The Presentation of Question 27 Chapter 19 : 2/2

How does In God's Love 
written by Janet Hurlow
relate to 
the Catholic Faith ?

  Chapter 19 Information from In God's Love 
                       that I do not Pretend to Understand  
                       (continued) 2/2

            Part 2 There are Six Minors Things in
                      In God's Love that I do not Understand

893         For a good number of the sentences in In God’s Love, if I ask the question, “What exactly does that mean?”  I would get the answer, “I am not sure.”   This is due to three reasons.  First, In God’s Love is song, is poetry.  Ask that question of many lines in a poem and we would get the same answer.  Second, In God’s Love uses a lot of unique images.  Third, sometimes In God’s Love tends to jump from one topic to a totally unrelated topic without any sort of break or introduction.  There are a number times when I pondered, “What did they mean by that?” but with time the unanswered question faded as did my concern and curiosity about it.  However, for some reason six instances remain with me to be enlisted in the material of “The Presentation.”  You the reader, after reading In God’s Love, might have your own list that may include some of the phrases here and perhaps contain other phrases that are not included here.   The six questions in this section are prompted by only one or two phrases in In God’s Love, and therefore are probably not anything major; hence they are called “minor”.

894           Question number one is: What is the reason for mentioning the book of Revelation of the Scriptures only to then mention that this book is not connected to that one?  There are two passages that have this interesting thought.  They are addressed in the order they appear.  The first quote states, “All that is written in this book shall come to pass in such a time as God wills. And more is yet to come.  O, if man had not been foolish, if he had reached out for his God, then this would not have happened.  Such a time, man has never known.  Such a very sad time on Earth.  In this, take notice: this is not part of the prophecy of the last, great book of the scriptures.  This is the great books written in the last days of Earth, held until this time.  Send in inspiring messages for this day.  Sent in God’s Spirit to gather in the saints for this last, great battle of love.”(50)   They even make a point of writing “take notice.”  This is not a part of the Book of Revelation.  My point is, why bother?

895           Then they mention it again 72 passages later, so it must be somewhat important.  They write, “Very pleased in God’s Spirit are we with the books.  Spirit, it is a spirit filled with God’s Spirit such as no man has seen.  In this book is what is reached on Earth.  Written are the sorrows sent in this time of times.  Sweet are these messages.  Hard are they to receive.  In a time, John wrote symbols.  Such a time was his, and his book was finished.  Signs of Earth are finished.  This is a time, very time, blessed saints of God, and such a time.  Sadness is reached, very sadness.  John’s book is completed.  The pages are closed.  Now is the time.  Written are these messages in another book in another time.  Sent are the things to be revealed.  Signs of comfort to God’s saints.  Signs of sorrow to God’s enemies.  Signs sent out to man because this is man’s world, and he has a right to know what’s happening.”(51)  

896           One thought comes to mind.  Did the messengers have a hand in creating the book of Revelation or the Gospel of John or do they just know about it like they know about a lot of other things?   They were alive and aware of the crucifixion of our Lord.   They never mentioned that they were involved in the writing of John, so while we cannot rule it out, they do not give any witness to that possible reality.  Even if they were involved with John’s writing, they would be acting not on their own, but as God’s instruments of inspiration, just as they are acting here.

897           The main question I have is what they mean by saying that John’s book was written in his time, but this book is written in this time of times.  John’s book is finished.  Do they mean that the John’s book (and I am assuming they mean the book of Revelation since they mention it is the last book of the Scriptures in the previous passage) is written for his time and this is written for the time of times that are here or soon to come?  If they mean that the book of Revelation is no longer relevant to us because it was written about John’s time, that would conflict with the Church’s view that all of Scripture has meaning for us.  The prophets of the Old Testament, while, primarily concerned with the fall and return of the chosen people before the birth of Jesus, also has connections to Christ and their messages still hold truth for us today.  It may be that the book of Revelation may be primarily concerned with King Nero and the events of John’s day, but it still holds meaning for us today and assures us of the ultimate victory of Christ.  The fact that the messengers note that this is not a part of the book of Revelation and then point out that this book is for the “time of time” is interesting. 

898           Perhaps what the messengers are trying to get at is what the Church teaches about private revelations.  “It is not their role (private revelations) to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history.”(52)   Perhaps what they are trying to say is that In God’s Love belongs to this time period, the “time of times”, as a way to help people live more fully and it should not be combined or linked to the book of Revelation which is a part of the “book of books” whose scope is the complete revelation of Christ to all ages.  The pages of John are closed as are all the other books of the Bible. The Church teaches that, while the understanding of the revelation of Christ is ongoing because the word and the spirit of God is alive; the writing of Scriptures is closed.  Perhaps the messengers are trying to communicate something else.  Whatever the messengers are trying to convey by twice mentioning the Book of Revelation and saying that this book is not a part of that book, I really cannot say I quite understand.  If they were saying that the book of Revelation was no longer relevant, that would be heresy, but I do not believe they are saying that because they call the Bible the irreplaceable “book of books” and encourage us to read and follow the Bible.(53)

899           Question number two is: How do we send the messengers respect by our prayers?   The messengers write, “While you bless God, you show us such very kind hearts.  And, while you pray, very much respect is sent our way.”(54)   How do we show them our hearts and send them respect in our prayers.  Since I have become aware of them I include them in my prayers as I do all the other saints and heavenly hosts.  I know in Mass we pray, “we shall sing your glory with every creature”(55)  and there are other prayers of the Church where we include all the heavenly hosts so they would (unknowingly) be included in these prayers.  To me, they give the impression that while anyone prays any prayer, they are sent respect and we show them our hearts.  Could it be in that in some mystical way, because they, too, have the Holy Spirit in them, that prayers lifted up in the Holy Spirit are seen and felt by them and if we give praise to God by praying to Him, then the Holy Spirit that is praised “feels” or “acknowledges” the praise and they receive the praise as well?  This is just me thinking, but it is interesting that they get to be praised and enjoy our prayers to God.

900           Question number three is: How are saints, like us, a source of life?  Yes, I know we, with God’s voice, create our children, but the following quote seems to go deeper.  The messengers write, “In God’s creations are many saints.  His heart is the only source of life, source of blessed life, most pure source of life.  In all creation, this is sent out in respect. Understanding in all life is such an inspiring music.  In God’s Spirit, this is why the Earth is so valuable.  Saints of God are a source of life in creation.”(56)   They just stated that God’s heart is the “only source of life” and then three sentences later say saints of God “are a source of life.”  I’m confused.

901          A fourth question comes from the following quote.  “God has given rules for each time of such regulations as needed on the Earth.  Adam was sent such orders until these rules were of less value.  Moses was sent such rules in his time.  And Christ brought His Church, blessed and true, in His time.  Blessed saints, such simple lives were seen on Earth.  In this time, Christ’s rules do not change.  Such is written: ‘Such rules must be understood.’  Such as written shall not be changed or added to or taken away.  In this, take comfort.  In this, understand: these rules must be adjusted to inspire man in his search for God.”(57)   It states that rules were given to Adam.  That is interesting.  It states that in his time Moses was given rules.  It proclaims that Christ give rules to His Church and Christ’s rules do not change.  Then they state that these rules must be “adjusted” so that man will be inspired to search for God.  What does that mean?  What is the difference between adjusted and changed?  Some possible examples may be, we can adjust our liturgical guidelines to encourage people to participate, for example in the celebration of the Eucharist, but we do not change what we believe about the Mass.  When I think of rules I usually think of morality.  What moral rules does the Church have that should not be changed, but adjusted to foster spiritual hunger?  But it does not necessarily have to be about morality.  It could be about loosening restrictions such as restricting ordinations to only celibate men.  It could be broadening possible theological interpretations to allow for unification of more Christian denominations.  Bottom line is I do not have a clue of what the messengers mean when they say, “these rules must be adjusted to inspire man to search for God,” and yet at the same time say, Christ’s rules shall not be changed. 

902           A fifth question comes from the following quote.  During the Second Woe, while writing about gathering of the Children of God from the Earth, they write the following interesting phrase: “We are saints of special quality, and, on our world, all this is finished.”(58)   One side observation is that we are talking about “saints of special quality” and not “Sirts”.  Are they the same thing?  Are Saints of Special quality the adult version of Sirts?  Are we dealing with two different races of God?  These are interesting questions, but the more perplexing one to me is what did they mean when the Saints of Special quality say that on their world all this is finished.  Did their race also have to undergo a time when they had to decide between good and evil, God and Satan and God won and Satan got booted off of their planet and now their planet is a new planet of the saints of special quality, or has Satan always been limited to our solar system?  Did they at one time experience death and suffering, even though the messengers clearly state that the only ones that they know of who have experienced suffering and death are Earth children and the only Son of God.  Maybe their time of testing, temptation, or proving their love for God, was done without the involvement of suffering and death.  Maybe their testing was done in a different manner.  Maybe it was done without Satan.  Maybe their battle is where Satan came from?  Maybe they had a different Satan?  Are they called saints of special quality because they know what we are going through because they have been tested?  All I can conjure up is speculation, because once again they do not give any more elaboration as to the details of their home planets’ journey to the state where Earth will be sometime in the future.  I suspect we will never know the answer to these questions until after we have finished our journey.

903           The sixth question is, “What does it mean to be the “last race” or the “last saints”.  The question comes from the following two quotes.  First the messengers write, “Sing in God’s love, O children of God.  You are the last chosen race.  God loves you, very blessed, little ones who seek God’s love.”(59)   This quote was preceded by writing about the sorrows on Earth and the reality of Earth time being “on its way out.”  The second quote is, “You are called the last saints.  Creation takes blessed spirits back into her fold.  Saints of Earth, come”(60)   What does that mean to be the “last chosen race” the “last saints”?  Does that mean that since we, who are the last in time or least in physical ability, are now “in”, the universe can embark into a new phase, a new dramatic phase of being already preplanned by God?  Does it mean we are the last ones and now God starts another “last race”?  Is there some significance to being last for us or for the universe?  Is there any connection at all to the New Testament refrains, “the last shall be first and the first shall be last”?  Notice, too, that the second quote mentions that we are called “back into her fold.”  Did the fall of Adam and Eve take us out of the fold and separate us from the rest of the universe which is in union with God, because of the infection of evil?  Once again there are many questions, no answers and many missing pieces to this puzzle as well.  The best answer to the question that began this paragraph is: “We do not have enough information to begin to formulate an answer other than pure speculation.”

            Part 3 Summary

904           The second part of this Chapter posed the following questions.   Why does the Book of Revelation get mentioned twice only to say In God’s Love is not connected to it?  Why and how does praying give the messengers respect?  How are we a source of life when God’s heart is the only source of life?  How is it that the rules of Christ and His Church are to remain unchanged, yet adjusted?  What does it mean that “all this is finished” on the saints of special quality’s world?  What does it mean, or of what significance is it, that we are the “last chosen race” the “last Saints”?  The answer to all of these questions is , “I really do not know.”

905           In the first part of this Chapter I dealt with three major questions about “being inscribed” “the unfolding of creation” and “Sirts”.  They are major in that they are reoccurring themes in the work In God’s Love.  While I do believe we have gained a greater appreciation of all three themes, like three separate puzzles without a completed image and with many pieces missing, we can begin to see the beauty of each topic, but our knowledge and information is so incomplete that we have to simply admit we don’t truly understand what it all means.  In the same way  the Church admits that it does not know how the consummation of the universe will happen and the new heaven and the new Earth will come about. 

906           There are lines of the Sacred Scripture that when Biblical Scholars are asked what exactly they mean, the honest answer is, “we do not know.”  Yet, the Bible for Catholics and for the messengers is the “book of books”.  Only a small portion of the Bible would fall into the above category and the same could be said for this “book of book” for the “time of times” as well. 

907           I have never done any study of other “private revelations” and indeed, other than Mary’s appearance in Guadalupe, I have never had any interest in any of them, whether they be related to Mary or not, whether they have been deemed “ valid” by the Catholic Church or not.  The Bible and the Catechism provide an endless supply of spiritual nourishment for me.  This fact makes it kind of ironic that I have been writing about the “private revelation” of In God’s Love to Janet Hurlow.  I would imagine, however, that even in approved “private revelations” there are probably parts of the vision, or message that if we asked the question, “What exactly does that mean?” the honest answer would be “We do not know.”  The fact that there remain questions unanswered did not deter it from being an approved “private revelation.”  If this is indeed the case, then the fact that we have at least 6 minor questions and 3 major unanswered questions about In God’s Love should not deter the Church from proclaiming it as a valid private revelation and that the text is not in conflict with the Catholic Church.    

  The next section in Part Two   Chapter 20 Things that Catholics Believe that are not included in In God's Love and that is OK