Let science explain how the great prophecies about the Messiah came into being, which were fully fulfilled. Let them explain how the great prophet Isaiah for 700 years with complete clarity predicted all the most important things about the Lord Jesus Christ and deserved the name of the Old Testament evangelist. Let them explain to us the indubitable facts of the enlightenment of the saints. Let them explain to us by what physical forces, by what natural methods, this property of clairvoyance, penetration into the hearts of people, into the thoughts of people whom the saints saw for the first time, whom they did not know. And when they saw them for the first time, they called them by name; Without waiting for a question, they gave an answer to everything that people came to them with. Let them explain it. Let them explain how the saints predicted great historical events that came true according to their prophecy. Let them explain the indubitable facts of the appearance of the dead and their communion with the living.

They will never explain, because they are extremely far from the basis of religion – from faith. If you read the books of scholars who think to refute religion, you will be struck by the extreme superficiality of their judgments; You will see that they do not understand the most important thing in religion, they judge what they do not understand at all. They do not criticize what constitutes the most precious and greatest thing in religion, not the very essence of religion, but only the forms, rites, and manifestations of religious feeling. They do not understand the essence of religion at all. Why do they not understand its essence? Because the Lord Jesus said: "No man can come to me, except the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44),

We need to be drawn by the Heavenly Father, we need the grace of the Holy Spirit to illumine our hearts, our minds. It is necessary that by means of this illumination the Spirit of God dwell in our hearts, in our minds, it is necessary that he who has been vouchsafed this gift acquire the love of Christ, fulfilling His commandments. Only those who have acquired the Spirit of Christ, into whose hearts He Himself dwelt with the Father, and made His abode with them (John 14:23) — only these blessed ones understand the essence of religion. And those who are external do not understand at all.

Let us listen to the words with which the French philosopher Bouggle concludes his criticism of Haeckel: "Haeckel attacks formulas rather than essence, and he takes these formulas in such a narrow and material sense that they are unacceptable even to very many religious people. Thus Haeckel's refutation of religion did not really take on a single religious principle."

Here is the trial of Haeckel's book "World Riddles", which to this day remains the "gospel" of all those who criticize religion and deny it; all those who find that religion is incompatible with science. You see how pitiful these reasons are, do not be dismayed if these arguments reach your ears; Do not be embarrassed to know that those who do not understand the very essence of religion are criticizing. And all of you, simple people, not experienced in scientific research, not experienced in philosophy, remember the firm, clear and simple as the sun principle that guided the ancient Christians: they considered unhappy the one who knew all the mysteries of science, but did not know God, and considered blessed the one who knew God, even though he knew nothing else. Guard this great truth, keep it as the greatest treasure of your heart, and do not look around. Do not be embarrassed by the attacks that you hear. Keep your faith, keep it as eternal and undoubted truth. Amen.

The spirit does not die, but lives forever

June 1, 1948

"Verily, truly, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death." The Jews said to Him: "Now we know that the demon is in You. Abraham died, and the prophets, and Thou sayest, Whosoever keepeth My word shall never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets are dead: what do you make yourself?" (John 8:51-53.)

They did not understand, did not understand at all, what kind of life, what kind of undying Christ spoke to them about. To this day, very many people do not understand this. A. we need to understand this. There are two deaths: the first death and the second death.

The first death is the death that inevitably befalls every person, a natural death. And the second death, immeasurably more terrible than the first death, is eternal death, spiritual death, to which the Lord Jesus Christ will condemn sinners when He judges the whole world with His Dread Judgment – those who do not stand before the entrance to the Kingdom of God.

The second death is the eternal torment of sinners, eternal communion with the devil and his aggels, with all sinners, with all demons. May the Lord our God Jesus Christ deliver you all from this second death!

These words of Christ lift for us a heavy veil over what happens to the souls of the dead. It is wrong to say that there is no eternal life, that there is no resurrection: a person will die, and everything is over. No, no, it is not all over: the immortal spirit lives on forever. We know this from the words of the Savior Himself: "God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living" (Mark 12:27).

We know that on the day of the Transfiguration, the greatest prophets – Moses and Elijah – appeared and talked with Jesus about the last events of His life. If they appeared, if they conversed with Him, it means that they knew how the earthly life of the Savior would end, it means that their spirit lived, it means that they did not dwell in the darkness of their souls, but lived an intense spiritual life. This is confirmed by the words of our Lord Jesus Christ about Abraham our father, that Abraham would have been glad to see His day, the time when He lived on earth among us, when He redeemed the human race by His death on the Cross.