83

to him," instead of, the anointing of the high priesthood will be corrupted. For with those being advanced to it being anointed unlawfully, the anointing did not have its proper strength, but being corrupted, it was deprived of divine grace. Therefore he also added "and there is no judgment in him," that is, they will not be appointed according to judgment and testing, but without judgment, either through favor or for money. With these things happening thus, the seven weeks also passed by, lasting, that is, until the appearance of the Lord. The division, therefore, of the sixty-two 1.209 weeks and of the seven came about for these reasons; but since one week still remained of the seventy weeks mentioned from the beginning, the archangel also said these things concerning it: "and one week will confirm the covenant with many, and in the midst of the week sacrifice and oblation shall be taken away, and upon these things, upon the temple, the abomination of desolation, and until the consummation of time a consummation shall be given for the desolation." The remaining week, he says, the one after the sixty-nine, will introduce the new covenant, so strong that through it the sacrifices and the libations will be taken away, that is, removed from the midst, in the middle of the week. For after his baptism, Christ, having taught for three years and more and having shown signs, thus came to his passion, and when he was sacrificed for the whole world, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the sacrifice and the libation according to the law ceased. And from then on the Jews sacrificed unlawfully, as they still do, but their sacrifice and libation were unacceptable to God. And otherwise, the phrase "he will confirm a covenant with many" will be understood as: that week will make the holy apostles powerful for the preaching. For the archangel appears to divide the week into two, into the time before the passion and the time after the passion. For after preaching for about three and a half years, according to the gospel of the son of thunder, and having strengthened his divine apostles in their faith in him by the truth of his words and the demonstration of his wondrous works, thus he proceeded to his passion and accepted the cross and endured death. Then, for the rest of the time of the week, after the 1.210 resurrection from the dead and the ascent to the Father's bosom, from which he was never separated, and the coming of the Paraclete and the divine inspiration, his holy disciples, proclaiming the divine gospel in Jerusalem and confirming the preaching with miracles and drawing crowds of people to the knowledge of the true God, were scattered to the nations and enlightened them. The archangel, therefore, foretelling this to the prophet Daniel, said "one week will confirm a covenant with many," instead of, he will gird many with power, that is, the disciples. Having joined together both the time before the Lord's passion and the time after the passion, during which the apostles first waited and preached in Jerusalem, and then went about to the ends of the world and taught, he again divides this week, saying "and in the midst of the week sacrifice and oblation shall be taken away," signifying by this the cessation of the shadow of the law. Then he adds, "and upon the temple, the abomination of desolation." For when these things happen, he says, the temple, which was before holy and venerable, will be considered an abomination; or that after this last week some abomination will be brought into the temple, a sign of its own desolation and that of the city. This happened under Pilate, when he brought in at night standards having imperial images, which were considered an abomination by the Jews; for it was forbidden for them to possess or even to worship a human image or that of any animal. And the Lord also said, "When you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, know that its desolation has drawn near," that is, of Jerusalem. And elsewhere the Lord said, "Behold, your house is left to you 1.211 desolate." The archangel, teaching these things beforehand to Daniel, adds, after prophesying that the legal worship will be removed from the midst, the phrase "and upon the temple, the abomination

83

αὐτῷ," ἀντὶ τοῦ διαφθαρήσεται τὸ χρίσμα τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης. παρανόμως γὰρ χριομένων τῶν εἰς αὐτὴν προβιβαζομένων, οὐδὲ τὸ χρίσμα τὴν οἰκείαν ειχεν ἰσχύν, ἀλλὰ παρεφθαρμένον ον ἠμοίρει τῆς θείας χάριτος. διὸ καὶ ἐπήγαγε "καὶ κρίμα οὐκ εστιν ἐν αὐτῷ," τοῦτ' εστιν, οὐ κατὰ κρίσιν καὶ δοκιμασίαν γινόμενοι εσονται, ἀλλ' ἀκρίτως η διὰ χάριν η διὰ χρήματα. τούτων δ' ουτω γινομένων καὶ αἱ ἑπτὰ παρερρύησαν ἑβδομάδες, μέχρι τῆς τοῦ κυρίου ἐπιφανείας δηλαδὴ διαρκέσασαι. ̔Η μὲν ουν διαίρεσις τῶν ἑξήκοντα δύο ἑβδο1.209 μάδων καὶ τῶν ἑπτὰ διὰ ταῦτα γέγονεν· ἐπεὶ δὲ πρὸς τὰς ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἰρημένας ἑβδομήκοντα ἑβδομάδας ετι μία περιλέλειπται, καὶ περὶ ἐκείνης ειρηκεν ὁ ἀρχάγγελος ταῦτα "καὶ δυναμώσει τὴν διαθήκην πολλοῖς ἑβδομὰς μία, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἡμίσει τῆς ἑβδομάδος ἀρθήσεται θυσία καὶ σπονδή, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως, καὶ εως συντελείας καιροῦ συντέλεια δοθήσεται ἐπὶ τὴν ἐρήμωσιν." ἡ λοιπή, φησίν, ἑβδομὰς ἡ μετὰ τὰς ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἐννέα τὴν καινὴν διαθήκην εἰσάξει ἰσχυρὰν ουτως ὡς δι' αὐτῆς ἀρθῆναι, τοῦτ' εστιν ἐκ μέσου γενέσθαι, τὰς θυσίας καὶ τὰς σπονδὰς ἐν τῷ ἡμίσει τῆς ἑβδομάδος. μετὰ γὰρ τὸ βάπτισμα ὁ Χριστὸς ἐπὶ τριετίαν καὶ ἐπέκεινα διδάξας καὶ σημεῖα ἐπιδειξάμενος ουτως ἐπὶ τὸ πάθος ηλθε, καὶ αὐτοῦ τυθέντος ὑπὲρ τοῦ κόσμου παντός, τοῦ ἀμνοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ αιροντος τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, ἡ κατὰ νόμον θυσία ἐπαύθη καὶ ἡ σπονδή. καὶ εθυον εκτοτε οἱ ̓Ιουδαῖοι, ἐπεὶ καὶ ετι θύουσι, παρανόμως, ἀλλ' ἀπρόσδεκτος ην τῷ θεῷ ἡ ἐκείνων θυσία καὶ ἡ σπονδή. καὶ αλλως δὲ τό "δυναμώσει διαθήκην πολλοῖς" ἐκληφθήσεται ἀντὶ τοῦ δυνατοὺς τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἀποστόλους εἰς τὸ κήρυγμα ἡ ἑβδομὰς ἐκείνη ἐργάσεται. εἰς δύο γὰρ τὴν ἑβδομάδα φαίνεται διαιρῶν ὁ ἀρχάγγελος, εἰς τὸν πρὸ τοῦ πάθους καὶ τὸν μετὰ τὸ πάθος καιρόν. περὶ γὰρ τὰ τρία ετη πρὸς τῷ ἡμίσει κηρύξας ὁ κύριος, κατὰ τὸ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς βροντῆς εὐαγγέλιον, καὶ στηρίξας εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ πίστιν τοὺς θείους αὐτοῦ ἀποστόλους τῇ τῶν λόγων ἀληθείᾳ καὶ τῇ τῶν θαυμασίων εργων ἐπιδείξει, ουτω πρὸς τὸ πάθος ἐχώρησε καὶ τὸν σταυρὸν κατεδέξατο καὶ ὑπέμεινε θάνατον. ειτα τὸν λοιπὸν τῆς ἑβδομάδος χρόνον μετὰ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνά1.210 στασιν καὶ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς κόλπους τοὺς πατρικοὺς ανοδον, ων οὐ κεχώριστο πώποτε, καὶ τὴν τοῦ παρακλήτου ἐπιφοίτησιν καὶ θείαν ἐπίπνοιαν οἱ ἱεροὶ αὐτοῦ μαθηταὶ ἐν ̔Ιερουσαλὴμ τὸ θεῖον διαγγέλλοντες εὐαγγέλιον καὶ τὸ κήρυγμα πιστούμενοι θαύμασι καὶ πλήθη ἀνθρώπων ἐπισπώμενοι πρὸς τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ οντως θεοῦ διεσπάρησαν εἰς τὰ εθνη καὶ ταῦτα ἐφώτισαν. τοῦτο τοίνυν ὁ ἀρχάγγελος προδηλῶν τῷ προφήτῃ ∆ανιὴλ ελεγε "δυναμώσει διαθήκην πολλοῖς ἑβδομὰς μία," ἀντὶ τοῦ δύναμιν περιζώσει πολλούς, τοὺς μαθητὰς δηλαδή. τόν τε πρὸ τοῦ πάθους τοῦ κυρίου χρόνον καὶ τὸν μετὰ τὸ πάθος, καθ' ον πρότερον μὲν ἐν ̔Ιερουσαλὴμ προσέμενον καὶ ἐκήρυσσον οἱ ἀπόστολοι, ειτα καὶ εἰς τὰ τῆς οἰκουμένης περιῄεσαν τέρματα καὶ ἐδίδασκον, συνάψας, αυθις διαιρεῖ τὴν ἑβδομάδα ταύτην λέγων "καὶ ἐν τῷ ἡμίσει τῆς ἑβδομάδος ἀρθήσεται θυσία καὶ σπονδή," διὰ τούτου προσημαίνων τὴν παῦλαν τῆς τοῦ νόμου σκιᾶς. ειτα ἐπάγει "καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως." τούτων γάρ, φησί, γινομένων τὸ πρὶν αγιον ἱερὸν καὶ σεβάσμιον βδέλυγμα λογισθήσεται· η οτι μετὰ τὴν τελευταίαν ἑβδομάδα ταύτην βδέλυγμά τι ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν εἰσαχθήσεται, σημεῖον τῆς αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἐρημώσεως. ο ἐπὶ τοῦ Πιλάτου γέγονε, σημαίας νύκτωρ εἰσαγαγόντος εἰκόνας ἐχούσας βασιλικάς, αι τοῖς ̓Ιουδαίοις βδέλυγμα ἐλογίζοντο· ἀπείρητο γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἀνθρωπίνην εἰκόνα η ζῴου τινὸς κεκτῆσθαι η καὶ σεβάζεσθαι. καὶ ὁ κύριος δέ "οταν ιδητε" ειπε "τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως ἑστὸς ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ, γινώσκετε οτι ηγγικεν ἡ ἐρήμωσις αὐτῆς," τῆς ̔Ιερουσαλὴμ δηλαδή. καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ δ' εφη ὁ κύριος "ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὁ οικος ὑμῶν 1.211 ερημος." ταῦτα προδιδάσκων τὸν ∆ανιὴλ ὁ ἀρχάγγελος ἐπιφέρει, μετὰ τὸ προθεσπίσαι ὡς ἐκ μέσου γενήσεται ἡ νομικὴ λατρεία, τό "καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν βδέλυγμα