Section 16: "Many Souls Go To Hell"
The Word Of God Vs. The Lady Of Fatima's Words
Section 16: "Many Souls Go To Hell"
The Word Of God Vs. The Lady Of Fatima's Words
Another common misconception about salvation was voiced by the Lady herself during her August appearance. She warned the children:
"Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them"(1).
In Walsh's version of this appearance, the Lady's words are, "they have no one to sacrifice and pray for them"(2). But we know that there IS someone who defeated hell by sacrificing Himself for sinners:
"You can depend on this as worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15, NAB)."It is precisely in this that God proves his love for us: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Now . . . we have been justified by his blood" (Romans 5:8-9).
In the Book of Revelation, John describes the fulfillment of salvation for the Old Testament saints:
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 'Now have salvation and power come, the reign of our God and the authority of his Anointed One. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who night and day accused them before our God. They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; love for life did not deter them from death" (Revelation 12:10-11, NAB).
The early Christians continued this defeat of Satan. They lived like Jesus by the power of the blood of the Lamb, and they shared the word of their testimony: Jesus had truly died and truly risen and was now Lord over the devil, death and hell.
This one sentence of John's beautifully and simply tells us, too, what to do about sinners. Frequent, prayerful reading of the word of God will assure us of fresh memories of our own salvation, and frequent discussion with the Lord about our lives will take care of our own testimony. That's all we need to do to defeat Satan and be used by God to save sinners, even though some continue to urge us to do something else.
The reason we so easily accept an instruction to sacrifice ourselves lies in the fact that we want to help sinners. God has put His own love and compassion, His own righteousness, into His people, and the nature of these gifts urges us to share them. But He's also given us His word on how to go about sharing. When we don't know His word, or forget His own plan for salvation, or when we lose sight of the power of God, we're left with just the desire to help. To the worldly mind, praying and loving one another and telling people about Jesus isn't enough. We want to do something - something that hurts, or something visible, or something difficult. But a study of the book of Acts shows us that the first-century Christians felt no need to sacrifice themselves for sinners in the style of Fatima; instead, they simply lived like Jesus, offering themselves to God as living sacrifices for the purpose of telling other people about Him. Those who accepted the truth about Him experienced God's provision for escaping the fires of hell. It is the responsibility of the Church to share the gospel and the responsibility of the individual who hears the gospel to accept it if he wants to be saved from hell.
Month after month, the Lady of Fatima directed the children to establish devotion to herself. On July 13, 1917, she showed the children a vision of hell. Again, she promised salvation:
"You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved"(3).
But hell is a problem only for those who reject the gospel as related in the Bible. God's will is that men be saved from hell, and Scripture tells us that Jesus came to do God's will:
"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Still, let it be as you would have it, not as I" (Matthew 26:39).
And Jesus went to the cross, remembering the promise made to Him through David:
"My heart has been glad and my tongue has rejoiced, my body will live on in hope, for you will not abandon my soul to the nether world, nor will you suffer your holy one to undergo corruption. You have shown me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence" (Acts 2:26-28).
Jesus died and rose again, ascended, and was given seating at God's right hand in heaven (Ephesians 1:20). He was raised
"high above every principality, power, virtue, and domination, and every name that can be given in this age or in the age to come"
By becoming flesh and blood, the Son of God destroyed the devil's power to confine us in hell, let alone take us there:
"Thus did God disarm the principalities and powers. He made a public show of them, and leading them off captive, triumphed in the person of Christ" (Colossians 2:15, NAB)."Both with and in Christ Jesus he raised us [believers] up and gave us a place in the heavens" (Ephesians 2:6, NAB).
Before Jesus ascended, He emptied out of hell [Paradise] all of the Old Testament saints who were held captive, but had persevered in faith and looked forward to the One who would fulfill God's promise of eternal salvation.
Christians needn't worry about hell, because God has already saved us by the blood of the Lamb and our testimony to Jesus. He, not the devil, holds the keys to hell. As for unbelievers, the sinners that the Lady of Fatima was concerned about, God already has provided a way to save them from hell. He established, not devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but a Church that will share the gospel. The Church, the vital, living, holy, praising body of Christ, is to lift up Jesus so He can draw men to Himself (John 12:32). Drawn to the light of His love and grace, they will then enter the Church as God's adopted sons. This is the way, and it's backed by the power of the Holy Spirit working through His word of Scripture and the body of Christ.
On June 13, 1929, while in the convent's chapel, Lucia was visited again by the Lady of Fatima. The Lady said:
"There are so many whom the Justice of God condemns for sins committed against me, that I have come to ask reparation: sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray"(4).
The Lady's request called for prayer for those who sin against her, but how can this be? Sin has been defined as turning from God. Dr. Ludwig Ott writes:
"Christ's work of redemption effected the salvation of humanity from the burden of sin. But sin, by its very nature, is a turning away from God (avesio a Deo) and a turning towards the creature (conversio ad creaturam). Accordingly, the work of redemption must consist in the turning away from the creature, and the turning towards God (cf. Col. 1,13)"(5).
All sin, whether it is manifested as sin against ourselves, our brothers, or God Himself, is ultimately sin against God because it involves turning away from Him towards the creature. Jesus summed up God's commandments in Matthew 22:37-40:
"'You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. The second is like it; 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments the whole law is based, and the prophets as well."
Sin against another human is certainly sin because it hurts that person for whom Christ died; the law of love is breached. But the Lady who spoke of sins "committed against me" identified herself as Jesus' mother Mary, who is in heaven. We can't sin against the souls in heaven because they can't personally be offended or hurt. Ott writes,
Heaven is a place and condition of perfect supernatural bliss, which consists in the immediate vision of God and in the perfect love of God associated with it. . . .". . . The just receive eternal life (Rom. 2,7); 6,22 et seq.) and a glory, which bears no relation to the sufferings of this world (Rom. 8,18). . . .
"The acts which compose the heavenly blessedness are knowledge (visio), love (amor, catitas) and joy (gaudim, fruitio)"(6).
Jesus' mother Mary is certainly experiencing this freedom from suffering in heaven, yet in 1925 the Lady of Fatima told Sr. Lucia that her heart was
surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me"(7).
Rather than asking people to console the Lady through reparation and sacrifice, rather than condemning those who sin against her, God's word on condemnation focuses on one sin only: rejection of Jesus Christ. In the gospel of John, we read Jesus' own words:
God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him avoids condemnation, but whoever does not believe is already condemned for not believing in the name of God's only Son. The judgement of condemnation is this: the light came into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were wicked" (John 3:17-19, NAB).
In Adam, "a single offense brought condemnation to all men;" in Christ, "a single righteous act brought all men acquittal and life" (Romans 5:18, NAB). "There is no condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1, NAB). And in John 5:24, Jesus said,
"I solemnly assure you, the man who hears my word and has faith in him who sent me possesses eternal life. He does not come under condemnation, but has passed from death to life" (NAB).
Israel had experienced the "ministry of the covenant that condemned," but we are under "the glory of the ministry that justifies" (2 Corinthians 3:9, NAB). The New Covenant in Christ's blood justifies, because
"God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, thereby condemning sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3, NAB)."What shall we say After that? If God is for us, who can be against us? Is it possible that he who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for the sake of us all will not grant us all things besides? Who shall bring a charge against God's chosen ones? God, who justifies? Who shall condemn them? Christ Jesus, who is at the right hand of God And who intercedes for us?" (Romans 8:31-34, NAB).
It is totally illogical to believe that Jesus' mother Mary, beholding her Son in all of His glory, the Son who intercedes for those who are His in the immediate presence of the eternal God, the Son who is surrounded by millions of worshiping angels and saints, would even care if someone said anything against her. Would you?
(1) Kondor, p. 171.
(2) Walsh, p. 120.
(3) Kondor, p. 167.
(4) Kondor, Appendix 2, p. 199.
(5) Ott, p. 177.
(6) Ibid., pp. 476-478.
(7) Kondor, Appendix 1, pp. 191-192.
