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Epilogue
Το The miracle of the Holy Fire is a corollary to the greater miracle of the Resurrection
of Jesus Christ. The two miracles are interlinked and inseparable,
and the message they convey is now more timely than ever. It is this shared message
which will be the focal point of our epilogue.
We are living in particularly hard times in which we increasingly hear about
the so-called economic crisis and its consequences. This crisis is presented as a
random development that has simply appeared. But it is, in fact, an artificial and
orchestrated development woven into the intricate fabric of so-called globalization.
The “crisis” is the thin end of the wedge, a tool of globalization and the
“New Order,” which aim at promoting a new model of life according to which
people are forced to work more in response to their increased obligations, in
conditions of overwhelming pressure and stress, with unbearable debts, and deprived
of the time and serenity required for their spiritual growth. It is nothing
less than an effort to preoccupy people completely with money and material
things and transform them into controllable slaves, their moral resistance reduced
and their attention turned not to the heavens and matters of the spirit, but
exclusively to what is of the earth and the flesh. This new model aims to convert
the individual from a free and independent, thinking being into a weak member
of a globalized herd, a spineless creature who will think and react like one of
the pack.1 Everything around us reveals the critical nature of our times when
modern man, trapped in a materialistic way of life, seems to lack any serious
spiritual goal to his life. But what could such a goal be?
Two and a half millennia ago, Plato in the Theaetetus defined the primary
purpose in a human life as “assimilation to God” by exercising virtue; in other
words, the goal of human life was “to become like God” to the extent possible
by striving constantly through virtuous acts: “That is why a man should make all haste to escape from earth to heaven; and escape means becoming as like God
as possible; and a man becomes like God when he becomes just and pure, with
understanding.”2
In the Republic, Plato again urges his reader, “by practising virtue, to assimilate
himself to God as much as is humanly possible.”3 According to Plato, God
is the “Maker and Father of this Universe,”4 “supremely just,”5 but above all
“agathos,”6 which means entirely good. That is why a person can be called great,
only if he aims to become “agathos,” in order to become like God: “Great is the
utterly good [‘agathos’]; one with his own virtue.”7
These Platonic ideas seem quite removed from today’s prevailing perceptions.
Nevertheless, it can still be maintained that attaining likeness to God is
truly the ultimate spiritual goal not only of human, but also of angels and all
spiritual beings which exist in the infinite creation.
But this goal does not appear today to be given any particular importance,
even though the true crisis in whose grip humankind now finds itself is first and
foremost spiritual, and only secondarily economic. It is a crisis of values that
leads to social decline.
The miracle of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ conveys across the centuries
a timeless message concerned with spiritual rebirth and the resurrection of the
individual person, as well as the transgression of death and the perishable world.
It is a miracle in which all people can participate, because along with Christ all
of humanity is resurrected and reborn. And this is the essential message of the
Resurrection: the spiritual rebirth and resurrection of contemporary man in the
present life, so that, after his death, his true resurrection shall occur in a heavenly
world which is imperishable and eternal, in a world where each individual
shall receive his reward for all he did in this earthly life.
Of course, this entire approach is governed by one basic condition: that life
continues even after death. The immortality of the soul has preoccupied human
thought since ancient times and was for almost all peoples (Egyptians, Persians
and Indians among others), but also for all religions (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism
to mention only a few), a non-negotiable and unshakeable conviction.
Platonic philosophy offered a complete interpretation for the continuation of
life after death. It spoke of the two natures of human existence, of the two substances
that comprise the individual: the body that is perishable, transient and
physical, and the soul that is eternal, immortal and divine.
However, the most complete interpretation concerning the immortality of
the soul and the resurrection of the dead is found in the teaching of Christ, as
well as is shown by His Resurrection. “Do not be amazed at this,” Jesus says, “for
a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come
out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil
will rise to be condemned” (John, 5:28–29).
All those whom we now call “dead” are not dead at all. All those who have
left this life, either in our days or in the distant past, are indeed very much alive,
much more alive than we all are. The world of the dead is not theirs, but ours;
because the person who lives without values and ideals, without love and virtue,
belongs essentially to the living dead. On the contrary, their world, the world of
the seemingly dead, is full of life and light.
After death, the human body decomposes and its physical elements return
to the earth, but the soul and spirit travel in the exact opposite direction. They
continue their course and their education in the next class in the school of Life.
Just like a seed is buried in the ground for a new plant to grow, similarly,
man, coming to this earth is “buried,” so that after his death he can grow as a new
eternal being in heaven.
In leaving the present world the deceased has no right to take anything with
him; he leaves everything behind. Except one thing: his deeds!
These deeds shall comprise the “materials” from which his future home shall
be built. That is why Jesus urges people to accumulate treasures in heaven:
Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But accumulate for yourselves
treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew, 6:19–20)
At the place where the “dead” are conveyed after their death, they continue
to learn and work spiritually, and certainly to mediate for their loved ones who remain upon the earth. In this celestial place there is, so to speak, a very good
“sound system” and our thoughts directed toward them are heard very clearly. So
it is with the lamentations and crying which, when prolonged and endless, cause
them to suffer. In constrast, they cannot communicate with us because they are
not allowed to. But they do have means to help and support their loved ones.
The place where they exist is always commensurate with their deeds and
once they pass through a first judgment for all they did upon this earth they
await the Final Judgment, theirs and ours, at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
And then all the just shall meet again.
The tomb of each dead person is essentially a gateway through which he go
from death to life. And in this manner, life acquires a different meaning. We are
not born to die and we do not live to die. But we live to participate, after death,
in an eternal life. We live to gain an imperishable inheritance which is kept in
Heaven.
Man never dies, but travels through death to true life.
At the most difficult hour when a parent experiences the ultimate pain at
the death of his young child, it is a mercy for him to be able to understand that
the loss of his child involves only our physical world. Because for this young
child the Resurrected Christ is the One who gives him life. And the Light of
Resurrection is that which illuminates his death.
Just before Jesus resurrected Lazarus in the tiny settlement of Bethany, and
while the lifeless body was decaying, the fourth day in the grave, Jesus said to
Martha, Lazarus’ grieving sister:
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live even if he
dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”. (John 11: 25–26))
Jesus Christ was resurrected in order to abolish our death. And in this manner
his Resurrection must not be taken as a simple celebration of the Church.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is above all a celebration of Life itself. It is an
invitation to resurrect the life of modern man, who has a tendency to cut himself
off from every sense of moral values and ideals.
However, the festal day of the Resurrection was preceded by the Crucifixion
of Christ on Golgotha, at noon on Good Friday.
Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified. Seen through the protective glass is the
rock that was split by a strong earthquake at the Crucifixion, when Jesus uttered a loud
cry and then breathed his last breath: “Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice
and gave up his spirit. Just then the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom.
The earth shook and the rocks were split apart” (Matthew 27: 50–51).
The fissure caused by the strong earthquake passed
through the entire rock of Golgotha. Illustrated on the
top is the same fissure in a glass case at the base of the
rock, four meters lower than the place of the Crucifixion.
Illustrated below is the plan of the rock of Golgotha.
The red circle marks the spot where the Cross of
Christ was fixed. Further to the right is the seismic
fissure
which, if extended to the east according to the
arrow, moves toward the Temple of Jerusalem that existed
in the days of Christ. This fissure passed through
the earth underneath the Temple.
Representation of the Temple of Jerusalem in
Christ’s day. The Dome of the Rock stands on the site
today. The strong earthquake at the time of the Crucifixion
sundered the Temple and tore the Temple
curtain
from top to bottom. The temple curtain was a
gigantic double curtain that separated the inner
sanctum from
the main temple. This space was
called the Holy of Holies; it was deemed the dwelling place
of God and not accessible to the faithful
because of their sins. Entry to the Holy of Holies was
obstructed
by the temple curtain,8 the weight
of which was so great that 300 people were needed in order to
move it. The tearing of the temple curtain
reveals that Jesus, through His sacrifice on the Cross,
purifies the human race from its sins and
removes every type of dividing “curtain” between
God and mankind. The Holy of Holies is now accessible
and the impassable becomes passable.
When Jesus breathed his last breath on the Cross and called out the words
“it is finished,” at that moment God the Father was reconciled with the human
race. Jesus, through his sacrifice on the Cross, bore the weight of sin of all
mankind. He offered Himself as the ultimate Sacrifice, as a Lamb for slaughter,
without resentment. With unbearable pain he suffered the ultimate humiliation
and offered Himself “as a ransom for many,”9 revealing his infinite love for the
human race.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give
his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
After his Crucifixion, his Body was placed in the Tomb and he descended to
Hades to announce to the dead the message of his Resurrection. He descended as victor over the Kingdom of Death in order to abolish our death and his Holy
Light illuminated everything.
The Body of
Jesus is placed
in the Tomb.
Mosaic from the
Church of the
Resurrection.
After spending three days in Hades he returned to his Tomb dressed in all
his glory and there he gave Life to his Body sheathed by an indescribable glory
and splendor. His own flesh glowed like a lamp and his Resurrection took place
amidst an abundant and inconceivable Uncreated Light.This abundant light of the
Resurrection is the same Holy
Light that floods the Tomb of
Christ every Holy Saturday.
And this light is only seen on
that day, either as bluish white
dazzling light, or through the
igniting of the ever-burning oil
lamp and the patriarch’s candles.
The Holy Sepulchre from above, during
the proliferation of the Holy Fire.
The words of the German
historian Albert of Aachen
nine centuries ago are relevant
still today: the descent of the
heavenly light and the igniting
of the holy oil lamp result in “the strengthening of the belief in the Resurrection
of Christ.”
Similarly, Patriarch Diodoros underlined that the miracle of the Holy
Fire “makes the Resurrection of Christ as real to us as if it occurred just a few
years ago.”
The miracle of the Holy Fire is indeed a reminder and a testament to the
miracle of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The two miracles are essentially
identical and inseparable. And they took place simultaneously in the Tomb of
Christ, after midnight on Holy Saturday and just before the dawn of Easter Sunday,
most likely on 5 April AD 33, as we discussed earlier.
Acceptance that the miracle of the Holy Fire is authentic is essentially acceptance
of the Resurrection of Christ and, by extension, of his very divinity.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Portable icon (1842) from
the Holy Trinity Church at Skete of Kafsokalyvia, Mount Athos.
All the testimonies and accounts presented in this book speak unanimously
of a light, fire, flame or lightning that descends from the heavens before all people.
At the same time the oil lamp in the interior of the sealed Tomb ignites and
the Tomb itself is illuminated and radiates light, even in periods of history when
there was no electricity or technological ability to reproduce these phenomena.
All of this means that the testimonies of the dozens of travelers, chroniclers
and pilgrims preserved over the centuries, but also the more recent testimonies
we have cited, make clear that the Holy Light is a true miracle, just as the Resurrection
of the God-Man....
To be continued...
Notes:
1. It is worth mentioning that the ultimate objective of the New World Order and globalization,
but also of the bank cartel that oppresses the economies of countries and citizens, is to cultivate
in the immediate future the belief that modern man shall overcome his financial troubles – but
also other large problems such as terrorism, social uprisings and on a greater scale the problem
of global security – through the implanting of a microchip in the right arm. This microchip,
which is already being used for medical purposes (“verichip”), will be applied on a global scale
and will be used primarily as a means of financial transactions (digital money). Citizens will not
carry cash with them but will use this chip for their transactions. In this way they will be reduced
to electronic slaves, completely controlled as well as traceable through satellite. The implanting
of this microchip will deprive one of every sense of freedom and is an affront and insult to
man and to God. This devastating development, which is planned to be implemented in the next
few years, is described in the Book of Revelation (13:16–18) in the verse that speaks of the socalled
“mark of the beast,” without which no man will be able to purchase or sell products.
2. Plato, Theaetetus, 176b, trans. M.J. Levett, in Plato: Complete Works, Indianapolis 1997. This
exhortation of Plato was noted by many who came after him. For examble, Diogenes Laertius
(3rd c. AD), referring to Plato, writes that “On good and evil he would discourse to this
effect. He maintained that the end to aim at is assimilation to God” (Diogenes Laertius, Lives
of the philosophers, 3.78, trans. R.D. Hicks, Cambridge, Mass., 1972). Clement of Alexandria
(late 2nd c. AD) also states that, according to Plato, “The ultimate agathon [‘good’] consists
in assimilation to God” (Clement, Stromateis, 2.21).
3. Plato, Republic, 613b, trans. R. Waterfield, Oxford 1993.
4. Plato, Timaeus, 28c, trans. R. Waterfield, Oxford 2008.
5. Plato, Theaetetus, 176b–c, trans. M.J. Levett: “In God there is no sort of wrong whatsoever; he
is supremely just.”
6. The Greek word αγαθός (agathos) means good and, in philosophy, refers to the ultimate, essential
Good. For Plato the term agathos is the most correct definition of the one God.
7. Plato, Definitiones, 415d: “Σπουδαίος ο τελείως αγαθός· ο έχων την αυτού αρετήν.”
8. The double curtain was made of 72 squares of fabric woven on a loom. Its width was 10 m., height
9 m. and thickness 10 cm. It is described in many Jewish writings: Misnah, Sheqalim (8: 5), Yoma
(51b–52b), Pesicta Rabbati 26 (Ish-Shalom, 131a).
9. The Greek word for ransom is λύτρον (lytron) and refers to the payment of a price in order to
purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with
his own life, offering Himself in place of humanity.
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