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Micah. 4. From Zechariah. 5. From Isaiah. Book 8 of the Proof of the Gospel. Having demonstrated by how many prophecies the Word of God was foretold to come to men, and from whence and where and how he was proclaimed in the prophetic voices among the Hebrews that he would be seen by those on earth, and that he himself was that very one and none other, the Son of God pre-existing the ages, whom through others we have learned beforehand to be God and Lord and chief captain and angel of great counsel and high priest of God, accordingly, after what has been previously discussed, let us again call to witness the times of his epiphany from the prophetic predictions themselves, beginning from this point. 8.Prooem.2 The sacred writings proclaim that these will be the manifest signs of the times of Christ's coming: they prophesy that the abolition and complete destruction of three formerly eminent dignities excelling among the Hebrews, through which the nation was held together—one the royal, another the prophetic, and in addition to these the high-priestly—will be signs of Christ's coming, 8.Prooem.3 and that indications of the same times are the circumscription of the religion according to Moses, the desolation of Jerusalem and its temple, and indeed also the subjugation of the entire Jewish nation to its enemies and foes. And they suggest other signs of the same times: an abundance of peace, the removal of the age-old rule of nations by nation and city by city, the turning away from polytheistic and demonic idolatry, the knowledge of the piety of one God, the creator of all. 8.Prooem.4 All these things, therefore, which did not exist of old in the times of the prophets, the divine oracles foretold would come to pass at the advent of Christ, which things, having come to pass in accordance with the predictions, will be demonstrated presently. 8.Prooem.5 The reasons why Christ appeared to the world not before but now in the last times, after the long and great age, have already been stated before, but they will now also be stated briefly. 8.Prooem.6 Great was the drought of foolishness and impiety that formerly overshadowed the souls of men, and a terrible godlessness dominated the whole life of mankind, so that they seemed to differ in nothing from wild and untamable beasts. Knowing neither cities nor governments nor laws nor anything noble and useful for life, nor indeed giving thought to sciences and arts, nor even coming to the concept of virtue and philosophy, they spent their time only in desolate places, in mountains and caves and villages, attacking their neighbors more like robbers, providing for their living from no other source than the oppression of the weaker. 8.Prooem.7 But indeed they neither knew the God who is over all, nor the way of true piety, but being moved by natural concepts, they agreed by innate teaching that there exists in things a certain divine power, and that it is and is called God, and that its name is saving and beneficent, but they were no longer able to accept the belief that it was nothing other than that which is beyond all visible substance. 8.Prooem.8 Wherefore some of them "worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator," while others "became futile in their thinking, and their foolish heart was darkened," so as to exchange "the glory of the immortal God for an image in the likeness of mortal man and of birds and four-footed animals and reptiles." Thus, having fashioned idols from images of dead men, who were formerly certain rulers or even tyrants, and having attributed divine worship to these, they deified their outrageous and licentious acts as the achievements of gods. 8.Prooem.9 How then to those who are in such a state of life the all-wise and all-virtuous word of Christ, which proclaims philosophy to the utmost degree, and to those wallowing in so great a depth of wickedness

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Μιχαία. δʹ. Ἀπὸ τοῦ Ζαχαρίου. εʹ. Ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου. Εὐαγγελικῆς ἀποδείξεως τόμος ηʹ. Ἀποδείξαντες δι' ὅσων ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἥξειν ἐθεσπίζετο, ὅθεν τε καὶ ὅπη καὶ ὅπως ὀφθήσεσθαι τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ἐν ταῖς παρ' Ἑβραίοις προφητικαῖς φωναῖς ἐκηρύττετο, ὅτι τε αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ἦν καὶ οὐδ' ἄλλος ὁ τῶν αἰώνων προϋφεστὼς υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὃν διὰ τῶν ἑτέρων θεόν τε καὶ κύριον καὶ ἀρχιστράτηγον καὶ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελον θεοῦ τε ἀρχιερέα τυγχάνειν προμεμαθήκαμεν, ἀκολούθως μετὰ τὰ προδιεξωδευμένα τοὺς χρόνους τῆς ἐπιφανείας αὐτοῦ πάλιν ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν προφητικῶν προρρήσεων ἐπιμαρτυρώμεθα, ἐνθένδε ἀρξάμενοι. 8.Prooem.2 Τῶν χρόνων τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας ἐκφανῆ σημεῖα τάδε ἔσεσθαι προκηρύττουσιν αἱ ἱεραὶ γραφαί· τριῶν τὸ πρὶν ἐπιφανῶν ἀξιωμάτων παρ' Ἑβραίοις διαπρεπόντων, δι' ὧν τὸ ἔθνος συνεκροτεῖτο, ἑνὸς μὲν τοῦ βασιλικοῦ, ἑτέρου δὲ τοῦ προφητικοῦ, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις τοῦ ἀρχιερατικοῦ, τούτων ὁμοῦ τὴν κατάλυσιν καὶ τὴν παντελῆ καθαίρεσιν σημεῖα τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας ἔσεσθαι θεσπίζουσιν, 8.Prooem.3 δείγματα δὲ τῶν αὐτῶν εἶναι χρόνων καὶ τῆς κατὰ Μωσέα θρησκείας τὴν περιγραφήν, τῆς τε Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ τοῦ πρὸς αὐτῇ ἱεροῦ τὴν ἐρήμωσιν, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ παντὸς Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους τὴν ὑπὸ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς καὶ πολεμίοις δουλείαν. καὶ ἄλλα δὲ τῶν αὐτῶν ὑποβάλλουσι σημεῖα χρόνων, πλῆθος εἰρήνης, ἐθνῶν τῆς ἐξ αἰῶνος κατ' ἔθνος καὶ κατὰ πόλιν τοπαρχίας καὶ πολιαρχίας ἀναίρεσιν, τῆς πολυθέου καὶ δαιμονικῆς εἰδωλολατρείας ἀποστροφήν, ἐπίγνωσιν εὐσεβείας ἑνὸς τοῦ ἐπὶ πάντων δημιουργοῦ θεοῦ. 8.Prooem.4 ταῦτα οὖν ἅπαντα, μὴ ὄντα πάλαι κατὰ τοὺς τῶν προφητῶν χρόνους, ἐπὶ τῆς Χριστοῦ παρουσίας γενήσεσθαι οἱ θεῖοι χρησμοὶ προηγόρευον, ἃ καὶ ταῖς προρρήσεσιν ἀκολούθως εἰς πέρας ἐλθόντα ὅσον οὔπω παραστήσεται. 8.Prooem.5 τά γε μὴν αἴτια τοῦ μὴ πρότερον ἀλλὰ νῦν ἐπ' ἐσχάτων καιρῶν μετὰ τὸν μακρὸν καὶ πολὺν αἰῶνα τὸν Χριστὸν ἐμφανῆ γενέσθαι τῷ βίῳ, λέλεκται μὲν ἤδη καὶ πρόσθεν, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν ἐν βραχέσιν εἰρήσεται. 8.Prooem.6 Πολὺς ἦν πάλαι πρότερον τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχὰς ἐπισκοτῶν ἀφροσύνης καὶ ἀσεβείας αὐχμὸς δεινή τε ἀθεότης κατακρατοῦσα τοῦ παντὸς ἀνθρώπων βίου, ὡς μηδὲν τῶν ἀγρίων καὶ ἀτιθάσων θηρίων διαφέρειν δοκεῖν· μήτε γοῦν πόλεις μήτε πολιτείας μήτε νόμους μήτε τι σεμνὸν καὶ βιωφελὲς εἰδότες, μηδὲ μὴν ἐπιστήμας καὶ τέχνας ἐν νῷ τιθέμενοι, ἀρετῆς τε καὶ φιλοσοφίας οὐδ' εἰς ἔννοιαν ἰόντες, μόναις ἐπ' ἐρημίαις ἔν τε ὄρεσι καὶ σπηλαίοις καὶ κώμαις τὰς διατριβὰς ἐποιοῦντο, λῃστρικώτερον ἐπιτιθέμενοι τοῖς πλησιάζουσιν, πορίζοντες τὰ πρὸς τὸ ζῆν οὐκ ἄλλοθεν ἀλλ' ἢ ἐκ τῆς τῶν καταδεεστέρων καταδυναστείας. 8.Prooem.7 ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδὲ θεὸν τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων ᾔδεσαν οὐδέ γε εὐσεβείας ἀληθοῦς τρόπον, φυσικαῖς δὲ ἐννοίαις ἀνακινούμενοι, τὸ μὲν ὑπάρχειν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι θείαν τινὰ δύναμιν, καὶ θεὸν εἶναι καὶ ὀνομάζεσθαι, σωτήριόν τε καὶ εὐεργετικὴν τυγχάνειν τὴν προσηγορίαν αὐτοφυεῖ διδασκαλίᾳ συνωμολόγουν, τὸ δὲ μὴ ἄλλο τι νομίζειν ἢ τὸν ἐπέκεινα ἁπάσης τῆς ὁρωμένης οὐσίας οὐκέθ' οἷοί τε ἦσαν ἀποδέχεσθαι. 8.Prooem.8 διόπερ οἱ μὲν αὐτῶν «ἐσεβάσθησαν καὶ ἐλάτρευσαν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα» οἱ δὲ «ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία», ὡς ἐναλλάξαι «τὴν δόξαν τοῦ ἀφθάρτου θεοῦ ἐν ὁμοιώματι εἰκόνος φθαρτοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ πετηνῶν καὶ τετραπόδων καὶ ἑρπετῶν». νεκρῶν δ' οὖν οἵδε ἀνδρῶν, δυναστῶν τινων ἢ καὶ τυράννων πάλαι γενομένων, εἰκόνας ἀνειδωλοποιήσαντες καὶ ταύταις τὸ θεῖον περιάψαντες σέβας, τάς τε ἐκτόπους καὶ ἀκολάστους τῶν αὐτῶν πράξεις ὡς θεῶν κατορθώματα σεμνύνειν ἐθεολόγησαν. 8.Prooem.9 πῶς οὖν τοῖς τυγχάνουσιν ἐν τοιαύτῃ βίου καταστάσει τὸν πάνσοφον καὶ πανάρετον τοῦ Χριστοῦ λόγον, τὴν εἰς ἄκρον καταγγέλλοντα φιλοσοφίαν, τοῖς τε ἐν τοσούτῳ βάθει κακίας καλινδουμένοις