I can't wait until the Bridegroom Matins on Palm Sunday evening. That really makes this all come alive.
It's also good to remember that, while there is certainly fear involved at Christ's coming, it should also be a source of joy to us. Furthermore, Christ is available right now to all of us, ready to heal us of our sins and give us eternal life.
Amen! I hope and pray for the services and the lenten period to really be a time of renewal.
There are many, many signs that show us it is "later than we think," in the words of the ever-memorable Fr. Seraphim.
The "wars and rumors of wars," (WWI, WWII, and soon WWIII).
The last Orthodox emperor being "taken out of the way" in 1917. (The rapid spread of the abolishment of monarchy in our day is related to this).
The gathering and settling of Jews in Palestine, after exile for many centuries.
The increasing frequency of earthquakes in diverse places. (The Scripture never indicates that these must occur naturally. I assure you, there are deliberate man-made quakes and tsunamis, such as the pre-meditated attack on Japan that caused the deaths of approx. 20,000).
The pervasive spread of the sign of the Antichrist.
Only within the last century has man developed technology with which the whole earth could be destroyed. It was not possible to destroy the entire earth a couple of centuries ago with a musket or a sword or a cannon.
and so many more...
Yes indeed. I believe that all these things confirm what so many Russian New Martyrs said about the generation that would see the end being upon us.