What is the Last Judgment? The Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the Last Judgment

  • Met.
  • holy Artemy Vladimirov
  • schiarchim.
  • mit. Hilarion (Alfeev)
  • arch.

    • Last Judgment- the last, universal Judgment of God over the world, which will take place at the second (at the same time, all dead people will be resurrected, and the living will change (), and everyone will be determined by his deeds (,), words () and thoughts.

    The Holy Fathers spoke about the fact that there is a kind of "memory of the heart" that imprints everything, our whole life - both internal and external. And at the Last Judgment, this book, written in the depths of our soul, will open, as it were, and only then will we see what we really are, and not what our inflamed one painted us. Then we will see how many times God called us to salvation, punished us, had mercy on us, and how stubbornly we resisted grace and strove only for and. Even our good deeds we will see eaten away like worms by hypocrisy, pride and secret calculation.

    At the same time, the judgment is not only what will happen after death. Judgment is made by us every second of our earthly life. The Last Judgment is not a trial, but only a final statement of fact. Each of us in the course of life is spiritually determined in relation to God.

    Why is the Last Judgment called the Last Judgment?

    Announcing the Second Coming of the Messiah and the subsequent universal Judgment, the prophets and apostles called this “Day” the Day of the Lord, great and terrible ().

    This Day is also called the Day of the Wrath of God (). Therefore, the name “Terrible” was assigned to the future Judgment not because the Lord would appear before the eyewitnesses in some deliberately formidable form. He will appear before the gaze of those gathered in the splendor of His glory and majesty, as a Mighty and Just Judge. This, of course, will cause fear in those around you, in someone - reverent, and in someone - the strongest dumbfounded: "it's terrible to fall into the hands of the living God!" ().

    Horror and restless awe will accompany sinners from the knowledge that at this Judgment all their sins will be revealed, promulgated, weighed (and not only committed deeds, but also those that remain unfulfilled: secret sinful desires, thoughts and thoughts), and for each will have to answer before an incorruptible and impartial Judge.

    In addition, the Last Judgment will take place publicly, in front of the whole world: in front of a host of angelic hosts, in front of billions of people, including those closest to them, relatives. At this last Judgment, the sinner will no longer be able to deceive either his personal conscience, or those around him, or, of course, the All-Seeing Judge with reservations and excuses convenient for him. The Light of Divine Truth, the Light will illuminate any unrepentant lawless person, will illuminate each of his crimes, actions or inactions.

    A ship with slaves came to a certain city, and in that city there lived one holy virgin, who was very attentive to herself. She, having heard that this ship had come, was very glad, for she wanted to buy herself a little girl, and she thought: I will take and raise her as I want, so that she does not know the vices of this world at all. She sent for the owner of the ship, and calling him to her, she found out that he had two little girls, exactly what she wanted, and she immediately gave the price for one of them with joy and took her to her. When the owner of the ship departed from the place where this saint was, and barely moved a little, one harlot met him, completely depraved, and, seeing with him another girl, wanted to take her; agreed with him, gave the price, took the girl and left with her. Do you see the mystery of God?

    Do you see the judgment of God? Who can explain it? So, the holy virgin took that little one, brought her up in the fear of God, instructing her in every good deed, teaching her monastic life and, to put it briefly, in every fragrance of the holy commandments of God. The harlot, having taken that unfortunate woman, made her an instrument of the devil. For what could this infection teach her, if not the destruction of her soul? So, what can we say about this terrible fate? Both were small, both were sold, not knowing where they were going, and one ended up in the hands of God, and the other fell into the hands of the devil. Is it possible to say that God will exact equally from both one and the other? How is that possible! If both fall into fornication or some other sin, can it be said that both of them will be subjected to the same judgment, although both have fallen into the same sin? Is it possible? One knew about the court, about the kingdom of God, day and night she studied in the words of God; the other, the unfortunate one, has never seen or heard anything good, but always, on the contrary, everything bad, everything devilish: how is it possible that both should be judged by one judgment?

    So, no person can know the judgments of God, but He alone knows everything and can judge the sin of everyone, as He alone knows.
    Rev.


    TERRIBLE JUDGMENT OF GOD


    VISION OF GREGORY, THE DISCIPLE OF OUR HOLY AND GOD-BEARING FATHER BASIL OF THE NEW TSEREGRAD


    Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 2001

    With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II


    Icon of the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgment of God in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! One day, when I was sitting in my cell and lamenting over my sins, a thought came to me and began to greatly occupy my mind. I thought that the faith of the Jews was deep and sincere, since Abraham is called the friend of God in Scripture, and Isaac is righteous before God, Jacob is the father of the twelve patriarchs, and Moses is the great saint of God. He smote the Egyptians with signs and wonders. How not sincere is the faith of the Jews, if they received the Law of God on Mount Sinai in the Decalogue, learned to separate good and evil, if God, through Moses, divided the Red Sea for the Israelites and led them out of Egyptian slavery, fed them with manna in the wilderness? I read other books of the Old Testament, and after struggling with these thoughts for a long time, I finally came to my senses. Why bother with vain thoughts in vain, because I have a spiritual father, full of spiritual talent. I will go and reveal my thoughts to him, and he will judge about it. After all, I am well aware that the one who confesses his thoughts to his spiritual father receives relief from the thoughts that wrestle him. And whoever hides thoughts in his heart, he hides in himself a serpent and not Christ, but Antichrist. I got up and went to my father Vasily. On that day, horse races were appointed, and on this occasion people from all over the city gathered at the hippodrome. And I have not gone to this entertainment for many years, remembering the formidable word of John Chrysostom. And so, when I approached the assembled people at the place of Dioptim, the thought came to me to see if the first race of horses had taken place. Carried away by such a thought, I stopped and looked at the running horses. When he came to our Reverend Father Basil, he found him in a silent cell, standing in prayer. I went in to him, making the usual bow. He blessed me, and after praying with me, he sternly said to me: "Behold, a man came to me who, having read the books of the Old Testament, began to praise the Jews, saying - the faith of the Jews is deep and sincere, not understanding the Scriptures - its true meaning. He left weeping over sins and contemplating death and the Last Judgment of Christ. And not only that, but also went to the hippodrome, where foolish people bring joy to the devil with their frivolity. Therefore, the devil instilled such thoughts in you and deposed you twice!" Having heard such a denunciation of myself from the God-wise elder Basil, I mentally vowed never to visit this devilish spectacle. The saint continued: "Tell me, why do you think that the faith of the Jews is good and true?" I found it difficult to give an appropriate answer. And St. Basil also told me what the words spoken by the Lord in the Holy Gospel mean: Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. - “You see from these words that there is no benefit to those who believe in the Father, but the Son is rejected. And the Lord also said to the Jews: They didn't know the Father or Me. If they saw Him in the hosts teaching them and performing numerous miracles and did not recognize Him as the Son of God, but as the Heavenly Father, they never saw Him, how can they know well? Jesus said to the Jews: I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me; but if another comes in his name, accept him. And he also said: Behold, your house is left to you empty. You see that God finally rejected them and scattered them over the whole earth, among all peoples, and made their very name hated among the peoples of the Universe. And again the Lord spoke: If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin... but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. In the same way, the Lord spoke about the fig tree in the Holy Gospel, when he was hungry and went up to her and did not find fruit on her, betraying her with a curse: May there be no further fruit from you forever. The fig tree refers to the Jewish people. The Son of God came, hungry for righteousness, and did not find the fruit of righteousness among the Jewish people. Although this people covered themselves with the Law of God, given through Moses, they did not bear the fruits of righteousness, for which they were cursed and rejected. Before the advent of Christ, the faith of the Jews was indeed right and good, and the Law was holy. When Christ, the Son of God, came into the world, whom the Jews did not accept and crucified lawlessly on the Cross, their faith in God was rejected, and the people were cursed. Instead of the Old Testament, God concluded a New Testament, not with the Jews, as before, but in the person of those who believe in the Son of God with all the tribes of the earth. The Jews, who did not accept the Son of God, are waiting for a false messiah - the Antichrist. In proof of this, before the death of the prophet Moses, God said: Behold, you will rest with your fathers, and this people will begin to wander after strange gods... and will leave Me, and will break My Covenant, which I have established with them; and my wrath will be kindled against him.. and I will leave them and hide my face from them, and he will be destroyed, and many disasters and sorrows will overtake him. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah: I will reject My great rod, that is, the Law given to the Jews through Moses, and I will destroy them with a great ruin, I will reject them to the end and will not turn to them. You see, child Gregory, how they are rejected from God, and their law no longer has any meaning before God. After the coming of Christ, the Jews did not have a single prophet or righteous man. Prophet David said: Rejected they will rise no more. And he also said: May God arise and scatter His enemies. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, was resurrected on the third day from the dead, and after forty days he ascended into Heaven and sat down in human nature at the right hand of God the Father. On the fiftieth day after His Resurrection, He sent down the Holy Spirit upon His disciples and Apostles; when they dispersed throughout the universe to preach the word of God, the righteous Judgment of God befell the Jews. Jerusalem was destroyed to the ground, then all the Jews were dispersed throughout the countries of the Universe. And all peoples hate this outcast Jewish race, God-slayers. St. John the Theologian in Revelation says about them that the Jews are no longer the host of Israel and the sons of God, and not a holy people, but a cursed and indecent people, and an outcast - a host of satanic. When they gather in the synagogue on the Sabbath, the Lord is not among them, but Satan among them rejoices and rejoices over their destruction, because they rejected the Son of God; branded themselves with the most shameful name of a godslayer. Satan took them as his inheritance and sealed them with his vile name. They are the sons of the devil, and the deceitful and vile lot of his activities, and part of the Antichrist. Before they rejected the Son of God, they were sons of the Kingdom. Now they have been expelled from the city of Christ, and instead of them all the peoples who believe in the Holy Trinity have been brought in. New Israel is a Christian people, sons of the New Testament and heirs of future, eternal heavenly blessings. So know, child Gregory, if anyone does not believe that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, who came into the world to save sinners, that person is cursed. If anyone believes in the Holy Trinity, and does not confess that Christ was incarnated of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, and was perfect God and perfect man, and gave us life, Resurrection, and salvation, and reconciliation, and the justice of the Heavenly Father by His Cross, he deprived of the favor of God, subjected to condemnation, damnation, eternal torment along with the Jews and the atheists," he said and fell silent. some sign, and thereby confirm my lack of faith." He said: "You ask a lot from me, child Gregory. Know that the Lord does not want the death of a sinner, but wants everyone to be saved and understand the truth. If you ask in faith, everything will be fulfilled for you.” And he let me go in peace.

    WONDERFUL VISION


    On the first night after my return from Blessed Basil, when, after a long and fervent prayer, I rested on my bed, I see Saint Basil enter, take my hand and say: “Didn’t I tell you that the Jews are cursed by God? Go now with me, and I will show you the faith of every nation and what value it has before God." And he took me, and went to the East, and a bright cloud enveloped us and lifted us to heavenly heights. And then I saw a wonderful, beautiful world. I saw a lot and marveled at its beauty. Suddenly, a cloud lowered us, and we found ourselves on some spacious and wondrous, unearthly beauty field. The earth of this field was bright, like glass or crystal clear and transparent. And all the ends of the Universe were visible from this field. Soaring across this field were regiments of bright and beautiful fire-like youths, sweetly singing Divine songs and glorifying the One God in the Trinity. Then we came to some terrible place, glowing with a fiery light, and I thought that they had brought me to be burned. But it was not fire, but light like fire. Among this light are many winged young men dressed in snow-white clothes. They went and burned the immaterial altar of God. Suddenly we found ourselves on a high mountain, which we climbed with great difficulty, and St. Basil ordered me to look to the East, and I saw another field, very large and shining like gold in the sun. When I saw this field, my heart was filled with unspeakable joy. Still looking to the East, I saw a wonderful city, of unspeakable beauty and very great. I admired for many hours and stood in amazement, then I asked the one who led me: "My lord, tell me, what is this wonderful city?" He said to me: "This is the Jerusalem of Heaven - the city of the King of Heaven. Not made by hands, as vast as the circle of heaven is built." And I asked: "Who owns this city and who lives in it?" He said: “This is the city of the great King, about which David miraculously predicted; our Lord Jesus Christ created it at the end of His earthly life and after His miraculous Resurrection, and after His Ascension to Heaven to God, His Father, He prepared it for His holy disciples and To the Apostles, and to those who through their preaching believed in Him, as the Lord Himself said in His Gospel: In my Father's house there are many abodes . Then a wonderful young man appeared, descended from the height of heaven to a hill in the midst of this wondrous city, saying: "Behold, the Judgment and Resurrection of the dead will be, and recompense will come to everyone from the righteous Judge." And after the words of this young man, a pillar of fire descended from the height of heaven, and a terrible voice was heard, like a thousand thousand thunders. It is the creative and almighty power of God that will gather all creation. And after this, a mighty voice came down on all human bones, so that bone to bone, joint to joint, member to member, will be gathered, obeying this creative Power of God. Human bones began to collect throughout the Universe, and the whole earth was one whole cemetery filled with dry human skeletons. After that, a young man descended from the height of heavenly marvelous beauty, holding a golden trumpet in his hand, and with him twelve young men. Each had a golden trumpet. When they descended to the ground, their glorious Voivode blew before them menacingly, and terribly, and powerfully. The voice of his trumpet was heard throughout the universe, and the whole earth, like a leaf on a tree, shook. And now the dry bones were clothed in flesh, but there was no life in them, and the glorious and majestic Governor and twelve young men blew a second time. The earth trembled and shook greatly. And at that very hour numerous hosts of angels descended like the sand of the sea. And each Angel led the soul of a dead person, whom he guarded during his temporary life, and each soul went to his body. All the Angels trumpeted for the third time, and Heaven and earth were terrified, and everything trembled, as a leaf on a tree trembles from a strong wind. And all the dead were resurrected, the souls were united with the bodies. All were of the same age, both old and young. The forefathers Adam and Eve rose from the dead, all the patriarchs, prophets, ancestors with all the tribes and tribes stood across the face of the earth in cramped quarters. Many who did not believe in the mystery of the Resurrection were very surprised and horrified: how dust and ashes rose again, all the sons of Adam safe and sound after a long dust and corruption. Those who did not believe in the Son of God were horrified and trembled, seeing the faces of the righteous shining like the stars of heaven, in accordance with their holiness and degree of perfection. According to the words of the Apostle Paul, the star differs from the star in glory. Some of the righteous had faces that shone like the sun at noon, others like the moon in the midst of a dark night, and others like the light of day. All the righteous have books in the hands of lightning-fast light. There are recorded all their Virtues, labors and feats incurred to purify the heart from passions, and an inscription on the forehead of each righteous person, testifying to the glory of each. Some have written: "prophet of the Lord", "Apostle of Christ", "preacher of God", "martyr of Christ", "evangelist-confessor", "poor in spirit", "pleasing to repentance", "merciful", "generous", "pure heart", "expelled for the sake of righteousness", "hospice of the Lord", "having endured poverty and illness", "presbyter", "virgin", "giving his life for his friend", and other numerous virtues. In the same way there was a sign on the faces of sinners. Some of them had faces as dark as dark night, others like soot, others had rotting scabs, some like stinking mud. Others have faces covered with pus and infested with disgusting worms, their eyes burning with malevolent fires. Sinners, seeing the glory of the righteous and their lewdness and wretchedness, in horror and fear said to each other: “Woe to us, fierce, here is the last day of the Second Coming of the Lord, about which we heard a lot from the righteous and evangelists before our death. But we, due to frivolity they did not believe, and with all their hearts indulged in voluptuousness, covetousness and worldly pride, laughed, mocked the righteous of the Holy Gospel. Oh, woe to us fools. For a minute of the sweetness of sin, the fleeting pleasures of the flesh, we lost the Glory of God. We clothed ourselves with eternal fear, shame. Oh, fierce Woe to us, sinners, unfortunate and darkened. The Lord will betray us to eternal unbearable torment. Oh, woe to us, unfortunate ones, only now we have learned our shame and nakedness, open before Heaven and earth and before the face of all earthly people. The hour has come - the hour of true assessment We knew how to lie, covering up the gross vices of personal righteousness, loudly trumpeted before us about those virtues and perfections did not have. Tormented by the thirst for voluptuousness and ambition, we sought to satisfy the insatiable voluptuousness and ambition in all sorts of deceitful ways, and did not stop at any atrocities and crimes. Clearly and secretly shed streams of innocent human blood. And despite all the horrors and crimes they committed, they considered themselves beneficent. On this day of the terrible Judgment of God, which we boldly, and shamelessly, and fearlessly rejected and denied, our criminality, hypocrisy will be revealed. Oh, how many innocent children's souls we have ruined, poisoning them with the poison of unbelief and godlessness. We have been leaders and apostates and diligent servants of Satan. Oh, woe to us, the unfortunate proud, who dreamed of knowing everything with their own mind and madly rejected the highest mind of God. Oh, how cruelly we were mistaken, mocking and laughing at the faith of God-loving followers of Christ. We blindly served the devil, catering to the lust of the flesh. And the servants of Christ suffered, exhausted their flesh with deeds of piety. They shine here like the sun, and we burn from eternal shame and nakedness. Oh, woe, woe to us, cursed and unfortunate. Oh, woe to us, eternal woe to the heirs of hell. " Atheists, heretics, freethinkers, apostates, unrepentant sinners spoke many other words, reproaching themselves and cursing the day and hour of their birth, expecting a strict and just sentence from the righteous Judge, looking in horror at each other They all saw the inscriptions on their foreheads: “murderer”, “adulter”, “fornicator”, “defiler”, “thief”, “sorcerer”, “drunkard”, “rebel”, “blasphemer”, “blasphemer”, "predator", "husband", "beastkeeper", "child-killer", "murderer", "corrupter", "vindictive", "envious", "oath-breaker", "buffoon", "laugher", "severe", angry " , "unmerciful", "money-lover", "covetous", "uncontrollably committed every sin and iniquity", "impudent denier of the Resurrection and the future life", "heretic", "Arian", "Macedonian", - and all those who were not baptized into the Holy Trinity and after baptism they sinned and did not bring true repentance, and from temporary life departed into eternity morally uncorrected. They all stared at each other in terrible horror and moaned bitterly, slapped their faces and in their madness tore the hair on their heads, uttering a terrible groan and curses. Before the Judgment, the Jews stood as if insane and deprived of reason, many said: “Who is God, who is Christ? .. We don’t know. We served many gods, and if they are resurrected, it will be good for us, since we tried to please good in temporary life And so they must honor us." Later I saw how the ranks of the Heavenly Powers descended from the height and sang a sweetly wondrous song, carrying a wooden Cross in their midst, shining with the light of heavenly glory more than the rays of the sun. And having brought it, they placed it on the Throne prepared for the Righteous Judgment. And this Cross was visible to the whole Universe, and all peoples were very surprised at the extraordinary beauty of the Cross of the Lord. The Jews saw, were horrified and trembled with great fear and horror, in vain the sign of Christ crucified by them. In despair, they began to tear their hair and beat their faces, saying: “Oh, woe to us and great misfortune, we did not see a good sign. Oh, woe to us accursed ones. This is a sign of Christ crucified by us. We have harmed Him, and not only Himself, but also those who believe in Him." So the Jews spoke and wept. The angel who led me said: “Look how they began to tremble when they saw the Holy Cross of the Lord! "We stood on an elevated place, and the whole Universe was visible to me, and conversations were heard, and I even saw all the people who filled the earth. After this, I heard the many-voiced noise of those who spoke, and countless Heavenly Powers began to appear. Dominions, Angels, Archangels, decorously and harmoniously in great regiments, began to descend to the place of the Judgment Seat of Christ. Seeing this, I was greatly horrified and trembled, but the Angel who led me encouraged me, saying: "Do not be afraid, but carefully look and remember what you saw. These are my friends and co-servers at the Throne of the King," and fear receded from me. Soon lightning flashed, loud trumpet sounds and numerous peals of thunder were heard, from which the whole earth shook. The righteous, who had bright faces, rejoiced and rejoiced. they were horrified and trembled with fear. And lo and behold, the Great Heavenly Powers descended from the heavenly heights, and from them came a wonderful light, like a fiery flame. They descended and stood decorously around the place prepared for the Righteous Judge. The beauty of shining faces cannot be described by any human language. Seeing them darkened my mind, and my tongue refused to speak. The righteous from Adam to the last earthly one rejoiced with great joy, expecting a righteous retribution from the inexpressible mercy of God. And sinners, idolaters, atheists and apostates began to be horrified and tremble like a leaf on an aspen. At this time, a bright cloud appeared with lightning and, having overshadowed the Divine Cross, remained for a long time on it; as soon as it rose in the same place from which it descended, a wonderful crown wrapped around the Cross, of indescribable beauty, shining more than the rays of the sun. The terrible Throne of Glory stood not on the ground, but in the air. And so one regiment of Angels stood on the east side, another on the south, a third on the west, and a fourth on the north. It was a terrible and wondrous sight. The air was filled with the Forces of Heaven, and the earth was filled with the sons of the human race. Then the chariot of fire descended from the height of heaven. Around her are countless six-winged Cherubim and many-eyed Seraphim loudly, solemnly and victoriously crying out: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of hosts, fulfill heaven and earth with Your glory." And now all the Powers of Heaven exclaimed: "Bless, Father Almighty... Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, the Word Concurrent with the Father."

    TERRIBLE JUDGMENT OF GOD

    DIVISION OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE SINNERS


    Suddenly a trumpet voice was heard, terrible and great, and everything that lives in heaven and on earth trembled. Even the very Powers of Heaven shuddered and were afraid. This trumpet sound foreshadowed the nearness of the Coming of the Most Righteous Judge. Then the trumpets sounded again, and numerous regiments of the glorious Powers of Heaven again began to descend, carrying banners and the royal scepter. Then a cloud began to descend, bright and white as snow, carried by four animals. In the midst of the cloud is the Only Begotten Son of God Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ!!! Around the cloud there is a large multitude of incorporeal servants of God, with many fear and trembling and great reverence, not daring to approach the cloud. A thousand times stronger than the sun, the world was illuminated by the Magnificence of the Glory of God. When the cloud began to descend over the place where the Throne of Glory stood, immediately all the Powers of Heaven exclaimed with a great voice: "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! God the Lord has come to judge the living and the dead - the whole human race." And the angelic world with fear and trembling bowed to the Most Righteous Judge. After this, the Only Begotten Son of God descended from the cloud and sat on the Throne of the Majesty of His Glory. Heaven and earth trembled with fear and terror. The human race was horrified by great fear. Archangels, Angels, Dominations, Principles, Forces, Authorities, Thrones, Seraphim and Cherubim loudly exclaimed in victorious solemnity, like numerous thunders: God the Most High Word, whom the Father begot before all ages. Pure by nature, and will, and desire. There is only one Lord Jesus Christ. Christ, Who took on human flesh, did not change the Divine Divinity. He borrowed flesh from the Most Immaculate and Most Pure Virgin Mary. Lived in the world He showed the sons of Adam the path of truth and salvation. He conquered death, destroyed hell, gave the prisoners of hell salvation, freedom, destroying all the power and might of Satan. And victoriously resurrected from the grave, gave life and Resurrection to all the dead. Holy Spirit, and there is no other God but You. Amen." And then the All-Righte Judge looked at the sky - and it twisted like a scroll. The Lord looked at the earth - and it fled from His presence, being defiled by human deeds. And all the sons of Adam, that is, the human race, stood in the air. The Lord again looked at the sky - and a new sky appeared, looked at the immeasurable depth - and a new earth appeared - pure, shining, like flowers of the field adorned with unearthly beauty, since the perishable life ceased and the imperishable life began. Time is up. Eternity has begun! The Eighth Endless Day has come! In the firmament of heaven there was no longer any sun, no moon, no stars, since instead of them the Righteous Sun, Christ our God, shone! An unstoppable light that enlightens the entire universe. And the Lord looked at the collected waters in the heavenly places - and the water turned into a fiery flame, bubbling and seething, leading sinners and apostates with indescribable fear and trembling; the flame ate and burnt everything impure and filthy. Then the Lord looked at the unbelievers, apostates and idolaters. And so the formidable regiments of Angels began to plunge the wicked into the fiery sea, while some were left behind. I asked the holy angel who led me about what was happening, he answered: “Those cast into the sea of ​​fire are people who have sinned before the Law and have strayed from the path of God, from Cain to the legislation of Sinai. those of the Jews who believed in Divine Providence and did not worship idols." And so the Lord looked to the East - and the Angels blew loud trumpets, from their sound heaven and earth shook, and the place on the right hand of the Judgment Seat of God was cleansed. And the regiments of the Angels, who were on the eastern side of the Judgment Seat, dispersed throughout the Universe, like fleeting lightning, and looking at the sons of Adam, where they only met bright beautiful faces, kissed them with great joy and represented the right hand of the Righteous Judge. Thus the righteous were separated from the sinners. Then the Lord looked to the North and South - and now the four regiments of the terrible Angels of God dispersed throughout the Universe, and gathered all the sinners, and placed the Judgment Seat of God on the left. They turned out to be countless, like the sand of the earth. All of them are distorted from anger, fear and hatred for each other. Darkened, defiled by all sinful impurity. Those who stood on the right side had faces shining with the light of heavenly joy and joy, in anticipation of eternal bliss. With a merciful gaze, the Lord looked at those standing at the right hand of the Judgment Seat and with love said: “Come, blessed of My Father, and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Me". And the righteous, filled with the deepest humility of wisdom, answered: "Lord, Lord, we have done nothing, no good to You" ... The Lord answered them: "Because Thou shalt make these lesser brethren of Mine, do unto Me." Then the Lord looked menacingly at the sinners on the left side and said: “Depart from me, damned ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and all his servants. Because you have done nothing good for Me in the face of My poor brethren. Departure, cursed and wicked, who have defiled yourselves with an impure sinful life. They did a lot of evil, and did not bring repentance, and in error and in vanity they ruined their temporary life. Depart from Me, I don't know you... In temporary life, I daily, hourly called you to Heaven, but you voluntarily preferred hell, branding yourself with the seal of rejection through shameful and vile deeds, words, thoughts and desires. Depart, accursed ones, who have offended Me a lot, who have imputed My commandments and commandments to nothing. In madness you have loved the charm and the momentary pleasure of the flesh, and the pride of Satan, and through this vile life you have zealously served the devil. Inherit the eternal torment prepared for him. You have rejected me and joined the devil through a shameful life. Enjoy the fiery darkness and the unsleeping worm." Hearing such a formidable sentence of the Righteous Judge, the sinners wept bitterly and sobbed, asking for mercy. At the same time, the formidable Angels began to plunge them into the fiery sea, wildly bubbling. They, having felt a fiery burning sensation and terrible unbearable torments , in insane horror they cried out: “Woe to us, alas, alas!” The Lord again looked at the new earth - and it was adorned with many different gardens and groves of indescribable beauty. God, about which I heard from the Holy Scriptures?" He answered me: "This is the land of the meek, about which Christ in the Holy Gospel said: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." The Kingdom of Heaven in heaven is indescribable and indescribable. "Yeshe Lord looked at the earth - and the earth was covered with many different flowers, and two rivers flowed: honey and milk, to eat the gardens of paradise with moisture. And many birds of heaven, of wonderful beauty, flew, and they began it is easy to flutter in the gardens of God and glorify God with sweet-voiced singing.Then the Lord looked at the height of heaven - and the heavenly armies descended, which carried the wondrous city not made by hands - Heavenly Jerusalem, glorifying the One God in the Trinity.They placed this wonderful city in the East, in the midst of it was Eden Paradise "This city is wonderful, unearthly beauty and very vast. It is called Jerusalem, not made by hands, its gates shine like the sun. And the angels blew their sweet trumpets, and the whole creation began to glorify the Lord and everything that is in heaven and on earth. And the Lord called to the sinners on His left, and said to them: “Look how many good things you have lost and what a painful fate you will receive. .." Having said this, the Lord rose from His magnificent Throne and went to those who stood on the right side, saying to them in a meek voice: "Come, blessed of My Father, and enter into the joy of the Lord your God." Those on the left side were tormented and tormented by envy , looked at everything that was happening and cursed the sweetness of a temporary vain life.

    THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WAS AHEAD OF EVERYONE


    When the Lord sat down at the gates of Heavenly Jerusalem, the first Mother of God, the Most Pure Virgin Mary, came up, shining with ineffable glory. She came and bowed to the Lord. The Lord, seeing Her, gladly accepts Her, and, bowing His most pure head, said to Her: "Come in, My Mother, into the joy of Your Lord, since everything belongs to You. This is Your inheritance!" She bowed down, kissed His hands, and joyfully entered the holy city. And all the Heavenly Forces and the righteous sang, glorifying Her as the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven.

    AFTER THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD GO HOLY JOHN THE BAPTIST AND THE TWELVE HOLY APOSTLES


    Then the Twelve men separated from the right side, and with them John the Forerunner of the Lord, approached the gates of the heavenly city, clothed with glory and with cheerful bright faces. The Lord joyfully received them and kissed them, graciously said to them: "Come in, my friends, into the joy of your Lord!" They joyfully entered the holy city.

    THE APOSTLES WALKED SEVENTY DISCIPLES OF CHRIST


    Then the Lord called seventy men from the right side to the gates of the holy city. Their faces shone with heavenly glory, like the moon shining in the darkness of the night. Clothes of their lightning-like beauty. The Lord graciously received them, saying: "Enter, My faithful friends, into the joy of Your Lord and rest from the labors you have endured in preaching My Holy Gospel...". Having worshiped the Lord, they joyfully entered the holy city, and all the saints glorified God. Seeing all this, the sinners standing on the left side sobbed bitterly, tormented the hair of their heads and, cursing, condemning themselves, recalled their evil will in temporal life: “Oh, how crazy we were, we were deceived by the charm of sin and for the sake of momentary pleasure we deprived ourselves of eternal bliss and happiness. Alas! woe, woe to us."

    HOLY MARTYRS AND MARTYRS WALKED FOR CHRIST'S DISCIPLES


    After this, by the command of God, the great regiment separated from the right side, the faces of the righteous shone like the sun. They were dressed in scarlet robes, shining with unearthly beauty. These were the martyrs of the last days of the militant Church of Christ, who received the crown of martyrdom from the Antichrist and his servants. The Lord graciously received them.

    THAT PROFESSED THE HOLY FAITH FOLLOWED THE MARTYRS


    Then, at the command of God, a regiment of holy men and women approached, shining with heavenly glory - these are the confessors of Christ. The Lord caressed them with a merciful look, and they joyfully entered the holy city.

    Evangelists


    Then the great regiment approached the gates with joy and gladness. Their clothes shone like gold. The Lord graciously accepted them, saying: "Good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of your Lord."

    SAINTS


    After this, the great regiment came to the gates of the holy city. Their faces shone like the sun, their clothes were as white as snow. They had omophorions on their shoulders. These are the bishops of God, who goodly shepherded the flock of Christ. The Lord graciously received them, saying: "Enter into the joy of your Lord, reap the delight of your labors, raised in your temporary life in the field of Christ." The angels and the righteous sang of God Almighty.

    Temperants, And Novices, And Monks Who Worked For the Sake of Christ


    Then a great regiment approached the Lord, and with cheerful faces they bowed to Him. He graciously commanded them to enter into the joy of his Lord. They were abstinence and fasting, and monks, cleansed by true repentance. All the angels and the righteous glorified God about them.

    MARTYR WIFE


    The regiment also separated from the right side, with faces as bright as the sun, in royal purple. These are the holy martyrs who shed their blood for Christ. The Lord graciously, in a quiet voice, spoke to them: "Enter, My dear brides, into the Chamber of Your Bridegroom. Enter the marriage of the Lamb of God, we will drink the wine of eternal joy and celebrate the eternal Easter. Triumph the eternal victory over the defeated Satan, his servants and corrupt people" . The powers of Heaven and the righteous glorified God - the Conqueror of death and hell - Christ the Son of God, who redeemed the world from the charms of Satan with His Cross.

    ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB


    Then, at the command of God, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the twelve patriarchs in white robes, shining with heavenly glory, approached the Lord. The Lord mercifully spoke to them: "Enter, My friends, into the rest prepared for you - eternal joy." Angels and holy men glorified God in the glorious Trinity.

    CHRISTIAN BABIES


    Then a multitude of people of the same height and image approached the Lord, their faces shone seven times brighter than the sun. The Lord highly praised them for their purity. These were the firstborn of the Lamb of God, redeemed by His blood. These are immaculate virgins - Christian babies. About them the Angels and the saints of God greatly glorified God. Then they came up in great regiments: prophets, just judges, peacemakers, merciful, poor-lovers. All shone with heavenly glory, and the merciful Lord commanded them to enter the bright city and enjoy food and drink incorruptible

    FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST


    Then a small cathedral came up to the Lord, shining with extraordinary heavenly glory. At the command of the Lord, he entered the holy city with boldness to many - these are fools for Christ's sake.

    JUDGES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT


    Then came Moses, Aaron and his son Eleazar, Joshua of Nun, seventy prophets who received this gift under Moses, and all the righteous Judges of Israel from Othniel to the prophet Samuel, King David and all the pious kings of Israel, and all the sons of Israel from the twelve the tribes of Israel who strictly observed the Law of Moses until the coming of Christ. All of them were graciously accepted by the Lord and entered the holy city.

    THE FIRST TO SERVE GOD


    After this, the Lord called our forefathers Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Enoch, Melchizedek, Noah, and other holy men and women who pleased God before the flood and the Law of Sinai. The Lord commanded His servants to give them a worthy reward for their deeds and labors.

    PLEASANT TO GOD WITHOUT KNOWING THE LAW


    A small cathedral also came from the right side in joy and in heavenly joy, with shining faces - these are other holy men and women of all clans and tribes who fulfilled the Law, not knowing it, and honored the One God, pleasing God with chastity and mercy. The Lord vouchsafed them unspeakable heavenly joy.

    EXILED FOR THE TRUTH


    Then the Lord called from the right side a very great regiment, with bright and joyful faces, all adorned with honor and great glory. The Lord mercifully and meekly said to them: “Come, my faithful followers and disciples, inherit eternal rest for your tireless zeal for the truth of God. good name, and all for the fact that you fearlessly confessed My name, despising philanthropy, slyness and flattery. Rejoice, friends, and rejoice, calm yourself from the sufferings of your temporary life in the eternal joy of tranquility.

    MEN AND WOMEN HONEST AND BLACK


    Finally, the Lord called the last regiment, very beautiful, their faces were like the color of a rose, their clothes were like snow from beautiful flowers. The Lord graciously received them and praised them for their faithfulness to His holy commandments. They are men and women who lived honestly in marriage. They diligently visited the temples of God, fervently prayed to God and did works of mercy. They decorated the temples of God with holy icons, lit candles, oil and incense. They zealously glorified the name of God in spiritual psalms. The Lord graciously received them; caressed, saying, "Come, my beloved, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Angels and holy men with great voices glorified the Trinity and the One God. The condemned sinners, idolaters, and unbelievers in the Son of God, who stood on the left side, wept bitterly and were tormented by the fear of God. Then I saw how the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord rose from the place on which it stood, and, carried invisibly by the Angels, was placed at the gates of Heavenly Jerusalem, where our Lord Jesus Christ dwelt, calling His saints by name, and rank, and according to merits - depending on who has succeeded in Christian perfection and love, bestowing them with His graces, introducing them to the Mountainous Jerusalem to celebrate the eternal Pascha in the non-evening day of His Kingdom.

    ON THE ANGER OF THE LORD ON THOSE WHO SINNED IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS


    Many sinners stood all over the earth, like the sand of the sea, from the time of Adam until the last day of the Coming of Christ, from every people and tribe. All of them stood with gloomy, malicious faces, branded with the seal of outcasts. They trembled with fear, like a leaf on a tree, horrified by eternal suffering and torment. Many of the Orthodox Christians will go into the abyss of unquenchable fire because they were Christians only in name, but did not do Christian deeds and blasphemed the Name of God with their vicious life - they defamed the Christian title. They will inherit the ultimate torment for their apostasy. The Lord looked at them menacingly, showing them the abodes and blessedness of the saints, and saying to them: “Cursed, crafty, lazy, nasty people. You served, pleasing day and night. You fed yourself as if for hardening, and, having fed your flesh like a fierce boar, you defiled yourselves with the impurity of the bestial lusts of the flesh, fornication. Proudly raised their heads, rejected My authority, laughed at My holy followers, persecuted They mocked and ruthlessly killed the true preachers of the Gospel. They laughed at My holy law. They despised Heaven and loved the dust of the earth. You did not adorn yourselves with radiant clothes and voluntarily put on the filthy robe of the prophets. Accept a worthy retribution for your deeds. "Jerusalem is Zion Not Made by Hands. But you madly, voluntarily renounced eternal joy. How many times have I called to repentance, every day I knocked at your door of my heart, I wanted to give you eternal bliss for free - if only you brought repentance and humility. But you drove me out of your doors. So go, you damned ones, into the eternal fire prepared for Satan. Accept from him a worthy reward for your zeal for him ... "The Lord stretched out his rod on sinners, and the sinners were divided into nationalities, tribes and clans, beliefs, heresies and schisms. Those who sinned before the Law and after the Law, who served idols and Jews, did not those who believed in the Coming of Christ The Lord looked menacingly at the West - and numerous regiments of Angels came, ardently formidable warriors led by the Archangel Michael.

    JUDGMENT OVER SATAN AND HIS DARK SATAN HORSES


    At the command of God, Satan and all his gloomy dark armies were captured and brought before the Judgment Seat of Christ; just as the dark night comes and covers everything with its cover, plunging into darkness, so the dark army of Satan: the darkness of sin, abomination, vices, anger, hatred, envy, blasphemy covered everything around - it became dark over the Universe. God's primordial enemy and adversary - Satan, bound by the insoluble bonds of darkness, appeared before the Judgment Seat of Christ in all his disgusting ugliness. Branded with all sorts of vices of sins, eternal iniquity, a curse, trembling and shaking like a leaf on a tree, from great horror and eternal punishment. Wriggling and groveling like a snake, hissing and whistling with anger. The entire satanic army also stood in terrible horror and languor, waiting for their final verdict. The Almighty severely pronounced a formidable verdict on the malefactor of Satan and all his gloomy army: “Oh, the most insane and most damned of all evil, the head of evil, the insignificance of the insignificance! the culprit of eternal happiness and joy, the bliss of creatures, to whom I, by My grace, gave existence and eternal life. How you, the most contemptible spirit of malice, forgot that you were created by Me and by My great goodness. You, like Dennitsa, surpassed everyone in glory and power heavenly celestials. You should have glorified more than all the celestials, thanked your Creator for the fact that you were bestowed with eternal joys, happiness and bliss more than all of them. But you, ungrateful, forgot My great blessings to you, you darkened your luminous mind with the darkness of oblivion I, in My goodness, waited for your conversion and repentance until you seduced other celestials who served Me, tearing them away from the glorification of the Pre holy name of My, and they indulged in criminal daydreaming. You, insignificance, in your madness dreamed of being God, pride gave rise in you to contempt and irreconcilable enmity against Me, your Creator and Greatest Benefactor. You, the most insignificant madman, dared to enter into an open battle with the celestials faithful and devoted to Me. But like lightning he was cast down from the height of heaven into the abyss of darkness. And in this My mercy and love was manifested to you. Depriving you of heavenly joy and plunging you into a land of darkness and despair, I thereby wanted to bring you to repentance. But you, most insignificant, despising My beneficence, persisted in your madness, relying on pride and anger against My goodness, in your madness arming yourself in battle against your Creator. You, cast down into the abyss of darkness, deprived of the light of heaven, all given over to sin and disfigured by crimes, did not stop dreaming of yourself as a Deity. And he did not leave his criminal plans to seize My Most Holy Tabernacle and My Highest and Most Magnificent Throne. And so I, in My goodness, created the visible world and, as the crown of the creation of the visible, material, finally created man from the earth, breathed into him the breath of life, that is, adorned him with My Image and immortal Soul. In the new creation of man, I combined two worlds - spiritual and material. That is, his body from the earth - the substance of the substance. And the Soul is Angelic and immortal. I created man for eternal joy, happiness and bliss, the primary source of which I, his Soul, destined for Myself in the Tabernacle and the Throne of the Divine in My heart. My original offspring Adam and his sister Eve brought me a sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving every hour, every minute. But you, the most wicked nothingness, an envious and murderer, in malice and impenitence, having learned about the newly created rational beings by your cunning, tormented by malice and envy of these innocent My creations, honored with My rich graces, destined for the Highest bliss, which you, most contemptible, for lost his madness, and called by My goodness to repentance - did not return, due to his bitterness and perseverance - you, contemptible, conceived to destroy them. You, in your madness, were not afraid to commit another terrible crime. You, irreconcilable enmity and malice, the father of lies and the author of every crime and sin, flatteringly deprived them of My fellowship, poisoning them with the poison of sin. Stripped them of the ornate robes of innocence and purity. He dressed them with a nasty and gloomy rag of passions and vices. Oh, the most God-opposing spirit of malice and enmity! You criminally occupied My Tabernacle and Throne - the Sanctuary of the heart of the newly created man; you were overthrown from Heaven, where you became a criminal goal to take possession of the Throne of the Most High. You have committed your criminal plan on earth, where the weak will of the newly created man assisted you. Oh, the most criminal and most contemptible enemy of good and truth, the father of lies, the chief of darkness! You, like a cruel tyrant, inhabited the hearts of My fallen creatures and became a formidable ruler and tyrant over them. You darkened their luminous mind, and they became obedient slaves to you. Rejecting the truth, they obeyed lies and deceit, for which they were worthily punished, and for their error they lost My favor. Oh, criminal enemy of beauty and eternal happiness! To all creatures you brought death and devastation on earth. All creation, visible and invisible, wailed and wept, as they saw your crime - homicide. The sun went dark, the moon disappeared, the stars began to move. All creation wept over the death of its king, kind and luminous, seeing how the most contemptible and bloodthirsty tyrant and tormentor reigned. But I, in My infinite goodness, did not leave the fallen creatures without hope of salvation. I gave them the promise of the Redeemer and Savior of the World, so that they would live with faith in the Coming Redeemer and repent, lamenting their fall. But you never ceased to darken their minds with forgetfulness and ignorance. And so, their first-born, Cain, he taught fratricide, he caught the descendants of righteous Seth with the nets of female beauty and corrupted the whole human race, which began to reject My existence, irresistibly indulging in the deeds of the flesh, drunkenness, gluttony, luxury, effeminacy, carnal impurity, pride, blasphemy, envy. By my righteous Judgment I cast them down by the waters of the flood, with the exception of righteous Noah and his family. But you, inveterate malice, among the growing pure wheat - the sons of Noah - were not afraid to sow the seeds of wickedness. First I taught the sons of Ham disobedience, irreverence, self-will, free-thinking, false wisdom... And you taught them to reject My existence. But the monuments of destruction prevented this crime. People remembered the tradition of Righteous Noah that for the denial of My existence the first world was punished by a flood, as evidenced by the ruins, the remnants of the ancient world. You have darkened their minds with idolatry, and they, in the person of idols, offered you abundant sacrifices of sons and daughters. Most malicious and most misanthropic ruler of nations, you taught insatiable passion, covetousness, ambition, voluptuousness to peoples and kingdoms. Driven by their passions, they raised countless bloody wars, and you flooded the earth with blood. And rejoicing in this brothicide, he enjoyed suffering like an inhuman and bloodthirsty tyrant. You, the despicable tormentor of the sons of fallen Adam, did not even think about seducing My firstborn Israel into idolatry and deeds of the flesh, distracting from fidelity to My Law and promises. You aroused the hatred of My people towards My prophets, who denounced the vile deeds of the flesh and taught My people Israel true worship of God. With the hands of this hard-hearted and hard-headed people, you, the hater of good, killed My prophets. But now the hour has come, and I, fulfilling My promise, came into the world to save lost humanity from your tyranny. And as soon as I took human flesh in Bethlehem from the Holy Virgin Mary, and you managed to restore all of Jerusalem and especially the ambitious Herod against your Redeemer and Savior. I had to flee to Egypt out of rage and ambition, not because I was powerless against your rage - no! - desiring to teach My followers to protect their lives from premature danger, not to give place to anger. How many times have you taught the scribes and Pharisees to stone Me because I showed people the path of truth and exposed your false deceptions of delusion, through which you entangled the world with nets of temptations, trapping the sons of Adam into destruction. But I, laughing at your tricks, passed by and was unharmed, proving your folly against the truth. O primordial human enemy, you kindled the envy and hatred of the scribes and Pharisees, and after many of your defeats you found an ally of your criminal plans among My chosen disciples and Apostles. You infected the heart of Judas with the passion of the love of money - this root of all iniquity. He handed me over to be crucified. But your anger did not rejoice for long. Having completed the work of redemption, I, as the Conqueror of death and hell, with My Cross inflicted on you a terrible defeat and an incurable wound. I victoriously destroyed your gloomy kingdom on earth, and having broken the bonds of hell, I granted Freedom. And he bound you, the evildoer, with bonds of darkness, watching for the day of judgment. But you did not cease to act evil and being bound, through your servants raised fierce persecution against My disciples and followers, trying to wipe the truth from the face of the earth. The shed blood of the martyrs, like a seed, gave birth to numerous regiments of martyrs. The Christians were the winners of your tricks. You, contemptible and outcast, were defeated even by children, and maidens, and Christian youths - despising your seductions. They joyfully went to death, as to a wedding feast. But you, struck in the head, in your madness again prepared for battle with the celestials, haughty and puffed up with your omnipotence, like a dry, rotten tree, and especially when I gave you freedom for three and a half years. So that you, exalted and finally mad from the successes of popular corruption and world service to you, with the exception of My chosen ones, again entered into battle in the person of the Antichrist and his servants, who, like you, mad with corruption, persecuted and killed My followers. In madness, considering themselves self-gods, rejecting My power and omnipotence. But My Holy Church - the beloved Bride - triumphed over your servants and remained victorious. Your chosen vessel and the son of perdition, the Antichrist, with his false prophets, are cast into the abyss of hell of the underworld, where they experience terrible torment, the end of which will not be. The end of your villainy and dark dominion on earth has come, the hour of due retribution has come for you, the most repentant and all-cunning and most God-opposing father of lies and deceit - Satan "The Lord looked at the enemy of the human race - and commanded the Lord Michael the Archangel to strike him. The Holy Archangel courageously and victoriously struck the fiery with the sword of the ancient serpent Satan and his ungodly head. And the regiments of the Forces of Heaven followed his example. Like lightning, the entire satanic army fell into the abyss of seething hell with terrible noise and cries, in impotent rage.

    ABOUT THE DENIED FROM CHRIST


    The Lord looked menacingly at the left side - and the formidable Angels seized the blasphemers, the apostates, the corrupters of the human race, the forerunners of the Antichrist, who prepared for him the path of wickedness and blasphemy, the unapproved Christians, brought by them to apostasy, the persecutors of the first Christian times. The Lord pronounced a terrible sentence on them, and the angels cast them into the fiery abyss.

    ROBBER AND ROBBER


    Then the Angels separated a great regiment with gloomy faces - apostates, robbers and robbers. Their faces are distorted by hellish malice, their hands and clothes are stained with blood, and having beaten them mercilessly, they threw them into the sea of ​​fire. With a cry and a groan, soul-rending, they plunged into the abyss of hell.

    FORMULARS AND ADULTERS


    Again the Angels separated the horde of men and women with terrible and disgusting faces, purulent, stinking with stinking worms, disgusting snakes gnawed at their hearts, wrapping themselves around their filthy body. At the word of the Lord, the angels pierced them with fiery swords, casting them into the fiery abyss.

    FORCERS


    Terrible angels seized and attracted another very great horde, with satanic faces, a stench emanated from them, and worms sharpened their vile bodies, and fiery snakes gnawed and lived them. The Lord sternly pronounced his righteous sentence on them: “Oh, unfortunate and insane voluptuaries and lechers, you despised the joy of Paradise, which I promised you through My messengers in the Holy Gospel, you madly indulged in the pleasure of filth and vile flesh. Yes, reap your reward in the abyss fiery." The holy angels beat them with rods of fire and cast them into the abyss.

    HAVING THOUGHT UNCLEAN AND NAD CONVERSATIONS SEVENTING


    At the command of the Lord, terrible Angels seized the sinners from the left side and drew them before the Judgment Seat of Christ, their faces were gloomy and distorted. Disgusting flies hung on the bodies - these are people who enjoyed impure and vicious thoughts, evil seductive conversations and lustful looks and touches. The holy angels bound them with heavy iron chains and cast them into the fiery abyss. They cried out bitterly: "Oh, woe, woe to us, unrepentant sinners!"

    CUTTLERS AND THE PERFORMERS OF SODOMA SIN


    Then the Angels seized and attracted many sinners, their faces are covered with pus and stench, their skin is bestial. These are cattlemen. The Lord turned away His Most Pure face from them, and the terrible Angels pierced them with a fiery sword and cast them into the abyss.

    SUICIDES AND STRESSERS AND OTHERWISE DESTROYED THEIR LIFE.


    Then the angels seized the regiment in clothes that were dried with blood, and the nails dug into their bodies. A disgusting pus came out of the mouth, the legs were twisted. The Lord looked at them, and the holy angels cast them down into the abyss of hell. They are suicidal and strangled, and in other ways have deprived themselves of their lives and God by their despair offended and blasphemed.

    THIVES AND ROBBERS


    The Lord also looked menacingly at the left side of the Judgment Seat. Terrible Angels seized and attracted many sinners with gloomy and dark faces, distorted by malice, hatred; clothes are torn, dirty, stained with blood, goat skin on the legs. The Lord looked menacingly at them - and the Angels, having bound them, plunged them into the abyss of hell. These are thieves and robbers.

    Oathbreakers and Liars


    Then the Angels seized and attracted a host of great sinners, from whose mouths came disgusting worms and stench. Serpents coiled around their heads and stung them. They are liars and perjurers. At the command of God, the angels threw them into a raging sea of ​​fire, beating with fiery sticks on their filthy lips.

    ANGEROUS


    At the word of the Lord, the Angels seized a regiment of great sinners. Their dark and gloomy faces were distorted by intense malice and hatred, as if they were from Satan himself. They gnashed their teeth, their tongues protruded from their mouths like snakes, their eyes burned, emitting sparks. These are angry, vindictive, envious, blaspheming, malevolent, mockers, mockers of the weak and defenseless. At the word of the Lord, the angels severely beat them with fiery rods, threw them into the abyss, where the gnashing of teeth and the unsleeping worm. They sobbed bitterly, inconsolably, bloody tears shed. But there is no merciful one.

    THOSE WHO MAKE EVERY FAKE


    Then the Lord looked at the left side - and the formidable Angels seized a great horde. Their faces, filthy and gloomy, like soot, are defiled with stinking blood, their feet are covered with ulcers - they are unrepentant, not washed away their sins with tears and repentance, mercy for the poor and forgiveness of insults. Not having propitiated God, they were irreconcilably at enmity with each other, flattering each other. The angel who led me said that by forgiving the offenses inflicted on us, the Merciful God bows to us and forgives our sins. For it is said in the Holy Gospel: forgive the sins of people, and the Lord will forgive you your sins. Fulfill all the commandments of God - and you will find many benefits at the Terrible Judgment of God. Oh, how insane and unhappy those people are who do not want virtue, that is, to forgive everything and acquire the Kingdom of Heaven by forgiveness of offenses; pride and vindictiveness do not allow this saving virtue. Every person who takes revenge on his offender and enemy destroys himself and is his own irreconcilable enemy. The Lord looked menacingly at offenders, avengers, blasphemers, drunkards and gluttons - and the holy angels cast them into the abyss of raging flames.

    ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVE SINNED FROM THE PRIESTLY OFFICE, FORNICKERS AND THE COMMON PEOPLE


    Then the holy angels seized a great horde of sinners, among them were bishops, priests, deacons, and a church clergy, and other people, men and women, boys and girls. Their faces were stained with pus, worms swarmed from their nostrils, small snakes curled in their hair. From their feet to their necks, snakes of terrible size gnawed at them, engulfing their entire camp with their terrible snake body. A vile impurity protruded from their body and hands, purulent foam emanated from their eyes, disgusting worms hung and sharpened their vile flesh. The Lord looked menacingly at them and said: “Oh, depraved and adulterous generation, you were seduced by the momentary pleasures of the flesh, despised heavenly bliss, and now for a momentary pleasure you will forever drink the cup of sorrow in the flames of hell. On earth you were kindled by the lust of the flesh, you will be here forever we are burned by the ferocity of the fire of Gehenna and the gnaw of the unsleeping worm. Depart from Me, accursed, accursed, unclean, into eternal torment. If you would repent and wash away your foul lusts of the flesh with tears, having lived in chastity and purity, you could receive forgiveness and mercy. But now there is no time for repentance, the hour of righteous retribution has come for each according to his deeds. The angels, scourging them with fiery wands, threw them into the abyss of inextinguishable fire. They plunged into the fiery sea with terrible cries and curses. They cried out: "Cursed be the hour and the day when we were deceived by the abomination of prodigal. Oh, woe, woe to us unfortunate ones."

    ABOUT THE MONKS


    Then the Angels seized a very large regiment in monastic attire and drew it before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Their faces are dark as soot. Their lamps went out and emitted stinking smoke. But their necks showed laziness and carelessness in the form of birds - owls. Thoughtfulness and carelessness hung over them like snakes, and rebelliousness, like heavy iron, clasped their spine. The Lord looked sternly, reproachfully at them because their passions and defilement had overcome them. They did not fulfill the second consecration, they did not destroy the passions and lusts of the flesh. The Lord said to them: "Depart from Me, servants of the passions and lovers of carnal lust. Depart into eternal torment. For the sake of your negligence, you have lost eternal joy and happiness; for the sake of gluttony, carnal pleasure, you voluntarily denied Me in temporal life. Reap the fruits of your hands - worthy recompense for your negligence in the matter of salvation." They, hearing this, began to beg the Lord with tears: "Have mercy on us. We knew You alone. We served You alone day and night and cast out demons in Your name, and in Your name we did many signs." And like thunder, the threatening voice of the Most Righteous Judge was heard: "Depart, damned ones, into the eternal fire, because you have not obeyed My voice, and I will not listen to you." And the angels plunged them into the abyss of hell. The angel who led me said: “Before the end of the age, almost the entire monastic rank will go to perdition, because there are few who are saved, few who love work, suffering and humility. Before the end of the world, the kingdom of Satan will begin, with passions and lusts of the flesh, seduction, all kinds of pleasures, tricks; Satan will attract many to himself, especially those who, for the sake of God, do not love poverty, suffering, humility, weeping, and therefore they will easily believe the charms of the Antichrist, having rejected Christ, they will perish forever.

    MONKEYS AND COMMON PEOPLE


    Then the formidable Angels seized and attracted to the Judgment Seat of Christ a regiment of monks and simpletons from Christians. Their clothes were as dark as the darkness of the night. their faces at times darkened, at times enlightened, pure milk dripped from their right hands, stinking tar from their left. The Lord looked at them, turned away His face from them. Terrible angels led them to eternal torment. They often turned to the Judgment Seat of Christ, crying plaintively: "Have mercy on us, Merciful Lord God!" The Lord had mercy on them and, in His righteousness, was strict with them. And suddenly the Otrokovitsa descended from the height of heaven. Beauty indescribable, Glorified by the glory of heaven. And many angels served her. Approaching, she began to ask the Lord for those who were led away into flour. The Lord heeded Her petition and granted mercy for the sake of Her intercession. She instantly overtook the formidable Angels and said to them: "Merciful is the Heavenly Father and His Only Begotten Son and Holy Spirit, therefore the army of these merciful ones will not be tormented, because for the sake of My intercession they have had mercy." The angels answered: “We know who You are, beloved of God, Merciful. No one else has boldness before the Righteous Judge except You,” and they returned the entire regiment before the Judgment Seat of Christ. They trembled with fear awaiting their righteous sentence, trembling like a leaf on a tree. And the Judge said to them mercifully and compassionately: “For the sake of your mercy, the eternal fire, I will deliver you, but for the sake of fornication and other uncleanness and passions, you will not see My Kingdom and you will not inherit My eternal blessedness, you will not see the joy of My saints, since you have no clothes They defiled the garment of innocence, holiness and purity received in Holy Baptism. But they don’t come to marriage in unclean clothes, they don’t defile the joys of the saints. He ordered to give them a place in the North.

    INFANTS NOT ENLIGHTENED BY HOLY BAPTISM


    Then the Lord commanded to separate from the left side the blind, who did not walk at the beckoning of God. They had neither the seal of evil nor the seal of good. The Lord looked at them, had compassion with meekness. He drew a formidable attention to their parents, condemning them for not trying to enlighten them with Holy Baptism. And the Lord commanded His holy Angels to give them a place of rest in the midday, the West, and somewhat involved in the enjoyment of eternal life, but that they should not see the face of God. They publicly glorified God: “All-merciful Lord, who owns life and death, blessed are You and good and merciful, because the Lord of life and death deprived us of temporary life by Your inscrutable destinies, and therefore we ask You one thing: “Have mercy on us, Lord.” "And the Lord gave me a little consolation. They were unbaptized babies. They were all the same age. They glorified the goodness of God for His mercy and entered into the rest prepared for them by the Lord."

    ABOUT THE HERETIC CURSED ARIA AND HIS CATHEDRAL


    Then the formidable Angels seized and brought before the Judgment Seat of Christ a regiment of sinners, their faces, like those of Satan himself, their heads were serpentine, evil-smelling worms came out of their mouths. The Lord looked menacingly at them, especially at the deceiver Arius, who seduced many into his false teaching, teaching that the Son of God is a creature and not of the same essence, not of a single being with God the Father. And the Lord commanded the terrible Angels to cast them down into the most severe torment, where Satan himself, and the demons, and the Antichrist, and Judas the traitor are tormented, and all the wicked assembly of Satan. With terrible cries, curses, they plunged into the fiery abyss, boiling with tar and sulfur.

    ABOUT THE HERETIC OF MACEDONIA AND HIS CATHEDRAL


    And the formidable Angels seized and drew to the Judgment Seat of Christ the wicked assembly of heretic Macedon. Their faces are wild and ferocious, like those of angry tigers. A stench and stench emanated from the mouth, eyes sparkled with satanic malice. Turning to their false teacher Macedonia, the Lord said: "I will not reprove you, but the Holy Spirit, blasphemed by you, will come and confound you, since He is the True God." And suddenly all the Powers of Heaven and the holy men of God solemnly and victoriously sang the Divine Song, glorifying the Holy Spirit: us from all filthiness, and save, O Blessed One, our souls. And at the end of the hymns, a great light shone forth, a fiery, bright illumination, and terrible lightning flashed; and an emerald-shaped Throne appeared, on which the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a fire-like dove, hovered over the Throne of the Righteous Judge of the Only Begotten Son of God. The angels and the council of the righteous of God glorified the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit - the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible. And the chief of Macedon and his adherents were ashamed of the heresy. The holy angels, beating them mercilessly with chains, cast them into the abyss of hell, where Satan himself is tormented. They sobbed terribly and cursed their false teacher, plunging into the fiery sea.

    ABOUT THE HERETIC NESTORIA AND HIS CATHEDRAL


    And the formidable Angels seized them, brought before the Judgment Seat of Christ the assembly of the impious heresy of the head of Nestorius. Their faces were gloomy and disgusting, their heads were serpentine. The Lord looked menacingly at them, saying: “Oh, vile and insane false teacher and seducer of the souls of many, whom you have torn away from the unity of My Holy Ecumenical Church. all creatures." The heretics were ashamed and remained silent unanswered. Then the Lady Mother of God came with a host of Saints and with all the Powers of the Mountainous Jerusalem to Her Son and our God, shining with inexpressible light and adorned with magnificent glory. And all the Angels and holy men sang praises to Her: "Rejoice, Thou Who wast worthy to be the Mother of Christ God." When the wicked heard this, they trembled and were ashamed. The Holy Angels, binding them with chains, beating them with fiery clubs, plunged them into the abyss of hell. The Queen of Heaven again departed to the Mountainous Jerusalem, glorified by the celestials.

    MANY OTHER HERETICS


    Even formidable Angels seized and attracted a large regiment of heretics who taught that in Christ there is one nature, that torment is not eternal, but temporary. The Lord looked menacingly and spoke menacingly: “Oh, senseless and insane corrupters, I am the Lord, the Son of God in two natures - the nature of God and the nature of man, as the Holy Fathers of the Ecumenical Councils taught and confirmed, who spoke by My Holy Spirit. You were mistaken in your pride and you have been deceived by your false doctrine from the devil. Depart from Me, you who are cursed into eternal punishment." Terrible angels seized them and threw them into the abyss. They sobbed bitterly, cursing their false teachers and plunging into the fiery abyss.

    ABOUT OTHER HERETICS AND THE LOST, ABOUT ICONOCLATORS


    Then the holy angels seized a great regiment from the left side and drew to the Judgment Seat: heretics, iconoclasts and others like them, who worshiped soulless and wild idols. Like dogs they gnawed at each other. They taught a lie that the Lord Son of God brought flesh from heaven, and did not borrow it from the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. The iconoclasts destroyed the most pure image of the Mother of God and the saints, and the Angels of God. The Lord looked menacingly at them and denounced them in their errors, saying: “Satan himself taught you to destroy and trample on My holy images. You fools, could you not understand that the honor given to My image is accepted by Me as being done to Me Myself. I I myself deigned even during My earthly life that honor be given to My image. And for this I sent My image not made by hands to Prince Avgar. Countless miracles were performed from him and from the images of My Most Pure Mother. Crazy, you revere the images of your earthly rulers and give them a worthy honor And My image was destroyed and dishonored. Go into eternal torment to your teacher Satan." And the angels began to plunge them into the fiery abyss. They sobbed bitterly and tore the hair on their heads, cursing their delusion and, like tin, plunged into the blazing flame.

    ABOUT THE JEWS WHO CRUCIFIED CHRIST


    After that, the Lord ordered to present a great regiment, an innumerable multitude, covered with heavy darkness. Their faces were covered with purulent blood and large thorns in their eyes, their ears were anointed with pitch, and they held horse tails in their hands, their legs were twisted and shod in donkey skins. They looked at each other and wondered at themselves and said in a whisper: “Oh, woe to us: He whom Anna and Caiaphas with Pontius Pilate crucified on the Cross now wants to judge the living and the dead. Oh, evil seducers and deceivers, through whom we have been deceived and did not believe in Him, but now they have fallen into His hands, and there is no one who has mercy on us. We are unanswerable before Him. How much evil we have done to Himself and His disciples. If we would believe in Him and be baptized, as many others of ours did, whom we now see going to the Kingdom of Heaven, He would receive us there too." When they were saying this, the Lord said to them with an angelic trumpet: “Am I not the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Father, bowing down heaven, descended and was born of the Holy Spirit and of the Holy Virgin Mary? In your meetings I taught you and said: “I and the Father is one; and if you do not believe me, believe my works; You have seen My deeds, - He raised the dead, enlightened the blind, the lame began to walk, the lepers were cleansed, the paralyzed recovered, he cast out demons and healed every disease and disease. You saw it all, but you were blinded by reason. They did not want to listen to me, and therefore you cannot be saved, live forever and reign; but even more I will say: for everything that did you good, you crucified Me on the Cross and stuck a spear in my side. You see, my hands and ribs are now covered with wounds, and they clearly show the ferocity that you have shown me. But I will not judge you for this, but for the fact that you did not listen to My chosen disciples, who were sent to turn you to repentance; you did not want to be converted, but chose to die in sins. Hearing this, they began to cry; some beat their breasts, while others beat their faces, saying: "Moses, Moses, it's hard for us! Where are you now? Come, if you have earned mercy from God, and now deliver us." The Lord said to them again: "Because of your unbelief in Me, let Moses, whom you call to judgment, find the innocent; he will convict you." At these words, Moses appeared before them in great glory. They saw him, immediately recognized him and shouted: “Oh, Moses, you gave us the Law. We kept the Law given to us by you, as you commanded us, and not only did not accept the current Judge, but crucified and killed Him. Tell us now: "Who is This One, and why did you not speak of Him in your Law? Tell us about it and deliver us from His hand, for we see that we are all in His power, and we have come across something that we did not expect. He wants to judge us, and there is no one who would deliver us; now help us who are in such distress."

    MOSES REVIEWS THE JEWS


    Moses answered them: “Oh, senseless and callous in heart, sons not of Abraham, but of the devil. Did I not write to you in the Law like this: The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet of your brethren, whom you must listen to like me, no matter what they say you. And every soul that will not listen to that prophet will be expelled from among them. What else can be more clearly told to you! Elsewhere in the Law it is said that until then the prince of the tribe of Judah will reign, until the one for whom this and this is the expectation of the peoples. And he foretold many other things that were read by you on Sabbaths in your assemblies. For whom else did you expect? Indeed, you erred in your counsels, and as a result, the visitation of God was taken away from you, but your true faith you inherited from the Gentiles." They answered: "How could we believe in Him, who called Himself the Son of God, when nothing was written about it in your Law, and the prophets did not speak about it?" Moses said: "I called Him a Prophet, as well as myself, because He became man: God is perfect and man is perfect - in these two natures He was perfect, but your envy, malice and pride did not allow you to believe in Him and, as a result, in the future, an eternal flame awaits you." Having said this, Moses departed from them.

    WORSHIP THE ANTICHRIST AND REJECT CHRIST


    By the command of God, the formidable Angels seized and attracted the wicked crowd with faces that were more gloomy than all sinners, their eyes were dark and gloomy, on their foreheads there were inscriptions: "Satan, - and in their right hands there are tablets: on them it is written:" Outcasts ". And he said to them The Lord terribly, like a peal of thunder, struck the words of His wicked ones. The Lord said to them: "Oh, damned and filthy, you madly, for the sake of the earthly charms of sin, denied Me and desecrated Holy Baptism, and worshiped the Antichrist, and served that filthy flatterer and deceiver." Terrible angels seized them, and beat them with iron fiery clubs, and plunged them into the fiery abyss, where Satan himself and the Antichrist are tormented. Terrible cries and groans, frantic sobs and curses came from there. Hearing their cries, I was horrified.

    ABOUT SCIENTIFIC SEVENTORS AND DEPRECATERS


    Then the Angels seized and attracted a bunch of wicked people, learned people who, out of their pride, studying the wisdom of this world, rejected the existence of God and destroyed many people with their godless writings, corrupting the people and encouraging evil in the world, but especially debauchery and free thinking. They roared like lions, and gnashed their teeth, and shouted furiously: “Oh, bitter grief to us. Oh, Crucified and Hidden God and Humanity, we are not the only ones who rejected You and did not believe Your Holy Scripture, did not even want to hear about Your name, God". At the same time, tongues hung from their mouths, like those of mad dogs. A festering and disgusting stench emanated from the larynx, disgusting worms swarmed on their faces, small bloodthirsty snakes writhed around their heads, and large snakes gnawing at their hearts around the body. They suffered terribly, and tore the hair on their heads, and bit their tongues. And on their foreheads were inscriptions: "Seducers and corrupters." - "Oh, Crucified God, have mercy on us, only now we have seen Your Glory, we believe in You as the Son of God. We were Your enemies and persecutors. and corrupters like us. Oh, death is our benefactor, come to us and deliver us from our bitter fate. Hearing about eternal torment, we laughed. And the preachers of the Word of God were outraged and mocked. wickedness and corruption." The holy angels beat them with fiery clubs and cast them into the abyss of hell, where Satan himself dwells and, terribly screaming and gnashing their teeth, they plunged into the depths of the raging bubbling flame; furious screams were heard from the fiery abyss, tearing the soul, and groans, and insane sobs, cries and gnashing of teeth, and curses. Sinners cursed and hated each other, and in pride considered their neighbors responsible for their death. The son cursed his father for not teaching him to do the will of God; the daughter cursed her mother: "Why did you give birth to me, so that I would suffer in this flame forever." O! A terrible sight and very terrible in all the horrors of hell. No language, not only human, but also angelic, can express in fullness.

    ABOUT DIOCLETIAN


    Suddenly I heard a voice like the roar of a lion, screaming and moaning: someone, gnashing his teeth, shouted: “Oh, horror, oh horror! Oh, Crucified God, I’m not alone, but together with others I did not understand Your incarnation and You, not wanting to hear even Your name... And now I see that You are the One Supreme Lord Jesus Christ.Here, being in captivity, I, Your former enemy, confess You Lord and God... Oh, woe to the one who I did not love you, and did not accept your coming to earth! Oh, woe to those who did not know you, the true God, did not believe in you and were not baptized! Oh, woe to those who did not know you and did not fulfill your commandments! "Woe is me, for I, too, am perishing in this terrible flame, which has tormented me to the end! Oh, benefactor of death! Where are you? Oh, that you would come and save me from this heavy torment! Who could have thought what would happen to me that anything like that? Alas, alas, how grievous these torments are!" I listened as attentively to these cries as to all the heavy sighs and bitter groans previously described. And I asked the Angel who was leading me: "Who is this subject to such terrible torments?" The angel answered: "This is Diocletian, the Christian tormentor."

    THE END OF THE JUDGMENT OF GOD


    And at that hour the Judgment Seat of God ceased, since all the wicked were thrown into the abyss of hell. And mother earth closed her mouth, and the gates of hell were closed forever....

    And suddenly an inexpressible angelic singing was heard, giving glory to the justice of the Son of God. And the Lord entered with the Angels into the holy city of Heavenly Jerusalem, and the gates of this great city were closed. And the Son of God sat on the Throne, high and exalted in His glory. And the Lord commanded to bring all the heavenly spiritual treasures, and meekly and very mercifully, the Lord began to endow all the saints according to the number of their virtues, whoever could accommodate these virtues - gifts, depending on the degree of righteous perfection.

    GIFT TO THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD


    The first to approach the magnificent throne of her beloved Son was the Mother of God. Christ met Her with joy and removed the crown of marvelous and indescribable beauty, shining with glory more than the rays of the sun, from His Most Pure head and placed it on the head of His Most Pure Mother, and said meekly and very mercifully: “O Mother, My, accept this glory, which My Father gave Me, the victory over the devil and the overcoming of death, which I accomplished by taking flesh from You. Oh, My Dear Mother, before You are all spiritual treasures. This is all Your possession, My dear Mother, Queen of heaven and earth, and to all What is in My Kingdom, enjoy, my dear Mother, the spiritual gifts of Your Son for the great sorrows and sufferings that You suffered in temporary life. I crucified my heart under the Cross, just as I did on the Cross. The marriage of Your Son has come, and My beautiful Bride, the Church, has prepared herself for this triumph, like Me, with many sorrows. And in My Blood she washed her clothes. The time has come for the eternal celebration, and the noise of the voices of an unceasing holiday is heard. Then the Lord gave the Mother of God the first garment, purple, in which He Himself dressed, being the God-man. The Queen of Heaven kissed the right hand of Her beloved Son, and all the Powers of Heaven and the saints sang a wonderful song, glorifying the Mother of God . And appear to the Queen at your right hand, in gilded robes and decorated. Glory shone upon Her, as if a thousand suns shone in one instant. Thus the Mother of God was glorified when the spiritual gifts of Her Son were poured out on Her. And at the beckoning of Her Son, She entered the Hall of beauty, splendor, surpassing the beauty of Heavenly Jerusalem. No language can express the beauty of this Hall, not only human, but also Angelic.

    THE GIFT TO THE TWELVE APOSTLES


    Then the Lord mercifully and meekly called to Himself His Forerunner John and His Twelve Apostles. On their heads were wreaths of heavenly flowers of wonderful beauty, and the Lord placed on their heads precious crowns of wonderful heavenly beauty, shining with glory like the sun, and gave them royal clothes, and crowned them as kings, and endowed them with numerous heavenly gifts. Then he commanded them to sit on twelve magnificent fiery thrones and called them judges of the twelve tribes of Israel, that is, he appointed them as the elders of the Masters over all the saints, to evaluate the labors and deeds accomplished in temporary life, and according to the degree of perfection, reward them with heavenly spiritual gifts. Addressing the Twelve Apostles, the Lord, with meekness and love, said to them: “My beloved friends, come and enjoy the eternal blessings prepared for you from the foundation of the world. you for the sake of Me and the Gospel. Rejoice, my friends, and rejoice in eternal joy for the short-term hardships you endured in sorrow for me. This is the joy that I told you about at the Last Supper before My sufferings. The world will rejoice, but you will be sad, but be of good cheer, your sorrow will turn into joy." Many other words of praise and thanksgiving were spoken to them by the Lord. They bowed with humility and kissed His most pure feet, saying: "We are indecent, worthless servants, who have done no good before You. Glory to Your wealth, goodness and mercy!" And at the same hour the Apostles sat on their thrones around their Lord, enlightened and enjoying the glory of beholding the Lord. The powers of heaven and all the saints glorified the goodness of God.

    GIVING TO CHRIST'S DISCIPLES


    After this, the Lord mercifully and meekly called the seventy Apostles, saying to them: "Come, my neighbors, come, you who have loved Me with all your heart, who have worked hard for the preaching of My Holy Gospel. Come and receive a worthy reward for the labors and exploits of the Apostleship." And he laid crowns on their heads, pure from stone, shining with beauty and inexpressible glory, and gave them spiritual gifts according to the number of their virtues. And all the Heavenly Powers and saints glorified the goodness and mercy of God. And their praise was heard, sounding like thunder. From the sweetness of this praise, my heart melted. And all the Powers of Heaven were enlightened with many heavenly glory from the magnificent glory of our Lord Jesus Christ sitting on the Throne of Glory! Then the Lord meekly and quietly called the Apostolic men, that is, their successors: the Bishops of the Christian Church. Among them were the holy martyrs and other men of the Apostles. The Lord praised them for their selfless labors and deeds, crowned them with crowns of indescribable beauty, and endowed them with numerous spiritual gifts. And they were glorified by the inexpressible glory of heaven, like the sun in the midst of a dark night... The Holy Angels and God's men glorified God's mercy and immeasurable goodness... Thus, the entire assembly of saints called by the Lord approached the Throne of God's Glory: prophets, saints, martyrs , preachers, evangelists, reverends, forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, abstinences, virgins, merciful, meek, exiled for the sake of righteousness, gentle and all saints of every rank and rank. And the Lord graciously endowed all of them with heavenly spiritual gifts, and, accepting them, they were enlightened seven times in heavenly glory, shining with heavenly light and shining with every virtue. Having finished the distribution of spiritual gifts, the Lord turned to the entire Council of His Saints and the beautiful Bride of His Church and graciously said to them with meekness and love: “My dear friends and My neighbors are the children of My Father in Heaven, the New Israel, the first-born and chosen ones from all peoples and languages You, royal priesthood, holy people, kings and priests of the Most High God, living in temporal life, knew weeping and sobbing, in the land of exile you were not deceived by the vanity of the world and the vile sweetness of the sinful pleasures of the flesh. thoughts, intentions, words, deeds for a burnt offering. You could boldly say to me - For your sake we are slaughtered all day and we are slaughtered, like sheep to the slaughter. The wicked enjoyed the lusts of the flesh, fattening themselves with expensive and pleasant dishes and drinks. And you, having loved Me with all your heart, spent your time in chastity, virginity, fasting and strict abstinence. And they were seduced by the pleasures of the flesh and gluttony and drunkenness. But you, who loved Me, did not eat bread to your full and did not drink water until the final quenching of your thirst. The wicked were attached with all their hearts to earthly enrichment and, for the sake of their enrichment, offended and killed one another. And you, my faithful friends, have renounced everything earthly and despised all riches on earth; you considered gold rubbish, according to the words of my supreme Apostle Paul: I’ll take all my mind and I’ll get Christ. But what you had from me, as my gift to you, you distributed for my sake to the poor. The wicked, possessed by covetousness and pride, being offended, indulged in anger, remembrance of malice and inhuman vindictiveness. And you, My chosen ones, according to My word, imitating Me, repaid good for evil and love from the heart for hatred and persecution. And the wicked indulged in laziness, luxury and the repose of the flesh. And you, my dear brethren, remained in unceasing labors and deeds, and unceasing prayer, and all-night vigils, and in countless kneelings in My holy temples glorified My holy name not with laziness, but with ardent zeal and joy. You exhausted your perishable flesh and with the deeds of piety adorned your souls with clothes of holiness and purity and innocence. The wicked indulged in sinful sorrow, excessive worries, suffering under the yoke of the passions of voluptuousness, covetousness and love of glory, from which all evil in the world is born. And you, My righteous ones, having despised all earthly things and having risen above passions, spent time in sorrow even according to God, crying about one thing: how not to lose your heavenly fatherland, imploring My goodness for the sins of your youth and your ignorance. The wicked pursued the vain ghosts of their earthly vain glory, and for its sake indulged in all sorts of crimes, striving to achieve this sign of vanity. And you, My chosen ones, abhorred the vain glory of man, and in humility of heart considered yourself earth and ashes, and bewailed your unworthiness. The wicked, mired in the vanity and passions of the flesh, in pride and madness rejected My power and might. My eternal being, not wanting to repent and turn to Me with repentance. But, like Satan, they became irreparably corrupted and hardened to the point of madness. And you, being at the height of moral perfection, have always favored Me and abode in My fear of God. The wicked, mired in carnal impurities, wallowing in the mire of sin, tried to corrupt all people by the example of their vicious life, committing a satanic ungodly deed. And you, My chosen ones, preaching My Holy Gospel, enlightened the whole world sitting in darkness and the shadow of death with the Light of My teaching, made numerous journeys throughout the Universe, preaching liberation to the captives, the resurrection of dead sin, according to the words of the royal psalmist: to all the earth go forth their voices, and to the ends of the world their words- suffered countless insults, torture, cruel torment, persecution. But all of you, loving Me, prayed like Me to My Heavenly Father, and many tormentors became My faithful servants and preachers of the Truth. So, my dear friends, my chosen firstborn from peoples and languages, whoever sows will reap. The wicked sowed into the flesh, from the flesh they will reap confusion. But those who sow the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. That is, the wicked, like tares, are cast into the abyss of hell. And you, the elect, the wheat, are gathered into the heavenly granary. The wicked, for the short-term pleasure and delights of sin, will suffer and be tormented forever in the flames of unquenchable fire. And you, My chosen ones, enjoy My eternal blessings for short-term labors and deeds, and sufferings. My chosen ones, enjoy My spiritual meal; drink my spiritual drink, you who are hungry and thirsty for my righteousness. Come, blessed of my Father, and enjoy. The Kingdom of Heaven is prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Like numerous thunders, the song of praise and thanksgiving of the numerous mouths of the Powers of Heaven and all the saints thundered sweetly: "Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, salvation and glory, honor, strength to our Lord, for His Judgment is true and just . He justly condemned the wicked, who corrupted the earth with their wickedness. Praise our God, all servants, small and great: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. The Lord God Almighty has reigned, let us rejoice and be glad, and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb and the endless peace of faith has come: the endless Pascha has come. And the proud mental Pharaoh and Satan with his horses and riders, with their cunning and deceit, drowned in a sea of ​​fire. Let us rejoice and rejoice, let us exclaim a song of victory, for God is glorified: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia." From this sweet-sounding and victorious doxology, heaven and earth shuddered joyfully. And my heart melted from the joy and sweetness of this doxology. And I remembered the words of the royal psalmist: " And my heart was like wax, melting in the middle of my womb. And no language, not only human, but also Angelic, is unable to convey the joy that the saints were filled with, singing a song of praise, praising and glorifying God.

    BY HERE THE HOLY CHURCH OF GOD APPEARED


    At the behest of the Lord, the Church of God suddenly appeared. Gorgeous and wonderful zelo, beauty indescribable. The platform of the church shone with pure gold, very beautiful young men, in the deacon's rank, walked on this platform, and prepared everything for the Divine Service. Solemnly, in a grand voice, like strong peals of thunder, exclamations were heard: "Bless, Vladyka!" The only-begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, sat on the magnificent Throne of His Glory and the Twelve Apostles on the thrones of their wonderful and wondrous beauty of heaven. The Lord said to the deacons, "Call here all my chosen ones." And at that very hour the deacons blew their golden trumpets, and like thunder a trumpet rang out: "Come, blessed of My Father, to the Church of My glory, my saints, that we may make a new sacrifice of gladness..." And immediately all the saints, with joy and spiritual gladness, entered the temple of God Almighty. Then the Most Pure Lady, our Theotokos, came out of Her Hall. Unspeakable beauty, filled with incredible glory. She entered the temple of the Lord with great honor and triumph, and with the sweet singing of the Angels and all the saints, singing: "It is worthy to eat, for it is truly good for Thee, the Mother of God ..." The Lady was met by her beloved Son - the Lord Jesus Christ - the Great High Priest and Bishop of future blessings . The Lord descended from the Throne of His Glory, His example was followed by the Apostles. When the Mother of God received a blessing from Her beloved Son, the holy Apostles reverently bowed to Her. Our Most Holy Lady stood in marvelous robes, and on Her head was a crown bestowed by the Lord, as Scripture says: Appear to the Queen at Your right hand, in robes of gilded robes and embellished. Then the seventy Apostles came up to receive a blessing from our Lord Jesus Christ in great glory and shining with unspeakable light. Then came the Apostolic men, holy martyrs, prophets, martyrs, forefathers, patriarchs, reverend fathers and mothers. Each face departed from the Lord and stood in its place. When all the righteous stood in their places, at that hour an unspeakable light shone in their hearts from much joy and delight. The peace of God has anointed their hearts with Divine sweetness. Divine love inflamed their hearts with a desire to unceasingly sing hymns of thanksgiving, full of the Divine joy of victorious triumph! And the eternal triumph over Satan and death has come. The Kingdom of Glory and Eternal Bliss has come - Eternal Easter has come - Eighth Endless Day! The Kingdom of the Son of God and all His holy firstborn, whom He chose from the tongues and peoples of the earth, from all nations, has come. They, unable to refrain from the rapture that gripped them, began to sing a song of praise: “We praise God to You. We confess the Lord to You. All the earth magnifies the Eternal Father to You. : Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts, the heavens and the earth are full of the majesty of Your glory!" Heaven and earth trembled joyfully from their voice, sharing joy and victorious praises. And now the Great High Priest and Bishop of the good things to come, the Only Begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ descended from the magnificent Throne of His Glory to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. He was dressed in all the robes of the high priest. On top of the sakkos, an omophorion is laid, on the head of a mitre, of wonderful and indescribable beauty. From all the clothes and the Most Pure Face of the Son of God, the Divine radiance emanated and gladdened the hearts of all the saints, and filled them with delight and Divine ecstasy. Cherubim and Seraphim with fear and trembling hovered around the servants of Him, solemnly and sweetly singing the Trisagion. When the time for Communion came, the Lord Himself partook of the spiritual manna of His belly. Then the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven and Earth, received communion from the pure hands of her beloved Son. And then the Twelve Apostles and the Forerunner of the Lord John, and the seventy Apostles, the prophets and all the saints, in order, approached the Great High Priest, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and all partaken of heavenly bread and drank the new wine of spiritual joy in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father, and got drunk on sweetness Divine, and rejoiced, and praised God. Then the Lord revealed the terrible secrets of His Eternal to all His chosen ones. Immediately everyone understood all the hidden wisdom of the incomprehensible teaching. And the voice of praise and thanksgiving, poured out from the lips of the celestials, filled with the sweetness and wisdom of God's love, never ceased. And the daughters of the New Zion, the Heavenly Jerusalem, came out, glorifying the mercy of God and praising the deeds of the saints and the victory over the devil. A wondrous meal, prepared with immaterial drinks, which have no number, awaited the righteous. The Lord mercifully spoke to His chosen ones: "Citizens of the New Jerusalem, daughters of Zion, priests of the Most High God, My brethren and friends, sons and all who have loved and pleased My Father in Heaven and Me, eat and be satisfied with My eternal blessings." Hearing this, they rejoiced and rejoiced, were saturated with the contemplation of the glory of God and, richly nourished by His immaterial blessings, drank the wine of eternal joy. The Guardians of the Angels stood with fear and trembling before the Lord, Cherubim and Seraphim sang wondrous heavenly hymns and alternately proclaimed. And everyone was filled with heavenly joy and the sweetness of spiritual triumph.

    EDEN PARADISE


    When the elect were satisfied with the abundance of spiritual heavenly food, then the Lord arose from the Divine table, and all His chosen ones followed Him, heading towards the East. At the exclamation of the song of the Divine, rejoicing and triumphant, they entered the wonderful garden. This is the Paradise of Eden, from which the forefather Adam was expelled for the transgression of the commandment of God. When the chosen friends of God entered this wonderful garden, they fell into oblivion from admiration and amazement, wondering at the beauties of Eden, rejoicing and admiring God-planted Paradise! And everyone rejoiced and rejoiced, abundantly enjoying the wonder of God, looking at the wonderful trees and flowers of paradise and tasting the fruits of paradise from the sweetness. The powers of heaven praised the goodness of God, singing a wondrous song: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Seeing this, I fell into complete oblivion from joy and from the delight that seized me. For a long time the saints considered the beauty of paradise, the boundless breadth of God's garden. And, having examined the God-created dwelling of our forefathers and the promised fatherland to the saints, the Son of God, with such exclamations and laudatory glorifications of the Powers of Heaven and His chosen ones, returned to Heavenly Jerusalem. Cherubim and Seraphim, guarding the gates of the holy city, solemnly exclaimed: "This is the gate of the Lord, and the righteous will enter into them. Confess to the Lord in the voice of the noise of those celebrating." Our dearest Redeemer, the all-merciful Savior, the Only Begotten Son of God, sat on the immaterial Cherubic Throne of His Glory. And the Lord stretched out His almighty right hand, and blessed it crosswise to the East, West, South and North, and said: "Come from the heights of My saints, My beautiful villages, which I have prepared for My holy chosen ones." And at that hour, the whole earth and all the air on it was inflamed with a snow-like flame, and this miracle continued for a long time, and this snow-like flame rose to the height of heaven, and countless villages of God of wonderful beauty descended from the height of heaven, with God's temples, and chambers, and palaces and gardens. In the gardens there were trees that brought fruits incomprehensible to man every day, which were fragrant with divine aromas. All the heavenly host and the chosen saints exclaimed a song of praise, marveling at the grace of God. The Lord distributed these palaces and temples to His saints according to the measure of spiritual perfection of each. They glorified God with Heavenly Powers in holy temples. And the unceasing voice of the noise of those celebrating was heard, the voice of unceasing spiritual joy. There is unceasing peace, inexhaustible joy, eternal triumph, eternal holiday - Eternal Pascha Imperishable! The perishable and temporal life ended - endless eternity began. The old was destroyed, and a new earth and a new Heaven appeared, and a new man. According to the Apostle, all creation is new in Christ. The week of temporary life is over. An endless eternal peace has come, peace and joy, and a life in which there is neither sadness nor sorrow. There are no carnal and earthly desires, envy, slyness, malice and other vile spiritual qualities. All this is overthrown and shut up in the abyss of hell in the interior of the earth. And all those who have been honored with an imperishable life do not need to work, but they eternally rest and rejoice, glorifying God, marvelous in His Saints. They are no longer afraid of the devil, the murderer, who in temporal life, like a lion, gnashed his teeth at them, tormented by envy and hatred for them, trying at every step to deceive them and deprive them of eternal blessings. The fierce warfare has ceased - the cruel enemy is weakened. The eternal triumph of victory has come, no one will overshadow the eternal triumph of the winners! The angels of God presented the holy chosen ones of God with tabernacles, palaces, and gardens - according to God's command; to each according to his dignity, according to the degree of perfection. Some on the new earth, others in the air, some of them walked on the earth. and others had fiery wings and hovered in the air with joy. And everyone rejoiced spiritually and rejoiced, greeting each other with a holy kiss. And I saw all this, and I was enraptured spiritually and joyfully intoxicated. The great righteous, like the Seraphim, had fiery wings. And suddenly the Archangels blew the trumpet of God majestically and solemnly, so that heaven and earth shuddered and joyfully trembled, and wonderful and marvelous gates were opened at the height of heaven. Near them stood a multitude of Seraphims, Cherubims, Thrones, Archangels, the Powers of the Lord - and all exclaimed a song of victory to the Redeemer of the World - the Great High Priest and eternal Bishop of the Son of God, glorifying His victory over Satan, hell and death. The Mother of God ascended to the right hand of her Son, shining with beauty and majesty. Those who entered the gates of heaven with solemn exclamations became invisible to me. I asked the Angel who was leading me: "Where did Vladyka ascend?" He said: “To the Kingdom of Heaven, to His Heavenly Tabernacle. And the others remained on earth. These are the great chosen ones of God, who, through restraint of feelings, sobriety and unceasing prayer, achieved equal angelic purity and the highest degree of perfection. all completely abandoned on earth. Those who in worldly life lived according to the commandments of Christ and remained in purity through matrimony, almsgiving and many prayers, and having cleansed themselves with true repentance, with a good word and good thoughts, and died in repentance. All of them settled on the outskirts of the Heavenly Jerusalem, in the villages and gardens prepared for them, and in Zion not made by hands they were honored to live forever, enjoying the heavenly beauties of Eden!

    THE WORD OF THE LORD TO GREGORY


    Then I saw the Lord again coming out of the gates of heaven with all the host. And the Lord sat on the Throne of His Glory, and all the great righteous, and the Queen of Heaven, and the Forerunner John, and the Apostles, and everything shone with heavenly glory, inexpressible beauty, singing the song of victory: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts, fill the sky and the land of Thy glory, Hosanna in the Highest, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the Highest!" The Lord looked at me with a merciful gaze and quietly said to me: "Gregory, come to the Throne of My Glory!" And we descended with the Angel who led me from the high hill, on which we stood and surveyed this miraculous, truly laudable vision of the glorious deeds of God. With fear and trembling they approached the Lord, and, falling on their faces, bowed to His most pure feet and implored His goodness. And the King of Glory, the Lord, said to us in a quiet and meek Divine voice: “Here, Gregory, through the prayers and petition of my great saint Basil, I showed you what will happen after the end of the world of temporary life. You, Gregory, announce this vision to the whole world, for the benefit of spiritual salvation from the deception of sin. Especially to you, let this admonition serve to the one who incorrectly reasoned about the Jews, that they well keep the faith, the Law of Moses, and you saw what condemnation befell them. will not be a participant in eternal life: he is abominable and will be hated by My Father and Me, who believes wrongly and separates from the founded Holy Church, he even performed superhuman feats and fasts, alms, exhaustion of the flesh, and does not enter the doors of My Holy Church - that thief And you, Gregory, try to multiply the talent given to you. Try to save your soul and for the benefit of many souls: fulfill and do not hide your heart in the ground - My spiritual silver but tell it to My holy Churches, because many, having heard this, will repent and turn to Me with all their hearts, and love virtue, and glorify Me for My goodness and immeasurable mercy to the fallen human race. The world and everything that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life will be truly hated. And they will fulfill My commandments, they will desire with all their hearts, and, fearing eternal torment and suffering, they will achieve eternal bliss and happiness, and peace, and unceasing joy. And they will desire with all their heart, and, having corrected all the temptations of sin, they will be perfected in every virtue. And if, having heard you, they do not believe and do not repent, then you will not be guilty of their death. And they will be judged according to their deeds for unbelief and laziness about their salvation. And if you are too lazy or afraid to open this vision to My Churches and all the people, then the lost souls of the whole world will be sought from you ... "I said:" Lord God, how can I contain such spiritual wealth and treasure in my impure soul and in a bad my heart, and in my darkened mind, and how can I tell the whole world these unspeakable mysteries, incomprehensible to the mind, if you do not grant cherubic lips and not seraphic mind, Lord, to me, unworthy of these mysteries. What I saw, neither the angelic mind can comprehend, and it is impossible to explain them to people. " Saying this, I was obsessed with reverent fear and trembling. The Lord, seeing my humility, mercifully said to me: "I know that this is impossible for you, if you do not give you of My grace, which, having settled in your heart, will inflame it with Divine Love for Me and give strength and memory to describe in detail everything you have seen - for the benefit of My Churches, languages ​​​​and tribes, whom I call all to salvation and eternal life. I, by My immeasurable goodness and mercy, want the entire human race to be saved from eternal perdition and endless hellish torment. Happy is the person who, with a simple mind and a right heart, will listen to this revelation and try to cleanse his soul from all sinful filth and adorn it with all virtue in order to inherit eternal life and avoid eternal hellish torment. But eternal woe will be to those who do not believe this revelation and do not believe in My Coming, and will not be a worthy member of My Holy Church, and will not rejoice in their salvation, and will not try to cleanse their hearts from passions, they will perish forever and will not see Gorney Easter. Do not allow a shadow of doubt about the veracity of this revelation. Remember, where God wills, the rank of nature is defeated there. Remember every Word of the Son of God: "He who does not believe will be condemned..." Through this revelation, My boundless love for the human race is manifested. And if someone stumbles on the stone of unbelief, then he will be unanswerable at My Terrible Judgment. But whoever honors the Son of God, he is the heir of My Kingdom. Whose name is written in the book of life, they will gladly believe this revelation in the simplicity of their heart. They will try to write it off, carefully, diligently read it, and they will try to improve their lives and enrich themselves with every virtue, and they will teach others the way of the virtuous by their example and word of edification. But those who with all their hearts are in the vanity of the earth, whose mind and heart are darkened by sinful thoughts, the carnal lust of their eyes and the pride of life reign in their hearts, those who have completely extinguished the lamps of faith, the words of this revelation will seem incredible. And not only will they not believe, but they will also laugh at this revelation. Who dares to slander God in such a way, being himself an eyewitness of such a revelation, which none of the saints saw and did not convey in the scriptures, that I revealed to you, Gregory, at the intercession of Basil, my great saint, for the sake of my many mercy and goodness. But the peace-lovers will tell you: are you really greater than Peter or Paul, Moses, Daniel, David and all the other holy prophets, glorious and in new grace, shining holy God-bearing Fathers and ecumenical teachers, if they were not able to see such secrets that are known to the One God. And in another way they will humiliate and reproach you and the vision written and spoken by you. They will call you senile fables, but don't pay any attention to them. Know that through them the father of lies - Satan - will oppose the revealed truth. You try to tell everyone and everyone this revelation and write it down in a book with exact details. Convey to all My holy Churches and believers in My Second Coming. Tell the patriarchs, bishops, priests of My Churches that I will come soon, and My reward is with Me. You will be happy if you adorn your souls with virtue, just as a bride decorates herself on her wedding day for her groom. Here I will open My Heavenly Chamber to you, and there will come a feast of faith and the marriage of the Lamb - the Son of God - with the beloved Immaculate and Holy Church, which I redeemed from peoples, tribes and languages. But woe, eternal woe, who does not shepherd the flock entrusted to him. Behold, I remind you by this revelation, and not for the sake of ignorance, but for the mystery hidden from eternity. But whoever cares about his salvation and the flock handed over, he will be subject to eternal condemnation. If someone does not apply all diligence and care for the salvation of his soul, but is seduced by the earthly delights of wealth, the honors of the world and carnal pleasure and the soon-to-be-transitory vanity, human glory, I will seek the lost souls from their hands and subject them to a special condemnation and execution. Say this to those who live in monasteries. Here I am, in My mercy I do not want the death of sinners, but I await their conversion and repentance with confession. I also say to you, if anyone comes clean and blameless, true, corrected by repentance for My coming Second Coming, I will receive them into My eternal Kingdom. Here it is prepared. I wait, and all my blessings are prepared. My halls are created, and my city Jerusalem can freely accommodate all the sons of Adam. Eden's paradise is open, I'm waiting for those who come in - everyone go and hurry. Each one, according to your strength, decorate the clothes of your soul, for a worthy stay in My heavenly Halls. Take up labors and labors, temporary and insignificant, in comparison with eternal ones. And inherit eternal rest for short-term hunger and thirst, eternal saturation with My immaterial blessings. Tears of repentance are eternal consolation, for poverty and lack of possessions - eternal wealth and honors, for short-term sorrows according to Bose - eternal joy. And the noise of the voice of those celebrating, and the noise of eternal triumph, the victory of the Lamb over the ancient destroying serpent. Yes, no one will be lazy, but no one will despair! Hurry, hurry quickly, until the gates of Heavenly Jerusalem and My Halls are closed. Paradise and My Kingdom are open. Do not harden your hearts by being deceived by the vanity of the world and the lust for carnal pleasures. Flee from evil, do good, leave earthly and deceitful blessings. Accept the true good, inalienable and indestructible. Everything is prepared for you - I am waiting for you all with open arms. I am the Lord - ready to forgive you everything, everything that you offended and dishonored Me with, but just wash yourself with tears of repentance and wipe off the sinful impurity with contrition of the heart. And I will shower you with heavenly gifts. I am the Only Begotten of God's Great High Priest, who sanctified people with His Blood: Bishop of the good things to come. The head of life - eternal life, the co-eternal Word of the Father. Under Pontius Pilate, Crucified for the sins of the whole world, fallen humanity. Who redeemed you with His Honorable Blood from satanic slavery and from just damnation and eternal death, for breaking the most holy commandments of My Heavenly Father. You, according to the just judgment of God, would have been subjected to eternal punishment. But I, loving you, accepted the execution on the Cross for you with My Most Pure Flesh and offered a propitiatory Sacrifice on the world altar - the Golgotha ​​Life-Giving Cross - to My Heavenly Father. And He returned His favor to you and, as His beloved sons, made Heirs of My blessings! I opened the way to the Tree of Life for you and opened the imprisoned gates of paradise, with My Cross I crushed the power and might of hell. Gave freedom to the captives of hell. And the evil-leader Satan closed with irresolvable bonds of darkness, struck his cunning head with My Cross, inflicting an incurable wound. In the darkness of those sitting - enlightened with the light of My Gospel; those who strayed from the truth - he set them on the path that leads steadily to eternal joy and bliss. Those mortified by sin - he resurrected, those leprous with ulcers of passions - he cleansed; blinded by the mind - enlightened; relaxed from the unbearable burden of sins - raised and endowed with power; defiled by the abomination of sin - sanctified; and those guilty of innumerable crimes he acquitted. Remember, and do not forget My great blessings, and be grateful to Me. Stop again crucifying and dishonoring and vilifying Me with your vicious deeds, words, thoughts, desires and intentions. Why do you repay Me with evil for My good? For my love for you - hatred? Understand!!! And sober up from the intoxication of sin. Stop drinking iniquity like water, leave slyness and learn to do good and love Me with all your heart. You were My bitter enemies, and I loved you immeasurably and shed My pure Blood for your salvation on the Cross amid unbearable heavy torments. Wash your sins and vices with tears of repentance, clothe and adorn your souls with the shining robe of virtue, adorn your mind with heavenly wisdom, despise the world and all that is in the world, and I will clothe you in My Second Coming with royal purples, and I will crown your heads with unfading crowns of glory heavenly; You will be kings and priests of the Most High God, and citizens of Jerusalem on High, fellow citizens of My holy prophets and apostles, saints, martyrs, hermits, virgins and all My chosen saints, you will be friends of the Powers of Heaven: and with one mouth you will sing a song in My Zion not made by hands: and I will shower you with all My graces, and I will bestow unspeakable blessings and fill your hearts with unspeakable joy. Rise up from the fetid swamp of your passions, so that death does not overtake you unprepared, without true repentance. Then faith in Me will do you no good. Here I am, the Lord your God, who loves righteousness and pours out mercy and benevolence on truly penitent sinners. My Grace is open to My creation. Especially those who believe in My Name. For their sake I endured the Crucifixion and suffered much from the disobedient Jews. But I am merciful to those who truly repent and I forgive their sins. But after death there is no longer any place for repentance, and there is no benefit from tears and sighs of the heart. Then there is no place for My mercy, but a time of justice - rewards or condemnation: unrepentant sinners will be comprehended by My just and Terrible Judgment. And so I tell you first, and to you, Gregory, I showed and revealed everything that will be at My Judgment. Then I will not convict you of your sins, then you will condemn yourself, seeing your vileness and lewdness. I have hidden nothing from you that can bring you spiritual benefit. Whatever you want, choose for yourself - eternal life, the Kingdom of Heaven, eternal rest, eternal joy, eternal pleasure or - eternal death, eternal torment in the flames of hell with Satan and evil demons, eternal stench and stench, eternal hunger and scorching thirst, eternal uncontainable darkness and unbearable tightness, and eternal suffering, and unbearable illnesses - a collection of all evils, troubles and misfortunes above your heads. Here I am, the Son of God Jesus Christ, abiding with My Father and the Holy Spirit, all this I have said before. My prophets, Apostles and church teachers, who were taught by Me, stated this in the scriptures and left it to you after themselves, so that you, guided by these scriptures and instructions, be saved, avoiding heretical delusions and demonic temptations. They would zealously fight with their flesh, curbing its lusts and crimes. By abstinence they would victoriously repulse the evil passionate thoughts inspired by the demons, they would beat them mercilessly, incessantly looking with their minds to the gates of eternity, that is, death. Looking and remembering their sins, they would shed tears of repentance and be cleansed from the stench of sin. Having put on the garment of purity and integrity!" And our Lord added: "I have told you this, that heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. The truth has told you the immutable,” and the Lord ended our conversation with me, the unworthy one. And the holy angels and all those chosen by His voice praised His mercy with great and sweet-sounding songs, and the Lord said: “Gregory, get up and do as I commanded you. .." And I, having already risen from the ground on which I lay before the Lord, wanted to enter through the gates behind our Lord, and asked the holy angel who led me about this. And he did not allow me, saying: "It is impossible for one who is in the body to enter there" And I thought that the world had really already changed, and eternal imperishable life had set in. And at that tea time I woke up, trembling from this terrible and wonderful vision! I wondered to myself what this terrible and wondrous vision means. and I was perplexed for many days. Seven days I stayed hopelessly in my cell, remembering everything I had seen, and thinking about writing it all in a book so as not to forget it over time. I fervently prayed to my Lord that He would send His grace to me and enlightenment crazy mo him to do exactly what He commanded me. After some days, the vision I saw came to my memory in detail, what I saw and what I heard, and I began to hastily write down everything in detail. Not shining with eloquence and not philosophizing with wisdom, but what he saw, and what he heard in a vision, and what the Lord revealed to me, unworthy, through the prayers of my spiritual father Basil and through His rich mercy to us sinners, wishing us all to be saved. I wrote everything down in order, instructed and taught by God. I implore all fathers and brothers and sisters, but no one disbelieves from you, and no one will be offended, and no one will doubt, reading this wonderful revelation, thinking that these hidden secrets cannot be revealed to a sinful person and an unworthy husband, which from the beginning of the world no one from the great saints has been able to see. But remember, many of them with other heavenly gifts were vouchsafed from God to see who God wills what, according to His gracious Grace and according to the degree of perfection of each. Amen.

    Meat Week (about the Last Judgment)- the penultimate Sunday before Lent, on which, according to the charter, eating meat ends. On this Sunday, the coming Last Judgment is remembered (Matthew 25:31-46). This reminder is necessary so that people who sin do not indulge in carelessness and negligence about their salvation in the hope of the inexpressible mercy of God. This is a reminder that we will be judged.

    What does the Last Judgment mean? This is the completion of human history in the form in which we now have it and had it before. And often, and very often, people tried to look through time and imagine, but when will this Last Judgment come? Many tried to wishful thinking, appointed dates, times, said that they knew (when it would be), but this time passed, and these predictions did not come true. Because it is not necessary to engage in this unproductive speculation. For the Lord directly said at the end of the parable of the ten virgins, by the way, in the same 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, where the parable of the Last Judgment is, that people should be vigilant, and He says: because you do not know either the day or hour when the Son of Man comes. The only thing we can say is that the completion of this story, the Second Coming of the Lord, will come not during the spiritual flowering of mankind, but obviously during its spiritual decline.

    Jesus Christ himself speaks of His terrible judgment: The time will come when all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who have done good will come out to the resurrection of life, and those who do evil to the resurrection of condemnation"(John 5:28-29). From this it can be seen that before the onset of the last judgment, all the dead, according to the voice of the Son of God, will come to life, and good people will be resurrected for eternal blessed life, and evil people - for eternal condemnation. The picture of the Last Judgment is also strikingly depicted by Jesus Christ himself in the following: “ When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory, and all nations will be gathered before Him.". These words of the Gospel are about the mystery of the First and Second Coming of Christ. His first Coming to earth was in humiliation, so that He could not be distinguished from other people. The Lord appeared so humbly that no one noticed His appearance. The Second Coming will be completely different. The first time the Lord came not to judge, but to save the world. The second time He will come for the Last Judgment.

    The Last Judgment appears to many as abstractly distant, while the Lord is "near, at the door." People do not believe in eternal torment, or they believe, but they think that everything will not be so terrible, as the Gospel says. Why? After all, our entire earthly life is a distant shadow of a true and full life in the Kingdom of God; like all torments on earth are only a distant shadow of the terrible torments of sinners in hellfire. As St. Nicholas (Velimirovich) said: “Life on earth, no matter how sublime it may be, is still dissolved in flour, for there is no fullness of life here; just as the torment on earth, no matter how great it may be, is nevertheless dissolved by life. But at the Last Judgment, life will be separated from torment, and life will be life, and torment will be torment. Both will remain forever, each on its own. What is this eternity - our human mind cannot contain it. Whoever enjoys contemplation of the face of God for one minute, this delight will seem like a thousand years. And to the one who will be tormented with demons in hell for one minute, this torment will seem like a thousand years.”

    This judgment will be so simple that it seems that we will not be asked about our faith, nor about how we prayed and fasted or theologised, but only about whether we were or were not people in relation to other people. However, in this ultimate simplicity, the mystery of the Incarnation of God and the Cross, and the Resurrection, and Pentecost is revealed. And His Second Coming in glory will be preceded by the appearance of the Cross in heaven, revealing the mystery of the dual commandment.

    The mystery of the Last Judgment is the mystery of the general resurrection, the resurrection of each of the dead. And this is given to all of us - no one, not a single person is deprived of this. The martyrs bought the Kingdom with their blood, the desert fathers found grace through exploits of abstinence, and we, living in the midst of the world, can achieve the glory of the Lord with the simplest human help - to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, comfort the sick, visit the prisoner - this is what can do everyone. This is offered to us every day, this is what life consists of.

    God's Law: About the Last Judgment

    About His last, terrible judgment over all people, at His second coming, Jesus Christ taught as follows:

    When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He, as King, will sit on the throne of His glory. And all nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate some people from others (the faithful and good from the ungodly and evil), just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats; And He will put the sheep (the righteous) on His right hand, and the goats (sinners) on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand: “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Because I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you accepted Me; was naked, and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me."

    Then the righteous will ask Him with humility: “Lord! when we saw you hungry and fed you? or thirsty, and drink? When did we see you as a stranger and receive you? or naked and clothed? When did we see You sick or in prison and come to You?”

    The king will say to them in response: “Truly I say to you, because you did this to one of the least of these My brothers (i.e., for needy people), you did it to Me.”

    Then the King will also say to those who are on the left side: “Depart from Me, cursed, into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his Aggels. Because I was hungry, and you did not give me food; I was thirsty, and you did not give Me drink; I was a stranger, and they did not receive me; was naked, and they did not clothe me; sick and in prison, and did not visit Me."

    Then they will say to Him in answer: “Lord! when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and not serve you?”

    But the King will say to them, "Truly I say to you, because you did not do this to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." And they will go into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

    This day will be great and terrible for each of us. Therefore, this judgment is called Terrible, since our deeds, words, and the most secret thoughts and desires will be open to everyone. Then we will no longer have anyone to rely on, for the Judgment of God is righteous, and everyone will receive according to their deeds.

    Interpretations and sayings of the holy fathers on the gospel parable of the Last Judgment:

    Great will be fear and trembling and frenzy at the hour when the Lord gathers an impartial judgment seat and terrible books are opened, where our deeds, words and everything that in this life we ​​thought to hide from God, testing hearts and wombs are written ...

    All will be clothed there with contrition of soul, except those who are perfect. The wicked will mourn, because they did not think about the end; sinners - because they did not seek salvation in repentance and mercy towards their neighbors. Those who loved the truth will also grieve if they did not remain constant, and those who repent if they did not correct themselves in time. When they see the crowns of the victors there, then they will bring to their memory their lives; they will know the fullness of the blessedness of those who labor and are burdened, they will know how excellent their life was, how good and merciful the Lord is to those who honor Him ... ( Rev. Ephraim Sirin).

    Terrible Judgment! The Judge is coming, surrounded by a myriad of Heavenly Forces. Trumpets sound to all ends of the earth and raise the dead. Those who have risen in regiments flow to a certain place, to the Throne of the Judge, already anticipating in advance what a sentence will sound in their ears, for the deeds of each will be written on the forehead of their nature, and their very appearance will correspond to their deeds and customs. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us! Let us cry now, if not with rivers of tears, then at least with streams; if not streams, at least raindrops; if we don’t find this either, let us repent in our hearts and, having confessed our sins to the Lord, we will beg Him to forgive us for them, giving a vow not to offend Him any more by breaking His commandments, and then being jealous to faithfully fulfill such a vow ( St. Theophan the Recluse).

    Is there anyone now who would rightly judge himself and be rightly judged by others? It will not be the same there: we will all be open to ourselves and others. This universal vision of sins shakes the sinner in such a way that it would be easier for him if the mountains fell and covered him. No one can escape judgment, everything will be as it is written in the Gospel. Jealous in advance to justify yourself before God, washing yourself in tears of repentance ( St. Theophan the Recluse).

    Now the Holy Church reminds us of the Judgment of God and thereby wants to inspire her children to great labors, and awaken the negligent from sleep... Our misfortune is that we are used to putting the hour of Judgment away from ourselves... But we will also have to stand before the Court and give an account for the days and years life… Isn’t it better to behave every hour as if the Lord were to appear now?.. The enemy knows the power of this thought and in every possible way obscures it in our memory… Now or tomorrow death will come and seal our fate forever, for after death there is no repentance ... In whatever death finds us - in that we will stand at the Judgment ... Imprint the image of the Judgment of God in your mind and heart and always remember it ( St. Theophan the Recluse).

    Who, recalling to himself the Last Judgment of Christ, will not immediately be troubled in his own conscience, will not be embraced by fear and ignorance? Even if he realizes in himself the correction of life, then, looking at the severity of the Court, at which even the slightest oversights are examined, of course, he will be horrified by the expectation of terrible punishments, not knowing how the Court will end for him. The Divine Court, following an incorruptible and truthful verdict, according to our will, gives to each what a person has acquired for himself ( St. Gregory of Nyssa).

    "TERMS OF JUDGMENT" (2007)

    Year of issue: 2007
    Country: Belarus
    Genre: documentary
    Duration: 00:50:56
    Producer: BPC News Agency. Vyacheslav Galuza
    Cast People: Alexander Stepanov, Alexey Osipov, Vyacheslav Galuza

    Description: End of the World, Apocalypse, Judgment Day... This topic has become too popular today... The authors of many films, books, newspaper articles, magazine publications enthusiastically draw chilling pictures of the death of mankind... Isn't it strange that this topic is so actively attracting the attention of modern society? When will the end come? Is it possible that the whole history of mankind will burn, disappear without a trace, be crossed out and forgotten?!

    And the well-known "Last Judgment", "God's Judgment" causes a feeling of anxiety, misunderstanding and even protest ... Why will He judge people who is infinitely different from us, so weak and defenseless before His power and perfection?

    The first Christians did not call the last judgment "terrible" and were not afraid of the coming of the last times. They waited for Christ with joy. So what are we afraid of?

    Questions, questions, questions.

    When you read the Revelation of John the Theologian, they appear endlessly. How to understand the meaning of the Last Judgment, knowing that God is love?
    These and other questions are answered by: Bishop of Grodno and Volkovysk Artemy, priest Alexander Stepanov, rector of the Church of Anastasia the Solver in St. Petersburg, Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy A.I. Osipov.

    The idea that a person will be judged for his actions was already present in the Old Testament: Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart taste joy in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart and according to the vision of your eyes; only know that for all this God will bring you to judgment (Ecclesiastes 11:9).

    However, it is in the New Testament that the doctrine of posthumous retribution and the Last Judgment is revealed most fully. Christ Himself repeatedly tells His disciples that He will come in the glory of His Father with His Angels, and then He will reward everyone according to his deeds (Matthew 16:27; cf.: 25:31). Talking with the disciples on the Mount of Olives shortly before His death on the cross, Christ paints a picture of the Last Judgment, when He sits on the throne of His glory, and all nations gather before Him; and separate one from the other, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; And He will put the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left (Mt 25:31-33). The criterion by which the righteous will be separated from the sinners is the deeds of mercy towards their neighbors. At the Last Judgment, people who have committed such deeds will hear from the Lord: for I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you accepted Me; was naked, and you. clothe me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. In accordance with the same criterion, sinners who have not done works of mercy will be sent into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:35-41).

    Jesus repeatedly emphasizes that He, and not God the Father, will judge mankind at the Last Judgment: the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgment to the Son (Jn 5:22). The Father has given the Son the authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man (Jn 5:27). It is Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man, who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 42). At the same time, Christ says of Himself: If anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. Whoever rejects Me and does not receive My words has a judge for himself: the word that I have spoken, it will judge him on the last day (Jn 12:47-48).

    Understanding the commandments of the Lord, let us live like this: we will feed the hungry, we will give the thirsty to drink, we will clothe the naked, we will bring in the strange, we will visit the sick and those who are in prison, but he will also say to us to judge the whole earth: come, bless my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.

    The Last Judgment, according to the teachings of Christ, refers not only to eschatological reality. This is emphasized in Christ's conversation with Nicodemus: For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged, but the unbeliever is already condemned, because he did not believe in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God. The judgment is that light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, because their deeds were evil (Jn 17-19). And in a conversation with the Jews, Christ says: He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life (Jn 5:24).

    Thus, faith in Christ and the fulfillment of His word already here, in earthly life, become a guarantee of a person's salvation, while the one who does not believe in Christ and rejects the Gospel is already here condemned to perdition. The division into sheep and goats occurs precisely on earth, when some people choose light, while others choose darkness, some follow Christ, others reject Him, some do good deeds, others take the side of evil. The division into sheep and goats is not the result of God's arbitrariness: it is the result of the moral choice that each person makes for himself. The Last Judgment will only confirm this choice made by man himself. According to John Chrysostom, “on the day of Judgment, our own thoughts will appear, now condemning, now justifying, and a person at that judgment seat will not need another accuser.”

    As Chrysostom emphasizes, Christ came to people "not to judge and not to torture, but to forgive and forgive their sins." If He came and sat in the judgment seat, people would have some reason to avoid Him, but since He came in love and forgiveness, they should hasten to Him in repentance. Many have done just that. But since some are so entrenched in evil that they want to remain in it until their last breath and never want to lag behind it, then Christ denounces such people. “Christianity demands both Orthodox teaching and a good life, but they, says Christ, are afraid to turn to us, precisely because they do not want to show a good life.”

    According to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, all people without exception will appear at the Last Judgment - Christians and pagans, believers and non-believers: and unbelievers of their own free will do not proceed to His teaching.

    Already in the Apostolic Epistles there is the idea that those who believe in Christ will be judged with particular severity. According to the Apostle Peter, the time for judgment to begin is in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), that is, in the Christian Church. It is to the members of the Church that the formidable words of the Apostle Paul are addressed:

    ... If we, having received the knowledge of the truth, sin voluntarily, then there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but some terrible expectation of judgment and the fury of fire, ready to devour opponents. If he who rejects the law of Moses, in front of two or three witnesses, without mercy, is punished by death, then how severe punishment do you think the one who tramples on the Son of God and does not revere as holy the Blood of the Covenant, with which he is sanctified, and offends the Spirit of grace? We know the One who said: I have vengeance, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, the Lord will promise his people. It is terrible to fall into the hands of the living God! (Heb 10:26-31).

    As for persons who are outside the Church, according to the teaching of the Apostle Paul, they will be judged in accordance with the law of conscience written in their hearts (see: Romans 2:14-15). We are talking about that natural moral law, which is embedded in man by God and which is called conscience. According to the teachings of John Chrysostom, "God created man with sufficient strength to choose virtue and avoid evil": reason and conscience help a person make the right choice. The Old Testament Jews, in addition to reason and conscience, also had the law of Moses, but the pagans did not have this law. That is why the virtuous pagans are amazing, “because they had no need for the law, but discovered everything proper to the law, having traced in their minds not letters, but deeds.”

    Chrysostom comes to a radical conclusion: "For the salvation of a pagan, if he is a executor of the law, nothing more is needed." These words should not be taken as a denial of the principle formulated by Cyprian of Carthage: "There is no salvation outside the Church." Chrysostom, as it seems, does not question this thesis. The term "salvation", if taken as a synonym for deification, entry into the Kingdom of Heaven and union with Christ, is hardly applicable to people who were outside of Christianity and the Church. At the same time, the posthumous fate of a virtuous non-Christian will be different from the fate of a non-Christian who lived in sins and vices. The moral criterion in assessing the deeds committed in life will be applied to all people without exception, with the only difference being that Jews will be judged according to the law of Moses, Christians according to the Gospel, and pagans according to the law of conscience written in their hearts. (Note that in the words of Christ about the Last Judgment, there is no religious criterion at all: the division into sheep and goats takes place exclusively according to moral criteria.)

    According to Holy Scripture, along with Christ, mankind will be judged by His apostles (cf. Mt 19:28; Lk 22:30) and saints (1 Cor 6:2). Not only people will be judged, but also Angels (see: 1 Korb, h), namely those of them who apostatized from God and turned into demons. These angels, who have not retained their dignity, God keeps in eternal bonds, under darkness, for the judgment of the great day (Jude 1, 6).

    According to the teachings of Basil the Great, "we will be judged each in our rank - and the people, and the elders, and the princes." This doctrine is developed by Simeon the New Theologian, saying that at the Last Judgment every sinner will be opposed by a righteous man from the same rank: sinful women will be opposed by holy wives, impious kings and rulers by pious rulers, sinful patriarchs by holy patriarchs, “who were images of and likenesses of the true God, not only in words, but also in deeds. Fathers will be condemned by fathers, slaves and free slaves and free, rich and poor by rich and poor, married and unmarried by married and unmarried. “In short, every sinful person on the terrible day of Judgment opposite himself in eternal life and in the indescribable next light will see his like and will be condemned by him.”

    According to the Holy Scriptures, people will be judged by the books in which their deeds are recorded, and each will be judged according to his deeds (see: Rev. 2o, 12-13; Dan 7, j). This image testifies that all the deeds of a person remain in God's memory: according to Cyril of Jerusalem, God has recorded all the virtues of a person, including almsgiving, fasting, marital fidelity, abstinence, but also evil deeds, including covetousness, fornication , perjury, blasphemy, sorcery, theft and murder.

    On the other hand, the mention of books, according to Basil the Great, indicates that at the time of the Last Judgment, God will restore in the memory of each person the images of everything he has done, so that everyone remembers his deeds and understands what he is being punished for. Basil warns against a literal understanding of the images used in the description of the Last Judgment. According to him, Scripture presents the Last Judgment "personified", that is, anthropomorphically. But if, for example, it is said that the Judge will ask the accused for an account, then this is “not because the Judge will ask questions to each of us or give answers to the judged, but in order to inspire us with care and so that we do not forget about our justification” .

    According to Basil, the Last Judgment will be an event not so much of an external as of an internal order: it will take place primarily in the conscience of a person, in his mind and memory. In addition, the Last Judgment will take place with lightning speed: “It is likely that by some inexpressible force, in a moment of time, all the affairs of our life, as in a picture, will be imprinted in the memory of our soul”; “You should not think that a lot of time will be spent until everyone sees himself and his deeds; and the Judge, and the consequences of God's judgment with indescribable power in an instant of time, the mind will imagine, all this will vividly outline before itself, and in the dominating soul, as if in a mirror, it will see the images of what it has done.

    The explanations of Basil the Great make important adjustments to the understanding of the Last Judgment, which is reflected in many literary monuments and in Western medieval painting, in particular, on Michelangelo's famous fresco from the Sistine Chapel. This fresco depicts Christ surrounded by the Old Testament righteous: with a punishing gesture of a raised hand, Christ sends all sinners to the hellish abyss. The main idea of ​​the composition: justice is done, everyone gets what they deserve, retribution from God is inevitable.

    Meanwhile, in the Orthodox understanding, the Last Judgment is not so much a moment of retribution, but a moment of the triumph of truth, not so much a manifestation of God's wrath, but a manifestation of God's mercy and love. God is love (1 John 4:8; 4:16), and He will never cease to be love, even at the moment of the Last Judgment. God is light (1 Jn 1:5), and He will never cease to be light, even when He comes to judge the living and the dead. But subjectively, Divine love and Divine light are perceived differently by the righteous and sinners: for some it is a source of pleasure and bliss, for others it is a source of torment and suffering.

    Simeon the New Theologian says that the terrible day of the Lord is called the day of judgment, not because it is, in the literal sense of the word, the day on which the judgment will take place. The Day of the Lord is the Lord Himself:

    Then it will not be so that that day is something else, and He who has to come into it is different. But the Lord and God of everything, our Lord Jesus Christ, will then shine with the radiance of the Divine, and this sensual sun will be covered by the brilliance of the Lord, so that it will not be visible at all, the stars will grow dim, and everything visible will fold like a scroll, that is, it will move away, giving place to its Creator. . And He will be one - and the day and at the same time God. He who is now invisible to all and lives in unapproachable light, then will appear to all as He is in His glory, and will fill everything with His light, and will become for His saints an evening and never-ending day, full of unceasing joy, and for sinners and negligent, like me, will remain completely impregnable and invisible. Since they, when they lived in the present life, did not try to purify themselves in order to see the light of the glory of the Lord and receive Himself into themselves, then in the next century, in justice, He will be inaccessible and invisible to them.

    In the context of Christ's words that God is good and in relation to the ungrateful and evil (Luke 6:35), the Last Judgment is perceived as a manifestation of God's goodness, God's glory, God's love and mercy, and not anger or retribution from God. The day of the Lord is a day of light, not a day of darkness and obscurity as it was imagined.

    Old Testament prophets (Joel 2, 2, cf.: Am 5, 18-20), and not the "day of wrath" as it is called in Latin medieval poetry. The reason for the torment of sinners is not the wrath of God and not the lack of love on the part of God, but their own inability to perceive Divine love and Divine light as a source of joy and pleasure. This inability stems from the spiritual and moral choice that was made by a person in earthly life.

    Simeon the New Theologian emphasizes that the Last Judgment of the Lord comes for every person already in earthly life. It is earthly life that is the time when a person joins the Divine light through the fulfillment of God's commandments and repentance. For such people, Simeon believes, the day of the Lord will never come, because it has already come for them and they are already in the Divine light. The Day of the Lord as the day of the Last Judgment will come only for those who consciously refused to repent and keep the Divine commandments:

    ... For those who are possessed by unbelief and passions, the grace of the Holy Spirit is impregnable and invisible. But for those who show due repentance and begin to fulfill the commandments of Christ with faith and at the same time with fear and trembling, it opens and becomes visible and by itself produces judgment in them ... or, rather, it happens to them during the day Divine judgment. Whoever always shines and is illuminated by this grace truly sees himself... sees in detail all his deeds... At the same time, he is judged and condemned by Divine fire, as a result of which, fed by the water of tears, it is irrigated throughout the body and little by little is baptized all, soul and body, by that Divine fire and Spirit, becomes all pure, all without blemish, the son of light and day, and no longer the son of a mortal man. Therefore, such a person will not be judged at the future judgment, since he was already judged before, nor convicted by that light, because he was illumined by it here before, and will not enter that fire to be eternally burned, because he entered it here before and was judge. And he will not think that then only the day of the Lord appeared, because long ago he became bright and shining all day long from communion and conversation with God and ceased to be in the world or with the world, but completely became outside of it ... The Day of the Lord will appear not for those who are already illuminated by the Divine light, but it will suddenly open up for those who are in the darkness of passions, live in the world in a worldly way and love the blessings of this world; for them it will appear suddenly, suddenly, and it will seem terrible to them, like an unbearable and unbearable fire.

    What is the Last Judgment? God's judgment is not a meeting with God? Or are Bosch's gloomy pictures of the torment of sinners true? Do we wait for the resurrection of the dead or for an existence in eternal torment? Will we stand before the throne of the Righteous Lord, or will we face eternal punishment? Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev will share his opinion in the book “If God is Love”.

    What is the Last Judgment?

    Sunday the week before Lent is called the Week of Meatfare (on this day, the last time before Easter you can eat meat), or the week of the Last Judgment. What is the Last Judgment?

    Hearing about the “Last Judgment”, it is supposed to experience fear and trembling. “The Last Judgment” is the last thing that people will face. When the last second of the existence of the Universe expires, people will be recreated, their bodies will be reunited with souls - so that everyone can be accountable to the Creator...

    However, I've been wrong. I made a mistake when I said that people would be resurrected in order to be brought to the Last Judgment. If we accept this logic, then an impartial thing will have to be said about Christian theology: it turns out that it presents its God in a rather unattractive way. After all, “we would never have praised a simply sinful person for such a deed if he took the corpse of his enemy out of the grave in order to give him in all fairness what he deserved and did not receive during his earthly life” . Sinners will not be resurrected in order to receive a recompense for a sinful life, but vice versa - precisely because they will receive retribution, because they will certainly rise from the dead.

    Unfortunately, we are immortal. Unfortunately - because sometimes I would really like to just fall asleep - so much so that no one else reminds me of my nasty things ... But Christ is risen. And since Christ encompasses all mankind with Himself, it means that we, too, will not be able to fit into the grave, to remain in it. Christ carried in Himself the fullness of human nature: the change that He made in the very essence of man will one day take place within each of us, since we too are human. This means that we are all now carriers of such a substance, which is destined for the resurrection.

    That is why it is erroneous to assume that the reason for the resurrection is judgment (“The resurrection will not be for the sake of judgment,” said the Christian writer of the second century Athenagoras (On the resurrection of the dead, 14)). Judgment is not a cause, but a consequence of the renewal of our life. After all, our life will be resumed not on earth, not in the world familiar to us, which shields God from us. We will be resurrected in a world in which “God will be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).

    The Last Judgment: if there is a resurrection, then there will be a meeting with God

    And, therefore, if there is a resurrection, then there will be a meeting with God. But meeting with God is meeting with Light. That Light that illuminates everything and makes everything clear and obvious, even what we sometimes wanted to hide even from ourselves ... And if something shameful still remains in us, still continues to be ours, has not yet been thrown away from us by our own repentance - then the meeting with the Light causes the torment of shame. She becomes judgment. “The judgment consists in this, that light has come into the world” (John 3:19)

    But still, will there be only shame, only judgment at that Meeting? In the XII century, the Armenian poet (among Armenians he is also considered a saint) Gregor Narekatsi in his “Book of Sorrowful Hymns” wrote:

    I know that the day of judgment is near,
    And in court we will be convicted in many ways ...
    But God's judgment is not a meeting with God?
    Where will the court be? - I'll hurry there!
    I bow before You, O Lord,
    And, renouncing the fleeting life,
    Not to Thy Eternity I will partake,
    Though this eternity will be eternal torment?

    And indeed, the time of the Judgment is the time of the Meeting. But what captivates my mind more when I think about her? Is it right if the consciousness of my sins obscures in my mind the joy of meeting with God? Is my gaze fixed on my sins or on Christ's love? What takes precedence in the palette of my feelings - the realization of the love of Christ or my own horror from my unworthiness?

    It was precisely the early Christian feeling of death as a Meeting that once escaped from the Moscow elder Fr. Alexy Mechev. In parting words to his parishioner who had just died, he said: “The day of your separation from us is your birthday into a new, endless life. Therefore, with tears in our eyes, we greet you with an entry into the place where not only our sorrows, but also our vain joys are not. You are now no longer in exile, but in the fatherland: you see what we must believe; surrounded by what we should expect.”

    With whom is this long-awaited meeting? With the Judge, who was waiting for our delivery to his disposal? With the Judge, who did not leave his sterile-correct chambers and now carefully watches so that the newcomers do not stain the world of ideal laws and truths with their not at all ideal deeds?

    Again, in antiquity, Rev. Isaac the Sirin said that God should not be called “fair”, because He judges us not according to the laws of justice, but according to the laws of mercy, and already in our time the English writer K.S. Lewis, in his philosophical tale “Before We Have Faces,” says: “Hope for mercy - and hope not. Whatever the verdict, you can't call it fair. Are the gods not fair? “Of course not, my daughter! What would become of us if they were always just?”

    Of course, there is justice in that Court. But this kind of justice is strange. Imagine that I am a personal friend of President B.N. We carried out “reforms” together, together - as long as his health allowed - played tennis and went to the bathhouse ... But then the journalists dug up “compromising evidence” on me, found out that I accepted “gifts” in especially large sizes ... B.N. calls me to him and says: “You see, I respect you, but now the elections are underway, and I cannot take risks. Therefore, let's do such a castling with you ... I will send you into retirement for a while ... ”. And now I’m already retired, I regularly talk with the investigator, I’m waiting for the trial ... But then B.N. calls me and says: “Listen, here Europe demands that we adopt a new Criminal Code more humane, more democratic. You still have nothing to do now, so maybe you can write at your leisure? And here I am, being under investigation, I begin to write the Criminal Code. What do you think I will write when I get to “my” article?..

    The Last Judgment - a verdict?

    I don't know how realistic this turn of events in our mysterious politics is. But in our Revelatory Religion, that is the way it is. We are the defendants. But the defendants are strange - each of us is given the right to make a list of those laws by which we will be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged. If, at the sight of someone’s sin, I say: “He is in vain ... But he is also a man ...” - then the sentence that I once hear over my head may not be annihilating.

    After all, if I condemned someone for his act, which seemed unworthy to me, then I knew that it was a sin. “Look,” my Judge will tell me, “since you condemned, it means that you were aware that it was wrong to do so. Moreover, you were not only aware of this, but you sincerely accepted this commandment as a criterion for evaluating human actions. But why did you yourself then so casually trample on this commandment?

    As you can see, the Orthodox understanding of the commandment “do not judge” is close to Kant’s “categorical imperative”: before you do something or decide, imagine that the motive of your action suddenly becomes a universal law for the entire universe, and everyone will always be guided by it. Including in a relationship with you ...

    Don't judge others, you won't be judged yourself. It depends on me how God will deal with my sins. Do I have sins? - Yes. But there is also hope. For what? The fact that God will be able to tear my sins away from me, throw them in the trash, but for me to open a different path than for my sinful deeds. I hope that God will be able to disidentify me and my actions. Before God, I will say: “Yes, Lord, I have had sins, but my sins are not all of me!”; “Sins are sins, but I didn’t live by them and not for them, but I had an idea of ​​​​life - serving the Faith and the Lord!”

    But if I want God to do this to me, then I must do the same to others. The Christian call to non-judgment is, after all, a way of self-preservation, concern for one's own survival and justification. After all, what is non-judgment? “To condemn means to say about such and such: such and such a lied ... And to condemn means to say that such and such a liar ... For this is a condemnation of the very disposition of his soul, pronouncing a sentence on his whole life. And the sin of condemnation is so much heavier than any other sin that Christ himself likened the sin of his neighbor to a twig, and condemnation to a log. This is how we want from God the same subtlety in distinctions at the judgment: “Yes, I lied - but I am not a liar; yes, I have committed fornication, but I am not a fornicator; Yes, I was cunning, but I am Your son, Lord, Your creation, Your image ... Remove the soot from this image, but do not burn it all!”

    And God is ready to do it. He is willing to transcend the demands of “justice” and ignore our sins. The devil demands justice: they say, since this person sinned and served me, then You must leave him to me forever. But the God of the gospel is above justice. And therefore, according to Rev. Maximus the Confessor, “The death of Christ is judgment on judgment” (Maxim the Confessor. Question to Thalassius, 43).

    In one of the words of St. Amphilochia of Iconium is a story about how the devil marvels at the mercy of God: why do you accept the repentance of a man who has already repented of his sin many times, and then returned to him anyway? And the Lord answers: but you, after all, every time you accept this person for your service after each of his new sins. So why can't I consider him My slave after his next repentance?

    So, at the Judgment, we will stand before the One whose name is Love. Judgment is an encounter with Christ.

    Actually, the Terrible, general, last, final Judgment is less terrible than the one that happens to everyone immediately after his death ... Can a person acquitted at a private trial be condemned at the Terrible? - Not. Can a person convicted at a private trial be acquitted at Terrible? – Yes, because on this hope church prayers for the dead sinners are based. But this means that the Last Judgment is a kind of “appeal” instance. We have a chance to be saved where we cannot be justified. For in a private court we appear as individuals, but in a universal court - as parts of the universal Church, parts of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ will appear before His Head. That is why we dare to pray for the departed, because in our prayers we put the following thought and hope: “Lord, maybe now this person is not worthy to enter Your Kingdom, but he, Lord, is not only the author of his vile deeds; he is also a particle of Your Body, he is a particle of your creation! Therefore, Lord, do not destroy the work of Your hands. With your purity, your fullness, the holiness of your Christ, make up for what a person lacked in this life of his!

    We dare to pray like this because we are convinced that Christ does not want to cut off His own particles from Himself. God wants everyone to be saved… And when we pray for the salvation of others, we are convinced that His desire coincides with ours… But is there such a coincidence in other aspects of our life? Do we really want to save ourselves?

    Who is judging us?

    For the topic of the Judgment, it is important to remember: we are judged by Him Who seeks out in us not sins, but the possibility of reconciliation, combination with Himself ...

    When we realize this, the difference between Christian repentance and secular “perestroika” will become clearer to us. Christian repentance is not self-flagellation. Christian repentance is not a meditation on the topic: “I am a bastard, I am a terrible bastard, well, what a bastard I am!” Repentance without God can kill a person. It becomes sulfuric acid, drop by drop falling on the conscience and gradually corroding the soul. This is a case of a murderous repentance that destroys a person, a repentance that brings not life, but death. People can find out the truth about themselves that can finish them off (remember the Ryazan film "Garage").

    I recently made a surprising discovery for me (recently, due to my own, alas, ignorance): I found a book that I should have read at school, but I read it only now. This book struck me because before it seemed to me that there could be nothing deeper, more psychological, nothing more Christian and Orthodox than Dostoevsky's novels in literature. But this book turned out to be deeper than Dostoevsky's books. This is “Golovlevs” by Saltykov-Shchedrin, a book that is read at the beginning and that is not read to the end, because Soviet school programs turned the history of Russian literature into the history of an anti-Russian feuilleton. Therefore, the Christian meaning, the spiritual content of the works of our greatest Russian writers were forgotten. And so in the Golovlevs, the first chapters are studied at school, the chapters are terrible, hopeless. But they don't read the end. And at the end of the darkness even more. And this darkness is all the more terrible because it is associated with ... repentance.

    For Dostoevsky, repentance is always beneficial, it is always good and healing. Saltykov-Shchedrin describes repentance that finishes... Sister Porfiry Golovleva participated in many of his abominations. And suddenly she begins to see clearly and understands that it is she (together with her brother) who is to blame for the death of all the people who they met on their life path. It would seem so natural to suggest here the line, say, "Crime and Punishment": repentance - renewal - resurrection. But no. Saltykov-Shchedrin shows a terrible repentance - repentance without Christ, repentance performed in front of a mirror, and not before the face of the Savior. In Christian repentance, a person repents before Christ. He says: “Lord, this was in me, take it away from me. Lord, do not remember me as I was at that moment. Make me different Make me different." And if there is no Christ, then a person, as in a mirror, having looked into the depths of his deeds, petrifies with horror, like a man who has looked into the eyes of Medusa-Gorgon. And just like that, sister Porfiry Golovleva, realizing the depth of her lawlessness, loses her last hope. She did everything for herself, and having known herself, she sees the nonsense of her deeds ... And she commits suicide. The unrighteousness of her repentance is evident from the second repentance described in "Lords of the Golovlevs". On Passion Week on Maundy Thursday, after the priest reads the service of the Twelve Gospels in Golovlev’s house, “Judas” walks around the house all night, he cannot sleep: he heard about the sufferings of Christ, that Christ forgives people , and hope begins to stir in him - can he really forgive me, can it be that the possibility of Salvation is open to me? And the next day, in the morning, he runs to the cemetery and dies there on the grave of his mother, asking her forgiveness ...

    Only God can make the former non-existent. And therefore, only through turning to the One Who is above time, one can get rid of the nightmares creeping from the world that has already happened. But in order for Eternity to accept me without accepting my bad deeds, I myself must separate the eternal from the transient in myself, that is, the image of God, my personality, given to me from Eternity, separate from what I myself did in time . If I cannot make this division while there is still time (Eph. 5:16), then my past will drag me down like a weight, for it will not allow me to unite with God.

    It is for the sake of not being a hostage to time, to his sins committed in time, that a person is called to repentance.

    In repentance, a person tears away his bad past from himself. If he succeeded, it means that his future will grow not from a moment of sin, but from a moment of repentant renewal. To tear off a piece of yourself is painful. Sometimes you don't want to die. But here is one of two things: either my past will devour me, dissolve in itself both me and my future, and my eternity, or I will be able to go through the pain of repentance. “Die before you die, then it will be too late,” says one of Lewis's characters.

    Do you want the Meeting not to become a Court? Well, combine two realities in your conscientious look. First: repentant vision and renunciation of one's sins; second: Christ, before whose Face and for whose sake the words of repentance must be uttered. In a single perception, both the love of Christ and my own horror at my unworthiness must be given. But still, Christ's love is greater... After all, Love is God's, and sins are only human... If we do not prevent Him from saving and having mercy on us, from treating us not justly, but out of condescension, He will do it. But shall we not consider ourselves too proud to be indulgent? Do we consider ourselves too self-sufficient to accept unmerited gifts?

    Here it is just right to open the Gospel beatitudes and reread them carefully. This is a list of those categories of citizens who enter the Kingdom of Heaven, bypassing the Last Judgment. What do all of the people on this list have in common? The fact that they did not consider themselves rich and deserved. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they do not come to Judgment, but pass into Eternal Life.

    Appearance at the Last Judgment is optional. There is a possibility to avoid it (see John 5:29).

    Notes
    137. Writings of ancient Christian apologists. - St. Petersburg, 1895, pp. 108-109.
    138. This is a literary and very free translation (Grigor Narekatsi. The book of mournful hymns. Translation by N. Grebnev. Yerevan, 1998, p. 26). The literal one sounds different - more restrained and “orthodox”: “but if the day of judgment of the Lord is near, then the kingdom of God incarnate has drawn near to me, Who will find me more guilty than the Edomites and the Philistines” (Grigor Narekatsi. Book of Sorrowful Hymns. Translation from ancient Armenian M O. Darbiryan-Melikyan and L.A. Khanlaryan, Moscow, 1988, p.30).
    139. “When one of our co-servants, being exhausted by infirmity and embarrassed by the nearness of death, prayed, almost already dying, for the continuation of life, a young man, glorious and majestic, appeared before him; he said with some indignation and reproach to the dying man: “And you are afraid to suffer, and you do not want to die. What am I to do with you?”... Yes, and how many times it was revealed to me, I was commanded to incessantly inspire that we should not mourn our brothers, who, at the call of the Lord, renounce the present age... We must strive after them with love, but not complain about them in any way : they should not wear mourning clothes when they have already put on white robes ”(St. Cyprian of Carthage. The Book of Mortality // Creations of the Hieromartyr Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage. M., 1999, p. 302).
    140. Prot. Alexy Mechev. Funeral speech in memory of the servant of God Innokenty // Father Alexy Mechev. Memories. Sermons. Letters. Paris. 1989, p.348.
    141. St. Theophan the Recluse. Creations. Collection of letters. issue 3-4. Pskov-Caves Monastery, 1994. pp. 31-32 and 38.
    142. “- You see, Alyoshechka,” Grushenka suddenly laughed nervously, turning to him, “it’s only a fable, but it’s a good fable, I was her, I was still a child, from my Matryona, who now serves in my cooks, I heard. You see how it is: “Once upon a time there was one woman, angry, despising, and died. And not a single virtue remained after her. The devils seized her and threw her into the lake of fire. And her guardian angel stands and thinks: what kind of virtue should I remember her in order to tell God. He remembered and said to God: she, she says, pulled out an onion in the garden and gave it to a beggar woman. And God answers him: take this same onion, he says, stretch it into the lake, let it grab and stretch, and if you pull it out of the lake, then let it go to paradise, and the onion breaks, then the woman stays there, where now. An angel ran to the woman, handed her an onion: here, the woman says, grab it and stretch. And he began to carefully pull her, and he was already pulling her all out, but the other sinners in the lake, when they saw that she was being pulled out, and all began to grab hold of her, so that they too would be pulled out with her. And the woman was feisty, deceiving, and she began to kick with their legs: “They pull me, not you, my onion, not yours.” As soon as she uttered this, the onion broke. And the woman fell into the lake and burns to this day. And the angel wept and departed” (Dostoevsky F.M. The Brothers Karamazov. Parts 3,3 // Complete Works in 30 volumes. Vol. 14, Ld., 1976, pp. 318-319).
    143. Lewis K.S. So far we have not found faces // Works, v.2. Minsk-Moscow, 1998, p.231.
    144. “Abba Isaac of Thebes came to the monastery, saw a brother who had fallen into sin, and condemned him. When he returned to the wilderness, the Angel of the Lord came, stood before his door and said: God sent me to you, saying: Ask him where does he tell me to throw my fallen brother? - Abba Isaac immediately fell to the ground, saying: I have sinned against You, forgive me! - The angel said to him: get up, God has forgiven you; but henceforth beware of condemning anyone before God condemns him” (Ancient Patericon. M., 1899, p.144).
    145. St. Nicholas of Japan. Diary entry 1/1/1872 // Righteous life and apostolic labors of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Japan according to his handwritten notes. part 1. SPb., 1996, p.11.
    146. “Christ of the Gospel. In Christ, we find, unique in its depth, the synthesis of ethical solipsism, the infinite severity of man towards himself, that is, an impeccably pure attitude towards himself, with ethical-aesthetic kindness towards another: here for the first time an infinitely deepened I-for-itself, but not a cold but immeasurably kind to the other, giving all the truth to the other as such, revealing and affirming the fullness of the value originality of the other. All People break up for Him into Him alone and all other people, Him who is merciful, and others who are merciful, Him who is the Savior and all others who are being saved, Him who takes upon Himself the burden of sin and redemption, and all others who are freed from this burden and redeemed . Hence, in all the norms of Christ, I and the other are opposed: an absolute sacrifice for oneself and mercy for another. But I-for-myself is different for God. God is no longer essentially defined as the voice of my conscience, as the purity of my relationship to myself, the purity of repentant self-denial of everything given in me, the One into whose hands it is terrible to fall and to see which means to die (immanent self-condemnation), but the Heavenly Father who is above me and can justify and pardon me where I cannot pardon and justify myself from within myself in principle, while remaining pure with myself. What I should be for another, God is for me... The idea of ​​grace as a descent from the outside of a merciful justification and acceptance of the given, fundamentally sinful and insurmountable from within itself. Adjoining here is the idea of ​​confession (repentance to the end) and absolution. From the inside of my repentance is the denial of all myself, from the outside (God is different) - restoration and mercy. A person himself can only repent - only another can let go ... Only the consciousness that I am not yet in the most essential is the organizing beginning of my life from myself. I do not accept my cash, I madly and inexpressibly believe in my non-coincidence with this inner cash of mine. I cannot count myself in all, saying: here is all I am, and there is nowhere else and in nothing else, I already am in full. I live in the depths of myself with eternal faith and hope for the constant possibility of the inner miracle of a new birth. I cannot value my whole life in time and in it justify and complete it in full. A temporarily completed life is hopeless from the point of view of the meaning that drives it. From within itself it is hopeless; only from without can a merciful justification befall it, in addition to the unattained meaning. Until life is cut short in time, it lives from within itself by hope and faith in its non-coincidence with itself, in its semantic standing before itself, and in this life is insane from the point of view of its presence, for this faith and hope are of a prayerful nature prayerful and pleading and repentant tones)” (Bakhtin M. M. Aesthetics of verbal creativity. M., 1979, pp. 51-52 and 112).
    147. Abba Dorotheos. Soulful teachings and messages. Trinity Sergius Lavra. 1900, p.80.
    148. See, for example, Ancient patericon. M., 1899, p.366.
    149. Lewis K.S. Until we have found faces // Works, v.2. Minsk-Moscow, 1998, p.219.

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    From the book "If God is Love".

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