109. Граждане, ожидающие Царя своего в городе своем

We see that when citizens expect the coming of their King to their city, they prepare for a worthy welcome and often say among themselves: “The King will come! The king will come! Someday he will be there, at night or during the day, in the morning or in the evening, and with what retinue will he come?” So and similarly, citizens speak among themselves, awaiting the royal coming. Christians! We await the coming to us of the King of Heaven, Jesus Christ. We see His first coming to us; We expect the second one, and we will see it. We see that His first coming was in humility, poverty, meekness and long-suffering; the second will be in terrible and Divine glory. In the first, He came quietly, and descended like rain on a mown meadow, like drops watering the earth (Ps. 71:6; Judges 6:36–40). In the second, it will shine like lightning, which shines in the east and appears in the west (Matthew 24:27). Then he will come not to suffer for us (this has already happened), but to judge us and reward everyone according to their deeds. We see in Holy Scripture what will happen then. We see that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, and then the heavens will pass away with a noise, the elements will be destroyed with a burning fire, the earth and all the works on it will be burned up (2 Peter 3:10). We see that then the sky will disappear, rolled up like a scroll; and every mountain and island will move from their places. And the kings of the earth, and the nobles, and the rich, and the captains of thousands, and the mighty, and every slave and every free man, will hide in caves and in the ravines of the mountains, and will say to the mountains and stones: Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; For the great day of His wrath has come, and who can stand? (Rev. 6:14–17) We see that then all who have died since the beginning of the world will rise from their graves, and those who have done good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil into the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28–29). We see that then all nations will gather from all ends of the earth (Matthew 25:32) and stand before the King of Heaven, the righteous Judge. We see that then all the gathered people will be divided into two parts: some will stand on the right side of the Judge, others on the left. Then the ultimate and final separation will be from each other. We see that then the wife will be separated from her husband forever, the father and mother from their children, the kings from their subjects, the princes, nobles and masters from their slaves, the friends from their friends and the acquaintances from their acquaintances. We also see that then the wife will stand on the right side of the Judge, and the husband on the left, and the husband on the right, and the wife on the left; father and mother on the right, and their children on the left, and children on the right, and father and mother on the left; one brother on the right, and the other on the left. We see that then the same will happen to bosses and their subordinates; we see that the Tsar will stand on the right, and his subjects on the left, and his subjects on the right, and the Tsar on the left; princes, nobles and gentlemen on the right, and slaves and their servants on the left, and slaves and servants on the right, and gentlemen, princes and nobles on the left. We also see that the saints who are now imaginary and revered by people are on the left side, and imaginary sinners and despised by the world as the wicked will become on the right. The saints and righteous are on the right side; the sinners and the wicked will stand on the left side. Then everyone will know truth and untruth, virtue and sin, holy and unclean. For the trial will then be according to conscience, and not according to rank; by deeds, not by persons; on the inside, and not on the outside and appearance. For the judge will be God, who tests hearts and wombs and judges by the inside of the heart, and not by the outward appearance of deeds. Man looks at man's appearance, but God looks at man's heart. It often happens that a person is good before people, but evil before God; holy before men, but defiled before God; virtuous before people, but vicious before God. We see that those standing on the right side will shine like the lights of heaven: then the righteous will shine like the sun (Matthew 13:43). Those on the left side will turn black and appear in vile disgrace, since the sins that are hidden in them now will come out and create terrible disgrace in them. Then it will appear to the whole world what they not only did openly, but also secretly, and what thoughts and undertakings they had in their hearts. Then any ugliness of the soul that has stuck to it from sins will appear on the body of the sinner. So they will see their ugliness and the sinful abomination in which they lived in this world. We hear that then the righteous Judge will say to those on His right side: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And to those on the left he will say: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). This is the lot of those who stand on the right and those who stand on the left! A Christian will hear sweetly and joyfully: “Come,” but it will be scary and sorrowful to hear: “Depart from Me.” But everyone, either this or that, will certainly hear the voice. The Last Judgment of Christ will end with the blessing of some and the curse of others. Then everyone, having heard the word spoken to them by the Judge, will go to their places, but different, they will go, but not the same. Some will go with joy, and gladness, and triumph into eternal life. Others cry, sob and despair - into eternal torment. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matthew 25:46). Christians! This is the coming of our King Jesus Christ - let us prepare ourselves for a worthy meeting of Him. May our conversations be more often about that day. Let us also say to each other: “The King of Heaven is coming! The King of Heaven is coming to us! He comes to save the righteous and torment sinners. Will he come someday, at night or during the day, in the morning or in the evening, in what month, day and time?” His preachers know that they proclaim to us: “The King of Heaven is coming, the King of Heaven is coming, prepare to meet Him!” O dear evangelists, tell us when He will come to us? When will the righteous Sun appear to us? When will His lightning flash and illuminate the universe? When will His holy Throne be placed at Judgment and will we all see Him? He is coming soon, they answer us, he is coming soon and will not delay. The coming of the Lord is drawing near. Behold, the Judge stands at the door (James 5:8–9). But you do not know the day and hour at which He will come. Watch, because you do not know at what hour your Lord will come (Matthew 24:42). He who testifies to this says: Hey, I am coming quickly! Amen. Hey, come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22:20). To him be glory forever and ever, amen. You might be interested in: