It is therefore clear that, in order to pass beyond the grave with good hope, one must dispose and prepare oneself for this on this side of the grave.
How is this to be done? As far as possible, one must detach and free oneself from attachment and passionate inclination to what is earthly, carnal, and sensible.
For "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 15:50).
Since "according to His promise we await new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet 3:13), we must seek righteousness, so that it may dwell in us.
Then we, together with it, may live after death in the kingdom of God. We must be animated by love for the good. We must do good works.
Perhaps some will think: how will the good works we have done in earthly life be useful to us beyond the grave?
Will they not remain on earth, like everything we have and do here?
No, brethren. Those who know the mysteries and judgments of God do not think so. They hold that good works pass beyond the grave with us.
A voice from heaven called those "blessed" who "die in the Lord," and promised them "rest." It gave this reason: "for their works follow them" (Rev 14:13).
Even if the material of some good works, for example alms that are given, belongs to the earth and remains upon it, the spirit of good works belongs to the soul, the heart, the will, and the conscience.
Therefore it is carried into eternity and manifests itself as peace of conscience, as holy strength of will, as joy of heart, and as blessedness of soul.
Yet we would deceive ourselves if we said: let us do good works, and this will be enough for our preparation for a hopeful death and blessed eternity.
The word of God says of God's law and of good works according to it: "The man who does them shall live by them" (Gal 3:12).
But it also says: "Whoever keeps the whole law, yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all" (Jas 2:10).
Who among us has not sinned in some "one point," and in more than one? Consequently, who has not damaged, more or less, even his own good works?
Who has not become guilty before the eternal justice of God? Guilt leads not to rest and blessedness, but to judgment and punishment.
Therefore in our preparation for the future there remains another important concern. We must seek to cleanse even our good works from sinful admixture, and to free ourselves from guilt.
But if our good works do not sufficiently help us, and even themselves require help, where shall we find sufficient help?
Can heaven and earth, and the angels themselves, make the guilty righteous and the sinner holy?
Certainly they cannot. What, then, will become of us?
Must we already confess that, because of the sinful corruption of our nature, we are lost beings?
In truth, we are lost beings. Only let this confession be without despair, and not without hope. From here the true path of salvation is revealed.
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Mt 18:11).
The incarnate Son of God frees us from guilt before eternal justice, since He is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (Jn 1:29).
He grants strength, purity, and perfection to our good works, since "God sent His Son, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Rom 8:3-4).
He speaks to us, and His "words are spirit and life" (Jn 6:63).
He commands, and with the commandment joins blessedness and the kingdom of heaven: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 5:3).
He commands us to believe and promises: "He who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live" (Jn 11:25).
He calls us to follow Him and promises: "Where I am, there My servant will be also" (Jn 12:26).
He suffers on the Cross, and gives us the pattern and the power "to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal 5:24).
He dies and rises, and He opens for us an easily passable path through the realm of death to eternal life.
Do you now see, Christian, what is most necessary for hopeful preparation for death and the life to come?
Believe in the Lord Jesus and call upon Him. Follow His teaching and example. Cleave to Him with memory, mind, and heart.
Then you will be able, without stumbling, to say with Saint Paul: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Amen.
On the day of the Last Judgment this hidden treasury will be opened. Or, in another expression of the Seer of Mysteries, "the book of life" will be opened.
It is written not with letters, but with moral deeds and thoughts.
Then man, whether he wishes it or not, will read in his opened conscience the deeds and thoughts of his past life.
Thus "men will be judged by what was written in the books" (Rev 20:12). In their opened conscience they will find for themselves either the judgment of eternal rest and blessedness, or the judgment of eternal rejection and torment.
There was a voice from heaven. The Seer of Mysteries heard it and lets us hear it also.
"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow them" (Rev 14:13).
Hear this: "Blessed are those who die," but not all, only those "who die in the Lord."
Those who die "rest," but not all. Only those rest to whom the Spirit of God promises this, those whose "works follow them."
Who, then, are those who die in the Lord? Without doubt, they are those who lived in Christ the Lord.
They were clothed in Him by faith and baptism. They were mystically nourished by His life-giving Body and Blood. They prepared a dwelling for Him within themselves by love for Him.
What are the "works" that "follow those who die"?
Certainly they are not works of the flesh, which decay and corrupt. They are not works of earthly gain and sensual self-love, dead and death-bearing.
They are living works of the spirit: works of repentance, faith, and love for God and neighbor.
Therefore whoever does not wish to kill his own hope for the future must attentively examine and arrange his life and works in due time.
He must do this so that he may die in the Lord, pass beyond the boundary of the grave accompanied by the works of life, and so be able to hear the voice of the Spirit of God.
Rest from the labors of temporal life in the hope of eternal blessedness.
Let us observe more carefully, hearers, in the words of the Spirit, the nature of this blessed death.
"Blessed are the dead who die." Who are these dead who die?
They are those who "were buried with Christ by baptism into death" (Rom 6:4). Against the universal mortal disease, inevitable after sin, the only remedy is to graft oneself into the saving death of Christ.
They are those who "have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal 5:24).
They are those who no longer "live," but in whom "Christ lives" (Gal 2:20).
To the extent that their "outer man is wasting away," the "inner man is being renewed" (2 Cor 4:16). Therefore the complete putting off of the death-bearing remnants of the first will be the perfect triumph of the latter.
With joyful submission to the will of the Lord, they will put off the garment of the body and rest in peace.
They will rest until He, having washed it in the stream of corruption, returns it to them incorrupt and radiant.
"Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest" (Rev 14:13).
O blessed Sabbath for those who have not wasted the days of labor.
They have borne the heat of day and the cold of night. They have labored to the point of sweat, fought to the point of blood, and kept vigil to the point of exhaustion.
Now they will no longer bear any burdens imposed by the world and the flesh.
They will not go out to gather food for themselves, but will eat of the manna prepared by the Lord.
No passion will kindle a fire in them, except the fire that burns before the Lord. No enemy will reach them.
"That they may rest from their labors" (Rev 14:13).
THEOSIS