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being carried, raised on high, treading the air with Christ, they inherit the kingdom of heaven, with Christ they will reign, with Christ they possess heaven as their dwelling place, with Christ being permitted to tread the entrance of the tabernacle not made with hands, with Christ being proclaimed citizens of the heavenly city Jerusalem with the holy angels, with Christ rejoicing, with Christ exulting, with Christ being exalted, with Christ wearing crowns, with Christ being glorified, with Christ enjoying the throne of grace, with Christ enjoying righteousness and sanctification and redemption and blessedness and every eternal and ineffable good. What nation or what heresy, believing, possesses such hopes, except only the Christians? 5.252 The Greeks disbelieve, being without hope, loving the wisdom of this world, which is rather not strong enough to comprehend even one thing by itself, unless some divine illumination should accompany it. Likewise also the Jews, having disbelieved in the Christ who appeared, who proclaimed and established all these things openly, both through himself and through the apostles, have failed to obtain all these things. But the Samaritans and Montanists, being more stiff-necked than the Jews, unable to be instructed by Moses and the figures of the world, but also disbelieving the prophets, confessing neither angel nor spirit nor a rational, immortal soul, but also themselves, like the Greeks, rejecting the resurrection of bodies, fail to obtain all these things. Likewise the Manichaeans in turn, hating bodies and not confessing their resurrection, but supposing them to be creations of an evil god and expecting their destruction, are themselves also deprived of all good things, being condemned as impious around the earth with the god they appointed for themselves. Likewise also all the heretics who reject the assumption of our flesh and of our soul at the time of the incarnation, and all who reject, mutilating the divinity of the Son and diminishing the divinity of the Holy Spirit, are themselves also deprived of all these good things. 5.253 For only those who confess one God in three hypostases, without beginning, eternal, uncircumscribed, invisible, intangible, incorruptible, immortal, impassible, incorporeal, unlimited, incomprehensible, uncompounded, indivisible, maker of heaven and earth, of all things both visible and invisible, known and worshipped in Father and Son and Holy Spirit, and in the last of the days at the time of the incarnation, willing to re-create the world which he created. 5.254 Again, having taken from the holy virgin Mary from our own substance, God the Word, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, without seed, re-creates the little world, the bond of all creation, that is, man, and unites him to himself from that very instant of time by an exceptional and inalienable union, so that the taking is not preconceived before the union, but at once there is formation and taking and union; he allowed himself to suffer and be killed, and having perfected through the resurrection, he led him up to heaven and honored him with the seat at his right hand and appointed him judge of all. Likewise with him, those also who live well enter into the bridal chamber together with the bridegroom, not mutilating either the divinity or the humanity; these dance with Christ and reign with him in heaven, hearing from him at the consummation: "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." 5.255 But concerning the day of the consummation, no one knows, except God alone. But they say that unless men become equal in number to the angels, the world is not consummated; for Moses says: "He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God", as if: He set the limit of the nations in this, in their becoming equal in number to the angels. And indeed the Apostle says: "But when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved," clearly concerning

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κομιζόμενοι, μετάρσιοι ἀεροβατοῦντες σὺν Χριστῷ βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν κληρονομοῦσι, σὺν Χριστῷ βασιλεύσουσι, σὺν Χριστῷ οἰκητήριον τὸν οὐρανὸν κέκτηνται, σὺν Χριστῷ τῆς ἀχειροποιήτου σκηνῆς τὴν εἴσοδον συγχωρούμενοι πατεῖν, σὺν Χριστῷ τῆς οὐρανίου πόλεως Ἱερουσαλὴμ πολῖται σὺν ἁγίοις ἀγγέλοις ἀναγορευόμενοι, σὺν Χριστῷ χαίροντες, σὺν Χριστῷ ἀγαλλιώμενοι, σὺν Χριστῷ ὑψούμενοι, σὺν Χριστῷ στεφανηφοροῦντες, σὺν Χριστῷ δοξαζόμενοι, σὺν Χριστῷ τοῦ θρόνου τῆς χάριτος ἀπολαύοντες, σὺν Χριστῷ δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἁγιασμοῦ καὶ ἀπολυτρώσεως καὶ μακαριότητος καὶ παντὸς αἰωνίου καὶ ἀνεκλαλήτου ἀγαθοῦ ἀπολαύοντες. Ποῖον ἔθνος ἢ ποία αἵρεσις τοιαύτας ἐλπίδας πιστεύουσα κέκτηται, εἰ μὴ μόνον χριστιανοί; 5.252 Ἕλληνες ἀπιστοῦσιν, ἀνέλπιστοι ὄντες, σοφίαν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἀγαπῶντες, ἥτις μᾶλλον οὔτε ἓν τῶν πραγμάτων ἐξισχύει καταλαβεῖν ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς, εἰ μὴ θεία τις ἔλλαμψις παρακολουθήσῃ. Ὁμοίως καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι ἀπιστήσαντες τῷ φανέντι Χριστῷ τῷ ταῦτα πάντα φανερῶς κηρύξαντι καὶ συστήσαντι, καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ διὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων, τούτων πάντων ἀπέτυχον. Σαμαρεῖται δὲ καὶ μοντανοὶ σκληροτράχηλοι ὑπὲρ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ὄντες ἐκ Μωϋσέως καὶ τῶν σχημάτων τοῦ κόσμου μὴ δυνάμενοι παιδευθῆναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς προφήτας ἀπιστοῦντες, μήτε ἄγγελον μήτε πνεῦμα μήτε ψυχὴν λογικὴν ἀθάνατον ὁμολογοῦντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἴσα τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀνάστασιν σωμάτων ἀθετοῦντες, τούτων πάντων ἀποτυγχάνουσιν. Ὁμοίως μανιχαῖοι πάλιν τὰ σώματα μισοῦντες καὶ τούτων ἀνάστασιν μὴ ὁμολογοῦντες, ἀλλὰ πονηροῦ θεοῦ αὐτὰ δημιουργήματα ὑποτιθέμενοι καὶ ἀπώλειαν αὐτῶν προσδοκῶντες, πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ αὐτοὶ στερίσκονται, μεθ' οὗ ἐχειροτόνησαν ἑαυτοῖς θεοῦ περὶ τὴν γῆν ὡς ἀσεβεῖς κατακρινόμενοι. Ὁμοίως καὶ πάντες οἱ αἱρετικοὶ ὅσοι ἀθετοῦσι τὴν ἀνάληψιν τῆς ἡμετέρας σαρκὸς καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας ψυχῆς ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως, καὶ ὅσοι ἀθετοῦσι κολοβοῦντες τὴν θεότητα τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ σμικρύνοντες τὴν θεότητα τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, τούτων πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ αὐτοὶ στερίσκονται. 5.253 Μόνοι γὰρ οἱ ὁμολογοῦντες ἕνα Θεὸν ἐν τρισὶν ὑποστάσεσιν, ἄναρχον, ἀΐδιον, ἀπερίγραφον, ἀόρατον, ἀναφῆ, ἄφθαρτον, ἀθάνατον, ἀπαθῆ, ἀσώματον, ἀπεριόριστον, ἀκατάληπτον, ἀσύνθετον, ἀμερῆ, ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ὁρατῶν τε πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων, ἐν Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ καὶ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι γνωριζόμενόν τε καὶ προσκυνούμενον, καὶ ἐπ' ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως ἀνακτί σαι βουλόμενον ὅνπερ ἔκτισε κόσμον. 5.254 Λαβὼν πάλιν ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου Μαρίας ἐκ τοῦ ἡμετέρου φυράματος ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος, σὺν Πατρὶ καὶ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, ἄνευ σπορᾶς, ἀνακτίζει τὸν μικρὸν κόσμον, τὸν σύνδεσμον πάσης τῆς κτίσεως, τουτέστι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἑνοῖ ἑαυτῷ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀκαριαίας ῥοπῆς ἑνώσει ἐξαιρέτῳ καὶ ἀναφαιρέτῳ, ὡς μὴ προεπινοεῖσθαι τὴν λῆψιν τῆς ἑνώσεως, ἀλλ' ἅμα διάπλασις καὶ λῆψις καὶ ἕνωσις· συνεχώρησε παθεῖν καὶ ἀποκτανθῆναι, καὶ τελειώσας διὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀνήγαγε καὶ τῆς ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ καθέδρας ἐτίμησε καὶ κριτὴν αὐτὸν τοῦ παντὸς κατέστησεν. Ὁμοίως σὺν τούτῳ καὶ οἱ βιοῦντες καλῶς εἰσέρχονται εἰς τὸν νυμφῶνα ἅμα τῷ νυμφίῳ, μὴ κολοβοῦντες μήτε τὴν θεότητα μήτε τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα· οὗτοι συγχορεύουσι τῷ Χριστῷ καὶ συμβασιλεύουσιν αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ἀκούοντες παρ' αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ· "∆εῦτε, οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ Πατρός μου, κληρονομήσατε τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου." 5.255 Περὶ δὲ τῆς συντελείας τὴν ἡμέραν οὐδεὶς ἐπίσταται, εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ Θεός. Φασὶ δέ, εἰ μὴ συναρίθμιοι γένωνται οἱ ἄνθρωποι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις, οὐ συντελεῖται ὁ κόσμος· λέγει γὰρ ὁ Μωϋσῆς· "Ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων Θεοῦ", ὡσανεί· Τὸν ὅρον τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐν τούτῳ ἔστησεν, ἐν τῷ συναριθμίους γενέσθαι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις. Ἀμέλει καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος λέγει· "Ὅταν δὲ τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰσέλθῃ, τότε καὶ πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται", σαφῶς περὶ