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with greater honors, and others with lesser ones, since star differs from star in glory. And since there are many mansions with the Father, some he will place in pre-eminent and higher states, and others he will give rest in lesser ones. All, however, will have their rest with honor. 11.249 And it will be in that day, the Lord will again show his hand. The hand of the Lord was shown in different ways in each generation, through those who were able to receive the power of the miracles. For previously he showed wonders in Egypt, then in the desert; then in the times of Jesus, son of Nun, then in the time of the Judges, and the Prophets who ministered great things. But now the hand of the Lord is said to be shown at the advent of our Savior, healing every disease and every infirmity among the people, and doing the things proclaimed in the Gospel. For the Lord showed this power again, since the previous things did not seem sufficient to bring the disobedient people to the knowledge of God. To make the remaining remnant of the people zealous. For this reason he will show his hand again, to bring to zeal the remnant of the people, which he says is a remnant saved from the enemies. And he enumerates the multitude of the warriors, Assyria and Egypt, and Babylonia, Ethiopians and Elamites and those from the rising of the sun, and Arabs. The history is full; concerning the Ethiopians it says that Zerah the Ethiopian came out with a host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots. And Asa went out to meet him and cried to the Lord and said: Lord, it is nothing with thee to save with many or with few. Strengthen us, O Lord our God, for we trust in thee and in thy name we have come against this great multitude. O Lord our God, let not man prevail against thee. And the Assyrians were those who took them captive, and the Egyptians those who enslaved them from the beginning, and Nebuchadnezzar from Babylonia. And the Elamites are the race of the Parthians, which, with those from Mesopotamia of Syria, often attacked Israel. And the Arabs, a hostile nation, warring against Israel all the time. With all these warring against the noble seed, some are defeated, and others overcome; And because they overcome and are trained in many labors, they receive as a prize, as it were, the addition of seeing the hand of God that is shown. Therefore they will be objects of zeal after their brave deeds and their labors. 11.250 And he will raise (he says) a sign for the nations and will gather the lost of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The root of Jesse, therefore, He who rose to rule the nations, he will raise a sign for the nations, that the lost of Israel might be gathered. For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. And this is the sign, which he raised for the nations, which is spoken of in the Gospels: They will see the sign of the Son of man, which you will say is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to the Saints, and they to the world; in which he also speaks of the power of the sign. Why was the economy of the incarnation accomplished through a cross? So that those who are saved might be gathered from the four corners of the earth. For the parts of the cross are divided in four, so that each one inclines towards the four parts of the world. Therefore, whether it was so that all the parts might be administered for salvation through the parts of the cross, for this reason the death by the cross was preferred; or that, before the wooden cross, an intelligible one was crucified with the whole world, the four parts of the universe being joined together in the middle, and the power in the middle extending to the four parts. When this sign is raised, therefore, the lost of Israel will be gathered, and the dispersed of Judah will be gathered from the four corners of the earth. When this sign is raised (having a destructive power

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μείζοσι τιμαῖς, τοὺς δὲ ὑποδεεστέραις, ἐπειδὴ ἀστὴρ ἀστέρος διαφέρει ἐν δόξῃ. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ πολλαὶ μοναὶ παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ, τοὺς μὲν ἐν ὑπερεχούσαις καὶ ὑψηλοτέραις καταστάσεσι, τοὺς δὲ ἐν ὑποδεεστέραις ἀναπαύσει. Πάντες μέντοι διὰ τιμῆς τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν ἕξουσιν. 11.249 Καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, προσθήσει Κύριος τοῦ δεῖξαι τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ. Χεὶρ Κυρίου διαφόρως ἐδείχθη καθ' ἑκάστην γενεὰν, διὰ τῶν δυναμένων χωρῆσαι τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῶν θαυμασίων. Πρότερον μὲν γὰρ τὰ τεράστια ἔδειξεν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, εἶτα ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· εἶτα κατὰ τοὺς τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ χρό νους, εἶτα κατὰ τοὺς Κριτὰς, καὶ τὰ μεγάλα διακονησα μένους Προφήτας. Νῦν δὲ χεὶρ Κυρίου δείκνυσθαι λέγεται κατὰ τὴν ἐπιδημίαν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν θεραπεύοντος ἐν τῷ λαῷ, καὶ ποιοῦντος τὰ ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ κεκηρυγμένα. Ταύτην γὰρ τὴν δύναμιν προσέθηκεν ὁ Κύριος δεῖξαι, ἐπειδὴ τὰ προλαβόντα οὐκ ἐφάνη αὐτάρκη πρὸς τὸ ἐναγαγεῖν εἰς τὴν θεογνωσίαν τὸν ἀπει θοῦντα λαόν. Τοῦ ζηλῶσαι τὸ καταλειφθὲν ὑπόλοιπον τοῦ λαοῦ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο προσθήσει τὴν χεῖρα δεῖξαι, ἵνα εἰς ζῆλον ἀγάγῃ τὸ ὑπόλοιπον τοῦ λαοῦ, ὅπερ λείψανον λέγει εἶναι ἀπὸ τῶν πο λεμίων περισωθέν. Καὶ ἀπαριθμεῖται τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πολεμη σάντων, Ἀσσυρίαν καὶ Αἴγυπτον, καὶ Βαβυλωνίαν, Αἰθίοπας καὶ Ἐλαμίτας καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν, καὶ Ἄραβας. Πλήρης ἡ ἱστορία· περὶ μὲν Αἰθιόπων λέγουσα, ὅτι Ἐξῆλθε Ζαραὶ, ὁ Αἰθίοψ, ἐν δυνάμει καὶ χιλίαις χιλιάσι καὶ ἅρμασι τριακοσίοις. Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν Ἀσὰ εἰς συνάντησιν καὶ ἐβόησε πρὸς Κύριον καὶ εἶπε· Κύριε, οὐκ ἀδυνατεῖ παρὰ σοὶ σώζειν ἐν πολλοῖς καὶ ἐν ὀλίγοις. Κατίσχυσον ἡμᾶς, Κύριε, ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ὅτι ἐπὶ σοὶ πεποίθαμεν καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί σου ἤλθομεν ἐπὶ τὸ πλῆθος τὸ πολὺ τοῦτο. Κύριε, ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, μὴ κα τισχυσάτω πρὸς σὲ ἄνθρωπος. Ἀσσύριοι δὲ ἦσαν οἱ αἰχμα λωτεύσαντες, καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι οἱ ἐξ ἀρχῆς καταδουλωσάμενοι, καὶ Ναβουχοδονόσορ ἀπὸ τῆς Βαβυλωνίας. Ἐλαμῖται δέ εἰσι τὸ γένος τῶν Παρθυναίων, ὃ, μετὰ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Μεσο ποταμίας Συρίας, πολλάκις ἐπέθετο τῷ Ἰσραήλ. Ἄραβες δὲ, ἔθνος πολέμιον, πάντα τὸν χρόνον ἐκπολεμώμενον τῷ Ἰσραήλ. Πάντων οὖν τούτων πολεμούντων τῷ εὐγενεῖ σπέρματι, οἱ μὲν ἡττῶνται, οἱ δὲ περιγίνονται· Καὶ διὰ τὸ περιγενέσθαι καὶ ἐν πολλοῖς πόνοις γεγυμνάσθαι, οἷόν τι ἆθλον λαμβάνουσι τὴν προσθήκην θεωρῆσαι τῆς δεικνυμένης χειρὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ. ∆ιὸ καὶ ζηλωτοὶ ἔσονται μετὰ τὰς ἀριστείας καὶ τοὺς πό νους. 11.250 Καὶ ἀρεῖ (φησὶ) σημεῖον εἰς τὰ ἔθνη καὶ συνάξει τοὺς ἀπολομένους Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ τοὺς διεσπαρμένους τοῦ Ἰούδα συνάξει ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων πτερύγων τῆς γῆς. Ἡ οὖν ῥίζα τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ, ὁ Ἀναστὰς ἐπὶ τῷ ἄρχειν τῶν ἐθνῶν, οὗτος ἀρεῖ σημεῖον εἰς τὰ ἔθνη, ἵνα συναχθῶσιν οἱ ἀπολλύμενοι τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Ἦλθε γὰρ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ζητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός. Τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ σημεῖον, ὃ ἦρεν εἰς τὰ ἔθνη, τὸ ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις λεγόμενον· Ὄψονται τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ὅπερ φήσεις εἶναι τὸν Σταυρὸν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ τοῖς Ἁγίοις ὁ κόσμος ἐσταύρωται, καὶ αὐτοὶ τῷ κόσμῳ· ἐν ᾧ καὶ λέγει τοῦ σημείου τὴν δύναμιν. ∆ιὰ τί διὰ σταυροῦ ἡ οἰκονομία τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως ἐτε λέσθη; Ἵνα ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων πτερύγων τῆς γῆς συναχθῶσιν οἱ σωζόμενοι. Τετραχῆ γὰρ διαιρεῖται τοῦ σταυροῦ τὰ μέρη, ὥστε ἕκαστον ἀπονεύειν πρὸς τὰ τέσσαρα μέρη τοῦ κόσμου. Εἴτε οὖν ἵνα πάντα τὰ μέρη διὰ τῶν μερῶν τοῦ σταυροῦ οἰκονομηθῇ πρὸς σωτηρίαν, διὰ τοῦτο προετιμήθη ὁ διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ θάνατος· ἢ ὅτι, πρὸ τοῦ ξυλίνου σταυροῦ νοητός τις τῷ κόσμῳ παντὶ συνεσταύρωται, τῶν τεσσάρων μερῶν τοῦ παντὸς εἰς τὸ μέσον συναπτομένων, καὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ μέσῳ δυνάμεως πρὸς τὰ τέσσαρα μέρη περατουμένης. Ἀρθέντος οὖν τοῦ σημείου τούτου, συναχθήσονται οἱ ἀπολόμενοι τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ οἱ διεσκορπισμένοι τοῦ Ἰούδα συναχθήσονται ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων πτερύγων τῆς γῆς. Τούτου ἀρθέντος τοῦ σημείου (ἔχοντος δύναμιν καθαιρετικὴν