Book 1
In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo the Prophet, saying. The blessed Zechariah prophesies in Jerusalem, I think at the same times as Zephaniah. For after the return from captivity, Israel no longer dwelt divided and in parts in both Judea and Samaria, but all were gathered together into one city, that is, Jerusalem, and throughout all Judea, with Zerubbabel from the tribe of Judah reigning over them, and indeed with Joshua the son of Jozadak, the great priest, preeminent in the priesthood. And he weaves the word of prophecy very artfully. For since most of those from Judea, that is Samaria, who were carried off into captivity, returned there, knowing all the things that had been dared by the Babylonians against Jerusalem from time to time; and in addition not being ignorant of, the things at which God was grieved; But those born in the land of the Persians and Medes, neither knew what or of what sort Jerusalem was, nor did they know Judea, nor indeed the things brought upon their fathers from the divine wrath, nor for what reasons at all they had paid such harsh penalties, except perhaps from neglected accounts, necessarily the God of all appoints the blessed Zechariah to them who had been redeemed and were quite young as a kind of tutor and governor, being of sacred blood, that is, from the tribe of Levi, and being from his father Berechiah according to the flesh, but being called according to the spirit also son of Iddo the Prophet. For he had been nurtured, as is likely, in his ways, and of the same he has become an imitator of virtuous deeds. What then is the message of his prophecy, and through what narratives does it come, how would it not be right to say in due measure? For he imposes the penalty under which they are upon those who have been redeemed, since they have not moderately neglected the divine commandment and are accustomed to disregard the things decreed through the all-wise Moses; and terrifying them not moderately, he persuades them to change toward the need to choose rather to be well-esteemed through ready obedience and submission to everything whatsoever. He adds that if some are not good and well-reined, and yielding to the divine laws, they themselves will also suffer things more burdensome than what happened to their fathers. And broadening, as it were, the words of instruction, he tries to teach what the practices of the fathers were of old, and for what things divine wrath came upon them, and in what way they were destroyed, and indeed how they were redeemed, and having shaken off the yoke of captivity, were brought back to Judea; and he adds to this that, just as I said just now, they will suffer worse things if they are zealous to follow in the footsteps of their fathers’ godlessness. He remembers everywhere the redemption through Christ that will be in due time, and he describes for us the mystery concerning him in many ways. It is necessary, therefore, for those wanting to investigate each of the parts of the prophecy, not to consider the things in it a tautology and a superfluous narrative of what has already happened; but rather to remember that for those who have returned from captivity to Judea, the narrative of what has already happened is most necessary. For he was correcting those who knew what they had already suffered, bringing it to their remembrance; but for those quite young, and not knowing the things of old, he was providing security, so that they might not be caught in the same evils, loving a profane and most lawless life. The Lord was angry with your fathers with great anger. Do you understand how he strikes terror with his narratives, and by setting forth for explanation to the very young the things that happened to those before them, he frightens them toward what is better, threatening, as it were, that being subjected to equal or even more grievous evils, they will lament bitterly, if they do not choose prudently to reject the ways of those men, but to deem what is pleasing to God worthy of all care and account. And he says that God, who has power over all things, was angered with a great anger, not leaving the statement unproven as to its truth, but showing from what they have already experienced and suffered, that he is not one who speaks falsely. For it would be an indication of no ordinary indignation to have permitted the Babylonians to ravage all of Judea, and with it Samaria, and to burn down the holy places themselves, and to raze Jerusalem; and to make the chosen Israel an exile, serving pitifully and wretchedly in a foreign land, and enduring unbearable hardship, no longer taking part in sacrifices, not entering within the sacred court, not bringing thanks offerings according to the law, or tithes, or firstfruits; but being prevented, as by necessity and fear, even from having to celebrate its customary and dearest feasts. Therefore the Lord was angry with their fathers with a great anger. And one might exclaim such things also to the Jewish peoples, if one chose to initiate them into the mystery of Christ. For since they killed the prophets, and "crucified the very Lord of glory," they have been captured and sacked. And the famous temple itself was shaken down, and what was said through the voice of Hosea has now been fulfilled upon them: "For the children of Israel shall sit for many "days, there being no king and no ruler, there being no sacrifice and no "altar, nor priesthood, nor manifestations." And that they are captives, and for the time being under the hand of the devil, having offended God, and cast off, and having become outside of all mercy from above, how could anyone doubt? But if indeed they should be redeemed in due time, having accepted the faith, and acknowledging Christ as both God and king and Lord, then indeed, and very much so Reasonably, one might make a wise exhortation to them, saying these things at the opportune time: The Lord was very angry with your fathers. And you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord Almighty: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty, and do not be like your fathers, whom the prophets before them reproached, saying, Thus says the Lord: Turn from your evil ways and from your evil practices, and they did not pay attention to hear me, says the Lord. For, as I said, having been called back from captivity and returning to Judea, they became slothful concerning what seemed good to God, and for the time being they did not resort to idols, nor indeed did they accept the ancient error; yet in other ways they were found to be provoking. For as it is written in Ezra, they also mingled with foreign women and, bringing in those from the neighboring nations, became fathers of foreign children, even though the law forbade this practice to them as improper. They were also negligent in celebrating feasts and fulfilling sacrifices, and indeed they were found to be unenthusiastic about the need to rebuild the divine temple. Therefore, just as it is written in Haggai, he struck them with blight and with mildew and with hail in all the works of their hands. And they put twenty sata of barley into a bin, and it became ten, and again they would go in to draw fifty measures, and it became twenty. He promises them, therefore, that if they should choose to change for the better, and to return to him, by choosing to do what seems good and pleasing to him, then he himself will also return to them, that is, he will refrain from his anger against them, and will return to mercy, and will deem them worthy of forbearance and compassion again. He certainly declares that choosing to emulate those who came before them is a cause of destruction, to whom was given the greatest possible exhortation and encouragement from him through the holy prophets, calling for them to turn away from their shameful practices, but the matter was rendered very unprofitable indeed by those who turned to disobedience. Ridiculous, then, are those who follow the ignorances of their fathers, and always put forward ancestral custom as an irrefutable defense, even if they are censured for the worst evils. This is a custom especially of the worshipers of idols. For when called to the knowledge of the truth, they everywhere remember the deceit of their fathers, and embracing their ignorance as if it were a paternal inheritance, they remain blind. And I think that even if someone were to advise those of the circumcision to unlearn the more shameful things and to choose to honor what is beneficial, they too take refuge in the custom of their fathers. It is useful, therefore, to proclaim to those who are wandering: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty, and moreover to this: Do not be like your fathers, who were wandering, that is, and remained in ignorance to the very end. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, will they live forever? But receive my words and my statutes, which I command in my spirit to my servants the prophets, which overtook your fathers. And they answered and said, Just as the Lord Almighty has determined to do according to your ways and according to your practices, so he has done to you. Before Judea was captured, and Jerusalem itself, some, putting on the name of prophecy for themselves like a mask, spoke to the ancients things "from their own heart," as it is written, "and not from the mouth of the Lord." These, speaking falsely, used to say that the holy city would never be captured by enemies, nor would Israel ever be an easy conquest for those wishing to ravage it; but it would have firmly-established prosperity, and would lie in unshaken luxuries, with God defending it, and always honoring and loving the chosen one race. But they said such things, as I just said, the wretched ones speaking falsely, and making Israel, who was indolent, even more supine, although it was necessary to persuade them to appease God, and casting as far away as possible the things at which he was grieved, to choose to turn towards what seemed good to him. But for them, the word of truth was of little account, and being overcome by small and most paltry gains, they have deceived Israel. And so the prophet Jeremiah strongly accused them, saying thus, "O Sovereign Lord, behold their prophets "prophesy and say, 'You shall not see the sword, and "famine shall not be among you, for I will give truth and peace "upon the land and in this place;'" But God said to this, "The prophets prophesy lies in my name; "I did not send them, nor did I command them, nor did I "speak to them, for they prophesy to you "false visions and divinations and omens and the choices of their own heart." And indeed, elsewhere he says again, "I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; nor did I "speak to them, yet they prophesied." Therefore, as I said, Israel has been deceived, foolishly carried away by the deceptions of the false seers. But they would never have been captured by enemies, nor have experienced such a bitter and burdensome slavery, had they given their mind to the prophets from God, who both foretold that such things would happen to them, and said expressly, that they would certainly be brought to the test of evil, since they had chosen not to do the things pleasing to God. For this reason he calls to remembrance both the unholy false prophets and those who were deceived, and says, "Where are your fathers? And the prophets, will they live forever?" It is as if he were to say, Your fathers have perished, and this miserably, in captivity, and with them the false-speaking and deceiving ones, who made a trade of the name and reality of prophecy. But if they were still living, perhaps they would have made you better by constantly lamenting over what had happened, and by making no small outcry against the false prophets who were among them. But they, as the wage of both indolence and disobedience, have had the fate of perishing along with those who deceived them; but you, receive the words of the holy prophets, and hold in high esteem the oracles given through them. For they have spoken also to those before you, that the Lord has set himself to do it, meaning clearly the captivity and the miseries that would happen in it. And they refuted them, saying openly, that "according to your ways and according to your deeds, so has he done to you." For the God of all does not punish in vain, nor indeed does the divine and unerring and most just judgment render its verdict on anything unexamined; but after being exceedingly longsuffering, then indeed it weighs out for the sinners what is most fitting for them. It is a wise thing, then, to be tractable, and what will deliver us from all evil is to follow the divine laws, and to honor the predictions of the saints, and to deem the voices of the Spirit worthy of faith, understanding that in every way and entirely what has been foretold will come to pass, to be transformed for the better and to turn to repentance. For in this way we will put away the things that come from wrath, and we shall meet with a gentle Master; for he justifies the ungodly, and releases from punishment those who through ignorance or weakness have fallen into sin. On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the Prophet, saying, "I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he was standing between the two shady mountains, and behind him were red and dappled and piebald and white horses." And I said, "What are these, Lord?" And the angel who was speaking in me said to me, "I will show you what these are." And the man who was standing between the mountains answered and said to me, "These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth." And they answered the angel of the Lord to the one standing between the mountains, and they said, "We have gone through all the earth, and behold, all the earth is inhabited and is at rest." In part and at various times, God would reveal the visions to the holy prophets. For we do not say that the grace of the divine vision and the revelation of things to come was supplied to them always and frequently and completely without interruption; but rather at various times, those fitting for each matter, and according to what seemed good to the one revealing the hidden things. and sometimes this, sometimes that, they were instructed in many and various ways. For sometimes they received simple knowledge, with the Holy Spirit speaking within them; and sometimes, in addition to this, they were also in the very visions of the things being done, with God at different times in different ways shaping for them and enigmatically revealing mysteries. For the blessed Isaiah says he has seen "the Lord of sabaoth sitting on a throne, high and lifted up," with the Seraphim standing around him and praising him in turn. And the divine Ezekiel says he has seen a throne upon a firmament, with the Seraphim underneath. And he said that he saw the one sitting on the throne as of a double nature, such that the parts below the loins were clearly seen in the form of fire, and the parts above in the appearance of electrum. And deep and long would be the account on each point, if one should choose to investigate the reasons why the visions from God to them became multifaceted. Thus therefore the blessed Zechariah also, having clearly defined the time and days and month, says he has seen the Lord in a form like ours. for "behold a man," he says, "riding on a red horse." and through this he signifies one who is, as it were, experienced in war and knowledgeable in tactics. For to sit on a horse, and that a red one and having a color as if from blood, I think, for my part, signifies some such thing. For the God of all things fights against those who oppose him, and like a warrior arms himself against the disobedient and arrogant who raise the neck of their mind against him. And those of the blood of Israel did this, and very rashly, both those inhabiting Judea and Jerusalem itself, and also those holding the country of the Samaritans, that is, the ten tribes. For they turned to polytheism, and offering worship to handmade things, they would cry out to the golden calves, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt," and in addition to this, having completely disregarded the ordinances of the law, they rashly turned to what seemed pleasing to each. For this reason, therefore, the God of all things, as if on horseback against them, as in a form like ours, enigmatically appears. And he stood between the two shady mountains. And I think by shady mountains he means that of Judea, that is, Zion, and also that of Samaria. For God said somewhere concerning them, "Woe to those who despise Zion and to those who trust in the mountain of Samaria." And both are shady on account of being crowded with an innumerable multitude of inhabitants, perhaps, and imitating a dense and abundant forest. And behind the one riding the red horse, other horses were also coming, and not of one appearance, for they were red, and also dappled and speckled and white. And they also signify kings, or nations that are warlike and most pugnacious, and not content to possess only their own land, but scattering as it were over all the earth, and eager to bring under themselves all that is under heaven, such as the kings of the Babylonians became, first Pul, who took the tribes beyond the Jordan. then after him Shalmaneser, who sacked Samaria, and third Sennacherib, who savagely laid waste the remnant of Samaria, and also burned many of the cities of Judea. fourth Nebuchadnezzar, who also took Jerusalem itself, and carried Israel away into captivity. But that the horses were seen in various forms perhaps signifies the difference in each one's mind; and the different color in them, one might accept as an enigma of the thought of each, and very rightly so Reasonably. The Prophet, then, was perplexed and asks for a revelation; and he learns that these are they whom the Lord has sent forth to patrol all the earth, and those who were sent say this themselves, affirming that they have patrolled the whole [earth], and that it is indeed at rest, unable to oppose their acts of greed, and enduring the yoke under them, unwillingly indeed, but necessarily. And the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, which you have overlooked this seventieth year? When the sent horses, that is, both nations and kings, had patrolled the whole earth, and then clearly stated that it is inhabited and at peace and endures the yoke necessarily imposed upon it, the blessed angel immediately turns to supplications on behalf of Jerusalem and Judah, who had perhaps been appointed by God to guide the nation of the Jews. And we shall find that also when they had fled from the land of the Egyptians, the frantic Pharaoh terrified them with dreadful fears, armed for the law of war, then while attempting to pursue, the angel of the Lord, it says, stood between them, "and they did not come near one another all night." But also the law itself was spoken through angels, as Paul, the expert in the law, said. And the power of the evangelical parable suggests something of this sort. For Christ said somewhere concerning the Synagogue of the Jews, showing enigmatically what was about to happen to it, "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his field." And since it was fruitless, he wished to cut it down, and indeed he ordered this to be done, saying to the vinedresser, "Cut it down; why does it even make the ground useless?" But he says to this, "Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure; and if it bears fruit in the future; but if not, you shall cut it down." For what else does the person of the vinedresser suggest to us in these things, except that of the presiding angel, who was commanded, as I said, to guide it? Therefore, since God had set the time of the captivity at the seventieth year, while the time had not yet come to an end, it was necessary to be silent, so that he might not seem to oppose the Master's commands. But when the time was already completed, he makes his supplications, and with the suspicion of giving offense having been, as it were, removed from the midst, and knowing that the Master is true, he asks to learn whether the things from wrath have been completed for the sinners according to what was formerly decreed for the seventieth year; that is, whether there will be another postponement because of added sins, and the things of their misery be extended for them yet longer. For this reason he says, "How long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, which have been overlooked now for this seventieth year?" There is, therefore, a good and undoubted hope for those who worship God, that if they should happen to offend out of weakness, yet they have with God those who supplicate on their behalf, not only men, but also the holy angels themselves, who render God gracious and mild, assuaging his wrath with their own purity, and, as it were, appeasing the displeased Judge. But then, an angel made the supplications on behalf of the Synagogue of the Jews; but we, who have believed and have now been sanctified in the Spirit, "have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." And as the divine Paul writes, "God set him forth as a propitiation through faith," delivering from sins those who approach him. And the Lord Almighty answered the angel who was speaking in me with good words and comforting words. And the angel who was speaking in me said to me, "Cry out, saying, 'Thus says the Lord Almighty: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy, and I am very angry with the nations that are attacking together, because I was indeed I was angry a little, but they helped for evil. It is true to say that according to the voice of the psalmist, "The Lord is compassionate and merciful," and the very experience of things would cry out, that this is so and not otherwise. But see how He immediately accepts the supplications for those who have acted wretchedly, and have been crushed in a foreign land, and have endured the yoke of captivity, and He almost anticipates the request of the one entreating, and immediately answers with good words and comforting words; and by comforting he means those things able to restore and console the afflicted. For during the whole time of their captivity, having perhaps spoken no good word, nor having deemed them worthy of any of the customary consolations, He begins to speak kindly, and lays the foundation of His gentleness toward them. Therefore, out of exceeding joy, the divine angel commanded the Prophet to cry out henceforth and to minister to all the things from God. For He says He is zealous for Jerusalem with a great zeal, not putting the zeal in her, as when she was formerly carried away to strange worships, but on her behalf against those who had sacked her, with whom He says He is angry, not as with a simple and measured emotion, perhaps, but as with an unrestrained and unstoppable wrath. For I, He says, was disciplining my people, and I did not wish them to suffer anything beyond measure; but they dreadfully and unbridledly brought on the savagery of their own mind, omitting nothing that led to cruelty and inhumanity. This I think is the meaning of "I was angry a little, but they helped for evil." For God of all disciplines sinners out of love, and bringing upon us commensurate torments, or labors, He drives us toward the better. But those who have been taken for this purpose, sometimes leap upon those being disciplined like wild beasts. But God is angry with them with a great anger. For He, as a father, wished to correct with torments; but they, as with all sails and shaking every rope, were borne with unstoppable impulses against the weary. When the Church suffered this, the persecutors were ignorant that they will pay the price for their savagery against her, and will be required to give a bitter account by the presiding God. Therefore thus says the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem with compassion, and my house shall be rebuilt in it, says the Lord Almighty, and a measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem yet. He has shown that having suffered the turning away of Him who is mighty to save, she has slipped into this state of wretchedness and hardship, but she will be again, without a struggle and very easily, in the state she was in before, when the one who was provoked has been turned to gentleness; clearly, that is, God who is mighty in all things; and He almost returns to her, by deeming her worthy again of mercy and love, and by forgiving her offenses without remembering them. For He promises to raise up the house, and to make Jerusalem very long. For the temple had been burned, and the very walls of the city had been torn down, so that it seemed altogether small and constricted, and had few inhabitants. But, as I just said, He promises to restore her to her former state, which indeed was also accomplished, when Cyrus released them from captivity, and Darius also commanded the temple itself to be rebuilt, and allowed the city itself to be fortified with walls. But we see that God, sometimes training the faith of the saints and the love of those devoted to Him, at times allows the Church to be persecuted. But after she has suffered a little, He immediately raises her up, and builds her walls again with assistance, and with grace from above He crowns His own house. And each of those who have chosen to be pious is both a city and a house of God. And he is often tested, when both carnal pleasure and worldly care provoke him to depravity, so that the soul of the one who suffers seems to have been burned down and to be left destitute of walls, that is, of safety. but when God takes pity, and is turned to gentleness by the prayers of the saints, is built again "into a holy temple, into a dwelling-place of God in the Spirit," and indeed with all uncleanness driven away, it is walled anew by God, and becomes the city of the great king, that is, Christ. And the angel who spoke in me said to me, Cry out, saying, Thus says the Lord Almighty: My cities shall yet be poured out with good things, and the Lord will yet have mercy on Zion and will yet choose Jerusalem. As the time of the captivity was prolonged, the cities of Judea, and no less also those of the Samaritans, were completely desolate. For houses were burned and, so to speak, crying out against the cruelty of the Babylonians, and the very forms of the cities were destroyed and completely overturned. With very few people inhabiting them, it was not possible to see a man who was prominent or otherwise distinguished, nor any who were in comfort, but all were dejected, weighed down by famine and poverty. An end to all these things is promised. For he says, cities will be poured out with good things, that is, they will be in their ancient prosperities, and with an abundance of good things laid before them, they will change their appearance, and will run up again in the things they prayed for. For the Lord will yet have mercy on Zion and will yet choose Jerusalem. But observe how skillfully the word of the prophecy proceeds for us. For he does not promise to have mercy on her completely, nor indeed to choose her for all time; but he says, Yet, as if promising a measured time of gentleness. For after this she was to be caught in even worse evils, condemned for her drunken outrages against Christ. Therefore the word Yet, so to speak, measures out the time of gentleness, holding a hidden threat of the things that would happen to her at the times of the coming of our Savior. And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns. And I said to the angel who spoke in me, What are these, Lord? And he said to me, These are the horns that scattered Judah and Israel. And the Lord showed me four craftsmen. And I said, What are these coming to do? And he said to me, These are the horns that scattered Judah and broke Israel, and no one of them raised his head; and these have entered to sharpen them with their hands, the four horns, the nations that lift up a horn against the land of the Lord to scatter it. The prophet comes to another vision, and not after a long time, so that he might not be instructed about the future by word alone, but also, by being amidst visions of the events themselves, he might know subtly and accurately the things signified. What, then, is the meaning of the vision, I shall try to explain as best I can. The horn in the divinely-inspired scripture is always taken on the one hand as an image and type of strength, that is, of a kingdom; but it very often also signifies arrogance, as when the blessed David said to some, "I said to the transgressors, Do not transgress, and to the sinners, Do not lift up the horn; do not lift up your horn on high, nor speak unrighteousness against God." And he also sings somewhere about Christ, "His horn will be exalted in glory," that is, his kingdom, and the strength and authority to rule over all things. Therefore the Prophet sees four horns, that is, four nations, both harsh and very strong, able to easily gore both cities and countries. And some say these are the kingdom of the Assyrians, and besides this, that of the Babylonians, and thirdly, that of the Macedonians. For Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, being from Macedonia, ravaged Judea. And to these they also add that of the Romans, which after the cross of the Savior, took Jerusalem by force. But since the divine angel, interpreting the vision for the Prophet, said about the horns that these are the horns which scattered Judah and crushed Israel, I think it necessary now to leave those aside and come rather to the nations that have crushed Israel. Therefore, there have been four powers, through which this we shall find that Judea suffered. For Phul was the first, as I said, to capture the tribes beyond the streams of the Jordan; then after him Shalmaneser, and third Sennacherib, and last after them Nebuchadnezzar. Therefore, it might be more appropriately understood of them, that these are the four horns that scattered Judah and Israel. Then, as God showed and revealed the vision to the Prophet, four craftsmen are seen. He asked again, where they were going and for what purpose; then the angel speaking in him says that the four horns that had crushed and scattered Judah and Israel came to sharpen them. What then shall we say is again signified by this? For were those who had already ravaged Israel incited against them, and did God make fiercer those who had been brought against them in anger? And yet He is seen crying out and saying, "I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy, "and with great wrath I am angry with the nations that joined in the attack, "because while I was but a little angry, they helped "for evil." How then does He who was angry a little and in measure, and who vents his jealousy on the ravagers because they have committed deeds beyond reason against the captives, command the horns to be sharpened against them? Therefore, they are sharpened, but not against Israel, but against themselves. For they rose up against one another, and the Persians and Medes made war on the Assyrians and Babylonians when Cyrus was king, as has already been said before. Therefore, if the horns had not been sharpened, and the power of the Babylonians had not been destroyed, Israel would not have been freed from slavery, would not have been released from bonds and from unbearable misery. The four craftsmen, then, who sharpen the horns in their hands, that is, of those who have them, or rather of those who rule; so that we may understand them as the kings of the Persians; might be understood as angels, commanded to carry out very well what seemed good to God. This, then, was the capture of the Babylonians, and their falling under the hand of the Persians and Medes, concerning whom the Lord God of all says somewhere else, "They are sanctified, and I bring them: "giants are coming to fulfill my wrath, rejoicing at the same time "and insolent." And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold a man, and in his hand was a measuring line. And I said to him, Where are you going? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see how great is its width and how great its length. And behold, the angel who was speaking in me stood still, and another angel went out to meet him, and said to him, Run and speak to that young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as a fruitful land because of the multitude of men and cattle in the midst of her; and I will be to her, says the Lord, a wall of fire round about, and I will be for a glory in the midst of her. That the horns were not sharpened against Israel, but rather against those who had captured and ravaged both Jerusalem and indeed Judea, the neighboring vision would show, and very easily. For the Prophet again lifts up his eyes, and not at all those of the body; for such visions are invisible to the eyes of the flesh; but rather the inner and spiritual ones, it is clear that they are those in the heart and mind. Then he says that he saw someone in the form of a man, holding a measuring line, and he asked again for what purpose he was going, and what his intention was. And when he said, To measure Jerusalem, to see how great its width is and how great its length, another angel again commanded another angel to go and report to him that Jerusalem would be inhabited as a fruitful land because of the multitude of men and cattle that are in the midst of it. For since Jerusalem was desolate, and the divine temple itself had been burned down, and the houses and cities throughout all Judea had been overturned, the hope that it could ever revive again was somehow taken away. But God shows that when the horns were sharpened, that is, the nations, that is, of the kingdoms, and they having organized war against each other, Israel will be let go, and will dwell again in an enlarged Jerusalem, fortified by divine power, and, as it were, girt about by an invincible flame with benevolence from on high. Therefore the angel runs to measure Jerusalem, and, as it were, to mark it out as wide and very long. And these things, historically; but I would say that the vision might reasonably be understood also of Christ's Church itself. For Satan had tyrannized over all who were on the earth, and we had become captives, subjected to his yokes. But the grace of the Savior crushed his horn, and shattered his arrogance. For he has triumphed over the principalities and powers of the world-ruler and the opposing forces. And he rescued us, and freed us from his bonds; he raised up for us the Church, the truly holy and renowned city, the wide and very long one, which we have inhabited fruitfully, both men and beasts, that is, those who are already rational, and those who have not yet come to this measure, but are about to and are being initiated; and we have inhabited a city, which Christ Himself walls, consuming those who oppose with ineffable powers, and filling it with his own glory, and standing, as it were, in the midst of those who inhabit it; for he promised, saying, "Behold, I am with you all the days, even to the end of the age." Of this holy city the prophet Isaiah also made mention somewhere, saying, "Your eyes shall see Jerusalem, a rich city, tents that shall not be shaken, neither shall the stakes of its tent be moved, nor shall its cords be broken," and to it he says, "Enlarge the place of your tent and of your curtains; fix, spare not, stretch forth yet to the right and to the left." For the Church of Christ is enlarged, and is extended to an immense measure, always receiving the countless ones who worship him. Oh, oh, flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, for from the four winds of heaven I will gather you, says the Lord; be saved to Zion, you who inhabit the daughter of Babylon. He frowns, as it were, upon those who suffered captivity, as they endure an unbearable hardship, and indeed he commands them henceforth to separate themselves from the country of the Chaldeans, since it is now possible for them to do this, with no one hindering, and He Himself gathering from every place those who had been scattered by the assault of the war. He calls the country of the Chaldeans the daughter of Babylon and the land of the north. For the metropolises are placed in the rank of mothers to the others, which would act under them. And the country of the Chaldeans is somehow more northerly and situated toward the east. And let these things be said by us again, as concerning matters from history. But the discourse passes over to spiritual contemplation, and the person of the Savior is now somehow introduced, grieving in a way, and all but weeping for those upon the earth, because all had submitted to the worship of the tyrant Satan, and had endured a slavery so harsh as to be seen weighed down by his desires. He urges them, therefore, to flee as from the land of the north, that is, as from the chilled country, so that through this we may understand obliquely a certain disposition and worldly condition of character, which if anyone should have, and be seen inhabiting it, he would not be fervent in spirit, nor would he have dwelling in himself the fiery word of God. For the blessed David somewhere sings to God, "Your word is exceedingly refined, and your servant has loved it." And he himself said somewhere to the blessed prophet Jeremiah, "Are not my words like a burning fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?" Therefore, he who does not have the fervent and fiery word of God would be chilled and dead. For the love of many will grow cold because lawlessness will be multiplied, as the blessed Paul also said. And the daughter of Babylon will be called sin, and very reasonably, if it is It is true that Babylon is interpreted as confusion; and sinning would be the work, not of a stable and steadfast mind, but rather of one that is confused, and as it were somehow intoxicated by inclinations towards wickedness. Therefore, one must depart from such things and, as from a foreign land of a cold and dead disposition of the mind, move to Zion, that is, to the truth, so that we may understand the Church of Christ, in which, having been born, we shall see what is pleasing to God, and we shall contemplate the doctrines concerning the holy and consubstantial Trinity, and we shall find Christ himself gathering us in every way, and binding us together spiritually into unanimity. For he said somewhere concerning us, that "And other "sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must "bring, and there shall be one flock, and one shepherd." For thus says the Lord Almighty: After glory has he sent me to the nations that have plundered you, for he that touches you is as he that touches the apple of his eye. That Christ both defended and redeemed the peoples of old, no one would doubt, if indeed he had a mind that loved accuracy. For if he was the rock that gave drink to the thirsty Israel in the desert, and he is the one through whom are all things from God the Father, how is it possible to doubt that through him also every redemption at its proper time, and every manner of assistance was accomplished? However, in this we say that he addresses those who have been justified by faith and sanctified in the Spirit, and signifies the manner of his incarnation. For he says that he was sent after glory. And he would in no way speak falsely. For if God the Word, who exists in the form of God the Father and is from him and in him, "thought it not robbery to be equal with God," as it is written, yet came down even to the form of a servant, and humbled himself, becoming as we are, how has he not come after the dignity that is most fitting for him? What then is the reason for his needing to suffer this temporary dishonor? For he came to plunder those who had pillaged and subjected to their own yokes those on the earth, that is, us, whom the wicked and opposing powers were relentlessly despoiling. And now they are plundered, as our Savior of all, Christ, gathers us through faith to himself, and makes his own worshipers those who were burdened by their covetousness, and extends to us such security, that he who wishes to harm us, is all but touching his own pupil; for the outcome of things is always somehow turned to the complete opposite. To those who persecute the Church it might be said in each case what is in the Psalms: "He has dug a pit, and has dug it out, and he shall fall into the "ditch which he has made. His mischief shall return upon "his own head, and his iniquity shall come down upon his own "pate." He who plots against the souls of those who have believed in me, he says, will therefore touch himself. This, in fact, he also says through the voice of the psalmist: "Touch not my "anointed ones, and do my prophets no "harm." For if we are the "body of Christ, and members in "particular," how could he abandon his own body to the lovers of sin? Or how will it be permitted to fill the members of Christ with evil? Or rather, how would they not pay the ultimate penalty, those who unholily plot against those who have become his? For behold, I bring my hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to those who served them: and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me. For Christ laid hold of the world-rulers of this age, and with an unbearable hand he crushed the heads of the murderous dragon, and has given us "to tread on serpents "and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy." And those who were once terrible and most difficult, and whose attack was hard to meet, have become spoils for those who had been enslaved to them. For we who were formerly tyrannized by sins have been justified in Christ, and have now at last arrived at this point of spiritual strength, so as to be able to excel through every virtue, and the one in and to Christ to live a righteous, evangelical life, then to be filled with the gifts "from him, and to receive authority over unclean spirits, and to rebuke unholy demons, with Christ subduing and crushing under the feet of the saints both Satan himself and the evil powers under him. And in another way one might plunder those who once held sway. For when we overcome our own passions, and consider it of the utmost importance to overcome worldly and carnal pleasures, and every misplaced and foul desire, then we have conquered those who once held sway. and if we see ourselves having become so in these things, then indeed then we shall know also through experience itself, that the Word, being God, was sent with flesh into this world by God the Father, and came after glory for no other reason, than to bind up that which was broken, and to strengthen that which was weak, to raise up that which was cast down, to render strong that which was feeble, to heal that which was sick, that he might save that which was lost. Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Zion, for behold, I am coming and will dwell in your midst, says the Lord. And many nations will flee to the Lord on that day, and they will be his people, and will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. And the Lord will inherit Judah, his portion in the holy land, and he will yet choose Jerusalem. And from this you may learn that the presence of the Savior on earth will be the occasion for the highest joy. For he has commanded the spiritual Zion to rejoice and be glad, "which is the Church of the living God," that is, the most holy multitude of those saved through faith. and he promised that he would come and would be altogether in her midst. For the divine John says to us, "He was in the world," and the Word, being God, did not remove himself from his own creatures, but it was he who gave life to those that partake of life, and held all things together for well-being and life; but "the world did not know him;" for it worshipped creation rather than him. But he became with us when, having taken on our likeness, he was born of the holy virgin; then also "He was seen on earth and conversed with men;" and the divine David will testify, saying, "God shall come manifestly, our God, and shall not keep silence;" then he also became a refuge for the nations. For no longer was the race of Israel alone instructed by that ancient commandment; but rather the world under heaven was gilded with the evangelical proclamations, and in every nation and in every country "his name has become great." For he was the "expectation of the nations," according to the voice of the prophet, and to him "every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." For they have run together to him through faith, and with him they have dwelt in the holy and spiritual Zion, those from the ends of the earth, and they have known clearly, that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." For the Father sent to us his Son from heaven, a Savior and a redeemer, so that believing in him, we might marvel at the Father in him and seeing as an exact image of the one who begot him the one who is from him by nature, we might perceive the archetype. Then indeed then Judah also became the inheritance of Christ, that is, everyone who confesses and glorifies him; for Judah is interpreted as confession; for as Paul says, "He is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God." Therefore, as many of us as have been enriched with circumcision in the spirit through Christ, have become his inheritance upon the holy land, that we may conceive of the city above, the spiritual Jerusalem, "whose craftsman and maker is God," making her beloved and elect. for he says he will yet choose Jerusalem. And it is not unlikely again, if one should choose, to think that Jerusalem is now named the Church, which the divine David also calls the city of God, saying "As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God." Let all flesh be reverent before the face of the Lord, because he has been raised up from his holy clouds. This is a beautiful and beneficial exclamation, and a good summons for those who wish to be well-pleasing, whether it comes from Christ himself, or as from the person of the Prophet. But that must be considered. For since those who would not believe in him would in every way and altogether perish, he commanded them to be reverent. Christ himself also proclaimed this to those from Israel who did not accept faith in him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins." and again, "He who believes in the Son is not judged, but he who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the Son of God." For this reason Christ has been called "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." For just as it is admittedly good and salvific to crown him with faith, so it is a cause of destruction not to revere him who for our sake became as one of us, and for no other reason than to save what was lost, to turn back what was wandering, to give life to what was corrupted, to enlighten what was in darkness, to declare clean of offenses what was liable to sins, to make healthy and strong what was weak. And we will understand that he was raised up from his holy clouds again, as having come from the ancient quiet and silence to the motion of care for us, having indeed been born from the seed of the holy Abraham, Jesse, and David, and of those genealogized with them, whom he also calls clouds, because the mind of the saints is borne on high, and they reject things on earth and a base mindset, seeking rather the things above and in the heavens, and indeed, in the manner of clouds, watering others with intelligible rains. But that it is not unlikely to understand the resurrection in this sense, I mean, the movement of the ineffable nature to care, the Savior himself will again confirm, saying thus through the voice of the psalmist, "From the affliction of the poor and from the groaning of the needy, now I will arise, says the Lord." Therefore, he has been raised up, that is, he has now been moved to help those on earth who have fared miserably. And he is the release of all, and the end of the ancient curse, and the beginning of all good, and the giver of hope for the age to come. And the Lord showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the face of the angel of the Lord, and the devil stood at his right hand to oppose him. And he said to the devil, "May the Lord rebuke you, devil, and may the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you; is this not a brand plucked from the fire?" The narrative is a vision, but it has a historical account, entering enigmatically, and prefigured again as in an image of Jesus. But it should be known that the Prophet speaks about those things in the visions that have come to pass, and in no way tells idle tales, nor does he come after the results and pile up a crowd of superfluous narratives for us; but, as I said at the beginning, what he has seen before the events, these things he makes it his business to report, making Israel wise and secure, so that it might not fall into the same offenses and be captured a second time, knowing that it was saved with toil, and that the redemption and grace for them became a care even for the angels in heaven. He said, therefore, that he saw the angel standing, and before his face also Jesus the son of Jozadak, the high priest; and the angel stood as an image and type of Christ; but the priest might be understood as in place of all the people; for he is so taken in the divine in the scriptures. And so God said somewhere to Moses, "And I, "behold, have taken the Levites instead of all the sons of Israel, "they are a gift given to me;" our discourse then does not depart from a fitting aim, in accepting the priest in place of all the people. For since Israel had come from the presence of God, having worshipped idols, and dishonored the law itself given through Moses, then after the just wrath against him was fulfilled, he has been shown mercy by God, and is called again into his sight. And this, I think, is enigmatically the standing of the priest before the face of the angel of the Lord. For in wrath he turns away and removes his eyes from those accustomed to be contemptuous; but in pitying he looks upon and visits them. And so the divine psalmist prayed, saying, "Turn not thy "face from me, and turn not away in wrath from thy "servant." And again, "Look upon me and have mercy on "me." But the God who is by nature good and merciful was freeing Israel from sin; but Satan, who had cast him into it, stood again opposing and resisting him, and still accusing, and, as far as was possible for him to say what he thought, not permitting him to be pitied, as one being in transgressions, and held by the charges of impiety, and having nothing on his right. For he stood, it says, at his right hand, in a way paralyzing the right things; for he wars not with our left-hand deeds, but with those on the right and praiseworthy. The blessed David invoked this to happen to one of those who had been impious towards Christ, saying thus, "And let the devil "stand at his right hand." Satan therefore opposed, but was rebuked by the voice of an angel; for he heard him say, The Lord rebuke thee, O devil, and the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. For observe how he showed him at once to be fighting against God, and unholily opposing the decrees from above. For when God was pitying and already absolving Israel from transgression, and receiving and making Jerusalem in some way elect, he does not cease accusing, and dares to condemn those who have been shown mercy. Therefore he rebukes his insatiable wrath, saying, Is not this as a brand plucked out of the fire? This is as if he might say, Israel has admittedly transgressed, and is seen to be entangled in your fault-findings. But he has paid no small penalty, he has endured the calamities, and was plucked out with difficulty, like a half-burnt firebrand from the fire; for he has not yet shaken off the dust of the damage from the captivity; just now and with difficulty has he escaped the flame of incurable misery. Cease then accusing those who have been shown mercy. "For it is God who justifies, who is he that condemns?" And Jesus was clothed in filthy garments, and stood before the face of the angel. And he answered and said to those standing before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from him. And he said to him, Behold, I have taken away your iniquities. And clothe him with a full-length robe, and place a clean turban on his head. And they put garments on him, and they placed a clean turban on his head. Since the one chosen to serve as priest was accepted once for all in the person of all the people, it is sufficient, I think, to say this much, that the filthy garments would be a not incongruous symbol of the impurity of the people. For as if clothed in their own sins, and having the stain of impiety hard to wash off, they continued in captivity, subjected to punishments, and paying the penalty for the unholy things transgressed by them. But since God had mercy, he commanded that they be freed from sin, be liberated from the filthy things, and in a way be reclothed with justifying grace. And he grants them an end to their toil and a release from what has happened. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there will certainly follow the need to be freed from the things brought upon them on account of it. Therefore, in the person of God, the blessed angel commanded those standing and ministering to him to remove from them the defiled garment, and indeed he says, Behold, I have taken away your iniquities. Then he said it was necessary that a long robe and a clean tiara be given to him for his head, so that by this we may understand how the glory of the priesthood always somehow coincides with the conditions of the peoples. For the purity of those under their charge is a boast for the priests, and they hold the renown of the priesthood in splendid boasts when the people are well-pleasing, and go blamelessly to what seems good to God, and submit the tender neck of their mind to His decrees; on this account one sees God as benevolent and friendly toward him. But an accusation and a reproach of those yoked under them is slothfulness and unthinkingly rushing into transgression. For just as when the people were in sin, the priest's garments were also somehow filthy; so if he were seen to be well-pleasing again, the state of the priesthood will be pure and transparent, and in great confidence before God. And so the divine Paul, having ministered the gospel of Christ to the gentiles, and seeing them pleasing in their progress toward the better, and having firm faith in him, writes saying, "I swear by your boasting, brothers, which I have in Christ Jesus," and again, "My joy and my crown." And the angel of the Lord stood by and testified to Jesus, saying, Thus says the Lord Almighty: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charges, then you also shall judge my house, and if you will also keep my court, then I will give you access among these who stand here. As a type, indeed, of our Savior of all, Christ, we have accepted Jesus the high priest; for Aaron also was appointed for this in the beginning; but in the present matters we say that what was spoken to him, the son of Jozadak, was "Thus says the Lord Almighty: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charges, then you also shall judge my house," and what follows these things. For such things would not have been said to Christ; for he himself is the way, he himself is the righteous ordinances of God the Father, he himself judged his house, ruling over it as a son. For the divine "Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house; but Christ as a son over his house; whose house we are." Therefore let such things have been said to the son of Jozadak, but no longer to Christ. But God promised to the priesthood according to the law that it would still prevail even after the times of the captivity, so that those serving as priests would rule over Israel, and manage the holy tabernacle. For since the captivity had occurred, and the holy things had been burned, and sacrifice was no longer offered, some thought that the things of Moses would be completely gone toward ruin, and that the law would no longer be practiced, although the time was not yet present in which it was necessary for the Only-Begotten to be revealed incarnate; for this reason God, persuading them that Israel would again be subject to the ancient customs, and would be under the hand of the priests, just as before the captivity, necessarily says, that if Jesus became a genuine keeper of the law, he himself would again judge his house, and he will be established in his former glory, with holy angels ministering with him. For we do not say, I suppose, that the old law was destitute of rational powers. For even if the things in the law were in types and shadows, yet they were performed for the glory of God. This, I think, is what is shown by "I will give you access among these who stand here," that is, angels all but ministering as priests and serving with him. But see how everywhere the holy scripture says that the holy angels are standing, indicating by the word "standing" that they do not sink down into sloth, but that they have a mind that is, as it were, always upright and not tolerating weakness, and standing with God. So also in Ezekiel we will find it written concerning the Cherubim, that "their legs were straight." For the mind of man is bent, and very easily, and is prone to wish to be sick with sloth. But the holy multitude of the spirits above stands, as it were. For this reason also it was said by God to Zion, "Stand "yourself, Zion." And somewhere the blessed David also offered up thanksgiving odes, saying thus, "He set my feet upon a rock." For by the word "standing" the Spirit-bearer signified the unwavering and firm character of the mind in these matters. Hear now, Joshua the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you, for they are men who are portents, for behold, I am bringing my servant the Branch? for the stone that I have given before Joshua, upon this one stone are seven eyes. Through the things just said by us, it was promised to Joshua, or rather, what is truer, to the priesthood according to the law, that he would judge his house, and still rule over peoples, and bring to completion the types of the worship according to the law. But consider for me also the economy, and the exceeding skill of the divine counsels. The things in the law were about to be transferred, and not in the distant future, to the true worship, and the unloveliness of the types to be refashioned into a desirable and spiritual way of life. The husbandmen who killed the Lord were about to be driven from the vineyard, and the field to be given to others, that is, to the holy apostles and evangelists, who were to make it fruitful and flourishing, deeming it worthy of the most urgent care; "A righteous king was about to reign, and rulers to rule with judgment," according to the voice of the prophet; another high priest was about to arise, not according to the order of Aaron, but according to the order of Melchizedek, "a minister of the holy things, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." For our Lord Jesus Christ entered into the holy of holies "not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, having found eternal redemption," and "by one offering he has perfected for all time, according to conscience, those who are being sanctified." Therefore, so that God might not appear false of speech and a teller of idle tales, by promising to the priesthood according to the law that he would always and forever watch over and judge his house, he makes necessary the prediction of the mystery concerning Christ and that the things in the law will cease, and he himself will judge his own house through his own offspring, that is, the Son. For this reason he all but testifies to Joshua himself and his companions and those sitting before him, so that we may understand the Levites and priests. For when the high priest was ministering, the Levitical order stood by; but the elders and priests, as being still better and more sacred than they according to the law, were also honored with a seat in the council. Yet he calls them portent-gazers, that is, always seeking to see signs and desiring wonders. For by nature the nation of the Jews is somehow always like this. And indeed, when Christ, "having made a whip of cords, drove them all out of the temple, saying, 'Take these things away from here; do not make my Father's house a house of trade,'" they came up saying, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?" "And who gave you this authority?" And we shall find others also coming up and saying to him, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." Therefore, since they are men who are portent-gazers, he says, let them learn along with you the things that are to come, and the all-powerful accomplisher of the signs they are always asking for. And who is this? behold, I am bringing my servant the Branch. Now the Only-begotten was revealed as God by nature and from God the Father, and being this, he is free, but he emptied himself, according to the scriptures, descending to what he was not, and has been called a servant, on account of his humanity, although he is Lord of all as God. But even so he was the Branch, that is, the Sun of Righteousness. For he arose and shone upon us who were living as in darkness, and all but stupefied by worldly pleasures as if in night and sleep, and with the eye of the mind darkened, he roused us to sobriety, and made us bright by his own grace. Therefore also the wise one charges us Paul, declaring this very thing, "The night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off "the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light, "that we may walk becomingly as in the day." and again, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ "will shine on you." Therefore he proclaims beforehand the splendid achievements of our Savior's advent. He calls him a servant, because he arrived in the form of a servant; and Dayspring, because he is the true light, dawn and day, and the bright morning star, rising in the mind, and brightening hearts. In addition to this he also names him a stone, and indeed says that it was given before the face of Jesus, and he strongly affirms that he has seven eyes. For it was especially necessary for the priesthood according to the law, for which we have set Jesus as a type, to have, as it were, before its face and before its eyes always the chosen stone, the cornerstone, the precious one, for the foundations of Zion, the pearl of great price, that is, Christ, who watches over all things with many eyes. For the number seven is always somehow indicative of that which is perfect. Indeed, the barren woman is said to have borne seven. And that the divine and ineffable nature of the Son watches over all things with countless eyes and oversees our affairs, no one would doubt; "For the word of God is living and active, and "sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the "division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of "marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and "no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked "and exposed to his eyes," as it is written. Behold, I am digging a pit, says the Lord Almighty, and I will search out all the iniquity of that land in one day. He has shown our Lord Jesus Christ to be both light and dayspring, and that he will shine like the dawn on those in darkness and in the shadow of death, that is, on those who have gone astray. But it was necessary also to proclaim beforehand the end of the economy, that is, the death for us all, which he willingly endured, delivering his own body to the cross, at which the nation of the Jews also stumbled, and was cast out from intimacy with him. For since the wretched ones did not understand the mystery of the economy with the flesh, they became deicides; for this reason and quite rightly they were lost to hope, and the wicked perished wickedly, caught in terrible and inescapable calamities. Therefore, he compares the cross of the Savior to a pit. For those who shed the Lord's blood have fallen as if into a pit, having dared to deliver the author of life to the cross. But if the Father himself should be said to have dug the pit, let no one be scandalized; let him rather consider how the saying is somehow filled with economy. For this is like that which was said wisely and truly through Christ, "For judgment I "came into this world, that those who do not see may "see, and those who see may become blind." And yet, how is it not true to say that he did not come for this reason, that some might become blind; but the depravity of those who do not understand has, as it were, slandered the manner of the best economy. For they did not wish to see, although it was possible for them to share in the divine light. Thus you will understand it here also. For the Father sent the Son, "that the world might be saved "through him." But because of the folly of those who did not understand, he who was sent became a pit and a snare to those who crucified him; and perhaps he who sent him is also thought to have dug the pit. Therefore he says, I will dig the pit and I will search out all the iniquity of that land in one day; He says, "I will search out," instead of "I will seek and I will examine minutely." For they killed the holy prophets, and they attacked savagely the servants who were sent from time to time. For some they insulted, some they stoned, and some they killed. But God was still long-suffering; for those who suffered were servants and fellow-servants with those who killed them. Since indeed they rushed to this with unbridled impulses, and seeing much into impiety, and they have acted outrageously against the Son Himself, and have slipped into the pit of the cross, He did not leave their sin still unfelt. For He sought out and subjected the impious to punishments, decreeing the destruction of the whole land of the Jews in one day, on which they said, when they brought Him to Pilate, "His blood be on us and on our children." For even if the things from divine wrath did not immediately come to pass; even if they were not required to pay the penalty without delay, nevertheless the just sentence from God has come upon them, pouring out destruction, as I said, upon the land of the Jews. And so, the Savior was being led away to the cross, and women followed, mourning and weeping; then what did He say, turning to them? "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." For they are handed over to destruction and slaughter, and what was said through the voice of Isaiah has happened to them: "Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence strangers devour your land, and it is desolate, overthrown by strangers." In that day, says the Lord Almighty, you shall call, each one his neighbor, under his vine and under his fig tree. That indeed they will be in every evil, their sin being felt, those who were brought down as into a pit for having crucified Christ, he has clearly foretold. But that for those who believe and have loved Him the matter will not be unprofitable, but rather will lead to gladness and holy delights, he usefully prophesies. And the just Simeon will also bear witness to these things. For when he saw the divine infant and took Him in his arms, he prophesied, saying, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against." For those who poured the righteous blood upon their own heads have fallen, as though cast down and lying on the ground, and being under the feet of the devil; but those from the Gentiles were set upright. And Christ Himself somewhere proclaims beforehand to the holy disciples the passion on the cross; but when He saw that they were dejected, He comforted them, saying, "A woman has sorrow when she is in labor, because her hour has come; but when she has delivered the child, she rejoices with joy, because a man has been born into the world. And you indeed have sorrow, but later you will see Me and your heart will rejoice." Thus also, having been raised from the dead, He addressed the women weeping in the garden with 'Rejoice.' And it would be fitting for each of those who love Him, concerning both the cross and the resurrection, to say, "You have turned my mourning into joy for me; you have torn off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness." For how has not mourning departed, and "every tear from every face" been wiped away, according to the prophet's voice, since Christ was raised and destroyed the power of death? For He was life by nature, as God, even if He appeared in the flesh. Therefore, 'in that day,' he says, that is, at that time in which He would come back to life from the dead, those who crucified Him having been cast into the pit, 'you shall call, each one his neighbor, under his vine and under his fig tree.' And if one should wish to accept such a meaning as simple and obvious, he will affirm that the things named are symbols of spiritual delights. But I say it is not implausible to say in addition to this that he seems to call the Church a fig tree and a vine, which the divine psalmist also mentions, speaking enigmatically to the bridegroom from above and from heaven, that is, Christ: "Your wife as a fruitful vine in the inner parts of your house." And He Himself somewhere said, "The vines are in blossom, they give forth fragrance, the fig tree has produced its unripe figs." For as the churches had already begun in the world to be fragrant through faith in Him, he said the vines are in blossom, and indeed the unripe figs are appearing; and these might be understood as those who have just believed, the not yet ripe and a sweet multitude, becoming so little by little, and going toward this by improvements for the better. For having matured, and having ascended "to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," we shall be like sweet fruits to God, just as clinging to the Church as to a mother. Therefore, with the churches being understood through the fig tree and the vine, we shall be under them, and in them we shall lodge, hurriedly saying to one another that prophetic word: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will announce to us his way, and we will walk in it." And if it should happen that we attain this, we will deem worthy of all praise those who have called us to this, saying again that word: "I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." For the matter would rightly be considered the fruit of the highest delight for us. Therefore we shall say again according to the holy psalmist: "One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to visit his holy temple."