Apparitions, History, and the Church of God
By Bob Thiel
What is an apparition? Have apparitions changed the world? Are apparitions ever biblically-sanctioned? Are claimed visits from apparitions only an issue for Roman Catholics or have they also affected the Church of God? If so, how have they affected it?
Will apparitions affect the Church of God in the future?
What is An Apparition?
Here is a definition of an apparition, according to Dictionary.com:
ap·pa·ri·tion [ap-uh-rish-uhn] noun
- a supernatural appearance of a person or thing…
Many with the Church of Rome believe that Jesus’ deceased mother Mary has appeared throughout history as an apparition. Other claimed apparitions and enchantments have also played important roles in the rise of that church and certain related churches.
The Bible and Apparitions
Are apparitions at all biblical? Should they ever be believed? How can one tell if they are from God or the devil?
The Bible is clear that God sometimes uses angels to give messages sometimes in person and sometimes in dreams. This is clear both from the Old (Genesis 16:7-12; 21:17-18; 22:11-18; 31:11; Numbers 22:22-31; Judges 2:1-4; 6:11-22; 13:3-21, etc.) and New (Matthew 1:20-24; 2:13-20; 28:2-7; Luke 1:11-38; Revelation 5:2-3, etc. ) Testaments. Biblically, apparitions can be from God.
The Bible shows that angelic apparitions were used to announce the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 11:1-20), the conception of Jesus via the Holy Spirit within Mary (Luke 1:26-38), the resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28:2-7), and more.
Furthermore, the New Testament specifically reports that angelic apparitions were part of early Church of God history (Acts 5:19-20; 10:3-7; 12:8-11; 27:23-26;).
God-approved “apparitions” have changed the world.
Messages of Three Angels
The Bible shows that God will use appearances of angels in the future.
In addition to the warnings by God’s two witnesses for 3 ½ years and God’s remaining people, as well as various signs and trumpets from God, God is going to provide a warning of repentance to the world by way of three angels. Thus, in at least this way, apparitions will be part of the final phase of the work:
6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— 7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” 8 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” 9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:6-11).
We in the Continuing Church of God need to realize that God wants people to repent and will use angelic beings to get His gospel message out. Actually, because of deception (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) and because much of the rest of the world will prosper at this time (cf. Revelation 18), they will ignore real angelic apparitions from God. That is probably part of why the Bible teaches that “the day of the Lord will come as a thief” (2 Peter 3:10).
The Bible Warns About Apparitions
Although God has and will use “apparitions,” most who claim to have seen apparitions have not seen apparitions from God. And one of the most famous deceptive ‘apparitions’ was when Satan appeared as a serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-4; Ezekiel 28:11-15; Revelation 20:2).
Scripture warns against heeding the teachings demons, which would include false apparitions:
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1).
A few ‘doctrines of demons’ that have reportedly came through apparitions (or were reportedly confirmed by them) include the “Holy Trinity,” rosary, “immortal soul,” acceptance of icons, Jesus’ mother Mary’s alleged current role in salvation, the so-called “immaculate heart of Mary,” and the prophesied rise of the “Great Monarch” (who scriptures seem to warn against as the final Beast of the sea and King of the North) and prophesized rise the “Angelic Pastor” (who scriptures seem to warn against as the final Beast of the earth, final Antichrist, and False Prophet). While versions of some of these doctrines already existed in paganism, their acceptance by the Greco-Roman churches was facilitated by demonic apparitions. The world has been impacted by these demonic apparitions.
The New Testament also warns that Christians are to:
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)
Christians are to “test the spirits.” If all were true or none were true there would be no reason to have to test them.
Notice two ways to determine if the spirit or claimed apparition is false:
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8-9)
1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’ — which you have not known — ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5)
So, any valid message from a dreamer or prophet must be consistent with the true gospel and also should not be opposed to God’s commandments.
Apostolic Issues
According to the New Testament and some post-New Testament documents, the apostles had to deal with at least three people who seemingly had encounters with apparitions.
The Apostle Paul had to denounce and cast out a demon from a woman who seemingly prophesied because of demonic influence (Acts 16:16-22). Paul was beaten and jailed because of what he did (Acts 16:23).
The Apostle Peter condemned Simon Magus (Acts 8:9-23), who (according to certain religious writers in the 2nd century) apparently indicated some type of encounter with angels/demons/apparitions/spirits (cf. Acts 18:9-23). It may be of interest to note that even those now considered to be early supporters of the Roman Catholic Church condemned Simon and his followers for doctrines such as statues, revering a woman, the doctrine of the immortal soul, incantations, mysteries, mystic priests, claiming divine titles for leaders, accepting money for religious favours, preferring allegory and tradition over many aspects of scripture, having a leader who wanted to be thought of as God/Christ on earth, and divorcing themselves from Christian biblical practices considered to be Jewish.
In the second century, Irenaeus wrote about an incident involving the Apostle John and an apostate named Cerinthus which apparently occurred in the late first century:
There are also those who heard from him that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, “Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.” (Irenaeus. Adversus Haeres. Book III, Chapter 3, Verse 4)
Cerinthus essentially claimed to get his doctrine from “angels” and his personal biblical insights. Cerinthus taught allegorizing of scripture, taught that non-biblical tradition was more important than scripture, blended Gnostic teachings with the Bible, claimed to be an apostle, came up with improper festivals, and claimed that angels gave him messages. Though Catholics have denounced him, several of his teachings were eventually adopted by the Church of Rome.
The Bible Warns About a ‘Virgin’ ‘Lady’
There have been a lot reports of ‘female’ apparitions since the third century A.D.
Might the Bible have warnings about alleged female apparitions?
Well, the in the Old Testament, the Bible warns of a “virgin” that uses enchantments who is also called the Lady of Kingdoms:
1 Come down, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called delicate and tender…4 Our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called the lady of kingdoms. 6 I was angry with my people, I have polluted my inheritance, and have given them into thy bend: thou hast shown no mercy to them: upon the ancient thou hast laid thy yoke exceeding heavy.
7 And thou hast said: I shall be a lady forever: thou hast not laid these things to thy heart, neither hast thou remembered thy latter end.
8 And now hear these things, thou that art delicate, and dwellest confidently, that sayest in thy heart: I am, and there is none else besides me: I shall not sit as a widow, and I shall not know barrenness.
9 These two things shall come upon thee suddenly in one day, barrenness and widowhood. All things are come upon thee, because of the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great hardness of thy enchanters. 10 And thou best trusted in thy wickedness, and hast said: There is none that seeth me. Thy wisdom, and thy knowledge, this hath deceived thee. And thou best said in thy heart: I am, and besides me there is no other. 11 Evil shall come upon thee, and then shalt not know the rising thereof: and calamity shall fall violently upon thee, which thou canst not keep off: misery shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. 12 Stand now with thy enchanters, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, in which thou hast laboured from thy youth, if so be it may profit thee any thing, or if thou mayst become stronger. 13 Thou hast failed in the multitude or thy counsels: let now the astrologers stand and save thee, they that gazed at the stars, and counted the months, that from them they might tell the things that shall come to thee. (Isaiah 47:1, 4-7, 11-13, DRB)
Interestingly, the second of the seven wonders of the ancient world has been called, “Babylon the Great, the Lady of the Kingdoms, the glory of the whole earth.“ Might there be a tie between the old Babylon and the end time Mystery Babylon of Revelation 17?
The Bible also seems to connect the Lady’s haughty comments in verses Isaiah 7 & 8 with those of the harlot of Revelation 17:1, 18; 18:7-8, 11 and the city in Zephaniah 2:15.
Some may be surprised to see this, but this immoral “Lady” also seems to have the title of “queen” and “harlot”:
7 You thought, ‘I shall be a queen forever.’ 8…’I am the only one who matters. I shall never be widowed, never know bereavement.’ 9 Yet both these things will befall you, suddenly, in one day. Bereavement and widowhood will suddenly befall you (Isaiah 47:7, 8b, 9 NJB)
4 Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her sorceries. (Nahum 3:4, NKJV)
5 Look, I am against you!- declares Yahweh Sabaoth- I shall lift your skirts as high as your face and show your nakedness to the nations, your shame to the kingdoms. (Nahum 3:5, NJB)
3 All the nations have drunk deep of the wine of her prostitution; every king on the earth has prostituted himself with her, and every merchant grown rich through her debauchery. (Revelation 18:3, NJB)
17:1…Come, I will shew thee the condemnation of the great harlot, who sitteth upon many waters…18:7 As much as she hath glorified herself, and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her; because she saith in her heart: I sit a queen, and am no widow; and sorrow I shall not see. 8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine, and she shall be burnt with the fire; because God is strong, who shall judge her… 23 all nations have been deceived by thy enchantments (Revelation 17:1b, 18:7-8, 23 DRB)
So, understand that what will happen to the queen/Lady of the Kingdoms as well as to Babylon is warned against in Revelation and elsewhere. However, “Lady of the Kingdom” is a title various Catholics have given to Mary. The Taoists revere the goddess, Tian Hou, who is called the “Queen of Heaven.” Various of the Chinese also revere a female apparition that has a similar title (and that may have direct ties to Satan as originally it allegedly was male).
Of course, neither the Bible nor the apostles referred to Jesus’ mother Mary as any type of queen, nor “Lady of the Kingdoms.”
Yet, at least partially because of statements from various ones who claimed to see apparitions of Mary, Catholics consider that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the “queen of heaven” and/or “Lady of the Kingdoms.” This is despite the fact that the Bible warns against one referred to the “queen of heaven” (Jeremiah 7:18-19; 44:17-25) and certainly condemns one called the “Lady of the Kingdoms.”
Since the Bible warns that an end time “queen” will have a role involving sorceries (cf. Revelation 18:7,23, NKJV) this is consistent with the view that some type of female-looking apparition may be involved in end time deception.
And there have been deceptions related to alleged Marian and other apparitions throughout church history.
Apparitions have Assisted the Rise of the Greco-Roman Churches
While true Christians do not accept that Jesus’ mother Mary has been appearing to various ones, this does not mean that those who have claimed to see her or other false apparitions have not affected history or the Church of God.
Because of the warning in Isaiah 47:12 that the “Lady of the Kingdoms” would use enchantments and sorceries from her youth, I wondered when the first claimed Marian apparitions took place and how the Church of God could have been affected by this.
A few years ago I did some research and found that around 238-244 A.D. one named Gregory (died roughly 270 A.D.) seems to have been the first to have claimed to have seen an apparition of Mary. Gregory was trained by the apostate and allegorist Origen of Alexandria, in Egypt. This apparition allegedly appeared to him before he later became Bishop Gregory of Neocaeseria (now in lands controlled by Turkey), and thus was probably a factor in him becoming a bishop. Gregory is also known as “Gregory the Wonder Worker” and” Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus” (wonder worker). Related to Gregory, scholars Roberts and Donaldson reported:
He was believed to have been gifted with a power of working miracles, which he was constantly exercising…the demons were subject to him…he could cast his cloak over a man, and cause his death…he could bring the presiding demons back to their shrine.
There is no example of God’s servants causing death in manners such as those attributed to Gregory, so this should give all pause that Gregory’s powers did not come from God.
Yet, because Gregory’s power over demons and other “wonders” were apparently accepted by many, he had influence. It seems that Gregory’s enchantments and/or sorceries (cf. Isaiah 47:5-12; Nahum 3:4), along with Imperial persecutions, may have greatly assisted the Greco-Roman faction in eliminating the more organized faithful of the Church of God in Asia Minor. Gregory was also a factor in the rise of Marian cults around that time (some of which also had ties to the pagan goddess Diana). His writings teach praise and excessive devotion to the “Holy Virgin,” including the blasphemous teaching that Mary (not Jesus) “blotted out” Eve’s “transgressions.” He was amongst the earliest ones who claimed Christ to promote the expression the “Holy Trinity” and the pagan idea that humans had an immortal soul.
Many do not realize that until possibly into the early third century, the number of Christians associated with the Church of God seems to have exceeded the number of professing Christ in the emerging Greco-Roman confederation. The apparition claiming Gregory was a factor here in increasing Greco-Roman influence.
Also, around this time is when “eucharistic miracles” seemed to have begun. Cyprian of Carthage reported that one sinner had some “eucharistic” bread immediately turn into ashes upon contact with him. Rumors of these wonders apparently spread and influenced many (cf. Isaiah 47:1-12). While “eucharistic” miracles are not necessarily the same as apparitions, they are consistent with warned against enchantments and sorceries. To this day, “eucharistic miracles” have major impacts on those who claim allegiance to the Church of Rome. Sometimes, Marian apparitions have also claimed responsibility for these alleged “eucharistic miracles.”
Apparitions Affected the Roman Empire
The Catholic writer C.M. Mangan reported:
In 312, the Roman Emperor Constantine I the Great was in Trier, Germany where he had an unexpected vision of a cross that appeared in the sky with the haunting words, “In hoc signum vinces” (“In this sign you conquer”). The Emperor was buoyed by the apparition and encouraged his 20,000 troops for the upcoming bloody battle against Maxentius and his 100,000 men. Constantine’s soldiers, the majority of whom were pagans, placed the sacred image of the cross on their shields.
The “cross” what was seen allegedly was a spear crossed with a sword. While Jesus indicated that His people would not be part of carnal warfare in this age (John 18:36) and that long had been the position of not only the Church of God, but also the Greco-Roman Catholics, Emperor Constantine had a different view and helped turn the Catholics into a frequently warring religion.
Historians realize that this alleged apparition, combined with a dream where Constantine claimed to see an apparition of Jesus, changed the course of world history. Emperor Constantine, himself, was thankful for these apparent apparitions and believed that this indicated that some things should change in his empire.
Constantine ended up making the first Sunday law, issuing an edict against those who would not accept his compromised religion, greatly exalting the political power of Greco-Roman bishops, and massively increased idolatry and military service amongst unfaithful professors of Christ. He also took away certain Church of God properties and ordered the death penalty to Church of God Christians in Jerusalem that would not eat pork.
He is known as Constantine the Great by the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholics for legalizing and essentially mandating their compromised faith throughout the Roman Empire. Other doctrinal compromises occurred because of him and afterwards. And note that apparitions were involved. It has also been reported that only two years earlier, Constantine saw an apparition of the sun god Sol in a grove of Apollo in Gaul in 310 (discussed in Rodgers, Barbara S. “Constantine’s Pagan Vision,”Byzantion, vol. 50, 1980, pp. 259–78). This should give all pause to realize that Constantine had a history of apparent demonic contact, but most have overlooked this.
Even after his alleged conversion to his claimed version of the Christian faith in 312 (if he was ever baptized, it was supposedly on his death bed in 337 A.D., despite him declaring himself a lay “Christian” bishop by 325), Emperor Constantine still put the sun god Sol on his coins. Here is one of his coins from 317:
Photo copyright 2008 Reid Goldsborough. Used with permission
The Latin expression SOLI INVI-C-TO COMITI in English means “In honor of the unconquered Sun (god).” It is clear that in 317 A.D. (which is about five years after his supposed “conversion”) Constantine was still publicly honouring the sun-god Sol also known as Mithras (the sun-god of war). This should also prove to all that his vision of apparitions was not from God, but instead he is called Constantine the Great.
How could this be?
The Apostle Paul warned that true Christians would “walk by faith, not be sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), yet others ignore that and seemingly prefer to believe lies that they could disprove (cf. Revelation 22:15).
In the Bible it shows that many will accept various signs and lying wonders (including apparitions, cf. Revelation 16:14) because they do not have “the love of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). Although Jesus said that God’s word was truth (John 17:17), many rationalize around the truth of the Bible and will accept a false gospel. Sadly, this has repeatedly been shown to be the case throughout history.
Apparitions Further Affected History: Russia
Claimed apparitions have been involved in deceit throughout the church age. Over time, the amount of claimed Marian apparitions has increased. This seemed to have been a factor in getting various ones in Europe and North Africa to accept the Greco-Roman religion as opposed to the true Church of God faith in the Middle Ages.
But other geographical areas were also affected. The Catholic Marian Research Institute has reported that there have been over 2,000 Marian apparitions. They reported nearly 800 in the 13th century alone—which tends to indicate that Europe had a lot of claimed apparitions which influence it. Many Catholic prophetic understandings have come from apparitions, mainly those claimed to be Mary, but also from some claimed to be Jesus.
The Catholics of Rome, of course, are not the only ones to have claimed to see apparitions. In the fourteenth century, Sergius of Radonezh reportedly saw an apparition that he claimed was Mary.
Although Russia had some improper Marian concepts before, it is reported that Sergius became “the real architect“ of getting Russia to embrace the Orthodox Catholic faith and it was he who “helped spread through Russia“ the “importance“ of “icon painting.“
But icon promotion was not an original practice of the church, and those types of paintings had been historically denounced by early clergy. Thus, it is not logical to conclude that Sergius saw Mary of the Bible. Sergius died in 1392.
Enchantments/sorceries also seem to have been involved with Sergius as his “incorrupt relics” (at least part of his “undecayed” corpse) were found in 1422 (certain Catholics to believe that if a body does not decay for a time after death and someone lead a sufficiently Catholic life, that this is proof of “sainthood”). Sergius is considered to be one of the most important “saints” by the Russian Orthodox Church and this is partially as the result of his claimed vision of an apparition.
“Guadalupe” and Latin America
One of the most important claimed Marian apparitions in history is the appearance of one in Mexico in the 16th century, known today as Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The Marian Research Institute posted:
Renaissance : During the sixteenth century, a new kind of apparition began. These apparitions had a public character and were intended to “re-animate faith” and to “surmount the world’s crises.” (Laurentin 88) The most significant case is Guadalupe (1531) which gave “birth to a new church on a new continent.” (Laurentin 88)
Notice that there was a change in the apparitions around the 16th century. Notice also the claim that the “Guadalupe” apparition reportedly gave “birth to a new church on a new continent.”
Antonio Socci reported:
The apparition of Guadalupe—according to the general acknowledgement of historians—was what attracted the Indians to Christianity. Therefore, it was precisely Guadalupe that gave birth to Latin American Christianity. (Socci A. The Fourth Secret of Fatima. Loreto Publications, English Translation 2009, p. 143)
Dr. Jeanette Rodríguez, a Catholic scholar, wrote:
Juan Diego…said, “She calls herself ‘Tlecuauhtlacupeuh.’ ” To the Spaniards this sounded like “Guadalupe”…But the Nahuatl language does not contain the letters d and g; therefore our Lady’s name could not have been “Guadalupe”… The Nahuatl understanding of “Tlecuauhtlacupeuh” is La que viene volando de la luz como el áquila de fuego (she who comes flying like a region of light like an eagle of fire, Echeagaray 1981:21). The region of light was the dwelling place of the Aztec gods, and the eagle was a sign from the gods. (Rodriguez J. Our Lady of Guadalupe: faith and empowerment among Mexican-American women. University of Texas Press, 1994, pp. 45-46)
So, the apparition sounded a lot like an Aztec goddess. Notice also the following:
The Virgin of Guadalupe appeared in what is now Mexico City on the holy hill of Tepeyac, dedicated to Tonantzin, the Mother Earth goddess of the Aztecs. That is one reason why the bishop didn’t believe Juan Diego. He must have thought: “We know who appears on that mountain and it’s not the Virgin Mary but some pagan goddess!” Actually, the native Mexicans thought the same thing: “We know who appears on that hill: Tonantzin!” And so they referred to what we call ‘Virgin of Guadalupe’ as ‘Tonantzin’ for more than a century. To this day Mexicans know the Virgin if {sic} Guadalupe not as just another form of Mother Mary, but as a particularly Mexican Queen of Heaven. (Rozett E. Mother Mary and the Goddess. http://www.interfaithmary.com/pages/mary_goddess.html viewed 04/07/2011)
It has been claimed that “Tonantzin, the mother goddess of the Aztecs, then took the form of the Virgin Mary. Therefore Tonantzin was substituted…because of the necessity to convert to the Catholic religion under a new political regime.” (Breaux JJ. Intransigence & Indifference: Essays Concerning Religion and Spirituality. Lulu.com, 2008, p. 85)
Not only was the apparition pagan and definitely not Mary (the mother of Jesus), it was originally denounced, then accepted.
Many believe that this claim of this apparition resulted in the vast majority in Latin America accepting Roman Catholicism, which many in Latin America still do this day. This apparition was further promoted by Pope Francis who endorsed it in 2013. Pope Francis also endorsed other forms of Marianism when he visited the largest country in Latin America, Brazil, in 2013.
Warning from the Eastern Orthodox
The following was written by a member of the Orthodox Church and is warning people that false apparitions claiming to be Mary will lead to people to Antichrist:
“Mother goddesses” known in the ancient world were not just confined to the Near East and Mediterranean but are universal. The Kogi Indians, among whom we lived in Columbia, worship a spirit called Nabuba, the “Ancient Mother.” When Roman Catholics missionaries attempted to evangelize the Kogi int he last century, they used a not-uncommon strategy for drawing pagan peoples into Rome’s fold: rather than explaining the differences between the pagan mysthology and Christian truth, they found “equivalences,” Christ, under this syncretistic view, corresponds to the Kogi Sejukukui (a trickster god who faked his own death by hiding in a cave), while Nabuba is said to be the Virgin Mary. This confusion has led the Kogis to call their pagan temples “cansamaria,” a corruption of “casa de Maria” (house of Mary).
Given these Roman Catholic “evangelistic methods” of more than a century ago, it is it any wonder that contemporary “apparitions” of Mary are invariably accompanied by ecumenistic messages promoting the idea that all religions are equally valid and Orthodox Christianity is but one “path” among many? A recent issue of Orthodox Tradition (1966) contains the account of Matushka (wife of a Russian Orthodox priest) Katherine Swanson’s trip to Medjugorje, Croatia, to investigate the most famous of the recent cases of apparitions of Mary in the Roman Catholic world. In it she recounts a telling episode:
Our guide took our group for an audience with the “seers.” During this audience, a pilgrim asked one of the children the following questions: “Does the Virgin say that the Catholic Church is the true church?” The response given by the child provides clear evidence of the ecumenical content and religious relativism which, oddly enough, increasingly mark the “revelations” at Medjugorje: “Our Blessed Mother says that all religions are equally pleasing to God.”
The Life magazine article, then, is yet another contribution to this line of thought. Given the idea that all paths are equally valid, then all “Marys” are equally valid, too. The author describes several of the Marys of our times: Miearculous Mary (such as at Medjugorje), Mediator Mary (Who, as the author quotes Fr. Andrew Greeley saying, lets people into Heaven through the “back door”). Mediator Mary of the feminists, and Mother Mary. This last one, Mother Mary, is the role which the author considers the most appealing to non-Catholics: “The emotional need for her is so irresistible to a troubled world that people without an obvious link to the Virgin are being drawn to her. It is known that Muslins revere Mary as a pure and holy saint…Interdenominational Marian prayer groups are springing up throughout the world. Many Protestants, even some who still reject notions of a supernatural Virgin, miss Mary.”
To which Mary are Muslims and Protestants being drawn? The Protestant Reformation rejected the distorted view of Mary which had developed in the West since the Schism of 1054, and which would ultimately result in the Roman Church’s proclamation of their dogma of the Immaculate Conception. But Protestantism did not just reject the Western view of Mary; it ignored Her altogether, in effect denying Her role in the Incarnation and, consequently, the part She plays in our salvation. As Rome began to see her more and more as a “goddess,” a fourth Hypostasis of the Trinity, as it were, the Protestants reacted by down playing Her position and refusing to honor Her at all, this in spite of the Gospel words:“All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed.”
Today, as heterodox Christians become more and more ecumenist and work toward creating a “One World Church,” the search has begun for a Mary of universal recognition, one who will appeal not only to those who bear the name Christian, but apparently to Muslims and others as well, just as attempts are likewise being made to identify the “new Christ” with the Muslim concept of their coming Mahdi and with the Messiah still awaited by the Jews. This, of course, will be no Christ at all but the antichrist. (Jackson P. ORTHODOX LIFE., No. I, 1997., Brotherhood of Saint Job of Pochaev at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y. pp. 18-22. http://fr-d-serfes.org/orthodox/theotokos.htm viewed 05/11/09)
Since Muslims accept the virgin birth and tend to venerate Mary (Mary is possibly the only woman mentioned in the Koran and her name is mentioned more than that of Jesus), they may well temporarily accept the ecumenical religion that the Bible teaches is coming (Revelation 13:4,8). Marian apparitions may well be part of the signs and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) that will deceive all but the elect (Matthew 24:24).
Apparitions have had a lot of influence and have long been part of Satan’s plan. As Christians, we are to be aware of Satan are not to be “ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11).
Summary
God has and God will use apparitions in the future. Apparitions had involvement with Jesus and the Church of God. The future use of messages from at least three angels (angels also have additional involvement according to the Book of Revelation) is part of God’s end time plan to proclaim the gospel to the world as a witness.
Yet, most seem to ignore how God has used them. Many are afraid to consider that spirit beings can still be part of His plan. But the Bible is clear that they are (e.g. Revelation 14:6-11).
However, throughout the history of the Church of God, Satan has also used apparitions to minimize Christian influence while working to increase the influence of the Greco-Roman faiths. Satan has major success using claimed apparitions
Claimed visions of apparitions contributed to the rise of the Greco-Roman religion in the third century in Asia Mino. In the fourth century they contributed to a major change of the old Roman Empire. In later centuries, in Europe and Africa, were again affected. In the twelfth century in Russia was greatly impacted. In the sixteenth century in Latin America changed. There have been impacts from claimed apparitions in scattered locations throughout the church age.
Since Satan successfully has successfully used apparitions as part of his plan in the past, I would suspect that he intends to use them more. And it appears that he will again, for a time, be successful per 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (more on this is in the article Fatima and other ‘Marian’ Apparitions, also in this issue).
Few seem to recognize the magnitude of the impact apparitions have already had.
We in the Continuing Church of God recognize that God can and will use apparitions, but we also recognize that Satan has and likely will do so in the future as well. False apparitions are part of Satan’s plan, while real ones remain part of God’s plan.