ACC ~ Matthew 24 v15 - 28

OVERVIEW:

Abomination of desolation signifies either idolatry or worship of antichrist (JEROME). In the end of time there will be no hope of salvation from destruction (CHRYSOSTOM). Prohibition of going from housetop back to the house may be interpreted as prohibition of returning from spiritual life to earthly cares (HILARY OF POITIERS). Not to turn back from the field means not to turn back to the prebaptismal state of sin (ORIGEN). The field represents the church, where the flowers of virtue flourish. Turning back from the field is returning to sin, which obstructs salvation (EPIPHANIUS THE LATIN). Flight on the sabbath means departing from this life in the state of indolence, while winter signifies the season of spiritual unfruitfulness (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). In accordance with Jesus’ prophecy, the terrors and tragedy of the Roman anti-Jewish universal campaign (under Vespasian and Titus) were unprecedented (CHRYSOSTOM). Shortening of the days signifies cutting off the doctrines and practices alien to Scripture, which are added by heretics (ORIGEN). Although there were numerous false christs around the time of the Jerusalem siege, Jesus’ warning also applies to the end of the world and the war of heretics against the church (JEROME). Antichrist will demonstrate great signs and miracles, and will declare himself God (EPIPHANIUS THE LATIN). Those who try to lead astray even the elect are preachers of the false doctrine. The signs and miracles they employ are their skillful reasoning and pretentious piety. In Christ’s second coming the glory of his divinity will be so apparent that there will be no need to seek him (INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW). Christ, the Word of God, is shining in the whole of Scripture, from the law to the prophets (ORIGEN). The body represents Christ’s Passion; the eagles represent the saints (JEROME). The saying about the body and eagles is a metaphoric description of Christ’s second coming (APOLLINARIS).

24:15 | Daniel Spoke of the Sacrilege

THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

JEROME: Whenever we are urged to use our understanding, the meaning is shown to be mystical. But we read in Daniel this only: “And for half a week my sacrifice and offering will be removed, and the abomination of desolation shall be in the temple until the end of time, and the end will be given in abandonment.” [1] The apostle also said in this regard that the man of iniquity, the enemy, would rise up against everything uttered by God and would dare to stand in the temple and be worshiped as though he were God. After Satan’s work is finished, however, Christ’s coming will destroy all who raised themselves against him and will return them to the state of divine abandonment. This man of iniquity can be interpreted either simply as the antichrist, or as the image of Caesar which Pilate put in the temple, or as the statue of Hadrian the equestrian which still today stands in the Holy of Holies. Because the Old Testament normally calls the abomination an idol, the word desolation is added here to indicate that the idol shall be placed there resulting in the temple’s abandonment and destruction. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 4.24.15. [2]

[1] Super solitudinem; see Dan 9:27.

[2] CCL 77:225-26.

24:16 | Let Them Flee to the Mountains

FLEE TO THE MOUNTAINS

CHRYSOSTOM: Having spoken of the ills that were to overtake the city, and of the trials of the apostles, and that they should remain unsubdued, and that they will overcome the whole world, he turns again to the calamities of the Jews. While the gospel dispensation will be gloriously fulfilled, the others will be faced with deepening adversities. He shows how intolerable the war will be, even in every detail.

“Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” When does he mean by “then”? These things will take place, he says, “when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, [1] standing in the holy place.” He seems to me to be speaking of armies and wars. So flee. There is no hope of safety for you in the cities.

Yet some will say that it has happened again and again that the people of Judah have recovered from terrible times. Think of the conditions under Sennacherib. Remember Antiochus. Remember the time when the armies had come upon them and the temple had been seized and the Maccabees rallied to give their affairs an opposite turn! But Jesus forbids them thinking of any such rescue. He does not want to feed them false hopes. For this is different. It is the end time. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 76.1. [2]

[1] See Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11.

[2] PG 58:693-94; NPNF 1 10:456.

24:17 | One on the Housetop

THE HOUSETOP AND THE FIELD

HILARY OF POITIERS: The roof is the summit of the house, the noble perfection of the entire dwelling. For one may not even say that a house exists if it does not have a roof. Whoever therefore is established at the summit of his house—that is, in the perfection of his body made new by regeneration, raised high by the Spirit and perfected by the absolution of the divine gift—should not allow himself to be provoked within by bodily enticements and to descend to the sinful desire for the lowly things of this world or fall from the heights of the roof.

“And let whoever is in the field not return to retrieve his tunic,” that is, if he is busy fulfilling the commandments, he should not return to his previous cares or desire clothing for this body, lest he restore and wear again the old tunic of sin with which he was once covered. ON MATTHEW 25.5. [1]

[1] SC 258:186.

24:18 | One in the Field

WHAT ROOF?

WHAT FIELD?

ORIGEN: Whoever is in Judea, that is, “in the letter of the old law,” should flee to the mountains of the new things of the Spirit. And whoever is found to have gone up onto the roof, which is the Word, and stands high above his home should not descend to retrieve anything from within his house. For he who remains on the roof and denies himself will never need to come down.

Whoever is in the field must not turn back. If he is in the field in which the treasure is hidden, as the Lord taught in his parable, [1] he must not turn back. If he is in the field to which Jacob was compared when his father blessed him, saying, “Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a bountiful field which the Lord has blessed,” [2] in which everyone who lives according to the law will be blessed with the spiritual blessings of the law, he still must not turn back. As the Scripture says, “You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field.” [3] Whoever therefore is in the field of “every plant which the heavenly Father has planted,” [4] he too must not turn back. Just as he who puts his hand to the plow and turns back is unfit for the kingdom of God, [5] so also the one in the field who turns back on account of those things which he ought to have forsaken will undoubtedly incur the abomination of desolation which is deception. This is especially true of those who had previously stripped off their old tunic (that is, “the old nature with its practices”) [6] and return again to retrieve it. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 42. [7]

[1] Mt 13:44.

[2] Gen 27:27.

[3] Deut 28:3.

[4] Mt 15:13.

[5] Lk 9:62.

[6] Col 3:9.

[7] GCS 38.2:85-86.

TO TAKE HIS MANTLE

CHRYSOSTOM: Under these conditions one would do well merely to escape with one’s naked body. So if anyone is on a housetop, he should not take time to run back into the house to get his clothes. For the evils are inevitable. The calamity is without end. Anyone nearby will surely perish. Therefore he adds also, “if one is in the field,” saying, “do not try to take cover or turn back to find your belongings.” For if those who are indoors flee, much more ought they that are out of doors not take refuge indoors. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 76.1. [1]

[1] PG 58:694; NPNF 1 10:456.

DO NOT TURN FROM THE CHURCH

EPIPHANIUS THE LATIN: The holy reading continues: “Let him in the field not turn back.” This field represents the church, as was demonstrated by the blessing our blessed patriarch Isaac gave to his son Jacob: “Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a bountiful field which the Lord has blessed.” [1] The field was replete with a multitude of flowers and was redolent with the sweetest aroma. Clearly this signifies the church where the Lord’s flowers—that is, virginity, chastity, continence, confession, faith, mercy, justice, truth and martyrdom—are perfected. These are the flowers of the field, which is the church; the flowers in which the Son of God rejoices, which have merited God’s blessing. Therefore he said, “Let him in the field not turn back.” Likewise, the same Lord once said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” [2] While fleeing the conflagration of Sodom, she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt, leaving an example of foolishness behind her. Therefore the Lord admonishes us that clinging more fully to his love and faith, we would not turn back, yet rather would save our souls for eternal life. INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS 33. [3]

[1] Gen 27:27.

[2] Lk 17:32.

[3] PL Supp 3:882.

24:19 | Alas for Those with Child

PREGNANCY, INFANCY AND FLIGHT VIEWED SPIRITUALLY

HILARY OF POITIERS: One must not believe that the Lord was drawing our attention to the burden of pregnant women when he said, “Woe to those who are with child.” Instead, he wanted to demonstrate the heavy weight of souls filled with sins, a weight which prevents them from escaping the storm of wrath stored up for them, whether they are on the roof or in the field. Suffering naturally accompanies pregnancy, and no one is born into the world without his entire body being shaken by the experience. Souls therefore who are found in a similar condition will continue in their suffering and burdens.

“Woe also to those who are nursing.” The weaned infant is no less unfit for flight than is the one who is still nursing. But if the difference in age and status between those who are nursing and those who are weaned is of no importance, how are we to understand “Woe also to those who are nursing”? This warning is meant to show the infirmity of souls who were being taught to know God as though they were being nursed. But in fact they only had a weak foretaste of the knowledge of God and were deprived of the strength which comes from the perfect food. The Lord’s woe therefore is said to the souls themselves who are too weighed down to escape the antichrist or too weak to face him because they had not been avoiding sin and because they had not been fed with the true bread.

Therefore we are admonished to pray that our flight does not take place in the winter or on the sabbath. In other words, let us not be found in the coldness of our sins or in the absence of good works. A heavy, intolerable affliction will be visited upon everyone, unless those days are shortened because of the elect of God. ON MATTHEW 25.6-7. [1]

[1] SC 258:188-90.

TIES OF SYMPATHY

CHRYSOSTOM: He first mourns for the one weighed down by the burden of pregnancy, who cannot flee easily, who is less mobile. Then he mourns for “those who are nursing.” They are bound by ties of sympathy for their children. Yet they cannot protect those who nurse. Who can escape these bonds of natural affection? By comparison, parting with money is nothing. How could the pregnant woman become mobile? How could she that nurses be able to overlook that which she had borne? THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 76.1. [1]

[1] PG 58:694-95; NPNF 1 10:457.

TIMES OF TRIBULATION

EPIPHANIUS THE LATIN: The holy reading continues: “Woe to those who are with child and to those who are nursing in those days.” This means woe to those who have conceived suffering and begotten iniquity by neglecting the faith. For just as a pregnant woman in flight has no rest but only pain and tribulation, so also sinners and disbelievers in the Christian faith will have nothing but grief when the day of judgment comes upon them.

The holy Gospel next says, “Pray that your flight not fall in the winter or on the sabbath, for there will be a tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world.” These two times, winter and the sabbath, represent two races of people: the Gentiles and the Jews. Just as everything is fruitless, desolate and dead in the winter, so also are the Gentiles. The Lord is hereby warning us therefore not to be found as the Gentiles: desolate, dead and without the fruit of good works on the day of judgment or in the time of persecution. The sabbath … is a day reserved entirely for leisure. The Jews do nothing on the sabbath other than rest. We ought to be vigilant then that the time of persecution or the day of judgment does not find us resting. Whoever is found like this will deservedly suffer “a tribulation such as the world has not seen since its beginning.” INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS 33. [1]

[1] PL Supp 3:882.

24:20 | The Time of Your Flight

NOT IN WINTER

CHRYSOSTOM: Recall that this discourse is addressed to the Jews. He is speaking here of the ills that should overtake them. He is not speaking primarily to the apostles, who did not keep the Jewish sabbath day. [1] They were nowhere around when Vespasian did these things. [2] Indeed, most of the apostles would soon be dead or in other distant parts of the world.

It is to the Jews that he says “Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath.” Pray that it not be in winter, because of the difficulty of the season. Pray that it not be on the sabbath day, because of the absolute authority exercised by the law. For they had need of flight, and of the swiftest flight. The Jews would not dare to flee on the sabbath day, because of the law. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 76.1. [3]

[1] They celebrated the resurrection on the first day of the week.

[2] Vespasian was the Roman emperor A.D. 69-79 and was known for his role in putting down the Jewish rebellion (66-70).

[3] PG 58:695; NPNF 1 10:457.

A WINTER OF EVILS

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Perhaps this saying contains a puzzle. It admonishes us to pray that our departure from this body would not happen in the time of rest from good works, which the sabbath signifies, nor in the time of unfruitfullness, which is winter. It is notable, however, that God did not create the winter of misfortunes. Winter means the time that we are possessed by the fleshly passions. [1] FRAGMENT 269. [2]

[1] In the Mediterranean world severe winds rule and toss the sea during winter.

[2] MKGK 244.

24:21 | Great Tribulation

PRAY AMID THE GREATEST TRIBULATION

CHRYSOSTOM: You must pray, for “then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” Do not let anyone suppose that he is merely speaking in hyperbole. All you need to do is study the writings of Josephus to learn the truth of these predictions. No one who knows the fact of history can say that Christian believers have exaggerated this tragic history or been any part of trying to see that Christ’s words were fulfilled. For Jesus himself was a Jew, a determined and faithful Jew, very zealous. And among believers who lived after Christ there were many Jews. What then is this man predicting? That these terrors would surpass all tragedy. And indeed no such similar tragedy has ever overtaken any nation. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 76.1. [1]

[1] PG 58:695; NPNF 1 10:457.

24:22 | For the Sake of the Elect

NO ONE WOULD BE SAVED

CHRYSOSTOM: This is a tribulation such as never has been before nor will be. He adds, “And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” By this he is indicating that they are deserving of a more grievous punishment than any that had previously been experienced. He is speaking now of the days of the war and of the siege. If the war of the Romans against Jerusalem had continued, all the Jews would have perished. By “no human being” in this case he means the Jews. And this doubtless applies to Jews at home and abroad. For the Romans were fighting not only against those in Judea but also against those Jews that were dispersed everywhere. They too were outlawed and banished, because of the Romans’ hatred against the Jews of Judea. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 76.1. [1]

[1] PG 58:695; NPNF 1 10:457.

THE SHORTENING OF DAYS

ORIGEN: “Those days” refers to the commandments and truths which were placed in Scripture for the illumination of rational souls. Accordingly, every doctrine that comes from “false knowledge” [1] and is joined to the words of Scripture is to be understood as corresponding to additions beyond the natural length of days in Scripture. The good God, however, shortens the addition of these days through whom he chooses. Whenever you see then by the advent of the Word of truth in your mind that the “arrogant who fight against the knowledge of God” [2] are cut off, understand that the days of tribulation are shortened. The extra length is abbreviated which the abomination of desolation always adds in opposition to the natural number of the days of the Lord which are in Scripture. “Those days” will be shortened “for the sake of the elect,” so that they will suffer nothing from the desolation of abomination nor from what was added to the true and natural days of Scripture. This assumes that the addition of days has been shortened and that the only remaining light is that of the word of truth. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 45. [3]

[1] 1 Tim 6:20.

[2] 2 Cor 10:5.

[3] GCS 38.2:93.

BELIEVERS IN THEIR MIDST

CHRYSOSTOM: But who in this case does he mean by the elect? He means the believers that were hidden away in the midst of them. In order that Jews may not say that it was because of the gospel and the worship of Christ that these ills took place, he showed that so far from the believers being the cause, if it had not been for them, all Jews would have perished utterly. For if God had permitted the war to be protracted, not so much as a remnant of the Jews would have remained. But lest those of them who had become believers should perish together with the unbelieving Jews, he quickly put down the fighting and allowed an end to the war. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 76.2. [1]

[1] PG 58:695-6; NPNF 1 10:457.

24:23 | Ignoring False Reports

DO NOT BELIEVE IT

JEROME: “If anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There is the Christ,’ do not believe him.” At the time of the Jewish captivity by Rome, many Jewish elders claimed to be the Christ. There were so many, in fact, that there were three distinct camps of them when the Romans besieged Jerusalem. This saying is better understood as referring to the end of the world, however.

“False Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so that even the elect might be led into error. Behold, I told you.” As I have already noted, this passage is to be explained in one of three ways. It refers either to the Roman siege of Jerusalem or to the end of the world or to the war waged by heretics against the church and by antichrists who oppose Christ under the pretext of false knowledge.

“If, therefore, they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the desert,’ do not go out. And if they say ‘Behold, he is inside,’ don’t believe it.” If anyone were to tell you that Christ dwells in the wilderness of the pagans or in the doctrine of the philosophers or within the inner chambers of heretics who promise to reveal the secrets of God, do not go out and do not believe them. And lest false prophets find an opportunity for deceiving you at a time of persecution and anxiety, you should not trust just anyone who claims to speak in the name of Christ. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 4.24.23-26. [1]

[1] CCL 77:228.

24:24 | False Signs and Wonders

FALSE CHRISTS WILL ARISE

EPIPHANIUS THE LATIN: We are warned by the Lord so that if anyone were to come to us falsely in his name, none of us would believe in such a person, having already been prepared. Henceforth how great will be the signs by which the faith of the elect is demonstrated! But whoever builds his house on the rock, that is, establishes his faith on Christ, cannot be destroyed by winds or rains. The rock represents Christ, the floods are the kings, and the winds are the kings’ orders to persecute the servants of God. [1]

The holy reading continues: “False Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so that even the elect would be led into error, if possible. Behold, I have told you.” You see then, beloved, what great love the Lord displays toward us. He carefully instructs each one of us individually regarding the future so that even if we see all these signs come to pass (having been forewarned by him) we will be wise to the enemy and accept nothing contrary to Christ and the catholic faith. In the Acts of the Apostles, Simon declared himself to be the power of God. [2] Likewise, in the last days, the antichrist will declare himself to be God, as the apostle says, “Thus he will sit in the temple of God, calling himself God … whom the Lord Jesus Christ will kill with the breath of his mouth.” [3] The day of judgment will come upon the antichrist also, and the Lord will kill him with the sword of his mouth. INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS 33. [4]

[1] Mt 7:24-25.

[2] Acts 8:19.

[3] 2 Thess 2:4-8.

[4] PL Supp 3:883.

THE ELECT

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: “That they might lead even the elect into error, if possible.” Scripture doesn’t say “that they might deceive even the elect, if possible,” but that they might “lead them into error.” Commonly, when the saints encounter hidden works of the devil under the appearance of goodness, they cannot understand the enemy’s boundless treachery. They are troubled in their hearts and scandalized, asking, “What is happening here?” Yet they are not easily convinced to believe him, for even if their human reason is overcome, they stand firm by faith.

Scripture says “if possible” in order to show the greatness of the signs. How prodigious those signs must have been to deceive even the elect! Yet they were not deceived, because those whom God has preordained to life cannot die. The power of God was shown forth when he forewarned the faithful about these signs for the sake of their salvation. Nevertheless these matters are best understood with regard to the rise of the heresies. False Christs are the false truths of the heresies, and false prophets are preachers of false truths. Their signs consist in doing the same things falsely which the faithful do truthfully. They remain chaste and observe the fasts and practice mercy and fulfill every rule of the church. Do not the devil’s signs appear most deceptive when you see him doing the works of God? HOMILY 49. [1]

[1] PG 56:916.

24:25-26 | I Have Told You Beforehand

WILL HE COME IN THE DESERT?

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: He forewarned them lest, having heard of the coming of Christ, they would be seduced by men to step out into the open and either be captured in the desert or imprisoned within the house. Why should the coming of Christ happen in a desert? Does he love isolation more than human community? Is he so afraid of people that he needs to hide in the desert? If he did not fear kings or judges when the time for his Passion had arrived but openly preached the word of righteousness to impious people, how is it that he will suddenly be afraid when he comes to judge sinners?

“If anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is inside the house,’ do not believe it.” You insult the Lord’s divinity if you search inside a house for the one who fills all of heaven and earth or if you think him to be hiding who came to resist the proud and to exalt the humble. At his first advent, his divinity was concealed in a body that he might test the faithful. When he comes again, he will be revealed in glory that he might reward their faith. At his first advent, therefore, it was necessary that he be sought out. Now, however, it is not the case that he must be sought in order to be believed. Rather, he himself will seek those by whom he has already been believed. The last times must be interpreted spiritually. Accordingly, there are two kinds of heresies: those which mask their falsehood by attempting to ground it in the divine authority of Scripture and those which are unable to do so because they are so thoroughly contrary to Scripture. The desert therefore represents heresies whose doctrines have forsaken Scripture altogether. The house represents those heresies that are sprinkled with citations from Scripture, thus giving only the appearance of truth. HOMILY 49. [1]

[1] PG 56:917.

24:27 | As the Lightning Comes

TRUTH RADIATES FROM EAST TO WEST

ORIGEN: Christ is shown to be the Word and Truth and Wisdom of God from the very first creature of the world to the last of the writings of the apostles (that is, from Genesis through the apostolic books of the Bible). No Scripture written after these is to be believed in the same way. Because “the law and the prophets prophesied until the coming of John,” [1] the law and the prophets represent the lightning or radiance of truth which “comes from the East and shines as far as the West.” The East represents the law, and the West represents the “end of the law,” [2] which is marked by “the coming of John.” The church alone has neither removed one word from this radiance nor added any prophecy of its own. If we were to consider carefully why the Evangelist does not use the singular here but writes of a plurality shining “from the Easts to the Wests,” [3] we would see that the law and the prophets are one thing and Jesus Christ himself is yet another reality which extends from East to West, appearing to the apostle Paul “last of all, as to one untimely born.” [4] COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 47. [5]

[1] Mt 11:13; Lk 16:16.

[2] Rom 10:4.

[3] Origen highlights the fact that the Greek text of Matthew 24:27 has the plural of east and west.

[4] 1 Cor 15:8. Symbolically the spreading of the horizon from east to west signifies both (1) the display of the truth in the entirety of the sacred Scriptures, begun by the will of God with the law and ended with the Passion of Christ, and (2) the story of the origins of Christianity, from Christ himself to Paul.

[5] GCS 38.2:96.

ILLUMINATING THE FULLNESS OF TRUTH

THEODORE OF HERACLEA: For it is much the same with lightning. Lightning is figuratively compared with truth. It is likened to the coming of the Son of man, which is explained in every Scripture, whether it concerns the law, prophecy, the gospel or apostolic testimony. It flashes out from the east, the region of principalities and spiritual powers, and shines all the way to the west, the realm of darkness and Satan, in the time of the Passion. Note that if the law is rising in the east, the end of the law is setting in the west. But from Jesus Christ to Paul is a rising and setting. He was revealed to Paul last of all as “to one abnormally born.” [1] FRAGMENT 124-25. [2]

[1] 1 Cor 15:8.

[2] MKGK 91.

24:28 | Eagles Gathered Together

WHEREVER THE BODY IS

JEROME: We are taught about the sacrament of Christ by the use of a natural example taken from daily life. Eagles and vultures are said to sense the presence of a carcass all the way across the sea and to gather their food in this way. If therefore these irrational creatures have the natural capacity to know where a small body lies, even though separated by so great a distance across land and sea, how much more ought we and the whole multitude of believers hasten to him whose splendor comes from the east and shines as far as the west!

In Greek the body is called a ptōma, [1] but the Latin word for it, cadaver, is more illuminating because it comes from the word “to fall,” cadare, and implies that the body has fallen dead. We can understand this body to refer to the Passion of Christ because wherever Scripture says that we are gathered together, it is for the purpose of coming to the Word of God. For example, “A company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet,” [2] “like a lamb led to the slaughter,” [3] and in other passages like these. The eagles represent those saints whose youth is renewed like the eagle’s [4] and who, according to Isaiah, [5] shall mount up with wings to come to the passion of Christ. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 4.24.28. [6]

[1] Actually the Greek ptōma derives from piptein (“to fall”), and so the correspondence that Jerome notes in Latin can be sustained in Greek as well.

[2] Ps 22:16 (21:17 LXX).

[3] Is 53:7.

[4] Ps103:5 (102:5 LXX).

[5] Is 40:31.

[6] CCL 77:229.

THE GATHERING OF EAGLES

APOLLINARIS: Jesus spoke in a kind of comparison, as in the form of an illustration and example. For, he says, the appearing of the Son of man will be much the same as when eagles and other flesh-eating birds find a carcass and dead body lying on the ground. They secretly and unexpectedly bear them through the heights and by doing so will provide food for themselves. In the same way, he will appear again on the earth a second and glorious time to judge the world. Ranks of angels will be seen serving as an escort with all the saints rising up “in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye,” [1] according to the last trumpet. … But some attempted to explain this text as teaching that at the second coming of the Lord all who conducted themselves uprightly, corresponding with eagles in their lofty and spiritual outlook, will leave paradise behind and be gathered to that place where the fall of Adam occurred. This is the place where Adam violated the commandment and through his disobedience fell into sin. FRAGMENT 126. [2]

[1] 1 Cor 15:52.

[2] MKGK 43.