The Patience and Faith of the Saints

The Power of the BeastSpeaking of the Book of Life, I’ll tell you a story from the Holy Mountain that happened in the 1920s and 1930s at New Skete, where there were caves.

“>Part 25

If any man have an ear, let him hear (Rev. 13:9). Thank God, we all have ears and a tongue. But who hears? We have ears but we don’t hear. At least, we don’t hear God.

He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints (Rev. 13:10). Here the Apostle John speaks in a riddle. What does it mean? It means nothing will happen without foresight—every one of a man’s acts has God’s attention. God knows and sees all human affairs—then, now, and always. Whatever a man does, he’ll find a corresponding reward for his deeds. Whoever leads another man into captivity will himself be taken captive. Whoever kills others will himself be killed. This is a spiritual law.

However, despite all this, here will be the On the Virtue of PatienceDear brothers and sisters, there is nothing we more often encounter in life than misfortunes and sorrows! What should we do amidst all these misfortunes in order to keep ourselves from harm, to not be conquered but to become conquerors?

“>patience and faith of the saints. Why? Because first there will be persecution, and then—reward. God will leave you, your heads will be cut off, you’ll be chopped into a thousand pieces, and then God will appear. God doesn’t reveal Himself before it’s time. He strengthens man, but you have to reach the limit of your humility and strength. You’ll reach a point where you can’t take it anymore—you put all your effort into it, and then God intervenes.

This doesn’t mean God leaves you alone. God doesn’t leave anyone alone—He’s always with us. But God lets us feel abandoned so our free consent, our freedom can manifest itself. Then God appears, acts, and saves the man if he’s meant to be saved, and if he’s meant to die, then he dies.

On the Holy Mountain, I read some amazing testimonies of our brother the Romanian Vitaliu, who lived during the time of the communist regime, around the 1950s and 60s, and experienced terrible persecution. A young man, he grew old in prison, where they tried to break him. It’s hard to even talk about his torments. But Vitaliu remained faithful to Christ, and the Lord strengthened him: He gave him tremendous fortitude to endure everything.

The journals of these martyrs are being published now. We learn about their experiences from their recollections. Recently, there was a book, Enemy of the People, which talks about a priest who, like the Holy Hierarch Luke, underwent severe trials because he was considered an enemy of the people.

And in those days, the beast will have power, will lead the world, and patience and faith will help to endure terrible torments and death itself for the sake of the love of God.

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon (Rev. 13:11). Here he’s talking about another beast. This time, it doesn’t come out of the sea like the one before it, but comes up from the ground. It has two horns, like a ram’s horns, and its voice resembles that of a dragon, the voice of satan.

The Beast with Two Horns Like a Lamb, Albrecht Dürer, 1498 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed (Rev. 13:12). This beast does the same things as the other beast. He forces the whole earth and those living on it to worship the previous beast, whose mortal wound was healed. This second beast, coming out of the earth, has two horns and the voice of a dragon. The second beast has power and leads the world to the first beast, which deceived everyone, and pushes the world to worship the first.

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men (Rev. 13:13). The second beast works wonders and signs: Fire descends from the heavens to earth. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live (Rev. 13:14). You see, this beast also has power. God allows the second beast to work miracles, to do amazing things—to bring fire down from the heavens. And by these wonders, he draws people to serve the previous beast. He instructs those living on earth to make an image of the beast, which was wounded by a sword yet lives. Through miracles and signs, he pushes people to worship the first beast, to make an idol to him and worship it.

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed (Rev. 13:15). He manages to breathe life into the statue, which will be made to the previous beast. This statue will speak and work miracles. And those who don’t worship the image of the beast will be killed. We’ll be killed—there’s no way around it. May God grant that we be killed like this. Otherwise, if we worship the image of the beast, we’ll really be killed. I repeat, these are riddles. What do they mean? It’s unlikely there will be a talking statue—don’t think like that. So what is it? We can’t know, but we’ll see when it happens. We’ve been warned: When all this happens, God will preserve those who are faithful to Him, the pure of heart; God will enlighten them to recognize the signs.

The number of the beast

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six (Rev. 13:16-18).

So, what is this about? This second beast, which will animate the image of the first beast, will compel everyone—small and great, rich and poor—to inscribe a mark on either their right hand or forehead. And whoever doesn’t have this mark won’t be able to buy or sell. Those who have this mark, which will contain the name of the beast or the number of his name, will be able to trade, buy, and sell. And then the Apostle John says: Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

The Number of the Beast, William Blake, 1805 “My First Meeting with Elder Paisios”He told me, “You are related to us.” I said to him, “Geronda, are you from Cyprus?” He replied, “You’re slow-witted.”

“>Elder Paisios was asked: “If we know this number from Revelation, written two thousand years ago, why will people take it, instead of replacing it with another number?” Geronda said that they’ll do this despite knowing what all men understand perfectly well. But at the same time, men themselves shouldn’t be deceived by receiving this mark while understanding its meaning. It’s called a mark because it’s inscribed.

Geronda said there would come a time when, according to the best motivations, for a just reason, for many respectable reasons and necessity, people will start saying: “Why should you carry ID, a bank card, an insurance card, information about allergies—a thousand different things? You can lose these things or have them all stolen from you. Or you get in a shipwreck, a plane crash, or you get lost. Your loved ones will worry and look for you. And if you have the mark on your hand or forehead, they’ll be able to notify them about you. To prevent all this from happening, to help us travel anywhere and have all our information with us, we need to get this mark.”

It’s a good thing not to lose everything. You go to the airport, you hold out your hand, and there’s all your personal data. They check it, and you get on your way. You go to the bank, you hold out your hand, and they give you as much money as you ask for. You go to the hospital, perhaps you’re not doing well—you don’t remember, you were hit by a car—they put your hand in the machine, they see your blood type, chronic diseases, allergies, and everything they need to know. It looks practical and useful. As Elder Paisios said, it will be “served up” as a great necessity.

But what if we look at it differently? All of this will enable worldwide control. They’ll be able to monitor the entire world. There are already many harbingers of this. I’ll tell you honestly, the first time I read Revelation when I was sixteen, I started to panic: “Is satan going to be walking around with a seal stamping people? How will this happen?” It seemed like something fantastical, made up. How could this be possible? But today with the capabilities we have, computers, this can be done with ease.

People Accepting the Mark of the Beast, unknown artist, c. 1255     

On the other hand, the seal will have the number 666, like a code. I’m not saying it’s the seal of the antichrist. The antichrist doesn’t exist yet, but preparations for worldwide control are underway. When the antichrist comes, everything will be ready. You see how easily the economic crisis came? It spread to the whole world within a week. What happened? Something happened in two banks in America. This might seem unbelievable, but it happened in two or three days. Worldwide control doesn’t even seem strange anymore. The possibility of controlling everything already exists today.

A little later, we’ll read in Revelation about how a time will come when every man, wherever he may hide, even in a cave, will be found. With today’s satellites, this is already possible.

No one will be able to do anything without this inscription. No one. To buy and sell, you have to have this inscription. At the same time, there will be people who are truly dedicated to God who won’t accept either this number or inscription.

For all this to begin, the antichrist, the beast must come. Until he comes, all the rest is the gathering of clouds. When the antichrist comes, a storm will break out. Everything will be prepared. We’re seeing one sign after another. We’re moving towards the end—that’s the reality. Every day, the life of this world brings us closer to the end. But until the antichrist comes, all these signs can’t be considered satanic.

—Will they be able to force this mark on anyone?

—It won’t be forced upon you, but they’ll create the conditions to deprive you of everything. You won’t be able to have any money, you won’t be able to buy, sell, travel, go to the hospital—nothing. You’ll have to make up your mind then, take five little goats and go to the mountains.

—We heard about two beasts: One is the leader and the other is subordinate. Who are they?

—Satan the dragon has two beasts: One is the antichrist, the other is a false prophet, and they support each other. They’ll be people: the antichrist and the false prophet.

—In Revelation, the Apostle John speaks of several antichrists.

—Yes, he speaks about many antichrists. The mystery of the antichrist, the mystery of lawlessness is that there will be many forerunners of the antichrist, but in the last days, one will come. The heretics who precede him are the instruments and forerunners of the antichrist.

—How will we know that the antichrist has come?

—He’ll have two main characteristics: He’ll be in the place of Christ, that is, he’ll try to take His place, and he’ll be against Christ. He’ll fight against the Church and against Christ and present himself as the savior of the world. He’ll work wonders.

—Will we be able to know him by how he acts?

—We’ll recognize him by the arrogance and haughtiness in his words. He’s going to persecute the Church and Christ.

—Geronda, who will help us in the time of the antichrist?

—No one will be left without God’s care. God will preserve those who have faith and remain faithful to Christ. God won’t abandon us. We won’t be cast into the hands of satan. God is with us! Revelation was written to tell us that Christ will prevail.

“I Have Overcome the World”     

Here it talks about beasts, but further on you’ll see that all these beasts will go into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. Christ will prevail. Revelation was written to impart strength and boldness to us, so we wouldn’t be afraid.

We know that all this can happen, but whoever unites with Christ will have greater power than satan. “The least among us is the greatest in the world”—the least among us is greater than satan. The Lord won’t abandon us. He’ll protect the smallest, simplest man; he won’t allow him to get lost. Those who want to be tempted and those who are enslaved by sin are the ones who will be tempted. The man of God won’t be tempted and won’t be afraid of all this.