LXXV. De zclo Dei.

LXXV. De zclo Dei.

But what you see is that the aforementioned man has drawn his sword, which rests on the hilt at his neck, and he has three edges; this signifies that God clearly shows His zeal in three ways, as He walks with strength, laying the foundation of faith, because through open blows divine vengeance has crushed the sins of those under the Law and before the Law; and now, after the Law, He does not permit them to act in the newness of baptism; while imposing faith with saving virtues, He washes away the sins of humanity in that same zeal. He who is tossed about here and there to strike, because the zeal of the Lord examines both the chosen and the reprobate with just purification everywhere. For as the same zeal of the Lord says, He fights against the Devil and against all his subjects; no one will prevail against Him, because He is not from the union of male and female, but existing in God, He justly judges all things in God. For He considers man in all His judgments and examines him very carefully. Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed by the fiery sulfur blown by the wind, because they sinned in unknown ways, learning from the mouth of the Devil and the venomous nature; thus, even then, human nature was ridiculed. But it also turned the inflated, feminine sense into another kind because of its disobedience, so that in this act all the cases of sin might be sharply salted. The people of Israel were struck down when they abandoned God and worshiped Baal, leading to their dispersion and becoming exiles in the service of a foreign nation, because they despised their rightful inheritance. For He Himself discerns whatever needs to be discerned, and He divides whatever needs to be divided. Pride also divides into two parts, and sometimes allows itself to rise up. When someone seeks nothing from God but gathers everything they want to themselves, the zeal of the Lord brings them low, and it rejects their desires; it also burns away their lust with the fire of hell and imprisons their impiety with a fitting punishment. Empty glory, which is the heart's vanity, and the fire of sin, which is the heart's lust, as well as infidelity, which is the heart's impiety, all bring down harsh judgment, because they are far removed from God. For those who do not wish to know God, He also ignores them in the rewards of good things, because they do not seek Him. But some people kiss certain faults by observing them, yet they don't place them in their hearts; others embrace them, but they don't play around with them in more serious sins; still others capture them in thoughts and words, but they don't follow through with them in actions. But the zeal of the Lord does not lose any of these, but rather purifies them through various trials. But whoever has a desire for life should receive these words and store them in the inner chamber of their heart. And I saw a certain multitude of evil spirits from those whom the zeal of the Lord had cast down from heaven with righteous judgment; and those whom Lucifer had dragged with him to places of punishment, spread throughout the whole world among men, and in them, their wickedness was being exaggerated. The multitude of these was countless, and it is countless, nor is it known except to God alone. But these were scattered among many adversities of humanity, so that each one of them, according to the measure of their own wickedness, sets traps for people and lies in wait. And I saw some of them who were shouting that Lucifer should be subject to the Lord. For these people show others the love of the world and persuade them to long for it.