Therefore, notice how the Lord wants to teach this, when the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the flesh. For this is the teaching of the Sadducees. They, having prepared the parable of the woman and the seven brothers, in order to reject the teaching of the resurrection of the body, came to Him, as the Evangelist says: "The Sadducees came to Him, who say that there is no resurrection" (Matt. 22:23). If there had been no resurrection of the body, but only one soul had been preserved, then Christ would have agreed with them, as with those who think well and correctly. Meanwhile, He answers: In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but they dwell as angels of God in heaven (v. 30); It is not that people will then have no body, but do not marry or enter into marriage, but remain in incorruption, approaching, He says, the Angels in that just as the Angels in heaven, so we in Paradise will no longer be occupied with marriages and feasts, but with the contemplation of God and the organization of our lives, under the rule of Christ. He did not say, "They shall be angels," but, "As angels, as crowned with glory and honor, according to what is written: Thou hast made him little less than the angels" (Psalm 8:6), and they are close to being angels. As if a man, in the midst of the air and silence, during the night, when all is adorned with the clear light of the moon, were to say, "The moon shines like the sun," we would certainly not say that he testifies that the moon is the sun, but only as the sun. In the same way, that it is not gold, but close to gold, is usually said to be like gold, and not gold itself. If it were gold, they would not say, "Like gold, but gold." And since it is not gold, but is close to gold, and is represented as gold, it is said, "Not gold, but like gold." Thus, when the Lord says that the saints in the resurrection will be like angels, we do not understand this as if He promises that the saints in the resurrection will be angels, but close to being angels. Therefore it is very foolish to say that since Christ proclaimed that the saints in the resurrection will appear as angels, therefore the present bodies will not arise. The very expression clearly shows the meaning of what is going to happen. For the word "rising" is used not of that which has not fallen, but of that which has fallen and is rising, just as the prophet says: "I will restore to David the tabernacle that has fallen" (Amos 9:11). But the tabernacle of the soul fell, having undergone change, not descending into the dust of the earth (Dan. 12:2). For it is not that which does not die that descends, but that which dies. The body dies, for the soul is immortal. And so if the soul is immortal, and the body dies, then those who say that there is a resurrection, but not the body, deny the existence of the resurrection; For that which is not standing, but that which has fallen and is lying down, rises, as it is written, Do not those who have fallen rise, and having turned from the way, do not return? (Jeremiah 8:4)

Chapter 32.

And that the soul is immortal, the Lord clearly taught, speaking both Himself and through Solomon. He himself is in the story of the rich man and the poor Lazarus, presenting the latter, after the laying down of his body, resting in the bosom of Abraham, and condemning him to torture, and bringing Abraham into conversation with them. And through Solomon in the book which is inscribed, "Wisdom," in which it is written, "But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and torment shall not touch them." In the eyes of the foolish they seemed dead, and their departure was considered destruction, and their departure from us was destruction: but they dwell in peace, and their hope is full of immortality (Prov. 3:1-4). And so the resurrection belongs to the body, and not to the soul; For they do not lift up the one who stands, but the one who lies down, just as they do not heal the healthy, but the sick. But if anyone tries to assert that there will be a resurrection of the soul, and not of the body, this is great foolishness and madness. For first it is necessary to prove the corruption and destruction of the soul, in order to prove its resurrection, in order to show oneself not to talk idlely, but to speak thoroughly. However, let us yield to him, let him recognize the soul as mortal. Then one of two things must be supposed: either that the Lord proclaimed the truth when He taught that the soul is immortal, and therefore it is not fair to say that it is subject to corruption: or that it is subject to corruption: and that Christ, both in His speech about the rich and the poor, and in the appearance of Moses and Elijah, falsely taught that it is not perishable and immortal. But the Lord did not say anything unjust or false. For it was not as a ghost and a ghost, out of a desire to deceive the Apostles, that He showed them Moses and Elijah on the mountain, but that they really were. From this, so to speak, even the most uneducated will understand that by this He confirmed the immortality and indestructibility of the soul.

Chapter 33.

And so the resurrection belongs to the body, and not to the soul, so that the tabernacle of David, which fell into corruption, may arise, and when restored and rebuilt, it may remain unharmed and indestructible, as in the days of old (Amos 9:11); for it is not proper for God to build a stone house for David in the future, so that in the kingdom of heaven he may have a beautiful dwelling, but to restore the abode of the soul, the flesh which He created with His own hands. So you must reason about this, the wisest Aglaophon! And you will understand this most easily if you pay attention to the example of sleep and awakening. For if waking is followed by sleep, and sleep by awakening, then this is the doctrine of death and resurrection; Since "sleep and death are twins," the quickening from the dead, in order for the flesh to come to life, is as necessary as rising from sleep. For just as sleep is followed by wakefulness, and the sleeper certainly does not remain forever in the same sleepy state, but rises again, so death will be followed by life, and the dead will certainly not remain in the same state. Thus, if after sleep there is wakefulness, after the fall there is rebellion, after destruction there is recreation, then how can it not be expected that the fallen will rise and the dead will come to life? And we confess without flattering ourselves that the dead bodies will come to life again. This, if you will, conclude not only from sleep and rebellion, but also from seeds and plants, since the resurrection is proclaimed by all of them. Look at the seeds, how they are naked and skinny thrown into the ground, and from there they appear again fruitful. If the seeds had died and rotted, and no new life and plant had sprung from the seeds, then what else would have come of it but that all things should have been destroyed by death?

Chapter 34.

But we will not say more about this now, sovereign Theophilus and the other judges of our words, but will consider what follows in order, since our speech has allowed too far a deviation. For according to the opponent's strained and incongruous interpretation of the prophecy in Psalm 65, God, as if as a punishment for sins, imprisons the soul in the body, as in bonds. This is more absurdity than a fair opinion. For if before the transgression, as we have previously stated, the souls received a body, how is it that after the transgression they are shut up in a body, as in bonds, when there is no time in which they have sinned before receiving the body? He is not clever who says that the souls have sinned because of the body, and that after they have sinned, the body has become a prison and a bond in condemnation for it. If souls have sinned because of the body, it means that the body was united to them from the beginning, even before sin. For how could they have sinned because of something that did not yet exist? And again: if the human body is taken for chains, fetters, and prison, then both of them are not guilty of sin together, but one soul. For what happens to the sinner after sin? Prison, chains and fetters are prepared for him. But we have admitted that the body cannot be called the bond of the soul; for the body cooperates with her in both, that is, in righteousness and in unrighteousness, and the bonds restrain her from unrighteousness. Therefore, as I say, one of two things must be admitted: either we have sinned with the body from the beginning, and there is no time in which we would be without a body, and consequently the body together with the soul is the guilt of both good and evil deeds; or we sinned when we lived without a body, and therefore the body is completely innocent of evil. But the soul without a body is not conquered by irrational voluptuousness, and yet the primordial are vanquished, having been caught by irrational voluptuousness; therefore, the soul was united with the body even before sin.

Chapter 35.

It seems to me that I have already fully and convincingly proved that it is impossible to think that the body has become a bond as a punishment for a crime, so that the soul, having put on deadness, may bear, in their opinion, an unceasing and constant punishment. Therefore it is untenable and impossible that the body is a snare and a fetter, and that God enclosed souls in this snare as a punishment by casting them out of the third heaven because they had broken the commandment. For on what basis can one believe such rash words of theirs? And this is not in the Psalm, but they explain it stiffly... But I will present the very words that are there, so that the falsehood of their interpretation may be revealed, as they do not want to understand the Scriptures correctly. These words are as follows: You have tested us, O God, you have refined us as silver is refined. Thou hast led us into the net, let us put fetters upon our loins; He put a man on our head. We have entered into fire and water, and Thou hast brought us free (Psalm 65:10-11). They immediately add: this is said about the souls cast down from the third heaven, where paradise is, into this body, as into a net, as if for podvig. For, they say, the words: "We have passed through fire and water" mean: either the entry of the soul into the world through the mother's womb, since it dwells there as it were in flame and moisture; or the descent from heaven into this life, which takes place through the springs of fire and the waters that are above the spaces of the firmament. It was against them that I found it necessary to come out. You, Aglaophon, give an answer for them, what will they say?

Chapter 36.

In the first place, paradise, from which we are expelled in the person of the primordial one, is evidently the chosen place on this earth, namely, appointed by the saints for unsorrowful rest and life, from which the Tigris and Euphrates flow and other rivers appear here in order to irrigate our continent with their flow; they do not flow and fall from heaven, because even the earth would not be able to receive such a mass of water rushing at once from a height. And the Apostle does not place paradise in the third heaven, if anyone knows how to understand the subtle meaning of his words: I know a man who was caught up to the third heaven. And I know of such a man (only I don't know whether in the body or out of the body, Boi knows) that he was caught up into paradise (2 Cor. 12:2-4). He shows that he saw two revelations, apparently twice being raptured: once to the third heaven, the other time to paradise. For the words: "I know a man who was caught up to the third heaven" point to the revelation that came to him at the time of the rapture to the third heaven; and the following words: "And I know of such a man (only I do not know whether in the body or out of the body, God knows), that he was caught up into paradise" point to another revelation that came to him in paradise.

But our adversaries, Aglaophon, did not pay careful attention to this word, but began to discuss such subjects as are not safe to discuss, and began to expound the Psalm in accordance with the opinion of ill-intentioned people, of which we will speak no more.

Chapter 37.

Since we once decided to correct their ignorance, I want to reveal to them the meaning of this prophecy: You have tested us, O God, you have refined us as silver is refined. Thus the martyrs, who have been continuously tempted by the blows of torment during the time of torture (for many things in the prophecies refer to us and they are fulfilled by faith), having struggled gloriously and courageously, with the words: "Thou hast tried us," thank God that He, in order to bring them greater glory, tested them with many sorrows, inviting them to gain victory in a truly Olympic contest. See how Solomon agrees with these words and speaks clearly of the torments (for our word is not without testimony from other Scriptures): for God tried them, and found them worthy of Him. He tested them as gold in the furnace, and accepted them as an all-perfect sacrifice, and in the time of their recompense, etc. (Wis. 3:5-6); And he said above: For although they are punished in the eyes of men, yet their hope is full of immortality. And if they are punished a little, they will be favored (vv. 4-5). And in the 123rd Psalm it says: If the Lord had not been with us when men rose up against us, they would have swallowed us up alive when their wrath was kindled against us; the waters would drown us, the stream would pass over our souls; Stormy waters would pass over our souls. Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth! Our soul has been delivered, like a bird, from the snare of those who catch; the snare is broken, and we are delivered (Psalm 123:2-8). This Psalm is sung by the martyrs. Thus the two faces of the victorious martyrs, one of the New Testament, the other of the Old Testament, alternately send up a harmonious song to God, the Intercessor and the King of all: Thou hast tested us, hast refined us, as silver is refined; Thou hast led us into the net, Thou hast put fetters upon our loins; here is understood the judgment seat of the pagans, or tortures, during which those who were torn and scorched by fire were greatly tempted. Tempt me, O Lord, says the Psalmist, and try me; melt my inward parts and my heart (Psalm 25:2). Let Abraham, who was kindled in the womb for the only-begotten, and preferred the command of God to all, after hearing the voice: Abraham! Have mercy on thy son, and cast down thy sword, saith these words: Thou hast tried us, O God, hast refined us as silver is refined. Let Job, too, after he had drained with pus, be reviled by his friends and sick in body, let him also, when he heard God say to him in the whirlwind, "Do you think that I have done this to you for something else, and not that you may appear righteous?" (Job 40:3) [15] He says: Thou hast put fetters upon our loins, Thou hast tried us as gold in a furnace. Let the three youths, who are watered in the furnaces, so that they may not be scorched by fire, say: Thou hast tried us, O God, hast refined us, as silver is refined. We have entered into fire and water, and Thou hast brought us free... O God Almighty, eternal, Father of Christ! Grant me also, Methodius, when on Thy day I painlessly pass through the fire and escape the rush of the waters, which have changed into a fiery nature, grant me to say: "I have entered into fire and into water, and Thou hast brought me out to freedom; for this is Thy promise to those who love Thee: if thou passest over the waters, I will be with thee, whether through rivers, they shall not drown thee; if you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and the flame will not scorch you (Isaiah 43:2). However, this is sufficient for the explanation of the Psalm.