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That's one of the main seductive DECEPTIONS FROM HELL, involved with Fatima, right there.
As Alamo-Girl says so well and persistently:
To God be the glory, not man, never man!
NEVER MAN, INDEED.
EVERY BIBLICAL EXAMPLE of any devotion directed to any object or personage but God, is fiercely proscribed, CONDEMNED, or firmly, sternly instructed away (as in the case of mortals bowing, falling prostrate to angels).
God does not and never has treated such things lightly.
Man may construe 'DEVOTION,' 'ADORATION,' 'VENERATION' and the like as wonderful weasel words side-stepping WORSHIP . . . but God does not.
FOCUS DUE CHRIST JESUS, FATHER, SON
IN GOD'S WORD's DECLARATIONS, ALL SUCH FOCUS MUST ALWAYS BE DIRECTED TO GOD ALONE--NEVER MAN.
Roman Catholics et al have been sooooooooooooooooooo indoctrinated, so brain-washed, sooooooooooooooooooo CONDITIONED [akin to the frog in the warming bucket] to have warm fuzzy FEELINGS about ALL THE MARIAN STUFF that their logic circuits seem to be more or less by-passed by anything with a white hanky associated with it.
GOD IS NOT AMUSED.
It is CONCEIVABLE, to me, that God in His graciousness, MIGHT, on occasion, overlook mild attention to Mary by folks who don't think too critically and are immature in their attractions to God.
However, on the whole, this whole sphere is a deadly serious issue of idolatry and blasphemy, pure and simple.
WHITE-WASHING the procribed focus with weasel words, rationalizations, self-justifications and the like will NOT cut any credibility nor absolution with God, at all.
HE KNOWS the focus and intents of the human heart to the nth degree. And HE HAS made ABUNDANTLY CLEAR what and WHO such focus is to be ALL ABOUT.
HE HAS DECLARED THAT Believers who fail to 'hate' father, mother, sons, daughters, siblings compared to their DEVOTION TO GOD ALONE
ARE NOT FIT FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
How much plainer could HE make it?
My focus is always upon the words the prophet utters. The bells and whistles of it don't create much of a distraction for me. It doesn't matter how pretty the package is, it's what's inside that counts.
As is often the case 'tween you and I, we approach things differently, but wind up on the same page - I appreciate all the work you have done from your direction - debunking the apparition involved... It is important to recognize the commonality which does exist in false visions, that people might be prepared to be critical of such things, rather than simply becoming dumbstruck with awe.
As Alamo-Girl says so well and persistently: To God be the glory, not man, never man!
NEVER MAN, INDEED.
That is the absolute truth of it - Mary, as a creature, gets *no* glory, as no person outside of God deserves *any*. That this vision shows a creature coming in power and authority is diametrically opposed to the Word of God. It_is_blasphemy, by the very definition thereof.
Man may construe 'DEVOTION,' 'ADORATION,' 'VENERATION' and the like as wonderful weasel words side-stepping WORSHIP . . . but God does not.
One wonders why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't bow down in mere "veneration," huh? Since the same looks like worship, but isn't, it surely would have saved them the trip to the fiery furnace.
But then, having never experienced the fiery furnace, they would have never had their faith so prominently confirmed... I guess they were lucky to be so stupid as to not understand the distinction. ; )
Roman Catholics et al have been sooooooooooooooooooo indoctrinated, so brain-washed, sooooooooooooooooooo CONDITIONED [akin to the frog in the warming bucket] to have warm fuzzy FEELINGS about ALL THE MARIAN STUFF that their logic circuits seem to be more or less by-passed by anything with a white hanky associated with it.
Precisely so, and well said.
GOD IS NOT AMUSED.
Without a doubt. Some must forget the prophets who rail against the false shepherds, and what their fate entails.
HE HAS DECLARED THAT Believers who fail to 'hate' father, mother, sons, daughters, siblings compared to their DEVOTION TO GOD ALONE
ARE NOT FIT FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
How much plainer could HE make it?
Absolutely! Such is the difference between worldly "honor," as one must give one's father and mother, and "worship."
Thanks, and great post.
For instance, when the term "Mother of God" is used it doesn't really mean what it says on plain reading, i.e. that Mary is the mother of the One and Only Triune God. Rather it means that Mary is the mother in the incarnation of the Word of God, Jesus.
And in the case of the above excerpt, I doubt it actually means what it says on plain reading either. If it did, it would be saying that in order for people to be saved, God wants them to devote themselves to Mary's "Immaculate Heart." And that reading would be contrary to the words of God on a number of points, including these (emphasis mine):
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, [even] by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. - Acts 4:8-12
And I John saw these things, and heard [them]. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See [thou do it] not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. - Revelation 22:8-9
The disciple is not above [his] master, nor the servant above his lord. - Matthew 10:24
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. – Matthew 22:35-40
To God be the glory, not man, never man!