Holy Queen, Lesson 3.4

Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God

Lesson Three: The Ark of the New Covenant


Lesson Objectives

  1. To see how Mary’s visit to Elizabeth parallels David’s bringing of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
  2. To understand how the book of Revelation uses the startling image of the rediscovered Ark of the Covenant to introduce a vision of the Mother of Christ.
  3. To understand why the New Testament writers see Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant.

IV. The Ark in Heaven

A. The Ark Reappears in Heaven

Luke uses parallel language and images to make his point. But John, the author of Revelation, tells us directly that he saw the Ark of the Covenant - the holy object that had been lost since Jeremiah’s time - in a vision.

“Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth” (see Revelation 11:19 and Revelation 12:1-2).

This is a strange string of images, almost overwhelming - like much of the book of Revelation. But certainly the statement that the Ark of the Covenant was visible must have caught the attention of the first people who heard the vision.

If the Ark had been seen, then the time Jeremiah spoke of must have come: the time when “God gathers his people together again and shows them mercy,” the time when “the glory of the Lord will be seen in the cloud, just as it appeared in the time of Moses” (see 2 Maccabees 7-8)

And indeed the sights and sounds are the same as in the time of Moses - storm and earthquake:

“There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm” (see Revelation 11:19).

“On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled . . . Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the LORD came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently” (see Exodus 19:16, 18)

Naturally, we want to hear more about the rediscovered Ark of the Covenant. And John goes on to describe what he sees: “a woman clothed with the sun” (see Revelation 12:1).

In our modern Bibles, there is a chapter division between the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant and the description of the “woman clothed with the sun.” But chapter divisions were added in the Middle Ages to make the books of the Bible easier to refer to. John did not make any divisions: he wrote straight through from Revelation 11:19 to Revelation 12:1without a break.

In the dream-like but deeply significant logic of John’s vision, the Ark of the Covenant is “a woman clothed with the sun.”

B. The Woman Clothed With the Sun

And who is this woman?

“She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth ” (see Revelation 12:2).

“She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne” (see Revelation 12:5).

The one destined to rule the nations with an iron rod (a shepherd’s rod) is the Lord’s Anointed, the Messiah or Christ (see Psalm 2). The “woman clothed with the sun,” whom John sees when he looks at the Ark of the Covenant, is the Mother of the Christ.

C. What Makes Mary the Ark of the New Covenant?

The Ark of the Covenant was the sign of God’s real presence among His people. In Jesus Christ, born of Mary, God was really present among his people in an even more direct way.

The Ark held the Word of God written in stone. Mary bore the Word of God in flesh

The Ark held the bread from heaven, a foreshadowing of the Eucharist (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-4). Mary bore the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ (see John 6:48-50).

The Ark contained the rod of Aaron, symbol of his priesthood. Mary bore Jesus Christ, our High Priest (see Hebrews 3:1).

If the Ark of the Covenant was holy, then by the same standards Mary is even holier. As Mother of God, she is the Ark of the New Covenant, bearing Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the Bread of Life, our great High Priest. That is not a re-interpretation of the Gospel: it is a truth made clear by the New Testament writers themselves.

Continue to Section 5

Other Lessons

  • Lesson One: A Biblical Introduction to Mary
  • Lesson Objectives
    1. To understand the basic outlines of the New Testament’s witness to Mary.
    2. To appreciate how the Old Testament forms the essential background for what the New Testament teaches about Mary.
    3. To understand “typology” and its importance for reading the New Testament texts concerning Mary.

    Begin Lesson One

  • Lesson Two: Wedding at Cana, Garden in Eden
  • Lesson Objectives
    1. To appreciate the Old Testament symbolism that forms the deep background to the Gospel account of the wedding feast at Cana.
    2. To understand how Mary is depicted as a “New Eve” in this account.
    3. To appreciate the importance of the Old Testament marriage symbolism for John’s recounting of the “sign” at Cana.

    Begin Lesson Two

  • Lesson Four: Mother Crowned in Glory
  • Lesson Objectives
    1. To see the importance of the Queen Mother in the Davidic kingdom of the Old Testament.
    2. To understand the duties and privileges that came with the position of Queen Mother.
    3. To see how Mary fills the position of Queen Mother in the kingdom of Christ.

    Begin Lesson Four

  • Lesson Five: The All-Holy Mother of God
  • Lesson Objectives
    1. To understand the relationship between Catholic teaching about Mary and the Scriptural portrayal of Mary.
    2. To understand the biblical foundations of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
    3. To appreciate how Catholic belief in the Immaculate Conception flows from the New Testament portrait of Mary as the “New Eve”

    Begin Lesson Five

  • Lesson Six: The Queen Assumed into Heaven
  • Lesson Objectives
    1. To understand the biblical foundations of the Dogma of the Assumption.
    2. To understand the deep Old Testament symbolism and imagery in Revelation 12, and its relation to Catholic beliefs about Mary.
    3. To appreciate how the biblical portrait of Mary is reflected and interpreted in the Church’s liturgy.

    Begin Lesson Six