The Cross

A¹nd now, my brother Nemesius, be amazed and give praise to God that all the straps (or, ligatures) of the...... of Christ were joined together on the bearing poles of the Ark of the service of God and the covering of the sanctuary of propitiation. This was what God commanded Moses: to make a breast-plate of judgment (Exod. xxviii.

² 15) and of peace; of judgment for the Jews who crucified Him, and of peace for the Gentiles who have believed in Him. His Cross was made of the wood of the Sanctuary, His grave was a new one, which had been made for the death of Joshua, the son of Nón, and the stone (or rock), which is Christ, had when in the desert given water to six hundred thousand people, and now it became an altar and gave life to all the Gentiles. ³ And the saying of the Apostle, “that rock was Christ” (I Cor. x. 4) is true and well worthy of belief. Joseph was a councillor in Ramtha, Nicodemus was a teacher of the Lawin Jerusalem, and Cleophas was the recorder of the Hebrews in ‘Amáós. Nicodemus prepared everything which was required for the Passover in the Upper Chamber; and Joseph made Him ready for burial and buried Him in his own inheritance, and Cleophas received Him into his house. And when He had risen from the dead these men became to Him true and faithful brethren.

A¹nd know thou also that Christ dwelt in Mary, and suffered in Nazareth, and was born in Bethlehem, and was laid in a manger, and was carried by Simeon in the Temple of Solomon, and was reared in Galilee, and was anointed by Mary Magdalene, and ate the Passover in the house of Nicodemus, the brother of Joseph of Rametha, and was bound in the house of Hannan, and was struck with a reed in the house of Caiaphas, and embraced the pillar and was scourged with a whip in the Pratorium of Pilate, and on Friday, on the first day of Nisán (April), on the fourteenth day of the moon, our Redeemer suffered.

² At the FIRST HOUR of Friday God fashioned Adam from the dust, and at the first hour of Friday Christ received spittle from the sons of Adam. At the SECOND HOUR of Friday the wild beasts, and the cattle, and the feathered fowl gathered themselves together to Adam, and he gave names to them as they bowed their heads before him. ³ And at the second hour of Friday the Jews gathered themselves together against Christ, and they gnashed their teeth at Him, even as the blessed David said, “Many bulls have gathered together round about me, bulls of Bashan have beset me round” (Ps. xxii. 12). At the THIRD HOUR of Friday a crown of glory was placed on the head of Adam, and at the third hour of Friday the crown of thorns was placed on the head of Christ. ⁴ THREE HOURS was Adam in Paradise and shining with splendour, and three hours was Christ in the Judgment Hall being beaten by creatures that had been fashioned out of dust. At the SIXTH HOUR Eve went up to the tree of the transgression of the commandment, and at the sixth hour Christ ascended the Cross, the Tree of Life. ⁵ At the SIXTH HOUR Eve gave unto Adam the fruit of the gall of death, and at the sixth hour the crowd of iniquity gave unto Christ vinegar and gall. For THREE HOURS Adam remained under the Tree naked, and for three hours was Christ naked on the wood of the Cross. And from the right side of Adam went forth Eve, the mother of mortal offspring, and from the right side of Christ went forth baptism, the mother of immortal offspring. ⁶ On Friday Adam and Eve sinned, and on Friday their sin was remitted. On Friday Adam and Eve died, and on Friday they came alive. On Friday Death reigned over them, and on Friday they were freed from his dominion. On Friday Adam and Eve went forth from Paradise, and on Fnday our Lord went into the grave. ⁷ On Friday Adam and Eve became naked, and on Friday Christ stripped Himself naked and clothed them. On Friday Satan stripped Adam and Eve naked, and on Friday Christ stripped naked Satan and all his hosts, and put them to shame openly. On Friday the door of Paradise was shut and Adam went forth, and on Friday it was opened and a robber went in. ⁸ On Friday the two-edged sword was given to the Cherub, and on Friday Christ smote with the spear, and brake the two-edged sword. On Friday kingdom, and priesthood, and prophecy were given unto Adam, and on Friday priesthood, and kingdom, and prophecy were taken from the Jews. At the NINTH HOUR Adam went down into the lowest depth of the earth from the height of Paradise, and at the ninth hour Christ went down to the lowest depths of the earth, to those who lay in the dust, from the height of the Cross. ⁹ Know also that Christ was like unto Adam in everything, even as it is written. In that very place where Melchisedek ministered as a priest, and where Abraham offered up his son Isaac as an offering, the wood of the Cross was set up, and that self-same place is the centre of the earth, and there the Four Quarters of the earth meet each other. ¹⁰ For when God made the earth His mighty power was running before it, and the earth was running after it, and the power of God stood still and became motionless in Golgotha; and that same place formeth the boundary of the earth. When Shem took up the body of Adam, that same place, which is the door of the earth, opened itself. ¹¹ And when Shem and Melchisedek had deposited the body of Adam in the centre of the earth the Four Quarters of the earth closed in about it, and embraced Adam, and straightway that opening was closed firmly, and all the children of Adam were not able to open it. And when the Cross of Christ, the Redeemer of Adam and his sons, was set up upon it, the door of that place was opened in the face of Adam. ¹² And when the Wood (i.e. the Cross) was fixed upon it, and Christ was smitten with the spear, and blood and water flowed down from His side, they ran down into the mouth of Adam, and they became a baptism to him, and he was baptized. Now when the Jews crucified Christ on the Wood, they divided His garments among them beneath the Cross, even as it is written. ¹³ His tunic was of purple, which is the raiment of royalty; and when they stripped Him of the raiment of royalty Pilate would not permit the Jews to array Him in ordinary apparel, but only in the actual raiment of royalty, either purple or scarlet. By both of these it might be known that He was a king. ¹⁴ For it is impossible for any other man to wear purple; only a king can do this. And one of the Evangelists hath said, “The soldiers put on Him a purple robe” (Mark xv. 17; John xix. 2, 5), and this is a true word and is highly credible; and another Evangelist uses the word “scarlet” (Matt. xxvii. 28), and he proclaimed what was true. ¹⁵ The scarlet garment indicateth to us blood, and the purple garment water; for the scarlet one was like unto blood, and the purple one was like unto water. The scarlet garment proclaimeth the joyful and immortal nature of man, and the purple one the sad and mortal nature of man. Understand, therefore, O our brother Nemesius, that scarlet proclaimeth life. ¹⁶ Now the spies said prophetically to Rahab, the harlot, “thou shalt tie a thread of scarlet to the window” (Joshua ii. 18) when they descended having been [well] entreated by her. And through her they prefigured a certain matter, for the window [symbolized] the side of our Lord Christ, and the thread of scarlet His precious blood which produced life. ¹⁷ And they (i.e. the Jews) wove a crown of spikes of thorn bushes, and set it upon His head. And they arrayed Him in royal apparel, not knowing what they were doing. And they bowed the knee, and made obeisance unto Him, and they spake with their mouths, without being compelled to do so, saying, “Hail to Thee, King of the Jews.” ¹⁸ Observe ye, O my brethren, that not even in His death did He lack the [sign of] royalty. And when the Jews and the soldiers who were the servants of Herod and Pilate were struggling together to rend the tunic of Christ, to divide it among them, they did so because they all eagerly desired the beauty of the sight thereof. ¹⁹ And the centurion also who watched the Cross himself testified before all the crowd, saying, “Verily, this man is the Son of God.” And this centurion said unto them, “The orders which have been given to me do not permit me to rend the apparel of royalty, but cast lots for it [and we shall see] to whom it will come”; and when the Jews and the soldiers of the king had cast lots, the lot fell upon one of the soldiers of Pilate. ²⁰ Now the tunic of our Lord had no seam, but had been woven whole in one piece. And whensoever there was a lack of rain in the place where it had been deposited and taken care of, the people used to bring out the tunic, and as soon as they lifted it up towards heaven an abundance of rain fell. And also, whensoever the soldier who had received it lacked rain for his crop, he brought out the tunic, and it worked this miracle. ²¹ Now the tunic was taken away by force from the man who got it by Pilate, who sent it to the Emperor Tiberius. To us this tunic indicateth the Orthodox Faith, which all the nations [joined] together are unable to cleave. Three valuable gifts, than which there is nothing more valuable, were given to the Jews in olden time, namely, royalty, priesthood, and prophecy: prophecy by the hand of Moses, priesthood by the hand of Aaron, and royalty by the hand of David. ²² These three gifts which the generations and families of the children of Israel had enjoyed for [many] years were taken from them in one day; and they were stripped of all three of them, and became aliens to them, that is to say, prophecy by the Cross, priesthood by the rending of the tunic [of Christ], and royalty by the crown of thorns. ²³ Moreover, that spirit of compassion (or propitiation) which had dwelt in the Temple, in the Holy of Holies, forsook them and departed. And the curtain (or veil) of the sanctuary was cleft in twain. And the Passover fled from them, for they never celebrated another Passoverinit. And know, O my brethren, that when Pilate pressed them to go into the Judgment Hall, they said unto him, “We are unable to go into the Pretorium, because up to now we have not eaten the Passover.” ²⁴ And when the sentence of death had been passed on our Lord by Pilate, they (the Jews) made haste and went into the sanctuary and brought out from thence the carrying poles of the Ark of the Covenant, and out of them they made the Cross of Christ. Verily it was meet that these pieces of wood which used to carry the Covenant should also carry the Lord of the Covenant. ²⁵ The Cross of Christ was formed of two pieces of wood which were of the same height, and depth, and length, and breadth. And Paul the Apostle laboured exceedingly that the Gentiles might know what was the might of the Cross, which embraced the height, and depth, and length, and breadth of the earth. And when they raised up Christ, the Lamp of Light of all the earth, and set Him upon the candlestick of the Cross, the light of the sun became dark, and was extinguished, and a covering of darkness was spread over the whole earth. ²⁶ Three nails were driven into the body of our Redeemer, two through His hands, and one through both His feet. And there were two thieves [with Him], one on His right hand and one on His left hand. And they handed out to Him vinegar and gall in a sponge. By the vinegar which they gave unto Him it was made known concerning them that their will was changed from what it had been formerly, and that they had turned themselves from integrity to wickedness, and by the gall was made known the bitterness of the accursed serpent which was in them. ²⁷ And they showed that they also had belonged to that good vineyard from which prophets, and kings, and priests, and they themselves had drunk; but because they had become wicked heirs, who would not labour in the vineyard of my beloved, they produced husks instead of grapes, and the wine which they pressed out therefrom was sour. ²⁸ And having crucified the Heir on the Wood, they mixed some of the impurity of their wickedness with their sour wine, and gave Him to drink of the wine from the vineyard of the Gentiles; but He would not drink [saying], “Give me of that vine which My Father brought out of Egypt.” For Christ knew that the prophecy of Moses which had been prophesied concerning them had been fulfilled in them; for Moses said, “Your grapes are grapes of gall, your clusters are bitter. Your poison is the poison of the serpent, and their head is that of a malignant viper. These are the things which ye render unto the Lord” (Deut. xxxii. ²⁹ 32, 33). Observe, O my brother Nemesius, that the blessed Moses with the eye of the Spirit foresaw the things which they were going to do to Christ [and said], “These are the things which ye render to the Lord.” The congregation of the crucifiers was a decayed vine, its daughters were bitter grapes, and its sons were clusters of gall. ³⁰ Their head was Caiaphas, the malignant viper, and they were all evil serpents, and all of them were filled with the venom of Satan, who is the Evil Serpent. Instead of the water of the rock which had been given them to drink in the wilderness, they gave Him vinegar to drink, and instead of manna, the gall of the quail. ³¹ They did not give Him a cup to drink from, but a sponge, so that they might show that the blessing of their fathers had been swept away from them. Now this is evident from what follows: When a vessel is empty and there is no wine in it, they wash and wipe it with a sponge. Even so did the Jews do when they crucified Christ, [for] with a sponge they wiped away and removed from themselves royalty, and priesthood, and prophecy, and the religion of Christ, and gave them to Christ, and the vessels of their bodies washed and empty remained only. ³² And the Law and the Prophets having been fulfilled, and Adam having been sent and seen the fountain of living water which was poured out from above for his redemption, then was Christ smitten with the spear, and blood and water flowed down from His side; but they were not mingled with each other. For what reason did the blood come forth before the water? ³³ For two reasons: First, that through the blood life might be given unto Adam, and then, after life and resurrection, the water for his baptism. Secondly, that through the blood He might show that He was immortal, and through the water He might show that He was mortal, and a bearer of sufferings. The blood and the water ran down into the mouth of Adam, and Adam was redeemed, and put on a garment of glory. ³⁴ And Christ wrote the edict of His return with the blood of His own Person, and despatched it by the thief. And when an end had been made of everything, the writ of repudiation of the congregation was written, and the congregation became a thing cast aside, and it was stripped of its glorious raiment, even as in times of old David had, through the Holy Spirit, said and prophesied, saying, “Even unto the horns of the altar “(Ps. cxviii. 22?)—to this pass were the festivals of the Jews brought.’ Unto the horns of the altar “[means] to the crucifixion of Christ, that is to say:

A¹nd Shem took the body of Adam and Melchisedek, and went forth by night from among his people, and behold, the Angel of the Lord, who was going before them, appeared unto them. And their journey was very speedy, because the Angel of the Lord strengthened them until they arrived at that place. And when they arrived at Gághültà (Golgotha), which is the centre of the earth, the Angel of the Lord showed Shem the place [for the body of Adam].

² And when Shem had deposited the body of our father Adam upon that place, the four quarters [of the earth] separated themselves from each other, and the earth opened itself in the form of a cross, and Shem and Melchisedek deposited the body of Adam there (i.e. in the cavity). And as soon as they had laid it therein, the four quarters [of the earth] drew quickly together, and enclosed the body of our father Adam, and the door of the created world was shut fast. ³ And that place was called “Karkaphta” (i.e. “Skull”), because the head of all the children of men was deposited there. And it was called “Gághültá,” because it was round [like the head], and “Resiphtá” (i.e. a trodden down thing), because the head of the accursed serpent, that is to say, Satan, was crushed there, and “Gefifta” (Gabbatha), because all the nations were to be gathered together to it.

A¹nd there were certain angels with whom God was wroth — now He, the Knower of the heart knew them — and they reviled Adam, saying, " Since God hath shown love to him He hath set us to minister unto him, and the beasts and creeping things, and the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and all fruits, and the trees of the field, and the heavens and the earth also; and He hath appointed the heavens to give him rain, and the earth to give him fruits.

² And the sun and the moon also hath He given him, the sun to give him light by day and the moon to give him light in the night season. He hath fashioned him with His fingers, and He hath created him in His own image, and He hath kissed him and breathed upon him the spirit of life; and He saith unto him, ' My son, My firstborn, My beloved.' ³ And He hath set him in a garden to eat and enjoy himself without sickness or suffering, and without toil or labour, but He hath commanded him not to eat from one tree. And being given all these things by God, Adam hath transgressed and eaten of that tree, and he hath become hated and rejected, and God hath driven him out of the Garden, and from that time Adam hath abandoned his hope, for he hath transgressed the commandment of his Creator." ⁴ And God answered the angels who reviled Adam in this wise, and He said unto them, " Why do ye revile Adam in this wise? For he is flesh, and blood, and ashes and dust." And the angels answered and said unto Him, " May we declare before Thee the sin of Adam? " And God said unto them, " Declare ye [his sin], and I will hearken unto you, and I Myself will answer you in respect of Adam My servant." ⁵ For God had worked on behalf of Adam. And God said, " I created him out of the dust, and I will not cast away that which I have fashioned. I brought him forth out of non-existence, and I will not make My handiwork a laughingstock for his enemies." ⁶ And those angels said, " Praise be unto Thee, O Lord. For Thou, the Knower of hearts, knowest that we have reviled Adam because he hath transgressed Thy commandment that he was not to eat of one tree after Thou hadst made him lord over everything which Thou hast created, and hadst set him over every work of Thy hands. ⁷ And if Thou hadst not told him, and if Thou hadst not commanded him not to eat of one tree there would have been no offence [on his part]; and if he had eaten because of a lack of food there would have been no offence [on his part]. ⁸ But Thy word made him to know, and Thou didst say, ' As surely as thou eatest of this tree thou shalt die.' And he, after hearing this, made bold and ate. Thou didst not let him lack sweet fruits to eat from the Garden, and Thou didst not let him lack one to comfort him and a companion like unto himself. ⁹ And these things we say and make known unto Thee, and we have revealed unto Thee how he hath transgressed Thy commandment." And the Merciful One and the Lover of mercy answered them on behalf of Adam, and said unto them, " You have I created out of fire and air with the one intent [that ye should] praise [Me]. ¹⁰ Him have I created of twice as many elements as you — of dust and water, and of wind and fire; and he became [a being] of flesh and blood. And in him are ten thoughts (or, intentions), five good, and five bad. And if his heart inciteth him to good, he walketh with good intent; and if the Devil seduceth him, he walketh with him on an evil path. ¹¹ As for you, ye have no other object in your minds but praise of Me, with the exception of that arrogant one who produced evil, and became an evil being, and was driven forth from your assembly. And now, why do ye magnify yourselves over Adam? ¹² If ye were as he is, and I had created you of water and dust, ye would have been flesh and blood, and ye would have transgressed My commandment more than he hath done, and denied My word." And the angels said unto Him, " Praise be unto Thee, O Lord! ¹³ Far be it from us! We will not transgress Thy commandment, and we will not oppose Thy word; for we are spiritual beings for life, and he is a creature of dust [doomed] to folly. And now try us well, and put us to the test so that Thou mayest know whether we are able to keep Thy word." ¹⁴ And when they had vaunted themselves in this manner God, the Lover of men, said unto them, " If now ye go astray so far as this in transgressing My word, the wrong will be upon your own heads, [for] Jahannam (or, hell), and fire, and sulphur, and fervent heat, and whirlwind shall be your habitation until the Great Day: ye shall be kept in chains which can neither be loosened nor broken for ever. ¹⁵ But if ye keep truly My word, and ye do My commandment, ye shall sit upon My right hand and upon My left. For everyone who hath conquered is mighty, and he who is conquered shall be overpowered. Now Satan hath no power whatsoever, for he hath only what he maketh to germinate in the mind; and he cannot grasp firmly, and he cannot perform anything, and he cannot beat, and he cannot drag, and he cannot seize, and he cannot fight; he can only make thoughts to germinate silently in the mind. ¹⁶ And him who is caught by the evil mind he prepareth for destruction; and if [a man] hath conquered the evil mind he findeth grace and hath a reward which is everlasting. And to you, according to what ye wish, there shall be upon you the mind of a man and the body of a man. ¹⁷ But take good heed to yourselves that ye transgress not My word and break not My commandment; and defile not ye yourselves with eating, or drinking, or fornication, or with any other thing whatsoever; and transgress ye not My word." ¹⁸ And straightway there were given unto them with His word flesh, and blood, and a heart of the children of men. And they were content to leave the height of heaven, and they came down to earth, to the folly of the dancing of the children of Cain with all their work of the artisan, which they had made in the folly of their fornication, and to their singings, which they accompanied with the tambourine, and the flutes, and the pipes, and much shouting, and loud cries of joy and noisy songs. ¹⁹ And their daughters were there, and they enjoyed the orgies without shame, for they scented themselves for the men who pleased them, and they lost the balance in their minds. And the men did not restrain themselves for a moment, but they took to wife from among the women those whom they had chosen, and committed sin with them. ²⁰ For God hath no resting-place in the hearts of the arrogant and those who revile, but He abideth in the hearts of the humble and those who are sincere. And He spake in the Gospel, saying, " Woe be unto those who make themselves righteous, and despise their neighbours." And again He saith, "God loveth the humble, and He holdeth lightly those who magnify themselves." ²¹ And straightway God was wroth with them, and He bound them in the terror of Sheol until the day of redemption, as the Apostle saith, " He treated His angels with severity. He spared them not, but made them to dwell in a state of judgement, and they were fettered until the Great Day." The word of God conquered, Who had fashioned Adam in His likeness (or, form), and those who had reviled and made a laughingstock of Adam were conquered. ²² And the daughters of Cain with whom the angels had companied conceived, but they were unable to bring forth their children, and they died. And of the children who were in their wombs some died, and some came forth; having split open the bellies of their mothers they came forth by their navels. ²³ And when they were grown up and reached man's estate they became giants, whose height reached unto the clouds; and for their sakes and the sakes of sinners the wrath of God became quiet, and He said, " My spirit shall only rest on them for one hundred and twenty years, and I will destroy them with the waters of the Flood," them and all sinners who have not believed the word of God. ²⁴ And to those who believed the word of their fathers, and did His Will, no injury came from the waters of the Flood, but He delivered them, saying, " If thou believest My word thou canst save thyself from the Flood." And Noah said, " O Lord, I believe Thy word, make me to know by what means I can be saved." ²⁵ And God said unto him, " Thou canst be saved from the water by wood." And Noah said, " How, O Lord? " And God said unto him, " Make thyself a four-sided ark, and build it with the work of the carpenter, and make for it three storeys inside, and go into it with all thy house." And Noah believed the word of God, and made [the ark], and was saved. ²⁶ Now hearken ye unto me, and I will explain to you concerning this thing. When God gave the command He could have given unto Noah a wing like the eagle and transported him to the country of the living, with all his house, until His anger with the sinners who had not believed the word of God and the word of their fathers, had abated, or He could have lifted him up into the air, or He could have commanded the water of the Flood— [which was] like a wall — not to approach the one mountain where He would make Noah to dwell with his sons and not to submerge the beasts and cattle which he wanted. ²⁷ But know ye this — God was well pleased that by means of wood which had been sanctified the salvation of His creation should take place, that is to say, the ark and the wood of the Cross. God said unto Noah, " Make that whereby thou shalt be saved," that is to say, the Tabernacle of the Church; and when He said unto him, " Make it foursided," He showed that the Sign of the Cross was fourfold. ²⁸ Now the four corners of the ark are the horns of the altar; and He commanded Moses to make the ark out of indestructible wood. He said, " I will sanctify thee by that heavenly and spiritual work of My hand. And do thou sanctify thyself from filth, and impurity, and fornication, and vindictiveness, and falsehood, together with thy brother and thy house. ²⁹ And sacrifice unto Me a clean sacrifice with cleanness, and I will accept thee after thou hast sanctified thyself and thy house; command all the people to sanctify themselves, for My holy things [must be offered] by holy ones. ³⁰ And this thou shalt seek, the Tabernacle of My Covenant which I have created for My praise. And if ye come with purity of heart, with love, and with peace, without mockery and reviling, and if ye will make right your hearts in respect of Me and your neighbours, I will hear your prayers, and I will listen to your petitions about everything which ye submit to Me, and I will come and be with you, and I will walk among you, and I will dwell in your hearts, and ye shall be unto Me My people, and I will be your God in truth."

A¹nd Moses spake these words unto them, and they brought a rod into each of the houses of their fathers which they had chosen for purity, and there were twelve rods. And Moses wrote upon their rods the names of their fathers: on the rod of Aaron was written the name of Levi, and on the rod of Karmin was written the name of Judah, and on the rod of Adonyas was written the name of Reuben, and on the rod of every man of all the houses of Israel was written in like manner the name of his father.

² And God said unto Moses, " Carry [the rods] to Zion, to the Tent of Witness, and shut them up therein until the morning, and [then] take them out before the men and give unto each of them his rod, according to the houses of their fathers whose names are written on the rods, and the man on whose rod a mark shall be found is he whom I have chosen to be priest to Me." ³ And Moses told the people these words, and they did according as God had commanded them. And then, when the morning had come, Moses took the rods, and all the elders of Israel and Aaron came. And Moses came before them, and he lifted up the rods and brought them before all the people, and the rod of Aaron was found with the fruit and flower of an almond which emitted a fragrant perfume. ⁴ And Moses said unto them, " Look ye now. This is the rod which the Lord your God hath chosen, fear ye Him and worship Him "; and all the people bowed down before God. Now this rod is Mary. And the rod which without water burst into bloom indicateth Mary, from whom was born, without the seed of man, the Word of God. ⁵ And that He saith " I have chosen, I will make manifest a miracle, and he shall be priest to Me," meaneth that God chose Mary out of all the congregation of Israel, even as David her father prophesied, saying, " The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the habitations of Jacob," and he further said, " Marvellous is His speech concerning thee, O city of God." And when he saith, " more than all the habitations of Israel " and " her gates " [he referreth to] the silence of her mouth, and the purity of her lips, and the praise which goeth forth from her mouth, like honey which floweth from her lips, and the purity of her virginity which was without spot or blemish or impurity before she brought forth; and after she had brought forth she was pure and holy, and so shall it be, even as it was, unto all eternity. ⁶ And in the heavens she goeth about with the angels a pure thing; and she is the rod of Aaron. She liveth in Zion with the pot which is filled with manna, and with the two tables that were written with the Finger of God. ⁷ And the heavenly, spiritual Zion is above them, the Zion, the making and constitution of which are wonderful, of which God Himself is her Maker and Fashioner for the habitation of His glory. And God spake unto Moses [saying], " Make a Tabernacle of wood which is indestructible [by worms and rot], and cover it over with plates of fine gold, every part thereof." And the gold is the fineness of the Godhead that came down from heaven, for the Godhead comprehendeth all heaven and earth; and in like manner is plated with gold the Tabernacle, the abode of the heavenly Zion. ⁸ And the Tabernacle is to be interpreted as Mary, and the wood which is indestructible is to be interpreted as Christ our Redeemer. ⁹ And the Gomor, which is the pot of gold inside the Tabernacle, is to be interpreted as Mary, and the manna which is in the pot is to be interpreted as the Body of Christ which came down from heaven, and the Word of God which is written upon the two tables is to be interpreted as Christ, the Son of God. And the spiritual Zion is to be interpreted as the light of the Godhead. ¹⁰ The spiritual Pearl which is contained in the Tabernacle is like a brilliant gem of great price, and he who hath acquired it holdeth it tightly in his hand, grasping it and hiding it in his hand, and whilst the gem is in his hand its owner goeth into the Tabernacle, and he is an inmate therein. ¹¹ And he who possesseth the Pearl is interpreted as the Word of God, Christ. And the spiritual Pearl which is grasped is to be interpreted as Mary, the Mother of the Light, through whom " 'Akratos," the " Unmixed," assumed a body. ¹² In her He made a Temple for Himself of her pure body, and from her was born the Light of Light, God of God, Who was born of His own freewill, and was not made by the hand of another, but He made a Temple for Himself through an incomprehensible wisdom which transcendeth the mind of man. ¹³ And on another occasion, when God brought Israel out of Egypt, they thirsted for water in Kades, and they murmured and wept before Moses; and Moses went to God and made Him to know this. And God said unto him, " Take thy rod and smite this rock "; and Moses smote the rock lengthwise and breadthwise in the form of the Cross, and water flowed forth, twelve streams. ¹⁴ And they drank their fill of the water, their people and their beasts, and when they had drunk that rock followed after them. And the rock is to be interpreted as Christ, and the streams of water as the Apostles, and that which they drank as the teaching of the Apostles, and the rod is the wood of the Cross. ¹⁵ And the rock is stable, as it saith in the Gospel, " He who buildeth upon a rock shall not be moved by the demons." And again He saith, " I am the gate," and again He saith, " I am the door." And observe ye that when speaking He distinguished between his disciples even as He did between those who [came] after them, the Bishops and the Christian Community. " Thou art the rock," He said unto Peter, " and upon thee I will build the Christian people." And again He said, " I am the Shepherd of the sheep," and He said unto him thrice, " Feed my sheep." And again He said, " I am the stem of the vine," and unto them He said, " Ye are its branches and its clusters of fruit." And the rod of Moses by means of which he performed the miracle is to be interpreted as the wood of the Cross, whereby He delivered Adam and his children from the punishment of devils. ¹⁶ And as Moses smote the water of the river therewith, and turned it into blood, and slew their fish, in like manner Christ slew Death with His Cross, and brought them out of Sheol. And as Moses smote in the air with his rod, and the whole land of Egypt became dark for three days and three nights with a darkness which could be felt so that [the Egyptians] could not rise from their couches, so also Christ, being crucified upon the Cross, lightened the darkness of the hearts of men, and rose up from the dead on the third day and third night. ¹⁷ And as the rod of Moses changed itself and transformed itself by the Word of God, being dry yet possessing life, and possessing life yet became a dry thing, even so Christ with the wood of His Cross made life for the Christian people who believed on Him, and with the Sign of the Cross made them to drive away devils. ¹⁸ For the demons and the Christians became changed; the spiritual beings became reprobates, and through transgressing the commandment of their Lord they became exiled ones by the might of His Cross. And we have become spiritual beings through receiving His Body and Blood in the place of those spiritual beings who were exiled, and we have become beings worthy of praise who have believed in His Cross and in His holy Resurrection. ¹⁹ And as Moses smote the mountains by stretching out his hands with his rod, and brought forth punishments by the command of God, even so Christ, by stretching out His hands upon the wood of the Cross, drove out the demons from men by the might of His Cross. ²⁰ When God said unto Moses, " Smite with thy rod," He meant, " Make the Sign of the Cross of Christ," and when God said unto Moses, " Stretch out thy hand," He meant that by the spreading out of His hand Christ hath redeemed us from the servitude of the enemy, and hath given us life by the stretching out of His hand upon the wood of the Cross. ²¹ And when Amalek fought with Israel, Moses went up into the mountain, and Aaron was with him; they went up to pray because Amalek was prevailing. And God commanded Moses and said unto him, " Stretch out thy hand until Israel obtaineth the power [over Amalek]." And it saith in the Torah that the hands of Moses were held out until the sunset; but the hands of Moses became heavy, and being aweary he dropped his hands that had been stretched out, and then Israel ceased to prevail and their enemies overcame them. ²² And when Moses kept his hand up and stretched out straight, Amalek was overcome, and Israel put to flight and vanquished their enemy Amalek. And when Aaron and Hor (Hur) saw this, they piled up stones on the right and on the left of Moses, and they made the hands of Moses to rest on the stones which they had built up, and Aaron on his right and Hor on his left held Moses up with their shoulders, so that his hands might not drop from their stretched out position. ²³ And now I will explain this to you. The war of Amalek against Israel is the war of believers against the demons, and before Christ was crucified the demons conquered the believers. But when He stretched out His hand on the wood of the Cross because of the sin of Adam and his children, and when He stretched out His hand and His palm was pierced [with the nails], those who were sealed with the Sign of the Cross of Christ conquered them (i.e. the demons). ²⁴ The stretching out of the hand of Moses indicateth the Cross of Christ; and that Aaron and Hor builded up stones indicateth the wood of the Cross and the nails. And Aaron indicateth the thief on the right, and Hor the thief on the left; and Amalek indicateth the demons, and the king of Amalek indicateth Satan. ²⁵ And as concerning that they (the Amalekites) were conquered, this indicateth that we have conquered the demons and Satan by the Resurrection of Christ and by His Cross. And again when Israel went out of Egypt they came to bitter water, and they lacked drink because the water was bitter; and first of all they murmured because of the bitterness of the water. ²⁶ And God said unto Moses, " Lift up thy rod, and cast it into the water, and sign it with the Sign of the Cross right and left." Now mark what followeth. Had God said unto him, " Let it become sweet," then would the water not have become sweet? ²⁷ But He made manifest that by the Sign of the Cross everything becometh good, and bitter water becometh sweet, and that by the might of the Cross of Jesus Christ every polluted thing becometh good and pleasant. And here I will declare unto thee yet other matters from the rest of the Prophets concerning His Crucifixion. ²⁸ David saith, " They have pierced for me my hands and my feet "; now this referreth clearly to the nails of His hands and His feet. And again he saith, " They made me drink vinegar for my thirst," and this showeth clearly that He drank vinegar because of the sin of Adam. ²⁹ The Breath of Life that had breathed upon Adam drank vinegar, and the Hand that had founded the earth was pierced with a nail. He Who for the sake of Adam abased Himself was born, and took the form of a servant.