Author: orthodoxaustralia

Alexander Dugin has just called for the “Day of Judgement” for America and the West (Babylon The Great). For “God put it in their hearts to burn her with fire and eat her flesh because of her iniquities that have reached out to heaven” (i am paraphrasing from the book of Revelation here).

Source: https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/al-jazeera-possible-ground-offensive-beginning-in-gaza-complete-communications-blackout-including-internet

Not because that those that are about to do this are righteous in any way … Oh no … they have their own agenda: the Social Gospel agenda!

A couple of weeks ago i was saying in a private setup, in the context of something i have been talking for a long time: That America would be sacrificed on the social gospel altar. I wrote in the past that America was the harlot of the apocalypse, used to perpetrate every abomination and iniquity possible under the sky, but only with the purpose of bringing about the antichrist who will justify her demise as “an act of God” and use her to bring about the “new social contract”, “a new multipolar world”, the new “equitable and just system”. America is being sacrificed for the purpose of “peace” and “advancing the world to a better place”.

Rev 17:
16. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

The “ten horns” shall “hate the whore” and “agree to give their (the whore’s) kingdom onto the beast”, as a sacrifice. God allows this because of her iniquities. But it’s not “an act of God”. It’s “them” that have set their minds to do it, and are doing so for their own purpose. The beast is Communism, “the beast that was and is not yet there is”. So they will destroy America and feed her to the communist ideals, or aka “social gospel”, and bring about a new world order. Thus this is why i was saying long ago that “America would be sacrificed on the social gospel altar” … Now back to Dugin.

Dugin:  “Israel has just declared the beginning of ground operation in Gaza. The Judgment Day is announced. Now the most important events have to follow. All US efforts to prevent or at least to delay it were in vain. This is the war between islamic world and collective West.” (or se we are told to believe)

Thus i believe the call has been made, and “they” are ready to render the harlot her judgement … For her judgement day may be close!

Prophet Jeremiah also speaks of the judgement of Babylon:

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Jeremiah-Chapter-51/

“Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.”

“Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni (Mannaea), and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.”

“Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.”

On 17th of December 2022 we published the following article which can be found here: http://orthodoxaustralia.org/2022/12/17/the-abomination-of-desolation-standing-in-the-holy-place/

To continue in the same spirit, In Daniel 12:11 we read:

“And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days”

The way we read this is that from the time the temple of God in Jerusalem is closed down, when the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up (as explained in the first part), until the time of the “consummation” of the covenant, there would be 1290 days.

In verse 7 we learn that at that time of consummation the Antichrist shall fulfill “all these things” agreed upon the covenant:

“when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished”

The temple in Jerusalem was closed down during lockdowns on March 25 2020. Since that date, up to Oct 5 2023 there will be 1290 days. Thus Oct 5 2023 may be an important time marker. Yet verse 12 instructs us to wait longer in order to fully comprehend the meaning of the events set to unfold: 1335 days

“Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days”

That would be on or around Nov 19 2023.

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%2012&version=KJV

Update Oct 8 2023: Since the order to close the temple was issued on March 25 2020, the period of 1290 days should in fact span from March 26 2020 to October 6 2023.

Update Oct 23 2023: This is to rectify the “fulfillment date” from Nov 19 to Nov 21 2023, based on previous adjustment made on Oct 8 2023.

We find it all in 1 Corinthians Chapter 14 (KJV).

The letter of St Paul to the Corinthians is fully dedicated to making the point of how important the word of God is to be properly translated into other languages, not from a linguistic point of view but also from the point of view of being a true interpretation of the word of God, and preserves the correct message of the Gospel! A translator cannot be only a “translator” but also an interpreter! Let’s give some quotes, including my explanation in brackets:

” For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue (the translator) speaketh not unto men, but unto God (the translator does not translate for men but for God): for no man understandeth him (nobody who is supposed to read the translated text can attest whether the translation is good or bad); howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries (in spirit the Gospel conveys the mysteries of God thus the translation needs to convey the same spirit).”

“I would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.” (I wish all of you could translate to other languages, but I would rather have you prophesy – be in the spirit of God – for greater is the one who is in the spirit of God than the one that just has the ability to speak multiple languages; but if it happens that the translator not only translates but also correctly interprets, that same one is greater than the prophets for it leads to the edification of the word of God amongst others!)

“Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me” (If the one that is supposed to read the translated text cannot grasp the spirit of the Gospel then that same one becomes estranged to God)

“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.” (one first needs to be able to grasp the spirit of God in the text which the same one reads in his own language)

“Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. ” (it is all about the quality of the translation, not the quantity)

And I could go on and on and on … every single verse in St Paul’s letter strikes the same note …

John 20:19-23 (KJV):

“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 3Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”

“Peace be onto you”, what can this mean? Does it mean what the world understands by “peace”, or does it have a deeper meaning? An answer can be found in 1 Corinthians 14 verse 33 where we read:

“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

Peace as explained here clearly seems to indicate “correct understanding”, “unity of faith”, “common doctrine”, “common belief”, “clarity”, “no doubt”. When Christ walked into the room where the Apostles were hiding He told them “peace be onto you”, meaning “let there be no doubt” or “here is the truth and nothing else is truth”. In other words “peace be onto you” means “let there be no confusion about this”! Let’s quote St John again in this context:

“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, “let there be no doubt” And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord (let there be no doubt, stop questioning, have peace of mind that I am the resurrected Christ, showing His apostles His pierced side and hands). Then said Jesus to them again, “let there be no doubt”: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” (let there be no doubt, here I am sending you as My Father had sent Me and accept this with no doubt in your hearts)

What is the Peace of Christ? It’s not what the world understands by “peace”. No. It is the confirmation and certainty and comfort that one feels when the same one possesses the Truth!

Peace be onto you!

A few years ago, 6 years ago to be more precise, Christine Lagarde, the IMF director, was predicting the demise of the current banking system and the triumph of cryptocurrency. Not was she only suggesting just that but she was also making some astonishing predictions like the end of fractional reserve banking, and national monies – which to me sounded like the loss of national central banks sovereignty.
https://fee.org/articles/imf-head-predicts-the-end-of-banking-and-the-triumph-of-cryptocurrency/

“In the long run, the technology itself can replace national monies, conventional financial intermediation, and even “puts a question mark on the fractional banking model we know today.”

WOW. Was that a simple guess or more like a plan? I am saying “plan” because in my analysis here i am going to try to see if this “plan” has any basis in reality today, or what the IMF director said was pure speculation on her part at that time.

In a number of documents released by the IMF (and not only) in recent times, the same ideas have not only resurfaced but details of the architecture of the “new financial system” emerged. For example in a paper released on March 3rd of this year titled “Trust Bridges and Money Flows: A Digital Marketplace to Improve Cross-Border Payments” they make the case that the current banking system has become obsolete and can no longer serve the purposes of a modern financial system, that the current design and trust relationships that must exist between global financial institutions in order for the current system to work are inefficient, expensive, prone to financial shocks, and make up a highly centralized system. In contrast to highlighting the shortcomings of the current banking system, the paper comes to present the “benefits” of the new blockchain based system that comes to solve all these failings.
https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fintech-notes/Issues/2023/03/03/Trust-Bridges-and-Money-Flows-A-Digital-Marketplace-to-Improve-Cross-Border-Payments-528038

The question then comes to “have concrete steps to address these issues and move towards the adoption of a more efficient and transparent system been made”? Yes they have, but most likely you have heard nothing about them. In fact in recent years intense efforts have been directed towards implementing a new blockchain based SWIFT API standardized as ISO20022. After a string of postponements, the banking system had March 20 of this year of 2023 as a deadline to finish their backend integration with the new APIs. Not only banks, but other major institutions have already finished the transition. For example the DTCC have released “Project Ion” to production months ago. 

One may ask “so what, how is this a big deal”? It may not sound like a big deal until you realise that the enhancements do not come to merely “enhance” the current banking system, although the banks are currently using this new technology, but to “replace” it. Maybe not just yet, but what is important to note is that banks as institutions are NOT NEEDED for the new system to operate. The Banks have indeed now become obsolete, and it’s not me saying it, it’s them saying it not once but multiple times. Here is the latest example:
“Banks can attach SWIFT Codes and bank accounts to a UMU digital currency wallet and transaction SWIFT-like cross-border payments over digital currency rails completely bypassing the correspondent banking system”.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-digital-currency-monetary-authority-dcma-launches-an-international-central-bank-digital-currency-cbdc-301793163.html

What is new this time is this is the first time i hear them talk about the new world currency … the “Unicoin” – will come back to this later.

So, where are we at now? We are at the point when the current system is inefficient, prone to financial shocks and reliant on medieval institutions that are part of the problem – the banks. Get the idea? To complete the picture I am going to throw a few more parameters into the equation to help “clarify” what I believe comes next.

First we see the turmoil in financial markets coming back with a vengeance. After 2008 the banking system appeared to had been fixed until it started shaking again with the collapse of SVB and Credit Suisse. The talk of the day coming out of the mouths of many financial authorities is that we should expect more to come. This is all happening on the back of a system that has the US Dollar at the core in an inflationary environment.

Until recently, the dollar has had a relatively stable value with low inflation and served the role of a world reserve currency well. But with the coming of inflation, the world realised that the design will bring everyone down through “dollar inflation export”. This is how it works: if the FED has to raise rates because of inflation, all other Central Banks have to follow suit because if they don’t the inflation in their own economies (caused by the inflation in the reserve currency of the world that everyone uses to trade with each other) would be exacerbated by the devaluation (vs the USD) of their own respective currencies.

And just like that, voila – the system is broken again and this time it can’t be fixed. All of a sudden the talk in town is all about a new global financial crisis coming our way accompanied by what some economists say would be a “severe recession”. But Janet Yellen said in the past that “there won’t be another financial crisis in our life time”. I wonder if she still holds true to her words. Anyways.

So if we are to assume that the current banking and financial system is heading for collapse, who is then going to save the system this time and how? One thing is certain, money printing won’t cut it this time. What if, then, … they’ll say “just let it all fail”, the banks are not really needed any more? Do you think that is a possibility? And if that which should had been allowed to happen in 2008 now happens, what comes next then? What if the banks and the dollar system do indeed collapse? 

According to reports, the UN is already seeking to be given “emergency powers” over handling of “future economic crises”. Quote:
“The United Nations is seeking vast new powers and stronger “global governance” tools to deal with international emergencies such as … economic crises”. 
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/un-seeks-vast-new-powers-global-emergencies

We have already seen how the UN has already sought to be granted authority to handle a global pandemic, overriding the authorities of member nations. Why would the UN seek authority to handle a global economic crisis? Hmmm … is this what Christine Lagarde was referring to when she said all those years ago that eventually cryptocurrency would “replace national monies”?

Well it turns out the UN has not been sitting idle all this time. In the case of a “local crisis” generated by the invasion of Ukraine, it just happens that they are already using this new technology to provide financial aid to the Ukrainian refugees …
https://ukraine.un.org/en/211593-unhcr-launches-pilot-cash-based-intervention-using-blockchain-technology-humanitarian

What would then be the UN’s role in the case of a global economic crisis, caused by a dollar system collapse, which would make all of us “financial refugees”? Maybe just use the same financial rails they use today in Ukraine, replace the USDC with Unicoin and voila – world is saved! I just wonder, besides requiring every soul on Earth to have a digital ID to operate in the new system, what else will they ask for?

There have always been two ways for grace to be passed on in the Church: the apostolic succession, and another one far less understood: “the golden chain of sanctity” as Fr Herman of Platina of blessed memory (and others before him) used to call it.

Often, when one looks at the apostolic succession matter of grace they ignore the second, and although it may seem that technically someone may have lost the apostolic succession (by not commemorating a bishop or commemorating a heretical one) in reality the same one may still very much be part of the golden chain of sanctity. That’s how the Church will “invisibly” survive and operate yet again (I say again because it did so in the past), if not already is, especially during these times we live in. It’s all about the otherworldliness Fr Herman and Fr Seraphim talked about …

Today it is inevitable that someone needs to know what jurisdiction you belong to in order to determine if you are in or out of grace. Like grace is now somehow bound up with the idea of jurisdiction. Personally i stopped paying attention to this aspect of faith quite some time ago. I am not concerned about jurisdictions to be honest. It is not relevant to one’s obedience to his/her spiritual father or mother (which obedience is eternal), nor is it beneficial to one’s spiritual state or his/her work of salvation. I’ll explain why.

Firstly no jurisdictional affiliation can interfere with the obedience you pay to your spiritual father/mother, now, in the future, or even even after his/her departure (unless him/her is more concerned with Church politics than your personal salvation). Obedience does not dissipate with the death of your spiritual father either, obedience is eternal. Obedience to your spiritual elder is your connection with holiness, connects you to the “golden chain of sanctity” where grace is only transmitted from elder to spiritual child, something that transcends jurisdictions and any political barriers. It is an otherworldly concept – the kingdom of heaven does not have jurisdictions.

That was how grace and Orthodoxy have worked for a long time, grace being passed on from spiritual father to spiritual child, with the condition that the spiritual child continues in the legacy and teachings which were handed over to him. The jurisdictional discussion came about in more recent times steeming out of political influence in matters of faith – the need to assert authority and demand obedience above the relationship we described here.

In an elder-spiritual child relationship the only authority that exists works from the elder to spiritual child. That’s it. It’s always been called obedience. Overtime some perverted the idea of obedience towards serving an institution, state or jurisdiction. That’s why a long time ago I stopped paying attention to this jurisdictional aspect of faith. You can absolutely have grace given to you through obedience to your spiritual father and nothing more. Grace, it must be understood, it’s not a jurisdictional attribute. Never was. As fr Herman and fr Seraphim used to say, Orthodoxy is otherworldliness.

The golden chain of sanctity is how grace also works today, and especially today it helps preserve grace in the Church in a way that is less obvious and below the radar of the impious spiritual authorities of a world that is increasingly growing graceless at jurisdictional level. There were many saints that were not even priests but whose disciples were grace filled.

In some of its most difficult times in history the Orthodox Church survived exclusivelly based on grace being passed on through the “golden chain of sanctity”, bypassing completley the corrupt Church hierarchy. Take the example of St Mark of Ephesus and his disciple George Scholarios – a secular prince:

John Eugenikos tells us this: “Long before his death he gave instructions and like a father gave commands to those present concerning the correction of the Church and our piety and open preservation of the true dogmas of the Church, and concerning turning away from innovation; and adding his final words: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, into Thy hands I commit my spirit,’ he thus departed to God.” [31] Before the end, on the very day of his death, St Mark gave over to his former student and spiritual son the leadership of the Orthodox Church, although George Scholarios was at that time still a secular prince.

http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/stmark.aspx

To understand what happened here, one will have to detach from the jurustictional aspect of Orthodoxy and search for the otherwordly aspect of it, the one where things that are not “visible” in a “legalistic” way, become visible in a spiritual sense.

In the case of the golden chain of sanctity the grace moves around not in a top-down manner but through a completely different mechanism which is often overlooked: through the obedience of a disciple to a God-bearing elder. That’s how the Church survived during St Mark’s (of Ephesus) times, that’s how it will always survive in times of turmoil and betrayal, all happening away from the worldly wisdom, which BTW always tries to steer people “the jurisdictional way”.

From the life of St Mark of Ephesus we can see that the Church passed through a period when George Scholarios had no obedience to any bishop since St Mark had already died and all other ones betrayed. It is said “St Mark gave over to his former student and spiritual son the leadership of the Orthodox Church”. Wow. Did the Church lose grace then because no bishop was in charge? No! George Scholarios worked assiduously to try to convince the bishops to repent and some indeed did so. Although that apostolic succession grace seemed to had been lost for a while at the hierarchical level, it was later restored through the grace preserved through the golden chain of sanctity. The grace in the Church altogether was not lost at any point in time.

This BTW highlights the priority in which grace operates in the Church: the grace that operates through the golden chain of sanctity can restore the legitimacy of apostolic succession. Can the opposite be true? No! The papists themselves claim apostolic succession, as all their bishops can trace their ordination to the Holy Apostle Peter, but do they have grace? Of course not …

What was the result of St George Scholarios’ efforts? A new council gathered years later, although smaller than that of Florence, denounced the betrayal and restored the Truth.

“Not long before the Fall of Constantinople a Council was convoked at which the Union and its promoters were triumphantly condemned and the Union itself overthrown, and the memory of St. Mark honored by all. This Council was more nominal than actual, and was composed of a quite small number of participants; historically it did not present itself as much, but as an expression of the Orthodox Church it has a great significance as the triumphant conclusion of the battle that St. Mark waged, as a Council of the Orthodox Church, however small she may have been at that time.”

Are we not living today in similar times when a council of betrayal already occured trying to force through again a new union with the Catholics … adopting their social theology as “Church’s new mission”? …

We are yet again hoping for a true council to be held to restore the Truth, but where is George Scholarios today? He’s every one of us who call our hierarchs to repentance. There will be a new council that comes to restore the truth, a council that may be even smaller … much smaller than the one that restored the truth once before. And we may even witness the New Constantinople fall again as well!

It may as well happen that some links in the golden chain of sanctity get tested from time to time, and for a period of time, to see if the chain holds … don’t be alarmed, it’s all part of the plan of salvation!

MATTHEW 24:12

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”

The love of many shall grow cold … much has been written about this passage, but what is its deeper meaning? What kind of love is the Evangelist talking about? Because it is not clearly specified. For Christ Himself said that whomever loveth his mother or father or brethren more than Him is not worthy of Him. Can it be that this passage, that clearly refers to the end of times, be more about the love for our brethren, or our own families, our communities … or does it refer more to the Love for Truth?

After all, about the three Magi we don’t know much. We don’t know how much they loved their families, how much their loved their brethren or relatives, or neighbors, or enemies, but we do know that it was the Love for Truth that led them to find the Born Christ.

This Nativity, let us not forget what we are indeed celebrating. For the love for Truth has indeed waxed cold … endure in striving to search for the Truth onto the end and ye shall be saved !

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand), then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains.”  (Matthew 24:15-16 )

It is important to note that this passage clearly states that “whoso readeth, let him understand“. This is a clear indication that this passage needs interpretation in order to figure out its meaning, and the Evangelist made it explicitly clear.

What is the Holy Place? The Holy Church. How can a Holy Place (the Church) be made desolate? By depriving it of God, of the Body and Blood of Christ, of the Holy Eucharist. How do you achieve that? Close the churches and prevent the Holy Oblation from taking place.The gospel hints that more details about the “abomination of desolation” can be found in Prophet Daniel. First reference can be found in Daniel 9:27

“and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate”

This comes to confirm that the “abomination of desolation” is indeed bound up with the cessation of the holy Eucharist, caused by the perpetration of abominations. Will discuss the meaning of abomination below.But there is more, the abomination of desolation is again referred to in Daniel 11:31

“they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate”

This again comes to confirm that the “abomination of desolation” is indeed bound up with the cessation of the holy Eucharist through an abomination brought about by those that “pollute the sanctuary of strenght” (corrupt the Truth and the teachings of the Church)But what is this “abomination” that causes the Holy Oblation to cease? Abomination by definition is a despicable act, a deception, a lie, a perversion of the Truth.Ok, so let’s put it all back together again.

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place”

meaning

“when ye therefore shall see the perpetration of the deception that causes the Churches to be closed and the Holy Oblation to cease”

then do what?

“let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains”

the ancient kingdom of Israel was split in two: Samaria – the northern part of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, also known as the Northern Kingdom, and Judea the southern part of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, also known as the Southern Kingdom. Judaea was always considered to be those of the true faith, meaning:

“The Orthodox (people from Judaea, those in the right faith) need to flee and avoid being caught up in the deception”

In the context of the cessation of the Holy Oblation we analyzed above, we want to quote one of the paragraphs in its entirety because it gives us yet a little more info on the circumstances surrounding the unfolding of the specific events:

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

We are told that this would happen during a period of one “week“, meaning 7 years, and that it would be happening “in the midst” of this period, meaning during this timeframe. The period is described as starting with a covenant the antichrist would make with MANY for a period of seven years … for what purpose? To implement an “agenda“? Was the covenant referring to the Synod in Crete of 2016 where a new “mission” of the Church was established? Not only that but around the same time of the forementioned gathering there were reports circulating alleging some kind of a “memorandum of understanding between the governments of Greece, Russia and the EU” had been signed to trample upon and destroy everything Orthodox. Remember that?

What is more important though is that this period ends in a great calamity, with the “consummation” of the agreement when the “determined” punishment shall be poured upon the “desolate” (or the place of desolation?)

In my research on the “abomination of desolation” i noticed how errors in translation can really slip in that can FUNDAMENTALLY alter the meaning of a passage or chapter.For example in the KJV of Daniel chapter 9, the last two passages look like this:

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

In the Romanian official version the translation looks like this:

26. Iar după cele şaizeci şi două de săptămâni, Cel-Uns va pieri fără să se găsească vreo vină în El, iar poporul unui domn va veni şi va dărâma cetatea şi templul. Şi sfârşitul cetăţii va veni prin potopul mâniei lui Dumnezeu şi până la capăt va fi război – prăpădul cel hotărât.

27. Şi El va încheia un legământ cu mulţi într-o săptămână, iar la mijlocul săptămânii va înceta jertfa şi prinosul şi în templu va fi urâciunea pustiirii, până când pedeapsa nimicirii cea hotărâtă se va vărsa peste locul pustiirii”.

The entire chapter talks about Christ, only in the second to last verse (number 26) the context is changed from Christ to the antichrist. How do we know it’s the antichrist? For it says that the “Messiah is cut-off but not for himself”. Not for Himself? For whom then? For the people !!! – Messiah is cut-off for the people, again a reference to the cessation of oblation!!! Then it says that”the people of a price (antichrist) shall come and destroy the city and the sanctuary”.

The antichrist it says, is going to come and destroy both the city (the Church) and the sanctuary (the place of the oblation)? Thus verse 26 changes the context from Christ to the antichrist and verse 27 comes to continue to say what this antichrist shall do: he shall cause the oblation to cease, this time stated explicitly. That makes perfect sense, the antichrist is the one that ceases the daily sacrifice over the whole world at the same time.But the official Romanian translation of verse 27 refers to he as He (El, with capital letter, meaning Christ).

So the context is somehow changed back to Christ who then comes to cease the holy oblation Himself? This is complete nonsense. How can Christ make some kind of a temporary (for a week) covenant with anyone in the first place, and then cease the holy oblation Himself? Christ’s covenant is ETERNAL, only antichrist’s covenant can be temporary !!!Now that Romanian translation is an abomination in itself.

This illustrates how important is that translations be made by people who live and understand the spirit of God. That’s why the Orthodox Church only accepts the Septuagint version of the psalter for example …

References

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024&version=KJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%2011&version=KJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%209&version=KJV

(an article by Fr Andrew Phillips of orthodoxengland.org.uk)

Orthodox Australia Editor Note: I pray that now, seeing what they are being asked to support in Russia, some may find it wise to “reconsider” this unholy union into which ROCOR were hijacked. I am surprised this was published on Orthodox England website. A few years ago this sort of attitude would had been considered akin to “preaching heresy”.

Introduction

The small émigré Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), which was formed after 1917 largely from White Russian refugees, has desperately been in search of an identity since 2007. Then, as it joined up with the rest of the much larger Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate or MP), at a ratio of 1% to 99% (300 parishes to 30,000 parishes), it gave up being a museum or heritage church. After all, the old  generation, adults before the 1917 evolution, had completely died out by then. Many of their children had abandoned Church life and it was increasingly dependent on people and clergy from the ex-USSR.

The traditional ROCOR position was to keep its pre-Revolutionary heritage, to stand with the New Martyrs and Confessors and to condemn the collaboration of bishops inside the USSR with the atheist State. However, once the USSR and the atheist State had ceased to exist in 1992, once the post-Soviet MP had begun canonising its New Martyrs and Confessors and reviving its pre-Revolutionary heritage in 2000, then ROCOR had to find a new role to justify its existence. There was nothing distinctive any more. Since 2007, there have been discussions as to what that role should be. Two schools of thought have appeared in the past fifteen years.

The First Choice

The first choice was to be absorbed by the Moscow Patriarchate and their immigrant parishioners all over the world since the collapse of the Soviet Union, clearly outnumbering the old ROCOR parishioners, who were dying out. Unfortunately, at the same time corruption from inside the oligarchic ex-USSR spread to ROCOR too. Bishops became corrupted by the temptations of money, prestige and property. Some ROCOR churches became virtual embassy churches for the Moscow Patriarchate and its nationalist policy in the Ukraine, others became nationalist nostalgia clubs, ghettos which are irrelevant to others. Others became tiny, inward-looking and sectarian and cultish groups for rather right-wing US Protestants with the OneTrueChurchism of some converts with their conspiracy theories, as also in England and Belgium, for example.

I have been to ROCOR churches in the USA four times since 1996, once as a speaker at the 2006 ROCOR Council in San Francisco under the ever-memorable Metropolitan Laurus (only six out of the nine ROCOR speakers there remain in ROCOR). No fewer than three ROCOR bishops (I know them all) told me since 2017 that their hero is Trump. I was told never to say anything against Trump or else face censorship! If ROCOR follows this political, indeed totalitarian, path, it will not only fall out of communion with the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Alexandria and the Western European Archdiocese of the Moscow Patriarchate, as it already has, but with all the other Local Churches, as seems highly likely. In fact one of their bishops told us that this was his aim!

The Second Choice

The second choice is to insist on ROCOR autonomy and freedom, realising the full potential of ROCOR, and remain faithful to the Russian Orthodox ascetic and liturgical tradition of the old bishops, clergy and laity, whom I knew and loved so well. Completely unmercenary, they had no love of money, prestige, power, fancy apartments and cars and of what we may in general call ‘bling’. This is faithfulness to the New Martyrs and Confessors and the Three Diaspora Saints: St John of Shanghai, St Seraphim of Boguchar and St Jonah of Hankou. It would be well if ROCOR ceased commemorating Patriarch Kyrill, as they have already ceased doing in the Ukraine and Latvia. No Ukrainian refugees will ever set foot and stay in any church that commemorates him. We know: we do not commemorate him, as we are not under him, and so plenty of Ukrainian refugees from the canonical Ukrainian Church come to us.

The fact is that the only long-term purpose of any Orthodox presence and structure in Western Europe, North America, Latin America and Oceania is to help lay the groundwork for future Local Churches in those four Continents and regions in the local languages. Witness is essential. This has been patently obvious for at least two generations. And this means inter-Orthodox, inter-calendar and multinational co-operation, being part of the mainstream, not being part of a schismatic sect or cult. Down with politics and racist ideologies! Long live Orthodox Christianity!

Conclusion

The choice for ROCOR is simple: Either to side with the Persecuting Church or else to stand with the Persecuted Church. The first way is spiritual death, as some with suicidal tendencies here have already done, the second way is spiritual life. The clash between these two visions of the Church has already taken place here. The result of this was that, because of years of persecution and being ignored, half a ROCOR diocese and most of its people left for the Patriarchate of Romania. Will this pattern be repeated elsewhere? Today we have heard that the new First Hierarch of ROCOR is Metropolitan Nicholas (Olhovsky). It was the obvious choice, since the two senior candidates had compromised themselves in politics. Metr Nicholas is a candidate of the Lukianov group, but also has many qualities, not least that he is a son from the post-1945 generation and knew Metr Laurus very well, as his cell-attendant. But some fear that this young bishop may be manipulated by others and compromise himself by obeying them again.

If Metr Nicholas wants to survive in the much contracted ROCOR (that has all but lost South America, where forty years ago it had six bishops, Indonesia and much of Western Europe), he will now have to allow parishes to cease commemorating Patriarch Kyrill, deal with the Western Rite problem, the House Springs scandal and the Belya scandal in the USA, and then all the scandals in what remains of the tiny ‘Western European Diocese’. He may be tempted to avoid many problems by doing the swap that Moscow has long wanted and exchange the ROCOR parishes in Western Europe (after, or as regards the 20 mainly small parishes of the Western European Diocese even before, Metr Mark has gone) for the bishopless MP parishes in North America. This will leave him with his American Synod in control of Russian and convert parishes in North America and Australia. Then he will have to steer ROCOR towards co-operation with the OCA. Otherwise, ROCOR will simply die out.

Link to original article:

ROCOR in Desperate Search of an Identity

When reading the latest edition of Fr. Seraphim Rose’s biography “Life and Works”, I had mixed feelings – it was a fiery and inspiring read, full of life and filling me with a yearning for struggling with Orthodoxy, but at times, it felt like it dampened me with a wet blanket. It was very strange, and I did not know why.

Last year, on the Eve of Pascha, I was overcome with the sense that I had no direction in my life, and so on I prayed to Elder Joseph the Hesychast, Fr. Seraphim Rose, and Fr. Herman Podmoshensky for guidance on what I should do with my life. As we celebrated the resurrection of Christ, a fellow parishioner gave me a gift and told me not to open it until I got home. When I opened his gift, I saw an original copy of “Not of this World” – a rare book that you could only find for over 1000 dollars on E-bay or Amazon. I knew immediately what I needed to do – I needed to work to transcribe it, and I thanked God for the clear task he has given me. This transcription could only have been possible by the intercessions of these Saints of God.

Upon reading the original, it became clear that there were many omissions and revisions made with a very different spiritual direction motivating them from the original.

Here is just one example, that demonstrates this clearly, from Chapter 102, ‘Repose’.

Original, “Not of this World”

Revision, “Life and Works”

Fr. Seraphim was immediately taken to an operating room, where the dead part of his intestines was removed. Fr. Herman saw him after his operation, and it was then that Fr. Seraphim could no longer suppress the torture he was experiencing. He was filled with delirious, blind anger, like a wounded animal in a cage. The last shred of his self-will, that spirit of his youthful rebellion which he had struggled for many years to keep in complete submission to God, was being tried in the fire of suffering. If with the help of Christ he could eradicate these vestiges of his will – a part of himself that he could not fully see until this horrible moment – he could become purified, victorious over his fallen nature and the weakness of the flesh.

Fr. Seraphim was immediately taken to an operating room, where the dead part of his intestines was removed. Fr. Herman went by himself to see him after the operation, and there he beheld a terrible sight. Fr. Seraphim was tied to his bed, with a tube in his mouth, tossing and turning in unbearable agony. He cursed Fr. Herman and said other angry words to him. Fr. Herman was shocked to hear such words coming out of his mouth, but as he looked into Fr. Seraphim’s eyes he could see that they were glazed over.   Fr. Seraphim was clearly not himself, but was in a compromised state due to the pain and the residual effect of the anesthesia. Fr. Herman immediately went to tell the doctor that Fr. Seraphim was in great pain, and asked that he be given some pain killer. He also told the doctor that Fr. Seraphim had said shocking things, but the doctor told him to pay no attention — that people coming out of anesthesia can act as if out of their minds

From this alone, it is clear: “Not of this World” had the spiritual vision of the purpose of Fr. Seraphim’s suffering – to prepare him for his salvation, to squeeze out the last parts of his fallen nature from him. It makes it clear that the struggle against sin is truly a struggle up until the moment of death, even for, and perhaps especially for, God’s Saints. Whatever one may think about the revision, one thing is clear: The spiritual vision of “Life and Works” is directly opposed to this understanding of the purpose of suffering in our life. Otherwise, this passage would have remained unchanged. True spiritual vision, after all, is Not of this World.

Link to Fr Seraphim’s compressed PDF version of the original “Not of this world”:

http://orthodoxaustralia.org//wp-content/uploads/NotofThisWorld_Transcription_compressed.pdf

May the prayers of Elder Joseph, Fr. Seraphim Rose, and Fr. Herman Podmoshensky be with you, dear reader! Christ is risen!