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Your eyes shall see, Jerusalem, a rich city. Just as he called the Jews, who trace their lineage from Abraham but were unwilling to emulate his faith, rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah, so also he addresses the church from the gentiles, which has received spiritual gifts, as Jerusalem and Zion. For indeed in what was previously interpreted, he also named the desert and Lebanon as Carmel, and he called Carmel itself a forest. And he calls the church of God rich, demonstrating its spiritual wealth. And the apostle bears witness to the prophecy, saying thus: "That in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge." Tents that shall not be shaken, nor shall the pegs of her tent be moved for all time, nor shall her cords be broken. And from this it is clear that the sayings of this prophecy in no way fit the old Jerusalem; for that one was shaken and overthrown and received complete desolation, but the new—that is, the tents of God throughout the world—possess unshakeableness according to the voice of the Lord: "For on this rock," he says, "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." And I think that the pegs of the tent are called the divine apostles, the victorious martyrs. For just as the pegs of tents, hidden in the earth, secure the stability of the tents, so they, having received the end of life and having their bodies hidden in the earth, support the divine churches; and their saving teachings are like cords stretching from the pegs to the tents, through which the faith of those who choose to be pious remains unmoved. 21 For the name of the Lord is great for you, it will be a place for you. In the name of the Lord both miracles happened and the saving baptism is performed and the mystical food is transformed; through this name we consecrate the temples being built to God. In which are rivers and canals, broad and spacious. The rivers are the first heralds of the truth, and the canals are their disciples and successors, drawing the saving streams of doctrines from them and watering the divine paradise. You shall not go this way, nor shall a rowing ship go. For my God is great; he will not pass me by. This <ὁ> Aquila interpreted thus: "A ship of oar shall not go in it, and an oversized trireme shall not cross it." |142 a| That is to say: he is stronger than the enemies, no war trireme has a passage through this river; for the God of the churches is great and does not tolerate overlooking them. For this he has also shown through the following words: 22 The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king, the Lord is our savior, he himself will come and save us. We have received every good resource through him. For this reason indeed we also embrace his leadership and his kingdom with pleasure. For he himself is the provider of salvation for us. Thus having shown the steadfastness of the church, he rebukes the unbelief of the Jewish multitude: 23 Your cords were broken, because they were not strong. Concerning the church he said that "for all time the pegs of her tent shall not be moved, nor shall her cords be broken"; but here he says that these things were broken. And he teaches the reason: because it was not strong; for it did not have the strength of faith. These things, therefore, are contrary to those, and it is clear that those were said before concerning some, but these he foretells thus concerning others. Your mast has leaned, it will not let out your sails, it will not raise a sign, until you are given over for plunder. Because of this same unbelief, he says, your mast has also leaned. Nevertheless for the time being I endure, and despite the very madness of the cross I do not bring the punishment; but still not even this longsuffering will persuade you to accept the sign of salvation, until you are given over to Roman slavery. Therefore many lame men will make plunder 24 and they will not say: The people who dwell in it are weary. For their sin has been forgiven. The lame Romans

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ὀφθαλμοί σου ὄψονται, Ἱερουσαλὴμ πόλις πλουσία. Ὥσπερ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ἐξἈβραὰμ τὸ γένος κατάγοντας, τὴν ἐ κείνου δὲ ζηλῶσαι πίστιν οὐκ ἐθελήσαντας ἄρχοντας Σοδόμων καὶ λαὸν Γομόρρας ὠνόμασεν, οὕτω τὴν ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησίαν τὰ πνευματικὰ δεξαμένην χαρίσματα Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ Σιὼν προσαγορεύει. Καὶ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν ἡρμηνευμένοις καὶ τὴν ἔρημον καὶ τὸν Λίβανον ὠνόμασε Κάρμηλον, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν Κάρ μηλ ον δρυμὸν προσηγόρευσεν. Πλουσίαν δὲ ὀνομάζει τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τὸν πνευματικὸν αὐτῆς πλοῦτον ἐπιδεικνύς. Μαρτυρεῖ δὲ τῇ προφητείᾳ ὁ ἀπόστολος οὕτω λέγων· «Ὅτι ἐν παντὶ ἐπλουτίσθητε ἐν αὐτῷ, ἐν παντὶ λόγῳ καὶ πάσῃ γνώσει.» Σκηναὶ αἳ οὐ μὴ σαλευθῶσιν, οὐδὲ μὴ κινηθῶσιν οἱ πάτταλοι τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτῆς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον, οὐδὲ τὰ σχοινία αὐτῆς οὐ μὴ διαρραγῇ. Καὶ ἐντεῦθεν δῆλον ὡς οὐδαμῶς ἁρμόττει τῇ παλαιᾷ Ἱερουσαλὴμ τὰ τῆσδε τῆς προφητείας ῥητά· ἐκείνη γὰρ ἐσαλεύθη καὶ κατελύθη καὶ ἐρημίαν ἐδέξατο παντελῆ, ἡ δὲ νέα- τουτέστιν αἱ κα τὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην τοῦ θεοῦ σκηναὶ-τὸ ἀσάλευτον ἔχουσι κατὰ τὴν τοῦ κυρίου φωνήν· «Ἐπὶ ταύτῃ γὰρ τῇ πέτρᾳ» φησὶν «οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς.» Πασσάλους δὲ τῆς σκηνῆς ἡγοῦμαι καλεῖσθαι τοὺς θείους ἀποστόλους, τοὺς νικηφόρους μάρτυρας. Καθάπερ γὰρ τῶν σκηνῶν οἱ πάσσαλοι ἐν τῇ γῇ κεκρυμμένοι τὴν στάσιν ταῖς σκηναῖς πραγματεύονται, οὕτως ἐκεῖνοι δεξάμενοι τοῦ βίου τὸ πέρας καὶ ἐν τῇ γῇ κεκρυμμένα τὰ σώματα ἔχοντες τὰς θείας ὑπερείδουσιν ἐκκλησίας· σχοινίοις δὲ ἔοικεν ἐκ τῶν πασσάλων μέχρι τῶν σκηνῶν διήκουσι τὰ σωτήρια ἐκείνων παιδεύματα, δι' ὧν ἀκίνητος μένει τῶν εὐσεβεῖν προαιρουμένων ἡ πίστις. 21∆ιότι τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου μέγα ὑμῖν, τόπος ὑμῖν ἔσται. Ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου καὶ τὰ θαύματα ἐγένετο καὶ τὸ σωτήριον ἐπιτελεῖται βάπτισμα καὶ ἡ μυστικὴ τροφὴ μετα βάλλεται· διὰ τούτου τοῦ ὀνόματος τοὺς οἰκοδομουμένους τῷ θεῷ ναοὺς ἁγιάζομεν. Ἐν ᾧ ποταμοὶ καὶ διώρυγες πλατεῖς καὶ εὐρύχωροι. Ποταμοὶ μὲν οἱ πρῶτοι τῆς ἀληθείας κήρυκες, διώρυγες δὲ οἱ ἐκείνων μαθηταὶ καὶ διάδοχοι ἐξ αὐτῶν μὲν ἕλκοντες τὰ σωτήρια δογμάτων ῥεῖθρα, ἄρδοντες δὲ τὸν θεῖον παράδεισον. Οὐ πορεύσῃ ταύτην τὴν ὁδόν, οὐδὲ πορεύσεται πλοῖον ἐλαῦνον. Ὁ γὰρ θεός μου μέγας ἐστίν· οὐ παρελεύσεταί με. Τοῦτο <ὁ> Ἀκύλας οὕτως ἡρμήνευ σεν· «Οὐ μὴ πορευθῇ ἐν αὐτῷ ναῦς κώπης, καὶ τριήρης ὑπερμεγέθης οὐ διαβήσεται αὐτό.» |142 a| Ἀντὶ τοῦ· κρείττων ἐστὶ τῶν πολεμίων, οὐδεμίαν ἔχει πάροδον διὰ τόνδε τὸν ποταμὸν τριήρης πολεμική· μέγας γάρ ἐστι τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ὁ θεὸς καὶ παρορᾶν αὐτὰς οὐκ ἀνέχεται. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ διὰ τῶν ἐπιφερομένων δεδήλωκεν· 22Κύριος κριτὴς ἡμῶν, κύριος ἄρχων ἡμῶν, κύριος βασιλεὺς ἡμῶν, κύριος σωτὴρ ἡμῶν αὐτὸς ἥξει καὶ σώσει ἡμᾶς. Πάντα πόρον ἀγαθὸν δι' αὐτοῦ κεκομίσμεθα. Τούτου δὴ χάριν καὶ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν μεθ' ἡδονῆς ἀσπαζόμεθα. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἡμῖν χορηγὸς σωτηρίας. Οὕτω τῆς ἐκκλησίας τὸ βέβαιον δείξας τῆς Ἰουδαίων πληθύος τὴν ἀπιστίαν ἐλέγχει· 23Ἐρράγη τὰ σχοινία σου, ὅτι οὐκ ἐνίσχυσαν. Περὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἔφη ὅτι «εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα οὐ μὴ κινηθῶσιν οἱ πάσσαλοι τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτῆς, οὐδὲ τὰ σχοινία αὐτῆς οὐ μὴ διαρραγῇ»· ἐνταῦθα δὲ λέγει ταῦτα διαρραγῆναι. Καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν διδάσκει· ὅτι οὐκ ἐνίσχυσεν· οὐ γὰρ ἔσχε τῆς πίστεως τὴν ἰσχύν. Ἐναντία τοίνυν ταῦτα ἐκείνοις, καὶ δῆλον ὡς περὶ ἄλλων μὲν ἐκεῖνα προείρηται, περὶ ἑτέρων δὲ ταῦτα προλέγει οὕτως. Ὁ ἱστός σου ἔκλινεν, οὐ χαλάσει τὰ ἱστία σου, οὐκ ἀρεῖ σημεῖον, ἕως ἂν παραδοθῇς εἰς προνομήν. ∆ιὰ τὴν αὐτήν φησιν ἀπιστίαν καὶ ὁ ἱστός σου ἔκλινεν. Πλὴν τέως ἀνέχομαι καὶ παρ' αὐτὴν τοῦ σταυροῦ τὴν μανίαν οὐκ ἐπάγω τὴν τιμωρίαν· ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲ αὕτη σε ἡ μακροθυμία πείσει δέξασθαι τὸ σημεῖον τῆς σωτηρίας, ἕως ἂν τῇ Ῥωμαίων δουλείᾳ παραδοθῇς. Τοίνυν πολλοὶ χωλοὶ προνομὴν ποιήσουσι 24καὶ οὐ μὴ εἴπωσιν· Κοπιᾷ ὁ λαὸς ὁ ἐνοικῶν ἐν αὐτῇ. Ἀφέθη γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἡ ἁμαρτία. Χωλοὺς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους