Читать книгу Apocalypse. Interpretation of the XXI century - Valeriy Sterkh - Страница 8

The purpose of writing the Apocalypse was to explain to Christians the significance of certain historical events in light of the Divine Providence: to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass (Rev 1:1).

The mystical representation of the future of Christ’s Church and of the whole world helps to prepare believers for the temptations of peacetime, and, particularly, for the hardships in the days of the Antichrist. When the Church is aware of the inevitability of persecution and the Final Judgment, in which everyone will receive according to his deeds, she is helped to go through the hardships:

He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be (Rev 22:11—12).

The prophetic visions of the Apocalypse are not always arranged in chronological order. However, each individual vision contains a strict chronological sequence. This sets the rules for interpretation, which help to align these visions against each other. To some extent, these rules were formulated by the Church Fathers, whose authority and opinion should undoubtedly be taken into consideration when interpreting certain visions.

The events of the last few centuries are a good enough reason to review our modern history in light of the Apocalypse so we can interpret it properly, thus filling up what was lacking in the ancient interpretations.