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| Chapter LXXXIV.—That prophecy, “Behold, a virgin,” etc., suits Christ alone. PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP
Chapter LXXXIV.—That prophecy,
“Behold, a virgin,” etc., suits Christ alone.
“Moreover,
the prophecy, ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a
son,’ was uttered respecting Him. For if He to whom Isaiah referred
was not to be begotten of a virgin, of whom2279
did the Holy Spirit declare, ‘Behold, the Lord Himself shall give
us a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son?’ For
if He also were to be begotten of sexual intercourse, like all other
first-born sons, why did God say that He would give a sign which is not
common to all the first-born sons? But that which is truly a sign, and
which was to be made trustworthy to mankind,—namely, that the
first-begotten of all creation should become incarnate by the
Virgin’s womb, and be a child,—this he anticipated by the
Spirit of prophecy, and predicted it, as I have repeated to you, in
various ways; in order that, when the event should take place, it might
be known as the operation of the power and will of the Maker of all
things; just as Eve was made from one of Adam’s ribs, and as all
living beings were created in the beginning by the word of God. But you
in these matters venture to pervert the expositions which your elders
that were with Ptolemy king of Egypt gave forth, since you assert that
the Scripture is not so as they have expounded it, but says,
‘Behold, the young woman shall conceive,’ as if great events
were to be inferred if a woman should beget from sexual intercourse:
which indeed all young women, with the exception of the barren, do; but
even these, God, if He wills, is able to cause [to bear]. For
Samuel’s mother, who was barren, brought forth by the will of God;
and so also the wife of the holy patriarch Abraham; and Elisabeth, who
bore John the Baptist, and other such. So that you must not suppose that
it is impossible for God to do anything He wills. And especially when it
was predicted that this would take place, do not venture to pervert or
misinterpret the prophecies, since you will injure yourselves alone, and
will not harm God.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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