that I am the LORD their God» (Ezek 28:25—26). As mentioned above, the Church is the seed of Abraham. Therefore Jeremiah lets us know that the One who in the Old Testament gathers all those who are saved from every nation, will in the New Testament raise Abraham’s children out of stones: «Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, the LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel (out of the land of Egypt; but, the LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country), and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land» (Jer 23:7—8). [The words in brackets must have been mistakenly omitted by scribes while copying Irenaeus’s works.]
2. All creation will enjoy great abundance according to the will (of God) so that it will produce and bear incredible fruit as Isaiah says: «And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and (the light of the sun) shall be sevenfold in that day when (the LORD) bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound» (Is 30:25—26). The words «stroke of their wound» point to the affliction with which the mankind was struck after Adam’s disobedience – death. God will heal it by raising us from the dead and restoring to us the inheritance of our fathers according to Isaiah: «Thou will hope in the Lord and He will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father» (Is 58:14). The Lord says the same: «Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants» (Lk 12:37—38). In Revelation: «Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection» (Rev 20:6). Isaiah also announced the time when it would happen: «And I said,» he says, «how long God? Until the cities become empty, so that they will not be inhabited, and the houses will not be without people and the earth will remain empty: And after this, God will continue us people, and those who remain will multiply on the earth» (Is 6:11—12 LXX). And in Daniel: «Both the kingdom, and the authority, and the majesty of those who are under heaven, are given to the saints of the Most High God, and His everlasting kingdom, and all the authorities will serve Him and obey» (Dan 7:27). And so they don’t mistakenly conclude that the promise is about the present, the prophet hears the following message: «You also come and stand on your lot in the end of days» (Dan 12:13).
3. And that the promises were given not only to the prophets and fathers but also to the churches made up of those nations which the Spirit also calls «islands» – since they are set in the midst of unrest and storms of blasphemy while being a quiet haven for those in danger and a refuge for those who «love what’s on high (heaven)» trying to avoid the depths, i.e. delusions, – Jeremiah confirms by the following: «Hear the people, the words of the Lord, tell the distant islands, say that the Lord, who scattered Israel, will gather it and keep it, as a shepherd his flock of sheep; for the Lord has delivered Jacob and has made him out of the hand of his strongest. Therefore they shall come and rejoice in Zion, and shall come together to the goodness (of the LORD), to the land of the wheat, wine, and fruit, to flocks and sheep: and their soul shall be as a fruitful tree; and they shall hunger no more. Then shall the virgins rejoice in the assembly of young men, and the old shall rejoice: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and will lift up and delight the souls of the priest, the sons of Levi, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness» (Jer 31:10—14). As I have shown in my previous book [See 4, 8, 3], all the disciples of the Lord are Levites and priests – for they have broken Sabbaths in the Temple, yet are innocent. Such promises clearly show that a feast will be held in the Kingdom of the righteous for all those whom God Himself will serve.
4. Concerning Jerusalem and the Kingdom of God Isaiah also says: «Thus saith the Lord: „Blessed is he who has seed in Zion and servants in Jerusalem.“ Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment» (Is 31:9; 32:1). About the foundation on which it will be restored: «Behold, I will prepare for you carbuncles and sapphires for your foundations, and I will make thy fences of agates, and thy gates of crystals, and all thy borders of select stones. And all thy children (shall be) taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established» (Is 54:11—14). And also: «Lo, I create joy for Jerusalem and My people. And the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands» (Is 65:18—23).
Chapter 35. Continuation of the same topic.
1. If someone attempts to interpret the promises like these as allegory, they will end up contradicting themselves and will be exposed by the very meaning of these sayings. Such as, for instance: «Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate» (Is 6:11); «Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the city and land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it» (Is 13:9); and also:»(The wicked man) shall be taken away so he won’t see the glory of God» (Is 26:10). And when this has come about, «God will extend the existence of man but those that remain will be multiplied on earth; and they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them» (Is 6:12). For all these and other (words) have undoubtedly been said about the resurrection of the righteous which will take place after the coming of the Antichrist and the demise of all the nations that subjected themselves to him. At that time, the righteous will be reigning on earth, multiplying while beholding the Lord, and through Him they will learn to be the vessels of the glory of God and will enjoy communicating and communing with the holy angels in His Kingdom and remaining in fellowship with the spiritual beings. And concerning those whom the Lord will find in the flesh awaiting His return from heaven, those who have suffered persecution but have been rescued out of the hand of the evil one, the prophet says: «And the rest will multiply on the earth» [Is 6:12]. Jeremiah also speaks about the believers who will, just as the Lord taught them, serve Jerusalem and the Kingdom of (Christ) so that those who remain will multiply on the earth: «O Jerusalem, look about thee toward the east, and behold the joy that cometh unto thee from God. Lo, thy sons come, whom thou sentest away, they come gathered together from the east to the west by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of God. Put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of mourning and affliction, and put on the comeliness of the glory that cometh from God for ever. Cast about thee a double garment of the righteousness which cometh from God; and set a diadem on thine head of the glory of the Everlasting. For God will shew thy brightness unto every country under heaven. For thy name shall be called of God for ever the peace of righteousness, and the glory of God’s worship. Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high, and look about toward the east, and behold thy children gathered from the west unto the east by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the remembrance of God. For they departed from thee on foot, and were led away of their enemies: but God bringeth them unto thee exalted with glory, as children of the kingdom. For God hath appointed that every high hill, and banks of long continuance, should be cast down, and valleys filled up, to make even the ground, that Israel may go safely in the glory of God, Moreover even the woods and every sweetsmelling tree shall overshadow Israel by the commandment of God. For God shall lead Israel with joy in the light of his glory with the mercy and righteousness that cometh from him». [These words are not in Jeremiah but in the deuterocanonical book of the Prophet Baruch (Bar 4:36—37 and chapter 5 to the end)].
