Part 5
darkness, who adorned the ether with stars and made the earth bring forth all manner of seed, who called the animals into being and created man. If we follow God as the molder who holds all things together and watches over all things with that same wisdom and skill with which he governs the universe, and if we lift up holy hands to him, what need does he have then of ritual sacrifices?
Beautiful indeed is the world, glorious in its magnitude, in the arrangement of the stars, both in the zodiac and around the constellation of the Great Dipper and in its form as a sphere. Yet the world for these reasons does not deserve to be worshipped; rather does its sublime artificer…God himself is everything: unapproachable light! Perfect beauty! Spirit! Power! Word!
If the world were a well-tuned instrument played in rhythm, I would not worship the instrument but him who made it and tuned it, who strikes the notes and sings the song that fits the melody. God is the perfect good and eternally does only good.
Athenagoras, A Plea Regarding Christians 13, 16.
15 The presbyter, a disciple of the apostles, expressed himself in the same way concerning the two covenants, showing that both came from one and the same God and that there is no other God except him who created and formed us. The argument of those who maintain that this world surrounding us was made by an angel or by any other kind of power, or by another god, has no basis at all, for once a person is driven away from the creator of all things and concedes that the world in which we live was made by another or through another, he has to fall into many absurd and contradictory notions; he will not be able to render an account either of the probability of these or of their truth.
"Traditions of the Elders" in Irenaeus, Against Heresies IV.32.1.
16 There will never be another God, nor has there ever been another God from eternity, except the one, who created and ordered this universe. Furthermore, we believe that our God is none other than yours. According to our faith he is one and the same God as he who with
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a strong hand and an outstretched arm led your fathers out of Egypt. We have placed our trust in no other God (for there is no other) but only in him whom you also have trusted, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The law proclaimed on Horeb is of course obsolete and belongs to you alone, whereas ours is for all men everywhere and at all times. Now whenever a law is laid down in opposition to another law, it supersedes the former one. In the same way, a later compact annuls the former one. Christ has been given to us as the eternal and final law. We can rely on the covenant, after which there will be no further law, no precept, no command.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 11.1, 2.
17 Do you think we conceal the object of our worship because we have no temples and altars? What image of God can I invent since in reality man himself is God's image? What temple shall I build him when the whole world, the work of his hands, cannot contain him? And I, a man who lives comparatively spaciously, should I shut up the greatness of such majesty in a single small cell? Should we not rather make a sanctuary for him in our souls? Should we not consecrate a holy place to him in our inmost hearts? Shall I sacrifice little and big animals to him? After all, he created them for my use, and so I could only return to him his own gift.
Certainly, we cannot show or see the God we worship. He is God for us just because we can know him but cannot see him. In his works, in all the movements of the universe, we perceive his power always, whether in thunder, lightning, an approaching storm, or in the clear sky.
And you believe that this God knows nothing of the doings and dealings of men? You believe that from his throne in heaven he cannot visit all men or know individual men? Man, in this you are mistaken and deceived. How can God be far away! The whole heaven and the whole earth and all things beyond the confines of the world are filled with God. Everywhere he is very close to us, yes, much more than that, he is in
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us. Look at the sun again! Fixed in the sky, its light is still poured out over all the earth. It is equally present everywhere and penetrates everything. Its splendor is nowhere dimmed. How much more is God present, he who is the creator of all things and sees all things, from whom nothing can remain hidden! He is present in darkness, present even in our thoughts, which are a darkness of another kind as it were. All our deeds are done under his eyes. I would almost say: we live with him.
Minucius Felix, Octavius 32.1, 2, 4, 7–9.
18 It is he who has manifested himself. He revealed himself through faith. To faith alone is it given to see God. God, the Ruler and creator of the universe, he who made all things and arranged them in proper order, was man's friend and full of kindness and patience. This he always was, is, and always will be: kind and good, slow to anger, and true. He alone is good. When he had conceived the great and ineffable thought, he communicated it only to his son. Now, as long as he kept and guarded his wise counsel within himself as a secret, it could appear as if he were not concerned and did not care about us. But he disclosed what he had in mind from the beginning through his beloved son. Through him he revealed it. Thus he granted us all things at once, to share in his blessings, to perceive, and to understand. Which of us could have expected all this?
Letter to Diognetus 8.5–9.
19 The father of the universe is unbegotten. Therefore he cannot have any name attached to him, for whenever someone receives a name, the giver of the name is the older one. The words Father, God, Creator, Lord, and Ruler are not names but only descriptions of attributes derived from his good deeds and his works. However his Son, who alone is called his son in the proper sense, being the Logos who was in the Father before all creation, was begotten when he created and set in order all things through the Son in the beginning. He is called the Christ because he was anointed, and because God set all things in order through him.
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Christ is a name that also contains an incomprehensible concept, just as the term "God" is no real name but the concept of an inexplicable being, inborn in human nature. However, "Jesus" points to the name and concept of a man and a redeemer, for, as we have said already, he became man. He was born in accordance with the will of God the Father for the sake of believing men and for the downfall of all demons, as you can see even now in that which takes place before your own eyes. After all, many of our people (the Christians namely) have healed a great number of possessed persons who did not receive healing from any other exorcist, sorcerer, or herb doctor. They did this throughout the whole world, and even in your own capital city, by driving out the demons in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate.
Justin, Second Apology 6.
20 Chosen king of the world to come, he took up battle against the one who received the rulership for the present time, as it was ordained beforehand. What grieved him most sorely was this, that he was attacked in ignorance by the very people for whom he waged the fight as for his own children. And yet he loved those who hated him, mourned over those who did not believe in him, blessed those who abused him, and prayed for his enemies. He not only acted like a father himself, but he also taught his disciples to do the same in their attitude [toward others], to act toward them as toward their own brothers. In this way he was a father, in this way a Prophet. Hence follows the expectation that in this way also he shall be king over his children and that a time of eternal peace shall break in by virtue of his fatherly love toward his children and of the indwelling reverence of the children toward their father.
Clementine Homelies III.19.
21 The Christians trace their lineage from Jesus Christ. He is called the son of God most high. Concerning him the testimony is given that he descended from heaven as God and took and put on flesh from a Hebrew virgin, and that in this way the son of God dwelt in a daughter of man. This is taught in the Good News which, so they testify, has been
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spread abroad in recent times. You too will be able to grasp its significance when you read it. This Jesus, then, is descended from the people of the Hebrews. He had twelve disciples through whom his wonderful work of salvation was to be accomplished. He himself was pierced by the Jews, and it is testified that he lived again after three days and was lifted up into heaven. After that, these same twelve disciples went out into the known parts of the world and proclaimed his majesty with loving-kindness and serious intent. For this reason those who believe in this proclamation today are called Christians, a name by which they have become well known.
Aristides, Apology 2.6–8.
22 Christ alone is begotten as the real son of God because he is his Logos, his firstborn, and his power. Becoming man according to his counsel, he gave us these teachings for the transformation and leading upward of humankind.
Justin, First Apology 23.
23 The Christian teaching is more sublime than any other because in Christ the divine Logos became man.
Whoever does not know Christ does not know the will of God. Whoever despises and hates Christ obviously despises and hates him who sent him. And if a person does not believe in Christ, he does not believe in the words of the prophets, in which his joyful news was proclaimed to all men.
If you knew the words of the prophets, you would not be able to deny that Jesus is God, son of the one unbegotten and ineffable God.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 26.10.
24 He is eternal, although he came to be born of the virgin Mary and became man. It is with him that the Father begins to renew heaven and earth. Through him shall he bring about the new Creation. It is he who shall shine as the eternal light in Jerusalem.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 113.4, 5.
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25 From the fortieth and fiftieth year the span of life begins to decline toward older age, and our Lord taught at this age as the Gospel and all the elders testify. They were together in Asia with John, the Lord's disciple, [and say] that John handed this information down to them, for he stayed with them until the times of Trajan. Some of them, moreover, saw not only John but other apostles as well and heard the same account from them, and they bear witness to this report.
"Traditions of the Elders" in Irenaeus, Against Heresies II.22.5.
26 You can see that the crucified Christ possesses the hidden power of God: every demon, in fact all and every power and authority on earth, trembles before him.
The Word revealed that the nations shall believe in him. You can see it with your own eyes, for we who are men of all nationalities have become God-fearing and righteous through our faith in Christ, and we wait for his future coming.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 49.8; 52.4.
27 Through miracles, too, you can be led to an understanding of Jesus. In miracles we recognized Christ, the son of God, who was crucified, who rose from the dead, who ascended into heaven, and who shall come once more to judge all men who ever lived, even as far back as Adam.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 132.1.
28 If such miracles are shown to have accompanied the power of his suffering and still now accompany it, how great will be the miracles when he appears again in glory! As Daniel revealed, he shall appear on the clouds as the Son of Man, accompanied by angels.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 31.1.
29 But if Jesus at his first coming which took place in lowliness, without honor or glory, revealed so much light and power that now every nation knows him – so much that the old positions of international
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corruption are abandoned in a general retreat, so much that even the demons submit to his name and all the powers and kingdoms have greater fear of his name than of the whole world of the dead – shall he not then, at his future appearance, which will take place in radiant glory, destroy completely all his enemies and all those who in their sins have turned their backs on him! How he will then reward his own with all the things they expected and lead them to peace!
Christ, my Lord, the mighty and powerful one, shall come and demand what is his own from all.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 121.3; 125.5.
30 Oh, foolish people! They do not understand what has been proven again and again, that two manifestations of his arrival are prophesied: in the one he suffers, is robbed of glory and honor, and is crucified as was prophesied; in the other he will appear in glory from heaven. This will come about when the person of great apostasy, who utters improper things against the most high, will be bold enough to commit sinful acts on earth against us Christians – against us, who have learned the true worship of God from the law and from the Word which went out from Jerusalem by way of the apostles of Jesus and who have taken refuge in the God of Jacob and the God of Israel.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 110.2.
31 Whatever else is mentioned in prophecy shall be fulfilled at his second appearance. When those are mentioned who are oppressed and cast out, that is, cast out from the world, this means: As far as you and all other men have it in your power, every Christian is cast out not only from his property but even from the world itself. You dispute his very right to live.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 110.5.
32 I already pointed out that Moses, too, showed in a symbol two appearances of our Christ. The same truth was figuratively foretold and announced by the actions of Moses and Jesus [that is, Joshua]. The one
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remained on the hill until evening with his arms stretched out and supported, representing the type (foreshadowing) of the cross; the other, whose byname was Jesus, took charge of the battle and led Israel to victory. Now in the case of both these holy men and prophets of God, we can perceive that neither of them alone was worthy of bearing both mysteries together, the type of the cross and the mystery of the name, for one alone is, was, and shall be capable of this, before whose name every power shudders in fear of being destroyed by him in the future.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 111.1, 2.
33 Since all things which have happened were predicted before they occurred, we should trust that similar prophecies, which are not yet fulfilled, will quite certainly happen. The prophecies already fulfilled came true even though they were not understood. In the same way the other prophecies will also quite certainly come true, even though they are not understood and not believed. The prophets foretold a twofold coming of Christ: the one, belonging already to history, was the coming of a dishonored and suffering man; the other shall take place when, as the prophets announced, he shall appear from heaven in glory with his angelic throng. Then will he raise up the bodies of all men who ever lived and clothe the bodies of the worthy with incorruption, but the bodies of the unrighteous, eternally subject to pain, he will cast into eternal fire together with the evil spirits.
Justin, First Apology 52.
34 The blessing [Gen. 27:27–29] undoubtedly refers to the times of the Kingdom, when the just shall rise from the dead and reign, when also creation, made new and set free, shall produce an abundance of all kinds of food from the dew of heaven and the fertility of the earth [Gen. 27]. So this is what the elders who had seen John, the Lord's disciple, remembered hearing from him concerning the things the Lord had taught about those times.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies V.33.3 (cf. Eusebius III.39.1)
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35 The first elders bear witness that when Christ comes again, when he rules over all, there will in truth be unity, harmony, and peace among the different kinds of animals, which by nature are opposed and hostile to each other. Irenaeus, Demonstration of the Apostolic Proclamation 61.
36 Papias maintained that after the resurrection of the dead there will be a period of a thousand years when Christ's kingdom will be established on this earth in physical form.
He is said to have maintained the mishna [Jewish teaching] of a millennium.
Papias in Eusebius III.39.11; Jerome, On Illustrious Men 18.
37 You are very zealous to be on sure ground when you refer to the Scriptures. But tell me, do you really maintain that our city of Jerusalem shall be built up again, and do you really expect that your people will gather there joyfully with Christ, together with the patriarchs, the prophets, and the men of our nation, and those who became proselytes before your Christ came?
Trypho, I am not so mean as to say one thing and think another. I have already pointed out to you that many more share this conviction with me. We are quite certain that the future will be like this…
I am not on the side of men or human teachings, but of God and his truth. If you have ever met any who call themselves Christians but do not share this conviction and even make bold to blaspheme the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and moreover assert that there is no resurrection from the dead, saving that after death their souls will be taken up to heaven instead, do not take such persons for Christians… But I, and every other Christian who has the right beliefs in all things, know that there is a resurrection of the flesh, followed by a thousand years in the rebuilt, beautified, and enlarged city of Jerusalem, as the prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the others announced.
Trypho the Jew 80.1, 2, 4, 5.
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38 Isaiah spoke clearly about this period of a thousand years:
There shall be a new heaven and a new earth. Former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But gladness and joy shall be found on earth, and it is I who create it all. Behold, I make Jerusalem a joy and my people a gladness. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and be glad in my people. No more shall there be heard the voice of weeping or the cry of lamentation. No more shall anyone die before his time, only a few days old, nor shall the old man pass away without completing his time, for the youth shall live to a hundred years. And if he is a sinner he will die only at the age of a hundred and then be accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and themselves eat the fruit of them. No more shall others inhabit what they build, nor shall others eat what they plant. For as the days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people. The fruits of their labor shall endure. My chosen ones shall not labor in vain. They shall not bring forth children for destruction, for they shall be a righteous generation blessed by the Lord. Their offspring shall stay with them. For before they call I will hear them; while they are still speaking, I will say, "What is it?" In those times the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat hay like the ox, and the serpent shall eat dust like bread. There shall be no harm or destruction done on my holy mountain, says the Lord.
"Now," I explained, "If these words say, 'Like the days of the tree shall be the days of my people; the fruits of their work shall endure,' according to our belief they mysteriously point to the period of one thousand years. When Adam was told that he would die on the day he ate of the tree, Adam as we know had not completed a thousand years. We also are firmly convinced that the words 'a day of the Lord is like a thousand years' apply to our teaching. Moreover, a certain man called John, who was amongst us and belonged to the apostles of Christ, prophesied in a revelation that those who believe in our Christ shall dwell in Jerusalem for a thousand years, and that afterwards there will be, for all men without exception, universal and socalled eternal resurrection and universal, so-called eternal judgment. Our Lord himself said the same with the words, 'They shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but they shall be equal to the angels. Children of God through the resurrection shall they be.'"
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 81.
39 The linkage of all conditions and activities must relate to some unified goal. The origin and nature of man, his living, doing, and suffering, the whole course of his earthly existence, and the end befitting his nature – all these must become one, must find harmony, unity, and complete accord throughout his being.
Late Athenagoras, On the Resurrection of the Dead 15.
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40 The intention of the Creator in creating humans was to make intelligent beings who should look upon the works of God and serve their creator.
Since this destiny will never come to an end, the human race will never come to an end either. Body and soul together make up the human, for the soul without the body is not a person.
Athenagoras, On the Resurrection of the Dead 12–15 (summary).
41 The salvation of the soul would be the final goal of only a part of the human, not of the whole. In order that the final goal can be realized, the body must be united with the soul, which is possible only through resurrection.
Athenagoras, On the Resurrection of the Dead 24 –25 (summary).
42 Therefore the resurrection of bodies which are without souls or even entirely disintegrated must most certainly take place. The same people must reappear in the twofold nature of their being.
Late Athenagoras, On the Resurrection of the Dead 25.
43 The first elders tell us that some men who have been found worthy of dwelling in heaven shall go there, others shall enjoy the delights of paradise, while others again shall find the glory of the City, for in every place the healing Savior will be seen in different measure according to the worthiness of each one who beholds him. The first elders say that the different dwelling places shall be determined according to whether men bring forth fruit a hundred-fold, or sixty-fold, or thirtyfold; the first shall be taken up into heaven, the second shall live in paradise, and the third shall inhabit the City.
All things are God's. To each one he gives the appropriate dwelling. His Word says, to each one will the Father give according to how worthy each one is or will be. That is the table at which those who are invited to the Wedding shall recline in their different places to share in the meal. The first elders, the disciples of the apostles, say that this is the arrangement and distribution of those who are being saved. Through these
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steps they go forward, that is, through the Spirit to the Son, and through the Son they ascend to the Father. Finally, however, the Son delivers up his work to the Father, as the apostle also said.
Therefore the first elders, who were the disciples of the apostles, say that those who are being translated from the earth will be taken to paradise, for paradise has been prepared for the righteous and for those gifted with the Spirit. The apostle Paul was carried there too, where he heard unspeakable words, unspeakable for us in our present life. There those who were translated shall remain until the end of the world, and this shall be the beginning of their immortality.
Since it was through a tree that we lost the Logos in paradise, it was through a tree again that the Logos was made manifest to all when he showed in himself the length, the height, the depth, and the breadth and, as one of the oldest Christians said, he gathered together the two peoples to one God by stretching out both his hands.
"Traditions of the Elders" in Irenaeus, Against Heresies V. 36.1, 2; 5.1; 17.4.
44 What we cannot know of ourselves, we have learned through the prophets. They firmly believed that the spirit, the heavenly armor of our mortality, shall gain immortality together with the soul. Thus, far in advance of their time, they spoke out things that other souls had not yet recognized.
Everyone can recognize this in detail if he does not in puffed-up conceit reject the most holy revelations, which have been written down in the course of time. Through them everyone who has an open ear is made a friend of God.
Tatian, Address to the Greeks 20.6; 12.6.
45 Moses was the first prophet. He said in these very words, "A ruler shall never be lacking in Judah nor a leader from his thigh until he comes for whom it is reserved. And he shall be the expectation of the nations." The words "he shall be the expectation of the nations" were meant to be a testimony that people of every nation would expect his return, as you can see with your own eyes and be convinced by the fact.
Justin, First Apology 32.
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46 As I heard from one of the first elders, who in turn heard it from those who had still seen the apostles and had been their pupils, the only punishment which came into question for the ancients who sinned unknowingly was the punishment due to them according to the Scriptures.
So it was with David. He pleased God when, unjustly persecuted by Saul and having to flee from him, he did not take revenge on his enemy; when he sang psalms about the advent of the Messiah; when he taught wisdom to the nations and did everything according to the counsel of the Spirit. But when lust overcame him and he took Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, the Scripture said about him, "The thing which David did was wicked in the eyes of the Lord." And the prophet Nathan was sent to him to show him his sin. Thus he had to pass sentence upon himself and condemn himself so that he could obtain mercy and forgiveness from Christ.
It was similar with Solomon. He pleased God as long as he continued to judge rightly and to speak wisdom; as long as he built the true type foreshadowing the temple and proclaimed the glory of God; as long as he announced the peace to come upon the nations and pictured the kingdom of the Messiah beforehand; and as long as he spoke his three thousand parables about the expected arrival of the Messiah. But when he took wives from all the heathen nations and allowed them to set up idols, the Scripture condemned him very strongly in order that no person might glorify himself in the sight of God. That is what this elder said.
Therefore the Lord descended into the kingdom of the underworld to speak there also, proclaiming his advent, for now there was forgiveness of sin for those who had believed in him. All those believed in him who had put their hope in him, all those who had proclaimed his advent beforehand and had served his plan: the righteous men, the prophets, and the patriarchs, whose sins he forgave in a befitting way as he forgave ours. Nor should we lay these sins to their charge unless we want to despise the grace of God. Just as these men did not charge us with our lack of self-restraint, which we were guilty of before the Messiah was revealed to us, so neither is it for us to blame those who sinned before the
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Messiah came. "For all men fall short of the glory of God." They are not made righteous of themselves but only through the coming of the Lord, if they earnestly seek his light. Their deeds were recorded for our discipline, that we should recognize two things: first of all, that we and they have one and the same God, whom sins do not please even when committed by eminent people; and secondly, that we should refrain from evil. Thus this elder tells us that we must not be arrogant; neither should we condemn the ancients. Rather, now that we have recognized the Messiah, we should take care not to do anything that does not please God. Otherwise we would have no forgiveness of sins anymore and would be excluded from his kingdom…Then as now, the punishment of God's justice remains the same: then it was foreshadowing, temporal, and less severe; now it is real, eternal, and final.
Hence the elders declare those men very foolish who, from the experiences of those who disobeyed God in ancient times, want to conclude that there is a second God. In contrast, the first elders pointed out to these men what God in his compassionate love has done for the salvation of those who received him when he appeared.
"Traditions of the Elders" in Irenaeus, Aganist Heresies IV.27, 28.
47 The men of God, vessels of the Holy Spirit and prophets, were inspired and instructed by God himself. They were God-taught, holy, and just men. Therefore they were considered worthy of the reward of becoming God's instruments and receiving the wisdom flowing out from him. In this wisdom they spoke prophetically about the creation of the world and all other matters. Thus they spoke out prophetic revelations about pestilence, famine, and war. And this was not done by just one or two; no, a great number arose among the Hebrews, according to the times and circumstances, and among the Greeks too there was the Sibyl. All their sayings stand in perfect harmony with each other: what they spoke about the time that had gone before them, their utterances about what happened in their own time, and their words about the things being fulfilled now in our own time. Therefore we are convinced
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that future events will come about in the same way as past events did, which have already occurred in accordance with their words.
Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus II.9.
48 God has foreknowledge of what all men will do, and it is his principle to reward or punish every person in the future according to the merits of his actions. Therefore he foretells through the prophetic Spirit what will come to them from him according to the merit of their actions. In this way he leads the human race to reflection and consideration at all times, showing men that he cares for them and provides for them. At the instigation of evil spirits, the death penalty was decreed on all those who read the books of Hystaspes, or the Sibyl, or the prophets. Thus, fear was to prevent people into whose hands these books might fall from acquiring knowledge of good things from them; fear was to keep them in servitude to the demons. However, they were not able to achieve this permanently, for we occupied ourselves with these writings fearlessly. As you see, we even offer them to you for examination because we are convinced that they will find everyone's approval.
There were individual men among the Jews who came forward as prophets of God. Through them the prophetic Spirit predicted the things of the future before they actually happened. Successive kings reigning over the Jews got possession of these prophecies written down by the prophets themselves in their own Hebrew language exactly as they were spoken, and preserved them carefully. [Seventy] men were asked to translate them into Greek. This was done, and the books remained with the Egyptians to the present day. They are also in the hands of all the Jews wherever they may be. However, though they read these books, they do not understand their meaning.
Justin, First Apology 44, 31.
49 Now, in the books of the prophets we find predicted that Jesus our Christ would come into the world born of a virgin and that, reaching manhood, he would heal every disease and ailment and raise the dead; that he would be hated, misunderstood, and crucified, would die, rise
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again, and ascend into heaven; that he would be in fact and in name the son of God; that messengers would be sent by him to all peoples with this message; and that people from the pagan nations would believe in him. This was prophesied partly five thousand years before he appeared, partly three thousand, partly two thousand, one thousand, and partly eight hundred years before he appeared, for as one generation after another arose, new prophets arose time and again.
Justin, First Apology 31.
50 Sometimes the Holy Spirit performed clearly recognizable acts which foreshadowed the future. At other times he spoke in unmistakable words about future events as if indeed they were happening now or had already happened. The reader must understand this manner of speaking in order to be able to follow rightly the words of the prophets.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 114.1.
51 If then we were to be satisfied with reasonings, our justification could seem to lie in human words, but the statements of the prophets confirm our arguments. You, with your intellectual curiosity and great learning, will have heard of the sayings of men like Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets. Lifted in ecstasy above their own ways of thinking by the impulse of the Holy Spirit, they prophesied the things they were prompted to say. The Spirit used them in this way just as a flute player blows the flute. Let us hear, then, what they say.
Athenagoras, A Plea Regarding Christians 9.
52 However, when you find the words of the prophets put into the mouth of a person, you must not consider them as spoken by Spiritfilled persons, but by the divine Word [Logos] moving in them. Sometimes he proclaims the future events in the manner of a prediction, sometimes he speaks in the person of God the Lord and the Father of all things, sometimes in the person of Christ, and at other times from the mouth of the peoples themselves, replying to the Lord or to his father.
Justin, First Apology 36.
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53 To give you an illustration of this, the following words were spoken in the name of the Father through the prophet Isaiah, "What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool." And again elsewhere:
My soul hates your new moons and sabbaths; I cannot endure the great day of fasting and idleness any longer; nor when you appear before me will I listen to you. Your hands are full of blood. And when you bring me wheat flour and incense it is an abomination to me. Fat of lambs and blood of oxen I desire not. For who has demanded this from your hands? But loose every bond of injustice, tear apart the knots of forced contracts, shelter the homeless and clothe the naked, break bread with the hungry!
You can understand from this what truths were pronounced by the prophets in the name of God.
Justin, First Apology 37.
54 When the prophetic Spirit speaks in the person of Christ, this is what he says: "I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contradicting people, to those who walk in ways that are not good." And again:
I offered my back to scourges and my cheeks to blows. I did not turn my face away from the shame of spitting; the Lord was my helper, and therefore I did not waver. I held out my face like a hard stone, and I knew that I would not be put to shame, because he who justifies me is at hand.
And again he says, "They cast lots for my clothing and pierced my feet and hands." "But I lay down and slept and have risen again because the Lord has taken charge of me."
And again he says, "They made mouths at me, shook their heads and said, 'Let him deliver himself.'" That all this happened to Christ at the hands of the Jews you can find out, for as he was being crucified they curled their lips, shook their heads and said, "Let him who raised the dead now save himself!"
Justin, First Apology 38.
55 When, however, the prophetic Spirit speaks as proclaimer of the future, he says:
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The law shall go out from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge among the nations and rebuke many people. They shall turn their swords into plowshares and their spears into sickles; nation shall not lift up sword against nation any longer, and they shall study war no more.
You can be convinced that this has really happened now, for twelve men, illiterate and unskilled in speaking, went out from Jerusalem into the world. Through the power of God they revealed to the whole of humankind that they were sent by Christ to proclaim the word of God to everyone. Now we who once murdered one another not only refrain from all hatred of our enemies, but more than that, in order to avoid lying or deceiving our examining judges, we meet death cheerfully for confessing to Christ.
Justin, First Apology 39.
56 Just now I quoted the Scriptures again in the Septuagint translation, for when I quoted from them earlier according to your version, I was only trying to find out your point of view.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 137.3.
57 What was unbelievable, what men deemed impossible, was foretold by God through the prophetic Spirit as taking place in the future. Therefore, when it actually happens, it should not be doubted but believed because it was foretold.
Justin, First Apology 33.
58 Since I base my proofs and arguments on the Scriptures and on actual events, do not delay or hesitate to believe me, for these words are not thought up by me, nor are they embellished by human skill. On the contrary, they are sometimes words from the psalms of David, sometimes joyful news from Isaiah, sometimes words of proclamation from Zechariah, or words from the writings of Moses. You will recognize them, Trypho. They can be found in your Scriptures – no, not really in yours, but rather in ours, for we obey them, whereas you, in spite of reading them, do not grasp their meaning. Indeed, many considered the teach-
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ings of the law to be foolish and unworthy of God, for they were not given the grace to understand that God has called your people to a complete turn, to a change of spirit, because of their sin and spiritual disease. However, what the prophets said after the death of Moses stands eternally. The Psalms, too, have prophecies which are eternally valid.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 28.2; 29.2; 30.1, 2.
59 We who have been led to God through this crucified Christ, we are the true Israel of the Spirit, the real descendants of Judah, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham, who though uncircumcised was approved and blessed by God because of his faith and was called to be the father of many nations.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 11.5.
60 If I tried to base my proof on human teachings or human arguments, you would not need to take any notice of me. Yet when I constantly bring up so many relevant passages of Scripture and try to make them understandable to you, you show your hardness of heart in not being able to understand God's thoughts and his will.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 68.1.
61 The clear insight I drew from the Scriptures and my trust in them have only been confirmed by deceitful mimicking that the socalled Devil has circulated among the Greeks, and by all that he did likewise through Egyptian sorcerers and false prophets at the time of Elijah.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 69.1.
62 It is said that seers and prophets lived at the time of the great writers, who wrote down the truths they learned from them. How much more are we able to comprehend the truth, we who are taught by the holy prophets, by those who had received God's Holy Spirit within them! For this reason the sayings of all the prophets foretelling the destiny of the whole world are in complete mutual accord.
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From this elucidation one can see how our holy Scriptures prove more ancient and true than those of the Greeks and Egyptians or of any other historians.
When past times are reviewed together with all that has been said above, the great antiquity of the prophetic writings and the truly divine nature of our faith can be recognized. These truths are not new, and our teachings are neither mythical nor false.
Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus III.17, 26, 29.
63 That, and that alone, is true which we testify as the teachings of Christ and of the prophets who preceded him, and it is older than any writer who ever lived. It is not because we say the same things as they do, however, that we want our teaching to be accepted, but because we speak the truth.
Justin, First Apology 23.
64 Moses was the oldest prophet. He lived before any of the Greek writers. Through him the prophetic Spirit proclaimed how, and from what, God in the beginning formed the world. "In the beginning God created heaven and earth."
Justin, First Apology 59.
65 It is the prophets and those who openly throughout the whole world came to worship God through the name of the crucified one who led us to this faith.
Listen therefore to these words from the Scriptures! They need no explanation, but only an open ear.
To understand God's Scriptures I needed the grace he gave me. But you are mistaken if you think you can drive me into a corner because of a quotation, and if you want me to find a contradiction in the Scriptures. I would never venture to think or to admit such a thing. Even if a passage which seems to contradict another were laid before me, I still remain firmly convinced that no passage contradicts another. In such a case I would rather say that I cannot understand the words and shall do
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my utmost to get those who imagine contradictions in the Scriptures to share my conviction.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 53.6; 55.3; 58.1; 65.2.
66 Do you suppose that we would ever have been able to grasp the truths set forth in the Scriptures if the grace of understanding had not been given to us by the will of him who wanted to reveal them?
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 119.1.
67 God's milk mixes ill with plaster.
Papias or "Traditions of the Elders" in Irenaeus, Against Heresies III.17.4.
68 It is not true that our teaching is the same as that of the others. The others in fact only echo ours. You can hear and learn the truth among us from simple, uneducated people who do not even know the letters of the alphabet, people who are unpolished in speech but wise in discernment. Some of them are crippled and blind. You can see from this that the Word does not spring from human knowledge but is pronounced by the power of God.
Justin, First Apology 60.
69 Once, making up my mind to seek absolute peace and avoid all human distractions, I went to a place near the sea. As I approached the spot where I wanted to be alone, an old man of prepossessing appearance and gentle and earnest demeanor followed me at a short distance.
He asked me, "Does our mind possess such and so great a power that it reaches God? Will the human mind ever be capable of seeing God without the aid of the Holy Spirit?"
"What teacher," I asked the old man in turn, "shall one turn to, and what system of philosophy can be of use if the truth is not to be found even in the systems of Plato and Pythagoras?"
He answered me,
A long time ago, long before all these so-called philosophers, there lived men who were happy, just, and loved God, who spoke in the spirit of God, foretelling the
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future and all the events which are now actually taking place. We call these men prophets. It is they alone who have seen the truth and proclaimed it to men without fearing or flattering them or thirsting for personal glory. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they expressed only that which they heard and saw.
Their writings are still extant. Whoever concerns himself with them and believes them can profit by them greatly. They are concerned with the origin and end of things, and with anything at all which is a necessary part of a philosopher's basic knowledge. For those men at that time there was no need to turn to human proofs to verify their teachings. On the contrary, they dispensed with all arguments of reason. Just those men, nevertheless, are trustworthy witnesses to the truth, for the history of the past and of the present compels us to agree with their words. Also the miracles they wrought make them trustworthy. In all these things they glorified God, the father and creator of the world, and proclaimed Christ as his son, who was to come from him.
Pray that above all the gates of light may be opened to you! For no one can perceive and understand unless God and his Christ grant him the grace of comprehension.
My spirit was immediately set on fire, and a love for the prophets and for those who are friends of Christ took possession of me.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 3.1; 4.1; 7.1–3; 8.1.
70 After Christ not a single prophet appeared among you Jews. Your prophets owe what they did and said, which is known also to us from the Scriptures, only to God's powers. One of them had received one, another another! Solomon received the spirit of wisdom, Daniel of discernment and counsel, Moses of strength and devotion, Elijah of fear, and Isaiah of knowledge. Likewise, one or two gifts were received by Jeremiah, the twelve prophets, David, and all the other prophets who appeared among you.
As soon as he came, the gifts of the Spirit were suspended, that is, they ceased. After his coming, they had to cease among you according to the plan of salvation, which is being realized in history among those who belong to him. The powers of the Spirit came to rest in him so that they would become gifts again in accordance with the prophecies. He grants them to each believer whom he deems worthy through the graciousness of that mighty Spirit.
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The Logos spoke this: "He went up on high, took captivity captive, and gave gifts to the sons of men." Another prophecy says, "After this I will pour out my Spirit over all flesh, over my servants and handmaids, and they shall prophesy."
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 87.3,4,6.
71 Among us you can see both men and women who have received gifts of grace from God's spirit.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 88.1.
72 I will prove to you that we have not believed vain and empty myths or teachings that cannot be verified; on the contrary, we have believed men who were filled with the divine Spirit, overflowing with grace and power.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 9.1.
73 Unlike the great multitude, I did not take pleasure in those who talk much but in those who teach the truth; not in those who stamp alien commandments on the memory but in those who keep the traditions given to the believers by the Lord and derived from truth itself. If by chance, though, someone came my way who had been a pupil and follower of the first elders, I inquired into the teachings of these elders: what Andrew or Peter said or what Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other disciple of the Lord said, and further what Aristion and the elder presbyter John say, the disciples of the Lord; for I assumed that the wisdom to be gleaned from books would not be so profitable to me as the living Word, a voice which is abiding because it is living.
Papias, quoted in Eusebius III.39.3–4.
74 Because the prophets and the gospels were bearers of the one and only spirit of God, they both spoke out through the Holy Spirit with equal emphasis for that justice which the law demands.
Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus III.12.
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75 I flee to the Gospel for refuge as to the flesh of Jesus, and to the apostles as to the body of the elders of the church. Let us love the prophets too, for they foretold about the Gospel and hoped in him and waited for him. By faith in him were they saved into the unity of Jesus Christ, holy men worthy of our love and admiration, witnessed to by Jesus Christ and included in his father's Gospel of our common hope.
Ignatius, Letter to the Philadelphians 5.
76 I have heard certain people say, "What I cannot find in the ancient records, I do not believe in the Gospel." And when I said to them, "It is written!" they answered me, "That is just the question." But my records are Jesus Christ. The unassailable records are his cross, his death, his resurrection, and the faith bestowed through him; by these I want to be justified through your prayers.
The priests, too, were good, but better is the high priest to whom alone is entrusted the holy of holies, to whom alone are entrusted the hidden things of God. He is the door to the Father through which alone enter Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the prophets, and the apostles and the church. All this comes together in the unity of God. One thing, however, makes the Gospel stand out above all: the advent of the healing Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, his suffering, and his resurrection. Certainly, the beloved prophets pointed to him in their prophecies, but the Gospel is the consummation of incorruption. All these together are good if you have faith through love.
Ignatius, Letter to the Philadelphians 8–9.
77 In the memoirs, which in my opinion were compiled by the apostles of Jesus and their followers, it is written that as he prayed his perspiration poured down like drops of blood.
Moreover, it is written for us in the memoirs of the apostles that Jesus is the son of God.
He was the only begotten of the Father of all; he proceeded from him in a special way as Logos and power, later to become man through a
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virgin, as we know from the memoirs of the apostles.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 103.8; 100.4; 105.1.
78 The memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read among us as long as time permits.
Justin, First Apology 67.
79 The apostles in their memoirs, which are called gospels, handed down as they were commanded: "Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and said, 'Do this in remembrance of me.'"
Justin, First Apology, 66.
80 This is what the elder said:
Mark, Peter's interpreter, wrote down from memory everything that was said or done by Christ, though not in proper order. For he had not heard the Lord nor had he been one of his followers, but, as I said, later became a follower of Peter, who adapted his teaching to the practical needs of the churches. Mark had only one purpose in mind: not to omit anything he had heard or to make any false statements. Matthew compiled the Lord's sayings in the Aramaic language, and everyone translated them as well as he could."
Papias also quotes from the First Letter of John and likewise from the First Letter of Peter.
Here begins the account of the Gospel according to John; John's Gospel was made known and given to the communities by John during his lifetime, as Papias of Hierapolis, a beloved disciple of John, related in his interpretations, that is, in his five books.
I do not need to dwell on the inspiration of John's Book of Revelation since from the earlier times the blessed Papias, Irenaeus, Methodius, and Hippolytus bear witness to its genuineness.
Papias.
81 The third Gospel book we accept is that according to Luke. Luke was a physician. He wrote his book after Christ's ascension and after Paul had taken him as his companion on the way. He wrote in his own name and to the best of his knowledge though certainly he himself did
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not see the Lord in the flesh. Therefore he began his story, as far as he was able to ascertain it, with the birth of John [the Baptist].
The author of the fourth Gospel is John. When his fellow apostles and bishops urged him to write it down, he said, "Fast with me from now on for three days, and let us share with one another whatever is revealed to each one of us." The same night it was revealed to Andrew, one of the apostles, that John should write everything down in his own name and that all the others should check it.
Though the beginnings of the individual Gospel books may differ, nothing in them deviates from the faith of the believers. Everything is stated by the one leading Spirit in all of them concerning the birth, his suffering, his resurrection, his life with his disciples, and his twofold coming, the first time despised in lowliness, which has already happened, and the second time glorious in kingly power, which is yet to come. No wonder John is so emphatic in his letters when he describes specific things and says about himself, "What we have seen with our eyes and heard with our ears, and what our hands have felt, these things we are writing to you." Thus he declares himself not only an eye witness who himself saw and heard all the Lord's miracles, but also the one who wrote them down in order.
The Acts of all the apostles, however, are compiled in only one book. Luke collected them for the excellent Theophilus because these different events took place in his own presence. These are all he wants to report, as is clearly borne out by his omission of the martyrdom of Peter and by the fact that he does not report anything about the journey of Paul from the city [Rome] to Spain.
To all those who want to know, the letters of Paul themselves make it clear who wrote them, and from what place and for what reasons they were written. First of all he writes to the Corinthians, forbidding all dissension, to which they were inclined; next, to the Galatians, forbidding circumcision; to the Romans however he writes more fully, introducing them to the order of the Scriptures and showing them that Christ is the crux of everything. It is not necessary for us to dwell on individual letters
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because he, the blessed apostle Paul, following the order of his predecessor John, writes only to seven churches by name, and in this sequence: first to the Corinthians, second to the Ephesians, third to the Philippians, fourth to the Colossians, fifth to the Galatians, sixth to the Thessalonians, seventh to the Romans. Although he writes to the Corinthians and Thessalonians a second time to admonish them, yet it is clearly evident that there is only one church spread over the whole earth, for though John writes to only seven churches in his Revelation, nevertheless he always addresses all. The letter to Philemon, though, and the one to Titus and the two to Timothy were written out of love and personal affection and yet are held in great honor in the whole church everywhere. They are held sacred for the carrying out of church discipline in the church. There is also in circulation a letter to the Laodiceans and another to the Alexandrians, forged in Paul's name for the dissenting group of Marcion, as well as several others that cannot be accepted by the whole church everywhere, for it will not do to mix gall with honey.
Certainly, the letter of Jude and two bearing the name of John are accepted by the whole church and also the Wisdom of Solomon written by his friends in his honor.
We also accept a revelation by John and one by Peter, although some of us do not want the latter to be read aloud in the church. The Shepherd was written very recently in our times by Hermas of Rome when his brother Pius occupied the chair of the church at Rome. Therefore it is proper that it be read. Yet, to the end of time, it cannot be read aloud to the people in the church either with the prophets, whose number is complete, or with the apostles.
Muratorian Canon, Rome, ca. A.D. 180.
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Notes to Creed, Confession and Scripture
Marginal numbers refer to corresponding passages on the previous pages.
1-5 The genesis of the apostolic confession of faith, of which the most important examples are
given here, is described on pp. 22 above. There, and on p. 44 above, the oldest and shortest "rule of
faith," a ninefold confession, is presented and interpreted. It is the basis of the Egyptian texts, shown
here.
Augustine bears witness to the attitude still prevailing in his own time, that the confession was not to
be written down, but imprinted on the heart and mind. He still transmits it to those about to be baptized,
with the following words: "Receive, O sons, the rule of faith, which is the Symbol" (Address to the Cat-
echumens About the Symbolum, op. VIII. 1593; Address 213, "On the Tradition of the Symbol," op. VIII.
938; XI. 594).
Irenaeus calls the rule of faith the "rule of truth" in most instances (see Against Heresies I.9.4; I.22.1;
III.2.1; III.15.1), but also speaks of the "body of truth" (I.9.4). In his other work, and even in its title,
Demonstration of the Apostolic Proclamation, chapters 3, 6, and 98, he also speaks of the "canon of
faith," the "proclamation of the truth," and the "apostolic proclamation." Clement of Alexandria uses
almost all of these expressions in his Miscellanies IV.15, where he also speaks of the "canon of the gos-
pel," and in Misc. III.66, where he speaks of that "rule of life" which "truly corresponds to the gospel."
2 The Epistle of the Apostles (Epistula Apostolorum) was probably written before A.D. 160. It
witnesses to the life and work of Jesus during his lifetime and to the reality of his resurrection. When he
returns, the sign of the cross will go before him (ch. 16). The believers brought to Christ are brothers and
comrades who, after judgment has been executed by Christ, will win the kingdom "in the flesh." The
faith to which this letter bears witness means confessing the name of Jesus and fulfilling his command-
ments, which is the same thing (ch. 27). Through this faith the believers are purified of evil and liberated
from the power of the zeitgeist. The signs of the end, the protection of the elect in the final world crisis,
the empahasis on poverty, and the reproof of wealth (ch. 34– 46) clearly show both the epistle's
eschatological and practical character.
The source of this writing, which became known only in 1919 after being published by C. Schmidt in
Texte und Untersuchungen (later by M.R. James, in The Apocryphal New Testament, 1924, pp. 485–503),
is by all indications the Johannine circles of Asia Minor.
3 The development of the apostolic confession of faith from the formula of baptism above be-
comes clear in these texts. The confession, like a military oath of allegiance or watchword, appears as the
only prerequisite to the lively, intimate exchange among the Christians of "church privileges:" the kiss of
peace, the name "brother," and hospitality. The confession was the distinguishing sign or token passed
on by word of mouth – a secret password, as it were, for guarding the unity of the church.
In this presentation of the oath of allegiance, as in all of Tertullian's writings, the power of faith given
by the Holy Spirit comes to the fore. Tertullian's emphasis on the management of the divine "house-
hold" or "economy" of God corresponds to a view common among the Montanist circles to which he
belonged. Compare Ephesians 1:10 and 3:9, which is also implied in John's Gospel by the designation
of the Holy Spirit as the representative Advocate, or Counselor. The Christian circles in Asia Minor,
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strongly influenced by the Gospel of John, actively disseminated this idea about God. We find it in
Ignatius, Justin, Irenaeus, and Tertullian, also in Origen, and later in Marcellus of Ancyra and others,
particularly during the Arian and Nicene controversies. It is related to the Logos doctrine.
Irenaeus (pp. 123-124 above) sees the administration of God's "household" in an arrangement and
apportionment of steps by which man climbs upwards through the Spirit to the Son and through the