Vassula's prediction is connected with the passage on the "two witnesses" in the Apocalypse. The passage comes before the victory of Jesus over Satan and his followers in the Apocalypse (Rv 19:11 - 20:8). The two witnesses are described in the Apocalypse as two prophets who prepare for the victory of Christ. Their description is found in the Apocalypse, in chapter 11:1-13. The following extract (Rv 11:3-12) sums up their story. God says:

"'I will commission my two witnesses to prophesy for those twelve hundred and sixty days [i.e. three and a half years], wearing sackcloth' These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and devours their enemies .... They also have power to turn water into blood and to afflict the earth with any plague as often as they wish.

When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will wage war against them and conquer them and kill them. Their corpses will lie in the main street of the great city which has the symbolic names 'Sodom' and 'Egypt' where indeed their Lord was crucified. Those from every people, tribe, tongue, and nation will gaze on their corpses for three and a half days, and they will not allow their corpses to be buried. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and be glad and exchange gifts because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth. But after the three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered them. When they stood on their feet, great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, 'Come up here.' So they went up to eaven in a cloud as their enemies looked on."

Two 'Witnesses' are symbolic names for the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

In her messages, Vassula is clearly told that the two witnesses are symbolic names for the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The prophets in the reading we just saw have the same miraculous powers as Moses and Elijah, so in the following message of December 24, 1991, they are identified by those names:

"Some will ask: 'where are Elijah and Moses who are to come?' I tell you, you evil generation: We [Christ means the Two Hearts who are the two witnesses in the Apocalypse 11:1-3 and in Zechariah 4:1-14] have not been speaking in parables all these years -- Elijah and Moses have come already and you have not recognized them but treated them as you pleased. You have not listened to Our Two Hearts, the Immaculate Heart of My Mother and My Sacred Heart, you faithless generation. Our Two Hearts have not been speaking to you in parables nor in riddles .... but you have not understood .... but soon, very soon now, My Voice shall be heard again. I shall visit you by thunder and fire. Justice is at hand, and Our Two Hearts Whom you have combated, shall prevail in the end [allusion to Apocalypse 11:11], and the kingdom of the world will become My Kingdom. This is all very close now."

The statement that Moses and Elijah have come as the two Hearts might seem artificial to some people; however, it is very much like a passage we find in the Bible where Jesus too uses this sort of image to talk about preparations for His own first coming. The Jews were expecting Elijah to come before the Messiah, and so the Apostles were wondering how it was that Elijah had not returned to the earth. In Matthew 17:10-13, we read:

"Then the disciples asked him. 'Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' He said in reply, 'Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.' Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist."

Jesus uses Elijah in a symbolic sense

Here we see that Jesus uses the word Elijah in a symbolic sense to indicate the preparation for the first coming of Jesus Himself. It was John the Baptist who had this Elijah ministry during his life. Interestingly, Jesus insists on the image asserting that Elijah is still coming (in their future) to "restore all things." Not only that, in the vision of the transfiguration of the body of Christ (Mt 17:3), it is Elijah and Moses who appear at the side of Jesus. There is a Patristic tradition that says that the Mystical Body of Christ (i.e. the Church) must undergo all the mysteries of Christ's life. The message of Vassula recalls this tradition, for before the Church is divinized (transfigured) by the Holy Spirit, she must have this encounter with Elijah and Moses, but this time it will be in the persons of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The very last line of Vassula's message that we have just seen a moment ago speaks of the triumph of the Two Hearts; this same idea is parallel to the message of Father Gobbi about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart. Besides this promise of a future victory by the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Vassula was also given a date which points to the same hope that Father Gobbi raises. As we said above, he predicts the triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart and the fulfillment of her promises by the year 2000. Vassula's messages point in the same direction, for she received a message on May 10, 1995 which reads as follows:

"Let mankind know: I will hasten the Day of My Return. I once said to you [i.e. Vassula], not long ago, to hurry up with My Work because you were at the dawn of the great events; then later on I came again to you to tell you that you are facing the great tribulations to come; but now I am telling you: offer Me incense and pray every day so that I may grant you the grace of relief. My daughter, grief is coming, grief is well on its way into My sanctuary.

"This darkness of iniquity I foretold you; the three and a half years are already upon you; this hour has already been upon you since the beginning of this spring season [i.e. 1995]. Your generation has entered the beginning of sorrows and trials, these terrible times of iniquity; the times of abomination and desolation; the hour of shadows and of the beast, the times thrice cursed by Satan; the hour where he swore to harass My saints and My angels [messengers]. The times are here when the evil one will send one of his own to change My Law and seasons. It will appear to you then that Sovereignty and Splendour is not around you any more ... it will seem to you as though I have abandoned you all; it will appear to you all as though the two Beasts proved the stronger, but this will only be for a short time until My Return. I shall come like a thief...

"I shall suddenly come upon you to break the scepter of falsehood, and the earth will tremble. With just one of My glances I will make the rebellion of every nation quake and I will dissolve this rebellion that brought this Apostasy down on you like a plague; in My Flames I will dislodge the apostates and the thrones of those who changed seasons, My Tradition, and who passed their life contradicting and opposing My Abels [the loyal priests] and the one [Pope John Paul II] who shepherds them. I will stride the earth and will not leave one stone unturned, for I have sworn to devour with My Flames all that does not come from me and that defiled My Image. For years now I have been sending you new apostles to be among you to remind you of My Law and to listen to my warnings [Jesus sighed] -- they have been prophesying since many years now, but so veryfew listened... I have sent them to remind you to apply My Law and practice kindness and compassion towards each other ... but to this day your hearts are closed and harder then ever...."

Obviously then, according to Vassula's writings, the three and a half year period has come to an end (since it started in the spring of 1995). And clearly in Father Gobbi's writings (which predict that all will be over by the year 2000), the three and a half years of time is either over already or we are, in any event, living through it right now.

The book of Daniel indicates an additional month and a half (Dn 12:12), but even this time has expired by now if we base our calculations on the early spring of 1995. Hence the question raised by the title: what has become of this reign of the Antichrist?

We must look with the eyes of God

I believe the clue to all of this is to be found in a brief text where Vassula mentions that many of the prophecies made in True Life in God have already been accomplished, but no one noticed! What we fail to see is that we must learn to look at things with the eyes of God rather than our human eyes. That is why we should not be surprised if the Apocalypse is written from God's point of view rather than our own. We see only the superficial visible level, but God looks at what is happening on a spiritual level, and it is a this level that the book of Apocalypse is taking place, and so it is at this level that the reign of the Antichrist in the Church has come, and thank God we can say that it is over!

This would seem to be too good to be true, but I am convinced that in fact it is true. The Apocalypse is full of catastrophic events, but many of these are taking place on a spiritual level and we are therefore unaware of them. Thus it is hard to perceive that we have reached the other side of the mountain, so to speak, and that the force of the Holy Spirit is strengthening our steps towards home.

Purification of souls helps one to understand the catastrophic language of the Apocalypse

To understand the catastrophic language of the Apocalypse, we should take for example the vision that Vassula had of the purification that our souls will soon undergo as part of this work of the Holy Spirit. In it, we see a language like that of the Apocalypse that describes the inner state of many of our souls. For example on September 15, 1991 she received these words:

"... I will allow your soul to perceive all the events of your lifetime ... you will realize how much innocent blood your sins shed from victim souls ..... shriveled with your awakening, your eyes will be transfixed in Mine .... you will tremble and shudder when you will see yourself as a decaying corpse, devastated by worm and by vulture .... pray for the sinner who is unaware of his decay."

It is clear then, in the light of such a style of writing, that the catastrophic events which perhaps many are still expecting are going on right now around us, and we are unaware of them because we are looking at things through human rather than divine eyes. Not only that, we have turned some sort of corner, so to speak, and the three and a half years of the Antichrist is already over. Now the Holy Spirit has taken the upper hand. But what was this reign of the Antichrist then?

Prophets attacked because they speak on behalf of the Two Sacred Hearts

In True Life in God, Vassula has been told that the two witnesses are the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. This identity is important, for it means that we have to look for some attack on the witnessing of these Two Hearts some time in the early Spring of 95. Not only that, this attack must occur in the great city itself in as much as the great city has fallen under the domination of evil men (ecclesiastical masonry). Now the great city is clearly Rome, since this is the center where the Vatican holds sway. When I say the Vatican, I am not speaking of the Pope, for it is clear in Vassula's interpretation (which harmonizes well with Fr. Gobbi) that 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 refers to a conspiracy in the highest levels of the Catholic Church (the Vatican) to get around the Pope's authority and revolt against God himself (by attacking our contemporary prophets). The prophets are attacked because they speak on behalf of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

I think that it is clear now that the reign of the Antichrist was precisely connected with the conspiracy to cast True Life in God out of the Catholic Church and most specifically to cast it out of the city of Rome. This was hinted at when Jesus spoke to Vassula after the notification that arose from this conspiracy. (I use the word conspiracy because all was done secretly. No witnesses were called, no dialogue took place, and it is doubtful that Cardinal Ratzinger ever approved the original publication of the notification. Certainly the Pope had not approved.)

In any event, speaking of this notification, Jesus gave a message on October 15, 1995; please note carefully the words I have underlined in it:

See how my predictions come true? Flower-of-My-Heart, flame-of-My-Eyes, your mission will be accomplished only when I allow them to crucify you .... you were handed over by one of your own [Christ made me understand who] to the Romans so that they condemn you and then .... be crucified .... Your clothes, my child, will roll in your blood, and this too will be evidence that you come from Me .... In the meantime, while your oppressors will be rejoicing, My seventh angel will empty his bowl into the air, igniting the whole atmosphere into fire ...." In fact, when the seventh bowl is empties in the Apocalypse (Rv 16:17) the fire is in the form of lightning flashes and there is a great earthquake, the very same events that take place after the triumph of the two witnesses (Rv 11:13). Not only that, the sections which I have underlined all recall the two witnesses and the defeat of the Antichrist. The expression flame-of-My-Eyes recalls the description of Jesus in the Apocalypse when he attacks and defeats the two beasts during the reign of the Antichrist (Rv 19:12). The mention of the crucifixion and the rejoicing of the oppressors both recall the passage on the two witnesses (Rv 1:7-8 and Rv 11:10). The triumph over the Antichrist's short victory sets the stage for the final purification (Rv 11:13). The fact that the great city is called "Sodom" and "Egypt" shows that it is a place of rebellion against God. This whole idea is confirmed in the Apocalypse when it depicts Rome (built on seven hills) as a prostitute (Rv 17:3 and 17:9), which is the traditional Biblical image of God's people when they rebel against him (Ez 16:8-15).

Temporary success of the conspiracy

In fact, this conspiracy against True Life in God and the Two Hearts had a certain temporary success when the notification was published in October of 1995, but the conspirators failed to get Cardinal Ratzinger's support since he did not sign it when it was first published. Indeed, after he had stated "you may continue to promote her writings" (May 10, 1996), the conspirators, through their allies in the Sacred Congregation, were forced to admit publicly that in fact this was Cardinal Ratzinger's "interpretation" of the original notification. In effect, it was an acknowledgment that as far as Cardinal Ratzinger is concerned, the accusations made in the original notification remain unproved allegations. How else could he grant such a permission for "promoting her writings" unless he could see no legitimate grounds for restricting them? And if there were something really wrong, how, after so many years of Vassula's writings would the Cardinal be unable to find it?

I have concentrated on Vassula's writings here, but I think the writings of Father Gobbi should also be mentioned in this context. Although Vassula receives messages from both the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, her messages are mainly from Jesus, the Father and the Spirit. In the case of Fr. Gobbi, the messages are all from the Immaculate Heart, so in a certain way the writings of Fr. Gobbi and Vassula are complementary Each emphasizes one or the other of the Two Hearts. So one might ask, did this conspiracy against Vassula also manifest itself against Fr. Gobbi? It did. However, the action was more stealthy and cautious. Perhaps this was because the Marian Movement was already very firmly established among the clergy with more than 100,000 members, including many bishops. As a member of the Marian Movement of Priests, I was able to observe this stealthy approach against Fr. Gobbi in events that took place or were reported to us at the annual meetings in San Marino.

The first sign of what was in the mind of some in the Sacred Congregation was the change in the title of his book which they insisted on. Fr. Gobbi agreed to it out of obedience. The original title was Our Lady Speaks to Her Beloved Priests. Fr. Gobbi was told to change the title so that it read To the Priests, Our Lady's Beloved Sons. What is the difference? In the original title, it clearly states who is speaking: Our Lady. In the second title, it is unclear who is really speaking; it could be read simply as meditations created by Father Gobbi. In fact, the introduction continued to insist that these phrases in the book are really "locutions" from Our Lady, i.e. words received as spoken "in the heart" of Fr. Gobbi by Our Lady herself, word for word, in a kind of supernatural dictation. In fact, it gradually became clear that Father Gobbi and the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith were on a collision course.


The same strategy of attack on both Vassula and Fr Gobbi

In the notification about Vassula, her locutions were also called "meditations," and shortly thereafter the same strategy and expression meditations was used against Father Gobbi with the demand that he change the introduction accordingly. Again, out of obedience, Fr. Gobbi agreed, but he publicly insisted that these words certainly did not originate from him as their ultimate author. Indeed, he said that it was Our Lady who gave all of this to him. In fact, he compared himself to the talking donkey of Balaam in the Bible! The climax already was building up before the annual meeting in June of 1998. For the meeting, a representative was sent from the Vatican to inform us of these new changes in the introduction which they insisted on imposing (at that time, only the Italian edition had already implemented the change). Around 25 bishops and 300 priests were present when these and some other changes were proposed. All these changes seemed to be directly opposed to what the Pope himself had desired when he first proposed that the Marian Movement receive official recognition by the Church.

It seemed as if the Sacred Congregation was determined to destroy the very centerpiece of the movement: the messages entrusted by Our Lady to Father Gobbi. Now the messages would be considered merely the "meditations" of Fr. Gobbi. The reaction of the gathered delegates, bishops and priests, was of such irritation, that the Vatican representative gave us the clear impression that the whole matter could be negotiated again. At this point, it was commonly agreed that we should continue with the old imprimatur and introduction without the changes which the Sacred Congregation until then had appeared to want to impose at all costs. Needless to say, for many delegates it seemed that we were dealing with the very ecclesiastical masonry that Our Lady had already revealed as existing in the Curia, i.e., at the highest levels of the Church.

When did the three-and-a-half years begin?

One might ask, though, about the date for the three and a half years: when did it begin? Vassula speaks of early spring in 1995, whereas the document against her was published only in October of 1995. It is true that this is the date of publication, but it is also true that the eternal city is famous for the slowness with which it puts into action what as already been decided. Besides, originally, the conspirators no doubt had hoped to get Cardinal Ratzinger's signature. It seems that in desperation, they acted without it. In fact, also in the case of the Marian Movement, it took a long time for the attack to become full-blown, and we had not evidence that Cardinal Ratzinger was following the matter at all. Not only that, the Sacred Congregation seemed to be acting in direct opposition to the mind of the Pope!

In any event, this opposition to Fr. Gobbi and Vassula was certainly decided outside the Vatican anyway. Both Vassula and Fr. Gobbi had frequently denounced the masons in their writings. Those who took action in the Sacred Congregation were only instruments of hostile forces outside the Vatican itself. They are referred to in the Bible as the "two beasts": the masons and their allies in the clergy (the ecclesiastical masons). Some might be amazed that the masons would seek allies in the clergy, but it is clear that the Holy See stands as an obstacle to the secularizing forces which are trying to shape the world along their own lines. Thus, at Cairo, Beijing, and other international conferences, it is the Church, and particularly the Pope, which is standing in the way of their agenda.

It would be good now to turn to the question of the date of early spring on 1995. As a matter of fact, already in June or July of 1995, I had received a worried telephone call from Spain. A priest there was concerned because he had heard that Vassula's writings had been "condemned." This was months before the publication of the notification (which in fact was not a condemnation but merely a warning). In any event, with hindsight, I now realize that apparently the word was out in some ecclesiastical circles that a negative judgment was in prepartion. Jesus merely reveals to us that He knows when the key step was made.

In fact, Jesus had already warned us of all of this in a message of December 1, 1994:

"I have never ceased sending you My mouthpieces to warn you, yet to this day you have rejected, disowned, and raged at My messengers. Many of My sacerdotal souls, those who govern in high seats, have sworn to crush them .... They have exchanged Our Image We had given them which identified them as sons and daughters of the most High for the image of the Beast .... You were once My Eden Rome, My Garden of delights .... Today Rome, your souls has turned into the Beast's reflection and you have taken the position of sentry in My Territory to prohibit the entry to My Holy Spirit and the prophets who prophesy in My name, calling you for repentance and to renounce your evil ways .... You are outrageously rebellious and arrogant when it comes to the truth - this is why you claim to have knowledge and discernment on My heavenly Works so as to tarnish My mouthpieces who expose your darkness to the world."

Then God speaks of his mercy for the Church, describing the Pope as the one who "holds back this Rebellion": "I shall do the same for the sake of those who serve Me in righteousness and are obedient to the one who holds back this Rebellion in My house. I refuse to destroy the whole - but trouble for the bloodstained hands! .... thus your dark epoch will come to an end .... The outcome will be My Promise: the New Heaves and the New Earth... Rome, who had ever shown such determination as Mine to save you? My Glory is rising on you, though night still covers you; above you My splendour appears .... even now they are not listening but lay traps for my mouthpieces ... so not until they come to confess their guilt and seek My Holy Spirit will I relent ...."

However, after all this rejection of Vassula and after all the attacks against her, what do we now see? Just as the attacks againts Fr. Gobbi now seem to be a dead letter, Vassula too has been vindicated. Vassula (by divine providence) has come to live and once again minister in the very city that did not want her and her writings from the Two Hearts. Now the truth has triumphed in very city that "crucified" God's mouthpieces and the Two Hearts. In Vassula's case, it all happened not by any planning of Vassula or her friends, it all came about through a new assignment for her husband who now works in Rome. The woman that the "Beast" (ecclesiastical masonry) hoped to have banished from the city is back again and destined to triumph.

True Life in God ministry is of utmost importance

Some readers might feel that is far-fetched to think that the Bible itself is speaking of our contemporary prophets or specifically of True Life in God, but anyone who has carefully followed the creation of this "Love Hymn," as Jesus calls it, cannot think that Vassula's mission has been of slight importance in the history of salvation. She has a ministry to restore Christian unity and ultimately the kingdom of God on earth. Moreover, like the prophets of old, her ministry, True Life in God, will continue to nourish souls till the end of the world. It is truly a classic for all times, and a guidebook to living in the new era of peace of Fatima, which is certainly the era of peace of the Apocalypse, the "thousand years" or Millennium.

What does all of this mean? It means that the enemy (Satan) is routed and that the Lord is now crushing his power with the breath of his mouth (i.e. the Holy Spirit, cf. 2 Thes 2:8 and Jn 20:22) The purification which Vassula speaks of on September 15, 1991 has not yet arrived, but as a spiritual equivalent of the atomic bomb, the destruction of Satan's kingdom cannot be far away. In short, Vassula's writings confirm the hope and the promise raised by Our Blessed Virgin in the writings of Fr. Gobbi that the era of peace is truly at our doorstep.