9 VISION OF THE ALTAR AND THE ENJOYMENT OF SALVATION In this chapter the prophet saw the lord standing by the altar to chastise, and nobody, wherever he is, will ever escape from His chastisements. Yet the remnant faithful to Him will be kept, and not the smallest grain of them will fall to the ground. Finally the prophet ends his prophecy by opening wide the door of hope before all peoples and nations to enter into the new tabernacle of David in the Messianic era. 1- The vision of the altar 1 – 4 2- The features of the Chastiser Himself 5 – 6 3- The salvation of the faithful remnant 7 – 10 4- The Messianic era 11 – 15 1- THE VISION OF THE ALTAR: The introduction to this vision, not saying: “The Lord showed me”, came to be different from the previous visions. It so seem that the prophet dared to enter into the house of the Lord, to see the Lord, Himself, standing at the altar, to proclaim the dispute from it, and not through the cherubim or the seat of mercy. He came to seek His justice for the sake of His sanctuaries which are treaded upon; That the altar, instead of being the way for reconciliation between God and men, has become the cause of God’s wrath over His people who defiled His sanctuaries, the way the house of Eli did, about whom the Lord said: “I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever” (1 Samuel 3: 14). The Lord probably proclaimed the last of the visions on the altar which was defiled, before He destroys it and depart from it; As he more clearly proclaimed to the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 10). It was not possible for the Lord to dwell where man persists on evil1.Some scholars believe that the vision here does not concern the altar of the lord in His temple in Jerusalem, but concerns the one in Bethel where the Northern kingdom worshipped, and where they mixed the worship of God with idol worship2. Anyway, the following decree of destruction was issued: “Strike the doorposts, that the thresholds may shake, and break them on the heads of them all. I will slay the last of them with the sword. He who flees from them shall not get away, And he who escapes from them shall not be delivered”(Amos 9: 1) By the doorpost, He probably refers to the chief priest of Bethel, or to the High priest in the temple of Jerusalem; And by the thresholds, the great, the counselors, and the pervert religious leaders, and all the wicked people who would perish, and none of them would get away. So God starts by the religious leaders; As those with higher honor, or have greater responsibility, would be the first to be judged. In the parable of the talents, the Lord started settling account with the one who owed Him the greatest number of talents, followed by the one with less, and ended up by the one with the least number of talents (Matthew 18: 34). That is why St. John Chrysostom used often to rebuke .88 ، 1 حزقیال ص 87 2 Jerome Biblical Commentary, p. 252. 86 himself, saying: [I wonder if there will ever be a bishop saved!]; And as also said by the scholar Origen: [The Judgment will start by God’s household1]. That does not imply that fleeing from responsibility is the way to salvation; but fleeing from evil; As it is written: “Evil pursues sinners, But to the righteous, good shall be repaid” (Proverbs 13: 21). Evil pursues the sinners wherever they are; Whether they are occupying the first places in the church or the last ones; As, according to the Lord: “Though they dig into Sheol, from there shall My hand take them; Though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down” (Amos 9: 2) By ‘Sheol’ or the pit, He probably refers to the place of the dead (Isaiah 14: 9); For even though they are dead with the body, Yet they would be followed by the fruit of their sins; Death would not be able to save them from what they have committed. And by saying “heaven”, He means to refer to the contrary (Job 11: 8); As though He is saying that, wherever they go they will not escape judgment. By ‘Sheol’ He may also refer to the deadly despair, and by climbing up to heaven, He probably refers to haughtiness; Namely, that neither despair or haughtiness would protect man from God’s wrath on his evil. “And though they hide themselves on the top of the Carmel, From there, I will search out and take them” (Amos 9: 3) The top of the Carmel, being known for its dense forests and dark caves, became a symbol of where a fugitive could not be found; … Yet God’s hand will search out and take him. “Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea, From there I will command the sea-serpent, and it shall bite them” (Amos 9: 3). If the sea refers to the world with its raging waves, and the possibility of drawing man down to perish in its deeps; Leviathan, the fleeing serpent (Isaiah 27: 1), refers to the devil with his authority over those drowned in the love of the world and its lusts; Having delivered himself to the world, and having his heart drawn into its deeps, man would be chastened by God, through delivering him to the serpent, namely to the devil, to taste the bitterness of what he has committed. Having chosen evil, God would not commit him to return against his will, but would forsake him to the evil one, to be chastened in bitterness, in hope that he would eventually return and repent. “Though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword, And it shall slay them” (Amos 9: 4). Some may probably wonder, how it would be possible for man to go into captivity before his enemies by his own free will, that the Lord command the sword to slay him?! Actually. Although captivation, as a historical fact, used to happen by force, yet, as a fact of faith, it occurs through man’s free will, who, by his wickedness, may deliver himself into captivity. What happened to Israel and Judah on the hands of Assyria and Babylon, was only a fruit of their transgressions and arrogance along the years. God sent them many prophets to warn them in several ways; and when they did not head His warnings, He allowed for their chastisement. It is a painful portrait that happens in our life, when God warns us by several ways, But our persistence on evil would lead us to fall into the captivity of the devil and his cruel servitude; And the Lord would allow for us to be chastised in a foreign country! 2- THE FEATURES OF THE CHASTIZER HIMSELF: 1 In Matt. Hom 14: 10. 87 Every time the Lord threatens His people, He declares His identity, to confirm to them that He is capable of realizing what He threats. Now, while doing that, He confirms that, while chastening the wicked, He would not disregard the faithful remnant, whatever its number or size are. “The Lord God of hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell there mourn; All of it shall swell like the river, and subside like the River of Egypt” (Amos 9: 5) It was written about the Lord that “He touches the hills, and they smoke” (Psalms 104: 32; 144: 5). He who thinks of himself as well established as a hill, would not endure to get in touch with the Lord Himself; And he who remains as earth, and who walks according to the earthly things, would be touched by the Lord of hosts, to melt like water! … Those who dwell on the earth, are the senses and energies of man, that would mourn, when the body loses its holiness and its being, before God’s wrath and justice, and when all swell like a river or like a flood, and subside like the River of Egypt; Namely, when man, with all his energies, would be in a state of complete loss. “Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens, and founds His vaults upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the surface of the earth – the Lord is His name” (Amos 9: 6) He confirms to the children of Israel that they cannot escape from His chastisements; If He touches them as earth, they would melt like water, and all who dwell there would mourn. And at the same time, by building His upper chambers in the heavens, He is capable of casting down on them large hailstones from heaven to kill them, As He has already done to the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains in the days of Joshua (Joshua 10: 11). Having, in their evil, worshipped the stars; He, in heaven would manipulates the stars to fight them: as it was written: “The stars from their courses fought against Sisera” (Judges 5: 20). And by saying: “Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens” (6), He opens the doors of hope before them. If, being earth, they fear that the Lord of hosts would touch them, and they melt; They should then become heaven, so that He would be glad to dwell among them, and they would rejoice. That is what the Lord Christ did, when by His ascension, He granted us the possibility of ascending by Him, to become heaven for Him, and He would be in us. And as said by the scholar Tertullian: [Now, Christ is preparing that ascension for us; As, according to Amos, “He builds His upper chambers in the heavens” for Himself and His people1]. And he says: [Now, there is a door prepared by Christ, through which He presents glory to us; About which Amos says: “He builds His upper chambers in the heavens”; Surely, not just for Himself, but for His people together with Him. He says: “You shall surely clothe yourself with them all as an ornament, and bind them on you as a bride does” (Isaiah 49: 18). As the Spirit soars in the high chambers of heaven, “They fly like a cloud, and like doves to their roosts” (See Isaiah 60: 8) 2. Let us therefore be in Christ ascending to heaven, to dwell securely in heaven; so as to live the rest of the days of our sojourn on earth to the account of the Lord Christ; 1 Adv. Marc 5: 10. 2 Ibid 3: 2. 88 according to His words: “He founds His vaults upon the earth”; Namely, as a congregation gathering together for His sake; fighting to His account against the devil; and as spiritual soldiers fighting and working to the account of the kingdom of the Lord. St. Cyprian said: [I intended to fight bravely, putting in my mind His ‘Sacramentum’, and carrying the two weapons: the consecration and the faith1]; And St. John Chrysostom said: [Like the seal put on the soldiers, it will be the seal of the Holy Spirit on the believers2]. Finally, He turns the sea water into clouds and rain, to pour over the earth, as a reference to the work of the Holy Spirit, the rain that turns our barren earth into a spiritual paradise of the Lord. 3- THE SALVATION OF THE FAITHFUL REMNANT: After the Lord revealed Himself as the One capable of chastising us, of lifting us to heaven, and of consecrating us to work to the account of His kingdom, through the Messiah, ascending to heaven, in His upper chambers; And through the Holy Spirit who pours upon the earth to grant it the power to produce fruition -- He speaks here about His care and support for the faithful remnant, up to the end. Again, He supports His promises, as well as His threats, by practical examples, experienced by the world in its relationship to God; in order to show how He has saved nations from servitude or captivity in the past, and as an evidence of His care for the faithful remnant; saying: “Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?, says the Lord” (Amos 9: 7) If I have saved the idol-worshipping Ethiopians – in those days – from servitude, Shall I not care to save you?! Not to confine the prophecies to bitter visions, He, together with proclaiming His great firmness, He confirms that they mean to Him more than all; So Why should they not return to Him?! How amazing is the love of God, even during the bitter-most moments of His chastisement! He reminds them again of the fact that He has saved them from the servitude of the Pharaoh of Egypt; the people of Philistine from Caphtor (most probably the island of Crete)3; and the Syrians from Kir. If He cares for all mankind, How could He not care for the faithful remnant of Israel?! In a beautiful and assuring phrase, He says: “For surely I will command, And I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground”(Amos 9: 9) If many has become like chaff, the sieve will cast them to the ground which they loved; But not the smallest grain of wheat shall fall to the ground from the sieve of the Lord; He will keep them in His hand, and no one will snatch them from Him; And He will bring them up together with Him to His heavenly temple, rejoicing in them for the sake of their faithfulness. 4- THE MESSIANIC ERA: Like all the rest of the prophets of the Old Testament who shined with the spiritual joy upon the people, and opened before them the door of hope through the Messiah the Son of David, who will come to establish His spiritual kingdom, that will 1 De Lapsis 13. 2 PG 61: 418. 3 Jerome Com., p. 252. 89 embrace the new Israel out of all the nations, tongues and peoples; Every prophet revealed certain aspects of that blessed era. Now, What are the features of the Messianic era, according to the prophet Amos? (1) Raising up the tabernacle of David: “On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of the old” (Amos 9: 11) In the book of Ezekiel, As all the concentration was on the departure of the glory of the Lord from His house, that was defiled by the abominations that entered into it; That is why, proclaiming the reform to come in the Messianic era, He presented it to us as the new temple of the Lord (Chapters 40 to 48), with certain symbolic features that reveal the work of the Messiah in our life, not through the destruction of the temple of our old man, to set the new man. But here, in the book of Amos, with the destruction of the palaces of Israel and Judah, and those of the surrounding nations, burning them with fire; Instead of those palaces, the Lord Christ, presents to us the tabernacle of David, raising it after falling down; He raises it; being Himself risen from the dead, to raise us up together with Him; He repairs its damages, raises up its ruins, and rebuilds it by His Holy Spirit as the days of the age of ages; that death would not be able to defeat. The main feature of the Messianic era which we enjoy is that of the resurrection; the inner life raised in Him became ours, we live it, that when the Lord comes with His body, our bodies would also be raised, and the soul together with the body would enjoy the eternal resurrection. Father Methodeus believes that in this phrase, there is a confirmation of the resurrection of the body; and responds to those who deny the resurrection of the body, by saying: [The expression ‘Raise’ or ‘Resurrect’, does not apply to what is not fallen, but to what is fallen to rise again; according to the words of the prophet: “I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down” (11). Now the tabernacle of the soul, so much beloved, is fallen down and sunken in the dust of the earth (Daniel 12: 2). The fallen down is not the one who is not dead, but who is dead. It is the body that dies, whereas the soul is eternal! Now, If the soul is eternal, while the body is the lifeless corpse; He who believes in a resurrection, but not of the body, denies the resurrection altogether; As he who is risen is the one who is fallen down, and not the one who is up; According to what is written: “When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return?” (Jeremiah 8: 4) 1. (2) Opening the door before all the Gentiles; As He says: “’That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name’, says the Lord who does these things” (Amos 9: 12) This phrase, according to St. Erinaos2, confirms that the door will be opened before the Gentiles who will be called by the name of the Lord. If the word ‘Edom’ means (of the dust) or (of the blood), the risen tabernacle of David, namely the church of the New Testament, will inherit Edom, to turn him from dust to heaven, and from the love of blood-shedding to the meekness of Christ. The church received the heathens in her bosom, cleansed them, and sanctified them in the Lord, as spiritual vessels, heavenly and angelic 1 On Resurr. 1: 12. 2 Adv. Haer. 3: 12: 14. 90 (3) An abundance of grace without limits; saying: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine” (Amos 9: 13) It is as though the crop will be so abundant that some of it would remain, that the plowman in the next year would find a blessing set before him. The same would be with the treader of grapes in the winepress; who will find a blessing of sweet wine set before him in the next season. A sign of blessing would be that the believers, having become like well established mountains and hills, will drip with new wine and will flow with blessing (13); the same expression we read in the book of Joel (3: 18). (4) An era of spiritual freedom, when man is set free from the captivity of the devil and the sin; to have inside him holy cities instead of the waste ruins brought about by evil; And vineyards of the Holy Spirit would be planted, to produce the fruit of joy; And the heart would be transformed into a divine garden, made by the Lord Himself; saying: “I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from Them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given Them’, says the Lord your God” (Amos 9: 14, 15) A joyful portrait of the church of Christ, the garden that brings gladness to the heart of God, and makes the heavenly creature rejoice by her spiritual edification, her fruitful plantations, her joyful wine, and her unshakable abidance forever.
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