Part 4

APOSTASY AND ANTICHRIST ACCORDING TO THE HOLY FATHERS OF THE CHURCH

THE APPEARANCE OF ANTICHRIST

(Exerted from a booklet published by Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY in 1992, no longer in print.)

Throughout the history of the Church of Christ, there has appeared a multitude of opponents who have striven to destroy Christ’s faith: Nero, Valerian and others, Mohammed, all the false-teachers and heretics from Simon Magus to the present.  But in the last times, there will arise a special, infinitely more powerful opponent of Christ in the person of Antichrist.  This will be the last and mightiest battle of the devil against the Church.

The Day of the Lord, the final Judgment will not come until Antichrist is revealed.  Saint Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians said, “Let us turn, brethren, to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round him; do not become alarmed too soon by any prediction or rumor or any letter claiming to be from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived.  Never let anyone deceive you in any way.  That day will not come until the Great Apostasy has occurred and that man of sin, the inheritor of perdition, has appeared” (II Thes. 2:18).

St. Cyril of Jerusalem and other teachers of the Church refer the prophecy of Daniel (7:23-35) to Antichrist who has to come before the end of the world and who will be the ruler of the Jews.  Once he is received by the Jews, then he will show his true self and begin his struggle against Christ’s Church.  [This should be food for thought for those who are looking for a worldly kingdom of Christ on earth with headquarters in Jerusalem.] He will repudiate the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and will try to destroy His Church and Mysteries [Sacraments], replacing them with himself, claiming to be a god and demanding that people bow to him as God.

According to the teachings of the Holy Fathers, every moment in the life of Antichrist will be dominated by Satan.  This domination will appear even from his conception and birth.  The devil’s instrument, in the words of Saint Ephraim the Syrian, “In truth, will be born from a defiled maiden”, and St. John Damascene concludes: “The man (Antichrist) will be born of prostitution”.

The fathers Irenaeus, Hippolytus and Ambrose of Milan as well as the early Christian writers Jerome and Augustine, mention that Antichrist will be of the Jewish race from the tribe of Dan.  Antichrist will arrive (as St. Hippolytus says), born from a defiled woman, a supposed virgin from amongst the Jews, from the tribe of Dan.”

            1. In the prophecy of the patriarch Jacob concerning each of his sons who became the founders of the tribes of Israel, the fate of the posterity of Dan is portrayed in such a way as to relate to Antichrist: “Dan will be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path” (Gen. 49: 17).

            2. In the prophecy of Jeremiah: “The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come and have devoured the land and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein” (Jer. 8:16).

            3. In the prophecy of the Revelation, which enumerates the remnant of all the tribes of Israel which are sealed by the angel for salvation, the tribe of Dan is completely excluded (Rev. 7:4-8).

From the teachings of the Holy Fathers, we learn that Satan, in establishing Antichrist, will strive to give him all the appearances and signs of the coming of the Son of God on earth.   [Once again, this has fearful and profound implications for those who expect a worldly reign of Christ on earth from Jerusalem.]

Of course, the resemblances of Antichrist with Christ will be only external and, in essence, only illusory, for the whole life of Antichrist will be an obstinate revolt against Christ and His Church.   Since Christ was born of an all-pure virgin, Satan will bring forth his special instrument from an impure maid who appears as a maiden.  She will be filled with every vice and satanic filth.

Then, just as the Lord remained in obscurity until His thirtieth year, so Antichrist, one must suppose, will remain hidden until a like age.  As Christ began His saving work by preaching of His holy teaching and with miracles, so also will Antichrist begin his pernicious work by deceiving men with his false teaching, false hopes and false miracles.  As it was pleasing to the Lord to reveal Himself publicly as the Messiah by His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and into the temple, so Antichrist will reveal himself as the (false) Messiah expected by the Jews, the monarch of all the world, in his own triumphant ceremony of entering into Jerusalem and taking up his seat in the temple of Jerusalem, which by that time will be restored.

In his book, “The Last Days of the Earthly Life of Jesus Christ”, Archbishop Innokenty of Kherson states that Christ’s entry into Jerusalem was “a general declaration for all Jews that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah.  His own words, which He spoke before the gates of Jerusalem, serve as an indisputable testimony of this; ‘If you had known,’ He said, turning to the people, ‘even you at least in this your day, the things which belong unto your peace’ (Lk. 19:42).  On that day, with their rejection of the Messiah, the fate of the Israelite people as a whole was decided.”  [This was later confirmed in the words of the Savior when he addressed the people of Israel saying,  “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks, but ye would not.  Behold your house is left to you desolate.”  This does not preclude a large-scale conversion of Jews to Christ before the final day of judgment]

On that future day of the coming into Jerusalem of the false messiah, Antichrist, the fate of mankind contemporary with him will also be decided irreconcilably and eternally.  Blessed are those who, on that last day, will be able to recognize Antichrist as the servant of Satan.

Finally, just as the Lord revealed Himself to the world and accomplished His work as Prophet, King and High Priest, so also will Antichrist concentrate this threefold authority in his own hands and accomplish his pernicious work as the teacher of all mankind, as the monarch of a universal monarchy and as the supreme high priest of all religions, demanding worship of himself as a god.  [We can see how the stage is being set for all of this in the continuous movement of the world in the direction of one world government and one world religion that is essentially humanism. These movements include the United Nations, the European Union, the North American Union, the World Council of Churches, the World Council of Religions, and the Ecumenical movement in general.]

End of part 4

To be continued in part 5