I don’t see what the problem is. It looks perfectly okay to me, in fact it’s very beautiful.
This is from the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Chicago. Totally Catholic and in good standing with the Church. Here’s a little background on the image which you find to be such “nonsense”:
http://www.amothersplea.org/sdm_architectural_plans.php
The architectural and theological destination of the Sanctuary, however, is the large interior adoration sanctuary at the east end which corresponds to the Holy of Holies in the Temple. As in the Temple of Solomon, the interior sanctuary will be an evocation of heaven. Whereas the Holy of Holies in the temple contained the ark of the Old Covenant of the Law, the Sanctuary will show this reality fulfilled. A rectangular pedestal recalling the Ark of the Covenant will become a setting for the “Iconic Monstrance”, an image of the Virgin Mary which contains within it the Eucharist for adoration. Here, Christ, who is the New Covenant, is set within the womb of His Mother who is the new Ark. Therefore, representationally, the New Covenant literally stands on the Old Covenant, not abolishing it but fulfilling it.
The goal of this building is to draw people to The Divine Mercy. The beauty of the building and its art will not become an aesthetic end in itself, but be transparent to the formative and transformative presence of Christ. The hope is that people will be attracted by its beauty, engaged in the truth of its content, and transformed by the goodness they find in Christ. They will then go forth to transform the world, making disciples of all nations as they preach the revelation of The Divine Mercy.
Excerpt from the Theology of the Sanctuary by Dr. Denis McNamara
I THOUGHT those angels looked like what I remember of the OT Ark. Thanks to you, too!
First, let's look at the evidences you presented back in #5750:
Exodus 25:11-21 - the ark of the Old Covenant was made of the purest gold for God’s Word.
True in part. The Ark holds the Covenant. The contract or promises. made to Israel.
Heb 9:4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
[...] Mary is the ark of the New Covenant and is the purest vessel for the Word of God made flesh.
False. Christ Himself is the pure vessel. Christ Himself holds BOTH Covenants.
[...] Mary the Ark of the New Covenant is even more immaculate and undefiled, spared by God from original sin so that she could bear His eternal Word in her womb.
FALSE!
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
e-Sword:KJV)
Christ is the ONLY ONE of the entire race of man who is immaculate and un-defiled.
It is blasphemy to place the attributes of God upon another. You (all) blaspheme the Holy One.
1 Chron. 13:9-10 - this is another account of Uzzah and the Ark. For God to dwell within Mary the Ark, Mary had to be conceived without sin. For Protestants to argue otherwise would be to say that God would let the finger of Satan touch His Son made flesh. This is incomprehensible.
Utter NONSENSE. Christ spent the entirety of His ministry in the presence of sin. That was His point all along - to be with the sinners, as was the case of His disciples. It is Pharisaical to promote this sense of purity. Christ remained pure in spite of sin, not by being removed from it.
"Mary, conceived without sin" is a damnable lie, and blasphemy against GOD. The attribute is Christ's ALONE.
1 Chron. 15 and 16 - these verses show the awesome reverence the Jews had for the Ark - veneration, vestments, songs, harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets.
1Ch 15:2 Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.
Who do the Levites serve? It ain't Mary.
Luke’s conspicuous comparison’s between Mary and the Ark described by Samuel underscores the reality of Mary as the undefiled and immaculate Ark of the New Covenant.
Pure nonsense. While pregnant, wherever Mary is, the Christ is. Christ Himself "contains" the Covenants. Christ is the full and realized containment (embodiment) of the Law - and it is He Himself who "contains" His "flesh" and "blood" as the Living Word, and Eternal Life of God, given unto men. *NOT MARY*
Luke 1:41 / 2 Sam. 6:16 - John the Baptist / King David leap for joy before Mary / Ark. So should we leap for joy before Mary the immaculate Ark of the Word made flesh.
This is SO offensive as to merit extra comment: David leapt before His LORD. David's prophetic bend clearly shows that He KNOWS Christ. The very SAME condition is present in John the Baptist, who never showed any special deference to Mary in the length of his Life before the Lord - Though that deference is made to his King, to be certain.
Again, this reading of yours shows a Pharisaical bend toward cherry picking verses to create what wasn't ever there... And it reeks of Rome. Mary was blessed in that she carried the Son of David! The Messiah, whom Israel had yearned for. No doubt a high honor - But it is the Messiah who is the point, *not* His mother.
Rev. 12:17 - this verse tells us that Mary’s offspring are those who keep God’s commandments and bear testimony to Jesus. This demonstrates, as Catholics have always believed, that Mary is the Mother of all Christians.
This alone defeats the entire defense from Revelations: This "Roman Mary's" "children" do not keep the commandments of God:
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God[...]
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God [...]
When did Mary flee into the wilderness?
This woman in Revelations has her feet upon the moon - Prophetically, the moon is the permanence of God, and crosses into the Mosaic Covenant - She is standing upon the Torah. There s no doubt in my mind that this woman is Israel. It cannot be the Bride (church), because it exists before the birth of Christ... Unless one sees the elect in an OT fashion - Then it must be spiritual Israel, which is the same thing as the Church. ::========================================================:: Now, on to the picture: The woman in the picture sits upon a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark IS the Throne of Almighty God on earth;
Exo 25:21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
Exo 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
This is not speaking only of the Shekinah Glory inhabiting the Mercy Seat, But speaks prophetically of a time when the Law will go out from Jerusalem FOREVER.
Who rightly sits in the Holy of Holies upon the Mercy Seat of the Throne of God (Hint: it ain't Mary)
This alone, is the highest form of blasphemy - a creature sitting upon the Throne of God, pretending a right to the Mercy Seat.
But further, A woman dressed in scarlet with Bel's (Baal's) "sacred heart," complete with male and female rays, sitting upon Bel's "fertile crescent" - The same crescent the Mohammedans use... Measure the distance of the heart from the horns of the crescent, then look at any Islamic flag, and the placing of the star in the horns of it's crescent. The whole scene of the woman is backdropped with a Pagan sun disk...
This is clearly Semiramis, the Whore of Babylon, sitting in meditation, upon the most powerful throne on Earth. This is a perfect likeness of the Abomination.
And no doubt, the people bow before her.
That you cannot see this is simply astounding. That chair belongs to Christ.