To Demetrian

The treatise “To Demetrian” was written by Sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage around 251-253. and was addressed to a certain pagan who often came to St. Cyprian was more out of a desire to argue than to learn. The work is an apology for Christianity, which aims to refute the accusations of Christians widespread among pagans that they incurred their wrath by disrespect for the pagan gods and are therefore guilty of the disasters that have befallen the world - wars, epidemics, famine and drought. St. Cyprian says that the cause of disasters lies in the natural decay of the world, in which there is no longer the former strength and stability, and in the actions of the pagans themselves, who angered the true God with their vices, especially idolatry and persecution of Christians. The author tries to uplift the spirit of Christians who find themselves in danger of losing their strong faith due to the attacks of the pagans. It depicts the moral decline of the pagan world, calls for repentance and conversion to Christianity. God is one and true, and those whom the pagans worship are, in fact, demons: “If you wanted to see and hear them at that time when we, tormenting them with spiritual scourges, conjure them and drive them out of the bodies possessed by them with painful words; when, weeping and groaning with a human voice and feeling the whips and blows of Divine power, they confess the judgment that is coming.” According to St. Cyprian, Christian monotheism is not violated by the recognition of the existence of the Son of God, who defeated death, atoned for the sins of people before God, revived man and reconciled him with God. The work also talks about the economic role of the Holy Spirit speaking through the prophets. To know God, a person must first know himself, see the highest spiritual principle in himself and give his spirit a direction that would correspond to the position of his face and body: “God created you straight; and while other animals are humiliated by the structure of the body bent and bent to the ground, you have an exalted figure, a face directed towards heaven and even higher - towards God. Look there, direct your gaze there, seek God in the highest.” St. Cyprian also speaks of the Day of Judgment and the Kingdom of Heaven, in which Christians will be glorified with Christ, enjoy eternal bliss and joy in the face of God and bring eternal thanks to Him. If Christ grants believers eternal life as a reward, then He will assign eternal torment to unbelievers in the flames of Gehenna, where the souls of the condemned “will be preserved with their bodies to suffer in endless torture.” *The title of the work in Latin is Ad Demetrianum. I despised your abuse, Demetrian, and the wicked blasphemies often spewed from your sacrilegious lips against God, Who is the only and true one, considering it more decent and better to reject the ignorance of an erring person with silence, than to provoke insolence by answering a madman. And I did this not without the command of the Divine. The Scripture says: “Speak nothing in the ear of a fool, lest your wise words mock” (Proverbs 23:9). And again: “Do not answer a fool according to his madness, lest you become like him” (Proverbs 26:4). Yes, and we are commanded to keep the shrine inside our consciousness, and not offer it to pigs and dogs to trample under foot. This is what the Lord says about this: “Thou shalt not let the holy dogs cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and spinning ye be torn apart” (Matthew 7:6). When you often came to me more out of passion to argue than with the intention of learning and, raising noise and shouting, you wanted to shamelessly explain yours rather than patiently listen to ours, I found it absurd to enter into an argument with you; because it would be more convenient and easier to repel the indignant waves of a stormy sea with a cry than to tame your fury with reasoning. Agree that shining to the blind, speaking to the deaf, admonishing the senseless is vain work and will lead nowhere; because the senseless cannot understand, nor the blind can see, nor the deaf hear. Taking this into consideration, I often remained silent and conquered impatience with patience, because I would not have been able to teach the incapable of learning, nor restrain the wicked with a sense of respect for the holy, nor curb the frantic with meekness. But since you now say that very many people complain and blame us for the fact that wars are breaking out more often, that plagues and famines are raging, that the rains and dew are stopping in a long bucket: then we should not remain silent any longer; otherwise our silence will no longer be a sign of modesty, but of doubt, and at a time when we do not refute false accusations out of disregard for them, they will think that we admit our guilt. So, I answer, Demetrian, as you do, so do others, whom, perhaps, you incited and, sowing hatred against us with your slander, made, in large numbers, shoots of the same root, children of the same conclusion. I think, however, that these will be convinced by our speech: the one who has been persuaded to do evil by a skillfully concealed lie will the sooner turn to good when the truth prompts him to do so. You said that everything that shakes and exhausts the world happens through us and should be imputed to us; because we do not honor your gods. Since your knowledge of the Divine is very narrow-minded and the truth is not your part: then in this regard, first of all, you should know that the world is already outdated, that it does not hold on with the same forces that it held before, and there is no longer in it the strength and stability that it once was rich in. Even when we remain silent and do not declare any evidence for this from the Holy Scriptures and Divine predictions, the world already speaks about this itself and in the collapsing things provides clear evidence of its transience. In winter there is no longer such an abundance of rain to nourish seeds, or in summer there is such solar heat for the ripening of fruits; The crops in the spring are no longer so cheerful, and autumn is not so abundant in tree fruits. Fewer marble blocks are extracted from the mountains, dug up and exhausted; exhausted mines now produce gold and silver in less abundance, and the poor veins are shrinking and diminishing from day to day; there is a lack of a farmer in the fields, a sailor at sea, a soldier in the camps; there is no innocence in the marketplace, truth in court, unanimity between friends, knowledge in the arts, decorum in morals. Do you think that the essence of an aging thing can last as long as it could before, when it was new and strong in youth? Of necessity, that which, with the approach of death, tends towards decrepitude and exhaustion, declines. So, the sun, before its sunset, casts a less clear and hot light; so, towards the end of its course, the moon in its skinny horns becomes thinner! The tree, which was once green and fertile, then becomes ugly when the branches dry out and barren old age sets in; the source, which flowed magnificently while the veins were overflowing with water, weakening with old age, barely appears in drops, in the form of sweat. This is the sentence given to the world, this is the law of God: everything that has risen must decline, everything that has grown must grow old, everything that has grown must weaken, everything that has been great must decrease, and everything that has weakened and diminished must come to an end. You blame Christians for the fact that as the world ages, everything decreases. What if the old people begin to blame Christians for the fact that in old age they become weaker in health, that they no longer enjoy the subtlety of hearing, the speed of their legs, the sharpness of their vision, the strength of their strength, the abundance of internal juices, and the activity of their limbs as much as before, and that nowadays human life can barely last up to a century, whereas in ancient times, long-lived, it lasted for eight hundred and nine hundred years? We see gray hair on children; hair falls off before it grows back; a century does not end with old age, but begins with old age. Such a birth from the very beginning is already in a hurry to the end! Thus, everything that is born now degenerates due to the old age of the world itself. Therefore, no one should be surprised that the world has begun to lack one or the other, when the world itself is already in relaxation and at the end. The fact that wars are becoming more frequent and lasting, that crop failure and famine increase anxiety, that rampant diseases are destroying health, that ulcers are causing devastation in the human race - know that all this is predicted; - it is predicted that in recent times evil will multiply and disasters will diversify and that, with the approach of the day of judgment, the judgment of an angry God will intensify more and more to defeat the human race. And all this happens not because (as you falsely complain and, through an ignorant lack of understanding of the truth, divulge) that we do not honor your gods, but because you do not honor God. Since He is the ruler and ruler of the world, and everything is done according to His will and desire, and nothing can happen except what He Himself does or allows to happen; then, of course, when something happens that shows the anger of an indignant God, it does not happen through us who worship God, but is caused by great sins and actions, caused by the fact that you do not seek and fear God and do not try, leaving empty superstitions, to know the true religion, so that in this way everyone would honor and pray to the one God, Who is one for all. Listen to Him Himself, as He instructs us and exhorts us with His Divine word: “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and serve Him alone” (Luke 4:8; cf. Deut. 6:13). And again: “Let there be no gods for you other than Me” (Ex. 20:3). And again: “Do not follow in the footsteps of foreign gods, so as to serve them and worship them, lest you anger Me in the works of your hands, so as to embitter you” (Jer. 25:6). The prophet, filled with the Holy Spirit, also testifies and, proclaiming the wrath of God, says: “To this the Lord Almighty says: My church is empty, but you are flowing every one into your house, for this reason the heavens will be kept from dew, and the earth will be drained of its wear, and I will bring the sword on the earth, and on the mountains, and on the wheat, and on the wine, and on the oil... and on men, and on livestock, and on all labor. their hands" (Hag. 1:9-11). Another prophet also repeats and says: “I will wait for one city, but not for another; and one part will need to wait, and the other part, without any need for it, will dry up; and two and three cities will gather into one city to drink water, and will not be satisfied; and do not turn to Me, says the Lord” (Am. 4:7-8). And now the Lord is indignant, angry and threatens because you do not turn to Him. And you, with such your stubbornness and neglect, are still surprised and complain if rain rarely falls from the sky, if the earth is clogged with acrid dust, if a barren clump barely produces skinny and pale grass, - a falling hail destroys the vineyards, - a destructive whirlwind uproots an olive tree, - drought stops the source, if an infectious wind spoils the air, - a painful condition exhausts a person; - whereas all this comes, being caused by your sins, and God is even more upset when everything like this and in such a multitude does not bring any benefit! The same God declares in the Holy Scriptures that all this happens either to admonish the stubborn or to punish the wicked. He says: “You have struck your children in vain; you have not accepted punishment” (Jer. 2:30). And to this the pious and devoted prophet seems to answer: “You beat them, and they were not hurt; You crushed them, and did not want to accept punishment” (Jer. 5:3). Here blows are determined from above, but there is no fear of God! Look, whips and rods are raining down from there, but no trepidation, no fear is noticeable! What if such violence did not interfere in human affairs? How much more insolence would there be in people, self-confident from the impunity of atrocities? You complain that abundant springs, well-dissolved air, frequent rains and fertile soil do not currently obey you; you complain that the elements no longer serve your benefits and pleasures. Yes, you are a servant of God, through Whom everything serves you: you are in the service of Him, by whose desire everything is placed at your disposal. Meanwhile, you demand unconditional obedience from your slave; being a person yourself, you force a person to obey you and fulfill your will. You both have the same lot at birth, the same conditions of death, the same bodily composition, the same origin of souls; with equal right and according to the same law, both you enter this world and depart from it. But if he does not serve your will, if he does not obey your free order, you, power-hungry and too demanding of the slave, beat him, flog him, exhaust him and torment him with hunger, thirst, nakedness, and often with chains and even prison. Why, by showing your dominance in this way, do you, unfortunate one, not recognize your Lord God? Thus, it is not without reason that there is no shortage of rods and scourges of God for striking! And if they did not help here at all and did not turn everyone to God with the great fear of defeat, then in the future there is an eternal prison, an unquenchable fire, endless torment. From there the groans of those pleading will not be heard by God, since even here they did not hear the threats of the angry God, who calls and says through the prophet: “Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the judgment of the Lord is upon those who dwell on the earth; there is no truth, no mercy, no knowledge of God on earth. Oaths and lies, and murder, and theft, and fornication are spread over the earth, and blood interferes with blood. For this reason the earth will mourn, and will diminish with all those who dwell on it, with the wild beasts of the land, and with the creeping things of the earth, and with the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea will become scarce; for no one can be found guilty, nor can anyone be convicted” (Hosea 4:1-4). God expresses His indignation and anger because there is no knowledge of God on earth; and yet they neither know nor fear God! God reproaches and condemns the vices of lies, lusts, deceptions, cruelty, wickedness, fury; and yet no one turns to integrity! Now something is happening that was previously predicted by the word of God, but the fidelity of the present no one is prompted to take care of the future. During the most misfortunes, from which the oppressed and oppressed soul finds it difficult to calm down, there is still enough time to be angry and, in the face of such dangers, to judge others more than about oneself. You are indignant that God is indignant. As if, by living poorly, you deserve anything good? As if everything that happens is not much smaller and easier than your sins? You who judge others, sometimes be your own judge; look into the secret corners of your conscience. Since there is no longer any fear or shame for crimes and they sin as if through their very sins they can please even more: then you, who are visible through and through to everyone and naked to everyone, look at yourself. At one time you are puffed up with pride, at another you rob out of greed; sometimes you are fierce with anger, sometimes wasteful in gambling, sometimes clouded by drunkenness, sometimes envious with anger; sometimes incestuous in debauchery, sometimes ferocious in bitterness. And are you surprised that the wrath of God increases against the execution of the human race, when what deserves punishment increases daily? Do you complain that the enemy is rising: as if, if there were no enemy, peace would be possible in the midst of the world itself? You complain that the enemy is rising: as if, if external weapons and dangers from the barbarians were averted, the internal weapons of domestic attack, in the form of false accusations and insults from more powerful citizens, would not act more cruelly and more dangerously? You complain about barrenness and hunger: does drought produce greater hunger than robbery? does not the burning flame of poverty increase as supplies are taken away and prices rise? You complain that the sky is closed for rain, but on earth the granaries are locked like that! You complain that now less will be born: is what was born loaned to the poor? You blame infection and pestilence; and yet the infection and pestilence only exposed or increased the crimes of everyone, revealing that there is no compassion for the sick and that greed and predation only count on the dead. Those who are timid in pious obliging are bold to the point of insolence when it comes to wicked gain; those who avoid the burials of the dying harbor a strong desire to rob the dead, so it seems that they, perhaps, leave the unfortunate uncared for in illness, so that, when caring for them, they cannot recover. He, of course, wanted the death of the patient who takes possession of the property of the dying person. And such horror of executions cannot teach integrity! And among the people dying from pure defeat, no one thinks of himself that he is mortal! They are scurrying around everywhere, robbing, taking possession. Everyone is in such a hurry to rob, as if this is how it should be, as if the one who does not rob feels a personal loss and loss! The robbers have at least some modesty in their crimes: they choose impenetrable slums and uninhabited deserts, and there they commit crimes in such a way that the deeds of the criminals are covered up, at least, in darkness and at night. And here selfishness is clearly rampant, and the safe, by its very insolence, displays publicly, in the open, the weapons of its uncontrollable greed. Hence the forgers of false papers; hence the poisoners; hence the murderers within the city itself, all the more ready to commit a crime because they commit crimes with impunity. False accusations are made from the guilty, and no innocent person is found to take revenge. There is no fear of either the prosecutor or the judge. The wicked achieve impunity because the humble are silent, witnesses are afraid, and those who judge are bribed. The truth of the matter, this time too, by inspiration and inspiration from the Divine, was revealed by the prophet; he definitely and clearly declares that God can avert misfortune, but that the crimes of sinners keep Him from providing His help: “food cannot,” he says, “the hand of the Lord save? Or has your hearing become too heavy to hear? But your sins are dividing between you and between God, and sin for your sake will turn away His face from you, lest you have mercy” (Isaiah 59:1-2). So let sins and crimes be taken into account; let the wounds of conscience be discussed: then everyone will stop complaining about God or about us that He deserves what He suffers. Is this even the very reason why we are mainly talking to you - that you attack us innocently, in reproach to God, persecute and oppress the servants of God? Not only do you pollute your life with a variety of violent vices, the wrongfulness of criminal offenses, the appropriation of spoils stained with blood; Not only is true religion overthrown by false superstitions, which do not seek or fear God at all: you also exhaust the servants of God, devoted to His greatness and name, with unjust persecutions! It is dissatisfying that you yourself do not honor God: you persecute those who honor Him with sacrilegious attacks! You don’t honor God and don’t allow him to be worshiped at all; and then, just as you like everyone who worships not only absurd idols and statues made by human hands, but also some kind of monsters and bogeymen, you do not like only one worshiper of God. Sacrificial altars and bonfires for cattle are smoking everywhere in your churches: only for God, or there are no altars, or they are hidden. Crocodiles, monkeys, stones, snakes are adored by you; God alone on earth is either not revered, or is not revered with impunity. You deprive the innocent, the righteous, those dear to God of their homes, take away their inheritance property, burden them with chains, imprison them in prisons, hand them over to be executed by beasts, sword, fire, and at the same time you are dissatisfied if our suffering is short-lived and the execution is carried out simply and quickly: you resort to painful torture to exhaust the body, increase the already numerous tortures to torment the insides; your ferocity, your brutality are not content with the usual tortures - your witty cruelty invents new executions. What kind of insatiable frenzy of torture is this? What is this excessive passion in cruelty? What's better? Choose one of two things for yourself: is being a Christian a crime or not? If it’s a crime, then why don’t you put to death the one who confesses to it? If it’s not a crime, why are you persecuting the innocent? I should have been tortured if I locked myself away. If, fearing execution and thinking of deceiving you with a lie, I had concealed what I was before and that I did not honor your gods: then I should have been subjected to torture, then I should have been forced by the force of suffering to confess to the crime. Thus, during all kinds of interrogations, the guilty are tortured if they refuse the crime of which they are accused; subjected so that the authenticity of the crime, which is not confirmed by verbal testimony, is tortured by the suffering of the body. But when I confess voluntarily and shout, and testify with repeated words myself that I am a Christian, why then do you torture someone who confesses and rejects your gods, not in dark and secret places, but openly, publicly, in the very square, in the hearing of judges and rulers? At least your previous accusation was of little importance; however, now what you must hate and punish has increased; because I call myself a Christian in a solemn place, surrounded by people, and by public preaching I confuse you and your gods. Why do you turn to the weakness of the body? Why are you fighting against the weakness of earthly flesh? Enter the fight with fortitude; crush the power of opinion; break faith; If you can, win by argument, win over reason. At the same time, if your gods have any Divine power and authority, then let them avenge themselves, let them protect themselves with their own greatness. Otherwise, what can those who cannot avenge themselves on their non-admirers deliver to their admirers? Since the avenger is greater than the one for whom he avenges, then you are greater than your gods. If you are greater than those whom you worship, then you should not worship them, but rather they should worship you and fear you as a lord. Otherwise, your revenge protects them from insults, just as your guards protect them locked up so that they don’t disappear! Be ashamed to honor those whom you yourself defend; be ashamed to expect protection from those whom you yourself protect. Oh, if you would like to see and hear them at that time when we, tormenting them with spiritual scourges, conjure them and drive them out of the bodies possessed by them with painful words; when, weeping and groaning in a human voice and feeling the whips and blows of Divine power, they confess the judgment that is coming! Come and find out the truth of our words. If you honor the gods as much as you say, then believe the very ones you honor. And if you want to believe in yourself, then the one who now owns your soul, who has currently blinded your mind with the darkness of ignorance, will speak about you in your own ear. You will see that those to whom you pray will beg us; those whom you fear and whom you offend will be afraid. You will see that under our hand those whom you revere and whom you honor as rulers will stand as if bound and tremble like captives. Indeed, in this way you can be exposed in your delusions when you see and hear how your gods, in response to our questions, declare what they are, and even in your presence they will not be able to hide their well-known deceptions and seductions! After this, how great is the ignorance, how blind and stupid is the madness of those who do not want to come from darkness to light and, being bound by the bonds of eternal death, do not want to accept the hopes of immortality and do not fear God, who threatens with the following words: “whoever sacrifices to God shall suffer death, but only to the Lord alone” (Ex. 22:20). And again: “having bowed down to those who had made their fingers; and the man bow down, and the man humble himself, and I will not endure them” (Isa. 2:8-9). Why do you humiliate yourself and bow down before false gods? Why do you slavishly bend your body before ridiculous idols and clay sculptures? God created you straight; and while other animals are humiliated by the structure of the body bent and bent to the ground, you have an exalted figure, a face directed towards heaven and even higher - towards God. Look there, direct your gaze there, seek God in the highest. Raise your heart, open to all, to the high and heavenly, so that you can get rid of the underworld. Why do you throw yourself to the ground to die with the serpent you worship? Why are you destroying yourself by the destruction of the devil, through him and with him? Maintain the integrity with which you were born. Be the way God created you. Moreover, give your spirit a direction that would correspond to the position of your face and body. Know yourself first so that you can know God. Leave the idols invented by human error. Turn to God: He will come to your aid if you pray to Him. Believe in Christ, Whom the Father sent for our revival and restoration. Stop tormenting the servants of God and Christ with your persecution: God will take revenge for their offense. That is why none of our people resist when they take him, and he himself does not take revenge for the unjust violence on your part; although our people are very significant and numerous: what makes us patient is the confidence in the vengeance that will follow. The innocent yield to the guilty; the blameless calmly endure executions and suffering: we have no doubt and are confident that everything that we endure will not remain without vengeance: even the greater the injustice in the persecution, the more just and severe the retribution for the persecution will be, and never will the criminal uprising of wickedness against our name remain without it being immediately followed by vengeance from above. Let us not recall the old and retell frequently repeated examples of vengeance for the worshipers of God; There is enough recent evidence that the defense followed so quickly and with speed - so majestically - in the disruption of affairs, in the loss of property, in the loss of soldiers, in the reduction of camps. Let no one think that this does not depend on the reason we have indicated; Let him also not come to the conclusion that all this happened by chance; in the Divine Scripture it has long been decreed and said: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19); and again the Holy Spirit warns: “Do not say: I will take revenge on the enemy; but be patient with the Lord, that he may help you” (Proverbs 20:22). From here it is clearly revealed that everything that is sent down by the wrath of God happens not through us, but for us. And let no one think that all this does not happen in retribution for Christians, on the grounds that they themselves, apparently, are affected by the disasters that occur. From the misfortunes of the world, he suffers execution for whom there is all the joy and glory in the world. He grieves and cries if he feels bad in this century, who cannot feel good after this century, who here exhausts all the pleasures of life, for whom all consolation ends here, for whom a fragile and short life here still brings some pleasantness and pleasure, and for whom, after leaving here, only painful execution remains. Meanwhile, suffering from present disasters is completely insignificant for those who hope for future benefits. That is why in misfortunes we do not fall into despondency, do not lament, do not mourn; that is why no disorder of state, no physical illness leads us to grumbling. Living more in spirit than in body, we overcome the weakness of the body with the strength of the spirit. We know and believe that all the suffering and languor we endure serve to test and strengthen us. Do you think that you and I suffer misfortunes in the same way, whereas you see that we and you endure the same misfortunes differently? You have impatience, always loudly expressed and full of complaints; we have strong and pious patience, always calm and always grateful to God; it does not demand joy or happiness for itself here, but modest, meek, resistant against all the storms of the troubled world, awaits the time promised by God. And as long as this body remains here, it will necessarily be the same with others and will be subject to general bodily conditions; because the human race is not given to be in mutual separation, and if this happens, it will be after leaving this world. Now, both good and evil, we live together inside the same house. We will endure everything that happens in the house equally, until, at the end of the temporary age, we are divided into the abodes of eternal death or immortality. So, we are not similar and not equal to you, only because, while still in this world and in this body, we are subject to the same inconveniences of the world and the body. After all, every punishment consists of a feeling of suffering; Therefore, it is clear that he does not share the punishment with you who, as you see, does not suffer equally with you. We have a strong firmness of hope and strength of faith; in the midst of the very ruins of a collapsing age, our mind is alert, our valor is unshakable, our patience is always complacent, and our soul is always at peace in God, as the Holy Spirit speaks through the prophet to our encouragement, reinforcing with a heavenly voice the firmness of our faith and hope: “The figs will not bear fruit, and there will be no generation in the vines; the olive tree will lie, and the fields will not produce poison; The sheep will be destitute of food, and there will be no oxen for the manger. But I will rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in God my Savior” (Hab. 3:17-18). The Holy Spirit does not allow that a man of God and a worshiper of God, based on the truth of hope and strengthened by the firmness of faith, can be shaken due to the adversities of this world and age. Let the vineyard deceive; let the olive tree lie; let, during a drought, a scorched field with frozen grass turn to stone: what is all this for Christians, for the servants of God, whom heaven calls, for whom all grace and contentment awaits in the Kingdom of Heaven? They always triumph in the Lord, rejoice and rejoice in their God; They bravely endure the evils and disasters of the world, foreseeing future gifts and blessings. For having put aside earthly birth, recreated and regenerated by the Spirit - and therefore no longer living for the world, but for God - only then will we pass on to God and achieve God's gifts and promises. With all this, we always send out petitions and prayers for deliverance from enemies, for the sending of rain, for the aversion or moderation of disasters; constantly and relentlessly, day and night, we ask God for your peace and salvation, begging and bowing to His mercy. So, let no one be deceived by the fact that, due to the sameness of flesh and body, our attitude towards worldly sorrows is still common among us, admirers of God, with those who do not know God and resist Him; Let no one conclude from this that all the troubles happening now were not determined by you. It was predicted long ago by the preaching of God Himself and the prophetic testimony that the wrath of God would come upon the wicked - it was predicted that persecution would also be revealed, which would harm us as humanity, but that then retribution would follow, as protection for the offended, sent from above. And how many things happen there, among you, that happen in revenge for us? Something is sent as an example, so that they may know the wrath of the avenging God. However, the day of judgment is already near; The Holy Scripture proclaims it this way: “weep, for the day of the Lord is near, and contrition from God will come... Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, unhealed with wrath and wrath, making the world empty and destroying sinners from it” (Isa. 13:6, Isa. 13:9). And again: “Behold, the day (of the Lord) is coming, burning like a furnace, and I will be burned, and all foreign women and all who do iniquity will be like a stalk; and I will kindle the day of the Lord to come, says the Lord” (Mal. 4:1). The Lord foretells that foreigners will ignite and burn, that is, those who do not belong to the Divine race and are unenlightened - those who are not spiritually reborn, who have not become sons of God. And God says in another place that only those reborn and sealed with the sign of Christ can be saved, when, sending His Angels to destroy the world and exterminate the human race, He finally expresses the following terrible threat: “Go..., cut them off, and have no mercy on your eyes, and have no mercy; slay the old, the young, the virgin, the little children, and the wives for consumption; But do not touch anyone who has a sign on them” (Ezek. 9:5-6). What kind of sign this is and on what part of the body it will be placed, God reveals in another place, saying: “Go through the midst of the city of Jerusalem and give signs on the faces of the men who groan and are sick because of all the iniquities that happen among them” (Ezek. 9:4). The fact that this sign has to do with the suffering and Blood of Christ and that only he who turns out to have this sign will remain healthy and unharmed is also confirmed by the testimony of God; He says: “And the blood will be for you as a sign on the houses in which you will be there; and I will see blood, and I will cover you, and there will be no plague in you to perish, when I strike the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:13). What was first preceded in the image by the slaughter of the lamb, is then fulfilled in Christ after the coming of the truth. Just as there, when Egypt was defeated, the Jewish people could be saved only by the blood and the sign of the lamb, so at that time, when the world begins to be devastated and amazed, only the one who is found sealed with the Blood and the sign of Christ will be saved. Take care, while there is time, about true and eternal salvation - and since the day of judgment is already close - turn your minds to God in the fear of God. Do not be pleased by the powerless and empty dominion in this age over the righteous and meek; After all, even in the field, the cockle and kister dominate over cultivated and fruit-bearing plants! Do not say that misfortunes happen because we do not honor your gods; know that such a test is sent by an angry God with the purpose that those who are not brought to their senses by good deeds will be brought to their senses, at least by whips. Seek, although it is too late, for God; especially since He, while warning, has long been exhorting through the prophet and saying: “Seek Me, and you will live” (Am. 5:4). Know, although it is late, God; especially since Christ who came offers the same admonition and teaching, saying: “This is the eternal life, that they may know thee the one true God, and whom Jesus Christ hath sent” (John 17:3). Trust the One who does not deceive at all. Believe the One who predicted that all this would happen. Believe in the One who gives eternal life as a reward to believers. Believe in the One who will condemn unbelievers to eternal death in the fires of Gehenna. What glory will be to faith and what punishment to unbelief when the day of judgment comes? What joy for the faithful, and what sorrow for the infidels - that they did not want to believe before, but it is no longer possible to return to believing? The condemned will burn forever in the fire of Gehenna, tormented by a consuming flame, and nothing will stop or end their torment. Souls with their deeds will be preserved to suffer in endless torture. And there will be in our constant disgrace the one who here, for a time, put us in his disgrace, and the short pleasure of the brutal eyes, during persecution, will be rewarded with a permanent spectacle, according to the assurance of the Holy Scripture, which says: “for their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be the disgrace of all flesh” (Is. 66:24). And in another place: “Then the righteous man will stand boldly in the face of those who insulted him and those who reject his labors. Those who see will be troubled with grave fear, and will be horrified at his glorious salvation. And they say in themselves repentantly, and in the distress of the spirit sighingly: this is what we once had in laughter, and in the parable of reproach. Madness, his life imputed furiously, and his death dishonorable. What is his lot in the sons of God, and in the saints? Because we have gone astray from the true path and righteousness, the light has not shone upon us, and the sun has not risen to us. The lawless are filled with paths and destruction, and we walk in impassable deserts, but we do not follow the path of the Lord. What good has pride done to us? And what will you reward us with wealth and magnificence? All of it is like a canopy” (Wisdom 5:1–9). The torment of execution will then be without the fruit of repentance, tears are in vain, prayer is invalid. Those who did not want to believe in eternal life will believe in eternal punishment too late. Take care, while you can, of your safety and life. We offer life-saving advice from the heart. Since it is not permissible for us to hate, and we thereby please God by not reciprocating in any way for insults, we convince you, while there is still an opportunity, while there are still a few centuries left, bring satisfaction to God, come out of the depths of dark superstition into the pure light of true religion. We do not envy your benefits and do not hide the Divine benefits from you. We pay for your hatred with goodwill and for the torture and torment to which you subject us, we show you the ways of salvation. Believe and live; rejoice with us forever, you who persecute us temporarily. When the departure from here comes, there will no longer be any room for repentance, no real satisfaction. Here life is either lost or saved. Here eternal salvation is secured by worshiping God and works of faith. And let no one be delayed on the path to salvation by his sins or summer. For those who still live in this world, no repentance is too late. The entrance to God's condescension is open, and access is convenient for those who seek and understand the truth. Pray for sins, at least at the end and outcome of temporary life; beg God, the only and true one, by confessing Him and with conscious faith: whoever confesses Him is granted forgiveness; To the believer, Divine love provides saving condescension, and in death itself the transition to immortality is completed. This is the kind of mercy Christ shows us; He has prepared such a gift of His mercy for us, conquering death with the victory of the cross, redeeming the believer at the price of His Blood, reconciling man with God the Father, reviving the mortal with heavenly rebirth! Let us follow Him, if possible, all of us; let us swear to Him and enlist under His banner: He opens to us the path of life, He returns paradise to us, He will lead us into the Kingdom of Heaven. And we will always live with Him, having become sons of God through Him. We will triumph with Him forever, restored by His shed Blood. We Christians will be glorified together with Christ, blessed in God the Father, rejoicing from the unceasing enjoyment of the everlasting contemplation of God, we will forever give thanks to God. And it is impossible for someone who is provided with immortality, while he was guilty of death, not to rejoice forever and not be grateful.