True Marian Apparitions-The Theotokos as she really is

 

There is a lot of talk recently regarding the consecration of Russia by the Pope, and the so-called secrets of Fatima.  I have no doubts believing that the apparition saw by the children in Portugal was nothing more than a demonic interpretation of the Theotokos and that it was not the Theotokos herself. Because of this along with some sources provided by friends of mine, I want to clarify some actual identifiable Marian apparitions that have appeared to those of us who have remained Orthodox. I myself have never had the pleasure of witnessing such greatness, but I am humbled by those who have. Today let us look at few and show the world the true nature of Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary.

            The first apparition I want to detail is that of the 4^th century. Our Lady the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary appeared to sailors who were distressed. These sailors, two of them in fact, built The Theotokos a shine In Theoprospon, Lebanon where she is referred to as Our Lady of Light. The story goes that these gentlemen were lost at sea, scared out of their minds and wanting to find land as soon as possible. The Theotokos as the intercessor for mankind appeared to them as a bright and shining light guiding them to the afore mentioned town in Lebanon where they were safely protected. The Orthodox Monastery on the sight is known for its miraculous icon that still to this day shines for those who have wayward ships and guides them home.

            The second commemoration of The Theotokos is when she appeared to Emperor Leo I of Byzantium in 450 AD. She led him to a spring where there was an eventual church built. Giving her the name, Our Lady of the Life-Giving Spring. According to the story, the then not Emperor Leo I was traveling through Constantinople when a blind beggar began calling out for him to find water to quench his thirst. As he was walking through the wooded part of the district, he heard a voice calling out to him to give the blind man some water from the deepest part of the forest and to put the clay from the water in his eyes. There he did so and the Theotokos as the intercessor for mankind was once again revealed.

            The third apparition I wish to detail is that of St. Andrew of Constantinople. While not much can be found in English on this story, I will try to cover the gist of it. St Andrew was praying in the church in Blachernae when he saw that the veil of the Theotokos was protecting St. Andrew and his fellow believers from enemies both seen and unseen. As the intercessor for mankind, she continually protects us through her prayers whether we know about them or not. This apparition shows the love she has for all mankind, just like her beloved Son and God Jesus Christ.

            The fourth apparition is that of the apparition that appeared to St. Gabriel of Iveron, on Mount Athos. This one is most interesting, as it happened during a particular difficult time within the Church when people were forsaking Orthodoxy for a shallow false shell of the faith. The people of this time were rejecting the icons, forgetting their heritage as Orthodox Christians and believing them to be idols and pagan worship. As Orthodox we know that they are not Idols, but rather gifts and tools from God to strengthen our faith. The soldiers of this time came to a widow and her son, where they demanded she hand over an Icon of the Theotokos. When she decided to not hand it over, she tearfully took the Icon to the sea and cast it in. However, by miraculous intervention, it did not sink. It stood upright. The Theotokos appeared to the widow and said that she was guiding it to a monastery where it would be kept and venerated for centuries. She also said that upon the repose of the widow she would guide her son there as well. St. Gabriel was the son, and after his mother’s repose, he went to the Iveron Monastery on Mount Athos. At his own repose, he requested the monks write his story down for the keeping of records and we have been handed down this miracle to this day. The Theotokos not only intercedes for us, but through the Divine Grace given to her by her Son and God Jesus Christ she rewards those who have faith and protects those who honor her.

            I could write many more humbling appearances by the Mother of God to our saints and other people throughout the world. However there are too many to list here, and I would ramble on for hours upon end. I have detailed four different ones that I believe show the true nature of Theotokos and how she works in the world. Russia is a place full of Orthodox Christians, a place that has never abandoned the true faith, and fallen away like Rome did in 1054. While I do believe that the Mother of God can appear to those she chooses, I also believe that the Theotokos would never contradict herself. At Fatima she truly did because Russia has honored her for centuries and yet the “Mary” that appeared to the children there acted as if she had never received any honor from them. That is because while it may have appeared to be Mary, it was in fact a demonic deception passed as truth. May God have mercy on their souls and all our souls through the prayers of the Mother of God, the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary.

The Religion of the Future Final Part, part 4 (The Spirit of Charlatans)

 

In Part 3, The Revival of Charlatans we discussed the Spirit of God, what it was and how it relates to the Pentecostal movement. Now we are going to expose the Pentecostal movement for what it is…DEMONIC in nature. For that we must use context and discover how the Enemy has infiltrated the hearts and minds of sincere yet deceived people. I must confess that though these people are sincere, and I do believe their experiences are genuine, I do not condone nor believe that we should be practicing such things. After all, as I stated in the previous blog, the church went nearly 2000+ years without this so called speaking in tongues and it does not need it now. The Church is Christ’s body and must act in accordance with Christ not outside of Christ.

From the onset of this section of Orthodoxy and Religion of the Future, Father Seraphim Rose painstakingly conveys the message that the Charismatic, Pentecostal Movement is NOT of the Church.  First let’s find its origins, then we will discuss the actions of these Charlatans and finally we will place in context the true and Orthodox mindset with how to proceed in our thoughts regarding the movement.

First, the origins. As the book states on pages 115-17, it comes from the Protestant Revivalism spirit that began with Martin Luther, but particularly with Charles Parham on December 31, 1900. He was trying to discover “ancient” Christianity. Had Charles Parham been acquainted with the Church Fathers, then he would know ancient Christianity has been kept by the Orthodox Church and the successors of the Apostles for 2000 years. But alas, he was not. Charles Parham and his disciples were trying to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, through the power to speak in tongues as it mentions in Acts. Through the instruction of a young girl, the “gift” was received after he laid hands upon her, and she spoke incoherently. From pages 118-119 we see that this “baptism” and “gift” spread like wildfire culminating in even the Pope of Rome admitting he was a Pentecostal. Thus we see that the movement began outside the established Church of Christ, and is a relatively new phenomenon, not something that the Church has preached for a majority of its existence

On Page 126, Father Seraphim Rose quotes the scriptures of 1 Corinthians Chapter 12-14 where St. Paul discusses the use of speaking tongues, and states that St. Paul was not trying to promote it, rather he was trying to minimalize its importance in the everyday life of the Church. Pentecostals and those who support the speaking in tongues charlatan movement use these chapters to justify their means. This is a simple misinterpretation and without proper guidance, misinterpretation happens quite frequently, even among those of us who profess Orthodoxy. Father Seraphim quotes a person on page 127, who began to use the word la, repeatedly and then began to speak wildly. This person by a psychological nature was conditioning themselves to speaking in tongues, not allowing the Holy Spirit to overcome them. Another grave error. On page 128, Father Seraphim discusses the repentance aspect of the movement and notes that many do not feel a need to ask for forgiveness from their sins after speaking in tongues, because God is inside them. We can see that this is inconsistent even with Protestant doctrine that calls for one to come to a saving grace in Christ and violates Romans 3:23. Father Seraphim even further explains this movement usinh Lutheran pastor Dr. Kurt Koch, who along with Father Seraphim denotes that this movement is psychic in nature and is a form of mediumism or to put it bluntly…sorcery. Father Seraphim also denotes that while many would consider this Christian, the devil does not necessarily take away our “Christianness” when this act is taking place, rather he replaces it with what we want to feel and how we want to act, rather than giving us true and proper experiences in Christ. Meetings of interdenominational charismatics included free-form prayer and dancing, no consensus of piety or respect for God (page 151) From pages 151-156 Father Seraphim discusses the laughter within these meetings and how that this is common among those brought to Orthodox Priests in the old countries who need an exorcism. This laughter is produced by those who speak in tongues and is a disregard for the faith in Christ. While laughter is not a bad thing, lack of respect for Christ is. Father Seraphim also at length discusses preachers like Rodney Howard-Browne who during his “revivals” would witness people “slain in the spirit” falling unconscious and being almost superglued to the floor. Again, signs of possession but not by God. Those who are possessed by God are in their right minds. Howard-Browne on page 214, states, “I’d rather be in a church where the devil and the flesh are manifesting than in a church where nothing is happening…” Brothers and Sisters, if the devil himself is entering a church, then it is not a church…it is pure and simply Satanic worship. 

So, what is the Orthodox, and well to be honest the Christian response? The Christian response is to have nothing to do with it. Leave it to its own devices and do not seek it. Seek only that which is pure and uplifting.  Seek Christ through the saints, the scriptures and leave speaking in tongues alone.  Do not forget to pray for those in spiritual deception, because we could be there just as easily. Seek forgiveness of your sins, pray, and be at peace.

 

Amen.

The Religion of the Future part 2 (The Spirits of our Age)

   

                Again, we arrive at the controversial stage of this blog, and for most people they will turn away from this and will not listen to what is going to be said. Father Seraphim Rose was a bright man, with many wonderful insights from God. Along with the knowledge gleaned from Patristic church literature that has been passed down for over 2,000 years. Therefore, when such a giant of our generation writes about the deceptions taking place in our world, I believe I have the very right and responsibility to inform the people of this world to take heed and to help lead them back onto the narrow and straight path. We are of course going to be dealing with the chapter on UFOs that inspired The UFO Deception by Father Spyridon Bailey and which of course you can find a full book review of on this sight. Let me preface something if I did not earlier, my family has experience with UFOs...I do not discredit nor disavow them for their belief in such objects. In fact, I would say that Orthodox Christians would say that they are very real...but not just in the way that you would think.

 

                First let me say that Father Seraphim Rose's book does not deal primarily with UFOs in the same way that Father Spyridon does. Father Spyridon's is an entire book devoted to the subject, Father Rose's? Just a chapter. But the impact is just the same. Like Father Spyridon, Father Seraphim Rose agrees that we cannot lump all sightings of UFOs into the category of demonic spirits that people have witnessed. Some are very clearly military and secret agencies performing tasks that they do not want the general population to discover and so they cover it up with the belief that extraterrestrials are visiting us to get the people to not dig further into the story and to go about their business devoid of the knowledge of what they are doing. In fact, before the wild craze that was ETs and the possibility of life on other planets, most scientists who reported and observed the early accounts of eyewitnesses of UFOs believed them to be highly advanced technology, usually American, but also Russian (page 80). However most if not many of the UFOs that are seen and the humanoids that are "uncovered" are the spirits of this age. They are the ghosts of years past, they are the dragons, the serpents, the fantastical creatures of mythology and fairytales. Though they have changed their appearance to meet the expectations of the people of this generation, their mission, to prepare us for the coming of the Antichrist, remains the same. Father Seraphim Rose explains in these discussions within the topic of UFOs that the prince of air (Eph. 2:2) is Satan himself, the devil and that his "miracles" take place within the air, because that is his only true place of power. On page 101, Father Seraphim Rose, states quite unashamedly, "Men have abandoned Christianity, and look for "saviours" from outer space..." These spirits perform their acts in the sky and deceive many. He even assumes that the Antichrist himself, might descend from the air, to conclude his imitation of Jesus, like the UFOs do on occasion. (Page 111). Father warns Christians to walk more cautiously and soberly on the path of salvation during these times, because the apocalyptic times are getting closer at hand (page 113)

 

Concluding the discussion on page 114, Father Seraphim warns all Christians to not believe in these fairy tales of demonic origins and to remind ourselves that we must be prepared for the coming of the Antichrist. He also states that all Christians believe in higher beings. No, not extraterrestrials, but angels, and demons. They are not our saviours, they are created beings just like us, some have fallen away and want to drag us away from God, which have become demons. Those who want to lead us toward God and to His Logos, are the angels. We must not rely on our senses to tell us whether these things are pure and good, which some believe these beings to be. We also cannot rely on our senses to tell us these things are evil, which also some believe these beings to be. We must rest in the writings of the Church, the Holy Scriptures, and the Christian witness. We do not have time to be caught up in arguments that do not have basis in our salvation. We must remain firmly rooted in our Faith.

 

 

 

Amen.

UFOs and the Deception of Extraterrestrials

     This one is going to be a little controversial, as many people are on both sides of the argument of this topic. However,  I am going to do something that I haven't done on this blog yet...and that is a book review, or at least a summary of a book.  I recently read The UFO Deception by Father Spyridon Bailey, and must say it is one of the greatest works Orthodox Christianity has produced at least in the 21st Century.  The book takes a look at the various claims of a variety of scientists and eyewitness accounts to determine the root cause of the phenomenon that is UFOs and whether there is something more at work than meets the eye. Through the use of the own words of Carl Sagan, Carl Jung and others Father Spyridon systematically tears through the deceptions that our government and other celebrities of this age promulgate in the existence of UFOs and extraterrestrial life. One of Father's quotes that sticks out with me is that the lies spread by scientists and the government are all in preparation for the coming of the Antichrist (not the antichrist which is the spirit but the final one Antichrist). Father Spyridon also states that now through the promise of technology, the satanic worshippers and atheists of the world have even more sway in tearing the faithful away from the Body of Christ, which is the Church.  Father Spyridon on page 91 states, "Here Sagan is acknowledging the reason for his yearning for ETs to exist, because without them he imagines human life is alone and purposeless." Others he quotes clearly state their goal in discovering ETs is to destroy traditional religion as we know it.  

    We as Orthodox Christians understand that the gates of Hell cannot and will not overcome the church, but we must still fight against this blatant attack on the church and defend her positions and honor. Father Spyridon continues on page 99, "...truth cannot be interpreted by the limited scientific findings of the day." But We as Orthodox Christians know where truth can be found...Holy Tradition, both in the scriptures and in the every day life of the Church. On the very next page, page 100, Father Spyridon makes his most ardent and most logical point. He states, "...for man experiencing a limited timespan during whatever theories are fashionable in his age, the gamble of  risking his eternal salvation  on such shifting sands demands a very strong faith in the science of his day." Father clearly states within the context of the writing that believing in the church, resting in the Rock of Faith, that is the apostolic faith presented by the Orthodox Church is more logical and more just than relying on what man has said about the world. Man's understanding of the world comes from a limited knowledge, from his discovery of what God has ordained and put in motion. Holy Tradition, is what God has given us for the benefit of our salvation and placing our faith in anything less is idolatry. 

    Another valid point that Father makes within all the context of the book, is that the government, and the media are controlling the narrative to deceive the people.  Throughout the book he quotes generals, airmen, naval officers and journalists who have seen the documents the government is supposedly hiding from the public, but in reality these narratives all published by credited sources are used by the government to control the flow of information. In reality, they want to prepare us for the inevitable creation of an alien threat to create the One World Government that is to be led by the Antichrist. Something that was new to me was the revelation from Father that both the United States Government and the Government of the USSR worked tirelessly together during the cold war to bring about this alien threat. On page 35 of the book, Father quotes directly from one of the most "beloved" presidents of the United States in modern history Ronald Reagan. Reagan states, "I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from the outside world." Father continues his discussion by listing a number of other political leaders from various countries like Russia, Greece and the UK, all with varying degrees of the same statement.  The government's clear goal is to remove national identity with a humanitarian one, but one that will lead us to destruction, not to salvation.  By creating this threat themselves the governments of the world are keeping the people in check and destroying the very soul of humanity.

    Finally he takes a look at the nature of the "abductions" conducted by aliens through eyewitness accounts. Father looks at it as always through the eyes of the Christian witness and shows that many of the so called procedures conducted by the aliens are akin to occult and satanic practices, finally giving the last nail in the coffin of aliens being demons.  While I could focus on the other aspects he presents in this book, I believe if you want the whole picture you should buy yourself a copy of The UFO Deception by Father Spyridon Bailey. What I have gleaned from it might not be what you glean and I would hate for you to miss this wonderful book. 

Amen.