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the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way; and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus Christ will slay with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the appearance of His coming; whose coming is according to the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deception of unrighteousness for those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. And for this reason God sends them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, so that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements will be dissolved with burning heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Behold, the Lord comes with His holy myriads, to execute judgment against all their works which they have impiously committed, and concerning all the harsh words which sinners have spoken against Him. Do not think that like some nursing mother, I brandish false bugbears at you, as they are accustomed to do with young children when they cry disorderly and without end, and they quiet them with fabricated tales. These things are not a myth, but a proclaimed word of truth speaks. And know for certain that there will be an exact examination of what has been lived. There is no orator there; there is no persuasiveness of words able to steal the truth from the judge; flatterers do not follow, nor money, nor the weight of office; deprived of friends, deprived of helpers, without an advocate, each one will be left in shame; sullen, downcast, isolated, unable to speak freely. Wherever one may cast one's eye, one will see the clear images of one's deeds. For just as a shadow accompanies the body, so sins accompany souls, portraying their deeds clearly. For this reason there is no denial there; but the shameless mouth is stopped. For the deeds 95.1185 of each person testify against him, not uttering a sound, but appearing just as they were done by us. This too is one of the devil's methods, that many men, as if forgetting so many decrees, subscribe for themselves an end to punishments, so as to dare sin more. For their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched. There is judged, not only the one who led the way to evil, but also the one who followed a wicked leader into sin. The prophet says: Why do you seek the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light; darkness, of course, for those who are worthy of darkness. For the word knows that day to be without evening, without successor, and without end, which the psalmist also called the eighth, because it lies outside this seven-day time. Therefore, whether you say day, or age, you will speak the same meaning. So whether that state is called a day, it is one, and not many; or if it is called an age, it would be a single one, and not one of many. It is good to think that we will be required to give an account not only of word and deed, but of every season, and of the most fleeting and minute part of an hour itself. Know that it is being collected for later. Nothing at all of good things, even if it be small, will be overlooked there by the judge. For if we are to pay penalties for sins and words and thoughts, much more will our right actions, even if small, be taken into account. There will be a weighing there of the wicked deeds, and of those not so; and if these latter pull down the scale, they have saved their doer from no small thing; but if the wicked have such strength

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ἀποστασία πρῶτον, καὶ ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας, ὁ ἀντικείμενος καὶ ὑπεραιρόμενος ἐπὶ πάντα λεγόμενον Θεὸν, ἢ σέβασμα, ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ καθίσαι, ἀποδεικνύοντα ἑαυτὸν, ὅτι ἐστὶ Θεός. Οὐ μνημονεύετε ὅτι ἔτι ὢν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ταῦτα ἔλεγον ὑμῖν; καὶ νῦν τὸ κατέχον οἴδατε, εἰς τὸ ἀποκαλυφθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ καιρῷ Τὸ γὰρ μυστήριον ἤδη ἐνεργεῖται τῆς ἀνομίας· μόνον ὁ κατέχων ἄρτι ἕως ἐκ μέσου γένηται· καὶ τότε ἀποκαλυφθήσεται ὁ ἄνομος, ὃν ὁ Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἀνελεῖ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ, καὶ καταργήσει τῇ τὴν ἐπιφάνειᾳ τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ· οὗ ἐστιν ἡ παρουσία κατ' ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Σατανᾶ, ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει καὶ σημείοις, καὶ τέρασι ψεύδους, καὶ ἐν πάσῃ ἀπάτῃ ἀδικίας τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις, ἀνθ' ὧν τὴν ἀγάπην τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐδέξαντο, εἰς τὸ σωθῆναι αὐτούς. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πέμπει αὐτοῖς ὁ Θεὸς ἐνέργειαν πλάνης, εἰς τὸ πιστεῦσαι αὐτοὺς τῷ ψεύδει, ἵνα κριθῶσι πάντες οἱ μὴ πιστεύσαντες τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, ἀλλ' εὐδοκήσαντες τῇ ἀδικίᾳ. Φοβερὸν τὸ ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς χεῖρας Θεοῦ ζῶντος. Ἥξει ἡ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ὡς κλέπτης ἐν νυκτὶ, ἐν ᾗ οἱ οὐρανοὶ μὲν ῥοιζηδὸν παρελεύσονται· στοιχεῖα δὲ καυσούμενα λυθήσονται, καὶ γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα κατακαήσεται. Ἰδοὺ ἔρχεται Κύριος ἐν μυριάσιν ἁγίαις αὐτοῦ, ποιῆσαι κρίσιν κατὰ πάντων τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν ὧν ἠσέβησαν, καὶ περὶ πάντων τῶν σκληρῶν λόγων, ὧν ἐλάλησαν κατ' αὐτοῦ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοί. Μή με νομίσῃ ὥσπερ μητέρα τινὰ τροφὸν, ψευδῆ σοι μορμολύκεια ἐπισείειν, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖναι ποιεῖν περὶ τοὺς νηπίους τῶν παίδων εἰώθασιν, ὅταν θρηνῶσιν ἄτακτα καὶ ἀπέραντα, καὶ δι' ἐπιπλάστων διηγημάτων κατασιγάζουσιν. Ταῦτα μὲν οὐ μῦθος, ἀλλὰ λόγος ἀψευδὴς προκεκηρυγμένος φωνεῖ. Καὶ ἴσθι ἀκριβῶς, ὅτι γενήσεται τῶν βεβιωμένων ἔλεγχος ἀκριβής. Οὐκ ἔνι ῥήτωρ ἐκεῖ· οὐκ ἔνι πιθανότης ῥημάτων, κλέψαι δυναμένη τοῦ δικαστοῦ τὴν ἀλήθειαν· οὐκ ἀκολουθοῦσι κόλακες, οὐ τὰ χρήματα, οὐδ' ὄγκος ἀξιώματος· ἔρημος φίλων, ἔρημος βοηθῶν, ἀσυνηγόρητος, καταισχυνόμενος ἕκαστος ἀπολειφθήσεται· σκυθρωπὸς, κατηφὴς, μεμονωμένος, ἀπαῤῥησίαστος. Ὅπου ἄν τις περιαγάγῃ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν, ἐναργεῖς ὄψεται τῶν ἔργων τὰς εἰκόνας. Ὥσπερ γὰρ σκιὰ τῷ σώματι, οὕτω ταῖς ψυχαῖς αἱ ἁμαρτίαι παρέπονται, ἐναργεῖς τὰς πράξεις ἐξεικονίζουσαι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔστιν ἄρνησις ἐκεῖ· ἀλλὰ φράσσεται στόμα ἀναίσχυντον. Αὐτὰ γὰρ ἑκάστου καταμαρτυρεῖ τὰ 95.1185 πράγματα, οὐ φωνὴν ἀφίεντα, ἀλλὰ τοιαῦτα φαινόμενα, οἷα ὑφ' ἡμῶν γεγένηται. Ἓν καὶ τοῦτο τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου μεθοδείας, τὸ τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὥσπερ ἐπιλαθομένους τῶν τοσούτων ἀποφάσεων, τέλος κολάσεων ἑαυτοῖς ὑπογράφειν, εἰς τὸ μᾶλλον κατατολμᾷν τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Ὁ γὰρ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτήσει, καὶ τὸ πῦρ αὐτῶν οὐ σβεσθήσεται. Ἐκεῖ κρίνεται, οὐχὶ μόνον ὁ καθηγησάμενος τοῦ δεινοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ πονηρῷ ἡγεμόνι πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀκολουθήσας. Φησὶν ὁ προφήτης· Ἵνα τί ὑμεῖς ζητεῖτε τὴν ἡμέραν Κυρίου; καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶ σκότος, καὶ οὐ φῶς· σκότος δὲ δηλονότι τοῖς ἀξίοις τοῦ σκότους. Ἐπεὶ ἀνέσπερον καὶ ἀδιάδοχον, καὶ ἀτελεύτητον τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην οἶδεν ὁ λόγος, ἣν καὶ ὀγδόην ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς προσηγόρευσεν, διὰ τὸ ἔξω κεῖσθαι τοῦ ἑβδοματικοῦ τούτου χρόνου. Ὥστε κἂν ἡμέραν εἴπῃς, καὶ αἰῶνα, τὴν αὐτὴν ἐρεῖς ἔννοιαν. Εἴτε οὖν ἡμέρα ἡ κατάστασις ἐκείνη λέγοιτο, μία ἐστὶ, καὶ οὐ πολλαί· εἴτε αἰὼν προσαγορεύοιτο, μοναχὸς ἂν εἴη, καὶ οὐ πολλοστός. Καλὸν μὴ ῥήματος μόνον καὶ πράξεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ καιροῦ παντὸς, καὶ ὥρας αὐτῆς τοῦ ἀκαριαίου καὶ λεπτοτάτου οἴεσθαι λόγον ἀπαιτεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς. Γίνωσκε συλλέγεσθαι εἰς ὕστερον. Οὐδὲν ὅλως τῶν ἀγαθῶν, κἂν μικρὸν ᾖ, παροφθήσεται ἐκεῖ παρὰ τοῦ κριτοῦ. Εἰ γὰρ ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ ῥημάτων καὶ ἐνθυμημάτων τιννύειν μέλλομεν τιμωρίας ἡμεῖς, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὰ κατορθώματα, κἂν μικρὰ λογισθήσεται. Ἀντίστασις ἔσται ἐκεῖ τῶν πονηρῶν πράξεων, καὶ τῶν οὐ τοιούτων· κἂν μὲν αὗται καθελκύσωσι τὸν ζυγὸν, ἔσωσαν οὐ μικρᾶς τὸν ἐργάτην τῶν ἑαυτῶν· κἂν τοσούτων ἰσχύσῃ πονηρῶν