The Second Coming, the End Times, the Antichrist, Orthodoxy, Islam and an Open Thread

Tomorrow Orthodox Christian celebrate two events: the Presentation of our Lord and Meatfare Sunday also known as the Sunday of of Second Coming.  What is interesting about this day is that this is the day when during the Matins service, after the 6th Ode of the Canon, the Synxarion of the day is read.  A "synaxarion" is a short text discussing and analyzing of the person or event commemorated during that specific day.  In the case of the "Sunday of the Second Coming" it is a short summary of the teachings of the Church about the Second Coming of Christ and the events preceding it, including the appearance and actions of the Antichrist.

In modernist parishes, this reading is entirely omitted and, when it is not, then it is severely censored to avoid raising "politically incorrect" issues and questions.  I found it worthwhile to share with you the original text which was read during the many past centuries and which is still read in traditionalist Orthodox parishes and monasteries.  Here it is in full:

SUNDAY of MEATFARE

On the same day, we commemorate the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and His impartial Judgment.

Verses: When Thou, O Judge of all, shalt sit to judge the earth, Mayest Thou judge me, too, worthy to hear Thee say, “Come hither.”

Synaxarion:

The most Divine Fathers placed this parable after the first two [those of the Publican and Pharisee and of the Prodigal Son], lest anyone, learning about God’s love for mankind in those parables, should live carelessly, saying: God loves mankind, and when I cease from sinning, I shall be ready to accomplish everything. They set this fearful day here, in order to instill fear, through death and the expectation of future torments, in those who are heedless, and to bring them back to virtue, not trusting in God’s loving-kindness alone, but taking into account that He is a just Judge, Who will render unto each man according to his deeds. Moreover, since the souls of those who have died stood in our midst yesterday, it was fitting that the Judge should come today. In a certain way, the present Feast is, as it were, the consummation of all the Feasts, just as it will be the final day for all of us. We should reflect that the Fathers will assign the beginning of the world and Adam’s fall from Paradise to the following Sunday, and that the present Feast is the end of all our lives and of this world. The Fathers assigned it to the Sunday of Meatfare, so as to curb greed and gluttony through the fear aroused by this Feast, and to summon us to show compassion to our neighbors. Furthermore, since, after reaping delight, we were exiled from Eden, and came under judgment and the curse, the present Feast is placed here, and also because, on the next Sunday, on which we commemorate the fall of Adam, we are going to be figuratively cast out of Eden, until Christ comes and brings us back to Paradise.

Christ’s coming is called the Second Coming, because whereas He first came to us in bodily form, quietly and without glory, He will now come from Heaven with wonders that transcend nature, with conspicuous radiance, and corporeally, so that He may be recognized by all as being He Who first came and delivered the human race, and Who is going to judge it, to see whether it has preserved what was given to it. When His Coming will take place, no one knows; for the Lord kept this hidden even from the Apostles. But until then, at any rate, He indicated that it will be preceded by certain signs, which some of the Saints explained in greater detail. It is said that the Second Coming will occur after seven millennia have passed. Before Christ comes, the Antichrist will come. He will be born, as Saint Hippolytos of Rome says, from a harlot, who will appear to be a virgin, but will be of the Hebrew race, of the tribe of Dan, the son of Jacob; and he will supposedly live as Christ did, and will perform as many miracles as Christ, and will raise the dead. But all of these things—his birth, his flesh, and everything else—will be an illusion, as the Apostle says; and he will then be revealed as the son of perdition, with all power, with signs and deceitful wonders. However, as Saint John of Damascus says, the Devil himself will not be transformed into flesh, but a man who is the offspring of fornication will receive all the energy of Satan, and will suddenly rise up. He will appear good and gentle to all, and then there will be a mighty famine. He will supposedly satisfy the people, will study the Holy Scriptures, will practise fasting, and, compelled by men, will be proclaimed king; he will show especial love to the Hebrew race, restoring them to Jerusalem and rebuilding their temple. Before seven years have passed, as Daniel says, Enoch and Elias will come, preaching to the people that they should not accept him. He will arrest and torment them, and will then behead them. Those who choose to remain pious will flee far away into the mountains; when he finds them, through the agency of demons, he will make trial of them. Those seven years will be cut short for the sake of the elect, and there will be a mighty famine, and all the elements will be transformed, so that everyone will all but disappear.

After this, the Lord will suddenly come from Heaven like lightning, preceded by His precious Cross, and a river of boiling fire will go before Him, cleansing the entire earth of pollution. The Antichrist will immediately be seized, and he and his minions will be handed over to the eternal fire. As the Angels sound their trumpets, the entire human race will be gathered together from the ends of the earth, and from all the elements, in Jerusalem, because this is the center of the world, and there are set thrones for judgment, but with their souls and bodies all transformed into incorruption and having a single form, the elements themselves having been transformed into a superior state, and by a single word the Lord will separate the righteous from the sinners; those who have done good will depart, gaining eternal life, whereas the sinners will go to eternal punishment, and never will there be an end to their torments.

It should be known that Christ will not be looking at that time for fasting, bodily hardships, or miracles, good though these things are, but for things that are far superior, namely, almsgiving and compassion. To the righteous and the sinners He will speak of six virtues: “For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me food; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me; for inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Everyone can do these things according to his own ability. Then every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The torments which the Holy Gospel recounts are these: “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched; and cast him into the outer darkness.” Clearly accepting all these things, the Church of God believes that the abiding of the Saints with God and the perpetual effulgence of His light and their ascent to Him are the delight of Paradise and the Kingdom of Heaven, and that alienation from God and the consumption of souls by the awareness that, through carelessness and temporal pleasure, they have been deprived of Divine illumination are the torment, the darkness, and the like.

In Thine ineffable love for mankind, O Christ God, count us worthy to hear Thy desired voice, number us with those on Thy right hand, and have mercy on us. Amen

Please keep in mind that the above is an English translation of an original Greek text compiled on the basis of Patristic writings which have very specific definitions of words which are often hard to render in modern English.  Furthermore, sentences such as "their souls and bodies all transformed into incorruption and having a single form, the elements themselves having been transformed into a superior state" assume that the reader has a solid understanding of dogmatic theology (attending and carefully studying the Orthodox church services provide that kind of knowledge both in an intellectual and on a noetic (spiritual) level).  Finally, there are clearly elements of symbolism used here (such as the figures given) which should not be interpreted in a crude literalistic fashion.

Since we now live in what I call a "post-pseudo-Christian" society in which an original Orthodox synaxiarion in English has become a rarity, I though I would share this little "message form a distant past" with you.

A friend also emailed me today to let me know that Sheikh Imran Hosein (who is a supporter of this blog and with whom I are working on a rather detailed interview) has just released a lecture entitled "Muslim Alliance With Eastern Orthodox Christianity In The End Times" which I will watch tomorrow (when I will spend yet another full day on the road, alas) but which I already want to share with you today:



Here is a short bio of the Sheikh: Imran Nazar Hosein is a leading International Islamic Philosopher, Scholar and author, specialising in world politics, economy, eschatology , modern socio-economic/political issues and expert on international affairs. He is best- selling author of Jerusalem in the Qur'an. Imran Nazar Hosein was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad in 1942 to parents whose ancestors had migrated from India as indentured labourers. He studied Islam, Philosophy and International Relations at several universities and institutions of higher learning. Among them are al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, the Institute of International Relations of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad, the University of Karachi in Pakistan, the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies in Karachi, Pakistan, and the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Finally, as a sign of the times I suppose, look at this google-translated news item from yandex also sent to me by a friend:

Interesting, no?

Kind regards to all,

The Saker

Joint Christian-Muslim resistance against the Empire (a quick reminder)

In a previous post entitled "Russia and Islam, part eight: working together, a basic "how-to"", I have discussed in some details the basic principles which could be applied by both Christians and Muslims to jointly take a stand against the current Empire.  I don't want to repeat it all here, especially since in that article I was discussing this issue specifically in the Russian context.  What I propose to do today is to simply post a quick reminder of the general principles I am suggesting both sides abide by.

1) Recognize irreconcilable theological disagreements

The fact that the Islamic and Christians theologies cannot be reconciled is fairly obvious and yet often deliberately ignored, sometimes out of ignorance, mostly out of a misplaced desire not to offend.  And yet, there is nothing offensive in the basic recognition of an undeniable fact.  For Muslims Christ is a prophet, for Christians He is the theanthropos, the God-man.  This is what the absolutely highest Christian theological dogma says about Him:

One Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man; And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.

As far as I know - and please correct me if I am wrong - but all the segments which I have outlined in red are categorically unacceptable to Islam.  But even if I got one or two of these wrong, there is plenty enough differences here to consider that the Islamic and Christian theologies are mutually exclusive (reminder: Orthodox and Latin Christians disagree only on one word and Orthodox and Arian Christians disagree on one single letter!).  The best thing is therefore accept that as a fact and let each person decide in his/her conscience which of the two faiths - or any other, or none at all - he/she wants to adopt.  Next,

2) Recognize that Islam and Christianity have polemicized with each other:

This really flows from point #1 above, but this is worth repeating.  Because of their mutually exclusive theologies, Christians and Muslims have often polemicized with each other, sometimes resorting to name-calling.  So what?  Humans are humans and issues of religion can generate heated disagreements and disputes.  This really proves nothing.  Next,

3) Recognize that Islam and Christianity have a checkered track of coexistence:

Sometimes Christians and Muslims coexisted in peace, sometimes not.  Since religion is very often used by the worldly powers of the state to justify various policies, it is often very hard to tell whether this or that bad episode was the result of tensions between the faithful or between their secular, worldly, leaders.  But, again, does that matter?  Neither Christians nor Muslims pretend to all be sinless saints - we all know that we are sinners - so what really matters is this: Christians and Muslims can - and have - coexisted in peace.  This is possible, it happened quite often in fact.  Thus, this can be repeated.

4) Christian and Islamic ethics mostly agree with each other: 

Yes, there are some differences.  As far as I can tell, the most acute ones are the stance on the death penalty (which Islam fully favors and Christianity opposes) and the attitude towards "apostates" (which Islam executes, while Christianity only declares them cut-off from the Church).  The fact that Christianity and Islam have coexisted in peace for centuries tells me that these differences can be intelligently managed.  And since most countries have abolished the death penalty anyway, this is hardly the most pressing issue for either community.

So here is again my practical recommendation:

Having accepted our differences, having accepted that we have a checkered history of coexistence but having also accepted that we can, with good will and intelligence, coexist, let us stop dwelling on these topics ad nauseam and turn to the pressing issues at hand today.  I do not mean to say that these issues cannot be discussed here, or anywhere else, but only that this blog is probably not the best place to do so, if only because we are unlikely to change each other's beliefs.

One final point: scriptural exegesis is a very delicate science which requires a lot of very complex and sophisticated methodological and even spiritual capabilities and which cannot be reduced to "this text says this or that".  For example, Orthodox Christians believe that the only correct way to understand the Scripture is within a pious spiritual life in the Church (orthopraxis) combined with the understanding of the so-called consensus patrum (the agreement of the Church Fathers) is on any given passage or topic. My understanding is that Islam teaches that the proper understanding of a passage of the Quran can only come when seen in the context of all the rest of the Quran and the guidance from the Sunna, as interpreted by recognized spiritual leader/jurist.  In other words, this or that Sura or Ayat taken by itself cannot be understood any more than this or that verse of the Scripture.  Yet another reasons for all of us to exercise the utmost caution when quoting the scripture of a religion which is not ours.

That's it - I just wanted to submit these reminders to everybody as a way to keep our discussions focused and productive.  I hope that the above is helpful.

Many thanks and kind regards,

The Saker