Likewise in the prophet Isaiah: And the saints shall go forth, and shall see the limbs of the men who have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be a spectacle to all flesh. Likewise according to Matthew: So shall it be at the consummation of this age: the angels shall go forth and separate the evil from the company of the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be their weeping and gnashing of teeth. Likewise there: But immediately after those days of tribulation the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and majesty. And he shall send his angels with a trumpet and a great voice, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds' corners, from the highest parts of heaven to their utmost bounds. Likewise the apostle Peter II: But the day of the Lord shall come like a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be dissolved by the heat of fire, and the earth and all the works in it. Since all these things are to perish, what manner of persons ought they to be who feed on execrable foods and impieties, not awaiting the presence of the day of the Lord, through which the burning heavens shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent fire.
Likewise in the Apocalypse of John: But for the doubting and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and adulterers and sorcerers and idolaters and liars, their portion shall be in the lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. XXVII. ON THE RESURRECTION. In Job: Your children shall be as the green things of the field; and at the consummation of the age, rising from the grave, you shall return like ripe wheat, which is reaped in its own season, and rises up into the heap of the threshing floor, which is heaped up hour by hour. For he who is without malice has raised him up from the earth, and will not forget him. Likewise there: For I know that even if a man dies, completing the days of his life, he shall not perish before you, but shall live.
Wherefore I too will endure, until I be made again; and when you call me, I will obey the works of your hands. Likewise in the prophet Ezekiel: And the hand of the Lord came upon me, and the Lord led me out in the spirit, and set me down in the midst of a plain, and it was full of human bones. And he led me round about over them by a circuit; and behold, there were very many upon the face of the plain, and exceedingly dry. And he said to me: Son of man, shall these bones live? And I answered: Lord, you know these things. And he said to me: Son of man, prophesy over these bones and you shall say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord to these bones:
Behold, I will bring the spirit of life into you, and I will put sinews upon you, and I will bring flesh over you, and I will stretch skin over you, and I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord. And I prophesied as the Lord commanded me. And it came to pass, while I prophesied, that behold, there was a great earthquake, and the bones came together, each to its own joint. And I looked, and behold, sinews and flesh grew upon them, and skin was stretched over them, but there was no spirit in them. And the Lord said to me: Prophesy in the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord: Come from the four winds of heaven, O spirit, and breathe upon these dead, that they may live. And I prophesied as he commanded me:
And the spirit of life entered into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great host. And the Lord spoke to me, saying: Son of man, these bones are the house of Israel. And they say: Our bones are become dry, our hope has perished. Therefore prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will open your tombs, and I will bring you out of your tombs, that I may lead you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring out my people from the tombs. And I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will set you in your own land, and you shall know that I am the Lord: I have spoken it and I will do it, says the Lord. Likewise in the prophet Daniel:
And many of those who sleep shall rise up in the covering of the earth, and shall rise up to eternal life. Likewise there: And these to reproach and eternal confusion. Likewise there: And you shall rise up in your lot at the end of days. Likewise in Maccabees II: The Lord therefore, who made heaven and earth and sea, who made man and searches out the deed of all, he himself will restore to us again spirit and soul with mercy. Likewise there: You indeed, wicked and impious one, will destroy us from the present life; but the King of the world — who reigns forever, and of whose kingdom there is no end — will raise us up, who die for his holy laws, into the conversation of eternal life. Likewise there:
It is better to choose to be put to death by men, and to have from the Lord the hope of a resurrection yet to come. But for you, O tyrant, there shall be no resurrection unto life. Likewise there: Do not therefore fear this executioner, but, showing yourself worthy of such brothers, accept death, that in his great mercy I may receive you again together with your brothers. Likewise in the Gospel according to John: For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he wills. Likewise there: Amen I say to you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live. Likewise there:
For I say to you, do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice and shall come forth: those who have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. Likewise there: For this is the will of my Father who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Likewise in the Gospel according to Matthew: But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near. Likewise the apostle Paul to the Corinthians I: But now Christ is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of those who sleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: the beginning, Christ; then those who are Christ's, who have believed in his coming; then the end. Likewise there: Do not be deceived: evil conversations corrupt good morals. Be sober and righteous, and do not sin, for some have ignorance of God. I speak to your shame. But someone will say: How do the dead rise? And with what body do they come? Foolish one: what you sow is not made alive unless it dies; and what you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but a bare grain, of wheat, say, or of some of the rest; but God gives it a body as he wills, and to each of the seeds its own body.
Not all flesh is the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, another of beasts, another of birds, and another of fishes. And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another: one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in brightness. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it rises in perpetuity; it is sown in dishonor, it rises in glory; it is sown in weakness, it rises in power; it is sown a natural body, it rises a spiritual body. So also it is written: The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
But the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. Likewise there: Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall all indeed rise, but we shall not all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Likewise to the Corinthians II: For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh. Likewise there: For we know that if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
For in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our dwelling which is from heaven, if indeed being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this dwelling groan, being burdened, in that we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon, desiring that this mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now he who has wrought us for this very thing is God, who has given us the pledge of the Spirit. Likewise to the Philippians: But our conversation is in heaven, from where also we await the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall refashion the body of our lowliness, conformed to the body of his glory. Likewise to the Thessalonians: But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who sleep, that you may not be sorrowful as also the rest who have no hope in the Lord.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also God will bring with him, through Jesus, those who have fallen asleep. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep; for the Lord himself, at the cry of the archangel and at the trumpet of God, shall descend from heaven, and the dead who are in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet Christ in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Likewise in the Apocalypse: And I saw the dead, small and great, standing in the sight of the throne; and the books were opened:
And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to those things which were written in the books, and according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and hell gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his deeds. XXVIII. ON THE TRIBULATIONS AND TESTINGS OF THE RIGHTEOUS. In Psalm 19: These trust in chariots and these in horses, but we shall be magnified in the name of the Lord our God. They are bound and have fallen, but we have risen and stand upright. Likewise in Psalm 32: But our soul is patient in the Lord, for he is our helper and protector; and in him shall our heart rejoice, and in his holy name have we hoped.
Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have hoped in you. Likewise in Psalm 33: I sought the Lord, and he heard me and delivered me out of all my distresses. The Lord sends his angel round about those who fear him, and delivers them. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for there is no want to those who fear him. Likewise in Psalm 36: When the righteous man falls, he shall not be cast down, for the Lord upholds his hand. Likewise in Psalm 41: My tears have been my bread day and night, while it is said to me daily: Where is your God? These things I remembered, and poured out my soul within me. Likewise in Psalm 43: In you we will scatter our enemies, and in your name we will despise those who rise against us.
For you have saved us, O God, from those who afflict us, and have put to shame those who hate us. You have given us up like sheep for food, from the voice of him who reproaches and slanders, from the face of the enemy and persecutor. All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you, nor dealt unjustly with your covenant, and our heart has not turned back. And you have turned our paths aside from your way, and the shadow of death has covered us. If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread out our hands to a strange god, shall not God search out these things? For he knows the secrets of the heart. For your sake we are put to death all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Likewise in Psalm 54:
I am grieved in my meditation, and am troubled by the voice of the enemy and by the tribulation of the sinner. My heart is troubled within me, and the terror of death has fallen upon me. And I said: Who will give me wings like a dove's, that I may fly away and be at rest? Likewise in Psalm 65: For you have proved us, O God; you have tried us by fire, as silver is tried in the fire. We have passed through fire and water, and you have brought us out into a place of refreshment. Likewise in Psalm 125: Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Going out they went and wept, casting their seed; but coming they shall come in exultation, carrying their sheaves. Likewise in Proverbs: As silver and gold are tried in the furnace, so are choice hearts before God. Likewise there:
Do, my son, what I command you, and you shall be saved. For you have come into the hands of the wicked for your friend's sake. Be untiring, and attend to your friend, for whom you have pledged yourself. Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids, that you may escape like a gazelle from the snares, and like a bird from the trap. Likewise in the book of Wisdom: But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of the Lord, and no torment shall touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to die, and their departure was reckoned as an affliction; and though before men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality; and having been afflicted in a few things, in many things they shall be well rewarded; for God tested them and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace he proved them, and received them as a whole burnt sacrifice, and in due time there shall be a regard for them. They shall shine like sparks running through the reed-bed; they shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and their Lord shall reign forever. Likewise in Ecclesiasticus: Son, when you come to the service of the Lord, stand in righteousness and fear, and prepare your soul for temptation. Humble your heart and endure; incline your ear and receive the words of understanding, and do not hasten in the time of overwhelming. Endure the Lord's sustaining; cleave to the Lord and endure, that your life may grow in the end. Whatever is laid upon you, accept it, and in sorrow endure, and in your humility have patience:
for gold and silver are proved in the fire, but righteous men in the furnace of humiliation. Likewise there: The furnace proves the potter's vessels, and the trial of tribulation proves righteous men. Likewise in Ecclesiastes: And God will seek out the persecution that is patiently endured. Likewise in Tobit: Blessed is the Lord our God, for behold I see you, my son; and blessed is his name, which is great; and blessed are all his holy angels; and may his name be holy and blessed unto all ages of ages. For he himself scourged me in my rebuke, and he himself had mercy on me, and restored the light to my eyes, that I might see my son. Likewise in Job: And hearing these things the Lord said from the cloud to Job: Therefore now gird up your loins like a man:
and I will question you, and you answer me. Do not think my judgment is foreign to you, nor suppose that I have decreed otherwise than that you should appear less unjust. Likewise there: For I am conscious to myself that my tongue has uttered nothing wrong, and my throat never ceases to meditate understanding. For the trial of a man on earth is his life, and his deed is like a daily wage. Likewise there: Take upon yourself height and power, and clothe yourself with brightness and honor. Send forth the angels of wrath, and extinguish every insolent and proud one. Separate the wicked from yourself at once, and hide them all in the earth, and cover their faces with shame, and repay them their due.
But if they are with you without honor, then you shall see and confess that my right hand is able to save you. Likewise there: The Lord knows my way, and he judges me as gold that is tried by fire, that I may go forth in his commandments, that I may keep his way. And I will not turn aside from his precepts, nor go out from his ways, and I will not be moved, but in my bosom I will hide his words. For what I endure, I know that he has judged as he willed. And who is there that can contradict him? For what he willed, this he did. And because of this, being rebuked, I will hasten to him, and anxiously fix my gaze upon him, for he is the Lord, and he himself has softened my heart, and he himself has encompassed me. Likewise in the book of Maccabees I:
And the days of Mattathias drew near, the days of his dying, and he said to his sons: Now is pride and oppression consummated, and the time of overthrow and of wrath and indignation. Now, my sons, be zealous for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of our fathers; and remember the deeds of your fathers which they did in their times, leaving behind an example to their posterity, and you shall receive great glory and an everlasting name. Was not Abraham found faithful in temptation, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness? Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment, and was made lord in Egypt. Phinehas our father, because he was zealous with zeal, received the promise of an eternal priesthood.
Joshua, when he had fulfilled the word, was made judge over Israel. Caleb, when he bore witness in the assembly, received an inheritance. David in his mercy obtained the throne of an everlasting kingdom. Elijah, because he was zealous with zeal for the law, was taken up into heaven. Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, believing, were delivered from the flame. Daniel in his simplicity was delivered from the mouth of the lions. Therefore you also, considering through the generations of generations that all who hope in God shall not be weakened, do not fear the words of a sinful man, for his glory shall be in dung and in worms. Today he is exalted, and tomorrow he shall not be found, for he shall return to his own dust, and his thought shall perish.
And, my sons, be strengthened and prevail in the law, for it shall glorify you. Likewise the apostle Paul to the Romans: And not only so, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience proof, and proof hope; and hope does not confound, because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who is given to us. Likewise there: Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation? Or distress? Or persecution? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or peril? Or the sword? As it is written: For your sake we are put to death all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Likewise to the Corinthians II: In all things we suffer tribulation, but are not distressed:
we are perplexed, but not in despair; we suffer persecution, but are not forsaken; we are cast down, but do not perish; always bearing about in our body the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, that the life also of Jesus Christ may be made manifest in our body. For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh. Likewise according to Matthew: Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Likewise there: Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and shall drive you out and persecute you and reproach you, and speak all evil against you. Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens:
for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Likewise there: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Likewise there: Beware of men, for they will deliver you up in the councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you; and you shall stand before kings and governors for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations. But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious what you shall speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you shall speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. And do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body and cast them into Gehenna. Likewise there: He who finds his soul shall lose it:
and he who loses his soul for my sake shall find it. XXIX. THAT THE LORD DOES NOT ABIDE IN THOSE WHO HAVE STRAYED FROM HIS PRECEPTS. In Genesis: And the angels of God, seeing the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives from all whom they chose. And then God said: My spirit shall not abide in these men forever, because they are carnal. Likewise in Kings I: Does God will burnt offerings and sacrifices more than to obey his voice? For obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken to the commandments than the fat of rams. For sin is a reproach; grief and groaning shall be brought to you. Likewise there:
Because for this you have spurned the word of the Lord, the Lord will spurn you, that you shall not reign over Israel. And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord seized him and choked him. Likewise in Third Kingdoms: And king Solomon was a lover of women; and through this it came about that in the time of his old age his heart was not turned straight toward the Lord. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because he had turned his heart away from the Lord, the God of Israel. And the Lord raised up Satan against Solomon, and Satan was over Israel all the days of Solomon. Likewise in Paralipomenon: The Lord your God is with you, so long as you are with him; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
Likewise in Psalm 80: But my people did not heed my voice, and Israel gave no ear to me; so I let them go according to the desires of their heart. If my people had listened to me, if Israel had walked in my ways, I would soon have brought their enemies low, and laid my hand upon those who afflict them. Likewise in the Wisdom of Solomon: For perverse thoughts separate men from God, and virtue when tested convicts the foolish; for wisdom will not enter a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin. For the holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and withdraw itself from thoughts that are without understanding, and be put to rebuke by iniquity when it draws near. Likewise in the prophet Isaiah:
Who gave Jacob up to spoil, and Israel to those who plundered him? Was it not God, against whom they sinned, and in whose ways they refused to walk? And he brought his wrath upon them, and war prevailed against them, and not one of them understood, nor laid it to heart. Likewise there: Is the hand of the Lord not strong enough to save? or has he made his ear heavy, that it cannot hear? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins he has turned away his face, that he might not have mercy. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins; your lips have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates injustice. No one speaks justice, nor is there any true judgment:
they trust in vain things and speak empty words, for they conceive deceit and bring forth iniquity. Likewise in the prophet Jeremiah: And your sins have removed good things from you, because impieties are found among my people. Likewise there: But because you have provoked the Lord, you have been handed over to your adversaries; for you have exasperated him who made us, the everlasting Lord, by sacrificing to demons and not to God. Likewise the Apostle to the Romans: For claiming to be wise they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds and four-footed beasts and serpents.
Therefore God gave them up in the desires of their heart to uncleanness, so that among themselves they dishonor their own bodies; who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. For this cause God gave them up to passions of dishonor. 30. THAT THE SERVANT OF GOD MUST NOT BE OVERCOME BY THE SLANDER OF THE WICKED. In the prophet Isaiah: Hear me, you who know judgment, my people, in whose heart is my law; do not fear the reproaches of men, nor let yourselves be overcome by their slander. For like a garment they shall be consumed with time, and like wool the moth shall devour them.
But my justice shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation. Likewise Tobit: All my neighbors mocked me, saying: How does this man not fear, who was but lately sought out to be killed for this very cause, and fled? How does he again undertake to bury the dead? But I, being intent on the commandments of God, did not fear what man might say. Likewise in First Maccabees: Do not fear the words of a sinful man, for his glory shall be dung and worms; today he is exalted, and tomorrow he shall not be found, for he has returned to his dust, and his thought has perished. Likewise in the Gospel according to Matthew:
Blessed shall you be when men hate you, and cast you out, and persecute you, and revile you, and speak all manner of evil against you. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven; for so they persecuted the prophets also who were before you. 31. THAT ONE MUST NOT SLANDER. In Numbers: And the Lord said to Aaron and Miriam: Hear my words. If there be a prophet of the Lord among you, I will make myself known to him in a vision, and I will speak to him in a dream, not as to my servant Moses, who is faithful in all my house; mouth to mouth will I speak to him, in plain sight and not by riddles, and he has seen the glory of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to disparage my servant Moses? And the wrath of the Lord's indignation shall be upon you. Likewise in Psalm 49: