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Hag.2:1–9. In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: Now say to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the ruler of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jozadek, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people: who is left among you, who saw this house in its former glory, and how do you see it now? Is he not, as it were, nothing in your eyes? But be of good cheer now, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; be of good cheer, O Jesus, son of Jozedek, great priest! Be of good cheer, all you people of the earth, says the Lord, and do your work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts. My covenant, which I made with you when you came out of Egypt, and My spirit remains among you: do not be afraid! For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, and it will be soon, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations, and the One desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts. The glory of this last church will be greater than the first, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts. In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord was in the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying: “Speak to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the leader of Judah, and Joshua the son of Jozedek, the great priest, and to the rest of the people, saying: Who is left among you who saw this House in its former glory, and what do you see in it now? Isn’t he such that it is as if he is not before your eyes? And now be strong, Zerubbabel, says the Lord, and be strong, Joshua, the son of Jozedek, the great priest, and be strong, all you people of the earth, says the Lord of hosts, and do the works, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts. The covenant that I made with you when you came out of the land of Egypt, and My spirit will be among you, do not be afraid! Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet a little while, and I will move heaven and earth, sea and dry land, and the Desired One of all nations will come, and I will fill this House with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts. Great will be the glory of this last House, greater than the first, says the Lord of hosts. And I will give peace in this place, says the Lord of hosts." In the same year, but only in the seventh month, in which there are solemn festivals of God, on the twenty-first day of the month, that is, at the end of three full weeks and after the completion of the rest in the sacrament of the Trinity, for the third time the Word of God was in the hand of the prophet Haggai, who continuously worked in the sweat of his brow, so that the word of God always had access to it. Indeed, forgetting about the past and rushing into the future (Phil. 3:12-14), he worked daily as if he had no previous work at all. So he is told: “Tell Zerubbabel and Joshua and the rest of the people who saw the former house of God and are now present at its restoration, is this house, now visible, compared to the former, not such that it, so to speak, does not exist at all? However, do not despair and do not give up with weakened hands; but you, Zerubbabel, and you, Jesus, and you, all the people, be of good cheer and continue your work in My house, for I am with you, and My covenant was made with you when you came out of the land of Egypt. And My Spirit will not depart from you; do not be afraid: I who command you am the Lord Almighty, whose word is deed. When I made the first covenant and appeared on Mount Sinai, I shook the heavens and the earth and the Red Sea and the desert to make a covenant with you. Now I promise you that I have once again to shake heaven and earth, sea and land, so that with their trembling all nations will move, and so that, as they say in LXX, the Lord’s chosen will come from all nations; according to the Hebrew text: He who is desired by all nations will come, our Lord and Savior. Then I will fill this house with greater glory than the first, and I will strengthen you always, says the Lord Almighty. And lest you in any way think that I am an unreliable executor of the contract, [I say that] the silver and the gold are Mine, and all riches belong to Me. I will give gold and silver to decorate the church, so that this house will be greater than before with its glory. And since what I promise seems difficult to fulfill, and human distrust accepts promises that are more than ordinary with doubt, then I, the giver of promises, repeat again: “I am the Lord Almighty.” Then, since I know that to build a glorious house, which will surpass the first house, nothing is needed as much as peace, then I will guarantee for it [before you]. For I will give peace in this place, says the Lord of hosts, so that peace that surpasses all understanding will guard my house, and my place will be in peace.” – I outlined the outlines of the presentation [of this passage] in the form of a simple rendering of the text with additions (παφαφραστικῶς), among other things, so that the prudent reader will ascend from them to a higher understanding, even if we remain silent. So the word of God came to those who began to do work in the house of the Lord Almighty on the day of rest, that is. in the seventh month, and in the full mystery of the Trinity, [i.e.] on the twenty-first day [3*7] and to Haggai, celebrating the feasts of God, who again prepared his hand to [receive] the word of God; and it says to him: “Say to Zerubbabel of the tribe of Judah, and to Jesus, the Great Priest, who for our sake deigned to become a man and a High Priest, and to the remnant of the people, for in comparison with the whole world the part of those who believed in the beginning was insignificant.” So let's listen to what he said. In Israel was once the house of God; now he is so devastated that his existence becomes incredible from the time when his former beloved ceased to be such, and who had not previously been the people of God became such. And so the house of God, once glorious, now in the eyes of Zerubbabel and Jesus and the remnant of the people does not seem to exist. We must understand this not only in relation to the church buildings, which are in ruins, but also to everything that the Jews once had that was beautiful. However, since the former house had become, as it were, non-existent, Zerubbabel the leader and Jesus the priest were called, so that the kingdom and priesthood of Christ would be strengthened, and His people, who were once the people of the earth, would do work in the house of God and know that the Lord was close to them, and would keep the covenant given to them by God when they came out of Egypt. Oh that we too would come out of Egypt and keep the word of the covenant that we had received. To those who will do works in the house of the Lord God and keep the received word, He also promises His Spirit in the words: And My Spirit will be in your midst. Look at the mystery of the Trinity: “I am with you, and My Spirit and the Word, in which I made a covenant when you came out of Egypt.” And the words among you should be understood in the same meaning as those in the Gospel: Among you stands [He] whom you do not know, who will come after me (John 1:26). So this is what the Lord of hosts says to you, who see that it is as if [His] former house is no longer there: “I moved the heavens when My voice was heard from heaven. I moved the earth when I handed over the Covenant to the ancient people; and at the time of My coming there was darkness, a whirlwind, and gloom. I moved the Red Sea when I cleared the way for the passing people. I conquered the wilderness, that is, Egypt, which had no reverence for God, and was stricken with plagues, or the wilderness through which I led the people for forty years. I will build it all one more time.” This is what we see accomplished during the coming of the Lord Savior. For during His suffering the sun fled, the heavens moved, and darkness was over all the earth from the sixth hour to the ninth (Matthew 27:45,51; Luke 23:44-45). The earth shook, the rocks gave way, and graves opened up. [text omitted] was moved by the dragon, who was killed in it, and the desert, that is, the once barren land of the pagans, shook. And in this trembling of the universe all nations were shaken, for the voice of the Apostles of the Lord went throughout the whole earth and their words reached to the ends of the earth (Ps. 18:5). All nations began to move, so that from their movement a chosen multitude of peoples would enter [the church], and that which was beautiful anywhere; for example, chosen from Corinth, because there was a large people of God there; chosen from Macedonia, for a great church was gathered in Thessalonica, which had no need to learn from love (1 Thess. 1:4); chosen from Ephesus, so that they knew the hidden things of God and the mysteries that had not been revealed to anyone before. What's more? All the nations moved forward, to whom the Lord Savior sent the Apostles, saying: Going and teaching all nations (Matthew 28:19), and from the many who were called, the chosen few built the Church of the first [Christians]. Therefore, the Apostle Peter says: “The chosen one from Babylon and Mark my son greet you” (1 Peter 5:13) and John says: “An old man to the chosen lady” (2 John 1:1), and then mentions the children of the chosen one. So, after the agitation of the nations, by which we can also understand hostile forces that could not bear the radiance of the Lord, the chosen ones came from all nations and the house of the Lord, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth, was filled with glory. This is according to the text of LXX. - However, the Hebrew text says better and more clearly, as we stated above: And I will raise up all nations, and the One desired by all nations will come. – And indeed, after His coming, the house of the Lord was filled with glory. And insofar as the Lord differs from the servant, so much better is the house of the Lord in which the Lord presides, compared with the former house in which the slave presided. But the words: “The silver and my gold,” says the Lord, I do not think that anyone would recognize as referring to the silver and gold that kings own. For in this sense, not only silver or gold belongs to God as the Creator, but also other metals: copper, tin, lead and the all-conquering iron. By the silver that adorns the house of God, I mean the sayings of the Scriptures, about which it is said: The words of the Lord are pure words, silver tested by fire, cleansed from the earth, poured over seven times (Ps. 11:7); and gold is what lies in the depths of the spirit of the saints and in the secret place of their hearts, and what shines with the true light of God; The Apostle obviously understood this in relation to the saints, who create gold, silver, and precious stones on the foundation of Christ (1 Cor. 3:11-12), so that by gold one must understand the mysterious meaning, by silver the pure word, and by precious stones godly deeds. The Church of the Savior is decorated with these metals more than the synagogue was once decorated with them; The house of Christ is built from these living stones, and eternal peace is given to it. The following words from the Seventy: And peace of mind for the benefit of everyone who is preparing to erect this church, we have omitted as unnecessary and hardly compatible [with the previous ones], for they are not in the Hebrew text or in any of the other interpreters. Hag.2:10–14. On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests about the law and say: if someone carried consecrated meat into the field of his garment and touched bread with his skirt, or anything boiled, or wine, or oil, or any food, would it become sacred? And the priests answered and said, No. Then Haggai said: And if anyone who has been defiled by touching a dead person touches all this, will it become unclean? And the priests answered and said, It will be unclean. Then Haggai answered and said, “Such is this people, such is this tribe before Me, says the Lord, and such is all the work of their hands!” And what they bring there is all unclean. On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius [Vulg. approx.: King] was the word of the Lord to Haggai the prophet saying: This says the Lord of hosts: Question the priests about the law in these words: “If a man carries consecrated meat in the field of his clothing and the edge of it touches bread, or brew, or wine, or oil, or food in general, will it become sacred?” But the priests answered: “No.” And Haggai said: “And if one who is defiled through the soul touches any of this, will it not be defiled?” And the priests answered: “It will be desecrated.” And Haggai answered and said: “So is this people, so is this generation before Me, says the Lord; so every work of their hands and everything they bring there will be defiled.” LXX: On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius, the word of God came to Haggai the prophet, saying: This says the Lord Almighty: Ask the priests about the law and say: “If a man takes consecrated meat in the hem of his robe, and the hem of his robe touches bread, or boiled food, or wine, or oil, or food in general, will it be consecrated?” And the priests answered: “No.” And Haggai said: “And if an unclean person touches any of this through the soul, will it become defiled”? And the priests said in response: “It will be defiled.” And Haggai answered and said: “So is this people, so is this generation before Me, says the Lord; so are all the works of their hands. Whoever approaches there will be defiled for their morning gifts. They will mourn from the face of their atrocities, and you will smell in the gates of those who reprove.” We have added the edition of the Seventy because they apparently differ in some words. And the words: For their morning gifts, etc. not in the Hebrew text or among other interpreters. - It should be noted that in this place: On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year it is not said, as it was said three times above: The word of the Lord was in the hand of Haggai the prophet, but only: To Haggai the prophet. For there the word of the Lord was only in deeds (for he had only yet comprehended what was perfect and had blameless deeds, and his heart had not yet received full wisdom; or because he still lived among those who said: The time had not yet come to build the church of the Lord). Now, when the foundations of the church had already been stripped, and the people, together with the leaders, had already entered the house of God and did the work befitting the house of God, and heard the sacrament: I will raise up all nations and the One who is desired will come among all nations, he was filled with the spirit of prophecy, and the word of God was in all its integrity in Haggai. We have already talked about the twenty-fourth day and the second year. The number of the ninth month, which is added here, is never used in a good sense. Whether the people celebrate Easter or perform other celebrations, every celebration ends on the eighth day and never goes on to the ninth. Those who prepared the Passover lamb prepared it by skipping the ninth day. Likewise, the day of propitiation and purification in the seventh month was celebrated after the ninth day. And in the book of Jeremiah, as the reader can clearly see, [it is said] that Jerusalem is under siege by the Babylonians in the ninth year (Jer. 52:4). Thus, the prophecy concerned the future uncleanness of the people, and therefore the ninth month is added to the second year of Darius. But, on the other hand, since after punishment for uncleanness a place for repentance is given, the word of God came to Haggai the prophet on the twenty-fourth day, so that he, so to speak, on behalf of God, would propose to the priests a question emanating from the law; he is told: Question the priests about the law. At the same time, pay attention to the fact that the duties of priests include the obligation to give answers to the questioner from the law. If he is a priest, then let him know the law of the Lord; and if he does not know the law, then he exposes himself that he is not the priest of the Lord. The priest’s job is to know the law and answer questions from the law. This is exactly what we read in the book of Deuteronomy - namely, if anywhere in the cities of Israel a question arises between blood and blood, judgment and judgment, leper and leper, dispute and dispute, then let them go to the priests and to the Levites, and to the high priest of those days, and let them ask him about the law of the Lord (Deut. 17:8ff.). Having received the answer of the priests, the questioners must act according to their orders; otherwise they will be destroyed from among the people. And lest you accidentally think that these prescriptions are only in the Old Testament (v. Instrumento), [know] that the Apostle says to Timothy that a bishop must not only be blameless, the husband of one wife, wise, modest, decent, hospitable, but also a teacher (1 Tim. 3:2). And so that it does not seem that he says this by chance, in the epistle to Titus, the same precaution is observed regarding those who are ordained presbyters (by which, according to the Apostle, we should mean bishops): For this reason I left you in Crete, so that you would correct the rest and appoint presbyters in [all] cities, as I commanded you. If anyone is an irreproachable husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of luxury or disobedience; for the bishop must be impeccable, like God’s organizer, not impudent, not angry, not an offender, not a murderer, not greedy for dishonest profit; but hospitable, humble, merciful, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast to the word of truth, so that he can comfort in sound doctrine and rebuke those who oppose. For there are many who are disobedient, empty talkers, and deceivers, and especially of those who are of the circumcision, upon whose lips silence must be imposed (Titus 1:5-11). I have stated this in more detail, so that it will be known from both the Old and New Testaments that the duty of the priests is to know the law of God and answer questions. In a teacher, simplicity and abstinence in food are not enough; if he himself does not do something [vicious], then [by example] he can teach others. Of course, [speaking] about those who have to give answers about the law, I think that this is possible for those who have been preparing to be teachers since childhood. But often, by the determination of God and by the voice of the people, simple people are elected to the priesthood; Of course, after being ordained priests, such have to learn the law of God, so that they can teach others what they themselves have learned, and increase their knowledge more than material wealth and not blush by learning from the laity who know what pertains to the priesthood, and prefer to spend days and nights in the study of the Scriptures, and not in empty rantings or calculations [of property]. - But what does Haggai ask the priests on behalf of the Lord? If a person brings consecrated meat to the field, or the outer part of his clothing, and touches the edge of it to bread or brew, or wine, or oil, or any food at all, will it be consecrated? Before discussing the issue, we must know what consecrated meat means, and what unclean through the soul means. The meat of the sacrifice offered on the altar was holy, but there was a great difference between the parts of the consecrated meat. In fact, the priests consumed some parts in the vestibule of the church; other parts were eaten by their relatives in their homes; the third were consumed by those priests who were defiled in some way, and the fourth by the Israelites who did not have any defilement. The full basis for this distinction is given in the book of Leviticus. The one who touched the body of a dead person was called unclean through the soul. At the same time, it should be noted that while the soul was in the body, the human body was not unclean. But as soon as the quickening spirit left the members, earthly things became unclean, as it is written in the same book of Leviticus: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the priests of the sons of Aaron: They shall not become defiled through the souls of their tribe. But only through close relatives; through mother and father, through sons and daughters, through brother and sister, his maiden who was not given in marriage. Through these he will not be defiled; but let him not be accidentally defiled through his people into uncleanness for himself (Lev. 21:1-4). Pay attention to the fact that in these words the priests are commanded not to enter into the presence of any dead person, except those close relatives mentioned above. The great priest, or high priest, had something more in comparison with other priests, and neither piety nor a feeling [of love] could incline him to become defiled through the above-mentioned persons, for Scripture says: Let him not come in to every soul that is dead: to his father or to his mother, neither shall he be defiled (Lev. 21:11). So, knowing what sanctified meat is and what is unclean through the soul, let’s see what the prophet is asking about. If any person - here we are not talking about a high priest, a priest or a Levite, but [simply] any person, since the person is not indicated, then everyone can touch the meat - carries consecrated meat and wraps it in the edge of his garment, and this very edge touches bread or something boiled, or wine, or oil, or anything else besides this that a person can eat; then can bread, wine, oil, or food in general be consecrated through the touch of clothing in which sacred meat is wrapped? The priests answered: “They cannot,” i.e. those objects about which you ask cannot be illuminated; Thus, every thing remains as it was. Then again the priests are asked another question, precisely in view of the fact that they answered the question above quite correctly; but [at the same time] the task proposed is apparently similar, so that an inexperienced person could easily fall into error. Indeed, imagine someone who does not know the law, and he, having answered that through consecrated meat neither bread, nor oil, nor wine, nor any food at all, will be sanctified, will answer in the same way: “He who has been defiled by touching a dead person will not defile that which could not be consecrated through sacred meat.” So the prophet asks: “If someone who is unclean through the soul, that is, who has become unclean through touching a dead person, touches bread, boiled bread, wine, oil, or any food at all, will they not become defiled through the touch.” But the priests, led by Jesus the son of Josedek, - which is why they knew the law - answered that through the touch of a defiled person, everything that he touched is defiled. And Haggai answered and said, keeping silent about the first, i.e. about the impossibility of sanctification through consecrated meat, but only taking advantage of the opportunity given in solving the second question, “So is this people, so is this generation before Me,” says the Lord. He is unclean through his soul, he has touched carrion, and everything he touches and brings to Me will be unclean. And in the literal sense, his words are as follows: “O people, who bring sacrifices to Me at the altar, after only the altar has been built, and My house has been destroyed, and who thinks that you will be sanctified by sacrifices and meats! Know that you will not so much be sanctified by sacrifices - for they cannot be useful to you with the church destroyed - as all your deeds and labors will be defiled through your negligence and your desire to finish your house rather than My house. It is true that what is sacrificed on the altar is holy, but you will not be sanctified by the sacrifices as much as you will be defiled by dwelling in the valleys and devoting yourself to the works of the dead.” This is in a historical sense, although we have already noted the features of spiritual understanding in it. However, in a figurative sense (ἀναγωγ ἠ ν), if one who is among the members of the Church, who has sacrificed a blameless and one-year-old lamb and is clothed in Christ, offers from His flesh and wraps it in the edge of his garment, and with this edge touches the bread of the Scriptures, which strengthen the hearts of believers, or boiled food, i.e. epistles of the Apostles, which, as it were, crush and digest the flesh of the Old Law and serve it ready-made for consumption, or wine, which gladdens the heart of a person, or oil, from which the face of a person listening [to the Scriptures] shines, or other food in general: milk, which the Corinthians eat (1 Cor. 3:2), or vegetables, which feed the weak (Rom. 14:2), and so on. the like; then those to whom these [foods] will be given will not immediately consume them as if they were saints, for they sanctify those who listen not by what is said [in them], but by what is learned from them [by those listening]; Indeed, there are many hearers of the law, but not [many] doers [of it]. In addition, I think that this is also why everything I mentioned above is transmitted to those who perceive it completely unconsecrated through the touch of clothing, because they were touched only by the edge of the clothing, and the consecrated meat inside did not touch any moisture, blood, veins, or nerves. Thus, just as the hem of the Lord’s garment and a light touch sanctify only the one who tastes the flesh of the Lamb and drinks His blood, so, on the contrary, the unclean through the soul, that is, through all kinds of perverse teachings, necessarily defiles everything that he touches. True, their sacraments include bread, wine, oil, and all kinds of food; but their sacraments, like the bread of sorrow, will defile all who touch them. They also read the Scriptures and, so to speak, sprinkle the bread with the testimony of the Scriptures, and roast it in the oven all night; but when it is given for eating, it causes illness to those who eat it. They have both boiled and fried food, because they are forced to reveal something mysterious in the scriptures in accordance with the meaning of their perverse teaching and, as it were, fry and prepare the flesh of a lamb; but their preparation is disastrous. They also have wine, but not from the Sorek vineyard, planted, according to the word of Jeremiah, chosen by the Lord and completely pure (Jer. 2:21), but from the Sodom vineyard. They also have oil, which they forcibly squeeze out of the testimonies of the Old and New Testaments and, so to speak, promise for refreshment to deceived and exhausted minds, but the holy man hates it and says: Let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head (Ps. 140:5) They also have various dishes, that is, numerous from various fortune-telling ( ὑποθέσεων) and various reasoning; but since they were written by defiled [hands], or spoken by unclean lips, then everyone who touches them will be unclean and will be led into their error. Therefore, Haggai, who knew the difference of celebrations - from which his name “joyful” came - answered: “So is this people, so is this nation,” that is, Jews, pagans and all heretics, “before My face, says the Lord. Whatever they do, whatever they bring to Me: whether vows to obtain salvation, sacrifices of peace, sacrifices for sin or misdeeds, burnt offerings, alms, or fasting, abstinent lifestyle, integrity of body - all this will be defilement in My sight.” Indeed, although in appearance what is brought by such people is holy, nevertheless it will be defiled through the touch of one who is defiled through the soul. Hag.2:15–17. Now set your hearts on the time from this day and back, when stone was not laid upon stone in the church of the Lord. Sometimes they came to a heap that could yield twenty measures, and only ten turned out; they came to the hole to draw fifty measures from the hole, but it turned out to be only twenty. I struck you with rust and faded bread and with hail all the labor of your hands; but you did not turn to Me, says the Lord. And now fix your hearts [on the past] from this day and back, before stone was laid on stone in the church of the Lord. You came to a pile of twenty fours, but there were only ten; you entered the grindstone to squeeze out fifty vessels, but there were twenty. I struck you with a burning wind and with jaundice and with hail all the works of your hands, but there was not one among you who turned to me, says the Lord. LXX: And now lay upon your hearts from this day forward, before stone was laid upon stone in the church of the Lord, [you] who were then, when you put in the granary (κυψέλη) twenty measures [σάτον – 1½ fours] of barley, and there were ten measures of barley, and [when] you entered into a wine press to draw fifty vessels, but there were twenty. I have smitten you with fruitlessness and with a corrupting wind and with hail all the works of your hands, and you have not turned to Me, says the Lord. – Although everything you bring to the altar will be desecrated, since you did not build a church (without church buildings, every gift is desecrated); However, now, O people, I urge you to move your thoughts to the past and discuss what happened, that is: from the present twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of King Darius, take into account something that happened before, and the reasons why you suffered, and how much [you suffered], so that you will know why you suffered it when your well-being returns again. So, before you began to build the church and lay stone on stone, you came to the haystack and expected to have twenty quadrangles, then didn’t you collect barely half? Or according to LXX: “When you poured twenty measures of barley into the room called κυψέλη - and although you thought that this barley was feed for livestock, or that you would use these twenty measures - didn’t you then return and find barely ten fours in the box? Also, when you approached the grindstone and saw bunches of grapes and by eye you expected to get fifty vessels, but then you were able to squeeze out - I don’t say half, but barely twenty vessels. I did this, striking you with a burning wind, rottenness of the air, half-dried fruits, empty chaff in the ears and barren shoots on the vines, in order to call you with the severity of disasters to the knowledge of Myself; but even so there was no man who turned to Me.” – The Jew stated this entire passage (from the words: Now turn your hearts from this day forward [back] to the words: The vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate tree and the olive tree did not give color. I will bless from this day) as follows: It is certain that the foundations of the church have now been laid. From this day on which you laid the foundations of the church (since in the past I punished you with barrenness, famine, hail and drought, but there was no one who turned to Me) to the future, move your thoughts and you will see how everything will flow successfully for you. This is because you began to build My church, that you do not despise the building of My House, and do not rely on the altar alone. Regarding the interpretation of this kind, we can briefly say that some make sacrifices to God in vain and think that they can please Him with alms and offerings, when they do not build a temple for the Holy Spirit within themselves. And indeed, alms and gifts brought to the altar help only when someone arranges himself in the church of God and, after the establishment of this church, brings gifts to the altar. In a figurative sense and in relation to us who believe in Jesus Christ, if we really believe and demonstrate the truth of faith by deeds, it is said that we should be transported in thought to the time when we were pagans and, serving vices every day, did not build a temple to God in ourselves. But as a housebuilder and the most experienced mason joins one stone to another and fastens the upper one to the lower one with lime and cement; so the [spiritual that] steward (as the Apostle calls himself in the words: as a wise steward I laid the foundation (1 Cor. 3:10), (with the removal of which from Jerusalem the Lord threatens) knows how to add one thing to another, and little by little he builds the church of God. Jesus Christ lays the foundation of this church; everyone sees what he can build on this foundation. One builds gold, silver and precious stones, the other is wood, hay, straw: three good [stones] are contrasted with three bad ones. The first of these stones are those from which the Lord has to build Jerusalem for Himself: Behold, I will prepare for you your stone, the carbuncle, and your foundations - sapphire, and your fortifications - jasper, and your gates - from crystal stone, and your wall - from chosen stones (Is. 54: 11-12). And one should not think, in accordance with Jewish fables and their unskillful inventions, that God has to create Jerusalem from gold and precious stones, and not from those living stones that are now scattered on the earth and, according to the properties of the stones, are either fiery according to faith like a carbuncle, or completely heavenly and, like sapphire, attached to the throne of God, or shining with innocence and simplicity of good deeds, like crystal. So, you are commanded to consider what we endured before we built the church of God within ourselves. When you begin,” he says, “to a pile of twenty squares, there will be ten, or according to LXX: When you pour twenty measures of barley into the bin, there will be ten measures of barley.” Indeed, what we considered to be virtues and good deeds in ourselves before the coming of Christ was not wheat, but barley; and this barley brought forth, in accordance with our desires and expectations, a hundredfold fruit - as we read about Isaac (Gen. 26:12) - but we could barely gather only half of our labor from it, and it was said regarding us: Have you endured so much without a reason (Gal. 3:4)? And when we entered the winepress, and intended to receive fifty vessels (this is the number consisting of seven weeks, concluded by the unity of the Divinity) and thought that we had wine that gladdens the heart of man; then the sacred number thirty is taken away from us (the number of years of the Lord’s baptism and the vision of Ezekiel at the beginning of his prophetic book, and the number of years of the priests entering into the service of God among the Jews) and we are left with only twenty. This last number was loved by Esau; Therefore Jacob, knowing that it is pleasing to him, sends him twenty and twenty animals as a gift. At the same time, pay attention to the fact that Jacob, even being a saint (at a time when he lived separately from his father Isaac, which means: laughter, and his mother Rebekah, which means: patience, and had Assyrians as neighbors and lived in Mesopotamia, surrounded on both sides by rivers) for twenty years he worked for the cruel and stingy Laban (Gen. 30:38). But let it not confuse anyone if we say that some, before faith in Christ and the building of His church, can receive half of their labor, since the works of unbelievers do not bear any fruit. In fact, he put aside twenty, but did not find twenty, and when [or: if] he put aside twenty, he found ten, that is, half of his labor. Jews and pagans, and philosophers of this age, and others who boast of wisdom, only at the present time of their life and work receive fruit and glory; but all hope of reward in the next age is taken away from them. This is so that in complete despair they do not neglect repentance, but once converted, they begin to lay stone on stone and build a church to God. Therefore, if they continue in unbelief, they will lose even the half that they apparently had; for the following words follow: I have smote you with a burning wind, and with jaundice, and with hail, all the works of your hands. . Everything that is affected by jaundice, hail and burning wind turns to dust and ashes and nothing is found in it that serves for benefit or nutrition. God did all this to them because among them there was not a single one who turned to Him; since if they turn and build the church of the Lord, then from the day the construction begins they will have what the speech of the prophet further reveals. Hag.2:18–19. Set your hearts on the time from this day and back, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day when the church of the Lord was founded; Turn your heart: are there any seeds yet in the barns? Hitherto, neither the vine, nor the fig tree, nor the pomegranate tree, nor the olive tree had produced fruit; and from this day I will bless them. Set your hearts on your hearts from this day and on the future, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day when the foundations of the church of the Lord are laid. Is there still a thread of seed in the sprout? and have not the fig tree, the vine, the pomegranate, and the olive tree yet produced flowers? From this day forward I will bless [them]. LXX: Set your hearts on this day and on the future; from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, and from the day on which the foundations of the church of the Lord were laid, lay it in your hearts. Is the threshing floor still visible on the ground? And is there still a vine and a fig tree and a pomegranate tree and olive trees that bear no fruit? From this day forward I will bless [them]. “I,” he says, “have enumerated to you what you endured before the construction of My church began; and now I will list what will be successful for you, since you have already begun to build My church. See what an abundance of fruit there is from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in which the foundations of the church were laid. The ninth month is the one we call November or December. Indeed, the month of Nisan among the Jews is the first month, called the month of new [fruits]: at the time when they celebrate Passover, that is, at the beginning of spring; according to the movement of the moon, it often covers some part of March, although it begins in April. So, if by Nissan we mean April, then the ninth month according to the Jewish account will be December. So the tenth [or: December] month is the one in which the seeds are hidden in the ground, and in which it is still impossible to determine the extent of the future harvest. Isn’t there still a seed in the sprout, he says? Ego is better expressed in Hebrew by the word in the husk, which means the enclosure of the grain. Have not the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate tree, and the olive tree yet given their color? and by color we mean the fruit. Of course not yet! for in the month of December, as we said, there are still no signs of future fruits. But for you to say that I predict on a reasonable basis, that is, I predict the future harvest, seeing the color of the trees and the greenness of the fields, then behold, there are no signs! and yet I foretell to you a harvest of all fruits according to My blessing. This we said according to the Hebrew text. In the text of the LXX the meaning differs considerably, and we must first state it literally in order to then understand it in a figurative sense. Set your hearts on the future from this day, in which the foundations of the church are laid, and you will see that the future harvest will be so abundant, and from all the fields you will gather so much fruit that the granary will not recognize its fruits, or so much that there will no longer be granaries for individual fruits, but due to their abundance, one granary will unite with another, and their division will be noticeable on its earth. The vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate tree and the olive tree, which did not bear fruit before because of your transgressions, will be covered with such an abundance of berries and fruits that the obvious abundance of the harvest will make the blessing [sent upon them] obvious. And that the ninth month is not taken in a good sense is also proven by the fourth book of kings, the events reported by Jeremiah (2 Kings 25; Jer. 32). However, since at the end of the ninth month the foundations of the church are laid, we must understand this in the sense that the church of the Lord begins to be built only after the end of evil deeds. Therefore, the foundation of the church is laid on the twenty-fourth day of the month, the number of which includes two dozens (δωδεκἀς), three eights (όγδοάδες) and four sixes (έξάδες), which we previously spoke about in more detail. So, whoever devotes himself to serving God and leaves the indifferent (ρᾴ θυμον), that is, the careless ruler, who, as the book of Ezra says (Ezra 4:23-24), forbids the building of the church of God, he will not know the number of fruits and his earnings. And it is also certain that under the words: Is there still a granary on earth? we must understand a man who will sow in the spirit and will reap eternal life from the spirit (Gal.6:8); at the same time, he will not accumulate treasures for himself on earth, but all his deeds and all his rewards for his deeds are in relation to heavenly things. Namely: the grapevine, i.e. the word of God, the cultivator of which in every person is the Father; the fig tree, [i.e.] the sweetest gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the pomegranate tree, that is, church dogmas and knowledge of the Scriptures, compared in the book of Song of Songs with the cheeks of the bride (Song. 8) and olive trees will give peace and enlightenment of the heart to the one who began to build the church of God; and that the vine, fig tree and olive tree belong to the person of the Savior and God the Father and the Holy Spirit (I am eliminating the pomegranate tree for a while), this is more fully stated in the book of Judges (Judges 9: 8, 15), where the barren trees come together to set up a king for themselves, and in turn tell the vine, fig tree and olive tree to take control over them; but both the vine and the fig tree and the olive tree refuse such power and do not deign to reign over barren trees. Then they go to the tree, the king of their barrenness, i.e. to the thorn tree, a thorny tree intertwined with thorns and thorns, holding everything that touches it, inflicting wounds and drinking the blood of the wounded; In addition, it emits fire from itself and devours the trees subordinate to it. We attribute the thorn bush to the devil and will understand its nature according to the properties of [this] bush. Then the vine, the fig tree, and the olive tree will be where the pomegranate tree will be; this tree in the Scriptures refers to the church, since it has a very large number of grains and in the intertwining membranes there is some correctly measured combination, although they are all covered by one shell. Hag.2:20–23. And the word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, “Say to Zerubbabel, the ruler of Judah, I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms, and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the heathen, I will overturn the chariots and those who sit on them, and the horses and their riders will be thrown down, one by the sword of the other. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant, says the Lord, and I will hold you as a seal, for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts. And the word of the Lord came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month for the second time, saying: Speak to Zerubbabel the leader of Judah, saying: I will move heaven and earth and overthrow the throne of kingdoms and break the fortress of the kingdom of the Gentiles and overthrow the chariot and him who sits on it, and the horses and horsemen will be thrown down - [every] man with the sword of his brother. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, my servant, says the Lord, and I will set you as a seal, for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts. In LXX it is added [after: heaven and earth], sea and dry land, and there are no words: I will crush the fortress of the kingdom of the pagans - which is more fully known [or: will be learned] from reading them. - It should be noted that on the same day, - the twenty-fourth of the ninth month, - but without indicating the month, - for they prophesied [or: there was a prophecy] about the coming of Christ and about His kingdom, - the word of the Lord came to Haggai for the second time, and not in his hand, as before, and not to the prophet Haggai, as in the fourth vision, but simply to Haggai, i.e. to the one who triumphantly celebrates the feasts of the Lord, for he proclaims and contemplates Him who does not have to come, but who is already coming. And how Abraham saw the day of Christ and rejoiced (John 8:56), and how John pointed out the Lamb of God with his finger (John 1:29); so this one, seeing the kingdom of the Son of God, has all the triumphs in himself. Regarding this passage, we find different understandings among many people. Some attribute this to the first coming of [Christ], others to the second, when He will come [or: will be] in all the glory of His greatness. We attribute this to both the first and second coming, for He reigned then when He came, and then He will reign. At the same time, if we want to understand this in relation to the end of the world, then we will say that the Apostle says to the Corinthians: All rulership and authority and power must be destroyed, so that God may be everything to everyone (1 Cor. 15:24-28). And since something deeply mysterious is prophesied, relating to the end of the life of everything, Haggai is commanded to speak a word only to Zerubbabel, whom we have already depicted as a prototype of the Savior by his descent from the seed of David. So he is told what will happen in the end: the image of the outer world will pass by and there will be a new heaven and a new earth; and the Lord will move heaven and earth, and overthrow every ruler of power and strength, and scatter the kings of kings, or, as in Hebrew: kingdoms, and destroy all the power of the enemy, so that even those who formerly reigned and had nations under their dominion will be helped by the destruction of their power, and that after the dispersion of all desires for violence, peace will come; This is what the words mean: and I will overthrow the chariot, or the chariots and their horsemen, and the horses and their horsemen will be thrown off. And so that you know that the overthrow of the chariots and the fall of the horses signifies what we have said, look at how it is said about Christ in Zechariah: a meek king will come, ascending on a colt and a colt, and will scatter the chariots of Ephraim (Zech. 9:9-10) and the cavalry of Jerusalem, so that there will be one flock and one shepherd and both companies of soldiers, both from the Jews and from the pagans, will be under the control of a peaceful Shepherd; and in order to destroy everything that is corrupt, everyone will rise up with a sword against his brother, weeding out everything hostile (I think that this is the sharpest word of teaching, cutting through everything that is corrupt). But the end of it all is the best. Namely: after the overthrow of thrones, and the overthrow of the power of kings, and chariots, and horses, and horsemen, on that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will accept you, my servant, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel. He is called a slave after the human body, since then the Son will submit to Him who subjugated everything to Himself, and He Himself who submitted will be visible in those who are subjugated. And when the ego is fulfilled, God will put it as a seal in His hand; for God the Father sealed Him (John 6:27). He is the image of the invisible God and the revelation of His essence. So whoever believes in God will be sealed, as it were, with this seal. I beg you, reader, to be lenient with him who wrote so quickly and did not seek in expressions the beauty and grace that I lost during such a long study of the Hebrew language, although Alecto [my critic] always declares me childish and dumb. To him I will say: The Lord will give the word to him who brings good news [and] much power (Ps. 67:12).