Chapter XI.-On
Counter Promises.
1. Let us now
briefly see what
views we are to
form regarding promises. It is
certain that there is no
living thing which can be
altogether inactive and
immoveable, but
delights in
motion of every
kind, and in
perpetual activity and
volition; and this
nature, I
think it
evident, is in all
living things. Much more, then, must a
rational animal,
i.e., the
nature of
man, be in
perpetual movement and
activity. If, indeed, he is
forgetful of himself, and
ignorant of what becomes him, all his
efforts are
directed to
serve the
uses of the
body, and in all his
movements he is
occupied with his own
pleasures and
bodily lusts; but if he be one who
studies to
care or
provide for the
general good, then, either by
consulting for the
benefit of the
state or by
obeying the
magistrates, he
exerts himself for that, whatever it is, which
may seem
certainly to
promote the
public advantage. And if now any one be of such a
nature as to
understand that there is something
better than those
things which seem to be
corporeal, and so
bestow his
labour upon
wisdom and
science, then he will
undoubtedly direct all his
attention towards
pursuits of that
kind, that he
may, by
inquiring into the
truth,
ascertain the
causes and
reason of
things. As therefore, in this
life, one
man deems it the
highest good to
enjoy bodily pleasures, another to
consult for the
benefit of the
community, a
third to
devote attention to
study and
learning; so let us
inquire whether in that
life which is the
true one (which is
said to be
hidden with
Christ in
God,
i.e., in that
eternal life), there will be for us some such
order and
condition of
existence.
2.
Certain persons, then,
refusing the
labour of
thinking, and
adopting a
superficial view of the
letter of the
law, and
yielding rather in some
measure to the
indulgence of their own
desires and
lusts,
being disciples of the
letter alone, are of
opinion that the
fulfilment of the
promises of the
future are to be
looked for in
bodily pleasure and
luxury; and therefore they
especially desire to have again, after the
resurrection, such
bodily structures as
may never be without the
power of
eating, and
drinking, and
performing all the
functions of
flesh and
blood, not
following the
opinion of the
Apostle Paul regarding the
resurrection of a
spiritual body. And
consequently they
say, that after the
resurrection there will be
marriages, and the
begetting of
children,
imagining to themselves that the
earthly city of
Jerusalem is to be
rebuilt, its
foundations laid in
precious stones, and its
walls constructed of
jasper, and its
battlements of
crystal; that it is to have a
wall composed of many
precious stones, as
jasper, and
sapphire, and
chalcedony, and
emerald, and
sardonyx, and
onyx, and
chrysolite, and
chrysoprase, and
jacinth, and
amethyst. Moreover, they
think that the
natives of other
countries are to be
given them as the
ministers of their
pleasures, whom they are to
employ either as
tillers of the
field or
builders of
walls, and by whom their
ruined and
fallen city is again to be
raised up; and they
think that they are to
receive the
wealth of the
nations to
live on, and that they will have
control over their
riches; that even the
camels of
Midian and
Kedar will
come, and
bring to them
gold, and
incense, and
precious stones. And these
views they
think to
establish on the
authority of the
prophets by those
promises which are
written regarding Jerusalem; and by those
passages also where it is
said, that they who
serve the
Lord shall
eat and
drink, but that
sinners shall
hunger and
thirst; that the
righteous shall be
joyful, but that
sorrow shall
possess the
wicked. And from the
New Testament also they
quote the
saying of the
Saviour, in which He makes a
promise to His
disciples concerning the
joy of
wine,
saying, "
Henceforth I shall not
drink of this
cup, until I
drink it with you
new in My
Father's
kingdom." They
add, moreover, that
declaration, in which the
Saviour calls those
blessed who now
hunger and
thirst,
promising them that they shall be
satisfied; and many other
scriptural illustrations are
adduced by them, the
meaning of which they do not
perceive is to be
taken figuratively. Then, again,
agreeably to the
form of
things in this
life, and according to the
gradations of the
dignities or
ranks in this
world, or the
greatness of their
powers, they
think they are to be
kings and
princes, like those
earthly monarchs who now
exist;
chiefly, as it
appears, on
account of that
expression in the
Gospel: "Have thou
power over
five cities." And to
speak shortly, according to the
manner of
things in this
life in all
similar matters, do they
desire the
fulfilment of all
things looked for in the
promises,
viz., that what now is should
exist again. Such are the
views of those who, while
believing in
Christ,
understand the
divine Scriptures in a
sort of
Jewish sense,
drawing from them nothing
worthy of the
divine promises.
3. Those, however, who
receive the
representations of
Scripture according to the
understanding of the
apostles,
entertain the
hope that the
saints will
eat indeed, but that it will be the
bread of
life, which
may nourish the
soul with the
food of
truth and
wisdom, and
enlighten the
mind, and
cause it to
drink from the
cup of
divine wisdom, according to the
declaration of
holy Scripture: "
Wisdom has
prepared her
table, she has
killed her
beasts, she has
mingled her
wine in her
cup, and she
cries with a
loud voice,
Come to me,
eat the
bread which I have
prepared for you, and
drink the
wine which I have
mingled." By this
food of
wisdom, the
understanding,
being nourished to an
entire and
perfect condition like that in which
man was made at the beginning, is
restored to the
image and
likeness of
God; so that, although an
individual may depart from this
life less
perfectly instructed, but who has done
works that are
approved of, he will be
capable of
receiving instruction in that
Jerusalem, the
city of the
saints,
i.e., he will be
educated and
moulded, and made a
living stone, a
stone elect and
precious, because he has
undergone with
firmness and
constancy the
struggles of
life and the
trials of
piety; and will there
come to a
truer and
clearer knowledge of that which here has been already
predicted,
viz., that "
man shall not
live by
bread alone, but by every
word which
proceedeth from the
mouth of
God." And they also are to be
understood to be the
princes and
rulers who both
govern those of
lower rank, and
instruct them, and
teach them, and
train them to
divine things.
4. But if these
views should not
appear to
fill the
minds of those who
hope for such
results with a becoming
desire, let us
go back a
little, and,
irrespective of the
natural and
innate longing of the
mind for the
thing itself, let us make
inquiry so that we
may be
able at last to
describe, as it were, the very
forms of the
bread of
life, and the
quality of that
wine, and the
peculiar nature of the
principalities, all in
conformity with the
spiritual view of
things. Now, as in those
arts which are
usually performed by
means of
manual labour, the
reason why a
thing is done, or why it is of a
special quality, or for a
special purpose, is an
object of
investigation to the
mind, while the
actual work itself is
unfolded to
view by the
agency of the
hands; so, in those
works of
God which were
created by Him, it is to be
observed that the
reason and
understanding of those
things which we
see done by Him
remains undisclosed. And as, when our
eye beholds the
products of an
artist's
labour, the
mind,
immediately on
perceiving anything of
unusual artistic excellence,
burns to
know of what
nature it is, or how it was
formed, or to what
purposes it was
fashioned; so, in a much
greater degree, and in one that is beyond all
comparison, does the
mind burn with an
inexpressible desire to
know the
reason of those
things which we
see done by
God. This
desire, this
longing, we
believe to be
unquestionably implanted within us by
God; and as the
eye naturally seeks the
light and
vision, and our
body naturally desires food and
drink, so our
mind is
possessed with a becoming and
natural desire to become
acquainted with the
truth of
God and the
causes of
things. Now we have
received this
desire from
God, not in
order that it should never be
gratified or be
capable of
gratification; otherwise the
love of
truth would
appear to have been
implanted by
God into our
minds to no
purpose, if it were never to have an
opportunity of
satisfaction. Whence also, even in this
life, those who
devote themselves with
great labour to the
pursuits of
piety and
religion, although
obtaining only some
small fragments from the
numerous and
immense treasures of
divine knowledge, yet, by the very
circumstance that their
mind and
soul is
engaged in these
pursuits, and that in the
eagerness of their
desire they
outstrip themselves, do they
derive much
advantage; and, because their
minds are
directed to the
study and
love of the
investigation of
truth, are they made
fitter for
receiving the
instruction that is to
come; as if, when one would
paint an
image, he were first with a
light pencil to
trace out the
outlines of the
coming picture, and
prepare marks for the
reception of the
features that are to be afterwards
added, this
preliminary sketch in
outline is found to
prepare the
way for the
laying on of the
true colours of the
painting; so, in a
measure, an
outline and
sketch may be
traced on the
tablets of our
heart by the
pencil of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore perhaps is it
said, "Unto every one that hath shall be
given, and be
added." By which it is
established, that to those who
possess in this
life a
kind of
outline of
truth and
knowledge, shall be
added the
beauty of a
perfect image in the
future.
5. Some such
desire, I
apprehend, was
indicated by him who
said, "I am in a
strait betwixt two,
having a
desire to
depart, and to be with
Christ, which is
far better; "
knowing that when he should have
returned to
Christ he would then
know more
clearly the
reasons of all
things which are done on
earth, either
respecting man, or the
soul of
man, or the
mind; or
regarding any other
subject, such as, for
instance, what is the
Spirit that
operates, what also is the
vital spirit, or what is the
grace of the
Holy Spirit that is
given to
believers. Then also will he
understand what
Israel appears to be, or what is
meant by the
diversity of
nations; what the
twelve tribes of
Israel mean, and what the
individual people of each
tribe. Then, too, will he
understand the
reason of the
priests and
Levites, and of the
different priestly orders, the
type of which was in
Moses, and also what is the
true meaning of the
jubilees, and of the
weeks of
years with
God. He will
see also the
reasons for the
festival days, and
holy days, and for all the
sacrifices and
purifications. He will
perceive also the
reason of the
purgation from
leprosy, and what the
different kinds of
leprosy are, and the
reason of the
purgation of those who
lose their
seed. He will
come to
know, moreover, what are the
good influences, and their
greatness, and their
qualities; and those too which are of a
contrary kind, and what the
affection of the former, and what the
strife-causing emulation of the latter is towards
men. He will
behold also the
nature of the
soul, and the
diversity of
animals (whether of those which
live in the
water, or of
birds, or of
wild beast