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to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all who inhabit the inhabited world will worship him, whose name is not written in the book of life of heaven, which has been sealed from the foundation of the world. Out of whom he has outgeneraled Israel, those who were captured by him weave praise for him, saying, who is like the beast, and who is able to make war with him? he says, with all having been defeated and having fallen under his feet, And a mouth was given to him speaking great things and blasphemy. It was given by whom? By the people who were deceived and had worshipped him; for to speak loftily is a mark of arrogance. For what is greater than this? To say, I will ascend into heaven; above the stars of heaven I will place my throne. And descending a little, I will be, he says, like the Most High, as Isaiah mocks him, which things indeed are also blasphemies against God. And authority was given to him, he says, to act for forty-two months. In the things that have gone before, we have understood the forty-two months as a short time. For all time is short, even if it seems to be very long, when compared to the unending ages. And he opened his mouth, he says, in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, those who dwell in heaven. The blasphemies of the apostate against God have been stated. He calls the tabernacle of God the holy angels because God dwells in them. For if it is said concerning men, I will dwell in them and walk among them, what might one say concerning the heavenly powers, how they have God dwelling in them? And authority was given to him over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all who inhabit the inhabited world will worship him. I said before that he has received authority from the men who willingly subjected themselves to his destructive dominion. And he said well that all who inhabit the inhabited world will worship him; for with the exception of the God-fearing Israel suffering this, every other race and tribe of men has been found to have worshipped the destroyer. whose name, he says, is not written in the book of life of heaven, which has been sealed from the foundation of the world, the vision very securely foreordained; for since it is said that all who inhabit the inhabited world have worshipped the apostate Devil, and there were a few who were pure from his worship, both from the nations and from Israel, such as Job, his four friends, Melchizedek, and from Israel the holy prophets. And those attested for their piety in the old [covenant], he says, all worshipped him except for those who, because of their reverence for God and the exact and polished nature of their conduct, are written in heaven and are guarded by God; for this is what it means for the book to be sealed. Concerning this book, the Lord says to his holy disciples in the divine Luke: Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, he goes; if anyone will kill with the sword, he must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. If anyone has, he says, a mind able to understand the things being said, let him hear the things that have been said and know that he who is ready to take others captive will be taken captive by the beast and will desert to him of his own accord; for receiving no help from God, he will be carried away into all evil. If anyone is prepared for murders, he will die the spiritual death in the worship of the Devil. Here, he says, is the patience and the faith of the saints. thus he becomes innocent of the slavery of the evil one, from which slavery may we all be shown to be free by the grace of God who has called us to the knowledge of Himself. To him be the glory for ever and ever, amen#556 The eighth discourse, having made many excursions and from these beginnings having gone back to earlier beginnings,

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αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ἐπὶ πᾶσαν φυλὴν καὶ λαὸν καὶ γλῶσσαν καὶ ἔθνος. καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτῷ πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν οἰκου μένην, οὗ οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τοῦ ἐσφραγισμένου ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου. ἐξ ὧν κατεστρατήγησε τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τὴν εὐφημίαν αὐτῷ πλέκουσιν οἱ ἁλόντες αὐτῷ, τίς ὅμοιος, λέγοντες τῷ θηρίῳ, καὶ τίς δύναται πολεμῆσαι μετ' αὐτοῦ. πάντων φησὶν ἡττημένων καὶ ὑπὸ πόδας πεσόντων, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ στόμα λαλοῦν μεγάλα καὶ βλασφημία. ἐδόθη παρὰ τίνος; παρὰ τῶν ἐξαπατηθέντων καὶ προσκεκυνηκότων ἀνθρώπων αὐτῷ· ὑπερηφανίας γὰρ τὸ ὑψηγορεῖν. τί γὰρ τούτου μεῖζον; τοῦ λέγειν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναβήσομαι· ἐπάνω τῶν ἄστρων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ θήσω τὸν θρόνον μου. καὶ μικρὸν ὑποβάς, ἔσομαί φησιν ὅμοιος τῳ ὑψίστῳ, ὡς Ἡσαΐας αὐτὸν κωμωδεῖ, ἃ δὴ ταῦτα καὶ βλασφημίαι κατὰ Θεοῦ τυγχάνουσι. καὶ ἐδόθη φησὶν αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ποιῆσαι μῆνας τεσσαρακονταδύο. ἐν τοῖς φθάσασι τοὺς τεσσαρακονταδύο μῆνας εἰς βραχὺν χρόνον ἐδεξάμεθα. πᾶς γὰρ χρόνος βραχύς, κἂν ὅτι μάλιστα μακρὸς εἶναι δοκῇ, πρὸς τοὺς ἀτελευτήτους αἰῶνας παρα 153 βαλλόμενος. καὶ ἤνοιξέ φησι τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ εἰς βλασφημίαν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, βλασφημῆσαι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν σκηνὴν αὐτοῦ, τοὺς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ σκηνοῦντας. εἴρηνται τίνες αἱ κατὰ Θεοῦ βλασφημίαι τοῦ ἀποστάτου. σκηνὴν δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγει τοὺς ἁγίους ἀγγέλους διὰ τὸ ἐν αὐτοῖς σκηνοῦν τὸν Θεόν. εἰ γὰρ περὶ ἀνθρώπων εἴρηται ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω, τί ἄν τις εἴποι περὶ οὐρανίων δυνάμεων ὅπως ἔχουσιν ἔνοικον τὸν Θεόν; καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ἐπὶ πάσαν φυλὴν καὶ λαὸν καὶ γλῶσσαν καὶ ἔθνος. καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτῷ πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν οἰκουμένην. φθάσας εἶπον ὅτι παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἑκόντων ὑποκλινάντων ἑαυτοὺς τῇ ὀλεθρίῳ αὐτοῦ δυναστείᾳ τὴν ἐξουσίαν εἴληφε. καλῶς δὲ εἶπεν ὅτι πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν οἰκουμένην προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτῷ· χωρὶς γὰρ τοῦ θεοσεβοῦς Ἰσραὴλ τοῦτο παθόντος, ἅπαν λοιπὸν εὕρηται γένος ἀνθρώπων καὶ φυλὴ προσκεκυνηκυῖα τῷ ἀλητηρίῳ. οὗ φησιν οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τοῦ ἐσφραγισμένου ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου λίαν ἀσφαλῶς προδιωρίσατο ἡ ὀπτασία· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἴρηται πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν οἰκουμένην προσκεκυνηκέναι τὸν ἀποστάτην ∆ιάβολον, ἦσαν δὲ ὀλίγοι τινες καθαροὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ λατρείας καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, οἷον ὁ Ἰώβ, οἱ τέσσαρες αὐτοῦ φίλοι, ὁ Μελχισεδέκ, καὶ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ δὲ οἱ ἅγιοι 154 προφῆται. καὶ οἱ ἐπ' εὐσεβείᾳ μαρτυρούμενοι παρὰ τῇ παλαιᾷ φησι πάντες αὐτῷ προσκεκυνήκασιν ἐκτὸς τούτων οἵτινες διὰ τὴν θεοσέβειαν, καὶ τῆς πολιτείας τὸ ἀκριβὲς καὶ ἀπεξεσμένον εἰσὶν ἐν οὐρανῷ γεγραμμένοι, καὶ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ φρουρούμενοι· τοῦτο γὰρ σημαίνει τὸ ἐσφραγίσθαι τὸ βιβλίον. περὶ τούτου τοῦ βιβλίου φησὶ ὁ Κύριος τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς παρὰ τῷ θεσπεσίῳ Λουκᾷ· πλὴν ἐν τούτῳ μὴ χαίρετε ὅτι τὰ πνεύματα ὑμῖν ὑποτάσσεται· χαίρετε δὲ ὅτι τὰ ὀνόματα ὑμῶν ἐγράφη ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. εἴ τις ἔχει οὖς ἀκουσάτω. εἰ τις εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν, ὑπάγει· εἴ τις ἐν μαχαίρᾳ ἀποκτενεῖ, δεῖ αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρᾳ ἀποκταν θῆναι. ὧδέ ἐστιν ἡ ὑπομονὴ καὶ ἡ πίστις τῶν ἁγίων. εἴ τις ἔχει φησὶ νοῦν συνιέναι τὰ λεγόμενα δυνάμενον, ἀκουσάτω τῶν εἰρημένων καὶ γινωσκέτω ὅτι ὁ περὶ τὸ αἰχμαλωτίζειν ἑτέρους πρόχειρος αἰχμαλωτισθήσεται ὑπὸ τοῦ θηρίου καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸ αὐθαίρετος αὐτομολήσει· μηδεμιᾶς γὰρ ἀντιλήψεως παρὰ Θεοῦ τυγχάνων, εἰς ἅπαν ἀπενεχθήσεται κακόν. εἴ τις εἰς φόνους παρασκευασμένος, τὸν νοητὸν τεθνήξεται θάνατον ἐν τῇ τοῦ ∆ιαβόλου προσκυνήσει. ὧδέ φησίν ἐστιν ἡ ὑπομονὴ καὶ ἡ πίστις τῶν ἁγίων. οὕτως ἀθῶος τῆς τοῦ πονηροῦ γίνεται δουλείας, ἧς γένοιτο δουλείας ἡμᾶς πάντας ἐλευθέρους ἀποδειχθῆναι χάριτι τοῦ καλέσαντος ἡμᾶς Θεοῦ εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ ἐπίγνωσιν. αὐτῷ πρέπει ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν#556 Λόγος ὄγδοοσ πολλὰς ἐκδρομὰς ποιησάμενος καὶ ἐκ τῶν δὲ τῶν ἀρχῶν εἰς προγενεστέρας ἀρχὰς ἐπαναβάς,