My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST1 HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
The Antichristian Movement is like a Vortex that Threatens the
Future of Humanity.
For a number of years, we have heard and read about the danger of ‘climate change’. "Climate Change" and "Global Warming" are often used interchangeably. Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define earth’s, local, regional, and global climates." We have been told that the "changes are driven by human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning, raising earth’s surface temperature." Of course, there is much debate among scientists and other experts on the subject. Not everyone agrees and not everyone is on board with the above statement. The discussion and disagreement will probably continue for many years to come.
However. I am not qualified to speak or write on the subject. What I would like to write about is the current antichristian movement that threatens, in my opinion, the future of humanity. A vortex is a huge storm, a whirlwind that is extremely destructive and may annihilate everything in its path. This antichristian movement seeks the destruction of the Christian Faith and its adherents. We know it as persecution against Christians. Christianity has known many such prosecutions over its two-thousand-year history. Under the pagan Roman Empire and its emperors, Countless Christians, men, women, and children suffered martyrdom for the sake of Christ. Paganism sought to erase Christianity from the face of the earth. Needless to say, it did not happen then and it will never happen now or in the future.
Atheism is a declaration of war on God. We have seen it in paganism as well as communism or any totalitarian society and government. The one-world global society rejects Jesus Christ and the existence of God and seeks to obliterate any kind of belief or religion. It is to create a void that despots or dictators will fill. The one-world government would rule absolutely and all of humanity will be enslaved once again. Christianity presents an obstacle to those in power and their plans that seek world domination and therefore, it must be removed, and all its followers must be silenced, killed, or imprisoned for life. We witnessed this antichristian policy in the Soviet Union for 74 years. Christian churches were demolished and replaced with swimming pools. Christian bishops, Clergy, monks and nuns, and Christians, in general, were placed in concentration camps in Syberia. Millions of Christian men, women, and children suffered and were killed by the atheists and communists. The Christian icon of Christ in the homes of the Russian Orthodox Christians was replaced with a picture of the dictator and tyrant Stalin. It is said that approximately 30 to 35 million Russian citizens lost their lives both in world war II and under communism.
Therefore history repeats itself once again. As before, even now, persecution of Christianity and the Christian people is quite blatant and deliberate. The persecutors are found mostly in the once known as "The Christian West." The "Christian West" encompasses all of Western Europe, Northern Europe, the U.S.A., England, Canada, South and Central America, etc. Historically Europe has been the center and "cradle of Christian Civilization". Europe has a rich culture, especially a number of Apostles who spread the Faith in various European countries, Saints, and Martyrs who gave their life for the sake of Christ over decades.
As Christians, we believe, of course, that the persecutions have always been against Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Persecution of Christ began from the time of His birth until He Ascended into Heaven and soon after continued against His Disciples and followers. However, Christianity, no matter how severe and horrific the persecutions were, spread throughout the Roman Empire and eventually all over the world. From Twelve Fishermen, Christians now number over two and a half billion Christians in the world. Christianity is not diminished but continues to grow. The Son of God, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ did not come to earth from heaven to start a new religion but as Godman to REVEAL GOD’S HIS WILL TO ALL OF MANKIND AND SAVE HUMANITY FROM EVIL AND DEATH. His Divine Message was, is, and ever shall be ONE OF AGAPE (LOVE). Why would someone object to love? Unless he is evil and teaches hatred and desires the destruction of the human race. This has come to a battle between the God of agape (love) and the Evil One the founder of hatred and the enemy of love.
As Orthodox Christians, we pray: "Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal! Our God is Holy, Mighty, and Immortal and there is no greater power than His. He is our Creator and universe. There is no power anywhere that can compare with God’s power. He is everywhere and fills all things, the treasury of blessings and the Giver of life. He is the only hope of humanity and the world and will never abandon either one or allow evil to take charge of that which He has created. He gave His life and He shed His Precious Blood on the Cross to save humanity and to prove to us how much He loves us. What human tyrant ever sacrificed his life for the good of humanity? Instead, history reveals how every tyrant is responsible for their cruelty and for the death of millions of people. Human tyrants are always known for their obsession with power, wealth, and control of mankind.
The Almighty God will never allow a world without Him. Our Blessed Heavenly Father will continue to lead, guide, and nurture His world and the human race. It would be cataclysmic for humanity to lose sight of God and act without Him. But with genuine humility and faith we supplicate Him: "Cast me not Thy servant from Thy presence and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit… (Psalm 51). Without Christ humanity would revert back to paganism, satanism, and idolatry. The world would fall into a deep darkness.
Keep your sights on our Lord Christ and take courage and remain steadfast in your faith in Him. The Apostolic preaching understands salvation in three tenses: (a) past we have been saved, IN BAPTISM; (b) present: WE ARE BEING SAVED, working out our salvation in cooperation with God [Philippians 2:12-13) and (c) FUTURE: WE SHALL BE SAVED at the Judgment. Saint Paul in his First Epistle to Timothy warns us and says, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commending to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth" (4:1-3). This is a warning to all Christians to reject evil in all forms and thereby to maintain a loving heart toward God. The Christian needs not be distracted by the cares of this world and instead deepen His communion with God.
"Climate Change" may be a serious concern for many people and how it may affect the weather, however, as Orthodox Christians, we must be concerned about the moral change that is taking place at this time that threatens the salvation of humanity. There is a different kind of pollution that is plaguing the world and is damaging both the soul and body. Children are affected more so than anyone else that is exposed to it. We must protect our families and especially all the innocent children that cannot defend or protect themselves. We witness how the current technology is used to undermine all Christian values taught to them by their parents. We see how they are indoctrinated both online and in schools. Everything evil that is thrown at them creates fear, confusion, and distress. They are told that they are not what God created them to be, a boy or a girl. They are commanded not to trust their parents and keep secrets from them. And governmental authorities claim that they have a say so as well and they share parental privileges. The children are corrupted, disfigured, and mangled, and the sinister authorities attempt to drive them away from family and God. Is that not a vortex of destruction and evil? There are countries today that not only make every effort to pollute their own country but now the same countries are exporting their pollution, poison, and evil to destroy other counties around the world.
The threat is real and we must take it very seriously and see things as they are and not be complacent or indifferent. Our prayers to Our Savior must be intensified and seek also the holy intercessions of the Mother of God and of All the Saints.
____________
"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
+Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 