And now the same God says to Abraham again, "In you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Why did Abraham, having already learned for certain that it was not people, but God who had appeared to him, served the Three in the same way, honored the Three equally, and washed the feet of the Three equally? Is this not true evidence that the Holy, One-in-Essence and Life-Giving Trinity revealed Its mystery to Its saint Abraham: It is One and Triune, One in Divinity and Essence, and Triune in Persons or Hypostases?

For the Scriptures say that after this "men turned from thence and went to Sodom... And the Lord went, having ceased to speak to Abraham... And those two angels came to Sodom" (Gen. 18:22, 33; 19:1). Know then that God the Father went alone, and to Sodom He sent the Son and the Holy Spirit, for no one has ever sent God the Father, but the Son Himself says of Himself: "The Father who sent Me, He gave Me a commandment" (John 12:49).

; and of the Holy Spirit the Son says: "If I go, I will send you another Comforter from the Father" (cf. John 15:26; 16:7). Originally, when the Father wanted to create man, then He called upon the Son and the Holy Spirit, saying: "Let us make man" (Gen. 1:26). When God the Father wanted to destroy the godless assembly of people who decided to build the Tower of Babel, He did not destroy it alone, but said to the Son and the Holy Spirit: "Let us go down and confuse their language there" (Gen. 11:7).

He did the same now: desiring to exterminate the vile, impure, insolent and ferocious people and to deliver the righteous from death, God the Father sent the Son and the Holy Spirit to show the one will in all things, the one authority and the one desire of the Holy Trinity. And enough about that. Now it is necessary to resolve the perplexity of many who ask: why do our holy and divine fathers and teachers sometimes write that Abraham received the Holy Trinity, sometimes that he received God with two angels, and sometimes that he invited three angels to his tent?

One might think that these statements contradict each other. No, they do not contradict each other, but agree with each other, and are confirmed by the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. St. Maximus the Great says that the entire Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments cannot be understood by themselves without a wise interpretation of the Holy Fathers, who are filled with the grace of the Divine Spirit.

Much in the Scriptures seems contradictory to us: sometimes it is said this way, sometimes it is said differently. We think this way because of our foolishness, or because of negligence, or because of obstinacy. No, it is not the words of holy men that contradict each other, but we, being carnal, cannot think spiritually and therefore cannot understand them; as one of the saints said, those who think in a carnal way understand the Divine Scriptures not according to the will of the Holy Spirit, but according to the will of the flesh.

Therefore, we will begin with the fear of God and immerse ourselves in the Holy Scriptures, so that, as the divine John Chrysostom says, we may understand each book as it should be, and receive the teaching at the proper time, and not hastily, so that the Scriptures may seem to us not contradictory, but in all things. The Holy Fathers truly said that good that does not come at the right time turns into evil, but not because of its nature, but because of the foolishness of those who accept it.

According to John, the author of the divine Ladder, if you take medicine at the right time, then the treatment is beneficial, but if not in time, then it can kill a person. Let us not either, deceived by proud thoughts, inquire about the meaning of the Scriptures before the time, for then we will not understand even in due time; for sometimes the Holy Scriptures bear direct witness, and sometimes a certain time and knowledge of the circumstances described are required for a correct understanding.

All the Holy Scriptures, handed down to the Holy Church, have no flaws in themselves, therefore we should not blaspheme them, but we should keep them with all our might and try to understand them correctly, and not according to our will. If someone denigrates or condemns the Holy Scriptures, relying only on his own reason, there is no one more insane than him. The pagans, Jews, and heretics, in their arrogance, could not say, "We do not know," but they blasphemed the Holy Scriptures; because of this, they fell into error and turned into all kinds of evil.

Everyone who wants to understand the Scriptures, let him not rely on his own mind, let him not consider it sufficient; but he is skilful who keeps the words of Scripture unchanged and, through the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, reveals the mysteries attested to by Holy Scripture. Therefore, we must write a short sermon for our instruction, not on our own behalf, but cite testimonies from the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, from the books of the prophets, from the Holy Gospel and the apostolic works.

Later we will cite excerpts from the writings of our holy and divine fathers and teachers about the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity. From this little teaching we will see that those who misunderstand the Holy Scriptures find contradictions everywhere in the Scriptures, while those who truly understand Him see agreement in everything. Formerly, in the Old Law, God Himself commanded to offer sacrifices, burnt offerings, and play the harp, harps, tympanums, and pipes.

But the Scriptures also say that God not only does not love and does not desire all this, but hates and abhors such worship. In the book of Leviticus it is written: "And the Lord called to Moses, and said to him from the tent of meeting, saying, Let them offer me burnt offerings and sacrifices" (cf. Lev. 1:1 ff.). Through the prophet Jeremiah, God says the opposite: "For I have not spoken to your fathers, nor have I given them a commandment... for burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Jeremiah 7:22).

Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, "All who keep My Sabbath... I will bring you to My holy mountain... their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable on my altar" (cf. Isaiah 56:6, 7). Further, through the same prophet, God says something different: "Why do I need the multitude of your sacrifices?.. I am full of ram burnt offerings... and the blood of bulls and lambs... I don't want to... My soul hateth your new moons and your feasts" (Isaiah 1:11, 14).

Through the Prophet David, the Lord said: "Bring to the Lord sheep's children" (Psalm 28:1), "bring gifts and go into His courts" (Psalm 95:8). And through the same prophet God says the opposite: "Sacrifices and offerings Thou didst not desire" (Psalm 39:7), "I will not receive a bull out of thy house, nor a goat out of thy courts" (Psalm 49:9). How to understand this? Why does God want and does not want the same things, loves and hates?