Parusia of Christ and “the end” of the world. – The Christian Eschatology includes learning about last moments of salvation history; the physical death of the man and particular judgment; the second arrival of Christ and pervious signs; the revival of deceased and the public judgment; release ...
Parusia of Christ and “the end” of the world. – The Christian Eschatology includes learning about last moments of salvation history; the physical death of the man and particular judgment; the second arrival of Christ and pervious signs; the revival of deceased and the public judgment; release of nature from immorality slavery and its renewal; passing for eternity of good people to heaven and bad people to torture of hell.
Within this learning, the Christian moral appreciates human facts according to their importance for earthly life (Matei V,5,25-26), but especially according to their importance for the future life (Matei X, 42,XXV, 31-460. The Church is teaching that earthly life of faithful people is a prelude and a premise of heavenly life, and any grand, the words and the facts will receive the just reward in the future life; that physical death of the man is just a temporal separation of the soul from the body and by deceased revival and transformation of alive people, at the second arrival of Christ, all faithful people will enter to a new state, without changing and endless.
In eschatological preoccupations of the Christian, first of all there is the care for the next end of his earthly life: the physical death, that the Holly Scripture considers a punishment and a consequence of ancient sin (Rom. V, 120 and the entry door to eternal life (Ioan XII, 24 ; I Cor. XV, 36). It is the reason for which the Church advises the faithful people that, before being preoccupied by the second arrival of God and last judgment, they mast take care on the nearest eschatological moment; the individual one, which is also the most important moment of the life of anyone – the separation of the soul from the body (II Cor. V, 1-10). It advises faithful people to be prepared to meet Christ at particular judgment, soon after the death.
In the books of Old Testament there are few teaching about soul state after death. In the old days the Jews believed that God rewards the good and the bad just here on the Earth and they imagined that, while the deceased bodies joined the earth from which they were made, their souls go for ever to “Seol”, a solitude, sadness and resignation place.
But the Eschatology of New Testament of more clear and full of hope. Saint Apostle Paul, en Jews XIII, 14, he said: “We have no permanent fortress here, but we are finding the future one”, and in II Corinteni V, 1-10, he declared: “We know if our tent is damaged, we have a house from God, a house not made by hand, eternal, in the heaven ... That we must appear before Christ, to receive each of us according to what we did through the body, good or bad”. Also, Saint Apostle Peter in his second synodial Epistle, he wrote: “We are waiting new heaven and new earth, where the justice is living”.
The Holly Scripture is concern on the issued regarding the human salvation, putting on the second plan the interest on cosmic events and the future state of the universe. In biblical books, we are finding only by chance allusions to laws governing the material world. As the human life may not be separated from the cosmic environment where it is developing from the beginning and which will accompany for ever, the Holly Scripture does not ignore the fact that between the man and the environment, “from the beginning, there was a relation of physical and moral solidarity”.
Thus, The Saint apostle Paul, speaking about the consequences of ancient sin, declared that because of not obedience of first men, “all people was subordinated to vanity” and like her “together sigh and is until now like in birth pains, to the hope that will be saved from immorality slavery, to enjoy the freedom of God’s sons” (Rom. VII, 18-25), comp. Childbirth III, 17-18).
Saying that the world is “subordinated to vanity”, does not mean to affirm that it is knavish and scornful. As it is known, the Church punished, in old times, Gnostics and Manicheans, who sustained that the world is bad and will be fully destroyed by God. The Church punished with the same severity in the Middle Age, the persons sustaining that the end of the world is close and the faithful people must leave their work, in order to be prepared, by prayers and vigil, the second arrival of God and the universal judgment.
We, as theologs, know very well, by studying the church history, the causes of arising the eschatological wanderings of the first ages of the Christianity: the lack of culture of faithful people, the violence of persecutions of Roman state, the impossibility of faithful people to release from the cleavages exploitation and poorness, the disgust of miserable people to live in a world incorrectly divided in free people and slaves, rich people and poor people, satiated and famished, the wish of desperate people to find the justice and the pace at least after death, in the heaven realm of Jesus Christ.
We certainly know also the causes of eschatological wanderings of Middle Age; the cultural and religious backward of faithful people, the cruel feudal exploitation, the abuses of Roman – catholic hierarchy and inquisition, many migrations of people and the endless wars, which exhausted the patience of oppressed people who whished that the whole world be destroyed, instead of a life full of injustice and pains.
Such wanderings may disturb sometimes the soul peace of faithful people and to prevent them from their religious tasks; fighting the wrong interpretations of biblical eschatology is representing a permanent pastoral obligation for the servants of our holly altars. In order to fulfill these obligations, we have to mention the following theological issues regarding the Holly Scripture;
It is true that the Holly Scripture many times speak about “the end of the world” (Ps.CII, 26-27); Isaia LI 6; Matei XXIV, 35; II peter III, 7, 10 etc.). But this “end” was not understood in a pessimist way, as destruction, a disappearance or returning of the world to nothingness. On the contrary, by “end of the world” the biblical eschatology understands, in a positive way, its full purification by any imperfection, its total renewal, its fulfillment.
Thus the Saviour speaks about “world renewal” in Matei XIX, 28 and Saint Apostle Peter wrote: “We (Christian people) are waiting, according to God promises, new heaven and new earth, where justice will be” (II Peter III, 13). In the some way, Saint Apostle and Evangelist Ioan, speaking about one of his prophetic visions, he mentioned the life of the future century and he said: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; because the first heaven and the first earth were gone... And will be no death, or tears, or cry, or pain, as the first ones were gone” (Apoc. XXI, 1-50.
The Christian faith that the works will be renewed by God is arisen by the strong relation, in Holly Scripture, with the teaching about the second arrival of Jesus Christ, about the deceased revival and last judgment (Matei XVI, 27; XXV, 31-46; Ioan V, 28-29; I Tes.IV, 13-18; I Cor. XV, 35-38; Apoc. XX, 11 S.U.). But the Holly Scripture does not say to us when Jesus Christ will arrive for the second time and when will take place the “world renewal” and does not give us any information to assess the respective date.
All the Holly Scripture says about the “end” of this world and the beginning of the “future world” is the affirmation that this date will be chronologically the same with the second arrival of Christ, the event shortly named “Parusia of God” ( the Greek word “Parusie” means: presence, arrival”.
The prophets of Old Testament wrote just a few about Parusia of Jesus Christ (Isaia LXVI, 15-18, Sofonie I, 14-18). There is a clear explanation because it was not appropriate to speak much about the second arrival of Messiah, before the first one. In Old Testament, there are few words also about the deceased revival (Isaia XXXVI, 19; Ezekiel XXXVII 1-14), on which, excepting saduchens, all Jews during the Saviour believed (Ioan XI, 24).
But in New Testament often and clearly are mentioned the second arrival of God and the deceased revival. Thus, the Saviour solemnly declared that the Father will return to prepare the place for His apprentices (Ioan XIV,3) will come back in the clouds of the sky, strong and with much glory” (Matei XXIV, 30; XXVI, 64; Ioan XIV, 18, 28). Also, while the Saviour gone to the heaven, the angels said to saint apostles: Galilean men what are you looking for the heaven? This Jesus, who gone to the heaven, so he will return, as you sow him going to the heaven” (Facts of apostles I, 11). Saint Apostle Paul – speaking about Parusia of Christ and deceased revival and transformation” – he wrote: “God Himself ... will come back from the heaven and the deceased will be revived first; after that, we alive people remained, will be taken together with them to the heaven to meet God, and will remain with God for ever”, (I Tes. IV, 16-17).
The date of Parusia of God – of which depend the world renewal and deceased revival for last judgment – is known only by God (Matei XXIV, 36, Marcu XIII, 32) and the Saviour did not wanted to discover it and also prevent his saint apostles and apprentices to be preoccupied by finding it or to ask him about this issue: “You don’t need to know the times or the dates God put in His power” (Facts I,7).
Jesus Christ told us about His Parusia only that He will suddenly come back, as flood came during Noe patriarch, as fur comes in the night, as arrive the birth pains for pregnant woman and lighting comes from the East to the West (Matei XXIV, 27, 36-44, XXV, 13; Marcu XIII, 33-37; Luca XVII, 24-30; according to this teaching, the Saint apostle Paul wrote: “And about times and years, brothers, we don’t have to write about, because you know very well that God Day will arrive as a fur in the night ..., like pain of pregnant woman” (I Tes, V, 1-3). The same wrote Saint Apostle Peter: “And the God day will arrive as a fur” (II Peter III, 10).
The Saviour wanted to tell us in advance only some general information concerning few previous signs of His Parutis: some of these signs are anterior, others are concomitant. Anterior are: preaching the Gospel to all people (Matei XXIV, 14); foreboding, thaumaturgies and Christ liars between faithful people (Matei XXIV, 24); increasing offences and decreasing the brother love between faithful people (Matei XXIV, 10,12). Concomitant signs are: sun darkening, heavenly bodies fall, serious disturbances of nature laws (Matei 1 XXIV, 7,29), “the sign of Man’s Son” in the sky (Matei XXIV, 30), that means the Holly Cross.
The saint apostles – completing, after their revelation, this eschatology – is discovering others signs pervious to God Parusia but having the same general character: Conversion to Christianity of Jews people (Rom. XI,. 25-26) and abandoning the Christianity (II Tes. II, 3) and the activity developed within the Church by a sinister religious person – named “Sin man”, “perdition son”, “without law”, “The hostile” -, who will realize false miracles, will manage the Church, considering that he is the supreme God, asking for adoration to his faithful people (TT Tes. II, 3-10; of. Matei XXIV, 15).
Some commentators named him the “Antichrist” and tried to promote the idea that he will be a person outside the Church and against it. But we have to mention that, according to Ioan I, 18,22; I1V, 3 and II Ioan 7, the name of “antichrist” was given by saint apostle and evangelist Ioan to dochet, cerintians and nicolaits – heretics from the end of apostolic age -, that means to some people from the Church and not outside it.
Others commentors identified this person to that symbolically described by saint, apostle and evangelist Ioan in Apoc. XX, 7-10, and the style of this biblical book is symbolic and does not allow any literal interpretation.
In fact, the few texts concerning this person don’t allow any updating and don’t concern person outside the Church or to usual historical events. From the content of these texts, it is very clear that the Savior (Matei XXIV) and also saint apostle Paul (II Tes. II, 3-10) mention only the itenrnal life of the Church and the religious activity developed by Christians by some lier teachers or heretics or by some unworthy clerics. As they are announced by biblical texts, means that these signs will happen before Parusia of Jesus Christ and world renewal, but none of them has the character of a precise prognostication, clear and indisputable. In all biblical pericopes having eschatological significance, the aghiograpfs use poetry images or rhetoric figures, or indefinite expressions of general indications, from which it is impossible to take a precise teaching about the date of the second arrival of Jesus Christ and the final renewal of the world.
Jesus Christ in His great prophetic and eshatologic speech from synoptic Gospel (Matei XXIV and XXV; Marcu XIII; Luca XVII, 20-37 and XXI, 5-26), describes in literal sense only de demolition the Temple, devastating Jerusalem and inevitable cancellation of Judaic state during His times by Roman army, while about events, chronologically much more far away, which will precede His Parusia and the “end” of the world, speaks in poetry and symbolical figures to emphasize their splendor.
Also the Saviour, in the answer to the question of Apostles concerning the date of Temple demolition, the date of His Parusia and the date of the “end” of the world and starting future life (Matei XXIV 3; Marcu XIII, 3-4; Luca XVII, 20 and XXI,7) does not announce not even the score of religious and national catastrophe of Judaic people, even He used the events from Judea, between the period 68-70 as a type (model, imagination) to describe the general events preceding His Parusia. During His entire prophetic and eschatological speech from synoptic Gospel, the intention of the Savior is clearly to give to Apostles some moral and religious recommendations: “Take care not being deceived by somebody...Don’t be afraid, as all must be, but the end is not coming... And about that day and hour nobody knows, not even the angels from the heaven... So you also have to be ready, because the Son of the man will suddenly arrive” (Matei XXIV,4,6,36,44) or: “Wake as you don’t know the day or hour when the Son of the man will come” (Matei XXV,13) and again: “So take on yourselves, don’t burden your hearts by too much food and drinks and the world troubles and suddenly that day will arrive. Wake but praying to leave all behind and to stay in front of the Son of the Man” (Luca XXI, 34-36).
The same are doing saint apostles in their missionary and pastoral activity. Thus, after remembering to faithful people the unexpected character of God Parusia, Saint Apostle Paul wrote: “You are the sons of light and of the day; we are not the sons of the night or of the dark. So don’t sleep like the others, but let’s wake and let’s be awake...putting on the armour of the faith and love and the helmet of the salvation hope” I Tes. V, 5-8) or: “And please brothers, concerning the arrival of Jesus Christ and our meeting with Him, don’t move by your mind and don’t be afraid...Ant don’t be deceived in no way” (II tes. II,1-3); “So brothers stay well and keep the knowledge you learned from our words or letter” (II tes. II,15). At his turn, saint...apostle Peter wrote: For that, waiting this, take tare to be found by Christ without guilt, blameless, peaceful. And the long patience of “our God you have to consider it as a salvation...And knowing this before, take care to continue to be strong, without being influenced by the wandering villainous” (II Peter III, 14-17)
The confirmation that the biblical texts don’t allow any prognostic about the date of Parusia of Christ and the “end” of the world is coming also from the history. The normal passing of the times and always going farther away of the history contested, during the ages, all wrong and pessimist interpretations of biblical eschatology and will be certainly contested in the future. Thus, at the middle of apostolic age, the history selected those Thessalonica Christians who, considering that the Parusia of Chris was close, they leaved their work, affecting the others faithful people by somber eschatological predictions and waiting in any moment the end of the world. Without the intervention of saint Paul by all his authority as an apostle, the Greek – Roman world was covered by the scandal of an entire religious group, pauperized by false eschatological illuminist, compromising the prestige of Christians.
In fact, the absurdity that the date of Parusia of the God and the “end” of the world were near is clearly resulted by the biblical revelation about the faithful people role. Who really believe the word of the God from saint Scripture, must be absolutely sure in his heart, that this world will be not ended before the blessing – also as an order – which the Almighty God said at creation moment to protoparents of humanity and to all their heirs, when He said: “Grown up and breed and fill the earth and subjugate it” (creation I, 28).
Saint scripture says us that God gave to the men first the order and blessing to “grow up”. Who may declare that the humanity is already grown up to his full capacity?
God gave also to the men, at creation moment, the order and blessing to “breed and to fill the earth”. Who may declare that the humanity arrived or will arrive in next future to the maximum level of his numerical breed or will fill all the earth? At the same time, God when blessing people, at creation moment, gave them also the order to “Subjugate the earth and to rule the fish of the sea and all the birds of the sky, all animals on the earth, all plants and trees” (Creation I, 28-30). Who may pretend, observing the true, that the humanity fulfilled or will fulfill such a role?”
The seas and oceans represent an enormous and eternal source of food and richness so precious, which until now only few of them were provided to the man.
These summary theological and rational considerations, prevent us to understand how a Christian may put together the biblical teaching about the wisdom, kindness and divine providence, with pessimist, negative and catastrophic ideas about the future of humanity and universe. They also make us to wonder how some Christians may declare on one side the dogma about God kindness and on the other hand, to have pessimist interpretations about biblical eschatology.
So these considerations oblige - and this is very important for our pastoral and missionary tasks – to fight against any subjective, not scientific and tendentious updating of biblical prophecies with eschatological character and to protect the Christians against their negative influence. In fact, the Holy Spirit discovered to us by Saint Scripture and Saint Tradition, only what is useful for salvation, not the science. The Saint Scripture and Saint Tradition include the religious true discovered by God, and the science the material true discovered by human efforts: “by your efforts you will get your food” (Creation III, 190, By biblical inspiration, God did not give to the man, in Saint Scripture, data of positive science, but religious and moral teaching. So Holy Scripture may not be considered – like by Roman – Catholics from middle age – as an encyclopedia of all knowledge about the world and the life.
Being a religious book, the Holy Scripture only incidentally speaks about some scientific issues, considering them not according to reality, but according to cultural state, mentality, language and the environment of the time when it was written. So biblical texts may not be considered as a basis to fight against the affirmations of scientists that on our plant they may have an interesting, rich and happy life, for a period of thousand and ten hundreds millions of years, a more and more number of people. Also, no faith teaching of the Church does not give us the right to be skeptical about the hope of scientists that the humanity will finally find the ways to provide an unlimited multilateral development, subjugating the entire nature.
The humanity is not passive, waiting a “new sky” and a “new earth”, but is trying to realize them, as it is possible or at least to be near to their realization, by different ways. Thus, the medicine fights to cure the illness and to prevent the old age. The art fights to realize the beauty. The science fights to know all things and energies from the universe and the technique fights to continuously extract the energy of material and facilitate the human work. All these aspects must by considered by Christians as a testimony that even in material plan we go to perfection, to a new and superior world, to what biblical Revelation is suggesting, on spiritual plan, by expressions “new earth and new sky”.
The eschatological pessimism of those people who grope finding analogies between some eschatological signs symbolically described by Holy Scripture and some situations of moment from church or universal history, is not according to our time. Don’t forget that in the first ages Christians appreciated a lot the ascetical life, and in middle age the individual pietism and mystic life, in our century the Church appreciate and cultivate especially the virtues which have a contribution to: ennoblement and strengthening social life: justice, freedom, equality, labor, pace, mutual help.
Returning to piety forms adequate only to that ages, means to try to return the time, to leave the normal way of historical development and to put the Church against the normal progress of the society. By this, the Christians will be against to its role for Christians. So those people who have these ideas are eliminated by their selves from discipline of Christian life and also by general rules of social life.
The realm of thousand years – between eschatological wanderings, there is also the faith of some neoprotestants cults that between two moments (considered to be different): Parusia of Christ and “end” of the world, Jesus Christ will create on the earth a realm of a thousand years, governed by Him and chosen people.
The origin of the faith is very old. It is known that the Judean faithful people of old times, after Babylon exile, understanding in a wrong way some messianic prophecies of Old testament, they hopped that Messiah, will create, only for them and against other peoples, an earth realm and after this realm will arrive the end of the world and the Last Judgement. So in an apocrypha book written by patriarch Enoh (XVII-XXXVI) he told that the happiness – brought to Judaic by messiah will be long and will start by a harsh judgment of others peoples and villainous. According to apocrypha named Testament of 12 patriarchs, it was made by gold for Judean people and will be inaugurated by the revival of chosen people. Apocrypha Book IV of Esdra considered that the messianic realm promised to Judeans will be an earth prelude of heaven happiness and will be ended by general revival and last judgment,
The Judean teologists had different opinions concerning the duration of this realm. Some of them considered that it was of 40 years (as the wandering if Jews in Arabian desert); and according to others of 70 years (like Babylonian slavery); and according to others 400 years (like Egyptian slavery); according to others all years of slavery, peregrination, persecutions, famine, disease, wars, poverty (400 years of Egyptian slavery + 40 years of wandering in Arabian desert + 111 years of foreign domination during the judges period + 70 years of Babylonian slavery + 490 years of national and religious pains, from the Babylonian exile to Jerusalem destruction by Roman army etc.) . At the end, between Judean faith ofl people from pre-Christian age there was the idea that this messianic realm will have duration of one thousand years and will end the 6 millenniums from the creation of the world, all the duration of human life being considered as a sabbatical period of 7 thousand years.
The idea that the end of the world will be preceded by an age of “one thousand years” of earth happiness for good people and great pains and defeats for the others was founded in almost all Judaic circles from apostolic age. Form Judean, some Christian writers and church priests from the first centuries took it. Under its influence, the author of Epistle of Saint Varnava (XV,4-9) considered that human history on the earth will have a duration of seven thousands years – corresponding to “seven days” of creation – and last millennium will be of messianic happiness. Under the influence of Judean eschatology and especially to keep the Christian hope during a persecution period, sustained milenarism or hiliasm the bishop Papias de Ierapole (Eusebiu de Cezareea, Church History, XXXIX, 11-130, Saint Iustin Martyr and Philosopher (Dialogue with Judean Trifon, LXXX-LXXXI), Saint Irineu (Adversus haeresis V, 28,3), apologetic Tertulian (Adversus Marciconem III, 24), Saint Ipolit, Apolinaire de laodiceea, lactantiu, Supliciu-Sever, Victorin de Pictavi, Saint Ambrozie de Mediolan and others.
But, even so many Christian writers and church priests sustained it and it was not convicted by any official decision of the Church, the hiliasm did not influenced the Christian though. In the East if was strongly attacked by origin and then by bishop Dionisie of Alexandria. At the West, hiliasm or milenarism was attacked first by Roman priest Oaius – who, during the polemic, hw made the mistake to contest the authenticity of Apocalipse of which milenarists abused – and then by Happy Ieronim and especially by happy Augustinm who was the first who proposed a system of a wide interpretation of Apocalypse symbolism.
The Hilista hor milenariste heresy, disappeared during the centuries IV and V, reappeared within the Protestantism, after 12 centuries. The literal milenarisme was preached within the reform, by sect of Anabaptists and then by Ruselist ad Adventists and also by some protestant commentors. Some of last ones considered that as the fighting Church does not fully realize the prediction of Apoc. XX,1-10, about “binding” the devil and creation of realm of Christ and His chosen people on the earth, we have to admit that Jesus Christ will come to govern together with the saints on the earth (during one thousand years”, but only in an invisible, soul and spiritual way. But not in this form the milenarism was not accepted.
The milenists (or Russelists), Adventists reformists and the others adepts of milenarist heresy considered that their teaching is based on the pericopa from Apocalypse XX, 1-10, which they interpreted it in a literal sense, without any relation to general symbolism of these biblical books and against the context and the eschatology of the others books of New Testament. The declared that Apocalypse predicted two revivals: one for good people, at the beginning of this one thousand years, when Christ will arrive for the second time, and one for the others, at the end of this thousand years, when the earth stage of the realm of God will end and Satan and his servants will be brought for ever to hell pains.
The biblical text from Apocalypse XX, 1-10, is the following: 1. “Then I saw an angel coming from the heaven and having the key of the profundity and a big chain in his hand. 2. And take the dragon and old snake, who was devil and Satan, and bringing it for thousand years; 3. and thrown it to adine and closed it to defend peoples until the end of one thousand years. After that, must be release for a while. 4. And I sow thrones and the persons sitting on them made judgment. And I sow the souls of those cut by hatchet for the name of Jesus and for the word of God, who did not bowed to the beast or to his face and they did not received his sign on their face or hand. They revived and divided with Christ one thousand years. 5. And the other deceased are not revived until the end of one thousand years. This is the first revival. 6. Happy and saint is that person who has the first revival. For them the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and Christ and will divide with Him one thousand years. 7. And when one thousand years will end, Satan will be released from his prison. 8. And will deceive the peoples from the four angles of the earth, Gog and Magog and to bring them to war, and their number is like the sea sand. 9. And they went to the face of the earth, around the saints group and the loved fortress, but fire came from the sky and burned the, 10. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown by the fire and brimstone, “where there is also the beast and liar prophet; and will be tortures day and night for ever”.
The adepts of millenarism ignored the fact that, to understand this pericope, must be taken into consideration some essential elements, as follows:
a) all visions from Apocalypse are described in symbolic language and don’t allow literal interpretations;
b) the figures and numbers from Apocalypse symbolically expressed only abstract notions and general characteristics, not definite quantities;
c) the vision from Apocalypse XX, 1-7, does not predict the future eschatological; events, but it symbolically describes the missionary activities of the Christian church from its creation until Parusia of Christ.
In fact, pericopa from Apocalypse XX, 1-10 included 3 pictures;
1. vers.1-3 about limiting the devil power for a period of “one thousand years’
2. Vers.4-6 about the realm of Christ and His chosen people for “one thousand years’;
3. Vers. 7-10 announcing the total defeat of Satan and his invisible tools, after ending this “thousand years”
We have to observe that the first 2 pictures are synchronically, prophetically describing, concomitant facts. The described facts are simultaneous to those announced by XIX, 12-12. They consider the conflict between divine forces and diabolic forces, in his development from creation to Parusia of Christ.
After teaching of Holy Scripture the fall of Satan power is developed in two main stages. At creation of the Son of God and at foundation of Christian Church, Satan and bad angels were hit by Christ vision and divine grace, which considerably limited the influence on the Christians and released them from their tyranny. Then, the bad angels received a punishment previous to their final conviction (XX,10), their power was neutralized and they became prisoners having some relative freedom (Matei XII, 29, Marcu III, 27). Happy Augustin (De civitate Dei XX,8,10 said; “Alligatio diaboli est non permiti exercere totam tentationem quam potest”.
The devil will remain in this situation until Parusia of Christ. Then, all bad angels and Satan, will be thrown for ever to hell pains; here are also thrown, after the death (XIX, 20, XX,10) and tools and their adepts from the men.
The age of decreasing Satan power on humanity is concomitant to that of realm of Christ and His chosen people. Saint Apostle and evangelist Ioan said that the duration of this age will be of “one thousand years”, in prophetic language meaning a very long and undetermined age (comp. II Petru III, 8; Ps. XV, 4; Isada LXIII,4). The Happy Augustin (De civitate Dei VII,2) identifies this age with all earth stage of the realm of God, from the creation to Parusia of Christ and said: “Miile annos pro annfis omntbus hujus saeculi posudt, ut perfecto numero notaretur ipsa temporis plenitude”.
To the end of this period, Satan will try his last attack against Church, but this one will be completely destroyed, when Christ will arrive for the second time. The efforts of devil and his tools will exist on the earth as long as will exist heresies and false religious teaching sustained between Christian by heretics and schismatic. The biding of devil is re[resenting the main cause of the fail of conspiracies of bad people. The real interpretation of millennium from Apocalypse XX, 1-10 is that which consider “one thousand year” an unlimited and very long age; - in the “realm” of Christ and His chosen people from the earth, a happiness and spiritual blessing; - in “bidding the devil”, a relative and gradual limitation of devil power on faithful people”; - in “first revival”, the spiritual revival by the Holy baptism; - “in the second death”, conviction of sinful people to hell pains, after last judgment; in “releasing Satan from his prison, at the end of one thousand years”, last tentative of devil to remove Christians from the good way (comp. II tes. II, 1-12); ‘ in “God and Magog”, image of bad forces; - in “loved fortress”, the Christian Church or secret Body of Christ; - in “saints group”, all faithful people devoted to Gospel of Christ; in expression “priests of God and Christ”, spiritual nobles of Christian vocation and grace of those who are faithful to God, and – in “the realm of one thousand years”, all the age from creation to Parusia of God, that means all earth stage of the realm of God.
In this realm of God are included, in an invisible way, the souls of deceased Christians and in a visible way, the Christians fighting against the sin, rejecting to dedicate to the “beast”, to make the devil will. By them, over them and together with them, Jesus Christ is always governing the world. They were released from the tyranny of sin, of eternal death and the devil, enjoying by “fist revival’ and the Saviour said: “Like the Father revived the deceased, so the Son is revived... Amen, amen: who is listening My words and believes in Who sent to Me, has an eternal life and will not come to judgment, but moved from death to life. Amen, as the hours is coming and now it is, when the deceased will hear the voice of the Son of the God and those who will hear, will revive. Because like the Father has His life in himself, so He gave to the Son to have the life in himself; and power was gave to him to make justice, being the Son of the Man” (Ioan V, 21, 24-27) or: “Amen: Who believes in me, has an eternal life...Who is eating my body and drinks my blood, has eternal life and I will revive him in last day” (Ioan VI, 47, 54).
The realm of Christ does not include all the people, but only those who receive His teaching, become members of the Church by Holy Secrets and make efforts to live according to evangelist moral, whose supreme law is the mutual love. On them, “the second death” and the devil have no any power. Nevertheless, the devil doesn’t give up the fight, but his power is more and more decreased, and his effort to reestablish the realm on the faithful people coincides with the historical duration of the Church. The chapters XII-XIX from Apocalypse especially insisted on the answer of the Church to many attacks of Satan; chapter XX (1-10) especially insisted on the continuous activity of the church, defending and the good and final and full victory of Christ, Son of God, on bad forces. About final tortures of devil, preceding Parusia of God, Apocalypse and that they will have a duration of 1.260 days or 42 months or 3 years and a half or even 3 days and a half; these expression mean “For a while” from XX, 3 and symbolically represent an age shorted before the date, incomplete, relative, so an effort with failure and practically not realized.
But the spiritual peace, the internal silent and the missionary activity of the Church will have duration of “one thousand years”, a full age, continuous and perfect, necessary for Gospel preaching to its final aim. So saint parents teach that millennium of Apocalypse symbolize just the age of divine grace, which started with Church foundation and will exist until Parusia of Christ. And until this age, the real Christians spiritually participate to the realm of Christ on the earth, surprising each day the devil governing and deceased govern with Christ in the heaven, being in eternal slave after particular judgment and waiting bodies revival, at universal judgment, when will be definitive the state of each one, and Satan will be thrown for ever in hell pains.
This interpretation is according to eschatological teaching from the others books of New Testament. Saints evangelists says to us that Saviour came to create in the world The realm of God or the realm of heaven (Matei III,2,IV, 17, Luca VIII,1 etc.) and tell us that this realm is realized in and by the Christian Church (Matei XVI, 18-19). Jesus Christ told us that the entry to this spiritual realm (Ioan XVIII,. 36) is made by “the second birth”, that means by the grace of Holy Spirit received at baptism, meaning also “the first revival from deceased”(Ioan III,5;V,25,XI,24-25). Saint Apostle Paul mentioned at his turn that “The realm of God is not food and drink”, like something material, but justice and happiness of Holy spirit” Rom. XIV,17) and it is gradually realized in secret Body of Christ, which is the Church (efes,IV,25,V,23,Col. I,24,I,Cor.XII, 29, Rom. XII, 5 etc.); and those people received inside by Holy baptism participate to death and revival of Christ (Rom. VI, 2-6); that sinful persons are in a state of moral death (Efes V, 14, Col.II, 13) and the Church is continuously against the devil efforts to prevent the salvation of faithful people (II tes. II, 1 s.u.).
The dogmatic and moral ideas from Apocalypse XX, 1-10, are shortly the following;
a. The devil bidding means limiting the satanic power on the faithful people and it was made at Christianity creation;
b. The realm of “one thousand years” of Christ and His chosen people is the time when Christ decreased the devil power on the faithful persons;
c. Members of the realm of Christ are the faithful people who participated at first revival, meaning the revival by the grace of Saint baptism and other saint secrets, against the devil will;
d. To the end of messianic age and before of Parusia of God, the devil will enjoy again of some free action, working for a while on the faithful persons;
e. The faithful persons who participated on the first revival, the baptismal revival and Christian, will be revived at the end of ages, at the second revival, preceding the general judgment, given to each one according to his facts;
f. On those who divided the divine grace, kept until death the faithful in Christ and did not made the devil facts the second death, the eternal punishment, will be no power;
g. at the end of “one thousand years”, when the Church will be accomplish the mission for which it was established, the devil and his servants will be thrown in hell fire, for the second death.
h. the hell pains will be endless, will be eternal, day and night, for ever; there will be the place of the beast and liar prophet.
i. the second arrival of God will be followed by revival of sleeping bodies, by last judgment and by the state of all in the future life, which the author of apocalypse described, in a symbolical language, in the visions of XX 11 – XXI, 5-11.
