Elder Sofian: Witness Christ to the End
I believe that the more we approach the end of the world, the more God will intervene on behalf of the few who remain with Him.
Humanity is moving towards its end through the way it thinks and acts nowadays. The disorder in the world today angers the Good God. I am thinking, first of all, of unbelief, of the apostasy from God in which we find ourselves, and about our actions, our increased sins - sins which the Bible completely condemns and which the government approves.
We do what He does not like. I am sure that God does not like it. For example, to name a sin that today is very widespread (and protected by laws) in many countries: homosexuality. I reminded you of the two cities in the Old Testament where this horrible sin was highly esteemed; they were burnt, and nothing remained of them. Thus, thinking of similar historical events, I think that the world is moving towards its end; maybe it is inevitable.
The end would possibly be postponed if great repentance and correction occurred; however, this is more difficult, and such a thing is not foreseeable. I do not know the ins and outs of politics, but without a doubt, in the world today, which is heading on the broad way of pleasures and passions, there must be a person, a kind of conductor, who is leading people in this rush towards self-destruction. There are institutions that do not say outright that their political aim is the destruction of humanity because then no one would listen to them. These institutions lead nations toward disaster, but they say they are leading them toward freedom (as some understand freedom, not as it is in reality).
Once more, I tell you: the world could be reinvigorated if we made an effort to truly feel sorry about our sins, if we all repented, from the king to the last servant, like Niniveh in the Old Testament.
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Over time, more things changed. I believe that the more we approach the end of the world, the more God will intervene on behalf of the few who remain with Him. In the beginning, there will be many young people that are close to Him, but in the end very few will remain on the side of the Lord Christ. Those who remain Christians until the end will be few, but they will be more determined and more steadfast in their faith. There will be many disputes, much confusion, uncertainty, and rejection of God. Many will give everything for one; that is, they will renounce belongings and cars in order to preserve their faith. They will have only what they need to survive so that they do not die of hunger, yet others will live in luxury. Christians will be searched and interrogated so that everything can be known about them. There will be much intimidation and much fear, but there will also be optimism and much courage among those who witness Christ to the end.
—From an interview in 2000
He was a clairvoyant. I felt so when he was our spiritual father, but, wow, he wrote this 23 years ago in Romania! He saw it coming. In this light, I believe that he did his best to prepare us for these times, by teaching us the Jesus prayer and by telling fr. Teofan to collect his teachings. I hope that this book, already translated into English, will see the Herman press very soon, because we need it!!!
I hope that through fr. Sofian's prayers, all of us, Christians and non-Christians, will get to meet the Lord face-to-face, in our hearts, here and in the world to come!