετὰ τὸ πᾶσιν ἐπεξελθεῖν τοῖς ἐν τῇ κτίσει, ἔτι καὶ τοῦτο προστίθησιν περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ τυγχανόντων· δράκων οὗτος ὃν ἔπλασας ἐμπαίζειν αὐτῷ· ἀκόλουθα τούτοις φησὶ καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος προφήτης Ἱεζεκιὴλ περὶ τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου διαλεγόμενος· λέοντί φησιν ἐθνῶν ὡμοιώθης σύ, καὶ ὡς δράκων ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, καὶ ἐκεράτιζες τοῖς ποταμοῖς σου. οὐδεὶς δέ γε ἡμῖν παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ Εὐφράτῃ δεδέσθαι ποταμῷ οὔτε μὴν λυθήσεσθαί ποτε, ἀλλ' οὔτε δι' αὐτῶν κολασήσεσθαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. ὁ γὰρ εἰπὼν Ἰούδας δεσμοῖς αὐτοὺς ἀϊδίοις δεδέσθαι, τὸ ποτὲ 117 λυθήσεσθαι ἀπηγόρευσε· καὶ ὁ εἰπὼν Ἡσαΐας ὅτι ἀναιρεθήσεται ὁ δράκων ὁ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἐν τῇ τῆς κρίσεως ἡμέρᾳ οὐκ ἄλλους αὐτὸν ἀναιρεῖν εἴρηκεν, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον. καὶ ὁ Κύριος δὲ πέμπων ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις τοὺς ἐξαμαρτήσαντας, εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἡτοιμασμένον τῷ ∆ιαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ, ἀπεῖπεν ὅτι αὐτοῖς τιμωροῖς καὶ ἐκδικηταῖς χρήσοιτο, αὐτοὺς δέ γε μέλλειν τιμωρίας ὑπέχειν. πῶς οὖν ἄν τις νοήσοι τὸ νῦν εἰρημένον ὅτι τε ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ Εὐφράτῃ δέδενται καὶ ὅτι λυθήσονται καὶ ὡς αὐτοὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς κολάσονται; τροπολογίαν οἶμαι τὸ εἰρημένον ὑπάρχειν, ὥσπερ νόμος ἐπὶ πάσης ὀπτασίας καθέστηκε· λέγειν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἥγημαι τοὺς ἀγγέλους φησὶ τοὺς προσδεδεμένους τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ νοητῶς εὐφραινούσῃ θεωρίᾳ· ποταμὸς γὰρ τὸ θεῖον ἀλληγορεῖται παρὰ μὲν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ· ἰδοὺ ἐκκλίνω εἰς αὐτοὺς ὡς ποταμὸς εἰρήνης, καὶ ὡς χειμάρρους ἐπικλύζων δόξαν ἐθνῶν· παρὰ δὲ τῷ προφήτῃ· τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὰ ὁρμήματα εὐφραίνουσι τὴν πόλιν τοῦ Θεοῦ. καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Κύριος παρὰ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ, τίτλῳ εἰκοστῷ δευτέρῳ περὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἔφη ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ, καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ γραφή, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος. τούτους φησὶ λύσας ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρίας, εἰς τιμωρίαν ἀπόστειλον τῶν ἀσεβῶν· τούτους γὰρ εἶναί φησι τοὺς ἀφωρισμένους εἰς τὴν παροῦσαν ἡμέραν. ἄρα δὲ ποίους φησὶ τέσσαρας ἀγγέλους; ἴσως ἐκείνους τοὺς τῇ γραφῇ διηγουμένους· τὸν Μιχαήλ, τὸν Γαβριήλ, τὸν Οὐριήλ, τὸν Ῥαφαήλ. οὗ γενομένου, ἐξῆλθον μετὰ στρατεύματος ἱππικοῦ ἀμυθήτου τινός. τοῦτο δέ φησι τῆν τῶν θείων ἀγγέλων ἄμαχον δύναμιν, ἱππικῷ μεγίστῳ παρείκασας· τοὺς δὲ καθημένους ἐπὶ τῶν ἵππων εἶδόν φησιν ἔχοντας θώρακας 118 πυρίνους καὶ ὑακίνθους καὶ θεοδεῖς. τὸ πῦρ τῆς ὀργῆς καὶ τῆς κολάσεως σύμβολον· ἡ ὑάκινθος τὸ οὐρανίους εἶναι τοὺς ἀποσταλέντας δηλοῖ, ὑακίνθῳ γὰρ ἐμφερὴς ὁ οὐρανός· τὸ δὲ θεοειδεῖς τῷ Θεῷ αὐτοὺς ἀρέσκειν, οἷον θεαδεῖς ὄντας, ἄδειν γὰρ τὸ ἀρέσκειν. τίνες δ' ἂν μᾶλλον τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων ἀρέσαιεν τῷ Θεῷ; εἶτα ἡ θεωρία ποικίλει καὶ ἐξαίρει τὴν τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων δύναμιν, παρεικάζουσα λέουσι καὶ