12. Царь, ожидаемый гражданами, приход его в город и прием его гражданами

The king, wanting to come to some city, first sends a messenger to that city to announce his arrival to the citizens. Therefore, citizens are waiting for him and preparing to meet and receive him, and the visitor is greeted and received with due honor. So the Heavenly King, about to come into the world as into a glorious city created by His hands, sent ahead messengers, His servants - the prophets, to announce to the world His coming coming into the world, which they foretold many times and in many different ways. And all the Old Testament faithful and saints were waiting for him with great desire. “Many prophets and righteous men desired to see...and to hear” Christ, the Son of God, in the flesh (Matthew 13:17). And when the time came, the King of Heaven came into the world, Jesus Christ, and all those who loved His Divine appearance met Him and accepted Him. The Heavenly King lived on earth, and achieved salvation in the midst of the earth, for which he came, and again ascended to heaven, and sat on the Throne of His glory. His servants, the holy apostles, preached His saving vision to all the ends of the earth, and everyone who accepts their saving preaching is saved. So, the prophets and apostles preached to us the only Savior of the world, the Son of God. The prophets preached about the one who was about to come into the world, the apostles - about the one who had already come into the world and accomplished salvation. The Old Testament faithful believed in the coming Christ - and were saved. Thanks to the new grace, the faithful believe in the coming Christ - and are saved. So, Christ alone, in the Old and New Testaments, is the Savior of the faithful. We, Christians, now should do nothing more than please our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Heavenly King, and to receive eternal salvation, perfected through His labors and illnesses, to worry and wait for His Second Coming from heaven. There was His first coming, and there will be a second. The first coming was preached by the prophets, saying: “Christ is coming into the world, Christ is coming into the world.” And Christ came into the world quietly and unexpectedly: “He came down like rain on a fleece, and like a drop falling on the ground” * (Ps. 72:6). About the Second Coming, church pastors and teachers say: “Christ will come into the world, Christ will come into the world, he will appear again unexpectedly, but fearfully and gloriously.” Just as citizens await the coming of their King and prepare to meet him, so we, Christians, must await the coming of our Heavenly King and prepare for a worthy meeting of Him. Moreover, we do not know the day and hour at which He will come, and He will not come to live, teach and suffer - this has already happened - but to judge and reward everyone according to their deeds. Let us try, Christians, to stay awake and be ready to meet our King, remembering His word of exhortation: “Watch, because you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man will come” (Matthew 25:13). May we be deemed worthy to stand at His right hand at His coming. Translation by P. Yungerov – Editorial office of “The ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: