66:17
(Verse 17.) Those who were sanctified and considered themselves clean in gardens afterwards: those who ate pork, abomination, and mouse, will be consumed together, says the Lord. LXX: Those who are sanctified and purified in gardens and thresholds: eating pork, abominations, and mouse: they will be consumed together, says the Lord. Symmachus and Theodotion interpreted this passage as follows: Those who are sanctified and purified in gardens one after another, among them are those who eat pork, abomination, and mouse, they will perish together, says the Lord, in order to show that it is not themselves who eat pork, abomination, and mouse, but those who are sanctified in gardens one after another; rather, it is those who are purified who associate with them, who eat what is forbidden. But the divine word accuses the people of the Jews, rather the Scribes and Pharisees, whom the Lord also accused, saying: You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts, for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God (Luke XVI, 15). Therefore, he reproached them and said: Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside are full of greed and wickedness (Matthew XXIII, 25). And again: You are whitewashed sepulchers, full of dead bones and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27): those who blessed with their mouth and cursed with their heart (Psalm 62): those who spoke peace to the Lord and softened their words over oil, but they were spears, of whom it was rightly said: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me (Isaiah 29:13). But God commanded through Moses (Numbers 19) that if anyone had been contaminated by sin beforehand, they should be sprinkled with the ashes of a red cow and other means of expiation, through sacrifices and victims, and return to the Temple. However, those negligent ones built baptisteries or pools for irrigating gardens in places of delights and pleasures: thinking that adulteries and all forms of lustful behavior could be washed away with simple water, to whom that saying truly applies: And they cleanse the night with a river (Horace). And let it not seem incongruous to anyone that things that are done shamefully should be explained more clearly in order to correct those who are not ashamed to commit such things, which are shameful both to speak of, while they cling to prostitutes like dogs, and to engage in homosexuality with other males, receiving the punishment of their sin upon themselves. Those who do these deeds are of the same will and wickedness as those who eat pork and all the things that are prohibited by the Law, and the mouse, which we call a dormouse, or in the Eastern provinces, μυωξοὺς. And therefore those who eat these things, and those who practice all kinds of immorality, do the same things that even the pagans do. According to the allegory, we can say: All lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God, are sanctified in gardens and thresholds, because the mysteries of truth are not able to enter, and to eat the food of impiety, while they are not holy in body and spirit: nor do they eat the flesh of Jesus, nor drink his blood. Regarding which He Himself speaks: 'Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life.' (John 6:55). For indeed Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5). It is not consumed outside, but in one house and inwardly.
66:18-19
(Verse 18, 19.) But I come to gather together with all nations and tongues their works and thoughts: and they shall come and see my glory. And I will set a sign among them, and will send some of them, who have been saved, to the nations in the sea ((or sea)), to Africa, to Lydia spreading the bow, to Italy and Greece, to distant islands: to those who have not heard of me, and have not seen my glory. LXX: And I know their works and thoughts, and I come to gather all nations and all tongues: and they shall come and see my glory, and I will send a sign upon them: and I will send some of them, who have been saved, to the nations, to Tarshish and Put, and Lud and Mosoch and Tubal, and to Greece, and to distant islands, who have not heard my name, nor seen my glory. Before I explain what the enumeration of many nations signifies, it must be briefly said about the variety of interpretation. Tharsis, in the Hebrew language, is called sea; and (as they say) the region of India: although Josephus, changing the letter, thinks that Tarshish is now called Tarsum, a city of Cilicia, to which Jonah, fleeing from Joppa, wanted to go (Jonah 1). Phud, or Phul, however, refers to the Libyans, and the whole of Africa up to the sea of Mauritania, in which the river that is now called Phud, and the whole region around it, is named Phutensis. But the Lydians are called Lud, whose colonists, the Etruscans, who are now called the Tuscans, were once the most skilled in shooting arrows, and they are now said to be arrow shooters. For this reason, it is written in Hebrew as Mosche Ceseth, which all translated similarly without the Septuagint, interpreting it as 'those who shoot arrows.' And the Septuagint put μοσὸχ, interpreting the word as a name. If this is accepted, it means 'Cappadocians,' whose capital is Mazaca, which later received the name Caesarea from Caesar Augustus. Those who do not know what they want, even in Genesis (Chapter X) the last son of Aram, that is, the Syrians of Damascus, who are called Mes, are interpreted as μοσὸχ: for which we more correctly transfer to Moeonas. Thubal, however, is interpreted as either Italy or Iberia, that is, Spain, from the river Iberus, from which today the region of Spain is called Celtiberia. Concerning these, Lucanus (Lucan, Book IV) beautifully says:
The Celts of Gaul mixing with the Iberian people: whom we can call Gallo-Hispanics. The Greeks, however, who are called Javan in the Hebrew language, are signified by Jonas: hence Greeks are also called Jones, and the Ionian Sea. And it should be considered that the Eastern nations are mostly descended from Japheth, one of Noah's sons: although Tharsis and Phut, as well as Shem and Ham, that is, the names of India and Africa, were also mentioned, in order to show the whole world. Therefore, the Lord comes to gather the works and thoughts of each individual. From this, we learn that not only actions but also thoughts will be judged on the day of judgment. For whoever looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5). Regarding this, it is said: 'Now their own thoughts have surrounded them: when the Lord will judge the hidden things of men according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ' (Romans 2:15). So that what the Apostle writes may be proven true by the judgment, with thoughts accusing and satisfying one another, on the day when God will judge the hidden things of men. That all our thoughts, gathered together at once, may be proven by the just judge, whether our conscience accuses us or satisfies us for our wrongdoing, whether there are more sins or good deeds, whether they are old or new, whether they have been erased by repentance or rebuilt with new crimes, as the Lord says: 'I will give them their ways upon their heads, and I will repay their thoughts to them' (Hosea 9:7). He who formed every heart and understands all their works. (Psalm XXXII, 15) About whom we also read in another place: You alone know the hearts of men. (2 Chronicles VI, 30) For no one knows what is in a man, except the spirit of man that is in him. (1 Corinthians II) Therefore, God speaks through Jeremiah: Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can a man hide himself in secret places, and I will not see him? (Jeremiah XXIII, 23) Finally, it is said to the scribes and Pharisees: You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts (Luke XVI, 15). In this, it should be considered that he did not say 'Father,' according to the blasphemies of heretics, so as not to appear to exclude the Son, but 'God,' which is common to both the Father and the Son. For in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; this was in the beginning with God (John I, 1, 2). About which John also writes: But Jesus himself did not believe in them, because he knew all men, and he did not need anyone to bear witness of man: for he himself knew what was in man (John 2:24-25). This is also consistent with this: But Jesus knowing their thoughts (Luke 6:8). And in another place: But Jesus knowing their wickedness (Matthew 22:18). And to prevent any doubt, when heretics maliciously slander the Word of God, that it knows all things, it is stated more fully in the Epistle to the Hebrews: For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged sword; and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature invisible in his sight. But all things are naked and open to his eyes, to whom our speech is. (Hebrews IV, 12). But after all thoughts have been gathered into one, accusing or defending us: then all peoples and languages will be brought together with their thoughts. And according to the Apostle Paul, we not only read the languages of men but also of Angels (I Corinthians XIII). From this it is understood that all creatures are to be judged by the Lord, not only on earth, but in the air and in the heavens, as he himself said in the passages above: My sword is intoxicated in heaven, and it will come down to the earth (Isaiah 34:5). But everyone will come to see the glory of God, and he will put a sign on them, as shown in the beginning of the book of Ezekiel under the interpretation of the Hebrew letter Thau (Ezekiel 9). By this sign, the hand of the one who struck will flee. This was also marked on the doorposts of houses in Egypt when Egypt was perishing, and only Israel remained untouched (Exodus 12). Concerning this sign that King Ahaz of Judah did not want to receive, the prophet Isaiah testifies: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son (Isaiah 7:14). And so the Prophet prays for what was promised: Show me a sign for good (Psalm 86:17). And in another place: You have given a sign to those who fear you, that they may flee from the face of the bow (Psalm 59:4). The Lord left this to us as he ascended to the Father, or placed it on our foreheads, so that we may freely say: The light of your face, Lord, has shone upon us (Psalm 4:7). But what follows: And I will send those who have been saved to the nations: and he enumerates them individually, seems to be contrary to our interpretation. For if it is said of the Day of Judgment: how does the coming of the Savior recur to the first, when the Apostles are sent to the Gentiles, and hear from the Lord: Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. XXVIII, 19.) This is how it is resolved: The Day of Judgment is preached, or rather threatened, so that out of fear of future punishment, they may receive the coming of the Savior and the Gospel of the Apostles, who are to be sent before. But beautifully he said, 'And I will send out of them that shall be saved' (Isai. LXVI, 18). For unless the Lord had left us seed, we had been made as Sodom and we should have been like unto Gomorrha. And the Apostle says: 'The remnants, he saith, have been saved' (Rom. IX, 27). These are sent to the Gentiles in Tharsis, and Phud, and Lud, and Mosoch, and Thobel, and Greece, and to many islands which are far off, and have not heard my name, nor seen my glory. Of which we have already spoken in the account above (Ch. XII). Now the anagoge must be sought. Tharsis signifies the exploration of joy: so that we may consider not those things which are in the present, but those which are in the future; and may deserve to hear: 'Well done, good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of your Lord' (Matt. XXV, 21). Concerning which the Apostle Peter also writes: 'Rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory' (I Pet. I, 8); so that we may praise God, saying: 'Our mouth is filled with joy, and our tongue with exultation' (Ps. CXXV, 2). And what follows, Phud is interpreted as the exclusion of the mouth: that we may exclude all blasphemy, and speak those things which are good, and say: My mouth shall declare thy righteousness, O Lord: all the day long thy salvation (Psalm 70:15). And again: I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy salvation (Psalm 39:11). Lud also in our language signifies usefulness, and Mosoch signifies extension, and Thubal, or Thobel, signifies mourning, or turned, or universal: all of which are in accord with the calling of the nations, that they may follow usefulness through the confession of their soul, forgetting the past and extending to the future. And let the ancient sins be mourned, and let them be dragged to lamentation and sadness, which leads to life. Blessed are those who mourn, for they themselves will laugh (Matthew 5). And let everyone turn to the Lord, so that they may later pass to grace, and know the saying by the Apostle: Glory and honor, from peace to everyone who works good, to the Jew first and to the Greek (Romans 2:10): for God is not only the God of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles. Furthermore, that which is said: And to the distant islands, who have not heard my name, nor seen my glory, applies to them, of whom we read above: Those to whom it has not been announced about him, they will see; and those who have not heard, they will understand (Isaiah 55:5). And again: I manifested myself to those who did not question me: I was found by those who did not seek me (Isaiah LXV, 1). I said: Behold, I am here, to those who do not call upon my name. However, we often said that the islands signify either all the nations of the world, or the Churches dispersed throughout the whole world.
66:20
(Verse 20.) And they shall proclaim my glory among the nations, and they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on carts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord. LXX: And they shall proclaim my glory among the nations, and they shall bring your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, with horses and chariots, and with litters on the backs of mules, with sunshades to the holy city Jerusalem, says the Lord. Those who have been saved and sent to various nations, and to those who have not heard or seen the glory of the Lord, will proclaim it to all nations, and will bring the brothers of the Jewish people, whose remains have been saved, as a gift to the Lord from all nations: either those who have followed the knowledge of the true God, rejecting the error of idolatry, or those who have believed from the entire world among the Israelite people. To them, the apostle Peter writes (1 Peter 1). They brought in horses, chariots, litters, mules, and wagons. As for the wagons, which Symmachus alone interpreted and which we have followed in this place, Aquila, Septuagint, and Theodotion translated them as 'mulos'. And where Septuagint placed 'cum umbraculis', which we can interpret as dormitories or sleeping chambers, others translated with the similar-sounding word 'basternas'. And when they said 'φορεῖα', which we interpret as various types of vehicles, Septuagint and Theodotion used the term 'lampenas', for which Symmachus interpreted as 'lecticas'. Aquila used 'σκεπαστὰ', which itself means 'covered with skins', as a translation for 'lecticas'. This is said about the variety of translations. However, by horses, and chariots, and litters, and mules and wagons, and vehicles of various kinds, we can understand Angelic ministries, of which elsewhere it is said to God: Ascend upon your horses, and your riding is salvation (Hab. 3:8). With these horses, chariots, and chariots, Elijah was taken up to heaven, and Elisha showed himself to be surrounded and protected by them, demonstrating to the unaware boy (2 Kings 2). And Zacharias saw in the night: Behold a man ascending upon a red horse, and he stood in the midst of two shady mountains: and after him there were red, black, and white horses. And I said: What are these, my Lord? And he said to me: I will show thee what these are. And the man that stood in the midst of the mountains answered, and said to me: These are they, whom the Lord hath sent to walk through the earth (Zach. I, 8-10). John also testifies in the Apocalypse that he saw these things: I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse: and he who sat upon it was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations (Rev. 19:11-15). The Lord and Savior was sitting on a red horse, assuming a human body, to whom it is said: Why are your garments red? And: Who is this that comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah (Isaiah 63:2). And there followed him horses of various colors, either red in martyrdom, or starlings in flight, or varied in virtues, or white in virginity. But he was sitting on a white horse when he took on an immortal and incorruptible body after the resurrection. And whoever followed him used white horses, clearly with incorruptible and immortal bodies. It would take a long time, if we wanted to explain both testimonies: I will only say this, that the different vehicles by which people are led to faith are angels, or holy men who have progressed from being human to being angels. That each of us has angels is taught by many Scriptures, among which is this: Do not despise one of these little ones, for their angels behold the face of the Father who is in heaven (Matthew 18:10). And when Rhoda, a girl, announced that Peter was at the door, others believed that he was his angel (Acts 12). But if this is said about the least, and about one man, how much more should it be thought about all the saints, and especially about the Apostles? Whose angels see the face of the Father daily, according to what is written: The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him (Psalm 34:7). And Jacob speaks of himself: The angel who redeemed me. These are those who ascend and descend upon the Son of Man. Those who are swift in faith ride on horses; those who are abundant in grace ride on chariots; those who are in need of consolation are carried in covered litters and shaded tents, so that they may deserve to hear: The sun shall not scorch you by day, nor the moon by night (Psalm 121:6). However, we understand mules in Holy Scripture in two ways: either in terms of barrenness and continence, which is how David and Solomon sat, one interpreted as strong-handed and the other as peaceful, or in a negative sense, of which it is said: Do not be like the horse and the mule, without understanding (Psalm 32:9), to which Doeg was appointed (1 Samuel 21). But the carriages, for which (as we said above) the Seventy, the covered vehicles, the others simply carried them, they are to be understood as the ones the Apostle is speaking of: Bear one another's burdens (Galatians VI, 2). Moreover, the lamps are to be understood as the shining bodies of the saints, and the souls illuminated by the faith of the Lord, of which it can be said: You are the light of the world (Matthew V, 14). However, all this apparatus serves to enter the holy city of God, or the holy mountain of the Lord Jerusalem: not the one that kills the Prophets, and that stones those sent to her; but the heavenly Jerusalem, of which we have frequently said: But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother (Galatians IV, 26). And again: But you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. XII, 22). This can be understood either of the present Church, which is gathered throughout the whole world by the Apostles, or of the future: so that what the Apostle prophesied by the Holy Spirit may be fulfilled: We shall be caught up together with the Lord in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord (I Thess. IV, 16). The Jews and the followers of the Judaic error, the Ebionites, who, for the sake of affected humility, have taken the name of the poor; all those who are looking forward to a thousand years of delight, understand horses and chariots, and chariots, and litters, or palanquins, and beds, and mules and donkeys, and carts, and various types of vehicles, as they are written. Indeed, at the consummation of the world, when Christ will come to reign in Jerusalem, and the Temple will be restored, and the Judaic victims will be offered, the sons of Israel will be gathered from the whole world, not on horses, but on the mules of Numidia. And those who will be of senatorial rank and hold positions of authority, they will come in carts from the Britons, the Spaniards, and the Morini, who are called Morinos by Virgil (Aeneid VIII), and from where the Rhine is divided by the two-horned [river], with all the nations prepared for their service meeting them.
66:21
(Verse 21) Just as the sons of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. And I will take from among them priests and Levites, says the Lord. LXX: Just as the sons of Israel offer their sacrifices to me with Psalms in the house of the Lord; and I will take from among them priests and Levites, says the Lord. As they have been directed to the nations, and have proclaimed my glory to them, so they shall bring your brothers from all nations as an offering to the Lord, with horses, and chariots, and litters, and mules, and carts, and various vehicles, to the holy mountain Jerusalem, just as the sons of Israel used to do when their religion was established and the ceremonies of the Temple were observed, offering sacrifices with Psalms in the house of the Lord. Or, as it is written in Hebrew, they rendered it all with consonant voice in pure vessel: which they also offer until this day in the House of God, which is the Church, the sons of Israel who behold God with their mind, spiritual sacrifices with the fruits and virtues of their soul in pure vessels, that is, in holy bodies. Concerning which the Apostle writes: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Holy Spirit dwells in you (1 Corinthians 3:16)? And I will select, says the Lord, priests and Levites from among them, so that those who are saved may proclaim the message to the nations. Of whom one spoke: Thus let a man consider us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (I Cor. IV, 1). And Luke the evangelist says: Just as they handed down to us, who from the beginning saw and were ministers of the word. Of whom we also read above: You shall be priests to me, says the Lord (Isaiah LXI, 6). For just as a Jew is hidden, who is circumcised in spirit (Rom. II), of whom it is written: We are the circumcision, who serve God in spirit (Philipp. III, 3), and offer spiritual sacrifices pleasing to God, and sing with spirit and understanding: thus also the priests and Levites are hidden, who do not follow the order of their lineage, but the order of faith. Or certainly he does not speak of the Apostles and apostolic men, who were the leaders of the Church from the Jewish people, but of those mentioned above the nations, from the sea, from Africa, from Libya, from Cappadocia, from Italy, from Greece, from all the islands, the inhabitants of which had not first heard the Lord, nor seen His glory, and afterwards they turn into priests, so that those who were tail become the head, and those who were the head, turn into the tail.
66:22-23
(Vers. 22, 23.) For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make to stand before me, saith the Lord: so shall your seed stand, and your name. And there shall be month after month, and sabbath after sabbath: all flesh shall come to adore in my sight, saith the Lord. LXX: For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make to remain before me, saith the Lord: so shall your seed and your name remain. And there shall be month after month, and sabbath after sabbath: all flesh shall come to adore in my sight in Jerusalem the Lord. When he says: 'Assume from among them priests and Levites,' he indicates that the old priesthood was passed over, which was owed to the Levitical tribe, where there is not an election, but a natural order, and it is a succession of a family descending through offspring. For with the translation of the priesthood, it is necessary that both the translation of the Law be made, and the election pertain to those to whom priesthood is conferred, not according to blood, but according to merits and virtues, who will come from the islands of the Gentiles and announce the glory of the Lord. And they shall be brought in on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and in wagons. But as for the new heaven and the new earth, and the new Jerusalem, that it may not be said: The heaven and the earth shall pass away (Matt. XXIV, 35). And again: The heaven shall be folded up like a book: and the earth shall be dissolved by its corruption (Apoc. VI, 14): so in all things new, the people of God shall be made new, as scripture says: The old things have passed away: behold all things are made new (Isa. XLIII, 19). And in another place: If any man be in Christ a new creature (II Cor. V, 17) . And there shall be a new people; for Christ is the firstfruits, then they that are Christ's, at his coming: and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, whereof it is said among the eight beatitudes: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land (Matth. V, 3, 4) . For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him that made it subject, in hope (Rom. VIII). But they will be set free from the slavery of corruption into the glory of the children of God, who will be made sons of him through men, and they will stand before him forever, and their name will always remain so that no other nation may succeed them, as happened among the Jews; but they shall remain forever. And, he says, month by month there will be a month, and Sabbath after Sabbath: so that from carnal Sabbaths and months, delicate spiritual Sabbaths may be made, which is the Sabbath of God reserved for the people. The spiritual month, when it is completed from one point to another by the moon, and follows its own order, in order to make a month, that is, the kalends, which in Greek are called 'neomeniai', that is, the beginning of the new month. Among them, the beginning of the kalends does not start and end according to the course of the sun and the different spans of the months, but according to the circuit of the moon. This is the moon about which in praise of the true Solomon it is said: 'It shall endure as long as the sun and before the moon throughout all generations' (Psalm 72:5). She who is called the chosen one in the Song of Songs: Who is this that comes forth like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awe-inspiring? (Song of Songs 6:9) Physicists, who are concerned with discussing celestial matters, say that the moon does not have its own light, but is illuminated by the rays of the sun. It is always filled and shines by a part of it, from which it is closer to the sun, and it is not hidden by the shadow of the earth, as the poet also demonstrated in a single verse (Virgil, Georgics Book I).
Nor does the moon rise under the rays of her brother.
If this is true, and we can also say in a metaphorical sense, that the Church which grows and diminishes in times of peace and persecution, and once again takes on its original light, shining with the radiance of the sun of justice, and this is what is meant by: 'The moon will shine like the sun' (Isai. XXX, 26); and its inhabitants will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. And during these months, the seed of the Lord, which is renewed forever, comes to its solemnities, which the holy one proclaimed with mystical words, saying: 'I have considered the eternal years, and I have meditated' (Psal. LXXVI, 6). But on the Sabbath, which signifies rest, we have treated extensively in the sermon (On Chapter LVI), about the prophecy of the eunuch strangers. And now it must be said briefly that they come on the new moons and on the Sabbaths, those who, having passed and left behind the six days in which the world was made, hasten to the seventh day, that is, the Sabbath, in which true rest is found. Concerning these solemnities, the believing Apostle Paul instructs, saying: For the law having a shadow of the good things to come (Hebrews X, 1). And again: Therefore let no one judge you in food, or in drink, or regarding a festival, or a new moon, or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come (Colossians II, 16). But if these have preceded in the shadow of future goods, and in an image, then the whole law must be understood spiritually, of which the same Apostle said: We know that the law is spiritual (Romans VII, 14), the mysteries of which David desired to know: Open my eyes, and I will contemplate the wonders of your law (Psalm CXVIII, 18). For the things that are seen are temporal; but the things that are not seen are eternal. (II Corinthians IV). To quickly run through a discussion about these things is not of this time. For if the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love him (I Corinthians II), how can we attempt to show the summary of the entire Law and the world in a short tablet? And what follows: All flesh shall come to adore in my sight in Jerusalem, it should be known that it is not written in Hebrew, Jerusalem, so that we may deride the pride of the Jews, but only 'in my sight', so that the word of the Lord may be fulfilled, saying in the Gospel: Amen, amen, I say to you, that the hour comes when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem adore the Father (John IV, 21). And again: The Spirit is God. And those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John, 4:24). And the Apostle also said: Lifting up holy hands in every place (I Tim. II, 8). But all flesh does not signify the Jewish people, but every kind of people, according to what was said above: All flesh shall see your salvation (Isaiah, 40:5). And in Joel: I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters will prophesy (Joel, 2:28). And in Zechariah: Let all flesh fear before the Lord (Zech. II, 13). And in the Psalms: To you all flesh will come (Ps. LXIV, 2). Which in other words is said in another psalm: All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name (Ps. LXXXV, 9). They interpret from month to month, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, when all flesh will come to worship God, the "chiliasts," who we can call the Milestones: so that those who are nearby come to Jerusalem every Sabbath; those who are far away come through months, that is, completing the cycle of the calendar; those who are very far away come through individual years, that is, on the days of Passover or Tabernacles, according to what is said in Zechariah: And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech. XIV, 16). And to provide greater laughter to the hearers, which is written in the last volume of the same prophet: 'And there will no longer be a merchant in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day,' thus they interpret, that merchants will cease to exist for a thousand years, because everything will be produced in all places, so that neither will we need the leaf of amomum and pepper, nor will the Indians desire pennyroyal from us.
66:24
(Verse 24.) And they shall go forth, and see the bodies of the men who have transgressed against me. Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be extinguished. And they shall be a vision to all flesh, even to the point of satiety. LXX likewise. All flesh that is to worship before the Lord, whether in heavenly Jerusalem or in any place where clean hands are raised, shall go forth to see the bodies of the dead men who have transgressed against God. What can be understood about the Jews, of whom it is said: I have begotten sons and exalted them, but they have rejected me; or about all those who, having knowledge of God in their hearts, have turned to vanity, worshiping the creature rather than the Creator. However, they will depart not from their place, but from their understanding. For the bodies of the dead cannot be in the presence of the Lord. But if all flesh is to worship the Lord, then, on the contrary, the bodies of men who have transgressed against the Lord will be delivered to eternal burnings. In this way, the resurrection of true flesh will occur on both sides. But the worm that does not die, and the fire that is not extinguished, is understood by many as the conscience of sins, which torments those set in punishments: why they have been deprived of the good of the elect by their own fault and sin, according to what is said: I am tormented in misery, while the thorn is fastened to me (Psalm XXXI, 4). And in Proverbs: The moth of the bones is the intelligent heart (Prov. XXV, 20). And again, under a disguise: Just as a moth to clothing, and a worm to wood, so grief tortures the heart of a man (Ibid.). Thus, while they do not deny the eternal punishments of the evildoers and those denying the Lord, as the Lord says in the Gospel: Go into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). And in another place: Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13). If we understand by hands and feet the outer darkness, which is the punishment of the eyes that do not see the light of God; and weeping, which certainly also pertains to the eyes; and gnashing of teeth: I wonder why some introduce an airy body, gradually dissolving into thin air after the resurrection; for the Lord, by the power of His majesty, entered through closed doors to the Apostles (John 20). Certainly, he walked on the sea before the resurrection with a suspended step; and he even demonstrated this to the apostle Peter: that he who walked with faith, afterwards was submerged by disbelief; to whom it was said: Why did you doubt, you of little faith (Matt. XIV, 31)? The fire also must be understood in the same way as the worm, which is burnt for as long as it has matter with which the voracious flame can be nourished. Therefore, if anyone has in their conscience the weeds that the enemy sowed while the master of the house was sleeping, these will be burned by fire, these will be devoured by the flame (Matt. XIII). And in the eyes of all the Saints, the punishments of those who built upon the foundation of the Lord with gold, and silver, and precious stones will be revealed as hay, wood, straw, and the eternal fuel of fire. Moreover, those who desire that the punishments will eventually end, and although after many ages, they will have an end to their torments, use these testimonies: 'When the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved' (Rom. 11:25). And again: God concluded all under sin, that he might have mercy on all (Galatians 3:22). And in another place the holy one speaks: I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him; until he pleads my case and takes away my judgement, and brings me into the light (Micah 7:9). And again: I will bless you, O Lord, for you were angry with me. You turned your face away from me, and had mercy on me (Isaiah 12:1). The Lord also speaks to the sinner: When the fury of my anger has passed, I will heal again (Psalm 30:20). And this is what is said elsewhere: How great is the multitude of your goodness, Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you. All these things they repeat, seeking to affirm, after pains and torments, the future refreshments which must now be hidden from those for whom fear is useful, so that while they dread the punishments, they may cease from sinning. This we God alone must leave to knowledge, whose torments are not less in weight than his mercies; and he knows whom, how, and how long he ought to judge. And let us only say what is suitable to human frailty: O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath (Psalm 6:1, 38:1) . And just as we believe in eternal torments for the devil and all deniers and impious ones, who have said in their heart: There is no God (Psalm 14:1) , so we consider that the punishment of sinners and impious ones, even of Christians, whose works are to be tested and purified by fire, is a moderated and mixed sentence of the judge's mercy (1 Corinthians 3:13) .