(NOTE: The electronic text obtained from The Electronic Bible Society was
not completely corrected. EWTN has corrected all discovered errors.)
Transliteration of Greek words: All phonetical except: w = omega; h serves
three puposes: 1. = Eta; 2. = rough breathing, when appearing intially
before a vowel; 3. = in the aspirated letters theta = th, phi = ph, chi =
ch. Accents are given immediately after their corresponding vowels: acute =
' , grave = `, circumflex = ^. The character ' doubles as an apostrophe,
when necessary.
APPENDIX TO THE WORKS OF HIPPOLYTUS. CONTAINING DUBIOUS AND SPURIOUS
PIECES.
A DISCOURSE(1) BY THE MOST BLESSED HIPPOLYTUS, BISHOP AND MARTYR, ON THE
END OF THE WORLD, AND ON ANTICHRIST, AND ON THE SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD
JESUS CHRIST.
I.
SINCE, then, the blessed prophets have been eyes to us, setting forth
for our behoof the clear declaration of things secret, both through life,
and through declaration, and through inspiration(2) of the Holy Spirit, and
discoursing, too, of things not yet come to pass,(3) in this way also(4) to
all generations they have pictured forth the grandest subjects for
contemplation and for action. Thus, too, they preached of the advent of
God(5) in the flesh to the world, His advent by the spotless and God-
bearing(6) Mary in the way of birth and growth, and the manner of His life
and conversation with men, and His manifestation by baptism, and the new
birth that was to be to all men, and the regeneration by the layer; and the
multitude of His miracles, and His blessed passion on the cross, and the
insults which He bore at the hands of the Jews, and His burial, and His
descent to Hades, and His ascent again, and redemption of the spirits that
were of old,(7) and the destruction of death, and His life-giving awaking
from the dead, and His re-creation of the whole world, and His assumption
and return to heaven, and His reception of the Spirit, of which the
apostles were deemed worthy, and again the second coming, that is destined
to declare all things. For as being designated seers,(8) they of necessity
signified and spake of these things beforetime.
II.
Hence, too, they indicated the day of the consummation to us, and
signified beforehand the day of the apostate that is to appear and deceive
men at the last times, and the beginning and end of his kingdom, and the
advent of the Judge, and the life of the righteous, and the punishment of
the sinners, in order that we all, bearing these things in mind day by day
and hour by hour, as children of the Church, might know that "not one jot
nor one tittle of these things shall fail,"(9) as the Saviour's own word
announced. Let all of you, then, of necessity, open the eyes of your hearts
and the ears of your soul, and receive the word which we are about to
speak. For I shall unfold to you to-day a narration full of horror and
fear, to wit, the account of the consummation, and in particular, of the
seduction of the whole world by the enemy and devil; and after these
things, the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
III.
Where, then, ye friends of Christ, shall I begin? and with what shall I
make my commencement, or what shall I expound? and what witness shall I
adduce for the things spoken? But let us take those (viz., the prophets)
with whom we began this discourse, and adduce them as credible witnesses,
to confirm our exposition of the matters discussed; and after them the
teaching, or rather the prophecy, of the apostles, (so as to see) how
throughout the whole world they herald the day of the consummation. Since
these, then, have also shown beforetime things not vet come to pass, and
have declared the devices and deceits of wicked men, who are destined to be
made manifest, come and let us bring forward Isaiah as our first witness,
inasmuch as he instructs us in the times of the consummation. What, then,
does he say? "Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire:
your land, strangers devour it in your presence: the daughter of Zion shall
be left as a cottage in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of
cucumbers, as a besieged city."(1) You see, beloved, the prophet's
illumination, whereby he announced that time so many generations before.
For it is not of the Jews that he spake this word of old, nor of the city
of Zion, but of the Church. For all the prophets have declared Sion to be
the bride brought from the nations.
IV.
Wherefore let us direct our discourse to a second witness. And of what
sort is this one? Listen to Osea, as he speaks thus grandly: "In those days
the Lord shall bring on a burning wind from the desert against them, and
shall make their veins dry, and shall make their springs desolate; and all
their goodly vessels shall be spoiled. Because they rose up against God,
they shall fall by the sword, and their women with child shall be ripped
up."(2) And what else is this burning wind from the east, than the
Antichrist that is to destroy and dry up the veins of the waters and the
fruits of the trees in his times, because men set their hearts on his
works? For which reason he shall indeed destroy them, and they shall serve
him in his pollution.
V.
Mark the agreement of prophet with prophet. Acquaint yourself also with
another prophet who expresses himself in like manner. For Amos prophesied
of the same things in a manner quite in accordance: "Thus saith the Lord,
Forasmuch therefore as ye have beaten the poor with the fist,(3) and taken
choice gifts from him: ye have built houses, but ye shall not dwell in
them: ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of
them. For I know your manifold transgressions, in trampling justice beneath
your foot, and taking a bribe, and turning aside the poor in the gate from
their right. Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time, for it
is an evil time."(4) Learn, beloved, the wickedness of the men of that
time, how they spoil houses and fields, and take even justice from the
just; for when these things come to pass, ye may know that it is the end.
For this reason art thou instructed in the wisdom of the prophet, and the
revelation that is to be in those days. And all the prophets, as we bare
already said, have clearly signified the things that are to come to pass in
the last times, just as they also have declared things of old.
VI.
But not to expend our argument entirely in going over the words of all the
prophets,(5) after citing one other, let us revert to the matter in hand.
What is it, then, that Micah says in his prophecy? "Thus saith the Lord
concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their
teeth, and cry to him, Peace; and if it was not put into their mouth,(6)
they prepared(7) war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you, that
ye shall not have a vision;(8) and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall
not divine; and the sun shall not go down over the prophets, and the day
shall be dark over them. And the seers shall be ashamed, and the diviners
confounded."(9) These things we have recounted beforehand, in order that ye
may know the pain that is to be in the last times, and the perturbation,
and the manner of life on the part of all men toward each other,(10) and
their envy, and hate, and strife, and the negligence of the shepherds
toward the sheep, and the unruly disposition of the people toward the
priests.(11)
VII.
Wherefore all shall walk after their own will. And the children will
lay hands on their parents. The wife will give up her own husband to death,
and the husband will bring his own wife to judgment like a criminal.
Masters will lord it over their servants savagely,(12) and servants will
assume an unruly demeanour toward their masters. None will reverence the
grey hairs of the elderly, and none will have pity upon the comeliness of
the youthful. The temples of God will be like houses, and there will be
overturnings of the churches everywhere.The Scriptures will be despised,
and everywhere they will sing the songs of the adversary.(13) Fornications,
and adulteries, and perjuries will fill the land; sorceries, and
incantations, and divinations will follow after I these with all force and
zeal. And, on the whole, from among those who profess to be Christians will
rise up then false prophets, false apostles, impostors, mischief-makers,
evil-doers, liars against each other, adulterers, fornicators, robbers,
grasping, perjured, mendacious, hating each other. The shepherds will be
like wolves; the priests will embrace falsehood; the monks(1) will lust
after the things of the world; the rich will assume hardness of heart; the
rulers will not help the poor; the powerful will cast off all pity; the
judges will remove justice from the just, and, blinded with bribes, they
will call in unrighteousness.
VIII.
And what am I to say with respect to men,(2) when the very elements
themselves will disown their order? There will be earthquakes in every
city, and plagues in every country; and monstrous(3) thunderings and
frightful lightnings will burn up both houses and fields. Storms of winds
will disturb both sea and land excessively; and there will be
unfruitfulness on the earth, and a roaring in the sea, and an intolerable
agitation on account of souls and the destruction of men.(4) There will be
signs in the sun, and signs in the moon, deflections in the stars,
distresses of nations, intemperateness in the atmosphere, discharges of
hail upon the face of the earth, winters of excessive severity,
different(5) frosts, inexorable scorching winds, unexpected thunderings,
unlooked-for conflagrations; and in general, lamentation and mourning in
the whole earth, without consolation. For, "because iniquity shall abound,
the love of many shall wax cold."(6) By reason of the agitation and
confusion of all these, the Lord of the universe cries in the Gospel,
saying, "Take heed that ye be not deceived; for many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ, and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after
them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for
these things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet by and by."(7)
Let us observe the word of the Saviour, how He always admonished us with a
view to our security: "Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall
come in my name, saying, I am Christ."
IX.
Now after He was taken up again to the Father, there arose some,
saying, "I am Christ," like Simon Magus and the rest, whose names we have
not time at present to mention. Wherefore also in the last day of the
consummation, it must needs be that false Christs will arise again, saying,
"I am Christ," and they will deceive many. And multitudes of men will run
from the east even to the west, and from the north even to the sea, saying,
Where is Christ here? where is Christ there? But being possessed of a vain
conceit, and failing to read the Scriptures carefully, and not being of an
upright mind, they will seek for a name which they shall be unable to find.
For these things must first be; and thus the son of perdition--that is to
say, the devil--must be seen.
X.
And the apostles, who speak of God,(8) in establishing the truth of the
advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, have each of them indicated the appearing
of these abominable and ruin-working men, and have openly announced their
lawless deeds. First of all Peter, the rock of the faith, whom Christ our
God called blessed, the teacher of the Church, the first disciple, he who
has the keys of the kingdom, has instructed us to this effect: "Know this
first, children, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking
after their own lusts.(9) And there shall be false teachers among you, who
privily shall bring in damnable heresies."(10) After him, John the
theologian,(11) and the beloved of Christ, in harmony with him, cries, "The
children of the devil are manifest;(12) and even now are there many
antichrists;(13) but go not after them.(14) Believe not every spirit,
because many false prophets are gone out into the world."(15) And then
Jude, the brother of James, speaks in like manner: "In the last times there
shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts. There be they who,
without fear, feed(16) themselves."(17) You have observed the concord of
the theologians and apostles, and the harmony of their doctrine.
XI.
Finally, hear Paul as he speaks boldly, and mark how clearly he
discovers these: "Beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.(18)
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit.(19) See
that ye walk circumspectly, because the days are evil."(20) In fine then,
what man shall have any excuse who hears these things in the Church from
prophets and apostles, and from the Lord Himself, and yet will give no heed
to the care of his soul, and to the time of the consummation, and to that
approaching hour when we shall have to stand at the judgmentseat of Christ?
XII.
But having now done with this account of the consummation, we shall
turn our exposition to those matters which fall to be stated by us next in
order. I adduce, therefore, a witness altogether worthy of credit,--
namely, the prophet Daniel, who interpreted the vision of Nabuchodonosor,
and from the beginning of the kings down to their end indicated the
right(1) way to those who seek to walk therein--to wit, the manifestation
of the truth. For what saith the prophet? He presignified the matter
clearly to Nabuchodonosor in the following terms: "Thou. O king, sawest,
and behold a great image standing before thee, whose head was of gold, its
arms anti shoulders of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, its legs of
iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone
was cut out without hand; and it smote the image upon its feet, which were
part of iron and part of clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the clay,
and the iron, and the brass, and the silver, and the gold broken to pieces
together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor; and the
stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole
earth."(2)
XIII.
Wherefore, bringing the visions of Daniel into conjunction with these,
we shall make one narrative of the two, and show how true and consistent
were the things seen in vision by the prophet with those which
Nabuchodonosor saw beforehand. For the prophet speaks thus: "I Daniel saw,
and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And
four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first
was like a lioness, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof
were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the
feet as a man, and a man's heart was given it. And behold a second beast,
like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs
in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it,
Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo a third beast, like a
leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl: the beast had
also four heads. After this I saw, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and
terrible, and strong exceedingly; its great iron teeth and its claws of
brass(3) devoured and brake in pieces, and it stamped the residue with the
feet of it: and it was diverse exceedingly from all the beasts that were
before it; and it had ten horns. I considered its horns, and, behold, there
came up among them a little horn, and before it there were three of the
first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes
like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things."(4)
XIV.
Now, since these things which are thus spoken mystically by the prophet
seem to all to be hard to understand, we shall conceal none of them from
those who are possessed of sound mind. By mentioning the first beast,
namely the lioness that comes up out of the sea, Daniel means the kingdom
of the Babylonians which was set up in the world; and that same is also the
"golden head" of this image. And by speaking of its "wings like an eagle,"
he shows that king Nabuchodonosor was elevated and exalted himself against
God. Then he says that its "wings were plucked out," and means by this that
his glory was subverted: for he was driven from his kingdom. And in stating
that a "man's heart was given it, and it was made stand upon the feet like
a man," he means that he repented, and acknowledged that he was himself but
a man, and gave the glory to God. Lo, I have thus unfolded the similitude
of the first beast.
XV.
Then after the lioness, the prophet sees a second beast like a bear,
which denoted the Persians; for after the Babylonians the Persians had the
sovereignty. And in saying, "I saw three ribs in the mouth of it," he
referred to three nations, the Persians, Medes, and Babylonians, which were
also expressed by the silver that came after the gold in the image. Behold,
we have explained the second beast too. Then the third was the leopard, by
which were meant the Greeks. For after the Persians, Alexander king of the
Macedonians held the sovereignty, when he had destroyed Darius; and this is
expressed by the brass in the image. And in speaking of "four wings of a
fowl, and four heads in the beast," he showed most clearly how the kingdom
of Alexander was divided into four parts. For it had four heads, --namely,
the four kings that rose out of it. For on his death-bed(5) Alexander
divided his kingdom into four parts. Behold, we have discussed the third
also.
XVI.
Next he tells us of the "fourth beast, dreadful and terrible; its teeth
were of iron, and its claws of brass." And what is meant by these but the
kingdom of the Romans, which also is meant by the iron, by which it will
crush all the seats of empire that were before it, and will lord it over
the whole earth? After this, then, what is left for us to interpret of all
that the prophet saw, but the "toes of the image, in which part was of iron
and part of clay, mingled together in one?" For by the ten toes of the
image he meant figuratively the ten kings who sprang out of it, as Daniel
also interpreted the matter. For he says, "I considered the beast, namely
the fourth; and behold ten horns after it, among which another horn arose
like an offshoot; and it will pluck up by the root three of those before
it." And by this offshoot horn none other is signified than the Antichrist
that is to restore the kingdom of the Jews. And the three horns which are
to be rooted out by it signify three kings, namely those of Egypt, Libya,
and Ethiopia, whom he will destroy in the array of war; and when he has
vanquished them all, being a savage tyrant, he will raise tribulation and
persecution against the saints, exalting himself against them.
XVII.
You see how Daniel interpreted to Nabuchodonosor the dominion of the
kingdoms; you see how he explained the form of the image in all its
parts;(1) you have observed how he indicated prophetically the meaning of
the coming up of the four beasts out of the sea. It remains that we open up
to you the things done by the Antichrist in particular; and, as far as in
our power, declare to you by means of the Scriptures and the prophets, his
wandering over the whole earth, and his lawless advent.
XVIII.
As the Lord Jesus Christ made His sojourn with us in the flesh (which
He received) from the holy, immaculate Virgin, and took to Himself the
tribe of Judah, and came forth from it, the Scripture declared His royal
lineage in the word of Jacob, when in his benediction he addressed himself
to his son in these terms: "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall
praise: thy hands shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's
children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from a
sprout,(2) my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion,
and as a lion's whelp:(3) who shall rouse him up? A ruler(4) shall not
depart from Judah, nor a leader s from his thighs,(6) until what is in
store for him(7) shall come, and he is the expectation(8) of the
nations."(9) Mark these words of Jacob which were spoken to Judah, and are
fulfilled in the Lord. To the same effect, moreover, does the patriarch
express himself regarding Antichrist. Wherefore, as he prophesied with
respect to Judah, so did he also with respect to his son Dan. For Judah was
his fourth son; and Dan, again, was his seventh son. And what, then, did he
say of him? "Let Dan be a serpent sitting by the way, that biteth the
horse's heel?"(10) And what serpent was there but the deceiver from the
beginning, he who is named in Genesis, he who deceived Eve, and bruised
Adam in the heel?(11)
XIX.
But seeing now that we must make proof of what is alleged at greater
length, we shall not shrink from the task. For it is certain that he is
destined to spring from the tribe of Dan,(12) and to range himself in
opposition like a princely tyrant, a terrible judge and accuser,(13) as the
prophet testifies when he says, "Dan shall judge his people, as one tribe
in lsrael."(14) But some one may say that this was meant of Samson, who
sprang from the tribe of Dan, and judged his people for twenty years. That,
however, was only partially made good in the case of Samson; but this shall
be fulfilled completely in the case of Antichrist. For Jeremiah, too,
speaks in this manner: "From Dan we shall hear the sound of the
sharpness(15) of his horses; at the sound of the neighing(16) of his horses
the whole land trembled."(17) And again, Moses says: "Dan is a lion's
whelp, and he shall leap from Bashan."(18) And that no one may fall into
the mistake of thinking that this is spoken of the Saviour, let him attend
to this. "Dan," says he, "is a lion's whelp;" and by thus naming the tribe
of Dan as the one whence the accuser is destined to spring, he made the
matter in hand quite clear. For as Christ is born of the tribe of Judah, so
Antichrist shall be born of the tribe of Dan. And as our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was spoken of in prophecy as a lion on
account or His royalty and glory, in the same manner also has the Scripture
prophetically described the accuser as a lion, on account of his tyranny
and violence.
XX.
For in every respect that deceiver seeks to make himself appear like
the Son of God. Christ is a lion, and Antichrist is a lion. Christ is King
of things celestial and things terrestrial, and Antichrist will be king
upon earth. The Saviour was manifested as a lamb; and he, too, will appear
as a lamb, while he is a wolf within. The Saviour was circumcised, and he
in like manner will appear in circumcision. The Saviour sent the apostles
unto all the nations, and he in like manner will send false apostles.
Christ gathered together the dispersed sheep, and he in like manner will
gather together the dispersed people of the Hebrews. Christ gave to those
who believed on Him the honourable and life-giving cross, and he in like
manner will give his own sign. Christ appeared in the form of man, and he
in like manner will come forth in the form of man. Christ arose from among
the Hebrews, and he will spring from among the Jews. Christ displayed His
flesh like a temple, and raised it up on the third day; and he too will
raise up again the temple of stone in Jerusalem. And these deceits
fabricated by him will become quite intelligible to those who listen to us
attentively, from what shall be set forth next in order.
XXI.
For through the Scriptures we are instructed in two advents of the
Christ and Saviour. And the first after the flesh was in humiliation,
because He was manifested in lowly estate. So then His second advent is
declared to be in glory; for He comes from heaven with power, and angels,
and the glory of His Father. His first advent had John the Baptist as its
forerun-her; and His second, in which He is to come in glory, will exhibit
Enoch, and Elias, and John the Divine.(1) Behold, too, the Lord's kindness
to man; how even in the last times He shows His care for mortals, and
pities them. For He will not leave us even then without prophets, but
will send them to us for our instruction and assurance, and to make us give
heed to the advent of the adversary, as He intimated also of old in this
Daniel. For he says, "I shall make a covenant of one week, and in the midst
of the week my sacrifice and libation will be removed." For by one week he
indicates the showing forth of the seven years which shall be in the last
times.(2) And the half of the week the two prophets, along with John, will
take for the purpose of proclaiming to all the world the advent of
Antichrist, that is to say, for a "thousand two hundred and sixty days
clothed in sackcloth;"(3) and they will work signs and wonders with the
object of making men ashamed and repentant, even by these means, on account
of their surpassing lawlessness and impiety. "And if any man will hurt
them, fire will proceed out of their mouth, and devour their enemies. These
have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of the advent of
Antichrist, and to turn waters into blood, and to smite the earth with all
plagues as often as they will."(4) And when they have proclaimed all these
things they will fall on the sword, cut off by the accuser(5). And they
will fulfil their testimony, as Daniel also says; for he foresaw that the
beast that came up out of the abyss would make war with them, namely with
Enoch, Elias, and John, and would overcome them, and kill them, because of
their refusal to give glory to the accuser. that is the little horn that
sprang up.(6) And he, being lifted up in heart, begins in the end to, exalt
himself and glorify himself as God, persecuting the saints and blaspheming
Christ.
XXII.
But as, in accordance with the train of our discussion, we have been
constrained to come to the matter of the days of the dominion of the
adversary, it is necessary to state in the first place what concerns his
nativity and growth; and then we must turn our discourse, as we have said
before, to the expounding of this matter, viz., that in all respects the
accuser and son of lawlessness(7) is to make himself like our Saviour. Thus
also the demonstration makes the matter clear to us. Since the Saviour of
the world, with the purpose of saving the race of men, was born of the
immaculate and virgin Mary,(8) and in the form of the flesh trod the enemy
trader foot, in the exercise of the power of His own proper divinity; in
the same manner also will the accuser come forth from an impure woman upon
the earth, but shall be born of a virgin spuriously.(1) For our God
sojourned with us in the flesh, after that very flesh of ours which He made
for Adam and all Adam's posterity, yet without sin. But the accuser, though
he take up the flesh, will do it only in appearance; for how should we wear
that flesh which he did not make himself, but against which he warreth
daily? And it is my opinion, beloved, that he will assume this phenomenal
kind of flesh(2) as an instrument.(3) For this reason also is he to be horn
of a virgin, as if a spirit, and then to the rest he will be manifested as
flesh. For as to a virgin bearing, this we have known only in the case of
the all-holy Virgin, who bore the Saviour verily clothed in flesh.(4) For
Moses says, "Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy unto the
Lord."(5) This is by no means the case with him;(6) but as the adversary
will not open the womb, so neither will he take to himself real flesh, and
be circumcised as Christ was circumcised. And even as Christ chose His
apostles, so will he too assume a whole people of disciples like himself in
wickedness.
XXIII.
Above all, moreover, he will love the nation of the Jews. And with all
these he will work signs and terrible wonders, false wonders and not true,
in order to deceive his impious equals. For if it were possible, he would
seduce even the elect(7) from the love of Christ. But in his first steps he
will be gentle, loveable, quiet, pious, pacific, hating injustice,
detesting gifts, not allowing idolatry; loving, says he, the Scriptures,
reverencing priests, honouring his elders, repudiating fornication,
detesting adultery, giving no heed to slanders, not admitting oaths, kind
to strangers, kind to the poor, compassionate. And then he will work
wonders, cleansing lepers, raising paralytics, expelling demons,
proclaiming things remote just as things present, raising the dead, helping
widows, defending orphans, loving all, reconciling in love men who contend,
and saying to such, "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath;"(8) and he
will not acquire gold, nor love silver, nor seek riches.
XXIV.
And all this he will do corruptly and deceitfully, and with the purpose
of deluding all to make him king. For when the peoples and tribes see so
great virtues and so great powers in him, they will all with one mind meet
together to make him king. And above all others shall the nation of the
Hebrews be dear to the tyrant himself, while they say one to another, Is
there found indeed in our generation such a man, so good and just? That
shall be the way with the race of the Jews pre-eminently, as I said before,
who, thinking, as they do, that they shall behold the king himself in such
power, will approach him to say, We all confide in thee, and acknowledge
thee to be just upon the whole earth; we all hope to be saved by thee; and
by thy mouth we have received just and incorruptible judgment.
XXV.
And at first, indeed, that deceitful and lawless one, with crafty
deceitfulness, will refuse such glory; but the men persisting, and holding
by him, will declare him king. And thereafter he will be lifted up in
heart, and he who was formerly gentle will become violent, and he who
pursued love will become pitiless, and the humble in heart will become
haughty and inhuman, and the hater of unrighteousness will persecute the
righteous. Then, when he is elevated to his kingdom, he will marshal war;
and in his wrath he will smite three mighty kings,-- those, namely, of
Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia. And after that he will build the temple in
Jerusalem, and will restore it again speedily, and give it over to the
Jews. And then he will be lifted up in heart against every man; yea, he
will speak blasphemy also against God, thinking in his deceit that he shall
be king upon the earth hereafter for ever; not knowing, miserable wretch,
that his kingdom is to be quickly brought to nought, and that he will
quickly have to meet the fire which is prepared for him, along with all who
trust him and serve him. For when Daniel said, "I shall make my covenant
for one week,"(9) he indicated seven years; and the one half of the week is
for the preaching of the prophets, and for the other half of the week--that
is to say, for three years and a half--Antichrist will reign upon the
earth. And after this his kingdom and his glory shall be taken away.
Behold, ye who love God, what manner of tribulation there shall rise in
those days, such as has not been from the foundation of the world, no, nor
ever shall be, except in those days alone. Then the lawless one, being
lifted up in heart, will gather together his demons in man's form, and will
abominate those who call him to the kingdom, and will pollute many souls.
XXVI.
For he will appoint princes over them from among the demons. And he
will no longer seem to be pious, but altogether and in all things he will
be harsh, severe, passionate, wrathful, terrible, inconstant, dread,
morose, hateful, abominable, savage, vengeful, iniquitous. And, bent on
casting the whole race of men into the pit of perdition, he will multiply
false signs. For when all the people greet him with their acclamations at
his displays, he will shout with a strong voice, so that the place shall be
shaken in which the multitudes stand by him: "Ye peoples, and tribes, and
nations, acquaint yourselves with my mighty authority and power, and the
strength of my kingdom. What prince is there so great as I am? What great
God is there but I? Who will stand up against my authority?" Under the eye
of the spectators he will remove mountains from their places, he will walk
on the sea with dry feet, he will bring down fire from heaven, he will turn
the day into darkness and the night into day, he will turn the sun about
wheresoever he pleases; and, in short, in presence of those who behold him,
he will show all the elements of earth and sea to be subject to him in the
power of his specious manifestation. For if, while as yet he does not
exhibit himself as the son of perdition, he raises and excites against us
open war even to battles and slaughters, at that time when he shall come in
his own proper person, and men shall see him as he is in reality, what
machinations and deceits and delusions will he not bring into play, with
the purpose of seducing all men, and leading them off from the way of
truth, and from the gate of the kingdom?
XXVII.
Then, after all these things, the heavens will not give their dew, the
clouds will not give their rain, the earth will refuse to yield its fruits,
the sea shall be filled with stench, the rivers shall be dried up, the fish
of the sea shall die, men shall perish of hunger and thirst; and father
embracing son, and mother embracing daughter, will die together, and there
will be none to bury them. But the whole earth will be filled with the
stench arising from the dead bodies cast forth. And the sea, not receiving
the floods of the rivers, will become like mire, and will be filled with an
unlimited smell and stench. Then there will be a mighty pestilence upon the
whole earth, and then, too, inconsolable lamentation, and measureless
weeping, and unceasing mourning Then men will deem those happy who are dead
before them, and will say to them, "Open your sepulchres, and take us
miserable beings in; open your receptacles for the reception of your
wretched kinsmen and acquaintances. Happy are ye, in that ye have not seen
our days. Happy are ye, in that ye have not had to witness this painful
life of ours, nor this irremediable pestilence, nor these straits that
possess our souls."
XXVIII.
Then that abominable one will send his commands throughout every
government by the hand at once of demons and of visible men, who shall say,
"A mighty king has arisen upon the earth; come ye all to worship him; come
ye all to see the strength of his kingdom: for, behold, he will give you
corn; and he will bestow upon you wine, and great riches, and lofty
honours. For the whole earth and sea obeys his command. Come ye all to
him." And by reason of the scarcity of food, all will go to him and worship
him; and he will put his mark on their right hand and on their forehead,
that no one may put the sign of the honourable cross upon his forehead with
his right hand; but his hand is bound. And from that time he shall not have
power to seal any one of his members, but he shall be attached to the
deceiver, and shall serve him; and in him there is no repentance. But such
an one is lost at once to God and to men, and the deceiver will give them
scanty food by reason of his abominable seal. And his seal upon the
forehead and upon the right hand is the number, "Six hundred threescore and
six."(1) And I have an opinion as to this number, though I do not know the
matter for certain; for many names have been found in this number when it
is expressed in writing.(2) Still we say that perhaps the scription of this
same seal will give us the word I deny.(3) For even in recent days, by
means of his ministers--that is to say, the idolaterse--that bitter
adversary took up the word deny, when the lawless pressed upon the
witnesses of Christ, with the adjuration, "Deny thy God, the crucified
One."(4)
XXIX.
Of such kind, in the time of that hater of all good, will be the seal,
the tenor of which will be this: I deny the Maker of heaven and earth, I
deny the baptism, I deny my (former) service, and attach myself to thee,
and I believe in thee. For this is what the prophets Enoch and Elias will
preach: Believe not the enemy who is to come and be seen; for he is an
adversary(5) and corrupter and son of perdition, and deceives you;(1) and
for this reason he will kill you, and smite them with the sword. Behold the
deceit of the enemy, know the machinations of the beguiler, how he seeks to
darken the mind of men utterly. For he will show forth his demons brilliant
like angels, and he will bring in hosts of the incorporeal without number.
And in the presence of all he exhibits himself as taken up into heaven with
trumpets and sounds, and the mighty shouting of those who hail him with
indescribable hymns; the heir of darkness himself shining like light, and
at one time soaring to the heavens, and at another descending to the earth
with great glory, and again charging the demons, like angels, to execute
his behests with much fear and trembling. Then will he send the cohorts of
the demons among mountains and caves and dens of the earth, to track out
those who have been concealed from his eyes, and to bring them forward to
worship him. And those who yield to him he will seal with his seal; but
those who refuse to submit to him he will consume with incomparable pains
and bitterest torments and machinations, such as never have been, nor have
reached the ear of man, nor have been seen by the eye of mortals.
Blessed shall they be who overcome the tyrant then. For they shall be
set forth as more illustrious and loftier than the first witnesses; for the
former witnesses overcame his minions only, but these overthrow and conquer
the accuser himself, the son of perdition. With what eulogies and crowns,
therefore, will they not be adorned by our King, Jesus Christ!
XXXI.
But let us revert to the matter in hand. When men have received the
seal, then, and find neither food nor water, they will approach him with a
voice of anguish, saying, Give us to eat and drink, for we all faint with
hunger and all manner of straits;(2) and bid the heavens yield us water,
and drive off from us the beasts that devour men. Then will that crafty one
make answer, mocking them with absolute inhumanity, and saying, The heavens
refuse to give rain, the earth yields not again its fruits; whence then can
I give you food? Then, on hearing the words of this deceiver, these
miserable men will perceive that this is the wicked accuser, and will mourn
in anguish, and weep vehemently, and beat their face with their hands, and
tear their hair, and lacerate their cheeks with their nails, while they say
to each other: Woe for the calamity! woe for the bitter contract! woe for
the deceitful covenant! woe for the mighty mischance! How have we been
beguiled by the deceiver! how have we been joined to him! how have we been
caught in his toils! how have we been taken in his abominable net! how have
we heard the Scriptures, and understood them not! For truly those who are
engrossed with the affairs of life, and with the lust of this world, will
be easily brought over to the accuser then, and sealed by him.
XXXII.
But many who are hearers of the divine Scriptures,(3) and have them in
their hand, and keep them in mind with understanding, will escape his
imposture. For they will see clearly through his insidious appearance and
his deceitful imposture, and will flee from his hands, and betake
themselves to the mountains, and hide themselves in the caves of the earth;
and they will seek after the Friend of man with tears and a contrite heart;
and He will deliver them out of his toils, and with His right hand He will
save those from his snares who in a worthy and righteous manner make their
supplication to Him.
XXXIII.
You see in what manner of fasting and prayer the saints will exercise
themselves at that time. Observe, also, how hard the season and the times
will be that are to come upon those in city and country alike. At that time
they will be brought from the east even unto the west; and they will come
up from the west even unto the east, and will weep greatly and wail
vehemently. And when the day begins to dawn they will long for the night,
in order that they may find rest from their labours; and when the night
descends upon them, by reason of the continuous earthquakes and the
tempests in the air, they will desire even to behold the light of the day,
anti will seek how they may hereafter meet a bitter death.(4) At that time
the whole earth will bewail the life of anguish, and the sea and air in
like manner will bewail it; and the sun, too, will wail; and the wild
beasts, together with the fowls, will wail; mountains and hills, and the
trees of the plain, will wail on account of the race of man, because all
have turned aside from the holy God, and obeyed the deceiver, and received
the mark of that abominable one, the enemy of God, instead of the
quickening cross of the Saviour.
XXXIV.
And the churches, too, will wail with a mighty lamentation, because
neither "oblation nor incense" is attended to, nor a service acceptable to
God;(1) but the sanctuaries of the churches will become like a garden-
watcher's hut,(2) and the holy body and blood of Christ will not be shown
in those days. The public service of God shall be extinguished, psalmody
shall cease, the reading of the Scriptures shall not be heard;(3) but for
men there shall be darkness, and lamentation on lamentation, and woe on
woe. At that time silver and gold shall be cast out in the streets, and
none shall gather them; but all things shall be held an offence. For all
shall be eager to escape and to hide themselves, and they shall not be able
anywhere to find concealment from the woes(4) of the adversary; but as they
carry his mark about them, they shall be readily recognised and declared to
be his. Without there shall be fear, and within trembling, both by night
and by day. In the street and in the houses there shall be the dead; in the
streets and in the houses there shall be hunger and thirst; in the streets
there shall be tumults, and in the houses lamentations. And beauty of
countenance shall be withered, for their forms shall be like those of the
dead; and the beauty of women shall fade, and the desire of all men shall
vanish.
XXXV.
Notwithstanding, not even then will the merciful and benignant God
leave the race of men without all comfort; but He will shorten even those
days and the period of three years and a half, and He will curtail those
times on account of the remnant of those who hide themselves in the
mountains and caves, that the phalanx of all those saints fail not utterly.
But these days shall run their course rapidly; and the kingdom of the
deceiver and Antichrist shall be speedily removed. And then, in fine, in
the glance of an eye shall the fashion of this world pass away, and the
power of men(5) shall be brought to nought, and all these visible things
shall be destroyed.
XXXVI.
As these things, therefore, of which we have spoken before are in the
future, beloved, when the one week is divided into parts, and the
abomination of desolation has arisen then, and the forerunners of the Lord
have finished their proper course, and the whole world, in fine, comes to
the consummation, what remains but the manifestation(6) of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God, from heaven, for whom we have hoped;
who shall bring forth fire and all just judgment against those who have
refused to believe in Him? For the Lord says, "For as the lightning cometh
out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming
of the Son of man be; for wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles
be gathered together."(7) For the sign of the cross(8) shall arise from the
east even unto the west, in brightness exceeding that of the sun, and shall
announce the advent and manifestation of the Judge, to give to every one
according to his works. For concerning the general resurrection and the
kingdom of the saints, Daniel says: "And many of them that sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame
and everlasting contempt."(9) And Isaiah says: "The dead shall rise, and
those in the tombs shall awake, and those in the earth shall rejoice."(10)
And our Lord says: "Many(11) in that day shall hear the voice of the Son of
God, and they that hear shall live."(12)
XXXVII.
For at that time the trumpet shall sound,(13) and awake those that
sleep from the lowest parts of the earth, righteous and sinners alike. And
every kindred, and tongue, and nation, and tribe shall be raised in the
twinkling of an eye;(14) and they shall stand upon the face of the earth,
waiting for the coming of the righteous and terrible Judge, in fear and
trembling unutterable. For the river of fire shall come forth in fury like
an angry sea, and shall burn up mountains and hills, and shall make the sea
vanish, and shall dissolve the atmosphere with its heat like wax.(15) The
stars of heaven shall fall,(16) the sun shall be turned into darkness, and
the moon into blood.(17) The heaven shall be rolled together like a
scroll:(18) the whole earth shall be burnt up by reason of the deeds done
in it, which men did corruptly,(19) in fornications, in adulteries, and in
lies and uncleanness, and in idolatries, and in murders, and in battles.
For there shall be the new heaven and the new earth.(20)
XXXVIII.
Then shall the holy angels run on their commission to gather together
all the nations, whom that terrible voice of the trumpet shall awake out of
sleep. And before the judgment-seat of Christ shall stand those who once
were kings and rulers, chief priests and priests; and they shall give an
account of their administration, and of the fold, whoever of them through
their negligence have lost one sheep out of the flock. And then shall be
brought forward soldiers who were riot content with their provision,(1) but
oppressed widows and orphans and beggars. Then shall be arraigned the
collectors of tribute, who despoil the poor man of more than is ordered,
and who make real gold like adulterate, in order to mulct the needy, in
fields and in houses and in the churches. Then shall rise up the lewd with
shame, who have not kept their bed undefiled, but have been ensnared by all
manner of fleshly beauty, and have gone in the way of their own lusts. Then
shall rise up those who have not kept the love of the Lord, mute and
gloomy, because they contemned the light commandment of the Saviour, which
says, Thou shalt love try neighbour as thyself. Then they, too, shall weep
who have possessed the unjust balance, and unjust weights and measures, and
dry measures, as they wait for the righteous Judge.
XXXIX.
And why should we add many words concerning those who are sisted before
the bar? Then the righteous shall shine forth like the sun, while the
wicked shall be shown to be mute and gloomy. For both the righteous and the
wicked shall be raised incorruptible: the righteous, to be honoured
eternally, and to taste immortal joys; and the wicked, to be punished in
judgment eternally. Each ponders(2) the question as to what answer he shall
give to the righteous Judge for his deeds, whether good or bad. With all
men each one's actions shall environ him, whether he be good or evil. For
the powers of the heavens shall be shaken,(3) and fear and trembling shall
consume all things, both heaven and earth and things under the earth. And
every tongue shall confess Him openly,(4) and shall confess Him who comes
to judge righteous judgment, the mighty God and Maker of all things. Then
with fear and astonishment shall come angels, thrones, powers,
principalities, dominions,(5) and the cherubim and seraphim with their many
eyes and six wings, all crying aloud with a mighty voice, "Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord of hosts, omnipotent; the heaven and the earth are full of Thy
glory."(6) And the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Judge who accepts
no man's person, and the Jurist who distributes justice to every man, shall
be revealed upon His dread and lofty throne; and all the flesh of mortals
shall see His face with great fear and trembling, both the righteous and
the sinner.
XL.
Then shall the son of perdition be brought forward, to wit, the
accuser, with his demons and with his servants, by angels stern and
inexorable. And they shall be given over to the fire that is never
quenched, and to the worm that never sleepeth, and to the outer darkness.
For the people of the Hebrews shall see Him in human form, as He appeared
to them when He came by the holy Virgin in the flesh, and as they crucified
Him. And He will show them the prints of the nails in His hands and feet,
and His side pierced with the spear, and His head crowned with thorns, and
His honourable cross. And once for all shall the people of the Hebrews see
all these things, and they shall mourn and weep, as the prophet exclaims,
"They shall look on Him whom they have pierced;"(7) and there shall be none
to help them or to pity them, because they repented not, neither turned
aside from the wicked way. And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment with the demons and the accuser.
XLI.
Then He shall gather together all nations, as the holy Gospel so
strikingly declares. For what says Matthew the evangelist, or rather the
Lord Himself, in the Gospel? "When the Son of man shall come in His glory,
and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His
glory: and 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."(8) Come, ye prophets, who were cast out for my name's sake. Come,
ye patriarchs, who before my advent were obedient to me, and longed for my
kingdom. Come, ye apostles, who were my fellows in my sufferings in my
incarnation, and suffered with me in the Gospel. Come, ye martyrs, who
confessed me before despots, and endured many torments and pains. Come, ye
hierarchs, who did me sacred service blamelessly day and night, and made
the oblation of my honourable body and blood daily.(9) XLII.
Come, ye saints, who disciplined yourselves in mountains and caves and
dens of the earth, who honoured my name by continence and prayer and
virginity. Come, ye maidens, who desired my bride-chamber, and loved no
other bridegroom than me, who by your testimony and habit of life were
wedded to me, the immortal and incorruptible Bridegroom. Come, ye friends
of the poor and the stranger. Come, ye who kept my love, as I am love.
Come, ye who possess peace, for I own that peace. Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, ye who esteemed not riches,
ye who had compassion on the poor, who aided the orphans, who helped the
widows, who gave drink to the thirsty, who fed the hungry, who received
strangers, who clothed the naked, who visited the sick, who comforted those
in prison, who helped the blind, who kept the seal of the faith inviolate,
who assembled yourselves together in the churches, who listened to my
Scriptures, who longed for my words, who observed my law day and night, who
endured hardness with me like good soldiers, seeking to please me, your
heavenly King. Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world. Behold, my kingdom is made ready; behold, paradise
is opened; behold, my immortality is shown in its beauty.(1) Come all,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
XLIII.
Then shall the righteous answer, astonished at the mighty and wondrous
fact that He, whom the hosts of angels cannot look upon openly, addresses
them as friends, and shall cry out to Him, Lord, when saw we Thee an
hungered, and fed Thee? Master,(2) when saw we Thee thirsty, and gave Thee
drink? Thou Terrible One,(3) when saw we Thee naked, and clothed Thee?
Immortal,(4) when saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? Thou Friend of
man,(5) when saw we Thee sick or in prison, and came unto Thee?(6) Thou art
the ever-living One. Thou art without beginning, like the Father,(7) and
co-eternal with the Spirit. Thou art He who made all things out of nothing.
Thou art the prince of the angels. Thou art He at whom the depths
tremble.(8) Thou art He who is covered with light as with a garment.(9)
Thou art He who made us, and fashioned us of earth. Thou art He who
formed(10) things invisible." From Thy presence the whole earth fleeth
away,(12) and how have we received hospitably Thy kingly power and
lordship?
XLIV.
Then shall the King of kings make answer again, and say to them,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye
have done it unto me. Inasmuch as ye have received those of whom I have
already spoken to you, and clothed them, and fed them, and gave them to
drink, I mean the poor who are my members, ye have done it unto me. But
come ye into the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
enjoy for ever and ever that which is given you by my Father in heaven, and
the holy and quickening Spirit. And what mouth then will be able to tell
out those blessings which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love Him?(13)
XLV.
Ye have heard of the ceaseless joy, ye have heard of the immoveable
kingdom, ye have heard of the feast of blessings without end. Learn now,
then, also the address of anguish with which the just Judge and the
benignant God shall speak to those on the left hand in unmeasured anger and
wrath, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels. Ye have prepared these things for yourselves; take to
yourselves also the enjoyment of them. Depart from me, ye cursed, into the
outer darkness, and into the unquenchable fire, prepared for the devil and
his angels. I made you, and ye gave yourselves to another. I am He who
brought you forth from your mother's womb, and ye rejected me. I am He who
fashioned you of earth by my word of command, and ye gave yourselves to
another. I am He who nurtured you, and ye served another. I ordained the
earth and the sea for your maintenance and the bound 14) of your life, and
ye listened not to my commandments. I made the light for you, that ye might
enjoy the day, and the night also, that ye might have rest; and ye vexed
me, and set me at nought with your wicked words, and opened the door to the
passions. Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. I know you not, I
recognise you not: ye made yourselves the workmen of another lord--namely,
the devil. With him inherit ye the darkness, and the fire that is not
quenched, and the worm that sleepeth not, and the gnashing of teeth.
XLVI.
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye
gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye
clothed me not; sick, and ye visited me not: I was in prison, and ye came
not unto me. I made your ears that ye might hear the Scriptures; and ye
prepared them for the songs of demons, and lyres, and jesting. I made your
eyes that you might see the light of my commandments, and keep them; and ye
called in fornication and wantonness, and opened them to all other manner
of uncleanness. I prepared your mouth for the utterance of adoration, and
praise, and psalms, and spiritual odes, and for the exercise of continuous
reading; and ye fitted it to railing, and swearing, and blasphemies, while
ye sat and spoke evil of your neighbours. I made your hands that ye might
stretch them forth in prayers and supplications, and ye put them forth to
robberies, and murders, and the killing of each other. I ordained your feet
to walk in the preparation of the Gospel of peace, both in the churches and
the houses of my saints; and ye taught them to run to adulteries, and
fornications, and theatres, and dancings, and elevations.(1)
XLVII.
At last the assembly is dissolved, the spectacle of this life ceaseth:
its deceit and its semblance are passed away. Cleave to me, to whom every
knee boweth, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the
earth. For all who have been negligent, and have not shown pity in well-
doing there, have nothing else due them than the unquenchable fire. For I
am the friend of man, but yet also a righteous Judge to all. For I shall
award the recompense according to desert; I shall give the reward to all,
according to each man's labour; I shall make return to all, according to
each man's conflict. I wish to have pity, but I see no oil in your vessels.
I desire to have mercy, but ye have passed through life entirely without
mercy. I long to have compassion, but your lamps are dark by reason of your
hardness of heart. Depart from me. For judgment is without mercy to him
that hath showed no mercy.(2)
XLVIII.
Then shall they also make answer to the dread Judge, who accepteth no
man's person: Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and ministered not unto Thee?
Lord, dost Thou know us not? Thou didst form us, Thou didst fashion us,
Thou didst make us of four elements, Thou didst give us spirit and soul. On
Thee we believed; Thy seal we received, Thy baptism we obtained; we
acknowledged Thee to be God, we knew Thee to be Creator; in Thee we wrought
sights, through Thee we cast out demons, for Thee we mortified the flesh,
for Thee we preserved virginity, for Thee we practised chastity, for Thee
we became strangers on the earth; and Thou sayest, I know you not, depart
from me! Then shall He make answer to them, and say, Ye acknowledged me as
Lord, but ye kept not my words. Ye were marked with the seal of my cross,
but ye deleted it by your hardness of heart. Ye obtained my baptism, but ye
observed not my commandments. Ye subdued your body to virginity, but ye
kept not mercy, but ye did not cast the hatred of your brother out of your
souls. For not every, one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall be saved, but
he that doeth my will.(3) And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.(4)
XLIX.
"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life."
Ye have heard, beloved, the answer of the Lord; ye have learned the
sentence of the Judge; ye have been given to understand what kind of awful
scrutiny awaits us, and what day and what hour are before us. Let us
therefore ponder this every day; let us meditate on this both day and
night, both in the house, and by the way, and in the churches, that we may
not stand forth at that dread and impartial judgment condemned, abased, and
sad, but with purity of action, life, conversation, and confession; so that
to us also the merciful and benignant God may say, "Thy faith hath saved
thee, go in peace;"(5) and again, "Well done, good and faithful servant;
thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many, things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."(6) Which joy may it be
ours to reach, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom
pertain glory, honour, and adoration, with His Father, who is without
beginning, and His holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and
to the ages of the ages. Amen.(7)
HIPPOLYTUS ON THE TWELVE APOSTLES WHERE EACH OF THEM PREACHED, AND WHERE HE
MET HIS END.
1. Peter preached the Gospel in Pontus, and Galatia, and Cappadocia,
and Betania, and Italy, and Asia, and was afterwards crucified by Nero in
Rome with his head downward, as he had himself desired to suffer in that
manner.
2. Andrew preached to the Scythians and Thracians, and was crucified,
suspended on an olive tree, at Patrae, a town of Achaia; and there too he
was buried.
3. John, again, in Asia, was banished by Domitian the king to the isle
of Patmos, in which also he wrote his Gospel and saw the apocalyptic
vision; and in Trajan's time he fell asleep at Ephesus, where his remains
were sought for, but could not be found.
4. James, his brother, when preaching in Judea, was cut off with the
sword by Herod the tetrarch, and was buried there.
5. Philip preached in Phrygia, and was crucified in Hierapolis with his
head downward in the time of Domitian, and was buried there.
6. Bartholomew, again, preached to the Indians, to whom he also gave
the Gospel according to Matthew, and was crucified with his head downward,
and was buried in Allanum,(1) a town of the great Armenia.(2)
7. And Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue,(3) and published
it at Jerusalem, and fell asleep at Hierees, a town of Parthia.
8. And Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians,
Bactrians, and Margians,(4) and was thrust through in the four members of
his body with a pine spears(5) at Calamene,(6) the city of India, anti was
buried there.
9. And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem. was
stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried there beside the temple.
10. Jude, who is also called Lebbaeus, preached. to the people of
Edessa,(7) and to all Mesopotamia, and fell asleep at Berytus, and was
buried there.
11. Simon the Zealot,(8) the son of Clopas, who is also called Jude,
became bishop of Jerusalem after James the Just, and fell asleep and was
buried there at the age of 120 years.
12. And Matthias, who was one of the seventy, was numbered along with
the eleven apostles, and preached in Jerusalem, and fell asleep and was
buried there.
13. And Paul entered into the apostleship a year after the assumption
of Christ; and beginning at Jerusalem, he advanced as far as Illyricum, and
Italy, and Spain, preaching the Gospel for five-and-thirty years. And in
the time of Nero he was beheaded at Rome, and was buried there.
THE SAME HIPPOLYTUS ON THE SEVENTY APOSTLES.(9)
1. James the Lord's brother,(10) bishop of Jerusalem.
2. Cleopas, bishop of Jerusalem.
3. Matthias, who supplied the vacant place in the number of the twelve
apostles.
4. Thaddeus, who conveyed the epistle to Augarus.
5. Ananias, who baptized Paul, and was bishop of Damascus.
6. Stephen, the first martyr.
7. Philip, who baptized the eunuch.
8. Prochorus, bishop of Nicomedia, who also was the first that
departed,(11) believing together with his daughters.
9. Nicanor died when Stephen was martyred.
10. Timon, bishop of Bostra.
11. Parmenas, bishop of Soli.
12. Nicolaus, bishop of Samaria.
13. Barnabas, bishop of Milan.
14. Mark the evangelist, bishop of Alexandria.
15. Luke the evangelist.
These two belonged to the seventy disciples who were scattered(12) by
the offence of the word which Christ spoke, "Except a man eat my flesh, and
drink my blood, he is not worthy of me."(13) But the one being induced to
return to the Lord by Peter's instrumentality, and the other by Paul's,
they were honoured to preach that Gospel(14) on account of which they also
suffered martyrdom, the one being burned, and
the other being crucified on an olive tree.
16. Silas, bishop of Corinth.
17. Silvanus, bishop of Thessalonica.
18. Crisces (Crescens), bishop of Carchedon in Gaul.
19. Epaenetus, bishop of Carthage.
20. Andronicus, bishop of Pannonia.
21. Amplias, bishop of Odyssus.
22. Urban, bishop of Macedonia.
23. Stachys, bishop of Byzantium.
24. Barnabas, bishop of Heraclea.
25. Phygellus, bishop of Ephesus. He was of the party also of
Simon.(15)
26. Hermogenes. He, too, was of the same mind with the former.
27. Demas, who also became a priest of idols.
28. Apelles, bishop of Smyrna.
29. Aristobulus, bishop of Britain.
30. Narcissus, bishop of Athens.
31. Herodion, bishop of Tarsus.
32. Agabus the prophet.
33. Rufus, bishop of Thebes.
34. Asyncritus, bishop of Hyrcania.
35. Phlegon, bishop of Marathon.
36. Hermes, bishop of Dalmatia.
37. Patrobulus,(1) bishop of Puteoli.
38. Hermas, bishop of Philippi.
39. Linus, bishop of Rome.
40. Caius, bishop of Ephesus.
41. Philologus, bishop of Sinope.
42, 43. Olympus and Rhodion were martyred in Rome.
44. Lucius, bishop of Laodicea in Syria.
45. Jason, bishop of Tarsus.
46. Sosipater, bishop of Iconium.
47. Tertius, bishop of Iconium.
48. Erastus, bishop of Panellas.
49. Quartus, bishop of Berytus.
50. Apollo, bishop of Caesarea.
51. Cephas.(2)
52. Sosthenes, bishop of Colophonia.
53. Tychicus, bishop of Colophonia.
54. Epaphroditus, bishop of Andriace.
55. Caesar, bishop of Dyrrachium.
56. Mark, cousin to Barnabas, bishop of Apollonia.
57. Justus, bishop of Eleutheropolis.
58. Artemas, bishop of Lystra.
59. Clement, bishop of Sardinia.
60. Onesiphorus, bishop of Corone.
61. Tychicus, bishop of Chalcedon.
62. Carpus, bishop of Berytus in Thrace.
63. Evodus, bishop of Antioch.
64. Aristarchus, bishop of Apamea.
65. Mark, who is also John, bishop of Bibloupolis.
66. Zenas, bishop of Diospolis.
67. Philemon, bishop of Gaza.
68, 69. Aristarchus and Pudes.
70. Trophimus, who was martyred along with Paul.
HEADS OF THE CANONS OF ABULIDES OR HIPPOLYTUS, WHICH ARE USED BY THE
AETHIOPIAN CHRISTIANS.(3)
1. Of the holy faith of Jesus Christ.(4)
2. Of bishops.(5)
3. Of prayers spoken on the ordination of bishops, and of the order of
the Missa.(6)
4. Of the ordination of presbyters.
5. Of the ordination of deacons.
6. Of those who suffer persecution for the faith.(7)
7. Of the election of reader and sub-deacon.(8)
8. Of the gift of healing.(9)
9. Of the presbyter who abides in a place inconvenient for his
office.(10)
10. Of those who are converted to the Christian religion.
11. Of him who makes idols.(10)
12. Various pursuits(11) are enumerated, the followers of which are not
to be admitted to the Christian religion until repentance is exhibited.(10)
13. Of the place which the highest kings or princes shall occupy in the
temple.(12)
14. That it is not meet for Christians to bear arms.(13)
15. Of works which are unlawful to Christians.(13)
16. Of the Christian who marries a slave-Woman.(13)
17. Of the free woman.(13)
18. Of the midwife; and that the women ought to be separate from the
men in prayer.(14)
19. Of the catechumen who suffers martyrdom before baptism.(15)
20. Of the fast of the fourth and sixth holiday; and of Lent.(16)
21. That presbyters should assemble daily with the people in
church.(17)
22. Of the week of the Jews' passover; and of him who knows not
passover (Easter).(18)
23. That every one be held to learn doctrine.(19)
24. Of the care of the bishop over the sick.(20)
25. Of him on whom the care of the sick is enjoined; and of the time at
which prayers are to be made.(21)
26. Of the time at which exhortations are to be heard.(13)
27. Of him who frequents the temple every day.(22)
28. That the faithful ought to eat nothing before the holy
communion.(23)
29. That care is to be well taken that nothing
fall from the chalice to the ground.(1)
30. Of catechumens.(2)
31. That a deacon may dispense the Eucharist to the people with
permission of a bishop or presbyter.(3)
32. That widows and virgins ought to pray constantly.(4)
33. That commemoration should be made of the faithful dead every day,
with the exception of the Lord's day.(5)
34. Of the sober behaviour of the secular(6) in church.(7)
35. That deacons may pronounce the benediction and thanksgiving at the
love-feasts when a bishop is not present.(8)
36. Of the first-fruits of the earth, and of VOWS.(9)
37. When a bishop celebrates the holy communion (Synaxis),(10) the
presbyters who stand by him should be clothed in white.(11)
38. That no one ought to sleep on the night of the resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ.(12)
CANONS OF THE CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA. WRONGLY ASCRIBED TO HIPPOLYTUS.(13)
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Those are the canons of the Church, ordinances which Hippolytus wrote, by
whom the Church speaketh; and the number of them is thirty-eight canons.
Greeting from the Lord.
Canon First. Of the Catholic faith. Before all things should we speak
of the faith, holy and right, regarding our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
the living God; and we have consequently placed that canon in the faith
(the symbol); and we agree in this with all reasonable certitude, that the
Trinity is equal perfectly in honour, and equal in glory, and has neither
beginning nor end. The Word is the Son of God, and is Himself the Creator
of every creature, of things visible and invisible. This we lay down with
one accord, in opposition to those who have said boldly, that it is not
right to speak of the Word of God as our Lord Jesus Christ spake. We come
together chiefly to bring out the holy truth(14) regarding God; and we have
separated them, because they do not agree with the Church in theology, nor
with us the sons of the Scriptures. On this account we have sundered them
from the Church, and have left what concerns them to God, who will judge
His creatures with justice.(15) To those, moreover, who are not cognisant
of them, we make this known without ill-will, in order that they may not
rush into an evil death, like heretics, but may gain eternal life, and
teach their sons and their posterity this one true faith.
Canon Second. Of bishops. A bishop should be elected by all the people,
and he should be unimpeachable, as it is written of him in the apostle; in
the week in which he is ordained, the whole people should also say, We
desire him; and there should be silence in the whole hall, and they should
all pray in his behalf, and say, O God, stablish him whom Thou hast
prepared for us, etc.
Canon Third. Prayer in behalf of him who is made bishop, and the
ordinance of the Missa.(16) O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation, etc.
Canon Fourth. Of the ordination of a presbyter.
Canon Fifth. Of the constituting a deacon.
Canon Sixth. Of those who have suffered for the faith.
Canon Seventh.Of him who is elected reader and sub-deacon.
Canon Eighth. Of the gift of healings.
Canon Ninth. That a presbyter should not dwell in unbefitting places;
and of the honour of widows.
Canon Tenth. Of those who wish to become Nazarenes (Christians).
Canon Eleventh. Of him who makes idols and images, or the artificer.
Canon Twelfth. Of the prohibition of those works, the authors of which
are not to be received but on the exhibition of repentance.
Canon Thirteenth. Of a prince or a soldier, that they be not received
indiscriminately.
Canon Fourteenth. That a Nazarene may not become a soldier unless by
order.
Canon Fifteenth. Enumeration of works which are unlawful.
Canon Sixteenth. Of him who has a lawful wife, and takes another beside
her.
Canon Seventeenth. Of a free-born woman, and her duties. Of midwives,
and of the separation of men from women. Of virgins, that they should cover
their faces and their heads.
Canon Eighteenth. Of women in childbed, and of midwives again.
Canon Nineteenth. Of catechumens, and the ordinance of Baptism and the
Missa.
Canon Twentieth.Of the fast the six days, and of that of Lent.
Canon Twenty-first. Of the daily assembling of priests and people in
the church.
Canon Twenty-second. Of the week of the Jews' passover, wherein joy
shall be put away, and of what is eaten therein; and of him who, being
brought up abroad, is ignorant of the Calendar.(1)
Canon Twenty-third. Of doctrine, that it should be continuous, greater
than the sea, and that its words ought to be fulfilled by deeds.
Canon Twenty-fourth. Of the bishop's visitation of the sick; and that
if an infirm man has prayed in the church, and has a house, he should go to
him.
Canon Twenty-fifth. Of the procurator appointed for the sick, and of
the bishop, and the times of prayer.
Canon Twenty-sixth. Of the hearing of the word in church, and of
praying in it.
Canon Twenty-seventh. Of him who does not come to church daily,--let
him read books; and of prayer at midnight and cock-crowing, and of the
washing of hands at the time of any prayer.
Canon Twenty-eighth. That none of the believers should taste anything,
but after he has taken the sacred mysteries, especially in the days of
fasting.
Canon Twenty-ninth. Of the keeping of oblations which are laid upon the
altar,--that nothing fall into the sacred chalice, and that nothing fall
from the priests, nor from the boys when they take communion; that an evil
spirit rule them not, and that no one speak in the protection,(2) except in
prayer; and when the oblations of the people cease, let psalms be read with
all attention, even to the signal of the bell; and of the sign of the
cross, and the casting of the dust of the altar into the pool.(3)
Canon Thirtieth. Of catechumens and the like.
Canon Thirty-first. Of the bishop and presbyter bidding the deacons
present the communion.
Canon Thirty-second. Of virgins and widows, that they should pray and
fast in the church. Let those who are given to the clerical order pray
according to their judgment. Let not a bishop be bound to fasting but with
the clergy. And on account of a feast or supper, let him prepare for the
poor.(4)
Canon Thirty-third. Of the Atalmsas (the oblation), which they shall
present for those who are dead, that it be not done on the Lord's day.
Canon Thirty-fourth. That no one speak much, nor make a clamour; and of
the entrance of the saints into the mansions of the faithful.
Canon Thirty-fifth. Of a deacon present at a feast at which there is a
presbyter present,--let him do his part in prayer and the breaking of bread
for a blessing, and not for the body; and of the discharge of widows.
Canon Thirty-sixth. Of the first-fruits of the earth, and the first
dedication of them; and of presses, oil, honey, milk, wool, and the like,
which may be offered to the bishop for his blessing.
Canon Thirty-seventh. As often as a bishop takes of the sacred
mysteries, let the deacons and presbyters be gathered together, clothed in
white robes, brilliant in the view of all the people; and in like manner
with a reader.
Canon Thirty-eighth. Of the night on which our Lord Jesus Christ rose.
That no one shall sleep on that night, and wash himself with water; and a
declaration concerning such a one; and a declaration concerning him who
sins after baptism, and of things lawful and unlawful.
The sacred canons of the holy patriarch Hippolytus, the first patriarch
of the great city of Rome,(5) which he composed, are ended; and the number
of them is thirty-eight canons. May the Lord help us to keep them. And to
God be glory for ever, and on us be His mercy for ever. Amen.
Taken from "The Early Church Fathers and Other Works" originally published
by Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. in English in Edinburgh, Scotland beginning in
1867. (ANF 5, Roberts and Donaldson). The digital version is by The
Electronic Bible Society, P.O. Box 701356, Dallas, TX 75370, 214-407-WORD.
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