If there ever was one society more materialistic, concerned only about earthly comforts, devoid of any spiritual life and farther from the Truth of Orthodoxy than anything, it is the American society – and the entire western society in general which has fully adopted her way of life.

According to “The Onion”, in a new report released Wednesday by the Pew Research center, Americans indicated that when it comes to what they expect from their country, all they really want is to be safe, happy, rich, comfortable, and entertained at absolutely all times. This may be just satire but it certainly feels very close to reality.

http://v.theonion.com/onionmedia/videos/videometa/1760/zen_mp4.mp4

Quotes: “We are living in the greatest country on Earth, so I think I am entitled to wealth, love, cheap education”, “enough time to catch up with all the TV shows i have been meaning to watch”, “high self-esteem”, “central air conditioning in every building”, “a beach-front property” … the list goes on and on and on …

A Prophecy by St. Nilus the Myrrhstreamer of Mt Athos (1651) describes what the world would like when the time of the advent of the antichrist is near:

“From the year 1900, toward the middle of the twentieth century, the people and the world will begin to become unrecognizable. As the time of the advent of the Antichrist draws nigh, the minds of people shall be darkened due to the passions of the flesh (material desires). Ungodliness and iniquity are going to increase. Then the world will become unrecognizable. The faces of people are going to be changed. Men will not be distinguishable from women, on account of their shamelessness in dress and style of hair. These people will become wild, becoming like beasts because of the temptations and the deception of the Antichrist.

There will be no respect toward parents and elders. Love is going to disappear. Christian shepherds, that is, bishops and priests are going to be filled with vainglory (with some exceptions), utterly failing to distinguish the right way from the left. The customs and traditions of the Christians and of the Church are going to change. Purity will depart from society and immorality is going to reign.

Falsehood and greed are going to attain great proportions. And woe to those who lay up treasures of silver (earthly wealth)! Fornications, adulteries, homosexuality, theft, and murders are going to prevail at that time. Due to the power of such great crimes and licentiousness, people are going to be deprived of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which they received at Holy Baptism, as well as remorse of conscience.

The Churches of God are going to be deprived of godly and pious shepherds. And woe to the Christians remaining in the world at that time! And woe to those who would be utterly deprived of their faith, because they should not see the Light of knowledge in anyone! The Christians are going to then separate themselves from the world in holy places of refuge that they might lighten their spiritual sufferings and find relief. Everywhere they are going to encounter obstacles and distress.

All these things are going to occur because the Antichrist would lord it over everything. He will take control over the whole earth. He will work signs and wonders. He will also give deprave wisdom to wretched men so that they would invent ways of speaking one to another from one part of earth to the other. As birds, they are going to fly through the air, and, as fish, they are going to penetrate the depths of the sea.

Humanity that will be living in comfort shall be unfortunate, not knowing that all these things are the deception of the Antichrist. The Antichrist is going to advance to such an extent in the field of science that he will deceive men, so that the might not believe in the existence of the tri-hypostatic God.

Then God, the all-good One, seeing the destruction of the human race, shall shorten those days for the sake of those few who are being saved, because, if possible, the Antichrist would deceive even the elect. Then suddenly the two-edged sword shall appear and shall slay the deceiver and his followers.”