02-The Sea Beast

Scripture

Last week in our introductory overview of How Mary helps us understand the Book of Revelation, I showed that Mary gave Father Gobbi, in great detail an explanation of the meaning of the first four of the “seven signs.” Last week we began to talk a look at the second signs, the Red Dragon, which she identified as atheistic communism and which Scripture identifies as Satan. She’s not contradicting scripture, but saying that Satan is the driving inspiration beyond communism because it’s atheistic, anti-God. Mary said the dragon was red because it was a bloody murderer. Jesus called Satan “a murderer from the beginning” [Jn 8:44]. And we know that the regimes of Lenin, Stalin and Mao Tse Tung shed the blood of hundreds of thousands, even millions of people, and who can count the victims of communism in other countries?

As I showed in the diagram, the seven signs form the central column, the supporting structure of this book, so of course we’ll be talking about these signs often as we move along. Today I’d like to introduce, and take a close look at the next sign, the beast which comes up from the sea. Let’s read straight from the Word of God:

And I beheld rising out of the sea a beast which had ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads blas­phemous names. And the beast which I saw was like to a leopard, and its feet were as those of a bear, and its mouth was as the mouth of a lion.

Revelation 13:1-9

And the dragon gave it his might and his throne, and great power. One of its heads was as it were wounded unto death; but its deadly wound was healed. And the whole earth followed the beast, wondering; and men worshiped the dragon, because he had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying: ‘Who is like to the beast, and who can battle with it?’ And there was given to it a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and there was given to it power to work during forty two months. And it opened its mouth in blasphemy toward God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, and those tabernacles in heaven.

And it was given to it to make war with the saints and to conquer them; and there was given to it power over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all that dwell upon the earth shall adore it, every one whose name is not written in the book of life of the Lamb that was sacrificed from the foundation of the world.

Does scripture mention this Sea Beast again?

This beast is like the dragon in that it has seven heads and ten horns. But this Sea Beast has one head that was wounded. The Greek can also read, the “first head” was wounded, as if it’s a representative head for the seven. Later on we run into a seven-headed beast which was also wounded.

“Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who is seated upon many waters, . . . and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. . . . [The angel explains to John:] “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to come up from the abyss . . . the dwellers on earth . . . will marvel to behold the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.

Revelation 17

We’ll be told that the next beast is the Land Beast. “it makes the earth and all the dwellers therein to adore the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. . . . It bade the dwellers upon the earth to make an image of the beast which had the wound of the sword, and yet is alive.

Revelation 13

Mary will give us a clue to understand what is meant by the mortal wound which gets healed, causing a virtual resurrection of the dead.

The Sea is identified with the Nations

Before we read what Mary says about the Sea Beast, let’s consider the attitude of the Israelite’s toward the sea. The Israelite’s had no seaport. They were not swimmers. 2 Macc 12:1-4 reports an incident of two-hundred men, women and children being tricked by an invitation, during peacetime with the city of Joppa, to a boat ride on the Mediterranean, then their hosts threw them into the sea and they all drowned. Many OT references to the sea are pejorative. The Land was Holy, but the sea was the place where monsters dwelt like Leviathan. Even the crossing of the Red Sea was regarded as an event when God killed the monsters.

2 Macc 12:1-4

You divided the sea by your strength; You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

Psalm 74:1-4

The Book of Revelation tells us up front:

The Sea is also identified with the Abyss

From the earlier-mentioned passages of the Book of Revelation, the same mortally wounded beast is described in one chapter as coming up from the sea, and in another chapter as coming up from the abyss. The English word is straight from the Greek abussos, meaning boundless, bottomless. Chapter 20 tells us that abyss is the dwelling place of Satan:

Revelation 20

And I beheld an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss, and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss.

Revelation 20:1-2

The Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, identifies abussos with the sea. Jonah falling into the mouth of the whale (a sea monster) cries out:

The waters compassed me about . . the abyss closed me round about, the sea (or seaweeds) covered my head.

Jonah 2:5

The Book of Revelation takes it a step further to identify the sea with the abyss, and then the abyss with the abode of Satan, evidently hell. But this is not to equate the pagan nations with hell. If Satan can be identified with communism, then the Sea Beast can represent a nation, or particular ideology that is inspired by hell.

What Does Mary say about the Sea Beast?

So from Scripture we’ve got a hellish nation or ideology which had a life for awhile, then was slain by the sword, then comes back to life. If it’s a nation, then the sword can be a military defeat. If it’s an ideology then it was slain by the sword of the Spirit, which Paul says is the word of God and the author of the Letter of the Hebrews says “is sharper than any two-edged sword . . . discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart”.

Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12

The Mother of God has quite a bit to say about this beast. We’ll quote slowly from Message 405. She delivered this message in Milan, Italy on June 3, 1989, not only the First Saturday of the month, but the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, thus giving the message special importance. Milan has been the home of a Masonic lodge since 1756.

405b–In these times of the apostasy, of the purification and of the great tribulation, my Immaculate Heart is the only refuge and the way which leads you to the God of salvation and of peace. Above all, my Immaculate Heart becomes today the sign of my sure victory, in the great struggle which is being fought out between the followers of the huge Red Dragon and the followers of the Woman Clothed with the Sun.

405c–In this terrible struggle, there comes up from the sea, to the aid of the Dragon, a beast like a leopard.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

Freemasonry aids Atheism by blasphemy

405d–If the Red Dragon is Marxist atheism, the black beast is Freemasonry. The Dragon manifests himself in the force of his power; the black beast on the other hand acts in the shadow, keeps out of sight and hides himself in such a way as to enter in everywhere. He has the claws of a bear and the mouth of a lion, because he works everywhere with cunning and with the means of social communication, that is to say, through pro­paganda.

405h–The task of the black beast, namely of Masonry, is that of fighting, in a subtle way, but tenaciously, to obstruct souls from traveling along this way, pointed out by the Father and the Son and lighted up by the gifts of the Spirit. In fact if the Red Dragon works to bring all humanity to do without God, to the denial of God, and therefore spreads the error of atheism, the aim of Masonry is not to deny God, but to blaspheme Him. The beast opens his mouth to utter blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name and his dwelling place, and against all those who dwell in heaven. The greatest blasphemy is that of denying the wor­ship due to God alone by giving it to creatures and to Satan himself This is why in these times, behind the perverse action of Freemasonry, there are being spread everywhere black masses and the satanic cult. Moreover Masonry acts, by every means, to prevent souls from being saved and thus it endeavors to bring to nothing the redemption accomplished by Christ.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

Ten crowned horns are loud calls to disobey the ten commandments

405e–This black beast has ten horns and, on the horns, ten crowns, which are signs of dominion and royalty. Masonry rules and governs throughout the whole world by means of the ten horns. The horn, in the biblical world, has always been an instrument of amplification, a way of making one’s voice better heard, a strong means of communication.

405f–For this reason, God communicated his will to his people by means of ten horns which made his law known: the ten com­mandments. The one who accepts them and observes them walks in life along the road of the divine will, of joy and of peace. The one who does the will of the Father accepts the word of his Son and shares in the redemption accomplished by Him. Jesus gives to souls the very divine life, through grace, that He won for us through his sacrifice carried out on Calvary.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

1st anti-commandment = to adore false idols

405j–To the commandment of the Lord: ‘You shall not have any other God but me,’ it builds other false idols, before which many today prostrate themselves in adoration.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

2nd anti-commandment = to blaspheme the Holy Name

405k–To the commandment: ‘You shall not take the name of God in vain,’ it sets itself up in opposition by blaspheming God and his Christ, in many subtle and diabolical ways, even to reduc­ing his Name indecorously to the level of a brand-name of an object of sale and of producing sacrilegious films concerning his life and his divine Person.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

3rd anti-commandment = to spend the Sabbath in sports and entertainment

405l–To the commandment: ‘Remember to keep holy the Sabbath Days,’ it transforms the Sunday into a weekend, into a day of sports, of competitions and of entertainments.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

4th anti-commandment = redefining family life, homosexuality

405m–To the commandment: ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ it opposes a new model of family based on cohabitation, even between homosexuals.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

5th anti-commandment = homosexuality, etc.

405n–To the commandment: ‘You shall not commit impure acts,’ it justifies, exalts and propagates every form of impurity, even to the justification of acts against nature.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

6th anti-commandment = abortion

405o–To the commandment: ‘You shall not kill,’ it has succeeded in making abortion legal everywhere, in making euthanasia ac­ceptable, and in causing respect due to the value of human life all but disappear.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

7th anti-commandment = theft

405p–To the commandment: ‘You shall not steal,’ it works to the end that theft, violence, kidnapping and robbery spread more and more.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

8th anti-commandment = lies

405q–To the commandment: ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ it acts in such a way that the law of deceit, lying and duplicity becomes more and more propagated.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

9th anti-commandment = coveting of goods, corrupt conscience

405r–To the commandment: ‘You shall not covet the goods and the wife of another,’ it works to corrupt in the depths of the conscience, betraying the mind and the heart of man.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

10th anti-commandment = coveting of neighbor’s wife, betrayal of the heart

405r–To the commandment: ‘You shall not covet the goods and the wife of another,’ it works to corrupt in the depths of the conscience, betraying the mind and the heart of man.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

Seven heads are Masonic lodges and Seven Capital Sins

405d–The seven heads indicate the various Masonic lodges, which act everywhere in a subtle and dangerous way.

405g–The grace of the redemption is communicated by means of the seven sacraments. With grace there becomes implanted in the soul the seeds of supernatural life which are the virtues. Among these, the most important are the three theological and the four cardinal virtues: faith, hope, charity, prudence, fortitude, justice and temperance. In the divine sun of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, these virtues germinate, grow, become more and more developed and thus lead the soul along the luminous way of love and of sanctity.

405u–Whoever becomes a victim of the seven capital vices is gradually led to take away the worship that is due to God alone, in order to give it to false divinities, who are the very personifica­tion of all these vices. And in this consists the greatest and most horrible blasphemy. This is why on every head of the beast there is written a blasphemous name. Each Masonic lodge has the task of making a different divinity adored.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

Pride

405v–The first head bears the blasphemous name of pride, which opposes itself to the virtue of faith, and leads one to offer wor­ship to the god of human reason and haughtiness, of technology and progress.

Lust

405w–The second head bears the blasphemous name of lust, which opposes itself to the virtue of hope, and brings one to offer wor­ship to the god of sexuality and of impurity.

Greed

405x–The third head bears the blasphemous name of avarice, which opposes itself to the virtue of charity, and spreads everywhere the worship of the god of money.

Anger

405y–The fourth head bears the blasphemous name of anger, which opposes itself to the virtue of prudence, and leads one to offer worship to the god of discord and division.

Sloth

405z–The fifth head bears the blasphemous name of sloth, which opposes itself to the virtue of fortitude, and disseminates the worship of the idol of fear of public opinion and of exploitation.

Envy

405A–The sixth head bears the blasphemous name of envy, which opposes itself to the virtue of justice, and leads one to offer wor­ship to the idol of violence and of war.

Gluttony

405B–The seventh head bears the blasphemous name of gluttony, which opposes itself to the virtue of temperance, and leads one to offer worship to the so highly extolled idol of hedonism, of materialism and of pleasure.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

The beast which had the wound of the sword, and yet is alive.

Eight Popes have condemned Masonry since 1738 beginning with Pope Clement XII less than twenty years after the founding of the first Lodge. Catholics who join the Masonic sect were automatically excommunicated, a drastic penalty but its object was to cure the offenders and bring them back to the Church, and to prevent innocent Catholics from joining the local lodges as if they were an innocent fraternity. Quoting an old document:

Masonry constitutes a religion of naturalism which considers the basic Christian doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Atonement, the necessity of baptism, and the role of the Church in the plan of salvation to be quite incidental. The lodge furthermore exacts a series of oaths from its candidates, agreeing to the most horrible self-mutilation in order to protect a few passwords and secret grips, thus objectively guilty of either vain or rash swearing. Most importantly, the Masonic order has historically sought to destroy the Catholic Church and to substitute a purely secular society.

In a reply to an encyclical from Pope Leo XII Albert Pike boasted:

But it’s the crowning glory of Freemasonry that, requiring only that a Candidate shall believe and put his trust in a living and personal God, a beneficent and protecting Providence, to whom it is not folly to pray; and shall believe in the continued existence of the Soul of man after the death of the body, it receives into its Lodges the Christian of every sect, the Hebrew, the Moslem and the Parsee, and unites them in the holy bonds of brotherhood.

So the Sea Beast was definitely wounded with the sword [of the spirit], and any Catholic who joined was considered dead in sin. But uncertainty reigned during the Second Vatican Council, causing many Catholics to think that all was well with the Lodge.

Throughout the jubilee of 1966, Pope Paul VI granted every confessor the faculty to absolve censures and penalties of the 1917 Code when Canon 2335 was incurred by penitents who [formally had to agree] to completely separate themselves from Masonic association and promise to repair and prevent, as far as possible, any scandal and damage they caused.

In early 1968, rumors circulated that Vatican sources were reported as saying that Catholics are now free to join the Masons in the United States, Britain and most other countries of the world—but not the European Grand Orient Lodge of Masons of Italy and France, still considered anti-Catholic. Other rumors said that ”the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ‘let it be known that Catholics joining the Freemasons are no longer automatically excommunicated.’ More rumors promised that the wording of the New Code of Canon Law would be changed to modify the Church’s position when the new Code of Canon Law was completed.”

Rumors seemed to be ratified when the Catholic Church officially replaced the 1917 Code of Canon Law with the present 1983 Code. In the new Code, canon 1374 does not name any groups it condemns; it stipulates that the Catholic who joins “such an association” should be justly punished, while the one who promotes or is the leader of such an association should be interdicted. The new canon does not mention specific sects, as did the previous canon, thus raising doubts, especially about the attitude of the Church toward Masons.

This omission led many Catholics and Freemasons, especially in America, to believe that the ban on Catholics had changed, and likewise caused confusion in the Church’s hierarchy. Many Catholics justified joining by their conviction that Freemasonry does not plot against the Church.

Killed by the sword again? Yes and no. In 1983, Pope John Paul II, issued a Declaration on Masonic Associations, which reiterated the Church’s objections to Freemasonry. The 1983 declaration states that

“faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion. … the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association(s) remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. And no individual bishop or bishops’ conferences has the power to permit Catholics to belong to masonic lodges.”

Declaration on Masonic Associations, Pope John Paul II, 1983

But in 2000, David Patterson, executive secretary of the Masonic Service Bureau of Los Angeles, asked Cardinal Roger Mahony

“whether a practicing Catholic may join a Masonic Lodge.” Father Thomas Anslow, Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese, replied to Patterson that “the matter is too complex for a straightforward ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. But at least for Catholics in the United States, I believe the answer is probably yes.”

I’ll quote now from Masonry Unmasked, by John Salza 2006 p. 187ff:

Freemasonry has not been bashful about its goal of achieving a New World Order governed by Masonic principles. The New Age has said that Freemasonry is “the missionary of the new order­—a Liberal order.” [“New Age, Dr. James D. Carter, Why Stand Ye Here Idle? (March 1959), 155.] . . . a new societal order, one devoid of Christ and his Church. “Masonry will eventually rule the world,” and the brethren are to pray for the “universal dominion of the true principles of Masonry.”

Masonry’s voice for secularization primarily came through its periodical New Age, a magazine published by the Scottish Rite of the Southern jurisdiction. (In 1990, the Scottish Rite changed the name of its magazine to the Scottish Rite Journal to avoid unwanted publicity about its New Age ideologies).

. . . “The majority of Masons are sadly lacking in the knowledge of the height, breadth and depth of Masonic teachings as contained in the meanings of the many symbols of Masonry.”

In 1920, the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite developed a comprehensive education plan that required sending all children to public schools for a certain number of years. . . .

The Scottish Rite membership included many Supreme Court justices, U.S. presidents, and other high government officials,

The New Age also did not hide its antipathy toward the Catholic Church.

The 30th degree of the Southern Jurisdiction denounces the Pope while participants perform the sacrilege of stabbing a skull adorned with the “tiara of the cruel and cowardly Pontiff,” while the candidate exclaims, “Down with imposture! Down with crime!” The degree concludes with the participants stomping on the papal crown.

It also said that Catholicism, not communism or socialism, was the real threat to society

The bishops listed twelve areas of Masonic teaching that are irreconcilable with Catholic faith: [4 Cf Ronny E. Jenkins, “The Evolution of the Church’s Prohibition against Catholic Membership in Freemasonry,” The Jurist (Summer 1997), 741-43]

1. The Masonic world-view. Masons promote freedom from dogmatic adherence to any specific set of revealed truths.

2. The Masonic notion of truth. Masons deny the possibility of objective truth.

3. The Masonic notion of religion. Masonic teaching propounds the notion that religions are all concurrently seeking the

truth of the Absolute.

4. The Masonic notion of God. The Masons’ deistic notion of God excludes any personal knowledge of the deity.

5. The Masonic notion of God and revelation. The deistic notion of God precludes the possibility of God’s self-revelation

to mankind.

6. Masonic toleration. The Masons promote a principle of toleration regarding ideas. Such a principle threatens not only the Catholic position, which holds for objective truth, but also the respect due to the Church’s teaching office.

7. Masonic rituals. The rituals of the first three Masonic degrees exhibit a clear sacramental character, indicating that a significant transformation is undergone by those who participate in them.

8. The perfectibility of humankind. Masonic rituals have as an end the perfection of humankind. Masonry claims to provide all that is necessary to achieve this goal. Thus, the justification of a person through the work of Christ has no part in the struggle for perfection.

9. Masonic spirituality. Masonry makes a total claim on the life of its members. True adherence to the Christian faith is thereby jeopardized by the primary loyalty demanded by the Masonic Order.

10. Divisions within Masonry. Freemasonry is composed of lodges with varying degrees of adherence to Christian teaching. But even those lodges made up of Christian members seek to adapt Christianity to the Masonic world-view.

The Catholic Church is not the only church to oppose the Lodge. Whalen’s report to the U.S. bishops provides a list:

Other groups hostile to lodge membership include many branches of Lutheranism, the Christian Reformed Church, most Pentecostals, the Church of the Nazarene, the Seventh day Adventists, the Holiness churches, the Quakers, the United Brethren in Christ, the Mennonites, the Free Methodists, the Church of the Brethren, the Assemblies of God, the Wesleyans, the Regular Baptists, the Salvation Army and significant minorities in such mainline churches as the Episcopal. Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Mormons] also oppose Masonry.’ [“The Pastoral Problem of Masonic Membership,” Origins, 15/6 (June 27, 1985), 90. James B. Earley, chancellor for the Diocese of Scranton, provided a similar list in his 1998 notice on Freemasonry.]

War

And it was given to it to make war with the saints and to conquer them;

Revelation 13:7

405A–The sixth head bears the blasphemous name of envy, which opposes itself to the virtue of justice, and leads one to offer wor­ship to the idol of violence and of war.

To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons.

Albert Pike’s Amazing Predictions of Three World Wars

Albert Pike was a 33rd degree Mason, was one of the founding fathers, and head of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. He died in 1891. In 1869, he was a top leader in the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He received a vision, which he described in a letter that he wrote to Mazzini, dated August 15, 1871. This letter graphically outlined plans for three world wars that were seen as necessary to bring about the One World Order, and we can marvel at how accurately it has predicted events that have already taken place. To date, no conclusive proof exists to show that this letter was ever written. Nevertheless, the letter is widely quoted and the topic of much discussion. Following are apparently extracts of the letter, showing how Three World Wars have been planned for many generations.

“The First World War must be brought about in order to permit the Illuminati to overthrow the power of the Czars in Russia and of making that country a fortress of atheistic Communism. The divergences caused by the “agentur” (agents) of the Illuminati between the British and Germanic Empires will be used to foment this war. At the end of the war, Communism will be built and used in order to destroy the other governments and in order to weaken the religions.”

­— Students of history will recognize that the political alliances of England on one side and Germany on the other, forged between 1871 and 1898 by Otto von Bismarck, co-conspirator of Albert Pike, were instrumental in bringing about the First World War.

“The Second World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences between the Fascists and the political Zionists. This war must be brought about so that Nazism is destroyed and that the political Zionism be strong enough to institute a sovereign state of Israel in Palestine. During the Second World War, International Communism must become strong enough in order to balance Christendom, which would be then restrained and held in check until the time when we would need it for the final social cataclysm.”

—After this Second World War, Communism was made strong enough to begin taking over weaker governments. In 1945, at the Potsdam Conference between Truman, Churchill, and Stalin, a large portion of Europe was simply handed over to Russia, and on the other side of the world, the aftermath of the war with Japan helped to sweep the tide of Communism into China.

“The Third World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences between the political Zionists and the leaders of the Islamic World. The war must be conducted in such a way that Islam and political Zionism (the State of Israel) mutually destroy each other. Meanwhile the other nations, once more divided on this issue will be constrained to fight to the point of complete physical, moral, spiritual and economic exhaustion. Then we shall unleash . .. (condensing: as sense of horror against Christianity as a fomenter of wars, ) By that time Christianity will be without compass or direction, anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, so it will receive the “true light” through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view.

George Washington’s Vision

These are the words of a first-hand observer, Anthony Sherman, who was present with George Washington and described the situation in 1859 to Wesley Bradshaw. These are extracts from what was published in the National Tribune, Vol. 44 #12 December 1880:

I want to tell you an incident in Washington’s life . . . The darkest period we had, I think, was when Washington, after several reverses, retreated to Valley Forge, where he resolved to pass the winter of 1777.

I have often seen the tears course down our dear commander’s careworn cheeks, as he would be conversing with confidential officers about the condition of his poor soldiers. You doubtless heard the story of Washington’s going to the thicket to pray. Well, it is not only true, but he used often to pray in secret for aid and comfort from God, the interposition of whose Divine Providence brought us safely through the darkest days of tribulation.

One day . . . he remained in his quarters nearly all the afternoon alone. When he came out, I noticed that his face was a shade paler than usual. . . . Just after dusk, he dispatched an orderly . . . After a preliminary conversation [with me] Washington . . . related the event that occurred that day. He said:

This afternoon, as I was sitting at this table engaged in preparing a dispatch, something seemed to disturb me. Looking up, I beheld standing opposite me a singularly beautiful female. So astonished was I, for I had given strict orders not to be disturbed, that it was some moments before I found language to inquire the cause of her presence. A second, a third and even a fourth time did I repeat my question, but received no answer from my mysterious visitor except a slight raising of her eyes.

. . . Presently I heard a voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn,’ while at the same time my visitor extended her arm eastwardly. I now beheld a heavy white vapor at some distance rising fold upon fold. This gradually dissipated, and I looked upon a strange scene. Before me lay spread out in one vast plain all the countries of the world—Europe, Asia, Africa and America. I saw rolling and tossing between Europe and America the billows of the Atlantic, and between Asia and America lay the Pacific.

. . . He went on to describe the War of 1812 which would very much threaten the young nation

. . . Sharp flashes of lightning gleamed through it at intervals, and I heard the smothered groans and cries of the American people. A second time the angel dipped water from the ocean, and sprinkled it out as before. The dark cloud was then drawn back to the ocean.

Again, I heard the mysterious voice say, ‘Son of the Republic, the end of the century cometh, look and learn.’ [and this was clearly the American Civil War]

And again I heard the mysterious voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn.’ At this the dark, shadowy angel placed a trumpet to his mouth, and blew three distinct blasts; and taking water from the ocean, he sprinkled it upon Europe, Asia and Africa. Then my eyes beheld a fearful scene: from each of these countries arose thick, black clouds that were soon joined into one. Throughout this mass there gleamed a dark red light by which I saw hordes of armed men, who, moving with the cloud, marched by land and sailed by sea to America. Our country was enveloped in this volume of cloud, and I saw these vast armies devastate the whole country and burn the villages, towns and cities that I beheld springing up. As my ears listened to the thundering of the cannon, clashing of swords, and the shouts and cries of millions in mortal combat, I heard again the mysterious voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn.’

When the voice had ceased, the dark shadowy angel placed his trumpet once more to his mouth, and blew a long and fearful blast. Instantly a light as of a thousand suns shone down from above me, and pierced and broke into fragments the dark cloud which enveloped America. At the same moment the angel upon whose head still shone the word Union, and who bore our national flag in one hand, and a sword in the other, descended from the heavens attended by legions of white spirits. These immediately joined the inhabitants of America, who I perceived were well nigh overcome, but who immediately taking courage again, closed up their broken ranks and renewed the battle. Again, amid the fearful noise of the conflict, I heard the mysterious voice saying, “Son of the Republic, look and learn.’ As the voice ceased, the shadowy angel for the last time dipped water from the ocean and sprinkled it upon America. Instantly the dark cloud rolled back, together with the armies it had brought, leaving the inhabitants of the land victorious!

Then once more I beheld the villages, towns and cities springing up where I had seen them before, while the bright angel, planting the azure standard he had brought in the midst of them, cried with a loud voice: ‘While the stars remain, and the heavens send down dew upon the earth, so long shall the Union last.’ And taking from his brow the crown on which blazoned the word ‘Union,’ he placed it upon the Standard while the people, kneeling down, said, ‘Amen.’

The scene instantly began to fade and dissolve, and I at last saw nothing but the rising, curling vapor I at first beheld. This also disappearing, I found myself once more gazing upon the mysterious visitor, who, in the same voice I had heard before, said, Son of the Republic, what you have seen is thus interpreted: Three great perils will come upon the Republic. The most fearful is the third, but in this greatest conflict the whole world united shall not prevail against her. Let every child of the Republic learn to live for his God, his land and the Union. With these words the vision vanished, and I started from my seat and felt that I had seen a vision wherein had been shown to me the birth, progress, and destiny of the United States.”

Thus ended General George Washington’s vision and prophecy for the United States of America as told in his own words.

Victory

The Saints in heaven help us fight the Black Beast

413d–To the dangers which, in these times, the wicked set for you, seeking to strew with obstacles, with difficulties, and with subtle opposition, the road along which you must walk, the saints in paradise respond with their powerful assistance and intercession. The hidden and obscure plots which Masonry sets against you, to make you fall into its net, are revealed and destroyed by the saints, who cause to come down from paradise a strong light which surrounds you to make your whole life fragrant with the perfume of faith, of hope, of love, of purity and of holiness.

413e–The communion of life with the Saints of paradise is the remedy which I am giving you against the subtle and very in­sidious dangers which today the black beast of Masonry is set­ting for you.

An article came into my email this morning from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity

http://us11.campaign-archive1.com?u=060e80f6eebfc8804f8049bad&id=c0d75f13c6&e=88b938d3be

The Center for the Study of Global Christianity has done extensive research on Christian martyrdom, both historical and contemporary. We estimate that between 2005 and 2015 there were 900,000 Christian martyrs worldwide—an average of 90,000 per year.

At Hrushiv where Mary appeared in Ukraine in 1987 she chastened everyone to remember the martyrs of the 20th century. We must have confidence in their intercession. They have our backs. We must step out bravely like David with our slingshot, trusting in God and the merits of the saints. We don’t have to imagine we can’t make a difference because we are nobody special. We are anointed with our baptism. We are certainly special in the eyes of Satan. He fears the power we possess in Jesus Christ.

The Book of Revelation is about victory over the plans of Satan. Christianity will inaugurate a better New Age, with a better New World Order. So many peoples and nations will receive baptism that the Book celebrates the Feast of Tabernacles, as the pinnacle of the three feasts which Yahweh required the Israelites to observe. Jesus promised that not a jot or tittle [Mt 5:18] in God’s word would go unfulfilled. The Feasts of Passover and Pentecost were fulfilled in the Son and Spirit. Only the greatest feast is yet to be fulfilled.

Why did I say that this feast corresponds to the greatest Person in the Holy Trinity, when all are God and all are equal? First of all Jesus Himself declares that “the Father is greater than I” [Jn 14:28]. But He was not referring only to his humanity. As eternal Son, He does not generate a Son of God. Only the Father generates.

Many Catholics are not aware that the ancient dispute between Catholics and Orthodox over one clause in the Creed was happily resolved officially by both Churches during the pontificate of Pope John Paul. This pope strove mightily for Church unity and really the only major hurdle between the Catholics and Orthodox is the interpretation of the position of the Pope. I want to close with a summary about this important resolution to the Filioque clause.

The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed was originally written in Greek. The Council of Nicaea, in 325, as regards Trinitarian dogma, was only concerned about the relationship between the Father and the Son

The text in Greek that was eventually universally adopted contains the phrase which means

[We believe] in the Holy Spirit … who comes forth from the Father.” It echoes John 15:26 “The Spirit of Truth, who comes forth from the Father, he will bear witness to me.”

The various Vetus Latina and Vulgata versions of the New Testament translate the Greek word as procedit which caused a problem in technical theological documents because the Greek means “to come from something;” while the Latin procedo means “to issue forth (pro).”

The key difference, at least the way the different traditions understood the terms, is that the Greek word insists on the ultimate origin of whatever has come forth, whereas procedo only insists on the fact of issuing forth.

The Eastern Fathers always understood it in such a way as to refer to the monarchy of the Father. Only the Father can be the ultimate Source or Origin. No Greek Father ever said, “the Spirit comes forth from the Son;” they would rightly consider such a statement to be heresy, since it would imply that the Son is also an ultimate Source, and hence does not receive everything He has from the Father.

The Western Fathers understood “procession” to mean the communication of the Divine Essence from the Father to the Son, and from the Father through the Son to the Holy Spirit. For Latin Trinitarian theology, the concept of “procession” does not automatically imply that the principle of that procession must be the ultimate source.

Both Eastern and Western Fathers agree that the Father communicates His essence to the Son, and that the Son communicates that essence to the Holy Spirit.

Why did the Western Church insist on the insertion of the Filioque? In the Latin version of the Creed, the equivalent clause says

[Credo] in Spiritum Sanctum … qui ex Patre (Filioque) procedit.

Denying the Filioque would imply that the Son has received the Divine Essence only “partially” (if that makes any sense) and hence that He is not fully consubstantial with the Father. The Western theological tradition for historical and linguistic reasons, fused together into one concept called “procession” what Greek theology had divided into two. Neither approach is erroneous, but each one must be understood in its context.

The conclusion is that there is no fundamental contradiction between the Eastern and Western understanding of the Trinity, merely a difference in approach and terminology.

The basis for this reflection can be found in an excellent document entitled the Greek and Latin Traditions Regarding the Procession of the Holy Spirit, issued in 1995 by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

You see, foundations have been deeply laid for Church unity. Christ will be victorious. Soon the trumpets will call the world to celebrate the Feast of Feasts, where Tabernacles will be erected all over the earth!