1. Old Testament Queenship –
Mary prefigured
2. The Bible proclaims Mary as Mother of the King, Spouse
of the King and Daughter of the King
3. But surely “Queen of Heaven” was a pagan
title used of Isis and Ishtar. It’s use must be unchristian.
OLD TESTAMENT QUEENSHIP - MARY PREFIGURED
1Ki:9:5: Then I will establish the throne of
thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised
to David thy father, saying, There shall not
fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
Ac:2:30: Therefore (King David) being a prophet,
and knowing that God had sworn with an
oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins,
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to
sit on his throne;
Lu:1:30-35: And
the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And,
behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name
JESUS. He shall be great,
and shall be called
the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall
give unto him
the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob
for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Jesus is the Messianic King pre-figured in the ancient and Godly Kingship of David and Solomon.
At the time of the historic Israel, next to the throne of the King was a second throne. Many would assume that the second
throne belonged to the wife of the King, but in Israel it belonged
to the mother of the king. In Aramaic the word "Gebirah" means Queen
Mother. Gebirah was the official title of the Queen Mother, and was a position of authority and honour. Her roles were advisor to the king, and advocate of the people;
anyone who had a petition or sought an audience with the King did so through her. This was so when Adonijah cunningly
sought a high-ranking bride from Solomon:
1 Kings 2: 17-21: So he continued, "Please ask King Solomon - he will not refuse you - to give me Abishag the Shunammite
as my wife. "Very well," Bathsheba replied, "I will speak to the king for you." When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak
to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought
for the king's mother, and she sat down at his right hand.
The king of Israel, the son of David, the supreme head of
God's covenant people in the whole world, according to Psalm 2 stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his
throne and he had a throne brought for the king's mother and she sat down at his right hand. "Sit at my right hand," Psalm 110. That's the position of authority.
The special status of the Queen Mother remained throughout the time that the Kingdoms of Israel
and Judah endured:
Jeremiah 13:18: Say to the king and to the queen mother, "Come down from your thrones for your glorious crowns will
fall from your heads." The cities of the Negev will be shut up and there will be no-one to open them. All Judah will be carried
into exile, carried completely away.
But look at the beginning of the institution of the gebirah.
It's something that continues. When the Queen Mother walks in, the king, because he is her son, pays filial homage to her
and establishes her at his right hand, upon a throne as Queen Mother. That institution persisted down through the ages of
the Judaite monarchy. There is no evidence of it ever being suppressed by the prophets or criticized by Yahweh or ever falling
into hard times and being replaced because it was seen as something that was meaningless.
The Gebirah was a trusted advisor to the King:
Proverbs 31.1: The sayings of King Lemuel - an oracle his mother taught him: " Verses 2 to 9 continue with
specific advice on being a good ruler.
See also 1 Kings 15.13 and 2 Kings 10:13; 12:1; 14:2; 15.33; 22.1
"The Queen Mother throughout all these ancient Near Eastern
monarchies sat beside the king on a throne, survived the death without being deposed. If the king died, the Queen Mother continued
to reign without being deposed. There was a cultic role for her in leading the songs and so on in worship but also she had
an essential role in political, military and economic affairs of court.
Psalm 45:9 - the psalmist teaches that the Queen stands at the right hand of God. The role of the
Queen is important in God's kingdom. Mary the Queen of heaven is at the right hand of the Son of God.
1 Kings 2:17, 20 - in the Old Testament Davidic kingdom, the King does not refuse his mother. Jesus
is the new Davidic King, and He does not refuse the requests of his mother Mary, the Queen.
1 Kings 2:18 - in the Old Testament Davidic kingdom, the Queen intercedes on behalf of the King's
followers. She is the Queen Mother (or "Gebirah"). Mary is our eternal Gebirah.
1 Kings 2:19 - in the Old Testament Davidic kingdom the King bows down to his mother and she sits
at his right hand. We, as children of the New Covenant, should imitate our King and pay the same homage to Mary our Mother.
By honoring Mary, we honor our King, Jesus Christ.
1 Kings 15:13 - the Queen Mother is a powerful position in Israel's royal monarchy. Here the Queen
is removed from office. But now, the Davidic kingdom is perfected by Jesus, and our Mother Mary is forever at His right hand.
2 Chron. 22:10 - here Queen Mother Athalia destroys the royal family of Judah after she sees her
son, King Ahaziah, dead. The Queen mother plays a significant role in the kingdom.
Neh. 2:6 - the Queen Mother sits beside the King. She is the primary intercessor before the King.
The Books of Kings & Chronicles in the Old Testament shows the Kings being known by the names
of their mothers, obviously because the mother of the King was the Queen as Bathsheba was in Solomon’s time. (See Endnote)
As for Mary's Queenship, that's not even a question for orthodox Christians who have any understanding
of the Old Testament. In OT times, the Queen of Israel was not the King's wife (because the king had many wives -- a harem),
but rather his mother:
2 Kings 10:13 -- " ' We are kinsmen of Ahaziah,' they replied.
'We are going down to visit the princes and the family of the queen mother."
Song of Songs (Songs of Solomon) 3:11 --"Daughters of Jerusalem,
come forth and look upon King Solomon. In the crown which his mother has crowned
him, on the day of his marriage, on the day of the joy of his heart."
Jeremiah 13:18 -- "Say to the king and to the queen mother: 'Come down from your throne.' "
1 Kings 15:13 -- "He also deposed Maacah from her position
as queen mother."
If Christ is the legitimate Messianic King of the true Israel (the Church / Heaven), then Mary is
the Queen Mother. This is what the ancient Church believed, and we can multiply examples in the patristic witness, if anyone
is interested.
In Matthew's Gospel especially, we find Jesus portrayed as the
royal Son of David and Mary as queen mother. The Wise Men, for example, traveled far to find the Child King with his mother.
We find the mother of the Son of David portrayed in a similar way in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 12. There she is shown
to be crowned with 12 stars, for the 12 tribes of Israel. The New Testament writers, you see, were careful to show us Mary's
important place in the kingdom, and how we should love and honor her.
Jesus is the Son of David and the genealogy in Matthew links
Mary to the Davidic line. Being the Son of David makes her the Queen Mother." So the Jews who had been waiting and waiting
and waiting for five hundred years for the Davidic line to be reestablished at the time of Christ's coming knew all this.
God had sworn an oath that there would always be a Davidic king and that the kingdom of David would be restored in its former
glory, and in fact, greater glory.
So for centuries and centuries the Jewish people keep reading
Psalm 2, keep reading Psalm 89, keep reading Psalm 110, keep reading Psalm 132 and all these other Davidic Messianic psalms
that promised an ongoing, unbroken line of Davidic succession and glorious, glorious power.
In the Davidic Kingdom, the head was obviously the King, who is now Christ. Second to the
King was the Queen Mother. If you remember from 2 Kings, King Solomon would bow to and obey his mother Queen Bathsheba. Mutual
honor and obedience was given between the King and the Queen Mother, but ultimately the King was the head of the kingdom.
Mary has been given the honor of being Christ's Queen Mother as demonstrated by her heavenly queenship in Revelations 12.
Just as in the Davidic kingdom, our mother sits at the right of the King
In Scriptural terms therefore, just as Jesus's Messianic Kingship is prefigured in the role of King
of Israel, so Mary's role is prefigured in that of the Gebirah. The existence of this rare and unusual institution in Israel
and Judah is providential. It reflects and prefigures the Messianic order. Mary is Heavenly Queen Mother, because her son
Jesus is the Heavenly King.
Hebrews says, the OT is a shadow of things to come in the NT. Eg A new perfect King, A new perfect
sacrifice, new perfect High Priest, a new heavenly Temple, a new altar, a new Adam, 12 new chief elders the apostles, then
why not a New perfect Queen mother in the ‘restored Davidic Kingdom.
The
Bible proclaims Mary as the Mother of the King, the Spouse of the King and the Daughter of the King
Mary is the daughter of the Father; therefore she is the
daughter of God. Mary is the spouse of the Spirit; therefore she is the spouse of God. And of course, Mary is the mother of
Jesus therefore Mary is the mother of God. This is highlighted in Psalm 45. Psalm 45, is the Psalm of the "King and the Queen"
The first 9 verses talks about the King... the last 9 verses are like a "riddle": It says, the Queen
is the "mother" of the King, the Spouse of the King, and the daughter of the King... who is she?... Virgin Mary is the Mother
of Jesus, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and the favored daughter of the Father... and, in the last verse of the Psalm, says
a prophecy about the Queen that is exactly the one made about Virgin Mary in Luk.1:48, "all generations will call me blessed"
The Bible makes a prophecy about Mary in Luke 1:48: "For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed". It is the same prophecy made by the Holy Spirit in Psalm 45, the Psalm of the King and the
Queen, in the last verse says: "I will cause your name to be celebrated
in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever". This
prophecy has been fulfilled during the last 2000 years, and in superabundance! Millions of persons pray the Rosary daily,
to praise the Mother of Jesus, including the Popes, the Cardinals, the thousands of bishops, the millions of pastors and priests
and deacons and nuns, during every day for the last 2000 years, and millions of faithful laymen Christians... and every day
that legion increases, praise God. In fact, every second literally, of every day, for the last 2000 years, some one has been
repeating the words of the Bible in some part of the world, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb, Jesus"... the prophecy has been, and it is being fulfilled right now.
BUT SURELY "QUEEN OF HEAVEN" WAS A PAGAN
TITLE, USED OF ISIS AND ISHTAR. IT'S USE MUST BE UNCHRISTIAN.
This is a thoroughly bogus argument. There are a great many Pagan titles, and most make use of common
forms of words. "King of Kings" was a title used by many Pagan Gods. So was "Son of God" and "Lord". Jupiter was titled King
of Heaven.
There is, however, as we have seen, an abundance of biblical proof that Mary's Queenship is both
proper, and scripturally based
Endnote
Verses showing Kings being known by their mother’s names and, the mother of the
King and not the wife of the King was the ‘Queen’.
1Ki:15:13: And also Maachah
his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa
destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
2Ch:15:16: And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol,
and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. (The mother of King Asa is said to be the Queen’)
Song:3:11: Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
2Ch:12:13: So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and
forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out
of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
2Ch:13:2: He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel
of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
2Ch:20:31: And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty
and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And
his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
2Ch:22:2: Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to
reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
2Ch:24:1: Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and
he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2Ch:25:1: Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began
to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2Ch:26:3: Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign,
and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
2Ch:27:1: Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began
to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.
2Ch:29:1: Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty
years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
1Ki:14:21: And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen
years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
1Ki:14:31: And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried
with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
1Ki:15:2: Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
1Ki:15:10: And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his
mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of
Abishalom.
1Ki:22:42: Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he
began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
2Ki:8:26: Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began
to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.
2Ki:12:1: In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign;
and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2Ki:14:2: He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign,
and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2Ki:15:2: Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and
he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.
2Ki:15:33: Five and twenty years old was he when he began to
reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
2Ki:18:2: Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign;
and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.
2Ki:21:1: Manasseh was
twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem.
And his mother's name was Hephzi-bah.
2Ki:21:19: Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
2Ki:22:1: Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.
2Ki:23:31: Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began
to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2Ki:23:36: Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began
to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.
2Ki:24:8: Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to
reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
2Ki:24:18: Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began
to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
Jer:52:1: Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began
to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
