M
Muzhik
Guest
Shalom! And may the love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! I tend to be the lone Catholic voice on a number of end-times sites; some being more respectful than others. On one that I frequently contribute to, I had a link to a blog entry by Mark Mallett called “Times of the Trumpets.” My purpose in linking to this entry was to emphasize that the Time of Judgment is quickly approaching, and that many people were sensing this.
However, the end of the blog mentioned how on both his personal statue of Our Lady of Medjugorje and a much larger statue (at Medjugorje?) the left hand had been broken off. One person wrote back to me about the statue,
*"Then the Mary with her left arm broken off. I think in the Bible it’s the right hand of God which deals with executing and withholding judgment. So what I’m wondering is if the left hand has a different meaning?
He speculated that Mary’s left hand meant her intercessory relationship w/the Church would cease and that God would start cleaning house-Judgment.
But what if the left hand has a different meaning?"*
My reply:
*"In traditional royalty, the king holds the Staff or Rod that represents his power in his right hand. It’s this staff that is used to execute both judgment and mercy. If you ever watched “A Night With The King”, Esther should have been executed for coming into the king’s presence uninvited; however, she was spared because the king touched her with his staff, which he held in his right hand.
The queen (or queen mother, in the case of the Israelites) often acted as an intermediary between the people and the king. This is because the queen mother alone could enter the king’s presence without being summoned. She would be seated “at the king’s right hand.” In this case, her left hand is the hand that she would use to restrain the judgment of the king, by restraining the king’s right hand.
We believe that Mary, as the Queen Mother, has been restraining the judgment of the King, in order to save as many of her children as possible. That’s why the symbolism of Mary’s left hand being broken off means it is no longer ready and available to restrain the judgment of the King."*
Naturally, this invoked a number of posters to write about how un-biblical this is, how the left side in so many cultures is associated with evil, etc. I’m preparing a defense based upon books by two different Protestant authors, neither of whom is particularly enamored with the Catholic Church yet both of whom have written explanations of biblical topics that have supported different Catholic teachings, while at the same time stopping just short of saying the Catholic Church is right. Both of these authors make use of “types and shadows” in their works; i.e., different items or people in the Old Testament are of a particular “type” or a person or event is a “shadow” of something in the New Testament. The argument I’m developing to reply to these people are that if such-and-such is a “type” or “shadow” for Jesus, why can’t people like Bathsheba be a “type or shadow” of Mary (see 1 Kings 2:12-25)?
My question is, can anyone else think of a “type or shadow” in the Old Testament that could apply to Mary interceding for us?
<><
PS: the two books I referred to are “Unveiling Mysteries of the Bible” by Grant R. Jeffrey – very interesting for anyone interested in Biblical archeology; and “Unlocking God’s Secrets: Past, Present, and Future” by Bob Morley. Morley’s book is VERY interesting, as it offers a logical proof of the existence of G_D through the fulfilled prophecies of the Bible. The only problem I found so far (I’m only half-way through the book) is chapter 17, where he seems to believe that the Bible was translated from Greek into Latin to prevent the common people from reading it. Other than that, I highly recommend it to people who find themselves debating atheists or agnostics.
However, the end of the blog mentioned how on both his personal statue of Our Lady of Medjugorje and a much larger statue (at Medjugorje?) the left hand had been broken off. One person wrote back to me about the statue,
*"Then the Mary with her left arm broken off. I think in the Bible it’s the right hand of God which deals with executing and withholding judgment. So what I’m wondering is if the left hand has a different meaning?
He speculated that Mary’s left hand meant her intercessory relationship w/the Church would cease and that God would start cleaning house-Judgment.
But what if the left hand has a different meaning?"*
My reply:
*"In traditional royalty, the king holds the Staff or Rod that represents his power in his right hand. It’s this staff that is used to execute both judgment and mercy. If you ever watched “A Night With The King”, Esther should have been executed for coming into the king’s presence uninvited; however, she was spared because the king touched her with his staff, which he held in his right hand.
The queen (or queen mother, in the case of the Israelites) often acted as an intermediary between the people and the king. This is because the queen mother alone could enter the king’s presence without being summoned. She would be seated “at the king’s right hand.” In this case, her left hand is the hand that she would use to restrain the judgment of the king, by restraining the king’s right hand.
We believe that Mary, as the Queen Mother, has been restraining the judgment of the King, in order to save as many of her children as possible. That’s why the symbolism of Mary’s left hand being broken off means it is no longer ready and available to restrain the judgment of the King."*
Naturally, this invoked a number of posters to write about how un-biblical this is, how the left side in so many cultures is associated with evil, etc. I’m preparing a defense based upon books by two different Protestant authors, neither of whom is particularly enamored with the Catholic Church yet both of whom have written explanations of biblical topics that have supported different Catholic teachings, while at the same time stopping just short of saying the Catholic Church is right. Both of these authors make use of “types and shadows” in their works; i.e., different items or people in the Old Testament are of a particular “type” or a person or event is a “shadow” of something in the New Testament. The argument I’m developing to reply to these people are that if such-and-such is a “type” or “shadow” for Jesus, why can’t people like Bathsheba be a “type or shadow” of Mary (see 1 Kings 2:12-25)?
My question is, can anyone else think of a “type or shadow” in the Old Testament that could apply to Mary interceding for us?
<><
PS: the two books I referred to are “Unveiling Mysteries of the Bible” by Grant R. Jeffrey – very interesting for anyone interested in Biblical archeology; and “Unlocking God’s Secrets: Past, Present, and Future” by Bob Morley. Morley’s book is VERY interesting, as it offers a logical proof of the existence of G_D through the fulfilled prophecies of the Bible. The only problem I found so far (I’m only half-way through the book) is chapter 17, where he seems to believe that the Bible was translated from Greek into Latin to prevent the common people from reading it. Other than that, I highly recommend it to people who find themselves debating atheists or agnostics.