Against Heresies: Book IV

Truly, then, the Scripture states, “First of all, believe that there is one God, who has established all things and completed them, bringing into existence everything that had no being.” He contains all things and is contained by no one. Malachi also rightly said among the prophets, “Is it not one God who has established us? Do we not all have one Father?” In line with this, the apostle says, “There is one God, the Father, who is above all and in us all.” Likewise, the Lord says, “All things are delivered to Me by My Father,” clearly by Him who made all things, for He did not deliver things belonging to another, but His own.

In all things, [it is implied that] nothing has been withheld [from Him], and for this reason, the same person is the Judge of the living and the dead, “having the key of David: He shall open, and no one shall shut; He shall shut, and no one shall open.” For no one was able, whether in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, to open the book of the Father or to see Him, except for the Lamb who was slain and who redeemed us with His own blood, receiving power over all things from the same God who made all things by the Word and adorned them by [His] Wisdom, when “the Word was made flesh.” This was so that just as the Word of God had sovereignty in the heavens, He might also have sovereignty on earth, as He was a righteous man, “who did no sin, nor was there deceit found in His mouth,” and that He might have pre-eminence over those things under the earth, being made “the firstborn of the dead,” and that all things, as I have already said, might see their King, and that the paternal light might meet and rest upon the flesh of our Lord, coming to us from His resplendent flesh, so that man might attain immortality, having been clothed with the paternal light.

I have also clearly demonstrated that the Word, specifically the Son, was always with the Father. Likewise, Wisdom, which is the Spirit, was present with Him before all creation, as declared by Solomon: “God by Wisdom founded the earth, and by understanding established the heaven. By His knowledge the depths burst forth, and the clouds dropped down the dew.” And again: “The Lord created me as the beginning of His ways in His work; He set me up from everlasting, in the beginning, before He made the earth, before He established the depths, and before the fountains of waters gushed forth; before the mountains were formed and before all the hills, He brought me forth.” And again: “When He prepared the heaven, I was with Him, and when He established the fountains of the deep; when He made the foundations of the earth strong, I was with Him preparing them. I was the one in whom He rejoiced, and throughout all time I was daily glad before His face, when He rejoiced at the completion of the world and was delighted in the sons of men.”

There is therefore one God, who by the Word and Wisdom created and arranged everything. This is the Creator (Demiurge) who has given this world to humanity, and regarding His greatness, He is unknown to all who have been made by Him (for no one has understood His vastness, neither those among the ancients who have passed away, nor any who are now alive). However, regarding His love, He is always known through Him by whose means He organized everything. This is His Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, in the last times, became a man among men so that He might connect the end to the beginning, that is, man to God. Therefore, the prophets, having received the prophetic gift from the same Word, announced His coming in the flesh, through which the union and communion of God and man took place according to the Father's good pleasure. The Word of God foretold from the beginning that God would be seen by humans, converse with them on earth, engage with them, and be present with His creation, saving it and becoming understandable to it, freeing us from the hands of all that hate us—that is, from every spirit of wickedness—and leading us to serve Him in holiness and righteousness all our days, so that humanity, having embraced the Spirit of God, might enter into the glory of the Father.

The prophets foretold these things in a prophetic way; but they did not, as some claim, declare that the one seen by the prophets was a different God, since the Father of all is invisible. This is what those heretics claim, who have no understanding of the nature of prophecy. Prophecy is a foretelling of future events, a setting forth of what will happen. The prophets indicated beforehand that God would be seen by people, as the Lord also says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” However, regarding His greatness and glorious wonder, “no man shall see God and live,” because the Father is beyond understanding; but regarding His love, kindness, and infinite power, He grants this to those who love Him, to see God, which the prophets also foretold. “For things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” People do not see God by their own abilities; but when He chooses, He is seen by whom He wills, when He wills, and as He wills.

For God is powerful in all ways, having been seen at that time prophetically through the Spirit, and seen through adoption by the Son; and He shall also be seen as a Father in the kingdom of heaven, the Spirit preparing people in the Son of God, and the Son leading them to the Father, while the Father gives them incorruption for eternal life, which comes from seeing God. As those who see light are within the light and partake of its brilliance, so also those who see God are in God and receive His splendor.

His splendor gives them life; thus, those who see God receive life. For this reason, He, although beyond comprehension and boundless and invisible, made Himself visible, comprehensible, and within the reach of those who believe, so that He might give life to those who receive and see Him through faith. His greatness is beyond understanding, and so is His goodness, which, when seen, grants life to those who see Him. It is not possible to live apart from life, and the way to life is through fellowship with God; but fellowship with God is to know God and enjoy His goodness.

Men will see God so that they may live, becoming immortal through that vision, and reaching even unto God. As I have said before, this was symbolically foretold by the prophets, stating that God would be seen by men who have His Spirit within them and who patiently await His coming. Moses also says in Deuteronomy, “On that day, we shall see that God will speak to man, and he shall live.” Some of these men used to witness the prophetic Spirit and its active influences providing various gifts; others saw the coming of the Lord and the arrangement from the beginning by which He fulfilled the Father's will concerning both heavenly and earthly things; and others saw paternal glories suited to the times and to those who saw and heard them then, and to all who would hear them later.

In this way, God was revealed; for God the Father is shown through all these operations, with the Spirit working, the Son ministering, and the Father approving, while human salvation is achieved. As He also states through Hosea the prophet: “I have multiplied visions and have used likenesses through the ministry of the prophets.” The apostle explained this passage by saying, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are differences of ministries, but the same Lord; and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God who works all in all.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the benefit of all.” God, who works all things in all, is invisible and indescribable to all things created by Him, yet He is by no means unknown; for all things learn through His Word that there is one God the Father, who contains all things and grants existence to all, as it is written in the Gospel: “No man has seen God at any time, except the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father; He has declared Him.”

Therefore, the Son of the Father declares Him from the beginning, since He was with the Father from the start. He showed the human race prophetic visions, various gifts, His own ministrations, and the glory of the Father, all in due order and at the right time for humanity's benefit. For where there is regular succession, there is also stability; and where there is stability, there is suitability for the period; and where there is suitability, there is also utility. For this reason, the Word became the mediator of the paternal grace for the benefit of people, for whom He made significant arrangements, revealing God to humans, while presenting humans to God, and preserving the Father's invisibility. This was done to prevent humanity from becoming a despiser of God, so they would always have something to strive towards; on the other hand, revealing God to humans through many arrangements, so that humanity, by falling away from God altogether, would not cease to exist. For the glory of God is a living human; and the life of a human consists in beholding God. If the manifestation of God through creation provides life to all living on earth, much more does the revelation of the Father through the Word give life to those who see God.

Since the Spirit of God, through the prophets, indicated things to come, preparing us in advance to be subject to God, it was necessary for those through whom future events were proclaimed to see God, whom they indicated would be seen by people. This was so that God, and the Son of God, and the Son, and the Father, could not only be announced prophetically but also seen by all His members who are sanctified and instructed in the matters of God.

This prepared people to receive the glory that would later be revealed to those who love God. The prophets not only prophesied with words but also through visions, their way of life, and their actions, guided by the Spirit. In this unseen manner, they saw God, as Isaiah said, “I have seen with my eyes the King, the Lord of hosts,” indicating that humans would see God with their eyes and hear His voice. They also saw the Son of God as a man among men while prophesying future events, saying He who was not yet come was present, proclaiming that the imperishable would endure suffering and that He who was in heaven had come down to death.

Regarding other arrangements related to His summing up, some were seen through visions, others were proclaimed by word, and others were demonstrated symbolically through actions, visibly seeing what was to be seen, announcing what should be heard, and enacting what was to happen, while announcing all prophetically.

Therefore, Moses declared that God was a consuming fire to those who transgressed the law and warned that God would bring a day of fire upon them.

But to those who feared God, he said, “The God is merciful and gracious, patient, and of great compassion, and true, and maintains justice and mercy for thousands, forgiving unrighteousness, transgressions, and sins.”

And the Word spoke to Moses, appearing before him, "just as anyone might speak to their friend." But Moses wanted to see the One who was speaking with him openly and was told, "Stand in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My hand. But when My glory passes by, then you shall see My back, but My face you shall not see: for no one sees My face and lives." These two facts are indicated: it is impossible for man to see God; and through God's wisdom, man shall see Him in the last times, in the depth of a rock, that is, in His coming as a man. For this reason, He [the Lord] spoke with him face to face on the top of a mountain, with Elijah also present, as the Gospel relates, thus fulfilling the ancient promise in the end.

The prophets, therefore, did not openly see the actual face of God, but they saw the arrangements and the mysteries through which humanity would eventually see God. As was also told to Elijah: “You shall go forth tomorrow, and stand in the presence of the Lord; and, behold, a great and strong wind that shall rend the mountains and shatter the rocks before the Lord.

But the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a barely audible voice.” For through such means, the prophet—who was very indignant because of the people's transgressions and the slaughter of the prophets—was taught to act more gently; and the Lord’s coming as a man was indicated, that it would follow the law given by Moses, mild and peaceful, in which He would neither break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax.

The calm and peaceful nature of His kingdom was also indicated. For after the wind that rends the mountains, and after the earthquake, and after the fire, come the calm and peaceful times of His kingdom, in which the spirit of God gently enlivens and increases humanity. This was made even clearer by Ezekiel, showing that the prophets saw the arrangements of God partially, but not actually God Himself. For when this man saw the vision of God, and the cherubim, and their wheels, and recounted the mystery of that whole progression, and beheld the likeness of a throne above them, and on the throne a likeness as of a man, and what was upon his loins was like amber, and what was below like the appearance of fire, and when he described the rest of the vision of the thrones, lest anyone might think that in those visions he had actually seen God, he added: “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God.”

11. If, then, neither Moses, nor Elias, nor Ezekiel, who all had many heavenly visions, saw God; but if what they did see were representations of the Lord's splendor and prophecies of future events; it is clear that the Father is indeed invisible, as the Lord also said, “No one has seen God at any time.” However, His Word, as He willed and for the benefit of those who witnessed it, showed the Father’s brightness and explained His purposes (as the Lord also said: “The only-begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared [Him];” and He interprets the Word of the Father as being rich and great); He did not appear in one form or character to those who saw Him, but according to the purposes and effects intended in His works, as it is written in Daniel.

At one time, He was seen with those around Ananias, Azarias, and Mishael, present with them in the furnace of fire, protecting them from the fire: “And the appearance of the fourth,” it is said, “was like the Son of God.” At another time, He is described as “a stone cut out of the mountain without hands,” that smites all temporal kingdoms, scatters them, and fills the entire earth.

Then, too, this same one is seen as the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, approaching the Ancient of Days, and receiving from Him all power, glory, and a kingdom. “His dominion,” it is said, “is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom shall not end.” John, the Lord’s disciple, while seeing the priestly and glorious coming of His kingdom, says in the Revelation: “I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.

And, being turned, I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of man, clothed with a garment reaching to His feet, and girded about the chest with a golden belt; His head and hair were white, as white as wool and snow, and His eyes were like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass, glowing in a furnace. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in His strength.” In these words, He presents part of the glory [He received] from His Father, as indicated by the head; something related to the priestly office, as in the case of the long garment reaching the feet.

Moses dressed the high priest this way for this reason. There is also a reference to the end [of all things], like the fine brass glowing in the fire, symbolizing the power of faith and perseverance in prayer, because of the consuming fire coming at the end of time. When John could not bear the sight (for he says, “I fell at his feet as dead,” fulfilling what was written: “No man sees God, and will live”), the Word revived him, reminding him that it was He on whose chest he had leaned at supper, when he asked about His betrayer, declaring: “I am the first and the last, and He who lives, was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, and hold the keys of death and Hades.” After these things, seeing the same Lord in a second vision, he says: “For I saw in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as though slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.” And again, speaking of this very same Lamb: “And behold a white horse; and He who sat on it was called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns, having a name written that no one knows but Himself: and He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. The armies of heaven followed Him on white horses, clothed in clean white linen. Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, to strike the nations with it; and He will rule them with an iron rod: He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God Almighty.

He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written.” Thus, the Word of God always upholds the outlines of things to come, showing people the various forms of the Father’s works, teaching us the things related to God.

12.

However, it was not only through visions that were seen and words that were proclaimed, but also through actual works, that He was revealed to the prophets, so that through them He might foreshadow and demonstrate future events in advance. For this reason, the prophet Hosea took "a wife of whoredoms," prophesying through this action "that in committing fornication the earth would fornicate from the Lord," meaning the people on the earth; and from such people, it will be God’s good pleasure to create a Church that shall be sanctified by fellowship with His Son, just as that woman was sanctified by union with the prophet.

And for this reason, Paul declares that the “unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband.” Then again, the prophet names his children "Not having obtained mercy," and "Not a people," so that, as the apostle says, “what was not a people may become a people; and she who did not obtain mercy may obtain mercy. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said, 'This is not a people,' there they shall be called the children of the living God.” What the prophet had shown symbolically through his actions, the apostle proves to have been fulfilled truly by Christ in the Church.

Similarly, Moses took an Ethiopian wife, whom he made an Israelite, indicating in advance that the wild olive tree is grafted into the cultivated olive and made to partake of its richness. For just as He who was born Christ according to the flesh had indeed to be sought after by the people to be killed, but was to be set free in Egypt, that is, among the Gentiles, to sanctify those who were there in their early state, from whom He also perfected His Church in that place (since Egypt was Gentile from the beginning, as was Ethiopia also); for this reason, by the marriage of Moses, the marriage of the Word was shown; and by the Ethiopian bride, the Church taken from among the Gentiles was revealed; and those who detract from, accuse, and mock it will not be pure.

For they will be covered with leprosy and expelled from the camp of the righteous. Likewise, Rahab the harlot, despite condemning herself as a Gentile guilty of all sins, nevertheless received the three spies, who were scouting all the land, and hid them at her home; these three were undoubtedly symbolic of the Father and the Son, along with the Holy Spirit. And when the entire city in which she lived collapsed at the sound of the seven trumpets, Rahab the harlot was saved, when all was finished, along with her whole household, through faith in the scarlet sign; as the Lord also declared to those who did not accept His coming—the Pharisees, without a doubt, nullify the sign of the scarlet thread, which signified the Passover, and the redemption and exodus of the people from Egypt—when He said, “The tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of heaven before you.”