1. Anon., 1 Enoch, 91.11-91.17, 93.1-93.10 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 91.12. And after that there shall be another, the eighth week, that of righteousness, And a sword shall be given to it that a righteous judgement may be executed on the oppressors, And sinners shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous. 91.13. And at its close they shall acquire houses through their righteousness, And a house shall be built for the Great King in glory for evermore 91.15. And after this, in the tenth week in the seventh part, There shall be the great eternal judgement, In which He will execute vengeance amongst the angels. 91.16. And the first heaven shall depart and pass away, And a new heaven shall appear, And all the powers of the heavens shall give sevenfold light. 91.17. And after that there will be many weeks without number for ever, And all shall be in goodness and righteousness, And sin shall no more be mentioned for ever. 93.1. And at its close shall be elected The elect righteous of the eternal plant of righteousness, To receive sevenfold instruction concerning all His creation. 93.3. And Enoch began to recount from the books and said: ' I was born the seventh in the first week, While judgement and righteousness still endured. 93.4. And after me there shall arise in the second week great wickedness, And deceit shall have sprung up; And in it there shall be the first end.And in it a man shall be saved; And after it is ended unrighteousness shall grow up, And a law shall be made for the sinners.And after that in the third week at its close A man shall be elected as the plant of righteous judgement, And his posterity shall become the plant of righteousness for evermore. 93.6. And after that in the fourth week, at its close, Visions of the holy and righteous shall be seen, And a law for all generations and an enclosure shall be made for them. 93.7. And after that in the fifth week, at its close, The house of glory and dominion shall be built for ever. 93.8. And after that in the sixth week all who live in it shall be blinded, And the hearts of all of them shall godlessly forsake wisdom.And in it a man shall ascend; And at its close the house of dominion shall be burnt with fire, And the whole race of the chosen root shall be dispersed. 93.9. And after that in the seventh week shall an apostate generation arise, And many shall be its deeds, And all its deeds shall be apostate. |
|
2. Anon., Jubilees, 41.24 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 41.24. And Judah acknowledged that the deed which he had done was evil, for he had lain with his daughter-in-law, and he esteemed it hateful in his eyes, and he acknowledged that he had transgressed and gone astray; for he had uncovered the skirt of his son |
|
3. Anon., Testament of Joseph, 19.1-19.2, 19.6 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 19.1. Hear ye, therefore, me vision which I saw. 19.2. I saw twelve harts feeding. And nine of them were dispersed. 19.6. And the horns of the fourth bull went up unto heaven and became as a wall for the flocks, and in the midst of the two horns there grew another horn. |
|
4. Anon., Testament of Levi, 2.5-5.7, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 8.10, 8.11, 8.12, 8.13, 8.14, 8.15, 8.16, 8.17, 8.18, 8.19 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
5. Anon., Testament of Naphtali, 5.8 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 5.8. And I saw, for I was there, and behold a holy writing appeared to us, saying: Assyrians, Medes, Persians, [Chaldeans,] Syrians, shall possess in captivity the twelve tribes of Israel. |
|
6. Dead Sea Scrolls, Testament of Levi, 2.5-5.7, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 8.10, 8.11, 8.12, 8.13, 8.14, 8.15, 8.16, 8.17, 8.18, 8.19 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
|
7. Hebrew Bible, Daniel, 7.25, 12.7 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 7.25. וּמִלִּין לְצַד עליא [עִלָּאָה] יְמַלִּל וּלְקַדִּישֵׁי עֶלְיוֹנִין יְבַלֵּא וְיִסְבַּר לְהַשְׁנָיָה זִמְנִין וְדָת וְיִתְיַהֲבוּן בִּידֵהּ עַד־עִדָּן וְעִדָּנִין וּפְלַג עִדָּן׃ 12.7. וָאֶשְׁמַע אֶת־הָאִישׁ לְבוּשׁ הַבַּדִּים אֲשֶׁר מִמַּעַל לְמֵימֵי הַיְאֹר וַיָּרֶם יְמִינוֹ וּשְׂמֹאלוֹ אֶל־הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיִּשָּׁבַע בְּחֵי הָעוֹלָם כִּי לְמוֹעֵד מוֹעֲדִים וָחֵצִי וּכְכַלּוֹת נַפֵּץ יַד־עַם־קֹדֶשׁ תִּכְלֶינָה כָל־אֵלֶּה׃ | 7.25. And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time." 12.7. And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he lifted up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by Him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." |
|
8. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 3.25, 5.2-5.4, 7.23, 10.29-10.30, 11.8, 15.11-15.18 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 3.25. For there appeared to them a magnificently caparisoned horse, with a rider of frightening mien, and it rushed furiously at Heliodorus and struck at him with its front hoofs. Its rider was seen to have armor and weapons of gold.' 5.2. And it happened that over all the city, for almost forty days, there appeared golden-clad horsemen charging through the air, in companies fully armed with lances and drawn swords --' 5.3. troops of horsemen drawn up, attacks and counterattacks made on this side and on that, brandishing of shields, massing of spears, hurling of missiles, the flash of golden trappings, and armor of all sorts.' 5.4. Therefore all men prayed that the apparition might prove to have been a good omen. 7.23. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws.' 10.29. When the battle became fierce, there appeared to the enemy from heaven five resplendent men on horses with golden bridles, and they were leading the Jews.' 10.30. Surrounding Maccabeus and protecting him with their own armor and weapons, they kept him from being wounded. And they showered arrows and thunderbolts upon the enemy, so that, confused and blinded, they were thrown into disorder and cut to pieces.' 11.8. And there, while they were still near Jerusalem, a horseman appeared at their head, clothed in white and brandishing weapons of gold.' 15.11. He armed each of them not so much with confidence in shields and spears as with the inspiration of brave words, and he cheered them all by relating a dream, a sort of vision, which was worthy of belief.' 15.12. What he saw was this: Onias, who had been high priest, a noble and good man, of modest bearing and gentle manner, one who spoke fittingly and had been trained from childhood in all that belongs to excellence, was praying with outstretched hands for the whole body of the Jews.' 15.13. Then likewise a man appeared, distinguished by his gray hair and dignity, and of marvelous majesty and authority.' 15.14. And Onias spoke, saying, 'This is a man who loves the brethren and prays much for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah, the prophet of God.' 15.15. Jeremiah stretched out his right hand and gave to Judas a golden sword, and as he gave it he addressed him thus:' 15.16. Take this holy sword, a gift from God, with which you will strike down your adversaries.' 15.17. Encouraged by the words of Judas, so noble and so effective in arousing valor and awaking manliness in the souls of the young, they determined not to carry on a campaign but to attack bravely, and to decide the matter, by fighting hand to hand with all courage, because the city and the sanctuary and the temple were in danger.' 15.18. Their concern for wives and children, and also for brethren and relatives, lay upon them less heavily; their greatest and first fear was for the consecrated sanctuary.' |
|
9. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 1.13-1.14 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 1.13. because God did not make death,and he does not delight in the death of the living. 1.14. For he created all things that they might exist,and the generative forces of the world are wholesome,and there is no destructive poison in them;and the dominion of Hades is not on earth. |
|
10. Anon., 2 Baruch, 53 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
11. Anon., Epistle of Barnabas, 15.4-15.5 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 15.4. Give heed, children, what this meaneth; He ended in six days. He meaneth this, that in six thousand years the Lord shall bring all things to an end; for the day with Him signifyeth a thousand years; and this He himself beareth me witness, saying; Behold, the day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years. Therefore, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything shall come to an end. 15.5. And He rested on the seventh day. this He meaneth; when His Son shall come, and shall abolish the time of the Lawless One, and shall judge the ungodly, and shall change the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall he truly rest on the seventh day. |
|
12. New Testament, Acts, 10.9-10.16 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 10.9. Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon. 10.10. He became hungry and desired to eat, but while they were preparing, he fell into a trance. 10.11. He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth 10.12. in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky. 10.13. A voice came to him, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat! 10.14. But Peter said, "Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. 10.15. A voice came to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed, you must not make unholy. 10.16. This was done three times, and immediately the vessel was received up into heaven. |
|
13. New Testament, Apocalypse, 5.1 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 5.1. I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals. |
|
14. New Testament, Matthew, 27.66 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 27.66. So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone. |
|
15. Ps.-Philo, Biblical Antiquities, 28.4, 28.7 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
16. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 97a. את סוכת דוד הנופלת א"ל הכי אמר רבי יוחנן דור שבן דוד בא בו תלמידי חכמים מתמעטים והשאר עיניהם כלות ביגון ואנחה וצרות רבות וגזרות קשות מתחדשות עד שהראשונה פקודה שניה ממהרת לבא,ת"ר שבוע שבן דוד בא בו שנה ראשונה מתקיים מקרא זה (עמוס ד, ז) והמטרתי על עיר אחת ועל עיר אחת לא אמטיר שניה חיצי רעב משתלחים שלישית רעב גדול ומתים אנשים ונשים וטף חסידים ואנשי מעשה ותורה משתכחת מלומדיה ברביעית שובע ואינו שובע בחמישית שובע גדול ואוכלין ושותין ושמחין ותורה חוזרת ללומדיה בששית קולות בשביעית מלחמות במוצאי שביעית בן דוד בא,אמר רב יוסף הא כמה שביעית דהוה כן ולא אתא אמר אביי בששית קולות בשביעית מלחמות מי הוה ועוד כסדרן מי הוה,(תהלים פט, נב) (אשר חרפו אויביך ה' אשר חרפו עקבות משיחך) תניא ר' יהודה אומר דור שבן דוד בא בו בית הוועד יהיה לזנות והגליל יחרב והגבלן יאשם ואנשי גבול יסובבו מעיר לעיר ולא יחוננו וחכמת הסופרים תסרח ויראי חטא ימאסו ופני הדור כפני כלב,והאמת נעדרת שנאמר (ישעיהו נט, טו) ותהי האמת נעדרת (וסר מרע משתולל) מאי ותהי האמת נעדרת אמרי דבי רב מלמד שנעשית עדרים עדרים והולכת לה מאי וסר מרע משתולל אמרי דבי ר' שילא כל מי שסר מרע משתולל על הבריות,אמר רבא מריש הוה אמינא ליכא קושטא בעלמא אמר לי ההוא מרבנן ורב טבות שמיה ואמרי לה רב טביומי שמיה דאי הוו יהבי ליה כל חללי דעלמא לא הוה משני בדבוריה זימנא חדא איקלעי לההוא אתרא וקושטא שמיה ולא הוו משני בדיבורייהו ולא הוה מיית איניש מהתם בלא זימניה נסיבי איתתא מינהון והוו לי תרתין בנין מינה,יומא חד הוה יתבא דביתהו וקא חייפא רישה אתאי שיבבתה טרפא אדשא סבר לאו אורח ארעא אמר לה ליתא הכא שכיבו ליה תרתין בנין אתו אינשי דאתרא לקמיה אמרו ליה מאי האי אמר להו הכי הוה מעשה א"ל במטותא מינך פוק מאתרין ולא תגרי בהו מותנא בהנך אינשי,תניא ר' נהוראי אומר דור שבן דוד בא בו נערים ילבינו פני זקנים וזקנים יעמדו לפני נערים ובת קמה באמה וכלה בחמותה ופני הדור כפני כלב ואין הבן מתבייש מאביו,תניא ר' נחמיה אומר דור שבן דוד בא בו העזות תרבה והיוקר יעות והגפן יתן פריו והיין ביוקר ונהפכה כל המלכות למינות ואין תוכחה מסייע ליה לר' יצחק דא"ר יצחק אין בן דוד בא עד שתתהפך כל המלכות למינות אמר רבא מאי קרא (ויקרא יג, יג) כולו הפך לבן טהור הוא,ת"ר (דברים לב, לו) כי ידין ה' עמו [וגו'] כי יראה כי אזלת יד ואפס עצור ועזוב אין בן דוד בא עד שירבו המסורות ד"א עד שיתמעטו התלמידים ד"א עד שתכלה פרוטה מן הכיס ד"א עד שיתייאשו מן הגאולה שנאמר ואפס עצור ועזוב כביכול אין סומך ועוזר לישראל,כי הא דר' זירא כי הוה משכח רבנן דמעסקי ביה אמר להו במטותא בעינא מנייכו לא תרחקוה דתנינא ג' באין בהיסח הדעת אלו הן משיח מציאה ועקרב,אמר רב קטינא שית אלפי שני הוו עלמא וחד חרוב שנאמר (ישעיהו ב, יא) ונשגב ה' לבדו ביום ההוא אביי אמר תרי חרוב שנאמר (הושע ו, ב) יחיינו מיומים ביום השלישי יקימנו ונחיה לפניו,תניא כותיה דרב קטינא כשם שהשביעית משמטת שנה אחת לז' שנים כך העולם משמט אלף שנים לשבעת אלפים שנה שנאמר ונשגב ה' לבדו ביום ההוא ואומר (תהלים צב, א) מזמור שיר ליום השבת יום שכולו שבת ואומר (תהלים צ, ד) כי אלף שנים בעיניך כיום אתמול כי יעבור,תנא דבי אליהו ששת אלפים שנה הוי עלמא שני אלפים תוהו שני אלפים תורה שני אלפים ימות המשיח | 97a. bthe Tabernacle of David that is fallen [ ihanofelet /i]”(Amos 9:11). That is why the Messiah is called ibar nifli /i. Rabbi Yitzḥak bsaid to himthat bthisis what bRabbi Yoḥa says:During bthe generation in whichthe Messiah, bson of David, comes, Torah scholars decrease; andas for bthe restof the people, btheir eyes fail with sorrow and grief, and troubles increase. And the harsh decrees will be introduced; before the first passes the second quickly comes. /b, bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: With regard to bthe seven-yearperiod, i.e., the Sabbatical cycle, bduring whichthe Messiah, bson of David, comes:During bthe first year, this verse will be fulfilled: “And I will cause it to rain upon one city and cause it not to rain upon another city”(Amos 4:7). During the bsecondyear of that period, barrows of famine will be shot,indicating that there will be famine only in certain places. During the bthirdyear bthere will be a great famine, and men, women, children, the pious, and men of action will die, and the Torah is forgotten by those who study it. During the fourthyear there will be bplenty but notgreat bplenty. During the fifthyear there will be bgreat plenty and they will eat, and drink, and rejoice, and the Torah will return to those who study it. During the sixthyear, heavenly bvoiceswill be heard. bDuring the SabbaticalYear, bwars,e.g., the war of Gog and Magog, will be waged involving the Jewish people. bDuringthe year after bthe conclusion of the SabbaticalYear, bthe son of David will come. /b, bRav Yosef said: Haven’t there been several Sabbaticalcycles during bwhichevents btranspiredin bthatmanner bandnevertheless, the Messiah bdid not come? Abaye said: Havethe phenomena: bDuring the sixthyear, heavenly bvoices,and bduring the SabbaticalYear, bwars, transpired? And furthermore, haveall these phenomena btranspired inthe borderin which they were listed in the ibaraita /i?,The verse states: b“That Your enemies taunted, Lord, that they have taunted the footsteps of Your anointed”(Psalms 89:52). bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Yehuda says: During the generation that the son of David comes, the hall of the assemblyof the Sages bwill bedesignated bfor prostitution, and the Galilee will be destroyed, and the Gavlan,i.e., Bashan, bwill be desolate, and the residents of the borderwho flee the neighboring gentiles bwill circulate from city to city and will receive no sympathy. The wisdom of scholars will diminish, and sin-fearingpeople bwill be despised. And the face of the generation will be like the face of a dogin its impudence and shamelessness., bAnd the truth will be lacking, as it is stated: “And the truth is lacking [ ine’ederet /i], and he who departs from evil is negated”(Isaiah 59:15). bWhatis the meaning of the phrase: bAnd the truth is lacking [ ine’ederet /i]?The Sages of bthe study hall of Rav said:This bteaches thattruth bwill become likeso many bflocks [ iadarim /i] and walkaway. bWhatis the meaning of the phrase: b“And he that departs from evil is negated”?The Sages of bthe study hall of Rabbi Sheila said: Anyone who deviates from evil is deemed insane by the people. /b,§ Concerning the lack of truth, bRava says: Initially I would saythat bthere is no truthanywhere bin the world.There was ba certain one of the Sages, and Rav Tavut is his name, and some say Rav Tavyomei is his name,who was so honest bthat if they wereto bgive him the entire world, he would not deviatefrom the truth bin his statement.He said to me: bOne time I happenedto come bto a certain place, and Truth is its name, andits residents bwould not deviatefrom the truth bin their statements, and no person from there would die prematurely. I married a woman fromamong bthem, and I had two sons from her. /b, bOne day his wife was sitting and washing thehair on her bhead. Her neighbor cameand bknocked on the door. He thought:It is bnot proper conductto tell the neighbor that his wife is bathing. bHe said to her: She is not here.Since he deviated from the truth bhis two sons died. The peopleresiding binthat bplace came before himand bsaid to him: Whatis the meaning of bthis? He said to them: This wasthe nature of the bincident,and told them what happened. bThey said to him: Please leave our place and do not provokepremature bdeath upon these people. /b,The Gemara resumes its discussion of the messianic period. bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Nehorai says: During the generationin bwhich the son of David comes, youths will humiliate elders and elders will standin deference bbefore youths, and a daughter will rebel against her mother, and a bride against her mother-in-law, and the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog, and a son will not be ashamed before his father. /b, bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Neḥemya says: During the generation that the son of David comes, arrogance will proliferate and the costof living bwill corruptpeople so they will engage in deceit. bThe vine will produce its fruit, andnevertheless, bthe winewill be bcostly. And the entiregentile bmonarchy will be converted tothe bheresyof Christianity, band there will be noinclination among the people to accept brebuke.This ibaraita bsupportsthe opinion of bRabbi Yitzḥak, as Rabbi Yitzḥak says: The son of David will not come until the entire kingdom will be converted to heresy. Rava says: What is the versefrom which this statement is derived? It is the verse: b“It is all turned white; he is ritually pure”(Leviticus 13:13). One is a leper and ritually impure only if he has a leprous mark, however small, but not if his skin is completely leprous. Similarly, the world will be redeemed only when the Jewish people reach their lowest point., bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: The verse states: b“For the Lord shall judge His peopleand atone for His servants, bwhen He sees that their power is gone and there is none shut up or left”(Deuteronomy 32:36). From the phrase “their power is gone” it is derived that bthe son of David will not come until informers will proliferate. Alternatively,the Messiah will not come buntil thenumber of bstudentsof Torah bdiminishes. Alternatively,the Messiah will not come buntilthe iperutawill cease from the purse. Alternatively,the Messiah will not come buntil they despair from the redemption, as it is stated: “And there is none shut up or left,” as though there were no supporter or helper for the Jewish people. /b,This is basin bthatpractice bof Rabbi Zeira,who, bwhen he would find Sages who were engaging indiscussions about the coming of the Messiah, bsaid to them: Please, I ask of you, do not delayhis coming by calculating the end of days. bAs we learnin a ibaraita /i: There are bthreematters that bcomeonly bby means of diversion of attentionfrom those matters, band these are they:The bMessiah, a lost item, and a scorpion. /b,§ bRav Ketina says: Six thousand years isthe duration of bthe world,and bit is in ruinsfor bonethousand years. The duration of the period during which the world is in ruins is derived from a verse, bas it is stated: “And the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day”(Isaiah 2:11), and the day of God lasts one thousand years. bAbaye says: It is in ruinsfor btwothousand years, bas it is stated: “After two days He will revive us; in the third day He will revive us, and we shall live in His presence”(Hosea 6:2)., bIt is taughtin a ibaraita bin accordance withthe opinion bof Rav Ketina: Just as the SabbaticalYear babrogatesdebts bonce in seven years, so too, the world abrogatesits typical existence for bone thousand years inevery bseven thousand years, as it is stated: “And the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day,” and it states: “A psalm, a song for the Shabbat day”(Psalms 92:1), meaning ba day,i.e., one thousand years, bthat is entirely Shabbat. And it saysin explanation of the equation between one day and one thousand years: b“For a thousand years in Your eyes are but like yesterday when it is past,and like a watch in the night” (Psalms 90:4)., bThe school of Eliyahu taught: Six thousand years isthe duration of bthe world. Two thousandof the six thousand years are characterized by bchaos; two thousandyears are characterized by bTorah,from the era of the Patriarchs until the end of the mishnaic period; and btwo thousand yearsare bthe period ofthe coming of bthe Messiah. /b |
|
17. Augustine, The City of God, 22.30 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
| 22.30. How great shall be that felicity, which shall be tainted with no evil, which shall lack no good, and which shall afford leisure for the praises of God, who shall be all in all! For I know not what other employment there can be where no lassitude shall slacken activity, nor any want stimulate to labor. I am admonished also by the sacred song, in which I read or hear the words, Blessed are they that dwell in Your house, O Lord; they will be still praising You. All the members and organs of the incorruptible body, which now we see to be suited to various necessary uses, shall contribute to the praises of God; for in that life necessity shall have no place, but full, certain, secure, everlasting felicity. For all those parts of the bodily harmony, which are distributed through the whole body, within and without, and of which I have just been saying that they at present elude our observation, shall then be discerned; and, along with the other great and marvellous discoveries which shall then kindle rational minds in praise of the great Artificer, there shall be the enjoyment of a beauty which appeals to the reason. What power of movement such bodies shall possess, I have not the audacity rashly to define, as I have not the ability to conceive. Nevertheless I will say that in any case, both in motion and at rest, they shall be, as in their appearance, seemly; for into that state nothing which is unseemly shall be admitted. One thing is certain, the body shall immediately be wherever the spirit wills, and the spirit shall will nothing which is unbecoming either to the spirit or to the body. True honor shall be there, for it shall be denied to none who is worthy, nor yielded to any unworthy; neither shall any unworthy person so much as sue for it, for none but the worthy shall be there. True peace shall be there, where no one shall suffer opposition either from himself or any other. God Himself, who is the Author of virtue, shall there be its reward; for, as there is nothing greater or better, He has promised Himself. What else was meant by His word through the prophet, I will be your God, and you shall be my people, Leviticus 26:12 than, I shall be their satisfaction, I shall be all that men honorably desire - life, and health, and nourishment, and plenty, and glory, and honor, and peace, and all good things? This, too, is the right interpretation of the saying of the apostle, That God may be all in all. 1 Corinthians 15:28 He shall be the end of our desires who shall be seen without end, loved without cloy, praised without weariness. This outgoing of affection, this employment, shall certainly be, like eternal life itself, common to all. But who can conceive, not to say describe, what degrees of honor and glory shall be awarded to the various degrees of merit? Yet it cannot be doubted that there shall be degrees. And in that blessed city there shall be this great blessing, that no inferior shall envy any superior, as now the archangels are not envied by the angels, because no one will wish to be what he has not received, though bound in strictest concord with him who has received; as in the body the finger does not seek to be the eye, though both members are harmoniously included in the complete structure of the body. And thus, along with his gift, greater or less, each shall receive this further gift of contentment to desire no more than he has. Neither are we to suppose that because sin shall have no power to delight them, free will must be withdrawn. It will, on the contrary, be all the more truly free, because set free from delight in sinning to take unfailing delight in not sinning. For the first freedom of will which man received when he was created upright consisted in an ability not to sin, but also in an ability to sin; whereas this last freedom of will shall be superior, inasmuch as it shall not be able to sin. This, indeed, shall not be a natural ability, but the gift of God. For it is one thing to be God, another thing to be a partaker of God. God by nature cannot sin, but the partaker of God receives this inability from God. And in this divine gift there was to be observed this gradation, that man should first receive a free will by which he was able not to sin, and at last a free will by which he was not able to sin - the former being adapted to the acquiring of merit, the latter to the enjoying of the reward. But the nature thus constituted, having sinned when it had the ability to do so, it is by a more abundant grace that it is delivered so as to reach that freedom in which it cannot sin. For as the first immortality which Adam lost by sinning consisted in his being able not to die, while the last shall consist in his not being able to die; so the first free will consisted in his being able not to sin, the last in his not being able to sin. And thus piety and justice shall be as indefeasible as happiness. For certainly by sinning we lost both piety and happiness; but when we lost happiness, we did not lose the love of it. Are we to say that God Himself is not free because He cannot sin? In that city, then, there shall be free will, one in all the citizens, and indivisible in each, delivered from all ill, filled with all good, enjoying indefeasibly the delights of eternal joys, oblivious of sins, oblivious of sufferings, and yet not so oblivious of its deliverance as to be ungrateful to its Deliverer. The soul, then, shall have an intellectual remembrance of its past ills; but, so far as regards sensible experience, they shall be quite forgotten. For a skillful physician knows, indeed, professionally almost all diseases; but experimentally he is ignorant of a great number which he himself has never suffered from. As, therefore, there are two ways of knowing evil things - one by mental insight, the other by sensible experience, for it is one thing to understand all vices by the wisdom of a cultivated mind, another to understand them by the foolishness of an abandoned life - so also there are two ways of forgetting evils. For a well-instructed and learned man forgets them one way, and he who has experimentally suffered from them forgets them another - the former by neglecting what he has learned, the latter by escaping what he has suffered. And in this latter way the saints shall forget their past ills, for they shall have so thoroughly escaped them all, that they shall be quite blotted out of their experience. But their intellectual knowledge, which shall be great, shall keep them acquainted not only with their own past woes, but with the eternal sufferings of the lost. For if they were not to know that they had been miserable, how could they, as the Psalmist says, for ever sing the mercies of God? Certainly that city shall have no greater joy than the celebration of the grace of Christ, who redeemed us by His blood. There shall be accomplished the words of the psalm, Be still, and know that I am God. There shall be the great Sabbath which has no evening, which God celebrated among His first works, as it is written, And God rested on the seventh day from all His works which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from all His work which God began to make. Genesis 2:2-3 For we shall ourselves be the seventh day, when we shall be filled and replenished with God's blessing and sanctification. There shall we be still, and know that He is God; that He is that which we ourselves aspired to be when we fell away from Him, and listened to the voice of the seducer, You shall be as gods, Genesis 3:5 and so abandoned God, who would have made us as gods, not by deserting Him, but by participating in Him. For without Him what have we accomplished, save to perish in His anger? But when we are restored by Him, and perfected with greater grace, we shall have eternal leisure to see that He is God, for we shall be full of Him when He shall be all in all. For even our good works, when they are understood to be rather His than ours, are imputed to us that we may enjoy this Sabbath rest. For if we attribute them to ourselves, they shall be servile; for it is said of the Sabbath, You shall do no servile work in it. Deuteronomy 5:14 Wherefore also it is said by Ezekiel the prophet, And I gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctify them. Ezekiel 20:12 This knowledge shall be perfected when we shall be perfectly at rest, and shall perfectly know that He is God. This Sabbath shall appear still more clearly if we count the ages as days, in accordance with the periods of time defined in Scripture, for that period will be found to be the seventh. The first age, as the first day, extends from Adam to the deluge; the second from the deluge to Abraham, equalling the first, not in length of time, but in the number of generations, there being ten in each. From Abraham to the advent of Christ there are, as the evangelist Matthew calculates, three periods, in each of which are fourteen generations - one period from Abraham to David, a second from David to the captivity, a third from the captivity to the birth of Christ in the flesh. There are thus five ages in all. The sixth is now passing, and cannot be measured by any number of generations, as it has been said, It is not for you to know the times, which the Father has put in His own power. Acts 1:7 After this period God shall rest as on the seventh day, when He shall give us (who shall be the seventh day) rest in Himself. But there is not now space to treat of these ages; suffice it to say that the seventh shall be our Sabbath, which shall be brought to a close, not by an evening, but by the Lord's day, as an eighth and eternal day, consecrated by the resurrection of Christ, and prefiguring the eternal repose not only of the spirit, but also of the body. There we shall rest and see, see and love, love and praise. This is what shall be in the end without end. For what other end do we propose to ourselves than to attain to the kingdom of which there is no end? I think I have now, by God's help, discharged my obligation in writing this large work. Let those who think I have said too little, or those who think I have said too much, forgive me; and let those who think I have said just enough join me in giving thanks to God. Amen. |
|
18. Anon., 4 Ezra, 14.11
| 14.11. For the age is divided into twelve parts, and nine of its parts have already passed |
|
19. Anon., 4 Baruch, 3.8, 9.13
| 3.8. And Jeremiah said: Behold, Lord, now we know that you are delivering the city into the hands of its enemies, and they will take the people away to Babylon. What do you want me to do with the holy vessels of the temple service? 9.13. And when they heard the voice they did not bury him, but stayedaround his tabernacle for three days saying, "when will he arise? |
|
20. Anon., Letter of Aristeas, 316, 315
| 315. a little, he besought God to make it clear to him why the misfortune had befallen him. And it was revealed to him in a dream, that from idle curiosity he was wishing to communicate sacred truths to common men, and that if he desisted he would recover his health. I have heard, too, from the lip |
|
