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ears”? To whom the prophets of God did not even reveal what pertains to the Jerusalem above, just as Paul, therefore, clarifying the words concerning this for the church of Christ, cried out, saying, “But the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother,” and “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are 22.20.9 enrolled in heaven.” Let Marcellus speak to these things, if he is able to bring forth the teaching of these things from the old writings. 2.20.10 But if he should not find it, let him give the reason why all these things and countless others related to them were kept silent by the prophets of God, concerning which the same apostle prayed to God on our behalf, “that we may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of God which surpasses know2.20.11ledge.” And our Savior himself also revealed a great many mysteries concerning the kingdom of the heavens, and concerning the consummation of all things, and concerning the promises, sometimes through parables and sometimes in secret to his disciples, to whom he said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of God.” Of which one would not find 2.20.12 the like in Moses or in the other prophets. What then? Since these things were not delivered to the Jewish people, being kept for a fitting time for the church of Christ, should we for this reason reject the grace given to us, or rather give greater thanks to the one who deemed us worthy of so great a knowledge? In the same way, therefore, it would be fitting to receive the teachings concerning the Son from his new testament, not being surprised if the men of God did not reveal the knowledge concerning him to the hard-hearted people, reserving the word concerning him for an opportune 2.20.13 time. For it did not seem fitting at that time to deliver the mystery concerning the Father and the Son to men who were being drawn away to polytheistic error, to whom they did not even reveal the words concerning the subordinate powers, lest on this pretext they should fall into Greek polytheism, who fashioned the god among them as “father of men and of gods.” 2.20.14 Therefore, the word, restraining them from such error, proclaimed the one God, yet it did not deny that he was also a Father; and it taught to worship the true one and advised to know no other besides him, yet it did not deny that he was a Father. And if it called him Lord and God and just and Savior, it did not preclude believing him to be also the Father of his only-begotten and beloved 2.20.15 Son. Therefore, whether the Father or the Son should say, “I am he who is,” the statement would be true in either case. For the Father would be “he who is,” being himself alone “God over all, and through all, and in all,” as the divine apostle taught. And the Son, also being called “he who is,” would speak truly, being the only-begotten Son of the one who is; but also, being the image of the invisible God, he would be his image in this respect, in that he alone was himself “he who is”; wherefore he himself would also be called “he who is,” since he himself, like the Father, is also proclaimed God and Lord throughout all the divinely inspired scripture. 2.21.1 This can also be known from the divine oracle to Moses; for the scripture says, “And God spoke to Moses and said to him: I am the Lord; and I appeared to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, being their God.” You see how he said that he appeared to the fathers. But when did he appear? Again, the scripture testifies, saying, “And the Lord God appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre, as he sat at the door.” But how did he appear, if not in human form? And who should one believe this to be, if not the Son of God? which he himself also showed in the Gospels, saying to the Jews, “Abraham your father rejoiced that he would see my day, 2.21.2 and he saw it and was glad”; at which time, when they marveled at his word, he added, “Before Abraham was, I am,” demonstrating his own pre-existence most clearly. What, then, does the Word establish, other than that he himself is the Son of God who gave the oracle to Moses and
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ὠσίν»; οἷς οὐδὲ περὶ τῆς ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἀνεκάλυπτον οἱ τοῦ θεοῦ προφῆται, ὥσπερ οὖν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ Χριστοῦ διασαφῶν καὶ τοὺς περὶ ταύτης λόγους ὁ Παῦλος ἐβόα λέγων «ἡ δὲ ἄνω Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐλευθέρα ἐστίν, ἥτις ἐστὶν μήτηρ ἡμῶν», καὶ «προσεληλύθατε Σιὼν ὄρει καὶ πόλει θεοῦ ζῶντος, Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐπουρανίῳ, καὶ μυριάσιν ἀγγέλων, πανηγύρει καὶ ἐκκλησίᾳ πρωτοτόκων ἀπογε 22.20.9 γραμμένων ἐν οὐρανοῖς». λεγέτω πρὸς ταῦτα Μάρκελλος, εἰ οἷός τέ ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν παλαιῶν γραμμάτων τὴν τούτων προφέρειν διδασκα 2.20.10 λίαν. εἰ δὲ μὴ εὑρίσκοι, τὴν αἰτίαν ἀποδιδότω δι' ἣν σεσιώπητο τοῖς τοῦ θεοῦ προφήταις ταῦτά τε πάντα καὶ ἄλλα τούτοις ἀδελφὰ μυρία, περὶ ὧν ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπόστολος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐδεῖτο τοῦ θεοῦ, «ἵνα ἐξισχύσωμεν καταλαβέσθαι σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις τί τὸ πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ βάθος καὶ ὕψος, γνῶναί τε τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς γνώ2.20.11 σεως ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ». καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν πλεῖστα ὅσα μυστήρια περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν περί τε τῆς συντελείας τοῦ παντὸς περί τε τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν ποτὲ μὲν διὰ παραβολῶν ποτὲ δὲ καὶ ἐν ἀπορρήτοις ἐξέφαινεν τοῖς αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς, πρὸς οὓς ἔλεγεν «ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τὰ μυστήρια τοῦ θεοῦ». ὧν οὐκ ἂν εὕροι τις 2.20.12 τὰ ἴσα παρὰ Μωσεῖ ἢ παρὰ τοῖς λοιποῖς προφήταις. τί οὖν; ἐπεὶ μὴ τῷ Ἰουδαίων λαῷ παρεδόθη ταῦτα, εἰς ἐπιτήδειον καιρὸν φυλαττόμενα τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ Χριστοῦ, παρὰ τοῦτο χρῆν ἡμᾶς τὴν δωρηθεῖσαν ἡμῖν χάριν ἀθετεῖν ἢ μειζόνως εὐχαριστεῖν τῷ τῆς τοσαύτης ἡμᾶς καταξιώσαντι γνώσεως; κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν οὖν τρόπον καὶ τὰς περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ διδασκαλίας ἐκ τῆς αὐτοῦ καινῆς διαθήκης προσήκοι ἂν ἀπολαμβάνειν, οὐδὲν ξενιζομένους εἰ μὴ τῷ σκληροκαρδίῳ λαῷ τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ γνῶσιν ἀνεκάλυπτον οἱ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι, εἰς καιρὸν 2.20.13 εὔκαιρον τὸν περὶ αὐτοῦ ταμιευόμενοι λόγον. οὐ γὰρ ἐδόκει ἐπιτήδειον εἶναι τὸ τηνικαῦτα ὑποσυρομένοις ἀνδράσιν ἐπὶ τὴν πολύθεον πλάνην παραδιδόναι τὸ περὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ μυστήριον, οἷς οὐδὲ τοὺς περὶ τῶν ὑποβεβηκυιῶν δυνάμεων ἐξεκάλυπτον λόγους, ὡς ἂν μὴ προφάσει ταύτῃ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν καταπέσοιεν πολυθεΐαν, οἳ πατέρα «ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε» τὸν παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀνεπλάσαντο θεόν. 2.20.14 διόπερ τῆς τοιαύτης αὐτοὺς ἀναστέλλων πλάνης ὁ λόγος τὸν ἕνα θεὸν ἐκήρυττεν, οὐ μὴν πατέρα εἶναι τὸν αὐτὸν ἠρνεῖτο· καὶ τὸν ἀληθῆ δὲ σέβειν ἐδίδασκεν καὶ πλὴν αὐτοῦ μηδένα εἰδέναι παρῄνει, οὐ μὴν ἠρνεῖτο εἶναι αὐτὸν πατέρα. εἰ δὲ καὶ κύριον καὶ θεὸν αὐτὸν καὶ δίκαιον καὶ σωτῆρα ἀπεκάλει, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπέκλειεν τοῦ καὶ πατέρα εἶναι αὐτὸν ἡγεῖσθαι τοῦ μονογενοῦς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀγαπητοῦ 2.20.15 υἱοῦ. εἴτ' οὖν ὁ πατὴρ λέγοι εἴθ' ὁ υἱὸς τὸ «ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν», ἀληθεύοι ἂν ἑκατέρως ὁ λόγος. ὅ τε γὰρ πατὴρ «ὁ ὢν» εἴη ἄν, μόνος αὐτὸς ὢν «ἐπὶ πάντων, καὶ διὰ πάντων, καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν θεὸς» ὡς ὁ θεῖος ἐδίδαξεν ἀπόστολος. ὅ τε υἱὸς καὶ αὐτὸς χρηματίζων «ὁ ὢν» ἀληθεύοι ἄν, μόνος ὢν υἱὸς μονογενὴς τοῦ ὄντος· ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰκὼν τοῦ ἀοράτου θεοῦ ὑπάρχων κατὰ τοῦτο εἴη ἂν αὐτοῦ εἰκών, καθ' ὃ μόνος ἦν αὐτὸς «ὁ ὤν»· διὸ καὶ αὐτὸς χρηματίζοι ἂν «ὁ ὤν», ἐπεὶ καὶ θεὸς καὶ κύριος ὁμοίως τῷ πατρὶ καὶ αὐτὸς διὰ πάσης ἀνηγόρευται τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς. 2.21.1 τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πρὸς τὸν Μωσέα χρηματισμοῦ γνῶναι· λέγει δ' οὖν ἡ γραφὴ «ἐλάλησεν δὲ ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Μωσῆν καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· ἐγὼ κύριος· καὶ ὤφθην πρὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ πρὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ πρὸς Ἰακώβ, θεὸς ὢν αὐτῶν». ὁρᾷς ὅπως ὦφθαι ἑαυτὸν τοῖς πατράσιν ἔφη. πότε δὲ ὤφθη, πάλιν ἡ γραφὴ μαρτυρεῖ λέγουσα «ὤφθη δὲ κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῷ Ἀβραὰμ πρὸς τῇ δρυῒ τῇ Μαμβρῇ, καθημένου αὐτοῦ πρὸς τῇ θύρᾳ». πῶς δὲ ὤφθη ἀλλ' ἐν σχήματι ἀνθρωπίνῳ; τίνα δὲ χρῆν πιστεύειν εἶναι τοῦτον ἢ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ; ὃ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις παρίστη λέγων πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους «Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἠγαλλιάσατο ἵνα ἴδῃ τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν ἐμήν, 2.21.2 καὶ εἶδεν καὶ ἐχάρη»· ὅτε καὶ θαυμασάντων ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ προσέθηκεν τὸ «πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγώ εἰμι», τὴν προΰπαρξιν ἑαυτοῦ παριστὰς λευκότατα. τί δὴ οὖν συνίστησιν ὁ λόγος ἢ αὑτὸν εἶναι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν χρηματίσαντα τῷ Μωσεῖ καὶ