Queen of Heaven
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
2and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.
And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.
But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.
But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.
So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Revelation 12
Who is this woman clothed with the sun? Some Protestant scholars say it is the
1. She gave birth to a male child
2. This male child is to rule the nations with a rod iron and was caught up to God and His throne
3. The Devil sought to injure her, but God protected her
4. She is the mother of all those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony to Jesus
The male child is obviously the Lord Jesus Christ. He is to rule the nations and is caught up to heaven in order to be with God the Father. So if Jesus is the male child, the woman must be Mary.
It is hard to see that the woman symbolizes the church. According to this passage, the woman gave birth to the male child. But Jesus did not come from the church. The church came from Jesus. Neither is it likely that this passage has the woman symbolizing
There are three characters in the chapter – the male child, the dragon, and the woman. The male child and the dragon are specific individuals, Jesus and the dragon. So if they were specific individuals, then the woman is likely to also be a specific individual and not symbolizing a group such as
Also, it is important to note that the author of the Book of Revelation is the Apostle John. This is the same apostle of all the other apostles to whom Jesus entrusted His mother (John 19:27, John 21:24). It seem likely that John, who spent years with Jesus’ mother until her death, intended this passage to mean Mary.
We also need to look at this passage in its historical context. Unlike modern monarchies, where the king’s wife is the queen, in the Old Testament, the king’s mother was the queen – not the king’s wife. In the Old Testament, the king could have a harem of wives. If the kings’s wife was to rule alongside him, which one? Here are scripture passages that shows how they were treated:
(12) When Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David, with his sovereignty firmly established, (13) Adonijah, son of haggith, went to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. "Do you come as a friend?" she asked. "Yes," he answered, (14) and added, "I have something to say to you." She replied, "Say it." (15) So he said "You know that the kingdom was mine, and all
(19) Then Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, and THE KING STOOD UP TO MEET HER AND PAID HER HOMAGE. Then he sat down on his throne, AND A THRONE WAS PROVIDED FOR THE KINGS MOTHER, WHO SAT AT HIS RIGHT. (20) "There is one small favor I would ask of you," she said. "DO NOT REFUSE ME." "ASK IT, MY MOTHER," the king said to her, "FOR I WILL NOT REFUSE YOU."
I Kings: 2 – 12
In the first chapter of I Kings, when Bathsheba met her husband, King David, she bowed to him. Now in the chapter, David has died, and now Bathsheba’s son is king, Solomon. When Solomon meets her, he pays her homage, and lets her sit at his right on her own throne. The Old Testament Jew took God’s command “Honor thy father and thy mother” very seriously. That is why Solomon paid her homage. Would Jesus keep this command less than Solomon?
Here are other verses in the Old Testament about the Queen Mother.
1Kings 15:3, "And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being Queen..."
2Chron 15:16, "And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being Queen..."
Daniel 5:10, "Now the Queen...came into the banquet house..." The Queen was the mother of King Belshazzar, see Dan 5:2.
Jeremiah 13:18 ” Say to the king and the queen mother: "Take a lowly seat, for your beautiful crown has come down from your head."
2Kings 10:13, "...we are going down to visit the princes and the family of
the Queen Mother."
Jeremiah 29:2, "This was after king Jeconiah and the Queen Mother...had departed from
See http://home.inreach.com/bstanley/queen.htm
It was the queen mother who ruled alongside the king.
So as soon as the apostles, who were all Jews, and all the other Jews realized that Jesus was the Messiah, the King of all, ruling from heaven, they knew that this meant that His mother must be the queen of the kingdom of heaven. It is not that Mary has done this out of her power. This is all from God’s grace.
It says in the Bible that all Christians will at the end reign with Christ (2 Tim 2:12, Rev 20:6). So if we are eventually going to reign with Christ, why is it so hard to believe that His mother is reigning with Him now?
The early church father had a very high view of Mary. This is what Ireneaus wrote:
As Eve was seduced by the speech of an angel, so as to flee God in transgressing his word, so also Mary received the good tidings by means of the angel's speech, so as to be God within her, being obedient to this word. And though the one had disobeyed God, yet the other was drawn to obey him; that of the virgin Eve, the virgin Mary might become the advocate and as by a virgin the human race had been bound to death, by a virgin it is saved, the balance being preserved- a virgin's disobedience by a virgin' obedience. (Against Heresies, 3, 19) (180 A.D.)
Ireneaus was a personal disciple of Polycarp, and Polycarp was a personal disciple of the Apostle John (see Staniforth, Maxwell. Early Christian Writings. (Penguin Books: London, 1987), 115). That is pretty close to getting exactly what John taught when he discipled people. It is difficult to believe that a second-generation disciple of John could get John all wrong. If Ireneaus misunderstood Paul, then what hope do we have of understanding John 2,000 years later?
In this passage, Ireneaus called Mary the new Eve. This complements the Apostle Paul calling Jesus the Second Adam. Just as the fall was caused by the obedience of the first Adam and Eve, so has grace and mercy through the obedience of the second Man and Woman. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary, he was not just announcing to her that she will birth to Jesus, whether she liked it or not. No, she had to give her consent. If she had said “No way!”, that would have been the last straw! God gave us a chance for
The Early Church Father Justin Martyr, wrote this:
For whereas Eve, yet a virgin and undefiled, through conceiving the word that came from the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death; the Virgin Mary, taking faith and joy, when the Angel told her the good tidings that the Spirit of the Lord should come upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadow her, and therefore the Holy One to be born of her should be the Son of God, answered, Be it don to me according to thy word. And so by means of her was he born, concerning whom we have shown so many Scriptures were spoken; through whom God overthrows the serpent, and those angels and men who have become like to it, and on the other hand, works deliverance from death for such as repent of their evil doings and believe in him (Dialogue with Trypho, 100 A.D.)
Eve was called the mother of the living ...after the fall this title was given to her. True it is...the whole race of man upon earth was born from Eve; but in reality it is from Mary the Life was truly born to the world. So that by giving birth to the Living One, Mary became the mother of all living (St. Epiphanius, Against Eighty Heresies, 78,9)
Justin taught that Mary was a virgin, undefiled, the new Eve. She is the mother of the living. From Mary, Life came into the world. That Life was the Living One, Jesus Christ.
Don’t you Catholics worship Mary?
On what basis can that be said? Because we call her the Queen of Heaven and the Queen of Angels? But as I mentioned before, all Christians believe we will reign with Christ. All Christians believe that we will share in His glory (
Just because we praise Mary, that does not we worship her. I praise my kids for getting a good report card. A man may write a love letter to her lover, praising her for her beauty. This does not make it worship.
But how do you know you have crossed the line from honoring Mary to worshipping Mary?
I can understand how Protestants would have problems with that. But this is no problem for the Catholic. For the Catholic, there is a clear line between honor and worship. In the Old Testament, the ultimate form of worship is sacrifice. To us the Mass is sacrificial. When we celebrate the Eucharist, we re-offer the one-time sacrifice of Christ on the Cross to God. I realize this is another issue, which will be discussed elsewhere. But the point I am making is this: no matter how we may praise and lavish compliments on Mary, we would never offer Mass to Mary. This is reserved to God and God alone.
I do not think there is a danger of honoring Mary too much. Jesus, being perfectly sinless, honored His mother more than anyone else ever did. For me to go overboard in honoring Mary, I would have to be honoring Mary more than Jesus does, which I do not think is possible.
But shouldn’t Christ be the center of our lives, and not Mary?
Absolutely! But Christ and Mary are not in competition. In John 4, Mary said “Do whatever He tells you to do.”. I find it true in my own life that the more I have a devotion to Mary, the more I am devoted to Jesus Christ.
It is like the Bible and Jesus. Is there a danger that the more we love His Word, the less we will love Him? Of course not! The opposite is true! The more we read His Word, the more we fall in love with Jesus. Just as the Bible and Jesus are not in competition, so are Mary and Jesus not in competition. Mary is there to bring us closer to Jesus. I find the more I pray to Mary, the more I then actually pray to Jesus - even more so. Mary draws my devotion away from the spirit of this world and brings me closer to Jesus.
But doesn’t God say He is a jealous God, and He shares His glory with no one else?
Isaiah 48:11
We must look at the context this was said. God said this in the context of worshipping false gods. But within the Trinity, there is no jealousy. The Father shares his glory with the Son. And they both share their glory with the Holy Spirit. Also, it says in Col 3, that when Christ is revealed, we will be revealed with in glory. So if Jesus is going to share his glory with us, why would He not share his glory with his mother?
Suppose you happen to win the Mega-Lotto, and you are a multi-millionaire. And suppose your mother is still living and you have a decent relationship with her. When you move into your lush mansion, would you not bring your mother to live with you? Would this not be the case especially if you never were married and never had children? I know I would! And would I make her live in servant’s quarters? Of course not! She’s my mother! I would give her the best room in my mansion, and tell my servants to treat my mother with the same respect they treat me. Why would Jesus do any less to his mother?
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed
Luke 1:48
Here Mary gives a word of prophesy – all generation will call her blessed. This has been fulfilled literal by faithful Catholics for all these 2,000 years. When we pray the Hail Mary, we say “Blessed art thou amongst woman, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus”. We even say this when we address her – we call her the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary prophesied that throughout all generations, that believer would give her the highest honor given to any creature.
