“When all the people were baptized, and Jesus, having been baptized, prayed: the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, saying: You are my beloved Son; My favor is in you!”
(Luke 3:21-22)

Where are you disappearing? A real miracle happened here, - my neighbor Tamriko greeted me with these words and began to tell.

In the morning, it means that I iron my clothes and listen to TV with half an ear, the Moscow channel. Suddenly, the host says: “Today the Orthodox Church is celebrating, and the blessing of water will take place in all churches. According to legend, on this day the heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends on the water, and all water is blessed.

Oh, I think what they just do not invent! And the presenter continues: “It used to be believed that if someone sees the opened skies and has time to say his desire, then it will certainly come true. Attention, look at the sky. Now, any minute now, the heavens must open, and only after that the priests will begin the blessing of water.” I threw the iron down, went to the window and saw: a sparkling golden line appeared in the sky from edge to edge, as if the plane had flown by. I'll call the kids. "Come," I shout, "here, see what's going on." They ran. “Come on,” I say, “make a wish.”

And then this line by itself began to open wider and wider, and from somewhere above an unusual golden light began to stream. Indescribable beauty. Here the daughter yells at the top of her lungs: “I want a Barbie! I want three new Barbies!” - "Stupid! - I say. - Isn't it enough, do you have this rubbish lying around? You need something!”

And I'm nervous. What to guess? Everything material goes into the head. Bed linen is needed. There is such a moment, and I suddenly remember about underwear? No, it doesn't fit. It is better to ask that the work be normal. Again, not that. In this life, there is nothing but work. I can't concentrate at all. And then, over the ear, the daughter again yells about Barbie. Almost thrashed her: "Do not clog, - I say, - the air with nonsense."

Suddenly, this golden opening in the sky began to narrow, the sky shone for only ten minutes. Oh, I think, wait, I didn’t really have time to think of anything, and the sky has already become normal, as always. My son later said to me: “I should have asked for health.” “And that’s true,” I say, “the most necessary things will always pop out of my head.”

You ask your people in the church, - the neighbor concludes her story, - if anyone has seen this and what it obliges us to do. And find out exactly when the next one will be, so that I can prepare in advance and say the most important thing.

My acquaintances in the church, as if by agreement, answered:

It is a well-known fact that the heavens open at Epiphany. But the Lord did not allow us to see this. And how will you see if a service is going on at that time and you need to be in church?

And for those who saw it, what should they do?

Now is the time, the Lord calls everyone to church for repentance. And without repentance, the open heavens are inaccessible. However, there is such a mercy of God that the Lord gives grace in advance.

As for the fulfillment of desires, in the same year, different people presented three Barbies to the daughter of Tamriko's neighbor. Now she has grown up and no longer plays with dolls. What her older brother thought of remained a secret.

As for their mother, a year later she had an urgent job, there was no time to look at the sky.

Teachings of Modern Elders

Our Orthodoxy is heaven on earth

Η Ορθοδοξία μάς είναι ο ουρανός στή γή

Elder Monk Markell of Caracalla, Holy Mount Athos (+2006)

μοναχού Μαρκέλλου Καρακαλληνού

TO what rest does the soul get when it kneels down and weeps bitterly over its iniquities! What strength does every suffering soul take when it calls upon the Holy God in time of pain, a soul that suffers because of its false behavior, wayward and cruel character.

The soul, when it enters into communion with God and feels His grace that surrounds a person, then it begins to pray for the peace of the whole world. Such a person does not remain indifferent, but he becomes very susceptible to the pain of people and feels that his prayer is heard by the Righteous Judge, God, Who is generous and merciful.

Late in the evening and at night my soul prays for our Church, for our Orthodoxy. Our Orthodoxy is light, it is fragrance, it is achievement and holiness, sanctification, it is eternal life. We can't pollute it with anything. It does not accept any confusion with heresy or error. Our Orthodoxy is heaven on earth. It is Christ who speaks to us. These are the Holy Fathers who dogmatized and foreshadowed its infallible path.

And now my soul is sad and grieving for those who want to muddy the living water, put out the light and change its heavenly path. May this never happen. Orthodoxy can never change, because this is the Body of Christ, this is the teaching of Christ, and we, Orthodox Christians, are its members. The Lord God-man is the head and head of the Church. Christ holds the helm of the Church and directs the church ship to the kingdom of heaven. The victory of Orthodoxy is a given, since the Lord “ came out How victorious, And to win"(Rev. 6, 2). And again the Lord Himself said: gate hellish Not overcome e yo". (Matthew 6:18)

Today, the duty of Orthodox Christians, clerics and laity, is to stay awake. Let us not fall into error, let us not be afraid, let us not run away from the flock of Christ. The path of our Church has never been easy. Initially, our Church was the Church of confessors and martyrs. In every historical epoch, our Church prepares holy relics. Today things have become very complicated, but we should not be afraid: "Weapons militancy our Not carnal, But strong God on destruction strongholds"(2 Cor. 10:4).

Maybe now we are talking about the fact that the Church will open a new book Martyrology? It becomes obvious because events lead to it... In today's darkened world, the Church, as if from a trumpet, loudly proclaims the truth: true stays And grows stronger in eyelids And lives And reigns forever centuries"(1 Esdras. 4, 38). The Church defeated external enemies, crafty heretics, who always “came out from us, but were not ours” (1 John, 2, 19)

The Orthodox Church endows us with a heroic consciousness and demands from us the most holy life and asceticism. She renews her children and makes them living members of her peaceful army. Now I look at the Church, which appears to us in the image of the Mother of God, who is clothed in the sun and marches, driven by an evil serpent, into the desert. "AND are given were wife two wings big eagle" (Apoc. 12, 14). That is, God gave them, these are the wings of His protection. And wings were given to the Church so that it would fly away into the wilderness, a place appointed by God, in order to feed there away from the face of the serpent.

The Orthodox Church should always go free and uncontrolled, and her children will triumph over the ancient serpent, called the devil, who misleads the entire universe. They will defeat him for three reasons: They won his blood lamb And word evidence his And Not loved souls his even before of death» (Rev. 12, 11).

Christ is the Bridegroom not only for the Church as a whole, but also for each individual believer. And whoever longs for and loves the Bridegroom and the life and joy that He distributes, let Yes comes, willing let beret water life for nothing» (Rev. 22, 17).

« testifying this speaks: to her coming soon! Amen. To her come, God Jesus ! »

I felt myself next to me Holy Mother of God during the night. She came to console me and wipe away my tears. I felt like one of the abandoned and forgotten hermits, located at the top of a tree in Her garden. I sang many songs to the Blessed Virgin, my mother, and some of them I wrote down on paper and send to you. Will you forgive me for this foolishness of mine?

Wednesday. Three o'clock in the morning. Athos desert.

Translation of "Orthodox Apologist", 2011.

1 It is not profitable for me to boast, for I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body I don’t know, whether out of the body I don’t know, God knows) was caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I know about such a person ([only] I don't know - in the body or out of the body: God knows),
4 that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which a man cannot utter.
5 In such [a person] I can boast; I will not boast of myself, except for my infirmities.
(2 Corinthians 12:1-5) Synodal translation

1 I will continue to boast, even though it does not profit me. I will tell about the visions and revelations sent to me by the Lord.
2 I know a brother in Christ who, fourteen years ago, in his flesh or spirit (this is unknown to me, but only God knows), was taken up into heaven.
3 And I know that this man, whether in his flesh or in his spirit (this is unknown to me, but known only to God),
4 went to heaven and heard unpronounceable words that it is not allowed for a person to pronounce.
5 I will boast about this man. But I will not brag about myself, except for my weaknesses.
(2 Corinthians 12:1-5) Modern translation

1 We have to boast, although there is no benefit in it. I will move on to the visions and revelations that were given by the Lord. (2) I know a Christian who fourteen years ago (I don't know if it was awake or in a vision, only God knows) was captured and taken up to the third, highest sky. (3) Yes, I know such a person. In reality or in a vision - I do not know, only God knows - (4) he was transferred to Paradise and there he heard inexpressible words that a person should not divulge. (5) I will boast of such a person, but I will not boast of myself, except for my weaknesses.
(2 Corinthians 12:1-5) translated from ancient Greek by V. N. Kuznetsova

Reading these verses, we involuntarily ask ourselves the question, what kind of third heaven? In some translations heaven or that paradise? Today we will study the theme of heaven and heaven.

I. The Biblical Concept of "Paradise"

The biblical concept of "Paradise" corresponds to the Greek word paradeisos, borrowed from the ancient Persian language, in which parideza- This " fence", and " that which is surrounded by a fence“, i.e. park or garden. In this sense, the word passed into many ancient languages ​​- Hebrew pardes, Aramaic pardesa, Greek paradeisos, - and from them, through Latin, into modern European languages.

II: In the Old Testament

+ 1) if in the Old Testament the word pardes(“paradise”) does not occur at all, this does not mean at all that the concept of “Paradise” as such is absent in the Old Testament. Here it corresponds to the expressions "garden", "garden in Eden" or even "garden of the Lord" (Genesis 2:8,10,15; cf. which, however, does not correspond to the practice of Jewish word usage).

Before their fall, people lived in Paradise in union with God and in sinless openness to each other. After the fall, they were expelled from God's garden.

+ 2) the Old Testament prophets transferred the most ancient ideas about Paradise to the end times. Canaan (Ezek. 36:35) and Zion (Is. 51:3) will become at the end of days like the garden of Eden, i.e. garden of the Lord.

35 Then they will say, “This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; and these ruined and desolate and devastated cities are fortified and inhabited.”
(Ezek. 36:35)

3 So the Lord will comfort Zion, comfort all her ruins, and make her deserts like a paradise, and her steppe like a garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be in it, praise and hymns.
(Isaiah 51:3)

The description of the land of Israel as it will become at the end of time is taken from the description of the garden of God. There will be full-flowing rivers, the land will be unspeakably fertile, animals will live in peace with each other, and Mount Zion will become the peak of the world.

Isaiah 2:2; 35:1 et seq.; 41:18; Ezekiel 47:1 et seq.; Hos 2:22; Am 9:13; Mic 4:1 et seq.; Zech 14:8

However, nowhere in Scripture is End Times Canaan identified with the Garden of Eden.

III. Paradise of prehistory and Paradise of the end of time

The identification of the prehistoric Paradise with the Paradise of the end of time is first found in pre-Christian apocalyptic literature, where the location of this Paradise is almost always called the new Jerusalem (cf. the Ethiopian version of the Book of Enoch 25:4; 3 Ezr 7:36 - this text is not in the Synodal translation). The description of Paradise here corresponds to the Old Testament ideas.

Such concepts as "tree of life", "water of life" and "bread of life" are constantly encountered. The most important feature of Paradise, according to the authors of pre-Christian apocalypses, is that it is in this blessed place that direct communication between man and God takes place.

From the idea of ​​the identity of Paradise of prehistoric time and Paradise of the end of time, it followed that in the interval between these times, Paradise exists invisibly. It was once believed that it was located at the very end of the earth, in the east (see Gen. 2:8), in the north, northwest or west, or on a mountain that rises to the very sky.

On the other hand, there was an opinion that since the fall of Adam, Paradise has been in heaven, more precisely, in the third heaven. All the authors of the apocalypses agree on one thing: the souls of the deceased forefathers, as well as all the elect and the righteous, reside in Paradise. The souls of the dead atheists are in sheole, realm of the dead(Hell).

IV: In the New Testament

+ 1) Paradise is mentioned in the New Testament primarily as the dwelling place of the saved between death and resurrection.

43 And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.
(Luke 23:43)

4 that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which a man cannot utter.
(2 Corinthians 12:4)

In fact, the same is said in a number of other passages of Scripture, but New Testament writers usually avoid using the word "Paradise" because it is associated with carnal ideas that do not correspond to the truth.

The main thing is not heavenly bliss, but the restoration of broken communion with God.

Therefore, instead of the word "Paradise" in the New Testament, the expressions are used: "the bosom of Abraham" (Luke 16:22), "to dwell with the Lord" (2 Kor 5:8), "to be with Christ" (Philippians 1:23), "the abode Father” (John 14:2), etc.;

+ 2) Paradise of the end times is spoken of in Revelation 2:7.

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
(Rev. 2:7)

Here, in the description of Paradise, Old Testament concepts and ideas are used, as well as images created by the Old Testament prophets:

• thus, in the form of Heavenly Jerusalem, Paradise, like a new earth, will receive the saved (Rev. 21:10ff.; 22:1ff.),
• the devil will be destroyed (Rev 20:10),
• there will be no more suffering, tears, and death (Rev. 21:4).

The most beautiful thing will be communion with God, into which every righteous person will then enter:

“He will dwell with them, and God Himself will be with them as their God… The throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him… And they will see His face… and they will not need a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God illuminates them; and they shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 21:3; 22:3ff.).

SKY, SKY

The Hebrew word in the Bible shamayim, like the Greek uranos, means the visible and invisible Sky.

I. The integrity of the visible

Heaven and earth, when they are mentioned together, signify the totality of what is seen by God. OF THE CREATED WORLD(Gen 1:1; Ps 72:25; 120:2).

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
(Gen. 1:1)

25 Who is in heaven for me? and with you I want nothing on earth.
(Ps. 72:25)

2 My help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
(Ps. 121:2)

The sky in the Old Testament is seen as a large tent stretched over the earth (Ps 103:2; Is 40:22, etc.), which one day, on the Day of Judgment, will be rolled up “like a scroll” (Is 34:4; Rev 6:13 and so on). track.).

Along with this, there is another idea, according to which the sky is

• the likeness of a vault of crystal (Ezekiel 1:22),
• mirror image (Job 37:18)
• or made of pure sapphire (Ex 24:10).

Characteristics of the Sky

1. this vault rests on the highest mountains as pillars, Job 26:11.
2. it has gates, doors (Gen 28:17; Ps 78:23)
3. and windows (Genesis 7:11; 8:2; 2 Kings 7:2,19; Isaiah 24:18),
4. through which the Lord sends rain, snow, hail and lightning (Job 38:25), as well as His blessing (Mal 3:10).
5. from here manna from heaven rained down on the earth (Ps 77:23 et seq.).
6. the sun and stars make their way across the sky (Gen. 15:5; Jos. 10:13; Job 9:9, etc.).
7. the heavens also include the air space where the birds fly (Gen. 1:26; Mt. 6:26, etc.).

One day Heaven, like the earth, will cease to exist (Ps 101:26 et seq.; Is 51:6; Mt 24:35), giving way to a new creation.

17 For, behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall no longer be remembered or enter into the heart.
(Isaiah 65:17)

10 The day of the Lord will come, like a thief in the night, and then the heavens will pass away with a noise, the elements, having flared up, will be destroyed, the earth and all the works on it will burn.
11 If all these things are thus destroyed, how should you be in holy living and godliness,
12 who look forward and desire the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens on fire will be destroyed and the burning elements will melt?
13 However, according to his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
(2 Peter 3:10-13)

II: God's Dwelling

+ 1) The Bible, which views Heaven as HOUSE OF GOD (Ps 2:4; 13:2; 113:11; Isaiah 63:15; Matthew 6:9), calls the firmament the throne of the Lord, and the earth his footstool ( Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 5:34ff.; 23:22; Acts 7:49).

However, the ubiquitous presence of God destroys human ideas about space,

27 Truly, can God live on earth? The heaven and the heaven of the heavens do not contain Thee, much less this temple which I have built.
(1 Kings 8:27)

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit, and where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I go down to hell, and there you are.
(Ps. 139:7,8ff.)

although the visible Sky is firmly established in the human mind as an image of the invisible Sky.

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or authorities, all things were created by him and for him;
(Col. 1:16)

Reports of the appearance of angels (Gen. 18:2; Jos. 5:13) and the resurrected Jesus (Jn. 20:19,26) suggest that God's heavens are in contact with our material world.

Compare the cloud that, during the transfiguration of Jesus, overshadows Him, and at the ascension it closes from the eyes of the disciples, Mt 17:5; Acts 1:9.

5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice from the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Listen to him.
(Mat. 17:5)

9 Having said this, He arose before their eyes, and a cloud took Him out of their sight.
(Acts 1:9)

The sky in its essence is something different from the visible firmament, here there is the invisible world of God in contrast to the visible world of man;

+ 2) the habitation of God at the same time - this is the eternal homeland of Christ.

• He came down from heaven (John 3:13,31)
• and after the resurrection he returned there (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9ff.).
• He sits at the right hand of God (Mk 16:19; Heb 1:3)
• and someday will come to earth again (Mt 24:30; Acts 1:11; 1 Thess 4:16; Rev 1:7);

+ 3) Heaven is also a place stay of angels(Mt 18:10; Rev 7:11; 15:5 ff. etc.); Satan was cast out of Heaven (Luke 10:18; Rev. 12:7-9);

+ 4) The sky will one day become dwelling of the saved(Jn 14:2-4; 17:24; 1 Thess 4:17; Rev 7:9-17) - those whose names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20; Heb 12:23).

• Here they will dwell (Philippians 3:20),
• here are their treasures (Matthew 6:20),
• their reward (Matthew 5:12)
• and their inheritance (1 Peter 1:4).

The Bible understands this place as place of glory,

10 For it was necessary that he, for whom are all things, and from whom are all things, who brings many sons to glory, should make the captain of their salvation through suffering.
(Heb.2:10)

where perfection and beauty, inaccessible to the human mind, will reign.

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
(Rev. 21:1)

5 And the night will not be there, and they will not need a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light; and shall reign forever and ever.
(Rev. 22:5)

• Life (1 Tim 4:8),
• serving God (Rev 22:3),
• worship of God (Revelation 5:9-14; 11:15-18; 12:10ff., etc.)
• and glory (2 Corinthians 4:17) endure forever.

III. sky space

According to the Old Testament Jews, there were several HEAVENLY SPACES[Heb. shamayim- pl. number in the absence of units); in later Judaism there were seven.

The Bible does not mention such a number of heavens, Paul only mentions the “third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).

Not only does Hebrews say that "exalted above the heavens," Christ "sat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,"

26 Such should be our High Priest: holy, free from evil, blameless, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens,
(Heb. 7:26)

1 But the main thing in what we are talking about is this: we have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven
(Heb.8:1)

but also that He, being the great High Priest, “passed through the heavens”

14 Therefore, having a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to [our] confession.
(Heb. 4:14)

and entered "into heaven itself, to now appear for us before the face of God."

24 For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made with hands, according to the image of the true, but into heaven itself, now to present himself before God for us,
(Heb. 9:24)

IV. god of heaven

In the New Testament, the word "heaven" is used in the sense of "God of heaven", or "God (revealed) from heaven."

25 Where did the baptism of John come from: from heaven, or from men? And they reasoned among themselves: if we say: from heaven, then He will say to us: why did you not believe him?
(Mat. 21:25)

31 They reasoned among themselves: if we say, from heaven, he will say, why did you not believe him?
(March 11:31)

18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you
(Luke 15:18)

SOUL

Soul - most often means life, the properties of a living creature, both animal and human, but sometimes in relation to a person it means the properties of his immortal spirit, which cannot be killed.

28 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
(Mat. 10:28)

Sometimes this word denotes a property of character and a state of mind.

32 And the multitude of those who believed had one heart and one soul; and none of his possessions called his own, but they had everything in common.
(Acts 4:32)

or just a person, a person.

13 Javan, Tubal and Meshech traded with you, exchanging your goods for human souls and copper dishes.
(Ezek. 27:13)

41 So those who willingly received his word were baptized, and that day about three thousand souls were added.
(Acts 2:41)

13 cinnamon, and incense, and myrrh, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and the bodies and souls of men.
(Rev. 18:13)

A SPIN IN THE FLESH

I can't get past the personality of Paul.

What Paul saw and heard in his vision of Paradise was impossible to recount. This could mean that in order to strengthen Paul for his special mission in the suffering that he had to endure. The Lord gave him a vision of future glory, some of which he was forbidden to reveal to others.

But it is also possible that heavenly glory cannot be described in human language, just as the idea of ​​flowers cannot be conveyed to a person who is born blind.

Pavlovo "thorn in the flesh."

There are many different opinions on what this could mean. According to the general opinion, which seems to us the most just, it was chronic ophthalmia, an eye disease that caused severe pain and sometimes made him look repulsive.

7 And that I might not be exalted by the extravagance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given me, O angel of Satan, to afflict me, so that I would not be exalted.
(2 Corinthians 12:7)

Such a conclusion can be drawn from the language in which Paul's epistles are written.

This happened to him 14 years before he wrote this epistle, that is, about the time Paul arrived in Galatia, during his first missionary journey.

His coming to Galatia was due to some physical infirmity,

13 You know that, [although] in the weakness of the flesh I preached to you the gospel for the first time,
(Gal. 4:13)

which gave him a repulsive appearance that people in his presence experienced excruciating discomfort.

14 But you did not despise my temptation in my flesh and did not despise [them], but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.
(Gal. 4:14)

They would give him their own eyes (Gal. 4:15).

15 How blessed you were! I testify of you that, if it were possible, you would pluck out your eyes and give them to me.
(Gal. 4:15)

Why eyes? Because, obviously, the disease struck precisely the eyes.

Large handwriting characteristic of Paul,

11 See how much I have written to you with my own hand.
(Gal. 6:11)

may have been the result of his poor eyesight. This could also be the reason that he dictated some of his messages to his assistants.

For myself, I made the following conclusion.

At the time of ancient Israel they did not have a complete understanding of the universe as we have today. So they wrote in terms they were familiar with. The Jews spoke of three heavens. The first sky consisted of the earth's atmosphere, where clouds and birds were. The second paradise was where the sun, the stars, and the moon were. The third paradise was the dwelling place of God.

When Paul said that he was caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2), he meant the habitation of God.

In a different sense. Sometimes it means simply the atmosphere immediately surrounding the earth. Thus the expression: all nations under the whole sky(Deut. IV:19) means almost the same as the expression - all the peoples on earth. In this sense, the sky is the region assigned to birds, just as the earth is the region of man and animals, and the water is the region of fish. In another sense, the sky refers to the firmament or firmament of heaven, on which the sun, moon, stars and other celestial bodies revolve. In the Holy Scriptures, the signified heaven is sometimes called veil, vessels of heaven(Job.XXXVIII, 17) scroll(Rev. VI:14). Thus, whether the atmosphere or the firmament of heaven, the heavens in the indicated sense represent an object accessible to our eyes: look up at the stars, says the book. Job, how high they are(Job. XXII:12). This heaven speaks to us about, striking our eyes with its beauty, grandeur and harmony (Ps. XVIII:2). It is doomed to destruction on the last day of judgment, just like the earth. Then the heavens will pass away with a noise, says St. app. Peter, the earth and all the works on it will burn(II Pet. III:10-13). It rolls like a scroll, says Revelation(VI, 14). And I saw, says the Holy Seer in Revelation, new heaven and new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth have passed away, and the sea is no more(XXI, 1). Finally, besides the atmosphere, firmament, under the word heaven of course the so-called heaven of heaven. This is an invisible, immaterial world, perhaps the same third heaven that St. app. Paul (II Cor. XII:2). Here, at the height of heaven, there is a holy special place of the omnipresence of God; here is his throne, here He walks around the sky(Job. XXII:14); the Lord Jesus Christ is especially present here (Acts. III:21), here the Spirit of God manifests His all-pervading power from the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of God (Rev. IV:5). This heaven is the seat of all orders. Here, in a place of calm, are found spirits of the righteous who have reached perfection(Heb. XII:23). This sky is called something else bosom of Abraham, That paradise. We read in St. Scriptures about the heavenly abodes, about the heavenly homeland, about the heavenly city of Jerusalem. It is described as having its city, its temple, its many inhabitants, its crowns of glory, and its fountains of refreshment. From this heaven the Lord came to earth, there He ascended, and from there He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Kingdom of heaven

The expression "kingdom of heaven" is especially common in the Gospel of Matthew. In other Gospels and Epistles, it is replaced by the expression Kingdom of God, the kingdom of Christ, or simply by the word: kingdom. It seems to have a threefold meaning and is understood in a threefold sense. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, John the Baptist exclaimed in the wilderness, understanding it in the first sense, that is, in the sense of the approaching time for the Lord Jesus to be recognized openly and solemnly for the Son of God, sent to earth from God the Father. In the second sense, it obviously refers to the destruction of the political and religious Jewish system and the replacement of these by the Christian one. In a third sense, it refers to the kingdom of glory, which is to be on the last day, when the new heaven and the new earth will come.

Heaven and God… Look, in the Gospel there are expressions like the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven on an equal footing. Let's open the first lines of the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). The Evangelist Matthew promised humble people the Kingdom of Heaven. Let's re-read the same Sermon on the Mount, according to another Gospel: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for yours is the Kingdom of God" (Luke 6:20). Here the kingdom of heaven is called God's.

The word "sky" has many meanings, several semantic layers are found. And this "heavenly polysemy" appears in the Russian word "heaven" ("heaven" in the plural) and in the Hebrew word "shamaim" ("heaven" in the dual number).

Our Father - God - resides in Heaven, and it is there that a real Home is prepared for man. Of course, we can say that God is everywhere, He created both the visible material world and the spiritual, invisible world. The way it is. But still, Heaven is that place, or, more precisely, that other world in which a person must meet God and begin direct communication with Him, without a material “partition”. It was to this Heaven, and not to the material, not to the blue dome above our head, that Christ ascended into this other world before the eyes of the apostles.

Kingdom of God

By the "Kingdom of God" is meant a perfect life on earth - a life based not on the domination of violence, crude egoism, but on the principles of universal love, complete justice, recognition of all the legitimate rights of the individual. The advent of this "Kingdom" is due to the moral rebirth of man, the renewal of his entire inner being. “Truly, truly, I say to you,” Jesus Christ said to Nicodemus, “unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). In another place, Jesus Christ said: “The kingdom of God will not come in a conspicuous way, and they will not say: behold, it is here, or: behold, there. For behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). This is the new ideal; ideal is not temporary, but eternal. ideals ancient greece and Rome could be outgrown, which is why the ancient world fell. The new ideal indicated by Christianity has no limits; it cannot be reached. “Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48) - this is the Savior's testament to people. This covenant is the guarantee of the infinite future of our civilization. A new culture in the very spirit of a Christian, in his inexhaustible ability to improve, will always find a source of its further renewal and development. Almost two thousand years of the history of Christianity is now unfolding before our eyes; our eyes are now in a position to embrace and measure the internal, consistent process of its development, the degree of its powerful influence on the conscience and life of mankind, and we see that Christianity is far from expressing the entire content of its thought, has not said its last word. For the realization of the Kingdom of God on earth, mankind still has a long, hard work on itself, on improving, moral education of the heart. The Gospel awakened many good feelings, touched strings in the heart of a person unknown to him, extracted from them sounds of enchanting beauty and irresistible power, but these sounds have not yet merged into a powerful chord, into a hymn of triumphant love and truth.

Kingdom of God in Man

“The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:2), said the Savior, and within us there is nothing but knowledge or ignorance of the truth, the presence of vices or virtues, by which the Kingdom of God or the devil is arranged in ours, ”- says this reverend father. “Therefore,” he continues, “whoever has only vices is in the kingdom of the devil, and whoever has virtues, spiritual purity, or, according to the apostle, peace, righteousness and joy in the Holy Spirit, he is already here, on earth, in the kingdom of God and has it within him.” This is a typical patristic point of view on the Kingdom of God in the sense of understanding it as a kind of internal state of a person, as a well-known way of life, mainly internal, spiritual, of a person’s life, and outside this internal connection, the idea of ​​the Kingdom of God and spiritual life is not considered by them (the holy fathers). That is why, I think, we also have sufficient grounds in the New Testament and patristic writings to talk about the connection of these indicated ideas and even about their internal unity, and in those features with which the Kingdom of God is depicted in the New Testament Revelation, we have data for defining and revealing at least common typical properties and characteristic natural features of the so-called spiritual life, in contrast to any other type of life.

It seems that the main sign and characteristic feature of the manifestation on earth of the Kingdom of God - the holy spiritual life in man, according to which it affects not only as a real fact and phenomenon, but also as a completely new, special and unprecedented phenomenon in the presence and conditions of ordinary human life, can be to recognize the irreducibility of this phenomenon to the phenomena of the natural order of life usual for us. In this ordinary natural order of life, this phenomenon can in no way find its own explanation or justification. More precisely, since we take the Kingdom of God as spiritual life in its manifestation in the human personality, then its characteristic feature indicated above can be seen in the unprecedented fact of the dominance of the human personality over all natural necessity and the laws of the so-called natural life. The Kingdom of God is in people and is revealed in the world as something special in that it puts a person above all natural necessity and its laws, acting both in the sinful nature of man himself, and in those who obeyed (fell) the law of sin of all world life and the nature of all creations, in the chain of which man stands; in other words, it is revealed, first of all, as some kind of special power, but the power is not physical, but spiritual, which is why it is said about it that it came in power (Mk. 9: 1) and is also revealed not only in the word, but in strength (1 Corinthians 4:20). Of course, it is completely superfluous to say and prove here that the Kingdom of God as a new, spiritual life was revealed on earth and became a fact only from the incarnation and birth of the Lord, and it began to be revealed mainly from the time the Lord entered the work of public service after Baptism in the Jordan. The following facts involuntarily draw attention to themselves, the internal connection of which is worthy of note: the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus Christ at Baptism, His feat in the desert immediately after Baptism, then His preaching about the Kingdom of God and the first manifestations of this approaching and already come Kingdom of Heaven, when Christ , according to the evangelist, in spiritual strength (Luke 4:14) returned from the wilderness. For us in this case, the Lord Jesus Christ is and must be considered as the Son of Man, as the Ancestor of the new humanity, our New Adam, and therefore everything revealed by Him in His Humanity, or rather, God-Manhood, is the revelation of ideal laws and our human life, because, on the one hand, our personality is also god-like (“You are gods” (Ps. 81:6), says the prophet), and on the other hand, since the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, partook of our flesh and blood (Heb. 2:14).

My Temple

will be called a house of prayer

(Matthew 21:13)

The Church is not a social, cultural or historical institution like other human organizations.

The Orthodox Church is the only place of union with God.

The temple is a likeness of heaven on earth, where the Lord Himself resides mysteriously and incomprehensibly and where the forces of Heaven serve invisibly. During Divine Liturgy in the sacrament of the Eucharist, the earthly Church participates - in the person of clergy and believers - and the Heavenly Church, which is symbolized by the relics of the saints, which are obligatory in every church. Thus, in the temple, the heavenly, invisible, spiritual world and the visible, material, earthly world are united.

The temple is the house of God. Each temple is dedicated to the Lord, and it is built in honor of one or another sacred event or a saint of God.

For the construction of the temple in Rus', the most beautiful place was always chosen, it was visible from afar, and the ringing of its bells was heard for many miles. Our ancestors built temples or chapels on almost every street, or placed a worship cross. This helped them remember God and keep the Orthodox faith in their hearts.

The revival of churches today is not an end in itself for the Russian Orthodox Church. Shrines are being restored to sanctify people's lives. When people understand this and strive to transform their souls, they receive help from the Lord. God does not need walls, but the desire of a person to approach him, to turn from a sinful life to righteousness.

The temple is the spiritual home for man. The temple is not a symbol of anything, but the place where God dwells, where a person is sanctified, and through sanctification, everything that surrounds him is transformed, everything that surrounds him is renewed.

The temple is a special place of prayer. The Lord says: where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

In the temple, the Lord is closer to each one who prays, hears his prayers sooner than anywhere else. The scarcity of the prayer of one is made up for by the faith of the other, strengthened by the prayers of the clergy. In the temple, the Spirit of God abundantly pours out His Dprs on those who pray during Divine Services. Therefore, only one prayer, Lord, have mercy in the temple of God, say the holy fathers, is greater than the Psalter read at home.

In every church there is a special grace of God, which purifies a person, teaches him the Truth, sanctifies him, making him worthy and capable of communion with God, gradually restoring in him, through communion with Christ, the image and likeness of God. And only in the temple can a person receive this grace, this real Divine energy, which gives real life here on earth, and eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, an Orthodox church is truly the ark of the salvation of believers.

Grace is an intervening, merciful, enlightening, saving power, disposing to every virtue.

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt

Source "Book of the Patriarch"