Then he will tell those who left side:

Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire,

prepared for the devil and his angels.

Spiritual hell and no frying pans

New country. Now everyone knows themselves. Now everyone teaches the Church, talks about the mysteries of God and doubts the icon.

For example, everyone now knows that in the icon of the Last Judgment, in its lower right corner, fantastic pictures are drawn that were born in the peasant minds of a medieval resident: hooks, frying pans, hanging by legs and tongue. Now every graduate high school knows that this is a primitive fiction or a naive allegory.

It’s strange that we even have to talk about the existence of Hell.

Neophytes interpret the Court as an opportunity for a person to take the place in the world that he likes. And it seems that this is how God’s mercy is manifested. Did you like to drink? Go to the drunkards. Fornicated or stole? Go to the fornicators and robbers. God does not punish or execute anyone. Each person is the architect of his own happiness. He wants to and lives among the scoundrels. He himself is suffering. I'm pleased with myself. It's only worse for those in Paradise.

And the whole suffering of life in hell, according to non-traditional theologians, lies in the fact that a drunkard wants to drink, but there is no wine. The thief wants to steal, but there is nothing to steal. A person wants to go out for a walk, but the subtle body, like an empty and pointless cloud, cannot accomplish anything. This is how they will suffer without God. And God has nothing to do with it. And the devils... somehow Lately talking about demons has become bad manners. They seem to exist, and they seem to not exist, because God is good. He scares them away and does not order us to bother us beyond the slightest measure.

And no frying pans. And what Christ called “gnashing of teeth” is an allegory. And all suffering is only spiritual experiences

Alas. This is wrong. And such a conclusion is easy to refute.

We Should Listen to Christ

We all believe in the general resurrection of the dead. The dead will rise in bodies. Some think that such bodies will be our ordinary bodies, but in the prime of life, at the age of Christ, that is, thirty years old. Others think that we will rise not in our plump body, but in subtle bodies, similar to the body of Adam, who lived in Paradise and did not yet have leather vestments - a meat animal body.

Be that as it may, after death a person will have a certain body. And it is quite obvious that suffering in hell will be not only subtle and spiritual, but also physical. And it is absolutely clear that once we find ourselves in the world of demons, who also have a certain degree of materiality, we will be in contact with them, and this contact will not always be spiritual-ethereal.

During our earthly life, demons are bound by God and He does not allow them to be stronger than us. Now I can accept the thought, or I can drive it away. In Hell there will be no such opportunity to drive away the demon. And what will happen in this case is completely clear: the demon will hurt us and make us feel bad. Perhaps without a frying pan and hooks, but it hurts and perhaps more painfully than with a frying pan.

Seraphim Sarovsky:
- Do demons have claws, father?

- Oh, your love for God, your love for God, and what they teach you at the university! Don’t you know that demons don’t have claws?! They are depicted with hooves, horns, and tails because it is impossible for the human imagination to imagine anything more vile than this species. This is what they are in their vileness, for their willful falling away from God and their voluntary resistance to Divine grace  But, being created with the power and properties of angels, demons have such an irresistible power for man and for all earthly things that the smallest of them, like I told you, he can turn the whole earth over with his fingernail.

Neophytes think that God is so sweet, that there is essentially no evil, and that everyone will be saved, even the devils. But this is not news. This is the teaching of the Gnostic Origen, publicly and loudly condemned by the church council.

Thus, the world after the Last Judgment will not be uniformly ethereal. This world will also not have the same homogeneity that we are accustomed to while living on earth. He will split up. A cyst will appear in the larger Universe, clogged with evil. And between the bed of Abraham and hell there will be fire, and the angel of the Lord will be on guard so that no one goes in or out from there.

And an angel with a fiery sword will not listen to our neophyte church. Evidence of this in the Gospel is the numerous words of Christ about hell and the torment in it. For example, in the parables about the wedding feast, the fig tree, the evil vinedressers, the talents and the grass that will be thrown into the fire. But what about people? There are people who doubt not only the authenticity of the revelations of John the Theologian, but also the words of Christ, recorded by equally different authors of the Gospel.

But we should listen to Christ.

The world cannot be the way we imagined it

So, the world will sooner or later become discrete. In hell, lightning may be visible God's glory and the prayers of the righteous for sinners are heard, but all this will be like a rare dawn under the canopy of a black sky from the distant sun. And this otherworldly Mordor will be filled with spiritual and physical suffering. Don't listen to people who came to church yesterday and are lying for various reasons. Listen to Christ and His saints. The world cannot be the way we imagine it.

Knowledge of the structure of the world is important for eternal life. If the world is adjusted to my fantasies, then the means of salvation will be fantastic. If I try to learn about the world from God, then the means of salvation will be divine.

Reluctance to know God's truth is very dangerous and sad.

A person knows how much money he has in his pocket, how he will celebrate Friday or New Year. But does not care about how to meet death, Christ or hell. What a strange thing - not to think about the most important thing and not to want to see the boundaries separating Heaven from hell. Bliss from suffering, joy from grief.

You were unmerciful - go to the other side

Before Lent, the church established three preparatory weeks. During the week of Zacchaeus the Publican there was no talk of any heaven or hell. Everything is clear.

Zacchaeus has been transformed so much that he has no need to know where this boundary of good and evil is. He has already passed it and forever.

On the week of the publican and the Pharisee, each of them stands with one foot in heaven and one in Hell. And the Lord encourages them by promising them both justification if they repent and add the second missing part to their merits. Publican - Law. Pharisee - love. The second week is about those who are acquitted rather than convicted. Who is more likely to be in heaven than in hell.

The third week is about someone who was more likely to be in hell than in heaven - about the Prodigal Son.

But the fourth week is for the damned. For those who are almost entirely in hell. They voiced a threat. They are offered fear as the last cure. Fear is for those who understand not love or even calculation. For treacherous and crafty slaves. But again, for everyone. Those who don’t need God and the church are out of the question. The threat of the last pre-Lent week is only for those who still come to God and to church. They are words filled with thunder and lightning. To them are words of fear. God clearly and clearly shows them the boundary after which hell begins. If this minimum requirement is not met, there will be a complete slide into hell. This requirement determines the minimum requirement for entry into heaven.

Here it is: if you have not fed, given drink, or comforted the weak, and do not understand the meaning of mercy and compassion, then you are not a Christian and you have nothing to do in heaven. And no one needs you there. This requirement lies not in knowledge, but in the grace that we acquire in the heart. Exclusively grace, and not everything that we came up with instead of it, God does not require fasting, prayer, akathists, religious processions, unless they change us, which is what happens in most cases. All this is good as a condition, and not as a goal. And here we discuss the subject of salvation and the key to heaven - mercy.

No mercy. If you don’t look every day for an opportunity to serve your neighbor, go to hell, and without sentimentality, and without reference to fasts and akathists. There is no compassion and sacrifice of love - there is nothing.

The Lord does not spare the priests. Tired of people. Doesn't donate anything to anyone. If you didn’t feed the weak, didn’t keep peace in the church, go to the other side. He was hard-hearted and unmerciful - panagia will not save. God does not look at the miter, but at the heart.

The priest did not spare the people. You frightened the people, fooled your head, replaced the power of God with your own power, raked the church coffers clean - go to the other side.

A Christian does not feel sorry for people, is rude to parents, torments priests, does not visit brothers in hospitals, does not buy bread for a poor neighbor - a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Diveevo and Athos will not help you. The cross on your chest will condemn you. You put on the cross, but you didn’t want to crucify your bestial form on it - go to the other side.

Why is there no place in heaven for a normal person?

But why is it so strict? Yes, most of us do not do charity every day. But we have an excuse: we need to pay for the apartment, for school, for treatment, to save for a rainy day. We need to make repairs, update our cars, clothes and save some money for food. There seems to be money, but it’s not there. Yes, finding someone who is lesser to God is also not easy. Lesser - after all, this does not mean a swindler-criminal, gypsies with children pumped up on vodka, alcoholic parasites.

There is dubious charity, which feeds vice more than cures it. But we often do not do obvious, undoubted good.

So what? Let a person not do good every day. Let him be tight-fisted “in a good way.” But he doesn’t do evil either. Doesn't offend anyone. Not a fornicator and not a villain, like other tax collectors and adulterers. Why shouldn’t God give such a quiet, modest, inconspicuous place in heaven for these decent people who radiate the modest charm of the bourgeoisie. Why is there no place in Paradise for an ordinary normal decent person?

God and I are one spirit and one body.

The Apostle Paul said about this:

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I, then, take away the members of Christ to make them members of a harlot? It won't happen!

Or do you not know that whoever has sex with a harlot becomes one body with her? for it is said: the two will become one flesh.

And he who is united with the Lord is one spirit with the Lord.

Flee fornication; Every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the fornicator sins against his own body.

Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own?

For you were bought at a price.

Therefore glorify God both in your bodies and in your souls, which are God's.

There should be no cancer cells in heaven

So, we exist in the spirit and body of God, through the sacraments and especially the sacrament. And we are like God by grace. We have the opportunity to be members of a single conciliar body - to be part of the body of Christ, to be the Church. But we also have the right not to be part of the Body of God. This is our natural right. It is our right not to accept grace.

Then it turns out that in general body a foreign member is formed. Alien in principle. Such bodies are cancerous tumors. Benign tumor. The cells are decent in everything, except for the most important thing - their life and reproduction occur outside the design of the whole organism.

There are infected members. Like gangrene. If a cancer cell has a certain “integrity” and the only problem is that its meaning of life is closed in itself, then the problem of an infected member is that its somatic - bodily cells - are affected. Such an organ would be happy to be healthy, but it is tormented by infection.

This pathology corresponds to two types of people. A decent egoist and an ordinary person infected with sin. The same story about the publican and the Pharisee. About the prodigal son and his envious brother.

As sad as it is, gangrene and cancer need to be cut out so that the disease does not affect the entire body. There should be no cancer cells or sepsis in paradise. And a person’s health is determined by his likeness to God, which is by grace.

There is grace - a person is generous, sacrificial, kind and like God. And he is one with Him.

There is no grace - he is greedy, angry, proud and not related to God. He is alien and contagious with evil.

To whom does God refer “the damned”?

I try to end the sermon on a positive note. But this Sunday it seems inappropriate to me to be more cheerful and kinder than Christ. Christ himself sets the tone for the reminder of the Last Judgment. Who are we to correct God?

Aren't these words menacing and serious? Didn’t God say the words about goats and the righteous? To whom does God refer “the damned”? What do you say, this is not the case?

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; and will separate one from another, 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.

Then He will also say to those on the left side: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and they did not accept Me; I was naked, and they did not clothe Me; sick and in prison, and they did not visit Me.

Then they too will answer Him: Lord! when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not serve You?

Then he will answer them, “Truly I say to you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

I didn't write this. God dictated it, whether we like it or not. This is the law of the world. And not taking into account the laws underlying the world is stupid and dangerous. Therefore, lack of care for your soul, lack of mortal memory, lack of good deeds and, most importantly, lack of being with God every moment of your life is a sin. And sin is separation from God.

For the righteous there is nothing terrible in mortal memory. She is terrible for sinners.

As John Climacus writes:

The fear of death is a property of human nature that comes from disobedience; and the thrill of mortal memory is a sign of unrepentant sins. Christ fears death, but does not tremble, in order to clearly show the properties of the two natures

Some experience and wonder why God did not give us foreknowledge of death, if the memory of it is so beneficial for us? These people do not know that God miraculously arranges our salvation through this. For no one, having known the time of his death long ago, would be in a hurry to accept baptism, or to live righteously, but everyone would spend his entire life in iniquities, and at the very departure from this world would come to baptism, or to repentance; (but from long-term habit, sin would become second nature in a person, and he would remain completely without correction)
When you mourn your sins, never listen to this dog, who inspires you that God loves mankind; for he does this with the intention of tearing you away from crying and from fearless fear. Accept the thought of God’s mercy only when you see that you are being drawn into the depths of despair

So, if you live well, then why are you afraid? The Last Judgment will be a joy for the righteous. And if you sin, then why are you not afraid of the Senior Court and God? He who has acquired mortal memory cannot sin. And not because he is afraid of punishment, but because he combines death with Christ forever. The one who has acquired mortal memory has reached a certain level of love for God and people and his heart is not embarrassed by death

Let us also ask God for divine love and grace, which would not only give us life, prepare us for eternal life, but it would also destroy the bodily fear of death and take us out of court. Because there are no judgments for those who love.

Let us pray to God that he would save us with this grace of his, at least somehow, and give us the mind to desire our own salvation and eternal life with our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the world religious tradition, the idea of ​​the Last Judgment is quite widespread. Christianity, which talks about answering for one’s actions before the face of God at the end of time, at first glance, is no exception. And in the minds of the majority of believers, and in the minds of ordinary people, and in art, approximately the following picture has been established: after the end of the world, the Almighty will resurrect all of humanity, and each of us will receive reward for those deeds that we did during the days of our earthly life.

This is a well-known model. But if you carefully read the Gospel text and delve deeper into the meaning of the heritage of the holy fathers, it will become clear that this familiar and, in general, correct scheme is actually not as simple as it seems. Moreover, traditional Christian eschatology - the doctrine of the last days of the universe - is unique in its vision of the Last Judgment and is very different from similar ideas that exist within other religions.

The essence of the understanding of the Last Judgment, as the holy fathers of the Church saw it, is that the final fate of each person is determined not only by God, but also by man, and the basis of this process is not so much the principle of “earn - receive”, but Divine Love. She's the one who does Last Judgment truly scary...

In the Russian text of the New Testament, eschatological passages abound in such words as “court”, “judgment”, “condemnation”, “retribution” and the like. Therefore, in the minds of those who read the Holy Scriptures, sometimes an involuntary analogy with legal literature arises - in their context, the pictures of God’s judgment are very similar to the usual earthly legal proceedings. But one has only to open the original Greek and Hebrew texts - and familiar Russian-language phrases are filled with completely new unusual content.

One of the main concepts of jurisprudence is justice - a principle that makes it possible to keep social forces in some balance, if necessary, punishing the bad and encouraging the good. The Greek word for this term is "dikaiosyne". It is also used by the creators of the Bible to indicate Divine justice. Ultimately, this led to the fact that Western Christian thinking, which had not completely gotten rid of the pagan worldview, equated the two justices. But the Hebrew text does not provide sufficient reason to draw such conclusions.

The fact is that the Greek “dikaiosyne” in the Old Testament texts is used to convey an even more archaic word from the language of the ancient Israelites – “tzedakah”. Modern Hebrew understands this term as a type of charity obligatory for all Jewish believers, which is aimed, again, at achieving social justice - if you are rich, you must help the poor in various ways.

However, in more ancient times, even before the coming of Christ, “tzedakah” served as a synonym for such concepts as “saving divine grace,” “mercy,” “compassion,” “righteousness,” “love.” And the holy fathers, knowing this, speak about God’s justice differently than, say, lawyers or lawyers do.

In Eastern theology, sin is viewed as a distortion of God's original plan for man and the world. Therefore, justice (if we use this particular term) is thought here not in legal, but rather in medical categories - as the restoration of the harmony that existed in the universe before the fall of the devil and man.

Finally, such a return to the pristine state of the world will occur at the end of time, when God renews His entire creation. The entire cosmos will then become truly real, since it will irrevocably return to its Creator.

Church tradition speaks of the immutability of God. Including about such immutability, which assumes that our Creator always and equally loves everyone, regardless of the baggage of evil deeds that each of us has accumulated over the years of life. But what about man?

With him, everything is more complicated - he fell willfully, and commits sin willfully, and can come back to his Lord solely of his own free will. You can fight sin and gradually move towards the light all your life, returning your soul to its pristine state of grace. Or you can completely surrender to sin, enslaving yourself to it and ultimately becoming incapable of accepting the love that will be poured out on a person in Eternity.

On the ground, in conditions fallen world, we may often not notice either God's participation in our lives or His love for us. When the present existence ceases to exist, God's presence will become such a tangible reality that even those who did not know Him, or did not want to know, will enter into it and be direct participants in it - whether they want it or not. In this fact lies the whole tragedy of the Last Judgment - the soul of every person will be enlightened by the light of the Divine, and this light will reveal all the most secret deeds, feelings, thoughts, emotions and desires that have accumulated in the human heart. After all, it is the very book that, according to the Gospel story, will be read at the Last Judgment.

Usually the “last judgment of humanity” in popular culture is perceived as God’s announcement of the verdict: “You go to the right, you go to the left. The decision cannot be appealed." And poor, unfortunate people who have no good deeds in their souls will no longer be able to appeal. However, the following words of St. Simeon the New Theologian speak of something completely different:

“In the future life, a Christian will not be tested to see whether he renounced the whole world for the sake of the love of Christ, or whether he distributed his property to the poor, whether he abstained and fasted on the eve of holidays, or whether he prayed, whether he lamented and mourned. his sins, or whether he did anything else good in his life, but he will be carefully tested to see whether he has the same resemblance to Christ as a son does to his father” (St. Simeon the New Theologian. Homily 2. §3).

Photo by Svetlana Andreeva. Project

Thoughts about death for ordinary person unacceptable. The unknown, the horror of physical pain, fear pushes painful thoughts to the margins of consciousness. And there is no time to think about the last hour in the bustle of everyday life.

It is much more difficult for an Orthodox person. He knows that the Last Judgment awaits him ahead, at which he will answer for all the misdeeds committed in life. What frightens us is not only the fear of punishment, but also the feeling of guilt before the One who is love.

How does God's judgment work after death?

When we lose loved ones, we think about our own demise. No one will be able to escape it - not the rich, not the famous, not the righteous. What awaits there, beyond the line? What does Orthodoxy say about God's judgment? It is said that for the first three days the soul of the deceased is near the body, on earth.

The soul remembers its entire earthly journey. According to the testimony of Vasily the New, if a person died without repentance, his soul goes through twenty tests called ordeals. All ordeals are given names according to: lies, laziness, anger and others.

The soul spends the next six days in paradise, where all earthly sorrows are forgotten. Then they show her hell with sinful people, their torment. On the third or ninth day after death, she appears before the Lord. Forty days after death, God's judgment is carried out, determining the position of the soul.

During this period, loved ones can help the deceased by reading akathists and ordering a memorial service. After this, the soul spends time awaiting its fate at the final judgment.

Events leading up to the Last Judgment

The fact that after the death of every person the Last Judgment awaits is mentioned in the Old Testament. The Gospel says that it is not God the Father who will judge people, but Jesus Christ, since He is the Son of Man.

Orthodoxy teaches that on Judgment Day the second coming of Jesus Christ is expected, during which he will separate the righteous (sheep) from the sinners (goats).

The Revelations of John Chrysostom sets out the sequence of events of the Apocalypse. Its date is not known to anyone, so that people are in a conscious state and hourly make a choice between good and evil. According to revelations, the end of the world will not come suddenly; it will be preceded by special events.

At the Second Coming, the Savior will hold a book with seven seals and a lamp with seven torches. The opening of each seal leads to the fact that troubles are sent to humanity: diseases, earthquakes, hunger, thirst, death, falling comets.

Advice. Go to confession! Repent, all your sins will be forgiven, do not wait for your death, it is already impossible to repent there.

Seven angels will come and give a signal for the end of the world: a third of the trees and grass will burn, a third of the sea will turn bloody and ships will perish. Then the water will become bitter and the people who drink it will die.

At the sound of the trumpet of the fourth angel there will be eclipses, the fifth opens the way for locusts in iron armor, like scorpions. The locusts will sting people for five months. The last two tests will be that humanity will be overtaken by diseases and armored riders on horses emitting smoke and brimstone.

The appearance of the seventh angel will announce that the Kingdom of Christ has arrived. Many theologians interpret John’s vision of the “woman clothed with the sun” as the appearance of a church that will help to be saved. The battle of Archangel Michael with the serpent and his triumph over it symbolizes the victory over the devil.

How will the Last Judgment take place?

The Orthodox Church teaches that on Judgment Day all the dead will rise and come to the throne of God. The Lord will gather everyone and ask about all the deeds committed during life.

If a person's heart is filled with love, he will remain right hand from Jesus Christ, and will abide with him in His Kingdom. Unrepentant sinners are doomed to torment. Revelation says that 144 thousand people will not suffer the torment of the Apocalypse. After the Scary God's judgment there will be no sin or sorrow.

How can a person be saved before the Last Judgment?

Christianity says that there is hope for salvation. Moreover, Orthodoxy awaits the Last Judgment with joy, since it is a sign of the dawn - the Kingdom of God on earth. A true believer hopes for a speedy meeting with Christ.

The main measure that the Supreme Judge will use is mercy. If you go to church, fast, pray, confess and receive communion often, you can safely hope for the best at the Last Judgment. God made man free, he has the right to choose a sinful state, but it deprives him of hope for salvation. Sincere repentance, confession and communion, good deeds bring a person closer to God, cleanses and heals him.

Distinguishes Orthodox man constant internal self-monitoring of one’s state of mind. The Scripture says that before the Last Judgment the Antichrist and false prophets will come into the world. And the devil will come to earth and will rampage in anticipation of the second coming of Christ.

Therefore, the temptation of every person passes every minute. In response to every urge to sin, it is worth thinking about whose will to fulfill—divine or demonic. As they say in Orthodoxy, the demonic tribe is driven out by prayer and fasting.

There is no punishment in a person’s life - there are only lessons. If a person experiences negative feelings, it means that he has blocked the access of Divine love to his heart. Every day God comes to us in the form of other people.

At the Last Judgment, all living people will be resurrected, starting from Adam until the very end of the world. The Holy Scripture speaks about this: all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God(John 5:28); then He will sit on the throne of His glory, and all nations will be gathered before Him(Matthew 25:31–32).

If all the dead are raised, then how should we understand the words of the psalmist: Therefore the wicked will not stand in judgment(in Slavic translation: For this reason they will not resurrect...)(Ps. 1.5)? Will You perform a miracle on the dead? Will the dead rise and praise You?(Ps. 87.11). The psalmist David obviously meant by these words a twofold resurrection: one to life, and the other to eternal death. This means that he wanted to say that the wicked will not be raised for judgment by resurrection to life, but to death. This is confirmed by the prophet David himself, as he adds: Therefore the wicked will not stand in judgment, and sinners will not stand in the assembly of the righteous.(Ps. 1.5). The Lord Jesus Christ speaks about this: the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God... and those who have done good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil into the resurrection of condemnation(John 5:25, 29).

Should everyone die before the Last Judgment?

Saints John Chrysostom, Theodoret and Theophylact teach that not everyone will die, but the Last Judgment will find some alive.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul says: (IKop. 15.51). Saint John Chrysostom interprets these words this way: So, we will not all die, but we will still change. Those who are not dead will also change, for they too are mortal.

From the words of the Holy Scripture we can conclude that the body, which suffered or enjoyed in earthly life, will be involved in both eternal glory and endless torment.

It is fitting for these bodies that do not die to change and become incorruptible.

What the living will face before the Last Judgment is: A) The Creed also confirms this, the seventh member of which reads as follows: And again the future will be judged with glory by the living and the dead... 6) The Apostle Paul testifies with the words: the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are left alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord(1 Thess. 4. 16–17).

Why does the apostle say: Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will come to life.? (IKop. 15. 22). All who are left alive until the day of the coming of the Lord, will die and come to life, having changed, but not fallen and risen: We will not all die, but we will all change(IKop. 15.51). (IKop. 15.53). Saint John Chrysostom, interpreting these words, says: a corruptible body is also a dead body. Deadness and corruption perish when incorruption and immortality come upon them.

Some church teachers argued that everyone must die before the Last Judgment. Since the entire human race sinned in the person of Adam, therefore all people are condemned to death. Finally, resurrection cannot take place unless it is preceded by death. Of these two opinions we believe the one preached by the Lamp Eastern Church- Saint John Chrysostom.

Will the resurrected bodies be the same or different?

The answer to this question can be found: A) from the psalmist David: He keeps all the bones of him [the righteous]; none of them will be crushed(Ps. 33.21): 6) at the apostle's P Avla: (2 Cor. 5:10); This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.(IKop. 15.53).

From these words of Holy Scripture we can conclude that the body, which suffered or enjoyed in earthly life, will be involved in both eternal glory and endless torment.

As the grain grows, it changes, so won’t those who are resurrected also acquire new flesh? And isn’t this what the apostle is talking about: when you sow, you do not sow the future body, but the naked grain that happens, wheat or something else; but God gives him a body as he wants, and to each seed his own body(IKop. 15.36–38).

The apostle speaks of appearance grain, and not about its essence, because the essence of solid grain and sprouted grain remains unchanged: if we sow wheat grain, then it will sprout into an ear of wheat, not barley. Likewise, human bodies at the resurrection will not lose their special properties and will change only externally: is sown into corruption, will be raised in incorruption. Direct confirmation of this is the resurrected body of Christ the Savior, Who will transform our lowly body so that it will be conformed to His glorious body(Phil. 3:21).

There are countless cases where the ashes of a human body have been completely destroyed and scattered by the wind, scattered during excavations, burned by fire and turned into smoke; people are also devoured by beasts, birds and fish. How will the bodies of such people be restored and return to their original form?

As before, let's say that this is a matter of faith, not curiosity, This is impossible for people, but everything is possible for God(Matthew 19:26). I meditate on all Your works, I consider the works of Your hands(Ps. 143:5), the psalmist David said about himself. Reflecting on the omnipotence of God, he unshakably believed that the sky, air, sea and everything in them were created out of nothing with one verb “let it be”: for He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it appeared(Ps. 32.9). If God raised the whole world from nothingness and created man from the dust of the earth, then, of course, He can renew the human body, even if it was scattered throughout the heavens. Saint John of Damascus was extremely surprised by those who asked: how will the dead rise? Madman!- he exclaimed. – If blindness does not allow you to believe the words of God, then believe the works!

Male and female gender of the resurrected

God created the sexes male and female, and after the resurrection men will remain men, women – women. The Lord refers to both sexes when He says that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but remain like the Angels of God in heaven(Matthew 22:30). We will not all be resurrected in male bodies, but we will come perfect for my husband, that is, let us take on masculine strength and firmness, so that, as the apostle says, We were no longer children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.(Eph. 4.14); Let us be like the Angels not in the destruction of sex, but in the absence of marriage and carnal lust.

Will the bodies of the resurrected ones require food and drink?

The resurrected bodies will not need the physical food and drink that are necessary to support the weakening corruptible body. Why then did the Lord Jesus Christ eat after His Resurrection? (Luke 24:43). He ate and drank so that the disciples, who at first mistook Him for a spirit, would believe in His Resurrection, and also to testify to the changed body.

What properties will the bodies of resurrected saints have?

The bodies of the resurrected saints will be:

A) passionless, incorruptible and immortal: sown in corruption, raised in incorruption(IKop. 15.42); those who have been deemed worthy to reach that age and the resurrection from the dead...can no longer die(Luke 20:35, 36);

B) spiritual. They will become like disembodied spirits in strength, speed, incorruptibility and subtlety: they will appear thin and light, like the resurrected body of Christ, which knew no limits and barriers: the natural body is sown, the spiritual body is raised(IKop. 15.44).

B) bright, as the Savior said: then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father(Matthew 13:43). According to the testimony of the Apostle, the Lord He will transform our lowly body so that it will be like His glorious body(Phil. 3.21); sown in humiliation, raised in glory(IKop. 15.43).

What properties will the bodies of condemned sinners have?

1) The bodies of condemned sinners will also be incorruptible and immortal. The Lord Jesus Christ testifies to this, saying: And these will go into eternal torment(Matthew 25:46). In those days, says the Seer, people will seek death, but will not find it; they will wish to die, but death will flee from them(Rev. 9. b). For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.(IKop. 15.53), explains the Apostle Paul.

2) The bodies will suffer, experiencing terrible torment in the flames, which will remain forever.

Chapter 14. The Last Judgment

Let us say the following about the Last Judgment:

1. At the Judgment the sign of the Son of Man will appear - Holy Life-giving Cross Lord's. He will appear both to console those who worship the Crucified Lord and those crucified with Him, and to shame the wicked who crucified the Lord on the Cross.

2. The deeds and hidden thoughts of everyone will be revealed. Saint Andrew says: The books of all deeds and conscience will be opened and they will come into manifestation to everyone.

3. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself will be the sovereign Judge, for the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son(John 5:22). Although all three Persons of the Divine and Indivisible Trinity will be at the Judgment, only the Son will judge, since He endured free suffering for us. He who is judged unjustly will judge everyone with an impartial court.

The Holy Scripture says that besides the Lord Jesus Christ there will be other judges: When the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, says the Lord to the disciples, judge the twelve tribes of Israel(Matt. 19:28). Don't you know that the saints will judge the world?.. Don't you know that we will judge the angels?..(IKop. b. 2, 3; cf. Matt. 12. 4, 42). The apostles and some saints will judge not by autocratic and independent judgment, but by communicative and voluntary judgment. Having praised the righteous judgment of Christ, the righteous will judge not only people, but also demons.

The Judgment of Christ will be different from human court, since not everything will be revealed in words, but much - in thought.

4. The judgment of Christ will differ from the human trial, since not everything will be convicted in words, but much - in thought. The Judge will say publicly those who right side His: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world... Then He will also say to those on the left hand: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, and the righteous to eternal life(Matt. 25. 34, 41, 46).

This is the teaching of the Holy Scriptures about the Last Judgment, and we must comprehend it by faith, and not by fussy research. For where is faith? says Saint John Chrysostom, there is no place for testing; where there is nothing to experience, there is no need for research. It is necessary to check the human word, but the word of God must be heard and believed; If we don’t believe the words, we won’t believe that there is a God. The first basis of faith in God is trust in His teaching.

Conclusion

We want to conclude our discussion about the Antichrist and the end of the world with the words of the Supreme Apostle Peter: We announced to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, not following cunningly woven fables, but being eyewitnesses of His greatness... we have the surest prophetic word; and you do well to turn to him as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and rises morning Star in your hearts, knowing first of all that no prophecy in Scripture can be resolved by oneself.(2 Peter 1:16, 19–20). Having rejected all false teachings, we tried to talk about the signs of the coming of the Antichrist, relying on the messages of the apostles and prophets, on the opinion of the fathers and teachers of the Church.

Perhaps someone will ask: do not general human disasters indicate that the end times have already arrived and the days of the world’s existence are numbered? Isn’t this what the apostle says in the following words: Children! Lately(1 John 2.18): when the fullness of time came, God sent His (Only Begotten) Son(Gal. 4.4); All this... is described for the instruction of us who have reached the last centuries.(IKop. 10. 11). We will answer this question like this: 1) Currently, the world is suffering from many disasters: devastating wars and disasters interrupt thousands of human lives, fires, earthquakes and floods destroy cities and villages. But looking at these sorrow, let us remember how much innocent blood was shed by Nero, Maximian, Diocletian and other tormentors and persecutors of Christians, what oppression and persecution she endured Orthodox Church during the iconoclastic heresy and in subsequent centuries. If those events did not serve as a sign of the end of the world, then even more so the disasters of the present time are not a sign of the imminent appearance of the Antichrist: world upheavals, characteristic of all periods of human history, cannot indicate what belongs to one specific time. You will also hear about wars and rumors of wars, - says the Savior. – See, do not be horrified, for all this must happen, but this is not the end yet(Matthew 24.b).

2) If we understand the above apostolic words literally, then the end of the world should have come immediately after the appearance of the Savior, when God sent His (Only Begotten) Son, who was born of a woman(Gal. 4:4). Even in those great times, the Apostle John wrote: Children! Lately(1 John 2:18). The apostolic times are also named last in the words: And it will be in last days, says God, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh(Acts 2:17). This is where the end times begin. Therefore, having encountered such evidence in Holy Scripture, we should not think that we are given a specific time for the end of the world. Such words and sayings speak of a time whose end is hidden. Everyone, for example, knows that an elderly person does not have long to live, but no one can determine exactly how many days or years, even approximately. The same should be understood here. The last hour has come since the Nativity of Christ, but about the end no one knows, not the angels of heaven, but only the Father(Matthew 24:36). The Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians awaiting the end of the world: We pray to you, brethren, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering to Him, not to rush to waver in mind and be confused either by spirit, or by word, or by the message, as if sent by us, as if the day of Christ is already coming. Let no one deceive you in any way(2 Thess. 2. 1–3). The whole world, from Adam to the present time, is similar to human life; just as a person - the small world - has three main age periods, so the great world has three periods or three laws. The first - from Adam to Moses - the youth of the world, from Moses to Christ - the second period - maturity; finally, the third - the Gospel, or period of grace - is old age and the last year, about which the Apostle John speaks: Children! Lately.

It can also be said that human life has seven degrees: infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, maturity, old age and old age. They correspond to different periods of the world’s existence: A) from the creation of the world to the Flood - infancy: 6) from the flood to the Babylonian pandemonium - childhood; V) from the division of languages ​​and the birth of Abraham to the birth of the prophet Moses - adolescence; G) all the time the Judges from the prophet Moses to the kings are youth; d) the reign of the kings of Israel and Judah before the Babylonian captivity - maturity; e) the period of the princes and priests of the Jews before Christ - old age; And and) the time from Christ to the Last Judgment is old age or the last time, which is spoken of in the Holy Scriptures.

If we understand the apostolic words literally, then the end of the world should have come immediately after the appearance of the Savior, when God He sent His (Only Begotten) Son, who was born of a woman.

Who can know the limit of the limitless? To whom did she open up? a secret hidden for centuries?

Nobody knows about that day and hour,- says the Lord, - neither the angels of heaven, but only My Father alone; But as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also at the coming of the Son of Man: for as in the days before the flood they did eat and drink, they married and were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they thought not until the flood came. and did not destroy them all, so will the coming of the Son of Man be... Therefore, watch, because you do not know at what hour your Lord will come. But you know that if the owner of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, be ready, for at an hour you do not think, the Son of Man will come.(Matt. 24. 36–39, 42–44).

So, the Lord Jesus Christ, commanding us to be ready for the day of His coming, forbids us to reveal the secret kept from everyone. The Apostle Paul says about those who boldly try to penetrate into the hidden: they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened; calling themselves wise, they became fools(Rom. 1:22).

Saint John Chrysostom compares the mind to a galloping horse: just as a stubborn, hot horse does not obey its rider and crushes passers-by if it is not bridled, so the mind, which rejects the dogmas of the Church and the teaching of the holy fathers, gives rise to numerous heresies and schisms.

Immortal souls

Tea resurrection of the dead and the life of the next century

(Symbol of faith)

Whatever you say to the heart, it is natural for it to grieve over the loss of people close to us. No matter how hard you hold back your tears, they involuntarily flow over the grave in which lies our kindred, precious ashes. True, tears cannot bring back someone who is taken by the grave, but that is why tears flow in a stream.

A person resorts to everything he can to ease heartbreak! But, alas! All in vain! Only in tears does he find some consolation for himself, and only they somewhat lighten the heaviness of his heart, because with them, drop by drop, all the burning of spiritual grief, all the poison of heart disease flows out.

He hears from everywhere: “Don’t cry, don’t be cowardly!” But who will say that Abraham was cowardly, but he also wept for his wife, Sarah, who lived 127 years. Was Joseph faint-hearted? But he also cried for his father Jacob: Joseph fell on his father's face, and wept over him, and kissed him(Gen. 50, 1). Who will say that King David was cowardly? And listen to how bitterly he weeps at the news of the death of his son: my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! Oh, who would let me die in your place, Absalom, my son, my son!(2 Kings 18:33).

Every grave of a worthy person is watered with bitter tears of loss. And what can we say about people when the Savior Himself, who endured unbearable suffering on the Cross to the end, over the ashes of His friend Lazarus became indignant in spirit and shed tears: Jesus... Himself was grieved in spirit and indignant(John 11:33). He wept, the Lord of the belly and death, wept at the time when he came to the tomb of Lazarus, His friend, for the purpose of raising him from the dead! And how can we, weak people, hold back our tears when separated from those dear to our hearts, how can we stop the sighs in our chests compressed with grief? No, this is impossible, it is contrary to our nature... You must have a heart of stone not to grieve over a bereavement.

Only in tears does a person find some consolation for himself, and only they somewhat lighten the heaviness of his heart, because with them, drop by drop, all the burning of spiritual grief, all the poison of heart disease flows out.

It's all true. And I cannot, I do not dare condemn your tears, I am even ready to mix my tears with yours, because I understand well that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also(Matthew b, 21). I'm on own experience I know how inexpressibly difficult it is to raise your hand to throw a goodbye handful of earth into the grave of a loved one. I cry and sob when I think about death and see him lying in a tomb, created in the image of God, and now inglorious, disfigured by death. But although it is natural for us to cry for those who have died close to us, this grief of ours must have its own measure. The pagans are a different matter: they cry, and often inconsolably, because they have no hope. But a Christian is not a pagan; he is both ashamed and sinful to cry for the dead without any joy or consolation.

I do not want you, brothers, to leave you ignorant about the dead, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope.(1 Thess. 4:13), says the apostle to all Christians. What can alleviate this grief of a Christian? Where is this source of joy and consolation for him? Let's consider the reasons that make us shed tears over the ashes of loved ones, and God will help us find this source for ourselves. So, what do we cry about when we are separated from those near and dear to our hearts? Most of all, they stopped living with us in this world. Yes, they are no longer with us on earth. But look impartially at our earthly life and judge what it represents...

A wise man said long ago: vanity of vanities... all is vanity! What profit does a man get from all the labors he toils under the sun?(Eccl. 1, 2, 3). Who is it that spoke so discordantly about our life? Is it some kind of prisoner who, sitting in a stuffy dungeon, sees almost nothing except the heavy chains that shackle his body? Is it not he who resounds the vaults of the prison with such a joyless cry: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity of vanities!”? No, he's not. So, maybe this is a rich man who, due to unforeseen circumstances, fell into poverty, or a poor man who, despite all his work and efforts, perhaps dies of cold and hunger? No, not that kind of person either. Or maybe he is a deceived ambitious man who has devoted his entire life to rising several levels higher in society? Oh no, and he’s not that kind of person. Who is this unfortunate person who has such a gloomy outlook on life? This is King Solomon, and what a king! What did he lack for a happy life? Wisdom? But who was wiser than the one who knew the composition of the earth, and the actions of the elements, and the passage of time, and the location of the stars, and the properties of animals? I knew everything, both hidden and obvious, for Wisdom, the artist of everything, taught me(Wis. 7, 21). Maybe he lacked wealth? But who could be richer than the one to whom the whole world brought all the best treasures, who had gold, and silver, and the estates of kings and countries? And I became great and rich more than all those who were in Jerusalem before me.(Eccl. 2:9). Or maybe he lacked fame or greatness? But what name was louder than the name of the Israeli king, who had millions of subjects? Then, perhaps, he lacked the enjoyment of the blessings of life? But here's what he says about himself: Whatever my eyes desired, I did not refuse them, I did not forbid my heart any joy, because my heart rejoiced in all my labors.(Eccl. 2:10). Whoever, it would seem, could get tired of such a happy, free life, but nevertheless, a person who possessed all the blessings of earthly things, who experienced various earthly pleasures, finally made the following conclusion about life: “All is vanity of vanities!”

Let us remember another king - the prophet David. His throne shone with gold, and in the midst of this splendor and splendor he cried out: my heart is smitten and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread … I eat ashes like bread, and I dissolve my drink with tears(Ps. 101, 5, 10). His royal robe shone precious stones, and from his chest, covered with the brilliance of glory and greatness, came a cry: I was poured out like water; all my bones crumbled; my heart became like wax, melted in the midst of my insides(Ps. 21:15). His beautiful palace was made of cedar and cypress, but sadly the doors opened there too. From the depths of the rich palaces sighs are heard: every night I wash my bed with my tears(Ps. b, 7).

So the happiest of people sighed about the burden of life, what can we say about those who had to bear the heavy cross of trials? The prophet Jeremiah was patient amid the persecutions and insults that he experienced for exposing lies and wickedness, but there were moments when this patient sufferer cried out: Woe to me, my mother, that you gave birth to me as a man who argues and quarrels with the whole earth! I have not lent money to anyone, and no one has lent money to me, but everyone curses me(Jer. 15, 10). And the long-suffering Job, this marvelous example of firmness and generosity in the most terrible trials! You are involuntarily amazed when you hear how he blesses the Lord on the very day when he loses all his wealth and loses his children. What misfortune and what generosity! But for Job, as if this were not enough, he falls ill with leprosy, and his body is covered with wounds from head to toe. At this moment, his wife, his lifelong friend, comes to him and teaches him about despair, then his friends appear, as if only to irritate him even more... My God, my God, how many arrows at one target, how many troubles for one person ! But Job still continues to bless the Lord! What extraordinary fortitude, what amazing patience! But man is not a stone; there were moments when Job, covered with sores, bitterly cried out: perish the day on which I was born and the night in which it was said: man was conceived … Why didn’t I die when I came out of the womb, and why didn’t I die when I came out of the womb?(Job 3, 3, 11). So we, if we look impartially at our days, won’t we sometimes say with the same Job: “Is not the life of man a temptation on earth?” When a person is born, he immediately begins to cry, as if prophesying about his future suffering on earth, so he is approaching death, and what again? With a heavy groan of exhaustion, he says goodbye to the earth, as if reproaching it for past disasters... Who lived and did not grieve, who lived and did not shed tears?

One loses those close to his heart, the second has many enemies and envious people, the third groans from illness, another sighs from the frustration of home circumstances, this one mourns his poverty... Go around the whole earth, but where will you find a person who would be completely happy in all respects?! Even if there were such a person, he would still doubt that over time his life would change for the worse, and these thoughts poison his joyful, carefree life. And the fear of death, which sooner or later will certainly stop his earthly happiness? And conscience, and internal struggle with passions?

This is our life on earth! There is no joy without sorrow, no happiness without troubles. And this is because the earth is not hell, where only cries of despair are heard, but also not paradise, where only the joy and bliss of the righteous reigns. What is our life on earth? This is now a place of exile, where with us the whole creation collectively groans and bugs to this day(Rom. 8:22). Say to your soul: “Eat, drink, be merry!” - but the time will come, and the words of God will be fulfilled in practice: cursed is the earth for your sake; with sorrow you will eat from it all the days of your life(Genesis 3:17). Now you are sowing roses of happiness around you, but the time will come when thorny thorns will appear near you. Do you enjoy the freshness of your strength, admire your blooming health and dream that you will live a long, calm life? But the hour will strike, and you, deceived by sweet dreams, will sadly hear a voice: this night your soul will be taken from you... you will return to the ground from which you were taken, for dust you are and to dust you will return(Luke 12:20; Gen. 3:19).

What is our life on earth?

This is our life on earth! There is no joy without sorrow, no happiness without troubles. And this is because the earth is not hell, where only cries of despair are heard, but also not paradise, where only the joy and bliss of the righteous reigns.

This is the school where we are educated for Heaven. Sometimes it's fun to remember school life, leaving school, was it always fun when we were brought up there? Worries, labors, sorrows - who doesn’t remember you? And who, while living in school, did not think and dream: “Oh, will my classes end soon, will I soon be released?”

What is our life on earth? This is a field for constant war with enemies, and with what enemies! Each one is fiercer and more cunning than the other! Either the world persecutes us with the cunning of a treacherous friend or the malice of a fierce enemy, then the flesh rebels against the spirit, for the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit desires what is contrary to the flesh(Gal. 5:17), then the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour(1 Peter 5:8). And while there is a war, then there can be no peace. What is life on earth? This is the path to our Motherland, and what a path! There are both broad and smooth paths, but God forbid you enter and walk these paths! They are dangerous, they lead to destruction. No, this is not the path laid out for a Christian from earth to Heaven, it is a narrow, thorny path, for narrow is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life(Pmf. 7, 14). Here more than once the good traveler will sigh from the heart, more than once shed sweat and tears... What is our life on earth? This is the sea, and what a sea! Not the quiet and bright one, which is so pleasant to look at and admire, no, this sea is menacing and noisy. This is the sea on which the small boat - our soul - is constantly threatened by danger, sometimes from whirlwinds of passions, sometimes from rapid waves of slander and attacks. And what would happen to her if she did not have with her the rudder of faith and the anchor of hope?!

This is what our life on earth means! Now consider impartially, why do we cry so inconsolably when separated from a person close to our heart? About the fact that he stopped living in this world... And this means that the person moved away from earthly vanity, left all the troubles and sorrows that still remain for us. This wanderer has already passed the earthly field, this student has already completed his years of study, this traveler has already reached the shore, he has already sailed through the stormy sea and entered a quiet harbor... He has rested from vanity, labor, and grief. This is the thought that many pagans stopped at when separated from loved ones - people who had no hope, people who believed and believe that We were born by chance and afterward we will be like those who never were: the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and the word is a spark in the movement of our heart. When it fades away, the body will turn to dust, and the spirit will dissipate like liquid air.(Prem. 2, 2, 3). This is what the pagans believe and, according to their faith, celebrate joyfully on the burial mounds of their relatives and friends. Thank the Lord, we are not pagans and therefore, looking at death as the end of all the disasters and sorrows of life, we can repeat with reverence and joy what the Apostle John said: henceforth blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; to her, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors, and their works will follow them(Rev. 14, 13). But death is not only the end of our vain life, it is also the beginning of a new, incomparably better life. Death is the beginning of immortality, and here is a new source of consolation for us during separation from loved ones and relatives, a source from which the Savior Himself drew consolation for Martha, who mourned the death of her brother, Lazarus, when he said: your brother will rise again(John 11:23). We will not here prove in detail the truth of the immortality of our soul and the resurrection of the body, because every Christian professes the sacred dogma: the hope of the resurrection of the dead! For a person who has lost someone close to his heart, great consolation can be the conviction that the person he is mourning has not died, but is alive in soul, that there will be a time when he will be resurrected not only with his soul, but also with his body. And everyone can easily see this such a gratifying truth in visible nature, and in one’s own soul, and in the Word of God, and in history.

Look at the sun: in the morning it appears in the sky like a baby, at noon it shines with full strength, and in the evening, like a dying old man, it sets beyond the horizon. But does it fade at a time when our earth, having said goodbye to it, is covered in the darkness of night? No, of course, it still shines, only on the other side of the earth. Isn’t this a clear image of the fact that our soul (the lamp of our body) does not go out when the body, having been separated from it, hides in the darkness of the grave, but burns, as before, only on the other side - in the sky?

So the earth preaches the same joyful truth. In the spring it appears in all its beauty, in the summer it bears fruit, in the fall it loses strength, and in the winter, like the shroud of the deceased, it is covered with snow. But is it destroyed? inner life earth, when its surface is dead from the cold? No, of course, spring will come for her again, and then she will appear again in all her beauty, with new, fresh strength. This is an image of the fact that the soul, this vital force of a person, does not perish when its mortal shell dies, that for the deceased there will come a wonderful spring of resurrection, when he will rise not only with his soul, but also with his body for a new life.

The soul, this vital force of a person, does not perish when its mortal shell dies, and for the deceased there will come a wonderful spring of resurrection, when he will rise not only with his soul, but also with his body for a new life.

But what can we say about the sun, the earth, when even the most beautiful flowers, carelessly trampled by us, only lose their existence for a while, only to then appear again in such beauty that even King Solomon himself did not dress like each of them? In a word, in nature everything dies, but nothing perishes. Is it possible that only one human soul, for which everything earthly was created, should cease to exist forever with the death of the body?! Of course not!

The merciful God alone, out of His goodness, created man, adorning him in His image and likeness, crowned him with glory and honor(Ps. 8, b). But how would His goodness be reflected if a person lived on earth for fifty or a hundred years, often struggling with hardships, sorrows, trials, and then with death lost his existence forever?! Is it only for this reason that He adorned us with god-like perfections and from His Divine power has been given to us everything we need for life and piety(2 Peter 1, 3) to suddenly destroy this beautiful creation after several decades?! God is just, but what is happening on His earth? How often the path of the wicked is successful, but virtue groans with grief, and vice rejoices with joy. But the time will undoubtedly come, the time of righteous judgment and retribution, when We must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that everyone can receive according to what he did while living in the body, good or bad.(2 Cor. 5:10).

God lives, my soul lives! This joyful truth is revealed with full force by the Word of God and confirmed by history. Prophet Daniel says: Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to eternal life, others to everlasting reproach and disgrace.(Dan. 12:2). Here Isaiah cries: Your dead will live, your dead bodies will rise!(Isa. 26:19). And Job reflects: When a person dies, will he live again? On all the days of my appointed time I would wait for my replacement to come(Job 14, 14). And here is the wondrous testimony of the prophet Ezekiel, who was destined to even see the image of this resurrection. He saw a field strewn with dry human bones. Suddenly, according to the Word of God, these bones began to move and began to approach one another, each to its own composition, then veins appeared on them and flesh grew, they became covered with skin, then the spirit of life entered them, and they came to life. Listen also to the words of the valiant mother of the Maccabees, exhausted because of the terrible suffering of her martyred sons, to the words she said to her last, youngest son: “I beg you, my child, be worthy of your brothers and accept death, so that I, The mercy of God has acquired you and your brothers again!” This wondrous mother, who after the martyrdom of her seven sons herself suffered the same death, was consoled only by the fact that after her death she would again be inseparable with her martyred sons. This comforting truth, so clearly revealed in the Old Testament, already appears in full light in the New Testament. For what could be clearer than the words of the apostle: just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will come to life, each in his own order: Christ the firstborn, then those of Christ at His coming.(1 Cor. 15, 22, 23). Or what could be clearer than the words of the Savior: the time is coming, and has already come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and, having heard, will live(John 5:25). There are so many similar passages in Holy Scripture and they are all so clear that we will not list them here. And who is saying this? This is the Son of God, whose words and promises are so sure that Until heaven and earth pass away, not one... line will pass from the law until all is fulfilled.(Matt. 5:18). This is the Almighty Lord, Who during His earthly life not only healed the sick, tamed storms and winds, cast out demons, but also raised the dead. This is the greatest Prophet, Who predicted everything, everything was fulfilled in due time with all accuracy and completeness!

How will the Last Judgment take place - will the Lord really act as a judge: listen to witnesses, pass judgment? believes that everything will be somewhat different.

It is interesting that on the eve of Lent, the Church reminds us that there will still be judgment, that a person, having received life from God as a priceless gift, will then have to answer to God for how he lived this life.

And this one thought about the Judgment, about responsibility for all one’s actions and for one’s entire life, makes a person more fit in a spiritual and moral sense. If a person knows that God sees his deeds, his thoughts and will ask for it, he will be kept from many sins by this one fact, by this one thought.

At the beginning I would like to say a few words about the word “court” itself. In Greek court – a crisis. What is this in our concept? For example, there is a crisis in medicine, when a person is sick, in a fever, and the doctor says: “The patient has a crisis of illness.” And after this crisis, there are two scenarios for the development of events: either the patient will recover tomorrow, the temperature will subside, or he will die. That is, a crisis is a certain climax of the disease, after which it will be either good or bad.

There is a political, economic, financial crisis. Why do these crises occur? Irregularities and contradictions accumulate, and then, at some point highest point boiling, a crisis occurs. Or a crisis interpersonal relationships. There is also a set of contradictions, misunderstandings, omissions, which ultimately leads to a crisis, after which people will either learn to talk to each other or disperse.

That is, a kind of trial is taking place. When a person must ultimately answer for some of his actions at a time of crisis.

Everyone knows that Christians constantly scare people with the Last Judgment. How easy and peaceful it would be to live, knowing that there will be no Judgment. And here the priests constantly say that there will be a Judgment. The holy fathers answer differently in what form this Judgment will take place.

There is an opinion that God will weigh the good and evil deeds of people on the scales, and if the evil deeds outweigh the person, then the person will go to hell; if they are good, then he will be saved. Thus, God is identified with the goddess of justice, Themis, who is blindfolded and impartially weighs human affairs.

But it seems to me that at the Judgment, Christ will stretch out His hands pierced with nails to him and say: “Behold, My child, what I have done for you. This is how My Love for you was manifested. And I proved this Love to you with My death, My suffering and all My Blood shed for you on the cross. Now tell Me, what have you done for Me?”

And the person will begin to remember what deeds he did for the sake of the Lord God. It is even possible that many good deeds will come to his mind, but it will turn out that he did them out of decency, in order to appear as a good, well-mannered person in front of other people. He did good deeds for the sake of his loved ones. Not neighbors, but close ones, that is, relatives: parents, children. And it turns out that he did most of the good deeds not for the sake of the Lord, but for the sake of people or for the sake of his vanity.

And then, lowering his head, a person will understand that this complete Love is up to last straw The blood that God showed to us has nothing to answer. He will not be able to respond even with some small manifestation of love and gratitude to God.

And this, perhaps, will be the Last Judgment - man will condemn himself. No one will drive him away anywhere, he will drive himself away and will not be able to enter the Kingdom of this Divine Love.

In today's Gospel, Christ says that when He comes to earth for the second time, His coming will be different from the first coming. The first time He came as a preacher of the Kingdom of God, a beggar who had neither power nor political external authority. But there was only the power and truth of the word, as well as the power of divine miracles, with which the Lord confirmed the truth of his words.

And when Christ comes the second time, He will come as King and Judge. And therefore it is said in the Gospel: in His glory all the holy Angels are with Him. Christ will come as a King, will divide all nations, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and will place the sheep on His right side, and the goats on the left.

I have often thought about how sheep differ from goats. According to the Old Testament, both sheep and goats were considered clean animals, they could be eaten and sacrificed to God. Differences in the behavior of these animals.

When I served in Volgograd, in a church that was located in a private sector, one of my parishioners kept goats. And I often watched through the altar window as Aunt Nadya grazed her goats. When grazing sheep, either the shepherd or the main ram goes in front, and all the other sheep obediently follow him. And when a shepherd grazes goats, it is not clear who is grazing whom. The shepherd constantly catches up with his goats, which rush completely into different sides: they run across the road, and climb trees, and climb over the fence into neighboring yards. They are not disobedient to their shepherd, they constantly show their crazy will, and it is very difficult to shepherd them.

And the King will say to those on His right side: “Come, you blessed ones, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” And to those on the left: “Go into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

And people will answer with bewilderment: “Lord, when did we not serve You?” And Christ will say: “What you did not do to one of your neighbors, you did not do to Me.” Do you understand what a simple criterion is?

It turns out that a person who does something kind to his neighbor does the same to God. If we could see the image of God in any of our neighbors without obstacles or distortions, how easily all good deeds would be given to us! But it often happens that our help is asked by people we do not like, people in whom the image of God is obscured and distorted by vices and sins.

And if we do good deeds only for the sake of people, we will never learn to do good deeds to our enemies, our offenders, people who are unsympathetic to us. And if we remember more often that we are doing this good deed not only for this person, but for God, who calls us to this, then it will be much easier to do all good deeds. And then we will be able to serve God and justify ourselves at the Judgment.

What will not help at the Last Judgment?

Vladimir Berkhin

I don’t know about you, but I am very afraid of the Last Judgment. I’m afraid of the ordinary, and even more so of the Terrible.

We don't know much about how it will go. There is a parable about the Last Judgment in the Gospel of Matthew, there are several more indications in Scripture that “the believer does not come to the Judgment, but the unbeliever is already condemned,” there are several chapters in the book of the prophet Daniel and in Revelation, striking in the scope of events, but not revealing details legal proceedings. This was clearly done intentionally - so that people would not indulge in casuistry, would not try, as in the Egyptian “Book of the Dead,” to come up with cunning answers and ambiguous justifications, so that relations with God would not fall into either magic or jurisprudence.

And that scares me. Because all the ways I know to defend against accusations will not work there. Judging by what we know, they will not help at the Last Judgment:

- attempts to shift the blame to circumstances for which it is not the person himself who is responsible, but the One Who Judges. Such a precedent is already described in Scripture. This is exactly what Adam did after the Fall - he began to tell God that it was not him, it was all the wife that God gave, which means that God Himself is to blame for the sad result. How it ended is known. It probably won't work out for the rest either.

- an attempt to “get lost in the crowd,” that is, to refer to global or all-Union practice. They say everyone does it. Sometimes it seems to me that one of the three righteous people who have experience of living in a completely hostile environment - Noah, Lot and the prophet Elijah - will be invited to discuss this kind of excuse. These three stern men know very well what it means to “do not act like everyone else.” And they will be able to explain.

- references to a special historical moment, which for some reason made the fulfillment of the commandment unimportant. But if you hated your neighbor, then you hated your neighbor. Even if he, such a brute, dared to be on the other side of the barricade from you when the fate of the Motherland was being decided. It was precisely the good of the Fatherland that the Sanhedrin justified the need to execute the Savior.

– references to historical precedents. They say that the fathers sinned and they allowed us to do so. But the story of Ananias and Sapphira, who were punished for their sin, although they were neither the greatest, nor, especially, the last, who tried to put their hand into the church treasury, shows quite convincingly that sin remains sin, even if the Lord for the time being has mercy.

– excuses that it’s simply someone else’s fault. In addition to the fact that Adam was already doing this, it is also a violation of the commandment of non-judgment. It is said that by whatever court you are judged, you will be condemned. If you hang your sins on others, well, you will also be responsible for others’.

– references to high results that have been achieved in other areas. As one journalist once wrote, corrupt officials built power lines of the first reliability category, but their opponents did not do this either, and therefore theft is quite excusable. But Scripture also speaks about this more than definitely - “what is high among men is an abomination before God” and “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul.” Will not help .

– references to the fact that you acted within the framework of the current legislation, and all the correct papers were signed by authorized persons in the right places. Judas did not break any laws, Nero and Diocletian acted within the limits of their authority, and even the executions of the new martyrs were consistent with the instructions of the OGPU. Civil laws are needed; they provide order and at least a semblance of justice. But they are not the ones who lead you to the Kingdom of Heaven.

– references to the confusion and inconsistency of the principles of the court, their vagueness and ambiguity. I wanted, they say, what was best, but I wasn’t smart enough. It won't work either. Because the Lord said that He is with us always, even to the end of the age. This means that any attempt to say “I didn’t know what to do” will be followed by a reasonable answer: “I was nearby, why didn’t you ask?” And I don’t know about you, but I have already learned from myself that “I don’t know what to do” in fact almost always means “I don’t want to act according to the commandment.”

- some options for justification by the fact that he belonged to the right group of people who knew Right words, no matter what it is called - Church, people, nation, tradition or party. After all, it is also said about this - that on the Day of Judgment some will begin to remember that in His name they cast out demons and prophesied, but a severe rebuke and eternal hell awaits them. Or it is said quite bluntly that God can make new children for Abraham out of cobblestones if the existing ones turn out to be unworthy.

And many more thoughts of this kind can be thought of that will not help at the Last Judgment. This is why he is terrible.

But this Judgment is also Merciful. Most merciful. Actually, there will be nothing there except Grace.

The most difficult thing will be to accept Grace at the Judgment. Grace cannot be earned by good behavior. It depends not on the pardoned, but on the Merciful. You just need to stop proving, in words and deeds, that you “have the right.” To be justified, you must stop looking for excuses for yourself. We must not justify ourselves, but repent.

Because all these words and reasons are attempts to simply fight back, so that they will not be humiliated by mercy, so that they will not have mercy. After all, you can only pardon someone who is guilty. And if you plan to enter the Kingdom of Heaven as someone who has the right, there will be no Grace, because you simply don’t want it. If you don’t need Mercy, there will be no Mercy.

Free, go into outer darkness.

Finally, relax, man, stop thinking about why you don’t make a little more mistakes. This is already the Last and Merciful Judgment. Remember the parable and repeat: “Father, I have sinned before you, and am no longer worthy to be called your son, but accept me. I have sinned and I have no excuses, and there is no hope except Your Love.”

The Last Judgment or the best day of our lives?

Priest Konstantin Kamyshanov

Why did Christians begin to fear the Last Judgment - this was not always the case? Archpriest Konstantin Kamyshanov regrets that we talk more and more often about the Judgment and less and less about what should come after it.

The day when the Last Judgment takes place will be the first day of the triumph of Paradise. A new day will be added to the days of the creation of the world. During it, our sinful world will be completely transformed. And something strange will happen: the Angels will fold the sky like parchment, and the sun will darken, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

And the Morning of the world will come.

It will begin when the number of inhabitants of Paradise reaches a certain necessary and sufficient value.

For them - the righteous - the Last Judgment will not be a terrible judgment, but will become the best day of their life, because the first joy is the strongest. The soul of the elect will see the One Whom it loved, Whom it dreamed of, Whom it always wanted to see - Christ.

And Christ will be glad to see His friends. He will introduce them to new world golden gates.

For God, this day of judgment will not be terrible either. Finally, this nightmare called “our world” will end. According to the word of the prophet, the lion and the lamb will lie down side by side, evil will be abolished and the eternal kingdom of good will begin. The beginning of the Judgment will be the end of this terrible day of the Fall, which lasted for an eternity, with its wars, murders, deceit and anger.

For sinners, the Last Judgment will bring some fear, but in the future the Lord will give them according to their hearts to be forever with those like them.

It's like being in prison. There gather, albeit against their will, certain gentlemen who have the same outlook on life, who are united by a certain semblance of brotherhood and concepts. They do not have to work, and their day passes in philosophical conversations about the meaning of life. There you don’t have to worry about food, rubles, or how to feed your relatives or loved ones. Everything is paid. They are sober there and their lives follow a reasonable regime that excludes abuse and sin.

Of course, this similarity is conditional and requires clarification.

Firstly, Christ said that a bad servant will be deprived of those talents that he was too lazy to multiply. That is, a person will be simplified in his organization by an order of magnitude, and, like demons, will accept a simpler personality organization, similar to animals.

This does not mean that God will take revenge on them for their sin. The Holy Fathers are unanimous in the opinion that the Lord is absolutely good. On the contrary, such a simplification to the state Polish cattle, will reduce the degree of suffering of the individual, who will be incapable of subtle experiences. As a result of degradation, a resident of hell will not be able to sin as fully as he could, remaining in full mind and with all the strength of his soul.

Secondly, almost all the holy fathers are confident that sending a sinner to hell is good for him, not only because he himself chose the place to which he aspired. He will be more comfortable in hell than in Heaven. For a person, will is most important. It contains his freedom and individuality. By breaking the will of a sinner, God will break the whole person. But the Lord does not need a broken, disfigured and opposing person in Paradise. God gives her the will according to her heart - and this is good.

In this unusual way, the Lord will try not only to increase the measure of grace in Paradise, but also to reduce the level of suffering in hell.

As a result, the level of evil will decrease throughout the Universe as a whole.

So the Last Judgment will paradoxically bring more light into the world and reduce the level of evil compared to the current state of affairs. The Last Judgment will make the world less scary.

And if this is so, then why prepare for a disaster? And who should prepare for a catastrophe, and how should one prepare for this Last Judgment?

It is obvious that the Last Judgment will be terrible for the citizens of hell. He will be so not only because they are threatened with an existence in evil, but also because they must go through a process of personality degradation. And this is really scary.

Interpreters, inviting the church to remember the first day of the renewed world as the Last Judgment, a priori assume that among us there are no righteous people, no those who love God, but only potential victims of hell. For some reason, the comments to this event do not preach the joy of a long-awaited meeting with Christ, but, on the contrary, intensify the fear of divine vengeance.

How to celebrate this day correctly?

Professor Alexey Ilyich Osipov noted that in order for liberation to begin, there must first be an awareness of one’s slavery. So, we must perceive the psychology and way of thinking of a slave.

Saint Silouan of Athos gave the following formula for preparing for the Last Judgment: “Keep your mind in hell and do not despair.” This means that we must be tempted into life in hell.

But how can a common man keep his mind in hell and not become afraid and despair?

How can you learn to be a citizen of Heavenly Jerusalem if you constantly train your mind in the reality of the Chertograd?

For example, I wanted to become an architect. And for this he decided to become one through the denial of other professions: not to be a doctor, not to be a mechanic, not to be a diver. And, one might think, through this negative theology I am the architect of the country? No.

Through such denial it is impossible to create and form a positive and essential image. Denial cannot be the basis of existence.

The Easter words of the angels, “Why seek Zhivago with the dead,” acquire new depth. In hell it is impossible to prepare yourself for Heaven. What is needed in Paradise is not the skill of despair and fear acquired in the new Sodom, but the skill of love for God, people and the Earth.

How can you learn all this while already living in hell? How can you find light in the mud? How can you find pearls in the trash?

Let us recall the sensational dispute in absentia between our famous theologian, a professor, and a saint, recently glorified in the Greek Church. We are talking about Porfiria Kavsokalivite.

A Moscow professor, on the eve of the glorification of this saint, announced that Porfiry was in delusion. The reason for this was the words of the saint that there is no point in fighting demons, since they are eternal, indestructible, tireless, and we are temporary. It will not be possible to destroy them, and fighting them is pointless in the projection of Eternity.

Instead of becoming experts in fighting devils, the saint proposed becoming experts in life in God. He noted that it is better to immerse yourself in God than in hell. And then grace itself will heal and replenish infirmities and protect from demons in the most reliable way.

In fact, there is no contradiction here. The saint, as befits a saint, looks further and higher. Porfiry Kavsokalivit talks about strategy, and the professor talks about tactics.

The saint says that the meaning of life lies in drawing closer to Christ and acquiring likeness with Him. The goal of life cannot be wrestling skill on the hellish lists. In Paradise this is a useless skill.

Why are you looking for Zhivago and the dead?

But in order to achieve this similarity, it is tactically necessary to overcome the resistance of the spirits of evil, who do not intend to lose their prey.

The confusion, as usual, arose from different views from different observation points in time and space.

What do we care about these theological subtleties?

The fact is that they contain a direct indication of the strategy of our life in the perspective of Eternity. In particular, this theology contains the correct approach to the exercise that gives a residence permit in Paradise - fasting.

If you do not have a strategy in mind, but only tactics, then fasting is a struggle. A person who does not see Paradise ahead goes out to fast as if it were a disaster and a war. And he celebrates the end of fasting as the end of trouble and throws a victory feast. He “rests” from fasting, from being tired of being bright and kind. Signs of such fasting include painful hunger, chronic fatigue and fatigue of the soul.

But subtle people approach Easter feasts differently. The Easter feasts of spiritual people, on the contrary, are quiet. The joy of the news of the Resurrection of Christ is legitimate and fair, but the end of Lent often brings sadness. It stems from the fact that the time of fasting thin man considers it as the time of his approach to God, and its finale as the end of this perigee and involuntary removal from the Luminary of God. And words of regret often come out: “I didn’t fast enough” or “I just started fasting and just learned the joy of fasting.” The sign of such fasting is joy.

These posts of fatigue and joy cannot be confused.

A person who sees God above the maneuvers of fasting greets fasting not as a national misfortune, but as approaching joy, with the words:

- Happy fasting, brothers and sisters! Let's fast a pleasant fast.

Before the week about the Last Judgment, there passed a week about the Prodigal Son. They are connected into a single logical circuit. In the week of the Prodigal Son, a man was looking for his real home - Paradise, on this week the church places him on the very threshold of Paradise:

- Look!

Hello hell? No. Hello, morning of the world!

In the old days, people better understood the essence of the memory of this day. Proof of this is ancient icons Russian North. Bright major spots of red are revealed on white ringing backgrounds. Hell is hidden in these icons so that you won’t find it right away.

Over time, another interpretation of the Last Judgment came to us from the West - a real Hollywood horror movie trailer.

While in the Sistine Chapel, one can be amazed by the incredible artistic genius of Michelangelo, and at the same time, no less powerfully, one can be surprised by his spiritual color blindness.

Instead of the Morning of the World in the famous fresco, we see not the meeting of the world and Christ, but drawing tutorials in the halls of a meat processing plant. How so? After all, thousands of theologians, apostles and Christ Himself said that we will not die, but we will all change. We will return to subtle bodies again, leaving temporary “leather garments” in the earth forever. How this was missed by such a talented person is completely incomprehensible.

Okay, this chapel. This feast of meat there is balanced by the ethereal Botticelli. But here, these Zverograd thrillers have become the norm on the western walls of churches. Fashion came from the West, and it triumphed on the western wall. In these frescoes, it is not the righteous who triumph, but the Alien.

Unfortunately, over time, not only the frescoes on the western wall were transformed, but also the church consciousness, traumatized by the spirit of the Bursa. The time of apostasy left its mark on man's entire perception of the world. Instead of preparing to meet the Heavenly Father, the sons of God began to prepare to meet the Antichrist.

Alas. Today we need to make efforts to take our fascinated gaze away from the gaze of the Antichrist and transfer it to the face of our merciful Lord and God our Savior Jesus Christ.

Hello hell! – this is not for us. Not for those whom the Lord has called to life. Not for those who love Him. Not for those who, despite the falls, fell headlong towards Paradise.

A bad soldier is one who does not dream of becoming a general. The bad Christian is the one who does not strive for Heaven, but sits with his soul in hell and cannot take his hypnotic gaze away from Satan, like a rabbit from the gaze of a boa constrictor. A bad Christian is one who has forgotten about the greatness that God has given him and the place that he has prepared for him in heaven.

The bad thing is that instead of striving for your own with the help of the Lord native home, to Paradise - an already weak person becomes even more weakened, sitting on the rivers of Babylon, rummaging around with his eyes in hell and analyzing its meanings.

Is our - Christ is Risen! « Let the heavens rejoice worthily, let the earth rejoice, let the world celebrate, all visible and invisible: Christ has risen... O great and most sacred Easter: Today every creature rejoices and rejoices, for Christ is risen and hell is captivated.

Ours - “Now everything is filled with light, heaven and earth and the underworld, so that all creation celebrates the rise of Christ, and is established in it. Yesterday I buried myself in You, Christ, today I commemorate..."