the kingdom of peace is at hand – hubert_luns

8/2/2019 The Kingdom of Peace is at Hand Hubert_Luns

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The Kingdom of Peace is at Hand Make us Now Understand the Signs

When you see the Precursor, it can be said that the mission of ha-Yeshua Mashiach has

begun!, states an old Jewish saying. Who is the messenger other than the Virgin Mary?

The growing series of announcements telling of the end of time think of Lourdes, Fatima

and so many others are all in the spirit of convert, for the kingdom of God is at hand.

These series of announcements started in 1846 with Marys apparitions to the shepherds of

La Salette. Thus the Mother of God is the herald sent to prepare the new era.

1 The start of Vatican II

It was on Thursday 11

th

October 1962 on the feast of Marys Divine Motherhood that the firstsession of the Second Vatican Council was held. After a silent prayer, Pope John XXIII broke

into the first official prayer with the Veni, Creator Spiritus(Come, Holy Ghost, Creator). This

prayer was uttered so that the Holy Spirit would lead the Council. And, indeed, the fruits borne

by the Council were the work of God. This notion is part of fundamental Church doctrine fol-

lowing Peters words during the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:28): For it seemed good to

the Holy Spirit and to usThe explanation of these or other conciliar texts is a different

matter entirely Unfortunately not all men are of good will, a will prepared to bow to God.

For them, God is no more than a hypothesis. (1)Once the strains of the Veni Creatorhad

faded under the enormous vault of the basilica, the Book of the Gospels was laid ceremo-

niously on the altar, a custom dating back to the earliest councils. It was then that the Pope

gave his opening speech. He spoke of his confidence that the Church would gain new energy

and power from the Council and asked those present to look to the future without fear. Hisinfectious enthusiasm was released when he said:


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We feel we must disagree with those prophets of doom who are always forecasting

disaster, as though the end of the world were at hand. () They say that our era in

comparison with past eras is worsening, and behave as though they had learned nothing

from history, the real teacher of life. () For history shows that things had not, in fact,

been any better in the olden days. The greatest concern of the Ecumenical Council is this:

that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine should be guarded and taught more

efficaciously () faithful to the sacred patrimony of truth received from the Fathers.

There are rumors, in spite of the foregoing, that it

would have been preferable to have had one session

only (there were four in total). Pope John XXIII died

after the completion of the first session on June 3rd

1963. The second session started mid-October under

Pope Paul VI. The Council could have been stopped

after the first session if this had really been wanted.

Not an easy thing, but it would have been possible. It

seems John XXIII instructed to cancel the Council on

his death bed, but this was not taken seriously by thecardinals who were present.

An apostolic council can choose when, and when not,

to exercise the chrism of infallibility. This one was not

to proclaim any new matter in doctrinal truth and certainly not infallible. The reason for the

fiasco of the Council is that, although the guidelines formulated were under the aegis of the

Holy Spirit, their subsequent interpretation was not. (2)In my view, one session would have

sufficed as a form of aggiornamento (one of the key words of the Council, which means a

bringing up to date in such a way that the deposit of faith can be better pursued). Within two

months after the final session, on January 12 1966, Paul VI said at the General Audience: In

view of the pastoral nature of the Council, it avoided any extraordinary statements of dogmas

endowed with the note of infallibility, but it still provided its teaching with the authority of theOrdinary Magisterium which must be accepted with docility according to the mind of the

Council concerning the nature and aims of each document.This means that while the docu-

ments prepared by Vatican II may contain some infallible statements, especially related to

matters already defined by previous councils, they do not enjoy the indisputable status like the

documents produced by the Council of Trent and Vatican I. That being said, Vatican II should

not be interpreted in a vacuum. Everything contained in the conciliar documents must be seen

in the context of the Church tradition and with the understanding that they cannot go against

the former teachings that are sealed with the mark of infallibility. It also means the conciliar

documents can be debated to a certain degree. Most importantly, it means they are subject to

further definition and clarification by the Holy Father, who can most certainly make announ-

cements on topics ex cathedra (only if he says so), and therefore infallibly. The Catholic

Church today is still bound under the same doctrines and teachings as it was before the Vati-can Council II.

If you would like to know the legitimite teachings of the Church today, simply pull out a

catechism from the fifties, and there you will find the core of the modern post-conciliar

Church (as is should be)! One can also consult the excellent Catechism of the Catholic

Church, the so-called CCC, issued under the auspices of Pope John Paul II in 1992 and

accessible on the Vatican website. (3)The conclusion is simple: as concerns the fundamental

teachings nothing has changed and it is the same today as it was yesterday and as it will be to-

morrow. Of course, there are still quite some gray areas in Catholic doctrine that need elu-

cidation, but those can in no way contradict the treasure of faith, as established in the dogmatic

constitutions, that was built up in the past.


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But how, in spite of its careful preparation, was it possible that the Council managed to intro-

duce such radical changes within the Catholic Church? I now quote from The Rise and Fall

of Annibale Bugnini, or The Destruction of the Catholic Faith through changes in Catholic

Worship by Michael Davies # 1990, also called Liturgical Time-Bombs in Vatican II: (4)

Seventy-five preparatory schemata had been prepared for the Council Fathers, the

fruits of the most painstaking and meticulous preparation for a Council in the history ofthe Church. The number was eventually reduced to twenty, and seven were selected for

discussion at the first session of the Council. The Bugnini schema was the fifth of these,

and it was presumed by most bishops that the schemata would be debated in their

numerical sequence. But the other schemata were so orthodox that the liberals could not

accept them even as a basis for discussion. At the instigation of Father Edward

Schillebeeckx the schemata were rejected with one exception the Bugnini schema.

This, he said, was an admirable piece of work.It was announced at the second general

congregation of the Council in 1962, that the sacred liturgy was the first item on the

agenda for examination by the Fathers. Notitiae looked back on this with considerable

satisfaction in 1972, remarking that the Bugnini preparatory schema was the only one that

was eventually passed without substantial alteration. Father Ralph Wiltgen comments in

The Rhine Flows into the Tiber: A History of Vatican II: It should be noted that theliturgical movement had been active in Europe for several decades, and that quite a large

number of bishops and periti (experts) from the Rhine countries had been appointed by

Pope John to the preparatory commission on the liturgy. As a result, they had succeeded

in inserting their ideas into the schema and gaining approval for what they considered a

very acceptable document.() The Bugnini schema received the almost unanimous

approval of the Council Fathers on December 7, 1962 and became Vatican IIs

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. But the Constitution contained no more than

general guidelines. Therefore, to achieve total victory, Father Bugnini and his cohorts

needed to obtain the power to interpret and implement it. () The Liturgy Constitution,

based loosely on the Bugnini schema, contained much generalised and, in places

ambiguous terminology. Those who had the power to interpret it were certain to have

considerable scope for reading their own ideas into the conciliar text.

Cardinal Heenan of Westminster mentioned in his autobiography A Crown of

Thorns that the Council Fathers were given the opportunity of discussing only general

principles: Subsequent changes were more radical than those intended by Pope John

and the bishops who passed the decree on the Liturgy. His sermon at the end of the first

session shows that Pope John did not suspect what was being planned by the liturgical

experts.

The Cardinal could hardly have been more explicit. () The experts (periti) who had

drafted the text, intended to use the ambiguous terminology they had inserted in a manner

that the Pope and the Bishops did not even suspect. The English Cardinal warned the

Council Fathers of the manner in which the periti could draft texts capable of both an

orthodox and modernistic interpretation.He told them that he feared the periti, anddreaded the possibility of their obtaining the power to interpret the Council to the world.

God forbid that this should happen!he exclaimed, but happen it did.

2 The theology of the end of times is based on a misunderstanding

Although I am in full agreement with the statement that Christian doctrine, as always taught

by the Church, must be taught again and with modern means, I dare to differ with the Popes

statement that our times are comparable to the past since that is, in fact, what he said in his

opening speech. There is an error of thinking hidden here that is separate from the treasure of

belief that everyone must believe in. (5)It concerns the distinction between eschatology, or

the theology of the end of times (eschatos is Greek for end or final), and apocalyptics,or the theology of the Last Judgement (apocalypse means revelation, and refers to the Book


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of Revelation). The former

relates mainly to the King-

dom of Peace while the

latter is involved with dis-

aster. John XXIII stated se-

veral times that he was not

sympathetic towards theo-

logians. They ensured that

there was dispute, whereas

the Church needed carers

of souls. The present Pope

has also made his thoughts

known along the same li-

nes. What the Church Fa-

thers have provided, says

Benedict XVI and he has wide knowledge of the subject is a rounded-off whole; thereby

divine revelation is completed, though often still in hidden terms. After a long maturation

process, when a dogma is proclaimed, it merely confirms what has long been known, but thusfar has not been so formulated, with the consequence that following the proclamation of the

particular dogma the faithful may no longer doubt its truth.

Since the function of the Church, according to the usual interpretation, is to bring peace on

earth, which follows the eight beatitudes (Mtt. 5:9), and that this is a task that will only be

completed at the end, eschatology feels at home within the established order, while apocalyp-

tics is seen as an attack on it. I now quote from a book by Mark Heirman (6):

apocalyptics is mostly rejected by the Roman Catholic Church () Eschatology is

essentially conservative and bound up with privilege and power. Apocalyptics is

revolutionary and belongs to the world of those without rights or power, those who in this

world have nothing to lose but their chains. In this sense eschatology is the objective ally

of the established order and at least of compromise. Apocalyptics is the sworn enemy of

the established order and wishes to come to no compromises at all. Hence apocalyptics

and parousia (7)had the upper hand for as long as Christianity was still a small sect in a

world populated by Jews, Greeks and Romans. It was not until the fourth century when

Christianity was given to the entire Empire that apocalyptics had to give way to

eschatology, that made things easier for the established Roman Catholic Church that was

quickly getting more powerful. Apocalyptics was banned to the realm of heretics and the

outcast.

The controversy between apocalyptics and eschatology is to be regretted because it is far

from the truth. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states, under the heading Hope

of the New Heaven and the New Earth (articles 1042-1050), that the apocalyptic expectationshould be a joyful one. It says that the revelation affirms the profound common destiny of the

material world and Man, to which should be entertained an eager longing; even creation itself

will be set free from its bondage to decay! Here follows the full text:

At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the universal

judgment, the righteous will reign for ever with Christ, glorified in body and soul. The

universe itself will be renewed: The Church () will only receive her perfection in the

glory of heaven, when will have come the time of the renewal of all things. At that time,

together with the human race, the universe itself, which is so closely related to Man and

which attains its destiny through him, will be perfectly re-established in Christ. (Lumen

Gentium 48) Sacred Scripture calls this mysterious renewal, which will transform

humanity and the world, new heavens and a new earth.(Rev. 21:1, 2 Pet. 3:13) It will

be the definitive realization of Gods plan to gather together under a single head all

things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.(Eph. 1:10) In this

Four Horses of Apocalypse by Viktor Vasnetsov (1887)


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new universe, the heavenly Jerusalem, God will have his dwelling among men. He will

wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be

mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away. (Rev.

21:4) For Man, this consummation (of the old) will be the final realization of the unity of

the human race, which God willed from creation and of which the pilgrim Church existed

in the nature of a sacrament.(LG 1) Those who are united with Christ will form the

community of the redeemed, the holy cityof God: the Bride of the Lamb.(Rev.

21:2-10) She will not be wounded any longer by sin, stains, self-love, that destroy or

wound the earthly community. The beatific vision, in which God opens Himself in an

inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing well-spring of happiness, peace,

and mutual communion. For the cosmos, revelation affirms the profound common destiny

of the material world and Man: For the creation waits with eager longing for the

revealing of the sons of God () in hope because the creation itself will be set free from

its bondage to decay. () We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail

together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits

of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our

bodies. (Rom. 8:19-23) The visible universe, then, is itself destined to be transformed,

so that the world itself, restored to its original state, facing no further obstacles, should beat the service of the just,sharing their glorification in the risen Jesus Christ. (Irenaeus:

Adv. Haeres. 5:32:1)We know neither the moment of the consummation of the (old)earth and (its) Man, nor the way in which the universe will be transformed; the form of this

world, distorted by sin, is passing away. And we are taught that God is preparing a new

dwelling and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, in which happiness will fill and

surpass all the desires of peace arising in the hearts of men.(Gaudium et Spes 39:11)

Far from diminishing our concern to develop this earth, the expectancy of a new

earth should spur us on, for it is here that the body of a new human family grows,

foreshadowing in some way the age which is to come. That is why, although we must be

careful to distinguish earthly progress clearly from the increase of the Kingdom of Christ,

such progress is of vital concern to the Kingdom of God, insofar as it can contribute to

the better ordering of human society.(GS 39:2) When we have spread on earth thefruits of our nature and our enterprise () according to the command of the Lord and in

his Spirit, we will find them once again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin,

illuminated and transfigured, when (the moment has arrived) that Christ presents to his

Father an eternal and universal kingdom.(GS 39-3) God will then be all in allin

eternal life. (1 Cor 5:28) True and subsistent life consists in this: the Father, through the

Son and in the Holy Spirit, is pouring out his heavenly gifts on all things without

exception. Thanks to his mercy, we too, men that we are, have received the inalienable

promise of eternal life.

Apocalyptics therefore does not have to be an ideology of disaster. It fits seamlessly with the

notion of the Kingdom of Peace here on earth. For this, see also my article entitled Calendar

of joy or calendar of mourning. In fact both notions of apocalyptics and the reign of peacedeal with the same concept, but the theologians whom John XXIII so disliked have put us

on the wrong footing. The struggle of reason, which has lasted the entire history of the Church,

is based on an obstinate misunderstanding. Let me explain. Gods plan for the restoration of

Adams descendants meaning us is divided into chapters. We are now in the evangelical

times and are on our way to a new and glorious chapter in Gods salvation plan for this world,

in agreement with the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20 :

(After his resurrection) Jesus came (to his eleven disciples) and spoke to them: All

authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples

of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy

Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with

you always, even to the end of the age. (8)


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The word end is the rendering of the Greek sunteleia, which indicates an entire completion

and not a cutting-off. The end of times, which seems to inspire so much panic, is therefore not

the end of time but the end of an era. My article entitled Olam Assiadeals further with

this theme. The evil ones, those who really are of bad will, the conspirators, are the ones who

should really fear, for they will be shattered as potters vessels. (Ps. 2:9, Rev. 2:27) Finally,

and here I agree, the Last Judgement will come but not yet, for first Satan and his henchmen

ought to be chained permanently (Rev. 20:10), something that only will happen definitely

after the establishment of the Millennium Reign of Peace. (Rev. 20:2-9) (Before the Millen-

nium Reign he will be temporarily chained.) After the Reign, Creation will enter its period of

rest (Ch. 21 sqq.) about which the apostle Paul writes. (Hebr. 4:8-10). Incidentally the term

last Judgement does not figure in the Bible. The addition of the word last is a piece of inlay

work. Those theologians! And thus I come to the conclusion that if there is a last judgement,

it will be a long time in coming. We do not need to worry about it at the moment.

Hndels Messiah in Hebrew

An exciting development in the revival of the Jewish people is the translation of and ac-

companiment to Hndels Messiah in Hebrew by David Loden. He is a member of aMessianic Congregation in Israel that has the aim of preparing the Congregation ofYeshua for His return. A pilot production of the oratorio was performed in the spring of2006. He says: The Jewish people have always loved Hndels Messiah. Every time itis performed in Israel, which is yearly, Jewish people are part of the audience theylove it. But the Hebrew performance was historic. The Hebrew fits like a glove withHndels music. And what this does is to take the music out of the box of being strictlyart. It now becomes an intelligible witness to the Lord. () There is a Sacred MusicFestival every year in Israel which is extremely well-attended. () Imagine that thismusic is sung in the Hebrew tongue and listeners suddenly hear their own Scripturesnot only sung but exposited just think of the possibilities! It becomes a tool for reallysharing the life of the Messiah. And that is our deepest desire for people to reallyhear the music and the message of The Messiah.

From Jews for Jesus newsletter / Dec. 2007

See part of the performance of Hndels Messiah in Hebrew

3 The Messianic age started in 1840

How are we to know that the end of our dispensation is close at hand? (9)Will God not want

to prepare his people, as He did when the Messiah was born? The prophet Daniel, in the ninth

chapter of his book, predicted that 69 weeks would pass, or 69 x 7 = 483 years, from the start

of the rebuilding of the temple to the time of the Messiah. It so happens that this corresponded

to the coming of Jesus. And there were more signs, such as the three Magi who asked KingHerod where the prophesied Messiah could be found. Their arrival in Jerusalem must have

been the talk of the town.

And other peoples, even the Aztecs, were prepared by God for the things that were to come.

The conquest of the Aztec Empire (Mexico) at the beginning of the 16thcentury was preceded

by the appearance of a great comet; apocalyptic storms raged over the land and the Temple of

the cruel god Tezcatlipoca went up in flames in an inexplicable manner; the most important

sign was the rising from the dead of Montezumas sister Papantzin, four days after she had

been buried, to warn the ruler of the coming collapse of his empire; the conquistador Cortez,

who was driven by missionary zeal, set foot on land in the year, the month and on the day pre-

dicted by the oracle.


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Taking all of this into consideration, in our times God will not do otherwise. He will not be

reined in when the day dawns. And important sign is the foundation of the state of Israel in

1948, an event that calls to mind the prediction made by Jesus in Luke 21:29-32: Look at the

fig tree (symbol of Israel), and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know

for yourselves () that the kingdom of God is near. () This generation will by no means

pass away till all things take place.There is the prophecy of Rabbi Judah Hai Alkalai (1798-

1878), who identified 1840 as the start of the Messianic Age, something he continued to hold

to despite great resistance. It was precisely in that year that a public discussion was started

under the inspiring leadership of Lord Ashly, to plant the Jewish people in the land of their

fathers which (it was stated) became a serious political consideration.Naturally, Ashly had

never heard of Alkalai. A remarkable fact is that the significance of the settling of the Jews in

Israel meant, from his standpoint and from that of a number of influential people, a mass

conversion of the Jews to Christianity, a task that had to be done by missionary work. The

most important of the evangelisation clubs was the London Society for Promoting Christia-

nity among the Jews, commonly called the Jews Society. This association was under the

aegis of the Duke of Kent, brother of the king and father of the later Queen Victoria. The start

of the Messianic Age (the Reign of Peace) means, in addition to the return of the Jewish

people, the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah (29:18): In that day the deaf shall hear thewords of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness ,

which cancels out the prophecy of verse 10, taken up by Paul in his letter to the Romans

(11:8): God has given them (the Jews) a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and

ears that they should not hear, to this very day.Now, more than 160 years later (after 1840),

we still await the acceptance by the Jewish people of Jesus as their Saviour Messiah so that

from Israel, at present a terrible hotbed of violence, peace might flow out as from an over-full

honeycomb. Is this perhaps a daring proposition? I do not think so.

Something is going on. Definitely. Over the whole world there are at present (in 2007) at least

a half million messianic Jews Jews who believe in Christ and the movement is growing

quickly. The largest organisation in this field is Jews for Jesus (www.jewsforjesus.org) with

55 branches world-wide. Something isgoing on. Undeniably. The most recent

event that speaks to the imagination is

something I would like to share with you.

It so happened that just before his death

one of Israels most prominent rabbis

wrote an encrypted name of the Messiah

on a small note (in acronym), which he

requested should remain sealed until

April 30, 2007. When the note was

opened, it revealed what many have

known for centuries: Yehoshua (Yeshua

or Jesus) is the Messiah. (10) A fewmonths before Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri,

known as the Senior Cabbalist Elder,

died at the age of 105 in the first month

of 2006, he surprised his followers when he told them that he had met the Messiah. Kaduri

gave the message in his synagogue on the feast of Yom Kippur, teaching the congregation

how to recognise the Messiah. He also mentioned that the Messiah would appear to Israel after

Ariel Sharons death. The former Prime Minister was in a coma since January 4, 2006 and has

only died in January 2014. Kaduris son David confirmed that in his last year his father

dreamed and talked almost exclusively about the Messiah and his coming. My father has met

the Messiah in a visionhe said, and told us that He would come soon.Kaduri was not only

highly esteemed because of his advanced age. Chief rabbis looked up to him as a tsadik, a

righteous man or saint. Thousands visited him for counsel and healing. His followers speak of

many miracles and his students say that he predicted many disasters. Police closed off Jerusa-

Rabbi Kaduri, with in the corner his letter

mentioning the identity of the Messiah


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lem streets for his funeral, which became one of the largest ever in a city known for large

funerals. According to the newspaper Arutz-Sheva more than 300,000 people joined the pro-

cession to pay their respects as he was taken to his final resting place. When He comes, the

Messiah will rescue Jerusalem from foreign religions that want to rule the city,Kaduri once

said. They will not succeed for they will fight against one another. See YouTube movie:

Kaduri's Message - The Messiah Comes, as well as Kaduri Reveals Messiah.

4 Mary takes on the role of John the Baptist

Since the olive tree is the first of all trees to show green, image of the spiritual budding of the

Jewish people, it means that the mission of the herald taking on the role of John the Baptist,

but now preaching for the whole world, only started after 1840, after the date of the beginning

of the Messianic Age. When you see the Precursor, it can be said that the mission of ha-Ye-

shua Mashiach has begun!, states an old Jewish saying. Who is the messenger other than the

Virgin Mary? The growing series of announcements telling of the end of time think of

Lourdes, Fatima and so many others are all in the spirit of convert, for the kingdom of God

is at hand. These series of announcements started in 1846 with Marys apparitions to the

shepherds of La Salette. (see Appendix) Thus the Mother of God is the herald sent to preparethe new era. This is is it not? the one meant by the prophet Isaiah when he said (40:3):

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: make straight the ways of the Lord.A person has

been sent by God, and her name is Mary. She comes as a witness so that all may believe

through her. She is not the Light, but comes to witness of the Light.

When we look closely at the revelations of the Augustinian nun, the venerable A. K. Emme-

rick in combination with Maria Puerta del Cielo (Mary, the Gate of Heaven) then it appears

that Johns mission consisted of two parts. The first played itself out in the desert of Judea. I

quote:

Now for him has Judea become the desert and, as before he dwelt in the desert with

springs, rocks, trees and all animals, lived and spoke with them, so he speaks now withmen and sinners, with no thought for himself. () Ever permeated with his mission,

aware of his responsibility, serious, severe, simple and zealous, he proclaims but a single

message: Penance! Prepare yourselves! Salvation is at hand, the Saviour comes!

It was only after Jesus had allowed Himself to be baptised that the second part of Johns mis-

sion started to unfold in all the land surrounding the Jordan, where he preached and also admi-

nistered a baptism of conversion from sin. It is precisely this explanation of the significance of

the desert that is pointed to by Isaiah when he announces the voice of one crying in the wilder-

ness, and it is in this way that Mary fulfils her calling, now no longer limited simply to the

region of Judea but comprising the entire world, for all people are her children, including those

who have not yet found God, yeah, even those who despise Him.

Consuela, a Spanish housewife, received via revelations a biblical catechesis from Mary

Mother of God as a gift for the Marian year of 1987-88. As is stated on the cover of Maria

Puerta del Cielo:

This book opens for us a doorto hopeand reveals the high mission of the Virgin

Mary. Her hands hold the keys to heaven. For Mary is indeed the Gate of Heaven, as

determined by Gods will. In fact, if the Lord has chosen the way through Mary to come

into the world, the return of humanity to Jesus will also be through Mary, who is the

Mother of the Divine Mercyand Tabernacle of God and Gate of Heaven.

5 If you are Jesus, prove it!

The readers of our journal will be sufficiently familiar with the fact that at present many appa-

ritions of Mary occur. And there are even some of Jesus. Among these apparitions doubtless


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there are many that are false. The imitator brooks no reins. But you need not be concerned.

God will tell us what is false in his own good time. We should not pull out the wheat together

with the chaff! (11)God Himself, the Lord of the harvest, will do the weeding. (Mtt. 13:29-30)

A priest once asked my opinion of a particular apparition and I answered in the negative, but

added immediately: Above all, take no account of my opinion.

And certainly in the last few years there have also been many apparitions outside the Roman

Catholic world. By way of illustration and to close this article I would like to give a charac-

teristic example of an occurrence in Indonesia. Not so much an apparition of Mary but of her

Son. The account is taken from Bedevaartweb (Pilgrimage Web www.bedevaartweb.com),

a Dutch website, which is presented in five languages.

It concerns a remarkable apparition that is little known, remarkable because it was a Christian

phenomenon that occurred in an overwhelmingly Islamic country and, strangely enough, in

and around the house of a Muslim. In the Jakarta neighbourhood of Kramath Lima a Christian

church was being renovated. In the night of 22nd

December 2000 a building worker saw the

figure of a man. He thought it was an evil spirit and asked for a winning lottery number so that

he could gamble. The next day he became ill. His two friends, who were sitting next to him,told the church warden. After hearing their description of the figure, the warden showed them

an image of Jesus. The two confirmed that it looked like what they had seen. Ten days later

the story continued. Not far from there a certain Ajum was at home occupied in Islamic pray-

er. There appeared a somewhat vague face on the wall. Because others, including a Christian

minister, saw the same thing, it was decided to paint over the wall, but the image resembling

Jesus kept returning. Within a week a stream of inquisitive visitors came. Even the interna-

tional media (CNN) was there. The mullah (Islamic minister of religion) was consulted. When

he stood before the image he called out: If you really are Jesus, prove it to me with a sign.

And then it seemed as if the image was attempting to come out of the wall. The mullah was so

shocked at this that he fainted. Later he stated that this was the prophet Jesus (Jesus is regar-

ded as a prophet within Islam). The number of visitors had reached more than 10,000 thanks to

the publicity. The local population took advantage of the happening and set up stands sellingfood in front of the house. One of these, a man selling chicken stew, to his great surprise was

able to ladle out many more times the usual number of meals.

The authorities were unhappy with all the commotion and closed Anjums house to the public

on 12th January. Anjum himself moved to Bogor, outside the city. From that moment the

image appeared no longer inside the house but at the same place on the outside wall, even after

the wall had been painted blue. In the night of 14th to 15thJanuary, in the presence of many

witnesses, the figure drew itself out of the wall and rose into the clouds until out of sight. This

happened at around half past midnight. Since then the cult has died a slow death. The authori-

ties got what they wanted, but the population has not forgotten

Hubert Luns

[Published inDe Brandende Lamp, 4thquarter, 2007 - No112][Published in Positief, May 2009 No392]


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Notes

Who is God?

(1) I regard the discussion about a hypothetical God as uninteresting. Even Satan believes inGod, but it has done him no good. Atheism is deeply anti-creationist. Not to believe in Creation a little stupid, is it not? It takes more faith not to believe in God than to believe in Him. And

yet belief in God says so little: Christian faith is first and foremost a meeting with God. So thediscussion only becomes interesting when we talk about who this God really is. Then we startto reflect on what the meeting should signify.

The convocation of Vatican II was divinely inspired, but

(2) I am firmly convinced that not only were the decisions of Vatican II divinely inspired butthat this also applies to the calling together of the Council, as the Pope wrote in his SpiritualDiary four weeks before the Council started. It was certainly not some wild idea, as witness thein-depth preparation that preceded it, work that in fact had started under Pope Pius XII, whoin 1948 appointed Mgr. Francesco Borgongini Duca, old fellow-student and friend of the manwho was later to become John XXIII, to the position of chairman of the preparatory work-group for the council planned for the future.

The Church back to the sources(3) Pope John Paul II gave on June 25, 1992, his final approval of the text of the Catechism ofthe Catholic Church and presented it to the world on October 11, 1992, by means of the apos-tolic constitution Fidei Depositum, which happened on the 30 thanniversary of the opening ofVatican II. One reads there the following:

After the renewal of the liturgy and the new codification of the Canon Law of the LatinChurch and the canons of the oriental Catholics, this Catechism will bring a veryimportant contribution to the work of the revival of all ecclesial life, willed and put intoapplication by the Second Vatican Council. () For me, then - who had the special graceof participating in it and actively collaborating in its development - Vatican II has alwaysbeen, and especially during these years of my Pontificate, the constant reference point ofmy every pastoral action, in the conscious commitment to implement its directivesconcretely and faithfully at the level of each Church and the whole Church.

From: Liturgical Time-Bombs in Vatican II

(4) The Bugnini schema was accepted by a plenary session of the Liturgical Preparatory Com-mission in a vote taken on January 13, 1962. But the President of the Commission, the eighty-year old Cardinal Gaetano Cicognani, had the foresight to realize the dangers implicit in cer-tain passages. Father Gy writes: The program of reform was so vast that it caused the presi-dent, Cardinal Gaetano Cicognani, to hesitate.(Flannery p. 23) Unless the Cardinal could bepersuaded to sign the schema, it would be blocked. It could not go through without his signa-ture, even though it had been approved by a majority of the Commission. Father Bugnini nee-ded to act. He arranged for immediate approaches to be made to Pope John, who agreed tointervene. He called for Cardinal Amleto Cicognani, his Secretary of State and the younger bro-ther of the President of the Preparatory Commission, and told him to visit his brother and notreturn until the schema had been signed. The Cardinal complied. Later a peritus of the Litur-gical Preparatory Commission stated that the old Cardinal was almost in tears as he waved thedocument in the air and said: They want me to sign this but I don't know if I want to. Thenhe laid the document on his desk, picked up a pen, and signed it. Four days later he died. FromThe Rhine Flows into the Tiber: A History of Vatican II by Father Ralph M. Wiltgen TANBooks, Rockford, U.S.A. # 1985 (p. 141).

Not all teachings are dogmas

(5) A popular view as concerns a dogma, which is no dogma, has been voiced by AndrewBradstock in Millenarianism in the Reformation and the English Revolution # 2001 (p. 77):

Following Augustine, the Church had long believed that the reign of the saints foretoldby Revelation was already in operation through its own good offices, and (it has) shownlittle enthusiasm for the idea that Christ would return imminently to set up an earthly

kingdom: indeed, the Council of Ephesus declared such a belief heretical in 431.


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That this was declared heretical is simply not true, as was convincingly demonstrated by Mi-chael J. Svigel in his article from 2001: The Phantom Heresy: Did the Council of Ephesus(431) Condemn Chiliasm?.

(6) Reference: Apocalyptische Tijden - vriend & vijand in de 21steeeuw (Apocalyptic Times friend and foe in the 21stcentury), by Mark Heirman - Publisher Houtekiet, Antwerp # 1999

(pp. 149-50). With thanks to Luc Lon Paulissen who drew my attention to this source.

(7) Parousia means apparition, arrival, entry and refers to Christs return.

The Great Commission

(8) Matthew 28:18-19 is known as the Great Commission to evangelism, which means: goingout, baptising and teaching. Here also we find the closest biblical reference to the Christianbaptismal formula, its earliest extra-biblical reference being the first-century Didache 7:3. Itdoes not refer to 1 John 5:7, where a late addition to the original reads: Three bear witness,the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost.

Dispensationalism

(9) Dispensation is a term used in the King James and New King James versions (in 1 Cor.

9:17, Eph. 1:10; 3:2 and Col. 1:25). It was taken over by the Roman Catholic Douay-RheimsBible (1582), which still is the Bible of choice of traditionalist Catholics. The Catholic NewAmerican Bible (NAB - 1970) uses the word stewardship instead. Dispensation translatesoikonomia, a word derived from oikos (house) plus the verb nemein (distribute, admi-nister), sometimes rendered as stewardship, as in the parable of the unjust steward. (Luke 16)The Bible demonstrates that God divideshistory into periods. Of course, He definestime in terms of hours, months, years. It istherefore not strange that God proceeds bya division in phases that each time come toan end, like: ...the harvest of the earth isripe.(Rev. 14:15) Gods partitioning plan iscalled dispensationalism, which is associa-

ted with a conservative Protestant theologi-cal approach. How God partitions is some-thing about which theologians strongly dis-agree, but this does not mean that the con-cept is wrong.

Who is Jehoshua?

(10) It is extremely interesting that RabbiYitzachk Kaduri uses the form Jehoshuafor the expected Messiah, since this name inHebrew uses the letter shin (our s) in themiddle of the unutterable Name, the so-called tetragram, as follows: yod, he, shin,

he, waw. The unutterable Name is generallyexpressed by the Jews as Elohim or Adonai(in both cases Lord) or as Hashem (theNAME). In Biblical translations the tetra-gram is sometimes rendered as Yahweh andgenerally rendered as Lord. By usingJehoshua for the Jewish Messiah, Kaduri infact indicates the divine nature of Jesus.The agreement between Jesus and the Je-hoshua, living in Gods bosom, was alwaysunderstood by the learned rabbis. Whyotherwise would the Sanhedrin have for-bidden the use of the name of Jesus, without suffix, for Him whom they later wished to cru-

cify? In fact, the name Jesus was a very common first name among the Jews. Even Barabbaswas called Jesus. Therefore, Jesus Christ was not just called Jesus but according to Mtt.

Lolium temulentum


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26:71 Jesus the Nazorean. Pilate, probably to annoy the Jews, called Him expressly Jesus,who is called the Christ(Christ is Greek for Messiah). (Mt. 27:17-18)

The wheat andthe chaff

(11) The chaff or weeds, as most Bibles refer to it, is a translation of zinzanion, aparticularkind of weed, the dolik (Lolium temulentum). At the start of the season it looks remarkably

like wheat, but must not be pulled up even when found because its roots spread horizontallyand would thus pull up the wheat too. At the end of the season, when the ears of wheat bendunder their own weight, the dolik is easily recognised (no heavy ears) and it stands upright andcan thus be cut. The dolik was a feared plague in the Palestinian wheatfields. Sowing andspreading it (as an act of revenge) was punishable under Roman law. In our gardens we have aplant known as the Sabina officinalis. You can find it in among strawberry plants. When theyoung leaves come out both plants look exactly the same. If even a small portion of the sabinasroot remains behind, it will grow back again!

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the kingdom of peace is at hand – hubert_luns

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