Response to Anba Takla website on the issue: (And about that hour no one knows)
Question:
There are verses in the Bible that make a person confused between the divinity
of the Lord and Christ and his humanity.. such as "But of that day
and hour no one knows ... not even the Son", "I do
nothing of myself ", "As the Father taught me I
speak", "All authority has been given to me", "I do not
seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent me"... and we know
that Christ is God, so how does Christ not know the hour, and how does he say
"It was given", and how does he not do anything of himself, and does
not seek his own will but the will of the Father...?!!! The priest's
answer :
As for the verse "But of that day and hour no one knows ,
not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father" (Gospel of Mark
13:32), its interpretation is as follows: First: Saint Ambrose says that
the Lord Christ is the judge and he is the one who presented the signs of the
day of his coming, so he is not ignorant of the day. This is even though the
day of his coming is the true "Sabbath" on which God and his saints
rest, so how can he be ignorant of this day when he is the "Lord of the
Sabbath"? (Matthew 12:18)? Second: St. Augustine believes that the
Lord Christ is not ignorant of today, but declares that he does not
know it, because he does not know it with the knowledge of one who permits it.
Perhaps he means what a teacher sometimes declares when asked about the exam
questions he has set, and he answers that he does not know, meaning that he is
not able to declare what he has set, and also if a confessor is asked about the
confessions of a person, he considers himself as one who does not know them.
St. Augustine says: [Truly, the Father does not know anything that the Son does
not know, because the Son is the knowledge and wisdom of the Father himself,
for he is his Son, his Word, and his Wisdom. But it is not to our benefit that
he tells us what is not to our benefit to know... He is like a teacher who
teaches us some things and leaves others undisclosed to us. He knows how to
tell us what is to our benefit and does not tell us things that are harmful to
us to know]. As he says: [This was said in the sense that humans do not
know it through the Son, and not that He Himself does not know it, and that is
with the same expression as the saying: “For the Lord your God tests you to
know” (Deut. 13:3), meaning that He makes you know. And as the saying: “Arise,
O Lord” (Ps. 3:7), (you will find the full text of the Holy Bible here on the
St. Takla.org website ) meaning “make us rise,” so when it is said
that the Son does not know this day, it is not because He does not know it, but
rather He does not reveal it to us.] With the same thought, St. John
Chrysostom says: [By saying “nor the angels” He stops their lips from seeking
to know what the angels do not know, and by saying “nor the Son” He prevents
them not only from knowing it but even from asking about it.] This article is
taken from the website of the Church of St. Takla. Likewise,
Father Theophylactus said: [If he had told them, “I know the hour, but
I do not announce it to you,” he would have grieved them for quite some time,
but he wisely prevented them from asking about this matter.] And Saint Hilary,
Bishop of Poitiers, said: The Lord Christ has treasures of knowledge, so his
saying that he does not know the hour means that he is hiding the
treasures of wisdom that are within him.
Third: Saint Irenaeus believes that even if the Lord Christ, who knows
everything, was not ashamed to attribute knowledge of the Day of the Lord to
the Father alone as one who does not know Him, is it not fitting for us, in a
spirit of humility, to imitate Him when we are asked about superior matters
such as how the Son was born from the Father, to declare that they are beyond
reason and we do not know them?
And regarding that He concealed from them knowledge of the hour ,
despite His previous statement to them: “To you it is given to know the mystery
of the kingdom of God, but to those outside, all things come in parables” (Mark
4:11). Was not the Lord longing for everyone to understand the secrets of His
kingdom when He said: “I thank You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them
to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight” (Matthew
11:25-26) ! One of the scholars says that it is appropriate for us to
understand the words of the Lord Christ with the theological thought of the
early church, for the words of the Lord distinguish between two groups: those
who are with Him and the twelve, and those who are outside [10-11]. The secret
of the kingdom was not revealed to the twelve alone, but to those who
gathered around the Lord in His church, while those outside are the Jews who
reject faith in Him. Whoever enjoys church life and is a follower of the Lord
enjoys an open heart that comprehends the secret of the kingdom of God, but
whoever remains outside is unable to comprehend the secret in his depths, but
deprives himself of the living knowledge of faith, so he sees with his physical
eyes and hears with his material ears, but his depths neither see nor hear. Thus,
he does not return to the Savior nor enjoy the forgiveness of his sins. B.
The Lord presented his teachings publicly to all, but it requires enjoying the
revelation of the secret. This secret is given to every soul that comes to the
Lord with the twelve to be alone with Him and enjoy His hidden work in them. If
the Kingdom of God is like a pearl of great price, then God will not be stingy
in giving it to every person who approaches Him earnestly and asks for
it. The Word of God is offered freely, but it is only revealed to those
who long for it, seeking to know the “mystery of the Kingdom of God,” which we
strongly sense in the life of our teacher, the Apostle Paul, when he says: “We
speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which He ordained
before the ages for our glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7), and he calls the Gospel a
“mystery” (Ephesians 6:19). With the same thought, we find the Lord Christ
offering His life publicly on the cross, but no one can understand the mystery
of the cross except those who desire to meet with Him to learn about the power
of His resurrection. The events of the cross were accomplished before the
world, but the resurrection is experienced by those who desire to enjoy its
work in them, those who ascend with the disciples to the upper room in Zion
awaiting His appearance! C. The Jews considered the nations to be
“outside,” since they did not enjoy what the Jews enjoyed of fathers, prophets,
holy law, and divine promises. Now in this parable the Lord reveals to them
that those outside are the Jews who, despite enjoying these things, refused to
enter into the secret of the kingdom. They became, as St. John Chrysostom says:
They see the Lord Christ casting out demons and say, “He has a demon.” They see
those who have risen from the dead (like Lazarus) and do not bow down to Him,
but think of killing Him. Concerning the phrase, “I do nothing of myself,
but I speak as the Father taught me” (John 8:28), He thus declares :
That his essence is exactly like himself, and that he speaks nothing except
what is in the mind of the Father. He says, I am not of myself. For the Son is
God from the Father, but the Father is God, not of the Son. The Son is God from
God, the Father is God, not of God. The Son is Light from Light, and the Father
is Light, but not of Light. The Son is, but there is one who is from him, and
the Father is, but there is one who is from him.
He did not teach him, as if he had begotten him untaught. But to make him means
the same as to beget him full of knowledge... From him he received knowledge,
being from him he received his being. Not that from him he received first his
being and then knowledge. But as by his begetting he gave him his being, so by
his begetting he gave him to know, and this, as is said of the simple nature of
the Truth, his being is nothing other than his knowledge, but is the same.
The subject of divinity and humanity is very much confused for you... It is a
union without mixture, without mingling, without change, without
transformation... It is like the union of iron and fire; In the case of iron
heated by fire, we do not say there are two natures: iron and fire, but we say
iron heated by fire, just as we say about the nature of the Lord Christ that he
is God incarnate, or God incarnate, and we do not say that he is two, God and
man.
In the case of iron heated by fire, there is no transformation; iron does not
transform into fire, nor does fire transform into iron.
Do not forget many verses: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), and they
are mentioned with the same meaning in (John 17:11, 22).
- “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:10, 11).
- “All that is Mine is yours, and all that is yours is Mine” (John 17:10).
- “That all may honor the Son even as they honor the Father” (John 5:22)
. - “You believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1).
- “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
* The Lord Christ and His Divine Attributes:
1- His ability to create (John 3:1, 10; Hebrews 1:1; Col. 16:1; 1 Kings 6:8;
Luke 10:9-17; Matt. 15:32-38; John 7:2, 8; John 9:32).
How can Christ be a creator, while creation is an attribute of God alone? He
created by the power of His divinity, considering that He is the second person,
the mind of God.
2- Christ is the giver of life (John 4:1; Mark 22:5, 35-42; Luke 11:7-17; John
11; John 21:5; 33:6, 35-58; 27:10, 28; 10:4-14).
Never has a human being spoken in this manner, in which He is the giver of
life, and the giver of it, and that He gives eternal life, and that He gives
life to whomever He wills. And he who follows Him shall live forever, and shall
not perish, and no one shall snatch him out of His hand. These are all works of
the authority of God.
3- The Lord Christ is above time (John 8:58; Rev. 22:16; 5:5; Ps. 110:3; John
17:5, 24; Col. 1:15-17; John 1:3, 10; Mic. 5:2; 1 Cor. 1:24; Hebrews 13:8;
Matthew 28:20).
4- Christ is present everywhere (Matthew 18:20; Acts 1:9; Luke 23:43; Phil.
1:23; Matt. 28:20; John 3:13; John 14:23; Gal. 20:2; Rev. 3:20).
It is established from all of the above that the Lord Christ is an unlimited
being, present everywhere; In heaven and in paradise, and at the same time on
earth, in places of worship and in the gatherings of believers, and in the
hearts of those who love Him. He also knocks on the doors of the hearts of
those who have gone astray and strayed from His commandments. He moves with
every person wherever he moves, and is with him when he is settled. He is with
the living and also with those who have passed away. All this applies only to
one being, which is God.
5- His descent from heaven (John 6:41; 6:33, 38; 16:27, 28; Phil. 2:7; John
1:3; 3:13; 1:18; Matt. 5:34; Acts 1:9; John 16:28) and He has authority there
(Acts 7:59; 2 Cor. 12:2, 4; Luke 23:43; Matt. 16:19; 18:18; Phil. 2:9; Hebrews
25:7, 26)..
So from the relationship of Christ with heaven, His divinity can be proven by
many proofs. This article is taken from the website of the Church of
Anba Takla. 6- He is the First and the Last (Rev. 1:7, 8, 9-13, 17;
22:12-16). God says in the Book of Isaiah, “I am the First and the Last,”
and this is what Christ says in the Book of Revelation! How can the two sayings
be reconciled, except that they are for one being, which is God? 7- Christ
is the Lord (Psalm 109:1; Matthew 22:43-46; 7:21; Luke 6:46; Matthew 7:22, 23;
25:44, 31; Luke 13:25; Acts 7:59; 1 Corinthians 6:8; John 20:28, 29; Acts
16:31; 2 Peter 3:18; James 2:1; Corinthians 2:8; Matthew 12:8; 14:30; 14:33;
Luke 5:8; John 21:7; 21:12; Luke 1:43; John 20:18, 18, 25; Luke 24:34; John
21:15-17; Luke 2:10, 11; Matt 28:5, 6; Mark 16:19, 20; Luke 7:13; 7- Belief in
Him (John 14:1; 16:3; 24:8; 25:11; 22:31-61; Acts 9:5, 6; 11:15; 2 Corinthians
13:14; Col. 3:17; 2:10; 11; Hebrews 1:30; Mark 11:3; Luke 19:31; Rev. 22:20,
21).. 7- Belief in Him (John 14:1; 16:3; 24:8; 25:11, 26; Acts 16:31; Mark
16:16; Acts 10:43; 13:38, 39; 2:38; 13:39; Rom. 5:1; John 7:38, 39; 1 Corinthians
12:3; Acts 8:17; 1 John 2:20, 27; Rom. 9:33; 10:11; 1 Pet. 2:6; John 3:36; Acts
8:36, 37; John 20:31; 3:5; 12:1).. No human being, whoever he may be, can
obtain for those who believe in him all these spiritual results that we have
mentioned, which relate to the eternity of the believer, and his position with
God as a son, and with the church as a member in it through faith and
baptism. But, what is the essence of this faith in Christ? We believe that
Jesus is the Christ, and He is the Son of God (John 20:31). We believe that He
is the only Son of God (John 3:16, 18) with all the theological attributes that
this phrase carries. We believe that He is the Logos, the speaking mind of God,
the Word of God.. We believe that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him
(John 14:10, 11). We believe that whoever sees Christ has seen the Father (John
14:9). We believe that in Him is life (John 4:1; 1 John 11:5), and we believe
that He is the Savior of the world (John 4:42; Matt. 1:21) and that He is the
atonement for our sins (1 John 10:4; 2:2). We also believe in His words... and
in the way that the Lord has drawn for salvation... All this indicates the
divinity of Christ, in addition to your belief in His divine
attributes. 8- His acceptance of worship and prostration (John 9:38; Matt.
14:33; Luke 5:8; Mark 5:33; 5:18; 5:25, 26; Matt. 28:9; 28:18; Matt. 2:11;
Phil. 2:10, 11; Matthew 7:22; John 14:13, 14). 9- To Him be glory forever,
a phrase that belongs to God alone (Is. 6:3; 42:8). (Matt. 25:31; 32; 2 Peter
3:18; 1 Peter 4:11; Jude 25; Matt. 16:27; Luke 9:26; Rev. 7:17; 5:13, 6; 3:21;
John 17:4, 5). 10- Christ is the good and holy one (Luke 1:35; Acts 3:14;
Hebrews 7:26; Acts 4:30, 27; Rev. 3:7; Hebrews 7:26; John 8:46; 14:30; Hebrews
4:15; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 3:5; 1 Peter 2:22; Matt. 27:4, 24, 19; Mark
1:24). If no one is good, only one is God (Matt. 19:17), and it has been
proven that Christ is good or the only good one. Therefore, He is God. He is
the one who separated himself from sinners and became higher than the heavens.
If God alone is holy (Rev. 15:4), and it has been proven that Christ is holy,
then He is God. 10- Christ forgives sins (Matt. 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20;
Luke 23:43). Although everyone believes that God alone forgives sins,
Christ forgave the sins of the paralytic, the sinful woman, the thief, and
others. With a mere command; not with a prayer asking God for absolution, as
priests do today, but with the command “Your sins are forgiven you,” and He did
not say “Go, the Lord will forgive you.” He said explicitly that He has this
authority to forgive sins on earth.
12- Christ is the Judge (2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 16:27; 25:31-46; Matt. 13:41, 42; 2
Tim. 4:1; Rev. 22:13; 14; 2:2, 9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15; Matt. 22:23).
If Christ is the Judge, then He is God, because God is the Judge. He does this
and judges people’s actions because He knows them.
13- Christ is the owner of hearts and kidneys (Rev. 23:2; John 7:16, 8; Mark
16:11, 17; Matthew 8:16; Mark 6:2-8; Matthew 3:9, 4; Luke 21:5, 22; Matthew
24:12, 25; Luke 7:6-9; Luke 46:9, 47; 39:7, 40; Matthew 27:17; John 27:20;
11:11; 47:1-50; 18:4).
We will leave the knowledge of the unseen aside here and talk about reading
minds. The Bible says, “For the righteous God searches the hearts and reins”
(Psalm 7:9), and the Lord Christ says, “The churches will know that I am the
searcher of all things and hearts” (Revelation 2:23). Is this not an explicit
confession that He is God?
The Bible says explicitly about God, “You alone know the hearts of all the
children of men” (1 Kings 8:39), and it has been proven that Christ read
thoughts and knew the secrets of hearts and souls. Does the Bible contradict
itself by saying that God and Christ are one? And by this, Christ knows the
hearts of men.
13- Christ is the Savior and Redeemer (Matt. 21:1; John 12:47; 42:4; Matt.
11:18; Luke 10:19; 1 Tim. 15:1; Tit. 14:2; Gal. 13:2; Heb. 9:5; 3:2; Acts 12:4)
________________________________________
Answer:
There are three issues in this question:
* Issue : " But of that day and hour no one knows "
* Issue : " I do nothing of myself "
* Issue: " And all authority has been given to me "
A : Issue : " But of that day and hour no one knows "
This phrase is specific to Mark 13_32, and it represented a problem for the
church, especially in the fourth and fifth centuries after Emperor Constantine
published copies of the Bible in the empire, and some of the fathers of that
time tried to find a solution to this problem, such as St. Augustine, Gregory
of Tours, and Basil of Caesarea.
Through the solutions proposed by these fathers, Christians today respond to
this dilemma.
The priest says:
First: Saint Ambrose says that the Lord Christ is the judge and that He is the
one who presented the signs of the day of His coming, so He is not ignorant of
the day. Even if the day of His coming is the true “Sabbath” in which God and
His saints rest, how can He be ignorant of this day when He is the “Lord of the
Sabbath” (Matthew 12:18)?
Comment:
Christ acknowledges that He does not know the day and hour, and Saint Ambrose
says: Rather, He knows. So what is the evidence in this statement that makes it
reverse the meaning?
And what does the Sabbath have to do with the subject? And who said that His
coming is on the Sabbath?
The Christians wasted the Sabbath that the Lord commanded them to observe
and turned to Sunday, so from where did Saint Ambrose deduce this subject of
the Sabbath?
Then it is clear that this interpretation does not satisfy the thirst, and did
not find a solution to the problem.
The priest says:
Second: Saint Augustine believes that the Lord Christ is not ignorant of the
day, but rather declaresHe does not know it, because he does not know it
as someone who permits it. Perhaps he means what a teacher sometimes declares
when asked about the exam questions he has set, and he answers that he does not
know, meaning that he cannot declare what he has set. Also, if a confessor is
asked about the confessions of a person, he considers himself as someone who
does not know them. St. Augustine says: [Truly, the Father does not know
anything that the Son does not know, because the Son is the knowledge and
wisdom of the Father himself, for he is his Son, his Word, and his Wisdom. But
it is not to our advantage that he tells us what is not to our advantage to
know... He, as a teacher, teaches us some things and leaves others undisclosed
to us. He knows how to tell us what is to our advantage and does not tell us
things that it is harmful to know].
Commentary:
St. Augustine insists on reversing the meaning as well, but he justifies this
by saying that if the teacher were asked by the students about the exam, he
would say: I do not know. Or he thinks he does not know,
but Christ is not an ordinary human being or an ordinary teacher to respond
that he does not know while he knows (as they claim), and such a lie is not
appropriate for him.
Then the disciples did not ask about this hour at all , so why would
Christ have to claim that he did not know? The question they asked was
about the time of the destruction of the temple and not about the hour (the
hour of his return at the end of time): Mark 13:1 And as he was coming out
of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Teacher, look at what
these stones are and what these buildings are!" Mark 13:2 And Jesus
answered him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be
left upon another that will not be thrown down!" Mark 13:3 And as he
was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and
Andrew asked him privately: Mark 13:4 "Tell us, when will these
things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be
accomplished?" Then they asked for a sign and not the details of
the hour (and what is the sign). Therefore, Christ would not have
needed to say the opposite of the truth if he knew . The origin of
Christ’s words is truth, not lies. The disciples did not ask him about the
time , but about the signs of the time of the destruction of the
temple. The rest of the context of the passage confirms this: Mark 13:23:
But take heed; behold, I have told you all things beforehand. Mark 13:24
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the
moon will not give its light. Mark 13:25 And the stars of heaven will
fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Mark 13:26 And then
they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and
glory. Mark 13:27 Then he will send his angels and gather his elect from
the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Mark
13:28 Learn a parable from the fig tree: When its branch becomes tender and
puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. Mark 13:29 So you also,
when you see these things happening, know that it is near, at the
doors. Mark 13:30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things happen. Mark 13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away. Mark 13:32 But of that day and hour no one
knows. No one can do this , not even the angels in heaven, nor the
Son, except the Father. So, the hour
What is meant here is the hour of Christ's return in the last days, while they
ask about the hour of the destruction of the temple.
But if someone responds that the subject is one, we respond to him that this
puts Christ's words in the category of lies. Why?
Because this means that the second hour of Christ's return will be after the
destruction of the temple (70 AD) and it must be accompanied by the following
phenomena:
* The sun darkens
* The moon does not give its light
* The stars of the sky fall!!??
* The forces of heaven are shaken
And Christ confirmed the words by saying (But in those days)
meaning there is no room to say that this might happen at another time, and the
evidence for that is from the Gospel of Matthew:
20-24 And pray that your flight will not be in the winter nor on the Sabbath
What is the meaning of Christ's saying that their flight will not be on the
Sabbath?
This indicates that the Sabbath would still be respected by them, meaning in a
time close to Christ, when the disciples and their followers kept the Sabbath
until the time of Constantine,
and since all the signs attributed to Christ did not occur after the
destruction of the temple, anyone who wanted to say that the disciples’
question about the date of the destruction of the temple was the same as
their question about the time of Christ’s return would expose all of this talk
to falling into the trench of lies.
Then when Christ’s disciples asked him about another time, which was when he
would restore the kingdom to Israel, he did not say to them, “I do not know,”
but he forbade them in all seriousness from asking this question:
Acts 1:6: But when they were gathered together, they asked him, “Lord, will you
at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Acts 1:7: He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which
the Father has put in his own authority.”
That is, when Christ does not want to divulge a secret, he is not compelled to
lie.
From here we see that St. Augustine’s interpretation does not solve the
problem.
In the priest’s words:
With the same thought, St. John Chrysostom says: [By saying, “nor angels,” he
stops their lips from asking to know what angels do not know, and by saying,
“nor the Son,” he prevents them not only from knowing it, but even from asking
about it.]
The response:
Why does he stop their lips from asking about what angels do not know, when
it has been proven that they did not ask about the subject of the hour at
all ? And in order to prevent them from asking, does he lie to them that
he does not know? In the priest’s words: Thus also Father
Theophylactus said: [If he said They said, “I know the hour , but I
do not reveal it to you, to grieve them for a time not long, but wisely
prevented them from asking about this matter.”] Saint Hilary, Bishop of
Poitiers, said: “The Lord Christ has treasures of knowledge, so his saying that
he does not know the hour means that he is hiding the treasures of
wisdom that are within him.” The response: The words of Father
Theophylactus are refuted by what we have previously mentioned from the Book of
Acts when Christ said to the disciples: Acts 1:7: “But he said to them,
‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has put in his own
authority.’ So why here did he prevent them from asking without fearing
that their tender feelings would be sad?” In the words of the priest:
Third: Saint Irenaeus believes that even if the Lord Christ, who knows
everything, was not ashamed to attribute knowledge of the Day of the Lord to
the Father alone as if he did not know Him, is it not fitting for us, in a
spirit of humility, to imitate Him when we are asked about superior matters
such as how the Son was born from the Father, to declare that they are beyond
reason and we do not know them?
Well, Saint Irenaeus justifies for us that the issue is due to Christ’s
humility toward the Father. It is beautiful
why does Christ humble himself toward the Father?
Of course, because He is greater than Him (“My Father is greater than I”).
This means that this brings us into the issue of the Father’s superiority over
the Son.
The truth is that defending a false issue gets a person into many problems,
because whenever you try to cover up an issue, you expose another’s shame. And
so,
if humility is the goal of Christ, despite His equality with the Father in
everything, can the Father say:
But of that day and hour no one knows , not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Father, but only the Son? This is because the
Father is also a humble God who humbles himself before the Son, even though he
is equal to Him. Likewise, since the attribute of humility is for the Son, it
is also an attribute of the Father, since they have the same
attributes. Does this work for you? And if it does not work,
why? And if we are going to enter into this debate, we will be comparing
two gods, one a perfect God from a perfect God (the Son) and the second a perfect
God without being born from anyone. So peace be upon monotheism in Christianity. End
of the first issue.
All their attempts to get out of the problem of this text are summed up in an
attempt to prove the divinity of Christ, and therefore because he is God he
knows it, but this places him in the category of lying, and God does not lie
(Numbers 23:19).
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The writer of the Gospel of John says: " For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world might be saved through him " (John 3:17)
. Some Christians claim that judgment was not one of the goals of the
incarnation, so his judgment will be on the last day. Let us see the response
of Christ - peace be upon him - to them and to the liar Paul, where Christ
says: " And if anyone hears my words and does not believe, I do not
judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who
rejects me and does not receive my words has someone who judges him; the word
that I have spoken will judge him on the last day " (John 12:47-48).
So Christ - peace be upon him - did not claim that he was the one who would
judge on the last day, but rather the lack of faith in Christ's words on the
last day is the one who will judge, so there is someone other than Christ to
judge. However, as usual, each of the writers of the Gospels wrote
whatever he pleased in his Gospel to raise his status and to have temporary
authority on earth to control the servants and necks, so it came in the Gospels
and the Epistles. Where the author of the Gospel of Matthew wrote in what
he claimed about Christ - peace be upon him - that he said: “Then Jesus
said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the
regeneration when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you also will
sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel ’” (Matthew
19:28).
If we ignore this contradiction and say that Christ will
judge someone on the last day, then the disciples will also be judged. Do we
consider them the fourth person of the Trinity, I mean the fourth?! What
is worse than that is that the saints will judge the whole world, and even the
angels. As Paul says: " Do you not know that the saints will
judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not worthy of the
lesser judgments? Do you not know that we will judge angels, much less the
things of this life ?" (1 Corinthians 6:2-3). His Eminence the
saint's words are that he is the judge, and as long as the judge is a fallen
scholar of the hour, otherwise His Eminence - because he is a saint and a judge
- would also be a scholar of the hour!
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The writer of the Gospel of Mark says: “ And he went through the
cornfields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to pluck the heads of grain
as they went. And the Pharisees said to him, ‘Look! Why are they doing on the
Sabbath that which is not lawful?’ And he said to them, ‘Have you never read
what David did when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with
him? How he entered the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest,
and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and
gave it also to those who were with him. Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was
made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath also. ’” (Mark 2:23-28)
The Pharisees accused Christ of his disciples breaking the Sabbath, so he gave
them an example of David who ate bread that was not lawful to eat except for
the priests. Here he did not defend himself by breaking the Sabbath, but rather
explained that the Sabbath was made for man and not the other way around, and
thus man is the one who controls the Sabbath and not the Sabbath in man, and
therefore man – or the Son of Man – is also Lord of the Sabbath.
But some Christian colleagues do not like this clear, direct
statement of Christ’s sayings, and they only care about the last text, and they
attribute it to Christ, but the truth, as it has become clear, is that the
statement is about man in general. In response to those who insist on
deifying Christ through this statement, Christ said: “Son of Man” and God is
not a man or a son of man, as the Book of Numbers says: “ God is not a
man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent ”
(Numbers 23:19) . This is not the words of Balaam, but the words of God
that He put in Balaam’s mouth, as the full text says: “ Then Balak said to
him, ‘Come with me to another place from which you can see it; you shall see
only its utmost part, and you shall not see all of it. Curse him for me from
there.’ So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built
seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Then he said to Balak,
‘Stand here by your burnt offering, and I will go over there.’ So the Lord met
Balaam and put words in his mouth and said, ‘Return to Balak and speak thus.’
So he came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the
princes of Moab were with him. Then Balak asked him, ‘What has the Lord
spoken?’ So he took up his parable and said, ‘Arise, Balak, and listen. Listen
to me, son of Moab.’” Safoor. God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son
of man, that he should repent. Does he say, and shall he not do? Or speak, and
shall he not fulfill? (Numbers 23:13-19) For we agree with the
Christians in their claim that what is meant by the Son of Man here is
Christ, for the Son of Man is not evidence of divinity, and from the words of
God himself: “nor the son of man,” and thus the second attempt of His Eminence
the Saint fell here as well.
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