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their teaching was revealed, with only the apostolic Church bearing perfect, sweet, and edible fruits, because it has perfect irrigation from both rains. This theory is also suggested by the prophecy of Hosea, which goes thus: «Let us press on to know the Lord; we will find him ready as the dawn, and he will come to us as the early and the latter rain to the earth.» 3.251 According to another interpretation, the early rain is to be taken as the word concerning the incarnation of the Savior, and the latter as the word concerning His divinity. Those who have enjoyed both irrigations say: «The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.» This meaning is also held by what was written by Paul to the Corinthians: «Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer.» For the former interpretation concerning the two testaments, one should use this: «Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness.» 3.252 And a third interpretation might be stated: let what is «known in part and prophesied in part» in this age be taken as the early rain, with the latter being that which will be seen «face to face» in the age to come. And let these things also be said zealously: let the corrective discipline of morals and the appropriate virtue, being practical, be the early irrigation, with the latter being the word concerning the knowledge of the mysteries of God. 3.253 And this twofold rain will exist, with God providing it, when we proceed to know the Lord through prayers and study of the divinely inspired scriptures and the exercise belonging to unsurpassable contemplation; for when these things have been accomplished beforehand, the sought-after Lord will be found «ready as the dawn», becoming early and latter rain to the earth which has received the seed of Jesus. For thus it will bear fruit in the things declared next: resurrection, life, perfect knowledge, as the very saying makes plain, brought forth thus: «For, he says, he will come to us as the early and latter rain to the earth. And we will rise and we will live and we will stand before him and we will know.» 3.254 He who has sought the Lord, being filled with these divinely inspired goods, will abstain from the utterances of false prophets as from evil things, who are dreaming rather than seeing anything in a waking state. Such are those who have established heresies in Christianity, «understanding neither what they say nor the things about which they make confident assertions», «paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, in the hypocrisy of liars, seared in their own conscience». 3.255 Those who have cast off watching and being sober are possessed by false dreams, being overcome by lethargy, since they indeed sleep and are drunk at night; for concerning those who dream and always desire to be drowsy, it is written: «Those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night», being deprived of the true light. Therefore, even if they ever promise comfort, they give vain exhortations; for from their supposed mantic proclamation there will not be nourishing pasture and herbage. Therefore they are dried up like sheep having no pasture, about which the holy one said: «The Lord shepherds me, and I shall not want for anything; in a place of green pasture, there he has made me dwell.» And this rich pasture is found by the one entering and going out through the door, which is none other than the Savior who says: «I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will come in and go out and find pasture.» 3.256 Being deprived of this, those who pay attention to dreams and false prophets will be dried up like livestock having no fodder, so that there is no longer any healing in them, being severely afflicted, as the wrath of God is provoked against the worthless shepherds

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ἡ διδασκαλία αὐτῶν ὤφθησαν, μόνης τῆς ἀποστολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας καρποὺς τελείους γλυκεῖς τε καὶ ἐδωδίμους φερούσης διὰ τὸ ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ὑετῶν τέλειον ἔχειν ποτισμόν. Ταύτην τὴν θεωρίαν ὑποβάλλει καὶ ἡ τοῦ Ὠσῆε προφητεία ὧδε ἔχουσα· «∆ιώξωμεν τοῦ γνῶναι τὸν Κύριον, ὡς ὄρθρον ἕτοιμον εὑρήσομεν αὐτόν, καὶ ἥξει ἡμῖν ὡς ὑετὸς πρόϊμος καὶ ὄψιμος γῇ.» 3.251 Ἐκλημπτέον κατὰ νόησιν ἄλλην πρόϊμον ὑετὸν εἶναι τὸν περὶ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τοῦ Σωτῆρος λόγον, ὄψιμον δε`̣ τὸν̣ περὶ τῆς θεολογίας αὐτοῦ. Ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ποτισμῶν οἱ ἀπολαύσαντές φασιν· «Ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ Πατρός, πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας.» Ταύτην ἔχει τὴν νόησιν καὶ τὸ Κορινθίοις υ῾̣πὸ Παύλου γραφέν· «Εἰ καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν κατὰ σάρκα Χριστόν, ἀλλὰ νῦν οὐκέτι γινώσκομεν.» Πρὸς τὴν προτέραν ἀπόδοσιν τὴν περὶ τῶν δύο διαθηκῶν συγχρηστέον τῷ· «Παῦλος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος, ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον Θεοῦ, ὁ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ τοῦ γεναμένου ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα, τοῦ ὁρισθέντος Υἱοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει κατὰ Πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης.» 3.252 Ῥηθείη καὶ νόησις τρίτη· τὰ ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ «ἐκ μέρους γινωσκόμενα καὶ προφητευόμενα» ὑετὸς πρόϊμος ἐκλαμβανέσθω, ὀψίμου τυγχάνοντος τοῦ «πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον» ὀφθησομένου ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι. Φιλοτίμως δὲ καὶ τάδε λελέχθω· ἡ ἠθῶν ἐπανορθωτικὴ παίδευσις καὶ ἡ κατάλληλος ἀρετὴ πρακτικὴ οὖσα πρόϊμος ἔστω ποτισμός, ὀψίμου ὄντος τοῦ περὶ τῆς γνώσεως τῶν μυστηρίων Θεοῦ λόγου. 3.253 Ὑπάρξεται δὲ ὁ διττὸς οὗτος ὑετός, Θεοῦ αὐτὸν παρέχοντος, ὅταν πορευθῶμεν τοῦ γνῶναι τὸν Κύριον δι' ἐντεύξεων καὶ ἐρεύνης τῶν θεοπνεύστων γραφῶν καὶ τῆς ἀνηκούσης πρὸς ἀνυπέρβλητον θεωρίαν γυμνασίας· τούτων γὰρ προανυσθέντων, «ὡς ὄρθρος ἕτοιμος» εὑρεθήσεται ὁ ζητούμενος Κύριος, γινόμενος ὑετὸς πρόϊμος καὶ ὄψιμος τῇ γῇ τῇ δεξαμένῃ τὸν Ἰησοῦ σπόρον. Οὕτω γὰρ καρποφορήσει τὰ ἑξῆς δηλούμ̣ενα, ἀνάστασιν, ζωήν, γνῶσιν τελείαν, ὡς αὐτὸ τὸ λεχθὲν φανεροῖ προενεχθὲν ὥδε· «Ἥξει γάρ, φησίν, ἡμῖν ὡς ὑετὸς πρόϊμος καὶ ὄψιμος γῇ. Καὶ ἀναστησόμεθα καὶ ζησόμεθα καὶ στησόμεθα ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ καὶ γνωσόμεθα.» 3.254 Τούτων τῶν θεοπνεύστων ἀγαθῶν πληρωθεὶς ὁ ζητήσας τὸν Κύριον ὡς μοχθηρῶν ἀφέξεται τῶν ἀποφθεγγομένων ψευδομάντεων ἐνυπνιαζομένων μᾶλλον ἢ ὕπαρ τι θεωρούντων. Τυγχάνουσι δὲ τοιοῦτοι οἱ τὰς αἱρέσεις πηξάμενοι ἐν χριστιανισμῷ «μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε ἃ λέγουσιν μηδὲ περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται», «προσέχοντες πνεύμασιν πλάνοις καὶ διδασκαλίαις δαιμονίων, ἐν̣ ὑποκρίσει ψευδολόγων, κεκαυτηριασμένων τὴν ἰδίαν συνείδησιν». 3.255 Ἐνέχονται τοῖς ψευδέσιν ἐνυπνίοις οἱ τὸ γρηγορεῖν καὶ νήφειν ἀποβαλόντες, κάρῳ καταφερόμενοι ἅτε δὴ νυκτὸς καθεύδοντες καὶ μεθύοντες· περὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐνυπνιαζομένων καὶ νυστάζειν ἀεὶ ποθούντων γράφεται τό· «Οἱ καθεύδοντες νυκτὸς καθεύδουσιν καὶ νυκτὸς μεθύουσιν», στερόμενοι τοῦ φωτὸς τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ. ∆ιὸ κἄν ποτε παραμυθίαν ἐπαγγέλλωνται, μα´̣ταια παρακαλοῦσιν· οὐ γὰρ ἐκ τῆς δοκούσης αὐτῶν μαντικῆς προαναφωνήσεως ἔσται τρέφουσα νομὴ καὶ βοτάνη. ∆ιὸ ξηραίνονται οἷα πρόβατα νομὴν οὐκ ἔχοντα, περὶ ἧς εἶπεν ὁ ἅγιος· «Κύριος ποιμαίνει με, καὶ οὐδέν με οὐ μὴ ὑστερήσει· εἰς τόπον χλόης, ἐκεῖ με κατεσκήνωσεν.» Εὑρίσκεται δὲ αὕτη ἡ εὔχορτος νομὴ τῷ εἰσερχομένῳ καὶ ἐξερχομένῳ τὴν θύραν οὐκ ἄλλην οὖσαν τοῦ φάσκοντος Σωτῆρος· «Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα. ∆ι' ἐμοῦ ἐάν τις εἰσέλθῃ, εἰσελεύσεται καὶ ἐξελεύσεται καὶ νομὴν εὑρήσει.» 3.256 Ταύτης στερόμενοι, οἱ ἐνυπνίοις καὶ μάντεσιν ψευδέσιν προσέχοντες ξηρανθήσονται δίκην θρεμμάτων βοσκήματα οὐκ ἐχόντων, ὡς μηκέτι ἴασιν εἶναι ἐν αὐτοῖς κακωθεῖσιν σφόδρα, παροξυνομένου τοῦ θυμοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ κατὰ τῶν φαύλων νομέων