Protestant Prophecies & Visions

[mercuriel]

Hi there,

Is anyone who claims to have visions of angels, demons, heaven and hell, etc, but is not a Catholic - can their stories ever be true? Can they ever be legitimate too?

What about protestants who claim to have visions or experiences akin to certain medieval saints etc?

What does the Catholic Church say on such things?

Thank you very much,
Chris

 

[DavidFilmer]

The Catholic Church teaches about Catholics. She teaches nothing about protestants.

I see no reason why a protestant could not have legitimate visions. If they have received valid Christian Baptism (and most have) then they were placed into a state of Grace. If they have avoided mortal sin, they remain in a state of Grace (no differently than any Catholic).

But I think most people who claim to have visions (regardless of their faith) are merely hallucinating.

What about protestants who claim to have visions or experiences akin to certain medieval saints

If they think the vision was real then why would they remain protestant?

 

[Crusaderbear]

Having a vision and correctly interpreting it may be quite different.

 

[littlestsouls2]

Having a vision and correctly interpreting it may be quite different.

True. Also, if one is not grounded in Church teaching, which constitutes true theology, then there is an increased danger of deception.

Fr. Garrigou Lagrange wrote a chapter in one of his books about mystics outside the Church. From what I recall, he seems to admit the possibility of genuine mystical experiences, including visions. (I have not read the book in a while, though).

 

[AZDean]

Hi there,

Is anyone who claims to have visions of angels, demons, heaven and hell, etc, but is not a Catholic - can their stories ever be true? Can they ever be legitimate too?

What about protestants who claim to have visions or experiences akin to certain medieval saints etc?

What does the Catholic Church say on such things?

Thank you very much,
Chris

God can do whatever he wants.We can never know why he would or wouldnt.

 

[Even_So]

Hi there,

Is anyone who claims to have visions of angels, demons, heaven and hell, etc, but is not a Catholic - can their stories ever be true? Can they ever be legitimate too?

Thank you very much,
Chris

Chris, lemme share with you a, uh, something i experienced some time ago. I was abusing an inhalant of a sort, so take it which ever way you wish. I may edit it a bit from the original pm.

…i blacked out and fell out of a rocking chair onto the floor. Dunno how long i was out, prolly short, but i was in a dark place, yet there were colors of orangish yellow. A dark figure was talking to me from afar moving toward me and i could not move, like i was frozen in fear. I tried so hard for a long time to push it out of my mind, into my sub conscious part of my brain because i knew it was Satanic. I wish i could remember what was said to me now. It still took me many years to figure out what i thought i saw until i got back right with the Lord so i know now to “fear the One who can destroy both the body and soul in hell” and how i would be hating eternity. The only reason i think i know what i saw was because i asked Jesus to be my Savior as a child, so i believed in Heaven and Hell. But if what i saw was the Lake of Fire, i don’t want anything to do with it. And if i did see that, was it from God? Satan? Satan thru God? But why would Satan let me see my punishment? Was it a hallucination? Nope. I was out cold. Hallucinations are for the coherent. Music with a Satanic message in the background? Fixated on the fact that i should be in Godly lifestyle? I’ve run it all thru my head. Well, we’re here now and no need to say it is far better than there (my vision). God Bless.

This is what i take of it :doh2:: I don’t care what you have done in your walk with GOD, if you toe the line in life with Him by thinking you can do whatever you want- for me it was accepting CHRIST as my Savior and yes i was baptized- and walk away knowingly then die, you can and will lose your salvation. Don’t push it. Or the LORD! You will lose. And have forever to think about it. Now that is hell! I would take burning alive over that. At least that is temporary.

 

[chimo]

Hi there,

Is anyone who claims to have visions of angels, demons, heaven and hell, etc, but is not a Catholic - can their stories ever be true? Can they ever be legitimate too?

What about protestants who claim to have visions or experiences akin to certain medieval saints etc?

What does the Catholic Church say on such things?

Thank you very much,
Chris

The Orthodox Church has many visions and mystical experiences that would astound you if you ever get the opportunity to read up about them. If you think the Catholic Church has only these experiences than I invite you to go to the East and witness the thousands of other experiences which the Orthodox Church has written about. One of these great witnesses is the Orthodox saint, St. Seraphim of Sarov, Russia. In his search to be more united with the Lord Jesus the saint went through many mystical experiences including some interesting manifestations of the devil who wanted to scare St. Seraphim from his great mission. The Lord allowed this great struggle with the devil so as to secure a better judgment from Seraphim. The devil even openly revealed himself to the saint to try to scare him. With this struggle finally won by St. Seraphim the saint received a vision of the Mother of God with the Apostles Peter and John beside her and told them “he is now one of us.” The saint then became a great communicator of the faith to all the pilgrims who wanted to seek the Lord. He was a monk of the Eastern Orthodox Church and lived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He is one of many thousand of saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church who had received incredible graces and even visions.

 

[ichabode]

What does the Catholic Church say on such things?

The Catholic Church teaches that Public Revelation ceased with the death of the last Apostle. Public Revelation is binding on all Christians and we must submit to the teachings of Christ.

Private Revelation’s like you are asking about are not binding on anyone. If you choose to believe that some is revealing that God, or a Saint spoke to them you should always take extreme caution. At any point if it conflicts with Public Revelation the person is either not transmitting what was said properly or they are deceiving you and others. After all scripture says not even if an Angel delivered to you a different message should you believe it.

Too bad Mohammad and Joseph Smith didn’t adhere to that, or David Koresh, or Charles Taz Russel, or Mary Baker Eddy etc etc.

 

[ichabode]

Having a vision and correctly interpreting it may be quite different.

Fr. Benedict Groeschel covered that very topic in his book, “A Still Small Voice”. It is a fantastic explanation on Public and Private Revelation.

For anyone who would read it I only caution them not to give up Private Revelation altogether. I cannot explain why, but it seems that reading that book sometimes has that affect on people. Love Our Lady of Guadalupe and Fatima.