| 6869 See Jastrow, Dictionary, 1554. Flusser, «Mastema,» 1119–20, prefers «enmity» or «prince of enmity.» Cf. also the «angels of destruction» () in 1QS 4.12. 6870 Brown, John, 1:358. On the close connection between the deception ( Gen 3 ) and homicide ( Gen 4 ), echoed in Jesus» passion, see Thomas, «Menteur.» 6871 Wis 10:3; 4 Macc 18:11; Jub. 4:2–3, 31–32; 1 En. 22:6–7; Josephus Ant. 1.52–59; L.A.B. 16:2; L.A.E. 23; Apoc. Mos. 2–3; Τ Ben). 7:3–5; Philo Worse32; " Abot R. Nat. 31; 41A; Heb 11:4; 12:24; Matt 23:35; Luke 11:51; Jude 11; 1 Clem. 4.1–7; see further Philo LCL l:xxiv-xxv; Grayston, Epistles, 110; Plummer, Epistles, 82; Sidebottom, James, 89. For Abel " s reward, cf. Ascen. Isa. 9:8; Apoc. Mos. 40:4–5; T. Ab. 13:2–3A; 11:2B. For early Syrian Christian application of Cain (including to Jewish opponents of Jesus), see Niklas, «Söhne Kains» (citing Aphrahat Demonstratio 16.8). 6872 Some later rabbis homiletically associated Satan " s creation with Eve (Urbach, Sages, 1:167), but this view is probably late. 6873 Tg. Ps.-J. on Gen 4:1; 5:3 ; see Reim, «Gotteskinder/Teufelskinder,» citing Tg. Neof. on Gen 4:7 ; Dahl, «Manndraperen»; McNamara, Judaism, 223–24. 6874 John 8:44 " s term for murder appears elsewhere in the NT only at 1 John 3and nowhere in the LXX. 6875 E.g., T. Job 3:6/3(του Σαταν ν ω πατηθσονται ο νθρωποι); Τ. Dan 3:6; cf. 1QS 10.21–22. Satan (T. Job 3:6) or the devil (διβολος, T. Job 3:3/4) or demons are behind idols (cf. Deut 32:17 ; Ps 96 Bar 4:7 ; 1 En. 19:1; Jub. 1:11; 7:27; 22:17; T. Job 3:3; T. So1. 5:5; 6:4; Sipre Deut. 318.2.1–2; Gen. Rab. 23:6; 24:6; 1Cor 10:20 ; Athenagoras 26; Tertullian Apol 23.5–6). 6876 Phaedrus 1.17.1. 6877 Falsehood and theft also appear together in t. B. Qam. 7:8; cf. John 10:1–10 . 6878 Only three non-Johannine uses of ψεστης appear in the NT; cf. also ψευδς in Rev 2:2; 21:8, of three uses in the NT. 6879 E.g., Lysias Or. 3.39, §99; 4.13, §101; Cicero Mur. 6.13; Quinct. 6.22; Rose. com. 16.46; Dionysius of Halicarnassus Lysias 33; cf. Isaeus Estate of Astyphilus 19. Writers against Jews tell «lies» about them (Josephus Ag. Ap. 2.79, 147, 289); Apion is a prime example of such a liar (Josephus Ag. Ap. 2.85,90,98,111,115,121,122). Perkins, «John,» 966, points out that Qumran " s opponents are misled «by the Man of Lies of Interpreters of Error (lQpHab 2:2; 5:11; CD 20:15; 1QH 2:13–14; 4:10).» |
| 58 . The passion of gluttony kills all the divine offspring of the virtues. But that passion itself is killed through the spiritual knowledge acquired by the grace of faith and by obedience to the divine commandments. 59 . Our Lord is truly a light to the Gentiles (cf. Isa. 49: 6; Luke 2: 32): through true knowledge He opens the eyes of their mind, closed as they have been by the darkness of ignorance. Moreover, through His divine conduct He has made Himself a noble example of virtue to the faithful, becoming their model and pattern. Looking to Him as the author of our salvation, we attain the virtues by imitating Him in our own conduct, so far as this is possible for us. 60 . Anyone who hates a man through envy, and maliciously slanders him because he is stronger in the struggle for virtue and richer in spiritual knowledge, is choked like Saul by an evil spirit (cf. 1Sam. 16: 14 ): he cannot bear to see someone better than himself enjoying the glory that comes through virtue and spiritual knowledge. And he rages all the more because he cannot actually kill this good man (cf. 1Sam. 18: 10 – 11 ). In addition, he often bitterly banishes the beloved Jonathan from his presence (cf. 1Sam. 19: 4 – 5; 20: 30 – 32 ) – that is, he suppresses the innate judgment of his conscience, which rebukes his unjust hatred and from a love of truth recounts the achievements of the man whom he hates. 61 . Let us, too, beseech the noetic David to make our intellect, frenzied by material things, resonant with the lyre of spiritual contemplation and knowledge, and to drive out the evil spirit of material inconstancy that dominates the world of the senses (cf. 1Sam. 16: 23 ). In this way we may be able to understand the Law spiritually and find the divine principle hidden mystically within it, so that it becomes for us a lasting source of eternal life. 62 . Every lover of salvation is totally committed either to the practice of the virtues or to the contemplative life. For without virtue and spiritual knowledge no one can attain salvation in any way whatsoever. |
| Following the OT designation of Abraham as God " s friend (Isa 41:8; 2 Chr 20:7), early Jewish literature especially applies the title to Abraham. 9083 This is especially because of his intimate relationship with God, so that God could take Abraham into his confidence, not treating him as a servant (cf. John 15:15 ): For wisdom is rather God " s friend than His servant. And therefore He says plainly of Abraham, «shall I hide anything from Abraham my friend?» (Gen. xviii.17). 9084 Or it is because of his obedience to God instead of his own spirit " s will (cf. John 15:14 )? 9085 It would not at all be unnatural, therefore, if John 15:13–15 were making an allusion to Abraham, 9086 particularly given the emphasis on election in 15:16. But another OT allusion is also possible, one that perhaps was more prominent to early readers of the OT because it was in the Torah proper. In Exod 33:11, Moses is the friend of God; this becomes the basis on which he can appeal to God for a revelation of his glory. This designation also appears in early Jewish texts; 9087 it is the most common usage in Tannaitic parables (though not by a large margin). 9088 This allusion becomes likely in John 15because in 1:14–18 the disciples are compared to a new Moses to whom God revealed his glory in Jesus, the embodiment of Torah in flesh (cf. 2Cor 3 ). 9089 Although Jesus fills the role of God here, friendship with Jesus would also bring one into a welcome relationship with the Father. Individuals» friendships provided ties, whenever feasible, between households. 9090 2E. Friends, Not Servants (15:15) The earlier contrast between servants and children ( John 8:33–35 ; cf. Gal 4:7 ) is here supplemented with a contrast between friends and servants. The contrast was familiar enough in Mediterranean antiquity; a Roman, for example, could describe conquered people as «slaves» but allies as «friends» (Sallust Jug. 102.6). Under Jewish law, a slave could not inherit, no matter how many goods were left to him, unless the will freed the slave or granted him «all» his master " s goods (including himself; m. Pêah 3:8). There would be no point in Jesus promising to share his words or goods with the disciples unless they were friends and not slaves. The image especially involves what Jesus entrusts the disciples with, as he states in 15:15; as noted above, one difference between servant-master relationships and those between friends is that servants withhold secrets from the master but friends do not withhold them from each other. 9091 |
| His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon’s Archpastoral Message for the Sunday of All Saints Source: OCA Image: oca.org To the clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, Dear beloved children in the Lord, Today, on the Sunday of All Saints, we behold the fruit of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as we remember all those throughout the whole world who answered Christ along with St. Peter in the Gospel: “Lo, we have left everything and followed you” (Mt. 19:27). On this day we place in the center of our churches the icon of the feast depicting all the holy ones of God, known and unknown, men, women, and children from every walk of life. But while most of the holy icons which adorn and beautify our temples stay the same year to year, century to century, the icon of the Feast of All Saints is different. It expands and grows larger every year as the Lord reveals new saints throughout the earth. We take comfort in this and find inspiration from the saints’ example as we follow in their footsteps, walking the narrow path of sanctity we are also called to walk (cf. Matt. 7:14). At the same time as we behold the icon of the feast, we see other more terrible images as well. The tragedies of our time seem to march in steady pace before our eyes: the continuing gun violence in the United States, wars in Ukraine and Ethiopia, the slaughter of Roman Catholic faithful in Nigeria, and the conflict and violence in many parts of the world. These are, tragically, only a few recent examples of the horrors we human beings visit upon each other in our pride, hopelessness, greed, and thirst for power. All these violent acts are contrary to the Gospel of Christ who is the “prince of peace,” as the Prophet Isaiah proclaims (Isa. 9:7). Our Lord’s way for us to follow is to lay down our lives for the other, not to shed another’s blood (cf. Jn. 15:13). In the face of such evil in our world it is difficult to avoid the feelings of discouragement and helplessness. Take comfort that all the saints faced the evils of their age too. We, like them, can strengthen our hearts with Christ’s words: “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:27). Let us continue to follow the example of the saints and meet evil with good, hostility with love, and violence with sincere prayer that Christ, who Himself is our peace (Eph. 2:14), will reign amongst us. |
| Perhaps lest the accusers of John " s audience complain that glorifying Jesus detracted from God " s glory, John is at pains to demonstrate that it is the Father himself who glorifies Jesus and that Jesus» costly glory glorifies the Father (7:18; 8:50,54; cf. 1 John 2:23 ). Jesus is exalted on the basis of his prior submission to suffering for the Father " s honor. 9416 In Isaiah, God glorified himself in glorifying Israel (Isa 44:23; 46:13; 49:3; 55:5; 60:1–2, 7, 9, 19, 21; 61:3); thus an Amora could remark, for example, that God told Moses to glorify Israel, for Israel " s glorification would glorify God. 9417 That Jesus rules «all flesh» (17:2) simply means that he rules «all humanity.» 9418 This was a role normally attributed to God alone, 9419 but the Fourth Gospel reveals that the Father has repeatedly delegated his authority to the Son (3:35; 5:22, 26–27; 13:3); 9420 the Father " s gifts to the Son (especially disciples; also glory, revelation, and authority) and the Son " s gifts to disciples in fact make the present context the Gospel " s greatest concentration of δδωμι (17:2,4,6–9,11–12,14,22,24). That Jesus was authorized to give eternal life to his own would encourage those whose faith was challenged by opponents who claimed to speak for God apart from Jesus (cf. 6:37–40; 10:28–29). John 17continues the connection between the Father and the Son; eternal life, eschatological life, involves an intimate relationship with the Father and the Son (see discussion of «knowledge» in the introduction, ch. 6). 9421 The connection between Jesus and the Father in 17is very close. It is even grammatically possible to construe the dual object as a hendiadys, identifying Jesus Christ with «the only true God,» but this construction is impossible both logically and from the standpoint of Johannine theology. 9422 In John " s theology, the Son is not the Father, and it is hardly coherent for Jesus to identify himself as the Father he was addressing. The close association, however, places Jesus in the role reserved for the Father (or at least divine Wisdom) in standard Jewish teaching. Besides 1:17, «a legitimate anachronism,» 17is the only instance in the Gospel in which «Christ» appears as part of a proper name and not simply a title. 9423 |
| But the man who praises us, or, rather, who misleads us, opens our eyes with his words and once our eyes are opened, our treasures vanish. The flatterer is a servant of the devils, a teacher of pride, the destroyer of contrition, a ruiner of virtues, a perverse guide. The prophet says, Those who honor you deceive you (Isa. 3:12). Men of high spirit endure offense nobly and willingly. But only the holy and the saintly can pass unscathed through praise.… No one knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit within him (cf. 1 Cor. 2:11). Hence, those who want to praise us to our face should be ashamed and silent. When you hear that your neighbor or your friend has denounced you behind your back or indeed in your presence, show him love and try to compliment him. It is a great achievement to shrug the praise of men off one " s soul. Greater still is to reject the praise of demons. It is not the self-critical who reveals his humility (for does not everyone have somehow to put up with himself?). Rather it is the man who continues to love the person who has criticized him…. Our neighbor is moved by nothing so much as by a sincere and humble way of talking and of behaving. It is an example and a spur to others never to become proud. And there is nothing to equal the benefit of this…. The Lord often humbles the vainglorious by causing some dishonor to befall them. And indeed the first step in overcoming vainglory is to remain silent and to accept dishonor gladly. The middle stage is to restrain every act of vainglory while it is still in thought. The end—if one may talk of an end to an abyss—is to be able to accept humiliation before others without actually feeling it…. When those who praise us, or, rather, those who lead us astray, begin to exalt us, we should briefly remember the multitude of our sins, and in this way, we will discover that we do not deserve whatever is said or done in our honor. This and other sayings that we can find in The Ladder serve as an example of that holy zeal for our salvation that is necessary to everyone who wishes live a pious life; and this written treatise, which is the fruit of abundant and subtle observation over his own soul along with very deep spiritual experience, is a great benefit and guide along the path of truth and goodness. |
| But Furuli still seems unwilling to give up the idea that an unknown NeoBabylonian king named Marduk-šaruur might have existed. He argues on page 80: “Sack read the name as Nergalšaruur, and if this is the same tablet as the one read by Boscawen, I can confirm that Sack’s reading is correct, because I have collated this tablet myself at the British Museum. If both scholars read the same tablet, a NeoBabylonian king with the name Mardukšaruur never existed. However, the broken tablet BM 56709, the signs of winch are NeoBabylonian, refers to year 1 of a king whose name begins with Marduk. So we cannot exclude that Boscawen read a tablet different from the one read by Sack, and that a king with Marduk in his name reigned in the NeoBabylonian Empire.” This tablet is listed in the Catalogue of the Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum (CBT), Vol. 6 (London: The Trustees of the British Museum, 1986, p. 215). In an unpublished list of “Corrections and additions to CBT 68” (my copy is dated March 18, 1996), which Christopher Walker kept at the British Museum, Walker gives the following comments on the text: “56709 Marduk[...] 12/–/I Dated at Borsippa. CT 55, 92 (not CT 56, 356). The tablet is probably early NeoBabylonian.” Note the words “probably” and “early NeoBabylonian.” This is a suggestion. Furthermore, scholars often use the term “NeoBabylonian” to describe a more extended period than 625539 BCE. The Assyrian Dictionary, for example, starts the period at about 1150 BCE and ends it in the 4th century BCE. (Cf. GTR 4 , Chapter 3, n. 1) Maybe this is how Walker uses the tenn here. The names of about a dozen Babylonian kings between ca. 1150 and 625 BCE begin with Marduk, including Mardukaplaiddina II (the Biblical MerodachBaladan, Isa. 39:1, who ruled in Babylon twice, 721710 and 703 BCE), and Mardukzakirshumi II (703). Thus, as the royal name is only partially legible and we do not know exactly to which period the tablet belongs, it is useless for chronological purposes. Placing the king in the NeoBabylonian period somewhere after the reign of Nebuchadnezzar is based on nothing else but wishful thinking. |
| About Pages Проекты «Правмира» Raising Orthodox Children to Orthodox Adulthood The Daily Website on How to be an Orthodox Christian Today Twitter Telegram Parler RSS Donate Navigation Behold the Lamb of God! Source: Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov Today the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast Day of Theophany or Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Priest Sergei Sveshnikov 19 January 2020 People were leaving their sinful cities–cities full of noise, dirt, passion, intrigue, rat race, lack of meaning and purpose, desperation, disease, poverty, and excess–and walking out to the Jordan River, to the one crying in the wilderness, to be baptized by him, to be washed of their iniquities, to be cleansed of their transgressions in all their sins. They entered the river spotted and blemished with sin, and the waters took their filth upon themselves. If their sins were akin to dry leaves floating on the surface of the river, they would be carried by the current down toward the Dead Sea and mix there with the ancient sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, making the sea even more salty, more bitter, more dead. When Christ came to be baptized, John, according to the Gospel, was hesitant: “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” (Matt 3:14) John not only realized that the greater could not receive a blessing from the lesser, but He who Himself is the very “kingdom of heaven which is at hand,” had no need to repent or to confess His sins ( cf. 3:2, 6). Some teach that when Christ insisted on being baptized “for thus it becometh to fulfill all righteousness” (3:15), He acted according to our human nature which He took upon Himself and showed an example to all who would follow Him, to affirm that, although truly God, He was also truly man. the righteousness of the Old Covenant is faithfulness to it. Christ came “not to destroy the law, but to fulfill” (5:17)–to fill it with meaning, with purpose, with Himself, to full-fill it in Himself. In the days of Joshua, when faced with the presence of God, the waters of the Jordan “which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far [off]” (Jos 3:16). “The sea saw [the presence of the Lord], and fled: Jordan was driven back” (Ps 114:3). How could the waters touch Him, who “placed the sand for the bound of the sea”? (Jer 5:22) How could they dare wash over the One whose name is “the Lord of hosts… the Holy One of Israel” (Isa 47:4)? |
| Казнь вечная. Taken from Meffreth, Dominica 2 Post Trinitatis, No. 3. 11. 1–18 cf Meffreth: «Sunt ergo ibi nouem poenae, quae damnatis pro ferculis apponuntur. Et has enumerat August, in Sermon, de Aduentu Domini ad iudicium, super illo verbo Apoc. 16.[Rev. 16.19] Et facta est ciuitas magna in tres partes» 11. 19–24 cf Meffreth: «Prima est ig n is qui extingui non potest, etiam si mare totum intus mitteretur.» 11. 25–30 cf Meffreth: «Secunda poena qua cibantur damnati, est frig u s, quod nemo potest sustinere, etiamsi igneus mons immitteretur, nihil calefacere possit, & propter istas poenas dicit Dominus in Euangelio. Matt. Ibi erit fletus & strid ordentium .... Sed quare sustinebunt glacialem poenam? Respondet Augustinus, quia hie frigidi in caritate fuerunt.» 11. 31–34 cf Meffreth: «Tertia poena est de vermibus, qui nunquam moriuntur Isaiae vltimo [Isa. 66.24]. ... Causa autem quare mordentur vermibus est, quia sic inuidiam contra proximos habuerunt, & congruum est vt mordeantur vermibus, sicut felicitate proximorum per inuidiam hie mordebantur, vt dicit August.» 11. 35–38 cf Meffreth: «Quarta poena infemi est foetor quasi sulphuris, & istum sustinebunt propter foetorem luxuriae.» 11. 39–42 cf Meffreth: «Quinta poena sunt flagella percutientium, quae feriunt ad instar malleorum: haec praecipue sunt contra Tyrannos, alios iniuste flagellantes.» 11. 43–46 cf Meffreth: «Sexta poena sunt tenebrae ita spissae, vt sicut arena maris possint pugillari. ... & hanc poenam patientur, qui in tenebris peccatorum finaliter perstiterunt.» 11. 47–50 cf Meffreth: «Septima poena est verecundia, quia ibi videbuntur honores, & peccata eorum nec poterunt occultari. Et huius causam allegat Augustinus in sermone de aduentu Christi ad iudicium, dicens. Quia noluerunt ad confessionem venire, nec poenitentiam agere pro peccatis.» 11. 51–56 cf Meffreth: «Octava poena est timor magnus, quando videbunt daemones emittentes flammas igneas, & audient clamores miserorum, quia cruciabuntur, expectabuntque semper acrius crucian. Et hoc est ideo, quia hic timoré Dei postposito peccauerunt.» 11. 57– 60 cf Meffreth: «Nona poena est, Catena ignis, quia propriis peccatis recesserunt inetiti, & quasi vna catena ligati.» 11. 61–64 cf Meffreth: «Sed decimam poenam ponit B. Augustinus in libro qui vocatur de triplici habitaculo, & est separatio a Christo. Dicit enim quod haec erit poena illorum specialis absentia Christi post visionem eius» (Pars aestiv., pp. 243–4). |
| Христос взыде на небо . Loosely based on Faber, ibid.. No. 7 «Via et ratio ad caelos ascendendi post Christum», Thema: «Magnus ille Propheta Elias, quando curru igneo raptus discessit ab Elisaeo discipulo suo, decidit ei pallium, sicut testatur Regum Historia 1. 4. c. K ings 2.11–13].» Христос дверь . Taken from Faber, Feria 3 Pentecostes, No. 9 «Mysteria [on the Gospel for the day, viz. John 10.1–10 ]», sect. 2 «Quis ostium ? Christus». 11. 1–10 cf subsect. 2 «Christus est ostium Ecclesiae»: «Secundo ovilis, id est, Ecclesiae, in quant nemo nisi per Christi ftdem ingreditur et baptismum.» 11. 11–14 cf subsect. 3 «Ostium gratiae»: «Tertio, ostium est gratiae. Nemo enim ad Dei gratiam venit, nisi per Christi mérita.» 11. 15–18 cf subsect. 4 «Ostium gloriae»: «Quarto, ostium est gloriae caelestis: quicum que ad earn ingreditur, per Christi mérita ingreditur.» Христос с нами . Taken from Faber, Dominica Trinitatis, No. 8 «Qua ratione Christus sit semper cum Ecclesia sua». The poem summarises the whole sermon, as reflected in the section headings. 11. 1–6 cf text for sermon: «Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummation em saeculi. Matth. 11. 7–10 cf sect. 1 «Per conservationem»: «Semper est cum Ecclesia per conservationem, qua earn ita semper illibaiam conservât ut nunquam deficere possit.» 11. 11–12 cf sect. 2 «Per singulärem directionem». 11. 13–16 cf sect. 3 «Per protectionem specialem»: «Hanc sign ificat ilia seps (Isa. 5 ], Matth. quam circumdedit vineae suae angelorum videlicet et Sanctorum custodia, quorum interventu Ecclesiae suae adest in afflictionibus et periculis praesertim bellicis.» 11. 17–18 cf sect. 4 «Per amorem et benevolentiam». 11. 19–22 cf sect. 5 «Per paternam correctionem». 11. 23–8 cf sect. 6 «Per realem suam praesentiam in Eucharistia». Художество . Taken from Faber, Dominica 15 Post Pentecosten, No. 5 «Ars bene moriendi». The poem is taken from the sermon title, and from the Thema: «Artem, inquam, omnium artium.» Published in Panenko and PLDR. |
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