Christ also told another parable, similar to this, where He put forth ten virgins, who, taking their lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom. Of these, five were wise and five were foolish. The foolish took their lamps, and did not take oil with them. And the wise, together with their lamps, took the oil in their vessels, (here He understood under the oil the creation of good works). And when the bridegroom tarried, they all dozed off and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry: here comes the bridegroom, come out to meet him, (the arrival of the bridegroom means the uncertainty of the time of the Last Judgment). Then all the virgins arose, and straightened their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us your oil, for our lamps are going out. And the wise answered, "In order that there may be no shortage both among us and among you, it is better to go to those who sell and buy for yourselves." And when they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the doors were shut. After that, the other virgins come and say: Lord! God! open to us. And he answered and said to them, "Verily, I say to you, I do not know you" (Matt. 25:1-12).

From all this it is clearly seen that retribution will be not only for deeds contrary to God, but also for words and thoughts. The Saviour said: "But I say unto you, that for every idle word that men speak, they shall give account in the day of judgment" (Matt. 12:36). And in another place: "And even the hairs of your head are numbered" (Matt. 10:30). With these words, He expressed that even our innermost thoughts and desires will be revealed.

Blessed Paul also says in agreement with this: "For the word of God is alive and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword: it pierces to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from Him, but all things are naked and open in His eyes: to Him we will give an account (Hebrews 4:12-13). The same thing was proclaimed many years before him by the prophets, enlightened by the Holy Spirit: "For I know their deeds and their thoughts; and behold, I will come to gather together all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my glory. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall always be before me, saith the Lord, so shall all flesh come before me to worship. And they shall go out, and see the carcasses of men who have departed from me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abomination to all flesh (Isaiah 66:18; 22-24). In another place this Prophet speaks of the Day of the Last Judgment: "And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll of a book, and all their hosts shall fall, as a leaf falls from a vine, and as a withered leaf from a fig tree" (Isaiah 34:4). Behold, the fierce day of the Lord comes, with wrath and burning fury, to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy its sinners from it. The stars of heaven and the luminaries will not give light from themselves; the sun is darkened at its rising, and the moon does not shine with its light. And I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud, and I will destroy haughtiness (Isaiah 13:9). And again: Woe to those who draw iniquities upon themselves with the cords of vanity and sin, as with chariot straps. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who esteem darkness light and light darkness, who esteem bitter sweet, and sweet bitter! Woe to those who are brave in drinking wine and strong in preparing strong drink; who for gifts acquit the guilty and deprive the righteous of the lawful! (Isaiah 5:18-23). Woe to those who make unjust laws, and write cruel decisions, to remove the poor from justice, and to rob the rights of the weak of my people, to make widows their prey, and to rob the fatherless. And what will you do on the day of your visit, when destruction comes from afar? Who will you turn to for help? And where will you leave your riches? (Isaiah 10:13). For as the fire eateth up the stubble, and the flame destroyeth the hay, so shall their root decay, and their flower shall be scattered like dust, because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 5:24).

In accordance with this, another prophet says: The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and it is very hastening; the voice of the day of the Lord is already heard; then the bravest will cry out bitterly! The day of wrath is this day, a day of mourning and distress, a day of desolation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and mist, a day of trumpet and shouting against fortified cities and high towers. And I will afflict the people, and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord, and their blood will be scattered like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold can save them in the day of the Lord's wrath, and the whole earth shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for He will destroy all the inhabitants of the earth (Zeph. 1:14-18). The king and prophet David exclaims: Our God is coming, and not in silence: before Him is a consuming fire, and around Him is a mighty storm; He calls heaven and earth from above, He judges His people (Psalm 49:3-4). And further: Arise, O God, judge the earth. And the wrath of men shall be turned to Thy glory, for Thou shalt reward each one according to his deeds (Psalm 81:8; 75:11; 61:13).

Many other similar things were said by the Psalmist David and all the prophets, through whom the Holy Spirit spoke of the future Judgment and recompense according to works; the Saviour also confirmed their words without fail, teaching us to believe in the resurrection of the dead, and in the recompense for earthly life, and in the future immortal, eternal life."

Joasaph, hearing what was said, was all in tears. Then he said to the elder: "You have made everything clear to me, and I have understood your terrible and amazing words. If this is before us, then what must we do to escape the punishments prepared for sinners, and to be worthy of the joy of the righteous?"

Barlaam answered him: "It is said in the Scriptures that when once the Apostle Peter was teaching the people, many were broken in their hearts, just as you are today. When they asked Him what we should do, Peter said: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Spirit. For the promise belongs to you, both to your children, and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:38-39).

He also poured out the riches of His mercy on you and called you, who are far removed from Him in thoughts and worship strangers... not to gods, but to evil spirits, to wooden, lifeless and senseless idols. Therefore, first of all, turn to Him who called you, from whom you received the knowledge of things visible and invisible. But if you do not want to turn to God even after your calling, or if you delay in turning to God, then you will be condemned by the righteous judgment of God. And then, because you did not want Him, He will not want you, for the same Apostle Peter said so to one of his disciples.

But I hope that you have heeded the calling, take up the cross, and follow the Lord God, who has called you, who calls you from death to life, and from darkness to light. For ignorance of the Lord is true darkness and death of the soul, and enslavement to idols, contrary to nature, is the height of all foolishness. To whom shall I liken them? How to express the madness of such people?

I will give you a confirmation of their folly, expressed to me by a wise man. He said that idolaters are like a bird-catcher who catches a nightingale. When he raised his hand to kill and eat him, the nightingale suddenly, turning to him, spoke in a human voice: "What is the use of my slaughter to you, O man? You can't even fill your stomach with me. But if you let me out of the net, then I will give you three commandments, by fulfilling which you will benefit all your life." The bird-catcher, struck by his speech, told the nightingale that if he heard anything new from him, he would immediately release him from captivity. Then the nightingale said: "Never undertake anything unattainable, do not repent of your deeds, never believe doubtful deeds and words. By fulfilling these three commandments, you will prosper." The bird-catcher, who liked the simplicity and truth of these words, let him out of the net.

Then the nightingale, wishing to test whether the bird-catcher had grasped the essence of the advice given to him, and whether he could therefore profit from it, said to him, flying in the air: "Alas, man! What a treasure you have let go of today! There are pearls inside me that are larger than an ostrich egg." The bird-catcher, hearing this, was very grieved, repenting that he had let such a nightingale out of his hands; trying to catch him, he said: "Come with me to my house, I will receive you cordially and let you go with honor." Then the nightingale said to him: "I have now learned that you are terribly stupid, because, having heard and willingly taken into account what I have said, you could not profit by it. I told you not to repent of the past, but you were completely grieved that you let me go from your hands and thus repented of the past. Then, I commanded you not to undertake the unattainable, and now you are trying to catch me again, although you cannot follow me. Besides, I told you not to believe doubtful words, and you believed that there was a jewel in me that was larger than my height, and you did not even try to understand that I was all smaller than an ostrich's egg. In like manner are those who believe in idols are mad, for they have made them with their own hands, and worship what they have made themselves, saying, "These are our creators." How can they regard as their creators that which is itself the work of their own hands? These people protect their idols so that they are not stolen by thieves, and yet they call them the guardians of their salvation. What madness one must reach in order not to understand that those who are unable to help and protect themselves are even more unable to protect others. And when they say to you, Turn to the conjurers of the dead, and to the sorcerers, to the whisperers and ventriloquists, then answer, Should not the people turn to their God? Do the dead ask about the living? (Isaiah 8:19). In the Holy Scriptures it is said: "Like unto them shall be those who do them, and whosoever trusteth in them" (Psalm 134:18). They pour the gold out of the purse, and weigh the silver in the scales, and hire a silversmith to make a god out of it; bow down to him and prostrate themselves before him. They lift it on their shoulders, carry it and put it in its place; he stands, does not move from his place; they cry out to him, he does not answer, he does not save him from trouble (Isaiah 46:6-7). Then those who trust in idols will turn back and be covered with great shame, saying to idols, "You are our gods" (Isaiah 42:17). They offered sacrifices to demons, and not to God; the gods they did not know, the new ones who came from their neighbors. They are a corrupt generation, children in whom there is no faithfulness (Deuteronomy 32:17-30).

Out of this treacherous and unfaithful generation the Lord calls you, saying to you: Go, go, come out of there, do not touch the unclean; come out from among him; cleanse thyself, thou who bearest the vessels of the Lord (Isaiah 52:11); be saved from this corrupt generation (Acts 2:40). Arise and depart, for this country is not a place of rest (Micah 2:10). The multitude of your gods is the cause of disorders, even rebellions, and is quite improbable. It is not so with us at all: we do not have many gods and rulers, but we have one God the Father, of Whom all things are to Him; and there is one Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom all things and we are in Him, Who is also the invisible True God, Who was born of the Father before the creation of all creation and before all ages. Everything that is in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, principalities, or powers, was created by Him and for Him. He is first of all, and all things stand by Him; and there is one Holy Spirit, the Life-Giving Ruler of all, the True God, the Good Spirit, the Spirit of consolation, the Spirit of adoption.

Thus, we have one God, triune in Persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. They have one nature, one kingdom, one power, one glory, one being, distinguished only by the properties of each Hypostasis: the Father was never born of anyone; The Only-begotten Son is eternally begotten of. Father; The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father from eternity. From the light of the Father is born the light of the Son, and the light of the Holy Spirit proceeds, by which we are also illumined. In the three Hypostases we glorify the one Godhead: the one, True God, known in the Indivisible, One-in-Essence Trinity. From Him are all things, by Him all things, and for Him all things.

By His grace I learned of your existence and was sent to you to teach you what I myself had been taught. Therefore, if you believe and are baptized, you will be saved, but if you do not believe, you will be condemned. Everything that you see now, all the greatness with which you are surrounded, such as wealth, fame, luxury, will soon pass away; you will leave them against your will. Your body will be enclosed in a narrow coffin, left completely alone without friends and other loved ones. Your soul will be thrown into hell, where it will remain until the general resurrection, after which, having reunited with the body, it will be driven away from the presence of God and condemned to the fiery Gehenna, burning with eternal, but never burning fire. This is what will happen to you then, and much worse if you remain in your unbelief. But if you readily obey Him who calls you to salvation, joyfully shine upon His light, follow Him irrevocably, renouncing all worldly and vain things, and become attached to Him alone, then listen only to what blessedness you will attain: When you go to bed, you will not be afraid, and when you fall asleep, your sleep will be pleasant. You will not be afraid of sudden fear and destruction from the wicked when it comes (Proverbs 3:24-25).