tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67674754757532799182024-03-16T13:43:04.573+00:00Unveiling the ApocalypseProphecy in Catholic TraditionEmmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.comBlogger217125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-87588713589440075872021-09-20T15:04:00.002+01:002021-09-22T15:21:43.558+01:00The Recent Eruption at Cumbre Vieja and Sr. Lucia's 1944 Tuy Apparition<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJjPfA6-VQ5gqKQ1PBYdIBzzX3s_RDGrjPvbh3WXtgxyoaThWuOWYxKhB4tUfA1NL9qDRXp5Sp9Z9-MGtie5NiTPPyqcMZObNPcagJ5sWlk1ku7FsynK92mJYl4FjcDLUWtJxZIXnjB0/s259/cumbre+vieja.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="259" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJjPfA6-VQ5gqKQ1PBYdIBzzX3s_RDGrjPvbh3WXtgxyoaThWuOWYxKhB4tUfA1NL9qDRXp5Sp9Z9-MGtie5NiTPPyqcMZObNPcagJ5sWlk1ku7FsynK92mJYl4FjcDLUWtJxZIXnjB0/s0/cumbre+vieja.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>A lot of people have been contacting me recently, to ask my thoughts on the recent eruption of Cumbre Vieja in the Canary Islands, on 19th Sept, 2021 - the feast of Our Lady of La Salette. Some are worried that this could potentially result in the cataclysm that Sr. Lucia seen in a vision, during an apparition of Our Lady in 1944. It was during this apparition that the Blessed Virgin instructed Sr. Lucia to write down the contents of the Third Secret of Fatima. During a recent podcast with Fr. Richard Heilman and Doug Barry, I tried to explain how I'm not expecting the catastrophe seen in Sr. Lucia's 1944 apparition anytime soon, because of the significance of the <i>katēchon</i> of 2Thes 2:6-7 - the "restraining force" which holds back the appearance of the Antichrist. See around the 41 minute at this link: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffwiF3VJjFw&t=2541s"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Katechon and the Binding of Satan</span> </a>.</p><p>In my book <a href="https://amzn.to/3nPs4sp"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church</span></i></a>, I argue that Sr. Lucia's vision of the angel touching the earth with a flaming lance is connected with the eschatological earthquake described in Rev 16:</p><blockquote>The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. (Rev 16:17-19)</blockquote><blockquote>I felt my spirit flooded by a light-filled mystery which is God and in Him I saw and heard: the point of the flame-like lance which detaches, touches the axis of the earth and it [the earth] shakes: mountains, cities, towns and villages with their inhabitants are buried. The sea, rivers and clouds leave their bounds, they overflow, flood and drag with them into a whirlpool, houses and people in a number unable to be counted; it is the purification of the world from the sin it is immersed in. Hatred, ambition, cause destructive wars </blockquote><blockquote>(Sr. Lucia, Tuy, 1944. See Sr. Lucia's official biography by the Carmelites of Coimbra - <i>A Pathway Under the Gaze of Mary</i>)</blockquote><div><br /><div>The event seen by Sr. Lucia in her 1944 Tuy apparition is specifically connected with the fall of "Babylon", which is symbolized by an angel throwing a millstone into the sea in Rev 18:21:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: "With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again."</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>This scriptural passage is in turn associated with the "great mountain, burning with fire" which St. John seen being thrown into the sea in Rev 8:8. In my book, I attempt to demonstrate that this burning mountain is closely associated with the seven burning mountains described in the Book of Enoch, which are identified with the Canary Islands. (See the blog post <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-canary-islands-and-seven-burning.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Seven Burning Mountains of Enoch and the Canary Islands</span></a> for further details).</div><div><br /></div><div>As I state in the above podcast, I don't think that the events described in Sr. Lucia's 1944 vision will happen anytime soon, since they are concerned with the very end time itself. In the Book of Revelation, the fall of "Babylon" is directly connected with the rise to power of the Antichrist, who ascends to world dominance as a result of the power vacuum created by the downfall of the world's leading superpower. The appearance of the Antichrist is in turn held back by the <i>katēchon</i> - the "restraining force" mentioned by St. Paul:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. (2Thes 2:5-8)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>The Catechism of the Catholic Church associates the <i>katēchon</i> with the conversion of the Jews, thus identifying this "restraining force" with the ministry of the Prophet Elijah.</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>Since the Ascension Christ's coming in glory has been imminent, even though “it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority”. This eschatological coming could be accomplished at any moment, even if both it and the final trial that will precede it are “delayed”. The glorious Messiah’s coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by “all Israel”, for “a hardening has come upon part of Israel” in their “unbelief” toward Jesus. St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old." St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?" The "full inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah's salvation, in the wake of "the full number of the Gentiles", will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", in which "God may be all in all". (CCC 673-674)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Since the Catechism identifies the <i>katēchon </i>with the prophetic ministry of the Two Witnesses of Rev 11,<i> </i>then the appearance of the Antichrist can only take place once this "restraining force" has been removed. St. Paul states that the conversion of the Jews will only take place after the "bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles", once the Gospel is proclaimed to the ends of the world:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” (Rom 11:25-27)<div><br /></div>Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matt 24:12-14)<div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>As I argue in my book, the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles during the proclamation of the Gospel to the ends of the earth can only happen at the end of the short time of Satan. In the above podcast, I attempt to explain that the duration of the short time of Satan appears to be associated with the 120 years described in Gen 6:3:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>When men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took to wife such of them as they chose. Then the Lord said, “My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for he is flesh, but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown. (Gen 6:1-4)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>According to the Book of Enoch, the Nephilim were the offspring of the Watchers - the fallen angels who were bound in Tartarus at the ends of the earth, at the location of the seven burning mountains. The Book of Enoch tells us that it was from this location that the waters of the abyss issued forth to bring about the events of Noah's flood:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>And from thence I went to another place of the earth, and he showed me a mountain range of fire which burnt day and night. And I went beyond it and saw seven magnificent mountains all differing each from the other, and the stones thereof were magnificent and beautiful, magnificent as a whole, of glorious appearance and fair exterior: three towards the east, one founded on the other, and three towards the south, one upon the other, and deep rough ravines, no one of which joined with any other. And the seventh mountain was in the midst of these, and it excelled them in height, resembling the seat of a throne: and fragrant trees encircled the throne. And amongst them was a tree such as I had never yet smelt, neither was any amongst them nor were others like it: it had a fragrance beyond all fragrance, and its leaves and blooms and wood wither not for ever: and its fruit is beautiful, and its fruit resembles the dates of a palm. Then I said: ‘How beautiful is this tree, and fragrant, and its leaves are fair, and its blooms very delightful in appearance.’ Then answered Michael, one of the holy and honoured angels who was with me, and was their leader. And he said unto me: ‘Enoch, why dost thou ask me regarding the fragrance of the tree, and why dost thou wish to learn the truth?’ Then I answered him saying: ‘I wish to know about everything, but especially about this tree.’ And he answered saying: ‘This high mountain which thou hast seen, whose summit is like the throne of God, is His throne, where the Holy Great One, the Lord of Glory, the Eternal King, will sit, when He shall come down to visit the earth with goodness. And as for this fragrant tree no mortal is permitted to touch it till the great judgement, when He shall take vengeance on all and bring everything to its consummation for ever. (1Enoc 24; 25:1-4)</blockquote><blockquote>And after that he showed me the angels of punishment who are prepared to come and let loose all the powers of the waters which are beneath in the earth in order to bring judgement and destruction on all who abide and dwell on the earth. And the Lord of Spirits gave commandment to the angels who were going forth, that they should not cause the waters to rise but should hold them in check; for those angels were over the powers of the waters. (1Enoc 66)<br /><br />And He will imprison those angels, who have shown unrighteousness, in that burning valley which my grandfather Enoch had formerly shown to me in the west among the mountains of gold and silver and iron and soft metal and tin. And I saw that valley in which there was a great convulsion and a convulsion of the waters. And when all this took place, from that fiery molten metal and from the convulsion thereof in that place, there was produced a smell of sulphur, and it was connected with those waters, and that valley of the angels who had led astray mankind burned beneath that land. And through its valleys proceed streams of fire, where these angels are punished who had led astray those who dwell upon the earth. (1Enoc 67:4-7)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>So the binding of the fallen angels is closely associated with the 120 years described in Gen 6, which in turn parallels the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the "thousand years". Since St. Augustine of Hippo associated the period of Satan's unbinding with the "Sabbath Millennium" discussed by the Early Church Fathers, this concept is in turn related to the jubilee rest at the end of every 50 year cycle instructed in Lev 25: </div><br /><div><blockquote>Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan. The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what growsof itself or harvest the untended vines. For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields. “‘In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property. “‘If you sell land to any of your own people or buy land from them, do not take advantage of each other. You are to buy from your own people on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee. And they are to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops. (Lev 25:8-15)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Once we apply St. Augustine's insight into the significance of the Sabbath Millennium to the chronology of St. Bede the Venerable, using the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament, as opposed to the Greek Septuagint, the end of the "thousand years" of Rev 20 can be calculated to the Great Jubilee Year of the Incarnation in the year 2000:</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>The Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man — meaning by the strong man the devil, because he had power to take captive the human race; and meaning by his goods which he was to take, those who had been held by the devil in various sins and iniquities, but were to become believers in Himself. It was then for the binding of this strong one that the apostle saw in the Apocalypse an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a chain in his hand. And he laid hold, he says, on the dragon, that old serpent, which is called the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,— that is, bridled and restrained his power so that he could not seduce and gain possession of those who were to be freed. Now the thousand years may be understood in two ways, so far as occurs to me: either because these things happen in the sixth thousand of years or sixth millennium (the latter part of which is now passing), as if during the sixth day, which is to be followed by a Sabbath which has no evening, the endless rest of the saints, so that, speaking of a part under the name of the whole, he calls the last part of the millennium — the part, that is, which had yet to expire before the end of the world — a thousand years; or he used the thousand years as an equivalent for the whole duration of this world, employing the number of perfection to mark the fullness of time. (St. Augustine of Hippo, City of God, Book XX Chap 7).</blockquote><blockquote>He says also: And he will cause a mark [to be put] in the forehead and in the right hand, that no one may be able to buy or sell, unless he who has the mark of the name of the beast or the number of his name; and the number is six hundred and sixty-six, Revelation 13:14, etc. that is, six times a hundred, six times ten, and six units. [He gives this] as a summing up of the whole of that apostasy which has taken place during six thousand years. For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works. Genesis 2:2 This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; 2 Peter 3:8 and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year. (St. Irenaeus of Lyons, <i>Against Heresies</i>, Book V Chap 28)</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>This thus ties in perfectly with the vision of Pope Leo XIII, in which he was told that Satan would be granted a period of greater power. If the Sabbath Millennium is connected with the significance of the biblical jubilee years, it is worth noting that a jubilee of 120 years (50 x 120) makes up to a total of 6000 years - the exact length suggested by the biblical chronology, according to the calculations of James Ussher, the 17th century Anglican Archbishop of Armagh. Since the jubilee was also a time of Sabbath rest, then it makes sense that the period during which God's Spirit would not abide with humanity in Gen 6:3 is connected to the period of the short time of Satan. It is also worth noting that in the original Hebrew text of this portion of Genesis, it states that the Spirit of God would not abide with humanity until the end of the "<i>olam</i>" (age). In Jewish tradition the <i>olam ha-zeh</i> (this age) is contrasted with the <i>olam ha-ba</i> (the age to come), which is the time of the messianic kingdom. So there is certainly a sense of millennial thinking in this section of Genesis.</div></div><div><br /></div>It doesn't seem to be a "coincidence" that this eruption has taken place right at this juncture in time, beginning on the feast of Our Lady of La Salette. The army of King Victor Emmanuel II reached the walls of Rome on 19th Sept, 1870, (the feast of Our Lady of La Salette), beginning a siege which led to the loss of the Papal States. Pope Leo XIII undoubtedly connected this event with the contents of his vision, where he seen an army of demons surrounding the Eternal City. This in turn echoes the camp of the saints being surrounded by the armies of Satan at the end of the "thousand years" in Rev 20. In the longer exorcism prayer issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1890, he refers to the Freemasons erecting a monument dedicated to King Victor Emmanuel II in Rome:<div><br /></div><div><blockquote>In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most blessed Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered. Adesto itaque, Dux invictissime, populo Dei contra irrumpentes spirituales nequitias, et fac victoriam. Arise then, O invincible prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and bring them the victory.</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>The Italian architect Giuseppe Sacconi won the prize to design the monument to King Victor Emmanuel II in 1884, which he modeled in the image of the recently discovered Pergamon Altar. This is none other than the "Throne of Satan" described in Rev 2:13. Again, it is no coincidence that Pope Leo XIII experienced his vision at the exact moment in history that a shrine made in the image of the Pergamon Altar was being erected in the city of Rome, in the wake of the capture of the Papal States. After its discovery in 1879, the actual Pergamon Altar was transported to Germany and reconstructed in Berlin in 1900, right at the very beginning of the period of Satan's greater power. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZUSFRpZs70Tx_RysckrWzxxM0yG1pp7S_19NBf__3_sJpc58UbNObFeIy6xepNyCVH8bP_BctZ9L2wWTWV6HCVHLWmitiubMQIByitLC8IQjrsdqutV6xoUrPESGLFr6CSoT2YYwsU54/s220/The+Vittoriano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="220" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZUSFRpZs70Tx_RysckrWzxxM0yG1pp7S_19NBf__3_sJpc58UbNObFeIy6xepNyCVH8bP_BctZ9L2wWTWV6HCVHLWmitiubMQIByitLC8IQjrsdqutV6xoUrPESGLFr6CSoT2YYwsU54/s0/The+Vittoriano.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Vittariano, or Monument to King Victor Emmanuel II</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-d-_nBN844ScuQOI_sIM71XZkG-7w0bh0o_xYhIz4-oprddY7jbl1cpXTtPBIQzTMOl_Pzt3if2e2x80R0eQ9M7zdAVXlb230PsdTHUHrq8Z8EjvyFl1e9FW44YfSS3kx2vZnQgqE10/s220/Pergamon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="220" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-d-_nBN844ScuQOI_sIM71XZkG-7w0bh0o_xYhIz4-oprddY7jbl1cpXTtPBIQzTMOl_Pzt3if2e2x80R0eQ9M7zdAVXlb230PsdTHUHrq8Z8EjvyFl1e9FW44YfSS3kx2vZnQgqE10/s0/Pergamon.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Pergamon Altar</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Even though there is no immediate threat of the chastisement foreseen by Sr. Lucia in her 1944 Tuy apparition, it still appears to be of considerable significance that Cumbre Vieja would erupt at the end of this 120 year period associated with the short time of Satan, on the feast of Our Lady of La Salette. This is especially significant, since the location of the Canary Islands is so closely linked with the location where the Watchers are kept in chains until judgement day, according to the words of St. Peter:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. <div>(2Pet 2:4-9)</div><div><br /></div><br />Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day... <div><br /></div><div>They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 5-6; 13-15)</div></blockquote><blockquote>As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matt 24:37-39)</blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div><div>Could this volcanic eruption at a site closely linked with the location of the chaining of the fallen angels described in the Book of Enoch be yet another sign that the time of Satan's unbinding has now drawn to a close? If so, it is deeply significant that this eruption occurred on the feast day of Our Lady of La Salette, since Melanie's Calvat's longer 1879 version of her secret closely echoes the contents of Sr. Lucia's 1944 Tuy apparition:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>“At the first blow of His thundering sword, the mountains and all Nature will tremble in terror, for the disorders and crimes of men have pierced the vault of the heavens. Paris will burn and Marseilles will be engulfed. Several cities will be shaken down and swallowed up by earthquakes. People will believe that all is lost."</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>We can take comfort in the fact that these chastisements still lie some time off in the future, after the period of the restoration of the Church, which Sr Lucia was also shown during the apparition of Our Lady in 1944:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>Afterward I felt in the increased beating of my heart and in my spirit a quiet voice which said: ‘in time, one faith, one baptism, one Church, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic. Heaven in eternity!’ This word, ‘Heaven,’ filled my heart with peace and happiness, so much so that, almost without realizing it, I continued to repeat for some time: Heaven, Heaven!’ </blockquote><p> </p></div></div>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com213tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-9251702155212433872021-03-12T11:53:00.003+00:002021-03-12T12:07:37.320+00:00Knock Shrine Granted Special Status by the Vatican<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCEfMOI5ZMhfH8gABfbfX3uj3jMRCMpudy5TFdMLD_M9nEBunDqS7tFQcNQCm9Uw4Q0rtdGsrejeRqi1cgZFtflqTyTJ4q8doURm3aycoWfQ5Q0LNPbsmCoQGnA-b4RhtXjrWbfOcG3w/s900/knock+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCEfMOI5ZMhfH8gABfbfX3uj3jMRCMpudy5TFdMLD_M9nEBunDqS7tFQcNQCm9Uw4Q0rtdGsrejeRqi1cgZFtflqTyTJ4q8doURm3aycoWfQ5Q0LNPbsmCoQGnA-b4RhtXjrWbfOcG3w/s320/knock+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>In the year dedicated to St. Joseph, Pope Francis<span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><a href="https://www.knockshrine.ie/pope-francis-honours-knock-shrine-with-special-status/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">has recently announced</span> </a>that the shrine of Our Lady of Knock, in Mayo, Ireland, will be granted special status as an international Marian and Eucharistic Shrine, on March 19th, 2021 - the feast of St. Joseph. The fact that the Holy Father has announced that Knock Shrine will be bestowed with this special honour just a few days after his pilgrimage to Iraq, where <a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0307/1201447-pope-iraq/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">he visited the site of ancient Nineveh</span></a> at Mosul, bears a striking parallel to the material in my book on the Knock apparition. As most readers of this blog will be aware, in my book <a href="https://amzn.to/3bHi3au"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church</i></span></a>, I argue that the symbolism of the Knock apparition is directly based on the opening of scroll sealed with seven seals described in chapter 5 of the Book of Revelation:</p><blockquote>Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." (Rev 5:1-5)</blockquote><p>In my book, I argue that the opening of the scroll with the seven seals and the subsequent release of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is recapitulated later in Rev 20, during the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the "thousand years":</p><blockquote>Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while...<br /><br />And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Rev 20:1-3; 7-10)</blockquote><div>In my blog post <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-sign-of-jonah-and-binding-of-satan.html"><span style="color: #990000;">The Sign of Jonah and the Unbinding of Satan</span></a>, I argue at some length that the period of the unbinding of Satan described in the Apocalypse is directly associated with the original "sign of Jonah", which was a striking solar eclipse which had taken place near the site of ancient Nineveh during the ministry of the Prophet Jonah, which had caused the repentance of the Ninevites, sparing them from God's judgement. In my book, I also attempt to demonstrate the various parallels between the unbinding of Satan at the end of the Millennium and the vision of Pope Leo XIII, concerning the century in which the Devil would be granted a period of greater power. I go on to note that in the Gospel of Matthew, Christ had associated the binding of the "strong man" in Matt 12 with the appearance of the sign of Jonah: </div><div><br /></div><blockquote>Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house...<br /><br />Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (Matt 12:22-29; 39-41)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>In his <i>City of God</i>, St. Augustine of Hippo had connected the above Gospel passage concerning the "binding of the strong man" with the binding of Satan described in Rev 20. St. Augustine went on to propose that the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the thousand years would take place at the end of the Sabbath Millennium discussed by the Early Church Fathers, who proposed that the biblical chronology pointed to a prophetic "great week" of millennia:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>Now the thousand years may be understood in two ways, so far as occurs to me: either because these things happen in the sixth thousand of years or sixth millennium (the latter part of which is now passing), as if during the sixth day, which is to be followed by a Sabbath which has no evening, the endless rest of the saints, so that, speaking of a part under the name of the whole, he calls the last part of the millennium — the part, that is, which had yet to expire before the end of the world — a thousand years; or he used the thousand years as an equivalent for the whole duration of this world, employing the number of perfection to mark the fullness of time. </blockquote><blockquote>(St. Augustine of Hippo, City of God, XX:7)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>St. Bede the Venerable had used the "Hebrew Truth" of the Masoretic text of the Old Testament to recalibrate the biblical chronology, when when refined by the Anglican Archbishop, James Ussher of Armagh, relocated the prophetic significance of the end of the "great week" as the year 2000. Just over 100 years before the end of this "great week" of millennia, Pope Leo XIII had announced the consecration of the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in his 1899 encyclical <i>Annum Sacrum</i>, which was published on the feast of St. Bede. Later the same year had announced that this Anglo-Saxon monk would be made a doctor of the Church. This act of consecration was made in direct response to a request made by Christ to Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart, which in turn directly parallels the request made to consecrate France to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, given to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Pope Leo XIII was almost certainly familiar with the fact that the French Revolution had occurred exactly 100 years after St. Margaret Mary had relayed this request to the Kings of France, which had went unfulfilled. This is why he described his consecration of the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the "greatest act of my pontificate".</div><div><br /><div>In <i>Unveiling the Apocalypse</i>, I note how the beginning of the First World War had coincided with a remarkable solar eclipse which had traversed the battlefields of Eastern Europe, before the path of totality made its way down to cross the site of ancient Nineveh. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMY12I1QUZlkJi_uW000qvBIgF_x1FPB3Z7K8Mk9WxMTnQODoFKCVvkAWGb0vpgevGTP_UIjb5L6Q62-ZicXwrEMoOgr9lv5AtII_PLoWbBd65YD9NxNwtk-jPnjqNU85ClJDsI-QPFY/s1646/1914_August_22_TSE_The_Graphic_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1646" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMY12I1QUZlkJi_uW000qvBIgF_x1FPB3Z7K8Mk9WxMTnQODoFKCVvkAWGb0vpgevGTP_UIjb5L6Q62-ZicXwrEMoOgr9lv5AtII_PLoWbBd65YD9NxNwtk-jPnjqNU85ClJDsI-QPFY/s320/1914_August_22_TSE_The_Graphic_1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>This striking event, known as the "First World War Eclipse", had occurred on 21st August, 1914 - the feast day of Our Lady of Knock, which had announced the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals, which in turn heralds the inauguration of the period of the unbinding of Satan. In order to mark the 100 year anniversary of Pope Leo's consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope St. John Paul II <a href="http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_19990611_consagrazione-sacro-cuore.html"><span style="color: #990000;">published an Apostolic Letter </span></a>reflecting upon the spiritual significance of this event in the life of the Church on 11th June 1999, and once again renewed this act of consecration. Just a few months later, the "sign of Jonah" had repeated itself when the great solar eclipse of 1999 had once again traversed the site of ancient Nineveh on Aug 11th, announcing the end of the period of the unbinding of Satan at the dawn of the new millennium.<br /><p><br /></p></div></div>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-16722776676065996632021-01-15T00:19:00.001+00:002021-01-15T00:19:42.127+00:00Debunking the Destroyer Pope Prophecy<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFL7oeOL8EQi9zjMQwxFv8cup4K44r0lFpUETUvIPJ9BGD_tGaifWcTkI2i-gsdO9sw3dPdRVA6NwkdnDCRGs9Ea5qJ-ImFsLdm9i02qLfttIOMb9-LIQskkTgwgKfdQPLBu2MWUqdhg/s1900/Saint_Francis_of_Assisi_Receiving_the_Stigmata_Cat164b-nyd+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1900" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFL7oeOL8EQi9zjMQwxFv8cup4K44r0lFpUETUvIPJ9BGD_tGaifWcTkI2i-gsdO9sw3dPdRVA6NwkdnDCRGs9Ea5qJ-ImFsLdm9i02qLfttIOMb9-LIQskkTgwgKfdQPLBu2MWUqdhg/s320/Saint_Francis_of_Assisi_Receiving_the_Stigmata_Cat164b-nyd+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Below is a link to my latest article on Where Peter Is, critiquing the provenance of a prophecy falsely attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, which has been used to attack the legitimacy of the papacy of Pope Francis:</span></p><p><a href="https://wherepeteris.com/lifesitenews-uses-false-st-francis-quote-to-attack-the-pope/?fbclid=IwAR1dWo-_KOFIzVgEu3aPkHcMmHEW84Euhmmf_2dCEpcahM9a4tlYgig1YSY">LifeSiteNews uses false St. Francis quote to attack the pope | Where Peter Is</a></p>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com101tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-65096608870020334212020-11-10T23:33:00.000+00:002020-11-10T23:33:19.233+00:00The Third Secret of Fatima and the Visions of Bl. Elizabeth Canori-Mora<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzKEr7KrTfRUEaHZyTbh7JsSSLctUnE5ZkdhcbLRB5n56NAy5lsng7Kn_VdwSrF2vRWXOBrosbUTC_-mnlB0PubGYwV6Y9ib9nhOSuljeXG1ZwHzAmQc4WM8ZaQ53tTq6T7r40Oy3OiDw/s180/Elizabeth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzKEr7KrTfRUEaHZyTbh7JsSSLctUnE5ZkdhcbLRB5n56NAy5lsng7Kn_VdwSrF2vRWXOBrosbUTC_-mnlB0PubGYwV6Y9ib9nhOSuljeXG1ZwHzAmQc4WM8ZaQ53tTq6T7r40Oy3OiDw/s0/Elizabeth.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p>The prophetic visions of Blessed Elizabeth Canori-Mora contain some striking similarities with the Third Secret of Fatima, and appear more relevant to the Church of today than ever before. The below passage, taken from the 1878 book <i>The Life of the Venerable Elizabeth Canori Mora</i>, by Mary Elizabeth Herbert. Worth noting in particular is Bl. Elizabeth's vision of a much weakened Church being restored after two angels gather up an offering of supplication in two chalices which are then given to St. Felix of Valois and St. John of Matha - the founders of the Trinitarian Order, which was dedicated to ransoming captive Christians. It appears to suggest that this vision of the restoration of the Church, which reflects the two angels gathering up the blood of the martyrs seen in the Third Secret, is in fact related to the end of the period of the unbinding of Satan described in Rev 20:</p><p><br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p>One day, during an ecstasy, S. John the Baptist conducted her into an august and mysterious temple. The Blessed Virgin laid the Infant Jesus upon an Altar, and began to pray for the Church, supplicating her Divine Son to suspend the rigours of His Justice, and not to disperse the Ministers of the Sanctuary. She reminded Him that she was His Mother, and that, as His Mother, she hoped to be heard.</p><p>The Infant Jesus replied: "My justice will no longer support so many abominations. You are My Mother, but you are also My creature!"</p><p>With the august Queen of Heaven a multitude of Religious, united with their holy Founders, had also implored mercy. But scarcely had they heard the words of the Divine Infant, than they fell on their knees and adored the impenetrable decrees of the Most High. Then all the holy Religious offered to Him the incense of the good works of their respective Orders. The Infant God then raised His Hand, blessed them, and with them His faithful servant. The exile of the Sovereign Pontiff and the dispersion of the College of Cardinals took place very soon after this vision.</p><p>Another time three Angels conducted Elizabeth into a subterranean place where, in secret and in darkness, the impious were plotting the ruin of the Church. She there saw also persons covered with a mask of hypocrisy, who, under the specious pretext of doing good, secretly favoured the designs of the agents of Hell. The Venerable Mother was penetrated by a feeling of horror in presence of a sight of which the idea would never have presented itself to her mind. To console her. Our Lord showed her the re-establishment of the Society of Jesus, through the intercession of S. Ignatius Loyola. She also saw a Father of the same Society, illustrious by his knowledge and virtue, who, in union with other Fathers, defended the rights of Holy Church, and many others who shed their blood for Jesus Christ.</p><p>Actuated only by her zeal for the Church, Elizabeth, in her humility, addressed ardent prayers to Our Lord to obtain a cessation of this persecution. At that moment the All-Powerful caused His Justice to shine forth, and exterminated these wretches in a manner so prompt and terrible, that during several days her mind was troubled. She felt throughout her whole body a most intense terror, and experienced for a long time an icy coldness which ran through all her limbs. The following vision made an impression upon her no less vivid.</p><p>The Church appeared to her standing before the throne of God, supplicating Him to spare her children, and especially the Priests, Secular and Regular. But the Most High refused to listen, and said to her: "Take the part of My Justice, and judge your own cause." At these words the Church took off all her ornaments, aided by three Angels, executioners of Divine Justice; reduced to this sad state, she became so weak that she could not support herself. Then Our Lord gave her a staff to support herself upon, and a veil to cover her head.</p><p>In her desolation she bitterly sobbed, and deplored the solitude in which her children had left her. Suddenly the Spirit of the Lord invested her with a bright and intense light, which, spreading itself in four different directions, accomplished great and wonderful things. In the mild rays of this glory, those who slumbered in error arose, and re-entered her bosom, surrounding her with homage and respect. The Church appeared more beautiful and resplendent than ever. Six of the principal Religious Orders appeared as so many firm and strong columns destined to sustain her.</p><p>But, before enjoying this triumph, she had to pass through evils so frightful, that Elizabeth's Confessor was terrified by them. Desirous to avert them, he ordered his heroic penitent to go to S. Mary Major and make an entire offering of herself, of all the benefits she had received, and of those which she was to receive, in union with the offering of Jesus Christ upon the Cross. Elizabeth piously hastened to obey; and at the moment when she offered herself to Our Lord, two Angels descended from Heaven, received her offering in two chalices which they gave to S. Felix of Valois and S. John of Matha, who presented them to the Blessed Virgin, and she presented them to the Holy Trinity. The two chalices were placed before the throne of the Most High, and there remained to appease His just anger.</p><p>Our Lord confided to her His secrets ; she wept unceasingly at seeing Him prepared to discharge upon the world the weight of His anger. She would have wished to deliver men, at the price of all her blood, from the evils which threatened them. But her prudent Confessor told her not to oppose the designs of God, and to content herself with praying in conformity with His Holy Will. She did so, and Our Lord, showing that He was moved, said to her : "This is a prayer worthy of Me." One day, however, the ardour of her zeal caused her to forget this rule. Having seen that God was about to show forth His Justice, she flew in spirit to the foot of His Throne, and incessantly prayed that He would stop His avenging arm. At that moment the chastisement would have drawn down upon many the loss of both body and soul.</p><p>One day she could not see, without extreme pain, so many persons of all ages and of every condition attach themselves to the perverse maxims of the world, and without shame outrage the God of all Majesty. In the ardour of her zeal to remedy this grave disorder, she offered herself to God to suffer all sorts of torments at the hands of men, and all kinds of vexations from devils. The Heavenly Father accepted her offering, and gave her the power of binding the devil who perverted so many souls, and of enclosing him in the abyss with the aid of two Fathers of the Order of the Holy Trinity. </p>Mary Elizabeth Herbert, <i>The Life of the Venerable Elizabeth Canori Mora</i>, (London: R. Washbourne, 1878), pp101-104</blockquote><p> </p><p></p>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com4010tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-29297823258431048642020-09-07T22:09:00.000+01:002020-09-07T22:09:10.285+01:00Apocalypse When? Catholic Millenarianism RisingBelow is a link to my article on Where Peter Is, covering the recent debacle concerning Fr. Michel Rodridgue and the milleanrian errors being promoted on the Countdown to the Kingdom website:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://wherepeteris.com/apocalypse-when-catholic-millenarianism-rising/">https://wherepeteris.com/apocalypse-when-catholic-millenarianism-rising/</a>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com1850tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-30122275882287711682020-08-28T07:24:00.004+01:002023-07-06T11:32:43.681+01:00The Great Monarch, the "Warning" and the Duration of the Period of Peace<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZhAuyInJMt2vFQIDuLofgDsXPl49TnY8ngmUcJI8xoT7Rn-LEiXLNzaKW6V-Y94V4ShiwNVXa_qGbdVd9LvgTceywhpp-ZT-DWJF_X0l9iXmQeSgF4mZ6oE1rDfqCUqn7G3WUfldpHA/s1260/our-lady-of-salette-pray-for-us.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="840" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZhAuyInJMt2vFQIDuLofgDsXPl49TnY8ngmUcJI8xoT7Rn-LEiXLNzaKW6V-Y94V4ShiwNVXa_qGbdVd9LvgTceywhpp-ZT-DWJF_X0l9iXmQeSgF4mZ6oE1rDfqCUqn7G3WUfldpHA/w214-h320/our-lady-of-salette-pray-for-us.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Mark Mallett and Daniel O'Connor have recently issued a couple of videos on the <i>Countdown to the Kingdom </i>website attempting to address some of my criticisms of their promotion of Fr. Iannuzzi's ideas concerning a millenarian "era of peace". While I don't hold any personal animosity towards either Mark or Daniel, the version of eschatology they are espousing is leading their regrettably sizable audience into a grave and dangerous millenarian error. Both Mallett and O'Connor reject Church Tradition concerning St. Augustine's amillennial interpretation of the Apocalypse in favour of a millennial "era of peace", which is foretold in a number of contemporary unapproved "private revelations", some of which have been rejected by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (such as those of Edson Glauber). </p><p>Even though St. Augustine's amillennialism has never been formally defined dogmatically, after his position concerning the Millennium of Rev 20 was first forwarded in the 5th century, it was universally accepted by the Tradition of the Church and has been ever since, which fulfils the criteria to identify it as a definitive teaching of the ordinary and universal Magisterium. Mallett and O'Connor also ignore the prophecies of the Great Catholic Monarch and Angelic Pope in Catholic Tradition, made by numerous saints and blesseds, as well as apparitions which have full ecclesiastical approval, such as those of Our Lady of La Salette. The Great Monarch and Angelic Pope are foretold to restore the Church immediately before the coming of the Antichrist and the final Passover of the Church, as part of a ministry which echoes that of the Two Witnesses.</p><p>According to Mallett and O'Connor's view, the "era of peace" will only arrive after the Antichrist, and will last for a prolonged millennial epoch which will persist until the arrival of Gog and Magog at the end of a future thousand year binding of Satan, which they equate with a "final antichrist". As you can see from around the 45 minute mark on the below video, Mark Mallett repeatedly stumbles around the concept of the Great Monarch, before stating that he would not object to these prophecies if this figure arrives after the downfall of the Antichrist during the mooted invisible "Middle Coming" of Jesus to reign on earth in the Eucharist. Instead of attempting engage in a respectful academic dialogue, Daniel O'Connor also advises his audience to ignore my writings - without mentioning my name, lest he inadvertently alerts his audience to my research.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/27oSXDd6wbg" width="320" youtube-src-id="27oSXDd6wbg"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>When we look to the doctors of the Church who have written about this subject, they concur that the Antichrist will only arrive at the very end of the world, immediately before the Second Coming of Christ:</p><p></p><blockquote>Whereby He shows, that when Antichrist has come, the pursuit of unlawful pleasures shall be more eager among the transgressors, and those that have learned to despair of their own salvation. Then shall be gluttony, then revellings, and drunkenness. Wherefore also most of all He puts forth an example corresponding to the thing. For like as when the ark was making, they believed not, says He; but while it was set in the midst of them, proclaiming beforehand the evils that are to come, they, when they saw it, lived in pleasure, just as though nothing dreadful were about to take place; so also now, Antichrist indeed shall appear, after whom is the end, and the punishments at the end, and vengeance intolerable...(St. John Chrystom, <i>Homily on Matthew</i>, Chap 77)</blockquote><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;"></span></div><blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;">But he who reads this passage, even half asleep, cannot fail to see that the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;">kingdom</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;"> of Antichrist </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;">shall fiercely, though for a short time, assail the Church</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;"> before the last judgment of God</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;"> shall introduce the eternal</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;"> reign of the saints"</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;">. (St. Augustine of Hippo, <i>City of God</i> XX:23)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">For the Lord clearly teaches that after the persecution of Antichrist the last judgement will immediately follow [Matt 24]. Then all the good are going to eternal life, while all the wicked into the eternal fire, hence there is not going to be another thousand years, nor any battle. </span><br style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;" /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">(St. Robert Bellarmine <i>De Controversiis</i> Book 3 Chap XVII)</span></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"></span></div><p>We can thus see why Mallett and O'Connor have chosen to ignore the figure of the Great Monarch, since in Catholic Tradition this figure is equated with the biblical <i>katechon</i> - the restraining force holding back the appearance of the Antichrist mentioned by St. Paul:</p><blockquote>Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. (2Thes 2:3-8)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>One of the oldest prophecies of the Great Monarch is found in the Apocalypse of Methodius, which also foretells the appearance of the sign of the cross before the Last Judgement. Ironically, this prophecy is also related to the central subject matter of Christine Watkins' book <i>The Warning: Testimonies and Prophecies of the Illumination of Consciences</i>, which has recently popularised Mallett and O'Connor's writings due to her endorsement of the <i>Countdown to the Kingdom</i> website:</div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div>…the Cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ hung
for the common salvation of all will begin to appear
before him at his coming to convict the lack of faith
of unbelievers… When the Cross has been lifted up
on high to heaven, the king of the Romans will
directly give up his spirit. Then every principality and power will be destroyed that the Son of
Perdition may be manifest.</div><div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>According to Church Tradition, the Great Monarch will bring about the restoration the Church after a period of desolation, which I argue in my book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/31yjqD0">Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church</a></i>, is related to the current apostasy we are experiencing due to the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the "thousand years". After the Great Monarch brings about the renovation of the Church, the prophetic tradition tells us that he will lay down his crown on the Mount of Olives just immediately before the appearance of the Antichrist:</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>Some of our teachers say that a King of the Franks will possess the entire Roman Empire. He will be the greatest and last of all Monarchs. After having wisely governed his kingdom, he will go into Jerusalem and will lay his sceptre and his crown upon the Mount of Olives. Immediately afterwards, Antichrist will come. (Adso of Montier-en-Der, <i>De ortu et tempore Antichristi</i>)</blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>The only Church approved private revelation to give some indication of the duration of the period of peace is Melanie's 1849 version of the Secret of La Salette, which explicitly states that this period of renewal will not last long before the appearance of the Antichrist, and similarly connects the period of the restoration of the Church with the reign of the Great Monarch:</div><div><br /><blockquote>A great king will go up on the throne, and will reign many years. Religion will re-flourish and spread all over the world, and there will be a great abundance. The world, glad to be lacking nothing, will fall again into disorder, will give up God, and will return to its criminal passions. (Our Lady to Melanie Calvat)</blockquote></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>The Church doctor St. Bonaventure also associates the renovation of the Church with the reign of the Great Monarch, and indicates that the restoration brought about by this figure will not last long before the arrival of the sudden destruction after the time of peace forewarned by St. Paul:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>"no one knows how long that time of great peace will last since "when they said 'Peace and security,' then suddenly destruction came upon them" (Matt 24:21). The seventh time or age, that of quiet, begins with the shout of the angel who "swore through Him who lives forever and ever that there would be no more time; but in the days of the seventh angel the mystery of God will be completed" (Rev 10:6-7).<br />In the sixth age three things take place - excellence of victory, excellence of teaching, and excellence of the prophetic life.... In this age there ought to come a life through an order which will possess the prophetic life. This age is double. Just as in the Lord's Passion there was first light, then darkness, and then light, so it is necessary that first there be the light of teaching and that Josiah succeed Hezekiah, after which came the tribulation of the Jews through their captivity. It is necessary that one ruler, a defender of the Church, arise. He is either still to come or has already come. (He added: Would that he has not already come!) After him will come the darkness of tribulations..."<br /><br />It was said to the angel of Philadelphia, the sixth angel: "He who is holy and true, who has the key of David, who opens and no man closes, closes and no man opens, says this - 'I know your works, and behold I have placed an open door before you'" (Rev 3:7). (And he said that now for the first time the understanding of Scripture would be given and that the revelation, or key of David, would be given to a person or a large group, but I think rather to a large group.) </blockquote><blockquote>In the seventh age we know that these things will take place - the rebuilding of the Temple, the restoration of the city, and the granting of peace. Likewise in the coming seventh age there will be a restoration of Divine worship and a rebuilding of the city. Then the prophecy of Ezekiel will be fulfilled when the city comes down from heaven (Ezek 40); not indeed that city which is above, but that city which is below, the Church Militant which will then be conformed to the Church Triumphant as far as possible in this life. Then will be the building and restoration of the city as it was in the beginning. Then there will be peace. God alone knows how long that peace shall last.</blockquote><blockquote>(St. Bonaventure, Collation 16:17-19. Translated by McGinn, B. Visions of the End, pp199-200)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>These numerous authentic prophecies concerning the restoration of the Church before the arrival of the Antichrist are closely associated with the ministry of the Two Witnesses, which is chiefly concerned with the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles and the conversion of the Jews before the Second Coming of Christ. Both scripture and the magisterium of the Church clearly teach that the conversion of the Jews will only take place immediately before the Parousia of Christ at the very end of the world.</div><div>St. Augustine explains how the ministry of Elijah is intimately connected to the conversion of the Jews foretold by the Prophet Malachi:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote>After admonishing them to give heed to the law of Moses, as he foresaw that for a long time to come they would not understand it spiritually and rightly, he went on to say, And, behold, I will send to you Elias the Tishbite before the great and signal day of the Lord come: and he shall turn the heart of the father to the son, and the heart of a man to his next of kin, lest I come and utterly smite the earth. Malachi 4:5-6 It is a familiar theme in the conversation and heart of the faithful, that in the last days before the judgment the Jews shall believe in the true Christ, that is, our Christ, by means of this great and admirable prophet Elias who shall expound the law to them. </blockquote><blockquote>(St. Augustine of Hippo, City of God, XX:29)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Basing itself on chapter 11 of St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, the Catechism also explains that the Second Coming of Christ will take place immediately after the conversion of the Jews, which leaves absolutely no scope for an intervening millennial "era of peace" after this event:<br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"></span><blockquote><span style="background-color: white;">The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel", for "a hardening has come upon part of Israel" in their "unbelief" toward Jesus.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old."</span><span style="background-color: white;"> St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?"<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 10.8333px;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;">The "full inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah's salvation, in the wake of "the full number of the Gentiles",<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 10.8333px;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;">will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", in which "God may be all in all". (<i>Catechism of the Catholic Church</i>, para 674)</span></blockquote><span style="background-color: white;"></span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Early Church Fathers had connected the conversion of the Jews promised in Rom 11 with the prophecy of Zech 12 and the appearance of the Sign of the Cross, which was later connected to the prophecies of the Great Monarch already mentioned above:</span></div><br /><blockquote>Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven; Matthew 24:30 that is, the cross being brighter than the sun, since this last will be darkened, and hide himself, and that will appear when it would not appear, unless it were far brighter than the beams of the sun. But wherefore does the sign appear? In order that the shamelessness of the Jews may be more abundantly silenced. For having the cross as the greatest plea, Christ thus comes to that judgment-seat, showing not His wounds only, but also the death of reproach. Then shall the tribes mourn, for there shall be no need of an accusation, when they see the cross; and they shall mourn, that by His death they are nothing benefited; because they crucified Him whom they ought to have adored.<br /><br />Do you see how fearfully He has pictured His coming? How He has stirred up the spirits of His disciples? For this reason, let me add, He puts the mournful things first, and then the good things, that in this way also He may comfort and refresh them. And of His passion He suggests to them the remembrance, and of His resurrection, and with a display of glory, He mentions His cross, so that they may not be ashamed nor grieve, whereas indeed He comes then setting it forth for His sign. And another says, They shall look on Him whom they pierced. Therefore it is that they shall mourn, when they see that this is He. (St. John Chrysostom, <i>Homily on Matthew</i>, Chap 76)</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>It is thus fully apparent why Mallett and O'Connor wish to avoid discussing the prophecies of the Great Catholic Monarch and the conversion of the Jews, since they clearly establish that the period of the renewal of the Church takes place immediately <i>before</i> the time of the Antichrist, not <i>after, </i>during a millenarian "era of peace". The timeline presented by the authors of Countdown to the Kingdom is deeply flawed, and is effectively priming Catholics to reject the idea that the Church could be restored by the figures of the Great Monarch and Angelic Pope <i>before</i> the arrival of the Antichrist, as has been held from the earliest traditions of the Church, in accordance with the plain sense of Scripture. According to this timeline, the Great Monarch and Angelic Pope who bring about the restoration of the Church will potentially be rejected by the followers of Countdown to the Kingdom as the Beast and False Prophet of Rev 13, all in order to support the idea of a millenarian "era of peace" being espoused by alleged "seers" who are either unapproved or condemned by the Church. Therein lies the inherent dangers of rejecting the long standing Tradition of the Church concerning the Millennium and the restoration of the Church in favour of the millenarian prophecies of contemporary soothsayers. <br /><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div></div>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com4613tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-13289989180955162782020-07-27T22:25:00.015+01:002020-08-05T08:58:38.005+01:00"Countdown to the Kingdom" and Millenarian Heresy<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuD4H_HYdeqqP64CzEobVZZHoh4vVWq0u9qyqNY5Z66kIpO0vLaYdqcq_GL95Vs_lrbWdg8DCAWBzlTk-PeNuj2XmHSSPLCK65nL5ERHX9q__gn47ziMfJ2Yksj9qaN3yavik6faXhKDo/s289/th.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuD4H_HYdeqqP64CzEobVZZHoh4vVWq0u9qyqNY5Z66kIpO0vLaYdqcq_GL95Vs_lrbWdg8DCAWBzlTk-PeNuj2XmHSSPLCK65nL5ERHX9q__gn47ziMfJ2Yksj9qaN3yavik6faXhKDo/s0/th.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">St Robert Bellarime</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br />
I would like to notify readers about a new website that has been established by Canadian evangelist Mark Mallett and Daniel O'Connor, a New York Ph.D student who lays a claim to professorship, called "Countdown to the Kingdom". This new website is being promoted by a hugely popular Catholic author, Catherine Watkins, whose book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2BFnnfi"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Warning: Testimonies and Prophecies of the Illumination of Conscience</span></a></i>, is currently one of the best-selling titles in the area of Mariology. Watkins has established her own publishing company, Queen of Peace Media, and has featured on Shalom World TV. Given this platform, Queen of Peace Media's YouTube channel has quickly developed a huge following, and Watkins' promotion of Mallett and O'Connor's new website has in turn garnered a substantial following for them.</div><div><br />
Mallett closely follows the type of spiritual millenarianism promoted by Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi and the Divine Will Movement, which is essentially a "Catholic" version of the popular form of millennialism espoused by the Protestant dispensationalist movement in America. Various media outlets heavily promote the Rapture theology of dispensationalism, and as a direct result of this influence, a large number of Catholics in America have attempted to align this popular form of millennialism with certain prophetic elements found in Catholic eschatology - most notably the "period of peace" promised by Our Lady of Fatima. The result of this religious syncretism is the millenarian teachings of the Divine Will Movement, which has been given its most systematic treatment in the collective works of Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi, and widely promoted by his various followers, including the likes of Mark Mallett. It is no coincidence that this eschatological novelty first arose in North America from around the middle of the 20th century, just as the millennialism of the dispensationalist movement found increasing popularity in wider American culture, mostly due to the influence of preachers such as Hal Lindsey and Billy Graham.<br />
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The Divine Will Movement rejects the amillenialism of St Augustine in favour of a "spiritual" version of the Chiliasm held by some early Christians, and holds that the "period of peace" promised by Our Lady of Fatima is actually an "era" that is equated with the Millennium of Rev 20. During this future "era of peace", they hold that Satan will be fully chained and all evil on earth will cease to exist. This is because the freedom of choice necessitated by human free will is going to be removed, and every person on earth will live according to the "Divine Will", during the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, in fulfilment of the Lord's Prayer that "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven". This notion is essentially the same as Quietism, which condemned as a heresy by Pope Innocent XI in 1687 in the papal bull <i>Coelestis Pastor</i>.<br />
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In his papal encyclical <i>Spe Salvi</i>, Pope Benedict XVI categorically ruled out the idea that the "kingdom of the good" could be definitively established on earth because of the permanent reality of human free will and original sin:<br />
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<i>Since man always remains free and since his freedom is always fragile, the kingdom of good will never be definitively established in this world. Anyone who promises the better world that is guaranteed to last for ever is making a false promise; he is overlooking human freedom. Freedom must constantly be won over for the cause of good. Free assent to the good never exists simply by itself. If there were structures which could irrevocably guarantee a determined—good—state of the world, man's freedom would be denied, and hence they would not be good structures at all. </i>(para 24)<br />
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The Divine Will Movement teaches that the establishment of this terrestrial paradise will be inaugurated on earth during a "Middle Coming" of Christ to reign with the resurrected saints for the duration of the Millennium of Rev 20. They closely follow the dual-antichrist eschatology of Joachim de Fiore, and posit the arrival of two separate antichrist figures, one before and one after the Millennium. The first antichrist figure will be slain by Christ during the event of the "Middle Coming" to establish the millennial reign on earth, and the final "tail/Gog" antichrist rises up to make one last assault against the Church at the end of the Millennium, when the forces of Satan once again surround the camp of the saints before the "Final Coming" of Christ in glory. This contradicts the most authorative account on the Antichrist given by the Church Doctor St. Robert Bellarmine, who teaches that there is only one Antichrist who comes at the very end of time, and that the opinion of Lactantius:<br />
<br />
"<i>...was also of many of the older Fathers, such as Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Apollonaris and of a few others, as Jerome relates in chapter XXXVI of Ezechiel, and Eusebius. But for a long time it had been refuted as an investigated error. For the Lord clearly teaches that after the persecution of Antichrist the last judgement will immediately follow [Matt 24]. Then all the good are going to eternal life, while all the wicked into the eternal fire, hence there is not going to be another thousand years, nor any battle. </i><br />
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<span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">(St. Robert Bellarmine </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">De Controversiis</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> Book 3 Chap XVII)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">St. Augustine of Hippo reiterates this point forcefully:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;">"<i>But he who reads this passage, even half asleep, cannot fail to see that the </i></span><i><!--k38--><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;">kingdom</span><!--k31--><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;"> of Antichrist </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;">shall fiercely, though for a short time, assail the Church</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;"> before the last judgment of God</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;"> shall introduce the eternal</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;"><i> reign of the saints</i>"</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;">. (<i>City of God</i> XX:23)</span></span></div>
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The adherents of the Divine Will Movement attempt to bypass the charge of millenarianism by arguing that this only rules out a physical return of Christ in "the Flesh" to establish the Millennium on earth, and that because they teach that this "Middle Coming" of Jesus will be spiritual in nature, this is not the same as the form of millenarianism that was condemned by the Church. In doing so, they confine the meaning of the word millenarianism to relate solely to the teachings of ancient Chiliasm - which is specifics which this word simply does not have. Since the middle of the 20th century, the word millenarianism has been used by academics to cover a wide range of eschatological theories which postulate the imminent arrival of an earthly utopia. The teachings of Joachim de Fiore are classified in modern academia as the most famous example of millenarian thought in the Middle Ages, and they similarly posit an earthly utopia in the form of an "age of the Spirit", rather than the physical return of Christ to rule on earth for the duration of the Millennium posited in Chiliasm. So to attempt to argue that millenarianism is solely confined to a physical return of Jesus in the Flesh is an utter fallacy which can be discarded from the outset.<br />
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The word millenarianism covers a much broader array of eschatological teachings, and refers to the creation of any sort of terrestrial paradise, and can be non-Christian or even secular in nature. When we look to the Catechism, the type of millenarianism which is most vigorously condemned is "secular messianism" - the idea that a secular state can fulfill the role of "messiah" through the creation of an earthly utopia:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism... </i>(CCC 676)</span></span><br />
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So the Catechism most certainly isn't condemning merely the idea of a return of Christ in the Flesh to establish the millennial kingdom on earth before the events of the new creation, but rather the secular type of millenarianism which gave birth to the communist and fascist movements of the 20th century. The revolutionary spirit which is fomented by the ideals of millenarianism is the main reason the Joachite movement was so vehemently rejected by the Medieval Church, most notably by St. Thomas Aquinas.<br />
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The central concept of millenarianism has practical implications which have historically led to bloody revolutions and genocides, all when the quest to establish the perfect society on earth has ultimately went awry. The goal of "immanentizing the eschaton" (Voeglin) lies at the very core of what is being condemned by the Catechism. This is the Promethean attempt to realise within history the messianic hope that can only be established on earth beyond the general resurrection of the dead, which takes place at the Last Judgement, after which the creation of the new heaven and the new earth is finally established. The temptation for humanity to place itself on the throne of the Creator is the goad which the Ancient Serpent first lay before Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis:<br />
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<i><span class="text Gen-3-4" id="en-ESV-60" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "helvetica neue", verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></i><span class="text Gen-3-5" id="en-ESV-61" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."</i></span><br />
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<span class="text Gen-3-5" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text Gen-3-5" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh. </i>(CCC 676)</span></span></span></div>
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Given the sudden popularity of Fr. Iannuzzi's millenarian theories through the promotion of Mark Mallett and Daniel O'Connor's new website by a best-selling Catholic author, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will now surely be forced into issuing a clarification on this matter. These authors have distorted the promises of Our Lady of Fatima into a bizarre millenarian heresy, and their collective works should be avoided by all faithful Catholics. </div><div><br /></div><div>Update:</div><div><br /></div><div>It has recently emerged that Christine Watkins book <a href="https://amzn.to/2BFnnfi" style="color: #cc0000; font-style: italic;">The Warning: Testimonies and Prophecies of the Illumination of Conscience</a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-style: italic;"> </span>has been given a fake imprimatur from Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, who controversially granted a canonically invalid imprimatur to Vassula Ryden. Ryden was condemned by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for her espousal of a millenarian style "era of peace".</div><div><br /></div><div>See the below post at Kevin Symonds' website:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://kevinsymonds.com/2020/07/29/watkins-imprimatur/">https://kevinsymonds.com/2020/07/29/watkins-imprimatur/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Fr. Iannuzzi had used this fake imprimatur in a attempt to falsely assert that Ryden's book was approved by the magisterium of the Catholic Church. Church Militant TV has recently exposed the fact that not only was this imprimatur fake, but that Vassula Ryden also falsely claims that her book has been published by Cambridge University Press. See the below post:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/mystic-dupes-catholics-with-imprimatur">https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/mystic-dupes-catholics-with-imprimatur</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Also, Mark Mallett appears to make some sort of effort to address some of the criticism in the above post at the Countdown to the Kingdom website: </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.countdowntothekingdom.com/the-new-dawn-of-hope">https://www.countdowntothekingdom.com/the-new-dawn-of-hope</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Mallett attempts to separate secular messianism from millenarianism, in order to keep the pretense that millenarianism only refers to the coming of Christ in the Flesh to rule with the saints for the future "thousand year" period described in the Apocalypse. However, the Catechism clearly states that secular messianism is a form of millenarianism. Indeed the very worst form of it: </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">"</span><i>The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, </i><i>especially the "intrinsically perverse" <u>political form</u> of a secular messianism" </i>(CCC 676)</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, secular messianism has nothing to do with Christ coming in the Flesh, but instead refers to the danger of secular powers attempting to assume a type of messianism, promising deliverance from a current unjust political system through revolutionary means. In the footnotes to this paragraph in the Catechism, it specifically highlights the dangers presented by Nazism and Communism in the 20th century. The upshot of this is that if secular messianism is a <i>form </i>of millenarianism, then the spiritual Chiliasm espoused by Fr. Iannuzzi, Mallett and O'Connor is most certainly just yet another form of millenarianism, all of which are condemned by the Catechism as the "deception of the Antichrist".</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div><br /></div>Below is Norman Cohn's appraisal of the definition of millenarianism as used in the modern academic sense of the word. Cohn was one of the most influential scholars of the 20th century to specialise in the area of millenarianism, and his work had a clear influence on Cardinal Ratzinger when he composed the section in the Catechism condemning millenarian beliefs:<br /><br />"... in recent years it has become customary amongst anthropologists and sociologists, and to some extent amongst historians too, to use the word 'millenarianism' in a more liberal sense still. The word has in fact become simply a convenient label for a particular type of salvationism. And that is the way it will be employed in this book.<br />Millenarian sects or movements always picture salvation as<br />(a) collective, in the sense that it is to be enjoyed by the faithful as a collectivity;<br />(b) terrestrial, in the sense that it is to be realized on this earth and not in some other-worldly heaven;<br />(c) imminent, in the sense that it is to come both soon and suddenly;<br />(d) total, in the sense that it is utterly to transform life on earth, so that the new dispensation will be no mere improvement on the present but perfection itself;<br />(e) miraculous, in the sense that it is to be accomplished by, or with the help of, supernatural agencies.<br />Even within these limits there is of course room for infinite variety: there are countless possible ways of imagining the Millennium and the route to it. Millenarian sects and movements have varied in attitude from the most violent aggressiveness to the mildest pacifism and from the most ethereal spirituality to the most earthbound materialism. And they have also varied greatly in social composition and social function.<br />There was certainly great variety amongst the millenarian sects and movements of medieval Europe. At the one extreme were the so-called 'Franciscan Spirituals' who flourished in the thirteenth century."<br />See Cohn, N. <i>The Pursuit of the Millennium</i>, (Oxford: OUP, 1957), pp15-16<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com79tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-32917739095665297922020-06-23T00:55:00.000+01:002020-06-23T01:03:32.809+01:00The Seventh Seal and the Keys of the Abyss<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Angel Appearing to Zacharias</i>, by William Blake</span></div>
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In a few days time from now, there is going to be yet another alignment of all seven of the classical planets known to the ancients, on 4th July, 2020, the American Day of Independence. In my book, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/318AGPI"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church</span></a></i>, I attempt to show how such the description of Christ holding the seven stars in right hand in order to symbolize the "keys to death and Hades" represents a series of planetary alignments connected to the timing of the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the "thousand years", when the gates of Hell are unleashed in an attempt to destroy the Church.<br />
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The Book of Revelation gives a number of signs concerning the opening of the Abyss at the end of the thousand years, which I attempt to show is connected with Pope Leo XIII's prophetic vision of the period of Satan's greater power. One of these signs is an angel descending to earth with the keys to open the shaft of the Abyss, from which emerges a demonic swarm of apocalyptic "locusts" - which I argue corresponds to the emergence of military aircraft at the beginning of the First World War:<br />
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<i>The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.</i> (Rev 9:1-3)<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">It is these same keys that are seen held in the right hand of Christ at the start of the Apocalypse, only here they are also identified with seven stars:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;"><u>In his right hand he held seven stars</u>, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. </em><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and <u>I have the keys of Death and Hades</u>. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">(Rev 1:17-20)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">The seven stars represent the seven lamps of the Jewish </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Menorah,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;"> which stood before the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Jerusalem, following the stipulations given in Exod 25:31-40. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The seven candelabra of the Menorah are a distinctive feature, and notable for their perfect alignment. So if the seven stars held in the right hand of Jesus are to be equated with the seven angels of the seven churches, then it would logically follow that these stars in the hand of Christ are in perfect alignment - just like the seven lamps of the Menorah. Indeed the Menorah itself is highly reminiscent of an astronomical orrery depicting an alignment of the planets, and it was interpreted as such by several ancient writers, including Clement of Alexandria, who stated that:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">The lamp, too, was placed to the south of the altar of </em><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">incense</em><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">; and <u>by it were shown the motions of the seven planets</u>, that perform their revolutions towards the south. For three branches rose on either side of the lamp, and lights on them; since also the sun, like the lamp, set in the midst of all the planets, dispenses with a kind of divine music the light to those above and to those below.</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">(Clement of Alexandria, </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">Stromata </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">5:6)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">St. Jude also mentioned the seven classical planets in relation to the chaining of unclean spirits, which he refers to as "wandering stars", made in the wider background context of the rebuke of Satan by the Archangel Michael:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">...when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; <u><strong>wandering stars</strong>, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. </u></em><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;"><u>It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied</u>, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">(Jude 1:5-15)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: inherit;">So it is clear that an alignment of the seven classical planets is also involved in the interpretation of the prophecy of the "keys to the Abyss", which </span><span style="color: #141414;">delineates</span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: inherit;"> the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the thousand years:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand <u>the key to the bottomless pit</u> and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">(Rev 20:1-3)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: inherit;">It is surely of no coincidence then that an alignment of the seven classical planets took place on 2nd-3rd December 1899, just six months after Pope Leo XIII's consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June 1899, at the very cusp of the turn of the 20th century. The seven lampstands of the Jewish Menorah also figure prominently in another biblical vision which the prophecy of Pope Leo XIII is based on, when the Prophet Zachariah is shown the Jewish High Priest Joshua in stained </span><span style="color: #141414;">garments</span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: inherit;">, being accused by Satan in a manner virtually identical with the scene described by St. Jude concerning the "seven wandering stars":</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><i>Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”<br />Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Zech 3:1-5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Jewish High Priest in this vision represents the figure of the pope as <i>Pontifex Maximus</i>, which explains why God chose to reveal this important prophecy to a reigning Roman Pontiff. It is therefore important to note that this prophecy some way involves a charge that Satan levels against the holder of the papacy, who is similarly conferred with the keys of the kingdom of heaven as the Successor to St. Peter:</span></div>
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<i>Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”</i> (Matt 16:17-19)<br />
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It is surely yet again beyond coincidence that at the end of this period of Satan's greater power that the very indefectible nature of the papacy is being called into question, plunging the Church into one of the greatest crises it has ever faced. Yet, there appears to be a certain amount of hope in Zechariah's vision, in that the soiled garments worn by Jewish High Priest are removed and replaced with fresh clean linen, representing some kind of purification of the Church, in a vision which is strikingly similar to that of St. Hildegard of Bingen:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">The image of the woman before the altar in front of the eyes of God that I saw earlier was now also shown to me again so that I could also see her from the navel down. From the navel to the groin she had various scaly spots. In her [genitalia] there appeared a monstorous and totally black head with fiery eyes, ears like the ears of a donkey, nostrils and mouth like those of a lion, gnashing with vast open mouth and sharpening its horrible iron teeth in a horrid manner.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /></i><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">From that head to the knees the image was white and red, bruised as with many a beating. From the knees to the two white transverse zones which crosswise seemed to touch the bottoms of the feet from above, the image appeared to be bloody. Lo, the monstrous head removed itself from its place with so great a crash that the entire image of the woman was shaken in all its members. Something like a a great mass of much dung was joined to the head; then, lifting itself upon a mountain, it attempted to ascend to the height of heaven. A stroke like thunder came suddenly and the head was repelled with such strength that it both fell from the mountain and gave up the ghost. After this a stinking cloud suddenly enveloped the whole mountain. The head was surrounded with such great filth in the cloud that the people standing by were struck with the greatest terror as the cloud stayed upon the mountain somewhat longer. The people standing there beheld it and struck with much fear said to each other: " Woe! Woe! What is this? What does that seem to be? Who will help us, unfortunate as we are? Who will deliver us? We are ignorant of how we have been deceived. Almighty God, have mercy on us. Let us, oh let us return. Let us prepare the covenant of Christ's Gospel, since we have been bitterly deceived." Behold, the feet of the aforementioned female image appeared to be white, giving out a brightness above that of the sun. I heard a voice from heaven saying to me: "Even though all things on earth are tending toward their end, so hardships and calamities is bowed down to its End, nevertheless, the Spouse of my Son, though much weakened in her children, will never be destroyed either by the heralds of the Son of Perdition or by the Destroyer himself, however much she will be attacked by them. At the End of time she will arise more powerful and more secure; she will appear more beautiful and shining so that she may go forth in this way more sweetly and more agreeably to the embraces of her Beloved. The vision which you saw signifies all this in mystic fashion."</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">(</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">Scivias</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;"> 3:11; Translated by B McGinn, </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">Visions of the End</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">, pp101-102)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: inherit;">Pope Benedict XVI had equated St. Hildegard's vision of the "filth" within the Church with the </span><span style="color: #141414;">pedophile</span><span style="color: #141414; font-family: inherit;"> scandal that has ultimately led to a mass apostasy of lukewarm Catholics from the faith:</span></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">We were all the more dismayed, then, when in this year of all years and to a degree we could not have imagined, we came to know of abuse of minors committed by priests who twist the sacrament into its antithesis, and under the mantle of the sacred profoundly wound human persons in their childhood, damaging them for a whole lifetime.</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this context, a vision of Saint Hildegard of Bingen came to my mind, a vision which describes in a shocking way what we have lived through this past year. “In the year of our Lord’s incarnation 1170, I had been lying on my sick-bed for a long time when, fully conscious in body and in mind, I had a vision of a woman of such beauty that the human mind is unable to comprehend. She stretched in height from earth to heaven. Her face shone with exceeding brightness and her gaze was fixed on heaven. She was dressed in a dazzling robe of white silk and draped in a cloak, adorned with stones of great price. On her feet she wore shoes of onyx. But her face was stained with dust, her robe was ripped down the right side, her cloak had lost its sheen of beauty and her shoes had been blackened. And she herself, in a voice loud with sorrow, was calling to the heights of heaven, saying, ‘Hear, heaven, how my face is sullied; mourn, earth, that my robe is torn; tremble, abyss, because my shoes are blackened!’</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">And she continued: ‘I lay hidden in the heart of the Father until the Son of Man, who was conceived and born in virginity, poured out his blood. With that same blood as his dowry, he made me his betrothed.</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">For my Bridegroom’s wounds remain fresh and open as long as the wounds of men’s sins continue to gape. And Christ’s wounds remain open because of the sins of priests. They tear my robe, since they are violators of the Law, the Gospel and their own priesthood; they darken my cloak by neglecting, in every way, the precepts which they are meant to uphold; my shoes too are blackened, since priests do not keep to the straight paths of justice, which are hard and rugged, or set good examples to those beneath them. Nevertheless, in some of them I find the splendour of truth.’</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">And I heard a voice from heaven which said: ‘This image represents the Church. For this reason, O you who see all this and who listen to the word of lament, proclaim it to the priests who are destined to offer guidance and instruction to God’s people and to whom, as to the apostles, it was said: go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation’ (Mk 16:15)” (Letter to Werner von Kirchheim and his Priestly Community: PL 197, 269ff.).</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the vision of Saint Hildegard, the face of the Church is stained with dust, and this is how we have seen it. Her garment is torn – by the sins of priests. The way she saw and expressed it is the way we have experienced it this year. We must accept this humiliation as an exhortation to truth and a call to renewal. Only the truth saves. We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible the injustice that has occurred. We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our proclamation, in our whole way of living the Christian life, to allow such a thing to happen. We must discover a new resoluteness in faith and in doing good. We must be capable of doing penance. We must be determined to make every possible effort in priestly formation to prevent anything of the kind from happening again. This is also the moment to offer heartfelt thanks to all those who work to help victims and to restore their trust in the Church, their capacity to believe her message. In my meetings with victims of this sin, I have also always found people who, with great dedication, stand alongside those who suffer and have been damaged. This is also the occasion to thank the many good priests who act as channels of the Lord’s goodness in humility and fidelity and, amid the devastations, bear witness to the unforfeited beauty of the priesthood.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Could this planetary alignment, coming so closely on the back of a great liturgical silence falling upon the Church during the Coronavirus pandemic, represent the closing of the Abyss and thus herald the ultimate reversal of the fortunes of the Bride of Christ? We can only hope and pray that the terrible stains that have sullied the garments of the Church during the unbinding of Satan will soon be cleansed, and that the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary promised at Fatima will restore Christ's Bride to her former glory. It is perhaps worth noting that St. Bonaventure had linked the restoration of the Church with a "time of quiet" before the coming of the Antichrist, which sounds remarkable similar to the "silence in heaven" at the opening of the seventh seal:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"no one knows how long that time of great peace will last since "when they said 'Peace and security,' then suddenly destruction came upon them" (Matt 24:21). The seventh time or age, that of quiet, begins with the shout of the angel who "swore through Him who lives forever and ever that there would be no more time; but in the days of the seventh angel the mystery of God will be completed" (Rev 10:6-7).</i><br /><i>In the sixth age three things take place - excellence of victory, excellence of teaching, and excellence of the prophetic life.... In this age there ought to come a life through an order which will possess the prophetic life. This age is double. Just as in the Lord's Passion there was first light, then darkness, and then light, so it is necessary that first there be the light of teaching and that Josiah succeed Hezekiah, after which came the tribulation of the Jews through their captivity. It is necessary that one ruler, a defender of the Church, arise. He is either still to come or has already come. (He added: Would that he has not already come!) After him will come the darkness of tribulations..."</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>It was said to the angel of Philadelphia, the sixth angel: "He who is holy and true, who has the key of David, who opens and no man closes, closes and no man opens, says this - 'I know your works, and behold I have placed an open door before you'" (Rev 3:7). (And he said that now for the first time the understanding of Scripture would be given and that the revelation, or key of David, would be given to a person or a large group, but I think rather to a large group.)</i><br /><i>In the seventh age we know that these things will take place - the rebuilding of the Temple, the restoration of the city, and the granting of peace. Likewise in the coming seventh age there will be a restoration of Divine worship and a rebuilding of the city. Then the prophecy of Ezekiel will be fulfilled when the city comes down from heaven (Ezek 40); not indeed that city which is above, but that city which is below, the Church Militant which will then be conformed to the Church Triumphant as far as possible in this life. Then will be the building and restoration of the city as it was in the beginning. Then there will be peace. God alone knows how long that peace shall last.</i><br />(St. Bonaventure, <i>Collation </i>16:17-19. Translated by McGinn, B. <i>Visions of the End</i>, pp199-200)</span></div>
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Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-24813825307472204522020-04-11T21:08:00.000+01:002020-04-11T21:15:17.779+01:002020: The Silence in Heaven and the Opening of the Seventh Seal<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHLSvomAk_dhIlfs337n-2lS9qQiBQ-hyxRdGh9VQj93AbfMJxfRAi5ruFAo4XBqFzqVAE2xxPurJgphAlmXlXpk8DQerKSxuo4TkxuPl14844EHE442o5wCU3sFbRk-Nicd5k2Olq-Y/s1600/pope+francis+2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="450" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHLSvomAk_dhIlfs337n-2lS9qQiBQ-hyxRdGh9VQj93AbfMJxfRAi5ruFAo4XBqFzqVAE2xxPurJgphAlmXlXpk8DQerKSxuo4TkxuPl14844EHE442o5wCU3sFbRk-Nicd5k2Olq-Y/s320/pope+francis+2020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Even though we are still in its early stages, the year 2020 has turned out to be one of the most memorable in living memory. It has also brought about a unprecedented change in the praxis of the Roman Catholic religion. For the first time in the history of Christianity, churches have fallen into silence worldwide. While the Mass continues to be celebrated by the world's priests and bishops in unison with the Pope, the churches have been robbed of the physical presence of the laity, who comprise the bulk of the worship offered towards the Most Holy Trinity, in keeping with the observance of the Sabbath. This will be the first Easter since the Resurrection of Christ that the lay faithful will not be able to share in full communion with the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, which is one of the precepts of the Catholic Church.<br />
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As long time readers of this blog will already be aware, I had noted that this year stood out as being of some major prophetic importance in my book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2ViKaTX"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church</span></a></i>. This was chiefly because this year marks the end of a 120 year countdown associated with the vision of Pope Leo XIII, which began at the turn of the 20th century. While it was long thought that the period of Satan's greater power would only last for the duration of a century, Kevin Symonds has recently unearthed the real historical facts behind this vision in his book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2VkQpX9"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Pope Leo XIII and the Prayer to St. Michael</span></a></i>. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: inherit;">A fresh batch of information has been brought to light thanks to Symond's research, including additional material emanating from the eyewitness testimony provided by Fr. Pechenino, and a homily on Pope Leo's vision attributed to Cardinal Pedro Segura y Saenz. Among these new findings we find the surprising fact that the earliest accounts of this vision records that Satan had actually requested a period of 50-60 years in which to destroy the Church, rather than 75-100 years. This closely corresponds to the visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, who was also shown that Satan would be unchained from the Abyss 50-60 years before the year 2000. In my book, I put forward the hypothesis that while this period of 50-60 years had began around the year 1900, it needs to be doubled, given the fact that this vision is directly based on the trials of Job, and that Satan had been granted two separate attempts in which he was allowed to test God's prophet, in the hope he would eventually deny Him. You can view a podcast below, where I attempt to give a brief sketch of this theory to Fr. Richard Heilman and Doug Barry, which was </span><span style="color: #141414;">coincidentally</span><span style="color: #141414;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> timed to correspond with the very beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak at the end of 2019. It is definitely worth </span>re-watching<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in light of current events:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: inherit;">This event, which has gone on to every person on the planet, appears to have been ominously foretold by Sr. Agnes Sasagawa exactly 40 days previous to the outbreak, in a private revelation which closely corresponds with the instruction to adorn sackcloth and ashes given by the Prophet Jonah to the inhabitants of Nineveh.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">In <i>Unveiling the Apocalypse: </i></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">The Final Passover of the Church</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">, I argue that the 50-60 years requested by Satan during Pope Leo's vision was actually only Satan's first attempt to destroy the Church. If we compare this prophecy with its primary inspiration in the Book of Job, the exact manner in which Satan tests Job is comprised of two distinct parts. In his first attempt, Satan claims Job's children by tearing down the house of their elder brother. After Satan's first attempt fails, he then comes back to request another chance to destroy Job's faith, this time by afflicting the prophet himself with a plague of terrible sores:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Job 2:2-10)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">So if the prophecy of Leo XIII corresponds with the trials of Job, it would follow that Satan would have returned before the throne of God to request another attempt to destroy the Church after the period of 50-60 years had elapsed, this time by changing tack - manifesting a plague of sores upon the Church itself, rather than the physical destruction of its children through war. Such an interpretation would explain why there was such a sudden swerve in the middle of the 20th century, going from the two world wars in the first half, to the modern apostasy in the second, which yielded not only great changes within the Church itself, but also saw the rise of the sexual abuse crisis, as well as the worldwide resurgence in occultism brought about by the New Age Movement.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">We can find some evidence to support this hypothesis in Symond's work, which contains the account of the vision of Pope Leo given by Cardinal Segura, who provides an additional detail about Satan's first request of 50-60 years, stating that "</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">God granted that period and said they would talk again at a later time</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">…" (Symonds, K. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">Pope Leo XIII and the Prayer to St. Michael</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">, p50). This strongly suggests that the conversation between God and the Devil would be continued after the failure of the first attempt, just like during the trials of Job. And if Satan was granted a further period of 50-60 years during this second attempt, this would bring the total amount of time up to 100-120 years, which is much more in line with the more well known version of this prophecy, and this revised figure fits much better with the actual unfolding of historical events.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">The beginning of this time period appears to have been signified by Pope Leo's consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1899, which was requested by Christ Himself when He appeared to Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart in 1898. This parallels the 100-year time period between the request to consecrate France to the Sacred Heart during Christ's apparition to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and the beginning of the French Revolution. This interpretation identifies a major turning point in the period of Satan's greater power (when blemishes would be manifested on the Church itself) at around the year 1960, which ties us into the significance of Our Lady's words concerning when the Third Secret should have been originally published. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #141414;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">Satan's request of 50-60 years to destroy the Church is also extremely similar to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich's prophecy of the unbinding of Satan towards the end of the world, which she seen during a vision of the binding of Satan during Christ's Descent into Hell:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the centre of Hell I saw a dark and horrible-looking abyss, and into this Lucifer was cast, after being first strongly secured with chains; thick clouds of sulphureous black smoke arose from its fearful depths, and enveloped his frightful form in the dismal folds, thus effectually concealing him from every beholder. God himself had decreed this; and I was likewise told, if I remember right, that he will be unchained for a time fifty or sixty yea<span class="text_exposed_show">rs before the year of Christ 2000. The dates of many other events were pointed out to me which I do not now remember; but a certain number of demons are to be let loose much earlier than Lucifer, in order to tempt men, and to serve as instruments of the divine vengeance. I should think that some must be loosened even in the present day, and others will be set free in a short time.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141414;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141414;"></span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141414;">Blessed Emmerich's vision can therefore be completely reconciled with the vision of Pope Leo XIII if we are to understand the period of the unbinding of Satan above as lasting for 50-60 years, starting at an unspecified date before the year 2000, rather than taking place 50-60 years before the turn of the millennium. This would mean that the 50-60 year timeframe mentioned by Blessed Emmerich is one and the same as the period of Satan's greater power, rather than placing the unleashing of the Devil at around the years 1940-1950. Interpreted in this way, the true meaning of Blessed Emmerich's words would be "he will be unchained for a time [period lasting] fifty or sixty yea<span class="text_exposed_show">rs before the year of Christ 2000".</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is perhaps no </span>coincidence<span style="font-family: inherit;"> then that the year 1899 was marked by the extremely rare </span>occurrence<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of an alignment of all seven of the classical planets known to the ancients, which I argue in my book marked the opening of the Abyss at the end of the "thousand years". The seven classical planets are represented in Rev 1 as the seven stars held in the hand of Jesus, which are also the "keys to the Abyss":</span></div>
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<span class="text Rev-1-16" id="en-ESV-30698" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In his right hand he held seven stars, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30698AT" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30698AT" title="See cross-reference AT">AT</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30698AU" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30698AU" title="See cross-reference AU">AU</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>his face was like the sun shining <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30698AV" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30698AV" title="See cross-reference AV">AV</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>in full strength. </span></span><span class="text Rev-1-17" id="en-ESV-30699" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;">When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30699AX" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30699AX" title="See cross-reference AX">AX</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>he laid his right hand on me, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30699AY" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30699AY" title="See cross-reference AY">AY</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>saying, <span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">“Fear not, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30699AZ" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30699AZ" title="See cross-reference AZ">AZ</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>I am the first and the last,</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="text Rev-1-18" id="en-ESV-30700" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;">and the living one. <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30700BA" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30700BA" title="See cross-reference BA">BA</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30700BB" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30700BB" title="See cross-reference BB">BB</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>I have the keys of Death and Hades.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="text Rev-1-19" id="en-ESV-30701" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;">Write therefore <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30701BD" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30701BD" title="See cross-reference BD">BD</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="text Rev-1-20" id="en-ESV-30702" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;">As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30702BE" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30702BE" title="See cross-reference BE">BE</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30702BF" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30702BF" title="See cross-reference BF">BF</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>the seven lampstands are the seven churches. (Rev 1:17-20)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This year, which will mark the end of the 100-120 period of the unbinding of Satan is similarly marked by an alignment of all seven of the classical planets, which will take place on July 4th, 2020. In my book, I forward the hypothesis that Pope Leo XIII's vision of the period of Satan's greater power and the short time of Satan's unbinding in Rev 20 correspond to the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals in Rev 5. The unleashing of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at the opening of the seven seals </span>corresponds<span style="font-family: inherit;"> with the unfolding of the world wars of the 20th century, and </span>culminates<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in the opening of the seventh seal, which is marked by the</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> silencing of the Four Living Creatures, who constantly give glory to God:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text Rev-8-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">When the Lamb opened <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30813A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30813A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text Rev-8-2" id="en-ESV-30814" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">Then I saw the seven angels <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30814B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30814B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.</span><span class="text Rev-8-3" id="en-ESV-30815" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>And another angel came and stood <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30815C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30815C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30815D" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30815D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>the prayers of all the saints on <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30815E" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30815E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>the golden altar before the throne,</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text Rev-8-4" id="en-ESV-30816" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;">and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30816F" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30816F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.</span><span class="text Rev-8-5" id="en-ESV-30817" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>Then the angel took the censer and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30817G" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30817G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30817H" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30817H" title="See cross-reference H">H</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>there were peals of <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30817I" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30817I" title="See cross-reference I">I</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. (Rev 8:1-5)</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #141414; font-family: inherit;">The constant hymn of praise that the Four Living Creatures offer towards God in eternal worship represents the liturgy of the Church, which until now, constantly gave praise to Christ somewhere in the various Churches dispersed around the world:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text Rev-4-8" id="en-ESV-30761" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">And the four living creatures, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30761R" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30761R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>each of them with six wings, are <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30761S" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30761S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>full of eyes all around and within, and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30761T" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30761T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>day and night they never cease to say,: </span>“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come!” (Rev 4:8)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #141414;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the first time in the history of Christianity, the song of the Four Living Creatures offered in the Church liturgy has fallen into </span>eerie<span style="font-family: inherit;"> silence. It is surely of no </span>coincidence<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that the </span>simultaneous<span style="font-family: inherit;"> closure of world's churches has </span>occurred<span style="font-family: inherit;"> at the very </span>tail end<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of this 120 year period, bringing the sequence of the opening of the scroll with seven seals to a gripping finale, which awaits the sounding of the seven trumpets.</span></span></span></div>
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Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com224tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-30889292734490424502020-03-15T21:43:00.000+00:002020-03-17T20:37:45.544+00:00Our Lady of Akita, the Sign of Jonah, and the Coronavirus Pestilence <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Patrick Archbold has made an interesting observation about the timing of the Coronavirus outbreak in relation to a recent private revelation issued by Sr. Agnes Sasagawa on 6th October, 2019 (the vigil of the Feast of the Holy Rosary):<br />
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Some food for thought, folks.</div>
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In 1973, Sr. Agnes Sasagawa of Akita Japan received a dire warning of a coming chastisement. She warned of Cardinals opposing Cardinals, bishops against bishops. You know the one.</div>
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What you might not know is that after decades of silence, in October of last year she reportedly received a message from her angel which was simply, “Cover in ashes and please pray the Penitential Rosary every day." This is a fairly clear allusion to the 40 day warning <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">of Jonah to Ninevah to repent or be destroyed.</span></div>
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Scientists estimate that the Wuhan virus first emerged in November of 2019, or around 40 days later.</div>
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"Earlier reports from Chinese health authorities and the World Health Organization had said the first patient had onset of symptoms on 8 December 2019—and those reports simply said “most” cases had links to the seafood market, which was closed on 1 January. Lucey says if the new data are accurate, the first human infections must have occurred in November 2019"</div>
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40 days. And December 8th and January 1st.<br />
Impossible to say anything definitive but from Fatima to Akita to now. We can't say we weren't warned. Like I said, food for thought.</div>
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(See Patrick's post at the <i>Creative Minority Report </i>blog <a href="https://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2020/03/our-lady-of-akita-and-food-for-thought.html#more"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>). </div>
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James Delinis was the first to notice the connection between Sr. Agnes' recent private revelation and the message of the Prophet Jonah to ancient Nineveh at his blog Camp of the Saints (see <a href="https://www.thecampofsaints.com/2019/11/the-new-akita-message-is-absolutely.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>). As regular readers of this blog will know, I have previously connected the interpretation of the "sign of Jonah" with the interpretation of the Third Secret of Fatima. The hand of the angel with the flaming sword being stayed by the rays of light issuing from the hands of the Blessed Virgin (which is lifted from the imagery of the Miraculous Medal), represents the very real threat of a chastisement being stayed. Just as the original "sign of Jonah" was connected with a 40 day countdown and the occurrence of the Bur Sagale eclipse during the ministry of the Prophet Jonah, the centenary of Fatima was marked by a 40 day countdown from the Great American Solar Eclipse of 2017. During this time, not only was the world brought to the brink of nuclear war at the height of the North Korean crisis, but a remarkable series of natural disasters unfolded, including a number of unprecedented hurricanes and earthquakes, followed by an earthquake swarm at La Palma in the Canary Islands, sparking fears of a potential mega-tsunami generated by the lateral collapse of the volcano Cumbre Vieja. A future event which I argue is connected with Sr. Lucia's 1944 Tuy apparition, which she received immediately before committing the contents of the Third Secret of Fatima to writing. </div>
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In blog post <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2017/09/our-lady-of-guadalupe-and-flood-from.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Flood from the Dragon's Mouth</span></a>, I had noted that the fact that the epicenter of one of the earthquakes that took place during this 40 day period period struck the site of Akita prefecture in Japan was noteworthy, considering its renown as an apparition site.</div>
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The below video gives an overview of the apparitions of Our Lady of Akita, which were approved by Bishop Ito (although it must be noted that there is some continuing controversy surrounding this issue). </div>
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Given the fact that the appearance of Coronavirus took place roughly 40 days after Sr. Agnes issued her latest private revelation in October 2019 (after decades of silence) gives us serious pause for thought. Especially since this private revelation is also so closely linked with the "sign of Jonah" - which originally involved not just a solar eclipse, but also a series of pestilences and a period of social unrest, before the Ninevites were eventually brought to repentance by adorning sackcloth and ashes. (See my previous blog post <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-sign-of-jonah-and-binding-of-satan.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Sign of Jonah and the Binding of Satan</span></a>) The world has now been suddenly brought to the greatest point of crisis seen since the Second World War, in the very year which I highlighted as being of considerable importance in my book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Qevvr2"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church </span></a></i>(published in 2016). In Sr. Agnes' recent private revelation, the call to repentance by adorning sackcloth and ashes has become more clear than ever, and the world cannot go on ignoring the numerous signs that have been given by God of the chastisement that awaits if we continue to turn our backs on Him.</div>
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Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com161tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-76435078481299077362019-12-23T17:15:00.002+00:002019-12-23T17:15:39.207+00:00Our Lady of Zeitoun and the Slaughter of the Innocents<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black;">Below is a repost of material I originally wrote in 2011 concerning the significance of the Church approved apparitions of Our Lady of Zeitoun. Following the recent legalisation of abortion here in the north of Ireland, I think contemplation of these apparitions are extremely timely. Despite being witnessed on an unprecedented scale by hundreds of thousands, if not millions of individuals, the apparitions of Our Lady of Zeitoun have been widely overlooked by the Western media, and indeed by many Catholics. The apparitions of Our Lady of Light, which began to appear April 1968 to the present</span><span style="color: black;"> are the only known precedent of the category of visions known in Catholic theology as <em>visio sensibilis</em> to be witnessed on such an extraordinary scale. This <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">refers to an objective physical manifestation, rather than a purely subjective psychological apparition, which is by far the most common form of such phenomena.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">The only other major Marian apparition witnessed on a comparable scale is that of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, which again is to be differentiated from those of Our Lady of Light in the fact that the Virgin Mary could only be seen by the three shepherd children. Instead of receiving visions of Our Lady, the crowds at Fatima witnessed the Sun spinning and dancing in the sky at the Cova de Iria .The Miracle of the Sun itself may have been a combination of unusual weather phenomena with the <em>visio imaginativa </em>class of vision (which whilst fully visible to the seer, these apparitions are perceived only through the mind's eye), since there was a small minority of people who could not see what the rest of the crowd were experiencing. We must also keep in mind that the numbers of those who have witnessed the apparitions of Our Lady of Light far outweigh the estimated 70,000 people present during the Miracle of the Sun.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Despite being officially recognised as authentic by the local Cardinal Patriarch, the fact that Our Lady chose to appear over Coptic churches in Egypt, rather than Catholic churches elsewhere in the world has baffled some commentators, and can perhaps explain the lack of adequate devotion to these apparitions amongst Catholics. It seems that many have failed to recognise the true significance of these apparitions lies above all in their timing and location. The Virgin Mary chose to appear over Coptic churches for two very simple reasons - firstly because she is re-tracing the steps of the Holy Family's flight into Egypt (and the vast majority of churches in Egypt are Coptic, especially those in locations associated with the sojourn of the Holy Family), and secondly, that despite not being in full communion with Rome, they show that Our Lady has deep love and respect for the Coptic Church, which like the rest of Oriental Orthodoxy, as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church, offers a great devotion to her.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">While some have recognised that Our Lady is in some way re-enacting the journey of the Holy Family during their flight into Egypt, none (to my knowledge) have went on to ponder the primary reason for their escape into the Egyptian wilderness and attempt to re-apply the same conditions to a modern context; or compare them with the account of Woman adorned with the Sun given in Rev 12 - which is basically the story of the nativity seen through an apocalyptic lens. </span><span style="color: black;">The reason that the Holy Family fled into Egypt was in order to escape from King Herod, who in an attempt to quash any potential Messianic usurpers to his throne, had ordered the massacre of any infants in the vicinity of Bethlehem under two years of age:</span></div>
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<em><span style="color: black;">Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”<br />
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:<br />
“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children;<br />
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”<br />
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.<br />
(Matt 2:13-21)</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: black;">If we compare the above passage in the Gospel of Matthew with the account of the Woman adorned with the Sun in Rev 12, we can see that this portion of the Book of Revelation is an apocalyptic version of the story of the nativity:</span></div>
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<em><span style="color: black;">And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. (Rev 12:1-6)</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: black;">This portion of the Apocalypse is recapitulated again after a brief interlude describing the "War in Heaven" between the archangel Michael and Satan, who is cast from the heavenly throne room to earth:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><em>And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.</em>
(Rev 12:13-17)</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">The equation of the Woman adorned with the Sun with the Virgin Mary is a long standing tradition in the Catholic Church, as is attested by the various icons (such as Our Lady of Guadalupe) which depict her as arrayed with the radiance of the Sun, a crown of stars, and with a cresent moon at her feet. This asssociation has recently been re-affirmed by Pope Benedict XVI during his address honouring Our Lady at the feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8th December 2011 (see </span><a href="http://www.zenit.org/article-33954?l=english"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a><span style="color: black;">).</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;">The Crescent Moon under the feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The "horns" of this crescent shape most likely represent Satan, who positions himself at Our Lady's feet in an attempt to devour her offspring. But ultimately Our Lady is the one who crushes the Serpent's head. The word Guadalupe is thought to be taken from the Aztec Nahuatl word Coatlaxopeuh (pronounced "quatlachupe") which means "the one who crushes the serpent".</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">The seven-headed dragon which positions itself at the woman's feet, ready to devour her child upon birth represents Herod's intentions to destroy the Child Jesus after his birth in Bethlehem. Herod's attempt to kill Our Lord at birth is also hinted at again later in the chapter, when the serpent pours out flood waters to sweep away the Woman and Child. To escape from this threat the Woman is given the "two wings of the great eagle" and escapes into the wilderness for a "time, times and half a time", or three and a half years - which according to Coptic tradition is exactly the length of time the Holy Family sojourned in Egypt. According to this tradition, after the Holy Family reached Assiut (the location of the apparitions in the year 2000), they turned back to re-trace their journey in the Egyptian wilderness, and when they reached Gabal Dranka (the location of the apparitons during the year 2001) Joseph recieved his dream telling them to go back to the land of Israel. This has led many commentators to suggest that the year 2000 was the turning point of this re-enactment of the flight into Egypt, with the apparitions now making the homeward journey.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">The backdrop of Egypt is doubly significant, as this is the location of the original "slaughter of the innocents" as recounted in the Book of Exodus, which acts as a precusor to Herod's massacre of the infants of Bethlehem:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> <em>Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land...”</em></span></div>
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<em><span style="color: black;"> ...Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” (Exod 1:8-10; 22)</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: black;">And then again later in the Book of Exodus, we are told how the angel of death, or "Destroyer" as he is called in the original Hebrew (which recalls the Destroyer - "Apolloyon" or "Abaddon" of Rev 9), kills the Egyptian firstborn:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span><em><span style="color: black;">Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you...<br />
(Exod 12:21-23)</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> <em>...At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. (Exod 12:29-30)</em></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is also interesting to note that the Greek word used for "place" in Rev 12 - <em>topos</em>, is used </span><span style="font-size: small;">elsewhere in the New Testament with the meaning of "temple" or "sanctuary". <span style="font-size: small;">So the passage in Rev 12 could also be translated as "But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the temple where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time" - a translation which certainly evokes imagery of the apparitions of Our Lady of Light, which to date have almost exclusively occurred over church buildings. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">So once we have determined that the primary reason for the the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt was the "slaughter of the innocents", we can see that this heavenly re-enactment of the nativity was to announce to the world that it was about to partake in a modern day "slaughter of the innocents". I will post a quote from my book <em><u><a href="https://amzn.to/2QbDdS8"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Unveiling the Apocalyps</span></a><span style="color: #cc0000;">e: The Final Passover of the Church</span></u></em> on this subject below:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Just as the original flight of the Holy Family into Egypt was necessitated by an act of mass infanticide, these apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Egypt began to appear amidst the backdrop of what was the beginning of the greatest act of infanticide the world has ever known – the legalisation of abortion. </em></span><span style="font-size: small;"><em>The year in which the apparitions in Zeitoun first occurred was a pivotal moment in process behind the legalisation of abortion. The Abortion Act in the UK came into effect during April 1968, the same month the apparitions began to take place. This year also saw President Lyndon Johnson's Committee on The Status of Women publishing a report calling for a repeal of all abortion laws in the US. The implementation of the UK Abortion Act was the major turning point in international abortion law, and was soon to be followed by a host of other nations. By mid-1969 ten US states had loosened their abortion laws, including Colorado, North Carolina, California, Georgia, Maryland, Arkansas, Kansas, Delaware, Oregon and New Mexico. Abortion on demand was eventually established after the US Supreme Court deemed individual state bans on abortion to be unconstitutional following the Roe v Wade case in 1973.</em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><em>In France, women seeking an abortion began to travel to the UK to have the procedure after the Abortion Act came into effect in 1968. The relative ease of travelling to the UK to procure an abortion would lead to France revising its own abortion laws, and abortion was finally legalised in France in 1975. </em></span></span></div>
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Therefore the appearances of the Virgin Mary in Egypt occurred at the exact moment the floodgates in abortion law had been opened. Was this a heavenly response to the blood of millions of innocents crying from the ground? </em></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Marian apparitions often occur before periods of great upheaval. Perhaps most famously, Our Lady appeared at Fatima just before the rise of communist Russia - with the Miracle of the Sun on the 13th October 1917 directly coinciding with the October Revolution which saw the Bolsheviks rise to power within a month. The other Church approved apparition at Beauraing and Banneux, in Belgium during the years 1932 and 1933 respectively appeared just before the rise to power of Hitler, who was made chancellor of Germany on 30th January 1933 - the same month when the first apparitions at Banneux occurred on the 15th. The apparitions at Kibeho, Rwanda, between 1981-1989 prophesied the Rwandian genocide, which was to claim the lives of an estimated 800,000 people in 1994, including one of the visionaries - Marie Claire. While the significance of the apparitions at Zeitoun are thought by some to be related to the Six Day War of 1967, it is much more likely to concern the legalisation of abortion, given the above background context. The fact that the Six Day War took place before these apparitions would also indicate that the Zeitoun apparitions were not related to this event, since all the other apparitions appeared before the events occurred. Our Lady first began to appear at Zeitoun on 2nd April 1968, and the UK Abortion Act was brought into effect just weeks later on 27th April.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Now that the apparitions of Our Lady of Light are in the process of making the return journey, we are left to reflect upon Matthew's quote of Hosea 11:1: "Out of Egypt I called my Son". During the season of Advent, the Church looks not only to the first coming of Christ, but it also focuses on His Second Coming. The birth-pangs of the Woman adorned with the Sun indicates that the Second Advent is near. Could these apparitions, which appear to be the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy of the Woman adorned with the Sun, signal that God is calling his Son out of Egypt to return to His earthly homeland?</span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com589tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-40697785939336414152019-10-24T13:33:00.001+01:002019-10-24T13:33:09.311+01:00Prophesies For Our Times Grace Force Podcast Episode 11<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W6nn2Nfug6I" width="480"></iframe>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com444tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-49103249163465425462019-10-13T18:15:00.001+01:002019-10-13T19:06:06.465+01:00The Miracle of the Sun and Our Lady of the Rosary<div>
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Today, October 13th, 2019, is the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun. Looking back at this old blog post from 2014 on the subject of Sr. Lucia's recently published 1944 vision experienced at Tuy (<a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-new-fatima-revelation-in-closer.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>), it seems to be an even stranger "coincidence" that the earthquake swarm which struck Cumbre Vieja was on 7th October, 2017 (the centennial year of Fatima) - the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary. The above blog post, which notes the importance of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, has been left unedited since 2014. This is noteworthy, since my material on the significance of the 1999 solar eclipse traversing the site of ancient Nineveh is prevalent at the end of the article. This is well before my material on the subject of the interpretation of the "sign of Jonah" and the eclipse at Nineveh went viral in 2017, after being plagiarised by Pastor Mark Biltz in the run-up to the Great American Solar Eclipse.<br />
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Below is the later article plagiarised by Pastor Mark Biltz, and the relevant YouTube video:<br />
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<a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-sign-of-jonah-and-binding-of-satan.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-sign-of-jonah-and-binding-of-satan.html</span></a><br />
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Also worth noting is the fact that my material on Sr. Lucia's 1944 Tuy vision was covered by the British Tabloid <i>The Daily Star</i> just before the centenary of the Miracle of the Sun (<a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/nibiru-apocalypse-2017-end-world-17022284"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>), and a few weeks later, there were fears that Cumbre Vieja was about to erupt after the occurrence of an earthquake swarm began on October 7th - the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary - which was also covered by <i>The Daily Star</i> (<a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/canary-islands-volcano-tsunami-threat-17035244"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>).<br />
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Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-62549147679375272482019-07-17T23:36:00.001+01:002019-08-18T12:50:21.238+01:00The Sign of Jonah and Millennial Day Theory<br />
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St. Augustine of Hippo</div>
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As most regular readers of this blog will already know, a post I had published immediately after the publication of the second edition of my book<span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/31RnjR3"><span style="color: #990000;">Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church</span></a><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>in November 2016 went viral in the run-up to the Great American Solar Eclipse, after being plagiarised by Pastor Mark Biltz (see <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-sign-of-jonah-and-binding-of-satan.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>). I used the core content of this material as supporting evidence of the central thesis presented in my book - i.e. that the prophetic vision of Pope Leo XIII can be used to interpret the unbinding of Satan for the "little while" described in the Apocalypse, which takes place at the end of the "thousand years":<br />
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<i>Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.</i> (Rev 20:1-3)<br />
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I had noted that there was good reason to believe that the Great American Solar Eclipse was also related to the two solar eclipses which appeared over the site of ancient Nineveh in 1914 and 1999, which had bookended the 20th century. It is highly unusual for a total solar eclipse to occur over any single location during the course of just one century, since there is usually a wait of several centuries for such an event to recur. The fact that the site of ancient Nineveh was in the path of totality at these two crucial junctures in history - at the beginning of the First World War and on the eve of the turn of the millennium (which marked the Great Jubilee Year of the Incarnation), gives us serious pause for consideration.<br />
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The first of these Nineveh eclipses, at the beginning of World War One, had occurred on the feast day of Our Lady of Knock on Aug 21st, 1914 - an apparition which I also argued had announced the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals by the Lamb of Revelation described in Rev 5. The opening of the seven seals begins with the release of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which I argue is also recapitulated in the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the Millennium in Rev 20. Both events share the theme of the release of evil spirits towards the end of the world, and they should be compared side-by-side as a theological diptych in order to draw out a fuller understanding of the symbolism involved.<br />
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I had noted that a solar eclipse occurring over the site of ancient Nineveh was the most likely explanation for the original meaning behind the "sign of Jonah" - the historical Bur Sagale Eclipse which had appeared over the site of ancient Nineveh during the ministry of the Prophet Jonah. This event is thought by some theologians to be the primary cause of the repentance of the Ninevites, which is left unexplained in the Book of Jonah itself.<br />
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In my book, I argue that the mysterious "sign of Jonah" mentioned by Christ is one of the principle signs that marks the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the Millennium described in Rev 20. This was primarily because the sign of Jonah is mentioned in the immediate context of the "binding of the strong man" in Matt 12 - a passage which St. Augustine of Hippo had linked to the period of the unbinding of Satan described in Rev 20 while he was formulating his amilliennial view of the Apocalypse.<br />
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In turn, I also argue that the element of the "sign of Jonah" concerning the three days the prophet is said to have spent in the "belly of the great fish" provides an interpretive key to the "millennial day" theory discussed by the Early Church Fathers. Each of the days represented in the Sign of Jonah also represents a thousand years, indicating there is to be a separate division of a period of three thousand years to be made in the concept of the "Great Week" discussed by the Early Church Fathers. So the "sign of Jonah" factors into the symbolism of the prophetic understanding of the Sabbath Millennium, which St. Augustine had proposed would usher in the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the thousand years described in Rev 20:<br />
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<i>The Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man — meaning by the strong man the devil, because he had power to take captive the human race; and meaning by his goods which he was to take, those who had been held by the devil in various sins and iniquities, but were to become believers in Himself. It was then for the binding of this strong one that the apostle saw in the Apocalypse an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a chain in his hand. And he laid hold, he says, on the dragon, that old serpent, which is called the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,— that is, bridled and restrained his power so that he could not seduce and gain possession of those who were to be freed. Now the thousand years may be understood in two ways, so far as occurs to me: either because these things happen in the sixth thousand of years or sixth millennium (the latter part of which is now passing), as if during the sixth day, which is to be followed by a Sabbath which has no evening, the endless rest of the saints, so that, speaking of a part under the name of the whole, he calls the last part of the millennium — the part, that is, which had yet to expire before the end of the world — a thousand years; or he used the thousand years as an equivalent for the whole duration of this world, employing the number of perfection to mark the fullness of time....<br /><br /><br /> The devil, then, is bound and shut up in the abyss that he may not seduce the nations from which the Church is gathered, and which he formerly seduced before the Church existed. For it is not said that he should not seduce any man, but that he should not seduce the nations — meaning, no doubt, those among which the Church exists — till the thousand years should be fulfilled,— i.e., either what remains of the sixth day which consists of a thousand years, or all the years which are to elapse till the end of the world.</i><br />
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(St. Augustine of Hippo, <i>City of God</i> XX:7)<br />
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As the Catechism points out, Christ had compared the sign of Jonah with His own resurrection three days after His death on the Cross:<br />
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<i> It is Jesus himself who on the last day will raise up those who have believed in him, who have eaten his body and drunk his blood. Already now in this present life he gives a sign and pledge of this by restoring some of the dead to life, announcing thereby his own Resurrection, though it was to be of another order. He speaks of this unique event as the "sign of Jonah," the sign of the temple: he announces that he will be put to death but rise thereafter on the third day… </i>(CCC 994)<br />
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The Early Church Fathers had discussed the possibility that the biblical chronology pointed to a prophetic week of millennia, which they had widely concurred was of major prophetic importance. The Epistle of Barnabas was one of the earliest such works to use the "sexta-septamillennial tradition" to interpret the significance of the Millennium described in the Apocalypse: <br />
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<i>Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, “He finished in six days.” This implieth that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years, for a day is with Him a thousand years. And He Himself testifieth, saying, “Behold, to-day will be as a thousand years.” Therefore, my children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, all things will be finished. “And He rested on the seventh day.” This meaneth: when His Son, coming [again], shall destroy the time of the wicked man, and judge the ungodly, and change the-sun, and the moon, and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day. Ye perceive how He speaks…I shall make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. </i>(<i>The Epistle of Barnabas</i> Chap XV)<a href="http://appleeye.org/2014/12/01/the-premillennialism-of-barnabas/#_ftn1"></a><br />
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While some of the Early Church Fathers had proposed that Satan would be bound at the end of the six thousand year mark in the millennial day system (including the author of the Epistle of Barnabas himself), St. Augustine proposed that the binding of Satan had already occurred through the ministry of Christ, implying that it was the period of the unbinding of Satan that would take place at the end of the millennial week - as we can see from the above passage in City of God.<br />
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It has long been noted that there appears to be a division of this prophetic week of millennia into two separate sets - four millennial "days" leading up to the Advent of Christ, and then three other millennial "days" pointing towards the period of the unbinding of Satan before the restoration of the Church.<br />
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The kernel of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennial_Day_Theory"><span style="color: #cc0000;">millennial day theory</span></a> discussed by the Early Church Fathers can be found in Psalm 90:4 and 2 Pet 3:8: "But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." Some Protestant dispensationialists incorporate a further passage found in the Book of Hosea into the millennial day theory, in order to provide a bridging connection between the three days of the Sign of Jonah and the three days of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.<br />
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<i>After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. </i>(Hos 6:2)<br />
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During the approach of the turn of the third millennium, Protestant dispensationalists had typically used the above passage in order to suggest that the "first resurrection" of the dead would soon take place during the Second Coming of Christ. This understanding led to the view that Christ would return around the turn of the millennium in order to establish a thousand year reign on earth after the resurrection of the righteous dead, during which Satan would be bound for the duration of the Sabbath Millennium. Once we apply St. Augustine's view concerning the significance of the Sabbath Millennium to the millennial day theory, a significantly different scenario emerges.<br />
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St. Augustine had suggested that the Sabbath Millennium should be used to interpret the timing of the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the thousand years. For St. Augustine, Satan was already bound through the sacrificial death of Christ, and he would be until the period of his unbinding at the end of the Millennium of Rev 20. For St. Augustine, the "first resurrection" was the resurrection of the soul after baptism, so there was no need to posit two separate periods of resurrections in the Apocalypse, before and after the thousand years, as is forwarded by the dispensationalists. According to St. Augustine's amillennial view, there will only be one resurrection of the dead at the end of the world, just before the Last Judgment.<br />
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So the resurrection after three days being described in the Book of Hosea isn't necessarily limited to the general resurrection of the dead at the end of the world, as it could also point to the restoration of the Church after the period of Satan's unbinding, since St. Augustine held that the Devil would once again be spoiled after the period of his unbinding, in order to allow for the Gospel to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth before the Second Coming of Christ:<br />
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<i>For in accordance with this true saying that order is observed — the strong one first bound, and then his goods spoiled; for the Church is so increased by the weak and strong from all nations far and near, that by its most robust faith in things divinely predicted and accomplished, it shall be able to spoil the goods of even the unbound devil. For as we must own that, when iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold, Matthew 24:12 and that those who have not been written in the book of life shall in large numbers yield to the severe and unprecedented persecutions and stratagems of the devil now loosed, so we cannot but think that not only those whom that time shall find sound in the faith, but also some who till then shall be without, shall become firm in the faith they have hitherto rejected and mighty to conquer the devil even though unbound, God's grace aiding them to understand the Scriptures, in which, among other things, there is foretold that very end which they themselves see to be arriving. And if this shall be so, his binding is to be spoken of as preceding, that there might follow a spoiling of him both bound and loosed; for it is of this it is said, Who shall enter into the house of the strong one to spoil his goods, unless he shall first have bound the strong one?</i><br />
(St. Augustine,<i> City of God</i> XX:8)<br />
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I had previously identified the tumultuous events of the 20th century with the unbinding of Satan at the end of the Millennium described in Rev 20 with the famous prophetic <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2013/05/prophecy-of-pope-leo-xiii-update.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">vision of Pope Leo XIII</span></a>. After experiencing a vision of a horde of demonic entities surrounding the city of Rome (reflecting the scene of the camp of the saints being surrounded by the forces of Satan at the end of the Millennium in Rev 20), Pope Leo XIII had composed the Prayer to St. Michael, which was said at the end of every low mass up until the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. In my book, I argue that the beginning of this time period was most likely indicated by Pope Leo XIII himself, when he consecrated the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1899. He called this consecration "the greatest act of my pontificate". <br />
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The link between a 100 year time frame and the act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was famously made by St. Margret Mary Alocoque. Exactly 100 years to the day after Christ had appeared to St. Margret Mary on 17th June, 1689, requesting the king of France to consecrate his country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Third Estate rose up against the French Monarchy during the Revolution, stripping the king of his legislative powers on 17th June, 1789. This 100 year period in relation to the consecration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was also alluded to by Sr. Lucia:<br />
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‘<i>Make it known to My ministers, given that they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of My command, they will follow him into misfortune. It is never too late to have recourse to Jesus and Mary.</i>’ (Sr. Lucia, <i>Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words</i>, p199)<br />
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It is surely no coincidence that another solar eclipse took place over the site of ancient Nineveh on 11th August, 1999 - 100 years after Pope Leo XIII consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This means that the "sign of Jonah" had once again appeared to delineate the boundaries of the "short time" given to Satan at the end of the "thousand years". The beginning of which was augured by the outbreak of the First World War, timed to coincide with yet another solar eclipse over Nineveh on 21st, August, 1914. The fact that the "three days" aspect of the sign of Jonah is so closely associated with the concept of the millennial day theory in Hosea 6:2 leads us to the conclusion that the period of revival on the "third day" described in this biblical passage is linked to the various prophecies of the restoration of the Church during the Second Pentecost, commonly described in the Middle Ages as the <i>renovatio mundi</i>.<br />
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In my book, I attempt to show how the chronology of the short time given to Satan can actually be broken down into several different components, just as the period of the Great Week is itself divided into two separate lots consisting of four thousand years and three thousand years. In his recently published book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pope-Leo-XIII-Prayer-Michael-ebook/dp/B01DOUHP6Y?ie=UTF8&keywords=kevin%20symonds&qid=1462106546&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Pope Leo XIII and the Prayer to St. Michael</span></a>, Catholic author and seminarian Kevin Symonds examines the history behind the composition of the Prayer to St. Michael. Here, Symonds presents a wealth of scholarly evidence which attests to the authenticity of the vision of Pope Leo XIII. The author has obviously undertaken a painstaking amount of research for this book, and has translated several key documents which were previously unavailable in English. A fresh batch of information is brought to light here, including additional material emanating from the eyewitness testimony provided by Fr. Pechenino, and a homily on Pope Leo's vision attributed to Cardinal Pedro Segura y Saenz. Among these new findings we find the surprising fact that the earliest accounts of this vision records that Satan had actually requested a period of 50-60 years in which to destroy the Church, rather than in the later versions which assert a 75-100 timeframe. <br />
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While these documents which Symonds has unearthed are undoubtedly the earliest of their kind, and therefore possess the strongest claim to the full truth on this matter, we cannot fail to notice that this contradicts the common perception that Pope Leo's prophetic vision comprised the entirety of the 20th century, rather than just the first half of it. On the surface, this discovery appears to indicate that the period of Satan's greater power ended around the middle of the 20th century, at the close of the Second World War. Once again, such a scenario appears to contradict the actual sequence of historical events, and it is plainly evident that the true grip of Satan's greater power only seemed to really take hold in the latter half of the 20th century, after the events of the Second World War, when the Sexual Revolution which took place in the 1960's coincided with a massive decline in the Church - paving the way for current apostasy we are still enduring today.<br />
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Symonds is solely concerned with presenting the facts on this matter however, and his efforts are to be commended, as they allow us to see this prophecy from a completely fresh perspective. In my book, I argue that the 50-60 years requested by Satan during Pope Leo's vision was actually only Satan's first attempt to destroy the Church. The vision of Pope Leo XIII is directly based on the story of the trials of Job described in the Old Testament. If we compare this prophecy with its primary inspiration in the Book of Job, the exact manner in which Satan tests Job is comprised of two distinct parts. In his first attempt, Satan claims Job's children by tearing down the house of their elder brother. After Satan's first attempt fails, he then comes back to request another chance to destroy Job's faith, this time by afflicting the prophet himself with a plague of terrible sores:<br />
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<i> And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. </i><br />
(Job 2:2-10)<br />
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So if the prophecy of Leo XIII corresponds with the trials of Job, it would follow that Satan would have returned before the throne of God to request another attempt to destroy the Church after the period of 50-60 years had elapsed, this time by changing tack - manifesting a plague of sores upon the Church itself, rather than the physical destruction of its children through war. Such an interpretation would explain why there was such a sudden swerve in the middle of the 20th century, going from the two world wars in the first half, to the modern apostasy in the second, which yielded not only great changes within the Church itself, but also saw the rise of the sexual abuse crisis, as well as the worldwide resurgence in occultism brought about by the New Age Movement. <br />
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We can find some evidence to support this hypothesis in Symonds' work, which contains the account of the vision of Pope Leo given by Cardinal Segura, who provides an additional detail about Satan's first request of 50-60 years, stating that "God granted that period and said they would talk again at a later time…" (Symonds, K. <i>Pope Leo XIII and the Prayer to St. Michael</i>, p50). This strongly suggests that the conversation between God and the Devil would be continued after the failure of the first attempt, just like during the trials of Job. And if Satan was granted a further period of 50-60 years during this second attempt, this would bring the total amount of time up to 100-120 years, which is much more in line with the more well known version of this prophecy, and this revised figure fits much better with the actual unfolding of historical events.<br />
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The beginning of this time period appears to have been signified by Pope Leo's consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1899, which was requested by Christ Himself when He appeared to Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart in 1898. This parallels the 100-year time period between the request to consecrate France to the Sacred Heart during Christ's apparition to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and the beginning of the French Revolution. This interpretation identifies a major turning point in the period of Satan's greater power (when blemishes would be manifested on the Church itself) at around the year 1960, which ties us into the significance of Our Lady's words concerning when the Third Secret should have been originally published. <br />
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Satan's request of 50-60 years to destroy the Church is also extremely similar to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich's prophecy of the unbinding of Satan towards the end of the world, which she seen during a vision of the binding of Satan during Christ's Descent into Hell:<br />
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I<i>n the centre of Hell I saw a dark and horrible-looking abyss, and into this Lucifer was cast, after being first strongly secured with chains; thick clouds of sulphureous black smoke arose from its fearful depths, and enveloped his frightful form in the dismal folds, thus effectually concealing him from every beholder. God himself had decreed this; and I was likewise told, if I remember right, that he will be unchained for a time fifty or sixty years before the year of Christ 2000. The dates of many other events were pointed out to me which I do not now remember; but a certain number of demons are to be let loose much earlier than Lucifer, in order to tempt men, and to serve as instruments of the divine vengeance. I should think that some must be loosened even in the present day, and others will be set free in a short time.</i><br />
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Blessed Emmerich's vision can therefore be completely reconciled with the vision of Pope Leo XIII if we are to understand the period of the unbinding of Satan above as lasting for 50-60 years, starting at an unspecified date before the year 2000, rather than taking place 50-60 years before the turn of the millennium. This would mean that the 50-60 year timeframe mentioned by Blessed Emmerich is one and the same as the period of Satan's greater power, rather than placing the unleashing of the Devil at around the years 1940-1950. Interpreted in this way, the true meaning of Blessed Emmerich's words would be "he will be unchained for a time [period lasting] fifty or sixty years before the year of Christ 2000".<br />
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If the period of Satan's greater power consists of two separate lots, just like the trials of Job (bringing the total up to 100-120 years), then it is interesting to note the timing of the end of this time period points not only to the significance of the turn of the millennium, but also to the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. In The Final Passover of the Church, I hope to show how both the separate figures of 100 and 120 years are of equal importance in this regard, as the defeat of Satan at the end time is actually also comprised of two separate events. The first is the eschatological expulsion of the Devil from heaven, when Satan is cast down to the earth by the Archangel Michael. This event, which takes place at the end of the period of Satan's unbinding, is the ultimate fulfilment of the Prayer to St. Michael, and is marked on earth by the appearance of the signs in heaven - all of which occurred at the turn of the millennium, hinging on the solar eclipse over the site of ancient Nineveh in 1999 (which corresponds with the millennial day theory espoused in the Epistle of Barnabas). <br />
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Once he is cast down to the earth, the Devil becomes even more enraged at the Woman Adorned with the Sun, and spews a flood out from his mouth in a last attempt to completely sweep her away:<br />
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<i> Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”<br /> <br /> And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.</i> (Rev 12:7-16) <br />
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If the appearance of the signs in heaven occurred at the turn of the millennium in order to herald when Satan has been cast down to earth, this means that this is the time period we are currently experiencing, and explains the significance of the 100-year element of this prophecy. However the flood sent out of the mouth of the Ancient Serpent is eventually swallowed up by the earth itself, which marks the second defeat suffered by Satan at the end of the period of his unbinding, and symbolises the restoration of the Church by the Two Witnesses during the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. <br />
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If the period of the unbinding of Satan is actually broken down into two separate lots consisting of 100-120 years, demarking the timing of casting down of Satan to earth following his defeat in Heaven by the Archangel Michael, and the distinct period relating to the swallowing up of the flood which is sent forth from the mouth of the ancient Serpent after this event, then we have every reason to hope that the spoiling of the unbound Devil which St. Augustine expected to take place at the end of the short time of Satan is rapidly drawing near. </div>
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It is perhaps no coincidence that the story of Noah's flood is similarly related to a 120 year time period. After the description of the fallen angels/Watchers sinning by engaging in sexual relations with human females given in the Book of Genesis, God said He would destroy the world by the Great Flood in 120 years as a consequence of this abomination:<br />
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<i>When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”</i> (Gen 6:1-3)<br />
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So Noah similarly had a period of 120 years between a warning being given and the timing of the flood, which parallels the swallowing up of the flood poured out from the mouth of the Dragon in Rev 12. It is again no coincidence that Noah's Ark is traditionally held to have settled on Mount Ararat in Armenia after the occurrence of the flood, since the Armenian people faced one of the greatest persecution of Christians the world has ever known at the start of the period of the unbinding of Satan, which was perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks at the start of the First World War. The Armenian Genocide is also alluded to in the unbinding of the four angels of the Four Angels at the River Euphrates described in Rev 9:13-15, since this location focuses on the Khabur River, which was the exact site on which the Armenian Genocide was centred in the concentration camps of Deir es-Zor. (See the post <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-horsemen-of-apocalypse-and.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Genocides of the 20th Century</span></a><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>for more details on the significance of the Armenian Genocide in relation to the period of the unbinding of Satan).<br />
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If the millennial day theory discussed by the Early Church Fathers is concerned with providing us with a prophetic dating of the timing of the period of the short time of Satan rather than giving a literal date of creation, this means we can dispense with the Young Earth Creationist theory. A theory which is frequently used by vocal atheists such as Richard Dawkins as fodder for the whole science versus religion debate.<br />
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Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com246tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-43801638656475880062019-01-25T15:00:00.000+00:002019-01-25T15:00:12.249+00:00The Russian Patriarch on the Antichrist and the World Wide Web<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Rather amazingly, Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has basically confirmed the theory I present in my book concerning the dangers of the World Wide Web in relation to the appearance of the Antichrist. Below is a report taken from <i>The Daily Telegraph</i>:<br />
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The Russian Orthodox patriarch has warned that the popularity of smartphones is paving the way for the coming of the Antichrist.</div>
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In an interview on state television for<span style="color: #004000;"> Russian Orthodox</span> Christmas on Monday, Patriarch Kirill warned that the widespread use of gadgets connected to the Internet has opened the possibility for “universal control over humanity”. The “devil acts very wisely” in offering people such a “toy”, he said.</div>
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"Such control from one place forebodes the coming of the Antichrist,” Patriarch Kirill said. “The Antichrist is the person that will be at the head of the world wide web controlling all of humanity. That means that the structure itself poses a danger. There shouldn't be a single centre, at least not in the foreseeable future, if we don't want to bring on the apocalypse."</div>
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The patriarch maintained he wasn't categorically against gadgets, but warned that people should be careful not to “fall into slavery to what's in your hands”.</div>
(See <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/08/smartphones-paving-way-antichrist-says-russian-church-leader/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> for the full article.)<br />
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Even though Patriarch Kirill does not explicitly mention anything to do with the link between www and the number 666 in Hebrew gematria, there are clearly quite strong suggestions that the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church is a lot more informed on this subject than he is revealing on the surface. His remarkable claims are clearly based on something much more deeper than a mere "gut instinct" reacting against the dangers of modern technology.<br />
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I go into the link between the number of the beast and the letters www using Hebrew gematria in some considerable depth in my book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2B6jXOW"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church</span></a></i>, and I even studied the Hebrew language at university level in order to better grasp the significance of this connection. My theory on this subject received the support of the late Catholic theologian Stratford Caldecott, whose studies also concentrated on the Apocalypse and Hebrew gematria. Stratford, whose work is widely lauded by many Catholic intellectuals, cited my theory in his book <i>All Things Made New: The Mysteries of the World in Christ </i>(Angelico/Sophia Perennis, 2011) and he alludes to my theories in several blog posts (see <a href="http://beauty-in-education.blogspot.com/2011/12/2012-probably-not-end-of-world.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> and <a href="http://beauty-in-education.blogspot.com/2009/12/regenerate-science.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> for example). A whole issue of <i>Humanum Review</i> in which Stratford both edited and contributed to was based around the dangers of the internet and modern technology (see <a href="http://humanumreview.com/uploads/pdfs/technology-in-the-home_1.pdf"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>).<br />
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In my book, I argue that given that we already have the very real possibility that all future commerce will be conducted electronically through smartphones, we don't need to look any further than this recent technological development to find the fulfilment of the prophecy of the "mark" of the beast. Given the fact that this prophecy was deliberately formulated as an antithetical parallelism of the Jewish practice of wearing phylacteries - small boxes containing pieces of Scripture worn on the forehead and arms, we can dispense with the more popular idea that this prophecy will only be fulfilled when the world's governments start forcing their populace to accept RFID microchip implants in order to participate in electronic commerce.<br />
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When I first developed this theory during a Hebrew class in 2005, the possibility that all future commerce would be conducted through smartphone devices was only a distant and somewhat abstract thought. Now that the use of smartphones in this capacity is an already widespread practice, we can clearly see this as rapidly approaching reality.<br />
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This doesn't mean that we should all collectively abandon our technological devices and suddenly retreat to self-sustaining farms in the countryside. It is only during the coming of the Antichrist that this technology will be exploited as a means of systematic control, as was pointed out by Patriarch Kirill. I have already argued extensively elsewhere that the time of the Antichrist is not imminent, since the period of the restoration of the Church foretold by many Catholic saints and mystics has to occur before the appearance of the Man of Sin. But given the non-neutral aspect of such technology, we must acknowledge that there are inherent dangers already built into the use of these devices, such as the corruption of childhood innocence, the use of explicit images to blackmail and peer pressure/psychological abuse on social media contributing to higher suicide rates, etc.<br />
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Now that the inherent dangers of the use of the world wide web and smartphone technology as a means of totalitarian control has been spelled out by one of the most important Church leaders in Christianity, it is surely only a matter of time before the Roman Catholic Pontiff will have to properly address this exact subject in a magisterial document. Patriarch Kirill has obviously carefully considered this rather controversial assessment of the risks of modern technology, and if an eventual consensus among Church leaders begins to develop on this issue in a similar vein, we could very well expect that its use will be condemned at some point in the future, when it becomes fully evident that the Antichrist will harness it as a means of control.<br />
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Below is some material on this subject that I have recycled from an older blog post:<br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I recently received a comment on the post </span><a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/cashless-society-closer-than-you-may.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #e06666;">A Cashless Society - Closer than you may think...</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> which requires a rather lengthy answer, so I thought I would post it on the main section of the blog so that everyone can read. It concerns the primary argument I forward in my book </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Unveiling the Apocalypse</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> - which attempts to show how the prophecy of the mark of the Beast may have already been fulfilled in the advent of internet-enabled mobile phones. The answer to the question below addresses a number of points that have been raised recently, mostly by people asking that if the prophecy of the mark of the Beast has already been fulfilled, then what are the direct spiritual implications of using these devices now in the present. The original question is given below:</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">OK--this is my question. If the Mark of the Beast is the cell phone as you
say... well... aren't we all now under the mark of the Beast? (Or most of us. I
actually don't have a cell phone--but I use a computer!) Aren't we all being
decieved now? And does this mean we are putting our salvation in jeopardy if we
use one? This is just not clear to me why using a cell phone (and I understand
it's not quite up to the sophisticated level you are explaining on your
blog--but it's coming along with a cashless society) is somehow sinister and
evil. I understand the lack of interaction with people although that's happening
now. Families are falling apart, sin is rampant... it's here already!<br style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;" />I also
understand that your every move can be detected by someone by these devices, but
we're really not that far from that now also. So... I need something to see how
spiritualy this sophisticated cell phone Mark of the Beast is going to make me
lose the salvation of my soul. Thanks for the interesting blog.</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
The most fundamental question raised above is that if the mark of the Beast has been fulfilled in the advent of cell phones, then how could the use of mobile phones cause spiritual harm? To answer this, we first need to deconstruct the question itself. The quite reasonable objection that it "is just not clear to me why using a </span><u style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">cell phone</u><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">... is somehow sinister and evil", can just as easily apply to receiving a microchip implant as the mark of the Beast. The word "cell phone" (underlined above) can justifiably be replaced with the word "microchip implant", to form the statement "is just not clear to me why using a </span><u style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">microchip implant</u><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">... is somehow sinister and evil" - since the same logic applies to both. The sole difference is that we have become psychologically conditioned over the past twenty years (since the theory was first introduced) to envision the reception of a microchip implant as the mark of the Beast. This conditioning has generated a considerable amount of fear around the act of receiving a microchip implant itself, to the point where this act has become inextricably equated with the reception of the mark of the Beast, and no other possible fulfilments of this prophecy have been considered. In fact the focus has been concentrated on microchip implants so much that it has blinded the vast majority of Christians to considering any alternatives, allowing for the implementation of the prophecy to be "sneaked through the back door" in a manner which is much more consistent with how the mark of the Beast would have been conceived by Jewish Christians in the first century AD - i.e. as a diabolical inversion of the practise of wearing phylacteries - physical objects bearing the name of God which were only worn temporarily during prayer services. But both the cell phone and the postulated future microchip implant are merely pieces of technology, and both are therefore essentially the same thing. The difference resides solely in how they are worn - if you were to somehow shrink a cell phone and pop it under the skin on your hand it would basically be a much more highly sophisticated version of a "mircochip implant".</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
One of the primary psychological factors which has enabled the mircochip implant to be perceived as the mark of the Beast is that it is a more permanent mark, and there is also a certain fear over the bodily intrusion this would cause - as if it would be like some form of technological parasite. Over time, the equation of the mark of the Beast with its original inspiration in the Jewish practise of wearing phylacteries was forgotten by Christians, as they became more distanced from their Judaic roots. This led to the development of a more literal conception of the mark of the Beast as the actual number 666 being branded or tattooed onto the subjects of the Antichrist - and these forms of brandishings are permanent and indelible marks. So gradually, the mark became considered to be permanent, and when the barcode hypothesis surfaced in the early 1980's after the publication of Mary Stewart Relfe's books </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">When Your Money Fails </em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">and</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> The New Money System</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, which was then combined with the RFID implant theory by Peter Lalonde in his 1991 book </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">One World Under Anti-Christ</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, this appeared to provide a solution as to how the Antichrist could covertly brandish his subjects with a permanent mark that would be necessary in order to engage in commerce. This idea was then wildly popularised by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' bestselling </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Left Behind</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> series, and has since become so deeply entrenched in Christian apocalyptic thought that it is almost impossible to grasp any other alternative way in which this prophecy could be fulfilled. </span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Yet the advent of non-intrusive biometric mapping (which is already being rolled out en masse in India) renders the use of RFID implants for identification purposes completely redundant. The use of iris and fingerprint scanning by the inbuilt camera in smartphones is already being touted as the most effective way of safeguarding NFC transactions from taking place through a stolen phone (see </span><a href="http://www.card-guide-international.com/201204132005/Iris-Biometrics-and-NFC-Combine-for-Access-Control.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">). By using biometrics, the smartphone would automatically scan your iris or fingerprint before allowing any transactions to take place, bypassing the need for PIN codes.</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
When we look to the original practise that the prophecy of the mark of the Beast was based on, we find that phylacteries are physical box-shaped objects worn externally on the person, and they are only used temporarily. The idea of tiny objects containing barcodes being inserted under the skin (so that they would effectively be invisible), would have been extremely foreign to the mind of the original author of the Apocalypse. On a symbolic level, the mark of the Beast was meant to be understood as an open, fully visible display of allegiance to the Beast, just as the practice of wearing phylacteries was a public show of allegiance to God. This is why some Jews indulged in "keeping up with the Jones'" type behaviour, wearing ever bigger and more elaborate phylacteries to show that they honoured God more than anyone else - a practise which was condemned by Jesus:</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.</em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Matt 23:5-7)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
There is nothing in the original Greek text of the Book of Revelation which would suggest that the mark of the Beast would be worn invisibly inside the hand. In fact we find the complete opposite. The original Greek of the Apocalypse concerning the mark of the Beast reads "</span><span class="greek" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">ἵνα <span class="greek" style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;">δῶσιν <span class="greek" style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;">αὐτοῖς <span class="greek" style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;">χάραγμα </span></span></span></span><span class="greek3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">ἐπὶ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν τῆς <span class="greek" style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;">δεξιᾶς"</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> "</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">hina</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">dosin autois charagma epi tes cheiros auton tes dexias"</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">. The word </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">epi</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> used here has the primary meaning of "upon" or "on", giving the meaning of "on" or "upon" their "right hand", rather than "inside" (which would require the word </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">mesa</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">). Moreover, the word </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">charagma</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, as well as meaning a "mark" or "stamp", can also be translated as "sculpture", or "graven image". The NAS Greek Lexicon gives the definition of the word </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">charagma</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> as follows:</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br />
<ol style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: 546px; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 3.25px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">a stamp, an imprinted mark </li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 3.25px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"> of the mark stamped on the forehead or the right hand as the badge of the followers of the Antichrist </li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 3.25px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"> the mark branded upon horses</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 3.25px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"> thing carved, sculpture, graven work <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;" />
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 40px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;" type="a">
<li style="margin-bottom: 3.25px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"> of idolatrous images</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(See </span><a href="http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/charagma.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">).</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
And in the one of the other instances in which this word is used in the Bible, in the Book of Acts, we find that </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">charagma</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> is also used in the sense of "graven image". </span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> [chargama] </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">formed by the art and imagination of man. </em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Acts 17:29)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Also the word </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">dosin</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> "to give" is usually translated in the sense of the giving of an object, rather than branding with a mark. So the word we have translated into English as "mark" was quite probably originally intended to mean "graven image". Indeed this translation makes better sense in context with the earlier reference to the image of the Beast which is fashioned by the False Prophet:</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make <u style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;">an image</u> for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.<br style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;" />And it was allowed to give breath to the<u style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;"> image of the beast</u>, so that the <u style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;">image of the beast</u> might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the <u style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;">image of the beast</u> to be slain.</em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Rev 13:13-15)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
The only difference being that the word used for "image" above is </span><span class="greek" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">εἰκόνα <em style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;">eikona</em>.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
So the true translation of the passage concerning the "mark" or </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">charagma</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> of the Beast can just as easily be (and was most likely originally intended) as follows:</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be given a graven image on the right hand or the forehead...</em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Rev 13:16)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
The significance of the mark being given in the "right hand" (</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">dexias -</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> from which we derive the word dexterity), could suggest that the "graven image" was in some way usable - as a tool for instance, since the vast majority of people are right-handed. And if the </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">charagma</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> of the Beast is to be directly identified with the image of the Beast fashioned by the inhabitants of the earth at the behest of the False Prophet in Rev 13:13-15, then we are informed that this graven image has the ability to speak, and would in some way lead to a persecution of the Church (to "cause those who would not worship the image of the Beast to be slain"). But those who remain steadfast during this trial to the point of martyrdom would eventually conquer the Beast, along with its image and the number of its name (which are directly linked here), through the reckoning of the seven bowl judgments:</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast <u style="line-height: 18.2px; position: static; width: auto;">and its image and the number of its name</u>, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.</em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Rev 15:2)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Furthermore, the "mark" or "graven image" of the Beast is presented in the Apocalypse as a parody of the sealing of the saints after the opening of the sixth seal in Rev 7. The first time the Seal of God is alluded to in the Apocalypse is in the letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor, which is described as a white stone with a name inscribed upon it - meaning that it is a physical object like the Jewish phylactery:</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.</em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Rev 2:17)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
We find that this theme of the sealing with a name recurs a number of times in the Apocalypse, and that it is parodied by the mark of the Beast, which is said to contain a number which represents the name of the Beast.</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.</em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Rev 3:12)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel...</em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Rev 7:3-4)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. </em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Rev 14:1)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.</em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Rev 19:16)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.</em><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
(Rev 13:16-18)</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
So once we examine the textual evidence, we find that the mark of the Beast is presented as a diabolical inversion of the Jewish practise of wearing phylacteries, which are worn in a manner to symbolically represent the name of God as El Shaddai. In addition, the original Greek wording can just as easily refer to a graven image, which directly links it to the image that the False Prophet deceives the inhabitants of the earth into constructing for themselves, just as the Israelites were deluded into fashioning the Golden Calf. The image which the False Prophet incites the people into constructing has the illusion of life, and also the ability to speak. It also contains the number of the Beast, which by using the process of Hebrew gematria, can also be used to determine the name of the Beast itself. And the Greek word for "beast" - </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">therion</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, has the numerical value of 666 once transliterated into Hebrew. </span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
The mark is also the demonic counterpart to white stone engraved with a name in Rev 2:17 - which is to be identified with the Seal of God given to the saints after the opening of the sixth seal in Rev 6. And the opening of the sixth seal, during which these acts of sealings takes place, is marked on earth by a series of astronomical and geophysical signs, including an earthquake, a total solar eclipse, a total lunar eclipse and a meteor shower - all of which occurred around the turn of the millennium at the exact moment of the marriage between cell phone technology and the worldwide web (www) with the introduction of WAP - which will allow for the future of commerce to be conducted solely through the www and mobile phones (see the post </span><a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/signs-in-sky.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Signs in the Sky</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">). In addition, some private revelations have suggested that the prophecy of the sealing of the saints took place during the turn of the millennium (see the post </span><a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/seal-of-god.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #e06666;">The Seal of God</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">), and Fr Stefano Gobbi predicted that the prophecy of the mark of the Beast would be fulfilled in a time period which would begin in the year 1998 - which is 666 x 3 (see the post </span><a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/fr-gobbi-on-mark-of-beast.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Fr Gobbi on the Mark of the Beast</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">).</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
When we take into consideration that the three letter acronym for the worldwide web (through which all future commerce will be conducted via cell phones) - www, is the numerical equivalent of three sixes once transliterated into Hebrew (using the exact method which the number of the Beast was originally encoded - gematria), then we can conclude that the modern use of mobile phones fulfils every last aspect of the prophecy of the mark of the Beast (for additional information on the equation of www with 666 see the earlier post </span><a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/hebrew-666.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #e06666;">Hebrew 666?</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">).</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Like phylacteries, they are a physical object, temporarily worn externally on the person, and as the original Greek word </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">charagma</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> can suggest, they are a crafted object - or "graven image". In a further correlation to the image which the False Prophet causes the inhabitants of the earth to fashion, they have the appearance of life, and also the ability to speak.</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
So, in answer to the question if this means that we are</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"all now under the mark of the Beast?", then we would have to conclude, yes we are - and have been since the first merging of cell phone technology with the worldwide web in the year 1999 (which has a further symbolism in the fact that it resembles three sixes turned upside down - and this was the year after 1998, which is 3 x 666). I understand that this can be a frightening prospect, especially in light of the verses which appear to suggest that those who accepted the mark of the Beast would be eternally condemned to hell, but we have to take into consideration that there is also a symbolic layer to this prophecy which depicts those who have accepted the mark of the Beast as all the evil people who have ever lived - they represent "those whose name was not found written in the book of life" (Rev 20:15). So there is a certain amount of hyperbole included in these verses.</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
We have to remember that forgiveness is one of the cornerstones of Christianity. It would be extremely difficult to reconcile theodicy (the righteous of God) with the notion that someone would be eternally condemned to hell for accepting the mark of the Beast without any possibility of salvation, especially when they have been tricked into doing so. </span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Since this is a Catholic blog, I assume that the majority of the readers are of the same religion. As such, Catholics are required to believe that the keys to heaven and hell - the very means of salvation, reside solely in the papal magesterium - which is protected by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, especially so when speaking </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">ex cathedra</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> on matters of faith and morals. Whatever form it would take, the mark of the Beast would have to be formally identified as such by the Church before it could be considered to have any spiritual effects as to the destiny of the soul. Until it does so, think of the material presented here as the "case for the prosecution". So I don't believe that using cell phones will have any immediate spiritual effects until the Church reaches a formal decision on this matter. For now, as far as I'm aware, no one of any authority in the Church is aware of these arguments - so any decision on this subject appears to be very far off indeed. So technically speaking (in theory at least), if you own one now (and the vast majority of the readers of this blog almost certainly do) it should be possible to continue using one until the Church issues a verdict itself.</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
For Protestants however, who adhere to s</span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">ola scriptura</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, unfortunately there is no such protection offered - they would have to form their own decisions in the present.</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
As to the question concerning how the use of cell phones could be evil in itself - this is fairly simple to answer. If the cell phone can be definitely established by the Church as the fulfilment of this prophecy, this identification alone would make using it inherently evil - since it would be tantamount to accepting the mark of the Beast. There is nothing that would distinguish using a cell phone from accepting a RFID microchip implant - the sole difference being that a large number of Christians already expect the mark of the Beast to be the latter. </span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Yet the use of microchip implants seems to be positively morally benign compared to the propensity of the cell phone for evil purposes. The cell phone can be used as a medium to browse and upload material onto the www, viewing anything from violent and pornographic images, to arranging hook-ups with random strangers for sex. The lack of face-to-face social interaction often leads to a lack of inhibition and breaking of taboos. A recent article in the </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Huffington Post</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> has highlighted the increase in the trend of "sexting" (the sending of intimate photos to partners via cell phones) amongst teenagers - which are very often shared around school yards, and the resultant humiliation and bullying can in turn lead to suicide (see </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04/18/concerns-grow-over-children-sexting_n_1434211.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">). And paedophiles are exploiting this craze by pretending to be school children themselves, encouraging children to send them explicit photographs they have taken with their cell phones - which are then circulated around paedophile rings. </span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
The use of mobile phones is changing the way we act and live; slowly breaking down social boundaries through desensitisation and deforming the concept of moral behaviour. A microchip implant could never achieve such a capacity for leading people into immorality.</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Yet, unlike a mircochip implant, everyone actually desires to have one. As well as being central to daily business operations and allowing us to keep in contact with family members, they have also become a fashion statement, with the use of older models often being met by sneers and derision - which brings us back to Jesus' condemnation of the ever more elaborate phylacteries worn by the self-aggrandising Jewish leaders in the 1st century. They have become a "catch-all" device, with in-built functions including internet gateway, gaming, camera, video recorder, and calculator. And this level of covetousness is even before they become central to engaging in commerce. The strong inclinations that will undoubtedly prevail in favour of keeping these devices means that a large number of people will already be programmed to automatically reject the idea that the cell phone could be the ultimate fulfilment of the prophecy of the mark of the Beast. They truly are a temptation worthy of the wiles of the Devil.
</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com488tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-83983049592380707422018-11-11T21:19:00.002+00:002018-11-11T21:19:57.715+00:00The Third Secret: The Centenary of Fatima and the Sign of Jonah<div data-block="true" data-editor="belnn" data-offset-key="7opmd-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<i>And what are we in comparison with those believers and saints who shall then exist, seeing that they shall be tested by the loosing of an enemy with whom we make war at the greatest peril even when he is bound? </i><br />(St. Augustine of Hippo, <i>City of God</i>, XX:8)<br /><br />Certain events took place last year which my mind is still grappling to come to terms with. In 2017, some key components of my research on the subject of Catholic eschatology was suddenly propelled into the limelight, and a number of rather extraordinary events unfolded which gave me considerable pause for thought. It should be helpful to recap some of these events below in order to gain a sense of perspective (more for myself than anyone else). After my blog post <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-sign-of-jonah-and-binding-of-satan.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Sign of Jonah and the Binding of Satan</span></a> was plagiarised by the hugely popular Protestant prophecy preacher Pastor Mark Biltz and subsequently went viral, racking up millions of views on YouTube, I attempted to contact several journalists in an attempt to bring to light that this material originated from my research, rather than Pastor Biltz. <br /><br />Biltz's original video plagiarising my work in November 2016 can be seen below, and was later massively popularised by his publishers World Net Daily and Pastor Steve Cioccolanti, whose YouTube channels commands massive influence in the field of Protestant Rapture theology/dispensationalism.<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had wanted to correct the fact that this material had been stripped of its roots in Catholic eschatology and completely missed the key point as to what I was attempting to communicate. The core message I wanted to highlight was the fact that in Matt 12, the sign of Jonah is mentioned by Christ in the same context as the "binding of the strong man". In his monumental text <i>The City of God</i>, the Church Doctor St. Augustine of Hippo demonstrated that this passage was directly related to the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the Millennium in Rev 20:
</span></span><i>The Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man — meaning by the strong man the devil, because he had power to take captive the human race; and meaning by his goods which he was to take, those who had been held by the devil in various sins and iniquities, but were to become believers in Himself. It was then for the binding of this strong one that the apostle saw in the Apocalypse an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a chain in his hand. And he laid hold, he says, on the dragon, that old serpent, which is called the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,— that is, bridled and restrained his power so that he could not seduce and gain possession of those who were to be freed.</i> (St. Augustine of Hippo<span data-offset-key="7opmd-0-0" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #141414; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, </span></span></span><i>City of God</i> XX:7) <span data-offset-key="7opmd-0-0" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">
My central hypothesis was given the fact that the First World War Eclipse of 21st August, 1914 had directly crossed the site of ancient Nineveh, much like the Bur Sagale Solar Eclipse of 763BC (the original "sign of Jonah") this was a major sign announcing that the tumultuous events of the 20th century were directly related to period of the unbinding of Satan for the "little while" described in Rev 20:
</span></span><i>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. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time...
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves.</i> (Rev 20:1-3, 7-9) <span data-offset-key="7opmd-0-0" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">
The release of Satan to gather the nations of the world together for war at the end of the "thousand years" (i.e. the Sabbath Millennium discussed by the Early Church Fathers) is exactly what was implied by the <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2013/05/prophecy-of-pope-leo-xiii-update.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">prophetic vision of Pope Leo XIII</span></a> concerning the century of Satan's greater power, which remains my most popular blog post at over 90,000 pageviews.
The only publication to respond to my correspondence attempting to highlight Pastor Biltz's plagiarism of my work was the online edition of the British tabloid <i>The Daily Star. </i>They were more interested in my research concerning the potential future fate of America reflected in the message of Fatima though, and decided to concentrate on this subject, rather than flagging up Biltz's plagiarism of my work. This was the first time any of the material in my book concerning the threat of a mega-tsunami event generated by the lateral collapse of the volcano Cumbre Vieja in the Canary Islands has been covered by the mainstream media. Y<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">ou can read the full article </span><a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/645154/nibiru-apocalypse-2017-end-of-world-september-23-sister-lucia-fatima-third-secret-tsunami" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: &quot; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">. </span> Even though this story was sensationalised in a typically crass fashion (as you would expect from a tabloid newspaper), and there were a number of glaring factual errors (such as the claim that Sr. Lucia was blind and that she has already been canonised), the basic gist of my material was communicated to a wide audience.
Soon after this article was published, the story was then also circulated by the popular Greek newspaper <i>Protos Thema</i> (<a href="https://www.protothema.gr/world/article/714851/-to-trito-mustiko-tis-fatima-theoria-sunomosias-provlepei-ton-afanismo-ton-ipa-se-liges-meres/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>) and a number of YouTube videos repeating this subject sprang up in various different languages (see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PIZfDALxcg&t=207s"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> for a video in Russian with over 45,000 views, or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mowjERCgtLo"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> for a video in Chinese with over 37,000 views).
Around the same time on 3rd October, 2017, I made what was undoubtedly my greatest breakthrough in my writing career, when my first article was published on <i>Vatican Insider</i> at <i>La Stampa</i>, showing that the "Filial Correction" of Pope Francis by 250 Catholic theologians had breached the guidelines outlaid in the CDF document <i>Donum Veritatas: On the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian</i> (see <a href="https://www.lastampa.it/2017/10/03/vaticaninsider/donum-veritatis-illegitimatizes-the-filial-correction-PTENAUxc32MlVZsiEbQ8HJ/pagina.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>). <i>Vatican Insider</i> is arguably one of the most influential publications in the Catholic Church, since it is run by the famous Vaticanista Andrea Tornielli, a key aide and personal friend of Pope Francis. My friend and fellow expert on Catholic eschatology Stephen Walford was famously granted a 45-minute private audience with Pope Francis in recognition of the importance of his articles on <i>Vatican Insider</i> (see <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pope-francis-gives-private-audience-to-writer-who-accuses-dubia-cardinals-o"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>), and was extended the extraordinary privilege of having the Holy Father provide the preface for his recently published book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2JVwesL"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Pope Francis, the Family and Divorce: In Defence of Truth and Mercy</span></a></i>.
My first article on <i>Vatican Insider</i> was quickly attacked by <i>The Remnant Newspaper</i> (see <a href="https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/fetzen-fliegen/item/3455-la-stampa-and-the-fallible-infallible-magisterium"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> and <a href="https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/fetzen-fliegen/item/3459-still-more-fake-news-la-stampa-tries-again"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>), and also by <i>Life Site News</i> (see <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/scholars-critiques-of-filial-correction-marred-by-distortions-and-an-errone"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> and <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/its-not-dissent-to-criticize-confusing-cascade-of-papal-novelties-theologia"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>). My two other articles on <i>Vatican Insider</i> on the dogma of the indefectibility of the Church (<a href="https://www.lastampa.it/2017/11/04/vaticaninsider/the-indefectibility-of-the-church-8zC1PmLEWxcP7xBt4jHRtN/pagina.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> and <a href="https://www.lastampa.it/2017/12/11/vaticaninsider/eng/comment/the-heretical-pope-fallacy-HSbi69IW7szxYdqPR1bHmO/pagina.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>) remain among the best defences against the accusations of Pope Francis (or any pope) falling into formal heresy by issuing heretical documents as part of the authentic papal magisterium. Although a brief and rather weak attempt at critiquing my research on the dogma of the indefectibility of the Church in <i>Vatican Insider </i>was made by Fr. Brian Harrison <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/is-the-popes-teaching-always-free-from-error-even-when-its-not-infallible"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> (an emeritus professor of theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico), there hasn't been any other credible attempt to challenge the content of these articles, since doing so would effectively deny a dogma of the Catholic faith which must be firmly held by all believers.
Turning back to my material on the Third Secret being covered by <i>The Daily Star</i>, I have to emphasise categorically that I did not attempt to indicate that the tsunami seen by Sr. Lucia during the 1944 Tuy apparition of the Virgin Mary would occur on the centenary of the Miracle of the Sun in October 2017. <i>The Daily Star</i> merely put its own spin on my writing to give that impression. The timeline I present in my book clearly theorizes that this event will only occur at the end of the period of the restoration of the Church foretold in both Sacred Scripture and private prophecy, just before the rise to power of the Antichrist. The period of the restoration of the Church under the ministry of the Two Witnesses, referred to as the <i>renovatio mundi</i> in Medieval prophecy, is still clearly to take place in the future, and can only occur at the end of the "short time" given to Satan alluded to in the vision of Pope Leo XIII. Most Catholics would agree that we are living in the age of apostasy which was foretold to take place towards the end of the world, when the love of many would grow cold because of increase of evil (which can be put down as a consequence of the unbinding of Satan):
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</span></span><i>You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.</i>
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As Jesus states in the Olivet discourse, at the end of this period of trial for the Church the Gospel would then be preached throughout the world during the period of restoration, and only then would the end of the world come about with the appearance of the Antichrist as the "abomination of desolation". The destruction of the eschatological world power referred to as "Babylon" in the Apocalypse occurs immediately before the rise to power of the Antichrist, after which the "ten kings" hand over world dominion to the Beast:
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<br /><i>Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.</i> (Rev 18:21) <br /><br /><br /><i>“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”<br />Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” </i>
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<span data-offset-key="7opmd-0-0" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">So according to this scenario, any potential mega-tsunami threat caused by the collapse of Cumbre Vieja is still years in the future after the Church has been restored and purified to prepare itself for the coming of the Bridegroom, and I don't care to speculate on exact dates for any such event.
The 1944 Tuy apparition is when Sr. Lucia was instructed to write down the contents of the Third Secret, and is thought by many to intimately related to the secret itself. </span></span><span data-offset-key="7opmd-0-0" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><i>T</i></span></span><span data-offset-key="eposh-0-0" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><i>he Daily Star</i> article covering my research was first published on 18th Sept, 2017, quickly followed by an article on <i>Protos Thema</i> on 19th Sept. By weird coincidence, a seismic swarm occurred at Cumbre Vieja just three weeks later, beginning on October 7th, 2017 sparking fears of an imminent eruption at La Palma. This was the first sign of any volcanic activity at Cumbre Vieja since its last eruption in 1971, and was just a week after the ominous date of Michaelmas/Yom Kippur on 29th Sept, 2017 - which was the central feature of the "40 day" countdown highlighted by Pastor Mark Biltz in his various YouTube videos plagiarising my material on the sign of Jonah.
Biltz's plagiarism of my material on the sign of Jonah was picked up by Pastor Steve Cioccolanti in the below YouTube video, and subsequently went viral in the run-up to the Great American Solar Eclipse. The below video alone has over a million views, and there were multiple other videos created on this subject, each attracting millions of views apiece.
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Biltz even appeared on the massively popular Jim Bakker show a number of times promoting my research on the sign of Jonah, ensuring that it became a veritable phenomenon on the approach to the eclipse itself.
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Once I contacted Pastor Cioccolanti and presented him with the evidence that this material originated from my research, he then issued a number of videos highlighting the fact that Pastor Biltz had plagiarised my work in order to promote his book <i>God's Day Timer</i> (which of course fails to mention anything about the sign of Jonah being related to the Bur Sagale Eclipse, or the First World War Eclipse).
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Despite the fact that Pastor Cioccolanti flagged up Biltz's plagiarism of my work in a video with over 200,000 views, (watch above from the 5 minute mark), Pastor Biltz has still refused to apologize or even acknowledge that he directly lifted the material on the sign of Jonah from my blog.
Although my material on the sign of Jonah was robbed of its connection with the period of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the Millennium by Pastor Biltz, he did manage to promote my research on this subject to an audience of millions in the approach of the Great American Solar Eclipse. America experienced a dizzying array of natural disasters during the course of the 40-day period in the wake of the solar eclipse, and anyone who took heed of Biltz's videos saw the hand of God in these events, including Pastor Cioccolanti (see the video below, with over half a million views).
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I find it completely mind-binding that at this precise time period, the greatest scare concerning apocalyptic events (<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">besides the North Korean Nuclear Crisis)</span> had centred upon the exact subject of the threat presented by Cumbre Vieja. Once the seismic activity at Cumbre Vieja ignited fears of a possible volcanic eruption in October 2017, <i>The Daily Star</i> then published another number of articles referencing my research on Sr. Lucia's 1944 Tuy apparition <a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/651869/canary-islands-volcano-tsunami-threat-la-palma-activity-2017-miracle-of-sun-october-13"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> and <a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/651283/Spain-La-Palma-earthquake-Canary-Islands-Tenerife-Cumbre-Vieja-volcano"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>.
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<span data-offset-key="eposh-0-0" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">It seems beyond coincidence that this seismic activity at Cumbre Vieja took place just before the centenary of the Miracle of the Sun on the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary - since the Virgin Mary had repeatedly requested that the shepherd children of Fatima should pray the Rosary every day for the conversion of sinners. Recourse to the Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the conversion of sinners lies at the core of the message of Fatima. As Cardinal Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI) stated in <i>The Message of Fatima</i>:
</span></span><i>The first and second parts of the “secret” of Fatima have already been so amply discussed in the relative literature that there is no need to deal with them again here. I would just like to recall briefly the most significant point. For one terrible moment, the children were given a vision of hell. They saw the fall of “the souls of poor sinners”. And now they are told why they have been exposed to this moment: “in order to save souls”—to show the way to salvation. The words of the First Letter of Peter come to mind: “As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls” (1:9). To reach this goal, the way indicated —surprisingly for people from the Anglo-Saxon and German cultural world—is devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. </i><span data-offset-key="eposh-0-0" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">
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The fact that this seismic activity took place at this particular date - just immediately after the details of the 1944 Tuy apparition was widely popularised in the secular media (with its message reaching tens of thousands of people), in the immediate aftermath of the 40-day period of repentance being communicated to millions of Christians worldwide, seems to be a sign that the contents of the vision seen by Sr. Lucia is indeed related to a volcanic collapse at this precise location.
As I note in some detail in the post <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-canary-islands-and-seven-burning.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Canary Islands and the Seven Burning Mountains of Enoch</span></a>, the exact location of the seven "burning mountains" standing at the entrance to the underworld at the ends of the earth in the Book of Enoch was clearly based on the description of the Canary Islands in Greek mythology - which was the fabled location of the Isles of the Blessed. Given the fact that the Book of Enoch was a known source used by the author of the Apocalypse, this means that the "great mountain, burning with fire" being thrown into the sea described in Rev 8:8 can be triangulated to the location of the Canary Islands.
The fact that this seismic activity at Cumbre Vieja took place almost immediately after the 40-day period associated with the Great American Solar Eclipse of 2017 demands that we pay close attention to a possible link between the "sign of Jonah" sequence of eclipses beginning on 21st August 1914 (marking both the beginning and the end of the period of the unbinding of Satan), acting as a warning concerning the tsunami seen in Sr. Lucia's 1944 Tuy vision.
Anyone who has paid close attention to this blog and the comments section at the end of each post will know that what I had really speculated was that at the end of the 40 day period corresponding with the Hebrew month of Elul after the 2017 Solar Eclipse, America would face the prospect of nuclear war but would ultimately be spared, just like the ancient Ninevites were spared from destruction after Jonah had announced the city's destruction. This is precisely what was indicated in the Third Secret of Fatima - that the hand of the angel with the flaming sword would be stayed by the rays issuing from the hands of Our Lady to allow for a period of penance during the restoration of the Church:
</span></span><i>The third part of the secret revealed at the Cova da Iria-Fátima, on 13 July 1917. <br /> I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine. <br /> 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!'. And we saw in an immense light that is God: 'something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White 'we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God. <br /> Tuy-3-1-1944 </i><span data-offset-key="eposh-0-0" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>
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When the Third Secret was first published in 2000, Cardinal Ratzinger had indicated that the flaming sword should be interpreted as the threat of nuclear war:
</span></span><i>Let us now examine more closely the single images. The angel with the flaming sword on the left of the Mother of God recalls similar images in the Book of Revelation. This represents the threat of judgement which looms over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer seems pure fantasy: man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword. The vision then shows the power which stands opposed to the force of destruction—the splendour of the Mother of God and, stemming from this in a certain way, the summons to penance. In this way, the importance of human freedom is underlined: the future is not in fact unchangeably set, and the image which the children saw is in no way a film preview of a future in which nothing can be changed. Indeed, the whole point of the vision is to bring freedom onto the scene and to steer freedom in a positive direction. The purpose of the vision is not to show a film of an irrevocably fixed future. Its meaning is exactly the opposite: it is meant to mobilize the forces of change in the right direction. </i>
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So the threat presented by the angel's sword is intimately related to nuclear war, and the Third Secret thus foretold that the world would be spared from nuclear war due to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. The fact that the world came to the brink of nuclear war precisely at the end of the 40-day period connected with the 2017 solar eclipse on the centenary of Fatima during the North Korean Nuclear Missile Crisis in late September of that year, makes it almost certain that the world was only spared from the threat of chastisement due to Our Lady staying the hands of the angel with the flaming sword. The rumblings at Cumbre Vieja immediately after this thus appears to be a further warning confirming the threat of God's judgment if humanity continues to turn its back on Christ.
The radical turnaround from the North Korean Nuclear Missile Crisis, with President Trump's meeting with Kim Jong-un in June 2018, appears to indicate that some form of divine intercession has been at play during the centenary of Fatima. It would thus seem safe to attribute the remarkable nature of this climbdown to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, since the prevention of nuclear war was clearly foretold in the Third Secret of Fatima. The fact that the feast of Michaelmas on the 29th September 2017 was highlighted by the 40-day countdown from the solar eclipse gives a further indication of the threat of judgement from the angel with the flaming sword. It is interesting to note that Michaelmas had overlapped the Jewish Day of Atonement on this particular year. A feast day which is also alluded to in the Third Secret of Fatima, with the two angels sprinkling the blood of the martyrs making their journey towards heaven. The theme of the sprinkling of blood alludes to the actions of the Jewish High Priest on the Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur, who sprinkled the blood of sacrifice on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant for the forgiveness of the sins of Israel; and the Ark was itself adorned with the two cherubim represented in the Third Secret.
We can only hope and pray that the Church will soon be restored as the "little while" given to Satan finally draws to a close. The appearance of the "sign of Jonah" is intimately connected with the binding and unbinding of the "strong man" of Matt 12, which according to St. Augustine of Hippo, occurs at the end of the Sabbath Millennium discussed by the Early Church Fathers.
</span></span><i>in the sixth thousand of years or sixth millennium (the latter part of which is now passing), as if during the sixth day, which is to be followed by a Sabbath which has no evening, the endless rest of the saints, so that, speaking of a part under the name of the whole, he calls the last part of the millennium — the part, that is, which had yet to expire before the end of the world — a thousand years; or he used the thousand years as an equivalent for the whole duration of this world, employing the number of perfection to mark the fullness of time. </i><br />(St. Augustine of Hippo, <i>City of God</i> XX:7) <span data-offset-key="eposh-0-0" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #1c1e21; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">As I discuss at some length in my book, the timing of the Sabbath Millennium can be firmly dated to the 20th century using the biblical chronology established by the Church Doctor St. Bede the Venerable. My strict adherence to the Augustinian model of eschatology as a means of interpreting the significance of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the Millennium in relation to Pope Leo XIII's vision concerning the events of the 20th century is the primary reason I have come to loggerheads with the followers of Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi. The followers of Fr. Iannuzzi promote the millenarian eschatology of Joachim de Fiore, which was refuted by St. Thomas Aquinas and condemned by the Church. In his various books on this subject, Fr. Iannuzzi attempts to align himself with the Protestant dispensationalist understanding of the Millennium, which is essentially millennialist/millenarian in nature. According to Fr. Iannuzzi, Satan will only be bound at some point in the future during a millenarian age of total world peace on earth, rather than being bound through Christ's sacrifice on the Cross to facilitate the spread of the Gospel. Hopefully the Church authorities will soon confute the heretical eschatology of Fr. Iannuzzi in order to confirm that Catholics must adhere to St. Augustine of Hippo's understanding of the Millennium of Rev 20, since the Catechism of the Catholic Church condemns all forms of millenarianism as the "deception of the Antichrist":
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time
the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only
be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgement. the Church has
rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under
the name of millenarianism,</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> especially the "intrinsically
perverse" political form of a secular messianism.</i> (CCC 676)</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><sup><a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1V.HTM#$US" name="-US"></a></sup></span>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com235tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-59603632613083430742018-09-12T09:05:00.000+01:002018-09-12T16:32:06.655+01:00Our Lady of Knock, Jacob's Ladder and the Short Time of Satan<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">When Pope Francis visited Ireland for the World
Meeting of Families in August 2018, his visit to the shrine of Our Lady of
Knock coincided with one of the most remarkable attacks on a pontiff by a
high-ranking member of the Catholic hierarchy in recent Church history.
Archbishop Vigano, the former papal nuncio to the United States, had alleged
that Pope Francis played a pivotal role in covering up the sexual abuse scandal
surrounding Cardinal McCarrick, and called on the Holy Father to abdicate from
the papacy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">As we shall see, the fact that this accusation against Pope Francis
was timed to directly coincide with his visit to the shrine of Our Lady of
Knock appears to be of major prophetic importance concerning the end of the
period of Satan's greater foreseen in the vision of Pope Leo XIII. The whole point of Satan's period of greater power is framed so that at the conclusion of this diabolical assault against the Church, the Devil could then stand before Christ's representative on earth and point to the stains that have sullied the papal cassock. The role of "Devils advocate" in this instance, as a figure within the Church who would point to these stains, seems to have been undertaken by Archbishop Vigano. </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Throughout the course of my previous research on this
subject, I have attempted to explain how the symbolism of the Knock shrine
heavily alludes to a scene in the Divine Throne Room described in the third
chapter of the Book of Zechariah. Alongside the story of Job and the
description of the unbinding of Satan at the end of the thousand years in Rev
20, Zech 3 forms the immediate scriptural basis for the vision of the period of
Satan's greater power foreseen by Pope Leo XIII. One of the most striking
images of Zech 3 is that of the High Priest Joshua being accused by Satan in
the Divine Throne Room - which is the primary location suggested by the
symbolism of the Knock apparition itself.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Then he showed me Joshua the high priest
standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to
accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD
who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the
fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.
And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy
garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity
away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” And I said, “Let
them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head
and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by.<br />
<br />
And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua, “Thus says the LORD of
hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my
house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access
among those who are standing here. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and
your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I
will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set
before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its
inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this
land in a single day. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you
will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">(Zech 3)</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The above vision of the sullied robes of the High
Priest Joshua (representing the pope as Pontifex Maximus) being removed and
replaced with clean garments described in the Book of Zechariah is also heavily
alluded to in St. John Bosco's March of the 200 Days: </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Things follow too slowly upon each other,
but the great Queen of Heaven is at hand; the Lord's power is Hers. Like mist
She shall scatter Her enemies. She shall vest the Venerable Old Man with all
his former garments. There shall yet come a violent hurricane. Iniquity is at
an end, sin shall cease, and before two full moons shall have shone in the
month of flowers, the rainbow of peace shall appear on the earth. The great
Minister shall see the Bride of his King clothed in glory. Throughout the world
a sun so bright shall shine as was never seen since the flames of the Cenacle
until today, nor shall it be seen again until the end of time...</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">(Biographical Memoirs)</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I have written about the importance of the 1879 Irish
apparition in relation to the Divine Throne Room before in the post <a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-prophetic-symbolism-of-our-lady-of.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The
Prophetic Symbolism of Our Lady of Knock</span></a>, and its significance plays a key
role in my book as a marking point of the opening of the scroll sealed with
seven seals - which I argue is specifically linked with the beginning of the
short time given to Satan at the end of the "thousand years"
described in Rev 20. In turn, I linked the short time of Satan described in the
Apocalypse with Pope Leo XIII's famous vision of the period of Satan's greater
power, which began at the turn of the 20th century, and concludes around our
own time.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">It will be worth recapping the most important aspects
of my material on Our Lady of Knock before moving on to take on board some new
considerations which also help to bolster my theory that this apparition is
directly associated with the period of Satan's greater power - which was
announced to Pope Leo XIII between 5-7 years after this apparition took place.
The Knock apparition itself clearly alludes to the opening of the scroll sealed
with seven seals described in Rev 5, since it is central focus lies on the Lamb
of Revelation, with an image of St. John (the author of the Apocalypse)
directing the attention of his audience to an open book he holds in his hands
(the scroll of Revelation?). In Rev 5, the Lamb is permitted to open the scroll
sealed with sevens, which sets in motion the events of the Apocalypse itself -
beginning with the unleashing of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">As I argue at length in my book <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2NtqyHt"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of
the Church</span></a></i>, the release of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who are
summoned fourth by the Four Living Creatures, is recapitulated later in the
Book of Revelation by the four angels who are bound at the River Euphrates in
order to kill a third of "the people". Once we compare this verse
with the various other scriptural allusions contained in this passage, we find
that it is a third of the Jewish people who are to be killed by the appearance
of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (see the earlier post on this subject
here).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">As I demonstrate in the book, it is quite likely that
Pope Leo XIII had himself connected his famous prophetic vision of a period of
greater power being given over to the Devil with the period of the unbinding of
Satan described in Rev 20. Furthermore, it is quite likely that Pope Leo XIII
also connected his consecration of the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus in the year 1899 with the impending period of Satan's greater power. Pope
Leo XIII had himself described this consecration as the "greatest act of
my pontificate", and took this action in direct response to a request made
by Christ to Bl. Mary of the Divine Heart. Below is a short excerpt from
Wikipedia concerning the events which eventually led to the consecration of the
world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">On June 10, 1898, her confessor at the
Good Shepherd monastery wrote to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIII" title="Pope Leo XIII"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Pope
Leo XIII</span></a> stating that Sister Mary of the Divine Heart had received a
message from Christ, requesting the pope to consecrate the entire world to the
Sacred Heart. The pope initially did not believe her and took no action.
However, on January 6, 1899, she wrote another letter, asking that in addition
to the consecration, the first Fridays of the month be observed in honor of the
Sacred Heart. In the letter she also referred to the recent illness of the pope
and stated that Christ had assured her that Pope Leo XIII would live until he
had performed the consecration to the Sacred Heart. Theologian Laurent Volken
states that this had an emotional impact on Leo XIII, despite the theological
issues concerning the consecration of non-Christians.</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Pope Leo XIII commissioned an inquiry on
the basis of her revelation and Church tradition. In his 1899 encyclical letter
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annum_sacrum" title="Annum sacrum"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Annum
sacrum</span></a>, Leo XIII decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on June 11, 1899. In the encyclical
Leo referred to the illness about which Sister Mary had written, stating:
"There is one further reason that urges us to realize our design: We do
not want it to pass by unnoticed. It is personal in nature but just as
important: God the author of all Good has saved us by healing us recently from
a dangerous disease."</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Pope Leo XIII also composed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_of_Consecration_to_the_Sacred_Heart" title="Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Prayer of Consecration to
the Sacred Heart</span></a> and included it in the encyclical. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_X" title="Pope Pius X"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Pope Pius
X</span></a> later decreed that this consecration of the human race performed by Pope
Leo XIII be renewed each year.</span></i><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">According to St. Augustine, there were two possible
interpretations of the duration of the Millennium. St. Augustine viewed that
starting point of both possibilities as beginning from the original binding of
Satan, which was won by Christ on the Cross of Calvary. The second suggestion
made by St. Augustine is the line which is usually associated with amillennialism
- that the binding of Satan would last for a symbolic thousand year period
lasting from the time of Christ right up until near the end of the world. St.
Augustine's first suggestion is a lot more specific though, and can even be
used to determine the general time period in which the unbinding of Satan would
take place. The first proposal forwarded by St. Augustine (indicating that he
gave this interpretation precedence) was that the binding of Satan won by
Christ on the Cross would last until the time of the Sabbath Millennium
discussed by the Early Church Fathers, when he would be released for his
"little while".</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The Early Church Fathers were convinced that the
biblical chronology yielded a prophetic significance relating to a "Great
Week" of millennia. St. Peter had described the timing of the end of the
world in the context of a day being equated with a thousand years, which taken
to its natural conclusion, would point to a prophetic week of millennia:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Above all, you must understand that in the
last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors
died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they
deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and
the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world
of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens
and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and
destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends:
With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a
day. </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">(2 Pet 3:3-8)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Many Church Fathers had proposed that the timing of the
Sabbath Millennium (or sixth millennium in the biblical chronology) could
potentially be used to establish the date of the return of Christ. St.
Augustine put an additional twist on this concept, and forwarded the novel
suggestion that the timing of the Sabbath Millennium was instead actually
related to the "thousand year" period mentioned in the Apocalypse
concerning the period of the unbinding of Satan:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, No man
can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind
the strong man — meaning by the strong man the devil, because he had power to
take captive the human race; and meaning by his goods which he was to take,
those who had been held by the devil in various sins and iniquities, but were
to become believers in Himself. It was then for the binding of this strong one
that the apostle saw in the Apocalypse an angel coming down from heaven, having
the key of the abyss, and a chain in his hand. And he laid hold, he says, on
the dragon, that old serpent, which is called the devil and Satan, and bound
him a thousand years,— that is, bridled and restrained his power so that he
could not seduce and gain possession of those who were to be freed. <br />
<br />
Now the thousand years may be understood in two ways, so far as occurs to me:
either because these things happen in the sixth thousand of years or sixth
millennium (the latter part of which is now passing), as if during the sixth
day, which is to be followed by a Sabbath which has no evening, the endless rest
of the saints, so that, speaking of a part under the name of the whole, he
calls the last part of the millennium— the part, that is, which had yet to
expire before the end of the world— a thousand years; or he used the thousand
years as an equivalent for the whole duration of this world, employing the
number of perfection to mark the fullness of time</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">.
(<i>City of God</i> XX:7)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Here, St. Augustine opines that the end of the
“thousand years” mentioned in Rev 20 may be equated with the end of the Sabbath
Millennium discussed by the Early Church Fathers. This view was subsequently
largely overlooked, since many of the Church Fathers held that the Sabbath
Millennium would come to an end circa AD500, at the end of a six thousand year
period after the biblical date of creation determined by the chronology of the
Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament (the LXX). As the original
various dates calculated for the end of the Sabbath Millennium circa AD500 came
and went without any possible applications for this first interpretation, St.
Augustine’s second proposal (that the thousand years symbolises an indefinite
period extending from the time of Christ to the unbinding of Satan towards the
end of the world), became the most widely accepted version of the amillennialist
approach.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">However, writing in the 8th century, the Church Doctor
St. Bede the Venerable noted that the reckoning of the biblical chronology
yields a vastly different result when using the Masoretic text of the Hebrew
Bible, differing by a period of around 1,500 years from the date of creation
(Anno Mundi). St. Bede proposed that this version of biblical chronology, which
he used to revise the date of creation to circa 3952BC, was the most accurate,
since it was derived from the “Hebrew truth” of the original Jewish Bible,
rather than its Greek counterpart. St. Bede’s method for determining the
chronology of the Hebrew Bible was further refined by the Anglican Archbishop
James Ussher, who working from the various genealogies given in the Bible,
established the date of creation to 4004BC.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">If we view the primary value of this date to be
prophetic in nature (rather than providing us with a literal date for
creation), this revised version of the biblical chronology has enormous
implications for St. Augustine’s first suggestion concerning the meaning of the
end of the “thousand years” in Rev 20 and how this ties into the patristic idea
of a Sabbath Millennium. It puts the period of the unbinding of Satan at the
end of the “thousand years” directly within the scope of Pope Leo XIII’s vision
of the Devil being granted a time of greater power in order to test the Church.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Given the fact that St. Bede the Venerable was
proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII at the turn of the 20th
century on Nov 13th, 1899, it invites us to ponder whether this action was
linked in any way to this saint’s influence on the revision of the Anno Mundi
calendar. The prophetic implications of Bede’s chronology cannot be overstated.
Not only did it recalibrate the timing of the conclusion of the Sabbath
Millennium to the modern era, but once combined with St. Augustine’s hypothesis
presented above, it could also be used to indicate that the period of the
unbinding of Satan would begin to unfold in the modern era. Is it possible that
Pope Leo XIII was aware of these implications? If the Holy Father had
interpreted his famous vision within the context of the period of the unbinding
of Satan at the end of the thousand years in Rev 20, we could conclude that his
raising of St. Bede to the status of Church Doctor on the very eve of the 20th
century was a deliberate action intended to reflect his influence on
determining the prophetic significance of the Sabbath Millennium to fit in with
this exact timeframe.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The timing of the appearance of the Knock apparition
in such close proximity to Pope Leo XIII's vision of the period of Satan's
greater power is also noteworthy in itself. As we shall see, the Knock
apparition has additional layers of depth which connects it directly with one of
the primary scriptural influences which is alluded to in the vision of Pope Leo
XIII.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Very few attempts have been made to explain the
symbolism of the Knock apparition, which is ripe in apocalyptic imagery. One of
the major interpretative keys to understanding the symbolism of the Knock
apparition is the depiction of the angels ascending and descending upon the
Paschal Lamb. This imagery is directly lifted from the dream vision experienced
by the Patriarch Jacob, who saw a ladder reaching up to heaven with angels
ascending and descending upon it:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Jacob left Beersheba and went toward
Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the
sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head
and lay down in that place to sleep.<b><sup> </sup></b>And he dreamed, and
behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to
heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And
behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham
your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you
and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and
you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the
south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be
blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will
bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I
have promised you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord
is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How
awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is
the gate of heaven.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">So early in the morning Jacob took the
stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil
on the top of it.<b><sup> </sup></b>He called the name of that place Bethel,<sup>[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen+28&version=ESV#fen-ESV-793d" title="See footnote d"><span style="color: #0563c1;">d</span></a>]</sup> but the name of the city was Luz at the
first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me
in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,<b><sup>
</sup></b>so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord
shall be my God,<b><sup> </sup></b>and this stone, which I have set up for a
pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full
tenth to you.” </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">(Gen 28:10-22)</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">In the Knock apparition, the imagery of Jacob's Ladder
was substituted by the Lamb of God, showing that the gateway to Heaven is only
made possible through the Paschal Sacrifice won on the Cross at Calvary. The
account of Jacob's pillow is already important in Irish folklore, due to the
claims that Jacob's pillow stone was brought to Ireland by the Prophet
Jeremiah, and was linked to the Stone of Scone. According to some apocryphal
accounts usually associated with British Israelitism, Jacob's pillow stone was
used to crown the kings of Ireland before being brought to Scotland by Robert
the Bruce in the 13th century. The legends concerning Jacob's pillow being
brought to Ireland are most likely of little or no importance to the
understanding the links between the Knock apparition and Jacob's dream however.
Instead of looking to obscure Irish legends for explaining the imagery of the
Knock apparition, we find that the most salient motifs are rooted elsewhere in
Sacred Scripture, most notably in Rev 5 and Zech 3 - the latter of which forms
one of the primary scriptural sources for the prophetic vision of Pope Leo XIII
(alongside the story of the Prophet Job).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">In Rev 5, there is a strong allusion to the
significance of the mysterious stone with seven eyes described in Zechariah 3,
in the fact that the Lamb of Revelation also bears the curious attribute of
seven eyes (which represents the sevenfold spirit). So the Lamb of the
Apocalypse is undoubtedly associated with the stone with seven eyes described
in the Book of Zechariah, and it is this capacity which can see the area of
overlap between the Lamb and the stone of Jacob's pillow in the Knock
apparition.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Then I saw in the right hand of him who
was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with
seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is
worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on
earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I
began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to
look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion
of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open
the scroll and its seven seals.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">And between the throne and the four living
creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been
slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God
sent out into all the earth.<b><sup> </sup></b>And he went and took the scroll from
the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.<b><sup> </sup></b>And when
he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders
fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of
incense, which are the prayers of the saints.<b><sup> </sup></b>And they sang a
new song, saying,</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>“Worthy are you to take the scroll</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>and to open its
seals,</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>for you were slain, and by your blood you
ransomed people for God</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>from every tribe
and language and people and nation,</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>and
you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>and they shall
reign on the earth.”</i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Then I looked, and I heard around the
throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels,
numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, t</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>o receive power and wealth and wisdom and
might</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>and honor and glory and blessing!”</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">And I heard every creature in heaven and
on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>“To him who sits on the throne and to the
Lamb</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><i>be blessing and honor and glory and might
forever and ever!”</i></span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">And the four living creatures said,
“Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">. </span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">(Rev 5)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">With its vision of angels ascending and descending
upon the Lamb of God, the Knock apparition thus ties together the stone of
Jacob's pillar with the stone with seven eyes in Zech 3 - which is further
revealed as representing the Lamb with seven eyes in Rev 5. The cues provided
by the Knock apparition thus provides us with an interpretative key to
understanding the opening of the seven seals described in the Apocalypse, which
is recapitulated in the period of the unbinding of Satan described in Rev 20.
The material contained in chapter 3 of the Book of Zechariah concerning the
bringing forth of the stone with seven eyes therefore provides us with several
additional insight into the unfolding of prophetic events during the short time
of Satan, which is focused on the sullied robes of the Pontifex Maximus and
Satan's accusations being levelled against Christ's Vicar on earth.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">As I have already explained in the post <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2015/09/pope-benedict-xvi-on-chronology-of.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Pope
Benedict XVI on the Chronology of Apocalyptic Events</span></a>, the soiled garments
of the Jewish High Priest Joshua in Zech 3 is alluded to in the visions of St.
Hildegard of Bingen. Here the defilement of the Church in the period of
apostasy towards the end of time was represented pictorially as stains on the
gown of the Bride of Christ, and Pope Benedict XVI specifically linked these
visions with the modern sexual abuse crisis and certain comments made by Sr.
Lucia on the significance of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">We were all the more dismayed, then, when
in this year of all years and to a degree we could not have imagined, we came
to know of abuse of minors committed by priests who twist the sacrament into
its antithesis, and under the mantle of the sacred profoundly wound human
persons in their childhood, damaging them for a whole lifetime.<br />
<br />
In this context, a vision of Saint Hildegard of Bingen came to my mind, a
vision which describes in a shocking way what we have lived through this past
year. “In the year of our Lord’s incarnation 1170, I had been lying on my
sick-bed for a long time when, fully conscious in body and in mind, I had a
vision of a woman of such beauty that the human mind is unable to comprehend.
She stretched in height from earth to heaven. Her face shone with exceeding
brightness and her gaze was fixed on heaven. She was dressed in a dazzling robe
of white silk and draped in a cloak, adorned with stones of great price. On her
feet she wore shoes of onyx. But her face was stained with dust, her robe was
ripped down the right side, her cloak had lost its sheen of beauty and her
shoes had been blackened. And she herself, in a voice loud with sorrow, was
calling to the heights of heaven, saying, ‘Hear, heaven, how my face is
sullied; mourn, earth, that my robe is torn; tremble, abyss, because my shoes
are blackened!’<br />
<br />
And she continued: ‘I lay hidden in the heart of the Father until the Son of
Man, who was conceived and born in virginity, poured out his blood. With that same
blood as his dowry, he made me his betrothed.<br />
<br />
For my Bridegroom’s wounds remain fresh and open as long as the wounds of men’s
sins continue to gape. And Christ’s wounds remain open because of the sins of
priests. They tear my robe, since they are violators of the Law, the Gospel and
their own priesthood; they darken my cloak by neglecting, in every way, the
precepts which they are meant to uphold; my shoes too are blackened, since
priests do not keep to the straight paths of justice, which are hard and
rugged, or set good examples to those beneath them. Nevertheless, in some of
them I find the splendour of truth.’<br />
<br />
And I heard a voice from heaven which said: ‘This image represents the Church.
For this reason, O you who see all this and who listen to the word of lament,
proclaim it to the priests who are destined to offer guidance and instruction
to God’s people and to whom, as to the apostles, it was said: go into all the
world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation’ (Mk 16:15)” (Letter to
Werner von Kirchheim and his Priestly Community: PL 197, 269ff.).<br />
<br />
In the vision of Saint Hildegard, the face of the Church is stained with dust,
and this is how we have seen it. Her garment is torn – by the sins of priests.
The way she saw and expressed it is the way we have experienced it this year.
We must accept this humiliation as an exhortation to truth and a call to
renewal. </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Now notice the similarities here between the words of
the Holy Father and those of Sr. Lucia during her interview with Fr. Fuentes:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Sister Lucy also told me: "Father,
the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Blessed
Virgin. And the devil knows what it is that offends God the most, and which in
a short space of time will gain for him the greatest number of souls. Thus the
devil does everything to overcome souls consecrated to God, because in this way
the devil will succeed in leaving the souls of the faithful abandoned by their
leaders, thereby the more easily will he seize them." <br />
<br />
"That which afflicts the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Heart of Jesus
is the fall of religious and priestly souls. The devil knows that religious and
priests who fall away from their beautiful vocation drag numerous souls to
hell. The devil wishes to take possession of consecrated souls. He tries to
corrupt them in order to lull to sleep the souls of laypeople and thereby lead
them to final impenitence. He employs all tricks, even going so far as to
suggest the delay of entrance into religious life. Resulting from this is the sterility
of the interior life, and among the laypeople, coldness (lack of enthusiasm)
regarding the subject of renouncing pleasures and the total dedication of
themselves to God."</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">A connection between these words of Sr. Lucia and St.
Hildegard's vision of "filth" within the Church clearly seems to have
been on Pope Benedict's mind here, since he uses basically the same themes and
symbolism during his visit to Fatima in 2010:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">"As for the new things which we can
find in this message today, there is also the fact that attacks on the Pope and
the Church come not only from without, but the sufferings of the Church come
precisely from within the Church, from the sin existing within the Church. This
too is something that we have always known, but today we are seeing it in a
really terrifying way: that the greatest persecution of the Church comes not
from her enemies without, but arises from sin within the Church, and that the
Church thus has a deep need to relearn penance, to accept purification, to
learn forgiveness on the one hand, but also the need for justice."</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Cardinal Ratzinger again alluded to St. Hildegard's
writings describing the current state of the Church as a woman whose garments
are soiled in his famous Way of the Cross sermon in 2005, just before he
ascended the papacy:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">"Should we not also think of how much
Christ suffers in his own Church? How often is the holy sacrament of His
Presence abused, how often must he enter empty and evil hearts! How often do we
celebrate only ourselves, without even realizing that he is there! How often is
his Word twisted and misused! What little faith is present behind so many
theories, so many empty words!<br />
How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the
Priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him! How much pride, how much
self-complacency!" </span></i><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">"Lord, your Church often seems like a
boat about to sink, a boat taking in water on every side. In your field we see
more weeds than wheat. The soiled garments and face of your Church throw us
into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them! It is we who
betray you time and time again, after all our lofty words and grand gestures.
Have mercy on your Church... You stood up, you arose and you can also raise us
up. Save and sanctify your Church. Save and sanctify us all."</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The soiled garments of the Jewish High Priest being
replaced in Zech 3 (who in an eschatological context represents the figure of
the Roman Pontiff) should thus be compared with the visions of St. Hildegard of
Bingen, which are intimately related to the purification of the Church at the
end of time. However the stains on the garments of the Bride of Christ in St.
Hildegard's visions and on the Pontifex Maximus in Zech 3 represents the sins
of priests, and do not reflect the sinfulness of the pope being accused, or
indict him in any way for heresy (which would contradict the doctrine of
indefectibility). In fact the accusations levelled at the visible head of the
Church by the Devil are a satanic deception aimed at destroying the Church from
within - a deception which is rebuked by the Archangel Michael, after which the
time of purification begins.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The fact that this recent accusation against Pope
Francis by Archbishop Vigano occurred at a time when the Holy Father was making
pilgrimage to an apparition site representing the Divine Throne Room depicted
in Rev 5, which is in turn intimately connected with the prophecy of Zech 3 and
the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals is surely replete with
prophetic significance. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">
It is no coincidence that Christ's discourse on the binding of the "strong
man" occurred in the immediate context of the appearance of the "Sign
of Jonah" in Matt 12 (which originally took the form of a total solar
eclipse over ancient Nineveh just before Jonah's arrival into the city). Or
that the start of the First World War at the beginning of the period of Satan's
greater power coincided with the appearance of yet another solar eclipse
crossing the site of ancient Nineveh on the feast day of Our Lady of Knock, on
21st August, 1914. The fact that the end of the Sabbath Millennium discussed by
the Early Church Fathers was preceded by a century of genocide foretold in the
vision of Pope Leo XIII leaves us with little room for doubt that the siege of
the camp of the saints at the end of the thousand years mentioned in Rev 20
began to unfold at the opening of the 20th century.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br />
The current age of apostasy we are enduring is the fruit of Satan's unbinding
at the end of the thousand years, during which he has managed to blind the
minds of unbelievers to the truth of the Gospel (2Cor 4:4), and the love of
many had grown cold because of the increase of evil (Matt 24:12). This evil has
manifested itself most prevalently within the Church itself in the form of the
clerical sexual abuse scandal, which has turned baptised Catholics away from
the pews en masse, and sullied the wedding gown of the Bride of Christ.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">
Now just over a year on from another total solar eclipse which took crossed
America on the feast day of Our Lady of Knock, on 21st August 2017 - the
centenary year of Our Lady of Fatima, one of the most shocking accusations
against a reigning pontiff by a high-ranking prelate in the Catholic Church
took place at the site of the Knock apparition - which represents the Divine
Throne Room seen in Zech 3. This accusation has rocked the Catholic Church in
America, and is symptomatic of the wider rebellion that is being plotted
against the Holy Father by many high-ranking officials in the Church hierarchy.
Just as the sullied robes of the Jewish High Priest are removed and replaced
with fresh linen after Satan makes his accusation against him, we can only hope
and pray that we are on the cusp of the purification of the Church which is
promised to take place before the coming of the Antichrist. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">As Pope Francis has himself addressed the bishops yesterday, on 11th Sept 2018:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<i>“In these times, it seems like the 'Great Accuser' has been unchained and is attacking bishops. True, we are all sinners, we bishops. He tries to uncover the sins, so they are visible in order to scandalize the people. The 'Great Accuser', as he himself says to God in the first chapter of the Book of Job, 'roams the earth looking for someone to accuse'. A bishop’s strength against the 'Great Accuser' is prayer, that of Jesus and his own, and the humility of being chosen and remaining close to the people of God, without seeking an aristocratic life that removes this unction. Let us pray, today, for our bishops: for me, for those who are here, and for all the bishops throughout the world.”</i></div>
<u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-09/pope-francis-mass-great-accuser-bishops-scandal.html">https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-09/pope-francis-mass-great-accuser-bishops-scandal.html</a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com380tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-56380533372805646562018-04-22T22:31:00.002+01:002018-04-22T22:31:15.169+01:00Update on the route to my PhD <div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #1d2129; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
I've decided that my best option for obtaining my PhD is by studying at home in Queen's University Belfast under the tutelage of Prof. Gordon Campbell. Prof. Campbell is one of the world's leading experts on the Book of Revelation, so it makes sense to avail of the opportunity to receive such academic tutelage in this field. Prof. Campbell is a member of the non-denominational Irish Biblical Association (IBA), which I am interested in joining. The IBA is composed of Ireland's<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"> leading biblical scholars (both Catholic and Protestant), so I think membership of this group will provide a brilliant resource for my future scholarly research.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
In order to gain access to the doctoral program at Queen's, I will need to secure a Master of Research post-graduate degree first (MRes). Given that my area of focus for my PhD is most likely going to be in biblical studies, I will need to continue learning both Greek and Hebrew in greater depth. </div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 6px;">
Thanks to your generous support, I already nearly have enough money to cover the fees for a part-time MRes degree starting this year. I'm hoping to be able to study full time, but will know better about the feasibility of this later in the year. So I wish to thank you all for making this possible for me. I will be permanently grateful for each of you who donated, as you have brought me this life-changing opportunity. I hope to have your continued support throughout the course of my doctorate.</div>
</div>
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<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/unveilingtheapocalypse">https://www.gofundme.com/unveilingtheapocalypse</a>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-41898518491065313742018-03-31T23:29:00.000+01:002018-03-31T23:29:57.397+01:00The Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Genocides of the 20th Century<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Ezekiel's vision took place at the Chebar Canal, which runs into the River Euphrates. The main concentration camp of the Armenian Genocide was established at the confluence here in the modern Deir-ez-Zor district.</span><br />
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<br /><br />As I argue at considerable length in my book <a href="https://amzn.to/2Gll16f">Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church</a>, there is a wealth of evidence to suggest that Pope Leo XIII personally believed that his prophetic vision was concerned with the Millennium of Rev 20. Pope Leo XIII's vision, which he witnessed around the year 1886, was chiefly concerned with the imminent arrival of a period in which Satan would be granted greater power. A prophetic experience which proved only too real with the unfolding of the wars and genocides throughout the course of the 20th century. <br /><br />In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus refers to the binding of the "strong man" in the same context as His prophecy concerning the Sign of Jonah:<br /><br /><i>Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house." </i>(Matt 12:22-29)<br /><br /><i>Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. </i></div>
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(Matt 12:39-41)<br /><br />So the appearance of the Sign of Jonah and the binding of the "strong man" (which took place during Christ's sacrificial death on the Cross and His descent into Hades on Holy Saturday), are very closely associated events. <br /><br /><i>Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. </i>(John 12:31-33)<br /><br />According to the amillenialist view elaborated by St. Augustine of Hippo, it was through the victory of the Cross that Satan was bound throughout the course of the "thousand years", or Millennium of Rev 20:<br /><br /><i>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. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. </i>(Rev 20:1-3)<br /><br /><i>When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. </i>(Rev 20:7-9)<br /><br />St. Augustine of Hippo taught that Satan was bound by Christ in order to allow the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, which had allowed Christianity to become the world's largest religion. However, he also expected the Devil to be unleashed upon the world once again at the end of the "thousand years", during which time Christianity would suffer serious repression leading to an age of apostasy. St. Augustine equated the "thousand years" of Rev 20 with the Sabbath Millennium discussed by the Early Church Fathers. A week of millennia which would last from the biblical date of creation right up to the end-time itself. The Early Church Fathers had calculated this period from the Greek text of the Bible to end around the year 500AD; but as I note in my book, this period can be accurately dated to around the turn of the 20th century, once we take into account St. Bede the Venerable's recalibration of the chronology of the Bible, which he did by using the original Hebrew text. <br /><br />In my previous blog post <a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/the-sign-of-jonah-and-binding-of-satan.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Sign of Jonah and the Binding of Satan</span></a>, I have already detailed how the Sign of Jonah was an actual historical event which took place during the ministry of the prophet himself, which consisted of a total solar eclipse that appeared over the site of ancient Nineveh. Known as the Bur Sagale solar eclipse, this event is thought by some theologians to have occurred sometime in and around the prophet's entrance into Nineveh described in Jonah 3, and was pivotal in bringing about the repentance of the ancient Ninevites. It is of crucial significance then that the beginning of the period of Satan's greater power foreseen in the vision of Pope Leo XIII was similarly timed to coincide with a total solar eclipse which traversed the site of ancient Nineveh. This was at the start of the First World War, on 21st August, 1914 - the feast day of Our Lady of Knock. A Marian apparition that specifically announced the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals by the Lamb of Revelation, which sets the entire events of the eschaton into motion with the release of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse described in Rev 5-6:<br /><br /><i>Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”<br /><br />Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying:</i><br /><br /><i>“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.<br />You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." </i><br />(Rev 5:1-10)<br /><br /><i>I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.<br /><br />When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”<br /><br />When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. </i>(Rev 6:1-8)<br /><br />The significance of the Four Living Creatures is key to understanding the meaning of the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals and the unleashing of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In order to unravel the mystery behind this portion of the Apocalypse, we must turn to the Book of Ezekiel. It is here that we find that the Four Living Creatures are closely associated with a very precise location centred on the River Euphrates, which was identified with the Chebar Canal:<br /><br /><i>In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.<br /><br />As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went. As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. And each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.</i><br /><br /><i>Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.</i> (Ezek 1:1-20)<br /><br /> Many theologians have identified the Chebar Canal with the River Khabur in the Deir-ez-Zor district in modern Syria, which became the site of the largest concentration camp during the Armenian Genocide, which was perpetrated at the very start of the First World War in April 1915. Between 1915-1923, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were exterminated by the Turkish government, providing a future template which their close allies the Germans would use to implement the Jewish Holocaust. The key architects of the infrastructure used to exterminate the Jews during the Second World War had witnessed the Armenian Genocide first hand, and directly lifted the systematic slaughter devised by the Turks to annihilate a third of the world's total Jewish population.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I argue in my book, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
are one and the same as the four angels bound at the River Euphrates, who are
released at the opening of the seals of Revelation in order to kill a third of
"the people":</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<i>Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four
horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the
trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So
the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and
the year, were released to kill a third of [the people]. </i>(Rev 9:13-15)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Four Horsemen are released at an exact time which had
been prepared for them, which I propose is one and the same as the period of
the unbinding of Satan at the end of the Sabbath Millennium - which can be
calculated from the text of the Hebrew Bible. We are told that the four angels
that are released in order to kill a third of the people are bound at the River
Euphrates, which we know was the location of Ezekiel's vision of the Four
Living Creatures at the Chebar Canal. And it is the Four Living Creatures who
summon the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at the opening of the first four
seals of the Apocalypse. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is interesting to note that the River Euphrates had been
dammed in the years just preceding the First World War, during the construction
of the Hindiya Barrage between 1911-1913:</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river
Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from
the east.<b><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></sup></b>And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon
and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet,
three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing
signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for
battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a
thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may
not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) And they assembled them at the place
that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. </span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Rev 9:13-14)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The drying up of the Euphrates is mentioned in the same
context as the appearance of the apocalyptic locusts, which occurs at the
opening of the Abyss by the angel given the key to Hades, which ties us back
into the period of the unbinding of Satan described in Rev 20:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star
fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the
bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft
rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were
darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the
earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.</i>
(Rev 9:1-3)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in
his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the
dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a
thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him,
so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years
were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.</i> (Rev 20:1-3)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is no coincidence that the Wright Brothers had began to
develop the first aircraft within a year of Pope Leo XIII's consecration of the
world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1899, which had paved the way for the
world's first military airplane being developed in and around the same time as
the Tunguska event of 1908 - which is the single most famous event of a star
fallen to earth in recorded history. As I argue in my book, the invention of
military aircraft is the most plausible explanation of the symbolism of the
"apocalyptic locusts" which rise at the opening of the Abyss which
takes place at the end of the Millennium of Rev 20. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">All of the above combined prophetic signs indicate that the
end of the Sabbath Millennium discussed by the Early Church Fathers did indeed
coincide with the vision of Pope Leo XIII and the short time of Satan described
in Rev 20. As we shall discuss in more depth in the next post, the fact that
Armenia was the world's first Christian kingdom ties in with the prophetic
symbolism of the Kingdom of God as the kerygma of Jesus' ministry. The
proclamation of coming of the Kingdom and Christ's casting out of unclean
spirits was the ultimate sign of the binding of Satan and the inauguration of
the millennial reign of Christ through the victory achieved at the Cross at Calvary. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons,
then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong
man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then
indeed he may plunder his house.</i> (Matt 12:29-30)</span></div>
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Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com76tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-37949304601849947292018-03-20T22:41:00.000+00:002018-03-20T22:41:02.869+00:00Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Puerto RicoThe following blog post was written by Carlos Caso-Rosendi, who is one of the most knowledgeable writers out there on the subject of Catholic eschatology:<br />
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TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: The following is an account of the events surrounding an alleged apparition of Our Blessed Mother in Puerto Rico. Should these events be approved by the Church as worthy of belief, that would be the only continuous apparition of Our Lady ever, lasting from 1899 until 1909, beginning shortly after the end of the Spanish American War of 1898. The events described below took place in an isolated mountainous area in Puerto Rico at a time when communications to and from the island were few. <strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111;">Carlos Caso-Rosendi</strong></div>
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The Holy Mountain (Santa Montaña), altitude: 2,226 ft above sea level, in the Espino neighborhood of the Municipality of San Lorenzo, is a locality near where the municipalities of San Lorenzo, Patillas and Cayey meet. This mountainous region is located within a natural reserve—the <em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: &quot; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Carite Forest</em>—which consists of about 6,400 acres of tropical rain forest that are part of the Sierra of Cayey. As of 1954 and by mandate of the government of Puerto Rico—for all official purposes, including cartography—<em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: &quot; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Cerro Las Peñas</em> (The Stones Hill) was named <em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: &quot; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Cerro de Nuestra Madre</em> (Our Mother’s Hill).</div>
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The <em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: &quot; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Our Lady of Mt Carmel Diocesan Sanctuary</em>, is located at the top of <em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: &quot; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">La Santa Montaña</em> in Puerto Rico. It was built and dedicated in 1985 by the bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Caguas, Monsignor Enrique Hernández Rivera. The story of La Santa Montaña begins on August 8, 1899, when the atmospheric phenomenon known as <em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: &quot; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Hurricane San Ciriaco</em> left the island after crossing it diagonally leaving 3,369 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. The losses were estimated by the government at the time in US$35.8 million.</div>
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Read the rest at the below link:</div>
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<a href="https://casorosendi.wordpress.com/2018/03/19/our-lady-of-mount-carmel-in-puerto-rico/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">https://casorosendi.wordpress.com/2018/03/19/our-lady-of-mount-carmel-in-puerto-rico/</span></a></div>
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<br />Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com58tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-41007022020035459562018-03-15T22:03:00.000+00:002020-04-14T10:26:48.416+01:00Update on the Heretical Ministry of Fr. Joseph IannuzziJust a few days after my last blog post concerning several questionable elements of the ministry of Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi, the superior general of the Oblates of St. Joseph (OSJ), Fr. Michele Piscopo, issued a letter to clarify that he actually does have permission for a leave of absence. This letter appeared on a website run by a group called the "3rd order of Benedictine Oblates of the Divine Will", which is basically a front for the Divine Will Movement. <br />
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<a href="https://www.queenofthedivinewill.org/father-iannuzzi-slandered-our-response/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">https://www.queenofthedivinewill.org/father-iannuzzi-slandered-our-response/</span></a><br />
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This is quite a turnaround from the email concerning Fr. Iannuzzi's ministry which was written by Fr. Giacondo Antonio Bronzini, the secretary general of the OSJ, which was sent to Prof. Robert Fastiggi of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. Prof. Fastiggi has given me permission to reveal that he was the academic source who had received the below email from Fr. Bronzini, which detailed how problematic Fr. Iannuzzi has been for the OSJ during the course of several years:<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">Egregio Signore, pace e bene.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">P. Joseph Iannuzzi ha chiesto più volte l'esclaustrazione,
passando da una diocesi (o comunità religiosa) a un'altra, rendendo
praticamente impossibile controllarne la condotta. Da parte sua, da anni non dà
<span id="m_-1302174992225988836m_-63079047345686375yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1516641499035_2886" style="display: inline !important; float: none; margin: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;">ai
Superiori </span>relazione delle sue attività. Attualmente è fuori comunità
senza permesso. Distinti saluti, p. Giocondo A. Bronzini, segretario generale
OSJ. </span></div>
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Fr Joseph Iannuzzi has asked many times for exclaustration, moving from one diocese (or religious community) to another, making it practically impossible to control his conduct. For his part, for years he has not given the Superiors report of his activities. He is currently outside the community without permission.</span><br />
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Yours sincerely, </span><br />
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p. Giocondo A. Bronzini, OSJ general secretary. </span><br />
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Fr. Piscopo's response to this revelation from Fr. Bronzini is rather a rather curious contradiction of the above communication received by Prof. Fastiggi, and shows that there are some mysterious goings on in the OSJ concerning Fr. Iannuzzi's problematic ministry. It is of course impossible to know what is going on behind the scenes here, but it seems likely that Fr. Iannuzzi was either only given permission in retrospect, or Fr. Bronzini was simply unaware that he was actually granted permission from Fr. Piscopo to leave the community. Either way, Fr. Bronzini's response to Prof. Fastiggi is rather telling that Fr. Iannuzzi is viewed as a major problem by the highest ranking members of the curia of his religious congregation. </div>
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I have it on high authority that Fr. Iannuzzi is not currently on the directory of priests in the USA, so he is currently operating without faculties away from his religious congregation, and he basically answers to no one. This explains why he is promoting the works of Vassula Ryden with impunity, even though the CDF have issued a notification against her writings. There is still the glaring problem that his various books and seminars promote an heretical concept of the Millennium of Rev 20 which adopts the millenarian eschatology of Medieval Abbot Joachim de Fiore, whose works were condemned by the Church - most notably by St. Thomas Aquinas. </div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: &quot; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; text-shadow: none;">I answer that,</strong> The state of the world may change in two ways. In one way, according to a change of <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09053a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">law</a>: and thus no other state will succeed this state of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06655b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">New Law</a>. Because the state of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06655b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">New Law</a> succeeded the state of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10582c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Old Law</a>, as a more perfect <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09053a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">law</a> a less perfect one. Now no state of the present life can be more perfect that the state of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06655b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">New Law</a>: since nothing can approach nearer to the last end than that which is the immediate <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03459a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">cause</a> of our being brought to the last end. But the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06655b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">New Law</a> does this: wherefore the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Apostle</a> says (<a href="http://www.newadvent.org/bible/heb010.htm#verse19" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Hebrews 10:19-22</a>): "Having therefore, brethren, a confidence in the entering into the Holies by the blood of <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Christ</a>, a new . . . way which He hath dedicated for us . . . let us draw near." Therefore no state of the present life can be more perfect than that of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06655b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">New Law</a>, since the nearer a thing is to the last end the more perfect it is.
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: &quot; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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In another way the state of <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09580c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">mankind</a> may change according as <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09580c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">man</a> stands in relation to one and the same <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09053a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">law</a> more or less perfectly. And thus the state of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10582c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Old Law</a> underwent frequent changes, since at times the laws were very well kept, and at other times were altogether unheeded. Thus, too, the state of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06655b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">New Law</a> is subject to change with regard to various places, times, and <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11726a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">persons</a>, according as the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06689a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">grace</a> of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Holy Ghost</a> dwells in <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09580c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">man</a> more or less perfectly. Nevertheless we are not to look forward to a state wherein <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09580c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">man</a> is to possess the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06689a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">grace</a> of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Holy Ghost</a> more perfectly than he has possessed it hitherto, especially the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01626c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">apostles</a> who "received the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06082a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">firstfruits</a> of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Spirit</a>, i.e. sooner and more abundantly than others," as a <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06586a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">gloss</a> expounds on <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/bible/rom008.htm#verse23" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Romans 8:23</a>.
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: &quot; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; text-shadow: none;">Reply to Objection 1.</strong> As <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05013a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Dionysius</a> says (Eccl. Hier. v), there is a threefold state of <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09580c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">mankind</a>; the first was under the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10582c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Old Law</a>; the second is that of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06655b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">New Law</a>; the third will take place not in this life, but in <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07170a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">heaven</a>. But as the first state is figurative and imperfect in comparison with the state of the Gospel; so is the present state figurative and imperfect in comparison with the heavenly state, with the advent of which the present state will be done away as expressed in that very passage (<a href="http://www.newadvent.org/bible/1co013.htm#verse12" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">1 Corinthians 13:12</a>): "We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face."
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: &quot; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; text-shadow: none;">Reply to Objection 2.</strong> As <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02084a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Augustine</a> says (Contra Faust. xix, 31), Montanus and Priscilla pretended that <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Our Lord's</a> promise to give the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Holy Ghost</a> was fulfilled, not in the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01626c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">apostles</a>, but in themselves. In like manner the Manicheans maintained that it was fulfilled in Manes whom they held to be the Paraclete. Hence none of the above received the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01117a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Acts of the Apostles</a>, where it is clearly shown that the aforesaid promise was fulfilled in the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01626c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">apostles</a>: just as <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Our Lord</a> promised them a second time (<a href="http://www.newadvent.org/bible/act001.htm#verse5" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Acts 1:5</a>): "You shall be <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">baptized</a> with the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Holy Ghost</a>, not many days hence": which we read as having been fulfilled in <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/bible/act002.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Acts 2</a>. However, these foolish notions are refuted by the statement (<a href="http://www.newadvent.org/bible/joh007.htm#verse39" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">John 7:39</a>) that "as yet the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Spirit</a> was not given, because <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Jesus</a> was not yet glorified"; from which we gather that the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Holy Ghost</a> was given as soon as <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Christ</a> was glorified in His <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12789a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Resurrection</a> and <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01767a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Ascension</a>. Moreover, this puts out of court the senseless <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07630a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">idea</a> that the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Holy Ghost</a> is to be expected to come at some other time.
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Now the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Holy Ghost</a> taught the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01626c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">apostles</a> all <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15073a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">truth</a> in respect of matters <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10733a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">necessary</a> for <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13407a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">salvation</a>; those things, to wit, that we are bound to <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02408b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">believe</a> and to do. But He did not teach them about all future events: for this did not regard them according to <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/bible/act001.htm#verse7" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Acts 1:7</a>: "It is not for you to <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08673a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">know</a> the times or moments which the Father hath put in His own power."
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: &quot; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; text-shadow: none;">Reply to Objection 3.</strong> The <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10582c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Old Law</a> corresponded not only to the Father, but also to the Son: because <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Christ</a> was foreshadowed in the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10582c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Old Law</a>. Hence <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Our Lord</a> said (<a href="http://www.newadvent.org/bible/joh005.htm#verse46" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">John 5:46</a>): "If you did <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02408b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">believe</a> <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10596a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Moses</a>, you would perhaps <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02408b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">believe</a> me also; for he wrote of Me." In like manner the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06655b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">New Law</a> corresponds not only to <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Christ</a>, but also to the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Holy Ghost</a>; according to <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/bible/rom008.htm#verse2" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Romans 8:2</a>: "The Law of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Spirit</a> of life in <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Christ Jesus</a>," etc. Hence we are not to look forward to another <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09053a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">law</a> corresponding to the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Holy Ghost</a>.
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<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; text-shadow: none;">Reply to Objection 4.</strong> Since <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Christ</a> said at the very outset of the preaching of the Gospel: "The <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08646a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">kingdom of heaven</a> is at hand" (<a href="http://www.newadvent.org/bible/mat004.htm#verse17" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Matthew 4:17</a>), it is most absurd to say that the Gospel of <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Christ</a> is not the Gospel of the kingdom. But the preaching of the Gospel of <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Christ</a> may be understood in two ways. First, as denoting the spreading abroad of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08673a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">knowledge</a> of Christ: and thus the Gospel was preached throughout the world even at the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14726a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">time</a> of the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01626c.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">apostles</a>, as <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08452b.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Chrysostom</a> states (Hom. lxxv in Matth.). And in this sense the words that follow--"and then shall the consummation come," refer to the destruction of Jerusalem, of which He was speaking literally. Secondly, the preaching of the Gospel may be understood as extending throughout the world and producing its full effect, so that, to wit, the <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03744a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Church</a> would be founded in every nation. And in these sense, as <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02084a.htm" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #7c4dff; font-weight: 500; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Augustine</a> writes to Hesychius (Epist. cxcix), the Gospel is not preached to the whole world yet, but, when it is, the consummation of the world will come.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Summa</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Theologica</span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i>(I-II, Q. cvi, a. 4)</span></span></div>
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It was St. Thomas Aquinas who most forcefully condemned the millenarian worldview, which Cardinal Ratzinger described as the idea of an intra-historical fulfilment of the hope which lies only beyond the eschatological judgement. The most dangerous aspect of millenarianism has long been recognized as the fact that this worldview ultimately leads to the development of extreme, revolutionary types of ideologies, which ultimately culminated in the concentration camps and gulags of the 20th century. As the world-renowned millenarian expert Marjorie Reeves notes:</div>
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"... <i>although the implicit danger was only slowly realized, once the point had been grasped that the Joachimist hope provided a dangerously revolutionary basis for action, the doctrine of the third status was attacked far more energetically than Joachim's formulation on the Trinity</i>". (Marjorie Reeves, <i>The Influence of Prophecy in the Later Middle Ages</i>, p129)</div>
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It is these secular forms of millenarianism which the Catechism most forcefully condemns. Fr. Iannuzzi and his followers attempt to evade the charge of millenarianism by equating it solely with the doctrine of ancient Chiliasm. This is simply untrue, since the secular forms of millenarianism are singled out for the greatest condemnation in the Catechism. Not whether or not there will be some odd, ethereal form of the Second Coming of Christ for an earthly millennial reign, and that by posing a "spiritual millennium", that the followers of Fr. Iannuzzi can escape the charge of millenarianism. Joachim de Fiore similarly posed an "Age of the Spirit" rather than an coming of a reign of Christ in the Flesh, and was condemned for this idea long ago. </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time
the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only
be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgement. the Church has
rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under
the name of millenarianism,</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> especially the "intrinsically
perverse" political form of a secular messianism. </i>(CCC 676)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Cardinal Ratzinger gave a detailed overview of the problems posed by the millenarian worldview in his book <i>Eschatology</i>, which helps to further flesh out his thought when he helped to compose the Catechism:</span></div>
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"<i>The expectation of a wholly just world is by no means a product of technological thought. It is rooted, rather, Judaeo-Christian spirituality. Over against the despair that in all epochs present suffering and injustice occasioned, other cultures defended themselves by invoking such ideas as those of the eternal return or liberation in Nirvana. The contrasting idea of a definitive future salvation, while not exclusively restricted to the Judaeo-Christian sphere, received its most powerful and penetrating formulation there. </i></div>
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<i><br />The marked intra-worldly character which this idea assumed in the Old Testament led in early Christian times to the supplementing of the transcendent hope for the Kingdom of God by the notion of chiliasm: a thousand-year-long reign of Christ and those who are first to rise with him. The question of the earthly realisation of the promise which this notion suggested became a burning issue for Western Christianity through the work of Joaichim of Fiore - whom we met at the outset of this book. Joachim was convinced that God's plan for his human creatures could triumph only if it also succeeded on earth. It seemed to follow, then, that the time of the Church, as men have experienced it since the apostles, cannot be the definitive form of salvation. Joachim transformed the earlier periodization of history, which reflected the seven days of the week, into the idea of a multiplicand: history contains three times seven days. This he did by linking the venerable inherited schema with the doctrine of the Trinity. In this way, it appeared to be possible to calculate the third "week" of history, the time of the Holy Spirit. <br /><br />The immanence of this third age created the obligation to work towards it: something Joachim tried to do through his monastic foundations. The mingling of rational planning with suprarational goals, already observable in the Old Testament and in Judaism, now receives systematic form. It will soon slough off the spiritual dreams of Abbot Joachim and emerge into the political history of Europe, where it will take the form of the messianism through planning. Such planned messianism became ever more fascinating as the potential of planning waxed and religion waned, through continuing, inevitably, to form human motives and hopes. Hegel's logic of history and Marx's historical scheme are the end products of these beginnings. These messianic goals in which Marxism's fascination lies rest upon a faulty underlying synthesis of religion and reason. For planning is now directed to goals which are quite disproportionate to planning methods. And so both the goal and the planning suffer shipwreck. <br /><br />"As early as the patristic Church, steps were taken to eliminate chiliasm through an effort to preserve biblical tradition in its proper form. The Joachimist dispute filled the thirteenth century and, in part, the fourteenth also, ending with a renewed rejection of this particular form of hope for the future. The present-day theologies of liberation belong in this context. But just why did the Church reject that chiliasm which would allow one to take up the practical task of realizing on earth parousia-like conditions. The rejection of chiliasm meant that the Church repudiated the idea of a definitive intra-historical fulfilment, an inner, intrinsic perfectibility of history. On the contrary, it affirms the impossibility of an inner fulfilment of the world. This is, indeed, the common content shared by the various fragmentary pictures of the end of the world offered us by Scripture. The biblical representation of the End rejects the expectation of a definitive state of salvation within history. This position is also rationally correct, since the idea of a definitive intra-historical fulfilment fails to take into account the permanent openness of history and of human freedom, for which failure is always a possibility. In the last resort, such neo-chiliasm expresses a profound anthropological perversion. Human salvation is not to be expected from the moral dignity of man, from the deepest level of his moral personality. Rather we are to set our hopes for it on planning mechanisms, marginal to the authentically human though these may be. The values which sustain the world are turned upside down. A planned salvation would be the salvation proper to a concentration camp and so the end of humanity.<br /><br />Faith in Christ’s return is, therefore, in the first place the rejection of an intra-historical perfectibility of the world. Precisely in this negative aspect, it is also the preservation of humanity against those who would dehumanize man. Of course, if this thesis-which in itself is, in any case, rationally evident-were to stand alone, then the last word would be with a posture of resigned acquiescence. And so, over and above this preliminary statement, we must add that faith in Christ’s return is also the certitude that the world will, indeed come to its perfection, not through rational planning but through that indestructible love which triumphed in the risen Christ. Faith in Christ’s return is faith that, in the end, truth will judge and love will conquer. Naturally, this victory is won only when we take a step beyond history as we know it, a step further for which history itself yearns. The historical process can only be perfected beyond itself It is where this insight is accepted, where history is lived in the direction of its own self-transcendence, that in each and every case the process of history is thrown open to its fulfilment. Thereby, reason receives its due place, and the duty to act according to measure. Simultaneously, hope also enters into its proper realm, and is not exhausted on the laboratory counter. <br /><br />The world’s salvation rests on the transcending of the world in its worldly aspect. The risen Christ constitutes the living certainty that this process of the world’s self-transcendence, without which the world remains absurd, does not lead into the void. The Easter Jesus is our certainty that history can be lived in a positive way, and that our finite and feeble rational activity has a meaning. In this perspective, the “antichrist” is the unconditional enclosure of history within its own logic – the supreme antithesis to the Man with the opened side, of whom the author of the Apocalypse wrote: <br />Behold he is coming with clouds,<br />And every eye will see him."</i><br />
(Ratzinger, J. <i>Eschatology: Death and Eternal Hope</i>, pp211-214)</div>
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Dealing with the millenarian eschatology espoused by Fr. Iannuzzi remains the single greatest problem which Fr. Piscopo is still duty-bound to address. Explaining the existence of his various business interests and dealings in property is only a secondary issue, and one which I have only recently brought to light. The fact is that Fr. Iannuzzi is widely revered as the intellectual guru of the Divine Will Movement. His ministry is a serious problem which has long since spiralled out of control, and his writings now need to be properly condemned by the Church as millenarian heresy. </div>
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The false idea that I am writing under a pseudonym, and various other strange allegations made against me are a bizarre attempt to discredit my work. The fact that I studied divinity at a secular institute cannot be used against me at all. I simply didn't have the time nor money to travel all the way to Maynooth to study theology. My degree is a Batchelor of Divinity (which includes the study of biblical languages), not Batchelor of Arts. The page posted on the website "Benedictine Oblates of the Divine Will" is just a very weird ad hominin attack against me to distract from my very serious findings on the destructive priestly ministry of Fr. Iannuzzi, which now looks like it could turn into one of the biggest scandals to hit the Catholic Church in several years.<br />
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Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-32947551318626073492018-02-11T14:13:00.004+00:002018-03-13T08:17:41.903+00:00The Oblates of St. Joseph on Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi <br />
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As long time readers of this blog will know, both myself and English author Stephen Walford have repeatedly encountered a very vocal opposition to our respective works on eschatology, which directly stems from the followers of Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi (see <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/st-augustine-vs-fr-iannuzzi.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>). In the aftermath of Fr. Iannuzzi's attempt to take legal action against me in April 2017, I decided to investigate him in greater detail, and over the course of the past year, I have turned up some rather unsettling findings. Fr. Iannuzzi had originally threatened to take legal action against me for publishing a letter from the Archbishop of Trani on my blog which confirmed that he had breached the moratorium which was placed on the writings of Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta (see the posts on this subject <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/archbishop-of-trani-confirms-fr-joseph.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a> and <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/update-on-status-of-writings-of-fr.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>). <br />
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Although he was at one time associated with the Oblates of St. Joseph (OSJ), I have recently discovered that Fr. Iannuzzi has been operating outside of his religious community for a number of years without the permission of his superiors, and has refused to give a report of his activities for an extensive period of time. I had recently asked Professor Robert Fastiggi to attempt to contact the major superior of the OSJ, Fr. Michele Piscopo. Although we have yet to hear from Fr. Piscopo himself, the general secretary of the OSJ gave the following response concerning Fr. Iannuzzi's standing within his own religious order:<br />
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Egregio Signore, pace e bene.<br />
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P. Joseph Iannuzzi ha chiesto più volte l'esclaustrazione, passando da una diocesi (o comunità religiosa) a un'altra, rendendo praticamente impossibile controllarne la condotta. Da parte sua, da anni non dà ai Superiori relazione delle sue attività. Attualmente è fuori comunità senza permesso. Distinti saluti, p. Giocondo A. Bronzini, segretario generale OSJ. </div>
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Dear Sir, peace and goodness.<br />
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Fr Joseph Iannuzzi has asked many times for exclaustration, moving from one diocese (or religious community) to another, making it practically impossible to control his conduct. For his part, for years he has not given the Superiors report of his activities. He is currently outside the community without permission.<br />
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Yours sincerely, <br />
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p. Giocondo A. Bronzini, OSJ general secretary. <br />
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So even before his departure from the OSJ without the permission of his religious superiors, Fr. Iannuzzi had repeatedly sought exclaustration in order to flit between dioceses or religious communities, so that he could diffuse his own unique brand of Catholic eschatology as widely as possible. This was facilitated by organising and participating in Marian conferences that were largely unregulated by the local dioceses, and simultaneously driven by an unhealthy undercurrent of spurious private revelations. The iterant nature of his ministry, which he ensured was largely unregulated by his religious community for several years before his departure, meant that his conduct was practically impossible to control by his religious superiors or the local ordinaries of the dioceses in which he was operating. <br />
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Fr. Iannuzzi has a number of books on Catholic eschatology which are published by St. Andrew’s Productions in the diocese of Pittsburgh, which do not bear the imprimi potest of his religious superior or carry the imprimatur or nihil obstat of the competent ecclesiastical authority. This is obviously because of the heretical nature of the eschatological views he espouses throughout his works, which are centred around his interpretation of the theme of “living in the Divine Will”, as contained in the writings of Luisa Piccarreta. Iannuzzi uses the concept of “living in the Divine Will” to explain how evil will completely cease to exist on earth during his millenarian vision of the Millennium of Revelation 20. Iannuzzi exploits this concept in order to negate the biggest shortcoming of his expectation of such an extreme utopian society, which is completely opposed to the permanent reality of human freewill. The Church clearly teaches that evil will continue to exist on earth as long as humankind has free choice and the capacity to make their own decisions. As the conciliar document Gaudiem et spes states:<br />
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<i>Sacred Scripture teaches the human family what the experience of the ages confirms: that while human progress is a great advantage to man, it brings with it a strong temptation. For when the order of values is jumbled and bad is mixed with the good, individuals and groups pay heed solely to their own interests, and not to those of others. Thus it happens that the world ceases to be a place of true brotherhood. In our own day, the magnified power of humanity threatens to destroy the race itself.<br /><br />For a monumental struggle against the powers of darkness pervades the whole history of man. The battle was joined from the very origins of the world and will continue until the last day, as the Lord has attested. Caught in this conflict, man is obliged to wrestle constantly if he is to cling to what is good, nor can he achieve his own integrity without great efforts and the help of God's grace. <br /><br />That is why Christ's Church, trusting in the design of the Creator, acknowledges that human progress can serve man's true happiness, yet she cannot help echoing the Apostle's warning: "Be not conformed to this world" (Rom. 12:2). Here by the world is meant that spirit of vanity and malice which transforms into an instrument of sin those human energies intended for the service of God and man. </i><br />
<br />
(Gaudium et spes 37).<br />
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The concept of a future earthly millennial kingdom of the resurrected saints has been widely proliferated in American society and beyond within some circles of Catholicism and Fr. Iannuzzi’s academic credentials have elevated him to the leadership role in this nascent millenarian cult, which has been loosely termed as the "Divine Will Movement". This attempt to equate the period of peace promised by Our Lady of Fatima with an entire epoch of earthly material bliss after an invisible "middle coming" of Christ to reign in the Eucharist, is directly modelled on the eschatology of Joachim de Fiore, which was vehemently opposed by St. Thomas Aquinas (see <i>Summa Theologica </i>I-II, Q. cvi, a. 4) and was condemned by the Church in the Middle Ages.<br />
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Fr. Iannuzzi threatened to litigate me in April last year for exposing the fact that he had breached a moratorium on the writings of Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. This threat of legal action came almost immediately after I had published a letter from Archbishop Pichierri confirming his breach of this moratorium on my blog. Fr. Iannuzzi uses Piccarreta’s writings in order to support his own Joachite/millenarian views on the interpretation of Rev 20. <br />
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After receiving this threat of legal action, I decided to be very careful, and conducted a considerable amount of research on Fr. Iannuzzi before publishing any other details on his rather troubling ministry. During the course of this research, I have discovered that Fr. Iannuzzi has a number of private business interests, including one in Jacksonville Florida operating under the name “<a href="http://www.sojmj.com/Trinity/Start.htm"><span style="color: #e06666;">Missionaries of the Holy Trinity</span></a>”. The listings for this site found elsewhere on the internet cites Fr. Iannuzzi as the business owner, and it is clear that this is a civilly organised operation, in no way affiliated with the local diocese. He conducts this business operation from a property he has apparently privately owned in Jacksonville for a number of years. The content of the books he has published are heretical in nature, and as such, do not bear the imprimi potest of his religious superior in the Oblates of St. Joseph.<br />
<br />
The influence of these books in North America has been vast, reaching perhaps hundreds of thousands through his various disciples who have a notable presence on Catholic social media. As such, Fr. Iannuzzi can rightly be labelled as the de facto leader of the largest millenarian cult currently operating with impunity in the modern Catholic Church.<br />
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Fr. Iannuzzi also owns a separate property at the compound of the <a href="http://www.spiritdaily.net/refuges.htm"><span style="color: #e06666;">Companions of Christ the Lamb</span></a><span style="color: #e06666;"> </span>in Paradise, Michigan, from where he conducts a separate business interest called “<a href="http://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=OfficerRegisteredAgentName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=IANNUZZIJOSEPH%20N000000077731&aggregateId=domnp-n00000007773-5d095978-9cd6-4203-aa47-48435df3c903&searchTerm=Iannuzzi%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20John&listNameOrder=IANNUZZIJOHN%207395635"><span style="color: #e06666;">The Association of Priests, Inc</span></a>”. If you click through the various annual reports of this organisation, you can see that Fr. Iannuzzi had originally used the same lawyer during the formation period of this business operation who he used to threaten both myself and Archbishop Pichierri - one Eric L. Hearn (see <a href="http://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ConvertTiffToPDF?storagePath=COR%5C2001%5C0612%5C70340537.tif&documentNumber=N00000007773"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>). This particular legal document dates way back to June 2001.<br />
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I contacted Bishop Doerfler of the diocese of Marquette about Fr. Iannuzzi's activities at the compound of the the Companions of Christ the Lamb, and he responded that he had no knowledge that Fr. Iannuzzi was the owner of a property there, or that he was conducting a private business operation from it. Bishop Doerfler confirmed that Fr. Iannuzzi had served in Marquette diocese for a short while between 2005-2006, but that was the extent of his knowledge about his ministry there. So why exactly does Fr. Iannuzzi still own a property in Marquette diocese if it has no knowledge of his activities there? And why is this private business organisation called "Association of Priest, Inc" organised at this address?<br />
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<br />
As you can see from the annual reports linked to above, this business was previously located in Jacksonville, FL. Whilst the "Association of Priests, Inc" was in operation in Florida, it bought and sold a number of properties. The “Association of Priests, Inc” otherwise known as the “Association of Priests Corporation”, also lists Fr. Iannuzzi as its owner/operator. The Association of Priests, Inc was registered as a tax-exempt charitable organisation by the IRS (see <a href="https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/pub78Search.do;jsessionid=JnD2lKXRuDDTXjb7H4O-TYD6lbwjVSaCuD0PuscG.-?indexOfFirstRow=8900&zipCode=&country=US&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=searchCharities&isDescending=true&city=&ein1=&postDateFrom=&exemptTypeCode=&sortColumn=city&totalResults=13271&names=Florida+Coalition+of+Independent+Jewish+Congregations&resultsPerPage=100&indexOfFirstRow=8800&postDateTo=&searchChoice=pub78&state=FL"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>). Bizarrely, the following official LINCC site lists the Association of Priests Inc as a Protestant organisation headed by Fr. Iannuzzi, and stipulates that it was generating a yearly revenue of over $100,000 (see <a href="http://www.communityplatform.us/communityplatform/nla/organization/profile/id/593712648/popup/1#programs"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>). For example the tax form found <a href="http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/593/593712648/593712648_200212_990.pdf"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a> shows that Fr. Iannuzzi's Association of Priests, Inc pulled in net assets of $140,766 in 2002. In 2003 it was $123,337 (<a href="http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/593/593712648/593712648_200312_990.pdf"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>). In 2004 $101,763 (<a href="http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/593/593712648/593712648_200412_990.pdf"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>). He then started reporting losses in 2005 with net assets dropping to $34,121 (<a href="http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/593/593712648/593712648_200512_990.pdf"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>), around the same time he shifted to Marquette diocese. <br />
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<br />
The following site <a href="https://cdn.vcapps.org/sites/default/files/upload/VCEP%20Form%20990%20FY2015%20-%20Public%20Disclosure%20(No%20Sched%20B%20with%20Grant%20listing)%20-%20FINAL.pdf"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a> shows that the Association of Priests Inc was given a grant of $10,000 sometime around the year 2015 by the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, which may be indicative that it receives such a grant on a yearly basis. This other website <a href="https://cdn.vcapps.org/sites/default/files/upload/VCEP_-_2015_FORM_990_Public_Disclosure_Copy.pdf"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a> shows that it was given two separate grants of $12,000 and $10,000 in 2016. I have asked Bishop Doerfler to investigate this matter further, since his diocese is not benefiting in any way from these charitable grants.<br />
<br />
The fact that Iannuzzi is conducting such a destructive priestly ministry without the permission or regulation of any ecclesiastical authorities is an enormous concern. Especially when this ministry is pulling in revenue from a variety of sources, including online donations, attending seminars and book and DVD sales. This revenue appears to enable Fr. Iannuzzi to travel all over the world in order to promote his millenarian eschatology to thousands of unsuspecting Catholics who are unfamiliar with the actual teachings of the Church on this matter. He does so at various Marian conferences or talkshops in religious communities, and frequently travels with Vassula Ryden in order to support her ministry, despite the fact that the CDF issued a notification against her in 1995 for espousing millenarianism (see <a href="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19951006_ryden_en.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a> and <a href="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070125_vassula-ryden_en.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>). <br />
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The disturbing nature of Fr. Iannuzzi’s renegade priestly ministry, combined with the sheer fanaticism of his followers presents a very grave concern. This situation has gone on for way too long, and now needs to face proper public scrutiny. Why has this priest been allowed to act with impunity for so long without being condemned by the relevant Church authorities? The fact that he has created such a cult following for himself is deeply troubling, and the sooner the various heresies he espouses are finally addressed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith the better. </div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span>Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-19003134065779458942018-01-29T14:28:00.002+00:002018-01-29T14:47:25.798+00:00Pastor Steve Ciocciolanti on the Rev 8:8 Mega-tsumami Hypothesis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qaRiIzkpTyw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qaRiIzkpTyw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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I just recently noticed that Pastor Steve Ciocciolanti had covered some of my material on the potential Cumbre Vieja mega-tsunami event on 25th September, 2017. My material is mentioned in the above video around the 19 minute mark. Pastor Steve is one of the most intelligent and popular Protestant prophecy preachers in the English speaking world, so it is quite flattering that he referenced my work just before the expiration of the "40 day countdown" related to the Great American Solar Eclipse. <br />
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It was Pastor Steve who brought Pastor Mark Biltz's obvious plagiarism of my 2016 blog post <a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/the-sign-of-jonah-and-binding-of-satan.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Sign of Jonah and the Binding of Satan</span></a>, which connected the 2017 eclipse to the Sign of Jonah to wider attention (see <a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/vindication-on-nineveh-eclipses-theory.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>). The above video has near 200,000 views, which is quite a lot as far as YouTube videos go. As regular readers here will know, I have noted how this event can be associated with various apocalyptic portions of Scripture depicting a burning mountain being thrown into the sea - most notably in Rev 8:8. Just a few weeks after the above video was shown, the volcanic island of Cumbre Vieja began to experience a seismic swarm on 7th October, 2017 (the Feast of the Holy Rosary), which sparked widespread fears of an imminent eruption (see <a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/la-palma-and-burning-mountain-of.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>). Thankfully, the world was spared from the threat of chastisement signalled by the 40-day countdown beginning with the Great American Solar Eclipse, which happened to coincide with one of the most intense periods in recent history. This included the world being brought to its nearest point to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. <br />
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As I have repeatedly argued over the course of the past few years, the hand of the angel with the flaming sword being stayed by the rays which radiate forth from the hands of the Blessed Virgin in the Third Secret of Fatima represents the world being spared from nuclear chastisement. I am convinced that we were only spared from the threat of chastisement last year through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, to whom we must constantly implore for her perpetual help.<br />
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">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: ‘</span><u style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Penance</u><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, </span><u style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Penance</u><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, </span><u style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Penance</u></i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>!'.</i> (The Third Secret of Fatima)</span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
(I have recently started posting my blog posts on Facebook, so that any of my friends will know whenever I publish an article here. You can <a href="https://www.facebook.com/emmett.oregan"><span style="color: #cc0000;">follow me on Facebook</span></a> by sending me a friend request)Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-14110183498496443802018-01-06T20:17:00.003+00:002018-01-07T00:49:19.069+00:00Pope St. Pius X on the Indefectibility of the Church and the Prophecies of St. John Bosco<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIbhyphenhyphenvddlbnSYcUi5JFD79Db5jqxSxlT9ZoTlgF3JVERk_PNVUOaMiDowV6gwnQYYCQkue1HqEMK43PwsT53JX__V6mDpdcIqGrIWRqZhEH240EVVMKnPxV6CIW9E1uzCp0atzGcdP1Q/s1600/pope-saint-pius-x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIbhyphenhyphenvddlbnSYcUi5JFD79Db5jqxSxlT9ZoTlgF3JVERk_PNVUOaMiDowV6gwnQYYCQkue1HqEMK43PwsT53JX__V6mDpdcIqGrIWRqZhEH240EVVMKnPxV6CIW9E1uzCp0atzGcdP1Q/s320/pope-saint-pius-x.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"<i>When Gregory assumed the Supreme Pontificate the disorder in public affairs had
reached its climax; the ancient civilization had all but disappeared and barbarism was
spreading throughout the dominions of the crumbling Roman Empire. Italy, abandoned by the
Emperors of Byzantium, had been left a prey of the still unsettled Lombards who roamed up
and down the whole country laying waste everywhere with fire and sword and bringing
desolation and death in their train. This very city, threatened from without by its
enemies, tried from within by the scourges of pestilence, floods and famine, was reduced
to such a miserable plight that it had become a problem how to keep the breath of life in
the citizens and in the immense multitudes who flocked hither for refuge. Here were to be
found men and women of all conditions, bishops and priests carrying the sacred vessels
they had saved from plunder, monks and innocent spouses of Christ who had sought safety in
flight from the swords of the enemy or from the brutal insults of abandoned men. Gregory
himself calls the Church of Rome: "An old ship woefully shattered; for the waters are
entering on all sides, and the joints, buffeted by the daily stress of the storm, are
growing rotten and herald shipwreck" (Registrum i., 4 ad Joannem episcop.
Constantino.). But the pilot raised up by God had a strong hand, and when placed at the
helm succeeding not only in making the port in despite of the raging seas, but in saving
the vessel from future storms..."</i></span></div>
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<i>"These memories, Venerable Brethren, are a source of unspeakable comfort to Us. When
We glance around from the walls of the Vatican We find that like Gregory, and perhaps with
even more reason than he, We have grounds for fear, with so many storms gathering on every
side, with so many hostile forces massed and advancing against Us, and at the same time so
utterly deprived are We of all human aid to ward off the former and to help us to meet the
shock of the latter. But when We consider the place on which Our feet rest and on which
this Pontifical See is rooted, We feel Ourself perfectly safe on the rock of Holy Church.
"For who does not know," wrote St. Gregory to the Patriarch Eulogius of
Alexandria, "that Holy Church stands on the solidity of the Prince of the Apostles,
who got his name from his firmness, for he was called Peter from the word rock? (Registr.
vii. 37 (40)). Supernatural force has never during the flight of ages been found wanting
in the Church, nor have Christ's promises failed; these remain today just as they were
when they brought consolation to Gregory's heart—nay, they are endowed with even
greater force for Us after having stood the test of centuries and so many changes of
circumstances and events.</i></div>
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<i>Kingdoms and empires have passed away; peoples once renowned for their history and
civilization have disappeared; time and again the nations, as though overwhelmed by the
weight of years, have fallen asunder; while the Church, <u>indefectible in her essence</u>,
united by ties indissoluble with her heavenly Spouse, is here to-day radiant with eternal
youth, strong with the same primitive vigor with which she came from the Heart of Christ
dead upon the Cross. Men powerful in the world have risen up against her. They have
disappeared, and she remains. Philosophical systems without number, of every form and
every kind, rose up against her, arrogantly vaunting themselves her masters, as though
they had at last destroyed the doctrine of the Church, refuted the dogmas of her faith,
proved the absurdity of her teachings. But those systems, one after another, have passed
into books of history, forgotten, bankrupt; while from the Rock of Peter the light of
truth shines forth as brilliantly as on the day when Jesus first kindled it on His
appearance in the world, and fed it with His Divine words: "Heaven and earth shall
pass, but my words shall not pass" (Matth. xxiv. 35).</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>We, strengthened by this faith, firmly established on this rock, realizing to the
full all the heavy duties that the Primacy imposes on Us—but also all the vigor that
comes to Us from the Divine Will—calmly wait until all the voices be scattered to the
winds that now shout around Us proclaiming that the Church has gone beyond her time, that
her doctrines are passed away for ever, that the day is at hand when she will be condemned
either to accept the tenets of a godless science and civilization or to disappear from
human society. Yet at the same time We cannot but remind all, great and small, as Pope St.
Gregory did, of the absolute necessity of having recourse to this Church in order to have
eternal salvation, to follow the right road of reason, to feed on the truth, to obtain
peace and even happiness in this life</i>."</span></div>
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Pope St. Pius X, <i>Iucunda sane</i> (Encyclical on Pope St. Gregory the Great), 12th March, 1904, (<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">para 7-9)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, by Rembrant (1633)</span></div>
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The above encyclical of Pope St. Pius X cites an allegory of Pope St. Gregory the Great comparing the Church to the Barque of St. Peter in the midst of a great tempest. This was a deliberate allusion to the accounts of Christ's calming of the storm in the Gospels. Alongside the symbolism of the Battle of Lepanto, this very same theme predominates St. John Bosco's famous prophetic <i>Dream of the Two Pillars</i>. A prophecy which seems to be of especial significance this year, considering the fact that we have a very rare occurrence of a "blue and blood moon" on 31st January this year - which is the feast day of St. John Bosco himself. This is the first occurrence of a "<a href="https://www.space.com/39241-first-blue-moon-total-eclipse-150-years.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">blue and blood moon</span></a>" in over 150 years, and will also appear during yet another "super-moon" phase (the last of three consecutive such appearances), when the moon is at its closest point to earth. </div>
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The last time a "blue and blood moon" lit up the night skies was on 31st March, 1866, while St. John Bosco was still overseeing the construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of Help of Christians in Turin, which wasn't completed until 1868. During its construction, St. John Bosco insisted on incorporating several prophetic elements into the architecture of the Basilica itself, based on the various prophetic dreams and visions he had experienced over the years. The most notable of aspect of these curious additions to the architecture of the Basilica was an allusion to a prophetic date pointing to some time in the 20th century as the moment of another great Marian victory:<br />
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.<i>..additional work on the Church of Mary Help of Christians was in progress. Each of the two belfries flanking the facade was to be surmounted by an angel, nearly eight feet tall, fashioned from gilded wrought copper, according to Don Bosco’s own plan. The angel on the right held a banner…bearing the word “LEPANTO” drilled in large letters through the metal, while the one on the left offered…a laurel wreath to the Blessed Virgin standing atop the dome.<br /> In a previous design, the second angel too held a banner on which the figure “19” was drilled through the metal followed by two dots. It stood for another date, “nineteen hundred,” without the final two numbers to indicate the specific year. Though ultimately, as we have said, a laurel wreath was put into the angel’s hand, we have never forgotten the mysterious date which, in our opinion, pointed to a new triumph of the Madonna. May this come soon and bring all nations under Mary’s mantle.</i><br />
(Lemoyne, <i>Biographical Memoirs</i> IX, p276)</div>
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In an earlier blog post found <a href="https://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/st-john-boscos-prophecy-of-turn-of.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>, I had compiled several pieces of evidence (including the famous dream of the <i>March of the 200 Days</i>) which suggested that the date hinted at in this engraving was the year 1999. The turn of the millennium saw the appearance of a series of astronomical phenomena beginning in 1999 which was identical to the Signs in Heaven described throughout Sacred Scripture. These Signs in Heaven herald the moment when the head of the ancient Serpent is crushed under the feet of the Woman Adorned with the Sun, and Satan is cast down to the earth by the Archangel Michael towards the end of the world, dragging down a third of the heavenly host with him. This is among a clustering of other prophetic signs which mark the end of the period of the short time of Satan - which I argue in my book <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2m0EiNk"><span style="color: #e06666;">Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church</span></a></i>, encompasses a total period of 100-120 years. In my book, I propose that the subdivision of this figure into a separate, yet interrelated and overlapping 100-year and 120-year timeframes was in order to distinguish between the two very distinct prophetic elements contained in chapter twelve of the Apocalypse, which requires us to differentiate between the moment Satan is cast down to earth in great fury towards the end of his period of greater power, and the moment when the flood sent forth from the Dragon's mouth is finally swallowed up. </div>
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Although a great victory is won in heaven at the moment Satan is cast down to earth, the evils brought about as a result of the "short-time" allotted to him continues unabated for another brief duration thereafter (an additional 20 years on top of the century given over to the Devil itself). It is only once the Devil realises that he has been cast down to earth that he sends forth a flood of impurity which threatens to sweep the Woman away:</div>
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<i>Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rev+12&version=ESV#fen-ESV-30886b">b</a>] has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”<br /><br />And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. </i>(Rev 12:7-17)<br />
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Although the end of the century given over to the Devil ends with the victory achieved in Heaven during the Great Jubilee Year of the Incarnation - when the head of the ancient Serpent is crushed under the feet of the Woman Adorned with the Sun, t<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">he true end of the short time of Satan only comes about when the flood spewed forth from the Dragon's mouth is swallowed up by the earth. In my book, I argue that the true beginning of the short time of Satan was at the dawn of the 20th century, after Pope Leo XIII had consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1899 - the same year as an alignment of all seven classical planets. It is these rare alignments of the seven classical planets which I propose is symbolised by the seven stars held in the hands of Christ, which are one and the same as the "<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">keys to death and Hades". The very same keys which are entrusted to the Successors of St. Peter, to determine the final destiny of humanity:</span></span></div>
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<i>In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. </i>(Rev 1:16-18)</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">It thus seems that it is the series of the planetary alignments of all seven classical planets which occur at the end of the Sabbath Millennium discussed by the Early Church Fathers (according to the chronological schema of St. Bede the Venerable), which are singled out for particular importance. The short time given over to Satan at the end of the Sabbath Millennium is made in answer to the demand that Peter is to be sifted like wheat - which is the sister passage in the Gospels to the handing over of the keys:</span></span></div>
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<i>“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”</i> (Luke 22:31-32)<br />
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<i>And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”</i> (Matt 16:18)<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="text Luke-22-34" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="woj" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="text Matt-16-19" id="en-ESV-23691" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "quot"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">It is no coincidence that the vision of the period of Satan's greater power was given to the same Pope whose pontificate would witness the beginning of the period of the sifting of the Successors of St. Peter, when the shaft to the Abyss was opened with the keys of death and Hades:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="text Rev-9-1" id="en-ESV-30826" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30826A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30826A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30826B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30826B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the key to the shaft of <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30826C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30826C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the bottomless pit.</i></span><span class="text Rev-9-2" id="en-ESV-30827" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "quot"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: &quot; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </sup>He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30827D" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30827D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30827E" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30827E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.</i> (Rev 9:1-2)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="text Rev-9-2" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "quot"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="text Rev-9-2" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span class="text Rev-20-7" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">And when the thousand years are ended, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31030R" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31030R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>Satan will be released from his prison</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span class="text Rev-20-8" id="en-ESV-31031" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">and will come out <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31031S" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31031S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31031T" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31031T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>Gog and Magog, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31031U" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31031U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.</span></i><span class="text Rev-20-9" id="en-ESV-31032" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "quot"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: &quot; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </sup>And <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31032V" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31032V" title="See cross-reference V">V</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31032W" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31032W" title="See cross-reference W">W</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the camp of the saints and <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31032X" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31032X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 8.26px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup>the beloved city... </i>(Rev 20:7-9)</span></span></span></div>
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With the recent charges of heresy being levelled against the true Successor of St. Peter, we have now reached the pinnacle of the sifting demanded of Peter, when Satan has finally been able to point to the soiled garments of the Roman Pontiff in his role as Pontifex Maximus (High Priest), and claim that he has won victory over the Church instituted by the King of kings:</div>
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<i>Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by. </i>(Zech 3:1-5)</div>
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In the wake of the Filial Correction issued on 24th September, 2017 - the feast day of Our Lady of Ransom (under whose form we find the devotions of Our Lady's Dowry and Our Lady of Walsingham), we now know the exact form this accusation has taken. In light of the prayer of Christ for Peter's never-failing faith, as affirmed by the dogmatic constitution of the Church <i>Pastor aeternus </i>concerning the indefectibility of the Church, we can rest assured that this charge being levelled against the true Successor of St. Peter is patently false. As <i>Pastor aeternus</i> explicitly states, the Apostolic See was gifted with an indefectible nature in the never failing-faith of the Successors of St. Peter, so that it can endure with rock-like strength for all of time:<span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<i>That which our lord Jesus Christ, the prince of shepherds and great shepherd of the sheep, established in the blessed apostle Peter, for the continual salvation and permanent benefit of the Church, must of necessity remain for ever, by Christ's authority, in the Church which, founded as it is upon a rock, will stand firm until the end of time. <br /><br />For "no one can be in doubt, indeed it was known in every age that the holy and most blessed Peter, prince and head of the apostles, the pillar of faith and the foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our lord Jesus Christ, the savior and redeemer of the human race, and that to this day and for ever he lives" and presides and "exercises judgment in his successors" the bishops of the Holy Roman See, which he founded and consecrated with his blood. <br /><br />Therefore whoever succeeds to the chair of Peter obtains by the institution of Christ himself, the primacy of Peter over the whole Church. "So what the truth has ordained stands firm, and blessed Peter perseveres in the rock-like strength he was granted, and does not abandon that guidance of the Church which he once received"</i> (<i>Pastor aeternus</i>, Chap 2, para 1-3)</div>
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<i>So the fathers of the fourth Council of Constantinople, following the footsteps of their predecessors, published this solemn profession of faith: "The first condition of salvation is to maintain the rule of the true faith. And since that saying of our lord Jesus Christ, You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, cannot fail of its effect, the words spoken are confirmed by their consequences. For in the Apostolic See the Catholic religion has always been preserved unblemished, and sacred doctrine been held in honor. Since it is our earnest desire to be in no way separated from this faith and doctrine, we hope that we may deserve to remain in that one communion which the Apostolic See preaches, for in it is the whole and true strength of the christian religion...It was for this reason that the bishops of the whole world, sometimes individually, sometimes gathered in synods, according to the long established custom of the Churches and the pattern of ancient usage referred to this Apostolic See those dangers especially which arose in matters concerning the faith. This was to ensure that any damage suffered by the faith should be repaired in that place above all where the faith can know no failing.<br /> <br />The Roman pontiffs, too, as the circumstances of the time or the state of affairs suggested, sometimes by summoning ecumenical councils or consulting the opinion of the Churches scattered throughout the world, sometimes by special synods, sometimes by taking advantage of other useful means afforded by divine providence, defined as doctrines to be held those things which, by God's help, they knew to be in keeping with Sacred Scripture and the apostolic traditions. <br /><br />For the Holy Spirit was promised to the successors of Peter not so that they might, by his revelation, make known some new doctrine, but that, by his assistance, they might religiously guard and faithfully expound the revelation or deposit of faith transmitted by the apostles. Indeed, their apostolic teaching was embraced by all the venerable fathers and reverenced and followed by all the holy orthodox doctors, for they knew very well that this See of St. Peter always remains unblemished by any error, in accordance with the divine promise of our Lord and Savior to the prince of his disciples: "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren."[60] <br /><br />This gift of truth and never-failing faith was therefore divinely conferred on Peter and his successors in this See so that they might discharge their exalted office for the salvation of all, and so that the whole flock of Christ might be kept away by them from the poisonous food of error and be nourished with the sustenance of heavenly doctrine. Thus the tendency to schism is removed and the whole Church is preserved in unity, and, resting on its foundation, can stand firm against the gates of hell.</i> </div>
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(<i>Pastor aeternus </i>Chap 4, para 2;4-7)</div>
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The indefectibility of the Church was upheld by Pope St. Pius X himself, which is a sad irony, since it is this saintly pontiff who lends his name to the SSPX - one of the chief sources of the current opposition to the pontificate of Pope Francis. It is quite likely that Pope St. Pius X had the prophetic dream of St. John Bosco in mind when he was quoting Pope St. Gregory the Great's metaphor of the Barque of St. Peter enduring the tempest, given the fact that there are few other similarities connecting these visions. St. Pius X notes that the conversion of England was won under the pontificate of Pope St. Gregory, who coordinated the Gregorian Mission spearheaded by St. Augustine of Canterbury. This was the first large scale mission known to have been sponsored by the Holy See itself, and achieved great success with the conversion King Æthelberht of Kent; and was aided by the Irish missionaries who were already evangelising the north of Britain. </div>
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In the same encyclical on St. Gregory the Great and the Barque of St. Peter in the storm, Pope St. Pius X alludes to the famous prophecy of St. Edward the Confessor concerning the future fate of England, which was symbolised by the cutting down of a tree:<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>Today, on the contrary, although the world enjoys a light so full of Christian
civilization and in this respect cannot for a moment be compared with the times of
Gregory, yet it seems as though it were tired of that life, which has been and still is
the chief and often the sole fount of so many blessings—and not merely past but
present blessings. And not only does this useless branch cut itself off from the trunk, as
happened in other times when heresies and schisms arose, but it first lays the ax to the
root of the tree, which is the Church, and strives to dry up its vital sap that its ruin
may be the surer and that it may never blossom again. </i>(Pope St. Pius X <i>Iucunda sane</i>)</span></div>
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St. Edward, who reigned from 1042-1066, was the penultimate Anglo-Saxon king, and was renowned during his own lifetime for his exemplary life of holiness. On his deathbed the King witnessed a famous vision, which has since been recognised as a prophecy that his beloved country would be estranged from the Catholic faith for three centuries, after which it would re-flower and "bear fruit". The prophecy was quoted by Ambrose Lisle Phillipps in a letter to the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1850 after the conditions brought about by the Catholic Relief Act of 1829 allowed the return of the diocesan episcopacy to England, which occurred after Pope Pius IX issued the papal bull <i>Universalis Ecclesiae</i> in 1850.<br />
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"<i>During the month of January, 1066, the holy King of England St. Edward the Confessor was confined to his bed by his last illness in his royal Westminster Palace. St. Ælred, Abbott of Rievaulx, in Yorkshire, relates that a short time before his happy death, this holy king was wrapt in ecstasy, when two pious Benedictine monks of Normandy, whom he had known in his youth, during his exile in that country, appeared to him, and revealed to him what was to happen to England in future centuries, and the cause of the terrible punishment. They said: 'The extreme corruption and wickedness of the English nation has provoked the just anger of God. When malice shall have reached the fullness of its measure, God will, in His wrath, send to the English people wicked spirits, who will punish and afflict them with great severity, by separating the green tree from its parent stem the length of three furlongs. But at last this same tree, through the compassionate mercy of God, and without any national (governmental) assistance, shall return to its original root, reflourish and bear abundant fruit.' After having heard these prophetic words, the saintly King Edward opened his eyes, returned to his senses, and the vision vanished. He immediately related all he had seen and heard to his virgin spouse, Edgitha, to Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, and to Harold, his successor to the throne, who were in his chamber praying around his bed.</i>" (See the full article on the Catholic Encyclopaedia article <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12473a.htm"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>)<br />
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The prophecy of St. Edward the Confessor can be found in the Vita Ædwardi Regis, an early biography of the king which was commissioned by his wife Queen Edith and written within a year of his death (c.1067). This text survives in an extant manuscript dating to around 1100, which is housed in the British museum. Although the version above quoted by Phillipps differs slightly from the original, cited below, we can find all the major elements in it.<br />
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<i> The green tree which springs from the trunk<br /> When thence it shall be severed<br /> And removed to a distance of three acres<br /> By no engine or hand of man<br /> Shall return to its original trunk<br /> And shall join itself to its root<br /> Whence first it had origin<br /> The head shall receive again its verdure<br /> It shall bear fruit after its flower<br /> Then shall you be able for certainty<br /> To hope for amendment</i><br />
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The green tree or shoot represents England, the trunk is the Catholic Church. The offshoot of the trunk is removed to a distance of three acres, which represent three centuries. After which the shoot returns to the trunk and re-flowers, which refers to the return of the episcopacy in 1850, three hundred years after the Anglican Church broke away from Rome during the English Reformation under King Henry VIII. The tree bearing fruit after its flowering is still yet to come, when the full conversion of England will inaugurate the Second Pentecost, as foretold by numerous other prophecies such as those of La Salette:</div>
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<i>On September 19, 1846, we saw a beautiful Lady. We never said that this lady was the Blessed Virgin but we always said that it was a beautiful Lady. I do not know if it is the Blessed Virgin or another person. As for me, I believe today that it is the Blessed Virgin. Here is what this Lady said to me:<br /> <br /> “If my people continue, what I will say to you will arrive earlier, if it changes a little, it will be a little later. France has corrupted the universe, one day it will be punished. The faith will die out in France: three quarters of France will not practice religion anymore, or almost no more, the other part will practice it without really practicing it. Then, after [that], nations will convert, the faith will be rekindled everywhere. A great country, now Protestant, in the north of Europe, will be converted; by the support of this country all the other nations of the world will be converted...</i> </div>
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(Our Lady of La Salette to Maxmin Giraud)</div>
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In this respect, it is interesting to note that the conversion of England plays a pivotal role in St. John Bosco's prophetic dream concerning the March of the 200 Days. The dream of the March of 200 Days is set among a section of the memoirs containing three prophecies, the first of which is connected to St. Dominic Savio's vision of the Pope, the Great Monarch and the future conversion of England:<br />
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.<i>..there will come a great warrior from the North carrying a banner and on the right hand that supports it is written: "The Irresistible Hand of the Lord." At that very moment there went out to meet him the Venerable Old Man of Lazio, holding aloft a brilliantly glowing torch. The banner then increased in size and turned from black to snow-white. In the middle of the banner, in letters of gold, there was written the name of Him who is able to do all things. The warrior with his men bowed and shook hands with the Venerable Old Man. </i><br />
(You can find the full text of the three prophecies <a href="http://www.franciscan-archive.org/bosco/opera/bosco.html#12"><span style="color: #e06666;">here</span></a>).</div>
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We can see the similarities between the above prophecy and that of St. Dominic Savio below, where like the "Venerable Old Man of Lazio" (who represents the Pope), the pontiff holds aloft a flaming torch to enlighten a nation residing in spiritual darkness:<br />
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<i> One morning as I was making my thanksgiving after Communion, a very strong distraction took hold of me. I thought I saw a great plain full of people enveloped in thick fog. They were walking about like people who had lost their way and did not know which way to turn. Someone near me said: ‘This is England’. I was just going to ask some questions, when I saw Pope Pius IX just like I have seen him in pictures. He was robed magnificently and carried in his hand a torch alive with flames. As he walked slowly toward that immense gathering of people, the leaping flames from the torch dispelled the fog, and the people stood in the splendour of the noonday sun. ‘That torch’, said the one beside me, ‘is the Catholic Faith, which is going to light up England.’”</i><br />
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The <a href="http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/conversion-of-england.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">conversion of England</span></a> is foretold in many prophecies to inaugurate the beginning of the Second Pentecost - including those of the 1846 version of La Salette, and the famous prophecy of St. Malachy which is widely believed to be authentic. So St. Dominic Savio's vision here is clearly associated with the new springtime envisioned by Bl. John Paul II and Bl. John Henry Newman. The first prophecy of St. John Bosco then continues with the theme of the Second Pentecost:<br />
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<i> Things follow too slowly upon each other, but the great Queen of Heaven is at hand; the Lord's power is Hers. Like mist She shall scatter Her enemies. She shall vest the Venerable Old Man with all his former garments. There shall yet come a violent hurricane. Iniquity is at an end, sin shall cease, and before two full moons shall have shone in the month of flowers, the rainbow of peace shall appear on the earth. The great Minister shall see the Bride of his King clothed in glory. Throughout the world a sun so bright shall shine as was never seen since the flames of the Cenacle until today, nor shall it be seen again until the end of time...</i></div>
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(Biographical Memoirs)<br />
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Note the mention here of "two full moons" shining "in the month of flowers", which may be of some importance to our present scenario, since in addition to the blue and blood moon which occurs on Jan 31st this year (the feast of St. John Bosco), there will be another blue moon in the month of March 2018 - which is a possible contender for the "Month of Flowers". This blue moon occurs on the 31st March, 2018, which also coincides with Holy Saturday, which commemorates Our Lord's descent into Hades and the Harrowing of Hell (recalling Christ holding the keys to death and Hades in his hands in the Apocalypse). </div>
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The theme of the Second Pentecost is continued in the second prophecy of St. John Bosco concerning the <i>March of the 200 Days</i>, which as well as being directly associated with the <i>Dream of the Two Pillars</i>, also contains imagery strongly reminiscent of the Third Secret of Fatima:<br />
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<i> It was a dark night, and men could no longer find their way back to their own countries. Suddenly a most brilliant light shone in the sky, illuminating their way as at high noon. At that moment from the Vatican came forth, as in procession, a multitude of men and women, young children, monks, nuns, and priests, and at their head was the Pope. </i></div>
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<i><br /> But a furious storm broke out, somewhat dimming that light, as if light and darkness were locked in battle. Meanwhile the long procession reached a small square littered with dead and wounded, many of whom cried for help. </i></div>
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<i><br /> The ranks of the procession thinned considerably. After a two-hundred day march, all realized that they were no longer in Rome. In dismay they swarmed about the Pontiff to protect him and minister to him in his needs. </i></div>
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<i><br /> At that moment two angels appeared, bearing a banner which they presented to the Supreme Pontiff, saying: "Take the banner of Her who battles and routs the most powerful armies on earth. Your enemies have vanished: with tears and sighs your children plead for your return." <br /> One side of the banner bore the inscription: </i>Regina sine labe concepta<i> [Queen conceived without sin], and the other side read: </i>Auxilium Christianorum <i>[Help of Christians]. </i></div>
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<i><br /> The Pontiff accepted the banner gladly, but he became distressed to see how few were his followers. <br /> But the two angels went on: "Go now, comfort your children. Write to your brothers scattered throughout the world that men must reform their lives. This cannot be achieved unless the bread of the Divine Word is broken among the peoples. Teach children their catechism and preach detachment from earthly things. The time has come," the two angels concluded, "when the poor will evangelize the world. Priests shall be sought among those who wield the hoe, the spade, and the hammer, as David prophesied: 'God lifted the poor man from the fields to place him on the throne of His people.'" </i></div>
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<i><br /> On hearing this, the Pontiff moved on, and the ranks began to swell. Upon reaching the Holy City, the Pontiff wept at the sight of its desolate citizens, for many of them were no longer. He then entered St. Peter's and intoned the Te Deum, to which a chorus of angels responded, singing: </i>Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis<i>. When the song was over, all darkness vanished and a blazing sun shone. The population had declined greatly in the cities and in the countryside; the land was mangled as if by a hurricane and hailstorm, and people sought each other, deeply moved, and saying: </i>Est Deus in Israel<i> [There is a God in Israel]. </i></div>
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<i><br /> From the start of the exile until the intoning of the </i>Te Deum<i>, the sun rose 200 times. All the events described covered a period of 400 days. </i></div>
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<b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">So it appears to be fully evident that the various prophecies of the future conversion of England were firmly in the mind of Pope St. Pius X when he composed his encyclical on Pope Gregory the Great. This is especially important to us today, since the bishops of England have recently announced they plan to <a href="http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/09/14/england-to-be-re-dedicated-as-dowry-of-mary/"><span style="color: #e06666;">rededicate England as the Dowry of Mary</span></a> in the year 2020 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham (which is closely associated with St. Edward the Confessor). This year will see yet another rare alignment of all seven of the classical planets on 4th July, 2020, an event which we noted earlier symbolises the opening and closing of the Abyss. Could this be the moment which marks the true end of the short time given to Satan, when the flood poured forth from the mouth of the Dragon is finally swallowed up? If so, it would see the end of the current storm which is currently buffeting the Barque of St. Peter, in a scene which was repeatedly recalled by Pope Benedict XVI:</span></div>
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"Excita, Domine, potentiam tuam, et veni. <i>Repeatedly during the season of Advent the Church’s liturgy prays in these or similar words. They are invocations that were probably formulated as the Roman Empire was in decline. The disintegration of the key principles of law and of the fundamental moral attitudes underpinning them burst open the dams which until that time had protected peaceful coexistence among peoples. The sun was setting over an entire world. Frequent natural disasters further increased this sense of insecurity. There was no power in sight that could put a stop to this decline. All the more insistent, then, was the invocation of the power of God: the plea that he might come and protect his people from all these threats.</i><br />
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Excita, Domine, potentiam tuam, et veni. <i>Today too, we have many reasons to associate ourselves with this Advent prayer of the Church. For all its new hopes and possibilities, our world is at the same time troubled by the sense that moral consensus is collapsing, consensus without which juridical and political structures cannot function. Consequently the forces mobilized for the defence of such structures seem doomed to failure.</i><br />
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Excita – t<i>he prayer recalls the cry addressed to the Lord who was sleeping in the disciples’ storm-tossed boat as it was close to sinking. When his powerful word had calmed the storm, he rebuked the disciples for their little faith (cf. Mt 8:26 et par.). He wanted to say: it was your faith that was sleeping. He will say the same thing to us. Our faith too is often asleep. Let us ask him, then, to wake us from the sleep of a faith grown tired, and to restore to that faith the power to move mountains – that is, to order justly the affairs of the world.</i><br />
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Excita, Domine, potentiam tuam, et veni: <i>amid the great tribulations to which we have been exposed during the past year, this Advent prayer has frequently been in my mind and on my lips. We had begun the Year for Priests with great joy and, thank God, we were also able to conclude it with great gratitude, despite the fact that it unfolded so differently from the way we had expected. Among us priests and among the lay faithful, especially the young, there was a renewed awareness of what a great gift the Lord has entrusted to us in the priesthood of the Catholic Church. We realized afresh how beautiful it is that human beings are fully authorized to pronounce in God’s name the word of forgiveness, and are thus able to change the world, to change life; we realized how beautiful it is that human beings may utter the words of consecration, through which the Lord draws a part of the world into himself, and so transforms it at one point in its very substance; we realized how beautiful it is to be able, with the Lord’s strength, to be close to people in their joys and sufferings, in the important moments of their lives and in their dark times; how beautiful it is to have as one’s life task not this or that, but simply human life itself – helping people to open themselves to God and to live from God. We were all the more dismayed, then, when in this year of all years and to a degree we could not have imagined, we came to know of abuse of minors committed by priests who twist the sacrament into its antithesis, and under the mantle of the sacred profoundly wound human persons in their childhood, damaging them for a whole lifetime.<br /><br /> In this context, a vision of Saint Hildegard of Bingen came to my mind, a vision which describes in a shocking way what we have lived through this past year. “In the year of our Lord’s incarnation 1170, I had been lying on my sick-bed for a long time when, fully conscious in body and in mind, I had a vision of a woman of such beauty that the human mind is unable to comprehend. She stretched in height from earth to heaven. Her face shone with exceeding brightness and her gaze was fixed on heaven. She was dressed in a dazzling robe of white silk and draped in a cloak, adorned with stones of great price. On her feet she wore shoes of onyx. But her face was stained with dust, her robe was ripped down the right side, her cloak had lost its sheen of beauty and her shoes had been blackened. And she herself, in a voice loud with sorrow, was calling to the heights of heaven, saying, ‘Hear, heaven, how my face is sullied; mourn, earth, that my robe is torn; tremble, abyss, because my shoes are blackened!’<br /><br /> And she continued: ‘I lay hidden in the heart of the Father until the Son of Man, who was conceived and born in virginity, poured out his blood. With that same blood as his dowry, he made me his betrothed.<br /><br /> For my Bridegroom’s wounds remain fresh and open as long as the wounds of men’s sins continue to gape. And Christ’s wounds remain open because of the sins of priests. They tear my robe, since they are violators of the Law, the Gospel and their own priesthood; they darken my cloak by neglecting, in every way, the precepts which they are meant to uphold; my shoes too are blackened, since priests do not keep to the straight paths of justice, which are hard and rugged, or set good examples to those beneath them. Nevertheless, in some of them I find the splendour of truth.’<br /><br /> And I heard a voice from heaven which said: ‘This image represents the Church. For this reason, O you who see all this and who listen to the word of lament, proclaim it to the priests who are destined to offer guidance and instruction to God’s people and to whom, as to the apostles, it was said: go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation’ (Mk 16:15)” (Letter to Werner von Kirchheim and his Priestly Community: PL 197, 269ff.).<br /> <br /> In the vision of Saint Hildegard, the face of the Church is stained with dust, and this is how we have seen it. Her garment is torn – by the sins of priests. The way she saw and expressed it is the way we have experienced it this year. We must accept this humiliation as an exhortation to truth and a call to renewal. Only the truth saves. We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible the injustice that has occurred. We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our proclamation, in our whole way of living the Christian life, to allow such a thing to happen. We must discover a new resoluteness in faith and in doing good. We must be capable of doing penance. We must be determined to make every possible effort in priestly formation to prevent anything of the kind from happening again. This is also the moment to offer heartfelt thanks to all those who work to help victims and to restore their trust in the Church, their capacity to believe her message. In my meetings with victims of this sin, I have also always found people who, with great dedication, stand alongside those who suffer and have been damaged. This is also the occasion to thank the many good priests who act as channels of the Lord’s goodness in humility and fidelity and, amid the devastations, bear witness to the unforfeited beauty of the priesthood."</i></div>
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(<i>Address of his holiness Benedict XVI on the occasion of the Christmas greeting to the Roman Curia</i>,</div>
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20th December, 2010)</div>
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<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fw2.vatican.va%2Fcontent%2Fbenedict-xvi%2Fen%2Fspeeches%2F2010%2Fdecember%2Fdocuments%2Fhf_ben-xvi_spe_20101220_curia-auguri.html&h=6AQHYF6EjAQG33_5IY0zZM8ryH7BZ4Ga6mNhb7-FboPY-YQ&enc=AZPNLlJTYgcI3LQ-0jPK7IEr-KapCDT2nKGjQbVTUqUArYoW29S1daklpY7zsjnuStQuDqLZZG2Aw8ZILxqznVLU2zjMFySCisMXGGCCBZls7WbceUu7WVdz1bfmgFbHWX5W94jaNR2peprCkTygBFwkPdO2ywd_4vMEzkkD2KndnA&s=1">http://w2.vatican.va/…/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20101220_curia-auguri…</a></div>
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<tr><td>(I would like to point out that credit for some of the key insights presented above must be credited to my good friend Fr. Richard Heilman. Father is currently attempting to draw up much needed recruits for his "Nineveh 90" prayer campaign. Please join him @ <a href="https://www.romancatholicman.com/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">https://www.romancatholicman.com</span></a>)<span style="color: #cc0000;"></span><br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com99tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767475475753279918.post-67488318669430854492017-12-12T13:04:00.002+00:002017-12-12T13:04:26.849+00:00The Heretical Pope FallacyBelow is an extract from my latest article on La Stampa:<br />
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<br />One of the most prevalent themes currently being circulated in some extreme quarters of Catholicism revolves around the manner in which a heretical pope could be removed from the papacy. This discussion has mostly stemmed from the belief that either Pope Francis has already committed heresy at various points throughout the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, or that he has been openly promoting an heretical interpretation of this document, and thus needs to be formally “corrected”. One area which has been greatly neglected in this debate is whether or not a pope actually can fall into formal heresy or teach false doctrines by way of the authentic papal Magisterium. As we shall see, according to the Fathers of the First Vatican Council, the idea of an heretical pope was definitively ruled out through the formal dogmatization of St. Robert Bellarmine’s ideas on the indefectibility of the Church.<br /><br />During the post-Tridentine period, the topic of an heretical pope was widely discussed by some of the greatest minds in the Church, including the Church Doctor St. Robert Bellarmine, Suárez, St. John of Thomas, among various others. In light of the concerns about the papacy which had arisen during the Reformation, the attempt to address such apocalyptic fears seemed all too urgent. The idea of a future novelty arising in a formally heretical pope had coalesced from the papal antichrist theories handed down from the legacy of the Joachite movement. According to certain strains of Joachite thought, the sea-beast and land-beast of the Apocalypse foretold the arrival of two separate contemporary antichrist figures referred to as the antichristus magnus (the Great Antichrist) and the antichristus mysticus (the mystical Antichrist). In this view, the antichristus magnus would be a tyrannical temporal ruler, while the antichristus mysticus or False Prophet would be a pseudo-pope who would lead the Church into open heresy.<br /><br />The Joachite dual-antichrist theory was immensely popular during the Middle Ages, and the anxieties that were raised over the possibility of a pope being equated with the False Prophet of the Apocalypse proved to be an extremely difficult concept to dispel, and ultimately culminated in the papal antichrist theories disseminated by the Protestant Reformers. In an attempt to address these fears, various scenarios were mooted by Catholic theologians during the Counter Reformation concerning the possibility of a Roman Pontiff falling into formal heresy. Given that such a nefarious figure would essentially fulfill the role of the False Prophet/antichristus mysticus expected in Joachite prophecy, the specter of an heretical pope has become deeply embedded in the subconscious of popular Catholic piety. A type of papaphobia which occasionally resurfaces in times of perceived crisis within the Church, and tends to instinctively lurch its proponents towards schism...</div>
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<br />(See <a href="http://www.lastampa.it/2017/12/11/vaticaninsider/eng/comment/the-heretical-pope-fallacy-HSbi69IW7szxYdqPR1bHmO/pagina.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a> for the full article)</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Emmett O'Reganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01043723932377194248noreply@blogger.com79