“Beware that you are not led astray;

for many will come in my name and say,

‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’

Do not go after them.”

Contents:

INTRODUCTION 2

WHO IS VASSULA RYDÉN? 2

AUTOMATIC WRITING OR HIERATIC WRITING? 4

WHO IS MOVING VASSULA’S HAND? 5

UNBIBLICAL STATEMENTS AND TENDENCIES 6

OCCULT FEATURES 10

TO REJECT VASSULA IS TO REJECT ME, JESUS CHRIST 15

A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH 18

THE CRUCIFIXION, ACCORDING TO VASSULA’S JESUS 20

TWO JESUS’ES 22

“DO NOT GO AFTER THEM” 28

Introduction

These days so many spiritual phenomenons pop up in society and even within the churches that you hardly become aware of them before a new one appears. For me, as probably for most people, it would be an impossible task to scrutinise them all. Furthermore, such work often only causes people to choose a for or against position, which leaves us with an unsolved problem and a lack of a thorough testing and judgement of the matter.

When among the many I chose to look closer into the phenomenon of Vassula Rydén, it was due to the fact that I realized she was receiving her messages through a strange handwriting, which is a kind of spiritual contact I have experienced myself back in the sixties.

A person “from the higher spheres” captured my hand and pen, conquering my life completely. He called himself Jesus of Nazareth, and he told me that I was chosen to be an angel of light on Earth, spreading messages from the divine to the spiritually poor of this world. For a period of three months I was bathing in the presence of a wonderful supernatural being. And I was totally convinced that he was the person he claimed to be.

But through events, about which I much later wrote a book called “With a guided hand”, it reached its climax in a confrontation where, in the same immaculate handwriting as always, he wrote the words: “I am the Devil, and I own your soul!” By the grace of God, the unveiling brought about my liberation rather than a breakdown, and by the same grace of God I became able to return to reality and a normal life soon after without having suffered severe mental damage.

Several years later I accidentally read about “automatic writing”. It was said to be a well-known occult practice, and I realized that this was what I had been involved in, and it is also what I believe Vassula Rydén is involved in now.

Who is Vassula Rydén?

In the fall of 1993 I read a small article in my Christian newspaper about a woman who was coming to Denmark to share with Danish Christians something she called “messages from Jesus”. Apparently, she claimed to be receiving these messages from a divine source through a strange handwriting.

This was the first time I heard about Vassula Rydén, and as this article offered only scarce information I decided to look closer into the matter myself. I bought the two first “True Life in God” books, containing “notebooks 1-31 and 32-58”, which cover the period from September 1986 till March 1992.

The books contain extracts of her alleged daily conversations with Jesus, who guides her hand so she can write down his own words, in his own handwriting; a handwriting which is very different from her own.

The introductions to these books, and her later book “My angel Daniel”, give us some facts about her life. She was born in 1942 to Greek parents, who lived in Egypt where she grew up.

There is only little information about her childhood; however, what we are told is of considerable interest when compared with her later spiritual revelations.

As a child she had very vivid dreams about Satan chasing her in the shape of a big black dog, and about Jesus who wanted to attract her and make her his bride. As a teenage girl she frequently saw souls of dead people around her.

In 1966 she married a Swedish civil servant who was working for FAO. They had two sons together. They later divorced, and in 1981 she married Per Rydén, whose job as an international diplomat for many years meant the family had to live in changing homes around the world. She now (2005) lives in Rome where her husband works for the UN.

So her outward life has been that of a diplomat’s wife with all the social obligations that entails. She is also said to be a talented painter and an excellent tennis player. A friend of hers states that she was a perfect example of a down-to-earth secular person with a happy and busy life. She was by no means hostile to spiritual questions but her main interests were elsewhere.

With this in mind it is easy to understand her feeling of total astonishment when, one day in 1985, while making a shopping list she suddenly feels her hand moving in a mysterious way and watches it write in a strange handwriting: “I am your guardian angel, and my name is Daniel”.

She tells us she did not actually get scared – rather, she became deeply fascinated and thrilled with this sudden and unexpected contact with a supernatural dimension. It is quite likely that until that moment she had gone through life with a very limited interest in spiritual things, but, bearing in mind her dreams as a child, it does not seem unreasonable to conclude that she is a person who has always been an open channel to spiritual frequencies, although perhaps without her knowledge.

Through her conversations with the angel Daniel, she is, over the course of a few months, led into a radically changed life, which is totally concentrated on following the guidance and directions given to her in the strange handwriting.

After some time Jesus replaces Daniel, and over the next many years he is the dominant writer. Once in a while though, she communicates with others, such as Yahweh, Maria and the Holy Spirit.

From the beginning of the nineties and up till now (2005), Vassula has published 12 books, containing extracts from these conversations. They have been translated into 40 different languages, and she travels around the world spreading the messages that keep coming to her, through lectures and personal contacts.

On the surface the messages from Vassula seem similar to many other spiritual messages of peace and unity. But underneath runs an undercurrent of something quite different. In this analysis I will try to shed some light on this undercurrent.

I think most people will understand that after an experience like my own, you become very sceptical when you meet similar phenomenons. When, in addition, the person from beyond introduces himself in a strange handwriting as Jesus, it certainly worries me.

In New Age circles there is a very popular activity called channeling. People open their minds to the supernatural dimension and let themselves be dictated messages from above – sometimes by an inner voice, sometimes by writing the automatic handwriting. The messages are about peace and love among all races and nations, and they offer promises of Heaven on earth if we will only follow our spiritual guides. Several other Jesuses have come forward in this way!

Since the time when Vassula started spreading her messages many people have pointed out the similarities between her writings and this occult technique of channeling via automatic writing.

Automatic writing or hieratic writing?

“But Vassula’s strange handwriting is not at all automatic writing”, her defenders say. What her hand brings forth is a “sacred writing” or a “hieratic writing”, which in their opinion is something quite different. Among others they find support for this opinion from a French Catholic New Age expert and exorcist, Christian Curty (C.C.in the following), who has written a long and learned account on the differences between the two phenomenons.

He gathers his evidence, which he claims to be safe proofs, in some main points that I will quote from and comment on below:

C.C.:

She often receives a message from an inner voice when she is out and is unable to write it down immediately. When she gets home and starts writing, her handwriting changes from her own to the strange one. This is not automatic writing, he says, because she heard the message first as an inner voice.

My comment:

I too quickly learnt to hear my guide as an inner voice and write the messages down later. There is no difference between my experience and Vassula’s.

C.C.:

While writing she can anytime she wants interrupt the dictation to take care of for instance a domestic duty or answering a telephone call. She can leave and come back as she pleases, and she is at all times completely conscious of her surroundings.

My comment:

So could I and so was I. I always knew what was going on around me, I could choose to write, and I could choose not to. You do not lose your senses or fall into a trance during automatic writing. You communicate consciously with an external being. No difference here either.

C.C.:

She can receive a kind of “interior light” without any clearly pronounced words. When she hastens to start writing down this “insight” Jesus takes over and changes the handwriting into his own “as if to give the revelation a seal from on high”. And Curty concludes: “It is thus in no way automatic writing”.

My comment:

Here I can only ask: why on earth not?

C.C.:

Sometimes, when she hears a message by an inner voice, she writes it down in her own handwriting. This is what Curty calls sacred, divinely inspired writing, which is by no means automatic writing.

My comment:

Of course her own writing is not automatic writing, but who is dictating her? Who does the inner voice belong to? I was able to do the same thing – there is no difference.

C.C.:

Praises the handwriting for its extreme beauty, and he points out that it inspires a great peace in those who read it. “Truly this Writing is beautiful and can only be good!” he concludes.

My comment:

My strange handwriting was very beautiful too. The letters were greatly shaped and the writing gave an impression of order and peaceful calmness. And yet it ended up forming the words: “I am the Devil…”

It really makes you wonder how a “spiritual expert” can state, without hesitation, that if something is beautiful and inserts a feeling of peace it can only come from God.

My conclusion on Christian Curty’s proofs is that he proves nothing which differs from my own experience with automatic writing. He claims Vassula’s writing to be quite a different matter, and of course he has the right to defend his opinion. But as proofs, his judgement is pure “fairy mists”.

It seems that Vassula herself has been confronted with the question of automatic writing, and she did what seems natural for her to do when in some way challenged: she asked Jesus for advice. His answer was that no, it is not automatic writing. In the introduction to one of her books she tells the sceptics how he proved it to her. He dictated a message to her inner ear, and then she wrote it down in her own handwriting. The message ended: “This is for all those who think that your hand is moved by me without your hearing or understanding that it is I, the Lord, who inspires you. Now let us continue in the way I like it, My Vassula.”

And then his handwriting took over again.

If you examine this performance in the clear light of day and logic, there is absolutely no proof given of the identity of the writer. It is still the same person telling us only in a different way: “Certainly I am Jesus!” The only thing it proves is that Vassula is able to hear him as well as write in his handwriting.

Who is moving Vassula’s hand?

When today many Christians talk about Vassula as “one of the most prominent living prophets” one must assume that they have decided to believe in the godly origin of the messages. She is a true prophet contrary to a false one. She is God’s mouthpiece, a seer who, “guided word by word by Jesus” as one of her introducers say, calls us to listen to what the Holy Spirit wants us to hear these days.

As a sign of her authenticity they mention her pleasant personality and her god-fearing life. She is free, cheerful and modest and she radiates dignity, strength and humility. I have no reason to question these character traits.

Another sign mentioned is the many good fruits that come from her activities. People experience a renewed and more profound faith and they start praying and attending church at a whole new scale. That is a fact too.

I am convinced that she is authentic. She is not a false prophet in my opinion, because a false prophet will prophesy on his own account and for his own benefit. I do not think she is doing that.

But there is a very important thing missing, in fact the most important one, in the many attempts to test and evaluate Vassula’s work, namely the testing of THE SPIRIT. The testing of the person who, in a supernatural way, is telling her – and us – that he is Jesus Christ, the Jesus we know from the Bible.

He is one who comes to us saying: “I am Christ!” and “The time is near!” And according to the Scriptures these words should compel any Christian to seek double proof and sound biblical confirmation before believing his words.

Vassula’s personality and god-fearing life is no proof of his authenticity, for a person who is not working for her own benefit and who understands herself as a servant of higher and benevolent powers will quite naturally seem, and probably be, confident, free and humble. She will not find it difficult to completely surrender herself to her task. She is authentic, yes. But is he?

Positive outcomes and good fruits are not in themselves enough proof either, because a fervent soul who believes herself to be speaking from supernatural inspiration will always be like a magnet attracting others and making them follow.

Looking only at the surface and the visible signs, many aspects of the messages and of Vassula’s life and service can appear to be Gods voice and God’s work.

But if it is true that the spiritual world holds two powers and not just one – which I am quite aware is a crucial problem for even many Christians today – most people much too easily leave out the important question: Who is the person writing through Vassula’s hand? Is he really the Jesus we know from the Bible?

Reading through the two TLIG-books from 1991, I tried in 1995 to find the answer to that question, and in 2005 I changed a few things in my script and added some information in the light of the development of Vassula’s work over the years.

Through examples and comments I have pointed out phrases, words and thoughts that in my view are contradicting his claim to be Jesus Christ. You do not unveil a false spirit by pointing out all that is in agreement with the biblical truths, you do it by throwing light on what contradicts them.

Naturally, with such substantial material it has been difficult to make selections. But I have aimed at finding examples that are not just isolated statements in isolated situations, but which show theological thoughts and tendencies that run through the entire course of events and through the relationship between Vassula and her supernatural guide.

Nothing is meant as an attack on Vassula’s person, I am searching only for the truth about him.

Unbiblical statements and tendencies

Vassula’s conversations with the person who claims to be Jesus are characterized by an abundant flow of words. She does not say much herself, but the teachings and answers he gives her come in a smooth and glittery stream of words. As a rule his tone is warm and loving, especially when he is addressing her about her task or their relationship. But he also speaks with great passion when he tells her how much he loves all of us, and how much he suffers seeing us wandering off on our own paths, instead of taking the ones that God prepared for us.

As I have mentioned before, the messages do not differ much from many other spiritual messages, and the reader very easily gets drawn into the idea of a great and embracing love from above. But beneath the warm and glittery stream of words runs an undercurrent of something quite different: a hard, merciless tone, and words and phrases that are in clear conflict with the words and the spirit of the Bible. Usually they are covered up carefully in soft formulations, thus making it difficult for the reader to realize their true contents. In fact, when pointing out something worrying, I have often heard people say: “Oh, but is that really what the messages say – I have been reading them a lot, but I never noticed that!”

In this chapter I have tried to go beneath the surface of these words and phrases to make the content stand out clearer. Taken separately, the examples may not seem much to look at, but put together they draw lines deviating from classic theology.

EXAMPLE 1:

January 23rd, 1987:

“I can teach you to become worthy of Me…“

My comment:

It cannot be said that his promises of teaching her to be humble, honest faithful etc. are unbiblical, as long as we emphasize and keep in mind that in the end all spiritual growth is Gods work in us by His Holy Spirit. But it is not biblical that we can learn to be worthy of him. We are worthy only “in Christ”. It cannot be learnt, it is given to us, and it must be received in faith.

EXAMPLE 2:

a) May 1st, 1987:

“I will always remind you of your wretchedness and the shadows of your past. I will remind you of how you denied me and rejected My great Love when I approached you…”

b) January 16th, 1991:

“I overlook all that you do not do in My favour…”

c) January 27th, 1992:

“You are a most imperfect instrument but My Compassion sees your efforts in your imperfection and My Wrath gets disqualified by My Tenderness…”

My Comment:

These three statements are characteristic for what he preaches about sin and grace.

a) In the Old Testament (Micah 7,19) we read about the Lord forgiving his unfaithful people: “Thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea”. And in the New Testament we are clearly and repeatedly told that our sins are wiped out by the blood of Christ. It makes no sense that Jesus would keep reminding us of what God has cast into the depths of the sea and what Jesus has wiped out with his blood.

b) Jesus does not “overlook” or ignore our sins and trespasses – he shows us his mercy (takes pity on us), he forgives us.

c) His wrath is not disqualified by tenderness, but by his sacrifice, his dying on Golgotha. (And besides, does our imperfection arouse his wrath?)

EXAMPLE 3:

May 9th, 1987:

“I will endure and forgive your sins, but I will not endure your hatred against Me…”

(Here he is speaking of those who do not accept the messages.)

My comment:

He who “endured such contradiction of sinners against himself” (Hebrews 12,3) no longer endures?

EXAMPLE 4:

March 26th, 1987:

“I will baptize them with My Holy Spirit and free them completely; for not until they would be baptized by the Holy Spirit would they be able to share My Kingdom.”

My comment:

Here he talks to Vassula about dead people whose souls he is showing her in a vision. “They” are spirits from Hades (which in a footnote is said to be equal to Purgatory.) But “baptism in the Holy Spirit”, or whatever you wish to call this phenomenon, is given to living human beings, not to dead spirits. And it is not the “baptism in the Holy Spirit” that, as he says, opens the door to the Kingdom of God, it is what Jesus did on Golgotha – and only that. In the same message he also states that if you, dead or alive, “fail to recognize Me because of this obduracy”, meaning that if you will not believe that he is the Jesus from the Bible, you blaspheme the Holy Spirit and you will never be forgiven. Everything stands or falls with our recognizing him as the true Jesus. This is in contradiction to what the Bible says.

EXAMPLE 5:

a) December 25th, 1990:

“Imitate Me your Lord and you shall live.”

b) April 1st, 1989:

“Be a copy of Me…”

My comment:

The words “imitate” and “copy” are both used frequently. The linking of “imitate” and “live” is not biblical. The Gospel says that whoever believes in Jesus shall live, it does not say that whoever imitates him enough shall live. It is a matter of receiving in faith. Of course it can never be wrong to strive to be like Jesus, but he does not ask us to be cloned copies, he asks us to follow him as disciples. He asks us to let ourselves be grafted like branches into the tree, which is himself. Then the branch will grow naturally, drawing nourishment from the root.

EXAMPLE 6:

November 15th, 1988:

“I am giving you many graces Vassula, although you merit none. I have servants who merit so much more than you – I am only reminding you…”

My comment:

Apart from the unpleasant sarcasm of the last sentence which I do not find in agreement with the nature of Jesus, this is a statement where he contradicts himself. Again and again he has stated that no man deserves Gods grace or the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Which of course is biblical. But if no one deserves the grace and gifts, how then can he claim to “have servants who merit so much more”?

EXAMPLE 7:

November 8th, 1989:

“My Cross of Peace and Love…”

My comment:

This is what he always calls his cross. Maybe he wants us to think of what is said in Colossians 1,20 that God “made peace through the blood of his cross”. But the peace mentioned there is not “peace on earth” or “peace between Christians” as Vassula’s Jesus continuously calls out for. It is the peace “between God and man” – the reconciling between us as lost sinners and our heavenly father by the death of his son. The cross of the Lord Jesus is a cross of humiliation and suffering, and I doubt that he would call it anything but that.

EXAMPLE 8:

January 9th, 1991:

“Allow Me to leave My Cross on you. Courage, daughter! My Cross is heavy and weighing on you but I know that you will be willing to carry It till the end.”

And right after that her angel, Daniel, urges her:

“Remember, the Lord has rested you, but now, would you not want to rest Him too? Vassula, satisfy Him then and allow Him to crush you with sufferings.”

My comment:

Here we are probably supposed to get an association to “knowing the fellowship of his sufferings” (Philippians 3,10) so we will accept it as a biblical principle. But according to the Gospel, the cross is not something he asks our permission to leave on our shoulders, but something he asks us to “take up” (Matthew 16,24). And he also says: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11,30).

EXAMPLE 9:

a) March 26th, 1989:

“Be happy that I have chosen you to share My sufferings. My Cross, ever so precious, rests on you, I need to rest…” (his own underlining)

b) July 12th, 1991:

“Carry My Cross when I am weary and console My Heart that aches for lack of Love.”

My comment:

In these two phrases, as in Ex.8 and in numerous other places through the conversations, he tells us that his reason for putting the cross on human shoulders is to be relieved of it himself! He is simply tired and depressed and needs help and consolation. This is certainly an interpretation very alien to everything that has been handed down through Christianity.

EXAMPLE 10:

March 20th, 1991:

“If you ask me: “What must we do then to gain eternal Life?” I tell you: repent! Follow My Commandments, produce the appropriate fruits, and I, in the presence of My angels I shall offer you the room I have reserved for you.”

My comment:

No doubt the Gospel urges us to repent, to follow his commandments and to bear fruit, and no doubt his words have a great resemblance with Matthew 19,16-22 and Luke 10,25-28. But then again he seems to turn it all upside down. Our salvation is not a reward for righteous living and good fruits. Righteous living and good fruits develop from receiving salvation as a gift. And what happened to: “Everyone who believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life” (John, 3,16)?

EXAMPLE 11:

September 19th, 1991:

“…I too rejoice for this Day when Satan’s head will be crushed by My Mother’s heel.”

My comment:

According to the Bible crushing Satan’s head is not a task given to Maria, but to Jesus himself – cf. 1. John, 3,8: “The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” (Also see Genesis 3,15 and Romans 16,2o).

EXAMPLE 12:

March 4th, 1992:

“Canada is Mine…”

My comment:

Jesus does not conquer nations, he conquers the hearts of men – in all nations.

EXAMPLE 13:

March 3rd, 1992:

“Bring souls to Me that I may consume them in My Sacred Heart. I am thirsty for souls.”

EXAMPLE 14:

March 30th, 1992:

“You are destined to honour Me and lead souls to Me so that I may consume them.”

My comment:

If you look up synonyms of the word “consume”, used in these two examples, you find words like: use up, eat up, waste, waste away, destroy by fire(!). There are simply no “positive” suggestions. If we consider what is normally understood as “the work of Jesus by the Holy Spirit” these words seem to be in very little agreement. But it is in fine agreement with what we usually understand as the works of the devil. (Cf. The chapter on occult features p. 20)

EXAMPLE 15:

a) December 4th, 1986:

Vassula says: “You have seduced me… I do not regret; how could I, since I am seduced now!”

b) December 13th, 1986:

Vassula:
“You seduced me, and I like it!”

c) January 8th, 1987:

Vassula: “Do you want me, Jesus?” He answers: “O I do! I eagerly want you, I want to entice you!”

My comment:

This exchange of loving outbursts happens in the first “flirtatious phase” of their relationship. Very quickly he gets her full attention and awakens her longing to obey and serve him. Even if you recognize the playful tone of their mutual wooing, I just cannot imagine that the true Jesus would be playful about the fact that somebody felt “seduced” by him, or that he would use the word “entice” about what he wants to do with us.

But again, the words fit in perfectly with occult language and context.

In fact, I find that examples 14 and 15 very clearly tell us who he is and what he is planning to do with Vassula and the many others she is going to bring to him. He has seduced her, and he will keep enticing and alluring her so she will “happily” (he asks her if she is happy, and she says that oh yes, she is – very much!) fulfil her purpose: to bring souls to him for him to “consume” – eat up, waste away and destroy!

Addition 2005:

In the Danish translation of Vassula’s messages, the two words “seduce” and “entice” are changed into words with a different meaning.

“You seduced me!” is translated: “You ravished me!”

“I want to entice you!” is translated: “I want to draw you close to me!”

This surely sounds much nicer, but after all it is not what it says in the message. It is not what Vassula’s Jesus said to her in the beginning of their relationship.

Occult features.

Church authorities, who have tried to evaluate Vassula Rydén and her conversations with the person who calls himself Jesus, have agreed on four possibilities: It may be the true Jesus who is speaking, it may be the thoughts and inspirations of Vassula’s subconscious mind, or it may be a false – and evil – spirit. And finally there is the possibility that Vassula, out of hidden and suspect motives, has built her own spiritual empire and is simply spreading her own self-made teachings.

I share the common belief among Vassula’s followers that it is not coming from her subconscious mind. I also go along with the conclusion that she has not made it all up. That leaves us with the choice between God’s Spirit and a false spirit. And this is where people are divided. But the voices proclaiming that it is God’s Spirit speak a lot louder than the sceptics. I have the impression that many people keep quiet about their doubts, because they fear judging something to be false when it might in fact be true. In itself a laudable position, but when it comes to judging a spiritual source it becomes dangerous, because you very easily let yourself be convinced: “It is probably just me being too critical – who am I to judge!”

And it is true, we should not judge each other. But we certainly do need to test and evaluate.

It cannot be denied that the conversations in many ways are similar to what we would recognize as the Spirit of God. Vassula’s Jesus expresses himself in a “Christian language”, and he uses terms and metaphors well-known to most Christians. But as I have tried to point out in the previous chapter, aspects of the conversations contradict the classic Gospel to such a degree that it must arouse suspicion.

It looks like God – yes, to a considerable degree. But to an alarming extent it also looks and sounds like the philosophies and messages occurring in the occult part of the spiritual world.

In the following ten examples I have wanted to highlight the similarities with the occult, as it shows through in the conversations.

1) The words:

The enormous amount of big words with a very modest core of meaning, and the repeating of the same things over and over again. The emotional language which seems to take possession of him and carry him away in verbosity.

These characteristics are quite similar to the outpourings and messages you hear from spiritualistic mediums or other occult channels. And just as is the case with these mediums, Vassula’s Jesus gives the impression that the contents of the words are not the real issue. In fact you get the feeling that he is rather indifferent to making her understand the essence of his words, because their true purpose is not to communicate his message, but simply to communicate. To create and maintain contact.

There is a huge “I” and a nearly as big a “YOU”, and what lies between “I” and “YOU” only seems important if it serves the purpose of creating and consolidating their connection. “Never weary of writing!”
he tells her over and over.

2) The treatment of the servant:

Vassula is a dominated and obedient tool who humbly submits to any kind of control and directions. At the same time she is lifted above ordinary mortals because of her special calling and knowledge. The “we-us” relationship forms a protecting and isolating ring around the two of them, so that all she lives for is the reality within the circle. She would not want to be without it at any price.

This too is very similar to the relationship between a spiritualistic medium and his or her spiritual guide.

3) Blurry and evasive answers:

Clear questions and simple problems are met with empty answers.

On January 8th, 1987, Vassula has visited a sceptical priest who declares her writings “evil and divinations”. Vassula pours out her troubles to her Jesus, and he answers: “I know, narrate Me by saying to him: Divinations are for fools; inspirations are for blessed children. Divinations bear no fruits; inspiration bear good fruits feeding many”.

On November 7th, 1989, Vassula is wondering at the fact that at times she finds mis-spellings in the writings. A very natural wondering, considering she is talking to someone who claims to be perfect! He answers: “Vassula, these are your own (mis-spellings), not Mine.” (A strange statement seeing that he so often tells her that every word she writes is coming directly from him!)
“I have chosen you because you are imperfect and with many weaknesses…”

She goes on wondering that sometimes he uses words, not known to her. “I
do,” he answers, “when the need comes I have you under dictation and it is wrong to believe that this is My handwriting.”

“Why then the difference of writing?” she asks and gets the reply:

“I like it this way. I use My instruments as they are with all their imperfections…”

He continues his blurry answers and keeps shifting all blame for problems or mistakes onto her, wrapping it up in soothing, loving words.

The same pattern is seen on February 25th, 1991, when once again she wonders at incorrect language, and he says: “Yes, you are obliging Me to reduce Myself to your level of grammar to reach you and your limited knowledge of words. Oh yes! You are most imperfect as an instrument…”

With his tender “I am so big, and you are so small, but I love you anyway”- wrapping, he succeeds in giving her the impression that her questions have been met with satisfying answers. But they have not. There is no real substance in his words, and there is a striking lack of logic in his arguments, when for instance he says that he has to “reduce himself to her level” so that she can follow. Quite honestly, she is the one who spots the errors, not him! If the mis-spellings were her own, would she stop at them and wonder?!

4) The call for letting go of your will.

Vassula is requested to completely surrender her will and give up her independent and individual judgement in everything concerning the spiritual world. The messages must be unconditionally accepted, and any contradiction or rejection is met with distinct sadness, indignation or anger. Any objection, he tells her, is the result of rebellion against God. You have to trust his honest face and honest words:

“Trust Me – believe Me – it is I Jesus Christ – My teachings are sound – I am telling you the Truth…” etc.

According to the Gospel we have to test the spirits – and to do it with profound care. But Vassula’s Jesus tells us that if we do that, we are enemies of God. Along the road he speaks even stronger, saying that people who do not trust him to be the true Jesus are committing the sin against the Holy Spirit, and they can no longer be forgiven.

5) Jesus as WISDOM.

He repeatedly refers to himself as “Wisdom” – “Wisdom guides you – Wisdom teaches you – Wisdom instructs you…”

This gives strong associations to spiritual philosophies of occult New Age origin where “Wisdom” is playing a very important role. “Wisdom” is what people are in need of, and “Wisdom” is what they will achieve if they seek the spiritual spheres. Divine, immortal beings called “masters of Wisdom” administer the wisdom, and as “spiritual guides”, or reincarnated humans, they again and again visit the earth to “save it”. And just like Vassula’s Jesus, these masters and their mouthpieces continually speak of peace, love and unity!

Of course the word wisdom is used in the Bible – but the way it is used by Vassula’s Jesus has much more resemblance to the occult and New Age inspired understanding than to the biblical.

6) Jesus as TEACHER AND INSTRUCTOR.

The strong accentuation of Jesus as teacher has many parallels in the New Age world, where you hear about the many spiritual teachers appearing on planet Earth in our time, to prepare the way for the great World Teacher, whose coming is near at hand. Once and for all he is going to make an end to all wars and gather all people of good will into a life of peace, harmony, love and unity.

The New Age teachers (we find quite a few of them in public courses and evening classes!) are working at creating the earthly Paradise by educating an élite of serving, unselfish human beings who through their example will draw good people after them and lift mankind to a high, moral stage.

And then, when everything is ready, Christ, Maytraya [Maitreya], the Messiah (who are one and the same person!) the WORLDTEACHER will enter the scene, bringing forth his kingdom of peace.

The same thoughts penetrate the teachings given by Vassula’s Jesus. By receiving and living his messages you will become part of a holy people without blemish. Through education and acceptance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit you will be “transformed” (March 1st, 1992) and “transfigured” (March 1st, 1992 and December 19th, 1990) – two very typical words and concepts within the New Age occultism. As “survivors” (October 24th, 1991) you will then be first fruits of a new generation living on a new, cleansed earth.

New Age tells us that it doesn’t matter which religion you profess, as long as you will accept to be a bearer of light to a darkened world. Vassula’s Jesus of course – probably considering his target group – uses Christian ideals and traditions to launch this idea. But DEVELOPMENT is the keyword in both cases, not salvation. Through education and self-denial to a higher stage, through a higher stage to the perfect world – Paradise on Earth. Not death and resurrection (these words are barely found in the TLIG-books) – but “transformation”.

7) Two passages with strong occult sounds.

a) On March 2nd, 1987, Vassula says to her Jesus:

“At times I feel as cold as stone! How ungrateful I must be!”

And he answers:

“Every time you have this feeling, it is I who use your love to warm up other souls who are in need of warmth, souls who are cold towards Me…”

Whether “cold” is meant literally or figuratively, it is a fact that he explains her feeling cold as a result of his taking something from her and giving it to another person. Horizontal transferring of “spiritual energies” is a very well known phenomenon in the occult world – drawing illness from a sick person, transferring power and warmth through healing hands, saying admonitory prayers for or against a person etc.

But this is not a Christian pattern for intercessory prayers or spiritual help. Christian prayers, said in the name of Jesus, go up to God. And then maybe God in his great mercy sends something down to the person we want him to bless. God gives from his own source, not from ours.

b) On March 21st, 1987 he says to her:

“It is I, Jesus. Vassula, will you train, be1oved, discerning Me with your mind? Vassula, look at Me.”

Then Vassula has to tell him what she can see him do, and what it says in a book that he shows her. In some things she succeeds and in some she fails, and failing makes her deeply discouraged, she is just not clever enough, and maybe he will choose another mouthpiece instead of her!

As I see it, a true revelation does not come “to the mind” (even if it is difficult to say where it is coming to then!). And it does not put our skill to the test. You do not practice or train yourself in receiving revelations from God, they will come spontaneously by his will and in his power. In settings where occult techniques are used, though, it is quite common to train and practice methods of contacting the spiritual world – here skills are achieved through a learning process.

He also encourages her to practice feeling his presence. On October 24th, 1988 he says:

“Meditate on My Presence. Train yourselves by using these words, we, us, you and I, I and you, us.”

These techniques are very similar to occult visualization and also to transcendental meditation with a mantra.

8) Suspicious words and expressions.

Vassula’s Jesus uses words and expressions that in a Christian context sound suspiciously strange.

I have already mentioned the words: SEDUCE, ENTICE, AND CONSUME (Ex. 14 and 15, p. 14) as such words. If, on the other hand, these words were found in an occult context we would not be surprised at all.

And the sentence, quoted in ex.14: “You are destined to honour Me and lead souls to Me so that I may consume them” continues like this: “I will make vessels of Light out of them, brilliant flames that never cease, that never dim and that can never be snuffed…”

It is not difficult to hear the echo of Matthew 5,14: “You are the light of the world.”

But there is an even stronger echo heard from the Gospel’s talk about the fire in the place of the damnation
– “the unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3,12 and Mark 9,48).

And besides, we are meant to be the light OF THE WORLD, not an eternal light. For in eternity HE is the light, and we shall all walk by this light (Rev.21, 23-24).

9) The word “messages”.

The word “messages” is probably one of the most frequent words in the TLIG-books.

“Hear My messages, believe My messages, live My messages…” we read such appeals over and over again.

The word is used all the time by spiritualistic mediums and other persons channeling occult sources. Any announcement – whether greetings from late uncle Will, or philosophies from “the Masters of Wisdom” – is called a message.

Christianity is founded on one great message: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It does not rest on a whole lot of messages of this and that. Vassula’s followers consider her messages biblical prophesies, and of course “messages” are not quite unknown within the Catholic Church in connection with revelations. But on the whole, “messages” are not a significant issue in the Christian tradition.

Just as occult messages are usually rather empty of real enlightenment, the actual substance of Vassula’s messages seems very modest. Reading them and trying to find something deep and important in them often makes me remember a meeting I attended years back. A film had been shown about some occult groups and gurus, and afterwards there was a panel discussion. One of the mediums in the film had channeled a message allegedly coming from the archangel Gabriel. A well known Danish theology professor who was in the panel made this comment: “Now really, my friends! If you boil that message down, what does it say other than we should behave and be nice to each other!” His voice rose to an also well-known indignation as he exclaimed: “Honestly, you don’t have to send the archangel Gabriel to tell us that!”

I totally agree with him on this. It seems silly to imagine God sending archangels to tell us what our own conscience and common sense tell us every day and what any Christian will be told whenever they go to Church. This is one of the reasons why I just cannot believe that the Lord Jesus would use so many pages (1200 when I first wrote this – now in 2005 I believe it is nearer to three times that number!) and so many words to tell us what we already know as Christians and what anyone can find in the Gospel.

And I find it outright grotesque that the messages are given such a high status that receiving and accepting them becomes a matter of life and death (eternally!). If you boil down the messages of Vassula’s Jesus they simply say: “The message is that you CANNOT reject the message!”

10) His nature and behaviour.

When analyzing his words and demands, you find that he appears much more like a demonic being than a holy, heavenly one. He is self-centred and self-pitying, which I will show more examples of in a later chapter. He can express a most unholy irritation, he can be impatient, virtuously indignant, angry and huffish. The next moment he can be over the top with sweet words, drawing cute little hearts and fishes.

He whimpers at pain, he reproaches any contradiction, he begs humans for help and spits out threats against his enemies. All the time he points out his own goodness and puts it in a whimpering contrast to the wickedness shown to him by humans.

If he was a human being I would not hesitate to call him capricious and unpredictable, and things that are worse! And I would never call him a friend – let alone accept him as Guide and Lord!

To reject Vassula is to reject me, Jesus Christ!

This totally un-evangelical allegation runs like a threatening undercurrent through all the TLIG books. Do not expect any mercy, neither here nor hereafter, if you will not believe that he who moves Vassula’s hand is the true Jesus. Then you belong to “Cain’s clan”, and you have taken side against God.

Vassula’s followers try to soften this hard claim by emphasizing that everyone is free to choose whether they want to accept the messages or not. In the introduction to one of the books, Abbé René Laurentin says:

“No one is obliged to follow this particular way. Each person should judge the matter according to his own taste and the fruits that result from it.”

He also says:

“Many Christians are not attracted to private revelations. The Gospel or other messages is enough for them. This is their right, for these apparitions are a freely given aid for faith.”

This sounds like healthy Christian talk in agreement with the Bible as well as with the official stand on private revelations taken by the Catholic Church.

BUT – the problem is that it is just not in agreement with what HE says, the one who guides Vassula’s hand and insists on being the final authority and the highest judge.

Through the following examples I shall try to give some documentation for this claim. (Underlinings in the examples are his own.)

EXAMPLE 16:

January 8th, 1987:

Vassula has met a sceptical priest (p.17) [p. 11, here] who believes the writings to be from am evil spirit. She then receives a message for the priest which assures him that it is really HIM, Jesus Christ, who writes through her hand. The message continues:

“I love you, son; understand that by trying to stop Vassula, you are unwillingly damaging My Church. I am the Lord Jesus Christ whom you love. I know you are doing this in good faith, but so was Saul before I came to tell him that what he believed right was but persecuting Me; you believe that the charisma I, Jesus, gave to My daughter is from evil; believe Me son; do not feel frightened…”

His tone of voice is loving and forbearing. But at this early stage of their relationship he already makes it perfectly clear to all of us that of course you can refuse to believe that he is the true Christ, but at the same time you have to realize that if you do, you are damaging the Church, and you are persecuting him, Jesus Christ.

Along the way his tone of voice as well as the contents of his words get more and more distinct and harsh, accelerating especially throughout the second book (Notebooks 32-58), from which the following examples are taken.

EXAMPLE 17:

December 18th, 1989:

“I shall overthrow all these blocks who despise you My angels …My lambs, you who rest My Heart, you who are My predilected souls, I shall not see you attacked by these Cains, these Cains who are drenched in sin and who never stopped aiming for your throat, My Abels.”

EXAMPLE 18:

January 18th, 1991:

“I shall permit your persecutors’ defiled hands to strike you and mistreat you openly (Contradicts example 17!)
…these wounds My child, shall be given to you from within My House and by My Own, they will be given to you from Cain’s clan. I will allow them to strike an innocent child, but their gladness shall turn into mourning.”

EXAMPLE 19:

July 23rd, 1991:

“Pray My child, pray for those who offend My Holiness and blaspheme My Holy Spirit calling My Spirit foolish. Have I not said: ‘…everyone who says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but no one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will be forgiven…‘ many of you are condemning My Celestial manifestations and persecuting those whom My Spirit speaks through because you do not believe they come from Me.”

EXAMPLE 20:

September 11th, 1991:

“Listen closely to My last words of warning, listen now that there is still time. Read our Messages and stop being scornful or deaf when Heaven speaks. Lower your voices and you will hear Ours. Think twice before you judge; think more than twice before you condemn the Works of the Holy Spirit. I shall not spare anyone who mocks the Holy Spirit, blaspheming Him outright… Justice will send them down to the underworld.”

EXAMPLE 21:

October 24th, 1991:

“My own people again did not accept Me but treated My Holy Spirit as they pleased, allowing the Beast to make war on those I have sent.”

And later on the same date he tells Vassula:

“So if anyone has objected, he has not been objecting to you, but to Me…”

EXAMPLE 22:

October 29th, 1991:

“I will come back and they will tremble; they will tremble when they will realize Whom they were rejecting all this time… they have apostatised…”

EXAMPLE 23:

November 13th, 1991:

“In spite of the multiple intercessions of your Holy Mother and in spite of My Warnings, from the time in Fatima to this epoch, none of My Warnings have been respected…”

This statement is simply not true! Many warnings have been heard as well as respected within the Catholic Church, among others the revelations in Fatima in 1917. And in this connection you could point out the very strange fact that his calendar seems to begin with Fatima! There is another example of this on March 4th, 1992, where he says:

“I pronounced warnings since the Time of Fatima to this day”.

The solid warnings of the Gospel about the exact same things are not mentioned at all, and the time span between the Crucifixion and Fatima – those many centuries – seem non-existent.

He continues tearing the nonbelievers apart, quoting their alleged words:

“‘Why should we have to believe in messages? Why should we fast since these are not from Him? Why do penance since we are righteous? Why should we believe this frenzied lot? Do not listen for they retail visions and prophecies of their own.’ I tell you truly, when that Day comes it would have been preferable you were never born!”

It goes on and on with threats of blazing fire and destruction.

EXAMPLE 24:

March 27th, 1992:

On this day he talks to Vassula about the pain he feels over the fact that the Orthodox Church and the Roman-Catholic Church celebrate Easter at different weeks. All the way through the TLIG books this again and again is pointed out as an issue of vital importance for his flock to be united.

Personally I find it hard to believe that the true Jesus would consider it so enormously important that Easter is celebrated at exactly the same time everywhere. Especially if he is serious about his repeated warnings of “the end-time being near at hand”: we are facing the very last phase, the very last harvesting of souls.

It appears to me comparable with how stupid it would sound if you, watching your ground floor burning, shouted to your kids upstairs that they should take a shower, dress nicely and then come down and get out of the house.

In the message of this date, the lack of such outer unity becomes very close to mortal sin. And the reason why Christians do not enter into this unity – apart from false teachers, rationalists, modernists etc. – is that they refuse to hear, accept and live the messages. He speaks harsh words about persecuting and sinning against the Holy Spirit, and continues:

“I have been giving you signs, but you do not believe in My signs because your voices are drowning My Voice that speaks through My mouthpieces. The night will soon be with you and many will taste death because you were never grounded in the truth but were based on lies. I come to you through these signs to open your eyes and heal you, yet when I tell you the truth and tell you that it is I, the One whom you say ‘He is your Lord’ that speaks to you, you turn away giving your ear to Satan so that he may use you…”

He carries on for a long time with his accusations and judgment:

“…you preferred the devil…” – “…you have lost the sense of the language of My Spirit…” “…you are like whitewashed tombs…” “…you are in communion with demons…” “…you rejoice in your division…” and finally:

“How can you believe you can escape damnation? You fail to please Me and your corpses litter the desert you are living in.”

These examples – and there are many more – give very clear proof that Vassula’s Jesus sets a distinction between saved souls and lost souls in quite a different place than where it is found in the Gospel. To my best knowledge, the Gospel preaches that salvation is believing that Jesus is the Son of God, that he as Christ carried all of our sins on the cross and opened the doors of Heaven to us by doing so.

According to the messages there is much more to it than that: We have to celebrate Easter in the same week all over the world. We have to believe, that he who writes through Vassula’s hand is the Jesus we know from the Bible. We have to accept his right to deprive us of credit, honour and salvation, if we dare question his authenticity, or evaluate his claims. We have to unconditionally trust his many reassuring words and recommendations, and we have to look at the “fruits” of his messages – that people turn to pious lives – and accept them as proof of his identity.

There is no place for sound doubt and necessary scepticism – such attitude only proves that we have hardened our hearts and we are placed automatically in “Cain’s clan” as persecutors of his “Abels, Jacobs, saints, angels, altars, victim souls” and whatever else he names those who believe that he is Jesus. The slightest doubt makes you an enemy, a persecutor and a mocker of the Holy Spirit, because you do not accept “God’s work of today”.

This way of distinguishing between the saved and the damned finds absolutely no support in the Gospel.

A special version of this distinction is found in a long “judgement speech” that he gives on November 15th, 1988:

First the “old Christians” are given a good telling off:

“You are condemning Me… despising Me… attacking Me… offending Me… you abandon Me… reject Me… pierce Me… turn away… shut the door in My Face… hound Me… betray Me” etc. – they (we) are so wicked, that they “leave even the demons gaping at your wickedness.”

Opposite these apostates he places the “new chosen ones”, those who, like Vassula, were called from the world into his circle, as pure angels.

Would the true Jesus driven by bitter anger spell out all our sins in detail, as if they were new and surprising to him – or us? And would he then, as it happens later in this speech, turn to “the strangers” (the new chosen ones) show them his wounds and tell them something like: “Look what my own people have done to me, are they not pure evil? How wonderful that you are so different, now you are to be my saints instead!” In other words setting off the virtue of “the strangers” at the expense of the old Christians.

I simply cannot believe that he would. And again: the whole distinction rests on whether you believe or do not believe – the messages! Deny that they are from God, and know that you are rejected!

It is easy to understand that Vassula’s friends and spokesmen try to soften the categorical statements of the distinction between the saved and the damned. But they are also being dishonest, because the statements are quite unmistakable.

A new Heaven and a new Earth

In Vassula’s messages there is much talk about the end of times and the coming new world. As a whole I would say that the descriptions of coming endtimes events are hazy and obscure. They are muddled talk about things which are already in themselves enigmatic.

EXAMPLE 25:

May 13th, 1991:

This message is called: “Apocalypse 21 explained”. My main impression of this explanation is that it is far easier to understand the chapter by just reading it in the book of Revelation! Furthermore the message shows clear deviations from the Gospel:

1) We shall become a holy city:

“I shall make out of each one of you a radiant city…”

He also calls his chosen ones “My new Jerusalems”, which is very different from John’s vision of the holy city, the new Jerusalem, “coming down out of heaven”, described as a place, where we shall walk in the light of God and the Lamb.

2) We shall also become
“transparent as glass” whereas in John’s vision the city itself is described as “clear as crystal”.

3) Then he will “renew you entirely” which seems to be short of logic, as we have here passed the time of the wedding, and the bride has already been “clothed with fine linen” (chapter 19). She needs no further “renewal”.

4) Through this renewal he will prepare his saved souls “to wed My Holy Spirit”. (You find the same expression on May 13th, 1991 and several other places.)

But surely we are not going to wed the Holy Spirit – that would give us two husbands!

In these four examples we meet a Jesus, who reveals the Holy Spirit to us. He reveals him as the all-important person, whom we must never reject as Christians, and as the one to whom we must be connected with close and intimate bonds, and in the end as the one we shall marry!

But surely, the New Testament tells us the opposite: that the Holy Spirit reveals JESUS to us, giving us the opportunity to have a close and intimate relationship with HIM and, by his grace and salvation, one day – undeservedly and unbelievably – to become his bride.

EXAMPLE 26:

December 19th, 1990:

This message is an example of his proclamation of “a new heaven and a new earth”. With many quotations from the Scriptures and many gospel-like expressions he talks about the glorious future for the chosen ones – “the remnant”. He will raise them up and transform them into “the builders of My new church”, while the wicked persist in their wickedness “persecuting you, My prophets and My saints of the end of Times…”

He promises the saints: “When you will see the sky dissolve into flames and the elements melt in the heat, know that this is the sign of the beginning of My Promise, and of the New Heavens and the New Earth, the Renewal of My Church, the Revival af your hearts.”

This promise seems in little agreement with the Gospel, especially concerning the chronological order of the events. When – or if – we shall see the sky and the earth in flames, will it be the beginning of the revival of our hearts and the Church?

The many other messages that speak of endtime events are generally blurred and twisted as the one above. Of course he uses a flood of words and expressions which are not strange to people who are familiar with the Bible’s universe. But they are mixed up in such cleverly confused patterns that you have to be highly alert to realize what is actually being said.

This is surely no coincidence! Because in all the confusion you can easily fail to see that there is something extremely important missing in his messages. Something that just cannot be missing, if he is the true Jesus Christ: salvation, death and resurrection.

Instead of salvation, death and resurrection you have an evolution.

Man must “go to school” and let himself be taught by “Wisdom”:

“If you do not learn from Wisdom how then will you be able to live according to My Law?”

And the teachings are given us through the messages, flowing from Vassula’s hand. We must accept them and live on them, and if we do, we shall be transformed and changed into good new humans who will inhabit the new earth – which again has not become new through destruction and re-creation as the Bible says, but through a kind of transformation. (Also see page 18, 6)[The page nos. have changed here]

The crucifixion according to Vassula’s Jesus.

On November 9th, 1986, a few months after Vassula’s submission to her new life with the person who claims to be Jesus, she is told to concentrate on the event of his crucifixion, and he tells her in his own words how it happened.

He communicates to her a very detailed and emotional account of his sufferings that holds quite a few statements which are either not found in the Gospel at all or seem in little agreement with its words.

Here are some examples:

1) “…hitting Me across My face, breaking my nose…”

This is in direct contradiction to John 19,36 (and to Exodus 12,46 and Psalm 34,20) where it says:

“These things occurred (that the soldiers did not break his legs) so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “None of his bones shall be broken.”

Note added 2005:

Apparently I am not the only person who by a closer reading has found it suspicious that Jesus would declare that they broke his nose. However, the believers do not fall short of answers and explanations:

In the introduction to TLIG book 4 (notebooks 65-71) Vassula explains that talking about a broken nose is talking about damaged cartilage, not broken bone. She also states that the people who examined the cloth of Torino, [the Shroud of Turin] confirm that the cloth shows signs of a swelling in the center of the face that could very likely have been caused by a damage of the nose cartilage.

Of course you have to accept this explanation as a possibility, but I am still having difficulties believing that the true Jesus would describe the damage in these unbiblical terms.

In the new Danish translation of the first TLIG book the sentence with the broken nose has been left out completely. I wonder why?!

2) “They tied up my feet with ropes…”

A few places in the Gospels could indicate that Jesus was tied up at certain times during the trial proceedings. But it seems unlikely that his feet were tied up, so, as he claims, they had to drag him along by his hair. When he was moved the Gospels say that he was “led”, and in John 19,5 it says that “Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.”

3) The words he says to the women on his way to the cross:

“Be blessed, My Blood will wash away all sins of mankind; behold, daughter, the time has come for your salvation.”

The words are different, and with a different message, from the ones we know from Luke 23,28: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and your children”. And the next verses clearly indicates that he is showing them his compassion with what he knows is going to happen to “the daughters of Jerusalem” when the city meets her future destruction.

It would not be unfair to say that the two statements are quite opposite: Vassula’s Jesus says: “It is time for salvation!” while the Jesus in the Gospel says: “It is time for death and destruction!”

4) “The soldiers offered Me wine mixed with gall. I refused it, for deep inside Me I had already the bitterness given to Me by My foes…”

I cannot but wonder if this was really the reason why he refused it. Was it not because he refused to let his pain be relieved by a drug? Because he willed the full suffering?

5) To Maria: ” I am giving You My beloved children to be your children too. You are to be their Mother.”

On February 10th, 1988 he talks more about this. Of course in a certain way Maria is “mother of the Christians”, and of course this is not a strange thing to say in a Catholic tradition. But still, according to John, there can be no doubt that what he says is meant simply for him and Maria:

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother: “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.” (John 19, 26-27)

6) Finally he says to Vassula: “My Cross cries out for Peace and Love.” [See p. 8]

I suppose he wants to say that in return for how much he has done for us, we owe him to live with one another “in peace and love”. Which of course is not untrue! But still, the whole thing is turned upside down. The cross does not cry out for peace and love in return for the sacrifice. But peace and love is pouring out from the cross – the cross is its source.

Between the lines I hear Vassula’s Jesus demand a payment for his sufferings.

I hear the evangelists, Paul and “everybody else” in the Gospel say that more than anything else, Calvary is one hundred percent grace and gift to mankind.

Aside from finding these examples in poor agreement with Scripture, I also consider the tone of voice and the choice of expressions very far from what the evangelists have passed on to us. The many bloody details and the language describing them give the reader – that goes for me anyway – associations to a pub brawl rather than to that most holy and appalling day, whose depths I can only just begin to sense when reading the Gospel.

Besides, it grates on the ears to hear him repeatedly whine and complain that nobody was there to comfort him – as if that was the worst thing of it all!

“No one was there to console Me…” “…the bitterness given to Me by My foes…” “…O daughter, what pain, what agony, what torment of My Soul. Forsaken by My beloved ones, denied by Peter… denied by the rest of My friends, left all alone, abandoned to My foes, I wept, for My soul was filled with sorrows…” “…I saw no friend… no one was there to console Me…” “…forsaken by all those who loved Me…”

– this is how he describes his feelings hanging on the cross.

As a contrast to this – what I would call self-pitying and self-centred – whining let us look at a couple of verses from the Gospel:

Hebrews 12,2-3:

“…looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame… Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.”

Isaiah 53,7:

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

1. Peter, 2,23:

“When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.”

Maybe Vassula’s Jesus did not utter abuse or threats, but he seems to have regarded the shame indeed! Maybe he did not open his mouth, but through Vassula he now tells me that, while he was giving his life for me, his mind was filled to the brim with all these bitter thoughts and complaints. It was all a facade – outwardly a lamb, but inside a growling self-pitying lion!

How could I ever follow in his steps in the spirit that Peter encourages me to in the same chapter, verse 20-22:

“If you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.”

When reading about the sufferings and deaths of the martyrs and saints of this world, you always hear through it all jubilant notes of life and salvation and heavenly joy.

Through Vassula’s Jesus you hear absolutely none such notes. All you hear is a tired, bitter and disheartened soul. A man “who has grown weary and has lost heart”! How could he ever be an example for anyone to follow? How could he ever be my Lord, Jesus Christ!

Two Jesuses

Despite belonging to the Orthodox Church, Vassula has not been accepted there as a true prophet to any considerable degree.

Within the Roman Catholic Church, however, priests and theologians as well as the laity have in great numbers presented her as one of the most significant prophets of our times. Her writings, her conversations with Jesus, are currently being assessed.

At present (2005) the judgement is not crystal clear. Nevertheless, Vassula and her followers do not hesitate to give the impression that everything is accepted and acknowledged as being on solid and god-inspired ground. It would be much more honest, though, if they restricted themselves to saying that she and her writings have not been actually rejected from official hold. However, there has certainly been no “nihil obstat” either issued from the Catholic Church.

Vassula’s (and her Jesus’!) involvement with the Roman Catholic Church leave their marks on both language and contents of the conversations. And Vassula herself likes to compare her spiritual experiences with those of the Catholic saints.

You find an example of this in her book “My Angel Daniel”. Here she is telling how, in the beginning of her new life with the divine contact, she undergoes a kind of purification: Her angel is showing her how much she has been hurting God with her superficial life, she feels strongly attacked by Satan, and her writings are rejected by a priest. On top of this her angel simply leaves her alone, and she is no longer able to use the strange handwriting.

Her despair over her own sins and wretchedness, her fear of the demonic attacks, her pain of something very dear to her being rejected by a man of the Church, and her desolation, when her hand has suddenly for several weeks loses the divine connection – well, all this of course has been very painful. BUT honestly – to use terms such as “the dark night of my soul” and thereby, evidently and concretely, comparing her pain to the sufferings that the Spanish mystic “John of the Cross” endured during a nine months isolation in a tiny, dark, icy hole – that seems to me completely out of proportion. Actually it’s an insult to the saint!

And while John rises from his trials with a faith that is strengthened and cleansed of any claim to “feel God”, it is obvious that Vassula’s faith is in no way strengthened. What, on the contrary, is strengthened is her dependence on the supernatural writing and of feeling God’s presence.

In connection with Vassula’s messages and with experiences in her personal life, her followers also often refer to similarities between these and the experiences and lives of well-known saints. Among others, they mention St. Catherine of Siena, who lived in Italy from 1347 to 1380.

Through a Danish book about this saint, written by the Danish author Johannes Jørgensen, I have become acquainted with her, and I have been contemplating whether the Jesus who speaks through Vassula is the same Jesus that reveals himself in Catherine’s life and thoughts. If in fact they are the same – if the Jesus who walked on Earth 2000 years ago, and whom we believe as Christians to be the Son of God and our Saviour reveals himself through both of them, we should be able to see and hear a deep agreement in their words and ways.

It is very easy to find similarities between Vassula’s Jesus and Catherine’s. But then again: you do not unveil a false spirit by finding similarities with the true one, you do it by focusing closely on the deviations. So that is what I will do in the following examples, comparing the two Jesuses.

1) Vassula
is “captured” by her Jesus. Slightly reluctant, but deeply fascinated she does not hesitate for long to surrender, and happily and willingly she submits to the guidance she receives through the writing.

Catherine’s relationship with Jesus shows quite the opposite pattern:

What brings her to an intimate life with Jesus is her own begging prayers and her strong, unyielding will to put everything else aside to obtain her one wish in this world.

2) Vassula
has to do a lot of things to please and comfort her Jesus:

“Bless Me, desire Me, please Me, satisfy Me, kiss Me, rest Me, repose My Head, bear My Cross, console Me …”

To Catherine he simply says:

“You cannot do anything good for me, but you can help and be of use to your neighbour.”

3) Vassula has to be a lot of things: a cross, an altar, an example, a Jacob, an Abel etc. She is very aware of it and tries her best to live up to the demands, which results in her feeling torn between fear of failing and therefore being rejected, and a consciousness of being special and chosen. The last feeling is getting more and more obvious as time passes:

On March 4th, 1992, her Jesus is talking about the terrible judgement that will come upon those who do not accept the messages, and he is comparing the situation to that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Vassula answers him: “Maybe we are more than ten, Lord?”

The little “WE” most clearly shows her awareness of belonging to the righteous group.

Catherine sees herself as “the one who is not” and Jesus as “the one who is”. This is something that Jesus himself has said to her. She never forgets it, and she lets it be the judge of all haughty thoughts of belonging to a special chosen breed. She is always the first to mention herself as the poorest of the poor, but on the other hand, she never suffers the fear of rejection, because she knows that EVERYTHING depends on her Saviour, the one, who is.

4) Vassula is constantly seeking her joy and confidence in the feeling of his presence, in her experiences of being in a never broken contact with the supernatural source. She gets scared and desperate when he sometimes – often in a kind of teasing way – is hiding himself from her. She gives an example of this on December 17th, 1989 saying:

“I felt the Lord far away. I panic when I feel this way, I know it is entirely my fault…”

Catherine never depends on her feelings. Neither does she build her joy on feeling or seeing Jesus, which she actually does many times. Joy, confidence, peace of heart – all this is based only on her trust and faith in him.

5) Vassula’s Jesus himself, actually adds fuel to her fear that he will reject or leave her, she never feels quite sure where she stands. One moment he will say things like “I love your innocence” and call her his “little bride, victim soul, Abel” etc. And the next he angrily exclaims: “Realize who you are: among the most wretched ones, you are by far the worst of them” (March 20th, 1987) or: “Soul, your sins are numerous, and so are the wounds you give Me…” and: “…since you are more apt to rebellion and to sin, than what is holy, I shall…” (both February 14th, 1991). And when she accuses herself, he rarely refrains from rubbing it in with remarks to the effect of something like: “Oh yes, you really are absolutely terrible, it is a miracle that I can still be bothered with you!”

Catherine too can be seized by fear, acknowledging that she is such a “terrible sinner”, and she can condemn herself with an almost suicidal zeal. But nothing indicates that Jesus from his side accuses her or agrees with her. If he had done so, I am sure she would have told everyone about it, since it was utterly important to her to be “the most wretched of the wretched”! Her agony always brings her to the foot of the cross where she has to accept that what she so eagerly preaches to everybody else is also true for her: “His blood has given satisfaction for all your sins, you are totally forgiven!”

6) Vassula
must “learn to be worthy” of serving her Jesus and be his bride.

Catherine knows that she is not worthy and that she never will be. BUT in Johannes Jørgensen’s book you can read the following: “‘No, I am not worthy,’ Catherine sighed, looking intensely at the little white host over the golden chalice in the priest’s hand. ‘But I am indeed worthy that you enter into me!’ she heard a voice say that she knew.”

“In him” she is worthy, not as a result of a learning process.

7) Vassula’s Jesus asks her over and over, if he can please rest his cross on her, and she allows him to, while sighing and giving it a good deal of attention and oh, she really hopes she can take it.

Catherine implores her Jesus to please be allowed to share his sufferings, she wants to sacrifice, suffer, feel pain, die. Everything that he went through she wants to experience too – not because she believes to be able to relieve HIM, but because she wants to share EVERYTHING with her beloved. SHE reaches out for the cross, and he allows her to share it.

8) As a natural consequence of this difference, you also see very opposite views on and reactions to any kind of suffering that the two women experience.

Vassula is told that if she really wants to follow his will, she must expect the cost of much suffering, and she is told to pray for those who cause her sufferings. So she does, and in addition she strives to be brave through it all. But then again she often gets distressed and pours out her heart to him in a discouraged and offended spirit.

For instance:

January 9th, 1991: “I wept for all the false accusations said about me by “X” …” and “Lord, for how long yet are we to suffer?” (Note the “we”!)

March 4th, 1992: “Lord, my persecutors are now putting in print something against me.”

October 25th, 1991: “…keep me away from insults of men because I love ecumenically.”

In reality what she says here is: “I am being persecuted for loving more and better than others!” In a way you could say that her complaining tone of voice is quite natural, since she is an echo of her complaining teacher and lord!

With Catherine it is quite the opposite: she takes any kind of suffering as a blessing. It allows her to share the sufferings of her Saviour, and on top of that she knows that all sufferings help “putting to death the deeds of her body” (Romans 8,13).

She teaches her followers:

“When suffering comes along, do not draw back, but accept it with a happy face – run to meet it with joy and desire and say: “I bid you welcome!” Then bitterness will turn into sweet solace, and you will end your life resting soundly on the cross with the crucified Christ.”

Nor does she fear hardships – on the contrary she fears the good times! At one point she says: “Patiently they – they: the real sons of God – also endured the good times, that are such a danger to the soul, causing death for anyone who embraces them with an improper love. They rejected them as if they were poison, and they did not care about anything but to rejoice in sharing the cross of Christ. He was their one goal.”

9) As a logical consequence of 7) and 8):

Vassula
fiercely defends herself and her messages, she asks Jesus for strength and the right words when facing her opponents, she worries deeply that so few seem to accept her, and she leans on people who agree with her.

Catherine never defends herself, neither her person nor her revelations, and she even forbids others to do so. Out of a burning heart and a passionate personality she preaches the salvation through Jesus Christ, and wishing so fervently for people to receive this gift, she lets her prayers rise from her cell in a constant flow. But she never worries, because she knows that God will carry out his will.

10) Vassula’s Jesus is building his “we-us” ring around the two of them. Later on the ring extends to include all who believe that he is the true Jesus: “the two of us (and the rest of the believers) against the others – the two of us (and the rest of the believers) for the others.” Vassula and her Jesus discuss the wretched state of the world, the church and the Christians in a highly exclusive and conspirational way that lifts her up automatically in the category of “the ten righteous” – separated from the wicked.

Their conversation on April 13th, 1991, clearly shows this. They have a long talk about the obstinacy and disbelief of the church and the Christians, starting with Vassula exclaiming:

“Lord, our division (Orthodox/Roman-Catholic)
is a real scandal! How is it possible that we, Christians, continue to be divided…?”

She carries on with expressions like:

“…so absurd! …can we really face you and say… no we cannot as long as we… have we not understood… can we honestly say…”

Indeed she says “we” as if she was part of the disastrous circumstances, but it shines through clearly that she is not. Her words sound like good old-fashioned human indignation, and for this she is praised and supported when he answers:

“Ah, My dove, I have not been teaching you in vain… they have not yet understood…”

Catherine shows absolutely no signs of exclusive conspiracies with Jesus. No “we-us” ring – not from his side, and certainly not from hers either. In no way does she understand herself as separated from all other sinners, and she never talks to Jesus about other people’s sins in this: “Whatever are we going to do about it, Jesus?” way.

11) With both women there is an issue of a spiritual marriage to Jesus. On the surface there are similarities between the two, but underneath their experiences are essentially different.

On March 23rd, 1987, Vassula sees Jesus with two rings in his hand, and he tells her that he has brought them to sanctify their marriage. The central point of the event is Vassula’s feelings and her strong efforts to “discern” what is happening on the spiritual level. “Feel Me, discern Me!” he encourages her. She must be very attentive to all details, and suddenly she is seized with fear of having “discerned him wrong” and thereby “profaned You by thinking that You gave me a ring and united us…”

But he assures her that she has discerned him well, she is his bride now, “My
wretched bride”! and it has been sealed by each of them carrying a ring.

Catherine’s experience comes to her as an answer to her imploring prayers for “a perfect faith.” She makes no effort to discern what she sees, it is a revelation, and she has no doubts about what is shown to her. Jesus does not bring two rings, but only one, which he places on her finger with the following words: “I, your Creator and your Saviour, betroth myself to you. I grant you a faith that shall never fail, and you will retain it perfect and unharmed, until once our marriage will be celebrated in Heaven.”

Jesus is called Catherine’s “heavenly bridegroom”, and she is mentioned as his bride, but there is no doubt that it points forward to a coming event. Unlike Vassula’s “marriage”, Catherine receives “only” a betrothal, which on the other hand seems more true to the Book of Revelation where the marriage of the Lamb takes place in Heaven. (It does not make things less complicated that Vassula, as mentioned before, is going to marry the Holy Spirit, once she gets there!)

12) A review of what the two women, both “taught by Jesus”, preach to the world:

Vassula
preaches to individuals, and to the church, good deeds and righteous living. Fasting, praying, doing penance, confessing your sins and receiving the Eucharist. The Easter Week must be synchronized, and the church must submit to “the works of the Holy Spirit today” by never questioning the revelations. And most important of all, we must believe that he who writes through Vassula’s hand is the Jesus we know from the Gospel.

Catherine preaches faith. Faith in the risen Jesus Christ, the Saviour, faith in salvation through his blood. The blood of Christ is at the absolute core of her preaching. Vassula’s Jesus hardly mentions this, and certainly not as the great gift of mercy. Like Vassula, Catherine speaks of virtues and good deeds, but she always describes them as natural fruits of a devoted faith and a deep love for Jesus. She never wearies of picturing an image of the crucified Lord Jesus to people and telling them about the wonderful freedom, peace and joy that flows to – and from – the ones who let themselves be crucified with him. She never wearies of describing her beloved in ways that move the stoniest hearts and melt them to conversion.

Vassula preaches that through submission, obedience and righteous living we consolidate our relation with Jesus.

Catherine preaches that out of devoting ourselves to the beloved springs submission, obedience and righteous living.

13) What the two Jesuses say about discerning the spirits:

Vassula’s Jesus teaches:

October 10th, 1986: “Do not believe any message which will leave your heart worried. I am Peace, and peaceful you should feel.”

February 1st, 1987: “Any messages bearing blames or harsh words, know that it is not coming from Me. I am Love, Love, Love.”

And in the introduction to one of her books, she says herself: “Jesus taught me how to discern”, whether it is Jesus or a false spirit moving her hand. “When it isn’t Jesus, it leaves me completely cold…”

Catherine’s Jesus teaches:

“The visions coming from me will cause you to fear at first, but later it will set your mind at ease. It begins with bitterness, but ends with sweetness. The visions from the enemy works quite opposite: they begin with joy, peace of mind and sweetness, but they end up in bitterness and anxiety.”

And he adds that true visions will always make God greater and man smaller, while false visions will do the opposite.

I find none of the two guiding principles completely fail-safe. To rely on one’s feelings as Vassula is encouraged to do is always dangerous in spiritual matters, but when trying to judge whether God or man is being elevated you can also easily deceive yourself and others.

The safest principle in my opinion is what Catherine is first told: what does the vision create in the person having the revelation, and what comes first? If you look at Vassula’s source from this criterion, it clearly judges itself false. From the beginning her Jesus wraps up everything in honey and velvet – later on comes roughness, and in the end threats of rejection and destruction. This applies to isolated instances as well as to the course of the relationship as a whole.

In addition, I find that with his message on February 1st, 1987, mentioned above, he effectively brands himself as a liar, as his messages literally teem with “blames and harsh words”!

A summary of the difference between the two Jesuses:

Catherine’s Jesus speaks very little about himself and very little about Catherine. He never calls attention to his glorious personality or strives to prove his identity. He speaks very little of emotions and he never urges Catherine to feel anything. He does not scare, threaten or condemn, his teachings are in clear agreement with the Gospel, and his words are touching and moving hearts, generating true faith and longing for Heaven.

Vassula’s Jesus
speaks about himself at incredible length and also a great deal about Vassula. He makes a huge issue of trying to confirm his credibility and his divine authority, and of saying how utterly horrible people we are, if we do not believe him. He speaks emotionally of feelings on nearly every page, and he urges Vassula to observe and bask in both her own and his feelings:

“Feel Me – feel My Love – feel My Presence – are you happy – are you sad – do you love Me – do you know how much I love you…” etc. etc.

He scares, threatens and condemns, and his teachings are remarkably shallow in the area of the most central evangelical issues – the cross, the blood of Christ, salvation and what it means “to die from oneself”. As I hear him, he speaks not to the heart or to the mind, but past both and straight into what you could call “the realm of feelings and senses”.

Can these two Jesuses really be one and the same person? To me they seem diametrically opposed – like day and night, light and darkness. And that is exactly what I consider them to be!

PLEASE NOTE:

The umbilical cord between Catherine and her Jesus is FAITH.

The umbilical cord between Vassula and her Jesus is THE WRITINGS – her writing hand.

“Do not go after them!”

After having read considerable parts of Vassula’s conversations with her Jesus, I have to say that everything about it is alarmingly and painfully familiar to me. I do not have the slightest doubt that her Jesus is the same being, who was once writing through my hand. Actually, it is so easy to recognize that it makes me wonder if he in fact always plays the same melody.

The same “computer-like”, beautiful handwriting. The same pompous verbosity without any meaningful content. The same sugary words, the same seductive flattery, the appeal to the feelings. The small errors, making you wonder whether he is not omniscient after all. And the evasive, but loving, answers when you get too close: “You ask too many questions, my dear sister!” he used to tell me with such tenderness that I melted completely and reproved myself: “Whoever do I think I am, daring to call divinity to account for anything at all!”

The playing of a double game with “an evil being” (a demon) suddenly interfering in the conversation, writing some dirty and degrading words and then being chased away by your Lord and defender. The growing demands for absolute obedience, and your own growing fear, as you are driven away from your normal foothold and far beyond your normal boundaries, until you are suspended in space where he is the only thing that keeps you from plunging into an abyss. His way of then suddenly turning his back on you – he is gone, and you plunge into the black hole of desolation. EVERYTHING comes to an end with his absence.

The unpredictable pattern in his behaviour, so that you never know whether the next moment you will be embraced by loving arms, crushed by harsh words or left alone in the darkness. And you know to the bone that you are the one who determines which it will be – you just have to behave irreproachably and do whatever he tells you to.

Oh yes, I know he is the same! But I also realize that this knowledge has no truth value in itself and cannot be conveyed to others with my words. Still, I have tried to point out things in the TLIG-books that in my opinion unmask him as a false Jesus. Some people may consider this pedantic, but my only response to that is that if you intend to find the cracks in this cleverly wrapped up fraud, it is not enough to cast a quick glance at the surface – you need to observe it very carefully through a magnifying glass. Only then are you able to spot the cracks, and only then are you able to watch how the whole picture falls to pieces.

Of course you may choose to believe that Vassula’s experience as well as my own stem from our subconscious minds, that it is all purely psychic. I cannot disprove that, only contradict it with my heart’s firm conviction: it is NOT psychic! It is in actual fact communication with a person outside yourself, who is thinking, feeling, acting, making plans – and using a pen!

You may also choose to believe that even if automatic writing is a common phenomenon in the occult realms, and even if I through my writing made contact with a demonic spiritual world – then Vassula’s contact could still be the authentic true Jesus we know from the Bible. But this choice includes believing that Jesus and demons use the same technique for contacting us humans – that they share the pen between them, so to speak. For my part I find it completely impossible to imagine such a collaboration.

In October 2004 I went to Copenhagen to attend one of Vassula’s meetings, which was held in “Copenhagen Christian Culture-centre”. A pastor from a Pentecostal Church gave Vassula a very warm welcome and after she had spoken he thanked her from the bottom of his heart “for sharing with us what she had received from the Lord”. The audience – around 900 people – were obviously very positive and receptive, and she did truly live up to her reputation of having a quiet, modest and cheerfully relaxed demeanor. And of course – she did after all bring a message from Jesus – how could one, as a Christian, not want to receive it!

On the surface her message did not differ much from most other Christian preaching, and you really had to wear your most powerful glasses to spot any of the false expressions that I have tried to bring to light in this analysis. So I am not surprised that so many people bought her message – and her books? These were strongly recommended by Vassula herself, “but you have to begin with the first book – if you buy for instance the eighth book and start there, you will not understand a thing!” She also recommended that we should read the books over and over and practice the “we-us” relationship with Jesus. We should replace Vassula’s name in the books with our own, because in this way it would be Jesus speaking directly and personally to each and every one of us. Not once did she suggest that we went home to study the Bible!

It was all a very painful experience to someone from “Cain’s clan”. Because that is what I must be. I believe that Vassula is sincere in her conviction of being a messenger for divine powers. But I do not believe that her Jesus is the Gospel’s Jesus Christ. Consequently, I am an obdurate enemy, a persecutor, an attacker with soiled hands, an apostate, an evil prosecutor, who is offending, mocking and betraying Jesus and his mouthpieces of today. Ultimately, I am a person who is blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and I can never be forgiven.

Vassula of course did not say this that night. But it is in her books which are conversations with Jesus, and it is Jesus who says it. I am not allowed to be sceptical, I am not allowed to ask critical questions, and I am not allowed to test the spirit behind the messages, and I am certainly not, in trying to do so, allowed to reach any other conclusion than that Vassula’s Jesus is indeed the Jesus from the Bible. Because that way I would be harming the Church of God and blocking people’s way to Christ. It would lead me to destruction and death.

This judgement does not only reach me and other “Cains” through the TLIG-books, but also through people, who present Vassula to the world as “one of the greatest prophets of today”. Any sceptical objection is met with an aggressive coldness so intense that I do not remember having come across it before in any other Christian context; it is also more than a little hard to see how this fits in with the many claims of “good fruits.” Evidently it is neither love nor gentleness (Galatians 5,22) that meets a doubtful enquirer, it is rather an indignant: “How dare you question a spiritual work that is so radiant with God’s own Spirit and bears such rich fruits?”

Honestly, it looks as if Vassula’s followers have never read or heard what Jesus warned his disciples about in Luke 21,8 (with parallels in Mark 13,6 and Matthew 24,4):

“Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.”

But listen: Vassula’s Jesus is someone who comes to us saying: “I am he!” And “The time is near!” On page after page he repeats his “It is I, Jesus Christ!” “I am He!” And over and over he says: “The time is near, I am coming soon!” Should we not be allowed, are we not in fact obliged, to consider seriously Jesus’ own warning that says: “Do not go after him!”?

I find nothing in the Gospel indicating that the way to hold on to a true and sound Christian faith, in treacherous and seductive times, is to listen to a spiritual medium who writes in a strange handwriting, deciding for us what to do, think and believe. On the contrary, everything indicates that we should hold on to the faith that has been handed down to us through time and to the belief that “Jesus is with us always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28,20). That is his promise, and it should be sufficient to us. We should not be alarmed or scared in times of turbulence, we should hold on and hold out, and we should stand up and raise our heads in expectation. That is what Jesus tells us according to Luke 21. Not one word about awaiting new messages from a supernatural source.

And the good fruits? People are drawn to a closer relationship with Jesus, a new love for him springs alive in them. So they say, and yes, I believe them – I have seen and heard it. But once again I have to ask: who is the Jesus they are drawn to and begin to love? Is it the Jesus from the Gospel, or is it Vassula’s Jesus? Is it the one who says: “Everyone who believes in me may not perish but may have eternal life”? Or the one who says: “If you do not believe that I, who write through Vassula’s hand, am the true Christ, you are condemned!”

We cannot follow and serve both of them! As “sheep” in the good Shepherd’s flock each of us have to decide for ourselves, if we listen to the voice of the true Shepherd or to that of a stranger.

You might with some reason object that I should leave the judgement of this spiritual work to the Catholic Church, because that is mainly where Vassula is presented as a prophet of God. But aside from my own opinion, based on my personal experience with the occult, there are two reasons why I choose to speak openly about the TLIG-problem.

One is that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which is the instance judging whether Vassula’s Jesus is the real Jesus or not, always works very slowly in such matters – which I consider a good and sensible thing. But it also means that you can hardly expect a clarifying final conclusion to be right at hand. And, as I mentioned in the beginning, Vassula herself as well as her followers try to skate elegantly over the fact that there is no such clarification.
No “nihil obstat”.

My other reason is that Vassula’s work reaches far beyond the Catholic Church. She travels all over the world, presenting her messages and books to anyone who will listen. As I have already described, she was received in Denmark with open arms in a traditional Pentecostal context. Her arrival was carefully prepared in a Christian newspaper “Udfordringen” with interviews and articles of recommendation, and Christian TV brought commercials advertising the meeting. And in our state church “Folkekirken”, you come across an increasing number of enthusiastic readers of the TLIG-books.

To me it is quite obvious that Vassula’s Jesus is reaching out to all of us, to all Christian confessions, across the world, saying: “Come to me!”

I want to repeat what I have said earlier that this script is in no way meant as an attack against Vassula Rydén as a person. She does what she must do out of a firm belief that she is under a divine calling, and she does it whole-heartedly and persistently. I know from my own experience what she is going through, and I understand, sadly and painfully, why she is holding on to it so desperately.

But at the same time I have to insist on that deep conviction of mine that she is being betrayed by the one who controls her hand and her life. I insist on that, taking full responsibility in the face of God and of people. And I stubbornly claim to have no other motives than a genuine grief to see her and her followers being led astray. I am a sinner like everybody else, but I am not an obdurate Cain who aims at the throats of God’s prophets.

If I am wrong in my judgement I believe that I am still under the grace of God and not under his condemnation, because he knows my motives and my heart.

If I am right, then it is an undeniable fact that in spite of all seemingly good fruits of conversion, the converted will come to follow and serve a false Jesus.

In which case they will never be led to a “true life”.

You may download the booklet to your computer as a: