Section 7: "I Come From Heaven"
The Word Of God Vs. The Lady Of Fatima's Words
Section 7: "I Come From Heaven"
The Word Of God Vs. The Lady Of Fatima's Words
The Lady of Fatima spoke many words, which millions believe to be of God. But John told us to test the spirits to protect ourselves from deception. In the following chapters, we'll compare the words of the spirit of Fatima with the words of the Spirit of God. The question is this: Do the words and promises of Fatima's spirit VERIFY or NULLIFY the word and promises which were fulfilled in Jesus Christ according to God's plan? Answering this question is the simple purpose of this book.
On May 13, 1917, the Lady of Fatima appeared to the three children for the first time. Lucia asked the Lady where she came from, and she replied,
"I come from heaven"(1).
These four words are significant to a discernment of each of the appearances, and of all the words of the Lady. If true, if this spirit really did come from heaven, then a phenomenal thing has occurred and the message of the Lady must command a hearing. But if the spirit did not, in fact, come from heaven, then her later words of direction and promise must be rejected.
What does the word of Scripture have to say about future visitations from heaven? There's no promise from God to send Jesus' mother Mary, but there was a continuing promise, beginning in Genesis and running straight through to the Incarnation, of the One who was to come:
- Immediately after the fall, God gave Adam and his descendants the promise of a seed, who would vanquish all spiritual foes
- Abraham was promised a seed who would inherit all things (Galatians 3:16).
- David received the promise of an heir to his throne who would reign forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16) and forever be a priest (Psalm 110:1-4).
- This promised one would be born of a virgin, a daughter of Israel, from Adam's race (Isaiah 7:14); Matthew 1:16; Luke 1:55).
- "The spirit of the Lord [would come to] rest upon him" (Isaiah 11:2), the promised one, and His mission would be marked by the power of the Holy Spirit to set men free (Isaiah 61:1-3).
- He would be "Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:5).
- He would die for the sins of all men and justify them in the sight of God, satisfying God's righteousness, and God's plan would prosper in His hands (Isaiah 53;10).
- Being both God and man (John 1:1,4), everything He did would be established forever, for He would have victory over both natural and spiritual death (Isaiah 25:7-9; 26:16-19; Revelation 1:17-18).
In the fullness of time these prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit present with Him:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore, he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19, NAB).
But Jesus didn't come to remain. As God's Seed He came to die (John 12:24), and out of that death, He would be raised up and would justify all men, bringing forth much fruit. Now the Holy Spirit could come again from heaven, this time to abide in all men who believed in Jesus. "Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! . . . 'it is he who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit'" (John 1:29,33,NAB).
In the Old Testament, God had promised such a heavenly visitation: "Then afterward I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind" (Joel 3:1, NAB). And just before He went to die, Jesus told the disciples, "When the Paraclete comes, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father . . . . he will bear witness on my behalf" (John 15:25, NAB).
After the Resurrection and before His Ascension, Jesus told them "not to leave Jerusalem: 'Wait, rather, for the fulfillment of my Father's promise, which you have heard me speak'" (Acts 1:4, NAB). Fifty days later, the Holy Spirit came from heaven, and Peter proclaimed this as "what Joel the prophet spoke of" (Acts 2:16, NAB), the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to send the Holy Spirit:
"Exalted at God's right hand, he first received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father, then poured this Spirit out on us" (Acts 2:33, NAB).
The Church could now "preach the gospel . . , in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven" (1 Peter 1:12, NAB). The Spirit would remain and be with us forever (John 14:16-17). The Seed of God could now produce others like Himself, fulfilling God's purpose for man.
Jesus will stay in heaven until His second coming, and the Holy Spirit will reside in the believers until He comes:
"And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16-17, RSV).
We know that Jesus has promised to return. As we await His coming from heaven a second time, the Holy Spirit is in residence in us to help us "keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith" (Hebrews 12:2, NAB). The second coming of Jesus is "our blessed hope" (Titus 2:13, NAB). For now, "Jesus must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration which God spoke of long ago through his holy prophets" (Acts 3:21, NAB). The "Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. . . . on the Day when he comes, to be glorified in his holy ones and adored by all who have believed" (2 Thessalonians 1:7,10, NAB).
Jesus has promised to come according to the Father's decree (Matthew 24:36), and His coming will be "with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30). Heaven will open and He will descend to begin His millennial reign (Revelation 19:11-20:6), after which He will hand over the kingdom to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
These Scriptures contain the basic plan of God. There's no mention of Jesus' mother being sent from heaven because there's no need for such a thing. Everything was and is and will be accomplished through God sending Jesus and the Holy Spirit. God's plan for mankind is complete in Christ; He left no loose ends and has had no afterthoughts. He's included everything we need, and everything we need to know, in His word. Jesus told us,
"I solemnly assure you, we are talking about what we know, we are testifying to what we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony. If you do not believe when I tell you about earthly things, how are you to believe when I tell you about those of heaven? No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down from there - the Son of Man [who is in heaven]. . . . that all who believe may have eternal life in him" (John 3:11-13,15).
In spite of Jesus' words and the witness of the whole Bible, many don't know exactly who has ascended into heaven and descended. Why? Because many don't know the word of God. So when a spirit claiming to be from heaven appeared at Fatima, this spirit was believed and followed after. For some, the whole prophetic witness concerning Jesus and the Holy Spirit coming from heaven was neutralized by four words spoken by this apparition:
"I come from heaven."
(1) McGrath, p. 183.
