End Times ( Elder Cleopas )

1. A Sign of the End Times

One day Elder Cleopas met a holy ascetic in the forest and asked him:

"Tell me, Father, when will the end of the world come?"

And the righteous hesychast told him:

"You know when the end of the world will come? When a road will not exist from one neighborhood to another."

That is to say, when love will not exist from one person to another.

2. Do Not Fear the Coming of Antichrist

A few years ago when people were disturbed that the Antichrist is coming, with wars and similar things, Fr. Cleopas would tell them in a loud voice:

"The Father is at the wheel! Take and read verses 10 and 11 of Psalm 32:

'The Lord scatters abroad the counsels of the nations, and He sets aside the reasoning of the peoples; and He rejects the counsels of rulers. The counsel of the Lord abides forever, the thoughts of His heart from generation to generation.'"

He would also encourage them saying:

"Be not disturbed nor afraid, because things will not come to pass as they want. Whatever they want, let them do it. You should not fear. Pray and make the sign of the cross with faith, and the demons shall flee."

3. Learn To Fast

Father Cleopas would say: "Learn to fast, because the time will come when you will eat one potato a week."

4. Spiritual Coldness

A father asked the Elder:

"What will happen, Elder, after your departure to the Lord?"

Elder Cleopa responded:

"There will come stronger cold and hard frost."

Here he of course means spiritual cold, where everyone will be overly involved with earthly things and there will be lack of interest in spiritual things along with a great subservience to the passions.


Elder Cleopas

From The Life and Struggles of Elder Cleopa, Romanian Hesychast and Teacher by Archimandrite Ioanichie Balan.

Prophesies ( Father Seraphim of Vyrytsa )

 "God is strong enough to restore those who labor, if we ask Him. Let us keep praying and begging — and God will recover even from stones his chosen ones." "At least once in our life we need to light a candle for those we have offended, or deceived, from whom we stole, or to whom we did not pay debts."

The Elder said that the time would come when 40 people would cling to every believer for he would save them. "God would wait for a thousand years that at least one man might be saved to replenish the number of fallen angels."

The Elder said that God gave us a soul, but our body is inherited from our parents and grand parents, that is why together with our body we receive part of their sins. They are waiting for our prayers and feel great joy when we pray for them, and those who are in the Heavenly Kingdom help us.

The Holy Elder could see not only the future lives of people, but also the future of our church and the country. The witness to it is his poetry written in 1939: The storm will pass over the land of Russia God will forgive the sins of Russian men. The Holy Cross in its majestic splendor will shine above the churches' domes again. The bells will ring awakening from horror from sins to salvation The holy houses of the Lord will open their doors ,and faith in God will bring us all together.

The Elder said that the time would come when the beginning of the verse will read as "The storm has passed over the land of Russia."

One time to answer his spiritual son's question about the future of Russia, the Elder suggested to him to look out the window. The man saw through the window the Gulf of Finland and many ships under different flags in it. "What does this mean?" — He asked the Father. The Elder answered: "The time will come when spiritual life in Russia will blossom." Many churches and monasteries will be opened, even people of other religions will come here to be baptized in Orthodoxy. Although this will not last long — maybe fifteen years, after which Antichrist will come."

He would say that after the East becomes strong, the world would become unstable. "They are bigger in number, and not only that — their workers are honest and sober people, and here — so much alcoholism..."

As those witnesses remember, the blessed Elder said: " the East will be baptized in Russia. The Heavenly Kingdom and those on earth who understand pray for the enlightening of the East."

"The time will come when Russia will be torn into pieces. The entire country will be partitioned first and then despoiled. The West will welcome the decay of Russia and till a certain time will agree that China takes the eastern part of Russia. Japanese will lay their hands on the Far East of Russia and the Chinese — on Siberia; they will move to Siberia, marry Russians, and in the long run by means of treachery and deceit, will occupy the territory of Siberia all way to Ural. When they are ready to go further, the West will resist it."

"Many countries will assail Russia, but she will hold out, although she will loose a major part of its territory. The war mentioned by the prophets and the Holy Gospel, will cause the unification of mankind. People in the world will understand that they are moving to a dead end, destruction of everything live, and will eventually elect a Common Government , this will be a precursor of the enthronement of Antichrist. Then, the persecution of Christians will start all over, people will flee to Russia in huge numbers, and one will need to go with the first, for many who stay will perish."

The Elder loved young people with all his heart. At that time young people went to church very rarely, if ever; so he was especially happy when they visited him. Father Seraphim spoke about the tremendous role of young people in the future rebirth of the Church. He said that "the time would come (and is already coming) when immorality and corruption will reach the lowest depths. There will be scarcely any purity left in young people. They will see no showstoppers in satisfying their whims, for they will be sure in their impunity. They will get together into groups and gangs to commit robberies, and live dissolute lives. At a certain time there will be a call from God and it will no longer be possible for them to live that kind of life, and they will turn to God, everyone by his own road, many will feel a craving for asceticism. Those who were sinners will be in the churches, fallen people will feel a strong need for a spiritual life, and many will become monks and nuns. The monasteries will be reopened, the churches will be full of people the majority of which will be young. The young will be going on pilgrimages to holy places — what a wonderful time this will be! The more they sin now — the more fervent their repentance will be. As a candle sparkles bright before it goes out, the same with the life of the Church. This time is near."

"God blessed Russia so generously with richness and beauty: forests, lakes, rivers, and mineral resources. Sadly, people live without God, but the earth is the mother, she gives bread and life. The enemies — the God battling authorities will not let people get back to the earth for a long time. The earth can feed everybody and everything can be set, but this not what the enemy wants, not a newly born Russia. Nonetheless, Russia will live from her earth."

"Jerusalem will become the capital of Israel and in time must be the capital of the world. For it is the center of the earth, the Savior of the world was crucified there and raised from death."

Father Seraphim knew about his future glorification and said: "Do not haste to dig my body out. Rely on God... I do not want my body to be subject to trade."

His spiritual children preserved one more verse of the Elder written in 1946: "Glory to the marvelous God our Lord! Sing and rejoice, oh my soul I am in craving for a holy abode Where Jesus is the sweetest of joys You alone are the hope of my life In sorrows and sickness, my strength Be my joy, my cover and hope I give my whole life to you Glory to the marvelous God our Lord! Sing and rejoice oh my soul I am in craving for a holy abode where Jesus is the sweetest of joys."

Father Seraphim of Vyrytsa

Be patient my brethren ( Father Seraphim Rose )

Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)

"By taking one small step at a time, and nobody not thinking that in one big step we are going to get any place, we can walk straight to the Kingdom of Heaven––and there is no reason for any of us to fall away from that ."

Fr. Seraphim Rose