Homilies on the Book of the Revelation [1, Paperback ed.] 0976218313

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HOMILIES on the

BOOK ofthe REVELATION Volume One

By ARCHIMANDRITE ATHANASIOS MITILINAIOS

Translation, Foreward and Notes by Constantine Zalalas

“we need to begin our study, our reading, with prayer. St. Isaac the Syrian says, ‘Do not try to come in touch with the mysteries of God and the word of God without prayer. So, do not open Holy Scripture; do not start reading without prayer, without asking God for His help. While praying say, ‘Lord, allow me to sense; let me feel the power of Your words, the power that exists in Your words.’ You

must consider prayer as the key for your understanding of the deeper meaning of the Scriptures.” (Chapter two)

+Geronda Athanasios

Homilies on the Book of the Revelation By Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios

Translated by Constantine Zalalas

Edited by Eleftheria Kaimakliotis Assistant Editor Marie Eliades

Cover/Book Design Demitrios Handelih

St. Nicodemos Publications Bethlehem, PA 2009

© Copyright 2009

Constantine Zalalas and St. Nicodemos Publications 1433 West Union Blvd Bethlehem, PA, 18018-3420 USA

ISBN 978-0-976218-31-9 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any format or by an means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of the publisher.

Table of Contents

13

Foreward by Constantine Zalalas

19

Introduction

31

43

Chapter 1. Revelation 1:1

Analysis of the Terms: revelation — must — soon Chapter 2. Revelation 1: 1-4

The Beatitude of the Readers, Listeners, and Keepers of the Divine

Word — Greeting to the Seven Churches 55

Chapter 3. Revelation 1: 4-6

65

Chapter 4. Revelation 1: 4-7

The One Who is and Who was — Grace and Peace from the Holy Triune God The Three Offices of Christ and the Faithful: Prophetic, Priestly and Royal

77

Chapter 5. Revelation 1: 7-9

89

Chapter 6. Revelation 1: 9-11 The Patience and the Kingdom — About the Day of the Lord (Sunday)

101

Chapter 7. Revelation 1: 11-19 The Vision of the Seven Golden Lampstands - the Seven Stars

The Vision of Daniel and Zachariah — I am the Alpha and the Omega — Sharing in the Suffering and Gospel of the Cross

and the One Walking Among the Lampstands

113

Chapter 8. Revelation 1:20- 22 The Lampstands and the Seven Stars

127

Chapter 9. Revelation 2: 4-7 The First Love — the Threat of Falling — the Fight Against Nicolaitanism

141

Chapter 10. Revelation 2: 7-9

155

Promises to the Angel of Ephesus — the Epistle to the Angel of Smyrna — the Tribulation and Poverty of the Angel of Smyrna Chapter 11. Revelation 2: 9-12 The Synagogue of Satan — the Persecution of the Church of Smyrna —

Promises to Her — Introduction to the Letter to the Bishop of Pergamos 167

179

193

207

Chapter 12. Revelation 2:12-18

To the Church of Smyrna — Pergamos — Idolatry and Its Relationship to Satan

Chapter 13. Revelation 2:13-15

Balamatism — As An Ongoing Method of Corruption of the Church and the People of God Chapter 14. Revelation 2:17-20

Promises to the Victor in the Content of Pergamos — Epistle to Thyatira — Praise — Criticism for the Woman Jezebel Chapter 15. Revelation 2:21-24

Jezebel - The Self-Proclaimed Ilumined and Their Delusion

223

Chapter 16. Revelation 2: 24 Freemasonry — The Depths of Satan

237

Chapter 17. Revelation 2:24-25

251

Salvation Belongs to the Remnant of the Faithful — What is Meant by Paradosis of the Church Chapter 18. Revelation 2:26-29 & 3:1-2

The Fifth Epistle to the Bishop of Sardis — Introduction — Superficial Piety - The Need for Vigilance

265

Chapter 19. Revelation 3:2-6

The Fifth Epistle to Sardis — The Meaning of Complete Works — The Power of Memory in Salvation — Virginity — Promises

279

Chapter 20. Revelation 3:7-8 The Sixth Epistle to the Bishop of Philadelphia — Introduction — About Missions

293

Chapter 21. Revelation 3:9-13

307

The Reward of Missionary Work — The Sixth Epistle to the Bishop of the Church of Philadelphia Chapter 22. Revelation 3:14-22

The Seventh Epistle to the Bishop of Laodicea

FOREWORD

he blessed Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios was born in 1927 in Kifisia, a suburb of Athens, Greece. His devout parents operated a restaurant there, where he was employed during the years of his youth. He was drawn to a life of deep piety even before his adolescent years by the holiness and compunctionate liturgies of his childhood spiritual father and confessor, priest-monk Athanasios Hamakiotis. After he completed the requirements for two radio-electronics technical schools in Athens, he received a signal from above, the call for the holy priesthood. He obeyed and was assigned as an arch-hierarchal advisor to the Metropolis of Larisa. His first love, however, was the sowing of the divine word. He established catechetical classes for all age groups in the cities and in the country, in churches and in army barracks. For ten years, he cultivated the entire county of Larisa, planting and weeding, confessing, praying, licurgizing, nourishing and serving the people of God. In November 1970, he gave into the holy desire of his closest disciples to become their Geronda [elder] and re-

establish the abandoned holy monastery of Komnineiou in Stomion, a village thirty miles east of Larisa, overlooking the Aegean coastline. However, even after his enthronement as an Elder, he did not abandon his flock in Larisa, but continued to teach five classes on Sunday afternoons and Mondays. This rigorous schedule, along with sleepless nights for over forty years, undermined the bodily health of the Elder. His gift of preaching was such that scores of people, professionals, intellectuals, and otherwise, would drive from Athens and Thessaloniki to enjoy his atholon pnevmatikon gala, that is, to be nourished by his pure spiritual milk (Peter 1:3). Dozens of tape recorders and video cameras recorded over 5,000 homilies, imbued with the Elder's patristic, ecclesiastical, spiritual, and Orthodox phronema (mindset) given to hundreds of gathered faithful. Yet, this is only a fraction of his work since most of the Elder’s homilies were never recorded. His recorded homilies were aired, and continue to be aired, by several radio stations. Many monks of Mount Athos were elated by the Elder’s great gift. The Hagiorite intellectual monk, publisher, and writer Theoklitos Dionysiatis said of Elder Athanasios, “In our days, God has given us a man with the gift of the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures.” I met the Elder in late September 1988, on the feast day of St. John the Theologian, while attending a night vigil service at his monastery. A year prior, I had been truly enchanted by the holy spiritual wisdom of his homilies, although my Greek was quite poor at the time. I had immigrated to the United States in 1970 at the age of fourteen, having brought with me a naive faith, a taken-for-granted faith based on an upbringing within the insulated confines of Eastern Orthodoxy, on the island of Cos.

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

The multicultural climate of America and its secular lifestyle took precedence over any concern for my salvation — something for which I had always wished since the years of my childhood. I used to think, “I am still young. I can always repent when I get older.” Strangely enough, this call for repentance came much earlier than the time I had thought through the guidance of Father Nicholas Kossis, whom I met quite miraculously. Fr. Kossis became my early mentor; and a year later, we planned our first pilgrimage to Mt. Athos, Mitilini, and to see Fr. Athanasios Mitilinaios, whose talks as of the spring of 1987 were my daily diet. The three-day stay at the Elder’s monastery left an indelible impression on us, and the Elder became our spiritual advisor for the years to come. In fact, the impression was so overwhelming that I could not help but share, in the English language, the wealth of the Elder’s Orthodox Christian knowledge with relatives, friends and in catechetical classes. I was asked by a number of close friends to translate some of this wealth for our Anglophone Orthodox; and with the blessing of the Elder, dozens of these talks were translated and adapted into the English language. Quite effortlessly, the milk of the word (Peter 3:1) of the Elder began to flow and nourish great numbers of people in the English speaking countries of the United States, Canada, and Australia. Among those were also non-Orthodox inquirers, who found the Elder's message intriguing and refreshing, including many pastors and ministers of nonOrthodox congregations. In the early nineties, the prophetic book of the Revelation of St. John was the daily special on the menu of the mega-televangelist stations. It dawned on me that many of our Orthodox Christians were satisfying their futuristic metaphysical quests, and sometimes an unhealthy curiosity, by conveniently tuning into these channels. At that time, I was listening to some homilies on this topic by Father Athanasios. He had completed a one hundred hour course on an in-depth study of the book of the Revelation, which took place from September 1980 until April 1984. Sensing the need to share the much-needed Orthodox Christian perspective of this most mysterious book, for about six months I thoroughly studied his homilies and proceeded to selectively translate and adapt a few lectures, mainly to provide the Orthodox position on such themes as: the rapture, the Second Coming, the millennium, and the Orthodox understanding of the Antichrist. I was especially drawn to the deep spiritual content and the Christology of the seven churches of Asia Minor (Rev. 2-3:19). I found the Elder's work on the Apocalypse extremely significant for the following reasons. First, he always supports his exegesis on the most accredited Church Fathers, such as St. Andrew of Caesarea, Arethas of Caesarea and other ecclesiastical writers who have analyzed certain pericopes of the book of the Revelation. Second, his work is characterized by clarity and simplicity because of the employment of expert analytical exegesis, mobilizing the Elder’s wide range of knowledge of both the Old and New ‘Testaments, to interpret Scripture with Scripture. Third, the Elder does not succumb to the temptation of becoming a present day prophet by using the procrustean bed method of prophecy, tailoring the pulling and stretching that seem to abound in most nonOrthodox and not a few of the contemporary Orthodox commentators, who overlook

Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios

15

the advice of St. Irenaeus: “It is safer and less dangerous to await the fulfillment of the prophecy than to conjecture and to presage”! (Against Heresies, V5 30.2). During Pentecost of 1997, in a conversation with the Elder, I conveyed to him that the content of the analysis of the seven churches in Asia Minor was very edifying and that I would like to translate some of those homilies. The Elder, with his ever so-gentle manner, posed the question: “Couldn’t you start from the beginning of the book?” Elder, it would take me ten years to translate one hundred homilies! Without any hesitation, the Elder replied, “What if it takes you ten years!” Ten years have passed and one third of the work still awaits completion. ‘The Elder slept in the Lord on May 23, 2006. My last meeting with him was on May 22, 2005. At the end of this meeting, I presented him with eighteen MP3 discs containing all of the translated work digitized by the efforts of our Romanian team headed by Adrian Toma of Seattle. He held them, looked at them, and with a child-like simplicity asked, “What are these things?” Father Polycarpos answered: “Elder, your talks are now international and they will soon be on the internet!” In a very emotional state, he glorified God and said, “My children, I assure you that I never expected any of these homilies to make it out of Larisa! I glorify God for everything!” I am immensely indebted to Elder Athanasios for those twenty years and for his genuine love and spiritual guidance. He is resting now, but his homilies are still the daily diet for thousands of people worldwide, especially in the Greek language. At this point, I cannot overemphasize the fact that without the voluntary effort and sacrifice of dozens of people over the years, the circulation of these homilies would have been impossible. About five years ago, a young teenage girl took it upon herself to transcribe one of our homilies to pass on in text format. This gave us the impetus to move forward and to have the rest of the homilies transcribed by a number of volunteers nationwide, coordinated by the indefatigable efforts of Marie Eliades, the mother of the girl, a much older teenager now. A number of assistant editors have provided continuous support to adapt the spoken word into written text, without losing the homiletic character of the Elder’s work, a very difficult task indeed, made possible by the astute general editing of Eleftheria Kaimakliotis, a New York native now living in Cyprus. My thanks go to all of the above individuals and we pray that God blesses them abundantly and continues to protect us as we proceed with the publication of these four volumes on the book of the Revelation. On a final note, we need to mention that these homilies were never intended to be an epistemological exegesis of the content of the book of the Revelation. Footnotes were added however to assist the reader with some pertinent information and reference to the bibliography used. We considered it very important to preserve the homiletic and pastoral character of the Elder’s work, which should be read carefully, repeatedly, and prayerfully! Irenaeus, Against Heresies V5 30.2: Ασφαλέστερον και ακινδυνότερον το περιμένειν την ἐκβασιν τῆς προφητείας ἢ το καταστοχάζεσται και ἀαπομαντεύεσθαι. ? Since then there has been a continued increase of the number of websites offering the Elder’s work in several different languages.

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

A misunderstanding and or misinterpretation of the content can easily occur to anyone who approaches the holy ground of God’s revelation without first removing their sandals (Ex. 3:5). Finally, we need to thank the Elder’s successor Archimandrite Polycarpos for his encouragement and blessing to proceed with the publication of this work. Constantine Zalalas

July 2009

INTRODUCTION to THE APOCALYPSE

+Father Athanasios Mitilinaios October 12, 1980 y the grace of our Triune God, we have made it once again to the month of October, the month when most of us get busy. We prepare for winter and our farmers prepare the fields to plant. As our farmers go out to their fields to plant their wheat, in the same manner it is necessary for the word of God to come forth and be planted. According to the Gospel of St. Luke, 4 sower went out to sow his seed (Luke 8:5-15 RSV). The word of God comes forth not to till or cultivate, but to sow. The preparation of the field is the responsibility of man. Now if we come to hear the word of God, how we hear it, perceive it, and how it affects our personal life, is something totally dependent on us. However, the Sower comes and sows constantly. This is the exodus of God, which is an exodus of God’s love towards His creation. God wanted to walk with His people. He did so through His incarnation, and He continues to come to sow the word of His divine truth. However, as I told you, how we hear the word of God depends on us. During this series of homilies, we will come to hear the word of God. The word of God at times falls on trampled and hard ground, unbroken and untilled. For this reason it leaves the ground of the heart indifferent. One comes and hears the word of God but he is not moved at all. The word of God also falls on fickle hearts, those that become easily enthused. They feel inner joy for the word of God, but when they step out the door, they forget everything. Other seeds fall on hearts that promise a lot, who map out a beautiful spiritual life, but one thousand and one concerns of this life come and choke the seedlings of God and in the end these hearts remain fruitless! We pray that no one belongs to the above categories. No, my beloved, the word of God must fall on good and fertile soil so that it can bear fruit, the fruit of holiness. However, these hearts must accept the word of God with fear and humility, and in doing so they will produce thirty-fold, sixty-fold and one hundredfold (cf. Matt.13: 8-23; Mark 4:8-20). Once again, I hope and pray that there is not one single heart from the first three fruitless categories, but that all hearts prove to be of good earth. My prayer is that the word of God that falls on our hearts produces great fruit. This year, the grace of God offers us the great opportunity to sow His word from the book of the Revelation. It is the last book of the New Testament; it forms the conclusion of all of the Holy Scriptures and it corresponds considerably to the first book, the book

20

Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

of Genesis. These two books form an axis of the fall and salvation. Now, if the book of Genesis refers to the history of man’s fall, the book of the Revelation refers to the history of man’s restoration and salvation. In the book of Genesis, we have the description of the creation of the world and of man. It is the beautiful twilight of the visible created world. Unfortunately, the man and woman fell into sin at the instigation of the devil and since then, in addition to sin, both death and corruption were introduced into the world. To all appearances, God’s beautiful plan—to have nature draw near to God, to unite with Him and be deified and sanctified—was negated. However, that which God creates cannot be nullified or negated. In order to renew the visible created world, God's economy brought forth the incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity: Jesus Christ. The world did not accept Jesus Christ and it crucified Him. Still, the plan of salvation was not negated. By His death on the cross, Christ crushed the devil; and by His resurrection, death and corruption were defeated. So, the Church, the Body of Christ, continues to travel through history facing much tribulation, turmoil and martyrdom from the God-opposed, God-fighting powers that continuously crucify the flesh of Christ. In the end, the Church will be victorious, triumphant, because Christ defeated the devil, the world and death! The Church sanctifies nature and leads it to the Kingdom of God. So if the book of Genesis gives us an account of the creation of man and his fall, the book of the Revelation describes apocalyptically the journey of the Church, of the faithful through the history of creation and more specifically, the rebirth, re-creation, and the eternal glory of man and the visible creation. The book of the Revelation, which we are introducing today, contains the entire mystery of the divine plan, of divine economia, in the form of a summary: from the incarnation of the Word of God until the Second Coming of Christ, Judgment Day and the appearance of the Kingdom of God. To give you a bird’s eye view I tell you this: in one scene alone in the book of the Revelation, the mystery of incarnation is made manifest. In chapter twelve we read about the woman who holds a male child. Before she gave birth, the beast was waiting for the pregnant woman to give birth so he could grab the newly born child and devour it! When the child was born, the woman was led into the desert, and the beast, forming a river by spewing water out of his mouth, ran behind her to sweep her away with the flood. However, he does not reach the child because the child ascends into heaven. My friends, this is the entire history of the incarnation. The devil, according to one of our Church fathers, was searching out the virgins even. from Old Testament times to see which one would give birth to the messiah. However, according to St. Ignatius of Antioch, the male child escaped the attention of the prince| of this world (cf. John 12:31,14:30). The devil was not informed about the Son of God's | birth from the Virgin.’ The devil had no clue. The devil is not omnipresent. Nor does he know everything. However, he kept a close watch. We see this very clearly in the book of | > St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ephesians, 19, 1.

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Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios

21

the Revelation. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to beara child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth! (Rev.12:4) Now the woman swept away in the torrent signifies the Theotokos, or the Church. The person of the woman here has two aspects or two applications: the Theotokos and the Church. One application is certainly the Church because the Church is the Body of Christ, the body Christ received from the Theotokos,* the Panagia.> Consequently, the Theotokos and the Church is the same thing, with two different views or aspects. So here, we have two sides of the same coin. The Church is persecuted; the disciples and the Theotokos are persecuted, but the child is snatched up to heaven. In other words, we have the Crucifixion, the Resurrection and the Ascension of Christ. The devil can no longer do anything to the child. Since the devil cannot go to heaven, he pursues the woman in the desert. He turns against the

Church, day in and day out, and we can see in this scene alone the cross section of the mystery of God's holy economy. Scenes like this permeate the book of the Revelation. So, the book of the Revelation refers to the establishment and the expansion of the Church of Christ, the Kingdom of God on earth, which is the Church. It refers to the unfolding of the battle between the Church (or the woman) and the beast, or the God-opposing powers. We will see what these God-opposing powers are. In the end, the plagues take place against the beast and against the unbelieving world. The Church is triumphant. Christ comes and judges the world, the devil is bound, and the Kingdom of God arrives in glowing splendor! This is the general diagram of the book of the Revelation. The central theme of the book is the Second Coming of Christ as Judge and King! The book begins and ends with this same theme. The Church, or the Bride, and the Spirit (who remains in the Church) will say, Come Lord Jesus! And the response is,

‘Yes, I am coming soon’ (cf. Rev. 22:20). These words describe the state of expectation, characteristic of both the book and the Church. The Church is expecting Christ; She awaits Him as Judge and as King to put away all evil and to expel the devil so sin will cease to exist. So, corruption and decay will cease to exist; death will cease to exist. The central idea of the book is Jesus Christ, the Second Coming of Christ, Christ

coming back as Judge and King. We will also notice, as we progress, the repeated usage of a seven-fold system. This will be more obvious during the analysis of the book. Again, the central theme is the battle between the Kingdom of God and the God-opposing power, with the resulting triumph of the Church of Christ. The purpose of the book of the Revelation is both the preparation of the faithful to face the tribulation that awaits them, and the consolation and strengthening of the faithful that they might fight the good fight until the end (1 Tim. 6:12). All the things that I am referring to in a few words are recorded in the book of the Revelation with visions, images, and descriptions that make up its symbolic language. * The most theological title of the Virgin: “ the birth-giver of God”. > Pan-agia, (all holy, pan-holy) is the most commonly used title of the Virgin Mary among Greek Orthodox Christians.

22

Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

To be sure, the book of the Revelation is primarily a prophetic book. However, prophecy does not only reveal future events, it also reveals the present! Thus, we have here prophecy in its broad sense. Our Lord Himself instructs John, Now write what you see, what is and what is to take place hereafter (1:19). According to our Orthodox Christian Tradition, St. John was exiled to the island of Patmos, where the cave of the Revelation

is located. The cave is still there today. St. John used to pray there incessantly. According to Tradition, on a certain Sunday (as he will tell us in the beginning of the book) he was

in the spirit (1:10) and he saw these revelations and visions which he recorded following

the command of Christ, Now write what you see, what is and what is to take place hereafter (1:19). From this we see that the book of the Revelation is prophetic. We mentioned that prophecy in its broad sense is not limited to the future, but may contain or include the future, the present, and even the past. We will explain. When a prophecy pertains to the future, it reveals something that will take place in the future and which is unknown to every created being. The future is not known to any man or angel, or even to the devil! In reality, the future is known to God and to no one else! Therefore, prophecy is a privilege only of the true God, and if you will, it is a privilege of our true Orthodox Faith. A prophecy can also pertain to the present and to whatever thing or event escapes the attention of the people at that time. For example, when St. John the Baptist is called a prophet, what do you think — did he prophesy the future? No! St. John prophesied the present! He did not prophesy the future, nor did he prophesy the past. St. John the Baptist only prophesied the present, and the nucleus of his prophecy was, “Here is the Messiah! Here is the Lamb of God!” (cf. John 1:29). The leaders of the people asked

him, “Who are you? Are you the messiah?” No, I am not the messiah! I am the voice of

the one calling and crying out in the wilderness! (Isa. 40:3). 1 am here to witness for the

Messiah. The One who has been before me in time, is here now! The One who is more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie! (John1: 27). John is prophesying about Christ, but Christ is already present! John the Baptist is a great prophet, but he is only prophesying the present. We must add that it is more difficult to prophesy the present than to prophesy the future. Finally, a prophecy also pertains to the past if it prophesies those things that the human eye has not seen. For instance, when Moses records the creation of man and the world in the book of Genesis how does he know these things? He is writing prophetically! Therefore, he is a prophet referring to the past. To add another dimension to the meaning of prophecy, which we set forth above, prophecy has the element of teaching. It serves to advise, to move people towards straight paths and repentance, to bring consolation and encouragement to those who are fighting the good fight of the spiritual life, and so on. Many times the prophets come to strengthen and help people, to move them towards repentance, and to elevate those who listen to them. So prophecy does not limit itself to what happened and what will happen, but it also serves to teach God’s people how they must walk.

For this reason, and I want to emphasize this, please make a mental note of this; we

Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios

23

must not look at the book of the Revelation in the narrow sense of prophecy, as a book that will reveal the future to us. Not so my friends! The book of the Revelation will take us back into the past and refer to the present as well. Our Lord said, what is now (1:19)—those things that exist now—not necessarily the symbolic images that John was

seeing in the vision. No, when St. John writes about Babylon the great prostitute (the

great harlot), meaning Rome, Rome is not limited to that period of two thousand years ago. What is now is also valid for today, so we must not limit our interpretation only to historical facts. Thus, what is now is for today and for tomorrow. We need to understand that the book of the Revelation transcends the past, present, and future. It serves to comfort, uplift, restore, warn, call out, and to point out the Antichrist. This is for all times, for all seasons but especially at times when spiritual awareness is very low. The book of the Revelation is a very graphic book with much inexpressible grace and freshness despite some of the horrific images. This book has a freshness about it as well as a certain tenderness. It is a true masterpiece of the Holy Spirit and it becomes truly delightful for the person who can catch on and see some of its wonders. It is written in the common dialect of the Hellenistic times. The scope of its literature is so interesting that foreign scholars claim that the book of the Revelation employs its own grammar, and this makes it very graceful. It is not extremely rich in its vocabulary. In this, it is similar to St. John’s Gospel, which although it has the poorest vocabulary of the four Gospels, flies in the stratosphere of theology. It is the most theological of all the Gospels. St. John mimics the kenosis (emptying)

of God the Word, Who takes on the poverty of human existence. The very Word of God became poor, and through these lowly and poor words that St. John uses, the wealth of theology is made manifest, the wealth of the Kingdom of God. This wealth is so abundant that it runs over and beyond the meaning of the words themselves. It is something so fantastic, so amazing, that only the person who familiarizes himself with this book of the Revelation can discover all these elements and wonders in a way that they never exhaust themselves. Again, it is a true masterpiece. It has unity, symmetry, great rhythm; it has powerful wording despite the poverty of the words. It has wealth - wealth of color and tone. It has a great variety of topics, a certain flexibility, and a vivacity. Its charm magnetizes the person who reads and studies it. There is no other book in the history of humanity that has as many commentaries, writings, and references as this book. A great number of books have been written, are being written, and will be written about the book of the Revelation. It is a great treasure, a book of great depth that awakens the consciences of people! It amazes people with its wonderful imagery and scenery. The main scene is heaven and earth. Its place of reference is the entire universe. Its time frame is not limited to the earth’s history, but moves beyond to the universal history and eternity. This is why we would be making an interpretive mistake if we would wish to interpret the book of the Revelation based on a particular topography, a specific geography such as the United States, Greece, or Constantinople. Many of you who have studied apocalyptic literature

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

will know exactly what I am talking about. The tendency is to want to interpret events of this book in the narrow space of New York, Iraq, Constantinople or in the limited

space of the country of Greece. As we said, the book of the Revelation is not just for the Greeks, or the Americans. It is a universal book. Its stage is heaven and earth. Its period is the history of the universe and eternity. Accordingly, as Greeks, let's not try to limit it to our national dreams and aspirations! It is very pitiable approach, and this is why all those who try to interpret in this narrowminded manner have missed the mark! My friends, the claims of all those who wrote books and commentaries within these narrow boundaries were false, and they were obviously ashamed! In the Greek history of interpreters, I will mention Apostolos Makrakis® who interpreted the book of the Revelation in the limited geographical area of the country of Greece with Constantinople as the center! It goes without saying that when we try to interpret according to the current events of each century we will not be accurate! At the beginning of the century, Makrakis tried to interpret the book ofthe Revelation using Islam as the dark power or the spirit of the Antichrist! There is no question that the expansion of Islam is included in the entire spectrum of this book. Yet, we cannot say that the book of the Revelation will deal with this current exclusively. This is a mistake! Communism, atheism, or materialism cannot take a central theme on the stage of this book. They are simply links of the chain. They are great factors, and they are included in this book because these systems take on universal dimensions. However, the book of the Revelation does not confine itself to these systems alone. So let us never say that the beast is communism, or Islam! This is not so! These are forerunners of the beast, there is no doubt about it; but they are not the actual apocalyptic beast. The introduction of the book aims to attract interest. However, let us be careful. Do not expect to hear, while interpreting this book, ifand when World War III will take place, or when the Antichrist will come, and when the Second Coming of Christ will take place! Please do not expect these things! We need to follow the proven path of our Church. This path, my friends, was mapped out by three God-inspired people, three Godinspired Holy Fathers: St. Andrew of Caesarea of the sixth century, who wrote a commentary, St. Arethas, Archbishop of Caesarea of the ninth century (I have both commentaries in my hands, glory be to God!), and St. Ecumenios, Archbishop of Tryki of the sixth century. (I do not have this one.) I have two complete commentaries on the book of the Revelation, in which one can see the Orthodox teaching of how our Church

interprets the book of the Revelation. It is not mere coincidence (and we will analyze this more as we go on), that our Church fathers did not overly occupy themselves with the book of the Revelation. We will see this in our journey of subjects. Panayiotis Trembelas, for example, interpreted and published commentaries on all of the books of Holy Scripture with the exception of the book of the Revelation. Trembelas was a great Greek scholar of the twentieth century. My basic resources include the great commentary of

© Apostolos Makrakis (1851-1905): Greek lay theologian, preacher, philosopher, ethicist, and writer. The Church of Greece condemned some of his teachings.

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Professor Bratsiotis’ (the only one of its kind in the neo-Hellenic theological literature) along with Sts. Andrew and Arethas. These serve as my guides. All the others have some hidden dangers. I am telling you all this because I would not want to go astray, neither would I want to mislead you. Therefore, I urge you not to let your imagination go wild over what is going to happen and what new things we are about to learn. No; vigilance is required! We will learn in our long journey through this holy book how we are to understand this Scripture. I will certainly try to tell you something about this point; this something will not exhaust itself, but will continue as we journey through the analysis of this book. In spite of all the things that we just mentioned, we cannot say that we do not need to look out for the signs of the times! (cf. Matt.16:3). No, we need to watch for the signs because our Lord Himself instructed us about this. He spoke to us about the signs of the end of times. He said, As soon as the twigs of the fig tree get tender and its leaves come out you know that summer is near! (Matt. 24:32). He goes on to give a number of signs in the Gospel. He tells us then

you will know that the end is near. Which end, Lord?

Here, there is a double image, the end of Jerusalem, and the end of the world. The

book of the Revelation is a very difficult book. The prophecy is unfathomable. It runs deep. As he was on his way to Rome to be martyred and become food for the lions, St. Ignatius instructs St. Polycarp in a letter: “Study the times diligently. Anticipate the One Who is above time, the timeless One, the invisible, but for us visible.”® So study, pay great attention to the times, and along the way keep expecting the One Who is above time, Jesus Christ, the pre-eternal Son and Word of God. Keep expecting Him. This exhortation of St. Ignatius is very important. However, this should not throw us into the turmoil of curiosity and the consequences ofa sickly imagination. We must mention that not all people have a healthy imagination. People can also have a sick, wild imagination and can make a mountain out of a molehill! Some of you can go out, use this imagination, misquote what we say here, and say that Fr. Athanasios announced that World War III will be in a couple of years, or it will take place at such and such a time! People will bring this to my attention. They will ask me and I will have no clue! This is because some listeners have exaggerated some things that they thought they heard, and expressed them according to their imagination. St. Irenaeus said something excellent, “It is therefore more certain and less hazardous, to await the fulfillment of a prophecy than to surmise and foretell...’? St. Andrew of Caesarea also tells us something very important, “Time and experience will reveal to the vigilant.”° Time will reveal these events. Now, you will ask, “Why should we bother and ” Panagiotis Bratsiotis (1918 —1982): Biblical scholar from the University of Athens, a prolific writer and a theologian of international fame. ® St. Ignatius, Polycarp, 3:2 ? St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5:30. 10 St. Andrew of Caesarea, Apocalypse, (PG 106, 340C): “o xpdvoc aroxaAtyet cat n Telpa ToI< νήφουσιν᾽.

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

where is the value if these things will happen in the future?” It is important for me to know in advance what this book says so I will know how to stand. Specifically, let us talk about the presence of the Antichrist. When he comes, he will mesmerize the masses. He will be wise, thoughtful, a philanthropist, extremely civilized. He will be an amazing personality! He will enchant the entire world! This is what the Church fathers say. People will boast about his governing abilities, about his wisdom. He will be a universal king. The unions that are taking place geographically will one day solidify to a great union, and then the Antichrist will come forth. It may sound strange, but it is true! This is the warning that we have from the word of God. In those days, the prophets Elijah and Enoch (11:3) will appear. These two prophets did not taste death (Gen.5:24, Heb.11:5). They will serve as prophets of the present, not the future! They will call out that this is the Antichrist, and people will be amazed. “What? He is the greatest governor this world has ever known!” “No, he is the Antichrist!” They will prophesy the present. Those who are vigilant with a pure heart, and who live a spiritual life, will recognize him instantly! The rest of the masses will seize the prophets and hang them in the center of Jerusalem (11:7-9). Now, when will all these things happen? When they happen! When will we know? When they are happening! We will recognize each event at the time of its outcome. Therefore,as you see, how we approach and how we study the book of the Revelation is very important. When we open the book of the Revelation, we feel that we are in front of some disorder, or standing before an abyss with no beginning and no end, an abyss of visions, depictions and images. However, in reality, there is no abyss, nothing of the sort! There is rhythm and order based on a seven-fold system. This is true throughout the entire book, which is truly amazing. It is like looking up in the sky and tryingto map out in an orderly fashion, six or seven thousand visible stars! Is this possible for us? No, it is out of the question! It is chaotic! However, it is not chaotic to the astronomer! He has mapped out these stars. He studies and he knows how to look for them. Accordingly, the book of the Revelation is not chaotic. We can easily find the beginning, the middle, and the end. However, this is the main point; we do not know how to interpret it. This is the problem! How do we interpret the book of the Revelation without wanting to go off on a tangent? I must tell you that four different theories or methods of interpretation have been posited. I will mention only a few. This presents a dilemma as to which theory to use and you will see this as we proceed with our interpretation. The first theory, which has been accepted by many Church fathers, is called cyclical (kyklyki). In other words, when we read the Holy Scriptures we ask about the things that are reported by the prophet, “Are these things meant for this time, for the journey of the Church through history, or for the end of time?” In this instance, we also have the progressive or eschatological method. The cyclical states this: it takes a series of visions, a circle, or combination of seven events and says these seven apply to the events of this time frame. The second combination of seven applies to the events of a subsequent period until we reach the end of time.

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The second theory is the chronological theory, which is not repetitive or cyclical, and does not refer to the seven-fold combination. It is a journey, wherein we can say we are now at the first chapter, or if you will, at the third chapter where reference is made to the seven churches in Asia Minor. With this method, we might say that the first three chapters refer to the time of St. John and the chapters beyond that until the last chapter refer to the time after St. John until the end of history. In other words, according to the chronological theory, we could say that every chapter corresponds to a point in history. Neither of these methods of interpretation is completely accurate. St. Andrew of Caesarea prefers the cyclical, but he uses all the methods of interpretation. In other words, we must use an eclectic method. In some areas we will use the cyclical, in some areas the chronological, and in some the eschatological.

I hope I did not succeed in confusing all of you. However, you must understand that it is difficult to grasp all of this. Again, some holy fathers use a combination of these methods and this combination is called the spiral method. To understand this, let us say that I am ready to climb around a mountain on an uphill winding road. After climbing in a huge circle, I find myself a little higher; one more circle, and I am even higher; and as I get higher up the mountain, the circles become smaller. Subsequently, here I have the combination of the circular and the straight. I start at the base and I end up at the top. So, a prophecy can begin at the beginning (when the book of the Revelation was first written) and this same prophecy can actually continue until the end of times, until the Second Coming of Christ.'’ Consequently, as we see here I have the cyclical interpretation, but I also have the straight line which progresses to the top. We call this combination the spiral interpretation. Let us see how the Church fathers use all these to interpret. Let us look at two or three examples. St. John says in his First Epistle, Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come; therefore we know that it is the last hour (1John 2:18). It is the last hour. However, what does the

last hour mean? It means that the Second Coming of Christ is at hand; there is nothing beyond that. It is the last hour because you heard that the Antichrist is coming. Thus, the Antichrist is a sign of the last hour. Many other antichrists have come and this is how we know that this is the last hour. Now we seem to be all mixed up and all confused. How can we understand all this? It is really simple. We have the main person, the Antichrist, with a capital A. All the others are small antichrists. They are all his forerunners. So, when is the last hour? The last hour

begins from the moment St. John wrote the book of the Revelation! St. Paul records,

but understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress (II Timothy, 3:1). Holy Apostle Paul, to what last days are you referring? St. John the Chrysostom interprets, “The last days begin at the very moment St. Paul writes his Epistle.” Here is one more example, so we can understand even better. Christ said that 'T See Bratsiotis P., The Apocalypse of John, 10. 12 of. St. John Chrysostom, Acts, Homily 5:2

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

Jerusalem would be destroyed: Stone will not be left upon stone... Then the powers of the Heaven will be shaken... The sun and the moon will lose their brightness (cf. Matt.

24:2-30). What we have here is one image that has two layers. The first layer, the total destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. will take place a few years after this prophecy. The second plane of this same image is the Second Coming of Christ and the end of times. That is the grand finale of this prophecy. The first phase was, so to speak, the semifinal, and this is the final. Consequently, at every moment in history we have the last hour, every moment. What we see here are circles that get wider and wider, and at the center of these widening circles we have the procession of the prophecy. At the first circumference of the circle, we have the interpretation of the prophecy. At a second wider circumference, we have the interpretation again, and then a third circumference and so on. At the end, the great circumference of one huge circle will be touching upon the very, very end of times, the Second Coming of Christ. Therefore, this is how we will study the book of the Revelation, which means that this book is not something that was, or something that will be, but something that always is. The book of the Revelation does not exhaust itself at a given time; it is a universal book that enters the very Kingdom of God. St. Andrew of Caesarea says something very nice on this. “The prophets of the Old Testament were interpreted by many interpreters. However, many prophecies remain unfulfilled without reaching the end or the depth of the prophecy.”!? You may say, “But don’t the prophets of the Old Testament refer to Christ?” Yes, but they also refer to beyond Christ, to His Second Coming, and to the Kingdom of God. My friends, let’s never say that the prophecies of the Old Testament were all fulfilled! The coming of Christ does not exhaust the prophecies of the Old Testament. Once again on this, St. Andrew of Caesarea says, “They will not be exhausted, not even in the Kingdom of God itself because it is in the Kingdom of God especially where we will be able to understand the full depth of these prophecies.”"* So, by now you may begin to understand that the book of the Revelation is a tremendously deep and unfathomable book, and we need to approach it with a great deal of respect. Now at the closing of this brief introduction, I will ask you not to get discouraged if we were somewhat difficult. An introduction is always difficult. The introduction was meant to shine some light on this subject, and I hope that I did not manage to get you all confused. However, I urge you to have a little patience. Let us continue, and we will see how beautifully this book will refresh us, how we will gain greater understanding through this analysis. This book has so many great things to offer. Thus, as we come to the end of this introduction we must keep in mind a few basic precepts about how to stand while considering this book of God. First, let us never forget that we have in our midst the living Word of God, the Word of God Himself, since 15 St. Andrew of Caesarea, (PG 106,217A): Twv nada προφητὼν οἱ βίβλοι υπο ποχλὼν ερμηνευθείσαι τι το βάθος των εν εαυταὶς μυστηρίων τοις πάσι ἐρχουσι εφ᾽ εαυτῶν ἀχρι τῆς ἡμέρας εκείνης εν ἡ τῆς μερικὴς καταργουμένης γνώσεως ἡ τελεία ἀναδειχθήσεται.

14 Thid.

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this book is God-inspired, like all the other books of Holy Scriptures. Second, this word of God is deep and difficult to interpret. To gain understanding, one needs to have humility, prayer, attention, tears, and persistence. Let us use the example of St. John the evangelist, where he says, I heard a voice, “No one can open this scroll, and I started to cry, because no one could learn about the contents of this scroll (Rev. 5:1-4). The angel who was guiding him came and told him, ‘Do not weep, the scroll was opened by the morning star, the Son of God, the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ. So don’t weep. Why did He open the scroll? - Because St. John was weeping! A third point, and something we need to be careful of, is that every conclusion we will draw from this book, whether ethical, moral, or spiritual, we should not use only to instruct others. Let us apply these points to ourselves first! When Christ will say; You are not cold or hot, you are lukewarm! This is why I will spit you out of my mouth! (3:16). Let us not say that He will spit out or throw up the others! No, we need to analyze and criticize our souls, ourselves first. I must question, “Am I also lukewarm? Maybe I am!” and then I will discover, if I have any sincerity, that yes, I am lukewarm and Christ is talking directly to me! My friends, this is how we will be able to gain some understanding from the book of the Revelation so its truth can be revealed to us — at least as much as is humanly possible! In this way, we can walk this golden and bright journey of the Church in the face of the blood-shedding and life-killing swords of the godless powers all throughout history.

CHAPTER

1

Revelation 1:1

Analysis of the Terms: revelation — must — soon The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near (Rev. 1:1-3 RSV).

Homily given October 19, 1980 y friends, this book begins with a wonderful introductory outline in which we can observe a number of essential elements. First, it is distinguished by its official tone that reminds one of the inscriptions of the books of the Old Testament. Its beginning can be compared with the grandeur of the beginning of the book of Isaiah, for instance, The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah (Isaiah 1:1). Second, the character

of the book is made known by the name Revelation and the holy writer calls to our attention that what we have before us is a prophetic book! Third, the validity and authenticity of this book is declared because the source of this book is God Himself,

Jesus Christ, whether He speaks personally or through an angel. Fourth, the purpose of the writing of this book is pointed out where he says it is to show His servants what must soon take place. So, we have a record of the purpose of the writing of the book of the Revelation. Again, the purpose is to show the servants of God those things which must take place soon! A fifth observation is the identification of the writer, who is none other than His servant, St. John the evangelist. This is the disciple that Jesus loved, the writer of the Gospel according to John and of the three catholic epistles. A sixth point is that the content of the book is revealed, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Therefore, St.

John bears record to the word of God; so the book of the Revelation is the word of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ and all the things that St. John saw. He will not add or subtract. At the end of the book John himself will note, anyone who adds anything

to the words of this book, God will add to him the plagues described in this book! And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy God will take away from him his share in the Tree of Life, meaning he will not enter the Kingdom of God (cf. Rev. 22:18-19).

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

St. John is very careful to record only what he saw and heard and nothing more! The central theme of this book is the Second Coming of Christ, which includes the war of the godless powers against the Church, their great defeat handed to them by Christ, and the glorious reign of Christ unto the ages of ages. A seventh point, is that the purpose of this book is made clear by the blessing which it bestows upon those that read, those that hear, and those that keep the word of God. Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein. Finally, what is also recorded here is that the time of the fulfillment of the content of this book is short, for the time is near. The time is at hand! All these things, in the introductory outline of this book, comprise a great deal of information in just a few lines. Now by the grace of God, we will proceed to interpret the Holy Script, wordby-word and phrase-by-phrase. It has so much beauty; there is so much beauty that even if they tell us to hurry along, how could we possibly hurry? When the Script itself stops you, it holds you down fast; it stops you dead in your tracks. It demands your attention!

The Revelation of Jesus Christ! [Revelation is apocalypse in Greek.] With these words, this great book of the New Testament begins. However, what is the meaning of the word revelation? Initially it means that this book is prophetic. It is the only prophetic book of the New Testament even though the other books of the New Testament have prophetic elements as well. Whether they have a historical character, like the gospels, or a letter character like the epistles of Sts. Paul, Peter, John, James

and so on, even though they are full of prophetic references, they are not especially prophetic. They are historical, advisory, and so on. The book of the Revelation is essentially prophetic, the only one of its kind in the New Testament, even though it is full of spiritual counsels as well. According to St. Andrew of Caesarea, “Revelation is the declaration of hidden mysteries which take place by the illumination of the nous, whether by divine dreams or visions, or in a state of wakefulness like St. John.” St. John was not asleep. He was

quite awake! He was not dreaming. Daniel, in the Old Testament however, saw similar things in his dreams while he was asleep. He saw great images, great visions, but he was

asleep. St. John here is quite awake. He writes; I was on the island of Patmos.... I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, (Kytiaki, on Sunday) I heard behind a loud voice... Then I turned around and I saw what I saw, someone like the Son of Man (cf. 1:13), the glorified

Jesus! And He told me, I am the one walking among the lampstands... write these things that I am about to tell you (Rev.1: 17-19). So, St. John is fully awake.

However, the word revelation also has a deeper meaning. Many times, we use the term revelation without managing to understand it fully. Generally speaking revelation means that God is revealing Himself to man and this revelation is either direct or indirect with its purpose always being to lead people to the knowledge of God. ' St. Andrew of Caesarea, (PG 106, 220D): AmoxaAuyic ἐστί ἡ των κρυπτὼν μυστηρίων δήλωσις, καταυγαζομένου του ἡγεμονικού, εἶτε δια θείων ονειράτων, cite καθ᾽ ὑπαρ εκ θείας ἐλλάμψεως.

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God is not unknown. He is both known and unknown at the same time! He is known because God wants to be in communion with His creation. At the same time, He is unknown because He is the Unsearchable, the Untouchable, the Unfathomable, the Everlasting, the Timeless, the One above the corporeal and created nature because the essence of God will always escape the knowledge of all created beings. This is why He is the Unknowable Known! These are all expressions of what is called apophatic theology. This very statement for example, “I do not know what God is, and the more I learn about Him, the more I become certain that I do not know God!” is an apophatic stand towards the knowledge of God; however, God loves to reveal Himself! He never keeps to Himself. He reveals Himself either directly or indirectly; and the revelation of God can be visualized in the natural divine revelation or the supernatural divine revelation. The natural divine revelation has three spheres through which God is revealed within His creation. First, He reveals Himself through creation itself; second, through man himself; and third through human history and the history of the creation. God reveals Himself through creation according to the words of St. Paul, Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him (Rom. 1: 20-21). Therefore, within creation we recognize God’s qualities in the cataphatic way, not apophatic as we mentioned before. Here the knowledge is in a cataphatic way, through the very creation. We have such a vast universe, so vast that no telescope has ever reached the corners of this universe. Even our own imagination cannot travel that far. Science today talks about two hundred billion suns in our own Milky Way Galaxy! They talk about one hundred billion galaxies! Andromeda is the closest galaxy to ours, the closest galaxy,

and it is 1.5 million light years away! The diameter of the universe is eighteen billion light years! Just contemplating these things makes us dizzy! Equally, we are not capable of imagining a finite universe with limits; we cannot grasp this — yet at the same time we cannot perceive a universe without boundaries. Now, if we have such a vast and astounding universe, then what can we say about our God? Then God must be eternal, everlasting, infinite. God is almighty, all-wise! So where do we see these qualities? In God’s creation! God is revealed through His creation. This is why, my friends, there has never been a godless nation in human history, precisely because God revealed Himself through His creatures! The phenomenon of the atheism of our times is the sickened state of today’s man who is in desperate need of a psychiatrist! Every atheist should be the subject of a psychiatric evaluation! The state of the atheist is not natural. God is revealed to man for the simple reason that man is the image of God. The nous, the ruling nous, [the higher part of the soul] the mind, reveals and discovers God not only because man can sense God with his nous, but because the very presence of man’s mind reveals the eternal mastermind, the eternal nous.

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

Speaking for myself, I have a mind and am able to think, which is obviously not my own doing. People must be very foolish to think that they created their own minds. They must be real imbeciles. Since I have a mind, we can easily conclude that the Person Who created me has a mind as well. This is well stated in one of the Psalms. David says, He who created the eyes, can He not see? He who has made the ear, can He not hear? Does He not understand? (cf. Ps 94:9). So, we can see now that through created

beings, especially through man, the presence and existence of God is manifested. Finally, we see the presence of God throughout history. God enters man’s history. He orchestrates events without affecting the human will. God always has the final word. I will use an example so you can understand this very thing. Let’s think of a boat, a commercial ferryboat, or a cruise liner; in it we have passengers and personnel. Passengers and personnel move around; they go about their business; one passenger goes to the cabin; another decides to go for a dip in the pool; the third one goes to the main deck for coffee; the fourth goes to the dining room; the mechanics stay in the engine room; the captain is in the captain's chair. Everyone moves about independently the way they ought to, and according to their own will! Each person has the personal freedom to move and carry on as they wish within the boat. Their will is not restricted per se in any way, shape, or form. However, the entire ship is moving towards a certain point. This is the relationship of history, people, and God. While people in general are free to choose their actions on their trip through history, the reality is that the entire cruise liner of history is directed towards a certain purpose, a specific destination! So in this sense God intervenes through history. He interferes to lead, to direct, to punish, to destroy, to rescue or to reward. As we have mentioned a number of times, the entire Old Testament is a theology of history and a revelation of the history of the nation of Israel. Even the incarnation of the Son of God takes place within history, and still covers the entire prehistory of humanity. When God tells Eve that one of her descendents will come to save her, we see that the incarnation is not placed at a specific time in history, say two thousand years ago, but that the entrance of God in history through His incarnation covers the entire history of mankind, from prehistoric times until the last day. These things are inconceivable, truly inconceivable; and the person who can abide and live by these becomes full of divine awe before God, before His love and His providence. Therefore, the revelation of God exists in the personal history of man and not only in universal history. Would you like me to tell you my life history? I would not tell you anything other than how God entered my personal life! Would you like me to listen to your life history? I could listen to everyone's life history, to the history of people that listen to or read this very homily. How did all these people find their way here, listening to or reading the word of God? In answer, of course, the people will relate the history of God in their lives. So God enters not only our national history, He also enters the history of every individual, of every human being, whether believer or unbeliever,

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pious or impious, young or old. There is no such thing as luck! Luck does not exist. God governs everything! However, He never restricts the freedom of the individual. The supernatural divine revelation fulfills and perfects the natural divine revelation. Mount Sinai, the prophets, and above all, the incarnation of the Son of God itself makes up the supernatural divine revelation. The supernatural divine revelation can be internal or external. ‘The external or outward is already established by the appearance of God in our history in the Person of Jesus Christ. It is already established and there is nothing more for us to expect, nothing other than what was revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ. When I say we have no more expectations, we do not mean that we do not expect the Second Coming. Yes we do, but in the Person of Jesus Christ (in other words, the same Person). We do not have anything outside or beyond the Person of Jesus Christ. The prophets foretold and preached the word of God and Moses saw the glory of God, but history has now seen the Person of the incarnate Son of God. History will see Him again, and He will be the same Person. Consequently, we will not have any new revelation other than what we already have and this is what we mean when we say that the outward or exterior revelation is already established. What remains is the inward, supernatural revelation that continues in the life of the faithful—all the faithful—to help them understand and accept the outward revelation. In other words, God reveals Himself within me so I can call Jesus

Lord! St. Paul expresses this in these words: No one can say Jesus is Lord without being in the Holy Spirit (cf.1 Cor. 12:3). This means that the Spirit of God illumines me to confess Jesus as Lord, or God. No one comes to the Son if not drawn by the Father (cf. John 6:44), which shows

the equality of the Holy Trinity. I will never be able to come near Jesus Christ if the Father does not draw me near. How does the Father draw me? Well, this is an unseen mystical inner matter. The Father draws me and the Spirit of God illumines me to confess Jesus Christ as God. Those who do not confess Jesus Christ to be God do

not have the Spirit of God! It is more obvious than obvious. He, who confesses Jesus Christ to be the incarnate Son of God, has the Spirit of God. St. Paul is very clear on this matter: without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing; we are neither near, nor should we have hope for, salvation! (cf. Rom. 10:9-11). So, we have this inner divine

revelation in order to accept the outward historical revelation, to accept the incarnate

Son of God, Jesus Christ!

With this last form of the inner revelation, my friends, we are called to study

and understand the book of the Revelation. Let’s not think that while we are leafing through the pages of this book, while analyzing it, we will be able to understand anything in it in the absence of divine illumination! Let us not think this because understanding is not academic, grammatical, poetic, or philological! Understanding is spiritual. A philologist understands the Bible from the scope of literature, grammar, and composition. But these are nothing more than external elements. What we desperately need to understand is that this is the living Word of God Who will speak

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in our hearts! So, we are in desperate need of this internal revelation to understand the book of the Revelation. St. John, and we need to pay attention to this, accepted a direct inner revelation. St. John saw Christ face to face, directly! However, we must accept it through the messenger of Jesus Christ, John, through the Tradition of the Church and the two thousand years of Church history, through the written word, through the book that we will read and if you will, through the hearing of the word of God, through the

speaker. So, we must accept this revelation despite all these continuous layers, through the messenger John, through two thousand years, through Tradition, through the printed word and through the voice of the speaker. So, I must uncover and strip all these coatings to accept the revelation of God. These coatings or layers are essential however; if I disregard these then I am left with nothing! I will accept them and I will

begin to uncover them.

To give another example, let’s say I enter a building. I walk through the hallway;

I go to the door; I open it; I go through and I continue to walk until I reach my destination. So, here I must move through these layers until I personally find the final revelation, to find God Who will speak in my heart. Now how is this going to take place? The only way is through faith, through obedience and submission to the voice of the Church, all the things that we mentioned: St. John, the Tradition, the time of two thousand years, the print, the paper, the voice of the speaker, with submission to the Church and with humility my friends! Faith in essence is to conceive what is revealed through the spoken word, with the historical form penetrating the layers that the historical form itself and the Word with His incarnation have placed over them. We will call upon God to reveal to us all the factors that we have designated as layers. This is why what is needed is a new revelation to help us understand the revelation of God; without this type of revelation the book

of the Apocalypse remains sealed, a sealed book with seven seals! (cf. 5:1). Why, you ask? Because this is how God wants it! Doesn't God have the right to do as He wishes? —To project something as He wants it? Is He not the Lord? This is how God wants and chooses things to be. He wants these coverings to be in place to restrict human haughtiness and arrogance! Man should not depend on himself and say, “I will find all this out by myself” or “I am special enough and the Spirit of God talks to me directly! God speaks through me!” as many of the heretics say. No, you will find things out through the words of the speaker, through the printed word, through St. John the evangelist who heard all this! This will bring you humility and will restrict your human haughtiness. Furthermore, man can only be saved through his fellow men! Man is saved through the Church, by the Church. Individual salvation does not exist. Let’s understand this! One who would wish to be saved alone, without the help of the Church and the help of the brothers and sisters, let’s grasp this, that particular person will never be saved. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him (1:1). So, this revelation, which is enacted through Jesus Christ, is about Jesus Christ, as God gave it to Him. So, the

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source of this revelation, revelations rather, is God Himself! What is significant here is that the Script does not say: revelation of the Son of God, because the Son of God is of equal value with the Father. One Person of the Trinity cannot reveal things to another Person of the Holy Trinity; the Persons of the Trinity are One in essence. There are no secrets between the Persons of the Triune God. All three Persons are Infinite, All-

knowing, and All-wise, the three Persons of the Triune God!

Jesus Christ refers to the human nature of Christ and the human nature of Christ

is finite. However through the hypostatic or personal union with the Word of God, the human nature of Christ now can be considered omnipresent, present everywhere, not by its own merit but by the hypostatic union with God the Word. So, God gives this revelation to Jesus Christ Who will in turn give it to John; and St. John will pass

it down to the Church. Now, how did Christ receive the revelation from God? And by God we mean the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We see it in the very book of

the Revelation that we are studying. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; and he went and took the scroll

from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne (5: 6-7). So I saw in the midst

of the throne and the four living creatures (these living creatures are the cherubim), a slain Lamb but standing up! Slain but standing! This is the very thing that Christ

will tell St. John in a direct revelation, J am the one who died and behold I live again.

Behold I live! (cf. Rev. 1:18). The Son of God cannot become dead! The divine nature

obviously cannot die. So the human body died because of the crucifixion and the burial in the tomb. What a beautiful image, the slain and standing Lamb! The ancient Church had this as a most precious symbol, the most beloved symbol of the original Church, the standing slain Lamb! To those that deeply study the book of Revelation, the dearest part is this point of the standing slain Lamb. However, one must progress very much to come to love these things. Then he came and took something out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. He took a scroll. He does not specify who was sitting, out

of great respect. God was sitting, as we will see in our interpretation. So, this is how Jesus Christ receives the revelation from God the Father, or God generally, the Triune God, the One Who sits on the throne. Now who is going to open this scroll? The angel will say in the fifth chapter, Who is worthy to open the scroll, and to loose its seals? (5:2). No one was found! No one was worthy to open this scroll and John was weeping; he was crying. The angel says do not weep; someone has been found; the slain lamb can open the scroll. He

will open the scroll (cf. 5:5). In other words, He will reveal. This is why the book of the Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ, meaning that it reveals and manifests

Christ. Consequently, the revelation takes place through Jesus Christ. This is the meaning of the words the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him.

He gave unto Him to show His servants (1:1). Whose servants are these and what

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are they being shown? They are the servants of Jesus Christ, and they are being shown those things which will define the contents of the scroll. It also expresses the purpose, or why this scroll was given. What will it show? It will show things that must shortly take place, those things that must take place quickly, which MUST take place! This must my friends has great theological dimension in Holy Scripture. Please allow me to use our remaining time to see this must of the Holy Scriptures. We run into this must very often. Let’s look at some verses. In Daniel 2: 28,29: ... but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what must be in the last days. In Matthew we read, From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised (16:21). He must! Why? Look, when Christ resurrected He tells His disciples, Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? (Luke 24:26). This must my friends, is difficult, full of mysteries and inconceivable! We could

simply ask, “Why was it necessary for these things to take place?” These things are not at all pleasant, like the cross for example, or the persecution of the Church and the faithful until the Second Coming of Christ. The Church, my friends, needed to set out on a specialized type of journey through history that would be full of temptation and persecution from the world. However, we see that this must, this necessity of the Church, to undertake a journey full of tribulation and persecution parallels the must of the journey of Christ. It could not happen any differently because the Church is the very Body of Christ. So, when Christ says that, J must be put to death, I must be crucified (Luke 24:7), then the Church must also say: must suffer death; I must

be crucified. Do not panic! Were you baptized? Were we baptized? Do we want to be Christians? Let's finally understand this: Christ was crucified. We must also be crucified. Christ was persecuted. We will be persecuted as well, most likely! If they persecuted me they will also persecute you (cf. John 15:20) and here is the parallel verse. If they persecuted me, this is the must of Christ; they will also persecute you, this is the must of the Church.

Christ says J must go to Jerusalem (Matt.16:21) to suffer many things, to be crucified. This is parallel to the verse of St. Paul, through many trials. In the Acts of the Apostles when they stoned St. Paul in Lystra and the disciples went to bury his body at night, they found him alive and well. He arose to tell the disciples that, through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). The disciples could have asked him, “Holy Apostle Paul, why must we? Couldn't you have avoided the stoning?” No, it was a must! There is great mystery and depth here. Therefore, the must of Christ is to go up to Jerusalem. St. Paul’s must is that, through many tribulations, we will enter the Kingdom of God, and the things that must take place quickly in the book of the Revelation are all parallel. This is because as far as this must of Christ goes, the people would have opposed the Person of Christ; they would have opposed His mission. In order to have it transpire, the work of salvation needed to be accomplished by any

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means; so Christ made it to the cross and the organ of the negation of salvation, the cross, became the way of salvation. This is why the Lord said, J must, and the Church must for the same reason. The world would not accept her presence and it would go to war against her. As we are speaking my friends, do you have any idea what the powers of darkness are orchestrating at the expense of the Church? They are frothing at the mouth. ‘They are frothing at the mouth and they will continue to do so! So, the Church's lot is to be in a state of war. The Church had to stand, to be established, and to await Christ's Second Coming. Doesn't St. Paul say that the mystery of the Holy Eucharist will be offered continually and will continue to be offered until Christ comes back, until He returns? (cf. 1 Cor.11:26). Yet, the reaction of the world is incorrigible! The world has

irreconcilable differences with the Church. So this must of the Church is unavoidable! That is all it is! In other words, this inability to avoid certain confrontations in the relations between the Church and the world is expressed by the term must, these things that must be. So this must does not express the necessity of these events, or confrontations. Many people may argue and say that there is a certain forcefulness here, a certain coercion that may bind a person's freedom of choice. This must does not express the necessity of these events, but the necessity of salvation that all these different events stem from. Salvation is an irrevocable action of the love of God. Let’s understand this; it is irrevocable! God loves and wants to save the world! So what if the enemies of the Church are frothing at the mouth? What if the devil rants and raves? So what? God wants to save the world and this is how this must comes into play. The devil is irrevocable in his actions and unrepentant. The. Church and salvation are also irrevocable. Therefore, confrontation is unavoidable. This is where the must comes in! The end result, the events of the past, present and future must take place. But you may say, “We don't exactly understand these things!” My friends, we understand and we do not understand! It is truly a mystery. Now why does God allow this unpleasant sort of solution? You will say, “Isn’t God capable of finding an easier method?” The great temptation for many Christians is: Why isn’t God able to intervene? However, if He intervenes, my brother, you will tell Him that He is controlling you! He is binding your freedom! Why does God choose this seemingly worse solution? It is because God loves and He wants to show His love. He offers His Son to be crucified! He could have used another method to save the world but He wants to save the world with love; and salvation moved by love is a deep mystery. It constitutes a mere fold of the love of God. St. Isaac the Syrian? reveals this for us. When I first read it, I was not all that impressed. I am afraid you may feel this way initially as well. Now, I am totally satisfied with it. Let's look at his 81* homily, “In the final analysis of all these things, Our God ? St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies, Philokalia of the niptics and ascetics, Vol, 8-3 Hom. 81,

Thessaloniki 1991, 177.

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and Lord, due to His strong love for His creation,” ...and this is the key: strong, great love, burning love. The Greek word is pothos. He gave His Son to a death on the cross. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to suffer death for it (John 3:16). This was not because God could not save us in a different way, but because this was the way that God found to show and teach us His immense love. Our mind cannot grasp this! He touched us; He drew near to us through the death of His Son to show us how much He loves us! He loves us exceedingly and if He had something even more precious than this He would have given it to us. All this was accomplished so our human race could find its way back to Him, to draw near Him. And because of His great love, He did not wish to bind our freedom. Even though He could do this, He chooses to let us come to Him in the spirit of love. All these things my friends express the mystery behind those things that must take place. With this solution the love of God is made obvious. At the same time, the freedom of the individual is preserved! God is truly wonderful! These two elements, freedom and love, espoused and working together in the life of the faithful individual will give birth to holiness. This is the holiness that we need to enter the Kingdom of God.

Those things that must soon take place (1:1). Soon! How soon? St. Andrew of

Caesarea says, “Some of these prophecies are at hand, ready to happen, and if you will, they began to happen as soon as the book was written! And those things that will be at the end of history and are prophesied will not take long because one thousand years for God are as one day, as yesterday.”? However, in the recording of the Revelation my friends, those things that will take place start out as a chain that extends until the close of history. This soon means a quick start, not necessarily a fulfillment of these revelations, but a constant and continued revelation; and the total fulfillment of this revelation will be the end. The beginning and the end of these events therefore are seen under the spectrum of one and the same image. What is significant is that this pre-Christian must which we have seen in Daniel and other prophets, is indefinite, chronologically speaking, whereas the Christian must is definite and in urgent time. For instance, God tells Abraham, two thousand years before Christ, that he will be the father of a great nation and He reveals the messiah to Abraham. When we read about these things in the Old Testament we get the feeling that these events will take place in the very, very distant future. There is no definite timeframe; it is indefinite. However, these prophecies, which showed no urgency, no urgency at all, materialized in two thousand years! Christ came two thousand years after Abraham!

Now remember, the post-Christian must tells us that these things will take place quickly, which gives us the feeling of urgency. Professor Bratsiotis says, “It is like we can hear and sense the galloping of the upcoming events, like the galloping

> St. Andrew of Caesarea, (PG 106,221A): διότι χίλια ἐτη παρὰ Θεὼ ὡς ἢ ἡμέρα ἡ ex Odes, ἡτις διῆλθεν λελόγισται.

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of a horse on a cobbled street.”* It is understood that these events are on their way quickly and yet, two thousand years have passed by! Now we can pose the

question, “Might the end of history be near or at least the beginning of the end be near?” My friends, perhaps.

4 Bratsiotis P., The Apocalypse of John, 69.

CHAPTER 2 Revelation 1:1-4

The Beatitude of the Readers, Listeners, and Keepers of the Divine Word — Greeting to the Seven Churches The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he Blessed is he who reads the words of this prophesy, and blessed are those who hear, and keep what is written therein; for the time is near (1:1-3).

must bore saw. who

Homily given November 2, 1980 he author of the book of the Revelation is the holy Apostle and evangelist

John as we see his name recorded, which insures that this book is not

fraudulent or forged, but a genuine work of St. John the evangelist. ‘This is not of small significance but rather of great significance, and we must pay attention to it since the Church has accepted this as the work of John the evangelist and honored it by including it in the canonical books of the New Testament, and rightly so. It is a book of the Holy Bible, the Holy Scripture. We must add that the Church has been extremely cautious in this respect. Works of the apostolic fathers or successors to the Apostles such as Barnabas, for example, or those of other apostolic fathers were not placed in the canon of the New Testament. These writings are not material of the New Testament. The Church exercised extreme caution and allowed many years to pass before including some of the books in the canon of the New Testament. Or as Origen’ says, books of the first order, which were written by the hand of eyewitnesses who saw, heard, and touched God the Word Who incarnated. So then, the author of the book of the Revelation is St. John.

The Apostles commonly use the word servant as they write their epistles. However, here we have the simple recording of the name of John, simply John, without a title such as the disciple of Christ or the Apostle of Christ. The absence of these titles shows that John very likely knew the receivers and the readers of his book. They were very close to him. It is also obvious that the book of the Revelation is given to the Church from God the Father, through Jesus Christ, through the angel, through John, to the Church. So, what we have here is a living chain of paradosis, or teaching tradition. [Paradosis means tradition in Greek.] It literally means to pass down, to have one person deliver > Origen, Ist Against Celsus, BETIEZ (Library of Greek Fathers), V 9, Athens 1956, 103.

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and another person receive. So, God the Father gives to the Son incarnate, not God the Word, but to Jesus Christ, to God incarnate. Jesus Christ gives to the angel; the

angel gives to John; and John passes it to the Church. So, here we have the wonder of the living Tradition, or paradosis. This is precisely why this living Tradition, along with Holy Scripture makes up the basis or the foundation of the Church. As we know, it is holy Tradition that preserved the authenticity and validity of the Holy Scriptures. Holy Tradition told us which book is genuine and which is fraudulent. Those who discard and disregard the Tradition of the Church, whether Protestant, or Orthodox who have been heavily influenced by the non-Orthodox must understand this; they disregard the Tradition of the Church. The key, and we will mention this

repeatedly; the key to the Orthodox interpretation of the book of the Revelation is to be found in the treasure chest of holy Tradition. If you do not take advantage of this key that holy Tradition has given you, then you will never interpret and see the true meaning of Scripture. This is why the Protestants interpret Scripture every which way, with the result being the deterioration of their faith into thousands of pieces. They have no idea what they believe today, what they believed yesterday, and what they will believe tomorrow. ...And he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw (1:1-2). So, John saw visions; he saw images and symbols; he saw these things. He did not imagine them; nor did he produce them, or fantasize them. He actually saw them. ‘These are literal accounts of what he actually saw. Christ tells him, Write the things that you see. Write what you hear, and in one specific instance He tells him, Do not write these things, these are just for you — seal this information; but all the other things, do write them.

So, we can see very clearly that the holy Apostle, with much simplicity, will record the things that he will see. He will not add or subtract. What is a true characteristic of a genuine script is that it is simple and not very articulate. It is usually the fraudulent writings that need to be articulate and very well edited because their purpose is to catch the attention, to impress the reader. However, in the authentic book that records true things, real things from God, there is no need to be articulate or to have any special fanfare, no need to impress. The truth is the truth. So, John writes simply what he saw, nothing more, nothing less. If he leaves anything out he is guilty and he will answer to God. If he writes something more, then he is equally guilty, no more and no less. Moreover the book of the Revelation finishes as follows: [ warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds. to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book (Rev. 22:18). In other words, this person will not enter the Kingdom of God. So, if the evangelist himself writes this about anyone else who would attempt to alter this book, how much more must he be careful? Therefore, in

reality St. John wrote exactly what he saw and what he heard.

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Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near (1:3). This introductory

outline, which we spoke about in an earlier session, closes with this beatitude, this

blessing, heaped upon those who study, hear, and apply the words of this book and generally the word of God. This beatitude is the first of the seven specific beatitudes in the book of the Revelation. To continue, blessed is he who reads and they that hear. He that reads is singular. They that hear is plural. One reads and many hear. Where was this reading and hearing taking place? Where else but the Church? It was used, much like the Gospel, and the epistles of the Apostles, in public worship. This is how the book of the Revelation was utilized in the early Church. This is why it says: he that reads and they that hear. Moreover, the purpose of the use of this book in public worship is to strengthen, to console the faithful, but also to inform them about the content of this book. St. Justin Martyr’, in the middle of the second century, records for us a very beautiful picture about the reading of the epistle and Gospel in public worship. He writes, in one of the first apologetic homilies, referring to he that reads and those that hear. “And on the day called the day of the sun (It was called Sunday by the idolaters, the name preserved in the Latin languages until this day.), all who live in the cities or in the country, gather together in one place, and the memoirs of the Apostles (Gospel and epistles), or the writings of the prophets are read.” Here we can see that the Church was following the instruction of St. John, or Christ rather; we see it very clearly. So after the reader would stop, the proistamenos, the bishop, the one in charge, would begin to interpret, to preach and explain the material that was read so the entire congregation would be able to apply these teachings in their daily lives. We do something similar here. We repeatedly read the verses of the book of the Revelation. ‘The subject must be read; we read it in the original Greek; then we translate it into our everyday language, and then we must interpret it. This is the way we stay in tune with the Holy Script, for our ears to get used to it so that it becomes familiar to us, and not foreign. It is necessary to hear sermons that inspire the imitation of good things. But our Church had to deal with a number of false interpretations circulated by the heretics, for example the one thousand year reign of Christ. This heresy (one that still goes on today) brought forth havoc in the Church even in the days of St. John. St. John was still alive and this book was already being grossly misinterpreted. The first to interpret it falsely was Cerinthus,’ a child of Gnosticism. He was not even a Christian. He mixed philosophy and various religions together along with some elements of Christianity, and he started talking about the one thousand years of the Kingdom of Christ. St. John the Apostle was quite concerned about these things. At some point, St. John was in Ephesus and as he was visiting a public bathhouse, someone told him ° St. Justin Martyr, Ist Apology, 67. Parentheses added. ” St. Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History V 4 14, 6: “Φύγωμεν, μη και το βαλανεῖον συμπέσει ἑἐνδον ὀντος Κηρίνθου του της ἀληθείας εχθρού»"

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that Cerinthus was also there. His response, simply because of the presence of the heretic was, “Let’s leave quickly before the roof collapses and kills all of us!”® As long as The Apostles were still alive, they not only corrected these interpretations, but also gave warnings. St. Paul, for instance, says, After I leave I know that many will misinterpret my words. St. Peter actually defends St. Paul when he writes in his epistle; there are unstable and ignorant people that distort the words of St. Paul as they

do other Scripture to their own destruction (cf. 2 Peter 3:15-16). Didn't Imeneos and

Philetus distort the teaching of St. Paul about the resurrection of the dead? Weren't they teaching that the resurrection had already taken place? (cf. 2 Tim. 2:17-19). My friends, the authors of Holy Scriptures are not at fault. People’s egotism is responsible here. Why? Simply, my friend, if you want to interpret, that is fine, but you must have the key. The key, as I stated earlier, is the Tradition of the Church. This is how the Church interprets. Now if you want to interpret the way you want, due to your satanic pride, then you will most certainly fail. You will become a heretic, and heresy is nothing other than the logical interpretation of dogma. When I attempt to interpret things that cannot be interpreted with logic and intellect, when I attempt to interpret a deep mystery using my mere mind and my intellect, then I go astray. So, when I attempt to explain or interpret the teaching of the Church by logical methods and logical means, then I automatically find myself in the realm of heresy. The holy writers are not to blame, only the pride, egotism, and selfishness of some people within the Church. However, the Church, in the east especially, due to all these inconsistencies, was compelled to discontinue the use of the book of the Revelation for worship. So, the book is authentic and the Church has included it in the canon of the New Testament. We pray that during a true Orthodox Synod, the Church may reconsider and re-admit this book of the Revelation into the area of worship, so it can be preached at the pulpit, much like the epistles of St. Paul and the rest of the Apostles. Yes, we can pray for this. This of course does not hinder anyone from studying and preaching from the book of the Revelation, or from using verses from this book to help a homilist of the word of God to teach or support a certain subject. Blessed is he that reads and they that hear and keep those things; the three actions that St. John mentions here remind us of the words of the Lord. Blessed are those that hear the word of God and keep it (Luke 11:28).

When an ecstatic woman in the crowd shouted out, Blessed is the womb that held you and the breasts that gave you milk (Luke 11:27), the Lord said, Indeed,’ blessed are 8 Ibid. ? Luke 11:28 is erroneously translated by every English Bible to date. The original Greek word Mevoovye is translated: rather. This results in a serious distortion to the true spirit of this verse, which is aimed at exalting the Most Blessed Theotokos, the Ever virgin Mother of our Lord. cf. John Pickering, LL. D.,.A comprehensive LEXICON of the Greek Language, Philadelphia 1871: Menounye (pevodvye), conj. Certainly, truly, surely, assuredly. According to the Greek text, Christ agrees with this ecstatic woman wholeheartedly! Indeed! Of course! Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it, like my mother! The abuse of this word “Menounye” viciously alienates the Theotokos from this great praise given to her by her Son!

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those that hear the word of God and keep it or live by it (cf. 11:28). The three verbs in these phrases: he that reads, those that hear, and keep the words, these verbs — reads, hear, keep — are stated in the present tense, which suggests that this is to go on continually and without ceasing. I must a/ways read, I must a/ways hear, and I must always keep the word of God. It does not say those that heard, but those that hear. This is nothing like saying, “I heard some sermons or I went to a few classes; I had enough, why should I go again?” No, the word of God here is direct, “He that reads always; those that hear a/ways; and those that keep the word of God always.” Let us consider this threefold combination, of the reading, the hearing, and the keeping of the word of God. About reading, in order to understand the word of God, we must be iz God. Otherwise, we cannot understand the word of God. On this St. Diadochos Photikis” said, “There is nothing worse. There is no worse poverty than to be speaking about God while being outside and away from God.” This, my friends, can be seen very clearly in the case of people who do not live a spiritual life, yet speak about spiritual matters. They make mistakes, and are often quite oblivious. They try to answer questions, but according to their own thinking. They are not in God and they do not have a spiritual life. One who does not live a spiritual life cannot talk about matters of God. It is not possible. And he can never understand the written word of God because the understanding of the word of God is not simply academic or philological. One can be a PhD. He can be a doctor of divinity, and have no understanding of the word of God. The understanding of the word of God has a different dimension. I am not saying that philology or some knowledge of literature or grammar is not helpful. All these elements do help but they are not enough. You cannot say “I have a degree in literature so I will have no problem understanding the Bible.” You will not understand anything. The spirit of the Scriptures will be elusive to you; you will be left only with the letter. The existence of a liturgical atmosphere is also necessary, a prerequisite in order to study and understand the word of God. What does that mean? It means that the reading or the hearing of the word of God cannot be reduced to a living room conversation, or become an academic matter. There is a tendency (and these tendencies always existed for some people) to discuss extremely high theological matters in a living room, with all the known accoutrements of a living room along with the socializing jokes and laughs. The discussions are simply academic. Again, the discussion can be very theological; however it does not touch the Word, with a capital W, the Word of God. These discussions stay in the swaddling clothes, the ones that the Theotokos, the Virgin Mary dressed Him in after His birth. This is how far these people get. They cannot touch the Word of God, ever. So, it is not enough just to talk about the Bible. I do not benefit when I do it Worse yet, the King James translators are not unaware of the true meaning of the Greek “menounye” which they correctly translate “yea doubtless” in Philippians 3:8. 0 St. Diadochos of Photice, Philokalia of the niptic and ascetic fathers, V 9, Ch. 7, Thessalonike 1986, 118.

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outside of the liturgical environment and outside the blessing of the Church. ‘This is why the word of God must be connected with the liturgical space. Simply put, the sermon must take place in the Church. We are not saying that it is forbidden to say it somewhere else, like the street or the mountain. That is fine, but it must be connected with the liturgical place, after the Divine Liturgy, for instance, or after a vespers service. The word of God during or after these services has a different effect in the hearts of the people. What is also needed is internal and external quiet time for someone to understand the word of God. St. Gregory the Theologian says, “The Divine is experienced in a state of quiet.” You need quiet stillness to feel and understand God within you. This stillness is mostly internal but also external. You need to have peace in your heart. We will not stop reading the word of God when we have turmoil; but we need to gain our peace in order to delve into the deep things of God. In order to submerge ourselves we need to have inner peace and stillness. All our daily cares must come to a halt; they

must be put on hold.

In addition, when we study the word of God we must feel that it is for us, and not

for others. We must see our own shortcomings and not those of others. On this St. Isaac the Syrian says, “When the man of humble heart studies the Holy Scriptures he never says, ‘this is for that person, this is good advice for other people.” No, the word of God is speaking to me. Sometimes as we speak the word of God, some of you may think, “Is the speaker talking about me? Maybe he overheard something about my private life.” The speaker does not know anything; I assure you. God Himself directs the word of God. Sure, I have prepared myself; but what has been prepared and is being expressed is under the direction of God Himself in its depth. So, His word can touch many different types of hearts in a special way. The Word is One. However, He touches each person differently. St. Cyril of Jerusalem says, “The water that waters the flowering plants is the same for all flowers. But for one flower the water makes a red flower, for the other it becomes a white color, for the third a yellow flower, and so on, all caused by the same water. In the same way, the word of God touches the heart of each sincere listener, and I emphasize, each sincere listener according to his needs. We do not single

out the troubles of a listener and try to base our talk on them as some naive listeners may think. Again, we need to have humility, which we lack. For example, we think, “I wish so-and-so were here to listen to this. It would be so helpful for them.” This shows pride, and it is a matter of pride when we think that others need to hear something. Instead, I must say, “This is only for me and I need to improve myself.” Finally, we need to begin our study, our reading, with prayer. St. Isaac the Syrian

says, “Do not try to come in touch with the mysteries of God and the word of God Ml Se. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechisms, Catechism 16: “..., εἰς δὲ και υετός κατέρχεται εν παντί τω

κόσμω. καὶ γίνεται λευκὸς μεν εν κρίνω, ἐερυθρὸς δ᾽ εν ρόδω,... μονοειδής ὧν καὶ οὐκ ὧν ἀλλος αυτός 4. 33

EQUTOV.

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without prayer.” ? So, do not open Holy Scripture; do not start reading without prayer, without asking God for His help. While praying say, “Lord, allow me to sense; let me feel the power of Your words, the power that exists in Your words.” You must consider prayer as the key for you to understanding the deeper meaning of Scripture. However, it is important to come to an understanding about the hearing of the word of God. Years ago many people were not able to read. Only a few people knew how to read. Today the opposite is true. Almost everyone can read. So in the past, the basic source of knowledge leading to the truths of God was the sense of hearing, the ear. People could not read. However, even today the hearing of the word is very basic for all people because the word is offered through a living tongue. And much like the Word of God, it is alive; so, when the word of God is heard through a living tongue, this makes it especially graceful. The word of God in this case can be presented along with the personal experiences of the speaker. And this can be a source of courage to listeners as far as the application of the word of God goes. It is not the same if you hear it on the radio, or if you read it in a book. It is something very different. This is why we go to hear the word of God and we do not rely on reading alone. Reading does not replace the spoken word. And the hearing of the spoken word does not replace reading. These two parallel things are equally important. I must also tell you that the hearing of the word of God presupposes the presence of other people. The word of God is connected with the presence and vision of other people. In other words, it is connected with the Church. And it is very important,

to have the word of God be heard in the church, very beneficial and of great value. On the other hand, according to the holy one of Florina, Metropolitan Avgoustinos Kantiotes, if I sit by myself listening to a cassette, it is like eating canned food. The canned word of God does not have the same freshness as the live participation. Of course I will listen to my cassettes; I will read my books; but I will also make it a point to go and hear the /ving word of God, to get together with the other faithful, my other brothers and sisters in Christ. This is so I can become a presence and show forth the Church, not only in its liturgical worship but also in the hearing of the word of God. Finally, as far as the application of the word of God is concerned, the statement of the holy evangelist: And keep those things which are written therein, expresses to us that the word of God must be applied. We must live it. But we need to live it in its entirety. Let us not pick and choose. Let’s not say that we will do this, but not that. For the time is near (1:3). Does this mean anything to us? I will tell you something from my personal life that pertains to this. This goes back to the early forties during the horrible German occupation, or siege rather. We were in school, three children at each desk and we were taking our final exams. The classroom was packed. It was full so it was certainly not a bad deal for the lazy students. My classmates did not study, and we were being examined on Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, and mathematics. "2 St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies Philokalia of the niptics and the ascetics. Hom. 73

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

My classmates decided not to study Ancient Greek; but I did. I sat towards the back of the class. So, I started helping the three students behind me, the three in front of me, and the two on either side. So, finally I was helping a dozen students as there was no supervision or teacher in the classroom. Instead of writing, I was trying to help all these students fill in their tests, checking to see if they wrote things correctly, Suddenly the teacher came in and announced, “Boys, you must hand in your papers in five minutes.” I do not know how many of you have gone through something similar to this in your school years, but I cannot describe to you how I felt. I started perspiring and got red as a tomato from embarrassment. I felt paralyzed, and I screamed without thinking, “Not yet Mr. Teacher!” My paper was still blank. The other students were handing in their papers, and even though I was the only one that had studied, I had written nothing. In the end, I crawled into the office like a little puppy to beg the teacher to pass me. This is the feeling that a man gets when he realizes that his time is up. It is a terrible feeling! St. Isaac the Syrian says that if you did not live the right life, when you see that your time of death is at hand you will panic. Also, when someone truly allows this feeling to enter his inner being—+the time is at hand—then whenever he reads this phrase in Scripture he cannot help but feel what I described from my school years. But this phrase, for the time is at hand, is of the same meaning as the earlier words of this chapter, those things which soon must take place. As we remember, we analyzed this earlier, but what stands out is that this statement is repeated only a few verses later, which accentuates that the end is galloping towards us. The end is around the corner. The end is the time of the prophecy, or the fulfillment of the words of the prophecy. So, blessed is he who reads and they that hear the words of the prophecy because the time will not be long. Also, an ecclesiastical development has impressed me a great deal. I do not know if this feeling of mine is completely accurate but I will share it with you. Until the fifteenth century, the faithful that shed their blood for the faith were simply called saints or martyrs. Since the fifteenth century, the martyrs are called new. So, we have the neo-martyrs. Historically, we have some significant events that divide sections of history. More specifically, in this case after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, close to 1500, we have this new phenomenon, this new term, labeling the martyrs after the fall as neomartyrs. And those that finished their lives peacefully also bear the term new; so we have St. Nektarios, the Newly manifested, St. Nikodemos the New, or St.

Constantine the New. Naming a saint a new martyr, or the newly manifested, gives the feeling of the placement of a boundary. In other words, let us say that we have the arrival of a new historical time, maybe five hundred years from now. How is the Church supposed to classify the martyrs and saints five hundred years from now — the new-new martyrs or the super-new martyrs? It does not make sense. Do you know what this means? When the Church talks about new, it means that we have the old and now the new. And after the new, there will be no newer ones. Again, do we know what is happening here? I

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am afraid that in the catholic conscience of the Church there is a smoldering feeling that the end is near. This is why the Church uses the term mew for her saints. We have nothing else to add to this term mew. The Church always had her eyes on the end, but for a time she called her elite saints martyrs. In our days, and since the fifteenth century, she uses the term new, referring to them as neomartyrs. After this introductory outline, what follows next is the preface of the entire book,

which takes place between verses four and eight. These verses are: John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty (1:4-8).

This is the preface of the book of the Revelation. Up introductory outline. In this preface, which is extremely theological, what is made obvious is the epistolary, or letter book is written in the format of a letter. Moreover, if you to Luke is a letter. St. Luke writes, Zo the most excellent

to this point, we had the important, and especially character of the book. This will, the Gospel according Theophilos, I sent you this

information. The word letter is not mentioned but rather, J sent you this script so that

you can learn the truth of our faith (cf. Luke 1:3). So, it is presented in the form of an epistle or a letter. The same holds true for the book of the Revelation. It has the dimension of an epistle, and not only because of the letter written to the seven churches in Asia Minor, but because this holds true for the entire book. The ancient form of the epistle is maintained; in other words, the author is announced. John is the author; the receivers are the seven churches in Asia Minor; and we have

the greeting: Grace and peace to you from God the Father and so on; and then we have the doxology: To Him belongs the power and the glory unto the ages of ages, amen. So, the book of the Revelation is a letter. And we pray that some day God allows it to be read as an apostolic reading in the Church. So, John to the seven churches in the province of Asia (1:4). John, the sender of the

letter writes to the seven churches, the receivers of this letter. Here again the name of the author, John, is placed at the beginning of the sentence, and this will be done again in verse nine. The name bears no titles, no last name, which shows that the intended

readers of this letter know John quite well. Which are the seven churches mentioned in the book of the Revelation? Which are the seven churches that our Lord asks that a special letter be sent to each one of them? These are historical churches, literal churches, not noetic or symbolic. So, we have: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These were all cities in Asia Minor, ancient cities, lively cities with strong Christian populations. They became episcopates, which show a strong Church presence. And to

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

these seven churches Christ speaks through the book of the Revelation, with a special message for each one of these churches. One may ask, “Why is Christ addressing only these seven churches?” Christ tells

John, and to the angel of the church of Ephesus write or the angel of Smyrna. Why was a letter written to these churches and not to the church in Jerusalem? Or Corinth? Or Rome? Or Alexandria? These last ones were bigger and most important churches. Only Ephesus could compare with the grandeur and the title of Rome, or Jerusalem, or the great church in Antioch. Only Ephesus could come close to these great churches, because the other six cities of these seven churches were minor. They were very small cities in Asia Minor. So why are the epistles directed to and addressing these particular seven churches, and not the other bigger and more seasoned churches? It is simply because the number seven is allegorical or schematic and it expresses variety along with fullness. In other words, the number seven denotes a complete picture of the entire Church from that time until the end of the age; and these seven representative types of churches represent, in turn the fullness of the Church. In short, the seven churches are seven different folds, seven different realities of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. So, we have here two intertwined circumstances. One is that each epistle is sent to each specific historical church. We need to stress this point of a specific historical church, which refers to a specific circumstance for each church. For example, when He says, you are neither cold nor hot, you are lukewarm (3:15); or you have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen (2:4-5), these are specific flaws or weaknesses of church A or B. Therefore these epistles, at the first level, have a historical character. They are exactly that. They aim to cure the flaws of those individual churches of two thousand years ago. However, at the second level these elements also serve as warnings for the entire Church through all the ages. So we have here two intertwined dimensions, the first one being the historical one which is limited to the topographies of the seven city churches; and then we have the other dimension which refers to the entire history of the Church, or the Church through the ages. So, when we read what Christ says for

the church of the Ephesians, or to that of the Philadelphians, it means that all these points are elements that are pointed out and exist in the catholic Church of Christ. The cities where the seven churches were located were Greek cities. All of Asia Minor

was

Greek

and

these

are historical

churches,

and

historical

epistles, with

an historical base. I will repeat this again and again, when the time comes, but I will mention it now. When Christ says, J will remove your lampstand (2:5) every church is represented by a lampstand or a candlestand, one candle. So, I will remove your lampstand means I will move you around. He took these seven churches and moved them. And, none of these historical churches exists in Asia Minor today! Not one! Not Ephesus, not Smyrna, not even one. The lampstands were removed permanently in 1922, during the infamous Asia Minor destruction and expulsion of the Greek populace.

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St. Andrew of Caesarea says, “With the number seven, what is meant is the totality of all the Churches.” As the seven days of the week are a symbol of the creation of the world, or our life, the number seven or the seven churches shows the fullness of the Church.” Therefore, I will ask you to please pay close attention to this point because whatever we analyze in these seven great epistles to these churches is not limited to the seven historical churches, but will always refer to the entire Church, which will exist always until the end of time. Grace and peace to you (1:4) is the Christian greeting of strong vivid liturgical character. This greeting of St. John is a shortened version of the greeting of St. Paul, The grace of the Lord Jesus and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor.13:14). Here again we see the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. Our God is Triune. | So, The grace of the Lord Jesus and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you, amen. John does not borrow this type of greeting from St. Paul or vice versa. It seems that it always existed in the Church and it had a liturgical dimension. So, the Apostles John, Paul, Peter, and Jude used this greeting which was common in the Church. This form exists today in our Divine Liturgy in the beginning of the prayers of the holy anaphora, when the priest comes out to bless the worshippers. Since the grace of God is a favorable consequence springing from the sacrificial death of Christ and peace from God the Father, from the One Who is, was, and is coming, this greeting turns into a liturgical confession of faith, or a symbol of faith. In the case of the Ethiopian eunuch, Philip the deacon said to him, If you confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God nothing will keep you from being baptized, and the eunuch said, I believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God (Acts 8:27-39). This is nothing more than a confession of faith. Later, due to a number of heresies in the Church, the Creed of Faith becomes more detailed. The familiar Creed of Nicea is used to this day, I believe in one God the Father Almighty and so on.

From this greeting of John, we see that we have a most archaic element of

confession of faith, a confession of faith in a liturgical space. We affirm our faith; we

confess our faith in the liturgical space, in church, in order to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. Before Holy Communion we must confess our true faith. So, this greeting of St. John the evangelist is of vivid, liturgical character.

153 St. Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse of Apostle John, (PG 106, 221A): “Av του εβδοματικοὺ αριθμού, το μυστικόν των ἁαπανταχού εκκλησιὼν σημαίνει".

CHAPTER 3 Revelation 1:4-6

The One Who is and Who was — Grace and Peace

from the Holy Triune God

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who

is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ. Homily given November 9, 1980 hat we have here is a wonderful reference to the Holy Triune God. In the Greek text, the words Who is and Who was and Who is coming

are grammatically incorrect. Just to give you an idea, the Greek does not say Who is, but the existing and the existed. This is very strange grammar and quite unusual for the Greek language of that time. ‘The purpose of this is to capture and hold the reader's attention. Again this is an intentional solecism [an ungrammatical combination of words in a sentence that breaks formal rules] and does not appear simply because it is written by an illiterate person since the following sentences are quite correct. For example, John uses the genitive correctly and from Jesus Christ or from the seven spirits. So again, the reason for this solecism is to hold the reader's attention. St. Andrew of Caesarea writes on this verse, “Grace to you and peace from the three persons of the Holy Trinity, explaining that the One Who is refers to the Father.” Actually let us backtrack to the words from God. [The Protestant translators write: from Him, Grace and peace to you from Him.) The Greek actually says from God. So, to understand this verse better, let’s pretend that there is a colon after God so the words Who is and Who was and Who is coming is the explanation of the word God. Who is God: Who was God: and Who is coming: is God. So let us use the x-ray vision of the Church fathers to understand this verse even 14 St, Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary to the Apocalypse of John, (PG 106, 222D): Xdpic υμίν και εἰρήνη από τῆς τρισυποστάτου θεότητος.

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

more. God said,

AM WHO I AM (Exodus 2:14) to Moses, [The Greek says, Ego eimi

oh ohn — eye ett o wv], which are the same words we find in the book of the Revelation. This is a great and memorable verse in the Old Testament when Moses asks God for His name. We have parallel verses in the sixth chapter of Genesis and in the sixth chapter of Isaiah, Lord, what is your name? Moses asks: What should I tell the people of Israel? Do you want me to go to Egypt? And the Israelites will certainly ask me, “Who is this God who is sending you to free us?” And in the answer, | am Who is, the Existing One, we assume that God the Father is speaking to Moses. ‘Then here in the book of Revelation the One who is refers to the Father. The One Who was reminds us of some key verses of Saint John in his Gospel where he says, Jn the beginning was the Word (John 1:1)—in the beginning of creation that is. So, this Who was refers to the Son. And the One Who is coming refers to the Paraklete or the Holy Spirit Who came and stays in the Church and sanctifies the children of God through holy baptism.

However, we would also add that when we read Who is, Who was and Who is

coming, all three include the totality of time. They include the present, Who is, Who is now and always exists, always existed. It includes the past, the present and the future: Who is, the present; Who was, the past; and Who is coming, the future. This shows that God not only moves through time but He also transcends time. God is beyond, outside of past, present, and future. For God there is no time. God created time. And this is what John wishes to show with this phrase, that God is over and above time.

Furthermore, the name used by John, the One Who is, Who was and Who is coming, is theologically very colorful. When he says the One who is coming, it expresses God within human history, because God does not move about. Long before Christ, Aristotle was correct, when he said, God is the first mover of all and yet immobile. He moves it all. God is the beginning of any and all movement, while God Himself does not need to move. He is stationary, or immobile. Since God is everywhere, He fills

everything. His presence covers every single point in the universe. It is not possible for Him to move. Movement suggests the occupation of a new area of space that was not previously occupied. I moved from point A to point B. I traveled from my house to get to my job. I walk. I come. I go. But as we all understand, God is omnipresent. He is everywhere; so He does not need to come and go. This come and go refers to the incarnate Son of God, the God-man. Therefore, the One Who is coming, refers to the Divine Logos Who

human nature, God the Word Who becomes Gospel of John when Christ tells the disciples: come and go of God in history always refers noteworthy here as well is that in the Greek,

assumes the

man. This is just like the phrase in the I am going and I will come back. ‘This to the human nature of God. What is the original text says the One Who is

coming, o ethomenos (epyéuevoc) meaning the One Who is always coming. ‘This is

just like the One who is, 0 wn, the One Who

always exists, Who was; Who

always

was, and is therefore, the One Who is always coming. Thus, the pre-eternal God Who is always present, always coming, has never left history. He never took a break

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from history. So, He is always coming and yet this always coming has some special cases as well.

We see this in a letter to the Hebrews when we read, In a short while, in a little bit, the One Who is coming will get here. He will not be long (cf. Hebrews 10:37). The One Who is always coming, will come. What does this mean? It means that God is always

within our history. He sees the entire world. The entire universe is in God's hands. But when it says, “He will get here,” it refers to the special appearances of God the Word, Jesus Christ. So, we saw so far that the expression, Who is, Who was and Who

is coming refers to the Triune God. However, this same expression can also be applied to God the Father alone. There is so much wealth in these lines and St. Andrew of Caesarea says once again on this, that “the entire phrase, the One Who is, and Who was and Who is coming, can also refer to the Father Who is the beginning, the middle and the end of everything.” Another

name

of God

is the Alpha

and

the Omega

(1:8), which

means

that anything that has a beginning or an end is in God. So, everything that has a beginning exists in God and everything that has an end exists in God. Everything begins in God and finishes in God. Therefore, in reality, if this entire phrase refers to the Father, then peace from God means the One Triune God with the differentiation

of the Three Persons. We see immediately after the reference to the Father, the One Who is, Who was and Who is coming, reference is made to the seven spirits, in other words, the Holy Spirit and to the Lord Jesus Christ, as we will see. From the seven spirits who are before His throne, what still echoes is the greeting, Grace to you and peace from God the Father and from the seven spirits who are before His throne (1:4-5). This greeting refers to the third Person of the Holy Trinity Who precedes the second

Person. What is notable here is that the first and the third Persons are mentioned first,

and the second Person is mentioned afterwards, last. The holy evangelist gives priority to the two Persons and leaves the incarnate Person last since this Person will serve as the center of this entire book. So, here the Holy Spirit is called the seven spirits before the throne of God. The throne of God obviously refers to God the Father while the number seven reveals the fullness and the perfection of the Holy Spirit. This is beautifully expressed by the prophet Isaiah in his sevenfold declaration of the attributes or the gifts or the energies of the One Holy Spirit. The prophet Isaiah writes: Spirit of wisdom, spirit of understanding, spirit of council, spirit of might, spirit of knowledge, spirit of piety, and spirit of fear of God (cf. Isaiah 11:2). All the attributes of the Holy Spirit are reflected in the prayers and hymns for the day of Pentecost, to honor the Holy Spirit.* The same Holy Spirit, the undivided Holy Spirit, divides the gifts. But the Spirit remains One and indivisible. So, the Holy Spirit is expressed with the term the seven spirits, but again as we can see, ? Thid. (PG 106, 224 Α): Του περιέχοντος εν εαυτὼ πάντων των ὀντων τὴν τε ἀρχὴ τὰ τε μέσα και τὰ τελευταία. 6 cf Pentecostarion, Vespers of Pentecost: third prayer of kneeling service.

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

it is One Holy Spirit. At this point, I will refer to the method of interpretation used by our Church fathers. They let Holy Scripture interpret Holy Scripture. Are the words, seven spirits mentioned elsewhere in the Scriptures and how are they used? This is how we can interpret the word of God with accuracy. Now why is the Holy Spirit called the seven spirits? First and foremost, it shows readiness, because it is in front of the Father; it shows readiness for a mission; it shows readiness to be sent off for the purpose of sanctification. In other words, this spirit of God waits from one moment to the next to rush out. Remember Pentecost: suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven (cf. Acts 2:1). Therefore, the Spirit is ready to rush to the world and

to give the gifts from the tremendous love that He has for the world. Now what holds the Spirit back? He awaits the will of God, the Father, and the path that will be opened by the Son. The three Persons of the Holy Trinity work out the salvation of the world. We mentioned this in the past, how the Spirit of God was moving above the waters, above the abyss and the face of the waters (cf. Gen.1:2). Why is it just the Spirit of God? Just as the Spirit took the form of a dove later in history, now it gives us the image of a giant bird that incubates life out of the waters. So, the Spirit of God was embracing the waters, so to speak, to keep them warm much like a bird that sits on its eggs to incubate them; and life springs forth out of the waters. How beautiful. Second, the Spirit of God is sent from the Father and from the Son. The Lord Himself says, But when the Counselor [Paraklete] comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me (John 15:26). The Greek word is ekporevetai, proceeds, from the Father. So the Holy Spirit is sent out from the Father and from the Son but proceeds from the Father only. Now if you ask me, what does send out mean? I will tell you nothing. I do not understand a thing. If you ask me, what does ekporevetai or proceeds mean? I will also tell you nothing. It is beyond my comprehension. St. Gregory the Theologian says if you can comprehend that the Son is born of the Father then you can also grasp the meaning of this ekporevetai or the Holy Spirit Who goes out from the Father. We simply go on repeating these expressions because they glorify God and they express an accuracy about the relations among the Persons of the Holy Trinity. But we do not exactly know how all these things find their application in the unfathomable mystery of the Holy Trinity. Also, in the book of the Revelation we read as Christ tells John, And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, “These things says He who has the seven spirits of God... (3:1). In other words, the He is the One Who has the fullness [of the uncreated energies/ gifts] of the Holy Spirit and sends them out to the world. St. John writes, And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth (5:6). These are great and awesome images which show how the Spirit of God [as grace] is sent out full of gifts because the number seven,

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again, is symbolic. It shows the multitude of gifts and that the Spirit of God comes laden with gifts for the world. In addition, the Spirit of God is before the throne of God as seven spirits because of Its ability to permeate. The Holy Spirit slips through everything everywhere. The Lord says the Holy Spirit searches the deep things of God. In other words, He is God. The Holy Spirit as God communes with the essence [ousia] of God. Furthermore, we read, From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God (Rev. 4:5). These are the seven spirits of God Who is the Holy Spirit. The prophet Ezekiel says this very beautifully. Now why do we keep using Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Daniel? We use them to show that there is a great consistency between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Let us note also, this consistency in Ezekiel, In the midst of the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning (1:13). These revolving blazing lamps show that the Holy Spirit penetrates everywhere, knows all, and that there is nothing that escapes the Holy Spirit. Grace and peace to you from him who is the faithful witness, the Firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Here again what echoes is the greeting, grace and peace to you from God the Father, the seven spirits, or the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ. And from Jesus Christ; as we see, Christ is placed last because the entire book will focus on Christ Who is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. However, He is purposely mentioned third here with three descriptive names:

first, the faithful witness; second, the firstborn from the dead, and third, the ruler of

the kings of the earth. These three epithets or names refer to Jesus Christ. They refer

to His human nature, not the divine — and Jesus Christ signifies just that; while Son of

God refers to the divine nature: Who is, and Who was and Who is coming and from the seven spirits before His throne and from Jesus Christ. But here St John wants to present to us Jesus Christ Who is the center of history and the central figure of all the events he is about to describe in his vision. These events form the book of the Revelation, along

with all the events that make up human history. The first name describes Jesus Christ as the faithful witness. Now, why the faithful witness? This is simply because a faithful witness can only tell the truth. Everything He says is true. However, faithful witness is the name of God in the Old Testament; and as the moon is to endure all through the age, so is the witness in Heaven faithful (88th PsalmSeptuagint). The faithful witness here in the book of Revelation is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is Yahweh or Jehovah. This is the same faithful witness in Psalm 89:37, Yahweh, whom the Jehovah’s Witnesses call Jehovah. Jesus Christ is Yahweh, or Jehovah, the

Lord. When are the blaspheming Jehovah’s Witnesses (the false witnesses actually) going to see this? They believe Christ to be a creation. What a terrible blasphemy! So, Jesus Christ is the faithful witness or the faithful martyr for two more reasons. The first one is because He gave witness to the Truth, as for example when Pilate asked Him, Who are you? and He answered; For this I was born, and for this I have come into

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the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice. (John:

18:37). Poor Pilate asks, what is truth? (18:38) and Christ does not answer. Some have

ventured to say that Pilate should have asked, “Who is the truth?” and that he would

have probably received a response. At any rate, the truth is a great subject. This is why we are struggling, to come to the truth. Poor Pilate had the entire Truth in front of him. The Truth is not some abstract idea or thought. The Truth is a Person. J am the Truth, Christ announced. He did not say, “I came to tell you a few nice things about the truth to help you along.” He said I am the Way and the Truth and the Life! (John 14:6). Two things will always trouble and interest mankind, the great subjects of truth and of life. The axis that all humanity revolves around has in its two poles, in its two ends, the subject of truth at the one and life at the other. This axis of humanity is

Jesus Christ. J am the Truth and the Life. So, 1 came to bear witness to the Truth. So,

I Am the Truth Christ says, which means, everything He says, everything, will always be true. The truth about God, the truth about man, the truth about the world and the true worship of the True God and the love of the True God can only be found through Christ! Outside of Christ, there is deep darkness. Philosophers are struggling. They not only contradict each other but they often contradict themselves. They go around in circles, full of uncertainty. My friends, if we do not know Christ, we are living in deep darkness. We should feel very privileged; we should feel ecstatic, because we know how to get to know Christ or at least we know the way to get to know Christ in His fullness. So, He is a faithful witness for everything He will say. This applies whether written or unwritten and of course, everything that is written in the book of the

Revelation is trustworthy and true. St. Paul says: Zhe Word of God is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance (cf.

Tim.1:15). But we must mention that Christ is often called a faithful witness in the

book of the Revelation. For instance, we read, And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness (3:14), —three names for

Jesus Christ. First, the Amen is a Hebrew word and what is interesting is that this

word does not take an article; but here, strangely enough, we see the article the in front of it. Saint Paul will do the same about Jesus Christ and call Him: the Amen, the Yes,

the Sure and so on. Amen in Hebrew means: let it be; pray that it is so; that is how it

is, certainly. The Amen here means the sure One, the faithful and true Witness. These are all synonyms that show the faithfulness and the credibility of this. witness. It is not by accident that in the Greek language the word witness and the word martyr are the same. We use the same word; the word martyria also means witness. So Christ is also a true witness, a true martyr because He martyred on the cross. He was raised upon the cross for the sake of the true witness or martyria. Since the martyria or witness of the truth is indispensably connected to sufferings and to fierce attacks of the devil — the devil-held world rather — the word martyrion in Greek means both witness and suffering.

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A true witness will witness during peaceful times and during polemic times. So, a faithful witness or a martyr, not only tells the truth but dies for this truth. When the truth is offered to the world, it is offered with martyrdom. Truth and persecution, truth and suffering are very closely connected, so closely that the same word: martyria expresses both. This is why the evangelist will write, When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for their martyria (6:9) or testimony that they gave. They were slain, of course, for the Word of God. They gave the martyria or the true witness, the true testimony for the Word of God, and the devil-ruled world killed them. Above all of them, we have the absolute martyr, the absolute witness, Jesus Christ Himself, because He brought to us the entire truth. Moreover, for the sake of this truth He became the first martyr with the martyrion of the cross. The second name for Christ is the first-born from the dead. There are so many names throughout the Scriptures for Christ, so many that they call for our attention. He is called: a snake, a thief, a shepherd, the sheep-pen, the amen, the faithful witness, the truth, and the life. We find a plethora of names attributed to Christ in Holy Scripture. So, Jesus Christ who was the faithful witness, was also the first-born from the dead (cf. 1 Cor. 15:20). Here, a great testimony is given. The identity of the One witnessing to John is fully certified here, and it is none other than Jesus Christ. Now it may not be very clear here, but towards the end of this chapter, Christ will say, J became dead and behold I am alive again. He is alive again, through His holy resurrection. This refers to the human nature and more specifically to the body because the soul does not die. So the first-born from the dead is the pre-eternal God Who became man, died on the cross, resurrected and now lives as God-man forever and ever. We also read, J am the First and the Last (Rev. 1:17), another name for Christ, and the Living One. But when He says, [ am the First and the Last, He speaks as God

because no human being can be the first and the last, the alpha and the omega. The

alpha and the omega does not exist in any creation, in any human

being; it is an

attribute only of God. And the Living One does not apply to a human being. The

Living One refers to God. So, Christ can say, “I became dead, as a human being and behold I am living; I am alive; I live.” In other words, He resurrected and lives forever

and ever as God-man, not as God and not as a human being but as God-man forever and ever. And He has the keys of death and Hades. Christ defeated death and Hades. He destroyed the bonds of Hades. One of the Church fathers expresses this very nicely, he says, “Christ is called the first-born from the dead being the first one to burst out from the belly of Hades.” The verb burst shows the power of Christ Who pulverized Hades. He destroyed the bonds of Hades. He smashed the chains, the locks, and the doors of the eternal gates of Hades. So, He is the first that exploded through the doors of Hades, as first-born from the dead. St. Paul also uses this term. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent (Col. 1:18). He has supremacy because He is first in everything. He paves the way and we

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follow. He is the first dead to resurrect and we will follow; we will be the second, the third and so on. St. Paul says Christ comes first and He guarantees our own resurrection. He writes, But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (I Cor. 15:20). So, He was raised first and many will follow Him. And finally, we come to the third name for Christ in this verse, and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. This title serves as an echo of the meeting with Pilate, where Christ offers His great martyria or testimony, that yes, He is truly King. St. John the evangelist records: My Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Pilate asks, “So are you a king?” Christ answers, You say that I am (18:37). This means simply that yes, you are correct; I am a King. Therefore, Christ is King, a ruler, and the Ruler of history. He is the universal judge. He is victorious. This last name for Christ fully denotes the central theme of the content of the book of the Revelation. We read, they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings (Rev.17:14). So, again in this verse we have three epithets for Jesus Christ. ‘These names seem to form a natural sequence between them. He who came to bear witness to the truth died for the sake of this truth. He resurrected, gaining victory over death, not only for Himself but for all mankind for whom He will finally be victorious as God-man, King and Lord of all the kings and all the rulers of the earth. These three names for Jesus Christ: the faithful witness, the first-born from the

dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth serve as the diagram of the entire journey of God the Logos throughout history. He comes; He gives the martyria or the testimony; He suffers a martyr’s death and He exits human history. In reality, He takes human history along with Him through His resurrection and Ascension; and He transforms it to the Kingdom of God. Let’s pay close attention to this. He enters history, martyrs and dies for the truth, resurrects, ascends, and with the final judgment He assumes all of history, all creation and changes it to the Kingdom of God. Now what other book can compare to the magnificence of the book of the Revelation? What other book can even come close? Is there any other book in the entire world of literature? What book? None, absolutely none can even come close to the splendor of the book of the Revelation. These are tremendously vast subjects. My friends, we often insist on some theological points. We understand this can be a little tiresome but we need to develop patience. We need to emphasize, we must emphasize, that we need to raise ourselves

up. We must lift up our minds. We must elevate spiritually, raise our spirituality; our spiritual standards need to get higher. Let’s not limit ourselves to some basic morality. No. Christ did not incarnate to make us nice people. Let us stop telling ourselves that we are good people and that that is sufficient, resting in this self-sufficiency, which is nothing more than a spiritual starvation limit. We are the cause of the starvation limit when we are content with a few crumbs of some religious knowledge. No, my friends, the children of God must become filled with the bread of God

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and the bread of God is the bread that came from heaven (cf. John 6:32), God the

Word Who gave Himself for food, real food! So we can see God the Word, through this heavenly bread. That is why my friends, you should not protest if we offer some theology here. It is not very much, but it is the bread that nourishes the children of God.

CHAPTER 4 Revelation 1:4-7

The Three Offices of Christ and the Faithful:

Prophetic, Priestly and Royal

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Homily given November 16, 1980

herefore, glory belongs to the One Who incarnated, Who became a faithful witness, Who shed His blood to wash us from our sins because He loves us. So to Him, Jesus Christ, be glory and power forever and ever, as we read at the end of John’s introduction to the book of the Revelation. Again, the Word of God took on flesh. The Word became flesh. He proved to be the faithful witness, 0 waptus o TtoTtdc, (o martys o pistos) and the first-born from the dead, only because He loved us. He shed His blood to wash our sins only because He loved us. There was no other reason God did this. God does not have any other motive outside of His love. God, desiring to express this love to us, gave His incarnate, His only Son, to die on the cross. He did not only wash our sins, which pertains to the negative aspect of the love of God. Negatively speaking, He washed our sins. God proceeded to go beyond this washing. Moreover, for those of us who believe and accept this washing by His blood, He makes us members of the royal priesthood; (Bacihetov tepatevpa - vasilion ieratevma), and thereby makes us a kingdom of priests to his God and Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. My friends, this is an extremely important verse. It is extremely theological, a most theological verse. We need to give it our utmost attention. So, He has made us to be a kingdom of priests. Christ has made us a kingdom of priests to His Father. In this verse, what becomes very clear, most evident is the essence and the purpose of Christianity. We see here that Christianity is not simply a religion, but a kingdom. This is the essence of Christianity. Christians are kings and priests. This describes the content of Christianity. If one would ask you, “What is Christianity anyway?” You should answer, “It is a kingdom.” And if anyone would ask you, “What is the purpose

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of the Christian community?” You should answer, “It is to make its citizens kings and priests.” This sounds colossal. You may believe this sounds like a very high calling. It is a very high calling, indeed, as high as the heavens. Now once we come to the realization that being a Christian means that I am a citizen of a kingdom, that I am a king and priest, then how can we ever say again that Christianity is one of the religions? How can we compare it to man-made religions? Christianity is not a religion dreamed up by men. It is a revelation, and therefore a kingdom. So, as a Christian, my purpose is not to use my faith to make my life easier and more pleasant here on earth. A Christian is not the person who pays his taxes, obeys the laws of the country, and raises a good and a nice family. It seems that this is how we have been taught to size up today’s good Christian: a good and honest member of society. There is no question that being good and honest are fruits of the Christian life. It is clear that a Christian will be a good person in the society. But is this why Christ came into the world, to make us good and honest people, like Plato used to say, to be good and honest, kalos kai agathos? If this was the purpose of Christ’s coming, then He did not have to come into this world. The ancient Greeks could have helped us to accomplish the objective of becoming good and honest people. We have and have had many good people, even before Christ. My friends, the mission of Christianity is not to make me a good and honest citizen, but to make me a king and priest of God, something that escapes the thoughts of all those outside of Christianity. Again, this escapes the imagination of even the greatest philosophers. Christians are super-privileged to have God establish a Kingdom for them on earth. When we pray we say, Thy kingdom come (Matt.6: 10). By the way, this has nothing to do with a political, earthly kingdom. We have said this before. This Kingdom is not of this world. We often see Christian political parties with an agenda to elect Christian leaders and Christian presidents. Many think that this would automatically make the earth a better place. The truth is that the Kingdom of God is, as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), compared to these Christian parties and Christian coalitions. So we pray, Thy kingdom come. The Christians reign together with Christ. They become priests who offer their worship to the Holy Triune God. Now, Who is the source of these great privileges? Initially, the source of this privilege is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. While coming into the world as a human being, Christ was anointed by the Father. In saying this, we refer to the human nature, and not God the Logos

Who does not need to be christened by the Father, being equal, of one essence with the Father. Jesus Christ refers to the human nature. Therefore God the Father anointed Jesus Christ with this triple office: the Prophet, the Archpriest, and King. The Old Testament and especially the New Testament profess this triple office of our Lord. We will not look into many verses other than the ones that we already interpreted last week. We mentioned the three descriptive titles, epithets for Christ. The faithful witness refers to the prophetic office of Christ, because He came to

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profess the truth and to talk about the truth, to prophesy. A prophet is not always someone who sees or foretells the future. This is only true in the narrow sense. In the broad sense, a prophet is he who talks about God. The word prophet in the broad sense can be found in the ancient Greek literature, as for example, Homer saw a prophet as a person who prophesies or talks; and yes, a prophet can also talk about the future. We covered this earlier. The greater challenge of a prophet is not to foretell the future but to interpret the present. So, Christ is the faithful witness Who came to bear witness to the truth, and He is the Teacher par excellence of heavenly things. Second, He is the first-born from the dead. This is a characteristic of the Archpriestly office of our Lord; combining in His Person both the One Who offers the sacrifice and the sacrificial Lamb. We say this in the Divine Liturgy, “The One who offers and the One being offered,” and this is quite difficult to grasp, to be the One who offers the sacrifice and at the same time is the offering. Nevertheless, this is understood in the scope of the God-human nature of Christ. Third, the Ruler of the Kings of the earth is a characteristic of His royal office. Combined, the three offices of Christ work out our salvation. These three offices: the prophetic, the Archpriestly, and the royal, procure our salvation. With the first office, the prophetic, the true God is revealed. The second, the priestly office, is what lifts humanity to God: the oblation, or the anaphora. The priest during the prayer of oblation, or anaphora," lifts the holy Gifts to God. He offers the Gifts to God, “Thine own of Thine own we offer to Thee...” But in Christ we have the lifting, the raising the anaphora - of all humanity. Christ offered this anaphora on the cross. He offered this oblation through His Archpriestly office. He exercised His priestly office on the cross. He lifted, raised, offered [We use all these words for the Greek word, anaphora.]

the human nature to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. With the third office, the royal office, nature becomes a true Kingdom of God ruled by God. The holy baptism and holy chrism that each faithful receives incorporate him into the Body of Christ, that is the Church, so that he becomes one body with Christ. In this manner, each faithful participates or takes on the three offices of Christ to a certain degree. Christ is a prophet, so the faithful becomes a prophet, to a certain extent. Christ is the Archpriest, and the faithful becomes a priest, to a certain extent. Christ is the King, so the faithful becomes

a king to a certain extent. This

means therefore, that the Christian receives these offices from Christ, Who in turn received them from the Father. Christ was anointed with the three offices, the triple office, and now we can see that St. John talks about this type of thing in the Revelation

after the triple office of Christ, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father. When did Christ make us a kingdom and priests to serve God? He did this after 17 St. John the Chrysostom, The Divine Liturgy, Prayer of the Cherubimic Hymn: ...Zv yap o προσφέρων και ο προσφερόμενος...

18 1014.

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He proved to be the faithful Witness, the first-born from the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. We find this position in the Old Testament as well. God Himself says through Moses, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel (Exodus 19:6). Can we grasp the meaning of these words, my friends? God wants His nation to be holy. That is what the prophet Isaiah says, You shall be called the priests of the Lord... ministers of God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their riches you shall glory (61:6). So first, you will become priests of God; second, you shall eat the wealth of the nations; and in this wealth you will be glorified. This does not mean, as the Jews totally misinterpret, to dominate and extract all the

wealth from the nations [by controlling and abusing the world’s banking system]. What a shame! This is how these blessed people of the Old Testament, how these pitiful people, God’s elect of the Old Testament, misunderstand the Scriptures. The true meaning is that you will become kings and priests, and the true meaning of the king and the priest will only be given to us in Christ Jesus. If I do not have the presence of Jesus Christ, and if I study the Old Testament without the light of the New Testament, I can interpret Holy Scripture according to my selfish, national or racist ambitions and interests. So if I am a Jew and I reject the New Testament, I reject Jesus Christ; then I can say, “Here it is. God tells me to be wealthy, to rule the wealth of the entire world, and to govern the entire world.” But this is a horrible mistake, a terrible misunderstanding of the word of God; and the elitist group, the Zionists, have been moving in this direction for years. They are worth many tears, because they will never rule the world, and they will not get much joy out of this wealth because when they finally accomplish this — and they will accomplish it — they will bring the Antichrist and then they will be destroyed. Therefore, they will not enjoy any of these efforts. They are truly fighting the wind and the Psalm describes their plight. God will laugh at them. The Lord has them in derision (2:4). He is mocking them. This is an anthropomorphic expression. It is like God telling them, “You poor, pitiful people! You plot in vain all these centuries, all these efforts to become a dynasty, to lord it over the world! Now it is all over. The end is here.” This is not the spirit of the Old Testament verses. Let's move on to see what the spirit of the New Testament is, and how St. Peter explains these verses with the light of Christ. St. Peter takes these Old Testament verses, and he renews them in the light of the New Testament. We read, But you

are a chosen people (1 Peter 2:5-9). Who? Here, you means the Christians, not the synagogue. But you (the Christians) are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. So the holy nation and the royal priesthood are no longer for the Jews but for the Christians! This is the new dimension under the light of the New Testament. So you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people in God’s care that you may declare the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light! Do you see here any hint of materialism and earthly, monetary riches? There is not a

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trace! This is why the people who would like to support and form Christian political parties, whether they understand it or not, while they are doing this consciously or not, fall into the same trap as the Jews. They act like people of the Old Testament. So every baptized and chrismated Christian is a prophet, a priest, and a king. Now what does all this mean for me, the baptized and chrismated Orthodox Christian? First, being a prophet is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and Its many gifts. For this reason, St. John the evangelist in his epistle addresses the newly illumined, the newly baptized Christians, But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know everything (1 John 2:20).

What, exactly, do they know? They know all those things that are necessary for one’s salvation. What does one need to know? One needs to know the delusion of the world, the methodology of the devil, the traps of ones own self; so that by being watchful, he will see his way clear to the path of his spiritual interest. So the Holy Spirit — which we receive by chrism, and we have this chrism of the prophet — is our internal teacher Who opens our mind to understand the truths about salvation while helping us to escape the delusions of the world and to understand its schemes and its evil traps. Now, is this important? Jt is extremely important I do not know if I should say it even louder so you can hear it again! One can see this in the people outside of Christianity, or in people who are Christians but who have extinguished their Holy Spirit. They render their chrism useless because they live, think, and abide by the precepts of the world. How these people act in their everyday lives! One can see their outrageous, foolish, dangerous and reckless acts, and question, “Don't they understand? Don't they see? Are they blind?” Today a verse caught my attention, and I will mention it here, / saw people persist in their foolishness; I began to melt inside (Psalm 119:158). I was burning inside. Something was eating me inside! Truly, today, the widespread foolishness eats away,

gnaws at the innards of the God-fearing individual. Unsurpassed foolishness! It is like a tree-climber who climbs the tree, sits on a branch, and suddenly takes a saw and cuts the very limb that is supporting him! He does it very naturally, not giving it any thought at all. Obviously, he is going to go crashing down!’ Our times show strong signs of decadence, signs of a fall. The western world is slowly dying, and the average person today does not see this. They think that our times are simply the best, splendid. You melt inside if you have any sensitivity. You burn inside to see all these people live their lives without a single thought for their eternal ) This is very applicable to our country, the United States of America. As a nation, we have been cutting our supporting branch for decades. Our school systems have worked fervently to remove the name of Christ from the school grounds. They have expelled the guardian angels, and replaced them with police officers, metal detectors, and drug rehabilitation programs. Heretical and atheist teachers have done all they could to take the fear of God out of their students, and now they fear for their lives from these God-fearless students. Most of our Christian children today are brought up by MTV, Blockbuster Video, internet, ipods and all sorts of

video games.

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souls. These people are strangers to the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, the people that are anointed with the Holy Spirit energize their chrism. They have the general prophetic gift to be able to see, to discern, and to use God-given common sense. People in the world today lack even this very basic common sense, and many times these individuals talk in the name of a deep and impressive philosophy. Philosophy of fools! Foolishness! What comes to mind is the verse stating that God turns those He wants to destroy into fools. And it looks like God is planning to destroy us, so He allows this widespread foolishness! This is because we have left God. I brought this up as an example to show what it means to have a prophetic spirit, to have the spirit of God my personal teacher to illumine me and show me how to walk. Now we will look into the gift for the office of priesthood, and here we need to make a clarification. The general priesthood that exists in the faithful — the royal priesthood in which every baptized Christian is a priest, cannot substitute for the liturgical priesthood. It cannot replace the mystery of the holy priesthood. This is something that the Protestants have done. They acknowledge the general priesthood, but reject the specific or liturgical priesthood, and this is why they have eliminated the mystery of priesthood. What a tragedy! I must tell you that the sacrament of priesthood is the mystery of the Church. And the mystery of the Church is the mystery of salvation! This is why the mystery (sacrament) of the priesthood takes place during the Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy can only come forth from the priesthood, and it can only exist and co-exist with the priesthood. We are talking about the liturgical priesthood. In other words, the bishop, or the archpriest, celebrates the Divine Liturgy, enabled by his priesthood, and at the same time, within the Divine Liturgy, the mystery of priesthood is acquired. This is why the mystery of the Church and the mystery of the priesthood are almost synonymous. Yet, they have their distinct differences as well. This is extremely important. The Protestants spurn this mystery. So, in reality, because they spurn the mystery of the priesthood, they do not have the Church. The Protestants, and this includes denominational and non-denominational Christians, are not a Church. They are simply Christian communities. We repeat that they are not canonical because they do not have the mystery of priesthood with this specific meaning. As you can see, we place great emphasis in this area about the liturgical and the general priesthood. | However, Christ initiates both the liturgical and the general priesthood. They are | fulfilled in Christ and they are offered to Christ. Both of these priesthoods, general and liturgical, are linked together to present the offering. For example, the faithful brings the bread, the prosforon, for the consecration. : He prepares it, he kneads it, he shapes it, he bakes it, he brings it to the church, and| ! he offers it. He offers it to the priest, who will present the final offering. So the priest| will celebrate the completion of the offering, but the first offering comes from the | faithful. Therefore, the initial offering of the bread takes place when the layperson | uses his general priesthood. The priest using his liturgical priesthood completes the |

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final offering, or anaphora. As we can see, the faithful, with his general priesthood, offers the gift and the elements of the Divine Liturgy but something more; he has a spiritual partnership with the priest. In other words, he offers through or by the hands of the priest. So that you will be better able to understand it, in practice it works as follows. Can the priest celebrate the Divine Liturgy by himself? Can he take a prosforon, enter the church, wear his vestments, and begin, “Blessed is the Kingdom, of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit”? Can he do this without a layperson? No, he cannot! This is not just for technical reasons because there is no chanter, or because there is nobody to help with the censer. That is not the case. Again, it is not for technical reasons, but for ecclesiastical reasons. The priest is not allowed to celebrate the Divine Liturgy without having at least one faithful present, at least one layperson present, one more person. Again, ecclesiastic reasons are all the things I have been talking about. No, the priest, the bishop, or the patriarch cannot celebrate one single liturgy by himself. You, the layperson must be present, because your general priesthood, combined with his liturgical priesthood, will complete the offering to the Lord. The laity must be present. This is why the laity partake Body and Blood, as the priest partakes Body and Blood. Please pay attention because we are living in the age of the dialogues: dialogues with Protestants, dialogues with Catholics. Previously we talked about the Protestants, and now we must mention that the Roman Catholic Church does not allow the laity to commune the Blood of Christ, only the Body. What does this mean? It means that she gives privileges to the clergy, privileges above and beyond the faithful; this is why the Roman Catholic priest can celebrate mass every day in his room. His private mass can last anywhere from ten minutes up to an hour. So within ten minutes, the papist priest can receive his holy communion, and can go about his business. Our Orthodoxy has never permitted these things. ‘This is because the papists, the clergy of the Roman Catholics, ignore the lay people by practicing these erroneous innovations. The presence of the faithful, the presence of the laity, is of great, basic importance, and our Church expresses it by this method. “My priest, you cannot celebrate the liturgy without at least one single lay person.” Do you see how important this information is? We must also mention that the very language of the liturgy is written in the first person plural: We offer. We ask. Let us ask of the Lord. Save us. Have mercy on us. The entire congregation, the entire church, clergy and laity, presents the offering to the Lord. St. Peter calls the faithful living stones, who build among themselves a spiritual house (cf. 1Peter 2:5). St. Paul calls the faithful temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19).

Temples of the Holy Spirit! Remember this thought. What does it temple of the Holy Spirit? My body is the temple of the Holy that in this living temple of God, each faithful is for himself — guard and its priest. Every faithful is a temple of the Living God.

mean that I am the Spirit. This means for his temple — its St. Paul repeats this

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many times, but when he talks about a temple, he also insinuates a priest. Who is the priest? I am the temple; I am the priest; and I am the guard, the watchman of the temple of God. Now in the Old Testament the sacrifices had this meaning: they substituted for the guilty party. A man would bring a lamb and offer it as a sacrifice in place of himself, to avoid sacrificing himself. The blood of the animal would be poured out. The animal, which did nothing wrong, sheds its blood in the place of the guilty person. However, here in the New Testament, we have a sacrifice far and beyond those of the

Old Testament. If they took a sheep and sacrificed it, they were right by God — not

now. In the New Testament, as a Christian, the sacrifice of worship that I must offer

to God is my own self, my own selfishness, and my own ego. Let us consider how St. Paul expresses this. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of Gods mercy, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Rom.12:1). Present your bodies has a liturgical dimension. It is like presenting the holy bread, the prosfora, to God, like taking them to the north entrance. Long ago, the prosfora were offered at the Royal Door during the time of the epistle reading. What is left from this as a reminder is that the priest comes out at this moment and censes, because the priest used to cense the offerings of the faithful before he took them inside. This is called the presentation of the gifts. This is why St. Paul uses the word, present: present your bodies. Again, this of a liturgical dimension and it stems from the Old Testament. So, present not your wine or your bread but your dodies. Your bodies are a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual worship. Therefore, I offer myself and when I offer myself, I am a priest. St. Peter says, and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5). Jesus Christ, of course, is the Mediator. Therefore, the sacrifice of the celebrant faithful is the sacrifice of the faithful

with the general meaning of the priesthood, meaning all of us, all the laity. ‘This sacrifice is primarily a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of the lips, as St. Paul calls it. Through him [Jesus Christ] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name (Heb. 13:15). We also have the sacrifice of righteousness. We read in the Psalm: [f you wanted a sacrifice, I would have given it to you. You do not delight in burnt offerings (animals thrown in a fire, etc.), because the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise, you will not reject. Then you will delight in the sacrifice of righteousness, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings (cf. 51/52). What is the sacrifice of righteousness? This Psalm tells us: it is the sacrifice of repentance. It is a great sacrifice to God. We offended God with our sins and we saddened and grieved the Holy Spirit. Now we offer our sacrifice of repentance. Righteousness also means virtue. It is the sacrifice of virtue. I will place my virtues inside the altar, upon the charcoals so they will rise, like incense, to heaven. Do we not always chant in our vespers service, Let my prayer rise like incense before you? (Psalm

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141:2). So I do not offer You incense; I offer You my prayers. If You will, Lord, I offer You incense as well, along with my prayers. However, as the incense rises at this moment, let my prayer rise as well, and let my virtues rise in the same way — my virtues, my holiness. What is the sacrifice of righteousness? It is the sacrifice of my virtues. My calling is to be a holy person. Third, we have the sacrifice of almsgiving. St. Paul says, Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God (Heb. 13:16). Therefore,

we have: first, the sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of the lips, chanting, singing to

the Lord. Second, we have the sacrifice of righteousness, and that is our repentance, our virtues. Third, we have the sacrifice of giving and sharing, almsgiving, for the priestly office. These comprise the general priesthood that we all have. Now, I will talk about the office of royalty. During our baptism, we receive as betrothal the seal of the Holy Spirit. The priest says very clearly, “the seal of the Holy Spirit.” We are marked. What is this mark? This mark is the cross by which the faithful is marked noetically, thus receiving the seal of the Holy Spirit. This I do with my own free will when I am baptized and when I become a Christian. When I receive this seal of the Holy Spirit, then I become the person who accepts the betrothal, a promise that I will become a king, not a servant but a king! Would you like to see this? In the book of the Revelation, Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clad in white garments, with golden crowns

upon their heads (4:4). The number twenty-four is twelve times two, which denotes a

great number. Elders means mature Christians, mature in holiness. There is so much

greatness in these visions of St. John, and we will study them very closely when the time comes. These twenty-four elders were dressed in white, and they had crowns of gold on their heads. So the faithful is not a servant, but is crowned with a crown

of gold. He wears a king’s crown. He is a king! And the Lord says: The righteous will sparkle, will shine like the sun, in the kingdom of their Father (cf. Matt. 13:43). What does it mean, though, to have the royal office here on earth? I can understand

the crown in heaven, that is okay, but what is the meaning of this royalty here on earth? It means to reign over my passions! It also means to be the ruler of all creatures, the ruler of all creation. God told Adam and Eve to rule and dominate all creation, and He certainly did not mean the

type of domination, or abuse rather, that goes on today because this sort of domination is also digging our graves. When I conquer atomic energy, I open my grave to enter it from cancer because radiation kills me. When I try to conquer the secrets of nature,

and I set them loose to use them, they end up killing me. What are we eating today? What are we drinking? What are we breathing? All these things are slow killers. [Look at the number of drug stores in your neighborhoods; look at the statistics on disease control, the many types of cancers, and all this in the last hundred years.] This is not the type of conquering that God had in mind. Being the ruler of nature means that I am the highest being of all creation, and there is not a single creature higher than I am. Everything is below me. I am the ruler

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of nature. We can see this in our past and present ascetics. They are lords of nature. Even the beasts and wild animals do obedience to them. St. Moses the Ethiopian,” for instance, had some visitors and being in the desert, he had run out of water. He wanted to feed his visitors, to cook some vegetables for them, but had no water. So

he took his pot, went outside, and asked God very simply and very naturally, “Lord, please send me some water.” Immediately a cloud came, stopped over his pot and rained enough water to fill his cooking utensil. He took it, boiled the vegetables, and treated his visitors. This is how man reigns over nature. I am the ruler of nature; but I must recognize that above me is the absolute ruler, my God, who rules over all. We do not get ahead by ignoring God. We do this in our arrogance. We want to unlock the secrets of nature and they are killing us. Tam the lord of nature but I must also be the lord of my passions. I must govern my passions, and uphold myself with a royal, governing spirit — hegemon nous. [Hegemon in Greek means king.] So I need to uphold myself with a royal nous. I need to let my mind be the king and governor of my existence, not my emotions — so I do not become a prisoner or a slave of people, or become enslaved by some ideas or fads — so I do not become a slave of materialism. This is the meaning of having the office of king in this life. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen (Rev. 1:7).

So, my friends, the One Who makes us kings and priests is coming. Behold, He is coming. He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him, every one — even those who speared Him. [The Greek says, all the people who speared Him.] All the people of the earth will mourn because of Him. These two verses serve as the conclusion of the introduction of this book, but they also include the central theme of the entire book of the Revelation. What is the central theme of this book? It is the Second Coming of Christ [not the rapture, not the millennium, not the taking up of the Church, not the Antichrist]. The central theme of the book of the Revelation is the Second Coming of Christ. Everything that this book will tell us will revolve around this theme of the Second Presence of Christ. Christ is coming! Behold! With this behold the writer wants to get our attention. We find this behold in the gospels very often, when the word of God wants us to zero in on some key event. Here; behold! Look! He is coming! But here in these verses, we have an awesome picture: Christ coming back slowly on the clouds while the entire earth sort of freezes and all people, every eye on the entire earth sees Him. Moreover, people will begin to wail and to beat themselves. Here we have an awesome image, an awesome picture of the Coming of Christ, and a troublesome and fearful picture. Here we come face-to-face with two Christological prophecies both from the Old Testament; and they are combined. The one belongs to the prophet Daniel, the other to the prophet Zachariah. ‘These two prophecies are what gave St. John the inspiration to verbalize this vision and prophecy, by which vision he closes his introduction to 20 Saint Nicodemos the Hagiorite, Synaxaristes, August 28, 285.

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this book. When we come to the realization at some point in our lives, when we truly realize, truly and not sensationally, and to have it be a heart-felt reality that Christ is coming back, then we develop the strong nostalgia, a strong love, a hope, that nothing in this life can hold us. We do not desire to die, no, or to just leave, not so. Simply, Christ is coming! It is such a strong hope. Christ is coming back! This should excite us! We must place this reality deep in our being. ‘This was the reality and the experience of the first Christian Church. With this reality, the Church lived and gave us the martyrs and the saints. With this reality, the Church will once again give us martyrs and saints. I pray for this with all my heart.

CHAPTER 5 Revelation 1:7-9

The Vision of Daniel and Zachariah - I am the Alpha and the Omega - Sharing in the Suffering and Gospel of the Cross Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Homily given November 23, 1980

As we were saying last time, these two verses serve as the conclusion of the initial

introduction of the book; but they also include the central theme of this book, which is

the Second Coming of Christ. These verses also contain two Christological prophecies from the Old Testament, one belonging to the prophet Daniel and a second one to the prophet Zachariah. From the prophecy of Daniel, we see that he did not only prophesy the First Coming of Christ but His Second Coming as well. More specifically we see that his prophetic eye reaches the end of history and he tells us in his seventh chapter, J saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him (7:13). Here we do not have the First Presence or First Coming, but the Second because One like the Son of Man refers to the incarnate Son of God, the God-man who is positioned next to the Ancient of Days or God the Father. The Lord Himself verified this in front of Caiaphas after Caiaphas questioned Him under oath and the Lord said, J am assuring you, I tell you that after this you will see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the power [meaning God the Father] and coming with the clouds of heaven (Matt. 26:64). In simple terms, “You are now

condemning me; you can go ahead and do that, but you will see that I will be coming back to judge you.” About Christ coming back as a Judge — this identity of our Lord is spelled out in the book of the Revelation, Then I looked, and lo, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hana

(14:14). This verse informs us that He is coming with a sickle in His hand. He is not

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coming as a Savior but as a Judge. At His First Presence He came as a Savior; so His First Presence pertains to the salvation of the world, and the Second to the Judgment. Christ Himself said, I did not come to judge the world but to save the world (John 12:47). He also said, when the Son of Man comes to judge the world (Matt. 25:31). Consequently, we have these two attributes, which pertain to the two appearances of the Lord. This also brings to mind the words of St. John the Baptist, Behold the winnowing

fork is in His hand and He will clean His threshold and He will gather the wheat in His storehouse, while the chaff He will burn up in unquenchable fire, fire that never goes out

(Matt.3:12). Also in the parable of the weeds, the Lord advises, allow the wheat to

grow with the weeds and at the end of time the sorting out, the cleansing’ will take place

(Matt. 13:25-40). The wheat will be collected and placed in the storehouse while the

weeds will be thrown into the furnace, meaning the pious people, the Christians will be gathered into the Kingdom of God and the godless and the impious in the eternal Hell, or eternal torment. So, the first verse refers to the prophecy of Daniel while the second verse refers to the prophecy of Zachariah. Zachariah writes, And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace (12:10-14). This verse refers to the First Presence of Christ. J did not come to judge but to save (cf. John 6) is indicative of a spirit

of grace and compassion. And they But they will repent when they see on the cross. They will begin to beat hair. And they will wail as someone

will turn to look at Me and they will mock Me. Me as they see Me. They will see Him, of course, their heads and their chests; they will uproot their wails and weeps bitterly over the death of a first-

born. Zhe land shall mourn (Zech. 12:12). Which land is this? It is the land of Judea,

not the entire earth; it is each tribe, each individual, and each family by themselves. The Messiah will come with much grace. The people of Palestine will scorn Him.

They will laugh at Him, but after the signs on the cross, (the darkness, the resurrection)

they will beat their heads. This is but a very small preview, a small foretaste of what will take place at the end of history. Let us all understand how. You do remember that the Centurion saw the earthquake, the darkening of the

sun; he saw all these strange phenomena. When he heard the words of Christ, Father

forgive them for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34), he saw His calmness, His meekness. He was not cursing, angry, or complaining about His enemies. He was praying for them, in the midst of the most excruciating pain on the cross. Then the Centurion said, This man is truly a Son of God (23:47). St. Luke the evangelist tells us that the crowds were beating their chests (23:48). This was an action of repentance.

“What did we do? Who did we crucify?” However, even though Israel did not believe this preview, those that sensed who He was in His First Presence began to wail. Now St. John the evangelist says that when Christ comes again, He will be coming with the clouds and every eye shall see Him, everyone, even those who pierced Him, or actually, speared Him. Then those who pierced Him will wail because of Him. They — all the tribes of the earth, meaning all of humanity — will beat their chests. In the

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first plane of the fulfillment of this prophecy, (the prophecy of Zechariah) we have the twelve tribes of Israel. In the second plane we have the whole earth, the entire world. What is significant is the fact that they will see the One that they pierced; but historically one man, a Roman soldier pierced Him. This was his duty to verify the death of the executed. It was sort of a practical death certificate that needed to be given. All of these events occurred because the Jews condemned Him; they wanted Him dead. They wanted Him executed. But what does this mean: Every eye shall see Him? Every eye refers to everyone who pierced Him, all those from the entire earth, all those who denied Jesus Christ. The person who denies Christ spears Christ. ‘This is not simply rhetoric and I will bring up some examples from Scripture, one from St. Paul and some others from holy Tradition. St. Paul writes to the Philippians, J grieve for those whose God is their belly (Phil. 3:18,19). These are baptized Christians who made pleasure their god. According to St. Paul, these Christians re-crucify the Son of God; they do the same thing as those who pierced Him. Now how do I take part in this awful piercing of the body of Christ? There are two ways: first, if I have denied His God-human nature, and second, if after becoming a Christian I continue to live a life of sin. When St. Paul talks to the Philippians, he is not referring to a matter of faith, but a matter of lifestyle. He talks to

baptized Christians who live for their belly, who make their belly their god. Their life was such that it did not agree with the cross-bearing spirit of the gospel. We will take the second example of what it means to pierce Christ from the life of St. Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria who was a contemporary of the heretic, Arius.

Archbishop Peter had a vision in which he saw Christ as a child with a torn outer garment. His garment was torn in half. St. Peter was greatly troubled and horrified, and cried out: “My Savior, who has torn Thy garment?’ The Lord replied: “That madman

Arius.’2! [St. Athanasios later defeated Arius, the heretic who denied the Lord’s God-

human nature.] In ancient frescoes here in our monastery, we have such a fresco of the

vision as seen by St. Peter, but it was unfortunately, not very well preserved. Do you see what it means to pierce or to spear Christ? Initially, under the cross one person speared Christ at the recommendation of the Sanhedrin. Now all the people throughout history and from our time, of course, (and we hope that none of our listeners or readers are included in this number of people) will say one day: “T pierced the body of Christ, I pierced Him. I speared Christ by denying Him.” This denial can take place in the area of faith, in dogma, or in the daily practice of the Christian lifestyle. The Lord says, and this is very significant, then will appear the sign of the Son of

Man in heaven (Matthew 24:30). What is this sign? The cross is the very sign that the

heretics and the scoffers, all through the ages, sneer at and mock. Among these are the chiliasts or Jehovah’s Witnesses, who mock the cross of Christ.

What will appear is the suffering, wounded Christ. Is Christ still suffering? Yes. Christ is in heaven, forever suffering, forever wounded with His bruises. These wounds

I St, Nikolai Velimirovic, Lives of the Saints, Prologue V 4, Nov. 25th.

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are incurable. They are the very wounds that Thomas touched and felt. ‘These wounds are the trophies of the Lord. These are the identifying insignia that will show everyone Who Christ is, and there will be no question whatsoever that the One Who is coming is the One Whom they pierced. The wounds are staying and they will continue to be present, not only until the end of history, but beyond history as well. When we proceed with the book of the Revelation St. John will present us with an

awesome vision, a great scene, which is a bit peculiar. He will see the Word of God as a

Lamb because He was sacrificed. He will see the Son of God as a slain Lamb, standing. Again, this is rather strange. How is He standing if He is slain? This shows that Christ bears the wounds, and at the same time, He is alive. It is the same thing that Christ will tell St. John. We will probably go over these things in our next session. J became dead (egenomin nekros) and behold, I am alive again. So as we see, the wounds stay; they are the war medals of the great victory of the Son of God. He saved the world with these wounds. At the same time, these wounds will be the terrible, condemning evidence for all those pitiful people who did not believe in Him as the Son of God. Now they have to come face to face with the One they pierced, the One Who is the Son of God incarnate.

Now every eye shall see Him; every eye shall see Christ when He comes. ‘The pious will rejoice; the godless and unrepentant sinners will be cut to the heart. They will wail. At the present time the opposite is true. The Christians, the pious, are distressed; they are crying, “Lord, how long? How long must we wait? When are you going to free us from this miserable, rotten world?” All these things will certainly be happening during the Second Coming of Christ, but we also had a bird’s eye view, a small glimpse of this during His First Coming. He told His disciples during, or a little before His Passion, The world is full of joy and laughter, and you are crying and mourning. In a short while the world will be wailing and you will be laughing (cf. Luke 6:25). In a short while, the few days from Great Thursday night until Pascha Sunday, the distress of the disciples was gone. As you can see, the mourning, the distress, the tribulation, and the pain — none of these last forever. They are connected to a time-period, and time passes. So these are not permanently fixed. Christ is coming and the faithful will rejoice while the unbelievers will weep. The Lord Himself tells us these things that St. John writes of in the book of the Revelation, Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven and all the nations, all the tribes of the world will see Him and they will lament (Matt. 24:30). All the tribes of the earth, all the nations will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. By the way, do we notice how much the gospels agree with the book of the Revelation? There is not a single point of the book of the Revelation that does not agree with the gospels, not a single point. There is absolute agreement in the spirit and sometimes, quite often, even in the /etter between the book of the Revelation and the four gospels. So Christ is coming back, and here St. John the evangelist makes a special declaration that Christ is coming back cloud-borne; He is riding on the clouds. ‘The

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verse closes with the words, So it shall be, amen. This verse serves as the seal of the introduction. The Greek text here uses two words: Nai (nai) and ayjv (amen). This

ending has a liturgical character. St. John uses the Greek word vai (nai), which stands

for yes. This means for sure; Christ is definitely coming back. Then he uses the Semitic

or Hebrew word: amen, or Ayn (amen), which means the same thing. It also means yes. But it is a prayerful yes, expressing the wish that it be as soon as possible. Yes, He is coming back, yes, and the sooner the better. Nai

(nai), Aujv (amen).

St. Paul will use this same expression, For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we preached among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No; but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God (2 Cor. 1:19, 20). His promises are yes and amen. In other words, everything will come to pass; everything Christ said will materialize; nothing will change, not an iota. Do you see how the books agree? ‘The spirit of the books is in total agreement. Sometimes we see an author contradict himself, often in the same book. However,

here we have various authors, in different times, in total agreement. This means exactly what Christ said, that the heavens and the earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away, not even an iota (Matt. 5:18). Not even an iota will pass by unfulfilled by the words of Christ. Christ said that the heavens and the earth will vanish but my words will stay forever. Christ said, I will return; I will come back, and He is absolutely faithful. St. Paul

says TIaTé¢ ο λογός (Pistos o Logos), meaning the Word of God is trustworthy and

worthy of full acceptance. Christ will come back. The heart of a faithful man who feels all these things becomes full of hope, becomes solid in this hope, and lives with the hope of Christ, the hope that truly rejuvenates and refreshes: yes, amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was, and who Is to come, the Almighty (Rev.1:8). Who is and Who was — remember when we said something about the strange grammar used by St. John in this book? In Greek, he uses an article before the verb. The English language is often limited, but then again so is the Greek and any language is insufficient to describe the Pantokrator. There are no words in this world that can express the magnificence of the Almighty, the Pantokrator. Yes, amen, I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, Who is and Who was, and Who is coming, the Pantokrator (or the Almighty). I am the Alpha and the Omega.

This is another name for God. As we said earlier, God has very many names precisely because He has no name. It is impossible to define God with one name; giving God a single name will somehow restrict His infinity. When man gives an entity a name, it is to describe or define, so when we name something we give it certain boundaries or limits. However God is without boundaries. God has no limits; and that is why when Moses questions God about His name

on Mount Sinai, he receives the answer, J am Who I am (Exodus 3:14). He [Moses]

wanted a name to take back to Egypt and God told him J am the One Who is. God

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gave no name, but we can say this is one of the many names for God: the Alpha and the Omega. Thus because God has no name we say that He is anonymous and yet polyonymous; He has many names. The spiritually illiterate and rather blinded Jehovah’s Witnesses, or false witnesses, think that they have discovered God’s name. In Greece and in different countries they present themselves as the students of the Scriptures. They are the authorities of the Scriptures, bar none, and they claim that God’s great name is Jehovah. Well, Jehovah

in Hebrew means Lord. However, Lord is one of the many names that the Scriptures use to talk about God. It is certainly not the exclusive name of God as they argue. There is a plethora of names for God, as we will see soon. What is this meaning of the Alpha and Omega? It is the commencement of everything created, the commencement of the entire creation. Consequently, when He says J am the Alpha and the Omega He is really saying that I am the Lord of space and time. More specifically God is outside of the Alpha and the Omega. The A and exist in God. The beginning of the entire creation belongs to God and God alone will cause the possible termination of the entire visible creation. It is in God. Only God can create from zero. God is the only real or ontological beginning. St. John says, εν ἀρχὴ ἣν ο Λόγος (en arhi ein o Logos); Jn the beginning was the Word John 1:1). This is what it means. The Word is the Alpha; the Word, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, was present when the beginning of Creation took place from zero, ex nihilo. Now God does not want to destroy or annihilate His creation, but He can bring His creation back to Omega. He can end it if He wants to. He could bring it back to zero because He is the only Entity, the only Being that can relate to the idea of zero. Not a single created being can relate to zero, not the logical man, nor the angel. No one can bring to existence

something from zero; nor can someone reverse something that exists back to zero. It is impossible not only to do, but also impossible to understand or grasp. God is the Alpha and the Omega. Everything exists and is contained within Him. He is Lord of space and time. By the way, God is not limited to Alpha and Omega, but the Alpha and Omega exists in God, which is the beginning and end of all creation. God has no beginning avapxos (anarhos), and is simultaneously ἀτελεύτητος (ateleftitos) or interminable; He has no ending. Creation has a beginning and an end. Thus, the Alpha and Omega are in God and God is the Lord of time and space. Accordingly, in this last verse of the introduction of the book we have an accumulation of divine names. ‘The first one is: the Alpha and the Omega; the second name is: Lord; the third is: God; the fourth name is: The One Who is and Who was and Who is coming; and the fifth name is: the Pantokrator — the One Who holds everything. With this accumulation of divine names, we see that the source of all the divine Revelation is God and consequently anything and everything that is written in the book of the Revelation is trustworthy and true. God reveals this as man (in His human nature).

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What is astonishing is when we see that these revelations, these prophesies come to pass in the progression of the centuries, then we can truly say with conviction that, yes indeed, God is the source of this book, that the book of the Revelation is of divine

origin. Here, my friends, the introduction of this book ends. We must say that the introduction is equally worthy of this book’s depth and also of the book's writer, the depth of the writer, the flying eagle of our ecclesiastical theology, St. John. Now the main theme of this book begins, which is the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ facing the shocked, fearful and shaken St. John to show him the future journey of the Church, the future struggles of the Church: its adventures, its wars, and its final victory. The book of the Revelation will mainly deal with these events. At this point, with God’s help, we will enter the main topic. J John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev.1:9). The evangelist is attempting to declare and reassure the historical evidence of this book. It is of great importance to have the historical background of any book. So in order to do this, he follows the example of the prophets of the Old Testament like Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the other prophets, and records the place where this prophecy was revealed; and this place is the island of Patmos. John also reveals the time and day of his Revelation which was on the Lord’s Day; Lord in Greek is Kdptog

(Kyrios) and Kuptaxy (Kyriaki) is the Lord’s Day, or Sunday.

St. John, along with revealing the place of his vision, reveals the reason he found himself there and the time; and again, all this is to certify that this book is a historical reality. These are the elements necessary for giving this book a historical dimension. In other words, this is not a myth or science fiction. We can go to Patmos and into this very cave, which is open to Christians and visitors from all over the world. We say all this to eliminate any doubt, and to defend our faith when those outside of this reality will argue as to the validity of these historical events. If they question, simply ask them to go to Patmos. Send them to Patmos and they will see everything there with their very own eyes. According to our Ancient Christian Tradition St. John the evangelist was exiled to Patmos during the persecution by the Roman emperor Domitian (51-96 A.D.). 1 found myself on the island of Patmos, the evangelist says, for preaching the word of God and witnessing for Jesus Christ. He does not use the word exile, but we can derive that from the word ©Ahvy (thlipsi) or suffering, or affliction. He says your brother and companion in the suffering because if Patmos was on his missionary agenda and he had gone there voluntarily to evangelize to the inhabitants of Patmos, then he would not use the word suffering. In the word suffering he hides the reality of his exile. On this St. Irenaeus, who lived only one century later, says the book of the Revelation has not been in existence for very long; “it came about during our generation and towards the end of the reign of Domitian.”” St. Clement of Alexandria records, “After the death of the tyrant (meaning 22 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 5:30.

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Domitian) John left Patmos and came to Ephesus.”” St. Andrew of Caesarea further

adds, “St. John was sentenced to live on the island of Patmos. He was sentenced to exile on Patmos.” However, Eusebius of Caesarea, in his chronicle,” places this exile

during the fourteenth year of the reign of Domitian which corresponds to 94 or 95 AD and that is when the book of the Revelation was written. It was written on Patmos and not in Ephesus. This is important to note because the Lord tells him to write and send a letter to the Bishop of Ephesus; and a letter presupposes some distance. Hence, St. John writes his Revelation right then and there on Patmos where he saw the vision. Again, all of the above shows that John while exiled on the island of Patmos wrote the book of the Revelation. What is interesting is the beginning of the sentence, J John (eyw Ἰωάννης -- ερο Ioannis). He does this to accentuate the name, and this is of paramount importance, especially in a prophetic book. The identity of the writer and the origin of this book need to be made known. Now this is something that he does not normally do in his Gospel, where he tries to hide very gracefully behind the disciple whom the Lord loved (cf. John 19:26), and the one that fell on his chest to ask Him, ‘Lord, who is the one that will betray you? (John 21:20). However, here the content is very serious; this book is prophetic and the evangelist must record his name for the sake of authenticity. I John, your brother. This beginning reminds us of the book of Daniel, who uses the same technique in order to declare and certify that he is the writer of his book and the trustworthy witness of his book. Daniel writes in his eighth chapter, Jn the third year of the reign of King Balthazar a vision appeared to me, Daniel (8:1). The verse of John starts out with very tender words, words of endearment, J John,

your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom; this is so beautiful. I John,

he does not use his apostolic title; J John an Apostle of Jesus Christ (or the servant

of Jesus Christ) as apostles do in other books. He prefers to use only John and this

is possibly because Christians everywhere were being persecuted. All Christians were in tribulation; they shared this common suffering; and common suffering brings out the brotherhood of all people. Disasters, tornadoes, floods tend to bring out the spirit of brotherhood in many small towns even today. Consequently, the recipients of this book are under fierce persecution and John is a communicant, a participant; he shares in this persecution.

I John your brother and co-participant xowwvdg (koinonos) or companion in the

tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance, and here before us, three enormous points, three great subjects: patient endurance: 9Ainic (thlipsis), Baotreta (vasilia) and are three great chapters in the Christian life and St. John

my friends, John unfolds tribulation, Kingdom and vmopovh (Ypomoni). These lays these before us. Let us

23 Clement of Alexandria, Who is the rich man that shall be saved — section 42. 24 St. Andrew of Caesarea, (PG 106, 226D): Ilatpov oixeiv thv νῆσον καταδεικασθεὶς.

25 Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History: Book 3, Chapter 17.

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look at the first one: 9g (thlipsis), which literally means to compress, to squeeze, to pressure. The soul becomes greatly distressed. However, if the joy in the Lord is the fruit of the Christian identity then this distress or this OAc

(thlipsis) is the skin of

the fruit; distress on the outside, but joy on the inside; outside, the shell, but inside the almond. The almond or any fruit cannot survive without the protection of the shell. Consider this oxymoron; distress protects inner joy. Did you ever imagine this? This is only possible in the Christian realm. If we do not live and experience these things, we need to doubt our Christian identity. In other words, it is not possible to develop and maintain the joy and spirituality in the absence of this distress. ‘To be distressed in the Lord is not something that comes from within since it is the exterior covering of the fruit of joy; it is something that comes from the outside. ‘The faithful find themselves in this state because of the external reactions of the world and the devil. As you know, the Lord warns us about this, but how many of us remember it? He says, they will deliver you up to tribulation (Matt. 24:9). So, this is from external factors. This distress is persecution, jail, suffering, death, and martyrdom. All this is from the outside and not from the inside. The Lord has named this state: the narrow gate; and even more clearly, In the world you have tribulation (John 16:33), In this world you will have distress. However this distress brings forth ineffable, indescribable and overflowing joy — so much so that St. Paul writes, J am filled with consolation. With all our affliction, I am overjoyed (2 Cor. 7:4). Dear St. Paul, overflowing with joy in the face of great distress? Well, that is why joy is the fruit to be found inside the shell of distress. If you eliminate and do away with this distress you will lose this inner joy. If you remove the shell you will lose the fruit. Please pay attention: §Ahjtc (thlipsis) or distress is a characteristic of those who will inherit the Kingdom of God. St. Paul once again says in the Acts of the Apostles,

after his stoning at Lystra, We must go through much distress before we can enter the kingdom of Heaven. This must is the connecting link of the inner with the outer and these two cannot be separated. The two go together. Actually, he says not just distress but many distresses, plural. We need many O)tyets (thlipses), many distresses to enter the Kingdom of God. However here, I must warn you about something. Our times, my friends, are attempting to create (and here we must all pay attention very closely because we are all infected) a Christianity with no distress, a Christianity full of compromises and comforts. We refuse to hear about any discomfort or distress. This is one of the two great dangers that threaten our Church today. The first danger is secularization, and

the second danger is ecumenism, or religious syncretism. These two great dangers threaten the Church as we speak. I will repeat. Secularization compromises the Gospel to fit the formulas of this world. It allows the phronema or the mindset of the world to enter the Gospel.”

6 It offers a politically correct gospel, so we do not offend those who are in love with their pas-

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The second danger is ecumenism, or religious syncretism, which is peace at the expense of Truth.” ‘Today's Christian is looking for a Christianity that does not cost anything — a spirituality in opposition to the cross, a spirituality that shuns sacrifice. This ceases to be holy spirituality because it lacks the presence of the Holy Spirit; and it simply becomes a cheap substitute, a bankrupt form of spirituality. Such a spirituality does not have the Holy Spirit of God and it ends up as a humanistic spirituality, the one used by the psychologists. This term, spirituality, used loosely by the psychologists, artists, soloists, poets, and opera singers of today has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit has fled from this sort of spirituality. The book of the Revelation, my friends, warns us, the beast was allowed to do

battle with the saints and defeat them; he was allowed to open war with the faithful and overcome them. Did we understand this? God allowed the beast to defeat the faithful, the Christians. No one will be able to buy and sell without having the mark. This is financial boycott. You will not be able to do business: to buy, sell or trade, unless you are a member of the Masons, the Lions, or Rotary Club. By the way, every anti-Christian philosophy or activity includes this mark. Let’s not think the mark is only limited to the last three and one half years of history. The mark de-Christianizes people. It always has. As a result, if you go along with these anti-Christian allies of the beast, you will be helped. If not, you will not be able to buy or sell, unless you have the mark of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is the faith and the patience of the saints, who are the ones who will stand, who will have the spiritual nerve to say, “No way; keep your money. Keep your property. We will not be marked.” This will translate into fierce battle and persecution to force the faithful into extinction. The Antichrist will seek to destroy the true believers of Christ. All such things constitute the area of 9Ati¢ (thlipsis) or distress, which is the

skin of the fruit of joy and the prerequisite of the Kingdom of God. ‘The holy Script here does not talk about comfort or compromises but emphasizes: here is the faith and the patience of the saints. My friends, we have no idea what tomorrow will bring. Let's begin to prepare.

sions; and it presents a gospel that embraces the homosexual, the lesbian, the adulterer, and all liars (cf. Rev. 21:8) without any need for repentance. 27 The disease of ecumenism (called pan-heresy by elder Philotheos Zervakos) has infected a number of Orthodox bishops. In 1989, the Patriarch of Alexandria affirmed that the Prophet Mohammed is an apostle and a man of God, and those that are against Islam and Buddhism are not in agreement with God. It is evident here that the Orthodox Patriarch of Africa took some lessons from the liberal Episcopalian-Anglican Archbishop of South Africa Desmond Tutu, disregarding the Orthodox position of Saint Gregory Palamas and the Church Fathers who saw in Mohammed the work of the Antichrist.

CHAPTER 6 Revelation 1:9-11

Patience and the Kingdom — About the Day of the Lord (Sunday)

I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and

the patient endurance.

Homily given November 30,1980

ere, St. John uses three terms to show how the Church advances on

her journey. These three elements will always exist in the Church, even in peaceful times: suffering, patience, and kingdom. However, we must note that here the evangelist is not referring to the everyday sufferings and patience that even the worldly people need to have. We often hear the statement, “Boy, life is tough, and full of problems.” But this is not what St. John is referring to, as we will see in this lesson. Previously, we mentioned a number of things about thiipsis, or distress. Again, different translators translate thi/ipsis as suffering, tribulation, or distress. We need to look at patience and kingdom. Patience is the second subject of the Revelation, which is indispensably connected to the element of distress. Many times, when a brother is suffering, there is nothing we can do for him. We cannot do much, let us say, when a person has a physical illness. We often find ourselves telling that person, “Have patience.” Or, we may be unable to solve someone's financial problems. In any event when we cannot come up with a solution to someone's needs, we tell that person to be patient, to hang in there. Oftentimes this may be, or may sound like, a way out because of our helplessness and our inability to offer our services in a constructive and positive manner. Moreover, usually to the person that repeatedly hears advice like — be patient; something will happen; you never know — the advice begins to sound like simple rhetoric with no substance. How many times do we tell people in distress to have patience, and they bite their lips and repeat, “Yes, patience.” like “Thanks for nothing.” However, my friends, this very simple expression that people take for granted, if placed in its proper context, would be the best advice; nothing could be better than this. Our times lack this element of patience. Today patience is considered a virtue, but not necessarily a dynamic quality. It is something rather passive and unimpressive. The patient person who holds back and exercises control may be considered weak. I do not know what to say, but the people of our days are terribly impatient. People are busy today, always running, always chasing after something. Our civilization today is

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one of fast food, convenience stores, and three-minute microwave dinners; everything is quick, fast, in a hurry. We are all running, and we are always looking at our watch to make time, to do more, to cover more ground; this eliminates the element of patience. We have difficulty coping with the everyday adversities of life due to this lack of patience. Yet, I will maintain my position and tell you that patience is the best medicine for suffering. With patience, we carry the cross of suffering and finally win the battle. Christ tells us, the one who will stay patient until the very end will be

saved (Matt. 10:22).

However, every distress that visits us in our daily life and every display of patience needs to be connected to Christ. Otherwise, there is no value or meaning, and such

patience does not hold water in the afterlife; it is useless. Granted, a few things can

be accomplished in this life if someone handles his life’s challenges with patience. The

first one, which is not of small importance, is to avoid nerve pills, to avoid treatment

for nervous breakdowns. This is not insignificant you know. Many times, I cross myself and pray, “My God, protect me, so I don’t end up in a psychiatric clinic at some point.” Our times are horrible. Sometimes, disasters strike in the family one after another and we do not know what tomorrow will bring, so practicing patience is definitely to our advantage even in the mundane sense. However, this does not carry any weight in eternity if these things are not related and connected to Jesus Christ. So both the suffering and the patience, which is the stretcher that carries us through our suffering, need to be connected with Christ. St. John the evangelist says, “...in the suffering, and kingdom, and patience, in

Jesus Christ.“ Moreover, in Jesus Christ means that the cause of my hardship is because

I persist and insist on living a life of the gospel. Please tell me, what is the value of suffering if I went to the casino and lost my life’s savings? Or I lived a life of sin and now I am sick or now I am hurting; or I lost some opportunities in life due to my foolishness or laziness? All these sufferings not only will not be rewarded in eternity; but on the contrary, Christ will reproach and judge people who waste their God-given talents. We will be judged if we were prodigal, foolish, and unworthy servants. My tribulations must be due to my spiritual life, the result of living a life of the gospel. If I am scorned, or if I lose an opportunity, or if I am not included, or if I am ignored due to my Christian identity, or if someone loses a promotion, or loses an opportunity because he refuses to become a Freemason — aren't these forms of financial sanctions? Yes, they are, and in the days of the Antichrist, they will be strictly enforced. Christians will either worship the beast or go hungry. This goes on behind the scenes vow, but in the future this will become increasingly obvious. So, when I am facing persecution; when I suffer in my life because I am holding on to the true gospel, and to my Christian identity, then this suffering will be posted in my eternal report card, so to speak. This is suffering in Jesus Christ; the patience that I must endure must be in Jesus Christ. As we know even the thief, the robber or the criminal employs 28 Here, the King James translation states: Jesus Christ, while the NIV, which is more prone to evangelicalism, states only: Jesus.

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agreat deal of patience. He waits for hours until the homeowner drives away so he can break in. Needless to say, this patience has no value and is highly punishable. The third element is the kingdom. Hence, we have suffering, patience, and kingdom in Jesus Christ. What is this kingdom? It is the mystical sharing of the faithful, throughout history, in the sufferings of Christ. The genuine Christian shares in the sufferings of Christ. These three, which have social and ethical consequences, are characteristics of the genuine Christian and form an unbreakable chain. To persist in the suffering, patience is needed. The suffering and the patience in Christ will lead us to the Kingdom of God. When we advise someone to be patient, as we said earlier, the advice often is ignored. The reason for this is because when we offer this advice to the other person, we offer it and suggest it on its own merit, and not in the context of

its fruit, which is the Kingdom.

I believe we are all very guilty of this. When we advise our friends, neighbors or relatives to hold on and be patient, do we ever tell them that the Kingdom of God awaits them? We go to the hospital or visit a sick person at their home; we talk with them and encourage them to be patient. However, we leave the Kingdom of God out of the conversation. Since we do not mention that the purpose of their suffering is the Kingdom of God, the other person is left sighing, repeating, “Yes, I know, patience.” We need to mention that our saints always write about these adversities, worries, and troubles, saying that they are holy visitations preparing us for the Kingdom of God. This is the second time the word kingdom is mentioned in this chapter. ‘The entire New Testament is full of this term kingdom, Kingdom of God. We see this so often and truly my friends, Christianity is a kingdom, not a religion — a kingdom and a typology of Christianity as kingdom is the God-governed kingdom of Israel of the Old Testament. As you know, when the Jews inhabited the promised land they did not have a leader. They did not have a king or a president. They had what they called judges, people who governed by the statutes of God, and God would make His will known to them. God was their Lord and King. The King of Israel was God, the Almighty. When Nathaniel first came face to face with Christ, Christ told him, J saw you under the fig tree, Nathaniel said, You are the Son of God, the king of Israel (John 1:48-50). This king of Israel is something that echoes the spirit of the Old Testament and how the Jews considered the king, because for them their king was their God; the two were intertwined. God asked Moses to record this because later the Jews asked for

aking from the last judge, Samuel. The cause for this was that the neighboring nations had kings and the Jews became jealous. So the kings of the neighboring nations influenced the Jews, who started asking for a king. Samuel asked them, “Is God not enough for you?” God even told them the same thing. Where did I let you down? Where did I fail you? So, you want a king? Very well then, I will give you a king, but a king will sit on the shoulders of your sons and your daughters (cf. 1 Samuel 8-9). Nevertheless, they insisted anyway. ‘The first king was Saul; then came David, and then Solomon. Solomon was the peaceful king. He

reigned for forty years with no war, and he taxed the Jews so heavily, so heavily that

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the Jews were groaning under the pressure of immense taxes. God had warned them ahead of time. At any rate, these details about the kings of Israel are not of interest to us at this time. What is of interest to us is the fact that historical Israel had God as its King, but the existing kings of Israel were enthroned under a certain term. They could not act on their own. They could not act on anything unless they asked God through the archpriest. The king would be punished if he exercised his own authority. Saul was dethroned because he was acting independently, ignoring the commandments of God. Thus, the human king was a representative of God who was always the King of Israel. ‘This serves as a historical typology to the great truth that Christianity is a kingdom and the King is Christ. As we said, Christianity is not a religion. Moreover, religion means that man worships the divine for expiation, or to have some petition satisfied and some needs fulfilled, without necessarily taking part in God’s life. We all need to understand this. Again, religion means to petition God for a number of things, for my needs, whether God would give them to me or not; but it does not mean that I have to necessarily participate in the life of God. This is the definition of religion, and it corresponds to all religions on the face of the earth, all religions. Now, what is the meaning of kingdom? It means that God governs every aspect of the life of the Christian. There is nothing in the life of the Christian that excludes God. God is all-inclusive and the Christian enjoys all the good things of God. The ancient Greeks, for instance felt that they were in good standing with their gods as long as they offered them a sacrifice. ‘They assumed that a sacrifice was all their gods wanted. Now, what was the lifestyle of the person offering the sacrifice? That did not matter much. They thought that their own lifestyle was not really any of the gods’ concern. That is why certain people would offer great and massive sacrifices, sometimes an entire estate, or one hundred bulls. Now this person could have been a murderer, an adulterer, a fornicator, a thief, and a criminal. Such things did not matter. At least, that was how they perceived things. The ancient Greeks imagined that their gods were not interested in their lifestyle, as long as they offered a sacrifice. The gods would look favorably on their human offering and sacrifice. The gods would grant what was requested. This is the meaning of religion, but Christianity is not a religion; it is a kingdom, and in this kingdom we are called to participate in the life of God. When we talk about theosis, being God-like, Christ-like, becoming one with Christ, it means that we enter the life of God, which is what God wants us to do,

how He wants us to be. That is why there is a vast difference between Christianity and the average religion. Unfortunately, today most of us live Christianity as a religion and not as a kingdom, and this presents a number of problematic consequences. First, we have separated ethics from doctrine, or the faith from the lifestyle, thereby reducing our faith to a sense of duty. Moreover, today there are people completely

un-churched, not even Christians in some cases. They may be Buddhists, spiritists,

Masons, or agnostics, and still call upon and utilize the moral teachings of the Gospel. These people consider Christianity to be a religion with good morality. They think

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that morality is the central core of Christianity. By doing this we separate and divorce the doctrine from morality. We often hear women say that their husbands who do not attend church are better Christians than they are. They go on to say that their husbands are gentler, calmer, more patient, less angry, that they keep the Commandments and they even remind their wives (who do attend church regularly) of how much nicer they, the husbands, are. After the husband repeats this often enough, the wife, who obviously is not aware of correct Orthodox praxis, agrees with him. She even advertises the goodness of her husband or her children. “Oh, my children are the best; they really

love God. The only thing is that they never step inside a church, but they love Jesus.” However, the issue is not if people are good, better, or best. There is no salvation under these circumstances. The wife cannot go to church in place of her husband. The wife cannot perform religious duty for the entire family. We often hear, “Mom goes to church often enough for all of us.” Well, this is problematic and what this does is to separate doctrine from morality. It reduces Christianity to a sense of religious duty. Is there any wonder why Christianity today does not attract many converts? It is because it is presented as a religion of rules, regulations and a performance of duty. Today's man hates and despises the idea of duty. He is on duty enough with his work and with all his preoccupation. People also try to separate worship from their lifestyle. Some people think, “Well, I go to church Sunday morning; I give my morning to God; at nighttime I can have the freedom to go to any nightclub I want.” In doing this we fall into the area of superficial worship, or, to put it in everyday language, we

are just going through the motions. Our heart and our mind are not really involved. We are simply going through the motions. The motions are necessary, but once inside I must concentrate on the substance, because the substance behind all these forms and motions is what we need to get at. Now, if I do not discover the substance because my life is separated from this substance, then I will be left with a shell. Then I will say, “I must go to church because my mother went to church. I must light my candle, and I must do these things, and so on.” Then I end up being a superficial worshipper, going through the motions without understanding the essence of these things. The second setback stemming from reducing Christianity to a religion from a kingdom is that of syncretism or the tendency to compare Christianity with other religions, even though we may consider Christianity as a higher and better form of faith. It is a mistake to compare our faith with other forms of faith. For example, when a young man begins to look at Buddhism, we try to convince him that Christianity isa much better religion, much better than Buddhism or Islam. It becomes a serious mistake the minute we begin to say Christianity is better. We cannot compare. There is no comparison. All the things offered by other religions do not deliver. Nor do they save. They are all of this world; they are products of human imagination, products of the human intellect. Accordingly, let us understand this once and for all; Christianity does not exist to compete or measure up to the other religions. This is a very timely subject, especially

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in our days when syncretism and ecumenism are on the front burner of many religious conferences and meetings. Christianity does not exist to take a stand above the other religions but to neutralize and replace them. True Christianity does not say, “Well, there is something good in every religion.” No, the truth is that all the religions of the world are works and inspirations of the devil. Do not tell me that Buddhism is not a work of the devil. At least the Buddha lived before Christ and he has some type of an excuse. However, now that the light came into the world, isn’t it a shame for Buddhism to exist? What is worse than this? It is a great and miserable shame for baptized Orthodox Christians in Europe and in the West to become Buddhists, to leave Orthodox spirituality for Eastern philosophy. Christ came to destroy all these things, to destroy the works of the devil. The Lord used very strong language regarding this matter in the Gospel of John: All those who came before me are thieves and robbers (10:8), all of them. He did not make any distinctions or any exceptions. He did not say, “Oh, the philosophy of Plato was valuable and nice.” Or, “Buddhism and Confucianism have some wise sayings. True, they are not perfect, but they have some wonderful teachings.” Or “Yoga and T’ai Chi are helpful spiritual exercises,” Or “IM (Transcendental Meditation) can be of some help.” Let us understand how far this type of thinking is from the Truth of Christ. Everyone, everyone that came before me are thieves and robbers. What did they steal? What did they rob? They stole the human soul, which is a possession of the living and true God, and its place is in the Kingdom of God. This is Christianity! Try to remember the vision of Nebuchadnezzar who saw a great statue with bands of various materials — gold, silver, copper, iron, and clay. These are the kingdoms of the earth and, if you will, the religions of the earth as well. Daniel saw a rock cut, not by human

hand, but self-cut, self-hewn, from an unhewn mountain. In the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos” one of the Salutations says, “Rejoice, unhewn mountain.” The Most Holy Theotokos is this unhewn mountain in the vision of Daniel. The self-hewned rock signifies the virgin birth, and this rock is Christ. This is how Daniel interpreted this dream of Nebuchadnezzar. A heavenly king came and fell upon this statue; he pulverized the statue and turned it to dust. The dust was blown by the wind, and the statue was nowhere to be found. This is Christianity. It did not come to travel and journey along with the other religions or to coexist peacefully with them, and to learn to get along. It came to dissolve the false faiths once and for all. Now, after acknowledging all these truths, all these correct positions of Christianity, how can we compare Christianity to other religions? How can we possibly compare it with the false religions of this age? How can we talk about syncretism? Christianity is a kingdom and an inheritance.

A Christian is not the religious man, the man who stays at a ritualistic worship

29 A most beloved service held each Friday evening during Great Lent in anticipation of the feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos (Birth-giver of God). Akathist means to pray without sitting.

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or a habitual worship. A Christian is a citizen of a kingdom. A Christian is the person who keeps calling upon the Lord. He is the disciple. He is the Christian. He is the holy one. So, we have tribulation, patience and then, the kingdom. Along the way, we do have companionship or koinonia. This companionship not only exists between the faithful in the form of fellowship, but also between the faithful and Christ because Christ is the one who suffered. St. Paul captures this very beautifully. The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him (2 Tim. 2:11). It is this living, enduring, and reigning of which St. John also writes, using tribulation, patience and kingdom.

Now St. John writes to his brothers and companions, to the Christians, On the Lords Day, I was in the Spirit. | was in a state of ecstasy. The evangelist with much simplicity notes that he entered into a state of ecstasy. To be in the Spirit is an isolation of the man of the spiritual world from his normal external environment. He does this in order to encounter the supernatural world. However, there are two possible cases here. A person can be subjected to the active or the passive type of ecstasy. The second one, the passive type of ecstasy is a demonic ecstasy. Does this mean the devil can create an ecstasy or a trance? Certainly. We need to be careful. There is much talk these days about out-of-body experiences. These are mostly demonic. This means to be in an ecstasy, but to be outside of oneself, to be in a place where I lose awareness or consciousness of my external environment. In this case, the subject has no clue where he is. Someone can be talking to him, but he sees and hears nothing; and the devil can do this. Again, this passive state is demonic. When a person is subjected to this type of ecstasy, this person is isolated; his consciousness is inactive, and his subconscious is inactive. He cannot perceive, and at times this is all erased from his memory. What is the significance of all this? We call attention to this issue because this is the method used by all mediums or psychics. Mediums or psychics are mediators. They go between the external environment and the world of the spirits or the demons. The medium goes into ecstasy and gives us fantastic information and when he comes out of this trance, the medium remembers nothing. Not only does he not remember anything, he does not know anything, nothing at all. This is because in a demonic trance there is isolation of the consciousness. The consciousness is pushed aside. On the other hand, during divine ecstasy we have complete control of all the powers of our soul. Another example of an ecstasy, aside from St. John here in the book of the Revelation, who sees, talks, and listens, is that of St. Peter, when he saw the screen with the animals being lowered. The Apostle not only sees, knows, and feels, but he also reacts. When he hears, Peter, kill and eat, he says, Never, Lord. I will

never kill and eat something unclean. Before all this, the book of the Acts of the Apostles relates that he fell into a trance or an ecstasy (Acts 10:10). He sees the sky open, and unclean animals are lowered on a screen. Peter, kill and eat. “No, never, Lord, would I eat anything unclean.” He reacts. He is in complete control; he remembers the Law

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of Moses. He does not have any memory loss. This is significant because this is what occurs in a divine ecstasy. This is divine ecstasy. Therefore, St. John the evangelist was in the Spirit. He says, J was in the Spirit.

In other words, the powers of his body were somehow inactivated, subdued. ‘This is similar to when we concentrate on something; something intense and we may lose our perception of noise, hunger, thirst, or even danger. A snake could crawl right next to us, if we were outdoors, and we would have no clue, because our mind was in a

state of deep concentration. This is the meaning of the statement; J was in the Spirit. He goes on to tell us the time. J was in the Spirit on the Lords Day, (Rev. 1:10) or Kyriaki. In addition, this is the only verse in the entire New Testament that refers to

the name of the first day of the week. In the Gospels, the holy evangelists refer to the day of the Lord, the day of the Lord’s resurrection, as Mia ton sabbaton or simply the first day of the week. However, here in the book of the Revelation, we have the first instance where the

day of the resurrection took its name from the Tradition of the Church: Kyriaki, or Sunday, the Lord’s Day. As we know, in the Old Testament, the Sabbath was the day of the Lord, but in the New Testament Sunday is also called the day of the Lord, or Kyriaki in Greek. It was on this day, the first day of the week that the Lord resurrected from the dead. He created light on the first day. He said Jet there be light. On this day, he sent his Holy Spirit to establish the Church — on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles and the Church on the first day of the week, on Sunday. In the Old Testament, by the Sabbath, or the seventh day, the entire visible creation was completed. The entire creation was completed in six days, and on the seventh day the Lord rested. Now from the first Christian century, we have the institution of the Lord’s Day,

ot Kyriaki, which is the first day of the week. It is not the seventh day, but the first day after the seventh, and the Church Fathers use a special term for this. They call the first

day after the seventh: the eighth day. Thus, the eighth day represents the day of the second creation, the re-creation, or the renewal of nature, since the old nature became just that — old from corruption and death. So on this day, we have the resurrection of Christ, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the belief that the second appearance of Christ will be on Sunday as well. Now you may disagree with this and say, well, the Lord said, No one knows the day or the hour of the coming of the Lord (Mark 13:32). Although this is true, no one knows which Sunday it will be. Therefore, this belief of the Church does not contradict the written word of God about not knowing the day or the hour. However, is it not interesting that St. John also received the book of the Revelation on the Lord’s Day? The resurrection, Pentecost, and the writing of the book of Revelation all occurred on the Lord’s Day, and quite possibly the Second Presence of Christ will also take place on a Sunday. We must also add that our Church celebrates the resurrection of our Lord every week, every Sunday, and for Christians this is the specific meaning of a holiday. Sunday is a true holiday, a real feast day. The service of the matins centers on the reading of the

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Gospel, or cothina sections of the Gospel read during matins, which always refer to the resurrection. All these remarkable events work together to make Sunday a great day for Christians. In addition, the epistle of Barnabas tells us in the fifteenth chapter, “This is why we must make the eighth day a day of great spiritual joy, in which day Jesus resurrected from the dead.” In the ancient book of the Teachings of the Apostles, in the fourteenth chapter we read, “When you come together on the Lord’s Day, break bread,” or “When you congregate on Sunday, celebrate the Holy Eucharist,” or more simply, “Celebrate the Liturgy.” “Receive Holy Communion, the Body and Blood of Christ.”2! Here one can ask how did some Christians get the bright idea that unless they fast from oil they should not receive Holy Communion? Unfortunately, they maintain some erroneous positions and some people do not receive holy communion on Sunday because they cannot fast from oil on Saturday, or because they cannot fast for two, three, or five days from oil. The Canons of the Church forbid fasting from oil on Saturdays. These are heretical positions that keep the faithful from the medicine of immortality. Fasting is great in and of itself and necessary in our Christian discipline, no-doubt. However, due to a lack of knowledge and much confusion, we have lost the substance of the Day of the Lord, which is the ideal day for being partakers of our Lord’s Body and Blood. So, on the Lord’s Day, the Book of Didache, (the Teachings of the Apostles) says,

“On the Lord’s Day, celebrate the Divine Liturgy. ‘Take Holy Communion — not just the priest. With the fear of God and faith and love, draw near.” Everyone draw near,

all the Orthodox faithful who are eager and properly prepared to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. Therefore, the Lord’s Day, or Kyriaki, is for the Christian a day of the resurrection, a day of celebration, a feast day, a day of rest, but also a day of good works. The holy evangelist now continues, J was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me. This tells us that what he heard was something sudden. When something appears in front of us, in our visual spectrum, there is no element of surprise but this noise was sudden and loud, very loud. It startled St. John. Somewhere else he will tell us that the noise was loud, like the thundering of waterfalls. If you have ever been to Niagara Falls you can understand the thundering noise of falling waters. Thus, the

voice of God is compared to the sound of water that falls from a great height. A voice such as this will be heard at the final moment of history, at the last trumpet, when the tombs will be opened and the dead bodies will resurrect. St. Paul says, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangels call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thess. 4:16). These are great mysteries. Generally, the voice or the noise of the trumpet is the voice of God. On Mt. Sinai, when God spoke, it was a noise of 30 Barnabas, 15:8b. 31 Nidache, 14:1.

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a trumpet call; a noise of thunder, and the people trembled while hearing this voice. The voice told St. John, Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches (1:11). So, write this entire vision, everything you see, in a book and send it to the seven churches. Does this mean send the same book? No, it means write everything in a book and make seven copies. In the Old Testament, there was one book in the temple and everyone went to the temple to hear the word of God. Not too long ago in some of our villages in Greece and some other Orthodox countries, no doubt, the only Gospel would be on the holy altar. This is unfortunate. The Word of God clearly tells us, Write this book and send it to the seven churches, meaning, copy it over and over again. Spread it all over. Yes. We need to print books and pamphlets and spread our faith to every corner of the earth. This is the will of God. Now we have: print shops, tapes, [cds, dvds, mp3s computers, the web, YouTube...] Let us use everything to spread the word of God all over the earth. Here the evangelist uses the words: heard and saw. At one time he will say, J heard the voice; and at another he will say, J saw the voice. Both of the senses of seeing and hearing are at a high level of excitement. St. Andrew says, “In spiritual matters, hearing and seeing are the same thing, because vision and hearing show the dynamics and the power of the revealed images.”?* When we tell someone “I heard it with my own ears and saw it with my own eyes,” we want them to understand the seriousness

of these revealed events. The evangelist wants to stress here that he is an eyewitness. He is an eyewitness of all the events that he will write about. Not only did he see them with his eyes, but he heard them as well. Thus, write all this in a book is a command, but it does not end there. If the writing of the book is a command, then the reading and studying of this book is also a command. Of course, books are written to be read and studied and not to be displayed, to decorate the shelves in our libraries. My friends, we must study the word of God. Day and night, we must study the word of God. However, let us expand on this book writing that St. John was instructed to do. Here we must mention that according to our Tradition, John could not write! We need to remind ourselves of this in our title-hungry days. St. John did not have a degree in theology from any of the divinity schools. John’s writer was Prochoros, one of the seven deacons. In our holy iconography, St. John is depicted in a cave receiving the vision of the Revelation and next to him is St. Prochoros, the deacon, acting as his stenographer. St. John is not the writer, St. Prochoros is. So, the original copy of this book was written on Patmos in the cave of the Revelation, which is perfectly preserved to this day. Now whatever happened to that original book written by Prochoros? Do we ever wonder if that very first book is still in existence? Can we find it in the archives of the Holy Mountain or on Patmos? My friends, even though we have an abundance of ancient manuscripts, nothing — not even a tiny piece of paper or membrane on which the original book (which was in the form of a scroll) was written — has been preserved >? St. Andrew of Caesarea, PG V 106, 228C: “ravtév eoti n mvevpatixh axon Te Kal Opacte.”

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from it. If you will, there is not a speck left from the Gospels, or the epistles of Peter and Paul. There is not a single piece of paper from the entire New Testament. The original books written by the very hands of the Apostles have all vanished. This is not of great significance. The same thing happens with the virtue of almsgiving. We give someone a glass of water or a loaf of bread and these actions do not carry much weight in the course of one’s life. The person that we helped will thirst again and go hungry again in a few hours. But the Lord said; He who gives a glass of water in my name will not lose his reward. I was hungry and you fed me. I was naked

and you clothed me (Matthew 25: 35, 36). This action, or rather the energy of this

action, this insignificant action, will take on eternal dimensions. It will stand forever, because it was connected with the will of God as a virtue. The virtue will stand. The spirit of this action will stay even though the material thing will disappear. The material is the carrier, the vehicle of this virtue. This applies to the original books of the New Testament as well. It does not matter that the material carrier was not preserved. Yes, it would be awesome and monumental to have a few pages from the handwriting of Sts. Paul, Peter, or Luke. This would be very exciting, but it is not significant. The important thing is that the Word of God is not bound to a few pages. The Word of God is alive. We have the Word of God. We have millions of books of the word of God. However, I want to add something more to this thought. We try to build certain things in our lives that will stand forever. We build a great house. We build a church. We buy things that last; we want them to last forever. We buy clothes, for instance, that will last an entire lifetime. We are tempted in this way. This is a great temptation - to build a monastery, let us say, in such a way so as to last until the end of time. We build a church to last until the end of history. Again, God is not bound to material elements. The important thing is to preserve the spirit of Orthodoxy. We have built hundreds, if not thousands, of Orthodox churches in this hemisphere. This is not a guarantee that the Spirit of God will be bound to them. The Spirit of God is not bound to stones and walls. Each generation must work to preserve and keep the spirit of Orthodoxy ablaze. Today, we do not have the hermitages of Sts. Anthony and Makarios, the hermits of Egypt and Sinai, the hut dwellers, and the stylites, or pole dwellers and tree dwellers. These people and places are all gone. However, the ascetic spirit has not left the Orthodox Christian Church. The true members of the Orthodox Church dwell in a spirit of asceticism and this spirit will always be in the Church. So let us not get caught up in the schemes of the material forms; let us stay in the spirit. We have the book of the Revelation. It does not matter if it is the first book or the zillionth copy. We have the Revelation of God before us, which will give us the message of God, the message for our salvation.

CHAPTER

7

Revelation 1:11-19

The Vision of the Seven Golden Lampstands - the Seven Stars and the One Walking Among the Lampstands Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamon and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to

Laodicea (1:11).

Homily given December 7,1980

he One — the Lord Jesus Christ — who appeared to St. John told him to

write what you see to the seven churches. These are seven historical, actual churches of Asia Minor. Obviously, they were not the only churches in Asia Minor, nor were they the greatest or largest of the churches compared to those established by the Apostles. There were churches like the church of Jerusalem, or Antioch, or Rome, or Corinth, but initially, these seven churches were in the visual

spectrum of St. John the evangelist whose home base was Ephesus. St. John was exiled from Ephesus to Patmos. Patmos, almost directly across the sea, is a relatively short boat ride from Ephesus. These seven churches were under

the spiritual supervision of St. John. However, as we will see, they simply represent folds of the historical reality of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. They do not exhaust the geographical and historical local churches of the first century. However, they also describe the historical journey through the centuries of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me (1:12). The voice was behind him, as he had to turn around. This is significant because the One speaking was not in front of him; only by turning around could he see the entire awesome and frightful image that would leave him terrified. The evangelist says; I turned to see the voice, an interesting expression because we usually turn to hear a voice, not see it. Here the evangelist turned around to see the Person that the voice was coming from. However, we can also find this expression used by the Israelites in the desert. Moses records; Now all the people saw the voice, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the smoking mountain, they trembled and stood afar off: (Ex. 20:18 Septuagint). So, all the people saw the voice of God. Can a voice be seen? No, but this expresses the vivacity of the vision where between the voice and the person, between hearing and vision, a confusion takes place and it is only because the vision under these circumstances is dominant over hearing. A voice cannot be seen. It is simply a

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method of expression used to vivify the image. St. John turned around to see the voice. He writes, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands (1:12). If we need to see these lampstands, we can be helped by our iconography. They were special candleholders, very tall, placed in such a way that the one speaking could walk among them. These candles were lit. The evangelist will describe this in more detail and explain the meaning of the lampstands later on. However, here we have seven golden lampstands. This reminds us of the seven-candle lampstand that existed in the temple of Solomon. The seven-candle lampstand symbolized God Himself or the seven spirits of God, which is the multitude of the gifts, graces and energies of the Holy Spirit — in

other words, God. In addition, the seven lights of the lampstand symbolize the light of

God, the One Who lives in the light. He is light, so He lives in the light. St. Paul also referred to God as the unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). In the temple of Solomon, the seven-light lampstand was one lampstand with a single axis, one single pole. On the top, it branched out into seven different branches or oil lamp holders. Olive oil was used then. Here in the vision of St. John, there are seven separate lampstands, not one seven-light lamp. So, these golden lampstands symbolize those seven churches of Asia Minor, or the entire Church. Again, we must mention that Asia Minor did not only have seven churches. It had many more. When we say church, we do not mean the buildings, but the area overseen by a bishop. So, we are talking about episcopates or bishoprics. ‘These were regional churches, with their bishops. Thus, although there were numerous churches, the number seven represents the fullness of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. At the same time, the seven churches correspond to actual historical churches. They are not allegorical or mythical, but real churches. ‘The prophecies that will be announced to the seven churches refer to the realities of each one of these historical churches; and at the same time, extend to and transcend the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church through. the ages. Therefore, these prophecies reveal what will happen to the one Church throughout history. ‘This is amazing because we see over and over again in the prophecies of the Old Testament where a prophecy will not only serve that historical forum but will also continue to echo and unfold throughout the depth of history, to talk about something more general or something specific, or eschatological, depending on the type of the prophecy. So the seven golden lampstands are those seven churches of Asia Minor or the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. And in the midst of the seven lampstands,

there is One like a Son of Man, Son of Man meaning a human being. However, when

he says like a Son of Man, he means not exactly a man, but something /ike a man;

there was something supernatural about this man. So, this man was seen in the midst of the seven lampstands. The lampstands were arranged in such a way that the One like a Son of Man could walk among them, walk about and not simply stand. Here we have the image, taken from Daniel, of the Messiah as a Son of Man. This image serves to fulfill the prophecy of Daniel and to identify Him, as the gospels already

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portray the Messiah as one hundred percent human. John the evangelist is very clear on this matter; the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). He does not use

the word, man; he insists on the word, flesh. St. John wants to make especially clear

the human nature of Christ, while at the same time accentuating the divine nature of Christ; for he writes that He is the Word who was with the Father. In other words, He

always existed; the beginning of all things exists in the Son. The Son was when the

beginning of all creation took place both visible and invisible. Since St. John shows, within infinity and eternity, God the Word, Who is the very God, and consubstantial with the Father, he will at the same time show the human nature. The evangelist wants to take every precaution so that the reader will reject any possible [docetist] notion that the human nature was imaginary, or anything else, so St. John writes in this verse, like a human being. Again he wants to avoid any notions about an imaginary or surreal human nature, so he purposely states, the Word became flesh, to show the reality of the Incarnation of God the Logos. Therefore, in the Gospels we have the actual Jesus — the One who drank, walked, talked, slept, became tired, hungry, thirsty, felt pain, was crucified. His blood ran out of His Body. All this proves that the One on the cross was a real human being, one hundred percent human. Now, in the book of the Revelation, the incarnate Logos is elevated above time and history; He appears triumphant over history. This is why He is human, but more precisely He is God-man, Zheanthropos. The God-human nature is revealed from both views. While in His earthly life, only His human

nature was more obvious, much

more so than the divine. His divine nature was camouflaged or somehow hidden, having emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave. Slave generally means man. He emptied Himself. This does not mean that He was emptied of or separated from divine glory. This is never possible. However, He simply hid His divine glory. Every year we celebrate the birth of Christ. This feast is nothing less than the emptying of the Word. As we plainly see, He does not enter history with any visible glory. Surely, there are some signs-and elements that bear witness to the divine glory like the angels singing praises in heaven and the star that leads the Magi. However, what is notable is that Jesus is a natural infant — totally and naturally born of a woman, the Most Holy Theotokos. Thus, the divine glory was hidden then but now, after the crucifixion and resurrection, the divine glory is no longer hidden. Jesus appears as the One above time and history, full of glory, as He appeared, brighter than the midday sun, to St. Paul on the road to Damascus. St. Paul’s eyes beheld this glory; so he became blind. He heard Him and he believed; St. Paul became the Apostle of the nations. In that incident, Jesus is One Who stands above history. He transcends human history and this is how He now appears in the book of the Revelation. John the evangelist recognizes the historical Jesus, but simultaneously he recognizes the glorified Jesus, the Lord of history. This is why he does not run to fall on the chest of Jesus as he did at the Mystical Supper. If you remember, at the Mystical Supper john fell on his chest and asked him, Master, who is the one who is going to betray you?

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(John 21:20) John repeats this phrase in his Gospel, the disciple that Jesus loved (13:23). This time St. John does not have this boldness. Nor will he approach Jesus to tell him, Lord, can you arrange it so we can sit to your right and to your left when your Kingdom comes? (cf. Mark 10:37) The Apostles had even utilized their mother to succeed in this matter. However, here, John is full of fear. He is terrified. He is petrified by what he sees unfolding before him. For this reason the description of the Messiah by St. John as one like a Son of Man refers to the deification or sanctification of the human flesh. Jesus Christ is glorified and He moves among His churches. In other words, He exists within His Church; and this is why He is seen walking among the lit golden lampstands. Jesus appears always in control of human history, and actually stands above history. Nevertheless, within human history we still have the Church militant. We are the Church, the historical Church. We see Jesus Christ intertwined with His Church.

We can get a glimpse of this intertwining in the epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians when he refers to the Church as being the Body of Christ. The Church itself is the body of Christ (1:18), because Christ resides in His Church as God and as man, as God-

man. St. Paul further adds, For we are the temple of the living God. And God said, I will

live in them and move among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people

(2 Cor. 6:16). This is also found in the Old Testament (cf. Gen. 17:8, Jer. 24:7, Jer.

31:33, Jer. 31:38, Ezek. 11:20, Ezek. 37: 238 27, Zech. 8:8) but the Apostle renews

this in the New Testament. This is a great verse! It is a descriptive phrase of the stance of God and it denotes God was in His Church in a dynamic and powerful way. As you can see, I repeat this over and over so we can all understand that our God is a God of touch. He is next to us and between us. God knows everything. He is not static and untouchable or immovable. We also need to add that the existing light and the life in the Church springs forth from Christ who is the source of light, the source of life who is constantly present with His faithful. Now we continue with John’s vision. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast (1:12-14) He was wearing a robe all the way to His feet, to His ankles, and a very wide

golden belt which was close to His breast. ‘This vesture brings to memory the biblical and arch-priestly vesture of the Old Testament. What is made manifest in this verse is the arch-priestly and royal authority of Christ. The long robe serves to reveal all the magnificence of the One wearing it. A long robe always adds splendor, and through it, the arch-priestly and royal office is made obvious to the one who ‘sees’ the voice. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow (1:14).

The evangelist takes two natural images here to show the whiteness of the hair of His head. He uses white wool and white snow. Now what is the meaning behind this whiteness of the hairs of His head? It signifies the ancient and eternal existence of Christ, an ancient existence shared in common with the Ancient of Days, reminiscent

of the heavenly Father whom the prophet Daniel describes. Ancient of Days means

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someone very old, the first One; and He appears to be old for this reason. We see God the Father in some of our icons as an old man with white hair; this image is taken from Daniel. ‘The white hair, again, is used to portray deep old age. Here in this verse of the book of the Revelation we see the deep old age of the Son. This is precisely why Christ appears here with white hair, to demonstrate that both the Father and the Son are Ancient of Days; consequently, the Son is of equal honor, isotimos, with the Father. All this escapes the understanding of the pitiable Jehovah’s Witnesses who attempt to interpret the birth of the Son, but without understanding. These poor people have no understanding. How can they understand this when St. Basil says, “This birth, this begotten of the Father, is an unfathomable mystery. We only accept the phrase as it is, but we understand nothing.” The heretics, always interpreting by the gray matter of their brain, conclude that if He is a son then He is younger and somehow lesser than the Father. Simply, my friends, these are deep mysteries of God and they are not meant to be grasped by our intellect. We accept mysteries. We do not search them. Based on this mystery, both the Father and the Son are Ancient of Days. So in this instance, which will recur in many areas of the book of the Revelation, this image of the Son portraying His ancient existence shows that Christ is Yahweh, the Lord, equal with His Father. ‘The method used by our Byzantine iconography, which is not natural but dogmatic, is very impressive. Our iconography does not depict our Lord or the Theotokos in a natural way; it insists on surrealism, on a dogmatic method. In some icons of the Pantocrator, the one especially on the dome of the Monastery of Daphne, Christ is depicted with dark hair but a very old face. The aim of the iconographer here is to teach dogma. Initially, one might find this icon quite offensive compared to the pretty drawings of the west that dwell on natural or earthly beauty. However, whatever is earthly, whatever is of this world must die. Christ came to make everything spiritual, new, sanctified, glorified, and transfigured. Furthermore, Byzantine iconography proclaims: the kingdom to come, the renewal of human nature, and the transfiguration; while naturalism, or Renaissance art dwells on or embellishes the external, fallen, human nature. However, when someone develops the eye and the taste for Byzantine iconography (and this can take a little time), and knows what to look for, then he will not even want to take another

look at the pretty ones; he will never have any desire for western religious art. He can even come to the point of finding naturalism very distasteful. So, in this icon at Daphne, the person of Christ is very old, wrinkled, and yet the hair is black. Now

what is eternal friends, get old.

the iconographer attempting to do here? He wants to show that the Son is the God, but with eternal youth. God is called the Ancient of the Days, but my God is not old. Old age is only a human factor. God is ageless. He does not Thus, the writer of this icon very expertly expresses the eternity and the ever-

youthfulness of God. God is always the same, unchangeable, immutable.

His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. Now how are we to imagine this flame of fire? Perhaps it is something like the flame used by welders, or the flame produced by acetylene, or propane torches, a

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very bright and truly awesome spectacle, enough to strike terror in the evangelist of love. Now why are the eyes of the One like a Son of Man like a flame of fire? The Wisdom of Sirach, (one of the Deuterocanonical or Apocryphal books for the Protestants, but canonical for all Orthodox Christians) says; The eyes of the Lord are ten thousands times

brighter than the sun (Sirach 23:19). With this, the Word of God tells us that God sees everything. He is All-knowing; He is omniscient. St. John the Chrysostom says, “He foresees at a glance all things together and each thing separately.” This is the reason for this awesome appearance — to declare to John that the One like a Son of Man is the One Who incarnated, the eternal God, the One Who sees it all, and especially all the things that are before the lampstands, everything that takes place in His Church. He sees it all. My friends, we will mention this in our future sessions, but we will say it now as well. Many times, we think that God does not see what is happening in His Church. Unfortunately, some people like to believe that they need to use their power to somehow save the Church — poor, pitiful people. You are not here to save the Church. The Church will save you. Do you know how terrible this attitude is? It is blasphemy, blasphemy of the first degree. We are being ludicrous when we think that we can save the Church. We will save the Church, the Ark of salvation all through the centuries?

The Church needs salvation? Then the Church does not save if she is in need of salvation herself from time to time! My friends, the Church does not need your help. Simply put, if you work for the Church you will save yourself, not the Church. The Church saves, always. I say this because there are many people who even organize groups to save the Church. So, the eyes of Christ were like a flame of fire. We often refer to God as a consuming fire. What is this flame of fire? St. Basil explains, “This flame of fire that radiates from God’s eyes becomes a flame of illumination for the saints. It shines light on them, but the same flame burns the infidels and the unrepentant, the unrepentant sinners and the godless.” In reality, the flame is the divine glory or the uncreated divine energy. The uncreated divine energy reaches the Kingdom of God as pure light. It envelops the place of the saints. It sanctifies them. It illumines them, granting them all the gifts because this divine glory is the carrier of all the gifts of God. At the same time this uncreated divine glory also reaches the depths of Hell without its property of illumination, but as burning fire. It is the same source. The divine glory is light in the Kingdom of God, and it is unquenchable fire in Hell. This

is the lightless fire. You may ask, “How can you have fire and yet be in deep darkness in Hell?” It is simply because this energy is devoid of its light. The light is somehow filtered, so to speak, at the boundaries of Hell, so that all the light of this same energy of God stays in the Kingdom of God, while the burning quality of this filtered light passes into the area of Hell. St. Andrew of Caesarea also comments on this with a very beautiful explanation. He says, “His eyes were like a flame of fire granting light to the saints while burning the wicked.” 33 St. Andrew of Caesarea, (PG V 106, 228D-229A): “Elvat ot οφθαλμοὶ avtod ὡς φλόξ πυρός,

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His feet were like burnished brass, glowing in a furnace (1:15). The Greek word is halkolivanon, and according to Eustathios of Thessaloniki who comments about this in his work on The Odyssey, alkolivanon is a mixture of gold and silver.* Now imagine this mixture of gold and silver glowing in a furnace — all metals, iron and others, glow when they melt and, of course, when they are red-hot, but not like gold and silver. Gold and silver become brilliant. They shine like the sun. This is how the feet of the Lord were. This description shows the brilliance, the stability, durability, and might of the feet of the Lord. This is quite the opposite compared to the clay feet of the statue of the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar (and this can be found in Daniel) saw a huge statue, but the feet were unstable. They were made partially of iron and partially of clay, so that when an uncut stone broke off from the mountain and fell on its feet, the feet of the statue were pulverized. The statue became dust. Then wind blew the dust all over the earth. This shows the outcome of the great dynasties, the great empires of the earth. The Babylonian empire was the gold head; the Medo-Persian Empire was the breast and arms of silver; the Greek empire of Alexander the Great was the bronze belly and thighs; and the iron and clay feet reflected the Roman Empire. Again, the unhewn stone, a stone uncut by human hand, pulverizes this statue. As we sing in the Akathist, this stone is Christ and the mountain is the Theotokos. Thus, these four empires turned history upside down and they passed. But in St. John’s vision, the feet of God the Word are from /alkolivanon, gold and silver — very brilliant, glorious, powerful, and stable. In other words, the Son and Word of God is the ruler of history. He rules because He is above history. History is in His hands. Now the fact that His feet are gold and silver also shows the two natures of Christ, the Divine and the human. And his voice was like the sound of many waters (1:15). If you have had the

opportunity to visit Niagara Falls, you may remember that one can hear the noise

of the waterfalls from miles away. Accordingly, the voice of the One speaking was very impressive. This vision of St. John shares similarities with the vision of Daniel as described in the tenth chapter of that book. Let us see how Daniel saw the Son of Man. We will not interpret, for the sake of time; we will simply read. And behold, a man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz, his body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the noise of a multitude (Daniel 10:5, 6). The noise of a multitude is for example, like the noise at a football

play off game. Again, this is a great image of extreme grandeur.

And in his right hand he held seven stars (1:16). The Lord Himself will give us the

interpretation of this phrase, As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, the seven stars are the bishops of the seven churches (Rev. 1:20), the seven τους μεν αγίους φωτίζοντες, τους δε βεβύλους φλογίζοντες:"

¥ St. Eustathios of Thessaloniki, Odyssey, 4th Book, 150:13.

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churches of Asia Minor. From his mouth issued a sharp, two-edged sword (1:16). ‘This is the word of God, which is portrayed here as a two-edged sword. St. Paul uses the

same image of the double-edged sword to talk about the word of God. For the word of God is living and overt and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the depth of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

The word of God is awesome, truly awesome. It happens very often, whenever the word of God is spoken or preached, that members of the audience are touched to the depths of their being. The word of God pierces the soul, stirs the subconscious, and extracts mountains of baggage; it cuts up and breaks down a person and touches him to the bone marrow of his existence. Yes, the word of God has this astonishing quality.

Consequently, when we see a two-edged sword coming out of the mouth of the One speaking to St. John, it symbolizes and wants to impress upon John the straight and fast judgment of Christ as Judge of the universe. However, we will return to the topic of the two-edged sword later when we look closely at the special message to the church of Pergamos. St. John continues, And his face was like the sun shining in full strength, in full splendor (1:16). This brings to memory the event of the Lord’s Holy Transfiguration when He shone more than the sun. John the evangelist had the experience of the Transfiguration, since he was an eyewitness. However, this glorious appearance of the Lord leaves him petrified with terror and he falls at the Lord’s feet as dead. When I saw him I fell at his feet as though dead (1:17). Here St. John undergoes the natural consequence, as have all those

spectators who witness supernatural phenomena, theophanies, or Godly appearances. Isaiah, for example, was amazed while encountering the divine glory of God and cried out, Poor, pitiful me, I am pierced. I am a mere man with unclean lips. I live in the midst of people with unclean lips (6:5). The prophet Daniel also notes, When I saw this great vision, all my strength left me in my soul, and my face changed, my color changed. As he was speaking to me I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground (7:28). Daniel passed out. We can see here the similarities of the reactions of these prophets when dealing with theophany. And the hand of the One I saw touched me and raised me to my knees. The same thing happened to the three disciples on Mt. Tabor. Our iconography beautifully depicts the scene when James, Peter, and John, blinded by the divine glory, fall abruptly to the ground. It is a fact that men always become startled when they come in contact with the supernatural world. But he laid his right hand upon me saying, “Fear not.” (1:17) This laying of the hand of the Lord on John and the words fear not most likely refreshed the memory of the disciple, bringing to mind that unforgettable night and the struggle of all the disciples to stay alive in the stormy waters of the Lake of Tiberius. At around three o'clock in the morning, the fourth watch of the night, the Lord appeared, walking on the waves of the sea. ‘The disciples, thinking they were seeing a ghost, cry out, while the Apostle Peter said, Lord, if it is you, tell me to walk on the waves like you. And the Lord said to him, Come. Peter obeyed and he started to walk;

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but at the sight of a big wave, he lost heart and the Lord held him and stabilized him. What did he say to the disciples? Fear not. Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid. It is I (Matt. 14:24-30). Here again, the Lord will repeat the same words to John, Fear not. Fear not. Do not be afraid. I am your teacher. Fear not, I am the first and the last and the living one (1:17) Here the Lord’s purpose is to encourage John with three of His attributes, the first being, / am the first, and the last, and the living one. l am the first and the last. [The Jehovah's Witnesses will never be able to wiggle their way out of this one. If we go to Isaiah 44:6, we will read, / am the first and I am the last. Besides me there is no God. The Jehovah's Witnesses have no trouble attributing this verse to God the Father, the God of the Old Testament, Yahweh. However, here in Revelation 1:18, we read, J am the first and the last; I am the

living one, and I became dead. Who became dead? The first and the last became dead. However, the first and the last in Isaiah is God the Father. God cannot die.]

Once again, we see the equality of the Father and the Son. ‘The Son is the first and the last. The Son died in His human nature. More specifically, Christ's body died. So Christ is the Lord, the first and the last, Yahweh, God Almighty. The Son is the first and the last; and the Father is the first and the last. This holds true for the name, The Living One. The Father is the Living One and the Son is the Living One, O Zoy, in Greek. Peter told Christ, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God Matt. 16:16). The prophet Hosea says, there they will be called sons of the Living God (1:10). In the Gospel of Matthew, Caiaphas will also interrogate Christ under oath, J charge you in the name of the Living God (26:63). Therefore, the living God is the Father; but the

living God is also the Son. Our Lord says; J am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). The equality of the Father and the Son is crystal-clear! This is very, very important. Please remember these things firmly to ensure yourselves, not only from the Jehovah’s Witnesses but also from all the workers of the

devil, who wish to reduce Christ to a creation, or to a servant, or to an archangel, or to

a prophet. There is no higher blasphemy or dishonor than Son of God. This is why heretics, especially the Jehovah’s ‘The second attribute used to lift up the spirit of John am living unto the ages of ages (1:18). I became dead refers to His earthly life, to His real death, to His resurrection,

for someone to deprecate the Witnesses, are blasphemers. is J became dead and behold, I not only to His Incarnation, to His ascension, but also to

His eternal life, as God-man. Again, what is very significant here is that the first and the last, an attribute belonging to God, is One with Him who became dead and now

lives. In other words, He who has been living eternally, and yet died on the cross, the first and the last who died on the cross, now lives as God-man, not as God only, but

as God-man. Again, we need everyone to be crystal-clear on this, that Jesus Christ is Yahweh, the Lord, Who is the source of life, Who lives unto the ages of ages. We stated this before, but it will not hurt if we repeat again that our purpose here is not to present lectures but to help us learn. Whenever the Scripture says unto the end of the age or unto the age, it refers to the present age until the end of history. Now when the Scripture says unto the ages of ages it refers to eternity. For example, Scripture says;

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The earth will endure unto the age and will not be shaken. The poor Jehovah's Witness say, “Do you see, the earth will endure unto the age and will not be shaken?” They think that it will endure forever - not so. They distort and falsify the Scriptures. Unto the age only refers to this present age, the boundaries of time allotted by God for the existence of His creation in the present form. Truly, the earth will not be shaken or blasted, or self-destruct until the Second Coming of Christ, when the entire form of

the universe will be altered. Christ says about Himself that J am living unto the ages of ages or in other words, unto eternity. In the third attribute Christ says, And I have the keys of Hades and of Death (1:18). Oh my friends, I wish we could have more time to look into these attributes more closely. We would receive so much consolation. However, we need to run along so

the majority of you do not become tired and bored. So, J have the keys of Death and Hades. This brings us so much hope! Here one can visualize Hades as the residence or the personification of death. Christ descended into Hades. He defeated death. He repossessed the souls held imprisoned in Hades. By His eternal resurrection, death no longer rules. Moreover, through His resurrection He will ultimately resurrect all the dead. Consequently, He is the Master, the Lord of life and death. The embodiment of this Lordship over life and death is the phrase; I have the keys. In reality, the person who has the keys to a vault, a treasure safe or box, is the lord of that object. So J have the keys of Hades and Death. He is telling us that He is the Lord of life and death. Our Lord already proclaimed this. J am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. And everyone living and believing in me will not ever die (John 11:25). Also, For the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment (John 5:28). In reality, the Lord holds the keys of death and Hades. An outline of the above three attributes of Christ which served to disperse the fear of John the evangelist, and also of every person regardless of the century, would offer us the following three conclusions: first, Christ is the eternal God. Second, He is God incarnate Who drew near us through the flesh. Third, He is the God-man, Jesus, victorious over history, time, and death, as He is the Lord of eternity. Write, therefore the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after this (1:19). Here we see that John is instructed to record the present prophecy unfolding before him, the prophecy which makes up the entire book of the Revelation. In this prophecy we can distinguish three time-periods. The first time-period refers to the things which you have seen or the things which are already present in the Church. As we discussed at length in our earlier sessions, a prophecy does not only extend itself into the future, but it also covers the present. It seems, and this is historically obvious, that it is equally difficult for someone to prophesy the present along with the future. In addition, as we mentioned, it may even be more difficult to see through the present than to the future. As proof of this, we have St. John the Baptist who pointed out Christ, Behold, the Lamb of God (John 1:36).

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Again, John is considered a great prophet, as great as Isaiah, who gave a most detailed description of the passion of the Lord in his fifty-third chapter. Notably, in the prophecy of St. John the Baptist, the present and the future coexist. When he said, Behold the lamb of God who lifts the sins of the world (John 1:29), this behold refers to the present; and when he says the one lifting the sins of the world, he refers to the sacrifice of the Son, especially when he uses the name: Lamb. The lamb was a sacrificial animal. Therefore, he is looking ahead about three years to the Crucifixion of Christ. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is a prophecy pertaining to the future. Therefore, the vision or the ability to see and interpret the events of the present is a quality, a specific quality, of a true prophet. We will see much later, if we are still alive, that the two prophets that will identify

the Antichrist will be prophets of the present and not of the future, just like John the Baptist when he pointed out Jesus Christ. The second time-period, the things which are, refers to the things that take place in the present and immediately thereafter. These things cover the first three chapters of the book of the Revelation. The third time-period, all the things which will take place after this are the things that belong to the future, and they will comprise chapters four to twenty-one of this book. Now let’s be very careful, however, because in the subject

matter of this book—a chronological reading order—does not exist. It is possible for verses in the first three chapters to belong to the immediate present without excluding their validity to the most distant future. The reverse holds true for the other seventeen chapters. In other words, one can perceive the entire prophecy as present, as immediate future, and as most distant future in the book of the Revelation. What follows next? What are the stars? What are the lampstands? Who is the One walking among them? The One speaking Who is Jesus Christ will interpret these. He will interpret these to John the evangelist, and we will see all of the above, God willing.

CHAPTER

8

Revelation 1:20- 2:2

The Lampstands and the Seven Stars The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.

Homily given December 14,1980

nd the seven lampstands, as you have seen, are the seven churches. Our Lord continues, at the end of the first chapter of the Revelation, after having appeared to St. John on a Sunday, in an awesome vision that left John almost ainting with fear. Now the Lord Himself provides the interpretation and explains the exact meaning of the images that John had just witnessed. It can be seen here that a number of images will be utilized and serve as the substance of prophetic sayings. The images that are called stars and lampstands are mysteries. They needed to be revealed and interpreted; and the Lord proceeds to do just that. Apparently, He does it because no one else will be able to interpret these mysterious images. We see this very thing in the parables of the Gospels. We see the element of mystery; they are mysterious as far as the meaning goes. As you know, there are two basic elements in getting people to understand something, the definition and the parable, or the image, because a parable really is an image. Therefore, we have the definition and the image. The Greek literature almost always uses the element of definition, while the Hebrew literature makes use of the image. The definition is quite accurate in its description, but it can never exhaust the entire depth of a substance. On the other hand, using an image can indeed exhaust this depth. ‘The image however has a disadvantage because it always hides a mystery, an area not yet discovered. One needs to have the know-how to grasp the meaning of the image, and not having this know-how can be a disadvantage. However, when we have the password, the key, to enter into the meaning of the image, then the image is incomparably better than the definition because it gives many more elements and details than a mere definition; and most importantly, it allows the space and the flexibility for the introduction of a mystery. It allows for the depth, width and height of a particular subject to be continually researched by the reader or the researcher. This is the advantage of the image. For this reason in the Holy Scriptures, we always have the use of the image. You will not find a definition anywhere. And one could wish to prove me wrong by bringing up what seems like a definition in Hebrews, Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (11:1). This is not necessarily a definition. We simply have some elements

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that refer to the subject of faith. A definition supposedly exhausts the subject; yet the subject of faith is not exhausted by what St. Paul writes here; consequently this does not necessarily comprise a definition. However, when the Lord uses parables in the Gospels, they contain mysteries. And when the disciples ask him at some point to explain He answers, To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables (Mark 4:11), which shows that the parable can elucidate, shine light on a subject, or it can obscure or darken the subject. For the believers, elucidation takes place and for the unbelievers, an obscuration. This is a very useful element in the hands of God for these two categories of people. Apparently, the disciples were quite aware of the difficulty of the mystery of a parable. This is why they ask, “Lord, explain this parable to us.” However, the Lord did not explain every parable of the four Gospels. He only interpreted two of them, the parable of the sower and the parable of the weeds. Nevertheless, the method by which he interpreted these parables provides the key to interpretation, something very useful and valuable. Accordingly, here in the book of the Revelation He says the seven stars are the bishops of the seven churches (The word angel in this context is the bishop.) and the seven lampstands are the seven churches in Asia Minor. After explaining these two points, He does not explain the rest of the book of the Revelation. He does not explain it, but he gives the key to St. John to enable him to interpret the visions. St John then passes this same key to every reader in the Church throughout the centuries. So, my friends, the Lord gives the key to St. John, and through him, to all of us. However,

even if we happen to hold the key of interpretation, (and you can see how emphatic I am on this matter) we have an entire book before us with a plethora of images. How will we explain all these even if we are holding the key of interpretation? It is not enough if the reader, the interpreter, does not have the spirit of God. Not only the book of the Revelation, but every word of the Lord remains sealed with seven seals in the absence of the Holy Spirit. So, the seven lampstands according to the Lord’s interpretation are the seven churches in Asia Minor. They are gold like the seven-light lampstand of the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, this signifies the chosen people; and in the New

Testament, it signifies the new Israel of grace, the Christians. The seven stars are the seven angels, and the seven angels are the seven bishops of the seven corresponding churches of reference. These seven bishops are the representatives of the one Church. In the book of the Revelation, one of the definitive characteristics of the Lord and His relationship to the bishops and churches is that we see Him walking among the lampstands, among His churches. This shows maneuverability and power; it also shows that He exercises direct supervision over His churches. The Lord governs His Church regardless of the savage attacks of the powers of darkness in history, such as heresies — and to use a contemporary term, all the Zionist masterminds who have never stopped undermining the Church, day in and day out, in its two thousand year history. From the moment of the Lord’s death the Jews of the

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dispersion or of the diaspora, those who believed in Christ, comprised the people of grace. Ihey became the new Israel along with the gentiles. They formed the Church. Those that did not believe, however, always turned against the Church. In describing their attitude, the biographer of St. Polycarp of Smyrna relates that the Jews influenced and advised the local government to burn the body of the saint so the Christians could not take it. Moreover, the governor abided by their wishes, such that the Jews were the first to light the fire. The holy biographer here comments, “The Jews were especially energetic, as they usually are, in lending a hand in such works (of darkness).”*> By the way, this biography of St. Polycarp was written slightly prior to 150 AD, the first half of the second century. Again my friends, I said that despite the fierce attacks against the Church by the Zionist masterminds, (a contemporary term) and by the many dark powers reacting against the Church, the fact remains that Christ governs the Church. He ascertained this when He said, And the gates of Hades will not overcome her (cf. Matt. 16:18). If all the hot caldron of Hades could surface, they would not be able to overtake the Church. Orthodox Christianity will stand regardless of evil schemes and of its enemies. ‘There is only one concern: that souls are being lost. This is most unfortunate, sad and worth many tears. Another definitive characteristic of the Lord’s relationship to the bishops and the churches is that the Lord holds seven stars in His hand. He holds the seven stars in His right hand, which means that He holds the seven bishops in His right hand. Consequently, the bishops do not govern the Church as representatives of Christ, but Christ governs the Church and the bishops govern in the presence of Christ. The Greek word for spokesperson is ekprosopos, while the word for representative is antiprosopos. We need to make this distinction and to plainly see the spirit of Orthodoxy and compare it to the spirit of the west or the church of Rome. According to Roman papist thought, Christ governs in heaven and the pope governs on earth. So, following Roman papist thought, Christ is not on earth. He is in heaven and the pope of Rome serves as His representative here on earth. But, does this not contradict everything that we study here in the book of the Revelation? Christ holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the lampstands, the churches. That He holds the stars in his right hand is a clear indication that the bishops do not govern the church. Christ governs it.

The spirit of Orthodoxy is this: the bishop, the priest, etc. is zot the representative, antiprosopos, of Christ but the spokesperson, ekprosopos. He serves in the Person of Christ or from the Person of Christ. The Greek prefix ek- or ex- can be translated as from. Therefore, the spirit of Orthodoxy is that the bishop and the priest serve in the Person of Christ and in the presence of Christ. Christ is present. Christ is present when for example a priest celebrates the Divine Liturgy. He gives his hand to Christ. He offers his hand to be used by Christ. In one of the prayers, the priest prays to 35 Martyrdom of Polycarp, 13:2. “τὼν ὀχλων παραχρήμα συναγόντων... μάλιστα Ιουδαίων προθύμως, ὡς ἐθος αὕὔτοις, εἰς ταὑτα υπουργοὐντων᾽.

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Christ, “You are the One who sacrifices and the One being sacrificed.” “You are the One who sacrifices,” refers to Christ and not to the priest. You offer and are being offered. So, Christ offers this offering, the bloodless sacrifice, and the essence of the Divine Liturgy. Now what is the role of the priest? He simply moves his hands. He is Christ's servant, nothing else. Christ is present. He is the One Who offers and is being offered simultaneously. We also see this in the sacrament of holy confession. The Latin or the papist priest will say, “I forgive you.” This is a natural consequence for the papist priest. Since Christ is in heaven, now he, the priest has taken the authority and he forgives on earth. The Orthodox priest will say, “May the grace of the most Holy Spirit through my lowliness, (elahistotitos), forgive you and loosen or unbind you.” Yes, the priest hears our confession, but he does nothing else. He simply reads the prayer of absolution. God is the One Who searches the heart to see if we made a

sincere confession. God, Who is omniscient, Who knows it all, sees it all, and knows

the heart, will grant us forgiveness. Let’s not think my brother that by extracting a priest's absolution prayer we also receive forgiveness if our confession is not sincere. No, Christ will not forgive us if our heart is not sincere. The priest is a human being. He can be fooled. He can be influenced. He can be tricked but not Christ. So, who is present and the grantor of forgiveness? Christ. Christ is ever present. Do we see what Orthodoxy means? This but a minor point and quite insignificant compared to some huge doctrinal differences that separate us from the church of Rome. Through all this my friends we clearly see that Christ is He Who holds the holy bishops in His hands. He holds the holy priesthood in His right hand. This can be quite intimidating, but at the same time very reassuring and encouraging intimidating indeed because at any given moment the clergyman who is in Christ's grasp can receive the pressure or a squeeze from Christ's powerful hand. ‘The priest can be spurned or rejected by Christ. This is very intimidating. However, we have the consolation that everything that takes place in the Church is not placed solely on the shoulders of the worker, but that most of the weight falls on Christ’s shoulders. Christ lifts the weight of the Church because He also lifts the worker. The sincere worker of the Church feels secure in the palm of the hand of the Lord. It is of great significance to know that I am in the hand of Christ. So Christ oversees the toil of the worker. He can see his faith. He can see the faith and the love, but He also sees the injustice and the rejection that he, the priest, receives from those around him. And

in His

omniscience and omnipresence, the Lord justly rewards the sincere worker by placing him in the Kingdom of God. So, as we can see, to be held in God’s palm offers not only consolation but trepidation as well. However, before I begin to go forward with the epistles that St. John is instructed to write and send to the seven churches in Asia, I find it necessary to offer a brief analysis of the seven epistles sent by our Lord. It can be seen that a number of basic elements are repeated in these epistles. For example, when the Lord says; To the church of Ephesus write it does not mean these specific epistles were sent

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separately. The entire book of the Revelation containing the specific epistle referring to each specific church was sent to each church. So, the church in Ephesus could find its own epistle within the book, but each

local church received the entire book of the Revelation. From what we said earlier,

the seven churches in Asia Minor make up classic representatives and they are classic typologies of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. This catholicity of the Church becomes apparent from the words of the Lord, which seem to be repeated at the end of each specific epistle. He who has ears let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So, even though each epistle is sent to the corresponding specific church, the Lord closes by calling the attention of a// the churches. He who has ears let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. This shows, my dear friends, that all the epistles do have their specific character; but at the same time they are intended to instruct the entire Church of Christ. We must also mention that each epistle has a specific historical basis. When the Lord speaks about Bishop Antipas, He speaks about a historical reality of the church of Pergamos. Antipas was a historical bishop of that church. When he refers in the epistle of Ephesians to the phenomenon of the Nicolaitans, the heretics who involved themselves in the church of Ephesus, they are a historical reality, entirely backed by historical evidence. Through all of the preceding, we see that the prophecy serves at least two objectives: the present historical state of the specific churches and the future state of the entire Church, the one Church. | Consequently the seven epistles to the seven historical churches serve as seven folds of the one, holy, catholic Church which were of great concern, not only to the seven historical churches back then but also continue to concern the Church today and for every age up until the end of the age. So, for this reason we say that these epistles serve as a truly classic representative form of the Church. This is so because in the Church we will always have the existence of zeal, faith, luke-warmness, sloth,

scandals, persecution, distortion of faith and ethics. Generally the people and events of light and darkness will always make their presence felt in the Church. Now

since

these

realities

are exposed

here

in the

seven

churches,

they

also

comprise realities of the entire Church. All seven epistles are basically the same in their composition and general format. There is a distinguishing high tone and a strong language combined with great simplicity and plainness. All seven epistles share at least eight common points between them. First, all seven epistles have the same opening line: To the angel of the church of such and such write. This is a common opening line for all seven epistles. Second, there is a common introduction, These things says He who: and so on; He

who holds the seven stars; He who has the keys of Hades; He who has eyes like a flame of fire. The introduction is always the same: These things says He who. This reminds us of the introduction of Old Testament prophecies. The words, these things says refer to Christ both here in the book of the Revelation and in the Old Testament, these things

says the Lord. Here the Lord introduces Himself with characteristics taken from the

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inscriptional outline — verses four and six of the first chapter, and from the introductory lines of the vision — verses eight through twenty. For example, These things says the true witness, the first-born from the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth. All these things says He who is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end and so on. The third point, J know your works is a stereotypical phrase in the seven epistles. It reveals the all-seeing eye of Christ. J know your works. Christ knows it all. At times He gives praise and at times He reprimands. Of the seven epistles, one of the epistles does not have a single praise but only reproach. Another epistle has no reproaches at all but only praise. The other five epistles contain both praises and reprimands. The fourth point is the stereotypical phrase, He who has an ear let him hear, which is used to draw the attention of the receivers, readers and listeners of the book of the Revelation. The fifth point is another common phrase, He who overcomes or He who is victorious which is used to make promises to the faithful and to the fearless fighters of the faith. The sixth point is that Christ appears victorious over the world because He is coming quickly. The seventh point is that the seven churches of reference appear to be in a position of crisis which is seen when Christ says, if you do not listen, if you do not repent, I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place. \ will uproot you and move you around. Consequently, the position of each church appears to be critical at any given moment. Finally, the eighth point is that each church has a specific geographical position and it maintains the very position that Christ has given it. Christ plants, erects and stabilizes the churches. We can say that He established us here in Larisa. He establishes others somewhere else, just like He planted the apostles and they established the Church. Remember the Apostle who wanted to go to Ankara to chart eastbound in Asia Minor? This was when he was in Troas near Dardanelles, but the Lord told him

no, I don’t want you to go east. You will go west towards European soil. So, the Lord, Himself orchestrates the geographical positions of the Church. The Lord establishes the churches and the Lord can also remove their lampstands from their place. Now after these very few comments on the seven churches, by the grace of God, we are entering the second chapter. So far, we used eight homilies to cover the first chapter and believe me we could expand on it even more. We were running through these verses. As you can see, we are running. Now by the grace of God, we are entering the second chapter which refers to the seven epistles sent by the Lord. The first epistle is sent to the church of Ephesus. To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to be false; I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’ sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have, you

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hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (2:1-7).

What a beautiful letter. And it is even more beautiful in the original Greek. What a great privilege for those of us who share the Greek nationality to know that these exact words were written in the Greek language by St. Prochoros who was St. John’s deacon. Again, it is a great privilege to be able to understand the very words, precisely the way they were spoken by the Lord. First, you may have noticed a very masterful element used by our Lord, quite skillful indeed. He begins the epistle with a compliment. He praises the angel of Ephesus and then he uses the necessary criticism, nevertheless I have something against you, that you have left your first love. But this you have to your credit as well, He uses a most pedagogical method, praise followed by constructive criticism. Praise is followed by the necessary correction. You are doing well here, this is very good; but I would like to call your attention to this area of weakness. Again, praise followed by reprimand. Naturally, the Lord will point out with sincerity his good and bad points. All that unfolds in this epistle constitutes elements of our Church found in the clergy and the laity. Now by God’s grace, we will proceed to interpret. To the angel of the church of Ephesus write: To the bishop of the church of Ephesus, write... and Ephesus is selected first from the seven churches. Ephesus was a great city and the capital of the area of Asia Minor. The temple of the Ephesian goddess of fertility, Artemis (the equivalent Demetra of central Greece) was a great attraction in the city of Ephesus. This temple of Artemis was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was beautiful and of great architectural value. Herostratos burned it down to make a name for himself and that is unfortunate. Ephesus and the temple of Artemis attracted all the tribes of all the people of Asia Minor. Artemis again, was not the same goddess as the Greek Artemis, which was the goddess of hunting; the Ephesians’ Artemis was the goddess of fertility. This was important because knowing the historical background of this city will give additional insight to understanding the challenges facing the Christian Church. St. Paul writes about the worship of Artemis in his epistles. People from all over Asia were drawn to Ephesus not only for commerce, but also for the worship of Artemis. St. Paul taught great numbers of people daily at a school owned by Tyrannos (Acts 19:9) in Ephesus, one of the busiest trading centers in Asia. This city was also the hub of St. John’s missionary endeavors. ‘The first bishop of this great city was Timothy who received two epistles from St. Paul. What remains unknown however, is if at the time of the reception of the epistle incorporated into the book of the Revelation Timothy was alive or not, or if the bishop was Onesimus, who is acknowledged and

praised by St. Ignatius.** Regardless of this, they are both great saints. The fact is that the Lord addresses these saints with their deficiencies, calling them on the carpet so to speak and this is encouraging to us. This is very encouraging. Let us 36 St. Ignatius, Ephesians, 1:3.

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never think that holiness means infallibility; the perfect man is nonexistent. Holiness is in the area of struggle, not perfection. No one is perfect. Perfection does not exist. What exists is the struggling man, the one who keeps striving. We must understand this. I say this because at times we may think that holiness, which is our calling by the way, is so far out of our grasp that it is unattainable. This is not so. It is a delusion and the work of the devil, to tell us that holiness is unrealistic and we cannot reach it. The devil wants to destroy us. No my friends do not listen to this. Holiness is iz the struggle! In the city of Ephesus, even before the time of St. Paul, Judaizing and Gnostic heretics had appeared. When St. Paul called for the gathering of the presbyters of the church of Ephesus in Militus, he was in a hurry having come from Greece and heading towards Jerusalem to get there by the day of Pentecost. He talked to them and instructed them with the following verses, J know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; (They will tear the flock apart, these savage wolves.) and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. (They will take them, and make them their subjects and alienate them from the church.) Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears (Acts 20: 29-31). He also writes to Timothy, who was the bishop of Ephesus, As J urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than the divine training that is in faith (1 Tim. 1:3-4). These other doctrines: false teachings, fables, and endless genealogies refer to the followers of Gnosticism. About these endless genealogies, Gnostics used to say that between the good god and the world there are at least thirty different deities, thirty different gods. According to them, the last god who communicates with both the twenty-ninth and with the earth is Jesus Christ, the last deity. So these endless genealogies were the attempt by the heretical Gnostics to explain how the one god gives birth to the second, the second to the third, the fourth to the fifth and so on. These were the fables and genealogies of the Gnostics who combined Christianity, Judaism, philosophy, Egyptian mysteries, Zoroaster, and made a smorgasbord out of all these different religions. With St. Paul’s comments we begin to develop a picture of the state of ancient Ephesus. Saint Ignatius also writes in his epistle to the Ephesians,” and he singles out these Gnosticizing heretics whom he calls rabid dogs (Docetists). So far, we have approached our subject from a cultural point of view to see how Christ will direct His epistle to the church of the Ephesians. In addition, the epistle sent by the Lord has an introductory line used to identify the sender and His characteristics. Ihe Lord uses this inscription, These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. As we can see this image is taken from the introduction of the initial vision of John, but there is a difference in the wording. In the initial vision, in the sixteenth verse of the 37 St. Ignatius, Ephesians, 7:1.

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first chapter we read, He had in His right hand, seven stars. While here the Scripture says, these things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand. This holds is much more intense than simply having the seven stars in His hand. Holds is much stronger. Also, in the initial vision He is in the midst of the lampstands, whereas here He walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. Now He gets to the point after having introduced Himself. J know your works, your labors, your patience. I know your works. Christ knows. Christ knows everything. Sometimes people may ask, “Doesn't Christ see what some priests are doing to His Church. Can He not see what the bishops and the patriarchs are doing? Can He not see our Church scandals, the problems, and the injustice? Christ sees these things! He

knows these things. Now why is he allowing these things to happen? Well, He knows why. But we also know this much. Priests are a product of this society. We cannot expect priests to jump into their holiness suit after the seminary. They are citizens of this society. We often say the priest of our parish is not up to our standards. Why? Is the parish good? Are the people of the parish spiritual? My friends, we are at the point where a member in good standing in our church has been reduced to anyone who adds a couple of hundred dollars to the church treasury annually. Consequently, these are the members who give birth to the priests. The parish brings forth the priest. The children of this parish will become the future priests. Again, our community provides the priest, and the priests fashion the people. So there is a reflection between the priest and the parishioners. So, God sends priests according to people’s hearts and at times they may be bad shepherds. Of course, it goes without saying that God will deal with these bad shepherds,

as well. J know your works. The works are the entire attitude, the entire conduct and behavior directly regarding the bishop himself and indirectly regarding his flock. J know your works and your labor. The labor is devoted to ministry; to the effort to fulfill the spiritual needs of the flock; and to patience, the necessary patience to labor and keep guiding the flock. It takes great patience to keep guiding people spiritually. Without patience nothing can be accomplished. Patience is also needed to overcome the unavoidable collisions with the opposing powers which will undermine his mission, And how you cannot bear evil men (2:2). The evil ones that the bishop cannot bear are the bad Christians, those that keep their evil ways while members of the Church. ‘The bishop is certainly not responsible for the people of the world. Sometimes, people ask me, what should I do when I hear people curse and take God’s name in vain? What can you do? If you argue with them, they will curse even more. So you will not accomplish anything. Tell me, what can you do? The only thing you can do is to stay quiet and if you happen to know this person, wait to approach him or her in a different setting when his nerves are settled and his tongue is inactive. Then you can tell him in a few words that he is doing something awful and dangerous to his well being. My friends, today the world and the Church are all mixed up. There is a lot of world in the Church. What we mean by this is that the secular spirit has infiltrated our Church. There is so much secularization that people who do not have

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any relationship with the spiritual life of the Church are called members in good standing only because they have fulfilled their financial obligation. So here when Christ praises the bishop of Ephesus because he cannot bear those that are evil, He means the Christians who do not follow the way of Christ. He does not mean the people of the world because in those years the Church was totally separated from the world. Today unfortunately this is not so. When He says, you cannot bear this evil in the Church it shows that the bishop of Ephesus is very sharp in the area of ethics. He cannot bear to see unacceptable behavior in the church. To use a contemporary term, the bishop of Ephesus is very intolerant of situations arising and existing in his church that are unacceptable. And you have tested those who say they are apostles but are not and have found them liars. Here the bishop of Ephesus follows the exhortation of the Lord about the trial period of those who are coming to be workers in the church. What is this trial? We find it in Matthew, Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits (7:15-20). You will know them by their fruits, their lifestyle, their words,

and their actions. You will understand what they are all about. What does this mean? What is the deeper meaning of the words of the Lord here and His reassurance to the bishop of Ephesus? The Lord reassures the bishop of Ephesus who tested his shepherds and may have said to certain Christians that they were not qualified to become a priest. If you have slipped through the ranks, I do not want you. I want you to leave the priesthood. You are not to continue as a priest. You must do something else. You are a false prophet, whether in the area of faith or in the area of ethics and practical virtue. The Lord praises this bishop because he stood his ground in this area which means, my beloved, that a layperson has the right to tell the priest, my Father, you are not allowed to do this innovation. I will not follow you. I will not listen to you when you do not practice what you preach and your lifestyle has become publicly scandalous. You also have ears and understanding and you can see what these words are telling us. The word of God is quite direct here. We are simply helping to bring these conclusions to the surface. We must mention that St. Paul is quite clear on this issue as well. And what I do I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds (2 Cor. 11:12).

Now who are these false apostles? In those days the culprits were the Judaizing heretics. St. Peter writes about these Judaizing heretics, But false prophets also arose

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among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction (2 Peter 2:1). In our times, Judaizing heretics are the Jehovah's Witnesses who insist on the Old Testament name of God, Jehovah. Do they deny the Master Who bought them? Do they deny Christ as God? They most certainly do. They deny the divinity of the Master Who bought them. But please pay attention to one very important thing here. It is quite evident, more than evident that Holy Scripture accentuates and insists on dogma, the accentuation of dogma and doctrine. Unfortunately, our times are characterized by an eagerness to lay dogma aside, to downplay doctrine. Our times are so undogmatic. Our Christians are quick to lay doctrine aside. This includes members of our Orthodox Christian leadership — the very members who are supposed to safeguard our dogmas also lay them aside. This is abominable, a true betrayal of Christianity. Even more strange and bizarre is the attitude that in the name of Christian unity doctrinal and dogmatic differences become irrelevant. What are you, Protestant? What am I, Orthodox? What are you, Roman Catholic? Look, let’s just forget our differences; let’s put them aside. Let's just forget our histories and what brought us here. All that matters is the present and a peaceful future. “Love is what counts. Love is what’s important.” This is the sermon of modern ecumenism. This spirit is so widespread. It is this spirit that is preached in our congregations: in our Sunday school classes, youth camp programs and from the pulpit, especially in Orthodox parishes in the west. When doctrinal and dogmatic teachings are curtailed, overlooked, and placed on the back burner, the result is not

only a time period of no absolutes, but also a sudden rise in immorality, since relaxed dogmas invite loose ethics. False dogmas will introduce bad ethics. If you remember about ten years ago we worked on these same subjects. I still have the notes. I spoke to you about ecumenism, which was at its peak back then in the late 1970's. I told you back then what I repeat now. ‘The result will be a great increase of Christian immorality, a super slide of ethics. Wasn't I telling you all this back in 1971? Now ten years later, we are in the year 1980 and our times are faced with widespread immorality. Worse yet, our people cannot even see this. You try to tell or advise someone, “My son this is not right. This is bad.” “Why is it bad? What's wrong with it?” We have lost our sense of good, bad, unethical, ugly. People do not always understand the differences anymore. These are the fruits of ecumenism. My dear friends, one thing I will proclaim to you. Dogma and ethics, dogma and spiritual life are very closely connected. Whenever this close connection of dogma and ethics is severed, the balance of Christian piety and true spirituality falls away; or in the absence of this union of dogma and ethics, true spirituality will definitely suffer. We will see this addressed in a few moments in the epistle to the bishop of Ephesus. It will appear that something similar took place in the church of Ephesus. A great deal of energy was allocated to defend against the heretics, so much so that the bishop of Ephesus overlooked something else — the essence of the spiritual life, which is love, love and worship for Christ, not for the fellow man. Love and worship for

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Christ is first. Our time is now up but I would like to use the few remaining minutes to say a few words about the feast day of the Birth of Christ which is coming in a few days. Every year we celebrate these feast days. One day we celebrate Christmas. One day we celebrate Pascha. My friends these feast days, just like all the major feast days, are nothing but opportunities to take spiritual inventory and replenish the supplies that we find lacking and necessary to rekindle our spirituality. So during these days let us separate ourselves from the worldly and secular entanglements that we find ourselves in. Kala Christougenna! We will see you on the 11th of January.

CHAPTER 9 Revelation 2:4-7

The First Love — the Threat of Falling — The Fight Against Nicolaitanism Homily given January 11, 1981

t our last meeting, we began to analyze the epistle of our Lord to the bishop of Ephesus, to the angel of Ephesus. He praises the angel of Ephesus. He tells him that He knows his works, his labors and his patience. evertheless, the Lord says, [ have something against you, that you have left your first love (2:4). First, we notice a most pedagogical element used by our Lord in nearly all of these epistles, praise followed by correction. He praises the strong points of His bishop; He praises his labors, his patience, his works against the heretics, but He also has a complaint about the weak point of the congregation. This seems to be very important, because the correction is followed by the threat of a very serious punishment. J have something against you; you have left your first love. Your initial, burning love is cooling off. What had happened is something that happens to all of us. As we stated earlier, these epistles address different folds of the one catholic Church. They present the qualities and virtues, as well as the faults of the faithful clergy and laity. All of us can discover ourselves and conceptualize our inner strengths and weaknesses here. So, the bishop of Ephesus focused most of his energy in the area which Christ Himself pointed out. Christ knows that he cannot bear those who are evil and that he had persevered, had labored and had patience for His name's sake; he had not become weary. The bishop of Ephesus worked extensively to cleanse the Church of evildoers and especially of heretical teachers. Somehow, the anti-heretical struggle became the focus, the main preoccupation, of the church of Ephesus. However, in the process something else was overlooked. What was overlooked was love for the Lord Jestis. My friends, did it ever occur to you that this happens very often in our Church? We only need to glance around us and we will see this. We often focus a great deal and spend a tremendous amount of time on apologetics, to learn to counterattack the Jehovah’s Witnesses when they come to our door, for instance, or to learn to defend against New-Agers or some other occult movements. We often notice some of our faithful who exert a great deal of effort against the heretical movements. However, they ignore their own spiritual life. I am very much afraid that this could be the case with a number of people in our audience who fight against evil, against false faiths. However, they fail to develop their own spirituality. I have noticed this to be the reality among many of today’s Christians.

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I am being very sincere in saying this. We need to become especially watchful and take up the necessary measures to correct this. You come to report to me your endeavors against the unorthodox, but your own spiritual life is not well taken care of. There is fickleness in this. We need to understand that the love that was forsaken, about which the Lord says, you left your first love — this love is not meant to be exhausted only in

orthodoxia (true faith), but in orthopraxia (true works) as well. We cannot reduce

our faith to the chasing of the heretics. I must especially focus on how I live. What is needed is something that was lacking in the bishop and the church of Ephesus: the very special ascent of the loving heart towards God. Many times, we notice this in people who are very active in the life of the parish. They lack this spiritual ascent and vice versa; people who have this spiritual sense do not have much involvement. They do not seek any involvement; they keep to themselves. The Lord reproves both. We will see in another epistle that He reproached the church, which allowed heretics to coexist with it. So, both of these are necessary. We must not gravitate towards one sector; we must work in all the areas of our spiritual life. We will work to defend our faith, but we will not ignore our own spiritual development. Just because I am active in the fight against the heretics, I cannot feel content that it is an indication that I am doing well spiritually. Again, all this is certainly helpful, but it cannot be the extent of one’s spiritual life. To confess orthodoxy only does not mean salvation. What happens to orthopraxia? The phrase, J have this against you, shows the complaint of Jesus, which is the cooling off of the first love. What is this first love? It is the enthusiasm, zeal, the burning of the heart, devotion, the worship of Jesus Christ, which we usually find in the newcomers

to the faith. You may have seen a person brand new to the faith. He comes to know Christ and he is full of fire, full of enthusiasm, full of worship of Christ. He weeps when you speak to him about the Lord. He begins to cry; these are the tears of the person who goes to confession for the first time. How many times do we encounter this? We often live this. We feel their pain and we come to love these people when we see them weep during holy confession, when they show true repentance. In other words, this is the spirit of the total sacrifice that takes over the soul. However, when some time passes, and we have many years in the faith, then this love may desiccate, and the result is a superficial form worship. Our life enters the mold of the daily routine. There is nothing worse than to reduce spiritual life to a routine and to keep going through the motions. Believe me, the death of the spiritual life is this routine. Today this routine exists in many areas of our lives, our jobs, and our relationships with other people. This should not be, even though some of these >8 In the last twenty five-years the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been converting entire villages in Greece, especially where the priest was illiterate or needed to work in the fields all day. Most village priests in Greece work long hours on their farms, and they still keep up with their services. The catastrophic Jehovah’s Witnesses dressed in sheep’s clothing go door to door during the day. To counteract this threat, Orthodox brothers and sisters volunteer to re-visit, warn, and strengthen those approached by the heretics to neutralize and minimize the damage. Special anti-heretical centers organize lay people to assist in this endeavor.

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are repeated every day: the same movements, the same people, the same work, the same lifestyle and the same old things. We owe it to ourselves to invent ways to fight this. Routine in our lives shows the death of our vitality. How can we improvise a way not to fall into living life as a routine? This is something that can be taught, but each person can also work on this independently. When one always looks for something to make things interesting, for some depth in whatever he does, then he does not become bored-to-tears. You may have heard the story about the three stonecutters of a certain foundry. When asked about job satisfaction, the first one cynically said, “How would you like breaking stones all day long, anyway?” The second one said, “Yes I’m happy with my job. I make good money and I can support my family.” The third one said, “You know, it is so interesting to see that every stone is so different. No two stones are alike, just like people. These stones have their own characteristics; and I get excited thinking that my stones will be dressing up the walls of a church, or the walls of courthouses and schools. I feel like I have my signature on every stone.” As you can see from this story, if one can open the eyes of our God-given creativity and look for something new, for something different in everything we do, then we will be putting to death this enemy called routine. When we expel the routine, or the mundane, we become full of life. We are rejuvenated. This is of great importance in our everyday life, but of paramount importance in our spiritual life. To say: I go to church everyday, the same liturgy everyday, vespers, same prayers everyday, the same thing everyday, the study of the Scriptures, I run into the same people every day, greet them and ask them how they are... Now, if I can find something new in all this

everyday, then this daily routine will not become part of my life. Protect yourselves from this danger of the routine, because we can slip into the mode of superficial worship, and simply go through the motions. Woe to us if we left our first love, which is life, variety, interest, excitement and life itself — everything that the word life means. Then woe to us if we lose this first love. This holds true on both the individual and the universal level. We need to raise this issue because as contemporary Orthodox Christians we have great reasons for concern. We have fallen into the depths of typo-/atreia, or the habitual transferring of our bodies back and forth from church every Sunday morning to satisfy our sense of duty without any thirst or hunger for something more. This is very evident in the life of most of our faithful. The spirit has left; the spirit has become extinguished, even though the Lord commands it, for His word says, Do not put out the flame of the spirit (1 Thess. 5:19). This is why we can see that most of our people go to church without having an understanding or interest in spirituality. Fasting, for example, has lost its meaning for many of our Christians. Most of them think that they must fast from oil three full days before they can take Holy Communion; or at the other extreme, they do not fast at all. They even eat on Sunday mornings and then receive Holy Communion. The true meaning of fasting has been lost, or reduced to giving up chocolate for Lent. In the same way, holy confession, the

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great sacrament that truly rejuvenates us, has become for most people a fulfillment of duty, something we need to do now and then: with no compunction, no tears, no fear. In some states and faraway regions people were never even told about the great necessity of confession. My friends, the word duty does not exist in Holy Scripture, not even once [at least, not in the Greek text]. Nor is it in the patristic philology, the writings of the Church Fathers. You will not find the word, duty even once.

On the contrary, you will find this word used excessively in the area of philosophy and philosophical ethics. We often read in our books about duties and rights. The word duty expresses a spirit of heaviness, an obligation that we need to force ourselves to do, something we must do but not necessarily by choice. My

brothers and sisters, these things are foreign to the word of God. This spirit is foreign to the Holy Spirit-filled Christians. In our days especially, Holy Communion has become an act of habit for many of our Christian brothers, even though they may

have started out with good feelings and intentions. Their entire spiritual life lacks a spirit of holiness. This occurs precisely because we have left our first love.

The epistle continues and the Lord says; Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the first works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent (Rev. 2:5). As you see, love for Jesus Christ appears to be a very crucial element, very important, and rightly so. It is our life. The fact that it warrants such a heavy punishment: J will remove your lampstand, shows the seriousness of this first love. What a dreadful position for someone to be in. We all need to pay special attention to this and to take some self-inventory. Such selfcriticism and self-examination is extremely profitable. When

the Lord says, Remember then from what you have fallen, He means that

we need to look into was the only one that self-assessment, much us of this with a little attention, to make us

our own heart and take our own spiritual temperature. John heard it, but the epistle encourages all of us to undergo this like the bishop of the church of Ephesus. The Lord reminds slap, with a threat of punishment, to shake us up, to get our see from where we have fallen. We have a need to question

ourselves. We need to ask ourselves where we came from, what we know and how we

fare. We need to assess ourselves spiritually. Our only path to salvation is the way of repentance. Repent, and do the first works. The return to the first works is the proof of true repentance. I must tell you that this fallen state, if prolonged, becomes very dangerous because it brings forth a spiritual indifference, a spiritual anesthesia, which according to its degree makes it very difficult for a person to bounce back. Here I must confess something to you. Many times when I am writing these words; as I am reviewing them; and even now as J am saying them, I ask myself, “Do I have spiritual indifference?” By the way, this is not very easy to detect. It is not very easy for me to know if I have spiritual indifference. If we read a homily of St. John of the Ladder, St. John

Climacus, we will be panic-stricken, because we will all find ourselves guilty in varying degrees. We fit this bill, all of us, with no exceptions. We suffer from an epidemic

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of spiritual anesthesia. I am sorry for this assessment, but it is true and afterwards, punishment comes. If we do not repent, repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. As you remember, the seven golden lampstands were in a certain place, and the glorified, the historical and super-historical Jesus was moving among the lampstands. These lampstands were tall individual candleholders and Jesus was moving easily in the midst of these lit candles. When He says, J will remove your lampstand, He means He will physically take it and move it elsewhere. Now what does this mean? The removal of the lampstand means to become divest of divine grace, according to St. Andrew, to become bare, naked of God’s grace,® to lose the grace. I cannot know,

my friends, if I have been stripped of the grace of God. I cannot see it, but others around me can see it. A person cannot always have knowledge of this; sometimes he can. Now what does it mean to be stripped of the grace of God? It is something very dreadful. We pray that God never allows this to happen to us.

You may have seen other people, clergy and laity, who have been stripped of God’s grace. God took His grace from them, and you can see these people move about without God’s grace. It is an awful sight. I cannot describe it. I am not able. We can only say that these pitiful people find themselves in a state worthy of many tears, as we say in Greek. St. Andrew continues, “When the grace of God is stripped from a person, then the demons rush in along with their servants, the evil people, and they introduce a very unstable state in this person or in a congregation of persons.” In our times, we have some excellent people, very serious people, clerics and lay people. We have some true saints out there. But we also have many clerics in our ranks and lay people deserving the many great tears and lamentations that we talked about. These people become organized. They flock, or they pack together rather — we are talking about wolves here. The demons rush into these people. ‘They literally dance inside these people and it is quite a sight to see the demons dance inside these people, these poor people, who were stripped of the grace of God. My friends, I say these things and I need to hear them as well. I need to hear them myself. I need to remind myself because we all need to sound the alarm, to ring the bell, to sound the trumpet to warn ourselves away from such dangerous and miserable plights, or predicaments. Such states are a true disaster. In addition, the removal of the lampstand can also mean the elimination of the topical or local church, a reality that found its fulfillment in our century after one thousand nine hundred years of history for the seven churches in Asia Minor. These churches were indefinitely uprooted from the geographical space that they had occupied for one thousand nine hundred years. This particular threat from the Lord found its fulfillment in 1922, when the seven churches were erased from the face of >? St. Andrew of Caesarea, (PG V 106, 233A): “n tg Galas ydprtos yopvwars.” [0 τρι4. “Δι' ἧς εν σάλω και κλύδωνι υπο της των πονηρίας πνευμάτων καὶ των υπουργούντων αυτὴς πονηρὼν ανθρώπων καθίσταται:

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the earth. Where is the church of Smyrna? Where are the churches of Ephesus and Thyatira — blossoming churches, beautiful churches? These were some of the most beautiful churches when they were established. Not a single one of the seven exists. This threat, or else I will remove your lampstand, became reality. The lampstands have been removed. We are to note that all the things spoken by the Lord here find their application in the years and time of the Church. And the time of the Church (and please remember this) is the time between the two appearances of Christ, the First and Second Appearance, or parousia of Christ. This time consists of the one thousand years of apocalypse. Why one thousand? We will touch on this a number of times, because it is extremely important, especially in the western hemisphere. Why one thousand years? Well, one thousand is the number that was then used to avoid giving exact information. The Second Coming of Christ is mysterious. We do not know when Christ will come back. So, by using this allegorical number (one thousand), by which a great period of time is meant, without hinting when Christ will come back, the time of the Church is

represented. These are the one thousand years or the millennium. Again, this is an allegorical number, just like in the case of the ten virgins. Ten virgins, the number ten, five foolish and five wise, is used so we do not start thinking percentages. If the number was eight and two, let’s say, we could be thinking, “Well, maybe eight stands for the eighty percent of the people that will be lost and twenty percent stands for the people that will be saved.” The Lord says five, and five precisely to keep us from drawing any conclusions based on percentages, so you will not think

along these lines. These are symbolic, allegorical, round numbers. Unfortunately, the

Jehovah’s Witnesses and most Protestants take these numbers literally. They fall into the heresy of chiliasm or millennialism, which was condemned by our Church in the Second Ecumenical Council of 381 — but we will speak on this at length when we reach that chapter. For now, we need to bring up the point that within this time frame of the Church, all these events will take place. After one thousand nine hundred years, in 1922 to be exact, the seven historic churches were uprooted from the grounds of the Church of Christ. There is also a third type of movement of a lampstand, by which a church does not lose its place. It stays in its geographical area but it loses its orthodoxy and orthopraxia. I must tell you that this has been fulfilled historically as well. Can you tell me, where are the blossoming churches of North Africa? Where are they? There is not a single one left! The glorious churches of North Africa, which wrote some of the brightest pages of Church history and for whose benefit St. Peter through St. Mark wrote his gospel, are no more! The fury of Islam with its hordes of Arabs leveled those churches. They were not removed and planted elsewhere. They lost everything they had. Some Orthodox churches that have lost their orthodoxy are the Coptic Church and the Armenian Church. ‘This brings us to the church of the west. What are Protestants? What is Rome? To stay in your place as a church and to lose your orthodoxy and

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orthopraxia, is, I believe, the worst of all three kinds of lampstand removals. I must also add to this last case, and what I am about to say may seem frightening. Let’s not think that the lampstand of the Greek Orthodox Christian Church, the local Greek Church (and we have historical evidence regarding this), is exempt from this removal. By a removal of its lampstand we mean the loss of orthodoxy and orthopraxia; and this could occur because all of us — the clergy and the laity — are itching to change and modify the very character of our Orthodox Church. By the grace of God, we still have people in the ranks of the clergy and laity who are struggling, holding on — even with their teeth — to maintain both the orthodox identity and orthopraxia, meaning true orthodox spirituality. My friends, orthodox spirituality is not a luxury. When one argues, “Why do we need to hold onto fasting?” and then single-handedly and officially writes fasting off — it is a distortion, a mutation of orthodox spirituality. We are in danger of losing our orthodox spirit, the orthodox phronema (mind set), faith or doxa and the orthodox

lifestyle. I am very much afraid that some day Central African Orthodox missionaries may have to come to Greece to teach us the orthodoxy that we gave them a few decades ago. I am very much afraid of this, which brings to mind the very thing that St. John the Baptist told the Jews, God can raise children out of these stones, and do not say that you are children of Abraham, because God can push you aside and He can raise children from the stones for Abraham (cf. Matt. 3:9). Along the same lines, let’s not boast about our Greek heritage and the fact that the Gospel was written in Greek, and that the Apostles taught in our Greek cities during the golden years of Christianity and established the great Greek churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Antioch, Thessaloniki, and Corinth. Let’s not boast, because Christ is quite capable of raising Orthodox missionaries from Central Africa who will come here to teach us orthodoxy and orthopraxia. All of this, my friends, in a nutshell, I relate to help us understand the meaning of the Lord’s words, Be careful, because I will come and remove your lampstand. We can see the chronological fulfillment of Christ's promise move freely throughout the centuries since He is the eternal God. But you have this in your favor; you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. You see the same method that we had talked about: correction followed by compliment. Christ uses some harsh words for the bishop of Ephesus, but now to keep the bishop from despair, to keep him from kneeling and saying, “I am lost,” Christ helps him; He softens the blow and lifts him up. “You have this good thing going for you. However, this good thing that I am about to tell you does not exonerate you from the wrong thing which you have. As a matter of fairness I must tell you that you have this good element. But take care to correct what is lacking, or else as I told you, I will remove your lampstand. So, take care of this. But you have something good; you hate the works of the Nicolaitans which I also hate.” Now

who

are the Nicolaitans and what are their works? The Nicolaitans, my

friends, whom we will deal with in subsequent verses as well, were gnosticizing heretics. We do not have much information about them, but we will mention what we

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know. They were gnosticizing heretics and fruits of the Gnostics [pronounced “nostics” in English] or Gnosticism. It comes from the Greek word gnosis, which means

knowledge. Gnosticism was widespread during the third century before Christ, and continued to trouble the Church openly until the third century, AD. It did not die; it still exists and will exist until the end of history. Gnosticism attempts to create a melting pot of all the ideologies of all times. It is a mixture: a little philosophy, a little Christianity, a little Buddhism, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a little idolatry. It is a smorgasbord of all religions that maintains the name of Christianity; but it is a Christianity of maximum distortion. They were classified as heretics because they attempted to give themselves a Christian garb, a Christian color, while their abuse and distortion of the Gospel was horrendous. This horrendous distortion of the gospel takes place in our days as well. Freemasonry is a revival of Gnosticism. As I have told you very many times, the Church recognizes in Gnosticism, with its many forms, her biggest enemy, her greatest threat. The Church fought her hardest battles against the Gnostics, much more so than against the other heretics. Gnostics are very dangerous because they present many lures to enchant the faithful and drag them to the abyss of perdition. It is not a simple heresy with a simple denial of this or that doctrine. It is a conglomeration of many things, and therefore escapes easy recognition. They tell you that they are Christians and they have no trouble accepting everything you throw at them. They agree with everything in theory. In practice they spurn just about everything. So, the Nicolaitans were gnosticizing heretics and they were considered to be Antinomians. Please pay attention to this because these are not things that existed only way back then; these fallacies continue to repeat themselves throughout history. Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. Let’s not forget this. We have the same phenomena with new names and new forms, but the substance always remains the same. As Antinomians, these people had a very lax attitude towards idolatry and carnal sins. They were quite open and receptive to elements of idolatry, but they had great difficulty accepting the commandments of God in the area of ethics, spiritual life and more specifically, in the area of bodily sins. They were tremendously loose in this area, saying that the things that the law of God teaches are quite unrealistic and

inapplicable, specifically regarding the subject of abstinence or sexual control. For example, young men and women are called by the law of God to stay pure or abstinent until the day of their marriage, and within the marriage to practice monogamy. Adultery is forbidden and it is a great sin. The Nicolaitans said, “We cannot accomplish this. It is very difficult. Therefore, we need to use a different strategy.” They thought to themselves, “Now what is the purpose of keeping God’s commandment? The purpose is to destroy the flesh and to save the spirit.” This is a great falsehood. The purpose of God’s commandment is not to destroy the body. When the Church tells you to fast, to abstain, or to even hold night vigils, the purpose is not to destroy the flesh. These are not aimed at the death of the body, but at the death of the passions. I do not fast to destroy my flesh as if it were

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something evil. This is Gnosticism, dualism, a gnosticizing heresy. So they misinterpret it in this manner. Since they need to destroy the flesh and cannot accomplish it by abstinence, they must improvise another method to achieve this result. This is what they believed. So, they felt that it was their duty to destroy the body. Plato used to say the same thing. He was a dualist. Actually, all philosophical systems to this day are grounded in dualism. They accept two forces, one of good and one of evil; and these forces are in constant battle with each other. So, for me to destroy the flesh, something that I cannot do with abstinence, then I will use the opposite approach, not the one of nomia (with the law), but antinomia (against the law). Thus I am called an Antinomian. As

an Antinomian, I will indulge; I will keep eating, drinking, and stop a little before my stomach explodes. I will fornicate until I drop, and this is how I will destroy my flesh. ‘Their motto was, “The flesh must be abused.” “The abuse and misuse of the flesh is a must. By using this method, I will find my happiness and my spirit will become free.” Now you might tell me, these things sound preposterous, unbelievable. My friends, let's look around. These things are happening in our days. What was the Woodstock era, the hippie movement? What are the young people today accomplishing with drug use, or abuse, rather? Are we trying to find our paradise and happiness? We cannot find it with the law of God, so we seek paradisiacal experience with different methods, by rebelling against the law of God. These methods include drugs, alcohol, and all

sorts of evil entertainment. “It does not matter if I corrupt my body and poison my flesh as long as I find my happiness.” The Nicolaitans existed, they exist and they will always exist. This verse did not enter the word

of God

by chance.

The Nicolaitans became

a symbol,

a wave,

an

ideology. Unfortunately, in our times, Nicolaitanism has reached its highest peak. We see our youth today, and in reality, we see a youth under the sway of the sermons of Nicolaitanism. Christ uses another name for the Nicolaitans a few verses later. He will call them: Balaamites. Christ will refer to Balaam, their patron, and there we will make some additional comments about the Nicolaitans. Here we need to pay attention to two points. The first is that Christ makes a distinction between the works of the Nicolaitans and the Nicolaitans. This is very important and we need to pay attention to this. Here we have a distinction and a directive against the sin. In other words, He differentiates the works from the Nicolaitans themselves and directs this hate not against the Nicolaitans but against their works. My friends, this is of extreme importance because we often fail in this area very miserably. I will break it down so that we can all understand it. Let's say that a person is sick, suffering from a disease, a deadly virus. So we call a doctor, but the doctor

cannot differentiate between the microorganism causing the illness and the patient. The microorganism and the patient are two different entities; so the doctor will fight the microorganism so he can save the patient. Now if the doctor fails to diagnose

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that there are two different entities and he treats them as one, he will not kill the microorganism, but he will succeed in killing the patient. This may sound strange, but even the worst doctor would not act this way because every doctor is trained to make a distinction between the patient and the virus or microorganism. Here, however, even though we are dealing with the same thing, we do not make a distinction between the sin and the sinner. We criticize the sinner when we see the sin in another human being. We do not get angry against the sin, but we attack the sinner. We are guilty of this mistake. Christ is most clear when He says, “I hate the works of the Nicolaitans.” It is because He wants everyone to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth. If I see a drug addict, how do I react? What do I say? “Look at him; he is a burden to society. Let him die so that we can be done with him. We will be better off.” There is a difference between what he does and what he is. He is a person. We must save him! We must help him. Do we see this difference? Here in this verse, the Lord makes this distinction, one which we must also learn to make. There is something else as well. Christ said; I hate the works of the Nicolaitans. The second important point Christ makes concerns the works of the Nicolaitans, specifically the excessive freedom employed by the Nicolaitans. Now if we look at this short phrase, we will call on those who like to believe, in the name of liberation, that everything is permissible. I forgot to tell you that the Nicolaitans acted the way they did in the name of liberation; and our times are unparalleled as far as the complete misunderstanding of freedom goes. There was never a time that had such a sick sense of freedom as our times. I would like to add something to this point. Please forgive this insertion, but ] overlooked this point, and I believe I must give you this information. St. Peter writes his entire second epistle and Jude the brother of God comes forth with his entire epistle to counter the subject of Nicolaitans. When you read the second epistle of Peter, do you ever suspect that he had the Nicolaitans in mind? Of course, he does not refer to them by that name, but he does refer to their lifestyle, and I will give you a few verses on this. St. Paul writes, Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible butI will not be mastered by anything (cf. 1 Cor. 6:12). Here he is referring to the Nicolaitans who said, “Everything is permissible” period. This reminds me of a young man who was shopping at a store. I forget now how the conversation went, but I told him something along these lines, and he asked, “Why?” He acted like I was talking about taking his rights away from him or destroying the idol of his freedom. He said, “Why? I’m free to do whatever I please.” I responded, “The truth is that you are free to do whatever you want, but it’s not in your best interest.” I am free, as are my friends, to use narcotics, or to be a drug addict. Is this in my best interest? Is this beneficial? No, it is not. I use the subject of drug abuse because it is a clear-cut example, and at least after we do it, we still have some health left in us to realize that it is a terribly destructive habit, and a tremendous evil. So, if everything is permissible, we are free to do it, to do it all. But is everything to my benefit? Here the subject of freedom needs to be addressed. What is freedom? Does having

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tights, and more rights help me? What is freedom, this hot topic of freedom and independence? Our adolescents today want freedom, freedom, and more freedom. I do not know where one should climb, maybe to the top of the tallest building in the center of the city of Larisa, the tower of the Muslim mosque next to the museum. | do not know where, but a very high part of Larisa, to call out at the top of his lungs, “Fveryone in this city, young people listen. Be careful, the meaning of freedom is not what you understand it to be and how you idolize it.” But who will listen? Will anyone listen? The worship of freedom is so powerful that anything you will dare to say, which would somehow curtail the goddess of freedom, will make you an immediate enemy of your listener. But the wages and fruits of this freedom are quite evident today. The holy one of God, Paul, said, Everything is

permissible to me but not everything is beneficial. 1 can do it all, give all the liberties to my flesh, but would this benefit me? No, they are not in my best interest. Everything is permissible, he continues, but I will not be enslaved by anything. I will be the master

of myself St. Peter

also talks about carnal sins, sins of the flesh, and apparently, here he singles out the Nicolaitans. As I told you, For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error (2 Peter 2:18). They entice people to do away with purity and to live the great and new life, the very thing that we witness so intensely in our days. They are promised freedom — freedom in matters of the flesh. Enjoy your flesh; do whatever you want; eat what you want; build whatever you want, while you become slaves of corruption. So, while they speak about liberation and freedom, they are slaves of depravity. They are in bondage. So as we can see, my friends, the subject of the Nicolaitans is not old. It is very new and it will always be new. Also, we need to watch something else here before we close the subject. How should we feel for the sinners, our contemporary Nicolaitans? We need to feel a hatred for such states, not for the sinners, but for the sin. Christ said; I also hate the works of the Nicolaitans. If we mention this phrase to some people, they may say, “Christ spoke only about love.” The answer to these people is: Do you remember the hippie era when people took to the streets asking everyone, “Do you love Christ? Christ has something to tell you.” And along with Christ came drugs,

nakedness, wild parties in the countryside, erotic relations, and much, much more. This happens today with the Children of God, a heresy in Greece. They ask you if you love Christ and then, they all live together and of course, they commit all kinds of sins. This is a new occult movement in the country of Greece, where they live in community houses in great corruption. There is evidence of this, so I am not making this up. We need to feel sorry for these people and pray for them, but we will hate the things they do. Unfortunately, we have some Christians in our ranks — I have heard some of them, and even some official lips — saying, “Well, these people have

something to say as well.” Such talk means that we need to be alarmed that we are in danger of loosening our moral and ethical standards. When we hear, “Well, let them

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be. Let them express themselves. They have something to offer,” it means our ethical guidelines are being compromised. If one of us dares to say, “I hate these activities” people will frown and tell us that we are intolerant. We are people of hate. However, Christ said, I hate the works of the Nicolaitans. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Why does He speak to the churches and not to the church of Ephesus, since this happens to bea personal epistle to that church? Even though it is a personal epistle and it addresses the historical, geographical church of Ephesus, it also addresses the entire Church. In other words, it addresses all of the churches, and it asks their attention. He wants them to know what the Spirit says. The Spirit of course is the Holy Spirit, which opens the spiritual ears. On this, St. Andrew of Caesarea says, “Every man has physical ears, but spiritual ears belong to the spiritual man only.”*' We pray, my friends, that God will grant us these spiritual ears. When we begin to possess these spiritual ears, then they will enable us to screen all the waves and sounds and different pied pipers of our times. And by this screening process we will be able to say, “This is dangerous. That can be classified in that category.” By using this spirit of discretion, which happens to be one of the greater gifts of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to stand in our turbulent times. We have a great need, to stay standing in a time unprecedented in its corruption. My friends, we will continue next Sunday, God willing.

41 St. Andrew, PG, V.106, 233C.

πνευματικὸς μόνος κέκτηται".

“Σαρκικόν μεν ους πας ἄνθρωπος, πνευματικὸν δὲ ο

CHAPTER

10

Revelation 2:7-9

Promises to the Angel of Ephesus — the Epistle to the Angel of Smyrna — the Tribulation and Poverty of the Angel of Smyrna he epistle of the Lord to the church of Ephesus closes with the finishing phrase most common to the epistles in the book of Revelation. 7o him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God (2:7). As I have told you, this. phrase is repeated at the end of each epistle, with some small variations corresponding to the variations in the epistles themselves. Therefore, to him who wins in the struggle against Satan it will be granted to taste of the kingdom of God. The certainty behind this victory is the victory of Christ and our faith in Him. The tree of life promised by the Lord is a reference to the tree that was forbidden to Adam and Eve before they were expelled from paradise. In fact, their expulsion was precisely for this purpose, to keep them from eating from the tree of life, so they would not become immortal in their sin, thus making evil immortal, as the Church

Fathers interpret. As we all know, the door of paradise remains sealed and shut. Simply speaking, death entered creation. Now, however, the fruit of the tree of life is offered, by Christ Himself Who opened the road leading to the paradise of God. This expression: of my God is similar to what He said to the Myrrh-bearing women, J am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God (John 20:17). This refers to the human nature of Christ, Who opened the gate of paradise as God-man. It would be peculiar for Him to open the door as God, since God kept mankind away from immortality, far away from eternal life. The incarnate Son of God, in essence—the human nature—was the Person Who

struggled, worked, and led mankind back again to the Kingdom of God. Now what is the struggle that every Christian must try to win? Each Christian must apply himself to all the things that we covered in our last two subjects on this epistle, the rejection of and struggle against every dogmatic and ethical derailment, and persistence in the first burning love. This love is the one that the Lord complained about saying; You left your first love. Naturally, you understand that the Lord’s promise — to eat of the tree of life — is directed against those illicit carnal pleasures permitted by the Nicolaitans. The Lord expressed hate for their works. We now close the first of the seven epistles from the book of the Revelation. And by the grace of God we enter the subject matter of the second epistle, referring to the bishop of Smyrna. We feel especially touched when we hear the names of these

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cities which are so close to us. Not only close, not only Greek but, if you will, across

from us! So close, that if you climbed to the top of Tirnavos, our mountain here, and you screamed at the top of your lungs, you would be heard in Smyrna! Here! Across from us, to the east, our Smyrna! Many of you in this audience left Smyrna as refugees. We are especially touched, more so than someone say, from China, Africa, or San Francisco, California when we read these lines. We also have this great privilege; just consider that all these great truths of the Lord, the God of the heavens, take substance and color from our immediate geographic area, this Mediterranean Sea, this area, the Greek area of Asia Minor! This is, once again, especially touching to us. The epistle to the bishop of Smyrna reads: And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death’ (2:8-11).

|

As we said previously, Smyrna was a great Greek city. Its name is also Greek. It is located eight miles north of Ephesus (the church that received the previous epistle from the Lord). It is south of Pergamos, another church that will receive an epistle. So, Smyrna was in between these two cities and competed with Pergamos and Ephesus in the social, economic, and cultural sectors. In the city of Smyrna, there was a Jewish synagogue that proved to be very intolerant of and polemic toward Christianity. The major part of this epistle will deal with the intolerance propagated by the synagogue against the Christians and their bishop in Smyrna. By the way, the epistles to the bishops of Smyrna and Philadelphia are the only epistles without any sort of reproof; they only have compliments. There is not a single criticism, only praises. These epistles are full of praise and consolation. The first bishop of Smyrna was Bucolus. The successor to Bucolus and recipient of this epistle was most likely the Apostolic Father and Hieromartyr Polycarp who was martyred February 23, 155 A.D. This epistle of our Lord to the bishop of Smyrna serves as a classic example for the heroes of the faith. These are the words of the First and the Last, who became dead and lived. The introductory phrase of Christ, the Sender, is taken from the initial vision, which we analyzed previously. It is relevant to the

entire theme of the epistle: persecution, martyrdom and death. It advises those who

will be subjected to this persecution, martyrdom or death, not to be afraid. Fear not, because the One who sends them this epistle, and for Whose sake they are suffering martyrdom and death, is the One who became dead and lived again. In other words,

what can they fear? Death? There is nothing harmful about death. They will resurrect by the power of the resurrected Son and Word of God. St. Andrew of Caesarea writes, “As God, He is first. As human being, He is last. He

is first, because He is the One who existed before all beings. He is last, in the context

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of the human nature because He received the created human nature at a later time as last or eschatos.” In addition, the phrase, the First and the Last echoes the Alpha and the Omega, as He told us in the beginning of the book, [ am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end... the first and the last (cf.1:8). He contains everything that is of a beginning, and everything that is of an ending. All the creations exist in God. I know your works and your affliction and your poverty. But you are rich. Initially this may sound contradictory. How can you be rich and poor at the same time? ] know your poverty, but you are rich? Maybe someone who works on Wall Street, one who limits himself to financial matters and does not have any spiritual orientation whatsoever, one who fails to recognize allegorical language, such a one could say here, “Well, maybe he had money hidden somewhere, a hidden treasure buried somewhere.

Maybe the Lord is telling him, ‘you are poor, but I know you are rich because you are hiding your money and you are hoarding it somewhere.” Obviously, this is not the case here. “You are poor. I know it. I know your works. I know your affliction, your persecution. I know your poverty. Despite all this, I will show you that you are rich.” And here, my friends, we are presented with the three-stranded rope that pulls the Christian on the journey of holiness. I will ask for your special attention, because this spells out the journey of the Church. It is very pertinent to the journey of the faithful. I must also remind you to kindly acknowledge that what you will read in a moment is not for some other people out there, but will speak to a// of us. Again, let us look into this triple strand of works, affliction, and poverty. When the Lord says, [ know your works, by works He refers to the dynamic activity of the bishop of Smyrna. These works include works of love and philanthropy, but also the works of Christ on earth. Interpreting only good works as philanthropy, by the way, is a very limited and narrow explanation. In the full sense of the word, works are the life and the conduct of the faithful. We need to know this, because a certain person

may not have the means to give alms, to give money or to pull strings, to influence people in high offices and high places, to visit senators and government officials, to solve people’s problems and needs when they come to see him. One can be bedridden, a mere pauper, and be full of good works. What are these works? ‘They are his life and his conduct. The way he lives, the way he exists with his patience, endurance, faith,

love, lack of grumbling, joy, regardless of pain and poverty — all these are works. The Lord will tell us some day; J know your works. What works? He will tell us, I know the way you lived, how you thought, how you talked, how you moved about, how you influenced other people. One can be full of great feelings of philanthropy, but he may not be able to express them. Many times we see certain people and we want to help them. We would love to help them, but we cannot. However, we can feel pain inside. We can cry to God and pray to Him; Lord, it is such a rough winter out there! It is so cold, and there are so many people who are homeless. They may live in tents, or they may be earthquake victims, refugees, or jobless. 42 St. Andrew, PG 106. 2340.

“Πρῶτος ἐστιν ὡς Θεός, ἐσχατος ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτων των

καιρὼν γεγονὸς και δια τῆς τριημέρου νεκρώσεως ανοίξας ἡμὶν τὴν ζωὴν την αἰὠνιον:ἢ

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When the snow covers everything and the poor birds cannot find food, one who sees them can say, “Oh my Lord this is all my fault. The poor birds suffer because of me, the human being. If man did not sin in paradise, creation would not have to suffer like this. I am at fault.” Man is at fault for this difficult state of nature. Now tell me, aren't all these good works? These are expressions of philanthropy. A person can open his window and place a few crumbs on a windowsill or use a bird feeder and help the birds in times of deep snow. Aren’t these expressions of a loving heart? Please believe me, and do not let your mind always turn to money when we talk about good works. Do not let your mind think that one must build hospitals and orphanages, that one must give huge sums of money — not necessarily, my friends. It is the life and citizenship of a person that matter. So, God knows the works of every person and of the Church. The second strand in this threefold package is affliction, or persecution. This is the condition created by the contrary and God-opposing forces in the presence of God’s works. It is the hate, jealousy, and the extreme opposition of Satan. When the devil and the people of Satan, the servants of Satan, see man doing God’s works, they become full of hate. They attack him. They create situations, and problems. It is this affliction that results from the attacks of the devil, the jealous and Godless people which defines the affliction of the faithful. We need to understand this. We have said before that it is impossible to be a true Christian and to be without affliction. The Lord never gave us the assurance of salvation before our death, like some sort of salvation certificate issued by some Protestant sectarians. That is a heresy. The Lord’s assurance is, In this world you will have affliction. Now, what kind of

affliction? It would not entail the affliction caused by our sins — that would be worldly affliction. It would not mean to have affliction if for example: my business failed, or to be afflicted by loss of money, or loss of a career, or because someone stole my car or my belongings, or because I suffered damage from an earthquake, or because a flood destroyed my farm, my cabin; all these afflictions are not in the name of God. These are everyday worldly afflictions, and being distressed in this manner does not necessarily give me a ticket to the Kingdom of God. However, if your affliction is related to the work of God because you live a godly life, and this invites the hate, the jealousy and the malice of Satan and the Godopposing people, and if they then create difficulties and problems in your path, then you are blessed. However, to expand on this, when I suffer everyday worldly distress:

accidents, diseases, the loss of a home to fire, the loss of a job, the loss of ten acres of

corn to drought, and I do not grumble, I do not curse God, then this can turn into a blessing as well. So when I take even my mundane and worldly distresses patiently and do not grumble against God, then even this circumstantial and worldly stress takes on spiritual dimensions and counts as an asset in the realm of eternity. Likewise, grumbling, cursing at God, and blasphemy will also be accounted in eternity. We now come to the third aspect of the Christian journey, which is poverty. I will speak extensively on this, and I would like us to pay careful attention here. What is

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the meaning of poverty? Initially it means material poverty. I will clarify this. It clearly means to not have many material goods, to be poor. In the gospel, we come across two forms of poverty, or two expressions. The first is the seeking out of the poor, and the provision of the necessary aid to victims of this poverty. In other words, poverty is a sort of social evil that needs to be cured. St. James, the brother of God writes, [fa brother or a sister is naked and they even lack their daily food, (if these brothers or sisters are cold, if they do not have clothing, or if they are out in the cold and hungry, if they do not have their daily food) and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled (James 2:15-16), —if you simply wish that they find warmth and food, but do not respond to any of their needs, then what is the use? This is something that we may find ourselves saying. “My friend, I feel bad for you. I feel sorry for you. I pray that God helps you and blesses you.” We do not criticize this person. We do not ask him to leave. We are polite to him. We do not shut him out. We show compassion. But we do not give him anything either. We let him go empty-handed. What is the use? St. James says this kind of religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble. So, do not only show compassion by words, but also make provision to heal and cure some of the great needs and troubles created by poverty. What is significant is that the criterion of our entrance to the Kingdom of God is love expressed in almsgiving. The Lord said, J was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you satisfied my thirst, I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me (cf. Matt. 25:35). These words of the Lord express the lowest step of love, however they are expressions of love, and they will be rewarded. These expressions constitute the criteria for the judgment on the last day. So, we conclude that we need to provide a cure for the social evil of poverty. Poverty, in itself, is something very bad. I will repeat this. Poverty in and of itself is something evil. Poverty is a bodily evil, and it is the result of the ethical evil that we previously mentioned. The small birds suffer because I sin, and through the disobedience of human kind, death and corruption enter nature. Therefore, poverty is a result of the ethical evil—the distancing of man from God—initially in the persons of Adam and Eve and in the continued personal sins of their descendants. As we see, lack of rain, drought, and fruitlessness of the earth are a curse, while, on the contrary, fruitfulness of the earth is a blessing. The lack of fruitfulness of the earth is the cause of poverty (the lack of wheat or the lack of oil) and is not limited to

Greece. When drought afflicts the entire continent, or the entire planet, then hunger takes on universal dimensions. This is a serious matter, and in those instances, we pray to God to put an end to this plague, this drought, this curse, etc. In the Divine Liturgy, as in the mystery of marriage, what do we pray for? We pray for abundance of the fruits of the earth, for favorable weather. In the sacrament of marriage, we pray for the newlyweds to be blessed with earthly goods. We pray for this officially in the church! It is not a simple wish, but a prayer of the entire congregation. The entire congregation prays to God to keep the pantry of the newlyweds filled so they do not

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lack anything. From all this, my friends, we see that the subject of poverty is a serious one. That is precisely why we pray to God for its extinction. We do not want this plague to exist. We do not need to use Scripture verses to show that it is a plague. I will only refer to the fourth seal in Revelation. We will see that, at the opening of this seal, hunger prevails. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword, with hunger, with death and by the beasts of the earth (cf. 6:8). Do we understand this? Authority is given for one fourth of the earth to be killed! And at the time of the writing of this book, we have to remember that the weapons used for battle were the slingshot, the bow and arrow, and the spear. It would have been inconceivable that one fourth of the earth could have been killed! Today, with the weaponry that we have stored in different arsenals, not only the one-fourth but also the entire population of earth could vanish! The population of all five continents could vanish from the face of the earth in the matter of a few hours. I say this because two thousand years ago one could see these numbers, one quarter of the earth, as an exaggeration. By today’s measures, one fourth of the earth does not seem much at all. It is really minimal that, out of the four or five billion, one to one and a half billion would die by the sword— meaning from states of war, from hunger, and from the beasts of the earth. Incidentally, beasts are not only the lions. When we get to these chapters, I will

explain what the beasts of the earth are. A beast, my friends, is also a virus, or a microbe, a pathogenic microbe. Never mind that it is invisible. These are much more dangerous than the beasts of the field like the lion or leopard. But the bottom line is that people will die from hunger, and that this is one of the seven plagues. On the other hand, if you will, one of the miracles of our Lord was the feeding of the five thousand in the desert! Doesn't the evangelist write, Everyone ate and they were filled, and they collected the leftovers and filled twelve large baskets to the top? (cf. Matt. 14:20) This shows bounty. The Lord said, do not want these people to be exhausted on the way and be overcome by hunger (cf. Mark 8:2). He also said, I have compassion on these people, on the multitude, because they have now continued with me for three days and have nothing to eat (cf. Matt. 15:32, Mark 8:2). So, the Lord wanted to cure this

state of hunger, and He eliminates this evil from His brothers. Yes, when you see your neighbor in a state of poverty you must help him. The other person must not be poor. At the very least, he should not be cold and hungry. However, there is another aspect of poverty that we find in the Gospel that is not

considered an evil, but on the contrary, it is considered a blessing. In fact, it is a great

blessing, and a much sought after blessing. The first link of the chain of the Beatitudes is the Beatitude of the Poor. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Makarioi oi ptochoi to pnevmati.) (Matt. 5:3). Blessed are those who are poor by their own will, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

My friends, you may have repeatedly heard that the poor in spirit are the humble. No, my friends, the poor in spirit are not necessarily the humble, even though we may interpret this Beatitude to include the humble as well. If we take the time to study

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this Beatitude very closely, we will discover that this is not the central meaning of this verse. I will prove this to you in a few minutes. You may argue the point that there are a number of Fathers who have spoken and written about the first Beatitude on the basis of humility. I accept this. But I will also name you a number of Fathers who have written and worked on this Beatitude on the basis of poverty—simply poverty, and not humility or humble-spiritedness (tapeinophrosini). It does no harm if someone takes this verse allegorically. I will show you that the spirit of the verse is not about humility but poverty, and that poverty is portrayed as a great and real blessing. [It is clearer in the Greek where the grammar allows for much more detail and accuracy.] Makarioi, Blessed are the poor - to pnevmati. Not in spirit [as we translate in English] but the poor by their own

spirit meaning, “Blessed are the poor by their own free will, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” This to pnevmati in the Greek grammar is the third declension of a noun, and it shows method. First declension, to pnevma; second declension, tou pnevmatos:

third declension, to pnevmati — first, the spirit; second, of the spirit; third, with, by,

or through the spirit. The third declension shows method. So here, the Scripture refers to voluntary poverty and not humble-mindedness or humble-spiritedness. This reality of the poor being blessed becomes crystal clear in the words of our Lord to the wealthy young man, Go, sell all your possessions, give it to the poor and come and follow me (cf. Matt. 19:21). Simply put, do not be rich. Come and become poor. Stay poor. Give your possessions to the poor. We see here that the Lord encourages voluntary poverty. However, more importantly, when the Gospel of Luke records the Beatitudes, it does not even mention the word spirit. It simply says, Blessed are the poor. And what is most significant is that St. Luke writes about the poor in the positive and the negative sense. Blessed are you poor, for yours in the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20). Here we have the positive aspect. In verse twenty-four, we have the negative aspect: But woe to you who are rich. For you have received your consolation (Luke 2:25). You have this luxurious lifestyle: your beautiful homes with all the amenities, your expensive cars and boats, gourmet foods and the like. You have received your consolation. Do we remember the parable of the rich man and Lazarus? You have received on earth, but the poor did not (cf. Luke 16:19-31). It makes no difference that poor Lazarus was in that state involuntarily. He did not linger at the rich man’s doorstep for any reason other than to give him the opportunity for almsgiving. He did not abandon his wealth somewhere and take refuge at the rich man’s doorstep to be licked by his dogs. Poor Lazarus was in great need and he did not do this by choice. However, his poverty, and the poverty of every poor person, takes on spiritual dimensions because he does not grumble against God. He does not complain. St. Luke does not stop at this. He continues in verse twenty-five, Woe to you who are full for you shall hunger (Luke 6:25). Here he talks about those who have full stomachs, not about those who are full of righteousness. In Matthew, the Gospel says, Blessed are those who are hungry for righteousness sake. [τ refers to voluntary poverty. So,

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here in Luke we read, Woe to you who are full, which certainly does not mean those who are full of righteousness. This would be nonsensical. We believe the text to be quite clear. Woe to the rich, but woe to the rich who does not care for the fact that poverty may exist for others.

Furthermore, we see that the Apostles were very poor as they moved about the world. The Apostle Paul tells us...sorrowful yet always rejoicing, poor yet making many rich, (spiritually that is) having nothing yet possessing everything (2 Cor. 6:10). We possess everything because we have you. By having you we do not lack anything. You supply us with our needs so it does not matter that we do not own anything. Here again we need to stress two very basic points from the above. First, and I emphasize this, is the voluntary element of poverty, to choose to be poor

even though I do not have to be. Let’s be careful here; I do not enter into poverty by foolishness or stupidity. If I choose to gamble my money away or waste it on alcohol at the local pub, it is depravity. I stay poor for the sake of the gospel and

not for the sake of my passions. I stay poor for the Kingdom of God.

The second point is to choose this poverty for Christ's sake, poverty for Christ Jesus, for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Involuntary poverty, forced poverty is something bad and if you will, a very heavy burden. Voluntary poverty, but not for Christ, is poverty without meaning or purpose. It may be eccentricity or philosophically motivated. Voluntary poverty for Christ is what has value with eternal dimensions. I want to emphasize this. I repeat voluntary poverty is for Christ's sake, for the sake of the gospel. I can be voluntarily poor without Christ. For this poverty to have any eternal dimensions, it must be voluntary and grounded in Christ. This voluntary poverty for Christ has a great theological dimension and we need to stay on this subject for a little while. This theological dimension is based on the following reasons. The first is because it frees the wings of the soul for spiritual flight from the material weight of wealth. The Church Fathers often repeated and accentuated that the inflow of blood, or materials, goes along with the outflow of spirit. The intake

of blood equals the outtake of spirit. In other words, these are reversely proportional sums. The more money you try to make, the less spirituality you will keep. According

to the words of the Lord, wealth and spirituality are not compatible. The rich man and

the spiritual man are so incompatible that the Lord’s words astonished the disciples when He stated, Jt is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom (Matt. 3:4, Mark 10:25, Luke 18:25). By the way, in ancient Greek camel was also the name for the thick ropes they used to tie ships on the dock. Interpreters use both of these possibilities when responding to the disciple’s astonishment. The Lord said, what is impossible with men is possible with God (Matt. 3:6, Mark 10:27, Luke 18:27). Some rich people will enter the Kingdom of God, like Abraham, but they are few, very few. The odds are dangerously low and only the person who understands these realities of the gospel may be saved even though he may be wealthy. The second reason for the eternal, theological dimension of spiritual, voluntary

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poverty is that it is an excellent and irreplaceable guide or escort for one in the spiritual life. St. Paul provides us with a wonderful picture of this with what he says in Phillipians; and this by the way is an immortal page of the immortal St. Paul. He was in jail when he wrote this. He was in Rome and he could not work to earn a living. He worked with his hands as a tent maker. So, the Phillipians sent him some money and he writes to them, “Why did you send me money? Okay, you did well because this shows the fruits of your spiritual life but I have learned to be self-sufficient with the things I have.” This is a great chapter in man’s life, self-sufficiency. I know both, to be abased and to abound in everything, and in all things, I have been conditioned. I know how to be filled. I know how to hunger, both to have plenty and to go without (cf. 4:12). In other words, when I have plenty of food, I do not eat like a glutton and when I am hungry, I have learned not to blaspheme God. I have learned the lesson to have plenty, to be rich without being attracted and attached to these things; but I can also go hungry without doubting God and questioning what is going to happen to me — maybe God forgot me or maybe God died. No, St. Paul says, I have everything I need and then some. J have everything I need and I abound! (cf. 4:18) Holy St. Paul, you are in jail! You are in jail for three years! Two years in Caesarea and one year in Rome, what do you have? He says, J have everything and I abound. St. Paul is not lying. Do you see how a person can discipline himself, how he can be conditioned? My friends, what are you doing when you keep filling your children up with chocolate, ice cream, cakes, cream cheese, and fresh butter? What is going to happen in a period of hunger? We need to teach the children to fast, to learn, even with all of today’s technical means, to withstand some mild suffering, so they will be able to survive some difficult days if they happen to come upon us. If they are trained in this way for the difficult days of their lives, like St. Paul, they will say, J know how to live with plenty and I know how to survive with next to nothing. The third reason for the theological dimension to one practicing voluntary poverty for Christ is that he establishes dependence on Christ at each moment. He depends on the providence of God; and by this method self-confidence and self-assurance is wiped out. It is arrogant to say, “I have plenty. I don’t need anyone. I have a full refrigerator and my bank accounts.” Such self-confidence and self-dependence are both forms of idolatry. We are not talking about social security and some provisions that are necessary to cure involuntary poverty so that we do not have poor and destitute people. We are talking about the people who boast, “I have everything. I have stocks, bonds, insurance policies, and bank accounts. I have nothing to fear.” It is a terrible thing to put your hope in pieces of paper. My friends, we must depend on God. One who is voluntarily poor has no choice but to put all his trust in God. When he is in a tough situation he says, “God did not die. He is watching out for me. He is watching over me. The Lord is my Shepherd’ (Psalm 23:1). The man who is confident in his net worth says, “So what if God dies? So what if God does not exist? I don't care. I’ve got

money.” He depends on himself.

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The fourth point to the theological dimension of voluntary poverty for Christ is that the hope of the faithful is placed in heavenly wealth. My hope is not in earthly riches, but I stay poor and in this way, I transfer my wealth to heaven. When I give up my riches for Christ, I transfer them to heaven, whereas the rich man of this age does not transfer anything to heaven. Remember the words of the Lord and you will see that this is the meaning of the Gospel. Do not store up treasure on earth. He does not suggest for us not to have some economic base, something saved, for a time of need, for a rainy day. But He does say do not treasure hunt. Do not have your hope in your earthly wealth, where moth and rust destroy, but store up your treasure in heaven where there is no danger of it being stolen by thieves (cf. Matt. 6:19). They cannot break in there. There is no rust, no moths. But the treasury of heaven is forever safe and it even earns interest!

The bank of heaven pays great interest, great dividends — if we only knew. It is the very thing that the Lord said; make friends with the mammon of righteousness. Give alms before you leave this life so that when you go there these friends will welcome you (cf. Luke 16:9). What He means by this is that I will receive my capital there with interest. I will have wealth there. St. Paul writes to those Christians who lost all their belongings when their properties were seized because of persecution by the anti-Christian authorities. This is another great chapter. Please read it and you will see. St. Paul says; You joyfully accepted the confiscation of your belongings (Heb.10: 34). What strange behavior. Who feels joy when their belongings are being confiscated or stolen? Here is the secret; knowing that you have earned, for yourselves, much better and lasting possessions stored in heaven (10:34). And knowing this you are not saddened. Do you see that voluntary poverty for Christ leaves a man feeling joy in the most adverse conditions? His hope is not in his possessions, but in his God.

The fifth reason for voluntary poverty for Christ is that it makes the faithful person flexible and very receptive to the Christian confession, mission, and martyrdom. The one who burns with faith for Christ does not think about financial statements. He sacrifices everything in a heartbeat. Do you know how difficult this can be for someone who needs a large income, who has amassed great wealth? How can he suddenly confess Christ? We see this every day as Christians but we stay silent, more silent than fish, because we do not want to create waves. We do not want to have any negative repercussions in our personal interests, meaning our income-producing abilities must continue. Nevertheless, when you have nothing to lose, you have nothing to fear, so

you can easily undergo martyrdom. You will truly be as free as a bird. You will have a tremendous flexibility when you choose not to have possessions. The sixth reason for cultivating voluntary poverty for Christ—and please pay attention to this one—is that poverty is the denial of the recreation and remodeling of a very old world, a world that will vanish in its present form. None of it will be left when we enter the new world of the Kingdom of God, nothing at all, not our homes, offices, farms or boats, absolutely nothing. Look at what the Apostle says; But

this I tell you my brothers because time has been shortened. So those who buy something as

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if it was not theirs to keep and those who use the things of this world as if not engrossed in them... (1Cor. 7:30-31)

We can use the things of this world. We will use cassette recorders, our watch, the bus, and electricity. But let’s be careful. Let’s not get attached to and be glued to these things. We will simply use them, because the form of this world is passing. So, why should we go out and work, work, work, buy, build, invest? What for? First, death is just around the corner. Even in the absence of death, I must wonder, what am I striving for? What am I going to gain? I will gain nothing more than an old world, a world on its last legs, a world that will burn up. This world will be replaced by a new world with a new form and a new dimension. This world will be the Kingdom of God. Every old thing will be renewed. Everything as we know it. This is why the man who chooses voluntary poverty is exceedingly theological. He considers all these things. The last point is even more profound. Voluntary poverty makes the faithful similar to the One who became poor voluntarily. And Who became poor voluntarily other than Christ our God? God becomes poor because men became poor through sin. Now man, emulating God, Who became poor by His Incarnation becomes wealthy. Let's see how St. Paul puts this, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich yet for your sake he became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). So, man becomes an imitator of God.

We truly see this in the full dimension of the gospel. This is how all the saints lived. Look at the lives of all the saints and you will see this. What are saints if not the iconography of the gospel, or if you will, the gospel in moving pictures, the gospel in action? This is the work of the saints. Do you have a hard time understanding the gospel? Then read the life of a saint and you will see the gospel in action. Just like in past times, when the people could not read and long before the printing press, the dogmatic teachings of our Church were all over the walls of the church in icons and frescos. One can find the entire service of Salutations on the walls of the church, for example, and through this the people were able to understand Orthodox dogma. Similarly, just as icons have been used to teach the gospel, the Orthodox gospel in application is the lives of the saints. However, St. Paul provides us with a wonderful presentation regarding both of these forms of poverty: involuntary as something evil that needs to be cured, and voluntary as something good that needs to be sought out, in essence the theology of poverty, poverty for Christ. You will find this in Second Corinthians chapters eight and nine. You may want to look into both of these chapters in your daily reading time. We must mention my friends that today more than ever we live in a time of comfort and secularization. The spirit of this age is: living for the day, what counts is now, eat, drink, be merry, make money and enjoy it anyway you can; life is short and you would be stupid if you do not take advantage of the opportunities to become wealthy. It is precisely because this spirit of comfort and material success captivates them, that the Christians of our day fail to see the value of voluntary poverty for Christ. Perhaps they understand this or they want to see this poverty in the area of the clergy.

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As you know, our people would like to have their priests very poor. They do not want to have their priest have many possessions and they certainly do not want to see him with much financial success. The minute the priest buys an expensive car or an apartment building or a luxurious home, the news travels at the speed of light. [The gossip may even take international dimensions thanks to the internet.] Our people want our priests to be poor and they respect and honor the poor priest. Do we see the double standard here? The laity loves to have a poor priest, but they themselves do not want to hear about voluntary poverty for Christ. Well, this is kind of ridiculous because we want our priest poor and that is commendable, but why just the priest? Do we have one gospel for priests and a different gospel for lay people? The gospel is common for everyone, the same gospel! My friends I would not be exaggerating if I told you that the reason we do not understand Christianity today is precisely because we fail to understand the concept of voluntary poverty for Christ. This is not an exaggeration. I repeat, today people do not understand Christianity because they fail to see the point; and since they do not see this point, they do not understand the mystery of the Incarnation. It seems strange to them and they feel the same about the mystery of the Cross. All these things remain not only mysteries but sealed mysteries. Since they do not comprehend the mystery of the Incarnation or the mystery of the Cross, they find themselves denying Christ and the Cross. This is the cause of the denial because these things are incomprehensible to the Christians of comfort. We are talking about eternal truths here. And you may be thinking, Father Athanasios, forgive me, but could you get with the 80’s a little bit? We're almost at year 2000. Can't you be a little more realistic? My friends, the gospel is always contemporary. The gospel does not get old. There are no old-fashioned ideas in the gospel. The gospel is life. The gospel does not respond to fashions and fads. This is why we suffer today. If we contract a disease, we would want to get well. We must find the cause. Can we say no, we do not want to use penicillin because it is not very modern, because it was invented many, many decades ago? The medicine is always the medicine. If it cures and it gets people well, then it does not get old. Are we going to stop drinking water just because it is as old as creation? Water does not get old-fashioned because it can quench the thirst of a person. So if water does not get old, then the ving water, the gospel, does not get old. My friends, the standard of this voluntary poverty for Christ is the very thing that St. Paul tells us so that we will not be alarmed. What is great wealth is the combination of piety with self-sufficiency. Godliness with contentment is great gain. To be self-sufficient, content; I have some things, thank God, these things serve me well, having enough to eat and coverings - in these let us be satisfied (cf. 1Timothy 6:6-8). This applies to all Christians, clergy and laity alike, even though this is the minimum level of our sacrifice and offering, it is a good starting point for every Christian. Exactly this type of poverty combined with distress and works was the wealth of the bishop of Smyrna that was praised by Christ. Despite all the wealth of the city, this bishop chose to be

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very poor. Smyrna had great wealth, but its bishop lived the voluntary poverty for Christ. That was his wealth. May it be our wealth as well.

CHAPTER

11

Revelation 2:9-12

The Synagogue of Satan — the Persecution of the Church of Smyrna — Promises to Her — Introduction to the Letter to the Bishop of Pergamos And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death.’

Homily given February 11, 1981

€ continue now my friends, with the epistle of our Lord to the bishop of the church of Smyrna. We see that He praises the bishop. He does not find any blemishes or criticism but only praises. He praises him because he is poor according to the measure of the world despite the wealth of that city, but rich according to the measure of God. Previously, we took a close look at the subject of poverty; now, together with Our Lord, we enter a new subject. The Lord exclaims, I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Initially we need to pay attention to the language of the Lord, a language that we would not dare to use today. If we were to use this tone we would be labeled as harsh, polemic, fanatical, insensitive people of hate, loveless people. Unfortunately this is the spirit of our times, in our ever so undogmatic and handholding times of unions and unmixable mixtures. These lovers of all accuse and criticize those who use the language of the gospels of speaking harshly. They want our language, the language of the gospels, to be godlier than God, more lenient than God, and more polite than God. We need to remind our listeners that whenever we use this language it is God Who speaks not me. Now if Christ speaks like this, if the Word of God uses this language, who am I to speak in a different tone than the one used by the

Lord? Who am I? We must speak with the same language and in the same tone of our Lord. He labels these Jews of Smyrna a synagogue of Satan, a synagogue of the devil. They blaspheme when they call themselves Jews. Now let’s look at these things more closely. What is this synagogue of Satan? It is

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the synagogue of those Jews who did not believe in Christ, simply the unbelieving

Jews. The title Jew is a title of honor. The Lord Himself was a Jew in His human nature

and during His dialogue with the Samaritan woman He told her that salvation would come from the Jews. However, this title of honor, to be a Jew, to be a member of the tribe of Judah was more specific. It is not just a Hebrew or an Israelite but a Jew, a descendant of the tribe of Judah, the royal tribe from which Christ came forth. This is why Christ told the Samaritan woman that salvation would come from the Jews. Here, however, this title becomes meaningless simply because the Jews did not believe in Christ, at least not in their great majority. By losing this place of honor, they now remain the fleshly descendants of Judah. The true Jews, those who believed in the prophets, also believed in Christ. These Jews who believed in Christ became the true synagogue, the Church. But those Jews who did not believe in Christ remained the synagogue of the Jews. Now why didn’t they believe in the messiah? It was because they failed to comprehend the true meaning of the message of the prophets. They lived according to the flesh, having a fleshly perception even of the messages of the prophets. They desired a messiah that would shower them with wealth and provide them with their national freedom. Their desires required a fleshly messiah. Unfortunately, these Jews have maintained this mentality until this very day. So, this synagogue of the fleshly Jews who did not join the Church are still in a state of expectation about the coming of the messiah as a descendant of David, specifically as a national leader, as a ruler not only of their country but of all the nations. However, since Christ is the true messiah and the true messiah has come, their expectation is in vain. If we go back to

the profits, beginning with Abraham four thousand years have elapsed. Now if we consider Moses who spoke about the great prophet, about the messiah, anyone who would fail to believe in this great prophet would have been destroyed and cut off from the people of God. That was three thousand five hundred years ago. What is significant is that up until the third century before Christ we have a sequence of prophetic voices. From the third century B.C. until now, two thousand three hundred years have elapsed without a single prophetic voice in the camp of the Jews. So where are the prophets who are to prepare us for the messiah? There are none. Why? Simply because the messiah has come! These unfortunate people have realized that their messiah is quite late. They thought that they must interpret the prophets a bit differently, something that they had already done to begin with. But now they are thinking that they should interpret the idea of the messiah not as one of a single person but as a nation. In other words, their messiah is not a person but an ethnicity, a group of people that will bear the role of the messiah. So, their idea of the messiah is the nation of Israel, which must take matters into its own hands to secure its political rights and to demand these rights from the nations that betrayed them and withheld their rights until today. Please pay attention, because these issues are not only important but are also quite contemporary. What I am saying to you will be helpful in interpreting a number of

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things about the events that are unfolding before us today. By the way, these are not my own interpretations. The synagogue itself gives this interpretation of the messiah as being the secular state of Israel, or simply the state of Israel. They publish these things in their own periodicals; they themselves interpret in this fashion. I repeat. 1 am not the one who interprets this way! Now since these people failed to believe in Christ, consequently they became witnesses of the great advancement of the Christian nations, watching the Christian people overtake their lands while they seemed to abide under something like a curse. They became extremely jealous of and vindictive towards the Christians. If you want, look at how the Lord prophesied this in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). Their attitude is the attitude or the psychology of the older son. As you know when we preach about the Parable of the Prodigal Son, we always seem to gravitate toward the younger son. Perhaps his character is more sympathetic to us, and understandably so. We always seem to dwell on the actions of the prodigal son who came to his senses. He repented and returned to the father and so on. We do not often analyze the psychology of the older son. This older son represents the Jews, who became very jealous, when he saw the younger son welcomed, embraced, and justified by the father. The prodigal son is the nations who had distanced themselves from the true God and who had lost the salvation of their souls, their great inheritance. They lost their souls to sin and idolatry. God calls the nations; now remember the historical evidence

of this. When St. Paul spoke to the Jews in Jerusalem they were willing to listen. But

when they heard the word nations, when they heard this word come out of his mouth, they were demonized. They grabbed handfuls of dirt and threw it at the sky. They rent their clothes; and they yelled to the Roman Centurion, “Kill him. Get rid of him. Clean the earth of him. Kill this apostate!” They acted like this when they heard that God sent him to the Gentiles. My friends this parable of the Lord with its psychology of the older son towards the younger son continues to work itself out in history. We see this in the lives of the Apostles and especially in that of St. Paul when he attempts to preach for example, in the synagogues of Antioch, Pisidia, in Thessalonica, and in Corinth. Everywhere he went the Jews were after him. They were out to do him in. They gave him no rest. St. Paul could not rest anywhere. They were always persecuting him. When he was in Corinth, at some point he was forced to travel by land back to Thessalia/Macedonia and then Syria, Antioch and Jerusalem. He needed to go to Jerusalem because he had the responsibility of delivering the money he had collected from the churches to the poor in Jerusalem. He wanted to help the churches of Jerusalem because there was great poverty there at the time. He found out that the Jews were conspiring against him at the Port of Kechreon. He was planning to go by boat, which would have been the reasonable way to go, but he found out that a number of Jews were planning to sail with him in order to drown him. They were planning to throw him overboard during the dark of the night. St.

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Paul had to go by land, walking all the way through Greek Macedonia. He traveled to Troas and boarded a ship there. Finally he made it to Jerusalem where he was arrested. There he had the adventure described in the Acts of the Apostles. Do you see the thinking of the Jews then — how they chased St. Paul? They were possessed by a murderous jealousy against the Christians. On one hand, they had prolonged frustrations that their messiah had not come and on the other hand, they were jealous. They found themselves in a horrible state. About one hundred and eighty years ago, they created the Zionist movement in order to deal with this frustration. This is nothing more than an attempt to take back their rights, and punish the nations under which they were humbled as Hebrews of the dispersion, so as to hold their heads high over all the nations and dominate them. This is a terrible reality and it is something very powerful, a very dark power with many tentacles that are spread out, embracing the entire world with the sole purpose of subduing and infiltrating nations of Christian majority. My friends these are not myths. This is not anti-Semitism. We are not prejudiced here. This is international news [that does not make it onto television in the United

States]. In 1970, the United Nations brought the phenomenon of Zionism to the surface. The U.N. one or two years ago exposed this subject. It is a terrible thing. Also, let us not forget that chiliasm, the heresy of the Jehovah Witnesses; Free Masonry, and Ecumenism are works and children of Zionism. They are works of Zionism and they are on their way to gripping the entire world through this evil pastime. They have succeeded in turning Christians against each other by having them fight within and against their own faith, their own country, etc. When a person becomes a Mason or a Jehovah Witness does he not turn against his faith, against his country, against his flag? When he says Yahweh, why is it Yahweh? My dear sir, where do you see the word Yahweh in the New Testament? Yahweh, or Jehovah as they say, is not written anywhere in the New Testament. Don’t you understand that you are serving foreign and non-Christian interests? At this point the synagogue of the Jews is in its highest fury. The important thing here is that the Lord himself classifies the Jews who maneuver using these schemes.” He flat out calls them a synagogue of Satan. I do not believe that there could be a more proper and more appropriate, clear and revealing description than the one given by the Lord. We will see why this is the most revealing description. The fact is that these people infiltrate the political system, the political engine, in every nation, in every country. They attempt to control the economy of the nations, the stock markets, the government, and if you will, the press and mass communication. It is proven that they control the news media. The greatest newspapers of the world are in the hands of the Jews. They offer the news exactly the way they want it. They write exactly as they wish and whatever they want. This is the way that they lord it over the nations. It can be seen very clearly in ‘The Protocols of The Wise Men of Zion, a book published in the 43 The Elder’s comments pale compared to the anti-Zionist rabbis on the web: www.jewsagainstzionism.org

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last century [and now considered only a myth in this country]. Do not be fooled! This book is widely published in every language in the European nations. It is quite well known.“ By reading the content of this book, one can easily see that their objectives and schemes against the nations have been fully revealed and met. But why does the Lord describe them as a synagogue of Satan? He does this, and it is a most revealing description, simply because the one behind this synagogue of the Jews is Satan. The Lord at some point called the Apostle Peter Satan simply because Satan was behind Peter. If someone goes along with the will of Satan, he becomes one with Satan. So, when the Lord said, Get behind me Satan (Matt. 16:23, Mark 8:33),

He was stating two positions. The first position is that behind the Apostle Peter was the devil. The devil came again to tempt the Lord; the first time he came to tempt the Lord was in the desert. The Gospel of St. Luke says he left Him for a time. When we say the devil we mean Lucifer, not a simple demon, not a dark angel, but Satan. There is only one Satan. The others are demons. He is the first, Lucifer, the leader of the demons. So, Lucifer now comes to tempt the Lord through Peter. Naturally, he did not succeed because the Apostle Peter repented. He later denied Christ but he recovered. He repented again. Judas, on the other hand is the pitiful being who became the victim of the devil. However the first position is the revelation that behind the Apostle Peter is Satan. The second position is that the Apostle Peter, at that particular time, was an organ of Satan. Therefore, by calling the Jews a synagogue of Satan He reveals that behind them is the energy of the devil. However, because they become servants of the devil, they become one with the devil and they become satanic beings. This is why He calls them a synagogue of Satan. This is a terrible description my friends, and I must remind you that J am not saying this. The Lord uses this term! Let's be careful; what can we say? Please take a look at the second Psalm when you get home. ‘There it says that the nations turn against God and against His Christ. All these nations that become servants of the Zionists turn against God and against His Christ, meaning God the Father, or the Holy Triune God and the Christ of God, in other words the Godhuman person of Christ. So, the nations turn against God and His Christ. God will laugh at them and He will crush them the way a potter dashes his unwanted vessels of pottery into pieces with a rod of iron. It is very easy to smash a vase of pottery with a hammer. Well, that is how easily the Lord will crush these disobedient nations. He will laugh at their expense. He will laugh at them. And this is tragic to hear God laughing at your foolishness, you pitiful being. You flex your muscle to fight against God, to curse God, to tell Him that you do not need Him and that He does not exist. Now He will laugh at your expense. He sees these demonic ploys of the Jews. He sees them in the most prophetic second Psalm that refers to all the things we are discussing. Please read this Psalm. But do not be afraid of these things which you are about to suffer, the Lord continues to instruct the bishop of Smyrna, indeed the devil is about to throw some of you in prison 44 There is now abundant information about this book available on the internet.

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that you may be tested and you will have tribulation ten days (2:10). Behold, the devil

will put some of you in jail for ten days so you can be tried, so you can be tested. You will face tribulation and distress for ten days. Here He is referring to a new tribulation different from the one of poverty, where He says, J see your distress, your poverty, and your patience. This is a new tribulation in the form of persecution that is foretold to the church of Smyrna. It is noteworthy here that this persecution is being brewed by the devil. But his immediate operatives will be the Jews. This is not surprising because here they are characterized as a synagogue of Satan, or if you prefer, an anti-synagogue of God in line with antichrist, anti-synagogue, or anti-church of God. However, the figurative number ten makes it obvious that this persecution will be of a rather short duration. This is a figurative number. Please pay attention to this because I want to slowly introduce you to the use of figurative numbers in the book of the Revelation and in the Scriptures in general. Christ says ten virgins in the parable of the Virgins, five foolish and five wise. Why ten? Why five and five? These numbers are used so that we do not begin to play with numbers and percentages. They are figurative numbers. They asked Christ at some point, Lord, are many people going to be saved? The Lord answered, Agonizesthe eiselthein... Keep struggling to enter (cf. Luke 13:23-24). He did not say that many or few would be saved. He just said keep struggling to enter through the narrow gate. He did not say how many will be saved. So when He states in the parable of the ten virgins that the wise enter while the foolish are not saved, they do not enter the Kingdom of God, He uses five and five so people do not begin to apply numbers or percentages of those being saved or lost. So, He uses the number ten — ten virgins — figuratively, which means you cannot extract any theories from this number. So here He says ten days. He does not mean ten actual days. The number ten is figurative;_it points out that the duration will not be very long. On the contrary, when He says that Christ will reign on the earth for one thousand years, which is taken literally by the chiliasts, and a great number of Protestants (that Christ will come and live on earth for a thousand years after the resurrection of the dead), the number one thousand is figurative or allegorical and indicative of a very lengthy duration. It does not stand for exactly one thousand years. It stands for the time of the Church, the time of God’s Kingdom on earth. Remember the beginning of our Divine Liturgy, “Blessed is the Kingdom...” More specifically, the one thousand years represents the time of the First Coming of Christ until the Second Coming. These are the one thousand years. Now if you ask, “When will Christ come back to earth?” We don't know. The one thousand years — a figurative number of years — is the time between the two appearances of Christ. Ten days is used for the church of Smyrna because it is something very short, while one thousand shows that it would be a lengthy time, many hundreds of years. Truly, until now twenty centuries have gone by. I would like you to fully digest the subject of figurative numbers so that the heretics do not deceive you. In reality this persecution of the church of Smyrna took

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place in 155 A.D. during which St. Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, was martyred. Of course St. Polycarp was not the first bishop of Smyrna; but this persecution took place in the time of St. Polycarp. Please take into account that when the book of the Revelation was being written, he was quite advanced in age. Do not forget that St. Polycarp was of great age when he was martyred. So, if the Apocalypse was written in 95 A.D. and his martyrdom took place around 155 A.D., we have a lapse of sixty years. Now St. Polycarp lived more than eighty years if we go by his statement when he was asked to deny Christ. Polycarp said, “I’ve served Christ for eighty-six years and in no way has He dealt unjustly with me; so how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” Now how are we to understand these eighty-six years? Whether they are the years of his service as a cleric or as having been born of Christian parents, the fact remains, that he was a man of great age. Consequently, in his person we find the reality of the persecution. His execution took place February 23, 155 A.D. His martyrologion or the record of his martyrdom is the oldest recorded martyrologion preserved to this day. The fact is that this persecution took place according to the description given by our Lord in this epistle. Now let's see how St. Polycarp’s biographer describes these things. He writes in his martyrologion, “The whole crowd of idolaters and Jews living in the area of Smyrna

overtaken by great anger were crying out with a great voice wanting Polycarp to be burned alive. This was all orchestrated and energized by the Jews.” The biography further on adds, “for the fire took the form of an arch like the sail of a ship filled by the wind and encircled the body of the martyr like a wall...when the lawless pagans saw that his body could not be consumed by fire...they plunged a dagger into him.” So they were forced kill to him by the sword and his blood extinguished the fire. The Jews advised the idolaters, “Do not allow the Christians to take his body for they may create a new Christ.” So, they requested the body of St. Polycarp from the idolaters so that they could somehow burn it. At this point of his biography, the holy biographer records, “As it is usually the style of the Jews to want to stand first in line in these atrocious works.”*” However my friends let us understand one thing, persecution

is the constant lot of the Church in this world. A Church under persecution gives clear proof that it stands well and is embraced by God. Christ has already reproved a Church that bypasses persecution by forming an alliance with worldly powers. We see this very clearly here where Christ praises the persecuted Christians. And we must thoroughly comprehend this because someday — near or far, I do not know, but someday sooner or later — the stage is being set for the great tribulation against Orthodoxy. This great tribulation is what we see described by the most dreadful images and darkest colors in the book of the Revelation. So, let's prepare ourselves. We could be next. Become faithful until death and I will give you the wreath of life. He who has ears 45 Polycarp, Martyrdom, 9:3. 4 cf. Martyrdom of Polycarp, 15:2, 16:1.

* Ibid. cf. 13:2.

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let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. The one who wins will not be harmed by the second death. Here we have the conclusion of the epistle. Become faithful even unto death and I will give you the wreath of life. Stay faithful, dedicated. Truly my friends, only the true disciple of Christ remains faithful until the final moment. This dedication to Christ must continue to the point of death. Even to the point of death means until the end of one’s life. Whether his life ends by natural means or not, he remains faithful to Christ. He lived a Christian life; or he lived this Christian life his entire life. However, he is faithful also when it is necessary to give

his life, to be put to death for his dedication and his love for Christ, in other words to suffer a violent and untimely death. This is what He means by becoming faithful even unto death. Stay faithful even until the last moment of your life! Even if your life is threatened by untimely death you need to stay faithful. St. Paul comments on this very thing in his epistle to the Hebrews. And frankly my friends I do not know if we can bear to hear what the Gospel exhorts and admonishes at times. However, this passage happens to be one of our Sunday epistle readings and no one can say that they have not heard this verse. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood (Heb.12:4). Yes my friends, we have not reached this level. We have not reached the level of shedding our blood while struggling against sin. This against sin is very serious.

In the martyrologion of St. John of Monemvasia, who was martyred here in Larisa, (His holy relics are here in our church of the Forty Martyrs.) we read this scenario: St. John was a slave to a wealthy Turk who was trying to force him to eat meat during the fast of the Dormition in August. He did not give him bread but only served him portions of meat. He continued to do this daily, but John did not touch it. John’s mother was also a slave in that house and she begged her son, “My child, eat. Go ahead and eat.” “No.” said John emulating the Seven Macabees who suffered a most gruesome and painful death—before Christ in the Old Testament—only because they refused to eat pork. Of course, the Christian people of our day would say, “Wow, such fanaticism! What would be so wrong with eating a little bit of meat? What is the big deal?” ‘This is what St. Paul is talking about, You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood in your struggle against sin. This agas, this Turkish official, impaled John with his sword. The sword missed his vital organs, so he died a slow death after bleeding for two days. Can you imagine the pain? Well, we can truly say that St. John struggled to the point of shedding his blood. Now, what about us? May God help us! When we say no to sin today no one asks for our blood; and for this reason my friends let's try as much as we can to struggle against sin. However, the fact is that the crown of life is given to the one who struggles until the moment of death. St. John the evangelist states this beautifully, And they defeated him (cf. Rev.12:9). The church of Smyrna defeated the devil because the devil initiated their trial. His servants were the Jews. The poor Jews who decided to fight the Church of Christ are 48 Included in The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha.

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worth many, many tears. So, the Christians of the church of Smyrna defeated Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. The wreath of life is the uncreated glory. The wreath is always the symbol of glory, the symbol of victory. Smyrna was known for its great athletic competitions. Much like the Olympians, they competed for honor and glory for a simple wreath. So, that is where this image is taken from. That is why He talks about a wreath, not of olive branches or bay leaves,

but the wreath of life, the wreath of eternal life — perhaps because this wreath of eternal life is the uncreated glory in which the faithful live. This also takes place in this present life. This is not obvious in the eyes of most people. Perhaps our Byzantine iconography has borrowed the illumined wreath or the halo of the saints from this. If you notice — around the heads of the saints we always have a lighted golden wreath. ‘This is nothing less than the wreath of glory, the glory of the uncreated light. He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death. These last phrases in the conclusion of the epistle are promises of our Lord. What is the second death and what is considered to be the first death? The first death, my friends, is the common death, the death that we all have to go through. We are all subject to biological death or the separation of the soul from the body, the common death that will visit all of us. All the saints died this first death. Now what is the second death? The second death is the eternal separation of the soul from God and not only the soul. Let us pay attention here. This is true until the general resurrection. After the resurrection of the dead,

the resurrection of the body, then the entire human being—body and soul— will be eternally separated from God. This is the second death. St. John presents us with this reality in the book of the Revelation. He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death (21:7-8). Again, the second death is the eternal separation of man from God in a state of everlasting hell. However, the word of the Lord makes this quite clear, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death (John 8:51). So, the person who believes in Christ and keeps His

commandments will never taste death. Which death? They will not taste this second death because all those who believe in Christ taste the first death. The Lord explains this even more clearly, he who hears my word and believes in Him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life John 5:24). Here my friends, we have the conclusion of this great epistle. It is full of praise sent to the bishop of Smyrna, whose first bishop was St. Boucolus. The second bishop was St. Polycarp who was martyred during the fulfillment of the persecution of the ten days, the relatively short persecution. Now we come to the third epistle of our Lord to the Church of Pergamos. And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some

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there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality. So you also have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaiitans. Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it (2:12-17).

Pergamos was located only eight kilometers north of Smyrna. The city was famous not only for its material wealth but for its spiritual wealth as well. During the time of the writing of the book of the Revelation, it was a center for civil, commercial,

and religious activities as well. Pergamos was the city in which the world-renowned special writing membrane was invented. Articles were written on this modified leather medium. With this, Pergamos competed with Egypt which had the monopoly on papyrus. Having the monopoly on papyrus meant that Egypt could charge as much as she wanted and also refuse to sell it at any given time for reasons of jealousy. This is what prompted the invention of this writing substance out of leather skin which was extremely expensive on the one hand, but on the other hand much more durable

than papyrus. Thank God that a great number of books were written on membranes and not on papyrus because the latter deteriorate century after century. They break down so that today we have very few books left on papyrus. To unwind the papyrus from the scrolls takes a great deal of painstaking work since they crumble easily. However, the membranes, or the pergamenes as they were called, had the format of our books. They had pages much like our books today. Many ancient manuscripts are beautifully preserved on these pergamenes first developed in the city of Pergamos. Now you can imagine the material and spiritual wealth available in the city of Pergamos to be able to develop and create the methodology of pergamenes. In reality the biggest library in the world was the library of Pergamos which competed with the library of Alexandria. Pergamos was also known to be a spiritual center, second only to Ephesus. In Ephesus the goddess Artemis was worshiped. She was the equivalent to Demetra of the Greeks. In Pergamos the citizens worshiped Zeus. There was an enormous altar of Zeus on top of the hill in the center of the city much like the Acropolis in Athens. The altar of Zeus was on top of this three hundred meter hill, the grandest of all altars in the then known world. During the time the book of the Revelation was written, Augustus, or the caesar of Rome, was worshipped along with Zeus and the rest of the gods. The goddess Rome, the city of Rome, was given a divine dimension. Asclepius was the god of medicine, and very many people were attracted to his altar to find cures. Goddess Rome and the reigning caesar—in fact, every reigning caesar—were

worshipped. So, this city was not only inundated with widespread idolatry, but also with caesar worship. In the past I believe we mentioned why the Roman emperor needed to be worshipped. The reason was one of national unity. This is precisely why when the

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Christians refused to offer sacrifice to god-caesar they were accused of high treason. They were declared to be atheists. Consequently, a crime of treason was a crime of the highest degree. This may help you understand, if you were not aware, why the world of idolatry turned so viciously against the Christians. There were other reasons as well but this was the primary reason behind the fierce persecution against the Christians. In the midst of this unbelievably idolatrous city was the biggest altar on the face of the earth, the altar of Zeus. In a center that worshipped Rome and the caesar, in a city basking in idols, in a city that most likely housed the government headquarters of the Roman governor of all of Asia Minor—in the midst of this city—the Church of Christ begins to sprout, grow and move forward. The church of Pergamos now receives the epistle of the Lord. Now we can see the circumstances behind the development of this church. These things says He who has the sharp two edge sword, is the opening line of the epistle. All the epistles have different opening lines befitting each church. Here, this opening line is taken from the introductory vision of Christ. It is properly stated here that He holds the two-edged sword, which according to the vision of St. John, comes out of the mouth of Christ to show with this imagery that Christ is the One who judges. ‘The two-edged sword is the symbol of judgment but also the word of God the word of God that will overthrow the altar of Zeus, destroy the idol and establish the Church of Christ. This is the reason for the placement of this symbol in this particular epistle. Also it was necessary to fight against the devil with this sharp sword. Please remember that St. Paul wrote in his epistle to the Thessalonians about the Antichrist,

The Lord

will destroy him with the sword of his mouth (cf. 2 Thess. 2:8). So, here the devil is behind the mask of Zeus. Behind the various faces of divinities, what is worshipped,

really worshipped, is the devil. The devil needs to be fought. And now my friends, after this opening line serving as the introduction of the epistle of Pergamos, we will enter the main subject and we will do so at our next session.

CHAPTER

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Revelation 2:12-18

To the Church of Pergamos — Idolatry and Its Relationship to Satan And to the angel of the church in Per gamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

Homily given February 8, 1981

s you remember my friends, last week we started the epistle of the Lord to the angel of the church of Pergamos. He told him, I am the one who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know your deeds and where you live. You live in an area permeated with idolatry and you did not deny My faith — just as in the earlier days, when My servant Antipas did not deny My faith but confessed My faith. He held My name and he became My trustworthy and faithful martyr, there, exactly where Satan lives. I know your deeds and that the throne of Satan is located where you live. The Lord truly knew the environment that surrounded the church of Pergamos. This was the environment experienced by St. Paul when he was in Athens. St. Luke points out to us; His spirit was irritated. He was frustrated because he saw that the city was full of idols (Acts 17:16). The city of Athens was filled with idols and the Apostle was feeling a bit of holy anger and disgust. What was lurking behind this city of Pergamos? The Lord reveals that there in that city was the dwelling place and throne of Satan. Consequently my friends, as we see here we have a revealing testimony of our Lord about idolatry in every form and age. So when one poses the question, what is idolatry, we have this revelation, this very testimony which truly reveals that when people worship idols, whether now or in the past, we know exactly what they are worshiping. How would they accept this truth if we were to tell them exactly what they worship? No one could really define what it means for a person to worship an idol except the voice frorn heaven. The voice from heaven then, reveals what idolatry is. So now, we will see, my friends, that this relationship, which exists between idolatry and Satan is a most direct relationship because Satan is enthroned in idolatry according to the Lord. | But let’s look into the very nature of idolatry. And please do not fall prey to thinking that all this belongs to a distant past, that idolatry does not exist today, or that all this

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may not be of interest to us. Let’s not forget how St. John ends his most theological epistle: My children, keep yourselves from idols (cf. 1 John 5:21). So, even though you are spiritually advanced students, living and understanding this area of theology, do not think that it is impossible for you to slip into idolatry. Simply, St. John means that you, my children who are in a high enough spiritual state to understand the high level of theology invoked at the beginning of his Gospel; In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God... (John 1:1) and that God is love. God is light and the One we heard, we saw, etc., must also understand that it is possible to slip into and out of idolatry without realizing it. Idolatry exists and it will always exist — not only in the nations that never got to know Christ but in the Christian nations as well. Every form of idolatry can be found in the Christian nations. This is why I ask you to pay attention, as we will analyze the very nature of idolatry. Afterwards we will see how it relates to Satan. As you know, creation_is the external reflection of God and technically speaking, it is the idol of God. It is something that is created by God. However, this creation is not of His essence; it is outside of His essence. This is the difference between something born and something created. Jesus Christ, God the Word, is from the essence of the Father consequently, we have the expression, born of the Father. Nature is the work of the hands of God. The essence of nature has no relationship whatsoever with the essence of God. For this reason it is expressed as creation, as something fashioned from the hands of the Person Who creates. Now when we use the term idol to describe nature, we say that it is the external reflection of God. Here, we need to refer to optics (something we studied in physics) to help us along because this is exactly what happens in the study of optics. When we place an object in front of a mirror, the mirror obviously does not duplicate the object. But it simply presents the idol of this object. When I place a clock in front of a mirror, it will show a clock; however, this is not the actual clock but the idol of the

clock. Before I have an idol I need to place an object in front of this mirror. So, we remember from our physics class: what is in front of a mirror is called an object and what is displayed or reflected in the mirror is an idol. Idol is the scientific term for this reflection. This idol serves to give me some of the characteristics of the object, the size and the time, if the object happens to be a clock, but all these characteristics are not my clock but its idol. A similar relationship exists between God and nature. The energies of God are reflected in His creation such as His wisdom, His infinity, His divinity, and His might. These energies are reflected in nature with nature being the mirror and the object of this mirror being God. God being outside of creation is reflected in this creation. For instance, God is wise so it only stands to reason that whatever He creates He does according to His wisdom. So, I see the wisdom of God in nature. I see the energies of God in nature. I see for instance, that one-gram of matter encompasses an awesome power. The matter that explodes in an atomic bomb is very small, a few grams if that, of a nuclear atomic substance. The power behind these few grams is awesome! Now |

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ask you, what kind of power is hidden within the entire universe? Furthermore, if this power of the universe is inconceivable, then how do we conceive the power of God? By this, I come to see the omnipotence of God reflected in nature. Similarly, I see the infinity of God when we begin to ponder the dimensions of the universe — what dimensions? We cannot even grasp what is there! Our mind, our eye will never reach those distances! Our poor mind is so limited. It is only designed to function between zero and infinity, actually greater than zero and less than infinity. It cannot grasp these two extremes. So whatever is greater than zero my brain can understand. My brain can understand whatever is less than infinite. But the design of the human mind cannot understand the idea or the meaning of zero or the idea or the meaning of infinity. So the universe may appear to us as infinite. But it is not infinite; it only appears to be so in our mind. The One Who is truly infinite is the One Who created this universe. However, these works cannot be done by any other entity except the One Who is called God. So, divinity, infinity, pan-wisdom, omnipotence, and all those attributes and energies of God referring to His Person are reflected upon His creation much like an object is reflected in a mirror. Therefore, the wisdom that exists in the natural world is the idol of God. The omnipotence that exists in the world is the idol of God. When I see the wisdom behind the beauty of a flower, I cannot say that the flower is God;

but it is something that reflects the wisdom of God. So we cannot confuse God with nature which is the plight of the new-age movement. Nor can I say that God has no relationship whatsoever with nature; that is atheism. I will not equate God with nature nor would I remove Him totally from created nature and isolate Him at some point or place since He has no relationship with nature. But God is reflected with His energies, His characteristics, within His creation; and the purpose of creation which is full of the reflections and energies of God is to elevate me, the logical and sensible human being, step by step like a ladder to find the object which is reflected. Again, let’s not forget that the very design of our mind is limited. Unfortunately, there is arrogance in some people who think that if today we do not understand something, tomorrow we will. Yes, but is this something within our given capabilities? Because if it is, great; but if it is outside our given capabilities then this something will escape our understanding tomorrow, next year and forever. When it comes to the capabilities of the human intellect science itself; and philosophy, is quite aware of the limits. It is important to know our limits so that we can overcome this intellectual arrogance. Therefore, the purpose is for me to use the capabilities of my mind so when I see all these energies of God reflected in nature I begin to ascend as with a ladder. This is so I can discover the object that is reflected and more specifically the Person that is being reflected in nature, the Person of God. When

I see a person in a mirror, I do not continue to look in the mirror but I turn around to see the real person that is reflected in my mirror. This is what man is supposed to do. He is not supposed to limit himself to nature but at every moment he needs to turn his eyes beyond nature to find and see the reflected Person, the Person of God

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within this nature. Now if man removes God from his visual spectrum and limits himself only to nature, (In other words, people see these reflections of the energies of God but they do not bother to search further to discover God for reasons that we will expand upon a bit later.) then man begins to observe only the idols. He stops at the reflections and he equates these attributes: infinity, omnipotence, wisdom, with a mirror, much like a cat or a dog that when they look in a mirror they are very curious about this other cat or dog staring at them. This is because they equate the idol with the object. They think that there is another animal inside the mirror, but it is only the idol as we have been explaining all this time. So, if man confuses these two, the object with the idol, and he confuses the reflections of God in nature thus saying, “How wise is mother nature...Look what beautiful things it makes...” then the idols within nature become one with God for that person. Man no longer looks at God but at nature, the nature which he now deifies. ‘This is called idol worship. Man in his confusion worships the characteristics of God expressed in nature — which are not God, but the characteristics of God reflected in nature. So, man created the goddess Athena to worship wisdom based on this confusion. He created the god Apollo to worship fine arts and beauty. He created Zeus in his quest to worship power. He made up the goddess Demetra to worship mother earth. But all these are characteristics of God, the One God. Obviously there is no god Apollo, Athena, or Demetra. I will not worship wisdom. I will not deify beauty. I will not deify earth. I will attempt to search beyond these reflections to come in touch with the true God. Again, you may be thinking, why are you telling us all these things? We are not idolaters. We are Christians. These things are quite simplistic. My friends, we only need to recall that some very wise people passed through this world and they were not able to differentiate between God and creation. They equated God with His creation. They worshipped the creation instead of the Creator. Then you tell me that we are justified in mentioning these things even though these things took place in the distant past in some remote areas of the earth. My friends, what ifI were to tell you that the same thing happens even today? What if I was to ask you about those people, who slip into Freemasonry, who are educated and have college degrees? How do they come to believe in idolatry? Freemasons are idolaters. Do not forget this. Freemasonry is a religion and specifically a religion of idolatry, of ancient mysteries. They admit this themselves in their journals. So, how can an educated person become attracted to the faith that believes that the sun, the great architect of the universe, can be God? How can he confuse the power of the sun, its energy, its light, and the wisdom of its makeup with God and admit that this is God? I was reading the other day about Origen, a great writer of the early church, and you may laugh but Origen, who excelled in some areas in the church, reached a very sad moment in his life when he wrote that the sun, the moon, and the stars

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have understanding, that they are noetic beings.” Now, if in Christian philology, the Christian domain, we have this sort of tragedy, we can understand that delusion is commonplace in the lives of everyday people despite the light of Christ. From the moment that I deny Christ, I automatically become an idolater. Today the Christian nations in general have denied Christ and they automatically fall into idolatry— idolatry of both the crude form and of the fine form, which is not so obvious. All these things are summarized by St. Paul to show us the plight of the ancient world and their relationship with God. Unfortunately, these things apply to our world today as well. He says, “the knowledge of God has become apparent to people because God revealed Himself to them.” St. Paul explains his invisible energies even the ethical energies, if you will, even love, were stamped in the universe (cf. Rom. 1:19-23). The love of God, the mercy of God — all these are obviously stamped in the universe; and as we see, nothing can be lost. The universe appears to be the same even after the fall. Nothing is being lost, simply because the providence of God is always active and the love of God is always combined with wisdom. The providence of God consists of the power, the love, and the wisdom of God. So, St. Paul says that because His eternal power and His divinity and even His invisible qualities can be seen very clearly from the time of the creation, it is expected that they should be perceived through the creations. But, what became perceived through the creatures is exactly what was worshipped. Instead of this being used as the means for a person to discover and worship God, (and this would render them inexcusable) St. Paul says that having this knowledge of God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful. But, they became futile in their thoughts and in their foolish hearts. Professing to have become wise, they became fools. Their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to have become wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into corruptible images like man, birds, four-footed animals, and creeping things. So, coming to the conclusion that God is a human being, they create His statue, or that of a bird or a snake or a cow and so on and that is the depth of the foolishness of the darkened man. So idolatry is the state wherein a man limits his spiritual horizon to anything created without expanding beyond and past what he sees towards God. This is idolatry; this anything created can now be beyond the works and creations. I can deify the stars, the heavenly powers, and a river like the Nile, or I can deify the oceans in the person of Poseidon. It seems that even to this day we worship the sea. Even today, here in Greece, when we have rough seas people say that Poseidon must be stirring up the sea with his trident. Of course, these are mere phrases. But as we explained earlier, even educated people come to believe these things sometimes. Now people may not 9 Origen (185-254 AD), considered Christianity’s first systematic theologian, wrote extensively on mysticism and the scriptures. He produced an edition of the Hebrew Scriptures, providing six translations in parallel form. His works significantly influenced many theologians after him. The 5th Ecumenical Council condemned some of his teachings as heretical. Laura Swan, The forgotten desert mothers, 184; Despina D. Kontostergiou, The Ecumenical Synods (Thessaloniki, Pournara, 1991), p. 151.

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worship the statue of Poseidon, but they do come to believe in the power of the sea or the power of mother nature even saying, “You can’t fool mother nature.” Eventually people come to believe in the power of their intellect. People even depend on their inner power and idolize themselves, deify themselves, or worship their egos. This is the

tragic dilemma of the poor pitiful man of today. Beyond these created or natural things of the world, idols can also be wealth, fine art, architecture, technology, science, or a luxurious lifestyle. Some of the superoptimists and philosophical minds of the last century had said that we would not have to worry about anything because science will solve all the problems of society. Long live science. We no longer need God. God is dead. Long live technology and science. Now you decide if science and technology solved all our problems or if it complicated and multiplied them. I think we do not need to comment on this. Just look around you. There is a drug store and a psychotherapy clinic on every corner. We now exist in the nightmare of the super-optimists, of those who had promised, “Give us one hundred years and you will see how this world will evolve.” We see the fruits of science and technology and we will see much more if we avoid World War III in the twenty-first century. We have replaced God and the providence of God with our faith in drugs and science. In general, we have come to idolize the conveniences of our scientific progress conveniences, which are not bad in themselves, as long as we do not idolize our lifestyle, insulate ourselves from God, and replace the true God with

these idols of our days. It is common knowledge that the true God always destroys and overturns all idols. But, we might as well extend the point a little bit further here, since we are also talking about idols. We must also say that our home can become an idol, along with our children and our relatives. How many times have we seen ourselves making the ultimate goal and purpose of our lives the focus of our life, a happy family, a beautiful home, and a happy home so we will be the ideal family? Now let’s not trick ourselves just because we may transfer this family back and forth to church every Sunday. Let’s not be deceived because we may take Holy Communion now and then, and go to holy confession. Yet, in our depths we are idolaters. Idolatry is in our bone marrow. If you will, we believe in our careers. We believe in our home. We believe in our children. We idolize these things. This is precisely why we are destroyed if we lose them. Take, if you will, the object of worship from the eyes of a worshipper and you will see his immediate response. So, if your home, your children vanish in front of your very eyes you will be devastated. Now we are not talking about the natural grief, the natural shock that we all feel. This is human nature. When

I lose a loved one, a member of my family,

or if I lose my home, it is natural for me to feel grief. | am not going to be laughing.

However, when I cannot cope, when I consider suicide, when I want to jump off a

bridge, or when I want to end it all, it means that the things or persons that I lost were my idols and I was worshipping them without realizing it. So, as you can see, idolatry can easily slip into our lives. For this reason and from the analysis that we have presented so far you can understand the depth of idolatry that exists in the lives

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of the people around us and in our own lives; and we are specifically referring to the Christians of our times. So this is idolatry. Now let’s see what is behind this state of idolatry. For instance, when I say that I am a sun worshipper, what is behind this or behind the moon and the stars, which guide peoples’ lives today? What is behind a luxurious lifestyle or my child or my wealth or technology or fine arts? What can hide behind all this? We see how the Lord characterizes this condition: the throne of Satan, there where Satan lives. Now how is it possible for Satan to place his throne behind the very things that reflect the qualities of God? Satan enthrones himself behind these things; he lives there — and that is what is

specified here in the epistle to the bishop of Pergamos. Satan was enthroned in a huge statue of Zeus in the altar in a magnificent temple. Pergamos was considered the city with the most idols in Asia Minor. Pergamos was well known for its multitude of altars. Now the Lord says that the altar, found on that three hundred meter hill within the city limits, was the throne of Satan. Let's look at an explanation for this. Satan, Lucifer, the one who brings the morning light, was an angel of light, but he fell because of pride. He fell from the heavens, as the prayer of exorcism says. He lost his light-bearing quality. He fell into the visible created world. He was preliminarily sentenced here in this created world, having been expelled from the heavenly realm. All the evil spirits were expelled because of their pride. They lost their God-given light, unfortunately we do not understand how. We do not have any more details about this. The only thing is that the angels are not light in themselves. They are not sources of light; they receive their light from the source, from divine glory, from divine energy because God is Light. Now the devil lost this light of God and he has been isolated from divine glory. Divine glory is the uncreated light, the light of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. So the devil lost his light and now he remains dark. Now you may wonder or you may ask, how can he change into an angel of light? Well, I will answer you that this demonic light is not the uncreated light but created light, the very light that we get from the sun or from a light bulb. Now how can the devil gain access to this created light? How can he envelop himself with it? How can he take different forms? These are all mysteries of the spiritual world which we do not have the capabilities to comprehend. The important thing is that the light of the devil is created, and it deceives people; this is what our spiritual elders, the ascetics of the Church have the ability or gift to discern. St. Paul says that one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is diakrisis or discretion. St. John also emphasizes testing the spirits to see if they are from God. The devil appears as light and I need to ask: is he an angel? Is this uncreated light and the appearance an angel, or is this the devil with some created energy? If I do not have experience or discretion, I will be deceived. However, the spiritual ascetic who has the spirit of God and the gift of discretion—which is never something very easy; I am being very sincere—will say: this is the devil. They can discern; they know right away. When they think that this is the devil, the minute they say it, the devil disappears instantly.

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So, the devil fell and he is being preliminarily sentenced in this visible world. His fall and his having been sentenced are seen clearly in the verses of the demoniac of the Gadarenes where the demons pleaded with the Lord not to place them in hell but to allow them to stay in this world. This was because the demons know that they are guilty and their final punishment will be hell, which was created for the devil and the demons. ‘They pleaded to stay here in the visible created world. They asked to enter the pigs and to continue to live here in the material visible world. This is why they asked the Lord, Have you come here to torment us before the time? (Matt. 8:29) From this we

see that the demons know that their final destination is hell and that now they are in prison. They are bound here on earth. We will have much more detail on this bondage and loosening of the devil in future discussions. The reason behind the fall of these angels who became demons (and Lucifer was the first one) was pride. Remember this, because this is the key to our entire discussion on this subject. Now when men lose God they automatically begin to worship nature. How do people lose God? We know that Adam and Eve did not lose God. They had communion with God in paradise, the same communion that we will have with God in His Kingdom, indescribable communion. We do not exactly understand how. What we read in those verses of Genesis, During the evening the Lord came to Adam and Eve... (cf. 3:8) shows a regular visitation of God; but we cannot conceive of how exactly we

will be in full communion with God in the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, this communion was lost. Our predecessors had this communion in paradise, and even after the fall they did not lose God because they had this tremendous experience of life in paradise. Although their children lived in sin — like Cain who killed Abel — they did not lose God totally, because of the tradition of their parents. They began to lose God after the third generation. Cain did not forget God completely because we see him speaking to God. Abel also speaks to God and offers Him sacrifices and so on. But as the generations advance, the knowledge of God is becoming more vague and somewhat nebulous. The cause of the darkening of this knowledge of God is nothing else but sin, a heavy smoke that covers the horizon, where we would be able to see the face or the Person of God. So when man loses God and he begins to observe nature, oblivious to the fact that there may be someone who created this nature, and that nature simply reflects the quality of the Creator, then man begins to worship the created beings. Now since the devil is preliminarily sentenced to this present world, when he sees man ascribe worship to a tree or a river or a mountain or a stone, then because he is incurably proud, he goes and enthrones himself inside this object. In this way, a man who worships this object worships him. So, in reality when a man worships an object, he worships the devil behind or inside that object. So the devil nestles, he forms a nest, within these objects. He wants to satisfy his incurable passion, his need to be worshipped. As you know the greatest satisfaction of an incurably proud being is the desire to be worshipped. If he is worshipped, he feels like he has won a great victory, it is the epitome of success. For the proud there is no need for money or anything else. He wants to hear his name

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and to see his name in lights. There is a Greek proverb that says: many lost interest in creating money but no one lost his love for glory. Pride, vainglory, egotism, and selfpromotion — these can be incurable passions if someone does not fight against them. For the devil, pride is incurable. He wants to be satisfied by lurking and enthroning himself within natural objects, which are worshipped by people who have lost their true God. So these poor people begin to worship the reflection of the qualities of God in nature and without realizing it, they are worshipping the devil. However, idolatry is not only the worship of a particular object. Idolatry is not limited to the worship of a tree, a mountain, or a statue. It can be the worship of technology, science, wealth, and money. All these can become idols that man can worship. The miserable devil nestles within all these things. Consequently, many other things can serve as elements of devil veneration. Sexual reproduction, for example, is something planned by God; God designed it, and this plan of God is placed within the context of two elements, the element of pleasure and the element of purpose. Again, this is the plan of God, even though it was the secondary plan of God enacted after the fall. It is still the plan of God. Now from the very moment man separates these two elements of pleasure and purpose, from the time man becomes focused on the pleasure aspect while displacing the purpose, being child bearing, then he worships the very thing that God would not want. He worships pleasure; and the miserable,

filthy devil slithers and conveniently buries

himself right there! Consequently, if you are a fornicator, you are an idolater. You worship the devil because fornication is the separation of the purpose from pleasure. If you divide these two then you are involved with idolatry. Now you will tell me: but this means that all of us must be idolaters! Yes, that is what I have been trying to tell you all along! We are all idolaters! If you will, my friend, we will bring St. Paul into this, who while spelling

out four forms of immorality said, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts... will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9 RSV). We are being blunt here because the last two sinful conditions are extremely fashionable in our days. So, all people who practice these forms of immorality will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The first two are according to nature but against the law of God. However, when St. Paul mentions fornication, immediately after that he includes idolatry. Do

not be deceived neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites.... will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9 NKJ). Now why holy one of God, St. Paul, why are you slipping idolatry between fornication and adultery? Very simply, these passions are comprised of idolatry. The devil is worshipped though these passions. This can also be seen in the first chapter of Romans where we read that people fell into these passions. So, as there are many levels of idolatry, God allowed them to

fall even deeper into the crudest form of idolatry as a way of punishment. In fact, one of our Church Fathers points out very accurately that sperm offered for fornication

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becomes a sacrifice to the devil. For this reason my friends, our Lord, addresses the center of idolatry, the city of Pergamos, and especially the grand temple of Zeus centrally located and overlooking the city, and calls it the house of Satan and the throne of Satan. These facts: that the demons reside in the visible creation and affect people negatively when these people become attached to those creations, become obvious when one looks at the prayers of our Church - especially the prayers of exorcism read during the mystery of baptism. Before we submerge the child in the water, before we baptize the child or the person, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, with the triple immersion, as you probably noticed the priest reads a number of prayers and he blows upon the water. These are prayers of exorcism and we expel, we evict, the devil that nestles in the water, in the visible creation. Since nature is in the grasp of the devil, every chance we have we expel the devil! As I told you, the devil was preliminarily sentenced and he wanders in nature. He is a wanderer. When people who are in tune with these truths go into the wilderness, they may hear sounds, voices, or laughter coming from the mountainside. There is no man there; but they hear cries, strange mysterious sounds; the demons are behind all these things. They love to tempt and bother people. They get evil satisfaction out of this. They entertain themselves at the people’s expense and they always entertain evil. ‘This is why the priest blows the form of the sign of the cross on the person about to be baptized. The priest turns towards the west while facing the person because this human being has not yet seen the light of Christ. This human being is still facing the devil. Then the priest blows toward the person. He blows in the form of the cross and he expels the devil. After this he directs the Christian candidate eastward and takes him or her to be baptized in the baptismal font. All this is to help you understand that everything that we talked about in this session is backed by the actions of the Church. All these things are incorporated in the praxis of the Church. Something else on this — we often see in the lives of the saints, some strange phenomena, things that seem to be mythical to contemporary Christians. But many times when the saints were smashing statues of various idols (we read this in the life of Saint George and some other saints) during the time of idolatry, voices and cries came out of these statues: cries, blasphemies, shrieks, protests, and intimidating voices. ‘This shows that the demons were protesting and quite upset because the saints were destroying the nests, idols, and altars where the people worshiped the demons. However, I will also employ Scriptural support for all this before we close our session today so that you can see that these phenomena are not mythical but a reality. As you know, at one point, the Jews went to war against the Philistines; the Philistines were the aggressors. Finally, in order to punish the disobedience of the Jews,

God allowed the Ark of the Covenant to fall into the hands of the Philistines. The Philistines were celebrating this great victory with much joy and fanfare and they proceeded to take this precious possession of the Jews to the temple of their god Dagon. They placed the Ark at the feet of the statue of the idol god Dagon as an

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offering (1 Samuel 5). When the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning there was Dagon

fallen on its face in the earth before the Ark of the Lord. So, they set

Dagon in its place again. When they arose the next morning Dagon had fallen again on its face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both its palms were broken off on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso was left intact. What do you think caused this? The demons nestling inside the statue of Dagon became crazed when they saw the Ark of God. What was the Ark of God? It was a square box and it contained the stones of the Ten Commandments. The Ark of God was the presence of God. If you will, it was the footstool of the feet of God, the very thing that the Psalmist calls us to worship. We are called to worship the footstool of His feet. By the way, when we venerate the holy cross, the holy icons, the holy Gospel, this is exactly what we venerate, the footstool of the feet of God. Our Lord’s Holy Body was spread on the cross and the cross spreads horror to the ranks of the demons. The cross is a great weapon against the devil. So my friends, Dagon, the demon-filled statue, fell down and broke in pieces in front of the Ark of God. The demons could not bear the divine spark, the fiery glow. People cannot see this but it is most obvious to the eyes of the demons. This occurs to this day when demon-possessed people go to the churches of St. Gerasimos, St. Dionysios, or St. Spyridon. The demons cry out, they shriek, “I’m burning! ’'m burning!” Why are they burning? It is the divine glory that is not obvious to the pilgrims but quite visible to the demons that feel a real burning when they approach the incorrupt bodies found in the churches of these Saints. By the way, these three saints with their incorrupt bodies have served as the fortress against the missionary agenda of the various popes to Latinize the populace of the Eptanese, the Greek Islands of the Ionian Sea. Saint Spyridon’s incorrupt body is in Corfu; St. Dionysios is in Zakynthos; and St. Gerasimos is in Kefalonia. The divine presence of these saints, with untold miracles, has kept the Orthodox phronema of these islands intact over centuries of slavery and foreign occupation. So, the presence of the saints, the presence of the holy cross, the presence of God burns the demons. My friends, the demons are the culprits behind idolatry. ‘The devil dwells behind these idols and he is worshipped in that way. What else can we say? What else can we add other than that which St. John uses to finish his epistle, My /itzle children, (teknia) watch yourself from idols. Let’s watch ourselves from idols because today’s idols are numerous and widespread. We will see in future lessons the deep things of Satan. We saw the dwelling place of Satan. We have understood the throne of Satan, and we will talk about the deep things of Satan next Sunday.

CHAPTER

13

Revelation 2:13-15

Balamatism — An Ongoing Method of Corruption of the Church and the People of God I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells (2:13).

Homily given February 15, 1981

ur Lord, my friends, continues His epistle to the bishop of Pergamos

and tells him, you hold My name on the highest level and you did

not deny the Faith even during the days of your predecessor, Bishop

Antipas, my faithful martyr, who was killed in your city where Satan

lives (cf. 2:13). While addressing the bishop of Pergamos, the Lord tells him that

despite the terribly idolatrous environment (which we dealt with in our last talk) the bishop of Pergamos held the faith and did not deny the name of Christ. Thus,

here we see the prophetic warning of our Lord in the Gospels, You will be hated by all for my name’ sake (Matt. 10:22, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:17) and that here, the prophecy becomes a reality. One may ask; why must the faithful be hated by everyone because of his belief in Christ? They will be hated because behind this

hate of people is the hate of Satan. No one was ever hated because they believed in other religions. Tell me,

does Buddhism have martyrs? Does Islam have martyrs? Christianity is the only faith with martyrs because Christianity is the genuine faith; all others are human

fabrications. The devil is worshipped behind these human fabrications. The devil

does not fight against himself. According to the Lord, if the devil had fought

against himself, then his dominion would be destroyed already. However, the devil fights the true faith. He fights the faith of Christ. This is precisely why he sows the seeds of hate in the hearts of people who turn against the Christians. The words of the Lord And you will be hated because of My name become a reality here in the city of Pergamos, as well as every city where Christianity exists. However, the Lord told the bishop; You hold onto My name (Rev. 2:2). He "Ὁ Contemporary suicide/homicide bombers are clearly motivated by demonic energy since their purpose is to kill as many of their opponents as possible - a clear antithesis to the spirit of love and self-sacrifice found in the martyrs of Christ.

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gives the impression that the name is like an object that we hold onto with our hands. What does this I hold onto the name mean? I hold the name of Christ, which, by the way, is of tremendous importance and value; it means, “I did not spurn it. I did not drop it to be disgraced and trampled upon.” I hold the name of Christ means “I keep the faith in Christ and the lifestyle as told by Christ.” In other words, “I keep the orthodoxia and the orthopraxia.” Today, especially today,

where just about everything is disregarded and stepped on, there is not much

sacred, not even faith or the Christian lifestyle. It is a great accomplishment today

for one to hold the name of Christ aloft.

My friends, you need to understand this. Do we live a Christian life? Do

we truly believe in Christ? This means that we keep the name of Christ high on a pedestal. Of course, the fact that the bishop held the name of Christ aloft was a defining characteristic of Antipas, his predecessor. This happens to be the only name specifically mentioned in the book of the Revelation in the

seven epistles. The Lord says, Write to the bishop of this or that church. This

is the only circumstance where a name is mentioned. Obviously, in the entire

spectrum and different folds of the Church, this one name is of great value and significance. However, the predecessor of the receiver of this epistle was Antipas. He kept the name of Christ in the highest regard. The Lord says; Where My faithful martyr Antipas was killed among you, there where Satan lives. The word

that the Lord uses to describe Bishop Antipas is especially noteworthy. He calls the predecessor of the receiver of this epistle martyr, a title that was applied to the Lord Himself in the previous chapter when the Lord refers to Himself as the faithful and true martyr.

This is also repeated, These things, says the Amen, the Faithful and the True Martyr (3:14). [The English translation uses the word witness, but as |

mentioned earlier, in Greek the word martyr is used.] We notice here that the Lord uses the possessive pronoun my; this is personal. The Lord says, My true

martyr. This shows a special tenderness, a special endearment, and love, along with recognition and close attachment earned by Antipas from Christ through his martyrdom. Martyrdom for Christ, my friends, is a great chapter, as we can

plainly see. It is a wonderful spiritual intimacy and closeness with the great Martyr Himself, Jesus Christ.

Another element added to the honorary titles of Antipas is the term faithful: my faithful martyr. So here, we have the full encomium to Antipas. The very title of Christ, Christ Himself attributes to Bishop Antipas. This is very impressive to me and hopefully this impresses you as well, that Christ attributes His own

attributes of His human nature as Son of Man to those who love Him and

die for Him. So Antipas is His faithful martyr. Who is this wonderful true martyr according to the Lord’s witness? This great Antipas was the first bishop

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of Pergamos. According to Tradition the worshipped demons and their subjects, the idolaters, were upset by the presence and reproach of Antipas. The demons began to cry out, scream, and protest. Their voices projected from the statues in the presence of the idolaters. The demons protested and complained to their worshippers that they were ready to leave the city of Pergamos because Antipas was forcing them out. (This is a common occurrence in the lives of the saints.) When the idolaters heard

this they seized Bishop Antipas and threw him into a hollow, bronze statue of a bull. They started a fire beneath this huge statue and they burned St. Antipas in this bronze idol. St. Antipas suffered a martyr’s death, and our Church honors him on the eleventh day of April. His martyrdom took place in the reign of Domitian

of 83 AD.

After this statement in which the Lord honors the city of Pergamos the epistle says, But I have a few things against you because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. Thus you also have those who hold to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate (2:14-15). Thus, Christ has a bone to pick with the bishop of Pergamos. He says, I have a few things against you, and these few things are the influences of the idolatrous environment in the life of a few Christians, something that escaped the immediate attention of the bishop, or something related to the fact that the efforts of the bishop in this area were inadequate. Please understand that the Church in those days was exclusive and closed to non-Christians. The Church is like a fruit that

grows from inside out. Take for instance, a watermelon; it starts out so tiny, so small, and then it begins to grow and grow, but this growth takes place from inside the fruit and not from the outside, not outside of the skin or vine. It receives water and nutrients from the stem, but it grows from inside out. This also characterizes the growth of the ancient Church. Moreover, this should be the model for Church growth always. In other words, all growth took place from a particular door, the door of the catechumens. If you want to enter the Church, you will undergo catechism. You will be thoroughly tested, tried out, and then you will be made a member of the Church. So, the Church of Christ was off limits and closed; you could not enter unless you were

thoroughly tested, until you proved your worth or your faith, your virtue and your lifestyle. The doors were closed not only with regards to baptism but the doors

were closed physically as well.

This is the meaning of: “The doors, the doors...” said by the priest before the Creed of Faith during the Divine Liturgy. It instructs the guards of the church or the door watchmen to close the doors to keep any unbelievers from entering. Not even a catechumen could stay; the catechumens were not permitted to stay during

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the sacrament of the holy Eucharist. They had to leave before the prayers of holy

Eucharist. The doors were closed after the catechumens were escorted out, and

only the faithful could remain during this part of the Divine Liturgy to receive Holy Communion. It seems that some of the members of the church of Pergamos were influenced by the customs of the idolatrous world, namely the Nicolaitans. This was something

that was not pleasing to the Lord because He wants His members to be truthful. He wants them a certain way. For this He complains to the bishop. Now after this insight describing the early Church, what can we say about our contemporary church? How does it measure up to these practices of the early Church? Is the Church today closed or open? The Church today is wide-open! Not only do the doors not close, but also we often have no clue who some of these people are that go in and out of our church; and worse yet, in large cities the priest does not know his flock nor does the flock know the priest. We do not know each other. However, in the early Church when the priest would call out, “The doors, the doors,” the faithful would search to their left and to their right. This was to make sure that only known members of the Church would occupy these spaces. This, by the way, is spelled out in all of the ancient liturgies. The idea was that an unidentified member, an unknown person, could not remain in the church.

My friends, I do not know what the Lord would say today to each one of

our bishops. What would He say? I have a few things against you? That you let the Nicolaitans influence the life of some of your faithful? The faithful Orthodox Christians are bombarded by: television, and the secular modern lifestyle. Do you today? It is like trying to carry water in basket? How can you manage this? What

movie theaters, newspapers, magazines, know how our dilemma is best described a basket. How can you hold water in a hole can you possibly seal? How can you

keep water in this basket full of holes? It is a great dilemma. Today the Lord would not tell us that He has a few things against us. He would have a great many things against us! However, what we must understand

today, especially today, is that the flock must learn to watch out for itself. Today it seems that way. Please pay attention. I am sorry to tell you this. However, do

not expect us, do not count on us shepherds to watch out for you today. Learn to

watch out for yourselves. If you do not learn how to protect yourselves and look

out for your spiritual well being, do not expect this to come from someone else. I am deeply sorry for saying this, but I made myself clear. What hole can we plug in that basket with thousands of holes? I believe you are also aware of this.

However, we need to tune into something else here. The Lord mentions the activities and the methodologies of the Nicolaitans to the bishop of Pergamos;

and these are very, very important elements because they seem to always exist. They continue to exist in history and consequently they exist in our times as well.

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We need to spell them out. We need to call our attention to the activity and

method used by the devil. The Lord does exactly this when He uses as a reference a very old story in order to draw our attention to this activity and method of the

Nicolaitans. This old story is in the book of Numbers and He says; Thus, you also

have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. So, you are acting like those who were in the desert long ago, and they were heavily influenced by the actions

of Balaam. In this way, you also have the Nicolaitans using this method on your

Christians. However, in order to understand the methods and the action used by the enemies of the Church I believe we must look briefly into this old story to acquaint ourselves with its main theme, especially because this activity will

continue until the end of history.

As I told you, this story is in the book of Numbers (chapters 22-25 and 31).

After they exited Egypt and after a leadership of Moses, the Israelites set of the Moabites and Midianites. This he went up on a high mountain and

number of ordeals in the desert under the up camp east of the Jordan River in the area was at the very end of Moses’ life. After this, from there saw the Promised Land and died.

After Moses died Joshua assumed leadership. Joshua and the Israelites crossed over

the Jordan River using the same method Moses used to pass through the Red Sea; the waters parted. This miracle was necessary to solidify the authority of Joshua.

God wanted to show that divine grace was not only with Moses but with Joshua as well. So after they traversed the waters of Jordan they came to Jericho, and they

conquered the first city of the Promised Land. Afterwards they conquered all of the Promised Land with a number of those sacred battles as we read in the book

of Judges and so on. However, when the king of the Moabites saw the Jews setting up camp across from his land, he became very troubled. There were two million Jews then and

their number had him panic-stricken. This is true for any king and any leader of a nation who sees such a mass of people setting up camp on his borders. It

was common for entire nations to move about in those days and for centuries after that. Today we do not have this phenomenon as much, but in the past,

this migration of entire nations was a common occurrence. In this way, the Jews

moved as a nation with the purpose of conquering the Promised Land. However,

Balak, the king of the Moabites, felt very threatened. He did not know what to do;

he called the governing body, the elders of the Moabites, and the Midianites in an emergency meeting to decide how to proceed against this threat.

They decided to seek the services of an extraordinary sorcerer who lived

in Mesopotamia, (present day Iraq) and was quite a distance away. This great magician’s name was Balaam, and they hoped he would have some kind of power

to curse the Israelites. They wanted to have this magician by their side to curse the Israelites, and somehow decimate them so that the Moabites and the Midianites

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would be able to breathe again. This is exactly what they did. They sent a number

of representatives to Mesopotamia with many treasures, and they told Balaam that this was only a down payment and that their king would reward him even more abundantly once this mission was accomplished. The job was simple, simple enough. “Our king only wants you to come and place a curse on a nation that is camping on our borders.” Balaam replied, “Very well. Stay here tonight and I will answer you in the morning.”

During the night the Lord of Israel appeared to Balaam, “Why did they come? No, you will not leave. You will stay here. Do not go with them.” In the morning, Balaam told them, “I am very sorry, but I will not be coming along with you. Even if you gave me the entire treasury of your kingdom, I will not be able to come.” They left empty-handed. Balak became upset, and he sent even more important

representatives with more precious gifts. Balaam told them the same thing “Stay the night, and I will ask.” This time God told him, “Since they came, go with them, but be very to only say exactly what I put in your mouth.” (I am just giving you a few because this adventure takes place across five chapters.) So, Balaam goes

again,

careful details on his

way with his donkey. At some point, the donkey refuses to go forward. Balaam

hits the donkey and the donkey says, “Why did you hit me? There’s an angel in front of me,” and so on and so forth. (I am bypassing quite a few details.) Finally, Balaam reaches the land of Boam. Balak the king naturally was ecstatic and told him, “Now let me show you the Israelites.” He took him to a very high mountain

and told him to look at the people below. “I want you to curse them so they can fall apart and get out of my sight.” “Very well,” said Balaam. “Now bring me seven oxen, seven sheep, make seven altars, and sacrifice them. Now understand this; whatever God puts in my mouth, that is what I will speak. Again, realize that I will only say what God tells me

to say.” So, after the sacrifice Balaam began to speak. He started exalting and eulogizing the Israelites. Balak was terrified. He exclaimed, “Listen, I brought you

here to curse these people, and you are blessing them.” Balaam replied, “Didn't I tell you that I could only say what God instructs me to say?” So Balak takes him

from that spot to a different location where a different section of the Israelite camp

was visible and he repeats, “Listen, I want you to curse these people.” Again, seven oxen, seven altars, and again praise after praise for Israel. Now Balak is getting very

angry; so he moves him from there and takes him to a third location. This third time, Balaam, along with the praise for the Israelites, proclaims a tremendous prophecy in favor of them, a true encomium. In this prophecy, he speaks about the dawning of the great star, which seems to be the star that participated in the birth of Christ. Balaam the Gentile, the idolater, prophesied this. By this, I hope you can see that God is not bound. He can put the

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truth in the mouth of an idolater. Just like in the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, there

is a vision about God’s Church. Even Pharaoh had those well-known dreams about the years of famine and plenty. So before the sacrifice was even over, knowing what God wanted, Balaam once again started a great tribute, an encomium in favor of the Jews, a praise of praises. Now Balak was steaming. And he told him, “You are getting nothing. Get out of my sight.” However, Balaam was greedy. He loved money, and he thought he could not have acted any differently since God was being very direct and very involved here. He even had a little trouble along the way with God’s angel. Remember that his donkey turned around and spoke in a human voice which horrified Balaam, and especially when he saw the angel with an extended sword. He went along with his representatives even though he should not have. That is why the angel stopped

him. The fact is that Balaam was afraid to say anything different from what God

wanted him to say because of these great signs. It is possible that as an idolater his

knowledge and perception of God was very limited. Maybe he thought that God could only hear him in those locations; now that he was away from there, maybe God could no longer hear him. This was a perception with the idolaters. That is why when God revealed Himself to Moses, he said, I am the Lord. There is no other God beside Me. I am the Lord of all and no matter where I am, I am the Lord. I am not the God of yesterday or tomorrow only, but I am the eternal God (cf. Isa. 45: 4-5). Balaam, lacking this

basic knowledge about God on the one hand and on the other having to deal with his greed, improvised a plan which is quite common in dealings where money and

business deals are involved. When a deal is ready to fall through, heavy negotiating

is used to save the deal. Thus, he tells Balak, “Look, I could not tell you anything different than what

God placed in my mouth. Now I will whisper something in your ear. Pay attention to it because if you follow my advice, you will defeat the Israelites. Now listen to this plan. You will try to seduce the Israelites in two areas. First try to get them to

worship a different god, preferably your god, and this will make their God very angry; and second, get them to fall into sexual immorality, something their God is against. I am suggesting these two things to you. To put it in our own words,

he said make sure they fall into idolatry and fornication, truly demonic pieces of advice from a servant of the devil. After that, God’s wrath would be kindled. He

would no longer protect them and evil would overtake them.

Balaam stayed with the Moabites, but he was not able to collect his reward because he was killed by the sword of the Israelites toward the end of this adventure. Let’s analyze the demonic method that he taught the Moabites in order to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel. All this was because the Moabites could not stand up to the Israelites militarily. They could not afford to go to battle

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against them so they used a political solution. This is called a method of intrusion.

With this intrusion, they engaged the Israelites with idolatry and fornication, and by this, would succeed in separating the Israelites from their God. Now let’s look at their plan. They organized a huge festival to honor their god Baal or Belzegor. They invited the Israelites to join them. The people ate and bowed down to their gods. They began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab. The young beauties of Moab came out dressed to seduce and provoke with the necessary make-up. As you know the make-up of women, the painting of the eyes and the lips, is ancient. It probably goes back to the generations of Cain. So these females came out and invited the young Israelites to join them in offering sacrifices to their gods — to the idols; and the Israelites, enchanted by all these festivities, ate the food sacrificed to idols and celebrated the service to honor Baal or Belzegor of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. ‘The Lord was now quite angry and He ordered Moses to arrange for the execution of all those who had joined the Moabites in harlotry and offered sacrifices to the idols.

Moses, acted out the commandment of God, Who said, Show no mercy even if

the one who did this is your father or your brother or your son (cf. Deut. 7:2). So Moses told the judges of Israel that each one should kill the men who were

joined to Baal of Peor. The killing did not stop until twenty-four thousand people

found a tragic death. This wrath of God stopped only when Phineas acted, very quickly and decisively, to end a very provocative scene. A young Israelite, the son

of an archon, brought a Midianite woman, walking her into the middle of the

camp in broad daylight, to show her off to the rest of the Jews and then took her into his tent to sin with her. Then Phineas, being overcome by divine zeal acted decisively. He took a spear and he impaled both of them. The spear went through both of their bodies and pierced the earth. The wrath of God reversed. When this virtuous act of Phineas took place, the Lord said, because he was zealous with my zeal, I did not consume the children of Israel in my zeal. Balaam was correct. He

knew what he was doing when he advised Balak, Get them to sin and you will see that God will become angry with them.

Now the Lord says here in the book of Revelation, in the epistle to the bishop of Pergamos: You have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. The Nicolaitans are doing the very same thing in your church. To be precise, the old sins of Israel were sexual immorality

and idolatry. These are the two activities, the two evil methods of all the enemies of the Church because there was never a time when the enemies of the Church stopped using these methods to seduce the Christians.

What is significant and interesting is that Balaam in Hebrew means Nikolaos,

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so it is not by accident that these heretics were called Nicolaitans. Nikolaos has

two meanings; the first is the victory of the people. The second is the one who is

victorious over the people. So, Nikolaos with the second meaning is the one who

defeats and destroys the people. Balaam, which means Nikolaos, literally means the one who destroys the people of God, and these Balaamites, or Nicolaitans,

are synonyms for those who destroy the people of God. I do not know for sure if

the Nicolaitans existed historically or if they were a metaphorical term, an image presented by the Lord in order to talk about these evil destroyers of His people.

But it seems they existed even historically because St. Epiphanios of Cyprus*! and other early Church Fathers, even St. Irenaeus and Eusebius of Caesarea, refer to the Nicolaitans as a historical reality. It seems that there were heretics with the

name Nicolaitans. However, what the Lord points out here, which is of interest to us today, is that even though the heresy of Nicolaitanism does not exist today,

those who imitate the actions and methods of the Nicolaitans do exist. We need to be aware of these methods of the enemies of God’s people. Their methods are based on and modeled after the typology of the Nicolaitans. I hope you see this. Balamatism is the typology of the deceivers and destroyers of the New Israel of Grace, the Christians. We see this method of destruction in full bloom throughout history. I will mention something from the chronicles of St. John the Chrysostom, the archbishop of Constantinople. As you, know at times St. John

Chrysostom raised his voice against the royal family, the emperor of the Eastern

Roman Empire, Arcadius and especially against the empress, Eudoxia. A number

of meetings and conferences took place on what method would be used to bring about his destruction. Tronically, only a few years earlier, some of these same people had pretended

to take Chrysostom on a carriage ride around Antioch, but instead, headed to Constantinople where they enthroned him as archbishop of Constantinople against his will. Now this archbishop by preaching against the vices of the emperor and his empress had become the menace of the palace, and the joy of the flock. The flock remained ever so faithful to holy Chrysostom. His biography reveals the terrible maneuvers used by bishops and kings, but the worst of all the suggestions

offered came from the palace itself! Their him to sin at all costs! The suggestion to no property. Whatever he had belonged poor. So, they could not take the help for

most foul, evil idea was this; we must grab his property fell flat because he to the Church and found its way to the poor away and when they offered

get had the as a

solution to take his life, some said that Chrysostom could not care less. He would

consider it a great favor to be replanted in heaven even more quickly. St. John was immune to all threats. Nothing bothered him, nothing at all. The Holy Father was correct to be afraid of only one thing, to be afraid of sin. Thus, the most demonic >! St. Epiphanios, Panarion 3:1:2.

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solution was to get him to sin. My friends, the people of God only fall apart when they sin. The enemies know this quite well because they are under the inspiration of the devil, and the two sins they most promote are distancing from God and fornication. Look at our turbulent times and you will see what pulls our youth away from their course. You will discover the same action and the same method throughout history. The master plan of the Zionists, which can be found in The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion, is based on this method. Do not buy the anti-Semitic rhetoric of the Antidefamation League. This book speaks the truth. Every one of their plans is being fulfilled with tremendous mathematical accuracy. One by one, these protocols are coming to fruition. The prominent method used in this book is destruction by evil corruption: to enter the Christian nations, to paralyze Christian youth, to bring in sexual immorality, atheism, and apostasy, in every possible way. So, we are now in the

midst of the sexual revolution, the equality of the sexes, or unisex, even though the ideal equality of the sexes can only be found in Christianity, in the verse: there

is no male or female, we are all one in Christ (cf. Gal. 3:28). The Gospel does not

thrill us anymore; so we want another creation called unisex so we cannot separate

or tell the two sexes apart. The man wants to look like a woman and the woman like a man. The men have hair down to the waist and the women walk around with a crew cut, an awful sight. Women drive eighteen-wheelers, and men parade around in earrings and high heels. This is the idea of unisex, to turn everything upside down.

.

Another aim of the Zionists is fierce slander against Christianity and the Church. They promote that the Church is defunct, the priests are problematic, the bishops are corrupt, and so on. They are quite aware that scandals make frontpage news. They know how to neutralize and push aside the worthy shepherds. If they see a gifted church leader, zealous, a fighter for the truth, a fighter for the faith, at first they may gnash their teeth, but if this fails, then they approach with

flattery and they praise him, “I know you are doing quite well. You are speaking

the truth. Now, why don’t you come by our house so we can get to know you a

little better and exchange some thoughts?” They offer gifts and all kinds of free services. These are the traps, and step-by-step the Church leaders find themselves

within their grip.

Do not think that is something uncommon. Tragically, many of our Church's higher echelon have been corrupted through apostasy and sin, both of which are sectors of the old teachings Balaam had offered to Balak. Sin is not only fornication but also everything that refers to the enjoyment of mundane pleasures and wealth.

In the area of apostasy, Zionists promote books full of unorthodox theories. ‘They approach our Church leaders and introduce these agendas and theories. Some of

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our bishops sit there and nod their heads. Here I can say that this is great betrayal. Can you imagine that there can be a number of Church leaders who are masons, spiritists, or even atheists? Now you will ask, do you mean that a priest of our

parish can be an atheist?

Well, experience shows that this is very possible. It is precisely why I am telling you about this. If you do not take the necessary measures to save yourselves, do not

expect your salvation to take place through us [the clergy].

We do not mean that every Church leader is corrupt, misguided, and greedy. God forbid! We said we have some great shepherds, but we also have a number of

evil shepherds. We know that out of eight thousand priests in Greece at least one thousand do not believe in God! This is according to a recent poll. They do not

even believe in the sacrament of the holy Eucharist. They do not believe anything at all. I am extremely sorry to reveal this to you. However, I say this because the

Lord Himself reveals these things when He reproaches the bishop of Pergamos.

You have evil shepherds in your church. You have those that hold the doctrine

of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Do something about them or I will turn against you. I will turn against you if you do not repent (cf. 2:6).

We also need to make the flock aware that the enemies of the Church first try to paralyze and neutralize the shepherds, the generals, so that the sheep will

scatter and become easy prey. In Greek, we say that the fish rots from the head. The head rots first and then the body. Well, my friends, as intelligent Christians,

we must keep our eyes and ears open. Even if our shepherds surrender, we will not surrender. My friends, let’s stand well. Do not panic about the things that I just told you. It does not mean that every clergyman is not doing his job well or that

he does not love and believe in God. Do not think like this. We repeat; we have some excellent priests today! Neither do we want to make you suspicious. However, if you ever perceive that your parish priest does not believe or is not Orthodox in his mindset, do not ever say, “The priest doesn’t believe, why should I?” My friends, there are many, many people around us who allow themselves to be scandalized by the human weaknesses of our priests and bishops. This is cowardly. If your priest does not believe, you

will continue to believe because the Lord is real and you will continue to love

the Lord.

But, woe to the bad shepherd. ‘The days that we live in are terribly evil. These

are truly the last days. ‘The Lord forewarned us about this. He spoke to us about the evil workers, about heresies, about hirelings, or the hired hands. A hireling [misthotos in Greek] is not the priest who gets a salary to support his family so he

can eat, but the priest who has the psychology of a hireling. Let’s pay attention to

this. Every priest needs to be paid by the church. He needs to live. He has a family; he is not called a hireling for this. This is not what the Lord meant. A hireling has

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the following psychology: “You want an extra liturgy this week? I will do it but my price is so much.” or “You want a holy unction service at your house? I need to be paid. If you don't pay me, forget about it.” It is a great tragedy when a priest

or a bishop is in this position for financial reasons only. Imagine your country

under attack from all over and somehow the army cannot meet its payroll and the

soldiers lay down their weapons. They say, “No paycheck, no fighting.” No, the

good soldier will defend his country whether he gets a paycheck or not. His top priority is to defend his country and not to fill his pockets at this crucial time. I want you to know all these things. You need to be aware and prepare yourself accordingly because the enemies of the Church, the dark powers, are infiltrating

and forever attacking the ranks of vigilant shepherds and the guardians of the faith.

They slander them. They ridicule them. They call them all kinds of names because

these worthy shepherds impede their catastrophic evil schemes. This explains the reasons contemporary Nicolaitans attack every vibrant Christian resistance. One

thing that I must warn you about, once again, is that the enemy is now inside the walls of the city. I am sure you understand the degree of difficulty of our times and

the unbearable weight that the vigilant shepherds must bear. However, you must stay vigilant as well. I repeat; their strategy is on the one hand apostasy from God (atheism is running rampant in our times) and on the other hand licentiousness, love for carnal pleasures. St. Peter writes about today’s Nicolaitans and the ones of apostolic times; Having eyes full of adultery they cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, they have a heart trained in covetous practices, accursed children! They have forsaken the right way and gone astray following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness... These are wells without water; clouds carried by a tempest for whom is prepared the darkness of hell forever (cf. 2 Peter 2:14-18). These are the words of the Lord about the Nicolaitans of all times and all ages. Now let’s focus our attention on something else as well, the criticism that the Lord levels at the bishop of Pergamos when He tells him that Balaam taught Balak how to place a scandal before the sons of Israel. Here we have the phenomenon of the scandal or stumbling block. This, according to the Lord, Who explained this in the Gospel, means for someone to trip or fall away from the faith in the name of Jesus Christ and/or to fall from morality. Regarding the first case — to fall away from the faith, the Lord says for anyone who scandalizes one of these little ones who believe in Me, it is better for him to tie a millstone around his neck and jump into the deep of the sea (cf. Matt. 18:6). The little ones can be those of a young age or the simple people, the lowly people of society, the unimportant — by today’s

standards anyway. When an intellectual or important — by worldly standards — visitor asks these simple people whether they still believe in Christ, it is because they—the

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intellectuals—believe that Jesus is nobody. These are old and unnecessary stories. It would be better for him, in fact, his punishment would be less if he would go and kill himself, to tie a millstone around his neck and jump into the sea. Christ says his sin of suicide would be less than if he tells another human being not to believe in His name. Today this sort of scandalizing is widespread. There are teachers and professors who ridicule students if they believe in Christ. There are even parents who talk like this to their children. Society in general speaks and lives like this with its newspapers. Magazines and all means of mass communication directly or indirectly attack people’s faith in Jesus Christ. For all these the Lord clearly stated what they deserve.

Regarding the second case — the fall from morality, the Lord said, Woe to

the world from the scandals (cf. Matt.

18:17). The scandals are those of ethics

and morality, as for example, when you, the Christian lady exit your house halfnaked. You scandalize the other person and entice the unstable souls, and these unstable souls sin because of you. The Lord says, woe to the world for these

scandals. However, what is of interest here is the fact that Balak used both of these techniques—distancing from faith and falling away from morality—taught to him by Balaam. The very same two techniques are most prevalent in our times today. So here I must appeal to you, all those who hear the word of God, let's rethink

our responsibilities. We are completely responsible for how we carry ourselves in

front of our children and the youth: the parents, the teachers, our priests and society as a whole. Let us stand before our children with respect. This is the future generation and if this generation grows up without faith and with our carnal

sins, it will turn against us. We will taste the bitter fruits because we reared this

generation on filthy water from corrupted wells, the deteriorated wells of apostasy and immorality. They will never respect us. They will not respect parents, teachers, or priests; and this is already happening. Our youth rebel and turn against us. We repeat over and over again; you know how it is with teenagers; it is a dilemma with teenagers for whom we are responsible. By this, I mean our teachers, our TV commercials, our TV shows, and our apostasy from God. “The angry young man,” as the song says, only became angry in our century, this century of materialism, feminism, liberalism, and atheism, and we

now taste the fruits of our seedlings. The cause of this rebellion, anarchy and lack of respect when the teenager defies his parents, when he terrorizes his teachers and becomes a menace to society — all these things are the bitter fruits of the seedlings of the Nicolaitans, the enemies of the Church. My friends, as parents, as teachers

and as communities, let’s stay vigilant and become involved.

CHAPTER

14

Revelation 2:17-20

Promises to the Victor in the Content of Pergamos — Epistle to Thyatira — Praise — Criticism for the Woman Jezebel

Homily given February 22, 1981

€ now continue, my friends, with the analysis of the epistle that our Lord sent to the bishop

of Pergamos.

If you remember,

our Lord

had a complaint against the bishop of Pergamos pertaining to the Nicolaitans. These Nicolaitans were a typology of Balaam. He was their patron saint, so to speak. It was Balaam who had instructed Balak in the Old Testament story of the Israelites. He had told Balak to politely invite the Israelites to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to fornicate and thus to fall into disfavor with and provoke the wrath of God. God tells the bishop of Pergamos, Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth (Rev. 2:16). My friends, there is a surprising thought here. Surprising is the fact that the Lord is seeking a fullness in all His commandments and in all His words. We see that the Lord admonishes this oversight of the bishop of Pergamos, which is the failure to succeed in the catharsis, or cleansing of the church from the pollution of Nicolaitanism. Now

the Lord wants the bishop to repent and to rectify this flaw. The Lord does not tolerate anything improper in His Church, which is His spotless and pure Bride. We also see here the presence of a threat or punishment in the event that the bishop does not correct his actions, if he does not repent and take the necessary precautions to protect his flock from the heretical influence of Nicolaitanism. This threat is that the Lord Himself will fight the heretics. The Lord says to the bishop in simple terms; if you cannot take care of this, I will do it Myself. This is an interesting approach. In interpreting this, St. Andrew of Caesarea says, “In this threat we find philanthropy. I will not fight against you, but I will fight against those terminally ill with the disease of heresy.”** Again, our Lord takes an interesting and unusual approach, if we compare it to the other epistles where the Lord directs the threat to the bishop. I will punish you. I will turn against you. I will move your lampstand and so on. To this bishop He says, if you do not repent, I will turn against the heretics. Again, this is interesting, because logically why does He not go after the bishop if this bishop is at fault and needs to repent, but instead claims that He will turn against the >? Saint Andrew, Apocalypse, (PG. 106, 2380): “εν τη ἀπειλὴ ἡ φιλανθρωπία. Ου γαρ μετὰ σου φησίν, αλλἁ μετ᾽ εκείνων πολεμήσω, των νοσούντων ανίατα:

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heretics? Common sense tells us that He should go against the bishop. However, St. Andrew of Caesarea says that the Lord offers this threat along with mercy or philanthropy because of the excellent qualities of the bishop of Pergamos.* He was otherwise a great bishop, with the exception of this minor oversight of allowing a few of his Christians to be influenced — though not the entire flock. Unfortunately, some of the Christians were taken in by these false teachings of Nicolaitanism. For us to understand this better, let’s say that we have a great bishop or a priest, very zealous, a great human being; he is always striving and struggling, always caring so he will not overlook anything. In spite of his efforts, some of his parishioners become infected by the activities of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and he may have five or ten Jehovah's

Witnesses in his parish. We might think this is nothing major. However, the Lord insists that even these few should not exist. We should tremble at the thought of what is happening in our days, the way that we are today. What would the Lord say to us? However, the fact remains, that the Lord is seeking the bishop’s repentance. This shows that the bishop is guilty regardless of if this is something very small, like a small paragraph in the life of the Church, compared to the full scope of his work as a bishop. This may seem inconsequential by our standards. However, it is not of small consequence to allow a few of his Christians to fall victim to heresy. This is not a small matter. When a bishop or a priest neglects or does not make

an effort to finish God’s work, then God Himself takes over to see to it that this work is

completed. By this, the Lord wants to point out to His workers, “Yes, I’m giving you a job to do, but I will not abandon My Church. I will help My Church if you are neglectful.” Something similar can take place with our children my friends. If some parents do not provide for the spiritual development of their children, Christ will hold these parents accountable. Christ Himself takes over the spiritual development of these children. We often see children of neglectful parents turning into wonderful children, wonderful Christians. Christ Himself intervened in the spiritual development of these neglected children. However, this does not leave the parents off the hook. The parents will be held responsible. If you have been a neglectful father up to now, do not say, “Thank God my children turned out quite well, even though I did not do much for them and I even showed some laziness and neglect in their upbringing.” Let no one speak like this, because the Lord warns about the need for repentance. Just because I shoulder the responsibility for your children, and this is My prerogative, do not think that you are not responsible. However, the opposite is also true. If a parent has worked very hard (spiritually) for his children and is blameless in the area of their upbringing, then even if the children choose the wrong path, this does not mean that

the parents are responsible. The parents are not responsible in this case. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it (2:17). Now initially we must admit that the promises made here to the one who wins seem 93 Ibid.

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a bit strange. Let us look into these promises. He refers to the hidden manna and a name, written specifically on a white stone. Here the Lord uses two images: the first of the hidden manna, the second of a white stone with a name written on it. Regarding the manna, this image is chosen because the enemies of the church of Pergamos, the Nicolaitans, influenced the Christians to eat food sacrificed to idols and manna is something edible. In the desert, the Jews chose to eat food sacrificed to idols from those offered to them by Balak. They chose this over the manna that God provided for them every morning. Twenty-four thousand of the Jews sinned. The rest of the Jews did not sin. Only twenty-four thousand were seduced to join Balak in his festivals. They ate meat; they sacrificed to the false god Baal; and eating abominable and unclean foods polluted them. Now what Christ says here is that anyone in the church of Pergamos who refuses to eat from the polluted, sacrificed food of the Nicolaitans, or who does not fall into

their practices of fornication and eating foods used for idol worship, to this person (who abstains from this evil), I will give him the hidden manna to eat. What is the hidden manna? It is that which the Lord revealed in His gospel according to John — the miracle that fed the five thousand. The day after this miracle, some of these men from Capernaum drew near the Lord and for obvious reasons asked Him to stay with them permanently. The Lord told them, do not seek and labor for the bread which perishes, but for the bread that endures forever (cf. 6:27). And what is this bread? On the one hand, these men saw that He could provide free bread for them from only five loaves of bread, and they were naturally astonished; but now He tells them something new — not to seek the bread that perishes, but the bread that endures. Could it be that beyond His ability to create food or bread for them, He could also give them a certain food that would eliminate their hunger altogether? He mentioned something similar to the Samaritan woman, J will give you to drink from that water from after which one drinks, he will never thirst again (cf. John 4:1011) To their question about the food or bread that endures, the Lord said, I am the true manna. I am the true food, the manna of heaven. Unlike the food that your forefathers ate in the desert and died, I am the true manna. Anyone who eats My flesh, anyone who eats My body, the true manna, will never die. So, the old manna that

the Jews ate in the desert was the prefigurement of the new manna, or Jesus Christ.

More specifically, it was the typology of the mystery of the Divine Eucharist, because in the mystery of the Divine Liturgy, the consumption of the Body and Blood of Christ occurs. Let’s look into the nature and qualities of the old manna, the heavenly food of the desert. What was it like? This will give us some additional insight into the new manna, or holy Eucharist. What was the desert manna like? Solomon in his book of Wisdom explains, Instead of these things thou didst give thy people food of angels, and without their toil thou didst supply them from heaven with bread ready to eat, providing every pleasure and suited to every taste. For thy sustenance manifested thy sweetness toward thy children and the bread, ministering to the desire of the one who took it, was changed

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to suit everyones liking (16: 20-21). In other words, the very substance and great taste of manna was indicative of Your sweetness, O Lord, towards Your children. What was special about this manna was its very amazing quality to provide a different taste according to a person's desire. What were you hungry for — steak? When you were eating this manna, your desire for steak was satisfied. Were you hungry for beans? When you were eating manna, it would taste like beans. Does this surprise you? Some may comment or wonder, but these people were eating the same thing, the same food for forty years. | However, this quality ceased the moment the thought centered on eating the same food repeatedly. From that moment, the manna would lose its quality of changing into the desired taste for which each person was hungry. Then, the terrible phenomenon of the Hebrews approaching Moses complaining that they were sick and tired of this empty bread took place. In other words, they were bored with the tasteless heavenly manna. The Hand of God fell terribly heavy against the people. These people while eating the heavenly manna began to look back; and they desired the onions, the garlic, and the leeks of Egypt. These poor and pitiful human beings grew tired of the heavenly food and they wanted the earthly food of this world — not the food given to them by God directly. They could feel extremely well if they wanted to, by looking to God alone. However, they did not want this Godly discipline. This manna was a prefigurement and the typology of the one and exclusive real food of the human being, the Body and Blood of Christ. There is no other food that serves as food for immortality. The single and exclusive food for immortality is the Body and Blood of Christ. The Lord said all those who ate that manna died. That was the typos or the prefigurement. All those that eat the true manna will never die. In other words, they will live forever in the kingdom of God — He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life (John 6:54-56). Isn't it amazing that this manna of the desert would fulfill the individual tastes desired by each person? And this taste was a sweet taste. It had a sweetness — not only that of the manna itself. We must remind ourselves that the initial form of manna was like a pancake cooked with oil and honey. When we have pancakes for breakfast, we use syrup, honey and butter or oil; then we have the taste of oil or honey. Beyond this initial or basic taste, the manna would assume the different tastes as described by Solomon. Do you find it intriguing that this change could be different at all times? Let us look at some of the verses from the Song of Solomon: As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among young men. I sat down in his shade with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste. His speech is most sweet and altogether desirable (2:3 and 5:16). These are the words of the bride, the spotless bride, in this love song,

which are a tribute to the relationship between God — and more specifically between Christ the Second Person of the Holy Trinity and His Church, a relationships full of eros, this strong, most powerful eros, love. By the way, do not let your mind stoop to anything carnal while reading this Scriptural poetry, because Protestant interpreters attempt to drag these most spiritual eros love lines down to the carnal level. This eros (love) of the Song of Songs has nothing

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to do with the erotica shops of our filthy times. It has nothing to do with carnal or sexual relations. Divine eros is the highest level of pure, burning love. Christianity is an eros love. What ails Christianity today is the loss of this eros love. Christianity without this flame, without this burning of the heart, is a cold Christianity, a frozen

Christianity. We live as Christians out of a sense of duty, because we have to, because it is a nice thing to do. We were baptized, so we might as well go to church. We do not

have this flame within us, this burning divine eros love.

In the Song of Solomon we read these verses: As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow... (2:3), and His speech is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved... (5:16), represents the eros love relationship between the soul and the Bridegroom, or

Christ. At the same time, these verses also represent the eros love relationship between the Church and Christ. His fruit was sweet to my taste. His mouth is most sweet. He is altogether full of desire (cf. 2:3). He is desire in its entirety, full of desire! Do you see here that we have a faith full of eros love, the very thing that we lack? Unfortunately, Christians today have lost this burning love for the Bridegroom. So, this too is what Solomon is saying about the manna of the desert, “You are all sweet, you are all desire.” What was eaten in the desert is Your typology, the prefigurement of the true manna. And the Lord now interprets this typology in His Gospels. J am the true manna. Can you imagine my friends how awesome this is? By the way, the Song of Solomon (Song of Songs) and the Wisdom of Solomon were both monumental

works of King Solomon. Now once again, why did anyone who ate this manna have the specific taste that his heart desired? It was because he who partakes of the Body and Blood of Christ receives whatever charisma, whatever gift his heart desires. Lord,

grant me patience. Lord, give me peace. Lord, give me joy. Lord, give me wisdom. We receive these gifts while partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, which are the different tastes. Everyone who communes partakes of the same thing. All the faithful share the common cup. Moreover, everyone receives the gifts that he desires, that he

prayerfully asks God to grant him. The other image — the white stone — comes from the stones used both by the ancient Greeks and during the time of Christ to vote. One can find a very light, porous and almost weightless stone on the beaches of the Mediterranean Sea. We can see these stones float on the sea following the movements of the breaking waves. Eventually, these white stones end up on the shore. This stone is called psifida in Greek because of the psi sound that it makes as the waters carry it. Because this psifida stone was used as a voting ballot, the Greek word for vote is psifos from the psifida stone. So, the name of the candidate was written on a white stone. The Lord uses the image of this voting procedure. And He says to him who will win, as far as the context of the epistle goes, to him who will not be influenced by the hateful deeds of the Nicolaitans, their method and their actions, to him I will give a white stone (cf. 2:17).

Now, why white? This voting stone was not only used in the elections of the leaders of the ancient Greek nation, of politicians, but in the court system as well.

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This stone system was also used for the sentencing or the acquittal of a defendant. The members of the jury would use the white stones if they felt the defendant was innocent. A different stone, like a brick let’s say, was used to show that he was guilty. You may have heard the story about Aristides, the righteous. He earned the reputation of being the most righteous or fair ruler in Athens. At some point, his actions rubbed the Athenians the wrong way and he found himself in court. If he was found guilty, he would lose his governing status and he would be exiled. As he was walking about Athens, an older citizen approached him-and, without knowing who he was, he asked him for his assistance, “Sir, would you please write on my stone ‘Exile Aristides.” He asked him, ‘Excuse me sir, but do you know anything

about this man? Do you know this Aristides fellow? Did he do anything to you?’ ‘No, I don't know this man, but I’m just getting tired of hearing everyone call him righteous.’ “Very well, then.” Aristides obeyed the wishes of this illiterate Athenian, without exposing or introducing himself. Aristides the great man of Athens was exiled by the court system of his city. Thus, this stone would serve for either the acquittal or the sentencing of the person in question. So here when the Lord says, J will give him a white stone He means [I will use a similar expression that we use today. I will give him a clean slate.] that this man will not go through judgment. St. John states very beautifully in his Gospel, Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life (John 5:24). What death? — ‘The death that we call biological death. He passed over from death to life. He does not undergo judgment; that is the meaning of the white stone. He who gets this white stone is acquitted. He does not go through judgment. We often hear that everyone will be judged for his works. But will the saints be judged as well? The saints will not be judged. Why, because they simply passed over from this earthly death into everlasting life without judgment. This white stone, this sort of passport that exonerates one from judgment, has a new name. What is this new name? It is unknown. Only the one who receives this white stone knows the new name. St. Andrew of Caesarea and St. Arethas, both say this new name cannot be revealed in this present life.** Only the saints will receive this name. How is it possible to reveal incorruptible (uncreated) things in a corruptible world? For this reason, this remains a mystery of the incorruptible world. Only the one who receives this white stone knows this. ‘The epistle to the bishop of Pergamos ends with these two promises, my friends, to the one who overcomes — that the Lord will give to eat from the hidden manna (and this manna is Christ Himself) and that the Lord will give a white stone with a new name. Now, with the help of God, we enter the fourth epistle by St. John that was sent to the bishop of Thyatira. And to the angel of the church of Thyatira write (2:18). Thyatira 94 St. Andrew, Apocalypse, (PG 106, 238D). “évopa de xatvdy Th Tapovan Cur ἀγνοούμενον. Tovto to évopa ot ἁγιοι κληρονομήσουσι πως γὰρ οἷον τε φθαρτὴ γνώση τα ἀφθαρτὰα παραδηλούσθαι"

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lies southeast of the city of Pergamos. It was a Lydian city built by Selefkos the First. It was the most insignificant of the seven cities that received epistles from the Lord. This city housed industrial personnel and merchants. It was an industrious city, a city of commerce. However, it did not have the same glow of a city like Ephesus, Smyrna, or Pergamos, which had great libraries, and famous temples with spiritual and civic centers. Thyatira had none of this. It was a small and insignificant city. However, my friends, to this small and unimportant city, the Lord sent the longest of all seven epistles. Now let’s look at the entire epistle. And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her immorality. Behold, I will throw her on a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her doings and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches shall know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay upon you any other burden; only hold fast what you have, until I come. He who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give him power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received power from my Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (2:18-29).

_ As you remember from previous verses, the feet of the Lord appearing in the initial vision were extremely bright. They were like fine glowing brass, a glowing mixture of _gold and silver. Two different elements are central in the introductory lines of this epistle. The first is taken during the initial vision during which the Lord appeared directly before his mesmerized disciple in Patmos. He stays in this position as he dictates to St. John to record these epistles. In this vision, His eyes are like a flame of fire. These eyes represent the ability of the Lord to penetrate, to see through the deep things of Satan,a matter that He will address in this epistle. St. John also refers to His feet, which shows that He is not one who will maintain a passive position toward this knowledge and verification of the deep things of Satan, but He will crush His adversaries (with these brass feet).

_ ' _ .

The other element of this epistle is the self-proclamation of Jesus as the Son of God. This title is Messianic and corresponds fully with the content of the second psalm where the Messiah has authority over the nations and crushes the adversaries. He crushes them with an iron rod the same way a potter crushes pieces of pottery, like vases, crocks, and urns, or the way someone might use a sledgehammer and shatter unwanted clay utensils. With the same ease, the Lord will crush the deep things of

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Satan. It is as if He said to the bishop: Although the deep things of Satan surround you, do not be afraid. I see them. You do not see them. How can you see them? They are hidden. I repeat; they are hidden. ‘That is why you cannot see the deep things of Satan. They are covered by a veil. These deep things of Satan are locked away. They are locked away in buildings called Masonic Temples. They are locked. How can you see them? You cannot see them. I can see them, says the Lord. Do not be afraid. I will

crush and abolish all of these things. Now what is remarkable my friends, is the interpretation of the second psalm which is magnificent. The interpretation of this psalm as Messianic comes from the Lord Himself and this is because it concerns Himself. So naturally, He gives us this second psalm in its entire dimension. The Jews also recognize and accept that this is a Messianic psalm, even though these pitiful people do not accept the Person of Jesus Christ. What a pity. After the introduction, or opening lines of this epistle, we now move into the main topic. J know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first (2:19). Very nice, comforting and praising words indeed - this J know from God - I know your works and your love and your faith, your service and your patience and your last works are greater and more important than the first. Yet, in the epistle to the bishop of Ephesus, if you remember, he wrote, You left your first love. Here to the bishop of Thyatira, he writes the opposite, And your last works exceed the first. The last works of the bishop of Ephesus were weak while the opposite is true for the bishop of Thyatira. His last works were more substantial; they were increasing. In other words, we have two poles here diametrically opposed with a common central balancing point. This is just like the pole of the algebraic numbers, where we have the neutral point, which is zero, and the numbers can move in a positive or negative direction. This is precisely our position, concerning our willingness and motivation as we first start to live a spiritual life. Sometimes we descend. We go below our starting point; we go below zero. We hear this depressing and disheartening phrase that the Lord has told the bishop of Ephesus, You have left your first love. Sometimes, we ascend and climb above the initial starting point. In going up, we hear the words of praise, which the Lord says to the bishop of Thyatira, Your last works exceed the first. These two points represent the different positions or levels of the faithful in the Church and obviously there is a great variety of these positions, whether as a person or as a congregation. We need to do an occasional self-examination, whether examining ourselves as individuals or

as communities, and ask ourselves, am I gaining ground? Am I progressing towards holiness? Or, am I losing ground? The fact is that it is impossible for someone to stand still and continue to stay at the initial level. Nothing stands still, especially in the area of spirituality. Even though in some things we could talk about a relative stillness, in reality this is never the case. The life of man, man’s life, is dynamic whether he likes it or not. We cannot say that something never changes. Consider our body temperature, for instance; is it possible for our temperature to stay at 98.6 degrees, without the

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slightest fluctuation? Since a human being is a living organism, our temperature will fluctuate. So my friends, there is not even one of our activities or energies that will remain stable or at the initial state or at a certain level. Therefore, since this is the reality of things, the person who says he has reached a certain level and here he will stop, does not stop. In reality, he will begin to ascend or descend. And if you will, he will descend if he says that this is a comfortable place to stop. This is why the best method of spiritual preservation and please try to always remember this, is to keep ascending. Do you want to keep your spirituality? Then keep climbing. If you say, I came a long way; this is sufficient; I feel content with my progress, so I will take a short break. From the

moment you say this, you are already on the way down. If you persist in this thinking, you will slide down quickly. What I just mentioned to you holds true in all aspects of our life and not only in the area of our spirituality. In all matters of life, in our education, in our finances — if you want to maintain your position, then keep increasing and keep things on the rise. For this reason, it is necessary to have a constant spiritual temperature check, to observe our spiritual thermometer and to continue to reappraise to our spiritual inventory. I must also inform you that he who surpasses a certain level toward holiness, in other words, the person who begins to ascend, at some point will discover that he has reached a critical state. Please pay very close attention to this point. At some point, you make up your mind to repent; you decide to live a spiritual life. So, you are all set. You begin to attend church; you begin to confess regularly; you begin to focus on spiritual matters; and you begin to know Jesus Christ. In other words, you begin to participate in the mysteries of the Church. Sometimes, I do not know, we talk about the mysteries in a legalistic way like the fulfillment of a certain duty, but the mysteries are not something that we must go through out of a sense of duty; they are paths that lead to /ife. They are tunnels or channels that lead us to life, to God. So, when you begin to climb spiritually, at some

point you will reach a critical point. And the crisis is that you will have that feeling that you cannot climb anymore because you are tired. This is a crisis that we meet along the way. Everyone goes through this. Those that set out toward a spiritual life go on and on and on and then at some point, they become afraid, they panic. Sometimes, the parents panic for their children. They say, what is going to happen to my child, how far does he or she need to go? So many times, because the parents cannot deal with this anxiety, they force the children to stop. They tell their child,

look, that is enough. Do not go any farther. We need to understand that when we come to the point of panic or exhaustion, it means that we have reached that critical plateau. Another example of this is when we overeat, and our stomach has great difficulty dealing with its contents and we say that the stomach is undergoing a crisis. Now which way is this crisis going to go? The stomach can vomit the contents. Or a heart attack can keep the stomach from functioning and people do die occasionally from overeating. Alternatively, the stomach can manage to digest and it can overcome

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this crisis. Let's consider an even greater example in the area of supersonics. When a jet takes off, and its speed increases, the behavior of the air changes as the plane goes faster and faster. The air becomes increasingly a solid mass. At a certain point, as the speed of the plane increases and comes close to the speed of sound, the air takes the dimension of a solid, and the jet feels like it is cutting through a mountain. The jet feels almost ready to fall apart because the air acts like a solid mass. Now if the jet succeeds in passing this critical level, which is called the sound barrier, then the airplane glides very nicely. Not only does it escape danger but now this plane becomes supersonic. It went beyond the sound barrier; it flies very comfortably and it feels that the air does not exist anymore. Well, my friends, this very thing happens in the spiritual life. The moment you have reached this critical point, you will succeed — if you do not lose heart. It is a matter of losing heart; please understand this. The word of God speaks about this in Revelation: But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death (21:8), Now if you do not cower, if you do not give up from exhaustion, and you succeed in passing this barrier, then the spiritual life that awaits you is wonderful; it is actually great. It feels so great and so natural that you could not consider living in any other way. It feels like it is in your blood, like something woven into your entire existence. So if you happen to meet a very spiritual person, an ascetic, he will act surprised if you tell him that you cannot reach that sort of spirituality, that you cannot possibly reach his level. He will say, “How can you say that? But it is so easy. It’s not hard at all.” It feels like the easiest thing for him because he went beyond the critical point and now that he is beyond that point, the life of the spirit is for him something very natural and effortless. There is also a second consideration here. When we overcome or go beyond this critical point, my friends, we realize that this can be accomplished in every area of self-control, for food, for sex and for all areas of our life. When we overcome all these

things, then life becomes like a dream. Things become very smooth. None of the above elements bother you. It feels that they no longer exist. After this, you live in the deep peace of God. What is the thing that we call peace, anyway? What do you think? Precisely this, when the passions tone down, subside and when one breaks through this critical barrier, he possesses the gift of peace: peace of mind, peace from passions, and a lasting peace. I was reading St. Isaac the Syrian who was relaying that it took thirty years for a near by ascetic to defeat some specific tempting thoughts. Thirty years. After twenty years, he still had no assurance of any possible progress. Do we comprehend this? We all need to understand this: twenty years, no answer! Around the twenty-fifth year, he began to feel some progress. Then after a few more years, after thirty years of battle, he reached peace of thoughts, Jrini logismon. He finally broke through the critical level. Now you may say, so many years! So many years! But this is precisely why we were given this life; not to make babies or not; or to possess homes or apartments or not;

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or to amass money or not. Life was given to us precisely for this reason: to succeed in passing this critical plateau. It sounds a bit scary, my friends. But this is the essence of Orthodox spirituality. I cannot present anything different to you. I struggle alongside you and you struggle alongside me. We have not reached this level. We have a way to go. Nevertheless, this is Orthodox spirituality. Remember this, because those who speak to you about something very easy and effortless are most likely offering you something foreign and strange to true Orthodox spirituality. A third point to consider is that the one that reaches this level never considers his accomplishments as holiness. Others may be fascinated, but he looks at his lifestyle as something very common and insignificant. He feels that he already achieved this level, so this is really nothing special. He looks at his lowly position and he turns his eyes toward conquering higher peaks of holiness. I have a few things against you. Most of your works are good, the Lord tells the bishop of Thyatira. I know that your last works are better than the first, the Lord says to the bishop. I have a few things against you. What are these few things that the Lord has against the bishop of Thyatira? As you see, everything seems well, but there seem to be imperfections. And as I told you earlier, this gives us hope, because we too are forced to look at our weaknesses. You allow that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess to teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication and eat food sacrificed to idols. You allow the woman (RSV) and, according to another text: your woman or your wife. But we do not find this to be the case with most texts. Most ancient manuscripts record: that woman, tin gineka, with the exception of the Alexandrian text and a few others that write, your woman. Again, most texts and the ones we most often use today simply write: you allow that woman. You allow Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and deceive my servants. She deceives them into committing sexual immorality and into eating food sacrificed to idols. As you can see here, we have a new threat plaguing the church of Thyatira, which the Lord finds necessary to address and reprove. Now who was Jezebel? Obviously, she was a woman with historical dimension, a historical person. This woman was a member of the local church. As a local church member, she was a participant in the holy mysteries and she portrayed herself as a Christian, and not only as a Christian,

but as a prophetess. She considered herself a prophetess. However, she was a false prophetess and the Lord characterizes her as such. In this very letter to the church of Thyatira, He calls her Jezebel. However, in order to understand the nature of this

woman and the reason He calls her Jezebel, we need to look at an old story as we did

in our recent talk about Balaam and Balak typologies of the Nicolaitans.

Here, this woman is connected to sexual immorality and foods sacrificed to idols,

even though the reference seems to be metaphorical and not literal. It could be literal as well, but it is most likely metaphorical. In other words, the sexual immorality and the things sacrificed to idols have an allegorical sense. In the Old Testament, the words fornication and adultery are very common and here the Lord speaks about adultery, And the children born by her, I will kill says the Lord (2:23). From this it is evident that

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what is referred to is not natural or physical fornication, but spiritual or metaphorical — in essence, rebellion against the true God. However, this rebellion is not easily recognized, and it has to do with a spirit of delusion. This is significant because this woman was a member of the church and as a member she was pulling the wool over the people's eyes, exercising her maliciousness. It seems that she was involved in a Gnostic heresy — if we accept fornication and food sacrificed to idols in a literal sense. However, we repeat, it is rather a metaphor to point out the spiritual rebellion brought forth by this spirit of delusion. The Lord reveals this dangerous woman, this new Jezebel — a name the Lord uses metaphorically to reprove this woman of the church of Thyatira. We are all aware that Jezebel was a princess of Phoenician birth who was married to Ahab, the Israelite king of the northern kingdom. She was a demonic woman, a terrible woman. Initially, she was of a very controlling nature and she managed to control her husband to the extent that she governed the country rather than he. Second, she introduced idolatry. The Phoenician gods were idols and she persecuted the worship of the true God of Israel with a frenzy. She persecuted the prophet Elijah with a demonic craze. She was a very horrible woman during the prophet Elijah’s time. She introduced the worship of Baal; and naturally, she was instrumental in getting the Israelites to commit sexual immorality and to eat foods sacrificed to idols. She also killed God’s prophets and she hunted the prophet Elijah to have him executed. She killed many prophets, especially a certain class called the Sons of the Prophets. She had a daughter and succeeded in making her the wife of the prince of the southern kingdom.

This is common characteristic of demonized people; they stop at nothing. Up to this point, the southern kingdom had maintained its faith to the true God. When the daughter of Jezebel arrived in the southern kingdom, she married the prince and future king of this southern kingdom. ‘This evil daughter was a carbon copy of her mother, especially in the area of evil. She proceeded to introduce idolatry to the southern kingdom. The result was that the future kings would compete with the kings of the north in the area of idolatry and sin. In the end, God punished both kingdoms. The Assyrians enslaved the northern kingdom and a bit later, the Babylonians took the southern kingdom captive. Do you see what these two women

accomplished? ‘This mother and daughter team caused the destruction of the entire nation of God through their fornications. The Lord says to the bishop of Thyatira,

you have this woman, Jezebel, who leads My people astray, which means that she appears as one coming to destroy the people of God, the people of the church of Thyatira. Now what was displeasing to the Lord was the fact that the bishop of

Thyatira was not distancing her from the church.

Let’s read what Saint Anthimos of Jerusalem writes on this very point. (He was a bishop of the eighteenth century.) Bishop Anthimos writes about the bishop of

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Thyatira, “He was not negating her Christian identity but he was addressing her as a Christian and by this name she was leading the servants of God astray and making them subject to her delusion to commit sexual immorality and eat foods sacrificed to idols.” In other words, the mistake of the bishop was that he did not cut her off from the flock. He failed to warn the flock, to announce to them that

this woman was not Christian. As long as she was calling herself a Christian, she

could easily delude Christians in the church. Even from this point, we can see that sexual immorality and sacrifice to idols have a metaphorical dimension here. If

she had carried an entire stone pit in the front of the church, the bishop and the Christians would certainly have caught on. These were fervent Christians and they

would certainly not eat food sacrificed to idols. Once again, this is a metaphor. However, it seems this woman stayed in Thyatira and became the forerunner of Montanism. A few years later, in this city we record the rise of someone called Montanus. Montanus was a Christian who believed and taught that he was the incarnation of the Holy Spirit. He taught that

Jesus Christ was the Incarnation of the Word of God, and that he, Montanus, was

the incarnation of the Holy Spirit. He had two women who claimed they were prophetesses that had revelation after revelation and vision after vision and were prophesying. The Holy Spirit supposedly inspired them. The Lord reveals that they were false prophetesses, just like the false prophetess referred to in this epistle. This Jezebel of Thyatira was a false prophetess and the spiritual predecessor of Montanists. In these people, we notice the trait of extreme discipline, extreme

self-control. Montanism taught that marriage was filthy. Montanism spread

throughout the entire Mediterranean. There was a certain charm to it, because it

taught something very austere, which by the way was condemned by the Church.

Therefore, Montanus is the first wild weed that sprouted from this prophetess, this woman who coexisted in the midst of the church of Thyatira. However, this same Jezebel is also the forerunner of all those who to this day claim they can invoke the Holy Spirit, perform miracles on television, speak in tongues and perform many other theatrics. This is a great chapter, which refers to the illumined or pentecostals or charismatics as they are called who call themselves Christians. We need to look into these groups of Christians at length and we will do so at the next session.

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Revelation 2:21-24

Jezebel — The Self-Proclaimed Il!lumined and their Delusion I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her immorality. Behold, I will throw her on a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her doings; and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches shall know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay upon you any other burden (2:21-24).

Homily given March 1, 1981

y friends under the allegorical name Jezebel, which we previously analyzed at length, the Lord calls attention to movements of marginal Christianity which continue to hold a place of honor in the Church. Worse yet they are not denied their Christian name. We saw last week that the bishop of Thyatira was at fault because he continued to name the woman, who is symbolically called Jezebel, a Christian. Although this woman was a member of the church, she was teaching foreign and unchristian doctrine, strange things, which were intolerable to the Lord. He accuses and scolds the bishop because he continued to identify this woman as a Christian. Previously, when we analyzed her fornication, adultery, and sacrifices to idols, we understood that they all have a metaphorical meaning. They refer to a teaching outside of the true teaching with the obvious purpose of distancing the faithful from the true teachings of God. Needless to say my friends, within our ecclesiastical history a number of similar waves have existed which caused great pain to the Church and were eventually condemned. The entire meaning of this verse, where the Lord speaks to the bishop,

is that the bishop was ultimately responsible. Please remember this because it is the central point of today’s subject. It is the bishops’ responsibility to discern any foreign elements, any strange or impure teachings within the Church, and to expel them immediately. This is the mindset of this verse. This woman, Jezebel, seems to have been a follower of a Gnostic heresy. However, she was a Christian in the Church,

acting within the Church. She was not outside like the Jehovah’s Witnesses are today. She was acting freely in the Church. We must mention that the litmus test that singles out the Gnostics is the area of ethics.

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The ethics of Gnostics revolve around two extremes. One extreme was that of the Nicolaitans, known for their belief in the destruction of the body through indulgence in all pleasures. Their motto was that it is necessary to abuse the flesh. In other words I must destroy the flesh: by exhausting it through pleasure and abuse, to eat and drink always and to do so excessively, to get drunk, to take drugs, and to seek sexual relations with no restriction — all this to destroy the flesh. The other extreme was excessive selfcontrol such as: the condemnation of marriage; the abstention from many different foods, not only from meat, but from many foods in the plant kingdom as well, such as fruits that were still attached to the trees or plants. Such was the heresy of Manichaeism. The Manichaeists were terribly deluded. ‘They taught that if you ate a fig that you had picked from its tree, you were guilty of murder because that fig had a soul. So when am I supposed to eat this fig —- when I die from hunger? No, I will eat it when it falls from the fig tree. These are terrible and nonsensical things, my friends. So, these are extreme positions; the extreme self-control and the condemnation of marriage are characteristics of the Montanists as well. As we were saying earlier, Montanus first appeared in Asia Minor and one of his central teaching areas was the city of Thyatira. This is why the Lord addresses the subject. After Montanus, we have the Sebirians, the abstentious; the Massalians — and in reality, the number of these super abstentious heresies is beyond measure. These two extremes coincide in one central point, which was the basic dualist doctrine of the teachings of the Gnostics. Dualism basically held that the flesh is the cause or the soutce of evil and is the creation of an evil god, while the soul is the creation of the good god. So in order to emancipate the soul from the bondage of the flesh that was created by the evil god, we must destroy the flesh. This is to be accomplished either through licentiousness, extreme depravity and sexual filth, or through the methods of extreme abstinence. I will not marry. I will starve myself. I will not go to a doctor if I get sick—all to destroy the evil creation, the flesh, being the source of evil. St Paul forewarned us in his epistles about these Gnostic tendencies, even in those early years - especially abstentious ones. He condemns these. The Nicolaitan tendencies are condemned by the Second Epistle of Peter and by the Epistle of Jude, the brother of God. If you remember, St. Paul writes in one of the epistles about those who will prevent marriage and abstain from foods. Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and enjoin abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving (1 Tim. 4:1-4). So, what do these people mean? How can they say that you are guilty of murder when you eat a fig before it falls from the fig tree? What kind of nonsensical and demonic teachings are these? Why is marriage filthy and polluted? These are demonic

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teachings. If someone wants to abstain from marriage, he will do so in honor of the Lord’s Flesh, as St. Ignatius* teaches and not because marriage is something unclean in itself. I can only tell you, my friends that these perceptions exist in many of our Christians even today. If you only knew how many of our Christians believe that they will not be saved because they are married. Married! We will mention that in a marriage many things do take place that are not acceptable to God. Now if perversions take place within marriage, then one can justifiably say that they need to be very concerned. However, if one refuses to get married and he does illicit things, does abstention from marriage have any meaning? St. Paul says no, these are deviations and outside of the course, but marriage in itself is honorable. Marriage is honorable in everything and the marriage bed undefiled for God will judge the fornicators and adulterers (Heb.13:4). No, you cannot be a deviate; you cannot be an adulterer or an adulteress. You cannot get involved in unnatural and filthy perversions inside or outside of the marriage. No, these things are detestable to God. The marriage must be honorable. I remember a while back when I went to a small country store, the elderly wife of the shop owner said with a great sigh, “Only you will be saved. I don’t know about us.” “Why do you say that? Why do you feel this way about marriage?” Is marriage an obstacle to your salvation? Who told you this?” These are Gnostic perceptions. Whether we understand it or not, we do not know exactly the specific source of these perceptions, but they do circulate in the Church. The fact remains that St. Paul condemns this thinking; and it is also important to know these tendencies and these

ways always existed within the Church, falsifying the true teaching of the gospel. Now the Lord is asking the bishop of Thyatira to expel the woman, symbolically named Jezebel, who introduced the Gnostic perception, possibly puritanical ideas, in the Church because she is considered a predecessor of Montanism. Furthermore, she

needed to be excommunicated if she failed to repent. The Lord says, J gave her time to repent; and this assures us that she was a member of the Church. Only someone in the Church can repent. How can an idolater or a non-Orthodox repent? The mystery of repentance and confession is a privilege and a gift of the Church. Please pay attention to this so you will be able to understand the rest of today’s session. The subject of repentance is an internal and intra-ecclesiastical matter. We need to understand that these are vital points. An interesting point here is the statement of the Lord, And I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent from her fornications. In other words, she does not want to repent from her unclean and polluted teachings which contradict the teachings of the gospel, the teachings of the Lord. She refuses to repent. Consequently, this is an internal affair of the Church. Another point that we can see here is that the Lord gives her time to repent. ‘This element (that a heretical, strange or foreign teaching needs a certain amount of time to be rectified) has been kept in the Church throughout her history. We need to invite the member who is spreading these false teachings; we need >> St. Ignatius, To Polycarp, 5:2.

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to present to him the correct Orthodox teachings and try to convince him to follow the conscience of the Church. Perhaps he will not be convinced right away. A second and third or a number of attempts must take place to bring this person back to the Orthodox Christian teaching. If he continues to disregard the Orthodox teaching and spread his false and heretical teachings, then he needs to be cut off from the Church. This was the procedure with Arius. Do you know how many years Arius stayed in the Church, even though he was confronted a number of times to reconsider his position? Not only St. Alexander, but his predecessor as well, admonished Arius repeatedly to return to the truth, but he would not take heed. So he was cut from the Body of the Church, with a decision of the First Ecumenical Council (325 A.D.).

So, this time for repentance is necessary. I am only afraid that sometimes it may be too long. I am afraid of this, and this is because sometimes we do not want to rock the boat; we don’t want to create any waves, especially in our times. We often put up with all kinds of intrusions in the Church and we remain silent. This is what is scary and this is precisely what the Lord complains about to the bishop. His reprimand is based on this point: you still put up with this woman, and she is deceiving My faithful. Her teachings were demonic. The Holy Writ, the Holy Scriptures, is very clear about this. The Lord says, To the rest of you in Thyatira, I say to those who did not get involved with the teachings of this woman, those of you who do not hold to these teachings—teachings; it does not say practice, but teachings. So, this was a false teaching. Some people outside of the Church may talk about depths of wisdom or masters of wisdom, but I reveal to you, says the Lord, these are but the deep things of Satan; and this proves that this was a demonic teaching. Now what are demonic teachings, my friends? They are certainly not scarce in our times and they are not easily detected either. For instance, Satan may suggest to you to fast a double Great Lent, eighty days. This happened to one of our faithful in Patras. He had a vision of someone like Christ who suggested something like, “If you like to please me, you will also fast from Pascha until Pentecost.” Here we should be suspicious. The Church says not to fast during this period. The devil says you must fast. Should I even tell you more? The people who ingest some kind of vine on a specific month so they can have children, may also fast for forty days and after this fast, they may fast another forty days for Great Lent. Worse, yet, they may fast the forty days suggested to them by their wizard and they may neglect the Great Lent, the fast of the Church. I have encountered this several times. Why don’t you go to this master wizard, Christo of Gazaro in Serres — (I am not suggesting that you should go, but some of you already go.) — when you find yourselves in a very difficult situation? Some of you who are listening to me right now lose your faith in God and go. After you return, you tell me you went there. But why did you go? You know better. I warn you often about this. “But, Father, I needed to save my child.” So, you will save your child with the help of the devil? Does the devil save or destroy? That is why I said, why don’t you go to him? What does this infamous Christo, the number one medium of Greece, tell you? “Write a letter to the

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Holy Mountain at this specific address and you will have them send you a piece of grapevine, and some other strange requests.” Now I ask myself, don’t the Hagiorite Fathers catch on to this, that these customers of theirs are the referrals of the devil? It seems that they do not; they don’t realize it. My friends, when a medium in Philippi, the poor slave girl, repeatedly introduced them as servants of God, St. Paul did not hesitate to exorcise the demonic spirit from her. The demon was expelled and the young woman lost her fortune-telling abilities. So, we go to the door of Satan and a wizard like Christo uses icons, incense, and holy objects to get you all tangled up. Christo of Gazaro maneuvers within the perimeters of the Church. He uses the climate of the Church, and Christian people fall for it. What a menace! “You must do three Divine Liturgies, forty supplication services, three holy unction services...” Why three? Why forty? Isn’t one enough? Why not four, but three? This alone should make us suspect sorcery — and that is what he is; he is a sorcerer. I repeat; he has been doing his job for years and years. His customers are baptized Church members, yet no one corrects him. We see here that the Lord says that these are the deep things of Satan and this has to do with a demonic teaching. I believe that these few things that we have brought to your attention can be helpful to draw some basic conclusions. Keep these things in mind and we will proceed with an outline for the understanding of today’s subject; but also stay alert and watchful, because these things always take place in the Church in one form or another. Now to summarize some of these basic points: first, demonic teaching has to do with an intra-ecclesiastical phenomenon. I want to emphasize that it takes place inside the Church and not outside. Second, there is a presence of a strange teaching, a teaching foreign and irreconcilable with the Church. Third, there is coexistence between the strange teaching and the teaching of the Church; and there is no condemnation even though, unfortunately, this has been taking place for a relatively long period. A false teaching can creep in and it may take time to be revealed. However, once we come to that realization and we let the condition exist for a long period, then, it becomes unacceptable. It is unacceptable to close an eye and pretend that the false teaching does not exist. Fourth, this teaching is directly related to Satan. It has demonic depth. It leads to the worship of Satan, but it is camouflaged behind the elements of our faith and our worship; it hides behind these things. Fifth, it creates false prophets and false prophetesses. These five points are the basic characteristics of all those who create a questionable movement within the Church. Based on these five elements we can now pinpoint not only that woman of Thyatira of two thousand years ago, but we can also apply this basic line of reasoning to pinpoint any similar actions in our Church today. And

now we ask, are there any such movements within our

Church today? Most certainly there are and not just a few. Tonight we will concentrate on a particular movement here in Greece that has caused great and serious problems in the Church. However, the Church has not condemned these movements even though sixty years have gone by. It has to do with

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the self-declared illumined. These people call themselves Photismenoi or Illumined, people of light. These individuals are mostly women. There are very few men in these movements. One of these movements started in 1923 with Constantina Zolota, who is no longer with us. She departed this life. She initiated an academy called “The Redemptive Academy of the Most Holy Theotokos.” Again, this woman is no longer

alive, but today there are at least five hundred groups in the area of Athens - five hundred organized study groups, averaging between twenty to one hundred people per group. An estimated twenty-five thousand people in Attica follow the teachings of this Zolota. In the same category, we have another lady called Helen of Spata, and another called Mrs. Magoula. She has also left us. We also have Athanasia Kriketou, the “saint” of Aigaleo. Athanasia continues her deceptive work even in our days, and the sad thing is even priests and bishops visit her. Politicians seek her out. [This alone should give it away because politicians usually do visit mediums.] We also have a certain Maria of Larisa, though I believe she has probably left us as well. Finally, in the same category we have an Orthodox archimandrite from the Archdiocese of America called Eusebius Papastephanou or Stephanou. Eusebius Stephanou is actively involved in the so-called charismatic movement. A close relative of this charismatic movement is the Christian Organization of Peace (COP) here in Larisa. You know about COP. We have warned you a number of times. These people have visions, and dreams; they write poems, especially poems, especially in the movement of Zolota. I happen to have some of these writings in my possession. A lady, I believe she is probably present tonight, was telling me about her brother. Suddenly one night he got up out of bed and began to write and write and ever since, he is constantly writing great philology. Yet, this man is almost illiterate. How can this be? I did not respond to this lady even

though enough time has gone by. I do not know if that is good or bad. These illumined individuals also reveal unknown matters. They reveal sins. They tell you: you committed this or that sin. No one knows about this except you. They perform healings. I remember one woman who visited our bishop prior to 1974. The bishop told her that she was deluded. The bishop sent her to me and she came to the church at St. Stylianos. She told me that she belonged to the movement of Zolota. She took out her wooden cross from her pocketbook and she told me, “I heal people. I heal the sick with this cross.” “My lady, be careful. Let’s look into these things very closely.” “Are you kidding? People become well before my very eyes. Someone may be sick and in bed and I bless him with my cross and he becomes well immediately.” 5° In the western hemisphere we have the phenomenon of Vasula Ryden born in Egypt of Greek parents and baptized into the Greek Orthodox church, although she hardly thought about God in thirty years. In 1985 she was approached by her guardian angel and later by god himself...“jesus” also appeared to her and... asked her to bless him! And she did! Her message is highly ecumenistic and confusing, full of demonic signs and works of spiritism with a strong appeal to non-denominational audiences and not a few uninformed Greek Orthodox Christians. Her TLIG (true life in god) international ministry is deceiving thousands of people and to this day, we know of no official statement from the Orthodox Church concerning her activities.

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So, these people heal the sick; they perform miracles; they may create a sweet fragrance; they also prophesy. They foretell the future as well. Remember that the Lord called the woman of Thyatira a fale prophetess. Jezebel was a false prophetess. A basic characteristic of all the people that I have referred to is prophecy, which was also a basic characteristic of Jezebel. They also have the phenomenon of speaking in tongues, new and inconceivable tongues; and they strongly believe that the Holy Spirit moves through that. The Holy Spirit speaks through them directly. When I was very young, our parish priest used to participate in a study group of Zolota. Zolota had a huge house in the suburbs of Athens. She was quite well to do. She held meetings in her house. At the beginning of the year, they called the priest to bless the house, to do a Holy Water Service. The priest told me all this, even admitting the fact that she was deluded. I was very young, a small child at the time. I did not have much knowledge, but someone could have said to him, “My dear Father, if you know that

she is deceived and thus deceiving others, why do you go to her door to sanctify the house of deception? Tell her no, I will not come because you are deluded!” So, these groups use the priests; they do services in the church. They love to have many Holy Unction services because they are related to the Holy Spirit. I remember the leaders of our local charismatic Pentecostal movement about ten years ago. They were very much involved with Holy Unction and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. One of them asked me a number of questions on this subject. I have been quite aware of their activities. They still go to church. They take Holy Communion. They constantly speak about Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit; and, as we will see, in the charismatic

movement of Fr. Stephanou, they raise their hands in the air; they assume a happy smiling face, and they keep smiling, keeping their hands raised. They seem to have an element of constant enthusiasm at least in public, but at the same time there is an element of nervousness, which suggests a great deal; it suggests a lot. This nervous movement says a great deal about his gatherings, and toward the end of this session, we will hear what Fr. Stephanou has to tell us about these gatherings. My friends, how can all these things be explained? Quite obviously, these people are moved by a certain spirit. The question is what spirit is behind all this? Are these people under the energy of the Holy Spirit as they claim, or are they under the energy of an evil spirit? We will reach our conclusion from their works and from their teachings. We will see what spirit actually moves them. Now after this general introduction, let’s begin to discuss these different movements. Naturally, these movements have idiomatic characteristics as well. First, let's look into the movement of Zolota. I was very young, about eight years old, and I used to hear about this lady while visiting my neighbors. Her movement started in 1923. She became extremely popular in the area of Piraeus. She earned the admiration of the women, who simply loved to talk about Zolota. One of the things that I remember specifically was her tendency to associate her school with the thrill of freeing Constantinople from the Turks. Her school would serve as the boot camp for the freedom fighters to regain Byzantium. I remember this like it was yesterday, but

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we will return to this a little later. Generally, they are striving to become a global organization. They will fight to spread their teachings worldwide. They hold millennial deceptions; they are millenialists. They say that Christ will come and reign one thousand years on earth, which is the backbone of chiliasm, the heresy of the Jehovah Witnesses, and the most central out of the great number of their false teachings. These Zolota followers are also characterized by an excessive worship of the person of the Most Holy Theotokos. However, as Orthodox Christians we do not worship the Theotokos, the Virgin Mary. We only worship God; we simply offer honorary veneration for the Virgin Mary. They are also characterized by an uncertainty about the Person of Christ. At times, they consider Him as a human being only and at other times they speak in such a way as to make a person wonder where they stand. They do not know where they stand. Is He God or is He not? They use materials from the pseudo gospels. They also write books; and I believe Zolota wrote a book. They also come out with some stories about Christ that seem to be taken directly and indiscriminately from some New Testament era apocrypha. The Church rejects these apocrypha as false. However, what is worse than all this is that they consider their school of redemption to be a higher authority than the Church. ‘That is how far Satan pushes these people; but I need to return to the fact that they connect their movement with a degree of ethnocentricity. At least they did back then, when I was very young and I happen to remember this very, very well. I heard with my own ears that there was a movement to free Constantinople. They interpreted prophecy after prophecy, and these prophecies were stretched and tailored in such a way as to mean the re-taking of Constantinople. I must tell you that these things seem to repeat themselves, and even as I am speaking to you there is a certain man here in Larisa who is attempting to interpret some prophecies about taking Constantinople back. They have prepared banners and flags; they have organized different battalions of militia; and they are preparing to conquer and re-take Constantinople. Now how do they support all this? They support their views or their beliefs with two different points. One can be found within the book of the Revelation, And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it (10:10). John the evangelist who has seen these visions is called upon to report them in the book of the Revelation; the angel gives him a scroll and John eats this scroll. And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. And I was told, ‘You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.’ Let us pay attention to this. You must prophesy again. The true interpretation of this verse is this: there is some sort of intermission, so to speak. Up to this point you saw what you saw. You saw phase one; now after this, phase two will begin - a second phase of prophesies. This is what is meant by You will prophesy again. Now let us look at the interpretation given by some of these people in Larisa, here in our city. They use some outlandish means to support their theories. They say when St.

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John the evangelist prepared for his death, he instructed his disciples, the Christians, to place him in a tomb. They started to cover him progressively with soil, until he was completely covered. After one hour, when they returned to the tomb, the body was gone. Ihe tomb was empty. You may even find this information in ecclesiastical books. At the end of John’s Gospel the Lord told Peter; Come with Me; follow Me. (cf. John 21:19) He revealed to him by what death he would die, in other words, the death of martyrdom. John, without being told anything, arose all by himself and started to follow the Lord. Moreover, the Gospel tells us that this took place after they had eaten the fish that they had cooked over a fire of coals on the beach. Then Peter turned around, and seeing John, he asked the Lord—because Peter and John were quite close,

they were very good friends—“Lord, what about him?” In verse twenty of the last chapter of John we read, Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” (21:20-22) John wrote his gospel many years after this fact, about seventy years later, wanting to correct a false rumor that was circulating among some members of the Church. There was the mistaken notion in the Church that John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, would not die. Now John himself corrects

this erroneous teaching found in the early Church. In verse twenty-three he writes, The saying spread abroad among the brethren that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” In other words assuming that [ wanted him to stay alive forever and not die until I come back, what is this to you?

Here, do you see how St. John himself, corrects this misunderstanding? He corrects it because this idea had spread throughout the Church. Despite this correction, my friends, made by John’s own hand in his holy gospel, this very diabolical teaching— that John did not die—stubbornly circulates to this day. According to this teaching, John did not die; he is hidden somewhere here in the world. By the way, I read this in a book written in the eighteenth century as well, where someone wrote an interpretation of the book of Revelation. This book says that three did not taste death: Enoch, Elijah, and John. However, the Holy Scripture says nothing to this effect about John

anywhere. John himself spells it out. The book goes on to interpret that when the Antichrist comes, these three will come to reprove him and stand up to him. These three represent the three laws. Enoch represents the natural law of the conscience; Elijah, the law of Sinai of Moses; and John, the law of the Gospel. The

book relates that these three will be killed by the Antichrist. However, this book contradicts the book of the Revelation as John writes that the prophets that will fight the Antichrist will be two and not three — the two olive trees. St. John of Damascus interprets that these two olive trees are Elijah and Enoch. How does John the evangelist get involved in all this?

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According to these new crusaders of Larisa, the apostle John will prophesy again. They say that St. John will appear again since he did not die. He will appear in our times; he will prophesy about some important events, and these prophecies pertain to the liberation of Constantinople as if the subject of the Revelation is something specific to Greece! No, my friends, the subject of Revelation is universal. However, when it says here, You must prophesy about many peoples, rulers, tongues, and kings, these prophecies are global. This is why we need to expose these delusions. Now we must also point out that these deluded individuals can say a number of good things. The devil, because he is the one that inspires them, is capable of telling you one thousand good things and one false thing. The one thousand good things do not outdo the one that will lead you astray. “God-inspired” means that all is good, all is correct. However, when these interpreters claim that they are God-inspired, is it possible for them to make mistakes? Yes, they do make a number of mistakes. But is the Holy Spirit behind their interpretations and inspirations? No, my friends, the Holy Spirit does not play games. The devil is the one who deceives; and these people are under the influence of the devil. In continuing with the list of the illumined people, we must mention a few things about this infamous Eleni of Spata. As a very young boy, before the war, before 1940, I used to hear about her. She supposedly saw Christ in visions day and night, and this was the cause of building the Church of the Resurrection in Spata.*” After this Eleni of Spata, we have the infamous Magoula; and after her, Athanasia Kriketou, who is still

alive. She employs the phenomenon of dermatography. She exposes her breasts (Please forgive me for being blunt, but that is what she does.) and the Holy Spirit supposedly gives instructions and messages by writing these things on her chest. Now tell me, would God ever use the chest of a woman to give commandments to people? ‘There is a skin disorder called dermatographism. If you draw a line on the skin with a sharp object, the skin becomes sensitive and shows a very distinct red line. Never mind the fact that she cannot even spell! You would think they would have the decency to spell things correctly, but that is a different matter. She has so many icons around her that it makes people think she is truly a saint. Worse yet, she calls herself a saint and she gives her picture to our foolish Christians who take it and place it next to their icons in their homes. These are the deceived, the ones who our Lord complains 57 The holy elder Gervasios Paraskevopoulos writes about this Eleni. He writes, “If I use my own judgment from all the things I have heard during confessions and continue to hear but also from the disgust of a number of people that have witnessed the delusion and demonic appearances and revelations, we are led to the following conclusion. If the holy and honorable administrating body of our Church does not turn its total attention and energy to the excommunication of these oracles, psychics, and mediums-whose father and mother are the Church of the Resurrection in Spata, Attica, and the well-known priestess Eleni of Spata-then the governing body of the Church places itself in the same danger as King Saul. King Saul was successful in wars and peace when he was persecuting and clearing the psychics, the fortunetellers and the wizards from the earth. However, when he sought out their advice, he committed (spiritual) suicide.” (Contemporary Problems, 1962, pg. 171).

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about to the bishop of Thyatira. She deceives My people, the Lord says to the bishop. This Athanasia of Aigaleo also deceives Christians; and they place her picture next to the icons in their homes. There was a certain Maria of Larisa, our own city, and maybe some of you have

been her victims. I remember many years ago when I first came to Larisa, a young friend of mine, a spiritual person, visited her. Consider this scenario. This woman would go to bed at night and during the night, when she was presumably sleeping and seeing visions, from time to time some phrases would come out of her mouth. Again, our silly and stupid Christians — in order to be a little bit kinder, let’s call them our deceived Christians — waited up all night around her bed to catch some prophetic words that would come out of her mouth. Most of the bedside spectators were obviously women, while the husbands were in the kitchen enjoying the fruit of the vine all night long. They were half-drunk by the morning. When this young man visited this atmosphere for the first time, he could not believe his eyes. At some point he spoke out and told the ladies around the bed, “Why are you wasting your time? Why are you listening to her? She is demonpossessed.” All of a sudden, the sleeping beauty stood straight up and began a verbal attack against him using the most colorful adjectives, exposing her own true colors. Now I come to the most interesting subject of Eusebius Stephanou. His Greek name is Papastephanou; but in the U.S. he goes by Stephanou. He is an ordained Orthodox archimandrite who has been terribly deluded. He believes he can invoke the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit can respond to his wishes and descends as at Pentecost. At least, he thinks what takes place is the reenactment of Pentecost. He has followed the footsteps of the heretical Pentecostals of Europe and America. Of course he says that his movement has nothing to do with the Pentecostals, but actions speak louder than words. No matter what you say, my friend, anyone can clearly see that is where you bought these goods. He goes on to say that this charismatic movement — to call upon the Holy Spirit — exists in the Protestant, Roman Catholic, and in the Orthodox churches as well and that these charismatic Christians will leave their corresponding churches since no one will be able to understand them. He mentions that the Pope is getting irritated and will begin to persecute the charismatics of Roman Catholicism. So, these charismatics, the charismatic children of Christianity, will abandon their churches and they will start something new. We have one of his books here entitled A Global Out-pouring of the Holy Spirit.** This book circulates worldwide. It circulates here in Greece in great numbers, and the purpose is to proselytize. The subtitle of this book is ‘The Charismatic Movement from an Orthodox Perspective. In this book, he defends his actions and answers his critics. I will read just a few points because of the limited time. He writes, “The Charismatic Movement is also known by the name Pentecostal Movement.” Well, here we have it. It is a Pentecostal movement, and the purpose of this *8 Papastephanou Eusebius, H nayxdopios éxyvors tov Aylov IIveduaros, (Greek title)-Ei pankosmios ekhysis tou Aghiou Pneumatos.

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movement is to seek out and relive the experience of Pentecost. “We do not hide the fact that this charismatic movement, with all its outward signs, has spread throughout all the major western churches, such as the Roman

Catholic, Anglican,

Lutheran,

Presbyterian, and that of the Jehovah Witnesses.” So here we also accept Jehovah

Witnesses as charismatics. It is rather significant that those who oppose the charismatic movement, especially in America, can be found in the ranks of both the liberal and conservative types of Christians. This opposition is not limited to the Orthodox Church. Therefore, the charismatics managed to accomplish the union of the church well ahead of all those who are seeking this union; and naturally, these unions are to be discarded. Moving along with Papastephanou’s comments, “Nor do we hide the fact that the charismatic movement has as its forerunner, the classical Pentecostal church.” After a few paragraphs, do you know what he writes? “Many Orthodox, out of ignorance, bad will, and bias, confuse the charismatics with the followers of the Pentecostal church.” This is their response; if you accuse them that they are children or fruit of the Pentecostals they call you narrow-minded or closed-minded. On one hand, they do not want to be associated with the Pentecostals; and on the other hand, they do not want to hide the fact that the classical Pentecostal church is their forerunner. However, this is the general confession and admission of

all charismatics, whether Roman Catholic or Protestant; and with much gratefulness they discern the hand of divine Providence to move about in the Pentecostal church. Let’s look at this, “Many scholars of the international Pentecostal movement consider this to be one of the most significant events of contemporary Christianity, equal in its importance with the Protestant Reformation of the fifteenth century.” Here you have it again. Ihe Pentecostal church is nothing more than an offshoot of the desperate Protestant movement. In another section of the book, Stephanou attempts to explain how the Holy Spirit comes to these special Christians, “To some this divine presence feels like an electrical current that enters through the hands or the head and spreads out to the entire body, which creates a shock.” However, these shocks are the energy of the demons, according to the unfailing experience of our Church. The Holy Spirit comes as the morning dew. It does not distress people; it does not make people shake and spin or feel electrically energized or electrically shocked. He writes, “At times, but not always, the hands swing; at times the head and sometimes the entire body swings.”” However, we know that these things and phenomena such as these are most common in the area of spiritism. These are psychic phenomena, and we are most certain that the devil or Satan is the protagonist in all these environments. Stephanou continues, “The writer is not only an eyewitness but a participant of all these truly miraculous signs of the spirit taking place among charismatics.” He also has a number of pictures in this book. He claims, “The universal and catholic out-pouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days 59 Ibid. 193.

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shows that the Lord can accomplish His eternal purpose even outside of the Orthodox Church.” Listen, listen, listen! According to him, the Lord can abandon His Church and reach His objectives outside of the Orthodox Church, and all without denying the

fact that she remains the Mother Church. Sure, he wants to cover his bases so he will not invite any unnecessary persecution. Yes, he accepts that she is the Mother Church; however, somewhere along the line Christ just abandons her. In some other area of his book, he writes that the Church is taking the way of a prostitute, the great prostitute of Babylon. This is how he speaks about the Orthodox Church, “It is possible that Christ will be forced to bypass the Church.” In other words Christ is to deny the Church, to push the Church aside once and for all! This historical Church that all Orthodox proclaim as the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church; do you understand all this? Christ will push the Church aside? Now what then of His promise to Peter that the gates of Hades would not overtake it? Is Christ lying? So, Christ will push the Church aside, and He will proceed without it to do something new? Ghrist without His Church, claims Stephanou who adds, “Orthodoxy, already the Bride of Christ in many aspects, is beginning to change into a woman of prostitution, into a prostitute.” ® They interpret falsely, so falsely, the prophecy of Joel; and they say that the cosmic changes and signs that did not take place during the day of Pentecost will be revealed now during the great and upcoming day of the Lord. He goes on to say that “we will be raptured from the Lord” because the Lord says this about His Second Coming. Pay attention here: “We will be raptured”— not towards heaven, but the Lord will rapture all the charismatics to Zion or Jerusalem. There they will stay for seven years until the Great Tribulation passes. My friends, these people are in our Church. They deceive daily and the Church has not condemned them. Here in Larisa the Pentecostal movement goes by the name of Christian Organization of Peace and they present similar signs. They speak in tongues; they insist that they perform healings and deliveries. All these works are of deluded Christians who fall under the category of the self-proclaimed illumined. Let’s be very careful; let's be extremely careful. Based on everything we have said the conclusion is obvious. These are energies of the evil spirit, and the Lord reveals this when He characterizes all these as the deep things of Satan. The Lord warns us, Let no one deceive you because many will come in My name saying, I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many and many false prophets will rise, and they will deceive many, and they will present great signs and miracles. So, they will deceive even the elect if it were possible. Behold, I warn you ahead of time. Watch, I have told you these things (cf. Matt. 24:11-24, Mark 13). Therefore, my friends, we owe it to ourselves to exercise humility. The spirit of delusion works especially among the proud because these people have the confidence that they can interpret the Scriptures correctly outside of the interpretation of the Church. Eventually these people become self-shepherding. They do not want to listen 60 1014. 208.

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to anybody else. As Jude, the brother of God says, they become their own spiritual authority (cf. Jude 1:8). The woman, Jezebel (symbolically speaking) is still circulating and she will continue to circulate and act until the end of history. She moves within the Church, breaking away, pulling away servants from the sheep-pen of salvation. Let’s open our eyes. Let’s keep them wide open. Let’s stand well because many deceivers have come into the world. The devil is frothing at the mouth, especially in our days. He has gone mad. Let’s be on the lookout constantly. It is a matter of our eternal salvation.

CHAPTER

16

Revelation 2:24

Freemasonry — The Depths of Satan But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not | earned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay upon you any

other burden (2:24).

Homily given March 15, 1981

o now the Lord addresses all those Christians in Thyatira who did not accept the polluted teachings of the woman, Jezebel, the faithful who did not know

the so-called deep things of wisdom which are nothing but the deep secrets of Satan. Under the name Jezebel, my friends, we must also include another category of faithful, who much like the self-illumined of last week's lesson stay in the Church, attend Church and receive Holy Communion. However, their activities as far as the faith goes are totally irreconcilable with the teachings of the Church. Let’s not forget that the woman, Jezebel in this epistle of the Lord to the bishop of Thyatira is of a Gnostic background, for the Lord says, She teaches and deceives my servants to commit fornication and eat foods sacrificed to idols (cf. 2:20). Do you remember when we dealt with the Nicolaitans who were also of a Gnostic influence? The important thing here is that this so-called false knowledge, or the things falsely called knowledge — as the ancient Church Fathers, particularly St. Irenaeus“”°

described — is categorized as satanic. The Lord now addresses all those who were closely connected with the bishop and had stayed true to the healthy teachings. They were not indoctrinated, as the heretics would claim, in the deeper knowledge and wisdom, or in

reality the demonic knowledge and demonic wisdom. These heretics speak about the depths of their wisdom as an exclusive wisdom, as secretive knowledge, and as an unapproachable and untouchable wisdom to the

infidels, that is, to the unsacred and uninitiated. The secret work of lawlessness is

constantly at work according to St. Paul, especially today as we have an offspring of Gnosticism, which is Freemasonry, or simply, Masonry. Masonry is a Gnostic heresy. Sure enough, the books of the Masons call us, the non-Masons, defiled, or unsacred. They claim to have the light, the illumination, and the pathway to the depth of knowledge, the depth of wisdom, the depth of philosophy, of which as they claim

we are ignorant.

Freemasonry is nothing less than a natural descendant of ancient Gnosticism. It

61 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 1, Chapter 27.

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can be classified as neo-Gnosticism, if you will. I may have referred to Masonry so many times that I may be at risk of being labeled as somewhat of an anti-Masonic psychotic. I assure you my friends this is not the case. Masonry is a contemporary reality which affects everyone and everything in our times. It is certainly not a good strategy to underestimate the capabilities of the enemy. In order to fight an enemy successfully, we cannot underestimate his power. Masonry is powerful; it is the power of Satan. That is precisely why we are fighting, and we will always continue to fight, as long as we live, against Freemasonry. Do not be misled by the fact that it has no transparent public life: no publications, no open lectures, no apparent recruiting agenda or advertising. It works secretly. Masonry is Gnosticism. With God’s help, that is precisely what we will show today. We will prove that Masonry is of a Gnostic dimension. We will see this by referring to the official documents of Masonry that we have in our possession. Once we prove this, then their doctrine must be included in this very letter of the Lord to the bishop of Thyatira which condemns the woman, Jezebel. Jezebel is the perpetrator of this foreign doctrine, which deceives and misleads the servants of Christ. Since Christ condemns her, it only stands to reason that He also condemns Masonry. We need to prove this, and I must ask you, my friends, to give me your undivided attention and learn how the Masons themselves define their philosophy. We will do this directly and not circuitously. Even though it is more than obvious, I repeat: Masonry is Gnosticism. Once we show this, the case is closed. As Gnosticism, it is under the condemnation of the Church for the last time. Holy

Scripture has written against Gnosticism. Both St. Paul to Timothy and St. Peter in his catholic epistles write against Gnosticism. It is not surprising that the Church Fathers fought Gnosticism with an unparalleled vengeance because it fought the Church with the same vengeance. Because Gnosticism may not be familiar to everyone I will simply say a few things about it, even though I have done so a number of times in the past. In a few words, we could say; in reality, Gnosticism is a religious philosophy. It accepts a god, a world, and a human being. It accepts certain relations between a god, the world, and man. It looks at the world with dual vision, as good and evil. So, it sees good and evil in the world and it states that good in the world must be the work of the good god, and that what is evil in the world must be the work of the evil god. Consequently, god is not one, but two persons. God consists of two personalities, or simply two gods. Please keep in mind that there are great variations within Gnostic philosophy. There are great differences between the Gnosticism of Marcion and the Gnosticism of Vasilides,® and in many others; they each have their own idiosyncrasies. However all these different Gnostic systems maintain the foundation of dualism, which is the existence of two gods, the good god and the evil god. The good god creates good and the evil god creates evil. They are always at war against one another and in the midst of this battle man is always the unfortunate victim. Man is forever struggling to become ®2 Ibid. Chapter 24.

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free from the evil god. In the final analysis, Gnostics believe that man always hopes for such deliverance. He lives within nature. The Gnostic man does not believe in an omnipresent God even though he considers God invisible. In reality for him, God is not above time or space. Gnosticism strives to borrow many elements from outside because Gnosticism in itself is an empty and naked philosophy that does not have anything of its own merit. It takes from whatever every human philosophy has to offer and whatever the mystical religions have to offer: Orphism, Eleusinian mysteries, Hermetism, the thrice grand Hermes, the Eastern mysteries, Cybele, the mysteries of Osiris and Isis; these are ancient Egyptian mysteries. It has used elements from all these; it has taken elements from Judaism and from Christianity. Gnosticism has made a philosophical mixture of all these which it then offers as its own. The danger behind Gnosticism is that it does not officially deny Christianity. Now if someone tells me, “I don’t agree with you. I deny your beliefs. You are my enemy. I understand this and I keep my distance. However, when you hide and you do not show any denial; if you move about, you exist, breathe and slither within the Church; you take Holy Communion; you attend Church and yet you are an enemy and estranged from the Body, then there is real danger. This is plainly seen in the Freemasons; they take Holy Communion, they may be on the parish council, they are always in church and they will use this to their advantage. If one would question them they would have no problem responding, “Yes I am a Mason, but I am also a good Christian. I come to church. I take Holy Communion. I love my brothers.” ‘This is not to their advantage but to their detriment. It is most unfortunate. This is the predicament of the woman, Jezebel, who moved freely within the church of Thyatira. She is the typology of the contemporary Gnostics and Masons as she was for the ancient Gnostics. As I promised, we will expose some of their documents and their own literature. We will notice that in and on the exterior of Masonic lodges, as well as in their

booklets, a central position is reserved for the letter G, which is placed within a star. In the Greek lodges, the third letter of the Greek alphabet is used, the letter gamma. In the Latin languages, the letter G is used which is placed within the center of a star. It is a very common symbol that can be seen on the welcoming signs of every city and every small town. It is a blue sign, and in the center of the sign is the letter G enclosed by the configuration of a square. On top of a ninety-degree angle of the square, like the square tool of builders, is a compass [an instrument used for drawing circles] open at a forty-five degree angle. This is the most popular sign of the Masons. You see it on the rings of bankers, maybe some attorneys, on the lapels of some judges and on the temples of Freemasonry as you drive around. Now the square and the compass are not as commonplace as we think. The symbolism around this figure is very rich and multi-sided. I will only tell you some of the most basic symbols. The square on the bottom of the right angle is the symbol of matter. On the top, the open compass, opened at a forty-five degree angle, symbolizes

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the spirit. So, the symbolism pertains to spirit over matter that is the basis of all dualism and the chronic tug of war between spirit and matter. Keep in mind my friends that Christianity does not accept two godly sources. There are not two Gods. God made the heaven, the earth, and the things of the earth. There is nothing that has not been created by the One God. A// things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:3). The Word of God created everything so it is not possible to have contradictions in the words of God. How is it possible to have good and evil work against or go against these very objects or creations of God? If evil exists in the world, this is not a consequence of dualism. It is a consequence of the interference and interaction of free-willed and logical beings, the devil being the first. This explains the introduction of evil. After this free-willed decision to rebel against God, the harmony of nature was shaken. This is how our faith explains evil, and not that it is some creation of an evil god, or that one god is in a state of contradiction or that there is discord between spirit and matter. So there is really no such discord because the infinite Spirit, God's eternal Spirit, created the material world. How could this material world then be in opposition to the existence of God? Why would God oppose something that He created? How is this possible? The heavens proclaim the glory of God. Is it possible for the material heavens, the created heavens, to turn against God? Never. The body will resurrect and the body will be saved. Matter will be saved; and this is inconceivable for the followers

of Gnosticism, inconceivable. They believe that matter is something bad. So, the compass rules over the square, which represents matter over spirit. Matter being the square is represented by a ninety-degree angle showing fullness of expression. However, the compass is open at forty-five degrees, which shows that the human spirit, because it has not mastered complete control over matter, will struggle to succeed in this control over matter, or the body. Inside this configuration full of symbolism, we have the letter G. The Masons are somewhat disappointed that they do not have an international letter that would be commonly recognized by all nationalities and all the languages of the world. So they ended up using the letter of the Latin alphabet G since many languages have a Latin or Greek root. Since the letter G is also the initial letter of the word god, the G of Freemasons expediently means god. Please keep this in mind. Barnes, the English Mason poet, writes, “This hieroglyphic brilliance, which cannot be seen by anyone else but Mason brothers...” He calls this letter G a hieroglyphic brilliance and says that the light shed by this letter G can only be seen by the faithful brothers of Freemasonry. According to some sources this G originates from the Hermetic philosophy that delves into magic. A prominent Mason by the name of Dalco® stated in one of his talks, “The letter G which decorates the lodges does not only express the name of the great architect of the universe, the god of Masons, but ®3 The elder here, uses European resources made available to him which may vary slightly from their American counterparts, but the overall doctrinal beliefs of Masons are invariable.

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at the same time it also expresses the science of geometry.” According to Lenhoff and Posner, the meaning of the Masonic G is god, geometry, generation, and gnosis. Gnosis in the Greek language means knowledge; and this word gnosis can be found unchanged in all the languages of the world. All the Gnostics of the world maintain this Greek word gnosis in their vocabulary, regardless of language. So, this G is in the center of a star or between the configuration of the compass and the square as we explained earlier. Now since we saw the meaning behind this G, let’s run ahead to the indoctrination of the twelfth degree so we can see what this means to the Masons. I will read from their self-published manuals. We happen to have their publications and some books. I will read directly from their publications; and then I will stop and make a few comments. So let’s take a glance at the initiation into the twelfth-degree of Masonry. “The worshipful master takes off the hood of the candidate; they place on the floor a screen on which a large five-pointed star is painted with the letter G in its center. The grand master turns to the candidate who is waiting to be initiated into the twelfth degree. The candidate is called by the symbolic name of Moabon. ‘This is not a permanent name, but only symbolic, which is standard for this twelfth degree initiation. ‘So Moabon, in order to prove to us that you have gained full understanding of our teachings, tell us, what is the meaning of this mysterious letter? What is the meaning of the G inside of the star in front of you?’ The Moabon, or the candidate answers, ‘Geometry, generation.’ The grand master replies, “Very well. Be informed that it also means gnosis. You answer well, but I would like to add to what you said. It also means gnosis.” Now the manual proceeds to give a full and quite lengthy explanation of the doctrine of Gnostics. The grandmaster explains some of the main points to the candidate about this concept of gnosis. We will only touch on a few of the points that the grandmaster presents to the candidate. I read; “Gnosticism, my great and beloved brother, is the sum of some teachings which played a great role in the spiritual and ethical history of humanity. The word gnosis, a Greek word, must be understood to mean the opposite of faith. During the first centuries of human ignorance, the Gnostics came forth as great and worthy developers and cultivators of progress. The object of faith was dogma from revelation along with a number of supposedly historic events. Concisely, all this represented the false knowledge of the Christian masses. On

the contrary, gnosis was only for the elect few. The purpose of this was the research and the inquisition of the prevailing ideas, including their initial beginning and the formation of a new philosophy.” Please allow me to make a comment on this particular point. The gnosis, they say, turns against the faith established by revelation of supposedly historical events. Do you know, my fellow Christians, what they are referring to here? By supposedly historical events the Freemasons mean the Incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. They call them supposedly historical. However, in the Old Testament, we have some events like the revelation of God on Mt. Sinai and the prophets; and in the New

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‘Testament we have a revelation of a number of subjects which can become known and understood only through the element of faith. Here the grand master says, “We are opposed to this! We do not want the faith factor; we only want the gnosis factor.” Those of you who can understand, before | proceed, hopefully can see how demonized these people are. Here we have the exact approach used by the devil, the ancient serpent. The thrice-cursed devil told Eve, “Your eyes will be opened and you will have knowledge.” Up to this point, Adam and Eve were grounded in faith and God told them, “You will not eat from that fruit and that is final.” They believed it and the subject was closed. Now the devil influences them to reject this foundation of faith with the slanderous remark, “God told you this because He is jealous of you, because He does not want you to become gods. Moreover, when you taste this fruit, then you will no longer need faith, but you will have knowledge. Your eyes will be opened.” Doesn't Holy Scripture say your eyes will be opened and you will know good from evil? Do you see who rejects faith and introduces this new knowledge? The devil! It is extremely clear. This very thing, the preference of knowledge over faith, has always existed; but in these latter centuries, from the Middle Ages and into our days, it is called rationalism. Rationalism demands that for something to be accepted it must be understood. Unless my mind understands something, I cannot accept it. This is it. So, faith is not useful to me; I only need knowledge. I will accept whatever I can observe and understand by using my own mind. But this is preposterous! How is it possible to reject the existence of anything just because I cannot understand it? There are so many things we do not understand, so many physical phenomena, and this is even truer in the spiritual and metaphysical realms. The very limited brain matter of men will never understand some of these things. Furthermore, Gnosticism claims that the purpose of this knowledge is the research and study of the prevailing ideologies including their beginning and the constitution of new philosophies. It may be helpful to know that Gnosticism preceded Christianity by three centuries and that it stayed at its greatest peak for another three centuries after Christ. Its last remnants remained until the sixth century. In reality, Gnosticism lives on; it lives through Freemasonry. The Gnostics claim that they have a new philosophy. The philosophy that they proclaim did not go unnoticed by St. Paul who gave them the answer. St. Paul addresses this issue in his epistle to the Colossians. Look at what he says, because now you may be able to understand the meaning of this verse: see to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the basic principals of the universe, and not according to Christ (Col. 2:8). Do you see this? Be careful that no one influences you and takes you off course through philosophy. What type of philosophy? Gnosticism. This is the philosophy spelled out by St. Paul. What does he call this philosophy of Gnosticism? Empty deceit. In reality my friends, Masonry is an empty megalomania as well, empty to the bone, totally empty

Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios and according to the traditions of men.

If we read some

of their materials,

229 their

initiation rituals, their theory of Masonry, we will see that it is all a product of human imagination. They thought this all up; they created all their rituals and they built this most idiotic fabrication. When he says according to the principles of this world, St. Paul uses their own words because they speak of principles or elements. St. Paul uses their terminology when he says, according to the principles of the world and not according to Christ. I must also tell you that even in verse nine, For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead (cf. Col. 2:9), the word fullness is also a Gnostic term which they use to

mean the entity that fills the space between the good god and matter. Thirty different gods fill the fullness of the space between the good god and matter; the first god was the good god and the creator of spirits, while the thirtieth god was the creator of matter. They call this thirty-god span or hierarchy fullness. Now St. Paul uses their own terminology and he gives it Christian meaning. He Christianizes their terminology as he says, In Christ Himself, for in Him dwells all the fullness. There are no intermediate gods between some good god and an evil god. Christ is all; Christ is everything and Christ is the fullness. As St. Paul says, He is the fullness of Godliness. ‘There are no other gods; the fullness of Godliness bodily became man. Now do you see how St. Paul answers the Gnostics of his day? If St. Paul was living today, (but then again, St. Paul is here with us now in his epistles) he would say the same things about the phenomenon of the Masons; and his spirit would grieve seeing baptized Christians fall prey to the Masonic lodges. Let us continue with the instruction manual of the twelfth degree of the Masons. The teacher continues to instruct the initiate, the unfortunate initiate, I should say. “The struggle between the simple Christians and the Gnostics started immediately. The Gnostics were powerful due to spiritual superiority.” As you can see, they think very highly of themselves. They have an air of superiority; even to this day the Masons consider us profane, impious and unsacred. However, when they refer to a spiritual superiority, they are referring to their deep things, the deep things that the Lord brands and reveals as satanic. The teacher at the lodge continues, “Therefore the simple minds needed to fall victim to the acts of this hateful strange religion, (and here they mean Christianity) an enemy of the free research.” We should not forget that the lodges are called workshops and in these workshops, the philosophical studies and research take place. By the way, the word, Mason can be deceiving. Do not think for a second that the Masons maintain building tools in their lodges: hammers, chisels, nails, vice grips and the like. They are not stone workers. The teacher in the initiation continues, “The most significant characteristic of Gnosticism is the doctrine of a two person god.” To the Gnostic, god has two persons. This knowledge takes into consideration two origins, good and evil or better yet, spirit and matter, another expression by which these two persons or origins reveal themselves. So, godliness has two forms. We could visualize a body with two faces, one good, and one evil, somewhat of a two-faced god or two gods. “According to

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Gnostic thought,” the teacher continues, “god is a supernatural being invisible and made manifest by two totally opposite qualities. One

of these two qualities, or faculties, of the creator, or the architect of the

universe, created the earth and fashioned men. Unfortunately, the other faculty also took part in this creation; this other faculty of godliness is an enemy of the source of good.” Why is that? Gnosticism does not give any explanation. It has no answers. It simply limits itself to the acknowledgement of this unquestionable fact — unquestionable to them. “Since good and evil coexist in nature, therefore the evil participates in the creation of the world.” ‘Truly, my friends, Gnosticism has never succeeded in solving the problem of the source of good and evil. ‘This is true. They do not know how to approach it. They cannot answer it; so they do not answer it at all. Do you see how and why they fabricate all these myths to try to explain things? And the teacher continues, “the Gnostics hoped and the Freemasons after them also hope.” (So, here the Masons call themselves the natural descendants of the ancient Gnostics. This is obvious. There is no room for doubt whatsoever.) The Freemasons hope that a higher spirit will free humanity some day from the yoke of matter. Therefore, the Masons do not believe that Christ is our deliverer. However, Christ did not come to deliver us from matter, and here comes the knockout punch to the Gnostics: God is not opposed to matter or the body. The Eternal Spirit became matter. He took on a human body. He became man and He came to save and deliver this matter, not to deliver us from matter. Do you see now, my friends, the destructive positions of these heresies? The destructive nature of these heresies is present everywhere today. Just yesterday evening as I was listening to a religious radio program, one of the commentators who was speaking about funeral services, souls and the place of the souls, mentioned that the souls return to the place from which they came. What place is this? Where is this soul distribution center that transfers souls back and forth? This is an ancient Greek delusion. This is a platonic falsehood. Souls do not pre-exist. People can say anything in this world of terrible delusion. So, getting back to the Masonic ritual, the Masons hope for a higher and superior spirit to free humanity from the yoke of matter. “Hopefully the future will give the answer to this question; however this superior spirit must be helped by human effort (and especially from the Masons). Regardless of what the Christian leaders like popes and patriarchs say, gnosis was never a heresy; but the philosophy of Christianity is a heresy.” This is terrible; they call Christianity a heretical philosophy. “If gnosis did not live on, at least it was instrumental in the deterioration of the other religions, in the tombs of which Christianity founded its dynasty.” From this we see the hope of the Masons or neo-Gnostics. They hope to destroy all religions and especially Orthodox Christianity. The teacher continues his initiation, “Gnosis or knowledge came at a time of a universal collapse of beliefs and ideas.” This is true; it did well with polytheists and idolaters. It told them, you no longer have a philosophy of religion; you are only left

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with mythology and skepticism, so Gnosticism renders these systems useless. To the Jews it taught that their revelation is incomplete since it springs forth only from the one divine person, and being the work of a single source, they don’t know the ultimate being or how to interpret His law. A proof of this is the fact that the Jews are still awaiting a Messiah to deliver them from their estranged and deteriorated civilization. Simply put, since they speak about one God, their revelation is incomplete, because god is also the evil god. Proof of the existence of an evil god is that they are awaiting a savior to save them from evil. What evil? Nature. Do you see how they place their thoughts? To the Christians, the Gnostic says, their leader is the highest manifestation of genius. This is true, but [according to the Gnostic Masons] the Apostles did not understand His teachings and their disciples altered the writings that were left to them. Therefore, Christianity is useless because it does not represent what Christ taught*. According to them, Christ was a great Gnostic and a great Mason. “This is precisely why Freemasonry, the only true religion, having assumed the work of Gnosticism, will succeed in destroying the false religions starting from the Roman heresy.” By this, they mean the church of Rome because these lodges originated in western Europe and their obvious enemy was the church of Rome. For years, the western European Masons overlooked Orthodoxy. They always attacked Rome, especially when the Turks, the Ottoman Empire, enslaved Orthodoxy. Now they are very aware of Orthodox Christianity and they are not very happy that it has lasted for two thousand years. They want to destroy Orthodoxy and Christianity in general. Masonry took on the mission of Gnosticism. As Christians, we will fight against Masons. The Masons come under the same heading as the name of the woman, Jezebel who was in the church in Thyatira. My friends, we have read what Masons write in their instruction manuals and you clearly see that they are children of Gnosticism. I have told you this many times and ] am going to continue to repeat it. Masonry is Gnosticism. I especially emphasize this having been given this opportunity through the book of the Revelation. We must also add that Gnostics used to worship Cain; they are followers of Cain. They also venerated Canaan, the grandson cursed by Noah; Esau who did not get Isaac’s blessing; Korah, who rebelled and spoke back to Moses; Dathan and Abiram, who

were swallowed by the earth when it opened, after they argued with Moses. All this is from the Old Testament. Gnostics venerate all of the above people as we mentioned, but they especially venerate others from the New Testament. They venerate Judas Iscariot who betrayed the Lord. They look at the betrayal as an act of philosophical virtue. Do you know why? It is simply because they believe that the men of the Old Testament were people of Yahweh, the Lord, and therefore followers of the bad god, the evil god. According to them, this evil god created matter, created the natural world; so he is therefore an 6 Oddly enough, this approximates the position of the “historical jesus quest” neo-protestant academic theology!

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evil god. Those that rebelled against the followers of the bad god are Cain, Canaan, Esau, Korah, as well as all the others whom we have mentioned.

Anyone who rebelled against the God of the Old Testament is a great hero for the Gnostics because they opposed the people of god who worshipped the bad god, the creator of matter, the creator of the universe. But pay attention to this: Cain is the father of civilization in the Old Testament and this is their boast, their pride, and joy. The Masons love Cain because he is the man who ventured out to search and gain knowledge, civilization. Abel and Seth however were losers; they were halvades as we say in Greek. The Masons do not want them because they are people of faith. Do you understand now the concept of knowledge versus faith? Knowledge turns against faith. Christ introduced faith and Judas, by his betrayal, wanted to kill this phenomenon of faith to promote knowledge, which is the weapon of Gnostics. This is why they honor Judas. Moving ahead to the initiation of the eighteenth degree, which is called the Rosicrucians, we find there that the symbol of the initiation is a cross surrounded or encircled by roses. For one who has no clue about these matters, this cross may appear as most articulate and even beautiful. There is an inscription on this cross with Latin letters INRI. Again one might think, “Well that’s easy enough, Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.” But it does not mean this at all — for those outside of Masonry maybe, but not for the Masonic disciples. The teacher says to the eighteenth degree disciple, “Read this INRI.” The disciple reads this: “Igne Natura Renovator Indegna; nature is renewed totally through fire.” ‘This cross has nothing to do with Jesus Christ the Nazarene King of the Jews.

Instead, it boasts that fire renovates nature completely. This was a teaching of the Stoic philosophy. This is also taught by materialism. If we open the small philosophical

dictionary of communism, you will find this definition. How does nature renew itself?

Nature always existed; it exists and it will always exist as an eternal fire. This is Stoic philosophy. The communist philosophers borrowed this from the Stoics; and this is the cross of the Rosicrucians. There is even more, and I read from the manual: “The cross having been an object of worship was not only the simple image of the equinoxes, when the sun during its annual path covers these two points successively.” So, this was not the only meaning of the cross for those initiated. ‘The cross is the

symbol of the two equinoxes and the rose is the most excellent emblem of the woman. As the cross symbolizes masculinity or the sun, the rose symbolizes the woman. The Ansata, the Egyptian cross, used quite often in jewelry today, is like the lower case letter t, and it has a circle on the top. This is symbolic of the reproductive organs of men. Forgive me, but that is what the Egyptian cross symbolizes. ‘Therefore, the

cross according to the Masons is the symbol of masculinity, or the symbol of the sun that fertilizes the earth. Osiris was the sun god and Isis the goddess earth. The earth is fertilized by the sun and gives birth to Oron, or man; and this is from Egyptian idolatry. Thus, the cross of the Rosicrucians symbolizes masculinity, or the sun, in all its dynamics. The combination of these two symbols, cross and rose, expresses the

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union of the sexes, which is the symbol of the universal renaissance or rebirth. Do you remember about the letter G being genesis or generation, along with geometry and god, well this is what it means. They have nothing to do with the cross of Christ. My friends, Leo Taxil writes; “Masonry is Gnosticism beyond a shadow of a doubt.” This is most clear. It is not surprising then that ancient Gnostics worshipped Cain and the ancient serpent. So today’s contemporary Masons (whether they realize it or not) worship Satan.© This is not surprising. Let the Masons come and prove us wrong. They worship Satan, and Christ reveals this to us. According to Leo Taxil, the Gnostics, along with today’s Masons, recognize as the beginning of good, Lucifer, the devil, and as beginning of all evil, Sabaoth. Therefore, the God of the Old Testament is the bad god. He introduced evil by creating matter. The devil Lucifer is the good spirit, the good god. Isn't this shocking? Thus, they have this prayer for the devil: Come Lucifer, come. You who the priests slander, come. Come

so we can embrace you to hold you tight in our arms. We have known you for a long time and you have known us for a long time as well. In the darkened eyes of the plain masses, your works do not always look beautiful, your works do not always look good, O, you blessed of our hearts. Only these can explain the laws of the universe. Without your works, O Satan, the universe would be nonsensical. Only you revitalize, only you produce work, only you refine the commonwealth. You seal virtue, to you belongs the beginning, to you belongs the throne. You, O Adonai (Adonai is our God, the God of the Old Testament, and they turn against Him.) you, O Adonai, God of plunder and God of injustice, we deny you; you hate science, but we have prevailed and possessed science in spite of you. You hate happiness, but we will earn it through science in spite of you. Each one of our progresses is a triumph under which your divinity is pulverized. Spirit of lies and delusion, your kingdom is over. Seek victims among the animals. You already have been destroyed and crushed, Your name, which until now was the last word of the wise, the authority of the judge (through the oaths), the power of the

rulers, the hope of the poor, the refuge of the penitent, your name which is unutterable for us from now on, will bring the scorn and the anathema from men. It will be erased and it will be progressively forgotten. You will remain as the synonym of hypocrisy, lies, superstition, tyranny, and misery.

Note, only the devil can talk like this. “As you can see, these people are really demon 65 Leo Taxil, Masonry, p. 238. 6 ‘This is certainly true, although the vast majority of those in the lower ranks will never agree with this and they may even consider themselves exemplary Christians.

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possessed. As long as humanity continues to bow down before your terrible, monstrous statutes, humanity will be the slave of kings and priests; humanity will suffer and wither.” (This is why the motto of the French Revolution: Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood, has been said to be of Masonic origin). “As long as men will swear in your hateful name, the breaking of the oaths will be the foundation of society. Go away, vanish, O executioner of our logic, menace of our conscience.” Here, Leo Taxil adds, “The Masons of the thirty-third degree kneel in front of Bathomet, a statue of Satan who is raised above the altar, and he is none other than the great architect of the universe.” So, the great architect of the universe, Bathomet,”

is the devil. This is whom the Masons worship. By the way, pay attention here, this is not revealed immediately. As the disciples of Masonry advance, little by little they approach the gates of the thirty-third degree, which is the final degree. Then they will become participants of the great secret of Masonry and that is exactly what we are talking about; the great secret of Masonry is that the great architect of the universe is the devil That is whom the Masons worship, and not the God of the Christians, Who the Masons need to destroy at all costs. ‘This, my friends, encompasses the deep secrets of Masonry. Again, Masons of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh degrees have no clue about these things. They simply go through some rituals and if the Masons see that they are not very progressive and they are not the type they want to promote, then they do not promote them. Once again, the deep secrets of Masonry are the worship of the devil and the persecution and humiliation of the Holy Triune God of the Christians. Now let us ask ourselves, is it, or is it not true that the Lord reveals, in His epistle

to the bishop of Thyatira, that this teaching comprises the deep things of Satan? This is precisely why in this homily we have dealt with Gnosticism and Masonry, especially since Masons circulate very freely in our church. They become [parish] council members. They join the ranks of the priesthood... and I had better not say anymore. However, my friends our time is up and I will close with a couple of thoughts. Today we celebrate the feast day of our Holy Orthodoxy and we must come to the realization that we are dealing with a monstrous enemy — Masonry, a great enemy indeed. Please open your eyes. The ancient Fathers of the Church turned against Gnosticism with all their might. Today we must turn against Freemasonry, the newer manifestation of Gnosticism. In this, we receive much help from the Holy Script of the book of the Revelation and the revealing statement of the Lord that we are dealing with the depths of Satan. My friends, we should be horrified to be in the midst of these realities. We must also add that in the event that some uninformed people find themselves in the tantalizing web of Masonry out of ignorance, delusion, or financial need, we are called to ask them and all those future victims to flee quickly from the lodge. We need to help these deluded souls by any means. But the faithful must watch as well. The faithful should not be shaken when these enemies of the Church strive with every °7 These names and terms may vary in different forms or traditions of Masonry.

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method to influence people and push their will on the Church. The Lord, as the sender of the previous epistle to Pergamos declares; These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword (cf. Rev. 2:12). He foretells and warns His enemies, the Satanists: Repent or else I am coming to you quickly and I will fight against them with the sword of my mouth (cf. 2:16). St. Paul uses these same words for the

coming of the Antichrist. His name is the lawless one, because Masonry is a forerunner of the Antichrist whom Christ will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. My friends, Satan is real and he is working full time with the most horrible means against the Church of Christ and especially against the Orthodox Church. Let us not forget that Satan has his residence and his throne here on earth. Let us not forget that Satan has his synagogue. Let us not forget that Satan has the deep things of his maliciousness. Knowing all this, let us stand well. Let us keep sober and vigilant.

CHAPTER

17

Revelation 2:24-25

Salvation Belongs to the Remnant of the Faithful — What

is Meant by Paradosis of the Church

But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay upon you any other burden; only hold fast what you have, until I come. (RSV)

Homily given March 22, 1981

y friends, last week we saw what the depths of Satan are. Who are the people who are dragged into these satanic depths? Included is every sort of heresy of Gnostic dimension, club, or organization. Call it what

you will; one of these is Freemasonry. We showed with the help of their own documentation that in many ways Freemasonry is a child of Gnosticism. The Lord condemns the heresy of Gnosticism. The same holds true for theosophy, and there is a great deal of theosophy in Masonry as well. ‘The Lord classified all these heresies as the depths of Satan, and unfortunately, many of the victims are baptized Christians. In the final analysis, these Christians not only blaspheme the Chrism of the Holy Spirit, but by their rebellion, little by little as they progress through these numerous initiations, become more and more polemic. They develop an animosity against the Church, the Mother Church, which gave them rebirth, which made them alive spiritually; and they begin to orchestrate evil schemes against her. It is common knowledge what Masonry thinks about the Church. If it were possible, they would never wish to lay eyes upon a single Christian. I remember, my friends, many years ago, when I was a teenager, I witnessed with my own eyes something I will never forget. A Masonic book fell into my hands. It belonged to a neighbor of ours who had died rather young. His mother, who was illiterate, began to distribute his books to the neighborhood children. She was kind enough to give one of these books to my mother. She said, “Please give one of these books to your son, since he is in school and he knows how to read.” We lived next door to these people. We were quite close to them, and we never suspected that her son was a Mason. I began to read this book since I was quite aware of the subject. I had read about this subject in a book of the great professor Panayiotis Trembelas* when 68 Professor of Dogmatics at the University of Athens from 1939 to 1957, he remained ex-

tremely active as an emeritus until the 1970’s. He was a prolific writer, biblical commentator,

and a leading member of the Zoé brotherhood. On his death in 1977, Trembelas left numerous

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I was about sixteen years old, so I was somewhat informed. I remember reading our neighbor’s book thoroughly. In the beginning of the chapter on the upper left corner of the page, there was a symbol and it said, “If the Christians only knew what this symbol meant, they would burn us alive.” I read this with my own eyes, and I remember taking this book to a friend of the

deceased. I was somewhat upset by all of it and I told him, “Look at this! I could never

have imagined that our neighbor was a Mason.” ‘The moment he saw that book, he grabbed it from my hands and got rid of it. I do not have it. It is gone. This is just to show you how these people, the Masons, think. We see how they turn against the Church of Christ, precisely because Masonry is a religion. It is a demonic religion. Of course, every religion outside of Christianity is demonic and a fabrication of the devil. However, this stands even truer for Masonry because the Lord classified it as the depths of Satan. So, you can imagine how these people must feel about Christianity, since their religion is militantly opposed to Christianity and the Christians. However, the Lord addresses all those who did not know the depths of Satan, who

stayed immune to these doctrines, To you, I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine. The Lord, having first turned to those who were carried away by the woman, Jezebel — the symbol of apostasy and demonization, now turns to the faithful; to you I say, to the rest, the few, to those of you who did not go astray. One thing is sure; we will always have a number of faithful who will stay true to the Lord. This number will represent the Orthodox Church, which will always stay Orthodox, true to Christ, despite the tumult of the Ark, despite all of her misfortunes in the ocean of history. Truly the Church will be comprised of the rest, all those who remain — the stable,

the true Christians who do not become influenced by the various winds and waves of every season, or the craftiness of the evil people who are always ready to hold the funeral for their spirituality. There will always be the remnant, the rest, who do not lower their neck and bend their knee to the various forms and issues of the false god Baal. Let us see what Holy Scripture says on this. Saint Paul writes to the Romans; J left for myself, says God, seven thousand men who did not bend their knee to Baal. Likewise therefore and in this our time, there is a remnant according to grace (11:4,5).

While writing his epistle to the Romans, Saint Paul remembers that incident in the Old Testament in the adventures of the prophet Elijah in the north kingdom of Israel. During King Ahab’s reign with the monstrous woman Jezebel, the prototype

and herself a victim to her own idolatry (because in reality the devil was behind her)

the people were carried away to worship Baal. The prophet, full of pain and grief, turns to God and says, “Now Lord, I’m all by myself. I do not see anyone else. I am the only one that worships You. They all worship Baal.” Now Elijah was a prophet, but God did not reveal this to him before that. He gives him this information now; “No Elijah, you're not alone. Do not think that you are the only one.” It is the same pain books, publications, and commentaries on every book of the New Testament and on many books of the Old Testament.

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that we often feel when we look about and we ask, “Where are the Christians? Do we have true Christians today? Who will be saved?” Yes, Christians do exist.

God revealed to the prophet Elijah; Seven thousand men have remained faithful to me. These did not bend their knee to Baal. And if the men alone were seven thousand and you include their families...wives, children, you will see that the number rises to as many as fifty thousand people in the north kingdom alone that were faithful to God. However, they did not dare to publicize their faith because they would be instantly killed. The important thing is that they remained faithful to God. So Saint Paul writes to the Romans, So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace (11:5). The same thing holds true here in Rome, in that sinful Rome, which stands in

history as the symbol of the new Babylon.

Let’s remember, as we advance through our studies, God willing, the term Babylon

refers to Rome, the great prostitute who intoxicated the people of the earth with her fornications and adulteries. Babylon is a symbol. Rome was idolatrous then. The letter to the Romans was sent to this most sinful city, which was ruled by Nero. The Apostle writes to the Christians, My beloved Roman Christians (cf. 1:7), just like back in the time of Elijah, even mow there is a remnant. You are the remnant according to the election of grace. You are the remnant! My friends, now I feel that it is my turn to pose this question: do we have the feeling that we belong to the remnant? Do we have the confidence, the knowledge that we belong to the remnant of the Church? And if we do, will we continue to belong? Is it possible at some time of weakness, when our self-interests might be at stake that we will break and fall apart? Do we know that few will have remained true when the Lord returns? The remnant will be saved. Let us understand this very clearly. The remnant will be saved. Saint Paul is very clear on this, very specific that only this remnant will be saved; and this should not shake us up, but it should strengthen us. We only need to be certain that we belong to this remnant. We must develop the confidence and the conscience that we are members of this remnant. To be more practical about this, we begin to wonder when we see that most

people around us are baptized Christians, unfortunately without any effect on them at all. But then again, were the Israelites not the people of God? Within the people of God, there was also a remnant. If you will, during the years of Christ on earth, when Christ was born there was a remnant. The remnant — the rest, the few — always exists. Now, who were members of this remnant during the years of Christ? And please pay attention to this. All those who accepted the prophecies and their true interpretation: Simeon the God-bearer, Anna the prophetess, Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of the Theotokos, of course, Joachim and Anna, the families of the Apostles — all these were the remnant that were anticipating the coming of the Messiah correctly. ‘This is precisely why they accepted Him. In the gospel of Saint Luke we find a significant point concerning this, where the prophetess Anna says to those entering the temple to worship, “The Messiah came.” Now Anna would say this only to those who held the correct perception about the

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coming of the Messiah and spoke about Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. She only spoke to those who had the right idea about the Messiah. She would tell only them that the Messiah came. He was born. He came here to the temple. This is fabulous! Anna, the prophetess, a widow of eighty-four years, a woman who had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, etc. became the forerunner before the Forerunner! So let us grasp this very well. The Orthodox, the true believers, will always be a minority. This should not shake us up. Let us not be influenced by the masses around us. Let us not say, “Look at how such and such a person is doing, how they live.” It does not matter that we are all baptized Christians one way or the other. A few will be saved. We must also mention that this remnant may exist even within the ranks of the priesthood. This remnant exists in all areas. Didn't the priesthood go astray even during the times of Israel? When Israel was falling and influenced by the neighboring nations weren't the Levites also involved? The Levites had fallen miserably, but not all of them. Those who refused to go astray moved to the south kingdom. They left the north kingdom. The south kingdom still maintained the worship of the true God. So now, assuming we have this inside information, that we are members of the remnant of our times, let us consider what else the Lord has to tell us in His epistle, J will put on you no other burden. But hold on to what you have until I come (2:24). These are profound words, very meaningful words, from our Lord. Let us pay attention to them. What is this thing, which we must hold on to? It is His gospel. Hold on to what you have and I will place no other burden on you (2:24), I will not write any additional

gospels for you. The gospel is the only burden. I will put this gospel in your hands and I am calling it a burden. It is the faith of Christ — but the entire faith of Christ — unadulterated, pure, as handed down to us by the Apostles and our Church Fathers. Did we even consider, my friends the value of this treasure handed down to us by the Lord? Do we ever realize how valuable this treasure may be? As Orthodox Christians we have this precious treasure and if we made the effort to appraise this treasure, we would find ourselves speechless from shock before the overwhelming volume of this priceless treasure. If we could even come close to a true appraisal! How can we appraise something totally invaluable and priceless? However, we will attempt a quick cross-section of this treasure, so we can somehow remind ourselves of its net worth. First, we have Holy Scripture — an awesome treasure in itself. If only we would

come to realize what Holy Scripture is, especially the New Testament written in our own Greek language. This is a great privilege for those of us who happen to be Hellenes. We also have the Divine Liturgy, our Divine Liturgy through which we have the mystery of Holy Eucharist, the Body, and Blood of Christ, the very flesh of the Master, which makes us one body and one blood. We have the seven Ecumenical Councils and the topical councils with their Church Canons, which regulate the ethical life and safeguard the dogmatic truth of our faith. These Holy Canons serve as a protective guardrail to keep us from falling into delusion

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and the loss of our salvation. We have the precious writings of our Church Fathers and especially the writings of the Greek Fathers of our Church. We have monasticism with its infinite blossoms, which gave our Church over eighty percent of its canonized saints. As you read, you will see that by far most of the saints of our Church lived the monastic way of life. Monasticism is highly misunderstood today even by Orthodox clergy; but this is not surprising because the devil will always attack anything that has great spiritual value. We also have our unrivaled and incomparable sacred services. These services magnetized the unorthodox of Europe. The blacks in Africa, my friends, are attracted to our faith through the splendor of the Divine Liturgy alone. However, if you will, we have historical evidence for this. Russia embraced Orthodox Christianity during the tenth century. Rome was very active and attempted a number of times to influence the Russian people towards Papism. Rome exercised very powerful means to proselytize Russia and the entire western world. However, Russia became Orthodox and under the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople. What caused this? Would you believe the splendor of our Divine Liturgy and Byzantine music so dazzled them that they said, “Heaven is present here.” Our services have celestial beauty, sacred beauty. If we only knew the essence of all these church services, which in their order, are nothing less than a twenty-four hour

incessant liturgy and doxology to the Holy, Triune God. We also have our dogmatic iconography. The west paints as well, but that is all it does — it paints nice paintings. However, our Byzantine dogmatic iconography is something extraordinary and unparalleled, something awesome. We also have our plentiful published and unpublished hymnography. It would take hundreds of years to extract all this wealth from libraries and museums, not only in Greece but also in the rest of the world. The museums of Europe and America are laden with a great volume of the unpublished works of the Church Fathers. Who could attempt to begin to appraise unpublished volumes upon volumes of this amazing wealth? This does not take into account that these are but a fraction of all those that perished because of the elements of time, man-caused destructions, wars, fires, etc. We also have our Byzantine music, holy music, music that inspires. It is music which makes manifest the fear of God, the glory of God, in a truly Orthodox Christian way. Our Orthodox Christian hymns suggest piety and holiness; they help our souls ascend to heaven and they bring us to contrition. We also have the martyrs, the saints, and the blessed ones. Finally, we have their holy relics, a precious treasure. All of the above, that I have just summarized represent the great treasure that is the Orthodox Christian Church. Now we need to think about the following questions. One, is it possible that even

some Orthodox can look upon this treasure as questionable? Two, is it possible for this Orthodox Christian treasure to be viewed as excessive and unnecessarily heavy and in need of some trimming? Three, is it possible for this treasure to be viewed as antiquated and impractical, thus needing to be reevaluated and adapted according to

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modern trends? My friends, unfortunately these three questions have been posed in our times. As to the first question, is it possible to question the validity of this treasure? —Certainly. Who are those who question this treasure? Those who question are the atheists, and the materialists, the conscious and unconscious enemies of the Church. All those people who question this treasure and have always questioned it do not want to see or hear about Christ or Christianity. They cannot wait for the opportunity to attack Christ, His followers and His Church. It is something that always took place in the past, continues today, and will persist until the end of time. Of course, the devil is behind all this questioning. Has he not always been behind all of these questions, behind all the enemies of Christianity, forever trying to uproot the Church of Christ, forever trying to destroy the Church? Now, pertaining to the second question, who are those that are sharpening their clippers and scissors, always ready to clip and trim, to cut the Divine Liturgy because it may be a little bit too long? They compromise the ethics of the gospel to facilitate the desires of modern man. They cut out some of the Commandments in their broad sense, especially ones like Do not commit adultery — so that not just adultery but also fornication like couples living together, premarital sex, and extramarital relations are exonerated. They say we also need to make room for the homosexual couples and all the ethical fabrications of the twenty-first century. We must reconsider serving the needs of all these Christians. Do you want to know something tragic? This is happening around us. It is a daily routine in some of the non-orthodox Christian bodies. But how long will our own hierarchs stay immune? The dilemma of the Episcopalians and Methodists and some of the other Protestant offshoots is based on the premise that the Christian gospel is no longer relevant to the needs and the lifestyle of the man of the twenty-first century. Unfortunately, this spirit of humanism and secularism is infecting our church leaders, clergy and laity alike. It has infected those who desire to trim the treasury of our Church, to synchronize it, only because they have fallen into the heaviest and suicidal sin of spiritual paralysis or akideia. Spiritual slumber—the slumber brought forth from the secular and cosmopolitan spirit—makes Christ and His expectations seem unbearably heavy. So they like to trim and cut. Do you understand my dear friends that today our Christians suffer? We all suffer, myself included. We all suffer from a continual spirit of sloth. We do not have the appetite and the interest to live spiritually; we lack the motivation or urge to climb spiritual ladders, and we simply we drag our feet. We are limited to some kind of crab walk, some slow horizontal movement, unwilling to climb. Tell me, isn’t this a characteristic of the sinful passion of akideia or spiritual anesthesia? This condition causes great concern for Saint Paul, who wrote, if every transgression and disobedience receives a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? (Heb. 2:3) How can we escape if we neglect the gospel of salvation? Therefore, we will not escape — not because we are enemies of the faith, but because we took our gift of salvation for granted, we took it lightly.

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Why are we neglectful? As you can see, this neglect is a heavy sin. We are all infected today. This neglect leads to spiritual paralysis. So when our people become heavily infected by this plague we hear them say; “Why must the liturgy be so long? Why is the homily so long?” I often hear this argument, “Today people are very tired. People are exhausted these days, so we cannot expect them to stay in church for hours.” So, people are tired and exhausted today, eh? They are not tired when they go to football games driving a few hours each way and spend three, four, five hours in fields and in traffic jams. They are not too tired to yell and shout for hours at different parties and dances. They are not too tired to drive six, eight or ten hours to the nearest ski resort, or the nearest shore. People run. They run all over creation for their flesh and they do not complain about being tired. They only get tired in church, if they happen to stand for an extra hour. This is what we mean by continual, heavy, spiritual anesthesia. Pertaining to the third question, who are the Orthodox who are saying that many aspects of our faith are paleolithic, plain old, and we do not necessarily have to cut them but that we should adapt them? These people, my friends, consider the treasury of Orthodoxy antiquated. They seek renewal, modernization and progress, etc. The spirit of sloth and the secular spirit have also possessed them, but they try to hide it. They do not come out and say that we need to cut; but they try to change the Church to offer more — to become useful — to today’s man, as if the Church is something subjective to time and seasons and can be rendered more or less useful according to the times. Let us stay in these last two categories regarding the treasure that the Lord placed in our hands. Hold on to what you have until I come back (Rev. 2:25). The first question that doubts the treasury that is Orthodoxy is one that we really do not need to address further because those people are unbelievers; they do not believe; they are materialists, and there is really no room for discussion. We will only address the last two categories of Christians who either want us to trim and cut Christianity or to renew it since it is getting old. My friends please pay attention here because Christianity in its entirety is one paradosis, one Tradition. When we say paradosis, we mean everything that was handed to us under Christ, the Apostles and their disciples, the Church Fathers. Now

this

very Tradition is what Christ tells us to hold on to. This very Tradition is what Christ tells the bishop of Thyatira, Hold onto what you have until I come back. \ gave it to you and you must keep it unaltered, the way I gave it to you until I come back, until my Second Coming, my Second Presence. The Church is the very Body of Christ. It is Christ Himself. Consequently, what is paradosis or Holy Tradition? Christ Himself. Can Christ change? Can He get old? Does Christ have some parts that can be discarded according to one’s personal opinions or intuitions? Saint Paul declares; Christ is the same today, and tomorrow and forever (Heb. 13:8). Christ never changes. He is the same always: Pure, Whole, Undivided, and Perfect. In

other words, Christ possesses the past equally with the present and the future. So what renewal, we may ask, can Christ possibly undergo? Holy Scripture presents Christ in

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His entirety. Every alteration of Holy Scripture is also an alteration of Christ. Then we ask, what is the bottom line of this renewal mania, or the need to trim and cut, or to eliminate? Should we trim the Holy Canons because they are very bothersome today? Should we trim the Divine Liturgy, which may also bother some people who may find it dry and therefore, have the audacity to speak about charismatic and innovative liturgies? Should we change our iconography which our people do not even take time to understand? Truly, what is the cause of this renewal mania today? Listen, my friends and always try to remember this: everything that we referred to previously—all the treasures that we pointed out—are the most accurate expression, interpretation, of the complete and most accurate Holy Scriptures, of the whole flawless and unalterable Christ. So you cannot cut anything! I will say it again so it can register in your minds with simple words. What can be cut or added to iconography? It expresses Christ perfectly. The same holds true for the Holy Canons, Dogmas, and

the Divine Liturgy. All these express the One Christ, Pure, Perfect, as presented by

the Holy Scriptures because all the things that I mentioned to you previously are the expression and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures of the One and only Christ. But when they insist, those that insist, on renewing the Church, on renewing Christianity, the gospel, and Tradition, on renewing everything, claiming that Christianity is old and dry; we will have to tell them that Christianity has not aged. Christ is not old. The Christians have withered. The Faithful are languishing. Now why have our Christians withered? That is an entirely different subject. My friends, our Christians today have withered miserably. When someone dries up, when he withers, he blames everything but himself. But in reality, the cause of the spiritual paralysis is inside of that person. We are to blame, not Christianity.

Christianity does not need to undergo a renewal. We need to be renewed. So, when we claim to want a renewal, this renewal must start within us and not with the Tradition of our Church. However, if you ask, “How can we acquire this true spiritual renewal?” We will succeed only if we approach and practice the Tradition of our Church: pure, unadulterated, without reductions, without amputations and without modernizations. This has been the lifelong struggle of the Church. The Church has not been narrow-minded through the centuries. The Church Fathers were not narrow-minded when they were struggling to keep their Holy Tradition pure and unblemished. They did this precisely because they were well aware that true salvation comes forth from this flawless and pure Tradition. Now just to bring up an example along the way, every time people in our day attempted to renew a few things, they ended up looking rather ridiculous. We had a number of experiments here in Greece as well. These experiments are far more prevalent in Europe, of course. We might want to pull our hair out when we read about some of these things in the newspapers. We often hear some of our modern thinkers say, “The Divine Liturgy is incomprehensible. It is too difficult for our days. It does not speak to the hearts of our youth. Maybe we can get to them with some Christian rock music. Let’s use acoustic guitars in the church. Let's use pop music.”

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So, pop music with its guitars, drums, and theater-like atmosphere enters the Church. The first time or two they may pack them in. However, the youth can find this sort of entertainment outside the Church—and even much more exciting things, as well—so they will not step inside church ever again. Is the objective to pack all these people into a church? What is the Church, just four walls? It is great that you managed to pull these people into a church. However, the Church is the Body of Christ. It is not a building with four walls. You tried to incorporate all the masses in the Body of Christ. However, to embody the world, to incorporate the masses in the Body of Christ, means to make the people living members of the Church, to offer them salvation, to save them. Does this music save people? Do some of the contemporary sermons, especially on the radio — where we hear some terribly strange and tasteless things and new ideas — save people? Are all these things a way to attract the world? What is the purpose of all these experiments? The result is the ridicule of the Faith. The Faith becomes a laughing matter. We ridicule our Faith and we do not even realize it. This is the result of this mania to modernize and synchronize elements that do not take to modernization. Some elements can be changed according to the form of each age. However, we cannot go beyond these basic things. For example, the structure of our church buildings can change. The materials have changed. We may use electricity now in addition to candles. These modern elements do not harm anything. However, inappropriate changes include bringing in popular music or holding dances in our church halls only to attend Divine Liturgy on the same grounds where they had been dancing the night before. (Unfortunately, something that is quite prevalent in the Orthodox churches of the diaspora is that most church halls are directly connected to or in the basements of the sanctuaries, where people can dance and carry on — as our secularized teenagers and their parents often do. I know the reasoning is, “Well how else can we succeed in holding on to our children? How else are we going to keep them Orthodox Christians?” The real question is: is this going to make them Orthodox Christians? Does this relate to their salvation? What am I doing to save this person? That is what counts. ‘This is what carries weight. Constantine Paparigopoulos, a Greek historian, is remembered for this quote: “While all nations need to look ahead to gain progress, the Greek nation, in order to see progress must look back.” What did he mean by this? The Greek nation must look at, or turn back to its roots, to its history. Do you see all the inner political struggles that vie to destroy our roots, destroy our history, and destroy our identity? This is happening in our day. There is a tremendous front to eradicate our past, our history, and our roots. If we destroy our roots, we will certainly not see much progress. The same holds true for our Church. Do not call me an incurable, an incorrigible conservative. This is the reality of things. As I am speaking to you, I am not being progressive or conservative. I am not any of these things. I only see the reality of things. I am being realistic. Anyone can come to some conclusions by carefully observing the chain of events and the different consequences. It is quite simple. The same holds true

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as we said, in the area of the Church. For the Church to be rejuvenated, it must look toward its treasures, towards its deposited Traditions, towards its life-giving springs. That is where the Church must turn, to the Fathers. From there, the Church will take what is pure, authentic and true, to renew itself. Based on this, we could say that renewal does not mean the elimination and alteration of every previous element; the development of new theological theories; or the quest of new ideas, new methodologies, shapes, or forms. We often fall into the temptation of wanting to devise new sermons to use in our ministries and church activities. True renewal is to search, theologize, and utilize the existing sources. ‘This goldmine already exists; it is deposited and available. I simply need to dig deeper to discover it and to offer it in its pure form. This is the meaning of renewal. In the early 1900's, the Russians implemented just such a renewal. The Russians of the diaspora, the Orthodox Christian Russians, the educated, the intellectuals, successfully performed this experiment. When they left Russia, they developed schools and institutes, and wrote and published books. They did nothing new. They simply took the Church Fathers and brought them to light. The response was amazing. Vladimir Lossky wrote ‘The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church, a tremendous and most powerful book, which was translated into Greek. (I recommend it to any one of you who can read it). You will see in its bibliography: St. Isaac the Syrian, and a great deal of references to Saint Maximos the Confessor, but especially Saint Isaac the Syrian, the ascetic. When Vladimir Lossky presented this book in Paris, (He published it in French first.) the entire intellectual European community was amazed. The European readers asked, “So this is Orthodoxy?” This is Orthodoxy. The information was always there, always in the safe deposit box of the Church, which the Russian theologians took out of hibernation. They worked it, translated it, and presented it. The Fathers of our Church interpreted this treasure, which was deposited by the synods through the words of the Fathers and Holy Scripture. That is all. It shines, and it amazes — as long as it is offered in its pure state, in its entirety, without falsehoods and innovations, pure.

I also find it necessary to tell you that renewal as perceived by the people of worldly thinking has terrible consequences. Even though I stated one example before, I would like to add the following for consideration. When we begin to innovate, reduce, renew, and reconsider, we begin to lose the measures and criteria of the Truth. Then we suffer an immediate fall into secularization. This goes along with another theory of our days known as relative ethics or circumstantial ethics. Circumstantial ethics has to do with a certain type of dialog, which takes place in the area of faith. It is a type of dialog like this, “You have your point of view, and I have mine.” So, we discuss things and we end up with a new point of view, which needs to be taken up for discussion, a possible abrogation, and future discussions. We hold conferences. We reach a stalemate. We remove and subtract; we somehow end up with some common ground and you know how the way of the dialog works. This is how

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we carry our dialog proceedings today. We follow these proceedings while attempting to renew and to freshen up the Church and the Faith. I told you that these attempts result in a very quick vertical drop of measures and criteria. I will only point out one classic example of this which you have heard me repeat a number of times. Many years ago—and by the way this evil is getting worse by the day—when we heard that the Archbishop of Canterbury took part in the amnesty of homosexuality, I personally said (and this was before 1960), “Now I am sure this man is very well-schooled. No doubt he has a number of degrees from prominent universities. He is certainly wise. He has read sociology books and histories

of religion. I am sure he has done all these things.

My question is: Did this man ever open the Holy Scriptures to read what the

Bible says about the sin of homosexuality? It is not a disease, but a sin. The question is:

Why could he not see it as a sin? Doesn't he open the Scriptures?” This is my question. I hope you can answer it for me. I believe you may also have the same question. Very simply, when the method of dialog enters the area of faith, then the loss of the criterion of the Truth takes place. Everything becomes relative and negotiable. This is the key and the answer to the above question. This is the horrible consequence when we attempt to modify and modernize the Faith. Did you follow me? Do you understand this? Here, Tradition does not mean fossilization. Tradition is alive. It is life and continuation of life. I should not avoid telling you about a new trend and another one of these new theories. This new theory is called retracing of truth. Do you know what this theory means? Currently there is a denomination in Larisa [Greece] of Pentecostals. They go by the name of Christian Organization of Peace, under the Hasiotis brothers. We have brought this up many times and we certainly hope that none of you ever steps inside their doors. I have warned you a number of times so that no one will be deceived by their heresies. We could ask them: What more than the Orthodox Church that baptized them do they wish to accomplish? Aren't they satisfied with what the Church has to offer? The argument common among most heretical offshoots, including Jehovah Witnesses

and the Protestant denominations, is that they want to return to the early church as described in the Acts of the Apostles, to the roots of Christianity. They claim that things in the Christian world are in a state of deterioration. So they attempt to get back to their roots by reading the Acts of the Apostles, which shows how the early Christians lived. They try to follow the same lifestyle by simply following the Scriptures as they understand and interpret them. This argument of theirs is quite well known. However, when they go back two thousand years, they deny the entire Tradition of the Church, which they claim has unraveled. They also reject the Fathers of the Church and when they reject Tradition (and as you know the Protestants reject Tradition) claiming that they want to turn back, they end up at this retracing of the truth. Look at the logic behind this theory. We moved ahead, we went on and on and on, and we somehow missed our mark. We found ourselves between a rock and a hard place.

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So, with one jump, with an historical jump, a jump of two thousand years, if you will, we would like to get back to the beginning, if it were possible. Is this jump possible? Then what is the meaning of Truth? Truth, my friend, does not necessarily mean antiquity. As has been correctly pointed out, Truth is not testis antiquatis but testis veritatis. The testimony of the Truth is what counts, not the testimony of antiquity. No one can claim that he will retrace and lean on the historical evidence of the ancient times because he will find the Truth there. Truth is in the Tradition of the Church. Tradition is a living organism that breathes, moves, walks, and develops. This is Tradition! When someone says he will go back it is like saying, “I am eighty years old; my health is beginning to fail so I will deny my past history and I will do something. I do not know what, but somehow I will become a one year old again.” However, this is unnatural. It just does not work. So, we are at an impasse with breathless Christians that need to be somehow resuscitated with new forms or new slogans — like this retracing of the Truth. “Come everyone; let’s go back to the truth. We have the truth, come and see.” We see this sometimes with those Orthodox Christians who leave the Church, find some temporary satisfaction, and are eager to tell all about their experience. The truth is that these people never attempted to get close to the Orthodox Christian Church—even though they were baptized—to find true happiness and blessedness. When they left to join a heresy, they found some cheap substitutes and they think that this is true happiness. Since Tradition is lacking, the result is the crumbling of these faiths into thousands of pieces. So we have thousands of different denominations with one common denominator; they all wanted to return to the testimony of antiquity. Again, the testimony of antiquity is not the key. If you will, the testimony or witness of antiquity is a heresy. Even Arianism is a testimony of antiquity, if you will. The testimony or witness of antiquity is not adequate, but the testimony of the Truth is. The testimony of the Truth is preserved and kept alive in the saints and the Fathers who have the personal experience and the ability to inform us and speak to us; they hold the Tradition. The Lord said, Hold on to what you have. Hold onto the

entire paradosis. The Lord means that we should /old on to the faith that was passed down, which was also passed down from Christ Himself. (This faith is the “what” that we have.) ‘The verb, hold on (kratisete in Greek) is a very strong verb. It means to grasp very firmly, tenaciously, and not simply to keep it on your mind or on your list of priorities, but to hang on as if the thing being held were truly alive. When He says, Hold on until I come back, He indicates that this faith that has been passed down, must be kept unaltered, unblemished until His Second Coming. Therefore, it must be held tenaciously without alterations, changes, reductions, innovations and adaptations according to the worldly scheme of things. My friends, a number of years ago I was ordained in the Holy Priesthood. After the sanctification of the holy gifts the bishop took the holy bread from the diskarion.

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After I placed my right palm over my left in the shape of a cross, he placed a small flat sponge in my hand and on this he placed the Lamb, the Host, or the Body of Christ. As I was standing there, before him—since he had just placed the Holy Body of Christ in my hand—he told me these words, which comprise part of the service of Ordination. “Receive this parakatathiki, this holy deposit, this spiritual treasure, and guard it until the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, at which time it will be demanded by Him from you.” So, receive this parakatathiki, or holy deposit. What is this holy deposit? It is the Body of Christ, which was then placed in my hands. The Body of Christ is the Church. So hold onto the Church with all your strength until Christ comes back. At His Second

Coming,

Christ will be expecting a full report from you on how

you handled this holy deposit. My friends, it is of no small significance that during Ordination, after the sanctification of the precious gifts, the priest holds the Body, the precious Body in his hands, and then positions himself behind the holy altar, until the very end of the Divine Liturgy, until Holy Communion. He must keep his hands held up in front of him holding the precious Body for quite a long time. Many times his hands shake and the Holy Body is in danger of falling. He has nothing to lean on, only his palms. This is symbolic for the priest — that he is supposed to hold onto this deposit, the very Body of Christ, the Church, until the end of his life. He must keep

this responsibly; and as a priest, he must stay true to this parakatathiki and not ever spurn this great treasure. This, my friends, is quite profound and moving. I try to keep a clear conscience as much as I can. I would like to offer you a true message, an Orthodox homily, to tell you the truth and to always keep telling you the truth because the Lord entrusted me with this parakatathiki, in other words His Church. His holy deposit is entrusted to every member of the clergy and we must return it to His hands immaculate and unblemished. Do you understand our awesome responsibility? Being a member of the priesthood is not a title of honor. It is a great responsibility, an awesome responsibility; I repeat: a great responsibility. But we also notice that the Lord says I will not place any other burden on you. And His Gospel is certainly a burden. It requires toil and work. However, He reassures us about this in His Gospel. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matt. 11:2). When is the yoke of the Lord easy? When is His burden light? It is when we truly desire our salvation. To sum it all up, the Orthodox Christian sermon and the Tradition of our Church, which have been handed down to us by He who told us to hold on to it, are the things that make up the sermon (kyrigma) of our salvation.

CHAPTER

18

Revelation 2:26-29 and 3:1-2

The Fifth Epistle to the Bishop of Sardis - Introduction Surface Piety - the Need for Vigilance Homily given March 29, 1981

t the end of last week’s session, we saw that the Lord issued a number of

threats for those that would disobey the instructions in His epistle to the bishop of Thyatira. Now He also announces the reward and the praise for all those who will prove victorious. He who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give him power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received power from my Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (2:26-29). He

who

overcomes

is the one who

will stay firm in his faith; who

will not

be influenced by the falsehood of the deep things of Satan; who will adhere to the commandments of the gospel; and who will do so until the end of his life. What is the ‘crown? The crown is two things: it is the authority to rule over the nations and it is also the morning star. First, the authority over the nations is the decisive spiritual triumph of Christ over the nations. This triumph of Christ’s becomes the triumph of all the faithful. Second, the morning star has to do with the participation of the faithful in the glory of Christ. The faithful will be glorified along with Christ. Christ calls himself the bright (and) morning star (22:16). Consequently, when Scripture says that the Lord will give the victor the morning star and since Christ Himself is the morning star, it means that Christ will give him Himself, meaning His glory and the theoria, the vision of His face in His eternal kingdom And here, my friends, this most important epistle of the Lord to the bishop of Thyatira comes to a close with the standard closing line, He who has an ear, let him

hear what the spirit says to the churches (2:29). Again, the Lord reminds us constantly of the necessity of spiritual readiness, of spiritual ears, in order to hear and perceive His divine will. This is a great necessity at all times — to have our spiritual ears to hear the word of God. ‘This is something that our entire salvation is dependent upon. Now, by the grace of God, we come to the fifth epistle, the one to the bishop of Sardis. We read in the third chapter. And to the angel of the church in Sardis write; ‘ The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. ‘I know your works; you have the name of being alive, and you are dead. Awake, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; keep that, and repent. If you will not

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awake, I will come like a thief; and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He who conquers shall be clad thus in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 3:1-6). Sardis, my friends, was the old capital of the kingdom of Lydia. It was south of ‘Thyatira. At the time the Revelation was written, the city of Sardis was in decline and the life of the city was quite superficial. This was the state of the rather nonexistent spiritual life of the bishop of the city. He was a spiritual vegetable, so to speak. He gave the impression that he existed, but he was spiritually dead. Now, the Lord says, These things says he who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Here we have the introductory inscription of the epistle, which is taken from the introduction of the book. It is an extremely important description in its content. In the book of the Revelation where John sends a greeting to the seven churches from God we read, John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from God who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne and from Jesus Christ... (1:4,5) In this greeting, we see clearly recorded, the Holy Triune God, the evlogia (blessing) from God the Father, God the Son, Who became man,

and from God the Holy Spirit. We also see quite clearly here that the Holy Spirit is called the seven spirits because the name seven spirits is used to declare the Holy Spirit in Its fullness. Now, in this epistle to the bishop of Sardis, we read; he who has the seven spirits —

meaning Jesus Christ Himself — is the One who sends the Holy Spirit in Its fullness — with all Its gifts or graces. The Holy Spirit will be sent out only if the Lord Jesus Christ sends it. This is reminiscent of what we read in the Gospel of John, when the Paraklete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father (John 15:26). From this, we see clearly that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit. But the epistle writer also records that the same Jesus Christ Who has the seven spirits also holds the seven stars in His hands. It was already pointed out in the beginning of the book during the introduction that Jesus Christ is the One who holds the seven churches of Asia Minor in His hands. The number seven is allegorical; it symbolizes and represents the entire Church. So, my friends, Jesus Christ holds the Holy Spirit and the churches. The mind of the entire verse is this: Jesus Christ sends His Holy Spirit to the seven churches of Asia Minor, in other words, to the entire Church. There is something here that we should find impressive and that is that the Lord names and identifies His attribute — He holds the Holy Spirit. He has the Holy Spirit which He sends; and He specifically includes this inscriptional element in this epistle because it relates to the content of the epistle. And the Lord said to the church in Sardis write: The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works; you have the name of being alive, and you are dead (Rev. 3:1). A few words later He declares the bishop spiritually dead.

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And, in essence, He is saying to him I am the One who gives the Holy Spirit; why then are you staying spiritually dead? Why aren't you benefiting from the presence of the Holy Spirit, so you and your church can exercise the spiritual life? This is what the inscription of the epistle is insinuating. Essentially, what we have here is an indirect reprimand from the beginning and this reprimand will become much more direct in the content of this epistle. What then is the main theme of the epistle? J know your works, you have a name that you live, but you are dead. You have a name that you live spiritually but, in reality, you are dead. My friends, what a terrifying statement! This verse should terrify all of us. Each one of us must take a close look at himself. Many times, some of us are guilty of superficial piety; and please pay attention because sometimes those who nod their heads may be even guiltier of this superficial piety. I am saying this because I have noticed that many, many times people nod their heads like they want to say; “not me, but my neighbor, or the person next to me.” But woe and double woe — not me but my neighbor! Now you may say, what if one has some self-knowledge so that while nodding, he also includes himself? Yes, maybe, but it seems to me my friends, that when someone is told about one of his weaknesses he

usually stays silent and he does not nod his head. He is shocked. If I suddenly come in here and call you a thief in front of other people, would you be nodding your head? If you are not guilty, you will defend: yourself. If you are, your eyes will open wide. You will be surprised. How do I know that you are a thief; and how is it that I am exposing you in front of all these people? You will not be nodding your head. Many of us are guilty of external or superficial piety — especially when we are not committing heavy sins. Pay attention to this; we are encouraged by the fact that we may not be committing heavy sins and we take on a form of godliness and a relative modesty, thus giving the impression to those around us that we live a spiritual life. This condition, according to St. Paul, is a sign of the last days. He writes, But know this that in the last days, perilous times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers without self control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying its power. And, from such people, turn away (cf. 2 Tim. 3:1-6). Having a form of godliness, but denying its power thereof, they will take the shape, the form, and they will pretend externally. The outward form will be godly: they will make the sign of the cross; they will dress modestly; they will attend church; but they will have

denied the power of godliness. I repeat; the apostle Paul includes this as one of the signs of the last days. In essence, the religious people, the pious people, those that are considered pious, will simply appear to be so. ‘They will be superficial Christians at best. They will not have the power of true faith or godliness. If we take into account that the Greek word evsevia or godliness was used in the apostolic times to include the entire mystery of Christianity, then the mystery of godliness or piety is Christianity. When a person

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lives a pious life, he has the spirit of God and he has power. He has much spiritual power. When a person does not live the true gospel, but limits Christianity to some external forms by merely going through the motions, then he is a superficial Christian. In his actions, he has denied the power of the Holy Spirit. When a man denies the power of the Holy Spirit, he is dead below the surface. He is internally dead. Do not let this surprise you; he is dead. Also in our times many faithful, many theologians, many of those who theologize, have reduced theology—this true and fruitful knowledge of God which must reach the last cell of our body just like the food that we digest turns into blood and it reaches the last cell of the body—to discussions and dialogues. Theology, the knowledge of God, must reach the last corner of my being; it must feed me; it must give me drink; it must satisfy my spiritual thirst. This is the purpose of theology: to satisfy my thirst, my spiritual hunger, to make me godlike, a Christ-like being. These days we have limited the knowledge of God to retreats, class discussions, and dialogues. We have become as St. Paul says conversationalists of this age (cf. I Cor. 1:20). Theology has been reduced to conversations and discussions; it is not faith and life. We also notice that a great number of beautiful churches are being built today. Each possible physical detail is attended to with regard to decoration. However, the living temples of God are being ignored. Where are the Christians? Here in Greece you will see the parish priest build a new temple, a new church with a wood carved iconostasis, beautiful, ornate, wooden carved seats, beautiful icons, (Byzantine style),

filled with the best Byzantine music; everything is just beautiful. There is nothing wrong with all this, please understand; there is absolutely nothing wrong with all this. However, when this becomes the main preoccupation of the shepherd while the living temples of God are falling apart, while they are abandoned to fill up with cobwebs, while they are dying spiritually because the shepherds are not shepherding, then we can speak of a spiritual death. We also install great crystal or brass chandeliers in our churches with bright and multiple lights to light up the space of our churches. We install flickering lights with light dimmers to add a mystical atmosphere to our services, but the light of our Christians has gone out. The Lord says; You are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). But are the Christians today lights in this world? St. John the Chrysostom says, “One Christian, only one Christian full of fire, full of zeal can revive an entire city.” Does this take place today? I am afraid we are in a state of paralysis. It has been said, and rightly so, that long ago the holy chalices were wooden but the Christians were golden. Today, the holy chalices are golden but ‘our Christians are wooden. We also notice on a special holiday, such as the national holiday of our independence (March 25) when we hold a service of doxology in every cathedral of every city in every metropolis, we see all the state officials present. ‘The higher echelon of the government, the political leaders are present; but I am sorry to say that this large presence has only two characteristics: superficiality and vanity. As we can see, the Lord would be just to repeat in every season, to all of us, that we have a

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name, that we are alive, but inside we are dead. Outside, one sees the shine, the luster of piety, but inside one can see the effects of death. Inside one smells the stench of bodily decomposition. There is another special case of external piety that seems progressive. I extracted this from the magazine Sotir. (Savior)® This was also published in the daily news (Kathemerini) on the eighth day of March of this year [1981]. The bishop of Silivria,

Aimilianos wrote it. He is one of our own bishops of Constantinople. ‘The title of the article is; and please pay attention to this: ‘The New Christian Theology Changes into Sociology. The author explains, Many Christian movements in the last years in Latin America and Europe are based on this premise. The Kingdom of God is becoming a reality in history here on earth. Christ came to liberate those bound by poverty, underdevelopment, and. racial discrimination. In this way, the liberation of men takes place not necessarily from the personal sin but from the social pollution of political systems which took root from the social sin, the collective sin of the masses. Therefore, the position of the genuine Christian is to be found in the area of socialism.

For all of you who have some understanding, I am sure you see the point. I was pleased to see that the magazine Sotir (Savior) wrote a response analyzing this article, and the critique was quite good. The Orthodox Christian theologians of the magazine characterized this article as heretical with no qualms whatsoever. They clearly expressed that the writer of this article is in the realm of heresy. Now I will expand on this as well. My friends, pay attention. What we have here is a change of Christian theology into sociology, sociology baptized into a new theology. This new theology as expressed in this heretical article places the realization of the kingdom of God within our history here on earth, advocating the liberation of man, not from sin but from poverty, from slavery, from racial discrimination and in general from all the social systems which are used in various governments and cause people misery and unhappiness. This is the neo-Christian message. This is the new liberation theology. But this is horrible because if we attempt to make Christianity cover and heal the social ills of poverty, racial discrimination etc.; and we are not at all concerned about the matter of sin; and we transfer the Kingdom of God to earth totally ignoring heaven, then we have secularization in its fullness — a Christianity of this age. Then please tell me, what is Truth if they are supporting that this is the truth and the true purpose of Christianity? The true purpose of Christianity my friends, is repentance, repentance for sin and the return to God. The primary purpose of the Church is not to rectify social evils. That is its secondary purpose. The main purpose of the Church is to heal people from sin and to prepare them for the Kingdom of God, because here we do not have a permanent city. We do not have a city that will survive forever. We Monthly periodical of the national lay theologian brotherhood Sotir, based in Athens.

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do not have a permanent country. I believe death demonstrates this quite well. Christianity came to render us imperishable. It came to immortalize us. Our time on earth is simply to make the necessary preparations for our trip. We are on our way for departure, my friends. ‘This is not our country. We will not settle here for good. I believe I have told you this in the past, when people talk about red paradise—those of the communist party, and green paradise—those of the socialist party, it is heresy of the social dimension, because paradise is not to take place on this earth. Christ was clear about this because He said; The kingdom of God is within you (cf. Matt. 12:28). Within you clarifies that the Lord meant that the Kingdom of God does not come with observation, parades, drum rolls,

announcements, advertisements and fanfare. Each person finds his way. The Kingdom of God is not a social system or a specific political party. The Kingdom of God is man’s rebirth, his renewal in Christ Jesus. This is the Kingdom

of God. Each person must find his way; he must take his road to Damascus. This is the essence of Christianity. Now, if the Christians who happen to see injustice around them want to help their fellow human beings in every possible way to keep them from being hungry, to help the poor, to help eliminate injustice and so on, all these things, my friends, are a consequence of the work of salvation. However, they are not the main purpose of Christianity. Christ did not come to institute justice on earth in the sense that the various social systems wish to have this justice. A young man approached Christ asking Him to become a referee or executor of his father’s estate. He said to Him, Help me to divide my father’s property between me and my brother. The Lord said, My young man, who made me a judge or an arbiter? (cf. Luke 12:13-15) Instead of attempting to offer some suggestion to do something to reinforce social justice, even for example’s sake, so that He could have some measure to go by and to be able to exercise this justice here on earth according to the paradigms of the social systems, what did the Lord do? He turned to the young man and said; Watch and guard yourselves from every form of greed. Now, what social system would suggest or limit its citizens or its party members by telling them not to be greedy and selfish? Which one; J am asking you? However, Christianity promotes poverty—voluntary poverty—what other social system would speak about voluntary poverty? How many votes would a politician get if he spoke about poverty as a blessing? The people would throw this person far and beyond their memories in an instant. Imagine a presidential hopeful starting out his campaign like this: “Dear friends, I would like to show you a new way. I want to assist you in your happiness. I want to make you poor.” Now, would a candidate like this ever make it out of city hall, or become a senator or a president? Never! But Christ taught exactly this, Blessed are the poor because theirs is the Kingdom of God (Luke 6:20). He means the poor in material wealth not the poor in mind. So let us not talk about Christianity or a kingdom of this world; it is a great distortion. Christianity is salvation of the soul. I believe we must redefine or refresh our memories about the true meaning of salvation. What do we mean when we speak

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about salvation? What is the Orthodox meaning of salvation? It is victory over death

and sin. By sin, we mean the sin of the soul; and by death, we mean, of course, the

physical death of the body. Thus, the victory over death and sin is finalized with the resurrection of the dead. This is the meaning of salvation. In this context, Christ is called a Savior. He resurrected from the dead to save us. Otherwise, when we distort the true meaning of Christianity, and we teach other new theologies to our Christians, we will surely have a form of godliness; but we will have denied the power of Christianity or godliness. Needless to say, the spirit of God does not visit: these states. When we find ourselves in these superficial circumstances; we have inner spiritual death. Ginou grigoron—become spiritually alert—wake up! I know your works. You have a name but you are dead. Become alert. Get a hold of yourself. You need to wake up. You need to look into your heart and your mind. Take spiritual inventory. This self-evaluation is desperately needed in our days, more than ever before. Based on the things that I was saying earlier we need to re-evaluate our spiritual journey. There is no doubt that we need to re-evaluate our walk. We need to return to the true paths of the gospel but we certainly do not need to re-evaluate in order to fall into modern theories. Today, the words “I am an Orthodox Christian” are used very loosely. It is not a given but something to be desired. Instead of loosely stating, “I am Orthodox” we should really use this statement with a question mark. Am I an Orthodox Christian? It is not something automatic just because we may have been given an Orthodox baptism. For example, we must ask ourselves, “Is Greece today inhabited by Orthodox Christians?” If that is the case, then glory be to God. When the presence of the Holy Spirit rekindles our hearts and our entire country we will stop being dead. I am very much afraid, terribly afraid of the verse: those that God plans to destroy He renders foolish. How much do I fear that today we have become fools! We suffer from a state of foolishness; this includes all of us: clergy and laity, all of us, every parent, every citizen down to the last one. We suffer from this state of foolishness: the climate of our times, the way we live, the way we think — unfortunately all these things have changed. I am not sure, and I do not know if the spirit of God dwells in our country or even in our hearts. My friends, do you know that the average Greek citizen today, the one who understands when he reads the newspaper, has undergone a great change in his thinking when it comes to the subject of faith? There has been such a great effort of brainwashing for decades, not to mention that this seems to go back even before the

four hundred year Turkish occupation. The western propaganda of Roman Catholicism was very active before and after the Turkish occupation. This was true not only in the Greek mainland but in the Orthodox churches of Asia Minor and the Holy Land as well. Everywhere, the Orthodox Christians had to deal with western propaganda. Even in Bulgaria and in Serbia they actively sought to convert Orthodox Christians. Again, this western friendliness started during the years of Byzantium. You will see this very clearly if you read church history.

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So, here we are. After a long century of planning and pressure, we now come to the sad point where the average Greek has developed a different phronema (mindset). ‘The average Greek citizen today does not have an Orthodox mindset. I must tell you that this is most unfortunate, truly dreadful, and that it may be irreversible for some. So let us not think that some outsiders or foreigners will come to tamper with our faith. Our faith has already been attacked. It has been under attack. This shall become obvious if, for example, a certain movement attempts to impose changes in our Tradition. You will see that the lay people will not even complain. This is tragic. There were times when the lay people would rebel to defend matters of faith. Now the people in general will not speak out. This is because their phronema (mindset) has changed.

They have become progressively indifferent. There were times when the matters of faith were the /ife of the people, the life of the faithful. Today matters of faith are not the life of the faithful. Their life is their successful business; their quest for a better income to insure a better and more comfortable lifestyle, the endless preoccupation: these are what matter today. Today the average Greek Orthodox has lost his interest in defending his faith. He does not care about his faith as he did years ago. The result is spiritual death, spiritual paralysis. Woe to us because we will become enslaved once again, enslaved spiritually this time. We will lose the great treasure of Orthodoxy. We will certainly lose it. I do not know who will manage to hold onto it. But, it already has been lost. What more can we lose? It is already lost for the most part. But, let’s not despair, at least for all of you who are here listening, I am asking you, I am begging you, let’s be careful to maintain our Orthodox Christian mindset; to be spiritual people—not to simply have a form of godliness but to strive and have true spiritual life. And strengthen the rest that would otherwise die the Lord says to the bishop. Strengthen the rest of the members who are still healthy. If you do not take care of them, they will die. This verse indicates that, in the church of Sardis, there were a number of faithful who did not succumb to the influences that paralyze the soul. Let us pay attention. What are these causes that paralyze true piety? What are the causes that destroy godliness in the soul of the Orthodox Christian? ‘There are many, very many indeed. I will only mention a few, the more obvious ones; you know these things as well. You see them initially in all the filthy magazines and in the movie industry, which has surpassed every boundary of shame or respect; in the theater, which tries to keep up with the movie industry; and on television which

tries to compete with the first two. We must also include the waves of fashion in all its expressions and forms, the secular worldly lifestyle, and many other things. You know all these things. They are very basic and obvious. I would also like to mention one that is not so obvious, one that we may not suspect as a cause of drying up the soul — the homily that lacks Orthodoxy. Sunday after Sunday, year after year, the sermons in our churches have no Orthodox foundation, no Orthodox air, and no Orthodox breath. They begin with the front page of the newspaper. When sermons concentrate on contemporary issues, it is so they can relate to the problems of the tired and exhausted man of today since

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we do not want to get involved with a serious sermon because it often puts people to sleep. This is a serious problem and the pulpit bears great responsibility for this spiritual paralysis. An Orthodox sermon upholds people: it illumines, it strengthens, and it offers elements and ways to gain spiritual health. I will give you a great historical example, which displays the dynamics of a true Orthodox presence. The Turks did not manage to enslave the southern seven-island cluster in western Greece [or Eptanisa]. However, these Orthodox Christians were indirectly and constantly under the eye of Italy. Consequently, they were under heavy pressure from the Roman Catholics, and from the western spirit and its mentality. The question is; how did these seven islands manage to remain Orthodox for all these centuries? How did they manage this? That is the question. There was an invisible wall, an invisible fortress, but alive and mighty. This wall stretched from Corfu to Zakynthos, from north to south, a formidable wall of a living Orthodox presence. It was St. Spyridon, St. Gerasimos, and St. Dionysios. Can you picture this? Can you believe that this network, this chain of saints, sustained the seven islands and

northwestern Greece? They steadfastly served to crush the spiritual blows ofa spiritually dead Europe, to correct the diseased, heretical and Arian Europe. My fellow Orthodox, do you understand the value of the presence of the holy relics of one saint? These relics are in fact the incorrupt bodies of St. Spyridon on Corfu, St. Gerasimos on Cephalonia, and St. Dionysios on Zakynthos. As people they are, of course, dead; but as saints they are alive because they live in Christ. This is why I told you that the living presence of an Orthodox homily could revive our Christians, could form the living fortress, to keep our people from the slavery of the corrupt west. As we see here, the admonition of the Lord is for the bishop to strengthen those who were not infected. ‘They were also on their way to spiritual death if the necessary measures were not taken to protect them. I must call your attention to this point. Here we have the great dilemma. And once again, I would like to ask for your undivided attention. We have the great problem of immunizing our faithful from a world of terrible corruption, from cataclysmic and ethical destruction that wants to leave nothing standing. This is a most vital problem. How can we protect the members of the Church, those that are still healthy, to keep them from this pollution and to have them maintain their Orthodox phronema? It is worth noticing that taking protective measures is much more important than administering a cure. When the Lord says to the bishop, strengthen the rest of the members of the church; He wants the bishop to protect those that did not fall. Once they fall, once they die, it will be very difficult to revive them. It is like saying that in our city we cannot allow the polluting work of the Jehovah Witnesses to take root. We should not exert our efforts to cure the fallen victims afterwards. However we should exert our energy to immunize potential victims, to protect our Orthodox before they fall into their trap. We will help our people to understand Orthodoxy, to know the treasure of our faith, and then they will be in a position to reject every polluted doctrine and heresy: ‘This is much more effective than trying to heal someone who has been infected by a heresy.

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It is very difficult to bring someone back after they change and the success rate is rather unpromising. However, the results are much greater when we exercise the discipline of prevention. Even in spiritual matters, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Now we need to address this question: How can the healthy members of the Church safeguard themselves in today’s day and age? This is a great subject. There are three methods: coexistence, existence, and isolation. With coexistence, we refer

to the state wherein the Christian lives or coexists in the world, with the people of the world, exactly the way most Christians live today. They live exactly as the world

lives. It has to do with the open arms of the (secularized) Church. This is obvious

to us today. The Church wants to accept and institute every secular innovation to please the majority of its parishioners. The doors of the Church are wide open and we say, Come on in, ladies and gentlemen. What can we do to please you? What would you like? Would you like guitars in our worship service? Let’s give it a try-no problem. We can have guitars. Or, would you like violins and clarinets at your daughter’s wedding? Why not?” Or, let's say your non-Orthodox wife-to-be wants to remove the apostolic verse about the wife fearing the husband otherwise she will not go ahead with the wedding ceremony. “Well, let’s think about it. Let’s talk about it. We will bend over backwards to have you as members.” So, we are eager to do whatever it takes. We will even close

our eyes in known cases of fornication, couples living together. We give amnesty to these things so that we can appear to be people of understanding and people of “love.” We accept homosexuality or at least, remain silent so we can appear to be sympathetic, people of understanding. In this same way, we remain silent about abortion and many other things. My friends, I am not exaggerating. These things happen today. These things go on daily; if you only knew how some of the clergy thinks today. If you only knew how the clerical minds think today. I am not talking about the clergy of Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. Oh, there we have absolute chaos. There the abyss is almost enough to darken the sun. I am talking about us! If you knew how some of our Orthodox shepherds think today! So all this drama is called co-existence or the open-mindedness of the church maybe to assist and understand today’s fatigued and problematic man. And the justification for this way of thinking is that the church must not be labeled medieval and anti-social. We must keep up with contemporary man, as a mother lets her child walk to the childcare center but follows a few steps behind to keep an eye on things. In the same way, the church should keep following the movements of contemporary man. An example of this type of behavior (which is a tactic of the devil) is the story of the man who wanted to lead the pigs to the butcher shop. Pigs are not the easiest animals to work with. So, he had a big bag with acorns, which he used to line the path to the butcher shop. As he walked towards his destination, he threw a few acorns, which kept

the pigs running after him all the way to the butcher’s. This is how the devil works.

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The world today is running and the church is almost out of breath trying to catch up and save the world. At the same time, here we see how cunning the devil is. The running distances the Church from Her main purpose and Her main mission: to truly save the people. The problem is that the church—in its attempt to run after the problems of contemporary man—falls into countless compromises. These compromises, in the final analysis do not save; they cannot save because they are the product of a desperate, secularized church. ‘This is the work of the devil. Let us look at how St. Paul expresses this so we can back this with Scripture. Do not become unequally yoked with unbelievers (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14). This yoke is unbearable. It does not work; for what fellowship or participation can take place between righteousness and lawlessness, or between virtue and sin? What communion can light have with darkness? What agreement can take place between Christ and Belial? What partnership can there be between a believer and a non-believer? Please think about this, as St. Paul analyzes the unequally yoked or hetero-yoked, eterozigountes. | Hetero is the same prefix used in the word heterodox.] St. Paul analyzes the eterozigountes or unequally yoked as comprising four points: first, participation; second, communion; third, agreement, and fourth, partnership. These four elements can be named with one word, co-existence. I repeat: participation, communion, agreement, and partnership means co-existence. The Apostle asks, how is it possible to have such a co-existence with the unbeliever, the morally corrupt, and the devil? (cf. II Cor. 6:14-16) Can there be such a co-existence? No. This state is

unacceptable for those who call themselves Christians. It does not work. ‘This is not an alternative for those who want to maintain their spiritual health. I said previously, and you should have corrected me on this, I said that today there are three methods to preserve the healthy members. My friends, you should have corrected me because this method of co-existence does not work in preserving the healthy members of the Church. It leads them to the spiritual cemetery. My friends, I purposely brought this method up because it is erroneously believed to be a method of Church preservation. We feel that we have to co-exist to keep our faithful coming to church, to keep them from running to other churches, and so on. This experiment has failed. It has failed with our youth and with our faithful in general. This method does not work simply because it lacks the sense of Christ and the Holy Spirit. It is a humanistic method. And now we come to the second method for preserving healthy members; it is the simple existence of the believer in the world without taking part in the ethics of the world. On the contrary, he attempts to influence his environment as much as he can so that people around him can accept the gospel. St. Paul writes, Do not associate with sexually immoral people (1 Cor. 5: 9-10). And I do not necessarily mean the immoral people of this world: the covetous, the extortionists or the idolaters because,

in that case you might as well take off to the mountains. But, if someone says he is a Christian, and is sexually immoral then do not even eat with such a person. However, today, we can say that most people around us claim to be Christians.

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So, what do we do in this case? Please pay attention. The mind of the verse is this: you, the Christian can move about in the world. Now, if your work supervisor is immoral; your dentist is an atheist; your banker happens to be a Mason; the fourth one thing; the fifth is something else; but all these people have betrayed, have expelled and or stepped away from their Christian identity, what are you going to do? Society is very corrupt. What should we do? Listen, my friends. I will still go into the supermarket and I will shop. I will visit my dentist. I will do my necessary business. I will buy, sell, trade with people of my community. But I will have nothing to do with their secular ethics because I know to adhere to my own Orthodox Christian ethics. I will say, “Good morning.” or “Hello.” to everyone, to the entire world. I will be polite. I will say, “Good morning.” or “How are you?” This is especially necessary, as St. Paul says, because before someone becomes ordained it is necessary to have the opinion of those outside (cf. 1 Tim. 3:7). He means the idolaters, the non-Christians,

even the immoral. This will show that the one considered for the priesthood is sound, an important person — in order to be a priest or bishop. Now, how is the one outside of the church going to say kind things about me? I will say, “Good morning, how are you? How is your family? Take care,” and so on. Now, I will have no other dealings with them, no visits, no get-togethers, no picnics, no vacations, nothing at all. This is what we mean by existing in the world. I utilize the world, but I separate myself from the ethics of the world. To succeed in this, however, we need to acquire the necessary discipline and conscience so we can protect ourselves.

You, as adults, must in turn help your children. You will tell them, “My child, you will go to school.” We cannot keep the children out of school. [Though many people are finding that homeschooling is an excellent option.] In reality, schools today, unfortunately leave a lot to be desired, but we have to send our children to school. ‘There may be many negative elements in the school system, so we will teach and condition our children to avoid the company of certain or a// classmates if necessary, to have no give and take with certain people. The purpose is to receive an education and to come back home. I know this is very difficult but this is what we have to do. Now, you may say this is quite unrealistic; children are so easily influenced. I believe that children who have received much spiritual help from both parents, who are brought up with true spirituality will fight off some of the negative school elements. The third and final method of maintaining spiritual health is that of isolation, which is extremely necessary in many situations—especially in our times—isolation or total separation. We must point out that God Himself advises this isolation. We find these verses in Isaiah (52:11), in Jeremiah, and in Second Corinthians (6:17).

Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Separate yourselves, isolate

yourselves, and do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. What this means

is that there are certain times when we need to isolate ourselves; we need to stay away. We will need to isolate our children from certain events and from certain places. We will not have television and the movies control our lives and our children’s lives. We will do away with some of these things if we want our salvation and if we want our

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children to become good citizens. Please try to understand this. I come to this practical conclusion from today’s reality. It is obvious that the healthy members of the Church today must be protected by the last two methods of existence and isolation. The combination of these last two methods of existence and isolation and the exclusion of co-existence, will keep the

Church members from spiritual death. It is possible that they will be accused of being narrow-minded, fanatics, backwards, old-fashioned, and anti-social. My friends let us not be concerned. Let us not be concerned about what people may say. As it is written, The just shall live by faith (Rom.1:17).

CHAPTER 19 Revelation 3:2-6

The Fifth Epistle to Sardis — the Meaning of Complete Works — the Power of Memory in Salvation — Virginity — Promises

For I have not found your works complete before my God.

Homily given April 5, 1981

he Lord continues, my friends, to speak through His epistle to the bishop of Sardis. He tells him that He did not find the works of the bishop complete, or fulfilled, before His God. In addition to this statement is what we studied last week, you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. I did not find your works complete, or fulfilled before my God. We need to pay close attention to this because many times it is possible for our works to appear adequate, or sufficient, even rich, before our community members, assuming that we exercise some

relative piety, while being actively involved in our church. This may impress some of our community members, and may be adequate in the eyes of men. However, only God can judge the fulfillment of works. It is significant that God seeks this fullness. St. Andrew of Caesarea says, “The beginning of good works does not crown the worker but the completion of those works.”” ‘Therefore, it is not enough to make a good start towards good deeds but we must strive to become complete and full of good deeds. Where are all those people who think that they will be saved just because they confess Christ at some point in their lives yet do not care about this fullness? They go along with a few of the commandments while ignoring the rest. What are the works that the Lord requires this fullness from? It is the way we live, our complete conduct and citizenship. We cannot claim, “I keep commandment A or B.” Let us not forget that the keeping of all the commandments creates in us, a certain mindset; a way of thinking, a fullness of personality. A man who keeps the commandments of God is a complete human being, truly wholesome, intact.

St. Paul says that the man of God may be complete, (thoroughly) equipped for every

good work (2: Tim. 3:17). Elsewhere, the Apostle says not lacking in anything (cf. 1Cor.

1:7 & James 1:4) so we should not fall short. We should not be inadequate in anything.

7° St. Andrew, Apocalypse (PG 106, 244 C): “ov yap n apy} twv ayabav épywv otedavol tov ἐργάτην αλλὰ το πλήρωμα:

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We often hear that a person has some good qualities, but that he also has some little problem. He has certain flaws. This must not be. Many times, and this is irrational of course, we seem to get some satisfaction from, or we are somewhat proud of our flaws, which may get us some attention. Some people may even praise this defect of ours, “Oh, he’s a good man, but he likes his liquor. He likes his wine.” And even though it

is one of the worst passions, one who has a great attachment to wine (Alcoholism is a

horrible passion.), may actually boast about it. Unfortunately, there are a number of flaws that people are not only not ashamed of, but actually do boast about. However, as we said, Christ expects a fullness of works: the keeping of all the commandments — which affects the way we think; the way we carry ourselves; how we live; how we walk; how we move; how we talk — everything about us. These things clearly show whether we have fullness of works. I must also tell you that this fullness varies greatly in depth. It is not enough to keep the commandments at a minimal level, to just get by. One must attempt to exercise these commandments in more depth. Allow me to say that each commandment has an unfathomable depth. We cannot say that we have exhausted a certain commandment, or we kept this or that commandment. Let us never say that we fully applied commandment A or B in our life, never. Do not say that you keep the day of rest perfectly (the seventh day, the Sabbath, Sunday) simply by not working that day. There is a great depth in this commandment. How do you spend this day? What do you do? How is your conduct? How is your worship towards God? What kind of level has your worship reached? Are you getting close to a life of mysticism? Are you beginning to reach a certain vision of God? If you are getting close to these things, then you will be ready to admit that you are still at the surface and not at the depth of the commandment. However, usually those that speak about reaching a depth are those who do not even suspect how great this depth may be. While they find it easy to speak about a depth, they always stay at the surface. Therefore, fullness of works has width and depth, and can be equated with rebirth, with becoming a new creation in Christ. So the meaning of the verse, I did not find your works complete, or full, in front of my God (cf. Rev. 3:26), can be this — you are not reborn yet; you are not a new creation. ‘This is depressing. This is a depressing observation for the bishop of Sardis. We continue, Remember, therefore, how you have received and heard. So, remember, and wake up (cf. 3:3). The tone is one of a wake-up call. It serves to shake up and to remember the past, which is always a strict reproach. We can see here that the necessary element of this remember is a much-needed element in our life. We see this in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, when Abraham uses this awakening phrase: Remember, my son. Woe to him, because this particular remember cannot rectify anything. It is exceedingly late for him. This, remember in Hell will only serve to increase the suffering. He tells him, Remember, my son, that you have already received your reward in your earthly life (cf. Luke 16:25). So, to remember can serve to rectify things here in this life (as in the case of the epistle to the bishop of Sardis) or to

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increase our suffering in Hell (as in the case of the parable). If we must maintain this remembrance and it is not too late, this memory makes us return to the right path. It makes us get started again. If we must remember but we

cannot correct ourselves, then this is not different from Hell. Let us not forget that

memory will be in a perfect state in the Kingdom of God. This perfect memory also exists in Hell. Moreover, as we said, this memory does not diminish with age. There is no age. There is no aging factor in the afterlife; so memory is always sharp there. In this present life, we remember things and we forget things. As we age, we have increasing memory loss. However, even when we are young we do not remember all our deeds. Our memory is limited and our deeds are not before us every minute or every hour. We remember only a fraction of our past deeds here. This is not so in the afterlife; there is no limitation to our memory once we leave this life. Our memory will be perfectly alive. Our memory will be clear to us as a constant reminder of our evil deeds. It will torture us because as you might suspect, my friends, Hell would not make any sense without this memory. In the absence of memory the one being tormented could say, “What is the reason for my suffering? I don’t understand what I am doing here.” However, when he has the complete memory of his entire earthly life before him, the memory of his horrible sins and actions, then he fully understands the reason for his punishment. He sees the justification for his punishment. The Lord often repeated in His Gospels, mnimonevete, or remember. Remember Lot’ wife (Luke 17:32). He especially instituted the very sacrament of the divine Eucharist as a remembrance of His Person and His suffering, or Passion, when He said, Do this in remembrance of Me—to remember me (cf. Luke 22:19, 1 Cor. 11:24-25).

Of course, the mystery is not limited to the mere purpose of a memento. It is not a souvenir or something for nostalgia sake. It is not like taking an item from a friend and saying, “I will have this as a souvenir to remember you.” The mystery is not simply a reminder, but a remembrance, a constant reminder because the Lord Himself is present. The bread and the wine are His Body and His Blood, a real presence. Consequently, this is a memory of His Presence. So, one can see the great power of memory. Memory connects the present with the past without a recess. This is why the bishop of Sardis is being called upon to remember how he received and heard the gospel: how he was catechized; how he became a Christian; how the gospel entered

his life; and how he allowed his zeal for the gospel to weaken to the point where his life had become paralyzed. Hold fast and repent. In every one of His epistles when the Lord has something to correct, when He must reproach, He also offers the only way of cure and correction: the way of repentance. This repent is stereotypical of all the commandments. I repeat; it is a stereotype, because it is the only method of correction for a// the commandments. The Lord says, repent in all the epistles. We could very well say that the entire Christian faith is a constant repentance, a constant return towards God. In the final analysis, the spirit of repentance, or metanoia, must characterize all the works pertaining to us or to

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other people. Otherwise, they are not acceptable to God. Do we understand this? If, in the relations between ourselves, other people and God, we fail to see the stamp of repentance, of incessant repentance, our works are unacceptable to God. Repentance is the constant state in the life of the faithful, in the life of the Church. Up until our last

breath; up to the last point when our soul leaves the body — up to that very moment

— repentance must exist.

However, it is obvious that the shepherding energies of our Church do not always seek out and result in repentance. I must tell you this because in recent years we have been heavily influenced by the west. We have been influenced by the heavy tourism into our country as well as by our own people who have traveled and/or lived in foreign countries where they encounter other beliefs. All this—seeing how Americans and other Europeans act: how they move about; how they think—has made an impression on us. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants have been a big influence on us. The Protestants, as we have said in other discussions, are not a church. They are simply communities and denominations. Today, there are at least fifty such denominations actively seeking followers here in Greece. Over the years, the Church in Greece has been criticized because it does not participate in or organize the type of social activities promoted by these denominations. We see that the Christianity of the west centers on the creation of hospitals, nursing homes, spiritual centers, philanthropic deeds, Christian political parties, and socialism. People ask, “Where is the Church?” “Why isn’t the Church housing the homeless, opening soup kitchens or orphanages?” “Why doesn’t the Church do something similar to what the Roman Catholic agencies do?” The fact remains that whether the Church participates in these things or not, if they are not connected to the gospel; if they are not connected to repentance; and if their final purpose is not to evangelize, then there is no point in doing them. As I have told you during other meetings, these things must be accompanied by the commitment to repentance. Influenced by the Christianity of the west, our Church today has communities with so-called spiritual centers for the youth where the young people can have fun and play ping-pong or computers, and video games. However, do we cultivate a spirit of repentance through these things, or do we limit ourselves to some basketball or soccer

tournaments? It is nice to have slide shows, videos, and religious movies to keep our children off the streets. But do we also cultivate the spirit of salvation? Again, all these activities are nice, but from the moment that we fail to create a spirit of repentance along with these activities, then it is more than obvious that the Church is no longer on the right path. It is off course; it has been influenced. It has espoused the western mentality, which tugs and pulls our Church. This is most unfortunate and most of us fail to see this. Truthfully speaking, a Church that keeps and maintains the spirit of repentance on the front burner, stressing precisely that spirit to the faithful — only that Church is walking the true path, because by doing so, souls are being earned for the Kingdom of God. I believe that your instincts and your inner sense must help you see this, to see the

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right way. My friends, if I do not have repentance, but I possess great social graces — I am refined; I am civilized and polite — ifI fail to have repentance; ifI simply live my life, nicely and politely, will I enter the Kingdom of God? I will not! And since I do not enter, I have failed. I have missed the mark. This is why I told you that a Church that does not stress and promote the need for repentance at all times, is a Church of no help. It does not help people gain their salvation. Nevertheless, you may say to me, must we always speak about repentance? But, this is it; do you fall? You must keep repenting. I will always speak to you about repentance, my brother, just as I talk to myself. Why? —Because I fall. Now, if you can tell me, if you can assure me, that you no longer fall, then I will stop talking to you about repentance. Who can boast, who can claim that he does not fall? We all fall; we fall daily; and since we fall daily, we are in need of repentance on a daily basis, if we want to be saved that is! It is understood that if this repentance does not register in our life, then the Lord comes with a threat. He says to the bishop of Sardis, therefore, if you will not watch. I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you (cf. Rev. 3:3). Here, as you can see, the Lord names Himself a Thief. It is one of the many names of Christ. Christ takes on many names like: Way, Life, the Door, Lamb, a great number

of names. If you search the New and Old Testament, you will find dozens of names, if not hundreds of names, for the Person of Christ. If you could search with the vision of the Church Fathers, if we had the eyes of the Fathers, we would see hundreds of these names. One of the names of Christ is also this: Thief’ He says; I will come to you as a thief. The Lord speaks this way in the Gospels as well. He says, for instance, Stay awake, because you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But, notice, that if the Master of the house had known at what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. “For you also must be ready for the Son of Man. Because the Son of Man is.coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matt. 24:42-44) As St. Paul points out, the day of the Lord is like a thief in the night. That is how Christ will come. For when they shall say, peace and safety (when we feel globally confident and stable) then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail upon a woman with a child and they shall not escape (1 Thes.5: 2-4).

But, you brethren are not in darkness, so that this day should not overtake you, as a thief. Clearly here the Lord appears as a thief, but for whom? Let us pay attention. He appears as a thief for those who do not believe in Him, for those who do not expect Him. Alternatively, if they do expect Him, they expect Him in the very distant future according to this verse: My Master is very late, my Master is extremely late, (cf. Matt. 24:48-50) as the Lord says about the evil servant regarding this point. So for those who do not believe in Christ, or who do not expect Him to come back or who expect Him very much later, the Lord will come as a thief. However, for those who are expecting Him, very eagerly, for those who are full of expectation, the Lord is rather delaying His coming. He is somewhat delayed because they are fully

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consumed by the expectation of His coming. He cannot come soon enough for these people. Lord, when will you come? And everyday they ask, “Lord, when will You come? Time is passing by. When will you come?” For these people, obviously He is not a thief, as a thief in the night. For these people He is overdue. We also have those who say, where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation (2 Peter 3:4). From them we hear: What Lord will come? What Second Coming of Christ? For these people the day will be sudden. But for those who feel His presence and are full of expectation, they feel that He is delaying, that He is not slack about His promise, but longsuffering towards us. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. However, the threat that is directed towards the bishop of Sardis shows that the bishop was not vigilant. He was not awake. He was not sincere in his expectation of Christ’s Second Coming. He had neglected his missionary deeds, his spiritual deeds and the spiritual needs of his flock. I repeat; he was negligent about the spiritual nourishment of his flock. ‘This concerns you as well my friends, because this threat of the Lord applies to the shepherds of all times, especially to the shepherds of our days who may have given up on the coming of our Lord all together. Are there shepherds today who do not expect Christ's coming, who do not even care, or even believe in Christ? It seems that way. How else can some of their actions be explained? I do not know how else some of these things can be explained. When we run into clergy with such terrible conduct, we can only assume that this man, this shepherd, cannot possibly believe in the coming of Christ. What am I saying? He may not even believe in the Person of Christ. However, the Lord, my friends, warned us about these shepherds. The reason this threat of the Lord concerns us all is because, when we have shepherds who do not care about us, about our salvation, (I told you this in a previous class.) then we must do whatever it takes

to take care of ourselves. This is analogous to when we do not have competent teachers, or when we have a shortage of teachers; we do our best to learn. The parents try to find ways to teach their children. They will use any means to teach their children to read and write. The same must take place in spiritual matters. I constantly repeat this. Do not stand still if you see that we are not concerned with your spiritual needs, if we are not good shepherds. Take care to guide yourselves, educate yourselves as best as you can. Look out for yourselves. You will be held accountable. The absence of good (local) shepherds is not always a valid excuse. Let us see what the Lord says, Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season (cf. Matt. 24:4551). The faithful and wise servant is the good servant who is not just faithful but wise as well. His wisdom lies in knowing which portion of spiritual food to give; how much to give, and when to make the spiritual food available to the people. For example, if we set up a table for you and we force you to eat five full plates of food, you will vomit.

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On the other hand, if we fail to offer you food at mealtime, you will starve; you will go hungry. What must take place is the very thing that the Lord says, to have the food be given in due season. Each one must be given at the proper time. Blessed is the servant who when his master comes, will be found so doing, to be fully devoted to his flock and to be giving them the proper nourishment. But the evil servant says, in his heart, my Master is taking a very long time. He begins to beat his fellow

servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards. (Matt. 24:46-51) So, the evil servant

begins to lord it over the faithful in a very inappropriate manner for a shepherd or spiritual leader. He begins to drink with those who like to get drunk. He begins to live the epicurean life; eat, drink and be merry. He lives in licentiousness and lives for today. Life is so short, so let’s celebrate. Enjoy life. Apparently, the Lord sees here that within history, evil will a/ways exist, along with evil shepherds. Of course, He is not referring to His twelve disciples who were good servants, but to evil shepherds in general throughout history. The Master of that evil servant will come on a day when he is not expecting Him and at an hour that he is not expecting. Oh, how dreadful! How dreadful for this evil servant! The Lord will come as a thief in the night. When the faithful servant stands before the holy altar he says, “Maybe I will die; this could be my last Divine Liturgy. The Lord is near.” He monitors his life and his thoughts according to this expectation. However, the evil servant will be cut in two and his portion will be appointed with the hypocrites. What is this cut in two? It is the separation of soul and body, or death. ‘The evil servant will face death and his portion will be with the hypocrites. His soul will be placed in the zone of the hypocrites because of his hypocritical lifestyle. He pretended to be a shepherd, but he was a wolf. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 24:51). There will be deep remorse with no possibility of repentance, in the unpardonable, dreadful, and everlasting Hell. For this reason, my friends, the Lord accuses the bishop of Sardis of neglecting the spiritual development of his flock and with failing to progress spiritually. The Lord calls him dead. How many of the priests and bishops today would fall under the same category as the bishop of Sardis? And the Lord should admonish such bishops and priests with the same words as well. How many? This is a sign of the times, my friends. Hold on as best you can, any way you can; hold on. You have a few names in Sardis, who have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy (Rev. 3:4). So here we have it. In the seemingly living — but in reality dead — church of Sardis, we have a hopeful sign. There are a few names, a few people, a few individuals. These are a wonderful few, very few, but that is okay. These few live their life according to the life of God despite the spiritual death of the bishop. Do we see this? The bishop's life did not stop these few individuals from being sincere, faithful, and alive in Christ, from living a true Christian life. What is

the undertone of the expression, You have a few who would not defile their garments? This very book of the Revelation gives us the most touching image of those who did not pollute their garments. Please pay attention.

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It is in Revelation chapter fourteen. I will offer an analysis of this paragraph because it is directly connected to the epistle to the bishop of Sardis. We will discuss it now especially since it will take us a great deal of time to reach chapter fourteen (if we are still alive). Since it took us a whole year to cover three chapters, we will need quite some time to make it to chapter fourteen. By then we will have forgotten a lot of this information. So, for this reason I do not believe it will hurt if we jump ahead occasionally to look at some pertinent points. However, here as I told you, there is a direct connection. Let us read. Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’ name written on their foreheads. ... . It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are chaste (Rev. 14:1-4). Now, here, this not defiled may initially give the impression that they were pure from fornication. But this is not a matter of avoiding fornication. This has to do with those who avoided marriage altogether. Now, why does this defilement apply in the case of marriage? What can I tell you? What can I tell you, since the woman needs to receive a prayer of purification after she gives birth? We need to consider what is impure. St. Nikodemos asks, “Blood? But blood is the foundation of life.” Is the born child impure? —By no means. It is a brand new creation, a brand new person, and a child of God. Then, why must the woman receive this prayer? What was impure that needs to be purified by this prayer of the Church? Where is the impurity? My friends, what seeped inside the holy plan of God was evil desire [kaki epithimia]. Who can ever boast that his marriage has been immaculate and holy — so holy that not a trace of evil desires ever existed in it? Not even for a split second? From the very moment that Eve saw the fruit in paradise and desired it, evil desire came into the human race. This termite, this desire, in its broad sense, finds its way into all things: when I see the wardrobe of another person and I become envious; when I become envious because of his wealth, his home, land, garden, or his great flowerbeds; when I begin to covet and desire his things, then I have an evil desire. Let us watch now because this is exactly what the tenth commandment corrects. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor (cf. Exodus. 20:17, Deut. 5:21). The

Greek says: You shall not desire. This evil desire has entered marriage as well. Again, who can boast about a marriage that does not have a trace of this evil desire? Moreover, to be able to see this type of desire, to be able to define it, a person must have the eyes of a saint. So, for this reason, and not that marriage in itself pollutes or defiles because the marriage bed in itself does not defile (cf. Heb. 13:4), but because it is what has seeped into marriage that defiles. Therefore, St. Paul refers to marriage without degrading it. This is the mind of this verse and I will clarify this now. He is not talking about extramarital relations or fornication, because he says, For they are chaste, meaning unmarried. They were never married. However, as J said, desire can be very broad. It is not just in the area of marriage or in the area of bodily, or carnal, desires. It is everywhere, as you will see when we continue.

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The chaste, or undefiled, one hundred and forty-four thousand are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men being first fruits to God and to the Lamb. Jn their mouth was found no deceit, (No deceit has

a broad meaning here.) for they are flawless, or spotless (Rev.14: 5). The redeemed are under the relative number of one hundred and forty-four thousand, which is twelve times twelve thousand or twelve thousand from each tribe of Israel. The twelve tribes of Israel are symbolic of all the tribes because today we have no tribes of Israel. ‘The number is symbolic of all nationalities, tongues, races, and colors, of all the peoples of the earth. All these are stated with this number, twelve thousand times twelve. So, this number represents a great crowd of the elect who combine three elemental characteristics. Just to backtrack a little, we must mention that this one hundred and

forty-four thousand is presented twice in the book of the Revelation and that they are unrelated numbers. They are two different cases. In this instance, we have the case of the one hundred and forty-four thousand — the chaste virgins, or the unmarried.

The one hundred and forty-four thousand is not a concrete number but a schematic number. It does not represent an exact number; it is allegorical. It symbolizes a great number. The use of the twelve tribes means all of humanity. These are the elect of all humanity and they are taken from all humanity from all centuries and all seasons. Based on this, they were redeemed from among men, being first fruits to God and to the Lamb. ‘This reveals that virginity, or the call not to marry, is a form of sacrifice

that is offered to God. First fruits to God and to the Lamb (14:4) refers to the life of

virginity. But we will see this again, as we continue. Let us get back to the three characteristics of these one hundred and forty-four thousand. First and foremost, they lived a life of virginity. The text says, They were not defiled by women for they are virgins. The state of virginity is most ancient and of one age with humanity. Since Adam and Eve were virgins in paradise, after the fall, and I want to emphasize this, after the fall and after their exit from paradise, then Adam knew his wife, and having conceived, she gave birth to a son, Cain. So, Adam had relations with his wife outside of paradise and Cain was born. Their relations occurred after the fall. Thus, they lived in virginity in paradise. They maintained virginity. Please remember that virginity in the Old Testament is generally honored but it is not accentuated. This is because the purpose for the people of God was to be preserved in a multiplicity of numbers in order to survive their numerous historical adventures until the Messiah came. It was necessary to maintain the existence, the presence, of the

chosen people for the Messiah to be born. However, virginity was not pursued, though it did hold a place of honor. The prophet Elijah was a virgin; the prophet Elisha was a virgin; and St. John the Forerunner was a virgin. Virginity is reserved as an ultimate virtue of the New Testament. In the New Testament it is not simply honored but it is considered a great virtue indeed. Initially, we must mention that virginity is not unnatural or an unnatural state. It is rather a supranatural state; it goes above nature. We could venture to say

along with St. John the Chrysostom, who says in his great homily about virginity,

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"Virginity, in reality, is the state according to nature.” Marriage is not the state

according to nature or the ideal state, since childbearing and marriage took place after the fall. This form of marriage was instituted because God foresaw the human fall. Furthermore, we will all return to the state of virginity or celibacy in the

Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom of God, there is no or childbearing; the Lord was very, very clear on this. In the Kingdom of God people do not get engaged there is no childbearing. All these forms are absent from as you can see, we will all return to virginity, the original is an accommodation, a concession rather, because God

marriage, no married life, or married; consequently, the Kingdom of God. So, state. Therefore, marriage foresaw the fall and along

with the fall came death. In the presence of death, it was necessary to work out

the preservation of the human kind. This is why the male and female forms were

introduced. Of course, as we saw, marriage is a phenomenon that followed the fall

by the concessionary will of God. However, virginity is not for everyone, for the Lord says, but only those, to whom it has been given (cf. Matt. 19:11). Only to those that it has been given can virginity exist. From this, we see that virginity is not simply a gift, such as intelligence, height,

or beauty; it is a virtue. It is a virtue obtained by much toil. After the Lord said, to those to whom it has been given, He added he who is able to accept it, let him accept it (19:12). He who is able to assume and live this type of lifestyle, let him do so. So, when He says he who is able, He refers to he who would be able to take up the struggle, showing that virginity is truly a virtue. Having a sharp mind or good looks is not a virtue. It is a gift that men receive from God without having to do anything, without any effort, without trying to be smart. Is this a virtue? Do smart people enter the Kingdom of God? Do the tall, the attractive; those that have physical strength, strong arms, or legs, those with great health enter the Kingdom? These are all gifts from God. Virginity is not only a gift but it is truly a virtue because it has the element of personal effort or work. Virginity is a mystery; those who correctly exercise this state of virginity can approach this mystery and I mean correctly. St. Ignatius writes that the one who maintains virginity does so to honor the Body of Christ.”! By the way, the person must not boast about his or her virginity. Boasting about this would be catastrophic. The reward would be lost; it would be totally lost. Therefore, this has to do with an offering. I read this very thing to you in Revelation in the previous chapter. They were redeemed from among men being first fruits to God and to the Lamb (cf. Rev.14:4). In the Old Testament, the first lamb born in a flock

was sacrificed to God. The first wheat we harvest we make into prosforon to be offered to God. This agrees with St. Ignatius, “He must not boast, because he belongs to the Body of Christ and he is serving in the honoring of the Body of Christ.” As the Lord points out, These are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes

(14:4), which means that they are somewhat of an extension or a part of the Body of

71 St. Ignatius, To Polycarp, 5, 2.

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Christ. Therefore, these followers honor the Body of Christ. This is seen when we have a miracle-working icon that we take for a procession or a litany. The icon is carried with the offerings of the faithful. You may have seen some miracle-working icons with gold or silver medals which have drawings of body parts stamped on them: eyes, legs, hands, hearts or whatever people are specifically thankful for. They are called anathemata in Greek, or offerings. Other offerings may include: rings, watches, crosses etc. They stay on the icon to show the appreciation and gratitude of those who were helped. These go along with the icon during the service of the /itania or procession. This relates to the Lord being escorted by those who chose a life of virginity, those who honor His Body. Now, let us pay attention. I already mentioned this, but I will repeat it one more time. Ihe presence of virginity does not belittle or scorn the mystery of marriage. I simply told you about desire, which is what infiltrates the arena of marriage. It would be a blessing to have marriages in the Lord with the full understanding of what it means to be married in the Orthodox Church and how to keep the Church’s blessing in our marriage; we would be ecstatic. I have told you this in the past. If you can, read the service book of marriage, the same book that the priests use when they celebrate

the mystery or sacrament. (There are small booklets available.) If people would read this service, word for word, then they would really be able to see what the full mystery of marriage is about. I highly recommend this to all [engaged or] married couples. St. Paul also writes, Now concerning the matters about which you wrote. It is well for a man not to touch a woman (I Cor. 7:1). Why is that? It is because the unmarried man concerns himself about the matters of the Lord, how to please the Lord, just like

the unmarried woman concerns herself about the matters of the Lord, so she can be holy in body and spirit. This means that the married woman does have some instances where her body and her spirit may lose this holiness. And these are the very things that I was speaking about a few minutes ago. You must know; you must understand these things as well. I say you have to understand and you must know because you come and tell me these things all the time. I hear these things in thousands of confessions. Most unfortunately, after the fall, the bond of marriage, instead of becoming a helping hand

for theosis, in many instances becomes a helping hand to pull people into Hell. This is because people do not get married to assist each other to enter God’s kingdom, but to go to Hell holding hands. This occurs when a man becomes captive to the woman's demands and desires or when the woman becomes carried away by the unholy and perverse lifestyle of the husband. Listen to how the Holy Scripture touches on this point in the parable of the Great Supper. J just was married to a woman, and I cannot come. I need to be with my wife, so I will not come to the supper of the kingdom. The Lord said, but take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be laid down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life (cf. Luke 14-21:34). What are these daily cares of this life? The cares of this life are those that go along with marriage. The Apostle says, But, he who is married, cares

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about the things of the world; how he may be attractive to his wife, how to please his wife. The married woman, says St. Paul, cares about the things of the world, how to be attractive to her husband. She uses every possible means, every possible method, to please her husband (cf. 1 Cor. 7:34). However, the unmarried one is only concerned about pleasing the Lord (Rev. 3:4). The purpose of virginity is the full dedication of the person to God and to the matters of God, to work the works of God and nothing else. Any other motive or reasoning would not be an authentic or a justifiable criterion to stay unmarried. Today, virginity not only lacks honor but as you know, it is often ridiculed. It is ridiculed because it lacks the understanding of today's modern and rational Christian. Thus since it is slandered by contemporaries, virginity becomes a constant confession of faith in the name of Christ by Whose grace virginity becomes possible. He who lives in virginity is a confessor and a martyr. This is so because of today’s temptations; in order to maintain virginity the strength of martyrdom is often necessary. Virginity can only be preserved today by martyrdom, because these are days when we face such great opposition by people, (because they ridicule virginity in general) that its adherents must be constantly ready to defend it. ‘The second characteristic of all those who follow the Lord is that they follow Him everywhere He goes — anywhere He goes. They are devoted to the love and the work of Christ. The third quality of these followers is that in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are flawless. Here, by not having deceit, or a lie in the Greek, what is meant is the state of living a life of truth. In other words, they have reached a state of holiness. I am certain that among you here tonight we may have only a few — but such special people do exist, I am certain of it. They do exist. I feel compelled to say it. I only wish and I pray that the Lord may increase this number. My friends, there is no greater cause or desire than to desire this great calling, this state of virginity, this total devotion and holiness. It is the state wherein one truly feels that he lives his life. He is living the true life. This promise of the Lord serves as a powerful magnet: And they shall walk with me, in white, for they are worthy (Rev. 3:4). Now, the promises of the Lord are stated for the victors over spiritual death, for those who practice self-control, purity, and celibacy. The Lord says, He who conquers shall be clad thus in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (3:5-7). The one who

is victorious, the one who overcomes, will be clothed in white garments,

meaning clothed in the divine glory. The divine light, the light of God, will envelop him. His name will be written in, not blotted out from, the Book of Life, meaning the eternal Kingdom of God. Remarkably, only Christ has the authority to enter names into the Book of Life. In addition, this J will not blot out his name is of extreme significance. This reveals

the possibility of the disqualification of the athlete of Christ who starts well, but does not finish the race. The possibility of having one’s name blotted out shows that we

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could lose our salvation. [These words of the Lord destroy the Calvinist-Protestant heresy of predestination, the notion that once saved always saved. You can be saved for a time but you can also be blotted out — just like in the case of the five virgins who did not enter the Kingdom of God.] Finally, as we also read in the gospels, the Lord Himself will confess the name

of the victors before His Father and the angels. My friends, God has promised and has prepared very great and magnificent things for the victors of His gospel. Let us not procrastinate any longer. Time is passing and the end is coming upon us. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

CHAPTER 20 Revelation 3:7-8

The Sixth Epistle to the Bishop of Philadelphia — Introduction — About Missions And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens. ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut; I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the earth. I am coming soon; hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (3:7-13).

Homily given April 12, 1981

his sixth epistle is directed to the angel or bishop of the church of Philadelphia,

which was located southeast of Sardis. Attalos II, the Philadelphos who was the king of Pergamos, established the city of Philadelphia. During the reign of Tiberius the city was renamed Neoceasaria and during the reign of Vespasian it took on the name of Flavia-Neoceasaria. This epistle has two common points with the epistle of Smyrna. The first is that there is no fault found in this bishop, nothing negative whatsoever, no reproof. It is an epistle full of praise.

The second common element is the accusation of the Jews, who were called a

synagogue of Satan in the epistle to the bishop of Smyrna because of their hatred for the Christians. These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. This is the introduction of the epistle my friends and it corresponds perfectly to the present state and conditions found in the church of Philadelphia. Let us try to offer a quick analysis of these introductory lines. These things says the holy and true, the holy one and the true one. ‘These are divine attributes, which are used for the Person of Christ. Holy was a name attributed only to God in the Old

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Testament. Therefore, the Holy One is only Yahweh; consequently, Jesus Christ Who is called the Holy One in the New Testament and is Yahweh, is the Lord. Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament. If we could only comprehend this! If only those

heretical Jehovah Witnesses would ever comprehend that the Jehovah as they call

Him—the Jehovah of the Old Testament—is Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, they reduce Him to a creation of God with their blasphemies. The Holy and True or the True One, is a divine title referring to God. Here the True One does not mean the one who says true things, the one who speaks the truth. It refers to the True God, the genuine and authentic God, the only True God. From this once more we see that Christ is truly God. Again, Jehovah Witnesses will ask where does it say that Christ is God? Where is it written? It is written all over

the Scriptures. However, you need spiritual lenses, spiritual eyes to interpret. If you are

blind, you cannot interpret. The prophet Isaiah says, So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth (65:16). Therefore, the True God is Yahweh. Moreover, since Jesus Christ is called the Holy and the True, it is more than clear that the Yahweh of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ. Furthermore, as an ancient

commentator writes on this point of the book of the Revelation, “He is the Holy and the True not from metousia, not from communion or participation, but God the Word is Holy and True in His essence.” This is nothing like say, a piece of iron that becomes magnetic due to its contact with the magnetic field of a magnet. No, this is not the case with Christ because Christ is truly God. To the word True we could also add the trait, trustworthiness. Christ is trustworthy in His promises; and this becomes obvious from the statements that will follow. So, Christ in His divine nature is holy and true. In His human nature, Christ is the One who has the key of David. So in the phrase, these things says the Holy and the True, he who has the key of David, we see both natures of Christ — the divine and the human. Holy and True refer to the divine nature and holding the key of David refers to the human nature. Surely, when He says that He is the One who holds the key of David, He cannot possibly be referring to the divine nature but to the human nature. Do not forget, my friends that I have been emphasizing this and I hope that God helps me to draw attention to this as long as I live! Who is Jesus Christ? He is the Godman — Theanthropos — not only man and not only God but both God and man, fully God and fully man. However, what is the meaning of the phrase He has the key of David? As we know the key is the symbol of authority. Therefore, the key of David is the messianic authority. The prophet Isaiah states, And I will give him the glory of David; and he shall rule, and there shall be none to speak against him: and I will give him the key of the house of David upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and there shall be none to shut; and he shall shut and there shall be none to open (22:22-Septuagint). And I will give Him the key of the royal house of King David, which is the symbol of messianic authority according to the human nature.

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Please remember what the archangel Gabriel said to our Most Holy Theotokos, You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, a descendent of David (cf. Luke 1:31-32), the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father, David — all this is according to the human nature. So He will open and no one will be able to shut. I repeat, once He opens, no one will be able to close; once He closes, no one will be able to open. All of this is of great importance because it has much to do with the content of the epistle. So, the entire meaning of this verse: I am the Holy and True God, and having taken on flesh, having become man, I have complete authority over human history. Can you imagine all this depth, all this theology in these few words of the introductory line of this epistle? If you have been paying attention, every one of these epistles opens with some tremendous theological position and if we could add together and analyze all six or seven introductory phrases of these epistles thus far, we would have a most amazing theological presentation of the God-human nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now we come to the main content of the epistle: J know your deeds. I know your works. This sentence is repeated in every epistle. It shows the omniscient Lord, the One Who knows it all, the One Who has all the knowledge, the One Who does not lack any psychological, scientific, or nuclear knowledge. He knows it all! He is God

almighty, the One Who sees it all — the things that are done in secret and the things that are done out in the open. The Lord knows all private or public works, whether done in dark places or in the open. Nothing escapes the eye of the Lord. If we could only comprehend this! We should become conscious of the fact that Christ knows everything. And if things seem to be falling apart around us—even for a relatively long period—let us not lose heart. Christ knows it all. I have mentioned this to you before but I will repeat it to you again; picture the image of the Lord sleeping inside the boat, the small boat that was traveling on Lake Gennesaret. So, the Lord is sleeping. Huge waves caused by strong winds are threatening the existence of the small boat. The disciples become afraid. The Lord is sleeping; they are forced to wake Him up. Lord, we are perishing, we are drowning (cf. Matt. 8:25). Where was the Lord? Did He not know the weather conditions on the

lake were changing? Did He not know that the little boat was in trouble? The Lord was sleeping. It seems that He is not answering. It seems that He is somehow absent. Nevertheless, the Lord is ever present and He knows it all. J know your works. See I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it (3:8). And here we have it. Since the main topic of this epistle has to do with the opening of a door, this explains why the Lord said, J am He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one can shut and when I shut no one can open, as recorded by the

prophet Isaiah. It is as if to say, go search the Old Testament prophets and you will see. Do not fear. Behold I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut. What is this open door? [Please note that the Greek grammar in this verse suggests that this door is opened permanently or constantly. Therefore, this door is always open.] So, what is the door that is set before the bishop of Philadelphia which no one can shut

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since the Lord is holding it open? It is the incessant missionary effort, continuous and unhindered missionary work; this is the open door. It is rather interesting that missionary activity is represented here with an open door. This metaphor of an open door used to symbolize missions is not coincidental by any means. In fact a few lines after this when we enter the fourth chapter, after we finish the seven epistles sent by the Lord, we will see that it begins with a related

image. St. John will say, After this I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven (cf. 4:1). However, the door in heaven has a different meaning than the one in the epistle to the church of Philadelphia. The open door in heaven means that now one can see the mysteries of God that were impossible to see before. However, here in the epistle we have a different meaning. St. Paul uses the phrase open door three times in his epistles or in the Acts of the Apostles. I will only mention one in particular when he writes, But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries (I Cor. 16: 8-9). In other words, I have a lot of work, which is why I stayed another three years! I have plenty of work. Those who opposed the teachings of the gospel are many. I have a lot of ground to cover. This is what he wants to convey to the Corinthians. What becomes obvious there is that faith in Christ begins in an enclosed area, surrounded by an environment totally alien to it. Suddenly, a door of this enclosed area opens up! Do you understand this? The Church is found in a certain place, a specific environment. The Church is fenced in just like a sheepfold. Suddenly a door opens; and the purpose of this open door is to make the faith known to all those outside of this door. They will receive information about what exists inside this door. So the people outside of this fenced-in sheep pen, or Church, will see what takes place inside the Church; consequently when the place outside learns what the Church is all about through this opened door, then the place outside will also want to become part of the Church. In this way, the perimeter of the Church will become greater. We will pull out the posts, so to speak; we will pull out the posts from the fence and we will move them outward to include the new ground, the new place that was just added to the Church because of this open door. Because those who were inside and had already gone through this door had witnessed about the faith, they attracted the people who were outside and brought them in. By bringing people into the Church, the Church expanded; its perimeter was enlarged, and this enlargement does not mean the fence was eliminated. The fence

is still there but it is now wider. The door still exists. The fence is still in place, and it should always be in place, just as the door needs to be in its place and never taken off. This is because entry for those who happen to be outside of the door will be allowed only after certain conditions or presuppositions are met. These presuppositions exist to avoid reaching a state of equilibrium between the inside and the outside, because if such a state were reached it would mean that the Church has frozen. To help us see this, let us use the very appropriate example of a recent interpreter. Let’s assume that the Church is a boiler full of boiling water. The boiling water is the

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boiling faith of the faithful of the Church. Suddenly a great quantity of cold water falls into this boiler; the water temperature drops way below its boiling point and then it is no longer possible to increase the temperature to bring it back up to boiling. This is precisely what happened when the Church was liberated through Constantine the Great and the standards of entering became less strict. Catechism became less strict and many people entered because the Church was suddenly free from persecution. So, Church membership became rather relaxed and without its previous zeal. The steam was gone; that zeal of the early Christians was gone. The reason behind this was that many entered the church without any zeal. They entered without catechism, without any preparation, without any knowledge. Consequently, the Church went from the boiling point to the freezing point because there was very little difference between those inside compared with those outside. A state of equilibrium was reached. We do not need to look very far to see this. At this moment, the majority of Greeks are baptized Christians. Are they all people of faith? Are they all believing Christians? —Certainly not. Why? The gates are wide open and quite bluntly, the posts of the fence have been pulled out and the fence is flat on the ground! People can come and go as they please, even the enemies of the Church. However let's just say that the Church underwent a great expansion. Many outsiders came in without the necessary requirements, resulting in a sudden drop of the temperature of the faith and the zeal of the faithful. This is devastating! This is terrible. We need to look into this. The image of the open door—this forever open door—describes beautifully the state of the Church’s missionary work. It was rightly stated that, a church without mission is a church without commission. The purpose of this holy mission is the constant rejuvenation of the number of the Church’s members, the constant sharpening and the constant strengthening of the faithful, the final goal being the Christianization of the entire world. We presume that all of you had some sort of catechism in your early years. Was it enough? Can you say that you learned enough in your Sunday-school years and that you have no need for any additional knowledge? This spiritual strengthening of the faithful is the responsibility of the Church. It is the never-ending work of the Church and all believers up until the moment of their death are to be cultivated constantly and to prepare themselves endlessly for the Kingdom of God. Therefore, we have two directives in the workings of the Church: whom can we attract to our Orthodox faith from outside and bring through the door, and how can we develop those who are in the sheepfold, within the Church? Consequently, we have two states here, two holy missions; one could say that we have two designations: internal missionary activities and external missionary activities. However, these expressions are not very accurate. There is a more accurate expression.

Missions the walls or doing work of

refer to those outside of the Church and ministering refers to the work within of the Church. The Greek word is poimantiki, literally meaning shepherding, the work of the shepherd. Therefore, at this moment I am not doing the a missionary, but the work of a shepherd. However, if we go to unbaptized

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people in foreign countries where people have no knowledge of God, there we will engage in missionary activity. Now whether we say ministry or missions, these terms are essentially interchangeable. We read, But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Come, let us return and visit the brethren in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.’ (Acts 15:35-36) So let us go and see the fruit of our missionary work: Are they doing well? Are they keeping the faith? Are they on the right path? Are they standing well? Do they show signs of progress? When they visited them for the second time, it is classified as a work of ministry. However, we usually

use the phrase, the second missionary journey of St. Paul. Consequently, whether we say missions or ministry, in reality these two terms are intertwined. On the one hand, members of the Church militant are transplanted as members of the Church triumphant upon their death. People die; they leave this present life; they progress, preparing themselves accordingly; and they depart. On the otherhand, because of the need to evangelize new souls, missionary work becomes a most necessary issue for our Church. We could say that holy mission, ierapostoli, or the

spreading of the gospel, is a commandment of our Lord and in actuality, it is His last commandment. In the Gospel of St. Matthew we read, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all thatI have commanded you (Matt. 28:19-20). You will evangelize; you will speak to your neighbor about Christ. In the Acts of the Apostles, the Lord says, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea, and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). What is the meaning of this? It means evangelism, missionary work. It means that evangelism, missions in general is a commandment. I will say it again. Spreading the gospel is not something optional. It is a commandment. Just as we have the commandments: honor your father and mother; do not steal; do not commit adultery; do not kill, we also have the commandment to evangelize. You will speak to your neighbor about Christ. During confession as you would confess a sin of lying, stealing, cheating, killing, if you did any immoral deeds, you must also confess that you failed to evangelize, to speak about Christ. Open the New Testament — from the first page until the last, you will find commandments everywhere. When St. Paul says Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice (Phil. 4:4), or be people of joy, do you think that this is something optional? Did you think: I can have joy if I want to and if I do not feel like it, I can be miserable? No, rejoice is

a commandment! As a Christian, you are not allowed to be miserable! You must be a joyful Christian, a cheerful Christian. If you are not a cheerful Christian then you still do not know what it means to de a Christian. You do not understand what it means to be a liberated person. You do not understand that God has granted you and me a privilege. I am privileged because God has adopted me. I am His child by grace and He gives me His blessedness. Now, if I have all of the above and the great hope of the

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Kingdom of God, tell me, how can I be gloomy or sad? What does St. Paul say? Does he not say rejoicing in the hope? Simply because we have the hope of God’s kingdom we should be jumping with joy! He says, rejoicing in the faith and the hope (Rom. 5:2, 8:28, 2:12). So, if someone tells me that they will give me a certain object, a gift and I believe

it; | have faith. However, when I am full of joy because I will soon receive this object, it is no longer faith; it has become the work of hope. Hope is connected with joy and hope is a virtue. Joy is a virtue as well. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal.5:22). Did you ever imagine that joy is a commandment? Could you imagine this? Evangelizing is even more of a commandment and there are a number of other things that are commandments. Because we do not see these things, we are drying up as Christians. We are minimalist Christians because we limit ourselves to a nominal adherence to the Ten Commandments. How I wish that our people looked at the Commandments properly! If we could see the Commandments the right way, then there would be no need to argue the point. One could easily grasp the depth of these Commandments. However, most of us do not develop much depth. We take things rather superficially. Do not commit

adultery, “Oh, okay. I did not commit adultery so I’m okay, case

closed.” Now it is a different story if you were in love half a dozen times before your matriage; you were just simply looking for love. So, you were not committing adultery, but you were being sexually active or fornicating, which are different words; so it was not adultery, right? It was simply fornication and another matter even if you ran into all kinds of perversion and I do not know what else. Never mind if your eyes were feasting in all the wrong places in partnership, of course, with your desires and your heart. You may say, “Well, I did not commit adultery; so I’m fine.” My friends, adultery is committed in the heart! If we could only see the shape of our heart! This is why we have these talks — to wake up, to come to know ourselves. Now, let’s get back to our main subject. I will ask, when Christ said, Go out and make disciples of all nations, whom was He addressing? To whom was this commandment given? We do not see anything in His words that suggests, if you have spare time and if you have nothing else to do, then just go and talk to the people about the gospel. Not at all! This is a commandment, a must! For whom? For the twelve disciples? Now what would happen once the twelve disciples exited this life? Wouldn't this commandment become irrelevant? Of course! So, the commandment of evangelizing was only seasonal? —One of a limited time, a certain epoch, necessary only way back then? — Certainly not. This commandment concerns every faithful without exception! And please understand, just as love in its first plane is given as a commandment, you must love the Lord with all you heart, all your mind, all your strength (Matt. 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27), You must love the Lord comes across as a commandment. When He says you must love your neighbor, it is also a commandment. Now imagine the husband telling his wife, “I command you to love me.” It sounds rather strange and very unnatural. You

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cannot command me to love you. Create the proper climate, the proper environment and love becomes automatic. So, it seems strange at first, my friends, for God to give us a commandment to love Him. Again, this is the initial stage. From the moment you receive this expectation of God, to love, you will not stop there; you will progress to the second stage. It will become necessary for you to love. Evangelizing works along the same lines. From the moment you receive this commandment and you begin to love Christ, then you do not need to have Christ reminding you to love, to command you. It will become necessary for you to share, evangelize, and confess your faith. Listen to how St. Paul expresses this, So affectionately with so much fervent love, longing for you we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives because you have become dear to us (cf. I Thess. 2:8). Therefore, we are

coming to you, not because we were commanded by Christ to bring the gospel to you, but along with the gospel, we are giving our hearts to you. What is the meaning of this? The commandment has become the action and the necessity of a loving heart, a loving conscience. So, when you share and offer the word of God, you dip it in your heart; you dip it in love. Consequently, remember this: a man of faith is also an apostle. Please remember this. From the moment you became faithful, at that very moment, you became an apostle, that very moment. Someone faithful is also an apostle. This is the criterion. If you are not an apostle, you really have no faith. This is a consequence of your fire. Your faith is burning within you; your faith is not one of your personal matters that must be kept a secret. It is something that overflows and you have the great urge to share it, to illumine the person next to you. You feel bad if you cannot share and give this joy to others. Many times, my friends, I have to take a taxi (and I don't know if any of these people happen to be here listening to me tonight, it’s quite possible) to go teach at School 303 on Monday mornings. I always try to keep something in my briefcase, a pamphlet, a periodical, an article, a tape to give to the taxi driver and I try to start up a conversation with him. “How are your children? How many do you have? Do you keep them on the path of God? Do you go to church?” They will often respond, “Father, I would like to, but I really do not have time to go to church.” “You do not go to church? Please hear me out. Sunday morning try to go to church. Try this and you will see how much you will benefit, how much God will bless you. Go to church. Try to get up early Sunday morning. Go to church first, and after ten o'clock, go to your taxi route. You will see how much you will be blessed. God will send much work your way. Moreover, your money will somehow be spent much more wisely in your home. Please try and see.” I feel a great need to tell this to people. There are times however, and I do not know why, but I do not feel like opening my mouth. They might be blasting the radio or the driver might be totally self-centered and preoccupied, whatever the case may be. I feel something eating me inside; I feel that I wasted these ten minutes. Most of

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these taxi rides are usually about ten minutes and I feel bad because I did not get the opportunity to put those ten minutes to good use. I feel guilty because I could not open my mouth to speak to the driver. I believe this is how we must feel. I am being truthful. Sometimes I feel awful. Look at the heretics for example; do you see them? The minute they are at an arm’s length they begin to preach to you; and you cannot shut them up! Isn’t it a shame for us who happen to have the truth, not to share it with our brothers? We fail to help our brothers. So hopefully you can see that the commandment, go out and make disciples of all nations, is not something exclusively for the twelve disciples. It is for a// the faithful,

for all the Christians of all ages and all centuries. As I told you, if you believe, you will

evangelize. From the moment you became a true believer you became simultaneously an apostle. However, apostleship does not mean that we must travel to the ends of the earth. Do not think that we need to approach strangers only or to speak to strangers about Christ. My friends, the person next door to us is waiting for the faithful apostle to bring him to Christ, even though he may be a baptized Orthodox Christian. You see people depressed; you see them struggling in pain and sorrow. You see them in a state of confusion. Open your mouth and speak two words to them. Now you may say, “I don’t know what to say to them. I do not know what to say.” You have heard the saying: Necessity is the mother of invention? I will repeat this with a minor modification: Love is the mother of invention! Blessed Augustine says, “Love and do whatever you want.” If you love, if you are truly a person of love, if you love God, you do not want to wrong Him or His glory. Moreover, if you do not want to harm your neighbor, then you will become wise in your love. You will develop the proper method and people will sense your love. You will speak properly. What would guide you to speak properly? Love! If you truly love and you do not want to harm anyone, you will speak the proper words. Consequently my friends, if we believe in Christ, we are also sent by Christ. However, let’s be careful. We are representatives of Christ at every moment and at every hour, at every place and in every season.

You cannot simply say that you spoke to such and such people last year and job is done! I talked to them one time and then I washed my hands. How many do we say this? I am finished. I did all I could... You are finished? Unfortunately, this myself from time to time as well. I say this to the children of School 303,

your times I say who

frustrate me to no end. You know how the children of our days, the children of this

age can be. Now we do have a great number of listeners at 303; nevertheless I tell them (and hopefully to justify my frustration) “Young people, do you understand this? I come here out of a certain responsibility.” Many times, I feel that I want to give up or that J just do not want to go back there anymore. I want to quit. I did all I could. They do not listen. They do not appreciate it and I am ready to let them go. However, I cannot bring myself to do that. I cannot! I cannot say that I am finished. I did all I could; I fulfilled my duty. I cannot.

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I prefer to suffer the plight of the prophet Jeremiah. Do you know what happened to this prophet? Read the first chapter of his prophetic book. God told him to go out,

to speak, and to prophesy. He said, Lord, I cannot; I am too small, too young, and too

immature. I just cannot do it. And the fire of the Lord entered the bones of Jeremiah and his bones began to crack. He was feeling very badly. He could not find rest. When he began to speak his bones stopped their crackling and burning. Therefore, we can never claim: I did what I could; so I am finished; I am done. Tell me; is love ever finished? Is love ever extinguished? No. Love never ends. Therefore, evangelizing and witnessing must never end. Let us not say that we did our duty. The motive behind evangelizing and witnessing is not simply duty but love. | | St. Paul says you should not owe anything to anyone, either personal loans or anything else material. If we do borrow from another person let’s pay back things quickly. This is of great importance — not to owe. As much as you can, practice this; try not to owe; do not borrow. If you must borrow, try to pay things off as quickly as possible. Let’s not take advantage of another person. Let’s not ask for money from a friend or a relative and then forget all about it. Be careful; this is very sinful. This is terrible. Based on this the Apostle says to the Romans, Owe no one anything, except to love one another (13:8).

‘Therefore, you will not owe anything to your neighbor, to your fellow Christian except one thing. You will always owe your love to the other person. The balance on the account of love cannot be paid off. It cannot be satisfied. Similarly, the balance on the account of evangelism cannot be satisfied. The faithful must become fully conscious that the account of evangelism is always open and it will never be paid off. ‘There are no special qualifications necessary. You only need three things: faith, love, and knowledge of God. You do not need to be an eloquent speaker or full of peripheral knowledge and wisdom. You do not need special degrees or other qualifications and abilities. Do you have a flame in your heart? Do you believe in God? Do you love Him? Do you know Him? Do you have a close relationship with God? Begin to speak. The words that will come out of your mouth will touch people’s hearts because it is the fruit of faith, love and the knowledge of God. What is strange as well is the fact that you do not need any material things. As you know, today when we speak about missions, our mind goes to moneyboxes. We always talk about the need for money, how to raise money for missionary work. My friends, material things are not necessary for the success of evangelism. You may call me a dreamer or unrealistic. However, one woman in the first years of Christianity

converted a very large portion of Central Asia Minor, with what? What do you think? One cross made out of a grapevine branch! She had nothing else! The apostles conquered the entire world with their poverty, their insignificance, and their simplicity. What did the apostles have? Did they have material wealth and resources? Did they have trust funds and pledges? Did they have pensions? Did they have trip allowances? Sponsors? What did the apostles have? In reality, we really do not need material things either. St. Paul writes about how he got around as an apostle,

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in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything (2 Cor. 6: 8). Another interesting point here is the statement of the Lord to the bishop of Philadelphia; for you have little strength and you have kept my word and have not denied my name. What does the Jittle strength refer to? It is possible that it refers to the small number of the faithful of Philadelphia. It could have been a small parish because the church was insignificant regarding its external appearance. Alternatively, it can refer to the modest financial means of the church of Philadelphia. Another possibility is the outward qualities of the bishop's qualifications. He could have been limited in the area of physical stamina or the ability to speak well; all these are external things. However, all these things did not stop this bishop. Even though he had little strength, as Christ says, even though you have little strength, you kept my word and you have not denied my name. You did not deny my name. What word was kept? You kept speaking about Me. You kept evangelizing. You worked to spread the gospel. I opened a door for you and you did not deny My Name. You teach, preach, and confess My Name. Quite often, the Lord chooses His workers from those of little strength according to the world. So the success of the preaching of Christ will not be successes attributed to outstanding worldly qualities such as: knowledge, worldly wisdom or the dynamics of a speaker; they will be successes according to Christ. St. Paul and also St. John

the Chrysostom interprets this as well, When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (I Cor. 2:1-5). So here we have it. We must also note that only God gives missionary opportunities. Behold He says, I have set before you an open door. \ gave you an open door. You did not open it yourself; I opened this door for you, says the Lord. So, our aim should be to discover the opportunities that the Lord gives. We must discover these and take advantage of them. Now if we run into some difficulties in our missionary endeavors, and we will always run into difficulties; they are simply elements of authenticity. However, let’s not forget that no one can close the door regardless of whether we find all kinds of difficulties in our missionary efforts. The Lord said this; no one can shut the door. We

may have difficulties and more difficulties, but no one can close the door

because Christ is the one Who has the key of David. He is the one who opens and no one shuts and He shuts and no one can open. Now if the volume of evil heavily presses the chest of the faithful—especially in our days with the sheer volume of atheism and denial—we would do well to study what happened to St. Paul when he visited Corinth. St. Paul was terrified by the corruption in that city. The entire city was a

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center of prostitution, a center of fornication. And he said to himself, I am getting out of here; I have to leave this place quickly. The Lord appeared and told St. Paul, ‘Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man shall attack you to harm you; for I have many people in this city.’ And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them (Acts 18: 9-11).

The prophet Elijah had a similar experience as well. He was complaining that he was all by himself. Everyone had abandoned the true faith except him. However, it was revealed to him that a huge number of people, seven thousand men with their wives and children; seven thousand families did not bend their knee to worship Baal (1 Kings 19:18). They stayed faithful to the true God. Never allow the poison of despair to enter your soul. Someone may say that you are wasting your time; that these people will never change, or ask you why you are talking to that person? They may tell you to forget him, or to look at how he lives. I could tell you a number of stories about this. I will rely on the example of St. John the Chrysostom. He once said, “Now you may tell me that the one who was at your sermon yesterday tonight is across the street from the church drinking wine, he is at a bar. Yes, but he is not drinking it the way he would be drinking it had he not heard my sermon.” What does this mean? He is drinking his wine, but my words are also ringing in his ears. My words are eating him inside. The words that he heard are bothering his conscience and this could be the reason for his return. Therefore, we will open our mouths and say a few words. We can have fruit even in the most unexpected place and time. We can be pleasantly surprised by the results of our efforts. I could tell you amazing stories, but our time is limited. Let us not forget that we were not sent to reap but to sow. The evangelist or the apostle does not reap. God reaps. We will sow the seeds; we will open our mouths and the rest is in the hands of God. God will reap; He will harvest on the Day of Judgment. Finally in the face of adversities we must accept the assurance of the Lord Who told the Apostle Paul, Do not be afraid because I am with you. When did He tell him

this? When he was in Jerusalem, He said, Do not be afraid, I am with you. Therefore, my friends, if we love the Lord and we have a deep faith in Him, we will move ahead first to work His gospel, to evangelize before the Lord has to tell us. This is how our love for Christ and His gospel will automatically move us to action. The person of love has philotimo. He is a philotimo” person. Therefore, we will take this holy initiative to speak about our Christ, our Orthodoxy. We will preach about Him in our home, on our way to work, on the bus, at work, in the country, everywhere, every place, at every hour, at opportune times and at inopportune times. Our evangelism will be the best expression of our love for Him and for His Church.

” Characterized by a keen sense of honor and desire to give back, to respond with generosity.

CHAPTER 21 Revelation 3:9-13

The Reward of Missionary Work — the Sixth Epistle to the Bishop of the Church of Philadelphia Behold, I give you of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and learn that I have loved you.” Homily given May 3, 1981 e continue with the Lord’s epistle to the bishop of Philadelphia, where we left off before the holidays. This bishop had exercised the commandment of evangelism to those outside of his church. He had witnessed to the gentiles, to the idolaters and to the unbelieving Jews.

The missionary effort put forth by this bishop had proven to be very fruitful. Indeed, whatever takes place in the name of the Lord will bear fruit because the Lord Himself blesses and guards His works. Here there is fruit from the synagogue. The synagogue with all its unbelief, strong opposition, and offensive warfare against the Church, characterized by Christ as the synagogue of Satan — this synagogue is beginning to bend. Some and not a few numbers of the Jews turned to Christ and acknowledged the Church of Christ and the bishop of Philadelphia. It is interesting that Christ gives this portion of the believing Jews to the Church. That is why He says; Behold I give you of the synagogue. So, Behold I give to you, not the entire synagogue but I give to you from the synagogue. So, the Lord says, Behold I am giving you from the synagogue, not the entire synagogue because they did not all believe, but some of the Jews believed; and I am sending them over to you. So 1, Christ, am giving you. Thus, the effort of evangelizing belongs to the bishop of Philadelphia, but the fruit always remains a gift of Jesus Christ. How truthful this statement is. We only need to read Scripture,

Unless the Lord builds the

house, those who build it labor in vain (Psalm 127). St. Paul himself also writes; We

planted, we tilled the ground, we cultivated, we irrigated, but the One Who will increase is God (cf. I Cor. 6:7). God is the One Who increases.

Truthfully, my friends in order to be successful every missionary effort needs to have our own effort and the blessing of God. The blessing of God alone is not enough if the workers do not labor. Nor is the effort of the workers sufficient if Christ does not give His blessing. So let us understand that our success in the work of the gospel 3 Translated from the original Greek.

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of Christ is not simply a fruit of our hard work or intelligence, but a fruit of the grace of Christ. Here we have a great victory for the bishop of Philadelphia. This number of Jews who believed—who at first were polemic, blasphemous and fully rejected the Church—do not only believe now, but literally come and fall at the feet of the bishop and worship Christ. Again, the words of the Lord here are quite impressive, ] will make them come and worship before your feet and to know that I have loved you. In other words, they will understand that God now does not love the synagogue but the Church. The synagogue is desolate. The Lord has said this and He said it while looking at the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem when He cried out for her, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how many times have

I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Behold your house is left to you desolate (cf. Matt. 23:37, Luke 13:34). He says, your house, your town, your city, your country is abandoned, left desolate from grace. For years, God had His Providence around the boundaries, the walls of Jerusalem, the walls that were highly exalted with hymns and praises not only in the Psalms but also in the entire Old Testament. The entire Old Testament exalts the walls of Jerusalem. It seems rather strange to exalt and sing praises to walls, but in reality, the praises are not meant for the walls, but for God Who protects the city. Now your house is left desolate. The curtain or veil of the temple was rent in two, from top to bottom with the crucifixion of Christ. It means the temple will undergo sacrilege because God left. His grace left. Now it is nothing but a common structure. The grace of God is no longer there. So, those that come from the synagogue will bow in front of you and worship at your feet. They will learn that I have loved you. Loved whom? The bishop? No, I have loved you, the Church. And here we have an outstanding revelation that the Lord, Yahweh, the Lord Who is God the Word, Jesus Christ no longer loves the synagogue; He loves the Church! What a triumph, a great triumph for Christ. What a great joy and a reward for the efforts of the bishop of Philadelphia. Let this be a great lesson for us, my friends. Let us understand that while doing the work of God, no matter

how rough or difficult or how many temptations the devil throws in our way, we must persist and persevere in this work of God. The fruit will appear eventually; however, it is not in the scope of our work to reap. Our work is to labor at whatever level: in the sowing of the seed, in the tilling of the soil, in the development of the plants,

in the harvest, anywhere Christ calls us. The fact is that the entire fruicfulness — the gathering of the fruit of the land into the storehouses of the Kingdom of God, or the recruitment of citizens for the Kingdom of God — is clearly the work of Christ. So, all those who have worked in the sphere of the gospel, all those who worked in God's vineyard: whether in a systematic way; teaching catechetical school or holding a study of Holy Scriptures; preaching; or whether they try to help someone whom they have met along the way, may have experienced these feelings of joy and at times feelings of sadness and despair. Nevertheless, even behind the feelings of disappointment we

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find a deep joy when we work the work of God with all our heart thus becoming soldiers and co-workers of God. This is of profound importantance. This deep joy from the efforts of missionary work is the first reward, not only for the bishop of Philadelphia, but also for every worker of God’s vineyard. Two more rewards will follow. Let’s look at the second one. Please pay close attention to this,

Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial

which is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the earth (RSV 3:10). Because you kept the word of My patience, which is to work the gospel with patience, I will also keep you from the terrible hour that will come upon all the citizens of the earth, the hour of temptation, which will test all people who live upon the earth.” What is the hour of this temptation? Sometimes the announcement of a certain future catastrophe or evil takes place and of course, we must be in a state of expectation. The purpose of this announcement is to help us prepare. I made ready and was not troubled (Psalm 118:60). We should know this by now. We must be ready and prepared. One of the weapons of the devil is the element of surprise; he aims to surprise us. We must be prepared for every temptation, whatever the temptation. When it comes we will be able to say that we were prepared; we were expecting it. This also applies in the area of the battlefield. One of the weapons of the enemy is the element of surprise. What needs to be done? We need to prepare for and expect an imminent attack. When we are ready and anticipating the enemy with our finger on the trigger, then the possibility of victory increases simply because we are ready and waiting from one moment to the next. However, when we are caught asleep in our tents with our weapons unloaded at our sides and the enemy falls upon our tent, then what? We will be most unpleasantly surprised. The same tactics are also true in the spiritual arena. You can see how the devil falls upon us when we are not prepared. Now what is this hour of temptation that will come upon the entire ecumene? This does not refer to the faithful only but to all people in general. Initially, the hour of temptation represents the entire period of the tribulation, which started from the First Coming of Christ. It will continue and will culminate during the eve of His Second Coming, during the days of the Antichrist. It will be the tribulation which will affect everyone, especially Christians. It will be the

misery brought forth by the Antichrist and to use the words of St. John the Divine, Brethren, many antichrists have come into the world (cf. \John 2:18). However, in those final days, these tribulations will peak for all the people, especially the Christians. ‘The presence of the Antichrist itself will also be a consequence of divine punishment for the lawlessness of the Antichrist and his followers. Then it will be as Christ describes it, For then there will be great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, no and never will be (Matt. 24:21). It will be a horrific ordeal.

We find a typology or foreshadowing of this great tribulation of the end of times in the siege of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 A.D. Historical accounts record that some 74 The original Greek is used for added emphasis on some of these key verses.

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mothers actually ate their own children!”*> How horrible the great tribulation will be! We cannot possibly imagine it. The temptation will be in the area of faith and the area of ethics. Evil will become the norm, meaning: injustice, crime, wars, hunger, the very things that Christ talked about, You will hear rumors of wars, hunger, pestilences, a

general state of disorder will be the norm (cf. Matt. 24:6, Mark 13:7, Luke 21:9).

The important thing is that the Lord does not appear to be anywhere during this unrest. Then the Lord said this; Many will be scandalized, they will lose faith in Me.’ This is already happening in our times; they are saying and repeating the words of Christ. They ask, “Where is Christ? Where is God? If God exists, can’t He see all this trouble on the earth? Why doesn’t He intervene? If Christ is God, then why doesn’t He instill law and order in His Church? Why doesn’t He fix the wrongs in the world? Where is Christ?” This is the temptation. Do people talk like this today? They most certainly do. People have these questions constantly. My friends, even within the Church of Christ we find terrible inconsistencies, terrible states. When we say, the Church of Christ, we mean ourselves as well. We are the Church. There is no need to look very far; we are this Church. Moreover, within the Church there is a great deal

of chaos, an abyss of evil. We cannot imagine the evil that exists in the Church, evil caused by our Christians, lay people and clerics alike. We are the Christians. That is why I said, “caused by our Christians,” clergy and lay people alike. There is an abyss of evil. Do you know that when we act like this we give the impression to ourselves and to others that Christ is not God? We absent Him from the front stage of history! “Where is Christ? Doesn't He see all the evil that is brewing in the Church? Why doesn’t He punish these evildoers?” This is the first temptation. Christ expressed all this in these words: The love of the many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12). Who are the many — the atheists? No, the many are the Christians. The love of the Christians will grow cold and the people will become scandalized. “Look at that person,” they will say, “Look at this Christian. Can't you see what he does? He is so selfish, such an egoist; everything is for his stomach; that is all he cares about. He takes advantage and he tries to get wealthy every possible way. He does not have a trace of love in him. He is heartless. He feels nothing. He is a cold-blooded user.” Thus, people will be scandalized and they will blame Christ because of these socalled Church-going Christians. Therefore, this will be the first part of the temptation. People will say, “Christ failed. We do not need Christ. We need to find our own way. Let's forget about him.” Why do you think atheism is blossoming today? This occurs on a universal scale, especially in the Christian nations. What is the fertilizer that feeds the weeds of atheism? What would you say? It is precisely this, the widespread crisis within the individuals who call themselves Christians. It is the fallen love of Christians. The strong swallow the weak; the big fish eats the little one; those in high places take advantage of the people in low places; the powerful play a numbers game and label it business. Thats business. In the name of business, we step all over our weak 7 See Flavius Josephus (AD. 37-c.100), The Wars of the Jews.

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brother. All these things abound because of the absence of love. We have unraveled as Christians. We are in a state of deep crisis and consequently, we blame Christ. We do not accept Him; we turn away from Him; He is a mere man and not God. This is the fertilizer of atheism. But who will stay upright? Who will keep faith in Christ? You often hear people say, “We must make things right. We must fix things at all costs.” ‘There is no question that this is extremely necessary in the Church otherwise, souls are lost. However, if we are to raise the Church up with the crutches of politics, civil affairs, or political correctness, then it will fail miserably. This would be a tragic mistake. Christ also raises this question: When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth (Luke 18:8)? Will He find upright, true Christians, Christians who kept the faith? That is what He means. Tell me my friends, how do you feel about this? I am certain that at this point every one of you will say from the bottom of your hearts, “Of course we want to stand upright; we want to keep the true faith.” But be careful. It is not enough to say that I want to stand firm in the faith. We must also build or create the proper stage for this with the necessary elements. We must reach a certain depth, a great depth actually, in the word of God. We must acquire a deep knowledge in the Person of Christ. So, when the temptation comes, it will come like heavy rain on the house of our faith, the structure of our faith; it will come from the side, like wind. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against the house, and could not shake it, for it was

founded on the rock (cf. Luke 6:48). The house of our faith must not fall! This is the

meaning of staying upright. However, to keep it from falling it must be built on the Rock called Christ. This means that I must have a personal union with Christ. I must know Christ. I must ive Christ. I must get to know Who Christ is and not to simply have Him on an icon somewhere in the house and look at Him now and then. Or to know a couple of things about Him from a couple of pamphlets that happen to come my way. If our knowledge of Christ is superficial, then the minute the first rain comes, my friends — never mind rivers and strong winds — that first rain takes me and blows me away like chaff. The first blow of the wind spins me all over the place and I will find myself totally uprooted. As you see, we need to stay well grounded and firm. To stay upright we must have the foundation of our house built on the Rock. We must develop our relationship with the Person of Christ and this relationship presupposes much work. It takes work and more work. It does not take place automatically by mere chance. It is not an academic matter. It is not like going to the coffee house to pass some time, to a nearby theater, or to the mall to see some people. Church is not like that at all. Sermons and homilies are not simply a way to spend quality time. We go to hear the word of God. It takes work. How do we go to school? We take our book bags, our books, our notebooks, our pencils, and we sit at our desks. There is a roll call. We are marked absent; we are graded; we are tested; and we are quizzed. We take midterm exams and final exams;

and based on all that, we pass to the next grade or we fail. All this happens because

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school is a serious matter. So, Church and salvation is not serious? My friends, we

have a lot of work. We need to take our spirituality very seriously. Let us not use the same response that many people use if you tell them, “Christ resurrected, and all the dead will also resurrect; so we must live a spiritual life.” They respond, “You are

right; it sounds good.” My friend, we did not ask you to tell us if it sounds good or not. However, if you believe that it is good, get started. Get started now. ‘The start is

repentance, repentance! Let us stand well. In addition, the result of this lack of faith will be the bottomless pit of corruption. The corrupt lifestyle will take on cataclysmic dimensions much like today. This is the second leg of the temptation. The first is the subject of faith; the second is the temptation of the lifestyle, the ethical life, and the spiritual life. Who will continue to stand in the area of ethics, when the opportunity for sin is on every street corner [or on every computer]? This is just like the sirens of Odysseus; today’s sirens are everywhere. The wise Solomon describes these sirens in a most realistic way in his Proverbs, My child, he says, do you see, my son, this woman, this married woman? Do you see her? She is waiting for you in the center of town. When she sees you she will say, T was waiting for you, and my heart melted from the moment that I laid eyes on you. You know, my husband has traveled very far, and my house is quite beautiful. I have eastern handcrafted rugs, and the finest perfumes. Come tonight. The entire night will be ours, to be drunk with pleasure. Come!’ My son, says the wise Solomon, her rooms are rooms of death (cf. Proverbs 7:1-27).

The night life of various pleasures: bars, sports bars, discos, night clubs, afterhours clubs, gentlemen's clubs, parties, drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, casinos, card games — all these are the many and great sirens. Those mythical carnivorous women who used to enchant the sailors with their melodies brought them to their island where they faced a horrible death. People today are quick to tell you, “Everybody else is doing it! Why should I do anything different?” However, when catastrophe strikes your city, you would like to be left standing. When everyone else is suffering from the flu, from an epidemic, you would like to be excluded. When everyone in your city goes bankrupt financially, you would like to have your money secure! When an earthquake levels all the homes on your block, you would like yours standing. In all of these situations, you would not /ove to share in the fall of the others. Now, are you so jealous that you would love to share in the loss of their soul? Why do you want to share in the fall of the others in illicit affairs, parties and pleasures?

My brothers, we must stand upright. To stand well we must have the patience of Christ. We must have patience when facing the irony of people, and patience in the bitter, false accusations and mud slinging. Radio and TV hosts target Christians today, as well as Christianity itself. They daily and constantly hiss on the airwaves with their venomous jokes. First, we must stay immune to the direct attacks of evil, namely various pleasures and financial interests.

As you know, Freemasonry is such a temptation. What attracts people to

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Masonry today is the desire to become socially connected, which will translate into occupational, monetary progress, success, and upward mobility. Did you know this? This is exactly what Masonry uses as bait. It is a great temptation. Therefore, when you flatly refuse the invitation of your Mason co-worker or associate who wants you to join their ranks, when you answer with a firm “No thank you,”

you defeat this temptation. Now do not say, “How else am I going to succeed to become socially and financially successful? How am I going to reach my goals?” That becomes ashes, completely worthless compared to my relationship with Christ, mere ashes. If I know Christ, I will say to my associate, “You and your

offers can turn to dust, to rubbish, because you are talking rubbish. I will not deny my Lord. I will stay standing.” They say, “We will ruin you! You will die a pauper!”

Our answer should be; “It is one thousand times better to die a pauper than to

listen to you.”

I am using the very language that the Masons used on a bishop of our Church in Greece, Bishop Panteleimon of Argyrokastro. They told him, “You will die a pauper. You will die on a straw mat.” As the saying goes in Greek, you will die

homeless. His response was, “I prefer to die on the straw mat.” And he did. My friends, the world has nothing to offer. It is rubbish. Quoting St. Paul, the luxuries of this world, the pleasures and the niceties of this world become rubbish when

one gets to know the Person of Christ. St. Paul says, J have suffered the loss of all

things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ (Phil. 3:8).

Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown (cf. 3:11). Now, the Lord offers the third promise as a reward to the bishop of Philadelphia who excelled in the area of missionary activity and patience. The reward is the crown of life. The crown of life is the entire profit and payment in the life to come. The book of the Revelation says; And behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me to give to everyone according to his works (cf. 22:12). The Lord also said, He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life (John 4:36). Hence, the Lord is coming quickly. The end of our labor and the heat of the day of this life are so close for each one of us; and the end of history does not seem to be

far off either. Hold on to what you have; hold on to this thing that you have. What did the bishop of Philadelphia have? He had the faith, a good confession, and the works of apostleship. Hold on to what you have. With this strong verb hold on to all of the above, the Lord reminds the bishop that it is possible to lose all the things that he had worked for. You held on, but you must continue to hold on. Consequently, you cannot relax. You cannot take your attention from the goal. You cannot lose sight of your calling. You cannot become lazy because you will lose everything that you worked for. For this reason, St. John the evangelist warns us; Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward (2 John:8). Do you see how the Holy

Spirit warns us, through the writing of St. John the evangelist, to be careful to receive

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our full promise, and not lose the things we worked for? And here, along the same lines, the Lord tells the bishop, So no one takes your crown. The Greek text says, your wreath, be careful, so no one takes your wreath, and this reminds us of a stadium full of Olympic athletes. Back then, the Olympic winner received a wreath made of bay leaves, and as we know, only the first place one would receive this wreath. The ceremony of the wreath placement would only honor the one who came in first place, no one else. However, here in the Kingdom of God, a wreath is placed on the head of the first, the second, the third, the hundredth, and the last. Everyone is crowned. In other words, St. Paul is crowned, a simple saint, and even a simple athlete; everyone is crowned, the first and the last. This is also evident in the parable of the hired workers. Do you remember the parable in the Gospel where a landowner went out early in the morning to hire some workers?

He found some

in the marketplace,

and asked them,

“Do you have any

work?” They said, “No.” “Well, go to my vineyard and work. How much do you want?” “So much.” “Okay, so go to my vineyard.” At ten o'clock, the owner went to the marketplace again and he found some more workers. He asks, “Do you have any work?” They said “No.” “Did anybody hire you so far?” “No, they haven't.” “How much do you want?” “So much.” “Agreed, go to my vineyard.” At four o'clock in the afternoon, he spotted more workers in the marketplace and this, one hour before the end of the workday. He did not ask them, “How much do you want?” With only one

hour before sundown, the workday would be over. He tells them, “Just go to work in

my vineyard.” Then he proceeded to pay those who came to work last. He gave them exactly what he promised to those who started early in the morning, those who were first. Now when the first ones saw that he gave a full day’s wages to those who worked for only an hour, they thought to themselves, he is definitely going to pay us a lot more. Well, he gave them the same amount of money; and they complained against the landowner saying, “These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us, who have born the burden and the heat of the day.” I told you previously about the heat of the day. The heat of the day is the labor of the spiritual life, the daily struggle. “So, you are paying us the same amount as the last ones?” The Lord of the vineyard said, “Friends, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree to work for me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give these last men the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own money? Your eyes are evil; I am good. I pay what I think I should pay.” What is the meaning of this parable? Whether I enter into the Kingdom of God like the Apostle Paul or whether I barely have enough works of righteousness to enter, St. Paul and I will be given

the same compensation called the Kingdom of God. The payment is the same for everyone. However, what does He mean here when He says, Be careful that no one takes your crown. What does this mean? Was there a real danger for the bishop of Philadelphia that could cost him his crown? Well initially, we must say this: here

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on earth the bishop was facing danger. This is true for every Christian. The danger is the possibility of a burnout, the possibility of becoming exhausted and worn-out spiritually. He could run out of steam in his spiritual life, while someone else can face the same temptation and continue to stand. Therefore, there is always the danger that we may become tired. How many times are there people who need to be reinforced by others because they are thinking of stopping at the halfway point, of stopping their spiritual walk? This is dangerous. They want to give up because they got tired. However, we need to pay attention to something else as well. As you know, all those who enter the Kingdom of God will be joyous. There will be only one reason that will cause them some sadness, one. reason only. Do you know what this reason may be? They may wonder why they could not have worked much more in this present life to have more glory in the Kingdom of God. The word of God tells us that one star differs from another star in glory. Yes, the parable of the hired workers tells us that all

of the workers will have the Kingdom of God. That is where the same payment comes in. Everyone will have the same compensation; however, within the Kingdom of God there are varying degrees or steps of glory. We will explain. Is it possible for me (if I happen to be saved) to enter into the Kingdom of God as the last of the forgiven sinners, to stand with St. Paul at the same level of glory? Is this ever possible? It is also a matter of justice. Or if you will, we can have the reverse; if I make it to Hell simply because I used to lie a little bit, or because I was drinking my wine, or because I used to get drunk occasionally — yet I was not causing anybody any serious harm, but nevertheless, I entered Hell — will it be possible for me to face the same hell as Anna and Caiphas, or Nero or Hitler? Is this possible? Wouldn't it be somewhat unjust or unfair? It is simply a matter of basic justice. Likewise, my friends, as we mentioned, the

same stands true for the Kingdom of God. St. Paul says, for star differs from star in glory (1 Cor. 15:41). However, what is the difference? Do you know? Now, some people may misinterpret this and ask, “Do you mean that there are different ranks in the Kingdom of God, different classes? First class, second class, or third class?” Not quite.

Let’s use this example, say we are all sitting on the bleachers of an ancient theater. (After this explanation, I am sure you will understand this quite well.) The ancient theaters were constructed in the shape of a cone, so that everyone could see very well. The stage is in front of us. The actors are performing. Whether I am sitting at the bottom or the middle or a bit higher, I see and hear very well. ‘The acoustics are excellent because the very shape of the cone allows for excellent acoustics. In this theater, I see and hear extremely well, no matter where I sit or stand. So what is the difference? The difference is in the spectators, in their level of awareness and the level of education they have had to understand the play. One man barely finished elementary school: the other made it through high school; and another has a Master's or a PhD. Now, wouldn't they understand the play a little bit differently based on their educational background? Apparently so. My friends, this is exactly what will happen in the Kingdom of God. When

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we refer to a difference in glory, we mean that there is a higher, deeper theoria, or vision and knowledge of the Person of Christ. St. Paul developed a much deeper and greater knowledge of the Person of Christ. When he sees the Person of Christ, he will receive more blessedness and more knowledge than I, who have much less depth and knowledge of the Person of Christ. Thus, I receive less glory or less blessedness. This is it! Now tell me, wouldn't you be jealous, in a good sense, of the people who worked hard for this glory? Indeed, it will be the only sad point of the saints in the Kingdom of God. “Why didn’t I work much harder in this present life in the Kingdom?” Now, my friends, we conclude this epistle. He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name (3:12). He who overcomes is the one who wins, the victor o vxwv. Niki in Greek means victory; so, we refer to the one who is victorious in this arena. My friends, Christ wants winners. He wants victorious athletes. His followers are victorious, just as He was victorious and not defeated. Victorious people are dynamic and not passive or static. Christians are not underachievers and losers as some of the atheists like to label us. Napoleon Lapathiotis, a Greek poet, who departed this life, writes in one of his poems, “And we started out one morning in the valley, with the golden rays of dawn, our eyes were blazing with joy. All of us were strong and invincible, like eagles. But at midnight we had to return with broken and bloody wings.” I paraphrased a small section of the poem of this pitiful poet who named his poem, “Those Defeated by Life.” What a defeatist attitude. Ultimately, this pitiful poet was defeated because he chose to leave the Victor of Life, Jesus Christ. He committed suicide. This poem describes many people who are defeated by life. We have legions and entire armies who deserted the fight because they denied Christ. They deserted the ranks of Christianity. The poor drug addicts, young and old, the young people who rebel and find themselves on the street abandoned and neglected — aren't they defeated by life? Those who spent their last dime on “pleasures,” drugs and alcohol — are they not defeated by life? He who wins, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God. And he shall go out no more. Here we are presented with a very powerful image. It shows that the faithful and the victorious will become a pillar in the temple of God. Initially, the idea of a pillar has to do with the introduction of this epistle. As we analyzed during the previous class, the Lord talks about a key and a door. J am He Who holds the key of David. I open the door for you. Keys and doors pertain to a building, and since He is talking about a building, He also brings up the subject of a pillar or a column. In case you did not know, the city of Philadelphia was built on volcanic ground and it had experienced a great number of earthquakes. One of these earthquakes, in 17 A.D., brought terrible destruction and leveled the entire city. So here the image of a pillar is quite expressive and appropriate; and it is included in the epistle to this volcanic area. It shows that even though the earthquakes of ungodliness and various sins level everything along their path, the champion of Christ is a true pillar, and does

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not fall during these temptations. The pillar here refers to the temple of God, and reminds us of the temple of Solomon. The temple of Solomon had two pillars cast in bronze. They were in the vestibule of the temple. These were the only two pillars supporting the entire structure. They were eighteen cubits high, approximately twenty-eight feet high, and the perimeter of the pillars of solid bronze was fourteen cubits or twenty-one feet. The diameter, if you will, was well over six feet. The presence of these pillars gave the impression of the absolute assurance of the stability, the strong support of this temple. (We find all these details in 1 Kings: 3, 7 & 9.)

Consequently, the pillars or columns are the symbol of unshakeable stability and the exceptional position of the sincere faithful as well. Comparing the faithful with pillars shows the immovable quality of their faith and their virtue. Therefore, the sincere faithful stand forever. They never fall. They are pillars. Since it is impossible to remove the pillars from a building without damaging it, He says this pillar shall go out no more. Since the pillars have to do with the temple of God, it is presumed that the temple of God will never be destroyed. So, the pillar stays always in its position. Just as a pillar must be immovable, unchangeable, and quite visible, this must be true of the sincere Christian as well. I must also tell you something else here, that the ‘temple of God’ must not be taken verbatim. In the New Jerusalem, there is no temple (Rev. 21:22). So how are we to understand this? It is simply symbolic. This image is used to show that God dwells in His Church and that the faithful become the dwelling place of God. What follows next is the promise of three names to be written on the pillars, on the foreheads of the sincere faithful. And I will write on him, on his forehead or on this pillar. He likens the faithful to a pillar once again, J will write upon him the name of

My God and the name of the city of My God the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and I will write on him a new name (cf. 3:12). It was common practice in ancient times for the lords to brand their slaves with a hot iron. They would put a mark on their foreheads or they would permanently record the name of the owner on the back of the slave.

This was done in the event of runaway slaves who could be easily identified and

returned to their owners. Along the same lines, the natural father gives his name to his

children. Athanasios Mitilinaios, my last name is the name of my father; so my natural father gave me his name to say, “This is my son, my child.” The husband places his last name on his wife; a young woman changes her last name and she assumes the name of her husband. The owner of a ranch may brand his animals; name his equipment,

his buildings, and farm. Consequently, the placing of a name identifies the owner as well as his belongings. Therefore, when Christ says that He imprints these names on the faithful, it means that the faithful belong to God. When Christ allocates these three names, what does He want to express? First, when He says, the Name of My God, He wants to express the

Name of the Owner; that this person belongs to God. He is a man of God. Second,

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when He says, the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from the heavens of My God, this is the name of the city where this faithful citizen will reside. This faithful citizen will be a man of the New Jerusalem, a man of the Kingdom of God. He is first of God; now he is the man of the Kingdom of God. Third, is the new name of Jesus Christ, when He says, J will give him a new name. Where is this new

name of Christ? What is this name? It could be, it could very well be, the name Word, because in the very book of the Revelation we read, and he has a name inscribed which

no one knows but himself (19:11-13). Let's read the entire verse; Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He

who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. Now you may say, “But we know what the name Word of God means.” My friends, we use the name, the Word

of God. We

say this name, as do the

volumes of books that have been written from a theological point of view to give an understanding as to the meaning of this Word of God. We say, Father, Word, and Holy Spirit. Why is He called the Word? It is a very mysterious name, which may mean that this mystery may be revealed to the faithful at that time. Only God the Word Himself—the Second Person of the Holy Trinity—knows the meaning of this name, the Word of God. As we said, this triple set of names expresses the man of God, the man of the Kingdom of God, and the man of the incarnate Word of God. I repeat, what blessedness, a great glory, and honor! In closing my friends, once again the Spirit of God invites us to become more alert. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches (3:13). So, let us turn our attention towards these great gifts, which are these super heavenly names. Let's become detached and un-glued from the earthly things and develop a godly jealousy for what is real, permanent, undying, and eternal. Let us become the elect vessels of God so that His Name will be written on our foreheads and then we will repeat along with St. Paul, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lords (Rom. 14:8).

CHAPTER 22 Revelation 3:14-22

The Seventh Epistle to the Bishop of Laodicea And to the angel of the church in La-odice'a write; ‘ The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’ creation. ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 3:14-22).

Homily given May 10, 1981

y friends, the last of the Lord’s seven epistles will be sent to the Christians of Laodicea and their angel, meaning their bishop. Laodicea was located southeast of Philadelphia, east of Ephesus and across from the city of Hierapolis. Antiochus IT built the city of Laodicea and during the years the Revelation was written it was a flourishing center of commerce and industry. Laodicea was also known as a center of medicine and especially ophthalmology, the study of the eye. The church of Laodicea was established by Saint Paul and possibly by his disciple Epaphras, as he informs us in his epistle to the Colossians. The book of the Apostolic Constitutions” informs us that the first bishop of the city seems to have been named Archippus. However, we do not know for sure if Archippus or the second or third bishop after him was the recipient of this epistle. Still, the ethical, spiritual, and material state of the city seems to have left its mark and influence on the Christian church of Laodicea and its bishop. Essentially this was a very lively city with a very materialistic way of life, a life of self-sufficiency and self-assurance. All these elements seem to have placed their impression, their stamp, and their influence on the life of not only the church, but on the bishop as well. This epistle is very rich and quite articulate, but it is also the most severe of all the epistles 7® Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, Book 7, Section 4.

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my friends. It combines beauty, harshness, and strictness along with tenderness. These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. This is the preface of the epistle. It includes four appellations that Christ uses to relate to the content of the epistle, which is quite similar to the imagery, the way of life and the activities of this city. The city is a successful center of commerce, so the Lord refers to wealth. It is also a center of ophthalmology, so the Lord refers to eye salve or eye drops, with the anointing of the eyes. However, the three names or characteristics refer to the word of Christ and the fourth to the work or the mission of Christ. With the first appellation the Lord says I am the Amen; and by this He declares Himself God. The Amen is a title belonging to God alone. We see this in Isaiah (65:16) where some translators translate with the expression God, Amen. In the translation of the Seventy, [The Septuagint] this is translated as God of Truth. So, when Jesus

says I am the Amen this means that He has the same title that the Lord Yahweh has in the Old Testament. Consequently, Jesus Christ is Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. Have you noticed how many times I have mentioned this? We run into it everywhere in Holy Scriptures; so you should become aware that this is used in the Bible a great number of times. Titles which refer to Yahweh, or to the Lord of the Old Testament, also refer to Jesus Christ. I am saying this to help you understand that the Jehovah Witnesses find themselves in a terrible heresy when they claim that the Son is a creation — not Yahweh. Jesus Christ is Yahweh, the Lord.

Saint Paul further adds, For the Son of God Jesus Christ, Who was preached among you by us, by me and Silvanus and Timothy was not yes and no but in Him was yes. For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him, Amen (JI Cor.1:19-20). So here we clearly see my friends that Jesus Christ is really: the Amen, the Sure, the True, Yahweh, and the Lord God. The other two appellations that follow clarify and certify the first appellation, the Amen. It shows one more time that Jesus Christ is the Sure, the Faithful and the True, precisely because He is God and everything He says is True, Sure and Right. In Him is Yes, not yes and no. He is Yes and He will always be this Yes and the Amen. This corresponds well with the verse of St. Paul; Zhe Word of God is faithful and worthy of all acceptance (I Tim 1:15). So the Word of God is trustworthy; the Word

with the capital W is true and faithful. The Word with the capital W is faithful, True, and worthy of all acceptance. This trustworthy incarnate God the Logos, (or Word,) is the fourth appellation that Christ gives Himself and it refers to the praxis, or the work, of Christ. He is the beginning of the creation of God. I will ask you to please pay attention to this fourth name used by Christ. [ am the beginning of God's creation. This refers to the work of Christ, of God — to everything created, whether visible or invisible, and extends to the establishment of the Church.

The beginning of God’s creation certainly does not mean that Christ is the first creation of God (a blasphemy taught by Arius and his distant descendants, the Jehovah Witnesses). To help you with the meaning of this verse I will refer you to St. John’s

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Gospel. This is what John says about Christ: All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made (cf. John 1:3). So this means everything, even the smallest and last pebble, the last cell, the last electron, all these things were made through God the Word and nothing came into existence without Him. Therefore, God the Logos, Christ, is the creator of everything. The word, beginning (I am the beginning of the creation of God) does not mean the first created being (the blasphemy taught by Arius). Beginning does not refer to the first creation, but as Saint Andrew of Caesarea beautifully interprets, it refers to “the initial, dominant, and uncreated cause of the creations.”” It means simply that He is the One through Whom

all things were created; so, He is the initiator of all creation.

To understand this grammatically, Christ is not the object of this sentence, but the subject. He is not the one Who is created first by God as the Arians and their leader Arius interpret. Let us not forget that Arius did not die, because the devil did not die; the devil attacks the divinity of Jesus Christ because Christ is his formidable adversary, even in His human nature. The devil tries at every opportunity to attack the divinity of Christ. Consequently my friends, Christ is not the beginning as an object, as if God began to create all things and He started with Christ first. Jesus Christ is not the beginning, or the first, creation created by God; He is the One Who took the initiative. He is the initiator of all or the One Who caused all things to be created. Do you see all this? He is the source, the spring of all created things. The existence of all created things, of all created beings, has its beginning in Him — Jesus Christ. He is the One Who said, Let there be light (Gen 1:3). In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1); Jesus Christ created the heavens and the earth.

God said let there be light; Jesus Christ created this light, and so on. If you will, this is the touchstone; this is the button that Arius tried to press and twist to support his blasphemy. The Church Fathers fought Arius because behind Arius was the devil. ‘The followers of Arius are surrounding us. Arianism did not go away because the devil did not go away. Today my friends, Europe is reliving the heresy of Arius. Europe, and the west in general, is Arianizing; did you know this?

Father Justin Popovich [now a Saint of our Church] explained this very beautifully in his book Man and God-man. He dedicates a special article, a special study that refers to the Arianizing of Europe and of the west. I am voicing my concern because we are now members of the common market and we will begin to have many things in common with the other European nations. Unfortunately, the godlessness of Europe and this Arianism of Europe will find it is way here to Greece in such a way that we will begin to develop a different mindset (phronema). We will begin to look at Christ as a great reformer but not as the God-man and this is tragic. Therefore, Christ is the initiator of God's creation. He is the subject. Creation is the object. He is the initiating force behind the creation of all things. In Him is the beginning of all things; everything created owes its beginning to Jesus Christ. He is the creating power or the 77 St. Andrew, Apocalypse (PG 106, 249 A): tyHv των κτισμάτων δεσπόζουσαν και προκαταρκτικὴν αἰτίαν και ἀκτιστον.

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source of all creation. Saint Paul expresses this very beautifully, For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him (cf. Col. 1:16). So, if all things were created through Him and for Him, how is He a creation? If He were a creation then He would be included in all this as well. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist (Col. 1:17). This is Jesus Christ. This is the Christ. When we offer our prayer to the incarnated God the Word, we need to tremble and be full of awe because He is the Lord of the stars, the Lord of the angels, and the Lord of all. What an awesome reality! I would be so happy if you would ever come to the conscious knowledge of Who Jesus Christ is. With these four self-appellations, the preface or introduction of the epistle comes to a close having revealed that the One Who will speak in the epistle to follow is the Almighty God Whose words are true and certain since He is the creator and the Lord of all. We now come to the main theme of the epistle, which is directed to the bishop of Laodicea. I know your works. I know your works that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. A foreign interpreter writes that in these verses we have great words of classical and psychological truth. Truly, my friends these are great and heavy words but let us look at this. According to St. Andrew of Caesarea, cold is the one whose faith and love is frozen, or he who is devoid of the energy of the Holy Spirit. Who is hot? Saint Paul says that it is he who is fervent in spirit (cf. Rom. 12:11), he who has a burning, boiling spirit, whose spirit is at a boiling point. However, the bishop of Laodicea was neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm. Is it really possible for the spirituality of a faithful person to regress from hot, to become lukewarm? Is it possible for someone to taste Christ and to end up behaving at some point in the future as if they had never tasted Christ; or after having tasted Christ to turn his back on Him and to romance with the world and the things of this world? It seems, my friends that it is quite possible and quite tragic. The great majority of the Christians today, at least the contemporary Christians, belong to this class and state. The contemporary Christians are not cold and they are certainly not hot. Most of them, or most of us rather are lukewarm. So here, we have this great class of Christians. Unfortunately, this class of Christians, who according to the prophet Elijah limp with both legs, live the psychology of Israel, the same Israel which easily came forward to worship the true God, but also displayed the same ease in running off and offering equal worship to the false gods. According to Saint Paul, in this class of the lukewarm faithful: God and the world, Christ and Baal, truth and lie have the ability to compromise and coexist. Worse yet, these people who are able to live in both of these worlds — of God and of Satan, of the truth and of the lie — at the same time boast about their high level of spirituality and greatness. They feel extremely important and very pleased with their high position.

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We pointed out previously my friends, that unfortunately the numbers of this group of Christians is quite high. I assure you that they make it very difficult for the Church to minister to them. They are very difficult people to minister to, to try to reach. If you suggest to them that they study the Scriptures, they will tell you that they already know the Scriptures. If you tell them to go to church, they will tell you that they are better than all the people who go to church. If you tell them to live a spiritual life, they will answer you that that is the only way of life that they know, that they already have accomplished this, and that they do not see anything in their life that needs to be changed. What pitiful people. My friends, the egotism of these people rises before them like the Great Wall of China. This egotism does not allow for a single possibility of God’s grace to work a change within them, none at all. They do not allow God to enter their hearts, to change them so that they can become people of grace, people of understanding and self-knowledge. The lukewarm characters are unable and incapable of increasing their spiritual thermometer even by one degree, and yet they are under the impression that they are the best that humanity has to offer and the best of Christians. However, the paradoxical announcement of the Lord tells them: You are not warm or cold. You are not hot or cold. You are lukewarm. You would be better off cold. This is a strange statement. As you know this is a paradox. The Lord poses a strange declaration to the bishop of Laodicea because cold seems to be farther away from hot than lukewarm. At least chemically, lukewarm water is closer to hot, degree-wise, than cold water. Now why does the Lord prefer someone

cold to someone lukewarm? The psychology and the experience based on this clearly prove my friends that the man who is cold spiritually is able to repent; his heart has the possibility to change, and he can become a very hot person spiritually. At some crossroad in his life, at some moment, a certain incident occurs and the grace of God

touches him—the Right Hand of the Most High God touches him—and he turns around. He changes his life. You can see him. Yesterday, he was immoral, unethical; today he is pure. Yesterday he mocked and ridiculed the faith; today he is full of piety. Yesterday he lived like swine; today he is clean and washed from sin. What happened? He repented. How many of these incidents do we have? How many? The thief on the cross was cold at first. Both thieves mocked Christ. It is not a mistake that one of the evangelists says that both thieves crucified with Him had mocked Him; whereas Luke says that one of the thieves called out Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom (Luke 23:42). This is not a mistake because both of them had mocked the Lord in the beginning. However, at some point a revolution took place in the soul of the one thief, but not in the other. When he witnessed that the Lord was forgiving those who were crucifying Him; when he saw that the Lord was not cursing; when he saw His softness and leniency on the cross; he was transformed. He changed instantaneously; his soul started to boil. He said to his other companion; whom are you cursing? Whom are you mocking? Are we in His class? We deserve death, but not Him. He turned to the

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Lord, Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom. From being cold as ice, he suddenly blazed like the sun and he was the first to enter paradise. This is what the experience and the psychology of the cold shows. On the contrary, the lukewarm stays always lukewarm. As I explained to you previously, this one does not budge from his position because he rests on his laurels, since he thinks very highly of himself. What causes this? St. Andrew of Caesarea provides us with a wonderful explanation of this psychology. “The cold man has never tasted the fruit of faith. At some point, he tastes something. He tastes the faith and immediately he says, this is exactly what I was looking for, and he becomes warm.”” However, the one who was warm—at some point in the past, by the Holy Spirit during baptism—later froze because of laziness and spiritual indifference, something that we are all very guilty of. He dismembered himself from the hope of salvation by scorning and criticizing the faith. This might mean that since he had observed something bad or something negative in the church—some scandal, some gossip, the very things we always hear about. He came to think, “How can this be done in the church?” He then cuts himself off. He is cut off from the hope of salvation. He says, “Why bother? I grew up with priests and I saw how they lived. This priest used to do such-and-such; this priest does not believe, why bother? There is no faith, nothing matters.” He keeps a form of external piety and he uses the church as a coffee shop and a meeting place. This person has dismembered himself. He really has no hope of salvation with this mentality. It is truly dreadful. Let us be very careful about this. The first causes of being lukewarm are spiritual laziness, sloth, and spiritual indifference. After this, the lukewarm person does not have the desire to restart his spiritual life, to become hot again. He begins to look for anything negative in the life of the Church. He gets stuck on some scandals, possibly the weaknesses of the clergy; why our church does not have this program or that program; why our church ignores this or that area. Then he slowly poisons himself with all the adverse happenings; he destroys his hope and he withers. We think, “If we could only have the Lord next to us, and yet we do. We have Him. If we read the Holy Scriptures, if we listen to His

words, they tell us whatever is necessary to pull us away from our disillusions. We all become so disillusioned. We think we are something; but we are not what we are supposed to be, even though we think we are. The Lord now brings the bishop of Laodicea back to reality; Because you say ‘I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing. As I had told you, the lifestyle of the city places its seal on the life of the bishop and the faithful. As you can see we are not immune to the state that exists around us, to our environment [recessions,

inflations, deflations, Wall Street, the price of gold, silver]. All these things certainly influence our lives and likewise influence our faith. So, you say that you have need of nothing. You do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. This is who you are: poor, miserable, blind, and naked. This is who I am! How am I going to deal with all this when He will reveal so many more other things in my 78 Ibid. “o μεν ψυχρὸς τῆς ζεούσης πίστεως ἀἁγευστος εν ἐλπίδι πολλάκις ἑσται του τυχεὶν αυτὴς."

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case? How am I going to stand before you? But to think, how will I stand in front of you and you in front of me and even more important, how will we stand before the Lord? This is what matters to us my friends. Well, even though one may think that he is something, God reveals our true self to us. For this reason, let us hurry to discover ourselves before the Lord reveals it to us — and worse yet, especially before it is revealed to all people and all angels on the Day of Judgment. The words of the bishop once again, because I have become wealthy and I do not need anything, are a rather unwise statement. Now it is quite unwise to say this in a spiritual sense, but it is not any wiser to say it in a material sense. I made my money and I do not need anyone. How many rich people actually say this? How many of the rich speak like this? I do not need anybody! This is the psychology of the foolish, the selfish, and the truly antisocial person who does not have the faintest idea how much his life is interdependent with the people around him! You pitiful person! [When that piece of steak gets wedged in your throat while entertaining yourself at the restaurant of the year, you will see what another human being means, any human being rich or poor; and you have the audacity to say that you don’t need any one?] You are an antisocial, audacious egotist, an incurable egotist if you say that you have become wealthy and that you do not need anyone. We need to take constant spiritual self-inventory. Am I warm? Do I feel the burning of the Holy Spirit within? Do I feel the spiritual members of my existence are upright? Do I have spiritual impulses and inclinations? Do I get excited and do I feel God’s presence in different areas of my life? Do I weep and mourn for the bad things that exist within the Church? Is the flame of missionary work burning within me like it was burning within the bishop of Philadelphia who received praise from the Lord? Am I a person of faith and boldness and not a child who draws back as Saint Paul says? But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and keep their souls (Heb. 10:39). Do I love the Lord deeply, deeply enough to consider everything else rubbish for His lovee Alternatively, is it possible that I am cold? Is it possible that I am altogether cutoff from the energy of the Holy Spirit, as Saint Arethas says?” Is it possible that I have become a mobile refrigerator of faith and love? Is it possible that I have reached the point of being cruel, harsh, emotionless, merciless, maybe uncaring, antisocial, individualistic, hardened, unloving, tearless, having a heart of stone? And worse yet, is it possible that I took a couple of categories from those things that refer to being hot and a couple of categories from those things that refer to being cold and mixed them together, thus having the hot qualities become lukewarm and finally ending up being neither cold nor hot but lukewarm? Of course, this means that I end up being

nothing. The Lord uses five adjectives, one after the other, to classify this state. Do you not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked? My friends, let us consciously name ourselves wretched so that we can be happy some day. Let us 7? St. Arethas, Commentary on the Apocalypse (PG 106, 563 B).

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acknowledge how miserable we are all by ourselves and how poor we are, so the Lord will not have to say to us what He says in the verses of the parable, If they invite you to a banquet go and sit at the last place all the way in the back because you will tell yourself, I am insignificant. I am unimportant (cf. Luke 14:9,10). Do not do this out of an inferiority complex because then it is egotism; feelings of inferiority stem from egotism. Truly, have the consciousness of J am nothing. | am unimportant, wretched, and miserable. Then the friend who invited you will come and tell you: my friend, come up front. I want you to sit closer to the front and not back there. Come up front. Come on up here. On the contrary, the Lord says in this parable of the banquet to those who want to be first; if you go and enthrone yourself in the first position, He will tell you: I am sorry, but this seat is reserved for someone else. So, while everyone will be seated, you will have to get up and start looking for a seat. However, all the places will be taken and you will have no choice; you will have

to go and take the seat all the way in the last row, the last position; and of course, this will be very embarrassing. So, this is it. This is why my friends we must recognize our wretchedness and our poverty. Let us do this on our own. Let us also acknowledge the blindness of our soul and in so doing we will begin to see the things that cannot be seen by those who claim that they can see. Let us also recognize our nakedness in the area of holiness. Let us not claim that we are saints; then Christ will envelop us with virtues granted to us by His grace. If we fail to do this, His threat is around the corner: J will vomit you out of my mouth—I will vomit you. As you may know, if we want to induce vomiting we drink lukewarm water. That is why this is such a beautiful epistle. It is so greatly and so well aimed! When we drink tea or some other beverage, hot chocolate or coffee whether it is hot or lukewarm or even cold, we do not feel like vomiting. If we drink water very cold or even very, very hot, we do not vomit. Now why don't you try lukewarm water? Your stomach will begin to feel funny. You will begin to get nauseated. That is why Christ says; you are lukewarm. Figuratively speaking He is saying, I tried to drink you but I became nauseated. Christ says; And I will vomit you. So, the hot is found in the area of God’s love. The cold, those that are cold, have many possibilities of becoming hot. But the one who was hot in the past and suffered a loss of temperature, has no hope. He is in a state of hopelessness because, as I had told you previously, he lives the psychology of self-sufficiency and self-righteousness or self-assurance. The result is rejection by the Lord. However there still seems to be some hope because of God’s philanthropy. J will vomit you. 1 am about to vomit you; watch. He does not say I am vomiting you, but

I will vomit you — and it is like He is saying: I am giving you some time yet to make the necessary adjustments. There is something more. J counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed. And anoint your eyes with salve that you may see (cf. Rev. 3:18). All these things the Lord says, J counsel you to buy from Me. All

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these things are to be found in Christ because Christ is the gold, the precious treasure, Who when someone finds it, then sells everything to buy the land which contains the precious treasure.

Christ is the precious pearl and when someone finds it, he sells all the other previously purchased pearls, diamonds and rubies. He sells them all to buy this one and only precious pearl. Christ is the white garment and the wedding gown as well. He says in the parable of the wedding banquet, Friend how did you enter here, how did you enter without having a wedding garment? I see your bridal chamber my Savior in its full splendor and I do not have a wedding garment to enter therein, which we chant during Holy Week. I do not have a garment, meaning, I see your Kingdom, (the bridal chamber of Christ, the Kingdom) but I do not have a wedding garment. I have not been clothed of You because those who are baptized in Christ have been clothed with Christ. Saint Paul says, As many as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27).

So, come and buy garments from Me that you may be clothed so that when you move about, people will not see the shame of your nakedness and laugh at your expense. I will give you a very common example: when you do not have Christ, you get drunk and walk the streets, and you may even take your clothes off. Then people laugh at you. When you do not have Christ and you lack the criterion of modesty and you bow down to the latest expression of fashion, sometimes you look like a clown and people laugh at you; they laugh behind your back. Let’s say you are a senior citizen, you are up there in years, but you think and act like a teenager: you dye your hair; you use very heavy makeup; you look like a clown. When you have a measure of modesty, when you have Christ, then you do not make people laugh when you walk. You can walk without being ashamed. In addition my friends, Christ is the Light of the world and he who has this Light, as Saint John the evangelist says, will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12). By this, he means that the eyes of the healthy soul are wide open. So use the eye ointment called Christ, my brother, and your eyes will be opened. You will be able to see clearly. Christ truly is eye salve for spiritual vision. When you take Holy Scripture in your hands you will then say, what do I see? I see things that I could never have seen before! Yes, it is because of the eye drops, the salve that you used to remove the scales from your eyes. In other words, Christ came and He opened your eyes. After this harsh and strict language of our Lord to the bishop of Laodicea—did you see how harshly He talks to him—the moderation of the language that follows explains the purpose behind this strictness. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent (cf. Rev. 3:19). My friends, as many as I love I rebuke.

The Lord’s harshness here is moved by His love. St. Andrew of Caesarea says, “What philanthropy. With how much goodness this reproval is mixed!”® So the spring of this harshness is love. Ihe Lord is forced to be harsh because of His great love and 8° St. Andrew, Apocalypse (PG 106, 2490). “Βαβαί της φιλανθρωπίας! Πόση ἀγαθότητι ο ἔλεγχος Kéxpatau. “

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philanthropy. The love of God, oh this love of God, this true and pure love of God! It is not like the love that you have for your children. My friends, such unhealthy love sends them to Hell because it makes you not want to see their faults, so that you fail to correct them. You caress them; you overlook their passions, their sinfulness, their sidesteps, and you justify them. This sort of love sends to Hell. Christ truly loves, but His love is intertwined with discipline, a love that stabilizes and prepares for the Kingdom of God. Reproof and discipline are the two means of God’s correction and love for man. This is precisely what the word of God advises: Jn your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? —“ My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Heb. 12:4-11). Do you spank your neighbor's child? No, you only spank your own child, hopefully because you are only responsible for your own child. Along the same lines, God only disciplines those that belong to Him. He only chastises the children that He accepts as His own. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as sons, for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? This is to our great benefit, so that we can become partakers of His holiness, so that we can become participants of God’s holiness. For this reason the Lord urges the bishop of Laodicea to repent and show forth the necessary zeal to return and to rectify his stand. Therefore, be zealous and repent. After this chastening and the justification for this chastening, a great scene of special tenderness takes place, one of those rarely found in the Scriptures. The Judge pulls back and the Friend appears with the most tender expression, Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me. (3:20) How beautiful! These words my friends remind us

of the Song of Solomon, the Song of Songs. There we read, [ am sleeping but my heart is awake (5:2). My beloved is knocking on the door, my beloved brother is knocking at the door (5:4). Such beauty. Behold I stand. It is God Who is standing... Behold I stand.

God stands in front of the door of human existence and wants to establish a working relationship. Where are all those idealists who believe and say that it does not seem proper for the divine highness, for God, to get involved with the lowliness and the misery of the human being? At this exact point, we discover the divine immensity that comes,

reaching all the way,

drawing

near to each human

existence; I stand

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knocking at the door. Human freedom of the soul is represented by the door that stays shut, even to God Himself. It is the Creator Who is the absolute owner of the hearts, though even God Himself stands outside. This is so profound! God stands outside of a person's heart. Here one can plainly see how much God reveres human freedom. Christ merely knocks at the door. He does not force the door of the human soul and human freedom. [This / keep knocking, krouo, is in the present tense in the Greek language, which shows continuous action.] J keep knocking shows the persistence of divine love. St. Andrew of Caesarea says, “My presence is unforceful.”*' Christ, says, I keep knocking at the door and to those that open, I share in the joy of their salvation. Tf anyone hears my voice and opens the door, and here we see Christ is patiently awaiting the human response. The voice of Christ my friends, is heard only by those who belong to Christ, only by those who have a good disposition. Only these people open their hearts with joy. They open the door of their heart to Jesus Christ. And I will enter in to him, and I will dine with him, and he with Me. What a magnificent display, which shows how close, how very close God wants to be with His people. God wants to live within our house, the house of our heart, to be with us. Despite the tepidness of the bishop of Laodicea my friends, the Lord speaks with great tenderness, with much love and closeness. ‘This is the banquet of God’s kingdom; and this banquet while on earth is the great mystery of the divine Eucharist. And the Word of God Himself said he who eats My flesh stays in Me and I in him. I will come in and dine with him and he with Me. (cf. Rev. 3:20) It is also the great banquet of God's kingdom in the age to come, which is the eternal vision of the Person of Jesus Christ. The conclusion serves to end not only this epistle, this great epistle so strong in reproval and tenderness, but also all the other epistles. It serves as a general conclusion. To him who overcomes, (to him who is victorious) J will grant to sit with me on my throne as I

also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So, who is the victorious one? The victorious one is the one who defeats these

three things: the world, his passionate self, and the devil. My friends, what a great

invitation sent to us by the Lord! He who wins against these three great temptations is invited to sit with Christ on the eternal throne of His glory and blessedness during the absolute and final triumph of Christ and the final triumph of the faithful as well. Here the first part of the book of the Revelation comes to an end. The first three chapters are the vision of Jesus Christ, the glorified Christ Who supervises, Who oversees His entire Church. He sends either praise or criticism for all the things that take place in the Church. In the introduction of the book of the Revelation this is described by the words, Ah eisi, these things that are. Now the second part of the book of the Revelation begins with the fourth chapter, with the opening of heaven, And behold I saw a door standing open in heaven which are the things that will take place after this - meta tafta - referring to future history and to eternity. By God’s grace, we will begin the fourth chapter and the second part 8! Ibid. (PG 106, 252 Α) “αβίαστος, φησίν, ἡ εμὴ παρουσία. “

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Homilies on the Book of the Revelation

of the book of the Revelation at our next meeting. My friends, all those whose hearts are thrilled with the word of God and open the door of their souls to Christ Who knocks, are ready to dine with Him and He will dine with them. These are the great and rare moments of the soul, which meets its Lord and begins the great and eternal feast with Him.

Tomb of Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios