SUDDENLY THE JUDGE WILL COME!

SUDDENLY THE JUDGE WILL COME!

  The Church of Christ in its continuous Orthodox confession says, not once, but at every reading of the Creed:   “He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead; and His kingdom has no end.”  The year or date makes no difference to any of us, for we are all a heartbeat away from judgment.  To ignore this is disaster and horror, but to heed it is a call to happiness, joy and eternal life.

 Accidents and sickness can shorten our days, including war and insurrection as well as crime. There is no guarantee as to how long this life will last and how soon we will leave this world to face the Judge, who will judge justly , bestowing mercy only upon those who called upon Him., and obeyed His commandments.

 Without any warning, all of a sudden, shrill angelic trumpets will sound and be heard by every person in every corner of the earth. In a moment, the wicked and sinful, the unbelievers and haters of Christ, will be terrified of this great event and seeking death they will not find it. “They will cry out to the mountains and rocks; Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand.” (Rev. 6:16-17).

   Those who wasted their days in vain pursuits, in searching for riches, full bellies, and various  entertainment, will be terrified realizing that they are no better than those who cried: “Away with Him! Crucify Him!. They will remember having heard of the Resurrection but giving it little attention. They never picked up their Bibles so that God could communicate with them. Scoffers will hang their heads in shame and seek repentance but not find it, for it is too late.

 In particular anguish and shame are the thousands of Orthodox Archbishops and Bishops, Metropolitans and other clergy who had not served Christ, but engaged in silly pursuits of this world. Prayer was a burden to them, and preaching was bothersome, so they lived for the world and forgot Christ the Judge, who they thought would never come but suddenly is here.

  “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in justice does He judge and make war.  His eyes were as a flame of fire and on His head were many crowns’ and He had a name written that no man knew, but He himself.  And He was clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is Called the Logos of God” (Rev19:11-13).

My beloved, let all of us fearfully watch and be ready for this terrible event which certainly will come for each and every one of us and from which there is no escape, no bribery, no hypocrisy, for each will get exactly what they justly deserve.  It is not too late for us to repent and change the direction of our lives; let us take advantage of this opportunity, while these things have our attention, for this may never be before us again.

If you believe in and genuinely love Jesus Christ, if you keep His commandments, and honor all that He honors, if you live in Christ and He lives in you. Then you will also despise the world and its many attractions. If you are nourished with His Mysteries and live a life filled with prayer, then you will hear the good news:

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

     And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, send God himself shall dwell with them and be their God. And God shall wipe way all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: For these words are true and faithful. And He said unto me, It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give unto him that thirsts of the fountain of the water of life freely.. He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be His God, and he shall be my son.  But the fearful and faithless, the abominable and murderers, and whore-mongers and sorcerers and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake with fire and sulphur; which is the second death” (Rev. 21:1-8).

It is a wise person who follows Christ and despises the glory of this world, but how does he reach this goal?  Scriptures clearly says “the beginning of all wisdom is the fear of God” and “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”