ABSTRACT
And now hearken how each one of them hath prophesied concerning Him, [for the narrative] is pleasant to hear. ISAIAH the Prophet prophesied concerning His coming and said, "A Son is born unto us. A Child is given unto us. Dominion is written upon His shoulder. He is God, strong in rule, King, great Counsellor is His name."! Now the meaning of this is manifest: the Son of God is born, Whose sovereignty was written down before the world was, and He is wiser than anyone else: [this is what] he saith unto thee. And again ISAIAH prophesied and said, "Behold My servant Whom I have chosen, on Whom is the delight of My soul, and the nations shall put their confidence in Him."> And these words give us to understand that CHRIST is the Spirit of God, the Word of the Father Who put on our flesh and was born for us: and the peoples of ROME and ETHIOPIA and all other nations have believed in Him. And he spake unto the people of ISRAEL, and again he prophesied, saying, "Many shall follow after Thee with their loins girded up, and their backs bound with fetters, and they shall pray to Thee and worship Thee, for thou art God, and we have not recognized Thee."! Now this he spake concerning the martyrs, and those who became monks in the desert and solitary monks, whose hearts were fettered with His commandment, and who prayed to Him, meaning that reward was meet for both the martyrs and the solitary monks. "And we did not recognize Thee": ISRAEL made itself blind, and crucified Him, and refused to walk in His righteousness. And again ISAIAH prophesied and said, "God shall come, and the heathen shall put their trust in Him and shall know Him;"4 this meaneth that CHRIST shall come, and the JEWS shall reject Him, but the heathen shall believe
in Him. And again he prophesied and said, "Be strong ye weak hands and tired knees, and rejoice ye hearts that are cast down, for God hath come, Who shall requite our debt, and save us. And He shall open the eyes of the blind, and He shall make the ears of the deaf to hear, and the feet that are lame shall run, and the tongues of the dumb shall speak."! These words are spoken in respect of those who err in worshipping idols, and those who are dead in sin, and those whose hearts are darkened, and of you who do not know that God created you. Rejoice ye this day: He hath come Who will redeem the sin of ADAM, and make ADAM'S debt His own. He was crucified being sinless. He hath killed Death by means of His own death, and the blind see, and the lame walk, and the deaf hear, and the dumb speak unhaltingly, and besides all these things the dead are raised. This is the meaning of this prophecy.
