In the fall of 1992, the already anxious
life of Petersburg was extremely
disturbed. On the pages of newspapers, from advertising sheets, the obtrusive
words sounded: "October 28 — the day of Christ’s second coming."
South Korean missionaries, overflowing with the knowledge of their own
all-knowing, took upon themselves the "great" deed: to convince, within
one month, unenlightened Russia of the necessity of repentance, of leaving all
earthly chores and to wait the end of the world.
The less time that remained until the pronounced
date, the greater the pressure of the atmosphere of waiting. Oil was added to
the fire and the increasing weight of the first year of "reforms,"
through which one wanted to transfer to heaven, into the kingdom of the
righteous. And then the day arrived…
The South Koreans were far from being the first
to predict the "precise" date of the Second Coming. Such
"prophets" consistently arrived once or twice in a century. They
existed in Rus, in the era of the great schism, among the Old Believers. Then
they predicted that God’s Judgment would come in 1703 (through a strange coincidence
the year Petersburg was founded).
In the 20th century these predictions increased remarkably,
particularly with the appearance of the Seventh Day Adventists sect.
The fate of people who believed the false
prophets was tragic. At best there was disappointment and desperation, in the
worst — suicide. But the deceivers collected "dividends" from their
lies in the form of money and property of the deceived — who needs earthly
goods, if the end of the world is tomorrow?
Of course, the South Korean missionaries also
turned out to be deceivers. The Lord did not come to judge the living and the
dead on October 28. Instead of asking forgiveness for the disturbance they
brought on, the eastern prophets "transferred" the date to… 2116 (counting
on the fact, that the great-grandchildren of those fooled would already die by
then).
A non-Church person, following this history, may
easily begin to get the impression, that "Judgment Day — is a story for
the elderly," as sang Vissotsky, and that the end of the world will never
come, except maybe after a nuclear war.
But the Church teaches differently. In the 7th
statement of the Creed it says: "I believe… in one Lord Jesus Christ… " But the exact date of the Second Coming is hidden
from the world. From the pages of the Gospel we hear the warning words of the
Savior: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons" (Acts
1:7); "But that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels
which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father" (Mark 13:32). Anyone, who dares to announce the day
and year of the world’s end — is a deceiver and an enemy of Orthodoxy.
At the same time the Lord did not leave us
without signs of the time of the Last Judgment. He gave us indications, by
which we could deduct that the end is approaching. Based on the words of Christ
(Matt. 24; Mark 13; Luke 21), the Apostle Paul (2Thes. 2) and John the
Theologian (Revelations), one could list the following as indications:
- The
preaching of the Gospel throughout the world;
- The
appearance of multiple false prophets, performing various
"miracles" for the attraction of people, and false Christs —
those who call themselves Christ;
- Wars and
social disturbances;
- Epidemic
drop in morality and the increase of lawlessness in the world;
- The
diminishment of people’s love for each other;
- Discord
and Church strife, the appearance of insolent abusers of the Church;
- Universal
departure from Christianity and the strengthening of various occult
teachings;
- Massive
conversion of many Jews to Christ;
- Epidemics
of horrible illnesses, earthquakes in places and other natural disasters;
- Universal
exhaustion of people from fear of approaching disaster.
The final disaster, before the Second Coming,
will be the arrival of the Antichrist — the enemy of Christ and his complete
opposite (Greek "anti" — "instead," "against").
He will be raised to the height of power through world Judaism and will unite
under his rule all countries and religions for three and a half years. The
preparation for the appearance of the Antichrist, performed in the world
through the dark powers, the Apostle Paul calls "mystery of
iniquity" (2 Thes. 2:7). The Antichrist’s rule will be a time of great
sorrows, previously unseen, and of the worst persecution of the Church. The
Lord Himself will bring his end, Who will come on the
earth in glory "for as the lightning cometh out of the east, and
shineth even unto the west" (Matt. 24:27). Before the Second Coming
the sun will darken and the Holy Cross will appear in the sky — the sign of the
Son of Man, visible to all. Then the time for the existence of our world will
be fulfilled and the eternal Kingdom
of God’s glory will commence.
Are we close to the days of the Last Judgment?
One cannot say exactly, but many signs of the end of the world are being
fulfilled in front of our eyes.
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