88

even one of the common people would choose, much less so great a man as John, to fabricate words as if from God, when he was just about to undergo the common death, and to go into the hands of God more clearly than those who were until then among the living? ‘Therefore I write these things,’ he says, as if all but saying to Christ who was calling me to my departure, ‘Yes; I am coming quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.’ Since in the preceding passages the prophetic spirit said to him, and ‘he who hears,’ it says, ‘let him say to the Lord, “Come”’, obeying the oracles given him, he says, ‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus;’ as if he were saying, ‘Yes, Master, Christ, hasten for us our salvation and your second coming.’ 258 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen. For the profane have already been driven away from the company of the saints and from the entrance of the spiritual Jerusalem. And how could the grace of Christ our God come upon the excommunicated? Make us partakers of which, O Christ, through your goodness alone; for it is fitting for you to be glorified now and ever and unto the age, amen. #556 Concerning this divine revelation, some say, moving their tongues boldly and ignorantly, that it was not composed by the divine John, the Evangelist and Theologian himself; from which indeed they also listen to this tradition as if in secret. But this, I think, comes not from ignorance or from a revelation, but only from simplicity—though it is bold to say so—and from a love of life and attachment to earthly things, from fearing the abrupt and irrefutable nature of its decrees; for when the divine and holy fathers explicitly testify, who is capable of turning a blind eye to these things or of arriving at such a thought at all, that these things are not so? For indeed the great Basil, in his writings *Against Eunomius*, making his refutation of his most godless blasphemies and triflings, concerning which the divine Theologian made mention in his fourth discourse, in which were both the difficulties and their solutions from the divinely inspired scriptures regarding the disputed points concerning the Son through the new and old testament; the beginning of which is: ‘If the Son is God by nature, and the Father is also God by nature, the Son is not one God and the Father another, but they are alike.’ And after other things: ‘While Moses cries out concerning the Son, *He who is* sent me,’ and the evangelist John: ‘In the beginning was the Word,’ and not once ‘was,’ but a fourth time, and again elsewhere, ‘he who is from God,’ and ‘he who is in the bo- 259 -som of the Father,’ and in other places: ‘he who is in heaven,’ and in the Revelation: ‘who is and who was and who is to come.’ And he did not make a distinction, but consequently took up again the testimony of Paul. If, then, this Revelation was composed by some other John, as the nonsense of many has it, the great Basil would have written the words from the Revelation under the name of its author; but having first set forth the words of Moses, then those of the apostle and theologian, just as also those of the apostle Paul, he needed no one else to bear witness to these things. And these things are from the irrefutable writings of the great and holy Basil. And the great Gregory, surnamed the Theologian, making a defense in the presence of the one hundred and fifty bishops, which they call the *Syntacterion*, truly wrote clearly: ‘How long will you inherit my holy mountain?’ and after other things: ‘For I am persuaded that different men preside over different churches, as John teaches me through the Revelation.’ And Eusebius, son of Pamphilus, in the third book of his *Ecclesiastical History*, spoke somehow thus: ‘The affairs concerning the Jews were in this state,’ and after other things: ‘At this time, tradition holds that the apostle and evangelist John, still living his life, was condemned to live on the island of Patmos by Domitian of Vespasian, on account of his testimony to the divine word.’ For Irenaeus, writing about the number of the name of the Antichrist mentioned in the so-called Revelation of John, says these things about John in the fifth book of his *Against Heresies* in these very syllables: ‘If it seemed fitting that his name be proclaimed openly in the present time, it would have been spoken by him who

88

ἕλοιτο καὶ τῶν τυχόντων, εἰ μὴ τοίγε Ἰωάννης ὁ τοσοῦτος, πλάττεσθαι λόγους ὡς ἐκ Θεοῦ, ὡς ὅσον οὔπω μέλλων τὸν κοινὸν ὑπιέναι θάνατον, καὶ εἰς χεῖρας ἀπιέναι Θεοῦ ἐναργέστερον ἤπερ οἱ τέως ἐν ζῶσιν ὄντες; γράφω οὖν ταῦτά φησι μονονουχὶ λέγων τῷ καλοῦντι με Χριστῷ πρὸς μετάστασιν ναί· ἔρχομαι ταχύ. ἀμήν· ἔρχου, Κύριε Ἰησοῦ. ἐπειδὴ ἐν τοῖς φθάσασιν εἶπε τὸ προφητικὸν πρὸς αὐτὸν πνεῦμα, καὶ ὁ ἀκούων φησὶν εἰπάτω τῷ Κυρίῳ ἔρχου, πειθαρχῶν τοῖς χρηματισθεῖσιν αὐτῷ, φησὶν ἀμήν· ἔρχου, Κύριε Ἰησοῦ· ὥσει ἔλεγε· ναὶ δέσποτα, Χριστέ, τάχυνον ἡμῖν τὴν σωτηρίαν καὶ τὴν δευτέραν σου παρουσίαν. 258 ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων· ἀμήν. οἱ γὰρ βέβηλοι ἤδη προαπηλάθησαν τῆς τῶν ἁγίων διαγωγῆς καὶ τῆς εἰσόδου τῆς νοητῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ. τοῖς δέ γε ἐκκηρύκτοις πῶς ἂν ἐπέλθοι ἡ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν χάρις; ἧς μετόχους ποίησον ἡμᾶς, Χριστέ, διὰ τὴν ἀγαθότητά σου μόνην· πρέπει γάρ σοι δοξάζεσθαι νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἀμήν #556 περὶ ταύτης τῆς θείας ἀποκαλύψεώς φασί τινες, θρασέως καὶ ἀμαθῶς τὰς γλῶσσας κινοῦντες, μὴ παρ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεσπεσίου Ἰωάννου καὶ εὐαγγελιστοῦ καὶ θεολόγου ταύτην συντετάχθαι· ἐξ οὗ δὴ καὶ ὡς ἐν παραβύστῳ τὴν παραδοχὴν ταύτην ἐπακροῶνται. τοῦτο δὲ οἶμαι οὐκ ἐξ ἀμαθίας οὐδ' ἀποκαλύψεως, ἐξ ἁπλότητος δὲ μόνον, εἰ καὶ τολμηρὸν εἰπεῖν, καὶ φιλοζωίας καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὰ γήϊνα προσπαθείας, τὸ ἀπότομον καὶ ἀναντίρρητον τῶν ἀποφάσεων δεδιότων· τῶν γὰρ θεσπεσίων καὶ ἁγίων πατέρων διαρρήδην ἐπιμαρτυρούντων, τίς ἱκανὸς πρὸς ταῦτα ἀποφθαλμεῖν ἢ εἰς νοῦν ὁπωσοῦν τοσοῦτον ἀφικέσθαι, ὡς οὐχὶ ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει; καὶ γὰρ ὁ μέγας Βασίλειος ἐν τοῖς Κατὰ Εὐνόμιον αὐτοῦ συγγράμμασι τὴν ἀντίρρησιν τῶν ἀθεωτάτων αὐτοῦ βλασφημιῶν καὶ ληρημάτων ποιούμενος, περὶ ὧν ὁ θεῖος θεολόγος ἐμνημόνευσεν ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ αὐτοῦ λόγῳ, ἐν ᾧ τάς τε ἀπορίας καὶ λύσεις ἐκ τῶν θεοπνεύστων γραφῶν εἰς τὰ ἀντιλεγόμενα περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ διὰ τῆς καινῆς καὶ παλαιᾶς διαθήκης· οὗ ἡ ἀρχή· εἰ φύσει Θεὸς ὁ υἱός, Θεὸς δὲ φύσει καὶ ὁ πατήρ, οὐκ ἄλλος Θεὸς ὁ υἱός, ἕτερος δὲ ὁ πατήρ, ἀλλ' ὅμοιος. καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· Μωϋσέως μὲν βοῶντος περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ ὁ ὤν με ἀπέστειλε, τοῦ δὲ εὐαγγελιστοῦ Ἰωάννου· ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ οὐχ ἅπαξ τὸ ἦν, ἀλλὰ τέταρτον, καὶ πάλιν ἀλλαχοῦ ὁ ὢν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ ὢν ἐν τοῖς κόλ 259 ποις τοῦ Πατρός, καὶ ἐν ἑτέροις· ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀποκαλύψει· ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος. καὶ οὐ διέστειλεν, ἀλλ' ἑπομένως τὴν τοῦ Παύλου πάλιν ἐπανελάβετο μαρτυρίαν. εἰ οὖν ἑτέρου τινὸς Ἰωάννου, ὡς ἡ ληρωδία ἔχει τῶν πολλῶν, ἡ ἀποκάλυψις αὕτη συνετέθη, ἐπὶ τῷ τοῦ συγγραψαμένου ὀνόματι ἔγραψεν ἂν καὶ ὁ μέγας Βασίλειος τοὺς ἐκ τῆς ἀποκαλύψεως λόγους· ἀλλὰ πρότερον μὲν ἐκθέμενος τὰ τοῦ Μωσέως, εἶτα τοῦ ἀποστόλου καὶ θεολόγου, καθὰ καὶ τὰ τοῦ ἀποστόλου Παύλου, οὐδενὸς ἑτέρου ἐδεήθη τούτοις ἐπιμαρτυρῆσαι. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐκ τῶν ἀναντιρρήτων τοῦ μεγάλου καὶ ἁγίου Βασιλείου. ὁ δὲ μέγας Γρηγόριος ὁ τῆς θεολόγου ἐπώνυμος, εἰς τὴν τῶν ἕκατον πεντήκοντα ἐπισκόπων παρουσίαν ἀπολογούμενος, ὃν Συντακτήριον καλέουσι, φανερῶς ὄντως ἔγραψεν· μέχρι τίνος κληρονομήσετε τὸ ὄρος τὸ ἅγιόν μου, καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· πείθομαι γὰρ ἄλλους ἄλλης προστατεῖν ἐκκλησίας, ὡς Ἰωάννης διδάσκει με διὰ τῆς ἀποκαλύψεως. ὁ δὲ Εὐσέβιος ὁ τοῦ Παμφίλου ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ αὐτοῦ λόγῳ τῆς Ἐκκλησιαστικῆς Ἱστορίας ὧδέ πως ἔφη τὰ μὲν δὴ κατὰ Ἰουδαίους, ἐν τούτοις ἦν, καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· ἐν τούτῳ κατέχει λόγος τὸν ἀπόστολον ἅμα καὶ εὐαγγελιστὴν Ἰωάννην ἔτι τῷ βίῳ ἐνδιατρίβοντα, τῆς εἰς τὸν θεῖον λόγον ἕνεκα μαρτυρίας Πάτμον οἰκεῖν καταδικασθῆναι τὴν νῆσον παρὰ ∆ομετιανοῦ τοῦ Οὐεσπασιανοῦ. γράφων γέ τοι ὁ Εἰρηναῖος περὶ τῆς ψήφου τῆς κατὰ τὸν ἀντίχριστον προσηγορίας λεγομένης ἐν τῇ Ἰωάννου λεγομένῃ Ἀποκαλύψει, αὐταῖς συλλαβαῖς ἐν πέμπτῳ τῶν Πρὸς Τὰς Αἱρέσεις ταῦτα περὶ τοῦ Ἰωάννου φησίν· εἰ δὲ δοκεῖ ἀναφανδὸν ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ κηρύττεσθαι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, δι' ἐκείνου ἂν ἐρρέθη τοῦ