2 years ago

From Archbishop Averky
http://averkyapocalypse.blogspot.com/2011/03/chapter-13.html

"killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints,

In these verses is indicated the manner of the activity of Antichrist. He will be distinguished by blasphemy, by violence against men who do not submit to him and “it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them,” that is, the power to force them to submit to him—of course in a purely outward fashion—for only those will bow down to Antichrist whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb, Only by patience and faith will the saints be able to defend themselves against the Antichrist. And they are consoled by St
John with the assurance that “He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword,” that is, that a righteous recompense awaits the Antichrist.

13:11-13 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the
earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon,
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and
causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first
beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great won-
ders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth
in the sight of men.

In these verses St. John speaks of the helper of the Antichrist—the false prophet—and his activity. This is also a beast, in Greek THYRION, which signifies a beast whose beastly
nature is especially manifest, as for example in wild animals—hyena, jackal, tiger. But he is depicted not as coming out of the sea like the first one, but out of the earth, This signifies that all his feelings and conceptions are entirely earthly, of a sensuous
character, He will have “two horns like a lamb.” In the explanation of St. Andrew this is so as to “cover with lamb’s skin the murderous nature of a hidden wolf, and because in the beginning he will strive to have an image of piety. St. Irenaeus of Lyons says that this is ‘the weapon-bearer of the Antichrist and the false prophet. To him will be given a power of signs and miracles so that going before the Antichrist he might prepare his path of perdition. The healing of the wound of the beast we say is either a seeming union for a short time of the divided kingdom, or a swiftly passing-away restoration by the Antichrist
of the dominion of Satan which was destroyed by the Cross of the Lord; or a false resurrection of someone from the dead who was close to him. He will speak like a serpent, for he acts and speaks according to the qualities of the founder of evil, the
devil”
Imitating the Lord Jesus Christ, he will use for the establishment of authority of the Antichrist, two powers—the power of the word and the power of miracles. But he will speak “like a dragon,” that is, blasphemously, and the fruit of his talking will be atheism and extreme impiety. For the deception of men, he will begin to perform “great wonders” such as bringing down fire from heaven. “The forerunner of the apostate—the false christ—
perform everything through sorcery and deceit for the deception of men, so that Antichrist might be considered as God. He will be the glorious performer of such miracles and worthy of undoubted glory, like St. John the Baptist who brought believers to the Saviour; for the lie also, for the deception of men, will Strive to imitate the truth. Therefore it is not at all astonishing that for deceived eyes fire will be seen coming down from heaven, since from the history of Job we know that, by God's allowance, fire came down from heaven by the activity of Satan and burnt his flock." But these will be not true miracles, as God alone performs, but false miracles."

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