John Chrysostom, On Lazarus

they will hear. And that this is true, that he who does not hear the Scriptures will not hear even the dead when they rise, the Jews have shown, who, since they did not hear Moses and the prophets, did not believe even when they saw the dead rise; but now they tried to kill Lazarus, and now they attacked the apostles, even though many dead had risen at the time of the cross. 48.1010 3. And that you may learn from another source that the teaching of the prophets is more worthy of belief than the report of those who rise from the dead, consider this, that every dead man is a slave; but what the Scriptures utter, the Master has uttered; so that even if a dead man should rise, or an angel descend from heaven, let the Scriptures be more worthy of belief than all. For the Master of angels, and Lord of the dead and the living, He himself enacted those laws. And that those who seek for the dead to come from there are asking for superfluous things, it is possible to show this, in addition to what has been said, also from the courts of justice of the present day. Gehenna is not seen by the unbelievers; for to believers it is clear and manifest, but nevertheless to unbelievers it is not seen; the courts of justice, however, are seen, and every day we hear that so-and-so was punished, the property of so-and-so was confiscated, another works in the mines, another was burned with fire, another perished by another mode of punishment and retribution. But nevertheless, hearing these things, the wicked and evildoers and sorcerers are not brought to their senses. And what am I to say, if those who have never fallen into these things are not brought to their senses? often many of these, having been caught and escaped punishment, and having dug through the prison and leaped out, have set to the same things again, and have wrought things much more grievous than these. Therefore, let us not seek to hear from the dead these things, which the Scriptures teach us much more clearly every day. For if God had known this, that the rising of the dead would have profited the living, He would not have omitted it, nor would He who arranges all things for our advantage have passed over so great a gain. But besides these things, if the dead were to rise continually and report to us all the things there, this too would in time be despised again; and in addition to this the devil would have introduced wicked doctrines with great ease. For he would have been able to show phantoms often, or by preparing certain persons to feign death and be buried, to show them again as having risen from the dead, and through them to cause whatever he wished to be believed in the minds of the deceived. For if now, when nothing of the sort exists, dreams often appearing in the forms of the departed have deceived and corrupted many; much more, if this had happened and prevailed in the minds of men, namely that many of the departed had returned again, that foul demon would have woven countless deceits, and introduced much deception into life. For this reason God has shut the gates, and does not permit any of the departed to return and tell the things there, so that that one, taking an occasion from this, might not introduce all things from himself. For when there were prophets, he raised up false prophets; and when there were apostles, false apostles; and when Christ appeared, false Christs; and when sound doctrines were brought in, he introduced corrupt ones, sowing tares everywhere. So that if this also had happened, he would have attempted to counterfeit this too through his own instruments, not truly raising the dead, but by certain sorceries and deceptions deceiving the sight of the beholders, or even preparing some, as I have just said, to feign death, he would have turned everything upside down and thrown it into confusion. But God, foreseeing all these things, walled off this plot from him, 48.1011 and sparing us, did not permit any48.1011one who had ever come from there to converse with living men about the things there, teaching us to consider the divine Scriptures more worthy of belief than all things. For He has shown us things much clearer than the resurrection of the dead; He has converted the whole world, driven out error, brought back the truth, through fishermen and humble men He accomplished all these things, and sufficient

ἀκούσονται. Καὶ ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθὲς, ὅτι ὁ τῶν Γραφῶν οὐκ ἀκούων οὐδὲ νεκρῶν ἀνισταμένων ἀκούσεται, ἔδειξαν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, οἳ ἐπειδὴ Μωϋσέως οὐκ ἤκουσαν καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, οὐδὲ νεκροὺς ἀναστάντας ἰδόντες ἐπίστευσαν· ἀλλὰ νῦν μὲν ἀναιρεῖν τὸν Λάζαρον ἐπεχείρουν, νῦν δὲ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ἐπεπήδων, καίτοι πολλῶν ἀναστάντων νεκρῶν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ σταυροῦ. 48.1010 γʹ. Ἵνα δὲ καὶ ἑτέρωθεν μάθῃς, ὅτι ἀξιοπιστοτέρα ἡ τῶν προφητῶν διδασκαλία τῆς τῶν ἀνισταμένων ἀπαγγελίας, ἐκεῖνο σκόπησον, ὅτι νεκρὸς μὲν ἅπας δοῦλός ἐστιν· ἃ δὲ αἱ Γραφαὶ φθέγγονται, ταῦτα ὁ ∆εσπότης ἐφθέγξατο· ὥστε κἂν νεκρὸς ἀναστῇ, κἂν ἄγγελος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταβῇ, πάντων ἔστωσαν αἱ Γραφαὶ ἀξιοπιστότεραι. Ὁ γὰρ τῶν ἀγγέλων ∆εσπότης, καὶ τῶν νεκρῶν καὶ τῶν ζώντων Κύριος, αὐτὸς ἐκείνας ἐνομοθέτησε. Καὶ ὅτι περιττὰ ζητοῦσιν οἱ ζητοῦντες νεκροὺς ἐκεῖθεν ἐλθεῖν, πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν παρόντων ἔστι δεῖξαι δικαστηρίων τοῦτο. Ἡ γέεννα οὐ φαίνεται τοῖς ἀπίστοις· τοῖς γὰρ πιστοῖς ἐστι δήλη καὶ φανερὰ, ἀλλ' ὅμως τοῖς ἀπίστοις οὐ φαίνεται· τὰ μέντοι δικαστήρια φαίνεται, καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀκούομεν, ὅτι ὁ δεῖνα ἐκολάσθη, τοῦ δεῖνος ἡ οὐσία ἐδημεύθη, ἕτερος τὰ μέταλλα ἐργάζεται, ἄλλος κατεκάη πυρὶ, ἄλλος ἑτέρῳ τρόπῳ κολάσεως καὶ τιμωρίας ἀπώλετο. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ταῦτα ἀκούοντες οἱ πονηροὶ καὶ κακοῦργοι καὶ γόητες οὐ σωφρονίζονται. Καὶ τί λέγω, εἰ οἱ μηδέποτε τούτοις περιπεσόντες οὐ σωφρονίζονται; πολλάκις πολλοὶ τούτων ἁλόντες καὶ διαφυγόντες τὴν κόλασιν, καὶ τὸ δεσμωτήριον διορύξαντες καὶ ἀποπηδήσαντες, πάλιν τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐπέθεντο, καὶ πολλῷ χαλεπώτερα τούτων εἰργάσαντο. Μὴ τοίνυν ζητῶμεν παρὰ νεκρῶν ἀκούειν ταῦτα, ἃ πολλῷ σαφέστερον αἱ Γραφαὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμᾶς παιδεύουσι τὴν ἡμέραν. Εἰ γὰρ ᾔδει τοῦτο ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι νεκροὶ ἀνιστάμενοι τοὺς ζῶντας ὠφέλησαν ἂν, οὐκ ἂν παρέλιπεν, οὐδ' ἂν παρῆκε τοσοῦτον κέρδος ὁ πάντα ἡμῖν πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον πραγματευόμενος. Χωρὶς δὲ τούτων, εἰ συνεχῶς ἔμελλον ἀνίστασθαι νεκροὶ, καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ πάντα ἀπαγγέλλειν ἡμῖν, καὶ τοῦτο ἂν τῷ χρόνῳ κατεφρονήθη πάλιν· πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ πονηρὰ ἂν εἰσήγαγε δόγματα ὁ διάβολος μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς εὐκολίας. Εἴδωλα γὰρ ἠδύνατο δεικνύναι πολλάκις, ἢ καὶ παρασκευάζων τινὰς ὑποκρίνασθαι θάνατον καὶ κατορύττεσθαι, δεικνύναι πάλιν ὡς ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστάντας, καὶ δι' ἐκείνων ὅσα ἐβούλετο πιστεύεσθαι ταῖς τῶν ἀπατωμένων διανοίαις. Εἰ γὰρ νῦν, οὐδενὸς ὄντος τοιούτου, ὄνειροι πολλάκις φανέντες ἐν τύποις τῶν ἀπελθόντων, πολλοὺς ἠπάτησαν καὶ διέφθειραν· πολλῷ μᾶλλον, εἰ τοῦτο γεγενημένον ἦν καὶ κεκρατηκὸς ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων διανοίαις, οἷον ὅτι πολλοὶ τῶν ἀπελθόντων ἐπανῆλθον πάλιν, μυρίοις ἂν ὁ μιαρὸς δαίμων ἐκεῖνος δόλους ἔπλεξε, καὶ πολλὴν ἀπάτην εἰς τὸν βίον εἰσήγαγε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἀπέκλεισε τὰς θύρας ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἀφίησί τινα τῶν ἀπελθόντων ἐπανελθόντα εἰπεῖν τὰ ἐκεῖ, ἵνα μὴ λαβὼν ἀφορμὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἐκεῖνος, τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ πάντα εἰσαγάγῃ. Καὶ γὰρ ὅτε προφῆται ἦσαν, ψευδοπροφήτας ἤγειρε· καὶ ὅτε ἀπόστολοι, ψευδαποστόλους· καὶ ὅτε Χριστὸς ἐφάνη, ψευδοχρίστους· καὶ ὅτε δόγματα εἰσηνέχθη ὑγιῆ, διεφθαρμένα εἰσήγαγε, τὰ ζιζάνια πανταχοῦ διασπείρων. Ὥστε εἰ καὶ τοῦτο συνέβη, καὶ τοῦτο ἐπεχείρησεν ἂν ὑποκρίνεσθαι διὰ τῶν οἰκείων ὀργάνων, οὐχὶ νεκροὺς ἀληθῶς ἀνιστὰς, ἀλλὰ μαγγανείαις τισὶ καὶ ἀπάταις τὰς ὄψεις τῶν ὁρώντων ἀπατῶν, ἢ καί τινας παρασκευάζων, ὥσπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, ὑποκρίνεσθαι τελευτὴν, τὰ ἄνω κάτω πάντα ἐποίησεν ἂν καὶ συνέχεεν. Ἀλλ' ὁ Θεὸς ἅπαντα ταῦτα προειδὼς, ἀπετείχισεν αὐτῷ τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν 48.1011 ταύτην, καὶ φειδόμενος ἡμῶν, οὐ συνεχώρησεν ἐλ48.1011 θόντι τινί ποτε ἐκεῖθεν περὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ διαλεχθῆναι τοῖς ζῶσιν ἀνθρώποις, παιδεύων ἡμᾶς πάντων ἀξιοπιστοτέρας ἡγεῖσθαι τὰς θείας Γραφάς. Πολὺ γὰρ τῆς τῶν νεκρῶν ἀναστάσεως σαφέστερα ἡμῖν ἔδειξε πράγματα· τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐπέστρεψεν ἅπασαν, τὴν πλάνην ἀπήλασε, τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπανήγαγε, δι' ἁλιέων καὶ εὐτελῶν ἀνθρώπων ταῦτα πάντα κατώρθωσε, καὶ ἱκανὰς