Revelation: Removing the Veil
This revelation was given by God to the Apostle John because we needed to know it.
Part 1
The People of God in the Last Days
As long as the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, this world will stand.
We’ve said that there were persecutions in different eras, and we still have them today in some countries. Some countries don’t accept Christianity, and the Christians there are persecuted. People are being killed today for their faith in Christ. There are such countries. There are circumstances in which you’re not allowed to be a Christian. No one knows, perhaps everything will get worse. But we don’t have any persecutions in our country now. What should we do? What, can’t we wash and whiten the robe of our souls? We can.
The Deeper the Sorrow the Closer is God
In moments of life’s trials, heavy sorrows, and illnesses, we need to feel the presence of God in our lives reliably, clearly, and convincingly. This feeling, together with the understanding of God’s close sympathy to our sorrows should be found living in our hearts, actively strengthening and consoling us.
I was talking with a teacher the other day about children.
On the Upbringing of Children. Fight to Keep the Bond
There is not a single ministry in the Church for which the Lord does not give the charisma of the Holy Spirit if I offer my parenthood as a service to Him.
All the martyrs survived great tribulation and thereby washed their clothes in the Blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them (Rev. 7:15). God now dwells in them, abides in them, becomes a friend, a relative, a brother for them. God becomes their very being.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat (Rev. 7:16). They’ll no longer experience hunger or thirst; the sun and heat will not scorch them. Do you remember what Christ said to the Samaritan Woman? Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (Jn. 4:13-14). This is a consequence of the coming of grace. It doesn’t mean we’ll never be thirsty again. We get thirsty and we have some water. This is about the fullness that Christ gives to the human heart. When a man finds God, he’s filled. He doesn’t hunger or thirst for anything. To have or not—for him it’s all the same. When he has, he knows how to use it properly, and when he doesn’t, he knows how to turn the situation to good use. Man abides in fullness. As we say in the prayer: “Everywhere present and fillest all things.”
The man of God doesn’t feel emptiness.
On the contrary, a man who is distant from God will always feel a sense of lack, no matter how much he accumulates – he will continue to hunger and thirst throughout his life. His desire for more will never be satisfied, whether he has ten houses and wants twenty, or earns ten and desires fifteen. This constant feeling of emptiness stems from the inability of false and perishable things to provide true fulfillment. It is only in the presence of God that a man can find satisfaction, peace, and fullness in life. Without God, no amount of material possessions can fill the void within us, leading to anxiety, stress, and a pursuit of vanity. The absence of God leaves us empty and lacking in everything.
The promise that martyrs will no longer hunger or thirst is rooted in their connection to God. In His presence, they will lack nothing, as He will lead them to living fountains of water and wipe away their tears. Those who drink from the water of life that Christ provides will find complete fulfillment and freedom from all earthly desires. This divine nourishment and comfort can only be found in the presence of God, who brings an end to all suffering and injustice, and justifies those who remain faithful to Him. Ultimately, it is the Lamb, Christ, who guides us to true satisfaction and peace through His eternal presence. He approaches to present it on the altar along with the prayers of all the saints. The smoke of the incense, carrying the prayers of the saints, rises before God from the angel’s hand (Rev. 8:4). This imagery depicts the throne of God with the prayers of the saints and incense. Symbolically, the angel takes the censer, fills it with fire from the altar, and pours it onto the earth, resulting in voices, thunder, lightning, and an earthquake (Rev. 8:5). This action signifies the beginning of dangerous and terrible events on earth. Following this, seven angels with seven trumpets prepare themselves to sound (Rev. 8:6), indicating the unfolding of significant events as described by the Apostle.
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