登陆注册
5214200000187

第187章

and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."(6) This is the universal way of the soul's deliverance, which the holy angels and the holy prophets formerly disclosed where they could among the few men who found the grace of God, and especially in the Hebrew nation, whose commonwealth was, as it were, consecrated to prefigure and fore-announce the city of God which was to be gathered from all nations, by their tabernacle, and temple, and priesthood, and sacrifices.In some explicit statements, and in many obscure foreshadowings, this way was declared; but latterly came the Mediator Himself in the flesh, and His blessed apostles, revealing how the grace of the New Testament more openly explained what had been obscurely hinted to preceding generations, in conformity with the relation of the ages of the human race, and as it pleased God in His wisdom to appoint, who also bore them witness with signs and miracles some of which I have cited above.For not only were there visions of angels, and words heard from those heavenly ministrants, but also men of God, armed with the word of simple piety, cast out unclean spirits from the bodies and senses of men, and healed deformities and sicknesses; the wild beasts of earth and sea, the birds of air, inanimate things, the elements, the stars, obeyed their divine commands; the powers of hell gave way before them, the dead were restored to life.I say nothing of the miracles peculiar and proper to the Saviour's own person, especially the nativity and the resurrection; in the one of which He wrought only the mystery of a virgin maternity, while in the other He furnished an instance of the resurrection which all shall at last experience.This way purifies the whole man, and prepares the mortal in all his parts for immortality.For, to prevent us from seeking for one purgation for the part which Porphyry calls intellectual, and another for the part he calls spiritual, and another for the body itself, our most mighty and truthful Purifier and Saviour assumed the whole human nature.Except by this way, which has been present among men both during the period of the promises and of the proclamation of their fulfillment, no man has been delivered, no man is delivered, no man shall be delivered.

As to Porphyry's statement that the universal way of the soul's deliverance had not yet come to his knowledge by any acquaintance he had with history, I would ask, what more remarkable history can be found than that which has taken possession of the whole world by its authoritative voice? or what more trustworthy than that which narrates past events, and predicts the future with equal clearness, and in the unfulfilled predictions of which we are constrained to believe by those that are already fulfilled? For neither Porphyry nor any Platonists can despise divination and prediction, even of things that pertain to this life and earthly matters, though they justly despise ordinary soothsaying and the divination that is connected with magical arts.They deny that these are the predictions of great men, or are to be considered important, and they are right; for they are rounded, either on the foresight of subsidiary causes, as to a professional eye much of the course of a disease is foreseen by certain pre-monitory symptoms, or the unclean demons predict what they have resolved to do, that they may thus work upon the thoughts and desires of the wicked with an appearance of authority, and incline human frailty to imitate their impure actions.

It is not such things that the saints who walk in the universal way care to predict as important, although, for the purpose of commending the faith, they knew and often predicted even such things as could not be detected by human observation, nor be readily verified by experience.But there were other truly important and divine events which they predicted, in so far as it was given them to know the will of God.For the incarnation of Christ, and all those important marvels that were accomplished in Him, and done in His name; the repentance of men and the conversion of their wills to God; the remission of sins, the grace of righteousness, the faith of the pious, and the multitudes in all parts of the world who believe in the true divinity; the overthrow of idolatry and demon worship, and the testing of the faithful by trials;the purification of those who persevered, and their deliverance from all evil; the day of judgment, the resurrection of the dead, the eternal damnation of the community of the ungodly, and the eternal kingdom of the most glorious city of God, ever-blessed in the enjoyment of the vision of God,--these things were predicted and promised in the Scriptures of this way; and of these we see so many fulfilled, that we justly and piously trust that the rest will also come to pass.As for those who do not believe, and consequently do not understand, that this is the way which leads straight to the vision of God and to eternal fellowship with Him, according to the true predictions and statements of the Holy Scriptures, they may storm at our position, but they cannot storm it.

And therefore, in these ten books, though not meeting, I dare say, the expectation of some, yet I have, as the true God and Lord has vouchsafed to aid me, satisfied the desire of certain persons, by refuting the objections of the ungodly, who prefer their own gods to the Founder of the holy city, about which we undertook to speak.Of these ten books, the first five were directed against those who think we should worship the gods for the sake of the blessings of this life, and the second five against those who think we should worship them for the sake of the life which is to be after death.And now, in fulfillment of the promise I made in the first book, I shall go on to say, as God shall aid me, what I think needs to be said regarding the origin, history, and deserved ends of the two cities, which, as already remarked, are in this world commingled and implicated with one another.

同类推荐
  • 佛说十二品生死经

    佛说十二品生死经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 海印昭如禅师语录

    海印昭如禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 妆钿铲传

    妆钿铲传

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 证契大乘经

    证契大乘经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 指要钞

    指要钞

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 锦绣田园俏厨娘

    锦绣田园俏厨娘

    刚上大学的云轻落去乡下体验现在流行的农家乐,因为自己贪吃,想去山里找点天然的野菜品尝。 不料,一失足跌了深谷,原以为会尸骨无存。不想是踏入了异世,还被一只穷猎户捡到了。 婚前,自己无法无天;婚后,被宠得无法无天。 云轻落表示要悠然地赚钱种包子。欢迎入坑~〖1V1.女主活泼可爱,男主高冷。〗
  • 南方以南

    南方以南

    本书为散文随笔集,收录作者精选游记18篇。包括波普茨海姆印象、从岳阳楼到黄鹤楼、回望高句丽、越南妹子阿衡等中外旅行游记。是作者行走中见闻的记录,更是用心感知生活,体味人生的所思所想。本书以其中一篇散文命名。作者年志勇为吉林省作家协会会员,作品《天下》《洗牌》《命门》构建了中国通信业的激流三部曲,为读者喜爱。
  • 如果没有你

    如果没有你

    “秦止,看到信息回我好不好?”“秦止,我怀孕了,你在哪儿?”“为什么不回我……”秦止读完这两百多条迟来的留言时,却再也联系不上人,多年以后,当秦止将五岁的女儿从相依为命的奶奶那里抱回家时,望着那张与她相似的脸,突然间心如刀绞,不知哪一天,那个说着要一起走到未来的人,突然就没了。
  • 邪王33次求婚:狂妃狠毒辣

    邪王33次求婚:狂妃狠毒辣

    一朝重生,她敛尽风华,倾尽天下。人前,她是卑微无能、一无是处的庶出小姐;人后,她是步步为营、算无遗策的复仇女王。他是手握重权的一国亲王,邪魅无情,无欲无求,独宠她上天,有求必应。夺他性命的渣男?夺其权,要其命;令她生不如死的嫡姐?毁其容,扒其皮;害她生母的恶毒的姨娘、庶姐?让她们一无所有,身首异处;杀她亲弟的伪善嫡母?撕开她的面具,含恨而终;偏心虚伪的生父?让其身败名裂,郁郁而终。
  • 盛世医华

    盛世医华

    前世虽为商贾嫡女,但儿时也是集宠爱一身。自从父亲的小妾和一双子女进门,母亲身子一天不如一天,早早病逝,自己也不得善终......老天有眼,竟然让她重生回到一切开始前,这一次,她绝不会让那恶人得逞,学好医术,定不让母亲早逝!只是,这冒出来的腹黑王爷,是怎么回事?
  • 奇妙的宇宙发现

    奇妙的宇宙发现

    人类总是充满好奇心,富有求知欲望,不仅对历史积淀的文 化知识和日益发展的科学技术具有浓厚的兴趣,而且对世界上许 许多多的未解之谜都充满了好奇心。这是人类的心理特征,也是 人类社会进步的一种基本动因。从地球到宇宙,从自然到历史, 从科学到艺术,在这许许多多的领域中,无不存在着这样或那样 的“未解之谜”。
  • 社会组织治理的公共政策研究

    社会组织治理的公共政策研究

    改革开放以来,社会组织迅速发展,在经济和社会生活中发挥着越来越重要的作用,日益得到高度重视。本书采用制度主义的方法,专门对社会组织的相关政策进行了梳理,考察我国的社会组织的具体状况,从而为社会组织的治理提供参考。本书首先讲述了社会组织总体的发展与现状,而后对正式社会组织、草根社会组织、网络社会组织的相关政策法规进行了梳理。
  • 金箓斋投简仪

    金箓斋投简仪

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 盗情

    盗情

    谢谢看见你就追制作的视频&pstyle=1#CommentPlace谢谢魅影制作的视频她是二十一世纪最负盛名的神偷之一她是黑市上经久不衰的车王神话她一个风一般的女子潇洒来去,快意人生他是黑道上数一数二的豪门大佬铁血无情心狠手辣没想到有人敢太岁头上动土动了他的财物既然是有人嫌命长了,他就替她来收是情,是爱,是恨,是伤一切扑朔迷离黑帮文,火拼激烈,场面宏大,情节血腥,黑暗情节严重,口味甚重,想只看情感纠葛的别进来,偶这里有的是整个世界黑暗面,里面的男主绝对不是好人,汗,带坏小孩子。自己的完结文回到唐朝当混混家有刁夫火爆妖夫推荐神偷系列文盗心,女主沐随心群号:7047847谢谢痒痒给偶建的群,喜欢的可以来聊天
  • 精明官商的故事

    精明官商的故事

    童话是世界儿童文学中永不凋谢的花冠,是与我们少年儿童捉迷藏的小朋友。童话奠定了我们的人生基础,影响着我们的一生。因此应该把那些名篇珍品传给后代,陶冶后代。