We have heard about Mother Mary as the New Rachel, because Jesus is the new Joseph in the New Testament. The Old Testament Rachel is Mother Mary, just like the New Testament Eve is Mother Mary. There are many preshadows of this kind in the Old Testament. The Old Testament itself is a preshadow; for example, Israel, the whole of Israel, in the Old Testament is identified as ‘one person’. God calls Israel his first born. That is the reason all the enemies of Israel were destroyed or killed. God said not one should be living, all should be killed. If Christianity is a religion of peace, love, and forgiveness, then what is the meaning of killing and murder in the Old Testament?

Remember, if we consider the whole Old Testament as a preshadow and Israel considered as one person, then the enemies of Israel are the preshadows of the evil spirits—the spirits of temptation, lust, anger, hatred, and revenge. The New Testament is a message for all of us living in the presence of all the spirits of this world. We have to destroy these spirits and eliminate the powers of evil completely. No connection with evil should be permitted in our family. That is why in the Old Testament, God tells Israel, “Don’t take anything that belongs to the enemies, nothing should be kept with you. If you keep anything of the enemy, that person should be cut off, because it is dangerous.” What does it mean? God is not talking about eliminating human beings but eliminating evil spirits from us.

As individual human beings, we are always being attacked by the enemies of pride, gluttony, and lust. When all these enemies come in different forms of attraction, don’t compromise in any way. God said to destroy them completely. We have to understand the Old Testament from the eyes of the New Testament as we read it, else there will be a big problem. We may interpret the Old Testament in a wrong way, just like some modern religions are interpreting and speaking about Jihad and eliminating human beings. That is not what the bible speaks about. There are numerous connections that we have to understand between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

To understand New Testament theology, the Church, Mother Mary, and Jesus, we need to understand the Old Testament in its proper sense.

The Queen Mother

According to Jewish understanding, if there is a king, there should be a queen. So, who is the queen? Is it not the wife of the king who is supposed to be the queen? But the mother of the king is considered the queen. There is a special place for the mother, the queen mother, and she is seated on the right side of the king. In the Old Testament, if it was difficult to get something from the king, they would approach the queen mother. If the queen mother would request the king, then the king would not refuse his mother. This is a tradition which is quoted in the bible.

In order to understand this clearly, let’s read 2 Samuel 7:13, “He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

Through Prophet Nathan, God told David that his kingdom will last forever. You will not build a temple for me, but your son will build a temple for me. It was not Solomon, but Jesus himself. It was Jesus, son of David, who built the temple for God and Jesus himself is that temple. This means that the Davidic throne, i.e. the kingdom of David, will last forever. The kingdom of Israel will last forever. If we look at today’s Israel, we don’t see any throne or kingdom of David, but in the Church, we can see this kingdom of David, the seat of Moses, we can see that the authority of David is continued in the Church, the mystical body of Christ, which is the New Testament temple, and this kingdom will last forever.

Angel Gabriel came and told Mother Mary at the Annunciation in Luke 1:32, “He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.”

This specifically tells us that Jesus is not just 100% prophet but that Jesus is a king who sits on the throne of David. So, let us read what happened to the throne of David and the throne of Solomon and the role of the mother of Solomon. Remember when David was king, his mother was not alive (she had died), so there was no queen mother.

Relation between the King and the Queen

When David was king, Bathsheba was his wife. One day Bathsheba came to meet the king. Let’s see what she did.

1 Kings 1:16-17 – “Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king, and the king said, ‘What do you wish?’ She said to him, ‘My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying: Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne.’”

Here, Bathsheba, the wife of the king, is honouring the king. The king is a very important position; the wife is at a lower position. The position of the wife in the kingdom of Israel is not powerful. The queen mother is more powerful.

Bathsheba is pleading with David to make Solomon the king. Later, David made Solomon the king. When Solomon became king, there was a mother, and that mother was Bathsheba, and so naturally, she became the queen mother.

Relation between the Queen Mother and Others

Let us read 1 Kings 2:13 onwards. “Then Adonijah, son of Haggith, came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ He said, ‘Peaceably.’” Adonijah is the enemy of the king.

1 Kings 2:14-16 – “Then he said, ‘May I have a word with you?’” Adonijah is addressing the queen mother with all respect.

She said, “Go on.” He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel expected me to reign; however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord. And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” BecauseAdonijah is afraid to go to Solomon, he comes to the queen mother and pleads that his request is heard.

1 Kings 2:17 – “He said, ‘Please ask King Solomon…’ You please intercede for me in front of King Solomon. Bathsheba becomes a powerful intercessor, because she is the queen mother. Once you have the position of queen mother, you are the most powerful intercessor in that whole country. ‘…He will not refuse you…’ This part is added and everyone is aware of this sentence. In Israel, they all know that the king will not refuse the queen mother anything. That is the tradition of Israel, that is what they all believed and what happened always. ‘…to give me Abishag, the Shunammite, as my wife.’” This was his request.

1 Kings 2:18 – “Bathsheba said, ‘Very well; I will speak to the king on your behalf.’” Bathsheba gives Adonijah the assurance that she will speak to King Solomon on his behalf.

Relation between the Queen Mother and the King

1 Kings 2:19 – “So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The King rose to meet her and bowed down to her.” All bowing down is not adoration. Bowing down in front of Mother Mary is not adoration; it’s also honouring and veneration. Just because Catholics are bowing down in front of Mother Mary, don’t be disturbed. We are not adoring Mother Mary, we never adore or worship Mother Mary, we only honour and venerate Mother Mary. We honour her just like Solomon honoured Bathsheba and all the apostles honoured Mother Mary. We too honour Mother Mary and exalt her. Just imagine, Jesus is the King of heaven and earth. If Jesus is the king of the New Israel, just like Solomon sitting on the throne of David, Jesus is also sitting on the same throne of David. If Solomon’s mother Bathsheba was the queen mother, then Jesus’ mother, Mother Mary is the queen mother. When Bathsheba came in the presence of the king, the king honoured Bathsheba, the queen mother. If so, Jesus is more powerful, more full of wisdom, and holier than King Solomon, and in every sense better than Solomon. Surely, Jesus will get up from his seat and honour Mother Mary, because there is the fourth commandment given by Abba Father—honour your father and mother. Jesus will obey this commandment 100%. Therefore, surely according to the word of God, according to the tradition of the royal family of Israel, and according to the throne of King David, Jesus, the new king sitting on the same throne, will get up from his seat and honour the queen mother, Mother Mary. “Then he sat on his throne, and had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.” There is a special seat for the king’s mother—at the right of the king. That is the place of Mother Mary, the queen mother. She is sitting at the right of Jesus. At the right hand of the heavenly father is Jesus, and at the right hand of Jesus is Mother Mary. This is all biblical.

How do we know that Mother Mary knows this already? Did she know all these things? Did she know when she was alive here on the earth? Did she know what is her position? The angels came and gave her a revelation. It was not just two or three sentences that she got to know; she knew the whole mystery. The whole mystery of salvation was revealed to Mother Mary, and she accepted it wholeheartedly and she was pondering over it everyday. Did she know she is sitting on a throne? Did she know the royal connection? Did she know that she is in the highest position? In the tradition, it is mentioned that she knew.

Let’s take the bible passage in Luke 1:46-47, “And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour!’” Protestants and other denominations say that Mother Mary had a saviour. If Mother Mary is without original sin, then why does she need a saviour? What does the Catholic Church believe? Everyone needs a saviour. We all are saved through the sanctifying grace, not only us but those who came into the world before and after Jesus Christ needed a saviour. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, all the patriarchs needed a saviour, and Jesus is the saviour. And what happened to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all of them? They were saved by Jesus after their death. We are saved by Jesus before our death, after our birth. Our salvation comes through the sacraments. So, our salvation already starts through the sacraments before our death. The patriarchs who lived before Jesus Christ were saved through sanctifying grace after their death. They met Jesus face to face and were saved through Jesus Christ. As New Testament people, we are saved even when we are alive, before our death, by accepting and following Jesus. But in the case of Mother Mary, through singular sanctifying grace, she was saved by Jesus Christ before her birth.

Everything is possible: When Mother Mary asked the angel, “How is it possible?” The angel said, “All things are possible for God.” She was saved before her birth, and that is why even before the Crucifixion of Jesus, Mother Mary called Jesus ‘My saviour!’. She was prevented from being contaminated by original sin through the precious blood of Jesus. Therefore, she can also claim and she also claimed that Jesus is her saviour. There is nothing wrong in it. We call Jesus our saviour because Jesus died for us.

Luke 1:48 – “For he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.”

Who is his servant? Mother Mary. She is so lowly and she is so humble. God looked with favour on her. She is thinking about herself, her position, her honour, and what she received from heaven, and she said “Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.” Why? Mother Mary knew what is her position. According to the history of the bible, the kings and queens are called blessed for all generations. All normal people are not called blessed forever. They are blessed only when they are alive. After that they are not remembered, but the kings and queens are called blessed forever according to Jewish understanding. Let us readPsalms 45:16-17, “In the place of ancestors, you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore, the peoples will praise you forever and ever.”

Luke 1:48-52 – “For he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is his name.” These are not ordinary things but great things, and what are these great things? “His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.” Now Mother Mary is speaking about a royal connection—thrones. A throne is only for the royal family. Mother Mary says he brought down the powerful from their thrones. Many people were thinking about themselves sitting on the throne, the most powerful throne. God brought them down and lifted the lowly one to the throne. This means that Mother Mary, as a lowly one, knew that God the Father has lifted her to the heavenly throne, and hence, the royal connection here.

Luke 1:48-53 – “He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” So, these are the connections that we can find. In the New Testament, even Mother Mary knew that she is the queen mother. There is also another mention in the New Testament about Mother Mary as the queen. Revelations 12:1 onwards – “A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” A portent means a sign. A great sign appeared in heaven, and the twelve stars symbolise the 12 tribes of Israel. This means that she is the queen of the New Israel, the people of God. Who is this woman? This is about Mother Mary. How do we know that this is Mother Mary? The Protestants and other denominations do notconsider the woman as Mother Mary but as the Church. But we know that the Church did not give birth to Jesus. It was Jesus who brought the Church. We know that this woman gave birth to Jesus—‘the lamb’. If so, how can we consider this woman as the Church? Do you think the Church gave birth to Jesus? The woman mentioned here is Mother Mary herself. How do we know? There is a prophecy about the Messiah in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 7:10-11 – “Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, ‘Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.’” The prophet is asking for a sign from the Lord so powerful. I need a sign.

Isaiah 7:12-14 – “But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.’” We already know that there is a sign in heaven (Revelations 12:1). In Isaiah 7:14, it is mentioned that the Lord himself will give a sign. What is the sign? “Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and you shall name him Immanuel.”

So, we can see a mother and child is the sign from heaven. In Revelations, the mother and son is a sign from heaven. Who is the mother? Mother Mary. Who is the son? Immanuel. Are you a Protestant reading this? I guess you may have to question what you believe. Challenge what you believed all these years. Study the bible. Listen to the truth. Please don’t be carried away by a wrong message.

When we are ready and open to the truth, we will find the truth. However, if we are already controlled by lies and don’t want to change, then we will never know the truth.

Transcribed by Durriya Alphonso