My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE. Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΜΕΣΩ ΗΜΩΝ! ΚΑΙ ΗΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΑΙ.
SERVICES OF THE HOURS THE NINTH HOUR (5:00 p.m.)
+ In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Glory to You, our God, glory to You. Come, let us bow down and worship God our King. Come, let us bow down and worship Christ our God and King. Come, let us bow down and worship Christ Himself, our King and our God.
It was on the ninth hour, O Christ our God, that You Yourself tasted death in the flesh; Put to death the sinful inclinations of our flesh, and save us. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to ages of ages. Amen.
Lord, You were born of the Virgin, and endured the Crucifixion for our sake; You destroyed death through Your death and manifested the Resurrection as God. Do not overlook those whom You have created with Your own hands. Show Your loving kindness, O Merciful Lord, accept the Theotokos, who gave You birth, as she intercedes for us, O our Savior, and saves us--a people in despair.
For the sake of Your Holy Name, O Lord, do not abandon us utterly. For the sake of Abraham Your beloved, and Isaac Your servant, and Israel Your holy one, do not disregard Your promise of salvation and do not take away Your mercy from us.
Seeing the Lord of Life hanging upon the Cross, the repentant thief was saying: "If the One Crucified with us were not God Incarnate, the sun would not have hidden its rays, nor would the earth have been shaken from its foundations. O Lord, You Who endure all things, remember me in Your Kingdom."
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Standing between two thieves, Your Cross, O Lord, served as a balance of justice. For the one thief, destined for Hades, the Cross indicated the burden of his blasphemy; For the other, whose transgressions were forgiven, the Cross opened the way toward the knowledge of God. Christ our God, glory to You.
Now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Seeing the Lamb, the Shepherd and the Savior of the world, hanging on the Cross, she who gave Him birth was saying with tears: "While the world rejoices in receiving redemption, my own inner being is on fire, as I look upon the Crucifixion, which You endure for the sake of all, O my Son and my God."
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TODAY'S SYNAXARION:
On July 3rd our Holy Orthodox Church commemorates the following Saints: Hyacinthos, Holy Martyr of Caesarea; Saints Theodotos and Theodota the Holy Martyrs; Saint Anatolios, Patriarch of Constantinople; Saint Gerasimos of Karenesi.
+ By the holy intercessions of Your Saints, O Christ God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
TODAY'S SACRED READINGS ARE:
Holy Epistle Lesson: Romans 16:1-16
Holy Gospel Lesson: St. Matt. 13:3-9
INSPIRING WORDS FROM THE SAINTS OF OUR CHURCH:
"Be near us, be near, You Who are everywhere. As you are also with your apostles so too unite yourself with those who long for you."[Saint Romanos the Melodist)
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ON OUR TIMES (Part II)
By Saint Paisios of the Holy Mount Athos (Source: Orthodox Heritage. Brotherhood of Saint Poimen)
It's possible that you'll live through much which is described in the Book of Revelation. Much is coming to the surface, little by little. The situation is horrible. Madness has gone beyond all bounds. Apostasy is upon us, and now the only thing left is for the "son of perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3) to come.
The world has turned into a madhouse. A great confusion will reign, in which each government will begin to do whatever comes into its head. We'll see how the most unlikely, the most insane, events will happen. The only good thing is that these events will happen in very quick succession.
Ecumenism, common markets (European Union), a one-world government, a single made-to-order religion: such is the plan of these devils. The Zionists are already preparing their messiah. For them the false-messiah will be king, will rule here on earth.
A great discord will arise. In this discord everyone will clamor for a king to save them. At that moment they'll offer up their man, who'll say: "I'm the Imam, I'm the fifth Buddha, I'm the Christ whom Christians are awaiting. I'm the one whom the Jehovah's Witnesses have been waiting for. I'm the Jewish messiah."
Very difficult times are ahead for the faithful. Great trials await us. Christians will suffer great persecutions. Meanwhile, it's obvious that people don't understand that we're on the verge of the end times, that the seal of the antichrist is becoming a reality. As if nothing's happening. That's why Holy Scripture says that even the chosen will be deceived.
The Zionists want to rule the earth. To achieve their ends they use black magic and satanism. They regard Satan-worship as a means to gain the strength they need to carry out their plans. They want to rule the earth using satanic power. God is not something they take into account.
One sign that the fulfillment of prophecy is near will be the destruction of the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem. They'll destroy it in order to restore the Temple of Solomon which used to be on the same place. In the ends the Jews will pronounce the Antichrist messiah in this rebuilt temple.
The rabbis know that the True Messiah has already come and that they crucified Him. They know this, and yet they are blinded by egoism and fanaticism.
Two thousand years ago it was written in the Book of Revelation that people will be marked with the number "666". As Holy Scripture says, the ancient Hebrews laid a tax on the people they conquered in various wars. The yearly tax was equal to 666 talents of gold. (1 Kings 10:14: "the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold; and 2 Chr. 9:13: "the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold"). Today, in order to subjugate the whole world they'll once again introduce the old tax number linked to their glorious past. That is, "666" is the number of mammon.
Everything is going as planned. They put the number a long time ago on credit cards. As a result, he who is not marked with the number "666" will be unable to buy, sell, get a loan, or find work.
Providence tells me that the Antichrist wants to subjugate the world using this system. It will be foisted upon people with the help of the mechanisms which control the world economy, for only those who receive the mark, an image with the number "666", will be able to take part in economic life.
The mark will be an image which will first be placed on all products, and then people will be compelled to wear it on their hand or forehead. Little by little, after the introduction of ID cards with the three sixes, after the creation of a personal dossier, they'll use cunning to introduce the mark.
In Brussels a whole palace with three sixes has been built to house a central computer. This computer can keep track of billions of people. And we Orthodox are resisting this because we don't want the Antichrist and we don't want dictatorship either.
The most we can suffer is martyrdom.
There will be three and a half hard years. Those who don't agree with the system will have a rough time. They'll constantly be trying to imprison them, using any pretext the can find. They won't torture anyone, but without the mark it will simply be impossible for a person to live. "You're suffering without the mark," they'll say. "And if you had just accepted it you would have had no difficulties."
For this reason, by learning to live a simple, moderate life here and now you'll be able to get through those years. By getting a little bit of land, raising a little wheat and some potatoes, planting some olive trees, and keeping animals of some sort, a goat or chickens, the Christian will be able to feed his family. Stockpiling is of little use: food doesn't keep for long before spoiling.
But these oppressions will not last for long: three, three and a half years. For the sake of the chosen the day will be hastened. God won't leave a person without help. Tomorrow thunder will strike, and the brief dictatorship of the Antichrist-Satan will come. Then Christ will intervene; will give the whole anti-Christian system a good shaking up. He'll trample upon evil and turn everything to good use in the end.
--And if someone receives the mark unknowingly?
It'd be better to say "uncaringly." How can one be unknowing, when everything is crystal clear? And if a person doesn't know, then he should become interested and find out. By accepting the mark, even unknowingly, a person loses divine grace and gives himself up to demonic influence. When a priest immerses the infant in the baptismal font, the infant receives the Holy Spirit without knowing it, and Divine Grace begins to abide in him.
(To be continued)
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MY BLESSING TO ALL OF YOU
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
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Glory Be To GOD For All Things!
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George