Today, February 24, 2022 marks an escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. For those that do not know, the two neighbors have been at odds for a very long time. For 1000 years the two have been neighbors, brothers, adversaries, and at times one unified nation. Kiev, the capital of Ukraine was the historical first capital of Russia, many residents of Ukraine speak Russian and identify as Russians. The Western world does not understand this conflict, nor should it interfere in any way. It is best for the world to simply allow those two brother nations to figure things out for themselves.
However, this conflict is but a very small part of the things to come. The book of Revelations found in the New Testament describes the Last Days as a terrible time, when people will turn away from God and evil will govern the world. As we have gotten closer to this dreadful epoch, the saints of the Orthodox Church have said many things, and have provided a bit of clarity to the confusing visions found in the book of Revelations. It is important to understand that most key events will take place in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. There have been many saints in the Orthodox Church, and they have all said different things; however, most of the predictions collected over the past 2000 years are in general agreement with each other. Certain predictions may have come from Divine wisdom, while others may have been the individual's interpretation, only time will tell. There have been a great many saints, and to accurately cite which saint made which statement would encompass many volumes, and is far beyond the scope of this article. If someone wishes to learn more, books on this matter can be easily found at any bookstore that stocks Orthodox materials or on the Internet.
This is a rough outline of how things have been predicted to happen, some things are specific, while others are a bit vague. Dates and times are never specific when dealing with such predictions, and the saints that received actual Divine wisdom are always vague as to when things may occur.
The Book of Revelations, and the various predictions of the saints, are not meant to be viewed as some sort of horror story with a hopeless narrative; rather it is a call for everyone to repent of their ways and to seek to become closer to God. The Book of Revelations offers great hope to the followers of Christ, for those that remain steadfast and keep their faith, they will live for all eternity in the uncreated Light of God. There is no greater goal, no greater purpose, no greater joy, than to live forever in the presence of the Lord.
To begin, the saints have said that in the Last Days, as described in the Bible, there would be a terrible Apostasy, people would distance themselves from God. All manner of sinful behavior would become commonplace, especially sins of the flesh as humanity becomes lecherous and perverse. In the New Testament, I forget which book, it is said that it would become worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. People's love for others would lessen, and people would become unforgiving, selfish, and egotistical. Saint Nilus stated that because of people's vulgar behavior and immodest appearance, it would become difficult to discern the difference between men and women. He also stated that in the Last Days "people will go insane, and anyone that retains their sanity will be attacked by the insane for not being insane like everyone else".
The saints have been specific about certain events. It was predicted by various saints, each with their own way of looking at the situation, that Russia would conquer Ukraine, and the political, social, and religious conflicts they had would be finally settled. Both nations are majority Orthodox, the real difference is political; they're arguing over who gets to be in charge and select bishops. Some Ukrainians want an independent Church with locally elected bishops, while others wish to remain under the leadership of Moscow. The whole thing is a bit silly, and the behavior of various people involved has been less than proper. Russia will also take over Georgia at some point, with the details being unclear as to causes and consequences.
The focus of many predictions involve Turkey, Greece, and Israel. At some point there will be a terrible economic collapse on a global scale, unemployment will reach levels never seen before. The controllers of great wealth will withdraw their fortunes from the marketplace, which will exacerbate the economic collapse. Turkey will invade Greece, hoping to steal natural resources. Soon after this invasion begins, Russia will attack and destroy Turkey, the nation of Turkey will cease to exist. Suffering from the ravages of the economic collapse, or perhaps from sanctions imposed by the West or some other reason, Russia will continue into the Middle East for whatever purpose they have. At this point a three day global nuclear war will begin, with many nations involved, call it World War Three or Armageddon. The results will be disastrous for the world and most particularly for the nations involved in that conflict. According to the Book of Revelations and the various predictions, one third of humanity will perish in those three days. As a consequence of the nuclear fallout the world will be polluted: bodies of water will be poisoned and all the fish will die; the air will be toxic; terrible famines and diseases will ravage the inhabitants of the world, lessening the population of the world even further. One saint stated that a person will have to walk a whole day in order to find another person, and they will be so happy to see someone, they will embrace that other person as a brother. Despite the calamity, humanity will continue on; society will be changed, but life will continue. It will take humanity 20-30 years to begin to rebuild after this terrible war, about a generation or two. At that point the Beast of Revelations, also known as the anti-Christ will come to power. He will hold a world wide political office of some sort for a term of three and a half years. According to various statements in the New Testament, the Jews will accept this person as the Messiah, he will enter into the rebuilt Temple of Solomon, and they will worship him. His evil will be unimaginable, and he will do terrible things to anyone that refuses to accept him. The end of his time in power will mark the end of the world, and Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. To repeat, no one knows when exactly these events will occur. This may occur next year, or ten or twenty years from today, but it appears that the time is getting closer.
There is evidence that those terrible events are getting closer. Vast amounts of crude oil have been discovered under the Greek controlled portions of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Turks are anxious to take some for themselves. Greece, Cyprus, and Israel have created a joint venture to build seven oil rigs in the sea, in order to mine the crude oil. A part of the sea bottom which overlaps these oil rigs is an area named "Leviathan". One contemporary Orthodox monk, Elder Nekatrios Mousaliotis, believes this crude oil project matches one of the dragons mentioned in the book of Revelations. The monster coming from the sea, named Leviathan, with seven heads and ten horns, with each horn wearing a crown (Revelations 13.1). A bit later on (17.12), the writer describes the ten horns as having the authority of kings, but without a kingdom to rule. This should not be confused with the dragon upon which the harlot was riding (17.3); the horns on that dragon lacked the crowns which adorned the first dragon. It is stated that both dragons are of one mind, that is they share opinions and purpose, further proof they are separate entities. John the Evangelist was sitting on the beach receiving these visions 2000 years ago, it stands to reason he would not have understood a vision of seven oil rigs, to him they looked like a giant monster. The ten crowned horns giving power to the seven heads also reconcile with the international banks which are funding the multi-billion dollar oil venture. How does one describe a bank? Banks have almost limitless power, they can bring about the rise or downfall of nations; yet they are not governing any particular area. Banks are literally kings without kingdoms. Revelations mentions the Mark of the Beast, which will be placed on people's hands and foreheads, and only those with the Mark will be able to buy and sell. This is something within the power of banks to impose. Centuries ago, governments issued coins as a means of economic trade, which was far more efficient than bartering. Later, printed money replaced gold coins, and eventually credit cards began taking the place of paper currency. At some point in the future, this Mark of the Beast will become the new method of economic transfer. Nobody knows what the Mark will be or how it will look: perhaps a microchip implanted under the skin, perhaps a bar code of some sort. or perhaps an official looking tattoo. There are only a few certainties, some folk will try to hide in order to avoid it, and whoever receives the Mark will face eternal damnation.
To repeat. The Book of Revelations, and the various predictions of the saints, are not meant to be viewed as some sort of horror story with a hopeless narrative; rather it is a call for everyone to repent of their ways and to seek to become closer to God. The Book of Revelations offers great hope to the followers of Christ, for those that remain steadfast and keep their faith, they will live for all eternity in the uncreated Light of God. There is no greater goal, no greater purpose, no greater joy, than to live forever in the presence of the Lord.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and inseparable. To You O Lord belongs all glory, honor, and worship, in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.