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the heavens and the earth, the world at that time perished, being overwhelmed by a flood, so, when the heavens and the earth are restored to their elements by fire, the impious and sinners 37 will be utterly destroyed; and this is the point of the similarity, that they are destroyed at the same time, just as those who were destroyed in the flood; "For as in the days of Noah," says the Lord, "they were eating, drinking, marrying, being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." And arguing further that it will be so, he says that the day of judgment will come unnoticed like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away swiftly and without delay, the elements being melted by the fire brought upon them; after which heavens have passed away with a rushing noise, there will be new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness and the promises of God have their dwelling. (Cr 98, 11-28 Ma 210)

38 Or he says this on account of the resurrection of Christ, inasmuch as through Thomas it was made known to all the apostles that he had raised this flesh, which they nailed to the cross. (Cr 107, 16-18 Ma 213) Each of the created things is said to be something, such as to be an angel, to be a sun or a heaven, but the Savior alone is absolutely Being; by participating in him all things come into existence. Having first received a hearing of this according to introductory teaching, one comes to see him with knowledge after much training, which is called a handling concerning the word of life that said, "I am the life." It may also be stated thus: concerning him who was in the beginning we have heard through the 39 law and the prophets, that he will come; this one, having come, we saw clearly with our eyes, not assenting by chance to the flesh that was seen; for after much handling on our part, searching the scriptures that testify about him, we believed in the word concerning life. (Cr 107, 1-13 Ma 213)

40 He says we have seen the life that was with the Father and was made manifest to us, having appropriately seen it and heard about it; testifying to this manifested life, we declare to you also those things by which it follows that you too may see it. (Cr 107, 29-32 Ma 213) He writes that a message was given by the Savior himself to the disciples, declaring that, since God is light, he has no darkness in him at all; this message we also bring to you, so that you may have the same opinion in yourselves about God as being light; for God is intelligible and eternal light; for nothing perceptible exists forever; to this light 41 must be understood in opposition the darkness that is ignorance and a most evil disposition; since, therefore, neither of the forms of darkness, neither ignorance nor evil, is in God, it is rightly said that there is no darkness in him at all. (Cr 109, 9-17 Ma 214) But if it is said somewhere, "darkness was his hiding place," darkness in these words means the obscurity in incomprehensibility; and it is possible for the obscurity to be our ignorance, but surely not God's, since he is light. (Cr 109, 17-19 Ma 214)

42 To know in scripture especially does not always mean to understand, but also to have had experience of something 43 and to have been united with it, as in the phrase: "him who knew no sin"; and this: "I never knew you, workers of lawlessness"; for he did not know sin, not in the sense of not understanding what sin is, but in not having committed it. (Cr 111, 15-18 Ma 216) The one who says, therefore, that he has known God, as a necessary consequence of being mingled with him and partaking of him, keeps his commandments; wherefore also he reverses it; both meanings of to know are made manifest 44 from what is set forth; for he says: "by this we know," that is, we understand, "that we have known him" by being united with him and keeping his commandments; for the one who does not keep them is manifestly outside the knowledge of God. (Cr 111, 20-27 Ma 216) Therefore, just as our Lord Jesus, not knowing sin, nor the workers of lawlessness, is not deprived

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οὐρανῶν καὶ τῆς γῆς ἀπώλετο κατακλυσθεὶς ὁ τότε κόσμος, οὕτως ἀναστοιχειουμένων εἰς πῦρ τῶν οὐρανῶν καὶ τῆς γῆς οἱ ἀσεβεῖς καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὶ 37 ἄρδην ἀπολοῦνται· καὶ τουτέστι τὸ τῆς ὁμοιότητος τὸ ἅμα αὐτοὺς ἀπόλλυσθαι ὡσαύτως τοῖς ἐν τῷ κατακλυσμῷ ἀπολωλόσιν· "ὡς γὰρ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Νῶε", φησὶν ὁ κύριος, "ἤσθιον, ἔπινον, ἐγάμουν, ἐγαμίζοντο, ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας εἰσῆλθεν Νῶε εἰς τὴν κιβωτὸν καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς καὶ ἦρεν ἅπαντας, κατὰ ταῦτα ἔσται ἡ παρουσία τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου." Ἐπὶ πλεῖον δὲ συναγορεύων, ὅτι οὕτως ἔσται, φησὶν ἐλεύσεσθαι τὴν τῆς κρίσεως ἡμέραν λανθάνουσαν οἷα κλέπτης, ἐν ᾗ ὀξέως καὶ ἀνυπερθέτως οἱ οὐρανοὶ παρελεύσονται τῶν στοιχείων ἐκτηκομένων πρὸς τοῦ ἐπενεχθέντος πυρός· μεθ' οὓς οὐρανοὺς ῥοιζηδὸν παρεληλυθότας καὶ καινοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ καινὴν γῆν ἔσεσθαι, ἐν οἷς δικαιοσύνη καὶ τὰ ἐπαγγέλματα τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν οἴκησιν ἴσχει. (Cr 98, 11-28 Ma 210)

38 Ἢ διὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦτο λέγει, καθὸ διὰ τοῦ Θωμᾶ πᾶσιν ἐγνωρίσθη τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ταύτην ἀναστήσας τὴν σάρκα, ἣν προσήλωσαν τῷ σταυρῷ. (Cr 107, 16-18 Ma 213) Ἕκαστον τῶν γεννητῶν τι εἶναι λέγεται, οἷον εἶναι ἄγγελος, εἶναι ἥλιος ἢ οὐρανός, μόνος δὲ ὁ σωτὴρ καθάπαξ ὢν τυγχάνει· οὗ μετέχοντα τὰ πάντα εἰς ὕπαρξιν ἔρχεται. Τούτου ἀκρόασιν πρότερον κατὰ τὴν εἰσαγωγικὴν διδασκαλίαν δεξάμενός τις ἔρχεται εἰς τὸ ἰδεῖν αὐτὸν ἐπιστημονικῶς μετὰ πολλὴν γυμνασίαν, ἥτις ψηλάφησις περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς εἴρηται τῆς εἰπούσης, ὅτι· "ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ζωή". Λελέξεται καὶ οὕτως· περὶ τοῦ ἐν ἀρχῇ ὄντος ἀκηκόαμεν διὰ τοῦ 39 νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, ὡς ἐλεύσεται· τοῦτον ἐλθόντα ἐμφανῶς τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν εἴδομεν οὐχ ὡς ἔτυχε συγκαταθέμενοι τῷ ὀφθέντι σαρκί· μετὰ πολλὴν γὰρ ἡμῶν ψηλάφησιν ἐρευνῶντες τὰς περὶ αὐτοῦ μαρτυρούσας γραφὰς ἐπιστεύσαμεν τῷ περὶ τῆς ζωῆς λόγῳ. (Cr 107, 1-13 Ma 213)

40 Τὴν οὖσαν ἐν τῷ πατρὶ ζωὴν φανερωθεῖσαν ἡμῖν ἑωράκαμέν φησι, καταλλήλως ἰδεῖν αὐτὴν καὶ ἀκούσαντες περὶ αὐτῆς· ταύτῃ τῇ φανερωθείσῃ ζωῇ μαρτυροῦντες ἀπαγγέλλομεν καὶ ὑμῖν ἐκεῖνα τὰ οἷς ἕπεται καὶ ἰδεῖν αὐτὴν καὶ ὑμᾶς. (Cr 107, 29-32 Ma 213) Ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἀγγελίαν γεγονέναι γράφει τοῖς μαθηταῖς δηλοῦσαν, ὡς φῶς ὑπάρχων ὁ θεὸς οὐδεμίαν σκοτίαν ἔχει ἐν αὐτῷ· ταύτην ἀγγελίαν καὶ ὑμῖν προσφέρομεν, ἵνα τὴν αὐτὴν ἐν ὑμῖν περὶ θεοῦ δόξαν ὡς ὄντος φωτὸς ἔχητε· φῶς δέ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς νοητὸν ἀΐδιον· οὐδὲν γὰρ αἰσθητὸν ἀεὶ ὑπάρχει· τούτῳ τῷ φωτὶ ἐναν 41 τίως νοητέον τὴν σκοτίαν ἄγνοιαν καὶ ἕξιν χειρίστην οὖσαν· ἐπεὶ οὖν οὐδέτερον τῶν εἰδῶν τῆς σκοτίας, οὔτε ἄγνοια οὔτε κακία, ἐν τῷ θεῷ ἐστιν, εἰκότως εἴρηται μηδεμίαν σκοτίαν ἐν αὐτῷ εἶναι. (Cr 109, 9-17 Ma 214) Εἰ δὲ εἴρηταί που· "σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ", σκότος ἐν τούτοις λέγεται ἡ ἐν ἀκαταληψίᾳ ἀσάφεια· ἄγνοιαν δὲ ἡμῶν δυνατὸν εἶναι τὴν ἀσάφειαν, οὐ μὴν τοῦ θεοῦ φωτὸς ὄντος. (Cr 109, 17-19 Ma 214)

42 Τὸ γινώσκειν ἐν τῇ γραφῇ μάλιστα οὐκ ἀεὶ τὸ ἐπίστασθαι δηλοῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ πεῖράν τινος ἐσχηκέναι 43 καὶ ἡνῶσθαι αὐτῷ, ὡς ἐν τῷ· "τὸν μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν"· καὶ τό· "οὐδέποτε ἔγνων ὑμᾶς, ἐργάται τῆς ἀνομίας"· ἁμαρτίαν γὰρ οὐκ ἔγνω οὐ τὸ μὴ ἐπίστασθαι, τί ἐστιν ἁμαρτία, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὴ ἐνεργηκέναι αὐτήν. (Cr 111, 15-18 Ma 216) Ὁ λέγων οὖν ἐγνωκέναι τὸν θεὸν τὸ ἀνακεκρᾶσθαι αὐτῷ καὶ μετέχειν αὐτοῦ ἑπόμενον ἀναγκαίως ἔχει τὸ τηρεῖν αὐτοῦ τὰς ἐντολάς· διὸ καὶ ἀντιστρέφει· ἑκάτερα τὰ σημαινόμενα τοῦ γινώσκειν φανε 44 ροῦται ἐκ τοῦ προκειμένου· φησὶ γάρ· "ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν", τουτέστιν ἐπιστάμεθα, "ὅτι ἐγνώκαμεν αὐτὸν" ἑνωθέντες αὐτῷ καὶ τηροῦντες αὐτοῦ τὰς ἐντολάς· ὁ γὰρ μὴ τηρῶν αὐτὰς φανερός ἐστιν ἔξω τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ τυγχάνων. (Cr 111, 20-27 Ma 216) Ὥσπερ οὖν οὐ γνοὺς ἁμαρτίαν ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς οὐδὲ τοὺς ἐργάτας τῆς ἀνομίας οὐ στερεῖται