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Christ ascended to haven in Acts 1:9. Is there any biblical record of Mary, his earthly mother, being assumed to heaven as Catholics are taught to believe?

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Christ ascended to haven in Acts 1:9.  Is there any biblical record of Mary, his earthly mother, being assumed to heaven as Catholics are taught to believe? Empty Christ ascended to haven in Acts 1:9. Is there any biblical record of Mary, his earthly mother, being assumed to heaven as Catholics are taught to believe?

Post by Admin Tue Jan 26, 2016 3:44 am

NO—there is not any Biblical indication of Mary being assumed to heaven. What the Bible does teach us about Mary is this: (1) She was a woman, a normal human being of the female persuasion. Paul in writing to the Galatian church said this: But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law—Paul, Galatians 4:4. To be both fully human as well as fully divine, Jesus had to completely encompass both, which He did in the human through His normal human birth from Mary, and in the divine as being born of the Holy Spirit. We get that picture very clearly when Gabriel is speaking to Mary when he first announces her future: The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God—Luke 1:35. The word in the Greek translated as “overshadow” is EPISKIAZO (ep-ee-skee-ad^-zo); it comes from words that mean “to cast a shade upon” and “to envelop in a haze of brilliance, and it essentially points to God’s investing Himself in Mary by means of the Holy Spirit, resulting in the child they named Jesus. What we need to remember with Mary is this: Making her the perfect fit for God’s plans doesn’t make her perfect. The point is that God is performing an operation in which Mary is both conduit and partner, but never is she more than a human woman. This is only fitting, as Eve, the first woman, heard these words from God following the tragedy of sin in the Garden of Eden: And I will put enmity between you and the woman (Eve), and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel”—God speaking to Satan, Genesis 3:15. Jesus was the “offspring” to which God was referring. And during her praise of God during her visit with her cousin Elizabeth prior to her giving birth to the son who would later become John the Baptist, Mary focuses her entire attention on the work that God has done in her; it is nothing about her and all about Him: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers”—Mary, Luke 1:46-55. (2) Mary was seen by those around her as an ordinary woman living an ordinary wife. When Jesus was preaching and teaching in Nazareth during the course of His ministry, Matthew records the following reaction: Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous power?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him—Matthew 13:54-57a (also recorded in Mark 6:3). And (3) the Bible’s last mention of Mary is in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, where all of Christ’s disciples had gathered following His ascension—a call to gathering to which she was obedient to Christ’s final words along with all the others: “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high”—Jesus Christ, Luke 24:46-49. He reiterated this command at the beginning of the book of Acts: On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit”—Acts 1:4-5. And sure enough, Luke records: Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers—Acts 1:12-14. She was very much seen as simply another disciple—seeking to obey the Master and follow after Him. So, while Mary certainly was granted a singular honor, and will always occupy an incredibly unique position in the story of Jesus Christ, she herself was simply a woman, a human being—as consequentially impacted by sin and in need of a Savior as anyone else.

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