The feet.
One of the most stunning observations of renowned Catholic Priest and scholar Father Shannon Collins has to do with the iconography of the false apparitions in Medjugorje. Father Collins, a brilliant priest whose work is all over the place in catholic teaching media, observed that all but the very latest iconography of the false Medjugorje "gospa" concealed the feet. This is a striking and important detail that true Catholics have to be mindful of.
It has been reported that Padre Pio once revealed that the foot- the cloven hoof- was the only feature the devil could not disguise. This would make sense as a tool is discerning false apparitions from real ones.
Medjugorje, which is obviously false, conceals the foot and the real identity of the Medjugorje "Gospa". I once believed that the Medjugorje "gospa" was a demon. Now I believe it is the devil, himself because the work of Medjugorje is so important to his mission.
In a true apparition of Mary, you see those feet and you see them crushing the serpent's head. As Father Collins points out, the feet of the Medjugorje gospa protect the serpent.
Back to Genesis.
If there is one Bible verse we have to get right to understand end-times events, it is Genesis 3:15.
15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. |
The enemy relationships that are made are two;
Between the serpent and the woman.
Between the offspring of the serpent and the offspring of the woman.
First, let confront the etymology. Haydock's Bible commentary certainly upholds Jerome's translation as the probable one.
Ver. 15. She shall crush. Ipsa, the woman: so divers of the fathers read this place, conformably to the Latin: others read it ipsum, viz. the seed. The sense is the same: for it is by her seed, Jesus Christ, that the woman crushes the serpent's head. (Challoner) --- The Hebrew text, as Bellarmine observes, is ambiguous: He mentions one copy which had ipsa instead of ipsum; and so it is even printed in the Hebrew interlineary edition, 1572, by Plantin, under the inspection of Boderianus.
Whether the Jewish editions ought to have more weight with Christians, or whether all the other manuscripts conspire against this reading, let others inquire. The fathers who have cited the old Italic version, taken from the Septuagint agree with the Vulgate, which is followed by almost all the Latins; and hence we may argue with probability, that the Septuagint and the Hebrew formerly acknowledged ipsa, which now moves the indignation of Protestants so much, as if we intended by it to give any divine honour to the blessed Virgin.
We believe, however, with St. Epiphanius, that "it is no less criminal to vilify the holy Virgin, than to glorify her above measure." We know that all the power of the mother of God is derived from the merits of her Son. We are no otherwise concerned about the retaining of ipsa, she, in this place, that in as much as we have yet no certain reason to suspect its being genuine. As some words have been corrected in the Vulgate since the Council of Trent by Sixtus V. and others, by Clement VIII. so, if, upon stricter search, it be found that it, and not she, is the true reading, we shall not hesitate to admit the correction: but we must wait in the mean time respectfully, till our superiors determine.
(Haydock) Kemnitzius certainly advanced a step too far, when he said that all the ancient fathers read ipsum. Victor, Avitus, St. Augustine, St. Gregory, & . mentioned in the Douay Bible, will convict him of falsehood. Christ crushed the serpent's head by his death, suffering himself to be wounded in the heel. His blessed mother crushed him likewise, by her co-operation in the mystery of the Incarnation; and by rejecting, with horror, the very first suggestions of the enemy, to commit even the smallest sin. (St. Bernard, ser. 2, on Missus est.) "We crush," says St. Gregory, Mor. 1. 38, "the serpent's head, when we extirpate from our heart the beginnings of temptation, and then he lays snares for our heel, because he opposes the end of a good action with greater craft and power." The serpent may hiss and threaten; he cannot hurt, if we resist him. (Haydock Bible commentary)
If taken in sheer isolation, the evidence shows that Jerome probably got it right. This is especially true given his extensive knowledge of Hebrew and Greek.
However, mere isolation only hinges on one word. Is it Ipsa or Ipsum? If the entire case ends there, we arrive at no definitive proof in either direction, on the question.
Since there is such a conflict, it is helpful to look at the construction of the sentence.
15 I (God)
will put enmities between thee (The serpent)
and the woman (Mary),
and thy seed (the antichrist)
and her seed: (Mary's children)
? shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for ? heel.
There are two radical, yet often overlooked parts to this. The first is the radical notion of the seed of a woman. Nowhere else in scripture do we encounter this. The seed is produced by the man. Yet in the protoevangelium, we are told that the seed would come from the woman. This prophesizes that Jesus would be conceived and born with no human father.
The second is that the seed or offspring of the woman is plural.
4690 sperma {sper'-mah} from 4687; TDNT - 7:536,1065; n n 1) from which a plant germinates 1a) the seed i.e. the grain or kernel which contains within itself the germ of the future plants 1a1) of the grains or kernels sown 1b) metaph. a seed i.e. a residue, or a few survivors reserved as the germ of the next generation (just as seed is kept from the harvest for the sowing) 2) the semen virile 2a) the product of this semen, seed, children, offspring, progeny 2b) family, tribe, posterity 2c) whatever possesses vital force or life giving power 2c1) of divine energy of the Holy Spirit operating within the soul by which we are regenerated |
Strong's concordance, source: faith Database.
We will get back to that in a moment.
First, we must confront the basic construction of the sentence to see that the protestant position is untenable.
First, it is God (The "I" in the sentence) that is creating these enemy relationships. God is already at enmity with the serpent, at this point. I will make establishes that these are 2 enemy relationships that will be created post-Eden.
The first is undeniably between the Serpent and the Woman. The second, we will deal with in just a bit.
The construction of the sentence is clear. Party A is the serpent. That is who God is addressing as Thee (or you). Party B is the Woman God is telling us will be the enemy of Party A. Party C is the offspring of the Serpent and party D is the offspring of the woman. Theirs is a separate enmity.
When God says your head will be crushed by _____, we can directly understand that your head means the devil's head. This does not need to be explained to us, we can infer it from the sentence. Likewise, the answer would follow, from a grammatical standpoint, that if the you whose head is being crushed is the devil, then it is being crushed by the one he is at war with. The passage clearly shows that it's the woman.
Since the word citing gender is dependent on the subject, grammar demands that the subject here is the woman.
Otherwise, you are left with:
I will put enmity between A and B and between C and D. C will crush A's head.
You have to do violence to the sentence to arrive at that conclusion.
So even if the manuscript evidence of the particular word is inconclusive, the structure of the sentence demands Ipsa (she).
Further evidence for the protestant view?
There literally isn't any.
The entire protestant case rests upon the subjective conclusion that to use ''her'' gives Mary an improper elevation. It is ideology imposed on the text.
Further evidence for the Catholic view?
Much. This includes the whole context of scripture.
Consider Psalm 45 (RSV)
1: My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
2: You are the fairest of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you for ever.
3: Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty!
4: In your majesty ride forth victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds!
5: Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.
6: Your divine throne endures for ever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;
7: you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows;
8: your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
No protestant would fail to recognize this as a prophecy of Jesus.
We would agree.
Protestants are deeply troubled when confronted with verses 9-17.
9: daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10: Hear, O daughter, consider, and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house;
11: and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
12: the people of Tyre will sue your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
13: with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
14: in many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions, her escort, in her train.
15: With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
16: Instead of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
17: I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever.
Who is this queen in gold at the King's right hand side (the side of power) ? (v9)
She bows down to her lord (v11)
Her name will be blessed for all generations (Luke 1:48).
Even her ''fathers" shall be her sons and will be made the princes of the earth.
Who is this Queen? Who is her Lord? Who are her sons?
Catholics know because we understand Genesis 3:15.
In the Old Testament we see references to the Queen Mother (Jeremiah 29:2 for example). The Queen Mother was the mother of the Davidic King.
In 1st Kings 2, we see a fascinating example of this on display.
In verse 12, Solomon sits on the throne of his father David. Solomon is the king.
In verses 13- 17, we see Adonijah, the brother of the king approaching with a petition. However, Adonijah does not place his petition with the king but with the Queen Mother who is both mother to the king and Adonijah.
Wait? The Queen is mother to both the king and the servant?
We will revisit that later.
First, we must deal with v 17 written in plain King James english.
17 And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. |
I pray thee?
Pray?????
Here, from the King James Bible is proof that to pray means to ask, not to worship. Clearly, Adonijah is not worshipping his mother but asking her to intercede to the king who is also her son.
Let's read on.
In verse 18, Bathsheba promises to speak to the king on Adonijah's behalf.
Then we see the next stunning details.
In verse 19, the king bows to her. Bows to her? The King bows to the Queen?
Once again, not worship. Merely respect. Just like when Catholics bow when praying to a saint.
Then, the king places her on a throne at his right hand. Exactly as we see in the psalm. In verse 20, the word pray is again used.
The seamless fabric
Catholics understand all of this because we see scripture as a seamless fabric and not as a succession of broken proof texts.
Solomon is not Jesus and Bathsheba is not Mary but the King and Queen are typologies. They are models of what the true Davidic kingdom will look like.
In Luke 1:32 we see that Jesus will be both the Son of Mary and her King as He will sit on the Davidic throne. That makes Mary the Queen and it makes her His mother and the mother of the true believer. On this point, Scripture is manifestly clear.
Matthew 12: 46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.[a] 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
John 19: 25 So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Mag′dalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
There are 2 things to understand about John's passage here.
First, the language John uses states that Jesus said to the beloved disciple. "behold your mother". The turn of phrase is inspired. It means this applies to all of us.
Second, Mary lived with John until her death. Tradition has it that that was about 11 years. He would have learned much.
However, he learned even more when he was literally taken to heaven and saw it all play out in vivid signs.
The first sign is seen in Revelation 11:19- 12:1 where John identifies Mary as the (true) Ark of the Covenant seen in God's temple. In the same verses, he shows her as the Queen with a crown of 12 stars (for both the 12 tribes and 12 apostles)
In v 2 we see she is with child.
In v 3-4, we see the serpent of Genesis 3 in the form of a great red dragon at the ready to devour her child as soon as she gives birth.
In v 5, we see that she gives birth to the foretold Messiah (Psalm 2), destined to both rule earth and reign in heaven as God.
This sign of the mortal Queen who even angels and saints would be under is the very cause of the rebellious war in heaven seen in verses 7-10.
The dragon is defeated in v11 by the woman's Son, the lamb of God, and the martyrs.
The dragon, thus defeated and humiliated sets off to wage war against who? The woman and her children who are the true believers in God.
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. And he stood[a] on the sand of the sea.
Now we come to the real reason why protestants don't want to see Mary as the head crusher in Genesis 3 or the Woman of Revelation 12, even though it's obvious that they are wrong.
As soon as you admit that these passages show Mary, you must admit that the children of Mary (Catholics) are the true believers.
The witness of history.
Contrary to the false doctrine of Sola Scriptura, God has never stopped proclaiming the truths of His church by miracles. This is why church approved Marian apparitions are such important sources of consolation and confirmation for many devout Catholics. It is also why only about 2 dozen of the nearly 3,000 alleged events have been approved.
The overwhelming majority are false. This includes the proven frauds at places like Conyers, Georgia, Bayside, New York, Naju, South Korea, Amsterdam, Necedah, Wisconsin, Garabandal, Spain, San Damiano, Italy and the current demonic mess occurring in Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina.
The ones that are true are usually accompanied with undeniable signs and miracles.
Examples include:
The miraculous Tilma in Guadalupe
The miraculous spring in Lourdes.
The documented miracle of the Sun in Fatima.
The miraculous snow in Rome on August 5th
The miracles associated with the Miraculous medal (above)
In the image of the miraculous medal, you see those feet of Mary on the head of the serpent, crushing his head.
One more thing all the approved events do not have? A negative judgement. Not one. There is not one negative judgement, by a Bishop or by the Vatican against any approved event. Medjugorje has 4 of them.
Improper elevation of Mary?
Those who claim that the claim that Mary crushing the serpent's head places her above Jesus have a problem with scripture.
Romans 16: 20 then the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.[b]
Are we above Jesus too?
No. You have missed the point. We are all involved in the work of crushing Satan's head. Not for our glory but for his humiliation.
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