Wednesday 25 January 2012

Wormwood, Chernobyl, and the Hrushiv Apparitions



 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch... (Rev 8:10)


In my book Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church, I note how the etymological root of the Ukrainian word "Chernobyl" is "wormwood" - which many commentators have previously suggested is connected with a certain passage in Rev 8:

The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
(Rev 8:10-11)


The link between Chernobyl and the Ukrainian word for "wormwood" was first noted by S. Schmemann in a New York Times article dated to 25th July 1986, titled "Chernobyl Fallout: Apocalyptic Tale". Schmemann pointed out that the name of the site of the infamous nuclear reactor disaster is derived from the Ukrainian word chornobyl - which is the name of the plant Armetisia vulgaris, known as "common wormwood" - a close relative of the type of plant mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
Another strong correlation between the Chernobyl incident and the above passage in the Apocalypse has been overlooked by other commentators however. During the same month the reactor went into meltdown on 26th April 1986, Halley's Comet completed its 76 year journey back to earth's orbit and was visible to the naked eye at this exact time period. It is of some significance then that the vast majority of scholarly commentaries on the Book of Revelation believe that the great star "blazing like a torch" referred to in this passage is a description of a comet - which were considered as harbingers of doom in many ancient cultures.

It is important to recognise here that the trumpet blasts of Rev 8-11 are arranged thematically, rather than chronologically. The first trumpet describes the destruction of the earth by fire - which is one of the last events in the chronology of the end-time given elsewhere in the Apocalypse. This event is to be equated with the plague of hail related to the battle of Armageddon in Rev 16:21 (in Rev 8:7 this hail is mixed with fire, just as the plagues of Exod 9:23); and also with fire coming down from heaven to destroy the armies of Gog and Magog in Rev 20:9. So the first trumpet heralds one of the very last events to occur at the end-time - the battle of Armageddon. Given this cue, we know that the trumpets should not be considered to unfold chronologically in the exact sequence of events depicted in this portion of the Book of Revelation - they are rather a pastiche of apocalyptic events arranged by theme, and thus have to be rearranged to determine their order in real-time. So the fact that the above events relating to the wormwood star takes place after the mountain is cast into the sea at the sounding of the second trumpet should not impact this interpretation.

It is also of some interest that just a year after the Chernobyl disaster, there were reports of apparitions of the Virgin Mary, seen by a crowds of thousands people at Hrushiv in the Ukraine, in 1987.  A young Ukrainian girl named Kizyn Maria was the first to witness these apparitions, and claimed to have been given messages by Our Lady. Josyp Terelya, who was reputed to have experienced apparitions of the Virgin Mary while a imprisoned in the Soviet Gulags in the 1970's because he refused to renounce his Catholic faith, was another witness to these apparitions, and claimed to have received messages himself at Hrushiv. Although these apparitions have yet to be approved by the Church, they are interesting in their timing and location.

Terelya has recounted his experiences in his book Witness (which he co-authored with Michael H Brown of Spirit Daily) and recorded his testimony on video, which can be seen on Youtube (see below):


Part 1






Part 2




Part 3






Part 4






The village of Hrushiv was also the location of a reported Marian apparition 73 years previously to 22 people, on 12th May, 1914 - just two weeks before the outbreak of the First World War. During these apparitions the Virgin Mary was said to have foretold the future history of Russia. As we noted in the earlier post The Four Horsemen and the Four Beasts, as well as being home to Chernobyl and the Hrushiv apparitions, the Ukraine was also the centre of the worst plight during the Soviet Famine of 1932-1933, which claimed the lives of around 6 million people. It is still debated whether this famine was deliberately manufactured by the Stalinist regime to repress the people of the Ukraine, thus rendering this great tragedy as premeditated genocide.


See also the related posts:


Tunguska, Pope Leo XIII and the Opening of the Abyss
Signs in the Sky
The Two Towers and the Sixth Seal

18 comments:

Anne said...

A while ago, I read somewhere that before the end times or the latter days 3 or 4 people in the world will have unravelled the Sacred Book of Revelation - The Apolcalypse, the events, the meanings, the urgent call, warnings, revolts and punishments. I truely believe that you, Emmett are one of these people sent to us by the Good Lord. I am so grateful to you for your research, knowledge, and the elequence in which your give us your much needed information.

God Bles You in abundance. You are in my prayers

Emmett O'Regan said...

Anne,

I am extremely flattered that you think so highly of me. That is very touching. But I am just a humble sinner, and am not worthy of such esteem - I'm just some bloke with a few crazy ideas. They could be right or wrong - I do not, and am not holy enough, to recieve private revelations. So try not to place too much heed in people such as me, but rather place your trust in the Mystical Body of Christ - the Holy Church, wherein resides the fullness of truth guided by the Spirit of God.

Anne said...

Emmett,
I don't believe that you or any of the others in the world who have unravelled the Sacred Book of Revelation receive personal mystic revelations. Please don't get me wrong. I do believe that by your work, study, research, incessant searching and prayer you are able to unlock what others have basically ignored or given up as fiction. The fact that you are attracted to the unveiling of this Sacred Book is a grace in itself.

I am enjoying your book and can't put it down too easily. I just wish the font size was a little bigger!

God Bless You.
Anne

Anonymous said...

I agree Anne, I was looking for a while for someone who would interpret the book of Revelation from a Catholic Christian perspective (particularly given the New Testament is a Catholic compiled book) and also in light of the times we live in, as these do seem to have the indicators of the end times. Furthermore I was looking for someone who would use private Catholic revelations and apparitions in the interpretation. Emmetts book is brilliant and there is a real air of humility in his delivery. Sorry to make you blush Emmett.

Jamey

Emmett O'Regan said...

You are both too kind - people will think I have you in my payroll! I do appreciate your comments though - it makes it all worthwhile...

Anonymous said...

I can not comment on the book of Revelation. On Friday afternoon, April 26, 1986 I was given a rare and unique revelation burning within my heart:

"After seventeen comes judgment, and then redemption". It was not until Monday, April 29, 1986 that the world at large heard about the Chernobyl accident.

Friday afternoon April 26,1986 Central Time US was the time of the accident.

I later learned that April 26th, 1986 was the 17th day of the Jewish Passover month. Most likely, the 3rd day after the first Passover (the 14th day) when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. Also, the 3rd day after the last Passover (the 14th day) when Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

The Chernobyl accident precipitated Glasnost and Peristroyka, the beginning of the downfall of the Soviet Union. (with of course, the spiritual dynamics of Pope John Paul II and Poland.)

Anonymous said...

This made me think of the strange "image" that interrupted a news report during the Cairo riots bringing down Mubarak and now leaving an Egypt (Arab spring??)that may be ruled by radicals and being used against Israel. That "green" image was compared to the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse....perhaps an omen as to what these violent revolts would eventually bring to the world in these times.

http://www.thetruthbehindthescenes.org/2011/02/05/fourth-horseman-ghost-of-the-apocalypse-appears-at-egypt-protests/

Mike Rizzio said...

Any orthodox Catholic, one who believes and practices every tenet of the Catholic faith should see that the end times are fast approaching.

Aldous Huxley, the author of the Brave New World dystopia (1931) predicted this end state in his Revisited edition (1958). I recap this prophetic work in a blog entry at http://eucharist-emc2.blogspot.com. You can read the original online at:
http://www.huxley.net/bnw-revisited/

His pre-Vatican II take was that over population/over organization would lead to absolute totalitarianism and that only the Catholic Church would stand in the way....pretty accurate.

God bless America!

Mothersuperior7 said...

I would very much like to talk to you via email or by phone. I was a friend of Josyp Terelya's and just spent 6 weeks in Rome and Ukraine. Your research and interests are also my interests. Josyp's spiritual Father is my spiritual father. You have my email now if you would like to contact me. Blessings--

Emmett O'Regan said...

Mother Superior,

I would very much like to get in contact you. Your email doesn't appear at my end however when you make a comment in the com-box. If you email me at emmettoregan@talktalk.net, I'll have your email address then.
It's very interesting that you were a friend of Josyp - he was a very remarkable man. Did you visit the site of the apparitions while you were in the Ukraine?
I look foward to hearing from you...

Lepanto said...

22 witnesses at Hrushiv and 22 at Knock and 22 Chapters in the Apocalypse! Just a thought.

Anonymous said...

Uhh, you guys know that Chernobyl'doesnt actually mean "wormwood", right?

Paula said...

Dear Emmett,

Thank you for the insightful blog and I look forward to reading your book. Have you done any research on Fukushima and the appearances of the Blessed Mother at Akita? The MSM was not reporting on Fukushima until very recently and it's radiation effects will be extreme.

Blessings to you and all here,
Paula

Emmett O'Regan said...

Hi Paula! Thanks! Only very briefly at a post at the below link:

http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/our-lady-of-akita-and-japanese-tsunami.html

Son of Man said...

@Anne=Thanks do you want me to tell you about the beast. Search on FB I'll be there. It revealed itself to me also look at Chapter 18...Sounds like those towers of babylon.

Anonymous said...

Dear Emmett O'Regan:
Because your article is dated Jan. 25, 2012, then I trust that you are aware of apparitions of the Blessed Mother in small towns in Ukraine that have occurred subsequent to 1987-88, namely those in August 2002 and in 2003 to 2005. Maybe more after that time? Do you have any information, or leads on where to get information, on these later (more recent) apparitions in the Ukraine? I am studying these apparitions and have written on them. Please let me know any information, if you are still involved with this very moving, and very important series of Marian apparitions. They are a continuation of the Fatima messages.
Thank you!
John Hauck, near Cincinnati, OH
attyhauck@fuse.net (The Hannah reference is my little daughter)

Anonymous said...

Dear Mothersuperior7:
I see that you wrote on this Blog, as of Oct. 3, 2012. I also saw a post under the same name, concerning the apparitions of the Blessed Mother in the Ukraine, somewhere else. Perhaps we could assist one another? My effort is to educate my friends and associates at a Catholic center on the apparitions of the Blessed Mother, and we have presented numerous programs on various of her apparitions. Certainly Fatima is well known to all Catholics, and it is the focus of many presentations this year 2017. But other more recent apparitions are connected to it, including Akita and the Ukraine. It is difficult to access information on the Ukraine. Please let me know if this Blog still exists, and if you can assist me on the Ukraine. Ok to be anonymous, etc... As I said above,
Thank you!
John Hauck, near Cincinnati, OH
(513) 621-0805
attyhauck@fuse.net

Anonymous said...

Nobody has contacted me yet. CAN SOMEONE EMAIL ME? Even the noteworthy Emmett O'Regan? I am looking for information on the current (last 15 years) apparitions of Our Lady in Western Ukraine. I left comments (above - under Hannah Hauck) on May 25. If ANYONE knows ANYTHING about the current (last 15 years) apparitions in the Ukraine, PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL ME - at my actual location (not at my daughter Hannah's google account, which for some reason is on here): John Hauck, 513-621-0805 attyhauck@fuse.net or 201 Laurel St. Milford, OH, 45150 Thank You! May Our Lord and Our Lady bless you for assisting me and others here at Our Lady of Light Holy Spirit Center in Cincinnati, OH. John H.