

The Ark contained manna, Aaron the priest's rod, and the ten commandments. With that in mind, and before I proceed to the witness of the cherubim, recall that Mary is the type of the Ark of the Covenant. Jesus, the Bread of Life–the NT type of the manna–sustains eternal spiritual life and is thus the superior type. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die." The manna in the OT could only sustain physical life for a time. Jesus Himself gives a clear example of typology in John 6:49-50 when He says: "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. Jesus and Adam are the first of their kind, yet Jesus is the superior. You see the parallel between the two characters, Adam and Jesus, one who brought death and One Who brought life. Examples include Haggai 2:9 which says: " Greater will be the future glory of this house than the former, says the Lord of hosts." Or 2 Corinthians 3:11 For if what faded away came with splendor, what is permanent must have much more splendor." We see this explained elsewhere in Scripture. Romans 5:14 tells us of " Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come." Romans 5:18 continues the idea: "Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men."Ī characteristic about typology is that the NT type is always the superior, fulfilled version of the OT antetype. A type (or figure) in the Old Testament (OT) that has its fulfillment in a New Testament (NT) counterpart is said to be the NT's antetype.

And since I have not seen this angle presented explicitly, I've elected to review it here.įirst, I will briefly explain the concept of typology in Scripture. I find it to be a strong signpost pointing to Mary's incompatibility with sin. The specific defense of the Immaculate Conception I intend to give here is the witness of the cherubim in Scripture. Other good web resources on the Immaculate Conception include or various articles at.
#Ark antetype mary full
For a fuller Biblical and Traditional treatment of the dogma, I recommend reading the full encyclical Ineffabilis Deus or good Catholic books on Mary, such as Luigi Gambero's Mary and the Fathers of the Church. In this particular article, I do not intend on giving a full apologetic on the validity of this dogma. While the definition was pronounced in 1854, the teaching is firmly rooted in divine revelation, both in Scripture and Tradition in the early Church through today.
#Ark antetype mary free
We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful. This is the defining text from the papal encyclical Ineffabilis Deus from 1854:

The Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception refers to the Virgin Mary conceived without the stain of original sin.
