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Question What does Saint Tikhon say about Abraham in his books? Rep. Discussing the most important of our duties in relation to God, that is, obedience to Him, he speaks of Abraham as an venerable example of obedience. “True obedience does not look at whether it is difficult or convenient, whether it is difficult or easy - what is commanded, but is ready to respond to every command... Such obedience was shown to God by Abraham, the holy forefather, as we read in the book of Genesis. When God commanded him: get out of your land... (Gen. 12:1) he did not deny - he left his fatherland, his family and his father’s house, and went to a foreign, unknown land, as the Apostle wrote: by faith the call of Abraham, he obeyed (Heb. 11:8). The holy patriarch performed an even greater surprise when, at the command of God, he brought his son Isaac and offered him up on the altar of burnt offerings... The son was the only begotten, the beloved son of the father, the son given by promise, the son about whom it was told him from God that his seed would be called Isaac (Gen. 21:12). But the faithful and sincere novice did not refuse to offer it as a burnt offering; did not look at the heavy command, but listened to the power, strength and omnipotence of the Commander... Saint Abraham, a model of sincere obedience, is called by God the Father of believers... But when we want to be the children of Abraham and receive Abraham’s blessing, we must imitate Abraham’s faith and prove our faith in God by obedience... God does not command us to leave our fatherland, family and home, although this must be fulfilled if necessary; but commands us to leave the world with deceitful lusts (1 John 2:11). - He does not command to slaughter our sons or kill ourselves; but he says: Put to death your evils that are in the land, fornication, uncleanness, etc. (Col. 3:5). If we want to be faithful children of faithful Abraham and to be Christ’s, let us show our faith by obedience. (Part VII, p. 300).” Question How does Saint Tikhon talk about Adam? Rep. “Our God and Creator, worshiped in Three Persons, when He created heaven and earth and all their adornment, then created the man Adam and his helper Eve; from these two persons the entire human race originated and multiplied: all people have these two first parents. The good God created our ancestors Adam and Eve not like other things, but by some wondrous and humane Council. Creating other creatures, God said: let it be, and so be it (Gen. 1). Having to create man, he said: Let us create man in Our image and likeness (Gen. 1:26). He exalted Adam so highly above other creatures that he created him not only by His Divine Council, but also in His image. From this, O man, know your high and wondrous first nobility, and the incomprehensible goodness of our God. You were created in the image of God. God gave the commandment to our created ancestors Adam and Eve, and in heaven, a beautiful place of sweets, placed: from every tree that is in heaven, you must carry food from it; and on the same day you are cut off from it, you will die (Gen. 2:16, 17). Adam and Eve did not keep the commandments of God; they ate from the commanded tree. The evil serpent, Satan, seduced them into this disobedience and transgression, having envied their great bliss. So, they, not listening to God their Creator, but listening to the deceiver and their enemy, sinned very gravely before God; and for this they lost the mercy of God and the grace with which God honored them in creation. They lost the image of God, and from the saints and righteous they became unclean, nasty, sinful, and fell under the righteous wrath of God and great misfortune, temporary and eternal. With this plague of our ancestors Adam and Eve, we, their sons, were also infected, and with it we are conceived and born: I was conceived in iniquities and my mother gave birth to me in sins (Ps. 51:7), and so with them we were subjected to temporary and eternal disaster. We should all have died not only temporarily, but also eternally with him (Adam), drinking the bitter cup of God’s wrath and eternal torment in hell, and being in power and reproach with the devil, whose evil advice we listened to: for the patterns of sin are death (Rom. 6:23). But blessed be the Trinitarian God! He, by His great mercy and incomprehensible goodness, promised Adam and Eve even in paradise to send deliverance and salvation to them and the whole world. That one - Christ, the blessed seed of the Woman - will erase your head (Gen. 3:15), the Lord said to the tempter the devil for the consolation of Adam and Eve (Book VII)." Question In addition to the teaching of St. Tikhon, where can we borrow the teaching about Angels? And give detailed information about this subject, taking into account other sources of the Orthodox Church. Rep. We borrow the doctrine of Angels from St. Damascus. “God is the Creator and Maker of Angels, who brought them from non-existence into existence, and created them in His image, incorporeal by nature, similar to some spirit and immaterial fire, as the divine David says (Ps. 103:4), describing the lightness, ardor, ardor, insight, speed of the Angels in love for God and serving Him. An angel is a being endowed with intelligence, constantly moving, free, incorporeal, and by grace having immortality in its nature. For an Angel there is no place for repentance - and because he is incorporeal; but repentance was given to man because of the weakness of the body. Angels are the second intelligent lights, borrowing their enlightenment from the First and Beginning Light. They have no need for language or hearing, but without a spoken word they communicate their thoughts and intentions to each other. Angels are limited. For when they are in heaven, they are not on earth; and when sent to earth by God, they do not remain in heaven. However, they are not held in place by walls, doors, locks, or seals. When, by the will of God, they appear worthy, they do not appear as they are in themselves, but are transformed in the way that those who see them can see them. They have sanctification not from their own being, but from the Spirit; prophesy by the grace of God; have no need for marriage because they are immortal. Angels are strong and ready to fulfill the will of God, and by the speed of their nature they immediately appear everywhere wherever the Divine wave commands. “They preserve parts of the earth, rule peoples and places, as they were appointed by the Creator, arrange our affairs and help us. The angels are inflexible to evil, and now they are completely inflexible, but not by their nature, but by grace and by their eternal closeness to the One God. They contemplate God as much as they can, and in this they have food for themselves. According to the most holy, sacred and great theologian Deonysius the Areopagite, all theology, that is, divine Scripture, names nine heavenly Orders: this divine sacred sanctuary divides them into three triple degrees: the first is always around God and, as devoted to Him, is in the closest and immediate unity with God: this degree of the six-winged Seraphim, the many-eyed Cherubim and most holy thrones; the second degree contains: Dominance, Strength and Power; third and last: Beginnings, Archangels and Angels. Regarding the time of creation, some believe that the Angels received existence before all other creatures, as Gregory the Theologian says: “first God represents the Angelic and Heavenly powers in thought, and this thought became deed.” Others claim that they were created after the creation of the first heaven. And everyone agrees that they were created before the creation of man. “I, says St. Damascus about himself, agree with the Theologian. For it was more decent to first create an intelligent essence, then a sensual one, and then from both essences - a person” (Chapter 3. Exposition. Legal Ver.). Numerous passages of Holy Scripture testify to the existence of Guardian Angels. Every believer has his own Guardian Angel. The Royal Prophet says: The Angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear Him (Ps. 33:8), and in another place: as His Angel commanded you, to keep you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their arms (Ps. 90:11, 12). The Savior says: Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones: for I say to you, for their angels in heaven have always seen the face of my Father in heaven (Matthew 18:10). That Angels serve God through serving people, the divine Apostle clearly testifies to this: aren’t all the souls of service sent into service for those who want to inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14; Blessed Theodoret. Quaest in Senesim Tom. 1, p. 6)? Guardian angels are given to guard cities, kingdoms, regions, monasteries, churches and people, both spiritual and worldly. In the Old Testament, before the law of Moses was given, Angels taught our forefathers the law and will of God, and showed them the way of salvation; and after, when the Law was given, they instructed them and guided them for good... They also announce the works of God: so they revealed to the righteous Zechariah about the birth from him of the holy and great John the Baptist, and about the birth of the Savior Himself, and besides, they, by the command of God, are everywhere with every person who believes in Christ (Orthodox Confession Part 1, answer to the question. 19). 1) There are Guardian Angels of man, societies and nations. St. Dionysius says: God the Word entrusts the priesthood over us to the Angels, when he calls Michael the prince of the Jewish people (Dan. 10), as well as other Angels as princes of other nations (On heavenly Jer. v. 40). – Gregory the Theologian: “each Angel is given a special authority from the Tsar - to have people, cities and entire kingdoms under his supervision (Prot. Eun.).” 2) There are guardian angels of private churches or societies of believers. Gregory the Theologian says: “I am sure that a special Angel patronizes every Church, as John teaches me in the Apocalypse (Rev. 1:20).” St. Ambrose: “To protect the flock of God, the Lord not only appointed bishops, but also appointed angels.” 3) There are Guardian Angels of individuals. Adhering to the words of the Psalmist about the Guardian Angel, who takes up arms only around those who fear God (Ps. 33:8), also the words of the Savior that the Angels of the little ones who believe in Him will always see the face of the Heavenly Father (Matthew 18:10), and finally, the sayings of the Apostle about sending down Angels to those who want to inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14), the most famous of Church teachers noticed that the Guardian Angel is not given to everyone indifferently, but only to Christians. St. Basil the Great says: an Angel is assigned to each of the faithful, worthy of seeing the Heavenly Father. St. Chrysostom: formerly the Angels were according to the number of nations, but now - according to the number of believers. Based on the same words of St. Scripture, the ancient teachers of the Church concluded that the Guardian Angel is with every believer constantly, throughout his entire life, as long as he remains fearful of God; and that the Guardian Angel then leaves the Christian when he falls into wickedness. St. Basil the Great says: “just as bees are driven away by smoke and doves by stench, so the guardian angel of our lives is driven away by lamentable and stinking sin.” Guardian Angels are our faithful mentors in faith and piety. “When I longed for great success,” says St. John Climacus, then in this case an Angel who appeared to me enlightened me.” Angels are the guardians of our souls and bodies. “Like city walls,” says St. Basil V., encircling the city, they repel enemy attacks from everywhere: so the Guardian Angel serves as a wall in front, a guard in the back, and leaves nothing uncovered on both sides.” Angels are our prayer books and intercessors before God (Apoc. 8:3; Tob. 12:15–20). “See,” says Neil, a disciple of St. Chrysostom, how the holy Angels exhort us to prayer, and stand with us, praying together.” Finally, the Angels do not leave us at the very end and take the souls of the dead to the land of eternity (Luke 11:22). Always keep in your mind the thought of death... think about the very separation of the soul from the body - a separation that will be under the supervising supervision of your Angel - think about the subsequent removal of the soul to the heavenly land. Shall we also remember the last judgment of God? Guardian angels and there will become at our right hand witnesses of the good deeds that we have done, and intercessors for us for the blessed fate of the saints. Question What is the ministry of the angels of the people? Rep. To promote in every possible way the good of the peoples entrusted to them, and to protect them, or to deliver them from all evil; to lead them along the path of civil improvement, and especially to lead them to God, to enlightenment by the saving Faith of Christ, if they are not yet enlightened, and along the path of Christian piety, if they are already enlightened. For the same purpose, Angels are assigned to private local churches, that is, to be leaders of both the members of these churches and especially the pastors. Question Tell me now, how does the Orthodox Church teach about evil angels? Rep. The exposition of the Orthodox Faith says this about evil angels: “Of the angelic forces of the supermundane world, the chief to whom God entrusted the protection of the earth was not created evil by nature, but was good and created for good, and did not have the slightest trace of evil in himself from the Creator. But he could not bear the insight and honor that the Creator bestowed upon him, and out of free will he turned from the natural to the unnatural, ascended against God, his Creator, wanting to rebel against Him, and was the first to depart from goodness and fell into evil. For evil is nothing other than the deprivation of good, just as darkness is the deprivation of light... He was rejected, he was followed, and with him fell an innumerable multitude of angels subordinate to him. Thus, they, having the same nature as the Angels, became evil at will, willfully deviating from good to evil. Therefore, they have neither power nor strength against anyone, unless this is allowed according to the will of God, as happened with Job and as it is written in the Gospel about the pigs of the Gadarenes. But, with God's permission, they are strong, they accept and change the dreamy image they want. Neither the Angels of God nor the demons know the future, but they predict: Angels, when God reveals to them and commands them to predict. That's why what they say happens. Demons also predict - sometimes by seeing distant events, and sometimes only by guesswork. That's why they lie a lot. You shouldn’t believe them, although, as we said, they often tell the truth. Moreover, they know the Scripture. They invented all the vices and unclean passions; and although they are allowed to tempt a person, they cannot force anyone; since it depends on us to accept or not accept their temptations. The devil, his demons and his followers are destined for unquenchable fire and eternal torment. You need to know that the fall for Angels is the same as death for people. For after the fall there is no repentance for them, just as there is no repentance for people after death (Chapter 4). Question Bring me the teaching of any of the holy fathers of the Church about the Antichrist. Rep. In the same Exposition of St. Damascus, this is the teaching about the Antichrist: You need to know what is about to come to the Antichrist. Although the Antichrist is also everyone who does not confess that the Son of God came in the flesh, that He is perfect God, and became a perfect man, without ceasing to be God; but in the proper sense and primarily the Antichrist is the one who will come at the end of the world. And so it is necessary that first the Gospel be preached to all nations, as the Lord said in exposing the Jews who resist God: and then he will come (Matthew 24:14). And the Apostle said: For the love of the truth, they did not accept the truth, so that they could be saved, and for this reason God will send upon them the power of deceit, so that they believed a lie: so that all who did not believe the truth, but were pleased with unrighteousness, would receive judgment (2 Thess. 2:10-12). So, the Jews did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Son of God and God, but will accept a deceiver who calls himself God. That he will call himself God, about this the Angel teaching Daniel says this: he does not understand the gods of his fathers (Dan. 11:37). And the Apostle: Let no one deceive you according to any image; for if the apostate does not come first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, the adversary and exalt himself more than any spoken god or worshipper, as if he should sit in the Church of God, like God, showing himself that God exists (2 Thess. 2:3, 4). The Apostle, saying: in the Church of God, does not mean ours, but the ancient Jewish one. For he will not come to us, but to the Jews, not for Christ, but against Christ and Christians. That's why it's called the Antichrist. So, first the Gospel must be preached to all nations (Matthew 24:14). And then the lawless one will appear, his coming according to the work of Satan, in all power and signs and wonders, and in all the deceit of unrighteousness among those who are perishing, and the Lord will kill him with the word of His mouth and abolish him by the appearance of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8-10). So, it is not the devil himself who will become a man, just as the Lord became man - let it not be! But a person will be born from fornication and will take upon himself all the influence of Satan. For God, foreseeing the future corruption of his will, will allow the devil to dwell in him. Born from fornication, he will be raised in secret, then he will suddenly rise up, rebel and reign. At the beginning of his reign, or better yet, his torment, he will cover himself with the mask of holiness; and when it is established, then it will persecute the Church of God and reveal all its malice. He will come with false signs and wonders, that is, counterfeit and not true, and He will deceive and turn away those who have a weak and unsteady mind from the Living God, so that they will be tempted, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:24). Then Enoch and Elijah the Tishbite will be sent. They will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, that is, the synagogue to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Apostolic preaching, and will be killed by the Antichrist (Apoc. 11:3). And the Lord will come from heaven in the same way as the Holy Apostles saw Him ascending into heaven (Acts 1:11). That is, the Perfect God and the Perfect Man will come with Glory and Power and will kill the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, with the spirit of His mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Many passages of Scripture testify to the coming of the Antichrist in the last times of the world. False Christs and false prophets will arise, Jesus Christ Himself predicts, speaking about the future end of the world, and they will give great signs and wonders, as if possible, to deceive even the elect (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13; Luke 21). “Here Christ, according to the explanation of St. Chrysostom, speaks of the Antichrist and some of his servants; about which Paul writes: But no one will deceive you according to any image; for if the apostasy does not come first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, the adversary and exalt himself more than any professed god or worshiper, how should he sit in the Church of God, like God, showing himself that God exists... Him the Lord Jesus will kill with the spirit of his mouth and abolish by the appearance of his coming: his coming is according to the work of Satan in all power and signs and lying wonders (2 Thess. 2:3–9).” Chrysost. Homil. 76–77 in Math. Tom. 7, pag. 735). The coming of the Antichrist is clearly stated in the Apok. Ch. 11. Question Tell me about St. Apostles? Rep. There are twelve apostles, according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel. That they all had the knowledge of the truth and were still called to the work of their ministry, the Apostle Paul clearly testifies to this (Rom. 10:15; 1 Cor. 15:11). Apostles from uneducated and simple people were called to the apostleship so that the all-effective power of God would be more clearly visible in the preaching of the Gospel (1 Cor. 1:18, 2:1–16) The apostles in the work of their ministry were assisted by grace (Acts 2; 1 Cor. 2:13 and many others). At the beginning of His preaching, Christ our Lord gathered twelve disciples from uneducated and simple people, whom He called Apostles, so that they would be His obvious witnesses to the whole world, as He said to them after His resurrection: You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the last of the earth (Acts 1:8). And the Apostle John with his brethren with the other Apostles says: And the life appeared and we saw and testify to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was revealed to us (1 John 1:2)... With these twelve Apostles, moving from place to place, and from city to city, and from all over the world, He carried His holy Gospel and scattered the saving seed of the Word of God; planted faith in human hearts and showed the way to eternal life and the heavenly kingdom; taught true reverence and worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23). He taught love for God and neighbor, meekness, humility, patience, mercy and other virtues. What He taught in word, He showed by His deed and example... He performed glorious miracles... After the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, His obvious witnesses, the Apostles, testified about Him, preached and proclaimed the gospel to the whole world, whom He chose twelve and named; They themselves saw Him and followed Him, and followed Him from city to city and from city to city, and were with Him in adversity (Luke 22:28). They saw Him working miracles and heard Him preaching the Holy Gospel and teaching the way leading to the Kingdom of Heaven; they ate and drank with Him, and showed not only what he did, but where and how he did it, and what they asked Him about, and what he answered, and in what city, what village, in what place, and what miracle and what sign he performed; and in what place and about what he taught, and at what time... We saw Him suffering and dying for us and Risen from the dead, and after His resurrection we ate and drank with Him, and we saw Him ascending into heaven and worshiped Him, which was preached to everyone according to us (1 John 1:1-3)... The apostles judged their teaching and felt it was so true and worthy of all acceptance that they did not hesitate to seal its truth with their blood and affirm it by the rejection of their life. The Apostles, as well as Christ Himself, were opposed to how much by the bitter Jews, forbidding them, threatening them, imprisoning them and beating them, the book of Acts testifies; but the Apostles boldly answered for the truth, affirming: This is Christ, the stone rooted from you who built... The Apostles from the hardened Jews turned to the pagans, and the self-witnesses scattered throughout the universe to carry the name of Jesus to all the ends of the earth and testify about Him before the whole world... It was an unheard of and incomprehensible thing to believe the heavenly mysteries about the One God, but Trinity in Persons, etc.... But the Apostles made this possible and planted the Word of God on the hearts idolatrous Holy Faith... The Apostles - these sacred vessels and organs of the Holy Spirit - in a short time and in small numbers (twelve), like eagles with wings, flowed around the entire universe and carried the priceless treasure of the Gospel... The apostles did not hide their mistakes, which they had committed before their apostleship, but wrote them down in their writings. Saint Matthew calls himself a publican in his gospel (Matthew 10:3). Saint Paul is not ashamed to call himself a blasphemer and persecutor of the Church, and this proved that their sacred hands were the reed of the Holy Spirit. The apostles taught and preached in everything according to the teaching and preaching of the Prophet... For one and the same Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, spoke through both the Prophets and the Apostles, like organs. On the 50th day, after the resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire, then gathered in one house (Acts 2). Question What are Apostles? and why are they called that? Rep. The Apostles were such men, says the Right Reverend Ambrose in his guide to the reading of Holy Scripture, who not only contemplated the risen Christ and were directly chosen and called and taught by Him Himself, but were also gifted with God’s inspiration, with extraordinary gifts of languages ​​and filled with miraculous power; vested with special power to determine what Christians need and benefit from the Law of Moses to preserve, and what is not necessary, and from the Savior Himself the Churches were sent to plant and establish throughout the entire globe (Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:8). The apostles of Jesus Christ are called so because they were His messengers, whom He chose from among His disciples and sent into the universe. For the word Apostle is taken from the Greek language and means messenger or messenger. Question Which of the Apostles wrote letters to different churches about the redemption of the human race through the suffering and death of the Son of God? Rep. Paul, James, Peter, John and Jude. I. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles is called Saul and Paul Saul is a Hebrew word and means begged, but Paul from the Latin language means small. He was gifted with special sharpness of mind, firmness of mind and memory. With these gifts, revealed and exalted by education at the feet of the learned Gamaliel and the heavenly grace of the Spirit, he worked more than others for Christ the Lord and for His Church. Converted by Christ Himself when, breathing rebuke and murder against the disciples of Christ, he rode to Damascus. The content of all his messages is Jesus Christ – Savior, Redeemer, Reconciler. The name Jesus is mentioned 207 times; and the name Christ 419 times. In Rome, he was beheaded in the 35th year of his Apostleship in 73 AD, two years before the destruction of Jerusalem. Question How many Saint Ap. Did Paul write the epistles? Rep. Fourteen. – The dogma of redemption and our salvation through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is most especially revealed by him in the epistles to the Romans, Galatians and Hebrews. Here is their main thought: “none of the mortals will be justified by their own righteousness from the works of the law, because everyone is subject to the wrath of God and eternal death. The people of Tuna will be justified by faith in Christ.” II. About James the Apostle and his message. Jacob means stutterer in Hebrew. His mother was Mary, the aunt of the Lord, or the sister of the Most Holy One. Virgin Mary. Read about his call to the apostleship in Luke. 6:13–15. – James was high priest in Jerusalem (Acts 21:18), and at the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem there was a chairman... His epistle consists of five chapters, of which, to curb the tongue and anger, read ch. 1 and 3. III. St. Peter - otherwise Simon, Cephas. He is the first among the Apostles, because he was older than the others in years, an eyewitness of the Transfiguration of the Lord, His sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane, His resurrection and ascension. None of the Apostles showed human weakness as often as Peter; from Paul he is called the pillar of the Church (Gal. 2:9). He wrote two epistles for the Jews, not living in their homeland, but scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. IV. St. John. He did not mark his three messages with his name, as is his habit of not speaking openly about himself. John (his name is grace) wrote the first epistle in favor of all Christians, and especially the Eastern ones, who turned to Christ, he wrote from Ephesus around 92 A.D. The motivation for writing was the discovery of damage to the purest teaching about the office and person of Jesus Christ and the proliferation of heretics who rejected Christ’s Divinity. V. Judas Ap. His name means confessor. since he was born from the aunt of the Lord, he is called the brother of Jesus Christ. The purpose of his message is to give the grace of God to those who give permission to sin, under the pretext of Christian freedom, to resist fatigue, to confirm the faithful in the integrity of the teaching and to arouse them to a holy life. The Epistle of Judas is similar in many ways to the 2nd Epistle of St. Apostle. Petra. Question Where can a spiritually ill person find healing? Rep. In the Holy Scripture. It is a spiritual pharmacy in which the blessed heavenly Father offers various healings for our sake. There are many different infirmities, illnesses and illnesses in our souls: therefore we demand many different healings, and they are found in the Holy Scriptures. There, with the help of the Holy Spirit, spoken by the Prophets and Apostles, everyone will find a cure for their infirmities: there is consolation for the sad, for the doubting, reason and confirmation, for the ignorant, instruction and knowledge... In the feat of faith of God, he who abides will find encouragement and reinforcement: be faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life (Apoc. 2:10); will find precautions against the adversary of the devil: be sober, be vigilant, for the devil is your adversary, like a roaring lion he walks (1 Pet. 5:8). In troubles and sorrows, of which the righteous have many, he will find consolation: for through many sorrows it is fitting for us to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22 and Heb. 10:36, 37). There are many Christians who believe their bliss (and this is our epidemic spiritual disease) in the honor, glory, wealth and luxury of this world; but when with attention in St. We will look at the Scriptures and listen diligently to God’s word; we will be of a different opinion. There God, the Righteous Judge, places our blessedness not in honor, glory and other merriments of this world, but in another... He calls blessed the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, and does not stand on the path of sinners, and does not sit on the seats of the destroyers; but his will is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he shall learn day and night (Ps. 1:1, 2, and Ps. 119:1, 2)... People call those their own sons blessed, like new plantings planted in their youth; their daughters are fertilized... their storehouses are full... their sheep are prolific... their oxen are fat... But God, the true judge and source of all bliss, pleases those who have the Lord for their God: blessed are the people, for them the Lord is their God... Blessed are the poor in spirit; the bliss of the weeping; blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness... (Ps. 143:12, 13, 15; Matt. 5:3, 4, 6). Do you see how the sinful opinion of man is corrected by God’s holy word and spiritual weakness is healed... The Word of God is the truest rule of human opinions, thoughts and deeds, which we must unswervingly adhere to when we do not want to sin and go astray. The blind flesh and through it our everlasting enemy the devil often offers us: how can our body, dead and scattered into dust, rise? But this weakness, by faith on the holy word of God, as on a true and unshakable foundation, is established, will be cast out: just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will live (1 Cor. 15:22)... To God, as the Almighty, all things are possible and convenient, and as to the true and faithful it is not possible to lie... Often the pious in reflection and therefore come into dangerous hesitation, thinking how good and God-fearing people live in troubles and misfortunes, while the evil and godless live in prosperity, which the Psalmist experienced on himself and said: because he was jealous of the wicked, the world of sinners in vain (Ps. 72:3). “But when they diligently delve into St. Scripture; they will see there the end of both: the pious - good, although they are poor in this world; the wicked - the evil one, although they exalt themselves for a short time - will see and exclaim: if the God of Israel is good with a right heart!.. They saw the wicked exalting themselves and towering like the cedars of Lebanon, and passed by - they died and behold... (Ps. 73:1; 36:35, 36). There - in the Holy Scriptures, healthy healing is offered to those who are ill with sins - repentance and the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, like a healing and life-giving plaster, with which sinful ulcers are healed and smoothed over; in a word, there everyone will find something decent according to his need and requirement, when he diligently and appropriately looks for it... Therefore, since the great gift of God given to people is Holy Scripture! We feel and taste the goodness of God, that He feeds and clothes us; but we note His great mercy in this, that He sent His holy Scripture to us as a message... - Glory and thanksgiving to Him! (From book 8)