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God is also near to each of us, when good deeds bring about for us intimacy with him; and he becomes far away, when we ourselves, by drawing near to destruction, distance ourselves from him. This Nobleman, seeing the world ruled by sin and subject to the bitter tyranny of the enemy, taking pity on their anarchy, deigned to be their king. For he must reign until he has put his enemies under his feet. Since, therefore, he came into this earthly place (the country, which is far from God) so that he might receive the kingdom over the nations, according to what is said in the psalm: Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, those who were appointed under the ruler of this age (not only men, but also the powers that serve under him) did not accept his kingdom; but (when he had given the commandments and their working, and had not commanded these to lie idle among them, but sought their working) they sent a delegation after him, denying his kingdom. 13.265 Who then were the delegates, but those who brought about the death of the Savior? Those who thought to cut short his kingdom over the world by means of the cross, those who said to Pilate: ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews,” but that he said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’ But nevertheless the wickedness of those who tried to prevent it condemned them, but it did not hinder the divine plan. For having taken hold of the kingdom and having distributed to the servants according to the worth of each one's work, he commanded them to be called, that he might know what they had gained by trading. And to the first, who had gained ten minas, he gave authority over ten cities; and to the second, who had made five minas, he says: ‘Be over five cities.’ But the one who had tied it up unused in a handkerchief, he ordered it to be taken away. But when he had arranged matters concerning the Jews (For the time has come, he says, for judgment to begin at the house of God), then he also commanded the enemies, those who had denied his kingdom, to be brought into the midst and slaughtered. There are many, therefore, who in this life do not want Christ to reign over them. For those who are given over to fornication and those who are overcome by anger and those who have been enslaved by greed do not want the Lord to reign over them, and as far as their own choice is concerned, they refuse his kingdom. Concerning these Isaiah says, that They will be troubled. For when those who have lived in sins and despised the gospel way of the kingdom see the Lord in his second coming, they will obviously be troubled, and pangs will seize them like a woman in labor. The sharpness of the pain, piercing their heart and wounding it by the conscience of their sins, he represented through the birth pang. For the birth pang is a certain sharp pain in the most vital parts, which occurs in women giving birth at the time of delivery. And their face will change like a flame. It is characteristic of those who are distraught and have fallen into unexpected terror to change the color of their face, reddening on the surface and signifying the passion of the soul through the visible change. 13.266 For behold, the day of the Lord comes, incurable, with wrath and anger, to make the world desolate and to destroy the sinners from it. Above it said: ‘The day of the Lord is near’; but here: ‘The day of the Lord comes, to make the world desolate.’ The one who carefully observes what has been rendered will find that both passages of the prophecy do not speak about the same day; for the former is about the individual end of each person, which is near at hand; but the one in hand is about the universal one. For this one will make the world desolate, because it is added, that And the stars of heaven and Orion will not give light. Perhaps that day is called so in the proper sense, because of the unity of the state of affairs; for not

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Θεὸς καὶ ἐγγύς ἐστιν ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν, ὅταν αἱ ἀγαθαὶ πράξεις τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν οἰκείωσιν ἡμῖν προξενῶσι· καὶ μακρὰν γίνεται, ὅταν ἡμεῖς ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τὸ προσεγγί ζειν τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ μακρύνωμεν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ. Οὗτος ὁ Εὐγενὴς, θεασάμενος τὸν κόσμον ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας βασιλευόμενον καὶ τῇ πικρᾷ τυραννίδι τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ὑποκείμενον, ἐλεήσας τὴν ἀναρχίαν, κατεδέξατο αὐτῶν βασιλεῦσαι. ∆εῖ γὰρ αὐτὸν βασιλεύειν, ἄχρις οὗ ἂν θῇ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τοὺς πό δας αὐτοῦ. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἦλθεν εἰς τὸν περίγειον τόπον τοῦτον, (τὴν χώραν, τὴν μακρὰν οὖσαν τοῦ Θεοῦ) ὥστε λαβεῖν τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ ἔθνη βασιλείαν, κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ἐν ψαλμῷ· Αἴτησαι παρ' ἐμοῦ καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου, οἱ ὑπὸ τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου τεταγμένοι (οὐ μόνον ἄνθρω ποι, ἀλλὰ καὶ δυνάμεις αἱ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ στρατευόμεναι) οὐ κατ εδέξαντο αὐτοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν· ἀλλὰ (δόντος αὐτοῦ τὰς ἐν τολὰς καὶ τὴν ἐργασίαν αὐτῶν, καὶ μὴ ἀργὰς ταύτας κε λεύσαντος ἐπ' αὐτοῖς κατακεῖσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐργασίαν αὐτῶν ἐπιζητοῦντος) ἔπεμψαν πρέσβεις ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ, ἀρνούμενοι αὐτοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν. 13.265 Τίνες οὖν πρέσβεις, ἀλλ' ἢ οἱ τὸν θάνατον ἐνεργή σαντες τοῦ Σωτῆρος; Οἱ νομίσαντες διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ δια κόπτειν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸν κόσμον βασιλείαν, οἱ λέγοντες τῷ Πιλάτῳ· Μὴ γράφε, ὅτι «ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων» ἀλλ' ὅτι ἐκεῖνος εἶπε «βασιλεύς εἰμι τῶν Ἰουδαίων». Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἡ πονηρία τῶν κωλυόντων, αὐτοὺς μὲν κατέ κρινε, τῇ δὲ οἰκονομίᾳ οὐκ ἐνεπόδισε. Κρατήσας γὰρ τῆς βασιλείας καὶ διανείμας τοῖς δούλοις κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν τῆς ἑκάστου αὐτῶν ἐργασίας, ἐκέλευσεν αὐτοὺς φωνηθῆναι, ἵνα γνῷ τί ἐπραγματεύσαντο. Καὶ τῷ μὲν πρώτῳ, δέκα μνᾶς προσεργαμένῳ, ἔδωκεν ἐξουσίαν ἐπάνω δέκα πόλεων· τῷ δὲ δευτέρῳ, πέντε μνᾶς προσπορίσαντι, λέγει· Γίνου ἐπάνω πέντε πόλεων. Τὸν δὲ ἐν σουδαρίῳ ἄπρακτον αὐτὴν ἀποδή σαντα, ἀφαιρεθῆναι προσέταξεν. Ὅτε δὲ τὰ περὶ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους διετάξατο (Καιρὸς γὰρ, φησὶ, τοῦ ἄρξασθαι τὸ κρίμα ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ Θεοῦ) τότε καὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς, τοὺς ἀρνησαμένους αὐτοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν, ἐκέλευσεν ἀχθέντας εἰς τὸ μέσον κατασφαγῆναι. Πολλοὶ γοῦν εἰσιν, οἱ ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ μὴ θέλοντες βασιλεύειν ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν τὸν Χριστόν. Οἱ γὰρ ὑπὸ τὴν πορ νείαν τεταγμένοι καὶ οἱ ὑπὸ τοῦ θυμοῦ κατακρατούμενοι καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς πλεονεξίας δεδουλωμένοι, οὐ θέλουσιν ἐφ' ἑαυ τοὺς βασιλεύειν τὸν Κύριον, καὶ ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ ἑαυτῶν προ αιρέσει, παραιτοῦνται αὐτοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν. Περὶ τούτων ὁ Ἡσαΐας λέγει, ὅτι Ταραχθήσονται. Ἐπειδὰν γὰρ ἴδωσιν ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ ἐπιδημίᾳ τὸν Κύριον οἱ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ζήσαντες καὶ τὸν εὐαγγελικὸν τρόπον τῆς βασιλείας ἐξουδενώσαντες, Ταραχθήσονται δηλονότι, καὶ ὠδῖνες αὐτοὺς ἕξουσιν ὡς γυναικὸς τικτούσης. Τὸ ὀξὺ τῆς ἀλγηδόνος, νυσσούσης αὐτῶν τὴν καρδίαν καὶ κατατιτρωσκούσης ὑπὸ τοῦ συνειδότος τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, διὰ τῆς ὠδῖνος παρέστησε. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ ὠδὶς δριμεῖά τίς ἐστιν ἀλγηδὼν τοῖς καιριωτάτοις μέρεσιν, ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς κυνήσεως ταῖς τικτούσαις ἐγγινομένη. Καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν ὡς φλὸξ μεταβαλοῦσιν. Ἴδιον τῶν διατρε πομένων καὶ ἀπροσδοκήτῳ δεινῷ περιπεσόντων, τὸ μετα βαλεῖν τὸ χρῶμα τοῦ προσώπου, ἐρυθραινόμενοι κατὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν καὶ τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς πάθος διὰ τῆς ἐπιφαινομένης μεταβολῆς ἐπισημαίνοντες. 13.266 Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἡμέρα Κυρίου ἔρχεται ἀνίατος, θυμοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς, θεῖναι τὴν οἰκουμένην ἔρημον καὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἀπολέσαι ἐξ αὐτῆς. Ἄνω μὲν εἶπεν· Ἐγγὺς ἡ ἡμέρα Κυρίου· ἐνταῦθα δέ· Ἡμέρα Κυρίου ἔρχεται, θεῖναι τὴν οἰκουμένην ἔρημον. Ὁ ἀκριβῶς τηρῶν τὰ ἀποδεδομένα, εὑρήσει ὅτι οὐ περὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρας ἀμφότεραι αἱ τῆς προφητείας περικοπαὶ διηγοῦνται· ἡ μὲν γὰρ προτέρα περὶ τῆς ἰδίας ἑκάστου συντελείας, ἥτις ἐγγὺς πάρεστιν· ἡ δὲ ἐν χερσὶ, περὶ τῆς καθολικῆς. Θήσει γὰρ αὕτη τὴν οἰκουμένην ἔρημον, διὰ τὸ ἐπάγεσθαι, ὅτι Καὶ οἱ ἀστέρες τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὁ Ὠρίων οὐ δώσουσι φῶς. Τάχα δὲ ἡμέρα λέγεται κυρίως ἐκείνη, διὰ τὸ ἡνωμένον τῆς καταστάσεως· οὐ γὰρ