{"id":500,"date":"2013-04-24T19:42:37","date_gmt":"2013-04-24T19:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/?page_id=500"},"modified":"2013-06-01T16:47:36","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T20:47:36","slug":"pseudo-ephrem-syriac","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/research-projects\/trajectories-in-near-eastern-apocalyptic\/pseudo-ephrem-syriac\/","title":{"rendered":"Pseudo-Ephrem (Syriac)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Translated from the text in Edmund Beck, ed.,\u00a0Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Sermones III<\/em>\u00a0(CSCO 320; Louvain: Secr\u00e9tariat du Corpus SCO, 1972), 60-71; see also 79-94 for Beck\u2019s translation.\u00a0The text is based on two manuscripts: (1) Codex Vaticanus Sir. 566, and (2) Codex Dublinensis (Trinity College) B 5.19.\u00a0Editio princeps: Thomas Josephus Lamy, ed.,\u00a0Sancti Ephraem Syri Hymni et Sermones<\/em>\u00a0(4 vols.; Mechliniae: H. Dessain, 1882-1902), 3:187-212.<\/p>\n

A discourse (memra<\/em>) of the holy saint Ephrem, the Syrian teacher, concerning the end, (final) consummation, judgment, and punishment; on the people of Gog and Magog; and about the Antichrist.<\/p>\n

O Son who by His grace humbled Himself<\/p>\n

And who was pleased to make Himself a human being;<\/p>\n

Who willingly experienced death<\/p>\n

At the top of the wood(en cross) on Golgotha:<\/p>\n

Grant me, my Lord, (the ability) to speak about<\/p>\n

The struggles which will take place in the created order;<\/p>\n

For peoples will fall upon each other<\/p>\n

And nations will destroy one another,<\/p>\n

Evil will fortify itself on the earth<\/p>\n

And iniquity will increase throughout creation.<\/p>\n

Righteous rulers will perish<\/p>\n

And lawless ones will arise on the earth.<\/p>\n

Then a judgment will arise,<\/p>\n

And a weighing on the scale for those humans:<\/p>\n

The side (containing) the wicked will sink down;<\/p>\n

And that for the elect will rise up.<\/p>\n

Then spiritual entities will go forth<\/p>\n

And destroy the ends of the created order.<\/p>\n

It will happen, my brethren, just as it is written:<\/p>\n

A plague in a number of places,<\/p>\n

And a famine will occur in the created order;<\/p>\n

Terrible struggles and conflicts.<\/p>\n

Dust will be saturated with blood;<\/p>\n

The created order will be polluted from iniquity.<\/p>\n

Regions will be ravaged,<\/p>\n

And cities will be consumed by Sheol;<\/p>\n

Nation will rise up against nation<\/p>\n

And kingdom against kingdom.<\/p>\n

Lawlessness will be sovereign on earth<\/p>\n

And the defiled will pursue after the saints.<\/p>\n

People will openly apostatize<\/p>\n

And augment the left side;<\/p>\n

The righteous ones will suffer indignities<\/p>\n

From those who belong to the side of the sinners.<\/p>\n

It is due to this, my beloved ones<\/p>\n

That the final age has arrived.<\/p>\n

Lo, we have observed the signs,<\/p>\n

Just as Christ inscribed for us:<\/p>\n

Rulers will arise, one against another;<\/p>\n

There will be suffering on earth;<\/p>\n

Nations will contend with nations<\/p>\n

And armies will fall upon one another.<\/p>\n

When the Nile, the river of Egypt,<\/p>\n

Overflows (and) floods part of the land,<\/p>\n

Certain regions will prepare themselves<\/p>\n

Against the country of the Romans.<\/p>\n

Nations will contend with nations,<\/p>\n

And a kingdom with a kingdom.<\/p>\n

They will depart, moving from one land to another;<\/p>\n

Those Romans who are put to flight.<\/p>\n

And the Assyrians will gain authority<\/p>\n

Over the region of the Romans.<\/p>\n

The fruit of their loins they will subjugate<\/p>\n

And they will also ravish their women;<\/p>\n

They will be sowing and also reaping<\/p>\n

They will plant fruits in the ground;<\/p>\n

They will acquire vast riches<\/p>\n

And hoard treasures underground.<\/p>\n

But just as the Nile, the river of Egypt<\/p>\n

Recedes again from what it flooded;<\/p>\n

So too will Assyria recede<\/p>\n

Back to their own country.<\/p>\n

For the Romans once again will be found<\/p>\n

In their ancestral land (i.e., the Assyrians\u2019).<\/p>\n

Then evil will increase on the earth<\/p>\n

And the land will be defiled with fornication.<\/p>\n

The cry of the persecuted and the wretched<\/p>\n

Will rise up to heaven.<\/p>\n

Then a judgment will arise<\/p>\n

To cast them out of the land.<\/p>\n

The holy covenant will complain;<\/p>\n

A cry will rise up to heaven.<\/p>\n

A people will emerge from the wilderness,<\/p>\n

The progeny of Hagar, the handmaid of Sarah;<\/p>\n

Who hold fast to the covenant with Abraham,<\/p>\n

The husband of Sarah and Hagar.<\/p>\n

Set in motion, he (Ishmael) comes in the name of the ram,<\/p>\n

The herald of the Son of Destruction.<\/p>\n

A sign will appear in the heavens,<\/p>\n

The one our Lord spoke of in His gospel:<\/p>\n

Luminaries will shine among the stars<\/p>\n

And the light of His face will gleam.<\/p>\n

Rulers will quake and tremble;<\/p>\n

The forces arrayed by them will fall.<\/p>\n

The peoples of the earth will be terrified<\/p>\n

When they behold the sign set in the heavens.<\/p>\n

They will prepare for battle and come together,<\/p>\n

All peoples and nationalities.<\/p>\n

They will wage war there<\/p>\n

And the ground will be drenched with blood.<\/p>\n

The nations will suffer defeat there,<\/p>\n

A marauding nation will prevail.<\/p>\n

The marauders will fly over the landscape,<\/p>\n

Across plains and over the peaks of mountains.<\/p>\n

They will take women and children as captives,<\/p>\n

Also men both elderly and young.<\/p>\n

The best of the males will be destroyed;<\/p>\n

The most desirable women will be removed.<\/p>\n

With strong spears and lances<\/p>\n

They will impale elderly men.<\/p>\n

They will separate a son from his father,<\/p>\n

A daughter from the side of her mother;<\/p>\n

They will separate a brother from his brethren,<\/p>\n

A sister from the side of her sisters.<\/p>\n

They will slay the bridegroom in his bedroom<\/p>\n

And expel the bride from her bridal chamber.<\/p>\n

They will take a wife away from her husband,<\/p>\n

And slaughter her as if she were a sheep;<\/p>\n

They will cast an infant away from its mother<\/p>\n

And drive the mother into captivity.<\/p>\n

The child will scream out on the ground:<\/p>\n

Its mother hears, but what can she do?<\/p>\n

For it will be trampled by the hooves<\/p>\n

Of horses, camels, and infantry!<\/p>\n

She (tries to) turn toward it, (but) they will not allow her;<\/p>\n

The child remains within the wild (?).<\/p>\n

They separate children from their mother<\/p>\n

As the soul (is separated) from the body.<\/p>\n

She watches while they divide them up,<\/p>\n

Her beloved ones (taken from) the embrace of her bosom;<\/p>\n

Two of her children to two (different) masters,<\/p>\n

Her own self to still another master;<\/p>\n

She has been allocated, and her children with her;<\/p>\n

For they are now slaves to robbers.<\/p>\n

Her children cry out with laments,<\/p>\n

Their eyes burning with tears;<\/p>\n

She turns toward her beloved ones,<\/p>\n

The milk flowing forth from her breast:<\/p>\n

\u2018Farewell, my beloved ones!<\/p>\n

May God go with you!<\/p>\n

The one who accompanied Joseph<\/p>\n

In (his) servitude among foreigners:<\/p>\n

May He accompany you, my children<\/p>\n

Into the captivity where you are going!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Farewell, our mother!<\/p>\n

May God go with you!<\/p>\n

The one who accompanied Sarah<\/p>\n

Into the palace of Abimelech the Gadarite:<\/p>\n

May He accompany your own self<\/p>\n

Until the Day of Resurrection!\u2019<\/p>\n

The son will stand and watch while his father<\/p>\n

Is sold into slavery.<\/p>\n

The eyes of both of them will burn with tears<\/p>\n

While they groan, one in front of the other.<\/p>\n

A brother will watch while his brother<\/p>\n

Is killed and cast down on the ground,<\/p>\n

Whereas he they drive off into captivity<\/p>\n

In order to serve among foreigners as a slave.<\/p>\n

They even put to death mothers<\/p>\n

Who are holding their children to their breasts.<\/p>\n

Bitter is the sound of the infants<\/p>\n

Who are groaning to satisfy their desire (for milk).<\/p>\n

They will prepare roads in the mountains,<\/p>\n

Highways in the middle of the plains;<\/p>\n

They will maraud until the very ends of the created order.<\/p>\n

They will establish rule over the urban centers.<\/p>\n

The provinces will suffer destruction,<\/p>\n

And they will multiply corpses on the earth.<\/p>\n

All peoples will be brought low<\/p>\n

Before the marauder nation.<\/p>\n

And once the peoples have endured much on earth<\/p>\n

And hope that now peace has arrived,<\/p>\n

They (the Ishmaelites) start exacting tribute<\/p>\n

And everyone will be fearful of them.<\/p>\n

Lawlessness will intensify on the earth<\/p>\n

And even obscure the clouds;<\/p>\n

Wickedness will enclose the created order<\/p>\n

And waft up like smoke to the heavens.<\/p>\n

Then since wickedness will be rampant upon the earth,<\/p>\n

The Lord\u2019s wrath will then stir up<\/p>\n

Kings and mighty armies.<\/p>\n

For when He seeks to expunge it from earth,<\/p>\n

He sends out humans against humans<\/p>\n

To annihilate one another.<\/p>\n

Truly at that time He will summon<\/p>\n

The kings and mighty armies<\/p>\n

Who are behind those gates<\/p>\n

Which Alexander fashioned.<\/p>\n

Many rulers and peoples<\/p>\n

Remain behind the gates.<\/p>\n

They look toward heaven<\/p>\n

And call on the name of God,<\/p>\n

That the Lord send His sign<\/p>\n

From within His heaven of glory<\/p>\n

And the Divine Voice<\/p>\n

Summon them who are by those gates;<\/p>\n

So that they suddenly break down and collapse<\/p>\n

At the command of the Divinity.<\/p>\n

Numerous armies issue forth,<\/p>\n

As many as the stars which cannot be counted.<\/p>\n

As multitudinous as the sand by the sea,<\/p>\n

And exceeding (the number of) the stars in the sky.<\/p>\n

A full span was consumed<\/p>\n

From the lower crossbar;<\/p>\n

And from the upper crossbar<\/p>\n

Another full span was consumed<\/p>\n

On account of the great quantity of their sharp spears<\/p>\n

With which they lacerated it. They issued forth,<\/p>\n

Moving, spilling forth from there;<\/p>\n

Kings and large armies<\/p>\n

And every people and language group<\/p>\n

Emerging from (behind) those gates.<\/p>\n

Gog and Magog and N\u016bl and Agag,<\/p>\n

Kings and mighty armies!<\/p>\n

Togarmah and Ashkenaz and Daypar,<\/p>\n

P\u016b\u00ecay\u0113\u00a0with L\u016bbay\u0113.<\/p>\n

Amzartay\u0113 and Garm\u0113d\u014d\u2018,<\/p>\n

Talab with helmet-covered heads,<\/p>\n

Azmurtay\u0113 and K\u016bshay\u0113,<\/p>\n

Hunay\u0113 and Parzay\u0113,<\/p>\n

Diqlay\u0113 and T\u016bbalay\u0113,<\/p>\n

M\u016bshkay\u0113\u00a0with K\u016bshay\u0113.<\/p>\n

Allied to and coming with them<\/p>\n

Were both the Medes and the Persians,<\/p>\n

Armenians and Turks<\/p>\n

And Namr\u016bhay\u0113 and M\u016bshhay\u0113;<\/p>\n

The descendants of Ke\u2019wan and Serug;<\/p>\n

The progeny of Yaqtan and the Mah\u016bnay\u0113;<\/p>\n

Numerous armies and nations<\/p>\n

Whose number cannot be calculated.<\/p>\n

They will burst forth and flood the earth,<\/p>\n

Shaking the walls of the created order.<\/p>\n

A dust cloud will rise up over the earth,<\/p>\n

Obscuring the sun above<\/p>\n

And covering creation<\/p>\n

With clouds and dark fogs,<\/p>\n

In accordance with what Ezekiel prophesied,<\/p>\n

The son of Buzi in his prophecy.<\/p>\n

For when the Huns come forth<\/p>\n

To wage war and to do battle,<\/p>\n

They will take hold of pregnant women<\/p>\n

And heap fire on top of them;<\/p>\n

They will come closer and mutter incantations over them,<\/p>\n

While roasting their children inside them!<\/p>\n

Splitting them open, they extract their fetuses<\/p>\n

When they are finished cooking inside of them.<\/p>\n

They draw near: then place them in basins,<\/p>\n

And pour water over them<\/p>\n

And dissolve their corpses there<\/p>\n

In those enchanted waters.<\/p>\n

They immediately take their swords<\/p>\n

And their bows with their spears<\/p>\n

And dip them in those waters<\/p>\n

For their arrows and their weapons.<\/p>\n

Every weapon to which are applied<\/p>\n

Those magical potions<\/p>\n

Appears as if there are hundreds, even thousands<\/p>\n

Of cavalrymen who wield them.<\/p>\n

Moreover those hundreds of horsemen<\/p>\n

Who set out (and) traverse the whole of the earth<\/p>\n

Appear as if they are accompanied<\/p>\n

By six thousand myriads.<\/p>\n

If one of them should fall off during battle<\/p>\n

While engaging in the fight,<\/p>\n

Wherever he extends his hand<\/p>\n

Suddenly a knife emerges!<\/p>\n

They eat the flesh of children<\/p>\n

And also drink the blood of women.<\/p>\n

Clothed in tanned skins,<\/p>\n

They mount the winds and tempests;<\/p>\n

And rapidly, in the blink of an eye,<\/p>\n

They lay waste to cities,<\/p>\n

Topple their walls to the ground,<\/p>\n

And destroy the strong citadels.<\/p>\n

Moving quickly, they bind the swift<\/p>\n

And slaughter the vigorous men.<\/p>\n

They are quicker in motion<\/p>\n

Than winds and tempests.<\/p>\n

Whenever news of them is heard on earth (to wit)<\/p>\n

\u2018The Huns have set out (and) are coming!\u2019<\/p>\n

They blanket the whole of creation.<\/p>\n

Because they are sorcerers,<\/p>\n

They fly between heaven and earth.<\/p>\n

Their chariots are like the winds,<\/p>\n

And their swords and their lances<\/p>\n

Are like terrifying bolts of lightning.<\/p>\n

Holding straps in their hands<\/p>\n

And two or three horses,<\/p>\n

Each one of them leads with him<\/p>\n

Some fifty or sixty men,<\/p>\n

Traveling behind and in front of him<\/p>\n

Like winds and tempests.<\/p>\n

The sound of the battle-cry of just one of them<\/p>\n

Is like the roaring of lions.<\/p>\n

Indeed dread of the Huns<\/p>\n

Will overpower the entire earth;<\/p>\n

They will cover the whole earth<\/p>\n

Like the waters during the days of Noah,<\/p>\n

And they will overwhelm the edges of the created order:<\/p>\n

There is no one who can withstand them.<\/p>\n

These are the \u2018numerous peoples\u2019<\/p>\n

About whom Ezekiel spoke<\/p>\n

Who will cover the whole earth<\/p>\n

As if they were clouds.<\/p>\n

\u2018Fish will shudder before them,<\/p>\n

(As will) the birds of the sky<\/p>\n

And wild beasts and vermin of the earth<\/p>\n

And every species in creation;<\/p>\n

High mountains will be thrust down<\/p>\n

And fortified towers will collapse,<\/p>\n

Even the walls of the cities.\u2019<\/p>\n

On the earth will be a wasteland.<\/p>\n

For Ezekiel has prophesied<\/p>\n

That it will come to pass in the End of Days:<\/p>\n

They will burst out (and) come up from the land<\/p>\n

And cover the created order;<\/p>\n

Gog and Magog will prepare itself<\/p>\n

And arrive at the \u2018hill country of Israel.\u2019<\/p>\n

Between the sea and Jerusalem<\/p>\n

He will place his encampment.<\/p>\n

Riders will fly off, descending<\/p>\n

Upon Egypt and opposite India;<\/p>\n

Leading away so many captives they cannot be numbered.<\/p>\n

People and riches,<\/p>\n

Cattle and property<\/p>\n

Which have now become his prey.<\/p>\n

Then Righteousness will summon<\/p>\n

Michael, the one who is leader of the host,<\/p>\n

To come down (and) destroy his encampment<\/p>\n

Just as (he destroyed) the encampment of Sennacherib.<\/p>\n

The angel, receiving the command, will draw<\/p>\n

The terrible and powerful sword,<\/p>\n

And departing, he will destroy his force<\/p>\n

In the twinkling of an eye!<\/p>\n

Righteousness will pick up and hurl<\/p>\n

Stones of fire upon the encampment.<\/p>\n

The slain on the ground will be as numerous<\/p>\n

As the (particles of) sand which cannot be counted;<\/p>\n

People and pack-animals will perish,<\/p>\n

The entire encampment will be consumed.<\/p>\n

The blaze will extend<\/p>\n

Unto the sea and to the islands.<\/p>\n

The bow will swerve from the hands<\/p>\n

Of Gog, the wicked ruler;<\/p>\n

Also his arrows (will drop) from his left hand:<\/p>\n

His entire encampment will be consumed.<\/p>\n

The inhabitants of Judaea will go out<\/p>\n

And loot his whole encampment.<\/p>\n

They will collect and pick up armament:<\/p>\n

Lances, arrows, and bows.<\/p>\n

For seven years within a fire<\/p>\n

They will burn them, as it is written:<\/p>\n

\u2018They will not need to gather<\/p>\n

Wood from the field or thickets.\u2019<\/p>\n

Seven years they will throw in the fire<\/p>\n

Shields and clubs,<\/p>\n

Arrows, spears, and bows.<\/p>\n

They will prove sufficient for fueling the fire for seven years.<\/p>\n

Then the Lord will bring in His peace,<\/p>\n

Which attests His glorification among the heavens.<\/p>\n

And once more the empire of the Romans<\/p>\n

Will spring up and flourish in its place.<\/p>\n

It will possess the earth and its extremities,<\/p>\n

And no one will exist who opposes it.<\/p>\n

And when iniquity has become rife on earth<\/p>\n

And has polluted the whole of creation,<\/p>\n

Then a judgment will arise<\/p>\n

Which will entirely obliterate the people.<\/p>\n

The Son of Destruction, the Evil One,<\/p>\n

Will emerge and come upon the earth.<\/p>\n

A deceiver of humanity,<\/p>\n

An instigator of trouble over the whole earth.<\/p>\n

On the day when he comes to it,<\/p>\n

(when) the Son of Destruction arrives on earth,<\/p>\n

The created order will be thrown into commotion,<\/p>\n

And terror will engulf the earth.<\/p>\n

The sun will become dark in its place,<\/p>\n

And the stars will fall from the height;<\/p>\n

All the luminaries will be quenched,<\/p>\n

Darkness will cover the created order.<\/p>\n

The earth with its inhabitants will shake,<\/p>\n

And mountains and heights will quake;<\/p>\n

Springs and fountains will dry up,<\/p>\n

And the waves in the sea will abate<\/p>\n

And the fish therein grow still.<\/p>\n

Rulers will stop rendering judgment<\/p>\n

And priests will tremble in the sanctuary<\/p>\n

And military power will collapse.<\/p>\n

Confusion will be on the earth<\/p>\n

And all human powers will be paralyzed,<\/p>\n

For the Evil One will be ready.<\/p>\n

He will come to and enter Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

He will rebuild and establish himself in Zion,<\/p>\n

And will make himself to be God<\/p>\n

And enter into the sanctuary to take a seat<\/p>\n

In accordance with what the Apostle wrote to us.<\/p>\n

The Jews will take pride in him;<\/p>\n

They will prepare themselves and come to him.<\/p>\n

And he moreover will blaspheme when he says:<\/p>\n

\u2018I, even I, am the Father and the Son!<\/p>\n

The First and the Last!<\/p>\n

There is no other god apart from me!\u2019<\/p>\n

But at that time ten thousand Jews will denounce him:<\/p>\n

They will answer him in truth:<\/p>\n

\u2018You are a deceiver for (all) creatures!<\/p>\n

For the one whom our ancestors restrained<\/p>\n

At the top of the wood(en cross) on Golgotha<\/p>\n

Is (actually) the redeemer of (all) creatures,<\/p>\n

And he was raised up to the One Who sent him!\u2019<\/p>\n

Then the Evil One will be enraged<\/p>\n

And he will issue a command regarding those who denounced him<\/p>\n

That they should immediately die by the sword,<\/p>\n

And everyone will be too afraid to renounce him.<\/p>\n

Then he will begin to display<\/p>\n

Wonders through deception<\/p>\n

In the heavens and on the earth,<\/p>\n

Within the sea and on the dry land.<\/p>\n

He will summon the rain and it will fall;<\/p>\n

He will command the seed and it will sprout<\/p>\n

However he will not actually perform (miracles);<\/p>\n

He will be employing magic.<\/p>\n

He will command the waves and they will cease,<\/p>\n

And the winds will be obedient to him.<\/p>\n

He will suspend fruits on the trees<\/p>\n

And cause water to gush from the ground.<\/p>\n

He will address the leprous and they will become clean,<\/p>\n

(Speak to) the blind, and they will see light,<\/p>\n

He will call to the deaf and they will hear him,<\/p>\n

(Address) even the mute and they will speak.<\/p>\n

He will effect all the wonders<\/p>\n

Which Our Lord performed within the created order,<\/p>\n

Except that he will not be able to resurrect the dead,<\/p>\n

For he will not have authority over (the) spirits (of the dead).<\/p>\n

Lightening-flashes will be his messengers,<\/p>\n

And are the sign of his advent;<\/p>\n

Demons are his armies<\/p>\n

And the commanders of the devils are his pupils;<\/p>\n

He will dispatch the heads of his legions<\/p>\n

To distant lands<\/p>\n

Where they will display marvelous powers and healings<\/p>\n

And mislead the whole of creation.<\/p>\n

Behold, the Apostle has penned a warning for us<\/p>\n

In his epistle to the Thessalonians:<\/p>\n

\u2018Let no word or no letter<\/p>\n

Trouble you that is not from us.<\/p>\n

For the rebellion comes first,<\/p>\n

Also the Man of Sin<\/p>\n

And he will exalt himself over God,<\/p>\n

Making himself to be God.\u2019<\/p>\n

And when the Accursed One comes<\/p>\n

And displays his mighty works and wonders,<\/p>\n

The nations will gather together and come<\/p>\n

As (if) they were going to see God.<\/p>\n

Groups and nations will join him,<\/p>\n

And every person will renounce their deity;<\/p>\n

Everyone will say of him to their fellow<\/p>\n

That they should acknowledge him, the Son of Destruction!<\/p>\n

Peoples will fall upon one another,<\/p>\n

Slaying each other with swords.<\/p>\n

The elect will flee from his presence<\/p>\n

To the peaks of mountains and hills,<\/p>\n

And there will be calamity on earth<\/p>\n

Unlike any that came before.<\/p>\n

Fear will fall upon all people<\/p>\n

And they will be overcome with terror.<\/p>\n

Children will renounce their father<\/p>\n

And follow after the Evil One;<\/p>\n

Priests will abandon their altars<\/p>\n

To serve as his heralds.<\/p>\n

People will flee to cemeteries<\/p>\n

And hide themselves among the dead,<\/p>\n

Pronouncing the good fortune of the deceased<\/p>\n

Who had avoided the calamity:<\/p>\n

\u2018Blessed are you for you were borne away (to the grave)<\/p>\n

And hence you escaped from the afflictions!<\/p>\n

But as for us, woe is us! For when we die,<\/p>\n

Vultures will serve as escort for us!\u2019<\/p>\n

And if the days of that time were not shortened,<\/p>\n

The elect would never survive<\/p>\n

The calamities and afflictions.<\/p>\n

For Our Lord revealed (and) disclosed to us<\/p>\n

In his Gospel when He said:<\/p>\n

\u2018Those days will be shortened<\/p>\n

For the sake of the elect and the saints.\u2019<\/p>\n

And when he has harassed the whole of creation,<\/p>\n

(When) the Son of Destruction (has bent it) to his will,<\/p>\n

Enoch and Elijah will be sent<\/p>\n

That they might persuade the Evil One.<\/p>\n

With a gentle question<\/p>\n

The saints will come before him,<\/p>\n

In order to expose the Son of Destruction<\/p>\n

Before the assemblies surrounding him:<\/p>\n

\u2018If you are indeed God,<\/p>\n

Tell us what we ask of you:<\/p>\n

Where is the place that you have hidden<\/p>\n

The elders Elijah and Enoch?\u2019<\/p>\n

The Evil One will respond and say<\/p>\n

To the saints at that time:<\/p>\n

\u2018When I wish (it), they are in the height(s),<\/p>\n

Or again should I choose, they are within the sea;<\/p>\n

For I have authority over habitations,<\/p>\n

Since there is no other god apart from me<\/p>\n

And I can make anything<\/p>\n

On earth (and) also in heaven!\u2019<\/p>\n

They will answer<\/p>\n

The Son of Destruction as follows:<\/p>\n

\u2018If you are truly God,<\/p>\n

Call out to the deceased so that they will rise!<\/p>\n

For it is written within the books<\/p>\n

Of the prophets and the apostles<\/p>\n

That when the Messiah reveals Himself,<\/p>\n

He will resurrect the dead from the graves.<\/p>\n

If you cannot show us this (sign),<\/p>\n

Then the One who was crucified is greater than you!<\/p>\n

For he roused and resurrected those who were dead,<\/p>\n

And was exalted in great splendor.\u2019<\/p>\n

Then the Evil One will become enraged<\/p>\n

With the saints at that time;<\/p>\n

He will draw his terrible sword<\/p>\n

And sever the necks of the righteous ones.<\/p>\n

But Gabriel will arise (and) descend<\/p>\n

(With) Michael (as) military commanders;<\/p>\n

They will resurrect those saints<\/p>\n

While the Evil One stands confused with his servants.<\/p>\n

They will approach and seize that Accursed One<\/p>\n

And the Lord will rebuke (him) from heaven;<\/p>\n

Then He will destroy the Accursed One<\/p>\n

And all of his forces.<\/p>\n

Angels will suddenly approach<\/p>\n

And cast him into Gehenna,<\/p>\n

And all of those who believed in him<\/p>\n

Will be thrust into the flame(s).<\/p>\n

Then the Lord will come from above<\/p>\n

In splendor and with a company of His angels,<\/p>\n

And between earth and heaven<\/p>\n

A throne-chariot will be fixed there.<\/p>\n

He will admonish the sea and it will dry up;<\/p>\n

The fish within it will perish.<\/p>\n

He will dissolve the heavens and the earth,<\/p>\n

And there will be (only) darkness and gloom.<\/p>\n

He will dispatch fire upon the earth,<\/p>\n

And it will burn there for forty <days><\/p>\n

Purifying it of iniquity<\/p>\n

And of pollution and of sins.<\/p>\n

A great throne will be adorned<\/p>\n

And the Son will be seated on the right;<\/p>\n

Seats will be positioned<\/p>\n

For the twelve apostles of the Son;<\/p>\n

And couches will be decorated for the martyrs<\/p>\n

And a royal chamber for the righteous ones.<\/p>\n

The Watchers will blow trumpets<\/p>\n

And the dead will arise from the dust;<\/p>\n

Fiery entities will suddenly go forth<\/p>\n

And assemble all the descendants of Adam.<\/p>\n

They will gather the wheat in a storehouse<\/p>\n

And throw the straw into the fire;<\/p>\n

The good will go forth into the Kingdom,<\/p>\n

And the bad will remain in Gehenna;<\/p>\n

The righteous will fly up to the height,<\/p>\n

And the sinners will burn in fire.<\/p>\n

The martyrs will float to the couch;<\/p>\n

The wicked will go out into darkness.<\/p>\n

And Christ will reign forever,<\/p>\n

He will be sovereign over each generation.<\/p>\n

To Him be the glory, and His mercy is over us<\/p>\n

For all time, amen, amen!<\/p>\n

Finis<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Translated from the text in Edmund Beck, ed.,\u00a0Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Sermones III\u00a0(CSCO 320; Louvain: Secr\u00e9tariat du Corpus SCO, 1972), 60-71; see also 79-94 for Beck\u2019s translation.\u00a0The text is based on two manuscripts: (1) Codex Vaticanus Sir. 566, and (2) Codex Dublinensis (Trinity College) B 5.19.\u00a0Editio princeps: Thomas Josephus Lamy, ed.,\u00a0Sancti Ephraem Syri Hymni […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":454,"featured_media":0,"parent":136,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-500","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P3kl1F-84","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1055,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/500\/revisions\/1055"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/john-reeves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}