By St. Nikolai Velimirovich
"Behold, I am coming soon" (Rev. 22:7).
The unfaithful and the slayers of the spirit will say, "Nearly two thousand years ago He promised that He will come and He has not come yet!" This is how they, who ridiculed Him, will lament in eternal torment. But we who are prepared for happiness in His Kingdom know that He will come in power and glory just as He promised.
We know that He has already come countless times and showed Himself to His faithful ones. Did He not come to John the Divine [the one who saw God] to whom He spoke these words, "Behold, I am coming soon?" John saw Him in power and glory and felt His hand on him when he was frightened and fell before His feet as dead, "And He touched me with His right hand" (Rev. 1:17). Did He not come to Saul when in the beginning he breathed hatred against the Christians and when on the road to Damascus fell on the ground, seeing the Lord and hearing His voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (Acts 9:4). And again, did He not enter into the heart of the Apostle Paul when he recognized that "Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me!" (Gal. 2:20). Did He not come to the countless martyrs, both male and female, who suffered for His Name, to encourage them, to heal them, and to have mercy on them? Did He not come to Anthony the Great, Theodore Stratelates, St. Haralambos, St. Marina, St. Sylvester and many, many more? What are we saying? Did He not return from the Kingdom of Death on the third day and appeared before the apostles? Did He not come to the aid of the Church many, many times and, as out of the dead, resurrected it whenever her enemies rejoiced, thinking that they had given His Church over to death forever? Did He not appear in His power in the Church at the time of Nero as well as at the time of Constantine; at the time of Julian, as well as at the time of Justinian; at the time of Arab tyranny, as well as at the time of the Turkish and Mongolian oppression over Christians?
O, my faithful brethren, do not submit to deception. He came countless times and comes even today. He comes to every soul to whom He can, regardless of impurity. However, we are all waiting for Him to come for the last time in power and glory. We know that His coming is certain.
O Lord most gracious, before You come, make us worthy to recognize Your face and to be ashamed of our faces, darkened by sin. To You glory and thanks always. Amen.
