The End is Near

 "As the priest came out from the altar, he reached up to close the heavy curtain behind him and it caught and then the whole rod came tumbling down!"  In a frenzy they tried to rehang it, then eventually had to call someone else to climb up with a ladder to return the curtain to its place separating the people from the holy altar.

A typical Orthodox Church has an ornate iconostasis behind which is the altar.

Eva told the story with animation as we sat in our Ladies' Bible study tonight.  We were continuing our study in 1 Corinthians 15 and had reached verses 24-25 about the end of the world when Jesus will destroy "all dominion, authority and power."  We should always be ready, we agreed.  How?  By helping others get ready -- by telling others what we're learning in the Bible.  Eva had been on a field trip with a retired women's group touring a monastery and old church when the curtain fell.  And she jumped at the opportunity to share.

"I didn't say anything when it happened; we all just waited in silence," she continued, "but once we were outside sitting on a bench I told [my friend], 'We read about this in the Bible and how when Jesus breathed his last breath on the cross the curtain in the temple tore open from top to bottom.   It means that the door is now open for us to approach God directly through Jesus.  There should be no curtain.'"  She said her friend, whom she described as one who presents herself as very religious, said nothing and only changed the subject. 

Eva with her niece (who now comes to Bible study) and Jackie

Eva has been coming to our group for almost two years now and she laughs to recall that she was warned by neighbors to stay away from us because we are surely with the CIA!  On our first meeting she tearfully accepted her very first Bible and then showed up at her first Bible study with hand-made tabs carefully taped on the first page of each of the books of the Bible.   By November she was able to tell us with confidence that Jesus now lives in her heart and she knows that He will never leave her.

Pray for Eva as she shares with others what she reads in the Bible.  Pray for her to continue to be bold and enthusiastic, always ready for each opportunity -- and pray for hearts ready to hear the good news she's sharing!