FATIMA - FICTION & FACT - NYOBS 44.02

FATIMA – FICTON & FACT

The apparition of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children; imparting three Secrets

Background

On May 13, 1917 around noon, three young Shepard children of the Portuguese hamlet of Fatima claimed that they had been visited by the supernatural apparition of the Virgin Mary. 

There were six Marian Appearances altogether in the middle of each month with

the last appearance six months later on October 13, 1917;

this produced The Great Sun Miracle.

The results were Societies, Shrines, Feasts, Devotions and Pilgrimages to “Our Lady of Fatima”.

First Word

·         The Virgin Mary should be called blessed by all generations because she was chosen by God to be the Mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

·         I grew up in the Baptist Church and was in charge of the “outside chime system”… My mother, a Sunday School teacher, loved the song “Ava Maria” and I played it as one of the songs on the outdoor loud speaker system at church. – It was written up in the Atlanta Journal about a Baptist Church playing a Catholic song. – I took a lot of heat, but even today it’s still a part of my “IPOD” music library.

·         I say this because of what I am about to write may cause you to think that I disrespect the blessed mother of Jesus. – TODAY; God, Jesus, the Bible, and the Virgin Mary have all been Hi-Jacked to be used for causes that are far from the intent of the Bible.

Luke 1:46-48 - All generations will call the Virgin Mary blessed
⁴⁶ And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

(ESV)

Definition – Wikipedia

·         The appearance of the Virgin Mary is known as a Marian Apparition.

·         An apparition is the unexpected or unusual appearance of a ghostly figure.

·         It is characterized by the apparent perception of either a living being or an inanimate object without there being any material stimulus for such a perception. The person experiencing the apparition is awake.

·         Subjects experiencing the apparition are by no means always frightened by the experience; indeed they may find the apparition very soothing or reassuring particularly at times of crisis or ongoing stress in their lives.

·         BUT, it is unusual for an apparitional “figure” to engage in any verbal interaction with the percipient; this is consistent with the finding that the majority of such experiences only involve one sense - (Most commonly the visual.)

The Apparition

·         The Vision as reported by the three children - The Lady was enveloped in colored lights accompanied by lightning and the sound of buzzing.

·         Jacinta said that the apparition wore a knee-length skirt, with white socks and when she “left” she raised her toes up with her heels pointing down and then her body disappeared.

·         Lucia said she was wearing earrings and wore a necklace with a medal on it. – She was of medium height and her eyes were black. -  Lucia stated that she (Lucia) had a light within herself that made her understand the Lady; to have sense of her words.

·         Francisco said that on the first apparition, he only saw her as she was leaving and she did not move her lips when she spoke.

·         The Apparition Description “Of Their Time” sounds like that of a Prostitute. - Scripture says that women should adorn themselves modestly which is proper for professing godliness.

·         Lucia and Jacinta said that the Lady wanted a chapel to be built and named for herself; “The Lady of the Rosary”.

·         NOTE:  There is a controversy concerning Lucia’s writings; claiming that the fanciful First Version is authentic and that another conservative Version, embellished by the Church was released later for publication; known by Conspiracy Theorist as Version II or Lucia II.

1 Timothy 2:9-10 – Women adorn themselves modestly
⁹ In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,
¹⁰  but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. (NKJV)

The Children

·         Lucia dos Santos (10) was born in 1907; the two cousins Francisco Marto (9) was born in 1908 and Jacinta Marto (7) was born in 1910.

·         Lucia or Lucy being the oldest appears to be the spokesperson for the three children.

·         Francisco, according to Lucia, was not allowed by “the Lady” to hear the first & second secrets, but was allowed to hear the third.

·         Jacinta the youngest said she forgot things related to the apparition and needed Lucia to tell her again what happened.

·         Reports say that the three agreed to keep the FIRST apparition a secret, but Jacinta the youngest, just could not restrain herself and broke the promise and “let the cat out of the bag” with her overflow of excitement.

·         Jacinta and Francisco died from influenza and pleurisy before they could be questioned by the 1922 Investigation Commission of the Church. - Scripture states that in the mouth of two or three witnesses a thing is established as true. – We now only have Lucy. – ONE –

·         Cannon Formagao said, “Apparitions are authenticated NOT by the testimony of witnesses, but by their popularity among pious people”.

·         I respond; WHAT? – Scripture requires you to have at least two witnesses; NOT by the popularity of what some righteous people might think.

Deuteronomy 19:15 – Two or Three Witnesses to make a case
¹⁵ You cannot convict anyone of a crime or sin on the word of one witness. You need two or three witnesses to make a case. (MSG)

Matthew 18:16 – Two or three witnesses is a thing established
¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ (NIV2011)

Lucia

·         Lucia, the spokesperson for the three described herself as uneducated, unintelligent and easily confused.

·         Lied - Lucia stated that she was imprisoned by the local administrator at Ourem in August of 1917 and was threatened to be boiled in Oil if they did not recant their testimonies, but her own family denies her story as well as the Cook that worked in that Prison.

·         Contradicted – Lucia and Francisco contradicted each other over how the apparition was dressed. – Lucia contradicted herself first saying the Virgin had on earrings then she didn’t.

·         Hallucinations – Mario de Oliveria, a Friar who knew Lucia very well stated that she suffered from religious hallucinations and false memories.

·         Lucia’s Mother allegedly said that Lucia earlier on three occasion, had visions of a person wrapped up in a bed sheet that approached her and then went away. – She went on to say that Lucia had a flair for inventing religious stories and had the ability to manipulate people.

·         Since the Fatima incident, Lucia had been kept in the Vatican living in a convent where revealing the Third Secret was hampered by a “language communication barrier.  It was reported that some of the Nuns came under her magnetic influence and began to copy her.

·         She was sent to a nunnery at the age of 14. – Reports say she was kept in solitary confinement to make sure she did not reveal the third secret. – She was not allowed to return to Fatima without permission and nobody was allowed to write to her directly.

·         Lucia proclaimed that upon her death or at least by 1960, the Third Secret must be revealed to the world.  – This did not happen; Conspiracy Theorist had a field day with this.

The Secrets

·         On the Second or Third appearance, the apparition of the Virgin Mary gave THREE SECRETS to the children. – They were precise predictions, warnings, request, and promises concerning the Catholic Faith.

·         Lucia herself said that The Third Secret contained apocalyptic content.  Those inside the Vatican who have seen the original, claim that it contained predictions of a great apostasy where Rome will lose the Faith and become the throne of the Anti-Christ. – If this was true, I can see why this secret would be withheld. – At this writing we have no proof of this.

·         In 1941 two of the three secrets were revealed in a letter written by Lucia at the request of Jose Alves Correia da Silva, Bishop of Leiria.

·         In 1943 Lucia fell ill with influenza and pleurisy and was thought to soon die.  The bishop ordered her to write down the Third Secret which she did and sealed it in an envelope not to be opened until her death, but no later than 1960 when the secret will be “more clearly understood” and because the Blessed Virgin wished it so.

·         In 2000 Pope John Paul II officially released the third secret, some 83 years after the first apparition.  – Some insist to this day that this was not the entire secret.

·         The Three Secrets --- 1) Visions of Hell and its contents –-- 2) Prophecy - World War I and World War II –-- 3) Prophecy - The Assassination of Pope John Paul II.

·         The Controversy – There is much controversy about Lucia’s letter concerning the secrets.  She states herself that she is uneducated and wrote only on a small piece of paper; yet the release version is on four sheets of paper leading Conspiracy Theorist to speculate that this is not the real secret or at least it’s not the full secret.

·         The Vatican Press Release of 1960 announced that the Third Letter would probably never be opened. - I would like to say here that there are other publications that say that the Vatican did know what was in the letter and what they were actually saying is that the contents would probably never be made known to the world.

First Secret

Ø  The First Secret was a vision of Hell and the DEATH of Lucia’s cousins who were the only other two witness’s to the Vision.

·         SECRET - Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear.

·         The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent.

·         This vision lasted but an instant. How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first Apparition, to take us to heaven. Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror.

Ø  Repentance – I could not help but notice that there was no mention of repentance that went along with the salvation of the children.

Ø  Note – I thought the description of Hell was awesome! - Lucia to be ten years old and uneducated, sure does write well.

Acts 2:38 - Each of you must repent of your sins
³⁸ Peter replied, “Each of you must REPENT of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. (NLT)

Second Secret

Ø  The Second Secret was not revealed to the Vatican by Lucia until July of 1941 some Twenty-Four years later; this was when the Nazi’s invaded the Soviet Union. The message was that IF Russia converted to Christianity, many years of war and persecution could be avoided.  Since the war continued and they did not convert to Christianity, this prophecy was considered to be TRUE.

·         SECRET - You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. - If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. “The war” is going to end: but if people do not cease offending God, “a worse one” will break out during the Pontificate of Pope Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.

Ø  Side Note: World War I was the war that would end in 1917, the “Worse One” would be World War II

·         Continuing - To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays.

·         If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated.

·         In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.

Ø  The Prophecy – The Virgin Mary says, “If what I say to you is done, many SOULS will be saved and there will be peace.

Ø  Scripture says that the only way SOULS are saved is through God’s Son Jesus Christ. - No one comes to the Father except through Him. – No amount of devotion to the Virgin Mary can save anyone from Hell. –

Ø  This establishes the fact that this apparition was not really the Virgin Mary because she would not call her Son a Liar. – Her words do not harmonize with the rest of the Gospel message. – Jesus says to Search the Scriptures because it bears witness of HIM.

John 14:6 - No one comes to the Father except through me
⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

(ESV)

John 5:39 – The scriptures bear witness about Jesus Christ
³⁹ You SEARCH the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about ME. (ESV)

Third Secret

Ø  The Letter of the Third Secret was composed much later in 1944 leaving the Conspiracy Theorist to believe that it had been edited or altered to fit the facts.

Ø  The Third Secret was kept secret by the Vatican for 58 years causing much speculation as to what it included; subjects such as: Deep Rifts in the Catholic Church, Satanic Infiltration of the Church, Extra-Terrestrial Life, Doomsday Predictions, and the Apocalypse of Revelation with Worldwide Nuclear Annihilation.

Ø  Note: (Lucia did say in an interview that the third secret held apocalyptic prophecy.)

·         SECRET - 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 splendor 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'.

·         It continues concerning the Pope; 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.”

Ø  An Assignation Attempt was made on the Pope on May 13, 1981.  He contributed the fact that he did not die to the intervention of the Virgin Mary changing the course of history. – In effect she stopped her own prophecy. – It is noteworthy that May 13^th is the same day of the month as the first apparition appeared to the three children. – In the year 2000, the Pope decided to release the third Prophecy which would include his assignation.

Ø  After the assignation attempt the Bullet had remained in the Pope’s Jeep. – The Pope gave the bullet to the Bishop so that it might be kept as a shrine; it was placed in the crown of the statue of “The Lady of Fatima”.

Ø  Scripture says that if a thing prophesized does not come to pass, the prophet is a FALSE PROPHET. – We are to test prophecy with the scriptures, does it bear witness about Jesus Christ? – Does the prophecy harmonize with other scriptures; do all the fence post line up in a straight line? – Note: God’s attributes and His nature does not vary or change.

·         The Prophecy concludes - 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.

Ø  Conspiracy Theorist say the prophecy concerning Bishops, Priests, the Religious and Lay People and Men and Women dying did not happen and THE SECRET IS STILL HIDDEN.

Ø  I DO NOT DOUBT that the three children saw something, the question is; what was it that they saw?

Ø  The Witch of Endor brought up “something” that was supposed to be Samuel; but King Saul never did see it, but he believed it to be Samuel.  The Bible says the Dead know nothing and cannot speak, see or plan. -  I believe that the children saw a “familiar Sprit” a demon who would point to the Blessed Virgin Mary instead of Jesus Christ for redemption; deceiving the multitudes.

Ø  This is Satanic; even Satan can transform himself into an angel of light. – I’m not talking about the Blessed Virgin Mary being Satanic, I’m talking about a FAKE apparition; a familiar demonic spirit.

Ø  The Dead know nothing, no planning, no working, no wisdom, no knowledge, no praises and no words; they are silent. - NYOBS 37.09 - PROPHETS – NYOBS 11.16 - DEMONS - FAMILIAR SPIRITS – NYOBS 33.09 WITCH OF ENDOR – NYOBS 42.26 NECROMANCY – COMMUNICATING WITH THE DEAD.

Ø  Note – Satan knows scripture too – If we reject the knowledge that God has given us, He will reject us – We are destroyed for lack of knowledge – God Himself says that His nature and attributes do not change.  – It’s in the Book; - READ IT.

Malachi 3:6 - I the LORD do not change
⁶ For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. (ESV)

2 Peter 2:1 - False Prophets from among the people
¹ But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

(NIV2011)

Matthew 7:16 - You will know them by their fruits
¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?

(NASB)

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 – God will test you using FALSE Prophets

¹ If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,
² and the SIGN or the WONDER comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods'--which you have not known--'and let us serve them,'
³ YOU SHALL NOT LISTEN to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (NIV2011)

Matthew 24:11 - Many False Prophets will rise up
¹¹ Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

(NKJV)

Matthew 7:15 - Beware of False Prophets
¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

(NKJV)

Mark 13:22 - False Prophets will perform signs and wonders
²²  For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

(NIV2011)

1 John 4:1 - Do not believe every spirit - TEST THE SPIRITS
¹ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many FALSE PROPHETS have gone out into the world.

(NIV2011)

1 Samuel 28:12-14 - Scared the Tater Tots out of the WITCH
¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice and spoke to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!"
¹³ The king said to her, "Do not be afraid. What did you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth."
¹⁴ So he said to her, "What is his form?" And she said, "An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle." And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and stooped with his face bowed down.to the ground.

(ESV)

2 Corinthians 11:14 - Satan disguises as an angel of light
¹⁴ And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

(ESV)

Ecclesiastes 9:5 – Dead know nothing
⁵ For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. (ESV)

Ecclesiastes 9:10 – Dead - no working no planning no knowledge

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

(NIV2011)

Psalm 115:17 – Dead cannot praise God – THEY ARE SILENT
¹⁷ Dead people can't praise GOD— not a word to be heard from those buried in the ground.

(MSG)

Hosea 4:6 - You have rejected My knowledge; I reject you
⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

(ESV)

The Great Sun Miracle

·         The Great Sun Miracle of October 13, 1917 was the event that more than 70,000 people witnessed, that was said to validate the story of the three shepherd children.

·         Lucia said the Lady identified herself as “The Lady of the Rosary” and she let the children see Jesus, Joseph and herself in the Sun. – Lucia shouted to LOOK AT THE SUN. - The Virgin supposedly made people to have a vision of the sun spinning. - It was reported in newspapers around the world including the New York Times. – With all the photographers present; there were no pictures taken. – Many saw something, some did not. – Lucia herself sad she did not witness the miracle of the sun. – When the Lady disappeared some heard the sound of a Rocket roar which gave support to the UFO Alien theorist who were present.

·         Scripture warns that we are to not try to seek to establish our own righteousness – It says offerings to the QUEEN OF HEAVEN provokes God to anger.

·         The Report said that the sun began to throw off colors, twist and dance in the sky defying cosmic laws and then it descended to the earth.

·         BUT; this phenomena does not defy cosmic law; a CME or Coronal Mass Ejection occurs every eleven years as recorded in history when the sun goes through a period of solar storms. – Solar flares radiate out emitting particles that cause the Northern Lights (COLORS) or what’s known as Aurora Borealis. – It causes severe weather conditions on earth including volcano eruptions and earthquakes. – Satellites, communication and electricity is affected and medical conditions such as headaches have been reported.

Jeremiah 7:18 - Offerings to Queen of Heaven provokes God
¹⁸ The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may PROVOKE ME to anger. (NKJV)

Romans 10:3 –Seeking to establish their own righteousness
³ For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousnes (ESV)

Sidebar

·         For over a month before The Great Sun Miracle, there had been activity of the sun throwing off solar flares with changing colors. – Many people were claiming that they had spotted signs in the sun. - This had attracted the curious as well as the Alien Society and UFO watchers who had visions of alien messengers and spaceships. – Mostly unbelievers -

·         There is something within us that believes that God has other worlds.  Jesus said he had sheep in other pastures that the Disciples knew nothing about. – I too would have probably been there in 1917 to see it all unfold. – Just saying.

·         Some devoted Catholics who were there on their knees praying saw nothing unusual, others standing beside them saw the sun spin; some even said the sun fell to the earth.  Some saw UFO’s and some just messed up their eyes by looking directly into the sun. – This is all to say that there was a number of personal experiences that were not shared by all.

·         More Confusion - Some reports said the sun DID NOT really move, that the people only had a vision that it moved. – Another report said the sun DID MOVE and that the rest of the world had a vision that the sun remaining still.

John 10:16 - I have other sheep which are not of this fold
¹⁶ And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. (NKJV)

Other Miracles

·         People reported miracles of healing performed by God during this time, further validating the Fatima incident.

·         BUT, it is noteworthy to report that Miracles, Healings and Cures have always occurred which cannot be explained by natural means.  In fact to be so bold, scripture says Satan can also perform Miracles and Signs to deceive those who dwell on earth. 

·         In the days of Moses the Sorcerers, Magicians and Wise Men could duplicate the miracles that God performed through Moses.

·         God says; Why do you still submit to the Regulations and TRADITIONS that have been passed down. - The Believer walks by his FAITH not by his SIGHT. -  Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They spread their ideas through the empty TRADITIONS of human beings and the empty SUPERSTITIONS of SPIRIT BEINGS. – That's not the way of Christ – It’s in the Book.

Revelation 13:13-14 – Satan performs great signs and miracles
¹³ It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people,
¹⁴ and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth. (ESV)

Exodus 7:10-12 – Magicians turned their staff in snakes
¹⁰ Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what GOD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a snake.
¹¹ Pharaoh called in his wise men and sorcerers. The magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their incantations:
¹² each man threw down his staff and they all turned into snakes

John 20:29 - Blessed are those who have not seen yet believed
²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

(ESV)

2 Corinthians 5:7 - For we walk by faith, not by sight
⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight. (NKJV)

Colossians 2:20 – Why do you submit to Tradition & regulations
²⁰ If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, WHY, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—(ESV)

Colossians 2:8 – Traditions – Superstitions of Spirit Beings
⁸ Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty TRADITIONS of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ.

The Validation

·         The Pope is believed to be God’s VICAR on earth; God’s representative.

·         Several Popes have visited Fatima including Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II validating the Fatima incident as authentic.

·         BUT; scripture does not support that God has a Vicar; a single representative on earth. – All Believers are Ambassadors for Christ endued with the Holy Spirit that is within us.

2 Corinthians 5:20 – We are ALL Ambassadors for Christ.
²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (ESV)

The Statue

·         Devotion to the Immaculate Heart – Since 1838 and by 1850 there were over 12.000 brotherhoods in honor of “The Immaculate Heart”.

·         The First Statue - I must note here that the first fanciful descriptions of the Lady given to the sculpture McGlynn by Lucia is different from the current modest statue.

·         A statue of Our Lady of Fatima is passed around throughout the year from house to house for a week to the different homes like a good luck charm.  It’s adorned and placed as the center piece of their living room and homage is paid to it or to say it another way; it is worshipped.

·         The Vatican teaches that adoration of statues is similar to feeling love and admiration for a picture of someone in your own family.

·         God has an opinion on this when in the Ten Commandments, He said that we should not have any graven images.  He also said that those that do, HATE GOD. – God is a spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth.

·         The Catholic Bible omits the Second Commandment; the part about graven images and splits up the 9^th remaining commandment into two, to make it Ten again. – Here we have the rejection of God’s commandment in order to establish a TRADITION.

·         Tradition can nullify and make void the Word of God… It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God - It’s in the Book.

Exodus 20:4 – Make no carved images
⁴ You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

(ESV)

Exodus 20:5 - Those that have graven images HATE God.
⁵ You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who HATE me, (ESV)

Mark 7:9 – Commandments rejected over Tradition of men
⁹ And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your TRADITION!

(ESV)

Mark 7:13 - Making void the word of God by your tradition
¹³ thus making void the word of God by your TRADITION that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (ESV)

John 4:24 - God must be worshiped in Spirit.
²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (ESV)

Hebrews 10:30-31 – It’s fearful thing to fall into hands of God
³⁰ For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (ESV)

Proselytizing

·         I feel compelled to say this…. About 30 years ago, my son David called me and said that there was a Revelation Prophecy Seminar going on and would I like to attend. – There has always been a fascination with prophecy and the end times. – We went and the very first night we realized that this was a recruitment tool for the Seventh Day Adventist.  To this very day they are still using this same tool to recruit membership for their Denomination. - NYOBS 14.23 - SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST

·         With that said; in my opinion, the Catholic Church is using the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a recruitment tool, not only for new recruits, but to slow down the exodus of members from the Church. – Note; The Pope’s authentication of the apparitions do not make them true. – NYOBS 15.25 - PURGATORY – NYOBS 14.20 - CATHOLIC CHURCH

·         Come, Let’s reason together; we are told that there are many paths that lead to God. – It seems to me that one path may be truer than the others; that’s the path that I want to follow. – We are told that there are many gods, but it seems that there must be one God that is higher than all the other gods; that’s the God that I choose to seek. – Everyone must work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. – This is a serious thing.

Isaiah 1:18 - Come now, and let us reason together
¹⁸ Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. (NKJV)

Phil 2:12 - Work out your salvation with fear and trembling
¹²  Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, (NIV2011)

Marian Apparition (David Hughes; The Great Marian-Catholic Apostasy)

·         Today through false apparitions, the devil has succeeded in catastrophically damaging the Church by creating a very real spiritual schism joined by countless numbers of Marian Catholics.

·         He (Satan) has effectively blocked the spiritual power of the Church in the world, by destroying the perfect union of the faithful with the Mystical Body of Christ.

·         The perceived fruit of an apparition is NO measure of its orthodox validity - How could anyone be deceived if there seemed to be NO fruit? 

I have read many, many papers on “Fatima”, some genuinely studying the incident according

to scripture, others that were just downright hateful toward the Catholic Church.

That is not my intention here.  – What I have gleamed, is that Satan is at work

trying to destroy ALL Christians anyway he can, especially through

the dissemination of disinformation.

LIES

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. - Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)

READ THE BOOK

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further that I otherwise ever could have.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Apparitions of Mary – The Second Window

English Standard Version Bible - ESV

Fraud at Fatima – Website Submission

Great Marian Catholic Apostasy; The – David Hughes

Hoax of our Lady of Fatima; The – David J. Stewart

Lies of Fatima; The – Philip Coppens

Message Bible; The - MES

New Catholic Edition Bible – Catholic Book Publishing Co.

New International Version Bible - NIV

Three Secrets of Fatima – Wikipedia