— The Great Communion of all creation into Christ,
the end of creation and the beginning of eternity, (Rev
21).
Details of the above outline now follow:
The Great Tribulation or the great trial (for those of faith), is the sudden and large scale degradation of morals and religion that is prophesied before the second coming of Christ.
It will coincide with some genuine moral advances, but on
the whole humanity will further distance itself from God. The Great Tribulation was intended as the Great Advancement.
The great achievements of humanity would have furthered brotherhood and morality. Nationhood, political systems, economics, science, medicine, psychology, philosophy and morality would have worked only toward the highest ideals for humanity.
The Great Tribulation will take every form and it will be exceptional in its intensity and scope, Jesus himself speaks of 180
it. The Great Tribulation will seem like the Great Advancement to many, but its product will be the Great Chastisement and the anti-Christ.
“For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.” , (Mt 24:21).
The Great Outpouring of the Holy Spirit will likely take multiple forms, and it could be given to all persons in some form. It could be admonition, encouragement, instruction, grace, blessing, even a sign. From Acts 2:17 we know that it will include at least visions and prophecy.
From Acts 2:17, "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
This great outpouring of the Spirit is (like every other event), intended as a goodness given for our spiritual advancement, ending in divine union with Christ.
The Great Warning prophesied by Virgin Mary at her Garabandal apparition, also by Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, and St. Edmond Campion. It is one form of the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is also called “The Great Illumination”.
This great warning would have been originally intended as
a sort of critique and instruction given to the people in a sinless world, to prepare them for the second coming of Christ. 137 It 137 There will be many people who will be at the beginning or midpoint of spiritual progress when the second coming occurs. New births would be occurring, and even in a sinless world the Christian faith may not have had a worldwide platform.
We observe also that it is Catholic teaching that a person of non-religious goodness may attain salvation (divine union) with Christ.
Matthew 25:31-46 describes the second coming of Jesus Christ and his judgment or union with person’s based on their goodwill. With baptism and Eucharist, this divine union may occur in this life, but divine union at 181
may still be this for many, for many others however it will be a sobering and needed wake up call. The Great Warning is
spoken of as a worldwide interior revelation in which each
person sees his standing before God.
Humanities response to the Great Warning will determine
follow on events such as the severity of the tribulation, the chastisement and the anti-Christ.
The Great Sign spoken of in Marian apparitions, would be the most profound of the hundreds of public signs given by God. Jesus Christ speaks of such a sign in his gospels. From Matthew, 24:29-30;
“Immediately after the tr ibulation of those days: ‘The
sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the
heavens will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son
of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn.”
The great sign might include some sort of sign on the person himself. Revelation 7:3 has this sign being given to all the faithful, and it has been standard issue for 4000 years starting at Mount Sinai; from Deuteronomy 11:18 we read;
"You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as symbols on your forehead.”
The Virgin Mary speaks of a publicly visible sign being given to the world in her apparitions at Medjugorje, (which are still under evaluation). Could this sign include the sign of the the second coming does not depend solely upon prior membership in Christianity.
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cross on the faithful, or the sign of the Holy Spirit — the living flame of God which appeared over the apostles at Pentecost?
Revelation 22:4 has the name of Jesus Christ written upon the foreheads of the faithful. Whatever its form, the Great Sign would be another “outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all people”, (Acts 2:17).138
The Great Miracle is spoken of by Virgin Mary in her Garabandal and Medjugorje apparitions. It will be given for the purpose of our spiritual advancement toward the second coming, and it would validate her messages given at these places, and possibly at every site of her appearance. Such great miracles are not out of expectations, because they cultivate receptiveness toward God.
In these “end times”, which is the period after the birth of Jesus Christ, the saints have worked thousands of miracles 138 The Medjugorje apparitions are still undergoing evaluation by the Church, but are viewed favorably to date, with Church organized pilgrimages allowed. The decades of public messages are of prayer and morality, and their consequences. The Virgin Mary speaks of these times as being a period of grace just prior to the avalanche of events to be unleashed which lead up to the Great Chastisement, caused by the unprecedented immorality and irreverence of our current time. There are many reliable reports of miracles occurring at Medjugorje. Miracles (positive supernatural events) are used by the Church as one confirmation of divine participation of that person or event, (Jn 14:10-12).
From her apparitions at Medugorje, the Virgin Mary says, "The sign wil be given for atheists. You faithful already have signs and you have become the sign for the atheists. You faithful must not wait for the sign before you convert: convert soon. This time is a time of grace for you. When the sign comes, it wil be too late.” It is a Catholic doctrine that baptism confers a sign on the recipient, perhaps it is just a matter of this existing sign becoming visible.
Medjugorje visionaries confirm that the third secret is the great sign.
The first secret seems to be the great warning/il umination, in parallel with some event on earth or in near space. After the great sign the secrets are essentially the chastisements written of in the book of Revelation. The visionaries confirm that all the secrets appear in scripture.
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because of their participation in the divine nature of Jesus Christ. These too are great miracles which cultivate faith.
The miracles of Jesus testified to his sharing in the life and abilities of God, (Jn 14:10-12). The anti-Christ will not declare himself in opposition to Christ, he will declare himself the Messiah with God’s authority to perform miracles, and these miracles will give supposed authority to his claims.
This claim of God’s authority to work miracles will have a basis of truth. The anti-Christ was intended as the ante-Christ, to prepare humanity for Christ’s second coming, and he is given the ability to work miracles, just as the old testament prophets were. These powers have apparently not been revoked.
The Great Sealing is taught by Jesus Christ in the gospels, and given more detail in the Medjugorje apparitions. It is a spiritual lock in and lock out. It is spoken of by Jesus in the teaching of the narrow door, (Lk 13:22-28).
“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,
because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading,
‘Sir, open the door for us.”’…“But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’”
The parable of the ten virgins, (Mt 25:1-13) is another
“lock in/lock out” teaching. In it Jesus describes the final days, and some who are excluded because of presumption. The Virgin Mary’s Medjugorje message of August 15, 1985, Is based on these gospel teachings,
“…pray for unbelievers. People will tear their hair, brother will plead with brother, he will curse his past life lived without God. They will repent, but it will be too late.
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Now is the time for conversion…”139
This teaching of Christ is not pleasant, but he does teach it. Revelation 16:9 also speaks of extreme unrepentance, or perhaps the unproductive repentance, which the Virgin Mary speaks of at Medjugorje.
The Great Sealing is taught by Jesus Christ in the gospels, and it given more detail in the Medjugorje apparitions. Such an event will of course, be of great significance in spiritual advancement.
The Great Chastisement is the reverse side of the great tribulation, it is cause and effect. It is spoken of by Jesus Christ himself in his discourse on the last days in Luke chapter 21.
The Great Chastisement was of course intended as the Great Prosperity. Historically prosperity occurs at a more even rate, but is interrupted by periods of great chastisement, (war, famine, plague). God seems to hold off our self inflicted punishment until he no longer can. The Great Chastisement will likely have its full force, just after the Great Sealing.
The book of Revelation gives a detailed list of
chastisements. And the whole of revelation, apparition and prophecy confirms this. The faithful will not be spared, and should use this period of martyrdom for their advancement of faith.
The Great Chastisement as outlined in the book of
Revelation, has been progressing as soon as sin damaged out world, and the apostle John speaks of the “final days”, 139 Also from the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje in 1983, "Hasten your conversion. Do not await the sign, which has been announced, for those who do not believe. It wil be too late.” Many times the Virgin Mary has stated that the current time is a period of grace, [before the chastisement and forced reform of the world]. The book of Revelation does record repeated postponements of the chastisements of the book of Revelation (Rev 10:6), and they need not happen at all, if the necessary moral realignment is made.
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complete with anti-Christs, as beginning during his lifetime. It is possible that the cups and bowls pouring out disaster had their start 2000 years ago, and will culminate in a rather short span of a few years.
The Great Darkness is foretold by Jesus in Matthew chapter 24. Follow on prophecy gives more details and essential instructions during this final chastisement.140 From Matthew 24:29-31;
140 Blessed Anna Maria Taigi and St Pio foretell demons prowling the earth during the three days of darkness. The faithful are to remain in their homes with windows covered. The electric grid and devices will have been destroyed and candles will be the only source of light.
A natural disaster which explains the earthquakes, oceanic flooding, days of darkness and electro magnetic pulse (EMP) damage to the electric grid and devices is a magnetic polar reverse of the north and south poles.
This occurs about every 200,000 years, and there is evidence that we are in the beginning phases of a major magnetic pole shift. NASA, European Space Agency and others confirm that a major shift is now underway, with the potential of a complete reversal.
The liquid mantle and core layers of the earth produce the magnetic field, but when their internal convection currents change, so does the magnetic field, sometimes in a complete reversal. During this reversal the earth’s protective magnetic field is greatly reduced, and electromagnetic and solar radiation from the sun strikes the earth with greater power, (Rev 16:8). This EMP damages or destroys power transformers and electronic devices. At the Fatima Marian apparition of 1917, fifty thousand people witnessed a warning in the form of the sun descending to the earth. It’s level of reality was such that they tried to flee the site.
The earthquakes and oceanic flooding occur when the earth’s crust shifts, because it floats on the moving liquid mantle. When the molten mantle changes direction, so does the earth’s crust. This change of direction in movement of the earth’s crust causes earthquakes and tsunamis. More frequent earthquakes may occur because of this. It is even possible that the oceans can overflow the coastlines of the earth’s crust if the crust slows suddenly. The moving ocean (because of earth’s natural rotation), will continue past the slowed, (western) coastlines of the earth. If the crust increases speed in the eastward direction (current direction of earth’s rotation) then the eastern coasts are flooded. A recently added flooding mechanism here is the Russian Poseidon nuclear torpedo, it can carry a warhead up to 100 megatons, and could swamp many island nations.
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“Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The
sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the The darkness would be caused by the many volcanoes erupting due to the liquid mantle heaving through the earth’s crust. It is also possible that the earth will stop rotation with most of the landmass pointed away from the sun, then restart in the opposite rotation direction. The disrupted and diminished magnetic field will alter the appearance of the sun and sky, (Rev 6:14). The reduced magnetic field will allow more cosmic and solar radiation through earth’s atmosphere, resulting in intense heat, (Rev16:8). Revelation 21:1 says that “there wil be no more sea.” It is possible that mantle and crust heaving could drain most of the sea into the interior of the earth, (Rev 21:1). Several Catholic prophecies by the saints speak of a “comet”, [in the end times]. The gravity of a large mass passing by the earth, could force the current magnetic pole shift into a pole reversal on short notice, with stability once it has passed. If such a
“comet” were to impact, it could have even more consequences.
The most extreme scenarios have the earth’s rotation itself reversing because of a reversal in the liquid mantle flow, causing the oceans to overflow the continents, which are now moving in the reverse direction.
Additionally entire land masses may sink into a massively heaving liquid mantle. All these events are foretold in revelation, prophecy and apparitions. One’s best choice is to remain in a state of grace, (Catholic condition of salvation).
This event will be a turning point in human and Christian history.
Those surviving will be dedicated to Christ and his ideals. This wil be the worldwide stage and step off point for Christian perfection, it wil be like the tribe of Israel at Mt. Sinai, who was to be nursed by God, until they could mature as a nation. The new Sinai incubation will be worldwide and successful. But…“after 25 years of good harvests, men [the next generation] wil forget that their sins caused the calamities of the recent
past.”,
then
will
come
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(jesusmariasite.org/marian-apparitions-la-salette-1846-france).
CatholicProphecy.org, and the book, “Prophecy for Today” by Edward Connor are both good sources for Catholic end time prophecy. Many scientific websites track the increasing shift of the magnetic poles. The Apparitions at Fatima and Garabandal speak of this solar intensity, (http://garabandal.org/News/Garabandal_Chastisement.shtml).
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earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
A dozen or more saints have spoken of the three days of
darkness. St. Pio gives the most detailed account, which is widely available on the internet.141
A summation of revelation, prophecy and apparition tells
of this series of chastisements culminating in the three days of darkness, giving way to a period of prosperity, brotherhood and reverence…but the anti-Christ is yet to come. The book of Revelation (Rev 20:3), and the prophecy of the saints, speak of this incongruous timeline.
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi was gifted with unmatched
prophetic powers, she foretold events great and small and was never wrong, and she is specific in the timeline of the days of darkness, the Great Conversion and the anti-Christ;
“God will send two punishments: one will be in the form of wars, revolutions and other evils; it shall originate on earth. The other will be sent from Heaven. There shall come over the whole earth an intense darkness lasting 141 St. Pio’s prophecy was given to a Church commission investigating the Marian apparitions at Heroldsbach, Germany. The prophecy offers nothing new, but goes into some detail of the event. It is impossible to authenticate the prophecy, but since it just delivers more detail without contradicting scripture, it should be respected. St. Pio’s prophecy has its sceptics, but during his own life he had many detractors, mostly in the Vatican, the reader may judge the prophecy, which is neither confirmed nor denied by the present Vatican.
An interesting idea of St. Pio’s prophecy is that this great chastisement will spare many souls form Hell. This is just an application of 1Cor 5:5, in which a man suffers the effects of his sin in his body, thus sparing his soul.
The book of Revelation has this occurring on a worldwide scale. St. Pio’s prophecy is widely available online, and an extensive library of Marian apparitions is available at www.themarianapparitions.org.
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three days and three nights. Nothing can be seen, and the air will be laden with pestilence which will claim mainly, but not only, the enemies of religion. It will be impossible to use any man-made lighting during this darkness, except blessed candles. The air shall be infested by demons, who will appear under all sorts of hideous forms.142 He who out of curiosity, opens his window to look out, or leaves his home, will fall dead on the spot. During these three days, people should remain in their homes, pray the Rosary and beg God for mercy.”
“After the three days of darkness, Saints Peter and Paul, having come down from heaven, will preach throughout the world and designate a new Pope. A great light will flash from their bodies and settle upon the cardinal, the future pontiff. Then Christianity will spread throughout the world. Whole nations will join the Church shortly before the reign of the Antichrist.”
Why the big double blow to the faithful? A worldwide chastisement, then a period of peace before the coming of the anti-Christ…and the main event, the second coming of Jesus Christ, is still farther off.
The short answer is, “Because that is what humanity brings upon itself by sin.” God’s plan was for the first coming of Christ, with many people making union in this life, then the 142 The book of Revelation speaks of the angels as the stars of Heaven, and the devils as fallen stars, this understanding is in parallel with a literal interpretation of falling stars. In at least four passages, the book of Revelation has these devils (fallen stars) landing on earth, as Anna Maria’s prophecy foretells, (Rev 6:13; 9:1-6; 12:4; 12:12). They already prowl the earth, prophecy has them “appearing in hideous forms”, which the faithful are not to attempt to observe.
The book of Revelation also speaks of great illnesses which afflict humanity, which until recently kept the average lifespan to 40 years until 1850 after which science was able to extend it, mostly by (now) common sense actions.
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preparation for Christ’s second coming in the various outpourings of the Holy Spirit, and finally the second coming of Christ. The Great Chastisement (caused by sin, which was never intended), is just a non intended bump in the road.143
The Great Chastisement was intended to be the Great Preparation, in various forms, for the second coming of Christ.
Included in the Great Preparation was the great
leader/prophet, who was to guide the world to union with Christ at the second coming. Because of original sin this great leader/prophet will be the anti-Christ, who will be animated by selfishness, and lead people away from God.
As noted earlier the exertion of evil in some worldly form may prevent the evil from having its full effect on the soul, thus preventing condemnation. This idea occurs in 1 Corinthians 5:5. The Great Chastisement and the Great anti-Christ were to have been blessings in some way. These two events remain part of God’s plan of creation, but they have been corrupted them into evils. Our prayers, faith and virtues also lessen these evils by remediation of evil into virtue, and shorten the period and intensity of the Great Chastisement.
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The Great Pope is spoken of in the prophecy of Anna Maria Taigi, on the previous two pages, and in many other prophecies of the saints. This Great Pope will arise immediately after the three days of darkness. The remaining faithful, together with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the Great Pope, will make great spiritual progress. Reverence and brotherhood will finally be our predominant dispositions.
— The Great Conversion; “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Mt 24:14). There are also prophecies of the saints which confirm this great conversion.
— The Great Proclamation is a possible Marian dogma which Virgin Mary alludes to in several of her apparitions;
“Coredemptrix”, “Mediatrix of all Graces” or “Incarnation
of the Holy Spirit”, are all possible titles and dogmas. Any such title and dogma would be somehow contained in her
apparitions, and it will become clearer in time. The Marian apparitions at Garabandal allude to a great
dogmatic proclamation coinciding with the Great Miracle.
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The Great anti-Christ is usually thought to be Satan acting through his human puppet.144 He or she will certainly not proclaim himself evil, but good, and even God. He will claim to be the Messiah, will likely occupy the Vatican and claim the papacy.
As noted earlier, the Great anti-Christ was intended as a
sort of John the Baptist figure, preparing humanity for the second coming of Christ. He will be given great powers of prophecy and miracles for this mission, even greater than the old testament prophets. These powers will allow him to deliver on his promises and fool many. He will construct some sort of church in parallel, which will make minimal demands, and offer great promises to its members, thus attracting many.
As to the sign or number of the anti-Christ, every person
on earth already has a tax ID number from their country of citizenship. Would a newly invented DNA hand swipe and a facial ID scan complete it? Such people would be enrolled as citizens, and non-citizens would have no legal status, and no recourse against those who pillage and murder them. They would exist along with the stray cats and dogs in society.
The anti-Christ will be opposed by prophetic incarnations
of Elijah and Enoch. The prophetic spirit of these two great prophets will be given to two existing humans, who will speak against the anti-Christ and for Jesus Christ.
The Great Judgment, or the second coming of Christ is made for the purpose of inclusion of all creation into his own person. Jesus himself says that his own person is the resurrection and the eternal life (Jn 11:25), and so he is.
144 In a sinless world the angels would be our spiritual elders, guiding each person as a guardian angel. The intended prince of angels Lucifer, was to have acted as a great leader/prophet to guide humanity to perfection and the second coming of Christ. His task has not been revoked, but his disposition is now evil.
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What we call the general judgment was intended as the
general communion, in which all of creation is reunited to Christ its creator. Christ will stick to his plan, but now with the onset of sin, not everyone may be able to make this inclusion into Christ. This judgment is described by Jesus in Matthew 25:31-43;
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him…”
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come,
you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’”
All people, of every religion or no religion will be assembled before Jesus Christ, and will be judged according to 193
their goodwill and selflessness.145 Jesus speaks of this in Revelation 21:8;146
“But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
The Great Fulfillment is the end of creation and the beginning of eternity. It is our permanent union into the divine nature of Jesus Christ, (2Pet 1:4). Furthermore, Christ will attempt union with all of creation, so that “God may be all in all”; and we read just this in 1Corinthians 15:26,28;
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death…And when
all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all.”
We were not intended simply to seek refuge in Heaven, after the onset of sin, death and Hell. Even our own divinization is not the whole of our intended fulfillment. We were intended to construct a worthy society that will exist for all eternity. The second coming of Christ will lock in what we 145 Union with Christ was, and remains the intended norm. We could examine the judgment at the second coming, as to what will prohibit union with Christ. Fundamental selfishness would prevent such union.
Profound selfishness denies anything outside of one’s self. God, or a greater purpose is denied, one’s moral code is limited to the whims of self, without even consulting one’s moral conscience, which is the living spark of God within each person. Severe cynicism and other behavior exist when a person does not rise above the limited existence of one’s self. From this we see that selfishness is the denial of God, and even of God’s code of conduct for human persons.
146 As planned by God, the second coming of Christ would not be preceded by the many catastrophes told of in the book of Revelation. As planned (without sin and its effects) the second coming of Christ would have been gentle, expected and accepted by everyone.
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have constructed, and this will be our new home forever. From Matthew 16:19,
“And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”147
We will be completely satisfied, yet we will remember the
past opportunities to perfect our faith by the trials of created existence, trials that we skipped out of. Trials in which we simply caved and waited them out. We could have done much better. From the book of Revelation chapter 21;
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
“…Then he said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”148
147 Heaven does seem to have different “levels”, and these levels would be based upon this life, which is a field class in spiritual advancement.
Those cultivating peace and perfection will have it in Heaven and the resurrection. Those settling for less, might have a corresponding existence in Heaven. Our future eternal life should motivate us to ever greater perfection. Read the lives of the saints.
148 “It is done”, recalls the words of Jesus on the cross. His mission was to attain union with his children, he did this by accepting both faith and sin. Accepting faith was easy; he also remediated our sin into his own 195
God’s great project of creation will have entered into eternity, as members of Jesus Christ.
Angelic Members of the Body of Christ
The big leap in spiritual advancement is full divine inclusion into Christ, and it was first made by the angels and the others orders of Heaven. The first persons intended for divine inclusion into Christ were not Adam and Eve, but the angels. Those angels who were able to make communion with Christ, did so and are now full divine members of the body of Christ. This divine communion was made by the Trinitarian Son of God directly, since the human Jesus did not then exist. As we know, those angels failing communion with Christ were left behind in Hell, which is all the evil that could not attain union with God.
Just as Christ (the Son of God), planned divine communion
with his human children (CCC 398), so too did Christ plan and make communion with his angelic children.
Sin was never a part of God’s plan, and this communion
was to have proceeded without sin. No one (human or angelic) was to have failed this communion, Hell was not part of the original plan. Yet we know that some angels did fail this communion, and we now know them as the devils. The proof
virtue, resulting in union with the person of Christ. The Great Tribulation is the entire body of Christ on the cross. It is for good reason that Jesus tells us to respond to persecution with an act of virtue, in this way the Ongoing Christ (the body of Christ on earth), includes others into Christ. We are the Ongoing Christ on earth.
This idea is spoken by the apostle Paul in Colossians 1:24, “I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fil up that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for His body’s sake, which is the church.” Jesus Christ is not lacking, but the entire body of Christ is tasked with making remediation of sin into virtue, and Paul is happy to do his part. At the end of the tribulation this remediative mission of the body of Christ wil be finished. Jesus Christ is speaking for all who are members of himself.
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of this angelic communion is the existence of Hell and its failed members, the devils. We now call this originally planned communion, “judgment.” Those angels who did make their communion with Christ are now members of Christ (who is now the entire body of Christ).
We observe the difference between the human and
angelic communions: Christ’s communion with humanity
involved the remediation of sin into virtue, prior to communion. Christ’s communion with the angels does not seem to have involved remediation of sin, and those angels sinning simply did not make the communion.
The most commonly proposed idea for this lack of
remediation is that because of their intimate knowledge of Christ, the angels were fully committed to rebellion. The limited abilities and perception of humanity provide a forgivable excuse to some degree.
Christ’s communion with the angels makes Christianity as
old as this first communion. The date for Christianity is pushed back thousands of years prior to Jesus. We recall that Christianity at its core is communion into Christ, which is exactly what occurred with the good angels. We are certain that the angels were judged, with some not making their intended union with the divine Christ. This judgment was actually their intended communion into Christ. Just like humans, angels were intended for divine communion from the beginning, (CCC 398).
This divine inclusion of the angels into Christ dates the
formation of Christianity to a time earlier than the last
supper, with the first communicants being the angels, rather
than the apostles. Was St. Michael the archangel the first Pope of Christianity? Such an idea is not impossible if Christ appointed a leader angel.
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Literal adherence to the idea that Jesus was the first to Heaven (Jn 3:13), would prohibit the good angels communion with Christ. However even more impossible is the idea that God sent the bad angels to Hell, while retaining the good angels in their status of non-members of the body of Christ.
The devils necessarily attained their life as devils, because they failed when the Son of God attempted union with them. Hell is an evil with no possible good outcome, as such God could not directly assign anyone to Hell. Hell must be an unintended outcome of a good act, such as attempted communion.
From John 3:13, "No man has ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven...the Son of Man.” This verse is no obstacle when we recall exactly what our salvation and entry into Heaven is. We become members of the single person of Jesus Christ. There is only one person in Heaven, that of Christ, who is now the many members who constitute the
body of Christ.149 The angels who attained Heaven did so by making reunion with their creator, Christ the Son of God.
This gospel verse of John 3:13, must be examined and not
assumed. The verse does not say that ‘Jesus is the first to Heaven’, it says that ‘only Jesus may ascend to Heaven’; there is a vital difference. Catholic teaching is that before attaining Heaven (who is Jesus Christ), we must become members of Jesus Christ. Protestant theology has us living our lives alongside Jesus in Heaven; Catholic theology has us becoming 149 Christ is now: humans, angels, bread, wine, and ultimately the lion that lies down with the lamb, in Heaven, (Is 11:6 says the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the bible does not tell of a lion lying down with a lamb, but it will certainly happen). These former human persons lose none of their abilities including distinct wills and awareness, but now make a single divine person who is Christ. Jesus was the human nature of the divine Son of God. The Son of God is not confused by taking on the additional human intellect, will and senses of Jesus, or the millions of individuals of the body of Christ. Everyone works together seamlessly as a single person.
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members of Jesus Christ, and living his life, as him in Heaven, who is Jesus Christ himself.150
There is not so much a time or sequence restriction on entry to Heaven, it is a personage restriction…we must first become members of Christ. Jesus is not saying, “you may enter Heaven only after me”; he is saying, “you may enter Heaven only as me.”
We know that the evil angels were not removed from creation, and they still do their jobs, but now they are messengers of corruption. The principalities, thrones and dominions, who are tasked by Christ with operating creation continue to do so, both those groups who fell from grace, and those who retained their perfection. The evil principalities are only too happy to use the sin of humanity in their ongoing evil operations. It is perhaps these groups who make the most practical opposition to our spiritual advancement.