Беседа 22

1. Remembering our promise, we ordered that the readings correspond to this: the Gospel and the Apostolic. Those who were at the first conversation remember that we divided the question we took about the resurrection into two discussions: the first - about those who doubt that there will be a resurrection of the dead, or even reject it; the second is about what it is, according to the teachings of the Holy. Scripture, there will be life for the righteous in the resurrection. On the first question, discussing the fact that the dead are resurrected, we, as you remember, stopped for so long that there was not enough time to discuss another question, and thus we were forced to postpone it until the present day. Your attention now demands from us the payment of this debt, and we know that it is time to pay. So, together we will ask the Lord with reverence, so that we can safely pay the debt, and you can accept it savingly. This question, admittedly, is more difficult. But stronger than all such difficulties is love, which we must serve so that God, who gave us this commandment of love, makes our labors easy and pleasant. 2. Remember that we answered those who said: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die,” and how the apostle denounces them, saying that “bad associations corrupt good morals,” and giving the following instruction: “Be sober as you should, and do not sin; for I tell you to your shame, some of you do not know God” (1 Cor. 15:33–34). Let us all remember the words of the apostle and imprint them in our hearts. And whoever wants to obey them and imprints them in his heart, let him prove this by deed. Every listener is like a field that receives the seed of the sower. He who imprints what he hears on his heart is like one who tears up the earth and buries the seed sown in it. Whoever acts in accordance with what has been accepted and imprinted on his heart is the one who awaits the harvest and bears fruit with patience: some “a hundredfold, another sixty, and another thirty” (Matthew 13:23; Luke 8:15). Barns are prepared for him, as for bread, and not fire, as for chaff. These hidden granaries represent those blessed abodes in the resurrection of the dead and those eternal unspeakable treasures which, according to the word of Scripture, they will receive there. 3. In another place, the Lord Jesus Christ calls them (the eternal abodes) by the name of vessels when he says that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net, or nets, since some nets are called nets. “The kingdom of heaven,” He says, “is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of all kinds; and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but threw away the bad” (Matthew 13:47-48). Our Lord figuratively wanted to show here that the word of God is taught to peoples and tribes in the same way, just as a net is thrown into the sea. During the performance of the Christian sacraments, He (the Lord) gathers both good and evil. But not everyone who is captured by the net is collected into vessels. These vessels are the abodes of saints. Those great mysteries (secreta) of a blessed life are not awarded to all who are called Christians, but only to those who, being called so, are such. Of course, the net contains good and bad fish, and the good tolerate the bad until finally they are separated. In one place of Scripture it is said: “You hide them under the cover of Your face” (Ps. 30:21). We are talking about the saints here. “You hide them under the cover of Your face,” i.e. where neither the eyes of men nor the thoughts of mortals can penetrate. Wanting to identify some mysteries that were too hidden, the psalmist said: “under the cover of Your (God’s) face.” But should we think that God has some kind of huge face and that in His face there is some kind of bodily container where the saints will be hidden? All this, brothers, presented sensually, must be rejected by believers. What should be understood by the covering of the face of God, if not what remains unrecognized regarding this face? So, when they talk about granaries to designate something hidden, and in another place about vessels, these are not the granaries that we know, and not vessels. For if there were any one of these things, it would not be designated by another name. But since the incomprehensible, as far as possible, is understood by people through the similarities known to them, accept in this sense both names, implying the mysterious both in the name of the granary and in the name of the vessels. But if you begin to ask what it is (quale secretum), listen to the prophet who says: “You hide them under the cover of Your face.” 4. If this is so, brethren, then we are still strangers in this life and live by faith in that unknown fatherland. And why is this fatherland, of which we are citizens, unknown, if not because in our long wandering we have forgotten it, so that we speak of it as unknown? This oblivion is removed from our hearts by the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Fatherland himself, who comes to those who do not know Him (ad peregrinos). As a result of taking on the flesh, His Divinity becomes the way for us, so that through the man Christ we ascend and abide in Christ God. So, brothers, in what word will we explain that mystery which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and which has not entered into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9), or how will we penetrate into it? Sometimes we cannot express what we know; sometimes we cannot even express it. If it happens that it is impossible to express even what I know, then how much more difficult will my word be when I, brethren, walk with you “by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7)? But is it just me, or the apostle himself? After all, he also consoles us in our ignorance and confirms our faith, saying: “Brethren, I do not consider myself to have attained; but only, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling” (Phil. 3:13–14), by which the apostle showed that he was on the way. And in another place he says: “Being at home in the body, we are cut off from the Lord, for we walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:6-7). And again: “For we are saved by hope. But hope, when it sees, is not hope; for if anyone sees, what can he hope for? But when we hope for what we do not see, then we wait with patience” (Rom. 8:24–25). 5. So, brothers, hear from me therefore a word that is reverent, humble, meek, not arrogant and daring, not rash and reckless. The psalmist says in one place: “I believed, and therefore I spoke” (Ps. 116:1). Having cited these words, the apostle adds: “and we believe, therefore we speak” (2 Cor. 4:13). So, do you want me to tell you what I know? I don’t want to deceive you - listen from me what I believe. Let it not seem insignificant to you if you hear what I believed, because you hear my true confession. After all, if I began to say: look, listen to what I know, you would hear only one reckless conceit. All of us, brethren, and also, as the scriptures of the saints relate, and all those who lived before us in the flesh, through whom the Spirit of God, speaking, communicated to people as much as was needed for the wandering, we all say what we believe; The Lord alone speaks what he knows. But what does it matter if one Lord says about the future eternal life what he knows, and others - the Lord's followers - spoke about it only because they believed?! But we know that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself sometimes does not say what He knows. In one place He said to His disciples: “I still have many things to tell you; but now you cannot contain it” (John 16:12), due to their weakness, and not due to the fact that He could not, did not want to say what He knew. Because of this weakness common to all of us, we do not want to express worthily what we know, but what we believe, we explain as best we can; you, as far as you can, accept it. And if any of you can understand more than I can say, let him not stop near a small stream, but strive for an abundant source; because with Him is the source of life, in whose light we will see light (Ps. 35:10). 6. So, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, we have already spoken about this (disputavimus). This is how we believe, this is how we must believe; we say so because we believed so - if only we are Christians - contemplating the power of the hand of the Lord, striking down pagan pride everywhere and spreading this faith so widely across the face of the earth, as was promised much earlier than it happened. Seeing this, we are encouraged to believe in what we do not yet see, in order to receive the vision itself as a reward for faith. And since it is now clear to our faith that there will be a resurrection of the dead, it is so clear that if anyone doubted this, he would unworthily bear the very name of a Christian, the question further arises about what kind of bodies the saints will have, and what will their life be like? Many people think that if there is a resurrection, it is only spiritual (per solas animas). 7. However, there is no need to talk for a long time about the fact that bodies will be resurrected after the previous conversation. Now this kind of question arises; If bodies are resurrected, what will they be like: will they be the same as now, or different? If others, which ones? If they are the same, then, therefore, are they capable of the same things? But that they are incapable of doing the same things, the Lord speaks about this and the Apostle teaches. They are not intended for the same life, not for the same mortal, corruptible, temporary and transitory deeds, not for bodily joys, not for carnal pleasures. If they are not intended for the same things, then, consequently, they will not be the same. If they are not, then how will the body be resurrected? We hold the doctrine of the resurrection of the body as the main teaching of the faith, and we are baptized by confessing this teaching. And what we confess there, we confess from the truth and in the truth in which we live and move and have our being. After all, by temporary deeds and some transitory facts that happen before us, we are edified (instruimur) for eternal life. And everything that happened in the history of the faith of Christ happened so that we could hear something saving for us, such as: the birth of our Lord, His hunger and thirst, bonds, reproach, scourging, crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension to heaven. All this has passed away, and when these events were predicted, certain temporary and transitory phenomena of our faith were predicted. But is it because they (these phenomena) pass away that in which they edify also passes away? Let your holiness try to understand this through some similitude. Here is an architect building a house using temporary devices. After all, in this such a great, spacious building [the preacher means, no doubt, the basilica in which he delivers his conversation], when it was built, there were devices that are not here now, because what was built with them is already completed. Thus, brothers, something was being created in the Christian faith, and here some temporary means were needed. After all, for example, that our Lord Jesus Christ has risen has already passed away. Now He is no longer resurrected. That which He ascended into heaven has also passed away, and He ascends no more. And that He “dies no more: death no longer has power over Him” (Rom. 6:9), that human nature eternally remains in Him, which He was pleased to accept, in which to be born, die and be buried, this is precisely what is, as it were, already completed and what remains eternal. The instruments through which this was created have passed away. Because Christ is not always conceived in the womb of a maiden, Christ is not always born from the Virgin Mary, he is not always imprisoned, he is not always judged, scourged, crucified and buried. All these were means so that through them something could be created that endures forever. Now our risen Lord Jesus Christ dwells in heaven (Haec autem resurrectio Domini nostri Jesi Christi in coelo posita est). 8. Let your love pay attention to this marvelous structure. So, earthly buildings crush the earth with their weight, and the entire direction of gravity in this large structure rests on the earth, and if there is no support, it tends downward, where its weight pulls. Consequently, when a building is erected on the ground, a foundation is first laid in the ground so that the one who is building the building can calmly build on top of the foundation. Thus, he places the strongest blocks below so that they can comfortably withstand what is laid on top, and in accordance with the size of the building, the size of the foundation is determined, which is laid, as I said, in the ground, because what is built on top is built, in any case, on the ground. Our heavenly Jerusalem (peregrinus) is being built in heaven. That is why Christ, his foundation, ascended into heaven. There is our foundation and the head of the Church, since the foundation is also called the head, and in fact it happens so. The foundation is the head of the building, and the title is not where something ends, but where the verse begins. The tops of earthly buildings protrude upward, but their foundation (head) is established in the earth. So the head of the Church - Christ - ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. Just as people act when, in order to strengthen the foundation, they use something that is laid down below for the safety of the rising mass of the future structure, so everything that happened to Christ: birth, growth, imprisonment, reproach, scourging, crucifixion, death, burial - all this was used as a means for the foundation of the heavenly building. 9. So, if our foundation is laid above (in summis), then we will be established on it. Listen to the apostle. “No one,” he says, “can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11), and further: “If anyone builds,” the apostle continues, “on this foundation of gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw” (1 Cor. 3:12). Christ, although in heaven, is also in the hearts of believers. If Christ occupies the first place here, then the foundation is laid correctly. And whoever builds, let him build calmly, if according to the worth of the foundation he builds with gold, silver and precious stones. If anyone takes material that is not worthy of the foundation: wood, hay, straw, let him at least keep the foundation and, with what he has built, let him prepare for testing by fire. However, if one has a foundation, i.e. if Christ occupies the first place in the heart, and everything temporary is valued in such a way that the Lord Christ is preferred to him and occupies the foundation in the heart, i.e. first place, such, according to the words of the apostle, “will suffer loss; however, he himself will be saved, but as if from fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). Now there is no time to exhort you to build better on such a great and strong foundation of gold, silver and precious stones, and not of wood, hay and straw; but also accept what is said briefly as if it had been said at length and in many words. After all, if any of you, brethren, were threatened with imprisonment in a stinking prison for what he now loves, he would rather wish to lose everything than to end up in such a place. But I don’t know why, when they talk about the fire of the future judgment, everyone is indifferent to it and, fearing an ordinary flame, consider the flame of Gehenna to be nothing. What more bitterness is needed? What other corruption of the heart? Even if people were as afraid of the apostle’s words about fire, as everyone is afraid of being burned alive, which happens quickly, until the sensation leaving the body makes the flame itself unnecessary, still a person is afraid of torment and does not do what is prohibited by law, for fear of ending up in a place of even short-term suffering. 10. However, brothers, I repeat, now there is no time to discuss this subject. I will only say that we need to expect the same thing in the resurrection of the dead, what happened to our Head, what happened to the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whoever thinks otherwise no longer builds on a foundation not only of gold, silver and precious stones, but even of straw. He places everything without a foundation, because he does not rely on Christ. Our Lord rose again in the body in which he was buried. The resurrection is also promised to Christians. Let us expect such a resurrection as in our Lord preceded our common faith. It was necessary for this faith to be established on him. So what? Why won't we be the same as we are now? Because the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected, but also ascended into heaven. On earth, even if she performed earthly deeds, it was only to convince her that what had been buried was resurrected. But is there really the same food for her in heaven!? As you know, angels on earth performed human deeds. They came to Abraham and ate. An angel was also with Tobiah and ate food. Why say that the eating was illusory and not real? Is it not known that Abraham killed the calf, took the loaves and laid them on the table, that he served the angels, and they ate (Gen. 18:1-9)? All this really happened and was expressed very clearly. 11. But what does the angel say in the book of Tobit? “You see me eating, but only your eyes see it” (see Tov. 12:19). Does this really mean that he did not eat, but only seemed to eat? What do these words mean: “only your eyes can see this”? But let your holiness listen to what I say; Be more attentive to my words, and not to me, so that just as you can understand what we say, so we can say it with benefit for your hearing and understanding. After all, our body, while it is perishable and mortal, constantly needs reinforcement, otherwise hunger will appear. We hunger and thirst, and if we suffer hunger and thirst more than the body can bear, it then comes into dangerous exhaustion and into some painful weakness, when its strength falls and is not supported. If this continues, then death follows. And something always comes out of our body, as if into some exit channel; but we do not feel a loss of strength, because through strengthening ourselves we receive new strength. What enters us suddenly (copiose) comes out gradually, so that we are strengthened in a short time, and weaken little by little, over a longer period of time, deprived of the strength that we receive from reinforcement. Just as oil is poured into a lamp for a short time, but burns little by little and for a long time, but when almost everything is burned, then the weakness of the flame, as if the lamp is hungry, forces us to take care of maintaining it, and the light appears in the lamp again, supported by its food, when the oil is poured into it, so our strength, which we receive as a result of eating food, although gradually (paulatim), disappears and leaves us. After all, this very thing is happening in us even now, during all our actions, and even during our very rest, what has been received does not cease to come out of us. And if it is completely spent, then the person dies, goes out like a candle. But in order not to die, i.e. so that this bodily life of ours is not destroyed, does not stop, and in order to give the body some vigor, we try to compensate for what is leaving and strengthen ourselves. Why would a person strengthen himself if he did not weaken at all? As a result of our weakness and corruption, we will all die, since our body is such that it is subject to death. This mortality is also symbolized by the skins in which Adam and Eve dressed when they were expelled from paradise (Gen. 3:21–24). They signify death, as they are usually taken from dead animals. So, while we bear this infirmity that weighs on us, which, even though there has never been a shortage of food for it, draws from here only some strength, but does not become completely immortal (since the body, with a gradual increase in age, once reaching the limit of old age, will not find anything further except death; after all, the lamp, even if you always add oil, will not burn forever and, if it does not go out for other reasons, its very core, in the end, weakens and is destroyed from some kind of old age), while, I say, we have such bodies, we, due to our weakness, suffer need, go hungry and, prompted by hunger, take food. The angel does not take food out of such need. One means doing something voluntarily (ex potestate), and the other means doing something out of necessity. A man eats so as not to die; the angel eats to become like mortals. Because if an angel is not afraid of death, then he does not need reinforcement from weakness; if he does not need reinforcement due to weakness, therefore, he does not eat out of need. But those who saw the angel eating considered him as if he were suffering from hunger. This is precisely what the words mean: “But only to your eyes does this appear.” He did not say: “You saw me eating, but I did not eat.” “You see,” he said, “he who eats me, but only with your eyes does this appear, i.e. I eat in order to become like you, not because I suffer any hunger or need, for which reason you yourself are accustomed to eating food, so that when you see someone eating, you think that this is done out of need, you who judge what you see by your habits.” This is what the words mean: “only your eyes can see this.” 12. So, what then, my brothers? “Knowing,” as the apostle says, “that Christ, having risen from the dead, no longer dies: death no longer has power over Him. For if He died, He died once to sin; and whatever he lives, he lives for God” (Rom. 6:9–10). So, if He no longer dies, and death no longer has power over Him, then we will hope that we will be resurrected and remain in the same form (statu) in which we change at the resurrection. And although we will have the opportunity to eat and drink, we will not have the need for this then. If the Lord ate after the resurrection, it was only because there were still those in the flesh with whom He wanted to become like and to whom He considered it necessary to show even His wounds. He who created the eyes of the blind man, which he did not receive in the womb, had the power to rise again without ulcers. If He wanted to change the weakness of His flesh even before death so that it was not subject to any law of necessity (ut non haberet aliquam necessitatis inopiam), then He could, of course: it was in His power, because He was God in the flesh and the Son is as Almighty as the Father is Almighty. And He, indeed, before His death changed His body as He wanted. So, when He was on the mountain with His disciples, His face shone “like the sun” (Matthew 17:2). He did this by His power, wanting to show that He could deliver His flesh from all infirmity (if it pleased Him), so that it would not die. “I have the power,” He says, “to lay down it (My soul), and I have the power to receive it again.” “No one takes it from Me” (John 10:18). Truly, great power, by which He might not have died. But greater than this was mercy, as a result of which He was pleased to suffer death. What He could not have done according to His power, He did it according to His mercy, in order to lay the foundation for our resurrection, so that exactly what was mortal, which He accepted for our sake and died in Him, because we too would die, was resurrected to immortality, so that we too would receive the hope of immortality. Therefore, the Scripture says that before death He not only ate and drank, but suffered hunger and thirst, and after the resurrection He only ate and drank, but did not hunger or thirst, since He was in a body that was no longer subject to death, in an incorruptible body, which was not necessary to be strengthened, although the ability to take food was in Him. This was done for the sake of likeness, not in order to strengthen the weak flesh, but to prove that it was the true flesh. 13. However, against this so undoubted truth, some make the following objection. No, they say, the flesh will not be resurrected. Because if he is resurrected, then, therefore, he will inherit the Kingdom of God. The Apostle clearly says that: “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50). So, are we really preaching in disagreement with the teachings of the Apostle, or did he himself preach in disagreement with the Gospel? The Gospel testifies through Divine lips: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). If it became flesh, then it was, of course, true flesh. After all, if there were no true flesh, then there would be flesh. Just as the flesh of Mary is true, so is the flesh of Christ, conceived from her, true. This true flesh was captured, scourged, strangled, and crucified. She died and was buried. This same true flesh was resurrected; The wounds on the body testify to this; the disciples see this body with their own eyes and are amazed, feeling it with their hands so that the spirit does not doubt. Is it really, brethren, that the Apostle apparently wants to refute this equally obvious truth, which the Lord was thus pleased to prove to His disciples, who had to preach throughout the whole earth, when he says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God”? 14. This alone would be enough to expose the said idle talk of liars. However, let us delve more carefully into what the apostle says and why it is said. I will try to speak in such a way as to make it as easy as possible to give an answer to my opponents. What is the Gospel about? About the fact that Christ was resurrected in the very body in which He was buried, that He was seen and touched, that to the disciples thinking about Him that it was a spirit, He says: “Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). What does the apostle say? “Flesh and blood,” he says, “cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” However, I reconcile both. I don’t want to say that there is a contradiction here, so as not to go against the grain. But how is it possible to reconcile both? Briefly, one could answer this like this: the apostle says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” He speaks correctly, because it is not proper for the flesh to inherit, to possess, but to be possessed. After all, it is not your body that owns anything, but your soul, which owns the body itself. Therefore, if the body is resurrected in such a way that not only will it not have anything, but will itself be the property of another, if it does not own, but will itself constitute an object of possession, then what is surprising if the flesh and blood of the Kingdom of God do not inherit, since they themselves will be in the power of another? The flesh rules only over those who do not constitute the Kingdom of God, but the kingdom of the devil and serve the pleasures of the flesh. Therefore, the paralytic was brought on his bed, but the Lord, having healed him, said to him: “Take up your bed and go to your house” (Mark 2:11). Having been healed of paralysis, he already controls the flesh and leads it wherever he wants; he himself is not drawn by it where he does not want, but he controls his body, and it does not control it. There is no doubt that in the future resurrection the flesh will not have the enticing power to lead the soul through some deceptions and lures where it does not want, and, however, it is often overcome, speaking with the apostle: “I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members” (Rom. 7:23). This means that the relaxed person is still, as it were, on the bed, unable to carry himself. Let him exclaim: “Poor man that I am! who will deliver me from this body of death? - and let him respond to this by saying: “I thank my God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 7:24-25). Thus, when we are resurrected, it will not be the flesh that rules us, but we the flesh; if so, then we will also rule over it, because, freed from the power of the devil, we will be the Kingdom of God. So, flesh and blood will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Let those idle talkers, therefore, who are truly flesh and blood and cannot think otherwise than about the carnal, be silent. It is about them that they are mired in carnal lusts, which is why they are rightly called flesh and blood, and it is said that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” This is how this issue can be resolved, i.e. that people who are called flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (the apostle also means them when he says: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (Eph. 6:12)), unless they turn from the carnal life to spiritual life and put to death in the spirit the sinful deeds of the flesh. 15. What does the apostle say? - someone will ask. Of course, that interpretation should be considered more true, which is consistent with the context of the speech. Therefore, it’s better to listen to him himself and, based on the connection of his speech, see what he wanted to express in this place. And he says this: “The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second person is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, so are the earthy; and as is the heavenly, so are the heavenly. And just as we bore the image of the earthly, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. But I tell you this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, and corruption does not inherit incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:47-50). Let's take a closer look at this. “The first man,” says the apostle, “is from the earth, earthy; the second person is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, so are the earthly”, i.e. everyone is mortal. “And as is the one in heaven, so are those in heaven”, i.e. everyone will be resurrected. The heavenly man has already risen and ascended to heaven. Through faith we are reunited with Him, so that He is our Head, and the members follow the Head in their order, and what was previously shown in the Head will in due time be revealed in the members. In the meantime, let us maintain this and carry it by faith, so that in due time we will achieve vision. So in another place the apostle says: “If you have been raised with Christ, then seek the things that are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God; Set your mind on things above, and not on earthly things” ( Col. 3:1–2 ). Thus, although we have not yet been raised like Christ in body, it is said, however, that by faith we have been raised with Christ; in the same way the apostle commands us to bear the image of a heavenly man, i.e. The One who is already in heaven. 16. When anyone asks why the apostle says about the second man that he is from heaven, although the Lord took a body from the earth, and Mary also came from Adam and Eve, let him know that man is called “earthly” because of that earthly lust, that earthly passion, when, due to the union of husband and wife, people are born, inheriting original sin from their parents. The body of the Lord was taken by Him from the womb of the maidens not at all as a result of such lust. Based on this, although Christ took flesh from the earth, which is indicated, according to interpretations, by the Holy Spirit when he says through the mouth of the prophet that “truth will arise from the earth” (Ps. 84:12), however, He is not called an earthly, but a heavenly man, the Lord from heaven. Because if He gave this right (name) to believers by His grace, so that the apostle rightly points out “Our... citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20), then how much more should He be called a heavenly man in whom there was never any sin? After all, as a result of sin, it was said to man: “You are earth, and you will return to earth” (Gen. 3:19). Consequently, He is rightly called heavenly, whose residence is always in heaven, although the Son of God, having also become the Son of Man, took on a body from the earth, i.e. although he took the form of a slave, since no one ascends anywhere unless he first descends. Together with Him, others ascend in Him to whom He deigns to give this right, because they become His body. This mystery is great in relation to Christ and the Church. “And the two will become one flesh,” writes the apostle (Eph. 5:31). Also in another place it is said: “they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Matthew 19:6). And again: “No one has ascended into heaven except the Son of Man, who is in heaven, who came down from heaven” (John 3:13). For this reason it was added here: “he who is in heaven,” so that no one would think that He left His residence in heaven when He appeared in bodily form on earth. So, “just as we have borne the image of earth, we will also bear the image of heaven,” precisely by faith, through which we will rise with Him, seeking “the things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God.” And therefore let us strive for things above, think about things above, and not about earthly things. 17. But the apostle also speaks here about the resurrection of the body, because earlier he raised the following question: “But someone will say: how will the dead be raised? and in what body will they come?” (1 Cor. 15:35) And for this reason he said: “The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second person is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, so are the earthy; and as is the heavenly, so are the heavenly” so that we hope that the same thing will happen to our body that happened earlier with the body of Christ, and since we have not yet received this, we now hold it for now by faith, which is why he further says: “as we have borne the image of the earthly, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.” However, so that we do not think that we will be resurrected for the same works that are characteristic of the first earthly, corruptible man, he immediately adds: “But I tell you this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50), wanting to show at the same time that he calls flesh and blood not the body itself, but corruption, which then (in the Kingdom of God) will not exist. It will be a body without corruption (corpus), but not flesh (caro) and blood. If it is flesh, it means it dies. If it does not die and does not undergo corruption, then it is no longer called flesh, but body. If it is sometimes called flesh, it is not in the proper sense, but only because of the apparent similarity. Based on this similarity, we can even talk about the flesh of angels, when they appeared to people in the form of people, although they had a body and not flesh, because they were not characterized by corruption. That's why, i.e. Since we can call flesh and the incorruptible body by similarity, the apostle then carefully points out what exactly he calls flesh and blood. And wanting to show that he means here precisely corruption, and not the body in itself, he immediately adds: “and corruption does not inherit incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:50). It’s as if he were saying this: what did I say: “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God?” I said this in the sense that “corruption does not inherit incorruption.” 18. But someone will perhaps say: if corruption does not take place there, then how can our body be there? What are you saying? - How could anyone object to the apostle? Is it not in vain that we believe in the resurrection of the flesh? If flesh and blood do not inherit the Kingdom of God, then is it not in vain that we believe that our Lord rose from the dead in the body in which He was born and crucified, that He ascended into heaven before the eyes of His disciples, from which heaven He then spoke to you: “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? (Acts 9:4) Of course, this objection also came to the mind of the holy and blessed Apostle Paul, who gave birth to his children through the gospel in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 4:15), whom he wanted to bear until Christ was portrayed in them (Gal. 4:19), i.e. until by faith they begin to bear within themselves the image of Him who is “the Lord from heaven” (qui de coelo est). He did not want, of course, for them to remain in error and imagine that in the Kingdom of God, in that eternal life, they would do the same thing that they did in this life - eat, drink, get married, marry and give birth according to the flesh, because these actions are characteristic of corruption, and not the very type of flesh (haec enim opera corruptio carnis habet, non ipsa species carnis). So, that we will not be resurrected for such things, this was previously indicated by the Lord, as already said, in the Gospel reading, which was just read. The Jews, although they believed in the resurrection of the flesh, nevertheless thought that in the resurrection there would be the same life as they spend in this life. Moreover, thinking so carnally, they could not answer the Sadducees, who asked them a question regarding the resurrection, who would marry the woman whom seven brothers successively took as their wives, each wanting to restore the seed of his dead brother. The Sadducees were a Jewish sect that did not recognize the resurrection. The Jews could not answer this question to them and felt in difficulty because they thought that the Kingdom of God was accessible to flesh and blood, i.e. incorruption is possible for corruption. But then the Truth Itself comes and is questioned by both the deceived and the seducing Sadducees; this question is proposed to the Lord. And the Lord, knowing what to say, and wanting us to believe in what we do not know, affirms with the authority of His greatness what we must believe. The Apostle explains this as far as it was given to him, so that we, to the extent possible, can understand it. So, what does the Lord answer to the Sadducees? “You are mistaken,” He says, “not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God, for in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage... and they can no longer die, for they are equal to the Angels and are the sons of God.” Great is the power of the power of God. Why don't they get married in resurrection, why don't they get married? Because they cannot die, because only there is profit where there is loss (ibi enim successor, ubi decessor). In the resurrection there will be no corruption. Our Lord Himself passed through the ages from infancy to youth, because He bore the being of mortal flesh. But after He was resurrected at the same age at which He was buried, will we begin to think that He also passes through ages in heaven (senescere)? But “they remain there,” He says, “like the Angels of God.” Thus, He uprooted the error of the Jews and rejected the lies of the Sadducees, because the Jews, recognizing that the dead would also be resurrected, thought that they would be resurrected for carnal works. So they will be there, says the Lord, as the angels of God. Behold, you have heard about the power of God. Now listen to what the Lord says about Scripture. “Have you not read about the resurrection of the dead,” He concludes, “which was spoken to you by God: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:23–32; Luke 20:27–38). 19. So, it has already been said that we will be resurrected. You have heard from the Lord that we will be resurrected to angelic life. And in what form we will be resurrected, He Himself shows this in His resurrection. That there will be no corruption there, the apostle speaks about it this way: “But I tell you this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, and corruption does not inherit incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:50), wanting with his last words to show that by the name of flesh and blood he means the corruption of the mortal, animal body. Then, he himself already resolves the question with which inquisitive listeners could turn to him, because he is more attentive to the understanding of his children than children are to the words of their parents. “I’m telling you a secret,” he adds. Let your inquisitiveness disappear, man, whoever you are. So you began to think about the words of the Apostle that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God,” as if human flesh will not be resurrected. But listen to further words and correct the insolence of your thoughts. “I tell you,” notes the apostle, “a mystery: we will all be resurrected, but we will not all change” (omnes resurgemus, non tamen omnes immutabimur) (1 Cor. 15:51) 9. [According to the Russian text, this verse reads like this: “I tell you a secret: we will not all die, but we will all change.”]. What does this mean? Change, of course, can be either for the worse or for the better. So, if there is a change, and we do not yet see whether it will be for the better or for the worse, let him continue and explain it himself. Why should we guess about this? Perhaps the authority of the apostle will not allow you to fall into error in your fortune-telling and will clearly indicate what kind of change is implied here. Since he said: we will all be resurrected, but not all of us will change, I conclude from this that everyone will be resurrected: both good and evil. But let's see who changes, and from here we will understand whether the change will be for the better or for the worse. Because if that change applies to the evil, then it will be for the worse, and if to the good, then it will be for the better. “Suddenly,” says the apostle, “in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, and we will be changed” (et nos immutabimur) (1 Cor. 15:52). And, of course, this change will be for the better when it says: “and we will change.” However, it is not indicated here with sufficient clarity to what extent our body will change for the better, and it is not said what this better will consist of. After all, even during the transition from infancy to adolescence, we can say that the body changes for the better when it becomes stronger, but still remains weak and mortal. 20. So, let us take a closer look at these words of the apostle. “Suddenly” (in atomo), he says. The resurrection from the dead seems difficult to people. But it is worthy of wonder how the apostle removes seeming difficulties from the hearts of believers. Behold, you say that the dead will not rise. I say that the dead will not only rise, but will rise with even greater speed than you could arise and be born. Because how long does it take for a person to form in the womb, so that he can develop, be born and grow stronger over time? Will the same thing happen at the resurrection? No. But “suddenly,” says the apostle. Many people do not know what “suddenly” means, in an instant, in an atom (in atomo). "Atom" is derived from the Greek word "τομή", which means division. In Greek, an atom is something that cannot be divided. An atom can be in a body, or it can be in time. In the body, when there is something that cannot be divided, some very small particle that is inaccessible to division. Also in time, an atom is a moment so short that it cannot be divided. So that even the least perceptive can understand my words, I will point, for example, to a stone; divide the stone into parts, these parts into smaller pebbles, the pebbles into grains similar to grains of sand, and again these latter into the smallest particles until, if possible, you get some particle so small that it can no longer be divided. This is an atom in bodies. This happens over time. For example, a year is divided into months, months into days, days into hours, hours again into some of its parts that can be divided, until you reach a moment in time, a moment where no slowdown is possible, and which therefore can no longer be divided. This is a moment (atomus) of time. So, you said that the dead will not rise. However, they will not only be resurrected, but will be resurrected with such speed that the resurrection of all the dead will occur instantly (in atomo temporis). The one who pointed out this speed to you immediately explained it, adding: “in the blink of an eye.” The apostle understood that he did not say quite clearly: “in atomo” - and wanted to express it more clearly so that it would be more understandable. What is the blink of an eye? It’s not like when we close or open our eyelids, but he calls it a blink of an eye, as it were, a certain emission of a visual ray. Because as soon as you fix your gaze, the ray of vision emitted by you immediately reaches the sky, where we see the sun, moon and stars, separated from the earth by a huge distance. The apostle also speaks of the last trumpet, the last signal. “For the trumpet will sound,” he writes, “and the dead will rise incorruptible, and we will be changed.” When he says “we,” he means in any case the faithful who are resurrected to eternal life. Consequently, that change, since it applies to the pious and saints, will be a change for the better, and not for the worse. 21. But what kind of change will this be, and what do his words mean: “but we will change”? Will the species that our body now has change, or will there just be no corruption there, since it is said that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, and corruption does not inherit incorruptibility”? But so that this would not give rise to doubts regarding the resurrection of the flesh, he added: “I tell you a secret: we will all be resurrected, but not all of us will change.” And so that they don’t think that this change will be for the worse, he notes later: “and we will change.” It remains, then, for him to explain what the change will be. “For this corruptible,” the apostle continues, “must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:53). If this corruptible puts on incorruptibility and this mortal puts on immortality, then the flesh, therefore, will no longer be corruptible. If the flesh is not corruptible, there should be no indication of the property of corruption in flesh and blood, and there should not be the very name of flesh and blood, because this name combines the concept of mortality. If this is so, if the flesh is resurrected and if it changes and is incorruptible, then it is clear that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” If anyone here has in mind the change of those whom the last day will find still alive, when the dead are resurrected, and those who remain alive will change, and if it is them that the apostle means when he says: “but we will change,” then such an understanding can be allowed, because incorruptibility then applies to everyone. “When this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54). "Death! where is your sting? hell! where is your victory? ( Hos. 13:14 ). A body that no longer has the property of mortality can no longer be called flesh and blood, which are the names applied to earthly bodies; but it is called body (corpus), which name is better suited to the heavenly. The same apostle, speaking about the difference between bodies, writes: “Not all flesh is the same flesh; but there is another flesh among men, another among beasts, another among fishes, and another among birds. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies” (1 Cor. 15:39–40). He speaks of heavenly flesh. Although the flesh can be called a body, it is only an earthly body. Because all flesh is a body, but not all body is flesh. And not only are heavenly bodies not called flesh, but even some earthly bodies, such as firewood, stones, etc. Consequently, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God,” because the flesh that has to be resurrected will be transformed into a body where there will no longer be mortality and corruption, and therefore there will be no longer the very name of flesh and blood. 22. However, be careful, brothers. This subject is important. The issue is about our faith, for which it is not so much the pagans who are dangerous as other false teachers (perversi), who want to call themselves and appear to be Christians. And in the time of the apostles, there were people who claimed that the resurrection had already taken place and corrupted the faith, “who, in the words of the apostle, departed from the truth, saying that the resurrection had already taken place, and are destroying the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2:18). Death has already been destroyed, they say, and it will not exist. Mortal things are swallowed up...by life,” according to the words of the apostle (2 Cor. 5:4). So it is said about the Lord that He conquered death. Not as if death in its essence disappeared, but in the body where it was already there, it will cease to be, so that you will have a certain appearance, a certain appearance, but you will begin to look for corruption and mortality and will not find it. It is not that anyone is free from corruption. But with death it ceases and is destroyed. However, how in such a case could he say these words: “This corruptible must put on incorruptibility, and this mortal must put on immortality... then the word that is written will be fulfilled: death is swallowed up in victory. Death! where is your sting? hell! where is your victory? And he does not say: death has gone into victory, but: “death has been swallowed up in victory.” So, where did they depart from the truth? The fact is that, having recognized one resurrection, they rejected the other. 23. There is, after all, resurrection by faith, in which every believer is resurrected spiritually. And, of course, only he will be resurrected physically who has first been resurrected spiritually. Those who were not first resurrected spiritually, through faith, will not be resurrected for that bodily change, where all corruption will cease and be destroyed, but will be resurrected for painful infinity (ad illam poenalem integritatem). After all, the bodies of the wicked will also be intact. They won't lose anything. But for punishment there will be this integrity of the body and a certain, how to say, strength of it, a corruptible strength, because where there is sorrow, it cannot be said that there is no corruption, although during sorrow the weakness does not stop, so that the sorrow itself does not stop. And it is not in vain that corruption itself is prophetically designated by the name of a worm, and sorrow by the name of fire. But since the property of the body will be such that it cannot die either as a result of torment, nor can it change into incorruption, so as to become inaccessible to any suffering, therefore it is written: “Their worm will not die, and the fire will not be quenched” (Is. 66:24; Mark 9:46). The change, when the body is not capable of corruption, will be characteristic of only holy bodies, namely those who are now resurrected spiritually through faith. About this resurrection the apostle says: “If you have been raised with Christ, then seek the things that are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God; Set your mind on things above, and not on earthly things. For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:1-3). Just as we die spiritually and are resurrected spiritually, so then we die bodily and are resurrected bodily. Spiritual death requires not to believe the vain things that we previously believed, not to do the evil that we previously did. Spiritual resurrection is the recognition as salvific of that which was not previously recognized, and the doing of good that was not done before. Whoever previously recognized earthly idols and images as gods and then came to know the one God and believed in Him, died to idolatry and was resurrected through the Christian faith. He who was a drunkard and became abstinent died to drunkenness and was resurrected to sobriety. Thus, when the soul withdraws from all bad deeds, a kind of death occurs in it, and again it is resurrected to perform good deeds. “Mortify,” says the apostle, “your earthly members: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). Having mortified these members, we rebel in doing the opposite of them: in purity, meekness, love and mercy. And just as spiritual death precedes spiritual resurrection, so death according to the flesh precedes the future resurrection according to the flesh. 24. So, let us recognize both resurrections: both spiritual and physical. The spiritual words include: “Arise, O sleeper, and rise from the dead” (Eph. 5:14), and also: “on those who live in the land and shadow of death the light will shine” (Is. 9:2), as well as what I mentioned a little higher: “if you have been raised with Christ, then seek the things that are above.” What the apostle says refers to the bodily resurrection when he asks himself the following question: “But someone will say: How will the dead be raised? and in what body will they come?” (1 Cor. 15:35), speaking clearly about the resurrection of the body, with which the Lord preceded His church; about him, therefore, the apostle speaks in the words: “For this corruptible must put on incorruptibility, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:53), which words are spoken to explain the words that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50). And in another place we have a very clear testimony of the same apostle about the resurrection in the flesh and the resurrection in the spirit. For a mortal body which is animate or has been animate is called flesh (caro). So, the apostle says: “If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” This is spiritual resurrection through righteousness. See further whether the resurrection of the body is to be expected. He did not want to call the mortal body mortal, but dead. And then he continues: “If the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:10-11). That is why those who rejected another resurrection apostatized from the truth. They recognized one spiritual resurrection and rejected another resurrection – the carnal one, “saying that the resurrection had already happened.” If they had not said this and had not hindered faith in the future resurrection and hope in it, it would not have been said about such that they “destroy the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2:18). 25. But listen further to the most undoubted testimony of the Lord Himself, who speaks in one place, in the Gospel of John, about both resurrections: both about the spiritual, which is taking place now, and about the carnal, which will follow later, so that there can no longer be any doubt for the one who calls himself a Christian and obeys the authority of the Gospel, there is no longer any room left for slanderers who, through the same Christian faith, want to corrupt Christians and instill their poison to infect unsteady souls. But hear about it from the book itself. Here I fulfill the duty not only of an orator, but also of a reader, so that our speech is based on the authority of Holy Scripture, and is not built on the sand of human errors, if we accidentally forgot something by heart. So listen to the Gospel of John. The Lord says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, the time is coming, and has already come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son to have life in Himself. And He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who have done good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil into the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:24-29). I hope it is obvious to most that in this place the Lord Himself separately and clearly designates both the spiritual resurrection through faith and the bodily resurrection. However, let us consider these words more carefully, so that it is clear to all who listen. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” This is a spiritual resurrection, which is now accomplished through faith. But so that it does not seem to anyone that this resurrection is going to follow in the distant future, although it is said: “passed from death into life,” and not “will pass,” so that this word used in the past tense cannot be considered a prophecy, like, for example, how it is said: “They pierced my hands and my feet” (Ps. 21:17), although here a future was foreshadowed, the Lord further speaks more clearly about this same thing: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the time is coming, and has already come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live.” What he said above in the words “passed from death into life” is what he says now in the word “they will come to life.” But so that the words “the time is coming” cannot be attributed to the end of the age, when there will be a resurrection of bodies, He adds: “and it has already come.” He doesn’t just say: “the time is coming,” but: “the time is coming, and it has already come.” Those who hear this voice (the voice of the Son of God) will live. Life here, of course, is the one indicated above in the words: “passed from death into life.” Here, therefore, the Lord means precisely those who are not subject to the punishment of condemnation, since they prevent this condemnation by their faith, passing from death to life. 26. It remains for the Lord to show the future judgment for the good and the evil, because here He speaks only of the good who are resurrected spiritually in advance. Then, below, He says: “And He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.” As the Son of God, He, of course, always has authority with the Father. And then He consistently explains how the future judgment will take place. “Do not be surprised at this,” He says, “for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who have done good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil into the resurrection of condemnation.” Above, when he said: “the time is coming,” he added: “and it has already come,” so that one could not mean here the time when, at the end of the age, the resurrection of bodies will follow. Here, wanting to indicate precisely this time, when He said: “the time is coming,” He did not add: “and it has already come.” Likewise, it is said above that the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, but no mention is made of tombs, so that we can distinguish those dead due to sin, who are now resurrected through faith, from those dead whose bodies will rise from the tombs at the end of the age. And here, wanting to point specifically to the last resurrection of bodies, He says: “all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; and they will go out." It is also precisely said above: “they will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live.” Why was it necessary to add “and having heard”, when one could have said simply: “they will hear the voice of the Son of God and... will live,” if not to show that He is speaking about those who died as a result of sin, many of whom, while hearing, do not hear, i.e. do they not obey, do they not believe? And those who listen as He desired when He said: “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Luke 8:8), they will come to life. Thus, there will be many who listen, but only those who hear will come to life, i.e. they will believe. Whoever hears so much that he does not believe will not live. From here it is clear what kind of death and what kind of life the Lord is talking about in this place, namely, about death, which concerns only the evil ones, what they are evil with, and about life, which relates to some good ones due to the very thing with which they are good. Here, touching those who will rise bodily, the Lord does not say: “they will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live,” because everyone will hear the last trumpet and come out, because we will all be resurrected. But that we will not all change, He indicates this in further words: “those who did good into the resurrection of life, and those who did evil into the resurrection of condemnation.” So, above, where we talk about spiritual resurrection, everyone comes to life for one fate, so that in their lives there is no division into a blessed life and an unhappy one, but a good part is predicted for everyone. And therefore, when the Lord said: “and when they hear, they will live,” he did not add: “They who did good for eternal life, and those who did evil for eternal punishment.” He used this very word “will come to life” only in a good sense, as well as the higher words: “passed from death into life.” It is not said which life, because new life through faith cannot be a bad life. Here He does not say: “They will hear His voice... and will live,” since everywhere the word “will come to life” is used in a good sense, but He said: “They will hear... and come forth,” which word denotes the physical movement of bodies from burial places. But the coming out of the tombs will not be good for everyone, which is why He says: “those who did good into the resurrection of life,” and here again using the word “life” only in a good sense, “and those who did evil - into the resurrection of condemnation,” using the word “condemnation” in the sense of punishment. 27. But let none of you, brethren, ask, wanting to show off your wit, what image the body will have in the resurrection, what structure, what movements and what its feelings will be. It is enough for you to know that your flesh will be resurrected in the form in which the (resurrected) Lord appeared, i.e. in the form of a man. But do not allow it to decay as a result. Because if you do not allow corruption, you will not be afraid of the words that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God,” and then you will not fall into the network of the Sadducees, which you could not avoid if you began to think that for this purpose people will rise to marry, give birth and perform the works of earthly life. If you start asking what life will be like, which person is able to explain it? It will be an angelic life. Whoever is able to depict for you the life of angels will also depict the life of the resurrected righteous. If the life of angels is hidden, let no one seek more, so that, being mistaken, he ends up not with what he is looking for, but with what he himself imagines. Others thoughtlessly and hastily want to know everything. Go slowly, and you will reach your fatherland if you stick to the path. Hold on to Christ, brothers, stick to the faith, stick to the way. He will lead you to what you cannot see now. In our Chapter there was revealed what must be expected in the members, at the foundation it is shown that for now let it be built up by faith, so that later it becomes accessible to vision and so that something false does not appear to you, which is not there, when you imagine yourself to be seeing, so that, leaving the path, you do not fall into error and lose your fatherland, i.e. the vision where faith leads. 28. But perhaps you ask: “How do angels live?” However, it is enough for you to know that they lead an incorruptible life. It is easier to say what will not be there than what will be. And I can point out to you, brothers, something that will not be there, because I can, because we ourselves have experienced, we ourselves know from experience, what should not have a place there. But we did not experience what would happen there, because “we walk by faith, not by sight,” and because “being at home in the body, we are cut off from the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:7, 6). So what won't be there? There will be no marriage and birth of children, because there will be no death. There will be no increase, because there will be no old age; there will be no need for reinforcement because there will be no weakening. There will be no labor (negotia) because there will be no need. There will not even be any blameless, innocent human activities that are caused by the needs and requirements of this life. I’m not saying that there won’t only be, for example, robbery or robbery, but there won’t even be anything that people do under the pressure of necessary everyday needs. This will be the eternal Sabbath, which is celebrated by the Jews now, and is expected by us in eternity. It will be an inexpressible peace that cannot be explained. And if it is possible to explain at all, then only in the case when it is said “what will not be there.” We strive for this peace, and for it we are reborn spiritually. Just as we are born in the flesh for work, so we are spiritually reborn for peace. “Come to Me,” says the Lord, “all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Here He comforts us, there He settles us; here he promises, there he rewards; here he foretells, there he realizes. But although in that eternal bliss we will be perfect and healthy in spirit and body, however, there will be no earthly activities there, even those that are included here among the Christian virtues. What Christian does not boast of his deeds when he gives bread to the hungry and water to the thirsty, when he clothes the naked, receives the strange, pacifies the hostile, visits the sick, buries the dead, comforts the crying? These are great deeds, full of mercy, worthy of praise and gratitude. But they will not have a place there, because works of mercy are a consequence of compassion. But who will you feed where no one is hungry? Who will you give water to when no one is thirsty? Will you clothe the naked where everyone is clothed in immortality itself? You have already heard about the clothes of saints from the words of the apostle: “This corruptible must put on incorruptibility.” Where the apostle speaks about clothing, he also indicates the clothing itself. Adam lost this clothing when he clothed himself with skins. Further, will you really receive a stranger where everyone is in their own homeland? Will you visit the sick, where everyone will enjoy the same incorruptible health? Will you bury the dead where everyone is alive? Will you reconcile the warring, where everyone is at peace? Or to console the sad ones where everyone will have endless joy? Since there will be no misfortunes there, there will therefore be no works of mercy. 29. What, then, will be there? But haven’t I already said that it is easier for me to point out what will not be there than what will be there? I know, brothers, that we will not spend time there, for example, in sleep from idleness, because sleep itself is given to the soul to help, to strengthen. After all, our mortal body would not have endured the constant tension of feelings if it had not been strengthened by means of lulling the feelings to continue the same activity. And just as we now receive refreshment from sleep, so from death there will be renewal, and there will be no sleep there. Where there is no death, there will be no image of death. However, we will not be bored, although, with eternal wakefulness, there will be no activities. I can say this, but I can’t say exactly how it will be, because I can’t see it yet. However, I can say this in part and without shame, because I will tell you from Scripture what our action there will consist of. All of it can be indicated by the words “amen” and “hallelujah.” But why talk, brothers? I see that when you heard this, you rejoiced. Do not sadden yourself by being carried away by the carnal mind. Perhaps some of you, with the constant pronunciation of these words, will now become tired of boredom, fall asleep, want to better remain silent and therefore begin to imagine that life as unpleasant, undesirable, saying to yourself: “Amen” and “Hallelujah”, we will always say - who can bear this? I will answer you as much as I can. We will say there: “Amen” and “Alleluia” not with these passing sounds, but with the flame of the spirit. What does "amen" mean? What does "halleluia" mean? “Amen” means truly, “Hallelujah” means “Praise God.” Because God is unchangeable truth, without weakening and without strengthening, without diminishing and without increasing, without any admixture of lies of any kind, eternal, constant, always indestructible truth. What we see in creation and do in this life are images of things, through which we designate something available to us when we walk by faith (et quaedamin quibus ambulamus per fidem). When we see face to face what we now see “as through a glass darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12), then in a completely different and unspeakably different way (affectu) we will say: “This is true.” And when we say this, we will say precisely “Amen”, with some kind of insatiable contentment. Since there will be no shortage there, there will be contentment. And since there will be no shortage of anything and there will be constant pleasure, then some, so to speak, insatiable contentment will appear. Thus, since you will feed insatiably on the truth, insofar as you are insatiably fed by the truth, you will say “Amen.” But who, however, can say what this state will be like, what it will be like that which the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard, and what has not entered the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9)? Further, since we will contemplate the truth without any fatigue, with constant delight and we will contemplate with the most undoubted evidence, inflamed by love for the truth itself, and, uniting with it with some sweet and pure incorporeal embrace, we will glorify it with the same voice and say “hallelujah.” Mutually aroused by the most ardent love for the equal glorification of God, all the citizens of that city will say “Hallelujah,” because they will say “Amen.” 30. With this life of the saints, their bodies, transformed into a heavenly and angelic state, will be so filled, so imbued, that no burden of necessity will turn them away or distract them from that most blessed contemplation and praise of the truth. Truth itself will be food for them, and peace itself will be like reclining at a feast, since it is said that the righteous will be blissful while reclining, as the Lord says about this. “Many,” He says, “will come from the east and the west and lie down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 8:11), which also indicates that in the great future bliss they will eat the table of truth. Such food, while reinforcing, does not kill, fills and remains whole. You are satisfied, but the food does not decrease. Meanwhile, real earthly food, when it feeds someone, is itself reduced and destroyed, so that the one who takes it does not die. Reclining will be eternal peace. A feast there will be unchangeable truth, a feast will be eternal life, i.e. knowledge itself (ipsa cognitio), because “This is eternal life,” says the Lord, “that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (John 17:3). 31. That that life will consist not only in the unspeakable, but also in the most blissful contemplation of the truth, Scripture speaks about this in many places, so that it is not possible to remember them all. Here is one, for example: “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he loves Me... and I will love him and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). Here, as it were, fruit and reward are sought from the Lord for keeping His commandments. “And I will appear to him myself,” says the Lord, deeming perfect bliss in knowing Him as He is. Here is another place: “Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we will be. We only know that when He is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). And the Apostle Paul says: “Then [we will see] face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12), and also in another place he writes: “We... are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). Likewise, the book of Psalms says: “Be ye devoid of 10 and understand that I am God” (Ps. 45:11). Then a complete vision will be available to us, when the complete triumph of truth will take place (Tunc ergo optime videbitur, quando summe vacabitur). When will the complete triumph be accomplished, if not at the end of the time of labor and need, by which we are now bound, until the earth produces thorns and thistles for sinner man, and while he eats his bread by the sweat of his brow (Gen. 3:18-19)? So, only after the complete end of the times of human earthly life, in the unevening day of heavenly life will we fully see, because we will fully triumph (quia summe vacabimus). With the cessation of corruption and the need for a future resurrection, there will be no incentive to work there. There, truly free, we will see God as He is, and, seeing, we will glorify Him. This will be the life of the saints, this will be all the action of those who have achieved bliss, i.e. in the unceasing glorification of God. This will continue for more than one day, but just as that day has no end of time, so our praise will be endless, and therefore, we will glorify God forever and ever. This is exactly what we so fervently expect, and is confirmed by the following words of Scripture: “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house: they will continually praise You” (Ps. 83:5). - In conclusion, turning to God, let us pray to Him for us and for His people standing in the courtyard of His house, so that He will help us to fall and preserve it through His Son Christ, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Him forever and ever. Amen. Vulgate: “omnes quidem resurgemus, sed non omnes immutabimur.” According to Russian text - “stop.” You might be interested in: