Zech 12:10

“And in what kind of sensation and punishment the wicked are to be, hear from what was said in like manner with reference to this; it is as follows: "Their worm shall not rest, and their fire shall not be quenched;" and then shall they repent, when it profits them not. And what the people of the Jews shall say and do, when they see Him coming in glory, has been thus predicted by Zechariah the prophet: "I will command the four winds to gather the scattered children; I will command the north wind to bring them, and the south wind, that it keep not back. And then in Jerusalem there shall be great lamentation, not the lamentation of mouths or of lips, but the lamentation of the heart; and they shall rend not their garments, but their hearts. Tribe by tribe they shall mourn, and then they shall look on Him whom they have pierced; and they shall say, Why, O Lord, hast Thou made us to err from Thy way? The glory which our fathers blessed, has for us been turned into shame."”

“We must after all this turn our attention to those scriptures also which forbid our belief in such a resurrection as is held by your Animalists (for I will not call them Spiritualists), that it is either to be assumed as taking place now, as soon as men come to the knowledge of the truth, or else that it is accomplished immediately after their departure from this life... Who has yet beheld Jesus descending from heaven in like manner as the apostles saw Him ascend, according to the appointment of the two angels? [Acts 1:11] Up to the present moment they have not, tribe by tribe, smitten their breasts, looking on Him whom they pierced. [John 19:37; Zechariah 12:10] No one has as yet fallen in with Elias; [Malachi 4:5] no one has as yet escaped from Antichrist; [1 John 4:3] no one has as yet had to bewail the downfall of Babylon. [Revelation 18:2] And is there now anybody who has risen again, except the heretic? He, of course, has already quitted the grave of his own corpse — although he is even now liable to fevers and ulcers; he, too, has already trodden down his enemies — although he has even now to struggle with the powers of the world. And as a matter of course, he is already a king — although he even now owes to Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's. [Matthew 22:21]”

“Then shall the son of perdition be brought forward as the accuser, with his demons and with his servants, by angels stern and inexorable. And they shall be given over to the fire that is never quenched, and to the worm that never sleeps, and to the outer darkness. For the crucifiers shall see him in human form, as he appeared to them "when he came" by the holy virgin in the flesh and as they crucified him. And he will show them the "prints of the" nails in his hands and feet, and his side pierced with the spear, and his head crowned with thorns, and his honorable cross. And once for all shall the people of the Hebrews see all these things, and they shall mourn and weep, as the prophet exclaims, "They shall look on him whom they have pierced."”

“(Vers. 10.) And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him, as one grieves over a firstborn. LXX: And they shall look upon me, because they have insulted me; and they shall mourn over him with mourning, as over a dearest one; and they shall grieve with sorrow, as over a firstborn. The Hebrew letters Daleth and Res, that is, D and R, are similar and are distinguished only by a small mark. From which it happens that the same word, when read by different people, is translated differently. Let us give one example for the sake of understanding: And the clothing, he says, was a Linen Ephod (I Sam. II, 18), that is, a linen garment, for linum is called 'linen': hence, Baddim are called 'linen garments'. In the Hebrew and Latin language, some read Ephod Bar wrongly: for Bar can mean either 'son', 'bundle of grain', 'chosen', or 'curly'. What happened there due to an error in interpretation, we have also detected here. For if it is read as Dacaru (), it is understood to mean 'they pierced or nailed', but if the order is reversed, with the letters transposed, it is understood to mean 'they danced', as Racadu (). And the error arose due to the similarity of the letters. However, the beloved disciple John, who drew wisdom from the heart of the Lord and was a Hebrew among the Hebrews (John 19), did not greatly care about what the Greek letters contained; but he translated word for word, as he had read it in Hebrew, and said that it was fulfilled at the time of the Lord's passion. But if someone does not accept it, let him bear witness, from whom John has brought forth these words in the place of the Holy Scriptures: and when he does not find, he will be forced to accept the truth with ingratitude. But the Jews will mourn as over an only begotten and firstborn, signifying the same in the Lord Savior, both only begotten and firstborn. He is called only begotten, because of the nature's property: Firstborn, according to the Apostle, of those who rise from the dead (Colossians 1). For the only-begotten, most beloved, the Septuagint translated, about whom we read in the Gospel: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). Then they will grieve for having crucified Him when they see Him reigning in glory. The word κατωρχήσαντο, among the Greeks, is composed not from illusion, but from dance, namely that they danced against the Lord as if in jest, when they said in jest and laughed: Ah! You who destroy the temple, and in three days rebuild it: save yourself, coming down from the cross (Matthew 15:29, 30). They were speaking these and other mocking words, and dancing with a certain madness and mockery.”

“"For the Lord shall build up Zion." This work is going on now. O you living stones, run to the work of the building, not to ruin. Zion is building; beware of the ruined walls. The tower is building, the ark is in building; remember the deluge. This work is in progress now, but when Zion is built, what will happen? "And he will appear in his glory." That he might build up Zion, that he might be a foundation in Zion, he was seen in Zion, but not in his glory: "We have seen him, and he had no form or comeliness." But truly when he shall have come with his angels to judge, shall they not then look upon him whom they have pierced? And too late they shall [be] put to confusion, who refused confusion in early and healthful repentance.”

“And perhaps it is then that the words "all flesh" will become more perfectly fulfilled. Now I mean to say, flesh has seen him, but not all flesh. Then, however, at the judgment, as he comes with his angels to judge the living and the dead, "when all who are in tombs hear his voice and come forth, some to the resurrection of life, others to the resurrection of judgment," it is not only the just but also the wicked, those on the right, these on the left, who will see that form which he pleased to take on for us. Even those who killed him "will look on the one whom they have pierced." So "all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Body will be seen by body, because he will come to judge him in his real body. But to those placed on the right and sent on into the kingdom of heaven, he is going to show himself in the same way as he could already be seen in the body; and yet he had said, "Whoever loves me shall be loved by my Father; and I will love him, and manifest myself to him."”

“Now, indeed, that body is worthy of a heavenly dwelling place, not subject to death, not changeable through the ages [of life]. For as he had grown to that age from infancy, so he does not decline to old age from the age which was young adulthood. He remains as he ascended; he is going to come to those to whom, before he comes, he wanted his word to be preached. So therefore he will come in a human form. The ungodly too will see this; those placed to the right will see it too; those separate to the left will see it too, as it was written, "They shall see him whom they have pierced." If they will see him whom they have pierced, they will see the same body that they thrust through with a spear, [for] the Word is not struck by a spear.”

“He commanded them, among other things, to pray as follows: "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Or [it may be that] he calls his disciples "evil" because in comparison with the divine goodness, every creature is judged to be evil, as the Lord says, "No one is good except God alone." It is only by participation in the divine goodness that a rational creature is recognized as being capable of becoming good. Hence the Lord also bears witness by a benevolent promise that your heavenly Father will "give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him." This is to the point that those who of themselves are evil can become good through receiving the gift of the Spirit. He pledged that his good Spirit would be given by the Father to those asking for him, because whether we desire to secure faith, hope and charity, or any other heavenly goods at all, they are not bestowed upon us otherwise than by the gift of the Holy Spirit. So it is that the same spirit, in Isaiah, is named the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of the fear of the Lord; and in another place, the spirit of love and peace, [and] the spirit of grace and prayer. Undoubtedly whatever good we truly have, whatever we do well, this we receive from the lavishness of the same Spirit. When a prophet who understood this was seeking purity of heart, saying, "Create a pure heart in me, O Lord," he immediately added, "Renew an upright spirit in my inmost parts." If the upright spirit of the Lord does not fill our innermost being, we have no pure heart where he may abide. When in his eager longing for and advance in good for his work he had said, "Lord, I have had recourse to you, teach me to do your will," he at once showed in what way he had to secure this when he went on, "Let your good spirit lead me into the right way."”