Cyril
of Jerusalem
Lecture 15, Part A
“I beheld till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit, and then, I saw in a vision of the night, and behold one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven….” — Daniel 7:9-14
Summary: St. Cyril now shifts his attention to the Second Advent or Second Coming of Christ; that it will be a time of judgement. At the same time, he retains a binocular view of the First Advent for contrast. He emphasizes how the Second Advent must impact Christian discipleship; especially since we must remain watchful: we do not know the time of His Coming. St. Cyril explores details of false indications of Christ’s Coming, and ways to identify false Christs. Principle of which is that Christ’s Coming will be heavenly and spectacular; whereas, all of the deceptions and deceivers are purely human in source.
Preview: 1. “We preach not one advent only of Christ, but
a second also, far more glorious than the former. For the former gave a view of His patience; but
the latter brings with it the crown of a divine kingdom. For all things, for the most part, are twofold
in our Lord Jesus Christ: a twofold generation; one, of God, before the ages; and
one, of a Virgin, at the close of the ages: His descents twofold; one, the unobserved,
like rain on a fleece; and a second
His open coming, which is to be. In His former
advent, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger; in His second, He covers Himself with light as with a garment. In His first coming, He endured the Cross, despising shame[i];
in His second, He comes attended by a host of Angels, receiving glory.” “Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the
Lord.”[ii] “Then,
He came because of a divine dispensation, teaching men with persuasion; but this
time they will of necessity have Him for their King, even though they wish it not.”[iii] 2. “Concerning
these two comings … And the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to His temple
… And the Messenger of the covenant whom you delight in. Behold, He comes, says the Lord Almighty. But who shall abide the day of His coming? Or who shall stand when He appears? Because He comes in like a refiner’s fire, and
like fullers’ herb; and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier.”[iv] “And I will
draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers,
and against the adulteresses, and against those who swear falsely in My Name.”[v] “If any man builds on the foundation gold,
and silver, and precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made
manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire.”[vi] “The grace of God has appeared which brings
salvation unto all men, instructing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, and godly, and righteously in this present world; looking
for the blessed hope, and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior
Jesus Christ.”[vii] 3. “Our
Lord Jesus Christ, then, comes from heaven; and He comes with glory at the end of
this world, in the last day.” “And the
heaven shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all the stars shall fall, as leaves
from a vine, and as leaves fall from a fig-tree.”[viii] “The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.”[ix] “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundations
of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; they shall perish, but
You remain.”[x] “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and
the moon into blood.”[xi] “Heaven
and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”[xii] “So we look for a resurrection … of the heavens
also.” 4. Yet, “It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father has put in
His own power.”[xiii] “Watch, for in such an hour as you expect not
the Son of Man comes.”[xiv] Which we must know to prevent being deceived by
Antichrist: for, Satan [appears as] an Angel of light.[xv] Beware, “make yourself safe.” 5. “Take
heed that no man mislead you: for many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ,
and shall mislead many.”[xvi] 6. “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.”[xvii] “Watch therefore, He says; for you know not at what hour your Lord does come.”[xviii] 7. “But we seek our own sign of His coming; we Churchmen
seek a sign proper to the Church. And the
Savior says, And then shall many be
offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.[xix] If you hear that bishops advance against bishops,
and clergy against clergy, and laity against laity even unto blood, be not troubled;
for it has been written before. Heed not
the things now happening, but the things which are written; and even though I who
teach you perish, you shall not also perish with me; nay, even a hearer may become
better than his teacher, and he who came last may be first, since even those about
the eleventh hour the Master receives. If
among Apostles there was found treason, do you wonder that hatred of brethren is
found among bishops? But the sign concerns
not only rulers, but the people also; for He says, And because iniquity shall
abound, the love of the many shall wax cold.”[xx] 8. “You
have this sign also: And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all
the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.”[xxi] 9. “And
what comes to pass after this? He says next,
When therefore you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by
Daniel the Prophet, standing in the Holy Place, let him that reads understand.
And again, Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or,
Lo, there; believe it not.”[xxii] “For
that day shall not come, except there came first the falling away, and the man of
sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sits in the
temple of God, showing himself that he
is God. Do you not remember that when I was yet with you,
I told you these things? And now you know that which restrains, to the end that he may
be revealed in his own season. For the mystery of iniquity does already work, only there is
one that restrains now, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall the lawless one be revealed, whom
the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of His coming. Even him, whose
coming is after the working of Satan,
with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness
for them that are perishing.”[xxiii] 10. “The true Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God,
comes no more from the earth.” “If they
say, Lo, here is the Christ, Lo,
there, believe it not.”[xxiv] “As the lightning comes out of the east,
and shines even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be;[xxv] and
again, And they shall see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds with power
and great glory, and He shall send forth His Angels with a great trumpet….”[xxvi] 11.
For a man will arise, “who shall
seize for himself the power of the Roman empire, and shall falsely style himself
Christ; by this name of Christ deceiving the Jews, who are looking for the Anointed,
and seducing those of the Gentiles by his magical illusions.”[xxvii]
[ii]
Psalms 118:26; Matthew 23:39; Luke 19:38
[iii]
Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10-11
[iv]
St. Cyril applies the first phrase to the first coming, because, “Behold, I will
send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me…” which refers to
John the Baptist; St. Cyril applies the rest of verse one and following two
verses to the second coming. Malachi 3:1-3
[v]
Malachi 3:5
[vi]
1 Corinthians 3:12-17
[vii]
Titus 2:11-14
[viii]
Isaiah 34:1-14, especially verse 4
[ix]
Matthew 24:27-31, especially verse 29
[x]
Psalms 102:26
[xi]
Joel 2:31
[xiii]
Acts 1:7
[xiv]
Matthew 24:44; Luke 12:40
[xv]
2 Corinthians 11:14
[xvi]
Matthew 24:4-5; Luke 21:8
[xvii]
St. Cyril indicates that these are signs of deception, not signs of Christ’s
coming: for they occur all the time, throughout history: human business and
violence as usual. Matthew 24:6; Mark 13:7;
Luke 21:9-10
[xviii]
Matthew 24:42; 25:13
[xx]
Matthew 24:12
[xxii]
Matthew 24:15, 23; Mark 13:21; Luke 17:23
[xxiii]
2 Thessalonians 2:3-10
[xxiv]
Matthew 24:23
[xxvi]
Matthew 24:30-31; Mark 13:26-27; Luke 21:27-30
[xxvii]
For example: Honorius Ⅱ (1010-1072), Sabbatai Zevi (1626-1676), Adolph Hitler
(1889-1945); there are hundreds, even thousands of power-mad deceivers to
illustrate the point. All such abuses of
power are wrong. Is there a single most
exemplary evil person? Who knows? We will not likely have the necessary wisdom
to identify him, until his destructive path is in full bloom.
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