Ioasaph said unto him, "Great and marvellous, sir, are the things
whereof thou tellest me, fearful and terrible, if indeed these things
be so, and, if there be after death and dissolution into dust and
ashes, a resurrection and re-birth, and rewards and punishments for the
deeds done during life. But what is the proof thereof? And how have
ye come to learn that which ye have not seen, that ye have so
steadfastly and undoubtingly believed it? As for things that have
already been done and made manifest in deed, though ye saw them not,
yet have ye heard them from the writers of history. But, when it is of
the future that ye preach tidings of such vast import, how have ye made
your conviction on these matters sure?"
Quoth Barlaam, "From the past I gain certainty about the future; for
they that preached the Gospel, without erring from the truth, but
establishing their sayings by signs and wonders and divers miracles,
themselves also spake of the future. So, as in the one case they
taught us nothing amiss or false, but made all that they said and did
to shine clearer than the sun, so also in the other matter they gave us
true doctrine, even that which our Lord and Master Jesus Christ himself
confirmed both by word and deed. 'Verily,' he spake, 'I say unto you,
the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear
the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live:' and again,
'The hour cometh when the dead shall hear his voice, and shall come
forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they
that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.' And again he
said concerning the resurrection of the dead, 'Have ye not read that
which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead
but of the living.' 'For as the tares are gathered and burned in the
fire, so shall it be in the end of this age. The Son of God shall send
forth his Angels, and they shall gather all things that offend, and
them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire;
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father.' Thus spake he
and added this thereto, 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.'
"In such words and many more did the Lord make manifest the
resurrection of our bodies, and confirm his words in deed, by raising
many that were dead. And, toward the end of his life upon earth, he
called from the grave one Lazarus his friend, that had already been
four days dead and stank, and thus he restored the lifeless to life.
Moreover, the Lord himself became the first-fruits of that resurrection
which is final and no longer subject unto death, after he had in the
flesh tasted of death; and on the third day he rose again, and became
the first-born from the dead. For other men also were raised from the
dead, but died once more, and might not yet attain to the likeness of
the future true resurrection. But he alone was the leader of that
resurrection, the first to be raised to the resurrection immortal.
"This was the preaching also of them that from the beginning were
eye-witnesses and ministers of the word; for thus saith blessed Paul,
whose calling was not of men, but from heaven, 'Brethren, I declare
unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you. For I delivered unto
you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures. Now if Christ be preached that
he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no
resurrection of the dead? For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ
raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in
your sins. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all
men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become
the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by
man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.' And after a little while,
'For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall
be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory. O death where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?'
For then the power of death is utterly annulled and destroyed, no
longer working in us, but for the future there is given unto men
immortality and incorruption for evermore.
"Beyond all question, therefore, there shall be a resurrection of the
dead, and this we believe undoubtingly. Moreover we know that there
shall be rewards and punishments for the deeds done in our life-time,
on the dreadful day of Christ's coming, 'wherein the heavens shall be
dissolved in fire and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,' as
saith one of the inspired clerks of God; 'nevertheless we, according to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth.' For that there
shall be rewards and punishments for men's works, and that absolutely
nothing, good or bad, shall be overlooked, but that there is reserved a
requital for words, deeds and thoughts, is plain. The Lord saith,
'Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of
cold water only, in the name of a disciple, he shall in no wise lose
his reward.' And again he saith, 'When the Son of man shall come in
his glory, and all the holy Angels with him, then before him shall be
gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep
on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say
unto them on his right hand, 'Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was
anhungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was
sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.'
Wherefore saith he this, except he count the kind acts we do unto the
needy as done unto himself? And in another place he saith, 'Whosoever
shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father
which is in heaven.'
"Lo, by all these examples and many more he proveth that the rewards of
good works are certain and sure. Further, that punishments are in
store for the bad, he foretold by parables strange and wonderful, which
he, the Well of Wisdom most wisely put forth. At one time he brought
into his tale a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine
linen, and fared sumptuously every day, but who was so niggardly and
pitiless toward the destitute as to overlook a certain beggar named
Lazarus laid at his gate, and not even to give him of the crumbs from
his table. So when one and other were dead, the poor man, full of
sores, was carried away, he saith, into Abraham's bosom, for thus he
describeth the habitation of the righteous--but the rich man was
delivered to the fire of bitter torment in hell. To him said Abraham,
'Thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus
his evil things, but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."
"And otherwhere he likeneth the kingdom of heaven to a certain king
which made a marriage-feast for his son and thereby he declared future
happiness and splendour. For as he was wont to speak to humble and
earthly minded men, he would draw his parables from homely and familiar
things. Not that he meant that marriages and feasts exist in that
world; but in condescension to men's grossness, he employed these names
when he would make known to them the future. So, as he telleth, the
king with high proclamation called all to come to the marriage to take
their fill of his wondrous store of good things. But many of them that
were bidden made light of it and came not, and busied themselves: some
went to their farms, some to their merchandize, and others to their
newly wedded wives, and thus deprived themselves of the splendour of
the bride chamber. Now when these had, of their own choice, absented
themselves from this joyous merriment, others were bidden thereto, and
the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see
the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment, and
he said unto him, "Friend, how camest thou in hither, not having a
wedding garment?" And he was speechless. Then said the king to the
servants, "Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into
outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Now
they who made excuses and paid no heed to the call are they that hasten
not to the faith of Christ, but continue in idolatry or heresy. But he
that had no wedding garment is he that believeth, but hath soiled his
spiritual garment with unclean acts, and was rightly cast forth from
the joy of the bride chamber.
"And he put forth yet another parable, in harmony with this, in his
picture of the Ten Virgins, 'five of whom were wise, and five were
foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with
them, but the wise took oil.' By the oil he signifieth the acquiring
of good works. 'And at midnight,' he saith, 'there was a cry made,
"Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him."' By midnight he
denoteth the uncertainty of that time. Then all those virgins arose.
'They that were ready went forth to meet the bridegroom and went in
with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.' But they that were
un-ready (whom rightly he calleth foolish), seeing that their lamps
were going out, went forth to buy oil. Afterward they drew nigh, the
door being now shut, and cried, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But
he answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.'
Wherefore from all this it is manifest that there is a requital not
only for overt acts, but also for words and even secret thoughts; for
the Saviour said, 'I say unto you, that for every idle word that men
shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement.'
And again he saith, 'But the very hairs of your head are numbered,' by
the hairs meaning the smallest and slightest phantasy or thought. And
in harmony herewith is the teaching of blessed Paul, 'For the word of
God,' saith he, 'is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, and piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid bare unto the
eyes of him with whom we have to do."
"These things also were proclaimed with wondrous clearness by the
prophets of old time, illumined by the grace of the Spirit. For Esay
saith, 'I know their works and their thoughts,' and will repay them.
'Behold, I come to gather all nations and all tongues; and they shall
come and see my glory. And the heaven shall be new, and the earth,
which I make before me. And all flesh shall come to worship before me,
saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses
of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not
die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be a
spectacle unto all flesh." And again he saith concerning that day,
"And the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and all the
stars shall fall down as leaves from the vine. For behold, the day of
the Lord cometh, cruel with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the whole
world desolate and to destroy the sinners out of it. For the stars of
heaven and Orion and all the constellations of heaven shall not give
their light, and there shall be darkness at the sun's rising, and the
moon shall not give her light. And I will cause the arrogancy of the
sinners to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the proud.' And
again he saith, 'Wo unto them that draw their iniquities as with a long
cord, and their sins as with an heifer's cart-rope! Wo unto them that
call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light
for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Wo unto
those of you that are mighty, that are princes, that mingle strong
drink, which justify the wicked for reward, and take justice from the
just, and turn aside the judgement from the needy, and take away the
right from the poor, that the widow may be their spoil and the
fatherless their prey! And what will they do in the day of visitation,
and to whom will they flee for help? And where will they leave their
glory, that they fall not into arrest? Like as stubble shall be burnt
by live coal of fire, and consumed by kindled flame, so their root
shall be as foam, and their blossom shall go up as dust, for they would
not the law of the Lord of hosts, and provoked the oracle of the Holy
One of Israel."
"In tune therewith saith also another prophet, 'The great day of the
Lord is near, and hasteth greatly. The bitter and austere voice of the
day of the Lord hath been appointed. A mighty day of wrath is that
day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation,
a day of blackness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
a day of the trumpet and alarm. And I will bring distress upon the
wicked, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned
against the Lord. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to
deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; for the whole land shall
be devoured by the fire of his jealousy, for he shall make a riddance
of all them that dwell in the land.' Moreover David, the king and
prophet, crieth thus, 'God shall come visibly, even our God, and shall
not keep silence: a fire shall be kindled before him, and a mighty
tempest round about him. He shall call the heaven from above, and the
earth, that he may judge his people.' And again he saith, 'Arise, O
God, judge thou the earth, because "the fierceness of man shall turn to
thy praise." And thou shalt "reward every man according to his works."'
And many other such things have been spoken by the Psalmist, and all
the Prophets inspired by the Holy Ghost, concerning the judgement and
the recompense to come. Their words also have been most surely
confirmed by the Saviour who hath taught us to believe the resurrection
of the dead, and the recompense of the deeds done in the flesh, and the
unending life of the world to come."
X
But Ioasaph was filled hereby with deep compunction, and was melted
into tears; and he said to the elder, "Thou hast told me everything
plainly, and hast completed unerringly thy terrible and marvellous
tale. With such truths set before us, what must we do to escape the
punishments in store for sinners, and to gain the joy of the righteous?"
Barlaam answered: "It is written of Peter, who was also called chief of
the Apostles, that once when he was preaching the people were pricked
in their heart, like thyself to-day: and when they asked, 'What shall
we do?', Peter said unto them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of
you for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to
all that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call.'
Behold therefore upon thee also hath he poured forth the riches of his
mercy, and hath called thee that wert afar off from him in heart, and
didst serve others, not Gods, but pernicious devils and dumb and
senseless wooden images. Wherefore before all things approach thou him
who hath called thee, and from him shalt thou receive the true
knowledge of things visible and invisible. But if, after thy calling,
thou be loth or slack, thou shalt be disherited by the just judgement
of God, and by thy rejection of him thou shalt be rejected. For thus
too spake the same Apostle Peter to a certain disciple. But I believe
that thou hast heard the call, and that, when thou hast heard it more
plainly, thou wilt take up thy Cross, and follow that God and Master
that calleth thee, calleth thee to himself from death unto life, and
from darkness unto light. For, soothly, ignorance of God is darkness
and death of the soul; and to serve idols, to the destruction of all
nature, is to my thinking the extreme of all senselessness.
"But idolaters--to whom shall I compare them, and to what likeness
shall I liken their silliness? Well, I will set before thee an example
which I heard from the lips of one most wise.
"'Idol worshippers,' said he, 'are like a fowler who caught a tiny
bird, called nightingale. He took a knife, for to kill and eat her;
but the nightingale, being given the power of articulate speech, said
to the fowler, 'Man, what advantageth it thee to slay me? for thou
shalt not be able by my means to fill thy belly. Now free me of my
fetters, and I will give thee three precepts, by the keeping of which
thou shalt be greatly benefited all thy life long.' He, astonied at
her speech, promised that, if he heard anything new from her, he would
quickly free her from her captivity. The nightingale turned towards
our friend and said, 'Never try to attain to the unattainable: never
regret the thing past and gone: and never believe the word that passeth
belief. Keep these three precepts, and may it be well with thee.' The
man, admiring the lucidity and sense of her words, freed the bird from
her captivity, and sent her forth aloft. She, therefore, desirous to
know whether the man had understood the force of her words, and whether
he had gleaned any profit therefrom, said, as she flew aloft, 'Shame,
sir, on thy fecklessness! What a treasure that hast lost to-day! For
I have inside me a pearl larger than an ostrich-egg.' When the fowler
heard thereof, he was distraught with grief, regretting that the bird
had escaped out of his hands. And he would fain have taken her again.
'Come hither,' said he, 'into my house: I will make thee right welcome,
and send thee forth with honour.' But the nightingale said unto him,
'Now I know thee to be a mighty fool. Though thou didst receive my
words readily and gladly, thou hast gained no profit thereby. I bade
thee never regret the thing past and gone; and behold thou art
distraught with grief because I have escaped out of thy hands there
thou regrettest a thing past and gone. I charged thee not to try to
attain to the unattainable, and thou triest to catch me, though thou
canst not attain to my path. Besides which, I bade thee never believe
a word past belief, and behold thou hast believed that I had inside me
a pearl exceeding the measure of my size, and hadst not the sense to
see that my whole body doth not attain to the bulk of ostrich eggs.
How then could I contain such a pearl?"'
"Thus senseless, then, are also they that trust in idols: for these be
their handiwork, and they worship that which their fingers made,
saying, 'These be our creators.' How then deem they their creators
those which have been formed and fashioned by themselves? Nay more,
they safeguard their gods, lest they be stolen by thieves, and yet they
call them guardians of their safety. And yet what folly not to know
that they, which be unable to guard and aid themselves, can in no wise
guard and save others! 'For' saith he, 'why, on behalf of the living,
should they seek unto the dead?' They expend wealth, for to raise
statues and images to devils, and vainly boast that these give them
good gifts, and crave to receive of their hands things which those
idols never possessed, nor ever shall possess. Wherefore it is
written, 'May they that make them be like unto them, and so be all such
as put their trust in them, who,' he saith, 'hire a goldsmith, and make
them gods, and they fall down, yea, they worship them. They bear them
upon the shoulders, and go forward. And if they set them in their
place, they stand therein: they shall not remove. Yea, one shall cry
unto them, yet call they not answer him, nor save him out of his
trouble.' 'Wherefore be ye ashamed with everlasting shame, ye that
trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our
gods.' 'For they sacrificed,' he saith, 'unto devils, and not to God;
to gods whom their fathers knew not. There came new and fresh gods;
because it is a froward generation, and there is no faith in them.'
"Wherefore out of this wicked and faithless generation the Lord calleth
thee to him, saying, 'Come out from among them, and be thou separate,
and touch no unclean thing,' but 'save thyself from this untoward
generation.' 'Arise thou, and depart, for this is not thy rest;' for
that divided lordship, which your gods hold, is a thing of confusion
and strife and hath no real being whatsoever. But with us it is not
so, neither have we many gods and lords, but one God, the Father, of
whom are all things, and we unto him: and one Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom are all things and we by him, 'who is the image of the invisible
God, the first born of every creature' and of all ages, 'for in him
were all things created that are in the heavens and that are upon the
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers.' 'All things were made by him, and without
him was not anything made that was made:' and one Holy Ghost, in whom
are all things, 'the Lord and Giver of life,' God and making God, the
good Spirit, the right Spirit, 'the Spirit the Comforter,' 'the Spirit
of adoption.' Of these each person, severally, is God. As the Father
is, so also is the Son, and as the Son, so also the Holy Ghost. And
there is one God in three, one nature, one kingdom, one power, one
glory, one substance, distinct in persons, and so only distinct. One
is the Father, whose property it is not to have been begotten; one is
the only-begotten Son, and his property it is to have been begotten;
and one is the Holy Ghost, and his property it is that he proceedeth.
Thus illuminated by that light, which is the Father, with that light,
which is the Son, in that light, which is the Holy Ghost, we glorify
one Godhead in three persons. And he is one very and only God, known
in the Trinity: for of him and through him, and unto him are all things.
"By his grace also, I came to know thy ease, and was sent to teach thee
the lessons that I have learned and observed from my youth even to
these grey hairs. If then thou shalt believe and be baptized, thou
shalt be saved; but if thou believe not, thou shalt be damned. All the
things that thou seest to-day, wherein thou gloriest,--pomp, luxury,
riches, and all the deceitfulness of life,--quickly pass away; and they
shall cast thee hence whether thou wilt or no. And thy body will be
imprisoned in a tiny grave, left in utter loneliness, and bereft of all
company of kith and kin. And all the pleasant things of the world
shall perish; and instead of the beauty and fragrance of to-day, thou
shalt be encompassed with horror and the stink of corruption. But thy
soul shall they hurl into the nether-regions of the earth, into the
condemnation of Hades, until the final resurrection, when re-united to
her body, she shall be cast forth from the presence of the Lord and be
delivered to hell fire, which burneth everlastingly. These, and far
worse haps than these, shall be thy destiny, if thou continue in
unbelief.
"But and if thou readily obey him that calleth thee to salvation, and
if thou run unto him with desire and joy, and be signed with his light,
and follow him without turn, renouncing every thing, and cleaving only
unto him, hear what manner of security and happiness shall be thine.
'When thou sittest down, thou shall not be afraid of sudden fear. When
thou liest down, sweet shall be thy sleep.' And thou shalt not be
afraid of terror coming or the assaults of evil spirits, but shalt go
thy way bold as any lion, and shalt live in bliss and everlasting
joyaunce. For joy and praise shall crown thy head, and gladness shall
befall thee there, where pain and sorrow and wailing shall flee away.'
'Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health
shall rise speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and
the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.' Then shalt thou call, and
the Lord shall answer; while thou art yet speaking, he shall say, 'Here
am I.' 'I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions, and
will not remember them. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together:
declare thou thy sins that thou mayst be justified.' 'Though thy sins
be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow: though they be red as
crimson I will make them white as wool, for the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it.'"