Once again, I say – you are free, like every person, and before each of us, two paths are open: wide, spacious, comfortable (the road of death leading to hell) and narrow, thorny, crucified (the Path of Life leading to the Kingdom of God). The Lord (the Hypostatic Wise Navigator) directs everyone to the Kingdom of God, shows everyone the Way with the Gospel – Jesus Christ, but everyone remains free: to accept God’s plan or reject it and go their own way (selfish, the end of which is hellish selfhood and despair). As it was in the days of Noah, Lot, so it will be in the end (that is, now it is)! They laughed at Noah (who built a ship on dry land and called for repentance to save themselves, for soon the end would come, the flood), laughed at Lot, who lived righteously and chastely in Sodom… And to this day they laugh at Christians who call for repentance and announce God’s Judgment, to this day the prophets of Christ (that is, Christians) are persecuted by “Christians” and unbaptized pagans! God is patient, and sinners think they are walking well, that they (idolaters, heretics, servants of the antichrist, “Orthodox”) live pleasing to God! The Holy Spirit through the apostles calls everyone: “Be vigilant!”, “Pray so that you do not fall into temptation!”, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling!”, “Redeem the time, because the days are evil!”, “Woe to you…”, “Woe to that person… it would have been better for him not to be born”, and others. Are these words of the apostles empty words?! Therefore, let us be vigilant! Do “baptized,” “Christians” commit suicides? What about miracle workers? Judas Iscariot – an apostle, a miracle worker, cast out demons, healed the sick, raised the dead… and perished (went to terrible torments)! Did God allow it! God did not deprive Adam of sight in paradise and did not grab him by the hands so that he would not eat the forbidden fruit, and did not imprison Lucifer in a cage, did not bind him with chains so that he would not fall, would not look at himself and not be proud… No one is insured against falling (only Christians – those who Love God through the Holy Spirit)! All warnings in Scripture are addressed to the church in the first century (even during the apostles’ lives, there were many antichrists in the church). If these warnings were relevant in apostolic times, how much more now – for those who have reached these last times! Be vigilant!
The fear of God is caution, trembling, responsibility, vigilance… – so as not to crucify, not to crucify the Lord! Fear yourself (do not trust yourself, do not hope for yourself, do not be self-confident), and not God, Who is Love and only Love – respects us (our freedom, uniqueness) and does only Good, Good and leads everything to Bliss. We can(!) want hell, refuse Heaven! The fear of God is the fear of crucifying God, my Savior (see in Part III the parable about the Donor, Who, to save us, had to die; and what a misfortune it is when the saved, rescued by the Donor, offend, crucify Him in their neighbor, and how sorry they will be when they find out Whom they offended, despised, insulted, crucified (every person is Christ, the Donor, according to the words of the Lord Himself)… – here is the true essence of hellish torments for the proud who do not want to humble themselves and do not hear the words about themselves: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do”, do not want to accept forgiveness from God (Who never forgives anyone, because He Loves – see the parable about the prodigal son), nor forgive themselves), Ineffable Hypostatic Divine Love for me (a nothingness, the last sinner), and fear not because I will be tortured, tormented in hell for this, but because it is my voluntary choice of hell. Crucifying Christ is a consequence of my free (mindless) choice of hell, and not hell as a consequence of killing God! The fear of God (vigilance, caution, discernment, reverent trembling before ineffable Love and the gift of freedom, which each of us is endowed with for eternity) – is a Gift from God, given to those who crave to have this gracious fear, who zealously care about acquiring the parents (virtues-mothers) of the fear of God: the memory of God, frequent prayer, discernment, counsel, reverence, fasting (being on guard, vigilance), the memory of death (about the exam at God’s Judgment), listening to the Word of God, knowing God’s will (studying Scripture, …) and trying to fulfill God’s commandments (especially care about almsgiving) – to such laborers of repentance-annunciation, the Lord gives this invaluable gift – the fear of God, which, in the measure of the labors of repentance, grows, until it grows into the Love of God!
P.S. Poor or rich, sick or healthy, “Orthodox” or “heretic,” “baptized” or “circumcised,” “Christian” or pagan… – all this does not matter, the main thing is whether we have become Christians, whether we have received the Holy Spirit, whether we have passed from death (healed from sin) to Eternal Life, whether the Judgment of God is already behind us! Therefore, let us not look into others, how someone lives on earth: healthy, poor, rich, sick, glorious, wise, heretics, Satanists, Orthodox, autocephalous, schismatics, sectarians… – all this is Mysteries of God’s Love, Mercy of God’s Providence (Which has unique and unrepeatable relationships with each free person (each person is a unique and unrepeatable, unique personality-hypostasis, the image of God and the likeness of God) – see in Rev. 2:17 about the white stone with a name known only to God and the one to whom God gives it), Which leads each person (both righteous and heretic, and Satanist, and do-gooder, and evil-doer…) to repentance, prepares for baptism by the Holy Spirit! “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant, to his own master he stands or falls, and he will be made to stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand (both Satanist, and heretic, and do-evil, and all, and everything).” (Unless the Lord sends you by the Holy Spirit to the work of an apostle, prophet, teacher – to preach the Gospel, to expose heresies, crimes… and all this in the Holy Spirit! For self-action – only to your own destruction!). And you watch yourself, how you seek Truth, Freedom, Love, how you prepare for God’s Judgment when God will judge everyone for their ability to receive the Holy Spirit, to contain within themselves Hypostatic Love and Freedom! For Christians, all this (the Last Judgment) happens in baptism; and the catechumens intensively prepare for the exam at God’s Judgment, caring about humility, for the humble God gives an Advocate-Comforter – the Holy Spirit, Who intercedes for them at the judgment of Love and True Freedom before the Father, that is, adopts them!