At the Feast of the Ascension, the Church (celebrating the resurrection and salvation of all creation, as well as every feast; because the essence of all the Church’s feasts, regardless of form (Annunciation, Christmas, Epiphany, Pascha, Ascension, Transfiguration, commemoration of the Saints), – is the resurrection of all creation in Christ, the coming of the Kingdom of God), glorifies God and His salvation and grace, which it knows, with words: “We sing, all people, of Christ, who ascended in glory on the shoulders of the cherubim, and seated us with Himself at the right hand of the Father, with a song of victory, for He has been glorified” (Canon in the early morning. Song one). “You descended, Life-giver Christ, to the Father, and raised our race, Lover of mankind, by Your unspeakable mercy” (Canon in the early morning. Song three). “The angelic hosts, Savior, seeing the human nature being ascended with You, marveling, unceasingly sing praises to You” (Canon in the early morning. Song three). “The human nature, Christ, that had fallen, You renewed, and by Your descent raised it with Yourself, and glorified us” (Canon in the early morning. Song three).
“Arise, sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14). “It is time to awake from sleep… The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (and this (“cast off the works of darkness” and “put on the armor of light”) can only be done if there is no darkness, i.e., “the night is far gone” and (put on the armor of light) “the day has come”, i.e., “now everything is filled with light: heaven and earth, and the netherworld” – V.A.)” (Rom. 13:11-12). “… walking, preach, saying that the Kingdom of Heaven has come; (and as a testimony, confirmation of your words, assertion, that “the Kingdom of Heaven has come” – V.A.) heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons…” (Mt. 10:7-8). “… heal the sick … and tell them: the Kingdom of God has come to you” (Lk. 10:9). “…But know this: the Kingdom of God has come” (Lk. 10:11). “Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and said: the time is fulfilled (the time has come, the times have been fulfilled – V.A.) and the Kingdom of God has come: repent and believe in this gospel” (which gospel? Well, the one that announces the coming of the Kingdom of God: “… the Kingdom of God has come” – V.A.) (Mk. 1:14-15). In the hypothetical original, from which (at least, should be) all modern translations are made, stands the word ἤγγικεν (Mt. 3; Mt. 4; Mk. 1; Lk. 10; Lk. 21; Jas. 5), which is often translated as “is at hand, has approached” (for example, in the Synodal translation, in the Ukrainian translation of the Synodal translation, in the translation by Metropolitan Ohienko): the Kingdom of God has approached, the day has approached, the Kingdom of God has approached you, etc. (Being a member of the Church and expressing its knowledge of the Kingdom of God, I translate ἤγγικεν as “has come”, which more clearly expresses the essence of the indication (hypothetical) original). It is better to translate these words (ἤγγικεν) in these contexts of verbal icons not as “is at hand, has approached,” but as “has come.” Because the word “approached” can be interpreted in two ways: as a completed action, i.e., when the goal is reached, and as a reduction of distance to reach the goal, i.e., to get closer to the goal, but still not reach it. Unfortunately, now
“Christians” mostly (99.9..9% out of a hundred) interpret these places of Scripture in this wrong (relative to the context) meaning: the Kingdom has approached, i.e., it has not yet come, but has become a little closer. Therefore, if translating with the word “approached” (“has approached”), it should be read in the sense of reaching the goal. For example, Vladimir approached his beloved wife Veronica, and, embracing, tenderly kissed her. That is, he did not slightly reduce the distance – became closer by two meters, but reached the goal, for which he approached. Or: approached Kiev, i.e., not yet in Kiev, but the distance from 500 km reduced to 250 km – no, in this context it means that the goal is reached, the distance reduced to zero. (i.e., if you continue to move, then the distance in relation to the goal will increase, will move away from the goal). Therefore, to avoid ambiguity, it is necessary to translate ἤγγικεν (in these contexts) with the word “has come,” which unambiguously indicates the reality of reaching the goal. Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God…