In Conclusion: The Shroud, Part 7

Here is the final part in our series on the Shroud of Turin...

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Disclaimer: Though I believe the Shroud to be the authentic burial cloth of Christ (as you shall see), I do not believe it to be an object of worship; only Jesus Himself and God the Father are to be worshipped. However, I do believe that the Shroud provides sufficient evidence of the Resurrection. It is for this reason that I present this material. So much more information is forthcoming on the Shroud. For more information, visit http://www.shroud.com/, hosted by Barrie Schwortz; he presents all views on the Shroud, as well as the latest information. To see my complete series, click here.

On April 11th, 1997 at almost 11:45 P.M[1], a fire erupted engulfing the cathedral in which the Shroud of Turin had been kept since 1578. A citizen of Turin, Guido Principe, called the fire department when he saw the fire from his home. Giuseppe Ivano, the palace custodian, said, “We smelled smoke, and then we saw the flames raging from the dome.”[2] Thousands of weeping onlookers gathered to witness what they thought would be the end of the holy relic. A firefighter by the name of Mario Trematore courageously rushed into the cathedral amid the blazing flames to try to rescue the holy relic. The Shroud was kept in a silver and glass receptacle. Using a sledgehammer, which tore away the skin on his hands because of his strong grip,[3] Mario began breaking through eight layers of bulletproof glass to reach the box that the Shroud was kept in. A few minutes later, other firemen began to assist Mario in his courageous act.[4] Fifteen minutes after entering the burning cathedral, Mario returned with the case that the Shroud was kept in across his shoulders. Onlookers cheered his brave courage, but Mario said, “It was God who gave me the strength to break that glass. The force was in the cloth.”[5] He also said, “The bulletproof glass can stop bullets, but it cannot stop the strength of values represented by the symbol inside it…”[6] Here is the story according to Mario: Firefighter Trematore looked over the balcony of his house to see, a cloud of smok, billowing three hundred feet into the air. He turned to his family and said, “Something’s burning.” When he called his office, he found out that the cathedral was on fire. In the twenty years that he had been a firefighter, Trematore had never seen a fire so big. He thought to himself, “We might lose one of the greatest artifacts on Earth.”[7] When Mario first entered the cathedral, he said he sensed that “This is what it would be like to be in Hell.”[8] Before rescuing the Shroud, the firefighters had to extinguish some of the fire.[9] Soon afterward, while the firefighters were still extinguishing the fire, Mario thought that the firefighters should get out of the burning cathedral before they all died, but just then, he heard a voice that said, "Go over there and Rescue the Cloth!"[10] His first thought after hearing this voice was “If I go over there, I’m going to die,”[11] but then he thought, “It’s not my moment to die yet.” The voice said, “Don’t worry about it, go over there and break the glass.”[12] “How?” The voice spoke to him again saying, "Get a sledgehammer!" Mario went and got a sledgehammer and he began to bang hard against the bombproof case housing the cloth. The very first blow was disastrous! But the voice in his head would not let him rest. It said, "Hit it again!" So Mario did! He hit it again and again until the eight layers of bombproof glass shattered! What a miracle! He then picked up the case housing the Shroud and lay it across his shoulders. At this point, he felt like he was no longer walking but floating![13] At approximately 1:36 A.M[14], he made his way to the bottom step of the cathedral. The roof over the bomb-proof glass, which was now shattered in pieces, collapsed on the very spot where the casket housing the Shroud had been just minutes after it's rescue![15] Mario was officially proclaimed Italy's hero. The Vatican also awarded the brave firefighter. In his comments on the Shroud's rescue, Pope John Paul II and the Archbishop of Turin both called it “a miracle.”[16] The fire was put under control at approximately 4:30 A.M.[17] So who or what caused this fire? Mario knows who it is. He says, “It is Satan!”[18] You can see that he is right when you look at the following suspicious events leading up to the 1997 fire. About thirty minutes before the fire, the Turin fire department received an anonymous phone call that warned of a “fire in the city.”[19] Also, most of the attacks to torch San Giovanni have occurred on Friday nights. This makes a direct parallel to the fact that Jesus was crucified on a Friday![20] Interestingly, because restoration work was going on, all the fire alarms in the cathedral were “temporarily turned off.”[21] These strange events seem to say that the 1997 fire was a conspiracy to destroy the Shroud of Turin. However, once again, the Shroud was miraculously unharmed. With the proof presented in this series, you can see that there is a high possibility that the Shroud of Turin was the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. This information is not presented to suggest worshiping the Shroud, as some wrongly do; rather, it is presented with this thought in mind -- if the Shroud is genuine, then we have the most magnificent verification to Christ’s Resurrection. I believe that is why there are so many skeptics throwing criticism at the Shroud; because if the Shroud is genuine, then the Resurrection might also be genuine, and they don’t want that. If you are skeptical, it is strongly recommended that you do as the Bereans did and “search the scriptures…to see whether these things are so.”[22] There are many more questions about the Shroud that Science may never be able to give an answer to. However, Jesus knows the answer to everything! It’s not about whether or not you believe the Shroud is authentic or not. As a matter of fact, 2 Timothy 4:3-4 tells us that there are some who won’t believe it no matter what evidence is presented: “For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.”[23] The Shroud gives proof of Jesus’ torture, death, and resurrection. The Bible tells us about these things and we can clearly see them on the Shroud. Who else would have gone through the exact same torture, death, and burial as Jesus Christ? As one writer says, “If it isn’t the face of Jesus on the Shroud of Turin, who is it?”[24] The Shroud is proof that Jesus died and rose again for all of our sins just as the Bible says: “For God so loved the loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”[25]

Whoever looks at the Shroud, even if they don’t believe it – it will change his life… I must say that that night, spent in the cathedral trying to save the Holy Shroud, has marked a turning point in my life. An interior change took place in me prompting me to be reflective, to scan with greater attention that sign of Providence in my life and in that of the persons I carry in my heart. - Mario Trematore[26] 

Why the Shroud? Because it's here and because I think it's meaning has been overlooked and diminished by analysis, debate and skepticism. I believe the truth of it's purpose which is to show us the horrendous details of what happened as well as the proof of Resurrection…The fact that Jesus wanted us to know is long overdue. This is a visual gospel that cannot be ignored. It is HIS gospel. I cannot help but believe that our Lord is leading us in the right direction to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. - Carole Bevan-Irby[27] 

The image on the Shroud of Turin can, I submit, be confidently ascribed to the body of Christ. - William Meacham[28] 

When I looked at all the evidence you and I have just seen and tried to assess it as carefully as I can, all I can say is that for me at any rate, this burden of proof has shifted. I began by assuming its inauthenticity until it proved otherwise and asking how as a forgery it could have possibly been done. I now attend to assume that it's authentic and still want to know how it was done. -Dr. John Robinson[29] 

I believe that the Shroud is an artifact of Jesus. Based on the scientific evidence it is the only logical conclusion one can draw. - Barrie Schwortz[30] 

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles-- if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets… - The Holy Bible[31]

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[1] www.Shroud.com [2] ibid [3] http://www.themiraclespage.org/turin.html [4] www.Shroud.com [5] http://www.parascope.com [6] www.Shroud.com [7] The Shroud of Turin Unraveling the Mystery: Proceedings of the 1998 Dallas Symposium, Compiled by Michael Minor, Edited by Alan D. Adler, Dame Isabel Piczek, Michael Minor; Alexander Books; Alexander, North Carolina; 2002, 361 [8] ibid [9] ibid [10] http://www.greatspiritualbattle.com/fire.html, agneusday.com [11] ibid [12] The Shroud of Turin Unraveling the Mystery: Proceedings of the 1998 Dallas Symposium, Compiled by Michael Minor, Edited by Alan D. Adler, Dame Isabel Piczek, Michael Minor; Alexander Books; Alexander, North Carolina; 2002, 361 [13] http://www.greatspiritualbattle.com/fire.html, agneusday.com [14] www.shroud.com [15] ibid [16] http://www.parascope.com [17] www.shroud.com [18] http://www.greatspiritualbattle.com/fire.html, agneusday.com [19] http://www.parascope.com [20] ibid [21] ibid [22] Paraphrased from Acts 17:11, italics added [23] Power BibleCD 2.5, ASV [24] A Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus, Frank O. Adams, Psychical Aid Foundation, Tucson Arizona, pg 49, 1972 [25] Power BibleCD 2.5, KJV, John 3:16 [26] The Shroud of Turin Unraveling the Mystery: Proceedings of the 1998 Dallas Symposium, Compiled by Michael Minor, Edited by Alan D. Adler, Dame Isabel Piczek, Michael Minor; Alexander Books; Alexander, North Carolina; 2002, pg 361, 367-368, [27] http://www.carolebevanirby.com/whytheshroud.shtml, italics added for clarity [28] http://www.shroud.com/meacham2.htm [29] The Silent Witness, 1978 video recording, Dr. John Robinson [30] http://www.thestandardreport.com/religion/spring05/stories/shroud.html [31] Power BibleCD 2.5, Ephesians 3:1-5, NKJV