13 Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites... (NIV)
Sidon is of course a city, or a city-state, about 22 miles north of Tyre on the Mediterranean coastline. The Targum says that Canaan was the father of Bothniam (בותניאם) who built Sidon, but we will accept the record of the Bible's text over the Targum.
For many centuries, the Bible was the only document to even mention the Hittites. Some critics even used this gap of knowledge as evidence that the Bible must contain fabrications and myths. But then in 1871 and later in 1906-1907, vast amounts of Hittite evidence began to be turned up from as far east as the Euphrates and as far northwest as Boghaz-koy in Turkey. At least ten thousand documents have been unearthed, vindicating Joshua's reference to the entire fertile crescent as "the land of the Hittites" (Joshua 1:4).
The man's name in this verse is actually Heth (חת), whose family settles along the Halys River in central Turkey before 2200 BC, when they were overrun by an Indo-European (Japhethite?) group that simply took over as the Hittite ruling class and adopted the unusual Hittite dress (heavy coats, upturned shoes). Physically the Hittites were stocky with large prominent noses, retreating foreheads and are often depicted with thick lips. Later carvings from Carchemish show Hittites with long beards that are pleated or braided.
The Bible depicts the Hittites as owning fields. Abraham bought the field which contained the Cave of Macpelah from a Hittite names Ephron son of Zohar (Genesis 23:9) in order to bury his wife Sarah after her death.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
1 Chronicles 1:11-12
11 Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 12 Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites. (NIV)
The Philistines mentioned here are really just a parenthetical aside. If we don't count them in the complete list, then the complete "Table of Nations" (1 Chronicles 1:5-23) has 70 names. 26 of them are from Shem, 30 are from Ham and 14 are from Japheth.
For the people reading Chronicles, the number 70 would have a special satisfaction and even a spiritual significance. As a multiple of 7, it presents God's hand in the providence of the world.
The Ludites are sometimes described as bowmen (Jeremiah 46:9), and are placed in both Africa (as descendants of Mizraim's Egyptians) and Asia—it is generally accepted that Lud was the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor.
The Anamites may have been a minor tribe of the Egyptians. An Assyrian text from the time of Sargon II (722-705 BC) refers to the Anami in Egypt.
The Lehabites were probably the Libyans (Nahum 3:9) or a branch of the Libyans.
The Naphtuhites have not been identified. They were probably an Egyptian tribe; perhaps located in the central Nile region.
The Pathrusites would appear to be an Egyptian people living in the upper (southern) Nile region. Pathros was a city in that part of Egypt (Isaiah 11:11; Jeremiah 44;1,15; Ezekiel 29:14; 30:14).
The Casluhites are also difficult to identify, perhaps because, as the ancestors of the Philistines, they were displaced from Egypt. We learn from the Doctoral Thesis of Dr. John Brug that the Philistines were the product of two distinct races, one a race of giants inhabiting the southwest coast of Canaan; the other a Greek race of a more typical height. They worked and fought together and gave us such diverse individuals as Goliath and Delilah in Scripture.
The Caphtorites were the inhabitants of the island of Crete, although the island of Cyprus is sometimes mentioned as the land of Caphtor, as well. The Talmud (Chullin 60b) mentions that the Caphtories destroyed the Awites and took their land, and that the Awites were the original Philistine people in Abraham's time. This seems to support Dr. Brug's archaeological and exegetical findings.
They were all people, like us, who needed a Savior. Some of their descendants are still in the world. Reaching out to them begins with reaching out to the people right in our own communities. They gospel is the tool we use; the gospel is the only message that saves.
The Philistines mentioned here are really just a parenthetical aside. If we don't count them in the complete list, then the complete "Table of Nations" (1 Chronicles 1:5-23) has 70 names. 26 of them are from Shem, 30 are from Ham and 14 are from Japheth.
For the people reading Chronicles, the number 70 would have a special satisfaction and even a spiritual significance. As a multiple of 7, it presents God's hand in the providence of the world.
The Ludites are sometimes described as bowmen (Jeremiah 46:9), and are placed in both Africa (as descendants of Mizraim's Egyptians) and Asia—it is generally accepted that Lud was the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor.
The Anamites may have been a minor tribe of the Egyptians. An Assyrian text from the time of Sargon II (722-705 BC) refers to the Anami in Egypt.
The Lehabites were probably the Libyans (Nahum 3:9) or a branch of the Libyans.
The Naphtuhites have not been identified. They were probably an Egyptian tribe; perhaps located in the central Nile region.
The Pathrusites would appear to be an Egyptian people living in the upper (southern) Nile region. Pathros was a city in that part of Egypt (Isaiah 11:11; Jeremiah 44;1,15; Ezekiel 29:14; 30:14).
The Casluhites are also difficult to identify, perhaps because, as the ancestors of the Philistines, they were displaced from Egypt. We learn from the Doctoral Thesis of Dr. John Brug that the Philistines were the product of two distinct races, one a race of giants inhabiting the southwest coast of Canaan; the other a Greek race of a more typical height. They worked and fought together and gave us such diverse individuals as Goliath and Delilah in Scripture.
The Caphtorites were the inhabitants of the island of Crete, although the island of Cyprus is sometimes mentioned as the land of Caphtor, as well. The Talmud (Chullin 60b) mentions that the Caphtories destroyed the Awites and took their land, and that the Awites were the original Philistine people in Abraham's time. This seems to support Dr. Brug's archaeological and exegetical findings.
They were all people, like us, who needed a Savior. Some of their descendants are still in the world. Reaching out to them begins with reaching out to the people right in our own communities. They gospel is the tool we use; the gospel is the only message that saves.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
1 Chronicles 1:10
10 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty hunter on earth. (NIV)
In the parallel verses in Genesis, Nimrod is called a “mighty warrior on the earth” (Gen. 10:8) and a “mighty hunter before the LORD” (Gen. 10:9). In the years after the flood, as the world was being resettled, Nimrod’s tribe was centered in southern Mesopotamia. This was the area of Babylon, Erech, and Akkad (Gen. 10:10). Nimrod himself extended his borders north toward the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates, building the huge city of Nineveh (northeast across the Tigris from Mosul), Calah (just southeast of today’s Mosul) and the unidentified cities of Rehoboth Ir and Resen.
Link to a 1902 Encyclopedia article with archaeological sketches of the area:
Although Nimrod is sometimes thought to be one and the same with Gilgamesh king of Uruk, we can’t really make that distinction from what we have about Nimrod in Scripture. As a matter of interest, Gilgamesh was the fifth king or chieftain of Uruk. A list of very early kings of the region does exist (with reigns lasting 20,000 to 40,000 years each), but it breaks off with the phrase, “Then the flood swept over.” A Kish dynasty was later replaced by the Eana dynasty, whose first king was drowned but whose second king, Emmerkar, built the city of Uruk. Emmerkar was followed by Lugulbanda the Shepherd, Dumuzi the Fisherman, and Gilgamesh.
In the parallel verses in Genesis, Nimrod is called a “mighty warrior on the earth” (Gen. 10:8) and a “mighty hunter before the LORD” (Gen. 10:9). In the years after the flood, as the world was being resettled, Nimrod’s tribe was centered in southern Mesopotamia. This was the area of Babylon, Erech, and Akkad (Gen. 10:10). Nimrod himself extended his borders north toward the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates, building the huge city of Nineveh (northeast across the Tigris from Mosul), Calah (just southeast of today’s Mosul) and the unidentified cities of Rehoboth Ir and Resen.
Link to a 1902 Encyclopedia article with archaeological sketches of the area:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.1902encyclopedia.com/N/NIN/country-round-nineveh-fig1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.1902encyclopedia.com/N/NIN/nineveh.html&h=423&w=333&sz=52&hl=en&start=12&um=1&usg=__13U-fiKkNLRRzjTuzlYU9Ggr680=&tbnid=tokeJRr9fv_NrM:&tbnh=126&tbnw=99&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnineveh%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4SUNA_enUS252US253%26sa%3DN
Although Nimrod is sometimes thought to be one and the same with Gilgamesh king of Uruk, we can’t really make that distinction from what we have about Nimrod in Scripture. As a matter of interest, Gilgamesh was the fifth king or chieftain of Uruk. A list of very early kings of the region does exist (with reigns lasting 20,000 to 40,000 years each), but it breaks off with the phrase, “Then the flood swept over.” A Kish dynasty was later replaced by the Eana dynasty, whose first king was drowned but whose second king, Emmerkar, built the city of Uruk. Emmerkar was followed by Lugulbanda the Shepherd, Dumuzi the Fisherman, and Gilgamesh.
Although many of names in 1 Chronicles are actually regions or whole nations, Nimrod himself is certainly an actual man. The Jewish writings outside the Bible call him Nimrod “the Evil” (הרשע). To Muslims he is Nimrod “al-Jabbar,” the Thug or Compeller.
There is no direct mention of any of Nimrod’s actions in the Bible. He isn’t accused of any particular sin. But the subtle hints in his titles, “a mighty hunter/warrior on earth” tell us that not everything this man did was in line with God’s plan. Perhaps, taken by himself, he wasn't that bad of a guy. But his failure came with the legacy he left for those who came later. He established a pattern in his life that caused his people to veer away from God later on, much like Voltaire (whom even Mozart described as the “arch-scoundrel”).
The lesson we learn from Nimrod, if no other, is to take care how we instruct our children. What are we passing down to them? Is it our faith? Is it something else?
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” ( — Jesus, Luke 18:16)
Saturday, October 18, 2008
1 Chronicles 1:9
9 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. (NIV)
The people of Seba are also called Sabeans, "a nation far away" (Joel 3:8). In Job, Sabean raiders carried off the patriarch's oxen and donkeys (Job 1:15). They are usually mentioned in conjunction either with Cush (Isaiah 43:3; 45:14) or Sheba (Psalm 72:10).
Havilah seems to have been in the Arabian Peninsula, perhaps extending northward with or near the land of Uz (see verse 17 in this chapter). Another Havilah was a descendant of Shem (see verse 29). It is that Havilah, not this one, to which Moses refers in his comments about the four rivers flowing from the headwater in the Garden of Eden.
Sabta was a man whose dwelling by the same name is unknown to us. Perhaps it was in southern Arabia.
Raamah became a merchant tribe, dealing with Tyre for “all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold” (Ezekiel 27:22). Raamah’s descendants, Sheba and Dedan, were influential tribes in their own right.
The people of Sheba were traders in precious stones, incense and slaves (Jeremiah 6:20; Joel 3:8). Their distant land was either in the extreme south of the Arabian peninsula or across the straight in the Horn of Africa. It was the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon 2 Chron. 9:1-12; Mathew 12:42).
Dedan's descendants were the Asshurites, the Letushites and the Leummites (Genesis 25:3). The latter were descended from Abraham by Keturah his second wife. But the Asshurites present a difficulty that may not be possible to solve. We will discuss this in the next verse.
Sabteca is not known outside this genealogy and its source in Genesis 10:7.
The Targum on this passage does not really help us since the names become even less comprehensible: Sindi (סינידאי) and Hinduqi (הנדקאי, although here we can recall that "Hindu-Cush" was a place designation at one time for northern India), Semdæi (סמדאי), Lubyæ (לובאי), the Mauritaneans (מווריאטינוס) and the Zingæ (זינגאי). The sons of the Mauritaneans: Zemargad (זמרגד) and Misag (מזג).
We can do no better than quote Jesus himself about these peoples. His words apply to us today every bit as much as they did then:
The people of Seba are also called Sabeans, "a nation far away" (Joel 3:8). In Job, Sabean raiders carried off the patriarch's oxen and donkeys (Job 1:15). They are usually mentioned in conjunction either with Cush (Isaiah 43:3; 45:14) or Sheba (Psalm 72:10).
Havilah seems to have been in the Arabian Peninsula, perhaps extending northward with or near the land of Uz (see verse 17 in this chapter). Another Havilah was a descendant of Shem (see verse 29). It is that Havilah, not this one, to which Moses refers in his comments about the four rivers flowing from the headwater in the Garden of Eden.
Sabta was a man whose dwelling by the same name is unknown to us. Perhaps it was in southern Arabia.
Raamah became a merchant tribe, dealing with Tyre for “all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold” (Ezekiel 27:22). Raamah’s descendants, Sheba and Dedan, were influential tribes in their own right.
The people of Sheba were traders in precious stones, incense and slaves (Jeremiah 6:20; Joel 3:8). Their distant land was either in the extreme south of the Arabian peninsula or across the straight in the Horn of Africa. It was the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon 2 Chron. 9:1-12; Mathew 12:42).
Dedan's descendants were the Asshurites, the Letushites and the Leummites (Genesis 25:3). The latter were descended from Abraham by Keturah his second wife. But the Asshurites present a difficulty that may not be possible to solve. We will discuss this in the next verse.
Sabteca is not known outside this genealogy and its source in Genesis 10:7.
The Targum on this passage does not really help us since the names become even less comprehensible: Sindi (סינידאי) and Hinduqi (הנדקאי, although here we can recall that "Hindu-Cush" was a place designation at one time for northern India), Semdæi (סמדאי), Lubyæ (לובאי), the Mauritaneans (מווריאטינוס) and the Zingæ (זינגאי). The sons of the Mauritaneans: Zemargad (זמרגד) and Misag (מזג).
We can do no better than quote Jesus himself about these peoples. His words apply to us today every bit as much as they did then:
The Queen of the South (Sheba) will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. (— Jesus, 29 AD)
Friday, October 17, 2008
1 Chronicles 1:8
8 The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. (NIV)
Taking the information in Genesis 5 and 11 (the genealogies) at face values, the year the Great Flood ended was 2457 BC (1657 years after the creation). Noah's sons began to have their own families after this, and here the writer of Chronicles turns from Japheth in the north to Ham in the south.
The Canaanites were specially cursed by Noah (Genesis 9:25). The Canaanites, Noah prophesied, would become the slaves of both Shem and Japheth (Genesis 9:26-27). The land of Canaan, of course, extended from north of the Sea of Galilee to the Negev south of the Dead Sea. This is the famous region described as “a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:8)
The tribe of Put (the Greek translations pronounce it Phout or Phoud, Φουδ) seems to have settled far west of the Nile; Libya has been suggested as a location. Jeremiah says they were adept with the shield (Jer. 46:9). Nahum calls the people of Put in his time "allies of Thebes" (Nahum 3:9).
Cush was south of Egypt, corresponding to the northern part of modern Sudan. A source of valuable topaz (Job 28:19), it was the farthest land to the south known to the Hebrews. They are described by Isaiah as “a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech” (Isaiah 18:2). At various times they dominated Egypt or portions of Egypt (Tirhakah, a Cushite, ruled part of Egypt in Isaiah's time; Isaiah 37:9; 2 Kings 19:9).
Mizraim is simply the Hebrew word for Egypt (מצרים). Since the date for the flood falls after the assumed dates for the earliest kings of Egypt, how can we reconcile the (fairly reliable) evidence of Egyptian archaeology with the text of the Bible? I have never advocated so-called Higher Criticism, which attempts to correct the text based on suppositions. Lower Criticism, which examines the text based on the study of Biblical manuscripts and to a lesser degree quotations of the Bible in other writings such as the early Church Fathers, has a place in our study of Scripture. But Lower Criticism doesn't play much of a role here.
A problem with Egyptian dates from archaeology is that they are educated guesswork. I respect the educated part of that guesswork. The dates become more and more reliable as we farther along in history--the dates of the Eighteenth Dynasty (the Pharaohs of Moses' time) seem to be fairly accurate. If we work backwards from there, we get to the Twelfth Dynasty during the time of Joseph (Sesotris II and Sesostris III would have been the Pharaohs of the fat and lean years). A bit earlier, in the Eleventh Dynasty, we find that Intef II (also called Wahankh) would probably have been the Pharaoh who took a fancy to Sarah in Genesis 12:14-20.
Many of the earlier "dynasties" were only a few decades long, and some of them may have overlapped. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that the Pharaohs of the "Old Kingdom" (the Thinnis period and the Age of the Pyramids) were simply the immediate family members of Mizraim himself, the grandson of Ham, when they took up residence on the banks of the Nile in the 25th or 24th Century BC.
When we consider that from Adam to Seth, in 130 years, the world's population went from 2 to 10,000, it is obvious that 3 couples (Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives) would produce at the very least 30,000 between 2459 (two years after the flood ended, when Shem became the father of Arphaxad, Genesis 11:10) and the 2190's (the end of the Age of Pyramids), there would have been thousands, probably tens of thousands, of people in Egypt for the building of the pyramids.
But for all of their accomplishments, the Egyptians, Cushites, Putites and Canaanites needed the gospel as much as any of the rest of us. Some heard it and rejected it. Some were kept from hearing it by sinfully obstructive leaders or parents. Others heard it and did not reject it, and the Lord put faith in their hearts.
Whatever our accomplishments, we have God to praise and thank for the greatest accomplishment of all: He sent his Son Jesus Christ to rescue us from our sins. And for this we thank, praise, serve and obey him.
Taking the information in Genesis 5 and 11 (the genealogies) at face values, the year the Great Flood ended was 2457 BC (1657 years after the creation). Noah's sons began to have their own families after this, and here the writer of Chronicles turns from Japheth in the north to Ham in the south.
The Canaanites were specially cursed by Noah (Genesis 9:25). The Canaanites, Noah prophesied, would become the slaves of both Shem and Japheth (Genesis 9:26-27). The land of Canaan, of course, extended from north of the Sea of Galilee to the Negev south of the Dead Sea. This is the famous region described as “a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:8)
The tribe of Put (the Greek translations pronounce it Phout or Phoud, Φουδ) seems to have settled far west of the Nile; Libya has been suggested as a location. Jeremiah says they were adept with the shield (Jer. 46:9). Nahum calls the people of Put in his time "allies of Thebes" (Nahum 3:9).
Cush was south of Egypt, corresponding to the northern part of modern Sudan. A source of valuable topaz (Job 28:19), it was the farthest land to the south known to the Hebrews. They are described by Isaiah as “a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech” (Isaiah 18:2). At various times they dominated Egypt or portions of Egypt (Tirhakah, a Cushite, ruled part of Egypt in Isaiah's time; Isaiah 37:9; 2 Kings 19:9).
Mizraim is simply the Hebrew word for Egypt (מצרים). Since the date for the flood falls after the assumed dates for the earliest kings of Egypt, how can we reconcile the (fairly reliable) evidence of Egyptian archaeology with the text of the Bible? I have never advocated so-called Higher Criticism, which attempts to correct the text based on suppositions. Lower Criticism, which examines the text based on the study of Biblical manuscripts and to a lesser degree quotations of the Bible in other writings such as the early Church Fathers, has a place in our study of Scripture. But Lower Criticism doesn't play much of a role here.
A problem with Egyptian dates from archaeology is that they are educated guesswork. I respect the educated part of that guesswork. The dates become more and more reliable as we farther along in history--the dates of the Eighteenth Dynasty (the Pharaohs of Moses' time) seem to be fairly accurate. If we work backwards from there, we get to the Twelfth Dynasty during the time of Joseph (Sesotris II and Sesostris III would have been the Pharaohs of the fat and lean years). A bit earlier, in the Eleventh Dynasty, we find that Intef II (also called Wahankh) would probably have been the Pharaoh who took a fancy to Sarah in Genesis 12:14-20.
Many of the earlier "dynasties" were only a few decades long, and some of them may have overlapped. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that the Pharaohs of the "Old Kingdom" (the Thinnis period and the Age of the Pyramids) were simply the immediate family members of Mizraim himself, the grandson of Ham, when they took up residence on the banks of the Nile in the 25th or 24th Century BC.
When we consider that from Adam to Seth, in 130 years, the world's population went from 2 to 10,000, it is obvious that 3 couples (Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives) would produce at the very least 30,000 between 2459 (two years after the flood ended, when Shem became the father of Arphaxad, Genesis 11:10) and the 2190's (the end of the Age of Pyramids), there would have been thousands, probably tens of thousands, of people in Egypt for the building of the pyramids.
But for all of their accomplishments, the Egyptians, Cushites, Putites and Canaanites needed the gospel as much as any of the rest of us. Some heard it and rejected it. Some were kept from hearing it by sinfully obstructive leaders or parents. Others heard it and did not reject it, and the Lord put faith in their hearts.
Whatever our accomplishments, we have God to praise and thank for the greatest accomplishment of all: He sent his Son Jesus Christ to rescue us from our sins. And for this we thank, praise, serve and obey him.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
1 Chronicles 1:7
7 The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. (NIV)
The Targum is confused about this passage and these people: “But the sons of Macedon (דמקדון), Alsu (אלסו) and Tarsus (וטרסוס), Itlivan (איטליון) and Dardania (ודרדניא), or, according to others, Elisha (אלישה), Alas (אלס), Tisas (טוסס), Aczia (אכזיה), also Dardania (ודרדניה), Ridom, Chamen and Antioch.”
The land of Elishah is mentioned in Ezekiel Ezekiel 27:7 as the source of dye for “awnings… of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.” In the New Testament, Lydia of Philippi was a dealer in such purple dye.
Tarshish (Hebrew תרשיש, note the difference with the spelling in the Targum above) is often associated with Tartessus on the Atlantic coast of Spain—virtually the most distant place known to most writers of the Bible. This may be the place to which Jonah was running (Jonah 1:3) when the Lord commanded him to visit the capital city of Israel's enemies, the Assyrians.
The Kittim (כִּתִּים) were a maritime people, probably from Cyprus, who intermarried with the Casluhites and produced the mixed nation of the Philistines (see 1 Chron. 1:12).
The Rodanim were probably also a maritime people; the island of Rhodes is often thought to be related to this name. Ezekiel 27:15 may be a reference to the same people.
These descendants of Javan were, for the most part, the people of southern Europe: the Greeks, the natives of the Iberian Peninsula; and the peoples of the Mediterranean Islands. Isaiah directs our attention again and again to these people, reminding us that the gospel is not just for a few people or familiar-looking people or even just the people close by, but for everyone:
The glory of the gospel of forgiveness will roll out across the waves to everyone. What could you do to help carry along the story of the cross—the victory of Jesus—to someone in the world today?
The Targum is confused about this passage and these people: “But the sons of Macedon (דמקדון), Alsu (אלסו) and Tarsus (וטרסוס), Itlivan (איטליון) and Dardania (ודרדניא), or, according to others, Elisha (אלישה), Alas (אלס), Tisas (טוסס), Aczia (אכזיה), also Dardania (ודרדניה), Ridom, Chamen and Antioch.”
The land of Elishah is mentioned in Ezekiel Ezekiel 27:7 as the source of dye for “awnings… of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.” In the New Testament, Lydia of Philippi was a dealer in such purple dye.
Tarshish (Hebrew תרשיש, note the difference with the spelling in the Targum above) is often associated with Tartessus on the Atlantic coast of Spain—virtually the most distant place known to most writers of the Bible. This may be the place to which Jonah was running (Jonah 1:3) when the Lord commanded him to visit the capital city of Israel's enemies, the Assyrians.
The Kittim (כִּתִּים) were a maritime people, probably from Cyprus, who intermarried with the Casluhites and produced the mixed nation of the Philistines (see 1 Chron. 1:12).
The Rodanim were probably also a maritime people; the island of Rhodes is often thought to be related to this name. Ezekiel 27:15 may be a reference to the same people.
These descendants of Javan were, for the most part, the people of southern Europe: the Greeks, the natives of the Iberian Peninsula; and the peoples of the Mediterranean Islands. Isaiah directs our attention again and again to these people, reminding us that the gospel is not just for a few people or familiar-looking people or even just the people close by, but for everyone:
Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. (Isaiah 24:15)Isaiah also reminds us that faith in Christ will be expressed by these people:
Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them. (Isaiah 42:10)
The glory of the gospel of forgiveness will roll out across the waves to everyone. What could you do to help carry along the story of the cross—the victory of Jesus—to someone in the world today?
Monday, October 13, 2008
1 Chronicles 1:6
6 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. (NIV)
The Targum also adds “And the names of their countries were Asia (אסיא) Persia (ופרכווי) and Barbary (וברבריא).”
Ashkenaz in western Russia was eventually the dwelling of some of the deported Northern or “Lost” tribes of Israel, which were exiled by the Assyrians in the Eighth Century BC.
The people of Riphath seem to have been associated with the Paphlagonians, on the southern part of the Dead Sea near Pontus.
Togarmah appears to be a region either in or identical with Armenia. Togarmah will also be mentioned in Ezekiel 27 associated with Tyre and in Ezekiel 38 associated with Gog.
As we see the descendants of Japheth spreading out and making nations of their own, we see people who would, according to Noah's own prophecy, dwell in the tents of Shem, and these people would much, much later be visited by Christian missionaries and be brought to faith in Jesus. The Armenians in particular were among the earliest converts to Christianity. Their translation of the New Testament was so old and so faithful that it is one of the witnesses used to establish the original text.
God's word always accomplishes what the Lord sends it out to do (Isaiah 55:11). When we realize when we were brought to faith, and how far removed so many of us are from Shem, how can we see anything but the grace of God, his undeserved love sweeping into our lives and rescuing us from destruction? The God we worship loves us, and through Jesus, he has given us peace.
The Targum also adds “And the names of their countries were Asia (אסיא) Persia (ופרכווי) and Barbary (וברבריא).”
Ashkenaz in western Russia was eventually the dwelling of some of the deported Northern or “Lost” tribes of Israel, which were exiled by the Assyrians in the Eighth Century BC.
The people of Riphath seem to have been associated with the Paphlagonians, on the southern part of the Dead Sea near Pontus.
Togarmah appears to be a region either in or identical with Armenia. Togarmah will also be mentioned in Ezekiel 27 associated with Tyre and in Ezekiel 38 associated with Gog.
As we see the descendants of Japheth spreading out and making nations of their own, we see people who would, according to Noah's own prophecy, dwell in the tents of Shem, and these people would much, much later be visited by Christian missionaries and be brought to faith in Jesus. The Armenians in particular were among the earliest converts to Christianity. Their translation of the New Testament was so old and so faithful that it is one of the witnesses used to establish the original text.
God's word always accomplishes what the Lord sends it out to do (Isaiah 55:11). When we realize when we were brought to faith, and how far removed so many of us are from Shem, how can we see anything but the grace of God, his undeserved love sweeping into our lives and rescuing us from destruction? The God we worship loves us, and through Jesus, he has given us peace.
1 Chronicles 1:5
5 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. (NIV)
Japheth's family settled in the north, spreading out both east and west of Ararat. The people of Gomer were the Cimmerians of Russia, from Madai came the Medes and Persians. The people of Javan were the Ionian Greeks; the descendants of both Tubal and Meshech settled in Asia Minor—present-day Turkey.
The identity and location of Tiras is more of a problem. Tiras, apart from being mentioned in this family, is otherwise unknown in the Bible. The Book of Jubilees places his descendants on islands in an ocean (“The seventh portion came to Tiras: four great islands in the middle of the sea that extend to the region of Ham. Then the islands of Kamaturi fell by lot for the descendants of Arphaxad as his inheritance,” Jubilees 9:13-14), but nothing more solid than that can really be said. Other speculations about Tiras being the ancestor of the Thracians (or even the Norsemen) can't be considered definitive.
In this context, Magog is simply a territory or family descended from Japheth. These people probably lived in or near the fertile crescent, perhaps to the east in modern Iran. Later in Ezekiel 38-39 and in Revelation 20, Magog is associated with Gog: they symbolize all of the spiritual and moral evil that the world battles with. Whatever they represent in the last days, their final fate is the same as the devil’s. They are overthrown, disarmed, and thrown into hell forever.
We could add that the Jewish Targum adds to these verses. For example, to "Tiras" it adds: "And the names of their countries were Africa, Germany, Media, Macedonia, Bithynia, Mœsia and Thrace." And there are other additions like that--which is what the Targum really is. But these things aren't helpful. What this list does for us more than anything else is (1) it shows us the regions in which Japheth's descendants went to live after the Flood, and (2) how much God blessed Japheth and his family.
Let that at least be a lesson for this day: Notice how much God has blessed you and your family, and praise God for it.
Japheth's family settled in the north, spreading out both east and west of Ararat. The people of Gomer were the Cimmerians of Russia, from Madai came the Medes and Persians. The people of Javan were the Ionian Greeks; the descendants of both Tubal and Meshech settled in Asia Minor—present-day Turkey.
The identity and location of Tiras is more of a problem. Tiras, apart from being mentioned in this family, is otherwise unknown in the Bible. The Book of Jubilees places his descendants on islands in an ocean (“The seventh portion came to Tiras: four great islands in the middle of the sea that extend to the region of Ham. Then the islands of Kamaturi fell by lot for the descendants of Arphaxad as his inheritance,” Jubilees 9:13-14), but nothing more solid than that can really be said. Other speculations about Tiras being the ancestor of the Thracians (or even the Norsemen) can't be considered definitive.
In this context, Magog is simply a territory or family descended from Japheth. These people probably lived in or near the fertile crescent, perhaps to the east in modern Iran. Later in Ezekiel 38-39 and in Revelation 20, Magog is associated with Gog: they symbolize all of the spiritual and moral evil that the world battles with. Whatever they represent in the last days, their final fate is the same as the devil’s. They are overthrown, disarmed, and thrown into hell forever.
We could add that the Jewish Targum adds to these verses. For example, to "Tiras" it adds: "And the names of their countries were Africa, Germany, Media, Macedonia, Bithynia, Mœsia and Thrace." And there are other additions like that--which is what the Targum really is. But these things aren't helpful. What this list does for us more than anything else is (1) it shows us the regions in which Japheth's descendants went to live after the Flood, and (2) how much God blessed Japheth and his family.
Let that at least be a lesson for this day: Notice how much God has blessed you and your family, and praise God for it.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
1 Chronicles 1:4
4 The sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth. (NIV)
They were in the ark for a year and ten days, and along with them, God rescued some of all the animals. Mysterious jumbles of bones in the arctic and elsewhere continue to disturb and confuse many people, but the destruction of the Flood doesn't confuse us. That sin was the cause—that's distrubing, but only because we're amazed that God doesn't just trash the whole thing again and again.
But he promised not to. He promised that he would let it go until the very end, and that even the rainbow would be a reminder that he will permit the world to spin and exist until the very last day, and that he will never again destroy the world in a flood. The next destruction will be final, and it will be in fire.
The way Noah cursed Ham and blessed his other sins (based on their reactions to his own sinful binge of drunkenness) has affected the course of human history. Ham and his Canaanite descendants live under a curse. Japheth dwells in the tents of Shem and God has extended the boundaries of Japheth.
But we are not loved or condemned on a personal basis by our family or our race. God looks for faith in each and every one of us, whatever our family history.
After the Flood, perhaps because of the hydrological changes brought about by the catastrophe, the lifespans of men changed radically. Men were no longer living to be many centuries old. Where men had once lived eight or nine centuries, they would now live eight or nine decades.
But whatever our lifespan, it is what comes afterward that makes a difference. Through faith in Christ, we have been given the gift of eternal life.
They were in the ark for a year and ten days, and along with them, God rescued some of all the animals. Mysterious jumbles of bones in the arctic and elsewhere continue to disturb and confuse many people, but the destruction of the Flood doesn't confuse us. That sin was the cause—that's distrubing, but only because we're amazed that God doesn't just trash the whole thing again and again.
But he promised not to. He promised that he would let it go until the very end, and that even the rainbow would be a reminder that he will permit the world to spin and exist until the very last day, and that he will never again destroy the world in a flood. The next destruction will be final, and it will be in fire.
The way Noah cursed Ham and blessed his other sins (based on their reactions to his own sinful binge of drunkenness) has affected the course of human history. Ham and his Canaanite descendants live under a curse. Japheth dwells in the tents of Shem and God has extended the boundaries of Japheth.
But we are not loved or condemned on a personal basis by our family or our race. God looks for faith in each and every one of us, whatever our family history.
After the Flood, perhaps because of the hydrological changes brought about by the catastrophe, the lifespans of men changed radically. Men were no longer living to be many centuries old. Where men had once lived eight or nine centuries, they would now live eight or nine decades.
But whatever our lifespan, it is what comes afterward that makes a difference. Through faith in Christ, we have been given the gift of eternal life.
Friday, October 10, 2008
1 Chronicles 1:3
3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah. (NIV)
Born 622 years after the creation, Enoch was the shortest-lived of all the pre-flood or antediluvian patriarchs. Enoch was a preacher. If we turn to the other end of the Bible, Jesus’ brother Jude records the contents of one of Enoch’s sermons:
Was Enoch prophesying about the judgment of the Last Day, or about the Flood, which was till seven hundred years away? Perhaps, like so many of the Old Testament preachers, it was hard to tell the difference between the first coming of Christ (his birth and ministry) from the second (when he will come again to judge the living and the dead).
987 years after the Lord finished the creation and rested for a day and 57 years after the death of Adam, Enoch was suddenly no more to be found. He ‘walked with God, and was no more.’ Like Elijah, God took him bodily into heaven without an intervening death. Like Elijah, Enoch’s sins were purged away by the blood of Christ as God set aside the curse of death for these men who put their trust in the coming Messiah. It was that Messiah whose life fulfilled God’s requirement of perfection, and it was that Messiah whose death satisfied God’s condemnation of our sins. It was that Messiah whose name was and is Jesus Christ.
Methuselah’s son Lamech died a few years before his father, about five years before the Flood. Methuselah, whose name is now synonymous with a very long-lived individual, remained on earth an incredible 969 years. He lived and walked with the still-living Adam for 243 of those years, and when he finally closed his eyes in sleep, called home by his Lord, it was the 1656th year of the world—the very year in which his grandson Noah entered the ark and alone with seven others survived the wrath of God.
I have a mental picture of a 500-year old Noah with his nearly hundred-year-old sons patting the earth on the grave of Methuselah as the first drops of rain began to fall. The four men let their shovels drop as they turned back to the huge door of the 450-foot-long ship. Perhaps two of the shovels fell on top of one another, making a crude cross in the dust. It was on the lumber of the ark that God rescued the remnant of mankind then—the few who put their trust in him.
It would be on the lumber of the cross that God rescued us: all who put our trust in him.
Born 622 years after the creation, Enoch was the shortest-lived of all the pre-flood or antediluvian patriarchs. Enoch was a preacher. If we turn to the other end of the Bible, Jesus’ brother Jude records the contents of one of Enoch’s sermons:
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 14-15).
Was Enoch prophesying about the judgment of the Last Day, or about the Flood, which was till seven hundred years away? Perhaps, like so many of the Old Testament preachers, it was hard to tell the difference between the first coming of Christ (his birth and ministry) from the second (when he will come again to judge the living and the dead).
987 years after the Lord finished the creation and rested for a day and 57 years after the death of Adam, Enoch was suddenly no more to be found. He ‘walked with God, and was no more.’ Like Elijah, God took him bodily into heaven without an intervening death. Like Elijah, Enoch’s sins were purged away by the blood of Christ as God set aside the curse of death for these men who put their trust in the coming Messiah. It was that Messiah whose life fulfilled God’s requirement of perfection, and it was that Messiah whose death satisfied God’s condemnation of our sins. It was that Messiah whose name was and is Jesus Christ.
Methuselah’s son Lamech died a few years before his father, about five years before the Flood. Methuselah, whose name is now synonymous with a very long-lived individual, remained on earth an incredible 969 years. He lived and walked with the still-living Adam for 243 of those years, and when he finally closed his eyes in sleep, called home by his Lord, it was the 1656th year of the world—the very year in which his grandson Noah entered the ark and alone with seven others survived the wrath of God.
I have a mental picture of a 500-year old Noah with his nearly hundred-year-old sons patting the earth on the grave of Methuselah as the first drops of rain began to fall. The four men let their shovels drop as they turned back to the huge door of the 450-foot-long ship. Perhaps two of the shovels fell on top of one another, making a crude cross in the dust. It was on the lumber of the ark that God rescued the remnant of mankind then—the few who put their trust in him.
It would be on the lumber of the cross that God rescued us: all who put our trust in him.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
1 Chronicles 1:2
2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared (NIV)
Kenan is a name related to Cain; both names can mean “smith” or craftsman; sometimes the name is thought to indicate “settlement” or “civilization.”
Mahalalel’s name means “Praise of God;” it’s the first name in the Bible to contain a reference to God (the -el suffix). It isn't hard to recognize the “praise” element in his name, which sounds very similar to the word hallelujah.
The name Jared means “descend” or “descent.” By the time he was born, Adam was over 500 years old. Seth was over 300.
While Adam's descendants were settling down and praising God, Cain's line (unmentioned in Chronicles) was also at work. About the time Jared was born, Cain's line produced it's own Lamech (Genesis 4:18-24), a man filled with venom and hatred, whose terrible “sword song” pits in the face of God and rejects God's will toward marriage (he has married more than one woman). Lamech promises to take justice into his own hands and be eleven times more vengeful that God.
The three men in our text carried God's promise of a Savior from sin—the promise of the protevangel in Genesis 3:15—from one generation to the next. Their families put their trust in God, and waited for the time when one man would provide the one sacrifice for all mankind's sin.
That sacrifice would wait until the advent of Jesus Christ. But in the mean time, Jared was about to become the father of a man who would call the world to repentance, and remind the world that there is more to God's creation than this one world, this one universe, and this one brief lifetime.
Kenan is a name related to Cain; both names can mean “smith” or craftsman; sometimes the name is thought to indicate “settlement” or “civilization.”
Mahalalel’s name means “Praise of God;” it’s the first name in the Bible to contain a reference to God (the -el suffix). It isn't hard to recognize the “praise” element in his name, which sounds very similar to the word hallelujah.
The name Jared means “descend” or “descent.” By the time he was born, Adam was over 500 years old. Seth was over 300.
While Adam's descendants were settling down and praising God, Cain's line (unmentioned in Chronicles) was also at work. About the time Jared was born, Cain's line produced it's own Lamech (Genesis 4:18-24), a man filled with venom and hatred, whose terrible “sword song” pits in the face of God and rejects God's will toward marriage (he has married more than one woman). Lamech promises to take justice into his own hands and be eleven times more vengeful that God.
Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times.
The three men in our text carried God's promise of a Savior from sin—the promise of the protevangel in Genesis 3:15—from one generation to the next. Their families put their trust in God, and waited for the time when one man would provide the one sacrifice for all mankind's sin.
That sacrifice would wait until the advent of Jesus Christ. But in the mean time, Jared was about to become the father of a man who would call the world to repentance, and remind the world that there is more to God's creation than this one world, this one universe, and this one brief lifetime.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
1 Chronicles 1:1
1 1 Adam, Seth, Enosh
The book of Chronicles is a look back at the history of the people of Judah. It was written after the people returned from their captivity in Babylon. The closing words of the book are the proclamation from Cyrus king of Persia: “The LORD, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you—may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up” (2 Chronicles 36:23).
Although Cyrus allowed other captive peoples to return home, the significance for the Jews was that they were once again restored to the Promised Land, and there they wold await the coming of the Savior, promised from the very earliest times. The first promise of the Messiah, sometimes called the protevangel or “First Gospel,” was given as God was expelling Adam and Eve from Eden and speaking this curse to the devil:
Before he brings us to his present moment, our author takes us back to the time of Adam with the simplest possible words: Adam, Seth, Enosh. After Adam and Eve's firstborn son Cain killed his younger brother Abel, God gave them many more children. After many years, they had a certain son that they named Seth. “Seth” is not the Hebrew spelling of the Egyptian god Set (Sutekh); rather, it means either “granted” or “substitute.” He was born when Adam was 130 years old (Gen. 5:3).
When Seth’s son Enosh was born (Adam was by now 235; Seth was a mature 105, Genesis 5:6), men “began to call on the name of the LORD” (Genesis 4:26b). This meant that men began to go out of their way to preach and share the gospel. After 235 years, the world was becoming filled with people. With more than 9 generations born and raised, the thousands of people in Seth’s family line were beginning to encounter the thousands of people in Cain’s family line, and the need to share the message of forgiveness was more and more obvious as they saw so many who, as Paul says, “live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.” (Philippians 3:18-19).
After Enosh died, 1,140 years after God formed Adam from the red clay of Eden, there was an emptiness in the world. Sin and death were the things common to all mankind. But by this time, Enoch, the great-great grandson of Enoch, was already taken up into heaven—the promise of life after death, a heaven even more beautiful and blessed than the Eden they were forbidden from re-entering, was there in the promise of the protevangel and the story of Enoch.
A savior from sin—everything in Chronicles points us back to this; to him. The Savior is the descendant of these men: Christ traces his human lineage back through them: Adam, Seth, Enosh.
And we find our forgiveness and our eternal salvation in Christ.
The book of Chronicles is a look back at the history of the people of Judah. It was written after the people returned from their captivity in Babylon. The closing words of the book are the proclamation from Cyrus king of Persia: “The LORD, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you—may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up” (2 Chronicles 36:23).
Although Cyrus allowed other captive peoples to return home, the significance for the Jews was that they were once again restored to the Promised Land, and there they wold await the coming of the Savior, promised from the very earliest times. The first promise of the Messiah, sometimes called the protevangel or “First Gospel,” was given as God was expelling Adam and Eve from Eden and speaking this curse to the devil:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
Before he brings us to his present moment, our author takes us back to the time of Adam with the simplest possible words: Adam, Seth, Enosh. After Adam and Eve's firstborn son Cain killed his younger brother Abel, God gave them many more children. After many years, they had a certain son that they named Seth. “Seth” is not the Hebrew spelling of the Egyptian god Set (Sutekh); rather, it means either “granted” or “substitute.” He was born when Adam was 130 years old (Gen. 5:3).
When Seth’s son Enosh was born (Adam was by now 235; Seth was a mature 105, Genesis 5:6), men “began to call on the name of the LORD” (Genesis 4:26b). This meant that men began to go out of their way to preach and share the gospel. After 235 years, the world was becoming filled with people. With more than 9 generations born and raised, the thousands of people in Seth’s family line were beginning to encounter the thousands of people in Cain’s family line, and the need to share the message of forgiveness was more and more obvious as they saw so many who, as Paul says, “live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.” (Philippians 3:18-19).
After Enosh died, 1,140 years after God formed Adam from the red clay of Eden, there was an emptiness in the world. Sin and death were the things common to all mankind. But by this time, Enoch, the great-great grandson of Enoch, was already taken up into heaven—the promise of life after death, a heaven even more beautiful and blessed than the Eden they were forbidden from re-entering, was there in the promise of the protevangel and the story of Enoch.
A savior from sin—everything in Chronicles points us back to this; to him. The Savior is the descendant of these men: Christ traces his human lineage back through them: Adam, Seth, Enosh.
And we find our forgiveness and our eternal salvation in Christ.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
2 Maccabees 1:19
19 For when our fathers were being led captive to Persia, the pious priests of that time took some of the fire of the altar and secretly hid it in the hollow of a dry cistern, where they took such precautions that the place was unknown to any one.
The fire being talked about is the fire from the altar in Jerusalem. Whether the cistern was dry or wet, closed or open to the air, the fire would have gone out soon after being placed in. Now, a priest could not begin his work as a priest until he was thirty. In the Book of Numbers, priests were only counted from ages thirty to fifty (Num. 4:3; 4:23, 30, 35, etc., and cf. Ezekiel 1:1). So the "pious priests" during the beginning of the exile would have been, at the very least, one hundred years old when the captivity ended, and one hundred twenty on the high end.
Since it is unlikely that these men would have been looking for the fire, we can assume that some secret information was passed down as to where to find it. It is curious that not even a hint is given beyond "a dry cistern."
Although alchemists and others have been interested in this passage to identify what was meant by the secret fire, and whether it has something to do with the kundalini or serpentine fire, we must see that in the context of the book the point is that there was a miracle associated with the temple in Jerusalem as proof, over and above the law of Moses, that any other temple (i.e., the Hellenistic temple built in Alexabdria) was not legitimate.
The fire being talked about is the fire from the altar in Jerusalem. Whether the cistern was dry or wet, closed or open to the air, the fire would have gone out soon after being placed in. Now, a priest could not begin his work as a priest until he was thirty. In the Book of Numbers, priests were only counted from ages thirty to fifty (Num. 4:3; 4:23, 30, 35, etc., and cf. Ezekiel 1:1). So the "pious priests" during the beginning of the exile would have been, at the very least, one hundred years old when the captivity ended, and one hundred twenty on the high end.
Since it is unlikely that these men would have been looking for the fire, we can assume that some secret information was passed down as to where to find it. It is curious that not even a hint is given beyond "a dry cistern."
Although alchemists and others have been interested in this passage to identify what was meant by the secret fire, and whether it has something to do with the kundalini or serpentine fire, we must see that in the context of the book the point is that there was a miracle associated with the temple in Jerusalem as proof, over and above the law of Moses, that any other temple (i.e., the Hellenistic temple built in Alexabdria) was not legitimate.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
2 Maccabees 1:10-18
The Second Letter
10 The people of Jerusalem and of Judea and the senate and Judas, To Aristobulus, who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of King Ptolemy, and to the Jews in Egypt, Greetings and good health. 11 Having been saved by God out of grave dangers we thank him greatly for taking our side against the king, 12 for he drove out those who fought against the holy city. 13 When the leader reached Persia with a force that seemed irresistible, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nanea by a deception employed by the priests of the goddess Nanea. 14 On the pretext of intending to marry her, Antiochus came to the place together with his Friends, to secure most of its treasures as a dowry. 15 When the priests of the temple of Nanea had set out the treasures and Antiochus had come with a few men inside the wall of the sacred precinct, they closed the temple as soon as he entered it. 16 Opening a secret door in the ceiling, they threw stones and struck down the leader and his men; they dismembered them and cut off their heads and threw them to the people outside. 17 Blessed in every way be our God, who has brought judgment on those who have behaved impiously. 18 Since on the twenty-fifth day of Chislev we shall celebrate the purification of the temple, we thought it necessary to notify you, in order that you also may celebrate the festival of booths and the festival of the fire given when Nehemiah, who built the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices. (NRSV)
The letter will continue through 2:18. Although described by editors as “the Second Letter,” it is presented here as an earlier document, and will present traditions (perhaps we should say legends) about Nehemiah and Jeremiah and the festival of Hanukkah. Aristobulus (1:10) was the author of a famous allegorical interpretation of the Pentateuch. He "seems to have introduced the allegorical method to the study of the Torah."¹
The basic elements of this story are political: King Antiochus of Syria The goddess Nanea mentioned was an earlier pagan deity whose worship became mixed together with Artemis/Isis/Venus (cp. Acts 19:23-41). 2 Maccabees is criticized by all other sources for presenting an account here of the death of Antiochus IV which is incompatible with all other records. He did die at this time, but he fell ill in another city in this area and probably died in bed. The incident, incidentally, took place in Elam (Elemis) between Persia and Babylon. The chief city was Susa, the place where the prophet Nehemiah was stationed until his departure for Israel (Neh. 1:1).
Coin of Antiochus IV with Apollo (seated) on the reverse.The Greek ANTIOXOY (Antiochus) can be read on the far right.
Amazingly, 2 Maccabees 9:1-29 gives yet another version of Antiochus' death, this time making him die of an incurable disease at Ecbatana.
In the last verse of this section (really the beginning of the next paragraph), the author invokes the name of Nehemiah. Nehemiah himself never offered a sacrifice (he was not a priest) but he was responsible for the reforms that set the pattern for Israel from the return from Babylon until this, the time of the Maccabees.
The author is careful to give God credit for what had happened. For this we would agree: God is the one who deserves all our praise. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (Romans 1:16).
¹ "The Bible Through the Ages," Lecture given at a Pastor's Institute at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary by Prof. Richard Balge, fall 1974.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
2 Maccabees 1:1–9
The First Letter
1 The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea, To their Jewish brethren in Egypt, Greeting, and good peace. 2 May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants. 3 May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit. 4 May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace. 5 May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil. 6 We are now praying for you here. 7 In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred and sixty-ninth year,¹ we Jews wrote to you, in the critical distress which came upon us in those years after Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom 8 and burned the gate and shed innocent blood. We besought the Lord and we were heard, and we offered sacrifice and cereal offering, and we lighted the lamps and we set out the loaves. 9 And now see that you keep the feast of booths in the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and eighty-eighth year.²
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¹ 1:7 143 BC. ² 1:9 124 BC.
The "feast of booths" here is not the same as the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) mentioned in Scripture. The Biblical festival of Tabernacles is celebrated in October (Tishri) as a memorial of the Jews' time in the wilderness under God's protection. This December (Chislev) festival is Hanukkah, mentioned in the Bible only in John 10:22.
The motive for the writing of the book is to bring the Egyptian Jews into a harmonious worship practice with temple worship in Jerusalem. In about 170 BC, a priest named Onias IV (son of the Onias III mentioned in 2 Macc. 4:33 ff.) founded a new temple, slightly smaller than Solomon's, in Leontopolis in Egypt.
The way in which Hanukkah is described here makes it sound as if some people (such as the author) were seeking to replace the Feast of Tabernacles with the more immediate celebration of Hanukkah.
What happens when believers begin to replace something the Bible says with their own ideas? Hanukkah, of course, was a perfectly acceptable festival. Jesus attended the Hanukkah celebration during his ministry. But since Hanukkah is never commanded as a feast of the Jews by God (these events took place only a hundred and fifty years before Christ) they could not replace or supplant the festivals of Moses. From our New Testament perspective, this is perhaps a little academic since we celebrate none of these festivals at all anymore. But we can apply the principal: We don't replace God's word with our own customs or new ideas.
But we need to keep focused on what God's word does and does not say. When we hold up a tradition as being more important than the work of the Gospel, then may Paul walk up to face to face and rebuke us as he did Peter in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-12). Instead, we grab onto Paul's inspired command: "We are justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law" (Gal. 2:16).
1 The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea, To their Jewish brethren in Egypt, Greeting, and good peace. 2 May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants. 3 May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit. 4 May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace. 5 May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil. 6 We are now praying for you here. 7 In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred and sixty-ninth year,¹ we Jews wrote to you, in the critical distress which came upon us in those years after Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom 8 and burned the gate and shed innocent blood. We besought the Lord and we were heard, and we offered sacrifice and cereal offering, and we lighted the lamps and we set out the loaves. 9 And now see that you keep the feast of booths in the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and eighty-eighth year.²
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¹ 1:7 143 BC. ² 1:9 124 BC.
The "feast of booths" here is not the same as the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) mentioned in Scripture. The Biblical festival of Tabernacles is celebrated in October (Tishri) as a memorial of the Jews' time in the wilderness under God's protection. This December (Chislev) festival is Hanukkah, mentioned in the Bible only in John 10:22.
The motive for the writing of the book is to bring the Egyptian Jews into a harmonious worship practice with temple worship in Jerusalem. In about 170 BC, a priest named Onias IV (son of the Onias III mentioned in 2 Macc. 4:33 ff.) founded a new temple, slightly smaller than Solomon's, in Leontopolis in Egypt.
The way in which Hanukkah is described here makes it sound as if some people (such as the author) were seeking to replace the Feast of Tabernacles with the more immediate celebration of Hanukkah.
What happens when believers begin to replace something the Bible says with their own ideas? Hanukkah, of course, was a perfectly acceptable festival. Jesus attended the Hanukkah celebration during his ministry. But since Hanukkah is never commanded as a feast of the Jews by God (these events took place only a hundred and fifty years before Christ) they could not replace or supplant the festivals of Moses. From our New Testament perspective, this is perhaps a little academic since we celebrate none of these festivals at all anymore. But we can apply the principal: We don't replace God's word with our own customs or new ideas.
But we need to keep focused on what God's word does and does not say. When we hold up a tradition as being more important than the work of the Gospel, then may Paul walk up to face to face and rebuke us as he did Peter in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-12). Instead, we grab onto Paul's inspired command: "We are justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law" (Gal. 2:16).
Note: The Jerusalem Bible, an authorized Catholic translation, betrays the editor's opinion of preaching in his introduction to 2 Maccabees, saying that the book is not the best writing: "at times it is turgid, frequently pompous; more a sermon than a history."
Saturday, May 17, 2008
2 Maccabees — Introduction
There are four books that are called "Maccabees." Two of them are part of the apocrypha; the other two are apocalypses and are part of the pseudepigrapha. None of them is part of Scripture. Although 1 Maccabees appears to be relatively factual, all the other books have a strong quality of history that has been doctored or spun to fit later circumstances.
As with Kings and Chronicles, you don't need to have read one in order to understand the others, and also as with Kings and Chronicles, they cover some of the same material for different reasons. But the similarity ends there. For one thing, at 15 chapters 2 Maccabees is relatively short for a history. But it's revivalist and revisionist history. Where 1 Maccabees is straightforward, matter-of-fact and accused of being dry (and therefore held up as one of the most truthful and reliable books in the collection), 2 Maccabees is focused on the beloved temple and the author tends to magnify spiritual things, especially miracles. (3 Maccabees is primarily an anti-Hellenistic propaganda letter dealing with events that happened much later).
In 2:19-23, the author will explain that he is actually condensing another massive work of five volumes by Jason of Cyrene. The opening verses are two letters (1:1–9 and 1:10–2:18) written from Jerusalem by Jews as a prologue to Egyptian Jews in Alexandria.
As with Kings and Chronicles, you don't need to have read one in order to understand the others, and also as with Kings and Chronicles, they cover some of the same material for different reasons. But the similarity ends there. For one thing, at 15 chapters 2 Maccabees is relatively short for a history. But it's revivalist and revisionist history. Where 1 Maccabees is straightforward, matter-of-fact and accused of being dry (and therefore held up as one of the most truthful and reliable books in the collection), 2 Maccabees is focused on the beloved temple and the author tends to magnify spiritual things, especially miracles. (3 Maccabees is primarily an anti-Hellenistic propaganda letter dealing with events that happened much later).
In 2:19-23, the author will explain that he is actually condensing another massive work of five volumes by Jason of Cyrene. The opening verses are two letters (1:1–9 and 1:10–2:18) written from Jerusalem by Jews as a prologue to Egyptian Jews in Alexandria.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Psalm 151
Psalm 151 is a little poem included at the end of the Psalms in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It doesn't tell us anything new; it's theology is no different than the rest of the Bible. But it's not part of the Hebrew Book of Psalms.
Some scholars think it may be based on parts of two otherwise unknown psalms found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, but we don't know when it was composed -- probably in the first or second century AD.
Psalm 151, Title
Ουτος ο ψαλμος ιδιογραφος εις Δαυιδ
και εξωθεν του αριθμου
οτε εμονομαχησεν τω Γολιαδ
This psalm is ascribed to David—though it is outside the number (of Psalms)—after he had fought Goliath in single combat.
Probably the most interesting point about this Psalm is its title or header. The psalm is ascribed to David as his own composition (though it is outside the number), after he had fought in single combat with Goliath. Note the spelling of Goliath's name. His name is spelled Γολιαδ three times in the Septuagint (not counting apocryphal books, 1 Sam 17:42; 22:10 and Psalm 143:1) and Γολιαθ four times (1 Sam 17:4; 21:10; 2 Sam 21:19 and 1 Chronicles 20:5).
Psalm 151:1
1 μικρος ημην εν τοις αδελλοις μου
και νεωτεροις εν τω οικω του πατρος μου
εποιμανον τα προβατα του πατρος μου
1 I was small among my brothers,
and the youngest in my father's house;
I tended my father's sheep.
Note the use of the comparative νεωτεροις even though it is superlative in context ("in my father's house") and a superlative form exists (νεωτατοις, Genesis 49:22).
εποιμανον is an imperfect act. indic. (1 sg) from εποιμανω. It also occurs in Hosea 13:5, "I cared for you in the desert, in the land of the burning heat."
Psalm 151:2
αι χειρες μου εποιησαν οργανον
οι δακτυλοι μου ηρμησαν ψαλτηριον
2 My hands made a harp;
my fingers fashioned a lyre.
Strictly speaking, an οργανον (organon) is an "instrument" of any kind, whether a musical instrument (as here), a surgical instrument, an organ of the body (“But he said, ‘Even if you remove my organ of speech, God hears also those who are mute’” 4 Maccabees 10:17, Greek 10:18), or even a constucted device like the rim of a wall ("For there is a tower in that place, fifty cubits high, full of ashes, and it has a rim running around it which on all sides inclines precipitously into the ashes." 2 Maccabees 13:5).
Psalm 151:3
και τις αναγγελει τω κυριω μου;
αυτος κυριος, αυτος εισακουει
3 And who will tell my Lord?
The Lord himself; it is he who hears.
αναγγελει is the future active 3rd sg. of αναγγελλω, to tell or proclaim, "he will tell you what is yet to come." (John 16:13).
εισακουει is the present active indicative form of εισακουω, to hear, especially a prayer. That's the meaning here, but it can also refer to hearing advice ("a wise man listens to advice," Proverbs 12:15).
Psalm 151:4
αυτος εξαπεστειλεν τον αγγελον αυτου
και ηρεν με εκ των προβατων του πατρος μου
και εχρισεν με εν τω ελαιω της χρισεως αυτου
4 It was he who sent his messenger
and took me from my father's sheep,
and anointed me with his anointing oil.
The verb εξαπεστειλεν (aorist, εξαποστελλω "send out") contains the verb apostle, to be sent out on a mission with authority. We see this form used both of God sending out Christ (Galatians 4:4) and the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6).
Psalm 151:5
οι αδελφοι μου καλοι και μεγαλοι,
και ουκ ευδοκησεν εν αυτοις κυριοις.
5 My brothers were handsome and tall,
but the Lord was not pleased with them.
The verb ευδοκησεν (aorist, ευδοκεω) is the word used at Jesus' baptism, "with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). The account of God's comments about David's taller brothers is given in 1 Samuel 16:1-12 ("the Lord looks at the heart," 16:7), but we might just point out that it was David himself who was described as "ruddy, with a fine appearance, and handsome" (1 Sam. 16:12).
Psalm 151:6
εξηλθον εις συναντησιν τω αλλοφυλω,
και επικατηρασατο με εν τοις ειδωλοις αυτου
6 I went out to meet the Philistine,
and he cursed me by his idols.
αλλοφυλος means "foreigner, Gentile," rather than Philistine, but the meaning is clear enough.
Psalm 151:7
εγω δε σπασαμενος την παρ’ αυτου μαχαιραν
απεκεφαλεσα αυτον και ηρα οδεινος εξ υιων Ισραηλ
7 But I drew his own sword;
I beheaded him, and took away disgrace from the people of Israel.
The entire incident with the sling is omitted. Did the author feel embarrassed about it? Did he want to omit the entire miraculous side of the battle? If so, it's a pity, and since God's work is left out, it's no wonder that this Psalm--late or not--has never really been seriously considered for being included in the canon.
The Gospel of Thomas 108-114
108 Jesus said, "He who will drink from my mouth will become like me. I will become him, and the hidden things will be revealed to him."
Although the picture of drinking from the mouth of God is a useful image of the word of God as the water of life, the second part of the saying is so typically gnostic -- hidden things! We've got hidden things over here! -- that it's not worth bothering with.
109 Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a man who had a treasure in his field without knowing it. He died and left it to his son, but the son didn't know (about the treasure). After he inherited the field he sold it. When the one who bought it went plowing, he found the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished." [Matthew 13:44]
This saying twists the meaning of the similar (but much shorter) parable of the Hidden Treasure in Matthew 13. In the Bible, the point of the parable (and its companion, the Pearl) is that one should be willing to give up anything for eternal life (compare Paul's thoughts about outreach and evangelism in 1 Corinthians 9:1-27 and 10:23-11:1). Here, the gnostic idea is that knowledge is hidden, and can only be uncovered by hard work. There might be a Christian application to be sure to pass one's Christian faith on to the next generation, but the main point here is the misguided idea that the guy who works hard will win. For Biblical truth to the contrary, we hardly need to go any farther than Ecclesiastes ("For whom am I toiling?" Eccl. 4:8), and Ecclesiastes 7:20, "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins." Compare this to Ephesians 2:8-10: "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast."
110 Jesus said, "Let whoever finds the world and becomes rich, renounce the world." [Matthew 19:16-24; Mark 10:17-25; Luke 18:18-25]
Compare Proverbs 11:28: "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf." Also Job 21:34; Psalm 49:6; etc.
111 Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will be rolled up in your presence. [Isaiah 34:4; Hebrews 1:10-12; Revelation 6:13-14 and some versions of Psalm 102:25-27] And one who lives from the living one [John 11:25-26] will never die." Does not Jesus say, "The world is unworthy of one who finds himself?"
In this context, this saying seems more like a promise that the one who discovers the hidden secrets will understand everything than the comfort that believers will have nothing to fear from the Last Day.
112 Jesus said, "Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh."
This co-dependency motif is present earlier in Thomas; see sayings 29 and 87.
113 His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" [Jesus said] "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying 'Here it is' or 'There it is.' Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it." [Matthew 24:23-25; Mark 13:21-23; Luke 17:20-24]
Although we could find this idea in the Apocrypha (Sirach 1:9, "The Lord poured [his Wisdom] out upon all his works"), the idea is also found throughout Scripture itself.
114 Simon Peter said to him, "Send Mary away, for females are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "Look, I will lead her myself so that she will become like a male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."
Perhaps it is in this final passage that the Gnostic author of The Gospel of Thomas shows his true colors. To the Gnostic, eternal life is not possible for a woman, who is so completely bound to the flesh. Perhaps there was also a kind of male guilt involved in this idea: women were completely bound up in male fleshly desires. But the idea behind this offensive passage is that unless a woman becomes like a man, setting aside all thoughts of the world and focusing on loftier, heavenly things, she can't enter into eternal life. This idea is found in other ancient heretical writings: "The perishable has reached the imperishable; the feminine element has attained to this masculine element" (First Apocalypse of James 41:15-19).
This is contrary to everything in Scripture. We don't achieve eternal life ourselves at all. We can't make ourselves acceptable to God by becoming better people, or by comparing ourselves to a person (or a race, or gender) that we feel is somehow inferior. And we can't make ourselves acceptable to God by balancing the evil in our lives with good, either. We don't pray our way into heaven, and we don't pray or pay the way into heaven for anyone else, either. Jesus forgave our sins.
There is no other testimony about God than that which is already there for us in the 66 books of the Holy Bible. John was fighting this very notion when he wrote:
Although the picture of drinking from the mouth of God is a useful image of the word of God as the water of life, the second part of the saying is so typically gnostic -- hidden things! We've got hidden things over here! -- that it's not worth bothering with.
109 Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a man who had a treasure in his field without knowing it. He died and left it to his son, but the son didn't know (about the treasure). After he inherited the field he sold it. When the one who bought it went plowing, he found the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished." [Matthew 13:44]
This saying twists the meaning of the similar (but much shorter) parable of the Hidden Treasure in Matthew 13. In the Bible, the point of the parable (and its companion, the Pearl) is that one should be willing to give up anything for eternal life (compare Paul's thoughts about outreach and evangelism in 1 Corinthians 9:1-27 and 10:23-11:1). Here, the gnostic idea is that knowledge is hidden, and can only be uncovered by hard work. There might be a Christian application to be sure to pass one's Christian faith on to the next generation, but the main point here is the misguided idea that the guy who works hard will win. For Biblical truth to the contrary, we hardly need to go any farther than Ecclesiastes ("For whom am I toiling?" Eccl. 4:8), and Ecclesiastes 7:20, "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins." Compare this to Ephesians 2:8-10: "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast."
110 Jesus said, "Let whoever finds the world and becomes rich, renounce the world." [Matthew 19:16-24; Mark 10:17-25; Luke 18:18-25]
Compare Proverbs 11:28: "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf." Also Job 21:34; Psalm 49:6; etc.
111 Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will be rolled up in your presence. [Isaiah 34:4; Hebrews 1:10-12; Revelation 6:13-14 and some versions of Psalm 102:25-27] And one who lives from the living one [John 11:25-26] will never die." Does not Jesus say, "The world is unworthy of one who finds himself?"
In this context, this saying seems more like a promise that the one who discovers the hidden secrets will understand everything than the comfort that believers will have nothing to fear from the Last Day.
112 Jesus said, "Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh."
This co-dependency motif is present earlier in Thomas; see sayings 29 and 87.
113 His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" [Jesus said] "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying 'Here it is' or 'There it is.' Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it." [Matthew 24:23-25; Mark 13:21-23; Luke 17:20-24]
Although we could find this idea in the Apocrypha (Sirach 1:9, "The Lord poured [his Wisdom] out upon all his works"), the idea is also found throughout Scripture itself.
114 Simon Peter said to him, "Send Mary away, for females are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "Look, I will lead her myself so that she will become like a male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."
Perhaps it is in this final passage that the Gnostic author of The Gospel of Thomas shows his true colors. To the Gnostic, eternal life is not possible for a woman, who is so completely bound to the flesh. Perhaps there was also a kind of male guilt involved in this idea: women were completely bound up in male fleshly desires. But the idea behind this offensive passage is that unless a woman becomes like a man, setting aside all thoughts of the world and focusing on loftier, heavenly things, she can't enter into eternal life. This idea is found in other ancient heretical writings: "The perishable has reached the imperishable; the feminine element has attained to this masculine element" (First Apocalypse of James 41:15-19).
This is contrary to everything in Scripture. We don't achieve eternal life ourselves at all. We can't make ourselves acceptable to God by becoming better people, or by comparing ourselves to a person (or a race, or gender) that we feel is somehow inferior. And we can't make ourselves acceptable to God by balancing the evil in our lives with good, either. We don't pray our way into heaven, and we don't pray or pay the way into heaven for anyone else, either. Jesus forgave our sins.
There is no other testimony about God than that which is already there for us in the 66 books of the Holy Bible. John was fighting this very notion when he wrote:
Anyone who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:10-12)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Gospel of Thomas 101-107
101 "Whoever does not hate his father and his mother as I do cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not love his father and his mother as I do cannot be mine. For my mother gave me lies, but my true mother gave me life." [Matthew 10:37, Luke 14:26]
The translation here looks much better than the original text, which is so warn out that we can't really be sure of what was said. The "true mother" might be a way of looking at the Holy Spirit, although assigning a female gender to the Holy Spirit runs contrary to Scripture. Arguments (such as have been made by Leonard Nimoy) that there are a handful of "female" references to the spirit in the Old Testament and therefore the Spirit must be female, are invalid when brought into our Western context, since in the Hebrew language the female gender also stands for neuter. In the New Testament, the masculine gender is always used.
This issue is relevant today because of certain prayers and hymns used by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that mention "Father, Mother and Son" in reference to the Trinity. Doctrinally, this only the tip of the iceberg as far as problems in the ELCA go. But, like any iceberg, this is the first sign of a serious problem that runs very, very deep.
102 Jesus said, "Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in the manger of oxen, who neither eats nor lets the oxen eat."
This is actually a paraphrase of a famous fable in Aesop. Aesop's moral fits perfectly with the problems surrounding the Pharisees:
This runs more or less along the lines of what Jesus says in the gospels.
104 They said, "Come, let us pray today and let us fast." Jesus said, "What sin have I committed? How have I been defeated? But when the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray." [Matthew 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35]
This is also similar to what Jesus said.
105 Jesus said, "He who knows the father and the mother will be called the son of a prostitute."
There are different ways of looking at this strange passage. The first is that it is an example of the way the gnostics wanted to deny everything, even human parents. If you don't deny your parents, then you are no child of God ("son of a prostitute").
Another and perhaps a more likely explanation is that the supposed founder of the gnostics, the Simon Magus mentioned in the Bible, had an associate named Helena. This Helena was a prostitute, and some claimed, including Simon, that she was divine (the claim was that the divine being was reincarnated time after time and that at this particular moment he had even become a whore).
A third but unlikely interpretation (even for the gnostics) runs along the lines of an ancient heresy that Jesus was the child of Mary and a soldier from Sidon, an archer named Panthera or Pantera. There is even a gravestone of a Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera who was stationed in Palestine at the time of Jesus' birth. This, then, would be a reference to Mary's supposed extramarital affair. On the other hand, there are gravestones with many names on them all over the world -- it doesn't mean every bride is unfaithful to her husband before their wedding. Also, such an affair directly contradicts Scripture and all other ancient witnesses. It's more like a locker room joke in poor taste than a genuine interpretation. Each of these explanations is awkward, and more so because the saying itself runs contrary to Scripture.
106 Jesus said, "When you make the two one, you will become the sons of man, and when you say, 'Mountain, move,' it will move."
This saying reflects some other things said earlier -- see sayings 4 and 48. But like so much in this collection, it is left all by itself without any context and so it creates doubt instead of faith. It makes the reader wonder why he doesn't have this almost magical power, and it makes teh reader wonder what is meant by "making the two one."
The Gnostics loved the attention they got with their secrets and their supposed special knowledge, their gnosis. But by spreading around the rumor that they had secrets, they were hating the world and hating God.
107 Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. The largest one went astray. He left the ninety-nine and looked for that one until he found it. Having gone to such trouble, he said to the sheep, 'I care for you more than the ninety-nine.'" [Matthew 18:12-13; Luke 15:3-7]
Here again is a twisting of Jesus' words. God does not show favoritism; he shows his favor. He loves us all -- and yes, he comes looking for us when we wander astray. But his love is boundless. Not one of us has to be afraid that God loves someone else more than him. That's why John wrote:
The translation here looks much better than the original text, which is so warn out that we can't really be sure of what was said. The "true mother" might be a way of looking at the Holy Spirit, although assigning a female gender to the Holy Spirit runs contrary to Scripture. Arguments (such as have been made by Leonard Nimoy) that there are a handful of "female" references to the spirit in the Old Testament and therefore the Spirit must be female, are invalid when brought into our Western context, since in the Hebrew language the female gender also stands for neuter. In the New Testament, the masculine gender is always used.
This issue is relevant today because of certain prayers and hymns used by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that mention "Father, Mother and Son" in reference to the Trinity. Doctrinally, this only the tip of the iceberg as far as problems in the ELCA go. But, like any iceberg, this is the first sign of a serious problem that runs very, very deep.
102 Jesus said, "Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in the manger of oxen, who neither eats nor lets the oxen eat."
This is actually a paraphrase of a famous fable in Aesop. Aesop's moral fits perfectly with the problems surrounding the Pharisees:
103 Jesus said, "Blessed is the man who knows where the thieves will come, so that he may get up, alert his house, and arm himself before they invade." [Matthew 24:43, Luke 12:39]"The cattle said to the dog: 'It's not fair for you to keep us from eating the hay when you never eat hay and it's our nature."
This runs more or less along the lines of what Jesus says in the gospels.
104 They said, "Come, let us pray today and let us fast." Jesus said, "What sin have I committed? How have I been defeated? But when the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray." [Matthew 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35]
This is also similar to what Jesus said.
105 Jesus said, "He who knows the father and the mother will be called the son of a prostitute."
There are different ways of looking at this strange passage. The first is that it is an example of the way the gnostics wanted to deny everything, even human parents. If you don't deny your parents, then you are no child of God ("son of a prostitute").
Another and perhaps a more likely explanation is that the supposed founder of the gnostics, the Simon Magus mentioned in the Bible, had an associate named Helena. This Helena was a prostitute, and some claimed, including Simon, that she was divine (the claim was that the divine being was reincarnated time after time and that at this particular moment he had even become a whore).
A third but unlikely interpretation (even for the gnostics) runs along the lines of an ancient heresy that Jesus was the child of Mary and a soldier from Sidon, an archer named Panthera or Pantera. There is even a gravestone of a Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera who was stationed in Palestine at the time of Jesus' birth. This, then, would be a reference to Mary's supposed extramarital affair. On the other hand, there are gravestones with many names on them all over the world -- it doesn't mean every bride is unfaithful to her husband before their wedding. Also, such an affair directly contradicts Scripture and all other ancient witnesses. It's more like a locker room joke in poor taste than a genuine interpretation. Each of these explanations is awkward, and more so because the saying itself runs contrary to Scripture.
106 Jesus said, "When you make the two one, you will become the sons of man, and when you say, 'Mountain, move,' it will move."
This saying reflects some other things said earlier -- see sayings 4 and 48. But like so much in this collection, it is left all by itself without any context and so it creates doubt instead of faith. It makes the reader wonder why he doesn't have this almost magical power, and it makes teh reader wonder what is meant by "making the two one."
The Gnostics loved the attention they got with their secrets and their supposed special knowledge, their gnosis. But by spreading around the rumor that they had secrets, they were hating the world and hating God.
107 Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. The largest one went astray. He left the ninety-nine and looked for that one until he found it. Having gone to such trouble, he said to the sheep, 'I care for you more than the ninety-nine.'" [Matthew 18:12-13; Luke 15:3-7]
Here again is a twisting of Jesus' words. God does not show favoritism; he shows his favor. He loves us all -- and yes, he comes looking for us when we wander astray. But his love is boundless. Not one of us has to be afraid that God loves someone else more than him. That's why John wrote:
We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:16-18)
The Gospel of Thomas 100
100 They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, "Caesar's men demand taxes from us." He said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's, and to me what is mine." [Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:22-25]
The addition of "Give to me what is mine" isn't in the Bible. Notice, though, how it could either (1) elevate Jesus' status, or (2) separate Jesus from God the Father in a way that isn't supported by the Bible. In fact, Jesus said, "All that belongs to the Father is mine" (John 16:15).
What disturbes me most about this saying is that, the longer you chew on it, the more it divides the Father and the Son. There is no urgency about being saved here; there is no call to repentance. There is no stewardship. There is only a division in the mind that grows and grows: What does it mean? What belongs to Father that I wouldn't give to Christ? What should I give to Christ that is not also set aside as holy to the Father?
The more one thinks about this saying, the more wicked it becomes. On first glance, it is odd. On second glance, it is confusing. On third, it is disturbing. On fourth, it is evil. As for considering what really belongs to us, there is an illustration from a 3rd or 4th century monk that may grow on you:
The addition of "Give to me what is mine" isn't in the Bible. Notice, though, how it could either (1) elevate Jesus' status, or (2) separate Jesus from God the Father in a way that isn't supported by the Bible. In fact, Jesus said, "All that belongs to the Father is mine" (John 16:15).
What disturbes me most about this saying is that, the longer you chew on it, the more it divides the Father and the Son. There is no urgency about being saved here; there is no call to repentance. There is no stewardship. There is only a division in the mind that grows and grows: What does it mean? What belongs to Father that I wouldn't give to Christ? What should I give to Christ that is not also set aside as holy to the Father?
The more one thinks about this saying, the more wicked it becomes. On first glance, it is odd. On second glance, it is confusing. On third, it is disturbing. On fourth, it is evil. As for considering what really belongs to us, there is an illustration from a 3rd or 4th century monk that may grow on you:
Some thieves came one day to the dwelling of an old man and said to him, "We have come to take everything that is in your cell." He said to them, "My children, take what seems good to you." So they took what they found in the cell and went away. Now they forgot a purse which happened to be hanging there. The old man picked it up and ran out after them, calling out, "Take this which you have forgotten from the cell." Filled with wonder at the old man's long-suffering, they put back everything in its place in the cell and repented, saying one to another, "Truly this is a man of God." (Agathon)
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Recognitions of Clement 1,1,1-19
About the Ebionites: Many of their teachings have been linking to the pseudepigraphical writings called The Recognitions of Clement and the Clementine Homilies. These documents took the name of Clement of Rome but are not connected with him at all, since they come from much later. Clement died toward the end of the first century.
One of the hallmarks of the Ebionites, similar to other Jewish-Christian sects, is the rejection of Paul and of Paul's Epistles. The preference is to put men like Barnabas (who left Paul to go another way) and Peter (who was opposed by Paul in Antioch--Gal. 2:11-14, note that "even Barnabas was led astray," 2:13) in Rome doing the work of evengelism and to marginalize Paul if he is mentioned at all.
What follows is the opening section of the Recognitions of Clement, giving the story of one man's conversion to Christianity during the time of the Apostles. The climax is probably evident in 1,1,12, where certain people might feel a thrill to hear the words, "O Peter, this is Clement." But the scene is a fabrication, and should be regarded as pious fiction.
The text is from the CCEL and is in the public domain.
Book 1.1.1 -- Clement's Early History; Doubts.
I Clement, who was born in the city of Rome, was from my earliest age a lover of chastity; while the bent of my mind held me bound as with chains of anxiety and sorrow.
For a thought that was in me--whence originating, I cannot tell--constantly led me to think of my condition of mortality, and to discuss such questions as these: Whether there be for me any life after death, or whether I am to be wholly annihilated: whether I did not exist before I was born, and whether there shall be no remembrance of this life after death, and so the boundlessness of time shall consign all things to oblivion and silence; so that not only we shall cease to be, but there shall be no remembrance that we have ever been.
This also I revolved in my mind: when the world was made, or what was before it was made, or whether it has existed from eternity. For it seemed certain, that if it had been made, it must be doomed to dissolution; and if it be dissolved, what is to be afterwards? -- unless, perhaps, all things shall be buried in oblivion and silence, or something shall be, which the mind of man cannot now conceive.
1.2 -- His Distress.
While I was continually revolving in my mind these and such like questions, suggested I know not how, I was pining away wonderfully through excess of grief; and, what was worse, if at any time I thought to cast aside such cares, as being of little use, the waves of anxiety rose all the higher upon me.
For I had in me that most excellent companion, who would not suffer me to rest-the desire of immortality: for, as the subsequent issue showed, and the grace of Almighty God directed, this bent of mind led me to the quest of truth, and the acknowledgment of the true light; and hence it came to pass, that ere long I pitied those whom formerly in my ignorance I believed to be happy.
1.3 -- His Dissatisfaction with the Schools of the Philosophers.
Having therefore such a bent of mind from my earliest years, the desire of learning something led me to frequent the schools of the philosophers. There I saw that nought else was done, save that doctrines were asserted and controverted without end, contests were waged, and the arts of syllogisms and the subtleties of conclusions were discussed. If at any time the doctrine of the immortality of the soul prevailed, I was thankful; if at any time it was impugned, I went away sorrowful.
Still, neither doctrine had the power of truth over my heart. This only I understood, that opinions and definitions of things were accounted true or false, not in accordance with their nature and the truth of the arguments, but in proportion to the talents of those who supported them.
And I was all the more tortured in the bottom of my heart, because I was neither able to lay hold of any of those things which were spoken as firmly established, nor was I able to lay aside the desire of inquiry; but the more I endeavoured to neglect and despise them, so much the more eagerly, as I have said, did a desire of this sort, creeping in upon me secretly as with a kind of pleasure, take possession of my heart and mind.
1.4 -- His Increasing Disquiet.
Being therefore straitened in the discovery of things, I said to myself, Why do we labour in vain [Psalm 127:1], since the end of things is manifest? For if after death I shall be no more, my present torture is useless; but if there is to be for me a life after death, let us keep for that life the excitements that belong to it, lest perhaps some sadder things befall me than those which I now suffer, unless I shall have lived piously and soberly; and, according to the opinions of some of the philosophers, I be consigned to the stream of dark-rolling Phlegethon, or to Tartarus, like Sisyphus and Tityus, and to eternal punishment in the infernal regions, like Ixion and Tantalus.
And again I would answer to myself: But these things are fables; or if it be so, since the matter is in doubt, it is better to live piously. But again I would ponder with myself, How should I restrain myself from the lust of sin, while uncertain as to the reward of righteousness? -- and all the more when I have no certainty what righteousness is, or what is pleasing to God; and when I cannot ascertain whether the soul be immortal, and be such that it has anything to hope for; nor do I know what the future is certainly to be. Yet still I cannot rest from thoughts of this sort.
1.5 -- His Design to Test the Immortality of the Soul.
What, then, shall I do? This shall I do. I shall proceed to Egypt, and there I shall cultivate the friendship of the hierophants or prophets, who preside at the shrines. Then I shall win over a magician by money, and entreat him, by what they call the necromantic art, to bring me a soul from the infernal regions, as if I were desirous of consulting it about some business.
But this shall be my consultation, whether the soul be immortal. Now, the proof that the soul is immortal will be put past doubt, not from what it says, or from what I hear, but from what I see: for seeing it with my eyes, I shall ever after hold the surest conviction of its immortality; and no fallacy of words or uncertainty of hearing shall ever be able to disturb the persuasion produced by sight.
However, I related this project to a certain philosopher with whom I was intimate, who counseled me not to venture upon it; "for," said he, "if the soul should not obey the call of the magician, you henceforth will live more hopelessly, as thinking that there is nothing after death, and also as having tried things unlawful. If, however, you seem to see anything, what religion or what piety can arise to you from things unlawful and impious? For they say that transactions of this sort are hateful to the Divinity, and that God sets Himself in opposition to those who trouble souls after their release from the body."
When I heard this, I was indeed staggered in my purpose; yet I could not in any way either lay aside my longing, or cast off the distressing thought.
1.6 -- Hears of Christ.
Not to make a long story of it, whilst I was tossed upon these billows of my thought, a certain report, which took its rise in the regions of the East in the reign of Tiberius Caesar, gradually reached us; and gaining strength as it passed through every place, like some good message sent from God, it was filling the whole world, and suffered not the divine will to be concealed in silence. For it was spread over all places, announcing that there was a certain person in Judaea, who, beginning in the springtime, was preaching the kingdom of God to the Jews, and saying that those should receive it who should observe the ordinances of His commandments and His doctrine.
And that His speech might be believed to be worthy of credit, and full of the Divinity, He was said to perform many mighty works, and wonderful signs and prodigies by His mere word; so that, as one having power from God, He made the deaf to hear, and the blind to see, and the lame to stand erect, and expelled every infirmity and all demons from men; yea, that He even raised dead persons who were brought to Him; that He cured letters also, looking at them from a distance; and that there was absolutely nothing which seemed impossible to Him.
These and such like things were confirmed in process of time, not now by frequent rumours, but by the plain statements of persons coming from those quarters; and clay by day the truth of the matter was further disclosed.
1.7 -- Arrival of Barnabas at Rome.
At length meetings began to be held in various places in the city, and this subject to be discussed in conversation, and to be a matter of wonder who this might be who had appeared, and what message He had brought from God to men; until, about the same year, a certain man, standing in a most crowded place in the city, made proclamation to the people, saying: "Hear me, O ye citizens of Rome. The Son of God is now in the regions of Judaea, promising eternal life to every one who will hear Him, but upon condition that he shall regulate his actions according to the will of Him by whom He hath been sent, even of God the Father. Wherefore turn ye from evil things to good, from things temporal to things eternal. Acknowledge that there is one God, ruler of heaven and earth, in whose righteous sight ye unrighteous inhabit His world. But if ye be converted, and act according to His will, then, coming to the world to come, and being made immortal, ye shall enjoy His unspeakable blessings and rewards."
Now, the man who spoke these things to the people was from the regions of the East, by nation a Hebrew, by name Barnabas, who said that he himself was one of His disciples, and that he was sent for this end, that he should declare these things to those who would hear them. When I heard these things, I began, with the rest of the multitude, to follow him, and to hear what he had to say.
Truly I perceived that there was nothing of dialectic artifice in the man, but that he expounded with simplicity, and without any craft of speech, such things as he had heard from the Son of God, or had seen. For he did not confirm his assertions by the force of arguments, but produced, from the people who stood round about him, many witnesses of the sayings and marvels which he related.
1.8 -- His Preaching.
Now, inasmuch as the people began to assent willingly to the things which were sincerely spoken, and to embrace his simple discourse, those who thought themselves learned or philosophic began to laugh at the man, and to flout him, and to throw out for him the grappling-hooks of syllogisms, like strong arms. But he, unterrified, regarding their subtleties as mere ravings, did not even judge them worthy of an answer, but boldly pursued the subject which he had set before him.
At length, some one having proposed this question to him as he was speaking, Why a gnat has been so formed, that though it is a small creature, and has six feet, yet it has got wings in addition; whereas an elephant, though it is an immense animal, and has no wings, yet has only four feet; he, paying no attention to the question, went on with his discourse, which had been interrupted by the unseasonable challenge, only adding this admonition at every interruption:
"We have it in charge to declare to you the words and the wondrous works of Him who hath sent us, and to confirm the truth of what we speak, not by artfully devised arguments, but by witnesses produced from amongst yourselves. For I recognise many standing in the midst of you whom I remember to have heard along with us the things which we have heard, and to have seen what we have seen.
"But be it in your option to receive or to spurn the tidings which we bring to you. For we cannot keep back what we know to be for your advantage, because, if we be silent, woe is to us; but to you, if you receive not what we speak, destruction. I could indeed very easily answer your foolish challenges, if you asked for the sake of learning truth, -- I mean as to the difference of a gnat and an elephant; but now it were absurd to speak to you of these creatures, when the very Creator and Framer of all things is unknown by you."
1.9 -- Clement's Interposition on Behalf of Barnabas.
When he had thus spoken, all, as with one consent, with rude voice raised a shout of derision, to put him to shame, and to silence him, crying out that he was a barbarian and a madman. When I saw matters going on in this way, being filled, I know not whence, with a certain zeal, and inflamed with religious enthusiasm, I could not keep silence, but cried out with all boldness,
"Most righteously does Almighty God hide His will from you, whom He foresaw to be unworthy of the knowledge of Himself, as is manifest to those who are really wise, from what you are now doing. For when you see that preachers of the will of God have come amongst you, because their speech makes no show of knowledge of the grammatical art, but in simple and unpolished language they set before you the divine commands, so that all who hear may be able to follow and to understand the things that are spoken, you deride the ministers and messengers of your salvation, not knowing that it is the condemnation of you who think yourselves skilful and eloquent, that rustic and barbarous men have the knowledge of the truth; whereas, when it has come to you, it is not even received as a guest, while, if your intemperance and lust did not oppose, it ought to have been a citizen and a native.
"Thus you are convicted of not being friends of truth and philosophers, but followers of boasting and vain speakers. Ye think that truth dwells not in simple, but in ingenious and subtle words, and produce countless thousands of words which are not to be rated at the worth of one word. What, then, do ye think will become of you, all ye crowd of Greeks, if there is to be, as he says, a judgment of God?
"But now give over laughing at this man to your own destruction, and let any one of you who pleases answer me; for, indeed, by your barking you annoy the ears even of those who desire to be saved, and by your clamour you turn aside to the fall of infidelity the minds that are prepared for faith. What pardon can there be for you who deride and do violence to the messenger of the truth when he offers to you the knowledge of God? whereas, even if he brought you nothing of truth, yet, even for the kindness of his intentions towards you, you ought to receive with gratitude and welcome."
1.10 -- Intercourse with Barnabas.
While I was urging these and similar arguments, a great excitement was stirred up amongst the bystanders, some being moved with pity as towards a stranger, and approving my speech as in accordance with that feeling; others, petulant and stolid, rousing the anger of their undisciplined minds as much against me as against Barnabas. But as the day was declining to evening, I laid hold of Barnabas by the right hand, and led him away, although reluctantly, to my house; and there I made him remain, lest perchance any one of the rude rabble should lay hands upon him.
While we were thus placed in contact for a few days, I gladly heard him discoursing the word of truth; yet he hastened his departure, saying that he must by all means celebrate at Judaea a festal day of his religion which was approaching, and that there he should remain in future with his countrymen and his brethren, evidently indicating that he was horrified at the wrong that had been done to him.
1.11 -- Departure of Barnabas.
At length I said to him, "Only expound to me the doctrine of that man who you say has appeared, and I will arrange your sayings in my language, and will preach the kingdom and righteousness of Almighty God; and after that, if you wish it, I shall even sail along with you, for I am extremely desirous to see Judaea, and perhaps I shall remain with you always."
To this he answered, "If indeed you wish to see our country, and to learn those things which you desire, set sail with me even now; or, if there be anything that detains you now, I shall leave with you directions to my dwelling, so that when you please to come you may easily find me; for tomorrow I shall set out on my journey."
When I saw him determined, I went down with him to the harbour, and carefully took from him the directions which he gave me to find his dwelling. I told him that, but for the necessity of getting some money which was due to me, I should not at all delay, but that I should speedily follow him. Having told him this, I commended him to the kindness of those who had charge of the ship, and returned sad; for I was possessed of the memory of the intercourse which I had had with an excellent guest and a choice friend.
1.12 -- Clement's Arrival at Caesarea, and Introduction to Peter.
Having then stopped for a few days, and having in some measure finished the business of collecting what was owing to me (for I neglected many things through my desire of hastening, that I might not be hindered from my purpose ), I set sail direct for Judaea, and after fifteen days landed at Caesarea Stratonis, which is the largest city in Palestine.
When I had landed, and was seeking for an inn, I learned from the conversation of the people, that one Peter, a most approved disciple of Him who appeared in Judaea, and showed many signs and miracles divinely performed among men, was going to hold a discussion of words and questions the next day with one Simon, a Samaritan. Having heard this, I asked to be shown his lodging; and having founder it, and standing before the door, I informed the doorkeeper who I was, and whence I came; and, behold, Barnabas coming out, as soon as he saw me rushed into my arms, weeping for joy, and, seizing me by the hand, led me in to Peter, having pointed him out to me at a distance.
"This," said he, "is Peter, of whom I spoke, to you as the greatest in the wisdom of God, and to whom also I have spoken constantly of you. Enter, therefore, as one well known to him. For he is well acquainted with all the good that is in thee, and has carefully made himself aware of your religious purpose, whence also he is greatly desirous to see you. Therefore I present you to him to-day as a great gift." At the same time, presenting me, he said, "This, O Peter, is Clement."
1.13 -- His Cordial Reception by Peter.
But Peter most kindly, when he heard my name, immediately ran to me and kissed me. Then, having made me sit down, he said, "Thou didst well to receive as thy guest Barnabas, preacher of the truth, nothing fearing the rage of the insane people. Thou shalt be blessed. For as you have deemed an ambassador of the truth worthy of all honour, so the truth herself shall receive thee a wanderer and a stranger, and shall enroll thee a citizen of her own city; and then there shall be great joy to thee, because, imparting a small favour, thou shalt be written heir of eternal blessings.
"Now, therefore, do not trouble yourself to explain your mind to me; for Barnabas has with faithful speech informed me of all things about you and your dispositions, almost daily and without ceasing, recalling the memory of your good qualities And to point out to you shortly, as to a friend already of one mind with us, what is your best course; if there is nothing to hinder you, come along with us, and hear the word of the truth, which we are going to speak in every place until we come even to the city of Rome; and now, if you wish anything, speak."
1.14 -- His Account of Himself.
Having detailed to him what purpose I had conceived from the beginning, and how I had been distracted with vain inquiries, and all those things which at first I intimated to thee, my lord James, so that I need not repeat the same things now, I willingly agreed to travel with him; "for that," said I, "is just what I was most eagerly desirous of. But first I should wish the scheme of truth to be expounded to the, that I may know whether the soul is mortal or immortal; and if immortal, whether it shall be brought into judgment for those things which it does here.
"Further, I desire to know what that righteousness is, which is pleasing to God; then, further, whether the world was created, and why it was created, and whether it is to be dissolved, and whether it is to be renovated and made better, or whether after this there shall be no world at all; and, not to mention everything, I should wish to be told what is the case with respect to these and such like things."
To this Peter answered, "I shall briefly impart to you the knowledge of these things, O Clement: therefore listen."
1.15 -- Peter's First Instruction: Causes of Ignorance.
"The will and counsel of God has for many reasons been concealed from men; first, indeed, through bad instruction, wicked associations, evil habits, unprofitable conversation, and unrighteous presumptions. On account of all these, I say, first error, then contempt, then infidelity and malice, covetousness also, and vain boasting, and other such like evils, have filled the whole house of this world, like some enormous smoke, and preventing those who dwell in it from seeing its Founder aright, and from perceiving what things are pleasing to Him.
"What, then, is fitting for those who are within, excepting with a cry brought forth from their inmost hearts to invoke His aid, who alone is not shut up in the smoke-filled house, that He would approach and open the door of the house, so that the smoke may be dissipated which is within, and the light of the sun which shines without may be admitted."
1.16 -- Instruction Continued: the True Prophet.
"He, therefore, whose aid is needed for the house filled with the darkness of ignorance and the smoke of vices, is He, we say, who is called the true Prophet, who alone can enlighten the souls of men, so that with their eyes they may plainly see the way of safety. For otherwise it is impossible to get knowledge of divine and eternal things, unless one learns of that true Prophet; because, as you yourself stated a little ago, the belief of things, and the opinions of causes, are estimated in proportion to the talents of their advocates: hence, also, one and the same cause is now thought just, now unjust; and what now seemed true, anon becomes false on the assertion of another.
"For this reason, the credit of religion and piety demanded the presence of the true Prophet, that He Himself might tell us respecting each particular, how the truth stands, and might teach us how we are to believe concerning each.6 And therefore, before all else, the credentials of the prophet himself must be examined with all care; and when you have once ascertained that he is a prophet, it behoves you thenceforth to believe him in everything, and not further to discuss the particulars which he teaches, but to hold the things which he speaks as certain and sacred; which things, although they seem to be received by faith, yet are believed on the ground of the probation previously instituted.
"For when once at the outset the truth of the prophet is established on examination, the rest is to be heard and held on the ground of the faith by which it is already established that he is a teacher of truth. And as it is certain that all things which pertain to divine knowledge ought to be held according to the rule of truth, so it is beyond doubt that from none but Himself alone can it be known what is true."
1.17 -- Peter Requests Him to Be His Attendant.
Having thus spoken, he set forth to me so openly and so clearly who that Prophet was, and how He might be found, that I seethed to have before my eyes, and to handle with my hand, the proofs which he produced concerning the prophetic truth; and I was struck with intense astonishment, how no one sees, though placed before his eyes, those things which all are seeking for.
Whence, by his command, reducing into order what he had spoken to me, I compiled a book concerning the true Prophet, and sent it to you from Caesarea by his command. For he said that he had received a command from you to send you every year an account of his sayings and doings.
Meantime, at the beginning of his discourse which he delivered to me the first day, when he had instructed me very fully concerning the true Prophet, and very many things besides, he added also this: "See," said he, "for the future, and be present at the discussions which whenever any necessity arises, I shall hold with those who contradict; against whom, when I dispute, even if I shall seem to be worsted, I shall not be afraid of your being led to doubt of those things which I have stated to you; because, even if I shall seem to be beaten, yet those things shall not therefore seem to be uncertain which the true Prophet has delivered to us.
"Yet I hope that we shall not be overcome in disputations either, if only our hearers are reasonable, and friends of truth, who can discern the force and bearing of words, and recognise what discourse comes from the sophistical art, not containing truth, but an image of truth; and what that is, which, uttered simply and without craft, depends for all its power not on show and ornanent, but on truth and reason."
1.18 -- His Profiting by Peter's Instruction.
To this I answered: "I give thanks to God Almighty, because I have been instructed as I wished and desired. At all events, you may depend upon me so far, that I can never come to doubt of those things which I have learned of you; so that even if you yourself should at any time wish to transfer my faith from the true Prophet, you should not be able, because I have drunk in with all my heart what you have spoken.
"And that you may not think that I am promising you a great thing when I say that I cannot be moved away from this faith, it is with me a certainty, that whoever has received this account of the true Prophet, can never afterwards so much as doubt of its truth. And therefore I am confident with respect to this heaven-taught doctrine, in which all the art of malice is overborne.
"For in opposition to this prophecy neither any art can stand, nor the subtleties of sophisms and syllogism; but every one who hears of the true Prophet must of necessity long immediately for the truth itself, nor will he afterwards, under pretext of seeking the truth, endure diverse errors. Wherefore, O my lord Peter, be not further anxious about me, as if I were one who does not know what he has received, and how great a gift has been conferred on him. Be assured that you have conferred a favour on one who knows and understands its value: nor can I be easily deceived on that account, because I seem to have gotten quickly what I long desired; for it may be that one who desires gets quickly, while another does not even slowly attain the things which he desires."
1.19 -- Peter's Satisfaction.
Then Peter, when he heard me speak thus, said: "I give thanks to my God, both for your salvation and for my own peace; for I am greatly delighted to see that you have understood what is the greatness of the prophetic virtue, and because, as you say, not even I myself, if I should wish it (which God forbid!), should be able to turn you away to another faith. Now henceforth begin to be with us, and to-morrow be present at our discussions, for I am to have a contest with Simon the magician."
When he had thus spoken, he retired to take food along with his friends; but he ordered me to eat by myself;8 and after the meal, when he had sung praise to God and given thanks, he rendered to me an account of this proceeding, and added, "May the Lord grant to thee to be made like to us in all things, that, receiving baptism, thou mayest be able to meet with us at the same table."
Having thus spoken, he ordered me to go to rest, for by this time both fatigue and the time of the day called to sleep.
One of the hallmarks of the Ebionites, similar to other Jewish-Christian sects, is the rejection of Paul and of Paul's Epistles. The preference is to put men like Barnabas (who left Paul to go another way) and Peter (who was opposed by Paul in Antioch--Gal. 2:11-14, note that "even Barnabas was led astray," 2:13) in Rome doing the work of evengelism and to marginalize Paul if he is mentioned at all.
What follows is the opening section of the Recognitions of Clement, giving the story of one man's conversion to Christianity during the time of the Apostles. The climax is probably evident in 1,1,12, where certain people might feel a thrill to hear the words, "O Peter, this is Clement." But the scene is a fabrication, and should be regarded as pious fiction.
The text is from the CCEL and is in the public domain.
Book 1.1.1 -- Clement's Early History; Doubts.
I Clement, who was born in the city of Rome, was from my earliest age a lover of chastity; while the bent of my mind held me bound as with chains of anxiety and sorrow.
For a thought that was in me--whence originating, I cannot tell--constantly led me to think of my condition of mortality, and to discuss such questions as these: Whether there be for me any life after death, or whether I am to be wholly annihilated: whether I did not exist before I was born, and whether there shall be no remembrance of this life after death, and so the boundlessness of time shall consign all things to oblivion and silence; so that not only we shall cease to be, but there shall be no remembrance that we have ever been.
This also I revolved in my mind: when the world was made, or what was before it was made, or whether it has existed from eternity. For it seemed certain, that if it had been made, it must be doomed to dissolution; and if it be dissolved, what is to be afterwards? -- unless, perhaps, all things shall be buried in oblivion and silence, or something shall be, which the mind of man cannot now conceive.
1.2 -- His Distress.
While I was continually revolving in my mind these and such like questions, suggested I know not how, I was pining away wonderfully through excess of grief; and, what was worse, if at any time I thought to cast aside such cares, as being of little use, the waves of anxiety rose all the higher upon me.
For I had in me that most excellent companion, who would not suffer me to rest-the desire of immortality: for, as the subsequent issue showed, and the grace of Almighty God directed, this bent of mind led me to the quest of truth, and the acknowledgment of the true light; and hence it came to pass, that ere long I pitied those whom formerly in my ignorance I believed to be happy.
1.3 -- His Dissatisfaction with the Schools of the Philosophers.
Having therefore such a bent of mind from my earliest years, the desire of learning something led me to frequent the schools of the philosophers. There I saw that nought else was done, save that doctrines were asserted and controverted without end, contests were waged, and the arts of syllogisms and the subtleties of conclusions were discussed. If at any time the doctrine of the immortality of the soul prevailed, I was thankful; if at any time it was impugned, I went away sorrowful.
Still, neither doctrine had the power of truth over my heart. This only I understood, that opinions and definitions of things were accounted true or false, not in accordance with their nature and the truth of the arguments, but in proportion to the talents of those who supported them.
And I was all the more tortured in the bottom of my heart, because I was neither able to lay hold of any of those things which were spoken as firmly established, nor was I able to lay aside the desire of inquiry; but the more I endeavoured to neglect and despise them, so much the more eagerly, as I have said, did a desire of this sort, creeping in upon me secretly as with a kind of pleasure, take possession of my heart and mind.
1.4 -- His Increasing Disquiet.
Being therefore straitened in the discovery of things, I said to myself, Why do we labour in vain [Psalm 127:1], since the end of things is manifest? For if after death I shall be no more, my present torture is useless; but if there is to be for me a life after death, let us keep for that life the excitements that belong to it, lest perhaps some sadder things befall me than those which I now suffer, unless I shall have lived piously and soberly; and, according to the opinions of some of the philosophers, I be consigned to the stream of dark-rolling Phlegethon, or to Tartarus, like Sisyphus and Tityus, and to eternal punishment in the infernal regions, like Ixion and Tantalus.
And again I would answer to myself: But these things are fables; or if it be so, since the matter is in doubt, it is better to live piously. But again I would ponder with myself, How should I restrain myself from the lust of sin, while uncertain as to the reward of righteousness? -- and all the more when I have no certainty what righteousness is, or what is pleasing to God; and when I cannot ascertain whether the soul be immortal, and be such that it has anything to hope for; nor do I know what the future is certainly to be. Yet still I cannot rest from thoughts of this sort.
1.5 -- His Design to Test the Immortality of the Soul.
What, then, shall I do? This shall I do. I shall proceed to Egypt, and there I shall cultivate the friendship of the hierophants or prophets, who preside at the shrines. Then I shall win over a magician by money, and entreat him, by what they call the necromantic art, to bring me a soul from the infernal regions, as if I were desirous of consulting it about some business.
But this shall be my consultation, whether the soul be immortal. Now, the proof that the soul is immortal will be put past doubt, not from what it says, or from what I hear, but from what I see: for seeing it with my eyes, I shall ever after hold the surest conviction of its immortality; and no fallacy of words or uncertainty of hearing shall ever be able to disturb the persuasion produced by sight.
However, I related this project to a certain philosopher with whom I was intimate, who counseled me not to venture upon it; "for," said he, "if the soul should not obey the call of the magician, you henceforth will live more hopelessly, as thinking that there is nothing after death, and also as having tried things unlawful. If, however, you seem to see anything, what religion or what piety can arise to you from things unlawful and impious? For they say that transactions of this sort are hateful to the Divinity, and that God sets Himself in opposition to those who trouble souls after their release from the body."
When I heard this, I was indeed staggered in my purpose; yet I could not in any way either lay aside my longing, or cast off the distressing thought.
1.6 -- Hears of Christ.
Not to make a long story of it, whilst I was tossed upon these billows of my thought, a certain report, which took its rise in the regions of the East in the reign of Tiberius Caesar, gradually reached us; and gaining strength as it passed through every place, like some good message sent from God, it was filling the whole world, and suffered not the divine will to be concealed in silence. For it was spread over all places, announcing that there was a certain person in Judaea, who, beginning in the springtime, was preaching the kingdom of God to the Jews, and saying that those should receive it who should observe the ordinances of His commandments and His doctrine.
And that His speech might be believed to be worthy of credit, and full of the Divinity, He was said to perform many mighty works, and wonderful signs and prodigies by His mere word; so that, as one having power from God, He made the deaf to hear, and the blind to see, and the lame to stand erect, and expelled every infirmity and all demons from men; yea, that He even raised dead persons who were brought to Him; that He cured letters also, looking at them from a distance; and that there was absolutely nothing which seemed impossible to Him.
These and such like things were confirmed in process of time, not now by frequent rumours, but by the plain statements of persons coming from those quarters; and clay by day the truth of the matter was further disclosed.
1.7 -- Arrival of Barnabas at Rome.
At length meetings began to be held in various places in the city, and this subject to be discussed in conversation, and to be a matter of wonder who this might be who had appeared, and what message He had brought from God to men; until, about the same year, a certain man, standing in a most crowded place in the city, made proclamation to the people, saying: "Hear me, O ye citizens of Rome. The Son of God is now in the regions of Judaea, promising eternal life to every one who will hear Him, but upon condition that he shall regulate his actions according to the will of Him by whom He hath been sent, even of God the Father. Wherefore turn ye from evil things to good, from things temporal to things eternal. Acknowledge that there is one God, ruler of heaven and earth, in whose righteous sight ye unrighteous inhabit His world. But if ye be converted, and act according to His will, then, coming to the world to come, and being made immortal, ye shall enjoy His unspeakable blessings and rewards."
Now, the man who spoke these things to the people was from the regions of the East, by nation a Hebrew, by name Barnabas, who said that he himself was one of His disciples, and that he was sent for this end, that he should declare these things to those who would hear them. When I heard these things, I began, with the rest of the multitude, to follow him, and to hear what he had to say.
Truly I perceived that there was nothing of dialectic artifice in the man, but that he expounded with simplicity, and without any craft of speech, such things as he had heard from the Son of God, or had seen. For he did not confirm his assertions by the force of arguments, but produced, from the people who stood round about him, many witnesses of the sayings and marvels which he related.
1.8 -- His Preaching.
Now, inasmuch as the people began to assent willingly to the things which were sincerely spoken, and to embrace his simple discourse, those who thought themselves learned or philosophic began to laugh at the man, and to flout him, and to throw out for him the grappling-hooks of syllogisms, like strong arms. But he, unterrified, regarding their subtleties as mere ravings, did not even judge them worthy of an answer, but boldly pursued the subject which he had set before him.
At length, some one having proposed this question to him as he was speaking, Why a gnat has been so formed, that though it is a small creature, and has six feet, yet it has got wings in addition; whereas an elephant, though it is an immense animal, and has no wings, yet has only four feet; he, paying no attention to the question, went on with his discourse, which had been interrupted by the unseasonable challenge, only adding this admonition at every interruption:
"We have it in charge to declare to you the words and the wondrous works of Him who hath sent us, and to confirm the truth of what we speak, not by artfully devised arguments, but by witnesses produced from amongst yourselves. For I recognise many standing in the midst of you whom I remember to have heard along with us the things which we have heard, and to have seen what we have seen.
"But be it in your option to receive or to spurn the tidings which we bring to you. For we cannot keep back what we know to be for your advantage, because, if we be silent, woe is to us; but to you, if you receive not what we speak, destruction. I could indeed very easily answer your foolish challenges, if you asked for the sake of learning truth, -- I mean as to the difference of a gnat and an elephant; but now it were absurd to speak to you of these creatures, when the very Creator and Framer of all things is unknown by you."
1.9 -- Clement's Interposition on Behalf of Barnabas.
When he had thus spoken, all, as with one consent, with rude voice raised a shout of derision, to put him to shame, and to silence him, crying out that he was a barbarian and a madman. When I saw matters going on in this way, being filled, I know not whence, with a certain zeal, and inflamed with religious enthusiasm, I could not keep silence, but cried out with all boldness,
"Most righteously does Almighty God hide His will from you, whom He foresaw to be unworthy of the knowledge of Himself, as is manifest to those who are really wise, from what you are now doing. For when you see that preachers of the will of God have come amongst you, because their speech makes no show of knowledge of the grammatical art, but in simple and unpolished language they set before you the divine commands, so that all who hear may be able to follow and to understand the things that are spoken, you deride the ministers and messengers of your salvation, not knowing that it is the condemnation of you who think yourselves skilful and eloquent, that rustic and barbarous men have the knowledge of the truth; whereas, when it has come to you, it is not even received as a guest, while, if your intemperance and lust did not oppose, it ought to have been a citizen and a native.
"Thus you are convicted of not being friends of truth and philosophers, but followers of boasting and vain speakers. Ye think that truth dwells not in simple, but in ingenious and subtle words, and produce countless thousands of words which are not to be rated at the worth of one word. What, then, do ye think will become of you, all ye crowd of Greeks, if there is to be, as he says, a judgment of God?
"But now give over laughing at this man to your own destruction, and let any one of you who pleases answer me; for, indeed, by your barking you annoy the ears even of those who desire to be saved, and by your clamour you turn aside to the fall of infidelity the minds that are prepared for faith. What pardon can there be for you who deride and do violence to the messenger of the truth when he offers to you the knowledge of God? whereas, even if he brought you nothing of truth, yet, even for the kindness of his intentions towards you, you ought to receive with gratitude and welcome."
1.10 -- Intercourse with Barnabas.
While I was urging these and similar arguments, a great excitement was stirred up amongst the bystanders, some being moved with pity as towards a stranger, and approving my speech as in accordance with that feeling; others, petulant and stolid, rousing the anger of their undisciplined minds as much against me as against Barnabas. But as the day was declining to evening, I laid hold of Barnabas by the right hand, and led him away, although reluctantly, to my house; and there I made him remain, lest perchance any one of the rude rabble should lay hands upon him.
While we were thus placed in contact for a few days, I gladly heard him discoursing the word of truth; yet he hastened his departure, saying that he must by all means celebrate at Judaea a festal day of his religion which was approaching, and that there he should remain in future with his countrymen and his brethren, evidently indicating that he was horrified at the wrong that had been done to him.
1.11 -- Departure of Barnabas.
At length I said to him, "Only expound to me the doctrine of that man who you say has appeared, and I will arrange your sayings in my language, and will preach the kingdom and righteousness of Almighty God; and after that, if you wish it, I shall even sail along with you, for I am extremely desirous to see Judaea, and perhaps I shall remain with you always."
To this he answered, "If indeed you wish to see our country, and to learn those things which you desire, set sail with me even now; or, if there be anything that detains you now, I shall leave with you directions to my dwelling, so that when you please to come you may easily find me; for tomorrow I shall set out on my journey."
When I saw him determined, I went down with him to the harbour, and carefully took from him the directions which he gave me to find his dwelling. I told him that, but for the necessity of getting some money which was due to me, I should not at all delay, but that I should speedily follow him. Having told him this, I commended him to the kindness of those who had charge of the ship, and returned sad; for I was possessed of the memory of the intercourse which I had had with an excellent guest and a choice friend.
1.12 -- Clement's Arrival at Caesarea, and Introduction to Peter.
Having then stopped for a few days, and having in some measure finished the business of collecting what was owing to me (for I neglected many things through my desire of hastening, that I might not be hindered from my purpose ), I set sail direct for Judaea, and after fifteen days landed at Caesarea Stratonis, which is the largest city in Palestine.
When I had landed, and was seeking for an inn, I learned from the conversation of the people, that one Peter, a most approved disciple of Him who appeared in Judaea, and showed many signs and miracles divinely performed among men, was going to hold a discussion of words and questions the next day with one Simon, a Samaritan. Having heard this, I asked to be shown his lodging; and having founder it, and standing before the door, I informed the doorkeeper who I was, and whence I came; and, behold, Barnabas coming out, as soon as he saw me rushed into my arms, weeping for joy, and, seizing me by the hand, led me in to Peter, having pointed him out to me at a distance.
"This," said he, "is Peter, of whom I spoke, to you as the greatest in the wisdom of God, and to whom also I have spoken constantly of you. Enter, therefore, as one well known to him. For he is well acquainted with all the good that is in thee, and has carefully made himself aware of your religious purpose, whence also he is greatly desirous to see you. Therefore I present you to him to-day as a great gift." At the same time, presenting me, he said, "This, O Peter, is Clement."
1.13 -- His Cordial Reception by Peter.
But Peter most kindly, when he heard my name, immediately ran to me and kissed me. Then, having made me sit down, he said, "Thou didst well to receive as thy guest Barnabas, preacher of the truth, nothing fearing the rage of the insane people. Thou shalt be blessed. For as you have deemed an ambassador of the truth worthy of all honour, so the truth herself shall receive thee a wanderer and a stranger, and shall enroll thee a citizen of her own city; and then there shall be great joy to thee, because, imparting a small favour, thou shalt be written heir of eternal blessings.
"Now, therefore, do not trouble yourself to explain your mind to me; for Barnabas has with faithful speech informed me of all things about you and your dispositions, almost daily and without ceasing, recalling the memory of your good qualities And to point out to you shortly, as to a friend already of one mind with us, what is your best course; if there is nothing to hinder you, come along with us, and hear the word of the truth, which we are going to speak in every place until we come even to the city of Rome; and now, if you wish anything, speak."
1.14 -- His Account of Himself.
Having detailed to him what purpose I had conceived from the beginning, and how I had been distracted with vain inquiries, and all those things which at first I intimated to thee, my lord James, so that I need not repeat the same things now, I willingly agreed to travel with him; "for that," said I, "is just what I was most eagerly desirous of. But first I should wish the scheme of truth to be expounded to the, that I may know whether the soul is mortal or immortal; and if immortal, whether it shall be brought into judgment for those things which it does here.
"Further, I desire to know what that righteousness is, which is pleasing to God; then, further, whether the world was created, and why it was created, and whether it is to be dissolved, and whether it is to be renovated and made better, or whether after this there shall be no world at all; and, not to mention everything, I should wish to be told what is the case with respect to these and such like things."
To this Peter answered, "I shall briefly impart to you the knowledge of these things, O Clement: therefore listen."
1.15 -- Peter's First Instruction: Causes of Ignorance.
"The will and counsel of God has for many reasons been concealed from men; first, indeed, through bad instruction, wicked associations, evil habits, unprofitable conversation, and unrighteous presumptions. On account of all these, I say, first error, then contempt, then infidelity and malice, covetousness also, and vain boasting, and other such like evils, have filled the whole house of this world, like some enormous smoke, and preventing those who dwell in it from seeing its Founder aright, and from perceiving what things are pleasing to Him.
"What, then, is fitting for those who are within, excepting with a cry brought forth from their inmost hearts to invoke His aid, who alone is not shut up in the smoke-filled house, that He would approach and open the door of the house, so that the smoke may be dissipated which is within, and the light of the sun which shines without may be admitted."
1.16 -- Instruction Continued: the True Prophet.
"He, therefore, whose aid is needed for the house filled with the darkness of ignorance and the smoke of vices, is He, we say, who is called the true Prophet, who alone can enlighten the souls of men, so that with their eyes they may plainly see the way of safety. For otherwise it is impossible to get knowledge of divine and eternal things, unless one learns of that true Prophet; because, as you yourself stated a little ago, the belief of things, and the opinions of causes, are estimated in proportion to the talents of their advocates: hence, also, one and the same cause is now thought just, now unjust; and what now seemed true, anon becomes false on the assertion of another.
"For this reason, the credit of religion and piety demanded the presence of the true Prophet, that He Himself might tell us respecting each particular, how the truth stands, and might teach us how we are to believe concerning each.6 And therefore, before all else, the credentials of the prophet himself must be examined with all care; and when you have once ascertained that he is a prophet, it behoves you thenceforth to believe him in everything, and not further to discuss the particulars which he teaches, but to hold the things which he speaks as certain and sacred; which things, although they seem to be received by faith, yet are believed on the ground of the probation previously instituted.
"For when once at the outset the truth of the prophet is established on examination, the rest is to be heard and held on the ground of the faith by which it is already established that he is a teacher of truth. And as it is certain that all things which pertain to divine knowledge ought to be held according to the rule of truth, so it is beyond doubt that from none but Himself alone can it be known what is true."
1.17 -- Peter Requests Him to Be His Attendant.
Having thus spoken, he set forth to me so openly and so clearly who that Prophet was, and how He might be found, that I seethed to have before my eyes, and to handle with my hand, the proofs which he produced concerning the prophetic truth; and I was struck with intense astonishment, how no one sees, though placed before his eyes, those things which all are seeking for.
Whence, by his command, reducing into order what he had spoken to me, I compiled a book concerning the true Prophet, and sent it to you from Caesarea by his command. For he said that he had received a command from you to send you every year an account of his sayings and doings.
Meantime, at the beginning of his discourse which he delivered to me the first day, when he had instructed me very fully concerning the true Prophet, and very many things besides, he added also this: "See," said he, "for the future, and be present at the discussions which whenever any necessity arises, I shall hold with those who contradict; against whom, when I dispute, even if I shall seem to be worsted, I shall not be afraid of your being led to doubt of those things which I have stated to you; because, even if I shall seem to be beaten, yet those things shall not therefore seem to be uncertain which the true Prophet has delivered to us.
"Yet I hope that we shall not be overcome in disputations either, if only our hearers are reasonable, and friends of truth, who can discern the force and bearing of words, and recognise what discourse comes from the sophistical art, not containing truth, but an image of truth; and what that is, which, uttered simply and without craft, depends for all its power not on show and ornanent, but on truth and reason."
1.18 -- His Profiting by Peter's Instruction.
To this I answered: "I give thanks to God Almighty, because I have been instructed as I wished and desired. At all events, you may depend upon me so far, that I can never come to doubt of those things which I have learned of you; so that even if you yourself should at any time wish to transfer my faith from the true Prophet, you should not be able, because I have drunk in with all my heart what you have spoken.
"And that you may not think that I am promising you a great thing when I say that I cannot be moved away from this faith, it is with me a certainty, that whoever has received this account of the true Prophet, can never afterwards so much as doubt of its truth. And therefore I am confident with respect to this heaven-taught doctrine, in which all the art of malice is overborne.
"For in opposition to this prophecy neither any art can stand, nor the subtleties of sophisms and syllogism; but every one who hears of the true Prophet must of necessity long immediately for the truth itself, nor will he afterwards, under pretext of seeking the truth, endure diverse errors. Wherefore, O my lord Peter, be not further anxious about me, as if I were one who does not know what he has received, and how great a gift has been conferred on him. Be assured that you have conferred a favour on one who knows and understands its value: nor can I be easily deceived on that account, because I seem to have gotten quickly what I long desired; for it may be that one who desires gets quickly, while another does not even slowly attain the things which he desires."
1.19 -- Peter's Satisfaction.
Then Peter, when he heard me speak thus, said: "I give thanks to my God, both for your salvation and for my own peace; for I am greatly delighted to see that you have understood what is the greatness of the prophetic virtue, and because, as you say, not even I myself, if I should wish it (which God forbid!), should be able to turn you away to another faith. Now henceforth begin to be with us, and to-morrow be present at our discussions, for I am to have a contest with Simon the magician."
When he had thus spoken, he retired to take food along with his friends; but he ordered me to eat by myself;8 and after the meal, when he had sung praise to God and given thanks, he rendered to me an account of this proceeding, and added, "May the Lord grant to thee to be made like to us in all things, that, receiving baptism, thou mayest be able to meet with us at the same table."
Having thus spoken, he ordered me to go to rest, for by this time both fatigue and the time of the day called to sleep.
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