And it came to pass that an angel of light appeared to him in prison in the middle of the night, and there was a great earthquake and the city was moved to its very foundations. And behold God came into the prison with thousands of his holy angels, and the whole place was filled with exceeding precious incense. And God called to Saint George, saying, "George, my beloved, rise up healed and without corruption, from the couch on which thou sleepest;" and he straightway leaped up without any pain in his body, and he was like one who had risen up from a royal feast. Then he cast himself down and worshipped the Lord, but He took him by the hand and raised him up, and saluted him lovingly, and laid His hand upon all his body, and filled him with strength, and said to him, "O beloved one, be strong and of good cheer, for I will be with thee until thou hast put to shame these lawless kings. I swear by Myself, O George My beloved, that as there has never arisen among those born of women one greater than John the Baptist, so there shall never be any one among the martyrs that can be compared with thee, or be like unto thee. And behold these seventy lawless kings shall torture thee for seven years, and thou shalt do many mighty deeds, and shalt die three times, and I will raise thee up again: but on the fourth time I will come to thee on a cloud of light with the celestial hosts and the Prophets and the Apostles and the holy Martyrs, and I will bring thee to the place of safe keeping which I have prepared for thee." When the Savior had said these words to him, He gave him the salutation of peace and filled him full of joy; and He went up to heaven with His angels. And the blessed man was looking after Him and rejoicing greatly and blessing God until day-break by reason of the words which God had spoken to him…
…I will make all creatures upon earth to enjoy this day; and I will crown the fruits of the earth on the day in which thou art crowned; and on the day of the dedication to thee of the first-fruits of the earth, which is the seventh day of Athor, thy name, O My beloved George, My valiant soldier, shall be exalted in heaven and glorious upon earth forever and ever, Amen." And when the Lord had said these things to him, He filled him with power and joy, and the blessed man rejoiced greatly and exulted, saying, "I thank thee, O my Lord Jesus, that thou hast honored me more than I deserve;" and the Lord made the sign of the cross over him, and disappeared from his sight. Then the holy man roused the soldiers, saying, "Come, my brethren, and perform that which has been commanded you:" and he straightway stretched out his neck and the soldiers took off his holy head, and there came forth from it blood and milk. And the Lord caused Michael to receive the blood and milk in his garment of light, and the Lord received his soul in to His own hands, and embraced it, and He wrapped it in the purple of the aether and ascended into the heights with it. And the whole firmament was filled with the holy angels and the company of the saints, and they hymned it until the Lord gave it as a gift to His Good Father and the Holy Spirit. And He put upon it a garment of light and an excellent diadem of gold set with precious stones, and there were seven crowns upon the diadem wreathed with the flowers of the tree of life, and the Lord wrote his name with the first-born forever. And He caused the whole company of heaven and all the bands of the saints to seat him upon a throne and to celebrate a festival with him in the heavenly Jerusalem.
No comments:
Post a Comment