Dear friends, if you recall in the last few issues, we dealt with the period of chastisement that has already come upon the whole world. Almost everything that Jesus foretold (in Luke 21: 10-13) is coming to pass – the latest being the Russia-Ukraine war that has escalated to the point of bringing other nations almost to the brink of World War III.
Besides the earthquakes, famines, floods, wars, etc., we must not forget that another instrument of chastisement that God is using to purify the world is the devil. All forces of evil will be unleashed upon the world at that time. As St. Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:8… Then the Wicked One will be revealed.
In one of the messages given by Our Lady to an authentic Catholic Seer of our times, she said, “Extended powers have been given to the devil.” Please note, something like this happened even at the time of Jesus. And from the events that followed, we can say that literally, all hell broke loose.
At the Last Supper, Jesus said to Peter, "Simon, Simon! Listen! Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff. (Luke 22:31). The events that unfolded later clearly indicate that the power of darkness was operating at its peak in the lives of Jesus and all His disciples.
It is not that the power of darkness never operated before it reached its peak. Judas would help himself by taking out money from the common purse. That was the power of darkness operating and the outcome was not so disastrous. But when it began operating at its peak, he ended up betraying the Lord and hanging himself.
Next, the power of darkness operated in Peter’s life too. In response to Jesus foretelling about His death on the cross, Peter rebuked Him saying, “That must not happen to you.” Again, the outcome was not so bad. But the same Peter ended up denying the Lord at the time when the power of darkness was at its peak.
The disciples when they were arguing about who is the greatest, it was the power of darkness operating in them. And yet they remained with the Lord. But at the peak of the power of darkness, they abandoned Him and ran away.
In the case of Jesus, the power of darkness operated in His life too. He was tempted in the desert by the devil. But He did not waver a bit and emerged victorious. However, in the garden of Gethsemane, when the power of darkness was at its peak, He almost gave into the temptation of doing away with the suffering. He prayed to the Father, “Father, if you will, take this cup of suffering away from me.” But immediately, He overcame the temptation and prayed, “Not my will, however, but your will be done.” (Luke 22:40).
On the cross too, Jesus at one time cried out, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why did you abandon me?" The power of darkness operating at its peak made Him feel that way. But Jesus overcame once again. Just before dying, He cried out to the Father, "Father! In your hands I place my spirit!" (Luke 23:46).
Such is the power of darkness when it reaches its peak. And as Our Lady has forewarned, it is coming over the whole world. What the outcome will be in each of our lives depends much on how well we heed the advice that Jesus gave to His disciples just before the terrible events would start unfolding and the power of darkness would reach its peak.
...To be continued in next Issue