Who will resist the Antichrist?
PART THREE
Who will be deceived by the Antichrist?
If sufficient theoretical and practical knowledge of Christianity is the cause of the faithful Christians not being deceived, the lack of the following pair i.e., of practice and theory, will be the cause of the fall of the beast's followers. So, those who will be deceived by the Antichrist will be:
1) Those who will not have a theoretical theological training[1].
2) Those who are unstable and have an unstable mind.
According to Saint John of Damascus, those who will have a weak and unsupported basis of their intellect will be deceived and separated from the living God[2]. According to Theodoretos of Cyrus, in the pernicious nets of the Antichrist not everyone will be caught, but only those who will have an unstable and easy to deceive opinion[3].
3) Those who have an earthly mind and are attached to earthly affairs.
According to Saint Ephraim, those who are bound by matter, even if they hear the truth, will not believe but will abhor the one who speaks to them[4]. According to Saint Caesarius of Arle, the Antichrist will be followed by the greedy, the vicious and the adulterers, who call themselves Christians but are such only by name[5].
4) Those who, in any case, will not be worthy of salvation.
According to St. Chrysostom, Theodoret of Cyrus, St. Augustine and St. Theophylact of Ochrid, the Antichrist will not prevail over all of the humans, but only over those who by themselves are worthy of loss and would deprive themselves of salvation even without the presence of the Antichrist. He will be followed by the disobedient, those who would go to hell, even if the Antichrist would not come[6].
According to Saint Augustine, those who are worthy to be deceived will be deceived, those who will allow themselves to be deceived[7]. Saint Theodore the Studite, referring to the "Adulterers", as he characterizes them, says: "Those who fall into this heresy - focusing his attention on the submission of the Church to the will of political power- if they lived in the time of the Antichrist, would fall into his worship. And those who stand up and fight against heresy, if they lived in the time of the Antichrist, they would defeat him with the power of Christ "[8].
5) Those who will have abandoned God.
The Theophylact of Ochrid, interpreting the words of the Apostle Paul (2 Thessalonians 2:11) "And, for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion", clarifies that God will not be responsible for the falling into deception of the followers of the Antichrist, but themselves. He writes characteristically: "First they rejected the truth and then God abandoned them, and falsehood prevailed over them"[9]. According to St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, "whoever has not accepted the kingdom of God in himself, cannot recognize the Antichrist. In an incomprehensible way, unconsciously, he will definitely become a fan." [10] Those who did not stay in the truth will be deceived. According to Saint Jerome, those who did not accept love and truth, that is, Christ, will believe in falsehood, those who will have prepared themselves for spiritual bane[11].
6) Those who have a proud mind.
According to St. Augustine, those who seek their own glory, as the Antichrist will attribute glory to himself, risk being led into the trap of the beast[12]. Obviously, people like him will like him and will follow him.
Similar views are reported in the wider Christian literature. Lack of theological training is considered to be a cause of the deception of people. According to Aretha of Caesarea, those who are false (counterfeit) and hear the prophecies about the coming of Christ with indolence will be deceived by the Antichrist[13]. He will be followed by those who have not been taught the theology of history, that is, how Satan ruled before the coming of Christ, how he was defeated by His First Coming, and how he will be defeated again in the last days[14].
It is also emphasized that the materialistic life will lead to the Antichrist. According to the author of Peri Synteleias, those who will be captives of life affairs and bound by the desire of the present century, of the ephemeral reality, will follow the Antichrist[15]. According to Aretha of Caesarea, those who will show no care for heavenly glory, but will cling to the earthly "hearth" and will have adopted a beastly way of life[16], will be deceived by the Antichrist; those who will be led and brought into the game of life taking care of the earthly[17].
Those who are "loose" and "superficial" Christians will be deceived. According to Clement of Alexandria, the "called" will be deceived and not the chosen ones[18]. The same is written by Arethas, who notes that, from the Christians, the ones who will follow the Antichrist will be those whom the calling of Christ did not reach the depths of their hearts, but only touched them superficially, so that they can be counted with the Christians. Those who were called, but were not numbered with the chosen ones, will be deceived[19].
Reference is also made to the gift of the discernment of the spirits. Arethas notes that most people will be deceived, because they will not be accustomed to distinguishing truth from falsehood[20].
Most Fathers do not seem especially optimistic about the numbers of those who will resist the Antichrist and of those who will follow him. The latter will be more. According to the Didache of the Twelve Apostles, "many will be scandalized and will be lost." [21] According to St. Romanos Melodos, "many will obey him and follow him deceived"[22]. Saint Theodore the Studite, expressing his sorrow for the small number of those who adopted the right opinion concerning the well-known issue of his time, writes that something similar will happen in the end times. The percentage will be small, both of those who in his day resisted lawlessness and those who will resist the Antichrist at the end of time[23].
Saint Augustine is more optimistic. "We must also believe that at that time faithful Christians will be found, and that many, coming from outside, assisted by the grace of God and the Scriptures, who foretold the end of the world to which they have already foreseen the approach, will be "more willing to believe and will be stronger in defeating the devil, free from his bonds"[24], he writes in his City of God.
( excerpt from the book
THE TEACHING OF THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH ABOUT THE ANTICHRIST by Dr Vasilios Tamiolakis
[1] Βλ. στην προηγούμενη ενότητα και στην ενότητα σχετικά με την παρατήρηση των σημείων των καιρών.
[2] Βλ. Ιωάννου Δαμασκηνού, Περί Αντιχρίστου, σελ. 442, « Καὶ τοὺς σαθρὰν καὶ ἀστήρικτον τὴν βάσιν τῆς διανοίας ἔχοντας ἐξαπατήσει καὶ ἀποστήσει ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ζῶντος, ὥστε σκανδαλισθῆναι, εἰ δυνατόν, καὶ τοὺς ἐκλεκτούς ».
[3] Θεοδωρήτου Κύρου, Αιρετικής κακομυθίας επιτομή, P.G. 83, 531. Βλ. και Αυγουστίνου, Ερμηνεία εις το βιβλίον των Ψαλμών, ANF, Series I, vol. VIII, σελ. 38-39.
[4] Βλ. Εφραίμ, Λόγος εις την Παρουσίαν του Κυρίου, σελ. 126, « Τοῖς δὲ τὸν νοῦν ἔχουσι εἰς πράγματα βιωτικὰ καὶ ποθοῦσι τὰ γήινα, οὐκ εὔδηλον ἔσται τοῦτο. Ὁ γὰρ ἀεὶ δεδεμένος ἐν πράγμασι βιωτικοῖς, κἄν ἀκούσῃ, ἀπιστεῖ καὶ βδελύσσεται τὸν λέγοντα ».
[5] Καισαρίου της Αρελάτης, Ε.Α., 6, σελ. 74.
[6] Βλ. Ιωάννου Χρυσοστόμου, Εις την Β΄ προς Θεσσαλονικείς, Oμιλία Δ΄, Α΄, P.G. 62, 487, « “ ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις ” ἰσχύει, οἵ, εἰ καὶ μὴ παρεγένετο ἐκεῖνος, οὐκ ἄν ἐπείσθησαν », Θεοδωρήτου Κύρου, Εις την Β΄ προς Θεσσαλονικείς, Β΄, Θ-Ι΄, P.G. 82, 665, « Οὐ γὰρ πάντων κρατήσει, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἀπωλείας ἀξίων, οἵ καὶ δίχα τῆς τούτου παρουσίας σφᾶς αὐτοὺς τῆς σωτηρίας ἐστέρησαν », και Θεοφυλάκτου Βουλγαρίας, Εις την Β΄ προς Θεσσαλονικείς, P.G. 124, 1345, « Καὶ γὰρ τοῦ Ἀντιχρίστου μὴ ἐλθόντος, ἔμελλον κολασθῆναι οἱ ἀπειθεῖς ».
[7] Βλ. Αυγουστίνου, Η Πολιτεία του Θεού, Κ΄, ΙΘ΄, σελ. 119-120.
[8] Θεοδώρου του Στουδίτου, Ευπρεπιανώ και τοις συν αυτώ, P.G. 99, 1033, « Καὶ ὅσοι ἐν ταύτῃ ὑποπέσωσι, κἄν τότε ὑπῆρχον, ὑπέπεσον ἄν. Καὶ ὁπόσοι δυνάμει Θεοῦ ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι στῶσιν, εἶεν ἄν καὶ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις νικῶντες τὸν Ἀντίχριστον ἐν θανάτῳ μετὰ Χριστοῦ ».
[9] Βλ. Θεοφυλάκτου Βουλγαρίας, Εις την Β΄ προς Θεσσαλονικείς, P.G. 124, 1345. Στην ευρύτερη χριστιανική γραμματεία βλ. Θεοδώρου Μοψουεστίας, Εις την Β΄ προς Θεσσαλονικείς, P.G. 66, 936, « τὴν συγχώρησιν δηλονότι ὡς ἔργον τῷ Θεῷ περιῆψεν. Βούλεται γὰρ εἰπεῖν ὅτι μὴ μείναντες ἐπὶ τῆς ἀληθείας προσέξουσι τῇ πλάνῃ καὶ πιστεύσουσι τῷ ψεύδει, δικαίαν δεχόμενοι τὴν τιμωρίαν… ».
[10] Ιγνατίου Μπριαντσιανίνωφ Επισκόπου Σταυρουπόλεως, Η Βασιλεία του Θεού και ο Αντίχριστος, ο.π., σελ. 16, και Θαύματα και σημεία, ο.π., σελ. 46-47.
[11] Βλ. Ιερωνύμου, Επιστολή εις Αλγασίαν, 11, P.L. 22, 1038.
[12] Βλ. Αυγουστίνου, Εις το κατά Ιωάννην, 14-24, NPNF, Series I, vol. VII, σελ. 185-7.
[13] Βλ. Αρέθα Καισαρείας, E.A., ΛΓ΄, σελ. 354, « Κλέψει τῇ ὁμοιότητί τινας τῶν νοθεστέρων καὶ ῥαθυμότερον τῶν περὶ Χριστοῦ προφητικῶν ἐπακούοντας ».
[14] Αρέθα Καισαρείας, E.A., ΝΔ΄, σελ. 432-3, « Τοιοῦτοι δὲ οἱ ἀστήρικτον ἔχοντες τὴν βάσιν, ἅτε μὴ ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν Χριστὸν τεθεμελιωμένοι. Θαυμάσονται οὖν καὶ νῦν οὗτοι οἱ διὰ τὸ χαμερπὲς οὐδὲ τῇ βίβλῳ τῶν ζώντων ἐγράφησαν… Θαυμάσονται οὖν, ὡς ἤδη εἴρηται, οἱ μὴ διὰ τὸ χαμερπὲς προστοιχειωθέντες ἀσφαλῶς ταῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ περὶ αὐτοῦ προρρήσεσι, λογιζόμενοι πῶς τὴν ἀρχαίαν δυναστείαν καὶ ἀπέλαβε καὶ ἀνέλαβε. Διὰ τοῦτο πλήρωμα τῆς ἀσεβείας αὐτοῦ ἔνοικον ἔχοντος Ἀντιχρίστου αὖθις τέλος ἄξιον λήψεται ».
[15] Βλ. Περί Συντελείας, σελ. 288, « Καὶ γὰρ τότε οἱ δεδεμένοι ἐν πράγμασι βιωτικοῖς καὶ τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ τοῦ αἰώνος τούτου, οὗτοι εὐχερῶς προσαχθήσονται τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ σφραγισθήσονται ».
[16] Βλ. Αρέθα Καισαρείας, Ε.Α., ΛΣΤ΄, σελ. 377, « πεσοῦνται… οἱ μηδὲν τῶν οὐρανίων καὶ τῆς ἐκεῖ δόξης πεφροντικότες, ἀλλὰ τῇ γηΐνῃ ἑστίᾳ καὶ τῇ κατ᾿ αὐτὴν χοιρώδει βιώσει προσαρμοζόμενοι » και σελ. 379, « παρασκευάζει πάντας… οἷς οὐδὲν πλέον τῶν γηινῶν εἰς φρόντησιν προσκυνῆσαι τὸ πρῶτον θηρίον ».
[17] Βλ. Αρέθα Καισαρείας, Ε.Α., ΛΔ΄, σελ 364, « τοῖς γήινα φρονοῦσι … καὶ ὡς ἡ θάλασσα ἀστατοῦσιν, ἀγομένοις καὶ φερομένοις ἐν τῇ τοῦ βίου κυβείᾳ ».
[18] Κλήμεντος Αλεξανδρείας, Εκ των Θεοδότου και της Ανατολικής καλουμένης διδασκαλίας κατά τους Ουαλεντίνου χρόνους επιτομαί, Θ΄, P.G. 9, 660 και S.C. 23, σελ. 9, « ὅθεν εἴρηται τοὺς μὲν τῆς κλήσεως ἀνθρώπους κατὰ τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ Ἀντιχρίστου πλανηθήσεσθαι· ἀδύνατον δὲ τοὺς ἐκλεκτούς. Διό φησι. “ Καὶ εἰ δυνατὸν τοὺς ἐκλεκτούς μου ” ». Πρβλ. Μθ. 24,24, « Ἐγερθήσονται γὰρ ψευδόχριστοι καὶ ψευδοπροφῆται καὶ δώσουσι σημεῖα μεγάλα καὶ τέρατα ὥστε πλανῆσαι, εἰ δυνατόν, καὶ τοὺς ἐκλεκτούς ».
[19] Αρέθα Καισαρείας, E.A., ΛΣΤ΄, σελ. 376, « Ἐπεὶ δὲ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου φωνήν, πολλοὶ μὲν κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί. Εἰκὸς ἐκείνους νικηθῆναι, τοὺς μὴ τοῖς ὀλίγοις συντεταγμένους. Ὧν ἡ κλῆσις οὐ διὰ βάθους ἦλθεν καρδίας, ἀλλ᾿ ἀκροθιγῶς καὶ ὅσον Χριστιανοῖς ἐναριθμηθῆναι ».
[20] Αρέθα Καισαρείας, E.A., ΛΣΤ΄, σελ. 374.
[21] Διδαχή των δώδεκα Αποστόλων, XIV, Β.Ε.Π.Ε.Σ. 2, σελ. 220, « τότε ἥξει ἡ κτίσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς τὴν πύρωσιν τῆς δοκιμασίας “ καὶ σκανδαλισθήσονται πολλοὶ καὶ ἀπολοῦνται. Οἱ δὲ ὑπομείναντες ἐν τῇ πίστει αὐτῶν σωθήσονται ” ». Βλ. και Διαταγαί Αποστόλων, Ζ, ΧΧΧΙΙ, Β.Ε.Π.Ε.Σ. 2, σελ. 127, « Καὶ πολλοὶ σκανδαλισθήσονται ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ ».
[22] Ρωμανού, Εις την Β΄ Παρουσίαν, ΙΑ΄, σελ. 270.
[23] Βλ. Θεοδώρου του Στουδίτου, Ευπρεπιανώ και τοις συν αυτώ, P.G. 99, 1033, « Ἀλλ᾿ ὤ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ταλαιπωρίας! Πῶς ἀπεντεῦθεν νῶτα ἔστρεψαν; Πῶς ὑποδεικνύομεν τί ἐσόμεθα; Διὰ τοῦτο ὀλίγοι οἱ μέλλοντες στῆναι… Διὰ τοῦτο κολοβωθήσονται αἱ ἡμέραι τῆς ἀνάγκης ἐκείνης τῇ ἐπιφανείᾳ Χριστοῦ ἀναιρουμένης ».
[24] Αυγουστίνου, Η Πολιτεία του Θεού, Κ΄, Η΄, σελ. 94.
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