Theophany 3.79–4.5

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

Those genealogies of the Demons, and:stories about the Gods, which are now superannuated, perished when (so) consigned to oblivion. But, the word of Christ is renewed, and in (vigorous) youth with all. Now are the Divine Laws and Lessons preached throughout the whole earth, and they succeed in purifying all men. ‘The instruction too, of the fear of God in truth, has filled all places, both of the Barbarians and the Greeks. Now do those of foreign, as well as those of many, languages, send forth in one manner of life, and with one consent, the ascriptions of blessing which are becoming, to the Creator of all:—one enouncement, the same Law, and one mystery’, suitable to God: and to this same conduct do they adhere. Now has there been established, throughout the whole creation, one combination of souls, and one accordance of doctrine. And hence, at one moment of time do those whose lot it is to reside together in the east, along with those at the setting of the Sun, glorify, by means of the same doctrines, the One God who is beyond all, the Lord of the whole world. Nor do they subscribe to any other, except only to the Christ of God, who is the cause of their happiness. ‘Those also, who have possession of the northern parts, together with those who are in the south, at once call Him Tue Saviour. And, so do they honour God in the same (forms of) words, that no difference will again soon be made—although it might be imagined as to speech,—between the Barbarian and the Greek’; nor, that the Greek be a person to be distinguished from the Barbarian; for with God “there is neither Barbarian nor Greek.” For every one fearing God, is (here) a wise man. And now Egyptians, Syrians, Scythians, Italians, Moors’, Persians, and Hindoos, all and at once, have bebecome wise by the doctrines of Christ. In these things too are they all, at once made wise, and (so) instructed, as to be intrepid against Death; to despise the things of this life, and to put forth the one good hope, which is in the promise of the word of our Saviour. But they also learn, that they shall receive that life of the soul which is immortal, and which has henceforth been promised to them as a deposit, in the habitation of the circle of the heavens, and in the kingdom of God. This promise, their Saviour confirmed by deeds in His conflict with Death; by which He proved to his Disciples, that Death which had (hitherto) been so fearful to all men, was nothing. The life moreover, which had been promised by Him, He established by open view to their very eyes; so that they should even see it; and made this His Image (body), by its resurrection, the commencement of our hope,—of the imperishable life of our bodies, of the soul as being immortal, and of our greatness as like to that of the Angels.

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

The deeds therefore, pertaining to Redemption and affording aid to the world, as to the Revelation of THE Word of God among men, are these. If however, any one require a greater abundance, so as to be supplied with many other proofs of the Divine power (in this respect), personal leisure will be requisite, for the examination of the things which have been written respecting Him. Of these I will select a few from the writings of His Disciples,—which he previously preached as predicting the things which should be done by Him,—in proof of his Godhead: and will so lay before those, who do not acknowledge the conclusiveness of my former statements, this as the last (and greatest).

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

Iris desirable then, that we should hear from the common Saviour of all himself, who, speaking with men after the manner of a good Parent, became as a child, and gave (his) answers, as the nature of mortals was able to hear, by means of the vessel which he assumed, as through an Interpreter. For, when he made his Divine manifestation among men, he gave many other proofs of the power of his Godhead, by means of deeds which any one who chooses may collect, from the Books (that have been written) about Him. Nor will that again, be a trifling conviction as to His truth, which takes its stand on the words which he uttered, and which it is necessary we should bring forward against those, who do not readily give credence to his astonishing Divine performances. Even in those other things which have been preached respecting Him,—which (consist) in the power of His words,—there is no small proof afforded to those who possess mind. For, as on many occasions, we know those whom we have never seen with our eyes, and whose words only we have heard; and distinguish the speaker by what we hear, whether he be Greek, —as the case may be,—or Roman, or even Egyptian ; or, whether in age old, or young; or, whether the strain be that of man, or woman; or, the enunciation that of the wise and rational, or, on the contrary, of the foolish or ignorant; so also, although we might not have happened to see with our eyes those Divine acts which THE Word of God performed, when He made His conversation on earth; still, from the teaching of His words, the enunciation of which was foreign, and surpassing general apprehension ;—also, from the foreknowledge of things to come to pass which he predicted ;-—and, from the things which he promised he would do in after times ;—as well as from the issue of the things (so) predicted, the fulfilment of which is now before our eyes, (and) brought about by his power ;—there must result no mean proof, as to those (declarations) which bear testimony to His Godhead. For, the miracles which were performed by Him may be divided into (two) periods; that, in which the conversations He made on earth are commemorated, and that which succeeded, and extends to our times. Those great acts then, which he formerly did when he was with the men who happened to exist at that time, it was in their power openly to view; but to us, these were unseen; and they are laid down, (as) having been uvseen. And thus again also, the things which have been fulfilled in our times,—in the order in which His words foretold them, and are even to this present witnessed by us in the very facts,—could not, to those of the times in which they were foretold, have yet been known as to their results; and they were, no doubt, considered by them, who believed not, as impossible. It is nevertheless likely that even then, those whose character was that of sound judgment,—although not witnessing the results of the predictions,—did still believe in them, on account of His other acts. For, Is it likely that they who saw with their eyes the evident powers of God, the miracles and astonishing acts and deeds which eclipsed all mortal nature, believed only the things which were then seen, but, (as) confirmed by these of his foreknowledge, did not (as) readily also believe those which were afterwards to come to pass ?——So that again, it is right that we should, from those miracles which we ourselves have seen, also give our credence to the things which were then witnessed by his Disciples. For, the very things which were delivered in the hearing only of (our) predecessors, are (now) visible to our own eyes: and, they are sufficient for those whose judgment is incorrupt, as proofs setting a seal on the things which have been recorded. And these are the things which then existed not; nor had they yet been set up; nor had they so much as ever entered into the minds of men: but they were foretold by Him, from His divine foreknowledge of the future; and, in after times, they have been fulfilled, and are in (these) our times seen by us, even to this very day.—Of these, our means of knowledge are at hand.

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

<A certain man, illustrious from (his) service to the rule and power of the Romans, was in a state of suspense, because his favourite boy! had become paralytic in his limbs, and was laid (up) in his house; who, when he saw that our Saviour shewed forth such powers upon others,—healing the sick, and curing every pain and infirmity,—he perceived in his own mind, that this miracle was not of man. He approached Him accordingly as God ;—not looking to the vessel of the Body which was visible, and by means of which He carried on His discourses with men, but to that God who was unseen; to Him, who by means of a mortal being, made known these His excellent doings ;—he fell down and worshipped Him, praying and striving? (with Him), that He would afford to him for his boy the aid which is from God. And, when our Saviour said to him, “I will come and heal him,” the Chiliarch answered Him,—for he had been considered worthy of this rule among the Romans ;—and said to him, “ Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but, speak the word only, and the child shall be healed. For, I am a man in authority, and there are soldiers under my hands ; and I say to this, Go; and he goeth: and, to another, Come; and he cometh: and, to my servant I say, Do such a thing: and he doeth it.” Hear therefore what our Saviour did upon this request, not from me, but from the Writer himself,—teaching (us) thus—in the very words: “ But, when Jesus heard it, He wondered, and said to those who followed Him, Not even in Israel have I found such faith as this. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the East and from the West, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness.” And, after these words, He thus spoke to the Chiliarch: ‘“ Go: as thou hast believed, shall it be unto thee. And his boy was healed from that hour.” And, when the Chiliarch returned to his house, in that very hour he found his boy well.

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

With so much power therefore, did the word of our Saviour go forth, and shewed so much virtue, and so replete was it with power and with so much mercy, and with such ease were the good aids (it afforded given), that He readily promised He would come. And such indeed was the miracle which accompanied the act, that it is impossible to conceive of it as we ought. For this, that He said to the Chiliarch no more than, “ As thou hast believed, so shail it be unto thee,” and, with the word, gave health to his son', How effectually does it shew, that it was God who spoke in mortal voice! But, should any one be persuaded of this with difficulty, on account of the greatness of the miracle; still, such cannot fairly be excused as to His prediction, in which a powerful argument will be afforded in favour of the deed, if any one will consider that at this period, the Roman who drew near to our Saviour, was ONE (only), namely, the Chiliarch, who made a greater and better profession of Him, than (did the whole) Jewish people; and, that our Saviour prophesied that instead of ONE, those, who should like this man draw near to Him; should be Many; and, that these should be of those residing in the East, and in the West:—those (I say), who, by means of the knowledge of Him, and of the confession (made) of Him, should be considered worthy of honour with God, equal to that of the Hebrew Fathers:—even of him who is preached of as being the Father of their Fathers, Abraham, who went forth from among his idolatrous forefathers, and changed his manner of life; and, leaving the error of many Gods, recognized the onze God who is over all. He also foretold, that like to this (man), and to his sons Isaac and Jacob, there should be myriads of men throughout the whole creation; and particularly of those who resided both in the East, and the West. To these things He added,—and this (constitutes) the greatness of the prediction,—that these very Jews, the descendants of these Friends of God, who make their boast of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, should, on account of their resistance to Him, and their want of belief in Him,—as if cut off from the light of knowledge,—go forth into outer darkness : and, because of their extreme ignorance and foolishness, (be consigned to) an entire disseverance from the light of salvation. Thus He predicted.—It is now right we should consider the fulfilment of these things, and receive from the testimony of our eyes how these very Jews, who boasted of their descent from the family of those called the Friends of God, have been cast out, not only from the kingdom of God, but also from their own metropolis, the most excellent place of rule, in which the law appointed that their noblest service should be performed! and (how) those who were formerly free, and the virtuous children of these Fathers, have become slaves ; and, being mixed with foreign nations,—a thing unlawful with them,—wander about in lands not their own, and are not permitted to view, even from a distance, the land of their own religious worship! Being moreover, deprived of those princes and kings, who were vested with rule by traditionary right, they now remain in subjection to those who have rased their temple to the ground, and have subdued their whole nation! Nor is there, as formerly, either prophet or revelation; nor is there help, or act of God. Of all these things, not one existed from ancient times; it was (only) after our Saviour had turned away His face from them that these came upon them, according to His predictions; and such are the things respecting the Jews.

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

Instead then, of that one Chiliarch who drew near to our Saviour at that period, a number of men exceeding description has, from all nations, drawn near to Him, not of Chiliarchs only, but also of the mass of the Roman armies; so that even myriads of princes and governours bearing rule among the nations, and in the (various) regions; and also of others, much more honourable and exalted than these,—those who are great, and glory in the royal apartments,—have like the Chiliarch approached the Christ of God; and have, by means of his doctrine, acknowledged the God of those Friends of the Deity, who (formerly) arose among the Hebrews; and they have accordingly, been considered worthy of a return from God the supreme King, equal to that afforded to these. If indeed any one will consider, what numbers of Christians and of churches, and of vast congregations, are said to be in the country of the Persians and of the Hindoos, residing in the East; and, how there are with these, through the words of our Saviour, women, virgins desiring, and men coming over to, holiness, and to the provisions which are for the life of philosophy and of purity, and how numerous the confessors are, who live among these :—

English translation by Samuel Lee (1843); the original is not shown

Also, how those very persons who confess Him who has arisen from the seed of Abraham, and that He is the Christ of God; and have become, by means of the new birth which is in Him, the children of Abraham; and have (thus) set their seal to the prophetic Word of our Saviour: and this also, that, in like manner, in the western parts of the world, the whole of Spain and Gaul ', in the countries of the Moors and Africans, in the (Islands of the) Ocean itself, and in Britain’, men subscribe to Christ, and even acknowledge the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: upon Him also they call in their prayers, and are looked upon (as) partakers with these same (Fathers) in the worship of God: — If (I say), any one will therefore take these things into his consideration, he will then understand what the power of the prophetic word (was) that declared and said, “ Many shall come from the East and the West, and shall sit down in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” ‘These things therefore, He said, and foretold to the Chiliarch: and, on many other occasions, things not unlike these to the Jewish Doctors. And in this manner He spoke: ““ When ye see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Prophets, in the kingdom of God, and yourselves going out. And they shall come from the East, and from the West, and from the South, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God.” Of these things an open confirmation is afforded by the fact, of all nations having been converted to the God who is over all. These, He therefore said to them, respecting the conversion of all nations to God, who is over all.