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of them all the lovers of piety, that You should not think that the enemy of truth will appear now; 81.1433 for first the prevailing error of idols must be extinguished, and the preaching of the Gospels be strengthened, and then the lawless one will be revealed. Then he also shows his destruction: "Whom the Lord Jesus, he says, will consume with the breath of his mouth, and will destroy with the brightness of his coming." Then he also shows in what manner he appears: "Whose coming, he says, is according to the working of Satan." For the devil will imitate the incarnation of our God and Savior; and just as the Lord, having appeared through human nature, worked out our salvation; so also the devil, having taken a worthy instrument of his own wickedness, will display his own power through it, with false signs and wonders, and the appearance of miracles, deceiving the negligent among men. And teaching why on earth God of all allows these things to happen, he added: "Because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved, and for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be judged who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." The Lord also said this very thing to the Jews: "I have come in my Father's name, and you did not receive me; another will come in his own name, and him you will receive." Teaching these things, the angel said to Daniel, that "He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change times and law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time; and the judgment sat, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end." See how the blessed Paul clearly taught what was enigmatically interpreted by the angel. And the Lord, signifying the risings up against the saints, said: "There will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be; and unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." Then, having advised his holy disciples, and through them all men, not to be deceived by those who say Christ is here or there, for he will no longer appear secretly and covertly, but openly with glory, he added: "Then they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, and he will send his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Foretelling these things also to Daniel, the angel added to what he had already said: 81.1436 27. "And the kingdom, and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven was given to the saints of the Most High; and his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and all dominions shall serve and obey him; this is the end of the matter." That is, of all the affairs of this life, this is the end: that all the kingdoms of the earth will cease, and the everlasting kingdom will be given to the saints of the Most High; and while reigning they will obey and serve him benevolently; for his kingdom is eternal, and does not admit an end. Having heard these things, he says, I, Daniel, was filled with great fear, so that my thoughts were not quiet within me, but were agitated, and continually disturbed, and my countenance received a great change from this. But nevertheless I did not make public the mysteries shown to me, but I continued to keep them in my heart. So the blessed Daniel taught us these things. But I, leaving aside for the present the accusation of the Jews, greatly wonder at certain teachers of piety who have called the Macedonian kingdom the fourth beast; for they ought to have understood, first, that the third beast had four heads, which clearly signified

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ἐκείνων ἅπαντας τοὺς τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐραστὰς, ὅτι Μὴ νομίσητε νῦν 81.1433 φανήσεσθαι τὸν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐχθρόν· δεῖ γὰρ πρό τερον σβεσθῆναι τὴν κατέχουσαν τῶν εἰδώλων πλάνην, καὶ κρατυνθῆναι τῶν Εὐαγγελίων τὸ κήρυγμα, εἶθ' οὕτως ἀποκαλυφθῆναι τὸν ἄνομον. Εἶτα ὑποδείκνυσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν ὄλεθρον· "Ὃν ὁ Κύριος, φησὶν, Ἰησοῦς ἀναλώσει τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὑτοῦ, καὶ καταργήσει τῇ ἐπιφανείᾳ τῆς παρουσίας αὑτοῦ." Ἔπειτα δείκνυσι καὶ τίνα τρόπον ἐπιφαίνεται· "Οὗ ἐστι, φησὶν, ἡ παρουσία κατ' ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Σατανᾶ." Μιμήσεται γὰρ ὁ διάβολος τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν· καὶ καθάπερ ὁ Κύριος δι' ἀνθρωπείας φύσεως ἐπιφανεὶς, τὴν ἡμε τέραν ἐπραγματεύσατο σωτηρίαν· οὕτω καὶ ὁ διάβο λος, ἄξιον ὄργανον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ πονηρίας λαβὼν, δι' αὐτοῦ τὴν οἰκείαν ἐνέργειαν ἐπιδείξεται, ψευδέσι ση μείοις καὶ τέρασι, καὶ φαντασίᾳ θαυμάτων, τοὺς ῥᾳθύμους τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐξαπατῶν. Καὶ διδάσκων τί δήποτε ταῦτα συγχωρεῖ γενέσθαι ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς, ἐπήγαγεν· "Ἀνθ' ὧν τὴν ἀγάπην τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐδέξαντο εἰς τὸ σωθῆναι αὐτοὺς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πέμψει αὐτοῖς ὁ Θεὸς ἐνέργειαν πλάνης, εἰς τὸ πιστεῦσαι αὐτοὺς, τῷ ψεύδει, ἵνα κριθῶσι πάντες οἱ μὴ πιστεύσαντες τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, ἀλλ' εὐδοκή σαντες τῇ ἀδικίᾳ." Ταὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Κύριος πρὸς Ἰουδαίους ἔφη· "Ἐγὼ ἦλθον ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Πατρός μου, καὶ οὐκ ἐδέξασθέ με· ἔρχεται ἄλλος ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τῷ ἰδίῳ, κἀκεῖνον λήψεσθε." Ταῦτα δὲ διδάσκων ὁ ἄγγελος τῷ ∆ανιὴλ ἔφη, ὅτι "Λόγους πρὸς τὸν Ὕψιστον λαλήσει, καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους Ὑψίστου παλαιώσει, καὶ ὑπονοήσει τοῦ ἀλ λοιῶσαι καιροὺς καὶ νόμον· καὶ δοθήσεται ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ ἕως καιροῦ, καὶ καιρῶν, καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ· καὶ τὸ κριτήριον ἐκάθισε, καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν αὐτοῦ με ταστήσουσι, τοῦ ἀφανίσαι καὶ τοῦ ἀπολέσαι ἕως τέλους." Ὁρᾶτε πῶς τὰ αἰνιγματωδῶς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγγέλου ἡρμηνευμένα σαφῶς ὁ μακάριος ἐδίδαξε Παῦλος. Καὶ ὁ Κύριος δὲ τὰς κατὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἐπ αναστάσεις προσημαίνων, ἔλεγεν· "Ἔσται θλίψις μεγάλη, οἵα οὐ γέγονεν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς κόσμου ἕως τοῦ νῦν, οὐδ' οὐ μὴ γένηται· καὶ εἰ μὴ ἐκολοβώθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι ἐκεῖναι, οὐκ ἂν ἐσώθη πᾶσα σάρξ· διὰ δὲ τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς κολοβωθήσονται αἱ ἡμέραι ἐκεῖναι." Εἶτα συμβουλεύσας τοῖς ἁγίοις αὑτοῦ μαθηταῖς, καὶ δι' ἐκείνων πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, μὴ ἐξαπατᾶσθαι τοῖς λέγουσιν ὧδε εἶναι ἢ ἐκεῖ τὸν Χριστὸν, οὐκέτι γὰρ κρύβδην καὶ λάθρα, ἀλλὰ ἀναφανδὸν μετὰ δόξης φανήσεται, ἐπήγαγε· "Τότε ὄψονται τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, μετὰ δυνάμεως καὶ δόξης πολλῆς, καὶ ἀποστελεῖ τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὑτοῦ μετὰ σάλπιγγος μεγάλης, καὶ ἐπισυνάξουσι τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῶν τεσσά ρων ἀνέμων, ἀπ' ἄκρων τῶν οὐρανῶν ἕως ἄκρου αὐτῶν." Ταῦτα καὶ τῷ ∆ανιὴλ προλέγων ὁ ἄγγελος ἐπήγαγεν οἷς ἤδη εἶπε· 81.1436 κζʹ. "Καὶ ἡ βασιλεία, καὶ ἡ ἐξουσία, καὶ ἡ με γαλωσύνη τῶν βασιλέων τῶν ὑποκάτω παντὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐδόθη ἁγίοις Ὑψίστου· καὶ ἡ βασιλεία αὐ τοῦ βασιλεία αἰώνιος; καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ ἀρχαὶ αὐτῷ δου λεύσουσι καὶ ὑπακούσονται· ἕως ὧδε τὸ πέρας τοῦ λόγου." Τουτέστι, πάντων τῶν τοῦ βίου πρα γμάτων τοῦτο τὸ τέλος· τὸ παύσασθαι μὲν ἁπάσας τῆς γῆς τὰς βασιλείας, δοθῆναι δὲ τοῖς τοῦ Ὑψίστου ἁγίοις τὴν αἰώνιον βασιλείαν· βασιλεύοντας δὲ ὑπακούειν αὐτῷ καὶ δουλεύειν εὐνοϊκῶς· αἰώνιος γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἡ βασιλεία, καὶ τὸ τέλος οὐ δεχομένη. Τούτων ἀκούσας, φησὶν, ἐγὼ ∆ανιὴλ δέους ἐνεπλή σθην πολλοῦ, ὡς μήτε τοὺς λογισμοὺς ἡσυχάζειν ἐν ἐμοὶ, ἀλλὰ κυκᾶσθαι, καὶ διηνεκῶς ταράττεσθαι, καὶ τὴν μορφήν μου πολλὴν ἀλλοίωσιν ἐντεῦθεν δέ ξασθαι. Ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐκ ἔκπυστα πεποίηκα τὰ ὑποδειχθέντα μοι μυστήρια, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τηρῶν αὐτὰ διετέλουν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν μακάριος ∆ανιὴλ ταῦτα ἡμᾶς ἐδίδαξεν. Ἐγὼ δὲ τῶν Ἰουδαίων κατηγορίαν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἀφεὶς, θαυμάζω κομιδῇ τῶν τῆς εὐσεβείας διδασκάλων τινὰς Μακεδονικὴν βασιλείαν τὸ τέταρτον θηρίον ἀποκαλέσαντας· ἔδει γὰρ αὐτοὺς συνιδεῖν, πρῶτον μὲν, ὅτι τὸ τρίτον θη ρίον τέσσαρας εἶχε κεφαλὰς, ὃ σαφῶς ἐδήλου