The Visionary Eyes of God and the Fulfillment of Prophecy

Whatever is removed, those freed from the murderous insolence remain to the Lord. For when all evil joined to mankind is taken away, the image and likeness in which they were created by God remains.

Since 'man, being in honor, not understanding' (Ps 49:20), fell in a manner 'as if cast down to the mindless beasts' (Ps 49:21), when bestiality and the beastly state are removed, the honor 'remains to our God,' the rational being revealed in the man who has become upright, the many crooked thoughts being excluded; for God having made man upright, they themselves sought vain thoughts, existing in many through coarseness.

Immediately indeed in the present prophetic word, the things that happened according to what the Ashdodites, the citizens of Gaza, and the inhabitants of Accacre did having been taken away, those created according to the image and likeness of God shall remain and they themselves shall sincerely confess to our God, as if 'making Judah thousands'; for one is taken into confessing. And each one, sincerely confessing with princely choice, is a thousand-leader. But even Accacre shall be according to the Jebusite, being taken into a step.

These things having happened, God builds an anathema for those having been benefited, having a high fortress, so that remaining within, standing firmly, they may not wander any more here and there being carried about lawlessly, nor even turning back again to those sins which they have left behind, 'forgetting them, stretching forward to those things before' (Phil 3:13), to reach 'the prize of the upward call' (1 Pet 2:9). These things having been achieved, more so the gifts of God, no longer does an enemy exist to drive out, all the things lying about wildly having been destroyed.

The tyrant of the spiritual Egypt once pursued the people of God, speaking boldly and arrogantly: 'Having pursued, I shall seize; dividing, I shall scatter the curs; I shall fill my soul; I shall ascend by my sword; my hand shall rule'; and still speaking these things arrogantly, he has become a coward, all his proud words having been overturned, so as to no longer be able to drive them out. This very drama the king of the Assyrians also endured; for myriads as many as...

Having threatened the enemy, he was immediately removed, and much of his army was laid waste in a single hour by one angel, just as the Scripture declares, saying that one angel had removed one hundred eighty-five thousand Numbers 24:20, so that the people of God might no longer be driven out to perish.

The Benefactor and cause of all blessed salvation says: 'Therefore it is no longer driving out, because I have seen with my eyes,' referring to the contemplative power, concerning which the Apostle writes: 'All things naked and laid bare to the eyes of God' Hebrews 4:13 and His word. It must be said a second time that those seeing are the eyes of God, which are the supervising angels of human affairs, about whom the Hymnodist says: 'His eyes look upon the nations' Psalm 86:8.

Nor did he fail to call the contemplative men, whose visions the divine have inscribed, the eyes of God; for since the body of Christ, which is the whole Church of the saved, is participating, there exist discerning eyes, as the apostolic word makes manifest. Indeed, those seeing the eyes—which have been interpreted according to all the meanings of the speaker—will be the ones supervising the one driving out.

This should also be attributed to the prophecy: since the eyes had seen the Savior coming for the benefit and salvation of all, the one driving out was released, 'being given authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and all the power of Satan' Luke 10:19. Furthermore, the Savior, the Triumphant One, is presented to those present thus: 'Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; cry out, daughter of Jerusalem' Zechariah 9:9, and the following of the speaker, which must be set forth according to the word as follows:

Zechariah 9:9-10: 'Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; cry out, daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your King comes to you, just and saving. He is gentle and riding upon a donkey and a young colt. And he will destroy chariots from Ephraim and a horse from Jerusalem, and the war-bow will be destroyed, and a multitude and peace from the nations. And he will cause the waters to cease, even to the sea and the rivers, the overflows of the earth.'

The Evangelists say that the lying prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus, having ridden upon the donkey and the colt and having been led from the village opposite, which was made manifest by God.