And Trypho said: "Yet I learn that many of those who say they confess Jesus, and who are called Christians, eat things sacrificed to idols and say they suffer no harm from this."
And I answered: "From the very fact that there are such men, who confess themselves to be Christians and confess the crucified Jesus to be both Lord and Christ, yet teach not his doctrines but those that come from the spirits of error, we who are disciples of the true and pure teaching of Jesus Christ become more faithful and more firm in the hope proclaimed by him. For the things which he foretold beforehand would come to pass in his name, these we behold being accomplished before our very eyes and in actual fact."
"For he said: 'Many shall come in my name, clothed outwardly in sheep's skins, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.' And: 'There shall be schisms and heresies.' And: 'Beware of the false prophets, who shall come to you clothed outwardly in sheep's skins, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.' And: 'Many false christs and false apostles shall arise, and shall lead astray many of the faithful.'"
"There are therefore, and there have been, my friends, many who have taught the saying and doing of godless and blasphemous things, coming forward in the name of Jesus; and they are called by us according to the surname of the men from whom each teaching and opinion took its beginning."
"For some in one way, others in another, teach men to blaspheme the Maker of all things, and the Christ who was prophesied by him to come, and the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob; with none of whom do we have fellowship, since we recognize them to be godless and impious and unjust and lawless, and to confess Jesus in name only instead of truly worshiping him."
"And they call themselves Christians, in the same way as those among the nations inscribe the name of God upon their handmade idols, and take part in lawless and godless rites. And among them some are called Marcians, others Valentinians, others Basilidians, others Saturnilians, and others by yet another name—each named after the founder of his opinion, just as each of those who think they are philosophizing, as I said at the outset, considers that he derives the name of the philosophy he professes from the father of that teaching."
"So that from these things too, as I said, we know Jesus to be the foreknower of what would come to pass after him, and from many other things which he foretold would happen to those who believe and confess him to be Christ. For indeed all that we suffer, being put to death by our own kinsmen, he foretold to us would come to pass—so that in no way can his word or his deed appear open to reproach."
"Therefore both for you and for all other men who are hostile to us we pray, that you may change your minds together with us and may not blaspheme Christ Jesus—who, by his works and by the mighty deeds even now being done in his name, and by the words of his teaching, and by the prophecies that were prophesied concerning him, is shown to be in every way blameless and without fault—but that, having believed in him, you may be saved at his glorious coming which is again to take place, and not be condemned by him into the fire."