Глава 9

Amos 9:1–3. I saw the Lord standing on the altar, and said: Smite the purgatory, and the vestibule will shake, and the heads of all will be shaken: and those who are left behind will smite them with weapons; he will not flee from them, and he will not survive from them: if they hide themselves in hell, then from there my hand will tear them out, and if they ascend to heaven, then I will overthrow them: and If they hide on the verge of Carmel, then I will seek and take away from there, and if before my sight they plunge into the depths of the sea, then I will command the serpent there, and I will bite. After this, the Prophet said that he saw “the Lord standing on the altar,” and He commanded to “strike the purgatory” with such a blow that the very vestibule would shake. This means that the king of Babylon will overcome them by God’s command, and not by his own strength. “And the presets are the heads of all.” Blessed Ezekiel also saw this, for even there the invisible Powers received the command to go with axes throughout the entire city and cut off everyone except those who had a sign on them (Ezek. 9:2-6). God commanded the same here: “presets to be the heads of all.” And signifying sudden death, he added: “And those who are left behind will beat them with weapons; whoever runs from them will not escape, and whoever escapes from them will not survive.” Even if they go down to hell, the Lord continues, I will take them out from there with my hand. If they ascend to heaven (which is impossible), and bring them down from there, I will deliver them to their enemies. If they run away to Carmel, I’ll easily take them there too. And if they attempt to plunge into the very depths of the sea, I will command the beasts to destroy them there. If they dare to voluntarily hand themselves over to the enemies, in this case they will not receive mercy from them. Am.9:4. I will fix my eyes on them for evil and not for good I, the God and Lord of all, with one touch make the earth shake, and thereby make those who live on it cry. Am.9:6. Create Your sunrise in heaven, and establish Your promise on earth, Similar to this is what was said by blessed David: “He lives on the high, and looks down on the lowly” (Ps. 112:5, 6). Call upon the water of the sea, and pour it out on the face of the earth: The Lord God Almighty is His name. Points to the deeds of omnipotence to confirm the threats. Am.9:7. Are you not the sons of Israel like the sons of Ethiopia? says the Lord. Being of the same nature with the Ethiopians and with other people, you were worthy of My greater providence than all others. And pointing to this, he added: Was it not Israel that brought forth from the land of Egypt, and foreigners from Cappadocia, and the Syrians from the land? Others also migrated, leaving their former fatherland and moving to another, for example: the Syrians and the Philistines, but not in the same way as you. For no one knew about their migration, but every person speaks about yours with glory. Having migrated, they live with other peoples, governed by their laws; and you, having overcome the inhabitants and completely destroyed them all, became the owners of the land that they occupied, because you used My help. Am.9:8. Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the kingdom of sinners, and I will reject it from the face of the earth: otherwise I will not completely reject the house of Israel, says the Lord. And I will not put those who commit thousands of iniquities to final destruction. But now I will scatter them into captivity, like a farmer, I will separate the chaff from the wheat, and I will preserve those worthy of salvation, and the rest who did not want to believe My words, and hoped to avoid the fulfillment of My threats, I will deliver to the slaughter. Amos 9:11–12. In that day I will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David, and I will restore its fallenness, and I will erect it when it was dug up, and I will restore it as the days of the world. For let the remaining people and all the nations seek Me, calling My name in them, says the Lord, do all this. Others understood this about Zerubbabel, thinking that they related to him as leading his family from David. But they did not want to take into account that Zerubbabel, after a short reign, ended his life; and the prophecy contains the promise of eternal blessings and the knowledge of God among all nations, which, as we find, is not at all similar to what happened under Zerubbabel. Our Lord Jesus Christ, leading His race according to the flesh from David, fulfilled the promise spoken to David, because “the Word became flesh and dwelt in us” (John 1:1), having taken upon Himself the tabernacle from David. Therefore, the prophetic word rightly says that David will be rewarded with the tabernacle, not for a little time, but for all the days of the age. For such promises were given by the God of all things to blessed David: “And I will set his seed for the age of the world, and his throne as the days of heaven” (Ps. 89:30); and again: “I will prepare your seed forever, and I will build your throne in generations and generations.” This promise is renewed by the Lord of all through the mouth of blessed Amos; He also promises the pagans the gift of knowledge of God. For he says: after the restoration of the Tabernacle of David, “the remaining people, and all the nations, will seek Me, and in them have called upon My name. whom He foreknew, and predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, as if He were the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). And the Prophet, proving the untruthfulness of what was said, added: “says the Lord, do all this.” He who does the deeds foretold these words. But since not everyone could heed the spiritual promises, then, of necessity, he promises the granting of sensual blessings and predicts such an abundance of them that before the grapes are harvested, the harvest will last for such a multitude of probably earthly fruits that the farmers will not have time to reap and thresh their handles. And during sowing, says the Prophet, ripe grapes will taste, and the mountains will yield all kinds of tree fruits, not a single hill will remain uncovered with plants. The people, freed from captivity, will again build the ruined cities and, living in them, will fearlessly cultivate the land, planting, sowing, and collecting the fruits of their labors. And they will inhabit the fatherland given to them for a long time. For the Prophet expressed this when he said: Am.9:15. And I will plant them in their lands, and no one will be torn out of his land, which he has given to them, says the Lord God Almighty. You should know that the Lord of all often promises good things, but those who accept the promises, loving iniquity, hinder the fulfillment of these promises. And sometimes it happens that God threatens with grave disasters, and those who have heard these threats for their iniquity, having changed from the fear of the threats, do not experience sorrows. So the Jews, furiously rebelling against the coming Lord, deprived themselves of the good promises. But oh, that we, through the prayers of the holy Prophets and Apostles, having governed our lives according to divine laws, and having cleansed ourselves from sinful filth through repentance, would not experience anything sorrowful, but would receive the promised blessings, by the grace of the Savior Christ, with whom glory be to the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages! Amen.