FROM THE FATHERS “WHEN THE EVILS of this world mount up, when the dread of this judgment (Luke 21:27) is shown even by the trem- bling powers (Mark13:25), lift up your heads (Luke21:28), that is, be joyful in your hearts, because the world, with which you are not friends, is drawing to its end; the redemption you have been seeking is coming close. In Scripture the head is often used for the soul, because as the members are ruled by the head, so thoughts are governed by the soul. To life up your heads there- fore means to raise the heart to the joys of the heavenly father- land. They therefore, who love God, are bidden to be glad, and to rejoice, because of the end of the world; since they will soon meet Him Whom they love, and that is passing away which they have never loved. Far be it then from any of the faithful that they should grieve over the stricken world, which we know will end in these catastrophes.” Saint Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome,+ 604 A.D. “HE (Antichrist) will allow the Church to exist, permit her Divine services, promise to build magnificent churches… on condition that all recognize him as‘Supreme Being’and worship him. Antichrist will have a personal hatred for Christ; he will see Him as a rival and look upon Him as a personal enemy. He will live by this hatred and rejoice in men’s apostasy from Christ. Under Antichrist, there will be an immense falling away from the Faith. Many bishops will change in faith, and in justification will point to the brilliant situation of the Church. The search for compromise will be the characteristic disposition of men. Straightforwardness of confession will disappear. Men 1 will cleverly justify their fall,and ‘gracious’ evil will support such a general disposition. There will be the habit of apostasy from truth and the sweetness of compromise and sin in men.” Saint John of Shanghai, the Wonderworker, + 1966 A.D. ....... THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN THE TIME OF THE ANTICHRIST. According to The Teachings of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers. By Hieromonk Ignaty …And upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it(Matt. 16:18). “True is the word, firm is the promise. The Church is insurmount- able, even if hell itself was moved and the ruler of darkness summoned turmoil” (St Athanasius). The Antichrist will appear immediately before the second coming of Christ, as attested to by the Holy Scriptures (Dan.chs. 7,11,12; Rev. chs. 12,13,17,20; Mt. ch. 24; Mk ch. 13; Luke chs. 17, 21; 2 Thess. ch. 2), and by the Holy Fathers of the Church. Saint John of Damascus says: “It should be known that the Antichrist must come before the end of the world.” What means will this enemy of God use to establish his authority over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations (Rev. 13:7)? Will he be able to realize his wicked rule among people and overcome Christ’s Holy Church? How will the battle between the Antichrist and the HolyChurchbefought? 2 Through the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers of the Church, we know, first of all, what battle plan the Antichrist intends to use against the Holy Church. His intention is to root out from among people faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the God-Man and Saviour, and to replace Christ with himself as the object of worship. He will try to overthrow Christ’s teachings and sacraments, and will openly promote himself as the only true Christ and God. To realize this end he will use not only deceit and false wonders, but will also fiercely persecute those who resist his reign. But even though he will establish his reign over many, he still will not overcome the Church of Christ. The Saviour Himself says that the Jews will recognize the Anti- christ as their Messiah: “I am come in My Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43). So we see that there cannot be faith in two Christs (2 Cor. 6:4,15). Therefore, those who have accepted the true Christ must shun the false one; and those who have accepted the false one must renounce the true Christ-the Messiah. From this, it is clear that the Antichrist must first openly renounce the true Christ in order that he himself be accepted as the Messiah. Thus, Saint Irenaeus of Lyons calls the Antichrist the apostate from Christ, who demands that he be raised up and be adored as God. The Apostle John writes:Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son (1Jn2:22). Therefore, according to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, the most substantial and evident sign of the Antichrist will be his rejection of the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. In his first epistle, the Evangelist John plainly witnesses that the Antichrist will not secretly reject the Lord Jesus Christ who came in the flesh, but quite openly: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world (1 John 4:3). The words “confesseth not” not only make manifest the hidden denial of faith in the divinity of Christ, but also show the open confirmation of his denial before others. These words are used by the Saviour with the same idea when He says: Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God (Luke 12:8; Matt. 10:32; Mark 8:38). Generally, in the language of the Holy Scriptures, the word 3 “confess” is used in terms of an open, vocal confirmation of a certain truth and is distinct from internal, hidden faith (compare Rom.10:10; Tit. 1:16; 1 Jn. 1:9; 2 Jn. 1:7; Rom. 10:9). The Apostle John uses the term “confess not” to mean the same as an open rejection of the Divinity of Christ. Here he points out an obvious indication through which believers are able to recognize the Antichrist. Try the spirits, he says, hereby know ye the Spirit of God… every spirit that con- fesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. He foresaw that the Antichrist will openly reject the Father and the Son. He uses this warning precisely so Christians would not fall into the nets of the Antichrist when he appears. Like Saint John, the Apostle Paul foretold that the last enemy of Christ will openly rise up against the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church. The hostile actions of all the heretics, which already began to appear in his time and continued to appear after his departure to the Lord (Acts 20:29), he calls “the mystery of iniquity,” (2 Thess. 2:7) because in a secretive manner they tried and are trying to bring harm to the Church of Christ. Saint Paul calls the Antichrist the revelation of this mystery of iniquity, which follows after the final apostasy from faith. For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition….whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power…. (2Thess.2:3,9). Thus, did the ancient ecumenical Church teach by the mouths of Her renowned Fathers and Teachers. Saint Irenaeus writes that the Antichrist will show himself to be impious, unrighteous, and iniqui- tous as an apostate. Saint Hilary testifies that through the Arians, the devil is trying to convince people that Christ is not the Only-Begotten Son of God, but is adopted as a son by grace. Through the Antichrist, however, he [the devil] will try to convince people that Christ is not the Son of God even by adoption, thus completely defaming the name of the true Christ. Blessed Augustine says that the Antichrist will hinder the baptism of infants, even though there will be pious parents who will decide to endure all tortures rather than to leave their children unbaptised. Saint Jerome foretold that the enemy of Christ will win over the trust of the Jews through rejecting the sacred ordinances of Christ, while according to Saint Ephraim the Syrian,“the beast will lay his mark, i.e. an evil inscription, … on the right hand, so that it will be impossible for a man to make the sign of the Cross, and on the forehead, so as not to allow man to keep the holy name of the Saviour 4 in his mind. The serpent will inscribe his mark instead of the Cross of the Saviour. In order to do this, undoubtedly he will use a method so that the name of the Lord and Saviour will not even be allowed to be said during this time.” (See also “On Christ and the Antichrist” by Saint Hippolytus of Rome, and the Commentary on Revelation by Saint Andrew of Caesarea). In addition to openly rejecting the Divinity of the Saviour, His relation to God the Father, and His teachings, the Antichrist will like- wise openly appropriate for himself divine dignity and will spread a new godless teaching, which will oppose the teachings of Christ.