Apocalypse - predictions of terrible disasters. All the prophecies of the revelation of john the theologian are already coming true

Natural disasters and disasters in almost all predictions serve as a kind of "visiting card" of the Apocalypse, as a sign of its arrival.

Agness Sasagawa

1969 - In Japan, the Virgin Mary appeared to her sister Agnes Sasagawa, who warned the Catholic nun that all mankind was going to endure terrible disasters. 1969, June 28 - Stigmata (wounds of Christ) began to appear on Agnes's hands - in the form of a bleeding cross. July 6 - While praying in the chapel, Sister Agnes heard that a voice was coming from the statue of the Virgin Mary. The Mother of God told her: “The wiles of the devil will penetrate the Church, cardinals against cardinals, bishops against bishops. Priests and those who believe will be despised. Churches and altars have been plundered. The church will be swallowed up by those who accept the pact with the demons. They will force priests and sanctified souls to abandon the service of God. The devil will be especially irreconcilable towards people who have taken dedication to God. The thought of losing many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and severity, there will be no more forgiveness for them ”(1973, October 13).
“If people do not repent and behave well, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all mankind. It will be a punishment greater than the Flood, which you have not seen before.
Fire will fall from the sky and destroy most of humanity, good and bad, sparing neither priests nor believers. The survivors will find only the desert. And they will envy the dead. "

Grigory Rasputin

Grigory Rasputin left many prophecies about the apocalyptic events of the future. He predicted:

“Earthquakes at this time will become more frequent, lands and waters will open, and their wounds will engulf people and belongings. You will see violence on your doorstep on a daily basis, as a person will become a beast again and, like all beasts, will attack or be attacked. This person will not distinguish between good and evil. "
“The seas will enter cities and houses like thieves, and the lands will become salty. And the salt will enter the waters, and there will be no water that is not salty. Salty lands will bear no more fruit, and if they do, it will be bitter fruit. Therefore, you will see fertile lands turned into salty swamps. And other lands will be dried up by the growing heat. A person will find himself in the salty rain and will wander on the salty earth, between drought and flood. "

“Poisons will embrace the Earth like a passionate lover. And in a deadly embrace, the heavens will find the breath of death, and in the springs of water they will be bitter, and many of these waters will be more poisonous than rotten serpent's blood. People will die from water and air, but they will say - they died of heart and kidneys ... "

Vanga

In the prophecies of Vanga, the world is told a lot about cataclysms and shocks.

“Everything written in the Bible will come true! she said. "The Apocalypse is coming."
1995 - she said: “Do you know what awaits us in a few years? Earthquakes, fires, floods and other disasters that will affect many people. Misfortunes will happen everywhere, they will affect all peoples ... ”. (V.M.Sidorov. Lyudmila and Vangelia.)

“There will be fewer people in the world. Meat of sheep, cows and goats will not be allowed to be eaten. And you do not want to think about anything and do not see what awaits you. People will walk without shoes or clothes, live without food, fuel and light. "

John of Kronstadt

According to the testimony of Bishop Arseny, John of Kronstadt said:

“Whenever I look at fire and especially at its raging elements during fires and other cases, I think: the elements are always ready and only waiting for the command of the Creator of the universe to come out to fulfill their task - to destroy everything on earth, together with people, by their iniquities and deeds. "
“When the waters of the globe lose their balance with the underground fire and the fire overpowers the water element, which is constantly decreasing, then the fiery flood predicted in Holy Scripture and especially in the letter of the Apostle Peter, and the Second Glorious Coming of the Lord will come and the judgment of the whole world. By that time, morals will be extremely depraved. Believe that the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with glory is at the door. "

Ross Peterson

Clairvoyant Ross Peterson, predicting the future, being in a state of trance, prophesied about catastrophic transformations of the earth's crust. According to his predictions, Georgia, Carolina and the entire West Coast of America will suffer as a result of a nightmarish tectonic cataclysm. California will be flooded and New York will sink into the ocean. Huge areas of Europe "will disappear in the blink of an eye." Peterson claims that Spain, Portugal and the west coast of England will "sink into the water." All these tragic events will return humanity to true religion. According to his prophecies, a new teaching will appear in Russia - a modified form of Christianity, and Asia will undergo a great spiritual revival.

Richard Kaninger

“There will be more intense earthquakes than have ever been recorded by scientists. All volcanoes in the world will explode, and many new ones will join them. Due to volcanic eruptions, huge amounts of heavy gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide will spread into the atmosphere. The gases will cool in the high layers of the atmosphere and then fall to the surface of the Earth. There will be air currents of such magnitude that a hurricane wind will howl over the face of the world. The sky will be filled with dust and suffocating vapors, so that even the sun will not be visible at all for several months. Walls of water thousands of feet deep will roar, sweep away everything in front of them and flood the earth. Marine and land animals, vegetation, silt and sand will be mixed and ground into mud. If the soil is not washed away, then it will be covered with stone boulders and will be useless for growing crops. The stench of decay and grim devastation will be everywhere. Many people will become hopelessly insane. Those who, by the power of their conviction, preserve their civilization, will restore peace. "

Spiritual prophecies

In the collection of predictions of the spiritualists of Argentina - "The Third Millennium", published in 1956, there are such prophecies about the future of our planet and all mankind: "The days of a great catastrophe will come, hurricanes will destroy entire cities, a hell of fire will rise, and the waters will turn red with blood. The air stinks of lethal gases, and germs will fall from above. So many settlements will be destroyed, entire peoples will disappear. Cataclysms will physically end the deadly drama.
Europe will be a huge graveyard, Asia and Africa will become real deserts. America is horribly disfigured, Brazil and the South American republics are vast ruins. Many countries will disappear during disasters. France, Italy, Germany in smoke, England will disappear under water. No European state will escape a bloodbath. Asia, the islands of Japan, Australia and many other countries will be flooded.
South America will suffer from cataclysms, and its center will be flooded. A small part of Brazil will suffer from this, but its territory will be preserved.
The axis of rotation of the Earth will move abruptly, which will lead to the flooding of large areas of land. Water will flood vast expanses, and the surface of the continents will shrink to one third. The seas will expand their waters, and the lands will shrink due to the global flood.
In the empty seas of Africa, Europe and Asia, you will see the silhouettes of American ships. The ships are filled with cargo, they will dock on their shores to help the survivors - this is a gesture of human solidarity ... the captains of Brazil. These ships will sail to the devastated shores of the continents with clothing, tents and food, which will help a little to alleviate the suffering of those who escaped the slaughter.
Significant changes in the planet's surface, destruction caused by human blindness, will change the whole world ... new unknown rivers will flow on some continents. The world will be different. "

Robert Wolf - Ghost

Predictions of the American Indian Robert Wolf - the Ghost: “At the beginning of the 21st century, the world will face catastrophic changes. Darkness and gloom will descend on the Pacific coast of the United States at the beginning of the new millennium, for several months it will be as dark as it is only on long polar nights. This will happen because dozens of volcanoes will erupt almost simultaneously, ash and smoke will cover the entire western part of America for a long time. And volcanic eruptions at the bottom The Pacific will cause a sharp rise in coastal waters up to almost a hundred meters. The earth will plunge into chaos, and it will happen very soon. "
“There will be three warnings in the beginning. If humanity does not change its mind and does not learn to live and think in harmony with nature, then most of it will die either in fire or in water. "

John Running

The prediction of the shaman of the Apache tribe John Running: “Before the End of the World there will be a powerful earthquake, as a result of which hundreds of thousands of people will die. Then the war will begin, and the Moon will turn red and disappear from the firmament. A prophet will come and preach a new teaching. For some he will become the Messiah, while others will call him the Antichrist. "
“A comet will hit the ground in the North Atlantic,” predicts John Running. Unprecedented hurricanes will begin, and giant waves will hit all coastal areas, resulting in the death of 2.3 million people. The planet will leave its orbit and plunge into the ice. All living things will perish. "

Phylicia Sistiaga

Appearance of the Virgin Mary Filicia Sistiaga (Umbe, Bilbao, Spain, 1941): “Lack of faith on Earth will lead people to disaster. Heaven's last miraculous warning for the conversion of sinners. Wars and natural disasters are approaching, when many of them will die. “Part of Spain will be flooded by the sea. Two popes of Rome will disappear without a trace at the end of time. " Before the punishment comes, a warning will be given - the sky will be illuminated by a large cross, when it approaches, it will show a strong white light, that even the Sun will become dim within four hours, and many will die only from its seal (maybe this prophecy says on the appearance of a rapidly rotating star and the effect of its gamma and X-rays on humans).
“My children, a great lack of faith will entail great and endless suffering on Earth. They will start from Thursday to Friday. Over the course of 30 years, starting from ... century, a fog will appear in which you will not see each other. There will be no Light. The darkness will continue until He forgives. The righteous and worthy will not suffer. My children, you must ask God for forgiveness. This is a warning of punishment. Until then, in the remaining time, two popes will be replaced ”(23.5.1971).
“… In Spain there will be many disasters and diseases. Many will die much earlier than punishment. I will give you a warning - the sky will be illuminated with a cross, which will emit a strong white light, which will not allow you to see even the Sun. It will last for four hours, then a hot wind whips across the country with a whip. Many of you will die. Those who believe in God do not suffer ”(22.6.1971).

Hieromonk Arseny

Romanian forecaster, 72-year-old hieromonk Arseny, prophesied "the end of the modern world order", which will happen as a result of a devastating earthquake, "when the South Pole will connect with the North, and fire chaos will fall on the Earth." After “three days and three nights of terrible calamities, only people who are pure before God will be saved,” says Arseny. The hieromonk received this warning from the Apocalypse on Mount Athos, where he made a pilgrimage. The news was sent down to him by the Holy Spirit during prayer at the Vatopedi monastery and was accompanied by a vision of the coming catastrophe in natural detail, right up to the overthrow of holy icons into the sea and people engulfed in flames.

Amparo Cuevas

The apparition of the Virgin Mary to 55-year-old Spanish woman Amparo Cuevas (1980). The Virgin said: “Soon there will be a great punishment for humanity, which no one has yet seen.
The Pope will be tortured and the Church will collapse. St. Peter and St. Paul will intervene to elect a new pope. God the Father will send two terrible punishments. One of them: revolutions, drought, hunger, disease. God will allow Satan to sow discord among rulers, in society, and in the family. Another punishment will come from the sky, a devastating earthquake in various countries and the onset of absolute darkness for 3 days. Nothing will be seen on these days, when the air is harmful and only blessed candles are lit. You must stay at home, pray and ask for God's mercy.
The punishment will begin when the star converges with the Earth and large clouds fall that will burn the earth. You will hear the deafening noise of an organ and many houses will fly through the air. During 3 days of darkness, the Lord will send a team of angels. All enemies of Him and the Church are dead, all sinful people will perish, except for those who turn to last minutes... The punishment will destroy two-thirds of humanity, and the earth will be like a desert.
A punishment warning will appear in the sky for everyone to see. The star, the earth is burning, most likely, the world will burn on fire in 20 minutes. Many will die of grief, but those who are with God and the Virgin will be delighted. After the warning and before the punishment, there will be a miracle. "
Virgo told Amparo: “Humanity refuses to listen to our messages and warnings that appear in many places. He does not believe in them that the world is given a prophecy about a catastrophe, people have closed their ears ... "

Maria Patricia Talbot

Appearance of Our Lady from August 28, 1988 to 1990, 16-year-old Patricia Talbot (Cuenca, Ecuador): “On March 17, 1989, the Mother of God said:“ The times of sorrow have begun. Sorrow for your faith, but trouble will come after the beginning of the days of darkness. The darkness of faith, but true darkness will come after ... "
1989, May 18 - The Mother announced: “When there are three days of darkness, you must not leave your homes for you to pray constantly, because at that time there will be no false prophets trying to deceive you. You will recognize them because they have the number of the beast on their right hand. "
On May 19, Heavenly Mother said: “This time is at hand. Until the days of these events, there will be signs in heaven and in the Sun ... Then the Kingdom of God and its justice will come. Earthquakes, hurricanes will begin, a rain of fire will fall from the sky. All this will be from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In those days, people will be destroyed by their nuclear facilities, which you created for your own destruction. You don't know, they feel pain, they warn of natural disasters that are man-made. You are one step away ... "

Anger

Anger from Brazil, a vision of fire from the sky. The warning of the Mother of God was received on August 16, 2009: “Dear children, pray long before the cross appears in the sky - for the transformation of people. Seek protection in the Eucharist, because this is the only way you can observe the miracles of the Lord. Don't let the devil steal your world.
You are the seed of the Lord and He will follow and serve. I am your sad Mother. I mean, you will suffer even more. You are moving into a future of great trials.
Humanity will be purified in suffering. The day is coming when people will ask for help and want to die. Rapid and destructive fire will reach the Earth. It will come from afar and people cannot escape this destructive action.
I am what you need. The continents will cease to exist, and the land will not be the same. Everything will be different. What you see today will no longer exist. After all this, God will create a new earth for His elect. Forward with courage.
This message has come to you today in the name of the Holy Trinity. Thank you for allowing Me to meet you here one more time. I bless you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Rest assured: amen. "

Pawnee prediction

There is a legend about future cataclysms among the Pawnee Indians: “Old people told us ... that when the Moon turns red, people will know that the world is coming to an end ... will disappear and go away, the whole earth and people will be seized by the South Star (displacement of the axis of the Earth). The old people also knew that as the world drew to a close, there would be many omens. There will be signs among the stars. Meteorites will fly across the sky. The moon will immediately change its light. The sun will also appear in different lighting ... The signal for the destruction of everything will be given by the North Star, and the South Star will execute this command ... When the time of the end of the world comes, the stars will fall to the earth again. "

Chapter 2. PREDICTIONS OF THE APOCALYPSE

Examine yourself carefully ... until the fiery wrath of the Lord came on you, until the day of the Lord's wrath came for you.

Bible. Zephaniah 2.1-3.

Since time immemorial, humanity has been worried about its own fate and the future of its home planet. The Earth kept many secrets and mysteries. Some of them have not yet been disclosed. People tried to understand the secrets of the universe, as well as to determine their place in the world around them. Therefore, it is not surprising that they sought to answer many questions related to the origin of our planet and the emergence of life on it.

If people somehow could explain the present, creating various myths that explain the essence and reasons of many things, then the distant past, and even more so the future, has always remained a mystery. Naturally, ignorance became the cause of not at all baseless worries and fears. It is no coincidence that at all times numerous prophets and clairvoyants appeared who tried to look into the past and predict what still awaits in the future not only individual people, but also earthly civilization as a whole. And, I must say, history has shown that some, especially gifted, succeeded in this. Everyone knows that prophecies are found in the Christian Scriptures, in one of the most ancient books, the Bible. In particular, she predicts the inevitable onset of the Apocalypse, that is, the end of the world. Many famous prophets also testify to this, including the famous Nostradamus.

So, let's try to open the veil of this great mystery that interests every person and, first of all, turn to biblical predictions.

"Revelation of John the Divine" and other prophecies

St. John the Theologian in his "Revelation" mentioned the day when all people, both living and dead, were resurrected from the graves ( rice. 23), will stand before the judgment of God.

It is believed that the "Revelation of John the Theologian" was written in AD 68-69. NS. Researchers do not exclude the fact that approximately in the mid-90s A.D. NS. it was edited by scribes. This happened after the defeat of the first Jewish uprising against the Romans. The date indicated practically coincides with the reference to Irenaeus, which Eusebius of Caesarea (between 260 and 265-338 or 339) cites in his "Ecclesiastical History", Roman ecclesiastical writer, bishop of Caesarea (Palestine). The prophetic "Revelation of John the Evangelist" is a truly grandiose picture of the coming Apocalypse, which completes New Testament.

John the Theologian informed the first Christians, who were subjected to terrible persecution by the Roman authorities, the great and comforting message: “Blessed is he who reads and listens to the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it; for the time is at hand. "

Rice. 23. Michelangelo. Raising the dead from the graves.

Vatican

It is necessary to hold out a little longer, not to abandon the faith of Christ, and soon the suffering will end, and all who have resisted will be richly rewarded. In a number of visions, John saw what was soon destined to happen: he learned about the impending end of the world and the terrible events associated with it.

Struck by such an unusual phenomenon, John fell at the feet of the Son of Man, who greeted him with the following words: “Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last and the living; and was dead; and behold, I live forever and ever, amen; and I have the keys of hell and death. So, write down what you saw, and what is, and what will happen after this. " John the Evangelist fulfilled the command of Christ and later wrote down everything that happened that day in his "Revelation".

Around the throne of God, from which "came lightning, and thunder, and voices," there were twenty-four more thrones. On them sat twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. In front of the throne were seven lamps of fire, personifying the "spirits of God."

There were also four animals "full of eyes in front and behind", the first of which resembled a lion, the second a calf, the third a man, and the fourth an eagle. Each of them "had six wings around, and inside

they are full of eyes; and they know no rest day or night, crying out: holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, is and is to come. " While the animals sang glory and honor to the One who sits on the throne, the elders fell prostrate before him and laid crowns at his feet.

In his right hand God held a book sealed with seven seals. Angel ( rice. 24) proclaimed in a loud voice: is there someone who is worthy to open the book, having removed the seals from it? But there was no one, neither on earth, nor in heaven, nor underground.

Then one of the elders, sitting at the throne of God, arose and informed John the Theologian that now "the lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered and can open this book and remove its seven seals."

At the same moment, John saw the Lamb "as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent to the whole earth." In the image of the Lamb, of course, Jesus Christ himself appears ( rice. 25), considered by Christians to be a descendant of King David. The horn of the ancient Jews was a symbol of power.

Following them, this song was repeated by a huge multitude of elders, animals and angels, who surrounded the throne from all sides. “And their number was so many thousands and thousands of thousands,” says Revelation. The end of the world was approaching.

Rice. 25. Cavallini. Jesus Christ.

Fragment of the Last Judgment fresco of the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome

Rice. 24. Angel

Jesus Christ in turn removes the seals from the book, as a result of which four horsemen, sitting on four different-colored horses, descend to the ground. They are heralds of the end of the world and those great calamities that will precede it.

Here the Lamb opened the first seal, and one of the four animals proclaimed: "Come and see." John the Theologian saw a white horse ( rice. 26). On it sat “a rider with a bow, and a crown was given to him; and he came out victorious, and to conquer. "

Christ removed the second seal, and the second animal said in a thunderous voice: "Come and see." Then a second horse appeared, a red one. The rider sitting on it was ordered to “take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another; and a great sword was given to him. "

After the Lamb opened the third seal, John heard the voice of the third animal: "Come and see." At that moment, a black horse came down from heaven, and a rider was sitting on it, "having a measure in his hand."

It should be noted that the same horses of four colors and riders riding on them are mentioned in the book of the prophet Zechariah, and there they symbolize the four spirits of heaven, "who stand before the Lord of all the earth."

The subsequent events are stunning pictures that make a pretty strong impression.

Rice. 26. White horse and victorious rider

If we turn to the real history of those distant times, we can draw some analogies with the events of the last years of the reign of Nero, when there were endless, bloody wars, and the imperial throne was shaken by the uprisings of a number of Roman governors who wanted to take the place of Nero, as well as uprisings in Judea and Gaul. ... In addition, famine often raged in Rome during those years. In 65 A.D. NS. A new terrible misfortune befell the Mediterranean - a plague that claimed thousands of lives. Around the same time, devastating earthquakes occurred in Italy, Greece, Asia Minor and the entire eastern Mediterranean coast. So the rider on the pale horse reaped a rich harvest of human lives.

The first Christians during these years experienced especially terrible persecutions. Everyone who sacredly followed the faith of Christ faced inevitable death after painful torture. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the "Revelation" says that when Christ removed the fifth seal, the souls of "those killed for the word of God" appeared under the altar. They prayed to God to take revenge on those living on earth for their suffering. The Vladyka calmed them down, gave them white robes and said that the Last Judgment would soon take place and many righteous people would join their ranks.

Then John the Evangelist tells that he saw four angels standing at the four ends of the earth, who held the four winds so that they would not blow "neither on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree." But from the side of the rising sun, another angel moved towards them, having the "seal of the living God." And he commanded those four destroying angels who were ordered to “harm the earth and the sea”: do no harm until the seals were placed on the foreheads of God's servants, that is, those who, in spite of everything, remained faithful to the true Christian faith. There were one hundred and forty-four thousand of them. They all gathered around the throne of God, dressed in white garments. Henceforth, they were to serve God in His temple and received deliverance from suffering, for "the Lamb in the midst of the throne will feed them and lead them to living springs of waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

And now the most terrible moment has come. When Christ removed the last, seventh seal, complete silence reigned in heaven. John the Theologian saw how seven angels with trumpets came forward - the rulers of God's judgment - and an angel with a golden censer in his hands, which he filled with fire from the altar and "threw it to the ground." “Voices and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake” occurred on earth from this. Seven angels prepared to blow their trumpets, announcing that the "day of the Lord" had come.

After the first angel "sounded", "hail and fire mixed with blood" fell on the earth. As a result, a third of the trees and all the green grass were destroyed.

After the sign given by the second angel, a huge mountain, resembling a ball of fire, plunged into the sea, which killed a third of the living creatures that lived in it, and drowned a third of the ships sailing on the sea. The third part of the sea water turned into blood.

The sound of the fourth angel's trumpet caused the defeat of the third part of the Sun, Moon and stars, as a result of which the third part of the day became night.

After that, John the Theologian saw an angel flying in the middle of the sky, which in a loud voice proclaimed: "Woe, woe, woe to those who live on earth from the rest of the trumpet voices of the three angels who will trumpet."

The terrible locusts, reminiscent of earthly scorpions, were supposed to attack not earthly vegetation, but people whom God did not mark with his seal, that is, the sinners remaining on the earth ( rice. 27). But not to kill them, but to torment them for five months, and this torment will be like "torment from a scorpion when it bites a man." In this regard, in the "Revelation of John the Theologian" sounds a terrible phrase: "In those days people will seek death, but will not find it; they will wish to die, but death will flee from them. "

The trumpet of the sixth angel announced the eerie pictures of the invasion of a huge cavalry army, two darkness in number, that comes from the Euphrates River. It was intended by God for the destruction of a third part of people, who were destined to perish "from fire, smoke and brimstone" that came out of the mouths of horses with lion heads. Their tails, like snakes, had heads and also brought harm to people.

The army killed a third of the people, but the survivors did not repent of their sins, and another punishment awaited them.

Rice. 27. Michelangelo. Sinners.

Fragment of the Last Judgment fresco. The Sistine Chapel.

Vatican

John saw a gigantic angel “coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; over his head was a rainbow, and his face was like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire. " He stood with one foot on the ground and with the other on the sea and held an open book in his hands. In a voice that sounded like seven thunders, he told John about the secrets of the future. The prophet was about to write down what was said, but he heard the voice of God, which rang out from heaven, which forbade him to do it. The angel, standing on the sea and on the earth, raised his hand to heaven and announced that when the seventh angel sounded the trumpet, then “there will be no more time” and “the mystery of God will be accomplished,” known to the ancient prophets. After this, a voice from heaven ordered John to take the book from the hands of the angel and eat it, because he had to "prophesy again about nations and tribes."

And finally the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices sounded in the sky: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ, and will reign for ever and ever." At this time, the twenty-four elders, who were seated on thrones around the throne of God, bowed before Him and proclaimed: “... Your anger has come and the time has come to judge the dead and give retribution to Your servants, prophets, and saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth. " And the third woe came: “The temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and earthquakes, and a great hail. "

Thus, John the Theologian conveyed a comforting message to the believers: the day of judgment is already near, we must wait a little longer and endure. In the end, those who suffered for their faith will be rewarded for their righteous torments, and they will find peace and happiness, and their executioners will inevitably overtake severe punishment. However, John in his "Revelation" does not stop there and continues to describe his visions.

He tells of a miraculous sign that appeared in heaven - “a woman clothed with the sun; under her feet is the moon and on her head is a crown of twelve stars. " The wife gave birth to "a male baby, who is to shepherd all nations with a rod of iron." While everyone was honoring the baby, the wife fled into the wilderness, where she was ordered by God to spend one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

Then in heaven there was a battle between the Archangel Michael and his angels with “the great dragon, the ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, who deceived the entire universe” and his evil angels. Mikhail won this fight. There was no place for the dragon with the angels in heaven, and they were cast down to earth. It was at this moment that John heard a loud voice from heaven, which announced the overthrow of the devil and that salvation had come in heaven - the kingdom and authority of Christ.

The devil was defeated "by the blood of the Lamb," as well as by the steadfastness and faithfulness of Christians, those who "did not love their souls even unto death." Great sorrow descended on all those living on earth and at sea, since the devil who was cast down to earth became especially furious, because he knew that he had little time left.

The dragon failed to overtake his wife, so he decided to "enter into war with the others (that is, those who came) from her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

In the next chapter, John describes two unusual animals that appeared to him in the next vision. He stood on the sand of the sea and suddenly saw a monstrous beast with seven heads and ten horns emerge from the sea. On his horns were ten diadems, and "on his heads are blasphemous names." In appearance he was “like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his strength, and his throne, and great power. " One of the heads of the beast "seemed to be mortally wounded," but this wound was miraculously healed.

All living on earth worshiped the beast and the dragon, who gave him power, except those whose names were "written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" and who showed "the patience and faith of the saints." The beast declared war on the saints, and "it was given to him to wage war with the saints and defeat them." But his power was established for a short time - only for forty-two months.

In his next vision, John described another beast, the red dragon ( rice. 28): “And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like the Lamb and spoke like a dragon. " He forced people to worship the image of the first beast, and those who refused to do this were threatened death penalty... At the instigation of the dragon, all people should have put "the mark of the name of the beast on right hand or on the forehead. " In the same chapter, words are heard that have become a mystery for many generations and subsequently received a rather contradictory interpretation: “Here is wisdom. He who has intelligence, count the number of the beast, for it is a human number; the number is six hundred and sixty-six. "

Here it is necessary to make a digression. The meaning of all these terrible visions and global cataclysms was quite accessible to the first readers of "Revelation". However, to people living at the beginning of the third millennium, John's allegorical stories are unlikely to be understood. They will rather perceive them as a myth or a fairy tale, so we will dwell on the explanation of some concepts.

Rice. 28. Two-horned dragon

The wife, crowned with twelve stars, represents the people of Israel. The dragon with seven heads and ten horns is a symbol of the Roman Empire, red is the purple of the imperial robes, seven horned dragon heads - seven emperors who ruled in Rome before they saw the light of the "Revelation of John the Theologian": this is Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho. The ten dragon horns, in all likelihood, symbolize the ten governors of the Roman provinces. The "male child" is none other than Jesus Christ, who is destined to "shepherd all nations with a rod of iron." God took Him to heaven under His protection, so the dragon did not manage to destroy "like the Son of Man."

John the Evangelist presents Rome in the form of Satan, the devil. He is powerful, but he will not be able to slander God so much, giving him "blasphemy" that "those who bear witness to Christ" would turn away from him and betray their faith. John is confident that they will surely triumph over the devil because of their righteousness and perseverance, because they are ready to die for their beliefs. This is probably not just a hint of the brutal persecution suffered by the early Christians in the Roman Empire. These lines also contain a formidable warning to Rome. The author, as it were, predicts the complete destruction that threatens the Eternal City in the near future.

The mystery of the number "six hundred and sixty six" is also explained quite simply. Many ancient peoples, including the Jews, denoted numbers using various letters of the alphabet.

The miraculously healed dragon's head is a direct indication of the fate of the emperor Nero. This is evidenced by the real historical fact... In 68 A.D. NS. the governors of the provinces raised an uprising, the purpose of which was to overthrow Nero. As a result, the emperor committed suicide, and soon rumors appeared that Nero had survived.

So, those who kept the commandments of God won the victory over the dragon. Let's return now to the "Revelation of John the Theologian". What else did the prophet see on that great day of God's wrath? On Mount Zion stood the Lamb with all the redeemed "of men, as the firstborn to God and the Lamb."

In the middle of heaven, one after another, three angels appeared - heralds of the beginning of the judgment of God. The first angel, with the eternal gospel in his hands, spoke with a loud voice to the people who remained on earth: "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come." Another angel, who followed the first, announced the fall of the great city of Babylon, which "made all nations drink with the wine of the wrath of her fornication." The third angel proclaimed: “He who worships the beast and his image and takes the mark on his forehead or on his hand will drink the wine of God's wrath, whole wine prepared in the cup of His anger, and will be tormented in fire and brimstone before the holy angels and the Lamb. ; and the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever, and will have no rest day or night. "

And John heard a voice from heaven, which told him to write down the following words: "From now on blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." Soon the prophet saw a bright cloud that appeared in the sky. On it sat "like the Son of Man" with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hands. Another angel appealed to Jesus with a call to lower the sickle to the ground and reap the harvest, "for the harvest on the earth is already ripe." The Son of Man lowered the sickle to the earth and performed his judgment, like the harvest and cutting of grapes.

In the next sign, "great and wonderful," seven angels appeared to John with seven final plagues, "with which the wrath of God ended." The prophet heard the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb, which were sung by “those who defeated the beast and his image,” glorifying the might of the Lord. After the voices had ceased, the gates of the heavenly temple were opened and seven angels came out, dressed in clean and light linen clothes. One of the four animals gave them seven golden bowls of God's wrath. The temple was filled with smoke, and no one could enter there until "the seven plagues of the seven angels ended."

The second angel poured the bowl into the sea, and all life in it perished. The third angel poured the bowl into the rivers and springs, and the water in them turned to blood, for those who "shed the blood of the saints and prophets" were worthy of it.

“And there were lightnings, thunders and voices, and there was a great earthquake, which has not happened since people on earth ... And hail, the size of talent, fell from heaven on people; and the people blasphemed God for the plagues from the hail, because the plague from it was very grievous. "

In the following chapters, John predicts the fall of the ancient city of Babylon, which in the text of "Revelation" is presented in the form of an allegory - a harlot sitting "on a scarlet beast filled with blasphemous names, with seven heads and ten horns." Babylon fell because “it became a dwelling place for demons and a refuge for every unclean spirit, a refuge for every unclean and disgusting bird; for she (the harlot) made all the nations drink with the wine of the wrath of her fornication. " The great city was burned to the ground and devastated. This is how God's judgment on Babylon was accomplished. What caused the wrath of God?

Then a mess and confusion began. The tower remained unfinished, and people scattered across the land in all directions. From them came different peoples, each of which speaks its own language.

After the judgment on the people was carried out and God took revenge on the great city, John had another wonderful vision: the heavens opened up, and a white horse appeared with a rider sitting on it, who was dressed in clothes stained with blood. His name was the Word of God.

Then an angel came down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a large chain. He cast the devil in the form of a dragon into the abyss and "put a seal over him, so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were over." During this time, faithful followers of Christ are destined to reign and be priests of God and Jesus.

Those who backslid and bowed to the image of the beast will not come to life from the dead until the millennium is over. They, unlike the righteous, are not worthy of the first resurrection.

After the reprisal against Satan, all the dead, small and great, will appear before the One who sits on the great white throne. And the sea, and death, and hell will give up the dead, who will be judged by God "according to their works." Those who sacredly followed the faith of Christ will be recorded in the book of life. This will be the second resurrection. The righteous will come down to earth with God. “And He will dwell with them; they will be his people, and God himself will be with them their God; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more; there will be no more crying, no outcry, no sickness; for the former things have passed away. "

And John saw a new heaven, a new earth, and a new holy city, Jerusalem, which would come down from God, out of heaven, and would need “neither the sun nor the moon for its illumination; for the glory of God is

and the Lamb bore him down, and his lamp was. The saved nations will walk in his light, and the kings of the earth will bring glory and honor into him. Its gates will not be locked during the day, and there will be no night ... And nothing unclean will enter it, and no one who is betrayed by abomination and lies, but only those that are written by the Lamb in the book of life. "

The last chapter of "The Revelation of John the Divine" tells about the instructions that Christ gives him, and about John's blessing for prophecy. The fortuneteller had to instruct people on the righteous path, that is, on the path of serving the faith of Christ. According to "Revelation", this is the only way to avoid the harsh punishment of the Lord, which will befall the unbelievers during the Last Judgment.

In conclusion of the conversation about the biblical Apocalypse, it should be mentioned that the question of the authorship of the "Revelation" is still open, and the answers to it are rather contradictory. Although most scholars dealing with this problem unanimously attribute the authorship to John the Evangelist, many priests dispute not only this statement, but also the authenticity of the text of Revelation itself. They suggest that this prophecy was not written and incorporated into the Bible in the 1st century CE. e., and much later, therefore, has no connection with John the Theologian. Thus, K. Jerusalem, I. Zlatoust, F. Karsky, G. Theologian do not even name "Revelation" among the canonical books.

Dionysius of Alexandria (III century), Eugene of Caesarea (IV century) and other well-known scientists-theologians, both ancient and modern, also expressed doubts about the authenticity of the text telling about the end of the world. And their suspicions can be considered quite reasonable. Having carefully studied the "Holy Gospel of the Life of Jesus Christ" written by John the Theologian in 95 AD. e., scientists have expressed doubt that he was in 6 8-6 9 years. NS. dace tweet spruce no nap i-sal prophecy about the awaiting people of the Apocalypse. Indeed, in the "Holy Gospel" he did not say a word about his "Revelation" and did not cite a single quotation from it.

In addition, there are other reasons for seeing the Apostle John in the author of Revelations. Many early Christian theologians mention in their writings that he was stronger than all the apostles associated with the old faith, Judaism. In contrast to Paul, the “apostle of the Gentiles,” who considered it possible, for example, non-observance of the Sabbath and circumcision rituals and argued that for God, Jews, Scythians and Hellenes are equally equal. John considered himself more of a Jew than a Christian.

In his "Revelation" John the Theologian not only tells about the details of the end of the world, revealed to him from above, he even indicates the date of the onset of the Apocalypse: in 1260 days, that is, 42 months.

“The Revelation of John the Evangelist” was only the first sign. Soon, works by other authors on this topic appeared: Peter's Apocalypse, which describes visions of heaven and hell, and Herma's Shepherd, which provides parables and instructions of an ethical nature. The second work got its name from the visions about which it tells. The main character here is a man dressed as a shepherd.

There is also a passage in the Gospel of Mark that tells about the Last Judgment, which is supposed to end the "age of Satan." The prophet foretells terrible events that will take place before the second coming. It is these cataclysms that will be a test for humanity, for the sake of which the Son of Man was martyred.

In the non-canonical description of the end of the world by the Apostle Paul, Jesus Christ utters the following words: “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who live, remaining before the coming of the Lord, will not warn the dead; Because the Lord Himself, with the announcement, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first; Then we who survived will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. "

global flood

The Bible contains a prophecy warning Noah of the coming flood. Having received this news, Noah began to make the ark, following the instructions from above. God commanded Noah to use only cypress wood as material for the construction of the ark. The length of the finished vessel was to be 300, width - 50, and height - 30 cubits.

It took Noah over 120 years to build the ark. In the finished ship, he had to put those living creatures that God would show him. Of particular interest is the fact that God chose not only clean creatures for salvation, but also unclean ones. Apparently, the Creator believed that a reasonable ratio of good and evil should be preserved in the renewed world.

For all the creatures in the ark, separate compartments and rooms were provided, which were enough for all the animals chosen by God. Having received the revelation, Noah conscientiously fulfilled all the instructions from above, thanks to which he was able to save himself, and his family, and a couple of representatives of living creatures who surrounded man at that time.

Meanwhile, modern scientists have suggested that the legend of the Flood was created 7,500 years ago, when there was a sudden rise in the level of the Black Sea by several hundred meters. After conducting a series of studies and analysis of the radioactivity of sedimentary rocks of the seabed, they came to the conclusion that about 7500 years ago, a gigantic catastrophe occurred on Earth: a narrow strait (now called the Bosphorus) broke through and water from the Aegean gushed into the Black Sea, which was previously freshwater. ...

Scientists associate the breakthrough of the strait with the widespread warming that began in that era. At the same time, there was a massive melting of glaciers, thanks to which the World Ocean was constantly replenished with water. At one "fine" moment, its level rose to a certain level, after which the water rushed into the almost closed Black Sea region.

A stormy salty stream fell from the Aegean into the Black Sea with the force of four Niagars. The bottom of the Bosphorus is still riddled with furrows, which were left by huge masses of water falling down at great speed. The incoming water flooded the coastal land, as a result of which the area of the Black Sea increased by more than 150 thousand square kilometers.

Scientists hypothesized that the people who inhabited the coastal part of the Black Sea at that time were excellent farmers. Displaced by the catastrophe from their native places, they settled in other areas, where they brought the experience accumulated over the centuries.

Archaeological excavations have shown that about 7,500 years ago, irrigation systems were erected on the territory of modern Turkey, as well as along the banks of the Nile and Euphrates rivers, and people began to use quite advanced methods of tillage.

Sumerian-Babylonian legend about fairytale hero Gilgamesh tells, in particular, how the king of the state of Erech undertook a journey full of dangers to the end of the world only to personally look at the only person who managed to survive after the Flood - the sage Utnapishtim.

The sage told the king about how he had managed to save "every creature in pairs" on the ship he had built. This plot is very similar to the Old Testament story of Noah and his ark.

It is no secret to anyone that many of the stories of the Old Testament are borrowed from the myths and beliefs of the peoples of the Middle East.

Many scholars believe that Gilgamesh was a real historical figure and it was he who ruled the city of Uruk around 2600 BC. NS. The legend about him became known to contemporaries thanks to the discovery of the library of the ancient king of Assyria - Ashurbanipal, who ruled in the 7th century BC. NS.

Scientifically proven is the fact of the onset of the arid climate after the ice age, which began 12 thousand years ago and lasted about 1000 years. As a result of the massive drying up of rivers, people could not fully engage in agriculture anywhere except in large freshwater reservoirs.

As already mentioned, before the flood, the Black Sea was freshwater, so people, having settled in the coastal strip, managed to create an irrigation system. They also used the waters of the Nile, Euphrates and a number of other rivers to irrigate fields.

It remains to be seen whether the inhabitants of the Black Sea region really knew about the upcoming catastrophe or were forced to go further and further into the interior of the continent, fleeing the gradually advancing sea.

Archaeologists have found cave drawings, created, most likely, about 8-10 thousand years ago, which preserved a fairly clear image of the ship with living creatures sitting in it. The quality of the image made it possible to conclude that, most likely, their authors are representatives of alien civilizations. And the question of whether they warned about the impending catastrophe or provoked it themselves remains open to this day.

The humane religion of Emmanuel Swedenborg

The famous scientist-encyclopedist and theosophist E. Swedenborg was an extremely educated person. He not only knew perfectly Greek, Latin and several European languages, but also professionally studied anatomy, physiology, cosmology, economics and a number of other sciences.

Swedenborg left behind a colossal scientific legacy, but not only it glorified the scientist, but also his amazing ability to predict the future.

This talent came to the scientist unexpectedly when he was 56 years old. In April 1744, an insight descended on him, as a result of which he received the opportunity for spiritual insight and communication with spirits and angels. Thus, the reincarnation of a natural scientist and the birth of one of the most famous visionaries in Europe took place.

Swedenborg claimed that Jesus Christ appeared to him and announced his election as a conductor of God's word to people. His calling was to explain to mere mortals the true meaning of the Holy Scriptures.

This incident prompted Swedenborg to abandon all secular affairs and immerse himself in philosophical research and reflection. During the rest of his life, the scientist published many books devoted to the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures and reflections on theological topics.

The fact is that the text of the Bible was written in distant antiquity, there are many allegories and allegories in it, therefore even the most educated person was not always able to understand what he read. What can we say about the common people, the majority of whose representatives in the distant 18th century were either semi-literate or did not know how to read at all?

Here is one example of Swedenborg's interpretation of the Scriptures of Matthew XXIV.29.30.31. The above passage tells about the Lord's conversation with the disciples about the end of the world, during which Jesus Christ uttered the following words: “And suddenly, after the tribulation of those days, the sun will darken, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken ; Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven; and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of heaven to the end of them. "

After reading these words, a person with little knowledge of theology can draw the following conclusion: after all the cataclysms that shook the Earth, the sun and moon will darken, an image of God will appear in the sky, which will make all people feel very bad. The Lord will take only the elect to himself, the rest will disappear from the face of the Earth along with the Earth itself, as already predicted by other prophets.

However, Swedenborg brings to us the true meaning of the words of Jesus Christ. He explains that the sun, which is darkened, signifies the Lord in relation to love. The moon means the Lord in relation to faith. The stars are the knowledge of good and truth or love and faith. The Sign of the Son of Man in heaven symbolizes the appearance of Divine truth. The coming of the Lord in the clouds with power and glory marks His very presence in the Word, or revelation. The clouds literally mean the meaning of the Word, and glory is the inner meaning of it. Angels with trumpets and trumpets are the heavens from which divine truth emanates. In short, the above quote means that at the end of the church, when there is no more love, and then faith, the Lord will open the Word in his internal sense and will announce the secrets of heaven.

In conclusion, the scientist says: "Thus, first of all, you need to know who the God of heaven is, because everything else depends on that, in all heavens they do not recognize another God, except for one Lord and one of his teachings."

Swedenborg opposes the definition of God as a being who punishes us for unkind actions. After many revelations that were revealed to him, and visions concerning the essence of hell and heaven, the seer says that there is no end of the world and cannot be because the Lord is infinitely good and will never do or wish anyone evil.

He also rejected the traditional notions of hell and heaven, completely debunking the attempts of some theologians to intimidate people with the horrors of the underworld. Swedenborg says that the road to heaven and hell is not forbidden to anyone, that after death everyone chooses his place of stay depending on his inclinations: an evil person is dearer than a devil, a good person is angels.

Based on his reasoning, the conclusion suggests itself that the end of the world for each person comes at the moment of his death, and all other talk about the Apocalypse is caused by the desire of spiritual persons to turn people away from evil deeds. moral principles, but only one fear of hell, devils with their hot pans and iron tongs.

Without a doubt, Swedenborg's religion is much more humane and more perfect than the Christian religion in its traditional sense.

Apocalypses of Nostradamus and other famous predictors

Let us first of all turn to the prophecies of the great Nostradamus, who can rightfully be called the most famous and mysterious predictor of all times and peoples. With his life, which he devoted to an active sacrificial service to people, he won not only respect for himself as a doctor, but also trust as a brilliant predictor.

Nostradamus did not set himself a specific goal to predict the Apocalypse, although in two of his works, "Epistle to Henry II" and "Epistle to his son Caesar, with a wish for happiness and prosperity," he mentioned the Last Judgment, which, according to his prediction, should take place in 3242 year.

When getting acquainted with the message, the son becomes clear that it is intended not so much for him as for all the people who will read it. Nostradamus writes about the end of the world, the beginning of which will mark the era of "floods and a new great flood", which will lead to the fact that almost all of the earth will be flooded with water. Then the rains will stop abruptly and a severe drought will set in, so that “there will be a darkness of dry material that will become the prey of fire. Burning stones will fall from the sky, and there will be nothing left that is not burned out, that can survive and resist. " The great fire that engulfed the earth will not leave anything alive on it - not a person, not a plant, not an animal.

However, as the astrologer notes, some people will still be able to survive and live for some time - until they die of hunger.

The fact is that the earth after the flood and fire will be the same as it was before the creation of the world, that is, lifeless and barren.

Then Michelle Nostradamus tells his son that the swords of God's wrath have already been raised over humanity. He points to the fact that in the near future people will be destined to witness events that herald the coming of the end of the world: “... We are attacked by an attack of epidemics and wars, much more terrible than those that were endured by three generations who lived before us. A famine is approaching us, which will repeat itself with the same sequence as the movements of the stars. "

The famous scientist predicts that before the day of the Last Judgment comes, humanity will feel the power of God's wrath for a long time. Fierce hurricanes and storms will begin to dominate the earth, floods and other natural disasters will constantly occur.

In the letter to Henry II, Nostradamus mentions that in the period preceding the Last Judgment, the part of humanity that lives righteously and honors God will suffer the most; it is they who will be severely persecuted by the rest of the people: “Human blood will flow onto crowded streets and temples in streams of pouring rain. The rivers closest to these places will be red with blood. "

Many scientists who lived several centuries ago noted the differences between the prophecies of John the Evangelist and the predictions of Michel Nostradamus. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that they appear only in some details, but on the whole we are talking about the same phenomena. Both talk about natural disasters and about the rivers of blood that will flow after they happen. And it doesn't matter at all that, according to the predictions of the biblical prophet, first there will be a burning rain, and only then there will be a flood, and the famous astrologer, on the contrary, - the main idea is clear.

However, the last era of the entire Christian world will come only when the third Antichrist becomes the prince of hell, who will unleash numerous wars on the earth, as a result of which "cities, towns, castles and other buildings will be burned, broken and destroyed."

The advent of the first two Antichrists (Napoleon and Hitler), which Nostradamus describes in his "Letter to King Henry", were marked by local wars and dictatorships in the history of mankind, so to speak, for example, about Stalin's or Hitler's dictatorship and World War II. But the arrival of the third and most hellish Antichrist, who will turn into a "prince of hell", will lead not to a world dictatorship, but to the last world war with unprecedented destruction and bloodshed.

“Then the hellish prince Antichrist himself will appear for the last time, and for 25 years all the kingdoms of Christians and even infidels will tremble with fear. Even more brutal wars and battles will begin ... So much evil will be committed by the forces of Satan that almost the whole world will become depopulated and desolate, ”says Nostradamus in his Letter to Henry.

In other words, the accession of the Antichrist, Nostradamus represented as the war itself with its malice and destruction, where people themselves will play the role of the forces of Satan.

In the Gospel of Luke ( rice. 29) Jesus Christ himself, after preaching in the temple in Jerusalem, told his disciples a short plot of the Apocalypse: “And they will fall from the edge of the sword, and will be taken captive to all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the days of the Gentiles are over. And there will be signs in the sun, and the moon, and the stars, but on the earth there will be despondency of peoples and bewilderment, and the sea will make noise and revolt; people will die of fear and expectation of calamities coming to the universe, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then you will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. "

What is the meaning of these lines? If the lawlessness committed by those in power is not stopped, they will ultimately lead to the beginning of the third and last world war. The war, in turn, will cause an imbalance in the natural balance, and then the changes on the earth will become irreversible.

However, the world instantly "will not die, but change." In heaven, "on a cloud", not on earth, the One who has been awaited for two thousand years will appear, and will gather the harvest in "his abode", and all the "heavenly army with him."

It should be noted that none of the sources say that Jesus will descend to earth. Christ awaits us in our own souls and in that fiery abode in which all those who perished for the truth are gathered. This is understandable: if He now descended to earth to "testify to the truth" and denounce the modern Pharisees-priests and rulers of nations, He would immediately be considered the Antichrist, and at least a bullet or a murderer's knife would have awaited the Son of Man. It is unlikely that people who were seized with cruelty and debauchery would have heard and correctly perceived his sermons.

Rice. 29. Nannidi Banco. Evangelist Luke

Among them would certainly be those who call themselves Christians. No wonder Nostradamus in one of the centuries says: "A false name taken by various leagues will not leave hope."

At the same time, the soothsayer Vanga asserts: “All the apostles do not sit still, they descended to Earth, for the time of the Holy Spirit has come. But the most important mission is entrusted to the Apostle Andrew. He paves the way for Christ as He commanded. " And again: “Christ in white robes will come to Earth again. The hour is near when the elect in their hearts will feel the return of Christ. " Edgar Cayce testifies to the same: “The time will come again when people in many places will see and guess about the presence of Divine forces in the material world. For as you have seen Him go away, so you will see Him return. "

IP Dynov told his disciples that Christ would descend to earth and that they should be ready to meet him: “Christ descends to the Earth every 2000 years to help her evolution”.

Among these conflicting judgments, one can see the only and enduring truth. Jesus Christ says that people will see the "Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" only after "the calamities that are coming to the universe" and "the powers of heaven are shaken."

Thus, even the Gospel instills in people the hope that the world will not sink into oblivion, will not perish, it will be reborn, but it will be completely different from what it is now. Both the Earth and the people themselves will become different after all this fiery cleansing.

An interesting fact is that, unlike many predictors, Wanga argued that the end of the world would never come.

She believed that the world really expects a lot of changes, that it will collapse, but after the destruction there will always be a renaissance: "We are not the first people on Earth, civilizations reached destructive discoveries and disappeared," said Wanga. At the same time, following many soothsayers, she argued that an era of cataclysms had begun on Earth, which would last until the world once again entered the phase of destruction.

This idea of Wanga is now confirmed by research carried out by astronomers and astrophysicists. Indeed, many discoveries were made by the ancient peoples that only modern scientists were able to do.

For example, the inhabitants of Chaldea knew the value of the radius of the globe - 6310.5 kilometers. Modern scientists call another figure - 6371.03 kilometers, but such a difference can be easily explained by the known tendency of the Earth to expand over time.

The inhabitants of Ancient India already 6 thousand years ago knew that the cause of many diseases are "myriads of tiny invisible creatures." However, modern scientists discovered this truth only after the microscope was invented. Around the same time, the ancient Egyptians already knew about the existence of the planet's magnetic poles.

The fact of the unusual rise of scientific thought in Ancient Greece, which began in the 1st millennium BC, is well known. NS. and lasted for several centuries. It was at this time that the foundations of all modern sciences were laid. Even modern ideas about the essence of matter are very close to the views set forth in the theory of the scientist Democritus, created by him in the 5th century BC. NS. Back in the 4th century BC. NS. Epicurus suggested that time and space are infinite and discrete. This list could be continued indefinitely, but back to Nostradamus.

The great soothsayer in his foresight reached the year 3797. “It is not given to me to see beyond 3797,” he writes modestly. Thanks to this prediction, we can say with confidence that the world will not die at the beginning of the III millennium, because beyond this border the scientist indicated a huge period of "inhabited" time.

So many of the prophecies of impending global catastrophes, and not only of Nostradamus, do not look so categorical. They can be considered as a warning to humanity, as a possible, but by no means obligatory development of events. Great soothsayers express the hope that people will come to their senses and be able to prevent the impending global cataclysms, or at least properly prepare for them. Time will tell whether humanity will heed their warnings.

Nuclear War or Eternal Peace?

It is quite clear that John the Evangelist, Michel Nostradamus and other prophets had in mind some natural disasters that would shake the Earth. However, the reasons that caused them, so far, can only be judged hypothetically. The end of the world can come, for example, as a result of a nuclear war. However, as already indicated above, humanity can well avoid this misfortune, and then eternal peace will come.

Nostradamus in one of the quatrains of the IX Century says:

On the one hand, the world is coming

On the other hand, there is war.

Has never been

Such a fierce pursuit

The groans of men and women will be heard.

The blood of the innocent will be spilled on the ground.

These lines clearly show the reality of the threat hanging over humanity. And if you take into account the events that take place in the world at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, for example, in the Balkans and the Middle East, you inevitably come to the conclusion that the modern world really hangs in the balance. The balance has become so precarious that the slightest push is enough to break it.

However, in the words of Nostradamus, there is still a grain of optimism. He argues that war is inevitable only if people do not accept the prophecies and begin to resolve conflicts without the use of force, that is, peacefully. The only possibility, thanks to which the establishment of eternal peace on earth will take place, is the neutralization of the pre-war situation, which began to take shape at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd millennia, and this requires a change in social consciousness on a universal human scale.

Almost the same, five centuries after Nostradamus, Wang said: “We must love each other and be kinder in order to be saved. If we ourselves do not understand this, the elusive cosmic laws will still force us to do this, but it will be too late, and we will have to pay a dear price ... "

That's how it works human consciousness that often people do not believe even the most obvious facts, and especially those that contradict the prevailing beliefs. As a result, belief in predictions is born only when the threatening warnings are already starting to come true, which deprives the prediction of real power.

Every year the events taking place in the world are becoming more and more dangerous. People will not believe the fulfillment of the first forecasts, more serious ones will come true. Once again, they will not believe - even more terrible ones will be fulfilled, and this will continue until the Third World War breaks out, and then it will be too late to believe or not. That is why predictors urge people to think in time about what they are doing in the present, so that they do not have to bitterly regret it in the future.

Let us now turn directly to the predictions of the Third World War, about the possible onset of which not only numerous soothsayers speak, but all the sacred texts testify. So, in the Bible, the Gospel, the Koran and "Agni Yoga" the same image of the Day of Judgment, the Day of the Lord, the Day of Fury and Retribution is taken to describe the war ... Here are some quotes.

The Bible says: “Come, peoples, listen and listen, peoples! May the earth hear and everything that fills it, the universe and everything that is born in it! For the wrath of the Lord is against all nations, and His wrath is against all their host. He gave them to the spell, gave them to the slaughter. And their slain will be scattered, and a stench will rise from their corpses, and the mountains will be soaked with their blood. "

And again: “For behold, the Lord comes in fire, and His chariots are like a whirlwind, to pour out His anger with fury and His rebuke with blazing fire. For the Lord with fire and his sword will execute judgment on all flesh, and many will be slain by the Lord. "

The militancy of the peoples will be destroyed by the militancy itself, and the warrior will suffer retribution for their insane wickedness. “For this the curse eats up the earth, and those who dwell on it are punished; for that the abodes of the earth were burnt, and few people remained. "

The Gospel contains the following words: “You will also hear about wars and rumors of wars. See, do not be dismayed; for all this has to be. But this is not the end: for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in places; all this is the beginning of disease. " Some suras of the Quran also contain indications of global wars.

“… And she does not save from the flame! After all, it throws sparks like locks, as if they were yellow camels. "

“Wait for the day when the sky is clearly smoke. He will cover people; this is a painful punishment! "

"We have fetters, and fire, and choking food on the day the earth trembles ..."

"Agni Yoga" is a book about a future peaceful, albeit very stressful working life, therefore, little space is given to the description of Armageddon, and as part of it, the world war. This is due to the fact that its compilers thought not only about ridding the world of wars, but also about its peaceful and just structure.

In Agni Yoga it is written: “Urusvati knows that there can be times worse than war. You know enough that We considered war to be a shame for humanity "..." Armageddon cannot be understood as only a physical war. Armageddon is full of innumerable dangers. Epidemics will be among the least disasters. The main detrimental effect will be in mental perversion. People will lose confidence, get used to being sophisticated in mutual betrayal, learn to hate everything outside their homes, fall into irresponsibility and mired in debauchery. "

As they say, no comment.

Nostradamus is undoubtedly the most significant prophet who not only described the pre-war actions, but, what is most important for us, determined the ways of changing the prophecies.

The great predictor so vividly presented the events of the Third World War, the "third stream of human blood", in his "Centuries" that it could well be limited to describing his prophecies in order to emphasize the threat hanging over the earth. In addition, most soothsayers predict similar events that

In addition to the hostilities themselves, Nostradamus predicted the emergence of some technical innovations that will be used by mankind during the war. In particular, the soothsayer assigns a significant role in the coming military confrontation to devices identified by modern researchers of his works as submarines. Their description is given in several quatrains:

In the year of Crustamin, in the Adriatic Sea

A terrible fish will appear

WITH human face and water,

Which is taken without a hook.

When from the fish to which there will be

Iron and letter are enclosed,

A man will come out who will then start a war,

His fleet will go far out to sea

And a Latin will appear near the earth.

The messenger was caught by an iron fish,

Capable of diving to Romanesque land.

War rules the lilac swell

And big ships lead to death.

Nostradamus managed to find very precise expressions to describe a device that travels under water and is controlled by a person. In addition, the soothsayer pointed out that this device is capable of carrying weapons, conducting reconnaissance and serving as a means of communication. When reading the following quatrains, it becomes clear that for Nostradamus, the participation of the submarine fleet in the Third World War is a fact quite obvious.

Saturn is closer to the west, the Sun is to the east, And the rocks are dark from bloody rains, The war near Orgon, Rome is punished by fate, The coast is not happy about the departure of ships.

It's hard for my contemporaries to believe

In the iron amphibians of the seas and lands,

But these monsters will come ashore

A steep wave boils in the distance.

Tyrrhenian Sea. Ocean under protection

Great Neptune and his warriors with tridents.

Some researchers argue that the trident is a direct reference to the American Trident submarines, which in translation means "tre-zu bets".

What will happen on land? Will military actions affect it? Nostradamus writes about this:

The eagle flies over the sunny city, the Oracle knew about the campaign for seven months. The wall in the east will fly up like a brick like a waterfall, For seven days the evil enemy has been standing at the gate.

Of course, Nostradamus could not call the future terrible weapons and shells by their proper names four centuries before their invention.

But for us, now living, having firsthand knowledge of the consequences of shelling the city with a powerful rocket launcher, it is easy to determine what kind of weapon the famous soothsayer has in mind. For more convincingness, we will give two more quatrains.

The fire turns ships into ruins, And the flame in the night argues with the light of day, Two fleets are guilty of military tricks, Victory is hidden in a thick fog.

A flying fire appears in the sky, And the hail besieged by it was terrified, Yes, the inhabitants took out a painful lot, After all, the mad damage was caused by a thunderstorm.

Here the sun will fall into flames of fires, Messages are hidden in a wax candle, Forests, cities are melting with heat, Hanging over the plain of coal fumes.

What can be meant by "flying fire"? These may well be ground-to-ground missiles.

In many quatrains, Nostradamus describes air battles in sufficient detail. For example:

Over the city there will be heavenly battles, And in the center the trees are plucked from the roots. In Venice, the king is waiting for prayer, Do you need gondolas for the kingdom of shadows?

The soothsayer talks about what will be used in heavenly battles aircrafts, capable of developing crazy speed:

The motor will develop a crazy speed, With a battering ram, breaking through the restless century, War awakens the thought of a person who gives the Promethean a running start to Science.

A star sits on a battle spear, The edge of vorogov merged with the clink of swords, The rebels rushed to the wall in a wave, And the light of new rays was extinguished with weeping.

Scientists have determined that the motor, which is destined to ram the "restless" century, should have appeared at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Maybe we are talking about supersonic jet aircraft here?

Speaks Nostradamus and chemical weapons. As you know, after the Second World War, according to the decision taken in Lausanne, its use was prohibited. And it is no coincidence: after all, during the First World War, many people died as a result of the defeat of mustard gas and other toxic substances. In 1993, the Paris Convention was adopted, which not only banned the use of chemical weapons, but also demanded that they be deliberately destroyed at special facilities. However, this will not be so easy to implement, since by the beginning of the 90s of the 20th century, about 70 thousand tons of these weapons had accumulated in the world.

To give only a small idea of the consequences of the use of chemical weapons, let us give one real example. At the very end of the war between Iraq and Kuwait, Saddam Hussein ordered the setting fire to several oil wells located in Kuwait.

Black smoke and soot hung over the territory of the Middle East countries bordering Kuwait for several months, including over Iraq. The soil was covered with a thick layer of soot, as a result of which the fertile land became unsuitable for cultivation for many years. Is it not about this event that Nostradamus speaks in the "Centuries"?

He tears to pieces this strange army, In an explosion transformed heavenly fire, There was a smell from Lausanne, suffocating, persistent, And people do not know its source.

They will think that the sun is visible at night, When they see a half-man pig. Noise, singing, battle, battles will be seen in the sky And the talk of wild beasts will be heard.

Perhaps the half-human pig is none other than an oxygen masked bomber pilot. This means that either bombing from the air or a gas attack can also be described here. Nostradamus dedicated a separate quatrain to the latter:

The smell of lemon became poison and smoke, And the wind drove smoke to the detachments of soldiers, Suffocation from the poison to the enemy is intolerable, And the siege will be lifted from the city.

The great soothsayer repeatedly mentions the danger and terrible destructive power of chemical and bacteriological weapons. As one of the first epidemiologists in the history of mankind, he could not help but worry about this problem.

Many of the prophecies of Nostradamus tell of the first explosions of nuclear weapons. In the quatrains devoted to the description of "fire from heaven", there is a warning to mankind about the terrible troubles that this all-crushing weapon will bring. Will it not be heard, and humanity will allow a worldwide bloody carnage to break out?

Scientists estimate the power of a nuclear explosion in terms of TNT equivalent. Thus, the TNT equivalent of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was about 20 kilotons.

Even more destructive are hydrogen bombs, which can carry a charge equal to several megatons.

True, there is a threshold beyond which it becomes unimportant how many megatons were in the initial charge. Starting from a certain moment, hydrogen, which is part of the earth's atmosphere and water, will inevitably enter into a thermonuclear reaction, and this threatens the complete destruction of our planet.

Live fire will be released, death hidden, Terrible, terrible, inside the balls.

At night the city is turned to dust by the fleet, The city is on fire, the enemy is lucky.

The wild heat has a mighty source, When the thermometer is forty and five, Flames and shreds shot up to the sky, Normans keep the answer in the process.

A headless cathedral over a heavenly desert ... A huge city lies in ruins, Poison, mixed with blood, will not leave two rivers, And an evil spirit guards the moon and the sun.

The sky glows with molten gold, Miraculous fire has become a killer of people, In the openings there is evil without spiritual bread, Exile and death have appeared everywhere.

The texts of these quatrains contain a clear indication of the nuclear threat. Many interpreters of the "Century" believe that the thermometer can only indicate the heat of the underworld itself, and the number "forty-five" means the geographical latitude of the area where New York is located ( rice. thirty).

The description of molten gold and a powerful source of heat is reminiscent of the description given by the inhabitants of Japan after the nuclear bombing of 1945. By the way, this date also contains the number "forty-five".

Judging by the lines “the balls will sow both death and horror, death and fire are hidden in the shells”, Nostradamus had an idea of what atomic charges look like, because many of them really have the shape of a ball, or a sphere.

In one of the quatrains, the soothsayer predicted how long the worst part of the war, the exchange of nuclear strikes, would last.

Rice. 30. New York. Manhattan view

The king's palace is like a cracked torch, After all, deadly fire is flying from the sky! The battles and fights last seven months, Rouen and Erex under the fate of grief.

Nostradamus does not skimp on the description of terrible pictures in order to help humanity to imagine all the hardships of the consequences of nuclear war and to avoid the coming disasters:

Great fire fell from the angry sky, The earth moaned from explosions for three nights, Believe in a miracle, frightened, wherever you are, We Ex and Miranda do not let us grieve.

The penultimate year of the 20th century and the 2nd millennium was one of the few that Nostradamus names accurately. It is 1999 that Nostradamus considers that the turning point, starting from which the events preceding global cataclysms will take place. Indeed, history has shown that this year was marked by many natural and social disasters.

Well, with what will we come to the twenty-first century? Descended from the burning sky is now the ruler of the Earth. The end and the beginning of the century are rebellious people, the discovery of Mars threatens freedom.

Disputes still continue about who will appear in the role of the ruler of the Earth. He can be considered an astronaut, a representative of extraterrestrial civilizations, and a new Messiah. It is also quite likely that at the turn of the two millennia, there will be a change of power in one of the influential states, which will be headed by a world leader. And there are already some prerequisites for this.

But nevertheless, as indicated above, in order for humanity to choose the correct path of its development, and not survival, it is not a change of power that is necessary, but a change of worldview.

Even if this happens in several countries that occupy a leading position in the world political arena, it may be possible to prevent the most terrible war in the history of mankind and its no less terrible consequences.

Like the events of the turn of the XX-XXI centuries with many small and rather large internecine wars that break out in different parts of the world and literally tear the earth to pieces, with a wave of terrorism that swept many countries, Nostradamus described in the following quatrain:

The earth shattered to pieces from the explosions, In the ruins there will be Cassic and St. George, There are gaps in the cathedral at the edge of the cliff, And Easter goes through cruelty and lies.

The cathedral at the edge of the cliff symbolizes our fragile world, mired in lies and cruelty, and Easter here, most likely, in its original sense means a transition.

So, Nostradamus says that at the turn of two centuries humanity will be in a state of transition from established values and principles of relationships to understanding the significance of the life of every person, regardless of his nationality and position in society. Will it make this transition? Hopefully.

Based on the predictions of the great soothsayer, scientists have calculated that in mid-2002 there will be a monstrous aggravation of the situation in the world. The war at this time can cover the entire globe.

Under Cancer, Mars converging with the Scepter, Hears the noise of a terrible disastrous war. A little later, the New Prince will be anointed, And he will quiet the Earth for a long time.

According to astrological forecasts, Mars will meet with Jupiter in the constellation of Cancer on June 21, 2002. Around the same time, the Indians are waiting for the Third World War, who have their own, special astrology.

What will be the reason for the start of the war? And we find the answer to this question in Nostradamus:

Oh people and beasts! Disaster awaits you, Mabus is coming to you to die among you,

Before the conflict, the great will fall, the Great in death, death is too sudden and sorrowful,

Born half-perfect

most of it will swim, Near that river the earth is covered with blood.

A comet tears off the veil from retaliation, Robberies, blood, carrying thirst on its tail.

So, the reason for the start of a war may be the assassination of a certain world leader. Probably, this leader will be "young Ogmius" or his closest associate, whose appearance is mentioned in many quatrains. The last quatrain tells about the impending global cataclysm, as a result of which all living things will inevitably die. Who is Mabus? In a literal sense, this is one of the beloved gods of the Celtic people, who was distinguished by wisdom and justice. His early death could well lead to irreparable consequences, which one would like to avoid.

In the light of the events of the recent past, Mabusa can be interpreted as collective image a suicide terrorist who is ready to give his own life for the sake of eliminating unwanted people.

The fact that Mabus is already acting, he is among us and, perhaps, he is choosing another victim right now, is evidenced by the explosions of residential buildings in Vladikavkaz and Moscow and the truly monstrous terrorist act in New York, as a result of which thousands of innocent people died. civilians.

However, the opinions of interpreters about linking the name of Mabusa to any particular person are very contradictory. Some believe that this is the third Antichrist, whose appearance was predicted by Nostradamus. Others see him as the encrypted name of an Arab leader whose state dominates "international terrorism." His murder may well lead to the unification of the Arabs against the aggressors - Christians and Jews, which will be the United States, France and Israel.

It is possible that the countries of Europe, which also do not expect anything good from Arab terrorists, will eventually join the first three powers, and then humanity will no longer be able to avoid the war of the cross with the crescent, which Nostradamus warned about more than once:

For a long time the Adriatic has been swaying like a storm, Here large ships are broken into chips, Egypt is waiting for the fever of the earth, And the sea water smelled of grief.

The interpreters of the predictions of the great soothsayer believe that it is the Adriatic that will turn into the main arena of hostilities between Muslims and Christians, but the place where these events will take place is located much to the north of the Arab states, in the Balkans.

For many years now, the worried glances of all mankind have turned to this region. The situation in the Balkans remains tense to this day, and there is little hope that it will change for the better any time soon.

No matter how the events develop, the fact remains that they will feature the sea, the Adriatic, Muslims (Arabs) and Christians. Isn't this what Nostradamus writes about in the "Epistle to Henry II"?

“Great strife will come to the Adriatic. That which was fastened will crumble. And where there used to be a big city, only a house will remain.

This applies to Pampotan and European lands - at 45 degrees - and other countries at 41, 42 and 47 degrees of latitude. The hellish forces in these countries will rise against Jesus Christ.

And after a certain period of time, the blood of the innocent will be shed. And this blood will be so much that those who shed it will almost drown in it. Then the memory of these

disasters and events will be washed away by great floods, and even in the writings nothing will be learned about it, because the lips of the chroniclers will be numb. This will happen to the northerners, but the will of God will again bind the country, and the husbands will have peace in the whole world, and the Church of Christ will be free from oppression, although the depraved would dare to mix their poisonous temptations with honey. "

Recent events literally reproduce the texts of the predictions of Nostradamus. During the bombing of Yugoslavia, the leaders of the NATO bloc planned to strike in areas that are located about 44 parallel and higher.

Almost the same plot is repeated in two more quatrains, in which the scene of the described events is the West:

The entire West is reeling with an unprecedented war:

No one will be saved - not old, not young, not a beast.

Fires ran after hot blood,

Mercury, Jupiter and Mars did not count losses.

Unhappy is the mother who gives birth to Androgen!

Air battle will fill the world with blood!

But the fate of the innocent perished is incorruptible,

And the comet will bring help to the Earth.

The second quatrain speaks of a comet that will bring help to the Earth. Her name is unknown. Although astronomers have long calculated the trajectories and periodicity of the appearance of all more or less known comets, there is still a possibility that a new comet will appear on the earth's horizon or an old one will suddenly change its trajectory. So, the comet Bubla-Heyesa that flew near the Earth was first seen not by a professional, but by an amateur astronomer, observing the starry sky through a telescope. And in 1989, and this event will be remembered by scientists for a long time, a well-studied comet unexpectedly passed dangerously close to our planet. It was then that a proposal was put forward for cooperation between space powers in the event of a threat of collision with a comet. Variants of bombardment of the "tailed guest" on the border of the solar system were considered, so that fragments of its core would not cause harm to the Earth and other planets. And these events were also foreseen by Nostradamus. The great soothsayer claims that in the war that has broken out on Earth, its instigator, the West, will suffer the most:

Among the population there are disagreements, cruel hostility, War, the death of the great princes, a universal wound, which is stronger in the West.

In this quatrain, Nostradamus points to the main reason for all wars - disagreement and hostility between people.

Here is another rather disappointing passage, from which it follows that if a war breaks out, it will last twenty-seven years.

The three nations fought long and daringly. Big - aside, preserving his home, Friends and supports in Celine are not strong, Although he called them under fierce fire. The Antichrist will not give anything to these three.

The war dragged on for twenty-seven years, all the rivers are in blood,

Corpses make the earth unclean,

Thinkers are dying; the country warms the criminals.

Who is this third Antichrist? When will it appear and what troubles will it bring to the Earth? In another quatrain we read:

The end of October twenty-fifth, And the twenty-first century with the most difficult war, The destroyers of their faith will be ashamed of the peoples, the Shah of Persia is crushed by the Egyptian enmity.

Despite the fact that in the above quatrains there is no direct reference to Russia, some interpreters are inclined to believe that it is said about it here.

According to their version, in the period from 1990 to 2025, the debunking of the communist ideology will take place in Russia, and it is in 2025 that its inhabitants will celebrate the holiday of Great October for the last time.

The forecasts of modern forecasters say that angry crowds will throw monuments to Lenin from the pedestal, and the former Soviet Union will be drawn by China, united with some Arab countries, in a prolonged war, after which the tormented Russia will turn into a new center of revival of the Christian world.

What, according to Nostradamus, needs to be done to survive the Third World War? In his predictions, the soothsayer pays little attention to the process of exposure to nuclear heat and the consequence of nuclear bombing - the "horror of combustion". During this most terrible period of the war, as a result of which half of the globe will be melted, he does not give any instructions for protection and salvation, since they simply do not make sense. But in the event of a chemical war, Nostradamus left detailed recommendations to mankind. Poisonous substances are intended to infect people, therefore protection from contact with them is necessary for at least ten years.

Many modern interpreters of Nostradamus agree that the Third World War will not start in 2002, but in 2010, so that starting in 2006, humanity will have to act as follows:

1. First of all, you need to choose an acceptable place for survival.

2. Develop measures to protect against the consequences associated with nuclear and chemical explosions.

3. Create a reserve stock of food. Prepare installations for water purification, as well as sealed "greenhouses" for growing clean vegetables and fruits.

4. Prepare equipment for the production of clean food. Solve the problem of protein nutrition for at least 11 years.

5. Make large stocks of sealed protective clothing.

6. Create a reserve stock of medicines and dressings for the treatment of burns and skin diseases.

7. Prepare measuring instruments and analyzers.

According to the predictions of Nostradamus, the Third World War will take place in two stages, and, according to modern researchers of his prophecies, it will last from November 2010 to October 2014. Its beginning will be similar to the beginning of local wars of the 20th century. Then nuclear explosions will thunder, and at its second stage, in 2011, chemical weapons will be used.

In early 2011, the two great powers will exchange nuclear strikes. Although the explosions will be carried out only on the territory of these states, the fallout of a large amount of radioactive fallout will cause contamination of the entire Northern Hemisphere, as a result of which all vegetation and animals will die in this part of the Earth. Immediately after that, Muslim countries will start a chemical war against Europe.

However, not everything is so hopeless in the future of mankind. Nostradamus claims that balance will come in nature and society, wars will stop, common sense and goodwill of people will prevail over madness and cruelty, and the world will choose the path from war to prosperity. If you believe the great soothsayer, at the end of the war, people will lose their passion for destruction, the peoples will get tired of wars and peace will reign on Earth. True, it is not known for how long.

So! The city in the lowlands was under siege for seven years, But the brave great king took it off, And the inhabitants will soon be put in order, So that everyone will forget about the old pain.

A fanatical passion for destruction will fall, Since faith is firm, like the best granite, The godless word is subject to decay, And evil fanaticism will not defeat our temple.

In 2014, the terrible war will end, perhaps only because there are so few people on Earth that there will be no one to fight:

The best passed by, a weakened world Long time peace, uninhabited lands: Sur will pass by sky, land, sea and wave, Then wars will arise again.

It should be noted that modern scientists join the dire predictions of Nostradamus. After analyzing the concentration of a certain number of nuclear weapons in various countries, they came to the conclusion that if the explosion of all the nuclear potential on earth is made, in an instant there will be the death of a billion people. Approximately the same number of people will receive severe injuries and severe burns, and many will develop radiation sickness.

The worst thing in this situation is that the victims will have nowhere to wait for help, since the normal course of life will be completely disrupted. Doctors and members of various rescue teams will be killed or seriously injured. There will be no one to send the survivors to where help is needed in the first place, since the state infrastructure will cease to exist, there will be no governments or other authorities.

Even if they remain somewhere, those in power will not be able to give orders due to the massive destruction of communications. Hospitals and roads will be destroyed by which victims can be delivered to them. Thus, it becomes clear that sooner or later all of humanity will face inevitable death.

After the explosion of one nuclear bomb, a funnel will remain on the surface of the earth, the area of which will be approximately one hundred square meters... The soil, lifted into the air by the force of the explosion, will turn into a huge dust cloud and rush into the troposphere, reaching an altitude of 12-15 kilometers. The mass of such a dust cloud will be 200-600 tons. And this is after the explosion of only one nuclear warhead! It is scary to imagine how much dust will fall on the ground in the event of a simultaneous explosion of even several dozen nuclear charges.

In addition, explosions will provoke widespread fires that will destroy forests, fields, factories, factories and residential buildings.

Thus, those who miraculously survive will have nowhere to live and nothing to eat.

Smoke from numerous fires, combining with dust, will turn into thick black smog, which will only let through 1% of the sun's rays, which will lead to a sharp drop in air temperature, the so-called nuclear winter.

Cold air will prevail in Norway, the northern part of the United States and Kamchatka. The temperature will not rise above -50 ° C. As a result, the vegetation that survived the fires will die, therefore, the oxygen balance on the planet will be disturbed. The entire fauna of the tropical jungle, savannah and subtropical forests will die.

The ozone layer, which prevents the penetration of ultraviolet rays to the Earth's surface, which has already begun to collapse due to the unfavorable environmental situation, will be completely destroyed. The worst consequence of direct UV radiation interaction with living organisms will be genetic disorders, which will lead to serious mutations.

The appearance of people and animals will undergo major changes. For some time, the earth will be inhabited by a variety of monsters, but in a few years the vast majority of them will die due to anomalies in the development of internal organs.

However, back to the predictions of Nostradamus. What will happen to the survivors after peace?

Those who survive the horrors of war will suffer for a long time from terrible skin diseases - the inevitable consequences of chemical bombing. Many areas of the Earth will become uninhabited, including Europe. Many years will pass when people will be able to settle here again. The territories of the countries that survived the war will be redistributed.

In 2018, after Russia and the United States lose their status as the two largest world powers, China will take their place, so that the yellow race will gain undivided dominance in the airspace, and in 2024 China will become a space power.

In 2025, Europe will remain deserted. Nostradamus warns descendants about the dangers of settling in contaminated areas.

By this time, mankind has already recovered a little from the terrible military events, but their consequences will take human lives for a long time to come. The number of skin cancer cases will increase steadily in the most different forms... In this regard, medicine will face new challenges. Some optimism is inspired by the fact that, in spite of everything, science and technology will continue to develop.

In 2028, the first man-piloted spacecraft starts to Venus, but Nostradamus warns that some complications may arise during the flight. In the same year, new sources of energy related to sound effects will be discovered. Three researchers, whose names will become famous for centuries, will create the first devices for obtaining it.

Back in 1995, an article appeared in one of the newspapers telling about the implementation of a powerful directed explosion in an environment with a temperature approaching a million degrees using a sound signal and boiling water. And this was foreseen by Nostradamus:

The sun will be transported for 1000 years from the pole into a changeable cave, Hidden and captivated.

The beard pulled him out. A lot of initiates are held in custody as sick.

Perhaps this quatrain is about a controlled thermonuclear reaction. The related tests were carried out in a closed underground center.

In 2033, the more distant consequences of the war will affect: intense melting of polar ice will begin, the level of the World Ocean will rise catastrophically; floods will increase in low-lying countries; Bangladesh, Holland and the southern coast of France will undergo partial flooding.

In 2066, the United States, conquering Rome from Muslims, will use the new kind climate weapons, leading to the beginning of the ice age.

In 2076, a classless society will be formed on the planet, which will be ruled by a worldwide senate, of which everyone, without exception, can become a member.

In the 80s of the XXI century, humanity will begin to live in harmony with nature. The time will come for the flourishing of science and art. The world will forget about wars, everything will be subject to the law and the highest expediency.

However, in 2088, a new misfortune will befall the Earth - the syndrome of instant old age. People will age in seconds. Humanity will cope with this problem in 2097.

By 2123, the balance of power in the world will change. Finally, two superpowers will be determined, which Nostradamus calls Slavia and the English West. Geographic and political changes await Europe. This year, according to Nostradamus, will be the year of the Whitish Star. Europe will be able to avoid the coming upheavals if it unites.

In 2130, the development of the underwater world will begin. Underwater settlements will appear. In this regard, Nostradamus mentions a certain alien who will reveal the secrets of marine sciences to people. In the same year, technologies for intensive settlement of the seabed and the use of raw materials dissolved in seawater will be developed. However, Nostradamus warns people that too vigorous activity in this area can lead to disruption of the ecological balance in the sea, which will lead to the extinction of marine fauna.

In 3010, Nostradamus predicts the possible death of our planet as a result of the collision of the Earth or the Moon with a comet.

According to the prophecies, in 2167 a world teacher will appear - the founder of a new worldview, who will offer mankind a new religion. The old religious teachings will come into conflict with him, for which they will have to unite, which will undoubtedly benefit them.

In 2180, much attention will be paid to the problem of purifying the earth's atmosphere. Its solution will be dealt with by all countries, regardless of their political views.

The first flights to Mars will take place in 2070, and in 2183, the colony formed there will already turn into a nuclear power and demand independence from the Earth. Is there a nuclear threat emanating from outer space again?

In 2201, the processes of thermonuclear fusion on the Sun will begin to slow down noticeably, as a result of which irreversible climate changes will occur.

In 2221, humanity will come into contact with something unknown and terrible. According to the predictions of Nostradamus, the first contact with aliens will occur in 2250, and it will not bring anything good to earthlings.

The gradually cooling sun will cause a change in the forces of gravity in the solar system. In 2260, a comet will fly dangerously close to Mars, as a result of which this planet will suffer famine and drought.

In 2280, scientists on Earth will be able to tap into the huge energy sources of "black holes", which will allow people to travel in time. Contact with one of the highly developed civilizations, established during one of such travels, will bring considerable benefits to the Earth. At this time, scientists will make vain attempts to reignite the cooling sun.

In 2292, the thermonuclear processes taking place on it will catastrophically deteriorate, powerful outbreaks will begin to occur, as a result of which huge masses of matter will be thrown into Space.

Gradually, these flares will take on such a grand scale that they can be seen even in the night sky.

The forces of gravity will continue to change. By 2297, they will change so much that artificial satellites and space stations will begin to fall from near-earth orbit. The threat of a global catastrophe will hang over the planets of the solar system.

Modern scientists believe that the death of the Earth can occur as a result of the explosion of our daylight - the Sun. Currently, there is a hypothesis that stars like the Sun age over time, resulting in an explosion, which entails the destruction of nearby planets.

The death and birth of such planets regularly occurs in the Cosmos. The next sun, formed as a result of the reaction of chemical elements in an airless space, gradually heating up and increasing in size, attracts the planets located nearby. Initially, there is no life on these planets, but gradually they warm up, eternal glaciers melt on them and life is born. This is exactly what happened with our Earth. Slowdown inevitably occurs over time chemical reactions on the stars, as a result of which the luminaries cool down, increase in size, and then explode. And everything starts all over again.

However, Nostradamus does not stop in his prophecies at this sad news. Maybe the Sun is not threatened with such a speedy death?

The interpretation of the events predicted by Nostradamus after 2300 causes difficulty not only for researchers, but also for clairvoyants. Therefore, we will give some quotes and restrict ourselves to their brief comments.

In 2302, humanity will discover the universal formula of Creation: “The most secret law of nature is discovered by those who live in matter. It contains the secret of the universe, the Earth and the hidden mystical milk. Bodies and souls, the spirit will have complete power over them. Much will be under their feet, as with the throne of this union. "

In 2304, the mysterious moons will appear. What kind of moons they are, modern scientists have not been able to figure out: "If one day it comes to the point that they approach the Moons in the heights, then there will not be a great distance from one to the other."

In 2341, something unknown and terrible will begin to approach the Earth from the center of the Universe: “Two luminous disgusting monsters cannot be detected from Earth. The flying cube there, before bursting, brings the eye. "

In 2354, there will be an accident on the artificial Sun, as a result of which entire regions on the Earth can burn out: "One of the two luminaries takes flight where the Earth originated, so blood will flow for a long time in two passages."

In 2371, humanity will experience the greatest famine, the likes of which has not been known throughout the history of the Earth:

"Those who have escaped death from starvation are experiencing the greatest hunger that never happened."

In 2480, a collision of two artificial Suns will take place: "Two remain, where the great awakens ... And the two luminaries run away, surrounded to collide."

In 2485, the cooling Sun will plunge the Earth into eternal twilight: “White coal kills black, which is being pursued. The prisoners secretly prepare to overturn the water of air. A black camel underfoot among the emaciated. Then a power arises, islands of air during the pre-dawn twilight years.

Perhaps, in these lines, Nostradamus describes the death of the solar system?

Nostradamus calls the year 3005 fatal in the history of our planet and humanity. In the Epistle to Henry II, the soothsayer writes: “Although the planet Mars is before the end of its course, its last revolution, nevertheless everything will begin again.

And even before the Moon makes its revolution, the Sun will shine, and then Saturn. Heavenly signs allow us to determine that the kingdom of Saturn will come again so that calculations show that the world is approaching an anargonic revolution (to the deeds of death on earth) ... very few people will survive and the earth will be unplowed and barren, as it was before the beginning of creation ... In this place, the Almighty will complete the cosmogonic revolution he has raised, and the heavenly bodies will begin their movement again, and this will be the supreme movement, and it will make the Earth solid and stable (because of this, it will not deviate from century to century in different directions). "

In 3005, according to the predictions of Nostradamus, a war will begin in the Martian colonies, which can go so far that hostilities will move into the orbit of the planet, where ten huge spaceships will join the battle. As a result, Mars will be destroyed, which will cause serious disruption of the gravitational interaction in the solar system. Its consequences will begin to affect not immediately, but after several centuries, when changes in the movement of the planets take place.

At first, the known comet will deviate from its usual course, in connection with which there will be a threat of a collision with the Earth. All attempts to change the trajectory of the comet's flight are doomed to failure. Since the gravitational balance will be upset, the comet will only slightly change its trajectory and collide with the Moon, which will split into pieces, and a hail of red-hot rocks will fall on the Earth.

Due to the powerful gravitational impact, part of the earth's atmosphere will be destroyed. Dust and stones, gathered in a huge ring, will revolve around the Earth. This circumstance will not only make space flights dangerous, but also cause heating of the remaining thin layer of the atmosphere, which in 3797 will lead to the death of all life on the planet.

Is humanity, knowing about all these terrible predictions, will not do anything to prevent the wars and cataclysms that await it? The more formidable times prophecies predict, the more coincidences in different sources describe future events, the more important they are, the more attentively you need to listen to them and, having understood, act more actively. It is no coincidence that popular wisdom says: “When a prophet speaks, you need to listen carefully. When the second one speaks about it, you need to act, because when the third one finishes speaking, everything will be done. "

As stated above, science and technology will not stand still. Humanity will discover new powerful sources of energy, and not only on Earth, but also in Space. This means that there is a hope that people will not turn them against their own kind, but will force them to serve peaceful purposes. If scientific knowledge and technology achieve such high level development, as predicted by predictors for the distant future, does not exclude the possibility that mankind will be able to neutralize the cometary threat on the distant approaches not only to the solar system, but also to our Galaxy.

However, the fact that people will be able to prevent the threat of a military conflict on Mars raises some doubts. But maybe in those distant years people will still stop repeating past mistakes and learn to resolve social conflicts peacefully? It remains to be hoped that it will be so.

It should also be remembered that by that time humanity, again according to numerous predictions, will come into contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. This should happen several centuries before global cataclysms. This means that the earthlings will still have enough time to, for example, move to other planets, leaving the dying Earth in time.

Thus, the level of development of modern science and science of the future instills a certain optimism and allows us to believe that the earthly civilization will be reborn under the light of a younger star than our Sun. But this will be a completely different civilization, as predicted by Wanga.

Orthodox Russian prophets and modern clairvoyants

Let's digress from the prophecies of Nostradamus and turn to the predictions of other clairvoyants, which largely echo the judgments of the famous soothsayer.

Here is how the beginning of the Third World War is described by the Kiev mother Alipia, foolish for Christ's sake: "The war will begin against the apostles Peter and Paul ... It will happen when the corpse is taken out." And again: “This will not be a war, but the execution of peoples for their rotten state. Dead bodies will lie in mountains, no one will undertake to bury them.

Mountains, hills will disintegrate, equal to the ground. People will run from place to place. There will be many bloodless martyrs who will suffer for the Orthodox faith. "

When mother was asked if the day of judgment was near, she showed half a finger: "That's how much time is left, and we will not repent, and this will not happen ..." dates (July 22 - the day of the holy apostles Peter and Paul) and the reason that will serve as an impetus for the start of hostilities (“when the corpse is taken out,” Nostradamus said about this). But the main conclusion that follows from the words of mother Alipia is the following: only human repentance can postpone the coming of the day of judgment.

Christians around the world took the earthquake that struck Europe on April 12, 1998, when the entire Orthodox world was celebrating Easter, as an alarming omen. It was on this day that strong tremors were felt in Italy, Germany, Slovenia and a number of other European countries. On Mount Triglav, located on the border of Slovenia and Italy, their strength reached 5 points. Now we know what that earthquake meant. Italy, Germany and other countries Western Europe not only supported the American aggression against Kosovo and Serbia, but also took direct military participation in it.

There are other signs by which believers propose to determine the beginning of the day of judgment. Every year on the feast of Orthodox Easter on the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, candles and lamps are miraculously lit up.

According to legend, if the Holy Fire does not descend, the end of the world will come, and the patriarch, at which this event occurs, will be killed.

It is known that in 1999 the Holy Fire came down through the prayer of an Orthodox priest only in the evening. Consequently, it can be argued that as the end of the world approaches and in the absence of repentance of the Orthodox Church, which has repeatedly supported fratricidal wars and conflicts, the Fire will go down more and more later and for a shorter period, and if the Church continues to support military actions taken by dictators , he will finally leave Orthodox churches. And this can happen just before the start of the Third World War.

In the Christian world, the miracle of the myrrh-streaming of icons and crucifixes is also known. The history of the Russian Orthodox Church knows two periods of mass signs from icons.

In the early 1920s, myrrh streams took place in stripes throughout Russia. The second period began in 1991 and continues to this day. Now myrrh streaming from icons occurs everywhere in Russia.

In the warnings that icons give to humanity, as it were, there is a call for the timely correction of the reasons that gave rise to the "lament of the heavenly world" for people who call themselves Christians.

The war in Chechnya is a more than obvious reason for mourning. When people have done the worst, this crying will stop. And then, according to mother Alipia, the peoples will suffer severe punishment, execution "for their rotten state." Neither crosses nor body armor can save you from God's wrath. In 1917, miraculous events took place in one of the Portuguese villages called Fatima, which is now the world's largest religious center, second only to the Vatican in importance. For three months on the 13th, the Virgin Mary appeared to three small children who lived in Fatima and transmitted her prophecies through them.

The first two prophecies were made public by Catholic priests only in 1942. In them, the Virgin Mary tried to warn humanity about the coming World War II. The reasons why these prophecies were not disclosed to the inhabitants of the Soviet Union and other peoples for so long are quite understandable, because in fact they contain the blessing of the revolutionary changes that were taking place in Russia at that time. And since they were given by that Divine world, in which the revolutionaries did not believe, this prophecy was kept in the strictest secret for the time being.

Like many other predictions, the prophecies of the Virgin Mary gave people the opportunity to influence the course of history and make some adjustments to future events. If humanity had accepted the first prophecy of the Virgin in time, guided by common sense and taking such super-authoritative predictions on faith, the Second World War with all its troubles would certainly have been avoided.

What did the Virgin Mary want to warn humanity about in her third prophecy? In 1957, a letter came to the Vatican from the last surviving witness of the apparition of the Virgin Mary, nun of the Portuguese monastery in Coimbra, sister of Lucia. In it, she revealed the secret of the third prophecy. However, it was never made public.

Only in 1974, after reading a letter from his sister Lucia, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger reported that the third prophecy of the Virgin Mary concerns "the danger hanging over the Earth and Christianity." The current Pope, John Paul II, in 1980, while talking with German prelates, partially lifted the veil of secrecy. He said: "If you read about oceans that will flood entire continents, about millions of people who will die, then you would understand why we do not divulge the third part of the message ...".

It is no coincidence that John Paul II expresses confidence in the truth of the third secret of Fatima, because it was the bright image of the Virgin Mary that saved his life during the assassination attempt, which took place on May 13, 1981. Just a moment before the hitman pulled the trigger twice, Dad bent over to the girl in the crowd to examine the medallion hanging around her neck. As a result, the bullets passed over his head. The medallion depicted the Virgin Mary of Fatima.

Fatima's third secret remained unsolved until the end of April 1999, when a rather unusual event took place. The famous Cardinal Carrado Balducci came to the national conference of Italian ufologists. In a private conversation with ufologists, he stated summary third secret: “It talks about the Third World War, which should break out before the beginning of the third millennium. It will use nuclear weapons. Millions will die, and the survivors will envy the dead. But if people give up their aggressive intentions and come to terms with each other and with God, war can be avoided. In addition, the third secret predicts the crisis of the Catholic Church and the special fate of Russia. I can’t tell you more. ”

It remains unclear why the Church does not reveal to mankind the full content of the third prophecy of the Virgin Mary, because not only she predicts the onset of the last world war. So, Vanga says: "When the wildflower stops smelling, when a person loses his ability to compassion, when the river water becomes dangerous ... then a general destructive war will break out"; "The war will be everywhere, between all peoples ..."; “The truth about the end of the world should be sought in old books”; “What is written in the Bible will come true. The Apocalypse is Coming! Not you, but your children will live then! ”; “There are many more cataclysms and stormy events in store for mankind. The consciousness of people will also change. Tough times are coming, people will be divided by their faith. The oldest teaching will come into the world. They ask me when this will happen, how soon? No, not soon. Syria has not yet fallen ... ”.

Do these predictions need comment? Regrettable as it may seem, it was faith that was the main cause of the bloodiest wars in human history, and the latter, in all likelihood, will not be an exception.

The soothsayer Mitar Tarabic, who lived in the 19th century in Serbia, in the city of Kremny, also spoke of the war: “A fierce war will begin, and it will be good luck. Warlords will force their scientists to come up with different shells for weapons, which, instead of killing people, exploding, plunge them into unconsciousness. Sleepy, they will not be able to fight, and then their consciousness will return to them ... But when it happens, I don't know - I can't see it! "

The book "Edgar Cayce" from the "Great Prophets" series tells about the hypnosis sessions conducted by the American psychiatrist H. Wimbach in the 70s of the XX century. Volunteers took part in them. H. Wimbach introduced them into a state of hypnotic trance, after which they were, as it were, transported into the distant future, more precisely, into their future earthly incarnations. After returning from such mental walks, the subjects, without prior agreement, since they did not have time to make contact with each other, told very disappointing things about what awaits humanity in the future.

In the early 90s of the XX century, a series of experiments was continued by H. Wimbach's student C. Shaw, who managed to record from the words of people who volunteered to participate in hypnotic sessions, about 500 visions about the life of mankind for five centuries ahead. Their general meaning boiled down to the following: all hypnotized people talked about what global natural disasters, including devastating earthquakes and a sharp climate change, await people in the future.

All subjects argued that the few people who managed to survive the period of grand catastrophes would have to choose one of four options for existence:

1) someone will hide under the dome of highly developed new cities. In this connection, how can one fail to recall New Jerusalem, which is described by John the Theologian in his "Revelation";

2) someone will find a haven on squalid space stations;

3) most of those who survived will be lost in primitive communes with primitive foundations.

Wouldn't this be the only correct way out in this critical situation? And if you think about it, is it possible with a clear conscience to call developed the relations that have developed between people living in modern civilized cities?

4) the rest, settling on the ruins of their former dwellings, will perish in the struggle for the remnants of food.

Considering that the ecological situation has already become complicated to the point that some cities have become practically unsuitable for healthy living, what will be the situation in them after the fulfillment of the predicted events.

However, there is some optimism in the predictions of the hypnotized volunteers. Those who have managed to look into the distant future argue that after 2250, a gradual revival of humanity and the rapid development of colonies on Mars will begin.

And here is what the Bulgarian astrologer Tatyana Iordanova told about in 1996.

“I was rummaging through my papers in the closet,” she says, “and came across the most interesting material about Nostradamus. Then, you see, I treated it as another interesting "reading", and it was not deposited in the subconscious. If I had not kept these newspaper clippings, I would not have believed it myself! "

We are talking about a series of messages-interviews of the American Dolores Kenan - the founder of the method of regressive hypnosis, with the help of which she treated various diseases by means of "memories" of problems from past lives.

During one of the sessions through the patient, Nostradamus himself suddenly began to speak to her. He wanted to personally explain to people the meaning of the quatrains related to the last decade of the 20th century, since he considered the interpretations of modern scientists unsatisfactory. Conversations with Nostradamus continued through other patients. Dolores wrote them down and published books.

The interview spoke about the Third World War. According to the American, the beginning of it is considered to be "Desert Storm" of 1991. Until 1999, the war was expressed in local conflicts.

But 1999 was supposed to become a defining, a kind of "Rubicon". “Communicating” with Dolores, Nostradamus predicted a serious conflict in the “gray zone” of Europe, that is, Macedonia and Albania, in 1999! This zone is named "gray" because it is neither East nor West. With the growth of the scale of the war, the use of nuclear, bacterial and chemical weapons is possible.

It is said in the interview about the third Antichrist. The first was Napoleon, the second was Hitler, and the third was born on February 4, 1962 in Jerusalem, but he is not a Jew, but a Muslim. His parents were killed in Israel's war with Egypt. They were replaced by a very rich and influential uncle - the imam. Education - philosophical, economic and technical - he received in Egypt. This person will be most successful in the computer business when he becomes the master of the Internet.

During one of the contacts, Nostradamus said the following words: “You do not realize the power of your thoughts! They can influence the course of events. Focus on peace and harmony. " Again, the great soothsayer speaks of the need to change human consciousness. The more cruelty there is in this world, the more destructive for humanity will be the troubles that are its consequences. No wonder Vanga says: "Pray that God would spare a person, for he has gone mad in his hatred of his neighbor"; “Be kinder, so as not to suffer more, a person was born for good deeds. The bad ones do not go unpunished. The most severe punishment awaits not the one who has caused evil, but his descendants. It hurts even more. "

According to the predictions of Nostradamus, the Virgin Mary of Fatima and many others, there is very little time left before the start of a large-scale last war or a turning point for war or peace. The end of June-July 2002 will be either the beginning of the last hours of peace and life for many people, or the first hours of a new life and a world without wars. Vanga, for example, believed that the events of the near future would develop according to the second scenario: “After 2000, there will be no catastrophes or flood. A thousand years of peace and prosperity await us. Ordinary mortals will fly to other worlds at a speed ten times the speed of light. But this will not happen until 2050 ”.

What do these words mean? Maybe the representatives of the powerful of this world have already begun to realize, or will realize in the near future the suicidal nature of the path they have chosen? Maybe they will have time to make sound decisions about which they have been talking so much and for a long time? Moreover, they still have time for this. The first and most serious steps towards peace should be the targeted destruction of all nuclear, chemical and bacteriological weapons, as well as the refusal to create new types of weapons of mass destruction. Only in this case the optimistic predictions of numerous soothsayers will come true. Otherwise, humanity will continue its movement towards the abyss, and then the irreparable will happen.

John the Theologian was a holy apostle and evangelist and stood apart from all of Christ's disciples. Most often, on the icons, he was portrayed as a majestic old man with a spiritualized face.

The main feature of his moral character is manifested in the doctrine of love. For this, John was even called the apostle of love. Love runs like a red thread through all his writings, and the main idea is that God in his being is love, that is, it is the ineffable love of God for the world and man, and the service of love is the whole life path John the Theologian.
He was harsh and passionate, but at the same time gentle and loyal. We learn from the Gospel that often Christ was forced to cool his impulses, which reached the point of violent jealousy. Jesus even called John and his brother Jacob sons of thunder. At the same time, John had a rare modesty, as well as such character traits as observation and susceptibility to events and sensitivity to the suffering of others.

The Apostle John always listened with reverence and awe to his Teacher, speaking about grace and truth, not a single line of the earthly life of Christ the Savior passed him by, leaving a deep trace in his soul. The thoughts of John the Theologian were just as integral. He always said that where there is no complete devotion, there is nothing. He chose the path of serving Christ as the goal of his life and followed it fully. He spoke about devotion to Christ, about his life in Him, therefore he considered sin not as a weakness and impairment of the human character, but as evil or a negative principle opposite to good. According to him, a person can belong to either Christ or the devil, there is no third.
The Apostle John was destined to utter the last word of Divine Revelation, which introduced a person into the secrets of the inner divine life, made him listen to the Only Begotten Son and his eternal word. John affirms or denies eternal truth, but always speaks with absolute accuracy, since he hears the voice of the Lord, revealing to the world what he himself hears from his Father.

The writings of the apostle John blur the line between present and future. Seeing the world around him, he understands that this is temporary, and does not stop at it. He shifts his gaze to the eternal in the past and to the eternal in the future. He calls everyone to observe holy truths and proclaims that "everyone who is born of God will not sin." When communicating with God, every true Christian thinks about his involvement in the divine life, because the future of mankind takes place on earth. In one of his writings, the Apostle John leads humanity into the realm of the eternal present, in which heaven descended to earth and the renewed earth is illuminated with the light of heavenly glory.
John the Theologian through his "Revelation" revealed to people the secret of the universe and the fate of mankind. Every year on May 8, the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian.

"Revelation of John the Divine" and other prophecies

St. John the Theologian in his "Revelation" mentioned the day when all people, both the living and the dead, resurrected from their graves (Fig. 23), will appear before the judgment of God.

It is believed that the "Revelation of John the Evangelist" was written in the years 68-69 AD. NS. Researchers do not exclude the fact that approximately in the mid-90s A.D. NS. it was edited by scribes. This happened after the defeat of the first Jewish uprising against the Romans. The date indicated practically coincides with the reference to Irenaeus, which Eusebius of Caesarea (between 260 and 265–338 or 339) cites in his "Ecclesiastical History", Roman ecclesiastical writer, bishop of Caesarea (Palestine). The prophetic "Revelation of John the Evangelist" is a truly grandiose picture of the coming Apocalypse, which completes the New Testament.

Revelation came to John the Evangelist at that moment when he was on the island of Patmos, in the Aegean Sea, where he suffered "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." One Sunday, the sky suddenly opened over the soothsayer, and he saw seven golden lamps and among them "like the Son of Man." John the Theologian describes the appearance of Jesus Christ as follows: “His head and hair are white, like a white wave, like snow; and His eyes are like a flame of fire; and His feet are like khalkovan (a kind of amber), as red-hot in a furnace; and his voice is like the sound of many waters. He held in his right hand seven stars, and a sword, sharp on both sides, came out of His mouth; and His face is like the sun shining in its power. " Seven lamps symbolized seven churches, and seven stars in the right hand of the Lord - the angels of these churches.
Struck by such an unusual phenomenon, John fell at the feet of the Son of Man, who greeted him with the following words: “Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last and the living; and was dead; and behold, I live forever and ever, amen; and I have the keys of hell and death. So, write down what you saw, and what is, and what will happen after this. " John the Evangelist fulfilled the command of Christ and later wrote down everything that happened that day in his "Revelation".

Jesus invited him to step into heaven to see with his own eyes what "must be after this." John followed him and saw "a throne standing in heaven, and there was one sitting on the throne." By Seated, the soothsayer meant God the creator himself.
Around the throne of God, from which "came lightning, and thunder, and voices," there were twenty-four more thrones. On them sat twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. In front of the throne were seven lamps of fire, personifying the "spirits of God."
There were also four animals "full of eyes in front and behind", the first of which resembled a lion, the second a calf, the third a man, and the fourth an eagle. Each of them "had six wings around, and inside
they are full of eyes; and they know no rest day or night, crying out: holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, is and is to come. " While the animals sang glory and honor to the One who sits on the throne, the elders fell prostrate before him and laid crowns at his feet.

In his right hand God held a book sealed with seven seals. The angel proclaimed with a loud voice: is there one who is worthy to open the book by removing the seals from it? But there was no one, neither on earth, nor in heaven, nor underground.
Then one of the elders, sitting at the throne of God, arose and informed John the Theologian that now "the lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered and can open this book and remove its seven seals."
At the same moment, John saw the Lamb "as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent to the whole earth." In the image of the Lamb, of course, Jesus Christ himself appears (Fig. 25), who was considered by Christians to be a descendant of King David. The horn of the ancient Jews was a symbol of power.

The Lamb received from the hands of God a book sealed with seven seals. The act of transferring the book from God the Father to God the Son symbolizes the accession of Christ, who receives authority from the Father. Animals and elders surround the Lamb on all sides and begin to sing in his honor: “You are worthy to take a book and unseal it; for you were slain, and with your blood you redeemed us to God out of every tribe and tongue and nation and nation, and made us kings and priests to our God; and we will reign on the earth. "
Following them, this song was repeated by a huge multitude of elders, animals and angels, who surrounded the throne from all sides. “And their number was so many thousands and thousands,” says Revelation. The end of the world was approaching.

However, according to the prophecies of the soothsayer, God will surely protect all true believers who have lived a righteous life, while all those who reject God and unrepentant sinners will face severe punishment.
Jesus Christ in turn removes the seals from the book, as a result of which four horsemen, sitting on four different-colored horses, descend to the ground. They are heralds of the end of the world and those great calamities that will precede it.
Here the Lamb opened the first seal, and one of the four animals proclaimed: "Come and see." John the Evangelist saw a white horse (Fig. 26). On it sat “a rider with a bow, and a crown was given to him; and he came out victorious, and to conquer. "
Christ removed the second seal, and the second animal said in a thunderous voice: "Come and see." Then a second horse appeared, a red one. The rider who sat on it was ordered to “take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another; and a great sword was given to him. "
After the Lamb removed the third seal, John heard the voice of the third animal: "Come and see." At that moment, a black horse descended from heaven, and a rider was sitting on it, "having a measure in his hand."

The Lamb opened the fourth seal, and the fourth animal said, "Come and see." A pale horse came out. The most terrible rider, who personified death, sat on it. The "Revelation" says: "And hell followed him, and he was given power over the fourth part of the earth - to put to death with the sword and hunger, and with pestilence and the beasts of the earth."
It should be noted that the same horses of four colors and riders riding on them are mentioned in the book of the prophet Zechariah, and there they symbolize the four spirits of heaven, "who stand before the Lord of all the earth."
The subsequent events are stunning pictures that make a pretty strong impression.

The first Christians during these years experienced especially terrible persecutions. Everyone who sacredly followed the faith of Christ faced inevitable death after painful torture. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the "Revelation" says that when Christ opened the fifth seal, the souls of "those killed for the word of God" appeared under the altar. They prayed to God to take revenge on those living on earth for their suffering. The Vladyka calmed them down, gave them white robes and said that the Last Judgment would soon take place and many righteous people would join their ranks.

After the Lamb removed the sixth seal, a great earthquake occurred. “And the sun became dark as a sackcloth, and the moon became like blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, like a fig tree, shaken by a strong wind, drops its unripe figs; and the sky disappeared as it is rolled up like a scroll; and every mountain and island moved out of their places. " All people - kings, nobles, free, and slaves - sought to hide in the caves and gorges of the mountains and prayed that stones would fall on them and hide them “from the face of the Lamb who sits on the throne and the wrath, for the great day of wrath has come. His".
Then John the Evangelist tells that he saw four angels standing at the four ends of the earth, who held the four winds so that they would not blow "neither on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree." But from the side of the rising sun, another angel moved towards them, having the "seal of the living God." And he commanded those four destroying angels who were ordered to “harm the earth and the sea”: do no harm until the seals were placed on the foreheads of God's servants, that is, those who, in spite of everything, remained faithful to the true Christian faith. There were one hundred and forty-four thousand of them. They all gathered around the throne of God, dressed in white garments. From now on, they were to serve God in His temple and received deliverance from suffering, for "the Lamb in the midst of the throne will feed them and lead them to living springs of waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
And now the most terrible moment has come. When Christ removed the last, seventh seal, complete silence reigned in heaven. John the Theologian saw how seven angels with trumpets came forward - the rulers of God's judgment - and an angel with a golden censer in his hands, which he filled with fire from the altar and "threw it to the ground." On the earth from this occurred "voices and thunders, and lightning, and an earthquake."

Seven angels prepared to blow their trumpets, announcing that the "day of the Lord" had come.

After the first angel "sounded", "hail and fire mixed with blood" fell on the earth. As a result, a third of the trees and all the green grass were destroyed.
After the sign given by the second angel, a huge mountain, resembling a ball of fire, plunged into the sea, which killed a third of the living creatures that lived in it, and drowned a third of the ships sailing on the sea. The third part of the sea water turned into blood.

The third angel sounded, and "a large star, burning like a lamp," whose name is "wormwood", fell from heaven to earth. From this, the water in the third part of the rivers and springs became bitter and poisonous, "and many of the people died from the waters."
The sound of the fourth angel's trumpet caused the defeat of the third part of the Sun, Moon and stars, as a result of which the third part of the day became night.
After that, John the Theologian saw an angel flying in the middle of the sky, which in a loud voice proclaimed: "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on earth from the rest of the trumpet voices of the three angels who will trumpet."

Then the fifth angel sounded, and a star fell from heaven to earth. She was given a key with which "she opened the well of the abyss." From there came a thick smoke, darkening the sun and the air, and hordes of monstrous locusts emerged from the smoke. She was like “horses prepared for war; and on her heads there were, as it were, crowns, like those of gold, but her faces were like human faces; and her hair was like the hair of a woman, and her teeth were like that of lions. She wore armor like iron armor, and the noise from her wings was like the sound of chariots when a multitude of horses flee to war; she had tails like scorpions, and her tails had stings. " John learned that her king was the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon (that is, "destroyer").
The terrible locusts, reminiscent of earthly scorpions, were supposed to attack not earthly vegetation, but people whom God did not mark with his seal, that is, sinners remaining on the earth (Fig. 27). But not to kill them, but to torment them for five months, and this torment will be like "torment from a scorpion when it stings a person." In this regard, in the “Revelation of John the Theologian” there is a terrible phrase: “In those days people will seek death, but will not find it; they will wish to die, but death will flee from them. "

The trumpet of the sixth angel announced the eerie pictures of the invasion of a huge cavalry army, two darkness in number, that comes from the Euphrates River. It is intended by God for the destruction of a third part of people, who were destined to perish "from fire, smoke and brimstone" that came out of the mouths of horses with lion heads. Their tails, like snakes, had heads and also brought harm to people.
The army killed a third of the people, but the survivors did not repent of their sins, and another punishment awaited them.

John saw a gigantic angel “coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; over his head was a rainbow, and his face was like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire. " He stood with one foot on the ground and with the other on the sea and held an open book in his hands. In a voice that sounded like seven thunders, he told John about the secrets of the future. The prophet was about to write down what was said, but he heard the voice of God, which rang out from heaven, which forbade him to do it. The angel, who stood on the sea and on the earth, raised his hand to heaven and announced that when the seventh angel sounded the trumpet, “there will be no more time” and “the mystery of God will be completed,” known to the ancient prophets. After this, a voice from heaven commanded John to take the book from the hands of the angel and eat it, because he had to "prophesy again about nations and tribes."
And finally the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices sounded in the sky: "The kingdom of peace has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ, and will reign forever and ever."

At this time, twenty-four elders, seated on thrones around the throne of God, bowed before Him and proclaimed: “... Your anger has come and the time has come to judge the dead and give retribution to Your servants, prophets, and saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great. and destroy them that destroy the earth. " And the third woe came: “The temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and earthquakes, and a great hail. "
Thus, John the Theologian conveyed a comforting message to the believers: the day of judgment is already near, we must wait a little longer and endure. In the end, those who suffered for their faith will be rewarded for their righteous torments, and they will find peace and happiness, and their executioners will inevitably overtake severe punishment. However, John in his "Revelation" does not stop there and continues to describe his visions.

He talks about a miraculous sign that appeared in heaven - “a woman clothed with the sun; under her feet is the moon and on her head is a crown of twelve stars. " The wife gave birth to "a male baby, who is to shepherd all nations with a rod of iron." While everyone was honoring the baby, the wife fled into the wilderness, where she was ordered by God to spend one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
Then in heaven there was a battle between the Archangel Michael and his angels with “the great dragon, the ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, who deceived the entire universe” and his evil angels. Mikhail won this fight. There was no place for the dragon with the angels in heaven, and they were cast down to earth.

It was at this moment that John heard a loud voice from heaven, which announced the overthrow of the devil and that salvation had come in heaven - the kingdom and authority of Christ.
The devil was defeated "by the blood of the Lamb" and also by the steadfastness and faithfulness of Christians, those who "did not love their souls even unto death." Great sorrow descended on all those living on earth and at sea, since the devil who was cast down to earth became especially furious, because he knew that he had little time left.

Having descended to earth, the dragon began to pursue his wife, who gave birth to a baby. But God gave her two wings, similar to those of an eagle. She rose into the sky and flew into the desert, where she hid from the dragon. The enraged serpent sent a river after her, which poured out of his mouth. But in vain: the earth itself came to the aid of his wife, she opened her mouth and swallowed up the river.
The dragon did not manage to overtake his wife, so he decided to "enter into war with the others (that is, those who came) from her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

In the next chapter, John describes two unusual animals that appeared to him in the next vision. He stood on the sand of the sea and suddenly saw a monstrous beast with seven heads and ten horns emerge from the sea. On his horns were ten diadems, and "on his heads are blasphemous names." In appearance he was “like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his strength, and his throne, and great power. " One of the heads of the beast “seemed to be mortally wounded,” but this wound was miraculously healed.

All living on earth worshiped the beast and the dragon who gave him power, except those whose names were "written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" and who showed "the patience and faith of the saints." The beast declared war on the saints, and "it was given to him to wage war with the saints and defeat them." But his power was established for a short time - only for forty-two months.
In his next vision, John described another beast, a red dragon (Fig. 28): “And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like the Lamb and spoke like a dragon. " He forced people to worship the image of the first beast, and those who refused to do so were threatened with death. At the instigation of the dragon, all people should have put "the mark of the name of the beast on the right hand or on the forehead." In the same chapter, words are heard that have become a mystery for many generations and subsequently received a rather contradictory interpretation: “Here is wisdom. He who has intelligence, count the number of the beast, for it is a human number; the number is six hundred and sixty-six. "

What was John the Theologian talking about, describing the images of a wife who gave birth to a baby, and two animals, and has the mystery of the number "six hundred and sixty-six" been solved? It turns out that the prophet was referring to quite real historical events.
The wife, crowned with twelve stars, represents the people of Israel. The dragon with seven heads and ten horns is a symbol of the Roman Empire, red is the purple of the imperial robes, seven horned dragon heads - seven emperors who ruled in Rome before they saw the light of the "Revelation of John the Theologian": this is Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho. The ten dragon horns, in all likelihood, symbolize the ten governors of the Roman provinces. The "male child" is none other than Jesus Christ, who is destined to "shepherd all nations with a rod of iron." God took Him to heaven under His protection, so the dragon did not manage to destroy "like the Son of Man."

So, if you substitute Hebrew letters in the "animal number" instead of numbers, you get two words: "Nero Caesar." This means that the beast, in which one head was mortally wounded, but healed, is an allegory that personifies the image of the Roman emperor Nero. The fact is that John the Theologian, as well as his associates, were convinced that the power of Rome and the unlimited power of the emperors came only from the devil himself. That's why
The miraculously healed dragon's head is a direct indication of the fate of the emperor Nero. This is evidenced by a real historical fact. In 68 A.D. NS. the governors of the provinces raised an uprising, the purpose of which was to overthrow Nero. As a result, the emperor committed suicide, and soon rumors appeared that Nero had survived.
So, those who kept the commandments of God won the victory over the dragon. Let's return now to the "Revelation of John the Theologian". What else did the prophet see on that great day of God's wrath? On Mount Zion stood the Lamb with all the redeemed "of men, as the firstborn to God and the Lamb."

In the middle of heaven, one after another, three angels appeared - heralds of the beginning of the judgment of God. The first angel, with the eternal Gospel in his hands, addressed the people who remained on earth with a loud voice: "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come." Another angel, who followed the first, announced the fall of the great city of Babylon, which "made all nations drink with the wine of the wrath of her fornication." The third angel proclaimed: “He who worships the beast and his image and takes the mark on his forehead or on his hand will drink the wine of God's wrath, whole wine prepared in the cup of His anger, and will be tormented in fire and brimstone before the holy angels and the Lamb. ; and the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever, and will have no rest day or night. "
And John heard a voice from heaven, which told him to write down the following words: "From henceforth blessed are the dead who die in the Lord."

Soon the prophet saw a bright cloud that appeared in the sky. On it sat "like the Son of Man" with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hands. Another angel appealed to Jesus with a call to lower the sickle to the ground and reap the harvest, "for the harvest on the earth is already ripe." The Son of Man lowered the sickle to the earth and performed his judgment, like the harvest and cutting of grapes.
In the next sign, "great and wonderful," seven angels appeared to John with seven final plagues, "with which the wrath of God ended." The prophet heard the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb, which were sung by “those who defeated the beast and his image,” glorifying the might of the Lord. After the voices had ceased, the gates of the heavenly temple were opened and seven angels came out, dressed in clean and light linen clothes. One of the four animals gave them seven golden bowls of God's wrath. The temple was filled with smoke, and no one could enter there until "the seven plagues of the seven angels ended."

A loud voice from the temple commanded the seven angels to pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth. After the first angel poured out his cup, "there were cruel and disgusting wounds on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image."
The second angel poured the bowl into the sea, and all life in it perished. The third angel poured the bowl into the rivers and springs, and the water in them turned to blood, for those who "shed the blood of the saints and prophets" were worthy of it.

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the Sun, which began to burn people mercilessly. However, the sinners did not repent and continued to blaspheme God for sending them suffering. Then the fifth angel poured the cup onto the throne of the beast, the sixth into the Euphrates River, in which the water immediately dried up, and the seventh angel into the air. A loud voice came from the temple of heaven. He announced that the judgment of God had taken place.
“And there was lightning, thunder and voices, and there was a great earthquake, which has not happened since people on earth ... And hail, the size of talent, fell from heaven on people; and the people blasphemed God for the plagues from the hail, because the plague from it was very grievous. "
In the following chapters, John predicts the fall of the ancient city of Babylon, which in the text of "Revelation" is presented in the form of an allegory - a harlot sitting "on a scarlet beast filled with blasphemous names, with seven heads and ten horns." Babylon fell because “it became a dwelling place for demons and a refuge for every unclean spirit, a refuge for every unclean and disgusting bird; for she (the harlot) made all the nations drink with the wine of the wrath of her fornication. " The great city was burned to the ground and devastated. This is how God's judgment on Babylon was accomplished. What caused the wrath of God?

There is a myth about the "Babylonian pandemonium", which tells that once all people spoke the same language and lived together between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. And they decided to build a city, which they later called Babylon, and a huge pillar - a tower as high as the sky. And God came down to see this city and the tower that people were building. He was angry with human pride and made it so that people began to speak in different languages and could not talk to each other.
Then a mess and confusion began. The tower remained unfinished, and people scattered across the land in all directions. From them came different peoples, each of which speaks its own language.
After the judgment on the people was carried out and God took revenge on the great city, John had another wonderful vision: the heavens opened up, and a white horse appeared with a rider sitting on it, who was dressed in clothes stained with blood. His name was the Word of God.

He was followed by the armies of heaven on the same white horses and in white robes. The beast and the kings of the earth went out to engage in battle with the One sitting on a horse and His army. The beast was captured and thrown into the lake of fire.
Then an angel came down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a large chain. He cast the devil in the form of a dragon into the abyss and "put a seal over him, so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were over." During this time, faithful followers of Christ are destined to reign and be priests of God and Jesus.
Those who backslid and bowed to the image of the beast will not come to life from the dead until the millennium is over. They, unlike the righteous, are not worthy of the first resurrection.

Further, John predicts that after a thousand years Satan will be released from his prison, but not for long. He will come out again to deceive the nations and gather them to fight against the saints. However, God will send fire on them from heaven, and the devil will be “cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever”.
After the reprisal against Satan, all the dead, small and great, will appear before the One who sits on the great white throne. And the sea, and death, and hell will give up the dead, who will be judged by God "according to their works." Those who sacredly followed the faith of Christ will be recorded in the book of life. This will be the second resurrection. The righteous will come down to earth with God. “And He will dwell with them; they will be his people, and God himself will be with them their God; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more; there will be no more crying, no outcry, no sickness; for the former things have passed away. "

“But the fearful, the unbelievers, the abominable, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all the liars — their lot is in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; this is the second death. "
And John saw a new heaven, a new earth, and a new holy city, Jerusalem, which would come down from God, out of heaven, and would need “neither the sun nor the moon for its illumination; for the glory of God is
and the Lamb bore him down, and his lamp was. The saved nations will walk in his light, and the kings of the earth will bring glory and honor into him. Its gates will not be locked during the day, and there will be no night ... And nothing unclean will enter it, and no one who is betrayed to abomination and lies, but only those that are written by the Lamb in the book of life. "
The last chapter of "The Revelation of John the Divine" tells about the instructions that Christ gives him, and about John's blessing for prophecy. The fortuneteller had to instruct people on the righteous path, that is, on the path of serving the faith of Christ. According to "Revelation", this is the only way to avoid the harsh punishment of the Lord, which will befall the unbelievers during the Last Judgment.
In conclusion of the conversation about the biblical Apocalypse, it should be mentioned that the question of the authorship of the "Revelation" is still open, and the answers to it are rather contradictory. Although most scholars dealing with this problem unanimously attribute the authorship to John the Evangelist, many priests dispute not only this statement, but also the authenticity of the text of Revelation itself. They suggest that this prophecy was not written and incorporated into the Bible in the 1st century CE. e., and much later, therefore, has no connection with John the Theologian. Thus, K. Jerusalem, I. Zlatoust, F. Karsky, G. Theologian do not even name "Revelation" among the canonical books.

Dionysius of Alexandria (III century), Eugene of Caesarea (IV century) and other well-known scientists-theologians, both ancient and modern, also expressed doubts about the authenticity of the text telling about the end of the world. And their suspicions can be considered quite reasonable. Having carefully studied "The Holy Gospel of the Life of Jesus Christ", written by John the Theologian in 95 AD. BC, scientists have expressed doubt that he was in 6 8–6 9 AD. NS. dace tweet spruce no nap i-sal prophecy about the awaiting people of the Apocalypse. Indeed, in the "Holy Gospel" he did not say a word about his "Revelation" and did not cite a single quotation from it.

However, the author of "Revelation" clearly enjoyed great authority among his contemporaries, as evidenced by the content of the first four chapters of the prophecy. He appeals to a number of Christian communities in Asia Minor, assesses their fidelity to the teachings of Christ, praises some, blames others for their weakness, for being tempted by the teachings of the false prophets who appeared among them. One can feel his excellent awareness of the secret life of various Christian communities. Based on this, it can be assumed that the author of "Revelation" is the very John the Theologian, who, as you know, was one of the apostles of Christ.
In addition, there are other reasons for seeing the Apostle John in the author of Revelations. Many early Christian theologians mention in their writings that he was stronger than all the apostles associated with the old faith, Judaism. In contrast to Paul, the "apostle of the Gentiles", who considered it possible, for example, non-observance of the Sabbath and circumcision rituals and argued that for God, Jews, Scythians and Hellenes are equally equal. John considered himself more of a Jew than a Christian.
In his "Revelation" John the Theologian not only tells about the details of the end of the world revealed to him from above, he even indicates the date of the onset of the Apocalypse: in 1260 days, that is, 42 months.

There is also a passage in the Gospel of Mark that tells about the Last Judgment, which is to end the "age of Satan." The prophet foretells terrible events that will take place before the second coming. It is these cataclysms that will be a test for humanity, for the sake of which the Son of Man was martyred.

From the book: S. A. Khvorostukhin Predictions of catastrophes. (Great secrets)

The revelation of John describes the events that will precede the second appearance of Jesus on earth, the appearance of the Messiah, and life after the Second Coming. It was the description of events before the Second Coming, and in particular various cataclysms, that led to the modern use of the word APOCALYPSE in the meaning of the end of the world.

Authorship, time and place of writing of the Apocalypse.

In the text, the author refers to himself as John. There are two versions of authorship. The most popular of these (traditional) attributes the authorship of the Revelation to John the Theologian. In favor of the fact that the author was John the Theologian, the following facts speak:

Four times in the text, the author calls himself John;
It is known from the apostolic history that John the Evangelist was imprisoned on the island of Patmos;
The similarity of some characteristic expressions with the Gospel of John.
Patristic studies confirm the authorship of John the Theologian.

Many modern scholars, however, dispute the traditional version, citing the following arguments:

The difference between the language and style of the Apocalypse from the language and style of the Gospel, written by John the Theologian;
The difference between the problems of the Apocalypse and

The difference in language can be explained by the fact that, although John was fluent in the Greek language, being in captivity, far from the living spoken Greek, naturally, being a natural Jew, he wrote under the influence of the Hebrew language.

It should be said that, while refuting traditional authorship, these researchers do not offer any reasoned alternative opinion. The difficulty lies in the fact that in the apostolic environment there were several John, and which of them was written Revelation is not yet possible. Mention by the author himself in the text of the fact that he received a vision on the island of Patmos, the author of the Apocalypse is sometimes called John of Patmos. The Roman presbyter Caius believed that Revelation was created by the heretic Kerinth.

As for the date of the writing of the Revelation of John the Theologian, the fact that Papias of Hierapolis was familiar with the text indicates that the Apocalypse was written no later than the 2nd century. Most modern researchers consider the time of writing 81 - 96 years. The 11th chapter of Revelation speaks of a certain "dimension" of the temple. This fact leads researchers to an earlier dating - 60 years. However, the majority believe that these lines are not factual, but symbolic in nature and attribute the spelling to the end of Domitian's reign (81 - 96 years). This version is supported by the fact that the Revelation came to the author on the island of Patmos, and it was there that Domitian exiled people he disliked. Moreover, the end of Domitian's reign is characterized as a difficult time of persecution of Christians, most likely it was in such a situation that the Apocalypse was written. Saint John himself points out the purpose of writing Revelation - "to show - what is to be soon." The author shows and predicts the triumph of the Church and the Faith. It was at the time of sorrow and difficult trials that such a work was needed as support and consolation in the struggle for the truth of Christ's faith.

When and how did the Apocalypse of St. John the Divine enter the canon of the New Testament?

As we said earlier, the first mentions of the Revelation of John the Theologian date back to the second century. The Apocalypse is mentioned in the writings of Tertullian, Irenaeus, Eusebius, Clement of Alexandria, etc. However, the text of Revelation remained uncanonized for a long time. Cyril of Jerusalem and Saint Gregory the Theologian opposed the canonization of the Apocalypse of John. The Apocalypse was not included in the canon of the Bible, approved by the Laodicean Council in 364. Only at the end of the 4th century, thanks to the authority of the opinion of Athanasius the Great, who insisted on the canonization of the Revelation of John, the Apocalypse entered the New Testament canon by decision of the Ippon Council in 383. This decision was confirmed and consolidated at the Council of Carthage in 419.

Ancient manuscripts of the Apocalypse.

The third papyrus of Chester Beatty

The oldest version of the manuscript of the Revelation of John dates from the middle of the third century. This is the so-called third papyrus Chester Beatty or papyrus P47. Third papyrus Chester Beatty contains 10 of 32 sheets of the Revelation of John.

The text of the Revelation of John the Theologian is also contained in the Sinai Codex. In total, about 300 manuscripts of the Apocalypse are known today. Not all of them contain the full version of Revelation. The Apocalypse is the least attested book of the Old Testament in manuscripts.

How is the Revelation of John the Divine used in worship?

Due to the fact that the Revelation of John was relatively late included in the canon, it was practically not used in the worship of the Eastern Church. This is one of the reasons for the small number of surviving manuscripts of the Apocalypse mentioned earlier in the article.

According to the Jerusalem charter (Typicon), establishing the order Orthodox divine services, the reading of Revelation is prescribed at the "great readings" at all-night vigils. V Catholicism The Apocalypse is read during the Easter period on Sunday masses. Songs from the revelation are also included in the "Liturgy of the Hours"

However, it should be noted that in real life the Apocalypse almost never not used at services.

Revelation of John the Evangelist - interpretation

In the text of the Apocalypse, John the Theologian describes the revelation he received in visions. The visions describe the birth of the Antichrist, the Second Coming of Christ, the end of the world and the Last Judgment. The figurative side of the text is rich and varied. Images of the Apocalypse have become very popular in world culture. In the Revelation of John the Theologian, the number of the beast is mentioned - 666. Many images were borrowed by the author from Old Testament prophecies. Thus, the author emphasizes the continuity of the Old and New Testaments. The Apocalypse ends with a prophecy about the victory of God over the Devil.

The Apocalypse of John the Evangelist gave rise to a huge number of points of view and attempts at interpretation and explanation. So, for example, there is an attempt to explain Revelation from the point of view of astronomy in the book by N.A. Morozov "Revelation in a Thunder and Storm". Attempts to interpret Revelation are multiplied in terrible epochs for humanity - in times of upheavals, calamities and wars.

The sequence of visions and their interpretation.

The mysterious nature of the Revelation of John the Theologian, on the one hand, complicates its understanding and interpretation, and, on the other hand, attracts inquisitive minds trying to decipher mysterious visions.

Vision 1 (Chapter 1)... The Son of Man with seven stars in his hands, who is in the midst of seven lamps.

Interpretation. The loud trumpet voice that John heard belonged to the Son of God. He calls himself Alpha and Omega in Greek. This naming emphasizes that the Son, like the Father, contains all that exists. He stood in the midst of seven lamps that represented the seven churches. The revelation of John the Evangelist is given to the seven churches that made up the Metropolitanate of Ephesus at that time. The number seven in those days had a special mystical meaning, meaning completeness. Thus, we can say that Revelation was given to all Churches.

The Son of Man was dressed in a podir and girt with a golden belt. The podir symbolizes the high priestly dignity, and the golden belt symbolizes the royal. His white hair personifies wisdom and old age, thereby indicating his unity with God the Father. The fiery flame in the eyes says that nothing is hidden from His gaze. His legs from Chalcoliban show the union of the human and the divine in Him. Chalkolivan is an alloy in which khalk (presumably copper) marks the human principle, and Lebanon - divine.

The Son of Man held seven stars in his hands. The seven stars symbolized the seven bishops of the seven churches, which at that time constituted the Metropolitanate of Ephesus. The vision means that Jesus is holding the Church and the shepherds in his hands. Christ appears in the image of the King, and the Priest, and the Judge - this is how he will be at the time of His Second Coming.

The Son of Man, who appeared, commands John to write down everything that appears in visions, as it befits to be.

The Appearance of the Son of Man to John

Vision 2(Chapters 4-5). Ascension of John to the heavenly throne. A vision of the One Sitting on a throne, surrounded by 24 elders and 4 animals.

Interpretation. Entering the door of heaven, John sees God the Father on the throne. His appearance is similar to precious stones - green (personification of life), yellow-red (personification of purity and holiness, as well as God's wrath towards sinners). The combination of colors indicates that God punishes sinners, but forgives and gives life to those who repent. The combination of these colors predicts the Last Judgment as destruction and renewal.

24 elders in white robes and golden crowns are representatives of humanity who have pleased the Lord. These are probably 12 representatives of the Old Testament history and 12 Christ's apostles. White clothing represents purity and purity. Golden crowns symbolize victory over demons.

Around the throne, the "Seven Candidates" are burning. These are seven angels or seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The sea before the throne - quiet and clean - sympholizes the souls of the righteous who live by the gifts of the grace of God.

The four animals represent the four elements over which the Lord rules - earth, heaven, sea and hell. According to another version, these are angelic forces.

Vision 3(Chapters 6 - 7). The lifting of the seven seals from the sealed book by the Slain Lamb.

Interpretation: The Lord sitting on the throne held in his hand a Book sealed with seven seals. This book symbolizes God's wisdom and God's providence. The seals represent the inability of a person to comprehend all the plans of the Lord. According to another understanding, the Book is prophecy that was partially fulfilled in the Gospel, and the rest will be fulfilled in the last days.

One of the Angels cries out for someone to open the book by removing the seals. However, there is no one worthy "neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth" who could remove the seals. One of the elders said that "the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David ... can open this book and remove its seven seals." These lines are about Jesus, who appeared in the form of a lamb with seven horns and eyes. Only he, who sacrificed himself for humanity, was worthy to know the wisdom of God. The seven eyes symbolize the seven spirits of God, as well as the omniscience of God. The Lamb stood next to God, where the son of God should have stood.

When the lamb picked up the book, 24 elders in white robes and 4 animals sang a hitherto unheard-of song, in which they glorified the coming of the new Kingdom of the Son of God, in which He reigned as the God-man.

Let's talk now about the seven seals and their meaning.

Removal of the first seal. The first seal is a white horse with a victorious rider holding a bow. The white horse symbolizes the activities of the holy apostles, who directed their forces (bow) against the demons in the form of the Gospel sermons.
Removal of the second seal. The second seal is a red horse with a rider who took the world from the earth. This seal represents the rebellion of the unbelievers against the believers.
Removal of the third seal. The third seal is a black horse with a rider. This is the personification of unsteady faith and rejection of Christ. According to another version, the black horse symbolizes hunger.
Removal of the fourth seal. The fourth seal is a pale horse with a rider named "death." The seal represents the manifestation of the wrath of God, including the prediction of impending disasters.

Horsemen who appeared after opening the seals

Removal of the fifth seal. Fifth seal - those killed for the Word of God put on white clothes. The souls of the injured righteous are under the altar of the Heavenly Temple. The prayer of the righteous sounds like a harbinger of retribution for everyone's sins. The white robes that the righteous wear symbolize virtue and purity of faith.
Removal of the sixth seal. The Sixth Seal is the day of anger, natural disasters and horrors before the end of the world.
Removal of the seventh seal. After the seventh seal was removed, there was complete silence in heaven for half an hour.

Vision 4(Chapters 8 - 11). Seven Angels with seven trumpets.

Interpretation. After the seventh seal was lifted, a silence reigned in heaven, which was the calm before the storm. Soon, seven angels appeared with seven trumpets. These angels are the punishers of the human race. Angels have trumpeted and unleashed seven great calamities on mankind.

The first angel - hail with fire falls to the Earth, as a result of which a third of the trees disappear, all the grass, including all the bread, burns out.
The second angel - the mountain, blazing with fire, was thrown into the sea, as a result of this disaster, a third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the ships and a third of the sea creatures perished.
The third angel is the falling of a star from the sky. A third of the rivers and water sources are poisoned and many will die using this water.
The fourth angel - the third part of the sun, moon and stars went out (eclipsed). The day was reduced by a third, which led to crop failures and hunger.
The fifth angel is the fall of a star from the sky and the appearance of locusts. For five months locusts tormented people who did not have the seal of God. This locust is human-like, has female hair and lion teeth. According to many interpretations of the Revelation of John, this locust symbolizes the sinfulness of human passions.
The sixth angel is the appearance of four angels associated with the Euphrates River. Angels destroy a third of people. After that, a cavalry army appears, whose horses have lion heads and snake tails. Four Angels are evil demons.
The seventh angel - most likely Christ himself, descends from heaven to earth. A rainbow over his head, and in his hands - an open book, which was recently sealed with seven seals. The angel has one foot on the ground, the other on the sea. The angel speaks of the end of time and the reign of eternity.

And I saw seven Angels that stood before God; and seven trumpets were given to them.

Vision 5(Chapter 12). The red serpent pursues the woman dressed in the sun. The war between Michael and the beast in heaven.

Interpretation. By the woman clothed in the sun, some interpreters of the Apocalypse of John the Theologian understand the Most Holy Theotokos, but most see in this image the Church clothed in the radiance of the Word of God.

The moon under his wife's feet is a symbol of constancy. The crown of twelve stars on the wife's head is a sign that she was originally assembled from the 12 tribes of Israel, and later led by 12 Apostles. The wife is experiencing birth pangs - that is, those difficulties in establishing God's will.

The great red serpent with seven heads and ten horns appears. It is the devil himself. Seven heads mean great ferocity, ten horns - anger directed against the 10 commandments, and red - bloodthirstiness. The crown on each of the heads says that before us is the ruler of a dark kingdom. According to some interpretations of the Apocalypse, seven crowns symbolize seven rulers who rebelled against the Church. The serpent's tail swept away a third of all the stars from the sky - that is, it led sinners to spiritual fall.

The red serpent pursues the woman dressed in the sun.

The serpent wants to steal a child who is to be born to his wife. A wife gives birth to a son, as the Church daily gives birth to Christ for believers. The child goes to heaven to God, and the wife flees into the desert. In this prophecy, many see a description of the flight of Christians from Jerusalem besieged by the Romans into the desert beyond the Jordan.

What follows is a description of the battle between Michael and his angels and the serpent. Many see this battle as a confrontation between Christianity and paganism. The serpent was defeated, but not destroyed. He stayed on the ground and pursued his wife. The wife was given two wings - the Old Testament and the New Testament, with the help of which she is transferred to the desert, probably here they mean the desert of the spirit. The serpent lets out a river from its mouth, wishing to drown its wife. But the earth opened and swallowed the river. The river here symbolizes the temptations that the believer must face. According to another version, this is a terrible persecution of the Christian church, characteristic of the time when the Apocalypse of John the Theologian was written.

In anger, the serpent unleashed his fury on the seeds of his wife. This is a symbol of the endless struggle of Christianity with sinfulness.

Vision 6(Chapter 13). A beast with seven heads and ten horns emerges from the sea. The appearance of the beast with the horns of the lamb. The number of the beast.

Interpretation. The beast coming out of the sea is the Antichrist coming out of the sea of life. From this it follows that the Antichrist is a product of the human race, he is a man. Therefore, one should not confuse the devil and the antichrist, they are different concepts. The Antichrist, like the devil, has seven heads. Ten heads with crowns indicate that the Antichrist will have power on earth, which he will receive with the help of the devil. Humanity will try to rebel against the Antichrist, but then he will reign over the world. The rule of the Antichrist will last 42 months.

Another beast described in the Revelation of John the Theologian is the beast with horns of the lamb. It is a symbolic representation of false prophetic activity. This beast emerges from the ground. The beast will show false miracles to humanity, using deception.

The beast with seven heads and ten horns, and the beast with lamb's horns.

All who worship the Antichrist will have the name of the Antichrist written on their face or right hand. The name of antichrist and "the number of his name" cause many controversies and interpretations. Its number is 666. His name is unknown, but in different epochs interpreters attributed his name to different historical figures, trying to connect the name and number of the beast.

Vision 7(Chapter 14). The appearance of the Lamb on Mount Zion. The appearance of the angels.

Interpretation. After the vision of the enthronement of the Antichrist on earth, John lifts his gaze to heaven and sees a lamb standing on Mount Sinai, surrounded by 144,000 chosen of God from all nations. The name of God is written on their face. They are joined by a host of harp-playing "new song" about redemption and renewal.

Next, John sees Three angels soaring in the sky. The first Angel proclaimed the "eternal Gospel" to people, the second - heralds the fall of Babylon (this is a symbol of the kingdom of sin), the third - threatens with eternal torment those who serve the Antichrist.

Looking up to heaven, John sees the Son of God in a golden crown and with a sickle in his hand. Angels announce the beginning of the harvest. The Son of God throws the sickle on the ground and the harvest begins - it also symbolizes the end of the world. The angel is reaping bunches of grapes. Bunches of grapes mean the most dangerous enemies of the Church. Wine flowed from grapes and grape rivers reached the horse bridle.

Harvest

Vision 8 ( Chapters 15-19). Seven bowls of anger.

Interpretation. After the harvest, John in his Revelation describes a vision of a sea of glass mixed with fire. The sea of glass represents the pure souls of those who survived the harvest. Fire can be understood as the grace of the Life-Giving Spirit. John hears "the song of Moses" and "the song of the Lamb."

After that, the gates of the heavenly temple were opened and seven angels in white robes came out and received from 4 animals seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of the Lord. Angels are instructed by God to pour out the seven bowls before the final judgment on the living and the dead.

The seven bowls of wrath are reminiscent of the Executions of Egypt, which were a prototype of the massacre of the false Christian kingdom.

The first angel poured out the cup - and an epidemic of disgusting ulcers began.
The second Angel poured the bowl into the sea - and the water became like the blood of a dead man. All living things died in the sea.
The third Angel poured the bowl into the rivers and springs of water - and all the water turned into blood.
The fourth Angel poured the bowl into the sun - and the sun burned people. By this solar heat, the interpreters of the Revelation of John the Theologian understand the heat of temptations and temptations.
The Fifth Angel poured out the cup on the throne of the beast - and his kingdom darkened. The adherents of the Antichrist bit their tongues from suffering, but did not repent.
The sixth angel poured the cup into the Euphrates - and the water dried up in the river. The Euphrates River has always been the natural protection of the Roman Empire from the attack of the peoples of the East. The draining of the Euphrates symbolizes the emergence of a path for the soldiers of the Lord.
The kingdom of the beast will finally be smitten by the outpouring of the last cup. John describes the fall of Babylon, the great whore

Angels pour out the seven bowls of the Lord's wrath

Vision 9... The Last Judgment (Chapter 20)

In this chapter, John describes a vision related to the history of the Church. He talks about the general resurrection and the last judgment.

Vision 10(Chapters 21-22). New Jerusalem.

John was shown the greatness of the new Jerusalem - the Kingdom of Christ, which will reign after the victory over the devil. There will be no sea in the new kingdom - for the sea is a symbol of impermanence. In the new world there will be no hunger, no disease, no tears.

Only those who will win in the confrontation with demons will get into the new Kingdom, others will be condemned to eternal torment.

The church appeared before John in the form of a beautiful city descending from the heavens of Jerusalem. There is no visible temple in the city, since the city itself is a temple. The heavenly city does not need sanctification also because God lives in it.

and showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem, which descended from heaven from God.

The Apocalypse of St. John the Divine is the logical conclusion of the New Testament cycle. Believers can learn from the history books of the New Testament about the founding and development of the Church. From law-positive books - a guide for life in Christ. The Apocalypse prophesies about the future of the Church and the world.

John the Evangelist

Such a chosen one, undoubtedly, was the son of the fisherman Zebedeus from the Galilee city of Bethsaida, John, known to us as an outstanding theologian, prophet and apostle of the faith of Christ.

At first, John was a disciple of John the Baptist, then for about three years he wandered with Jesus Christ in Palestine, calling the people to repentance and preaching the coming of the Kingdom of God.

The quiet and meek young man John was the youngest of the Savior's apostles. But spiritual gentleness was combined in him with boundless devotion to the Teacher and fearlessness.

Jesus always distinguished John and made him, James and Peter witnesses of mysterious events, which he hid from the other apostles until the time: this is the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, the glorious Transfiguration on Tabor and the prayer for the cup in the Garden of Gethsemane.

John repeatedly proved his love and devotion to the Savior. When the hour of His suffering came and the guards seized Jesus, all the disciples fled. And only John and Peter followed the Master to the house of the high priest. But Peter, in fear, began to hesitate and betrayed Christ.

John did not leave the Master. He heard the Jews shouting: "Crucify him, crucify", accompanied Christ to Golgotha and together with the Mother of God stood at the cross until the very death of the Lord. In the last minutes of his earthly life, Jesus commissioned him to take care of his Mother.

After the death of the Mother of God, John traveled a lot, preaching about Christ not only in Jerusalem, but throughout Asia Minor. During the reign of the emperor Domitian - the persecutor of Christians - he was exiled to the island of Patmos and miraculously escaped death.

Yet he did not suffer as much suffering as the other apostles. He was not beheaded like his brother Jacob; did not die on the cross like Peter. His life was not as turbulent as that of the Apostle Paul, who was first known as a persecutor of Christians, and then as a zealous adherent of Christ. John the Theologian lived evenly, quietly and lived to a ripe old age.

He became famous no longer as a doer, but as the author of the fourth Gospel, three Epistles and "Revelation", in which he predicted the fate of the world. The "revelation" of John the Theologian, or the Apocalypse, has been arousing mystical interest for many centuries. Each new generation interprets it in its own way, believing that the plagues, wars, famines and revolutions that fell to its lot were predicted by John the Theologian. No one is embarrassed by the fact that in every century these calamities are repeated regularly.

John's last vision contains the interpretation of the end of the world. It is this prediction that people carry over to their time, and this time is declared the end of the world or a threshold close to it. The end of the world was expected to have come many times, but it has not yet come ...

Historians interpret the "Revelation" in their own way and consider this interpretation to be the only correct one. In their opinion, this apocalyptic work is associated only with the formation of Christianity, and not with later times. It tells about the persecution of Christians and that this religion survived, defeated its persecutors and spread throughout the world.

John wrote his Gospel at the end of his life, in the nineties from the birth of Christ, when there were already stories about the earthly life of Christ Mark, Matthew and Luke. In his advanced years, John was compelled to take up the pen by the great activity of heretics who were shaking the foundations of the Church.

Divine inspiration itself helped John to penetrate into such mysterious and sublime depths of Christian truths. For this he was nicknamed the Theologian.

John died during the reign of Trajan and was buried in Ephesus. He lived, according to various sources, from one hundred to one hundred and twenty years. His memory is celebrated on May 8 and September 26.

The word "apocalypse" in translation from Greek means "discovery" or "revelation". The "Revelation" of John the Theologian is the only prophetic book of the New Testament. Predictions about the future are also contained in the Gospels, but nevertheless, it is in the Apocalypse in its entirety that mysterious predictions about the future fate of the church and the whole world are given. For many centuries, human thought has been trying hard to unravel the mystery of the Apocalypse and see the correspondence between the periods of history experienced and the visions of John the Theologian.

In our time, in the minds of most people, the word "apocalypse" is associated with something catastrophic, disastrous, terrible. Meanwhile, the Apocalypse was created in order to give courage to persecuted Christians, to reveal the meaning of the militant Church. And the main thing for which the Apocalypse was written is “to show what should be soon”.

“I was in the spirit on Sunday,” says the apostle. In the language of the prophets, “to be in the spirit” means to be in such a spiritual state when a person sees, hears and feels not with his bodily organs, but with his whole inner being. These are not dreams, but visions that appeared to John the Theologian.

And John saw “seven angels who stood before God; and seven trumpets were given to them. "

The trumpets sound, one after the other, of all seven Angels, which are accompanied each time by great calamities and executions for the earth and its inhabitants.

“The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mingled with blood, and fell to the ground; and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up. "

By the hail falling to the ground and "fire mixed with blood", many interpreters understood a war of extermination.

“And the second Angel sounded his trumpet, and like a great mountain blazing with fire fell into the sea; a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the animate creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships perished. "

The interpreters gave such a fantastic solution to this picture: a volcano will open at the bottom of one of the oceans, and its fiery lava will fill a third of the earth's water basins, bringing death to all living things. Others believed that bloody naval battles were depicted here in allegorical form with the help of newly-invented murder weapons.

“And the third angel sounded his trumpet, and a large star fell from heaven, burning like a lamp, and fell on the third part of the rivers and on the springs of waters. The name of this star is Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many of the people died from the waters, because they became bitter. "

For a long time, this prediction was understood as follows: a meteor will fall to the ground and cause poisoning of water sources, which will become poisonous.

However, this terrible prophecy was looked at differently in the spring of 1986. The world was shocked by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Chernobyl ... This Ukrainian word means "wormwood". Many then shuddered, remembering the lines of the Apocalypse, written by the apostle nineteen centuries ago.

"The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and the third part of the sun and the third part of the moon and the third part of the stars were struck, so that the third part of them was eclipsed, and the third part of the day was not bright, as were the nights."

It was believed that this is the easiest prediction, because it speaks of celestial eclipses, which have always terrified people. By themselves, they were harmless, but with their mysteriousness, they seemed to predict terrible troubles.

By the trumpet voice of the fifth Angel, a star fell from heaven, and “the key was given to her to the well of the abyss. She opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke came out of the pit like smoke from a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the well. And the locusts came out of the smoke to the ground ... "

These locusts, like scorpions, were ordered to torment people who did not have the seal of God on them for five months. The description of a monstrous locust, with a head resembling the head of a man, but with lion's teeth, leads some commentators to think that this is nothing more than an allegorical depiction of human passions.

Others find these locusts similar to airplanes and bombers. The horrors that people will then undergo will be such that they will seek death, but will not find it: "they will wish to die, but death will flee from them."

The trumpet of the sixth Angel sounded - and John saw the invasion of an innumerable foreign army: “The riders had fiery armor on them; the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and fire, smoke and brimstone came out of their mouths. "

By this terrible cavalry army they meant a bloody, merciless war, such as the Second World War, which people experienced not so long ago. And in the horses, spewing smoke and sulfur, tanks were easily guessed ...

John also notes that before the end of the world, there will be a general hardening and petrified insensibility of people who survived all these horrors, but did not repent of their own hands:

"And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their theft."

Surprisingly, in each, without exception, generation, truth-lovers and God-seekers blame their contemporaries for these sins and prove that the earth has not yet given birth to more insensitive and hardened people, which testifies to the near end of the world!

Before the last, seventh trumpet sound, John saw "another angel, strong, descending from heaven, clothed with a cloud, over his head was a rainbow and his face shone like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire," standing one on the sea, the other on earth. Raising his hand, the Angel swore to those living forever and ever that "there will be no more time, that is, the usual circulation of the elemental world will stop, and there will be no time measured by the sun, but eternity will come."

“And she was sweet as honey in my mouth; and when I ate it, my belly became bitter. " This means that John accepted the prophetic gift, as the Old Testament prophets did. And the Angel said to him:

"You must again prophesy about many nations and tribes and languages and kings."

In the next chapter of the Apocalypse, it was revealed to John that the holy city of Jerusalem would be given to the Gentiles to be trampled for 42 months, or three and a half years, "half a week." Numbers seven and three and a half - "half-week" were considered mystical and were often found in the Old Testament.

The trampling on the holy city, or the Universal Church, for three and a half years means that at the coming of the Antichrist the faithful will be persecuted for forty-two months. All this time, the "two witnesses of God" will preach repentance to people and turn them away from the deception of the Antichrist. The Church Fathers believed that these two witnesses were the Old Testament righteous Enoch and Elijah, taken to heaven alive. At the end of their preaching mission, "the beast coming out of the abyss," that is, the Antichrist, will kill the preachers, and their corpses will be thrown on the streets of the great city, where "Our Lord was crucified."

It is in Jerusalem that the Antichrist will establish his kingdom and will pretend to be the Messiah predicted by the prophets. And the infidels deceived by the false miracles of the Antichrist will worship him and rejoice at the death of the prophets. But the kingdom of the wicked will not last long.

In three and a half days, God will revive the prophets and take them to heaven. At the same time, as punishment for the unbelievers, a great earthquake will occur, a tenth of the city will collapse and seven thousand people will perish, and the rest, seized by fear, will give glory to God. This will deal a decisive blow to the work of the Antichrist.

The seventh Angel sounded, and joyous exclamations were heard in heaven:

“The kingdom of peace has become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and will reign forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders sitting before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God. "

It would seem that after suffering and troubles, believers received comforting news - “the time to judge the dead and give retribution to your servants” has approached, the exact time is indicated - three and a half years will need to wait and endure until the end of the world and the second coming of Christ, who will reward all the faithful and apostates.

“And there appeared in heaven a great sign — a woman clothed with the sun; under her feet is the moon and on her head is a crown of twelve stars. "

The most famous interpreter of the Apocalypse, Andrei of Caesarea, saw in this mysterious wife “the Church clothed with the word of the Father, shining more than the sun,” and not the Most Holy Theotokos, like some theologians.

The wife had in her womb and she gave birth to a male baby, who was to feed all nations. But then a new sign appeared in heaven - "a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns." The dragon wanted to devour the baby, but "the child was caught up to God and His throne."

This is how the birth of the Church in agony and the struggle between the Church and Satan, who appeared in the form of a dragon with seven heads, is described in an allegorical form. “Male child” is the image of Jesus Christ, who on the day of His glorious ascension was caught up into heaven and sat on the throne of His Father at His right hand.

"And the wife fled into the wilderness, where a place was prepared for her from God, so that they would feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days."

The flight of his wife was interpreted by many as the flight of Christians from Jerusalem during the Roman-Jewish war of 66-70. This war actually lasted one thousand two hundred and sixty days, or three and a half years. But you can explain the "flight of the wife" in another way - as a picture of the persecution of the first Christians, hiding from the oppressors in the desert, caves and catacombs.

"And the dragon was angry with the woman and made war with the rest of her seed, keeping the commandments of God and having the testimony of Jesus Christ."

These words contain a prophecy about the continuous and centuries-old struggle of the devil against the true sons of the Church, which he will wage until the end of the world, until his efforts are exhausted in the person of the Antichrist.

… The Antichrist appears in the next, thirteenth chapter of Revelation. John's visions continue. He stands on the sand of the sea when a monstrous beast appears from the sea, also with seven heads.

Under this beast, many interpreters saw the Antichrist emerging from the sea of life, that is, the human race. This means that the Antichrist will be a man, not an incarnate devil, spirit or demon. but appearance it resembled a little human:

“The beast was like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his strength and his throne and great power. "

This is how John saw the last enemy of Christ's Church. Gradually, although not immediately, he will gain power over the whole world. To do this, he will have to wage fierce wars and suffer defeat more than once, but still the Antichrist will reign over the world. He will be given a mouth that speaks proud and blasphemous. And his power will last forty-two months or three and a half years. Otherwise, according to the word of the Savior, no flesh would have been saved.

Despite the cruelty and power of the Antichrist, not all people will worship him. Only those whose names are not inscribed in the Lamb's book of life will worship him. “Whoever kills with the sword, that same one will be killed with the sword,” says the author of Revelation. This means that those who are faithful to Christ should be comforted by the fact that retribution awaits the Antichrist anyway.

The Antichrist will not be alone, he will have an accomplice, also a beast, but who came out not from the sea, but from the earth. This means that his feelings will have an earthly character. An accomplice of the antichrist was given the power of signs and wonders, so that, preceding the antichrist, he could prepare a path of destruction for him.

Imitating the Lord Jesus Christ, he will use two powers to establish the Antichrist - the power of words and the power of miracles. But his blasphemous speech will only produce atheism and utter wickedness. He knows how to work miracles. But his miracles consist only in dexterity, in deceiving the senses and in using the natural, but secret forces of nature with the help of the devil, within the limits of the power of the devil's forces.

All those who are deceived and worshiped the Antichrist will be imprinted with a "mark on the right hand or on the forehead," just as in ancient times slaves wore scorched marks on their foreheads, and warriors on their hands.

The rule of the antichrist will be so oppressive that "no one will be allowed to buy or sell, except those who have this mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

"The number of the beast" and "human number" - 666 were solved for many centuries in a row. The letters of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin alphabets have a numerical value. Substituting letters instead of numbers, they tried to read the name of the Antichrist. John himself, whom the church fathers and theologians called the seer, did not discover him, probably the grace of God did not allow this pernicious name to be written in the Divine Book.

By substituting Greek letters for numbers, the interpreters deduced the name of the emperor Nero. If Latin - the name of the Pope came out. Russian schismatics tried to "get" the number 666 from the name of Patriarch Nikon. With the help of some tricks at different times it was proved that the Antichrist is Napoleon, Peter the First, then Lenin, Stalin and even Gorbachev.

But perhaps, scientists suggest, the "Revelation" simply reflected the Jewish mysticism of numbers. Judaists believed that the numbers 3 and 7 are holy. Therefore, the number 777 was the expression of the holy of holies. If you subtract one from each seven, you get 666 - the embodiment of evil. This means that 666 is the embodiment of the Antichrist himself, who cannot be identified with any person.

Having depicted the highest stage of the triumph of the devil through his servant of the antichrist on earth, John turns his gaze to heaven. In this vision, the Church appears to him, the pure bride of Christ during the prosperity of the empire of the beast. The number of God's chosen ones who make up this Church is 144,000, represented figuratively in the form of the 12 tribes of Israel.

“These are those who have not been defiled with their wives, for they are virgins; these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. " By "virgins" they meant those who were saved from idolatry and paganism, because idolatry in the Holy Scriptures was called fornication.

Following this, three soaring Angels appeared in the sky. One of the Angels said:

"Fear God and do not fear the Antichrist, who cannot destroy your body and souls, and resist him with boldness, for judgment and retribution are near, and he has power only for a short time."

The Second Angel foreshadowed the fall of Babylon, which became a symbol of evil and wickedness in the world.

"Whoever worships the beast and his image and takes the mark on his forehead and on his hand, he will drink the wine of the fury of God."

And at the same time, the Apostle John heard a voice from heaven:

“From now on blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. To her, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors, and their deeds follow them. "

These words were a balm for the souls of thousands of early Christians enduring suffering and persecution for their faith. They went without fear even to martyrdom, hoping for a speedy resurrection and for reward for their faithfulness to Christ.

"And he that sat on the cloud threw down his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped."

By this harvest one must understand the end of the world, when rivers of blood of God's enemies will flow.

After that, the final part of the Apocalypse begins, covering eight chapters, from the fifteenth to the twenty-second.

Saint John saw “a sea of glass mixed with fire; and those who conquered the beast, and his image, and his mark, and the number of his name, stand on this sea of glass, ”which denotes the multitude of those who are being saved. The sea is mixed with fire, because fire in the Bible has two properties: one - scorching sinners, the other - enlightening the righteous.

Seven new Angels appeared in the sky. One by one, they pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth, and great calamities befall the human race.

When the first Angel poured out the cup, "there were cruel and disgusting purulent wounds on people who have the mark of the beast and worship his image."

When the second Angel poured out his bowl into the sea, the water in the sea became like the blood of a dead man, and everything that was animate in the sea died.

The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and fountains of waters, and the water in them turned to blood.

And the fourth Angel poured out his bowl on the sun, the sun was given to burn people with intense heat.

The Fifth Angel poured out his cup on the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became dark. The darkened kingdom of the beast signifies a gradual decline in its greatness and glory.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl into great river The Euphrates, and the water dried up in it, so that the path of the kings from the rising of the sun was ready. A map of the ancient Roman Empire will provide an explanation for this prophecy. The Euphrates was, as it were, a border, a stronghold that prevented kings with an army from going to the kingdom of Antichrist, that is, to Rome, to carry out the judgment of God.

After the sixth angel poured out his cup of wrath, three unclean spirits, like toads, came out of the beast's mouth. These demonic spirits gathered all the forces of evil for the war against the forces of good "in a place called in Hebrew Armageddon." “Mount Mageddo” is a place in Palestine mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. In ancient times, many battles took place there.

These few lines from "Revelation" have been interpreted for many centuries in a row, expecting from day to day Armageddon - the battle of God with Satan, after which all humanity will perish, except for all those who have endured and are faithful to the Creator.

After the appearance of the three unclean spirits, the seventh Angel came out and “poured out his bowl into the air: and from the heavenly temple from the throne a loud voice was heard: it is done! And there were lightnings, thunders and voices, and there was a great earthquake, which has not happened since people on earth. "

From this earthquake "the great city fell into three parts and the pagan cities fell," which means the final defeat of the kingdom of the beast.

One of the seven Angels informs John that the fate of Babylon, “the great harlot who sits on the scarlet beast,” with seven heads, has already been decided. The early Christians identified Rome with Babylon, which became a symbol of evil and lawlessness. And modern interpreters believe that Babylon will indeed be the capital of the Antichrist, a huge city distinguished by wealth and extreme depravity of morals. His death will happen suddenly and swiftly, "in one hour":

“Woe, woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen and purple and purple, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For such wealth perished in one hour! "

After the death of Babylon - the "great harlot" - John paints a great jubilation in heaven, among the host of saints and angels over the destruction of the kingdom of Antichrist and the coming of the Kingdom of Christ. The Kingdom of Christ is portrayed as "the marriage of the Lamb," and all the righteous take part in the "marriage supper of the Lamb."

Then the Divine Bridegroom Himself appears - the Lord Jesus Christ, seated on a white horse. He was followed by the heavenly host also on white horses. His appearance is majestic and formidable:

“His eyes are like a flame of fire… He was clothed in a garment stained with blood… From His mouth comes a sharp sword to strike the nations. He grazes them with a rod of iron. " He appears as a king with many tiaras on his head, which signifies His power in heaven and on earth.

And John saw “the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered to fight with the One sitting on a horse and with his army. And the beast was captured and with him the false prophet, who performed miracles in front of him, with which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image: both living ones were thrown into the lake of fire, burning with sulfur. And the rest were killed by the sword of the One sitting on a horse. "

When the beast was cast down, an Angel descended from heaven with the keys to the abyss and with a large chain in his hands. He seized the "ancient serpent, which is the devil and Satan," bound him for a thousand years and cast him into the abyss and locked him with a key. But after a thousand years, Satan will be released for a short time.

So, the earth was freed from Satan for a thousand years and the millennial kingdom of Christ began. The number 1000 means generally a long period of time until the second coming of Christ.

The Millennium is preceded by the Last Judgment. Before those sitting on thrones, to whom it was given to judge, the souls of those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus appeared. They were resurrected and will reign with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection for a select few only.

The first six verses of the twentieth chapter of "Revelation" gave rise to the doctrine of the "millennial kingdom of Christ on earth", called "chiliasm." The essence of this teaching is as follows: shortly before the end of the world, Christ the Savior will come to earth again, smite the antichrist, resurrect some of the righteous and establish a new kingdom on earth, in which the righteous, as a reward for their deeds and sufferings, will reign with him for a thousand years, enjoying with all the blessings of temporary life. This will be followed by a second, general resurrection of the dead, general judgment and general retribution.

“When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, and gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. "

These words mean that the Antichrist will appear before the end of the world. The freed Satan will try in the person of the Antichrist to deceive all the peoples of the earth and move Gog and Magog to battle against the Christian Church.

Some considered remote peoples as Goga and Magog, for example, the Scythians or Huns. But when translated from Hebrew, these two words mean "a gathering of nations." This means that "Gog and Magog" is just a metaphor denoting the fierce hordes of the Antichrist, which he will lead against the Church of Christ.

“And fire came down from heaven from God and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. "

The final victory over the devil will be followed by the general resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment. John was given to see "the great white throne and the One who sits on it" - administering judgment over the human race.

"And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life ... And each was judged according to his deeds."

“Opened books” mean the deeds and conscience of everyone, ”said Andrei Kesariyskiy. And they also symbolize the omniscience of God, who knows all the deeds of people.

One of the open books is the “book of life”, in which the names of the saints are written. Why only one "book of life"? Because there are few chosen by God.

"And whoever was not written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."

By "lake of fire" one should understand the eternal condemnation of sinners whose names have not been included in the book of life. And for the saved, death and hell will cease to exist, so they no longer need to fear death and hell.

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth ... And I, John, saw the holy city of Jerusalem, a new one, descending from God out of heaven ..."

"New Jerusalem" is an image of the triumphant Church of Christ after the coming

Christ and victory over the devil. And only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life, those who remained faithful to Christ, will enter into it. And God Himself will dwell with them in this wonderful city, and they will be His people.

In the concluding verses of Revelation, John confirms the truth and fidelity of everything that has been said and reminds of the nearness of the second coming of Christ.

The first readers of "Revelation" - residents of the Greek cities of Asia Minor and Judea, who understood Greek, did not guess or interpret the content of this book, they understood it well. The mysterious and wonderful images of the Apocalypse were transparent and clear for them.

First, because almost all of them were inspired by Old Testament, who knew John the Theologian very well since childhood. All the inhabitants of Palestine knew this book well, even the servants and slaves, because the Covenant was interpreted in synagogues and read in every house every day.

But even an illiterate contemporary of John, who did not know the Covenant, listened with great interest to the reading of his book, because it spoke of the present times and what should be soon. For these readers and listeners of the Apocalypse, "the woman clothed with the sun and crowned with twelve stars" was, without a doubt, the people of Israel with its twelve tribes. And the dragon with seven heads personified the Roman Empire, its red color - the imperial mantle, and the seven dragon heads - the seven emperors who ruled before the Apocalypse - Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba.

The seven-headed beast that emerged from the sea is another symbol of the Roman Empire. As you know, Rome stands on seven hills. Of course, John himself and the early Christians did not doubt that one of the dragon's heads first received a mortal wound and then healed. This is Nero, who committed suicide when his entourage rebelled against him, and then there was a rumor that he was alive.

Historians assure that it was not difficult for John's contemporaries to solve the riddle: “Here is wisdom. He who has intelligence will count the number of the beast, for it is a human number; his number is six hundred and sixty-six. " For many ancient peoples, numbers were designated by letters of the alphabet. If you substitute letters over the number 666, you get the words "Nero Caesar." However, later this explanation was challenged more than once, and modern scientists believe that the "number of the beast" has not been solved.

And under Babylon, which became a symbol of violence and dishonor, and under the "great harlot" who sits on a crimson beast with seven heads, they also understood Rome. And many of the details that were not solved in later times were clear to John's contemporaries.

Several centuries have passed. The terrible signs of the Apocalypse - wars and earthquakes, locust invasions and famine years - were repeated with enviable regularity, each time confirming the truth of John's prophecy. But many of the historical realities of the first millennium began to be forgotten. Readers and listeners of the Apocalypse no longer REMEMBERED, but INTERPRETED, unraveled, explained the images and prophecies of the immortal book.

The mood of the early Christians can be called joyful eschatological and optimistic. They expected the end of the world without fear, because only the infidels were to die in a catastrophe. The faithful were promised a new life in the Kingdom of God.

For modern readers, Revelation is a pessimistic book. If an atomic war breaks out, everyone, faithful and unbelievers, will perish, the earth will turn into a barren desert.

The early Christians sacredly believed that the end of the world would take place not by the will of people or any other reason, but only by the will of God. Yes, of course, wars were often started through the fault of kings or politicians. The evil human will also manifested itself in revolutions. But even then the Church explained to her children that wars are sent by the Lord to atone for original sin.

Today, not only ordinary believers, but also theologians admit that only people themselves can be the creators of potential disasters - environmental and military ones.

Almost two thousand years ago, John the Theologian wrote his "Revelation" and in an allegorical, very obscure form predicted the death of the forces of evil and the triumph of the Church of Christ. But many believers who do not accept allegories have taken and understand John's prophecies too literally. And from day to day they are waiting for the end of the world. Moreover, the seer indicated the exact dates - forty-two months, 1260 days, 666, a thousand years. How many times already - adding, subtracting, manipulating these numbers, "knowledgeable" people tried to calculate exact year the end of the world!

Some started from the generally accepted year of Christ's birth, others from the year of his crucifixion and ascension. Once it was proclaimed that the end of the world would come in 1000, then in 1033, in 1260, and so on.

How did people expect this great event? They prayed, put their earthly affairs in order, or finally abandoned them and went to monasteries. The righteous, who considered themselves to be such, rejoiced that they would finally leave the vale of the earth and see the heavenly Jerusalem. And sinners awaited the Last Judgment and just retribution with trepidation.

But time passed, catastrophes and wars followed one after another, and the end of the world did not come. People are tired of waiting. Historians have noted the ups and downs of apocalyptic sentiments and expectations. It is natural. But every time, major historical upheavals have exacerbated this apocalyptic sense of life. And people again began to read the "Revelation" of John the Theologian and count - has not the time come?

Historical turmoil has never escaped

Russia by the side. There were plenty of them in the seventeenth century - a split in the Orthodox Church, severe crop failures and famine years, pestilence epidemics, the appearance of a tailed comet in the sky. As a result of all these events, The Revelation of John the Theologian has become a very popular book in Russia, especially among schismatics.

Protopop Avvakum "calculated" from the "Revelation" that the end of the world will come in 1666. Obviously, he just added up the "number of the beast" and 1000 years before Satan's release from the abyss. The Old Believers were fanatical and very earnest people. They took the prediction of the rebellious archpriest very seriously. Some went into the forests or fled to remote places of the North, Siberia and the Volga region. Others not only fervently prayed day and night in anticipation of the cherished day, but also “forgiven”, stopped eating and died of hunger.

Self-immolations became widespread. In the last decades of the seventeenth century, official statistics alone recorded thirty-seven self-immolations, in which more than twenty thousand people died. The same supporters of Avvakum, who did not want to leave this life in this way, but decided to wait for the end of the world and die along with everyone, ordered coffins for themselves and performed a funeral service over each other in advance.

In 1666, the end of the world never came. Then his arrival was postponed to 1699, explaining that an error crept into the calculations. Habakkuk, until his martyrdom, continued to preach the coming of the Antichrist and the coming of the end of the world. His followers saw the Antichrist in Peter I.

Interest in "Revelation" in Russia never waned, but nevertheless the center of apocalyptic expectations of the end of the world shifted to America at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Preacher William Miller, allegedly plunging very deeply into the text of the Bible, discovered that it was on March 21, 1843 that the second coming of Christ would take place and the Kingdom of God would come. Like any prophet endowed with the gift of speech and persuasion, Miller had many followers. On March 21, under his leadership, hundreds of people gathered in a large field outside the city to meet the end of the world there. They were expecting a trumpet sound and the coming of Jesus Christ ...

But they didn’t wait. Miller explained to the disappointed flock that he was a little mistaken, and postponed the cherished day to October 22 of the same year. Then he endured the coming of the end of the world two more times. Despite the fact that Miller's prophecies never came true, he became the founder of the Adventist sect (from the Latin "Adventus" - coming). Adventists have spread all over the world and are still waiting for the second coming.

Today, representatives of some other Christian communities (except Adventists) - Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentecostals - talk about the imminent Armageddon, the holy war of good and evil, God against Satan. This Armageddon, of course, should be a thermonuclear war, in the flames of which all humanity will perish, except for Jehovah's Witnesses and a few faithful to God.

Armageddon was appointed by the heads of these communities, allegedly receiving revelations from God himself, for 1914, then 1925 and 1943. The prophecies did not come true. But each time the pastors explained to their flock that "the Lord hides his plans, but they need to wait and prepare, for the end of the world can come any day."

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