Talk 34: What Do We Need to Know to Understand the Deceptions of Our Times?

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Re-edited: 10 February 2018
Description: Christ left us a most fearful warning: “False Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” In our own times we see even pious Orthodox Christians become confused and deluded by phenomena which appear to be Orthodox. Prophesies, clairvoyance, visions, healings, exorcisms, dreams, and mysterious fragrances are just a few of the phenomena that the pious must test, as Saint John the Evangelist writes, “to see whether they are from God.” Many are even confused about entirely un-Orthodox phenomena: psychics, UFOs, speaking in tongues, ghosts, visions, communication with the dead, astrology, reincarnation, levitation, and so on.

In this talk Father Kosmas explains that without true Orthodox teaching and spirituality it is impossible to detect and avoid these deceptions, many of which are extremely subtle, and all of which have as their aim our separation from God. He especially shows that failing to understand St Paul’s words, “They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Rom 10:2), is the main reason why many zealous Orthodox Christians fall into deception.

The following questions are also discussed: should we be proud of belonging to the true faith? Why is a lukewarm Orthodox Christian worse than an unbeliever? What was the tragic end of two laymen who gave Orthodox talks? How does one go from monastic novice to drug dealer? Are there monastics who are mediums? What are the signs of a deceived person? What is the difference between self-deception and diabolical deception? Why are there fewer miracles in the Orthodox Church now than in the past?

Other points covered in this talk include: religions that were established as a result of visions; apparitions of “Mary” to children in Roman Catholicism; the visions and stigmata of Francis of Assisi; a deceived young man’s preparations for the coming of the antichrist; a young woman’s experience with a deceived abbess; accounts of Saints Isaac and Nicetas of the Kiev Caves; and a “clairvoyant” octopus.