The words of the Spirit-bearing Elder of Vyritsa are consonant with the prophecies of another pillar of Orthodoxy, St. Lawrence of Chernigov: "The time is coming when inactive churches will be repaired, equipped not only outside, but also inside. The domes will gild both temples and bell towers. And when everything is finished, the time will come when the Antichrist will reign. Pray that the Lord will continue this time for us to strengthen, because a terrible time awaits us..." 3

The signs of the end of the world and the approach of the Dread Judgment of Christ are described in detail by the God-bearing St. Ignatius Brianchaninov: "The apostasy of the new Israel from the Saviour by the end of time will take on an extensive development, as the Apostle foretold: "The apostasy shall come first," and then, as the consequence and fruit of the apostasy, "the man of lawlessness will be revealed, the son of perdition," who will dare to call himself the promised Messiah, demand divine worship for himself and receive it from those who have prepared themselves to accept the Antichrist open and secret apostasy from Christ. The apostasy will be so extensive that, because of the increase of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12). This means that sinful temptations and examples will multiply so much that they will draw an innumerable multitude of people into a sinful life. Faith in Christ will hardly exist, as the Lord Himself declared: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8). Material and temporal occupations and pleasures will attract the full attention of mankind: And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: they ate, drank, married, and were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Just as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, drank, bought, sold, planted, built (Luke 17:26-28).

Abundant earthly prosperity and enormous earthly enterprises, as obvious to all, are set forth by the Word of God as a sign of the end times and the ripe sinfulness of mankind... Mankind never wants to declare itself a follower of evil, even if it drowns in evil..." 4

On the pages of this book, a number of prophecies about the end times will be cited, which are coming true before our eyes. At the same time, it is necessary to understand that the end of the world is not a one-time act, but a historical process. The more humanity moves away from God, the closer it comes to His eternal enemy. People are becoming more and more tolerant of everything that prepares and pushes the world to the catastrophe of mankind, to its destruction. Just as with age the human body decays and is filled with illnesses before its death, so humanity matures in its sinfulness. The Antichrist will be able to come only as a result of a worldwide apostasy, when the grace of God will depart from people. That is why St. Ignatius reveals the meaning of the apostolic words: "The apostasy will come first," and then, as the consequence and fruit of the apostasy, "the man of lawlessness will be revealed, the son of perdition." In one of his works, St. Ignatius notes: "By apostasy from Christ, humanity will prepare itself to accept the Antichrist. He will accept him in his spirit. In the very mood of the human spirit there will arise a demand for the invitation of the Antichrist, sympathy for him, just as in a state of severe illness there arises a thirst for a murderous drink..." 6

It is not given to us to know the times or the seasons (Acts 1:7), but to discern the signs of the times is commanded by the Lord Himself. It is not for nothing that the Spirit-bearing Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain notes with sorrow: "Unfortunately, we listen to the radio in order to know only about the weather. What will Christ tell us? Hypocrites! you know how to discern the face of heaven, but you cannot discern the signs of the times (Matt. 16:3)... It is necessary to inform the believers and put into their souls a good anxiety that will make them properly prepare..." 7

Another beacon of Orthodoxy of our time, St. Averky (Taushev), warned all zealots of the Truth as early as the 1960s: "The servants of Satan, or, what is the same thing, the servants of the coming Antichrist, take advantage of the spiritual blindness of the majority of modern people and stubbornly and persistently do their work with truly satanic energy. And by special efforts, and by all available means, with the help of those means that have come under their control, they attract followers who, consciously or unconsciously, whether they want it or not, cooperate with them, creating in the world conditions and circumstances suitable for the very near coming of the Antichrist, as the ruler of the whole world and the master of all mankind...

The main task of the servants of the coming Antichrist is to destroy the old world with all its ideas and "prejudices" in order to build in its place a new world capable of accepting its approaching "new master", who will take the place of Christ in the eyes of people... One must be completely blind spiritually, completely alien to true Christianity, not to understand all this!" 8

"Everything that is happening now, at the highest levels of religious, social life, in governments, is nothing but the active preparation of the servants of the approaching Antichrist for his future reign, this work is being done to the same extent by 'Christians' as by non-Christians."

What can we say about today! Here is just one of the official reports: "At the 55th annual UN Assembly, held in New York from September 5 to 9, 2000 and called the Millennium Assembly, far-reaching plans were developed for the reconstruction of the world from a divided world into a number of independent states to a world subordinate to the supreme authority of the UN. These plans imply a total restructuring of the UN mission and forces. To achieve this goal, the UN is scheduled to consider at least two actions: the adoption of the Earth Charter - a document whose text has been developed since the Earth Summit held in 1992; and the adoption of a Declaration authorizing a new UN commission whose task will be to implement the recommendations for the creation of a world government ...

Ту часть Ассамблеи тысячелетия, которая была выделена для Саммита тысячелетия, посетили главы 140 государств, что стало самым большим собранием глав правительств за всю историю. Также в Нью-Йорке в это время находился Михаил Горбачев, который продвигает идею всемирного правительства с 1992 года...

Хартия Земли подчинит страны глобальному диктатору, имеющему беспрецедентную власть...» 10

В Апокалипсисе святого апостола евангелиста Иоанна Богослова ярко описан упомянутый глобальный диктатор. Имя ему — антихрист! Его предтечи в бешеной спешке ведут подготовку к его приходу. Для достижения своих политических целей они используют разжигание межнациональных и межрелигиозных конфликтов, миф о «международном терроризме» и наглые, ничем не оправданные военные вторжения на территории суверенных государств. Идет процесс принудительного вовлечения национальных экономик в открытое экономическое пространство, где они попросту поглощаются наднациональными компаниями. С помощью средств манипуляции массовым сознанием воинствующая ложь овладевает умами великого множества людей. Это влечет за собой необратимое изменение мировоззрения — потерю исторической памяти, национальных традиций и обезличивание. Посредством масс-культуры и телевидения устанавливается информационная власть над душами людей. Так, с помощью методов интенсивной психологии, подавляется богоданная свобода человеческой личности. Великий подвижник нашего времени иеромонах Серафим Роуз писал в августе 1982 года: «Нет ничего трагичнее, чем видеть человека, выросшего в Православии, имеющего понятие о катехизисе, читавшего жития святых, имеющего представления об общих целях Православия, понимающего некоторые службы — и при этом неосознающего, что же происходит вокруг него...

Наша позиция должна быть приемлемой и нормальной, то есть она должна прилагаться к реальной обстановке, а не быть плодом фантазии, ухода от жизни и отказа смотреть в лицо неприятным явлениям окружающего мира... Любой православный христианин, отдающий себе отчёт в том, что происходит вокруг, ясно видит, что мир приближается к своему концу! Знамения времени столь очевидны, что можно было бы сказать, что мир стремительно рушится» 11.

Далее отец Серафим привел и описал знамения времени, присущие миру начала 80-х годов ХХ-го столетия. Вот основные из них: ненормальность мира; войны и военные слухи; повсеместные природные бедствия; возрастающая централизация информации и власти над отдельными людьми; умножение лжехристов и лжепророков. Сравнивая события, происходящие в мире сегодня, с событиями, описанными отцом Серафимом Роузом 20 лет назад, можно однозначно заключить, что мир совершил грандиозный скачок к своему грозному и неотвратимому концу. Перед нами — достойная глубокого осмысления картина!