Everyone who receives the Word of God into himself is a temple. Everyone who does not completely fall away from God after sinning but retains some vestiges of faith and devotion to the commandments of God remains a temple, albeit partially destroyed. Whoever fails to take care of his soul after he sins, however, but continues to walk away from the faith and from the life of the gospel is progressively alienated until he has fully departed from the living God. Then he will be a temple in which there will not be left one stone of the teaching of the commandments of God upon another that will not be destroyed. . . .

The temple of God was a building composed of distinct words, every Scripture from the Old Testament plainly having been constructed according to the historical sense. By their arrangement of words and phrases, Moses and the prophets built it in such a way that the beauty of the stones, that is, the meaning of their carefully chosen sayings, would command the admiration and praise of everyone. When the disciples of Jesus attempted to direct his attention to the structure of the temple, he responded by saying that this first, merely physical building must be destroyed by the Word so that another, more divine, more mystical temple might be constructed in its place. That other temple is the Scripture, as has already been demonstrated.

Some were pointing out to Christ the magnificent things in the temple and how it was adorned by the gifts that had been dedicated to God. For they supposed that Jesus would admire with them all there was to see, although being God he has heaven as his throne! He does offer a teaching concerning them, but he had already predicted that according to the times the temple would utterly fall. The Roman army is being gathered for this very thing, demanding the surrender of Israel itself as all Jerusalem suffers the punishment of the slaying of the Lord. For let me tell you, it came to pass that they suffered these things after the crucifixion of the Savior. But they did not understand the meaning of Jesus’ teachings. They supposed his teachings concerned the consummation of the age.

After Christ predicted everything that was about to happen to Jerusalem, he who had preserved the temple left it, lest it collapse while he was still in it.^[1] The temple stood safe and secure as long as the Word and the kingdom of God were with the Jews, as did all things Jewish. Subsequently, however, the kingdom of God was taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles, as it is written, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the nations who produce its fruit.^[2] Both Jesus and the kingdom of God were then established among the Gentiles. Therefore neither Jesus nor the kingdom of God is to be found among the Jews, because they were abandoned like a booth in a vineyard and like a hut in a cucumber field and like a city besieged,^[3] on account of the crime they committed against Christ.

The magnificent splendor of the temple’s design was shown to Christ immediately after he had warned of Jerusalem’s desolation, as though to move him. Yet he said that everything had to be destroyed and the scattered stones of its entire foundation demolished, for an eternal temple was being consecrated as a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. This eternal temple is the man who is made worthy of becoming God’s habitation through knowledge of the Son, confession of the Father and obedience to the commandments.

I regard the allegory of the Mount of Olives to refer to the churches of the Gentiles, among whom olive trees were planted. Each church is able to say, I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God.^[1] Perhaps also in this Mount of Olives, where the roots of good olive trees live,^[2] branches of a wild olive tree were grafted into the good tree in the place of those branches which had been broken off for their unbelief.^[3] The farmer residing on the Mount of Olives is the Word of God as professed in the church, which is Christ, who continually grafts wild olive branches into the good tree of our father Moses and the other prophets, so that having been strengthened by the holy prophets (whose prophecies they understood to refer to Christ), these new branches might offer more abundant, richer fruit than the first olive branches, which had been cut off and made useless on account of the curse which was in the law.

Here the disciples were asking, When will this be that no stone of the temple stands upon another, as you said? With these questions and others, they asked Jesus also to indicate to them the end of the age, which he had not mentioned. They asked questions about the temple for their own benefit, but those questions concerning the end of the age were asked for our benefit. We never saw the destruction of the temple, nor did they see the end of the age. It was expedient therefore that they hear about the signs of the temple’s destruction and that we learn to recognize the signs of the world’s consummation. The work’s completion is sweet to every laborer, and the traveler eagerly awaits his arrival at home. The mercenary frequently counts the days to year’s end, and the farmer constantly looks forward to harvest time. The merchant examines his purse day and night, and an expecting mother continually thinks of her delivery date. In a similar way, the servants of God eagerly anticipate the consummation of the age, for it is written, Wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be also.^[1]

If you have a certain quantity of valuable property stored away in your house, when you come in from the street, you will naturally direct your gaze in the direction of those valuables before you look anywhere else. Likewise, the saints fix their gaze there where their crown has been laid up for them. It is also of some benefit to be able to recognize the end of the age, for when a man is on a journey, the closer he gets to home, the more he begins to celebrate.

Since they meant to inquire about confidential matters, the disciples came to him privately. They were deeply troubled about when the day of his coming would be. They eagerly desired to behold that glory and the countless blessing that will accompany it. Yet they asked him two things. When will these things come to pass—especially the overturning of the temple? And what will be the sign of his coming at the close of the age?

Come up to the moral and spiritual sense of Scripture and see if you can discover an interpretation worthy of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ and of the discernment of the Evangelists, lest you denigrate the dignity of evangelical wisdom with a lesser interpretation. Let us see then if mindful of that which was handed down from above concerning him who said Many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will seduce many, we can interpret these things in accordance with their consequences. It is inevitable that everyone who has been made perfect and has been given to see the glorious coming of the Word in his soul, everyone who has destroyed, devoured and crucified the world so that all things worldly are dead to him, and has trained his mind for understanding, will eventually engage doctrinal battles in the course of his search and discernment. He will hear many voices from divergent traditions professing to have the truth. Like a good soldier of the Word, however, his soul shall remain safe from all those opponents of the truth who feign adherence to the truth. In this way, he will be made worthy to receive in his soul the glorious coming of Christ, the Word of God who was in the beginning with God,^[1] who comes to those who, having recognized him according to the flesh^[2] and having received the Word who became flesh,^[3] then ascended far beyond these things to behold no ordinary glory, but the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.^[4]

In the interest of acquiring a better understanding of Christ’s response, it would seem imprudent to neglect to consider first the apostles’ question. The apostles asked two questions. First, they asked, What will be the sign of the destruction of Jerusalem? Second, they asked, What will be the sign of the end of the world? At the dissolution of the nation of Judea, Jerusalem was destroyed, but what seemed to be Jerusalem was not the true Jerusalem. Likewise, the church will appear to have been forsaken or almost forsaken at the end of the world, but what seemed to be the church was not and is not the true church. The Lord did not differentiate between the signs of the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of the end of the world, for the signs that pertain to both events are one and the same. This is so because Christ did not respond to his apostles’ questions as though he were a historian explaining the chronological order of events but rather in the manner of a prophet foretelling what would have to take place. Prophecies are always communicated through mysteries and properly understood as mysteries.

What does this mean for the passage at hand? If we want to understand them in the full spiritual sense, the signs of which Christ speaks—famine, wars, tremors—could not pertain to the destruction of Jerusalem, because at the time of its capture nation was not rising against nation in the spiritual sense. [That] is to say that heretics were not then fighting among each other, since at the time of the apostles the heresies were still only in their seminal stage but didn’t germinate until the time of the Christian king, even though they are now fully grown, powerful forces. Moreover, there was no spiritual famine at the time of Jerusalem’s destruction but great abundance, as the psalmist said, You visited the earth and watered it and increased its riches.^[1]

Again, if we attempted to interpret these signs literally, they would tell us nothing about the end of the world, for there always have been and always will be wars, in the literal sense of the term. The same is true of famines and tremors. Nothing can serve as a sign of future events that already is a normal occurrence. Only something new can properly be called a sign. Just as there is a literal Jerusalem, therefore, which is already conquered figuratively, there is also another, spiritual Jerusalem, the church of Christ, which must be tested at the end of the world and indeed is currently being tested. Therefore the signs of which the Lord spoke must be understood both spiritually and literally. Literally they speak of the destruction of Jerusalem, but spiritually they signify the trial of the church at the consummation of the age. Train your mind on both aspects then, on what occurred before Jerusalem was captured and on what will occur before the final trial of Christ’s church.

And there will be famines and plagues and tremors throughout the land. Anyone who reads Josephus^[1] knows what kind of famines, plagues and tremors afflicted Judea before the fall of Jerusalem. Before the spiritual plundering of the church, however, a spiritual hunger for the Word and spiritual tremors and various plagues of carnal sins will undoubtedly afflict the Christian people. So many schisms would never have arisen among Christians had they not already been famished for the Word, nor would they have suffered so many plagues, that is, diseases of carnal passion, if they had not been stirred up from without. This is what the Lord taught in the parable of the evil one planting weeds: While the men were sleeping, that is, when they neglected to guard against sin, the enemy came and sowed weeds.^[2]

By wars and rumors of wars he refers to the troubles that are coming upon them. They supposed after that war the end would come. But see how he warns them: But the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. He speaks of the preludes to the troubles of the Jews. All this is but the beginning of the birth pangs, that is, of the troubles that will befall them. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death. This was the season for being candid about what was to come, in order that they might strengthen one another in facing their common miseries.

Then he added, And you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved. This is the time of greatest evil, when the war becomes internal, for there are many false brothers.

Note that the war is coming from three sources simultaneously: from the deceivers, from the enemies, from the false brothers. Later Paul would lament over the same complications, saying that there were fightings without, fears within^[1] and danger from false brothers.^[2] Again he wrote, For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.^[3]

If we ought to understand this passage in the moral sense, in accordance with how we treated the passages above, then we will explain its meaning as follows. It is necessary that he who is about to see the glorious coming of the Word of God in his soul should, like a great athlete, suffer the snares of his enemies and be given over to afflictions insofar as they advance the perfection of the Word within him. . . .

The manifestation of the qualities of Christ implanted in him, on account of which he is called a Christian, makes him an object of hatred to everyone who has the spirit of the world. This persecution also only tends more and more toward the perfection of the indwelling of Christ.

Few, however, will be left untouched by discussions and questions concerning the fullness of truth. Indeed, many will be scandalized and will fall on account of it, having been made betrayers and accusers of one another because of their dissensions over the truth of doctrine, which not everyone is able to learn. This is why they hate one another. Among the great many who will be engaged in questions of this sort, those false prophets who deceive many will report prophecies concerning the future inaccurately and will interpret them incorrectly. Very few will seek the truth. False doctrines in and of themselves cannot overcome the power of truth, but those who have itchy ears will multiply and will take delight in speaking evil contrary to the law. And the tendentious words of many teachers will do such great harm that even those whose charity was once fervent in the simplicity of faith will grow cold toward the divine mysteries and toward the truth. But whoever is able to see all these things and yet to remain in communion with the original purpose of the church’s founding and the apostolic tradition will be saved. In this way then the gospel will be preached to every soul and a testimony will be given to every nation, that is, to all the unbelieving thoughts of every single individual.

For whom is it said, Whoever perseveres to the end? Is this said for the benefit of those who are persecuting Christians or seducing prophets? No, it is not. For just as medicine is administered to the sick rather than to the healthy, so also consolation is given to the endangered, not to the dangerous.

And the gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world. St. Mark clarifies this verse by adding, First the gospel must be preached. When the literal war was brought against Jerusalem, the gospel had just begun to be preached, but it had not yet extended to the whole world. Prior to the rise of the heresies, however, the proclamation of the gospel had already been completed. For the knowledge of Christ reached everyone either through individual preachers or by one nation evangelizing another continually until the time of the Christian king. If you want to know with certainty, however, that the knowledge of Christ had been extended to the whole world by that time, consider that the very purpose for which the heretical wars began was so that there might be a decision for the better doctrine. Therefore as long as there is still a summons, since a summons is as much an impediment to a final decision as a decision is to a summons, there can be no decisive choice.

What is even more terrible than all of these things is that they shall not even have love’s consolation. Most men’s love will grow cold. Even all this, however, will in no way harm those who are noble and firm. So do not be afraid. Do not be troubled. If you demonstrate the patience that fits your faith, these dangers will not prevail over you. You will see proof of this when the gospel will be preached everywhere in the world. Then you will be above all these things that would otherwise alarm you. You will preach everywhere. You will not waste away in despair asking whether you will survive. Then he added, This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come. The sign of this final time will be the downfall of Jerusalem.

The sign of the Lord’s coming is that the gospel will be preached throughout the entire world, leaving no one any excuse. We believe that this has already been accomplished or is about to be accomplished, since it appears to me that there remains no nation that does not know the name of Christ. Even if they haven’t been visited by an evangelist themselves, certainly they have heard about the Christian faith from neighboring countries.

Both the end of the world and the antichrist must be understood according to the spiritual sense of Scripture, since heresies, famines, epidemics and all such things will precede each of them. Finally, however, the abomination of desolation, which is the army of the antichrist, will stand in the holy place. The army of the antichrist consists principally of every heresy which finds its way into the church and stands in its holy place that it might appear to be the word of truth, even though it is no word of truth at all, but the abomination of desolation and the army of the antichrist which separates the souls of many from God. Perhaps it was of this that the apostle said, who opposes and exalts himself against everything which is called God or is worshiped, so that he might be seated in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.^[1] In this way, the collective evil of diverse heresies, which at one time were only rumored, will then stand in the holy place and desecrate the church of Christ. Having been given license to go this far, they will then begin to possess the churches entirely. We here announce that reports of war, famines, earthquakes, epidemics, rumors of heresy, deprivation of the Word, the beating of Christians and the corruption of morals have already been preceding these events from the time of Constantine to the reign of Theodosius.^[2]

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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]

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]

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.

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.

The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. Either on account of the undeserved persecution suffered by the saints, for even worse crimes committed by the wicked or to show forth the wrath of God in the last days while the wicked are still living upon the earth, a taste of the infernal darkness will be given. Whatever the reason, it is fitting that a night should intervene between the two days, for a new day of resurrection is about to be born. The days will be separated lest there seem to be one nature belonging both to this world and to the next. For we die in carnal bodies, but we will be raised in spiritual bodies.^[1] The day of darkness then serves as a sort of death, indicating that something new will be born. Or it could be that the night represents evil and the daytime righteousness.

The sun shall be darkened, not destroyed. It will be overcome by the light of God’s presence. The stars shall fall, for what shall be the need of them thereafter, if there is no night? And the powers of the heavens will be shaken. For a great change had come to pass. When the stars were made, they trembled and marveled. When the stars were made, all angels praised the Lord with a loud voice.^[1] Much more upon seeing all things in course of final change, and their fellow servants giving account, and the whole world standing by that awful judgment seat, and all those who had lived from Adam until his coming having an account demanded of them of all that they did, wouldn’t you expect the powers of the heavens to tremble and be shaken?

How will they not shudder with fear? For heaven and earth are transformed for the sake of God’s own discretion (to speak something accurately about such things requires more than one word). The sun and the moon will be darkened, and the stars will fall like flowers. Their very nature is again changed by the One who created them, just as he wills, and the heavenly bodies will be thrown into disorder. For as humanity is renewed the whole creation, which had been created for the sake of humanity, is recapitulated and restored.

Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. The Jews will mourn because they will see him living and enlivening whom they thought to be dead. Convicted by the wounds on his body, they will be unable to deny their crime. The Gentiles will mourn because they were deceived by the vain arguments of the philosophers into thinking it irrational foolishness to worship a crucified God and to attribute the glory of the Creator to a creature. Sinful Christians who loved the world more than they loved Christ will also mourn when they hear him say to them, I was made man on your account. It is because of you that I was arrested, mocked, beaten and crucified. Where is the fruit of these great injuries I suffered? Consider that the salvation of your souls came at the price of my blood. Where is the service you owe me in return for this? I who am God valued you above my own glory when I became a man. You, however, consider me to be of less worth than anything else you possess. You love the most menial things of the earth more than you love my righteousness and faithfulness. And heretics who say that a mere man was crucified will mourn when they see him whom the Jews pierced return as judge.

Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. The cross will be brighter than the sun. The sun will be darkened and hide itself. The sun will appear at times when it would not normally appear. But why is this sign given? In order that the brazenness of the Jews might be more abundantly silenced. For having the cross as the greatest plea, the Son of man thus comes to that judgment seat, showing not only his wounds but also the reproach of his death.

By saying that the Son of man will send his angels, he demonstrates that the Son of man is God. For they are God’s angels, and to send them is solely God’s prerogative. The saying from one end of the heavens to the other teaches us that the extremes of earth and heaven are the same. Hence it is necessary to believe in Christ and not to be deceived as though the smallest part of earth, situated in the midst of the heavens, was surpassed by their infinite greatness.

You will understand why the saints are gathered from the heights of the earth^[1] if you consider the conduct of their lives and the perfection, insofar as possible, of their dealings with others. All who lived uprightly will be gathered not simply from the earth but from the heights of the earth. After their earthly lives have ended, their conduct in the next life will raise them not simply from the highest point in heaven, as it was from the highest level of earth, but from the heights of the heavens because each and every heaven has both a beginning and a conclusion or perfection. After their exemplary lives on earth, the saints’ conduct in the first heaven, once they have attained its perfection or conclusion, will elevate them still further. The same is true for the second heaven and the third heaven. It seems to me therefore that there are many heavens, each with its own initiation and perfection. It is from the beginnings and ends of these diverse heavens that God gathers his elect.

From the heights of the heavens to their ends. It is also possible that the heavens here represent either the divine Scriptures or their authors, in both of which God dwells. In that case, the heights of the Scripture is its beginning, and the perfection of Scripture is its conclusion. To say that the saints will be gathered from the heights of the heavens means that they will be found from among those who live in the beginning of Scripture to those who live at its conclusion, or, if I may speak more profoundly, from the unskilled to the experts.

The angels who will be sent by the Savior to gather his elect will gather them not just with any ordinary voice but with what Scripture calls a great trumpet. It won’t be an uncertain voice but one that is definite and clear so that all who hear and learn will be established on the way of perfection which leads to the Son of God.