On Oct. 13, 1917 -- more than 81 years ago -- the Blessed Mother visited three young children in Fatima, Portugal, and gave them a message to deliver to the world. It should be noted that since this event, Pope John Paul has recognized the Fatima appearance as a factual event. In part, here is what she said:
"Mankind has been sacrilegious and has trampled underfoot the gifts which were given it. There is no order in anything. Even in the highest positions. It is satan who governs and decides how affairs are to be conducted. He will even know how to find his way into the highest positions in the church. He will succeed in throwing confusion in the minds of the great scholars who invent arms in which half of mankind can be destroyed in a few minutes. He will bring the mighty ones among the people under his thumb and make them manufacture armaments in bulk."
"If mankind does not refrain, I shall be forced to let fall my Son's arm. If those on the top of the world and church do not oppose these acts, it is I who shall do so and I shall pray God my father to visit His Justice on man. This it is that God will punish man more harshly and more severely than He punished them by flood, and the great and powerful shall perish thereby as well as the small and weak."
"There also will come a time of the hardest trials of the church. satan will put himself in their midst. There will be big changes in Rome. What is rotten will fall and what will fall must be maintained. The church will be darkened and the world will be plunged into confusion. The big war will happen in the second half of the 20th century. Then fire and smoke will fall from the sky, and waters of the ocean will be turned to steam hurling foam towards the sky and all that is standing will be overthrown."
"Millions and more millions of men will lose their lives from one hour to the next. Those who remain living at the moment will envy those who are dead. There will be tribulations wherever the eye can see and misery over all the earth, desolation in all countries. The time is continually approaching. The abyss is growing wider. There is no end. The good will die with the wicked and the big with the small. The princes of the church will be with the faithful and the sovereigns of the world with their subjects."
"Death shall reign evermore enthroned by men who have strayed, and by satan's henchmen who will then be the only sovereigns on earth. This will be a time when neither king nor emperor nor bishop is expecting, nevertheless, it is in accordance with my Father's plan to punish and level. Later, however, when those who survive all things are still alive, God in His glory will once more be invoked and once more be served as He was not so long ago when the world had not yet been corrupted." "I call on all true followers of my Son, Jesus Christ. All true Christians and latter day apostles ... the time of times is coming, and the end of all ends. If mankind is not converted and if this conversion does not come from above from the leaders of the church and of the world ... But WOE -- WOE -- WOE if this conversion does not come about and if all remains as it is. Nay, if all become even worse."
"Go, my child, and proclaim it. I shall remain always at your side to protect you..."
Regarding the above message from the Blessed Mother, Archbishop Haralambos had this to say: "It was written in Exodus 23:20 that 'shadows of the New Jerusalem' are on the horizon. One must be entering into God's rest and fully in His theosis. Those with faith in God's Word will follow Him into His rest, with love of Him who has commanded us to follow His Holy Sacraments. One, in the Body of Christ, must enter in this rest without error, empowerment and perfect assignment and will, such as Moses did in the wilderness. We now must be in the complete fullness of Truth of the Apostolic first church faith. 'All who claim their calling of the holy brethren of our profession.' (Isaiah 28:7, 28:12) Hebrew 3:11, 18: "Rest from all error."
Brethren in Christ, let us now define our Love for God by referring to John 14:21, which reads, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him."
The operative words here are "hath" and "keepeth." To have is to know. One cannot have unless one has the knowledge. One may never keep unless he has the truth. Apostasy in doctrine in the protestant reformers have gone bankrupt and abandoned God's commandments, which are clearly the Holy Sacraments. Commandments are synonymous with Sacraments of the Ecclesia. One must see he is disqualified if he follows false doctrine, and errs in his interpretation of God's Holy Word.
As practiced by His first Apostles, Truth was and is found in the Holy Sacraments. Some churches, calling themselves the Body of Christ, are not. Identification because of their apparent love for Jesus, our Lord, and their public display of it, should be compared to the above definition of one's love for Christ in Truth. How can one love Him without he HATH and KEEPETH His commandments, as Jesus defined True Love of Him and the Father's reciprocity of Love for us?
"In God's Blood we have Salvation. Without salvation, there is no life in us spiritually." So it says in John 6:53. We have been commanded without doctrinal options to partake of His Blood and Body, to be raised up on the Last Day. One may never be excused when His Word comes to us by His prophets first, without man's influence.
The Golden Chalice.
The Virgin Mother, which in Greek is "Theotokos", was the Holy Ark between the Cherubim. The Madonna and Christ Child is our rebirth, with the Holy Cup of Blessing, our road to eternal spiritual life.
Fr. John Bosco is referenced in the book, "Fatima: Tragedy and Triumph". A precise prophesy is quoted in this book: "One day you will see the statue of the Immaculate in the center of Moscow in the highest point of the Kremlin."
Saint Maximilian is also paraphrased: "The Madonna and Christ Child statue will be placed in the center of Russia, and radiate divine love, symbolizing Her victory over satanic government of the world."
The Spirit of Elias (Elijah) prophesizes the coming of our Lord, which is Parousia in Greek, and that couples with this victory. "This is the Fatima Message: Repent or fall with the enemies of Christ, Her Holy Son Jesus, who now is her God on the Throne, whose arm will fall on all error, apostasy and shaded doctrines of a christianity are no longer accepted by heaven's Throne."
One must now choose between the great deceptions emanating from the divisions of satan within the church, which is not the one, Holy, Christian and Apostolic Church. It is now divided, with 2,000 years of testing the truth. The seeds are residual and were planted in Babylon the mystery whore. They are now bearing their fruits of the divided protestants, from the one True Orthodox Ecclesia. By one's own voluntary will to resist the Golden Chalice's Holy contents, one betrays Christ..... John 6:64 ... "and walks no more with Him." John 6:66.
Can Christian Orthodoxy embrace New York, Geneva, World Ecumenism? Can there be a plurality in the Holy Ecclesia of Orthodoxy, true to our tenets, and our Holy tradition, yet be caught in compromise with other apostates, being called brothers, uncanonical, yet Christian?. Let us ask our Lord to answer this.
Many signs along the way.
There are many signs along the way telling us to listen and to not compromise, no matter what seems to be the "natural" action to take.
One such sign took place in July 1989. That's when thousands flocked to Tarpon Springs, Florida, a Gulf Coast village north of Tampa, to witness the weeping of six icons in the Greek Shrine of St. Michael. This was first witnessed by a woman who was praying in the shrine. She saw tears flowing from the eyes and feet of a painting of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child.
Six icons reportedly were weeping before the day ended. The faithful in the old Greek neighborhood alerted church leaders, who conducted three daily services following the announcement. There was indeed reason for the tears from those icons. There are still signs, and even more reason for tears. This is truly the time to lament, because the voice of the Blessed Mother has suddenly fallen silent. In fact, she has announced that she will speak no more. Without her voice to comfort and warn us, this truly is the Time of Woe.
On Oct. 13, 1998, more than 100,000 pilgrims massed on a farm in Georgia. They clutched rosaries, sang hymns and scanned the skies for heavenly signs while listening to what they believed to be a final message from the Virgin Mary.
This message coincides with the 81st anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to three children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.
The Blessed Mother's latest message came through Nancy Fowler, a former nurse, who slipped into what some doctors described as near-coma or a state of ecstasy. She shared her words with pilgrims from as far away as Brazil, Australia, Canada and Japan.
Has the Blessed Mother's voice fallen silent?
Since Mary, the mother of Jesus, started speaking through Fowler, the woman has shared eight messages publicly. On Oct. 13, Nancy Fowler repeated what she said was the last of seven years of messages to the public she has received from Mary. Police said this was Fowler's largest crowd since people first began flocking to the 90-acre farm 35 miles southeast of Atlanta in 1990. They gathered to hear the holy messages, which Fowler says she receives on the 13th day of each month.
"Oh, my dear little children," Mary said through Nancy Fowler, "God is all loving. And you will reach Him by imitating Him. Please be attentive. My Son's Heart is drenched in mercy and love for you. Please pray the rosary. Please pray against the evils of this age. Please stop offending God. You have yet to see the forces of nature. No man is greater than God. No country is greater than God. If you choose to live apart from God, then you will fall."
In closing, Fowler said, "Today, our Lady has come for the last time in this way. We will not be able to see our Lady again, until we are all in heaven."
As the Blessed Mother's voice falls silent, will the world darken in preparation for the End Times? Perhaps the natural events that occurred throughout the world this past year is but a precursor and smaller version (a microcosm if you will) of what will happen when The End Times accelerate.
This summer, we have had Heatwaves, Storms, Earthquakes, War; in that order. They are all part of God's marching orders to His faithful, telling them that the end is indeed drawing near, and that we should at all times be vigil.
God is very methodical and always tells His prophets first before handing down a judgment. Let's look at Amos 3:7: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."
Archbishop Haralambos, a prophet unto the Lord, anointed with the Spirit of Elijah, sent the following judgment letter to all churches. He began, "Dear Brothers in Christ, with love and God's Mercy this is being written to you for prayer and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ."
The Judgment Letter.
He continued, listing the following of the Lord's Judgments: *All the children, having not returned to the hearts of the Father, are lost in the U.S. if without Christ, the Savior.
*God is now going to judge the world, the U.S., the Pentacostal Church. (Read II Kings, Chapters 1 and 2; I Corinthians, Chapters 2 and 3; and II Kings, Chapter 19.) *Please read to your flock from the pulpit this warning, or their blood will be on your heads as their shepherd .... by July 17th the Judgments will begin.
*This is the message: The flock of the Body of Christ must now eliminate all reference to any specific denomination as being the "one" and now look only to Jesus.
*The Roman Catholic Church in America has been warned.
*The Greek Orthodox Church in America has been warned.
*The Mormon Church has been warned and is being judged as it was given unto signs and repented not from its heresy.
*God sent messages to the Baptist, Assembly of God and other churches warning to heed the path that the Holy Spirit is now taking the Church non-denominational direction and leadership.
They will now be judged.
*Now, the Pentecostal Full Gospel Fellowship is being warned to pray God they will heed this warning and lean only to Jesus Christ and no organization or entity calling itself Christian, for now is the apostasy. Pray to the Holy Spirit of Christ, for the Anti-Christ is now being revealed -- Rev. 17:10.
*You have received this, and the prophesies by the Spirit of Elijah in Archbishop Haralambos, a servant and witness to the message now given to the Body of Christ.
Prophesy: America is Babylon.... New York City and San Francisco will be destroyed. As a prophet unto the Lord -- Romans 12:6.
Russia will not reach Jerusalem. The USA will conquer Israel and slaughter many Israelis except the 144,000.
Israel will prevail at Petra.... Jesus will meet all nations at Megedo Valley. June 27 to Sept. 27 is a time of mourning.
Prayer to Jesus is our only protection, with repentance and love. That was the judgment letter, which Archbishop Haralambos delivered.
Are we truly in the Latter Days?
Yes, we are in the middle of the judgment of the latter days. To confirm that, all we need to do is pick up a newspaper or watch CNN, and know that is certainly true. Do you want examples? If so, let's go back to the early spring and summer of this past year. There were horrific heatwaves all across the United States. Hundreds of people died as a result. This was followed by fires that blackened forests from Florida to California.
What about when the fires will become too numerous and too extensive to escape, or even survive? What if those fires are fanned by hurricane-force winds and extend throughout the United States? The result would be the death of tens of millions. Will that be enough for the fires from the End of Times?
During last summer, next came the storms. They were in the form of tornadoes and hurricanes. Hundreds lost their lives from the 14 hurricanes that were numbered out of the Atlantic this year and hundreds more from Pacific typhoons. Hurricane Mitch was the most devastating hurricane of this or any Atlantic hurricane season, with tens of thousands in Central America losing their lives.
Before that -- on July 17 to be exact -- a triple tidal wave wiped out an entire colony of people, killing as many as 3,000 people in northwest Papua, New Guinea. At least 10 villages were completely washed away. In the process, many people learned about the power and devastation of a tsunami, which is "a very large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption."
What if that tsunami were to sweep across the ocean and millions were killed? Could such tidal waves take place simultaneously worldwide and hundreds of millions were to lose their lives?
Would that prove the End Times are here? If that's what it will take for some people to believe, it truly will be too late. The Lord is preparing us with these relatively little storms; for the truly big ones that will come during the End Times. Then there is War. Many think that since the Berlin Wall went down, the USSR was dismantled, "peace has been declared," there will be no more war. We discovered that we know nothing of war. What we are experiencing is but the beginning. War, in the final sense, will be played out on a massive scale in the way described in Revelation. There it provides a glimpse of a war that is far worse than all the wars the world has fought combined. In that war, the Lord will return as a Mighty Warrior. But for today, wars are fought daily in remote corners of the globe. Even our wars with Russia are not over, no matter what you might think.
Don't count out Mother Russia.
True, the USSR is no more -- for now. But we must never count out Mother Russia. Even Time Magazine agrees. In its Sept. 7, 1998, issue, its cover story dealt with "Russia in Crisis". Russia, the magazine offered, "might be poor, but it would still have all those nuclear weapons, which are enough to make everyone pay attention. Most U.S. experts believe the nukes are under tight control so far, yet there are doubters. While it's unlikely that a military commander would see any benefit in launching one, there are other possibilities. A rogue general might try some nuclear blackmail for a big payoff. Or a nuclear unit, unpaid for months, might decide to quietly sell off something for a profit. It wouldn't have to be one of the closely guarded strategic weapons either. There are thousands of small ones and tons of fissile (fissionable, especially by neutrons of all energies) material lying around. Such nightmares alone would encourage President Clinton and the West to stay engaged. But the Russians are the only people who can repair Russia -- and they don't know how."
Again, don't count Russia out. And don't blink, because, as we are told, much can happen in the blink of an eye.
To get the bigger picture, all you need to do is refer to the last book of the New Testament -- Revelation -- and you will learn that God's Judgment is imminent, all-consuming and full of wrath. Revelation, as written by Saint John the Divine, was the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, "to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass, and he went and signified it by his angel until his servant John; who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw." Whether we want to admit it or not, the world is moving closer to the last days of the Judgment.
In Luke 12:49, we read, "Jesus says, 'I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?"
Revelation deals with fire a great deal. In Rev. 9:18, "By these three was the third part of man killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths."
It is written in Ezekiel 38:1-6: "And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 'Son of Man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Megog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, 'Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; And I will turn thee back and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horseman, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords; Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them, all of them with shield and helmet, Gomer and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee."
Could the above revelation scripture reflect the prophesy of Ezekial, which was written before the Birth of Christ? Now, in 1999, let us turn our attention to an extension of that prophesy, from the written prophetic words of Archbishop Haralambos, which involves the statue of the Golden Madonna and Christ Child and the statue's role in the end time. Archbishop Haralambos' words are quoted and paraphrased from his book, "God's Ocean" Vol. II.
The historical account of the Senora de la Maravilla.
"It all started in the 1600s," Archbishop Haralambos writes, "culminating with the splintering apart of the Senora de la Maravilla, a ship from King Phillip of Spain, which was carrying a solid gold statue that weighed as much as 1,800 pounds." Archbishop Haralambos then recounts the following story, which he gleaned from the Spanish Archives at Seville, Spain.
The year was 1621, and at the age of 16, a regal young heir became Phillip IV, King of Spain. His reign was to last 44 years, and he was to father the last of the Hapsburgs, the reigning descendants of Spain.
During the 1600s the morals of the Capital and the lush ostentatious Court would have made all the forefathers and kings blush. Even the foreign dignitaries were shocked at the attitude and conduct of the young King Phillip's court. Scandal was found everywhere, including the highest and lowest parts of the kingdom. Those were the times of rampant immorality, and, the kingdom of Spain was fertile ground for the seeds of the devil.
King Phillip IV was a pleasure-loving king. Because he was so young, King Phillip appointed the Duke of Olivarez to head all of Spain's councils. This made the Duke the real ruler of Spain and her possessions. Ripples of scandal and discontent affected everyone during the 20 years that the Duke of Olivarez was in power. It was at this time that our true and mysterious story of the "Golden Madonna" begins. It is a story that stretches across the boundaries of time -- from 300 years ago to today, rising up from the depths of God's Ocean.
The story of the Golden Madonna and Christ Child truly began when King Phillip reached the age of fifty-one. Mired in the mud of moral decay, he became desolate by the death of his first-born son, who was to succeed him on the throne, and the untimely death of his beloved wife, Queen Isabella. He sank deeper into depression with feelings of guilt and remorse.
Fortunately, his inner torment drove him to religion, which led him to the acquaintance and influence of Sister Maria from the Convent de Agreda. Their friendship lasted nine years, cut short by King Phillip's death. To Sister Maria, the King confessed in his letters and during long talks all the details of the errors in his life.
This was a very unusual way for the King of Spain to react. But, then King Phillip wanted to return to God's laws. In his discussions with Maria de Agreda, they decided that he would prove his devotion by sharing his wealth with the Catholic church. He would do this by creating a piece of art that would be unmatched in history. Appropriately, this work of art would be in the form of the most revered Virgin Mary: The Madonna and her Christ Child. It would be cast in solid gold, life size, would be life size and possess a realistic look and manner. To further increase its untold value, the Madonna and Child would have two crowns placed on their heads to signify their exaltedness to heaven and God above. These crowns and statue would contain the crown jewels of the kingdom.
The Golden Madonna was to become King Phillip's symbol -- one that he hoped would hold together all Christianity. He would stop at nothing to achieve a final victory. Though his motives were honorable, they were not shared by others who were equally powerful. They, unfortunately, did not share their King's zeal for reform. It was becoming an internal war. And, like all wars, this one was going to cost a great deal of M*O*N*E*Y.
King Phillip's motivationwas more than money.
Phillip's financiers were the ancestors of our present day banking system monsters, and they were about to foreclose on the King's accounts. To avert this foreclosure, King Phillip had to win the war, for the good of the county, then place the statue of the Madonna and Christ Child for all time to see the symbolism of his unselfish contribution to mankind.
Most leaders are not so noble in their actions of reparations. The King also vowed to finance his personal wars from his own coffers. Most leaders of today gouge the citizens with taxes for all the wars they wage. Not Phillip. He was going to be honorable to the end. There was one problem: he forgot that selfish motivations begin in men's hearts. Phillip forgot to persuade his adversaries with LOVE. Antagonized by King Phillip's self-centered goals, his peers became leery of his intent.
Neither the king's enemies nor some of his supporters shared his enthusiasm for reform in neither spirituality nor government, so satan easily achieved his goals. Sound familiar? It's the same today.
Spain, worth millions because of all the gold it was finding in the new world, fought its battles to the end. King Phillip had to make his payments if he was to regain his credibility, because he was slipping in the Gallup polls of his day. He wanted to be sure of support in the northern provinces. He surely didn't intend to be the first Hapsburg king to lose a war for Spain, or, worse still, lose the war for all of Christianity and its unity in the West.
Valazquez works on Golden Madonna and Christ Child.
The life-sized Golden Madonna and Christ Child statue was to be his saving gift. To further increase its worth he sought his friend, Velazquez, the royal court's in-house artist, and convinced him of the magnitude of importance of the statue. Velazquez accepted and began working on the statue. That included making three-dimensional models of his paintings, "The Immaculate Conception" and "Adoration of the Magi," which were considered to be the finest of their day. From this model was to come the life-sized Golden Madonna.
Copies and example sketches of his work, along with secret orders from the king, went to the Nova Indies -- the New World. King Phillip wrote: "To the Governor of Gallao, Peru. Have a life-sized statue sculpted into a model from Valezquez' painting sketches and specifications, detailed exactly as he shows, even to the crowns on their heads. Make it from solid marble stone of Peru, smooth for all to believe it is almost alive and real. Send it down the mountain from the Potasi mines to the coastal city of Arica, then by ship to Gallao. Let no one see or rest their eyes upon it unless they are of the work force. The Armada of the South Seas is to further the journey on to Panama City. To prevent any piracy, the route will then be over land by mules to Mexico City. There it will be delivered to the Governor of Mexico."
The King's second set of secret orders to the Governor of Mexico read: "You will receive by land a life-sized stone statue of Our Lady. Take your best heirs of Montezuma and make clay molds, as perfect as they may be. Cast the likeness in solid gold, the purest we have in all the Nova Indies. Destroy the molds thereafter; they are never to be duplicated again. Let no one in the court know of this. I have commanded the Terra Firma Flotas to leave this season early (1656). On board will be a bumper cargo of gold and treasure for Mother Spain. Placing this precious cargo on the Admiralanta Nuestra de la Senora Maravilla (the King's admiralty ship) will be your specific responsibility. The House of Trade will prepare the usual manifest of the ship, with triplicates as always. Her Captain, Admiral Mathias de Oreliona, will then be the party responsible to me only. I repeat, no one is to know of the gold casting or the cargo but those appointed by my hand. Let the imbeciles who cast the statue be destroyed forever. These are my unalterable instructions."
Upon reaching the Indies, the Admiral General of the Fleet opened his instructions for the 1655 Terra Flota, which also were written directly by King Phillip. They read: "My Dear Admiral General Mathias: You are no doubt perturbed at my unusual insistence for secrecy this Flota Year. Our enemies are all about us. England, France, all very well know our desperate need this particular year to have a bountiful and safe return of treasure to Spain. The war is in bad need of additional payments, in order to continue successfully. I have in your safe-keeping the symbol of our struggle. You are commissioned officially, with the utmost urgency and obligation to the crown, to most of the Governor of Mexico's envoys at Vera Cruz. There with secrecy you will place the secret cargo, the Golden Madonna and Child, on board In this manner: Carefully remove the crown jewels from their heads and place in lambswool covers. All must be placed in one of our eight-foot metal treasure chests. Place the lambswool at the bottom of the chest for the statue's protection. Lock by rods to the mizzen mast above in your personal quarters on the poop deck. The major lock will have three keys: mine, the captain general's and yours. The manifesto will also contain her presence. Your life is mine! There is no failure. My key will unlock the box when you reach Cadiz, Spain. Place the box and secure it till you feel certain it will be safe in any weather. The Admiralanta Maravilla is our newest galleon serving Spain. This cargo, with God's blessing and God's speed, be with the Armada. We pray for your safe return with additional piety in God's kingdom, Hispanol. All ships including the Capitania (the Captain General of the fleet), are expendable for the Maravilla' welfare, the King's Flagship."
All went well for a while with the 1655 fleet and its arrival in the New World. The Maravilla accomplished her loading of the precious cargo. That included pearls, emeralds, more gold from Peru, thousands of pounds of silver bars from the Potasi mines, and diamonds from Bogota. Secretly meeting at sea, avoiding English and Portuguese man-of-wars, they proceeded to Havana, Cuba. There they loaded the final shipments of supplies for the last stage of the trip home.
They were also concerned, too, with another enemy -- the sudden and unrelenting attack from deadly ocean storms. So they did all they could to protect themselves from severe weather, since hurricanes had caught many of the Armada's ships. In fact, hurricanes had sunk not less than 250 ships in Havana harbor alone.
This particular trip in 1655 had already been delayed by storms. But the leaders back in Spain were getting anxious. They needed the treasure early that year, so, pressure was being increasingly applied by the King's messenger ships to convey the orders, "Sail at once regardless of circumstances of danger."
This ill-fated voyage was to be the last for many of the Armada. Catholic Mass was said and holy communion given to all who were sailing. Anyone not attending was punished for fear of retaliation by God.
The true documented account of the sailing to Spain from Havana, according to the archives of Madrid, is as follows:
January 1, 1656. Ship's log.
"Mass has been held at the great cathedral; all is ready. Some ships are in dire need of repairs, but the order of "Sail" is at hand.... We left port at noon and today is January 4. The lookout on the Nuestra Sonora de la Maravilla (which was the lead ship for the Armada) has discovered we are suddenly in shallow water. They have fired a cannon to warn all the other ships of the dreaded sand bars. All have headed away from this danger -- all, except one. There is confusion ensuing. What is happening? They are going to ram to Admiralanta. The pilot thinks he has passed the Bahama Channel. He has told the Captain of the galleon that they are in open ocean. God, they are going to ram the Maravilla even though she has fired warning cannons. Veer, veer, are the orders, now that the deep darkness of the night has allowed some vision of a ship outline. Why doesn't the Maravilla light a warning flare? Can't veer enough: IMPACT. She is hit below the waterline. They are manning all six of the pumps. Men are diving overboard to stuff everything they can inside her wound. She is sinking fast. The weight of her cargo is too great. She cannot be doomed; please, God, save her. Admiral Orelleona is resetting her course to safer waters. No, why back there near the reef?
Meanwhile, on board the Maravilla, this was recorded in that ship's log:
"Man the pumps forward for buoyancy. We must reach Devil's Rock. There are sand bars and rocks. Admiral, are you giving up? Yes, we must sink where we have a chance to salvage cargo in the future. Are you sure we will sink? Yes, the wound is mortal. Satan has won over us, Spain, the King, all Catholics of Europe. We must save what we may, God willing." (Less than thirty minutes after the collision, the galleon struck again violently on the reef, backsliding onto thirty feet of sand bottom water. They weren't but 300 yards from deep saltwater, where the Gulfstream was at least one mile deep.) The Maravilla sank rapidly."
From the log of an observing vessel, which had stayed to aid survivors:
"No sooner had our lead ship sunk, than strong southwestern cyclone winds began to appear: blowing enormous waves in this shallow water. The ship is breaking apart! Huge pieces are ripping off like splintered wood. Poor souls, all 650 of them. What can we do? Those large pieces are floating away to the shallows with the wind. Poor devils, they will all drown. Never will they be seen again. God rest their souls. If only we could reach those few 150 or so that are clinging to the remnants of this great ship. If only dawn and light would come." (It did, and it was obvious that sharks and exposure killed all but 45 men.)
"What is that? God, we have hit a reef ourselves! What now? The Captain is crying, 'Leave her be, only the rudder gone; let her drift a league or so north of the Admiralanta. Anchor -- fine, we are safe until morning.' Captain Juan de Hoyos is a hero. We are in the company of a brave Captain. Repair the rudder. Leave the buoys on the wreck site. All survivors on board and now it is on to Spain. No part of the Maravilla is now visible above the sea."
King Phillip's ships are lost in 1656.
The buoy marked an infamous place on this planet. King Phillip lost all his ships in 1656. The payments never reached Spain. Some ships were wrecked off Bermuda because of a hurricane. An English squadron sank and looted the remaining crippled ships off Cadiz. No payments, no financing, no money, no mercenaries to fight Spain's wars for her. All was lost: the Maravilla, the Golden Madonna, the war with the northern defectors, and most importantly, the symbol of united Christendom.
The war was lost for King Phillip. He signed the Treaty of Westphalia in 1657, allowing the Reformation group to form their own sect, away from Rome's ruling ecclesiastical hierarchy. The Christian religion received its most divisive blow which formed another great schism that would last for three hundred years -- into the 20th century, and near the 21st century. It was now more than a division of East and West. The result was more doctrine and falsehoods, which caused further division. Yes, satan had succeeded in convincing Christianity that it was far better to leave your family if they are ill with spiritual weaknesses than to stick together as a religious family till the causes are removed by the Almighty Himself.
After all, the Lord's last wish was for the world to be one, and for all His enemies to be delivered under His feet to the throne. But satan caused still another division, making this an even harder task. You can be assured that satan will guard well his bounty aboard the Maravilla and ensure that his best "Leviathan" will guard the site so it remains undisturbed for eternity. Today, this area is the apex of a large triangle geometrically determined by Bermuda at the top, Florida's low coast as the southern tip, and the Bahama Islands area north of Grand Bahama as the apex, on "Memory's Rock". All together, this forms the "Devil's Triangle."
A link between the 17th and 20th centuries.
To link this 17th century incident to the 20th century took a West Palm Beach, Florida, resident with unswerving faith. His name is Robert Bouchlas, and with an exclusive permit from the Bahamian Government to search the area, he began, in 1973, to discover the Maravilla. "But ours was really a search for a significant part of history," Bouchlas said. Perhaps, he said, the United States can be compared to Spain of yesterday. The U.S. is a nation of great wealth and knowledge. It is a nation of deteriorating morals and values. All the wealth and vision could not save Spain -- nor can it save America.
The Lord and Truthlead the way.
Only the Lord and Truth can spare this country, Archbishop Haralambos has said many times. He also pointed out that the United States is a Gentile nation and a pluralistic society containing many religions. In fact, he said, America is a "theocrasy". Theocrasy, which is god-mixing, is not unique, and the United States is not exempt from God's forecasts and judgments that are written in Holy Scripture, even through lies, revivalists, survivalists and humanists try to delay the return of the Messiah. The reason why our leaders constantly sweep pertinent information under the rug is because of greed for power and money. They refuse to have eyes that see and ears that hear the message that the closing of this world is truth and the formation of a new earth and heaven is on the horizon. This is coupled with flaws in the government and the fact that today's "christianity" has lost its ability to serve mankind because it has lost its own identity. In a newspaper article taken from the Post, Gayle Pallesen writes in an article entitled "Sea of Uncertainty." In it, she writes, "It was God and a Russian 'killer satellite' claims Robert Bouchlas, that five years ago led him to the Maravilla, a 1656 Spanish galleon in the turquoise waters at the apex of the Devil's Triangle off the Bahamas." "It was a 300-year-old chart drawn by a treasure salvor," claims Robert Marx, that led him to the Maravilla five years before that. Who do you believe is the real discoverer of the treasure-laden galleon said to have a life-size, solid gold Madonna and Child? The prestigious Historical Society of Palm Beach County chose to believe Bouchlas.
Site controversy.
Perhaps the controversy over the exact location of the site has some bearing on why Robert Marx is presently salvaging in the site location used once by Robert Bouchlas. Proof of a transaction of pertinent information between Robert Bouchlas and Robert Marx exists as a fact today.
Gayle Pallesen, a reporter for the Post in the above-mentioned quotes Mr. Scott as follows, "Even Norman Scott, president of Expeditions Unlimited out of Pompano Beach -- the man whom Bouchlas hired to do some of the salvage work on his wreck site -- says it is "highly improbable" the silver bars and artifacts his firm recovered two years ago and turned over to Bouchlas are from the Maravilla. "There is no way Bob Bouchlas can make the statement that it is the Maravilla and the chances are the stuff (artifacts) are not from the Maravilla," said Scott, who holds the lease on the area where Marx claims to have discovered the galleon 10 years before. The two wreck sites -- the one worked by Marx and subsequently others, and the one salvaged by Bouchlas -- are 16-20 miles apart."
Researcher recants past errors.
After further scientific research and salvaging, Norman Scott recanted past errors and stated that it could well be Captain Robert Bouchlas' Virgin wreck find of the Maravilla north of Memory Rock indicating it to be the Maravilla shipwreck according to evidence. An intrinsic precious stone was exchanged and precious metals were given to Norman Scott after his repentance and confessions. Captain Robert Bouchlas declared that he first presumed by faith and is now proving by scientific evidence that the original finds of the Maravilla was located by Captain Bouchlas' group only.
In conclusion, Archbishop Haralambos stated in a recent seminar at St. Michael Academy Bible College, "Avoid any church/government/One World movement today that falsely uses the banner of Christianity." He further states, "The ecumenical patriarchal movements, goals, agendas, are NOT a representation of the true historic church of apostolic foundation that Christ Himself set up containing the Orthodox true ecumenical doctrines, confirmed by the church fathers.
Becoming attached to the one world ecumenical religious movement today under Orthodoxy or any other world agenda is only to be deceived by satan's henchmen who are in the highest positions of the church. Anything that does not follow the holy traditions and commandments of Jesus Christ is instead of Christ, or anti-christ. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you enlightenment and the Fullness of the Truth in these latter days."
Archbishop Haralambos states that the Golden Madonna will be found, fought over, dispensed and then represented in Russia's Kremlin and then moved to Rome. Judgments of God will begin and continue to occur until the Second Coming of Christ. The Lord's last warning to us was to stay separate unto Christ only in these precarious days, yet receive His Holy Sacraments as Holy Commandments to sustain one's spiritual life.
Do not be caught up in this world's false definitions or agendas! God will provide His Holy Blood and Body to us, even if one resides in an arid desert, or a monastic, ascetic environment, or even a lush garden of Eden. Beware of false prophets! Beware of political, theocratic god-mixing by the religious hierarchy! The only true, lasting patriarchal Christian Orthodox location worth fighting or dying for is the Patriarchate Lambydonos of the New Jerusalem.
Remember these precious words from Matthew 24:28 "For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together."
In conclusion, the following is from a sermon by Archbishop Haralambos. He said there are many distractions raised by man to trap and put them in bondage, just as the slaves of the Old and New Testament. The Church, Archbishop Haralambos said he isn't trying to eliminate the creativity of men in the clergy by saying they should not be with a woman in marriage. But man with a man and woman with a woman is perversion.
Money and the love of it, he said, is one of the most powerful forces on earth when it comes to controlling your life. The devil wins when you give up God's agenda for money. The devil wins when you are a slave to the world.
We must pursue spiritual things in life, Archbishop Haralambos said, which are the fruit of the spirit. He quoted Galatians 5:22: "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such, there is no law."
Archbishop Haralambos asks: "Isn't it a shame that we don't understand, fear and respect God? I'm amazed that as many of the groups I have preached to in the ministry so many have gone off for worldly choices instead of God's choice for their life. I see even the Orthodox Church is slipping. Do we see the importance for praying and utilizing the tools we have to get out the message now before God withdraws totally?"
Archbishop Haralambos said, "Readjustment is needed in all of our lives. What God uses to separate what He loves from what we know He hates and will destroy is His Body and His Blood." "Why?" Archbishop Haralambos asks. "Because it is God who is trying to rescue those He loves, those who say they love Him, but are blinded. That is quite a program, and that it involves partaking of His Blood and His Body. It's not only the tool, it is the substances that divides the sin from the sinner."
Epilogue
The following is taken from excerpts of a seminar Archbishop Haralambos delivered in December 1998 on Fatima and the Golden Madonna. "The Golden Madonna," he said, "is an image, and in itself, is not an apostate situation. The historic Madonna we are looking for, the one which was cast in the 1600s, will stand in Red Square someday is the one seen by Saint John Bosco. That Golden Madonna is broken down into two segments -- the last days and the division of the church."
Archbishop Haralambos also spoke of our obedience to God's Commandments. We know that life began in the Garden of Eden and God began His Word in that Garden when He created Adam. In Genesis 3, verses 8-15, God spoke His judgment. "And they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden in the cool of the day: And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, "Where art thou?" And he said, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." And the man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, "What is this that thou hast done?" And the woman said, "The serpent beguiled me and I did eat."
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, "Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel."
"I will put enmity between thee and the woman." This futuristic statement foretells that through the woman's seed shall satan's head be bruised. This event foretells the day when Mary, chosen of God, giving birth by the Holy Spirit to the Christ Child, defeats satan and his seed. This the first time Madonna is referred to in a foretelling sense.
She bore Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. This is probably how God had wanted to create mankind in the first place -- by the Holy Spirit -- not by Adam and Eve having sex together. Then life became of Man instead of God. God, of course, could have developed mankind without sexual intercourse. So, because Eve introduced it to Adam and gave Adam the apple to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. From that time forth, all women -- except for Mary, the birthgiver of Jesus Christ -- will have pain to bear children.
By not following God's commandment, we have narrowed the joy in our life.
OBEDIENCE IN GOD'S WAY IS BETTER, BUT WE STILL HAVE OUR OWN WILL.
Wouldn't it have been better if the Lord had put Adam to sleep and took another rib to make a child, since that's how He made Eve? But Eve and Adam ate from the fruit and were denied God's better way for us. The Lord's advice is best. So, if we choose our will, we will suffer the consequences. It really is leaving sanity and choosing insanity to be outside God's will for your life. God really does not want us to hurt ourselves spiritually or be in pain.
In Exodus 24, verses 10 and 11, "And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in His clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also, they saw God, and did eat and drink." This is the first reference to the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and the chalice. Those who eat of the sacrifices are partakers of the altar. What is holy is the Gift (Chalice) upon the Altar.
The world, as a whole, is disobedient to God. But, to prevent undue pain and suffering, if we act with true repentance, He will act and intervene.
For this reason, if the intent for the Golden Madonna and Christ Child is to be worshipped instead of God, then it is an idol. But, if the statue is a reflection of Truth and intent, then it is of God.
We always think of the Golden Madonna and not what it represents. We can move from "the cool of the day" in the Garden of Eden, to "they saw God" and ate of the sacrifice.
Archbishop Haralambos asks us to look for guidance through Numbers 15:25: "And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their ignorance." This is important to know, for if you don't follow God's Commandments, you will burn in His Judgments. Archbishop Haralambos said, "I speak from the Lord, 'And if you don't partake of His Commandments, you are dooming yourself and your people with you. Because I am speaking the truth to you and showing you the truth via St. Michael Academy of Eschatology and via the Internet, you become guilty and are not ignorant and the time comes you will not be forgiven by God for that because you're not ignorant. I speak to you as a prophet, return your heart to the Father's of the Church and speaking words of God Himself on this earth because if you don't, you'll find yourself within the curses of God which will destroy you as is described in the Book of Revelation "through vials, woes and trumpets of the angels."
Children of Israel are like the world today. They didn't want to hear the word of the Lord.
DARE TO ASSUME A DIFFERENT THING THAT PREVENTS THE CLEANSING AND PREPARATION OF THE BRIDE.
You can't change it or deny it ... or curses will befall you. What good is knowing judgments and falling into the trap of living them! Reading Revelations doesn't make you escape. It is following the commandments that enable this to happen.
In Joshua 22:26, we read, "Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice." The children of Israel were divided. They were on the other side of Jordan. If they have an altar as a witness, God will forgive them. The children of Reuben and Gad built an altar under the same God of Israel. They were on the other side of Jordan excommunicated.
Let God judge the Catholic Church and the Schism of 1054. We must be obedient to what God calls us to do in our life. We are disobedient if we put anyone or anything ahead of God -- that includes a life-size statue of the Madonna and Christ Child.
The dilemma of the Church divided tells us that repentance is the answer. Archbishop Haralambos asks us to read Job 6:24, "Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred."
Another scripture related to the Madonna is in Revelation 12:6: "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three-score days (1,260 days)."
In the Old Testament, we find that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, built a 90-foot golden image of himself. He then passed a law saying that all must bow down and worship the image. Daniel knew if he did not pray to the golden image, the King's men would kill him. But Daniel also knew if he prayed to the golden image, God would slay him; he decided he'd rather die now than have everlasting death.
The same applies in 1999 as it did before Christ was born. If we go astray now, Lord, chastise us now, for we will reap what we sow.
The reconciliation of Truth must be exactly as Christ set it up -- there cannot be reconciliation without edification. Today, the Church has deviated from Truth of the canons. You cannot partake of the Cup of Blessing and the cup of curses. The hierarchs of the church are accepting part truth. The Church can continue by the power of the Holy Spirit to stay in the Truth. The Holy Spirit can fulfill what Christ says the church will prevail and the gates of hell cannot come against it. You are condemned if you deal in half-truths.
There is a remnant. Our own personal obligation is to God and with prayers that we never go back. The time of darkness is now. The Church should be suspect with the first division in 1054. You won't know right from wrong or good from evil. As the years progress, the apostasy grows wider.
In Zechariah 3:9, we read, "For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree." In Zechariah 4-2, we also read, "And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof." Archbishop Haralambos said, "Golden vessels are held in high esteem in Heaven; they are not idolatry. Idolatry comes from worshipping anything other than the Undivided Trinity." In Mark 13:14 it is written, "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let him that readeth understand.) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains."
In Deuteronomy 3:14-16, we read: "And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach ye statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves and make ye a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female ...." If you are in idolatry, you will end up with the Golden Madonna and not the real Madonna of Truth. Christ is the Head of the Church; he can chastise a church. You need to stay in the absolute truth; do not go into the churches of loved ones. You are not in the benefit and welfare of that being. You are a Judas. Pray for repentance for that person's soul and heart. Christ wants us to understand His mysteries; otherwise He speaks to us in parables. There is an image that God hates. It's the image of the beast.
In Revelation 16, it is written, "And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went and poured out his vial upon the earth and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image." You don't have to have 666 on your forehead to have the mark of the beast. You can worship an image and it amounts to the same thing. Anyone who self-proclaims he is a priest and makes an altar without God's permission, God will kill. So, be under the authority that Jesus established and seek the absolute truth. By Scribes,
J.J. Vesey
and A. Vesey