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to her when she has fallen, it has been fittingly said that all the nations will be gathered against her. Jerusalem is trodden down like a stone when the sun of righteousness, having risen, makes a renowned, spiritual day, which has already been mentioned many times. 4.198 Zach. XII, 4: In that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness; but upon the house of Judah I will open my eyes; and all the horses of the peoples I will strike with blindness. 4.199 In the prophecies of the prophet, clarification has been made in many ways concerning horses and their riders; wherefore most of them must now be passed over in silence, mentioning only for the present need what has been so considered. Deceitful men composed of contentious words are "false horses for salvation," having as riders and drivers the deceiving spirits and the demons speaking lies in hypocrisy whose teaching they advocate, bringing forth the "wisdom of this age and of its rulers." 4.200 The horses that are so disposed God strikes on a day which he himself makes, according to what was said in the manner of a blessing to the one being illumined: "The Lord will be to you an everlasting light." But God strikes the blameworthy horses not so that they should in no way exist at all, but so that they may not understand what they are saying and affirming, their wisdom being destroyed and their understanding being set aside; when this has happened, the rider of each such horse will be driven to madness. 4.201 When this dispensation has been worked out, God will open his eyes upon the house of Judah, which is the "Church of the living God," in which rules the Savior who has risen from the tribe of Judah, to whom the divinely wise say: "Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hands will be on the back of your enemies, and the sons of your father will bow down to you." 4.202 Upon the house of this Judah he opens the eyes, his overseeing and watchful powers, the benefactor, so that each of those who partake of the illumination and of grace says in the manner of a prayer: "Look upon me and have mercy on me." And all the righteous enjoy the gift, of the universal king "having his eyes upon them and his ears to their prayer." 4.203 In addition to the aforementioned horse being struck with panic and its rider with madness, also all the horses of the peoples are struck by the provident one of all with blindness. These are they who are driven mad by adulterous and fornicating frenzy, concerning whom the prophecy says: "They have become horses mad for females, each one neighs after his neighbor's wife." For a good purpose are struck with blindness the neighing animals, so that they may no longer have sharp sight for lust. 4.204 For this deprivation of the eyes of the soul will be succeeded by a recovery of sight to self-control, so as to see correctly henceforth what one must do and what is fitting to perform. For instance, Elymas the magician, who saw wickedly, was blinded for a time, having lost his sorcerer's vision, so that later, recovering his sight, he might behold "the sun of righteousness." For it is not added in vain that for a time he would not see the sun, which was to be seen then when blindness is succeeded by sight that sees the light. 4.205 Zach. XII, 5: And the chiliarchs of Judah will say in their hearts: We will find for ourselves the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord Almighty their God. 4.206 Of the praiseworthy Judah, to whom it was said: "Judah, your brothers will praise you," the universal king who has taken up the dominion of all things, his chiliarchs happen to be those who serve under him, having been shown to be "eyewitnesses from the beginning and servants of the word," that is, the apostles of Christ. 4.207 It must be considered whether also all the Spirit-bearing men, both prophets and as many others as are subject to Judah, teachers, evangelists, the chiliarchs so designated, seek to find

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πεσούσῃ, εἰκότως εἴρηται συναχθήσεσθαι ἐπ' αὐτὴν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. Καταπατεῖται ὡς λίθος ἡ Ἰερουσαλὴμ ὅτε ἀνατείλας ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιος ἀοίδιμον κατασκευάζει ἡμέραν νοητήν, ἣ πολλάκις ἤδη ἐμνημονεύθη. 4.198 Zach. XII, 4: Ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ, πατάξω πάντα ἵππον ἐν ἐκστάσει καὶ τὸν ἀναβάτην αὐτοῦ ἐν παραφρονήσει· ἐπὶ δὲ τὸν οἶκον Ἰούδα διανοίξω τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου· καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἵππους τῶν λαῶν πατάξω ἐν ἀποτυφλώσει. 4.199 Ἐν τοῖς προγνωσθεῖσιν τοῦ προφήτου, περὶ ἵππων καὶ τῶν ἐπιβατῶν αὐτῶν πολυτρόπως σαφήνεια γέγονεν· ὅθεν τὰ πλεῖστα αὐτῶν νῦν ἡσυχαστέον, μόνου μνημονεύοντες εἰς τὴν παροῦσαν χρείαν τοῦ οὕτω τεθεωρημένου. Οἱ ἀπατεῶνες ἄνθρωποι συνιστάμενοι ἐριστικοῖς λόγοις «ψευδεῖς ἵπποι εἰς σωτηρίαν» ὑπάρχουσιν, ἀναβάτας καὶ ἐπιβάτας ἔχοντες τὰ πλάνα πνεύματα καὶ τοὺς ἐν ὑποκρίσει ψευδολόγους δαίμονας ὧν πρεσβεύουσι τὴν διδασκαλίαν, προφερόμενοι «σοφίαν τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτοῦ». 4.200 Τοὺς οὕτως ἔχοντας ἵππους πατάσσει Θεὸς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ αὐτὸς ποιεῖ, κατὰ τὸ λεχθὲν εὐλογίας τρόπῳ πρὸς τὸν καταυγαζόμενον· «Ἔσται σοι Κύριος φῶς αἰώνιον.» Πατάττει δὲ ὁ Θεὸς τοὺς ψεκτοὺς ἵππους οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ μηδαμῇ μηδαμῶς ὑπάρχειν, ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ νοῶσιν περὶ ὧν λέγουσι καὶ διαβεβαιοῦνται, ἀπολλυμένης τῆς σοφίας αὐτῶν καὶ τῆς συνέσεως αὐτῶν ἀθετουμένης· οὗ συμβάντος, ὁ ἐπιβάτης ἑκάστου τοιούτου ἵππου παραφρονήσει. 4.201 Ταύτης τῆς οἰκονομίας ἀπεργασθείσης, διανοίξει ὁ Θεὸς τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἑαυτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰούδα, ὄντα «Ἐκκλησίαν Θεοῦ ζῶντος», βασιλεύοντος αὐτῇ τοῦ ἀνατείλαντος Σωτῆρος ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Ἰούδα, πρὸς ὃν οἱ θεόσοφοί φασιν· «Ἰούδα, σὲ αἰνέσαισαν οἱ ἀδελφοί σου· αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐπὶ νώτου τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου, καὶ προσκυνήσουσίν σοι οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρός σου.» 4.202 Ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον τούτου τοῦ Ἰούδα διανοίγει τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, τὰς ἐφόρους καὶ ἐποπτικὰς δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ, ὁ εὐεργέτης, ὡς ἕκαστον τῶν ἀντιλαμβανομένων τοῦ φωτισμοῦ καὶ τῆς χάριτος λέγειν εὐχῆς τρόπῳ· «Ἐπίβλεψον ἐπ' ἐμὲ καὶ ἐλέησόν με.» Ἀπολαύουσι δὲ τῆς δωρεᾶς οἱ δίκαιοι πάντες, τοῦ παμβασιλέως «τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ ἔχοντος ἐπ' αὐτοὺς καὶ τὰ ὦτα εἰς τὴν δέησιν αὐτῶν». 4.203 Πρὸς τῷ πατάττεσθαι ἐν ἐκστάσει τὸν ἀποδοθέντα ἵππον καὶ ἐν παραφρονήσει τὸν ἐπιβάτην αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἵπποι τῶν λαῶν πατάττονται ὑπὸ τοῦ προνοητοῦ τῶν ὅλων ἐν ἀποτυφλώσει. Οὗτοι δ' εἰσὶν οἱ μοιχικῶς καὶ πορνικῶς οἰστρηλατούμενοι, περὶ ὧν ἡ προφητεία φησίν· «Ἵπποι θηλυμανεῖς ἐγενήθησαν, ἕκαστος ἐπὶ τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ χρεμετίζουσιν.» Πρὸς ἀγαθοῦ πατάττεται ἐν ἀποτυφλώσει τὰ χρεμετιστικὰ ζῷα, ἵνα μὴ ὀξυωπῶσιν ἔτι πρὸς τὴν λαγνείαν. 4.204 ∆ιαδέξεται γὰρ ταύτην τὴν στέρησιν τῶν ὀμμάτων τῆς ψυχῆς ἀνάβλεψις σωφροσύνης, ὡς ὀρθῶς λοιπὸν ὁρᾶν ἃ δεῖ ποιεῖν καὶ ἃ προσήκει ἐργάζεσθαι. Αὐτίκα γοῦν ὁ πονηρῶς ὁρῶν μάγος ὁ Ἐλύμας μέχρι καιροῦ ἐξετυφλώθη, ἀποβαλὼν τὴν τῆς γοητείας ὄψιν, ἵν' ὕστερον ἀναβλέψας «τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιον» θεάσηται. Οὐ γὰρ μάτην πρόσκειται τὸ μέχρι καιροῦ μὴ ὁρᾶσθαι τὸν ἥλιον ὀφθησόμενον τὸ τηνικάδε ὅταν διαδέξηται τὴν τυφλότητα ὅρασις ὁρῶσα τὸ φῶς. 4.205 Zach. XII, 5: Καὶ ἐροῦσιν οἱ χιλίαρχοι Ἰούδα ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν· Εὑρήσομεν ἑαυτοῖς τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐν Κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι Θεῷ αὐτῶν. 4.206 Τοῦ αἰνετοῦ Ἰούδα πρὸς ὃν εἴρηται· «Ἰούδα, σὲ αἰνέσαισαν οἱ ἀδελφοί σου», παμβασιλέως καὶ πάντων τὸ κράτος ἀνημμένου, χιλίαρχοι αὐτοῦ τυγχάνουσιν οἱ ὑπ' αὐτῷ στρατευόμενοι, «οἱ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς αὐτόπται καὶ ὑπηρέται τοῦ λόγου» ἀναδειχθέντες, οἱ ἀπόστολοι Χριστοῦ δηλονότι. 4.207 Ἐπιστατέον εἰ καὶ πάντες οἱ πνευματόφοροι ἄνδρες, προφῆταί τε καὶ ὅσοι ἄλλοι ὑποτάττονται τῷ Ἰούδᾳ, διδάσκαλοι, εὐαγγελισταί, οἱ οὕτως ἀποδοθέντες χιλίαρχοι ζητοῦσιν ἐπὶ τῷ εὑρεῖν