Canonizing Forbidden Texts & Visions

Part 1: Secrets of Fatima & Marian Apparitions

can·on·ize – transitive verb ’ka-nə-,nīz in the Roman Catholic Church: to officially give a dead person a special status as someone very holy : to declare (someone) to be a saint 
1: to declare (a deceased person) an officially recognized saint 
2: to make canonical 
3: to sanction by ecclesiastical authority 
4: to attribute authoritative sanction or approval to 
5: to treat as illustrious, preeminent, or sacred[4]

ABANDONING SOLA SCRIPTURA
One of the most egregious earmarks of the Postmodern Prophecy Paradigm (PPP) evangelical leadership—indicative of each tenet of their exotic new eschatological teachings—is their tectonic shift away from Sola Scriptura. We have repeatedly addressed concerns about the PPP leaders’ (“quantum collaborators”) use of extra-biblical illumination in their outlandish endtime scenarios. In the conclusion to our 9-part Quantum Mysticism series, we summarized the problem:

…Adding to Scripture is what is at issue here. The quantum collaborators teach that the End-Time prophecies of the book of Revelation (and elsewhere) can be supplemented and enhanced by other so-called “sacred writings” such as: apocryphal, pseudepigraphical and Gnostic writings; ancient mythologies, folklore and legends; astrological and zodiacal imagery; science fiction (UFOs, alien visitations, etc.); magical and alchemical writings; psychological (Jungian), anthropological, sociological and philosophical writings; scientific and pseudo-scientific theories; the writings of various mystics; oracles and ghost stories of spiritualism; the Mayan calendar; Masonic lore; secret code formulas; inspirational literature; modern speculative writings including fairy tales, poetry and fiction; and other quasi-spiritual sources.[5]

Mystical Roman Catholic false prophecies and occult visions can now be added to the long list of source material for these teachers’ never-ending extrabiblical gleanings. These teachers are attempting to supplement endtimes prophecy with content not found in the Bible, thereby altering the plain Scripture to fit their increasingly fantastical eschatological myths. In our earlier article series “The Rise of End-Time Occultism,” in Part 7
titled “The Resurrection of Pagan Gods,” we documented that the PPP
teachers have ‘mixed the leaven of mythology into the dough of
prophecy’:

Stop
for a moment and think about what you just read. The sources for this
new interesting information come straight out of the occult! Notice the
tactic of taking a mythological account, or an ancient apocryphal book
like the Book of Enoch, and subtly trying to incorporate it into the
Scripture. The leaven of mythology is being mixed into the dough of
prophecy. Absolutely none of these sensationalized claims can be
supported by the truth of plain Scripture. These are heathen fables
being brought in to corrupt God’s Word and deceive followers. And yet
these teachers are asserting that their syncretic teachings are “new
truth” about the last days.[6]

ENTERTAINING MARIAN ‘SECRETS’
The graphic image at the top of this post depicts the Marian apparition (visitation) that took place in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. The Fatima apparition purportedly gave three “secrets” to three young peasant children—Marian prophecies dealing with end-time events. The last “secret” was revealed to the world in 2000, which reportedly predicted the failed assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II.

With the three eyewitnesses (and original Vatican confidants) now dead, PPP authors Tom Horn and Cris Putnam (and others) now speculate that the Vatican (led by Pope Benedict XVI) was involved in a major cover-up to conceal the disturbing truth about the third revelation—which they insinuate involves the installment of the last pope of history, Petrus Romanus (a contention not found in Scripture). They refer to the hidden third prophecy as the “Fourth” Secret of Fatima.[7]

Book by Tom Horn and Cris Putnam

Why would any sound evangelical write such a book? Why bog down the minds of precious souls with forbidden prophecies that undermine the Scripture—and lure unsuspecting readers into Gnostic and mystical realms? Where is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in all of these dark, mysterious, and intriguing speculations concerning the endtimes? Unfortunately, the Good News is hopelessly snuffed out by these tantalizing “secret” messages from dubious other-worldly sources.

MEMORIES OF FATIMA 
As an ex-Catholic, these PPP writings have been the most burdensome to wade through—because I left Roman Catholic mysticism far behind when I became born from above in 1992. My parents adhered to the Tridentine variety of Roman Catholicism, with a twist of tribal mysticism from my Native American heritage.

Tridentine Catholics[8] prefer liturgical tradition prior to the second Vatican Council. Their practices hearken back to the medieval days of the Dark Ages, including a Latin Mass which is performed by priests in Roman Catholic regalia who display their backs the congregation during the entire ceremony. Not knowing Latin, my parents (and most of the flock) mimicked the somber rituals and hoped that something good might rub off on them.

Into this mystical spiritual vacuum, devoid of true Scriptural moorings, came several frightening occult experiences that haunted my young mind. One of my most vivid memories was being made to kiss the feet of the Our Lady of Fatima statue during a processional Mass in the 1960s. An ambassadorial entourage, sanctioned by the Vatican, was commissioned to travel around the world with the statue and a message urging world citizens to be consecrated to the Catholic Mary.

The wooden image, bedecked with precious stones and covered in cold, was carved in the likeness of the female entity that appeared to the famed peasant children in 1917. Many close family members believe that the Marian apparition itself commissioned the statue to specification which (in their eyes) justified its ‘veneration’ (kissing its feet) even more. Family witnesses and subsequent Polaroid photos revealed the statue’s apparent ability to change the positions of the ornate crown upon its head—a so-called verification of its authenticity. This inexplicable experience (among many others) was quite unsettling and scary to me as a young girl, and still is.

Six popes since 1917—from Pius XII to Francis—have determined the Fatima visions to be authentic and have perpetuated the Fatima processions and venerations, including the Marian entity’s request that the world be consecrated to her—and NOT to Christ. The late Pope John Paul II credited the entity of Fatima with saving his life from a would-be assassin’s bullet and even donated the bullet removed from his body to the Fatima Shrine in Spain.[9]

In direct opposition to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for our sins, the Fatima apparition promised “to save souls from hell” and “to avert the annihilation of nations” if pilgrims around the world, en masse, devoted themselves to the Catholic Mary, including daily recitations of the Rosary—a Marian devotion.[10] That is why the Fatima image also has an ecumenical mission within the United Nations:

On October 13, 1952, the Bishop of Fatima blessed this image for its mission to the United Nations. 

On December 8th, 1952, having been brought to America from Fatima, the statue was taken into the Meditation Room of the United Nations by Msgr. Harold Colgan, founder of the Blue Army now known as the World Apostolate of Fatima. It was at the United Nations that Monsigeur Colgan led the recitation of the Rosary. Since that time, the UN International Pilgrim Statue has been part of the World Apostolate of Fatima and its Dicastery. 

This treasured replica of Our Lady of Fatima has traveled the globe.[11][bold added] 

As a sobering footnote to this, the Fatima statue, on assignment to Asia, was trapped in the Philippines during the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda last November and was unable to complete its pilgrimage through the storm-ravaged region.[12]

In light of these very troubling examples of false image worship and blatant idolatry, why do Horn, Putnam, and other PPP leaders even hint that Fatima might hold any trustworthy information concerning endtime events? Why bring any attention to these false visions bearing false prophecies—unless they believe (or hope) them to be credible?

Fatima, unfortunately, is not the only Marian apparition examined by the PPP authors—in tandem with their wild conjectures concerning the last pope, on page 456 of Petrus Romanus the authors reveal yet another apparition prophecy supposedly given credibility via the approval of two popes:

Most people are probably unaware that in addition to the Secrets of Fatima, a second, most renowned Marian apparition from LaSalette, France, which was approved by Pius IX and Leo XIII, revealed analogous information about a crisis of faith that would transpire within Roman Catholicism in the last days, during which Rome would become the seat of the Antichrist. [bold added] 

Again, the Bible is silent on these details—and Scripture warns repeatedly about seeking additional information through such extrabiblical and mystical sources. What God wanted us to know about the endtimes, He carefully recorded in His Word from Genesis to Revelation; the Canon of Scripture is closed for God’s purposes and for our own good. (Rev. 22:18)

Image of Fatima

GIVING CREDENCE TO CATHOLIC VISIONS
Horn and Putnam give credence to Catholic visions, while at the same time debunking Catholicism. This is a clever tactic. They do present some useful research in Petrus Romanus, and spend two chapters taking a stand against Roman Catholic teachings.[14] On page 294, they even make this statement:

We love Catholic people and we want them to be set free from the bondage of that wicked, evil system. Many are blinded from the light of the true Gospel of grace by a sorcerous system and a heretical priesthood. We believe they are literally under the spell of a coven of sorcerers. 

But if they believe that Catholics are “under a spell” and in “bondage” to the Romans Catholic system, why then do they revert back to false Roman Catholic visions and corrupted texts (mentioned above) for support—even relying on such things as a “60-year-old Jesuit codex predicting the arrival of Petrus Romanus in 2012” to pinpoint the identity of the False Prophet?[15] Like many other PPP leaders, these men speak out of both sides of their mouth. In the end, despite their caveats, they continue to entertain false prophecies, mythologies, visions, and other occult sources. They weave a highly imaginative tale which is very seducing, based on the imagery of these idolatrous fables.

If they indeed loved Catholics, these men would throw out these sensationally hyped speculations and extra-biblical gleanings and stand firm on the Word of God—alone. They would point Catholics (and other readers) to Christ and His finished work on the Cross. They would tell Catholics that the Lord God looks upon a repentant heart and not fleshly works for salvation. They would exhort them to focus their full attention upon Spirit-led holy living while awaiting the return of King Jesus—and NOT fixate on Roman Catholic Mysticism and other bizarre endtime teachings contrary to the Scripture.

But instead of remaining within biblical parameters, these PPP leaders have vainly chosen to scour the murky Vatican archives and recorded tradition for secret clues that might help to identify the False Prophet (or even the Antichrist) of Revelation. The Bible has not divulged these details, and it behooves us not to venture outside the confines of Holy Scripture.

As a terribly confused, lost Catholic, I found not only salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, but life-changing hope (here and now)—through the written Word of God. As Christians, the focal point of our faith is Christ, not Antichrist (or the False Prophet). What good is it to know frightening and detailed apocalyptic scenarios of the coming end without the saving hope of Jesus Christ?[16]

THE TRUTH about Fatima and Mary:
The late Ed Tarkowski, a former Roman Catholic, wrote extensively about the Marian apparitions, particularly the The Lady of Fatima and how it was adversely influencing biblical eschatology. In his series titled The Lady Of The Apocalypse: Comparison: The Original Words Of Fatima vs. God’s Holy Word, he described the difference between Mary in the Bible, and the Lady of Fatima:


Mary: The Mother Of Jesus
God knew Mary’s heart when He called her to bring His Son into the world. In a study of the Mary of the Bible, we see that she remained in line with the word of God. She knew the Old Testament Scriptures and their promises of a Messiah. Even at the Annunciation, Mary’s initial encounter with God, she was able to respond, “Let it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38, RSV). Later, when she was greeted by Elizabeth, her response was again in accord with Scripture: her Magnificat consists largely of Old Testament verses.

Mary’s responses and actions were consistent with the word of God. She knew who she was in relation to God, and it was her trust in His word, and her sure foundation of faith, which brought her such blessings.

The Lady Of Fatima: 1917
But there are some who have given Mary that which is God’s. They’ve built up through the centuries “another Mary,” a Mary not found in Scripture. Today, many are drawn to this “Mary” through the Lady of Fatima, whose publicity has spilled over from the Catholic Church into secular, New Age, and even evangelical circles. As a result, the character of the true Mary has been buried in the millions of words which proclaim this “other Mary.”

Who is this Lady of Fatima? For the sake of many who may not be familiar with the facts, a brief synopsis: in May of 1917 a beautiful lady claiming to have come from heaven appeared in Fatima, Portugal to three young children: Jacinta and Francisco Marto (7 and 8 years old) and their cousin, Lucia dos Santos (age 10). She spoke to them about her “Peace Plan from Heaven,” and instructed them to tell others what they had seen and heard. She appeared six times, once a month, and her last appearance in October 1917 was accompanied by a spectacular occurrence – the “Miracle of the Sun.”

Millions follow the Lady of Fatima. The Pope says he owes his life to her, and Catholic cable television extols her. Today, many expect her to perform another miracle such as the “miracle of the sun” of eighty years ago.

The Mary of Scripture cherished the Word of God in her heart, but you will see that the Lady of Fatima treats God’s Word quite differently. She uses Scriptures referring to each of the three Persons of the Godhead and attributes them to herself. The comparisons in this series clearly lines up the Lady’s words with those of Scripture, and clearly point out that both cannot be true.

Ed Tarkowski’s chart

In Part 2 of his article series, Tarkowski explained the semantic deceptions in operation:

In our study of Marian practices in the Catholic Church, one fact became apparent to us. The Word of God has been changed through additions of meaning, unscriptural assumptions, and distortion of God’s facts. As a necessary result, the roles of the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are weakened. Mary is unscripturally presented, for example, as “the divine Mother,”(1) the “Hope of Sinners,”(2) and “the most faithful comfortress of sinners”(3), when, in God’s facts, God is our Father (John 20:17; Romans 8:17), Jesus is our Hope (Romans 15:12; Colossians 1:27), and the Holy Spirit our Comforter (John 14:18; Acts 9:31). This distortion of Scripture in Mariology is quite clear in most cases, but because of the intricate structure of teaching built around Marian devotion over the centuries, and because of the sentimental factor at its very core, many Catholics, even those who know Scripture, cannot look it right in the eye and call it distortion. [bold added]

To read the rest of Ed Tarkowski’s series, click HERE.

Ed Tarkowski graphic depicting Fatima’s way*

Stay tuned for PART 2….

Endnotes:
1. Thomas Horn and Cris Putnam, Preface, Petrus Romanus, Defender Publishing, Crane, MO, 2012, pg. xv. Bold added. 
2. Ibid. Introduction to Petrus Romanus, pp. 1-2. Bold added. 
3. Graphic taken from the AquinasAndMore.com website: http://www.aquinasandmore.com/catholic-books/our-lady-of-fatima-novena/sku/1743. 
4. See the Merriam-Webster online dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canonize. 
5. See: “Quantum Mysticism Goes to Market,” Herescope, June 5, 2012; https://herescope.net/2012/06/quantum-mysticism-goes-to-market.html. 
6. See: Gaylene Goodroad and Sarah H. Leslie, “The Resurrection of Pagan Gods,” Herescope, Nov. 4, 2013; https://herescope.net/2013/11/the-resurrection-of-pagan-gods.html. 
7. See Wikipedia entry on Our Lady of Fatima: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_F%C3%A1tima. See Petrus Romanus, Chapter 19, pp. 451-464.
See the Wikipedia entry for Traditionalist Catholic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditionalist_Catholic. See also the entry for Tridentine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tridentine. 
8. See the Wikipedia entry on Marian apparitions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_apparition. Note this excerpt: “The visions of the Virgin Mary appearing to three shepherd children at Our Lady of Fátima in Portugal in 1917 were declared worthy of belief by the Catholic Church in 1930. Five popes — Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI — have supported the Fátima messages as supernatural. John Paul II was particularly attached to Fátima and credited Our Lady of Fátima with saving his life after he was shot in Rome on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fátima in May 1981. He donated the bullet that wounded him on that day to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima. Benedict XVI, on May 13, 2010, prayed and gave the second Golden Rose to Our Lady of Fátima and also pronounced in front of more than 500,000 pilgrims a reference to the Fátima prophecy about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In 1925, eight years after the Fátima events, Sister Lúcia reported another set of apparitions, which became known as the Pontevedra apparitions. Also Blessed Alexandrina of Balasar reported several apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary (following the Our Lady of Fátima request of World Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary).” See also Francis X. Rocca, “Venerating Fatima statue, pope entrusts world to Mary,” The Georgia Bulletin, Catholic News Service, Oct. 24, 2013: http://georgiabulletin.org/news/2013/10/venerating-fatima-statue-pope-entrusts-world-to-mary/. See also The Fatima Statue website: http://www.thefatimastatue.org/about-the-statue/authenticity-and-verification. Note this excerpt: “This statue is an official International Pilgrim Virgin statue. The United Nations International Pilgrim Statue meets approval of all statues of the *World Apostolate of Fatima as a public international association of the faithful, according to canons 298-320 and 327-329 of the Code of Canon Law. The approval of the statues of this association duly authenticated by the Dicastery and deposited in its Achieves, for a period of five years ad experimentum. (Vatican City, 7 October 2005, Memory of the Blessed Mary Virgin of the Rosary). Pontificium Constilium Pro Laitcis.”
10. See the Fatima Network online: http://www.fatima.org/whyfatima.aspx. Note this excerpt from the website: “4. WHAT DOES THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA REQUEST? At Fatima Our Lady said that God wished to establish in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lady said that many souls would be saved from Hell and the annihilation of nations averted if, in time, devotion to Her Immaculate Heart were established principally by these two means: 1) the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Pope together with the world’s bishops in a solemn public ceremony, and (2) the practice or receiving Holy Communion (and other specific devotions of about 1/2 hour in duration) in reparation for the sins committed against the Blessed Virgin Mary, on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months–a practice known to Catholics as ‘the First Saturday’ devotion.” See also the Wikipedia entry on the Immaculate Heart of Mary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Heart_of_Mary. See also the Rosary-Center.Org, “Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary”: http://www.rosary-center.org/consecrt.htm. 
11. See the International Fatima Statue website – the Official Website of the United Nations Pilgrim Statue: http://www.thefatimastatue.org/about-the-statue/history-of-the-statue. See also the Message link on the website: http://www.thefatimastatue.org/about-fatima/the-message. Note this excerpt: The United Nations International Pilgrim Statue and reliquary have traveled the world under permission of the World Apostolate of Fatima and Vatican approval. Thousands of faithful have discovered the story, miracle and healing power of these treasured pieces. 
12. See Evelyn Macairan, “Our Lady of Fatima Statue Trapped in Samar,” The Philippian Star, Nov. 10, 2013: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/11/10/1255014/our-lady-fatima-statue-trapped-samar. 
13. Graphic is taken from The Catholic Sun blog. See Janet LaPlante, “Our Lady of Fatima for our time,” The Catholic Sun, Sept. 23, 2013: http://www.catholicsun.org/2013/09/25/our-lady-of-fatima-for-our-time/. Note the caption that appears beneath the photo: “A statue of Our Lady of Fatima is carried during a candlelight vigil at the shrine in Fatima, Portugal, Oct. 12, 2007. An estimated 300,000 pilgrims converged in Fatima to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the first apparition of Mary to three shepherd children in 1917. A new, modern church was also dedicated at the shrine.” (This exhibit is credited to CNS photo/Nacho Doce, Reuters) 
14. See Petrus Romanus, Section Three: “Doctrines, Dogmas, Supernaturalism, and the End Times” – Ch. 13: “Priestcraft, Sacraments, and Sorcery,” pp. 293-319 and Ch. 14: “The Occult Queen of Heaven,” pp. 321-342. 
15. See the back cover of Petrus Romanus. 
16. See “The Rise of Apocalyptic Paganism in the Church,” Herescope, May 7, 2013: https://herescope.net/2013/03/the-rise-of-apocalyptic-paganism-in.html. 
*Ed Tarkowski wrote concerning the meaning of this graphic. NOTE: Many followers of the Lady of Fatima use and support the writings of St. Louis de Montfort. In his booklet, The Secret of Mary, an anonymous editor comments: “The Saint does not mean that one is obliged to follow his plan of Spiritual Life in order to be saved, for in his Treatise on the True Devotion to Mary, which is a development of The Secret of Mary, he explicitly says that we can attain divine union by other roads, but that his method, is an EASY, SHORT, PERFECT AND SECURE WAY that leads us to union with our Lord” (p.7). But Jesus’ claim to be THE way was absolute; no one can come to the Father except by Him.

This article (which will be continued in a Part 2 and Part 3) is a continuation of our earlier article series The Rise of End-Time Occultism:
Part 1: Homo Nephilus
Part 2: The “Return” of the Alien Super Soldier”
Part 3: Techno-Dimensional Prayer Combat
Part 4: The Second Coming of Apollo
Part 5: Nephilim are from Mars, Fallen Angels are from Krypton
Part 6: Metaphysical Mysticism Masquerading as Science
Part 7: The Resurrection of Pagan Gods: Mingling Pagan Mythology with God’s Truth