The Assumption of
the Mother of GOD...



In order to properly understand this document, I would suggest that the reader branch out to the links shown in the order of their appearance, and then return to this page...

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the "New, or Second Eve"...

"What would you have me do woman?"
John 2:4
This is a pivotal verse, in that Jesus has affirmed that He is the second Adam, and His mother Mary is the Second Eve.
In order to put this verse in its proper perspective, we must first look at the word woman as used in several places in the Old and New Testaments.
GOD made woman from the rib of Adam in Genesis 2:22. In the very next verse, Adam said, "She now is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for from man she has been taken". Notice that the first woman came from man, and after that man came from woman. Adam is a "TYPE" of Jesus Christ as shown in Romans 5:14 and 1Corinthians 15:44-49.
In Genesis 3, the word woman is mentioned eight times. In Genesis 3:15 we have the Protoevangelium, the promise of a redeemer after the fall of man, a woman, whose Son (he) will crush the head of the serpent. Did you notice that the Messiah and His Mother are together there in Genesis 3:15?
They are together in the first book of the Bible, and I will also show that they are together in the last book of the Bible as well.

"...Just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of one person
(Eve) the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one (Mary) the many will be made righteous." Romans 5:18-19

"Eve, however, was disobedient; and when yet a virgin, she did not obey.... having become disobedient, was made the cause of death for herself and for the whole human race; so also Mary, betrothed to a man but nevertheless still a virgin, being obedient, was made the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.... Thus, the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith."
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies (3,22,4) (Jurgens-224)

"Our Lord Jesus Christ, however, who came to liberate mankind, in which both males and females are destined to salvation, was not averse to males, for He took the form of a male, nor to females, for of a female He was born. Besides, there is a great mystery here: that just as death comes to us through a woman, Life is born to us through a woman; that the devil, defeated, would be tormented by each nature, feminine and masculine, since he had taken delight in the defection of both."
Saint Augustine, Christian Combat (22,24) 396 A.D. (Jurgens-1578).
We have the New Adam in Jesus Christ and thus the New Eve in his mother, Mary.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the "New Ark of the Covenant"...

The Blessed Virgin Mary is "typed" also as the New Ark of the Covenant.
What happened to the original Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament?
It was thought to be hidden by Jeremiah somewhere near Mount Nebo during the captivity of the Jews and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians about 586 B.C..
The Ark has not been seen since then. See Jeremiah 3:16, and 2Maccabees 2:4-8.
There is no mention of the whereabout of the wooden Ark after these verses in Scripture.

"When Jeremiah arrived there, he found a room in a cave in which he put the tent (tabernacle), the ark, and the altar of incense; then he blocked up the entrance. Some of those who followed him came up intending to mark the path, but they could not find it. When Jeremiah heard of this, he reproved them: "The place is to remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows them mercy."
2 Maccabees 2:5-7

In the book of Revelation, verse 12:1 is connected to 11:19 by the conjunction "and".
In the Greek text (the book of Revelation was written in Greek by Saint John), the first word of verse 12:1 is "Kai" which means "and". It is important to mention the Greek text here because some Bibles do not include the word "and", and by this omission they break the connection between the two verses, thus disrupting the continuity of the meaning. It is to be noted that the Bible was not always divided into chapters and verses as we see it today. Division into chapters did not come until the 13th century, and into verses in the 15th century for the Old Testament and the 16th century for the New Testament.

Let us first examine Revelation 11:19.
The words of Saint John in verse 11:19 are of his having seen the "temple" of GOD being open, and within it is the Ark of the Covenant.
First of all, is there a "temple" in heaven, reminiscent of the Jewish temple?
Let us see how scripture answers this question.
"Yet not in houses made by hands does the Most High dwell..."
Acts 7:44
"For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
2Corinthians 5:1
Later in the Book of Revelation Saint John described the temple that he envisioned...
"And I saw no temple therein. For the Lord GOD almighty and the Lamb are the temple thereof."
Revelation 21:22
Saint John also described this temple in his Gospel.
"
Destroy this temple and in three days I shall raise it up." John 2:19
"But he was speaking of the temple of his body." John 2:21
GOD and Jesus Christ, the Lamb, are the temple seen in heaven. The Jewish temple was merely a "type" of the New Testament reality, and it was utterly destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D..
As the Jewish temple, and the animal sacrifices, were the summit, source, and center of Judaism, so is the Sacrifice of the Lamb of the new temple, the summit, source, and center of Christianity.

Is this Ark, mentioned in Revelation 11:19, the same Ark of the Old Testament Covenant which was hidden by Jeremiah? Since the temple seen by Saint John is not the Jewish temple of Jerusalem, then neither is the Ark seen by him, the wooden Ark of the Old Testament, thus being conformed to the context.
Is there anything made by human hands in heaven?
Yes, surprisingly, there are the five wounds of Christ, but there are no man made material objects. There could not be, for heaven is a perfect place, and nothing material and made by human hands is perfect. Note the many verses of "Not made by human hands", Acts 7:48,17:24, 2Cor 5:1, Heb 9:11, Heb 9:24.
The Ark seen in the temple in Heaven is not the wooden box
type which contained the word of GOD, the ten commandments written on stone tablets, and handed down to Moses. It is the antitype, the New Ark of the Covenant, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who contained The Word of GOD in her womb.

"Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured; how he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, "I will not enter my house or get into my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob." Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah, we found it in the fields of Jaar. "Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!" Arise, O Lord, and go to thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy might. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints shout for joy. For thy servant David’s sake do not turn away the face of thy anointed one. The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: "One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies which I shall teach them, their sons also for ever shall sit upon your throne." For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation: "This is my resting place for ever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy. There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon himself his crown will shed its luster.”
Psalms 132:1-18

Where is the resting place of the Lord? See Revelation 11:19 again, as it is in heaven, as Saint John recounts. However, throughout Holy Scripture, many verses have more than one meaning, a literal meaning which is easier to see at first, and a deeper spiritual meaning. This is especially true in the book of Revelation where there can be several layers of meaning. Obviously, His resting place is also His Church, the New Jerusalem (Isa 65:18, Rev 3:12,21:2-27), which comes down out of heaven (Rev 21:2), and is referred to as her in four places in Psalms 132 above. Why is His Church referred to as her? Who is in Rev 11:19 with Him? It is His mother, the
Mother of the Church and the New Ark of the Covenant.
Also the Church is figured as the Bride of Christ (Eph 5:29, Rev 21:2,9).
Notice as I pointed out earlier, in the first book of the Bible in Genesis 3:15, that the Messiah and His Mother are together. I have now shown as well, that they are in the last book of the Bible in Revelation 11:19. They are together in between also, as will be shown shortly below.

"He brought the Ark into the dwelling (tent) and hung the curtain veil, thus screening off the Ark."
Exodus 40:21

"Then the cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the dwelling. Moses could not enter the meeting tent, because the cloud settled down upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the dwelling."
Exodus 40:34-35
The cloud which covered the meeting tent was called the Shekinah Glory.

"The Lord spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died; and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is upon the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat."
Leviticus 16:1-2
The mercy seat was the lid of the ark of the covenant, and upon it rested the glory of GOD, the Shekinah Glory.


"...the Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you; and therefore the Holy One to be born shall be called the Son of GOD."
Luke 1:35

Elucidation #1:
1. The word, overshadow, used in Luke, is the same as the verb covered, used in Exodus to describe how the Lord "filled" the tabernacle.
2. The Ark of the Covenant contained manna (food from heaven), the rod of Aaron (authority of the High Priest), and the Ten Commandments (the Word of GOD)
(Hebrews 9:4).
3. Mary carried within her womb the Word of GOD
(John 1:1,14) , the High Priest of GOD (Hebrews 5:1-10) , and the Bread come down from heaven (John 6:51), the antitype of the manna.
4. The Ark of the Old Covenant shall not be seen until an appointed time by GOD. However, the New Ark of the Covenant was seen by Saint John in Revelation 11:19. This shows that the two Arks of the Covenants of Scripture are not one in the same. 


"And David was afraid of the Lord that day, saying, How shall the Ark of the Lord come to me?"
2Samuel 6:9

"And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"
Luke 1:43

Elucidation #2:
1. In 2Samuel 6:9, David asked regarding the Ark which contained the Word of GOD written on stone tablets.
2. In Luke 1:43, Elizabeth asked regarding the New Ark which contained the Word of GOD in the womb of Mary. Did you notice that by Elizabeth calling Mary "the mother of my Lord", she was really calling her the Mother of GOD? Who prompted Elizabeth to say this? See Luke 1:41.
3. It is obvious that the verse, 2Samuel 6:9, is a type of the verse in the New Testament. 
"...David went and brought away the Ark of GOD...into the city of David with joy....And David danced with all his might before the Lord."
2Samuel 6:12-14

"And it came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe in her womb lept."
Luke 1:41

Elucidation #3:
1. David danced before the Ark of the Covenant which contained the Word of GOD written on stone tablets.
2. St. John the Baptist, lept in the womb of his mother Elizabeth, as he was before the New Ark of the Covenant, Mary, who held the Word of GOD in her womb.
3. This is yet another example of types and antitypes.

Now to connect the verses of Revelation 11:19 and 12:1:
"AND a great sign* appeared in Heaven: a woman clothed with the
Sun , and the Moon was under her feet, and upon her head is a crown of twelve stars."
*The Greek word used for the word sign here is semeion (say-mi'-on) which means:
1. A sign, mark, token, miracle, or wonder.
2. That by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others and is known.
3. A sign, prodigy, portent, an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature.
4. Of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen.
5. Of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God's.
6. Semeion (say-mi'-on) is the same Greek word which is used three times in Luke 11:29, wherein Jesus said that this generation demanded a sign, a miracle of some sort.
7. Compare Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." A virgin conceiving is certainly a miracle as is the same woman being seen in heaven and clothed with the
sun.
8. Read about many more miraculous signs in Mark 16:16-18

In all of chapter 12 of Revelation, there are 4 persons mentioned. There is a woman, a dragon, a male child, and one mentioned by name, Michael.
It is obvious that the dragon is satan, the ancient serpent, Rev 12:9.
It is obvious that Michael is an angel, the archangel Michael, Rev 12:7.
It is obvious that the male child is Jesus Christ, Rev 12:5.
Since three of the four in the chapter are identified, then the context would demand that the woman be identified also, as the one who gave birth to Jesus Christ, Rev 12:4-5.
She is the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The "Great Sign" is the Blessed Virgin Mary.
There are many layers of interpretation of the book of Revelation, so secondarily, the woman of chapter 12 can also can be seen as a figure of the Church.
A crown upon her head is the sign of a Queen.
Queens in the Old Testament were the mothers of the kings, not the wives, therefore, the mother of the King of Kings, Mary, is also the Queen of the King of Kings.
Twelve stars relate to the twelve Apostles, and as another layer, to the twelve tribes of Judah.
This image of a woman clothed with the
sun and a moon under her feet, fits perfectly with the miraculous image of the Virgin of Guadalupe as she appeared in 1531 in what is now Mexico City. The woman mentioned in Revelation 12:1 is the woman of Genesis 3:15, and of John 2:4, and of John 19:26. She is the woman in the first book of the Bible, and the woman in the last book of the Bible, and the woman in between. 
The Old Testament Ark was, however, merely a TYPE of the antitype of the New Covenant Ark.
An Old Testament "type" never points to a New Testament symbol, but always to a reality which is far superior to itself.

The Old Testament Ark of the Covenant was made of incorruptible wood...
"And thou shalt make the ark of testimony of incorruptible wood..."
Exodus 25:10, Septuagint

The New Testament reality is infinitely greater than the Old Testament prefigurement.
Therefore the Ark seen in heaven, is not only incorruptible, but is vastly superior to its type.
The Ark was to be plated (covered or clothed) inside and out with pure gold, a symbol of kingship. (
Exodus 25:11, Hebrews 9:4, 1Chronicles 28:18).
Queens wore crowns of gold also.
The New Ark of the Covenant was clothed with the
sun.
The Greek word for
sun here is helios (hay'-lee-os) which means the sun, or the rays of the sun, or the light of day.
What does "clothed with the
sun" mean?
Again, what does Scripture tell us?
"For the Lord GOD is a
Sun and a shield, he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly."
Psalms 84:11
"But unto you that fear my name, the
Sun of Justice shall arise, and health in his wings."
Malachi 4:2
I have just listed two clear passages which equate GOD as a
Sun.

Elucidation #4:
1. Referencing Elucidation #1 earlier, the word, overshadow, used in Luke, is the same as the verb covered, used in Exodus to describe how the Lord "filled" the tabernacle. Both of these words are similar in meaning to clothed as used in Revelation 12:1.
2. Is the
sun as seen by Saint John, the same sun that we see from earth everyday?
Again, we shall look to Scripture for the answer.
"The
sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy GOD thy glory."
Isaiah 60:19

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life"." John 8:12

"I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness." John 12:46

"It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last."
Luke 23:44-46
Did you see the message here? The
sun's light failed...The Son, the light of the world, died.

"And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen."
Mark 16:2
In this verse is yet another connection which many miss. The
sun had risen, and on a Sunday... The Son had risen, and on a Sunday.

"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast; his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters; in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the
sun shining in full strength."
Revelation 1:12-16

"And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of
sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of GOD is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light shall the nations walk; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it, and its gates shall never be shut by day—and there shall be no night there; they shall bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life."
Revelation 21:22-27

"And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or
sun, for the Lord GOD will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever."
Revelation 22:5

So there you have it. There is no
sun in heaven as we have in the "heavens" here on earth.

Is it unreasonable then, to say that the woman was clothed with GOD, since GOD is a
sun and a shield, and there is no light of the sun in heaven as we have it here on earth? 
It should be noted that it is not my intention to exclude other deep spiritual meanings for these verses in the many layers of exegesis of the Book of Revelation.



"And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart with the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there because he put forth his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God."
2Samuel 6:2-7

Elucidation #5:
1. Uzzah died simply because he dared to touch the most holy Ark of the Covenant.
The only person who was allowed to touch the Ark in the Old Testament was the high priest (a type).
2. For those who insist that Mary, the New Ark of the Covenant, had other children, this Biblical type of Uzzah should certainly counter that false charge.
Please tell me, who is the New Testament antitype of the Old Testament high priest?
And who would you say would qualify to be the antitype of Uzzah in the New Testament?

The word "tabernacle" means a "tent".
"And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. According to all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and of all its furniture, so you shall make it."
Exodus 25:8-9
This is the first time that the word tabernacle appears in the Bible.

"Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet stuff; with cherubim skilfully worked shall you make them. The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have one measure. Five curtains shall be coupled to one another; and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outmost curtain in the first set; and likewise you shall make loops on the edge of the outmost curtain in the second set. Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another. And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, that the tabernacle may be one whole."
Exodus 26:1-6
Here GOD gave detailed exacting instructions for how the tabernacle was to be constructed.

The Ark of the Covenant was always considered by the Hebrews to be the most holy object on earth.
It was kept in the holiest part of the tabernacle, called the Holy of Holies.

"Hang the veil from clasps. The ark of the commandments you shall bring inside, behind this veil which divides the holy place from the holy of holies. Set the propitiatory on the ark of the commandments in the holy of holies."
Exodus 26:33-34

Elucidation #6:
1. The tabernacle was the tent of the Lord in which the Ark of the Covenant was kept.
2. Mary was the tabernacle of the Lord for nine months as she carried Him in her womb.
3. The propitiatory, also called the Mercy Seat, was the lid of the Ark upon which the two golden angels were mounted, Exodus 25:18-21. It was above the propitiatory from which GOD would speak and give His commands to Moses, Exodus 25:22.
4. The Shekinah Glory, the cloud of GOD, would cover the tabernacle and fill it, Exodus 40:34-38.
The glory of GOD would also rest upon the lid of the ark of the covenant, Leviticus 16:2.
5. Are these not types of the woman being clothed with the
sun in Revelation 12:1?



The Blessed Virgin Mary is the "Mother of GOD"...

The Blessed Virgin Mary was "Conceived Without Sin"...

GOD will not join Himself with anything defiled.
Revelation 21:27
Death and corruption are the price the human race must pay for original sin, as Sts. Irenaeus and Augustine reminded us earlier in this file.


The Blessed Virgin Mary is the "Mother of the Church"...

The Blessed Virgin Mary was "Assumed into Heaven Body and Soul"...

I have shown the Blessed Virgin Mary to be:
1. The "New Eve".
2. The "Queen Mother of the King of Kings".
3. The incorruptible "New Ark of the Covenant" which was seen in heaven by Saint John.
4. The "Queen of Heaven".
5. The "Mother of GOD".
6. Conceived without sin. She is the "Immaculate Conception".
7. The "Mother of the Church".


Some additional observations:

1. Mary gave the Creator of the Universe motherly guidance and discipline for years. Luke 2:51

2. Mary started Jesus in His ministry. John 2:1-5

3. Jesus taught His disciples for only three years, yet He had 30 years to teach His mother, Mary.

4. GOD would not allow His holy one to see corruption, Psalms 16:10, Acts 2:27. These verses apply to Jesus, but they could also apply to His mother who is called "Blessed" in Luke 1:28 and 1:42.

5. A precedent was already set for assumptions in Matthew 27:52, "And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose;" What is the problem with envisioning the Mother of GOD rising as well?
In her "one of a kind" unique position in Scripture, isn't she higher than the other saints?

6. Other presumed assumptions are prefigured in Scripture, such as Enoch in Genesis 5:24, and Elijah in 2Kings 2:11.
Why then do some say the Mother of GOD could not have been assumed?

7. "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made to live. But each in his own turn, Christ as first fruits, then they who are Christ's, who have believed, at His coming."
1Corinthians 15:23.
Who would be the logical first person in turn, other than Jesus Christ, to be the one to live?
Who was the first one to whom the angel Gabriel announced the coming of the Messiah? Luke 1:32
She certainly was the first human person to know, from a messenger of GOD, that He was coming.

8. "But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up hither!” And in the sight of their foes they went up to heaven in a cloud." Revelation 11:11-12
Isn't this yet another example of an assumption into heaven by the power of GOD?
Why then could anyone deny the assumption of the Mother of GOD?

9. "Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpers playing on their harps, and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are chaste; it is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes; these have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for GOD and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are spotless."
Revelation 14:1-5
Do not these verses describe many who have found favor with GOD, who are virgins, first fruits who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, and who are spotless?
Who did Jesus teach first? His mother.
Who is the virgin? His mother.
Who followed Him wherever He went either in person or in her heart? His mother.
Who is without sin...spotless? His mother.
It is believed that in Lk 1:49 when Mary said, "God has done great things
(plural) for me", it is a prefigurement of her assumption.

10. We have seen that there is no
sun as seen in the heavens as we have in our earthly sky, but yet we do see a woman clothed with the sun in heaven in Revelation 12:1.

11. The Book of Revelation speaks of souls and spirits as being in heaven (Rev 1:4,6:9,20:4), but in verse 12:1, it does not say the soul, or spirit of a woman as being seen does it? No, it says a woman. The Greek word used for woman here is gune which means a woman. If you check the definition of the word "woman" in a dictionary, you will find that it defines the word as, "an adult female human being". A human being has a body, a soul, and a spirit (1Thess 5:3). Souls and spirits are gender neutral, so the fact that Saint John saw a woman adds gender to the equation, and gender can only come from the body. Therefore, what Saint John saw in heaven was a female human person, and that person had to have a body, a soul, and a spirit.

12. "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him." Romans 8:16-17
Most assuredly the Blessed Virgin did indeed suffer with Him as she witnessed His passion and death on the cross (John 19:25-27). It is only fitting that His mother be glorified with Him as well.

13. Some might ask why such a monumental event as the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not mentioned in other books of the New Testament. We have to remember that most of the books were written before this event, and that the Book of Revelation was the last book written.

14. With the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, GOD has allowed us to see a preview of what will happen to all of the saved on the last day.



Relics of the Saints have always been prized possessions and have been eagerly sought after, by Churches. Relics of all of the Apostles and Gospel writers, St. Stephen the first Christian martyr, and St. Mary Magdalene can be found in Catholic Churches today. However, not one relic of the Blessed Virgin Mary has ever been found. If she had died and was buried, her relics would have been the most prized of all, and the Churches of the day would have scrambled to obtain them. After all, she was the Mother of GOD.

An Old Testament account of an important person whose relics have never been found, can be seen in Deuteronomy 34:6 where the burial place of Moses, and therefore the location of his relics remain unknown. See Jude 9.
Wouldn't you agree that the title, "Mother of GOD", puts her in a unique class all by herself?
When you think about it, there is no equivalent title, "Father of GOD", is there?

For those who believe in the "Rapture", and yet say that Mary could not have been assumed into heaven, is not the Rapture an assumption of many human creatures?
What about the last judgment where the dead will rise and the righteous will be given glorified bodies and will be assumed into heaven? Is that not the same thing as Mary being assumed? Isn't she the most perfect creature ever created by GOD?
Why then should she not be the first creature to be assumed into heaven?
I have shown overwhelming evidence that the Blessed Virgin Mary was in fact assumed into heaven, and that she was envisioned as being there by Saint John.
I now ask those who doubt the assumption, to show evidence to the contrary?

The fact that Mary was assumed into heaven body and soul was proclaimed a Dogma of the Catholic Church on November 1, 1950 by Pope Pius XII. Pope Pius XII stated as Dogma what had been commonly held by the Church for centuries. There are homilies on the Assumption dated from before the sixth century, and by the thirteenth century, there was universal agreement concerning this feast. The statement of Pius XII included the following:
"Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords, and conqueror of sin and death." (Munificentissimus Deus 1950).

Pope Pius X wrote in his encyclical letter "Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum":
"A great sign," thus the Apostle St. John describes a vision divinely sent him, appears in the
heavens: "A woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet and a crown of
twelve stars upon her head." Everyone knows that this woman signified the Virgin Mary, the
stainless one who brought forth our head…John therefore saw the Most Holy Mother of God
already in eternal happiness, yet travailing in a mysterious childbirth. What birth was it? Surely it
was the birth of us who, still in exile, are yet to be generated to the perfect charity of God, and to
eternal happiness. And the birth pains show the love and desire with which the Virgin from heaven above watches over us, and strives with unwearying prayer to bring about the fulfillment of the number of the elect."

Pope John Paul II wrote in “Redemptoris Mater”, Par 47, March 25, 1987:
"Thanks to this special bond linking the Mother of Christ with the Church, there is further clarified the mystery of that "woman" who, from the first chapters of the Book of Genesis until the Book of Revelation, accompanies the revelation of God's salvific plan for humanity. For Mary, present in the Church as the Mother of the Redeemer, takes part, as a mother, in that "monumental struggle against the powers of darkness" which continues throughout human history. And by her ecclesial identification as the "woman clothed with the sun" (Rev. 12:1), it can be said that "in the Most Holy Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle." Hence, as Christians raise their eyes with faith to Mary in the course of their earthly pilgrimage, they "strive to increase in holiness." Mary, the exalted Daughter of Sion, helps all her children, wherever they may be and whatever their condition, to find in Christ the path to the Father's house."
August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, has been celebrated since the fifth century. The Dogma issued by Pope Pius XII in 1950 is not new, since it was celebrated for over 1500 years previous.



As Martin Luther once remarked, "When you call her the Mother of GOD, you have said it all".

©
Written by Bob Stanley, April 28, 2001
Uploaded first on August 15, 2001, the Feast of the Assumption
Updated January 4, 2002


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