| 8264 If we read «with me» temporally, on the analogy of the Essene custom of dipping by rank 11QS 6.4–5; lQSa [lQ28a] 2.20–21; Josephus War 2.130–131), as do Fensham, «Hand»; Albright and Mann, Matthew, 321; but this reading does not explain well why the disciples did not recognize the betrayer ( Mark 14:19 ). 8265 Others also contrast the respective emphasis, in the Markan and Johannine portraits, of the passion (e.g., Boring et a1., Commentary, 151, comparing Philostratus Vit. Apol1. 7.14). 8267 Matthew mentions «Satan» three times, Mark five (in four contexts), and Luke five times. The devil appears six times (in three contexts) in Matthew and five times (in two contexts) in Luke. 8268 Various titles of the devil were synonymous (on the term, see, e.g., Bruce, Acts: Greek, 132; Elgvin, «Devil»). Thus «Satan» is Sammael or Beliar (e.g., Ascen. Isa. 2:2). 8270 The image of Satan " s inspiration or filling an agent " s heart appears in Acts 5:3; T. Job 41:5/7; cf. the late Apoc. Sedr. 5:4–5; Boring et a1., Commentary, 296, cite T. Sim. 2:7, where the prince of error moves Satan against Joseph. 8277 E.g., Pesiq. Rah. 25:2. A common purse was one sign of organization as a group (Livy 39.18.9). 8278 With Michaels, John, 237. One who was trusted could excuse oneself and then go elsewhere than where onés companions assumed, especially at night (Xenophon Eph. 3.10; cf. Iamblichus V.P. 2.11). 8279 The Passover meal was after nightfall (m. Pesah. 10:1; t. Pisha 5:2; 10:9; b. Ber. 9a; Pesah. 107b; cf. Lachs, Commentary, 405). 8280 With Bultmann, John, 482–83; Schnackenburg, John, 3:32; Lee, Thought, 35. Night symbolized evil in other sources as well (e.g., 4Q299 frg. 5, lines 1–4; cf. Aeschylus Eumenides 745). 8283 See Schnackenburg, John, 3:167. Thus «now» in 13may involve Judas " s departure (Holwerda, Spirit, 13), but only because it foreshadows the cross (17:5; cf. «now» in 12:27; 13:1). 8284 Thus Barrett, John, 450–51, reads the announcement as Jesus» sharing the Father " s pre-creation glory (17:5), in contrast with those who expect this glory only eschatologically. |
| It is then evident that for an Orthodox Christian participation at any level is impossible and idolatrous, resulting in a genuine betrayal of God and Church. If we participate in the ritual activity of imitating the dead and wandering in the dark asking for treats or offering them to children, we then have willfully sought fellowship with the dead, whose Lord is not Samhain, but rather Satan. It is to Satan then that these treats are offered, not to children. There are other practices associated with Halloween from which we must stay away, such as sorcery, fortune telling, divination, games of chance, witchcraft and the carving of an ugly face upon a pumpkin and then placing a lit candle within making it the infamous Jack O'Lantern. The pumpkin (in older days other vegetables were used) was carved by the Celts in imitation of the dead and used to convey the new light (from the sacred oak fire) to the home where the lantern was left burning through the night. This " holy lantern " is nothing more than an imitation of the truly holy votive light (lampada) offered before an icon of Christ and the saints. Even the use and display of the Jack O'Lantern involves participation in this " death " festival honoring Satan. The Holy Fathers of the first millennium (a time when the Church was one and strictly Orthodox) counteracted this Celtic pagan feast by introducing the Feast of All Saints. It is from this that the term Halloween developed. The word Halloween has its roots in the Old English of All Hallow E'en, i.e. the Eve commemorating all those who were hallowed (sanctified). Unfortunately, either due to a lack of knowledge or understanding, the Celtic pagan feast being celebrated on the same day as the Christian feast of All Saints (in western Christiandom) came to be known as Halloween. The people who remained pagan and therefore anti-Christian reacted to the Church's attempt to supplant their festival by celebrating this evening with increased fervor. Many of these practices involved desecration and mockery of the Church's reverence for Holy Relics. Holy things, such as crosses and the Reserved Sacrament, were stolen and used in perverse and sacreligious ways. The practice of begging became a system of persecution designed to harass Christians who were, by their beliefs, unable to participate by making offerings to those who served the Lord of Death. |
| 103 В русской литературе есть уже опровержение разных гипотез отрицательной критики, omhoczщuxcя к настоящей евангельской истории, наприм. в превосходной переводной статье упомянутого английского богослова Тренча: «Искушение Господа в пустыне». См. Прав. Обозр. 1887 г. март и апрель. См. еще сочин. М. Тареева : Искушение Богочеловека. Москва. 1892 г. стр. 393–456. 104 См. у Кейля в комментарии на Еванг. Матф. стр. 118, a также у Небе в Evang. Perikopen. Zweit. Band 1875 г., стр. 86. 105 Шоттинг в своих Ногае Hebr. приводит из толкований на Пятокнижие, называнных Pesicta, такие выдержки, которые совершенно опровергают это воззрение. Вот для примера одна выдержка: ait satan: Domine, permitte me tentare Messiam et ejus generationem. Cui inquit Deus: non haberes ullam adversus eum potestatem. Satan iterum ait: sine me, quia potestatem habeo; respondit Deus; si in hoe diutius perseveratis, satan, potius le de mundo perdam, quam aliquam animam generationis Messiae perdi permiltam. Если же что и говорится o личной борьбе Мессии с сатаною, то эта борьба представляется самой кратковременной: Armillum improbum, – так называется сатана, – dum advenerit Messias noster, occidet, sicut dictum est: cum balitu labiorum suorum interficiel improbum. См. y Небе на 86 стр. 111 В этом объяснении нельзя не видеть влияния несторианского заблуждения, которое состояло в учении о двойственной личности Христа, так что естество человеческое существовало отдельно от божеского и было доступно греховным помыслам. Как скоро этого разделения нет, а церковь его не допускает, так тотчас же, конечно, и вопрос о внутренней борьбе с искусительными помыслами делается праздным, падает сам собою. См. подробнее об этом у Тренча, в Прав. Обозр. 1887 г. I, стр. 582–583. 112 Прекрасно рассуждает Фома Аквинат о нападениях диавола на человека: Dicendum, говорит он, quod diabolus in statu innocentiae nullam potestatem habeat in homine, unde non poterat eius imaginationem commovere, per quem modum invisibiliter tentat et sic habeat necesse visibirer tentare. Действительно, только Бог может действовать на человека внутренним, духовным образом, потому что человек есть создание и образ Божий. Может также, по воле Божией, оказывать действие на человека и добрый ангел, так как человек, раэумеется благочестивый человек, и добрый ангел причастны Духу Божию, но сатана, лишившийся общения с Богом и добрыми ангелами, не может внутренно действовать на человека; он может действовать только на грешного человека, предавшегося в его волю. Иуде злой дух мог вложить в сердце нечистую мысль и нечистое желание, но не Господу. Душа Его всегда и неизменно сохранялась чистою, несмотря на все сатанинские козни. Сам Господь засвидетельствовал это пред своими учениками, сказав: грядет бо сего мира князъ, и во Мне не иматъ ничесоже ( Ин.14:30 ). |
| not innocent, but are demonic, precisely as their origins prove. There are evil spirits. Devils do exist. Christ came into the world so that, through death, He might destroy him that had the dominion of death, that is, the Devil (Hebrews 2:14). Christians must see that our greatest foe is the Evil One who inspires nations and individuals to sin, and who keeps them from coming to the truth. Until we know that Satan is our real enemy, we can make little spiritual progress. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). Today we witness a revival of satanist cults and special satanic ceremonies on Halloween night. Everywhere Satan reaches out to ensnare more innocent people with spiritualism, supernatural phenomena, seances, prophesies and all sorts of demonically inspired works. Divine Providence ensured that St. John of Kronstadt, that physician of our souls and bodies, should have his feast day on the very day of Halloween, a day the world dedicated to the destroyer, corrupter, and deceiver of humanity. God has provided us with this powerful counterpoise and weapon against the snares of Satan, and we should take full advantage of this gift, for truly God is wonderful in His Saints. http://stgeorgehermitage.org/halloween.html Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. |
| Similarly, a common label attached by the Byzantines to any form of Christian asceticism that was deemed suspect is “Messalian.” This term signals a rejection of the institutional church and its sacraments in favor of intense prayer leading to a personal relationship with God, often cultivated privately within a monastery (Obolensky 1948: 48–52). The 12th-century commentator Euthymius Zigabenus asserts the connection between Messalianism and Bogomilism in his Dogmatic Panoply (Hamilton and Hamilton 1998: 180–207): “The heresy of the Bogomils ... is part of the Messalian heresy, and for the most part shares their doctrines, but with some additional points which increase the pollution.” It is interesting to note that, when Bogomilism made its appearance on Mount Athos, both the Bogomils and the Hesychasts were accused of Messalianism (Rigo 1989). In any case, because Bogomilism is refracted in the earliest records through other rejected systems of belief and practice, a high degree of prudence is needed in any attempt to account for Bogomil’s actual teachings. What does seem reasonably clear is that Bogomils were pacifist ascetics, unlike the war-like Paulicians. According to Cosmas, Euthymius, and Anna Comnena, the Bogomils rejected the cult of saints, did not venerate the cross or icons, and disavowed Orthodox liturgical prayers, using exclusively the Our Father. They had no use for clerical orders, heavily reinterpreted key passages used in Orthodox tradition to validate the sacraments, and practiced confession to one another without regard to gender or clergy. But they were willing to feign Orthodox devotions to avoid detection: “They do not baptize in faith, but make game of holy baptism ... saying to their disciples that it is water and oil” (Hamilton and Hamilton 1998: 149). Dissenting from traditional worship is a straightforward option in religious nonconformity. What is more surprising is that the Bogomils identify Satan as the brother of God the Word. As Euthymius reports, “They say that the demon whom the Saviour called Satan is himself also a son of God the Father, called Satanael; he came before the Son, the Word, and is stronger, as befits the firstborn; that they are brothers one of the other” (Hamilton and Hamilton 1998: 183). Euthymius also relates how the Bogomils identify Satan(ael) as creator of the visible world. |
| Western Church”s attempt failed, to supplant this pagan festival with the Feast of All Saints. The ancient Slavic counterpart to Halloween in ancient Russia was Navy Dien” (Old Slavonic for the dead “nav”), which was also called Radunitsa and celebrated in the spring. To supplant it, the Eastern Church attached this feast to Easter, for celebration on Tuesday of Saint Thomas” Week (second week after Easter). The Church also changed the name of the feast into Radonitsa, from Russian “radost” – joy, of Easter and of the resurrection from the dead of the whole manhood of Jesus Christ. Gradually Radonitsa yielded to Easter”s greater importance and became less popular. And many dark practices from old Russian pagan feasts (Semik, Kupalo, Rusalia and some aspects of the Maslennitsa) still survived till the beginning of our century. Now they are gone, but the atheist authorities used to try to reanimate them. Another “harmless” feast – May 1, proclaimed “the international worker”s day” is a simple renaming the old satanic feast of Walpurgis Night (night of April 30 into the day of May 1), the yearly demonic Sabbath during which all participants united in “a fellowship of Satan”. Paganism, idolatry and Satan worship–How then did things so contradictory to the Holy Orthodox Faith gain acceptance among Christian people? The answers are spiritual apathy and listlessness, which are the spiritual roots of atheism and turning away from God. In society today, one is urged to disregard the spiritual roots and origins of secular practices when the outward practices or forms seem ordinary, entertaining, and harmless. The dogma of atheism underlies many of these practices and forms, denying the existence of both God and Satan. Practices and forms of obvious pagan and idolatrous origin are neither harmless nor of little consequence. The Holy Church stand against them because we are taught by Christ that God stands in judgment over everything we do and believe, and that our actions are either for God or against God. Therefore, the customs of Halloween are |
| 18 Ýurduyzda howpsuz ýaaryyz ýaly, Meni parzlarymy berjaý edi, hökümlerime boýun bolu. 19 Ýer size öz miwesini eçiler, siz ondan doýup iýip, howpsuz ýaarsyyz. 20 Emma kimdir birini: ‘Eger ekin ekmesek, hasyl ýygnamasak, onda biz ýedinji ýylda näme iýeris?’ diýip soramagy mümkindir. 21 Men altynjy ýylda ýere eýle bir bereket indererin welin, ol iki ýyla ýeterlik hasyl berer. 22 Sekizinji ýyl ekin ekeniizde-de, siz öki hasyldan iýersiiz. Tä dokuzynjy ýyla çenli, täze hasyl ýetiýänçä, siz köne hasyldan iýersiiz“». Satylan emläk hakda 23 «„Ýer hemielik satylmasyn, çünki ol Menikidir. Siz Meni ýanymda gelmiek we kärendeçi ýalysyyz. 24 Eýeleýän ähli ýeriizde siz ony gaýtadan satyn almaga mümkinçilik döredi. 25 Eger öz garyndalaryyzdan biri garyp düüp, mülküni bir bölegini satsa, onda onu hossary gelip, onu satan ýerini yzyna satyn alsyn. 26-27 Eger onu ýeri pul töläp yzyna satyn alyp biljek hossary bolman, emma so onu özi baýap, ýeri yzyna satyn alar ýaly ýeterlik pul toplasa, onda ol ýeri satylanyndan bäri geçen wagty hasaplap aýryp, galan puly satan adamyna gaýtaryp bersin we mülk hem eýesine gaýtarylyp berilsin. 28 Emma eýesini ýeri yzyna satyn almaga ýeterlik puly bolmasa, onda satylan ýer baýram ýylyna çenli ony satyn alan adamy elinde galar. Ýöne baýram ýylynda ýer onu ygtyýaryndan çykyp, mülk öki eýesine gaýtarylyp berilsin. 29 Eger biri galadaky öýüni satsa, ol satylan wagtyndan soky bir ýyly dowamynda öýi yzyna satyn alyp biler. Eýesini öýi bir ýyla çenli yzyna satyn almaga haky bar. 30 Eger galadaky öý bir ýyla çenli yzyna satyn alynmasa, öý ony satyn alan adamy elinde hemielik galar. Öý baýram ýylynda-da satyn alany ygtyýaryndan çykmaz. 31 Emma diwarsyz obalardaky öýler açyk meýdan bilen de saýylsyn. Olar yzyna satyn alnyp bilner we baýram ýyly öz hakyky eýesine gaýtarylyp berilsin. 32 Lewileri galalary barada aýtsak, lewiler özlerine degili galalardaky öýlerini islän wagtlary yzyna satyn alyp bilerler. 33 Lewileri biri özlerine degili bolan galalary birindäki öýi satyp, ony yzyna satyn almasa, öý baýram ýyly onu özüne gaýtarylyp berilsin. Çünki lewileri galalaryndaky öýleri olary ysraýyl halkyny arasyndaky mülkleridir. 34 Emma olary galalaryny töweregindäki açyk meýdanlar satylmaly däldir, çünki bu olary ebedilik mülküdir“». |
| But what else does the story of Eden tell us about our nature? Satan implanted in our hearts desires that caused our natural emotions to become passions. The word “passion” means “suffering.” Satan led us into desires that cause inner human suffering, desires that cannot actually be fulfilled no matter how often we yield to them. This inner human suffering, the passions, can cause a person to fall into deep bitterness. Such bitterness can lead us to pursue the desires and seek to stifle the suffering of the passions by attempting to fulfil them. How does Consumerism add to all this and cause a social and moral disorientation? Partly by making us subject to the happiness-seeking sickness of mankind. Of course, there is nothing wrong with experiencing happiness. However, to come to true happiness, one must first become content. Contentment is the prerequisite for true happiness. The happiness-seeking sickness comes about when man thinks that fulfilling his desires will make him happy. As an economic and social system, Consumerism requires that people consume. They must consume more than they need and even more than they actually desire, without regard to the destruction of the environment or the pain they may cause future generations. We must be aware that the advertising industry, which is like the serpent in Eden, employs both psychologists and psychiatrists in order to study how to increase man’s desires and passions. You cannot market to contentment, you can only market to desire and the passions. But in order for the system to prosper, it must increase the passions and desires of people, but ensure that they can never be fulfilled. Happiness must always be just one more purchase away. The industry must, therefore, learn how to prey on the egoism and self-centredness of the fallen human nature. Who is the most susceptible to such advertising? Young people. They do not have enough experience and maturity to cope easily with a programme of propaganda and indoctrination that feeds their already strong and compelling desires and passions. And how could they when, during the last century and into our own 21st century, the adult world has abandoned its responsibility and fallen under the prelest of pretending to still be young, following after the excesses of uncontrolled desire and undisciplined passions? This is why, at least in America, we see advertisements that begin “IF YOU DESIRE IT, YOU NEED IT.” |
| The religion of the “Peoples Temple” was not even remotely Christian (even though Jim Jones, its founder, was an ordained minister of the “Disciples of Christ”); it owed much more to Jones’ spiritualist experience of the 1950’s, when he was forming his world view. He claimed not merely to be the “reincarnation” of Jesus, Buddha, and Lenin; he openly stated that he was an “oracle or medium for discarnate entities from another galaxy.” 65 In other words, he gave himself over into the power of evil spirits, who doubtless inspired his final act of “logical” madness. Jonestown cannot be understood apart from the inspiration and activity of demons; this, indeed, is why secular journalists cannot understand it. It is all too likely that Jonestown is but the beginning of far worse things to come in the 1980’s – things which only those with the profoundest and clearest Christian faith can even dare think about. It is not merely that politics is becoming “religious” (for the massacres in Cambodia were acts performed with “religious” – that is, demonic – fervor), or that religion is becoming “political” (in the case of Jonestown); such things have happened before. But it may well be that we are now beginning to see, in concrete historical acts, the particular blending of religion and politics that seems to be required for the zealots of Antichrist, the religious-political leader of the last humanity. This spirit, to be sure, has already been present to some degree in the earlier totalitarian regimes of the 20th century; but the intensity of fervor and devotion required for mass suicide (as opposed to mass murder, which has been committed many times in our century) makes Jonestown a milestone on the path to the approaching culmination of modern times. Satan, it would seem, is now entering naked into human history. The years just ahead promise to be more terrible than anyone can now easily conceive. This one outburst of satan-inspired energy led nearly 1000 people to revolutionary suicide; what of the many other enclaves of satanic energy, some much more powerful than this small movement, that have not yet manifested themselves? A realistic view of the religious state of the contemporary world is enough to inspire any serious Orthodox Christian with fear and trembling over his own salvation. |
| The mystery of redemption is closely interwoven with several crucial spiritual and psychological factors. To grasp this mystery at least partially, one has first to understand the related factors, namely: (a) What the injury to human nature, which was caused by original sin, specifically consists of. (b) How the devil's will, because of our sinfulness, gained the ability to influence and even enslave our will. (c) How, on the other hand, the love of one person is capable of favorably influencing another person and ennobling him. In concurrence with this, if true love reveals itself predominantly as sacrificial service for a loved one, then the giving up of one's life for him, undoubtedly, is the highest expression of love. (d) Once the power of human love is comprehended, one has to rise to the understanding of God's infinite love, and understand how it penetrates into the believer's soul and, by this, heals and uplifts it. Evidently, all these topics are difficult to comprehend, and redemption will remain only partially understood. (e) Besides, there is another side to redemption which transcends our physical world. On the Cross there occurred a battle between the Incarnate Son of God and proud Lucifer (Satan). Under the image of a helpless body, Jesus Christ concealed His divine nature and by this overpowered Satan and his kingdom of darkness. The details of the spiritual battle between the Incarnate God and the rebellious angels are unknown. Even the Angels, according to the Apostle Peter, do not completely understand the truth of redemption (1 Pet. 1:12). It can be likened to the mysterious scroll that only the Lamb of God was worthy to open and read (Rev. 5:1-7). Ultimately, the way in which a person perceives the Savior's suffering on the Cross reveals his hidden disposition — either towards good or towards evil. The righteous Simeon foretold this fact to the Virgin Mary when she brought the Blessed Infant to the temple: " Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against … that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed " (Lk. 2:34-35). Along with this, the redemptive death of Christ, being an event which cannot be explained with human logic, and is even " enticing for the perishing, " possesses a revitalizing power, which is felt by the believing heart. Renewed and warmed by this spiritual force, even the lowest of slaves to the most powerful of kings, and the most uneducated of peasants to the the greatest of scholars, bowed with trepidation before Golgotha. |
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