In the First Book of Ezra, it is recorded regarding Zerubbabel: 'And when this young man went out, he lifted up his face to heaven straight to Jerusalem, and blessed the King of Heaven, saying, "From Thee is the victory, and from Thee is wisdom, and Thy glory, and I am Thy servant. Blessed are You" (2 Ezra 4:58-60). The phrase 'He lifted up His face to heaven straight to Jerusalem' carries significant meaning. The term ‘Zerubbabel’ can be articulated with or without aspiration, arranged both grammatically and separately, and each form carries its own significance. With aspiration, it represents 'the seed of confusion sown', without aspiration signifies 'the rising of confusion', when fused implies 'the rising in confusion', when separated denotes 'the rising of dispersion', and in a grammatically ordered sense represents 'sam-rest'. Zerubbabel functions as an iluminary figure. First, he plants the seed of righteousness through repentance for his entanglement with worldly desires; second, he embodies the 'ascendant of mingling', as he reveals the shame associated with passions that entwine him; third, he is the 'ascendant in mingling', guiding himself towards enlightenment, thus preventing the lower senses from engaging in the sensual without the oversight of the mind; fourth, he is known as the ‘ascendant of dispersion’, for he inspires righteous actions within the soul's faculties, scattered among earthly distractions—through this elevation and spiritual labor, combined with reason and reflective thought, he raises the scattered soul towards understanding. Ultimately, this rationality signifies ‘self-rest,’ as it connects all creation and melds man's active nature with the divine Good, and his contemplative dimension with ultimate Truth. For in every spiritual endeavor, there is a rise through Good, and every contemplation leads to knowledge of Truth alone. Upon completion, nothing shall disrupt the active or contemplative aspects of the soul, allowing it to reach the Divine itself, the One Good and True, existing above all essence and thought. Such a mind, abundantly virtuous, upon parting from King David—the symbol of natural law—reveals through a comparison of virtues to vices the authority of love and truth. He rightly acknowledges from where the grace of victory came to him and thus has 'lifted up his face to heaven straight to Jerusalem, blessing the King of Heaven.'
The expression 'the face' pertains to the soul's state grasped by thought, concealed within its depths, embodying the attributes of the virtues. This mind ‘ascends to heaven,’ referring to an elevation of contemplation, ‘straight to Jerusalem,’ indicating a path aligned with the pursuit of passionlessness. The phrase ‘to heaven straight to Jerusalem’ denotes a fervent longing for the heavenly abode, the ‘city written in heaven’ (Heb. 12:23), of which it is asserted, ‘glorious things are spoken of’ (Ps. 86:3), as declared by David. It is only through raising one's understanding to this higher realm, in unity with the skill of passionlessness—an unburdened and tranquil state—that one can truly bless God. This mental disposition is reflective of a visage enriched with diverse virtues. Following his elevation, he pronounces, ‘From Thee is victory,’ indicating that this ‘victory’ embodies the culmination of active discipline against passions, serving as the reward for divine victories over sin. 'Of Thee is wisdom,' which encapsulates the perfection of knowledge achieved through contemplation—an accomplishment that eradicates all ignorance from the soul. 'And Thy glory'—in this context, 'glory' alludes to the beauty of divine maturity, where victory and wisdom, action and contemplation, virtue and knowledge, goodness and truth come together harmoniously. United, they radiate the singular glory of God.
Thus, Zerubbabel rightfully asserts, ‘I am Thy servant,’ acknowledging that it is God who operates through us as instruments for all action and contemplation, virtue and knowledge, victory and wisdom, goodness and truth; our role is merely to participate by our willing disposition towards good. Accordingly, the illustrious Zerubbabel continues, addressing God, ‘Blessed art Thou, who hast given me wisdom, and to Thee we confess, O Lord of the fathers.’ As a wise servant, he rightfully attributes everything to God, expressing gratitude to the Lord of the fathers for the benefits bestowed. Referring to God as ‘blessed’ reflects His infinite Wisdom, or rather, He embodies Wisdom itself; having received grace from God, he praises Him. Moreover, Zerubbabel acknowledges God as ‘Lord of the fathers’ to indicate that all spiritual accomplishments of saints are divine gifts, for no one possesses anything apart from the goodness bestowed by the Sovereign God, aligned to the virtue and discernment of the receiver. Humanity can attain only what it is willing to receive from the Giver. Zerubbabel designates ‘fathers’ as all the saints across time, recognizing their faith and emulating their lives. He achieved spiritual progress through the desire to signify rebirth from them in the Spirit—becoming a chosen son of chosen parents—which holds far more value before God than a physical lineage with unwilling participants, highlighting the soul’s superiority over the body in essence.
This Zerubbabel, one of the young men presented to King Darius, that is, to natural law, eloquently demonstrated the strength of divine benefits imparted to humanity, thereby confronting the hasty assertions of other young men. In doing so, he laid before him the prevailing natural law, prophetically foretelling the liberation of the soul’s faculties, held captive by the relentless changes brought by passions. The other two youths, who seemingly defended the body, symbolize the two spirits of evil, their number illustrating the nature of sin and perishability. The mind, however, which safeguards the simple essence of the soul, mirrors the indivisible One, untouched by death, since it is singular and cannot be dissected. For one, represented as the first youth, advocating the false advantages of bodily indulgences, declares, ‘Stronger is wine’ (2 Ezra 3:10). He refers to 'wine', defining it as every folly and intoxication stemming from the passions that lead the rational mind into chaos and distort its natural function. Scripture states, ‘The fury of the serpents is their wine, and the fury of the asps is unhealed’ (Deut. 32:33), indicating the intense evils arising from carnal pleasures. The second youth proclaims, ‘The stronger is the king’ (2 Ezra 3:11), equating ‘king’ with the empty pride derived from wealth, power, and other earthly accolades, leading to ignorance, which results in the fragmentation of human nature. Those oblivious to the glory of God, who belittle His power, become estranged from one another, consumed by the desire to exalt themselves through dominance, wealth, or extravagance.
In their testimonies, the young men provided a glimpse into the depths of unnatural desires, placing King David—the governing law of nature—as their arbiter, hoping to persuade him to align with their views. The third youth, representing the mind—the advocate of virtue and wisdom—aspired for the soul to be liberated from the malevolent chains of passions. He asserts, ‘Stronger than wives are the wives, but the truth overcomes all’ (2 Ezra 3:12). Here, 'wives' symbolize the adorned virtues, from which love blossoms, uniting people with God and one another. This love elevates the soul from the confines of mortality and decay, merging it in a loving union with the Divine. The 'truth' embodies the ultimate Cause of all things—the Origin and Sovereign of creation. From it and through it, all existence endures, allowing the devoted to dwell in fervent love for God.
In summation, the term ‘wives’ designates love as the culmination of virtues—the ultimate experience of union with the Good by nature for those who partake in Him. The concept of ‘truth’ encapsulates the ultimate comprehensible reality, attracting the movements of creation towards its rational origin, being the unyielding force engaging the unruly spirits. This illustrates how the wise mind contends with natural law, dismantling the falsehoods imposed by evil entities. It seeks to persuade this law to favor the soul’s faculties, ensnared by passions, and to declare liberation for those found in darkness (Isaiah 9:1-3)—addicted to fleshly pursuits—so they may ascend to virtue and establish within Jerusalem—the realm of passionlessness—the Lord’s temple of knowledge, encompassing wisdom. Hence, Zerubbabel demonstrated profound wisdom, empowered by divine insight, enabling him to confront with persuasive arguments every challenge posed by wicked spirits seeking humanity's destruction. He refuted these adversaries and liberated the soul from the grasp of sinful desires. While the demons exalt ‘wine’ and the allure of carnal indulgences, the mind champions ‘wives’, presenting the eternal joys of the spirit, and revealing immutable power through ‘truth’, encouraging a disdain for worldly possessions and an adherence to everlasting treasures.
This interpretation of the responses echoes the Spirit’s profound wisdom, meriting documentation for our enlightenment. If anyone, through divinely granted intellect, perceives a deeper understanding within these writings, there is no resentment within us. The grace of the Spirit does not torment those who receive it even if some possess it more abundantly than others. Each person receives the Spirit’s manifest work in accordance with their faith, serving as stewards of their grace; thus, they will never envy others graced with divine gifts, as they harbor an inherent inclination to receive blessings.
Now, let us reflect on another profound aspect of this Scriptural passage, which unveils the fundamental truth of the text. In this view, Zerubbabel emerges as the authentic, new, and through the old, transformatively revealed Lord and our God Jesus Christ. He embraced our nature, conceived and born within it, evolving into the perfect man by nature, aiming to restore this nature, previously fractured. While not entrapped within the mingling of passions—‘for He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth’ (1 Peter 2:22; Isaiah 53:9)—He lived among captives as one of them and was counted within ‘the transgressors’ (Luke 22:37; Isaiah 53:12). Through His humanity, He was born ‘in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin’ (Romans 8:3). This ‘likeness of sinful flesh’ pertains to His divine nature, as the Lord took upon Himself the burden of human passion. His incarnation bears the weight of death due to our sins, as He was martyred and wounded for our transgressions, that we may be healed through His stripes (Isaiah 53:2-5). Scripture indicates, ‘The breath of our face, the anointed of the Lord, was revealed in their impurities, and we say, “In His shadow we shall dwell among the nations”’ (Lamentations 4:20). He is our righteous ‘rising’ out of sin’s ‘scattering,’ and the Holy Spirit proclaims through the prophet His exaltation, declaring ‘the righteous Branch’ (Jeremiah 23:5), affirming, ‘Behold, man, the east is His name, upon Him shall shine’ (Zechariah 6:12), alongside, ‘He shall shine … the sun of righteousness, healing in His wings’ (Malachi 4:2). The phrase ‘upon Him’ denotes the profound mystery of the Word's Incarnation, through which all attain salvation. The ‘wings of the Sun of righteousness’ symbolize the two Covenants, wherein the Word heals the wounds inflicted by transgression, fortifying us in perfect virtue: through the Old Covenant, it dismantles vice, while the New Covenant establishes virtue.
Alternatively, the ‘wings’ may represent God’s Providence and Judgment, by which the exalted Word descends unknowingly upon creation, healing those who desire it with the logos of Wisdom while addressing the sluggish in virtue with stringent education—removing sinful stains from the former while curing the latter’s spiritual ailments. This Word liberated true Israel from captivity—not merely from earth to earth, as ancient Zerubbabel did, but from earth to heaven, from vice to virtue, from ignorance to divine truth, from decay to immortality. Succinctly put, the Word extracted true Israel from the ephemeral and carnal realm into the eternal and spiritual existence, from a life bound to the temporal to a life that is everlasting.
This Word serves as the true Architect of the spiritual temple, which suffers from the torrents of transgressions and is ignited by strange fire, scorching us as we approach the light; it prepares the soul’s mind to submit to carnal thoughts while provoking passion through our actions. It was this Word that convinced King Darius through His Wisdom, representing natural law. The Scriptures do not intend ‘Darius’ to symbolize ‘the devil’ since he cooperated with grace to liberate Israel from bondage, recognizing that faith and a clear conscience are vital for humanity's salvation. Faith encompasses the inner sense of truth, while a good conscience leads to Divine love—symbolized through the idea of ‘wives’—as one who embodies this love cannot transgress God’s commandment. This Word stands as the unifier of ‘the fallen tabernacle of David’ (Amos 9:11; Acts 15:16), denoting human nature ravaged by death due to sin. Zerubbabel is the one gloriously restoring God’s fallen house, as the Holy Spirit forewarns: ‘For the glory of this temple shall be great, greater than the first’ (Haggai 2:9).
The Word joined itself to human nature through a communion far more astonishing than the first, as He offered His best to this nature while voluntarily assuming its worst, aiming to redeem His image, imparting immortality to the flesh, and, by merging with humanity, obliterating the serpent's curse, reinstating that nature to its pristine form, free from decay, and through deification, rendering it more glorious than the original creation. The Word made flesh what was not originally so, restoring that which had been lost, preventing it from falling again by His unchanging nature, fulfilling the entire Divine will set forth by God the Father through His Incarnation. As Scripture declares, ‘The hands’ of the spiritual Zerubbabel ‘have founded this temple’, i.e., humanity, ‘and his hands shall make it perfect’ (Zechariah 4:9)—depicting the former creation of humanity and its restoration through the ineffable union with the Word.
Zerubbabel is indeed the Deliverer of the captives, possessing ‘a stone made of pure tin,’ adorned with the seven eyes of the Lord, which observe ‘all the earth’ (Zechariah 4:10). Should one adhere strictly to the literal interpretation, it seems illogical for Zerubbabel to wield a stone of pure tin featuring the Lord's seven eyes, gazing upon the entire earth. This interpretation thus highlights the spiritual essence of the text, where Zerubbabel symbolizes our Lord Jesus Christ. His stone represents faith in Him, the phrase 'in the hand' suggesting that faith in Christ is realized through obedience to the commandments. ‘Faith without works is dead’ (James 2:26), just as are actions devoid of faith. Here, the ‘hand’ serves as a representation of deeds.
Therefore, the Lord, holding the stone in His hands, instructs us to embody an active faith in Him, adorned with the seven energies of the Holy Spirit. Further, Scripture states, ‘And the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of strength, the spirit of the fear of God’ (Isaiah 11:2). The spirit of the fear of God alludes to abstaining from active sinful pursuits; the spirit of fortitude represents a bold drive towards spiritual endeavor and adherence to commandments; the spirit of counsel signifies discernment in fulfilling God’s commandments, distinguishing the lesser from the greater; the spirit of knowledge refers to an infallible understanding of spiritual pursuits aligned with virtue, ensuring we adhere to sound judgment; the spirit of wisdom defines the ascension to the Cause underlying the spiritual logos in commandments and unity with it. Consequently, we who are unwittingly initiated (as much as human capability allows) into the mystery of the simple logos of essences within God, will declare from our hearts, as from a spring, the truth realized in myriad forms throughout all creation. Through this, we ascend from finite entities, distant from God yet proximate to us, to those eternal entities, remote from us yet close to God—this ascent occurring successively and orderly.
From the inactivity concerning evil, born from the fear of God, we progress through strength into the active execution of virtues; from virtue practice to counsel discernment; from discernment to skill in virtue—understanding knowledge; from skill to the grasp of logos present within virtues; from this knowledge to a skill capable of reshaping learned logos of virtues—reason; from reason to the simple yet rigorous contemplation of the truth intrinsic to all things. Prompted by this, we can articulate diverse truths before pious individuals, stemming from profound insight into both sensuous and intelligible realities. Through these perceptions, we ascend into the divine unity of wisdom, centering our understanding of the varied gifts received for our sake within the singular Cause—a journey of incremental elevation through each virtue. With God’s aid, we must not neglect any of these, lest we gradually lapse into carelessness, leaving our faith blind and without the Spirit's illumination, which is obtained through actions. In such a case, we justifiably risk eternal punishment, having obscured the divine gaze through our negligence in faith.
Faith is likened in Scripture to a stone of pure tin, possessing the dual purpose of chastising those failing to adorn it with actions, while simultaneously redeeming those who cultivate it with the Spirit's energies. For, Simeon remarked concerning the Lord that He would be ‘for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel’ (Luke 2:34)—the fall of the unbelieving and the elevation of the faithful. Some equate tin with silver and lead; while lead symbolizes rearing, correction, and severity in condemnation, silver signifies brightness, acclaim, and resplendence. If this interpretation holds, then faith, represented by tin, simultaneously educates, punishes, chastises, and condemns those who, through negligence regarding the commandments, render themselves unsuitable, for their strength arises through unity with God the Word. Conversely, the same faith illuminates, glorifies, enlightens, and leads to deification for those who, through steadfast obedience to commandments, exhibit the divinity of the Word—shining forth for the worthy.
Understanding the 'stone ... of pure tin' may also illustrate our Lord Jesus Christ, possessing two natures—divine and human. Should one desire a more spiritual insight of faith in Christ, both faith and Christ Himself appear simultaneously as lead, nurturing the soul, chiseling the flesh, censuring desires, and conquering demons, and as silver, which adorns the mind with the radiance of virtues and glorifies it through knowledge, leading to a state of pure light—reflective of the First Light itself. This interpretation clarifies the truth contained within the terms ‘fall’ and ‘rise’, as He initiates the ‘fall’ of the flesh, carnal thoughts, sins, and demons, while allowing for the ‘rising’ of the mind, spiritual thoughts, natural virtues, and encompassing knowledge. To summarize, the Word brings about in the worthy the downfall of the old man descended from Adam and the letter of the law while manifesting the elevation of the new man in accordance with Himself and the law of Spirit. Perhaps faith is likened in Scripture to a stone of pure pewter, as those who possess it and cause its virtue and knowledge to tarnish due to vice can, through repentance and alignment of work and contemplation, restore its brilliance immediately.
