34. And so as not to appear to sadden the disciples if he denied them anything, he said in another book: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but the Father (Matthew 24:36). He wisely placed the Son in the middle, for he is both the Son of Man and the Son of God; so that we may consider it more fitting to say according to the Son of Man, because he knows the end of times not by the nature of man, but by the nature of God. Nevertheless, it is not contrary to faith if you understand the Son to be God. For what is it that the good Father has hidden from the Son, to whom He has given all things? Or how did He not give the knowledge of time, to whom He gave the power of judgment itself? But how can the Son not know what the Father knows when the Son is in the Father, and the Spirit searches even the depths of God (John 14:11), since the Son himself is the height of the riches of wisdom and knowledge of God (1 Corinthians 2:10)? But why does He refuse to say, He explains in another place: 'It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has set by His own authority' (Acts 1:7).
35. Do you see where he who denies the Trinity of one power tends, so that there is something that the Son does not know? For why would the Father hide his very own Son? For either out of envy we do not want to reveal to others what we know, or perhaps we will be betrayed: but neither does suspicion fall on the envious one from the Father, nor on the betrayer from the Son. Therefore they have the same knowledge, because they have the same power. Furthermore, he who knows the signs of the future judgment certainly knows the end as well.
36. (Verse 24.) For what is it that he does not know, as a shining lightning, since the Son of God, as the light, illuminates the inner mystery of heaven? In that, he says, hour. Therefore, he knows the hour: but he knows it for himself, he does not know it for me. But he correctly asserts that the cause of the flood, the fire, and the judgment has emerged from our sins; because God did not create evil, but our own merits have brought it upon ourselves.
(Vers. 27.)
(Verse 27.) For they ate and drank; they led wives and married.
37. Not because marriages are condemned, nor so that food is condemned; since in them there are successions, in these there are supports of nature; otherwise it must be departed from this world: but in all things a measure is sought; however, whatever is in excess is from evil. Let there be some agreement for a time, so that we may devote ourselves to prayer: let there be some balance between the anxieties of the world, and the sobriety of religion in contrast to the excesses of indulgence, and the truce of chastity (I Cor. VII, 5).
Therefore, because of the wicked, it is necessary for the righteous in this age to endure contrition of heart and soul, so that they may receive a more abundant reward in the future. They are equipped with remedies, in order that those who are in Judea may flee to the mountains (Matthew 24:16). What is this Judea? For I know another Judea according to the spirit, not according to the letter: For God is known in Judea (Psalm 76:1). But what are these mountains that can hold back the fear of the coming judgment, when it is written: The mountains quaked at his presence (Isaiah 64:3)? Heaven and earth will pass away (Luke 21:33): how can a portion of the earth remain immune, or be able to protect me, when it cannot even protect itself? Where then shall I hide from His wrath, He who stirs up the depths of the sea? If I ascend to heaven, there He is; if I descend to the depths of hell, there He is (Psalm 139:8). Therefore, one cannot deceive Him who is everywhere, but one can appease Him.
39. Therefore, the day of judgment is approaching: if you do not want to be apprehended, fear every day, flee every day. You ask how to flee? Ascend to the mountain where you proclaim Zion (Isaiah 40:9): so that you may rise above the heights of merits. For God is the God of mountains, and not the God of valleys (1 Kings 20:28). Ascend to where Christ sits at the right hand of God, whose foundations are on the holy mountains (Psalm 87:1), and the mountains are around Him (Psalm 125:2). Your mountain is Paul, your mountain is Peter. Place the footprint of your mind above their faith. In the law of God and the inheritance of faith, judgment day does not find punishment, but glory.
40. If anyone is also placed in a high position, that is, the upper part of his house, and he ascends the summit of lofty virtues, he should not fall back into the earthly works of this world. For I know the roof in which that prostitute Rahab (Joshua 2:1ff.), by a mystery, hid the spies whom Jesus directed. It is the Church joined to the Gentiles in the fellowship of the sacraments, bound together with the people, among whom the explorers, who had been sent to capture them, would have been killed if they had descended to the lower parts of the house. Therefore, the roof is the lofty office of the mind, and the pinnacle of the soul, by which the naked weakness of the body is covered. Hence it seems to me that even that paralytic was healed (Mark 2:3) because he was lowered from the roof by four young men; because he submitted himself in a certain way, by the support of the virtues of prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice, to the feet of Christ. For nothing is higher than humility, which, as if superior, does not know how to be exalted, because no one desires what he judges to be beneath himself.
41. But since we are in court, let us not leave the house; lest while we desire to take away the vessels that are in the house, we be seized. For not in every house are there golden and silver vessels, but in many there are wooden ones: nor is every house full; for there are also empty ones, as the prophet knows, who said: What has happened to you now, that you have gone up into empty houses? The city is filled with those who cry out (Isaiah 22:1-2). And he adds: All your princes have fled, whoever were wounded in you, and have fallen from faith to betrayal. Sabellius was wounded, Valentinus was wounded, Arius was wounded; for they were found in an empty house.
42. Do you want to see a house full? Follow Peter, when he was hungry, walking towards the upper rooms of the house (Acts 10:9): there he understood the mystery of gathering the Church; in order not to judge the Gentile people as unclean, whom faith could cleanse from every contamination. But the vessels are made of clay: therefore the vessel is the body. And therefore, be careful not to abandon the noble pursuits of the mind for the desires of the body. If Peter did not understand the mystery placed in the lower things, how will you understand it? He accepted, because he ascended, to evangelize the Lord, not fearing the passion of the body.
Therefore, let the one who is on the roof not come down, and let the one who is in the field not turn back. How can I understand what the field is unless Jesus himself teaches me, saying: No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of heaven? The idle one sits in the villa, the industrious one sows in the field; the weak one is by the fire, the strong one is at the plow. The scent of the field is good; for the scent of the field is like the scent of a field full of Jacob. The field is full of flowers, full of various fruits. Therefore, plow your field if you want it to be guided towards God's kingdom. May there flourish for you a fertile crop of good merits. May the vine abound on the sides of your house, and newly planted olive trees around your table (Psalms 127:3). Let your soul, aware of its fertility, say to Christ, and sown by God's word, also cultivated by spiritual practices: Come, my brother, let us go out into the field (Song of Songs 7:11). He responds: I entered into my garden, my sister, my bride: I gathered my myrrh (Cant. V, 1). For what is better than the vintage of faith, by which the fruit of resurrection is stored, by which the fountain of eternal joy is watered?
Therefore, since you are prohibited from looking back, you are even more prohibited from returning and removing your tunic; for you have understood that you should forgive the one who asks for your tunic and your cloak. (Matthew 5:40) Therefore, in your direct pursuit of God's kingdom, do not seek wealth and worldly possessions. Scripture also knows another tunic, of which the Apostle exhorts us, saying: Put off the old self with its practices and put on the new self. (Colossians 3:9-10) Let us not seek the garment of error from the previous tunic. And she also said: I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on again? (Song of Solomon 5:3) You should not only renounce your sins, but also erase all memory of your previous actions. Indeed, Paul, forgetting the past, cast off guilt and did not neglect repentance. (Philippians 3:13).
45. And therefore the Lord said: Be mindful of Lot’s wife; who, because she looked back, lost her natural gift; for Satan is behind, Sodom is behind. Therefore flee intemperance, avoid licentiousness. And that you may know that not all can flee to the mountain, remember that he who did not turn away from old ways (for he had chosen Sodom before) escaped, because he reached the mountain (Gen. XIX, 30): she who was weaker, because she looked back, could not reach the mountain with the help of her husband’s support, but she remained.
(Vers. 34.)
(Verse 34.) In that night there shall be two in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
He said 'Good night,' because the Antichrist is the hour of darkness; because he spreads darkness in the hearts of men, when he claims to be Christ. There are false prophets who assert that Jesus now lives in the deserts, in order to deceive those who are wandering in error of opinion. And now, in secret, those who have heard are restrained by the high name of authority. But Christ, shining like a lightning, scatters the balls of his light throughout the whole world. And so, he does not wander in the deserts, nor is he confined to any places, because I fill heaven and earth, says the Lord (Jeremiah 23:24); but he shines with the brightness of his glory, so that we may see the glory of the resurrection in that night. Therefore, what does he mean when he says:
(Vers. 35.)
(Verse 35.) Two in one bed. . . . two grinding in a mill. . . two in the field: one will be taken, and the other left?
47. Is God unjust, that he distinguishes by equal zeal and society of living, and indiscriminate in quality of actions, by the reward of merits? It is not so, but the quality of the reward is according to the actions of man. Therefore, the merits of human union and the use of it are not equal: for both the Father and the Son rise up in the zeal of religion; because not all who begin are made perfect: But he who perseveres to the end, he shall be saved (Matthew 10:22). Then the Lord examines not the outward obedience, but the inner affection; for if you offer justly but do not divide justly, the sacrifice is not accepted by God (Genesis IV, 7). Therefore, from one bed (for it is the bed of human weakness, as it is written (Psalm XL, 4): You have turned all his bed in his sickness), one is left behind, the other is taken up: the one who is taken up is carried towards Christ in the air; but the one who is left behind is disapproved.
48. Two women grinding at the mill. Indeed, it seems that they symbolize those who seek hidden nourishment and bring forth what is within. However, what these two women are grinding needs to be investigated. Unless, perhaps, it is what we read in Isaiah: 'Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting' (Isaiah 1:13). Let us therefore discuss what they grind, what they grind, and what the mill represents. And perhaps this world is like a mill, in which I think the form of the human body is better represented, in which our soul is imprisoned like in a physical prison, producing celestial bread if it consults the good. In this mill or synagogue, or the soul subject to sins, the wetted and corrupted wheat, cannot separate the inner from the outer; and therefore it is left behind because its likeness displeased. But the holy Church, or the soul untainted by any contamination of sins, which grinds such wheat that it is parched by the heat of eternal suns, which God has clothed as he willed, and angels have purified from every stain of impurity, offering a good likeness to God of the innermost parts of mankind, commends the libations of its sacrifice.
49. Not only will there be two grinding, but also two working in one field, from which one will be taken. The good sower, who sows not only on the roads, but also on the plowed and cultivated soil, so that he may multiply the fruit pressed by humility, not scattered by boasting on the earth. However, there remains the sower of weeds, from which an easily refutable likeness is produced. We can find out who these different farmers are if we consider in what way the Apostle said that there are two νοῦς, that is, two minds in us; perhaps because one is external, belonging to the corruptible man, and the other is internal, renewed through the sacraments. And he, perhaps worse off, who is vainly puffed up in his mind, not holding the head; because he deviates from the observation of the salutary precepts of our Lord Jesus Christ; for He is the head of all, who is the author of all. The other is more excellent, who loves humility, seeks wisdom, does not neglect mercy; the good sower, in particular; For he dispersed, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures forever (Psalm 111:9). Therefore, here is the spiritual one, that is the carnal one. For just as we understand from the words of the Apostle that he praises himself, the deceiver, with an inflated mind of the flesh (Colossians 2:18); so also we show that the holy man is renewed in the spirit of his mind, as the same author says: But be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Ephesians 4:23). Therefore, he demonstrates that there are two minds; one, which becomes the mind of the flesh, is bound by sin; the other, which is united to the spirit, renounces the allurements of the flesh.
50. There are not only two minds but also two laws within us, both of which the Apostle explained to us, saying: For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members (Rom. VII, 22 et 23). Therefore, there is a law of the inner man and also a law of the outer man; the former prohibits sin, the latter persuades it; the former condemns error, the latter suggests it; the former instructs the mind, the latter tempts it. There are also two other laws within us, one of God and the other of sin, according to the same Apostle who says: Therefore, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin (Ibid., 25). And it is shown that if you only mention the mind, you reveal the contrary of the flesh; for when Paul says that he serves the law of God with his mind, he certainly demonstrates that the mind, if not overcome by the flesh, is good and created by nature to resist error. Therefore, when the flesh is conquered, it is the mind that is conquered, not having its origin in nature, but in the flesh, which is prone to failure; and as if in the name and property of the conqueror, it yields to the conquered; however, the nature of the flesh is opposed to the mind. In conclusion, we serve God with our mind, and sin with our flesh. But the mind will be better if it does not cease to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in its religious duty.
So these are the ones working in our field, of whom one gives good fruit through diligence, while the other loses it through neglect, which the Lawgiver calls blood, saying: 'The life of all flesh is its blood' (Leviticus 17:14). This is also the reason why some interpret the words: 'You shall not eat flesh with its blood' (Genesis 4:9); so that we may consider the pleasures of the body, stained with wounds of the soul, as food for nourishment rather than as a guilt for blood, which should be restored by the word of God. Therefore it is the food of nourishment, it is the food of blood; for just as the flesh of the Lord is truly food, so our blood is truly drink (De Consec. dist. 2, cap. In quibus, § Est cibus). Therefore, let us offer to the Lord a good food from our works; lest when He comes again, and does not find fruit on that fig tree, He turns away from the barrenness of our merits, fasting from the intended piety, saying to that soul which He finds naked of fruits, and stained with bloody blood: May there never be fruit born from you forever (Matthew 21:19). Therefore, the soul is in every part of the body. The soul is also superior, of which God said: All my souls are: as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son (Ezek. XVIII, 4).
Nor let us pass over this, that we interpret two peoples, that is, which is most frequently compared to this world's field, as two peoples, one of believers, the other not believing, who are about to report the work of their merits; and thus let the one who is faithful be assumed; let the one who is faithless be abandoned. But those two women, two souls, or rather the Church and the Synagogue; for it is wont to be not only one figure, but manifold in divine writings, so that one discourse can comprehend multiple meanings. Therefore, the mind of the flesh, and the soul of the flesh, and the synagogue collect that wheat and grind it into a similar form, which is offered in vain. However, the mind that is joined to the soul, and the soul that is the receiver of the saving word, or the Church of God, cultivate and grind the true likeness of the spiritual law. From this, the loaves of presentation are made, which only priests eat, to whom it is prescribed to eat the purer bread (Leviticus 24:8), that bread, certainly, which came down from heaven (John 6:31). But we are all, if our merits endure, priests of righteousness, who are consecrated by the anointing of joy into the kingdom and priesthood.