Demonstration 22: On Death and the Last Times

The upright, the righteous, the good and the wise do not fear or tremble at death, because of the great hope that lies before them. At all times they keep in mind death, their departure, and the last day, on which the children of Adam will be judged. They know that death has held sway by a sentence of judgment, because Adam broke the commandment. As the apostle said: “Death ruled from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned, so that it passed on to all the children of Adam,” just as it passed on to Adam. And how did death rule from Adam to Moses? Plainly, when God laid down the commandment for Adam, he warned him and said, “On the day that you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will surely die.” So when he broke the commandment and ate of the tree, death ruled over him and over all his descendants. Even over those who had not sinned, even over them death ruled, through Adam’s breaking of the commandment. [a] Why, then, did he say, “From Adam to Moses death ruled”? And who is so poorly furnished with knowledge as to imagine that death has had dominion only from Adam to Moses? Let him understand it from what he said: “It passed on to all people.” So it passed on to all people, from Moses until the world ends. Yet Moses preached that its kingdom is made void. For when Adam broke the commandment, by which the sentence of death was passed on his descendants, Death hoped that he would bind fast all the sons of men and be king over them forever. But when Moses came, he proclaimed the resurrection, and Death knew that his kingdom is to be made void. For Moses said, “Reuben will live and not die, and will be counted in number.” And when the Holy One called Moses from the bush, he said this to him: “I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.” When Death heard these words, he trembled; he was afraid, terrified and shaken, and he knew that he had not become king forever over the children of Adam. From the hour he heard God say to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob,” Death struck his hands together, for he learned that God is King of the dead and of the living, and that it is appointed for the children of Adam to come out of his darkness and rise with their bodies. And notice that our Redeemer Jesus too, when he repeated these words to the Sadducees as they were disputing with him about the resurrection of the dead, said this: “God is not the God of the dead, for all are alive to him.” [b] And so that God might make known to Death that his authority over all the generations of the world is not forever, he took Enoch to himself, because he was pleasing to him, and made him deathless. Again, he took Elijah up to heaven, and Death had no dominion over him. And Hannah said, “The Lord puts to death and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.” Moses too said, as from the mouth of God, “I put to death and I bring to life.” And the prophet Isaiah said, “Your dead will live, and their dead bodies will rise again; those who sleep in the dust will be awakened, and they will glorify you.” When Death heard all these things, amazement seized him, and he sat down in mourning. [c]

Then Jesus, the slayer of Death, came. He clothed himself in a body from the seed of Adam, was crucified in his body, and tasted death. And when Death perceived by this that he had come down to him, he was shaken from his place and thrown into turmoil when he saw Jesus. He shut his gates and was not willing to receive him. Then Jesus burst his gates, went in, and began to plunder all his possessions. When the dead saw light in the darkness, they lifted their heads from the bondage of death, looked out, and saw the splendor of the King Messiah. Then the powers of Death’s darkness sat in mourning, for Death was brought down from his authority. Death tasted the medicine that was deadly to him; his hands dropped, and he learned that the dead will live and escape from his sway. And when Jesus had afflicted Death by plundering his possessions, Death wailed and cried out bitterly: “Go out of my realm, and do not enter it! Who is this, then, who comes alive into my realm?” While Death was crying out in terror, for he saw that his darkness was beginning to be done away, and that some of the righteous who had been sleeping were rising to go up with Jesus, Jesus made known to him that when he comes in the fullness of time, he will bring all the prisoners out of his power, and they will go out to see the light. Then, when Jesus had finished his ministry among the dead, Death sent him out of his realm and would not let him stay there. He took no pleasure in devouring him like all the dead. He had no power over the Holy One, nor was the Holy One given over to corruption. [d] And when Death had eagerly sent him out and he had come out of his realm, Jesus left with him the promise of life, as a poison, so that little by little his power would be done away. It is like a man who has taken poison in food given to sustain life. When he perceives in himself that he has taken poison in his food, he vomits up the food the poison was mixed with; but the drug leaves its power in his limbs, so that little by little the frame of his body breaks down and decays. So Jesus, dead, brought Death to nothing. For through him life is made to reign, and through him Death is abolished, to whom it is said, “O Death, where is your victory?” [e]

So, you children of Adam, all of you over whom Death has ruled, be mindful of Death and remember life, and do not break the commandment as your first father did. O kings, crowned with the diadem, remember Death, who will take away the diadems set on your heads; he will be king over you until the time when you rise again for the judgment. O you haughty, lifted up and proud, remember Death, who will destroy your haughtiness, dissolve your limbs and separate your joints, and the body and its forms will be given over to decay. The lofty will be brought low by Death, and the fierce and harsh will be buried away in his darkness. He will take away all their pride, and they will decay and become dust until the judgment. O you rich, remember Death. For when the time comes and you draw near to him there, you will have no use of your wealth and possessions. He will not set fine foods before you, nor prepare a rich banquet for you. There the bodies of the gluttons who used to live in luxury will decay. They will cease from their luxury and will not remember it. There the worm will consume their bodies, and they will clothe themselves in darkness over their fine clothing. They do not remember the end of this world, that Death will confound them when they go down to him. So they will sit in oppression and in the shadow of death, and they will not remember this world until the end comes and they rise again for the judgment. O you grasping ones, you extortioners and plunderers of your fellows, remember Death, and do not multiply your sins. For in that place sinners do not repent. The one who plundered his fellows’ goods will not possess even his own, but will go to the place where no one makes use of wealth. He will come to nothing and pass away from his honor, but his sins will be laid up for the day of judgment.

O you who trust in this world, let this world be despised in your eyes. For you are sojourners and strangers in the midst of it, and you do not know the day you will be taken out of it. For suddenly Death will come and lead away the beloved children, separating them from their parents, and the parents from their darling children. He leads away for himself the precious only children, and their parents will be deprived of them and will come to contempt. He separates precious friends and takes them to himself, and those who loved them weep for them bitterly. He leads away and takes prisoner those who are desired for their beauty, so that he may put their forms to shame and bring them to decay. Those who are glorious in appearance he leads away to himself, and they become dust until the judgment. He leads away betrothed maidens from their bridegrooms and binds them captive in his bridal chamber, his place of gloom. He leads away and separates betrothed husbands from the virgins meant for them and pledged in their name, and the virgins will sit in bitter mourning over them. He leads away and separates to himself all the handsome young men who supposed they would not see death even until old age. He leads away and gathers to himself the beloved babies only days old, of whom their parents had not yet had their fill. He leads away to himself the wealthy, the sons of luxury, “and they leave their possessions like the waves of the sea.” He leads away to himself the skilled craftsmen, who were building up the world by their wonderful works. He leads away to himself the subtle and the wise, and they become simple, unable to tell good from evil. He leads away to himself those richly endowed in this world, and their endowments are destroyed and will not be established forever. He leads away to himself the mighty and the great, and their might is brought low and weakened, and comes to an end. Those who were confident that their might would never be brought lower: on the day of death, men of lower rank than theirs gather up their bodies. Those who trust that they will be buried with honor find that the dogs devour them. Those who trust that they will be buried in the place where they were born do not know that they may even be gathered to the grave, with insult, in the land of their captivity. Those who trusted in their possessions, that they would leave them as an inheritance to their children, it is hidden from them that they will be plundered by their enemies. Death leads away to himself the brave and the warriors, who thought to lay waste the great world. Death leads away those who adorn themselves with every pleasant thing, and when they are buried, the burial of a donkey falls to them. Death rules over the unborn and takes them captive to himself before they are born. Death leads away to himself those honored with pomp, and they come to contempt when they go down to him, to the realm of darkness, where there is no light. He is not ashamed before kings crowned with the diadem. He is not abashed before the lofty and the fierce who lay waste the lands. Death does not respect the persons of the honorable, nor does he take a bribe from the rich. Death does not despise the poor, nor does his soul scorn the one who has nothing. Death does not honor those who live in magnificence, and with him the good are not set apart from the bad. He does not hold the old in more honor than the children. The masters of prudence he makes senseless; and those who used to hurry and fret over acquiring possessions are stripped of their gains there with him. He leads away to himself slaves and their masters, and there the masters are not honored above their servants. Small and great are there, and they do not hear the voice of the oppressor. The slave who is freed from his master pays no heed there to the one who used to oppress him. Death binds and takes captive to himself the keepers of prisoners and the prisoners who were shut in. Through Death the prisoners are released, and they no longer fear their oppressors. [f]

Those who live in luxury fear death, but the afflicted look forward in hope to being taken away soon. All the rich tremble at death, but the poor long for it, so that they may rest from their labor. Death terrifies the mighty when they remember him, but the sick look to him in hope, that through him they may forget their pains. Again, young children are afraid of death, for when it comes on them they will leave their pleasures; but the old men far on in years, those who are in need of daily bread, pray for it. The sons of peace remember death, and they put away and remove from themselves anger and enmity. They live in this world as sojourners, and they prepare provisions for themselves for the journey ahead of them. They set their thoughts on what is above and meditate on what is above, and the things beneath their eyes they despise. They send their treasures ahead to the place where there is no danger, the place where there is no moth and there are no thieves. They live in the world as strangers, sons of a distant land, and they look forward to being sent out of this world and coming to the city, the place of the righteous. They afflict themselves in the place of their sojourning, and they are not entangled or taken up with the house of their exile. Every day their faces are set upward, to go to the rest of their fathers. They are like prisoners in this world, and they are kept like hostages of the King. To the end they have no rest in this world, nor do they hope that it will last forever. Those who acquire possessions take no joy in them; and those who have children, death fills them with sorrow. Those who build cities will not be left in them, and those who hurry and toil for anything are in no way different from fools. O senseless man, whoever he may be, whose trust is in this world! [g]

Remember, my beloved, and compare and consider in your mind: who among the former generations has been left in this world to remain forever? Death has led away the former generations, the great, the mighty and the subtle. Who has acquired great possessions and taken them with him when he departed? What was gathered from the earth returns to its bosom, and a man departs from his possessions naked. The wise, when they acquire goods, send some of them on ahead, as Job said: “My witnesses are heaven,” and again, “My brothers and those who love me are with God.” And our Lord commanded those who acquire possessions to make friends for themselves in heaven, and also to lay up treasures there. [h] You too, wise scribe, remember death, so that your heart is not lifted up and you forget the sentence of judgment. Death does not pass over the wise, nor respect the persons of the subtle. Death leads away to himself the wise scribes, so that they forget what they have learned, until the time comes when all the righteous will rise again.

In that place they will forget this world. There they have no want, and they will love one another with an abundant love. There will be no heaviness in their bodies, and they will fly lightly, like doves to their windows. In their thoughts they will not remember any wickedness at all there, nor will anything unclean arise in their hearts. In that place there will be no natural desire, for there they will be weaned from all appetites. Neither anger nor lust will arise in their hearts; they will put away from themselves everything that breeds sin. The love of each for the other will be fervent in their hearts, and hatred will not be fixed in them at all. They will have no need to build houses there, for they will live in light, in the dwelling places of the saints. They will have no need of woven clothing, for they will be clothed in eternal light. They will have no need of food, for they will recline at his table and be fed forever. The air of that region is pleasant and glorious, and its light shines out, good and gladdening. Beautiful trees are planted there, whose fruits do not fail and whose leaves do not fall. Their branches are glorious, their fragrance delightful, and no soul will ever grow weary of their taste. The region is spacious and without limit, yet its inhabitants will see its far distance as if it were near. There the inheritance will not be divided, and no one will say to his fellow, “This is mine and that is yours.” They will not be bound there by the desire of greed, nor will they go astray there in remembrance. There no one will love his neighbor with special reverence; all will love one another abundantly, in one and the same way. They will not marry wives there, nor have children; nor will male be distinguished from female there; but all will be sons of their Father who is in heaven. As the prophet said, “Is there not one Father of us all? Is there not one God who created us?” [i] As for what I said, that there they will not take wives and male is not distinguished from female, our Lord and his apostles have taught us this. For our Lord said, “Those who are worthy of that world, and of that resurrection from the abode of the dead, will not take wives, nor will women become wives to men; for they cannot die, but they are like the angels in heaven, and are the children of God.” And the apostle said, “There is neither male nor female, neither slave nor free, but you are all one in Jesus Christ.” As for Eve, God took her out of Adam to spread abroad the begetting of children, so that she might become the mother of all living. Yet in that world there is no female, just as in heaven too there is no female, nor begetting, nor the use of lustful desire. In that place there is no lack, but fullness and perfection. The old will not die and the young will not grow old. It is in expectation of growing old and dying that young men take wives and have children, so that when the fathers have died the children may rise up in their place. All these things are of use only in this world. In that place there is no want, no lack, no lustful desire, no begetting, no ending, no failing, no death, no end, no old age. There is no hatred, no anger, no envy, no weariness, no toil, no darkness, no night, no falsehood. There is no want of any kind in that place; it is full of light and life and grace, of fullness and satisfaction and renewal and love, and of all the good promises that are written but not yet sealed. For there is there “what eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and what has not come up into the heart of man,” what is unspeakable and what no one can utter. And the apostle said, “What God has prepared for those who love him.” However much people say, they will not be able to express it. What eye has not seen, they cannot describe; and what ear has not heard, it is not right to speak of in such a way as to compare it with anything the ear has heard and the eye has seen. And what has not come up into the heart, who dares to speak of it as though it were like anything that has come up into the heart? But this is right for a speaker: to liken that place to these things and call it the abode of God, the place of life, the perfect place, the place of light, the place of glory, the Sabbath of God, the day of rest, the repose of the righteous, the joy of the just, the abode and dwelling place of the righteous and the holy, the place of our hope, the sure abode of our trust, the place of our treasure, the place that will ease our weariness, take away our afflictions and soothe our sighs. It is right for us to liken that place to these things, and to call it so. [k]

Again, Death leads away to himself kings, the founders of cities, who make themselves strong in splendor; nor does he pass over the lords of the lands. Death leads away and takes captive to himself the greedy, who are never satisfied and never say “Enough”; and he is greedy for them with a greed greater than theirs. Death leads away to himself the plunderers, whom their grace did not hold back from plundering their fellows. Death leads away to himself the oppressors, and through death they are held back from wrongdoing. Death leads away to himself the persecutors, and the persecuted have rest until they go to him. Death leads away to himself those who swallow up their fellows, and the downtrodden and oppressed have rest for a little while, until they too are led away and go there. Death leads away those who are full of plans, and all they have thought of is dissolved and brought to nothing. People turn many matters over in their minds, and death comes on them suddenly and they are led away; and after that they remember nothing of what they thought about. One person makes plans for many years, and it is hidden from him that he will not live to see tomorrow. Some son of Adam is lifted up and boasts over his fellow, and death comes on him and brings his boasting to nothing. The rich man plans to add to his possessions, and he does not know that he will not go on possessing even what he has acquired. Death leads away to himself all the children of men and binds them fast in his abode until the judgment. He is king even over those who have not sinned, because of the sentence of judgment that Adam received for his sins. [l]

And the Life-giver will come, the Destroyer of Death, and will bring his power to nothing, both over the just and over the wicked. The dead will rise with a mighty shout, and Death will be emptied and stripped of all his captives. All the children of Adam will be gathered together for judgment, and each will go to the place prepared for him. The righteous who rise will go to life, and the sinners who rise will be handed over to death. The righteous who kept the commandment will go, and will not come near the judgment on the day they rise, as David asked: “And do not bring your servant into judgment.” Nor will their Lord terrify them on that day. [m] Remember that the apostle also said, “We will judge angels.” And our Lord said to his disciples, “You will sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of the house of Israel.” And Ezekiel said of righteous men that they will judge Oholah and Oholibah. Since, then, the righteous are to judge the wicked, he has made it clear about them that they will not come into judgment. As for what the apostles say, “We will judge angels,” listen, and I will instruct you. The angels who will be judged by the apostles are the priests who have violated the law. As the prophet said, “The lips of the priest will guard knowledge, and they will seek the law from his mouth; for he is the angel of the Lord, the Most Mighty.” The angels, who are the priests from whose mouth the law is sought, when they transgress the law, will be judged at the last by the apostles and by the priests who keep the law. [n] “And the wicked will not rise in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” Just as the righteous who are perfected in good works will not come into the judgment to be judged, so too with the wicked whose sins are many and the measure of whose offenses overflows: they will not be required to draw near to the judgment, but when they have risen again they will turn back to Sheol. As David said, “The wicked will turn back to Sheol, and all the nations that forget God.” And Isaiah said, “All the nations are like a drop from the bucket and like the turning of the balance. The islands will be cast away like a grain of sand, and all the nations are counted as nothing by him; they are counted by him as destruction and the sword.” So learn and be persuaded that all the nations that do not know God their Maker are counted by God as nothing. They will not come near the judgment, but as soon as they have risen they will turn back to Sheol. [p]

But all the rest of the world, who are called sinners, will stand in the judgment and be rebuked. Those in whom there is a little shortcoming the Judge will rebuke, and he will make known to them that they have offended; and after the judgment he will give them the inheritance of life. Understand that our Lord has made known to us in his Gospel that each person will receive his reward according to his work. The one who received money showed the increase on it. The one whose pound or talent produced tenfold received life, perfect and lacking in nothing. The one whose pound or talent produced fivefold received half of ten. One was given authority tenfold, and another fivefold. Now consider and see that the increase of five is less than that of ten. And the laborers who demand their reward surpass those who received it in silence. Those who toiled all day receive their reward with a bold face and demand it, confident that he will add more to them; while those who worked one hour receive it in silence, knowing that it is by grace that they receive mercy and life. The sinners whose sins are many will be condemned by the place of judgment and will go into torments; and from that time on, judgment will rule over them. [q] Listen further to the apostle, who said, “Each will receive his reward according to his work.” The one who toiled little will receive according to his slackness, and the one who made great haste will be rewarded according to his haste. Job too said, “Far be it from God to do wrong, and far be it from him to do sin. For according to a man’s works he will repay him, and a man will receive according to his ways.” And the apostle also said, “Star surpasses star in brightness. So also is the resurrection of the dead.” So know that even when people enter into life, reward will surpass reward, glory will surpass glory, and recompense will surpass recompense. Rank is higher than rank, and light is more beautiful than light to look on. The sun surpasses the moon, and the moon is greater than the stars that are with it. Notice that the moon and the stars are also under the power of the sun, and their light is swallowed up in the sun’s splendor. And the sun holds its power together with the moon and the stars, so that it does not abolish the night, which has been separated from the day. When the sun was created, it was called a luminary. Notice that the sun and the moon and the stars are all called luminaries, yet luminary surpasses luminary. The sun obscures the light of the moon, the moon likewise darkens the light of the stars, and star surpasses star in its light. [r] Understand this too from the things of this world: from those who labor and toil, and from hired men who work alongside their fellows. Some people hire their fellow men for a day’s wage, and these receive the wage for their toil. Others are hired by the month, and they count up and receive the wage for that time at the time agreed. The day’s wage is distinguished from the month’s wage, and the year’s wage is more than the month’s. Understand it again from the authority there is in this world. Some please the king by their diligence and receive honor from those in authority. One receives a crown from the king, to become governor of one of the countries. Under another’s authority the king places towns, and he also outshines those beneath him in his dress. Some receive presents and gifts, and one honor is distinguished from another. There is one to whom the king gives the honor of being steward over the whole treasury. Another, in keeping with his lower station, serves the king, and his authority reaches only to providing the daily food.

In the matter of punishment too, I say that not all people are equal. The one who has done great wickedness is greatly tormented, and the one who has offended less is less tormented. Some will go into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Others will be thrown into the fire, as they deserve; for it is not written of them that they will gnash their teeth, nor that there is darkness there. Some will be thrown into another place, a place where their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched, and they will become a horror to all flesh. In the faces of others the door will be shut, and the Judge will say to them, “I do not know you.” Consider, then, that just as the reward for good deeds is not equal for all, so it is with evil deeds too. People will not be judged in one way; each will receive his due according to his works, because the Judge is clothed in righteousness and does not regard the persons of men. [s] I have shown you from the world how one honor surpasses another among those that the kings and rulers of this world give to those beneath them. In the same way I have shown you this too: just as kings have good gifts to give to those they honor, so they also have prisons and chains and fetters, which are various kinds of bonds. One man offends the king with a grave offense, and without inquiry he is handed over to death. Another offends, yet does not deserve death; he is put in bonds until he is judged, he is punished, and the king pardons his offense. There is another whom the king holds in regard: he is kept in freedom outside the prison house, without chains and without bonds. The one who is put to death is distinguished from the one who is bound, and one man’s punishment exceeds another’s, according to what his offense deserves. But come to our Redeemer, who said, “Many are the dwelling places in my Father’s house.” [t]

My beloved, people of lesser understanding dispute about what I am writing to you. They say, “What is the place where the righteous will receive a good reward, and what is the place of torments, where the wicked will receive the punishment for their works?” O man who thinks this way, I will ask you, and you tell me: why is death called death, and why is Sheol called Sheol? For it is written that when Korah and his companions broke away in schism against Moses, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and they went down alive into Sheol. So that was the mouth of Sheol that opened in the wilderness. David also said, “The wicked will turn back to Sheol.” We say that the wicked will be turned back to that Sheol into which Korah and his companions were swallowed up. For God has power, if he chooses, to give the inheritance of life in heaven, and, if it pleases him, on the earth. Jesus our Lord said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And to one of those crucified with him, who believed in him, he swore, “Today you will be with me in the garden of Eden.” And the apostle said, “When the righteous rise again, they will fly upward to meet our Redeemer.” But we say this: what our Redeemer told us is true, “Heaven and earth will pass away.” And the apostle said, “Hope that is seen is not hope.” And the prophet said, “The heavens will pass away like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment, and its inhabitants will become like it.” And Job said of those who sleep, “Until the heavens wear out they will not be roused, nor will they wake from their sleep.” From these things be persuaded that this earth, in which the children of Adam are sown, and the firmament that is over men, the firmament set to divide the upper heavens from the earth and from this life, will pass away, wear out, and be destroyed. And God will make a new thing for the children of Adam, and they will inherit inheritances in the kingdom of heaven. If he gives them an inheritance on the earth, it will be called the kingdom of heaven; and if in heaven, that is easy for him to do. For with the kings of the earth too, although each of them lives in his own place, every place his authority reaches is called his kingdom. So too the sun is a luminary set in the heaven, yet its authority reaches every place its rays extend, whether on sea or on land. And notice that the princes of the world also have their banquets and delights, and in every place or state they go to, their banquets go with them; and in whatever place they please, they make a prison house. For the sun circles round in twelve hours, from the east to the west; and when it has finished its course, its light is hidden in the nighttime, and the night is not disturbed by its power. In the hours of the night the sun turns round in its swift course, and, turning round, begins to run in its accustomed path. As for the sun that is with you, wise man: from your childhood to the fullness of your old age you do not know where it runs in the nighttime, so as to come round to the place of its course. Is it necessary for you, then, to inquire into the things that are hidden from you? [u]

These reminders I have written for our brothers and beloved, the children of the church of God, so that when they come into their hands in various places and they read them, they may also remember my insignificance in their prayers, and know that I too am a sinner and fall short; but that this is my faith, which I have set out from the beginning and written down in these chapters of mine. Faith is the foundation, and on faith rest the works that befit it. After Faith I wrote that there are two commandments of Love. After Love I wrote about Fasting, in its demonstration together with its works. After Fasting I wrote about Prayer, in its fruit and in its works. After Prayer I wrote about War, and about what Daniel wrote concerning the kingdoms. After War I wrote the exhortation for Monks. After the Monks I wrote about Repentance. After Repentance I wrote about the Resurrection of the Dead. After the Resurrection of the Dead I wrote about Humility. After Humility I wrote about the Pastors, the teachers. After the Pastors I wrote about Circumcision, in which the Jewish people take pride. After Circumcision I wrote about the Passover, and about the fourteenth day. After the Passover I wrote about the Sabbath, over which the Jews are puffed up. After the Sabbath I wrote an Exhortation, because of the dissension that arose in our days. After the Exhortation I wrote about Foods, those the Jews consider unclean. After the Foods I wrote about the Gentiles, that they have come in and become heirs in place of the original people. After the Gentiles I wrote and proved that God has a Son. After the Son of God I wrote against the Jews, who speak abusively about Virginity. After the defense of Virginity I wrote again against the Jews, who say, “It is appointed for us to be gathered together.” After that defense I wrote about Almsgiving to the Poor. After the Poor I wrote a demonstration about the Persecuted. After the Persecuted I wrote, at the end, about Death and the Last Times. These twenty-two discourses I have written according to the twenty-two letters of the alphabet. The first ten I wrote in the six hundred and forty-eighth year of the kingdom of Alexander the son of Philip the Macedonian, as is written at the end of them. These last twelve I wrote in the six hundred and fifty-fifth year of the kingdom of the Greeks and of the Romans, which is the kingdom of Alexander, and in the thirty-fifth year of the Persian king. [w]

These things I have written as far as I have attained. But if anyone reads these discourses and finds words that do not agree with his own thinking, he should not scorn them. For whatever is written in these chapters was not written according to the thinking of one man, nor to persuade one reader, but according to the thinking of the whole church, and to persuade all faith. If he reads and hears with a mind open to persuasion, that is good; if not, it is right for me to say that I wrote for those open to persuasion, and not for mockers. And again, if any reader finds words that are spoken by us in one way and by another sage in another way, let him not be troubled at this; for each man speaks to his hearers according to what he can attain. So I who have written these things, even if some of my words do not agree with what other speakers have said, say this: those sages have spoken well, but it seemed good to me to speak this way. And if anyone speaks to me and shows me about any matter, I will accept instruction from him without contention. Everyone who reads the sacred Scriptures, both former and latter, in both covenants, and reads with a mind open to persuasion, will learn and teach. But if he quarrels over something he does not understand, his mind does not receive teaching. If he finds words too difficult for him and does not understand their force, let him say this: “Whatever is written is written well, but I have not attained to the understanding of it.” And if he asks wise and discerning men who inquire into doctrine about the matters that are too hard for him, then, when ten wise men speak to him in ten different ways about one matter, let him accept the one that pleases him; and if any of them does not please him, let him not scorn the sages. For the word of God is like a pearl, which has a beautiful appearance whichever side you turn it. And remember, disciple, what David said: “From all my teachers I have learned.” And the apostle said, “You read every Scripture that is in the Spirit of God. And test everything; hold fast what is good; and flee from every evil thing.” For if a man’s days were as many as all the days of the world from Adam to the end of the ages, and he sat and meditated on the Holy Scriptures, he would not grasp all the force of the depth of the words. A man cannot rise up to the wisdom of God, as I have written in the tenth discourse. But the words of all speakers who do not draw from the great treasure are accursed and to be despised. For the king’s image on his coin is accepted wherever it goes, but a coin that has base metal in it is rejected and not accepted. And if anyone should say, “These discourses were spoken by such and such a person,” let him learn well that he is not commanded to take care to inquire about the speaker. I too, in my insignificance, have written these things: a man sprung from Adam, formed by the hands of God, a disciple of the Holy Scriptures. For our Lord said, “Everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” And the prophet said, “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh in the last days, and they will prophesy.” So whoever reads anything that I have written above, let him read it with a mind open to persuasion, and pray for the author as a brother of the Body, so that through the petition of the whole church of God his sins may be forgiven. And let whoever reads understand what is written: “Let the one who hears the word share with the one who causes him to hear it, in all good things.” And again it is written, “The sower and the reaper will rejoice together.” And, “Each will receive his reward according to his labors.” And, “There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed to everyone.” [y]