I have drawn all this from the divinely inspired books of Holy Scripture, which teach this, and above all I place the kingdom of heaven, where I will be close to the contemplation of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity, I will be purified and illumined by an unapproachable light, and I will behold the splendor of Her ineffable glory. It is not surprising that words cannot express that glory, that light, and that goodness, since they would not be great and extraordinary if they were accessible to our minds and expressible in words, accessible to us, the inhabitants of the earth, clothed in this coarse perishable body. Think of it in this way, accept it all with faith that it contains nothing imaginary, and try to attain this immortal kingdom through good works. If you attain it, then you will know everything perfectly.

As for the fact that you asked how we heard the words of the incarnate God, we have learned all about His Divine activity through the Holy Spirit. Gospel. This is the name of that part of the Holy Scriptures. Scripture, which preaches to us about immortality, about eternal life, about the forgiveness of sins and the kingdom of heaven. It was written by the witnesses and ministers of the Word of God, of whom I have spoken above, saying that Christ, our Saviour, chose His disciples and Apostles. They gave us in writing, after the glorious ascension of the Lord into heaven, about His earthly life, His teachings and miracles, as far as it was possible to convey in writing. For the chosen Holy Evangelist said thus at the conclusion of his narrative: "Jesus did many other things, but if I were to write about them in detail, I think the world itself would not contain the books that have been written" (John 21:25).

In the Holy Scriptures. The Gospel contains an account of the Incarnation, teaching, miracles, and works of Christ, written by the Holy Spirit. It tells of the glorious suffering to which the Lord subjected Himself for our sake, of death, of the holy resurrection on the third day after death, and of His ascension into heaven, as well as of His future terrible coming in glory. For the Son of God will come a second time in all His glory, with all the legions of heaven, to judge the human race and to reward each one according to his deeds. God created man from the earth, as I told you before, and breathed into him the breath of life, which is called the soul. The soul is a spiritual and rational being. Since we are condemned to death, we all die. And no one can avoid it. The death of the soul is different from the death of the body. The body, created from the earth, again turns into the earth separately from the soul and, decomposing, is destroyed. The soul, being immortal, goes where the Lord commands, depending on what place it has prepared for itself in cohabitation with the body. Whatever he sows here, he will reap there.

Then, after many years, Christ our God will come in His terrible and inexpressible glory to judge the world, fearing Whom the heavenly powers will be terrified, and all the legions of angels will stand before Him in trembling. Then, by the voice of the Archangel and by the trumpet of God, all the dead will be resurrected and will stand before His terrible throne. Resurrection is again the union of the soul with the body. But the body, destroyed and scattered, will rise unharmed; And don't let it seem incredible to you. It is not impossible that the body, created from the beginning from the earth and changed again into the earth from which it was made, by the command of the Creator, should rise again unharmed. A sufficient proof of the possibility of this will be for you if you imagine how many things God created out of nothing (because God created man from a earth that did not exist before). How did the earth become man? How did the earth that did not exist before appear? What kind of support does it have? How did innumerable kinds of inanimate objects, plants, and other works appear on it? Where does such a variety of creatures come from? It is quite possible for Him who created all things out of nothing, and who is still creating, to restore from the earth the dead and decayed bodies, so that each one may receive according to his works.

This earthly life is a life of deeds, and the future is a life of retribution for deeds. In this resurrection and recompense lies the justice of God. For many righteous people, having suffered many misfortunes here, were subjected to a violent death. Other atheists and lawless people spent their earthly lives in bliss and prosperity. But God, being good and just, appointed the hour of resurrection, in which each soul, united with its body, will receive its due.

The sinner who enjoyed prosperity here will be punished for his sins there; but the righteous man, having received here the recompense for his transgressions, will there become a joint heir of eternal blessings, for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who have done good will go forth into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil into the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28,29). And then our Creator will sit on the throne, and books will be opened, in which all our deeds, words, desires and innermost thoughts are recorded.

Then nothing can reject the right judgment: neither skillful defender, nor persuasiveness of speeches, nor false justification, nor riches, nor nobility, nor gifts. But the incorruptible, righteous Judge will justly judge everyone for his deeds, words and thoughts. And then those who have done good will depart into eternal life, into inexpressible light, rejoicing together with the Angels, enjoying unheard-of and unprecedented blessings, contemplating the Holy Spirit. Trinity. But those who have done evil, all the wicked and sinners will go to eternal torment. The punishments will be: a fiery furnace, terrible darkness, constantly gnawing worms, gnashing of teeth and other innumerable punishments. The heaviest punishment is alienation from God, rejection from His presence, deprivation of the sight of His glory, exposing every deed and boundless shame.

For after this Last Judgment everything will remain immutable and unchangeable: the endless blessed life of the righteous, and the miserable tormenting life of sinners. After that, there will be no other supreme judge, no other court. Nor will there be a respite for the repentance of sinners. Then there will be no way for the guilty to escape the eternal punishment they deserve. If this is so, how should we behave in order to escape the threatened punishment and stand at the right hand of the Son of God? For there the righteous stand. Sinners will have to take the unfortunate place - the Son of God. After this, the Lord leads the righteous, blessed by the Father, into the eternal kingdom. And with wrath and curse, He casts sinners away from His meek countenance, and sends them to the most severe, eternal punishment."

Then Joasaph said to Barlaam: "You, O man, say something great, wonderful, terrifying and trembling, if all this is so, if death and turning into dust and ashes are followed by restoration and resurrection, rewards and punishments for the past life. But what is the proof of all this? And how did you so unconditionally and firmly believe in something that has never been seen before? For you could hear about what was done and confirmed by facts from the testimony of eyewitnesses, even if you did not see it yourself. But how can you so confidently preach such a great and extraordinary future?

The Teaching of the Future Terrible Coming of Christ

To this Barlaam answered him: "From the deeds that have already been done, I have gained confidence in future deeds. For those who proclaimed this did not sin in any way against the truth, but strengthened their words with various signs and wonders, and they also explained future deeds. As they did not teach anything absurd or imaginary about the present, but shone everything brighter than the sun, whatever they said or did, so they taught about the future truly. In addition, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself confirmed this by deed and word. He says: "Do not be amazed at this, for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who have done good will come out to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28,29). And further: Verily, verily, I say to you, the time is coming, and it has already come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and when they hear it, they will live" (v. 25). In another He says again: And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Matt. 22:31-32). And again: Therefore as tares are gathered and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of this world. The Son of man shall send His angels, and shall gather out of His kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those who do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear (Matt. 13:40-43).

With these and many other words, the Lord testified to the resurrection of the bodies.

Thus, towards the end of His earthly activity, He summoned from the tomb and revived Lazarus, His friend, who had been dead for four days, and who had begun to decay and stink.

In addition, the Lord Himself was the first example of a perfect resurrection. He rose again on the third day after His death, rising first from the dead. Though the other dead were resurrected, they died again and prevented the true resurrection to come. Christ was the only representative of the true resurrection, being the first to be resurrected immortal. Thus proclaimed both the eyewitnesses and the first ministers of the Word of God. Blessed Paul, whose calling was not from men, but from heaven, says: I remind you, brethren, of the Gospel which I have preached to you. For I taught you from the beginning what I myself received, that is, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. But if it is preached of Christ that He rose from the dead, how do some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen either. And if Christ is not risen, then your faith is in vain: you are still in your sins. And if we hope in Christ only in this life, then we are the most miserable of all men. But Christ rose from the dead, the firstfruits of them that slept. For as death is through man, so is the resurrection of the dead through man. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all are made alive (1 Corinthians 15:1.3.4.12.13.17.19-22).