“The end will be through China, and Russia will be saved”: the amazing prophecy of the elder Aristoklius, 1917

A few months ago, in my article “The Two Most Amazing Prophecies About Russia and China,” I already, in fact, expressed what I will repeat and somewhat expand now in the context of modern events – in particular, the outbreak of the Corona virus in China .

On the eve of the revolution of 1917, the Orthodox Bishop Aristokliy, Elder Athos (in the world – Alexei Alekseevich Amvrosiev) predicted:

“Evil will soon come to Russia (communist revolution of 1917), and wherever this evil comes, rivers of blood will flow. This is unusual for the Russian soul, this is a deception. This is a spirit from hell. But in the end, Russia will be liberated, believers from Russia will set out and convert many nations to God… We have prophecies from ancient times that the rays of the Gospel will come from the east…

Light throughout the world will be from Russia, which suffers more than anyone … Russia will be completely reborn! Everyone will abandon Russia, other powers will abandon it, leaving it to itself. This is so that the Russian people trust in the help of the Lord …

We are now living in the time of anti-Christ. God’s judgment has begun on the living, and there will not be a single country on earth, not a single person who will not be touched by this. It began with Russia, and then further.

And Russia will be saved. Lots of pain, lots of pain. It is necessary to suffer much and much and to repent deeply for everyone. Only repentance through suffering will save Russia. All of Russia will become a prison, and one must beg the Lord for forgiveness a lot. Repent of sins and be afraid to commit even the slightest sins, but try to do good, even the smallest. After all, even the wing of a fly has weight, but God has accurate scales. And when the smallest thing outweighs goodness on the cup, then God will show His mercy over Russia …

But first, God will take away all the leaders so that the Russian people look only at Him. Everyone will abandon Russia, other powers will abandon it, leaving it to itself. This is so that the Russian people trust in the help of the Lord. Hear that in other countries unrest will begin and similar to that in Russia (during the revolution – ed.), And you will hear about wars and there will be wars – now, the time is near. But don’t be afraid of anything. The Lord will show His wonderful mercy.

The end will be through China. There will be some unusual explosion, and a miracle of God will appear. And there will be a completely different life on earth, but not for a very long time. The Cross of Christ will shine over the whole world, because our Motherland will be exalted and will be like a beacon in the darkness for everyone .” The prophecy of the Schieieromonk Aristoklius of Athos was made c. 1917-18

I often returned in my thoughts and return to this amazing prophecy. Elder Aristocles has other amazing prophecies – about the Second World War, and still others that have come true, but I often think – and not for the first year – about what kind of end, which will be through China, does the elder speak? “ The end will be through China. There will be some unusual explosion, and a miracle of God will appear . What does it mean?

As a long-term researcher of biblical prophecy and a professional theologian, it is immediately clear to me (and the author of the prophecy does not hide this) that he himself does not understand – what is he talking about? What does the Lord reveal? After all, God reveals the future in a special, symbolic language, which is not always clear to the prophets. And sometimes it doesn’t make sense at all. Here is an example. For two months I have been publishing here at Open Seminary articles on the prophecies of Daniel. There you can learn a lot of information about history and prophecy. But sometimes things were conveyed to Daniel in symbols that he could never understand—and never understood. Here is his confession:

Daniel 12:8-9: “I heard this, but did not understand it, so I said, “My lord! what will happen after that? And he answered (Archangel Gabriel): “go, Daniel; for these words are hidden and sealed up until the end.”

That is, no matter how Daniel thought or guessed, he could not understand – for this, events had to begin to be fulfilled, and these “incomprehensible” prophecies of Daniel are connected with the “end times”. That’s when they become clear. Alas, they are becoming clear, as we have seen from a number of examples, already now.

And here is another example, also from the book of the prophet Daniel: (12:8-9): “I, Daniel, was greatly embarrassed by my thoughts, and my face changed on me; but I have kept the word in my heart.”

In the same way, the elder Aristocles kept the word in his heart, although he did not understand the details. Understood the main thing. And he conveyed it in those close semantic categories that he could.

I will give another example from the Bible, when God, as it were, tests the vision of his prophets. Here is how the young prophet Jeremiah describes his call to the prophetic ministry: (Jeremiah 1:11-14):

“And the word of the Lord came to me: What do you see, Jeremiah? I said: I see the staff of the almond tree. The Lord said to me: you see correctly; for I watch over my word, that it may soon be fulfilled.

And the word of the Lord came to me another time: What do you see? I said: I see a boiling cauldron blown by the wind, and its face is from the north. And the Lord said to me: from the north, disaster will be revealed on all the inhabitants of this earth.

I will not here explain to you the most interesting vision of Jeremiah and the meaning of his symbols. I gave this as a typical example of what a prophecy is made of. And now I want to look again with you at the prophecy of the elder Aristocles about China and Russia, and to this ” unusual explosion “. To be honest, I have been thinking for more than a year – what kind of “explosion” are we talking about? Let’s think and reason together.

Perhaps we are talking about a real, literal explosion – let’s say (God forbid, of course) a nuclear bomb. Maybe. But why then does the elder say so wonderfully: “There will be some unusual explosion”? Why is it unusual? Because of an unprecedented nuclear force in 1917 (when the prophecy was written)? Maybe. But, nevertheless, knowing the symbolic language usual for the Bible, I cannot dwell on this interpretation and move on.

I thought for a long time that perhaps this “explosion” will be an explosion of spirituality, a mass conversion to God, which will happen in China. Maybe you are right. Hope. But then the prophecy for some reason claims that it is Russia, and not China, that will become the spiritual beacon of the world, which makes the assumption of a “spiritual explosion” in China less likely.

“Economic explosion”, that is, the explosive growth of the Chinese economy, I did not seriously consider, since such things as a successful economy would hardly contribute to spiritual rebirth. Moreover, in Russia.

Yes, if you have noticed, Elder Aristoclius somehow connects this “some kind of unusual explosion” in China with the spiritual revival of Russia. Somehow, very quickly, Russia comes out of its boorish dream, remembers God, and, roughly speaking, saves the world.

Next, before I speculate – what kind of explosion is this unusual – I would like to give one more interesting evidence – or prophecy – that came from another person, but surprisingly resonates with this prophecy. For those who read my article “Two Most Amazing Prophecies About Russia and China”, it is already clear that this is an amazing prophecy of the 19th century English preacher and missionary Hudson Taylor, who devoted his whole life to selfless missionary service in China. I have already written about this amazing man, about whose life whole books have now been written, and I will not repeat myself. I will cite only his prophecy and the circumstances of its receipt.

In 1889, while on holiday in England, during a sermon, he suddenly stopped and froze in silence. His eyes were closed, he seemed to stop breathing. Then he kind of woke up, continued preaching, but after a while, to the surprise of the huge church, he fell silent again, closed his eyes and stopped noticing what was happening. When he finally came to his senses, he announced to the audience:

“I had a vision. I saw a great war engulfing the whole world. I saw how this war ended and then resumed, but in reality it was two wars ( here he foresaw the First and Second World Wars . – ed.). After that, I saw riots and uprisings that affected many nations, as well as spiritual awakening in some places.

There will be a comprehensive national spiritual awakening in Russia, so strong that there will not be another like it. I saw how it spread from Russia to many European countries. Then there will be a worldwide revival, after which Christ will come .”

Again, we see that Russia plays a key role in the spiritual and other leadership of the world. But this only comes with her spiritual awakening. And the awakening in Russia, alas, will now be when the thunder strikes – then the peasant will cross himself. And the conclusion suggests itself that the thunder that will break out in China will force the Russian to cross himself.

I, as a former physician, thought about another phenomenon that could well be described as “some kind of unusual explosion.” So they say about the outbreak of a dangerous infectious disease. Explosion – in the language of medical epidemiologists of all countries, this is an Epidemic.

I do not claim, in any way, that the outbreak of the Corona virus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of the elder Aristocles about “some kind of unusual explosion” in China. But maybe it is. Maybe, looking at this outbreak, which happened to our closest neighbor, with whom we are intertwined with millions of ties, the Russian people will think: is it all about money? They will think: what if I die in a week, in a month? Why did I even live? And turn to God…

Well, tell me, foolish dreamer, that it’s possible. Deceive me – I myself, as the poet said, am glad to be deceived. Because if this highly “unusual explosion”, the origin of which one can only guess, wakes up a sleeping Russian bear, then it will wake him up with an “unusual explosion” and stronger. I am almost sure that God did not specify in this prophecy the nature of this “unusual explosion” because our Russian people can only be awakened by an “unusual explosion”. If Russia wakes up now, then all these horrors will be counted as an “unusual explosion.”

If Russia does not wake up, expect another, louder “unusual explosion”. And so it will be until Russia remembers God and the tsar, whom they overthrew at the same time. So Russia will return to God and the tsar too – at the same time. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the name of this virus that blew up China is the Corona virus. If the Russians hear its explosion, if they think about what awaits us in the future, if we go where we are going, then soon Russia will shine as a beacon to the world, and at the very top of this beacon there will be the Crown of the Russian Empire.