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7.Prooem.2 Come then, from this point let us now consider what sort of manner the coming of God to men was prophesied to be, and where on earth it was proclaimed He would be born, and from what race it was cried out He would come forth. 7.1.1 From Isaiah. Just as the wonderful evangelist John, speaking of our Savior and Lord as God with a great voice greater than human, namely the very Word of God, beginning his sacred scripture along with the theology also presents his incarnate coming to men, saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him,” adding next to these: “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” 7.1.3 in this same manner the divine prophet also, about to proclaim God born of a virgin, sees beforehand his glorious vision of God, outlining the theology thus: From Isaiah. “I saw the Lord Sabaoth sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the house was full of His glory. And Seraphim stood round about Him, six wings to one and six wings to the other; and with two they covered their face, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they did fly. And they cried one to another and said, Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth, the whole earth is full of His glory,” 7.1.4 and he adds next: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? And I said, Behold, I am here; send me. And he said to me, Go, and say to this people, You will indeed hear but not understand, and you will indeed see but not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. And I said, How long, O Lord? And He said, Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people.” 7.1.5 What Lord is it right to say the prophet had seen other than the one we have shown in the preceding sections had both appeared to and spoken with the forefathers around Abraham? For this one we have learned before is at once God and Lord and indeed angel and captain of the host of the Lord. Therefore, as the present account is about to prophesy His advent among men, it foresees His divine kingdom, through which he says he saw Him “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.” 7.1.6 And this would be that throne of His which was also revealed in the psalm “concerning the beloved,” according to the words, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,” on which also God the Father, the maker of all things on high, exhorted Him to sit, as His only-begotten and beloved, saying: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 7.1.7 And John the evangelist confirms this our interpretation of these passages, who, after quoting the aforesaid words of Isaiah, in which it was said, “For the heart of this people has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed,” adds concerning Christ, saying: “Isaiah said these things when he saw His glory, and he testified about Him.” 7.1.8 So then the prophet, having seen the establishment of our Savior upon the paternal throne of divine glory and kingship, and being inspired by the Holy Spirit, and being about to describe next His advent among men and His birth from a virgin, testifies beforehand to the knowledge and doxology that will be in all the earth, by introducing the Seraphim encircling Him and saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth, the whole earth is full of His glory.” 7.1.9 And what would the Seraphim be, regarding the Christ of God

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7.Prooem.2 φέρε οὖν ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη σκοπήσωμεν ὁποῖός τις ὁ τρόπος ἔσεσθαι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἐπιδημίας ἐθεσπίζετο, καὶ ποῦ γῆς γεννηθήσεσθαι προεκηρύττετο, ἀπὸ ποίου τε γένους προελεύσεσθαι ἐβοᾶτο. 7.1.1 Ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου. Ὥσπερ ὁ θαυμάσιος εὐαγγελιστὴς Ἰωάννημείζονι ἢ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον μεγαλοφωνίᾳ τὸν σωτῆρα καὶ κύριον ἡμῶν θεολογῶν, αὐτὸν δὴ τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον, τῆς τε ἱερᾶς γραφῆς αὐτοῦ ἀπαρχόμενος ὁμοῦ τῇ θεολογίᾳ καὶ τὴν ἔνσαρκον αὐτοῦ εἰς ἀνθρώπους παρίστησιν ἐπιδημίαν «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος, οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο», φήσας, τούτοις ἑξῆς ἐπάγων· «καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν», 7.1.3 τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος προφήτης θεὸν ἐκ παρθένου γεγεννημένον μέλλων ἀνακηρύττειν, τὴν ἔνδοξον αὐτοῦ θεοπτίαν προθεωρεῖ, ὧδε τὴν θεολογίαν ὑπογράφων· Ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου. «Εἶδον τὸν κύριον Σαβαὼθ καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπηρμένου, καὶ πλήρης ὁ οἶκος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ. καὶ Σεραφὶμ εἱστήκεισαν κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ, ἓξ πτέρυγες τῷ ἑνὶ καὶ ἓξ πτέρυγες τῷ ἑνί· καὶ ταῖς μὲν δυσὶ ἐκάλυπτον τὸ πρόσωπον, ταῖς δὲ δυσὶ κατεκάλυπτον τοὺς πόδας, ταῖς δὲ δυσὶν ἐπέταντο. καὶ ἐκέκραγον ἕτερος πρὸς τὸν ἕτερον καὶ ἔλεγον, ἅγιος ἅγιος ἅγιος κύριος Σαβαώθ, πλήρης πᾶσα ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ», 7.1.4 καὶ ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει· «καὶ ἤκουσα τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου λέγοντος, τίνα ἀποστείλω, καὶ τίς πορεύσεται πρὸς τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον; καὶ εἶπα, ἰδοὺ ἐγώ εἰμι· ἀπόστειλόν με. καὶ εἶπεν πρός με, πορεύθητι, καὶ εἶπον τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ, ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε. ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν αὐτῶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν, καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν, μήποτε ἴδωσι τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσιν, καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσι καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσιν, καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς. καὶ εἶπα, ἕως πότε, κύριε; καὶ εἶπεν, ἕως ἂν ἐρημωθῶσι πόλεις παρὰ τὸ μὴ κατοικεῖσθαι, καὶ οἶκοι παρὰ τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἀνθρώπους». 7.1.5 Ποῖον δὲ θεμιτὸν φάσκειν τὸν προφήτην ἑωρακέναι κύριον ἢ ὃν τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ προπάτορσιν ὦφθαί τε καὶ ὡμιληκέναι ἐν τοῖς πρὸ τούτων ἀπεδείξαμεν; τοῦτον γὰρ ὁμοῦ θεὸν καὶ κύριον καὶ δὴ ἄγγελον εἶναι καὶ ἀρχιστράτηγον δυνάμεως κυρίου προμεμαθήκαμεν. μέλλων τοιγαροῦν τὴν εἰς ἀνθρώπους αὐτοῦ πάροδον ὁ παρὼν λόγος θεσπίζειν, τὴν ἔνθεον αὐτοῦ προθεωρεῖ βασιλείαν, δι' ἧς φησιν ἑωρακέναι αὐτὸν «καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπηρμένου». 7.1.6 οὗτος δ' ἂν εἴη ὁ θρόνος αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖνος ὁ καὶ ἐν τῷ «περὶ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ» ψαλμῷ δεδηλωμένος, κατὰ τὸ «ὁ θρόνος σου ὁ θεὸς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος», ἐφ' ὃν καὶ ὁ ἀνωτάτω τῶν ὅλων ποιητὴς θεὸς πατήρ τε αὐτοῦ ὡς ἂν μονογενεῖ καὶ ἀγαπητῷ καθέζεσθαι παρεκελεύετο, λέγων· «κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου». 7.1.7 συνίστησιν δὲ ταύτην ἡμῶν τὴν εἰς τοὺς τόπους ἑρμηνείαν Ἰωάννης ὁ εὐαγγελιστής, ὃς παραθέμενος τὰς προκειμένας τοῦ Ἡσαΐου φωνάς, ἐν αἷς εἴρητο «ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν αὐτῶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν», ἐπιφέρει περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγων· «ταῦτα εἶπεν Ἡσαΐας, ὅτε εἶδεν τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐμαρτύρησεν περὶ αὐτοῦ». 7.1.8 ἰδὼν δὴ οὖν ὁ προφήτης τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ πατρικοῦ θρόνου τῆς ἐνθέου δόξης τε καὶ βασιλείας ἵδρυσιν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, τῷ τε ἁγίῳ ἐπιθειάσας πνεύματι καὶ μέλλων ἑξῆς τὴν εἰς ἀνθρώπους αὐτοῦ πάροδον καὶ τὴν ἐκ παρθένου γέννησιν ὑπογράφειν, προμαρτύρεται τὴν εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν μέλλουσαν ἔσεσθαι γνῶσίν τε καὶ δοξολογίαν, τὰ Σεραφὶμ εἰσάγων κυκλοῦντα αὐτὸν καὶ φάσκοντα· «ἅγιος ἅγιος ἅγιος κύριος Σαβαώθ, πλήρης πᾶσα ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ». 7.1.9 τίνα δ' ἂν εἴη τὰ Σεραφὶμ τὰ τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ