And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast coming out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns: on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names.
And I stood on the sand of the sea. One can really imagine that John, who is on the island of Patmos, is standing on the shore on the sand of the sea, and what he saw is really intertwined with the spiritual vision. Or maybe it all happened in a vision. And he saw a beast coming out of the sea with seven heads and ten horns; on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. From the sea of life, always agitated and much restless with vanity and sins, from the sea of earthly peoples saw John outgoing beast. Who is this animal? This beast, according to the belief of the Church, is the Antichrist. Here it is necessary to point out a number of misunderstandings about who the Antichrist will be.
It is wrong to understand that Satan himself will be the Antichrist. Satan cannot be incarnated following the example of Christ, and Scripture clearly distinguishes between Satan and the Antichrist: “the devil ... was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet” (). And the apostle Paul calls the Antichrist a "man of sin" (), and not Satan. So did the holy fathers. St. John Chrysostom: “Who is this, if it is Satan; - no way, but a certain person, accept every action of him. St. Ephraim the Syrian: "Satan will not be born himself, but in his image a wicked thief will come." Saint John of Damascus: “The devil himself will not be a man, according to the Lord’s incarnation, let him not be, but a man will be born from fornication and will lift up all the actions of Satan.” That is, the Antichrist is not Satan himself, but a man who will be inhabited by Satan and who will be entirely Satan's instrument at the end of the age.
It is wrong to understand that the Antichrist is some abstract concept like apostasy, godlessness, heresy, and the like. This is contradicted by the clear indication of the apostle that the Antichrist will be "the man of sin" (). Scripture speaks of him as a person in the singular, to whom the actions of a particular person are inherent. The history of Christianity is full of such examples when people “have zeal for God, but not for reason” (), and in certain events and phenomena, such as the Roman papacy, the reform of Patriarch Nikon in Russia, revolutions, they see the coming of the Antichrist and his kingdom . As a rule, historical events themselves completely refute these opinions. So, for example, even the Russian tsar was revered as the Antichrist, but now more than half a century has passed since the tsar was overthrown in Russia, and history goes on as usual. It is also wrong to understand that some of today's states, where atheism and godlessness flourishes, are the kingdom of Antichrist that has already come. This is refuted if only by the fact that all the actions of the Antichrist, which we will see described below, have not yet occurred. The ever-increasing development of sin, wickedness, heresies, false teachings and atheism is that “apostasy” about which the Apostle Paul () writes and which anticipates and prepares the establishment in the world of the very kingdom of Antichrist.
The understanding that the Antichrist is one of the former rulers on earth is also incorrect. Examples include Nero, Domitian, Napoleon, Lenin. First, the very life of these people shows that they did not do what is said in Scripture about the Antichrist. Others on the basis of such passages as 13.3; 17:8-11 believe that one of the people like those named will rise again, reign and be the Antichrist. This is not true, if only because Satan cannot resurrect anyone. But the Church interprets these passages differently. Personalities, however, who by their activity caused great harm to the Church and the truth, who persecuted Christians, destroyed peoples, plunged millions of people into the abyss of false teachings and heresies, charms and deceit, sin and ungodliness, godlessness and unbelief, should be considered as the forerunners of the Antichrist, preparing his way. .
Scripture sometimes speaks of many Antichrists. “And how did you hear that the antichrist would come, and now many antichrists have appeared” (). This is even more clearly stated later in the Epistle of John. “Recognize the Spirit of God (and the spirit of error) in this way: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not confess Christ who has come in the flesh is not from God, but it is the spirit of Antichrist, about which you have heard that he will come and is now already in the world ”(). Thus, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between that Antichrist, “about whom you heard that he will come,” and his spirit, which “even now is already in the world,” and therefore “even now many antichrists have appeared.” The spirit of Antichrist is already in the world, and it works in the sons of disobedience, who, according to the spirit that works in them, are themselves called Antichrists. At the end of the age, one will come whose spirit has been active in all ages. Christ spoke of him, opposing him to himself: “I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me; and if another comes in his name, you will accept him ”().
The seer sees the beast-antichrist, emerging from the sea . Scripture reveals to us even more concretely: from where exactly the Antichrist will come. When Patriarch Jacob was dying, he gathered his twelve sons, blessed and prophesied about the future of their descendants. “And Jacob called his sons and said: Gather yourselves, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come ... Dan will be a serpent on the road, an asp on the way, piercing the horse’s leg, so that the rider will fall back. I hope for Your help, Lord! (). Through Dan, the ancient serpent-Satan will lie down on the road by which God leads people to salvation. This is the snake that will “sting (the Savior - G.F.) in the heel” (), will hurt the horse’s leg, so that its rider will fall back. The Antichrist will "make war with the saints and overcome them" (13:7). So Jacob foresees from the depths of time that the Antichrist will come from Dan, as if shuddering and exclaiming: “I hope in Your help, Lord!” And Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons of Israel before his death ... He said about Dan: “Dan is a young lion that runs out of Bashan” (). So from Dan at the end of the age a young roaring lion will run out, looking for someone to devour. It's about the Antichrist. The prophet Jeremiah also sees the calamities of the Antichrist time coming from Dan: “We are waiting for peace, but there is nothing good - the time of healing, and here are the horrors. From Dan, the snoring of his horses is heard, from the loud neighing of his stallions, the whole earth trembles; And they will come and destroy the earth and all that is in it, the city and those who dwell in it. So the prophet Amos speaks about the time of the Antichrist: “On that day, beautiful virgins and young men will melt from thirst, who swear by the sin of Samarai and say:“ Your God lives, Dan! and the way to Beersheba is alive!” “They will fall and never get up again” (). An indication of the origin of the Antichrist from the tribe of Dan is also the fact that from the tribe of Dan there are no those sealed with the seal of the Living God (ch. 7). From the tribe of Judah were the anointed kings of Israel, and from him Christ shone forth. The Antichrist is coming from the tribe of Dan. Christ the Savior came from the Jews, and the destroyer Antichrist will come from the Jews. All the main forces of heaven and hell are manifested in the world through the Jews. The Jewish people is at the core of all mankind and its history. The holy fathers pointed out not only the origin of the Antichrist from the tribe of Dan, but also how he would be born. So St. Hippolytus of Rome writes: “The Savior of the world, wishing to save the human race, was born from the immaculate and virgin Mary ... the devil will come to earth from an unclean woman, will be born in seduction from a maiden.” Saint Ephraim the Syrian: “Because the Savior, intending to save the human race, was born from the Virgin. .. then he (the devil - G.F.) conceived to perceive the image of His coming and deceive us ... from a defiled virgin his (devil's) instrument will be born: but this does not mean that he will be incarnated; the all-bad one will come, like a thief. So the Antichrist will be born from a filthy harlot wife, from the Jewish people, by providence, from a virgin from the tribe of Dan. Starting from his birth, the Antichrist will resemble Christ in everything outwardly, and thus the Antichrist is rightly called, for “anti” means in Greek “like”, “instead of”.
John then describes the appearance of the beast. The appearance of the antichrist beast is the same as that of the beast of Satan in chapter 17. This indicates their affinity and similarity. Antichrist is entirely in the power of the devil, is his tool and his personification on earth.
John sees beast with seven heads. This indicates the sevenfold circle of earthly life. The beast This is Satan's kingdom on earth. The head governs its entire body, therefore seven heads- these are the seven kings with their kingdoms, through which Satan at all times exercised his dominion on earth and therefore could rightfully be called the prince of this world ().
We read about these same seven kings in chapter 17. Under the first six kingdoms can be understood: Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, Persia, Greco-Macedonia, the Roman Empire. The seventh kingdom is the kingdom of Antichrist himself. Of the first six kingdoms, Egypt can be omitted and Syria entered. In general, there are some differences among interpreters in the exact definition of the first six kingdoms. The kings (heads) are: the Egyptian pharaoh under Moses, Sennacherib of Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria, the emperors of Rome - Caesar, Nero, Domitian, others and the Antichrist himself. Christ destroyed the sixth kingdom: the Roman Empire adopted Christianity. From the time of early Christianity to the time of the Antichrist, Satan was deprived of his kingdom on earth (“cast out”), Christ reigns (“the millennial kingdom”). But the kingdom of the Antichrist himself will be preceded by ten kingdoms, which will be simultaneously before the coming of the Antichrist (17:12). It's meant ten horns that were on the heads of the beast. This vision is similar to the one that the prophet Daniel had: “And the ten horns mean that ten kings will rise from this kingdom, and after them another will rise, different from the former ones, and will destroy three kings, and will speak words against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High. ... and they will be delivered into his hand until a time and times and half a time ”(). Before the coming of the Antichrist, there will be ten main states, three of which will be destroyed by the Antichrist, and the rest will accept him. An exact enumeration of these ten kingdoms is now impossible, for Scripture gives no indication of this. These kings will obviously be revealed only in the days of Antichrist.
On his horns were ten diadems. The diadem is a sign of royal power and domination. The horn is a symbol of strength and power. The fact that diadems are not just on the heads, but on the horns, indicates that the beast achieves its power exclusively by violence. And on their heads are blasphemous names. As in the vision of the prophet Daniel, the eleventh horn spoke arrogant words against the Almighty (). The blasphemous names on the heads of the beast mean that all the above-mentioned seven kingdoms in human history were ungodly and through them Satan set up his kingdom on earth. The blasphemous names of the ancient kingdoms point especially to their idolatry, the deification of their kings, and impiety. But all of them will be surpassed by the blasphemy of the seventh king - the Antichrist, for he will be "resisting and exalting himself above everything called God or holy things, so that in the temple of God he will sit as God, posing as God" (), he "will come in his name » (), a vile and blasphemous name.
The beast I saw was like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
The beast I saw was like a leopard; his feet are like those of a bear, and his mouth is like the mouth of a lion. This is the appearance of the beast. This echoes the vision of four animals by the prophet Daniel (). The lion denotes the Babylonian kingdom of the Chaldeans, its greatness and royalty. The bear is the kingdom of Persia, its horror, strength and perseverance. Leopard (or lynx in Slavic translation) - the kingdom of Alexander the Great, his swiftness and rapacity. The fourth beast in Daniel means the Roman king, who destroyed all previous kingdoms and created his great empire. The Roman Caesar (especially Nero) is generally a prototype of the Antichrist. And the fact that the beast-antichrist here has the traits of a leopard, a bear, and a lion means that it will contain all the power and abomination of all previous kingdoms, will surpass them and subdue them.
Antichrist himself is a man and he will have all this power and authority not from himself, but gave him a dragon(Satan) his strength and his throne and great power. All this he will have from the devil as his viceroy on earth. Your strength(devilish) - these are the natural forces and properties that the devil has as an angel and the former supreme creation of God. Throne, this is the whole world, for he is the prince of this world. And great power that he has over the world. On the Cross, Christ deprived the devil of his throne and power, but at the end of the age, for a short time, they are again given to him. And the devil will pass all this on to the Antichrist and will act through him.
13 .3-4 And I saw that one of his heads was, as it were, mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed. And all the earth marveled, following the beast, and bowed down to the dragon, which gave power to the beast, and bowed down to the beast, saying: Who is like this beast? and who can fight him?
And I saw that one of his heads was, as it were, mortally wounded, but this mortal wound was healed. The Antichrist will imitate Christ in everything, but will be the opposite of Him. Just as Christ was born from the Jews, from the Virgin, so he will be born from the Jews and imitatively from the virgin, but in reality from a filthy wife. Christ said about Himself: “He was dead and behold, alive forever and ever” (1.18), He is “a Lamb as if slain” (5.6), and the Antichrist imitates Him in this - he receives a mortal wound from the sword ( 13:3-14) and is healed, as if resurrected. Thus he builds his kingdom in opposition to the kingdom of Christ. What does this mortal wound and healing (resurrection) from it mean? It can be understood in two ways.
First, here we can understand the false miracle that the Antichrist will perform. Either he himself, or one of his highest dignitaries, princes, one of them will be killed with a sword, and then resurrected and healed from a mortal wound. Such a false resurrection was once committed by Simon the sorcerer, the founder of heresies, and denounced by the supreme apostle Peter. In imitation of Christ, the Antichrist, in order to lure the nations behind him, will perform this false miracle and thereby allegedly show his power over life and death. He will do this deceitfully, either by playing such a scene with all the earthly means available to him, or he will directly attract the forces of the underworld to it.
Secondly, we see how in ancient times one kingdom, arranged by Satan, was replaced by another: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, etc. But here one of the heads- the sixth, the Roman Empire, receives mortal wound Cross of Christ. Satan is bound into the abyss and it is as if he no longer exists (17:8; 20:2-3), idol temples go out, the cross is erected everywhere, Christ reigns. The kingdom of heaven invisibly and spiritually descends to earth and conquers the hearts of the nations. But the world still did not want to accept this Lord. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not embrace it” (). Then the mortal wound inflicted on the God-hostile force begins to heal. The retreat from Christianity begins (). This is both Mohammedanism and the Renaissance. There is a revival of what died through Christianity. The ancient pagan culture is being revived. And then apostasy, atheism, impiety, dictatorial regimes of the last time follow. All these are harbingers of the future restoration of the satanic kingdom on earth. And the world is becoming more and more decrepit. Everything that people build, collapses. People are gradually losing faith in everything - in God, the king, man, themselves. All idols and ideals are crumbling. More and more, the feeling of impending catastrophe is hovering in the minds of many. Today, humanity already really feels the possibility of its death. And so, when they disbelieve in everything and become disgusted with everything, then the Antichrist will come with his new program. He will reveal all the contradictions and shortcomings of previous societies, social systems and cultures and will offer his ideal society. He will be accepted as a savior. His coming will be the healing of the satanic wound. Satan is released from the abyss, the mortal wound inflicted by the Cross of Christ is healed. The kingdom of Satan is again established on earth (in the seventh and last time), and in a power never seen before. The impasse into which the apostate mankind has led itself is also supposedly overcome. Thus, the wound inflicted on the beast by the sword in the Apocalypse is the expulsion of Satan from the world (), the absence of his kingdom on earth. And her healing is the last liberation of Satan and the establishment of his kingdom in the face of the Antichrist. People will see it differently. Seeing the abyss into which they are rolling, they will perceive the activity of the Antichrist as the resurrection of mankind from a mortal wound. . And all the earth wondered, following the beast. All media will work for him. The whole earth will follow the actions of the newly risen star and, seeing everything that is done, be surprised. Then there will be little to surprise people, but then the whole earth will marvel. And this surprise will turn into divine worship and veneration of the Antichrist and the dragon who gave him power: and bowed down to the dragon who gave power to the beast. So, through the Antichrist, Satan will achieve his highest and original goal - honoring himself as God ().
Satan achieved this goal in part in the first six idolatrous kingdoms, for the worship of an idol is the worship of demons (). Then Christianity destroyed this worship. In this regard, Mohammedanism, godlessness, etc., is not the worship of Satan, because they do not honor him and do not worship him. An atheist, not believing in either God or Satan, worships neither. Therefore, atheism, being an obedient instrument of Satan, cannot be an end in itself for him. Atheism is a temporary phenomenon, located between the worship of God and the worship of Satan. Modern atheism actually originated in France in the 18th century during the so-called "age of enlightenment." Atheism destroys the worship of God, and then it will be destroyed, and the worship of Satan will begin. Atheism is zero in the transition from plus (worship of God) to minus (worship of Satan). But now the “wound is healed” and the worship of Satan as God in the kingdom of Antichrist begins, not covert, but open. Not deprived of divine worship and the Antichrist himself. Bowing to the dragon-Satan, who gave power to the beast-antichrist, people and worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like this beast? and who can fight him? He is incomparable, incomparable and omnipotent! All those before him are like child's play compared to him, people will exclaim. Everything that was before will be ridiculed, all religions, cultures, social systems and military forces! People will think that they have reached the highest, most beautiful and forever indestructible. The 20th century has especially advanced people in this regard.
And there was given unto him a mouth that spoke proudly and blasphemies, and power was given to him to act for forty-two months.
This will coincide with Daniel's vision: “In the horn (of the beast) were eyes, as if the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking arrogantly. And against the Most High he will speak words and oppress the saints of the Most High ”(). The apostle writes about the same thing: “He who opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God or holy things, so that he sits in the temple of God as God, posing as God” ().
And given- that is, the Antichrist will not achieve this by his own strength, but by his words and actions are given allowed by God. What God gives, allows him to do, he does. He cannot do more than what is allowed by God. And behold, the mouth given to man to glorify God speaks proud and blasphemous. Pride is the first sin of Satan. Pride will be his last sin. He began to sin by wanting to be like God. In the same way he will sin for the last time. All sins were born from pride, and in it they all end. The aggravation of the sin of the Antichrist is that he will not only speak, but also act, and words and actions will blaspheme God. But it will be given to him to do this only for a short time - forty two months, or three and a half years (11:23; 12:6.14). The holy fathers all mean here literally a period of 3.5 years, and not an indefinite period of time (Irenaeus of Lyon, blessed Jerome, Andrew of Caesarea).
And he opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to blaspheme his name, and his habitation, and those who dwell in heaven.
Posing as God, the Antichrist will destroy and blaspheme everything that people previously considered to be Divine and holy. And he opened his mouth to blaspheme against God. There is no limit to the shamelessness and wickedness of the Antichrist. Nothing stops him, and he opens his mouth even for blasphemy against God and spews triple blasphemy, to blaspheme his name, and his dwelling place, and those who dwell in heaven.
The first object of blasphemy for the Antichrist will be the all-holy, great and terrible name of God. And nothing will stop him who has blasphemed God Himself, to blaspheme everything of God. His habitation, this is heaven, as we pray: “Our Father who art in heaven” (). Once Satan and the angels were cast out of heaven, and now they blaspheme him in rage. On the other hand, “our earthly home, this hut” (). dwelling- this is the body in which God dwelt, the body of the Son of Man, as it is said that “in Him (in Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (). So the Antichrist, asserting himself as a god, will blaspheme Christ, the Son of Man. “Who is a liar if not one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist who rejects the Father and the Son "(). Having blasphemed Christ, he will pass himself off as Christ. Woe to those who are still waiting for Christ on earth for salvation - they will wait for the Antichrist and accept him. And blaspheme also living in the sky, holy unworldly angelic forces and spirits of the righteous who have reached perfection. God is marvelous in His saints, and therefore whoever blasphemes God will blaspheme His saints. Protestantism, rejecting the veneration of saints, and ridiculing other saints, laid the foundation for this. Irreligion is already open and sharply defames the saints. The Antichrist will also blaspheme them. So, they do not give him rest. “All saints, pray to God for us!” Thus, we see here the blasphemy of the Antichrist against the entire Holy Trinity. A blasphemy against His name is a blasphemy against the Father, a blasphemy against His dwelling is a blasphemy against the Son, a blasphemy against the saints is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (), for the saints are anointed by the Spirit, they live and are sanctified.
And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and power was given unto him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation.
And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to conquer them. The war with the saints, with the Christians was waged at all times. The Church was born in suffering and persecution. The first Christians were the first martyrs. Barbarians, Muslims, and atheists were at war with Christians. But they have never been able to defeat them. The almighty right hand of God has always saved His people. Antichrist will be given, that is, not by their own strength, but by the permission of God defeat them. But even this victory will be external, illusory. The Church will be uprooted from society, but not from the hearts of true believers, who even at that time will remain in desolate and hidden places. Now we are being told that religion will disappear from society. Well, they are right. This victory will be gained by Satan and it is announced in Scripture. But terrible will be the end of the conquerors, and glorious is the crown of the vanquished!
And so, when “the one who restrains now will be taken from the environment,” that is, the Holy Spirit will depart from the midst of people and will remain only in the elect, “then the lawless one will be revealed” (). And authority was given unto him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation. That is, after his victory over the Christians, the Antichrist will receive world dominion. This does not mean that the whole earth will be one state, but all states and peoples will be subject to his supreme authority. Antichrist will not notice or will not want to notice that all this is just given, and will attribute all this to his strength, power and wisdom, demand God's worship for himself and achieve his goal.
And all who dwell on earth will worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
All but true Christians, sealed with the seal of God and written in the book of life, will worship him. No ideology and no religion, except Christian, will stand. Jews, Muslims, Indian and other Eastern beliefs, all political and ideological parties and all peoples will exclaim: who is like him? Who can fight him?! and everyone will bow down to him. Therefore, let us pray that the Lord does not blot out our names from the book of life!
The words from the creation of the world should not refer to words the lamb that was slain but to the words whose names are not written in the book of life. In the Russian translation, a comma is incorrectly placed before the word "slain." Here the apostle John speaks of the predestination of the saints to life, which the Savior Himself speaks of: “Then the King will say to those on His right hand: Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (). And as the apostle Paul writes: “He (God - G.F.) chose us in Him (in Christ - G.F.) before the foundation of the world” ().
Whoever has an ear, let him hear.
Having described all this, and intending to describe the horror of the end times, John exhorts his readers: Whoever has an ear, let him hear. This is an appeal to vigilance, attentiveness, and self-control (; ) common to the Gospel and the Apocalypse. How few in our time have ears to hear, “for the heart of these people is hardened and they can hardly hear with their ears, and they closed their eyes” ().
He who leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints.
Calling to listen to these Divine words, John points to the retribution: whoever leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. This law is true at all times. The perpetrator of violence will himself be defeated. Whatever you have done to others, it will be returned to you, “for by what judgment you judge, by such you will be judged; and with what measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Especially these words will be fulfilled on the Antichrist himself. As he will captivate all those who displease him, so he himself will be forever deprived of freedom and cast into the captivity of hellfire (19:20). As he will destroy and destroy with the sword, so he himself will be destroyed by the sword that proceeds from the mouth of God, when "the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him with the manifestation of his coming" ().
Here is the patience and faith of the saints. With these words, John shows that here on earth during the great tribulation of the Antichrist saints special patience and faith will be needed for salvation. Without them, you will not be saved in a favorable time, and even more so in such a difficult time.
The first ten verses of chapter 13 describe the first antichrist beast. From verse 11 begins the description of the second false prophet beast.
And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
How many there were and are antichrists (), but at the end of the age there will be one, the actual antichrist, there were and are so many false prophets, as Scripture says: “For false christs and false prophets will rise” (; ; ; ), but at the end of the age the chief of them, the false prophet proper, will rise (16:13; 19:20; 20:10). As many prophets prophesied about Christ, and one of them John the Baptist pointed to Christ, so many false prophets prepared the way for Antichrist by their activity, and one will be his direct forerunner, point to him and teach people to worship him. Irenaeus of Lyon and Andrew of Caesarea explained that this another beast and there is a false prophet. This beast is not the Antichrist, for he another towards him. Nor is he himself Satan, for he acts before Satan (v. 12). Further in 16:13 a clear enumeration of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet is given.
Satan imitates God in everything, for he wants to be like God in order to deceive people. Since God is the Most Holy Trinity, in a certain sense he imitates the Lord in this as well. Not being essentially a Trinity, Satan does this imitatively. He himself imitates, as it were, God the Father. Just as God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world, so Satan sends the Antichrist. And the Antichrist imitates Christ in everything outwardly. And just as we confess the third person of the Most Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit, "who spoke the prophets", so unclean spirits speak through false prophets until the false prophet of the last time himself appears. Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet - this is the vile caricature of the evil one on the Divine Trinity.
John sees the false prophet beast coming out of the earth. The Beast-Antichrist came out of the "sea", as from something always agitated and changing. Such is the life that gave birth to the Antichrist. The life of state and political figures is especially likened to the sea. Earth On the contrary, it is something permanent and solid. Such is the cult and the culture generated by it in society in all ages. The root of the word "culture" is cult. Without the root there is no word, without the cult of culture. Thus, the false prophet will not be a statesman, but a representative of the cult and culture, preparing the minds and hearts of people to accept the Antichrist. He will conduct ideological work and be the high priest of the cult of Satan. It will not be a religion directed towards heaven, towards eternity. This will be earthly wisdom, coming from earthly filthy life, which is why John sees the false prophet, coming out of the earth.
The following is a description of the false prophet beast. He had two horns like a lamb. That this beast only had two horns, means that he is inferior to the Antichrist, who appears in the form of a beast with ten horns. two horns false prophet will be like lamb(5.6). They will not be lamb, but like a lamb. Again satanic likeness to God. Christ warned about this: "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are ravenous wolves" (). The great apostle of tongues spoke about this with sadness: “For I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (). In the highest measure such will be the false prophet of the Antichrist. Like a lamb, he will have an appearance of piety and will proclaim, as it were, the highest and most humane doctrine. But it will all be a lie. And he will teach to worship not the Divine Lamb, but the messenger of hell, the terrible beast-antichrist. How vigilant we must be! Prophets "like" the Lamb come in many different forms. These are various heretics who offer teachings similar to the teachings of the Lamb. They are called by His name: "Children of God", and confess Him, and call to Him. They consider only Christ the basis and center of their faith, and yet their faith is only a semblance of the faith of the Lambs. They cannot really offer Christ, only His likeness. It is no coincidence that there are no sacraments in sects, but only symbols, similarities. Poisoned wine is like pure wine. But he who drank such a cup dies. Therefore, they have no salvation. People, not distinguishing the Lamb from the likeness of the Lamb, perish. Sheep clothing covers predatory wolves. And unbelievers also often offer programs, goals and teachings, like a lamb. Various messengers of India and Tibet (occultists, theosophists) are likened to the Divine Lamb and His teachings. And people leave the Truth for its likeness. And they die...
The beast-prophet said like a dragon. The mouths of the prophets proclaimed what God spoke through them through the Holy Spirit (). The false prophet will become the mouth of Satan. All his prophecies, visions and teachings will be given to him by Satan.
He acts before him with all the power of the first beast and makes the whole earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.
The false prophet will not only speak, verbally influence people, but will also act, by false deeds and miracles to captivate the nations. He acts before him with all the power of the first beast. Here you can see the subordinate role of the false prophet. He does not act from himself and not for himself. He acts in front of him, that is, with the knowledge and will of the Antichrist, the first beast, he reports to him and receives support, help and strength from him. The prophet does his work with all the power of the first beast, and it was “given” to the first beast, Antichrist, to wage war with the saints and defeat them; And authority was given to him over every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation (13:7). This power, which God allowed the Antichrist to have, he transfers to his prophet, so that he subjugates the souls of all people to him. And in this is an imitation of Christ, Who also transferred His power received from the Father to His disciples and apostles (;). By this authority received from the Antichrist, the false prophet makes the whole earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. Just as John the Baptist prepared people to worship the Lamb, who is to be crucified and rise again, so the false prophet prepared people to worship the Antichrist, who also imitates Christ, but with false death and false resurrection.
13 .13-14 And he does great signs, so that he brings down fire from heaven to earth before people. And by the miracles that he was given to do before the beast, he deceives those who dwell on the earth.
Faith needs to be certified by a miracle. And faith in the Antichrist will also need it. Now we are told: show a miracle, and we will believe. Well, great miracles will be performed by a false prophet - and they will believe. Written: and creates a false prophet great signs, so that fire also brings down from heaven to earth before people. And by the miracles that he was given to do before the beast, he deceives those who dwell on the earth. By their effect and grandeur, the miracles of the false prophet are named great. Christ also spoke of such miraculous activity: “False Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will give great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (). And the apostle Paul writes that the coming of the Antichrist “according to the work of Satan, will be with all power and lying signs and wonders, and with all unrighteous deception of those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth for their salvation. And for this God will send them the action of error, so that they will believe a lie ”(). What is the nature of false signs and wonders is difficult to determine. This can be deception, and delusions, and dramatizations, and phenomena performed with the help of science, and real miracles performed by the devil's power, such as sorcery, witchcraft, magic. For a great retreat, great miracles will be needed. And here John describes the miracle that will be performed by the false prophet: fire brings down from heaven to earth. This miracle has always been a special sign of Divinity, evidence of the descent of the heavenly to earth (; ; ; ). Performed this miracle and Satan in Old Testament when, by the permission of God, he brought down fire from heaven and burned the flocks of the righteous Job (). In addition, the prophets Elijah and Enoch will strike their opponents with fire. To resist them, the false prophet will perform similar signs () and bring down fire from heaven. (Perhaps, by the miracle of bringing fire down to the earth, the false prophet will try to resist the phenomenon of the descent of the blessed fire on the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem - G.F.).
But this miracle will be done in front of people, and not before God, for this is a false miracle, and is not a manifestation of the highest reality of heaven, but is entirely calculated on the effect in front of people, in order to seduce them. All these false miracles the false prophet will perform in order to deceive the inhabitants of the earth. He will not be allowed to deceive those who, walking on earth, live in soul in heaven and have their treasure there, whose residence is in heaven. Those who live on earth not only in body, but also in soul, think only about earthly things and cling to earthly things, they will be deceived by a false prophet and will accept the Antichrist. Therefore, “lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where is your treasure? there your heart will be also.”
So the false prophet will perform his signs before the Antichrist.
13 .14-15 Telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast, which is wounded by the sword and is alive. And it was given to him to put the spirit into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast both spoke and acted in such a way that everyone who did not worship the image of the beast was killed.
As in Christianity there is icon veneration, there are icons of the Savior, the Mother of God, saints, so the icon of the Antichrist will be created and worship will be established. Here we clearly see that the Antichrist society will not be non-religious, but with a new religion, with a clear cult of Satan. The false prophet will achieve not only the veneration of the Antichrist, but even his icon. The honor given to the image passes to the archetype. So the worship of the icon of the Antichrist will be a special form of worship of the Antichrist. Actually, this will be the finale of idolatry. Previously, those who sacrificed to idols actually brought them to demons (). Here, worship will be rendered not to an idol, but directly to the icon of the Antichrist, the messenger of Satan. History tells us that the human mind can reach such folly as offering divine honor to a person. There are examples of Roman emperors - Caligula, Nero, Domitian, Decius.
The false prophet will not only get people to worship the icon of the Antichrist, but and it was given to him to put his breath into the image of the beast. About all the actions of the false prophet it is said: was given to him, that is, he does all this not by his own power, but by the permission of God, he does everything by the power of Satan. We see that it will even be given to him to revive the icon of the Antichrist. The speech of the statue was for the pagans a clear sign of the presence of a deity in it and aroused awe and worship. There are stories that demons spoke by magic through images, statues, trees, waters, even, it happened, through dead bodies. Simon the sorcerer showed the Romans how the dead rise, through those whom he himself raised. At the same time, the apostle Peter was present and denounced his deceit. This is how, perhaps, one should imagine the talking icon of the Antichrist, and not as some kind of invention of technology like television and the like. The image of the beast into which the false prophet puts a demonic spirit, spoke blasphemy against God. When people see this talking icon, they will worship it in superstitious fear. In addition, the image of the beast not only spoke, but also acted so that anyone who would not worship the image of the beast would be killed. It is difficult for us today to imagine how this action of the icon will be performed. It is only clear what horror this will produce among people. And worship will no longer be out of reverence and love, but out of panic fear. Thus, all religions, political parties and societies that do not recognize the Antichrist will be destroyed. Whoever does not submit to him voluntarily will be forced to do so, or he will be destroyed. Thus the Antichrist destroys all his opponents and becomes the ruler of the world and the god of this world.
The Lord said: “See the abomination of desolation, spoken through the prophet Daniel, standing in a holy place” (). This will be fulfilled to the highest degree under Antichrist, when he himself sits down in the Jerusalem temple, and his talking and killing icon will be installed in all churches. John Chrysostom writes about this that the Antichrist "sits in the temple of God, not in Jerusalem, but also in the churches," or: "not only in Jerusalem, but also in the churches of God."
13 .16-17 And he will make sure that everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, will have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no one will be able to buy or sell, moreover, who has this mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here we see the further actions of the false prophet to bring everyone to the throne of Antichrist. According to the custom of the ancient Romans, warriors sometimes burned the names of their leaders on their hands and foreheads, and slaves (voluntarily or by force) - the names of their masters. The acceptance of a sign is the acceptance of what the sign signifies. Various societies have their own signs, and those who join these societies accept them and undertake to comply with the charters and rules of the society. Christianity also has its own sign: “You gave a sign to those who fear you, to flee from the face of the bow.” This is the sign of the cross. St. Basil the Great writes: “Of the dogmas and sermons preserved in the Church, we have received some from the apostolic tradition by succession in the mystery... first of all, the first and most general is mentioned, so that those who hope in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ are marked by the image of the cross” (right. 9). The most ancient writers Tertullian and Lactantius write about the signing of the cross by Christians. Many holy fathers called the sign of the cross the seal of Christ. “This is a seal for us, by which we differ from the pagans and Jews,” said Ambrose of Milan. The cross is "the sign of the Son of Man" (). In contrast to the seal of the cross and the seal of the Life-Giving Spirit of the Holy Christians (7.2) (), the antichrist will offer his seal. By order of the false prophet, all people will have to accept it. This will be possible thanks to the universality and centralization of the antichrist state. Ephraim Sirin writes about this: “And this bad one will place his seal on any member of the body, but, so as not to be at a loss for this, he will place it on the right hand of a person. And he will also put an unholy mark on his forehead, so that a person would not have the opportunity with his right hand to imprint on himself the sign of Christ our Savior, and also could not mark on his forehead, without a doubt, the terrible and holy name of the Lord and the glorious and terrible cross of the Saviors. For this unfortunate one knows that the cross of the Lord, if it is imprinted on anyone, will destroy all his strength. And therefore it will put a seal on the right hand of a person, since it seals all our members with the cross, and in a similar way the forehead on its top bears the Sign of Salvation, just as a priest carries a lamp of light on himself. And so, my brethren, a terrible feat lies ahead for all faithful and strong Christ-loving ones, so that they will not once yield until the hour of death, and not be exhausted when the serpent traces its seal instead of the Cross. For by all means he will contrive so that the name of the Lord and Savior - this all-holy and most pure name, should not be named at all in the time of the serpent. The weak will do this, fearing and trembling at the holy power of the Savior's name. For whoever is sealed with His seal will not be a prisoner of his dreams, the Lord will not depart from such, but will enlighten his heart and draw him to Himself. A heart that is not sealed with the Holy Spirit will be defiled by the seal of Antichrist. The sealing of the right hand by the Antichrist also means the suppression of right deeds, and the sealing of the forehead means the deception of the mind.
The sealing of the antichrist seal will be regardless of social status, wealth - all, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, shall be marked. Here, by the way, we again see that until the very end there remains in society a division into rich and poor, free and slaves. This division, introduced into the world by sin, cannot be changed by any social transformations, reforms, upheavals, progress...
How exactly the outline will be There is no indication of this in Scripture. This will reveal the very time when all this will be done. It is only indicated that this style will either the name of the beast, or the number of his name. There is really no difference in this, since according to Jewish and Greek custom, letters mean numbers as well, so that a certain combination of letters can be read both as a word and as a number.
At various times, there have been various attempts to identify the seal of the Antichrist and pass it off as some kind of modern phenomenon. So the four-pointed cross, the three-fingered sign of the cross, the coat of arms of the Russian Tsar, passports, money, wickedness, heresies, church sacraments, party cards were declared the seal of the Antichrist. But all such opinions in no way correspond to either the teaching of Holy Scripture or the understanding of the holy fathers. None of these opinions can be reconciled with what Scripture says about the seal of the Antichrist. Another thing is that wickedness, heresies, apostasy and various state and social systems really pave the way for the reform that will be carried out by the false prophet in the kingdom of Antichrist. And today it is not difficult for us to imagine how this could be done. But let's not guess, but let the future events themselves have their say.
It is necessary to understand that, just as the apostle, besides the Antichrist, “what will come”, indicates that “and now many antichrists have appeared” (), and besides the seal, what will be inscribed on the wicked who bowed to the Antichrist at the end of the age, and now there are many seals with which unbelievers are sealed. Every wrong deed is the sealing of the right hand, and the wrong thought is the sealing of the chela by the spirit of Antichrist. The Antichrist himself does not yet exist, but his spirit is still active in the sons of disobedience. There is not yet that apocalyptic seal, but even now the current false prophets of the wicked are sealed with it. At the Last Judgment, the mark of the Antichrist will be revealed on all the wicked. Then they will ask: when did we take it? And the righteous Judge will answer them: when they did not confess Me, when they sinned and did not repent, when they spent their time madly in vain, amusements, debauchery ().
The Apostle Paul once said: “The love of money is the root of all evil, which, having indulged, some have deviated from the faith and subjected themselves to many sorrows” (). This will be well known to the Antichrist and the false prophet. Therefore, the false prophet will do that ... that no one will be able to buy or sell except the one who has this mark. The easiest way to force a person to sin is by “punch on the pocket”, economic pressure. Man has clung to earthly things in such a way that for his sake he is ready to sell his soul. Those who did not accept the mark of the Antichrist will, in fact, be outside of society, and such society has always punished. As now, without identity documents, a person actually cannot live in society, so it will be then. Without the inscription of the name of the Antichrist cannot be bought or sold, which means that it will be impossible to use anything that society has. Only desert places, caves and gorges of mountains will then shelter the faithful to Christ. Take heart, soul, and prepare for great trials!
If now even those who sacrificed to idols and renounced Christ and God can repent and receive forgiveness from God and the Church, then the one who received the mark of the beast becomes a son of Gehenna during his lifetime. It will be a deadly sin, for which there is no forgiveness in this age or in the future. This will be a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and the entire Most Holy Trinity in the highest measure (), for the Antichrist opened "his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His habitation, and those who live in heaven" (13:6). The same will have to be done by all who receive his mark. Therefore, about the one who received the seal of the Antichrist, Hippolytus of Rome writes: “It will be added to the charmer, and he will serve the only one, since there is no repentance for such: every thing is manifest, as if you perished from God and from man.”
Here is wisdom. Whoever has a mind, count the number of the beast, for this is the number of a man; his number is six hundred sixty-six.
At the end of the age, Christians who have wisdom will be able to identify the Antichrist by name. This will be for them the final confirmation that the ruler of the world who has appeared is the Antichrist.
human number- this indicates that the Antichrist will be an ordinary person with a human name. The number of this name is given by John. Each letter of the Jews and Greeks corresponded to a number. The sum of all the numbers corresponding to the letters of the word was considered the number of this word. So the number six hundred sixty sixχξζ is the number of the name that the Antichrist will bear. Christ also spoke of this name of the wicked: “Another will come in his name, you will receive him” (). According to some ancient lists, this number is read as six hundred sixty-six (666), according to others, as three adjacent numbers "six": χξζ (six, six, six). These two readings do not represent a substantive difference. There are lists with the number 616 - χτζ. But this reading is emphatically rejected by the authoritative statement of Irenaeus of Lyons, who refers directly to Tradition.
There are many attempts to explain the number 666 symbolically. For example: the first six is the number of days of the creation of the world by God and the days of human labor, the second is a negative moment, as an indication that it does not have the property of Divine perfection, the third means a God-hostile desire to possess the world. It is clear that all such interpretations suffer from one common defect - complete arbitrariness. This can neither be proved nor disproved, but you can come up with as many such interpretations as you like.
The notion that the number 666 denotes the time of the coming of the Antichrist is also incorrect. It is not true because here this number is used explicitly in connection with the name of the Antichrist. In addition, the number 666 cannot be identified with the actual time of the coming of the Antichrist into the world. Thus, the number 666 must be understood exclusively as the number of the name. So taught the most ancient interpreters of the Apocalypse, Saints Justin the Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Hippolytus of Rome, Andrew of Caesarea.
There were many attempts to accurately determine the name of the Antichrist. There are a number of names, the number of which is 666. These are: Lampetis (Λαμπετις) = illuminated, Titan (τειταν) = sun, Latin (λατεινος), Benedict (Βενεδικτος) = blessed, perhaps in imitation of the truly blessed Christ. In addition, interpreters who see under the apocalyptic beast the personalities of the Roman emperors Nero or Diocletian have found that the number 666 corresponds to "Nero Caesar" and "Diocletian Augustus." F. Engels points to Nero in his article "Revelation".
But there are two stretches to this. First, why should the name of the beast be read in Hebrew in a book written in Greek? Secondly, why is not just a human name taken, but a name and a title (Caesar, August)? Although the emperor Nero can indeed be regarded as a prototype of the Antichrist. Nero is the first great persecutor of Christians, the Antichrist is the last. In addition to proper names, one can also indicate common nouns, which also have 666 in their number. These are: “bad leader” (κακός ὀδηγος), “ancient envious person” (παλαι βασκανος), “truly harmful” (ἄληθως βλαβερός), “unrighteous lamb” (άμνν ἄδικος).
Thus, it is impossible to predict what exactly the name of the Antichrist will be. And this number was given to us not in order to prophetically predict the name of the Antichrist, but in order to, when he appears, make sure that it is him. Irenaeus of Lyons even warns: “A considerable danger threatens those who falsely appropriate the knowledge of this name of the Antichrist, for if they assume such and such a name, and he comes with another, they will easily be deceived, thinking that there is still no one to beware of. ". The reason why the name of the Antichrist is not explicitly written down, St. Irenaeus names is this: “John shows the number of the name of the Antichrist, but he kept silent about his name, because it is unworthy to be proclaimed from the Holy Spirit.” And Saint Andrew of Caesarea writes: “Divine grace did not deign to have this pernicious name written in the Divine Book.”
It is possible that there is some connection with the Antichrist in Adonikam, who returned with Zerubbabel from the Babylonian captivity, about whom it is said: “The sons of Adonikam are six hundred and sixty-six” (). We meet the number 666 in the 1st Book of Kings: “In the gold that came to Solomon every year, the weight was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, in addition to what was received ...” (). As seven is the number of Divine fullness, so six is the number of Antichrist. 666 - satanic fullness, like a triple repetition of the six. Irenaeus of Lyons also points to the meaning of the number 666, noting that the same repetition of the number six three times means the restoration by the Antichrist of all apostasy, which was at the beginning, middle and will be at the end of time.
Just as the name Jesus was in common use in the Old Testament and became saving () and terrible for demons only with the advent of the God-Man Himself into the world, so the name of the Antichrist is now, perhaps, in common use, and will acquire all satanic power and become filthy only with the appearance of the Antichrist.
This is how St. John described the kingdom of the Antichrist - the darkest time in the existence of mankind.
It is interesting to indicate the number of the name Jesus - (Ι = 10, η = 8, σ = 200, ο = 70, υ = 400, ς = 200). We have 888. There is such a story about the name of the Virgin Mary: “When the Hellenes had a very great famine, they erected a temple. Having erected, they went into the treasury to ask Apollo, their idol, in honor of which god to name this temple. Tell us, prophesying Apollo! Whose will this temple be and what should it be? But Apollo was not allowed to be silent, but scorched by both sides with unspeakable power, he answered them, saying this: I will tell you the only God, the Highest King, Whose Word will be carried without corruption in the Most Pure Virgin, this temple will be to Him. The name of the girl is twice 70, twice 6. (70 x 2) + (6 x 2) = 152. And indeed the number of the name Mary is 152.
Appendix 4. Refutation of the Adventist Doctrine of the Antichrist as the Pope of Rome
This small digression is taken entirely from the book by I.A. Kalnev "Refusal of the false teachings of Russian rationalist sectarians".
The eschatological moment plays especially important role in the doctrine of Adventist sectarians. Their doctrine of the Antichrist looks like this. Before the second coming of Christ, the Antichrist must appear, which is the papacy of the Roman Church, as can be seen from the following: the fate of earthly kingdoms until the end of the world, Adventists say, is indicated in the image of an idol () in the prophetic book - Revelation of St. John. According to the prophecy of Daniel, starting from Babylon, 4 main kingdoms should exist on earth until the coming of the Antichrist: Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman, which existed one after another. These kingdoms are depicted in Daniel under the guise of 4 beasts (ch. 7), of which the 4th signifies the last Roman kingdom; the ten horns of the fourth beast (7,7) signify the ten kingdoms formed out of the Roman Empire between 356 and 483 AD (Huns, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suebi, Burgundians, Anglo-Saxons and Lombards), of which then the European states were formed. A small horn that arose between 10 horns, having eyes as if human, and speaking arrogant words against the Most High (), this is the beast, which is also mentioned in Revelation, that “he opened his mouth to blaspheme against God, to blaspheme His name, and his habitation, and those who dwell in heaven. And it was given to him to wage war with the saints and defeat them ”(), this Antichrist is“ the son of perdition, opposed and exalted above everything called God ”(), and all the features of the beast and his actions are wholly related to the Roman papacy, which is also proved by history the papacy, and its character. It is known that the Roman Church with its papacy arose from the ruins of Roman paganism, when, after the uprising of the 10 kingdoms, the Roman emperor Justinian in 533 approved it by special decree and gave it unlimited power over Rome and all Christianity.
Daniel says about the small horn that this horn waged war with the saints and overcame them (), and this came true in the Roman Church: millions of martyred Christians on the orders of the popes, such as, for example, the Waldensians, Albigenses, Huguenots, Hus, Jerome with their followers, and hundreds of thousands tortured by the Roman Inquisition - confirm this. About this horn it is also said that, waging war against the saints, he dreams of canceling their holiday times and law (), and this came to pass on the papacy, which introduced the Sunday and violated the law on the celebration of the Sabbath.
The little horn, or Antichrist, "had eyes as if human", these are Roman priests, Jesuits and various monastic Latin orders, spying on the conscience of Christians, and through confession extorting from them everything that is needed for the benefit of the papacy. It is said of the Antichrist that he had "a mouth that speaks haughtily" (), that he is "a son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or holiness" () and that he "opened his mouth to blaspheme his name" (13 ,6–7). All this literally came true in the Roman Church and its popes, who declared themselves infallible, vicars of Christ and began to forgive people even future sins for money (indulgences). Pope Innocent III wrote, for example, as follows: “He (Christ) placed one man above the world, calling him His vicar on earth, and just as the knees of all those living in heaven and on earth and under the earth bow before Him, just so everyone should be obedient and serve His vicar,” that is, the pope. Christ says differently about Himself: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” ( ).
And the time of the dominion of the papacy, indeed, equals 1260 years. Indeed, Justinian established the Catholic Church and gave the popes unlimited power by a special decree in 533, but it did not begin until 538, when, in fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy that after 10 kings "another, different from the former (pope), and will humiliate three kings ”(), the Heruli, Vandals and Ostrogoths, who were expelled from Rome, were subjugated.
This year the papacy received "its throne and great power" (). Therefore, from this year, 1260 prophetic years must be counted, the end of which falls on 1798, when the Antichrist, according to the prophecies, was deprived of the power to “destroy and destroy to the end” (;), for in this, precisely 1798, the French general Berthier moved with troops to Rome, captured Pope Pius VI and thus destroyed the power of the papacy. Its head, as it were, was mortally wounded, but “the mortal wound was healed” (): the papacy continues to exist, deprived even of the last power by the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel. But the Antichrist, that is, the papacy, will nevertheless soon be completely destroyed. It is being destroyed by Adventists with their teachings.
Orthodox explanations
All the intricacies of the Adventists, who are striving, on the basis of the testimony of Holy Scripture and the history of the Church, to prove that the coming of Christ and the end of the world are already near, for the Antichrist has already appeared in the world, in the form of the Roman papacy, but in the true light of Holy Scripture and the history of the Church, they turn out to be the fruit idle mind and human imagination.
First of all, the Adventists have a completely false view of the Antichrist himself, who, according to their teaching, has already come and reigns in the world in the form of the papacy.
The Antichrist is not a whole series of personalities, even if, for example, the popes of Rome, as the Adventists say, he is one specific person - “a man (and not “people”) of sin, a son (and not “sons”) of perdition ”() . And the Lord Himself says to the unbelieving Jews: “I came in the name of My Father, and you do not accept Me, but if another (and not “others”, such as popes) comes in his name, you will accept him ”(). Consequently, the Antichrist is not a series of personalities succeeding each other and for many centuries, but one person who has to appear at one specific time.
Antichrist is incomparable with the Roman popes in his character, in his teachings and in his deeds.
The Antichrist is said in Scripture that he is “resisting and exalting himself above everything that is called God or holy things, so that he will sit in the temple as God, posing as God.” But Adventists throughout the history of the Roman Church cannot, with all their desire, point to a single pope who, considering himself superior to the true God, would sit in the temple and declare himself God, they cannot point out, because nothing like this has ever happened and it could not be: no matter how arrogant the popes of Rome were, no matter how proud and power-hungry, they are still Christians who believe in God the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, worshiping the one and inseparable Holy Trinity and teaching Catholic Christians the same.
Then - about the Antichrist, the apostle says that his “coming, according to the action of Satan, will be with all power and signs and lying wonders” (), that the second beast, who is of the same mind with Antichrist, will perform great miracles “and work great signs, so that fire He will bring him down from heaven to earth before men.” None of the popes did anything like that and could not do it.
Further, about this second beast, it is said in Revelation that “he will do that for everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slaves, a mark will be put on their right hand, or on their number, and that no one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has this mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name, "that is, the Antichrist ().
But we know that the popes of Rome did not have any such seal and did not believe in the right hand of Catholics, and we know that all over the world, both in Italy and in Rome itself, not only Catholics buy and sell, but everyone who is engaged in buying and sale, and the Adventists themselves, although they do not have any papal seal on their right hand.
As for the abolition of the Sabbath and the introduction of the celebration of Sunday by Christians, this happened much earlier than 538. After all, Adventists themselves claim that the abolition of the Sabbath and the veneration of Sunday occurred under Constantine the Great, after his verdict on this, published in 321, although this statement of the Adventists is false, because the celebration of Sunday began from the first century of Christianity, about which there are numerous historical instructions. (Sunday was revered by Christians initially from the 1st century, and in 321 this day became a holiday in the empire - Ed.).
Also completely false is the teaching of the Adventists about the time of the appearance of the Antichrist and the duration of his power on earth, which they see in the papal power.
First of all, it is completely wrong and arbitrary to count the prophetic day as a year and determine the duration of the existence of the Antichrist on earth as 1260 years.
The three-day stay of the prophet Jonah in the belly of the whale prophetically foreshadowed the three-day death of the Savior, Who, mentioning this, also prophetically speaks of His death in this way: “as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights" (). If Adventists consider prophetic days as years, then they must accept the ridiculous idea that Christ was in the tomb for three whole years and only then resurrected.
If the Adventists’ foundations for calculating time are wrong, then all their calculations regarding the time of the appearance of the Antichrist, which they consider the year 538, and predictions about the time of the second coming of Christ, are completely false. Not surprisingly, Adventists themselves cannot agree among themselves on the latter issue. Thus, the founder of Adventism, William Muller, twice predicted the year of the coming of Christ - first in 1843, and then on October 22, 1844, but both of his predictions turned out to be false; after which Muller himself soon died of vexation and shame, and out of 50,000 of his followers in America, 35,000 fell away, seeing in Muller a self-deluded false prophet. After Muller, Adventists became more cautious in pointing to the time of the imminent coming of Christ, but still hotter heads continued to predict various years of the end of the world. For example, Adventist Edwin Diamond, a preacher from Honolulu, one of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, predicted in his book Revelation that the end of the world should come in 1910, when several stones weighing millions and billions of tons will come off Halley's comet and fall on our earth. But Dimand was wrong: 1910 has passed, and the Earth exists. Some of the Adventists pointed to the year 1914 ... But their very disagreement on this issue shows how much their predictions deserve attention.
Adventists also teach quite falsely about the length of time the Antichrist acts on earth.
First of all, Scripture clearly states that the Antichrist “was given power to act 42 months” (), that is, 3.5 years, and that his wife fled from him into the wilderness for “one thousand two hundred and sixty days,” which is also 3.5 years, or how this and that event is defined by the prophet Daniel and the seer John with the words: “time, times and half a time”, that is, a year, two years and half a year, according to the explanation of the great connoisseur of Scripture and the Hebrew language, Blessed Jerome and St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Creator of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 15th Announcement). “Forty-two months,” teaches the interpreter of the Revelation, St. Andrew, Archbishop of Caesarea, “shows that, by God’s permission, for three and a half years he will have the power to blaspheme God and embitter the saints.”
The papacy, according to the Adventists themselves, existed on earth for 1260 years: from 538 to 1798, when the Pope of Rome was taken prisoner by the French general Berthier. The time difference is huge.
The Savior himself says that the last disasters of people will be short-lived: “if those days had not been shortened, no flesh would have been saved, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened” (). And Revelation says that the devil will descend to earth, "in great rage, knowing that he has little time left" (). Consequently, the Adventist assertion that the Antichrist has already acted on earth, in the person of the papacy, for 1260 years, contradicts both the prophecy of Daniel, and the Revelation of John the Theologian, and the words of Christ Himself, from which it is clear that the actions of the Antichrist will not be long-term: for the manifestation of his fury "little" time will remain for him - only 42 months, or 1260 days, for by the mercy of God, "those days will be shortened for the sake of the elect."
As for the final fate of the Antichrist, it will depend not on the boastful Adventists who assure that he will finally perish, amazed by their teaching, but on the victory over him of the Savior of the world, who, as the Word of God says, “will kill (him) with the spirit of His mouth and He will destroy with the appearance of His coming "().
Adventists do not notice another inconsistency in their teaching about the duration of the destructive action of the Antichrist on earth. According to the teachings of Revelation, immediately after the murder of the Antichrist and with him the false prophet, who will be “both alive thrown into the lake of fire burning with brimstone, and the rest killed with the sword” (19:20-21), the universal Judgment will begin (20:4). If we assume, together with the Adventists, that the time of the rule of the Antichrist (papacy) lasted from 538 1260 years and ended in 1798, then how can the popes continue to govern the many millions of Catholic people for more than a hundred years (now almost 200 years)? After all, they should have disappeared from the face of the earth long ago ...
In addition, we know from Revelation that during the reign of the Antichrist (in Adventist - the papacy), when his mortal wound heals, which in the history of the papacy, according to the Adventists, should come immediately after the capture of Pius VI, another beast should appear, who will work great miracles: he will bring down fire from heaven (13:13), revive the image of the Antichrist and make people worship him, and whoever does not do this will be killed in the image of the beast (v. 13:14-15). When, we ask the Adventists, and where was it all? - So far it has not been anywhere and now it is not noticed.
Thus, both the history of the Church, and the life of the modern Catholic Church, and the Word of God clearly refute the false teaching of the Adventists.
In previous centuries, people tried to live in harmony with nature, to listen to its signs. Gradually formed folk omens about birds - messengers of light and dark forces. By the way, human wisdom has passed the test not only of time, but also of technological progress. Science explains to us almost any phenomena, creates mechanisms that simplify life, but cannot tell anything about why the feathered one is knocking on the window. As in ancient times, we use folk signs about birds. Knowing them is useful, because whoever is warned will cope with the situation. Let's figure it out.
The bird flew into the window
You know that in the old days there were no glasses. The birds traveled calmly, not knowing barriers, fluttering wherever they please. Moreover, in a human dwelling, you can always pick up crumbs or warm yourself. However, folk signs about birds are not based on these arguments, but on observations and analysis of events. Of course, there were some legends. In the old days, it was believed that the soul of a deceased relative moves into a feathered inhabitant of forests and fields. And he comes not with an ordinary visit, but on business. The feathered messenger brings the message. How to read it, we are told by folk signs about birds. So, if a dove flew into the girl’s room, a wedding was expected. The swallow is a very rare guest. She portends great wealth. It is very bad to kill her or harm one of the said messengers. If the bird dies, then a good event will turn into trouble. For example, the wedding will be canceled due to the death of the groom or wealth will pass by the hands of the owners of the house.
Folk signs about birds: sparrows
According to legend, the birds participated in the execution of Christ, but behaved differently. The swallows took the nails with which they nailed the Savior to the cross and carried them away from the executioners. Sparrows, on the other hand, looked for instruments of torture and returned them back. So it was or not - is unknown. But a suspicious and cautious attitude towards the nimble and cunning city dwellers was entrenched among the people. Their visit to the house is considered undesirable. If the sparrow flies into the room - expect bad news. As a rule, it portends a breakdown in plans, a sudden illness, quarrels and strife. Sparrows got into the habit of gathering on the windowsill - they gossip about family members, pour mud on them behind their backs. If they knock on glass, there will be sad news from afar. In addition, a disruption to an important trip or trouble on the road is likely. Sparrows should be treated with caution, they do not bode well.
What news do tits, owls and cuckoos carry
In the old days, the world was divided into black and white, halftones were not noticed. In general, people were sure that the soul of the deceased came to pick up one of the members of the family. The news of death is believed to be carried by the cuckoo. But this is a very secretive bird, it rarely appears near human habitation. But to hear her characteristic song - to find out what age is measured for you. You just need to ask a question and count the number of her cookies. People believe that this feathered beauty knows exactly the fate of a person. The cuckoo is ranked among the dark messengers, like the magpie. If they gather on the roof of the house or near the window, you will listen to black gossip or spread it yourself. Light messengers also exist. There are such folk signs about birds about them: a tit has flown - to good news, knocking on the window - wait for the guests. Owls shy away from human habitation, but if you hear her hooting, expect a fire, folk signs about birds warn. The dove, on the contrary, protects the space from fire, pacifies evil forces. If this bird lives near the house, the owners are not afraid of fires.
Folk signs about birds about the weather
Feathered messengers bring people not only personal messages. So, they are excellent indicators of the weather. Swallows fly low - be rain. If the sparrows are fluffed up and huddle up to the house, trying to get closer to the heat, then a cold snap is coming. You will see a flock of sparrows bathing in dust - take an umbrella. They feel that the weather is changing and it will rain. In cold weather, the birds decided to swim in the water - warming is coming. In winter, their behavior portends an early spring. But before everyone that there is a warming, and the frosts recede, the lark learns. People believe that his first song is the victory of the sun over snow and ice. Sensitive to atmospheric changes and other birds. For example, the noise and din of starlings portends a thunderstorm, these birds react to the electrical voltage accumulating around.
Other signs about birds
It is not recommended among the people to keep wild birds at home. The only exception is the pigeon. Other free birds in a cage are in trouble. This does not apply to artificially bred pets. If, after the wedding, the newlyweds discovered that a bird had died in their house, then the marriage would soon be broken. It is believed that it is bad to glue wallpaper with the image of birds. People say it's unfortunate for those who live in the house. Watching the flights of birds also helps to predict the future. So, if they move from left to right - good luck, in the opposite direction - get in trouble. Birds fly right at you - a cherished desire will come true, flew away - to obstacles.
What to do when the bird has flown?
Our ancestors not only noticed how the behavior of birds is connected with future events, but also developed methods for getting rid of negativity. So, a bird that accidentally got into the room cannot be caught. She, believe me, is so scared. Open the window and let the feathered guest go home. And then say this: “Walk in freedom, but don’t fly to me!”. If the sign promises trouble, wash the window with holy water, and tie a red ribbon to the frame. They say it will help ward off misfortune. And it’s better to make friends with the birds, feed them, then they will only bring joy, and not frighten them with negative forecasts.
Rush from the rear to Bodrichany.
All those who perish in this matter,
Who will fall under the banner of the cross.
Before their blood runs cold
They will be in the kingdom of heaven!”
Bishop Eric got up first,
With him the monks, lifting up their armor,
Gathering on the beach.
Dale Sven came, son of Niels,
In his winged shishak;
Together with him took up arms
And all three are happy
With them a formidable squad.
All sail in mighty formation
Suddenly, rising above the stern,
Sven, the son of Niels, tells them:
“I surrendered: over that rock
It's like the forest is moving!"
Knut, peering, replies:
"No, it's not the forest that moves -
The oars splash, the armor shines,
Axes ring steel,
And like mad horses
Fighting bagpipes are neighing!
Himself in a scaly shirt,
Borivoy nods his forelock:
“Good afternoon, father monks!
I returned from Arkona,
Where the fields glow with blood
But the German banners
They no longer fly under the walls.
To shreds that torn shovel,
We paid the debt to the Germans
And now come to slap
And under all sails
he struck at them:
Suddenly rooks clashed with rooks,
And the battle went between them.
Soaring above the waves
Then descending into the abyss,
Side by side grappling with hooks,
With a cry, the squads are cut;
Sparks splatter, blood flows,
Crack and cry in close combat,
Until sunset, the battle lasts -
Do not give up Sven with Knut.
But their efforts are in vain:
From the blows of heavy steel
Gilded Wings
They've already fallen off Sven's helmet;
Impaled in a fierce argument
Knuta strong chain mail,
And he throws himself into the sea
And Bishop Eric, in the fight
I feel death above me,
Jumped in a fever
On the icon of nothing I
Only to Roskilda as soon as possible
I would get away from Borivoi!
And the rowers are in fear too,
Protect from Borivoi!
To you in the middle of the sea or in the middle of the land
I'll make my way
And in advance your souls
It's bad for the bottom, it's bad
In this famous battle;
On this day, maritime miracles
They ate their corpses full.
And rook in your space
There are a lot of overturned
blackened sea
Up skids rocked.
Heinrich the Lion walking boldly
To Volyn for military fun,
Hearing about this case
I went back to Brunzovik.
Everywhere the news is carried by the winds
About that great victory.
Noise is full of Volyn cheerful,
Round dance walk with a stake
Maidens of the Pomeranian strings.
And in the Roskilde Cathedral
The monks are gathering
They exclaim: "Woe, woe!" -
And prayers are served in fear.
And a bishop with clear strength
On my knees in church
He prays: “God, have mercy on us!
Protect from Borivoi!
Notes.
Tolstoy, Alexey Konstantinovich. Born in 1817, died in 1875. Great Russian poet and playwright.
“Rügen, with its formidable Deities, and the mysterious Pomeranians, and the Slavic Slavs, who called the moon Leuna, are only partially touched upon in the songs of Alexei Tolstoy,” wrote in March 1913, in the article “On the Expansion of the Limits of Russian Literature”, another great Russian poet Velemir Khlebnikov. Except for Aleksey Konstantinovich, almost no one (!) of all the “great Russian literature” remembered the civilization of our closest relatives, partly ancestors - after all, it was from there, from the “Varangian Pomerania beyond Gdansk” (Ipatiev Chronicle) that the Varangians-Rus came, the creators of the Russian states, and before them - Slavic colonists to the North of Eastern Europe, the founders of Ladoga and Novgorod, Pskov and Izborsk - "Novgorod people from the Varangian family to the present (present) days" (First Novgorod Chronicle). Opera by Rimsky-Korsakov to a libretto by S.A. Gedeon's "Princess Mlada", dedicated to the Baltic Slavs, was almost not staged after the death of the creators and was staged little during their lifetime, remaining almost unknown to the general public. Researches of the most serious opponents of the Norman school, which taught that the Varangians-Rus were Scandinavians, the first of a series of Western cultural tregers who, from century to century, were supposed to introduce backward, semi-savage Slavs to world culture and civilization (Enlightenment under Peter, Marxism under Lenin, " universal values" under Gorbachev and Yeltsin), the research that made the most prominent and honest Normanists (M.P. Pogodin) seriously think about and begin to reconsider their positions was consigned to oblivion. Gedeonov, Zabelin, Hilferding were hidden from the Soviet reader, and their discoveries were replaced by fairy tales about "Russians" from a small Ukrainian river. Naturally, the "struggle" of such tales with Normanism could not but be something between a game of giveaway and a "struggle of the Nanai boys."
Therefore, it is very important to break through the veil of oblivion over our past, over our roots, which are located on the southern coast of the Varangian Sea. At least with the help of A.K. Tolstoy.
The poem "Borivoy" is dedicated to the events of 1147, when three powerful tribal powers of the Baltic Slavs - encouraged-Reriks, Pomeranians, and the inhabitants of the island of Rügen (then - Ruyan), the Rus - stood together for the last time against the crusading invaders.
The Pope is the Pope of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church. In this case, Eugene III, the inspirer of the crusade against the Baltic Slavs.
Roskilde (modern Roskilde) is the medieval capital of Denmark. Located on the island of Zeeland, somewhat west of the modern capital, Copenhagen. The name comes from the name of the king (king) of the Danes Hroar (end of the 5th - beginning of the 6th century, literally "Hroarsskilde - the shield of Hroar), having nothing to do with the mythical Scandinavian "dews" or "rots".
Bodrichans are more correctly encouraged (Abotriti, Obodriti). The Czech researcher Safarik tried to “Slavicize” this name to “bodrichi” (see at the end of the poem “and from Bodrichi to Retra”), and A.K. Tolstoy, by analogy with the "Pomeranians", "Volynians", etc., added another Slavic suffix. Another name for this tribal union was "reriks" - falcons. It was from the Obodrites, most likely, that Rurik-Falcon, the founder of the first Russian princely family, who ruled Russia until the 16th century, was. And it is precisely to them, apparently, that the word “Varangians” in the Russian chronicles referred, in the narrow sense. In addition to the actual obodrites-reriks who lived on the coast from the Lubeck Bay and Ratibor Lake to the lower reaches of Varna, where their fortress Verle was located. In the south they did not cross the river Elda. The main cities are: Veliky or Velegrad (modern Mecklenburg), Zverin (modern Schwerin), and Vyshemir (modern Wismar). In addition to them, the union included Varnas or Varnabs (they are also Varins, Verings, Varangians), who lived to the east of the Obodrites proper on the Varna River. In the west, there were Wagrs, who occupied most of Holstein, as well as the island of Elmshorn, worts and pluni. Stargard-Rerik (modern Aldenburg) was considered the main city of the Wagris. Polabs (from the Elba-Laba River), Smeldings at the mouth of the Elda, Vetnichi, Mintgi and Drevane, who were part of the Obodrite union, lived near the Wagrams.
Henry the Lion (1129-1195) Duke of Bavaria and Saxony. Enemy of the Slavs. He also feuded with Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, in which struggle he suffered a crushing defeat.
Brunzovik is the Slavic name of Braunschweig, the ancestral domain of the ducal family of Genikh Leo.
Doni (other Russian) - Danes, Denmark.
The word "Viking" does not mean a nationality, but a profession - the so-called sea robbers on the Baltic Sea in the early Middle Ages. In this case, it's not even a classic Baltic sea robber the end of the Dark Ages, but just a pirate.
Arkona - from Sanskrit. Arkati - to pray. “Yaroslavna is crying early in Putivl on her visor, arching: “O Wind, Sail! What, sir, are you forcibly eating?” (“The Tale of Iogor's Campaign”) In the trash. Russian dialects, under the influence of Christianity, the meaning of the ancient word has changed, arkatsya - scold, swear. Arkona, thus - a prayer place. It was located on the northwestern cape of the island of Rügen (Slavic Ruyan, Buyan of Russian charms and fairy tales, the island of Rus of Arab authors). Destroyed by Christian barbarians in 1168.
Volhyn is a Pomeranian trading city at the mouth of the Oder. The German merchants and monks who visited it called it "the largest city in Europe" (modern "scientists" for some reason "quote" "the most Big city Baltic Slavs). Already in the 9th century, it occupied an area of 50 hectares, and its population numbered about 5-10 thousand people. (For comparison, Birka, the largest shopping center Sweden of that time, was located at the same time on the territory of 12 hectares, and the Danish Hedeby during its heyday, in the middle of the tenth century, 24 hectares, and its population numbered several hundred people, according to the most daring estimates, no more than a thousand). In the 10th century, Volhyn gave shelter to the largest military brotherhood in the Baltic of the Yumnian knights, whom the Scandinavians called the Jomsvikings. These warriors were based in the fortress of Yumna (Scand. Jomsburg) on an island in the Volyn Bay. A third (!) of the treasures of the Baltic Pomerania were buried near Volyn.
Svyatovit (Svyatovid, Sventovit, etc.). - "God of Gods" of the Slavic Pomerania, according to Western authors. His temple in Arkona (see above) was striking in splendor, Danish kings also brought gifts there during pagan times, pilgrims came to Svyatovit for prophecies back in the 11th century from the long-baptized Czech Republic. His idol was a statue of a male warrior with four heads, the hair and beards on which were shaved - like those of the Russians who worshiped God (see below - “Borovoy nods with a forelock”), holding a drinking horn in his hand. In its temple, decorated with red fabrics, lived a sacred white horse, which was supposed to be ridden only by the high priest of God. With the help of this horse, the Rus guessed about the success of future enterprises, leading the horse through three pairs of cross-linked spears. If the horse stepped over these spears with his right foot, the success of the campaign was considered secured, if with his left foot, it meant that there would be no luck. In addition, it was believed that at night Svyatovit himself rides out on this horse to fight the enemies of the Slavs. God's weapons - a huge sword and a bow with arrows - were also kept in the temple. Another of the relics of the main Slavic sanctuary was the "Sanitsa" - a red flag on the staff, indicating the presence of Svyatovit Himself with the army carrying it.
Oak is one of the names of a boat, a boat. “Look into the oak” - to be at death, from the pagan custom of burial in the boat (cf. modern “stand with one foot in the grave”), hence the modern “give oak”. It is very possible that the “nine oaks”, on which the epic Nightingale the Robber sat, denotes nine boats, on which this reckless man with his “Nest of the Nightingale” attacked passers-by on the Smorodina River.
Lopot - (Old Russian) trash, rags, rags.
Gumentse (ancient Russian) - shaved crown, here - tonsure of Catholic monks and priests.
Strug (ancient Russian) - a ship, a boat.
Klobuk - a pointed headdress, here - the hood of a monastic cassock, "klobuch tribe" - monks
In 1152, the Slavs - encouraged, Pomeranians and Rus from Rügen attacked Denmark, and, avenging the crusade, went through it all with fire and sword.
Chernobog - according to the German author Helmold, the Slavs “during feasts ... let a circular sacrificial bowl, while saying, I won’t say blessings, but rather spells on behalf of the gods, namely a good god and an evil one, believing that all successes are good, and all misfortunes are directed by an evil god. Therefore, they call the evil god in their language ... Chernobog. From the fact that "spells"-glorifications were pronounced over the same bowl in honor of both Gods, it is clear that they were not enemies, like the Christian god and the devil or the Zoroastrian Ormuzd and Ahriman. Rather, they complement and balance each other, like the preserver Vishnu and the destroyer Shiva in Hinduism. The memory of Chernobog - an angry, dangerous Deity - lived among the Slavs until the twentieth century. The Drevani and Kashubians, the remnants of the Baltic Slavs, remembered him, and the Galicians and Czechs swore: “May the Black God kill you!” The memory of him remained in the names of mountains, villages and tracts in Russia, the Lusatian land, Bukovina and Serbia.
Retra (or Radigoshch) is one of the main shrines of the Western Slavs, along with Arkona. City-temple in honor of the Deity, called Svarozhich or Radagast (Radigost, Radegast, etc.). The architecture of Retra, like other sanctuaries of the Slavs, amazed Western monks (contemporaries of the Gothic). Moreover, according to German authors, the basis for the temple was ... the horns of various animals. At the foot of the idols were written (! Here you have illiterate pagans) the names of the Gods. The idol itself, depicting a warrior in armor with a bird on a helmet, a bull's head on his chest (or on a shield) and a double-edged ax in his hands. Baptized Czechs came to Retra, as well as to Arkona, for prophecies. In 1068, the temple was destroyed by Bishop Burchard of Halberstadt, then rebuilt, and again, completely destroyed in 1127.
It is curious that "Radgost" and "Radegast" are now called brands of beer, on the labels of which, to the best of the artists' imagination, terrible "filthy idols" with a drinking horn in their paw are depicted.
Well, each time has its own shrines.
Osna - a river in Poland
Dubovik is a port city on the Adriatic Sea. Velemir Khlebnikov called it "Slavic Venice".
Perun is the god of thunder and war among the Slavs. The first mention of this Deity is contained in the writings of the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea (VI century). Back in the 18th century, Thursday, the day of the week dedicated to Perun, was called "perundan" on the Baltic coast. German monks in their records passed the name of Perun as Pron (the modern towns of Pron in eastern Germany on maps of the 13th century are called Perun and Perunsdorf). A sacred oak grove was dedicated to him in Stargard (natives of which Novgorod was founded) (the oak was the sacred tree of Perun in Russia as well). in Kyiv, the statue of Perun was made of wood (most likely, oak again), equipped with a silver head and a golden mustache (recall what the sources say about the appearance of the idol of Svyatovit).
Heralds of joy and spring.
Ecological multimedia lesson dedicated to the birds of Russia.
6-7 grade
Target : to cultivate a sense of love for the native nature.
Tasks : to draw the attention of students to the problem of careful
relationship with birds
develop a sense of ownership in problem solving
conservation of nature;
show the diversity, features and beauty of Russian birds;
broaden and deepen the horizons of students.
Lesson form : review, conversation, contests, quizzes, presentation.
Equipment : a computer,
screen,
book exhibition: "Our feathered friends",
exhibition of drawings, posters "Take care of the birds",
exhibition of essays "How we help birds",
exhibition of birdhouses.
During the classes :
On thescreenmaterials of the library lesson are demonstrated continuously.
Librarian's word:
The gods gave us birds so that we
Seeing every day what beauty is.
Confucius.
April 1 is celebrated as International Bird Day around the world. This tradition has been going on since 1906, when the International Convention for the Protection of Birds was signed on April 1 this year.
The holiday was first held in the United States in 1894. The organizer of the holiday was a teacher from the town of Oil City (Pennsylvania) Charles Babcock. He was supported by the popular newspaper Pittsburgh Telegraph Chronicle. The newspaper staff even organized a special club-museum for the protection of birds. Soon Bird Day began to be held as a national holiday in all states of America, as well as in many countries of the world.
The purpose of the holiday is to preserve the species diversity and abundance of wild birds. Traditionally, at this time, in anticipation of the arrival of birds, birdhouses, eggplants and other "bird houses" were hung up.
In Russia, the organizational protection of birds began at the end of the 19th century. In 1910, demonstration stations for the protection of birds were organized at the Moscow Zoo. In the summer of 1924, the first All-Union Congress of Young Naturalists was organized, and at the ornithological section, the candidate biological sciences N.I. Dergunov proposed to celebrate Bird Day as a mass holiday. In 1926, he was declared as such. It was celebrated on the first Sunday in April.
In May, the young scientists of the Central Biological Station for Young Naturalists, which was located on the territory of the Sokolniki Park in Moscow, hung several dozen nest boxes in the suburbs of the capital. And a year later, the guys held the first official holiday in the country, Bird Day. They hung birdhouses on Sparrow Hills. Many famous writers and artists helped to organize the holiday. V. V. Mayakovsky drew posters and dedicated a famous couplet to birds: "We are waiting for you, Comrade Bird, why are you not flying?" In 1927, the Day of Birds was celebrated throughout Moscow, and since 1928 it began to be held throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of people of all ages took part in the celebration. Up to 15 thousand birdhouses were hung annually.
A few years later, the holiday began to be held throughout the country. Hundreds of thousands of people of all ages took part. Up to 15 thousand birdhouses were hung annually. Popular brochures about birds, about the construction of artificial nests for them, were published in mass editions.
In recent years, the holiday has gradually revived. We owe the revival of this holiday today to the Russian Bird Conservation Union - a charitable non-profit organization established in 1993. In spring, enthusiasts hang birdhouses and titmouses. It is important to take care of birds in the cold winter.
Contest "Guess the Bird"
The guys guess riddles, images of guessed birds appear on the screen.
1. They wear a gray vest,
But the wings are black.
You see, twenty couples are circling
And they all shout "Carr!" yes "Carr!". (Crows)
2. I love to sing with dawn silence.
So in love with my song
I can't hear anything around
If only I get drunk. (Capercaillie).
3.Black, nimble,
Shouts "Krakk!", The enemy of worms. (Rook).
4. Who heals trees in the forest,
Spare no head?
His work is hard
Pound all day long. (Woodpecker)
5. Early-early at dawn
I will tremble among the leaves,
Then I will sing to the envy of the flute,
Like a cat, I'll squeak. (Oriole).
6. Who is jumping there, rustling,
Gutting cones with a beak?
"Klee! Klee! Klee! sings
With a whistle. (Crossbill).
7. He cries in the swamp, but does not come out of the swamp. (Sandpiper)
8. Only I am a bird, I confess
In the heat, frost and blizzard
Move along the trunk
I can head down. (Nuthatch).
9. As soon as this singer returns
In your own, on a pole, a wooden palace,
As everyone understands, spring is coming,
And the long winter will soon be over. (Starling).
10. The chest is red, like poppies in summer,
The fire flickers, but
Guess what I'm for
Is the name snowy given? (Bullfinch)
Librarian's word .
From the history.
But the tradition of meeting birds and preparing artificial nests for them appeared long before the announcement of April 1 as Bird Day, and there are serious reasons for this. The Hindus were the first to make birdhouses back in the 1st millennium BC. e. They made them from dried gourds. These houses were intended for the myna - the Indian starling. In Europe, the first birdhouses appeared at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. They were made of baked clay in the shape of a pot or jug, flat on one side. On the convex wall of such a vessel there was a notch, and on the opposite, flat one, there was a large hole into which a human hand could freely enter. But people made the first birdhouses in their own interests, they took eggs and chicks for food, but only the first clutch, so that the birds would not become smaller.
Following the clay ones, wooden birdhouses appeared. It is believed that this is already an absolutely Russian invention. (In Western Europe, bird houses knocked together from boards were not known until the middle of the 19th century.) Craftsmen made them in the form of a tower with a gable roof and a carved balcony, decorated with carved figures, and painted them. Some of these houses have been preserved in the collections of the State Historical Museum in Moscow and the Toy Museum in Zagorsk. They testify to the love with which our ancestors treated birds.
Migratory birds.
If the birds themselves caused sacred awe in the ancient man, then their migrations are even more so. To this day, people do not get tired of marveling at the grandeur of this phenomenon. Bird migration can be observed almost everywhere. In some places, feathered inhabitants disappear with the approach of cold weather or the dry season in order to fly back in the spring, in others they appear en masse during flights or wintering. For example, in the Middle East every autumn you can watch a unique spectacle - a massive flight of birds of prey, storks, pelicans. And among us, who will be left indifferent by a crane key flying in the blue sky? Bird migrations have remained a mystery to humans for millennia. What can be expected from our distant ancestors, if at the end of the last century the question of the possibility of winter hibernation of birds was seriously discussed (Dikson, 1895). Where there is a riddle, myths appear - the first timid attempt of human consciousness to comprehend what is happening. Bird migrations are reflected in many religious beliefs, beliefs, rituals, etc., and even in everyday life. The inhabitants of ancient Persia and Arabia, for example, took into account the time of arrival and departure of certain bird species when compiling calendars (Cloudsley-Thompson, 1982). Among a number of Siberian peoples - Yakuts, Samoyeds, Kets, and others - March, when the first birds return, is called the month of the eagle (Shternberg, 1936). In the ancient Scandinavian calendar, the period from April 22 to May 21 was called the month of the cuckoo.
What birds are called migratory?
Name them.
Student responses.
Librarian's word.
Migratory birds are called, which, after breeding, leave the nesting territory and fly to other, remote areas for the winter. Most of the birds of our region are migratory: thrushes, ducks, geese, chaffinch, skylark, sandpipers, herons, warblers, warblers and many others.
Migratory birds make regular seasonal movements between nesting and wintering grounds. Migration can take place over both short and long distances. According to ornithologists, the average flight speed for small birds is about 30 km / h, and for large birds about 80 km / h. Often takes place in several stages with stops for rest and feeding. The smaller the bird, the shorter the distance that they are able to master at one time: small birds are able to fly continuously for 70 - 90 hours, while covering a distance of up to 4000 km.
Why do birds return to their homeland every spring?
Because they are patriots?
How do they know it's time to go home?
Student responses.
Librarian's word.
Reason for patriotism, forcing to return to their homeland, lies in deeply mercantile considerations.
In summer, northern latitudes have longer daylight hours than southern latitudes, giving diurnal birds more opportunities to feed their offspring.
Birds fly to us in six waves: in each wave, birds of a kind-tribeeni. First wave: rook, lapwing, starlings, larks, greenfinches, linnets, silver gulls, lake gulls, mallard ducks. Second wave:finches, wagtails, forryanki (robins), harriers, buzzards, herons, white-fronted goose, snipes.Third wave: forest, skates, Chiffchaffs, Bluethroats, Yellow Straywaders, the bulk of waders.Thursdaywhite wave: barn swallows, male redstart, muholovka pied, warbler rattleweaving, chasing meadowsoh. Fifth wave: white warbler, lentils, shrikes, corebed. Sixth Wave: Warblers, Orioles, golden bee-eaters.
How do birds navigate time and space?
Student responses.
Russian scientists have proven that migratory birds are able to accurately determine their geographic location. They feel not only the direction to the magnetic and geographical poles, that is, latitude, but also determine their longitude. How are migratory birdsbarking remains a mystery to everyone. It is known that birds that make annual long-range seasonal flights are perfectly oriented in time and space. This fact has long led Russian scientists to the idea that they should be able to navigate by geographic latitude and longitude, at least during the flight.
Competition "Verbal portrait".
According to the short description, the players must name the bird. If the answer is correct, an image of a bird appears on the screen.
1. Look at this small, sparrow-sized bird and think: well, what is special about it? Inconspicuous, gray, only the tail is slightly reddish. And in the evening or at night, come here, and stop as if rooted to the spot, hearing her song - it spills in every way. (Nightingale).
2. It climbs branches like a parrot, and clings with its paws, and with its beak, even if it hangs down with its tail, even upside down - it doesn’t matter to him. He is busy with one thing - husking seeds from cones. And for this he has a special beak: the lower and upper halves intersect at the ends. (Crossbill)
3. You can’t confuse her with anyone. Forever she cracks, jumps from branch to branch. He raises a fuss when he sees someone, twitches his tail. When it flies, its white and black wings flap, and when it sits, its white belly glows. (Magpie)
4. You hear him all the time: creaking in damp meadows, creak-creak. Or pulls: derg-derg, derg-derg. Lets close, at the very feet, it happens, creaks and pulls. But it's not visible! You to him, and he away from you. And even if the leaf trembled, even if the blade of grass swayed! (Dergach).
5. Look, what a beauty! And the size of a starling or a little more. Very secretive and cautious bird. It settles high in the trees, not everyone succeeds in getting close to it to examine it. Her song is beautiful - a sonorous short whistle. But if he sees danger, he screams like a cat that has been stepped on. (Oriole).
6. This bird will be able to protect its offspring in case of danger. She cranes her neck and hisses like a snake. So anyone who wants to get to know her better loses all desire. Who wants to meet a snake? (Wryneck)
7. Here a long-billed bird flew over the swamp, and what an interesting beak it has, bent down. And if the bird screams, it’s immediately clear to everyone what her name is. By the way, these birds are big and small, darker and lighter, some have a longer beak, others have a shorter one. (Sandpiper)
8. This bird hides during the day, and after dark it flies out to hunt. The herd returns to the village in the evening, and the bird is right there. Her mouth is as big as a net. A lot of midges get there. Yes, and horseflies, flies, mosquitoes, which disturb cattle so much, do not bypass this trap. People, because of their stupid inventions that a bird needs milk, often drove it away. And even though this bird is not milk, but give insects, a strange name has stuck with it. (nightjar).
9. Appearance birds can be a feature important when choosing a name. It is the color of the plumage that helps the birds hide from enemies. V. Bianchi very accurately wrote about this bird: “His pen is invisible. The most protective color in the forest is motley. All in grey, black and red rowans. In the forest, after all, everything around in the eyes is full of colors. (Grouse)
10. Important for a bird namemay be not only a placebut also time. So, this bird flies to us along with the snow and lives all winter, and in the spring it goes north. (Bullfinch)
11. If you had to walk through the meadow, then you saw how birds soared from the grass and seemed to ask you: “Whose are you? Whose are you? This bird got its name from the cry and the name. Andsometimes it is also called a meadow,because he lives most often in the meadow. (Lapwing)
12. Why do you think this bird got its name? Of course, for the fact that she herself tells people her name. And it was not only the Russians who heard this. In many countries the name is similar to Russian. Czechs, French, Italians, Germans, Bulgarians also paid attention to the same sign of a bird - its cry, therefore the name sounds the same for everyone. (Cuckoo)
13. Why is this bird so called? Because it's cold? No, she is not afraid of the cold and arrives in early spring, when there is still snow on the fields, Yes, and flies away in late autumn during cold weather, “chilly”, as the people say. Maybe because it flies and flies in the chilly time, and they called her that? (Finch)
14. This name is very suitable for a bird that greets the morning and evening dawns with a song. From the fact that the bird has a yellowish-red, crimson baby, it received another name. (Zaryanka, she is a robin)
15. This bird is named so for its red tail, which trembles all the time, so it seems that it flashes with a light, as if on fire. (Redstart)
16. This cheerful, agile bird has its own beauty - at first glance, discreet, but memorable. And the eternal wagging of the tail cannot but cause a smile. By the way, because of this habit, she got her name. (Wagtail).
Librarian's word.
Traditions of our ancestors.
It has long been customary in Russia to meet birds returning from the south to their native places in early spring. The arrival of birds was considered one of the joyful signs of spring, they were greeted with chants and spells. In many invocations - stoneflies it was said that the birds, returning from the sea, should bring the treasured golden keys with them. People believed that these keys closed the cold dungeon, where the beautiful spring languishes, locked up by the evil winter. So they called the birds to help the spring, they will change places with the winter.
The bird is a housekeeper
Come to us from across the sea
Bring us two keys
Two golden keys
Unlock the warm spring
Close the cold winter.
By folk calendar March 9 - "Bird sweating - finding nests." On this day, birds begin to build nests, and a migratory bird flies from hot countries to its homeland: “You see a starling - you know spring at the porch.” They believed in the old days that if a starling sings near the house, it is good.
March 17 - "Gerasim - the rooker." The people associated such signs with the rook: The rook flew in - in a month the snow will come down. I saw a rook - meet spring, the rook brought spring. The rooks sat in the nest - three weeks later for sowing. Rook on the mountain - spring in the yard. In Russia, destroying the nests of rooks was considered a great sin - a house could burn down.
March 22 celebrated the name day of the lark. They baked rich “lark breads” for children, shaped like a bird, with raisins instead of eyes, smeared them with sweet fragrant honey. Bread, according to custom, was supposed to be dividedbwith feathers. Those who did not have dough sculpted birds from clay, made them from rags and paper, and decorated them with gilding. Festively dressed girls and children walked around the village and sang incantations in which they called
spring-red to come to earth as soon as possible. AT countryside in some places, even now, on March 22, larks are molded from dough and chants are sung to hasten the arrival of the messengers of spring.
Larks, come
Red - bring spring.
bring spring
On your tail
On the plow, harrow,
On an oatmeal.
In April, the custom of "letting go" of birds into the wild was observed. "The Annunciation - let the birds go free." Buyers of birds immediately opened cages in the market and let out titmouse-sisters, red-throated bullfinches, goldfinches-well done, sentencing
Fly at will
You live in freedom
Bring spring to us soon!
Since mid-April, we have observed in the old days when which bird will sing and which birds are many. The cry of dergachi from spring - to a fruitful summer. They said: "When many corncrakes sing in the morning, there will be a harvest of rye." A quail will cry ahead - there will be a lot of bread, little grass; the dergach will shout ahead - a lot of grass and little bread.
What signs do you know?
Student responses.
Competition "Barometer of Nature"
1. Swallows touch the surface of the water with their wings (to rain).
2. Swallows fly up and down (wait for the storm).
3. Swifts fly low and scream (to rain).
4. Sparrows hide under the roof (to the storm)
5. The bullfinch chirps under the windows (for the thaw).
6. Pigeons coo, cuckoos cuckoo (for warm weather).
7. Sparrows bathe in the sand (it will rain).
8. Ravens sit on the tops of trees (before frost).
9. Ravens sit on the snow (to the thaw).
10. Seagulls walk on the sand,
The sailor is promised melancholy,
A seagull sat on the water
Wait... (good weather).
Librarian's word.
Singing birds.
The singing of birds has attracted people since ancient times. Especially man was fascinated by the voice of songbirds.Songbirds are almost invisible to the human eye, but their singing is remarkably audible. The bewitching singing of a lark or a nightingale is an unforgettable sight. Songbirds were one of the real sights of our country.
At the beginning of the 18th century, travelers who came to Moscow noted that until 1715 there were many small songbirds in the city and its suburbs. There were no less of them than mosquitoes. The sonorous chirping of birds touched the foreigners. And in 1715, Peter I ordered to catch a huge number of Moscow birds, paying the hunters 1,500 rubles each. These birds were relocated to the vicinity of St. Petersburg.
What songbirds do you know?
Student responses.
(Nightingale, robin, goldfinch, thrush, oriole, lark, chaffinch, bullfinch.)
Librarian's word.
Let's listen to the birds singing.
1. The nightingale sings day and night, but especially with inspiration - in the morning and in the evening twilight. His song is a collection of repeated whistles, clicks and smacks. In the singing of the nightingale, one can distinguish individual elements - "knees", the number of which can reach 12 (but usually 5-6). The voice of the nightingale is loud, especially in the silence of the night, when other birds have been sleeping for a long time. If you stopped for the night in close proximity to the nesting place of the nightingale, then you are unlikely to be able to fall asleep.
2. Song thrush. Immediately upon arrival in the spring to the nesting places, he whistles his sonorous melodies from the tops of the trees, especially at morning and evening dawns. His songs are very musical, richest in melodies and refined.
3
.
field lark- one of the earliest heralds of spring.
There is still a lot of snow around, and only in some places thawed patches begin to appear in the fields. Going out into the field early in the morning, we can hear somewhere high, high, sonorous, long song. It consists of sonorous trills interspersed with beautiful sounds, reminiscent of the ringing of small bells, or the sound of a flute. The whole song is sung continuously for 5-10 minutes, and sometimes more.
Competition "Guess who sings."
Students listen and guess the singing of a tit, a chaffinch, a cuckoo and a jay.
Librarian's word.
Birds today.
Every year, the Russian Bird Conservation Union chooses a bird that becomes a symbol of conservation work. The White Wagtail has been declared the Bird of the Year for 2011.
The goal of the "Bird of the Year" campaign is to draw the attention of the Russian population to our birds and the problems of their protection.
The selected bird is in the "own" year in the center of general attention. There is a collection of data on its numbers and distribution, people are helping to solve its problems. Participants of the action promote the beauty of this bird with their creativity and, of course, talk about the vulnerability of the living world
The white wagtail is distributed over most of the territory of our country. Arrives in our region before the opening of the rivers and the beginning of the ice drift, and flies away in October. There is a well-known sign: "an icebreaker wagtail - breaks the ice with its tail"
WAGTAIL.
Wagtail near a puddle,
Tail shaking on the sly,
She said: "Why
All rhymes - I don't have a rhyme?
Am I running fast?
Am I catching midges?
Or do poems need a snail?
That's bullshit. I can't stand it."
Wagtail, miracle bird,
You are dearer to me than bright stars.
You ... But the spoiled girl disappeared,
Turning your quick tail.
K. Balmont
In 2011, the Russian Bird Conservation Union plans to collect phenological data on the life of these birds, estimate their numbers, find places of nocturnal accumulations of wagtails and find out if they are threatened by certain dangers, and organize mass production of houses. Enough to do for everyone. Join now!
The screen shows how to build a wagtail house
The wagtail cannot, like a titmouse clings to its paws. This is a running bird. Therefore, the house for her will be of a special design - with a landing platform-balcony. The house can be made from a planed board on both sides. As with any other bird, the house must be assembled without gaps. Before entering the nest, it is advisable to make a threshold from a block or plank. This will prevent water from getting inside.
Wagtails are hung at a height of 3 - 5 meters on trees or buildings.
Competition "All about birds"
Questions appear on the screen and, after the students answer, the correct answers.
1. What is the name of a specialist who studies birds? (Ornithologist.)
2. Who is called a water sparrow? (Olyapka.)
3. What is the smallest bird in our country? (King.)
4. Why do birds swallow pebbles? (With their help, they grind solid food.)
5. Which bird eats pine nuts? (Kedrovka.)
6. What is another name for the white crane? (Sterkh.)
7. Which bird can see ahead and behind itself? (Woodcock.)
8. What feeds the fieldfare chicks? (Insects.)
9. Where does the tit build a nest? (In the hollow.)
10. Name the bird - a symbol of Russia? (Eagle.)
11. Which birds dig nest holes? (Swallows - shore.)
12. Which bird skillfully imitates the voices of many birds? (Green chuckle.)
14. Do our migratory birds nests abroad? (Not.)
15. Which bird shakes its tail, shaking its long tail? (Wagtail.)
16. What bird "weaves" a nest? (Weaver.)
17. Which one of our birds does not have a voice, but only clicks with a long, straight beak? (Stork.)
18. The name of which poisonous plant is associated with a bird? (Raven eye.)
Competition "Proverbs about birds"
Students should continue the proverb.
The beginning of the proverb appears on the screen, then, after the students answer, its continuation.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Crow trouble ... croaked.
Not a big bird ... a titmouse.
A goose is a pig ... not a comrade.
The heart is a falcon, and courage ... a crow.
Without a tail and a birdie is not ... red.
Every magpie from its tongue ... dies.
Though crack a titmouse, but a crane ... not to be.
About the benefits of birds.
What are the benefits of birds to humans?
Student responses.
Librarian's word.
Note.
The starling eats up to 300 worms and slugs per day.
A woodpecker destroys several hundred bark beetles per day.
A cuckoo can eat 100 hairy caterpillars in just an hour.
Pink starling eats up to 200 grams of locust,
Maina for a year (while feeding the chicks) destroys them
almost 150 thousand pieces.
Blackbird feeds five chicks in 12 days
4500 invertebrates.
When tits feed their chicks, they fly
to the nest up to 500 times a day and bring more
100g insects and larvae.
The vast majority of them are of great benefit to man, exterminating insects, rodents, slugs - pests of gardens, parks, kitchen gardens, forests and fields.
Birds contribute to the dispersal of plants. Tap dances are small funny birds. Gathering in flocks on birches, they peck at their small seeds. At the same time, part of the seeds crumble, they are picked up by the wind and carried away far, far away.
Where the seeds have fallen, thin white trunks of young birch trees grow. Rowan, wild rose, red elderberry, viburnum, juniper are pecked by waxwings. Seeds that are not digested in the stomach are discarded along with bird droppings. So new plants appear here and there. Birds love elderberries, currants. Scientists have found that thrushes carry the seeds of more than 30 berry plants. The "sowers" of firs and pines are crossbills and woodpeckers. When the crossbills peel the cones of fir or pine, they drop part of the seeds on the ground, and young trees grow out of them. And near the "forge" of a woodpecker, arranged on an old stump, you can find a whole round dance of young Christmas trees.
Bullfinches, goldfinches, tits, sparrows destroy the seeds of quinoa, nettles, thistles and other weeds.
The sanitary role of birds is also great. Small birds destroy many flies that are carriers of severe gastrointestinal diseases, exterminate mosquitoes, midges, horseflies.
A special place among the destroyers of harmful insects belongs to forest insectivorous birds. According to ornithologists (they study birds), 700 species of birds live in our country, and a good half of them are to some extent connected with the forest and are the main protector of it from insect pests. Watch out for the wagtail. After all, she constantly pecks insects from the ground, grass, branches, catches them in the air.
People have long paid attention to the beneficial activity of birds in forests, gardens, and crops, and it is no coincidence that many of our birds enjoy human protection. History knows many examples when, thanks to birds, huge tracts of oak forests and coniferous plantations were saved.s from the disastrous invasion of hordesinsect pests. There are other methods of protecting plants from the harmful effects of insects, such as the use of pesticides. But poisons indiscriminately destroy all living things, including a lot of useful animals.
Therefore, biological methods of protection are more promising, among which the attraction of birds is of great importance.
Birds have a constant deterrent to the reproduction of pests. Therefore, it is important that there are as many birds as possible in our forests and gardens. This can be achieved by using a variety of methods to attract and protect them.
So let's keep them safehelp birds survive: build bird feeders and bird houses, feed them in winter.
To protect and increase the wealth of all nature, so that our entire planet is a beautiful, huge garden.
