The appearance of the Antichrist in the 21st century is a prediction. Orthodox teaching about the Antichrist and signs of his approach

“Let no one deceive you in any way: for that day will not come until the apostasy comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God or holiness, so that he sits in the temple of God as God, pretending to be God."

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem.

Who is Antichrist

The word Antichrist is of Greek origin (ό αντί-χριςτος). In a broad sense, a common noun means an adversary or enemy of Christ, pretending to be him by deceit.

John the Theologian calls antichrist anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ, who has come in the flesh, who denies the Father and the Son. At the same time, John notes that many antichrists have appeared.

In Holy Scripture, the Apostle Paul says about the man of sin: He who opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God, or holy things, so that in the temple of God he sits as God, posing as God.

The Antichrist will be an ordinary person and will be born on Earth in the same way as all people are born. According to one version, he will be the son of an earthly woman and Satan.

« Who will he be? John asks about the Antichrist. " Is it Satan? No, but a certain person who will perceive all his strength”(Conversation 3. Epistle to the Thessalonians).

There are many assumptions about who will be, where he will be born and from whom the Antichrist will come. According to various versions, he will come out of the Jews, from the pagans, even from the Christians. The place of his birth is called: Babylon, Rome, Syria, Africa.

One thing is known for sure - the appearance of the Antichrist will occur shortly before the second coming of Christ, before the end of the world. This is written in the prophecies of Daniel, in the "Revelations" of John the Theologian, in the Books of the New Testament, in the Second Epistle of the Apostle Paul.

No one knows in what year the second coming of Jesus Christ will take place, and no one except God knows the moment of the coming of the Antichrist.

Pictured is the second coming of Christ.

Signs and Omens of the Coming of the Antichrist

“You know the signs of Antichrist: do not remember them yourself alone, but generously communicate them to everyone.”

Saint. Cyril of Jerusalem.

Illustrations for the book by Belyaev A.D., professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, "The Antichrist". The Holy Scriptures indicate the harbingers of the coming of the Antichrist. The Bible says about the coming of the Antichrist that his coming will be prepared for a long time. The preparers for the coming of the Antichrist are wicked and God-hostile people, in the broadest sense of the word, antichrists.

John the Theologian wrote about such people: Children! Lately. And as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and now many antichrists have appeared: this is what we know from the fact that the last time". He also writes that " the spirit of antichrist... and now there is already in the world».

In our time, there is a lot of evil, godlessness, there is a decline in religion and morality, the spread of all kinds of unthinkable vices. The spirit of antichrist is felt in everything. Jesus Christ, in his speech about the end of the world, said that “in the last times, vices, ungodliness and unbelief will multiply and spread, and faith will become impoverished, love will grow cold.” (Apostle Paul in his epistles to Timothy.)

The harbingers of the coming of the Antichrist mentioned in the Bible:

• prolonged, bloody wars and natural disasters;
• preaching the gospel everywhere;
• retreat in the last days of the world. Spiritual blindness of people.

Many times people mistook various people for the Antichrist. But when the Antichrist really comes, then with the help of the signs indicated in Scripture, true believers will recognize him, despite the fact that at first he will show himself to be virtuous and meek. He will attract a large number of supporters to himself, become even stronger, and then he will reveal his anger in all his strength. Antichrist is the opposite of Christ. Just as Christ came to earth to do the will of God, the Antichrist will come to do the will of Satan.

The main intention of Satan is to become equal to God in strength and power. And his instrument will be the Antichrist.

Prophecies Concerning the Coming of the Antichrist

There are many prophecies and conclusions regarding the coming of the Antichrist, below are some of them.

Who is the third antichrist

Interpretation of the prophecies of Nostradamus

In his prophecies, Nostradamus also spoke of the coming of the Antichrist into the world. In general, he predicted the appearance of three Antichrists in world history. The well-known Antichrists in the history of mankind are called prophets. The first of them is Napoleon, who for 15 years waged wars of conquest that claimed millions of human lives. The second Antichrist is Hitler. Possessing an intoxicating effect on the minds of people, using fascism as an ideology, he diabolically exterminated about 50 million living souls.

And if you look at the personalities: Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Lenin, Marx, then one can definitely say about each of them that they are antichrists.

And yet, the third Antichrist, who is he? What is his name? In what year will he come to world domination? The prophet does not give definite answers to these questions. From the prophecies of Nostradamus it is clear that this third, last Antichrist is not from among the European political figures. This is a man whom Nostradamus called the name "Mabus", a terrorist who unleashed the third world war.

In the 62nd quatrain of the 2nd century, Nostradamus writes:

O people and beasts! Disaster awaits youMabus is coming to you to die among you.

The comet tears off the veils from retribution,Robberies, blood, carrying thirst on the tail.

Nostradamus warned his descendants about the global rampant international terrorism based in the Middle East and North Africa.

John Hoag, who studied the writings of Nostardamus, assumed that the Antichrist had already come to Earth and named the names of people who, in his opinion, were suitable for the role of the third Antichrist. Among them are Abu Abbas (died April 8, 2004), Abu Nidal (died April 16, 2002), who at one time had the opportunity to carry out an act of nuclear terrorism.

False interpretations are inevitable in the history of the study of prophecy.

Antichrist in Islam

Predictions about the Antichrist and Jesus Christ are also found in Islam.

“In the history of mankind, starting from the time of Adam and ending with the moment of the End of the World, there is nothing more terrible than the appearance and reign of the Antichrist” -said the Arab preacher the prophet Mohammed over 1400 years ago.

The Antichrist in Islam is called Dajjal. In Arabic, it means "deceiver, charlatan." The Quran also emphasizes that the Antichrist will be a man.

Dajjal will revive the dead, will have untold wealth, will be able to control natural phenomena, at his command, the earth will give a rich harvest. Its brilliance and luxury will dazzle people and elevate them to the level of God in their eyes. He will inspire the majority that he is a prophet, and maybe God himself.

Sin will be the norm and form of manifestation of piety, these times will be a serious test for humanity. Externally, the Antichrist will be large, broad-bodied, curly, red-faced and one-eyed. By this physical defect, people will be able to recognize the Dajjal. On his forehead he has the letter kaf or the whole word kafir (“unbeliever”)

According to the prophet, the Antichrist will be destroyed by Jesus, the son of Mary. Jesus Christ will descend from heaven east of Damascus, leaning on the wings of two angels, and destroy the Dajjal.

The words of the prayer of the prophet: “Oh, Lord! Indeed, I ask You for protection from the torments of hell, the torments in the afterlife, from the temptations of life and death andfrom the temptation of the antichrist» .

What will be the reign of the Antichrist

Some Bible scholars believe that the Antichrist is a future dictator, a world ruler who has already appeared on earth and is waiting in the wings. The word “antichrist” itself does not occur in the Bible. However, when studying the Bible, it becomes clear that the Antichrist is repeatedly mentioned under different names. The Antichrist is the complete antithesis of the person of Christ.

It is called: " a man of sin”,“ lawless ”,“ beast ”,“ son of perdition". There are other names given to the Antichrist in Scripture. He - " unholy», « ravager», « man of lawlessness», « small horn», « crimson beast' emerging from the abyss. All these names are common nouns, describing its essence.

When the appearance of the Antichrist to people takes place, he will begin to fight with the saints, posing as God. Unlimited power will be given to him over people and even over the elements.

John says that there are many antichrists in the world, but as a ruler, only one will come in the name of Satan and take the place of Christ for himself. The Bible speaks of the ten horns of the beast, which represent the ten kings supporting the Antichrist. He will withdraw from the alliance of ten rulers, and destroy three of them.

There is a prophecy of Daniel regarding the world government, the unification of ten kings who will support the Antichrist on the eve of the second coming of Christ: “And in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will raise up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be transferred to another people.” That is, Jesus will crush the entire world human government and begin to reign himself.

The 13th chapter of the book of John "Revelation" is divided into three parts. The first 8 verses talk about the Antichrist and his worldwide government. The next 5 verses describe his religious partner, the false prophet, and the last 3 verses describe the worldwide economic system.

“And I stood on the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast coming out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns: on its horns were tendiademand on his heads are blasphemous names. The beast I saw was like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion.”

According to many Bible scholars, the kingdom of the beast will consist of the unification of the governments of several countries. A certain alliance of ten nations as a result of globalization will turn into a World Government, which will be headed by the Antichrist for three and a half years.

"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to go on for forty-two months."("Revelations" of John the Theologian.)

The most influential religious leader on Earth will support the Antichrist in every possible way and convince mankind to follow him. The Bible calls this man a false prophet. The Bible says that through great miracles and fire from heaven, he will inspire the world to follow the Antichrist.

Revelation verses 11 to 15 describe the religious partner of the Antichrist. With the help of his influence and authority, the false prophet will call the antichrist God's messenger and exalt him in the eyes of the people. The false prophet will make all the people on earth worship the beast.

Number of the beast

In the 13th chapter of the book of John the Theologian "Revelation" the number of the beast is described. This is the so-called sign of the Antichrist, in other words, a sign of obedience to the beast.

“And he will make sure that everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, will have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no one will be able to buy or sell, except he who has this the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name... Here is wisdom. Whoever has a mind, count the number of the beast, for this is the number of a man; his number is six hundred and sixty-six."("Revelations" of John the Theologian.)

FFF is a veiled version of the number of the beast, since the letter F is the sixth letter in the English alphabet. The Apocalypse is written in Greek, in which the letters of the alphabet also mean numbers.

This is the name of the Antichrist. Somehow, the sum of the characters in his name will be 666, and this will be one of the signs by which he will be recognized.

Prophecies come true

I would like to determine the identity of the Antichrist, what he will be. What will it look like? What year will it appear? Does anyone know his name. Who will be the third Antichrist? Can we find a photo of the Antichrist on the Internet? What will be the appearance of the Antichrist? Perhaps he has already come to our world? In due time, we will definitely be able to find out.

Scholars of religious literature speak of approximately 53 prophecies concerning the coming of the Antichrist. Some people believe that this is not a person, but a global system. The Bible says that the Antichrist will come king, ruler and man. The Antichrist is on his way, soon he will be revealed to the world.

According to Theophylact of Bulgaria: the Antichrist is already in the world, of course, not personally, but in the person of false prophets, false apostles and heretics, anticipating and preparing his coming».

The predictions described on the pages of the Bible are beginning to come true.

Israel is the promised land. The land given to the Jews on the basis of the Covenant of God. Now it is the subject of the most heated debate. When a peace treaty is signed between Israel, Palestine and the world community, according to biblical scholars, the last seven years leading to Armageddon will begin. The Antichrist will be revealed three and a half years after the signing of the peace agreement. The description says that the world will be a weapon in his hands, through the world he will destroy many. The Antichrist will be a peacemaker. History is full of examples when terrible bloodshed began in the name of peace. According to the description “The king with a ruthless and gloomy expression, in appearance larger and denser than others,” the antichrist will imagine himself to be God. This will happen three and a half years before the battle of Armageddon. This is where the great tribulation begins.

Initially, he will be perceived as an outstanding personality. The prophet Daniel said that in the beginning the Antichrist will speak about great things, that he will be smart and will understand riddles. The Bible also says that in ruling the world, he will face serious opposition. And also that Jordan will not be occupied by the Antichrist. He will not control the whole world, but will dominate and have unlimited power.

John the Evangelist wrote that " the beast was captured and with him the false prophet...; both are thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone... and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.».

The spirit of antichrist is present in the human world. If we carefully study the prophecies and follow the events that are taking place, we will immediately recognize him.

The remarkable Orthodox writer S.A. Nilus writes: “Before the end of the world, as the Church teaches, before the Second Coming of Christ, God’s permission, the Antichrist will appear, the last extreme opponent of Christ and His Holy Church” (S. Nilus. “There is near, at the door ”, M., 2012, p. 31). In his days, the Lord will send to earth two of his prophets, Enoch and Elijah, who will preach against the Antichrist for three and a half years. The Church of Christ is in a state of constant warfare with her enemies. But with God's help, Christianity triumphed over pagan Rome and idolatry in general. Then the enemy used another weapon - a bunch of heretics and false teachers. From Arianism to iconoclasm, heresy leaders appeared one after another within the Church itself. And only with the end of the Ecumenical Councils did the Church overcome these adversaries as well. But in 1054 the Roman Catholic Church broke away from Orthodoxy, and then Luther and a bunch of other heretics spun off from the latter. At the same time, militant Islam began to fight Christianity. Christians were not given rest for a single century.

A modern researcher, hieromonk Evfimy (Samorukov) (“Two Ways”, M., “Russian Idea”, 2012) notes: “In the last days, according to the prophecies, people will become so accustomed to evil and become addicted to it that they themselves will begin to crave one evil and iniquity, and will delight only in evil." Rooted in evil, people seem to call to God - give us the antichrist - and God will give them the antichrist. Today in the USA, this true empire of evil, the church of Satan is legalized, which the White House is proud of, sodomy and other perversions are being imposed, crosses are being torn down, Christians are being pushed into the fifth corner. The Monk Nil the Myrrh-streaming Athos points out: “All these fruits of covetousness will bring the world to extreme depravity, the crown of which will be the coming of the Antichrist.”

But the main reason why God will allow the Antichrist to come, emphasizes Hieromonk Evfimy (Samorukov), is that the Orthodox Church, in which and only in which Christ has invested all the necessary funds for the cultivation of souls, will become ineffective due to the RELAXATION of her ARCHIPASTERS, and SHEPHERDS and FLORD. For it is foretold that wolves in sheep's clothing will enter the Church and undermine the faith of the children of the Church. (December 9, 2010, the Serbian Patriarch Irinej in the synagogue lit the minor, which is lit for the coming of the false messiah - the Antichrist)”. By the way, the President of Ukraine Yanukovych, with all the abundance of mistakes he made, still refused to light the minor in the Jewish synagogue, saying that he was a Christian. We see the weakening of the archpastors of the Local Orthodox Churches especially clearly when they prepare, under the leadership of the Renovationist and New Calendarist, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the heretic pontiff for the 8th Ecumenical Council, where the bishops intend to establish ecumenism as an obligatory doctrine of the Orthodox Church. And although the Gospel will be spread throughout the world, but, as St. Nilus the Myrrh-streaming remarks: "The Church Gospel will be neglected."

The Apostle Paul teaches (in his epistle to the Thessalonians) that before the Second Coming of Christ the Savior, the Antichrist will appear, that the Antichrist will be a certain person, a lawless man, under the special guidance of Satan, will impersonate God in order to seduce people, will preach a false doctrine, which will captivate many the weak, will perform false signs and wonders, will be a powerful king, according to the image of the prophet Daniel and the Seer, WILL START PERSECUTION ON CHRISTIANS, from whom he will demand divine worship for himself, but those who do not want to follow him will put to death (Dan.x1, 37; Apoc. Х111, 7 and 15), will be born from an unclean virgin, a Jewish woman from the tribe of Dan (Gen. XL1X, 17, Hippolytus Issue 2 pp. 16-17 from the book “On Faith”, 270), will reign only 31/2 years ...” The Antichrist will build the city of Jerusalem and rebuild the destroyed temple, he will return the whole country and its borders to the Jews. Then he will proclaim them king.

At the Second Coming of Christ, evil will again reign. Evil will take shape in the same world empire as the Roman one, but with the power of Antichrist to eradicate Christianity. That is, the Second Coming will take place when the existence of the earth and humanity on it loses its meaning: Christ will only have to save the last worthy ones, and this will fulfill the fullness of the righteous in the Kingdom of Heaven - the fullness of the Church as the Body of Christ ”(M.V. Nazarov“ To the Leader of the Third Rome ”, p. 934). The prophet Enoch, sent by the Lord to earth, will be killed by the Antichrist. The second prophet Elijah is to convert the Jews to Christianity. St. Andrew of Caesarea shares the opinion of some that at the end of the world, John the Theologian will also come to preach and denounce the Antichrist (S. Nilus “There is near, at the door”, M., Algorithm, p. 380.) Blessed Hippolytus writes: “And so, due to lack of food resources, everyone will come and worship him (antichrist). And for the sake of his bad seal, the flatterer will give them some food. And now, all those who believe in him, he will seal with his seal, and those who do not wish to submit to him, he will subject to incomparable punishments, the most severe torments .. ”(Nilus, p. 39). John Chrysostom teaches: "The Jews will receive the Antichrist, the deceiver will have strength most of all among the Jews" (Nilus, p. 41). St. Cyril of Jerusalem: “The Antichrist will first appear as a learned and intelligent person, he will show modesty, chastity and philanthropy, then ... as a blasphemous and lawless person.”

Priest Oleg Stenyaev in his work "Conversations on the Apocalypse" vividly describes the coming of the Antichrist. The fifth angel blew his trumpet and, by God's permission, condemned evil demons were released from the abyss. Issued for 3 1/2 years. Now evil is illegitimate, but in the days of the Antichrist, when all the evil spirits come out of the abyss, “the evil one can enter houses through his demonic apostles, invade people’s souls, and force our spirit. Something that is completely impossible for him now... The stench of sin will envelop the earth like smoke... Barsanuphius and John write that in the last times Christians will not perform such feats as the Christians of the first times, but their very faith in God will be a great miracle , because it will manifest itself in the midst of extreme wickedness ... It is about the last times that it is said: “And it will be: everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21; O. Stenyaev, p. 296). According to father Oleg Stenyaev, “That is why God will send two people from Heaven - Elijah and Enoch, because all people living on earth will be poisoned by this demonic smoke ... Orthodox will gather in secret places for prayer. There will be very few priests, they will be exterminated. Those priests who remain will be subjected to the most severe persecution... But... the Liturgy will be celebrated until the very last moment...” (p. 207). Locust as a symbol of human passion and at the same time the image of the apostles of the Antichrist. “They may call themselves peacekeepers, perhaps they will act on behalf of the United Nations - by that time humanity will all be united, there will be a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT, which America is striving for” (p. 297). The world government that Gavriil Popov and the fifth column in Russia are already dreaming about today. Father Oleg Stenyaev believes: “There is a very serious reason to doubt that our time is the last. Christ said: "... When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8). And the Lord says that when He comes to earth, there will be practically no faith.

Characteristic is the statement of St. Hippolytus, Bishop of Rome (3rd century), that the Antichrist will reign when the form of precisely DEMOCRATIC government is established. Our consciousness is often dominated by the thesis that democracy is a plus, and the regime of personal power is a minus. But it is precisely in a democracy that the courts brazenly take away children from their parents on far-fetched pretexts, the salaries of employees and workers are many times LESS than the salaries of directors, corruption is total, personal data is forcibly taken from citizens for the CIA and bandits, etc., etc.

According to the interpretation of Archbishop Averky, we live with the seventh thunder, when the restoration of the Roman Empire takes place. The Roman Empire is the lands of today's Italy, Germany, France... Spain... The Roman Empire is now uniting - in the form of the so-called European Union. And the Holy Fathers said that this unification would take place before the arrival of the Antichrist... The fact that the “nationality” column disappeared from Russian passports, Father Oleg Stenyaev believes, is evidence of the victory of cosmopolitanism, that is, God divides people into nations, and the devil does not like this he wants to erase the concept of nation. And a nation is a school of love and a boundary of responsibility outlined by the hand of God.

The next stage is the destruction of the concept of SEX. In our time, the West refuses the concept of the family, legalizes and in every possible way imposes homosexuality on people.

Hieromonk Evfimy (Samorukov) says that the Antichrist will be a brilliant politician, because all his "support" will secretly serve him - all the demons and the entire apparatus of the invisible superstate, which the Apostle Paul called "the mystery of lawlessness." “And this “support” of the Antichrist will unleash a third world war and will keep its course under its control. And then she will honor the Antichrist to stop the war, and he will restore peace. Then, for the dispensation of that world, everyone, without exception, will democratically elect Antichrist as the world ruler” (Hieromonk Evfimy, p. 563). Then of all religions, according to Hieromonk Evfimy, there will be one "religion - the union of the Antichrist with people through the press." “The seal that will read: I renounce the Creator of heaven and earth, renounce baptism, renounce my service (God) and join you and believe in you” (St. Hippolytus of Rome). Under his reign, unprecedented persecution of Christians will begin and it will be almost impossible for them to live. All those who believed the Antichrist and thereby worked for Satan and against the Savior after the Last Judgment will be sent to eternal hell... The spirit of ecumenism will give birth to the Antichrist. St. Hippolytus of Rome writes: “He (the Antichrist) will call to himself the whole people (Jewish) from all the countries in which he is scattered, he will appropriate them for himself as his own children, will announce to them that he will restore the country and restore their kingdom and temple..."

The Monk Nil the Myrrh-streaming Athos believes: “And when the Antichrist sits on his accursed throne, then the sea will boil as water boils in a cauldron. As the steam evaporates... Plants, oak trees and all cedars will dry up on the ground, everything will dry up from the heat of the sea... animals, birds and reptiles will all die (Hieromonk Euthymius, p. 570) Prophecy of St. Scripture says that under Antichrist, 144,000 Jews will turn to Christ and His Church. When the Antichrist sees that those who raised him up will refuse him, he will become furious and will mercilessly torture and kill, starting with the Jews who believed in Christ, and after them all Christians. Enoch and Elijah are to preach for 1260 days (3 1/2 years). But at the end of these days, God will allow Antichrist to kill the prophets so that after three days he will resurrect them and take them up to heaven (Hieromonk Euthymius, p. 578)

The Orthodox writer M.V. Nazarov believes: “The ongoing suffering of Russia in the 20th century testifies that God continues to keep a chance for its revival - otherwise history would have ended in 1917 (M.V. Nazarov “To the Leader of the Third Rome”, M. , "Russian Idea", 2004, pp. 930-931). And further: “Since the 1990s, we have been going through not just another troubled time. Now, judging by the development of the “mystery of lawlessness” in the world, the time allotted to us of our LAST CHANCE is running out.” “The end of history is described in the Apocalypse as the final battle on earth between the forces of good and evil, from which it is clear that the forces of good persist and will resist evil until the end of history” (p. 932). According to Nazarov, this battle is identified with the confrontation between the Third Rome (which, according to the prophet Daniel, must be preserved until the end of history) and the kingdom of Antichrist, i.e. anti-Rome (the structures of global statehood captured by the Antichrist, outwardly imitating the Roman one). “Who can claim these roles is also clear: only Russia, restoring its Orthodox succession from holding Rome (no one else) and the Judeo-Masonic USA, which chose the succession from pagan Rome, together with its “main state” - anti-Christian Israel (more too no one) (p. 932)

At the Second Coming of Christ, evil will reign again, but already as the earthly conqueror of the weakened Christian humanity. Evil will take shape in the same world empire as the Roman one, but with the power of Antichrist to eradicate Christianity. We are witnessing the unification of Europe, which is united by the Schengen zone, the European Union, the NATO military bloc and which obediently submits to its hegemon - the United States.

The Jews also knew the birthday of Moshiach, i.e. antichrist. It is the 9th of Av, the day of the destruction of the Temple. Av 15 is considered the day when the Third Temple will be built (July-August). The temple will be rebuilt specifically for the Antichrist. He will subdue all nations, and will especially persecute Christians. He will kill the prophets Enoch and Elijah. And he will subject people to branding, imposing a “mark” on the forehead and right hand. The number of his name is 666.

M.V. Nazarov believes: “If the defeated Russia succeeds in restoring its historical Orthodox statehood - the Third Rome, proclaiming clear criteria for separating good and evil - this will become the greatest miracle for the whole world” (Nazarov, p. 950). It will make all people on earth turn their eyes to Russia - which may be the preaching of the Gospel predicted in the Holy Scriptures "as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Mt. 24:14; Mk. 13:10). ... This may be the meaning of the restoration of the Third Rome in God's providence as the most suitable instrument of God for this last purpose” (p. 950). Of course, the current state of the Russian people is very sad, but after all, there is no other people in the world at all for God's purpose. Nazarov further writes: “An amazing phenomenon took place - a clash between the people of God and the people of Satan (the army of the coming Antichrist) on the territory of the holding Third Rome - which God allowed as the last, most obvious means of admonishing us to restore the holding consciousness and holding statehood” (Nazarov, p. 959).

Christ Himself said that even "from the satanic assembly" some will turn to the true God and worship the Church (as today Hodos - V.O.), but did not say that all "satanic assembly" (p. 961).

Thus, despite its fall, it was Russia in the 20th century that offered the greatest spiritual resistance to the establishment of the kingdom of Antichrist. Since it is a special country in God's plan, the revolution in it gave results unplanned by anti-Christian forces, pushing back, it seemed, the inevitable end of history (p. 963) The revolution in its development revealed a host of New Martyrs of Russia, who, led by the Royal Family, pray for Russia (p.963-964).

Many signs of the approach of the Antichrist are evident. In the 60s of the 20th century. the so-called sexual revolution took place and, in parallel, a revolution in the field of morality: black became white and vice versa. In the sixties, the American police were still trying to suppress the revolt of homosexuals and lesbians in New York, and in our time, i.e. some 40 years later, the president of America himself loudly welcomes sodomites and considers the protection of the rights of perverts to be the main task of US foreign policy. The Church of Satan has been legalized there, and an almost undisguised struggle against Christianity is being waged. In the West, it has become risky to wear a pectoral cross. The family and even the concept of sex are purposefully destroyed, children are officially imposed a vice at school and kindergartens. The West is dying. Pseudo-Christian denominations (Catholicism, Protestantism, etc.) are degrading. Our time itself is already called post-Christian time. The notorious information-cellular society, proclaimed by the gatherings of the "eights" (and in our country - by the serf Yeltsin who swore allegiance to them) is in fact the preparation of the kingdom of Antichrist. This applies even more to the digital identification of citizens, the total numbering of humanity and the creation of a World Government.

However, there are prophecies that even before the end of the world, Orthodox statehood will be revived with God's Anointed One at the head. The writer Nazarov is right that the spread of the Gospel throughout the world, predicted in the Holy Scriptures, will happen not just like that, not by itself, so to speak, spontaneously, namely, as a result of the conscious course of the leaders of the Third Rome, i.e. Russia. Today there are signs that bring closer the revival of the Orthodox Autocracy, but they are still not enough. And at the same time, God has no one else to rely on as the Russian people. We must work tirelessly for the Sacred Purpose. We are Russians! God is with us!

In addition to the positive images that Orthodoxy gives us in the person of the saints and Christ himself, our faith also speaks of the other side of holiness. As there is good, so there is evil. How real is the Lord God, just as real is his antipode - Antichrist. Who is this and what does our Church say about him?

Who is Antichrist

In the church tradition, every person who does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, persecutes Him, refutes His teachings, and opposes Christianity in every possible way is called Antichrist. We see lines in the Gospel about such people, where it is said that there have always been and will be many of them. Christianity in all ages has been, one way or another, persecuted, and all its persecutors can be called Antichrists.

Painting "Christ and Antichrist"

In addition to the general designation of the enemies of the Christian faith, the antichrist is the one who will come at the end of time to fight with Christ for the eternal fate of human souls. It is precisely such an antichrist that, as a rule, believers mean.

Interesting! It will be one specific person who will concentrate in himself all the evil that is on earth.

The word itself, translated from Greek, means one who opposes Christ or pretends to be the Lord by deceit. The Bible tells us that the Antichrist will at the same time be the main enemy of the True Christ, but at the same time he will try to deceive himself to appear instead of Him in order to tempt believers.

In addition, Holy Scripture gives many other characteristics and names for this main enemy of God. He is both the “son of perdition”, and the “man of sin”, and the “destroyer”. All these and many other negative characteristics indicate that it will be the greatest enemy of mankind in all ages.

Most attention is paid to the personality of the Antichrist in the Revelation of John the Theologian. It is this book that tells us about the last events before the end of the world. It is noteworthy that even in it the image of the Antichrist is collective, general. There is no specific name for this liar, but all the main signs of his coming to the earthly world are described.

The main hypostasis in which the Apocalypse reveals the enemy to us is the image of the beast. Nevertheless, all interpreters on the basis of the Bible and the Tradition of our Church agreed that this beast will be a very specific person of flesh and blood, like anyone born on Earth.

The opinions of theologians regarding the specific name, date and place of birth and other subtleties of the appearance of this enemy on Earth differ. Some expect it from the Jews, others from the Gentiles, and someone expresses the idea, then the distortion of the Christian faith will give rise to it. In any case, this person will be born just before the Second Coming of Christ and will tempt people faithful to the Lord.

How can God allow the coming of universal evil

Often Christians ask a very obvious question - if the Lord is Love, then how can He allow such a huge evil to invade humanity, which will lead to the death of many?

Antichrist will come at the end of time to fight with Christ for the eternal destiny of human souls

John Chrysostom answers this question in detail: on the basis of the words of the Apostle Paul (2 Thess. 2, 10-12), the Antichrist will come to condemn all those who have chosen the path of an unrighteous life. These people would never have accepted Christ anyway and would have persecuted Him, dooming their souls to eternal torment.

St. John Chrysostom encourages the believers, saying that the Antichrist will lead to the death of only the infidels and persecutors of Christ, and sincerely believing people, on the contrary, will be granted eternal salvation if they endure the last decisive battle with evil. That is why God allows the arrival of the Antichrist into this world, so that each person makes his final choice in favor of good or evil.

Now, when people still have time to repent and correct their lives, they are in no hurry to do so. Many "believe in their souls", many profess a large number of alternative creeds, some do not even think about God. Before the end of the world, the world will be divided diametrically, all other worries and affairs will disappear, and the essence will be only in choosing with whom a person is.

And those of the people who never followed Christ and persecuted him will follow the Antichrist. A false teaching will be perceived by them as truth, since they never knew the real Truth and did not strive for it.

Signs of the coming of the Antichrist

The coming of the Antichrist will bring many troubles to people. It will symbolize the end of everything: life, peace, light.

Some signs of the coming of the Antichrist have already come true, and some have not yet. Here are the signs:

• the Jewish people will rebuild their country;
• world wars will come, people will starve, die, nature will begin to rage;
• followers of Christ will be subjected to torment, death;
• the mosque of Omar in Jerusalem will be destroyed;
• Elijah and Enoch will descend to earth to fight the Antichrist.

Will the Antichrist come at all? Some researchers believe that the events that take place in the world in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are the first signs. We can partly agree with this. Indeed, bloody wars are being waged everywhere, people are dying from natural disasters.

Fears in anticipation of the end of the world

Since the Apocalypse and many saints tell us about the imminent Second Coming and the end of the world following it, many believers literally panic and begin to refuse all the modern benefits of civilization, seeing death in them.

Revelation of Saint John the Evangelist

The Revelation of John the Theologian refers to the so-called "seal of the Antichrist" as a symbol of renunciation of Christ and following the Antichrist. What is this seal? This is the application of a certain sign to the hand and forehead, which will testify to the path chosen by a person against Christ.

Unfortunately, in modern Orthodoxy, various currents often appear now that see the seal of the Antichrist literally in everything that human civilization has created. So, especially "got" from zealous Christians to identification tax numbers (TIN) and electronic passports. In addition, some particularly stubborn believers see the Antichrist in the barcodes printed on store products and avoid purchasing them.

The number 666, which is indeed listed in the Bible as the "number of the beast", has become simply frightening for many believers. People avoid the presence of three sixes in any numbering they encounter. Why are such fears meaningless?

The Orthodox faith does not worship numbers and does not believe in their special magical power. In the Bible, the number 7 is a symbol of Divine grace, but nowhere in the teachings of our Church is it said that by itself this number carries some kind of supernatural power or help from God.

The same situation is with the number 666 - if it is some kind of serial number, a set of numbers in a phone number, a license plate number of an identity card or any document, then it is completely groundless to attribute mystical meaning to these numbers.

As for TIN or electronic passports, the situation is similar. A person who does not use any documents at all, does not buy goods with bar codes in stores, is not registered with the tax office, and so on, may well reject Christ. But if at the same time a person leads a sinful life, does not repent, does not go to church, does not participate in the Church Sacraments - then what is the use of the absence of documents or sixes?

Attention! The entire patristic Tradition of our Church teaches us that accepting or not accepting Christ is a process of inner spiritual choice. If a person strives for the Lord with all his heart, all his will and feelings, no passports or sixes can interfere with him.

Rejecting God at the end of time will mean not using the World Wide Web for shopping or control, but an internal conscious rejection of Christ, rejection of his teachings, depreciation of the Church and unwillingness to save one's own soul.

About the last times. Signs. Antichrist. Seal 666

The day and hour of his coming is unknown, just as the day and hour of the Second Coming of Christ are unknown. But Holy Scripture shows us the signs that have to anticipate his coming. The coming of the Antichrist will be gradually prepared for a very long time. This is because the Antichrist will appear from the sea, or from the abyss of human sins - in him, as it were, all the evil that has accumulated in the human race will be concentrated and will reach the maximum strength of its tension. This is the gradual preparation of St. The Apostle Paul calls the secret of iniquity", already in force, and retreat"(from the Greek. " apostasy»; 2 Sol. 2:7-3). Beneath this "apostasy," as seen in the last words of the Lord (Matt. 24 etc.) and from the Epistles of the Apostles (2 Pet. 3:1, Jude 18-19) etc.), one must understand the deviation from true faith in God, the impoverishment of love, the multiplication of vices, the decline of morality, which, intensifying more and more, by the time of the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the world, will bring humanity to the extreme degree of godlessness and impiety. In particular, the preparers for the coming of the Antichrist will be his predecessors - people, especially ungodly and god-fighting people. These are precisely those "antichrists" in the broadest sense of the word, about whom St. John the Evangelist (1 John 2:18).

According to St. Apostle Paul, taking from Wednesday " holding back" And " holding» (2 Thess. 2:6-7). The Holy Fathers understood the Roman Empire by "holding" and the Roman emperors by "holding"; in the broad sense of the word, these expressions were understood as the legitimate state legal order on earth and its representatives - lawful sovereigns, as curbing the manifestations of evil on earth. The great fathers and saints of God of our Russian Church understood by this the Russian State and the Russian Sovereigns as the legitimate successors of the Roman, and then the Byzantine Empire. If we take into account that Russia, after the fall of Byzantium, remained on earth the only powerful state that was the true stronghold of the one true Orthodox faith on earth, and the Russian Sovereigns were patrons and defenders of the Orthodox Church throughout the world, then such an interpretation seems quite reasonable and natural.

This is exactly what the great righteous man, prayer book and miracle worker of our time, St. John of Kronstadt. Many of his inspired, fiery sermons, especially in the last years of his life, are devoted to the topic of “apostasy,” which was so clearly taking place before the eyes of the righteous in Russia, which was rapidly rolling into the abyss of godlessness and wickedness. He did not say that “nothing special is happening”, that “so, they say, it has always been before,” as some say even now, after all the horrors that have befallen our Motherland, but he ardently warned the Russian people, warning of the imminently approaching him the punishment of God for apostasy and predicting the subsequent coming of the Antichrist soon after. Now, when the whole world is confronted with the fact, unheard of in history, of the existence of a huge state of many millions, which has set itself the task of an open struggle with God and the destruction of Christianity, a state armed with a terrible, also never before heard of force, with destructive weapons and projectiles, such as an atomic and hydrogen bomb , in time to bring to mind the true words of our great righteous man and seer.

« We are going through terrible times, apparently the last,- so he said in a sermon on February 13, 1907 - and although the day and hour of the future Last Judgment are unknown to anyone, however, there are already signs of its approach indicated in the gospel. That's why everyone needs to be ready for the universal judgment and live in repentance, love, and good deeds...” Strive diligently, brethren, for your own salvation, so that the last day does not find you sleeping!»

And here is how clearly he speaks about the Antichrist and about who should be meant by "holding":

“Through the sovereign persons, the Lord watches over the good of the kingdoms of the earth and especially the good of the world of His Church, not allowing godless teachings, heresies and schisms to overwhelm her, and the greatest villain of the world who will appear in the last times - the Antichrist cannot appear among us, because of autocratic power restraining the disorderly vacillation and the absurd teaching of the atheists." The apostle says that until then the Antichrist will not appear on earth, as long as autocratic power exists.“For the mystery is already in the making of iniquity,” but it will not be accomplished until then, until the one who restrains is taken from us: until the one who restrains now is taken from the midst, and then the lawless one will appear, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of His mouth ” (2 Thess. 2:7-8). (“New words spoken in 1902, 1903 ed., p. 47). And in another sermon delivered in the same year, Fr. John emphatically says: when the restrainer (autocrat) is taken from the earth, then the Antichrist will come».

What else can be added to this?

« He who has ears to hear, let him hear!»

Let us give ourselves a clear account of what a terrible time we live in. And let's not insanely indulge in frivolity, closing our eyes to obvious signs, which are multiplying every day and vividly testify that we are on the threshold of eternity opening before us.

Unforgivable frivolity - or ...?

Be ready, for at what hour you do not think, the Son of Man will come ... But if that servant, being angry, says in his heart: “My lord will not come soon,” and begins to beat his comrades and eat and drink with drunkards, - then the master of that servant will come on a day in which he does not expect, and in an hour in which he does not think, and will cut him, and subject him to the same fate with the hypocrites: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:42-51).

A book published back in 1912 on Mount Athos, translated into Russian, entitled “Posthumous broadcasts of the Monk Nil the Myrrh-streaming Athos”, which contains, in addition to spiritual instructions and warnings to monastics, the predictions of this great ascetic about the last times, about world accession, has long been known. Antichrist and about the disasters that will befall the world after the reign of the Antichrist. Now we have received a translation into Russian of the predictions of this marvelous Athos hermit, specifically relating to the twentieth century, which have so far remained untranslated from the Greek language, and therefore unknown to us. These predictions are striking, which, in essence, only supplement and clarify what we previously knew. Here is their verbatim text:

“About 1900, by the middle of the twentieth century, the people of that time will begin to become unrecognizable. When the time approaches the coming of the Antichrist, the minds of people will be darkened from the passions of the flesh, and ungodliness and lawlessness will increase more and more. The world will then become unrecognizable, the appearance of people will change, and it will not be possible to clearly distinguish men from women, thanks to shamelessness in clothing and the shape of the hair of the head. These people will run wild and be cruel like beasts because of the temptations of the Antichrist. There will be no respect for parents and elders, love will disappear. Christian shepherds, bishops and priests, will become vainglorious men who do not at all distinguish between the right path and the left. Then the morals and traditions of Christians and the Church will change. Modesty and chastity will disappear from people, and fornication and licentiousness will reign. Falsehood and the love of money will reach the highest limit, and woe to those who accumulate treasures. Fornication, adultery, sodomy, secret deeds, theft and murder will dominate society.

At that time, thanks to the power of the greatest crime and debauchery, people will lose the grace of the Holy Spirit, which they received in holy Baptism, and they will also lose remorse.

The Churches of God will be deprived of God-fearing and pious shepherds, and then the trouble will be for the Christians remaining in the world, who will completely lose their faith, because they will be deprived of the opportunity from anyone to see the light of knowledge. Then they will withdraw from the world into holy sanctuaries in search of relief from spiritual suffering, but everywhere they will meet obstacles and constraints. And all this will be a consequence of the fact that the Antichrist will wish to rule over everything and become the ruler of the entire universe and will produce miracles and fantastic signs. He will also give vicious wisdom to the wretched man, so that he will make such discoveries that one person to another can carry on a conversation from one end of the earth to the other. Also then they will fly through the air like birds and cut through the bottom of the sea like fish. And having achieved all this, unfortunate people will spend their lives in comfort, not knowing, the poor, that this is the deception of the Antichrist. And, impious, he will improve science with vanity in such a way that it will lead people astray to disbelief in the existence of a Trinitarian God.

Then the All-good God, seeing the death of the human race, will shorten the days for the sake of those few who are being saved, because he wanted to lead into temptation, if possible, even the elect ... Then the punishing sword will suddenly appear and kill the seducer and his servants.

Can it really be unclear to anyone that we have before us, in this amazing prophecy, a vivid living picture of everything that is happening now in the world?

Quite in vain and not at all thoroughly, some try to assure us that "it has always been like this" and that "there is nothing new now." Of course, there have always been sin and iniquity, but never before in the history of Christian mankind has all this taken on such truly monstrous proportions as in the time we are experiencing - people have always sinned, but never have they sinned so brazenly, so obviously, openly and boldly, without any trace of repentance, as in our days.

It is also significant that everything that is spoken of in this prophecy has assumed such unusually grandiose proportions throughout the world only in the last half century - just from the time when our Orthodox Russia collapsed with that “Restrainer” at the head, who according to our spirit-bearing lamps, St. Theophan Vyshensky and St. righteous John of Kronstadt, “restrained the disorderly vacillation and the absurd teaching of the atheists” and did not allow the Antichrist to appear.

Now there is no one else to oppose the appearance of the Antichrist, and therefore it is quite natural to expect his coming and reign in a world that is thoroughly mired in all sorts of sins and iniquities. And not only is no one now opposing the coming of the Antichrist, but on the contrary, quite a few have already joined in the most intense work in preparing for his speedy accession, not excluding - it's scary to say! - and some Christian clergy, up to the highest hierarchs of the Church, collaborating with atheists and open and secret enemies of our Lord and Savior, conducting all kinds of negotiations with them, entering into various compromises and concluding all kinds of agreements, often bordering on a betrayal of our holy faith and the Church .

“Apostasy”, or “apostasy”, which was predicted by the Word of God in the person of St. Apostle Paul (see 2 Thess. 2 ch.), is now in full swing, and woe to those who do not see this or, more precisely, do not want to see it, by unforgivable frivolity, closing their eyes to everything that happens in the world, and reassuring themselves and others that “there is nothing special”, that "It's all normal and natural." But is this only unforgivable frivolity? Is there something else behind this, the thought of which suggests itself when one hears such naive assurances? After all, the Antichrist and his servants are by no means interested in too much being said and openly disclosed about his coming and accession: after all, he will come as the greatest benefactor of mankind, a benefactor and even patron of faith and the Church and will expect universal recognition and popular worship. And from patristic predictions, we know that not only completely unbelievers will accept the Antichrist and worship him, but also people seduced by him, as if they were believers, and even Christian clergymen, up to the bearers of the highest rank.

So has the time for the appearance of the Antichrist really come?

We do not confirm this. We are only talking about the fact that the breath of the spirit of the Antichrist in the world is now so clearly felt, as if his appearance was already “close at the door”, in the words of Christ the Savior, who gave us many signs of the nearness of the end.

And besides, and most importantly, we want to warn everyone against being seduced by this spirit of Antichrist. After all, even now, in the person of his servants who are preparing his coming, he is very cunningly and skillfully recruiting supporters and followers, attracting them to himself with various tempting slogans, seductive promises and just handouts. And many, many already fall into his bait and into his cunningly placed nets...

To drive away the thought of the coming of the Antichrist is just in his interests, and it is very dangerous. This one is already half in his hands, and, of course, will bow to him when he comes, being among his faithful servants.

But what about the predictions about the yet to come resurrection of Russia and the triumph of Orthodoxy in it and supposedly even in the whole world?

All of us, of course, would very much like to see our unfortunate Motherland-Russia resurrected to a new life and participate in the worldwide triumph of our holy faith - to be sure! But such inexpressible mercy of God must be earned. So, it will not happen either from this or from this, and hoping for this without any sufficient reason is an idle dream.

In addition, it is necessary to know that all predictions are always relative, and not at all unconditional. Indeed, the prophet Jonah, at the command of God Himself, predicted the death and destruction of the great city of Nineveh, but this prophecy was not fulfilled: Nineveh was not destroyed - God spared her for the nationwide repentance of her inhabitants, starting with the king himself.

This is how we need to look at the current state of the world: the punishing sword of God over the world has already been raised, but it can also be taken away by the gracious right hand of God, if there is in the world “that universal moral cleansing, deep repentance of all the people and a change in the mores of pagans to Christians”, to which - alas! - in vain called the Russian people at one time, our marvelous shepherd-wonderworker St. Righteous John of Kronstadt.

“There is no salvation without repentance” is a holy truth that is well known to every true Christian, and therefore to hope for some kind of “delay”, for the salvation of the world without repentance, is more than naive, completely fantastic and unreasonable, because nothing can be justified.

St. Righteous John of Kronstadt, in his words in 1906/1907, literally said this: “Apparently, the day of the Second Coming of Christ will soon come, for the apostasy from the faith predicted in Scripture has come ... What to expect ahead if such unbelief continues , such corruption of morals, such anarchy? Will Christ come to earth again? Will you die for us again? No! full of mockery of God, full of trampling on His holy laws. He will come soon, but he will come to judge the world and reward everyone according to their deeds... Maybe we will soon hear the terrible news: "Behold the Bridegroom is coming at midnight, and blessed is the servant, the vigilant will find him"... "If there is no repentance from Russian people - the end of the world will be near.

That is why all of us now must think first of all about repentance, putting aside everything else - all our vain worries, plans and considerations.

Is there, however, in the modern world such repentance, such a universal appeal to God, which alone is able to avert the punishing right hand of God from the moral fall of mankind sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss?

This is not yet visible, and therefore it is not necessary to talk about it.

Given the circumstances of modern life we ​​are experiencing, the above prophecy of the Monk Nil the Myrrh-Streaming, which we have quoted above, remains in all its force with all the consequences that follow from it, and in particular, of course, for all of us equally obligatory warnings and warnings of Christ about His Second Coming and about the unconditional need to constantly prepare yourself for it.

“Watch out! - Christ the Savior commanded us - for in what hour you think not, the Son of Man will come" (Matt. 24:44).

It is precisely this attitude that is the law for us, unless we really are Christians who have sold ourselves to the servants of the coming Antichrist.