Photo: icon-art.info Christ is in our midst, my dear readers!
In the church we heard the prophetic epistle of the apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:1–18), in which it says that just as the antediluvian world was destroyed by water, so the present world will be destroyed by fire. The heaven and earth of today are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. The Lord takes His time in fulfilling this promise. He does not destroy our world for now, despite all the evil that is done it in, because He is waiting for people’s repentance. But that the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up is already predetermined in God’s Providence.
If everything that has been and will be created by people in the material, scientific, and cultural sense is condemned to destruction, then what is the point of man’s life at all? It is in one thing alone: to live this life in such a way that we might receive the right to become citizens of the New Heaven and New Earth, where righteousness will abide.
Mankind has lost the battle. Neither its culture, nor philosophy, nor even natural morality have been able to restrain the spread of evil on earth. Never mind in love, but not even in truth and justice have people learned to live together. Falsehood and hypocrisy are becoming the customary masters on our planet. Love and truth are being trampled underfoot, faith in Christ and the Church are becoming hindrances to the spread of the reign of darkness on earth. The godless are becoming even more depraved, and the righteous are ever more sanctified.
Apostle Peter teaches us that we should consider God’s tarrying as our salvation. Every day is a gift from above that brings a person closer to God, or it can further separate him from Him. The birth of a New Heaven and New Earth will be like a fiery meltdown in which everything that bears evil will be burned and destroyed. Therefore, the apostle writes, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. Only such people will be able to obtain residence permits in the new, eternal world.
