Miscellanies 1.17.85
Summary: The false prophets stole the name of prophet; they served the devil, the father of lies, yet spoke some truths, as Hermas says; God orders all things for good.
Greek text · Stählin 2:55
Εἶχον δὲ καὶ οἱ ψευδοπροφῆται τὸ κλέμμα, τὸ ὄνομα τὸ προφητικόν, προφῆται ὄντες, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ψεύστου. λέγει γὰρ ὁ κύριος· ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστὲ καὶ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν θέλετε ποιεῖν. ἐκεῖνος ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἦν ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ οὐχ ἕστηκεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἀλήθεια ἐν αὐτῷ. ὅταν λαλῇ τὸ ψεῦδος, ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων λαλεῖ, ὅτι ψεύστης ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ. ἐν δὲ τοῖς ψεύδεσι καὶ ἀληθῆ τινα ἔλεγον οἱ ψευδοπροφῆται, καὶ τῷ ὄντι οὗτοι ἐν ἐκστάσει προεφήτευον ὡς ἂν ἀποστάτου διάκονοι. λέγει δὲ καὶ ὁ ποιμήν, ὁ ἄγγελος τῆς μετανοίας τῷ Ἑρμᾷ περὶ τοῦ ψευδοπροφήτου· τινὰ γὰρ ῥήματα ἀληθῆ λαλεῖ· ὁ γὰρ διάβολος αὐτὸν πληροῖ τῷ ἑαυτοῦ πνεύματι, εἴ τινα δυνήσεται ῥῆξαι τῶν δικαίων. πάντα μὲν οὖν οἰκονομεῖται ἄνωθεν εἰς καλόν, ἵνα γνωρισθῇ διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ, κατὰ πρόγνωσιν τῶν αἰώνων ἣν ἐποίησεν ἐν Χριστῷ. τῷ θεῷ δὲ οὐδὲν ἀντίκειται οὐδὲ ἐναντιοῦταί τι αὐτῷ, κυρίῳ καὶ παντοκράτορι ὄντι.
English · Claude translation
The false prophets too had what was stolen, the prophetic name, being prophets, but of the liar. For the Lord says: “You are of your father the devil, and you wish to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks falsehood, he speaks from his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.” And among their lies the false prophets spoke some truths too, and indeed they prophesied in ecstasy, as servants of the apostate. The Shepherd, the angel of repentance, also says to Hermas about the false prophet: “For he speaks some true words; for the devil fills him with his own spirit, to see if he can break any of the righteous.” All things, then, are ordered from above for good, “that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the church, according to the foreknowledge of the ages, which he made in Christ.” And nothing opposes God or is contrary to him, since he is Lord and Almighty.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are John 8:44, Hermas, Mandate 11.3, and Eph 3:10–11.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.17.85 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/1/17/85/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.17.85 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/1/17/85/).
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