A Mária-kultuszba írtam, de ide ide éppúgy beleillik, hátha Aranyviktor elolvassa...
"PATRONA HUNGARIAE"
Mint a legendákból tudjuk István király "Szűz Máriának" ajánlotta országát és koronáját. Azóta Szűz Mária a "Patrona Hungariae", vagyis "Magyarország legfőbb védelmezője, oltalma – a Magyarok Nagyasszonya".
Jó példa arra, hogy a babilóniai pogányság napjainkig fennáll, nyomon követhető az ősi "istenanya-kultusz" folytatásaként a Mária-kultuszban. Babilónia sok fennmaradt emléke ad ismertetést Szemiramisz királynőről mint istenanyáról, Tammúz fiával ölében ábrázolva. (Encyclopedia of Religions, 398. lap)
Ahogy Babilon népe szétszóródott a földön, úgy vitte szét magával ezt a kultuszt is. Ez magyarázza, hogy annyi nemzet imádta együtt az anyát és fiát – ilyen, vagy amolyan formában – századokkal azelőtt, mielőtt Jézus Krisztus megszületett volna. Azokban az országokban, ahová ez a kultusz eljutott, az anyát és fiát különböző neveken hívták és tisztelték.
A kínaiaknak Shingmoo (Szent Anya) nevű anyaistennőjük van. Kezében a gyerekkel és glóriás sugarakkal feje körül ábrázolják (G.B. Gross: The Heathen Religion, 60. lap)
A germánok ősei a szűz Herthát – kezében a gyerekkel – imádták.
A skandinávok Disának hívták anyaistennőjüket. Az etruszkok Nutriának, és a
Druidák közt Virgo-Partitura (mint isten anyja) nyert különleges tiszteletet.
Indiában Isi, vagy Indrani néven ismerték, és ugyancsak az ölében gyerekkel ábrázolták. (Kennedy: Hindoo Mithology, 49. lap)
Egyiptomi megfelelője Ízisz, a gyermek Hórusszal.
Ázsiában Kübelé az istenanya, a
görögöknél pedig Aphrodité, vagy Ceresz. A korabeli Róma Vénuszt, vagy Fortunát imádta ekképp (gyerekük Jupiter).
Amikor Izráel fiai eltértek az igaz Isten imádásától, a Bírák könyvében írottak szerint (Bírák 2:13.) a "Baált és Astarothot imádták". "Astaroth, vagy Ashtoreth néven Szemiramiszt mint anyaistennőt tieztelte a babilóniai utókor." (Ovidius: Metamorphoses. 177. lap, Layard: Niniveh and its Remains 456. lap, Lukiánosz: De Dea Syria, 382. lap).
Az izraeliták az igaz Istentől való eltérést többször, ismételten megtették (Bírák 10:6, I.Sámuel 7:3., 4., I.Királyok 11:5., II.Királyok 23:13.).
Az istennőnek egyik általuk ismert neve az "Ég Királynője" volt. Jeremiás próféta megfeddte őket a bálványimádásért, de ők fellázadtak intése ellen (Jeremiás 44:17-19., 25.).
Efézusban a nagy istenanya Diána néven volt ismert. Dianát, fején toronnyal ábrázolták. Tudnunk kell ehhez a régi hagyományt, hogy Szemiramisz volt az első királynő, aki Babilont "téglafallal vette körül". (Ovidius: Opera, 219-221. lap). Szemiramisz az első istenített királynő, akinek vágya égig-magasztaltatása volt. Annak a Nimródnak a felesége ő, aki Ninivét építtette (I.Mózes 10:8.), "ki naggyá kezdett lenni a földön", aki Kús fia (I.Mózes 10:8.), aki Ham (Khám) fia (egyiptomi nyelven Hermes, Her, vagy – káldeai nyelven – Ham fia). Dianára nézve nyilvánvaló az utalás a bábeli toronyra, az égig növés gőgjére, lázadására. Az efézusi Diána-templom az antik világ hét csodája közé tartozott (Nemcsak Efézusban, de egész Ázsiában (Ásia provincia) ismerték Diana kultuszát: Ap.csel. 19:27.
Ez az istenanya-tisztelet Babilonból szétáradt különböző népek kultuszába különféle neveken és formákban, megállapodott végül Rómában és a Birodalomban. James George Frazer: "A Magna Mater – az Ősanya – tisztelet nagyon elterjedt és népszerű volt a Római Birodalomban. Feliratok jelzik, hogy mindkettőjük (anya és gyermek) isteni tiszteletet kaptak, nemcsak Rómában, hanem a provinciákban is…" ("The Golden Bough" – Az Aranyág, New-York, Macmilan 1935, 356. lap.)
Ebben az időben alapította meg Jézus Krisztus az újtestamentumi egyházat. De a harmadik-negyedik században, a konstantinuszi fordulat korában az egyház eltávolodott az eredeti – a krisztusi – tanításoktól. Ebben a korban történt az a fajta keveredés és a határok összemosása, aminek a gyümölcsei azóta már rég be is értek: Megtéretlenek sokasága lett kereszténnyé és kultuszaikat, rítusaikat magukkal hozva megfertőzték a kereszténységet. Csak diszkréten és finoman, a hasonlóságokat hangsúlyozva mosták össze a határokat, népszerűvé téve ezáltal az egyházat és számban, hatalmában növelték azt.
Az egyik legszembetűnőbb példája annak, hogy az államegyház átvette ezeket a kultuszokat más név és forma alatt, éppen az anyaistennő kultuszának a kifejlesztése. Ki helyettesíthette, ki vehette át a héber gyökerű kereszténységban (az egyetlen vallásban, amiben nincs istenanya!!!) a Magna Mater szerepet? Kézenfekvő volt: Máriát, Jézus anyját! – e szerepbe helyezni. Ő volt a "Theo-tokosz" (Istenszülő), és innen már csak egy lépés az isteni anya és az istennő státus.
A Theo-tokosz (Dei Genetrix) gondolat eredete a harmadik századba nyúlik vissza. Az Efézusi Zsinat (isz. 431) fogadta el dogmaként, a Konstantinápolyi Zsinat (isz. 681) egészítette ki. A Katolikus dogmatika elismeri, hogy az Evangéliumok azért nem beszélnek erről a státusról, mert "az anya személyének előtérbe helyezése a pogány istennők kultuszának veszélyét hozta volna magával". Továbbá: "A Biblia nem nevezi Máriát Isten anyjának, de olyan kifejezéseket használ, amelyek bennfoglaltan (implicite) tartalmazzák az istenanyaságot." (Dr.Előd István, Szent István Társulat, Bp. 1982. 619. lap.)
A katolikus dogmatika szerinti kapcsolata Máriának a Szentháromsághoz: "Az Atyával való kapcsolatát az jellemzi, hogy mindketten ugyanazt a valakit mondják gyermeküknek… Ezért – persze átvitt értelemben – az Atyaisten jegyesének mondható… A Fiúistennel vérrokonságban van… Ilyen szoros kapcsolata, szinte vérrokonsága azonban senki másnak nincs az isteni személyekhez, még az angyaloknak sem. Erre a kapcsolatra gondolva szokták őt egyes hittudósok 'complementum Trinitatis'-nak hívni." (Azaz, a "Szentháromság kiegészítőjének". Innen lehet az esetenkénti négyszögű glória szimbóluma)
"Ő a Szentlélek arája. A Szentlélek az Igétől – Krisztustól – származik, Mária tehát mondhatja Neki: aki Téged lehel, az az én fiam." (u. ott. 619. lap.)
A Mária-kultuszra bibliai bizonyítékot hiába is keresünk.
Az a bizonyos, hogy Mária, Jézus édesanyja odaszentelt életű, finom lelkű anya volt, kiválasztva arra, hogy testében hordja a Megváltót, de sem Jézus, sem a tanítványok nem alapították meg, nem szorgalmazták istenítését, kultuszát.
Az Encyclopedia Brittannica (309. lap.) mondja: Az első évszázadokban a Mária név sohasem volt túlhangsúlyozva. Ezt megerősíti a The Catholic Encyclopedia is (459. l.): "A mi Áldott Asszonyunk" tisztelete legvégső elemzésében úgy tekinthető, mint gyakorlati alkalmazása a Szentek Közössége eszméjének.
Láthatjuk, hogy az Apostoli Hitvallás korai formáiban ez a kultusz a leghalványabban sincs említve, tehát nincs helye a csodálkozásnak, ha a Szűzanya kultuszának semmilyen nyilvánvaló nyomát nem találjuk az első keresztény századokban, lévén, hogy a Mária-kultusz későbbi fejlemény, sőt, mint ahogy az kitűnik Epiphanius (meghalt isz. 403.) szavaiból: az egyház helytelenítette ezt. (460.l.) Megemlít thrákiai, arábiai Mária-imádási eseteket. "Tisztelni lehet őt, de senki se imádja." Tehát az Efézusi Zsinat tette elfogadottá a Mária-kultuszt. Efézusban, ahol Dianát imádták mint a szüzesség és egyben a termékenység istennőjét a legrégibb időktől, Diána a természet termékeny erőit jelenítette meg az anyaság túlszimbolizálásában tíz mellével.
Emlékezzünk Pál útjára Efézusban. Semmilyen egyezséget nem köthettek a pogánysággal. Az igazán megtértek az istennőt ábrázoló szobraikat összetörték (lásd: Ap.csel. 19:24-27.). Nem furcsa, hogy később ugyanezen a helyen vezetik be az anyaistennő kultuszát?
Aztán nézzük Mária különböző neveit:
A "Madonna" név, amivel a Szüzet nevezik, a babilóniai istennők egyik titulusa. Baál, vagy Belus volt a babilóniai nagy férfiistenség neve. A női társa Baalti, vagy Beltis. (Hesychius: Lexicon, 188. l.) Erről a névről találtak emlékeket Ninivében az "Istenek Anyjára" vonatkoztatva. (Vaux: Niniveh and Persepolis, 459.l.)
A Baal név Urat jelent. A Baalti, ennek megfelelően Úrnőt, latinul "Mea Domina", olaszul "Ma Donna". Kübelé neve is "Domina" volt. (Ovidius: Fasti, lib. IV., 340.l.) Az "Athena" név attikai nyelvjárásban ugyancsak Úrnőt jelent.
A Szentírás kijelenti (lásd: I.Timóteus 2:5.), hogy csak egy közbenjáró van Isten és ember között, és ez Jézus Krisztus. Ennek ellenére egyes pápai nyilatkozatok "társmegváltónak" (corredemptrix) nevezik Máriát. (Katolikus dogmatika, 640.l.) "Üdvösségünk okozójának" (causa nostrae salutis –Irenaeus), "az élők anyjának" (Epiphanius) nevezik: "Éva által a halál, Mária által az élet" (Hieronymus, Augustinus, Chrysostomus) u.ott 642.l.)
A "Mennyország királynőjének" nevezi Máriát XII. Pius "Ad coeli Reginam" kezdetű enciklikája. (1954. D.S. 3917)
Ég Királynője? Mária, Jézus anyja nem volt az ég királynője. Most sem az. Ez a titulus az anyaistennőé, és évszázadokkal Mária születése előtt használatos volt. Nézzünk vissza Jeremiás idejére, amikor a nép az ég királynőjének tiszteletére áldozatokat hozott: "…Hogy az ég királynőjének béleseket készítsenek, és az idegen isteneknek italáldozatokkal áldoznak, hogy engem felingereljenek." Jeremiás 7:18.
A kereszténységnek az államvallássá létele után a kompromisszumok égbekiáltó méretet öltöttek!
Emlékeztető példa: Ízisz és Hórusz szobrokat püspöki határozattal egyértelműleg Mária és a gyermek megjelenítéseként fogadtak el. (Homer W. Smith: Man and his Gods, Boston, 216.l.)
Ízisz és finak megjelenítésében gyakkkran szerepel a virágfüzér keret. Aki a középkori művészetet ismeri, az megtalálja ugyanezt a Mária-szobroknál is.
Astartét. a főníciai termékenység-istennőt a növő holddal azonosították.
Íziszt gyakran ábrázolták a növő holdon állva, feje körül csillagokkal. (Kenrick: Egypt. 425.l.).
Egész Európában megtaláljuk ezt a Madonna-ábrázolást is. "Mikor a kereszténység 'győzedelmeskedett', ezeket a szobrokat és ábrázolásokat minden további nélkül Mária és a Gyermek ábrázolásaként tekintették, bárminémű változtatás vagy óvás nélkül." (Arthus Weigall: The Paganism in our Christianity, New York, 129.l.). Az imádás és a tisztelet különös jeléül a Mária-szobrok drágakövekkel és koronával ékesek, bár Mária a Biblia tanúsága szerint szegény volt (Lukács 2:24.)
Talán a legfigyelemre érdemesebb bizonyíték arra nézve, hogy a Mária-kultusz a pogány istenanya imádásából jött létre, az, hogy az anya ebben a keretben már-már fontosabb szerepet játszik, "imádandóbb", mint maga a Fiú.
A bibliai kereszténység azt tanítja, hogy Jézus Krisztus, és csak Ő egyedül "az Út, az Igazság, és az Élet", hogy csak Ő bocsáthat meg bűnöket, csak Ő az, aki bűntelen életet élt, és csak Ő imádandó, sohasem más (pl. Mária, Jézus Krisztus földi édesanyja.)
Ezzel szemben számtalan templomban Mária központi helyet foglal el. A rózsafüzérben (további pogány elementum) 53-szor kell elmondani az "Üdvözlégy Máriát", szemten a csupáncsak hatszor elmondandó "Miatyánkkal". Egy ember által alkotott ima kilencszer többet ér, mint a Jézus által tanított, és az Atyának ajánlott ima!?
A katolikus egyház azt tanítja, hogy Mária az imát a Fió elé viszi, közvetíti és az anyaságára való tekintettel Jézus enged neki. A következtetés szerint Mária sokkal együttérzőbb, megértőbb, megbocsátóbb, mint Fia, Jézus. (A Biblia-ellenességét ennek a ténynek nem kell külön kiemelni ugye? )
Alphonsus Lignori neves katolikus író hosszan értekezik arról, hogy mennyivel hatásosabbak a Máriához intézett imák a Jézushoz intézettekhez viszonyítva. Lignorit szentté avatta XIV. Gergely pápa 1839-ben, IX. Pius pápa pedig a katolikus egyház doktorává nyilvánította. Munkáinak egyikében leír egy képzeletbeli jelenetet, amiben egy bűnös két, az égből lecsüngő létrát lát. Mikor az egyikhez közelítve felnéz, Jézus haragvó arcát látja, és legyőzve visszaesik. De mikor ahhoz a létrához közelít, aminek a csúcsáról Mária néz le, akkor azon könnyen halad felfelé, és fenn Mária fogadja, aki bevezeti a mennyekbe és bemutatja őt Jézusnak. És minden jó lesz. A leírás azt hivatott érzékeltetni, hogy mennyivel hatásosabb Márián keresztül Jézushoz jönni. (Boettner Lorainei: Roman Catholicism, Philadelphia, 1962, 147.l.)
Ugyanez az író említi, hogy Mária a testére hivatkozik, mint anyaságának evidenciájára, és Jézus haragját a bűnössel szemben így csillapítja le. Ezzel szemben az evangéliumokban ezt olvashatjuk: "Lőn pedig, mikor ezeket mondta, fölemelvén szavát egy asszony a sokaságból, s mondta: Boldog méh, amely téged hordozott, az emlők, melyeket szoptál. Ő pedig mondta: Sőt inkább boldogok, akik hallgatják az Istennek beszédét, és m e g t a r t j á k azt." (Lukács 11:27-28.)
Különleges tanítás a katolikus egyházban Máriával kapcsolatban, a "szeplőtelen fogantatás". Ezt dogmaként 1854-ben fogadták el, IX. Pius "Ineffabilis Deus" kezdetű enciklikája kéréseként, és abban rejlik különlegessége, hogy a Szűzanya a fogantatásának első pillanataitól kezdve mentes volt az öröklött bűnök terhétől. A dogmát "ex cathedra" kijelentő bulla definíciójában ezek szerepelnek: "A Boldogságos Szűz az áteredő bűn minden szennyétől mentes volt." (Katolikus dogmatika 629.l.) Ez a tanítás is közelebb visz a pogány istenanya képhez, amiben benne van a természetfeletti fogantatása az istennőnek. Ő is különleges úton került a földre, nem egyszerű halandó tehát, hanem isteni természetű. Bibliai tanítás-e ez? Válaszoljunk erre a The Catholic Encyclopedia szavaival: "Nem található közvetlen vagy kategorikus bizonyíték arra nézve, hogy ez a dogma a Bibliából levezethető. Fokozatos fejlődése ez a tannak." (675.l.)
Mária kiválasztott edény volt, istenhívő és erényes, de ugyanannyira ember, mint bárki más, Ádám leszármazottai közül. "Mert mindnyájan vétkeztek és szűkölködnek az Isten dicsősége nélkül." (Római levél 3:23.)
Az egyedüli kivétel Jézus Krisztus. Mint bárki másnak, Máriának is Megváltóra volt szüksége, és ezt ő kinyilvánította, mikor azt mondta: "És örvendez az én lelkem az én megtartó Istenemben." (Lukács 1:47.)
Jézus nem földi édesanyja különleges természetéből nyerte istenségét. Ő az Atya egyszülött Fia, istensége az Atyától van. "Igazságos Atyám! És e világ nem ismert téged, de én ismertelek téged; és ezek megismerik, hogy te küldtél engem, és megismertettem velük a te nevedet, és megismertetem, hogy az a szeretet legyen őbennük, amellyel engem szerettél, és én is őbennük legyek." János 17:25-26. !
Egyszer valaki megemlítette Jézusnak anyját és testvéreit. Jézus megkérdezte: "Ki az én anyám? És kik az én testvéreim? És kinyújtva kezét az ő tanítványaira, mondta: Íme az én anyám, és az én testvéreim! Mert aki c s e l e k s z i az én mennyei Atyám akaratát, az nékem fitestvérem, nőtestvérem és anyám." (Máté 12:48-50.)
Bárki, aki az Isten akaratát cselekszi, egyazon szinten van Máriával.
Máriának, Jézus Krisztus földi édesanyja imádásának egyik katolikus egyházi indoka Gábriel angyal üdvözlése: "Áldott vagy te az asszonyok között." (Lukács 1:28.) . De ez nem teszi őt isteni személlyé, hisz több századdal előtte ugyanez az áldás például Jáhelre is szállt: "Áldott legyen az asszonyok felett Jáhel…" (Bírák 5:24.!)
Pünkösd előtt Mária – együtt imádkozva a tanítványokkal – várta a Szentlélek kitöltetését. Azt olvassuk: "Ezek mindnyájan egy szívvel-lélekkel foglalatosak voltak az imádkozásban és könyörgésben, az asszonyokkal és Máriával, Jézusnak anyjával, és az ő atyjafiaival együtt." (Ap.csel. 1:14.) Mária tehát nincs központi helyen itt. A tanítványok nem rá figyeltek akkor. A feltámadott Krisztusra nézve, várták ígéretének beteljesedését. A katekizmus tanításában (pl. az "Official Baltimora Catechism." 11. leckéjében) Mária központi helyet foglal el. Ismerjük a metszetet, melyen Mária középen, a tanítványoktól körülvéve fogadja a galamb formájában rászálló Szentlelket. A Biblia szerint a Szentlélek ilyen formában csak és kizárólag Jézusra szállt, keresztelésekor, senki másra. Ugyanakkor az antik anyaistenségeket (Astarte, Kübelé, Ízisz, Junó) gyakran galambbal a fejükön, vagy pedig fejük fölött ábrázolták. (T.W.Doane: Bible Myths, 357.l.)
Egy másik tanítás Máriáról a végleges szüzessége (aiparthenosz = semper virgo = mindenkor szűz), mely szerint egész életében ebben az állapotban maradt. De ahogy ezt az Encyclopedia Brittannica (999.l.) is jelzi, ez a tanítás Krisztus után több, mint háromszáz évvel keletkezett, és csak a II. Konstantinápolyi Zsinat (isz. 553) fogadta el hivatalosan, dogmaként. Az I. Lateráni Zsinat (isz. 649.) ezt így értelmezte: szűzi fogantatás, szűzi szülés és szüzesség a szülés után is. (DS 503).
A Szentírás tanúsága szerint Jézus születése természetfeletti fogantatás eredménye volt (Máté 1:23.), földi apa nélkül.
De miután Jézus megszületett, Mária több gyermeket is szült Józseftől, az ő természetes, bizony hús-vér férjétől. Jézus volt Mária "elsőszülötte" (Máté 1:25.), de nem feltétlenül az egyedüli. Négy fiútestvéréről történik említés, ők azonban vér szerinti testvérei bizonyára nem lehettek, hiszen Máriát akkor nem bízta volna Jézus János apostolra (Máté 13:55.)
A názáreti nép kérdéséből lánytestvéreire következtethetünk: "És az ő nőtestvérei is nem mind nálunk vannak-e? (Máté 13:56.). Ugyanakkor olvassuk Máté evangéliumában: "És nem ismerte őt, míg meg nem szülte az ő elsőszülött fiát." (Máté 1:25.). Meg kell jegyezni, hogy a mariológia megkérdőjelezi nyelvészeti szempontokból a "Jézus testvérei" fogalmat.
Kövekező tanítás Mária mennybemenetele, és ott az ég királynőjévé való válása. Ezt a dogmát csak 1950-ben fogadtatta el XII. Pius pápa. "Ex cathedra" hirdette ki "Magnificenntissimus Deus" kezdetű bullájában: "Mária földi életpályája befejezése után testével és lelkével együtt felvétetett a mennyei dicsőségbe." (DS 3903, Katolikus dogmatika, 635.l.)
Szent Bernáttól az idézet: "Mária halála után a harmadik napon, amikor a tanítványok a sír körül gyülekeztek, azt üresen találták. A szent test felemeltetett az Égi Paradicsomba… A sírnak nem volt hatalma afelett, aki szeplőtelen volt… De nem csak egyszerű polgára a mennyeknek… Különleges méltósága van az arkangyalok legnagyobbjai között. Az "Ég Királynőjeként" koronázta meg az örökkévaló Atya, és trónt kapott a Fiú jobb keze felől… Most nap mint nap, óráról órára imádkozik érettünk, kegyelmet kér számunkra, megóv a veszélytől, megvéd a kísértésektől, áldást áraszt ránk."
A Biblia nem említ viszont semmit erről az eseményről.
"A Szentírásban formális bizonyíték nincs, sőt a szenthagyomány is hallgat róla az első négy-öt században." (Katolikus dogmatika, 636.l.)
Olvassuk János evangéliumából a mennybemenetellel kapcsolatban: "És senki sem ment fel a mennybe, hanemha az, aki a mennyből szállott alá, az embernek Fia…" (3:13.)
A kérdésfelvetés e tanítással kapcsolatban a régi: Marad a Biblia szerinti "Sola Scriptura"-elv, vagy minden megítélés a kinyilatkoztatástól függetlenül "sub speciae speculatio" – az emberi okoskodások égisze alatt – tárgyalható?
Nem tudnád tárgyilagosabban is fölfogni a dolgot? Hát legalább olvasd el, hogy megbírálhassad. És legyél olyan meggyőződésben, amilyenben lenni akarsz.
Azért hallatlan, hogy elutasítasz magadtól egy olyan tanulmányt, ami nem csak a te szemszögedből vizsgálja a Mária-kultuszt.
Hát nem az volt a kérésed, hogy szóljunk hozzá?
Hát nem te hoztad ide be azt topic-ként?
Nos, ha ezt megtetted, örülnöd kellene a hozzászólásoknak. Más kérdés, hogy elfogadod-e, vagy sem.
Véletlenül sem hiszem el, hogy amit az ehhez szánt topic-ba betettem, te 2 perc alatt átolvastad. Nem. Lesajnálod, magadat akarod olvasni, meg a kétség nélkül tuti szimpatizánsokét.
Vigor,
Egy kis hozzászólás, nem saját tollamból. De ugyanez szól Aranyviktornak, Balázsnak, speakernek, és mindenkinek.
Sajnos, lefordítani nincs időm (legalábbis most)de majd igyekszem magyar nyelvre leford.
Fulfilled Prophecy
Do We Notice?
"For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God." Job 22:26.
"Thou art the fountain which gives us life: Thy love is the sun by which we live." Psalm 36:9, German Good News translation.
"Then I Myself will be thy fountain of joy. I will make thee triumph over every hindrance, and thou canst enjoy the heritage of the land that I gave to your forefather Jacob." Isaiah 58:14, German Good News translation.
"…They have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." Jeremiah 2:13.
Though God invites us to come directly to Him, many people have chosen instead to worship "Mary," and have thereby put their own obstruction between themselves and God.
The Lord is the Source of life. He alone is to be worshiped. Today, unfortunately, approximately one billion Catholic "Christians," or about twenty percent of the world's population, have let themselves be seduced into drinking from a different, broken cistern, seeking their refuge in Mary, the mother of Jesus, rather than in God.
Mary, Jesus' mother
"In thy hands I place my eternal salvation, and to thee do I entrust my soul.… For, if thou protect me, dear Mother, I fear nothing; not from my sins, because thou wilt obtain for me the pardon of them; nor from the devils, because thou art more powerful than all hell together; nor even from Jesus, my Judge himself, because by one prayer from thee, he will be appeased." --Devotions in Honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. At the World Youth Day in Denver, in 1993, Pope John Paul II prayed: "In Mary the final victory of life over death is already a reality.… You … help us to increase in holiness by conquering sin." --NRI Trumpet, October 1993.
"Mary is so perfectly united with the Holy Spirit that He acts only through [her] His spouse.… All our life, every thought, word, and deed is in Her hands … at every moment, She Herself must instruct, guide, and transform each one of us into Herself, so that not we but She lives in us, as Jesus lives in Her, and the Father in the Son." --Soul Magazine, November-December 1984.
"Mary is the refuge of sinners … the Gate of Heaven … our way to enter into paradise." --Catholic Twin Circle, August 26, 1990, p. 20 (quoted in Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast, pp. 434, 443, 445, 446).
"Even if many Catholics do not want to believe it, Mary has long occupied the place of God and Jesus. It may seem an exaggeration to consider Mary a main divinity of Catholicism, but one should realize what is written in the following excerpt from the classic long accepted by the Vatican, written by Cardinal Alphonsus de Liguori [The Glories of Mary, Tan Books, 1977]: 'He who does not seek refuge in Mary is fallen and lost.… When we seek refuge in Mary and call upon her holy name, we are heard much more quickly than when we call the name of Jesus, our Redeemer.… We request much from God, and it is not granted. Request from Mary and it is already received, [for] she is even the queen of hell.… To you [Mary] all power is given in heaven and on earth, so that all obey at Mary's command, even God. God also placed the entire church … under Mary's sovereignty.'" --Dave Hunt, Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), p. 125.
We find what is to believers in the Bible additional blasphemy against God in the encyclical Ubi Primum, which Pope Pius IX issued on February 2, 1849: "…Her foot crushed Satan's head.…" The reference here is to the text in Genesis 3:15: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel."
Believers recognize clearly that "Mary" was placed in the position of Christ and God. Offices belonging exclusively to God's Son are attributed to her.
Mary in history
"And the angel came in unto her [Mary], and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." Luke 1:28. This verse states nothing about a recommendation or necessity of worshiping Mary. Mary would be the mother of the Redeemer. That was a great honor granted to her by Heaven. After Jesus' death, we have only one concrete Biblical reference about Mary: "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren." Acts 1:14. This text gives no hint or sign of reverence such as is found everywhere today. All other Biblical sources lead to the same conclusion. Thus it is clearly obvious: The worship of "Mary," mariology, and the current mariolotry are devoid of every Biblical basis. They are forms of adoration and worship initiated by Satan and instituted by men.
When one goes from the number of graves, Mary is surely the only woman in the world who supposedly rests in two graves. A person can visit one grave of Mary in Jerusalem and a second in Ephesus. "After Jesus' death, she lived with John in Ephesus and died and was buried there. Everyone can see her grave still today." --M. Kobialka, Die Ausserirdischen (The Extraterrestrials), p. 124.
We find evidence of worship of Mary as early as the fifth century A.D. In A.D. 428, Nestor of Antioch was called to Constantinople. In his sermons, he claimed that Mary should not be called the mother of God. This attitude brought resistance from the energetic Bishop Curill in Alexandria. Finally these differences of opinion were supposed to be clarified at the Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431. But this was not successful. At this tumultuous meeting, Nestor, the opponent of the mother of God, was arrested and exiled. His opponent, Curill, the bishop of Alexandria, was permitted to leave and reassume his office of bishop. In this way, his opinion became church doctrine. Thus Jesus' earthly mother was raised to the mother of God.
Does “Mary” help?
"The acceptance of folk worship in the 12th century increased the meaning of the virgin 'Mary.' She became the intercessor for her Son, almost His rival. The universal view of the virgin was enhanced by the belief that at the end of her earthly existence she was accepted body and soul into heaven." --Caroline Marshall, Eerdman's Handbook to the History of Christianity, 1977, p. 296.
"Not until the 16th century did doubt emerge in the validity of this worship [of Mary], and the Reformers rejected it.… After the Reformation, a new mariolotry blossomed in Catholic countries." --Franz Jantsch, Das Konzil und Du (The Council and You), Graz, Austria, 1966, p. 105. "The Catholics were inclined to lose the humanity of Christ from sight.… This led to the need for a mediator to the mediator through a holy and powerful authority.… The rise of mariology went along with the decline of christology." --Peter de Rosa, Gottes erste Diener (original: Vicars of Christ, Bantam Press, 1988), p. 295.
Therefore, veneration of "Mary," which was quietly tolerated by Catholic clergy, became worship of "Mary." Nevertheless, officially, it is clearly said: "People reproach the Catholics erroneously that they worship 'Mary.' We don't worship 'Mary'; that would be idolatry, because she is only a human and worship belongs alone to God, but we adore her." --Das Konzil und Du (The Council and You), p. 101. But even Catholic theologians say that the difference between adoration and worship is hard to define.
Only much later did people "discover" that "Mary" had already gone to heaven and therefore no longer rested in the grave in Ephesus: "That was when Pius XII defined an additional marian doctrine in 1950: Ascension of Mary. He explained that at the end of her life she was translated body and soul to heaven. Even with his 'special help from God' he couldn't tell with certainty whether she died or not." --Gottes erste Diener (Vicars of Christ), p. 311.
"According to the teaching of the church, she was resurrected and rose to heaven with her body. The Holy Scriptures report nothing about this." --Das Konzil und Du (The Council and You), p. 101. "There is not an iota of proof from the Holy Scriptures in favor of this dogma. It was only composed from legend, that is, from human traditions." --Clark Butterfield, Night Journey from Rome to the New Jerusalem, p. 61."
"There are doctrines concerning Our Lady which are not explicitly taught in Scripture, but which have been handed down through Holy Tradition,…" --T. and M. Flynn, The Thunder of Justice, p. 79.
"Mary was increasingly exalted, while Christ has relatively lost significance. No rejection of Christ by the world is more cunningly contrived than the calculated degradation of the Redeemer by the Catholic Church in the name of true Christianity.… In relation to the Mary of Catholicism, Jesus Christ is a minor figure." --Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), pp. 126, 127.
We can summarize: The adoration of "Mary" is not Biblically valid. This belief developed through Catholic Church tradition over the centuries. Thus the veneration of Mary is based on nothing more than human commandments and habits. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Colossians 2:8.
“Mary” today
The current pope is considered to be an ardent worshiper of "Mary." "John Paul II, who 'has dedicated himself and his pontificate to Our Dear Lady,' wears on his robe an M for Mary. And his personal motto is embroidered on the inside of his coat in the Latin language: 'Totus tuus sum Maria' [I belong fully to you, Mary]." --Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), p. 129.
"John Paul's kissing of the ground on arrival [in England] was the sign of the historic claim that this country belongs to Mary and the Mother Church. Professor Malachi Martin, who is described as a former Jesuit, and who worked closely with the present Pope in the Vatican, confirms that the practice of kissing the soil of each nation the Pope visits is to consecrate that country to Mary, to whose service he is dedicated." --Michael de Semlyen, All Roads Lead to Rome? pp. 47, 48. Malachi Martin was formerly Professor at the Papal Bible Institute of the Vatican.
"The most prominent figure by far in Roman Catholicism is a woman. She overshadows all else, including even God Himself. More prayers are offered to the Catholic Mary and more attention and honor is given to her than to Christ and God combined. There are thousands of shrines to Mary around the world (and hundreds of shrines to other 'saints'), but scarcely more than a handful of minor shrines to Christ himself.…
"There are 937 Marian shrines in France alone." --A Woman Rides the Beast, pp. 435, 453.
"As no man goes to the Father except by the Son, so no man goes to the Son except by His Mother." --Papal Encyclical 1897 (All Roads Lead to Rome? p. 53). Here Mary is designated by the Catholic Church as the only way for establishing contact with Christ and the Father. This is unbiblical. Christ says, "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you." "And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you." John 15:16; 16:23.
Spiritualism
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die." Genesis 3:4. Those words are "the foundation of spiritualism." --Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 344. That was the beginning of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Now we need a clear definition so we do not mix the two concepts of spiritism and occultism. Spiritism (or spiritualism) is "a belief that spirits of the dead communicate with the living usually through a medium." --Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. "Occultism is the teaching of supposed hidden powers, which are made useful to people. Occultism gets its name not from the object but from the mystery with which its diverse forms of intuition and manifestation are surrounded." --Readers Digest Universallexikon (Reader's Digest Universal Lexicon). One theologian defines it very strikingly: "Occultism is a collective name for all doctrines and practices in which not Jesus Christ but Satan stands at the center (fortune telling, witchcraft, telepathy, clairvoyance, idolatry, reading horoscopes, astrology, etc.)." --Ulrich Bäumer, Wir wollen nur deine Seele (We Only Want Your Soul), p. 44. In short, spiritism deals with contact with the dead; occultism is made up of all the other forms of apparitions.
God's word compares death to a sleep. Jesus Himself described the end of this sleep: "And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." "Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:39, 54. The dead will be resurrected by Jesus at the last day. Not before!
This is exactly how the early Christian churches believed: "Concerning the martyr Justin [born about A.D. 100], he said in his famous conversation with the Jew Tryphon: 'For I desire to follow neither men nor human teachings but God and the teachings which come from Him. If you are acquainted with people who call themselves Christians … and who claim that their souls are received in heaven immediately after death, do not consider them Christians.' " --Martino Tomasi, Auferstehung und Tod (Resurrection and Death), p. 55. "Thus, in the middle of the second century, the platonic teaching of immortality was still considered by true Christians an ungodly, antichristian teaching which one would encounter only among people who falsely called themselves Christians." --L. Reinhardt, Kennt die Bibel das Jenseits? (Is the Beyond a Biblical Concept?), pp. 149, 150.
"It is said of the Egyptians, who were convinced of continuing existence after death, that they were the first people to teach the immortality of the soul." --Auferstehung und Tod (Resurrection and Death), p. 33. Isaiah 19:3 gives us Biblical proof of this statement: "And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards." Therefore, God's word warns very clearly: "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." "And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set My face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people." Leviticus 19:31; 20:6.
"Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome." --Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588. "We cannot draw from spiritistic wells. The Bible rejects spiritism in every form. Contacts with powers from the 'other world' contrived by spiritism bring us in connection with demonic powers." --Auferstehung und Tod (Resurrection and Death), p. 36. "But it [spiritualism] comes so direct from his satanic majesty, that he claims the right to control all who have to do with it,…" --Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 343.
Mary is dead. Therefore, contacts with "Mary" are contacts with the dead and, hence, spiritualistic.
“Mary” and spiritism
Over the centuries, there have been many so-called appearances of Mary. The most well known are perhaps La Salette (1846) and Lourdes (1858) in France, Fatima (1917) in Portugal, and Medjugorje (1981) in Yugoslavia. Some less well known are those of Don Gobbi in Italy (1972) and Vassula Ryden in Switzerland (1984). What is not well known is the huge number of such appearances: In Erscheinungen und Botschaften der Gottesmutter Maria (Appearances and Messages of God's Mother Mary), which carries the subtitle, "Complete Documentation over Two Millennia," 981 appearances of "Mary" are described up to the year 1992. In addition to the number, it is surprising that 427 are supposed to have occurred in this century alone. 774 appearances were in Europe, of which the most visits were in Ireland with 199, France 171, and Germany 112.
Statements from other sources come to even greater numbers: "The number of appearances has become so great that even a specialist in this area like mariologist Rene Laurentin concedes: 'A single person can no longer get an overview.… One can only wonder when he views the statistics of Benedictine Bernard Billet. He rec Fulfilled Prophecy
Do We Notice?
"For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God." Job 22:26.
"Thou art the fountain which gives us life: Thy love is the sun by which we live." Psalm 36:9, German Good News translation.
"Then I Myself will be thy fountain of joy. I will make thee triumph over every hindrance, and thou canst enjoy the heritage of the land that I gave to your forefather Jacob." Isaiah 58:14, German Good News translation.
"…They have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." Jeremiah 2:13.
Though God invites us to come directly to Him, many people have chosen instead to worship "Mary," and have thereby put their own obstruction between themselves and God.
The Lord is the Source of life. He alone is to be worshiped. Today, unfortunately, approximately one billion Catholic "Christians," or about twenty percent of the world's population, have let themselves be seduced into drinking from a different, broken cistern, seeking their refuge in Mary, the mother of Jesus, rather than in God.
Mary, Jesus' mother
"In thy hands I place my eternal salvation, and to thee do I entrust my soul.… For, if thou protect me, dear Mother, I fear nothing; not from my sins, because thou wilt obtain for me the pardon of them; nor from the devils, because thou art more powerful than all hell together; nor even from Jesus, my Judge himself, because by one prayer from thee, he will be appeased." --Devotions in Honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. At the World Youth Day in Denver, in 1993, Pope John Paul II prayed: "In Mary the final victory of life over death is already a reality.… You … help us to increase in holiness by conquering sin." --NRI Trumpet, October 1993.
"Mary is so perfectly united with the Holy Spirit that He acts only through [her] His spouse.… All our life, every thought, word, and deed is in Her hands … at every moment, She Herself must instruct, guide, and transform each one of us into Herself, so that not we but She lives in us, as Jesus lives in Her, and the Father in the Son." --Soul Magazine, November-December 1984.
"Mary is the refuge of sinners … the Gate of Heaven … our way to enter into paradise." --Catholic Twin Circle, August 26, 1990, p. 20 (quoted in Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast, pp. 434, 443, 445, 446).
"Even if many Catholics do not want to believe it, Mary has long occupied the place of God and Jesus. It may seem an exaggeration to consider Mary a main divinity of Catholicism, but one should realize what is written in the following excerpt from the classic long accepted by the Vatican, written by Cardinal Alphonsus de Liguori [The Glories of Mary, Tan Books, 1977]: 'He who does not seek refuge in Mary is fallen and lost.… When we seek refuge in Mary and call upon her holy name, we are heard much more quickly than when we call the name of Jesus, our Redeemer.… We request much from God, and it is not granted. Request from Mary and it is already received, [for] she is even the queen of hell.… To you [Mary] all power is given in heaven and on earth, so that all obey at Mary's command, even God. God also placed the entire church … under Mary's sovereignty.'" --Dave Hunt, Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), p. 125.
We find what is to believers in the Bible additional blasphemy against God in the encyclical Ubi Primum, which Pope Pius IX issued on February 2, 1849: "…Her foot crushed Satan's head.…" The reference here is to the text in Genesis 3:15: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel."
Believers recognize clearly that "Mary" was placed in the position of Christ and God. Offices belonging exclusively to God's Son are attributed to her.
Mary in history
"And the angel came in unto her [Mary], and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." Luke 1:28. This verse states nothing about a recommendation or necessity of worshiping Mary. Mary would be the mother of the Redeemer. That was a great honor granted to her by Heaven. After Jesus' death, we have only one concrete Biblical reference about Mary: "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren." Acts 1:14. This text gives no hint or sign of reverence such as is found everywhere today. All other Biblical sources lead to the same conclusion. Thus it is clearly obvious: The worship of "Mary," mariology, and the current mariolotry are devoid of every Biblical basis. They are forms of adoration and worship initiated by Satan and instituted by men.
When one goes from the number of graves, Mary is surely the only woman in the world who supposedly rests in two graves. A person can visit one grave of Mary in Jerusalem and a second in Ephesus. "After Jesus' death, she lived with John in Ephesus and died and was buried there. Everyone can see her grave still today." --M. Kobialka, Die Ausserirdischen (The Extraterrestrials), p. 124.
We find evidence of worship of Mary as early as the fifth century A.D. In A.D. 428, Nestor of Antioch was called to Constantinople. In his sermons, he claimed that Mary should not be called the mother of God. This attitude brought resistance from the energetic Bishop Curill in Alexandria. Finally these differences of opinion were supposed to be clarified at the Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431. But this was not successful. At this tumultuous meeting, Nestor, the opponent of the mother of God, was arrested and exiled. His opponent, Curill, the bishop of Alexandria, was permitted to leave and reassume his office of bishop. In this way, his opinion became church doctrine. Thus Jesus' earthly mother was raised to the mother of God.
Does “Mary” help?
"The acceptance of folk worship in the 12th century increased the meaning of the virgin 'Mary.' She became the intercessor for her Son, almost His rival. The universal view of the virgin was enhanced by the belief that at the end of her earthly existence she was accepted body and soul into heaven." --Caroline Marshall, Eerdman's Handbook to the History of Christianity, 1977, p. 296.
"Not until the 16th century did doubt emerge in the validity of this worship [of Mary], and the Reformers rejected it.… After the Reformation, a new mariolotry blossomed in Catholic countries." --Franz Jantsch, Das Konzil und Du (The Council and You), Graz, Austria, 1966, p. 105. "The Catholics were inclined to lose the humanity of Christ from sight.… This led to the need for a mediator to the mediator through a holy and powerful authority.… The rise of mariology went along with the decline of christology." --Peter de Rosa, Gottes erste Diener (original: Vicars of Christ, Bantam Press, 1988), p. 295.
Therefore, veneration of "Mary," which was quietly tolerated by Catholic clergy, became worship of "Mary." Nevertheless, officially, it is clearly said: "People reproach the Catholics erroneously that they worship 'Mary.' We don't worship 'Mary'; that would be idolatry, because she is only a human and worship belongs alone to God, but we adore her." --Das Konzil und Du (The Council and You), p. 101. But even Catholic theologians say that the difference between adoration and worship is hard to define.
Only much later did people "discover" that "Mary" had already gone to heaven and therefore no longer rested in the grave in Ephesus: "That was when Pius XII defined an additional marian doctrine in 1950: Ascension of Mary. He explained that at the end of her life she was translated body and soul to heaven. Even with his 'special help from God' he couldn't tell with certainty whether she died or not." --Gottes erste Diener (Vicars of Christ), p. 311.
"According to the teaching of the church, she was resurrected and rose to heaven with her body. The Holy Scriptures report nothing about this." --Das Konzil und Du (The Council and You), p. 101. "There is not an iota of proof from the Holy Scriptures in favor of this dogma. It was only composed from legend, that is, from human traditions." --Clark Butterfield, Night Journey from Rome to the New Jerusalem, p. 61."
"There are doctrines concerning Our Lady which are not explicitly taught in Scripture, but which have been handed down through Holy Tradition,…" --T. and M. Flynn, The Thunder of Justice, p. 79.
"Mary was increasingly exalted, while Christ has relatively lost significance. No rejection of Christ by the world is more cunningly contrived than the calculated degradation of the Redeemer by the Catholic Church in the name of true Christianity.… In relation to the Mary of Catholicism, Jesus Christ is a minor figure." --Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), pp. 126, 127.
We can summarize: The adoration of "Mary" is not Biblically valid. This belief developed through Catholic Church tradition over the centuries. Thus the veneration of Mary is based on nothing more than human commandments and habits. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Colossians 2:8.
“Mary” today
The current pope is considered to be an ardent worshiper of "Mary." "John Paul II, who 'has dedicated himself and his pontificate to Our Dear Lady,' wears on his robe an M for Mary. And his personal motto is embroidered on the inside of his coat in the Latin language: 'Totus tuus sum Maria' [I belong fully to you, Mary]." --Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), p. 129.
"John Paul's kissing of the ground on arrival [in England] was the sign of the historic claim that this country belongs to Mary and the Mother Church. Professor Malachi Martin, who is described as a former Jesuit, and who worked closely with the present Pope in the Vatican, confirms that the practice of kissing the soil of each nation the Pope visits is to consecrate that country to Mary, to whose service he is dedicated." --Michael de Semlyen, All Roads Lead to Rome? pp. 47, 48. Malachi Martin was formerly Professor at the Papal Bible Institute of the Vatican.
"The most prominent figure by far in Roman Catholicism is a woman. She overshadows all else, including even God Himself. More prayers are offered to the Catholic Mary and more attention and honor is given to her than to Christ and God combined. There are thousands of shrines to Mary around the world (and hundreds of shrines to other 'saints'), but scarcely more than a handful of minor shrines to Christ himself.…
"There are 937 Marian shrines in France alone." --A Woman Rides the Beast, pp. 435, 453.
"As no man goes to the Father except by the Son, so no man goes to the Son except by His Mother." --Papal Encyclical 1897 (All Roads Lead to Rome? p. 53). Here Mary is designated by the Catholic Church as the only way for establishing contact with Christ and the Father. This is unbiblical. Christ says, "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you." "And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you." John 15:16; 16:23.
Spiritualism
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die." Genesis 3:4. Those words are "the foundation of spiritualism." --Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 344. That was the beginning of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Now we need a clear definition so we do not mix the two concepts of spiritism and occultism. Spiritism (or spiritualism) is "a belief that spirits of the dead communicate with the living usually through a medium." --Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. "Occultism is the teaching of supposed hidden powers, which are made useful to people. Occultism gets its name not from the object but from the mystery with which its diverse forms of intuition and manifestation are surrounded." --Readers Digest Universallexikon (Reader's Digest Universal Lexicon). One theologian defines it very strikingly: "Occultism is a collective name for all doctrines and practices in which not Jesus Christ but Satan stands at the center (fortune telling, witchcraft, telepathy, clairvoyance, idolatry, reading horoscopes, astrology, etc.)." --Ulrich Bäumer, Wir wollen nur deine Seele (We Only Want Your Soul), p. 44. In short, spiritism deals with contact with the dead; occultism is made up of all the other forms of apparitions.
God's word compares death to a sleep. Jesus Himself described the end of this sleep: "And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." "Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:39, 54. The dead will be resurrected by Jesus at the last day. Not before!
This is exactly how the early Christian churches believed: "Concerning the martyr Justin [born about A.D. 100], he said in his famous conversation with the Jew Tryphon: 'For I desire to follow neither men nor human teachings but God and the teachings which come from Him. If you are acquainted with people who call themselves Christians … and who claim that their souls are received in heaven immediately after death, do not consider them Christians.' " --Martino Tomasi, Auferstehung und Tod (Resurrection and Death), p. 55. "Thus, in the middle of the second century, the platonic teaching of immortality was still considered by true Christians an ungodly, antichristian teaching which one would encounter only among people who falsely called themselves Christians." --L. Reinhardt, Kennt die Bibel das Jenseits? (Is the Beyond a Biblical Concept?), pp. 149, 150.
"It is said of the Egyptians, who were convinced of continuing existence after death, that they were the first people to teach the immortality of the soul." --Auferstehung und Tod (Resurrection and Death), p. 33. Isaiah 19:3 gives us Biblical proof of this statement: "And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards." Therefore, God's word warns very clearly: "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." "And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set My face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people." Leviticus 19:31; 20:6.
"Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome." --Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588. "We cannot draw from spiritistic wells. The Bible rejects spiritism in every form. Contacts with powers from the 'other world' contrived by spiritism bring us in connection with demonic powers." --Auferstehung und Tod (Resurrection and Death), p. 36. "But it [spiritualism] comes so direct from his satanic majesty, that he claims the right to control all who have to do with it,…" --Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 343.
Mary is dead. Therefore, contacts with "Mary" are contacts with the dead and, hence, spiritualistic.
“Mary” and spiritism
Over the centuries, there have been many so-called appearances of Mary. The most well known are perhaps La Salette (1846) and Lourdes (1858) in France, Fatima (1917) in Portugal, and Medjugorje (1981) in Yugoslavia. Some less well known are those of Don Gobbi in Italy (1972) and Vassula Ryden in Switzerland (1984). What is not well known is the huge number of such appearances: In Erscheinungen und Botschaften der Gottesmutter Maria (Appearances and Messages of God's Mother Mary), which carries the subtitle, "Complete Documentation over Two Millennia," 981 appearances of "Mary" are described up to the year 1992. In addition to the number, it is surprising that 427 are supposed to have occurred in this century alone. 774 appearances were in Europe, of which the most visits were in Ireland with 199, France 171, and Germany 112.
Statements from other sources come to even greater numbers: "The number of appearances has become so great that even a specialist in this area like mariologist Rene Laurentin concedes: 'A single person can no longer get an overview.… One can only wonder when he views the statistics of Benedictine Bernard Billet. He recorded 101 appearances in 1971, as many as 210 for the year 1976, and more than 300 in 1987!' " --E. Marmy, Kleiner Wegweiser zu den Marienerscheinungen (Small Guide to the Appearances of Mary), p. 11.
"In the Spanish village of Garabandal alone, it came to approximately 2,000 appearances, accompanied by occult phenomena and messages to the world." --Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), p. 285.
The icons, images, and apparitions are similar to the styles and occurrences in other pagan religions.
Ida Peerdeman from Amsterdam, Holland
In the years from 1945 to 1959, Ida Peerdeman from Amsterdam, Holland, received a total of 56 mystical appearances. From May 31, 1972, to March 25, 1984, she had an additional 113 contacts with mediums. In many cases, she experienced the appearances during the mass, when she had the host in her mouth. At the end of the vision, the host was usually still completely dry. Her accounts ranged from the instruction that ecumenism be continued further, or the recommendation that "Mary" be worshiped, to the death of the ruling Pope Paul VI and John Paul I. On June 11, 1978, a voice spoke to her during the mass: "I'll tell you a secret. Listen. Before two months pass, Pope Paul VI will pass into eternal life." --Josef Künzli, Eucharistische Erlebnisse (Eucharistic Experiences), p. 98. He died on Sunday, August 6, 1978, at 9:40 a.m.--within the two months Ida had been informed of in her vision.
On September 28, 1978, Ida Peerdeman "sat in front of the television and watched the news at 8:00 p.m. It was strange that I thought, Can't there be some news about the pope [John Paul I]? But nothing was mentioned. After the news … I suddenly heard in my mind, 'Imagine, this pope is already dying.' " --Eucharistische Erlebnisse (Eucharistic Experiences), p. 98. "Sometime late at night on the 28th or during the night of September 29, 1978, 33 days after his election, John Paul I breathed his last breath. Time of death: unknown; cause of death: unknown." --David Yallop, Im Namen Gottes? (In the Name of God?), p. 17.
On March 25, 1973, Ida Peerdeman had another contact. In this vision, among other things, she saw the Vatican. Subsequently she saw a triangle with an eye in the middle. Then Ida heard a voice which gave her a message. In the same vision, she was also shown the rainbow. In a later vision in 1978, she saw a symmetrical cross in the sky.
Her last vision on May 25, 1984, is noteworthy: "I clearly heard a voice saying: 'The time of the "lady of all peoples" as the co-redeemer will soon dawn.' Then heavenly music sounded in my ears and I saw a glorious crown shining like diamonds. Then everything passed from before my eyes and slowly the light disappeared." --Eucharistische Erlebnisse (Eucharistic Experiences), p. 140.
"In those churches which he [Satan] can bring under his deceptive power he will make it appear that God's special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest." --The Great Controversy, p. 464. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1.
Alice Ann Bailey (1880-1949) is considered one of the brightest figures in the New Age movement. She "recommended the use of specific symbols such as the rainbow, the triangle,… the symmetrical cross, and the pyramid." --Regina Hinrichs, Ihr werdet sein wie Gott (You Will Be As God), p. 18.
The thoughts of Sister Ellen G. White were never so correct as they are today: "It is true that Spiritualism is now changing its form, and, veiling some of its more objectionable features, is assuming a Christian guise.…
"Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world." --The Great Controversy, p. 558. Today, the great controversy between light and darkness is being played out around us. "Little by little he [Satan] has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism. He has not yet reached the full accomplishment of his designs; but it will be reached in the last remnant of time." --The Great Controversy, p. 561.
Is mariolotry not Satan's masterpiece?
Are people who believe the Bible immune to this?
"A woman in the Rhineland [Germany] came to know the Bible. One day she was sitting in her kitchen reading the Bible. Suddenly there was a bright light in the room, and in the light she saw a beautiful young woman dressed in light blue. She smiled at her and said in a soft, kind voice, 'I am the Holy Virgin, and I've come to keep you from the way of error. Kneel down, my daughter; I will bless you and give you a message from Jesus.' The woman then did something that is the one single means that can always unmask deceptive demons: 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to tell me who you really are!' She thus placed herself under the protecting power of the Lord Jesus Christ.… Suddenly the beautiful virgin changed into a hideous, cursing demon, stormed past her, gave her a push, from which she suffered a long time, and disappeared." --Die Ausserirdischen (The Extraterrestrials), pp. 120, 121.
"They [the saints] must understand the state of the dead; for the spirits of devils will yet appear to them, professing to be beloved friends and relatives,…" --Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 87. "For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect." Mark 13:22. "Go to God for yourselves; pray for divine enlightenment, that you may know that you do know what is truth, that when the wonderful miracle-working power shall be displayed, and the enemy shall come as an angel of light, you may distinguish between the genuine work of God and the imitative work of the powers of darkness." --Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 389.
Tre Fontane, Italy, 1947
Bruno Cornacchiola, born in 1913, had what we would say today was a bad childhood. He and his five brothers and sisters were left practically alone, because their mother alone cared for the family. The father drank. Later Bruno joined the Italian military. After his discharge, he participated in the Spanish civil war. In 1939, he returned to Italy as an anti-Catholic. He first became Baptist, then later Adventist. At home he incinerated all the images and crucifixes. "He became a passionate agitator against Catholic Italy and especially against Mary." --Erscheinungen und Botschaften der Gottesmutter Maria (Appearances and Messages of God's Mother Mary), p. 350.
On April 12, 1947, he went on an excursion in the woods near the Tre Fontane monastery. His children were playing near a cave. Catholic sources say that he "was preparing a lecture in which he wanted to prove that 'Mary' was not the virgin, was not immaculate, and had not been accepted into heaven." --Ibid. His children called to him, because they had lost their ball. He was helping them look for it, and suddenly he saw a shining white face light up: "The mother of God wears a bright white tunic, bound at the waist by a rose ribbon, with a green veil over her head, reaching to the ground.… The vision thrills Bruno. Then he hears a voice: '…You are persecuting me. Now it is enough. Enter the holy fold, the heavenly court on earth.' " --Ibid., p. 351. "In addition, she gave him prophecies which came true exactly. From then on, miracles of healing happened in the cave, and it became a place of pilgrimage." --Die Ausserirdischen (The Extraterrestrials), p. 121. On December 9, 1949, he met Pope Pius XII at Saint Peter's Square in Rome.
"From then on, Bruno had much success and became the top candidate in a Christian political party. His Bible became meaningless to him." --Die Ausserirdischen (The Extraterrestrials), p. 122.
"In this time evil angels in the form of men will talk with those who know the truth. They will misinterpret and misconstrue the statements of the messengers of God.…
"We are engaged in a warfare against the hosts of darkness. Unless we follow our Leader closely, Satan will obtain the victory over us." --Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 411.
"The sick will be healed in front of us. Miracles will be performed in our sight. Are we prepared for the trial which awaits us when the lying wonders of Satan shall be more fully exhibited?" --Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 302.
"The man who makes the working of miracles the test of his faith will find that Satan can, through a species of deceptions, perform wonders that will appear to be genuine miracles. It was this he hoped to make a test question with the Israelites at the time of their deliverance from Egypt." --Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 52.
"Let not even this discourage you but bring a true heart to the help of the Lord against the powers of satanic agencies." --Ellen G. White, Mind, Character and Personality, vol. 2, p. 504. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Ephesians 6:12, 13.
“Mary's” attack against God's day of rest
"Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-23.
"In the warfare to be waged in the last days there will be united, in opposition to God's people, all the corrupt powers that have apostatized from allegiance to the law of Jehovah. In this warfare the Sabbath of the fourth commandment will be the great point at issue,…" --Selected Messages, vol. 3, pp. 392, 393.
"Through … great errors,… Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions." --The Great Controversy, p. 588.
We like to say that this is ahead of us. However, this thought is dangerous and false. It has already begun: The appearance of "Mary" on August 1, 1988, in Lubbock, Texas, U.S.A.: "I, the Lord God, shall make anew.… A new Sabbath. The old shall pass away as [will] their offenses against Me." --The Thunder of Justice, p. 367.
John Paul II
"The pope has very special reasons for his special adoration of Mary. While he was recovering from the shooting, it came to him that the assassination attempt was on May 13, 1981, the exact anniversary of the first appearance of Mary at Fatima. After that, Mary appeared to him in a vision and explained that his life had been spared for a special mission which was still to be carried out by him." --Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), p. 129.
On May 13, 1982, exactly one year after the murder attempt on his life, John Paul II undertook a pilgrimage to Fatima, where he prayed before a statue of Our Blessed Lady. Professor Malachi Martin writes in his well-known book, The Keys of This Blood, that the pope is convinced that "Our Lady of Fatima" had planned a special role for him in the establishment of peace.
Quality of the appearances of "Mary"
Pontmain, France: "On January 17, 1871, 'Mary' appeared one single time to four children, Eugene Barbedette, 12; his brother Joseph, 10; and the schoolgirls Françoise Richer, 11, and Jeanne-Marie Lebosse, 9 years old. The latter became a nun and denied that she had seen Mary. Although Bishop Wicart had already declared the appearances genuine in 1872, there followed a further investigation in 1920, according to the statements of Jeanne-Marie Lebosse. Nevertheless Bishop Frellier confirmed the authenticity of the appearance." --Kleiner Wegweiser zu den Marienerscheinungen (Small Guide to the Appearances of Mary), pp. 14, 15. It is interesting to notice: The person involved, who was the ultimate eyewitness of the vision, denies an appearance of "Mary." The responsible bishop then authenticates this appearance 49(!) years later, even though he wasn't there!
"In La Salette [France], which lies 1800 meters above sea level and about 70 kilometers from Grenoble, Mary appeared to two shepherds, Melanie Calvat, 15, and Maximin Giraud, 11 years old,… on September 19, 1846. Five years later, the bishop of Bruillard recognized the appearance as authentic." --Ibid., p. 15. Melanie became a nun. "In 1879, she published the book, The Mystery of La Salette,… which created a sensation; reading and distributing it were forbidden by Rome." --Ibid., p. 37.
If "Mary" proclaims such important messages when she appears, why must they then be kept under lock and key? This has also been the case with the third message from Fatima. Only the pope knows about these two secret appearances.
"The message which the 'Virgin' circulates from time to time coincides with other demonic revelations…: All religions are basically of equal value and must come together to achieve peace. Preaching a gospel that can be accepted by Catholics, Protestants, Moslems and Jews, Mary explains: 'Each one worships God in his own way with peace in his heart.' " --Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), p. 285. This last quotation is from the seeress Vicka Ivankovic of Medjugorje. Dave Hunt then concludes about the appearances of "Mary": "Depending on the situation, it is a downright swindle [as in Medjugorje] or true demonism." --Ibid., p. 285.
Who really controls the "Mary" phenomenon?
Here we have evidence that Satan's two main attack objectives, the mortality of the soul and God's rest day, are present in various appearances of "Mary." Therefore, it is not presumptuous to say that Satan is behind these phenomena.
We are not alone in this assertion: "I have in my possession all of the statements made up until now by the mother of God to Don Gobbi and have grave doubts about these messages; they contain too much that is not completely right. In the case of Don Gobbi, it is either the other side exclusively that is speaking from below and claiming to be God's mother, or the other side is blatantly mixing in it.… What appears in Medjugorje … is definitely not from heaven. I have gathered an enormous amount of material, which conclusively proves that Medjugorje is spurious.… Thus Medjugorje is, I am sure, a fake.… Interestingly, the prophetess Vassula Ryden, officially considered false by Rome, and Medjugorje are connected to each other.… I'm not surprised, because it is my opinion that it is all the same vermin of hell which reveals itself there: In Medjugorje, with Vassula and with Don Gobbi." --Theologisches (Theological) Catholic monthly magazine, April 1998--letter from a reader.
“Mary” as co-redeemer
The last vision of Ida Peerdeman from Holland in 1984 appears about to be fulfilled: "42 cardinals and almost 500 bishops with 4.5 million Catholics in 157 states are calling for a new dogma: Even before the year 2000 'God's mother' should be acknowledged as 'co-redeemer.' A corresponding petition demands three new principles of faith: (1) That Mary herself participated in the redemption through her Son. (2) That all the grace which flowed from the suffering and death of Jesus can be effective only through Mary's mediation. (3) That all requests and prayers of the believers come to Jesus only through Mary's mediation. Even at the Second Vatican Council [1962-65], bishops demanded that 'God's mother' be acknowledged as 'co-redemptrix' [co-redeemer] and 'mediatrix' [mediator]." --Zeitspiegel (Times-Mirror), September 4, 1997, p. 168, quoted in Die Ausserirdischen (The Extraterrestrials), p. 132.
Satan keeps trying to disrupt the connection of the individual to Christ. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5. "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." Matthew 24:24, 25.
The only way--the only help
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8. "I saw that the saints must get a thorough understanding of present truth, which they will be obliged to maintain from the Scriptures. They must understand the state of the dead; for the spirits of devils will yet appear to them, professing to be beloved friends and relatives,…" --Early Writings, p. 87.
"Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive." --The Great Controversy, p. 625.
Mary, Jesus' mother, died and has been dead for about 2,000 years. The Biblical teaching about the state of the dead is unmistakable. "…The dead know not any thing,… [All] is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. Someone who is dead cannot show up in many hundred appearances worldwide. Therefore, what is the meaning of the appearances of "Mary," which are spreading so prolifically around the world? According to the testimonies of the Spirit of Prophecy, they are appearances of the spirits of the devil.
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Ephesians 6:10-18.
"The fact is that there are only two possibilities: Either we will surrender unconditionally to the Holy Spirit and 'the great controversy' will drive us even closer into the arms of Christ, or we will reject the Spirit of God and be enticed into the clutches of him who spilled Christ's blood on Calvary and ultimately wants to destroy us." --Clifford Goldstein, Amerika in der Prophetie (America in Prophecy), p. 144. "It is the restraining power of God that prevents mankind from passing fully under the control of Satan." --The Great Controversy, p. 36.
If we say today: "The end is coming! The shaking is coming! The judgment is coming! The last signs in world history are coming!" we're limping far behind the events. The end, the shaking, the judgment, the last signs in world history are already here. We are right in the middle of them.
Let us ask God for the support of the Holy Spirit so we may belong to those who are ready.
--Helmut Welker, Germany--
orded 101 appearances in 1971, as many as 210 for the year 1976, and more than 300 in 1987!' " --E. Marmy, Kleiner Wegweiser zu den Marienerscheinungen (Small Guide to the Appearances of Mary), p. 11.
"In the Spanish village of Garabandal alone, it came to approximately 2,000 appearances, accompanied by occult phenomena and messages to the world." --Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), p. 285.
The icons, images, and apparitions are similar to the styles and occurrences in other pagan religions.
Ida Peerdeman from Amsterdam, Holland
In the years from 1945 to 1959, Ida Peerdeman from Amsterdam, Holland, received a total of 56 mystical appearances. From May 31, 1972, to March 25, 1984, she had an additional 113 contacts with mediums. In many cases, she experienced the appearances during the mass, when she had the host in her mouth. At the end of the vision, the host was usually still completely dry. Her accounts ranged from the instruction that ecumenism be continued further, or the recommendation that "Mary" be worshiped, to the death of the ruling Pope Paul VI and John Paul I. On June 11, 1978, a voice spoke to her during the mass: "I'll tell you a secret. Listen. Before two months pass, Pope Paul VI will pass into eternal life." --Josef Künzli, Eucharistische Erlebnisse (Eucharistic Experiences), p. 98. He died on Sunday, August 6, 1978, at 9:40 a.m.--within the two months Ida had been informed of in her vision.
On September 28, 1978, Ida Peerdeman "sat in front of the television and watched the news at 8:00 p.m. It was strange that I thought, Can't there be some news about the pope [John Paul I]? But nothing was mentioned. After the news … I suddenly heard in my mind, 'Imagine, this pope is already dying.' " --Eucharistische Erlebnisse (Eucharistic Experiences), p. 98. "Sometime late at night on the 28th or during the night of September 29, 1978, 33 days after his election, John Paul I breathed his last breath. Time of death: unknown; cause of death: unknown." --David Yallop, Im Namen Gottes? (In the Name of God?), p. 17.
On March 25, 1973, Ida Peerdeman had another contact. In this vision, among other things, she saw the Vatican. Subsequently she saw a triangle with an eye in the middle. Then Ida heard a voice which gave her a message. In the same vision, she was also shown the rainbow. In a later vision in 1978, she saw a symmetrical cross in the sky.
Her last vision on May 25, 1984, is noteworthy: "I clearly heard a voice saying: 'The time of the "lady of all peoples" as the co-redeemer will soon dawn.' Then heavenly music sounded in my ears and I saw a glorious crown shining like diamonds. Then everything passed from before my eyes and slowly the light disappeared." --Eucharistische Erlebnisse (Eucharistic Experiences), p. 140.
"In those churches which he [Satan] can bring under his deceptive power he will make it appear that God's special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest." --The Great Controversy, p. 464. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1.
Alice Ann Bailey (1880-1949) is considered one of the brightest figures in the New Age movement. She "recommended the use of specific symbols such as the rainbow, the triangle,… the symmetrical cross, and the pyramid." --Regina Hinrichs, Ihr werdet sein wie Gott (You Will Be As God), p. 18.
The thoughts of Sister Ellen G. White were never so correct as they are today: "It is true that Spiritualism is now changing its form, and, veiling some of its more objectionable features, is assuming a Christian guise.…
"Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world." --The Great Controversy, p. 558. Today, the great controversy between light and darkness is being played out around us. "Little by little he [Satan] has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism. He has not yet reached the full accomplishment of his designs; but it will be reached in the last remnant of time." --The Great Controversy, p. 561.
Is mariolotry not Satan's masterpiece?
Are people who believe the Bible immune to this?
"A woman in the Rhineland [Germany] came to know the Bible. One day she was sitting in her kitchen reading the Bible. Suddenly there was a bright light in the room, and in the light she saw a beautiful young woman dressed in light blue. She smiled at her and said in a soft, kind voice, 'I am the Holy Virgin, and I've come to keep you from the way of error. Kneel down, my daughter; I will bless you and give you a message from Jesus.' The woman then did something that is the one single means that can always unmask deceptive demons: 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to tell me who you really are!' She thus placed herself under the protecting power of the Lord Jesus Christ.… Suddenly the beautiful virgin changed into a hideous, cursing demon, stormed past her, gave her a push, from which she suffered a long time, and disappeared." --Die Ausserirdischen (The Extraterrestrials), pp. 120, 121.
"They [the saints] must understand the state of the dead; for the spirits of devils will yet appear to them, professing to be beloved friends and relatives,…" --Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 87. "For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect." Mark 13:22. "Go to God for yourselves; pray for divine enlightenment, that you may know that you do know what is truth, that when the wonderful miracle-working power shall be displayed, and the enemy shall come as an angel of light, you may distinguish between the genuine work of God and the imitative work of the powers of darkness." --Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 389.
Tre Fontane, Italy, 1947
Bruno Cornacchiola, born in 1913, had what we would say today was a bad childhood. He and his five brothers and sisters were left practically alone, because their mother alone cared for the family. The father drank. Later Bruno joined the Italian military. After his discharge, he participated in the Spanish civil war. In 1939, he returned to Italy as an anti-Catholic. He first became Baptist, then later Adventist. At home he incinerated all the images and crucifixes. "He became a passionate agitator against Catholic Italy and especially against Mary." --Erscheinungen und Botschaften der Gottesmutter Maria (Appearances and Messages of God's Mother Mary), p. 350.
On April 12, 1947, he went on an excursion in the woods near the Tre Fontane monastery. His children were playing near a cave. Catholic sources say that he "was preparing a lecture in which he wanted to prove that 'Mary' was not the virgin, was not immaculate, and had not been accepted into heaven." --Ibid. His children called to him, because they had lost their ball. He was helping them look for it, and suddenly he saw a shining white face light up: "The mother of God wears a bright white tunic, bound at the waist by a rose ribbon, with a green veil over her head, reaching to the ground.… The vision thrills Bruno. Then he hears a voice: '…You are persecuting me. Now it is enough. Enter the holy fold, the heavenly court on earth.' " --Ibid., p. 351. "In addition, she gave him prophecies which came true exactly. From then on, miracles of healing happened in the cave, and it became a place of pilgrimage." --Die Ausserirdischen (The Extraterrestrials), p. 121. On December 9, 1949, he met Pope Pius XII at Saint Peter's Square in Rome.
"From then on, Bruno had much success and became the top candidate in a Christian political party. His Bible became meaningless to him." --Die Ausserirdischen (The Extraterrestrials), p. 122.
"In this time evil angels in the form of men will talk with those who know the truth. They will misinterpret and misconstrue the statements of the messengers of God.…
"We are engaged in a warfare against the hosts of darkness. Unless we follow our Leader closely, Satan will obtain the victory over us." --Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 411.
"The sick will be healed in front of us. Miracles will be performed in our sight. Are we prepared for the trial which awaits us when the lying wonders of Satan shall be more fully exhibited?" --Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 302.
"The man who makes the working of miracles the test of his faith will find that Satan can, through a species of deceptions, perform wonders that will appear to be genuine miracles. It was this he hoped to make a test question with the Israelites at the time of their deliverance from Egypt." --Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 52.
"Let not even this discourage you but bring a true heart to the help of the Lord against the powers of satanic agencies." --Ellen G. White, Mind, Character and Personality, vol. 2, p. 504. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Ephesians 6:12, 13.
“Mary's” attack against God's day of rest
"Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-23.
"In the warfare to be waged in the last days there will be united, in opposition to God's people, all the corrupt powers that have apostatized from allegiance to the law of Jehovah. In this warfare the Sabbath of the fourth commandment will be the great point at issue,…" --Selected Messages, vol. 3, pp. 392, 393.
"Through … great errors,… Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions." --The Great Controversy, p. 588.
We like to say that this is ahead of us. However, this thought is dangerous and false. It has already begun: The appearance of "Mary" on August 1, 1988, in Lubbock, Texas, U.S.A.: "I, the Lord God, shall make anew.… A new Sabbath. The old shall pass away as [will] their offenses against Me." --The Thunder of Justice, p. 367.
John Paul II
"The pope has very special reasons for his special adoration of Mary. While he was recovering from the shooting, it came to him that the assassination attempt was on May 13, 1981, the exact anniversary of the first appearance of Mary at Fatima. After that, Mary appeared to him in a vision and explained that his life had been spared for a special mission which was still to be carried out by him." --Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), p. 129.
On May 13, 1982, exactly one year after the murder attempt on his life, John Paul II undertook a pilgrimage to Fatima, where he prayed before a statue of Our Blessed Lady. Professor Malachi Martin writes in his well-known book, The Keys of This Blood, that the pope is convinced that "Our Lady of Fatima" had planned a special role for him in the establishment of peace.
Quality of the appearances of "Mary"
Pontmain, France: "On January 17, 1871, 'Mary' appeared one single time to four children, Eugene Barbedette, 12; his brother Joseph, 10; and the schoolgirls Françoise Richer, 11, and Jeanne-Marie Lebosse, 9 years old. The latter became a nun and denied that she had seen Mary. Although Bishop Wicart had already declared the appearances genuine in 1872, there followed a further investigation in 1920, according to the statements of Jeanne-Marie Lebosse. Nevertheless Bishop Frellier confirmed the authenticity of the appearance." --Kleiner Wegweiser zu den Marienerscheinungen (Small Guide to the Appearances of Mary), pp. 14, 15. It is interesting to notice: The person involved, who was the ultimate eyewitness of the vision, denies an appearance of "Mary." The responsible bishop then authenticates this appearance 49(!) years later, even though he wasn't there!
"In La Salette [France], which lies 1800 meters above sea level and about 70 kilometers from Grenoble, Mary appeared to two shepherds, Melanie Calvat, 15, and Maximin Giraud, 11 years old,… on September 19, 1846. Five years later, the bishop of Bruillard recognized the appearance as authentic." --Ibid., p. 15. Melanie became a nun. "In 1879, she published the book, The Mystery of La Salette,… which created a sensation; reading and distributing it were forbidden by Rome." --Ibid., p. 37.
If "Mary" proclaims such important messages when she appears, why must they then be kept under lock and key? This has also been the case with the third message from Fatima. Only the pope knows about these two secret appearances.
"The message which the 'Virgin' circulates from time to time coincides with other demonic revelations…: All religions are basically of equal value and must come together to achieve peace. Preaching a gospel that can be accepted by Catholics, Protestants, Moslems and Jews, Mary explains: 'Each one worships God in his own way with peace in his heart.' " --Globaler Frieden und der Aufstieg des Antichristen (Global Peace and the Rise of the Antichrist), p. 285. This last quotation is from the seeress Vicka Ivankovic of Medjugorje. Dave Hunt then concludes about the appearances of "Mary": "Depending on the situation, it is a downright swindle [as in Medjugorje] or true demonism." --Ibid., p. 285.
Who really controls the "Mary" phenomenon?
Here we have evidence that Satan's two main attack objectives, the mortality of the soul and God's rest day, are present in various appearances of "Mary." Therefore, it is not presumptuous to say that Satan is behind these phenomena.
We are not alone in this assertion: "I have in my possession all of the statements made up until now by the mother of God to Don Gobbi and have grave doubts about these messages; they contain too much that is not completely right. In the case of Don Gobbi, it is either the other side exclusively that is speaking from below and claiming to be God's mother, or the other side is blatantly mixing in it.… What appears in Medjugorje … is definitely not from heaven. I have gathered an enormous amount of material, which conclusively proves that Medjugorje is spurious.… Thus Medjugorje is, I am sure, a fake.… Interestingly, the prophetess Vassula Ryden, officially considered false by Rome, and Medjugorje are connected to each other.… I'm not surprised, because it is my opinion that it is all the same vermin of hell which reveals itself there: In Medjugorje, with Vassula and with Don Gobbi." --Theologisches (Theological) Catholic monthly magazine, April 1998--letter from a reader.
“Mary” as co-redeemer
The last vision of Ida Peerdeman from Holland in 1984 appears about to be fulfilled: "42 cardinals and almost 500 bishops with 4.5 million Catholics in 157 states are calling for a new dogma: Even before the year 2000 'God's mother' should be acknowledged as 'co-redeemer.' A corresponding petition demands three new principles of faith: (1) That Mary herself participated in the redemption through her Son. (2) That all the grace which flowed from the suffering and death of Jesus can be effective only through Mary's mediation. (3) That all requests and prayers of the believers come to Jesus only through Mary's mediation. Even at the Second Vatican Council [1962-65], bishops demanded that 'God's mother' be acknowledged as 'co-redemptrix' [co-redeemer] and 'mediatrix' [mediator]." --Zeitspiegel (Times-Mirror), September 4, 1997, p. 168, quoted in Die Ausserirdischen (The Extraterrestrials), p. 132.
Satan keeps trying to disrupt the connection of the individual to Christ. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5. "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." Matthew 24:24, 25.
The only way--the only help
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8. "I saw that the saints must get a thorough understanding of present truth, which they will be obliged to maintain from the Scriptures. They must understand the state of the dead; for the spirits of devils will yet appear to them, professing to be beloved friends and relatives,…" --Early Writings, p. 87.
"Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive." --The Great Controversy, p. 625.
Mary, Jesus' mother, died and has been dead for about 2,000 years. The Biblical teaching about the state of the dead is unmistakable. "…The dead know not any thing,… [All] is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. Someone who is dead cannot show up in many hundred appearances worldwide. Therefore, what is the meaning of the appearances of "Mary," which are spreading so prolifically around the world? According to the testimonies of the Spirit of Prophecy, they are appearances of the spirits of the devil.
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Ephesians 6:10-18.
"The fact is that there are only two possibilities: Either we will surrender unconditionally to the Holy Spirit and 'the great controversy' will drive us even closer into the arms of Christ, or we will reject the Spirit of God and be enticed into the clutches of him who spilled Christ's blood on Calvary and ultimately wants to destroy us." --Clifford Goldstein, Amerika in der Prophetie (America in Prophecy), p. 144. "It is the restraining power of God that prevents mankind from passing fully under the control of Satan." --The Great Controversy, p. 36.
If we say today: "The end is coming! The shaking is coming! The judgment is coming! The last signs in world history are coming!" we're limping far behind the events. The end, the shaking, the judgment, the last signs in world history are already here. We are right in the middle of them.
Let us ask God for the support of the Holy Spirit so we may belong to those who are ready.
