Глава XXIV

Matthew 24:1–2. And Jesus went out and walked from the church; and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the church. Jesus said to them: Do you see all this? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left upon another here; everything will be destroyed. In the literal sense (juxta historiam), the meaning of the place is clear. But [figuratively] this means when the Lord left the church, all the buildings of the law and the totality of [his] commandments were mixed up in such disorder that nothing could be fulfilled by the Jews; with the removal of the head, all members began to enmity among themselves. Matthew 24:3–4. When He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him alone with the words: Tell us, when will this be and what is the sign of Your coming and the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said to them: Be careful that no one misleads you. 547 He sits on the Mount of Olives, from where comes the true light of knowledge; and His disciples approached Him in private, because they wanted to know the secrets and revelations of future events, and asked Him about three events: “At what time will Jerusalem be destroyed? When will 548 Christ come? When will the end of the world come? Matthew 24:5. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many. One of them was Simon the Samaritan, about whom we read in the Acts of the Apostles and who called himself the great power of God (Acts 8:9-10), spreading in his scrolls, among other things, the following: “I am the Word of God, I am brilliant, I am the comforter, I am omnipotent, I am everything divine.” On the other hand (Sed), and the Apostle John says in his epistle: “You have heard that the Antichrist will come, and now many antichrists have appeared” (1 John 2:18). I believe that all the leaders of heretics are antichrists and in the name of Christ they teach what is contrary to Christ. It is not surprising that some are led astray by them, since the Lord said: “And they will deceive many.” Matthew 24:6. You will also hear about wars and war rumors. Look, do not be horrified, for all this must happen, but this is not the end yet. So, when we hear about this, then let us not yet think that the hour of judgment is already coming; but it is postponed for that time, the sign of which is clearly indicated later. Matthew 24:7–8. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will come times of famine, destructive diseases and earthquakes in places. Yet this is the beginning of sorrows. 549 I have no doubt that this, as it is written, will come literally; but it seems to me that the rebellion of kingdom against kingdom, and the death of those whose word spreads like cancer (2 Tim. 2-17), 550 and the strong desire [or: hunger - fames] to hear the word of God, and the movement of the whole earth, and the apostasy from the true faith - all this, rather, refers to heretics who mutually rebel one against the other, and thereby bring victory to the Church. And His words: “Yet this is the beginning of sorrows” are better conveyed by the words: “birth pangs,” so that in reality the coming of the Antichrist is understood as if in the sense of his conception, and not his actual birth. Matthew 24:9. Then they will hand you over to torture and kill you; and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. The name of the apostles denotes the community (persona) of all believers, and not that at that time the apostles will still live bodily. Matthew 24:12–13. And since untruth spreads widely (abundabit), love will grow cold in many places. But whoever remains steadfast to the end will be saved. 551 He does not deny love to everyone, but only to many; for many are called, but few are chosen, because in the apostles and others like them love will remain, about which it is written: “Great waters cannot quench love” (Song 8:7). Also (et ipse) the apostle says: “Who will separate us from the love of God: tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine” (Rom. 8:35) and so on. Matthew 24:14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations; and then the end [of the world] will come. The sign of the coming of the Lord is that the Gospel will be preached throughout the world, so that no one can consider himself deserving of leniency [out of ignorance]. And this has either already been fulfilled, or should be fulfilled in a short time, as we see. In fact, in my opinion, there is not a single people left who does not know the name of Christ. And even if such a people did not have a preacher, nevertheless, they cannot help but have an understanding of the faith from neighboring peoples. Matthew 24:15. So, when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. When we are called to understanding, then it is shown that what is said is very mysterious; and in Daniel we read like this: “And in the half of the week sacrifice and offering will cease, and the abomination of desolation will be on the wing of the sanctuary, and the final predetermined destruction will befall the desolator” (Dan. 9:27). The apostle speaks about this (2 Thess. 2:3-8), that the man of lawlessness and the opponent of everything that is called and revered by God must rise up; so that he dares to stand in the church of God and show that he himself is God; that his coming, through the action of Satan, will outrage and lead to removal from God of those people who accept him. This can be understood simply either in relation to the Antichrist, or in relation to the image of Caesar, which Pilate placed in the church, or in relation to the equestrian statue of Hadrian, which to this day stands in the holiest place. “Abomination,” according to the ancient usage of the Scriptures, also calls an idol, and the word desolation is added, because an idol was erected in a devastated and destroyed church. Matthew 24:16–18. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything from his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his clothes. The abomination of desolation can also be understood as any perverse teaching (dogma). When we see him standing in a holy place, that is, in the Church, and showing God in himself, we must flee from Judea to the mountains, that is, leaving the killing letter and Jewish corruption, approach the eternal mountains, from which God wonderfully shines (Ps. 75:5) 552 and remain under that roof and in that dwelling, which the fiery arrows of the devil cannot reach (Ps. 115, 5), 553 and not to go and take anything from the house of our former residence, and not to look for what is left behind us, but to prefer sowing in the field of spiritual Scriptures in order to receive fruits from it, and not to take with us other clothing, which the apostles are forbidden to have. - Regarding this place, that is, regarding the “abomination of desolation” predicted by Daniel the prophet and standing in the holy place, Porfiry said a lot of blasphemous things against us in the thirteenth scroll of his work. Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, objected to him with three scrolls: the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth. Apollinaris [Apollinaris, or Apollinarius] also wrote very fully; he took more than enough care in one book to resolve the question that was argued about in so many thousands of verses. Matthew 24:19. But woe in those days to those who give birth and to those who feed [the child]. 554 But woe to those souls who have not brought their offspring to the level of a perfect man, but have only the rudiments of faith, so that they still need nourishment from teachers. It can also be said that during the persecution from the Antichrist or during the Roman captivity, those who were due 555 to give birth and those who were nursing could not undertake a hasty escape as they were in a difficult situation from the due 556 to be born or already born (uteri et filiorum sarcina praegravati). Matthew 24:20. Pray that your flight will not happen in winter or on Saturday. If we want to understand this in relation to the time of the capture of Jerusalem, that is, when it was besieged by Titus and Vespasian, then they must pray that their flight does not happen in winter or on the Sabbath day, because in the first case, flight into the desert and uninhabited mountains is prevented by the severity of the cold, and in the second case, if they wanted to flee, violation of the law prevents them, and if they wanted to stay, they are threatened with death. If we understand this 558 in relation to the end of the world, then with these words He teaches that our faith and love for Christ should not grow cold, and that on the Sabbath of good works (virtutum) we should not become numb as idle in the work of God. Matthew 24:22. And if those days had not been shortened, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. We must understand the shortening of days not in the sense of the extravagant concept of this of those who believe that the duration (momenta) of [their] time will change - they forget that it is written: “According to Your decree the day continues” (Ps. 119:21), 559 but must be understood by their quality, that is, that their number will be reduced, and not the duration [of each day] (or size -mensura); so that, just as the blessing says: “With the length of days I will satisfy him, and I will show him My salvation” (Ps. 90:16), so now we must understand the shortening of days, so that through their multiplicity (toga), the faith of the believers will not be shaken. Matthew 24:23. Then if anyone says to you: Behold, here is Christ, or there. During the Jewish captivity there were many leaders who said that they were Christ, so that during the siege from the Romans there were three parties [in Jerusalem]. But it is better to understand this in relation to the end of the world. Matthew 24:24–25. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I told you in advance. As I said already, this passage should be explained in three ways - relating either to the time of the siege by the Romans, or to the end of the world, or to the struggle of heretics against the Church, and to this kind of antichrists who rebel against Christ, hiding behind false knowledge. Matthew 24:26. So, if they say to you: “Behold, He is in the wilderness,” do not go out; “Behold, He is in the secret chambers,” do not believe it. If anyone promises you that Christ dwells in the wilderness of the pagans, or in the hidden teachings (dogma-tibus) of heretics who promise to tell you the secrets of God, then do not go out, do not believe; or, if anyone wants to exalt himself under the name of Christ, then do not immediately place your trust in him (since, indeed, during persecutions and oppressions, false prophets always find room for deception). Matthew 24:27. For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Do not go out, do not believe that the Son of Man dwells either in the wilderness of the pagans, or in the secret refuges of people who have separated from the Church (haereticorum); but his teaching (fides) shines from east to west in the universal Churches. It must also be said that the Second Coming of the Savior should be revealed in glory, and not in humiliation like the First. Thus, it is unreasonable to seek in a small or hidden place the One who is the light of the whole world. Matthew 24:28. For where the carcass is, there the eagles will gather. We learn the sacrament of Christ from the example observed daily in nature. They say that eagles and kites, even from across the sea, smell the scent of corpses and gather for food of this kind. Thus, if unreasonable birds, separated by such an expanse of earth and the waters of the sea, recognize by natural sense a small corpse and where it lies; then how much more should we and the entire multitude of believers strive towards Him, whose lightning-fast radiance emanates in the East and can be seen even in the West! But by the dead body, that is, πτώμα, which in Latin is expressed by the word corpse (cadaver), because it falls (cadat) as a result of death, we can understand the sufferings of Christ, to which we are grafted, so that wherever in the Holy Scriptures we are read about them, we gather in agreement and through them can come to the Word of God, as, for example, the following passage: “They pierced My hands and My feet” ( Ps. 21:17) and from the prophet Isaiah: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter” (Is. 53:7) and so on. The saints whose youth has been renewed like that of an eagle are called eagles (Ps. 103:5). 560 and who are covered with feathers and take wings to be gathered to the suffering of Christ 561 Matthew 24:29. Immediately after the torment of those days:] the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will begin to move. 562 The sun and moon will become darkened and will not give their light, and other lights will fall from the sky, and the heavenly powers will begin to move, not due to a decrease in light (elsewhere we read that the sun will have light seven times greater (Isa. 30:26)), 563 but due to the fact that in comparison with the true light everything will be shadowy, dark in appearance. If this is the sun, now shining in the universe, and if the moon, which occupies second place after it, and if the stars are kindled to shine at night, if all these powers (and in these powers we see many angels) will turn into darkness at the coming of Christ; then [of course] the self-confidence of those who, considering themselves saints, are not afraid of being present at the court [or: Judge] will also be shaken. Matthew 24:30. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven; By this sign we must understand 564 or the sign of the cross, so that, as Zechariah (Zecharia 12:10) and John (John 19:37) say, the Jews would see Him whom they pierced, or we should understand 565 the victorious banner of the Triumphant One. “And then all the families of the earth will mourn and see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Those who do not have a place in heaven and are written on earth will mourn. Matthew 24:31. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds (ventis - winds), from one end of the heavens to the other. The apostle speaks about this trumpet (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16), and in the Apocalypse of John we read (Rev. 8:7-13 (ff)). And in the Old Testament the command is given to prepare trumpets wrought of gold, silver and copper, so that they may proclaim the highest secrets of the teachings. Matthew 24:32–33. Take the likeness of a fig tree: when its branches become soft and put out leaves, you know that summer is near; So, when you see all this, know that it is close, at the door. Through comparison with a tree, He taught (how) to know the approach of the end [of the world]. As when the stems of a fig tree become tender and the buds open into a flower, leaves appear from under the bark, you know that summer is approaching, that the time of the warm west wind and spring has arrived (Favonii et Veris); so when you see everything that has been said fulfilled (scripta), do not think that the end of the world is already approaching; it was just like an attack and some predecessors appeared to show that she was already close, already at the door. Matthew 24:34. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. We said above that there is a separate genus (generation - generatio) of good and evil. Thus, this refers either to the entire human race, or especially to the Jewish race. Matthew 24:35. Heaven and earth will pass away (transibunt), but My words will not pass away (they will not perish - non praeteribunt). Heaven and earth will pass by through changes in them, and not through destruction; Otherwise, how will the sun be darkened and the moon not give light, and the stars fall, if there is no heaven and earth on which the luminaries exist? Matthew 24:36. No one knows about that day and hour, not even the heavenly angels, but only My Father alone. In some Latin lists (codicibus) the following is added: “neither the Son,” although in the Greek and, especially, in the lists (exemplaribus) of Adamantium [Origen] and Neeria, this postscript is not present. But since it is in some lists, it seems that we should also reason about it. Arius and Eunomius triumph, as if the Teacher’s ignorance constitutes glory for the disciples, and say: “He who knows and He who does not know cannot be equal.” The following must be briefly said against them. Since all times were created by Jesus, that is, the Word of God: “All things came into being through Him, and without Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3), and between all times there is also the Day of Judgment, how (qua consequential) can He not know a part of what He knows as a whole? The following must also be said: what is greater, the knowledge of the Father or the Day of Judgment? If He knows the greater, then how can He not know the less. We read the following words: “Everything that belongs to the Father has been given over to Me” (Luke 10:22). 566 If everything that belongs to the Father also belongs to the Son, then why (qua ratione) did the Father retain the knowledge of one day for Himself and not want to share it with the Son? It is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that if the Son does not know the very last (novissimum) day of time, then he does not know the penultimate (repe ultimum) and all subsequent (omnes retrosum). For it cannot be that one who does not know the first knows the second. So, if we agree that the Son [or with the addition: God] does not know the day of the end of the world, then the reason why He does not know this must also be indicated. The Apostle writes about the Savior: “In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2, 3). So, in Christ there are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, but they are hidden. Why are they hidden? After His resurrection, to the question of the apostles regarding the day, He answered more clearly: “It does not belong to you to know the times, or moments (momenta), which the Father has placed in His power” (Acts 1, 7 ). 567 When he says: “It is not your duty to know,” He shows that He Himself knows, but that it is not useful for the apostles to know this, so that they always, in ignorance of the approach of the day of judgment, live continuously (quotidie) as if the next day they were to appear in judgment. Finally, the following words of the Gospel speech encourage us to understand the same thing. Also, when he says that only one Father knows, by the Father he also means the Son, for every father is the name (nomen) of the son. Matthew 24:37–39. But as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man: for as in the days before the flood they ate and drank, married and were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and thought not until the flood came and destroyed them all, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. The question arises: how is it written above: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in different places; yet this is the beginning of diseases,” and now it is predicted that what will happen is a sign of peacetime. But [to explain this] it must be taken into account, based on the words of the apostle, that after wars, strife, destructive diseases, famines and earthquakes and other things that destroy the human race, there will be 568 peace for a short time, which promises complete peace (quieta omnia), so that the faith of the believers will be strengthened, or with the cessation of disasters they will begin to hope that the Judge will come 569. In fact, this is what we read from the Apostle Paul: “When they say, ‘Peace and safety,’ then destruction will suddenly come upon them, just as labor pain befalls one who is pregnant, and they will not escape” (1 Thess. 5:3). Matthew 24:40–41. Then two will be on the field: one is taken and one is left. Two [will be] grinding with a millstone: one is grabbed, and one is left 570 Then,” He says, “there will be two in the field, this is when on the day of death and judgment two people will be found equally doing the same work and sowing as if the same seed, but not equally receiving the fruits of their labor. There will also be two women grinding together; but one is seized, the other is abandoned. By two people spending time in the field, and by two women who grind equally, you understand either the Synagogue and [or] the Church, because they, apparently, work equally on the law (molere videantur in Lege) and from the same Scriptures they receive bread (farinam terere) of the commandments of God; or understand 571 other heresies, which apparently derive the bread of their teachings from both Testaments, or from just one. But although they have a claim to the same [same] name of Christian, they do not receive the same reward, since some of them are captured, while others are abandoned. Matthew 24:42–43. Watch therefore, for you do not know at what hour your Lord will come. But you know that if the owner of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have been awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Now He clearly shows why he said above: “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the Son of man, not the Angels, but only the Father,” because it is not useful for the apostles to know this, so that in their expectation, wavering from the unknown, they would always have faith in the future coming of Him, about whom they do not know when He comes. On the other hand, He did not say: “Since we do not know at what hour the Lord is coming,” but said: “You do not know,” and, prefacing an example in the person of the householder, he more clearly shows why He was silent about the day of death, saying this: Matthew 24:44–47. Therefore you also be ready, because you do not know at what hour the Son of Man will come. Who do you think is a faithful and prudent servant, whom his Master has appointed over His house, so that he may give them food at the right time? e. living in the house]? Blessed is the servant whom his Master, when he comes, finds doing this. Truly I say that He will set him over all his wealth. 572 Now He more fully affirms and presents the reason why the day and hour of death is not known, as He said before, neither by the angels nor by Himself, but only by the Father; precisely because it is not useful for the apostles to know; also the example of the father of the family (householder) - i.e. Yourself, and faithful slaves, i.e. apostles, - He introduced for the sake of persuasion the anxious thought that, in the hope of a reward, they would promptly serve their co-workers with their (conservis) food of teaching. Matthew 24:48–49. And if he [as] an evil slave says in his heart: “My master will delay his coming,” and begins to beat his fellow slaves (conserves), and eat and drink with drunkards. 573 From the above it follows that, as a caring and always awaiting the coming of the Master, the slave gives food to his fellow slaves in a timely manner, and after that is supplied over all the property of the householder; so, on the contrary, the one who, as the prophet Ezekiel says, calms himself with the words: “many days will pass” (Ezek. 12:22), and does not think that the Lord will come soon, becomes careless, spends his time idly in feasts and luxury; but such a one will meet (sentiet) not a meek householder, but the strictest Judge. Matthew 24:50–51. Then the master of that servant will come on a day on which he does not expect, and at an hour in which he does not think, and will cut him open, and subject him to the same fate as the hypocrites; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He teaches the same thing, so that they know that the Lord will come 574 when they do not think about Him, and exhorts them to watchfulness and care. Further, the words: “he will separate him” (or: divide him - dividet eum) [do not mean that He will cut him with the sword 575, but the meaning that he will be removed from the lot of the saints, and that his lot will be laid down with the hypocrites, namely with those who were in the field and who worked with the millstones, and yet were not abandoned. We have said many times that a hypocrite shows one thing, but in reality appears to be another; likewise, both in the field and at the millstones he is shown doing the same thing as a person belonging to the Church, and the end [of his work] speaks of the opposite direction of the will (diversae voluntatis). In the translation: The Gospel of Matthew - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “When He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him in private and asked: tell us, when will this be? and what is the sign of Your coming and the end of the age? Jesus answered and said to them: Beware lest anyone deceive you -ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in places; nevertheless, this is the beginning of illnesses” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “And their word will spread like cancer” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “And, due to the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold; He who endures to the end will be saved” – ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “You are glorious, more powerful than the predatory mountains” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “I will pay my vows to the Lord before all His people” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Woe to those who are pregnant and nursing in those days” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “You have tamed the proud, the cursed, those who turn away from Your commandments” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Your youth is renewed like an eagle” - ed. In the text of the “Interpretation”: (Is. 46:11) “I called an eagle from the east, from a far country, to fulfill my purpose” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “And suddenly, after the sorrow of those days, the sun will darken, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “The light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days” - ed. In the Greek text (Luke 10:22) it reads: Πάντα πάρεδόθη μοι οπό τού Πατρός μου, that is, “all things are given to Me, from My Father,” and in Latin: Omnia, quae Patris sunt, tradita mihi sunt (Translator's note) According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “It is not your business to know the times or dates that the Father has set in His power” - ed. In the lane: has to come - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Then there will be two on the field: one is taken, and the other is left; two grinding millstones: one is taken, and the other is left” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Therefore, you too be ready, for at an hour you do not think, the Son of Man will come. Who is the faithful and prudent servant whom his master set over his servants to give them food in due season? Blessed is the servant whom his master comes and finds doing this; Truly I say to you, he will put him over all his possessions” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “If that servant, being angry, says in his heart: my master will not come soon, and begins to beat his comrades and eat and drink with drunkards” - ed. In the lane: has to come - ed. The last understanding of the text can be suggested by the Greek text, in which the passage being explained reads: Καί διχοτομήσει αύτον, i.e. and will cut it into two parts (Note, translator). You might be interested in: