THE BLESSED VIRGIN
Is 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
hmle `almah al-maw'
AV-virgin 4, maid 2, damsels 1; 7 1) virgin, young woman,
1a) of marriageable age
1b) maid or newly married
There is no instance where it can be proved that this word designates a young
woman who is not a virgin.
Here we see that the mother of the Messiah would be a virgin.
According to the doctrines and dogmas of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and
Coptic churches the mother of Jesus remained a virgin for the rest of her earthly life. She is described as being born without
sin (Immaculate Conception), and as the Holy MOTHER OF GOD. The rational being that as she gave birth to the Son of God, who
is God made flesh, then she is therefore Mother of God as well.
How do we reconcile these dogmas with the writings of the Apostles and other
New Testament authors?
Ma 1:24-25; Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord
had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn
son: and he called his name JESUS
24 diegeryeiv de o iwshf apo tou upnou epoihsen wv prosetaxen autw o aggelov
kuriou kai parelaben thn gunaika autou
25 kai ouk eginwsken
authn ewv ou eteken ton uion authv ton prwtotokon kai ekalesen to onoma autou ihsoun
ginwskw ginosko
ghin-oce'-ko
Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman
Here we are told quite plainly that Joseph did not, "KNOW" his wife until
after she gave birth:
Next we are told that the infant would be her "FIRSTBORN"!
25 kai ouk eginwsken authn ewv ou eteken ton uion authv ton prwtotokon kai ekalesen to onoma autou ihsoun
prwtotokov prototokos
pro-tot-ok'-os
AV-firstborn 7, first begotten 2; 9
Hence we see that the dogma of Mary being always a virgin does not tie up
with the Bible.
So we see that if He was the Firstborn then there must have been at least
a secondborn!
There is mention made of Jesus having other brothers and sisters:
Ma 1:46- 50 ¶ While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother
and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, "Behold, thy mother and thy brethren
stand without, desiring to speak with thee." But he answered and said unto him that told him, "Who is my mother? and
who are my brethren?"
And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, "Behold
my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister,
and mother."
adelfov adelphos ad-el-fos' from 1 (as
a connective particle) and delphus (the womb)
Jo 7:1-5 ¶ After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk
in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said
unto him, "Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no
man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the
world."
For neither did his brethren believe in him.
So we see here that Jesus own family did not believe in him!
The Bible leaves us in little doubt concerning the matter we are even told
the names of at least four of his brothers:
Ma13: 54-56 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in
their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, "Whence
hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren,
James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?"
James ( Yaakov), Joses (Yusef), Simon (Shimon) and Judas (Yhudah)
Where then does the adoration of Mary originate?
It was common practice for the Church of Rome to take pagan feasts and pagan
gods and look for a Christian equivalent. Hence Saturnalia became Christmas, the Spring rite became Easter (Æ stera another
form of Ashteroth), and the Madonna and Child were developed from the images of Isis and her son, Aphrodite and Athena. In
one Dominican church in Italy she is even described as "La Minerva"!
Both Isis and Mary are pictured as suckling their Divine son, and also being
enthroned and travelling across the heavens on the crescent moon.
Pope Pius IX established the dogma of the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION on 8th December
1854. Previous to this it was always Jesus who was considered to be the Immaculate Conception. This change of doctrine came
about as a result of the visions of Bernadette of Lourdes and the Lady describing herself as the "Immaculate Conception".
The Catholic Church had great difficulty in accepting her visions at first because of this.
We do honour the memory of the mother of Jesus, and we do remember her and
call her blessed but we do not offer prayers or worship as she, like all others, died and was buried awaiting the resurrection
just as we all must eventually do.
Her being haled as Mother of god was defined in 431 ad at the 3rd
General council at Ephesus
The whole idea of Mary being assumed into heaven dates backs to the Fifth
century and was only installed as a dogma in 1950 by the then Pope Pius the XII.
So we see, yet again, the words of the Apostles being fulfilled:
1Peter 2
