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On the second coming of the Lord

On the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and on, "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and each one for

himself will give an account to God."

59.619 1. I thought I had said some great and extraordinary things to you on the previous day; and indeed they were by nature great, and surpassing all description; but yet the things said today have as great a superiority over those, as those had over our own affairs. And yet I did not think they had a superiority; but yet when the things read today came up, they appeared much more glorious than those. And what are the things that were read today? That we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ; for it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. Therefore each one of us shall give an account of himself 59.620.40 to God. See, He did not simply say, Each shall worship, but also Each shall confess, that is, he will give an account of his deeds. Be therefore, O man, ever in agony, seeing the common Master seated on the judgment seat, and do not rend and divide the Church, being torn away from grace; for Christ will demand an account from you and from all human nature. And so that he might not seem to say these things intentionally to frighten us, from the preceding sequence he again takes up the 59.621 same subject, saying: Let us therefore no longer judge one another, but judge this rather, that no one put a stumbling block or a cause of offense in his brother's way. This, however, is not more for that one, than for this one. Therefore it can be applied to both, both to the perfect man who is scandalized by the observance of foods, and to the imperfect one who stumbles at the severe rebuke. But consider, beloved, what a great punishment we who simply cause scandal will pay. For if where what was done was unlawful, because of rebuking unseasonably, he forbade this to be done, so that the brother might not be scandalized and stumble, when we scandalize someone even without correcting them, what are we worthy of? For if not to save is a crime (and he who buried the talent shows this), what does causing scandal not work? What then, if, he says, being weak, he is scandalized from within? For this very reason, therefore, it would be just to endure all things. For if he were strong, he would not need so much care; but now, since he is more imperfect, for this reason he requires much diligence. Let us therefore provide this for him, and support him from all sides. For we shall give an account not only for our own evils, but also for those by which we scandalize others. And if those accounts are difficult even in themselves, when the scandals are also added, when shall we be saved? For let us not think that if we find partners in our sins, we shall have an excuse; this will be for us an addition of punishment; since the serpent was punished more than the woman; just as indeed the woman was more than the man, and Jezebel paid a harsher penalty than Ahab who seized the vineyard.

And you, therefore, when you become the cause of destruction for others, will suffer more harshly than those who were tripped up by you. For sinning does not so destroy as leading others into it; wherefore he says, Not only do they do it, but they also approve of those who practice it. So when we see some sinning, let us not only not push them, but also pull them up from the pit of wickedness, so that we ourselves may not suffer the penalty for the destruction of others. But let us return to the subject at hand. For we shall all, he says, stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and we will give an account to

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In secundum domini adventum

Εἰς τὴν δευτέραν παρουσίαν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ εἰς τὸ, "Πάντες παραστησόμεθα τῷ βήματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἕκαστος ὑπὲρ

ἑαυτοῦ λόγον δώσει τῷ Θεῷ."

59.619 αʹ. Ἐνόμιζον μεγάλα τινὰ καὶ ὑπερφυῆ τῇ προτέρα ἡμέρᾳ ὑμῖν εἰρηκέναι· καὶ γὰρ ἦν φύσει μεγάλα, καὶ πάντα ὑπερβαίνοντα λόγον· ἀλλ' ὅμως τὰ σήμερον λεχθέντα τοσαύτην ἔχει τὴν ὑπερβολὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνα, ὅσην ἐκεῖνα πρὸς τὰ ἡμέτερα. Καίτοι γε οὐκ ᾤμην αὐτὰ ἔχειν ὑπερβολήν· ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐπελθόντα τὰ σήμερον ἀναγνωσθέντα πολὺ πλέον ἐκείνων ἐφάνησαν λαμπρότερα. Τίνα δέ εἰσι τὰ σήμερον ἀναγνωσθέντα; Ὅτι Πάντες μὲν παραστησόμεθα τῷ βήματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ· γέγραπται γὰρ, Ζῶ ἐγὼ, λέγει Κύριος, ὅτι ἐμοὶ κάμψει πᾶν γόνυ, καὶ πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσεται τῷ Θεῷ. Ἄρα οὖν ἕκαστος ἡμῶν περὶ αὑτοῦ λόγον 59.620.40 δώσει τῷ Θεῷ. Βλέπε, οὐκ εἶπεν ἁπλῶς, Προσκυνήσει ἕκαστος, ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἐξομολογήσεται ἕκαστος, τουτέστιν, εὐθύνας δώσει τῶν πεπραγμένων. Ἔσο τοίνυν, ἄνθρωπε, ἐναγώνιος πάντοτε, τὸν κοινὸν ∆εσπότην ὁρῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος καθήμενον, καὶ μὴ σχίζε καὶ μέριζε τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, τῆς χάριτος ἀποῤῥηγνύμενος· καὶ γὰρ ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ σὲ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν ἀπαιτήσει λόγον. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ δόξῃ ὡς ἐπίτηδες φοβῶν ἡμᾶς ταῦτα λέγειν, ἐκ τῆς προκειμένης ἀκολουθίας πάλιν ἔχεται τῆς 59.621 αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως, λέγων· Μηκέτι οὖν ἀλλήλους κρίνωμεν, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο κρίνετε μᾶλλον, τὸ μὴ τιθέναι τινὰ πρόσκομμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ἢ σκάνδαλον. Τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἐκείνου μᾶλλόν ἐστιν, ἢ τούτου. ∆ιὸ ἀμφοτέροις ἁρμόζειν δύναται, καὶ τοῦ τελείου σκανδαλιζομένου τῇ τῶν βρωμάτων παρατηρήσει, καὶ τοῦ ἀτελοῦς προσκόπτοντος ἐπὶ τῇ σφοδρᾷ ἐπιπλήξει. Σὺ δέ μοι σκόπει, ἀγαπητὲ, πόσην δώσομεν τιμωρίαν οἱ σκανδαλίζοντες ἁπλῶς. Εἰ γὰρ ἔνθα παράνομον ἦν τὸ γινόμενον, διὰ τὸ ἀκαίρως ἐπιτιμᾷν, ἐκώλυσε τοῦτο γίνεσθαι, ὥστε μὴ σκανδαλισθῆναι καὶ προσκόψαι τὸν ἀδελφὸν, ὅταν μηδὲ διορθοῦντες σκανδαλίζωμέν τινα, τίνος ἐσμὲν ἄξιοι; Εἰ γὰρ τὸ μὴ σῶσαι, ἔγκλημα (καὶ δείκνυσιν ὁ τὸ τάλαντον κατορύξας), τὸ σκανδαλίσαι τί οὐκ ἐργάζεται; Τί οὖν, ἐὰν οἴκοθεν, φησὶ, σκανδαλίζηται ἀσθενὴς ὤν; ∆ι' αὐτὸ μὲν οὖν τοῦτο ἂν εἴη δίκαιον πάντα ὑπομένειν. Εἰ γὰρ ἰσχυρὸς ἦν, οὐδὲ τοσαύτης ἐπιμελείας αὐτῷ ἔδει· νυνὶ δὲ ἐπειδὴ ἀτελέστερός ἐστι, διὰ τοῦτο πολλῆς χρῄζει τῆς σπουδῆς. Παρέχωμεν τοίνυν αὐτῷ τοῦτο, καὶ πανταχόθεν αὐτὸν διαβαστάζωμεν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τῶν οἰκείων κακῶν ὑφέξομεν λόγον μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἑτέρους σκανδαλίζομεν. Εἰ δὲ ἐκεῖναι καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὰς χαλεπαὶ αἱ εὐθῦναι, ὅταν καὶ τὰ σκάνδαλα προστεθῶσι, πότε σωθησόμεθα; Μὴ γὰρ νομίσωμεν, εἰ κοινωνοὺς εὕροιμεν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, ὡς ἀπολογίαν ἕξομεν· τοῦτο ἡμῖν καὶ προσθήκη γενήσεται τιμωρίας· ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ ὄφις μᾶλλον ἐκολάσθη τῆς γυναικός· ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, καὶ Ἰεζάβελ δὲ χαλεπωτέραν ἔδωκε δίκην τοῦ Ἀχαὰβ ἁρπάσαντος τὸν ἀμπελῶνα.

Καὶ σὺ τοίνυν ὅταν αἴτιος ἑτέροις ἀπωλείας γενήσῃ, χαλεπώτερα πείσῃ τῶν ὑποσκελισθέντων παρὰ σοῦ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ οὕτω τὸ ἁμαρτεῖν, ὡς τὸ καὶ ἑτέρους εἰς τοῦτο ἐνάγειν ἀπόλλυσι· διό φησιν, Οὐ μόνον αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ συνευδοκοῦσι τοῖς πράσσουσιν. Ὥστε ὅταν ἴδωμέν τινας ἁμαρτάνοντας, μὴ μόνον μὴ ὠθῶμεν αὐτοὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνέλκωμεν ἐκ τοῦ βόθρου τῆς πονηρίας, ἵνα μὴ τῆς ἑτέρων ἀπωλείας αὐτοὶ τὴν δίκην ὑπόσχωμεν. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν προκειμένην ὑπόθεσιν ἐπανέλθωμεν. Πάντες γὰρ, φησὶ, παραστησόμεθα τῷ βήματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ λόγον δώσομεν τῷ