First published January 15th, 2008…
WHILE this generation is being spiritually deceived, so too has it been materially and physically duped.
THE GREAT TRIALS
The Great Deception
Hansel & Gretel by Kay Nielsen
First published January 15th, 2008. Very important to read again…
WE are being duped.
Many Christians believe that Satan has triumphed as society continues in a free-fall toward materialism, lust, and lawlessness. But if we think this is Satan’s ultimate goal, we have been deceived.
To The Bastion!
Be prepared to put your life on the line in order to enlighten the world with the truth of Christ; to respond with love to hatred and disregard for life; to proclaim the hope of the risen Christ in every corner of the earth. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Message to the Young People of the World, World Youth Day, 2008
First published September 25th, 2007:
BASTION: part of a fortification built into a rock or castle which allows defensive fire in several directions.
IT BEGINS
These words came to a dear friend of ours during prayer, through a soft voice which spoke to her:
Tell Mark it is time to write about the bastion.
The Seven Year Trial – Part I
TRUMPETS of Warning-Part V laid the groundwork for what I believe is now rapidly approaching this generation. The picture is becoming clearer, the signs speaking louder, the winds of change blowing harder. And so, our Holy Father looks tenderly at us once again and says, “Hope” …for the coming darkness will not triumph. This series of writings address the “seven year trial” which may be approaching.
These meditations are the fruit of prayer in my own attempt to better understand the Church’s teaching that the Body of Christ will follow its Head through its own passion or “final trial,” as the Catechism puts it. Since the book of Revelation deals in part with this final trial, I have explored here a possible interpretation of St. John’s Apocalypse along the pattern of Christ’s Passion. The reader should keep in mind that these are my own personal reflections and not a definitive interpretation of Revelation, which is a book with several meanings and dimensions, not the least, an eschatological one. Many a good soul has fallen on the sharp cliffs of the Apocalypse. Nonetheless, I have felt the Lord compelling me to walk them in faith through this series. I encourage the reader to exercise their own discernment, enlightened and guided, of course, by the Magisterium.
A Refuge Has Been Prepared
The Two Deaths, by Michael D. O’Brien
In this symbolic work, both Christ and Antichrist are depicted, and the people of the times are faced with a choice. Which path to follow? There is much confusion, much fear. Most of the figures do not comprehend where the roads will lead; only a few little children have eyes to see. Those who seek to save their life will lose it; those who lose their life for Christ’s sake will save it. —Artist’s commentary
ONCE again, I hear clearly in my heart this week words which rang out last winter—the sense of an angel in the mid-heavens crying out:
Keeping in mind always that Christ is the victor, I also hear again the words:
You are entering the most painful part of the purification.
The Final Confrontation
FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH
THIS writing was first published on October 5th, 2007. I am compelled to republish it here today, which is the Feast of St. Joseph. One of his many titles as a patron saint is “Protector of the Church.” I doubt the timing of the inspiration to re-post this article is a coincidence.
Most striking below are the words which accompany Michael D. O’Brien’s marvelous painting, “The New Exodus”. The words are prophetic, and a confirmation of the writings on the Eucharist which I have been inspired with this past week.
There has been an intensification in my heart of warning. It seems clear to me that all around us the collapse of “Babylon” which the Lord has spoken to me of, and which I consequently wrote about in Trumpets of Warning–Part I and elsewhere, is rapidly progressing. As I was pondering this the other day, an email arrived from Steve Jalsevac of LifeSiteNews.com, a news service dedicated to reporting the battles between the “culture of life” and the “culture of death.” He writes,
We have been doing this work for over 10 years but even we are astonished at the pace of developments in the world today. Every day it is amazing how the battle between good and evil is intensifying. —Email news summary, March 13th, 2008
It is an exciting time to be alive as a Christian. We know the outcome of this battle, for one. Second, we were born for these times, and so we know that God has a plan for each of us that is one of victory, if we remain docile to the Holy Spirit.
Other writings which are jumping off the screen at me today, and which I recommend to those who want to refresh their memories, are found at the bottom of this page under “Further Reading”.
Let us continue to hold one another in communion of prayer… for these are profound days which require that we continue to stay sober and alert, to “watch and pray.”
St. Joseph, pray for us.
The New Exodus, by Michael D. O’Brien
As in the Passover and Exodus of the Old Testament, God’s people must cross the desert toward the Promised Land. In the New Testament era, the “pillar of fire” is the presence of our Eucharistic Lord. In this painting, ominous storm clouds gather and an army approaches, intent on destroying the children of the new covenant. The people are in confusion and terror, but a priest lifts high a monstrance in which the Body of Christ is exposed, the Lord rallying to Himself all those who hunger for truth. Soon the light will scatter the darkness, divide the waters, and open an impossible path to the promised land of Paradise. —Michael D. O’Brien, commentary on the painting The New Exodus
Refiner’s Fire
But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire… (Mal 3:2)
I BELIEVE we are drawing nearer and nearer to the dawning of The Day of the Lord. As a sign of this, we are beginning to feel the heat of the approaching Sun of Justice. That is, there seems to be a growing intensity in purifying trials as we near the Refiner’s Fire… just as one does not need to touch the flames to feel the fire’s heat.
Look To The East!
Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, by Tommy Canning
Then he led me to the gate which faces the east, and there I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. (Ezekiel 43:1-2)
MARY is calling us to the Bastion, to a place of readiness and listening, away from the distractions of the world. She is preparing us for the Great Battle for souls.
Now, I hear her saying,
Look to the East!
A Heavenly Map
BEFORE I lay out the map of these writings below as they have unfolded this past year, the question is, where do we begin?
The Great Sign
MODERN mystics and seers tell us that after the so-called "illumination of conscience," in which everyone on the face of the earth will see the condition of his or her soul (see The Eye of the Storm), an extraordinary and permanent sign will be given at one or many apparitions sites.
The Time of Transition
MEMORIAL OF THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY
DEAR friends,
Forgive me, but I wish to speak for a brief moment about my particular mission. In doing so, I think you will have a better understanding of the writings which have unfolded on this site since last August of 2006.
Three Days of Darkness
Note: There is a certain man name Ron Conte who claims to be a “theologian,” has declared himself an authority on private revelation, and has written an article claiming that this website is “full of errors and falsehoods.” He specifically points to this article. There are so many fundamental problems with Mr. Conte’s charges, not to mention his own credibility, that I addressed them in a separate article. Read: A Response.
IF the Church follows the Lord through His Transfiguration, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension, does she not participate also in the tomb?
The Flaming Sword
As you read this meditation, remember that God warns us because He loves us, and wishes “all men to be saved” (1 Tim 2:4).
IN the vision of the three seers of Fatima, they saw an angel standing over the earth with a flaming sword. In his commentary on this vision, Cardinal Ratzinger said,
The angel with the flaming sword on the left of the Mother of God recalls similar images in the Book of Revelation. This represents the threat of judgment which looms over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer seems pure fantasy: man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword. —The Message of Fatima, from the Vatican’s website
When he became Pope, he later commented:
Humanity today is unfortunately experiencing great division and sharp conflicts which cast dark shadows on its future… the danger of an increase in the number of countries possessing nuclear weapons causes well-founded apprehension in every responsible person. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, December 11th, 2007; USA Today
DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
I believe that this angel hovers over the earth once again as mankind—in a far worse state of sin than it was in the apparitions of 1917—is reaching the proportions of pride that Satan had before his fall from Heaven.
…the threat of judgment also concerns us, the Church in Europe, Europe and the West in general… Light can also be taken away from us and we do well to let this warning ring out with its full seriousness in our hearts… —Pope Benedict XVI, Opening Homily, Synod of Bishops, October 2nd, 2005, Rome.
The sword of this angel of judgment is double-edged.
A sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth… (Rev 1:16)
That is, the threat of judgment looming over the earth is one comprised both of consequence and cleansing.
“THE BEGINNING OF THE CALAMITIES” (CONSEQUENCE)
That is the subtitle used in the New American Bible to refer to the times that would visit a particular generation that Jesus spoke of:
You will hear of wars and reports of wars… Nations will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. (Matt 24:6-7)
The first signs that this flaming sword has begun to swing are already in full view. The decline in fish populations around the world, the dramatic fall-off of bird species, the decline in honey-bee populations necessary to pollinate crops, dramatic and bizarre weather… all these sudden changes may throw delicate eco-systems into chaos. Add to that the genetic manipulation of seeds and foods, and the unknown consequences of altering creation itself, and the possibility of famine looms like never before. It will be a result of mankind’s failure to care for and respect God’s creation, putting profit ahead of the common good.
The failure of the wealthy Western nations to help develop food production of Third World countries will come back to haunt them. It will be difficult to find food anywhere…
As Pope Benedict pointed out, there is also the prospect of devastating war. Little is needed to be said here… though I continue to hear the Lord speak of a particular nation, quietly preparing itself. A red dragon.
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, raise a signal over Beth-haccherem; for evil threatens from the north, and mighty destruction. O lovely and delicate daughter Zion, you are ruined! …”Prepare for war against her, Up! let us rush upon her at midday! Alas! the day is waning, evening shadows lengthen… (Jer 6:1-4)
These chastisements, strictly speaking, are not so much the judgment of God, but the consequences of sin, the principle of sowing and reaping. Man, judging man… condemning himself.
THE JUDGMENT OF GOD (CLEANSING)
According to our Catholic Tradition, a time is a approaching when…
He will come again to judge the living and the dead. —Nicene Creed
But a judgment of the living before the Last Judgment is not without precedent. We have seen God act accordingly whenever the sins of mankind have become grave and blasphemous, and the means and opportunities provided by God to repent are ignored (ie. the great flood, Sodom and Gomorrah etc.) The Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing in numerous places throughout the world during the past two centuries; in those apparitions which have been given ecclesiastical approval, she provides a message of warning alongside the perpetual message of love:
As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. —Blessed Virgin Mary at Akita, Japan, October 13th, 1973
This message echoes the words of the prophet Isaiah:
Lo, the LORD empties the land and lays it waste; he turns it upside down, scattering its inhabitants: layman and priest alike… The earth is polluted because of its inhabitants who have transgressed laws, violated statutes, broken the ancient covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants pay for their guilt; Therefore they who dwell on earth turn pale, and few men are left. (Isaiah 24:1-6)
The prophet Zechariah in his “Song of the Sword,” which refers to the apocalyptic great Day of the Lord, gives us a vision of just how many will be left:
In all the land, says the LORD, two thirds of them shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left. (Zec 13:8)
< p>The punishment is a judgment of the living, and is intended to remove from the earth all wickedness because the people “did not repent and give [God] glory (Rev 16:9):
“The kings of the earth… will be gathered together like prisoners into a pit; they will be shut up in a dungeon, and after many days they will be punished.” (Isaiah 24:21-22)
Again, Isaiah is not referring to the Final Judgment, but to a judgment of the living, specifically of those—either “layman or priest”—who have refused to repent and gain for themselves a room in the “Father’s house,” having chosen instead a room in the new Tower of Babel. Their eternal punishment, in body, will come after “many days,” that is, after the “Era of Peace.” In the interim, their souls will have already received their “Particular Judgment,” that is, they will have already been “shut up” in the fires of hell awaiting the resurrection of the dead, and the Final Judgment. (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1020-1021, on the “Particular Judgment” each of us will encounter at our death.)
From an ecclesiastical writer of the third century,
But He, when He shall have destroyed unrighteousness, and executed His great judgment, and shall have recalled to life the righteous who have lived from the beginning, will be engaged among men a thousand years… —Lactantius (250-317 A.D.), The Divine Institutes, Ante-Nicene Fathers, p. 211
FALLEN HUMANITY… FALLING STARS
This Judgment of Cleansing could come in a number of forms, but what is certain is that it will come from God Himself (Isaiah 24:1). One such scenario, common in both private revelation and in the judgments of the book of Revelation, is the arrival of a comet:
Before the Comet comes, many nations, the good excepted, will be scoured with want and famine [consequences]. The great nation in the ocean that is inhabited by people of different tribes and descent: by an earthquake, storm, and tidal waves will be devastated. It will be divided, and in great part submerged. That nation will also have many misfortunes at sea, and lose its colonies in the east through a Tiger and a Lion. The Comet by its tremendous pressure, will force much out of the ocean and flood many countries, causing much want and many plagues [cleansing]. —St. Hildegard, Catholic Prophecy, p. 79 (1098-1179 A.D.)
Again, we see consequences followed by cleansing.
At Fatima, during the miracle which was witnessed by tens of thousands, the sun appeared to fall to the earth. Those who were there thought the world was coming to an end. It was a warning to emphasize Our Lady’s call to penance and prayer; it was also a judgment averted by Our Lady’s intercession (see Trumpets of Warning — Part III)
A sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth, and his face shone like the sun at its brightest. (Rev 1:16)
God will send two punishments: one will be in the form of wars, revolutions, and other evils; it shall originate on earth. The other will be sent from Heaven. —Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, Catholic Prophecy, P. 76
MERCY AND JUSTICE
God is love, and therefore, His judgment is not contrary to the nature of love. One can already see His mercy at work in the present situation of the world. Many souls are beginning to take notice of troubling world conditions, and hopefully, looking at the root cause of much of our sorrows, that is, sin. In that sense too, an “illumination of conscience” may already have begun (see “The Eye of the Storm”).
Through conversion of the heart, prayer, and fasting, perhaps much of what is written here can be lessened, if not altogether delayed. But judgment will come, whether at the end of time or at the end of our lives. For the one who has put his faith in Christ, it will not be an occasion to tremble in terror and despair, but of rejoicing in the immense and unfathomable mercy of God.
And His justice.
FURTHER READING:
- Wind: a warning of famine? The Winds of Change
- Hear Mark’s talk: The Banquet of Mercy
- How can a loving God punish? The Wrath of God
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Divisions Beginning
A GREAT division is occurring in the world today. People are having to choose sides. It is primarily a division of moral and social values, of Gospel principles versus modern presumptions.
And it is exactly what Christ said would happen to families and nations when confronted with his presence:
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three… (Luke 12:51-52)