Infused Hope needed for us to remain unshakable in the face of World War III

“HOPE - is a divine infused virtue by which, with certain confidence, relying on God’s goodness and promises, we expect to attain eternal life, and the means to attain it. This virtue enables us to live the Christian life without the uncertainty and inconstancy of human hope, but with the unshakable support of God on Whom we rely. While faith gives light, hope gives confidence. It eliminates discouragement from faults, temptation and aridities found in every life. The more one advances in the Christian life the stronger hope must be, for the struggles become more difficult, the sacrifices greater, and the operations of grace more difficult to understand. This virtue is brought to its highest perfection by the Gift of Fear of the Lord”. Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P. Pope Francis has designated next year, 2025, to be a Holy Year. He wants the coming Jubilee Year 2025 to be lived as a “year of hope,” very symbolic in times when the world’s wars seem to be unending and multiplying. We read of this at: https://insidethevatican.com/magazine/the-jubilee-year-2025-a-holy-year-of-hope/ The Jubilee Year 2025 – a Holy Year of Hope Pilgrims to Rome — and “spiritual pilgrims” — can receive special graces during the coming Jubilee By Anna Artymiak This year on Christmas Eve, 2024, Pope Francis, like Pope John Paul II in 1999, will open the Holy Door to begin a Jubilee Year in 2025. It will be an ordinary holy year — in accordance with the tradition of the Church to celebrate such a year every 25 years, to give every generation a chance to experience that special time of grace and mercy in their life. Those who participate in a Holy Year pilgrimage are granted a plenary indulgence; those who are unable to attend in person for concrete reasons are invited to participate spiritually, “offering up the sufferings of their daily lives, and participating in the Eucharistic celebration.” The last ordinary holy year, the Great Jubilee Year of 2000, which took place under John Paul II, was one of the biggest events in the history of mankind. The Holy Father Francis wants the coming Jubilee Year 2025 to be lived as a “year of hope,” very symbolic in times when the world’s wars seem to be unending and multiplying. Catholic tradition refers back to the Jewish tradition of the “jubilees” present in the Bible (cf. Leviticus 25:8-13), although in Rome it was started simply for pilgrims. In preparation for the coming holy year, Pope Francis has decided to dedicate the year 2024 to prayer in its personal and community dimension. The term “Jubilee” comes from the name of an instrument, the yobel, the ram’s horn, used by Jews in Biblical times to proclaim the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). …. Whilst not being overly pessimistic or negative, we live in a generation that is on par with that of Noah, or that of Jesus Christ, as a “wicked and adulterous generation” (Matthew 16:4). Neither one of these ended well. Despite the conditional warnings at Fatima in 1917, we have plunged from one war into another, “the world’s wars seem to be unending and multiplying”, and we can no longer justifiably expect to avoid the last predicted woe, “certain nations will be annihilated”. July 13. 1917 ‘To prevent this, I shall come to the world to ask that Russia be consecrated to my Immaculate Heart, and I shall ask that on the First Saturday of every month Communions of reparation be made in atonement for the sins of the world. If my wishes are fulfilled, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, then Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, bringing new wars and persecution of the Church; the good will be martyred and the Holy Father will have much to suffer; certain nations will be annihilated. But in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and the world will enjoy a period of peace ...’. Stay in God’s grace. The Psalmists expressed an abundance of Hope when they exclaimed (Psalm 45:3-5 Douay; 46:2-3 NIV): Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Virulent anti-Catholic, Alphonse Ratisbonne, converted through the Miraculous Medal

“Have you the courage to submit yourself to a very simple and innocent test? Only to wear a little something I will give you; look, it is a medal of the Blessed Virgin. It seems very ridiculous, does it not? But, I assure you, I attach great value and efficacy to this little medal. [Also] you must say every night and morning the Memorare, a very short and very efficacious prayer which St. Bernard addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary”. Theodore de Bussieres https://aleteia.org/2017/08/14/how-a-radical-atheist-became-a-catholic-priest How a radical atheist became a Catholic priest Philip Kosloski - published on 08/14/17 He hated the Church until one event changed his life forever … and his story would later impress Maximilian Kolbe. Born into a wealthy Jewish family in France in 1814, Alphonse Ratisbonne was set to become part of his uncle’s large banking firm. At first Ratisbonne was a nominal Jew, but when his older brother converted to the Catholic faith and became a priest, a hidden rage woke within him. Ratisbonne wrote, “When my brother became a Catholic, and a priest, I persecuted him with a more unrelenting fury than any other member of my family. We were completely sundered; I hated him with a virulent hatred, though he had fully pardoned me.” Furthermore this hatred for his brother was broadened to include all Catholics, and Ratisbonne explained how it “made me believe all I heard of the fanaticism of the Catholics, and I held them accordingly in great horror.” This also affected his personal beliefs and he came to no longer believe in God. Ratisbonne was too busy following worldly pursuits to worry about his Jewish faith and his deep hatred for Catholicism only pushed him further away from any type of religion. He eventually began to feel the void in his heart, but at first sought to cure it through marriage. Ratisbonne was betrothed to his niece, but because of her young age the wedding was postponed. During this time of waiting Ratisbonne decided to travel without any singular purpose. His trip started out by traveling to Naples, where he stayed for about a month. After that Ratisbonne wanted to go to Malta, but took the wrong boat and arrived in Rome. He stayed there, making the best of it, and ran into an old friend. One day when visiting his friend Ratisbonne encountered a Catholic convert, Theodore de Bussieres, who knew Ratisbonne’s priest-brother. While this made Ratisbonne hate the man, he enjoyed conversing with him because of his knowledge. Later Ratisbonne visited de Bussieres again. They had a heated discussion about Catholicism and de Bussieres made a wager with Ratisbonne. Have you the courage to submit yourself to a very simple and innocent test? Only to wear a little something I will give you; look, it is a medal of the Blessed Virgin. It seems very ridiculous, does it not? But, I assure you, I attach great value and efficacy to this little medal. [Also] you must say every night and morning the Memorare, a very short and very efficacious prayer which St. Bernard addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary. While at first Ratisbonne protested at wearing the medal (which was the Miraculous Medal), he decided to put it around his neck and say the prayer each day. He figured that it couldn’t do any harm and would prove to all the ridiculous nature of Catholicism. Ratisbonne lived up to his side of the bargain, finding it easy to recite the Memorare. Then one day he was traveling in the city with de Bussieres and they stopped at the church Saint Andrea delle Fratte. When Ratisbonne entered the church it appeared to be engulfed in a marvelous light. He looked to an altar from where the light was coming and saw the Virgin Mary, appearing as she did on the Miraculous Medal. He left the church in tears, clutching his Miraculous Medal. Several days later he was received into the Catholic Church. After returning to Paris his betrothed was shocked and rejected him and his new religion. Ratisbonne then entered the Jesuits and was ordained a priest. This amazing story of conversion would later influence Saint Maximilian Kolbe to found the Militia Immaculatae and convinced him of the power of the Miraculous Medal. He firmly believed in Mary’s role in bringing the world to Christ. Read more: “Life for Life” and the living memory of Maximilian Kolbe

Apocalyptic Apoplexy

by Damien F. Mackey The term “Antichrist” does not occur anywhere in the Book of Apocalypse (Revelation). Saving the ‘Literal’ Level A friend has written, and sent to me the following brief review of a no-doubt fascinating book by Emmet O’Regan, entitled Unveiling the Apocalypse. The Final Passover of the Church (2011): Damien, This is my summary of the book Unveiling the Apocalypse by Emmet O'Regan O'Regan's basic thesis is that many of the events narrated in the Apocalypse have taken place in the 20th century but he also outlines what has not yet taken place and locates fairly exactly where he thinks we are currently positioned. In brief he holds that around 1900 following upon [pope] Leo's vision we had the "unbinding" of Satan after the millennium. On this point, he notes that Augustine had two interpretations of the millennium in The City of God the first of which became largely forgotten. The latter, more common interpretation is that the millennium represents an indeterminate amount of time following the binding of Satan at our Lord's Passion. The other interpretation he proposed is that the millennium stands for the Sabbath millennium i.e towards the end (but not exactly at the end) of six thousand years from creation the unbinding would happen. In his day the Septuagint genealogical interpretation was common which meant that the Sabbath millennium would be around 500AD. It was Bede who calculated 3992 years based on the Hebrew text - since adjusted slightly by others. O'Regan points out that an unbinding of Satan around the time of 1900 fits with the Sabbath millennium. Now O'Regan himself does not hold to a young age for man so he sees this as being of "prophetic" significance rather than literal but he really likes it (whereas I would take it more literally). Now, there has also been interesting new research done by Kevin Symonds in his new book on the St Michael prayer and Leo's vision (which I have already recently read). It turns out saying it happened on October 13th 1884 is one of those made up facts. In fact we don't know a lot for sure about the content of the vision, but Symonds concludes that we can say one took place. The earliest accounts that place a time frame for Satan's period of greater freedom are 50-60 years not the commonly cited 100. O'Regan has a fascinating take on this as one of the accounts of the vision (though we must be cautious) depicts God as saying to Satan that they would "talk later." So for the next sixty years Satan "gathered the nations for war" as it says in the Apocalypse and we had the worst wars humanity has ever seen. O'Regan speculates that around the mid century Satan probably re-bargained for another 50-60 years with a different strategy - a more direct attack on the Church. Hence from 1960 everything has gone up in flames within the Church and Pope Paul himself said the smoke of Satan had entered. This … parallels Job, a type of the Church, who was first attacked Satan by losing all his friends and property. Satan then bargained again and sent an outbreak of sores on Job himself. O'Regan argues that around the years 1999/ 2000 we had the casting down of Satan from heaven (which is the context of the discussion regarding the eclipse). It appears that prior to this final casting out Satan always had some access to the heavenly court in order to accuse humanity of its sins hence "the accuser of our brethren has been cast out". Now, as O'Regan says, the problem most people have is after the year 2000 the situation in the world hardly began to ameliorate itself. Hence such an idea comes across as self evidently incorrect to most (after all it was after that time that homosexual marriage became legalised everywhere etc not to mention the current situation in the Church). O'Regan points out this is what we should expect. For it says in the Apocalypse that upon the casting out of Satan the heavens should rejoice but "woe to the earth" for in his fury at being cast down he lets forth a flood upon the earth against the woman. O'Regan argues that is where we currently find ourselves - enduring this last outpouring of Satan's wrath. Now, if he is correct, this has helped me figure out another puzzle (though this is not discussed in his book). I have had trouble figuring out Sr Lucia's words that the battle against marriage and the family will be the devil's last battle. It seems clear to me after all that Antichrist is not yet here but supposedly we are in the midst of this last battle. However, I now see from O'Regan that after Satan is cast to earth his power is then transferred to Antichrist. So the devil's last battle and the last battle are not the same thing. So, what we are currently waiting for, according to this account, is the appearance of the two witnesses to restore the Church (which he says are the holy pope and emperor) and the preaching of the Gospel to all nations through them. Towards the end of this period the Antichrist will arise and fight against them and after Antichrist is defeated then the end will come. Damien Mackey’s response: Since the interpretations given here, and the associated timetable, are quite different from those that I personally favour (which does not necessarily mean that O’Regan is wrong), I should like to give my reasons for why I must disagree with O’Regan (as here summarised). Failure to recognise the “literal” level Whilst I myself have not read O’Regan’s book, and so am dependent upon my friend’s summary of it, I have read this type of book before, this same sort of approach to the intriguing Book of Apocalypse. That is: “O'Regan's basic thesis is that many of the events narrated in the Apocalypse have taken place in the 20th century …”. The most notable book of this type that springs to mind is Fr. Herman Kramer’s engrossing The Book of Destiny (Tan, 1975). Years ago my friends and I were completely hooked on it. What a fascinating read! I have referred to it briefly in, for instance, my article: John the Evangelist and Vincent Ferrer https://www.academia.edu/44521564/John_the_Evangelist_and_Vincent_Ferrer as follows: Fr. Herman B. Kramer … has brought some connections between St. John and St. Vincent Ferrer in his captivating study on the Apocalypse, The Book of Destiny (Tan, 1975). According to Fr. Kramer’s interpretation of the Apocalypse, each chapter [can] be linked literally to an important era of Christian history. For instance, Revelation chapters 8 and 9 Fr. Kramer aligned with, respectively, the Great Western Schism (C14th-15th AD) and the Protestant Reformation (C16th AD). Perhaps Fr. Kramer’s lynchpin for all this was his identifying of the Eagle, or angel of judgment, of Revelation 8:13, or 14:6, with St. Vincent Ferrer, OP. (ibid., pp. 208-9): By a wonderful co-incidence a great saint appears at this stage [the Western Schism] in the history of the Church. His eminence and influence procured for him the distinction of an eagle flying through mid-heaven. This was the Dominican priest, St. Vincent Ferrer. When in 1398 he lay at death’s door with fever, our Lord, St. Francis and St. Dominic appeared to him, miraculously cured him of his fever and commissioned him to preach penance and prepare men for the coming judgments. Preaching in the open space in San Esteban on October 3, 1408 he solemnly declared that he was the angel of the judgment spoken of by St. John in the Apocalypse. The body of a woman was just being carried to St. Paul’s church nearby for burial. St. Vincent ordered the bearers to bring the corpse before him. He adjured the dead to testify whether his claim was true or not. The dead woman came to life and in the hearing of all bore witness to the truth of the saint’s claim and then slept again in death (Fr. Stanislaus Hogan O.P.). [End of quotes] With all due respect to the supposed testimony of this briefly resuscitated woman, the entire Book of Apocalypse (consisting of 22 chapters) right up to approximately the early verses of chapter 20, at least, belongs to an era - Saint John’s own era - when the old Judaïc system was still in place. I explained this in my article, “Book of Revelation Theme: The Bride and the Reject”, now revised as: Theme of Apocalypse – the Bride and the Reject (3) Theme of Apocalypse – the Bride and the Reject | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu Here is a small part of what I have written on the subject: What has exacerbated the whole exegetical problem of properly interpreting Revelation on a literal level is, I believe, the conventional opinion that St. John wrote this Apocalypse in hoary old age, in c. 95 AD, about a quarter of a century after Jerusalem had been destroyed. Hence many commentators are loath to see any relevance for Revelation in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Protestant and Catholic writers alike accept the late 95 AD date of authorship (Protestant Thomas Foster sharing this view in common with Opus Dei and Fr. Kramer). However, with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, there has emerged a new scholarship of great expertise as typified by Fr. Jean Carmignac, showing that the books of the New Testament literature (esp. the Gospels), were composed much earlier than was originally thought. And the signs are that the entire New Testament, including Revelation, pre-dates 70 AD. I believe that there is abundant evidence in the Apocalypse to indicate that it was written early. In fact, the reason that prevented my writing this article initially was: Where to start? There is so much! My effort in the end had been greatly assisted by my finding Gentry’s preterist interpretation on the eve of commencing this article. The whole Book of Revelation is focussed upon the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem. The Temple; the golden altar; the 24 elders keeping watch at Beth Moked in the north from where an attack might come (and general Titus did in fact take Jerusalem from there, at the city’s weakest point); the sabbath restrictions; etc., etc. Apart from their late dating of St. John’s Revelation preventing commentators from recognising the obvious, that “Babylon” is Jerusalem, this path they have taken leads them into other awkward anomalies as well. It is commonly believed that St. Paul had already completed his missionary activity and had been martyred well before St. John the Evangelist wrote the Book of Revelation. Paul is given the credit for having established the seven churches to which John later wrote. This view forces commentators into making such strange observations as Fr. Kramer’s: “… St. John could not have interfered in the administration of the churches in the lifetime of St. Paul” (op. cit., pp. 7-8). Oh, no? Was St. Paul (who even refers to himself as a very late arrival on the scene, I Corinthians 15:8) greater than St. John, the Beloved Disciple of Our Lord? St. Paul himself would answer us an emphatic: ‘No’! Of his visit to Jerusalem after his 14 year absence, he tells us: “… James, Cephas and John, these leaders, these pillars, shook hands with Barnabas and me …. The only thing they insisted on was that we should remember to help the poor …” (Galatians 2:9, 10). St. John was by no means subservient to St. Paul; but apparently gave orders to the latter. All the Apostles had a hand in establishing the churches throughout Judaea and Samaria, as Jesus Christ had commanded them, and then “to the ends of the earth”, which St. Paul boasted had been achieved even in his day (Colossians 1:23). And Our Lord told the Apostles, “solemnly”, that they would not have completed “the rounds of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 10:23). [End of quotes] Biblical exegetes down through the centuries have noted various genuine levels of scriptural interpretation, the first (not necessarily the most important) of which being the literal (concrete) level. Now, this is the very level that many pious and, indeed, well-educated commentators, lacking a really solid grounding in the Scriptures and their era, can tend to skip over, leaving things quite vague and unreal. Like a Theology without an underpinning solid philosophy. I had this well in mind when I previously wrote, re Isaiah: …. The “figure” becomes far less “mysterious”, I would suggest, if he is to be grounded in some literal flesh and blood person of Isaiah’s day. Such Christians as those who tend to relate solely to the New Testament, having an extremely poor knowledge of - even sometimes seeming to be virtually allergic to - the Old Testament, will immediately identify Isaiah’s “Suffering Servant” as Jesus Christ the Messiah, without any consideration that the ancient prophet might have intended, directly and literally, some younger contemporary of his …. See e.g. my article: Prophet Jeremiah pre-figures the perfect ‘Suffering Servant’ (3) Prophet Jeremiah prefigures the perfect 'Suffering Servant' | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu Now, whilst I could never accuse Pope Benedict XVI of discounting the Old Testament - he who in his book, Jesus of Nazareth (2011), is at pains show how the Old Testament prefigures and leads to the New Testament - and that Jesus Christ cannot be properly understood without the Old Testament - also writing along such lines as (p. 202): What is remarkable about these [Four Gospel] accounts [of Jesus’ crucifixion and Death] is the multitude of Old Testament allusions and quotations they contain: word of God and event are deeply interwoven. The facts are, so to speak, permeated with the word – with meaning; and the converse is also true: what previously had been merely word – often beyond our capacity to understand – now becomes reality, its meaning unlocked [,] - Benedict does, nevertheless, seem to bypass any possible ancient identification of Isaiah 53’s Suffering Servant in this next statement of his (I had previously quoted this): “In Isaiah, this figure remains mysterious: the Song of the Suffering Servant is like a gaze into the future in search of the one who is to come”. The “figure” becomes far less “mysterious”, I would suggest, if he is to be grounded in some literal flesh and blood person of Isaiah’s day: one who also points to “the one who is to come”, who perfectly fulfils Isaiah’s prophecy, but who also re-interprets it, thereby, in the words of Benedict, ‘unlocking its meaning’. Along somewhat similar lines, the prophet Job has remained “mysterious”, and “like a gaze”, without any known genealogy; or era; or country, unless he be “grounded” in his more historically-endowed alter ego, Tobias, son of Tobit. See e.g. my article: Job’s Life and Times (3) Job’s Life and Times | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu And somewhat similar again is the common tendency to lift the Book of Apocalypse (Revelation) right out of its contemporary era, and interpret it almost wholly as a prophecy pertaining to our times, without realising that its “ground” is the C1st AD, though it also “gazes” prophetically into our day with which its shares some striking parallelisms. But by no means can Apocalypse’s literalness be applied to the modern age. The “Millennium” Why “an indeterminate amount of time” if Revelation 20:2 specifically says “for a thousand years”? A major theme throughout the Apocalypse, according to my “Bride and Reject” article - for which insight I am basically indebted to other commentators - is that the ‘harlot Babylon’, “the great prostitute”, is Jerusalem (Judaïsm and its stone Temple), the former beloved Bride, gone wrong, with the consequence that she is to suffer the fate of a harlot, death and destruction. This was accomplished by the Roman imperial armies around 70 AD. This great cosmic drama carries us right through to chapters 18-19 of the Book of Apocalypse, so that we, now nearing the very end of the book, are still historically only in the C1st AD. Revelation 19:1-4: After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants’. And again they shouted: ‘Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever’. The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: ‘Amen, Hallelujah!’ That the Judaïc system is still in place at this stage may be indicated by mention here of the “twenty-four elders”. For: “There were twenty-four officers of the sanctuary representing the twenty-four courses of the Levitical priests (1 Chron. 24:4–5, 7–18), as well as twenty-four divisions of singers in the temple (1 Chron. 25). … http://www.pre-trib.org/articles/view/who-are-the-24-elders-in-revelation But, with the demise of the once-good-woman-turned-harlot, Judaïsm, the Divine Bridegroom may marry his new “Bride”, the Church, in “the wedding supper of the Lamb” (vv. 5-9): Then a voice came from the throne, saying: ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!’ Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear’. Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, “These are the true words of God”.’ But, firstly, the Beast and his minions have to be destroyed (19:11-21), and the Devil chained (20:1-2): “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years”. Notice it is at this point, with the chaining of Satan after the destruction of Jerusalem, that the “thousand years” is said to commence. Regarding this, the millennium, my friend (refer back to the beginning) had written: On this point, [Emmet O’Regan] notes that Augustine had two interpretations of the millennium in The City of God the first of which became largely forgotten. The latter, more common interpretation is that the millennium represents an indeterminate amount of time following the binding of Satan at our Lord's Passion. The other interpretation he proposed is that the millennium stands for the Sabbath millennium i.e towards the end (but not exactly at the end) of six thousand years from creation the unbinding would happen. …. Why “an indeterminate amount of time” if 20:2 specifically says “for a thousand years”? The vagueness associated with the Apocalyptical “millennium” may be due to chronological miscalculations and uncertainties. Though I would agree approximately with (as written above) the millennium’s ‘following the binding of Satan at our Lord’s Passion’. And I would even consider possible St. Augustine’s other view that, as according to the above, “the millennium stands for the Sabbath millennium i.e towards the end … of six thousand years from creation …”. All of this brings us to the need for, as I think, a massive re-consideration of AD chronology.

Simon Magus was a Son of Perdition

by Damien F. Mackey “Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, ‘This man is rightly called the Great Power of God’. They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery”. Acts 8:9-11 According to some, Simon the Magician was, all at once, Book of Revelation’s Beast and 666; the Antichrist; “the man of sin”; and “the son of perdition”. Jack Walton introduces Simon Magus as “… the most important person in history you never heard of”: https://www.henrymakow.com/simon_magus.html Simon Magus -- The lluminati’s Jesus? January 3, 2011 The full life of Simon Magus is mostly unknown …. …. He was the towering figure of his time, along with his wife, Helen, the Jezebel and whore of Babylon from Revelation. According to Bible Scholars Barbara Thiering and Hans Jonas, Simon Magus was the founder of the Gnostic church and was the direct competitor with Christianity for the hearts and minds of the Greco Roman world. Simon is the Beast, the original Antichrist, and the true identity of the number 666. He was so powerful in fact, that he is known by many different names in the Bible. Once all his "names" are learned, a very different picture of the Gospel emerges, one in which Jesus and Simon were creating two very different religions, for the reformation of Judaism, and the conversion of the Greco Roman/Pagan world to the Judaic god. The circles that Magus worked in were the Illuminati of his time. At the time this consisted of what we would consider both "white" and "black" magicians, including the apostles of Jesus [sic] and the sects they led, (the "good" guys) as well as the Herod family, and the higher echelons of Rome, and the gnostic magicians (the Saturnalian or "black" magicians). Thus, the "good guys" and the "bad guys had their start together at this time and later split up. Simon Magus was a Samaritan Jew, whose particular version of Judaism incorporated the sexual licentiousness of the ancient Babylonian religions. According to Clement, the early church father, Magus could, levitate items on command, speak with spirits, summon demons and place them into statues making the statues walk and talk, fly, and even raise the dead. These were all deceptions designed to indoctrinate his followers into believing he was a god. His religion, the Gnostic religion, was the sect that preceded Christianity in the Diaspora. The current Illuminati religion (freemasonry) is based on Gnosticism and the ancient Babylonian mysticism (Satanism?) that he incorporated into his version of Judaism that he was selling (quite literally) to the masses of the Greco-Roman world. He is the inspiration for Faust, and modern televangelist deceivers continue his tradition whether they realize it or not (i.e., religion based on deception.) Anytime there is a reference to someone selling their soul to the devil, it is a reference to Faust, who was inspired by Simon Magus. The medieval Rosicrucians who compiled the story of Faust understood all this (are they not Illuminati?) One of the great untold stories of Christianity is how Peter and Paul came behind Simon and converted his many followers to Christianity. In the beginning, Magus had been a follower of John the Baptist, and because of his genius and ability, was accepted by … the other Apostles. Simon's early role in Judaism before his diaspora career, would be seen today as like an intelligence operative. He was of course, cast out of their ranks when they learned who he was. One of the major things he did was attempt to organize a mass revolt against Pilate and the son of Herod, which was put down brutally. …. …. Because of his stature, and the complexity of his life … Simon's accomplishments were divided by the Christians, and attributed to multiple people, under multiple pseudonyms. In other words, he was so dangerous, that he was practically wiped from history, except for those "in the know." A great animosity existed between Simon and Peter. Simon's religion was based on deception, (Simon represented himself as a god), allowed for sexual licentiousness (the origins of "sex-magic", which included orgies and homosexuality by his followers. Peter taught abstinence in marriage, except for procreation, and this drew a lot of women to his flock. …. [End of quote] According to David L. Eastman, in “Simon the Anti-Christ? The Magos as Christos in Early Christian Literature”, Simon Magus was, for the early Christians, a “wicked, deceitful anti-Christ, the very embodiment of evil”: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/2222582X.2016.1218953 None of the early Christian sources denies that Simon had power to do things that others could not do. He is consistently remembered and presented as a figure who could perform amazing deeds to astound the crowds, even if he did so through the despicable arts of sorcery. In his various, reimagined guises, Simon was formidable because he was powerful, even if that power came from demons, as Peter asserts in his prayers to strike down Simon. In the earliest Christian centuries, when there existed a perceived threat of alternative Christologies, Simon is presented as the champion of ‘heresies’ such as Modalism and Docetism. …. The authors of the later apocryphal texts, writing in a different cultural and ecclesiastical context, amend the earlier traditions and present a potent Simon in order to highlight the even greater power of the apostles. Peter and Paul confront and conquer this wicked, deceitful anti-Christ, the very embodiment of evil. …. [End of quote] The following description of “the man of sin”, “the son of perdition”, in Wayne Jackson’s article “Who Is Paul’s ‘Man of Sin’?”, seems to me to be perfectly applicable to Simon Magus (though this is by no means the conclusion that Wayne Jackson himself will reach): https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/677-who-is-pauls-man-of-sin Traits of the Man of Sin Once a student has thoroughly read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, we believe that it is possible to isolate certain tell-tale qualities of this diabolical force, and work toward a solution as to the identity of the “man of sin.” Consider the following factors. The Man of Sin and The Apostasy The Man of Sin is the ultimate result of the falling away from the faith (v. 3). The expression “falling away” translates the Greek term apostasia. Our English word “apostasy” is an anglicized form of this original term. In the Bible, the word is used of a defection from the religion ordained by God. As a noun, it is employed of departure from the Mosaic system (Acts 21:21), and, in this present passage, of defection from Christianity. The verbal form of the term is similarly used in 1 Timothy 4:1 (cf. Heb. 3:12). Note also that the noun is qualified by a definite article (the apostasia). A definite movement is in the apostle’s prophetic vision — not merely a principle of defection. The Man of Sin Was Yet to Be Revealed This sinister force, from a first-century vantage point, was yet to be revealed (v. 3). This appears to suggest that the movement had not evolved to the point where it could be identified definitely by the primitive saints. It awaited future development. The Man of Sin and Son of Perdition This persecuting power was designated as the man of sin (v. 3), because sin was its “predominating quality” (Ellicott, p. 118). This character, referred to in both neuter and masculine genders (vv. 6-7), is the son of perdition (v. 3), because its end is to be perdition, i.e., destruction, by the Lord himself (v. 8). The Lawless One This opponent of God is called the lawless one (v. 8). This power has no regard for the law of God. One cannot but be reminded of that infamous “little horn” in Daniel’s vision: “[H]e shall think to change the times and the law” (7:25). Man of Sin: Opposes God, Exalts Himself, and Sits in the Temple of God The Man of Sin opposes God and exalts himself against all that is genuinely sacred (v. 4). He feigns religiosity, but his true character reveals that he is diabolic. His activity actually is according to the working of Satan (v. 9). In some sense, the Man of Sin will sit in the temple of God (v. 4). …. The implication of Paul’s warning is this. This unholy being is viewed as being a “church” character. The expression “sitteth” may hint of unparalleled arrogance (Ellicott, pp. 119-120). Mason notes that the language describes the Man of Sin as attempting to exact “divine homage” from people (p. 169). Moreover, this Son of Perdition sets himself forth as God. The present participle (“sets forth continually”) reveals that this presumptive posture is characteristic of the Man of Sin. This person represents himself as God, either: • by making claims that belong only to deity; • by receiving adoration reserved exclusively for God; or, • by usurping prerogatives which only God can accomplish. Clearly, the Man of Sin is an ecclesiastical character. Recall the description of John’s lamb-like beast in Revelation 13:11ff. The Man of Sin Deceives with Lying Miracles He deceives those who love not the truth, by virtue of the lying wonders he effects (vv. 9-10). Bloomfield calls these “pretended miracles” (p. 345). These “wonders” are not in the category of Christ’s miracles. Lenski has well commented: “So many are ready to attribute real miracles to Satan and to his agents; the Scriptures never do” (p. 426). …. Man of Sin Already at Work in Paul’s Day The early stages of this ecclesiastical apostasy were already at work in the early church (v. 7). The Greek term (energeitai, a present tense, middle voice form) suggests that this movement currently was working itself towards a greater goal. …. Restrained During Paul’s Day In Paul’s day there was some influence that restrained the budding Man of Sin. This was some sort of abstract force, as evidenced by the neuter form of katechon, “the restraining thing” (v. 6). And yet, this force was strongly associated with a person/persons as suggested by the masculine, “he who restrains” (v. 7). Likely the significance is that of a broad power, operating under individual rulers. Unlike the Man of Sin, whose identity was later to be revealed, the early saints knew personally of this restraining force. "You know (oidate — “to know from observation” — Vine, p. 444). This indicates that the restraining power was an entity contemporary with Paul, not a modern one. Restraining Force To Be Removed The restraining force eventually would *be taken out of the way", or, more correctly, “be gone.” And so, the Man of Sin, in “his own season,” would be revealed openly (vv. 6, 7). Ellicott says that it is a season “appointed and ordained by God” (p. 121). One recalls that the “little horn” of Daniel’s fourth beast only rose to prominence after three horns were plucked up to make room for it. Too, the earth-beast of John’s vision came into full power after the sea-beast had received a death-stroke, but was healed. And so here, the restraining power will give way to the horrible revelation of the Man of Sin. .... [End of quotes] Movement of apostasy, lawlessness, against all that is genuinely sacred, feignedly religious, diabolical, working according to power of Satan, a pseudo-Christian pretender, setting himself forth as a God, and so on. It reads just like the blasphemous profile of Simon Magus. Acts 8:18-23: When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, ‘Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit’. Peter answered: ‘May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin’.

Fatima revelations and the message of Divine Mercy

“Sr. Lucia and St. Faustina, who were contemporaries, were each given a mission to spread the same message, though different in aspect. While Our Lady of Fatima gave Sr. Lucia a warning of divine judgment and the need for penance, Our Lord came to St. Faustina to encourage souls to implore his mercy as a final recourse to be saved from this impending judgment”. Gretchen Filz The Connection Between St. Faustina and Fatima Jul 05, 2017 by Gretchen Filz https://www.catholiccompany.com/magazine/st-faustina-fatima-6087 What do the private revelations of St. Faustina Kowalska have in common with the events at Fatima? Visions of a destroying angel and of the Holy Trinity, the 13th day, a call to penance, and a fervent prayer for mercy. The Blessed Virgin Mary chose to appear at Fatima in 1917 on the 13th day of the month from May to October, for the purpose of warning the world of its need for penance, and the impending dangers it faced if it did not—the first of which was a second world war. In the years leading up to World War II, a related message was given to a young Polish nun named Sister Faustina Kowalska. On the 13th of September in 1935, St. Faustina received a vision in her convent cell. Similar to the earlier vision given to the three shepherd children at Fatima, Faustina's vision was of an angel, who was ready to execute God's wrath in punishment for the sins of mankind, and of the Holy Trinity. St. Faustina earnestly prayed for mercy as she beheld the destroying angel ready to unleash the impending judgment on the world. It was on this 13th day of the month that Our Lord revealed a prayer to St. Faustina known as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. As written in the Diary of St. Faustina: "[The angel] was clothed in a dazzling robe, his face gloriously bright, a cloud beneath his feet. From the cloud, bolts of thunder and flashes of lightning were springing into his hands; and from his hand they were going forth, and only then were they striking the earth. When I saw this sign of divine wrath which was about to strike the earth, and in particular a certain place, which for good reasons I cannot name, I began to implore the angel to hold off for a few moments, and the world would do penance. But my plea was a mere nothing in the face of the divine anger. Just then I saw the Most Holy Trinity. The greatness of Its majesty pierced me deeply, and I did not dare to repeat my entreaties. At that very moment I felt in my soul the power of Jesus' grace, which dwells in my soul. When I became conscious of this grace, I was instantly snatched up before the Throne of God. Oh, how great is our Lord and God and how incomprehensible His holiness! I will make no attempt to describe this greatness, because before long we shall all see Him as He is. I found myself pleading with God for the world with words heard interiorly. As I was praying in this manner, I saw the Angel’s helplessness: he could not carry out the just punishment which was rightly due for sins. Never before had I prayed with such inner power as I did then. The words with which I entreated God are these: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us. The next morning, when I entered chapel, I heard these words interiorly: Every time you enter the chapel, immediately recite the prayer which I taught you yesterday.' When I had said the prayer, in my soul I heard these words: 'This prayer will serve to appease My wrath . . ." Sr. Lucia also had a vision of both a destroying angel ready to inflict God's punishment on the earth, and, years later, of the Holy Trinity. In her account of the apparition of Our Lady at Fatima on July 13, 1917, the message of which was part of the Third Secret, Lucia writes: "After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: 'Penance, Penance, Penance!'" On the 13th day of June in the year 1929, Sr. Lucia received this vision of the Holy Trinity as she was making a Holy Hour: "Suddenly the whole chapel was illumined by a supernatural light, and above the altar appeared a cross of light, reaching to the ceiling. In a brighter light on the upper part of the cross, could be seen the face of a man and his body as far as the waist, upon his breast was a dove also of light and nailed to the cross was the body of another man. A little below the waist, I could see a chalice and a large host suspended in the air, on to which drops of blood were falling from the face of Jesus Crucified and from the wound in His side. These drops ran down on to the host and fell into the chalice. Beneath the right arm of the cross was Our Lady and in her hand was her Immaculate Heart. (It was Our Lady of Fatima, with her Immaculate Heart in her left hand, without sword or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames). Under the left arm of the cross, large letters, as if of crystal clear water which ran down upon the altar, formed these words: ‘Grace and Mercy.’ I understood that it was the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity which was shown to me, and I received lights about this mystery which I am not permitted to reveal . . ." During this vision of the Holy Trinity, Our Lady proceeded to make her request, as foretold in 1917, for the consecration of Russia in order to prevent the calamities that were ready to sweep over the world. In the vision recounted above, Sr. Lucia beheld both blood and water emanating from Christ, similar imagery to the Divine Mercy vision that was later revealed to St. Faustina. Was the light of this mystery, which Sr. Lucia was not permitted to reveal, the mystery of the Divine Mercy which was soon to be given to St. Faustina? Read next Everything You Need to Know about the Divine Mercy Devotion Sr. Lucia and St. Faustina, who were contemporaries, were each given a mission to spread the same message, though different in aspect. While Our Lady of Fatima gave Sr. Lucia a warning of divine judgment and the need for penance, Our Lord came to St. Faustina to encourage souls to implore his mercy as a final recourse to be saved from this impending judgment. Sr. Lucia made known that the message of Fatima, namely, the Third Secret, was connected to the frightful global judgments found in the Book of Revelation. Our Lord, in light of these future punishments for mankind's sin, said to St. Faustina, "Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy." The prayers taught interiorly to the two nuns were also similar. The prayer the Angel of Peace taught to the three children of Fatima prior to Our Lady's appearances: "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You for the conversion of poor sinners." And the Divine Mercy prayer given to St. Faustina: "Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world." Both nuns would also pray for God's mercy on the world while standing with arms extended out to their sides, in the same manner as Our Lord suffered on the cross. They also both prayed earnestly for the spiritual conversion of their home countries; Lucia for Portugal, and Faustina for Poland. May we let the example of Sr. Lucia and St. Faustina be a call to respond to the urgent need for prayer and penance during the evil times in which we are now living, namely for the temporal protection of our countries and the eternal salvation of souls. Do you want to learn more about the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima? Subscribe to our 30-day content series at GoodCatholic.com.

About speaking in tongues

“The point is that it’s not up to the individual to determine which gifts he or she wants. And just because all believers may want to speak in tongues doesn’t mean that they will. It is God “who apportions to each one individually as he wills”.” Justin This commentator, who goes simply by the name, “Justin”, is clear and concise, presenting some extremely useful insights, all of them delivered with a southern twang: https://thespiritsearches.com/do-all-speak-in-tongues/ Do All Speak in Tongues? June 23, 2023 | Justin This article is part of my resource titled: An In-Depth Study of the Nature, Purpose, and Duration of Tongues. …. Many charismatics make the claim that it’s God’s will for all believers to speak in tongues. What then can be said for the multitude of Christians who have not experienced this phenomena? Do they simply lack the faith to receive this gift? If such is the case, then what can be said of all the great men throughout church history who did not possess this ability? Are we to assume that their faith was too small even though God used them in mighty ways to advance his kingdom on earth? And what are we to make of those in the early church; those who we read about in the book of Acts who have nothing of the miraculous and supernatural sort attached to their record? Reason would suggest that if it was God’s will for all to receive the gift of tongues, then certainly all of those who were alive during this time period would have done so. But such is not the case. For whatever reason it seems that God has chosen this current generation to generously bestow this blessing upon; that all who call upon his name not only shall be saved, but given the ability to speak in tongues, an ability withheld from the majority of Christians ever since Christianity became a thing. Throughout this lesson, we’ll explore what Scripture has to say about the distribution of spiritual gifts and hopefully dispel the idea that all believers have the ability to speak in tongues. What About Mark 16? The primary text that proponents of this view point to is Mark 16:16-18. Here Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” In a previous lesson we discussed this passage at length so I won’t do so again here. However, we will examine it briefly for the sake of supporting our argument. First of all, the legitimacy of this passage is questionable. With regards to verses 9-20, Robert Gromacki in his book The Modern Tongues Movement says that “no Greek manuscript earlier than the fifth century has it.” Meaning that the oldest, and presumably more accurate manuscripts of Mark 16 don’t contain this passage. Although this isn’t enough to dogmatically assert that it isn’t inspired, we shouldn’t base our understanding of any particular doctrine on it, especially that of tongues. Furthermore, if this passage does indeed testify to the fact that every individual believer ought to speak in tongues, then likewise they should cast out demons, handle serpents and drink poison innocuously, and heal the sick at will. No right minded believer can make the claim that such is the case, nor that God intended it to be. If he did, then why don’t we see this taking place throughout the entirety of church history? Has God’s intended will for the believer been failing only to succeed with the believers of the last 100 years or so? I doubt it. And lastly, the “those who believe” of this passage cannot refer to every individual believer. In fact, it points more strongly towards the apostles exclusively since the bulk of the miracles we read about in the New Testament are attributed to them. There are some cases where people other than the apostles speak in tongues and or perform miracles but they are few and far between in comparison. In another previous lesson, A Timeline of Tongues Throughout the Book of Acts, I reference close to two dozen passages where believers and new believers are mentioned who are never said to have spoken in tongues or performed anything miraculous as the result of their faith in Christ. That being said, Mark 16 does not support the theory that all believers can or should speak in tongues for not even every believer mentioned in the New Testament did so. If such was not the standard then, by what means does it become so today? God’s Sovereignty Over Spiritual Gifts Many charismatics will say that in order for someone to speak in tongues, they have to sincerely desire the gift, that they have to pray for it and seek after it in order to receive it. This is contrary to what Paul says about the reception of spiritual gifts. After giving a list of spiritual gifts, including tongues, in 1 Corinthians 12:4-10, Paul says in v.11 that “all these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” It is God who determines who receives which spiritual gifts. Therefore nothing we say or do can bring it about. If God intended for us to have it, we would have it without having to beg and plead for it. Consider the apostles on the day of Pentecost. Do we read of them begging God for the ability to speak in tongues? What about Cornelius and his household? Did they do likewise? And what of the disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus? Did they pray vehemently and with great desire prior to being granted their ability? The answer is no. (See Acts 2, Acts 10, & Acts 19) The point is that it’s not up to the individual to determine which gifts he or she wants. And just because all believers may want to speak in tongues doesn’t mean that they will. It is God “who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” The Body of Christ and the Physical Body After pointing out God’s sovereignty in the distribution of spiritual gifts, Paul makes a contrast between the body of Christ and the physical body for the sake of demonstrating that not all believers receive the same gifts. Consider the following verses: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ…For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 1 Corinthians 12:12,14-20 The entire point of Paul’s words here is to make it clear that not every believer would have the same gifts and that that’s ok. If the entire physical body consisted of a single member, say the foot, then “where would the body be?” There wouldn’t be one. Unless the body is made up of many different members it isn’t complete. So it is with the body of Christ. If every member had the same gift, say speaking in tongues, then the body would be incomplete. That being said, it goes against Paul’s teaching here to assume that all believers can speak in tongues. Are we also to assume that all believers can interpret tongues, utter words of wisdom or knowledge, prophesy, perform miracles or do any of the other things listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-10? Why would we? For what does the text say? “For to one is given through the Spirit…” not “to all is given.” It is no more fitting that the entire body of Christ speak in tongues than it is for the human body to consist of merely an eye. Paul’s Rhetorical Questions After making his contrast between the physical body and the body of Christ Paul goes on to say the following: “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” 1 Corinthians 12:27-30 Paul’s emphasis on God’s sovereignty in distributing spiritual gifts and positions is stressed again here. By asking this series of rhetorical questions he clearly demonstrates that it’s not God’s will for all of God’s people to have the same roles and gifts as one another. It’s God that “has appointed in the church” by his divine decree apostles, prophets, teachers, tongue speakers and so on. The diversity of roles and gifts within the body of Christ are part of God’s will. To say that all believers can speak in tongues is to go against God’s strategy for equipping the church with gifts vital to its function. “Are all apostles?”, asks Paul. The obvious answer is no. And no is the answer to the rest of his rhetorical questions. Not all believers can speak in tongues any more than all believers can be apostles. If we’re going to answer “yes” to Paul’s questions about whether or not all can speak in tongues then we have to be willing to answer “yes” to the rest of his questions. But to make the claim that all can be apostles is not one that even most charismatics would make. Believers from every denomination easily recognize the unique role the apostles played in laying the foundations of the church (Ephesians 2:20). Once the original apostles died there were none to take their place. So why would we say that all believers can speak in tongues if we can’t make the same claim to apostleship, to being a prophet, to being a teacher and so on? This inconsistency is only one of many which plague the charismatic movement and cloud their judgment with regards to speaking in tongues. The Unfortunate Masses of the Early Church If speaking in tongues is meant to be something which every believer can and ought to do, then surely we should hope to find confirmation of this in the New Testament record. However, upon scouring the pages of Acts we find very little evidence of this being the case. There is very little in the book of Acts to suggest that speaking in tongues was the normative experience for all believers. In fact, it’s episodic, occurring explicitly only three times and inexplicitly four. (See Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, & Acts 19) Take for example the 3000 souls on the day of Pentecost which were added to the church. Nothing is said of them speaking in tongues (Acts 2:38-39,41). The lame beggar who was healed and presumably converted upon this experience isn’t said to have spoken in tongues (Acts 3:1-10). The Ethiopian eunuch who was saved and baptized after having the Scriptures explained to him by Philip didn’t speak in tongues but rather “went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39). “All the residents of Lydda and Sharon…who turned to the Lord” aren’t said to have spoken in tongues (Acts 9:32-35) and on and on it goes all throughout the book of Acts. More often than not when believers are mentioned throughout this book, there is nothing to suggest that anything supernatural occurred. Of course, one may argue that this is an argument from silence but to counter this argument would be to argue from assumption. To assume that all these believers did in fact speak in tongues is to eisegete the text, meaning that instead of letting the text speak for itself one’s own opinion, thoughts or assumptions are inserted into the text, making it mean what they want it to mean. This is a dangerous practice and leads to many misunderstandings about Scripture. If the charismatic wishes to dogmatically claim that the normative experience for all believers is to speak in tongues, they’ll have to find support for their theory outside of Scripture. Their assumptions prove nothing. Too Much of a Good Thing is a Bad Thing Finally, if speaking in tongues was something all believers are supposed to do, then why the prohibitions? In 1 Corinthians 14:27 Paul says that, “If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret.” And again a few verses prior Paul says, “If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” (1 Corinthians 14:23). It doesn’t seem right that God would intend for every believer to speak in tongues when the result, according to Paul, is that people will assess the church as a gathering of mad men. After all, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Final Thoughts The claim that all believers can or ought to speak in tongues is not based on sound biblical exegesis. It stems from a charismatic presupposition which insists on the events of the early church being normative for the church in every consecutive age. There is nothing within the text, however, to suggest that God meant for these signs and wonders to continue indefinitely or that every believer was in possession of the gift of tongues, or that every future believer would come to acquire it. The sign of tongues, along with the rest of the supernatural phenomena we read about in the New Testament, was given to confirm the validity of the Gospel message as truly being from God. These signs also validated the apostles as being the vessels through which God was speaking and working. Without these signs, the words of the apostles would have fallen on deaf ears just as the words of Moses would have had not God given him the ability to perform signs in the sight of the people of Israel (Exodus 4:1-9). [End of article] On Gospel validity, read the following (2012) article: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/gospel-validity-messages The Gospel Validity of the Messages The following is an excerpt from the revised edition of Tell My Priests, by Fr. George W. Kosicki, CSB (Marian Press, 2012), which gathers the words our Lord spoke to priests about His mercy as revealed to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: The six messages of our Lord and Our Lady addressed to St. Faustina in regard to priests are entirely in keeping with Pope John Paul II's criterion for acceptable private revelations. They contain "a truth and a call whose basic content is the truth and call of the Gospel itself" (Homily at Fatima, 1982). This Gospel dimension of the messages can be most clearly seen by re-examining each message, isolating a few key words that summarize its basic content, and then comparing these key words to some of the many texts of the Old and New Testaments that speak of trust in God and of His mercy. I desire that priests proclaim this great mercy of Mine towards souls of sinners. Let the sinner not be afraid to approach Me. The flames of mercy are burning Me - clamoring to be spent; I want to pour them out upon these souls (Diary, 50). Key Words: • Preach the Lord's great mercy • Reach out to sinners • Tell them of God's desire to be merciful Mt 4:17 "From that time on Jesus began to proclaim this theme: 'Reform your lives! The kingdom of God is at hand.'" Mt 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who are weary and I will refresh you. Take My yoke upon your shoulders and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for My yoke is easy and My burden light." Lk 6:36: "Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate." Jn 19:28 "I am thirsty." Rom 10:12b-15b All have the same Lord, rich in mercy towards all who call upon Him. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe unless they have heard of Him? And how can they hear unless there is someone to preach? And how can men preach unless they are sent? Lk 15:32 Prodigal Son - "But we had to celebrate and rejoice! This brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life. He was lost, and is found." My daughter, speak to priests about this inconceivable mercy of Mine. The flames of mercy are burning Me - clamoring to be spent; I want to keep pouring them out upon souls; souls just don't want to believe in My goodness (Diary, 177). Key Words: • Priests themselves need to know the Lord's mercy and trust Him. Jn 13:1 He loved His own in this world, and would show His love for them to the end [utmost]. Jn 15:13 "There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." Jn 15:15 "... I call you friends since I have made known to you all that I heard from My Father." No soul will be justified until it turns with confidence to My mercy, and this is why the first Sunday after Easter is to be the Feast of Mercy. On that day, priests are to tell everyone about My great and unfathomable mercy. I am making you the administrator of My mercy. Tell the confessor that the image is to be on view in the church and not within the enclosure in that convent. By means of this image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so let everyone have access to it (Diary, 570). Key Words: • Souls need mercy for salvation. • The Feast of Mercy is a day of forgiveness and atonement. • Priests are to tell everyone of the Lord's great mercy. • The image of The Divine Mercy (Jesus with His hand raised in blessing) is a vessel of grace. Gal 2:20b [He] loved me and gave Himself for me. 2 Cor 5:14-15 The love of Christ impels us who have reached the conviction that since one died for all, all died. He died for all so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised up. Jn 20:19-23 On the evening of that first day of the week, even though the disciples had locked the doors of the place where they were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood before them. "Peace be with you," He said. When He had said this, He showed them His hands and side. At the sight of the Lord the disciples rejoiced. "Peace be with you," He said again. "As the Father has sent Me, so I send you." Then He breathed on them and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are bound." Sir 50:14-21 (Simon, the high priest, on the day of atonement:) Once he had completed the services at the altar with the arranging of the sacrifices for the Most High, and had stretched forth his hand for the cup, to offer blood of the grape, and poured it out at the foot of the altar ... The sons of Aaron would sound a blast ... as a reminder before the Most High. Then all the people with one accord would quickly fall prostrate to the ground in adoration before the Most High, before the Holy One of Israel. ... All the people of the land would shout for joy, praying to the Merciful One. ... Then coming down he [the high priest] would raise his hands over the congregation of Israel. The blessing of the Lord would be upon his lips, the name of the Lord [Yahweh] would be his glory. Then again the people would lie prostrate to receive from him the blessing of the Most High. Lk 24:50-52 Then He led them out near Bethany, and with His hands upraised, blessed them. As He blessed them, He left them, and was taken up to heaven. They fell down to do Him reverence. Acts 3:26 When God raised up His servant, He sent Him first to bless you by turning you from your evil ways. Say unceasingly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he recites this chaplet only once, he will receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy (Diary, 687). Key Words: • Pray the chaplet • Recommend the chaplet to the dying to sinners • The Lord wants the whole world to know to receive to trust in - His infinite mercy • Words of the chaplet: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. 1 Jn 2:2 He is an offering [atonement] for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for those of the whole world. 1 Cor 10:16 Is not the cup of blessing we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Is 6:3 "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts!" they cried one to another. "All the earth is filled with His glory!" Is 57:15 For thus says He who is high and exalted, living eternally, whose name is the Holy One: On high I dwell, and in holiness, and with the crushed and dejected in spirit, to revive the spirits of the rejected, to revive the hearts of the crushed. 1 Pt 2:5 You too are living stones, built as an edifice of spirit, into a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Heb 13:15-16 Through Him let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which acknowledge His name. Do not neglect good deeds and generosity: God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind. Heb 13:20-21 May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus Christ our Lord, furnish you with all that is good, that you may do His will. Heb 4:16 So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and find help in time of need. Mt 5:7 "Blest are they that show mercy; mercy shall be theirs." Mt 6:33 "Seek first His kingship over you, His way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides." Lk 12:32-34 "Do not live in fear, little flock. It has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. ... Wherever your treasure lies, there your heart will be." Eph 2:4-5 God is rich in mercy; because of His great love for us He brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin. 2 Cor 1:3-4 Praised be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consola tion! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from Him. 2 Cor 1:9-11 We were left to feel like men condemned to death so that we might trust, not in ourselves, but in God who raised the dead. He rescued us from the danger of death and will continue to do so. We have put our hope in Him who will never cease to deliver us. But you must help us with your prayers, so that on our behalf God may be thanked for the gifts granted us through the prayers of so many. Rom 11:32-36 God has imprisoned all in disobedience that He might have mercy on all. How deep are the riches and the wisdom of God! How inscrutable His judgments, how unsearchable His ways! For "who has been His counselor? Who has given Him anything so as to deserve return?" For from Him and for Him all things are. To Him be glory forever. Amen. Tell My priests that hardened sinners will repent on hearing their words, when they speak about My unfathomable mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My Heart. To priests who will proclaim and extol My mercy, I will give wondrous power, and I will anoint their words and touch the hearts of those to whom they will speak (Diary, 1521). Key Words: • Glorify the Lord's mercy • Proclaim His mercy • Wondrous power will be given • Hearts will be opened Mk 6:12-13 With that they went off, preaching the need of repentance. They expelled many demons, anointed the sick with oil, and worked many cures. Jn 14:12 "I solemnly assure you, the man who has faith in Me will do the works I do and greater than these." Acts 2:37-38 When they heard this, they were deeply shaken. They asked Peter and the other apostles, "What are we to do brothers?" Peter answered: "You must reform and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, that your sins may be forgiven; then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 3:6-8 Then Peter said: "I have neither silver nor gold but what I have I give you! In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazorean, walk!" Then Peter took him by the right hand and pulled him up. Immediately the begger's feet and ankles became strong; he jumped up, stood up for a moment, then began to walk around. He went into the temple with them - walking, jumping about, and giving praise to God. A vision of the Mother of God. In the midst of a great brilliance, I saw the Mother of God clothed in a white gown, girt about with a golden cincture; and there were tiny stars, also of gold, over the whole garment, and chevron-shaped sleeves lined with gold. Her cloak was sky-blue, lightly thrown over the shoulders. A transpar- ent veil was delicately drawn over her head, while her flowing hair was set off beautifully by a golden crown which terminated in little crosses. On her left arm she held the Child Jesus. A Blessed Mother of this type I had not yet seen. Then she looked at me kindly and said, I am the Mother of God of Priests. At that, she lowered Jesus from her arm to the ground, raised Her right hand heavenward and said: "O God, bless Poland, bless priests. Then she addressed me once again: Tell the priests what you have seen. I resolved that at the very first opportunity [I would have] of seeing Father [Andrasz] I would tell; but I myself can make nothing of this vision (Diary, 1585). Key Words: • Mary is Mother of God and our mother • Be witnesses of what you have seen Jn 19:26-27 Seeing His mother there with the disciple whom He loved, Jesus said to His mother, "Woman, there is your son." In turn He said to His disciple, "There is your mother." From that hour onward, the disciple took her into his care. Jn 19:34 One of the soldiers thrust a lance into His side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. This testimony has been given by an eye witness, and his testimony is true. He tells what he knows is true, so that you may believe. Lk 1:49-50 "God who is mighty has done great things for me, holy is His name; His mercy is from age to age on those who fear Him." Acts 1:14 Together they devoted themselves to constant prayer. There were some women in their company, and Mary the mother of Jesus and His brothers. In regard to the stars on our Lady's robe and her royal dignity, consider these passages: Dn 12:3 But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to jus tice shall be like the stars forever. Ps 45:10 The queen stands at your right hand arrayed in cloth of gold (Feast of the Queenship of Mary. Entrance Antiphon). As we reflect on the relationship between the Gospel and Divine Mercy, we close with this amazing, power-packed statement of Pope Benedict XVI from his Regina Caeli message on Divine Mercy Sunday in 2008: Indeed, mercy is the central nucleus of the Gospel message; it is the very name of God, the Face with which he revealed himself in the Old Covenant and fully in Jesus Christ, the incarnation of creative and redemptive Love. May this merciful love also shine on the face of the Church and show itself through the sacraments, in particular that of Reconciliation, and in works of charity, both communitarian and individual. May all that the Church says and does manifest the mercy God feels for man, and therefore for us. When the Church has to recall and unrecog- nized truth or a betrayed good, she always does so impelled by merciful love, so that men and women may have life and have it abundantly (cf. Jn 10:10). From Divine Mercy, which brings peace to hearts, genuine peace flows into the world, peace between different peoples, cultures and religions.

Converting to a somewhat uncertain Jesus

by Damien F. Mackey “Dawkins was shocked that his former atheist ally [Ayaan Hirsi Ali] had switched. He is a cultural Christian. He likes the fruit of the Gospel, but he doesn’t like the root of the Gospel. …”. Tony Davenport Introduction Tony Davenport has called this year of 2024: https://vision.org.au/news/year-of-celebrity-conversions/ Year Of ‘Celebrity’ Conversions And he writes: Despite the increasingly anti-Christian culture we live in, it seems more and more celebrities from the entertainment, intellectual and business world are having the courage to speak up about how they are embracing the faith and acknowledge that they are not celebrities in the eyes of Jesus, that they are just like everyone else. Steven McAlpine who’s an award-winning Christian author, commentator, pastor and national consultant for churches and Christian schools, has been investigating the phenomenon. He told Vision Radio’s 20Twenty program: “It’s certainly not a time to keep your head up if you are Christian. You would lose a lot of followers I would have thought if you were a celebrity at the moment. But at the same time, there’s a tension in our culture that has seen [actor and comedian] Russell Brand, in particular, over the past 3 or 4 years, lean into spirituality. “It’s very easy to use the ‘God’ word. But Russell Brand’s become more and more focused and eventually got baptised in the River Thames [by adventurer Bear Grylls] about 4 or 5 months ago. And on every Tik Tok, Instagram or YouTube video, he’s talking about something from the Scriptures as none of those other things that he was pursuing seemed to satisfy him. It went from an intellectual curiosity to: I need something in myself as I look at the way the world is, but also as I look at how I am. And that’s the same with Ayaan Hirsi Ali.” Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a former figurehead of the New Atheism movement, a global activist, social commentator, women’s rights advocate, author, podcaster and fierce critic of Islam. The Somalia-born Dutch American intellectual is a former Netherlands MP and a researcher for the Hoover Institution at Stanford University as well as the American Enterprise Institute. Her conversion is remarkable as she publicly expressed regret for her previous critiques of Christianity, openly recanting her past assertions that all religions, including Christianity, were equally damaging. Stephen McAlpine told Vision Radio: “There’s a deep interest in cultural Christianity at the moment, that the Christian framework gave the West something that we’re now losing. And even if they’re not becoming Christian, a lot of other intellectuals particularly, are going: There’s something in the framework that we would not want to give out too easily, but people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Russell Brand have gone the whole hog, I think.” “Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote an article last year which was called Why I am Now a Christian. And it blew categories out of the water. She said that she’d moved to Christian frameworks because of the cultural stuff as she read history, but she stopped and looked and said it’s something about her that needed to change. [Fellow New Atheism champion] Richard Dawkins was so upset about this that they had a public debate and at the end of the conversation he said: I came here today Ayaan to convince you that you’re not a Christian. Now, I see that you are a Christian and Christianity is stupid. It makes no sense.” “Dawkins was shocked that his former atheist ally had switched. He is a cultural Christian. He likes the fruit of the Gospel, but he doesn’t like the root of the Gospel. …”. [End of quote] It’s happening in Australia as well. The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, whose three great loves in life are, he has said, the Labor Party, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and the Catholic Church, has been seen slipping off to Mass lately. ‘Albo’, who has forever been telling us how he grew up in public housing in inner city Sydney, has just bought himself a $4.3 million dollar mansion, leading to speculation that he will soon be seeking new pastures. Tent cities for the homeless have sprung up. And another Socialist and Labor man of long-standing, journalist and TV show host, Joe Hildebrand, now writes frequently about Jesus, including an article yesterday in The Saturday Telegraph (Nov. 16, 2024): “Original superstar found path to peace”. Without judging the intentions or motives of any of these celebs, one must wonder to what extent do they realise who Jesus really is. He himself was at pains to know, asking this loaded I AM question (Mark 8:27): ‘WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THAT I AM?’ No one seemed to know for sure (v. 28): “And they told him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets’.” Finally, Peter came to the rescue (v. 29): “And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ’.” Joe Hildebrand, an exuberant and entertaining writer, will give his own opinion about Jesus Christ, as we shall be reading. In the case of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, on the other hand, critics have noted that she rarely seems to mention Jesus Christ. To give some examples of this, taken from: https://www.reddit.com/r/Christianity/comments/17sw1z1/ayaan_hirsi_ali_why_i_am_now_a_christian/ As a Christian, I am very glad for Ms. Ali to become a Christian herself. As a reader analyzing her essay however, she seems to be making a cultural/ political choice. It’s clear why she rejects the Islam with which she was raised. She is less clear about the “God hole” and emptiness of atheism and secularism as opposed to “Western culture” being under threat. What I don’t see is any mention of Jesus or the Gospel. Christianity isn’t (or shouldn’t be used as) a cultural/political solution to Islam or secularism, it is (or should be) a response to Jesus and how he reconciled us wayward humans to God. …. The subtitle of the article explains all "Atheism can't equip us for civilisational war". Hirsi Ali doesn't seem to believe in the resurrection, the Trinity or the need for salvation in Jesus. In fact she seems to be returning to the Islam of her youth minus the nasty bits. What she's doing isn't becoming a Christian, she's joining the Christian team because she thinks it's more capable of fighting against Islam. …. …. She doesn't even mention Jesus once in that long essay for why she converted. Instead, she presents it all as wanting to join the winning team in a civilizational conflict because she married a far right ultranationalist and chauvenist [sic] who is literally a Scottish lord. …. Whatever about all that, could one confidently follow Hildebrand’s presumably well-intentioned version of Jesus as the Saviour upon whom one ought to base one’s life? Jesus Christ as Superstar Joe Hildebrand has written glowingly of Jesus Christ Superstar in The Sat. Telegraph: I was going to write about so many things this Saturday, but then I went to the opening night of Jesus Christ Superstar and now I can’t think about anything else. First, let’s just get the housekeeping out of the way - it’s a ball-tearing banger of a show. Cancel your plans, abandon your family and get on it. That is literally what Jesus would have wanted. We don’t talk about religion much in Australia. We do it, but we don’t talk about it. Even when great clashes emerge - such as the tragically recurrent self-destruction of Israel and Palestine - we disguise religion as politics, as though they are the same thing. They are not, and that is why we fail. And so countless UN resolutions propose endless and meaningless diplomatic and technocratic pathways to peace that have no end or meaning to those who are standing in the way of it. Meanwhile, there is the sorrowful loneliness of the poor old folk in the middle who will get obliterated by the bombs of both sides as they wonder in their final moments why we can’t all just get along. We can’t. As long as there is fanaticism and ideology and fundamentalism, we just can’t. Not to be too much of a Negative Nancy about it, but yes, everyone will die. This is hardly hysteria - on the contrary, it is literally happening right now. The only question is why and how to stop it. For Joe Hildebrand, Jesus can point out for us the path to peace. For the answer, let’s turn to Jesus. Both in the Bible and in the mountains of historiography about the most famous man on Earth, there is a mass of penetrating insights, confounding contradictions and soul-turning moments of inspiration. The reason for all of this is Jesus himself. He was notoriously oblique. He spoke in parables instead of dictates. He was a pragmatist in the face of radicals. And in the octane-fuelled world of Roman-occupied Jerusalem, he preached peace instead of revolution - perhaps upsetting Judas. Just pay your taxes to Caesar, he said. It hardly mattered anyway because the kingdom of God was at hand. As it turned out, the kingdom would be a long time coming. While most of what Joe Hildebrand has written here does not concern me overmuch, and I would agree with some of it, what follows this suggests a Jesus, who - while apparently impressing our journalist - strikes me as being one who did not know if he was Arthur or Martha – or, to put it more in context, did not know if he were Coming of Going. Joe Hildebrand continues: It is clear from the New Testament alone that Jesus expected a huge and imminent metaphysical deliverance that failed to materialise and that scared and confused early Christians scrambled to make sense of this. But here is the rub. Despite his repeated predictions that the new kingdom was at hand, Jesus constantly demanded that his followers give their money to the poor and embrace the socially despised; that they love their neighbours as themselves and do unto others as they would have done unto them; that they turn the other cheek in times of violence and - in times of judgment - they not commit the ultimate hypocrisy by casting the first stone. This to me is the most beautiful paradox of Christianity. It at once says that nothing matters in this life, only the next, and at the same time says we must care for people in the here and now. …. Joe Hildebrand will continue on to make some other worthwhile observations about the world and peace for the remainder of his article. It is just that section: “It is clear from the New Testament alone that Jesus expected a huge and imminent metaphysical deliverance that failed to materialise and that scared and confused early Christians scrambled to make sense of this”, that really worries me. It suggests that Jesus and his followers had not grasped in what times they were living. For what follows, let us take Mark 13, because this was the version that was read at Mass a day or two ago (today being the 19th November, 2024). Note that Jesus says at the end of this section that “all of these things”, these extraordinary things listed in the text, will have occurred before the end of the present generation, the generation that He was then physically addressing. This is a point that Joe Hildebrand has, in his article, completely missed and misunderstood. And I suspect that most of us today have, too. As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!’ ‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down’. As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?’ Jesus said to them: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. ‘You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the Gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ‘When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. ‘If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. ‘But in those days, following that distress, “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken”. ‘At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. ‘Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away’. For a very clear explanation of what Jesus was talking about here, see the excellent commentary on it of Justin (as he simply calls himself) as presented in my recent article: Jesus in his Olivet Discourse was talking to his present generation (7) Jesus in his Olivet Discourse was talking to his present generation | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu

A deeper meaning in Pilate’s message nailed on the Cross?

“Yes, we know that the chief priests did not want to acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as the King of the Jews, but there may have been something much deeper that alarmed and stirred them to even greater concern”. Shari Abbott Taken from: https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/pilate-proclaimed-jesus-god/ Did Pilate Proclaim Jesus to be God? A Remez on the Cross by Shari Abbott, Reasons for Hope* Jesus …. There was a message nailed to the cross of Jesus. It’s not easily seen, but it’s there. What did Pilate write? He wrote more than what you know. Did Pilate intentionally write the message and have it nailed to the cross? Of course, we know what’s really important. Nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ was every sin we have committed, or ever will commit. Jesus took upon Himself our sins and paid for them with His blood, opening the way of salvation for all who come to Him in faith. But there is also another message, nailed to that cross. It was written on a piece of wood, placed above the head of the Lamb of God, and it proclaimed Jesus not only to be The King of the Jews but also to be the Great I Am. A Hidden Message Written in Wood This message is a remez. A remez, in Jewish hermeneutics (the study of Scripture), is the hint of a hidden message or a deeper meaning. It’s something “below the surface” or “behind the words” that reveals another message or a deeper understanding. We find a remez in the piece of wood that Pilate commanded to be nailed to the cross of Jesus. It’s really amazing what Pilate commanded to be written on it. The Scripture tells us that Pilate asked Jesus the question, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” We are also told that Jesus confirmed Pilate’s words with, “Thou sayest it.” (Luke 23:3) Next, we are told that Pilate offered to release one of the prisoners to the people and he used the title “The King of the Jews” in referring to Jesus: John 18:39 “But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” The Jews did not accept this offer, but instead cried out, “Crucify Him” (Luke 23:21). So Pilate sentenced Jesus to be crucified. The Titlon It was customary for the Romans to put a sign on each cross. This sign labeled the person being crucified with the crime for which they had been charged. The sign was called a titlon and it was an official announcement from the presiding government official. Pilate wrote the inscription and had it nailed to the top of the cross of Jesus. John 19:19 Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This greatly angered the chief priests of the Jews, who demanded of Pilate…. John 19:21 …“Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”‘ Pilate responded with, John 19:22 “What I have written I have written.” In the Greek, Pilate answered the chief priest using the perfect tense, which is understood to mean, “What I have written will always remain written.” And so it has remained written–not only on the cross that day but throughout the pages of history from that time forth. What Made The Chief Priests So Angry? Here’s where we find the remez or hidden message. Yes, we know that the chief priests did not want to acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as the King of the Jews, but there may have been something much deeper that alarmed and stirred them to even greater concern. The following information is something I learned from the Bible study teachings of Chuck Missler (1934-2018). I present it for your consideration and I encourage you to search the Scripture to see if this be so (Chuck Missler would have said to do the same). It’s very interesting and has merit. There’s definitely a message, but whether Pilate intended it to be so we do not know. We also do not know if this roused the anger of the chief priests, but there is reason to believe they would have seen the message on the titlon and understood what it proclaimed. An Epitaph Above Jesus’ Head Pilate may not have understood what he was doing when he gave instructions for the words to be inscribed on the titlon placed above Jesus’ head. He required that the words, Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews, be written in all three languages of the day. Hebrew was the native language of the people of Jerusalem, the land in which Jesus was being crucified. Greek was the common language used during that time. And Latin was the official language of the governing power of the day, Rome. John 19:19-20 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The remez is found in understanding the inscription written in Hebrew. Remember that the Hebrew language is written from right to left, so it would have read: The message is found in the acrostic that is formed by these words. An acrostic is a form of writing in which the first letters of each word, line or paragraph are strung together to spell a word or message (we call this an acronym). Acrostics are found throughout Hebrew writings, including in the books of Lamentations, Esther, Leviticus, Proverbs 31, and numerous psalms—most notably the longest psalm, Psalm 119, which is divided into subsections with each section beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The acrostic formed by the first letters of each word in the inscription on the titlon (reading right to left) is YHVH. Therefore, above Jesus’ head, written in an acrostic, was revealed “YHVH,” which is Yahweh or Jehovah. This is the covenant name of God, given to His people. It is also known as the Tetragrammaton, the unpronounceable name of God, and the Great I Am. (image: khouse.org) Who knew? Did Pilate know what he was writing? We have no way of knowing for certain, but had Pilate written these words in any other sequence or with additional or fewer words, it would not have revealed the same message. Did the Jews know what Pilate had written? We do have good reasoning to suspect so, because Jews of that time understood and recognized acrostics from their common use in so many of their writings. Did the chief priests and Pharisees know that Jesus was God? Again, we don’t know for certain, but there is reasoning to think they did. We know that they felt threatened by Jesus and they took seriously the threat that Jesus’ committed followers would pose to their system of religion. This is clear when the chief priests and Pharisees requested that the tomb be secured and gave reason that Jesus had said He would rise again from the dead (Matthew 27:62-64). They expressed concern that His body might be stolen by His followers. Pilate agreed to their request to secure the tomb, and he did so by “sealing the stone and setting a watch” (Matthew 27:65-66). In doing so, Pilate provided further evidence of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. No human man could have moved that stone, nor escaped past those guards. Jesus, The Nazarene, The King of The Jews = Yahweh It’s fun to find a remez. It’s the revealing of a deeper mystery that gives us one more reason to rejoice in the Lord and all that He has revealed in His Word. It is a reminder of the divine nature of inspiration on every page of the Bible and that, in His Word, God has revealed to us all that we need to trust in Him in all things. ….