Father Daniil Sysoev. Dogmatic Theology. Redemption.

Presented to your attention is a transcript of a lecture by Father Daniil Sysoev on the topic of Redemption.

Father Daniil:

With God we begin. Today our topic will be one of the most complex and most contentious in all of Orthodox theology. On the other hand, this topic is the most fundamental. Today the topic is redemption.

As the Apostle Paul says:

"18. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

19. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart.'

20. Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

21. For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

22. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,

23. but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

24. but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

25. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26. For consider your calling, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth;

27. but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong,

28. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

29. so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

30. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption;

31. therefore, as it is written, 'Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord.'" (1 Corinthians: 1; 18-31)

This passage, which we will use as the main text – 1 Corinthians: chapter 1; verses 18 to 31 – actually shows the attitude that the message of the redemption of the Lord Christ usually evokes in people, namely a message that causes a scandal for those who are perishing, destined for eternal destruction, and on the contrary, evokes joy in those who are being saved.

Indeed, nothing causes such a scandal even now as the message of the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You know this yourselves, probably, right? The message of the creation of the world is not as scandalous as the message of redemption. Because the teaching that the only Savior is Jesus our Lord, who saved us not simply by means of teaching, not by means of the good stories He told, not by means of example, but Who gave His blood for us, for our life, and consequently, without Whom it is impossible to be saved. This message is the most scandalous.

Because, look, what is the worldview of an ordinary modern person? In principle, it is Islam. Why?

Because, look, what do ordinary people believe? There is some kind of god, a certain one, who first created man, who gave him commandments, and if a person behaves well, He will reward him; if he behaves badly, He will punish him, but still, everyone will eventually get to god, because god is in everyone's soul. This is the worldview accepted in modern society. And not only. This is the most widespread superstition spread generally among all humanity. In fact, this is a kind of Islamic notion that "god will save everyone anyway." Well, of course, He will punish special villains like Hitler, but it's not even a fact that it's forever. Right.

Listener:

Purgatory...

Father Daniil:

Well, like a "purgatory," yes.

This notion, of course, is largely common to all humanity. So, when Muslims say that, for example, Genghis Khan was a Muslim, and they do say this, they are actually not far from the truth. Because the faith of Genghis Khan and the faith of Muhammad are quite close faiths, actually. Well, they believed in a certain one god, right? And they thought that one could serve him through certain rituals and sacrifices. But the main thing is that one must observe a certain measure of goodness and that is enough. Because a person is, generally speaking, good, anyway. This is, of course, the faith of modern man, but also of ancient man in general. The only exception to this faith is the religion of Revelation, which says, yes, there is God, yes, He created the world, yes, He gave moral laws. But Revelation says that in God's eyes, humanity is so corrupted that it needs salvation. It is not enough simply to be a good person; it is necessary to save a person from the sins in which he finds himself. Moreover, how does Revelation deduce this? For details, I refer you to the Epistle to the Romans. Remember, we analyzed those first three chapters. The Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans, where he explains why the pagans are guilty. The first chapter speaks about this. The second chapter says that the Jews are also guilty before God, because they broke the law.

"18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth.

19. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

20. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse;

21. for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.

22. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

23. and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.

24. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,

25. because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural,

27. and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.

28. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct.

29. They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips,

30. slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

31. foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

32. Though they know God's decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them." (Epistle to the Romans: 1; 18-32)

"12. All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

13. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

14. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.

15. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them

16. on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

17. But if you call yourself a Jew and rely upon the law and boast of your relation to God

18. and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed in the law,

19. and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

20. a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth –

21. you then who teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?

22. You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

23. You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

24. For, as it is written, 'The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.'

25. Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.

26. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?

27. Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.

28. For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical.

29. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal. His praise is not from men but from God." (Epistle to the Romans: 2; 12-29)

"9. What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all; for I have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin,

10. as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one;

11. no one understands, no one seeks for God.

12. All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one.'

13. 'Their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive.' 'The venom of asps is under their lips.'

14. 'Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.'

15. 'Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16. in their paths are ruin and misery,

17. and the way of peace they do not know.'

18. 'There is no fear of God before their eyes.'

19. Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

20. For no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

21. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it,

22. the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;

23. since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24. they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,

25. whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins;" (Epistle to the Romans: 3; 9-25)

And then he sums it up and says: "it turns out that everyone is guilty before God." Guilty not because God wanted to drive everyone into some kind of guilt. But all because, in reality, people deceive themselves. People who have actually committed a huge number of evil deeds should not think that God will calmly look upon this.

Actually, the essence of the Gospel is briefly expressed in our Creed, when we say: "Crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried;" that is, "Crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried; And rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures." These words, which go back to Paul, 15th chapter, 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, remember?

"3. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,

4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,

5. and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve." (1 Corinthians: 15; 3-5)

These words we can take from chapter 15, verses 3 to 5.

"11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

12. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

13. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep.

14. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me,

15. as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16. And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.

17. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.

18. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father." (Gospel of John: 10; 11-18)

When we read the Gospel carefully, we will see that the Gospel is in no way like the wanderings of a traveling preacher. The Lord Christ has a certain goal towards which He strives from the very beginning. Like in fairy tales where the groom goes for the bride, so Christ from the very beginning goes towards death. From the very beginning He says that for this hour I have come into this world. And when He was baptized, the Spirit drives Him into the wilderness to fight with the devil; when He returns from the mountain of temptations, what does John say? He says: "Behold, the Lamb of God." (Gospel of John: 1; 36), who takes away the sin of the world. That is, the message of redemption, that Christ comes into this world to die for our sins, this message accompanies Christ's entire feat. Actually, we cannot explain the Gospel in any way without this.

Now, what is understood by the word redemption – a ransom? The Apostles spoke about this many times in the following way. Look. The most key text in this sense, of course, is the Epistle to the Romans, chapter 3, verses 21 to 26:

"21. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it,

22. the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;

23. since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24. they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,

25. whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins;

26. it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus." (Epistle to the Romans: 3; 21-26)

Listener:

Basically, sects quote this verse. Why? Because they say, we have believed and by grace we are already saved. That's it. And for this they no longer need to do anything. But how to refute this?

Father Daniil:

We must say this: "If you believe, you are indeed saved. But there is a nuance. How do we participate in the Lord's death? By immersing ourselves in the water of baptism. How do we participate in the Covenant with the Lord? By drinking the Blood in Communion. If you do not participate in the redemption, in the Blood of baptism, i.e., are not washed by the waters of baptism? If you do not drink the Blood of Communion, what kind of salvation are we talking about?"

Listener:

Adventists say that we wash and drink.

Father Daniil:

And we say: "Open your textbook, show me how you define baptism and communion. What kind of water? What are you saying? There's no need to lie. Open your official confession, let's see what you believe. Why deceive people?"

Listener:

They, by the way, actually lie...

Listener:

What about "faith without works is dead" (Epistle of James: 2; 20)?

Father Daniil:

That is not relevant to the topic now; we are now discussing salvation itself. Salvation is given in baptism. In baptism we are saved. The Apostle Peter says this. Baptism saves us.

"3. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

4. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

6. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.

7. For he who has died is freed from sin.

8. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.

9. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him." (Epistle to the Romans: 6; 3-9)

And if baptism is not perceived as a sacrament, then we are simply dealing with unsaved people. They think that simply believing is enough. But Scripture does not say that one must simply believe. One must also be saved. And salvation is baptism. Do you understand?

Listener:

Do demons believe?

Father Daniil:

Yes.

Right. And let's return to the ransom. The question, what is a ransom? The Lord Himself said that He would give His life as a ransom for many, right? What does ransom mean? The word "ransom" (λύτρον - Greek) means payment for a captive who is held hostage.

Also λύτρον is used as a ransom to God for firstborns. This is spoken of in the book of Numbers, chapter 18, verses 15 to 16.

Ransom for prisoners of war and slaves. This is the book of Leviticus, chapter 19, verse 20; chapter 25, verse 51. (Book of the prophet Isaiah: 45; 13).

And there is another interesting mention, where the word "ransom" means payment given to free from death. This is the book of Exodus, chapter 21, verse 30.

And accordingly, the one who pays the ransom is called the redeemer. The word "redeemer" has the primary meaning, the word "goel" (גּוֹאֵל in the Masoretic text) (ed.: for example, such words from the Old Testament: "But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth;" (Job: 19; 25) (in the Hebrew text, the word "goeli" (my redeemer) is used)).

"18. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

19. but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

20. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake.

21. who through him are believers in God, that raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." (First Epistle of Peter: 1; 18-21)

Scripture emphasizes that we are ransomed by the Blood of Christ the Savior.

Listener:

From whom?

Father Daniil:

We'll talk about that now, from whom. Also, the Apostle Peter describes in detail how this happened. This is said in chapter 2 of the First Epistle of Peter, verses 21 to 25:

"21. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

22. He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips.

23. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly.

24. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

25. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian [Bishop] of your souls." (First Epistle of Peter: 2; 21-25) – "Guardian of your souls" – this is not an exact translation, the original says "Bishop of your souls." – "Overseer of your souls." Bishop means Overseer, i.e., not just watches – guards, but also supervises.

And there are, in fact, very many such places in Holy Scripture. It is described in great detail to whom the sacrifice was offered, for example, in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Also, strictly speaking, the entire Epistle to the Hebrews is devoted in detail to the theology of redemption. I remember, back when I was studying in the seminary, we had very big debates on whether we could consider God Christ the Redeemer, to whom the sacrifice was offered, how to relate to the juridical theory. I don't know, did you have that? And I remember, the moment of truth for me was when I began to study the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews. This Epistle itself is such a key, in a sense, text, where all this is described in detail. Let us, based on this Epistle, figure out to whom the sacrifice was offered, what the meaning of the sacrifice is. Because this is a question that will always be asked of us, which has a direct bearing on our salvation. Because it is precisely in this way that we are delivered from death.

So, chapter 1 is devoted to who came. It says that this is the One who is far above the angels – the Son, who is God. He comes to save us. And further it is said as follows (let's begin the analysis with chapter 2 of the Epistle to the Hebrews, verse 10):

"10. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.

11. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

12. saying, 'I will proclaim thy name to my brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee.'

13. And again, 'I will put my trust in him.' And again, 'Here am I, and the children God has given me.'

14. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

15. and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.

16. For surely it is not with angels that he is concerned but with the descendants of Abraham.

17. Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people.

18. For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 2; 10-18)

So, we see here in this short passage, which is read in the Church during services, a twofold moment. On the one hand, the death of Christ serves to destroy the power of the devil. Hence Gregory of Nyssa derived the idea that the sacrifice was offered to the devil, that is, a ransom from the devil, from under the devil's power. But in this same text it is said that the sacrifice is offered to God, He is a high priest before God, and not before the devil. And here, of course, we must understand that the sacrifice of Christ, of course, as a sacrifice, is not offered to the devil, because Christ is not a satanist. Do you understand? He is not one who offers sacrifice to satan. A sacrifice to satan is offered by a satanist, as is known, right? satan is not worthy of any sacrifice. And as Gregory the Theologian said, commenting on this idea of his friend, he says this:

"If to the devil, then, firstly, it is not worthy of him, because a robber receives not only a sacrifice from God, but God Himself. He should not have tormented us at all with such a sacrifice. And on the other hand," he says, "it would not be fitting for a robber to receive such a price."

But the sacrifice is offered up – as the Apostle Paul says – to God. The question, to whom is the sacrifice offered? To whom does Christ, as High Priest, bring the sacrifice? He brings the sacrifice to God.

Listener:

Before God.

Father Daniil:

Of course, yes. Therefore, the guilt lies with us before God. And here we encounter a very important point. What was God's attitude towards man? As John Chrysostom says: "God was angry, for man violated His commandment." Man raised a rebellion against God. It was necessary that some Mediator appear who would bring together the One and the other, thus reconciling God and men. Here we encounter a very important point. Why do people, even now, as in ancient times, begin to be indignant at the cross of the Lord? Actually, this was from the very beginning, from the moment of redemption. That is, in fact, from the very first days, the attack from the devil was directed precisely at the atoning sacrifice of Christ.

And so people say that God does not get angry, God is only love, therefore He cannot get angry, therefore the teaching about redemption is a manifestation of sadism towards God. You have probably heard such teachers, right? This is a very old thing.

Interestingly, I was just preparing for our talk. I read Malinovsky – a teacher of Orthodox theology. He says: those stupid rationalists of the 16th century brazenly said that God is only love, therefore He cannot punish anyone. It's interesting that nothing has changed since the 16th century. Malinovsky refutes the false teaching that is now being put forward as the latest achievement of Orthodox theology.

Listener:

In the 16th century, were these Orthodox?

Father Daniil:

No, these were radical Protestants. But it's interesting that such a theory did not arise for the first time then. This theory was first put forward by a very old character, mentioned, by the way, in the New Testament. His name was Simon Magus, also known as the sorcerer. It was he who asserted that the God of the New Testament is the God of love, therefore He needs no sacrifice. The Gnostics also said this, actually. That is precisely why the thought of most Gnostic sects was that the crucifixion was a mistake. And to this day, all occultists, magicians, and esotericists consider the crucifixion a mistake. And this, by the way, is very interesting, why?

Listener:

That is, according to their logic, God made a mistake.

Another listener:

Because the devil does not want to admit his mistake.

Father Daniil:

No, because the devil is very afraid of the Crucifixion. He just has very bad personal relations with the Sign of the Cross, so he wants people to forget about the cross. He simply has a personal aversion to this sign. And that is precisely why he tries to make all people enter into this blasphemy against it.

To explain redemption, we must proceed from very simple things. In order to understand who God is, why the Lord's Blood was required for our salvation, we must say this: "Did God need the Blood of the Son of God? For what purpose? For His own existence, no, but to save us, yes. The question is why?"

Listener:

The wages of sin.

Father Daniil:

Yes, because a person who does evil inevitably brings punishment upon himself by the will of God. God abhors evil, which is precisely why God will never make peace with evil. All those talks that God can come to terms with evil, that God is so kind that He will forgive just like that, on credit, do you understand? These are talks that do not come from the God we know. He has a different character, do you understand? And this is precisely interconnected. We once spoke about the nature of God, we said that the notions of a God of love and a God of justice cannot actually be contradictory, do you understand why?

Because such love that is completely unconcerned that the one being loved is being tormented, that is not love, do you understand? You can give this simplest example: I don't know, your wife is being raped in your presence, and you say – oh, what a misfortune... I think your wife would be right to doubt your love a little, wouldn't you agree? Or imagine saying: "maybe you shouldn't? maybe you shouldn't?" This is truly a sign of non-love, do you understand? It is complete indifference turning into hatred, actually. The real God of love, actually, treats evil like this: He does not spare evil!

I remember we had such a case in the seminary, someone told us: "What is not assumed is not redeemed. How did God redeem sins if He did not assume them?" – one Osipovite in the seminary said. Not Osipov himself, but an Osipovite. And I say: "But God did not redeem sins. He redeemed man from under sins, but He did not redeem sins." Do you understand the difference? God healed the sick person, but not the disease. Understand? When there is cancer surgery, excuse me, no one intends to treat the tumor. They cut it out. Similarly, God does not reconcile with sin, He destroys it.

Thus, He takes upon Himself the punishment for our sin. Blood is life, therefore the Lord gives His life, right? He gives His soul for the sins of people. The Innocent One pays for the guilty. And here we encounter what? There is a very interesting point – when we speak of the God of the Covenant, we speak of certain special relations between the Creator and creation. These relations are described in the Bible most often in such a scandalous image that confuses many. Because it is even described in great detail. The image is called marriage. What is this comparison? It describes very precisely, for example, a wife who is an adulteress who ran away from her husband, committed adultery... The children she bore for her husband, she sacrificed to others, and so on. That is, this image runs as a leitmotif throughout all Scripture. But how is this image connected with redemption? The point is that according to laws, even current ones, and I'm not even talking about biblical laws, if a person marries someone, he takes this woman with all her debts and pays for her himself. Understand?

Listener:

In what sense?

Father Daniil:

In the literal sense, financially pays money. If the wife, for example, turned out to have a bad credit history, then the husband pays for her. Do you understand? He pays her debts. Because such is the unity of life.

By this I meant that in redemption it is the same thing. God takes a man burdened with all kinds of evil. There is such a passage from Scripture, the Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 5, which is read during our wedding ceremony. I understand that all readers love to loudly proclaim the last verse of this passage, especially if the readers are male. And if it's old ladies, they sometimes mumble the last verses. But in this passage, actually, it is first of all about redemption, not about marriage, actually. And it says:

"22. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord.

23. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.

24. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands.

25. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

26. that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

27. that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." (Epistle to the Ephesians: 5; 22-27)

And in this place the Apostle says that Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, why? To sanctify her. What kind of Church does Christ take? Chrysostom interprets this place and says: "Imagine how repulsive the Church was when Christ died for her. She was filled with all kinds of evil. She was clothed in the rags of the lowest beggar and leper..." – says Chrysostom in his favorite oriental form. – "...She was all covered with scabs, ulcers, she was rotting alive." And Christ takes this rotten, stinking harlot, washes and cleanses her, and makes her a beautiful bride. Because imagine who we were before baptism. We were in foul scabs of sin, saturated with evil and impurity, right? And the Lord washes us from this evil with His Blood, cleanses us and makes us holy and righteous. By water with the word.

That's exactly what you asked about, how to answer, right? Here is your answer. Christ cleansed us by water with the word. This is (Ephesians: 5; 26). This is how redemption is accomplished, right?

Listener:

It actually resembles Prince Myshkin. It's the same thing. (ed.: Prince Myshkin is the main character of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky's novel "The Idiot.")

Father Daniil:

Yes, it resembles. And he consciously tried to do this according to the image of Christ.

And here precisely Christ takes the unclean Church, that is, unclean, dirty people, cleanses them with His Blood, takes their sins upon Himself. And, actually, for the Apostles, the first creed was the 53rd chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah. Remember, we even read it, I think, right?

This is the key text that says:

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah: 53; 5)

The Lord Himself, going to death, applied these words to Himself. He says:

"20. And likewise the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

...

37. For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, 'And he was reckoned with transgressors'; for what is written about me has its fulfilment.'" (Gospel of Luke: 22; 20, 37)

The Lord said this, going to death. This is Luke 22. That is, He applied the prophecy of Isaiah 53 to Himself. He Himself called Himself that Servant of Yahweh described there. Or Slave of Yahweh, if you prefer.

(ed.: further about this Servant, "by whose wounds we are healed," it is said: "For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called." (Book of the prophet Isaiah: 54; 5))

And now, regarding the sacrifice, redemption. When we speak of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, of the cleansing He accomplishes, we must understand that on the one hand it is about the restoration of the relationship between God and man. That is, an objective cause, an objective wall that prevents God from having mercy on people. This wall is evil. As God Himself says, right? But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.

(ed.: "1. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;

2. but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you so that he does not hear." (Isaiah: 59; 1-2))

And here we must understand that when we say that God cannot forgive sin unless a person is ransomed from under sin, unless payment is made. (ed.: Blessed Jerome of Stridon (+420) explains the verses (Isaiah: 59; 1-2) more precisely as follows:

"I could have done before what I said I would do: if you hope in the Lord, he will raise you to the good things of the land, and give you to enjoy the inheritance of Jacob your father. For My hand is not shortened or drawn in so that I cannot stretch it out to deliver My people, nor do I have deaf ears so that I cannot hear you. From this it is clear that the ears of the Lord, which listen to the righteous and do not listen to sinners, are by no means like our ears, which equally hear every word spoken, whether just or unjust; but your sins, he says, like a certain wall placed in between, separate you from God. Therefore also the Savior through His suffering made both one and, destroying the dividing wall of the hedge, abolished the enmity in His flesh (Eph. 2), so that those separated by the wall of sins might be united by the blood of Christ. He opened the door of paradise, which had been closed for a long time, and quenched the flaming sword with His blood, so that the thief could hear: today you will be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:43). What follows then: and because of your sins He has hid His face from you, so as not to hear or to have mercy, means that He could not bear the stench of their sins and iniquities, but turned His face away so as not to see their impurity and not be forced to immediate punishment. Therefore the sinner, wishing to see the face of the Lord, says in the psalm: How long, O Lord? wilt thou forget me for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me (Ps. 13:1)? And in another place: Restore us, O God; let thy face shine, that we may be saved (Ps. 80:3).")

Here it should be noted that the Protestants are completely right, I emphasize, right. They are more right than all the liberals or occultists-magicians-sorcerers who reject redemption, when they say that it was necessary to change the relationship between God and man. They are right. But they are wrong when they say that everything was limited to that. Because Scripture emphasizes that redemption was not only connected with a change in the relationship between God and man, not only was the punishment removed from man. We just heard the words of the Apostle Peter, who quotes the prophecy of Isaiah, where it was said: "by his wounds you have been healed." That is, the Lord's Blood not only removed the punishment from us, but also healed us from our sins. Not only was the punishment removed, but a remaking of the person himself occurred, a re-smelting of the person. Understand? The Blood of Christ, as it were, being infused into us, remakes the person from within. Therefore, John Chrysostom also says in a homily on the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 5, he says this: "O great wonder! The Holy Spirit remakes [transmutes] in water with the Lord's Blood without fire, for the Lord's Blood smelts man anew."

That is, on the cross, the remaking of man takes place. You see, objective and subjective salvation happen simultaneously, understand? On the cross of the Lord. This is the correction that Orthodoxy makes regarding Protestantism. Not only is the punishment removed, right? And as a consequence of the removal of punishment, cleansing of man from sin occurs. What happens in Protestantism? Protestants say, Christ died for our sins, God the Father forgave us our sin, He is no longer angry with us, but people remained the same. But here we can say what? Would the Father consciously act foolishly? Would God consciously close His eyes to evil? No, if God cannot close His eyes to evil, simply by fact, He will not pretend that He does not see evil. No, here it must be about cleansing from all sins. Therefore it is said that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin (First Epistle of John, chapter 1, verse 7). That is, you see yourself, by the Lord's Blood sins are not just forgiven, but It cleanses us from all sin.

Further, if we take the Epistle to the Hebrews and analyze it further, we will see that in the third chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews it says that Christ is above Moses:

"1. Therefore, holy brethren, who share in a heavenly call, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,

2. who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in God's house.

3. Yet Jesus has been counted worthy of as much more glory than Moses as the builder of a house has more honor than the house." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 3; 1-3)

And further the Apostle says why it is dangerous to fall away from Christ, because if those who fell away from Moses perished, then much more those who fell away from the High Priest – the One who is above Moses, they will perish even more. And we must hurry to enter God's rest (Epistle to the Hebrews: 4; 1). Because some did not succeed.

This, by the way, is a very practical conclusion; when you analyze the question of salvation with your opponents, you can say that look, we are talking now, and you should not forget that it may be too late. Now you'll fuss, you'll talk too much, but remember what happened with the ancient people, with the Jews. Those who were unfaithful to God, they were too late, they did not enter the holy land. Right? Remember, yes? And although God promised to bring them in, because they proved unfaithful, they did not make it. And do not think that you will have many chances. God did not guarantee that chances will always be there. For example, remember Saul, he wanted to correct himself, right? Wanted to ask God for forgiveness? And what did God say to him? He said nothing. He did not answer either through prophets, or through Urim, or through Thummim, or through dreams, remember? That is, God rejected him, and that's it. Without the right to appeal.

Esau wanted, begged his father with tears to change the blessing, but he was no longer accepted. That is, the time of choice is now, and God may no longer accept a person's choice at another time. Therefore we must hurry so as not to be late. This is the main thought, actually, of the Epistle to the Hebrews. It says that if the Jews did not listen to Moses and perished forever, then perdition is even more possible now.

And then chapter five transitions to the question of what kind of High Priest was fitting for us, right?

"1. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

2. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.

3. Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people.

4. And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was.

5. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, 'Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee';

6. as he says also in another place, 'Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.'

7. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 5; 1-7)

In what way was he heard, by the way? When was the Son heard by the Father? That's an interesting question. Many who read inattentively skip over it, but those who read attentively are tempted. How so? The Son cried out to the Father, and it seems there was no answer at all, was there?

Silence there was. "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'" (Gospel of Matthew: 27; 46). There was darkness, no answer. But He was heard in that the sacrifice was accepted. Understand? And the Resurrection of Christ is the fulfillment of His prayer, actually. Do you understand?

Listener:

So, when He said "it is finished," that was it?

Father Daniil:

No, when He rose from the dead.

Listener:

But how could the sacrifice not have been accepted by God? A sacrifice of God for God?

Father Daniil:

No, of course, it could not have been not accepted. That's why God came to earth, to die for the sins of people. That's not the point. The sacrifice of a sinner, on the other hand, may not be accepted. But the sacrifice of a righteous man, on the contrary, was always accepted.

Listener:

Was the sacrifice offered to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit?

Father Daniil:

Yes.

So.

"8. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered;

9. and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

10. being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 5; 8-10)

That is, it describes here that God Himself called Him, right? He made Him perfect. Remember, in what way? We talked about this, right? What does it mean that He was made perfect through suffering? In what way did Christ become more perfect through suffering? Well, of course, not according to His Divinity, but according to His humanity. In what sense? He became no longer subject to what? The blameless passions, so-called. That is, suffering, death, sorrow. That is, those earthly sufferings that were. He became perfect, right? To give this perfection to us as well. That is, He became perfect for us. Moreover, He received a certain new authority that He did not have before. What authority? Why did Jesus after the Resurrection say: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (Gospel of Matthew: 28; 18)? The authority to forgive sins. Forgiveness is precisely a manifestation of this authority.

Listener:

No, but He had authority before, He forgave sins.

(ed.: in confirmation of this, it is written in the Gospel:

"2. And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, 'Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.'

3. And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, 'This man is blaspheming.'

4. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts?

5. For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?

6. But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" – he then said to the paralytic – 'Rise, take up your bed and go home.'

7. And he rose and went home." (Gospel of Matthew: 9; 2-7))

Father Daniil:

Well, yes. But the authority to regenerate people He received later. Understand? Thanks to the possibility of participating in His death and Resurrection (ed.: through the sacrament of the Eucharist).

And further, in chapter six, after some exhortation, the Apostle says that now, thanks to the sacrifice of Christ, we have a guarantee that we can reach God (ed.: the guarantee is given in baptism, however it is important not to lose it because of one's sins). This, by the way, is a very interesting thought that needs to be used in mission. This is chapter 6, starting from verse 17. Look. I'll read it in context:

"13. For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,

14. saying, 'Surely I will bless you and multiply you.'

15. And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise.

16. Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.

17. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath,

18. so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.

19. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain,

20. where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 6; 13-20)

These words contain a very interesting thought. Look at this. Suppose they ask us: "You are so insolent, what guarantee do you have that you are saved, that you will reach God? Do you have any guarantee at all?" And you say: "Of course we do. Salvation is guaranteed to us. The only thing is that we can lose it ourselves, by our own evil will, right? But salvation is already given to us, and the guarantee that we will receive salvation from God is this – it is the cross of Jesus Christ." Understand the logic?

Further, in the continuation of all of chapter 7, the Apostle Paul analyzes the comparison of Christ and Melchizedek. Where he shows that the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek is higher than the priesthood after the order of Aaron, based on the fact that Abraham, the ancestor of Aaron, paid tithes to Melchizedek.

And it explains in what way He is like Christ. What exactly is the likeness?

"22. This makes Jesus the surety of a better covenant.

23. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;

24. but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

25. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

26. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

27. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

28. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 7; 22-28)

Here is precisely what the Apostle says. The sacrifice is offered to God, Christ offers the sacrifice. He is the High Priest who offered the sacrifice once, but the sacrifice continues continuously. In what sense? Now some ask, how can we compare the sacrifice of the Liturgy (Eucharist) and the sacrifice of Golgotha? Is our sacrifice repeated or not?

Listener:

Yes, it is repeated.

Father Daniil:

It is unrepeatable. What are you saying? It is manifested, but not repeated. He died once, rose once, and lives forever to intercede for us before God. And the Eucharist is the manifestation of this intercession. Understand? Because it is a sacrifice of propitiation, because it is the Blood of propitiation, and the Flesh of propitiation. It is a sacrifice of thanksgiving, therefore we have "Eucharist," right? A sacrifice of salvation, a sacrifice of peace, of reconciliation between God and men. So,

Listener:

Father Daniil, may I ask a question? Look, the Church is the Bride of Christ, a female archetype, so an ordinary person should orient himself towards the Bridegroom Christ or the bride. I, a man for example, towards whom should I orient myself?

Father Daniil:

Towards Christ. As a wife takes example from her husband, so you must take example from Christ.

Listener:

A woman, she strives towards the masculine. That's how it turns out? But being a woman, she strives towards the masculine, and a man, being a man, strives towards the masculine. So it turns out that way?

Father Daniil:

Your soul in comparison with Christ is a woman. What is it about here? That our soul, in comparison with God, is feminine. Well, it's clear that the level of strength and courage of man and God are not comparable, do you understand? That's the meaning.

So, chapter 8:

"1. Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,

2. a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord.

3. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 8; 1-3)

Here we see a very important point. Among us, even now, priests are often not associated with sacrifice, actually. It is often said that the main task of priests is to teach, although this is one of the important tasks of a priest, but not the main one. The main task of a priest is what? To offer sacrifice, yes. Because that is what a priest is appointed for. Do you understand, you are missionaries, you are not priests, you can teach. You cannot offer sacrifice in any way. Do you understand?

Listener:

But teaching is allowed.

Father Daniil:

That's the difference. And the main task that Christ has, as High Priest, is the offering of sacrifice. By the way, let's think about what the word "sacrifice" means? Imagine a person offering a lamb as a sacrifice for himself. Remember the story with Nathan. Remember, Nathan told a parable to David? A poor man had a lamb, he raised it on his chest, fed it from his hand, it slept in his bed, then they took it and slaughtered it. Imagine if you have such an attitude towards this animal, as you would towards a little dog. And this innocent animal dies in your place.... And imagine how terrible sin is, that an innocent one dies in your place for it, do you understand?

Actually, for us who have not raised domestic animals ourselves, it will be hard to understand this. Therefore, of course, a sacrifice, if you take, for example, a ram from a ram factory and slaughter it, it will not be perceived as such a sacrifice in the literal sense. But now imagine an innocent lamb that grew up in your arms, and it dies in your place. This is precisely substitution.

Listener:

Why were sacrifices divided into clean and unclean?

Father Daniil:

Well, here the symbolism is actually connected with Christ. Simply, meekness and innocence, sacrificial disposition are properties of some animals; some other bodily properties are characteristic of other animals.

And here precisely it speaks about what, that Christ, the innocent one, dies for the guilty. And thus, what happens? Usually Protestants give a good example that I advise you to use. Imagine a judge's son was arrested for speeding, brought to trial before the judge. What happens in America? This situation: a normal judge, what does he do? He imposes the heaviest fine on his son, and then pays the fine himself.

There are other examples as well. By the way, when you talk to Muslims, you can give an example from the life of the mountain people. One of the Chechen princes established a rule (this is a true story from the 18th century) that anyone who steals from their own would be whipped. And then his mother was caught stealing. He said the whipping must happen, they laid her down, and he lay down on top of her and said, now whip me instead of her.

Listener:

But was that an exception for the prince himself, or could any son do that?

Father Daniil:

Such examples occurred not only here, but also in China, where the daughter of a mandarin gave her hand to be cut off instead of her father.

This is an example of substitutionary sacrifice.

Female Listener:

By the way, among Arab countries, there are all kinds of stories where women suffered; it was normal in the village that if a brother committed a crime, the sister could be punished, because it's not proper to punish the brother, after all he is a man, while the sister could get the full punishment. That is, it was completely acceptable.

Father Daniil:

That is one thing – the injustice and powerlessness of the sister, do you understand? But here it is about voluntary sacrifice for another. One thing is a parody, another thing is the original, actually. Why am I saying this? These examples show what Christ's death for us means, do you understand? Therefore, Scripture says: "21. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians: 5; 21). It is also said that Christ became a curse for us, that is, a curse. He did not bear a curse, He became a curse for us. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us – for it is written, 'Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree'" (Gal.: 3; 13).

(ed.: on the verses (2 Corinthians: 5; 21) and (Gal.: 3; 13), Ambrose of Milan, St. (†397) says the following:

"If you adhere to the letter in such a way that what is said: 'And the Word became flesh' (John 1:14) – you understand in the sense that the Word of God turned into flesh, will you then deny that it is written about the Lord that He was made sin, not that He Himself committed sin? What then, did the Lord turn into sin? No, but because He bore our sins, He was called sin. For the Lord was also called a curse (Gal. 3:13), not because He Himself turned into a curse, but because He took our curse upon Himself: 'for cursed is every one who hangs on a tree' (Deut. 21:23). It is written that He was made sin, meaning He did not have it in His nature and was not subject to the action of sin... In order to crucify our sin in His flesh, He took upon Himself for us the infirmities of the flesh, already liable to fleshly sin."

Also, Gregory the Theologian, St. (†389) speaks about this:

"The saying: 'The Word became flesh' (John 1:14), it seems to me, is equivalent to saying that He became sin and a curse (Gal. 3:13), not because the Lord changed into these things (for how is that possible?), but because, through assuming these things, He took our iniquities and bore our diseases (Is. 53:4).")

That is, He became a curse because He took our curse upon Himself, He destroyed the curse. Actually, when we often read the Gospel, we are surprised why Christ wept so much before the "cup." Christ said: "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." (Gospel of Luke: 22; 42) But this "cup" mentioned here is very often mentioned in the Bible. It is the cup of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. It is the cup of God's curse that falls on sinners. And the Innocent One voluntarily drinks the cup of the curse, Himself becomes cursed, Himself receives the punishment as a sinner for the sins of others. Although He Himself is not a sinner, but the only Righteous One, but the Righteous One dies for the unrighteous.

This is such a paradox, which is at the very heart of Christianity, do you understand? This substitution, an amazing substitution, the voluntary substitution of the Innocent One, who takes the place of the guilty, this substitution is what makes possible the forgiveness of our sins. But notice, although people say that God could forgive anyway, and must forgive anyway, they can never present a normal picture of the forgiveness of sins. You ask a Muslim, how does Allah forgive you? They start guessing. Maybe you read a prayer, maybe if you sneeze correctly, maybe something else. There are various ways. Or you have to become a shahid for Allah to forgive you. But you have no guarantees. Do you understand? And that is precisely what the Epistle to the Hebrews says, that we have guarantees. What are they? Christ Himself, who died for us – the Innocent One, who died for the guilty – He is the guarantee of our forgiveness.

Indeed, here, when we preach, we must emphasize the problem. It is often said: "How can it be so easy for you Orthodox? Sin – repent – forgiven?" Say: "Yes, it is easy for us – sin – repent – forgiven. Because the Innocent One takes our punishment." – Understand? – "He is beaten instead of me."

Listener:

How exactly was the cup of curse manifested upon Christ?

Father Daniil:

All those sufferings and torments of soul are the consequence of the curse.

Listener:

And that was the whole cup?

Father Daniil:

Yes.

Listener:

In the Epistle to the Galatians it is written that Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. But only the Jews were under the curse of the law.

Father Daniil:

He redeemed the Jews from the curse of the law. He redeemed the Gentiles from what they did against their conscience.

Listener:

So they were also under the curse, it turns out?

Father Daniil:

Yes, of course.

Listener:

Another question about the cup. Was it so heavy? After all, Christ was innocent.

Father Daniil:

Because there are many sins, that's why it was heavy. For all humanity – how many sins are there?

Listener:

Those same Jews, they also offered these rams in sacrifice, they also wanted to be cleansed?

Father Daniil:

They wanted to, yes. This desire was always present among the Jews, actually. But notice that there was some cleansing of sins, as a type of the future. But what kind of sins?

There is a very interesting point. I told, I think, Father Oleg Stenyaev once talked with a rabbi in Israel. He says:

"Well, now your temple will be restored, you dream that the temple will be restored and sacrifices will be offered again. So what?" he says. "From what sins will this cleanse you? Let's say you commit murder. Will this sacrifice redeem you from murder, for example?"

"No," he says, "for murder one must be killed."

"Will this sacrifice redeem you, for example, from adultery?"

"No," he says, "for adultery one must be killed."

"So from what," he says, "will it redeem you?"

"Well, for example, if you took a mother bird together with her eggs, then this can be atoned for. If you ate, unknowingly, non-kosher meat, it can redeem you from that, right? If you touched a dead body, it can cleanse you from that, right? That is, from involuntary sins it cleanses, but from voluntary sins, no."

It is interesting that many people are indignant: "Why is it said that God forgave David, even though his child died, and then Nathan's prophecy was fulfilled that his son would persecute him?" In what sense did God forgive David for adultery? In a very simple sense, in the sense that He forgave, because for this the punishment was death, and only death. Do you understand? The fact that God Himself reconsidered this – He reconsidered it on credit, because Someone else later received the death penalty for it.

Listener:

His Descendant.

Father Daniil:

Yes, His Descendant. That is why, actually, it is said that he received forgiveness. Do you understand?

Listener:

Many prophets say, when Israel fell away, the Lord says: "Come to Me, I will forgive everything." It turns out these are sins of apostasy from God, and the Lord says He will forgive everything. These are mortal sins. So then, would the very fact of forgiveness have existed?

Father Daniil:

That's exactly how it is, by virtue of the future (ed.: by virtue of the future crucifixion). Therefore God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel:

"30. And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.

31. Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath; their way have I requited upon their heads, says the Lord God." (Ezekiel: 22; 30-31)

Listener:

So look, Father Daniil, suppose you kill someone and you also have to be killed, right? Well, it turns out, that would be another killing, right? And so, it's also a killing, essentially, it turns out.

Father Daniil:

No. Execution is not murder.

Listener:

It becomes blood revenge, and blood revenge is a sin.

Father Daniil:

No. Blood revenge is not a sin. It is not called a sin in the Bible. From the Bible's point of view, it is not blood revenge that is a sin, but that blood revenge which exists among Arabs now, among Chechens, when they kill not the person himself, but his relative. From the Bible's point of view, this is unacceptable, because Deuteronomy forbids killing a son for the sins of the father. Understand? That is, a person must answer for his own actions.

Listener:

A question, purely about the word "forgiveness" [in Russian "proshchenie"], how is it translated from Greek?

Father Daniil:

Cleansing.

Listener:

Because in Russian, the word "prostit" [to forgive] means to straighten, to correct, but in our language it is more often understood as to excuse.

Father Daniil:

And there they are interconnected.

Listener:

Interconnected, but "izvinit'" [to excuse] is still simply to leave it, while here it is specifically to correct.

Father Daniil:

To cleanse a person, yes. That is, to excuse and to cleanse. Understand? And to reconcile with God. Understand?

Female Listener:

It's more like "ostavlenie" [remission, leaving].

Father Daniil:

"Ostavlenie," yes, that's good. The best.

Female Listener:

And in David's time, in principle, they really should have executed him for adultery, who would have issued that verdict?

Father Daniil:

The high priests.

Female Listener:

So, essentially, Nathan, knowing the word of the Lord, therefore he didn't issue it, right?

Father Daniil:

Well, yes.

Female Listener:

Why didn't it happen?

Father Daniil:

No, in Nathan's case it would have been much simpler. That is, in fact, if he had not repented, Nathan wouldn't have needed to summon any priests. A similar case occurred when another prophet, Elijah, came to King Ahaziah. Who, remember, when he fell ill, sent messengers to Baal-zebub to inquire whether he would recover. And then Elijah met the messengers, sent them back to say that he would die. He would not get up. "Thank you" for turning to Baal-zebub. And when they sent to arrest him, remember, three times, out of those 150 soldiers, 100 were burned (ed.: fire from heaven consumed them). When they came to him the third time, he was arrested in a peculiar way. Actually, it's all written very well for those who read carefully (ed.: the third captain of fifty, having learned what happened to those sent before him, came to the holy Elijah with fear and humility and, falling on his knees before him, begged him saying: "O man of God! Behold, I and these your servants who have come with me stand before you; have mercy on us: we did not come of our own will, but were sent to you; do not destroy us with fire as you destroyed those sent before us." And the prophet spared those who came with humility; but he did not spare those who came before because they came with pride and authority, wanting to take him as a prisoner and lead him away in dishonor. Christ God told holy Elijah to go fearlessly with these third ones and tell the king the same thing he had said before).

It is said:

"15. But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, 'Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.' So he arose and went down with him to the king,

16. and said to him, 'Thus says the Lord, "Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron – is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? – therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone, but you shall surely die."'

17. So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken." (2 Kings: 1; 15-17)

When did he die? He died immediately. That was it. The matter ended. This relates to the point that Nathan wouldn't have needed to summon anyone in such cases. Do you understand? In such cases, it worked very simply. As Elijah said: "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty." (2 Kings: 1; 10) And that's it. It was very simple there.

But let's return. The sacrifice is a sacrifice of the Covenant. Chapter 8 speaks about this (ed.: chapter 8 of the Epistle to the Hebrews), actually, right? The sacrifice of the contract. That is, from the moment of Golgotha, a new contract between God and men comes into force. Therefore it is said: "But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry which is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 8; 6)

The essence of the New Covenant is that the law of God is written within the human heart, right? And God remembers the iniquities of people no more. This is described in detail in the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, with reference to the 31st chapter of the book of the prophet Jeremiah. And here is a very interesting point. The sacrifice is simultaneously a covenant sacrifice, that is, a certain new people arises, a people of the covenant, in whom sins are forgiven and in whom the word of God – the law of God – begins to operate from within. That is, again, to whom does the redemption extend? To the people of God. Therefore it is said: "for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Gospel of Matthew: 26; 28) Why is it not said for all? In potentiality for all, in reality for many. Understand? Potentially, any person can avail himself of it, right? In reality, this Blood concerns only those who have entered the Covenant, do you understand? Those who have entered the contract.

Listener:

That is, those who wanted to.

Father Daniil:

Yes, those who wanted to.

And what will happen to those who did not want to? They will simply answer personally for their own actions. Here is a very interesting point. We must emphasize that the unbaptized perish not for being unbaptized, but for their own iniquities. There are, however, exceptions. An unbaptized person who heard the preaching of the Gospel and rejected it will also be punished for having scorned the Blood of Christ. Because the words of the Jews "His blood be on us and on our children," according to Polycarp of Smyrna, directly apply to all people without exception, regardless of nationality, who have heard about the Gospel and rejected it. This is logical, agree, isn't it?

If a person knew about the Crucifixion and the Lord's Blood and neglected It, he will be answerable as a God-killer. But if a person accepts baptism, he comes out from under this curse. That is also clear, right, why?

Listener:

And, by the way, what about the unbaptized who have not heard?

Father Daniil:

They simply die for their own iniquities, and that's it.

Listener:

Well, since they have some sins anyway...

Father Daniil:

For their own personal, for their own simply...

Listener:

Even minimal ones.

Father Daniil:

Scripture looks at "minimal" a bit differently. Scripture considers that those who have not heard the Gospel have far from minimal sins. Read the Epistle to the Romans, the first two chapters; it describes the life of those people who have not heard the Gospel very gently, very kindly, and I note, very accurately. Therefore, as John Chrysostom says, interpreting these words, he says that those who have not heard the law have...

So, next, chapter 9 of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Actually, we have been doing a brief summary of the Epistle to the Hebrews, because it directly concerns the teaching itself. Here it speaks of the superiority of the sacrifice of the New Covenant over the sacrifice of the Old Covenant, because the Old Testament sacrifices could not finally cleanse anyone. Look, it is well written about this:

"1. Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary.

2. For a tent was prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence; it is called the Holy Place.

3. Behind the second curtain stood a tent called the Holy of Holies,

4. having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

5. above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

6. These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the outer tent, performing their ritual duties;

7. but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people.

8. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary is not yet opened as long as the outer tent is still standing

9. (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,

10. but deal only with food and drink and various ablutions, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 9; 1-10)

That is, they ask: "Why were the Old Testament sacrifices needed?" They were to be shadows of the future, to prepare people for the time of reformation. Understand?

"11. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)

12. he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption."

What does "high priest of the good things that have come" mean? That is, a High Priest whose sacrifice brings future good things.

Here we must note that the sacrifice of Christ is the cause of the Kingdom of Heaven. That is, on Golgotha, the Kingdom of Heaven was born. Understand? The future world – the New Jerusalem – was born on Golgotha.

Listener:

But it was created from the beginning.

Father Daniil:

Well, it would have remained forever inaccessible to anyone. The door would have been locked, and that's it. It would have been nice that there is a good place like the New Jerusalem, but you can never enter it. But for us it would have been closed.

Listener:

Father Daniil, look, in principle then, in the modern state of Israel, which exists now, shouldn't this blood revenge be legally prescribed if they are building a Jewish state. For murder, there must be execution.

Father Daniil:

They were influenced by the "corrupting" influence of Christianity.

Listener:

Well, those Jews living in Kibbutzim. They should live by this principle.

Father Daniil:

In Kibbutzim, atheists live, actually. What are you saying... Kibbutzim are places where atheists live.

Listener:

Well, I don't know, some other fanatics, there are...

Father Daniil:

Now there is such a trick. The point is that they fundamentally do not impose the death penalty, because there is something in the Talmud – courts for the death penalty can only be held in the hall of hewn stones of their temple. Do you understand?...

Therefore, they actually perceive punishment in the form of imprisonment as a kind of detention center, roughly speaking.

So:

"11. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)

12. he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 9; 11-12)

That is, Christ comes once with His Body, not an ordinary one. Not with...

"13. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh," (Epistle to the Hebrews: 9; 13)

What is the Apostle referring to here? To the law in the book of Numbers, chapter 19, verses 9-17, which speaks about the need to sacrifice a red heifer, which is burned, and its ashes mixed with water, and this sacrifice cleanses from all involuntary sins. Moreover, without this holy water, no one can, for example, approach the sacrificial offering. Now they have huge problems; they are specially raising a generation of red heifers so that they can offer this sacrifice, so that they can at least approach something.

By the way, interestingly, based on this law, John Chrysostom [has other interpretations]...

Listener:

Father Daniil, what about shochets or ritual slaughterers at synagogues – what is their actual function?

Father Daniil:

Religious slaughter of animals, but this is not a sacrifice. It is so that they can eat kosher food. By the way, regarding ritual slaughterers or shochets. I'll say this: the point is that a ritual slaughterer could not slaughter anyone outside of Jerusalem if it were a matter of sacrifice. According to Deuteronomy, sacrifice must be only in one place, do you understand? In Deuteronomy it is said: in another place, anywhere, you may slaughter meat from animals yourself and eat it wherever you want.

Listener:

So he's just a person who, according to all the rules...

Father Daniil:

Who simply lets out the blood according to the law, who guarantees that the meat was not offered to idols and that the blood was let out – that, actually, is what kosher means. It is not a sacrifice, because, in fact, do not forget, who can offer sacrifice? Only kohanim – priests from the tribe of Levi. But ritual slaughterers and shochets can be from any tribe.

Listener:

So, the very fact that he comes to the storage place in a bloody apron means that he has just slaughtered someone for dinner. In Moscow, no less.

Father Daniil:

Well, yes.

So:

"14. how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 9; 14)

Now we see the explanation of what cleanses us from sin. The Blood cleanses the conscience. The Lord's Blood has the power to cleanse our conscience from dead works. That is, it not only frees us from the punishment for sin, but the Blood frees us from sin within us and from the habit, from the inclination to sin. I think this can be verified experimentally. Actually, this is the main experimental verification of Orthodox Christianity, you know that yourselves, right? Because, actually, any priest, perhaps even the most unsophisticated one, will say a completely correct biblical thing.

When they come to him with lofty questions: "I have such a problem in life, so mysterious" – right? And he will say: "Well, you fool, you need to repent and receive Communion, and you're acting like a fool" – or a fool [addressing a man]. And this will be pure theological biblical speech, which you yourselves can say in a softer form, but the essence will be exactly the same. Why? Because the only means of cleansing the conscience from dead works is the Blood of Christ. And where do all problems come from? From dead works lying on the conscience, do you understand? Dead, rotting works lying on the conscience. What is the only means of cleansing from dead works? It is the Lord's Blood. Which is given where? Communion cleanses us in confession and in baptism.

Listener:

And all lofty problems come from that?

Father Daniil:

They grow out of this, do you understand? It's a cause-and-effect relationship.

Listener:

I have this question, Father Daniil. Among the Jews, when the first temple was destroyed, they did not offer sacrifices. So, for them, everything is not according to the canon, with circumcision, etc.?

Father Daniil:

Yes. That's why the prophets asked for forgiveness for this. But what did God say to them then? God comforted them. The prophet Ezekiel said on behalf of God:

"16. Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.'" (Ezekiel: 11; 16)

God promised that He Himself would be a kind of temple for them during the exile.

Listener:

Well, in principle, modern Jews could say that now we have an analog...

Father Daniil:

They cannot say that, because this time God did not say that about them. Moreover, God said that they would no longer have a Messiah; He said they would kill the Messiah. In the book of the prophet Daniel, chapter 9, it is said that there will be no Messiah for them. Simply in the seventy weeks, remember we discussed this with you?

(ed.: "26. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war; desolations are decreed.

27. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week; and for half of the week he shall cause sacrifice and offering to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator." (Book of the prophet Daniel: 9; 26-27))

Listener:

Father Daniil, Archpriest Valentin Asmus, in his history of the Universal Church, referring to Josephus, says that in the time of Christ, in Alexandria, the Jews had a second temple where everything was copied completely...

Father Daniil:

Not in Alexandria, but on the island of Elephantine in Egypt. (ed.: the construction of the temple is dated between 586 and 525 BC.)

Listener:

But was it not recognized by the center?

Father Daniil:

Yes, although there was a prophecy in Isaiah. Actually, based on this prophecy, they did it.

Listener:

Which one?

Father Daniil:

It was said there that there would be a temple of the Lord in the land of Egypt.

Listener:

Was it not a real temple?

Father Daniil:

Yes, it was an unlawful temple. There was a dispute about this, of course. The temple was considered unlawful, but it was also destroyed. Why, "purely by chance," it was also destroyed during the time of the "second revolt."

(ed.: The Persian governor in Egypt, having received complaints from the priests of the idol "Khnum," requested the opinion of the Jerusalem high priest and the Persian governor in Judea. The answer came that there could be no Jewish temple with sacrifices except the temple in Jerusalem. And in 410 BC (according to other data in 411 BC) the Jewish temple in Egypt was burned by a Persian commander. However, around 402 BC, the Jews were allowed to restore this temple, after they voluntarily refused animal sacrifices (this was the last surviving historical mention of this temple). That is, sacrifices were no longer performed there, although they had not really begun, since the temple itself was built in violation of God's law, because a sacrifice could only be slaughtered in Jerusalem.

Whether this temple was restored in the end is unclear, but Jewish communities, according to Jewish sources, continued to live here until their city fell into decline and they eventually left it in the early Christian era.

Further, regarding the "second revolt" and the attempt by the Jews to restore the destroyed Second Temple.

At the beginning of the second century, the Roman emperor Hadrian, known for his defensive walls, allowed the Jewish people to restore Jerusalem along with their holy temple. This happened approximately fifty years after the destruction of the Second Temple. However, soon after Hadrian allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, he changed his mind and revoked permission to build the new temple.

This abrupt change of decision displeased the Jews, who were still hiding in the desert around the ruins of Jerusalem. In 132 AD, these forces united under the leadership of a charismatic leader named Simon Bar Kokhba. Bar Kokhba led a successful revolt against Rome, the second in 62 years, and managed to retake Jerusalem, holding it for three years. During this time, Bar Kokhba was considered the "prince" of the city, and he seriously undertook the restoration of the temple. However, Bar Kokhba did not have access to the funds and materials necessary for the rapid completion of this task.

The Romans eventually expelled the Jews from Jerusalem again and forbade them to return. They erased the name of Jerusalem from maps and killed another 500,000 Jews. Bar Kokhba himself was killed by the Romans in 135 AD, and with his death, all hopes for the construction of the Third Temple in this period also died.

Subsequently, there were also repeated attempts to restore the Second Temple, which were also cut short by God.)

Female Listener:

Did they try to build a temple anywhere else?

Father Daniil:

They tried. There was an attempt to restore the tabernacle. It was on the territory of what is now the Chechen Republic.

Listener:

In what year?

Father Daniil:

That was in the eighth century. During the Khazar Khaganate, they tried to restore the tabernacle there.

Listener:

Did Svyatoslav come and remove everything?

Another listener:

Do chronicles record this?

Father Daniil:

Jewish chronicles record this, precisely. Jewish chronicles record this. The Talmudist Jews did not recognize them, saying that the temple should be in one place chosen by God, that is, in Jerusalem. The most interesting thing is that they still cannot restore the temple in Jerusalem.

Listener:

Why?

Father Daniil:

The Temple Mount, what are you saying? The Temple Mount is occupied.

Listener:

There's a mosque there.

Father Daniil:

Yes. And all the wars revolve around this. Moreover, in the end, it will be so.

So:

"15. Therefore he [Jesus] is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.

16. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.

17. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.

18. Hence even the first covenant was not ratified without blood." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 9; 15-18)

"22. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 9; 22)

Here again we encounter what? That the shedding of blood is necessary for the forgiveness of sins. Without blood, sin cannot be forgiven. And why? Because where does sin originate? It is rooted in the deepest depths of human life. Do you understand? It perverts the very depths of human life. It is not something sitting on the surface of a person. Do you understand? It is something that grows from the very depths of a person. Therefore, life can only be corrected at the cost of life. Do you understand? If it were some kind of external habit, like sitting cross-legged or doing something innocent, it would be easy to correct. But sin comes from within.

Listener:

And then it's pointless to treat it.

Father Daniil:

No, why? Here a blood transfusion and a strong dose of antibiotics will be needed, of course, how else? A blood transfusion is necessary. It's the same situation here, it is necessary to infuse new Blood, and without Its shedding It cannot be poured out, do you understand?

Listener:

We forgive each other just like that, we forgive enemies, we don't demand blood from them.

Father Daniil:

We forgive, yes, just like that we forgive. But do we cleanse them from sin? Do you understand, the question is not just about forgiveness, about excusing. The point is that we forgive without sacrifices because a sacrifice was made for us. We forgive each other, as Christ forgave you. Why do we forgive? Precisely for this reason – imitation of Christ. Otherwise, if this were not the case, what would we have? It would be "I will forgive you on condition," do you understand?

Again, outside the Church, that's how it works, right? And even in the Church, some pagans do this.

Listener:

In the Old Testament it was like that, wasn't it?

Father Daniil:

Yes, an eye for an eye, absolutely right. Because here again, you see, our forgiveness is tied to the sacrifice of Christ. Everything flows from it. Do not forget that all our commandments go back to Golgotha, do you understand, as to the center?

Listener:

Question. Did Old Testament people forgive just like that?

Father Daniil:

They forgave by imitating the future Christ. They forgave by imitating the future Christ, but again, note, it is interesting that even in forgiving, they did it in a very interesting way. There is an episode when David forgave Shimei, but before his death he says:

"8. And behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim; but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, 'I will not put you to death with the sword.'

9. Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for you are a wise man; you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol." (1 Kings: 2; 8-9)

Listener:

To have him tormented before death.

Father Daniil:

No. "Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for you are a wise man; you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol." (1 Kings: 2; 9) – David says. Actually, the notion of justice still worked. Some are even scandalized by David, saying, how can this be? But David was simply proceeding from the ordinary norms of the Old Testament, do you understand? Because without the shedding of blood, forgiveness of sins was impossible.

Listener:

Why did he forgive him then?

Father Daniil:

Why did he ask for it? To show an example of magnanimity.

Listener:

Among the Chechens, teips reconcile. So can we say that all these reconciliations of yours are not valid because you do not have a Redeemer?

Father Daniil:

Well, they have no reconciliation either. They will reconcile now, and then start again. Because the flow of evil is not interrupted, do you understand? The flow of evil is not interrupted. And further it is said in Scripture, listen:

"23. Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

24. For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

25. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy Place yearly with blood not his own;

26. for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (That is, man is cleansed from sin by the sacrifice of Christ)

27. And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment,

28. so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 9; 23-28)

By the way, here key verse 27 is the main verse against reincarnation.

Further:

"1. For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices which are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near.

2. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? If the worshipers had once been cleansed, they would no longer have any consciousness of sin." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 10; 1-2)

See, what is the goal? See, how and in what is cleansing manifested? A person loses consciousness of the sin committed. That is, he no longer perceives this sin as his own. By the way, here is a very interesting point. Actually, sincere repentance leads precisely to the fact that a person no longer perceives himself as the bearer of this sin. That is precisely why, indeed, the conscience is cleansed through the Blood of the Lord.

"3. But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year.

4. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.

5. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body hast thou prepared for me;

6. in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure.

7. Then I said, "Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God," as it is written of me in the roll of the book.'

8. When he said above, 'Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings' (which are offered according to the law),

9. then he added, 'Lo, I have come to do thy will.' He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.

10. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 10; 3-10)

By the way, this verse (Epistle to the Hebrews: 10; 10) says something very important. Some ask: "Why do you think that the Blood of Christ cleansed all sins? Maybe it didn't cleanse all, maybe only partially, and maybe it didn't even cleanse you. How do you know? On what is your guarantee based?" We answer, our guarantee is based on the fact that it is simply the will of God. God willed it so, He did it so. And why did God will it so? We recall the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (Gospel of John: 3; 16) God's love was manifested in that God gives His Son as a sacrifice for us, and thus we are reconciled with Him.

Listener:

Father, you know the Adventists have declared that your point of view is very intolerant, not accepting (laughter in the hall...) and there is no other bearer.

Father Daniil:

Right! Because we are biblical Christians, we need to say, not that you are... We believe the Bible, and what do you believe? That is the question...

And so, further it is said:

"11. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

12. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

13. then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet.

14. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 10; 11-14)

And God simultaneously, you see, makes those who are sanctified perfect once and for all by one offering.

"15. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

16. 'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,'

17. then he adds, 'I will remember their sins and their misdeeds no more.'

18. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

19. Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,

20. by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,

21. and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

22. let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

23. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful;" (Epistle to the Hebrews: 10; 15-23)

See? That is, if a person knows about the Blood of the Covenant, but does not...

"24. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

25. not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

26. For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

27. but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries.

28. A man who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses.

29. How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace?

30. For we know him who said, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay.' And again, 'The Lord will judge his people.'

31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Epistle to the Hebrews: 10; 24-31)

See, right? That is, if a person knows about the Blood of the Covenant, but does not...

Now I would like to show some other things related to redemption that we often do not take into account, but we should know them.

So, redemption reconciled us to God, we have talked about this a lot, right? It is a sacrifice offered to God, it cleanses us from a guilty conscience, washes sin out of us, makes our conscience clean, delivers us from corruption, right? It establishes a new union between God and men, gives us a heavenly promise, right? It is a guarantee of our entrance into heaven. And it is a guarantee that the Eternal Last One intercedes for us continuously. This is the relationship between God and man. This is the most important thing, we talk about it all the time, right? But this is not the only thing, actually. Redemption also creates the Church, uniting people among themselves.

The Apostle Paul speaks about this in detail, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 4 to 22. Let me read and comment, because this text is also largely key for our salvation.

"4. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us,

5. even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6. and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7. that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Epistle to the Ephesians: 2; 4-7)

That is, we were previously in sins, we were under the power of the devil, and Christ freed us from under the power of the devil, cleansing us from sin. Now it is clear how we were freed from the devil. The devil now has nothing to hold on to us, right? Understand? That is, he held on to sin, and now sin is gone. Understand? He scratches, but there is nothing to grasp. Remember this very interesting ritual? Immediately before immersing a person in water, what happens to the person being baptized? They anoint him with oil, so that the devil cannot catch him. Understand? He slips out of satan's clutches. Because there is nothing for him to grab onto, do you understand? They anoint the forehead, chest, hands, back, and feet. And then the person must rub it in, or according to the rubrics, even rub it all into himself.

And so redemption enlivens the dead. Redemption enlivens the spiritually dead. By the way, here is a question. Why can the unbaptized not enter the Kingdom of God? The dead have no place in the Kingdom of God. Our God is the God of the living, not the God of the dead. Why did God do this? To show in the coming ages the immeasurable riches of his grace. That is, through the Crucifixion, access was opened to the unthinkable, secret love of God, which would never have been known before to men and angels. That is, actually, the crucifixion reveals God to us and not only to us, but also to the Spirits dwelling in the universe. It reveals to us Divine love from an unthinkable new side, which no one would ever have known otherwise. Therefore, the Apostle Paul says that God revealed Himself to the angels on the cross. Perhaps you have seen icons of the Crucifixion where angels cover their eyes in horror? Ephraim the Syrian says that when the angels saw Christ hanging on the cross, the Seraphim covered their faces in horror, the Cherubim hid behind the wheels, because they could not see God hanging on the cross. They could never have imagined the unthinkable, immense love of God that He declared to men.

So, we are now analyzing first the very essence of what redemption gave.

"8. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God –

9. not because of works, lest any man should boast.

10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Epistle to the Ephesians: 2; 8-10)

That is, for the Apostle Paul, redemption is a new creation of man, a new creation of man. John Chrysostom says this: "What can redemption be compared to? For example, there were two statues, one of copper and one of silver. Both were broken. And the artist took both statues, threw them into a smelting pot and smelted one golden statue out of them. He performed a transmutation of elements. He re-smelted humanity anew. This is how God creates man anew through redemption."

"11. Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands –

12. remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." (Epistle to the Ephesians: 2; 11-12)

"By hands," i.e., without Christ. What is the Apostle saying? Once, he says, you were formerly Gentiles in the flesh. You were uncircumcised, unlike the circumcised Jews. Circumcision in the flesh of the Jews was a sign of the Covenant. And you did not enter into it, even in ancient times you did not enter into it. You were once without Christ. You knew nothing about future salvation, right? You had no hope. Simply, do you understand? The Gentiles were without Christ before. They were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. That is, the Jews were separated from the entire pagan world. Moreover, you were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel. That is, to the people of God, you were strangers, you were not the people of God. You were under the power of satan. Under the power of darkness. You were subject to passions. You had no hope either on earth or beyond the grave. Look at the godless, is it not the same now? Exactly the same, right? People are under the power of satan in the literal sense of the word. satan does whatever he wants with the godless, right? As for magical influences, the godless are afraid of magic, the evil eye, curses, because they are under satan's power and have no Protector. As for sinful influences, wherever satan drags them, there they run. Because indeed people were separated from the society of God. But the Jewish people could not be bewitched. Remember, Balaam tried to perform sorcery, but nothing came of it. Balaam, son of Beor, tried to bring a curse, but it didn't work. So, you were strangers to the covenants of promise, that is, you were strangers to what was promised. Covenants of promise. You had no hope and were without God in the world. That's how it was. This, by the way, is an accurate description of the pagan world. This is precisely the answer to those people who say, right? There are good pagans, pious ones, will God not save them? Interestingly, are the godless, who have no hope, living under the power of satan, under the power of the shadow of death, are they pious people?

"13. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ.

14. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility," (Epistle to the Ephesians: 2; 13-14)

That is, Jesus is our peace, He reconciled us, that is, Jews and Gentiles, and made us one whole. Now there is no enmity in the Church between Jews and Gentiles. Now we are all Christians. The wall that stood between Jews and Gentiles is removed. From two, one is made. One people has been created.

So:

"15. by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

16. and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end." (Epistle to the Ephesians: 2; 15-16)

What does "by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances" mean? The enmity of whom with whom? The enmity of Jews and pagans. The dividing wall of the law – the external, literal, fleshly commandments that separated Jews from pagans, all these food prohibitions, kosher laws, all of them end from what moment? From the moment the flesh of Christ is sacrificed on the cross. When His flesh was pierced, all the fleshly ordinances of the Old Testament ended. Understand? All these rituals – circumcision, food, holidays, new moons, Sabbaths – all of them ended. Why? Because the flesh of Christ was pierced. Therefore, having abolished enmity in His flesh, He created one new man in place of the two.

"17. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;

18. for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father." (Epistle to the Ephesians: 2; 17-18)

Through the Cross of the Lord, through the crucified Lord, both Jews and Gentiles equally received access to God the Father in one Spirit – in the Holy Spirit.

"19. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

20. built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

21. in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord;

22. in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." (Epistle to the Ephesians: 2; 19-22)

That is, all this is done by the crucifixion of the Lord. Precisely from this verse, or rather from these passages, we derive the explanation of why the Lord died in this particular way and not otherwise. Why does Christ die on the cross? Athanasius the Great answers. First. If someone goes into battle, the best victory will be when he plays by the opponent's rules. Understand? That is, Christ gives a handicap – "as you propose, so we will play by your rules," right? Christ dies on the cross, to which the Jews condemned Him. And here He defeats the devil. The devil, after all, he himself devised the death on the cross for the Lord, didn't he? Do you understand why? The most shameful execution. And that is precisely why here the Lord plays by the devil's rules and defeats him by his own rules. Understand?

Further. Second point. The cross is an execution that combines both hanging in the air and the shedding of blood. Understand? The crucified one hangs in the air. But if hanging occurs without the shedding of blood, then crucifixion occurs with the shedding of blood. The shedding of blood is needed for the forgiveness of sins, right? And why is hanging in the air needed? To destroy the power of the prince of the power of the air. Who rules in the air? satan, right? He was later confined to hell by Christ, but his palace was in the air.

So, further, Christ dies on a tree, so that by the tree of obedience He might heal the tree of disobedience. Understand? From what did Adam eat the fruit? From the tree of disobedience. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So, instead of the tree of disobedience, Christ dies on the tree of obedience. Because He was obedient to the Father even unto death. Death on a cross. That is, He is the Anti-Adam. The New Adam. The Adam of the end.

"15. by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances..." (Epistle to the Ephesians: 2; 15) When? When the blood was shed. Why is this passage connected with the crucifixion? The point is, whom did He reconcile? The far and the near in one body. He gathers two peoples into His embrace, do you understand? Jews and Gentiles. Therefore the Lord said, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself. This is from the Gospel of John, chapter 12, verse 32.

So, the Lord's hands were pierced with nails to heal the outstretched hands of Adam. Adam reached out to evil, right? Yes, he reached out to the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. The Lord's feet were pierced with nails to heal fleeing man, right? The side was pierced with a spear to heal the transgression of her who was taken from the side. Who started this sin? Eve. From where did Eve come? From the rib. Understand?

Listener:

And the feet?

Father Daniil:

Ah, they were already fleeing from God, those feet. (ed.: "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden." (Genesis: 3; 8))

Well, and further, between us, this process did not end with Adam. Note, right? The process went much further. It started there, but it didn't end there by a long shot. Christ was crowned with a crown of thorns to remove the curse from the earth, which was to produce what? Thorns and thistles. And remember what the Lord said:

"17. And to Adam he said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, "You shall not eat of it," cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18. thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.'" (Genesis: 3; 17-18)

And this crown of thorns is placed on Christ's head. The curse is removed and a new universe is born. I say, with Christ a new world is born. Do you understand? Actually, all these convulsions of this world now – the financial crisis, wars, earthquakes, civil wars, plague and so on. What are these? They are the spasms of labor pains. Because a new universe has been conceived in this universe. Do you understand? Our universe has become pregnant with a new universe. It will grow out of this earth, it will sprout. Everything will burn. The whole earth will burn, and God will create a new universe from it.

Listener:

Will the substance burn?

Father Daniil:

The universe will be material. Since we will be material in bodies, then naturally the universe in which we will dwell will also be material. Why? Because, as Ambrose of Milan says: "As Christ died and rose in the Flesh, so we will rise in the same flesh in which we died, so the universe will die and rise in the same body in which it was created. But without damage, without defect, without blemish."

Female Listener:

When the earth burns, will Christ have already come?

Father Daniil:

Yes. But it is already seeded now. And now it is sown with seeds starting from the Blood of the Lord. And these seeds grow little by little, therefore such a thing happens... You can give an example, you know, called toxicosis. The cursed universe has toxicosis, do you understand, pregnancy. A new universe is being reborn, it was conceived at Golgotha, do you understand? And now there is a gradual growth of this universe, due to the growth of those who enter it, do you understand? Christians. The Church grows, and the universe feels unwell.

Listener:

So the cause of the financial crisis is in spiritual disorder?

Father Daniil:

Yes, yes. Because there is a conflict between the growth of Christianity in the Church and the growth of evil in this world.

Listener:

And the growth of currency exchange rates?

Father Daniil:

No, not currency exchange rates, but the growth of the passion for accumulation – the passion of avarice, which is in this world, do you understand?

Listener:

But why was the created paradise vegetative, and Jerusalem is like a city?

Father Daniil:

Isn't it obvious? There were only the works of God's hands there, but in the New Jerusalem, people also participate. Understand? A city is made with the participation of people.

And again, we know that the world will be material, because we are material.

Listener:

And where will hell be located?

Father Daniil:

On the outskirts of being.

Listener:

If the entire cosmos will be transfigured?

Father Daniil:

On the borders of the transfigured universe, the place of Gehenna will be located. But if we go literally through the Bible, the Bible even indicates a specific place that will become the future progenitor of the future Gehenna.

Listener:

Where is that?

Father Daniil:

The Dead Sea.

Listener:

Where Sodom and Gomorrah were, right?

Father Daniil:

Yes, of course.

Listener:

Who says this?

Father Daniil:

Read Ezekiel, it is said there. It's written very transparently. And in Isaiah, that your valleys will turn into pitch, and your lake will become burning.

Listener:

Will there be a lake of fire?

Father Daniil:

Yes, that's what will happen. If you know this geography, imagine the following. The Lord descends. Where will He descend? Is the place where He will descend known? He will descend in the same way as He was seen ascending into heaven. Right? He will descend on the Mount of Olives. He will sit to judge the people, He will gather everyone in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, as described in the book (Joel: 3; 2). Right?

Listener:

And will all people fit there?

Father Daniil:

Well, if space can be altered, what's the problem?

Listener:

So it will just stretch?

Father Daniil:

Yes.

Listener:

Will everything be spiritual?

Father Daniil:

Who said it would be spiritual? Christ will descend in a material Body, with wounds, completely non-spiritual wounds, physical wounds, on his hands and feet, and on his pierced side. All the tribes of the earth will worship Him, as it is said in Scripture, right? He will sit in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and all nations will be gathered before Him. Some ask, how will all this fit? The answer is very simple. Stefan Yavorsky says, the righteous will stand in the air, the sinners will be below. Everything will fit. Stefan Yavorsky – the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, he has a very good reasoning. Everything is very precise, do you understand? We are used to saying "allegorism," "spirituality," you see... Why? Because they cannot think clearly, that's why they say it.

Listener:

They are afraid of elementary things. It is much easier to imagine such spiritual torments than something concrete.

Father Daniil:

So, as the prophet Daniel says, a throne will be set up, a great white throne. Daniel and John say this. And a river of fire will flow. Where will it flow? To the right or to the left? Where will it flow? Where will the sinners go? To the left. Right? And if you imagine Jerusalem. Here is the Mount of Olives. Here is the Kidron Valley. But Jerusalem descends down here. To the place of the old. Here is the Mount of Olives. Here is the Kidron Valley. This place is called Tophet. It is also Ge Hinnom. Or the Valley of Hinnom, by another name. But the Kidron does not stop. The stream flows. Where does it flow? As an ordinary stream. Further downstream. Where does it flow further downstream? There is a lake there. It is called the Dead Sea. The stream flows into it. (ed.: according to the map, the Kidron Valley goes around the Mount of Olives on the left and then exits onto the Judean desert, flows down to the Dead Sea.) The Kidron Valley flows into the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea will be the lake of fire. So it will be fulfilled literally. It's all very literal.

Listener:

Already pre-prepared, right?

Father Daniil:

Just visit Jerusalem, and everything falls into place. Do you understand? I've always been amazed, they say, we don't know in how many days God created the world. Well, if you don't know, find out. Don't you know? Here is the book, it is written – in six days, He started on Sunday and finished on Saturday. How long were the days? Don't you know? Consult the same Bible, it is written in the 4th commandment. It says, six days you shall labor, the seventh day you shall consecrate to God. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested. But is that exactly so? Consult the holy fathers. How do they understand it? They understand it all literally. Everything is written, do you understand? With us, you see, this so-called spirituality, what is it? It is an inability, an unwillingness to have a clear idea of reality. But they [the realities] will indeed be clear, do you understand? The Lord is real, we will recognize Him just like this, His Face is familiar to us, that's why we have images, do you understand? So that we know exactly. He will have wounds on His hands, nails, square nails, a pierced side, the right side, by the way, right? Therefore, by the way, it is even so literal that we even, by the way, from which side do we pierce the lamb (during the proskomedia)? From the right side. Why? Because the right side will be pierced. Understand? That is, everything is literal, do you understand? When the lamb for communion is cut out, it is pierced at the end of the proskomedia on the right side. The word "spirituality" is very often perceived as something incomprehensible, mysterious. As the heretic Origen said: "No one will be so foolish as to think that we will rise with teeth when we will not need to chew, with a stomach when we will not eat, with genitals when there will be no marriage. Therefore, of course, one must understand that we will rise, but in spiritual bodies. That is, in an ideal-ideal form." That is, in what form? In the form of a sphere (laughter in the hall). We said that Origen will apparently be used in football competitions on holidays. This is a joke, of course.

You see, all this "spiritual" leads to the point that people simply do not believe in the resurrection of the flesh, that's all. And, you know, instead of spirituality, something incomprehensible results. Remember, I questioned you, how should we imagine the Kingdom of Heaven? It turned out to be nirvana, just pure nirvana from Buddhism. (Laughs) Remember? This is all because of the craving for spirituality. Don't do that, Christianity is materialistic, you see? Spiritual materialism, they call it correctly. God is the Creator of matter and spirit, equally, do you understand? Both are equally dear to Him. He created both with His own hands. And the craving for spirituality as something good – that is the craving of satan. It is precisely satan who says, I am spiritual, good.

I can refer to an excellent book by Metropolitan Makary Oksiyuk, called "Eschatology of St. Gregory of Nyssa." Everything is written there. It's a good book, actually all these things are written there.

And the place of the crucifixion is known to everyone to be the place of Adam's burial, therefore the Church says that to the place where the first man died, there the eagle flew to save. By the way, what I have just told you is the service of Good Friday and Holy Saturday. And, by the way, the Synaxarion of Good Friday and Saturday. And actually, what I have told you about the Crucifixion in comparison with Redemption, John Chrysostom also loves to dwell on this in detail, all this is also our service of Good Friday and Holy Saturday. By the way, there is an interesting interpretation of Good Friday. Why was a reed put into Christ's hand? To break the Jews like clay pots.

Well, with that, perhaps, we will conclude today.