Main news for 21 October 2024

Describing people of the last times, Paul may seem to lay the colors on somewhat thickly. Meanwhile, already in his own time everything he said was characteristic of the society in which he had to live, to a greater or lesser degree. And people of other ages who read Paul's letters surely thought that the last times had already come: they recognized their own contemporaries in the apostle's description. And it must be admitted that they were not far from the truth.

The fact is that Paul could well have considered as the last times, if not his own age, then at least the one that began soon after his martyr's death, after the year 70, when the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed and Judea ceased to exist as a Jewish autonomy within the Roman Empire.

This is exactly how the Savior Himself described the last times, mentioning the destruction of the Temple and the death of Judea as effectively the last historical event after which, according to His own words, "the end" would come. This, of course, does not yet mean that He would return on the same day the Temple was destroyed, as Christians of the third and perhaps fourth generation, who became contemporaries of the events Jesus had foretold, thought.

But all subsequent human history unfolds already within the framework of a different historical logic, which could be called eschatological. And within this logic one must speak first of all about the spiritual polarization of humanity, and all the processes taking place in it increasingly indicate precisely the polarization mentioned by both Paul and John in his Book of Revelation. All who strive for a godly life in Christ are persecuted, while those who do evil prosper. That is not surprising: the fallen world lies in evil, and the only question is how openly it is manifested in it and to what extent it is hidden.

Sometimes it seems that there have been bright intervals in human history, that not everything in it is so dark, and that morals here and there were not at all like those the apostle describes. Indeed, patriarchal and traditional society, at first glance, still looks not so corrupt as the Hellenistic society described in the letter. But unfortunately this is only a question of time: every society sooner or later ceases to be patriarchal and traditional, becoming like the one Paul described. Yet the matter is not only this. One can, of course, lament the corruption of morals and the destruction of the good old patriarchal foundations, but they are not destroyed by chance.

They are destroyed because the evil of the fallen world is present in them too; it is simply less noticeable. And when a world that seemed good and moral collapses under the pressure of alien morals and customs, it collapses not because it is being "destroyed" or "eroded," but because evil is present in it too, only before it was not so noticeable. Now the hidden has become manifest, and events have begun to develop in their own course. The logic of the eschatological age is universal, and the only question is where the polarization mentioned by the apostle will appear earlier and where later. But Paul has no doubt that it will happen.

Ti2 3:2-5

NOTES

In the days leading up to the beginning of Great Lent, we read passages from the apostles' letters that make us...

Describing the people of the last times, Paul may appear to be overstating things somewhat. Yet even in his own time everything he said was characteristic of the society in which he had to live, to one degree or another. And people of other eras who read Paul's letters surely thought that the last times had already come: they recognized their own contemporaries in the apostle's description. And, it must be admitted, they were not far from the truth.

The fact is that Paul may well have regarded, if not his own age, then at least the age that began soon after his martyrdom, after A.D. 70, when the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed and Judea ceased to exist as a Jewish autonomy within the Roman Empire, as the last times. This is exactly how the Savior Himself described the last times, mentioning the destruction of the Temple and the fall of Judea as essentially the final historical event after which, in His own words, "the end" would come.

This, of course, does not mean that He would return on the very day the Temple was destroyed, as third- and perhaps fourth-generation Christians thought when they became contemporaries of the events Jesus had foretold. But all subsequent human history unfolds within a different historical logic, one that can be called eschatological. And within that logic, one must first speak about the spiritual polarization of humanity, and all the processes taking place within it increasingly point precisely to the polarization mentioned by both Paul and John in his Book of Revelation. All who seek a godly life in Christ are persecuted, while those who do evil prosper. This is no surprise: the fallen world lies in evil, and the only question is how much that evil is visible in it and how much is hidden.

At times it looks as though there have been bright intervals in human history, as though not everything in it is so dark, and as though customs in some places were not at all like those described by the apostle. Indeed, a patriarchal, traditional society, at first glance, does not look as corrupt as the Hellenistic society described in the letter. Unfortunately, however, this is only a question of time: every society sooner or later stops being patriarchal and traditional and comes to resemble the one Paul described. But that is not the only point.

One can certainly lament the corruption of morals and the destruction of the good old patriarchal foundations, but they are not destroyed by accident. They are destroyed because the evil of the fallen world is present in them too; it is simply less visible. And when a world that seemed good and moral collapses under the pressure of alien morals and customs, it collapses not because it is being "destroyed" or "eroded," but because evil exists in it too, only before it was not so visible. Now what was hidden has become manifest, and events have begun to unfold in their own course. The logic of the eschatological age is universal, and the only question is where the polarization mentioned by the apostle will appear earlier and where later. But Paul has no doubt that it will happen.

Fortunate is the person who finds nothing in the list presented that belongs to him personally. To flee from oneself—that is the destiny...

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