Here is the desert for you. And there the hermits were seduced by a murderer, trying to arouse the passion for profit, lust, and despondency. Many fell, many. At the same time, how many princes and mighty men of this world were saved, and not only were saved, but glorified by the Church among the saints – they had everything, but their heart belonged not to the corruption of the world, but to the things above.

But our time is frightening because temptations lie in wait for a person everywhere, every step, and most often, such that it is difficult to unravel them. How many people come to me, it seems that everyone is concerned about one question - how to be saved, how to act in this or that situation. But is it possible to take a blessing for every action, not only during a day, but even a month?! This means that it is necessary to imagine the ways of temptation, its main directions. And they have been immutable since the creation of the world, for the devil is not the creator. Another thing is that over many millennia he has gained experience, and now his proposals to mankind to descend to his hell have become more sophisticated, in fact, the entire modern world is his continuous proposal. A proposal, because he cannot force it, it is not in his power, but to pack the sin into a wrapper that is tempting for a person, here yes, this is please, the servants of darkness are always ready with their: "What do you want?"

Another feature of today is the imminent arrival of the Antichrist. Many spiritual people say that he has already been born. It is difficult to judge this, the enemy is cunning, he is cunning even with those who serve him. Many of them considered themselves antichrists, they were such in their essence the worldview of their actions, but they were not the one about which the Church speaks. Maybe he was born, maybe - no, that's not the point. When St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) was asked about the coming of the Antichrist, he replied that there was no exact date, the coming of the Antichrist would be determined by people with their malice. So now is the time of final preparation for his arrival. Here is the concentration of world power, after all, he will be the ruler not of one country, but of the world, and the "bestialization" of humanity is necessary. But even this is not enough to bring all mankind to its knees, it is necessary to create such a system of life, the slightest violation of which would entail catastrophic consequences for people - hunger, cold, devastation. And this system is being created. I saw how everything would happen later, a few years later.

The second vision of Elder Anthony. Teachings.

It was difficult to perceive this in those years of seeming Soviet prosperity, I did not think then that I would live to see the years of fulfillment of much of what I saw.

So, as I said, the second vision was not a continuation of the first, no. And in time it was much later, and in content it was also very different. The first vision is a kind of edification, admonition, or something. I asked for an answer and received it. The second vision is of a completely different kind, properties, one might say. I did not ask for anything, but it was given from above to see what the people who came to me asked. If the first vision could be retold with greater or lesser accuracy, then the second, in principle, cannot be retelled. I, from. Alexander, in general, for the first time I will try to explain it to you at least in some sequence, in the language of secular science - to systematize. But it is precisely to set it out in a certain order, and not at all in the way I was given to see. For one thing was given to me, for greater benefit, for you and your parishioners, I think, better in a different order. Until then, everything that was given to me to see, I used only in answers to the perplexed questions of believers.

A few more words, not from the vision, but about the universe, in order to better understand what follows. The Lord creates all living things in a single, very rigid system. The whole universe is absolutely connected by every action of its smallest part, and for a rational being, a human being, even by an action that is not related to the visible world, by thought. The actions of irrational creatures cannot cause damage to the universe - they are limited both by internal brakes, that is, instincts and the like, and by the self-regulating properties of nature itself. A person is a different matter. He is created in the image and likeness of God. And no matter how much we argue about what is an image and what is a likeness, what is erasable and what is not erasable, what he, a person, has from birth, and what he is called to acquire throughout his life, in this case, something else is important - his actions, both in the material world and with invisible properties, are reflected in the environment, in the environment of his habitat, in the entire universe. It was not God who wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah from the face of the earth, but people who renounced the Creator's providence. This is to say that all the misfortunes that must befall humanity and nature are not the result of God's wrath, for we confess that He is All-Good and All-Merciful, and we truly confess the truth, but are the consequence of the all-destructive action of mankind itself, which did not even follow the lead of the enemy, there is no reason and cannot be, the reason is coercion, but the devil who blasphemed for the tricks. Well, now, about the vision itself, about what awaits everyone, alas, in the not so distant future, and some of it is happening at the present time. And so that I saw about the future.

First of all, all kinds of technical disasters - the man-made system of existence, in fact, Satanic, because it absolutely contradicts the laws of God, will begin to break. Planes will fall, ships will sink, nuclear power plants and chemical plants will explode. And all this will be against the backdrop of terrible natural phenomena that will occur all over the world, but especially in America. These are hurricanes of unprecedented strength, earthquakes, severe droughts and, conversely, flood-like downpours. A terrible monster, the modern Sodom - New York, will be wiped off the face of the earth. Gomorrah - Los Angeles will not be left without retribution either.

It seems that it will be difficult to find a place on earth where a person would feel calm, completely safe. A person's peace of mind will only be in trusting in God, the earth will no longer give him protection. The most terrible consequences of disordered nature threaten cities, because they have completely broken away from it. One destruction of the Tower of Babel, a modern house, and hundreds buried without repentance and communion, hundreds of lost souls. These houses, placed on stilts, are arrows that pierced the earth, as if striving there, to hell, they will bring people hellish death under the rubble.

And the one who remains alive will envy the dead instantly, for his fate is even more terrible - death from hunger and suffocation.

Cities will be a terrifying sight. Even those that escape total destruction, deprived of water and electricity, heat and food, they will resemble huge stone coffins, so many people will die. Gangs of bandits will endlessly commit their atrocities, even during the day it will be dangerous to move in the city, but at night people will gather in large groups in order to try to live together until morning. The sunrise, alas, will not herald the joy of a new day, but the grief of the need to live this day.

Do not think that peace and prosperity will reign in the village. Poisoned, disfigured, incinerated by drought or flooded with rains fields will not give the necessary harvest. There will be an unprecedented death of cattle and people, unable to bury the animals, will leave them to decompose, poisoning the air with a terrible stench. The peasants will suffer from the attacks of the townspeople, who, in search of food, will disperse to the villages*, ready to kill a man for a piece of bread! Yes, for the piece that does not fit into their throats now without seasonings and sauces, blood will be shed. Cannibalism will become commonplace, taking the seal of the Antichrist, humanity will erase all boundaries of morality. For the villagers, the night is also a period of special fear, for this time will be with the most cruel robberies. And it is necessary not only to survive, but also to preserve property for work, otherwise there is also a threat of starvation. The people themselves, as in the city, will also be hunted. From the outside, it will seem that the antediluvian times have returned. But no. At that time, the Word of God dominated the world: "Grow and multiply." Now the very life of mankind and its essence are aimed at rejecting both grace and God's providence. But this is not the end.

At the beginning of the story, I put the result of what preceded everything, and not by chance. Very often, or, to be more precise, often, we do not see the big behind the small. To this story, for a small sin, we do not see, do not want to see the trampling of the basic commandments of the Lord. The Lord created this world and, as the Creator, created it, the world, in harmony with Himself. Remember His Word about the newly created: "He is good!" This is what God said, the All-Sufficient and All-Good, the All-Powerful and All-Perfect, the All-Merciful Providence found the creation good, i.e. the world was in harmony with the Good, with Love, for God is love.

* vesam - selam