Vision of the Last Judgment and Entrance into the Kingdom

 An Extensive Vision of the Last Judgment & the Entrance into the Kingdom

From the Life of St. Niphon of Constantia, Cyprus (4th c.)

This is an actual vision of Saint Niphon, a holy man that lived in the 4th century A.D. He was very faithful, and he could pray so fervently that he could actually see the Lord in the heavens when he was praying. Later, by the Mercy and Will of the Lord, Niphon became the head of the Orthodox Church in Constantinople. He later underwent this vision of the Judgment Day for a 2-week period of time.

One night, after he said his evening prayers, Niphon was preparing for his night rest. So, as usual, he laid down on a bed of rocks. It was already midnight, but he couldn’t go to sleep, so he was looking at the night sky, the moon and the stars. He was counting his own sins, and he was troubled because he thought his sins were so innumerous, so he was gently weeping, thinking about the terrible Judgment Day and thinking that he, such a filthy sinner, is never going to make it to Heaven. 

All of a sudden, the sky was pulled aside like a curtain. The heavens opened before his eyes and he saw Our Lord Jesus Christ in all His Greatness and unimaginable beauty! All around him there were the Armies of heavens: Angels, Cherubim and Seraphim - extremely beautiful but fierce creatures, all gathered in groups by kinds and hierarchy. The Lord called one of them that was in charge over a large Army, and that one, bright and humble, came near the Lord, with respect and fear. The Lord told him, "Michael, Commander over all Armies of Heaven, go and prepare My Throne of Fire with the others, and take it to the Valley of Josaphat. There, put my Throne as the first sign of my Second Coming. Because now is the time for Me to judge mankind, and mankind will be repaid according to their deeds. Hurry! Time is near."

"I will judge all those who worshiped idols and forsake me, their Lord and their Maker. The ones who worshiped stones and wood, objects that I gave them for their use - I will destroy all these souls. I will also judge the blasphemers that dared to sin against other people and the Holy Spirit. Woe to these sinners, because they will burn in Hell."

"I will also show myself to the Jews, those that crucified me and did not believe that I was their Messiah. My Father gave Me complete authority in this matter and I am a fair judge. When I was on the cross, they were yelling at me: “You, that wanted to bring down the temple...now save yourself if you can!” Now the revenge is Mine, and I will repay them as they deserve. I will judge and severely punish the Jewish nation, the filthy minded and the liars, because they did not repent. I gave them time to repent for their deeds, but they did not repent. Now all they will get is My vengeance."

"I will also punish the sodomites, those slaves of lust and slaves of the devil, which spoiled everything they touched. I burned them once and I will burn them again, because they didn’t follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but they loved to follow the devil. I will punish all the shameless evildoers that compare themselves with stallions. They were not happy with their marriage given by God unto them, but they threw themselves into lust and adultery. Now the devil will throw them into the fiery pit. Didn’t they hear what a fierce thing is the vengeance of The Living God? They did not fear me and my anger. I told them to repent, but they did not repent."

"I will also judge the lawless and evildoers, and also the murderers and all those that committed deadly sins without any fear of Me. I gave them time to repent, but they did not repent. Where are their good deeds? I gave them the parable of the lost son, and many others, so they would get desperate for the sins that they have committed. They have despised Me and My commandments and have forsaken Me. They turned away from Me and loved their filthiness and lust. They disobeyed Me and became slaves to the devil. Therefore, they will have to go with the devil that they loved so much."

"Also, those that died keeping grudges against other people will be sent to the pit. Because they didn’t mind Me and what I wanted from them, they only cared about themselves and dwelled in their angry, mean ways and in their seeking for revenge."

"All the greedy ones, that took interest from other people, and all the other money worshippers, which is idolatry, I will destroy with My anger, because they relied on their money and didn’t even mind Me, their Maker and Caretaker."

"I will also judge the blasphemers, who thought there will be no Judgment Day and Resurrection of the dead - and also those who thought there is metempsychosis (reincarnation, transfer of the soul into a new mortal life-form). Those will melt like wax in the fiery pit."

"The witches and wizards will also be destroyed."

"Woe to those who party and dwell in lust, which get drunk and talk dirty. The devil will be the master of their hearts now.  I gave them time to repent and they did not repent. I talked to their hearts but they laughed at Me! Now worms will eat their hearts. I gave them all time to repent, but none of them minded Me."

"I will lock in the dark those who didn’t mind the Holy Scriptures that My Spirit dictated for them to My Saints."

"I will also judge those who are superstitious and trusted in knives, buckets and other objects that they used to foresee the future. They will understand then that they were supposed to trust only God and His will. They will be troubled and they will try to stand against My Judgment, but it is going to be too late, because the vengeance will be Mine, and I will repay them as per their deeds."

"I will punish the emperors and leaders that made Me so sad with their unrighteousness. They have been unfair and vain judges, despising the humble people. These will also pay for their deeds. My rightful judgment can’t be bribed. Then they will understand that I am more powerful than any emperor. Woe to them, because they will burn in the fire of the pit for being cruel and for killing innocent people, even killing their own offspring, or their wives."

"What a terrible punishment will be for the priests of My Church that haven’t been true shepherds for my sheep; they damaged my vineyard and lost My sheep. They have been shepherds for gold and silver, and became priests out of interest. They will be terribly punished! They will be screaming in pain and gnashing their teeth! I will pour My Wrath over them, and destroy them. They have been concerned with getting more cattle that die, and they didn’t take care of My talking sheep. I will hit them for their crimes, whip them for their injustice. The priests that argue or make jokes, or laugh in the Church - I will throw them in the Hell of fire. I came before and I come again now. Who can stand against Me? Greeks and their idols were hanged with the wood and the nails that they used to crucify Me, the Life Bearer."

He became silent for a few minutes. Then He read again, "Commanders of the Great Emperor, bright as light - they shook the sea, brought the beasts to silence, drowned the thinking serpents, gave sight to the blind, sated the hungry, and made the rich poor. They fished a lot of lost souls, giving them new life. Their pay will be great..."

Then He said again, "Me, the Lover of Mankind - I chose the witnesses, and they got the victory with My help. Their friendship went all the way to Heavens and to My Throne. Their love touched My Heart and their sacrifice is burning Me inside. My Glory and My Power is with them. After He turned some more pages, he smiled and happily whispered, "The man who was the emperor of the seven hills of Constantinople was the servant of My Love. He deserves the Heavens for being My humble and fervent servant."

After He turned a couple more pages, He said, "Oh, My beautiful and holy Bride! How many enemies and evildoers tried to bring you down. But you didn’t betray Me, Your Groom. Innumerous blasphemies were said against you, but the rock that you have been built on never moved, because Hell could not conquer it. He was reading further a list of all the sins of men that have not been forgiven through repentance, because man didn’t repent for them before they died. Those sins were as numerous as the sand of the sea. The Lord read them all, and being very Sad, He shook His Head. The great crowd of all Angels was before Him, shaking like leaves, terribly scared by His Anger. Because they knew that He was right to be Angry!

Going through the Book of the seventh millennium, the Lord said, "The end of the seventh millennium is full of the filthiest sins, and of the filthiest and dirtiest of the human stench: lies, envy, hate, blasphemy, anger, revenge, partying, drinking, fornication, murder, abortion, greed, money worshipping, and grudge. I will cease it halfway. Let’s end this sin-loving world." 

And saying these words, He was very angry. The Lord made a sign to Michael to start the Judgment. Michael and his Army immediately took the bright and unspeakably beautiful Throne and left. Michael’s Army was so numerous, that earth was too small for it. Running, they were all yelling with voices of thunder, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are filled with His Glory!" Heaven and Earth were shaking from the sound of their voices.

Then Gabriel and his Army started to move, singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Mighty and Fierce, Wonderful and Blessed is the Lord, forever and ever!" The next one was Raphael and his Army, also singing and praising the Lord, "One is Holy. One is Lord. Jesus Christ, to the Glory of the Father, Amen."

Finally, the fourth army started to move. Their commander was bright and white, and his looks were kind and sweet. Running, he was loudly singing, "The Mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence - a Fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous around Him." And he went on with the rest of Psalm 50, and his officers were answering him, "He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people." The commander of this army was Uriel. After that, they brought before the Lord His Blessed and Holy Cross, shining like lightning and spreading an unbelievably sweet scent. Behind Him were all His glorious Armies of the Powers of Heaven. The sighting was incredible! The Innumerable Armies and Powers of Heaven were all singing in great harmony.

Some of them were saying with great fear, "I will bless the Lord at all times - His praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalm 34). Others were saying, "Praise the Lord and worship the dirt under His feet, for it is Holy. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia."

Then the Lord called Michael again. In that moment, an Angel with a trumpet came forward. The Lord took the trumpet and sounded three times, then He said three words and he handed the trumpet to Michael, saying, "Go to Golgotha, where I stretched out My Blessed Hands and sound the trumpet there three times!"

Michael departed, and the Lord called the Army of the Essentials and told their commander, "I command you to take your heavenly Army and spread all over the world, to bring the Saints on the clouds, from East to West and from North to South. Bring them all to welcome Me when the trumpet will sound."

After that, the Righteous Judge looked on the Earth and saw great fog and darkness, sadness and woe and a lot of mourning, because of the violent tyranny of Satan. The Serpent was violent and angry like a mad dog. He destroyed everything on Earth and now he was smashing what was left. He was mad because he could see the angels of the Lord preparing the eternal fire for him.

Seeing all that on earth, the Great Judge called an Angel of fire with a fierce appearance that looked merciless. He was the commander of those angels that take care of the Fire of Hell. The Lord told him, "Take my Cane with you, because it submits and destroys. Take your great Army of Angels - especially the fierce ones, the ones that punish those in Hell. You all go to the Thinking Sea to find the master of the dark. There, grab him, hold him tight, and hit him with the cane with no mercy, until he surrenders all his demons. Then tie them all up with the power of My Cane, and then throw them into the eternal terrible turmoil of Hell."

When they all got ready, they signaled to the Archangel to sound the trumpet. All of a sudden there was complete silence in all of Heaven - as though Satan was gone from the face of the Earth and everything had settled down.

Then he sounded again, and on Earth all the dead bodies were put together again. At the second sound of the trumpet, the Holy Spirit put souls in all the bodies. Heaven and Earth were shaking with great fear. 

At the third sound of the trumpet, the whole world was shaken. All the dead bodies were resurrected in a blink of an eye. It was a terrible sight! The people were innumerable, more than the grains of ocean's sand. At the same time, all the heavenly Armies were coming down on Earth from Heaven, like a heavy rain of Angels, singing with voices of thunder, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth - Heaven and earth are filled with His Glory! Hosanna in the Highest!"

Then all the people and multitude of angels sat there waiting for the Judgment. They were all shaking before the fierce Judge, that was also coming down upon earth. Everybody was looking up, and earthquakes started to shake the Earth and lightning was all over the skies in the Valley of the Judgment, and everybody was terrified. 

Then the skies closed like a book and the Holy Cross appeared, shining brighter than the Sun. Angels were holding the Cross before Our Lord Jesus Christ and The Judge of the world, which was coming down also. You could hear a beautiful heavenly song, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. One is Holy. One is Lord. Jesus Christ, to the Glory of the Father, Amen."

After this glorious praise, the Judge appeared on the clouds, sitting on the Throne of Fire. His Holy Brightness was illuminating the skies and the earth. At that moment, from the multitude of people that were resurrected, many started to shine as bright as the sun and they have been taken in the clouds to the heavens to welcome the Lord.

Most of the people, though, were left behind and stayed on earth. They haven’t been taken. They were mourning so sadly that they haven’t been taken because they haven’t been found worthy. Pain and sorrow were among them. They all fell on their knees in front of the Judge and after a while they got up on their feet again. The Fierce Judge was sitting on the Throne of Judgment that Michael set there for Him. He was surrounded by all the heavenly Powers that were all watching Him with great fear. The people that were taken in the clouds for Him were on His right side.

The others were on His left side. Most of these were Jews, high clergymen of the Church, leaders, priests, emperors, a multitude of monks and catechumens. All these people were extremely ashamed, and they were weeping because they knew they were lost. They had grins of despair on their faces and they were all sighing and crying in deep sadness and desperation. No one cared for them or comforted them.

The ones at the right hand of The Lord were bright and happy, honored and praised, white and bright with Holy Light. They looked as white and bright as their Lord.

The Terrible Judge looked on both sides. When He looked at His right, He smiled. But when He looked at His left, he got disturbed and angry and He turned His face away quickly. With a loud Godly voice, He said to the ones at His right side, "Come, Blessed Saints of My Father, and inherit the great new Earth that My Father has prepared for you from the beginning of the world. When I was hungry, you fed Me. When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed Me into your house; I was naked and you covered Me; I was in prison and you visited Me."

The people at His right were surprised and asked, "Lord, when did we see that You were hungry, and fed You? Or were thirsty, and gave You to drink? Or were a stranger, and welcomed You into our home? Or were naked, and covered You? Or were in prison, and we visited You?"

"Amen, I say unto you, for if you did that unto one of my little ones, you did it unto Me."

Then He turned to His left and said, "Go away from Me, damned people, go to the Eternal Fire that is prepared for the Devil and his servants. Because when I was hungry, you didn’t feed Me. When I was thirsty, you didn’t give Me anything to drink. When I was a stranger, you didn’t welcome Me into your house. I was naked and you didn’t cover Me. I was in prison and you didn’t visit Me."

Those answered, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and didn’t feed You? Or thirsty, and didn’t give You anything to drink, or a stranger and we didn’t welcome You into our home, or naked and didn’t cover You, or in prison and we didn’t visit You?"

"Amen, I say unto you, for if you didn’t do that unto one of my little ones, you didn’t do it unto Me. Get out of My Sight, lost people! Go to Hell, to the gnashing of the teeth, where there is eternal crying and mourning."

As soon as The Judge said all that, a huge River of Fire started flowing from East to West. It was as wide as the sea. Seeing the great River of Fire, the sinners on the left started shaking in terror and despair. At that moment, the Righteous Judge commanded everybody, righteous and unrepentant, to go through the River of Fire, for trial.

The ones at His right went first, and they all came out on the other side, as bright as gold. They did not burn at all, but following this trial, they came out even brighter and even more beautiful - and they were all full of happiness and joy.

Then the ones at the left started going into the River of Fire, for trial. But because they were unrepentant sinners, the fire burned them and they couldn’t get out anymore. So, they were caught in the middle of the river, burning, but their bodies were left untouched so they could burn forever and ever, together with the Devil and the Demons in Hell. None of them made it out of the river of fire. The fire kept them all inside, because all they deserved was punishment and damnation.

After all the sinners were delivered to hell, The Fierce Judge headed toward His beautiful palace, together with all His Saints.

Surrounding Him, with great fear and admiration, were the heavenly Armies, all singing, "Raise your gates, and you will raise your eternal gates and the heavenly Emperor will enter - The King of Kings and God of all gods, with all His Saints, that rejoice unto the eternal inheritance". Others were answering, "Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of The Lord, which He invested with His Spirit as the Son of God. The Lord is God, and together with the sons of the New Zion He showed Himself to us". The Archangels, walking behind the Lord, worshiped Him, singing a heavenly praise, "Come and rejoice before the Lord and let us all sing to the Lord, Our Saviour, let us all welcome Him with confession and sing psalms unto Him". Others answered with this praise, "Great God is the Lord, and Emperor over all the earth. In His Hands are the end of the world and the heights of the mountains are His". The angels were singing many other praises in great harmony, and everybody was enjoying it. Singing, they all went inside with all the Saints and the Lord Jesus Christ to the heavenly Feast in the heavenly Palace, and they were overwhelmed with joy. The gates were closed right behind them. 

The heavenly Emperor then called to Him all the commanders of the Angelic Armies. The first ones were Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, and the chiefs in their command. 

Then the twelve bright lights of the world followed, the twelve apostles. The Lord gave unto them great blessing and twelve Thrones like fire, to sit in great honor right by their teacher, The Christ. Their faces were bright with the Holy eternal Light, their clothes were shining and were bright like amber; and the commanders of the angels were serving unto them. Then twelve wonderful crowns were given unto them, full of precious stones, shining with blinding light, and angels were holding it above their heads. Then the seventy apostles came before The Lord. These also got honor and blessing, but their crowns were not as precious and beautiful as the crowns of the twelve ones.

Then the forty martyrs came before The Lord. These were invested with all the honor and glory of the great Armies of Angels which fell from Heaven together with Lucifer. They became Angels and commanders of Armies of Angels. Crowns have been brought unto them and put on their Holy heads. Their crowns were shining like the sun - and the Martyrs, now made Holy Angels, were overwhelmingly happy.

Then the group of the Holy Hierarchs of the Church, priests, deacons and other clergymen came before the Lord. They were repaid with eternal crowns, according to their dedication, patience and works. Every crown was different from the other, like a star is different from another star. Many of them were holier and honored more than the others, some of the priests were honored even more than the Hierarchs. The Lord also gave each of them a Church, to serve God and have their regular service and the Liturgy of the Lord. Then the humble group of the monks came before The Lord. Their faces were bright and you could smell a sweet scent coming from their bodies and clothing. The Lord gave them six wings and they became like the fierce Cherubim and Seraphim, and they started singing with voices of thunder, "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord of Sabaoth, Heaven and Earth are filled with His Glory!". Their honor is great, unspeakable - their crowns are different, precious and shining. According to their struggles and works, this much honor they got.

Then the group of the Prophets followed. To them the Emperor gave the Song of Songs of Solomon, David’s Psalms, beautiful instruments, Holy Light, ecstasy and the Blessing of the Holy Spirit. The Lord asked them to play some music on their instruments, and the music they played was so beautiful that everybody was enjoying it with great happiness. After the Saints got all these gifts from the Blessed Hands of the Lord, they were now waiting for those gifts that the eye has never seen, and the ear has never heard of, and the heart of men has never been touch by.

Then the rest of the people came in, the ones that were saved: poor and rich, emperors and simple citizens, free and bonded. They all stood before The Lord, and The Lord separated them: The clean and merciful were given the heavens of Eden, beautiful bright heavenly palaces, precious crowns, holiness and joy, thrones and angels to serve them. 

Then the crowd of those who made themselves poor in spirit, out of love for Christ. Now they have been honored greatly. From the very Hand of Christ, they received shining crowns and they inherited the Heavens. 

Then, the ones that repented for their sins got the great comfort of the Holy Trinity. The good and kind ones inherited the heavenly earth, where the sweetness and the scent of the Holy Spirit are. And they were so unspeakably happy, seeing that they were worthy to inherit the new Earth. Their crowns were shining and had lots of beautiful roses on them. Then came the ones that did hunger and thirst for Righteousness. Unto them, the Lord gave the Holy Righteousness to satisfy them - and they were so happy to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One honored and glorified by the Angels.

Then came before Him the ones that were persecuted for Righteousness' sake. To them, the Lord gave the Holy Scriptures and the wonderful Holy Life. They sat on beautiful Thrones, in the Kingdom of Heaven. Their crowns were made of gold, but also, they were as light as feathers and were shining like stars - and the Angels were full of joy watching them.

Then came the ones that were persecuted explicitly for the sake of the Lord, the Great Lord and Savior of our souls. They were seated on gold Thrones, and all were praised by The Lord. Then came in the large crowd of the people that did not know Jesus Christ, but indeed kept His Law, listening to the Holy Spirit and their good conscience. Many of them were shining as bright as the sun in their innocence and purity, and the Lord gave them Paradise and beautiful bright crowns with roses and lilies. But these people were all blind because they did not receive the sacrament of Holy Baptism. This is because in spirit, Holy Baptism is the Light and the Sight of the soul. They could not see at all the Glory of God. This is why whoever is not baptized, even if they make it to heavens, cannot see a thing.

Then Niphon saw the crowd of the children of the Christians. They looked like they were all 30 years old. The Groom looked at them and smiled, and said, "You all have been baptized, and you are innocent, and have no guilt - but you don’t have any deeds. What am I going to do with you?" They boldly answered to The Lord, "Lord, we didn’t have time to enjoy the life on earth - please, don’t let us miss the great life in Heaven". The Lord smiled, and He gave them the heavens. They got the crowns of innocence and purity, and all the heavenly Powers admired them in great wonder. It was so great to hear all the Holy Angels, who were rejoicing and praising in their sweet songs throughout this time.

After that, Niphon saw a beautiful Bride that came before the Lord. Around her was spread myrrh and divine scents. On her head, she was wearing a great crown, shining like lightning. The Angels and the Saints were overwhelmed in beholding it. The Holy Spirit was covering her like a golden cloth. Coming into the Palace, she was accompanied by a great crowd of virgins, singing and praising the name of the Lord. When they all got before Christ her Groom, the great Empress bowed three times together with all the virgins. The Beautiful One saw her and rejoiced unto her. He bowed before her and honored her as His Blessed Mother. Then she came to Him and kissed His never-sleeping Eyes, and also His Blessed wounded Hands. After this, The Lord gave all the Virgins beautiful shining clothes and beautiful crowns - and then, all the heavenly Powers started honoring and blessing her.

Then the Lord walked out of the Palace and went to the heavenly Feast, having His Blessed Mother to His right - and on His left was the Blessed Prophet, the one that came before Him (St. John the Baptist). On the tables, there was food that eyes have never seen before, all prepared especially for those that loved the Lord. Behind the Lord were coming all the Saints that, seeing the wonderful Feast that was prepared for them - rejoicing, blessing and praising the Lord. 

(God’s servant, Niphon, has never been able to describe the heavenly Feast to me, even if I insisted many times. He only told me with great sadness, "Son, I will never be able to describe in words or compare what I have seen with anything I’ve seen before. Those things were beyond any thought, beyond anything that is seen or unseen.")

After The Lord served food to the Saints, He commanded the Cherubim to surround the eternal Feast tables, like the walls around a city. Then He commanded the Seraphim to surround the Cherubim. Then to the Dominions to surround the Thrones - to Principalities to surround the Dominions - to the Authorities to surround the Elemental Powers - and to the Heavenly Powers to surround The Elemental Powers. Like the walls of a great city, this is how the heavenly Armies were surrounding one another. On the right side of the Feast was Michael with his army; on the left was Gabriel and His Army; Uriel was behind and Raphael was in front of the feast. All this was done by the order of our Lord Jesus Christ, Great God and the Savior of all saints. These four armies were huge, and together with the blessed heavenly Powers, they were all surrounding the Great Feast of the Lord - all shining as bright as the sun. 

When all this was done, then the Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave praises to the heavenly Father, and gave back to the Father all His Authority and Power, and the Dominion that He got from The Father. Then He entered into the Great Feast as the Son of God, Emperor and King of Kings blessed and glorified with all saints.

In the end of the mysteries that the Lord revealed to him, the greatest mystery of all uncovered Himself to Niphon - God the Father Himself, the Creator, the true Light. He came up, shining bright all over the heavenly Armies and Powers. The Father was shining above the heavenly Great Feast as the sun is shining above the earth. That’s how bright was the Father of all Mercy. And as the sponge soaks up the water, the Saints soaked up the heavenly Spirit of God the Father and of God the Son, Lord Jesus Christ, together for eternity. From then on, there was no day or night. It was only God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Light and nourishment, life and blessing, joy, enjoyment and gladness in the Holy Spirit.

Then there was a great silence in the heavens. Niphon’s eyes had been blessed with the true Light, to be able to see. The first Army of the heavens was asked to sing a never-ending hymn. They were all full of joy and honor. They started singing a beautiful hymn, more beautiful than anyone on earth could ever hear. The hearts of the Saints were touched and full of unspeakable joy. Then the Seraphim started a wonderful chant to the Glory of the Father, the sweetest hymn that ever existed in heavens.

The Saints were ecstatic, for their eyes saw the true Light, they could smell the sweet scent of God, their ears could hear the wonderfully sweet hymns of the heavenly Powers, their mouths would taste the body and blood of Christ (the New One, in the heavens), their hands would touch the heavenly things - they were so full of joy and fulfillment. One by one, all the heavenly armies started singing hymns that were beautiful beyond imagination. They were always singing a different hymn, so different and more beautiful every time. 

When the seven circles of Powers completed their glorious hymns, the Archangels started the thrice-holy hymn: Michael started and then Gabriel answered, then Raphael and Uriel answered, all in extraordinary harmony. The Hymn of the Four Columns of Fire, the Archangels, was the most beautiful, sweet but fiery, strong but touching. Then all the Saints started a glorious hymn, honoring God the Creator. The hymns were glorious, and you could hear it everywhere. 

Blessed Niphon was ecstatic, seeing all this - and he heard God’s voice telling him:

"Niphon, your prophetic vision was beautiful. Write down all the things that you have seen, because this is the way it will be. I showed everything to you, My faithful friend, My beloved son, and you will also inherit the Heavens. Now, that I showed you all this, have faith in My great love for the ones faithful to Me. I rejoice unto the humble and kind and with fear of their Maker." 

After this, the Father set Niphon's mind free again from the fierce vision that he had been under for two weeks! Niphon, when he finally came back to this world from the Spirit, he got terrified and was crying with despair. Tears were flowing down his face while he was telling himself:

"Poor me, the filthy sinner! What is going to happen to me? Woe to my sinful soul. Will I be able to make it to heavens, as full of sin as I am? How will I be able to appear in front of The Lord our Judge? What excuses will I be able to make for my innumerous sins? How will I be able to hide my guilt? You filthy sinner, trash of the humankind. I cannot cry enough or repent enough. I have never been merciful enough and kind enough. What am I going to do? What should I start with, to be able to save my soul? The Lord made my soul clean with His Baptism, and I sinned and lost my soul. I used my mind for evil, I spent my life partying and being a drunk. What am I going to do?! I see the worldly sins, hear worldly sins, smell sins, taste sins. I am lost! Who could ever save me?! Who will take me out of the fire and out of the dark? Who will save me from the gnashing of the teeth? It would be better if I had never been born at all!"

For a long time after this vision, he walked around sad, crying and thinking what great honors the Father has for His Saints in heaven, and that he is lost. He was so afraid that he was not going to be Allowed into the heavens. He was repenting every day, counting every sin of the day and repenting for each of them. He would have done anything to save his soul. He would often say after this vision:

"Father, please help me save my dark soul."

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Apolytikion to St. Niphon, in the Fourth Tone:

Thou wast chosen by God to be a shepherd and herald of His Church, and to teach repentance to the fallen. By thy prayers thou didst reveal the demons' deceits, and thy countenance shone like Moses'. O Father Niphon, pray to Christ our God for those who honor thee.

Kontakion to St. Niphon, in the Second Tone:

Thou didst subdue the flesh by fear of God, and didst soar to the heights of knowledge. Thou didst attain to thy desire, O blessed Niphon. Intercede to Christ our God for all who honor thee.