APPARITIONS
TWO of my mother's favourite holy pictures depicted
'apparitions,' or appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary who,
according to tradition, has appeared in many different places
throughout the world. The most famous apparitions reportedly
happened at Fatima, Lourdes, Garabandal, and in Knock, Co. Mayo.
One of the pictures in our home depicted Mary appearing at
Fatima, to three children. Their names were; Francisco; his
sister Jacinta, and their cousin Lucia. According to the
children, the Blessed Virgin appeared to them six times during
1917. This happened once each month, from May to October. When
she finally revealed her identity to them, during the October
apparition, she said: "I am the Lady of the Rosary; continue
to say the Rosary every day."
The children said that Mary gave to them three secrets. These
became known as the 'Three Secrets of Fatima', and there was much
speculation concerning their content, as people anxiously awaited
their publication. Francisco died in 1919, and his sister Jacinta
died in 1920. Lucia entered the convent of the Sisters of Saint
Dorothy and, during her time as a Postulant at Pontevedra, she
reported another apparition. According to Lucia, Mary appeared to
her on December 10th.,1925, and on this occasion was accompanied
by the Child Jesus.
I was always very interested in these reported apparitions, and
particularly in the messages associated with them. The fact that
the Blessed Virgin and the Child Jesus would leave Heaven, and
visit the people of many different countries, bringing them
messages from Heaven, really impressed me. Having such an
interest in these things, I decided I would see what God had to
say in His Word concerning the apparitions and, in particular,
what the Scriptures said about the Child Jesus and Mary
manifesting themselves in this way.
The first thing I noticed in the Bible on this subject was the
fact that the 'appearances' of the Lord Jesus Christ were either
the fulfilment of prophecies, or the fulfilment of promises made
by Jesus Himself. I wanted to find out if it had been prophesied
or promised in the Bible that the Child Jesus would appear at
Fatima, or at other places throughout the world where people,
particularly children, had testified that they had seen Him.
According to the Scriptures, the first 'appearance' of the Child
Jesus was when He was born to the Virgin Mary in a stable in
Bethlehem. This was the fulfilment of many prophecies, which are
recorded in the Old Testament. Mary saw Him grow from a child to
a man, and when he was about thirty years of age He began His
ministry.
Throughout His ministry He spoke of two, and only two specific
times when He would return, after His death, and manifest himself
by appearing publicly. He would appear as the Man Christ Jesus on
these occasions. Jesus never said that he would manifest Himself
as the Child Jesus. The first of Jesus' promised appearances
occurred after His resurrection, when he appeared to His
disciples over a period of forty days. During this time He
appeared as the Man Christ Jesus, in His resurrected body. On no
occasion did He appear as the Child Jesus. One of Jesus'
appearances at that time is described in this way: "A week
later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with
them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among
them and said, 'Peace be with you!' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put
your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it
into my side. Stop doubting and believe.'" 1
Yes, when Jesus appeared after His death, it was as the Man
Christ Jesus, and not as the Child Jesus. After forty days, Jesus
ascended into Heaven in His resurrected body, as the Man Christ
Jesus. I had always believed, as had most of my friends, that the
Child Jesus had, in fact, appeared in many different locations
around the world, and that on these occasions He had come to
earth from Heaven. But I was now reading in God's Word that Jesus
is in Heaven as a Man, and not as a Child. Concerning the fact
that Jesus ascended to Heaven as a man, I read: "After he
said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud
hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the
sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood
beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here
looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from
you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him
go into heaven.'" 2
They were saying that this same Jesus, the Man Christ Jesus, in
His resurrected body, with the nail-prints in His hands,-the one
they were watching ascending to Heaven,-would come back in the
same way. He would not come back in another way. He would not,
for example, come back in a different body. He would not return
in a child's body, as the Child Jesus. He ascended as a man. He
would come back as a man;-the same Jesus.
We had been taught at school that St. Stephen was the first
Christian Martyr, so I was very interested to see Stephen's words
recorded in the Bible. These were the very words he spoke as he
was being stoned to death: "-And now you have betrayed and
murdered him (Jesus)-" 3 "When they heard this, they
were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of
the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 'Look,' he said, 'I
see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of
God.'" 4
Stephen saw the Man Christ Jesus, the One who had been crucified.
He saw the One who had arisen from the dead and ascended to His
Father in Heaven. He did not see the Child Jesus in Heaven. One
of those who witnessed Stephen's death was a man named Saul. He
was a persecutor of the followers of Jesus. But later he became
the apostle Paul, and wrote these words: "For there is one
God, and one mediator between God and men, the MAN Christ
Jesus." 5
As I read the Scriptures it became crystal clear that the only
mediator in Heaven is the Man Christ Jesus. As I read on I saw
that the Man Christ Jesus is described as our great High Priest:
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God-" 6 "We do
have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the
throne of the Majesty in heaven." 7
God's Word is very clear on the fact that there is no child high
priest in Heaven. The Man Christ Jesus is our great High Priest.
I was so encouraged to see it all outlined so clearly in the
Scriptures. The Child Jesus grew to manhood, fulfilled His
ministry and died upon the cross. He was buried, but rose again,
and ascended to Heaven. The Man Christ Jesus is today at His
Father's right hand, as our great High Priest, Mediator and
Advocate. There is no Child Jesus in Heaven. The Man Christ
Jesus, with the nail-prints in His hands, is there as King of
kings and Lord of lords.
1. John 20:26-27.
2. Acts 1:9-11.
3. Acts 7:52.
4. Acts 7:54-56.
5. 1 Timothy 2:5
6. Hebrews 4:14.
7. Hebrews 8:1.
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