Mary said, "My spirit has rejoiced in God, my Saviour."
I remember in the early 1950's the Pope declared a Maryan Year and said that Mary was equal with Jesus in power to grant salvation. The deception is so deep that many do not realize the source of this blighting error. Revelation 17:5 and many other Scriptures make it clear that Babylon is the name of a great system of religious error. Nimrod is mentioned in Genesis10:8-9 and ancient accounts tell us that his wife became the head of the so-called "Babylonian mysteries." These were secret rites developed as part of idol worship. Nimrod's wife, Semiramis, was a high priestess of idol worship. She gave birth to Tammuz and claimed that he was miraculously conceived in fulfillment of the promise to Eve. He was a false messiah and considered to be a saviour of his people. Tammuz is the same deity as the Phoenician Adonis. The fabled death and restoration of Adonis supposedly symbolized the departure and return of the sun, and was celebrated with laments and then obscene revels (Ezekiel 8:14). The legend of mother and child is repeated in many pagan religions. The Babylonian cult was known in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. This cult moved from Babylon to Pergamos 600 years B.C., and King Attalus became pontiff of the Babylonian cult. This was the first time that the word "pontiff" was used anywhere in the world in connection with religious activities.
They claimed a queen in heaven, called Ishtar or Easter.
(Jeremiah 7:18, Jeremiah 44:17,25). They used beads to pray, they had holy water, confessions were made to priests, money was required for special prayers to get the dead from one place to another, their priests did not marry. Scripture declares that to forbid marriage is part of the doctrine of devils (1 Timothy 4:1-3). King Attalus died when Julius Caesar was coming to power. The pagan religion in Canaan was the worship of Baal, which was just another form of the same mystery religion that originated in Babylon. Baal is considered to be identical to Tammuz. In the early centuries the church of Rome attempted to combine some of the features of the "mystery religion" with the Christian faith. They created incredible confusion which still exists today. What started with Nimrod's wife as the worship of Mother Earth, to the queen of heaven in Babylon is the same demon spirit which uses the name of the Virgin Mary to deceive millions of people. The young virgin, Mary, was an obedient believer whom we appreciate and respect but she has no power greater than any obedient believer. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Mary's body ascended to Heaven.
THERE IS ONE AND ONE ONLY MEDIATOR, JESUS CHRIST. It would not be fair to those who don't know, if some now could have the advantage of Mary working in Heaven on their behalf. Also, how grossly unfair it would be to those who lived before the birth of Jesus. They came to God with only the Levite priests to intercede by sacrifices and offerings.
These priests had to have their own sins covered (Hebrews 5:3, 7:27). However, this priesthood was culminated in the one, sinless High Priest Who lives forever (Hebrews 4:14, 5:6). He makes intercession for us and He is the only Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). God will not share His glory with any other; He alone answers prayer.
In the magnificat (Luke 1:47) Mary said, "My spirit has rejoiced in God, my Saviour." Only a sinner needs a Saviour and since this was Mary's own choice of words, she freely acknowledged her personal need for salvation.
The Bible makes it very evident that prayer is necessary and we have many instructions both to pray and how to pray. Hebrews 4:15-16 - come boldly; 1 Thessalonians 5:17 - pray without ceasing; Luke 18:1 - men ought always to pray; Luke 11:2-4 - Our Father ...; Ephesians 6:18 - pray always, James 5:16 - pray for one another. Also we have the comfort of knowing that God the Son and God the Spirit intercede for us; Hebrews 7:25 - ever lives to make intercession; Romans 8:26 - the Spirit Himself makes intercession. These are just a few of dozens of references which show that prayer is such an important matter and the Bible has so much to say about it. But, there is not a single reference throughout Scripture about praying to Mary or having Mary intercede for us.
Surely God would not have left us entirely without guidance on something He wanted us to do. If may seem logical, from a human viewpoint, that if we can get to Mary with our petitions, she may get better results for us from Jesus because of being His mother but it just is not so. She is not the mother of God; she was the human vessel which housed the humanity of Jesus for His miraculous birth. Jesus Himself lets us know plainly that she has no greater advantage than we have. Just once, and only one, God removed the glove of nature and Mary became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Immaculate Conception is that of Jesus Christ alone in His humanity (Matthew 1:18).
When the wise men came (Matthew 2:11) they saw the Child with Mary His mother and fell down and worshipped HIM, not them!
Luke 2:49 - Jesus said to Mary, "How come you looked for Me? Don't you know I must be about My Father's business? From any other child, this would have seemed like a saucy answer but it was a gentle rebuke to Mary to remind her of His divine origin and purpose. Had she been any different from the rest of us, she would not have needed the reminder.
John 2:4 is a bit puzzling because it sounds rude when Jesus says to Mary, "Woman, what have I to do with thee?" However, we know that the use of the word, woman, was the utmost courtesy. It is significant that He did not address her as mother. Mary certainly wasn't offended and she gave the best advice ever offered -- do whatever He says. By the rest of His sentence, Jesus demonstrated that Mary no longer held a special relationship to Him and He removed any legitimate grounds for revering Mary as "Mother of God." This truth is repeated in Mark 3:35 and Matthew 12:50 - whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother. So the best and only way to get an advantage, the advantage of close relationship, is by obeying Him.
At the Cross, while the mocking and hideous torture went on, stood a group of women, gripped by pain and love. Among them was Mary and in the midst of His own agony, Jesus lovingly put her into John's keeping.
John 19:26-27 - behold son .. behold mother .. John took her to his house. This seems strange because John had his own mother who was right there and surely Mary's other sons and daughters could have cared for her (Mark 6:3). It appears that Jesus wanted to emphasize the fact that Mary was no longer to be regarded as having any unique relationship to Him and He left absolutely no grounds for her deification.
Mary is a person we remember with respect and honour because of her submission and obedience to God. Mary had a choice - Luke 1:38 - be it unto me according to Thy Word. She could have said NO. Just as by her obedience, God enabled Mary to physically house/clothe the humanity of Jesus; so by our obedience, God enables us to spiritually house/clothe the divinity of the Lord Jesus. We become His suit of clothes and He lives His victorious resurrection Life through us --- if we let Him!