Мысли при чтении Апокалипсиса

Chapter 1, Article 7. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him... Chapter 1, [v.] 12 ff. I turned to see whose voice was speaking to me; and turning, he saw seven golden lampstands, and, in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed in a robe 34 and girded across his chest with a golden belt: His head and hair were as white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes are like a flame of fire; and His feet were like chalcolivan 35, like those of a fiery furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. He held in His right hand seven stars, and from His mouth came a sword sharp on both sides; and His face is like the sun shining in its power. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. And He laid His right hand on me and said to me: Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, and the living; and he was dead, and behold, he is alive forever and ever, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and death. What a divine picture! What wonderful, beautiful images! Everything is light, beauty and life. O most exalted Jesus! Grant us, sinners, to behold You in Your glory. From the description of Your glory made by Your beloved confidant, I guess about the bliss that the righteous will taste in Your Kingdom, enjoying Your sight. Yes, I believe that this bliss will be incomparable to any earthly happiness. Ch.2, art.4[-5]. But I have this against you, that you left your first love. Remember therefore from whence you fell, and repent, and do the first works; but if not so, I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp from its place, unless you repent. Remember how ardent your love for the Lord was before and how you have cooled towards Him now, despite the fact that you now enjoy His great benefits and have more motives and means to express your love for Him. Look: the Lord has it against you that you left your first love. Remember therefore from whence you fell, and repent, and do the first works. If not, He will come to you quickly and move your lamp - your soul, from its place. Chapter 3, Article 1. I know your affairs; you have a name like you're alive, but you're dead. 2. Stay awake and establish other things close to death; for I do not find that your works are perfect before My God. 3. Remember what you received and heard, and keep and repent. If you do not watch, then I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. We often think of ourselves that we are pious and living members of the Church, but in reality we are dead; sin, as if unknown to us, lives in us and gradually destroys the life of our soul and body. Quite often, having started a good spiritual, godly life, we then relax and, thus, do not finish our work. Be faithful, it says, until death, and I will give you the crown of life [Rev. 2:10]. In order not to relax in deeds of virtue, you must certainly test your faith, as you have received and heard, observe what you have accepted and - repent of what you have left - in a word, you must watch over yourself: over your mind, will and heart. Otherwise, the householder will come to us like a thief and severely punish us for not doing the things commanded by him. Art.11. Behold, I am coming quickly; keep what you have, so that no one takes your crown... Art.15[-16]. I know your affairs; you are neither cold nor hot; Oh, that you were cold or hot! But because you are warm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you [church glory: vomit you... imam] out of my mouth. It is necessary for me to be something definite, and not what is called chaos, mixture, fermentation, in which everything is somehow mixed and wanders in disorder. What good can we expect from a person whose soul is a disordered mixture of good and bad, who does some good, but is not averse to evil? This state is dangerous: it means moral impotence, relaxation. Better in this regard is a person with extremes: either cold or hot. Here, at least, there is something definite that can be given a definite place: either eternal tartarus, or the Kingdom of Heaven. The Lord says of a man neither cold nor hot: I will spew you out of My mouth. People seem to be imprisoned in God, who contains some within Himself and casts others out of Himself. The righteous will indeed one day live in God and with God: this explains the inexplicably high degree of bliss that every righteous person will have, even though it was low for some, compared to the greatest righteous people. And now we live in a certain way in God: he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him [1 Jn. 4:16]. However, this applies to virtuous people. But since the entire visible world is the work of God and God is everywhere in the world - in His works and providence, then on this basis we can say that all people are in God. The cutting of barren fig trees - people who do not bear the fruits of virtue - is that vomiting from Himself that God spoke about in the Apocalypse. You say, “I am rich...” I advise you to buy from Me gold purified by fire, so that you may become rich, and white clothing, so that you may be clothed, and so that the shame of your nakedness will not be seen... [vv.17-18]. Gold is the grace of God; clothes - good deeds; the shame of nakedness is sins. Anoint your eyes with eye salve so that you can see [v. 18] - Divine enlightenment. [Vv.19-20.] Those whom I love I rebuke and punish. So be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock... [Verse] 21. To him who overcomes I will give to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Conquer, man, your passions, so that you may earn the crown of righteousness. The struggle with sin and passions is inevitable in this life; if you give in to victory over yourself to the devil, the flesh or the world without a fight, you are guilty, you are your own enemy; you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven if you do not try to win. And in order to defeat your enemies, you need to practice fighting and be smart in finding the means to win. Nothing comes for free. Chapter 4, 9 art. and further. And when the living creatures (four: one like a lion, another like a calf, the third like a man, the fourth like a flying eagle) give glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, then the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and lay their crowns before the throne, saying: You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for You created everything, and everything exists and was created according to Your will. In heaven the glory of the Lord is given unceasingly; righteous people echo the glory of God given by the mysterious animals depicting the heavenly powers: You are worthy, they say, Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created everything, and everything exists and was created by Your will. So in heaven the heavenly powers and righteous people are filled with eternal feelings of gratitude and the eternal voice of praise thunders. What about on earth? Here, almost people have forgotten that their land and they themselves were created by God, and sometimes they barely remember the debt of gratitude and praise to the Creator - and then at the call of the holy Church, which is the germ (only [one] germ) of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Blessed is the earth that on it, at least in the churches of God, praises of the Almighty are heard. Without the churches of God, the earth would be an abomination of desolation. Chapter 5. A vision of a book with seven seals, a book of justice, written inside and outside, held in the right hand by the Being Sitting on the Throne. The angel cries: Who is worthy to open it and open its seals? There was no one found, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, who could unbend it and even look at it. Saint John laments that nowhere was anyone found worthy to open and read a book or even contemplate it. One of the twenty-four elders said to him: do not cry, behold, the lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered: he is able to open the book and open its seven seals. And here, among the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, stands a Lamb as if slain - with seven horns and seven eyes, meaning the seven spirits of God sent into the whole earth. He came and took the book from Him who sat on the throne. And when He took the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden vials full of incense, which signified the prayers of the saints. And so they sing a new song, saying: You are worthy to receive the book and to open its seals, since You sacrificed yourself and redeemed us to God with Your Blood - from every tribe and tongue, and people and nations, and made us kings and priests to our God: we reigned on the earth. Angels are visible, and their voices are heard around the throne and the animals and the elders: their number was ten thousand thousand. They said with a strong voice: The Lamb who was slain is worthy to receive power and wealth, and wisdom and strength, and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature that is in heaven and on earth and under the earth, on the sea and in the sea, as I heard, all said: To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. The four living creatures said: Amen, and the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever. Divine picture! How she delights the soul! So, everything glorifies our Divine Redeemer: heaven, earth, the underworld, the sea, everything that is on it and in it! Dignified and righteous! When He descended to earth to take on the form of a slave, when He suffered and died, then everything was silent in awe and amazed at the extreme condescension of the Divine; He then put, as it were, seven seals of silence on everything. The angels did not know what was happening, what wanted to happen, that God Himself was descending to earth and wanted to live among people; they see His earthly life, His suffering and death; everyone is silent, they do not stand up for their Creator: they are ordered to remain silent and only look with trepidation at the Divine mystery. But when He resurrected and entered into His glory, then, naturally, all creation - heaven, earth and the underworld - had to sympathize with and triumph over the amazing feat of the God-Man: then everyone knew why God the Word undertook such a journey, descending to earth, although he did not, like God, leave the bosom of the Father. The murmur of praise to the Almighty was heard everywhere, even in soulless nature. So, glory, glory to You forever and ever, our Redeemer, our Love! Earth, sing the glory of your Renewer while you exist and move! Chapter 6. The Lamb opens the first four seals of the book; after the opening of each, the voice of one of the four animals is heard: come and see; after the other three are revealed, no invitation is heard. Now the first seal is opened: a white horse appears, and someone sits on it with a bow, a crown is given to him; he came out victorious. Another seal is opened: a red horse appears; to him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth and kill others; he was given a great sword. The third seal is opened: a black horse appears; He who sat on it had a measure in his hand. From the midst of the four living creatures a voice is heard saying: 36 quinixes of wheat for a denarius, and three quinixes of barley for a denarius; But thou shalt not spoil the oil and wine [v.6]. The fourth seal is revealed: a pale horse appears; death sits on him; Hell followed her; a quarter of the earth was given over to her: she could kill those living on it with weapons, famine and death, and with the beasts of the earth. The fifth seal is opened: the souls of those beaten for the word of God and for the testimony that they had appear under the altar. Their cry: How long, O Lord, Holy and True, do you not judge and take revenge on those who live on earth for our blood? [v.10]. And white vestments were given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little longer. The sixth seal is opened: a strong earthquake is heard; the sun became dark as a hair of hair, and the moon became like blood, and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its [navels] to the earth from a strong wind. The sky went like a scroll being rolled up; every mountain and island moved from their places (everything ran and began to be destroyed): the kings of the earth, the nobles, the rich, the captains of thousands and the mighty, every slave and free man hid in the mountain caves and stones and said to the mountains and stones: fall on us and cover us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of His wrath has come, and who can endure it?! Chapter 7. A vision of four Angels standing on the four sides of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth so that the wind does not breathe on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on the trees and so that they do not harm the earth, sea and trees. At the end of the world, God will withhold the beneficial influence of the winds so that the earth, sea and plants, without being refreshed and cooled by them, begin to smolder and collapse. A vision of an Angel rising from the sunrise, who commands not to harm anything until he seals His servants with the seal of the Living God. John sees how an Angel sealed 144 thousand people from all the tribes of Israel; then he sees an innumerable multitude from every tongue and tribe and people and nations, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, holding date branches in their hands. The people cry with a great voice: salvation to our God and to the Lamb who sits on the throne! All the Angels stood near the throne and the elders and the four living creatures and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: Amen! blessing and glory, and wisdom and thanksgiving, and honor and strength and strength to our God forever and ever! Amen [v.12]. One elder says to John: who are these in white robes? He answers: you know, Lord. He answers: these came out of great tribulation and trampled their clothes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His Church: He who sits on the throne will dwell in them. They will neither hunger nor thirst; neither the sun nor the heat will fall on them: the Lamb will feed them and lead them to fountains of living water, and God will take away every tear from their eyes. Truly Divine, heavenly pictures! How amazing they are! Chapter 8. The Lamb opens the seventh seal: there is silence in heaven for about half an hour. The Seer sees seven Angels standing before God; they were given seven trumpets. Then another Angel came and stood before the altar, holding a golden censer in his hand; he was given a lot of incense so that he would give it to the prayers of all the saints, to the golden altar located in front of the throne. And the smoke of incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the Angel before God [v.4]. The angel took the censer and filled it with live coal from the altar and threw it to the ground: a storm arose, thunder, lightning and earthquakes. Seven Angels with trumpets prepared to blow. When the first angel sounded, there was hail and fire mixed with blood and fell to the ground. And so the third part of the trees was burned and all green grass was burned. The second Angel sounded: a huge mountain, engulfed in flames, was thrown into the sea, and the third part of the sea waters became blood: the third part of the sea animals died and the third part of the ships perished. The third angel sounded: a large star fell from the sky, burning like a candle, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the sources of water. The name of this star is ἄψινθος [from Greek: “wormwood”]: the third part of the waters became like wormwood, and many people died from them, because they were bitter. The fourth Angel sounded: and behold, the third part of the sun, the third part of the moon and the third part of the stars were struck, so that the third part of them was eclipsed, and the third part of the day and the night did not shine. The seer sees and hears one An angel soaring in the middle of the sky, loudly saying: woe, woe, woe to those who live on earth from the other trumpet voices of the three Angels [v. 13], who want to sound. Glory to You, the Creator of all, God: You created everything - You can destroy everything, but have mercy, O All-Holy One, on Your creatures! Chapter 9. The fifth angel trumpets: a star falls from heaven to earth. She was given the key to the imprisoned student of the abyss 37: she opened the student - smoke rose from it, as if from a huge furnace, and darkened the sun and the air. Springs 38 came out of the smoke to the earth, and they were given the ability and strength that earthly scorpions have. They were told not to harm grass or any plant or tree, but only people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads, so that they would not kill them, but torment them for five months: this torment is similar to when a person is stung by a scorpion. In those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will wish to die, and death will flee from them. These horses are like horses ready for war: on their heads you see crowns like gold; their faces seem human. They have hair like women's and teeth like lions. They also have armor like iron: the noise from their wings is like the sound of chariots when many horses gallop to battle. They have bugs like scorpions, and these bugs have stings sticking out. Such animals were given the power to harm people for five months. Above them was a king - the angel of the abyss, named Abaddon (Hebrew), or Apollyon (Greek). - One grief has passed: now two more follow. The sixth Angel trumpets: the voice of one of the four horns of the golden altar, located before God, is heard saying to the sixth Angel, who had the trumpet: release the four Angels bound by the great river Euphrates. And so four Angels were allowed, who were commanded to kill a third of the people over the course of one year, month, day and hour. The number of mounted warriors is two million (two thousand times): I have heard about their number. Saint John sees horses and people sitting on them, as it were, with fiery armor, jacindian 39 and ashen (bogey-like); Their horses' heads were like lions', and fire, smoke and lava came out of their mouths. A third of the people again died from fire, smoke and lava coming out of the horses’ mouths. The hostile force was in the horses' mouths and in their mistakes, similar to snakes. Chapter 10. Saint John sees another powerful Angel descending from heaven, clothed in a cloud; there is a bright arc above his head, his face is like the sun, and his feet are like pillars of fire; in his hand he held an open book; He placed his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land. He shouted loudly, like a roaring lion, and when he shouted, the seven thunders spoke with their voices. When they thundered, Saint John wanted to write, but a voice from heaven forbade him to do so. The angel standing on the sea and on the earth raised his hand to the sky and swore by the One who lives forever and ever - the One who created the sky and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, the sea and everything in it - that there would be no more summer; that at the time when the seventh angel blows the trumpet, there will be an end to the mystery of God, as God announced through His servants the prophets. A heavenly voice tells John to take the book from the Angel standing on the sea and on the earth. The angel gives it and orders it to be eaten, adding that it will be bitter in the belly, but sweet in the mouth. Oh, divine pictures! May God grant me to contemplate them more often and admire them! Human! Aren't you horrified, thinking what terrible events will happen at the end of the world? Look, here is a powerful Angel, standing with one foot on the sea and the other on the earth, swearing to Him who lives forever and ever that there will be no more seasons, therefore, that the end has already come for the earth and for those living on the earth. How does this affect you? For how many thousands of years there have been summer, spring, autumn and winter, days and nights - and suddenly all this will change, the wonderful order will end; there will be no rising or setting of the sun, moon or stars. Terrible! And look at the strong Angel descending from heaven, how beautiful he is: he is dressed in a cloud, there is a bright arc above his head, his face is like the sun, and his legs are like pillars of fire! Where on earth will you see such a picture? Chapter 11. The Seer of Mysteries was given a cane, like a rod, with the words: Arise and measure the church of God and the altar, and count those who worship in it; but exclude the courtyard outside the Church and do not measure it, because it is given over to the tongues. The Holy City will be trampled underfoot for forty-two months. I have given it to My two witnesses, who will prophesy and teach in it, clothed in sackcloth, for 1260 days. They are two lamps or two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth (they are only; everything else is gloomy). From their mouths comes fire; whoever does injustice to them, this fire will eat him; whoever wants to offend them must be killed. They have the power to close the sky so that rain does not fall on the earth during their divination; They were also given the power over the waters to turn them into blood and to smite the earth with every plague whenever they want. When they finish their testimony, the beast coming from the abyss will make war on them, defeat them and kill them, by God’s permission. Their corpses will remain on the streets of the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was crucified. Everyone will see their corpses for three and a half days, and no one will be allowed to put their corpses in a coffin. Those living on earth will be happy about this, so glad that they will express their joy with mutual gifts, because both of these prophets tormented those living on earth. In three and a half days the spirit of life from God will enter into them; suddenly they will stand on their feet, and great fear will fall on those who look at them. They (the prophets) will hear a strong voice from heaven: come up here, and behold they have risen on the clouds to heaven; their enemies saw it all. At this time there was an earthquake and a tenth of the city fell from it, and the people numbered seven thousand. Everyone else was afraid; their mouths were filled with praise to the Lord. The second grief has passed - the third is coming soon. The seventh angel sounds; Loud voices are heard in heaven, saying: The kingdom of peace has become our Lord and His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. The twenty-four elders, sitting on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: We praise You, Lord God Almighty, who forever was and who will be, because You accepted Your great power and reigned. Your wrath has come, and the time has come for the dead to accept Judgment and to give reward to Your servants, the prophets, the saints and those who fear Your name, small and great, and to corrupt those who corrupted the earth. Behold, the church of God was opened in heaven and the ark of His covenant (between God and people) appeared in His church; there were lightnings, voices, thunder, earthquakes and large hail. Chapter 12. The seer sees a great sign in the sky: a woman clothed with the sun; the moon is under her feet, and on her head is a crown of twelve stars. Being in the womb, she cries painfully and suffers in childbirth. Following this, another sign is revealed: behold, a large black serpent with seven heads and ten horns; on every head is his crown. With his trunk he tore off a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the ground. He stood before his wife, who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth, he would devour her child. And so the wife gave birth to a son, who will rule all nations with a rod of iron. Her child was taken to God and His throne. And the wife fled into the desert, where God had prepared a place for her to eat here for 1260 days. War breaks out in heaven. Michael and the angels subordinate to him fought with the serpent, and the serpent and the angels subordinate to him fought. So they became weak, and there was no place for them in heaven: the great serpent, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole universe, was cast down to earth along with his angels. At this time, a strong voice was heard in heaven, saying: Now has come salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ, because the slanderer of our brethren, who slandered them before God day and night, has been brought down. They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. When the devil saw that he had been cast down to earth, he chased after the woman who had given birth to a male child. The woman was given two wings of a large eagle so that she could soar in the desert - to her place - from the serpent. The serpent sent water after his wife like a river to drown her in it. But the earth helped the wife: having settled, it swallowed up the river. The serpent became angry with the woman and went to wage war with her remaining seed, that is, people who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. God Almighty! When will You completely defeat the seducing serpent?! Chapter 13. The spectator stands on the sand of the sea. He sees a beast with seven heads and ten horns coming out of the sea; there were ten crowns on the horns, and blasphemous names on their heads. The beast looked like a lynx, its legs were like those of a bear, its mouth was like that of a lion; the serpent gave him his strength and throne and enormous power. One of his heads seemed to have been stabbed to death. But the mortal wound was healed. The whole earth seemed to the beast, and people worshiped the serpent, who gave power to the beast. They also bowed down to the beast, saying: Who is like him and who can fight with him? He was given a mouth that spoke great things and uttered blasphemies; he was given freedom for forty-two months. And he blasphemed - both God, and His village, and those who live in heaven. He was allowed to make war with the saints and defeat them, and power was given over every tribe of people, over nations and tribes. All will bow down to him whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world. The Seer sees another beast rising from the earth; he had two horns like a lamb's; he spoke like a serpent and forced everyone living on earth to worship the first beast. He performed great miracles, such as bringing down fire from heaven to earth, and forcing people to make an image of the beast; it was given to him to revive this image and make it speak. He will force everyone to have the mark of the name of the beast or the number of his name on their right hand or on their foreheads, so that no one can buy or sell anything except those who have the mark. Chapter 14. He sees the Lamb standing on Mount Zion and with Him 144 thousand people, having the name of His Father written on their foreheads. From the sky one could hear, as it were, the sound of many waters or the roar of strong thunder: they were horns blowing their harps and singing some new song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. Here is an Angel soaring in the middle of the sky; he will preach the everlasting gospel to those who live on earth; His loud voice is heard: Fear God and give glory to Him: the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him who created heaven and earth, and the sea and the springs of water. Following this Angel, another hovered, saying: Babylon the great city is fallen, is fallen, etc. The third Angel proclaimed eternal destruction to those who worship the beast and have his mark. The smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever. Then Saint John hears a voice from heaven - write: from now on blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; to her, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors, and their works will follow them [v. 13]. Here he sees a bright cloud, and on the cloud sits someone like the Son of Man with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Another angel came out of the church, loudly saying to the one sitting on the cloud: put out your sickle and reap: the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth has dried up. He who sat on the cloud brought his sickle to the earth, and the earth was compressed (the people on the earth). Another Angel came out of the heavenly Church, having power [over fire]. He also loudly said to the Creature who had a sharp sickle: put out your sharp sickle and pick the bunches of the earth’s grapes: they are already ripe. And the angel cast his sickle on the ground and took the grapes and put them into the winepress of the great wrath of God. The winepress was pressed outside the city; blood came out of the winepress to the horse's bridles for 1600 stadia. Imagine, man, how an Angel will cast his sickle to the ground and in an instant reap all those living on earth; woe to you if you become tares and not wheat. Chapter 15. The Holy Seer of Mysteries sees another sign in heaven, great and wonderful: seven Angels having the seven last plagues, in which the wrath of God will end - a sea of ​​glass mixed with fire, and people who have defeated the beast, standing on this sea and having the harp of God. They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: Great and wonderful are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Righteous and true are Your ways, King of saints! Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? You alone are holy: all nations will come and worship before You, because the time of Your righteous judgment has come. After this, the Seer of Secrets saw that the church of the Tabernacle of Testimony 40 had opened in heaven. Seven Angels came out of the church, having seven plagues, dressed in linen clothes, clean and light, and girded around their chests with golden belts. One of the four animals gave the seven angels seven golden phials full of the wrath of God, who lives forever. The church was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power: no one could enter the church until the seven plagues of the seven Angels were over. Great God, I disappear before these last events of the great day of Judgment. The phenomena are all so new, terrible and wondrous: the news and their extraordinary nature are amazing. Chapter 16. From the church he hears a voice to seven angels: go and pour out seven vials of the wrath of God on the earth. So the first Angel went and spilled his vial on the ground: a disgusting and cruel pus began to appear on people who had the mark of the beast and bowed to his image. The second angel shed his vial into the sea, and it became like the blood of a dead man: everything living died in the sea. The third angel shed his vial on the rivers and springs of water - and they became blood. The seer hears an angel above the waters saying: You are righteous, O Lord, who is and was, and holy, that you have judged thus; since they (people) shed the blood of saints and prophets, you gave them blood to drink, because they are worthy of it. The voice of another Angel was heard from the altar: yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments. The fourth Angel shed his vial on the sun - and it received the power to scorch people with fire. And so the people were scorched by great heat, and they began to blaspheme the name of God, who afflicted them with these plagues, and did not come to their senses to give Him glory. The fifth Angel spilled a vial on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened: people chewed their tongues due to serious illnesses and blasphemed the God of heaven in their illnesses and in their ulcers, but did not come to their senses to repent of their deeds. The sixth Angel spilled a vial on the great river Euphrates - and the water in it dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East in its bed. He sees three unclean spirits coming out like frogs from the mouth of the serpent, the beast and the false prophet: these demonic spirits perform signs and go to the kings of the earth to gather them for battle on this great day of God Almighty. And they gathered them to a place called in Hebrew Armageddon. The seventh angel poured out his vial into the air: out of the church of heaven came a strong voice from the throne, saying: It is become. There were flashes, thunder and voices; a terrible earthquake began, such as had not happened since the creation of mankind. Great hail fell in three parts, and the cities of men fell. God also remembered great Babylon in order to give her the cup of the wine of the wrath of His wrath. The islands and mountains disappeared. A large hail fell from the sky on the people, and the people blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because it was too strong. It is not difficult for someone who created the whole world from nothingness not only to transform it in an instant, but also to completely destroy it. My God! When You transform Your world for human injustice, have mercy on me then and do not condemn me to eternal torment! By the infinity of Your mercy and by my insignificance, judge me, O my Creator. Whether I sin or do good with the help of Your grace, I am, in any case, Your insignificant servant. Chapter 17 In this chapter, the Angel shows the Seer the judgment of the great fornicator sitting on many waters, that is, as is further explained, the judgment of the great city, in which people and nations, and tribes and pagans converge. On the forehead of the fornicator there is a name written: mystery, Babylon the great, mother of harlots and abominations of the earth [v. 5]. Saint John saw that she was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses of Jesus [v. 6], and when he saw her, he was extremely amazed. The angel said to him: Why are you marveling? I will tell You the secret of this woman and the beast that carries her, which has seven heads and ten horns. The beast which you saw was, and was not; but he will emerge from the abyss and go to destruction: those who live on earth, those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world, will be surprised that the beast was and is not, and will appear again. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the wife sits, and seven kings: five of them have fallen, one is present, and the other has not yet come, and when he comes, then he has little time left to live. But the beast that was and is not is the eighth of the seven and will go to destruction. Ten horns - ten kings who have not yet accepted the kingdom, but who have to accept royal power for one hour along with the beast. They have one will, and they will all give the beast their strength and power. They will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, since He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings: those who are with the Lamb are His called, chosen and faithful servants. The ten horns of the beast will hate the fornicator, devastate her and expose her, they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire (because there is something else that is inedible: the fornicator is, of course, allegorically). All this is because God placed in their hearts the readiness to do His will and make one will of themselves (speaking of kings) and give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. The woman whom you saw is a great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth. Chapter 18 The seer further sees another Angel descending from heaven, having great power: the earth was illuminated from his glory. In his fortress he cried out loudly: Babylon the great has fallen, fallen, and has become a dwelling place for demons, a repository for unclean and hated birds, because she has given all nations to drink the wine of the rage of her fornication. The kings of the earth committed adultery with him, and the merchants of the earth became rich from the wealth of his sweets. Then he hears another voice from heaven, saying: come out of him, my people, so that you do not share in his sins and be unharmed from his plagues: his sins ascended to heaven, and God remembered his iniquities (in the Testament everywhere in this chapter it appears, because Babylon is otherwise called a harlot). Repay him as he repaid you: with the cup with which he drew for you, you also draw for him. As much as he has glorified and enjoyed, give him so much torment and sobs because he says in his heart: I sit as a queen, I don’t know widowhood and I won’t see sobs. That is why in one day plagues, death, mourning and famine will come upon him, and he will be burned with fire, since the Lord God who judges him is powerful. The kings of the earth will weep and lament when they see the smoke from its fire, saying: Woe, woe, that great city Babylon, that mighty city: in one hour is thy judgment accomplished. 14th century And the fruits pleasing to your soul were no more, and everything that was fat and brilliant was removed from you; you will no longer find it (this can be done in a sermon). The merchants (like the kings about whom we spoke before) will stand afar off because of the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying: Woe, woe to you, the great city, dressed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, for in one hour such wealth perished! [vv.15-17]. Oh, great and [enlightened] day, the day of the Last Judgment of God! How many great and amazing things will happen on this day. Angels of God! Now we do not see you, and then you will be powerful, luminous figures in the disgrace of the 42nd Judgment. How terrible your sight will be for sinners and how delightful and joyful for the righteous. In what glory do you live, mighty in strength! Here one of you descends to earth - and the light from him illuminates the earth. What a Lord of glory! What if He comes to earth? Oh, then she will run and find no place for herself if God does not hold her back. [Ch.] 19. Next, John hears a strong, unanimous voice of a large people in heaven, saying: Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and honor and strength be to our Lord! [Article 1]; His judgments are true and righteous, because He condemned the great fornicator, who stained the earth with her fornication, and avenged the blood of his servants who died at her hand. And another time the people said: Alleluia, and the smoke from it ascended forever and ever. The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God sitting on the throne, saying: Amen! Hallelujah! A voice came out from the throne: Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, small and great [vv.4-5]. And I heard it like the voice of a large people, like the sound of many waters and like the peals of strong thunder saying: Hallelujah! for the Lord God Almighty reigns [v.6]. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife is completely ready. It was given to her to be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright, and the fine linen signifies the righteousness of the saints. And the Angel said to me: write: blessed are those who are called to the supper of the marriage of the Lamb - and again he said: these are the true words of God. Falling at my feet, I bowed to him, and he said to me: See, don’t do this: I am a slander to you and your brothers who have the testimony of Jesus: worship God. And I saw the sky open, and behold, a white horse and He who sat on it was Faithful and True, just and warlike. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; a name was written on Him that no one knew but Him; He is dressed in a robe stained with blood; His name is the Word of God. The heavenly armies followed Him on white horses, dressed in white and clean linen. From His mouth came a sharp weapon with which He was to slay the nations. On His robe and on His stitch was written: “King of kings and Lord of lords” [v. 16]. Again I saw one Angel standing in the sun; He called with a loud voice to all the birds: come, gather together for the great supper of God - eat the flesh of kings, mighty men and captains, horses and their riders, the flesh of all free and slave, small and great. And behold, I saw that the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies were gathered to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His armies. And the beast was captured, and with him the lying prophet, who performed miracles before him, with which he deceived the people who received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image, and both were cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with a bogey. The rest were killed by the weapon of Him who sat on the horse, which came out of His mouth. And all the birds of the air were satisfied with their flesh. God! Make us worthy to reign with Your saints in Your eternal glory and sing to You incessantly: Alleluia. Human! Listen to this strange, majestic, amazing voice, coming as if from a large people or from many waters or, finally, from strong thunder: Alleluia - the Lord God Almighty reigns! Let us rejoice and be glad and sing His glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself completely ready. How many spiritual beings will rejoice in the bright abodes of heaven and what endless streams of praise will murmur there, coming out of a myriad of lips. Everyone will know only endless joy and unceasing, sweet praise. The earth with its sorrows and torments will be forgotten; the devil with his angels and wicked people will be in Gehenna. Holy souls, or holy people of God, will unite with God, and in this union there will be no end to peace, joys and bliss, which no one can take away. So generously God rewards the love and loyalty of His servants to Himself! Chapter 20. Saint John sees an Angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a large rope in his hand. He seized the devil and bound him for a thousand years; then he threw him into the abyss, imprisoned him and put a seal over him so that he would not deceive people until he was a thousand years old; after that it will be allowed for a short time. And behold, I saw thrones and those sitting on them, to whom judgment was given; also the souls of people killed for their testimony about Jesus Christ and for preaching the word of God, who did not worship the beast or its image and did not receive the mark on their foreheads and on their hands: they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life and will not come to life until the completion of the thousand years. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has a part in the first resurrection; the second death will have no power over them, but they will become priests of God and Christ and reign with Him for a thousand years. When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive people living on the four corners of the earth - Gog and Magog, and gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. So they went out into the wideness of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God from heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (horrible), where the beast and the lying prophet are; they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And then I saw a great white throne and Him sitting on it, from whose presence heaven and earth fled away, so that no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. Now the books unbent, and another book opened up: this is the animal book, the book of life; and the dead received their judgment from the writings of the book of their deeds. The sea gave up its dead, death and hell too: everyone accepted judgment according to their deeds. Both death and hell were cast into the lake of fire: this is the second death. And everyone who is not written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire. Amazing pictures! What is it like to see, for example, a white throne and the One sitting on it, from whose lightning-blurred face, breathing omnipotence and boundless power and greatness, heaven and earth fled and found no place for themselves. Imagine it well, think about it! Chapter 21. The seer sees a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more; and the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared just as a bride is prepared for her husband; and he heard a mighty voice from heaven, saying, This is the tabernacle of God with men; God will live with them. And they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them, their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, no more crying, no crying, no sickness: all this that happened in the first century has passed away. He who sat on the throne said: Behold, I am making all things new - and, turning to Saint John, he said: Write down: these words are true and faithful. And again he said: it is finished. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give free drink from the fountain of living water. He who overcomes will inherit everything, and I will be his God, and he will be My son (and not a slave, as opposed to God’s sovereignty). And the fearful, and the unfaithful, and the abominable, and murderers, fornication and sorcery, idolaters and all liars - they all have a part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death. One of the seven Angels, having seven vials filled with the last seven plagues, approached Saint John and said to him: go, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he led him in spirit to a great and high mountain and showed him a great city, holy Jerusalem, descending from heaven from God - in the glory of God: its light was like a precious stone, like a crystal-shaped jasper. Near it there was a large and high wall with twelve gates: on the gates were twelve Angels, and inscribed were the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. There are three gates from the east, three from the north, three from the south and three from the west. The wall had twelve bases, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The one who spoke to me had a golden cane - for measuring the city, the gates and the wall. The city stands on four sides: its longitude is equal to its latitude. The angel measured the city with a reed and found twelve thousand: its longitude, latitude and height are equal. He measured the walls at one hundred and forty-four cubits - the human measure that the Angel had. The wall is made of jasper, and the city is made of pure gold, like pure glass. The bases of the wall were decorated with all sorts of precious stones. The twelve gates were made of twelve beads: each gate was made of solid beads; The city streets are pure gold, like the brightest glass. Saint John did not see a church in it, because the church for him is the Lord Almighty and the Lamb. The city did not need solar or lunar illumination: it was illuminated by the glory of God and the lamp for it - the Lamb. The nations saved by Him will live in the light of this city, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honor to it. Its gates will not be closed during the day, because there will be no night there. All the glory and honor of the nations will be brought there; no evil thing will enter into it, any more than those who do abomination and speak lies, but only those who are written in the book of life of the Lamb. Thus the present order of things will certainly, long or short, end; the real heaven and the real earth will pass, fly by, and a new heaven and earth will appear. Instead of countless states and human settlements there will be one new city - heavenly Jerusalem, which will include all the best that people had. The kings will bring their honor and glory here, the nations too, but nothing bad will enter there: there will be only righteous people from whom [God] will take away every tear from their eyes and whose joy will have no end. Ah, wanderer man, strive for this eternal city of the Living God. Chapter 22 The angel shows Saint John a pure river of living water, clear as crystal, emanating from the throne of God and the Lamb, and the tree of life with twelve fruits received monthly. Saint John says that in the holy city there will be the throne of God and the Lamb, and His servants will serve Him: they will see His face and bear His name on their foreheads. There will be no night there, but they will not need the light from a lamp or the light of the sun, because the inhabitants of this city are enlightened by the Lord God. They will reign forever and ever. God! Bring us, sinners, into this blessed city, purifying us here on earth, in the image of our destinies! The angel said to the Seer: these words are faithful and true, and the Lord, the God of the holy prophets (as well as all people), sent His Angel to show His servants what must soon happen: Behold, I am coming quickly [v. 7]. Reverence these words and keep them in mind; The One who is coming will come and will not become obdurate. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. The angel, by the way, said: do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. Let the one who offends still offend, and the one who is nasty, let him be defiled again; and let the righteous still do righteousness, and let the holy one still be holy. Behold, I will come quickly: and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his deeds. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the First and the Last. Blessed are those who keep His commandments [v.14]: they will have the right to use the tree of life and through the gates they will enter the city. And outside this city are dogs and sorcerers, and fornicators and murderers, idolaters and everyone who loves and commits lies. I, Jesus, have sent My Angel to testify to you this in the Churches. I am the root and lineage of David, and the bright star and star. The spirit and the bride say: come. And let the one who hears say: Come. Let the thirsty one go, and let the one who desires receive the water of life freely. Oh, Lord, grant this living water, so that we may not thirst forever and ever. Behold, I am coming quickly - remember these words of the Lord, Christians! They are true and certain. If, apparently, He does not soon come to earth to judge the living and the dead, then this is only according to our human accounts, but with God a thousand years are like one day and one day is like a thousand years. Come, Lord Jesus, to transform the sinful, corrupt earth. October 12, 1856. Podir is the long robe of the Old Testament high priest. Hinix is ​​a small grain measure, which originally denoted the amount of bread needed for a person’s daily sustenance. The student of the abyss is the ditch of destruction. Hyacinth - hyacinth (hyacinth is a red, orange or yellow gemstone). Tabernacle (Greek) – dwelling, abode; the tabernacle of testimony (or testimony) is the place where the Lord testified about Himself to people and communicated His revelations to them. Convert (Church Glav.) – here in the meaning of “destroy, ruin.” Disgrace (church glory) - a spectacle. You might be interested in: