Alexandr Korol

Next. Here’s what they write on the internet: “The second-to-last level, the one right
below the very top, before the Kingdom of God, is usually the scene of the Second Coming
of Christ as judge and the preparation for judgment.” You see, only preparation.
“The central place here is occupied by Christ in Glory. On either side of him are the
Mother of God and John the Forerunner.” And there’s also this written interestingly
in parentheses: “Deesis” — who is that? Next: “The apostles on thrones as judges,
and beneath Christ’s feet often Adam and Eve, bowing to him.” And it’s also shown
that there’s “the prepared throne, the empty throne with the cross, the Gospel, Christ’s
garments, the instruments of the Passion, sometimes the scales of justice. This level
shows the very moment of the Last Judgment. Christ comes to judge the living and
the dead, will separate the righteous from the sinful. It’s precisely from here that (the
righteous),” in parentheses, “the procession of the saints by ranks — prophets, apostles,
martyrs, the venerable, and so on — head upward into the Heavenly Jerusalem.” Which
is the Kingdom of God. So, it’s as if when the coming — that is, this very thing
now — comes to pass, from there those who have earned it are already sent off into
the Kingdom of God. And then further: “The second-to-last level is the judgment and
the coming of Christ, this is still only to happen now.” Next: “The very last, uppermost
level is already the eternal Kingdom of God, into which the justified righteous enter.”