The signs of the coming of Christ
24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Apocalypse
Saint Basil the Great, Homilies at Psalms, Homily at the psalm XXXIII, IV, in Church Fathers and Writers (2011), vol. 4, p. 475-476
Those living in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1, 79) are called to come to the Lord and approach the rays of His Divinity for being lightened by the truth by this approach and receive within themselves by Grace His glow. In the same way this sensitive light doesn`t appear for all in the same way, only for those who have eyes and are awake and who can rejoice without any impediment at the rising of the sun, The Sun of Justice (Malchi 3, 20), The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world (John 1, 9), does not give to all his glow, only to those who lead a life worthy of Him.
(…) Blessed is that one who on the Day of the Righteous Judgment of God, when God will come to bring light over what`s hidden in the darkness and reveal the thoughts of the hearts (I Corinthians 4, 5), will dare stand under that searching light and will leave without being ashamed for he has a conscience unblemished by bad deeds. Those who did bad deeds will be resurrected for shame as they will see within themselves the shame and traces of their sins. Maybe the shame is more terrible than darkness and eternal fire where the sinners will live for eternity, having for ever before their eyes the traces of the sin committed in their flesh, traces which remain for ever in the memory of their soul, like a paint which can`t be erased. Few will be those who approaching that true light and being revealed their deeds will be able to leave from there after the revelation of the hidden with their faces not touched by shame.
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