my chain: But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well." The deuterocanonical book 2 Maccabees 12:43–46 speaks explicitly about the prayer of the living for the dead: "And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,) And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." Intercession of the dead for the living Early Christians derived some of their views from Judaism. "[A]t least some Jews in the first century believed that the angels in heaven were praying for those on earth and presenting their prayers to God. Those in heaven—Onias, Jeremiah, and the angels—were intimately involved in what was happening on earth." In Luke 15:7 Jesus says that those in heaven rejoice when a sinner repents. In Hebrews 12:1, the author refers to them as a "cloud of witnesses". According to Fr. Lawrence, "It was part of the Church’s faith in the first century that those in heaven interceded for those on earth." Aquinas quotes Revelation 8:4: "And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel." Both those for and against the intercession of saints quote Job 5:1: "Call if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?". Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31 indicates the ability of the dead to pray for the living. The intercession of the dead for the living is shown in 2 Maccabees 15:14–17; an intercession on behalf of Israel by the late high priest Onias III plus that of Jeremiah, the prophet who died almost 400 years earlier. "And Onias spoke, saying, 'This is a man who loves the brethren and prays