Given his identity as a divine Person and the Savior, there is no avoiding the significance of Christ’s constant emphasis upon the reality and prospect of hell for many. Those critics who are quick to say that Jesus does not judge are fooling themselves and are in denial about our Lord’s stance in the Gospels. Indeed, while the number 144,000 for the Elect in the Book of Revelation may be symbolic, it is telling that the Bible admits to only a select few being saved. While there is a universal call to salvation, the unpleasant truth remains that while all humanity is the beneficiary of redemption, many misuse their freedom in rejecting the gift of salvation. We might hope and pray that the devil is lonely and that most go to heaven, but this is neither indicated by Scripture nor by the constant evidence of human iniquity. Indeed, the many apparitions of Mary attest to hell. The vision given to the children of Fátima is particularly frightening:
01. “. . . a vast sea of fire. Plunged in this fire, we saw the demons and the souls of the damned.”
02. “The latter were like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, having human forms.”
03. “They were floating about in that conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames which issued from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke.”
04. “Now they fell back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair . . .”
05. “The demons were distinguished from the souls of the damned by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals.”
The main element of the vision is fire. Lúcia admits that if it were not for the Blessed Mother’s promise of protection, they would have died from fright at the horrendous spectacle. It is interesting that she discerns a distinction between damned humanity and angelic demons. Men and women retain their human forms even though they have been blackened by the flames and have become translucent, thus lacking substance.
It is peculiar that the damned are thrashed about by explosive flames from within themselves. Note what Jesus says in John 14:23, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” As with the natural world, the supernatural hates vacuum. Either we become temples to the Spirit of God and grace or else, something demonic will come to nest in the human heart. Hell is not simply around them but inside them.
The demons are similarly burned and transparent but are in the form of terrible beasts or monsters. There is nothing left of their angelic beauty.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Bible, christianity, Faith, God, Jesus | Leave a comment »
Blogger Priest 