My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
The Holy Apostle Peter said to them,
“And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying,
‘BE SAVED FROM THIS PERVERSE GENERATION.’ [Acts 2:40].
PERVERSE: turned away from what is right or good: CORRUPT [The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary]
The Holy Apostle Peter’s exhortation “Be saved from this perverse generation” is most fitting in this 21st century. Why do you ask? Perhaps because there is a multitude of corruption in every facet in life. Corruption and perversion is nothing new to the secular and unbelieving world throughout the centuries. Many of the great empires in the history of mankind have fallen from within, from decadence, perversion, immorality, lawlessness, cruelty, faithlessness, dishonor, greed, arrogance, quarrelsomeness, division, evil passions, and wickedness.
One must agree on the similar conditions of today. We are witnessing the decline of civilization right before our eyes. When we think of the greatness of the Roman Empire and how it fell, and eventually how it was destroyed from within. However, this has become common with most of the empires in human history. Man tends, unfortunately, to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Especially, when humanity loses civility, faith in God, and even his own humanity, the result and consequences are the same. Should not mankind learn from its dreadful wrongs and rebelliousness. Is it because of forgetfulness or because the human race has been stupefied or indoctrinated? Undoubtedly people have lost discernment and are no longer following the straight path.
In every generation, and in every century one will find people who remain steadfast in their faith in God, morality, honor, dignity, regard and compassion for their fellow man, who promote peace, who believe in integrity, who are godly and humble, who walk in good paths, who are wise, who are of sound mind and heart, who help the poor, and the weak, who are people of principle and conviction, who are generous and willing to share their good fortune with others, who believe in the truth and guard against evil. These are the people who keep humanity and the world from total annihilation.
I am certain you recall the Old Testament account of Sodom and Gomorrah and how Abraham intercedes for the two cities before the Lord. “Abraham drew near and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the ungodly? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city, would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous in it? Then the Lord said ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I WILL SPARE ALL THE PLACE FOR THEIR SAKES.’ …But suppose there were five less than fifty righteous, would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?’ He replied, ‘If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it.’ Abraham continued pleasing the Lord and said, suppose there should be forty, thirty, twenty, ten, would You destroy the city? So He said, ‘I would not destroy it for the sake of the ten.’ [Genesis 18:23-32]. We all know that the city was so morally depraved that Lot (Abaham’s nephew) was the only righteous person in the entire place. Abraham’s intercession delivered and saved him. Therefore, our situation is not hopeless, for we are confident that there are at least ten righteous people in the world and hopefully the Almighty God will have mercy on us.
Our Merciful and All-Loving God desires to save humanity and not to destroy it. We also see in the above mentioned biblical account the importance of INTERCESSION. In our Orthodox Christian Sacred Tradition we are taught how the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary intercedes for the human race to her Son and God Jesus Christ to have mercy on us. We believe that her intercession saves those who truly repent of their sinful ways and seek forgiveness and salvation. It is also our spiritual practice to seek the intercessions of the righteous men and women of our Church, of the Holy and God-inspired Fathers and Mothers, of the holy and victorious Martyrs, of the holy Confessors, of the glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John, most Famous Apostles, of the holy and righteous ancestors Ioachim and Anna and of all the Saints. Just as we pray and supplicate our God for those who are suffering, who are grieving, for the poor, for our friends and relatives here and now, the holy and righteous people of God continue to pray and intercede for our redemption and healing, in heaven.
The fate of the world depends on us. The Lord’s emphasis is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue. As long as mankind does not heed His guidance the world will witness calamities and tribulation in the near future brought about by our perverse lifestyles and disobedience. We have been warned again and again by our Heavenly Father to cease living as a faithless generation. What is happening today is an abomination. His warning is clear that we should not follow false gods and messiahs. There is only One True God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Orthodox Chrristian must instead concentrate in spiritual readiness and preparedness for no one knows the Coming of Christ, the Bridegroom. The key is watchfulness and being ready for the Second Coming will entail a sudden revelation of judgment. “One will be taken to heaven, and the “other left” for eternal condemnation. This separation of the saints from the wicked will occur at “the Coming of the Son of Man” and NOT, as some teach today, at a certain time before His Second Coming.
Parents of all backgrounds PROTECT AND SAVE YOUR CHILDREN FROM THE PRESENT EVIL FORCES. THEY SEEK THEIR EXPLOITATION, THEIR CORRUPTION, AND DESTRUCTION. BE ALWAYS AWARE, VIGILANT AND KEEP THEM CLOSE TO YOU AND TO OUR SAVIOR GOD AND TO OUR HOLY AND ETERNAL ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FAITH!
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“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God