Огласительное поучение пятнадцатое

[To those preparing in Jerusalem for enlightenment, spoken without preparation, in response to the words: And the one who comes to judge the living and the dead. And about the Antichrist. Also in response to the words of Daniel: I saw at last that thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat down, etc. (Dan.7:9). I saw in the night visions, behold, with the clouds of heaven there came as it were the Son of Man, and so on. (Dan.7:13).] 1. We preach not only the coming of Christ, but also another, which will be much more glorious than the first. For in the first He proved His patience, and in the second He will appear in the crown of God the King. With our Lord Jesus Christ, for the most part, everything is twofold. There are two births: one from the eternal God, the other from the Virgin. The descent is twofold: one is quiet, like rain on a fleece; a different future, a glorious one. At his first coming, He lay in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes; in the second he will be clothed with light, like a robe (Ps. 103:2). First he endured the Cross, despising the shame (Heb. 12:2); in the second he will come, accompanied by an army of angels, in glory. Therefore, we do not stop our thoughts on the first coming only, but we also expect the second. At the first they said: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Matthew 21:9); and in the second we will say the same thing again, so that, together with the Angels, having met the Lord and worshiped Him, we will say: blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord (Mark 11:9). The Savior will not come to be judged again, but will come to judge those who judged Him. He, who before, being judged, was silent, will remember the lawbreakers who showed their insolence at the Cross, and will say: you did this, and I was silent (cf. Ps. 49:21). As a Steward, He came then, instructing people with exhortations, and now, out of necessity, even if they did not want to, they will be subjected to His Dominion. 2. The prophet Malachi speaks about these two comings: and suddenly the Lord, whom you seek, will come to His church (Mal.3:1). This is the first coming. Further he speaks about the second coming: and the Angel of the covenant, whom you desire 5; Behold, He comes, says the Lord of hosts. And who will endure the day of His coming, and who will stand when He appears? For He is like a melting fire and like a cleansing lye, etc. (Mal.3:2-3). And soon afterwards the Savior Himself says: And I will come to you for judgment and will be a swift accuser of sorcerers and adulterers and those who swear falsely, etc. (Mal.3:5). Therefore, warning us, Paul says: Whether anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw (1 Cor. 3:12), everyone’s work will be revealed; for the day will show it, because it will be revealed by fire (1 Cor. 3:13). And Paul depicts these two comings in his Epistle to Titus in these words: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking forward to the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11-13). You see, he also talks about the first coming, for which he gives thanks; and about the second one, which we expect. Therefore, the Creed, which we are now preaching, commands us to believe in this way: He who has ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and who will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose Kingdom will have no end. 3. So, our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven, will come with glory at the end of this world on the last day. For there will be an end to this world, and this created world will again be renewed. Since depravity, theft, and adultery, and every kind of sin have spread, and blood with blood (see Hos. 4:2) has been mixed in the world, so that this wonderful abode of creatures does not remain forever full of lawlessness, this world will pass away in order to appear again better. And do you want to have proof of this from the words of Scripture? Listen to what Isaiah says: and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll of books, and all their army will fall, like a leaf falling from a vine (Is. 34:4). And the Gospel says: the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky (Matthew 24:29). Let us not grieve, as if we alone must die; and the stars will cease to exist, and perhaps they will appear again. The Lord is shining into the heavens not to destroy them, but to reveal them again in a better form. Listen to the words of the prophet David: In the beginning You [Lord], You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands (Ps. 101:26), they will perish, but You will remain (Ps. 101:27). But someone will say, why does he say clearly: they will perish? This can be seen from what follows: they will all wear out like a robe, and you will change them like a garment, and they will be changed (Ps. 101:27). For just as it is said about a person that he perishes, as it is said: The righteous dies, and no one takes it to heart (Is. 57:1), while he awaits the resurrection, so we equally expect some resurrection to heaven. The sun will turn into darkness, and the moon into blood (Acts 2:20). Let those who have converted from the Manichaeans come to their senses and no longer idolize the luminaries; and this sun, which is darkened, is not considered ungodly to be Christ. Listen also to the words of the Lord: Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away (Mark 13:31). For creations do not have the same value as the words of the Lord. 4. So what is seen will pass away, and what is hoped for will come. But no one is curious about that time. For it is not your business to know the times or seasons which the Father has appointed in His authority (Acts 1:7). And do not dare to set a time when this will happen; however, do not fall asleep from carelessness: stay awake, says Christ, because you do not know at what hour your Lord will come (Matthew 24:42). Since we had to know the signs of the end of the world and since we are waiting for Christ so as not to die in error and not fall into the deception of the liar Antichrist, then the apostles, moved by the Divine will, for our edification, approach the true Teacher and say: “Tell us, when will this be? and what is the sign of Your coming and the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3). We hope that You will come again; but Satan is transformed into an angel of light (see 2 Cor. 11:14); For this purpose, protect us, so as not to worship someone else instead of You.” He, having opened His divine and holy lips, says: Beware lest anyone deceive you (Matthew 24:4). And you, listeners, as if contemplating Him now with the eyes of your mind, listen to Him, and He who says the same thing to you: beware lest anyone deceive you. These words convince you all to listen to what is being said. For this is not a story about past deeds, but a prophecy about the future and what is sure to happen. We do not prophesy, for we are unworthy, but we reveal and explain the signs found in Scripture. Take note of what has already happened and what is about to happen, and warn yourself. 5. Beware that no one deceives you, for many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and they will deceive many (Matthew 24:5). This partly happened; for Simon the Magus, and Menander, and some other wicked heresy leaders have already said this. And they will talk both in our time and after us. 6. Another sign: You will also hear about wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6). Are the Persians and Romans currently at war over Mesopotamia or not? For will nation rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, or not? and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in places (Matthew 24:7). This has already happened. And in another place: both terrible phenomena and great signs from heaven (Luke 21:11). So, watch, says Christ, because you do not know at what hour your Lord will come (Matthew 24:42). 7. But we are looking for our sign regarding the coming; Belonging to the Church, we look for a sign of the Church. The Savior says: and then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another (Matthew 24:10). If you hear that bishops go against bishops even to the point of bloodshed, clerics against clerics, and laity against laity, then do not be embarrassed: for this is foretold in Scripture; Look not at what is happening now, but at what is written. And even though I, who taught you, perish, you will not perish with me; It is possible for the listener to be better than the Teacher and to be the first to come after, since the Lord accepts those who come even at the eleventh hour. When betrayal was revealed in the apostles, then why be surprised if brotherly hatred is revealed in the bishops? But the sign concerns not only the rulers of the Church, but also the laity. For Christ says: And because iniquity increases, the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). Will any of those present boast that he has unfeigned love for his neighbor? Do they not mostly kiss with their lips, show a cheerful appearance and a joyful gaze, but build feats in their hearts, plot evil, speaking words of peace (see Ps. 27:3)? 8. And here is another sign: And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). Almost the entire world, as we see, is filled with the teaching of Christ. 9 . What will happen after this is stated further: Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, let the one who reads understand (Matthew 24:15). And again: Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is Christ, or there, do not believe it (Matthew 24:23). Fraternal hatred already gives rise to the Antichrist. For the devil first creates discord among the people, so that when the Antichrist comes, they will accept him more easily. God forbid that any of the servants of Christ, here or in any other place, should join this enemy. Regarding this, the Apostle Paul in his Epistle presented a clear sign in these words: that day will not come until a falling away comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits in the church of God as God, showing himself to be God. Don’t you remember that while I was still with you, I told you this? And now you know what prevents you from revealing yourself to him in due time. For the mystery of iniquity is already in action, only it will not be completed until the one who now restrains is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the spirit of His mouth and destroy by the revelation of His coming, the one whose coming, according to the work of Satan, will be with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception of those who perish (2 Thess. 2:3-10). This is what Paul says. There is still a retreat. For people have departed from the true faith; and some preach the Son-Fatherland, while others dare to say that Christ was brought from non-existence into being. Before there were obvious heretics, but now the Church is filled with hidden heretics. People have departed from the truth and have itching ears (see 2 Tim. 4:3). The word is flattering for vanity, and everyone listens with pleasure. A word about conversion, and everyone turns away. The majority have deviated from correct concepts, and it is more convenient to choose evil than to agree to good. This is the retreat after which we must expect the enemy. And he had already begun to partially send his predecessors so that the way for fishing would be prepared for him. Therefore, take care of yourself, O man, and strengthen your soul. The Church now witnesses to you before the living God, warns you against the Antichrist before he appears. Whether this will happen during your lifetime, we do not know; whether it will happen after you, we don’t know. However, it will be good if you, knowing this, are careful. 10. The true Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, will no longer come from the earth. If anyone appears in the desert with false visions, do not go out. If they say: here is Christ or there (Mark 13:21), do not believe it. Don’t look down or to the ground anymore: for the Lord will descend from heaven, not alone, as before, but accompanied by many myriads of Angels; not secretly, like rain on a fleece, but openly illuminating, like lightning. For He Himself said: just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:27). Also: then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven... all the tribes of the earth will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and so on. (Matthew 24:30–31). 11. However, just as before His incarnation, when they expected that God would be born of a Virgin, the devil maliciously distorted this truth through the fabulous teaching among idolaters that false gods give birth and are born from women, so that when, as he thought, a deception was accepted, they would not believe the truth - so before the second coming of the true Christ, the enemy, turning in his favor the expectation of ordinary people, and especially the circumcised, will reveal some a sorcerer, very experienced in the deceptive and evil art of sorcery and sorcery, who will steal power over the Roman kingdom, falsely call himself Christ and, with the name of Christ, will deceive the Jews awaiting the Messiah, and deceive the pagans with imaginary sorceries. 12. And the predicted Antichrist will come when the times of the Roman kingdom end and the end of the world approaches. Ten Roman kings will rise together and in different places, perhaps, but at the same time they will reign. After them, the eleventh Antichrist will rise and seize power over the Roman kingdom through evil magical art. He will overthrow three of them who reign before him, having the seven others in his power. First, he will show sanity and philanthropy befitting a glorious and reasonable person; and, having deceived the Jews, like the expected Christ, with signs and wonders, deceptive and flattering sorcery, he will later mark himself with all the evil deeds of inhumanity and lawlessness, so that he will surpass all the unrighteous and ungodly people who came before him; against everyone, and especially against us Christians, he will harbor thoughts that are murderous, cruel, unmerciful and open in various forms. For three years and six months he will do this; and after that he will be consumed at the second glorious coming from heaven of the Only Begotten Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus the true Christ, who, having killed the Antichrist with the spirit of His mouth (2 Thess. 2:8), will deliver him to the fire of Gehenna. 13. We teach this not from our own imagination, but having learned from the Divine Scripture read in the church, and especially from the recently read prophecy of Danilov; somehow the Archangel Gabriel explained it, saying: the fourth beast, the fourth kingdom will be on earth, which will devour the whole earth (cf. Dan. 7:23). Church interpreters believe that this kingdom is Roman. The first famous kingdom was Assyrian, the second was Median together with the Persian, after them the third was Macedonian; and the fourth kingdom is the present Roman one. Further, explaining in order, Gabriel says: ten horns mean that ten kings will rise from this kingdom, and after them another will arise, different from the previous ones, and will destroy three kings (Dan. 7:24), he says, not only ten, but also all those who were before him. And he will humble three kings, who are obviously from among the ten. Having overthrown three of these ten, no doubt, the eighth himself will reign. And words, he further says, will be spoken against the Most High (cf. Dan.7:23) is a man who is a blasphemer and a lawbreaker, who will receive the kingdom not from his ancestors, but will steal power through sorcery. 14. Who is this and what kind of power will act, explain to us, Paul! He, he says, whose coming, according to the work of Satan, will be with all power and signs and lying wonders (2 Thess. 2:9). This means that Satan will use it as an instrument, acting in it by himself. For, knowing that there will be no forgiveness for him at the trial, he will open open warfare not through his servants, as usual, but by himself, in all signs and lying wonders. Being the father of lies, he will deceive the imagination through false actions, so that the people will imagine that he sees a dead man resurrected, while he is not resurrected; as if he sees the lame walking and the blind seeing, when there was no healing. 15. And Paul also says: he who opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God or that is holy (2 Thess. 2:4). Above everything called God, that is, the Antichrist will hate idols, so that he will sit in the church of God. In what church? In the destroyed Jewish church, and not in the one in which we are now. Why are we saying this? Let no one think of us that we flatter ourselves. If he comes to the Jews under the name of Christ and wants the Jews to worship him, then, in order to further deceive them, he will take special care of the church, showing them that he, being from the family of David, wants to create a church built by Solomon. And the Antichrist will come when there is not one stone left on another in the Jewish church, according to the saying of the Savior; when either it itself falls from decay, or is destroyed for the purpose of creating a new one, or for other reasons, and therefore all the stones will be scattered. I am not talking about the outer circumference of the church, but about the inner church, in which were the Cherubim. Then the Antichrist will come with all his wonders and lying signs; will arm himself against all idols, at first he will hypocritically show love for mankind, and then he will show cruelty, and especially against the saints of God. For Daniel says: I saw how this horn made war with the saints (Dan.7:21). And in another place: and a time of trouble will come, such as has not happened since men existed until this time (Dan.12:1). The beast is terrible, the dragon is great, invincible by people, ready to devour; We will need to tell us a lot about him from Divine Scripture; now, due to the shortness of time, this is enough. 16. Therefore, knowing the great power of the enemy, he gave advice to the pious, says the Lord: then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains (Matthew 24:16). If anyone feels great strength within himself, so that he can resist Satan, let him resist him (for I do not despair of the powers of the Church) and let him say: who will separate us from the love of Christ? and so on. (cf. Rom. 8:35). If we are weak, we will preserve ourselves; If we rely on ourselves, we will resist. There will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, and never will be (Matthew 24:21). But thanks be to God, who will reduce the magnitude of sorrow by the shortness of time. For He says: but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened (Matthew 24:22). The Antichrist will reign for only three and a half years. We say this, borrowing not from books whose inspiration is unknown, but from Daniel. He says: And they will be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time (Dan.7:25). By time we mean one year, in which he will appear and become stronger; by times - the next two years of his lawful rule, which together with the first will amount to three years, and by half-time we mean six months. And in another place Daniel says the same thing: he swore by Him who lives forever, that to the end of time and times and half a time (Dan.12:7). Some take the following words in the same sense: one thousand two hundred and ninety days will pass (Dan.12:11); and these: Blessed is he who waits and attains one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days (Dan.12:12). Therefore, you need to hide and run away. For perhaps we will not have time to go around the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes (Matthew 10:23). 17. Who is that blessed man who, out of piety, will then suffer for Christ? For the martyrs of that time, in my opinion, are higher than all the martyrs. The former martyrs fought with only people, but the martyrs under the Antichrist will wage war with Satan himself; and before, the kings who initiated persecution only killed, and did not deceive others that they were raising the dead, did not show signs of signs and wonders; and here both fear and deception will operate to deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:24). Let no thought then enter into anyone’s heart: Has Christ created more? By what force does He act? If God didn’t want this, he wouldn’t have allowed it. The Apostle warns you against this and says: And for this reason God will send them strong delusion (2 Thess. 2:11). Send means the same as he allows to happen, not so that they will be justified, but so that they will be condemned. Why? Those who did not believe the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:12), that is, the true Christ; but those who loved unrighteousness, that is, in the Antichrist. God will allow this to happen during the persecution, not because he cannot prevent it, but in order to crown His ascetics for patience, as usually happens, like His prophets and apostles, so that for short-term suffering they will inherit the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, says Daniel: at this time all of your people who are found written in the book will be saved (Dan. 12:1); it is clear that in the book of life: And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to eternal life, others to everlasting contempt and disgrace (Dan.12:2). And those who are wise will shine like the lights of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever (Dan.12:3). 18. So strengthen yourself, man! You know the signs of the coming of the Antichrist. Not only you remember them, but also communicate them to everyone with love. If you have a son according to the flesh, give him some understanding. And if he gave birth to someone through instruction in the truths of faith, warn him not to accept lies instead of the truth. The mystery of iniquity is already at work (2 Thess. 2:7). People's wars frighten me, church discords frighten me, brother's hatred of brother frightens me. Let it only be said so; God forbid that this happens to us. However, we must be careful. And this is enough about the Antichrist. 19. Let us wait and hope that the Lord will come from heaven on the clouds. Then the trumpets of angels will sound, the dead in Christ will be the first to rise (1 Thess. 4:16); the pious who are alive will be caught up in the clouds, and as a reward for their labors they will receive honor that surpasses man; since their exploits exceeded man, as the Apostle Paul says in his epistle: because the Lord Himself, with a proclamation, with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first; Then we who are left alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). 20. This coming of the Lord and the end of the world was foreseen by Ecclesiastes, who says: Rejoice, young man, in your youth, etc. And remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your body (Eccl. 11:9-10). And remember your Creator... before difficult days come... before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened... and those who look out of the window are darkened (Eccl. 12:1-3); (meaning the power of vision with these words): until the silver chain was torn (Eccl. 12:6), (meaning by this the location of the stars, for they appear silver-shaped), and the golden band was not torn (meaning the golden-shaped sun, for anthem is a well-known plant that has many offspring with leaves like rays on all sides), and a person will rise up, and a person will rise at the cry of a rooster (see Eccl.12:4), (sparrows), and the heights will be terrible for them, and horrors on the road (Eccl.12:5). What will they see? then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven (Matt. 24:30; see Zech. 12:12). What will happen after the coming of the Lord? And the almond tree will blossom, and the grasshopper will grow heavy, and the caper will crumble (Eccl. 12:5). The blossoming amygdala shows, as interpreters say, that winter has passed. Our bodies, after the winter has passed, will then bloom with the color of heaven. And the grasshopper will become heavy, i.e. the inspired soul will be clothed with a body. And the caper will crumble, and the lawbreakers will crumble, like thorns. 21. Do you see how everyone predicts the coming of the Lord; you see how they know the voice of the sparrow. Let's see what voice this is: because the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The Archangel will shout and say to everyone: Rise to the meeting of the Lord. The coming of the Lord is terrible! David says: Our God is coming, and not in silence: before Him is a consuming fire, and around Him is a strong storm, and so on. (Ps.49:3). The Son of Man will come to the Father, as the Scripture read today says, on the clouds, while a river of fire will flow, in which people must be tested. If anyone has golden deeds, he will be brighter; Whoever's deeds are weak, like reeds, will burn in fire. And the Father sat down, His robe was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool (Dan.7:9). This is presented in a humanoid way. Why? Because He is the King of people not defiled by sins. For He says: “I will make your sins as white as snow and wool” (see Isa. 1:18). Through which is meant the remission of sins or even a sinless state. The Lord will come from heaven on the clouds, just as He ascended on the clouds. For He Himself said: And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30). 22. But what sign of His coming would be such that the opposing force would not dare to become like Him? And then, says Christ, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven (Matthew 24:30). And the true sign, Christ’s own, is the Cross. The luminous sign of the Cross precedes the King, who was previously crucified, so that when they saw him, the Jews, who had pierced Him before and plotted evil against Him, would all cry from all the tribes, saying: This is the One who was killed; This is the One whose face they spat on; this is He whom they bound with cords; This is the One who, having been crucified, was humiliated before. Where, they will say, will we flee from Your wrath? Being surrounded by angelic armies, they will not be able to escape anywhere. The sign of the Cross is fear for the enemies of Jesus, and joy for His friends who believe in Him, or preach Him, or suffer for Him. Who then will be so blessed as to appear as a friend of Christ? Such a great, glorious King, accompanied by Angels, sitting on the throne with the Father, will not despise His servants. For so that His chosen ones would not mingle with His enemies, He will send His angels with a great trumpet and gather His chosen ones from the four winds (Matthew 24:31). (He did not despise Lot alone; how can He despise many righteous people?) Come, you blessed of My Father (Matthew 25:34), He will say to them, then carried on chariots of the clouds, gathered by the Angels. 23. But one of those present will say: I am poor; or maybe then I’ll lie in bed sick; or will the despised woman be taken from the millstone? Will we be neglected? Cheer up, man! The judge is impartial: he will not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor will he decide matters by the hearing of his ears (Isa. 11:3); He will not prefer the learned to the ignorant, nor the rich to the poor. Even if you were on the field, the Angels will take you. Do not think that He will take the owners of the land and leave you, the farmer. Although you are a slave, although you are poor, do not be in the least afraid: he who has received the image of a servant (Phil. 2:7) will not despise slaves; Do not be afraid, even if you are lying on your bed sick; It is said in Scripture: then there will be two on one bed: one will be taken, and the other will be left (Luke 17:34). At least out of need you were sold to work at the millstones, whether you were a man or a woman; even if he had children, he worked incessantly at the millstone, he will not neglect you, freeing prisoners from chains (Ps. 67:7). He who brought Joseph from work and prison to the kingdom will also deliver you from sorrow and bring you into the Kingdom of Heaven. Have only hope, only work, only strive diligently. Nothing will perish. All your prayers and psalmody are written down; every alms is written down; every post is written down; Every faithfully observed marriage is recorded; abstinence preserved for God is recorded. And primarily from everything that is written down, virginity and purity will receive crowns; and you will shine like an Angel. But just as you willingly listened to what is good, listen equally patiently to what is contrary to it. All your covetousness is written down; all your fornication is written down, all your perjury, and blasphemy, and sorcery, and kidnapping, and murder, are written down. All this will be written down now if you do this after baptism, for the former will be erased. 24. When, says Christ, the Son of Man will come in His glory and all the holy Angels with Him (Matthew 25:31). Look, man, in front of so many witnesses you will appear in court: the entire human race will be there. Imagine how numerous the Roman tribe is; imagine how numerous other rude peoples currently exist, and how many of them have died in a hundred years; imagine how many are buried in a thousand years; imagine people from Adam to this day; their multitude is great, but it is still small in comparison with the Angels, of whom there are more. There are ninety-nine sheep; and the human race is only a sheep; for by how vast the place is, one must judge the number of inhabitants. The earth we inhabit is like a certain point located in the middle of one sky; therefore, the sky surrounding it has as much a greater number of inhabitants as a greater space; and the heavens of heavens contain an immense number of them. And what is written: thousands of thousands served Him, and ten thousand thousand stood before Him (Dan. 7:10) - this is not because this was the exact number, but because the prophet could not speak a greater number. Then God, the Father of all, will be at the judgment, Christ will sit with Him, and with Them the Holy Spirit. The angel's trumpet will call us all with our deeds. Shouldn't we be afraid of this alone? Do not consider, man, that it is an unimportant and insignificant punishment for you to be condemned by such a number! Don't we often wish we would rather die than be condemned by our friends? 25. Let us therefore be afraid, brethren, lest God condemn us, Who needs neither testing nor proof to condemn us. Do not say: I committed fornication at night, or practiced sorcery, or did something else, and no one was there. He will judge you according to your conscience; their thoughts, now accusing, now justifying one another on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secret deeds of men (Rom. 2:15-16). The terrible face of the Judge will force you to tell the truth; or, better yet, even if you don’t say it, He will reprove you. For you will appear, clothed either in your sins or in righteous deeds. This is shown by the words of the Judge Himself, for the Judge is Christ: the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). The Father does not deprive Himself of power; He judges through the Son. So, according to the will of the Father, the Son will judge; For there is not one will of the Father, and another of the Son, but one and the same. What does the Judge say about you bringing your deeds? And all nations will be gathered before Him (Matthew 25:32). For every knee must bow to Christ, in heaven and on earth and under the earth (Phil. 2:10). And he will separate one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32). How does the Shepherd separate them? Does He deal with the book, which is the sheep and which is the goat? Or does it differentiate by appearance? Doesn't soft wool show a sheep, and shaggy and rough wool doesn't show a goat? So, if you are now cleansed of sins, then you will have deeds like a clean wave: Your clothes will be clean, and you will always say the following words: I have thrown off my tunic; How can I put it on again? ( Song 5:3 ). By your clothing you will be recognized as a sheep. If you find yourself shaggy, like Esau, with thick hair, with low thoughts; like Esau, who forfeited his birthright and sold his advantage for food, you will be on the left side. However, God forbid that any of those present be rejected from grace and, due to bad deeds, appear on the left side, among the sinners! 26. The judgment is truly terrible; the very reminder of it makes one tremble. The Kingdom of Heaven is coming, and eternal fire is prepared. How, someone will say, can we escape the fire? And how will we ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven? I was hungry, says Christ, and you gave me food (Matthew 25:35). Find out the way; there is no need to resort to allegories, but you need to fulfill what is said. I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you accepted Me; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me (Matthew 25:35–36). If you do this, you will reign with Him; if you don’t do it, you will be condemned. So, begin to do this and remain firm in the faith, so that, like the foolish virgins, when we buy oil, you are not left at the door. Do not rely on the mere fact that you have a lamp in your hands; but keep it to burn. So let the light of your good deeds shine before people (Matthew 5:16), and let not Christ be blasphemed through you. Put on incorruptible clothing, adorning yourself with good deeds; and whatever task you receive from God, according to His judgment, to correct the matter, correct it profitably. Has the estate been entrusted to you? Use it as you should; is it entrusted to you to teach others? Edify as you should; Do you have the ability to win for God the souls of those who listen to you? Do it carefully. We have many opportunities to show good service, so that none of us, having been condemned, would be rejected, but so that we could boldly meet the eternal King Christ, who reigns forever. For He who will judge the living and the dead will reign forever; Who died for the living and for the dead, as Paul says: For to this end Christ both died, and rose again, and lived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living (Rom. 14:9). 27. And if when you hear from someone that the Kingdom of Christ will have an end, hate this heresy; she is the second head of the serpent, which recently grew in Galatia. Someone dared to say that at the end of the world Christ would not reign; dared to assert that the Word, which came again from the Father, having returned to the Father, will no longer exist. He blasphemes in this way to his own condemnation, for he did not heed the words of the Lord: the son abides forever (John 8:35). He did not heed the words of Gabriel: He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:33). Look into the matter I'm talking about. Nowadays people heretics teach against Christ, while Gabriel the Archangel taught about the eternal presence of the Savior. Who will you trust more? Isn't it Gabriel? Listen to the testimony of Daniel read now: I saw in the night visions, behold, one like the Son of Man walked with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of Days (Dan. 713). And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all nations, nations, and languages ​​should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and His kingdom will not be destroyed (Dan. 7:14): hold fast to this, only believe in this; and turn away from heretical teaching, for you have heard very clearly about the infinity of the kingdom of Christ. 28. You heard something similar to this in the interpretation of the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which is Christ according to the flesh: and this kingdom will not be transferred to another people (Dan. 2:44). And David says in one place: Your throne, O God, endures forever (Ps. 44:7); and in another: In the beginning You, [Lord], founded the earth, and so on. (Ps. 101:26). They will perish, but You will remain, and so on. (Ps. 101:27). You are the same, and Your years will not end (Ps. 101:28). And Paul explained this about the Son. 29. And do you want to know why those who teach otherwise have reached such madness? They read with evil intent the good words of the apostle: For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25). And they say that when the enemies are laid down at His feet, He will reign no more; but what they say is bad and senseless. For He who reigned before he overthrew his enemies, will he not reign all the more after he has conquered them? 30. They also dared to say that what is written: When all things are subdued to Him, then the Son Himself will submit to Him who put all things in subjection to Him (1 Cor. 15:28), means that the Son will be destroyed in the Father 6. The most wicked of all! You, the creations of Christ, will exist; will the existence of Christ, by whom you and all things were made, cease to exist? Blasphemous language! How will everything be subject to Him? Will it perish, or will it continue to exist? If that which submits to the Son continues to exist, will there really not be a Son who submits to the Father? To submit does not also mean that He will then begin to obey the Father, for He always does what pleases Him, but that He will then be submissive to Him, showing not forced obedience, but voluntary obedience; for He is not a slave who submits under compulsion, but a Son who obeys willingly and out of love. 31. We will ask them how to understand the words: more or less. For having objected to them in this way, with this very word I will try to refute their lies. Since they dared to say that the words: until the end he will put his enemies under his feet mean the end of His dominion, they dared to set limits to the eternal Kingdom of Christ and teach that His unceasing power will cease, then we read similar passages from the Apostle: However, death reigned from Adam to Moses (Rom. 5:14). Did some die before, and after Moses die no more? And really, after the law there was no death for people? You see that the word does not even mean a limit of time, but Paul shows them that although Moses was a righteous and admirable man, the death sentence pronounced on Adam befell him and those who followed him, and who, moreover, did not sin, like Adam, by disobedience, shown through the food of the tree. 32. Here is another similar thing: Until now, when they read Moses, a veil lies over their hearts (2 Cor. 3:15). Until now. Is it really only until Paul, and not until now, or until the end? When Paul says to the Corinthians: because we have reached you also with the gospel of Christ... we hope, as your faith increases... so that we may continue to preach the Gospel to you (2 Cor. 10:14-16), then you see here clearly that the word even to does not mean the end, but has something following it. How should you now accept the words: the enemies will put you down? Just as Paul says in another place: and comfort yourselves every day, until this day is condemned. Obviously, always. For just as it is impossible to say that there was a beginning of the days of Christ, do not listen if anyone begins to talk about the end of His kingdom; because it is written: His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom (Dan.3:100). 33. I also have many other testimonies from the Holy Scriptures about the eternal infinity of the Kingdom of Christ, but the above will suffice for now, because a lot of time has already passed. And you, listener, worship this King only, avoiding all heretical seduction. If the grace of God is worthy, then the rest of the truths of faith will be explained to you over time. May the God of all preserve you all, so that you remember the signs of the end of the world and remain undefeated by the Antichrist. The signs of the deceiver who is about to come are presented to you; evidence is presented that the true Christ will clearly descend from heaven. Run away from the first as if it were false; and expect this as true. Have you found out a way to appear on the right side during a trial? Keep your covenant with Christ, adorning yourself with good deeds, so that by standing boldly before the Judge, you may inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Through Him and with Him, may there be glory to God together with the Holy Spirit forever and ever! Amen. From St. Cyril: ζητείτε - you are looking. Closer: resolved into the Father. You might be interested in: