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to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” This is the end of the prophecy concerning Damascus, beginning indeed from the times indicated, but ending “at the consummation of the age” and the thrice-blessed end of the athletes of piety. It is fitting to pay attention to how it is said: the vision of Egypt. For it was not said as in the case of Babylon, “a vision against Babylon,” nor as in the case of Judea and Jerusalem, “a vision, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw, which he saw concerning Judea and concerning Jerusalem,” nor as “concerning Damascus” and “Moabitis,” so also in the case of Egypt; for it does not say “a vision against Egypt,” but the vision of Egypt, either as if Egypt itself were about to see and behold with discerning eyes the things prophesied; or as if the prophet had seen the vision which proclaimed the most beautiful things for the Egyptians. For what was to be more beautiful, what more blessed for the Egyptians than for the Lord to deem them worthy of his presence and to give them his knowledge and to do all the other things that are brought forth for the Egyptians? 1.75 One might say that this was fulfilled historically, when the Lord himself, he who was “in the beginning with God,” God the “Word,” did not visit the land of the Egyptians incorporeally or invisibly, but with what is called the light cloud of the body, which he assumed, fashioned “from the Holy Spirit” and the holy virgin. For if it had not been added that he would arrive seated on a light cloud, one might have been able to say that God the Word, being present everywhere by incorporeal and divine power, since he indeed “fills all things”—“for he was in the world, and the world was made through him”— also provided his presence to Egypt by extending his oversight and providence even to them, but one could not rather say that he was in Egypt than in another part of the universe in this manner. But now the scripture, by saying distinctly that he will come to Egypt riding on a light cloud, shows that his presence would be of a particular and bodily kind. One who agrees with this interpretation might say that this was deemed worthy of fulfillment at the coming among men of the God born of the holy virgin, whom the prophecy calls “Emmanuel.” For as a cloud has its substance from no other source than from air and the exhalation of the earth, so the body which he assumed, subsisting “from the Holy Spirit” and from earthy substance, was fittingly compared to a light cloud, seated upon which the Christ of God visited “Egypt” in his infancy. For this too was sufficient for the Egyptians, being greatly benefited by ineffable power from the arrival of the Savior. But according to a deeper understanding, Egypt especially needed the presence of the Lord, since they have become the most superstitious of all people, so as not only to attribute the cause of the universe to fate and the stars in heaven, but also to fall into the deification of irrational animals and untamed beasts, both birds and reptiles. And so they considered the universe to be without master and without providence, that even their king said with a bare head: “I do not know the Lord,” and: “Who is he that I should listen to his voice”? And the handmade things of Egypt shall be shaken before his face, and their heart shall be defeated within them; The handmade things, then, would be the statues and the lifeless carved images; but he says the lifeless carved images will be shaken, and the heart, that is the demons, will be defeated, or according to the other interpreters, will melt away by an unseen and invisible power. And these things were being accomplished from those very times in which churches of God adorned all Egypt, the demonic energy being quenched slowly and little by little. And these things were actually brought to fulfillment at the time when churches of God were established throughout all of Egypt, and the Lord himself visited the Egyptians, overseeing his churches according to the saying: “where two or three

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Σιὼν ὄρει καὶ πόλει θεοῦ ζῶντος, Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐπουρανίῳ». τοῦτο τέλος τῆς κατὰ ∆αμασκοῦ προφητείας, ἀρξάμενον μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν δηλωθέντων χρόνων, καταλῆξαν δὲ «ἐπὶ τὴν συντέλειαν τοῦ αἰῶνος» καὶ τὸ τρισμακάριον τέλος τῶν τῆς θεοσεβείας ἀθλητῶν. Προσήκει δὲ τὸν νοῦν ἐπιστῆσαι, ὅπως εἴρηται· ὅρασις Αἰγύπτου. οὐ γὰρ ὡς ἐπὶ τῆς Βαβυλῶνος ἐλέγετο· «ὅρασις κατὰ Βαβυλῶνος», οὐδ' ὡς ἐπὶ τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ Ἰερουσαλήμ· «ὅρασις, ἣν εἶδεν Ἠσαΐας υἱὸς Ἀμώς, ἣν εἶδκατὰ τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ κατὰ Ἰερουσαλήμ», οὐδ' ὡς «ἐπὶ τῆς ∆αμασκοῦ» καὶ «τῆς Μωαβίτιδος», οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς Αἰγύπτου· οὐ γὰρ εἴρηται «ὅρασις κατὰ τῆς Αἰγύπτου», ἀλλ' ὅρασις Αἰγύπτου, ἤτοι ὡς αὐτῆς Αἰγύπτου μελλούσης ὁρᾶν καὶ θεωρεῖν ὀφθαλμοῖς διορατικῶς τὰ θεσπιζόμενα· ἢ ὡς τοῦ προφήτου τὴν ὅρασιν τεθεαμένου τὴν τὰ κάλλιστα τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις προαναφωνήσασαν. τί γὰρ κάλλιον, τί δὲ μακαριώτερον ὑπάρχειν ἤμελλεν Αἰγυπτίοις τοῦ τὸν κύριον τῆς αὐτοῦ παρουσίας καταξιοῦν αὐτοὺς καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ γνῶσιν αὐτοῖς παρέξειν καὶ ποιήσειν, ὅσα ἄλλα ἐμφέρεται τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις; 1.75 Τοῦτο πεπληρῶσθαι εἴποι ἄν τις ὡς πρὸς ἱστορίαν, ὅτε αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος, ὁ «ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν», θεὸς «λόγος» οὐκ ἀσωμάτως οὐδ' ἀφανῶς ἐπεδήμει τῇ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων χώρᾳ, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τῆς ὀνομαζομένης κούφης νεφέλης τοῦ σώματος, οὗ ἀνείληφεν «ἐξ ἁγίου πνεύματος» καὶ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου κατεσκευασμένου. εἰ μὲν γὰρ μὴ προσέκειτο τό· ἐπὶ νεφέλης κούφης καθήμενον αὐτὸν ἀφίξεσθαι, κἂν ἐδύνατό τις λέγειν, ὅτι ἀσωμάτῳ καὶ θεϊκῇ δυνάμει πανταχοῦ παρὼν ὁ θεὸς λόγος, ἅτε δὴ «πάντα πληρῶν»· «ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ γὰρ ἦν, καὶ ὁ κόσμος δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο». καὶ τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ τὴν αὐτοῦ παρεῖχε παρουσίαν διὰ τοῦ τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν πρόνοιαν καὶ μέχρις αὐτῶν ἐκτείνειν, ἀλλ' οὐ μᾶλλον εἴποι τις αὐτὸν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἐν ἑτέρῳ μέρει τοῦ παντὸς κατὰ τοῦτον ὑπάρχειν τὸν τρόπον. νῦν δ' ἀφωρισμένως εἰς Αἴγυπτον αὐτὸν ἥξειν ὁ λόγος ἐπὶ νεφέλης ὀχούμενον κούφης εἰπών, ἰδιάζουσάν τινα καὶ σωματικὴν ἔσεσθαι τὴν παρουσίαν αὐτοῦ δηλοῖ. ὃ δὴ εἴποι ἂν ὁ ταύτῃ συνιστάμενος τῇ ἐκδοχῇ τέλους ἠξιῶσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς εἰς ἀνθρώπους παρόδου τοῦ ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου γεννηθέντος θεοῦ, ὃν «Ἐμμανουὴλ» καλεῖ ἡ προφητεία. ὡς γὰρ νεφέλη οὐκ ἄλλοθεν ἔχει τὴν σύστασιν ἢ ἐξ ἀέρος καὶ ἀναθυμιάσεως τῆς γῆς, οὕτω τὸ σῶμα ὃ ἀνείληφεν «ἐξ ἁγίου πνεύματος» καὶ τῆς γεώδους οὐσίας ὑποστὰν εἰκότως νεφέλῃ παρεβλήθη κούφῃ, ᾗ ἐγκαθήμενος ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπεδήμει «τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ» κατὰ τὴν νηπίαν ἡλικίαν. ἀπήρκει γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο Αἰγυπτίοις ἀρρήτῳ δυνάμει μέγιστα ὠφελουμένοις ἐκ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐπιβάσεως. κατὰ δὲ βαθύτερον νοῦν τῆς τοῦ κυρίου παρουσίας ἐξαιρέτως ἐδεῖτο ἡ Αἴγυπτος, ἐπειδὴ πάντων ἀνθρώπων δεισιδαιμονεστάτων γεγόνασιν, ὡς μὴ μόνον εἱμαρμένῃ καὶ τοῖς κατ' οὐρανὸν ἄστροις τὴν τοῦ παντὸς ἀνατιθέναι αἰτίαν, ἐκπεσεῖν δὲ καὶ μέχρι τῆς τῶν ἀλόγων ζῴων καὶ θηρίων ἀτιθάσων πτηνῶν τε καὶ ἑρπετῶν θεοποιΐας. οὕτω δὲ ἀδέσποτον καὶ ἀπρονόητον ἡγοῦντο τὸ πᾶν, ὡς καὶ τὸν βασιλέα αὐτῶν γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ λέγειν· «Οὐκ οἶδα τὸν κύριον», καί· «Τίς ἐστιν οὗ εἰσακούσομαι τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ»; καὶ σεισθήσεται τὰ χειροποίητα Αἰγύπτου ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν ἡττηθήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς· τὰ μὲν οὖν χειροποίητα εἴη ἂν τὰ ἀγάλματα καὶ τὰ ἄψυχα ξόανα· ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἄψυχα ξόανα σεισθήσεσθαί φησι, τὴν δὲ καρδίαν, δηλαδὴ τοὺς δαίμονας ἡττηθήσεσθαι, ἢ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτὰς τακήσεσθαι ἀφανεῖ καὶ ἀοράτῳ δυνάμει. συνετελεῖτο δὲ ταῦτα ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων τῶν χρόνων, καθ' οὓς ἐκκλησίαι θεοῦ τὴν πᾶσαν Αἴγυπτον ἐκόσμουν τῆς δαιμονικῆς ἐνεργείας ἠρέμα καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν σβεννυμένης. ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἔργοις τέλους ἐτύγχανε καθ' ὃν χρόνον ἐκκλησίαι μὲν θεοῦ καθ' ὅλης ἵδρυντο τῆς Αἰγύπτου, ἐπεδήμει δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις ἐπισκοπῶν τὰς ἐκκλησίας αὐτοῦ κατὰ τό· «ὅπου δύο ἢ τρεῖς