Before we look at any verses that deal directly with “angels and Mary,” let’s consider Matthew 4:8-10 which reads, “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You FALL DOWN AND WORSHIP ME.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Here we see the Devil asking Jesus to kneel before him in worship and Jesus responds with the emphatic statement that all (angels and men) are to “worship the LORD your God, and Him only you should serve.” He alone deserves worship and thus we should only “bow the knee to Him!” This passage is all that is needed to answer your question.

The apostle Paul taught believers NOT to worship angels in Colossians 2:18, “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and WORSHIP OF ANGELS, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.” There were some in Paul’s day who thought it was wrong and presumptuous to approach God directly. Thinking themselves to be humble, they taught that one should approach God “through angels,” and thus they would actually “worship angels” by praying to them instead of praying directly to God. Paul exposes their “false humility” and in doing so he indirectly teaches them what Jesus said to the Devil, that the creature is to “worship the LORD your God, and Him only you should serve.” In the very last page of our Bible, we have an angel teaching the same thing. “Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I FELL DOWN TO WORSHIP BEFORE THE FEET OF THE ANGEL who showed me these things. Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. WORSHIP GOD” (Revelation 22:8-9)

Regarding kneeling before Mary, we don’t have a passage in the Bible that directly commands us not to worship her, but our meditation on Colossians 2:18 forbids such a thought. Just as some were worshipping angels as a “Go-between” between them and God, so Roman Catholics are guilty of worshipping Mary as their “Go-between.” Many Catholics have the motto “To Jesus through Mary.” They too believe it is presumptuous to approach God directly and thus they reason, “Surely God (Jesus) will accept our worship if we go through Mary, the mother of Jesus.” Again, this is an act of “false humility” that ends up giving the “creature” a place that only God, the Creator, deserves. Jesus Christ Himself is the only “Go-between” between God and man, for He is both God and Man. We see this truth in 1st Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one Mediator (Go-between) between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” It is interesting to note the last mention of Mary in the Bible. In Acts 1:14 it says, “These all continued WITH ONE ACCORD IN PRAYER and supplication, with women and MARY THE MOTHER OF JESUS, and with His brothers.” Mary was at a prayer meeting and instead of being “prayed to” she humbly joined her fellow-believers in Christ “in prayer to God.” They prayed “with one accord,” acknowledging God as the One who deserved to be worshiped.

In closing, I trust we have all seen that we should only “kneel down before God.” Let us emulate the example of the apostle Paul who said, “For this reason I BOW MY KNEES to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Ephesians 3:14-15).  (DO)  (497.5)