And we must desire to receive the gift of wisdom, the gift of knowledge, and the gift of teaching, so that all these, coming together in the dominion of our souls, may imprint the image of all the truth contained in prophecy. The word of knowledge is needed for the contemplation of the mysteries of the Spirit, the word of wisdom is needed to bring it into full meaning and to clarify what is said in secret and in brief utterances. For wisdom tends to expand the word. It is said: "Stretch out your words, and give no heed" (Proverbs 1:24). Then it is necessary to give teaching for the edification of those who hear.

For this reason, in the soul that has the power to prophesy, by its free striving, must be implanted in advance so that the word instilled in all, which chooses for itself more harmonious souls, in which, to the extent of their good humor, not the slightest passionate movement contradicts the word, should bring down upon it the action of the Spirit of God. But in order to prepare for the reception of the Spirit, it is necessary not only to curb the passions, but also to have one's own measure of disposition to faith, and the benefit of the one who receives grace himself and the listeners of his time, or those who will later use the prophets. For it is said: "For the manifestation of the Spirit is given for profit" (1 Cor. 12:7), and again "according to the measure of faith" (Rom. 12:6). But, however, it is beyond human nature to explain the reason why the Spirit of God works differently in the worthy: one is entrusted with prophecy, and that to a certain extent, another receives the gift of healing, and that to a certain extent, and another the action of greater or lesser powers. For He alone knows this, Who delves into the spiritual merits of each one and gives to each according to the invisible measures of Justice what he deserves.

How did pure and enlightened souls prophesy? Having become, as it were, a mirror of God's action, they showed in themselves a clear, unmerged image, undarkened by carnal passions. For the Holy Spirit dwells in all, but reveals His own power in those who are pure from passions, and not in those whose dominion of soul is darkened by sinful impurities. In addition to purity, they must show in themselves the equality of a well-ordered state. For he is not pure who behaves unevenly in relation to chastity, but he who has subjected the wisdom of the flesh to the Spirit. Just as we see images of faces not in every substance, but only in smooth and transparent substances, so the action of the Spirit is not reflected in every soul, but only in souls that have nothing "obstinate" or "corrupt" in them (cf. Proverbs 8:8). Snow glitters, but does not show in itself the image of those who look into it, because it is rough and composed of frozen foam. Milk is white, but it does not take on images, because it also has some small bubbles. And in the water, because of its smoothness, even a black image is visible. In the same way, the unevenness of life is incapable of accepting God's action into itself.

For this reason the prophets were formerly called "seers" (cf. 1 Samuel 9:9), because they saw the future as the present. But the ideas that occur in dreams can serve us to the easiest understanding of prophetic excitement.

For there was not anything that could be seen, but the high and exalted Throne and Him Who sat on it, Whom Isaiah saw (Isaiah 6:1). Nor was the "electrum" like the "electrum" and "from the loins down" the fiery described in Ezekiel (cf. Ezekiel 8:2) human-like, "from loins to loins."

The prophets, on the other hand, see not only the future, but also the hidden in the present, as Paul says: "But if you prophesy, a certain unbeliever or ignorant will come in, the secret of his heart is revealed" (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:24, 25), or as Elisha says: "Did not my heart walk with you, when the man returned from his chariot to meet you?" (cf. 2 Kings 5:26). But prophecy also includes foreknowledge by means of dreams, as was revealed to Joseph in Egypt (Matt. 2:19-20) and to Daniel in Babylon (Dan. 1:17).

But why did both Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar have such foreknowledge? Because, ruling the state of worldly affairs, they had to foresee in order to arouse faith in others. And why do both Balaam and Caiaphas prophesy? For they also had people who obeyed them, one as a bishop, and the other as a sorcerer (Joshua 13:22). Here the reason is not the purity of the soul, not the enlightenment of the mind, which contemplates God and draws strength from Him, but the word communicated to it in a house-building way, not according to its worth, but according to the requirements of the time.

You will also ask: "Are we to recognize what we read in Isaiah and Ezekiel as manifestations that they saw through the ideas corresponding to them, or as theology, which through the divination of the Spirit proclaimed to us the attributes of the Godhead?"

Some say that they prophesied in a frenzy, so that the human mind was eclipsed by the Spirit. But it is contrary to the promise of God's inspiration to make him amazed, so that, when he is filled with Divine instructions, he departs from his proper reason, and when he benefits others, he himself does not receive any benefit from his own words. And in general, is it in any way consistent with reason that the Spirit of wisdom should make man like one devoid of reason, and that the Spirit of knowledge should destroy his rationality? But light does not produce blindness, but, on the contrary, excites the power of sight given by nature. And the Spirit does not produce delusions in souls, but on the contrary, arouses the mind, cleansed of sinful defilements, to the contemplation of the thought. Therefore it is not improbable that the evil power, plotting against human nature, should bring the mind into unity, but it is impious to say that the same effect is produced by the presence of the Spirit of God. Moreover, if the saints are wise, then how could they not comprehend what they prophesied? For it is said: "The most wise man shall understand from his own mouth, but in his mouth he beareth understanding" (cf. Proverbs 16:23). If, on the grounds that "Isaac was terrified" when his son came (cf. Gen. 27:33), and that David spoke "in his frenzy" (cf. Psalm 115:2), they invent in the saints an eclipse of the mind, then let them know that amazement is also called, as for example: "The heavens are terrified, and the earth trembles" (cf. Jeremiah 2:12).

But even on the basis of general concepts, it is necessary to agree that contradictory expressions about God cannot be understood literally. Thus, for example, according to the generally accepted understanding, it must be recognized that God's nature is good, does not participate in anger and is just. Therefore, if the Scriptures say that God is angry, or grieving, or repenting, or giving someone an answer that is not according to his worth, then it is necessary to consider the purpose of the utterance and carefully consider how the true meaning can be restored, and not to pervert respectable thoughts about God. Thus, let us not encounter stumbling blocks in the Scriptures, benefiting for ourselves from places that are intelligible and not suffering harm from obscure places.

And if anyone accuses the Divine Scripture of not teaching these things and not producing that which can be of benefit, then let him consider the whole order of human affairs, not only spiritual, but lower and worldly. Then he will see that the all-providential Power has granted the dumb comfortable means of life, ready-made food, a native covering — clothes made of hair and feathers; but having brought man into the world naked, in place of everything she gave him a mind, by which industrial arts were invented, such as house-building, weaving, agriculture, blacksmithing, and the soul makes up for what is lacking for the body with the presence of the mind. And just as in this case our Creator did not deign to envy us, just as in the case of the dumb, all the comforts of life should be born with us, but arranged it so that the lack of what is necessary should lead to the exercise of reason, so in the Scriptures He deliberately allowed obscurity to the benefit of the mind, in order to stimulate its activity. And, in the first place, it is necessary that the mind occupied with this should be distracted from the worst, and in addition to this, for some reason, what is acquired with difficulty binds more to itself, and after a long time what is produced becomes more durable, and what is easily acquired is not desirable to enjoy, because what is at hand is neglected, and the possessor does not consider it worthy of any protection. For this reason, dreams by their nature are not clear and reciprocal, they require a great deal of insight, and the hidden meaning of dreams has a close affinity with the expression in Scripture under the cover of dark sayings. That is why Joseph and Daniel recognized dreams with the help of the prophetic gift, because the power of human comprehension is not sufficient to grasp the truth.

Of course, purity in life is necessary in order that even for success in moral virtue what is hidden in the Scriptures may be discernible. But, in addition to the purity of life, it is also necessary to study the Scriptures for a long time, so that the importance and mystery of God's word may be imprinted in the soul through unceasing teaching.

And after that he did not remain constantly in an active life, but often returned to a contemplative life. For this reason all the people fell into Egyptian idolatry, while this holy man was conversing with God on the mountain. Such was Elijah: he ran away from people's rumors and loved to dwell in the wilderness. Therefore, if the saints, with all the constancy of the dominion in their souls, labored in the search for the truth, is it not foolish to desire to enjoy the fruits of innumerable labors without any effort? For behold, after so many solitudes, silences, and labors, Elijah was vouchsafed to see God!

The content of this book is self-evident and understandable. Since the Prophet lived in a time when vices multiplied, he describes the greatness of the evils that await the Jews, and shows the cause of God's wrath in order to bring them to repentance. The prophecy begins with the words "against Judah" (Isaiah 1:1). For, in the words of Peter, "the time has come to begin judgment from the house of God" (1 Pet. 4:17), because those who are closest to us naturally grieve most when they sin against us. And in Ezekiel the Lord, commanding to punish those who have sinned, says: "Begin ye from My sanctified" (Ezekiel 9:6). Wherefore Isaiah also began with the land chosen by God, and with the city in which the sanctuary was, announcing to them the calamities that awaited them. Secondly, he speaks of Babylon, then of the land of Moab, then of Damascus, fifthly, of Egypt, then of the wilderness, then of Idumea, then of the wilderness of Zion, then of Tyre, and then of the quadrupeds. This is followed by the events that took place in the fortieth year of Hezekiah's reign. After this there are prophecies which have no inscription and proclaim the calamities of Jerusalem and Judea, the fate of those who are in the diaspora, their return after the execution of judgment, the prophecies about Christ, scattered in every prophecy, because something mysterious is connected with every historical story.