He is furious because he knows that there is not much left for him to do. Now he behaves like a criminal who, when he is surrounded, says, "Don't save me, they'll get me!" - and smashes everything left and right. Or how during war, when they run out of ammunition, soldiers pull out a bayonet or a saber, rush into battle and - whatever happens! "It's all the same," they say, "to die. Let us kill as many enemies as we can!"
The world is on fire! Do you understand this? No small temptation has come upon it. The devil has kindled such a fire that even if all the firemen gathered together they would not be able to put it out. Spiritual fire - nothing is left undamaged. We can only pray that God has mercy on us. For when a great fire breaks out and firefighters can do nothing more, people will have to turn to God and ask him for a heavy rain to put out the flames. So it is with that spiritual fire that the devil has fanned - all that is needed is prayer that God will help.
The whole world is headed for one thing. A general breakdown. You can't say, "There's a little broken window or something in the house, let me fix it." The whole house has fallen apart. The world has become a ruined village. The situation is already out of control. If only God would do something from above. Now God has work to do: where with a screwdriver, where with a carrot, where with a stick, to fix it all. The world has an ulcer, it is yellowed and ready to burst, but not yet ripe. Evil is ripening, as it was then in Jericho, which needed to be decontaminated, subjected to "disinfection.
- St. Paisios the Athonite
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