On Meatfare Sunday,
as we prepare for the commencement of the Holy and Great Lent, we commemorate
the Second and Incorruptible Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The expression
"we commemorate" confirms that our Church, as the Body of Christ,
re-enacts in its worship the Second Coming of our Lord as an event and not just
something that is historically expected. The reason is that through the Divine
Eucharist, we are transported to the celestial kingdom, to meta-history. It is
in this Orthodox perspective that the subject of Paradise and hell is approached.
In the Gospels (Matthew, Ch. 5), mention is made of kingdom and eternal fire.
In this excerpt, the kingdom is the divine destination of mankind. The fire is
"prepared" for the devil and his "angels" (demons), not
because God desired it, but because they are impenitent. The kingdom is
prepared for those who remain faithful to the will of God.
