My involvement in religious activities and a genuine effort to do my best never brought me the assurance I needed — the certainty that my sins had been forgiven and that I would go to Heaven when I died. I faithfully adhered to the teachings of my Church and sincerely made every effort to lead a good life. But having done all this I still had no assurance that I, or the Church to which I belonged, had done enough to secure my salvation.

The assurance for which I had been searching finally came to me as I was reading the Scriptures. I discovered that my salvation did not depend upon what I could do but upon what Jesus Christ had done for me. God said in His Word that my sins could never be forgiven as a result of my own good works or by my involvement in religious activities. I could never earn or merit salvation.

But Christ earned it for me by paying in full the penalty for the guilt of all my sins. These were put to His account. The merits of Christ’s sinless life and His substitutionary death on the cross would be put to my account. My sins would be forgiven as a result of Christ’s work on my behalf. Here in God’s Word was the assurance of eternal life! My search was over.

It is my prayer that this little booklet, which contains a short account of God’s love for a sinner, will help someone who is still searching to know that -‘God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son’.¹

On Sunday, February 22nd 1948 the streets in the town of Thurles, in County Tipperary, were covered with snow. I was born in St Mary’s Hospital at 7 a. m.

A few days later my father and grandmother brought me to the Cathedral of the Assumption. One of the local priests baptised me that morning and enrolled me as a member of the Roman Catholic Church. My Uncle John and Aunt Ellen were my godparents. At my baptism I was given the names Richard Joseph. My grandfather, on my father’s side, was Richard (Dick) Keogh. Dick had fought with the Allies during the First World War. He was badly wounded in action at Flanders. He died a few years before I was born, so I was given his name. I was also given the name Joseph, in honour of St Joseph the worker, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

For many generations our family had been devout Roman Catholics. One of my father’s ancestors had allowed her home to be used as a Chapel. My mother was a devout worshipper of Mary, the Mother of Perpetual Succour. She was very involved in saying Novenas and the Rosary. In most Irish families at that time the mother was responsible for the religious practices in the home. When I was a child mother gathered the family together each evening after tea. We would then kneel down on the kitchen floor and say the Rosary to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mother also had great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There was a picture of the Sacred Heart on our kitchen wall. The names of the members of our family were written on the picture. We had all been dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

My father was a hard-working man who supported his family by availing of every opportunity to earn a few extra pounds. Like his father before him he was employed by the Irish Sugar Company. He specialised as a sugar cook during the yearly sugar beet campaigns. He was a member of the Holy Family Confraternity. These men had dedicated themselves to the worship of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, known collectively as the Holy Family. The members of the Confraternity recited the ‘Prayer of Commendation’ at their weekly meetings. The words of this prayer are as follows – ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul; Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony; Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you, Amen’.

My father also attended religious retreats at the Redemptorist Retreat House in Limerick. These retreats consisted of times of prayer, meditation and instruction.

When I was five years old I started school at the local convent, where the nuns of the Presentation Order educated me. The nuns’ main objective was to prepare me for my First Confession and First Communion. As part of my preparation I confessed my sins each week to the nun who was teaching me. Then one day she took us to the Chapel. For the first time in my life I entered a confessional box. Although this was only a practice run I was very nervous. Kneeling in the darkness of the confessional box I anxiously awaited the big moment. After what seemed an eternity the priest opened the slide and listened as I confessed my sins.

But I knew he was not the only one to whom I was confessing. I had been instructed to recite the prayer known as ‘The Confiteor’. I proudly rattled off the words of this prayer, which are as follows – ‘I confess to Almighty God, to Blessed Mary ever a virgin, to Blessed Michael the Archangel, to Blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the Saints, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed; through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore, I beseech the Blessed Virgin Mary, Blessed Michael the Archangel, Blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the Saints, to pray to the Lord our God for me’.

Having confessed my sins to so many I was very relieved to hear the priest pronounce absolution. As I left the confessional box I was delighted that the practice run had gone so well.

Eventually the day of my official First Confession arrived. I was hoping I would not forget any of the sins I had committed. After listening to my confession the priest said to me - “I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” He told me to say a certain number of Hail Mary’s for my Penance. As I knelt in prayer before the Altar in the Chapel I felt a great sense of relief. I was so grateful that the priest had forgiven all of the sins I had committed in thought, word and deed.

Now I was ready to receive my First Communion. I arrived at the Cathedral proudly wearing my new suit, shirt, tie, shoes and socks. The special First Communion medal was pinned to the lapel of my suit. I carried the new prayer book, known as a missal, and a set of Rosary beads.

I had been fasting since midnight. The Communion mass began at eleven a.m. After singing a number of hymns at least one hundred children walked, two abreast, to the altar rails. As I knelt with my hands joined in prayer the Archbishop took a host (wafer) from the chalice. He repeated the words – ‘the Body of Christ’ - and then placed the host on my tongue. I had been taught that the bread and wine had, by the act of Transubstantiation, been transformed into the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. So as far as I was concerned I was receiving Christ as I swallowed the host.

Shortly after receiving my First Communion I attended the christian brothers’ school. During the next five years I was prepared for my Confirmation. When the big day arrived the Archbishop anointed me with oil, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. I had been instructed that the Holy Spirit would now make me a strong and perfect Christian and a soldier of Jesus Christ.

Some months after receiving my Confirmation I was enrolled in the christian brothers’ secondary school. A missionary priest visited the school one day. He encouraged us to consider dedicating our lives to God by becoming priests or christian brothers. A few of us showed some interest in the possibility of a vocation. He gave us some literature concerning the religious life. I discussed the matter with my parents, who were very helpful and supportive. After a lot of consideration I decided the religious life was not for me. Some time later I enrolled as a pupil in the vocational school.

The nuns, christian brothers and priests had taught me that the Roman Catholic Church was the ‘One True Church’. I had been told that outside of the Roman Catholic Church there is no salvation. But I knew from my own experience that inside that same Church there was no assurance of salvation.

In fact, I knew I was no different than my school‑friend. He was a member of a Protestant Church. Both of us were hoping we would get to Heaven one day. But we didn’t know if we would! Membership of the Church and regular attendance at mass and the sacraments failed to give me the assurance of salvation. Participation in week - end retreats, fasting and self‑denial could give me no guarantee of eternal life. I was just hoping that all would be well in the end.

Religion was one of my favourite subjects in school. Over the years I had learned some of the parables of Jesus. But I cannot remember the Bible ever being used in any of the schools I attended. I often wondered why this was so, as I always believed the Bible to be the Word of God.

When I was growing up we were not encouraged to read the Scriptures. If we did read the Bible we were not allowed to interpret it. According to our ‘Summary of Christian Doctrine’, – ‘We are bound, moreover, to believe whatever God teaches us by His holy Church, who in her teaching cannot deceive us nor be deceived. The Pope amongst other ways infallibly makes her teaching known to us, when he speaks ‘ex-Cathedra’. ‡ So, all of our teaching, including the interpretation of the Scriptures, was to come through the Church.

In the history books it is recorded that the Roman Catholic Church at one stage declared the Bible to be a Forbidden Book. The public burning of the Scriptures had been authorised by the Pope and carried out by his loyal subjects. This amazed me! Was the message of the Inspired Word of God so dangerous that the ‘ordinary’ people should not be allowed to read it?

The names of Cranmer, Ridley, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and Zwingli were also included in the history books. Martin Luther was associated with the Protestant Reformation and Justification by Faith.

These men, along with many other like‑minded Reformers, were classified as being heretics. But I had a certain amount of admiration for these heretics. It was obvious they had a great love for the Scriptures. Some of them were willing to suffer severe persecution as a result of their efforts to bring the light of the Gospel to those who dwelt in the darkness of superstition and tradition. Some of the ‘heretics’ were martyred, and had gone to their deaths declaring a personal, saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They faced death in the full assurance that the blood of Jesus had redeemed them. They testified to having been justified by God.

I realised these people were not just hoping they would go to Heaven. They knew! I longed to have that same assurance.

CH. 2: HOPING AND SEARCHING

When I left school I worked with two local undertakers. I have many memories of that time. I remember a black coffin that was made for a christian brother. His body was laid to rest in the graveyard of the local monastery. Priests were buried facing the setting sun, while everybody else was buried facing the rising sun.

The most expensive coffin we made was an oak casket. Some months before he died a wealthy businessman contacted the undertaker and placed his order. He required comfort and style. He insisted the interior should contain a mattress, pillow and plush lining, all tastefully covered in pink velvet material. Some time later, after one of the largest funerals ever seen in our town, the fancy casket containing his mortal remains was placed in his family vault.

In complete contrast to this were the paupers. These unfortunates died in the Workhouse (County Home). Some of the paupers had no living relatives. Others had been ‘signed in’ by their families, who then abandoned them. A pauper’s funeral expenses were covered by the State. The cheapest coffin was provided. It had no fancy handles or trimmings. The funeral cortege very often consisted of the priest, the undertaker and his assistant. Occasionally, passers - by had to be called upon to carry the coffin into the graveyard. At one time the paupers were buried in a certain area of the cemetery especially reserved for them.

I remember a Protestant funeral. We had great difficulty in deciding if we would put a foot across the threshold of their Church building. We actually considered leaving the coffin on the steps of the building. The nuns, priests and christian brothers had warned us against ever setting foot inside such a place. To do so would be sin, we were told.

While working with the undertakers I was reminded of the fact that whether a person was a millionaire or a pauper he still had two appointments to keep. His first appointment was with death. The second appointment was at the judgement seat of God. This, as far as I was concerned, was the appointment most to be feared. I knew there would be no priest or minister there to speak on the person’s behalf. There would be no angel or saint there to represent him. I knew he would have to stand alone before God’s judgement seat. It did not matter which Church he belonged to. It didn’t matter how large his funeral had been. His fancy casket may have been placed in a vault or his cheap coffin buried in the paupers’ plot. It didn’t matter. He still had that appointment at God’s judgement throne.

I always loved music. I got my first kit of drums when I was fifteen years old. Some time later I joined a local rock group. After spending a year playing ‘heavy’ music I joined a showband. During the sixties the showband scene was very big in Ireland. We travelled to many parts of the country and played in ballrooms, marquees, hotels and parish halls. During the season of Lent the dance halls in the south of Ireland remained closed. It then became necessary for most of the showbands to travel to England or Scotland in search of work. We did this in 1966. When we toured England we played in many of the Irish clubs. We met a lot of Irish emigrants, many of whom were homesick.

In 1968 I played drums with a pop group. We recorded two songs in the Eamonn Andrews’ Studios in Dublin. Later on I formed my own group and played guitar and banjo in many venues in Co. Tipperary.

It was while I was involved in the music business that I met Mary. We were married in a little country Chapel in 1967. Both of us were devout Roman Catholics and regularly attended mass and the sacraments. When our three sons were born we had them baptised into the Roman Catholic Church.

I was very religious but had never read the Bible. My parents had bought a large family Bible when we were all young. We often opened it to look at the lovely pictures it contained. But it was never read.

Now, many years later, I had a family of my own. But I still did not know God’s plan of salvation as outlined in the Scriptures. I was depending upon being a good Roman Catholic. I was faithfully attending mass and the sacraments. I was doing my best to be a good husband, a good parent and a good neighbour. I was hoping all of this would help get me to Heaven.

One evening in November 1975, while on my way to a ballad session, I met a good friend of mine. He had left Thurles some time previously and moved to Limerick. Unknown to me this man, who was also from a Roman Catholic background, had recently been converted. He had returned to Thurles for the week – end and was determined to meet me. When we met he told me that something wonderful had happened to him. He said he now knew he would go to Heaven when he died. He based this assurance upon what he had read in the Scriptures. He told me that he had read in God’s Word of how Christ had died on the cross for him, as an individual.

He took his Bible from his pocket and showed me some verses in the New Testament. I read of how God so loved the world that He sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into this world to die upon the cross. I read of how Jesus became our substitute, our sin-bearer, and paid in full the penalty for the guilt of our sins. I was amazed that God could love me, for I knew I was a sinner. I was surprised to learn that He would give His own Son, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God to suffer and die on my behalf.

My friend told me he had a great assurance that his sins had been forgiven. This assurance was not based upon what he himself could do to earn or merit forgiveness. It was based upon what Christ had done on his behalf. He told me that this ‘Good News’ of Christ’s work on the sinner’s behalf was clearly outlined in the Scriptures. He then encouraged me to read God’s Word for myself. For many years I had been searching for the assurance of salvation, hoping I would find it. Now my friend was telling me had found this assurance as he read the Scriptures. I took his advice. With a heart that was hungering for the truth, I began to search the Scriptures.

One of the first portions of the Bible I read dealt with issues of great importance to me. In the book of Hebrews I read the following words – ‘For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that He should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself ’. ¹

The words – ‘But now - hath he appeared’- caused me to ask three questions.

My first question was this - Who has appeared? The answer to this question was clear. Christ Himself had appeared. I saw this specifically outlined in the following portion of the Scriptures – ‘But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons ’. ²

God the Son left the splendour of Heaven and took upon Himself a human nature. The apostle John puts it like this – ‘And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth’. ³

This meant that God the Son, one of the three persons in the Trinity, now had two natures. He had a Divine nature, being Eternal God. But now He also had a human nature, which He assumed, or took upon Himself.

My next question was this - Why had God the Son come to earth? For what purpose did He come?’ The answer to this question was contained in the words I had just read – ‘He appeared — to put away sin’.

Question number three was as follows - How did He put away sin? How did he accomplish this?’ The answer was clearly stated in the verses I had been reading – ‘He appeared— to put away sin, — by the sacrifice of Himself ’.

It was outlined so clearly in God’s Word. Christ had come into the world for a specific purpose- ‘To put away sin’. He accomplished this – ‘by the sacrifice of Himself ’.

What a great blessing this was to me! I had been searching for the truth. I had been searching for the assurance of salvation. And now I was reading in the Scriptures of how Christ had actually dealt with sin. This included even my sin. He laid down His life on the cross at Calvary, dying there as my substitute. By doing this He paid in full the penalty for the guilt of my sin.

I had always been amazed at how fearful some people were of the Scriptures. Some of the world’s superpowers, like Russia and China, would not allow the Bible across their borders. The Communist or Islamic governments in many other countries so feared the Bible that they forbade their people to read it. Millions of people, in many parts of the world, did not have access to the Bible. But my friend had now given to me a copy of the Scriptures and I was determined to read it. As I read God’s Word I discovered that the words, ‘shadows’ and ‘figures’, as recorded in the book of Hebrews, related to a very important and fundamental area concerning the ministry of Jesus Christ.

‘It was therefore necessary that the pattern of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:… For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect’.¹

Here, in the book of Hebrews, God’s Word was speaking of copies, types, shadows and figures of things. These copies were not the realities themselves, but simply a picture of things to come. For example, in the Old Testament religious system there was a high priest appointed. He was a copy, type, or shadow of Jesus Christ, who would later come as the perfect High Priest and minister on behalf of His people. The Old Testament high priest’s ministry is outlined in the following words:

‘For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins’. ²

The high priest was the peoples’ representative. He was their mediator between God and man. But in this capacity he was only a copy, or shadow of Jesus Christ. Jesus was the REAL High Priest and when He came there would no longer be any need for the copies. Their ministry would become obsolete.

As I continued to read I could see the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ outlined in the following portions of the Bible. He is described as:

(a) Human, as well as Divine: ‘Forasmuch then as the children arepartakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise too part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil’ ³ ; ‘Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people’⁴; ‘Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus’. ⁵

(b) Sympathetic: ‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us holdfast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin’. ⁶

(c) Divinely Appointed: ‘So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an High Priest; but he that said unto Him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten Thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech’. ⁷

(d) Eternal: ‘Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech’. ⁸

(e) Sinless: ‘For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens’. ⁹

(f) Exalted: ‘Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens’¹⁰ ; ‘…But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building’¹¹ ; ‘.And having an high priest over the house of God’. ¹²

So here it was, outlined in such great detail. And yet it was so easy to understand. Before Christ came into the world there were high priests appointed. But they were only copies, types, or shadows and their ministry ended when Jesus, the great High Priest, came.

CH. 6: RELICS AND MEDIATORS

We had a lot of holy pictures in our home when I was growing up. There were pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and many of the saints. But the relic was the object of greatest importance in our home. A relic can be a piece of hair or bone from a saint’s body. Or it may be a piece of his or her clothing, or one of their possessions. It might even be some article that was touched by the saint, etc.

Like most Roman Catholic families we believed these relics had supernatural healing powers. We depended very much upon a relic of Saint Martin de Porres. This was a piece of cloth that had touched one of his bones. If any of our family members were ill mother would touch the affected part of the body with the relic as she prayed to St Martin, requesting healing.

Mother, like many other Roman Catholics who sought help from the saints, regularly said Novenas of petition and thanksgiving. The Novena consisted of nine consecutive days of specific prayers. Many people promised their favourite saint they would say a Novena each month for the rest of their lives if their requests were granted. Some people promised to give up smoking, or drinking alcohol. Others decided to stop attending the cinema or the dance hall. Many promised to give up using sugar in their tea or jam on their bread. Several promised to abstain from eating meat. They willingly made sacrifices as they sought answers to their prayers.

But many of these dear people then lived in constant fear of ever breaking the promise. They believed if they broke the promise there would be a relapse into sickness or that some other misfortune would manifest itself. Either they themselves or the person for whom they had been praying might be the recipient of some calamity.

Many of our friends had relics in their homes. But there are also several relics on display in Roman Catholic Chapels in many parts of the world. The Church classifies these relics as being ‘Objects worthy of Veneration’.

In Spain, in the Camera Santa at Oveida may be seen a piece of Moses’ rod, a piece of Mary Magdalene’s hair, one of St Peter’s sandals and his leather wallet. There is also on display a piece of Lazarus’s tomb, along with some crumbs left over after the feeding of the five thousand. One of the silver pieces for which Judas betrayed the Lord is also on exhibition. Pride of place goes to a portion of the ‘True Cross’. This, it is claimed, is a piece of the cross upon which the Saviour died.

At Palma there is on display one of St Stephen’s bones, along with part of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s dress and a remnant of St Joseph’s coat. There is also a piece of the column at which Christ was flagellated and part of the robe with which Herod’s soldiers covered Him. A piece of the sponge offered to Christ while He was on the cross, along with three thorns from His crown and another fragment of the ‘True Cross’ complete this display of relics.

A large number of relics, including the seamless robe of Christ and the linen of Mary are on display in various locations. Mary’s wedding ring and locks of her hair can also be seen. There are also a large number of bones, arms, legs, hair, garments, and different possessions of saints and martyrs on display. All of these relics are vitally important to devout Roman Catholics.

Most of the families we knew also had their favourite mediators and prayed to them regularly. I had prayed to St Martin for many years and had depended upon him to intercede for me. But I now decided to examine the Scriptures to see what God had to say in His Word concerning mediators.

I had already discovered that the Old Testament high priests had mediated on behalf of the people. But I was amazed as I read what God’s Word said concerning the fact that their ministry ended very suddenly. In the book of Hebrews it states that - ‘They were not suffered to continue by reason of death’. ¹

In other words, death prevented them from continuing in office. Death prevented them from continuing their ministry. This meant they could only mediate on behalf of the people until the moment of death. After death they could mediate no longer.

As a Roman Catholic I had been taught that there were people who could mediate on our behalf even after they had died.

After mass we would pray – ‘O God, our refuge and our strength, look down in mercy on Thy people who cry to Thee; and by the Intercession of the glorious and Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Saint Joseph her spouse, of Thy blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all Thy saints, in mercy and goodness hear our prayers for the conversion of sinners, and for the liberty and exaltation of our holy mother, the Church’.

This prayer was included in the mass by direction of Pope Pius XI and was offered for the conversion of Russia.

The role of the Blessed Virgin and the saints as mediators was one of great importance. Their intercession was depended upon very much. But the Word of God states that even the high priests were prevented by death from continuing their ministry. They could not mediate for the people after death.

As I read I began to wonder if there were any mediators in Heaven. I wondered if anybody in Heaven had this ministry. My questions were answered when I read the following verse -

‘For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus’. ²

The Word of God makes it clear that Jesus Christ’s ministry is completely different to that of the people whose ministry ended at death -

‘But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them’. ³

Jesus, who died and rose again, is the only one who has a permanent priesthood. He alone ministers as a priest in Heaven. He is the only one who ministers as a mediator in Heaven. As the only mediator, He is the only one who can approach the Father on the sinner’s behalf.

Jesus Himself said – ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’. ⁴Jesus invited people to come directly to Him.

He did not tell us to pray to the Blessed Virgin or the saints first and ask them to mediate on our behalf. I could now see a great difference between what I had been taught and what the Word of God said. I had been told there were many mediators. I had prayed to Mary and many of the saints, firmly believing they could approach the Lord and influence Him on my behalf.

But now I could see in the Scriptures that – ‘.. there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus’. ⁵

To me the Word of God had become the final authority. Having been in spiritual darkness for so long the light was finally beginning to dawn.

CH. 7: ALONE

Shortly after leaving school I was employed at a local cinema as a ticket checker. I worked six nights each week and also on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. We usually had four different films showing each week. But sometimes a film was retained for a full week, including matinees. This meant I would see the same film eight times. I remember when the film ‘South Pacific’ was showing for a week. I memorised most of the songs in the film, having heard them eight times. Some of the films made a great impression on me. One of these was Cecil B. de Mille’s ‘The Ten Commandments.’

The night of the Passover, the plagues in Egypt, the opening of the Red Sea, the making of the golden calf, etc., were all vividly portrayed in this highly - acclaimed film. This certainly helped to make me aware of the great interest God had in delivering His people from bondage.

Now, many years later, I was reading in God’s Word the actual account of His dealings with His people. As I read about the tabernacle and the priesthood I discovered that the word, ‘alone’ was very significant.

‘Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the High Priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people’. ¹

The ordinary priests, though they were representatives of the people, were only allowed to minister in the outer room of the tabernacle. They could play no part at all in the ministry in the inner room, the Holy of Holies. The high priest alone entered there.

When it came to the matter of atonement being made for the sins of the people the priests had to stay outside. The high priest alone was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. The high priest alone, as mediator and representative of the people, was allowed to approach God on the Day of Atonement.

I had already seen in the Scriptures that this high priest was a copy, or type of Jesus Christ. When it comes to the matter of atonement being made for the sins of the people Christ alone, as our great High Priest, can approach the Father in Heaven. In the tabernacle the other priests were not even allowed into the presence of God when atonement was to be made for sin.

This was a copy of what happens in Heaven. Nobody else in Heaven is even allowed to approach God the Father concerning atonement for the sins of the people. Jesus alone is allowed to stand before the Father and minister as mediator. He is the only mediator between God and man. He alone stands as mediator between a holy God and sinners.

Coming from a Roman Catholic background I was amazed to read this in God’s Word. I had believed that Mary and the saints could actually approach God on my behalf. In fact I believed they could even ask Him to forgive my sins.

The Intercession of Mary and the saints was certainly encouraged in some of the prayers said at mass. For example – ‘Receive, O Holy Trinity, this offering,…and in honour of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, of blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints; that it may avail to their honour and our salvation; may they vouchsafe to INTERCEDE FOR US IN HEAVEN...The glorious and ever-virgin Mary,...Thy blessed Apostles and Martyrs, and all Thy saints; BY WHOSE MERITS AND PRAYERS grant that we may be… strengthened by Thy protecting help’. ‡

Once again I could see such a vast difference between man’s traditions and God’s Word. Concerning atonement being made for my sins it was now very clear to me that Christ ALONE could approach the Father on my behalf. Christ ALONE is the High Priest. He ALONE is the mediator in Heaven. Yes, that word, ‘ALONE’ is so significant!

As I watched the film, ‘The Ten Commandments’, I was reminded of the Israelites who were in captivity in Egypt. On the night of the Passover the Israelites killed a lamb and applied its blood to the doorposts and lintels of their houses. Now, many years later, as I read the Scriptures I could see the significance of this.

God had said to Moses – ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgement: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt’. ¹It was so vitally important that the lamb should be sacrificed and the blood applied. This was their only protection from the judgement that was about to come. God had said – ‘When I see the blood I will pass over you’. The significance of the blood became very clear as I read the Scriptures. God says in His Word - ‘..And without shedding of blood is no remission’. ²

This was demonstrated very specifically on the Day of Atonement as the high priest entered the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. The writer to the Hebrews describes it as follows -

‘But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people’³; ‘The high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others’. ⁴

Unless the high priest brought the blood with him he could not approach God concerning atonement for sin. The death of an innocent victim, an animal selected by the priest, was substitutionary. In other words the penalty for the sins of the people was borne by another. The blood was then offered by the high priest to make atonement for the sins of the people.

The blood was the evidence shown to God that the penalty for the sins of the people had been paid. The penalty had not been paid by the people themselves but by one who stood in their place as their substitute.

Now this was a copy, or type, of what would happen when Christ came. I could see this outlined in such great detail in the following verses -

‘But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?’⁵

I could see here that Christ, as our great High Priest, entered the Holy of Holies (Heaven). But what Christ offered was not the blood of animals that had been sacrificed. He offered His own blood. This blood that our great High Priest offered was evidence that the life of an innocent victim had been laid down in sacrifice to make atonement for the sins of the people. John the Baptist said – ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’. ⁶John was identifying Jesus as God’s lamb, the One who would be sacrificed for our sins. The death of Christ, the innocent lamb who was sacrificed, was substitutionary.

The penalty for the guilt of the sins of the people has been paid in full. This penalty has not been paid by the sinners themselves, but by Jesus Christ. He took our place, by becoming our substitute. He bore our punishment as He suffered and died upon the cross. He offered His own life as a sacrifice for our sins. There is no other sacrifice acceptable to God for the remission of sins. Jesus is now in Heaven, where He mediates on our behalf as our Great High Priest.

Jesus Himself said – ‘For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’. ⁷

The efficacy of the blood of Christ, (the efficacy of His life laid down in sacrifice) became very evident as I read in the New Testament what St Paul, St Peter, and St John wrote -

‘..Being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him’⁸; ‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver or gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot’⁹ ; ‘But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin’¹⁰; ‘..Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood’. ¹¹

I could now see the significance of the blood. Now I could understand why the Israelites applied the blood on the night of the Passover. It was very clear that the blood applied was their only protection from the coming judgement, for God had said – ‘…When I see the blood I will pass over you…’ ¹²

I could now understand why the High Priest never went into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement without blood, for God says in His Word – ‘...Without shedding of blood is no remission’. ¹³

It was wonderful to read in the Scriptures of how Christ offered His blood, offered His life, as an atoning sacrifice for my sins. As I pondered these things the words of the hymn, ‘How Great Thou Art’, came to mind. These words summed up just how I felt:

I found it hard to take in! How could a holy God love a sinner like me? Why would He give His own Son to die in my place, as my substitute? Why would He send His only begotten Son to Calvary to bear the punishment for the guilt of my sin?

The words of another hymn reminded me that there was no other way by which my sins could be forgiven:

During my days at Primary school there was a mission box in each classroom. On each mission box there was a picture of an African child and the words - ‘There are millions like me in Africa’. The teachers encouraged us to help the black babies. We could do this by putting money in the mission box. Money was very scarce. But sometimes we would save a halfpenny from our ‘sweets money’ and put it into the box. On such occasions we felt it was of the utmost importance that the teacher and everybody in the classroom witnessed our generosity.

Occasionally a missionary priest visited the school. He informed us of what was happening in the many areas of the world in which his fellow‑priests were working. We were especially interested to hear of how the priests who worked in Africa were using our offerings to help the black babies. He told us that Chapels were being built in many of the remote villages. Sometimes he used a wall-map to pinpoint many of the areas in Africa in which masses were being said each day. When all of these masses were added to those that were being said all over the world, it meant that thousands of masses were being said daily. This continued year after year.

Many years later as I thought about this I wondered how many times Christ has to be sacrificed before sin can be forgiven? In school we had been taught that the mass is a re‑enactment of Calvary. It was described as follows - ‘It is also a sacrifice, the sacrifice of the holy mass, in which, at the time of consecration, the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and in which He is offered up for us to His eternal Father’.

I wondered how often this sacrifice has been offered since Christ died on the cross at Calvary? How many more times will it need to be offered before sin can be forgiven? I knew the only place I could get the answer to these questions was in the Scriptures.

As I read about Christ’s sacrifice I noticed the words, ‘one’, ‘once’, and ‘once for all ’, were repeated a number of times. The significance of this became very evident as I read the following verses -

‘By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God’¹; ‘For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified’²; ‘Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself’³ ; ‘But by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us’ ⁴ ; ‘Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself’⁵ ; ‘So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many…’ ⁶

Here was the answer to my question! Christ was offered once, and this one sacrifice was sufficient. The effectiveness of Christ’s ‘once for all’ sacrifice is summed up in God’s Word like this – ‘having obtained eternal redemption for us’. ⁷

In school I had been taught that each time a priest said mass he was offering Christ as a sacrifice for sin. This meant that Christ was being offered thousands of times each day. I had been told that this was necessary. It was so necessary in fact that, regardless of how many masses I had attended throughout my lifetime, this sacrifice would still have to be offered for me after my death. This would need to be done, I was told, in order to secure my release from Purgatory.

But as far as I was concerned this posed a big problem. For how would my family know when enough masses had been said for me? How would the priests know when they had said enough masses for me after my death? After hundreds of masses had been offered on my behalf would the priests know if I was still in Purgatory? How would they know when I had been released from Purgatory? How would they know when Christ had been sacrificed and offered enough times for me?

I had to face up to the fact that the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church could give me no assurance that my sins had been forgiven. Nor could they give me the assurance that I would go to Heaven when I died. This was borne out by the fact that it was deemed necessary that masses be offered for me after my death. In other words, Christ would have to be offered again and again as a sacrifice for my sins. I could see that this was completely contrary to what I read in God’s Word. The Scriptures teach that - ‘Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many..’⁸

If we are to believe the Bible then Christ’s ‘once for all’ sacrifice was sufficient and cannot be repeated. Jesus cannot die again. God’s Word says that Christ lives forever, never to die again. He cannot be sacrificed again. No priest can offer Jesus as a sacrifice. Christ, as our Great High Priest, offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin ‘once for all’. As He hung upon the cross Jesus cried out – ‘it is finished’. ⁹ All sacrifices were finished. The work of Atonement had been completed.

God says in His Word – ‘And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin’. ¹⁰

It became very clear to me as I read the Scriptures that Christ had not instituted another sacrificial system, namely the mass. But He had, through His ‘once for all’ sacrifice at Calvary abolished and rendered unnecessary any further sacrifice.

In the light of what God said in His Word I knew I had a decision to make. It would be foolish to continue depending upon the sacrifice of the mass, which is offered thousands of times each day. For if the mass were effective it would not need to be repeated at all. Or on the other hand I could put my faith Christ’s ‘once for all sacrifice’.

The Scriptures teach that Christ – ‘...Entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.’¹¹ Faith in Christ guaranteed my salvation. This guarantee was not based upon anything the Church could do for my soul. Nor was it dependent upon what I could do to earn or merit salvation. But this guarantee was based upon what Christ had done on my behalf through His ‘once for all’ sacrifice. He had obtained eternal redemption for me. Now this was the assurance of salvation for which I had been searching.

As a young boy I longed to be a member of our local gang. Each area in our town had its own gang. Boys aged between ten and thirteen were eligible for membership. We all had our own territory and several brave boys lived to regret invading it. The gangs fought many long battles. Home-made swords, tomahawks, bows and arrows and swords were our favourite weapons. Hurleys were used when things got very serious. The battles usually took place on Saturdays. But the interrogations took place on Monday mornings as our teachers inspected the battle‑scars. “I fell off the bike, sir! I tripped over the dog, sir! I slipped on a banana - skin, sir!” These were just some of the excuses our teachers had to listen to. We were all too tough to admit the enemy had wounded us.

We all liked to think we were fearless warriors. But on the first Friday of each month we were all very subdued. This was the day we had to walk from the school to the Chapel to have our confessions heard. We didn’t mind going to confession but even the most fearless of the warriors dreaded the possibility of having to visit Box No. 6.

There were six double confession boxes in the Chapel. The local priests used five of these boxes. We made every effort to ensure that during our monthly visit we confessed to our favourite priest. This was the man who didn’t give you too many prayers to say for your penance. But Box No. 6 was different from the others. It was known as the ‘Bishop’s Box’. If the sins you confessed to the priest were deemed to be serious and he felt he could not grant absolution he then directed you to the Bishop. The sins would then have to be confessed to him. Hopefully he would administer absolution.

The fearless warriors dreaded two things. We dreaded being seen waiting outside Box No. 6. Everybody knew that if you had to visit this confession box you were a serious sinner. So we dreaded the possibility of any of our neighbours seeing us there, for we feared they might tell our parents. We also dreaded the possibility that the Bishop may think our sin to be so serious that he would not grant us absolution. We believed that if this happened we would remain in a state of mortal sin. And we had been taught that if we died in this condition we would go directly to Hell.

Consequently one of the prayers before confession was a plea to the Blessed Virgin to ensure full remission for our sins. The words of this prayer are as follows - ‘O most gracious Virgin Mary, beloved Mother of Jesus Christ my Redeemer, intercede for me with Him. Obtain for me the full remission of my sins and perfect amendment of life to the salvation of my soul, and the glory of His name’.

We were not too worried about the venial sins for we had been told they were not as serious as the mortal sins. According to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church - ‘We are obliged to confess all mortal sins and therefore, as far as we can remember, the number of times we have committed them; … We are not obliged to confess venial sins.. .’ ‡

The final destination of your soul, we were taught, depended upon whether you died in a state of mortal or venial sin. To die in a state of mortal sin meant the soul was destined for Hell. To die in a state of venial sin meant the soul would eventually go to Heaven but not before it spent some time in Purgatory. Even though the guilt of our sin may be forgiven the temporal punishment for it still remained. The temporal punishment that had not been cancelled by indulgences or atoned for by acts of penance would be paid for in Purgatory. We were told that Purgatory is a place of intense suffering. According to Thomas Aquinas – ‘Purgatory’s Fire is heated 700 times more than the fires of Hell’. As a result of the sufferings endured in Purgatory the soul was eventually purified and made fit for Heaven. In 1439 the Council of Florence proclaimed Purgatory to be Church Dogma.

Our greatest fear therefore was that we might die in a state of mortal sin. So even if a visit to Box No. 6 was necessary to obtain absolution we reckoned it was worth it.

The thoughts of dying in a state of venial sin and going to Purgatory did not bother us too much. Even though we had been told the suffering in the ‘fire of purgation’ was severe we believed that some day it would end and we could then go to Heaven.

We had been taught that the duration of our stay in Purgatory could be shortened. If our families and friends prayed for us and if the priests said masses for us a certain amount of time would be deducted from our sentence.

Each year, in the month of November, the priests sent out a list to each home in their parish. People wrote the names of their deceased relatives on the list and then returned it to the priest. He then said masses for the repose of the souls of those mentioned on the list. I remember praying for all of my deceased relatives and friends, especially on All Souls’ Day. I firmly believed that my prayers would help shorten their stay in Purgatory.

But many years later as I examined the Scriptures I could not find even one reference to a place called Purgatory. Heaven and Hell were dealt with in great detail in the Bible but there was no mention of Purgatory.

But where, then, could sin be purged? This question was answered as I read the following portions of God’s Word – ‘...When he had by himself PURGED our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high’¹; ‘and almost all things are by the law PURGED with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission’. ²

These verses make it clear that when He (Christ) had, by Himself, purged our sins, He ascended to Heaven to His Father’s side. The Scriptures make it very clear that a Person (Christ) purged our sins. There is no mention of sin being dealt with in Purgatory.

Christ purged our sins BEFORE He ascended to Heaven. This means that sin was purged in the PAST, and not in the FUTURE. The LOCATION at which the purging of sin took place is identified in the Scriptures. Christ purged our sins at Calvary. Sin is not purged at any other location. Sin was purged at the cross.

The MEANS employed in the purging of sin is also made very clear – ‘Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all’. ³

Jesus Christ purged our sins by the shedding of His blood. As He hung upon the cross, pouring out His life, He bore the punishment for the guilt of our sin. What we would have suffered in Hell Christ suffered on the cross as our substitute. The Scriptures clearly teach that – ‘…Without shedding of blood is no remission ’. ⁴

There is no other means by which sin can be purged. I could now see a great difference between what I had been taught and what God said in His Word.

But God’s Word says that Christ suffered for my sins, as my substitute – ‘But he was wounded for our (my) transgressions; he was bruised for our (my) iniquities; the chastisement of our (my) peace was upon Him..’⁵

Yes, my sin had to be purged. But it was purged! Jesus Christ purged it as He hung upon the cross at Calvary as my substitute.

CH. 11: APPARITIONS

Two of my mother’s favourite holy pictures depicted apparitions or appearances of the Blessed Virgin. According to Roman Catholic tradition Mary has appeared in many different locations 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. These apparitions reportedly took place between May and October 1917. According to Lucia, one of the visionaries, the Blessed Virgin requested the recitation of the Rosary. During each visitation she instructed them to - ‘Continue to pray the Rosary every day’.

When Mary finally revealed her identity to the children during the October apparition she said - “I am the Lady of the Rosary.” According to the children Mary gave to them three ‘Secrets’, which were to be revealed separately, at different times. These became known as the ‘Three Secrets of Fatima’. There was much speculation as to what the three secrets might be and many people anxiously awaited their publication.

A few years after the apparitions two of the children died. The surviving visionary, Lucia, entered a convent. She later testified that the Blessed Virgin appeared to her in the convent. According to Lucia the Child Jesus accompanied Mary on this occasion.

I had always been interested in these reported apparitions. I was particularly interested in the messages associated with them. I was really impressed by the fact that the Blessed Virgin and the Child Jesus left Heaven on several occasions. They then visited people who lived in various parts of the world, bringing to them specific messages and instructions. I decided to examine the Scriptures with a view to discovering what God said in His Word concerning these apparitions of the Child Jesus and the Blessed Virgin.

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 discover if it had been prophesied or promised in the Bible that the Child Jesus and His mother would appear in a convent in Fatima. I was very interested in discovering what the Scriptures had to say about Jesus and His mother leaving Heaven and manifesting themselves in different locations.

According to the Scriptures the first ‘appearance’ of the Child Jesus was when He was born to the Blessed 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. 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. On both of these occasions He would appear as the Man Christ Jesus. He never said 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 this time is described as follows – ‘And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace be unto you.” Then saith he to Thomas, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. ”’¹

Whenever Jesus appeared after His death it was as the Man Christ Jesus. He did not appear as the Child Jesus. After forty days Jesus ascended into Heaven in His resurrected body as the man Christ Jesus.

For many years I had believed the reports that the Child Jesus had appeared in many different locations around the world. I had believed that on these occasions He had come directly 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 – ‘And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” ’²

They watched as the Man Christ Jesus ascended into Heaven. And the Man Christ Jesus, in His resurrected body, with the nail‑prints in His hands, would come back in the same way. He would not come back in a different body. Jesus would not return in a child’s body. He would not appear as the Child Jesus. He ascended as a man. He would come back as a man—the same Jesus.

In school we had been told that St. Stephen was the first Christian Martyr. I was very interested to see Stephen’s words recorded in the Bible. The following are some of the very words he spoke as he was being stoned to death – ‘Of whom (Jesus) ye have been now the betrayers and murderers’³; ‘When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” ’ ⁴

Stephen saw the Man Christ Jesus, the one who had been crucified. He saw the one who had risen 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 some time later he was converted and became the apostle Paul. He wrote in one of his Epistles- ‘For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the MAN Christ Jesus’. ⁵

It was so crystal clear in the Scriptures that the only mediator in Heaven is the Man Christ Jesus. As I continued to read God’s Word I noticed that the Man Christ Jesus is described as our Great High Priest – ‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. . .’⁶; ‘..We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens’. ⁷

God’s Word makes it very clear that there is no Child high priest in Heaven. The Man Christ Jesus is our Great High Priest. The Child Jesus grew to manhood, fulfilled His ministry and died upon the cross. He was buried but rose again and ascended to Heaven. Today He is 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.

A prized possession in most of our neighbours’ houses was the little plastic bottle with the blue cap on it. There was an image of the Blessed Virgin engraved on it. This special bottle contained the famous Lourdes Water, which is reputed to have miraculous healing powers. Many of the pilgrims who visited Lourdes, the scene of one of the reported apparitions of Mary, brought bottles of the famous water home with them.

Each year pilgrimages to Lourdes were organised. The sick and disabled were encouraged to visit the famous grotto and pray for healing. Those who were too ill to make the journey encouraged the pilgrims to bring back a bottle of the water to them. Some people sipped the water. Others applied it to afflicted parts of the body, making the sign of the cross as they did so.

Pilgrimages to Fatima were also organised and many of our friends visited the convent in which the Blessed Virgin and the Child Jesus are said to have appeared.

I had read in the Scriptures that the Man Christ Jesus had appeared to His disciples after His Resurrection. He then ascended into Heaven to sit at His Father’s right hand. I now set out to see what God’s Word said concerning the fact that Christ promised He would come back again.

According to the Scriptures the Man Christ Jesus will remain in Heaven until His Second Coming. His return is clearly foretold in the following verses – ‘Jesus saith unto him, “Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven ” ’¹; ‘For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be’. ²

The purpose of Christ’s Second Coming is also very clearly outlined – ‘When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world ”’³; ‘Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” ’. ⁴

Jesus Himself described the manner of His Second Coming – ‘And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory’. ⁵

The angels had said to Jesus’ disciples as they watched Him ascend to Heaven – ‘... This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven’. ⁶ (A cloud hid Him from their sight)

I could see here that when Jesus returns it will be on the clouds of Heaven. The angels said He would come back in the same way. There was no prophecy, promise or statement in the Scriptures indicating that Jesus would come back in some other way. Neither was there any suggestion that He would return to earth again before His Second Coming. Nowhere in the Word of God did it say that He would return as the Child Jesus or under the appearance of something else. According to the Scriptures the Man Christ Jesus is at His Father’s right hand, in Heaven – ‘..After the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God’. ⁷

Jesus will remain in Heaven as our great high priest, mediator and advocate until His Second Coming. It is not possible for the Man Christ Jesus, in His resurrected body, to be in two places at the same time. Because He is physically in Heaven the Man Christ Jesus cannot be on earth at the same time.

I had been taught that at the consecration of the mass – ‘The angels gather round with awe and reverence; the priest prays in a low tone…our Lord Jesus Christ will come down upon the altar’. ‡ This means that at thousands of masses, celebrated at the same time in several locations around the world, the Man Christ Jesus comes down physically onto the altar. I could find nothing in God’s Word to indicate that the Lord Jesus Christ came down from Heaven ‘under the appearance’ of something else. But I distinctly remembered what we had been taught concerning the mass -

‘The Holy Eucharist, which is really and truly and substantially the Body and Blood, and the Soul and Divinity, of Jesus Christ, Under the Appearance of bread and wine…and in which He is Really Present to be adored upon the altar; It is also a sacrifice…the Bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ’. ‡

There was a great contradiction here between the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church and what God said in His Word. Nowhere in God’s Word is it stated that Jesus would return ‘under the appearance’ of something else.

At the Last Supper, shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus gave His disciples bread and wine. The bread was to remind them of His body, which would be crucified. The wine was to remind them of His blood, which would be shed as He suffered and died to pay the penalty for the guilt of our sins.

Jesus would soon be leaving them. As He handed them the bread and the wine He said – “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Jesus was reminding them that He would not always be physically present with them. But they were to continue to remember Him, especially whenever they partook of the bread and wine. Concerning the Lord’s Supper the Apostle Paul wrote - ‘For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come’. ⁸

These New Testament believers knew the Lord wanted them to continue observing this remembrance supper until He came back. Then the Lord’s Supper would no longer need to be observed, for He Himself would be present physically with them. Whenever they partook of the Lord’s Supper they were never of the opinion that Christ was physically present with them ‘under the appearance’ of bread and wine. His own disciples had believed what the angels had told them as they watched the Man Christ Jesus ascend to Heaven. The angels had said - “...This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” ⁹Christ’s disciples did not believe He would come back in any other way or ‘under the appearance’ of anything else. The bread and wine were reminders of the Lord’s death and this remembrance supper was to be observed until He came back.

(a) The Man Christ Jesus will come back again. (Bible scholars refer to His return as His Second Coming)

(b) Since His ascension the Man Christ Jesus has been at His Father’s right hand in Heaven. Our great High Priest, Mediator and Advocate will remain in Heaven until His Second Coming.

(c) Since He ascended to Heaven He has not ‘come down on the altar’ at mass. His body, blood, soul and divinity have not come down from Heaven to be present on the altar ‘under the appearance’ of bread and wine.

These truths left me in no doubt at all that the man‑made laws and traditions I had been taught were not in accordance with the inspired Word of God. In fact they were a complete contradiction to what the Scriptures teach. Once again I was confronted with a decision I knew I had to make.

‘Memorise them! Learn them off by heart!’ Our teacher was referring to the names of the twelve Apostles. As young schoolboys we very often found it difficult to remember the names of all the Apostles. But we had no problem remembering Thomas. We referred to him as ‘Doubting Thomas’ because of his doubts concerning the resurrection of Jesus.

Many years later I read in the Bible the actual account of how Thomas doubted the fact that the Lord had risen from the dead. During one of Jesus’ appearances to His disciples after His Resurrection, Thomas was not present. Later on the other disciples said to Thomas – ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them - ‘Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe’. ¹

Thomas certainly had doubts! I wondered if perhaps he feared that what had appeared to the disciples might be a counterfeit, deceiving spirit, which claimed to be Jesus. He needed to be certain that it really was the Lord. Some years later the Apostle Paul warned Christ’s followers of the reality of deceiving spirits. He wrote – ‘And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light’. ²

Thomas needed to be sure the ‘apparition’ was genuine. Could it really be Jesus, the one who had been crucified, died and was buried?

Any doubts he may have had soon disappeared. We read in the Scriptures that – ‘…after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace be unto you.” Then saith he to Thomas, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said unto him, “My Lord and my God.” ’ ³

There was no longer any room for doubt. Thomas recognised the Man Christ Jesus, in His resurrected body, with the nail‑prints in His hands.

But I wondered how Thomas would have reacted if he had seen the apparition of a child, which claimed to be the Child Jesus? I was convinced he would have recognised it to be a counterfeit. He would have recognised it to be an impostor and would never have acknowledged it as – ‘my Lord and my God’.

And yet, just like Lucia of Fatima, many people claim to have seen apparitions of the Child Jesus. But whatever or whoever may be appearing to them it is certainly not the Child Jesus. The resurrected physical body of Jesus is that of a man. The Bible teaches that Jesus was never in Heaven as a child. He is presently in Heaven as the Man Christ Jesus. In the future the Man Christ Jesus will return and take those whom He has redeemed to be with Him. The people who claim the Child Jesus left Heaven and appeared at places like Fatima are mistaken.

The vital importance of the presence of the Man Christ Jesus in Heaven became increasingly clear to me as I read God’s Word. God’s plan of redemption required that the merits of the sinless life of the Man Christ Jesus and His substitutionary death on the cross be put to the account of the sinner if he was ever to be saved. Sin could not be forgiven on the basis of the Child Jesus standing in the sinner’s place, for the child would not have fulfilled all the requirements of the Law concerning atonement for sin. The Man Christ Jesus, after living a sinless life, died a substitutionary, vicarious death on the cross. He was buried but rose again on the third day. He ascended to Heaven where He is now at His Father’s right hand as our great High Priest, Mediator and Advocate. He will remain there, interceding for us at the Throne of grace, until His Second Coming. Then the Man Christ Jesus will return.

Shortly before leaving His disciples Jesus said to them – ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also’. ⁴

But these words were not just for those present with Him at that time. This message was for all who would repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus, trusting Him as their sin-bearer, substitute and Saviour.

I was greatly encouraged to read of God’s great plan for the salvation of sinners.

During our schooldays we were told the Blessed Virgin and the Child Jesus had left Heaven and visited several countries. Sometimes the Blessed Virgin brought the child with her, but on several occasions she appeared alone. If they appeared together both usually spoke. Sometimes the child remained silent and only Mary spoke.

We were overjoyed to learn that the Blessed Virgin had appeared in Ireland. It was reported that she had appeared at Knock, in Co. Mayo, on August 21st 1879. By appearing in Ireland Mary had indicated her intention of adopting the Irish people as her own children. We could now call her our Mother. As our Mother she would care for our physical and spiritual welfare. Mary also became the Queen of Ireland, and we were very glad to be her loyal subjects.

Mary was also Queen of every country in which she had appeared. But our teachers told us that Mary had an even greater honour than this. They informed us that during a special coronation ceremony Jesus crowned Mary Queen of Heaven. She now reigns with her Son. Consequently, we were taught to pray to the Queen of Heaven. We were told she would take our requests to her Son and influence Him on our behalf. The fact that ‘Jesus would never refuse His own Mother’, was a real incentive to us to bring our requests to Mary.

We were encourage to say the following prayer - ‘Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary, that it is a thing unheard of, that anyone who ever had recourse to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left forsaken. Filled therefore with confidence in thy goodness I fly to thee, O Mother, Virgin of virgins. To thee I come, before thee I stand, a sorrowful sinner. Despise not my words, O Mother of the Word, but graciously hear and grant my prayer’.

We were also told that Mary would pray for us. The very first prayer we learned was the ‘Hail Mary’. Part of this prayer is as follows – ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death’. It gave us great confidence to know that the Blessed Virgin, Queen of Heaven, was praying for us now and would also pray for us at the hour of our death!

Having grown up with a great respect for the Blessed Virgin I felt it would be good to examine, in the light of God’s Word the reported happenings at the apparitions. To my surprise I could not find any indication in the Scriptures that Mary would appear after her death. I read in the Bible that at the Second Coming of Christ the souls of all who have been redeemed by Him and are with Him in Heaven will return with Him – ‘Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints’. ¹Until then the souls of all, (including Mary) who have died trusting Christ as Saviour will remain in Heaven.

I was also very interested in the messages associated with the apparitions. As far as I was concerned these messages, if they were from Heaven, should correspond exactly with what God had revealed in His Word.

The children at Fatima said the Blessed Virgin gave them the following message - “Russia will be converted if people say the Rosary.” In other words, prayer to Mary would secure salvation for Russia. The contents of this message suggest there is more than one way by which people can be saved.

But Jesus left us in no doubt concerning the fact that there is only one way of salvation. He preached the following message – ‘Repent ye, and believe the gospel’. ²; ‘…Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…Ye must be born again’. ³; ‘Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’. ⁴He said there was only ONE way of salvation, and He was the way – ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by ME’. ⁵

The message given at the apparition indicated that there is another way of salvation. According to this message Russia will be converted if people pray to Mary and say the Rosary. Pope Pius Xl directed that after mass people should pray to Mary for the conversion of Russia.

The Scriptures make it clear that if the people of Russia or any other country are to be converted they must repent of their sins and believe the gospel. They must put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour.

Mary, the mother of the Man Christ Jesus, knew there was only one way of Salvation. The angel had said to her husband Joseph, concerning the birth of Jesus- ‘And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins’. ⁶

Would Mary then try to lure people away from Jesus and tell them to pray to her? Would this woman, who was especially chosen by God to give birth to His Son, dishonour Jesus in this way? Would the Blessed Virgin, who wept as her Son died upon the cross, deny what Jesus had said?

Yet, as I examined the various messages given at the reported apparitions it seemed this was what was being done. This was very obvious as I considered a claim made at one of apparitions and attributed to Mary. She is reported to have said – “I am the Immaculate Conception.” In other words, she was saying she had been born sinless. She was stating that she had been born without the stain of original sin. She was saying she had been born without the sinful nature inherited from Adam as a result of the Fall.

The Scriptures clearly state that Christ was the only one who was born without sin. And he was the only one who lived a sinless life.

Mary’s own words are recorded in the Scriptures - ‘And Mary said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. ” ’ ⁷

Mary never claimed to be sinless. In her own words she said she rejoiced in the fact that God was her saviour. She rejoiced in the knowledge that God had saved her from the penalty due to her sin. Mary’s sin was purged at the cross as Jesus died for the sins of all who, like Mary, trusted Him as Saviour.

When Mary’s words, as recorded in Scripture, are compared to the statements made at the apparitions we can see a great contradiction. The messages associated with the apparitions and attributed to the Blessed Virgin did her a terrible injustice. In fact they totally distorted the character of Mary. She is portrayed in the Scriptures as the loving, obedient, trusting ‘handmaid of the Lord’. She was especially chosen by God not only to give birth to His Son but also to rear Him. She was totally devoted to Jesus. Mary, perhaps more than anybody else, realised that the one whom she loved and cared for, from the manger to the cross, was the only means by which sinners could be saved.

I had believed in these apparitions for many years. But concerning the messages reportedly given at the apparitions, I knew that even the Roman Catholic Church had never fully accepted them as being authentic. But more importantly, I now knew that both the apparitions and their messages contradicted what God said in His Word. I knew I had a decision to make.

CH. 15: NO LONGER SEARCHING

I could hardly believe what I saw! My Grandfather had just returned from town and was showing my Grandmother a new pair of boots he had just bought. To a ten - year - old this was amazing, for I believed Grandfather was so old he would not live long enough to wear out these new boots. I was very surprised he did not realise this! But I am sure he was hoping he would live long enough to wear out a few more pairs also. Many years later, when Grandfather died, I was hoping he had gone to Heaven. I was also hoping I would meet him there some day.

For many years I had been hoping I would go to Heaven when I died. At funerals I saw a lot of heart - broken people. All of them were hoping the soul of their loved one who was being buried was gone to Heaven. At Roman Catholic funerals the family, friends, and the priest were all hoping the dear departed one’s soul was with the Lord. At Protestant funerals the Minister and all the mourners were hoping the deceased person’s soul was in Heaven. All of them were hoping but none of them actually knew.

I had been a devout Roman Catholic all my life. I had attended mass and the sacraments regularly. I did my best to be a good person. But having done all that I was still only hoping that I would go to Heaven when I died. I was searching for the assurance of eternal life.

The friend who shared the gospel with me told me he knew for certain that his sins had been forgiven. He said he had the assurance of salvation and knew that one day he would be in Heaven. He told me this certainty was based upon what God said in His Word.

As I read the Scriptures I could see what he meant. The apostle Paul wrote – ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast’ ¹; ‘For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men’²; ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost’. ³

‘Not by works…Not because of righteous things we have done’. These words really challenged me. The Bible made it clear that salvation could not be earned or merited. I could not be saved as a result of my own good works or anything the Church might do on my behalf. My salvation did not depend upon which Church I belonged to.

I read about - ‘The grace of God that bringeth salvation’. This clearly teaches that salvation is by grace. The grace of God is His unmerited favour to the sinner. It means that God reaches down to the helpless sinner, revealing to him the fact that He loves him so much that He sent His Son to the cross on his behalf. God’s grace was demonstrated as Christ became the sinner’s substitute, paying the penalty for the guilt of his sin. God’s unmerited favour was manifested as Jesus suffered Hell on the cross so that the sinner need not go to Hell.

God, in His Word, clearly explains the outworking of His grace to a sinner like me. He puts Christ’s righteousness (all the merits of His sinless life and substitutionary, vicarious death on the cross) to my account. And He puts all the guilt of my sin to Christ’s account. As a result I would actually be declared righteous by God. This is God’s grace. This is God’s unmerited favour to a sinner.

The Scriptures declare that a sinner is saved by grace. I looked up the meaning of the word ‘saved’. It means the sinner will be delivered, or rescued from the penalty for sin, which is eternity in Hell. The sinner can be saved from this penalty only because of the fact that Christ has already paid in full the penalty for sin as He hung upon the cross.

St Paul, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, writes – ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith…’ In this context, the word ‘faith’ means to believe in, to trust in, and to depend upon Jesus Christ as Saviour.

Here at last was the great assurance of eternal life for which I had been searching! In St John’s Epistle I read the following words -

‘And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God’. ⁴

‘That ye may know!’ What amazing words! For many years I had been hoping. But now I could see in God’s Word that it is possible to know your sins are forgiven. It is possible to know you have eternal life, and to know you will go to Heaven when you die.

‘But I wondered whom these things had been written to? The verse says – ‘To you who believe on the name of the Son of God’. These things were written to all who believe what God has said concerning His Son, to all who believe that God has given to us eternal life and that this life is in His Son. By believing in, by trusting in, and depending upon Jesus Christ and His atoning work we can know we have eternal life.

CH. 16: SAFELY HOME

Concerning salvation, Jesus’ message is very clear. He said – ‘Repent ye, and believe the Gospel’. ¹

I acknowledged the fact that I was a sinner and that I deserved to go to Hell. I repented of my sins. This meant there was deep sorrow for my sins. But it was more than that! There was also a determination to turn my back on the old sinful way of life. I was determined to change direction.

I now knew that Christ had suffered and died as my substitute and had paid in full the penalty for the guilt of my sins. I abandoned my dependence upon religion, tradition and good works. I put my faith in Jesus Christ, believing that as a result of the merits of His sinless life and His death upon the cross being put to my account I would be saved.

I humbly and sincerely asked God to forgive me and to save me. And He did! He has given to me the great assurance of eternal life. I am ‘NO LONGER SEARCHING.’

Perhaps you have been trying to earn or merit salvation by ‘doing your best.’ Maybe you have been depending upon the fact that you are a member of a particular Church. But today you are still searching for the assurance of eternal life.

Instead of looking to your own good works or looking to religion to save you why not look to the Lord, who said – ‘Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else ’. ¹

The Lord invites you to come to Him right NOW – ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool’. ²

Acknowledging the fact that you are a sinner, turn to Him right NOW in repentance, asking Him to forgive you and trusting Him to save you. Through faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning work on your behalf you can have the full assurance of sins forgiven and the guarantee of a home in Heaven.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

Foreword: 1John 5:11.

Chapter 4: Three Questions: (1): Hebrews 9:24–26; (2): Galatians 4:4–5; (3): John 1:14

Chapter 5: Copies: (1): Hebrews 9:23-24; 10:1; (2): 5: 1-3; (3): 2:14; (4): 2:17; (5): 3:1; (6): 4:14-15; (7): 5:5-6; (8): 6:20; (9): 7:26; (10): 8:1; (11):9:11; (12 ): 10:21.

Chapter 6: Relics and Mediators: (1): Hebrews 7:23; (2): 1Timothy 2:5; (3): Hebrews 7:24-25; (4): Matthew 11:28; (5): 1Timothy 2:5.

Chapter 7: Alone: (1): Hebrews 9:6-7.

Chapter 8: The Blood: (1): Exodus 12:12-13; (2): Hebrews 9:22; (3): 9:7; (4): 9:25; (5): 9:11-14; (6) John 1:29; (7): Matthew 26:28; (8): Romans 5:9; (9): 1Peter 1:18-19; (10): 1John 1:7 (11): Revelation 1:5; (12): Exodus 12:13; (13): Hebrews 9:22.

Chapter 9: Once For All: (1): Hebrews 10:10-12; (2): 10:14; (3): 7:27; (4): 9:12; (5): 9:25-26; (6): 9:28; (7): 9:12; (8): 9:28; (9): John 19:30; (10): Hebrews 10:17-18; (11): 9:12.

Chapter 10: Purgatory: (1): Hebrews 1:3; (2) 9:22; (3): Isaiah 53: 4-6; (4): Hebrews 9:22; (5): Isaiah 53: 5.

Chapter 11: Apparitions: (1): John 20: 26-27; (2): Acts 1: 9-11; (3): 7: 52; (4) 7: 54-56; (5):1Timothy 2:5; (6 ): Hebrews 4:14; ( 7 ): 8:1.

Chapter 12: Under The Appearance: (1) Matthew 26: 64; (2): 24:27; (3): 25:31-34; (4): 25:41; (5): 24:30; (6): Acts 1:11; (7): Mark.16: 19; (8): 1Corinthians 11:26; (9): Acts 1:11.

Chapter 13: Doubting Thomas: (1): John 20:25; (2): 2Corinthians 11:14; (3): John 20:26-28; (4): 14:2-3.

Chapter 14: Mary’s Messages: (1): Jude 14; (2): Mark 1:15; (3): John 3: 3, 7; (4): Matthew 18: 3; (5): John 14: 6; (6): Matthew 1:21; (7): Luke 1:46-47.

Chapter 15: No Longer Searching: (1): Eph.2:8-9; (2): Titus 2:11; (3): 3:5; (4): 1Jn 5:11-13;

Chapter 16: Safely Home: (1): Mark 1:15.

Invitation: (1) Isaiah 45:22; (2): Isaiah 1:18.

By The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society, London

Chapter 1: The Early Days: ‡ (A Simple Prayer Book, Page 7)

Chapter 7: Alone: ‡ (A Simple Prayer Book, Pages 30 & 34)

Chapter 10: Purgatory: ‡ (A Simple Prayer Book, Page 52)

Chapter 12: Under The Appearance: ‡ (A Simple Prayer Book, Pages 33 & 75)

FOREWORD