First, I explained who Mary, the Mother of Jesus truly was according to the Bible. Then, I revealed the first human fables to venerate her — give her a higher status in worship — than the saints — which were all human, by the way and are dead. Today, I uncover the next Mary fable invented in the 19th century and what still goes on today.
1854 – A Post Protestant Reformation Declaration
The Reformation (1517) had left the Catholic Church shaken up to say the least. Pius IX, Pope from 1846-1878, in attempts to “strengthen” the church, in 1854, in “Ineffabilis Deus” proclaimed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. This claimed that Mary herself was conceived without “any taint of original sin.” All faithful Catholics accepted this doctrine as part of the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church and you must believe that lie to be saved.
What is “ineffable”? The dictionary defines it as:
Too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.
Apple Dictionary
Where did they come up with this fable?
“it is held to be a truth divinely revealed…”
Wikipedia
By whom?
According to Wikipedia, Mary’s mother is named Anna. The mother of Mary is not a biblical character. She first appears in the late 2nd-century Protevangelium of James, aka, the “Gospel of James”. This is considered an apocryphal book. Which means, that the early church fathers didn’t deem it truthful enough to be included in the biblical canon — the Bible as we know it.
The problem is that this “gospel” was written c. 145 AD and could not have been written by an eye-witness. In other words, James didn’t write it. We know who wrote the 4 Gospels.
In any rate, every human being was and is born a sinner.
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 3:21-23 NLT
More Names of Mary — Attributes place her above Jesus
Pope Francis has approved the inclusion of three additional invocations in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called the Litany of Loreto. Her new titles include: “Mother of Mercy”, “Mother of Hope”, and “Comfort of Migrants.”
We have to wonder why Mary needs more titles. She already has so many. Here are just a few of the others the Catholic Church has given to her: Advocate, Ark of the Covenant, Comfort of the Afflicted, Gate of the Dawn, Holy Mary, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Immaculate Virgin, Mediatrix of all Grace, Mother of Sorrows, Mother for the Journey, Mother of the Church, Mother of God, Mystical Rose, Our Lady of the Annunciation, Our Lady of Charity, Our Lady of Providence, Our Lady of Ransom, Our Lady of Solitude, Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Queen of All Saints, Queen of Angels, Queen of Apostles, Queen of Confessors, Queen of Families, Queen of Martyrs, Queen of Patriarchs, Queen of Prophets, Queen of Virgins, Queen of the World, and Refuge of Sinners.
Michael Gendron, Proclaiming the Gospel
We have one advocate, that’s Jesus Christ.
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
1 John 2:1-3 NLT
We have one authority and that’s Jesus Christ.
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”
Matthew 28:18 NLT (bold emphasis mine)
We have one Mediator, that’s Jesus Christ.
The Pope Entrusts China to Mary’s “Protection”
He said, “We entrust the pastors and faithful of the Catholic Church in that great country to the guidance and protection of our Heavenly Mother, so that they may be strong in faith and firm in fraternal union, joyful witnesses and promoters of charity and fraternal hope, and good citizens.”
Catholic News Agency
First, the proper protocol would be to ask God to provide guidance and protection and God will send the appropriate angels to do the work. Mary, again, was a human being who died and is in heaven, but does not have any power!
Then China Goes and Hacks into the Vatican!
The Vatican and the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong have been the targets of alleged Chinese state-backed hackers ahead of talks on renewal of a landmark 2018 deal that helped thaw diplomatic relations, according to a U.S.-based monitoring group.
U.S. News
We can’t make this stuff up! Folks, I believe that Satan has had his fingers maneuvering the church since it’s inception. Paul, Peter, and the other New Testament writers warned about false teachings and false prophets and we battle Spiritual Warfare daily.
We also have the Apparitions of Mary
A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances over a period of time.
In order to be classified as a Marian apparition, the person or persons who claim to see Mary (the “seers”) must claim that they see her visually located in their environment. (If the person claims to hear Mary but not see her, this is known as an interior locution, not an apparition. Also excluded from the category of apparitions are dreams, visions experienced in the imagination, the claimed perception of Mary in ordinarily-explainable natural phenomena, and miracles associated with Marian artwork, such as weeping statues.)
Believers consider such apparitions to be real and objective interventions of divine power, rather than subjective experiences generated by the perceiving individuals, even in cases where the apparition is reportedly seen by only some, not all, of the people present at the event’s location.
Marian apparitions are considered expressions of Mary’s ongoing motherly care for the Church. The understood purpose of each apparition is to draw attention to some aspect of the Christian message [this should say the “Mariology message – it is not Christian], given the needs of a particular time and place. Apparitions are often accompanied by other alleged supernatural phenomena, such as medical cures. However, such miraculous events are not considered the purpose of Marian apparitions, but exist primarily to validate and draw attention to the message…
…The Catholic Church believes that it is possible for actually-supernatural Marian apparitions to occur, but also believes that many claimed apparitions are fabricated by the seer or the result of something other than divine intervention. For this reason, the Catholic Church has a formal evaluation process established for assessing claimed apparitions.
Wikipedia
Our Lady of Guadalupe
World Map of the Apparitions of Mary
Putting Mary into Perspective…
I listen regularly to the “Prophecy Today” podcast and last week’s caught my attention as Dr. DeYoung had Michael Gendron, whom I’ve quoted often, speaking on Mary, her titles and apparitions….
Folks, all this “Mariology” or the veneration or worship of Mary is pure and simple idolatry and God hates idolatry!
We have the first 2 of the 10 Commandments that God clearly states that He is a jealous God….
3“You must not have any other god but me.
4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”
Exodus 20:3-6
Then after presenting all the laws to the Israelites as they’re about to enter the Promised Land, Joshua tells them…
“But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15 NLT
It’s Your Choice
You can continue to worship statues of dead people or you can worship and trust the One True God, Jesus Christ. You can keep on praying to dead people or pray to the living God, Jesus Christ.
You don’t need idols if you have a personal relationship with Jesus — and it’s yours for the asking!
People, Jesus didn’t suffer on the cross, die, then defeat death so we could have religion!
No! He died to take our sins away once and for all. Nothing we can do on our own can ever save us! Salvation is only THROUGH JESUS!
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
Pray this prayer humbly and wholeheartedly…
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Please forgive me. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and my life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. I surrender my whole life to you and I will follow you for the rest of my life. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Next Steps in Your New Walk with Jesus…
- Start reading the Bible daily to get to know God. If you don’t have one, I recommend the YouVersion, Bible.app and Through the Word app — both are free and have a lot of great Bible studies.
- Pray every day. Talk to God. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you daily.
- Find and join a Bible-believing church — preferably a non-denominational one and be baptized!
Jesus Christ is coming back soon! Are you ready?
Soli Deo Gloria — To God Alone Be the Glory!
