Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
W H A T A N D W H E N I S T H E E N D O F C R E A T I O N
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain.” (Hebrews 1: 10-11)
The holy psalmist in Psalm 102: 10 addresses the Son and Logos of God and mentions that He is the creator of the whole world, that is, whatever we see and whatever we cannot see. However, when did creation take place? We need to remember that God is timeless, is not limited by time and He is also the Creator of time. Before God put into operation His will to bring the creation from non-existence into existence, the meaning of time did not exist. Time, then, has a beginning and in the same manner at some point time will come to an end. Therefore, by the phrase “in the beginning” we must comprehend that the launch of time took place “with the beginning of time”, as soon as the first created things appeared on earth.
God, through His Logos, created what is visible and what is invisible. In the Old Testament in the first chapter of the book of Genesis we read as follows: “God said, let it be……” Everything came into existence from the state of non-existence. Apart from the materialistic world, God beforehand created the spiritual world “the angelic hosts”. In the book of Job we read as follows: “When the stars were made and all My angels praised Me in a loud voice.” (Job 38: 7).
The planetary systems are also a result of the act of creation. What is more, the physical laws operate with such accuracy that there is hardly ever a collision. Only through the intervention of God, do the physical laws stop their operation temporarily, when miracles take place and then they return to normality and continue their cycle. Contemporary science speaks about the elasticity of the law of nature, which does not create any problem.
God created man, the head of creation, with special care, on the sixth day. In this instance, the Bible does not use the usual phrase “and God said” because in the case of the creation of man, the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity participated. The Bible says “let us create”. The Three Persons converse and decide among themselves for the creation of man, who was created “in the image and likeness of God.” Additionally, man was created first in the person of Adam and the woman followed in the person of Eve. In the Hebrew language for the rest of creation, the verb “bara” is used whereas for the creation of man the verb “asa”.
All created things become old and deteriorate, animals, buildings and man, thus the whole of creation with the passing of time will come to an end. Apostle Peter confirms: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” (2 Peter 3: 10).
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No one knows when the end of creation will take place, not even the angels in heaven. Many people have often been tempted to seek when the end of time will take place and to set up a fixed date. As a consequence they have been proved wrong. This fact is known only by God. All those who try to offer this kind of information, simply tell lies and mislead others. In the end the whole of creation will change and will be renewed. The Lord said: “Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev. 21: 5). With the end of time, we will have a new state where the creation will be renewed, in accordance with the plans of God, the Creator. Glory and power be to Him for ever. Amen!
C O M M U N I T Y N E W S
MEALS FOR THE ELDERLY: The meals for the elderly during the month of March were subsidised by the following: an anonymous donor in memory of her beloved departed husband Andreas and parents Savvas and Rodou; Eleni Kapaldi; Costas and Elli Ktori in memory of their beloved departed daughter Irene; Evridiki Demetriou in memory of her beloved departed husband Vasos, parents Yiannis, Sophia, Christodoulos, Alexandra, Joakeim and Andreas, Loukia and Maria; Charalambos Kyriakides and the Ladies’ Auxiliary Society of PANTANASSA. We thank all the kind donors for their generosity and consideration towards this cause.
MEATFARE SUNDAY MEAL FOR THE ELDERLY: On Meatfare Sunday (23-02-2014) the Ladies’ Auxiliary Society of PANTANASSA with great enthusiasm and generosity served our respected elderly after the Divine Liturgy at both of our community halls. The meal comprised of a variety of foods, fruit, desserts and drinks. Members of the Community, cantors, guests and clergy also participated at the meal. His Grace, Athanasios, Bishop of Tropaeou, led the prayers, greeted all those taking part, thanked all the donors and the workers of goodness and kindness and gave the blessing.
ANNUAL SCHOOL RAFFLE: We would like to inform our parishioners that the School Governors of St Barnabas Greek School have once again issued the annual school raffle in order to replenish the school funds. It is now in circulation. So far we have been able to raise £1,000.00 from this very worthy venture. If you would like to support this you may purchase some raffles, either from the two churches or from the school office. Price per ticket £1.00.
SCHOOL CONCERT: The Greek and Sunday Schools of St Barnabas are preparing a programme to honour the two great events, 25th March 1821 and 1st April 1955. This programme will consist of speeches, poems, plays, songs and dances and will take place at 4.00 p.m. on Sunday, 23rd March 2014 in St Mary’s Church hall. We look forward to your participation in remembering the sacrifices of our ancestors who gave their lives in the name of freedom.
REMINDER: We remind all our respected parishioners to bring flowers for the decoration of the Cross next Sunday, the Feast of the Veneration of the Cross. The flowers will then be distributed to the faithful.
NEW VOLUME OF THE GREEK DIACONIA: Volume 34 of the Greek Diaconia, which records the sermons and the community activities during the year 2014, is now in circulation. Those of you who are interested may purchase this from the Community offices. Price £10.00 each volume.
SCHOOL MAGAZINE: The Christmas edition of the school magazine “I Phoni tou Scholiou” has now been completed and is in circulation. This magazine is No. 118 and contains a greeting by His Grace Athanasios, Bishop of Tropaeou, articles by the teachers, various articles by our school pupils, an account of the Schools’ and community’s activities during the early part of the school year, various photographs of the school and community events and advertisements.
NEWS FROM OUR BOOKSHOP: We inform all our parishioners that you may purchase the following books from the community’s bookshop:
a) Holy Week (Greek and English) £25.00
b) The Akathist Hymn (Greek and English) £10.00
c) The Holy Bible (English only) £50.00
d) New Testament (English only) £30.00
e) New Testament (Greek and Modern Greek) £ 6.00
A VISIT TO THE HELLENIC CENTRE: About thirty pupils from St Barnabas Greek and Sunday Schools, accompanied by Bishop Athanasios and six teachers, visited the Hellenic Centre to see the exhibition of what Greek women’s costumes were like two hundred years ago. The exhibition was held in memory of Koula Lemos by her family. Mrs Ioanna Papantoniou and Mrs Natasa Lemos spoke to the pupils about the costumes in an interesting and informative manner. At the end of the exhibition the pupils were offered various refreshments. The Schools of St Barnabas congratulate the Centre for the exhibition, the hospitality and the opportunity given to the pupils to taste a part of Greek history.
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