Eucharistic Thanksgiving
Liturgies of St. James and St. MarkFor all baptized believers – The following are suggested, very ancient (going back to the first century), Eucharistic prayers. Be sure to keep going at the end of this section (Liturgies of St. James and St. Mark) and pray Christ’s Words and the Invocation of the Holy Spirit ( The Anaphora) and the Didache which is where you will receive communion – the real presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the bread and cup. The bread can be purchased from a variety of sources that supply hosts to churches and the wine should be red wine (unsweetened) and mixed at the time of communion half and half with water. If you want to, you may skip down to the Didache and start there; make sure you do all that is there up to and including the amen at the + (cross) there. God bless! St. Mark. You begin here – We give Thee thanks, yea, more than thanks, O Lord our God, the Father of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, for all Thy goodness at all times and in all places, because Thou hast shielded, rescued, helped, and guided us all the days of our lives, and brought us unto this hour, permitting us gain to stand before Thee in Thy holy place, that we may implore forgiveness of our sins and propitiation to all Thy people. We pray and beseech Thee, merciful God, to grant in Thy goodness that we may spend this holy day and all the time of our lives without sin, in fullness of joy, health, safety, holiness, and reverence of Thee. But all envy, all fear, all temptation, all the influence of Satan, all the snares of wicked men every spirit visible and invisible thereof, do Thou, O Lord, drive away from us, and from Thy Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church each of us holding Thou the head Christ Jesus Our Only Lord and Saviour alone. Bestow upon us, O Lord, what is good and meet. Whatever sin we commit in thought, word, or deed, do Thou in Thy goodness and mercy be pleased to pardon. Leave us not, O Lord, while we hope in Thee; nor lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one and from all his works and minions, through the grace, mercy, and love of Thine only-begotten Son. O Sovereign Lord Christ Jesus, the co-eternal Word of the eternal Father, who wast made in all things like as we are, but without sin, for the salvation of our race; who hast sent forth Thy holy disciples and apostles to proclaim and teach the Gospel of Thy kingdom, and to heal all disease, all sickness among Thy people, be pleased now, O Lord, to send forth Thy light and Thy truth. Enlighten the eyes of our minds, that we may understand Thy divine oracles. Fit us to become hearers, and not only hearers, but doers of Thy word, that we, becoming fruitful, and yielding good fruit from thirty to an hundred fold, may be deemed worthy of the kingdom of heaven. Let Thy mercy speedily overtake us, O Lord. For Thou art the bringer of good tidings, the Saviour and Guardian of our spirits, souls and bodies and we offer glory, thanks, and the “Thrice Holy Hymn” to Thee, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, now, henceforth, and for evermore. Holy God, holy mighty, holy immortal. Holy, holy, holy, O Lord of Sabaoth, the heaven and the earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest, Look down in mercy and compassion, O Lord, and heal the sick among Thy people. May all our brethren who have gone or who are about to go abroad, safely reach their destination in due season. Send down the gracious rain upon the thirsty lands, and make the rivers flow in full stream, according to Thy grace. The fruits of the land do Thou, O Lord, fill with seed and make ripe for the harvest. In peace, courage, justice, and tranquillity preserve the kingdom of Thy servants, all priesthood of the faithful and kings upon the earth, whom Thou hast deemed worthy to reign over this earth. From evil days, from famine and pestilence, from the assault of barbarians, defend, O Lord, this Christ-loving city Thy body Christ Jesus Our Only Lord and Saviour, lowly and worthy of Thy compassion, as Thou didst spare Nineveh of old. For Thou art full of mercy and compassion, and rememberest not the iniquities of men against them. Thou hast said through Thy prophet Isaiah, I will defend this city, to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. Wherefore we pray and beseech Thee to defend in Thy good mercy this city, for the sake of Thee confessed by patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, disciples, apostles, evangelists and saints from Adam on, Thou who has shown us the way of salvation through the grace, mercy, and love of Thee only-begotten Son Jesus Christ Our Only Lord and Saviour. Through whom and with whom be glory and power to Thee MOST BLESSED LORD YAHWEH GOD ETERNAL Abba Our Father, with Thy all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit our Paraclete. Guide and direct in all peace from above in Thy Righteousness the kings, armies, magistrates, councils, peoples, and neighborhoods, and all our outgoings and incomings. St. James. Continue here – In peace let us beseech the Lord. Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy GLORY to God on high, and on earth peace to men of good will. We praise Thee; we bless Thee; we adore Thee; we glorify Thee. We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory, O Lord God, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Who takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For Thou alone art holy; Thou alone art The Lord; Thou alone art most high, O Jesus Christ, together with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. |
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Christ’s Words and the Invocation of the Holy SpiritThe Anaphora. Of St. James Continue here – The People: It is becoming and right. Then the celebrant prays: Verily it is becoming and right, proper and due to praise Thee, to sing of Thee, to bless Thee, to worship Thee, to glorify Thee, to give Thee thanks, Maker of every creature visible and invisible, the treasure of eternal good things, the fountain of life and immortality, God and Lord of all: (Aloud.) With loud voice singing the victorious hymn of Thy majestic glory, crying aloud, praising, shouting, and saying:- The People: Holy, holy, holy, O Lord of Sabaoth, the heaven and the earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. The celebrant, making the sign of the cross on the gifts, says: Holy art Thou, King of eternity, and Lord and giver of all holiness; holy also Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom Thou hast made all things; holy also Thy Holy Spirit, which searches all things, even Thy deep things, O God: holy art Thou, almighty, all-powerful, good, dread, merciful, most compassionate to Thy creatures; who didst make man from earth after Thine own image and likeness; who didst give him the joy of paradise; and when he transgressed Thy commandment, and fell away, didst not disregard nor desert him, O Good One, but didst chasten him as at merciful father, call him by the law, instruct him by the prophets; and afterwards didst send forth Thine only-begotten Son Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, into the world, that He by His coming might renew and restore Thy image; Then the celebrant holds the bread in his hand, and says: Having taken the bread in His holy and pure and blameless and immortal hands, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and showing it to Thee, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hallowed, and brake, and gave it to us, His disciples and apostles, saying:- (here break the bread) The Deacons say: For the remission of sins and life everlasting. Then he says aloud: Take, eat: this is my body, broken for you, and given for remission of sins. The People: Amen. Then he takes the cup, and says: In like manner, after supper, He took the cup, and having mixed wine and water, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and presenting it to Thee, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hallowed and blessed it, and filled it with the Holy Spirit, and gave it to us His disciples, saying, Drink ye all of it; this is my blood of the new testament shed for you and many, and distributed for the remission of sins. The People: Amen. The celebrant: This do in remembrance of me; for as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord’s death, and confess His resurrection, till He come. The Deacons say: We believe and confess: The People: We show forth Thy death, O Lord, and confess Thy resurrection. The celebrant (Oblation): Remembering, therefore, His life-giving sufferings, His saving cross, His death and His burial, and resurrection from the dead on the third day, and His ascension into heaven, and sitting at the right hand of Thee, our God and Father, and His second glorious and awful appearing, when He shall come again with glory to judge the quick and the dead, and render to every one according to His works; even we, sinful men, offer unto Thee, O Lord, this dread and bloodless sacrifice, praying that Thou wilt not deal with us after our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities; Then he says, thrice: For Thy people and Thy Church supplicate Thee. The People: Have mercy on us, O Lord our God, Father Almighty. Again the celebrant says (Invocation): Have mercy upon us, O God Almighty. Have mercy upon us, O God our Saviour. Have mercy upon us, O God, according to Thy great mercy, and send forth on us, and on these offered gifts, Thy all-holy Spirit. Then, bowing his neck, he says: The sovereign and quickening Spirit, that sits upon the throne with Thee, our God and Father, and with Thy only-begotten Son, reigning with Thee; the consubstantial and co-eternal; that spoke in the law and in the prophets, and in Thy New Testament; that descended in the form of a dove on our Lord Jesus Christ at the river Jordan, and abode on Him; that descended on Thy apostles in the form of tongues of fire in the upper room of the holy and glorious Zion on the day of Pentecost: this Thine all-holy Spirit, send down, O Lord, upon us, and upon these offered holy gifts; And rising up, he says aloud: That coming, by His holy and good and glorious appearing, He may sanctify this bread, and make it the holy body of Thy Christ. The People: Amen. The celebrant: And this cup the precious blood of Thy Christ. The People: Amen. |
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DidacheContinue here – Baruch Adonai Yahweh Eloheinu Yahweh echad El Olam Olam Immortal with and by the prayer and company of all your elect angels and saints especially St. Michael and St. Gabriel and St. Enoch in the flesh and St. Elijah in the flesh Your holy prophets yet to come for and with us unceasingly First, concerning the cup: We give you thanks, our Father, And concerning the broken bread: We give you thanks, our Father, Just as this broken bread was scattered LORD JESUS CHRIST OUR ONLY SAVIOUR, AFTER THE EATING OF SUPPER, YOU TOOK BREAD AND HAVING GIVEN THANKS YOU BROKE IT AND SAID, “TAKE EAT, THIS IS MY, THE BODY, THAT WHICH IS BROKEN, ON BEHALF OF YOU, THIS DO IN THIS MY ANAMNESIN” IN LIKE MANNER YOU ALSO TOOK THE CUP AFTER THE EATING OF SUPPER SAYING “DRINK FROM IT ALL OF YOU, THIS THE CUP THE NEW COVENANT IS IN THIS MY BLOOD WHICH IS BEING SHED FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, THIS DO AS OFTEN AS YOU DRINK IN THIS MY ANAMNESIN” (here receive communion and you may say the ‘The Body of Christ’ and ‘The Blood of Christ’ as you receive the real presence) THE BODY OF CHRIST THE BLOOD OF CHRIST We give you thanks, Holy Father, You, almighty Master, created all things for your Above all we give thanks because you are mighty Remember your church Lord, May grace come, and may this age pass away. We give You thanks, Father, for the fragrant ointment Your Holy Spirit our Paraclete which You have made known to us through Jesus Your servant; to you be the glory unto the endless ages of ages to come. Amen. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX From the Book of the End ‘The seal of Christ and the seal of the Antichrist are incompatible with each other, and the acceptance of the one drives out the presence of the other’ – in other words, Orthodoxy, [versus] Communism and every [pagan] religion [which] are incompatible [with Orthodox faith in Christ], because the one [Orthodox faith in Christ] excludes [having anything to do with] the other [Communism and all the pagan religions].” Again, the prophetic and dogmatic content of the Apocalypse is intimately connected with its pastoral content. Since we live in the last times, in constant peril of being at any moment cut off from Christ and His Holy Church, the Chief Shepherd addresses us with words charged with pastoral love and concern. He exhorts us to FLEE THE MORAL LAXITY AND INDIFFERENCE TO THE TRUTH OF THE FALSE RELIGIONS AND CULTURE OF OUR TIME, SYMBOLIZED BY THE FIGURE OF THE WHORE OF BABYLON, and to stand firm against the attempts of the false political and scientific structures of our time, symbolized by the two beasts, to accept the seal of the Antichrist. From the Ecumenical Patriarchate Web Site BARTHOLOMEW ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, From the Book of the End Was it not about this that Bishop Theophanes the Recluse prophesied more than eighty years ago in his interpretation of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, when he said: ‘Although the name of Christianity will be heard everywhere, and churches and church rites will be seen everywhere, all this will be only appearance, while within will be true apostasy (pp. 491-492). Christ Himself in His Sermon on the Mount clearly said that nobody can serve two masters (Matthew 6.24); it is impossible simultaneously to serve God and Mammon, that is, this world lying in evil; it is impossible at one and the same time to please Christ and Beliar, that is, the servants of the coming Antichrist, in the person of the clear or secret God-fighting authorities (II Corinthians 6.15).” Again, St. Irenaeus writes: “And for a very long while wickedness extended and spread, and reached and laid hold upon the whole race of mankind, until a very small seed of righteousness remained among them: and illicit unions took place upon the earth, since angels were united with the daughters of the race of mankind; and they bore to them sons who for their exceeding greatness were called giants. And the angels brought as presents to their wives teachings of wickedness, in that they brought them the virtues of roots and herbs, and dyeing in colours and cosmetics, the discovery of rare substances, love-potions, aversions, amours, concupiscence, constraints of love, spells of bewitchment, and all sorcery and idolatry hateful to God; by the entry of which things into the world evil extended and spread, while righteousness was diminished and enfeebled…” Another very important, …witness … the passage from II Peter: If God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into tartarus, and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgement; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah… (2.4-5; cf. Jude 6), which from its context …referring to the angels’ cohabitation with the daughters of men. Thus just as the woman clothed with the sun represents the true Church of all times and especially of the last times, so the Babylonian whore represents the false church of all times and especially of the last times, in accordance with the word: Wickedness came from Babylon, from the elders of the judges, who seemed to rule the people (Daniel (History of Susanna) 13.5). And just as the true Church is persecuted by the red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, i.e. the devil, so the false church, and false religion generally, is borne by, i.e. is supported by, that same devil. For all the gods of the pagans are demons, as David says (Psalm 95.5); and no lie is of the truth, as St. John says (I John 2.21), but is of the father of lies, the devil (John 8.44). Sometimes a single prophecy refers simultaneously to near and far events. For example, the Lord’s prophecies in Matthew 24 refer, according to St. Ephraim the Syrian, “to the punishment of Jerusalem and at the same time to the end of the world.” Again, just as Daniel’s famous prophecy of the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9.27) refers simultaneously to the Romans’ desecration of the Jewish Temple in 70 A.D., and to the enthronement of the Antichrist at the end of the world, and perhaps also to other acts of apostasy in world history. See the Following excerpts from The Book Of The End: Vladimir Moss http://uk.geocities.com/guildfordian2002/Polemics/TheBookOfTheEndP1.htm http://uk.geocities.com/guildfordian2002/Polemics/TheBookOfTheEndP2.htm http://uk.geocities.com/guildfordian2002/Polemics/TheBookOfTheEndP3.htm http://uk.geocities.com/guildfordian2002/Polemics/TheBookOfTheEndP4.htm THE BOOK OF THE END Vladimir Moss CONTENTS PROLOGUE The Study of the Book – The Signs of the End – The Time of the End – Attitudes to the End – The Nature of Prophetic Visions – The Interpretation of the Book – The Sources of the Interpretation I. I. THE FIRST VISION: THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA, Introduction: The First and the Last II. II. THE SECOND VISION: THE SEVEN SEALS, 1. The Twenty-Four Elders and the Four Living Creatures III. III. THE THIRD VISION: THE SEVEN DAYS OF CREATION, 1. The Woman Clothed with the Sun and the Red Dragon CONCLUSION: THE EIGHTH DAY PRAYER APPENDIX 1: THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES APPENDIX 2: THE BIRTH OF THE ANTICHRIST APPENDIX 3: THE SEAL OF THE ANTICHRIST PROLOGUE Close the words, and seal the book The book of Revelation – the Apocalypse of St. John the Theologian – has remained a sealed book until the beginning of our most apocalyptic of epochs. Its glorious and terrifying images have impressed themselves on the minds of generations of Christians, and its triumphant hope of the ultimate victory of good over evil has comforted the hearts of many fighters for the truth. Alone, however, among the books of the New Testament, it has no generally accepted interpretation, no exegetical “consensus of the Fathers”. In fact, it is the only part of the New Testament that is not read publicly at some time in the liturgical year of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. It is sealed in the sense that it is not read in church, and also in the sense that its meaning remains shrouded in mystery. II. THE SECOND VISION: THE SEVEN SEALS 1. The Twenty-Four Elders and the Four Living Creatures “After describing the works of the Church and its future condition, he recapitulates from the birth of Christ, with an intention to repeat the same things in a different manner, for in this book he repeats under various figures the whole period of the Church’s history.” (St. Bede) In a second vision, the seer’s spiritual eye is turned from earth to heaven, from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant:- 4.1. After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said: Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. “The fourth chapter contains the beginning of a new, a second vision. The depiction of a new and magnificent spectacle which opens before the gaze of St. John begins with a commandment to him to ascend through an open door in heaven so as to see things which must be hereafter. The opening of the door signifies the revelation of the hidden mysteries of the Spirit. By the words Come hither, the hearer is commanded to put off entirely earthly thinking and be converted to heavenly thinking.” (Archbishop Averky) 4.2-3. And immediately I was in the Spirit: and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He that sat was to look upon like a jaspar and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. “The throne is the rest of God in the saints.” (Patriarch Anthimus) “And immediately I was in the Spirit: that is, again in a state of ecstasy. This time St. John saw God the Father Himself sitting upon a throne. His appearance was like the precious stone jaspar (a stone of the colour green like emerald) and a sardine stone (sard, of a fiery colour). The first of these colours, green, according to the commentary of St. Andrew of Caesarea, signifies that the Divine nature is ever flourishing, life-bearing, and nourishing. The second, the fiery yellow red, indicates purity and sanctity, which ever remain in God, and His threatening anger towards those who transgress His will. The union of these two colours indicates that God chastises sinners, but at the same time is always ready to forgive one who sincerely repents. The apparition of the One sitting on the throne was surrounded by a rainbow like an emerald, a stone of green colour which signifies, as does also the rainbow which appeared after the flood, the eternal mercy of God towards mankind. “The sitting on the throne itself signifies the opening of the judgement of God which is to be revealed in the last times. This is not yet the terrible Last Judgement, but a preparatory judgement like those judgements of God which have occurred many times in the history of mankind to people who have sinned. (For example, the universal flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, the destruction of Jerusalem, and many others.) “The precious stones jaspar and sardine, and likewise the rainbow around the throne, being a symbol of the ceasing of the wrath of God and the renewal of the world, signify that the judgement of god upon the world, that is, its fiery destruction, is to end with its renewal. This is especially indicated also by the quality of jaspar to heal wounds received by the sword.” (Archbishop Averky) “That sea was an image of the mystery of Holy Baptism. Because between the Throne of God and the man who desires to approach God’s Throne, there interposes the water of Baptism, and no one can in any way approach God seated on His Throne in the highest unless he first traverse the sea of Baptism, as say the Scriptures: Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God (John 3.5). For what reason is it that the sea, which images forth the mystery of Baptism, is of glass and crystal? We should know that the commentators on the Divine Scriptures say that it is like glass in a purity that cleanses the souls of those being baptized, and like crystal on account of its strength which makes steadfast the heart; furthermore it is for this reason that it is of glass and crystal because just as the sun’s rays pass through glass and crystal, the Grace of God, as it were, penetrates the mystery of Baptism, and thereby comes to the person and illumines the temple of his soul. We can also say, that it is not in vain that the sea before the Throne of God, which represents the mystery of Baptism, is of glass and crystal, for the Most Holy Trinity seated upon His Throne, as it were upon a mirror of glass and crystal, will be revealed and seen therein, for in Holy Baptism the image of the Trinity is revealed… Let us say, that the sea before the Throne of God is an image of the mystery of Holy Baptism, wherein our nature is baptized, and like glass our soul is cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit (II Corinthians 7.1) and like crystal it is strengthened and illumined. And it is when God in Trinity looks upon this mystical glass and crystal during our Baptism, then in truth the trinitarian image is reflected therein.” 7. The Seventh Seal: The Two Witnesses 11.1-2. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod. And the angel stood, saying: Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles; and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. “The temple of the living God is the Church in which the rational sacrifices are offered by us. The court which is without is the society of unbelievers and Jews who are unworthy of the angelic measuring (i.e. the definition of the degree of their moral perfection and corresponding blessedness) because of their impiety.” (St. Andrew of Caesarea) “The treading underfoot of the Holy City, Jerusalem, or the Ecumenical Church, for the course of forty-two months signifies that at the time of the coming of the Antichrist the faithful will be persecuted for the course of three and a half years. “Some interpreters suppose that this measurement of the temple signifies the speedy destruction of the Old Testament temple in Jerusalem on the site of which there is to be raised a New Testament Christian Church, just like a similar measurement of the temple by means of a reed was given in a vision to the Prophet Ezekiel (chapters 40-45), signifying the restoration of the destroyed temple. Others consider that the inner court which was measured by the apostle signifies the Church of the first-born in heaven (Hebrews 12.23), the heavenly sanctuary; and that the outer court left without measurement is the Church of Christ on earth which must endure persecution, at first from the pagans, and then, in the last times, from the Antichrist. The miserable condition of the earthly Church is limited, however, to this period of forty-two months. Some interpreters have seen the fulfilment of the prophecy of forty-two months in the persecution of Diocletian, which was distinguished by its great cruelty and which lasted from February 23rd, 305 to July 25th, 308, which is about three and a half years. The persecution touches only the outward court, that is, the external aspect of the life of Christians, whose property will be taken away. They will be subjected to tortures, while the inner sanctuary of their souls will remain untouched.” (Archbishop Averky) The period three and a half years has great significance in the history of the people of God. Thus the holy Prophet Elijah spent three and a half years in the wilderness, fleeing from Jezebel. And in the time of the Maccabees the temple was desecrated for three and a half years by Antiochus Epiphanes. And “Jesus Himself spent three and a half years in Egypt, fleeing from Herod.” (Patriarch Anthimus). And the Christians fled to Pella for three and a half years during the Romans’ siege of Jerusalem in 66-70 A.D. And the persecution of Diocletian lasted for three and a half years. And the first period of persecution of the Russian Church by the Soviet Antichrist lasted for about three and a half years, from October, 1917 to March, 1921, when the last major rebellion against Soviet rule, by the sailors of Kronstadt, was crushed. Finally, the persecution of the personal Antichrist will last for three and a half years. St, Gregory the Great writes: “And He spoke to me and said to me: Go in and shut thyself up in the midst of thy house (Ezekiel 3.24). Why is it that the Prophet is led from the midst of the people of Israel to the plain, and afterward called from the plain to his house unless that the grace of preaching was removed from the people of the Jews and scattered among the breadth of the Gentiles? Nevertheless at the end of the world when the Jews return to the Faith, as the Prophet is led back to his house, so preaching will again have its habitation among his people, the preaching which now shines on the plain among the diverse nations. For it is written: Until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in, and so all Israel should be saved (Romans 11.25-26). Because it is also said through another Prophet: If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved (Es. 10.22, Romans 9.27). Therefore the Prophet may go out from the midst of the people to the plain, and return from the plain to the house, so that the preaching which happened in Judea may go out to the nations, and when the nations are replete with the Faith the spiritual Judea may go out to receive the gifts of doctrine which she lost. Then the Prophet is commanded to be shut in his house, because in the time of Antichrist the converted mass of the Jews will be restrained by harsh tribulation by the nations which have remained in infidelity. Thus it is written: But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles; and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months (Revelation 11.2).” This last period in the history of the Church, the reign of the personal Antichrist, will be prepared by a drastic decline in Christian morality throughout the world. Thus when “iniquity shall have multiplied, and all creatures become defiled,” says St. Ephraim, “Divine Justice shall appear, and shall wholly destroy the people, and, coming from perdition, the man of iniquity shall be revealed upon the earth, the seducer of men and disturber of the whole earth.” St. Andrew the Fool-for-Christ writes: “When his reign [that of the last Orthodox emperor] has ended, the beginning of sorrows will set in. Then the son of iniquity will arise and reign in this city for three and a half years, and cause such wickedness to be done as has not been committed since the beginning of the world. He will decree that fathers should lie with their daughters and mothers with their sons and brothers with their sisters, and whoever refuses to do so will be punished with death. The stench and abomination will rise up before the Lord, Who will be bitterly angered, and He will command His thunder and lightning to smite the earth. Many cities will be burned down, and men will be paralysed with fear.” Monasticism will be especially persecuted, as we can see in the following prophecy of St. Moses the Egyptian which covers the whole period from the collective Antichrist to the personal Antichrist: “After this the servant of God Moses saw that a cloud and storm and dark mist of most terrible temptations fell upon the monks from the direction of the north [Russia?], and that the monks were persecuted, together with the monastic schema, by a ruinous combination of heresies, and many were forced to cast aside the schema and marry. Then the few strugglers who have been proved as gold and silver in the furnace will triumph in great sorrow and distress of persecutions. And as many as will appear proved and victorious in such terrible temptations will be magnified and glorified and honoured by God more than those who bore the heat of the day and the burning and frost of the night. After this the servant of God Moses saw that that storm of sorrows and temptations had passed, together with the distress of terrible heresies, and it became peaceful and calm. Again, however, after the passing of some years the angelic order of the monks will be neglected, and temptations will arise even fiercer and more numerous than the first. And he saw that the monks impiously had intercourse with the nuns, and that tyranny was mixed with evil desire so that even the unwilling were corrupted. And the priests were defiled by fornication, and their wives committed adultery, as they themselves did with other women. Then the wrath of God will come and consume that wicked generation, and it will go into the eternal fire.” Again, Abba Ischyrion was asked by his monks: “What have we accomplished?” “We have fulfilled the commandments of God,” replied Ischyrion. “And what will those who come after us accomplish?” “They will accomplish what we have accomplished, but only half as much as we.” “And those after them?” “Those in the last days will have no monastic training, but such assaults and temptations will come upon them that they will, through these trials, be revealed in the Kingdom of God as greater than us and than our fathers.” St. Niphon of Constantia said: “In the last times those who will serve God in truth will successfully hide themselves from people and will not perform wonders and signs in their midst as at the present time, but will go on the path of activity mixed with humility, and in the Kingdom of Heaven they will be greater than the Fathers who have been glorified with signs.” “My son! There will not be lacking holy men until the end of time! But in the last days they will conceal themselves from people and will please God in such humility that they will be higher in the Kingdom of Heaven that the first wonderworking fathers. And their reward will be so great because in those days there will be nobody performing miracles before their eyes, and people will of themselves receive zeal and the fear of God in their hearts, for at that time the hierarchical rank will be unskilled and will not love wisdom and reason, and will worry only about gain. The monks will be similar to them because of their possession of great properties; from vainglory their eyes will be darkened, and those who love God with all their heart will be despised by them; the love of money will reign in them with all its strength. But woe to the monks who love gold: they will not see the Face of God! If the monks and novices who lend money on interest do not depart from this evil quickly, they will be called usurers here and their prayer will not be accepted, and their fasting will be useless, and the offering of sacrifices to God and alms will all be counted as abomination and defilement. They will go by the broad path…” St. Narses of Armenia says: “Then if there be grinding two in one mill, the one shall be taken and the other left. And there shall shoot forth the leaf of the fig tree, which is the Antichrist. The branches shooting up are his ministers.” 11.3-6. And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, and have power over waters, to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. According to St. Hippolytus of Roma and the constant tradition of the Church, these two witnesses, or olive trees or candlesticks are the Prophets Enoch and Elijah. I will send you Elijah the Tishbite, who will restore the heart of the father to the son, lest I come and utterly smite the earth (Malachi 4.5,6)… “And He also teaches with all this the reason for his coming. And what is this reason? That when He has come, he may persuade the Jews to believe in Christ, so they may not all utterly perish at His coming… Hence the extreme accuracy of the expression: He did not say He will restore the heart of the son to the father, but of the father to the son. For the Jews being father to the apostles, His meaning is that He will restore to the doctrines of their sons, that is, of the apostles, the hearts of the fathers, that is, the Jewish people’s mind.” “For God gave three laws to the human race: the natural law, which God commanded Adam in Paradise, and instilled as innate into the nature of each one of us, and the written law, which He gave to the Jews on Sinai through Moses, and the Gospel law, which our Lord Jesus Christ gave through the holy Apostles in Jerusalem. In the last times witnesses of these laws must appear. Enoch will come as the witness of the natural law, and Elijah – of the Mosaic law, and the present Evangelist [John] – of the Gospel law. [John] will be killed together with Enoch and Elijah in the time of the Antichrist.” (Patriarch Anthimus) “For the whole course of this time, 1260 days, two witnesses of God will preach repentance to men and convert them from the deception of the Antichrist. By these two witnesses all the holy fathers and teachers of the Church almost unanimously understand the Old Testament righteous ones Enoch and Elijah, who were taken alive into heaven. During their preaching, while possessing authority and power over the elements in order to chastise the impious and bring them to their sense, they themselves will be unharmed.” (Archbishop Averky) And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him (Genesis 5.24). By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death (Hebrews 11.5). And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (IV Kings 2.11). “O wondrous Grace of God! For He offers a treatment equal in power to the wound. Just as the false Christ will possess every diabolical activity, and all his false signs and miracles will be more glorious than all sorcerers and deceivers, so also will God arm these saints with the power of true signs and miracles, so that by offering truth and light they may overthrow the lie and darkness and convert the deceived either by the word of teaching or by the blows of chastisement (drought, fire, changes in the elements, and so forth), and may expose the deceiver himself without themselves suffering in the least either through him or others.” (St. Andrew of Caesarea) 11.7-8. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. “During their preaching activity, endowed with power and authority over the elements for the punishment and instruction of the impious, they will themselves be invulnerable. And only at the end of their mission, after a period of three and a half years, the beast that ascendeth from the bottomless pit (i.e. the Antichrist) will be allowed by God to kill the preachers, and their corpses will be thrown into the streets of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified, that is, apparently, the city of Jerusalem where the Antichrist will found his kingdom, giving himself out to be the Messiah who was promised by the prophets.” (Archbishop Averky) “In this city he will establish his kingdom and royal throne in the likeness of David… so as to prove that he is Christ who fulfils the prophet’s words: I shall restore the fallen tabernacle of David and raise up that which was fallen (Amos 9.11). These words the Jews will accept and refer to his coming.” (St. Andrew of Caesarea) St. Ephraim writes: “When the son of perdition has drawn to his purpose the whole world, Enoch and Elijah shall be sent to refute the evil one by a question filled with mildness. Coming to him, these holy men, that they may expose the son of perdition before the multitudes round about him, will say: ‘If you are God, show us what we now ask of you. In what place do the men of old, Enoch and Elijah, lie hidden?’ Then the evil one will at once answer the holy men: ‘If I wish to seek for them in heaven, or in the depths of the sea, every abode lies open to me. There is no other God but me, and I can do all things in heaven and on earth.’ They shall answer the son of perdition: ‘If you are God, call the dead, and they will rise up. For it is written in the books of the prophets, and also by the apostles, that Christ, when He shall appear, will raise the dead from their tombs. If you do not show us this, we shall conclude that He Who was crucified is greater than you; for He raised the dead, and was Himself raised to heaven in great glory.’ In that moment the evil one, angered against the saints, seizing his sword, will most abominably sever the necks of the just men.” 11.9-10. And they of the kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts to one another; because these two prophets tormented those that dwelt on the earth. “These people will be deceived by the false miracles of the Antichrist who, with the cooperation of the devil, will be the most glorious of all sorcerers and deceivers; he will not allow the prophets to be given over to burial, and will rejoice in their death, because these two prophets tormented those that dwelt on the earth, arousing their consciences.” (Archbishop Averky) St. Narses of Armenia says: “There is rejoicing among the false prophets, when they behold the death of the true prophets. Then doth the great dragon himself, the son of perdition, cry aloud in the hearing of all, and say: Behold ye my mighty power. Since for many a year they had been immortal, and no others can be rescued from my hands. And no one hath been able to overcome my might. And yet more doth his wickedness flame up in the land, whom the Lord Jesus shall utterly destroy with the breath of His mouth.” This world-wide rejoicing over the deaths of the prophets suggests a worldwide form of communications, perhaps television, relaying these events live to millions. St. Nilus the Myrrh-gusher writes: “After the murder of Enoch and Elijah, Antichrist will release his most wicked followers (he will free the evil spirits, which he had restrained until now). These offspring or spirits of evil are adultery, fornication, homosexuality, murder, plundering, robbery, lies, tortures, buying and selling of people, and the buying of boys and girls for fornication with them, like unto the dogs in the streets. Antichrist will command these evil spirits who obey him to drive people into doing ten times as much evil as formerly.” The men of that time will be deceived, not because they had no opportunity to come to a knowledge of the truth, but, on the contrary, because they flew in the face of the truth as it was openly revealed to them. For, as the Apostle Paul says: Then shall that wicked man be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His Coming; even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (II Thessalonians 2.8-12). Blessed Theodoretus writes: “The Antichrist will not rule over all, but only over those who are worthy of perdition, who, even if he had not come, would still have deprived themselves of salvation.” And St. John of Damascus writes that the Antichrist will lure to himself “those who have a weak and feeble mind; he will seduce and tear them away from the living God.” However, as St. Ephraim says, “many people will be found pleasing to God, for whom it will be possible, in the mountains and desert places, to save themselves by much prayer… For God, seeing their many tears and sincere faith, will have mercy on them, as a tender Father, and will keep them.” St. Seraphim of Sarov said of the temptations facing the faithful Christians of these last times: “When this age comes to an end, at first the Antichrist will remove the crosses from the churches and destroy the monasteries… Then life will be short. The angels will scarcely be able to collect the souls… In the days of that great sorrow of which it is said that no flesh could be saved unless, for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short – in those days the remnant of the faithful are to experience in themselves something like that which was experienced by the Lord Himself when He, hanging on the Cross, being perfect God and perfect Man, felt Himself so forsaken by His Divinity that He cried out to Him: My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? The last Christians also will experience in themselves a similar abandonment of humanity by the grace of God, but only for a very short time, after the passing of which the Lord will not delay immediately to appear in all His glory, and all the holy angels with Him. And then will be performed in all its fullness everything foreordained from the ages in the pre-eternal counsel of the Holy Trinity.” 11.11-12. And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon those who saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying unto them: Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. “The evil joy of the impious will be not be long in duration. In three and a half days the holy prophets will be brought to life by God and raised up to heaven.” (Archbishop Averky) 11.13. And the same hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand; and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. “At the same time a great earthquake will take place, a tenth part of the city will be destroyed and seven thousand men will perish, and the remained being seized with fear will send up glory to the God of heaven. Thus a decisive blow will be given to the work of the Antichrist.” (Archbishop Averky) The figure “seven thousand” recalls the seven thousand who have not bowed their knees to Baal in the time of the Prophet Elijah’s first coming to earth (III Kings 19.18). St. Hippolytus teaches that Enoch and Elijah will preach for three-and-a-half years and will be killed in the middle of the Antichrist’s seven-year reign. “As also it was announced to Daniel: And one week shall establish the covenant with many; and in the midst of the week My sacrifice and drink-offering shall be taken away (9.27) – that the one week [of years] might be shown to be divided into two. The two witnesses, then, shall preach three years and a half; and the Antichrist shall wage war against the saints during the rest of the week, and desolate the world.” And on the holy place shall be the abomination of desolations; and at the end of time an end shall be put to the desolation… (Daniel 9.27) The abomination of desolation, according to St. Hippolytus, is the Antichrist, “who announces desolation to the world”; while the sacrifice and oblation are that “which are now offered to God in every place by the nations” – in other words, the sacrament of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Thus, according to the same Father, “the honourable Body and Blood of Christ will not be offered in those days. Public Divine services will be discontinued.” This may be the second woe: 11.14. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. The three woes may correspond to the three phases of God’s judgement in the seventh seal: the Third World War, the reign of the personal Antichrist, and the last and most terrible judgement when Christ Himself will come in glory. However, two passages from Daniel suggest that there is a certain pause between the defeat of the Antichrist and the final consummation. The first is: The dominion of the rest of the wild beasts was taken away; but a prolonging of life was given them for a time and a time (7.12). And the second is: From the time of the removal of the perpetual sacrifice, when the abomination of desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days (12.11-12). St. Hippolytus comments on the second passage: “When the abomination of desolation comes and wages war against the saints, whoever will survive his days, and reach the forty-five days, while the other period of fifty days advances, to him the Kingdom of Heaven comes. The Antichrist indeed enters even into part of the fifty days, but the saints shall inherit the Kingdom along with Christ.” But why, asks Blessed Jerome, is there a silence of 45 days after the defeat of the Antichrist? God only knows, he replies, but suggests that this putting off of the kingdom of the saints is a testing of their patience. Perhaps the extra forty-five days mentioned by Daniel are related to the forty days mentioned by St. Ephraim the Syrian as intervening between the fall of the Antichrist and the Last Judgement: “The angels approaching shall seize the accursed, and in the same moment the Lord shall command from His heavens, and He shall overthrow the accursed and all his forces and on the instant the angels shall thrust them down to gehenna. And all who believed in him shall be thrust down amid the flames. Then the Lord shall descend from on high, amid the fearful glory of the angels, and His chariot shall halt between heaven and earth. He shall speak to the sea and it shall dry up, and the fish shall die in the midst of it. The heavens and the earth shall be dissolved, and become darkness and gloom. The Lord shall send fire upon the earth, continuing for forty days, and shall purify it from iniquity, and from the pollution of sin.” An unknown Russian priest, the author of a work entitled The Apocalypse, writes: “According to the tradition of the Glinsk elders, it is also thought that after the casting of the Antichrist and the false prophet alive into the gehenna of fire, this world will not immediately come to an end after this. There will pass another 45 days, and then will come the Terrible Judgement. When the heavens are opened and the King of Glory, our Lord Jesus Christ, will appear sitting on a white horse, and when He by the Spirit of His mouth will kill the Antichrist and the false prophet and those who are with him in Armageddon, the end of the world will not come immediately after this, but in the heavens there will remain shining with an ineffable heavenly light that Cross of the Lord which will precede the Lord of Glory, and on which He was crucified in the days of His first Coming to earth. “This honourable Cross of the Lord will shine in the heavens for 45 days until the Second Coming of the Lord at the Terrible Judgement, by its appearance calling those who have remained alive to repentance. Although the Antichrist and the false prophet will no longer be on earth, the ancient snake-devil will continue to act on it together with Gog and Magog, thinking to sweep off the face of the earth the city of Jerusalem in Palestine, where there will begin to gather the Orthodox Christians who have been hiding in the wilderness and who now feel some relief from the fact that the Antichrist is no more and that the whole of his power has been shattered at one moment – it was sufficient merely for Christ the Saviour to appear in the heavens. The whole world, confused by the Antichrist and having drunk to the dregs the punishments of God will once more, by the mercy of God, be called to repentance by the voiceless shining in the heavens of the honourable Cross. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved! “Although the people, deceived by the Antichrist, bowed down to him and received his seal, and although they thereby lost the capacity to cross themselves, thereby falling away by their terrible renunciation of Christ the Saviour, our true God, and although they will have lost the Divine grace of Christ, nevertheless there will awake in some at the sight of the Cross shining in the heavens a feeling of repentance and sorrow that they recognised the evil, miserable and vain Antichrist as God and bowed down to him. Now, at the sight of the Cross of the Lord, they will bitterly groan and weep about this, and the merciful and man-loving Lord, not wishing the death of a sinner, but rather that he should repent, will return His grace to such a Christian… “St. Demetrius of Rostov says: ‘After the ruinous death of the Antichrist, those who remain alive will be given a time for repentance by God, as we see in the prophecy of Daniel (12.11-12), in which the Angel said that the Antichrist would reign for 1290 days, and then he added: Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days, that is, there are still 45 days after the death of the Antichrist.” 11.15-17. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying: The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign unto the ages of ages. And the four and twenty elders, who sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying: We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Who art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou has taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned. The sounding of the seventh trumpet of the seventh seal heralds the Second Coming of Christ in glory. The Lord called Satan the prince of this world (John 12.31). And Satan himself claimed to have dominion over the world when he tempted the Lord, showing Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and saying: All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me (Matthew 4.8-9). Christ rejected this temptation; but the Antichrist will accept it, which is why he will be given power over the whole world. However, this power is temporary and illusory. He Who said to Pilate: Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, unless it were given thee from above (John 19.11; cf. Wisdom 6.1-3), only grants power to the devil and his servants so that sinners may taste the bitter fruit of their sin and turn to the only true King and God. In the end, the illusory power of the devil will be smashed and all power given to Him to Whom every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth (Philippians 2.10). 11.18. And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and those that fear Thy name, shall and great; and shouldest destroy those that destroy the earth. “Finally, after having been long-suffering, He sends against the unbelieving nations, which are angry at this as if it were a new or strange teaching, their punishment. The time of the dead indicates the time of the resurrection of the dead, in which to each will be given a reward corresponding to his deeds. “By the prophets, and the saints, and those that fear His name, one may understand three degrees of men: those who offer fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold (Matthew 13.23). The apostles, however, will receive the first place and sit on twelve thrones. Small and great, we think, refer either to the lesser saints and those who surpass them, or else the small are sinners who have been belittled, and the great are the righteous” (St. Andrew of Caesarea) 11.19. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. “Then, from the mountains of Palestine, the Ark of the Covenant will appear. The Prophet Jeremiah hid the Ark and the Holy Fire in a deep well. When they took water from that well it burst into flame. But the Ark itself they did not find.” The opening of heaven and the appearance of the ark refers to “the revelation of the good things prepared for the saints, which things, according to the apostle, are all hidden in Christ, in Whom dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2.3-9). These things will be revealed at the same time that the lawless and impious ones will be sent frightful voices, lightnings, thunderings, and hail. The change of the present world in the earthquake symbolises the torments of gehenna.” (St. Andrew of Caesarea) According to St. Athanasius the Great, the lightnings signify the holy apostles, and the thunderings – the evangelical teaching. Earthquakes are one of the signs of the End, according to the Lord Himself (Matthew 24.7; cf. Revelation 16.18). Grant Jeffrey writes: “Massive earthquakes are now occurring worldwide in diverse places. Enormous forces are accumulating far beneath the massive tectonic plates supporting the continents. Scientists warn that the major earthquakes felt recently in California, Japan, and other parts of the Pacific Rim are only a foretaste of the coming ‘Big One’, the most massive earthquake in human history. Major ‘killer’ quakes (7.2 or greater on the Richter Scale) occurred only once per decade throughout history until our century. However, since A.D. 1900, the growth in major earthquakes has been relentless. From 1900 to 1949 it averaged three major quakes per decade. From 1949 the increase became awesome with 9 killer quakes in the 1950s; 13 in the 1960s’ 56 in the 1970s and an amazing 74 major quakes in the 1980s. Finally, in the 1990s, at the present rate, we will experience 125 major killer quakes in the decade… The prophets warned that the planet will be shaken in the last days as never before. The judgement of God will finally unleash the greatest earthquake in history…” According to many of the Fathers, the Second Coming of Christ will be preceded by the sign of the Cross, the sign of the Son of man in heaven (Matthew 24.30). Thus St. Narses: “Then doth appear in brilliancy the royal sign unto the strengthening of those that took refuge in Him unto the glory of the just ones, for that they bound themselves in His love. The parts of the all-victorious cross flash with light, and the hosts of the holy Church.. take their full growth along with the Lord’s cross; and full of light they are yet eclipsed by its light. Let the nations mourn, for He cometh to judge them that were not sealed therewith, them that knew it not the sign of the Lord. “Then there cometh from heaven in unspeakable glory the King of glory. The heavens are shrivelled up and are consumed like wax before the fire. Rivers running free and full of gloom pour down from on high, purifying the earth from all lawlessness and foul deeds. There are heard the voices of the army of light. There stir the hosts of heaven, and the great trumpet sounds among the tombs. Arise, ye dead, to meet the Bridegroom! For He is here, He is come in His Father’s glory. Arise, just ones and sinners, and receive your reward! “Then with grief inconsolable shall mourn the creation that is not ready. And in haste they don their bodies that are indestructible. Then the sinners appear in sombre and shadow-like bodies, for they are tinged with the works of their wickedness. Foremost walk in person the elect in resplendent bodies; they are lifted up from earth in clouds of light to meet Christ, and the heavenly ones wonder at them and say: What have they done upon earth, for they come in a crowd unto the Lord full of joy? The Lord will make answer and say to them: These are My good soldiers, who denied themselves, and renounced the earth and crucified themselves along with their passions and desires for their love of Me. Now therefore I will give them joy unending. And when the angels shall hear this, they will say: Ye are blessed by the Lord; rejoice ye therefore in your gladness. “Then the King of glory shall sit down on His throne; and angels with awe minister unto Him. And first of all Satan is bound without inquisition, and is dispatched into the abyss of Tartarus. And with cruel torments are bound his hosts on the left hand, for they taught men evil works. They do not deserve to be brought to judgement, since they have no defence to make before His tribunal. And without delay they are removed out of His sight. But the just shall stand on His right hand in hope of the good reward. The sinners also stand there in great shame, each for retribution for his deeds. The assize is met and the books are opened; they are bound together in sheaves like the tares and are cast into the unquenchable fire. But unto some also are shut the doors of the blissful wedding, so that they cannot see and look upon the Heavenly Bridegroom; and because they have not lit the torches of pity, He saith unto them: I know you not, get ye out of My sight. But before this the King bestoweth the heavenly crown upon the worthy, saying unto them: Come, ye blessed ones of My Father, and inherit the Kingdom made ready for you from the beginning of the world.” St. Ephraim writes: “A throne shall be prepared, and the Son shall sit upon the right hand, and twelve seats shall be placed for the twelve apostles; dwellings adorned for the martyrs, and a palace for the saints. The angels shall sound their trumpets, and the dead shall rise from their graves. And in a moment the angels shall gather together all the children of Adam, and they shall bring the wheat into the barn, but the chaff shall they cast into fire: the good shall enter into the Kingdom, and the evil shall dwell in gehenna. The just shall fly to heaven, and the sinner shall be burned with fire. The martyrs shall fly to the bridal chambers, and the evil go out into darkness. But Christ shall reign forever, and He shall be King unto generations of generations. To Him be glory; and upon us be mercy, unto the ages of ages. Amen. Amen.” In Christ alone to God Our Father alone in the Unity and Power of the Holy Spirit alone with and by the prayer and company of all the elect angels and saints of God for and with us unceasingly No murder of modern Hypatias No new Holocaust of the Jews No pagan nor apostate (false) worship nor depravity Revelation:13: 10 He that shall lead into captivity shall go into captivity: he that shall kill by the sword must be killed by the sword. – Sword, especially scalpels and saline solutions et al in abortion. 15 And it was given him to give life to the image of the beast: and that the image of the beast should speak: and should cause that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast should be slain. – It is not your computer terminal, unless you use that for the cause of Apostasy; any and all murder and all pagan and apostate (false) worship and depravity. 18 Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six. Adam fell on the sixth hour of the sixth day of Creation presaging six ages to come of decision for man to make as to whether he would follow God or not. Adam did not have to fall, but he did. Adam repented, as we must, of all apostasy from God and all sin. See: HISTORY OF ANTICHRIST OR AN EXPOSITION OF CERTAIN AND PROBABLE EVENTS WHICH CONCERN THE “MAN OF SIN,” HIS REIGN, HIS TIME, AND END, ACCORDING TO HOLY SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION by Rev. P. Huchede Translated from the French by J.D.B. And none of the wicked shall understand, but the learned shall understand. TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC. Rockford, Illinois 61105 From the English Edition of 1884, Nicholas Bray, New York Published 1968 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc. Imprimatur: Edward Charles Fabre, Bishop of Montreal Printed in the United States of America TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC. P.O. Box 424 Rockford, Illinois 61105 The above book concerning the Apocalypse, chapter 13; etc. tells us of the future or coming event of the Antichrist, his destruction and the recreation of the universe by God in the future. For instance Huchede tells us, in part: ‘…three different persons: “And I saw from the mouth of the dragon, and from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs.” (Apoc. 16:13). The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet signify Satan, Antichrist, and the principal apostle of Antichrist. These three different beings command all the other demons. In the work of our redemption, the three divine persons of the adorable Trinity manifested themselves. The Son adores the Father; the Holy Ghost gives glory to the Son. And we see that in the mystery of iniquity Antichrist adores Satan and the false prophet glorifies Antichrist. Hence we have every reason to show that this false prophet will be an individual person and not a collective term to designate the universality of preachers engaged in the service of Antichrist. We can even assert that he will not be a king, nor a general of an army, but a clever apostate, fallen from the episcopal dignity. From being an apostle of the Gospel he will become the first preacher of the false messiah. These conjectures are not devoid of much plausibility. (Acosta, Book 2, Ch. 16). Antichrist will communicate his power of working miracles to others, who will go into different countries and cities to gain new proselytes by all the human and diabolical means in their power. (Acosta, 2, 16). It is thus that the words of Our Lord will be fulfilled. “For there shall rise up false Christs and false prophets, and they shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. Take ye heed, therefore. Behold I have foretold you all things.” (Mk 13:22 23). “And then if any man shall say to you: Lo, here is Christ; lo, he is here, do not believe. . . he is in the desert, go ye not out.” (Mat. 24:23-26). Benighted apostles who will indeed turn away from truth! (2 Tim. 4:4). They blaspheme the majesty of God and despise all true authority. “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their confusion, wandering stars to whom the storm of darkness is reserved forever.” (Jude 1:13). “Fountains without water and clouds tossed with whirlwinds, to whom the ‘Finally, the harmony of the visible world and the pleasure of the senses…require the existence of the animal kingdom as creatures to which God may impart the quality of incorruptibility, to correspond with the state of the children of God. This last explanation is well calculated to reconcile …. Mt:18: 3 And said: amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Just like a small child who forgives without holding back or seeking any approval of men (and certainly not by any supposed mediation thereof) those who have trespassed against him. Jesus Christ the God-man, is the only Mediator between God and men. Those who do not repent of their sin against you and do not therefore accept your forgiveness the following verses apply totally: Mt:10:13: Mt:10:14: |
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November 17, 2008 at 3:20 pm |
To all my remnant brothers and sisters in Christ, be you Catholic or Orthodox or Traditional Trinitarian Protestant
http://world-war-iii-and-the-false-peac.blogspot.com/2008/11/to-all-my-remnant-brothers-and-sisters.html
November 22, 2008 at 4:42 am |
[...] Truth – Home in the Mansions of God is where we can relate to one another and most especially in Eucharistic Thanksgiving. God bless you by The Testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ all in Charity, Prayer and Humility in [...]