But he gave the entire trial to his son. Bl. Theophylact of Bulgaria: the righteous Judgment of the Son. Interpretation of the Gospel of Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria

Jesus said to them: My Father is working until now, and I am working.

And the Jews sought even more to kill Him because He not only violated the Sabbath, but also called God His Father, making Himself equal to God.

To this Jesus said: Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless He sees the Father doing: for whatever He does, the Son also does also.

For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whomever He will.

For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgment to the Son, so that everyone may honor the Son as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 5:17-24

Interpretation of the Gospel of the Blessed
Theophylact of Bulgaria

Blessed Theophylact Bulgarian

John 5:17. Jesus said to them: My Father is working until now, and I am working.

The Jews accuse Christ of performing healing on the Sabbath. And He, as equal to the Father in honor and power, says: “As God and My Father does on the Sabbath, and you do not accuse Him, so you should not accuse Me.”

What is the Father doing to this day? Moses says that God rested from all His works (Gen. 2:2). Do you want to know what God is doing up to now? Look at the universe and understand the works of Providence: the sun rises and sets; look at the sea, springs, rivers, animals, in general at everything created, and you will see that the creature does its job, especially that it is put into action and movement by the ineffable way of Providence. Without a doubt, Providence does its work on Saturday too. Therefore, as the Father does and governs the creation on the Sabbath, so do I, His Son, do justly.

John 5:18. And the Jews sought even more to kill Him because He not only violated the Sabbath, but also called God His Father, making Himself equal to God.

But they, incited by envy, sought to kill Him not only because He calls God His Father, making Himself equal to God. By calling Himself the Son, He necessarily made Himself equal to God. For every son is of the same nature as his father.

Where is Arius? Truly, he is blind in the light. Calling Christ the Son of the Father, he did not admit His consubstantiality with the Father, but recognized the Son of the uncreated Father as a creature. He needed to learn at least from the Jews, who persecuted the Lord because He called Himself the Son of God, and from here His equality with God necessarily followed. If the dignity of the Son were not important and He did not make Himself equal to God through it, then why would they persecute Him?

John 5:19. To this Jesus said: Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless He sees the Father doing: for whatever He does, the Son also does likewise.

The Son cannot create from Himself, because he has nothing alien or different from the Father, but is not like the Father in everything, and has no other being to have a different power, and, consequently, a different action, but as a Being he has that the same, then it has the same Power. Therefore the Son does the same and cannot do anything other than what the Father does; for there is no other power, less or greater than the Father's, but the Father and the Son have one Being, one power, one action. “So,” you say. But the Father becomes, as it were, the Son’s teacher, showing Him what he should do? For the Son does not create anything unless he sees the Father doing it.

So, I ask Arius and Eunomius, who say this: “How does the Father teach the Son, whether by wisdom or not?” Without a doubt, wisdom. Who is the Wisdom of God? Isn't it the Son? Yes, without a doubt. This means that the Son teaches Himself. How foolish of you! You entrust the Son to the Father as if he were some kind of youth for teaching. And I, in accordance with the wisdom of God, affirm that if the Father knows anything, he knows not without the Son, for His wisdom is He; whether the Father can do anything, not without the Son, for His Power is He. That this is true, listen: “What the Father does, the Son also does.” If the Father has authority and power, and the Son also; This means that the Son is no less than the Father.

John 5:20. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.

If it is said humbly “shows Him everything” and “shows Him more than these,” then there is no need to marvel at this; for He speaks to people who cry out against Him and are consumed with envy. If He did not everywhere combine the humble with the sublime, then what would they not do when they rebel and while He speaks most of the time in a humiliating manner?

What does it mean: “he will show more than these”? Having strengthened the paralytic, He intends to raise the dead; That’s why he says: “If you are surprised that I healed the paralytic, you will see more than this.” That the derogatory expression “shows” He said with the intention of softening their foolishness, then listen to what follows.

John 5:21. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whomever He will.

He says, “As the Father raises the dead, so the Son gives life to whomever He will.” So, the Son resurrects “like the Father.” Sim shows the indifference of power, and with the words “whom he wants” - equality of power. The Arians put all this against the glory of the Son, but we, the Orthodox, understand it in favor of it.

John 5:22. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,

Christ, having performed many signs, proved that He can do good. But since he did not convince and did not attract them to worthy veneration of Himself, he says that the Father gave all judgment to the Son, so that the fear of judgment would incline them to pay homage to Him. For we people, especially the most unreasonable among us, usually learn what is necessary more through fear than through good deeds.

Understand the words “The Father gave judgment to the Son” to mean that He begot Him to be a Judge, just as you hear that He gave Him life, and understand that He begot Him to be Living. Since the Father is the cause of the existence of the Son, it is said that everything that the Son has, he received from the Father, as having it from Him by nature. Thus, He also has judgment from the Father, just as He has the Father.

John 5:23. So that everyone will honor the Son as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

So that we, hearing that the Father is the cause of the Son, do not begin to understand that He produced Him, like creatures, and thereby introduce a decrease in honor, for this He says that there is no difference between the Father and the Son. For whoever has the power to punish and reward as he wants, he has the same power as the Father; therefore, we must honor Him in the same way as the Father: “so that,” he says, “all may honor the Son as they honor the Father.”
Since the Arians think of honoring the Son as a creature, it turns out that they also honor the Father as a creature. For they either do not honor Him at all, and therefore must stand in line with the Jews, or, if they honor Him as a creature, and He should be honored as the Father, then they are decisively convicted of the fact that they honor the Father as a creature.

And otherwise, judging by the addition, how do those who do not honor the Son honor the Father? For he adds: “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father,” that is, whoever does not honor the Father in the same way. If anyone says that He is a creature superior to all creations, and thinks that such honor is falsely and vainly given to Him (as the Son), he decisively dishonors the Father who sent Him.

John 5:24. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

He said “Sent” so that they would not become bitter, as we said above. For He, as it has been said, miraculously unites the teaching: sometimes He gives a lofty testimony about Himself, as it should be, sometimes a humble one, due to the rage of the hostile Jews.
For if, after His resurrection from the dead, after His ascension into heaven, after the discovery of His power through the apostles, Arius and Eunomius rebelled against His glory and brought Him down into creation, then the Jews contemporary with Him, seeing Him walking in the flesh, eating and drinking with publicans and harlots, as one among many, what would they not have done if He had spoken only highly about Himself, and had not added the lowly ones? Therefore he adds: “He who hears My words and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life.”

Thus, the fact that those who hear His words will believe God calms their minds. For he did not say, “He who believes Me,” but “He who sent Me.” He who believes in Him does not come to judgment, that is, torment, but lives eternal life, not subject to spiritual and eternal death, although he will not escape physical and temporary death.

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One should not think that the Coming of the Lord will be local and carnal. We must wait for Him in the glory of the Father and immediately in the whole universe. Saint Basil the Great (6, 377).

The coming will be like lightning, because it will be suddenly at midnight. Then the dead will rise from their graves and sing praises to Him who resurrected them. (28, 328).

When Christ comes from Heaven, unquenchable fire will flow before His face and cover everything. The flood that occurred under Noah served as a prototype of this unquenchable fire (27, 142).

If the righteous and saints, by the mercy of God, were not protected from the fire of the Judge, which ignites heaven and earth, they, along with the sinners, would be consumed by fire. And if it were not for grace to protect the Heavenly armies, they, along with the evil ones, would be engulfed in this flame (28, 103).

God will rise up in Judgment and ascend above his enemies. The creature will be seized with horror and become as if dead. God will rise up for Judgment, and all order will be in disarray, and the wrath and rage of the Judge will be unbearable for creatures. God will rise up for Judgment, and heaven and earth will be ruined, the whole world will be destroyed, all its beauty will disappear. God will arise for the Judgment of the wicked and rebellious, and they will turn to dust. Who can bear His power? Before Him all the high places will fall and all the valleys will be brought down; heaven and earth will pass away and disappear like smoke. He will twist and throw off all creation like clothing, in order to furiously punish His enemies who hated Him. Like a robe, He clothed Himself in the universe and now in His anger He will lay it aside from Himself in order to carry out Judgment on those who despised Him... The Judge will cast all His creations on the wicked and rebellious who despised, insulted and humiliated Him. And the creature will not tolerate the wrath of the Judge, who burns with rage against enemies and the wicked. Before Him and around Him, fire burns and consumes the sinners and the godless. And all those who did not honor and humiliated Him, mocking His long-suffering, like dry branches will be destroyed by the fire coming from Him. The sky will be darkened with horror; what kind of wicked person will be saved then? The sea will dry up from fear - what wicked man will remain alive? The whole earth will burn - what sinner will escape punishment? Fire will kindle from the Lord and flow everywhere for vengeance, and the sky, the earth, and the sea will burn like straw. Reverend Ephraim Sirin (28, 102).

The Lord and God of all, our Lord Jesus Christ, will then shine with the radiance of the Divine, and His brilliance will cover the sun, so that it will not be visible at all, the stars will darken, and everything visible will be folded up like a scroll, that is, it will move away, giving place to its Creator. He who is now invisible to everyone and lives in an unapproachable light will then appear to everyone as He is in His glory. And He will fill everything with His light, and for His saints it will become a non-evening and endless day, filled with unceasing joy. And, for sinners and careless people like me, He will remain completely unapproachable and invisible. Since during their lifetime they did not strive to purify themselves in order to see the light of the glory of the Lord and accept Him Himself within themselves, then in the Future Age, in all fairness, He will be invisible and unapproachable to them (61, 34).

Those who have become children of Light and sons of the Future Day and can always, as in the light of day, walk gracefully, for those the Day of the Lord will never come, because they are always with Him and in Him. For the Day of the Lord will not appear for those on whom the Divine light has already shone. He will suddenly open up for those who are in the darkness of passions, live in a worldly way and love the blessings of this world - for them he will suddenly appear and seem terrible to them, like an unbearable and unbearable fire. Venerable Simeon the New Theologian (61, 37).

You asked to explain the signs of the end of times that the Lord revealed to us. “Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (). Let those who are established in piety (this means Judea) have in mind the highest refuge, protecting themselves by their confession. And “let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything from his house.” He who has neglected his real home - this dwelling, has become high in life and banished passions, let him not carry with him either fear, or negligence, or vanity, or addiction to wealth - all this is a descent from heights. “And let him who is in the field not turn back, and take his clothes.” Let him who has put off the old man and renounced the things of the flesh put on the New Man, who has renewed him in the knowledge of God and cleansed him from filth. They will all be safe from this great suffering. “...Woe to those who are pregnant and nursing in those days,” it is said to the souls who are pregnant with Divine love and do not dare to freely express and confess faith in God and stand firmly for it. They have acquired only a childish and imperfect concept of God's long-suffering, do not have firm hope, but are weakened by threats or attacks and have deprived themselves of a future. Venerable Isidore Pelusiot (50, 134).

To the comforting and saving testimony of the future Coming of the Ascended Lord, His heavenly messengers also add some explanation of how this Coming will follow. They say that the Coming of the Lord will be similar to His departure, or Ascension. “He will come in the same way as you saw Him ascending into heaven” (). ...The Lord ascended before the eyes of His disciples openly and solemnly. “He rose up in their sight, and a cloud took Him out of their sight” (). What kind of cloud? The cloud of light and glory that once overshadowed and filled the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon. There they saw glory, but they did not see the Lord of Glory. Afterwards they saw Him, but not in glory, and therefore they did not recognize Him and did not glorify Him. And here glory does not hide the Glorified One, and the Glorified One does not hide the glory. The apostles saw the glory of the Ascended Lord; the prophet also saw and heard it when he himself solemnly exclaimed: “God has risen with shouts. The Lord is at the sound of the trumpet" (b). So, when the luminous preachers announced to us that He would come in the same way as they saw Him going into heaven, they made it clear to us that He would come clearly and solemnly. This is exactly how the Lord predicted about Himself that “the Son of Man will come in His glory and all the holy Angels with Him” (). So the apostle explains that “The Lord, with a proclamation, with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven” ().

But why, another might think, are these details noticed, apparently more arousing curiosity than giving instruction, for they are predicted so that one can recognize and accept with faith the event sent from God, and no one will recognize the glorious Coming of Christ, although would you not have been informed about its details? Do not rush, beloved, to conclude that these details are superfluous. No! The Apostles, Angels, the Lord Himself say nothing to satisfy curiosity, but everything for instruction. That the Coming of Christ will be obvious and solemn is predicted so that there will be heralds of the opposite of this, when the spirit of deception will be sent to unworthy, unfaithful and corrupt Christians. An hour or time of temptation is coming (maybe it is now) when they will say: “Behold, here is Christ, or there... Behold, He is in the desert... behold, He is in the hidden rooms” (). Behold, He is with us, say the renegades, who, leaving the city of God, spiritual Jerusalem, the Apostolic Church, flee not into the true desert of peace and silence, but into spiritual and sensual desolation, where there is neither sound teaching, nor the holiness of the Sacraments, nor good rules of private and public life. Behold, He is with us, say the secretly heretical, pointing to their secret gatherings, as if the sun should shine only underground; as if He had not said and commanded: “What I say to you in the dark, speak in the light; and whatever you hear in your ear, preach on the housetops” (). Hearing such cries or whispers, remember, Christians, the angelic voice and the sermon about the Ascended Lord: “He will come in the same way as you saw Him ascending into heaven,” just as clearly, just as solemnly. And therefore, “if anyone says to you: behold, here is Christ, or there, do not believe it” (). Neither rude cries nor cunning whispers resemble the proclamation of the Archangel and the trumpet of God. Do not follow those who call you out of the city of the Lord; remain in your place and take care of your faith for the true Coming of Christ, glorious and solemn.

Another circumstance of the Ascension of the Lord, remarkable for the future, is that it was unexpected and unforeseen for His disciples. This happened, as far as can be learned from the short Gospel narratives, in such a way that He, appearing to them in Jerusalem, as happened many times, and departing, led them along as accompanying people, talking with them, as usual, about the Kingdom of God, and especially about the approaching descent of the Holy Spirit. “And He led them out of the city as far as Bethany, and lifted up His hands and blessed them. And when he blessed them, he began to move away from them and ascend to heaven” (). Not only did He not of His own free will inform them of this great event, but even when asked about the times of the great events of His Kingdom He absolutely did not answer anything. “He said to them: it is not your business to know the times or seasons that the Father has set in His power” (). This refusal to know the times obviously extends to the time of the future Coming of Christ and primarily applies to it. Even before, He impressed upon His disciples the suddenness of this event, likening it to lightning, which is a striking image of complete suddenness. “As lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (). Likewise, the apostle says: “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” ().

From this suddenness of His future Coming, the Lord Himself draws for us, Christians, a saving warning: “... watch, because you do not know at what hour your Lord will come” (M4>. 24, 42). Do not be carried away by curiosity or gullibility when Christians, who think to know more than what is given from Christ, will count the times of His Kingdom for you: “it is not your business to know the times or seasons,” try to better know your sins, count your falls and find their limits in repentance. And most of all, beware if you hear what the scoffers foretold by the apostle say: “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers began to die, from the beginning of creation, everything remains the same” (). Beware of the dark dreams of the sons of this age. closing your eyes from the light of the Coming Age, did not darken your heart, did not blind your mind, did not lull your spirit to that longed-for and terrible hour when “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (114, 44–47).

“But no one knows about that day and hour... only My Father alone”

“No one knows about that day or hour, neither the heavenly angels, nor the Son, but only the Father” ().

“It is not your business to know the times or seasons that the Father has set in His power” ().

He knows about the day and hour, as is clear from many other places. And how could the Son not know this day if He knows everything that will happen in the future? (113, 366)?

If He had said: I know, but I do not want to reveal it to you, then He would have darkened them. And when he says that neither He nor the Angels know, He completely restrains them from the desire to know and bother Him. Blessed Theophylact (113, 367).

The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son; The Father knows the day and the hour, which means that the Son who is in the Father, who knows what is in the Father, also knows the day and hour. (113, 366).

The Word said: “I do not know,” indicating human ignorance, since it took on flesh, and, being in it, said about the flesh: “I do not know.” Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (113, 366).

It is clear to everyone that the Son knows as God; He ascribes to Himself ignorance as a man. Saint Gregory the Theologian (113, 366).

“No one knows about that day or hour, neither the heavenly angels, nor the Son, but only the Father” (). With the word “neither the Angels,” Jesus Christ warns His disciples so that they do not try to learn what the Angels do not know. With the word “neither the Son” he forbids them not only to know, but also to ask about it. That these words were spoken by Him with such an intention, know from the fact that after the Resurrection from greater strength forbade their curiosity when he noticed that they indulged in him too much. Now he mentioned many and countless signs, but then he simply said: “It’s not your business to know the times or deadlines” (). And so that the disciples do not say: they despise us for our bewilderment, are we really worthy of this, He adds: “... which the Father has placed in His power.” If this were not so, if in fact the Son of GOD did not know the time of the end, then when would He have known about it? Together with us? But who will say this? He knew the Father as well as the Father of the Son, and did he really not know about the last day? In addition, “The Spirit penetrates everything, even the depths of God” (). And the Son supposedly did not even know the time of the Judgment? He knew how to judge, knew the secrets of everyone, is it possible that He did not know what is less important? If “all things began to be through Him, and without Him nothing began to be” (), is it possible that He did not know this day? For if He created the eyelids, He also created the times; if He created the times, then, without a doubt, He also created the day. How can He not know this day which He has created? Saint John Chrysostom (116, 419).

If the Son does not have knowledge of everything that the Father has knowledge of, then He who said: “Everything the Father has is Mine” (); “As the Father knows Me, so I know the Father” (). Or is it one thing to know the Father, and another thing to know what belongs to the Father? But to know the Father is more than to know what belongs to the Father (because everyone is greater than what belongs to him). And it is impossible that the Son, knowing more - for it is said: “... No one knows the Father except the Son” (), - would not know less. So, He kept silent about the time of the Judgment only because it was not useful for people to hear about it, because constant expectation makes them more zealous in piety, and the knowledge that there is still a long time before the Judgment would make them more careless, in the hope that they can be saved, repenting later. And is it possible that He who knew everything that would happen before this (for He said all this) did not know this hour? Otherwise, it was in vain that the apostle said that in Him “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden” ().

The word "no one" seems to express something general, so that no person is excluded by this saying. But this is not how it is used in Scripture, as we noticed in the saying: “No one is good except God alone” (). For the Son says this without excluding Himself from the nature of the Good. But since the Father is the first good, we are sure that in the word “no one” the word “first” is implied. Similar to this saying: “... no one knows the Son except the Father” (). Here He does not accuse the Spirit of ignorance, but testifies that the Father first of all knows His nature. So, I think about this: “No one knows about that day and hour” () it is said because the Lord attributes the first knowledge of the present and the future to the Father and points to the first cause in everything. Otherwise, how does this saying correspond to other testimonies of Scripture or can it be reconciled with our general concepts that the Only Begotten is “the image of the invisible God,” the image not of a bodily outline, but of the Divinity Himself and the greatness of God’s essence, the image of power, the image of wisdom, since Christ is called by God's power and God's wisdom ()? Without a doubt, knowledge is a part of wisdom, and the Son would not have contained all wisdom in Himself if He lacked something. And how could the Father, “through whom He created the ages” (), not show the slightest part of the centuries, this day and hour? Or how does the Creator of all things lack knowledge of the smallest part of what He has created? How can He who says that before the end approaches such and such signs will appear in heaven and on earth not know the very end? When He says: “... this is not the end” (b), He determines the time not as a doubter, but as a knower. Saint Basil the Great (116, 417–418).

“Take the likeness of a fig tree: when its branches become soft and put out leaves, you know that summer is near; so, when you see all this, know that it is close, at the door” (). Jesus Christ said: “...after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened” and there will be an end (). The disciples asked Him when this would be, wanting to know the very day. And He presented them with a fig tree as an example, showing by this that there was little time left and His Coming would soon be. And He confirmed this not only with a parable, but with the words: “know that it is near, at the door” (). At the same time, Jesus Christ also prophesies about spiritual summer, that is, about the silence that will come on that day for the righteous after the winter that is now overwhelming them. For sinners, on the contrary, he predicts winter after the summer, which he later confirmed, saying that that day would overtake them in the midst of luxury and pleasure. ...Then Jesus Christ, so that the disciples would not again approach Him with the question of when this will happen, reminds them of the approach of this time: “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen” (). What did He mean by “all these things”? – The same thing that happened to Jerusalem: wars, famines, pestilence, earthquakes, false Christs, false prophets, the widespread spread of the Gospel, riots, strife, and everything that must happen before His Coming. How did He say: “This generation will not pass away”? Here we are not talking about the race that then lived, but about the race of the faithful; for genus signifies not only time, but also manner of life. So it is said: “Such is the generation of those who seek Him” (), those who seek the Lord. Moreover, Jesus Christ first said: “... all these things must come to pass” () and also: “... this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole universe” ( ). He says the same thing here: all this will certainly come true, and the race of the faithful will endure and will not be interrupted by any of the indicated disasters. Jerusalem will be destroyed and will perish most of Jews, but nothing will prevail against this generation: neither famine, nor pestilence, nor earthquakes, nor the horrors of wars, nor false Christs, nor false prophets, nor seducers, nor seducers, nor traitors, nor false brethren, nor other similar temptations. Saint John Chrysostom (116, 415–416).

Since from the Divine Sermon it is clear to everyone that the time for change will come, one must not be curious about time... and not seek any conclusions with which another will weaken the hope of the Resurrection in the soul, but, strengthened by faith, try to purchase future grace with a good life. Saint Gregory of Nyssa (17, 169).

“The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (). A thief sneaks up in the night when he is not expected. So the day of the Lord will come when it is not expected. But when they do not expect the Coming, they do not prepare to meet Him. So that we don't make such an oversight. The Lord commanded: “...keep awake, because you do not know at what hour your Lord will come” (). Meanwhile, what are we doing? Are we vigilant? Are we waiting? I must admit - no. Some are still awaiting death, but hardly anyone is awaiting the Day of the Lord. And they seem to be right: our fathers and forefathers waited - and the day did not come. Since we don’t see anything why we should think that he will come in our days, we don’t think about him and don’t wait. What wonder if, given our condition, the Day of the Lord should fall upon us like a thief? ...Whether we wait or not, the day of the Lord is coming and will come without warning. For the Lord said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (). But isn't it better to wait so as not to be taken by surprise? For this will not be in vain for us. Saint Theophan the Recluse (107, 30–32).

Just as Christ the Lord determined an unknown death for us so that we would always expect it, so He left the date of His Coming into the world unknown so that we would expect Him every day. And just as we do not know when our Lord will call us to Himself, so that we may always be ready, so we do not know the day and hour when He will come to us, but every day and hour we will be ready to meet Him. Christian! As you see that a person dies when he does not expect it and goes to another age, understand and think that the Lord will come to us unexpectedly. Then suddenly a cry will be heard: “Here, the groom is coming, go out to meet him” (b). Just as you await your death and prepare for it in order to die blissfully, so await the Coming of your Lord and prepare to meet Him, so that at His Coming you will be worthy to stand at His right hand and hear with those who hear His sweetest voice: “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom , prepared for you from the creation of the world" (). Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (104, 1877).

“That day will not come, unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin, the son of perdition, is revealed.”

“Let no one deceive you in any way: for that day will not come, until a falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits in the temple of God as God, posing as God. ... And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the spirit of His mouth and destroy by the appearance of His coming, the one whose coming, according to the work of Satan, will be with all power and signs and lying wonders; and with all unrighteous deception of those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth so that they could be saved” (2 Thess. 2, 3, 4, 8-10).

"Children! Lately. And as you have heard that the Antichrist will come; and now many antichrists have appeared, then we know from this that the last time” ().

“False Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” ().

“Every spirit that does not confess Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh is not from God, but it is the spirit of the Antichrist, about whom you heard that he would come and is now already in the world” ().

The Apostle calls the Antichrist “the man of sin” because he will commit thousands of iniquities and cause others to commit them. And he calls him “the son of perdition,” because he himself will perish. Who will he be? Is it really Satan? No, but there is a certain person who will receive all his power... He will not call for idolatry, but will be an opponent of God, rejecting all gods. And he orders us to worship ourselves instead of God, and will sit in the temple of God, not only in Jerusalem, but in churches everywhere. “He will sit in the temple of God as God, showing himself to be God” (2 Thess. 2:4), says the Apostle [Paul]. He did not say that he would call himself God, but that he would pretend to be God. He will do great things and show wonderful signs (45, 592).

The Antichrist will come to human destruction to cause harm to people. Whatever he does at that time, everything will be in confusion and confusion, both because of his commands and from fear. He will be terrible in all respects: with his power, cruelty, and lawless commands. But do not be afraid, he will have power... only over those who are perishing. And Elijah will then come to support the believers. Saint John Chrysostom (45, 600).

The wicked and formidable deceiver (Antichrist) will come in his own time with the intention of kidnapping, slaughtering and destroying the chosen flock of the True Shepherd. He will disguise himself as a true shepherd in order to deceive the sheep of the flock. But those who know well the holy voice of the True Shepherd will immediately recognize the deceiver, because the voice of the wicked is not at all similar to the voice of the True Shepherd. The voice of the Antichrist is feigned and soon becomes recognizable. And the bad one will say: “I command you to cross the sea here.” And before the eyes of the spectators, the mountain will move without moving at all from its foundations. For over what the Most High God raised and placed at the beginning of creation, the Antichrist will not have power, but will begin to deceive the world with sorcery. This dragon will also, at his wave, gather a multitude of reptiles and birds, step onto the abyss and walk along it as if on dry land, doing all this in his imagination. And many will believe and glorify him as a strong god. But whoever has God within them, the eyes of their hearts will be bright and with sincere faith they will see and recognize Him (27, 137).

With pain in my heart, I will begin to talk about that most shameless and terrible serpent, which will throw the whole universe into confusion and put fear, cowardice and unbelief into human hearts. And he will perform miracles, signs and intimidations, “to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (), and will deceive everyone with false signs and ghosts of miracles. For by the permission of the Holy God he will receive the power to deceive the world, because the wickedness of the world is fulfilled and all kinds of horrors are being committed everywhere. That is why the Most Pure Lord, for the wickedness of people, will allow the world to be tempted by the spirit of lies...

At the mere memory of the serpent, I am horrified, thinking about the sorrow that will befall people in those days, about how cruel this nasty serpent will be towards the human race and how much malice he will have against the saints who can resist his imaginary miracles . For then there will be many people who please God, who will be saved by prayers and heartfelt crying in the mountains and desert places. For the Holy God, seeing their tears and sincere faith, will have mercy on them, like a tender Father, and will protect them where they hide. But the disgusting serpent will not stop looking for saints both on earth and on the sea, believing that he has already reigned on earth and everyone is subject to him.

Not realizing his weakness and the pride from which he fell, he, the unfortunate one, will plan to resist even in that terrible hour when the Lord comes from Heaven.

The Lord God Himself said that “in those days there will be such sorrow as has not happened since the beginning of creation” (). A courageous soul will be needed that could preserve life among temptations. For if a person turns out to be careless, he will easily be attacked and will be captured by the signs of the crafty and cunning serpent. It takes a lot of prayers and tears for someone to stand firm in temptation.

The God-fighter wants to destroy everyone. He will come up with this method of torment: everyone will have to wear the mark of the beast (), when at the fulfillment of times he comes to deceive everyone with signs, only in this case will it be possible to buy food and everything necessary, and will appoint guards to carry out his commands. Note the extreme cunning of the beast and his cunning: he begins from the belly, so that when a person is driven to the extreme by lack of food, he will force him to accept the seal. These should be wicked marks precisely on the right hand and on the forehead, so that a person can no longer imprint the sign of the cross with his right hand and mark it on his forehead holy name The Lord's or the glorious and honorable cross of Christ and our Savior. For the unfortunate one knows that the imprinted cross of the Lord destroys all his strength, and therefore puts his seal on right hand which seals all our members with the cross; and on the forehead, which holds, like a high lamp, the light, the sign of our Savior. Without a doubt, for this purpose he uses such a method so that the name of the Lord and Savior is unnameable at that time, for he becomes powerless (the seducer), fearing and trembling at the holy power of our Savior. For those who are not sealed with the seal of the beast will not be captivated by its imaginary signs, and the Lord will not retreat from such, enlightening and attracting them to Himself.

The Lord, who set out to save the human race, was born of a Virgin and in human form trampled upon the enemy with the holy power of His Divinity. And he will plan to perceive the image of His Coming in order to deceive. Our Lord will come to earth on luminous clouds, like terrible lightning, but the enemy will not come like that, because he is an apostate. Indeed, the Antichrist will be born from a virgin who is only defiled. But this does not mean that the enemy himself will incarnate. The defiler will come like a thief, in such a form as to deceive everyone: he will come humble, meek, calling himself a hater of unrighteousness, turning away from idols, pious, good, loving the poor. He will be beautiful in appearance and affectionate towards everyone. With all this, with great power he will perform signs, wonders and fears and manage to please everyone so that his people will love him. He will not take gifts, speak angrily, or appear with a dissatisfied appearance, but with a decorous appearance he will begin to deceive the world until he reigns. Many peoples and classes will see such virtues and strengths and in unanimity with great joy they will proclaim him king, saying: “Will there still be a man so kind and truthful?” And soon his kingdom will be established, and in anger he will defeat three kings. Then this serpent will ascend in heart and spew out his bitterness, crush the universe, shake its ends, oppress everyone and begin to defile souls, no longer feigning reverence, but acting like a harsh, cruel, angry, impetuous, disorderly, terrible, disgusting, hateful, vile man , evil, destructive, shameless, trying to plunge the entire human race into the abyss of wickedness...

Those who believed the fierce beast and took upon themselves its seal, the evil mark of the defiled, will suddenly approach it and say with sorrow: “Give us something to eat and drink, because we are all tormented by hunger.” And this poor man, having no means, will answer with cruelty: “Where will I get food for you? The sky does not want to give rain, and the earth does not give any harvest or fruit.” The nations will cry out and shed tears, having no consolation in their sorrow. Another unspeakable sorrow will be added to their sorrow: that they hastened to believe the tormentor. For he, meager, is unable to help himself, how can he show them mercy?

In those days there will be great grief from many sorrows caused by the serpent, from fear, and earthquakes, and the noise of the sea, from hunger, and thirst, and the remorse of beasts. And all who accepted the seal of the Antichrist and worshiped the Antichrist as a good God will not have any part in the Kingdom of Christ, but together with the serpent they will be cast into Gehenna. But before this comes true, the Lord, in His mercy, will send Elijah the Tishbite and Enoch, so that they will proclaim piety to the human race, boldly preach the knowledge of God to everyone, and teach them not to believe the tormentor out of fear, saying: “People, this is a lie. Don't trust her. Let no one obey the God-fighter, let no one be afraid, because the God-fighter will soon be rendered harmless. Behold, the Lord is coming from Heaven to judge all those who believed his signs!”

However, few will then want to listen and believe the sermons of the prophets... Many of the saints who will be found at the coming of the defiled will shed tears in rivers to the Holy God in order to get rid of the serpent, will run away into the desert and will hide in fear in the mountains and caves . And they will sprinkle earth and ashes on their heads, praying in great humility day and night. And it will be given to them. from the Holy God, that His grace will lead them to certain places and they will be saved, hiding in abysses and caves, not seeing the signs and fears of the Antichrist, because those who have knowledge will know about his coming. But whoever has a mind (focused) on the affairs of life and loves earthly things, this will not be clear to him. For such is the nature of one who is attached to everyday affairs: although he will hear prophetic words, he will not believe them and even disdains those who talk about it. And the saints will be strengthened because they have cast aside all worries about this life. Then the earth and the sea, the mountains and the hills will weep, the heavenly lights will weep for the human race, because everyone has turned away from the Holy God and believed a lie, taking upon themselves instead life-giving cross The Savior is the mark of a bad and godless mark. The earth and the sea will cry, because in the mouths of men the voice of psalms and prayers will suddenly cease; All the churches of Christ will cry with great lamentation, because there will be no sacred service and offerings.

After the completion of three and a half years of power and the actions of the unclean, when the temptations of the whole earth are fulfilled, he will finally come. Lord, like lightning flashed from the sky. Our Holy, Most Pure, Terrible, Glorious God will come with incomparable glory and the ranks of Archangels and Angels preceding His glory, and they themselves are a fiery flame, and a river full of fire will flow in terrible bubbling. The Cherubim will lower their eyes and the Seraphim will cover their faces and feet with fiery wings and cry with trepidation: “Arise, you who have fallen asleep, the Bridegroom has come!” The tombs will open and in the blink of an eye all the tribes of the earth will awaken and look at the holy beauty of the Bridegroom. And thousands of thousands of Archangels and Angels - countless hosts - will rejoice with great joy. The saints and the righteous and all those who have not accepted the seal of the serpent and the wicked will rejoice.

The tormentor, with all the demons, bound by the Angels, just like all those who accepted his seal, all the wicked and sinners bound will be brought before the judgment seat. And the King will condemn them to eternal damnation in unquenchable fire. All those who have not accepted the seal of the Antichrist and all those hiding in caves will rejoice with the Bridegroom and all the saints in the Eternal Heavenly Palace for the endless ages of ages. Venerable Ephraim the Syrian (26, 376).

It is not strange that the miracles of the Antichrist will be accepted unquestioningly and with delight by apostates from Christianity, enemies of God, enemies of truth... It is worthy of deep attention and sorrow that his miracles and deeds will lead to confusion even among God’s chosen ones (111, 296).

At first, the Antichrist will appear meek, merciful, full of love and all virtue; those who consider the fallen human truth to be true and have not renounced it for the sake of the truth of the Gospel will recognize him as such and submit to him, because of his most sublime virtue (111, 297).

Those driven by the spirit of Antichrist reject Christ; they accepted the Antichrist in their spirit, entered into communion with him, submitted and worshiped him in spirit, recognizing him as their god (111, 309).

IN last times almost everyone will leave the narrow path, almost everyone will take the wide one. It does not follow from this that the wide will lose its ability to lead to destruction, that the narrow will become superfluous, unnecessary for salvation. Anyone who wants to be saved must certainly adhere to the narrow path bequeathed by the Savior (108, 211).

The Monk Ephraim the Syrian spoke about the position of those who will seek the living word of God in the last times. They will... traverse the earth from east to west and from north to south, looking for such a word - and will not find it (108, 285).

The Holy Scripture testifies that Christians, like the Jews, will gradually begin to cool towards the Revealed teaching of God. They will begin to ignore the renewal of human nature by the God-man, they will forget about eternity, they will turn all attention to their own earthly life... The Redeemer, who redeemed man for a blessed eternity, is alien to such a direction. This trend is characterized by a retreat from Christianity... Monasticism will participate in the weakening of Christianity: a member of the body cannot help but take part in the weakness that has struck the whole body... When Christianity is diminished to the extreme on earth, then the life of the world will end (108, 457–458).

The apostasy of the New Israel from the Savior towards the end of time will be extensive, and then, as a consequence and fruit of the apostasy, the man of lawlessness will be revealed, the son of destruction, who will dare to call himself the promised Messiah... (111, 222).

Abundant earthly prosperity and huge enterprises, as obvious to everyone, are presented by the word of God as a sign of the last times and mature sinfulness of mankind, mostly hidden and incomprehensible with a superficial and inexperienced look at humanity (111, 222).

Temporal and eternal disasters befell the old Israel for rejecting the Redeemer; these disasters are a weak image of the terrible disasters that will be the punishment of the New Israel for its crime (111, 223).

When the world proclaims and extols its prosperity, the establishment of supreme prosperity, indestructible peace and its establishment, “suddenly... destruction will befall” (), then the end of the world will come, which he, in his darkness, in the rapture of earthly prosperity, will not expect (111, 270).

The Antichrist will be logical, fair, natural consequence general moral and spiritual direction of people (111, 309).

The common, identical knowledge of the Truth, which would unite everyone into one, has been lost. spiritual body, with one way of thinking, in one spirit, under one common head - Christ (111, 524).

By the end of the life of the world, temptations should intensify and multiply so much that “due to the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold” () and “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth”? (). The land of Israel, the Church, will be brought down by the sword - from the murderous violence of temptations and will be very empty (112, 140–141).

IN last days The world embraces people, under the influence of the ruler of the world, attachment to the earth and to everything material, carnal. They will indulge in earthly concerns and material development... as if the earth were their eternal dwelling... They will forget eternity, as if it does not exist, they will forget God, they will retreat from Him. Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) (112, 330–331).

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.”

“In the beginning, O Lord, You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; they will perish, but You will remain; and they will all wear out like a robe, and like a garment. You change them, and they will change” ().

“The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, and then the heavens will pass away with a noise, and the elements will be destroyed with burning fire, the earth and all the works on it will be burned up. ...However, according to His promise, we are awaiting a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” ().

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (). “This world is passing away, another is near - an imperishable one, in which secrets will be revealed... Venerable Ephraim the Syrian (28, 272).

Since people are true people (created by Truth. – Ed.), then their place of residence must necessarily be true, not turning into nothing, but improving in being. For neither the substance nor the essence of creation is destroyed, because the Creator is true and faithful. But the image of this world passes away, in which a crime has been committed, because man has grown old here... When this image passes and man is renewed and strengthened for incorruption so that he can no longer become old, then there will be a new heaven and new land, on which he will stay new person.Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (113, 682).

The world needs to change if the state of souls moves into another kind of life. For just as our present life has qualities akin to this world, so the future state of our souls will receive a lot characteristic of its state. Saint Basil the Great (113, 683).

The Scriptures often call destruction a change in the form (of the world) into a better and more perfect view; How can we call the destruction of infancy the transition of a person to maturity? Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus (113, 684).

Our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven, He will come with glory at the end of this world on the last day. For there will be an end of this world, and this created world will be renewed. “For the Lord has judgment with the inhabitants of this land, because there is neither truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God on earth. Oaths and deceit, murder and theft, and adultery have become extremely widespread, and bloodshed follows bloodshed” (). So that this wonderful monastery does not remain forever full of lawlessness, this world will pass away and will again appear better... Let us not grieve that we alone are dying; and the stars end, but, of course, they will rise again. The Lord will reconstitute the heavens, but not in order to destroy them, but to recreate them in at its best. “...They will wear out like a robe, and like a garment You will change them and they will be changed.” (101, 27).

As they say about the death of a person: “The righteous dies, and no one takes it to heart” (), and meanwhile his resurrection is expected; so we await the resurrection of heaven. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (113, 683).

“The creation submitted to vanity not voluntarily, but according to the will of the one who conquered it, in the hope that the creation itself will be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (). Discussing slavery (creatures), the Apostle Paul shows why it occurred, and considers ourselves to be the cause of it. So what? Does a creature that suffers for another suffer an insult? Not at all... because through you (the person) it will again be incorruptible, which is what “in hope” means. What does "sama" mean? Not you alone, but also that which is much lower than you, that has no reason or feelings, and that will share with you in future benefits. “She will be freed from slavery to corruption,” that is, she will no longer be corruptible, but will become consistent with the beauty of your body. The creation became corruptible when your body became corruptible, and when your body rises incorruptible, the creation will follow it and become corresponding to it.

People have a custom of dressing servants in rich clothes to honor their son, when he needs to appear in the world worthy of his high family; so God clothes creation with incorruptibility for the glory of the freedom of his children. Saint John Chrysostom (113, 683).

“Let all the trees of the forest rejoice together before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth” (1 Chron. 16:33).

“He will judge the world according to righteousness, and the nations according to His truth” (Ps. 95:13).

“A river of fire came out and passed before Him; thousands upon thousands served Him, and ten thousand thousand stood before Him; the judges sat down, and the books were opened” (Dan. 7:10).

“Let the nations arise and go down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all nations on every side” (Joel 3:12).

"Use the sickles, for the harvest is ripe; go, go down, for the winepress is full and the winepress overflows, because their malice is great. Crowds, crowds in the valley of judgment! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of judgment! The sun and the moon will darken and the stars will lose their shine And the Lord will roar from Zion, and give His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble; but the Lord will be a defense for His people and a defense for the children of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, in My holy mountain. and Jerusalem will be holy, and foreigners will no longer pass through it" (Joel 3:13-17).

“And I said in my heart: “God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time for every thing, and a judgment for every work” (Eccl. 3:17).

“Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart taste joy in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart and in the vision of your eyes; only know that for all this God will bring you to judgment” (Eccl. 11, 9).

“And I will come to you for judgment and will be a swift accuser of sorcerers and adulterers and those who swear falsely and withhold wages from a hireling, oppress the widow and the orphan, and repel the stranger, and do not fear Me, says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 3:5 ).

“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward everyone according to his deeds” (Matthew 16:27).

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the time is coming, and has already come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority "And execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not be surprised at this; for the time is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who have done good will be found in the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil in the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5, 25-29).

“He who rejects Me and does not accept My words has a judge for himself: the word that I have spoken will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48).

“We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what he has done while living in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).

“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 He will separate one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31, 32).

“For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son... And he has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man” (John 5:22,27).

“And He commanded us to preach to the people and testify that He is the appointed Judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42).

“Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the end of life, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).

“Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you really unworthy to judge unimportant matters? Don’t you know that we will judge angels, much less the affairs of this life?” (1 Cor. 6:2-3).

“I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).

“Do not judge in any way before the time, until the Lord comes, who will illuminate what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the heart, and then everyone will have praise from God” (1 Cor. 4:5).

“The servant who knew the will of his master, and was not ready, and did not do according to his will, will be beaten much; but the one who did not know, and did something worthy of punishment, will be beaten less. And from everyone to whom much is given, much and it will be required, and whoever has been entrusted with much will be required of him more" (Luke 12:47-48).

“Many will say to Me on that day: Lord! Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? And did we not cast out demons in Your name? And did not miracles work in Your name? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; depart from Me workers of iniquity" (Matthew 7:22-23).

“But, due to your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and the revelation of righteous judgment from God, who will reward everyone according to his deeds: to those who, by persistence in good deeds, seek glory, honor and immortality - eternal life, But to those who persist and do not submit to the truth, but give themselves over to unrighteousness, there will be wrath and wrath" (Rom. 2:5-8).

“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of His holy angels to execute judgment on all and to convict all the wicked among them of all the deeds that their wickedness has done, and of all the cruel words that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14- 15).

“And if anyone will not receive you and listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or city; truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city” (Matt. 10, 14-15).

“For with the judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:2).

“So will My Heavenly Father do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother his sins from his heart” (Matthew 18:35).

“Judgement without mercy to him who has shown no mercy; mercy is exalted above judgment” (James 2:13).

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Lk. 6:37).

“And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10).

“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged according to what was written in the books, according to their deeds” (Rev. 20:12) .

Art. 22-24 For the Father does not judge anyone, but all judgment is given to the Sons, so that everyone honors the Son as they honor the Father. (A) whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Amen, amen, I say to you, for listen to My word and believe in Him who sent Me to have eternal life, and He will not come into judgment, but will pass from death to life.

The Father does not judge anyone, but all judgment is given to the Sons, so that everyone honors the Son as they honor the Father. So, should we not, they say, call Him Father? No way. That's why he said: son so that we honor Him, who remains the Son, just like the Father; and whoever calls Him Father no longer honors the Son as Father, but confuses them. Since people are motivated not so much by good deeds as by punishments, He speaks here so threateningly that at least fear compelled them to honor Him. And when he says: the whole court, he expresses by this that He has the power to punish and reward, to do both as He pleases. The expression is: dade used so that you do not consider Him unborn and do not think that there are two Fathers. Everything that is in the Father is also in the Son, only He was born and remains the Son. And to make sure that the expression: dade here is equivalent to the expression gave birth, listen to the explanation of this from another place: like, He says, The Father has life in Himself, so Dada and the Sons have life in Himself(v. 26) What? Did the Father really give birth to Him first and then give Him life? After all, the giver gives something to someone who already exists. So was He already born without life? But even the demons cannot think of this, because it is not only wicked, but also insane. Because the expression: dada belly means that He begat Him by life, so the words: Dade court mean that He gave birth to Him as a judge. So that you, hearing that the Son has the Father as the culprit, do not think that the Son has a different being from the Father and is of lower dignity than Him, behold, He Himself is coming to judge you, proving by this His equality. He who has the power to punish and reward whomever he wants, He, of course, has the same power as the Father. Otherwise, if the Son, after His birth, subsequently received this honor, then one might ask, for what reason was He honored so subsequently? By what success did He achieve that He received such dignity and was elevated to such dignity? Aren’t you ashamed to so boldly attribute these human and humiliating properties to an immortal Being who has nothing that has surpassed time? Why, you say, does He talk about Himself like that? In order for what has been said to be acceptable and to pave the way for higher concepts. This is why He mixes both in His words (both the sublime and the humiliated), and look how; By the way, let's look at this first. He said: My Father does, and I do, showing thereby His equality and equivalence with the Father; But The Jews are seeking to kill Him. What does He do after this? He softens his expressions, but keeps the same thoughts and says: The Son cannot do anything about Himself. Then he raises the word again: For whatever the Father does, the Son also does likewise; again he humbly says: The Father loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself creates; and more of these will show Him; again sublimely: just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so the Son also gives life to what he wills.; and again humbly and at the same time sublimely: For the Father does not judge anyone, but all judgment is given to the Sons; and even more sublimely: . Do you see how He diversifies His word, using names and expressions in it, sometimes exalted, sometimes degraded, so that for the people of that time it could be acceptable, and future ones would not lose anything, from the sublime expressions receiving the proper understanding of others? Otherwise, if His words were not spoken out of condescension towards people, why were such sublime expressions added? Whoever has the right to say something lofty about himself, and at the same time says something humiliating and humble, he, of course, has a plausible reason for this and some special intention; and whoever should speak humbly about himself and yet says something great, why will he begin to use expressions that surpass his nature? This is no longer any special good intention, but extreme wickedness.

Therefore, we can say that Christ’s humble expressions about Himself have a just and God-worthy reason, namely: condescension towards us, the intention to teach us humility, and through this the arrangement of our salvation, which He Himself explains in another place when He says: I say this, that you will be saved(v. 34) . It was when He resorted to the testimony of John, abandoning his own, which could seem unworthy of His greatness, that, giving the reason for such humiliation in words, He said: I say this, that you will be saved. And you, who claim that He does not have the same power and strength as the One who gave birth to Him, what will you say when you hear His own words, with which He expresses the equality of power, authority and glory with the Father? Why does He demand equal honor for Himself, if He, as you say, is much lower than the Father? And He, without stopping at these words, adds: whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him(v. 23) . Do you see how the honor of the Son is united with the honor of the Father? What of this, you say? This also applies to the Apostles: others like you accept, He says, Accepts me(Matt. 10:40). But there He says so because everything that concerns His servants He assimilates to Himself; but here because He has one being and one glory with the Father. Moreover, He does not say about the Apostles: let them be honored. And well He says: He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father. If two kings dishonor one of them, then dishonor is inflicted on the other, especially if the person being insulted is the king’s son; The king is insulted even when his squire is insulted, but not like that and not directly; and here he is offended by himself. That is why Christ warns with the words: May everyone honor the Son as they honor the Father so that then when he says: He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, you meant the same honor. It doesn't just say: others like him don't honor, But: others like him don't honor just like I said does not honor the Father. But how, you say, can the Sender and the Sent be one and the same being? Again, you transfer the word to human relationships and do not understand that all this is said only so that we might know the culprit and not fall into the illness of Savely, so that the weakness of the Jews would be healed in this way, and they would no longer consider Him an adversary to God; after all, they said: He is not from God, He did not come from God. And it was not so much His sublime as His humble words that contributed to the destruction of such a thought: that is why He often different places and said that He was sent, not so that you would take such a word as an expression of humiliation of Him (before the Father), but to stop the lips of the Jews. That is why He often turns to the Father, expressing at the same time His own power. And if He had spoken everything about Himself in accordance with His own Divine dignity, then they would not have accepted His words, since even for a few such expressions they persecuted Him and often wanted to stone Him. On the other hand, if, applying himself to them, He spoke about Himself only humbly, then this would subsequently serve to the detriment of many. Thus, He mixes and diversifies His teaching about Himself and, with humble expressions, as I said, stops their mouths, and with words consistent with His dignity, He removes the sane from a debased understanding of His expressions and shows that such an understanding is not at all befitting of Him. To be sent expresses a change of place, and God is omnipresent. Why does He say about himself: sent? He uses sensual expression to show His like-mindedness with the Father. He directs the following words to the same goal: Amen, amen, I say to you, that listen to My word and believe in Him who sent Me to have eternal life(v. 24) Do you see how often He repeats the same thing in order to correct the opinion of the Jews, so that with these and subsequent words, and with fear, and with the promise of good things, they can overcome the stubbornness against Him - how much here again descends in expressions about Himself? He does not say: listen to My words and believe Me; they would consider this pride and extreme vanity in words, because if after for a long time, after countless miracles, they attributed arrogance to Him when He spoke in this way, then even more so in the present case. This is what they said to Him afterwards: Abraham died and the prophets, and You said: If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste death.(8, 52) . So, so that they do not become angry now, He says this: listen to My word and believe in Him who sent Me to have eternal life. From this, his word became no less acceptable to them, that is, from the admonition that those who listen to Him believe the Father. Having willingly accepted this, they could more easily accept other things. Thus, using humiliating words about Himself, He prepares and paves the way to higher concepts. Then, saying: have an eternal belly He adds: and will not come to judgment, but will pass from death to the belly(v. 24) Thus, He encourages the acceptance of His teaching with two remarks - the fact that through Him they believe the Father, and the fact that the believer will be worthy of great blessings. And the words: won't come to court means: not subject to punishment. And death, of course, here is not temporary, but eternal, just as life is immortal.

St. Kirill of Alexandria

For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgment to the Son.

“The Father judges no one, but all judgment is given to the Son.” He cites another godly and miraculous matter, convincing through many arguments that He is God by nature and truly. And indeed, to whom else could judgment befitting the universe, if not the one God who exists above all, Whom the Divine Scriptures call for this, saying that "Arise God, judge the earth"(Ps. 82:8), then again: “For God is a judge, he humbles this one and exalts this one”(Ps. 74:8) . However, "judgment was given to Him from the Father"- He says this not as being outside the possession of it, but as a man and economically, teaching that everything should be attributed to the Divine nature, in which He Himself dwells, as the Word and God, and has in Himself power over everything. And how did you become the person to whom it is said in one place: “For what have you that you have not received?”(1 Cor. 4:7), then he rightly admits that He received (judgment).

...Then, in addition, you should pay attention to the following. To judge or to be a judge is rather the essence actions or manifestations of what is thought of as essences than the essences themselves in their truth. So, we perform a certain action when we carry out judgment, but in fact we remain what we are. If we attach the meaning of essences to a trial or the execution of a judgment, then wouldn’t it turn out to be necessary and involuntary to admit that some of the existing ones could not exist at all if they were not judges, and with the end of the trial their essence would, of course, cease? But to think this way is the height of absurdity. Judgment is an action and nothing else. What, then, did the Father give to the Son? He did not give any advantage, as if from his own nature, in granting Him the entire judgment, but rather an action extending to those judged. How then will the Father be greater or superior in nature, and what will He add to the Son, which was not in the Son, who says: “Everything that the Father has, is My essence”(John 16:15) ?

Listen, finally, how we must understand the expression "gave". As God and the Father, having the power to create, He creates everything through the Son, as through His Strength and Strength; so, having the power to judge, he does this through the Son, as through His Truth. This is similar to saying that fire also allows the action that comes from it to burn something by nature. Thus, piously interpreting the expression "gave", we will escape the snares of the devil. If, however, they continue to assert with shameless persistence that glory has been added to Him from the Father by declaring Him a judge of the earth, then let them teach us how, in this case, can we still represent Him as the Lord of glory, Who is crowned with this honor even in the last times?

Interpretation of the Gospel of John. Book II.

St. Maxim the Confessor

How should we, according to piety, understand the words of the Gospel: The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son? And why does the Lord say in another place: I don't judge anyone(John 8:15) but the word that I have spoken will judge him(John 12:48) ?

Being God, neither the Father nor the Son will judge anyone - after all, a person becomes a judge for people, and not for animals. The Father gave judgment to the Son, not because the Son is God, but because He became man. He will judge everyone by comparing His human life with ours. And His word will also judge, that is, the teaching that He revealed through works, according to what is written: what Jesus did and taught from the beginning(Acts 1:1)

Questions and difficulties.

Blzh. Theophylact of Bulgaria

Art. 22-24 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Christ, having performed many signs, proved that He can do good. But since he did not convince and did not attract them to worthy veneration of Himself, he says that the Father gave all judgment to the Son, so that the fear of judgment would incline them to pay homage to Him. For we people, especially the most unreasonable among us, usually learn what is necessary more through fear than through good deeds. Words "The Father gave judgment to the Son" understand that He begot Him to be a Judge, just as you hear that He gave Him life, and you understand that He begot Him to be Living. Since the Father is the cause of the existence of the Son, it is said that everything that the Son has, he received from the Father, as having it from Him by nature. Thus He has judgment from the Father, just as He has the Father. So that we, hearing that the Father is the cause of the Son, do not begin to understand that He produced Him, like creatures, and thereby introduce a decrease in honor, for this He says that there is no difference between the Father and the Son. For whoever has the power to punish and reward as he wants, he has the same power as the Father; therefore, He should be revered in the same way as the Father; "so that - speaks , - everyone honored the Son as they honor the Father.”. Since the Arians think of honoring the Son as a creature, it turns out that they also honor the Father as a creature. For they either do not honor Him at all, and therefore must stand in line with the Jews, or, if they honor Him as a creature, and He should be honored as the Father, then they are decisively convicted of the fact that they honor the Father as a creature. - And otherwise, judging by the addition, how do those who do not honor the Son honor the Father? For he adds: “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father”, that is, who does not honor the same as the Father. If anyone says that He is a creature superior to all creations, and thinks that such honor is falsely and vainly given to Him (as the Son), he decisively dishonors the Father who sent Him. Said "sent" so that they do not become bitter, as we said above. For He, as it has been said, miraculously unites the teaching: sometimes He gives a lofty testimony about Himself, as it should be, sometimes a humble one, due to the rage of the hostile Jews. For if, after His resurrection from the dead, after His ascension into heaven, after the discovery of His power through the apostles, Arius and Eunomius rebelled against His glory and brought Him down into creation, then the Jews contemporary with Him, seeing Him walking in the flesh, eating and drinking with publicans and harlots as one of many, what would they not have done if He had spoken only highly about Himself, and had not added the lowly? Therefore he adds: “Whoever hears My words and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life.”. Thus, the fact that those who hear His words will believe God calms their minds. For he did not say: believer "To me", But "To the one who sent" Me. He who believes in Him does not come to judgment, that is, torment, but lives eternal life, not subject to spiritual and eternal death, although he will not escape physical and temporary death.

Evfimy Zigaben

For the Father does not judge anyone, but all judgment is given to the Sons, so that everyone honors the Son as they honor the Father.

Art. 22-23: Again moves from the sublime to the lower. And here's the word dade must understand in a godly manner. Jesus Christ says this not only for the purpose of healing the weakness of the Jews, as it is said, but also so that we know the reason, see that the Son is not unborn, and do not fall into the illness of Sabellius, who thought that both the Father, and the Son, and The Holy Spirit is one and the same, and absurdly taught that the Holy Trinity is one person. When Did the Father give judgment to the Son? The answer to this can be: first of all When. Although it should have been answered directly: together with the birth of the Son, but when was the Son born, when the Father was not born? It is impossible, absolutely impossible, to imagine any time or century in which it would be possible to reach this limit, even if we made the greatest efforts. The Father gave all judgment to the Son, so that, fearing Him because of this, they would honor Him as they honor the Father. The word “all” denotes judgment, the consequence of which is the reward of those whom He wants. This, however, does not take away the power to judge from the Father. If everything that the Father has belongs to the Son, except non-fertility, then, obviously, everything that the Son has belongs to the Father, except non-fertility. So, the Son judges, but with the favor of the Father and the assistance of the Holy Spirit, as we understand in relation to all His deeds. It should be noted that the word like(ωσπερ, χαυως) and others of the same designate equality in relation to the uncreated Trinity, and in relation to creatures they more often designate similarity and particular similarity. But why did the Father give judgment to the Son? Because He created man in the beginning, corrupted - He recreated and gave saving commandments; and also so that one who has become a man judges people not only as God, who knows the nature of people, but also as a person who has been tempted in it. Why did the Son create man? Because He is the Wisdom, Word and Power of the Father (1 Cor. 24, 30; Heb. 1, 3). Why did the Son become man, and not the Father and not the Holy Spirit? Because the Son had to remain the Son in heaven and on earth, so that there were no two Sons, the Creator had to renew His deteriorated creation, the rational being had to free itself from irrational passions through reason, or the Word (Λογος), created in the image of God and he who changed him should be raised to his former dignity through the unchangeable image of the Father, so that in this way there would be complete conformity in everything. If we honor Jesus Christ as we honor the Father, then shall we not also call Him Father? No; Knowing that He is the Son, we will not call Him Father, so as not to confuse their personal properties, but only must honor Him as the Father: we are talking here about honoring, not about the title. In an improper sense, we call Him Father, as our Creator, Provider and Teacher. We saw a wise and amazing interweaving of sublime and simple speeches, so that those who were at that time easily understood the speech and this did not cause harm to those who were after. If Jesus Christ spoke simple speeches not out of condescension, then why would He weave in sublime ones here? When one who should speak exaltedly about himself speaks humbly about himself, he has a justification for himself in a wise purpose: he does this with a wise purpose; and when one who should speak insignificantly says great things about himself, he does so not with a wise purpose, but out of extreme arrogance. If the Son is lower than the Father, as the followers of Arius foolishly said, then why does He demand equal honor with the Father? And he not only demands, but also intimidates, saying: see John 5:23 et seq.; Matthew 25:31 et seq.; Luke 19:12–27). Thus, the Savior, the resurrector of the dead, will also appear as their Judge.

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: 01.03.2016, 18:28:43

*** How can we understand the words of the Gospel in the sense of Divine justice: “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22), and in another place: “I judge no one” (John 8:15 ).
Look, being God, neither the Son nor the Father will ever judge anyone. Why? Simply because even a person, in his justice, judges people, but not animals! So, the Father gave judgment to the Son not because the Son is also God, but precisely because He became man.    
That is, in what sense will the Son judge everyone? Very simple: He will reason - compare His human life with ours. that is, the teaching which He confirmed by works
http://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Maksim_Ispovednik/tri_vida_spravedlivosti_spravedlivost_i_sud/

In the Old Testament we see the Judgment of God - the comparison of human life with divine life - it makes us tremble. In the New Testament - the Judgment of Man - a comparison of human life with the human life of Christ - and it gives us hope for mercy, for the human mercy of God Christ. Therefore, praying to Jesus Christ has a special meaning - we pray to the One who is Man (while remaining God).

This does not mean that God is Old Testament unmerciful. Simply fallen man, guided by human justice, cannot know the mercy of the incomprehensible God. In the incarnation, this mercy of the Incomprehensible God, incomprehensible to fallen man, became available to us for comprehension, imitation and assimilation in the image of Man. And the image of this mercy is guided not by human justice, but by divine justice.

***When the Lord warned the Apostle Peter about the coming suffering, the apostle thought, in the natural order of things (human justice), that it was unfair to allow life to be desecrated and glory to be dishonored. Therefore, the Lord rejects his thought: it is wrong to seek natural justice in the supernatural order of things.
The fact is that the Lord planned to accomplish our Salvation through opposites: to give us life through death, and glory through dishonor. So, the Lord, wanting to show that human reasoning in in this case unable to understand Divine Providence, answered Peter: "Walk Behind Me"(Matt. 16:23). This meant: “Follow My plan and do not try to understand it through human justice!”
http://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Maksim_Ispovednik/tri_vida_spravedlivosti_spravedlivost_i_sud/

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Reply #2: 03/01/2016, 20:56:55

Compare by showing us your example? Or, as it were, “having first-hand experience” of life on Earth?

***In the same sense, His word will judge, according to what is written: “What Jesus did and taught from the beginning” (Acts 1:1).

Of course it was an "experience". But, rather, it was evidence that God does not require from ourselves, from our own strengths, anything impossible or unfulfillable for humans.

« Last edited: 03/02/2016, 07:27:26 by Ksana »

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Gospel Love does not condemn a brother for his lack of it, but covers the illness of this brother

Reply #3: 03/02/2016, 06:50:27

Christ demonstrated by himself, by his example, by his life the commandments. Even if a person did not hear His word, but only saw His deeds, and then he would comprehend the commandments. Christ, His life is a living book of commandments. And God said - keep My commandments. He gave the Law of Life to man in the image of his human life. Therefore, when we say that God judges us according to how we fulfill His commandments, we can say that He compares His human life with ours.

***In the same sense His word will judge, that is, the teaching which He confirmed by works, according to what is written: “What Jesus did and taught from the beginning” (Acts 1:1).

Of course it was an "experience". But, rather, it was evidence that God does not require anything superhuman from ourselves, from our own strengths.

A very good message to reconcile our views. If “below all creation,” then we are talking, one must assume, about the true creation, which is the Body of Christ. The saint, feeling his separation from the Body, in the Spirit of Christ takes upon himself responsibility for this separation, and this is the experience of sin as taking it upon himself. It is the experience of sin (repentance) that determines that the saint finds himself inside the Body, like His nerve (for it is precisely the nerve that is responsible for everything and everyone in the body). It turns out that our dispute was illusory in nature, not being a dispute within itself: the saint compares himself with both God and the true creation, which in Christ have unfusion and inseparability. There remains only one point on which I insist: the saint’s responsibility for the fate of the world was not imaginary by him, not “a small spot on a white robe,” but serious, meaningful, albeit inexpressible in the Word due to certain circumstances that should not be discussed here. And I won't talk about it anymore.

1 In the sense that outside of Christ there is no creature as such, but there is something contradictory in itself. So a saint, leaving the world, devalues ​​the world, but the awareness of this duty to the saints, “putting it into circulation” gives the world a chance.