Part 3

The Blessed Virgin Mary in Scripture: A Response to Tim Staples

Jim Tetlow

Tim Staples argues that Mary was a perpetual virgin because Jesus entrusted Mary to John’s care before dying rather than Mary’s oldest remaining son. Therefore, Staples reasons that Jesus had no other family and Mary must be a perpetual virgin. This is biblically unfounded for a number of reasons:

• All central biblical doctrines are based on numerous Scripture references. Even difficult to comprehend teachings—such as the triune nature of God—are referenced repeatedly in Scripture.[1] Yet the Word of God is silent concerning Mary’s supposed perpetual virginity.
• The Bible states clearly, “‘Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?’”[2] These clear references to Jesus’ brothers and sisters in the context of his immediate family (namely, his legal father and mother) indicate they were actual brothers, not cousins.
• The Greek word for “brother” used in these passages is adelphos and is the normal word for blood brother. In fact, there is not a single example where adelphos is used for “cousin” in the New Testament. Staples is forced to reference the Old Testament in a desperate attempt to justify his argument. However, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek.
• Furthermore, there is a Greek word for “cousin”—anepsios—and it is used in Colossians 4:10 referring to “Mark the cousin of Barnabas.” As the word indicates, Mark and Barnabas were relatives rather than blood brothers. Never is this Greek word used to describe Jesus’ brothers.
• Because Jesus knows everything, and because his brother James would later become a believer, Staples argues that Jesus should have entrusted Mary to his eldest brother if he really had one. However Scripture states that Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him at that time.[3] Nor were his brothers or sisters present at the cross at his crucifixion.[4]
• Further, Jesus elevated his spiritual family above his natural family: “Then one said to him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with you.’ But he answered and said to the one who told him, ‘Who is my mother and who are my brothers?’ And he stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”[5]
• Jesus was fully human,[6] and he had a natural family.[7] It is unnatural and unbiblical for Mary and Joseph to abstain from normal marital sexual intercourse.[8]

Immaculate Conception?

The doctrine that Mary was preserved free from all stain of sin was not pronounced infallibly until 1854 by Pope Pius IX. This is another Catholic doctrine that has no direct biblical support. Staples writes, “Having seen Mary to be ‘the New Eve’ and ‘Ark of the Covenant,’ one can readily see that she would have been most fittingly immaculately conceived.” This assertion is unbiblical for several reasons:

• Jesus Christ is the only human born without the sin nature. This is the reason for the virgin birth. Jesus is the Father’s uniquely and “only begotten Son.”[9] God the Father placed Jesus in Mary’s womb miraculously.[10] This is said of Jesus alone.
• The fact that Jesus was sinless by nature and choice is one of the most documented facts in the entire Bible.[11] If Mary were sinless the Scriptures would state this repeatedly, yet there is not one direct reference to Mary being sinless by nature or choice.
• In fact, Scripture states emphatically that all have been confined under sin: “But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”[12] “For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one.’”[13]
• Mary was born naturally and therefore a descendent of Adam and Eve. Scripture states: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”[14] “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”[15] “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.”[16]

Staples rightly states that babies in the womb, young children, and the severely retarded have not committed personal sin. What he doesn’t explain is that there are many scriptures that indicate that those who are not yet accountable (those who have not yet chosen to sin) are covered by the grace of God and the blood of Jesus.[17] In contrast, Mary was of age and she clearly stated that God was her Savior.[18]

The Woman of Revelation 12

Staples bases much of his argument on the woman of Revelation 12 being Mary. When we think of a woman who gives birth to a male child who was to rule the nations, Mary naturally comes to mind. However, as we shall see, the context clearly indicates that Revelation 12 is speaking of Israel, not Mary.

Throughout the Book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit uses imagery from the Old Testament. In fact, Revelation has scores of allusions to the Old Testament.[19] Chapter 12 is no exception.

In studying the Old Testament, it is apparent that the “woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars” is a direct reference to Joseph’s dream recorded in the Book of Genesis. Here is Joseph’s dream:

[Joseph] dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” So he told it to his father [Israel] and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”[20]

Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Israel. From his dream we are shown that the sun, the moon, and the twelve stars represent Israel and his family. Israel—formerly called Jacob—had twelve sons from which emerge the twelve tribes of Israel. And it is through Israel’s seed that God promises to bring forth his Son—the Messiah—Jesus Christ.

In the Book of Genesis, God repeatedly promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) that “in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[21] This is a direct reference to the Messiah.

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.[22]

The apostle John, who authored Revelation, was a Jewish believer. He and his first-century audience would have surely understood that the sign of this woman refers back to Joseph’s dream and therefore represents Israel.

Israel Found in Revelation 7, 12, 14, and 21

In fact the entire context of the Book of Revelation demands this interpretation. For we see that prior to the Revelation 12 reference to Israel, John lists all twelve tribes of Israel by name in chapter 7. In this chapter the twelve tribes of Israel are listed and sealed by God for protection and salvation.

They appear again in Revelation 12—this time persecuted by, but protected from, the dragon. Then they appear in Revelation 14:1–5 as redeemed from the earth and singing before the throne of God.

Finally, to assure us that the woman is Israel, she appears once more at the end of the Book of Revelation—this time as the Lamb’s (Christ’s) bride coming down out of heaven:

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. … ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ … the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. … Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates … which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.[23]

Israel Is the Lord’s Wife

A review of the Old Testament will greatly enhance our understanding of these passages. In the Old Testament, Israel is often referred to as God’s wife:

• “For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; he is called the God of the whole earth.”[24]
• “‘Return, O backsliding children,’ says the Lord; ‘for I am married to you. I will take you … and I will bring you to Zion.’”[25]
• “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. … My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.[26]

These and other references confirm that the Lord’s wife is Israel.[27] This is the imagery that John receives depicting the true Israel as the Lord’s faithful and pure wife in Revelation 21.

In addition, Jesus (who is God) said, “I and my Father are one.”[28] Consequently, in the New Testament it is no surprise to see that Christ is also depicted as married to his church.[29] And God’s Word teaches that the church consists first of Jewish believers and then of Gentile believers.[30]

Therefore the Revelation 21 bride is the true Israel—consisting of Jewish and Gentile believers—united forever with the Lord. In contrast, nowhere in the Bible is Mary portrayed as the bride or wife of the Lord.

Israel Portrayed as a Woman in Labor

Further, Israel is repeatedly portrayed as a woman in labor. This is the imagery used in Revelation 12 to depict Israel’s birth pangs in the last days. These labor pains will usher in the return of the King of the Jews:

• “Before [Israel] was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child.”[31]
• “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor, the anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself.”[32]
• “Therefore he shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; then the remnant of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel.”[33]

These and other passages picture Israel laboring with birth pangs in the days preceding Christ’s return.[34]

God Isn’t Through with Israel

To further support that it is Israel to which God refers in Revelation 12, we must remember that during the Tribulation, God again deals with the nation Israel. Ezekiel 36–39, Daniel 9:24–27, Daniel 12, Zechariah 12–14, and many additional passages underscore this fact. The period described in Revelation 6–19 is even called the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob’s [a.k.a. Israel’s] trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.[35]

In addition, God spends three chapters in the Book of Romans (chapters 9–11) explaining that he is not through with Israel. These chapters conclude with God’s promise to deliver Israel in the last days: “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.’”[36] This agrees with the deliverance we see in the Book of Revelation.

Corroborating this fact, we find that the church is not mentioned once in Revelation 6–19.[37]

Revelation 12 Refers to Israel, Not Mary or the Church

There are additional clues that confirm that the Revelation 12 woman refers to Israel. For instance, Michael the archangel and his angels fight with the dragon and his angels, casting them down to the earth (Revelation 12:7–9).

It is no coincidence that Michael is identified as “the great prince who stands watch over the [Jewish people]” (Daniel 12:1). How fitting then it is to have Michael fighting on behalf of the people of Israel in Revelation 12?

Finally, the flood that the serpent spews out of his mouth to cause the woman to be carried away represents the antichrist’s persecution of the Jews during the Tribulation. Both Revelation 12:15–16 and Daniel 9:26 and 11:22 use the same imagery of a flood to represent the trouble and persecution that will come upon the nation during this period.

In fact the imagery of a flood signifying enemy forces against God’s people is used regularly in the Word of God.[38] Of course the flood of anti-Semitism is not new; it is found throughout the history of the Bible. Ever since God declared that he would bring forth his Savior through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and the nation of Israel, we find that over and over again “Satan stood up against Israel.”[39] The enemy will try once again to thwart God’s plan, but the Book of Revelation confirms his defeat.

It’s Israel, Not Mary

In summary, neither the immediate context nor the whole of Scripture support the position that Mary is the woman of Revelation 12. In contrast, the whole counsel of God’s Word reinforces that Revelation 12 is a picture of Israel in travail during the last days.

Not one of these reviewed Catholic Marian doctrines has direct biblical support. In contrast, every vital biblical doctrine is presented clearly in numerous passages. Therefore, these Marian doctrines go beyond what is written and must be rejected.

[2] Matthew 13:55–56. Cf. Mark 6:3; Matthew 12:46; Galatians 1:19.

[3] See John 7:5.

[4] See Matthew 28; Mark 15:40; Luke 23:49; John 19:25–27.

[5] Matthew 12:47–50.

[6] See John 1:14; Philippines 2:7–8; 1 John 4:2.

[7] See Matthew 1:25; 13:55–56; John 2:12.

[8] See Genesis 1:28; 1 Corinthians 7:1–7; Hebrew 13:4.

[9] John 1:14, 18; 3:16–18; 1 John 4:9.

[10] See Luke 1:35; 1 Corinthians 15:47; Hebrews 10:5.

[11] See Isaiah 53:9, 11; Luke 1:35; 4:34; 23:41; John 8:46; Acts 2:27; 3:14; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26; 1 Peter 1:19; 2:22; 1 John 2:1; 3:5.

[12] Galatians 3:22.

[13] Romans 3:9–10.

[14] 1 Corinthians 15:22.

[15] Romans 5:12.

[16] Romans 5:18.

[17] See Deuteronomy 1:39; 2 Samuel 12:22–23; Jonah 4:11; Matthew 18:2–3; 19:14; 1 John 2:2.

[18] Luke 1:47.

[19] See Chuck Missler, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary (Coeur d’Alene, Ida.: Koinonia House, 2005).

[20] Genesis 37:9–10.

[21] Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14.

[22] Galatians 3:16.

[23] Revelation 21:2, 9–12.

[24] Isaiah 54:5.

[25] Jeremiah 3:14.

[26] Jeremiah 31:31–32.

[27] See also Psalm 45:10–17; Jeremiah 6:2; Ezekiel 16:8–16; 32; Hosea 2:19–20.

[28] John 10:30.

[29] Matthew 22:2; John 3:29; Romans 7:4; 2 Corinthians 11:2–3; Ephesians 5:25–27, 32.

[30] Romans 1:16.

[31] Isaiah 66:7.

[32] Jeremiah 4:31.

[33] Micah 5:3.

[34] See also Isaiah 26:17–18; 66:7–13; Jeremiah 6:24; 13:21; Micah 4:9–10; Matthew 24:8.

[35] Jeremiah 30:7.

[36] Romans 11:26.

[37] The true church is removed prior to the Tribulation (Revelation 3:10; 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 5:9; 1 Corinthians 15:51–52).

[38] See 2 Samuel 22:5; Psalm 18:4; 69:1–2; Isaiah 8:7–8; 59:19; Jeremiah 46:7–9; 47:1–2.

[39] 1 Chronicles 21:1.

NEXT: Tim Staples responds to Jim Tetlow.