The
cowardly reaction to The Virus by so many, our desperate efforts to cling to
life on the earth, reveal just how ready for Antichrist’s Kingdom of the World
we are right now. The following quotes
sent to us bear this out quite well:
1. Fear of Death
Orthodox theologian John
Romanides describes in The
Ancestral Sin
(162-3) how the fear of death leads to evil practices and habits: “Through the
power of death and the devil, sin that reigns in men gives rise to fear and
anxiety and to the general instinct of self-preservation or survival. Thus,
Satan manipulates man’s fear and his desire for self-satisfaction, raising up
sin in him. . . . Because of death, man must first attend to the necessities of
life in order to stay alive. In this struggle, self-interests are unavoidable.
Thus, man is unable to live in accordance with his original destiny of
unselfish love. This state of subjection under the reign of death is the root
of man’s weakness in which he becomes entangled in sin at the urging of the
demons and by his own consent. Resting in the hands of the devil, the power of
the fear of death is the root from which self-aggrandizement, egotism, hatred,
envy, and other similar passions spring up. In addition to the fact that man
‘subjects himself to anything in order to avoid dying' {...}
This
helps us think through the counter-thought-experiment: What would our lives
look like if we thoroughly and fully believed that death had been conquered, if
we were completely freed from fear of death, if we live in undoubting hope of
resurrection? A lot like the life of Jesus. (Peter Leithart)
2.
Chiliasm
...One should be aware and
keep in mind that chiliasm was condemned by the Second Ecumenical Council in
the year 381; and therefore to believe in it now in the twentieth century, even
in part, is quite unforgivable. Besides which, this contemporary “neo-chiliasm”
is far worse than the ancient chiliastic heresy in that at its basis
indubitably lies a disbelief in the life of the age to come and
the passionate desire to attain blessedness here on earth, using all the
improvements and achievements of the material progress of our times.
This false teaching wreaks
terrible harm, lulling to sleep the spiritual vigilance of the faithful and
suggesting to them that the end of the world is far away (if in fact there will
be an end), and therefore there is no particular need to watch and pray, to
which Christ the Saviour constantly called His followers (cf Mt. 26:41), since
everything in this world is gradually getting better and better, spiritual
progress keeping step with materialism... Thus, everything is fine! It is not
necessary to labor over oneself, and no spiritual struggle is required; the
fasts may be abolished. Everything will get better all by itself, until
the Kingdom of God is finally established on earth with universal earthly
satisfaction and blessedness.
Brethren! Is it not clear
where the ultimate source of this alluring false teaching is to be found? Who
suggests all these thoughts to contemporary Christians with the purpose of
overthrowing all of Christianity? As an infectious plague, as fire, must we
fear this “neo-chiliasm” which is so profoundly contrary to the teaching of the
Word of God, the teaching of the holy Fathers, and all of the centuries-old
teachings of our Holy Church, by which many, many thousands of the righteous
have been saved...
Abp.
Averky Taushev
(bolding added)
(Thanks to C for these
quotes.-W.G.)
--
Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England,
South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð,
unworthy though we are!
Anathema to the Union!
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