IS PRAYING TO MARY BIBLICAL?

          SPELLING EDITED

IS PRAYING TO MARY BIBLICAL?

The question has been asked, “Is praying to Mary Biblical?” In other words, does the Bible itself teach us as Christian to pray to Mary? If not, then why do Catholics pray to Mary? Is it wrong to pray to Mary? These are the kinds of questions that we will answer in this study of God’s word

First of all, what does the Bible say about the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, that was conceived by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God to bear in her womb a Son who would come to be called the Son Almighty God the Father or the Son of the Highest? 

Lets us begin this study in God's word by reading the gospel of Luke where we are told of the miraculous conception of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, Almighty God, the Father. 

Please read Luke 1:26-50.

“And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 

27. To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 

28. And the ANGEL came in unto her, and said, Hail, you that are highly favored, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women. (This verse does NOT say that Mary was blessed ABOVE the entire human race. It simply says that Mary was blessed among WOMEN. There were many people in the Bible who were BLESSED. The word blessed does NOT me highly exalted above the entire human race. It simply means that Mary was CHOSEN by God to have a Son whom God would make to become both Lord and Christ to save the people from their sins)

29. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for you have found favor with God. (The word favor is another way of saying that Mary found GRACE with God. And again, many people found grace with God. Also, notice that this verse says that Mary FOUND favor with God and NOT that Mary was MADE or BORN with the favor of God. Just so you know, EVERY single human being is BORN WITHOUT SIN. Please read the study “THE FALSE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN!”)

31. And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. (The name Jesus means that salvation OF Yahweh or Yahweh saves. Yahweh the Father prophesied that he would raise up a savior from among the people)

32. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall GIVE unto him the throne of his father David: (Another reason that Jesus was born is to be the King of Israel for 1000 years in the world to come during the first dominion)

33. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom, there shall be no end. (The kingdom itself will remain forever but Jesus will only reign for 1000 years and then the Father will take over from there. Please read the study “IS THE 1000 YEAR REIGN OF JESUS LITERAL?”)

34. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? (Or how can this be that I am going to have a Son who will be the King over Israel when I am a VIRGIN?)

35. And the angel ANSWERED and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you:, therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. (Please notice that Jesus SHALL be called the Son of God and NOT that the Son of God incarnated himself to become flesh. John 1:14 says that the word was made flesh and NOT that God the Son was made flesh. And in verse 38 below Mary says be it done unto me according to your WORD. The angel spoke the WORD of Yahweh the Father to Mary. And then Mary BELIEVED the word of Yahweh and said be it done unto me according to your WORD. And then, after Mary believed, the spoken word of God became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary)

36. And, behold, your cousin Elisabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37. For with God nothing shall be impossible. 

38. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. (Again, the angel name Gabriel spoke the message or the WORD that Yahweh the Father gave to him to speak to the Virgin Mary. And then, when Mary BELIEVED or agreed to be USED BY God, it was then that the Holy Spirit of Almighty God created in her womb a fetus who would be BORN of a WOMAN and who would come to be called the SON OF God)

39. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 

40. And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 

41. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 

42. And she spoke out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. (Again, Mary is NOT being called blessed ABOVE the entire human race. And she is OT be blessed to be EQUAL to the fruit in her womb. Being blessed by God simply means that you have FAVOR with God. Jesus ALSO found FAVOR with God and with men)

43. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Please notice that this verse does NOT say that Mary is the mother of God, but rather it says that mother of my Lord. 1 Corinthians 8:6 clearly teaches us that to us, as Christians, there is but ONE God who ALONE is the Father and that to us there is one Lord who alone is Jesus Christ. The word Christ means the ANOINTED OF God. Please read 1 Corinthians 8:6 “But to us, there is but ONE God, the FATHER, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” The word “Lord” does not always refer to Yahweh. And most of the time the word Lord in the New Testament refers to Jesus who is NOT the Father. So Elizabeth is simply saying to Mary that she is unworthy for the mother of the MESSIAH to come into her home)

44. For, lo, as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 

45. And blessed is she that BELIEVED: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. (This word “Lord” is indeed speaking of Yahweh the Father who sent down his spoken word from Heaven by way of the Angel Gabriel who then SPOKE the Father’s WORD to the Virgin Mary. And WHEN Mary BELIEVED the SPOKEN word of Yahweh was MADE to become FLESH in the womb of the Virgin Mary)

46. And Mary said, My soul does magnify the Lord, 

47. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. (Mary is praising Yahweh the Father for allowing her to be a part of his plan of salvation to give birth to the MESSIAH who would be called the SON OF God) 

48. For HE (Speaking of Yahweh the Father who is God my Savior) has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. (Please notice that this verse does NOT say that all Generations shall call Mary the Mother of God or the QUEEN of heaven. It simply says that Mary would be called BLESSED. Mary is called blessed because she carried in her womb the FRUIT who would become the MESSIAH)

49. For HE (Speaking of Almighty God Yahweh the Father) that is mighty has done to me great things; AND holy is his NAME. (Jesus came n the NAME of Almighty God the Father. In fact, in the world to come, Yahweh the Father will GIVE his very own NAME to his Son Jesus to RULE and reign FOR Yahweh for 1000 years)

50. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.”

Now it is from these verses found in the gospel of Luke that the FIRST two parts of the Catholic prayer that is called the “Hail Mary” or the “Ave Maria” and sometimes referred to as the “Angelic Salutation” was put together. This prayer TO Mary, the mother of Jesus is as follows. I am quoting the “Hail Mary” prayer so you can see that the FIRST two parts are taken from the gospel of Luke.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, 

This part is found in Luke chapter 1 and verse 28.

Luke 1:28.

“Hail, you that are highly favored, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women.”

Let us continue examining the prayer to Mary that is prayed to Mary repeatedly on the rosary beads.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

This second part is found in Luke chapter 1 and verse 42.

Luke 1:42.

“...and blessed is the fruit of your womb…”

So then, it is ONLY the first two sentences in the “Hail Mary” prayer to Mary that is taken from the Bible itself. The rest of the entire “Hail Mary” is taken from the Roman Catholic Church TRADITION that came from INCORRECT interpretations of the Scriptures)

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

This third phrase is an INCORRECT INTERPRETATION of verse 43, which is a greeting from Elizabeth to her cousin Mary. BUT the word “Lord” in the Bible is CHANGED to the word “God” in the Catholic prayer to Mary.

Luke 1:43.

“And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

Again, please notice that this verse does NOT say that Mary is the mother of God. But rather it says that mother of my Lord. The Bible ITSELF clearly teaches us in 1 Corinthians 8:6 that to us, as Christians, there is but ONE God who ALONE is the Father and that to us there is one Lord who alone is Jesus Christ. The word Christ means the ANOINTED OF God. Please read 1 Corinthians 8:6 “But to us, there is but ONE God, the FATHER, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” The word “Lord” does not always refer to Yahweh. And most of the time the word Lord in the New Testament refers to Jesus who is NOT the Father. So Elizabeth is simply saying to Mary that she is unworthy for the mother of the MESSIAH to come into her home.

And then the last part of the “Hail Mary” prayer is NOT found anywhere in the entire Bible. Nowhere in the entire Bible are we taught, as Christians, to pray to anyone except to the father in the NAME of his Son, Jesus.

Here is the last part of the “Hail Mary” prayer.

pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.  

Again, this LAST part of the Catholic prayer, the Hail Mary, which is the petitioning of Mary to PRAY for sinners now or at the hour of their death is NOT found anywhere in Scriptures.  Almost all prayers end with the word Amen.

The word Amen in the Bible means yes I agree. It also means so be it.

So, for me personally as a Christian, I can NOT say AMEN to any prayer that is not completely SCRIPTURAL. This is my own personal opinion, but it is based upon a huge amount of in-depth study in God's word. And I find nowhere in the word of truth, the Holy Bible, where we as Christians are taught to ask the saints in heaven to intercede for people on the earth or for those who have supposedly gone to purgatory.

Now the Catholic Church argues that this prayer to Mary is Biblical because most of it comes directly from the Bible, which we have just seen. 

However, we do NOT find anywhere in the Bible that we as Christians are taught to direct our prayers TO the saints who have died and are now present with our Lord in heaven. We already learned in the study “IS PRAYING TO THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN BIBLICAL” that Jesus taught against praying as the heathens pray and that Jesus himself taught us to address our prayers TO our Father in heaven. Therefore, we will direct our focus more in this study on how Mary came to be so highly exalted, venerated, adored, given devotion to, prayers that are given to, and even thought to be worshiped by some in the Protestant churches.

According to the following Catholic website, it is a “Catholic” historical FACT that the Catholic prayer, the “Hail Mary”, did not come into existence as a prayer UNTIL the eleventh century. Here is what the Catholic Church itself teaches.

...it is a historical FACT that the Hail Mary did NOT EXIST at ALL until the eleventh century, and even then only a PART of it was used as a prayer.

Now, these are the very words of the Roman Catholic Church itself, which goes on to say the following about the ORIGIN of the “Hail Mary” prayer to Mary as it is known today. I have condensed the article from the Catholic Website. 

Its origin was as follows: 

The monastic orders were accustomed to recite lengthy offices each day; and on certain feasts, especially those of the Blessed Virgin, these services were supplemented by the "Little Office" of Mary. In this, the words of the Archangel and of St. Elizabeth were used repeatedly in the form of versicles and responses. Gradually it became a pious practice, not only for the monks but for the laity, to use these sentences as a prayer. In the year 1196 the Bishop of Paris ordered his clergy to teach these words to their flocks, and within a short time, the prayer became well known throughout the Catholic world.

A little later the holy name of Jesus was added, probably by Pope Urban IV, and the last part, "Holy Mary, Mother of God," etc., was introduced about the year 1500, as it was felt that this beautiful expression of devotion to our Mother would be more complete if it included a petition to obtain her powerful intercession.

Another Catholic source says that the “Hail Mary” GRADUALLY developed from the 6th century to the 11th century although NO early church writings were offered as supporting such a claim. But even with quotes from early “Catholic” writers during this time frame or even earlier would not prove that this Catholic pray is a sound Biblical prayer. This other Catholic website goes on to give some dates and names as to when this Catholic prayer began to become more developed through the centuries until it's present form as it is today.

So then, most Catholic sources agree that the Hail Mary gradually developed from the sixth century to the 16th century, when the present wording was adopted as general liturgical usage. Some say it was Pope Urban IV (1261-64) who added the word “Jesus” to the angelic salutation.

Again, most all the Catholic sources agree that the Hail Mary did NOT become a popular prayer or widely ACCEPTED prayer before the 11th century when the practice began ONLY as the reciting of the twofold salutation as being a part of the prayers of some monastic communities. In other words, the LAST part of the “Hail Mary”, as it is known today, was NOT part of this now accepted prayer, which again did NOT become widely accepted UNTIL over a 1000 years after the founding of the Christian church. That is to say, the LAST phrase, “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen” was NOT a part of the earlier version of this salutation of Mary that again did NOT become widely accepted until the 11th century.

This Catholic source goes on to says that St. Peter Damian (1007-1072), a Camaldolese monk who later became a cardinal and then Doctor of the Church, called it the angelic, or evangelical, prayer and recommended it. Then in the synod of 1198, Bishop Odo of Siliac required the clergy to see that the faithful recited not only the Our Father and the Creed but also the Hail Mary. Shortly after that, councils of many other countries made similar prescriptions, and the prayer became so popular that it was regarded almost as an appendix to the Our Father. 

And it was not until 1427 that St. Bernard of Siena preached a sermon that included “Ave Maria, Sancta Maria, mater Dei, ora pro nobis.” (“Hail Mary, Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us.”) 

This Catholic source goes on to say that present form of the “Hail Mary”, as it is known today, was introduced into the canonical hours of the breviary by three orders: the Mercedarians in 1514, the Camaldolese in 1515 and the Franciscans in 1525. It was finally fixed in the reformed breviary of Pope Pius V in 1568. 

So then, it was NOT until the year 1568 AD that the Catholic prayer the “Hail Mary” became established as the OFFICIAL prayer to Mary that Catholics know today. 

These Catholic historical FACTS alone should be enough to see that this Catholic prayer is NOT a sound Biblical prayer and that is was most certainly NOT a prayer that was prayed by Christians in the New Testament church nor the early church during the first five centuries. And then when you combine the historical FACTS with the SOUND BIBLICAL evidence that we learned in the study “IS PRAYING TO THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN BIBLICAL?”, then there should be absolutely no doubt that this Catholic prayer the “Hail Mary” is NOT a sound Biblical prayer. And, therefore, it should be rejected and considered as praying like the heathens pray, which Jesus himself condemned. 

Again, this is just my own personal opinion, but an opinion that is based upon a lot of solid evidence and NOT upon “Well this is what the Catholic Church teaches so I have to believe it”.

I mean, LISTEN to what some Catholics are saying. YES, I know that you are taught as a Catholic NOT to QUESTION what you are taught because I myself was once raised in the Catholic Church. But THINK this through for YOURSELF. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are in the Catholic Church, that it is the Catholic Church ITSELF, which says that it is a HISTORICAL FACT that this prayer to Mary developed GRADUALLY for many centuries and that it was not officially established UNTIL 1518, which is over 1,400 years AFTER the founding of Christianity. 

We could end this study right here, but there is much more historical and Biblical evidence to consider that should raise a red flag with every Catholic, who is truly seeking the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.

SECTION TWO

First, lets us see what Jesus and the New Testament teaches us about EXALTING ourselves above that which we should and also EXALTING others as well. Please read Luke 11:27,28 where we see a woman shouting loudly from out of the crowd EXALTING Mary the mother of Jesus, saying to Jesus, how blessed the womb was that bore him and Jesus responded back saying rather those who hear the word of God are blessed.

Luke 11:27,28.

“And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare you, and the paps which you have sucked. 

28. BUT HE (Jesus HIMSELF) said, Yea RATHER, blessed are they that HEAR the word of God, and keep it.” 

So Jesus was saying that it is more important to hear the word of God and KEEP it than it is to say the words how blessed is the womb of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Please keep in mind that this was simply a GREETING given to Mary by the angel Gabriel and was never meant to be part of any prayer that is prayed TO Mary to petition her to pray for sinners.

The word that is translated as “Hail” it simply means GREETING, be well or rejoice. It is much like when the angels appeared to the shepherds in the field announcing the birth of Jesus giving them the greeting saying.

Luke 2:10b.

“...Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” 

Then in verse 28 here in the gospel of Luke in chapter 11 causes me to wonder if Jesus perceived that Mary would one day become so highly exalted and venerated by Catholics in the future that he REBUKED that woman and all who heard her.

Luke 11:28.

“Yea RATHER, blessed are they that HEAR the word of God, and keep it.”

No one can know for sure, but what we do know is that Jesus no doubt placed more emphasis on hearing God's word and OBEYING his word than saying words of blessing to the womb that gave birth to Jesus, the Son of the living God.

Most Christians are very familiar with the words of Jesus that teaches us that those who exalt themselves shall be abased or brought down low and those who humble themselves shall be exalted by God. But when we read this verse in its CONTEXT we see that Jesus is speaking of the CHURCH not having Christians ruling over other Christians. In other words, leaders in the church are not to lord over the sheep. 

Please read Matthew 23:1-15.

“Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 

2. Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 

3. All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do NOT you after their works: for they say, and do not. 

4. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 

5. But all their works they do for to be SEEN OF MEN: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, (When I read this for the first time, I thought immediately of the vestments or the garments of the priests and the bishops when they offer the sacrifice of the mass. Jesus said be NOT like the scribes and Pharisees, which INCLUDES dressing like them with their ceremonial dress. Even when a priest is not wearing these ceremonial garments anyone can still know that he is a priest by is CLOTHING that seems to demand respect by Catholics and non-Catholic alike, as a man of the CLOTH, so to speak.)

6. And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, (Perhaps not priests so much, but the bishops and the Cardinals seem to be exalted to these high places of prominence to receive HONOR from men ABOVE the honor that is given to all other men. Jesus said that we are ALL brothers and that we are not to lord over one another, but rather we are to serve one another.)

7. And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. (Only God sees the heart, but by observing outward appearances it seems those priests, bishops, cardinals, and the pope like to be greeted and be revered as special holy men of God. Just my personal opinion. I even see this with some ministers in the Protestant churches who like the center stage, so to speak, and like to be called “REVEREND” so and so.)

8. But be NOT you called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and ALL you are brethren. 

9. And call NO man your FATHER upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. (Now this verse was one of the first verses that came off the page, so to speak when I read it for the first time while still yet being a Catholic in name only and it really made me question what I had been taught as a Catholic during my childhood up through high school. I mean these are pretty CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE words of Jesus teaching us, as Christian, to call NO MAN father upon the earth. And yet the Catholic Church teaches Catholics to call their priest father. This revelation of the TRUTH spurred me on to search God's word all the more diligently to see if I had been taught other things that were NOT in agreement with God's word.)

10. Neither be you called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 

11. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. (We as Christians are taught to serve one another and NOT to rule over or lord over one another)

12. And whosoever shall EXALT himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. (God ALONE has the right to EXALT whom HE will. So even though it was the Roman Catholic Church that exalted the Virgin Mary, it is still MAN exalting another human being who has NOT been exalted BY Yahweh himself. And those men will be ABASED by Almighty God)

13. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in. (This is an alarming verse and a warning to those, who teach God's people, to be careful to heed how and what we teach God's people)

14. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation.

15. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”

Now when I read this last verse I saw a parallel of the Catholic Church encompassing the whole world and making ONE who is over all the Catholic Church. Then when I looked the word “proselyte” up in the concordance I found that it means to convert a foreigner and not some type of religious leader who would be ONE leader over all the Catholic Church. But then I discovered when I was researching on the early church government that the present Pope of the Catholic Church is the ONLY Pope that has ever been a FOREIGNER outside of Europe. Just a coincidence? You decide.

Anyway, my point is this, Jesus is the ONLY head of the one true church and we as Christians are ALL brothers and sisters in the Lord. The early church did not have any one man to be the head over all the church. Peter was NOT the HEAD over all the early church as the Catholic Church falsely portrays him to be. We will go into this deep in the study of the government of the early church, but for now, just know that Jesus himself condemned anyone Christian ruling over another Christian or Christians. This is another study in and of itself as I have already said, which I will cover later when we take a look at the structure of the Catholic Church to answer the question “Is the Governing Structure of the Catholic Church Biblical?”, where we will look at the origin of the Popes being called the Pontifex Maximus or the Pope for the first time. But for now, let us get back to the study at hand and take a look at some history to see how and when Mary came to be exalted and venerated by the Catholic Church.

SECTION THREE

The Catholic Church ALSO teaches that Mary was a “PERPETUAL VIRGIN”, which means that Mary was not only a virgin when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God in her womb, but also that Mary REMAINED a virgin her whole life, never having intercourse with her husband Joseph, And that would obviously mean that Mary never had any more children, other than Jesus.

But is this what the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, the very WORD of Almighty God clearly teaches us? 

You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are in the Catholic Church, the word of truth in Matthew 1:25 certainly seems to imply that Mary was a virgin ONLY up to the time Jesus was BORN. Please read Matthew 1:19-25, which clearly teaches us that Mary was only a virgin up UNTIL Jesus was BORN.

Matthew 1:19-25.

“Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 

20. But while he thought on these things, behold , the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying , Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 

21. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 

22. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 

23. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son (You see, all that we are clearly and plainly told about Mary being a virgin is that a virgin shall be WITH CHILD, which would be a miracle and it truly was, and that Mary would bring forth her FIRSTBORN SON. So then, the QUESTION arises against this Catholic doctrine of the PERPETUAL virginity of Mary, which teaches That Mary had ONLY one child whose name was Jesus and had NO OTHER children, neither male nor female, because the word of God clearly says that Mary brought forth her FIRSTBORN Son and NOT that Mary brought forth her ONLY Son.), and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 

24. Then Joseph being raised  from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: (Now the normal Jewish custom of sealing the marriage would be to come together as one and know one another and then the marriage would be consummated, but we are told in the next verse that Joseph did not consummate the marriage by knowing Mary UNTIL after Jesus was BORN)

25. And KNEW her not TILL she had brought forth her FIRSTBORN son: and he called his name JESUS.”

And then other places in the New Testament we can clearly see that Mary, the mother of Jesus, did indeed have other children after the birth of Jesus.

Now the Catholic Church argues and says that the other Mary mentioned in the Bible is questioned as being the mother of Jesus because the Bible does not come straight out and specifically say that this so-called OTHER Mary, who had a son by the name of James, is Mary the mother of Jesus. Some Catholics say yes and some say no, so who is to say who is right and who is wrong? 

Well, we can go straight to the SOURCE, the word of TRUTH itself, and search out what the very word of Almighty God itself has to say. For you see, the BIBLE itself will tell us who is right and who is wrong, if we COMPARE ALL the evidence in God's word looking at more than just this one or two verses that are found in the gospel of Matthew. Now the Bible does indeed speak of this Mary, who had 3 other sons and 2 daughters, as being the other Mary. So, the question arises among Catholics in particular, as to WHY mention that this Mary, as being the OTHER Mary, IF she was indeed the mother of Jesus? In other words, the argument from Catholic apologists is that they conclude that this other Mary cannot be the mother of Jesus because they reason with the QUESTION of WHY she is called the OTHER Mary rather than the Bible plainly stating that this Mary, seen at the tomb of Jesus, is Mary the mother of Jesus. 

Well, no one can say for sure WHY Matthew chose to say the OTHER Mary. Perhaps Matthew was following the example set forth by Jesus to downplay the exalting of Mary being the MOTHER of Jesus because Jesus wants us to see that we are ALL brothers and sisters in the Lord and that he does not want us to EXALT one brother or sister above another brother or sister. Again, no one can know for sure the REASON of WHY Matthew called this Mary that was seen at the tomb of Jesus as the OTHER Mary, but we can IDENTIFY as to WHO this other Mary is by comparing Scripture with Scripture. So then, let us first take a look at Matthew 27:61 where we see this other Mary at the tomb of Jesus with Mary Magdalene.

Matthew 27:61.

“And there was Mary Magdalene, and the OTHER Mary, sitting over against the sepulcher.”

Now from this one verse, we cannot for sure determine if this OTHER Mary is the mother of Jesus or if this other Mary is indeed a DIFFERENT or OTHER Mary other than Mary the mother of Jesus. All we know for sure is that TWO women came to the tomb of Jesus who were both named Mary. Now one Mary is called Mary Magdalene, which we know was NOT the mother of Jesus from other verses in the Bible. And this other Mary is simply called the OTHER Mary, but WHY? Is this OTHER Mary the mother of Jesus? Or is this OTHER Mary a completely different Mary that the Bible does not ever mention anywhere else? 

Well, all we can ASSUME from this ONE verse here in Matthew 27:61 is that one would hope at least that Mary, the very mother of Jesus, would come to her own FIRSTBORN Son's tomb to anoint his body. But then we should not base church doctrine on ASSUMPTIONS, should we? So then, let us take a look at some other verses where we see this OTHER Mary being mentioned in the Bible. 

Please read Matthew 28:1. 

“In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the OTHER Mary to see the sepulcher.”

Still, no solid evidence to determine, whether this OTHER Mary is indeed the mother of Jesus or whether she is a different Mary, let us see what the gospel of Luke tells us. Please read Luke 24:9,10 where we again see two women named Mary RETURNING from the tomb, but this time the OTHER Mary is called the mother of James. 

So again, the question could be asked as to WHY Luke made the choice to call this OTHER Mary the mother of JAMES. Some Catholics may argue that if Luke knew right well that this other Mary was indeed the mother of Jesus, then WHY did he call her the mother of James and NOT the mother of Jesus. Again, no one can know for sure as to WHY Luke called the OTHER Mary the mother of James. But again, we can IDENTIFY as to WHO this mother of JAMES truly is by comparing Scripture with Scripture and let the Bible interpret itself. Here is Luke 24:9,10 where these two women named Mary are returning from the tomb of Jesus.

Luke 24:9,10.

“And RETURNED from the sepulcher, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 

10. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.”

So then, let us now compare Scripture with Scripture to learn more about this OTHER Mary that is called the mother of James. But before we look at these other verses I would like you to read Luke 2:9 where again we are told that Jesus is Mary's FIRSTBORN son. And to ME, this teaches us that Mary indeed did have other children other than her FIRSTBORN Son Jesus. Luke was very specific to point out the fact of an ONLY son on two other occasions when the other gospels did not point out this distinction. 

Please see Jairus' daughter and widow of Nain, which is where Luke points out they each had ONLY ONE son. My point is this IF Mary would have had ONLY the ONE Son Jesus, then WHY would Luke say her FIRSTBORN Son rather then Mary's ONLY Son? Well, the answer should be quite obvious to those who are TRULY seeking the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God over what their specific church of church denomination teaches. The truth of the matter is that Luke chose to use the word “FIRSTBORN” is because Mary did indeed have more children after Jesus was born. 

Be very careful to not judge a matter until you at least HEAR the WHOLE matter first. In other words, there is much more sound Biblical evidence to be seen that clearly and plainly teaches us that Mary, the mother of Jesus, did indeed have more children AFTER Mary brought forth her FIRSTBORN Son Jesus. Here is Luke 2:9, which calls Jesus Mary's FIRSTBORN son.

Luke 2:9.

“And she (Speaking of Mary) brought forth her FIRSTBORN son (And NOT her ONLY Son as Luke clearly points out on two other occasions. Again, please read about Jairus' daughter in Luke 8:41,42 and the widow of the city of Nain in Luke 7:11,12), and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Now some Catholic apologist may argue that using the word “FIRSTBORN” still does not prove beyond any shadow of a doubt the Mary had other children after Jesus. 

Well then, what about the clear, plain, and simple evidence from the word of TRUTH that is found in the gospel of Mark 6:1-6, which clearly teaches us that Jesus had two sisters.

Mark 6:1-6.

“And he (Speaking of Jesus) went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. 

2. And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence has this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 

3. Is not this the carpenter, (So then, Jesus was a carpenter also, who was the son of Joseph the carpenter and) the son of Mary, (And is not THIS Jesus also) the BROTHER of James,(Remember that the OTHER Mary that was seen at the tomb with Mary Magdalene in Matthew and Mark and then seen RETURNING FROM the tomb in the gospel of Luke was called the mother of JAMES, which means that James is the BIOLOGICAL BROTHER of Jesus seeing that they BOTH had the SAME mother, but NOT the same FATHER. However these Jews did NOT believe that Almighty God was the Father of Jesus, but rather they understood ONLY that Joseph was the father of Jesus. So then, here in this verse by comparing Scripture with Scripture we can CLEARLY see that this OTHER Mary is indeed the mother of Jesus the carpenter who was teaching in the synagogue. And we also see that Jesus had three other brothers besides James whose names are) and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his SISTERS  here with us (Please notice that the word sisters is plural meaning the Jesus had no less than TWO sisters and FOUR brothers, which clearly and plainly teaches us that Mary was NOT a PERPETUAL VIRGIN as the Catholic Church FALSELY teaches)? And they were offended at him. 

4. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is NOT without honor, BUT in his own country, and among his OWN KIN, and IN his OWN HOUSE. (This to ME implies that perhaps SOME of Jesus' brothers or sisters did NOT believe that Jesus was a prophet like these Jews he was teaching when Jesus spoke these words)

5. And he could there do NO mighty work (Or Jesus could NOT do or Jesus was NOT ABLE to do any mighty miracles of healing), save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

6. And he marveled BECAUSE of THEIR unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.”

So then, thus far we have seen that the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, clearly teaches us that Mary had more than just her FIRSTBORN Son Jesus. Therefore, from these verses, we have read thus far in this study in God's word we can clearly see that Mary did NOT remain a virgin her whole life as the Catholic Church FALSELY teaches. Also, we read in Matthew 12:46-49 and Mark 3:1-5 that Jesus had brothers as well. 

Matthew 12:46-50.

“While he (Jesus) yet talked to the people, behold, his mother AND his BRETHREN stood without, desiring to speak with him. (You have to wonder why his brothers were not in the synagogue listening to Jesus teaching? Did they not believe that Jesus was a prophet?)

47. Then one said unto him, Behold, your mother AND your BRETHREN (Or your BROTHERS. Now we know beyond any shadow of a doubt that this verse is NOT speaking of the BRETHREN of Jesus being his FOLLOWS because Jesus HIMSELF clarifies the DIFFERENCE between is physical biological BROTHERS from his BRETHREN who BELIEVE that he is a prophet sent from God it the verses that follow. So then, it was his biological mother and his biological BROTHERS who) stand without, desiring to speak with you. 

48. But he answered and said unto him that told him, WHO is my mother? And WHO are my brethren? 

49. And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold (Or open your eyes and see) my mother and my brethren! 

50.  For whosoever shall DO the WILL of my Father which is in heaven, the SAME is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Jesus again downplays his Mother and brothers by saying that whoever does the WILL of God is his mother, his brother, and his sister. In other words, one of Jesus’ disciples or one listening to the teachings of Jesus thought it to be important to interrupt the teaching of Jesus to point out that his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him. But Jesus placed MORE emphasis on hearing and OBEYING the WILL of Almighty God than he did on his OWN mother by saying that we ALL are brothers and sisters who DO the WILL of our father in heaven. 

This is the second time that we see Jesus DOWNPLAY, so to speak, the EXALTATION of his mother by saying that it was more important or more blessed to HEAR the word of God and to KEEP it than it is to say how blessed is the womb that bore him. Please read Luke 11:27,28 again where we see a woman shouting loudly from out of the crowd EXALTING Mary, the mother of Jesus, saying to Jesus how blessed the womb was that bore him and Jesus responded back saying rather those who hear the word of God are blessed.

Luke 11:27,28.

“And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare you, and the paps which you have sucked.

28. BUT HE (Or BUT Jesus HIMSELF) said, Yea RATHER, blessed are they that HEAR the word of God, and keep it.”

Seeing that Jesus himself spoke these words, then any Catholic truly seeking the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God, needs to QUESTION whether or not if it is a SOUND BIBLICAL teaching to so highly EXALT Mary by praying countless numbers of prayers to her over and over saying how blessed is her womb that bore Jesus. And then to go BEYOND the word of God and FALSELY teach that Mary is a PERPETUAL virgin, which directly CONTRADICTS the word of TRUTH. So I implore all my Catholic readers to THINK these things trough for yourself and come OUT of the Roman Catholic Church that has so MANY FALSE teachings that directly CONTRADICT what the Bible ITSELF teaches us. 

We see yet again in Matthew 13:53-58 that the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, does more than imply that Jesus had brothers, but rather clearly and plainly states that names of the brothers of Jesus as being James, Jose, Simon, and Judas.

Matthew 13:53-58.

“And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. 

54. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence has this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? 

55. Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 

56. And his SISTERS, are they not ALL with us? Whence then has this man all these things? (In other words, these Jews could NOT understand HOW Jesus came to be so wise in his understanding of the Scriptures, because they KNEW right well that Jesus was the son of Mary. And they KNEW right well that Jesus also had three brothers and some SISTERS not saying exactly how many sisters that Jesus had and only giving the names of his four brothers. From WHERE does this man Jesus get his understanding of all these things? Is not this man Jesus the son of Joseph the common carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary just an ordinary common woman of no higher learning? Are not those who are here with us the very brothers and sisters of Jesus who never went to synagogue school with us? How then did this Jesus get so smart in his understanding of the Scriptures?)

57. And they were offended in him. (Or more precisely they were jealous of Jesus having so many followers) But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and IN his own house. (Again, this tells me that at this point in time there were SOME in his own family that did not yet fully believe that Jesus was ANOINTED by Almighty God to be God’s prophet and the MESSIAH)

58. And he did not many mighty works there BECAUSE of THEIR unbelief.”

Now, we have just seen that without fail that the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, the very word of Almighty God himself, CLEARLY and PLAINLY teaches us that the mother of Jesus, called MARY, did indeed have more children after her FIRSTBORN Son, Jesus, was born, which therefore proves without a doubt that Mary was only a virgin UP UNTIL the TIME that Jesus was BORN.

But yet the Catholic Church tries to explain away all this sound Biblical evidence to dogmatically state and teaches that Mary was a PERPETUAL virgin meaning that Mary REMAINED a virgin all her life and never had any other child except Jesus. 

Now once again this direct CONTRADICTION of what the Catholic Church teaches to what the word of Almighty God teaches should raise a huge red flag to those who are in the Catholic Church as to what OTHER things that you are being taught. These contradictions of the doctrines of the Catholic Church to the very word of God should cause you to QUESTION whether or not you are being taught the TRUTH from within the Catholic Church. That is to say, the teachings in the Catholic Church are so CONTRADICTORY to the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, the very word of Almighty God the Father, that they should cause you to search the word of TRUTH for YOURSELF in order to see if what you are being taught is the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Your very salvation and reward of eternal life may depend upon it.

The TRUTH of the matter is that Mary the mother of Jesus was NOT venerated or exalted by her very own Son, Jesus. Nor was Mary venerated, exalted, honored, adored or given devotion to by the Apostles of Jesus in the New Testament. Nor was Mary exalted, adored, honored or given devotion to by any of the New Testament disciples. Nor do any early church believers even give a hint of any such veneration of Mary in any way in their writings until around the 4th century where Mary is said to have been a virgin her WHOLE life by the Catholic writer Jerome, who lived from 340 AD to 418 AD. 

Please keep in mind that at that time in history, believers did not have Bible concordances where they could easily cross-reference verses in the Bible, but rather these early believers had to keep in memory hundreds of verses as they read chapter after chapter in the Bible to see what the word of God was teaching. And also keep in mind that this was Jerome's OWN PERSONAL INTERPRETATION that Mary remained a VIRGIN her WHOLE life, which we have just clearly seen is an INCORRECT INTERPRETATION.

In other words, we have already seen that this Catholic teaching of Mary being a so-called PERPETUAL virgin CONTRADICTS what the word of TRUTH clearly and plainly teaches us, which is that Mary did indeed have more children AFTER Jesus was born. You ALSO have to remember that these early church writers were NOT all INSPIRED by the Holy Spirit and that many of these early writings of believers were just their own personal INTERPRETATION of the Scriptures. So then, not EVERYTHING that they wrote, throughout the history of the church, is what some mistakenly believe, to be a personal word for word dictation handed down by the very apostles of Jesus. 

Can you not see that even the gospels in the New Testament do not agree with each other word for word? These early writings were not a word for word handed down the teaching of the apostles of Jesus as some falsely believe. With that being said, let us now move on to the next Catholic teaching that EXALTS Mary, which is that Mary was supposedly BORN WITHOUT SIN and remained sinless her whole life.

SECTION FOUR

When one truly considers the QUESTION as to WHY the Catholic Church NEEDED to invent this false teaching of Mary being supposedly Immaculately conceived WITHOUT SIN, then you can see that it was because of the Catholic doctrine of ORIGINAL SIN which teaches that ALL of mankind is BORN with the GUILT and the PUNISHMENT of the original sin of Adam and Eve. 

You see, because the Catholic Church FALSELY taught that ALL men are BORN with the ORIGINAL SIN of Adam and that Jesus was BORN as a MAN or a HUMAN being, then they could not understand HOW Jesus could have lived his entire life WITHOUT SIN seeing that the Catholic Church taught that ALL of mankind were BORN with ORIGINAL SIN. Therefore, the Catholic Church needed to falsely teach that Mary was Immaculately CONCEIVED WITHOUT SIN and that this is HOW Jesus lived his whole live WITHOUT SIN.

So you can see how ONE FALSE doctrine can lead to another FALSE doctrine and so on. Please read the study “THE FALSE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN!” to see from the WHOLE word of TRUTH why this Catholic doctrine is yet another FALSE teaching. So then, rather than these Catholic leaders in the Catholic Church HUMBLING themselves and admit that they are NOT INFALLIBLE and go back and CORRECT their ERRORS of dogmatically teaching that all of mankind INHERITED the GUILT and PUNISHMENT of Adam's original sin, the clergy or the leaders in the Catholic Church decided to create yet another MAN-MADE doctrine that falsely taught that Mary was somehow miraculously conceived much like the birth of Jesus. And, therefore, Mary was NEEDED to be born without the so-called guilt of ORIGINAL SIN even though there is absolutely NOWHERE in scripture that even hints of any such teaching of Mary being immaculately conceived without sin.

This Catholic doctrine called the Immaculate Conception of Mary came into existence just like every other Catholic teaching, which is, that it also developed GRADUALLY over many centuries being met with much resistance by other believers both within and without the Catholic Church every step of the way. The first mention of Mary being conceived without sin was not until the 14th century. That is 1,400 years AFTER the founding of Christianity. Then in 1485 AD, it was questioned by Pope Sixtus the Fourth and then QUESTIONED again by the council at Trent in 1546 AD. But finally, this very QUESTIONABLE Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was pushed through to be propagated into the Apostolic Constitution issued by Pope Pius IX in 1854 AD. That is some three hundred years later, which is over 1,700 years AFTER the founding of the TRUE church of Jesus Christ, that taught NO such gospel.

 So yet again, we have another Catholic teaching that directly CONTRADICTS the very word of Almighty God himself that has been made dogma by men of power within the leadership of the Catholic Church. I mean THINK this through for YOURSELF. There are men in POWER, in our government, whom we may have even voted for who make laws and such that we do NOT agree with. But we have no choice but to accept and obey these laws because we gave them that AUTHORITY to make the laws.

However, IN the true CHURCH of Jesus Christ, there has NOT been given any such AUTHORITY by Jesus or the word of God where ONE man has the authority to dogmatically demand we must obey what the Pope teaches that Catholics MUST without question or they will be cast out of the Catholic church. And I know how much FEAR is in you because I had to overcome that FEAR that if I left the Catholic Church then I would go straight to hell. But I am so thankful that God strengthened me to choose HIS word of TRUTH over the false teachings of the Roman Catholic church.

Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are in the Catholic Church that IF this Catholic doctrine were true, then Mary would not NEED a savior, because she would have been WITHOUT SIN?

However, Luke chapter 1 teaches us that Mary herself says that she rejoices in God her SAVIOR. Please read Luke 1:46,47 the words of Mary herself.

Luke 1:46,47.

“And Mary said, My soul does magnify the Lord,

47. And my spirit has rejoiced in God MY SAVIOR.”

Mary calls Almighty God her SAVIOR, who sent this message to her by his angel Gabriel. Also, Romans chapter 3 clearly teaches us that ALL have sinned and NOT that ALL have been BORN in sin or NOT that ALL have INHERITED sin. But rather very clearly and plainly stated that all HAVE SINNED and have fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus is the ONLY one mentioned in the entire Bible that lived his life WITHOUT SIN. Romans 3:23 does NOT say that ALL have been BORN in SIN as the Catholic Church falsely teaches along with many Protestant churches as well. Again, please read the study “THE FALSE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN!”. But for now let us continue with this study in God's word where we are clearly told that ALL of mankind has sinned, with the exception of Jesus who already had died and was resurrected, when Paul wrote these words, but Mary was still yet living.

Romans 3:23.

“For ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God; (And NOT that ALL have been BORN with ORIGINAL sin. But rather ALL have sinned at one time or another in their life)”

So you see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, seeing that all of mankind has sinned at one time or another in their life then all of mankind, INCLUDING Mary, the mother of Jesus, have fallen short of the glory of God. And even if someone has never sinned God has concluded ALL under sin so that he could show forth his mercy and grace to provide us with a Lamb to be the sacrifice for the sins of the WHOLE world. In other words, the word of TRUTH teaches us that all of mankind is NOT BORN in sin. But rather, all of mankind HAVE become SINNERS, because every person, including Mary, has sinned at some point in their life. Now that you know that Jesus, nor any other human being was BORN with the guilt and punishment of the ORIGINAL sin of Adam, then it is easy to see HOW Jesus lived his entire life WITHOUT SIN. And it is also easy to see that there would be NO NEED for another FALSE teaching to be invented by the Roman Catholic Church to falsely teach that Mary was immaculately conceived without sin so that Jesus would NOT be BORN with the supposed ORIGINAL SIN of Adam.

Then there is just plain common sense which should tell you that this Catholic doctrine of the supposed immaculate conception of Mary, which also teaches that Mary lived her entire life without sin, could not possibly be true! What about Mary's mother? Was Mary's mother ALSO conceived without sin? She would have to have been, IF SO BE, that Mary supposedly lived her whole life without sin and if the doctrine of original sin were true.

Can you not see that it is just one big chain reaction that would take you all the way back to Adam? The simple solution is to simply go take a closer look at the Catholic doctrine of original sin. For a deeper understanding of WHY the doctrine of original sin is yet another FALSE teaching of the Catholic Church please read the study “THE FALSE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN”, which clears up a lot of other false doctrines that would not have come to be, had this one false doctrine never been made an INFALLIBLE teaching by the Roman Catholic Church that could not be questioned. 

SECTION FIVE

This false teaching of INFALLIBILITY of the Catholic Church is PRIDEFUL and ARROGANT. And it is a teaching that keeps the Catholic Church from repenting and reforming their FALSE teachings. Again just common sense should teach anyone with eyes to see that the Catholic Church teaching that Popes are INFALLIBLE is NOT true! All anyone needs to do is THINK for THEMSELVES! I mean HOW can Popes be INFALLIBLE, seeing that one Pope can CHANGE the so-called infallible dogma of another previous Pope? So NO! One thousand times NO! The teachings of the Catholic Church are NOT infallible and, therefore, could not ever have any errors in them.

So this and other studies that I have written are to EXPOSE the ERRORS of the INTERPRETATION of the Scriptures made by the leaders of the Catholic Church, NOT about the church ORGANIZATION ITSELF, which we all know is too piously arrogant to ever admit that they had ever made some errors in their teachings, enough to CHANGE them. But rather these studies, in God's word, are for YOU my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are being DECEIVED by these FALSE teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and who are SINCERELY seeking the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. So I pray that these teachings here at AMatterOfTruth.com will reach into all levels of the Catholic Church. From you who sit in the pew to those who teach. And from those who teach those that teach them. And even to those who write and form church doctrine. God’s word of truth will open the eyes of understanding of as many in the Catholic Church who will HUMBLE themselves to search the word of God daily for YOURSELF. For you see, it is up to YOU to read and study the Bible for yourself in order to see if what they are being taught and are teaching is the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.

SECTION SIX

The next Marion doctrine is called the Assumption of Mary, which teaches that Mary was taken up into heaven BODY and SOUL where she now resides as Queen of Heaven, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, that is. This doctrine of the Assumption of Mary was not accepted until 1950, even though it is CLAIMED by the Catholic Church for this teaching to be mentioned by the Catholic writer named Epiphanius in 377 AD. That is when he made the statement “her end knows no one”. Now to ME, this simply means that no one knows when Mary or how died. But the Catholic Church INTERPRETS these words to mean that Mary ASCENDED into heaven in a bodily form after she died. But he said NO ONE knew her end. So since no one knew Mary’s end, then how does the Roman Catholic Church KNOW that Mary ASCENDED into Heaven? What proof do they have other than simple SAYING that Mary ascended to Heaven?

I mean, REALLY! Someone can come up with ANY teaching they want of NEED from this single phrase “her end knows no one”. The TRUTH of the matter is that the Bible does not mention much at all about Mary. And neither do the early church writers. There is not another mention about Mary concerning any hint of anyone knowing the end of Mary until the 7th century, which again has been interpreted only by the Catholic Church that Mary ascended into heaven. So once again this doctrine called the Assumption of Mary GRADUALLY developed over many centuries until Mary became so HIGHLY EXALTED that in 1897 the saying was coined by the Catholic thinking minds. 

‘As no man goes to the Father except by the Son, so no man goes to the Son except by his mother.’

Now many know that the Catholic Church exalts its church TRADITION to be EQUAL to the word of Almighty God. But to ME, it seems as if the Catholic Church exalts its own church TRADITIONS ABOVE the very word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible. For you see, yet again, this Catholic doctrine of the Assumption of Mary directly CONTRADICTS the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, and the very word of Almighty God himself. The Bible clearly teaches us that NO man has ascended into heaven except Jesus. 

Please read John 3:13.

“And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”

Yes, it is true that the SOULS of the righteous are indeed in heaven and surely Mary's SOUL is in the number of dear saints in heaven. However, the Bible also teaches us that NONE of the saints will be glorified and given immortal bodies UNTIL the second coming of Jesus, which is yet future. So there is NO WAY that Mary ascended into heaven BODILY as this Catholic doctrine of the Assumption of Mary FALSELY teaches.

Please read Hebrews 11:39,40, which teaches us that the saints who are in heaven will NOT be made perfect or shall NOT receive their IMMORTAL GLORIFIED BODIES, like Jesus, UNTIL the second coming of Jesus. That is WHEN the FIRST resurrection of those who are believers in Jesus Christ shall be raised and all the believers in Jesus Christ who have survived and have remained alive at his coming shall ALL be changed and given the divine nature of IMMORTAL life.

Hebrews 11:39,40.

“And these ALL, (Speaking of all the SOULS of the saints in heaven) having obtained a good report through  faith, received NOT the promise (Speaking of the promise of eternal life, meaning that ALL who are in heaven, present with our Lord, have NOT YET RECEIVED their reward of their new GLORIFIED IMMORTAL BODIES. But WHY? The answer is in the very next verse): 

40. God having provided some BETTER thing for us, that they (Speaking of the saints in heaven INCLUDING Mary the mother of Jesus) WITHOUT us should NOT be made perfect.”

For you see, God has chosen that we ALL be made perfect TOGETHER at the second coming of Jesus. So then, you have to ask yourself since these Catholic doctrines are NOT taught in the Scriptures, then from where did they come? Again, the clear plain and simple answers are that they came from the many PAGAN religions that were widely spread throughout the world before and during the birth of the church. And they continued to be present throughout the history of the church. You see, even the New Testament early church fought against these HEATHEN religions. As Pagans came into the church little by little, their Pagan beliefs began to crop up. These schisms were fought against throughout the history of Christianity. And even the Apostles of Jesus wrote about some of these contentions in the New Testament.

The Marion Catholic doctrines that emerged were due to the MIXING of pagan practices into Christianity. And the latest of these Marion doctrines that merged into the Catholic thinking only in very recent history is that Mary has ascended into heaven in a bodily form like Jesus and they adore her as the QUEEN of heaven. This doctrine is called the Assumption of Mary, which we will take an even closer look at shortly.

SECTION SEVEN

Then, after this “Roman Catholic” Mary began to be accepted as the QUEEN of heaven, then the Catholic Church began to teach that Mary is co-redemptrix of mankind along with Jesus. This Catholic doctrine was also called co-mediatrix or co-advocate. Now the clergy and writers of church doctrine in the Catholic Church are undecided and their opinions vary as to the roles Mary actual plays as being a supposed co-redeemer with Jesus. But the Catholic Church is in agreement concerning Mary's main role as co-redeemer, which is that Mary intercedes or mediates between mankind and her Son Jesus. So basically this doctrine of Mary being co-redemptrix teaches that when Catholics offer prayers to Mary, then Mary goes to Jesus to soften her Son up, so to speak, and then Jesus would finish being the mediator between God and mankind by taking the requests of his mother Mary to Almighty God the Father.

Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are in the Catholic Church, that this kind of FALSE teaching STEALS your FAITH from YOU? What I mean by this, is that Jesus paid the ultimate price to make it possible for YOU, as a Christian, to come DIRECTLY and BOLDLY into the very throne of Grace of Almighty God to PERSONALLY obtain grace to help in time of need for yourself. You do NOT need to pray to the saints in heaven, nor do you need to pray to Mary to intercede FOR you, because they are supposedly MORE righteous than you. The Bible teaches us that every believer in Jesus Christ is made to become the very RIGHTEOUSNESS of Almighty God the Father. Whenever a believer repents and confesses his or her sins, then that person, at that moment in time, is PERFECT even as our Father in heaven is PERFECT and you cannot get any more righteous or perfect than that.

You see Satan knows that God does not hear the prayers of the heathen who pray repetitive prayers over and over because they think that they will be heard for there many prayers. Therefore Satan has DECEIVED some Christians to pray these kinds of repetitive prayers, like the “Hail Mary” because he knows that God will not answer them. Please read the very words of Jesus our Lord in Matthew 6:5-9, where we see Jesus condemning Christians for their many repeated prayers and for us NOT to pray after the same manner as HEATHENS or the pagans pray.

Matthew 6:5-9.

“And when YOU pray (Dear Catholic), YOU shall NOT be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6. But YOU (Dear Catholic), when YOU pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly. 

7. But when YOU pray (Dear Catholic), use NOT VAIN REPETITIONS, as the HEATHEN do (Or the pagan religions do by using prayer bead like you Catholic rosary): for they THINK that they shall be heard for their much speaking. (Or Catholics THINK that they shall be heard by Mary of God because of their many prayers to Mary)

8. Be NOT YOU, therefore, like unto them (Or dear Catholic do NOT pray many repeated prayers like the “Hail Mary” like the pagans pray their many repeated prayers over and over on their prayer beads like your Catholic rosary): for your Father knows what things you have need of, before you  ask him. 

9. After THIS MANNER, therefore, pray YOU: Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name.”

In other words, Jesus himself is teaching us as Christians to pray after this MANNER or this EXAMPLE of prayer which teaches us to address our prayer to Almighty God the Father, and NOT to pray the same memorized prayer over and over, many times, the way the heathens or the pagans pray, because God will not hear and answer these kinds of repetitious prayers. 

Now the official “title” of Mary being called the co-redemptrix was not given publicly to Catholics until 1935 by Pope Pius XI, and the doctrine itself was not made an OFFICIAL dogma until November 21, 1964, at the Second Vatican Council. So once again you can clearly see how all the doctrines of the Catholic Church developed GRADUALLY over many centuries and they do NOT originate from the Scriptures.

Now even though the very first of these Marion doctrines did not appear in the Catholic Church until nearly 1000 or more years after the founding of the church, the Catholic Church makes the CLAIM that these Marion teachings can be seen as far back as the third-century writings. These historical facts alone should prove beyond any doubt that they are not sound Biblical teachings. But none the less we shall look at some of these early writings to see what they say. 

It is said that St Antonius wrote somewhere between the years 250 AD to 350 AD these words:

“All graces that have ever been bestowed on men, all came through Mary.”

Now, no Christian will deny that if Mary would have said NO to God, then she would have NOT been the woman to be called blessed among women. So yes, this is a true statement of fact. However, it is ALSO DECEIVING! For you see IF Mary would have said NO, then Almighty God would have simply found ANOTHER woman who would have said YES to God. 

Therefore, ALL the GLORY is due to Almighty God our Father in heaven. When reading the New Testament we can see many times when the disciples of Jesus had to redirect the glory that was being given to them to be given to Almighty God the Father. Even Jesus himself said WHY are you calling ME good? There is but ONE who is GOOD and that is the FATHER.  Now some may argue and say that the Bible teaches us that we are to HONOR the Son EVEN as we honor the Father. And that is my point exactly, we are to obey what the BIBLE teaches us and NOT what church TRADITION teaches us. You see, we read in the Old Testament that Almighty God chose to have a Son with whom to SHARE his GLORY and then say with another I will NOT SHARE my GLORY. Please read Isaiah 42:1,9,10, which clearly teaches us that Almighty God will NOT share his GLORY with anyone BUT his Son Jesus.

Isaiah 42:1,9,10.

“1. Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect (Or my CHOSEN ONE whom I Almighty God have CHOSEN to share my GLORY), IN WHOM my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles....

...9. I am the LORD: that is my name: and my GLORY will I NOT give to ANOTHER, neither my praise to graven images...

...10. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and NEW things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

In other words, Almighty God is saying the FORMER things are coming to an END where I once ruled ALONE, but I the Lord God am now declaring to you NEW things that I am going to have a SON whom I have CHOSEN to SHARE my GLORY, but I tell you that I the Lord God Almighty will NOT share my GLORY with ANOTHER. It is my SON ALONE whom I have chosen to share my glory. Nor will I share my praise to be given to graven IMAGES.

Now, this command of Almighty God to NOT make any graven IMAGES brings us to the visions and apparitions of Mary where Mary herself is claimed to have instructed those who she supposedly appeared, to make an IMAGE of her and told them to pray the rosary to her. 

But before we take a look at these visions of Mary, I want you to hear what the well respected Catholic writer named Alphonsus de Liguori, who wrote a book entitled “Glories of Mary”, which is still published today. Liguori lived from 1696 to 1798. And this Catholic author writes that Mary is given half of God's kingdom to rule. And in his Catholic way of thinking, Mary is said to be the SOURCE of salvation and a mediator between God and man. Liguori goes on to make the CLAIM that outside of Mary, there can be NO SALVATION. In the Catholic mind of Liguori, it is viewed by the Catholic Church that Mary rules jointly as the Queen of heaven by her Son’s side and therefore Mary should be venerated, adored, honored, and given devotion by Catholics. Now the Catholic Church would have its followers to believe that this type of THINKING was in the New Testament church all the way through the entire history of the church.

But I assure you my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are in the Catholic Church that this is NOT the case as anyone, who is TRULY seeking the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God, can clearly and plainly see from God's word, AND can ALSO see from the UNBIASED historical record of Christianity. And even in the BIAS Catholic historical record anyone with eyes to see can understand that these Catholic doctrines developed GRADUALLY over many centuries BEFORE they were finally made to become official and supposedly INFALLIBLE doctrines by the Catholic Church. 

Now while no Pope has yet to have actually officially given this Marion doctrine of co-redeemer, co-mediatrix or co-advocate his so-called INFALLIBLE stamp of acceptance of this Catholic doctrine, this Marion teaching is still nonetheless widely believed by Catholics all over the world to be the undeniable truth of God's word simply because the Roman Catholic Church says so. In other words, in the minds of SOME Catholics, it does not matter whether a doctrine is infallible or not, or it does not matter to some Catholics as to whether what they are being taught is sound BIBLICAL teaching, so long as it is a “Catholic” doctrine. That is to say, many Catholics blindly accept what they are taught by having the attitude of “If the Catholic Church teaches it, then it has to be the truth because the Roman Catholic Church is INFALLIBLE and cannot make any errors in what they teach.”

But again, I assure those of you who are Catholics, that this is NOT the case. Even the BIAS Catholic historical record clearly shows that supposedly the INFALLIBLE dogmas or dogmatic teachings of the Popes have been declared FALSE teaching and then CHANGED by a later Pope. But even then this does NOT make this later pope teaching Biblical just because he found the first dogma of a previous Pope to be FALSE teaching or FALLIBLE teaching that was in ERROR. The truth of the matter is that some false teachings go from bad to even worse.

It would take entire books to say all that can be said on the history of Christianity and how Catholicism split from the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ and slowly developed to become the entity that it is today still ADDING to its false teachings. Yes that is correct, I said that it is the Catholic Church that split from the TRUE simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ and NOT the other way around, in that the Protestants broke away from the so-called ONE TRUE ROMAN CATHOLIC Church, which by the way, believes that apart from which there supposedly can be NO salvation. In other words, the “protesting Catholic Christians” were protesting the FALSE teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. So then the TRUE church is those who reject the FALSE teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

But since I do not have the time to write hundreds of books on this subject I must trust that I have given you ENOUGH history to clearly show you that these Catholic doctrines SLOWLY and GRADUALLY were formed through many centuries by the misguided INTERPRETATIONS of men and that they are NOT inspired writings of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God. So, therefore, we should NOT base church doctrine on any writings of believers, throughout the history of the church that came AFTER the New Testament writings unless they AGREE completely with the WHOLE word of Almighty God. So then, as I have been showing you, there are MANY of the teachings of the Catholic Church do NOT agree with God's word, but rather they CONTRADICT God's word of TRUTH, then we should NOT accept and obey these false teachings.

SECTION EIGHT

With that being said let us move on to the visions and the apparitions of Mary to see if they are SOUND BIBLICAL visions that do NOT contradict any part of God's word, because if they do contradict even one part of God's word then we must reject these visions and apparitions of Mary as being from the enemy and NOT from Almighty God the Father.

Now there are nine modern day apparitions or visions of Mary. I will give them in the order from the earliest to the latest and say briefly what took place in each of these visions and then we will come back to examine them in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God to see if these visions AGREE with God’s word of TRUTH. If they do NOT agree with God's word, then anyone who is honestly and truly seeking the truth must reject them as demonic apparitions from the enemy of DECEPTION.

Apparition #1.

It is said that Mary appeared in 1531 to Juan Diego four different times on a hill called Tepeyac, which is near Mexico City, Mexico. It is said that Mary proclaimed herself to be the SPIRITUAL mother of ALL of mankind and then as a sign of her appearance Mary left an IMAGE of herself on the outer garment of Juan Diego. To this day most every Spanish Catholic venerates and gives great devotion to what they call the Lady of Guadalupe.

Apparition #2.

It is said that Mary appeared in 1830 to Catherine Laboure in the chapel of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, which is at Rue du Bac in Paris, France. In this apparition, Mary herself showed Catherine the design of a medal of the Immaculate Conception and was told to make this IMAGE of Mary patterned after this design.

Apparition #3.

It is said that Mary appeared in 1846 to young children high upon a mountain at La Salette in France in the afternoon as these children were looking at some animals. The names of the children are Maximin Giraud, who was 11 years old, and Melanie Calvat, who was 14 years old. Mary made an appeal for penance to stop breaking the Sabbath and blasphemy in that region.

 Apparition #4.

It is said that Mary appeared in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous, who was 14 years old at the time at Lourdes in southern France. Mary asks for PENANCE and for prayer to be made to convert sinners to pray to her and to honor her. Mary again described herself as being without sin or as the Immaculate Conception to these Catholic-minded Christians in France.

Apparition #5.

It is said that Mary appeared in the sky over the small town of Pontmain in northern France in January of 1871 to three small children, which was at the time of the Franco-Prussian war where invasion upon this small town was near to be seen. The three children reported seeing a banner under the feet of Mary with the message to pray to emphasize the love of Jesus. Is it said that when the people obey and prayed that the small town of Pontmain was spared the ravages of war.

Apparition #6.

It is said that Mary appeared in August of 1879 at the small village of Knock in Count Mayo, Ireland. This SILENT apparition was seen by several people who were of all ages. This apparition, which is said to have lasted for about three hours, took place inside the local church as the people looked out the gable end of the church. They saw three figures, which they believed where Mary, Joseph, and St John. They also saw a lamb on an altar and some angels.

Apparition #7. 

It is said that Mary appeared six times between May and October of 1917 to three children at Fatima, Portugal. The names and ages of the three children are Lucia de Santo, who was 10 years old, and her two cousins Francisco Marto, who was 9 years old, and Jacinta Marto, who was 6 years old. Mary described herself as the “Lady of the Rosary” calling for people to pray the Rosary. Mary also spoke of her Immaculate Heart and called for PENANCE for the conversion of sinners.

Apparition #8.

It is said that Mary appeared 33 different times to a group of children in the winter of 1933 at Beauraing in Belgium. Mary appeared to this group of children in a CONVENT garden near a hawthorn tree. Mary described herself in these 33 apparitions and being the “Immaculate Conception”, and the “Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven” while calling for a prayer of the COVERSION of sinners. 

Apparition #9.

It is said that Mary appeared to a small child of 11 years of age named Mariette Beco 8 different times outside his family home in the small village of Bannuex in Belgium. Mary described herself as the “Virgin of the Poor” and it is reported that she said that she would intercede for the poor, the sick, and the suffering.

Now, I am not going to comment in detail on all of these apparitions of Mary, each one individually because I do so in other studies. But rather, I am just going to point out a few things in these apparitions of Mary that DIRECTLY CONTRACT the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, the very word of Almighty God himself, where God CLEARLY and PLAINLY COMMANDS that we as his people shall NOT make ANY graven IMAGES that shall receive praise, adoration, veneration, honor, or to be given devotion in any way.

But yet the Catholic Church accepts and endorses these first two apparitions of Mary where IMAGES of Mary are the very heart and FOCUS of the message of these apparitions. In apparition #1 we see that Mary HERSELF left an IMAGE of HERSELF on the outer garment of Juan Diego as supposedly being a SIGN to EXALT her to a high place of adoration. And we can see that Satan succeeded in manifesting himself as a minister of LIGHT to DECEIVE mankind to later make an IMAGE of a created being that would eventually be greatly adored, venerated, honored, bowed down to and given devotion to, all over the world. All one needs to do is to OPEN their eyes to see just how many statues and graven images of Mary that there are all over the world of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who has been highly exalted by the Roman Catholic Church to become the Mother of God and the QUEEN of Heaven. 

It has always been the goal of Satan for mankind to bow down and worship him. He tried to tempt Jesus to worship him. And when Satan fail to get Jesus to bow down and worship him Satan decided to steal God's glory another way, by diverting the glory that would normally be given to God to be given to MAN. Satan first tried this in the New Testament when he deceived the pagans into thinking the disciples were gods because of the mighty works they did by the hand of God. But the disciple stopped these pagans from bowing down and worshiping them saying of themselves, we are MEN like you, so, therefore, give your worship to Almighty God ALONE. Now I know that Catholics SAY that they do not worship Mary and in no way would they ever KNOWINGLY worship Satan, none the less, Catholics are practicing the idolatry of the pagan religions unknowingly.

Let me explain what I mean by this. It is indeed admitted in the BIAS Catholic writings itself that PAGANISM did indeed MIX with Christianity and that SOME of these pagan rituals were indeed fought against by the Catholic Church itself. 

But it can also be seen that at the same time that the Catholic Church was fighting against some of these pagan practices that the Catholic Church was also being DECEIVED by the INCORRECT INTERPRETATIONS of God's word by some Catholic Christians who MIX some other PAGAN thoughts into their theology of what they themselves INTERPRETED God's word to mean. In other words, while the Catholic church was fighting one pagan practice, another pagan practice slipped right by completely unnoticed by the Catholic church. For you see, some high up well respected Catholic scholar INCORRECTLY INTERPRETED certain Scriptures. And couple that with some of the writings of early believers that came before him to falsely concluded that Mary should be exalted and given honor, praise, thanksgiving, veneration, and devotion. And then GRADUALLY, over many centuries, these pagan thoughts of their pagan mother god developed into pagan RITUALS and OBSERVATION of pagan days that were given Christian sounding names.

This truth can be clearly seen simply by COMPARING the veneration of Mary as the “Queen of Heaven” to the worship of the PAGAN “Queen of Heaven” who went by many different names depending on what part of the world from which these pagans came. We will go into this a bit deeper further on in this study, but for now, just a brief point of origin will suffice.

This HEATHEN worship of the QUEEN of heaven goes back to early Babylonian religions and can be seen in Scripture in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah. Please read Jeremiah 7:18, where we see that cakes were being made to offer to the pagan QUEEN of heaven.

Jeremiah 7:18.

“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the QUEEN of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.”

This bowing down and worship to a so-called QUEEN of heaven PROVOKED Almighty God to ANGER. You see, the pagans or the heathens always had a “QUEEN of heaven” to which to pray and bow down to in reverence. And when these pagans were declared to be Christians without having any TRUE godly sorrow to be converted to Christianity there was NO more QUEEN of heaven for these unregenerate pagans to worship. So then, just like in Israel in the Old Testament, this worship of the pagan QUEEN of heaven was MIXED with Judaism, which provoked Almighty God to ANGER.

Now when this verse here in Jeremiah 7:18 is left in its context a very clear picture is being painted of the Roman Catholic Church as it is today. You see, many verses in the Old Testament are PROPHECIES of things to come. And very often verses in the Old Testament have a DUAL fulfillment. They are a historical account of what took place and they are also PROPHECIES of a REPEATED event in the future that parallels the DESCRIPTION being given in the Scriptures. In other words, Jeremiah 7:18 is a historical record of what actually took place, but it is ALSO a prophecy of a pagan practice of giving devotion to a QUEEN of heaven sometime in the FUTURE by God's people. History REPEATS itself, so to speak.

You see, these were at one time people of God, called by his name, and he spared them NOT because of the idolatrous practices that they THEMSELVES saw NO WRONG in doing, but in God's eyes they were IDOL WORSHIPERS, For you see, they were giving GLORY to ANOTHER by bowing down to the QUEEN of heaven whom Almighty God did NOT choose to SHARE his GLORY. So I implore you my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are in the Catholic church to please prayerfully and carefully read Jeremiah 7:8-24.

Jeremiah 7:8-24.

“Behold (Or OPEN your EYES and SEE my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are in the Catholic church), you trust in LYING words, that CANNOT profit. (Or you trusting in the FALSE teachings of the Roman Catholic Church cannot save you)

9. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom you know not (The QUEEN of heaven was NOT known to God's people who are called by his name until they COMPROMISED the word of God and MIXED the PAGAN worship of A QUEEN of heaven into their worship of the true God); 

10. And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? 

11. Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold (Or open your eyes to see that you have indeed become a den of robbers in my eyes), even I have seen it, says the LORD.

12. But go you now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for (Or because of) the wickedness of my people Israel.

13. And now, because you have done all these works, says the LORD, and I spoke unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but you answered not; (To me I see this also as a PROPHECY where God spoke to the hearts of those in the EARLY church to STOP this MIXTURE of paganism with Christianity, but some did not HEAR, as in LISTEN to his WARNINGS given by other Christians to them that they were entertaining FALSE LYING words from the enemy. God rose up early, but they would not listen. And now the hour is drawing near that if they do not listen soon, then they will face the WRATH of Almighty God. I will share more on the wrath of God and the Catholic Church in another study that is churning in my heart even as I am writing this study in God's word)

14. Therefore, will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein you TRUST (Catholics truly do TRUST in the NAME of the Roman Catholic Church. But in name alone is NOT what is required, to follow the one true God. In other words, many people call themselves Catholics which they believe is all they need to be saved. Likewise, many Protestants call themselves Christians in name only and they think that just because they were baptized that they are guaranteed eternal life. But there will be MANY who will SAY to Jesus at the coming of Jesus have we not done many wonderful works in your NAME. But Jesus will say to them DEPART from me you workers of INIQUITY. Idolatry is INIQUITY and worshiping A QUEEN of heaven, ANY queen, is IDOLATRY in the eyes of Almighty God. Nowhere in Scripture are God's people taught to worship adore, venerate, honor, serve or do devotion to ANY QUEEN of heaven), and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 

15. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. 

16. Therefore pray not you for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. (There is coming a time that God will say enough is enough, do not pray anymore for these idolatrous people who have not obeyed my voice, and I feel that time is rapidly approaching my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are in the Roman Catholic Church) 

17. See you not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 

18. The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger (So even to take the mere NAME of “Queen of Heaven” is PROVOKING God to ANGER and WRATH upon the DISOBEDIENT children of God, even if you are NOT INTENTIONALLY worshiping the PAGAN queen of heaven). 

19. Do they provoke me to anger? Says the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? 

20. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched. (Prophesying of the coming wrath of God)

21. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. 

22. For I spoke NOT unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: 

23. BUT this thing commanded I them (Prophesying of the coming day of Jesus where there are to be NO more SACRIFICES after this FINAL sacrifice is made), saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people: and walk you in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

24. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the IMAGINATION of their EVIL heart, and went backward, and not forward.”

The word EVIL in the Bible means anything that OPPOSES what Almighty God himself has said to do and the teachings of Catholic church OPPOSES the clear word of God in so many ways. The Catholic church has gone BACKWARD instead of forward. The Catholic church has INVERTED many FALSE teachings from the counsels and IMAGINATIONS of their EVIL heart to lord over the flock. Catholicism has REPEATED the rebellious ERROR that the house of Israel made long ago, which was to MIX the PAGAN way of worshiping into God's WAY of worship. 

My concern is that TIME is running out for you to REPENT and come back to the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ. TODAY is the day of salvation, so again I implore you to CONSIDER all this EVIDENCE that I have shown you in this in-depth studies of God's word of TRUTH.

Then we read in Jeremiah 44:17-28 where God's people who are called by his name REFUSE to LISTEN to the word of God and say that they will DO whatsoever they have.

Jeremiah 44:16-28.

“As for the WORD that you (Referring the very word of Almighty that he gave to Jeremiah the prophet of Almighty God to speak they are saying as to the WORD that you Jeremiah) have spoken unto us in the NAME of the LORD, we will NOT hearken unto you. (How arrogant and prideful this people called by God's name to proclaim that they will NOT OBEY the very WORD of Almighty God, but rather obey their OWN personal INTERPRETATIONS of God's word to continue to do what their so called church “father” TAUGHT them to do)

17. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our OWN mouth, to burn INCENSE unto the QUEEN of HEAVEN, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done , we, and our fathers, (To ME, this sound just like the leaders in the Catholic church who hold the TRADITIONS of their so called early church “fathers” to CONTINUE to do whatever the POPE tells them to do. And it will not be long until the Pope OFFICIALLY and supposedly INFALLIBLE makes Mary the forever QUEEN of HEAVEN in the Catholic church) our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals (Or plenty of food to eat), and were well, and saw no evil. 

18. But since we left off to burn incense to the QUEEN of HEAVEN, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. (Satan, the god of this present world will DECEIVE the FALSE church with RICHES so that they will THINK that they are doing the will of God. And the Roman Catholic Church has more wealth than the average Catholic can imagine)

19. And when we burned INCENSE to the QUEEN of HEAVEN, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men? 

20. Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying, 

21. The INCENSE that you burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, you, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind? 

22. So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the EVIL of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. 

23. Because you have burned incense, and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day. 

24. Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are IN the land of Egypt (Egypt is a type or shadow speaking of the world or more precisely the PRACTICES of the HEATHENS in the world): 

25. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the QUEEN of HEAVEN, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: you will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows. (This leads me to believe that God’s people will do this EVIL thing again in the future to burn incense or in some way give honor to the QUEEN of HEAVEN. And that future is TODAY in the Roman Catholic Church)

26. Therefore, HEAR you the WORD of the LORD, all Judah that dwell IN the land of Egypt; (Judah is a type of figure of the church and Egypt is a type of figure for the world. So to ME this is a prophecy pointing to the Roman Catholic Church) Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah IN all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD lives. 

27. Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are IN the land of Egypt (Speaking of those walking after the WAYS of the god of this present world Satan) shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. 

28. YEY a SMALL number that ESCAPE the sword shall RETURN out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.”

To me, this speaks of whose word will stand, God’s words or the TRADITIONS of the Roman Catholic Church.

Again, I implore you my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are in the Catholic church, to NOT harden your hearts and say that you will NOT hearken to the very word of Almighty God himself so that you can continue to go your own way to offer devotion to the QUEEN of heaven, when NOWHERE in God's word of TRUTH is there to be found that teaches us as Christians that God has exalted Mary to be queen of heaven.

Remember that God said that he chose Jesus, his Son, to give his GLORY and with NO OTHER will God share his glory. Do NOT wait till it is too late and you are on the outside, cast into outer darkness, weeping and gnashing your teeth crying out WHY? Why did I NOT LISTEN to God's word and COME OUT of Catholicism when I was being WARNED of God's WRATH that was to come? I can assure you that it will be GOD'S word that will STAND and NOT the LYING words of the Catholic church.

God warns his people NOT to do as the HEATHENS do, but rather do ONLY what he COMMANDS us to do being careful NOT to ADD anything to his command, NOR to take AWAY anything that he commands us to do.

Please read Deuteronomy 12:32.

“What thing soever I COMMAND you, observe to do it: you shall NOT ADD thereto, nor diminish from it.” 

And that means do NOT ADD CHURCH TRADITION to God’s word. So then, the SIMPLE question is “Does Almighty God himself COMMAND us as Christian to exalt, to honor, to venerate, to serve, to adore, to bow down to an image of Mary, or do devotion to Mary or exalt her to be without sin her whole life, as in, for Mary to not need a savior, or to give Mary the pagan title of QUEEN of HEAVEN or to venerate Mary in ANY way?” The answer is an absolute NO! One thousand times NO! So why then do you, being a Catholic, ADD to God's commands, when his very word of TRUTH commands you NOT to ADD anything to his commandments, but rather OBSERVE to OBEY what he has commanded us to do in the NEW TESTAMENT under the NEW COVENANT.

Please understand that I am NOT bashing Catholics, but rather I am EXPOSING the ERRORS of the INTERPRETATION that your Catholic leaders and writers of church doctrine have made through the centuries that have produced these FALSE doctrines in the Catholic church, by which YOU, being UNAWARE, have been DECEIVED. You see many of these “leaders” are blinded to the truth and their hearts are hardened to the TRUTH of God's word AFTER they were WARNED and OPPOSED by other faithful Christians both outside the so-called Catholic church and even from WITHIN the Catholic church itself. So because many of these Catholic leaders were too PROUD to admit that the Catholic church could ever error and was teaching FALSE doctrine these false teaching continued to grow to become what they are today. 

BUT YOU, my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are in the Catholic church, IF you are TRULY SEEKING the TRUTH, then I say to YOU, that these studies in God's word are written for YOU. And they WILL open YOUR eyes of understanding so that YOU will COME to the knowledge of the TRUTH and be SAVED on the great and notable day of our Lord's coming again. 

With that being said I pray that when you read and COMPARE the pagan practices with the practices of the Roman Catholic Church that you will clearly see that paganism was indeed MIXED into the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. And, therefore, the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church should be rejected as FALSE teachings. Even the Catholic church itself openly admits that they have ADAPTED to all people all over the world. Here is what the Catholic church says in the Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism, which says the following:

The missionary history of the [Catholic] Church clearly shows her ADAPTABILITY to all races, all continents, all nations. In her liturgy and her art, in her tradition and the forming of her doctrine, naturally enough she includes Jewish elements, but also elements that are of pagan origin. In certain respects, she has copied her organization from that of the Roman Empire, has preserved and made fruitful the philosophical intuitions of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, borrowed from both Barbarians and the Byzantine Roman Empire—but always remains herself, thoroughly digesting all elements drawn from external sources...In her laws, her ceremonies, her festivals and her devotions, she makes use of local customs after purifying them and "baptizing" them. 

So then, CLEARLY seeing that the Catholic church itself openly admits that she has MIXED elements of pagan ORIGIN into the forming of her doctrines, then it should be very easy for you to see these origins of pagan practices within the Catholic church, as you read about these pagan rituals of worship. Now I personally do not see the need to cover all these pagan rituals of worship in every detail, because they all have many similarities, so I will just present to you an overview and then point out the things that differ from true Biblical Christianity.

The pagan system of worship was primarily the worshiping of the sun god who was the chief god, much like Almighty God the father is the HIGHEST over all other gods in Christianity. Do you find ANY symbols of the SUN in that Catholic Church? What about the round host at communion and the Monstrance used to hold the host with sun rays all around?

The pagan system of worship also included the worship of a “MOTHER” god and a “SON” god. There are many idols of a mother holding her son among the pagan artifacts. The origin of this system of pagan sun worship can be traced back to ancient Chaldea and ancient Babylonia where the father god was called Bel and the mother goddess was called Rhea who had many other names among the pagans such as Ishtar and Astarte. This mother goddess was also called the QUEEN of heaven. It is also interesting to note that the queen of heaven was worshiped as the one who “SUBDUES the WRATH” of the sun god meaning that being the QUEEN of heaven would go to the chief father god who would listen to her when the people angered him and she would turn his anger away.

So you can see how much the veneration of Mary as the QUEEN OF HEAVEN resembles the Pagan goddess also called the Queen of heaven. Mary is said to reduce the wrath of Jesus so that praying to HER will get your prayers heard by Jesus. VAIN IMAGINATIONS of men. 

Amazing how this pagan thinking was merged into the Catholic church where Mary is now seen as the QUEEN of heaven and the one who SOFTENS or subdues the wrath of Jesus who then would supposedly subdue the wrath of the Almighty God. The following is a quote from a Catholic paper called the Catholic Layman written in 1865.

"The sinner that ventures directly to Christ may come with dread and apprehension of his wrath; but let him only employ the mediation of the Virgin with her Son and she has only to show that Son the breasts that gave him suck and his wrath will immediately be appeased,"

The sun god was named Ninus and was also worship by the name Tammuz. Again, this mother-child worship was very prominent among the pagans throughout all periods of history and the pagan mother god was worshiped as the goddess of fertility. The pagan made images of their mother goddess having many breasts symbolizing that she gives life to those all over the world. So it is not surprising to see the Catholic writers using Mary's breast as part of her role as the Queen of heaven.

Now compare the mother-child pagan worship with Catholicism and then compare both with the BIBLE. Nowhere are we taught in God's word of TRUTH to exalt the mother of Jesus? But certain leaders in the Catholic church for whatever reason decided to COMPROMISE the true gospel of Jesus Christ and appease the pagans who became Christians by exalting Mary to be the so-called Catholic QUEEN of heaven even though this teaching did not AGREE with what the very word of God was teaching. In Egypt, this mother goddess was called Isis and the child god was called Osiris.

This pagan system of worship teaches that the father or husband god died and then was reborn or resurrected as the son of the QUEEN of heaven.

The pagan legend says that Nimrod died and then Nimrod was reincarnated into his wife's son Tammuz and later Semiramis, the mother of Tammuz was deified as the mother of the sun god.

Again notice the similarities of Mary, the mother of Jesus, later being exalted from being the mother of our Lord to being the mother of ALMIGHTY God himself and then being given the heather pagan title of the QUEEN of heaven. Also, notice how the doctrine of God the Son incarnated himself to become flesh resembles Nimrod being reincarnated into the son of the mother God of Tammuz. Did you know that the Pagans had a Trinity God as well? Did you know that it took CENTURIES for the doctrine of the Trinity to be formed? Do you know that some Trinity scholars openly admit the doctrine of the Trinity is NOT explicitly taught in the Bible and that only some verses can be interpreted to IMPLY that God could be a Trinity God? Please read all the studies that are under the heading >>>A LIST OF STUDIES ON THE TRINITY<<<

Now some Catholics may be saying to themselves, but I really do not worship Mary.

But the Bible teaches us as Christians, if you stand before a graven IMAGE and you pray to whatever thing or person that the graven IMAGE represents, then you have a god before the Lord God Almighty. And the Bible also condemns the BOWING down to any IMAGE, because you are bowing down to the thing that that IMAGE represents. 

Please read Exodus 20:1-6.

“And God spoke all these words, saying, 

2. I am the LORD your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (Keep in mind that Egypt was filled with pagan idolatry)

3. You shall have no other gods before me. 

4. You shall not make unto you ANY GRAVEN IMAGE, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5. You shall NOT BOW DOWN yourself to them, nor serve them: (And making DEVOTION to Mary is serving her. Obeying her visions to pray the rosary is SERVING her. Praying TO Mary is SERVING her. Lighting candles before her IMAGE is SERVING her. You can LIE to yourself but you can NOT lie to God) for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 

6. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

Most every Christian make excuses when they are NOT doing that which is right in the eyes of Almighty God and the truth is revealed to them. That is the enemy trying one last time to get you to remain in practices that are NOT pleasing to God.

But I assure you that the quicker you OBEY God, the easier that it will be. I pray that Almighty God strengthens you to make the RIGHT choice by obeying the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ by NOT ADDING to the commands of Almighty God the Father.

For further study on is Catholicism BIBLICAL Christianity please read all the studies under the heading >>>WHAT EVERY CATHOLIC MUST KNOW!<<<

Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. 

And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. 

Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands. 

And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels. 

Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels. 

For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here?  Is God at WAR? **.

More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God. 

If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.

For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING! 

And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD! 

At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.

Or you can scroll down to the MORE dropdown menu list to find those studies as well. 

Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. 

And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. 

And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **

And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! ** 

This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.

Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Brother Mark.

My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. 

So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament. 

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Always be faithful to share, to preach, and to teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ!