BRIEF NOTES OF SERMON GIVEN BY ARCHBISHOP JOHN
Including 3 paragraphs missing from most online copies
from Orthodox Life magazine 1985 (2) and 1986 (1)
Cheese-Fare Sunday 1956
The Sunday of the Dread Judgment
Today is the Sunday of the Dread Judgment and it is natural for us to speak of the Dread Judgment and of the signs of the end of the world. No one knows that day: only God knows it, but the signs of its approach are given in the Gospels and the Revelation [Apocalypse] of St. John the Theologian. For the most part, Revelation speaks symbolically and cryptically of the events of the end of the world and of the Dread Judgment, but the Holy Fathers have explained them, and there is the pure authentic tradition of the Church that also tells us the signs of the approach of the end of the world and the Dread Judgment.
Before the end of life on earth there will be confusion, wars, civil strife, hunger, and earthquakes. People will suffer from fear; their hearts will fail from awaiting disasters. There will be neither spiritual life nor the joy of being alive, but a tortuous [spelling is correct] state of falling away from life. the falling away will not be from spiritual life only, but also from faith. The Son of Man, when He comes — will He find faith on earth? People will become proud, ungrateful, refuting the Law of God. Together with a falling away from spiritual life there will also be a diminishing of moral life. Good will be exhausted and evil will grow. It is about this time that the holy Apostle John the Theologian speaks in his divinely-inspired work, the Apocalypse [the book of Revelation]. He himself says that he was "in the spirit" — meaning that the Holy Spirit Itself was in him — when the fate of the Church and the world was revealed to him in various symbols.. That is why this is a Divine Revelation. He presents the fate of the Church in the image of a woman who hides in the wilderness during these times. She is not obvious in life. The is happening now in Russia.
In worldly life, those forces preparing for the appearance of the Antichrist will be of leading significance. The Antichrist will be a man and not the devil incarnate. "Anti" is a word meaning old or it means instead of or against. That man will want to exist instead of Christ, to take His place and to have that which Christ ought to have. He will want to have the same kind of influence and power over the entire world. Indeed he will obtain that power before he perishes and the entire world perishes. He will have a helper, a magus who, through the power of false miracles, will do his will and kill those that do not recognize the power of Antichrist. Before the destruction of the Antichrist, two righteous men will appear to condemn him. The magus will kill them, and for three days their bodies will lie unburied, and the Antichrist and his servants will rejoice to the utmost. Then suddenly these righteous men will resurrect, and the entire army of the Antichrist will suddenly fall down dead, killed by the force of the Holy Spirit.
But what is known about the person of the Antichrist? His exact origin is unknown. His father is completely unknown and his mother a vile, false virgin. He will be a Jew from the tribe of Dan. The indication of this is that Jacob, when dying, prophesied about the future heirs of his children, and concerning Dan, said that among his heirs "shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path that biteth the horses' heels so that his rider shall fall backwards." This symbolizes that the Antichrist shall act through cleverness and evil. In Revelation, St. John the Theologian speaks of the salvation of the sons of Israel, saying that before the end of the world many Jews will be converted to Christ, but in the list of tribes that are saved, there is no tribe of Dan. The Antichrist will be very clever and gifted, with an ability to deal with people. He will be charming and gentle. The appearance of the Antichrist is already being prepared before his coming. "The mystery doth already work..."
First of all, the forces preparing for his coming fight against lawful monarchial rule. The holy Apostle Paul says that the Antichrist cannot appear until "the one who restraineth" is put aside. John Chrysostom explains that the "one who restraineth" refers to a lawful, pious regime. Such a power struggles with evil. "The Mystery" working in the world does not want this, does not want the struggle against evil by the power of a pious ruler — quite the opposite. It wants the rule of lawlessness, and when it achieves this, nothing more will stop the appearance of the Antichrist. He will not only be clever and charming, he will be merciful and he will do works of charity for the sake of bolstering his control. And when he strengthens his control to the point hwere the entire world recognizes him then he will reveal his face. He will choose Jerusalem because it was precisely there that the Savior revealed His blessedness of virtue and salvation. But the world did not accept Christ and crucified Him in Jerusalem, and during the Antichrist's reign Jerusalem will become the capital of the world that has accepted his rule.
Reaching the summit of power, the Antichrist will demand that people acknowledge that he has achieved what no earthly power and no one has been able to do, and will demand worship of himself as an exalted being — a god. He will do only what pleases people, under the condition that they recognize him as the Supreme Power. He will provide opportunities for Church life, will allow her to hold services, and he will promise that wonderful temples will be built, provided that he be recognized as "Supreme Being" and worshiped. He will have a personal hatred for Christ. He will thrive on his hatred and will rejoice in people's apostasy from Christ and the Church. there will be a mass falling away from the faith during which many bishops will betray the faith, and as justification will point to the wonderful position of the Church. A search for compromise will be the characteristic state of people's faith. Directness of confession will vanish. People will subtly justify their fall, and solicitous evil will support such a general state of mind. People will grow used to apostatizing from the truth and will be accustomed to the sweetness of compromise and sin. The Antichrist will allow people anything as long as they, falling down before him, worship him. This will not be a new attitude toward people: the Roman Caesars also were prepared to grant the Christians freedom if they would recognize the emperor's divinity and divine supreme power. They martyred Christians only because they confessed "One God do we worship and Him alone do we serve." The whole world will be conquered by him, and then he will reveal his hatred for Christ and Christianity.
St. John the Theologian says that there will be a sign on the forebear and right hand of those who follow the Antichrist. It is not known whether this will be an actual mark on the body, or if this is a symbolic expression of people's mental acknowledgment of the necessity of worshiping the Antichrist, and of the complete subjugation of people's will to him. During such a complete willing and conscious submission of the entire world, the above-mentioned two righteous men will appear, and they wil fearlessly preach the faith, and condemn the Antichrist. The Holy Scriptures say that before the coming of the Savior, there will appear "two lamps," "two burning olive trees," "two saints." They will be killed by the Antichrist through the power of his magus. Who are these saints? According to the tradition of the Church, these are the two saints that did not teast of death: the Prophet Elias and the Prophet Enoch. There is a prophecy that these saints, not having tasted of death, will taste of it for three days and in three days will be resurrected. Their death will be a great joy for the Antichrist and his servants. Their resurrection in three days will bring inexpressible horror, fear, and confusion upon them. And then the end of the world will come.
The Apostle Peter says that the first world was created out of water and perished by water (II Peter 3:5,6). "Out of warer is also a symbol of the chaos of the physical mass, and "perishing by water" a symbol of the flood. "But the heaven and earth which are now . . . are kept in store, reserved unto fire . . . the earth . . . and all the works that are therein shall melt with fervent heat" (II Peter 3:12). This contemporary world will perish in an instant. Instantly everything will change. And the sign of the Son of God will appear — The sign of the Cross. The entire world, having willingly submitted to Antichrist, will "weep and wail." Everything is finished. Antichrist is killed. This is the end, and one must give an account of one's entire life, an account before the true God. Then from out of the hills of Palestine the Ark of the Covenant will appear; the prophet Jeremiah hid the Ark and the Holy Fire in a deep well. When water was taken from that well, the water burned. But the Ark itself was not found.
Looking at life now, those who have eyes to see see that everything foretold about the end of the world is being fulfilled. Who then is this person, Antichrist? St. John the Theologian symbolically calls him 666, but all attempts to explain this have been in vain. the life of the contemporary world gives us a rather clear understanding of the possibility of the consumption of the world by fire, of all the elements melting with fervent hear. We understand this from the splitting of the atom. The end of the world does not mean its destruction, but its transformation. Everything will change suddenly in the twinkling of an eye. The dead will be resurrected in new bodies — their own, but renewed ones — as the Savior arose in His body; it bore the marks of His wounds of nails and spear, but it had new characteristics and in this sense was a new body. It is unclear whether these will be entirely new bodies, or the ones with which man was created. And the Lord will appear in glory upon the clouds.
How will we see? With spiritual sight. Even now, at death righteous people see that which other people around them do not see. The trumpets will sound in souls and consciences. Everything will become clear in the human conscience. The Prophet Daniel, speaking of the Dread Judgment, tells of the Ancient of Days upon His throne, and before Him a river of fire. Fire is a purifying element. Fire burn sin; sin is also burned up by sorrow. if sin has become part of a man, then it burns the man himself. Then fire will flare up inside man. Seeing the Cross, some will rejoice and others will fall into despair, confusion, horror. Thus people will be separated instantly. In the Gospel narrative, some stand on the right hand, others on the left hand of the Judge — they are separated by their inner consciousness. The very state of a person's soul casts him to one or the other side, to the right or to the left. However much more consciously and diligently a person strove toward God in his life, so much the greater will be his joy when hears the words: "Come, ye blessed...." and on the other hand, the same words will kindle a fire of horror and suffering in those that did not desire Him, or avoided or fought or mocked Him in their lives. The Dread Judgment knows no witness or court records. Everything is inscribed in the souls of men, and these inscriptions, these "books," will be opened. Everything will become clear to all and to oneself; the state of a person's soul send him to the right or the left. Some will go to the place of rejoicing, other to the place of horror. When the books will be opened it will become clear to all that the root of all transgressions is in a man's soul. Consider a drunkard or a fornicator: when the body dies, some think the sin, too has died. No; the inclination to sin was in the soul, and to the soul the sin was sweet. And if the soul has not repented of this sin, has not freed itself of it, it will come to the Dread Judgment with the same desire for the sweetness of sin and will never sate this desire. There will be the suffering of hatred and wrath in this soul. This is the state of hell. "The fiery Gehenna" — this is the inner fire, the fire of weakness and anger, and there will be the wailing and gnashing of teeth of powerless wrath.
•
source: https://orthodoxlifemagazines.blogspot.com
Including 3 paragraphs missing from most online copies
from Orthodox Life magazine 1985 (2) and 1986 (1)
Cheese-Fare Sunday 1956
The Sunday of the Dread Judgment
Today is the Sunday of the Dread Judgment and it is natural for us to speak of the Dread Judgment and of the signs of the end of the world. No one knows that day: only God knows it, but the signs of its approach are given in the Gospels and the Revelation [Apocalypse] of St. John the Theologian. For the most part, Revelation speaks symbolically and cryptically of the events of the end of the world and of the Dread Judgment, but the Holy Fathers have explained them, and there is the pure authentic tradition of the Church that also tells us the signs of the approach of the end of the world and the Dread Judgment.
Before the end of life on earth there will be confusion, wars, civil strife, hunger, and earthquakes. People will suffer from fear; their hearts will fail from awaiting disasters. There will be neither spiritual life nor the joy of being alive, but a tortuous [spelling is correct] state of falling away from life. the falling away will not be from spiritual life only, but also from faith. The Son of Man, when He comes — will He find faith on earth? People will become proud, ungrateful, refuting the Law of God. Together with a falling away from spiritual life there will also be a diminishing of moral life. Good will be exhausted and evil will grow. It is about this time that the holy Apostle John the Theologian speaks in his divinely-inspired work, the Apocalypse [the book of Revelation]. He himself says that he was "in the spirit" — meaning that the Holy Spirit Itself was in him — when the fate of the Church and the world was revealed to him in various symbols.. That is why this is a Divine Revelation. He presents the fate of the Church in the image of a woman who hides in the wilderness during these times. She is not obvious in life. The is happening now in Russia.
In worldly life, those forces preparing for the appearance of the Antichrist will be of leading significance. The Antichrist will be a man and not the devil incarnate. "Anti" is a word meaning old or it means instead of or against. That man will want to exist instead of Christ, to take His place and to have that which Christ ought to have. He will want to have the same kind of influence and power over the entire world. Indeed he will obtain that power before he perishes and the entire world perishes. He will have a helper, a magus who, through the power of false miracles, will do his will and kill those that do not recognize the power of Antichrist. Before the destruction of the Antichrist, two righteous men will appear to condemn him. The magus will kill them, and for three days their bodies will lie unburied, and the Antichrist and his servants will rejoice to the utmost. Then suddenly these righteous men will resurrect, and the entire army of the Antichrist will suddenly fall down dead, killed by the force of the Holy Spirit.
But what is known about the person of the Antichrist? His exact origin is unknown. His father is completely unknown and his mother a vile, false virgin. He will be a Jew from the tribe of Dan. The indication of this is that Jacob, when dying, prophesied about the future heirs of his children, and concerning Dan, said that among his heirs "shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path that biteth the horses' heels so that his rider shall fall backwards." This symbolizes that the Antichrist shall act through cleverness and evil. In Revelation, St. John the Theologian speaks of the salvation of the sons of Israel, saying that before the end of the world many Jews will be converted to Christ, but in the list of tribes that are saved, there is no tribe of Dan. The Antichrist will be very clever and gifted, with an ability to deal with people. He will be charming and gentle. The appearance of the Antichrist is already being prepared before his coming. "The mystery doth already work..."
First of all, the forces preparing for his coming fight against lawful monarchial rule. The holy Apostle Paul says that the Antichrist cannot appear until "the one who restraineth" is put aside. John Chrysostom explains that the "one who restraineth" refers to a lawful, pious regime. Such a power struggles with evil. "The Mystery" working in the world does not want this, does not want the struggle against evil by the power of a pious ruler — quite the opposite. It wants the rule of lawlessness, and when it achieves this, nothing more will stop the appearance of the Antichrist. He will not only be clever and charming, he will be merciful and he will do works of charity for the sake of bolstering his control. And when he strengthens his control to the point hwere the entire world recognizes him then he will reveal his face. He will choose Jerusalem because it was precisely there that the Savior revealed His blessedness of virtue and salvation. But the world did not accept Christ and crucified Him in Jerusalem, and during the Antichrist's reign Jerusalem will become the capital of the world that has accepted his rule.
Reaching the summit of power, the Antichrist will demand that people acknowledge that he has achieved what no earthly power and no one has been able to do, and will demand worship of himself as an exalted being — a god. He will do only what pleases people, under the condition that they recognize him as the Supreme Power. He will provide opportunities for Church life, will allow her to hold services, and he will promise that wonderful temples will be built, provided that he be recognized as "Supreme Being" and worshiped. He will have a personal hatred for Christ. He will thrive on his hatred and will rejoice in people's apostasy from Christ and the Church. there will be a mass falling away from the faith during which many bishops will betray the faith, and as justification will point to the wonderful position of the Church. A search for compromise will be the characteristic state of people's faith. Directness of confession will vanish. People will subtly justify their fall, and solicitous evil will support such a general state of mind. People will grow used to apostatizing from the truth and will be accustomed to the sweetness of compromise and sin. The Antichrist will allow people anything as long as they, falling down before him, worship him. This will not be a new attitude toward people: the Roman Caesars also were prepared to grant the Christians freedom if they would recognize the emperor's divinity and divine supreme power. They martyred Christians only because they confessed "One God do we worship and Him alone do we serve." The whole world will be conquered by him, and then he will reveal his hatred for Christ and Christianity.
St. John the Theologian says that there will be a sign on the forebear and right hand of those who follow the Antichrist. It is not known whether this will be an actual mark on the body, or if this is a symbolic expression of people's mental acknowledgment of the necessity of worshiping the Antichrist, and of the complete subjugation of people's will to him. During such a complete willing and conscious submission of the entire world, the above-mentioned two righteous men will appear, and they wil fearlessly preach the faith, and condemn the Antichrist. The Holy Scriptures say that before the coming of the Savior, there will appear "two lamps," "two burning olive trees," "two saints." They will be killed by the Antichrist through the power of his magus. Who are these saints? According to the tradition of the Church, these are the two saints that did not teast of death: the Prophet Elias and the Prophet Enoch. There is a prophecy that these saints, not having tasted of death, will taste of it for three days and in three days will be resurrected. Their death will be a great joy for the Antichrist and his servants. Their resurrection in three days will bring inexpressible horror, fear, and confusion upon them. And then the end of the world will come.
The Apostle Peter says that the first world was created out of water and perished by water (II Peter 3:5,6). "Out of warer is also a symbol of the chaos of the physical mass, and "perishing by water" a symbol of the flood. "But the heaven and earth which are now . . . are kept in store, reserved unto fire . . . the earth . . . and all the works that are therein shall melt with fervent heat" (II Peter 3:12). This contemporary world will perish in an instant. Instantly everything will change. And the sign of the Son of God will appear — The sign of the Cross. The entire world, having willingly submitted to Antichrist, will "weep and wail." Everything is finished. Antichrist is killed. This is the end, and one must give an account of one's entire life, an account before the true God. Then from out of the hills of Palestine the Ark of the Covenant will appear; the prophet Jeremiah hid the Ark and the Holy Fire in a deep well. When water was taken from that well, the water burned. But the Ark itself was not found.
Looking at life now, those who have eyes to see see that everything foretold about the end of the world is being fulfilled. Who then is this person, Antichrist? St. John the Theologian symbolically calls him 666, but all attempts to explain this have been in vain. the life of the contemporary world gives us a rather clear understanding of the possibility of the consumption of the world by fire, of all the elements melting with fervent hear. We understand this from the splitting of the atom. The end of the world does not mean its destruction, but its transformation. Everything will change suddenly in the twinkling of an eye. The dead will be resurrected in new bodies — their own, but renewed ones — as the Savior arose in His body; it bore the marks of His wounds of nails and spear, but it had new characteristics and in this sense was a new body. It is unclear whether these will be entirely new bodies, or the ones with which man was created. And the Lord will appear in glory upon the clouds.
How will we see? With spiritual sight. Even now, at death righteous people see that which other people around them do not see. The trumpets will sound in souls and consciences. Everything will become clear in the human conscience. The Prophet Daniel, speaking of the Dread Judgment, tells of the Ancient of Days upon His throne, and before Him a river of fire. Fire is a purifying element. Fire burn sin; sin is also burned up by sorrow. if sin has become part of a man, then it burns the man himself. Then fire will flare up inside man. Seeing the Cross, some will rejoice and others will fall into despair, confusion, horror. Thus people will be separated instantly. In the Gospel narrative, some stand on the right hand, others on the left hand of the Judge — they are separated by their inner consciousness. The very state of a person's soul casts him to one or the other side, to the right or to the left. However much more consciously and diligently a person strove toward God in his life, so much the greater will be his joy when hears the words: "Come, ye blessed...." and on the other hand, the same words will kindle a fire of horror and suffering in those that did not desire Him, or avoided or fought or mocked Him in their lives. The Dread Judgment knows no witness or court records. Everything is inscribed in the souls of men, and these inscriptions, these "books," will be opened. Everything will become clear to all and to oneself; the state of a person's soul send him to the right or the left. Some will go to the place of rejoicing, other to the place of horror. When the books will be opened it will become clear to all that the root of all transgressions is in a man's soul. Consider a drunkard or a fornicator: when the body dies, some think the sin, too has died. No; the inclination to sin was in the soul, and to the soul the sin was sweet. And if the soul has not repented of this sin, has not freed itself of it, it will come to the Dread Judgment with the same desire for the sweetness of sin and will never sate this desire. There will be the suffering of hatred and wrath in this soul. This is the state of hell. "The fiery Gehenna" — this is the inner fire, the fire of weakness and anger, and there will be the wailing and gnashing of teeth of powerless wrath.
•
source: https://orthodoxlifemagazines.blogspot.com
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