Only Faithfulness to Christ Will Protect Us from the Antichrist

Bishop (now Metropolitan) Photii of Triaditsa

 

A Sermon on Meatfare Sunday, delivered in the Church of St. John of Rila and All Bulgarian Saints, February 1/14, 1999.

 

A week before the beginning of Great Lent, beloved, the Holy Church reminds us of Christ’s words about the Last Judgment. Overwhelmed by cares, immersed in the stream of daily life, breathless from the rapid pace of the passing century, we very rarely remember God’s Judgment, before which we will all stand without exception. Even our knowledge that we are destined to die and appear at the Lord’s Judgment is vague and weak, struggling to penetrate deeper into the heart. Living by the rhythm of this fleeting world, we rarely realize that each passing moment shapes our eternal destiny. At the same time, a significant number of Christians today, with interest, anxiety, and even with an unhealthy feverishness, ask themselves: “When will all this happen? When will these words of Christ be fulfilled? When will the great and dreadful day of the Lord come? When will the Lord return a second time?” It is sorrowful that this anxiety, these questions, rarely arise from hearts trembling before the Lord. And in this, we find ourselves sadly divided. We live according to the rhythm of this world. We are constantly constrained by the framework of its logic. In our hearts, we remain half-Christians, half-pagans, and at the same time, our mind feverishly inquires, wanting to know precisely when Christ’s words about the end of the world will come to pass.

The Lord Jesus Christ answered the very same question posed by the apostles: “...When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3). In reality, both to them and to us, the Lord left only one single mark and one single sign of His glorious second coming to earth — the Cross. The Cross, which the Lord places upon the shoulders of each of us. The Cross, which all living human beings will see in the heavens, shining brighter even than the sun, on the day when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again to carry out Judgment in divine glory and with countless hosts of holy angels.

And yet, we anxiously ask ourselves: “When will it come, when will this time arrive?” We all know that the coming of the Savior will be preceded by the coming of the Antichrist. Much is said about the seal of the Antichrist, and various interpretations are offered regarding the mysterious meaning of the number 666. Yet how few approach these questions humbly, profoundly, and truly spiritually! Those who understand that the number of the beast, alas, is already imprinted in our hearts will not feverishly worry or anxiously anticipate every new change in documents and passports. Instead, they will direct all their attention to examining this seal right here, in the heart, where it is ominously inscribed.

Probably, few Orthodox Christians know that this feverish anxiety and these questions: "What will this seal be? Perhaps it will be the latest technological innovation, some kind of chip?" — have their origins in Protestant texts and Protestant theologians. This is absent in the depths of the Orthodox Church and even more so in the theology of the Holy Fathers. The truth, however, is this: we do not know exactly what the seal of the Antichrist will consist of. Will it indeed be a technological device, or will it be one of the rituals of the future global false religion? A ritual that blasphemously imitates Christian chrismation? We do not know this. But we must know one thing: no external actions or safeguards can guarantee or ensure our faithfulness to the Lord. The imposition of this seal will be intrinsically connected with our conscience and will. Yet we do not wish to live in constant spiritual tension of conscience and in a continual struggle against sin—tension of will—to remain faithful to the Lord again and again after every fall, to rise, though wounded, after each betrayal of the Savior in our feelings, thoughts, words, and deeds.

No cries, no campaigns against passports and numbers, no external measures will save us from the seal of the beast. Our goal must be to remain faithful to the spirit of the Holy Fathers and the Orthodox Tradition. Not one of the Holy Fathers delves into detailed calculations or hasty interpretations of the meaning of the number 666. This is done today by a humanity that has fallen into hysteria, unrest, and alienation from Christ in their hearts. For some, it is merely entertainment; for others, a serious issue; and for still others, a manifestation of mental disorders.

The hardest thing for a person is to remain spiritually sober. And the devil knows this. That is why the ways by which he tries to separate us from Christ are countless. To separate us precisely from this inner faithfulness to the Lord—a faithfulness we ourselves trample upon every day. If we are unable to serve our neighbor with simplicity and love, if we are unable to feed the hungry, visit the sick, give drink to the thirsty, and comfort the prisoner, then we are unable to serve Christ. Consequently, our place is on the left. If we do not have love for our neighbor, we simply do not have Christ. This is where our attention must be directed: faithfulness—true, deep faithfulness to Orthodox Tradition in its fullness as word, spirit, life, and deeds. Or, in other words, faithfulness and love for Christ through the fulfillment of His commandments, the holy Gospel virtues. Let us not be deceived: at the Last Judgment of Christ, only humility will stand, only truth will stand, only repentance will stand, only love will stand.

Lord, deliver us from everything that separates us from You! Amen.

 

Original Bulgarian source: https://www.bulgarian-orthodox-church.org/ef/propovedi-ru/VernostHristu.pdf