Dialogue with Trypho

ONE MORNING: as I was walking in the Xystus, a certain man and his companions approached me and said, "Greetings, O philosopher!" Immediately after saying this, he turned and began walking with me, and his friends followed. I then addressed him and asked, "What is important?"

AND HE REPLIED: "I was instructed," he says, "by Corinthus the Socratic in Argos, that I should not despise or treat with indifference those who dress in this manner, but to show them kindness and associate with them, as some advantage might come from the interaction either for them or for myself. It is good for both if either benefits. For this reason, whenever I see anyone wearing such attire, I gladly approach them, and now, for the same reason, I have willingly spoken to you; and these others are with me, hoping to hear something beneficial from you."

"But who are you, most excellent man?" I replied to him jokingly.

THEN HE TOLD ME FRANKLY BOTH HIS NAME AND HIS FAMILY: "I am called Trypho," he said, "and I am a Hebrew of the circumcision. Having escaped from the war recently carried on there, I am spending my days in Greece, primarily in Corinth."

"And how," I asked, "would philosophy benefit you more than your own lawgiver and the prophets?"

"Why not?" he replied. "Don't the philosophers turn every discussion to God? And don't questions constantly arise for them about His unity and providence? Isn't it truly the duty of philosophy to investigate the Deity?"

"Indeed," I said, "we too have believed this. But most people have not considered whether there is one god or more, and whether they care for each of us individually, as though this knowledge doesn't contribute to our happiness. They even try to convince us that God takes care of the universe with its kinds and species, but not of me, you, and each person individually, suggesting that if this were true, we wouldn't need to pray to Him night and day. It's not hard to see the result of this belief; fearlessness and recklessness in speech come to those who hold these views, allowing them to say and do whatever they choose, without fearing punishment or hoping for any benefit from God. How could they? They claim that everything will always happen the same way; plus, that you and I will live again in the same manner, becoming neither better nor worse people. But there are others who, believing the soul to be immortal and immaterial, think that even if they commit evil, they won't suffer punishment (since the immaterial is insensible), and that the soul, in its immortality, needs nothing from God."

AND HE: smiling gently, said, "Tell us your opinion on these matters, what idea you have about God, and what your philosophy is."

"I will tell you," I said, "what I think; because philosophy is truly the greatest possession and the most honorable before God, to whom it leads us and alone recommends us. Those who have devoted themselves to philosophy are genuinely holy.

HOWEVER: what philosophy is and why it was given to humans has been overlooked by most people; otherwise, we wouldn't have Platonists, Stoics, Peripatetics, Theoretics, or Pythagoreans, as this knowledge is singular. I wish to explain why it has become fragmented.

It happened that those who first engaged with it, and were therefore seen as distinguished, were followed by those who did not pursue truth but only admired the perseverance and self-discipline of the predecessors, as well as the novelty of their teachings. Each then believed that what their teacher taught was true.

Furthermore, these individuals passed down their teachings to their own students, and the system was named after the one considered the founder of the doctrine. Initially eager to speak with someone well versed in this field, I approached a certain Stoic.

After spending a considerable time with him, I realized I had not gained any further knowledge of God, as he himself did not know and claimed such learning was unnecessary, so I left him and went to another, a Peripatetic, who fancied himself clever. After a few days, this man asked me to agree on a fee for our interactions, so they wouldn't be unproductive. Because of this, I also left him, believing he was not a philosopher at all.

Yet when my soul was fervently longing to learn true and profound philosophy, I went to a well-known Pythagorean, someone who greatly valued his own wisdom. During our meeting, willing to become his student, he asked me, ‘Are you familiar with music, astronomy, and geometry? Do you expect to grasp anything that leads to a happy life without first understanding the subjects that distract the soul from tangible objects and prepare it for what pertains to the mind, allowing it to perceive true honor and good?’ He praised many of these disciplines, telling me they were essential, and then dismissed me when I admitted my ignorance.

Frustrated by my unmet expectations, especially because I thought he had some knowledge, I reconsidered the time I would spend on those subjects and couldn't tolerate further delay. In my desperation, I decided to meet with the Platonists, who were highly reputed. I then spent as much time as possible with a recent arrival in our city, a wise man esteemed among the Platonists, and I made great progress and significant improvements every day. The understanding of non-physical things overwhelmed me, and the exploration of ideas uplifted my mind so much that soon I believed I had become wise; foolishly, I expected to immediately behold God, for this is the ultimate goal of Plato’s philosophy."

AND WHILE I WAS IN THIS STATE OF MIND: desiring at one time to be filled with great calmness, and to avoid the ways of people, I would go to a particular field not far from the sea. One day, when I approached that place intending to be alone, a certain old man, respectable in appearance and displaying gentle and dignified behavior, followed me at a short distance. When I turned around to him and paused, I looked at him rather intently.

"And he said, 'Do you know me?'"

"I replied no."

"‘Why, then,’ he said to me, ‘do you look at me like that?’"

"I am astonished," I said, "because you happened to be in my company in the same place; for I had not expected to see anyone here."

"And he says to me, 'I am concerned about some of my household. They have gone away from me, and so I have come to personally search for them, if perhaps they might appear somewhere. But why are you here?' he asked me."

"I delight," I said, "in such walks, where my attention isn't distracted, because conversation with myself is uninterrupted; and such places are most suitable for philology."

"‘Are you, then, a philologian,’ he said, ‘but not a lover of deeds or truth? And do you not aim at being a practical man as much as being a sophist?’"

"What greater task," I said, "could one accomplish than to demonstrate the reason that governs everything, and, once grasped, to rise above the errors and pursuits of others? Without philosophy and right reason, no person would possess prudence. Therefore, it is necessary for everyone to engage in philosophy and consider it the greatest and most honorable work; other things should be regarded as of lesser importance. However, if these things depend on philosophy, they have moderate value and are worthy of acceptance; without it, and not aligned with it, they are common and crude to those who pursue them."

"‘Does philosophy, then, create happiness?’ he said, interrupting."

"Certainly," I said, "and it alone."

"What, then, is philosophy?" he asks, "and what is happiness? Please tell me, unless something stops you from saying."

"‘Philosophy,’ I said, ‘is knowing what truly exists and having a clear understanding of the truth, and happiness is the reward of such knowledge and wisdom.’"

"'But what do you call God?' he said."

"‘That which always maintains the same nature, and in the same manner, and is the cause of all other things—that, indeed, is God.’ So I answered him; and he listened to me with pleasure, and then again questioned me:"

"Isn't knowledge a term used for various subjects? In all kinds of arts, someone who understands any one of them is considered skilled in the art of leadership, governance, or healing equally. But in divine and human affairs, it is different. Is there a knowledge that provides understanding of both human and divine matters, and then a deep familiarity with the divinity and righteousness of these things?"

"‘Assuredly,’ I replied."

"What, then? Is it in the same way we know man and God, as we know music, arithmetic, astronomy, or any other similar field?"

"‘By no means,’ I replied."

"You have not answered me correctly, then," he said, "for some branches of knowledge come to us through learning or employment, while we know others by sight. Now, if someone were to tell you that there exists in India an animal with a nature unlike all others, but of such and such a kind, diverse and varied, you would not know it before you saw it; nor would you be able to give any account of it unless you heard from someone who had seen it."

"‘Definitely not,’ I said."

"‘How then,’ he said, ‘can the philosophers judge correctly about God, or speak any truth, when they have no knowledge of Him, having neither seen Him at any time, nor heard Him?’"

"But, father," I said, "the Deity can't be seen just by the eyes, like other living beings can, but is understood by the mind alone, as Plato says; and I believe him."

"'Is there,' he asks, 'such a great power in our mind? Or can a person not perceive by sense sooner? Will the mind of man see God at any time if it is uninstructed by the Holy Spirit?'"

"Plato indeed says," I replied, "that the mind's eye has a nature and purpose that allows us to see that very Being when the mind is pure. This Being, who is the cause of everything understood by the mind, has no color, no form, no size—nothing that the physical eye can perceive. It is something beyond all essence, indescribable and unexplainable, but solely honorable and good, appearing suddenly to souls that are well-disposed, due to their affinity and desire to see Him."

"What connection, then," he replied, "is there between us and God? Is the soul also divine and immortal, and a part of that very royal mind? And just as that perceives God, is it also possible for us to conceive of the Deity in our mind, and thereby become happy?"

"Truly," I said.

"Do all the souls of all living beings understand Him?" he asked, "or are the souls of humans of one kind and the souls of horses and donkeys of another kind?"

"No, but the souls within everyone are similar," I answered.

"Then," he says, "will both horses and asses see, or have they seen at some time or another, God?"

"No," I said, "for most people will not, except those who live justly, purified by righteousness and every other virtue."

"It is not," he said, "because of his kinship that a man sees God, nor because he has intelligence, but because he is temperate and righteous?"

"‘Yes,’ I said, ‘and because he has that by which he perceives God.’"

"What then? Do goats or sheep harm anyone?"

"No one at all," I said.

"‘Therefore these animals will see [God] according to your account,’ he says."

"No; because their body, by its nature, is an obstacle to them."

HE REPLIED: "If these animals could speak, be sure they would have even more reason to mock our bodies. But let's leave this topic for now, and let it be as you say. However, tell me this: Does the soul see [God] while it is in the body, or after it has left the body?"

"As long as it is in the form of a man, it is possible for it," I continue, "to achieve this through the mind; but especially when it has been set free from the body, and being apart by itself, it gains possession of that which it was accustomed to continually and wholly love."

" ‘Does it remember this, then [the sight of God], when it is again in the man?’

"It doesn't seem that way to me," I said.

"What, then, is the advantage to those who have seen [God]? Or what does he who has seen have more than he who has not seen, unless he remembers this fact, that he has seen?"

"I cannot say," I replied.

"And what do those suffer who are judged unworthy of this sight?" he asked.

"They are imprisoned in the bodies of certain wild beasts, and this is their punishment."

"Do they know, then, that it is for this reason they are in such forms and that they have committed some sin?"

"I don't think so."

"‘Then these gain no benefit from their punishment, it seems: furthermore, I would say that they are not punished unless they are aware of the punishment.’"

"No, indeed."

“ ‘Therefore, souls neither see God nor transmigrate into other bodies; for they would know that by doing so they are punished, and they would be afraid to commit even the most trivial sin afterward. But that they can perceive that God exists, and that righteousness and piety are honorable, I also completely agree with you,’ he said.

"You are right," I replied.

"These philosophers know nothing about these things, because they cannot say what a soul is."

"It doesn't seem so."

"Nor should it be called immortal, for if it is immortal, it is clearly unbegotten."

"It is both unbegotten and immortal, according to some who are called Platonists."

"Do you say that the world is also not created?"

"Some say that. I do not, however, agree with them."

"You are right; what reason is there to suppose that a body so solid, resistant, composite, changeable, decaying, and renewed daily has not been created by some cause? But if the world is created, then souls must also be created; and perhaps at one time they did not exist, for they were made for the sake of humans and other living creatures, if you claim they have been created entirely separately and not alongside their respective bodies."

"This seems to be correct."

"‘So, they are not immortal?’"

"No; since the world has appeared to us to be created."

"I do not say that all souls die, for that would be good fortune for the evil. What then? The souls of the pious remain in a better place, while those of the unjust and wicked are in a worse one, waiting for the time of judgment. So, some who have appeared worthy of God never die, but others are punished as long as God wills them to exist and be punished."

"Is what you're saying similar to what Plato suggests in Timaeus about the world, when he says that, because it was created, it is indeed subject to decay, but it will neither dissolve nor face death due to the will of God? Do you think the same can be said of the soul and, generally, of all things? For the things that exist after God, or will exist at any time, have the nature of decay and can be destroyed and cease to exist; for God alone is unbegotten and incorruptible, and therefore He is God, while all other things after Him are created and corruptible.

FOR THIS REASON: souls die and are punished: if they were unbegotten, they wouldn't sin, be foolish, or cowardly, and again ferocious; nor would they willingly transform into swine, serpents, and dogs; and it wouldn't be just to force them if they were unbegotten. For what is unbegotten is similar to, equal to, and the same as that which is unbegotten; neither in power nor in honor should one be preferred over the other, and hence there aren't many things that are unbegotten: if there were differences between them, you wouldn't find the reason for the difference, even if you searched for it; but after letting the mind wander to infinity, you would eventually, exhausted, settle on one Unbegotten, and say that this is the Cause of all.

Did such things escape the notice of Plato and Pythagoras, those wise men," I asked, "who have been a wall and fortress of philosophy for us?"

"It doesn’t matter to me," he said, "whether Plato, Pythagoras, or any other person held such opinions. The truth remains; and you would understand it from this. The soul definitely is or has life. If it is life, it would cause something else, and not itself, to live, just as motion would move something other than itself. Now, no one would deny that the soul lives. But if it lives, it lives not as life itself, but as a participant in life; and what participates in something is different from what it participates in. The soul partakes in life because God wills it to live. Thus, it will not partake in life when God does not will it to live. For living is not its inherent property, as it is God's; just as a person does not always live, and the soul is not always joined with the body, since whenever this harmony is disrupted, the soul leaves the body, and the person exists no longer; likewise, whenever the soul must cease to exist, the spirit of life is removed from it, and there is no more soul, but it returns to the place from which it was taken."

"‘Should anyone, then, employ a teacher?’ I ask, ‘or where may anyone find help if there is not even truth in them?’"

"Long ago, before our time, there were certain men more ancient than all those known as philosophers, both righteous and loved by God, who spoke by the Divine Spirit and foretold events that would happen and are now happening. They are called prophets. They alone saw and announced the truth to people, neither revering nor fearing anyone, not driven by a desire for glory, but speaking only what they saw and heard, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Their writings are still available, and anyone who reads them gains much knowledge about the beginning and end of things, and matters that a philosopher should know, provided they believe them.

They did not use demonstrations in their writings because they were witnesses to the truth beyond all demonstration and worthy of belief; and the events that have happened, and those happening now, compel you to accept their words, even though they were worthy of belief because of the miracles they performed, since they glorified the Creator, the God and Father of all, and proclaimed His Son, the Christ sent by Him. The false prophets, filled with the lying unclean spirit, neither have done nor do this, but they attempt to perform certain wonders to amaze people and glorify the spirits and demons of error.

BUT PRAY THAT: above all, the gates of light may be opened to you; for these things cannot be perceived or understood by everyone, but only by those to whom God and His Christ have given wisdom."

"When he had spoken these and many other things, which we don't have time to mention now, he left, telling me to pay attention to them; and I haven't seen him since. But immediately a flame was kindled in my soul, and a love for the prophets and for those who are friends of Christ filled me. As I contemplated his words, I found this philosophy alone to be safe and beneficial. For this reason, I am a philosopher. Moreover, I wish that everyone, making a resolution similar to my own, does not keep themselves away from the words of the Saviour. They possess a powerful influence on their own, inspiring awe in those who stray from the path of righteousness, while offering the sweetest peace to those who practice them diligently. If, then, you have any concern for yourself, if you're seeking salvation, and if you believe in God, you may—since you do care about this—become acquainted with the Christ of God, and, after being initiated, live a happy life."

WHEN I HAD SAID THIS: my beloved friends who were with Trypho laughed; but he, smiling, said, “I approve of your other remarks and admire the eagerness with which you study divine things; but it would be better for you to continue in the philosophy of Plato, or some other man, cultivating endurance, self-control, and moderation, rather than be deceived by false words and follow the opinions of men of no reputation. For if you remain in that kind of philosophy and live blamelessly, the hope of a better destiny would be left to you; but when you have forsaken God and put your confidence in man, what safety still awaits you? If, then, you are willing to listen to me (for I already consider you a friend), first be circumcised, then observe what ordinances have been enacted with respect to the Sabbath, and the feasts, and the new moons of God; and, in short, do all things that have been written in the law: and then perhaps you shall obtain mercy from God. But Christ—if He has indeed been born, and exists anywhere—is unknown, and does not even know Himself, and has no power until Elias comes to anoint Him and make Him manifest to all. And you, having accepted a groundless report, invent a Christ for yourselves, and for His sake are carelessly perishing.”

"I excuse and forgive you, my friend," I said. "For you do not know what you say, but have been persuaded by teachers who do not understand the Scriptures; and you speak, like a diviner, whatever comes into your mind. But if you are willing to listen to an account of Him, how we have not been deceived, and will not stop confessing Him—despite men's reproaches being heaped upon us, despite the most terrible tyrant forcing us to deny Him—I will prove to you as you stand here that we have not believed in empty fables or words without any foundation, but words filled with the Spirit of God, and full of power, and flourishing with grace."

THEN AGAIN THOSE WHO WERE WITH HIM LAUGHED AND SHOUTED IN AN IMPROPER MANNER: I stood up and was about to leave, but he held my garment and said I shouldn't leave until I fulfilled my promise. "Don't let your companions be so noisy or behave so disgracefully," I said. "If they want, let them listen quietly, or if they have something better to do, let them leave; while we can move to a different place and finish our discussion there." Trypho agreed, so we moved to the middle of the Xystus. Two of his friends, after making fun of our enthusiasm, left. When we arrived at the place with stone seats on both sides, those with Trypho sat on one side and talked among themselves, with someone making a remark about the war in Judea.

AND WHEN THEY STOPPED: I addressed them again like this:—

IS THERE ANY OTHER ISSUE: my friends, for which we are criticized, besides this: that we do not live according to the law, are not circumcised in the flesh like your forefathers, and do not observe the sabbaths as you do? Are our lives and customs also spoken ill of among you? And I ask this: have you also believed that we eat men; and that after the feast, when the lights are turned off, we engage in promiscuous behavior? Or do you only condemn us for adhering to these beliefs and for having an opinion which you consider false?

"This is what amazes us," said Trypho, "but the things people talk about are not believable; for they are most against human nature. Moreover, I know that your teachings in the so-called Gospel are so wonderful and great, that I doubt anyone can follow them; for I have read them carefully. But this is what truly confuses us: that you, claiming to be pious and considering yourselves better than others, are not different from them in any specific way, and do not change your way of life from the nations, in that you observe no festivals or sabbaths, and do not practice circumcision; and further, resting your hopes on a man who was crucified, you still expect to receive some good thing from God, even though you do not obey His commandments. Have you not read, that the soul that is not circumcised on the eighth day shall be cut off from his people? And this was ordained for strangers and slaves equally. But you, disregarding this covenant recklessly, reject the associated duties, and try to convince yourselves that you know God, when in fact, you do none of the things that those who fear God do. If, therefore, you can defend yourself on these points, and show us how you hope for anything even though you do not observe the law, we would gladly listen to you, and we shall conduct other similar investigations."

"There will be no other God, O Trypho, nor was there from eternity any other existing," I thus addressed him, "but He who made and arranged all this universe. Nor do we think that there is one God for us and another for you, but that He alone is God who led your ancestors out of Egypt with a strong hand and an uplifted arm. Nor have we trusted in any other (for there is no other), but in Him whom you also have trusted, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob.

But we do not trust through Moses or through the law; for then we would do the same as you do.

But now—for I have read that there shall be a final law, and a covenant, the greatest of all, which it is now necessary for all people to observe, as many as are seeking after the inheritance of God. For the law given at Horeb is now old, and belongs to you alone; but this is for everyone universally.

NOW: a law placed against another law has annulled the one before it, and a covenant which comes afterward in the same way has ended the previous one; and an eternal and final law—namely, Christ—has been given to us, and the covenant is trustworthy, after which there shall be no law, no commandment, no ordinance. Have you not read what Isaiah says: 'Listen to Me, listen to Me, my people; and, you kings, pay attention to Me: for a law shall go forth from Me, and My judgment shall be a light to the nations.

My righteousness approaches swiftly, and My salvation shall go forth, and nations shall trust in My arm?' And by Jeremiah, concerning this same new covenant, He thus speaks: 'Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.' If, therefore, God proclaimed a new covenant that was to be established, and this for a light to the nations, we see and are convinced that people approach God, leaving their idols and other unrighteousness, through the name of Him who was crucified, Jesus Christ, and hold firm to their confession even unto death, and maintain piety.

Moreover, by the works and by the accompanying miracles, it is possible for all to understand that He is the new law, and the new covenant, and the hope of those who from every people wait for the good things of God. For the true spiritual Israel, and descendants of Judah, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham (who was approved of and blessed by God on account of his faith, and called the father of many nations, despite being uncircumcised), are we who have been led to God through this crucified Christ, as shall be demonstrated as we proceed."

I ALSO REFERRED TO ANOTHER PASSAGE WHERE ISAIAH EXCLAIMS: “ ‘Listen to My words, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have appointed Him as a witness to the people: nations that do not know you shall call on you; people who do not know you shall come to you, because of your God, the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you.’ This same law you have despised, and His new holy covenant you have slighted; and now you neither accept it nor repent of your evil deeds. ‘For your ears are closed, your eyes are blinded, and your heart is hardened,’ Jeremiah has cried; yet even then you do not listen.

The Lawgiver is present, yet you do not see Him; the Gospel is preached to the poor, the blind see, yet you do not understand. You now need a second circumcision, even though you greatly pride yourself on the flesh. The new law requires you to keep a perpetual Sabbath, and you, because you rest for one day, think you are pious, not understanding why this has been commanded to you: and if you eat unleavened bread, you say the will of God has been fulfilled.

The Lord our God does not take pleasure in such observances: if there is any perjured person or a thief among you, let them cease to be so; if there is any adulterer, let them repent; then they have kept the sweet and true Sabbaths of God. If anyone has impure hands, let them wash and be pure.

"For Isaiah did not send you to a bath to wash away murder and other sins, which not even all the water of the sea could cleanse; but, as might have been expected, this was the saving bath of old for those who repented, no longer purified by the blood of goats and sheep, or by the ashes of a heifer, or by offerings of fine flour, but by faith through the blood of Christ and through His death, who died for this very reason, as Isaiah himself said, when he spoke: ‘The Lord will make bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the nations and the ends of the earth will see the salvation of God.

DEPART: depart, depart, go out from there, and touch no unclean thing; go out of the midst of her, be clean you who bear the vessels of the Lord, for you do not go in haste. For the Lord will go before you; and the Lord, the God of Israel, will gather you together. Behold, my servant will act wisely; and He will be exalted and greatly glorified. As many were astonished at You, so Your form and Your glory will be marred more than men.

So shall many nations be astonished at Him, and kings will shut their mouths; for what has not been told them concerning Him they will see, and what they had not heard they will consider. Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have announced Him as a child before Him, as a root in a dry ground. He has no form or comeliness, and when we saw Him, He had no form or beauty; but His form is dishonored and fails more than the sons of men.

He is a man of suffering and familiar with sickness, because His face has been turned away; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. He bears our sins and is distressed for us; and we regarded Him as afflicted and suffering and treated harshly.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the punishment for our peace was upon Him. With His wounds we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray.

Each has turned to his own way; and the Lord laid on Him our iniquities, and despite His oppression, He does not open His mouth. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In His humiliation, His judgment was taken away. And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth. Because of the transgressions of my people, He came unto death.

And I will give the wicked for His grave and the rich for His death, because He committed no iniquity, and deceit was not found in His mouth. And the Lord wills to purify Him from affliction. If He has been offered for sin, your soul will see a long-lived seed. And the Lord wills to take His soul away from trouble, to show Him light, and to give Him understanding, to justify the righteous One who serves many well.

And He will bear our sins; therefore He will inherit many and will divide the spoils of the strong, because His soul was delivered to death; and He was counted among the transgressors, and He bore the sins of many, and was delivered for their transgression. Sing, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who do not travail in pain: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife.

For the Lord said, Enlarge the place of your tent and your curtains; fix them, do not spare, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes; stretch forth to your right and left; and your seed will inherit the Gentiles, and you will make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not because you are ashamed, neither be confused because you have been reproached; for you will forget the shame of old, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood, because the Lord has made a name for Himself, and He who has redeemed you will be called throughout the whole earth the God of Israel.

The Lord has called you as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, as a woman hated from her youth.'"

BECAUSE OF THIS CLEANSING OF REPENTANCE AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD: which has been established due to the sins of God's people, as Isaiah declares, we have believed and testify that this very baptism he spoke of is the only thing that can purify those who have repented; and this is the water of life. But the cisterns you have made for yourselves are broken and useless. What is the purpose of that baptism which only cleanses the flesh and body? Cleanse the soul from wrath, covetousness, envy, and hatred; and behold, the body will be pure. This is the symbolic meaning of unleavened bread—that you do not do the old deeds of wicked leaven. But you have understood everything in a physical sense, thinking it is piety to do such things, while your souls are filled with deceit and every kind of wickedness. Therefore, after the seven days of eating unleavened bread, God commanded them to mix in new leaven, meaning the performance of new works, not the imitation of old, evil deeds. Because this is what the new Lawgiver demands, I will again reference the words I have quoted, and others which have been overlooked. They are given by Isaiah in this way: 'Listen to me, and your soul shall live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David. Look, I have made Him a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the nations. Nations that do not know you shall call upon you; and peoples who do not know you shall run to you, because of your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you. Seek God; and call on Him while He is near you. Let the wicked abandon his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and he will receive mercy, because He will generously pardon your sins. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are My ways your ways; as far as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. As the snow or rain falls from heaven and does not return without watering the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, and providing seed for the sower and bread for food, so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth: it will not return void but will accomplish what I desire, and fulfill My purpose. You will go out with joy, and be led forth with peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the cypress, and instead of briers will grow the myrtle. And the Lord's renown will be for an everlasting sign, and He will not fail!'

Some of these words written by the prophets, O Trypho," I said, "refer to the first coming of Christ, when He was portrayed as humble, obscure, and mortal; but others refer to His second coming, when He will appear in glory above the clouds, and your nation will see and recognize Him whom they pierced, as foretold by Hosea, one of the twelve prophets, and Daniel.

THEREFORE: learn to keep the true fast of God, as Isaiah says, so that you may please Him. Isaiah has proclaimed: ‘Shout loudly, and do not hold back: lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins. They seek Me daily, and desire to know My ways, as a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of God. They ask Me for righteous judgment and wish to draw near to God, saying, Why have we fasted, and You do not see? We have afflicted our souls, and You do not acknowledge? Because during your fasting days, you pursue your own desires and oppress all those who are subject to you.

Look, you fast for strife and debate, and strike the humble with your fists. Why do you fast as you do today, so that your voice is heard loudly? This is not the fast I have chosen, the day for a person to afflict their soul. Even if you bend your neck like a ring or dress in sackcloth and ashes, will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? This is not the fast I have chosen, says the Lord; instead, release every unrighteous bond, dissolve wrong covenants, free the oppressed, and avoid every unjust contract.

Share your bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor into your home; when you see the naked, clothe them, and do not hide from your own family. Then your light will break forth like the morning, and your healing will quickly appear: your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of God will surround you. Then you will cry out, and the Lord will answer you; while you are speaking, He will say, Here I am. If you remove from yourself the yoke, pointing of the finger, and malicious talk; and give generously your bread to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then your light will rise in darkness, and your night will shine like the noonday; and your God will guide you continually, and you will be satisfied as your soul desires, and your bones will be strong, like a well-watered garden and a spring of water, whose waters never fail.' ‘Therefore, circumcise the foreskin of your heart,’ as the words of God in all these passages demand.

AND GOD HIMSELF ANNOUNCED THROUGH MOSES: saying: ‘And circumcise the hardness of your hearts, and do not stiffen your necks any longer. For the Lord your God is both Lord of lords, and a great, mighty, and terrible God, who does not show favoritism, and does not accept bribes.’ And in Leviticus: ‘Because they have sinned against Me, and despised Me, and because they have walked contrary to Me, I also acted contrary to them, and I shall cut them off in the land of their enemies.

Then their uncircumcised heart will be turned. For the circumcision according to the flesh, which is from Abraham, was given as a sign; that you may be separated from other nations, and from us; and that you alone may endure what you now justly suffer; and that your land may be desolate, and your cities burned with fire; and that strangers may eat your fruit in your presence, and not one of you may go up to Jerusalem.’ For you are not recognized among the rest of mankind by any other mark than your fleshly circumcision.

For none of you, I suppose, will dare to say that God neither did nor does foresee future events, nor foreordained his judgments for each one. Accordingly, these things have happened to you fairly and justly, for you have slain the Just One, and His prophets before Him; and now you reject those who hope in Him, and in Him who sent Him—God the Almighty and Maker of all things—cursing in your synagogues those who believe in Christ.

For you do not have the power to lay hands upon us, because of those who currently have control.

But as often as you could, you did so. Therefore God, through Isaiah, calls to you, saying, ‘See how the righteous man perished, and no one notices it. For the righteous man is taken away from before wickedness. His grave shall be in peace; he is taken away from the midst. Come near here, you lawless children, offspring of the adulterers, and children of the whore.

Against whom have you mocked, and against whom have you opened the mouth, and against whom have you loosened the tongue?’

OTHER NATIONS HAVE NOT INFLICTED ON US AND ON CHRIST THIS WRONG TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU HAVE: who are truly the authors of the wicked prejudice against the Just One and us who follow Him. For after you crucified Him, the only blameless and righteous Man—by whose suffering those who approach the Father through Him are healed—and when you knew that He had risen from the dead and ascended to heaven, as the prophets foretold He would, you did not repent of the wickedness you had committed.

Instead, you selected and sent out chosen men from Jerusalem throughout the land to claim that the godless heresy of the Christians had begun, spreading falsehoods against us to those who do not know us. You are, therefore, the cause not only of your own unrighteousness but also of that of others. Isaiah rightly declares: ‘Because of you, My name is blasphemed among the Gentiles.’ And: ‘Woe to their soul! because they have devised an evil plan against themselves, saying, Let us bind the righteous, for he is distasteful to us.

Therefore they will reap what they have sown. Woe to the wicked! evil will be given to him according to the works of his hands.’ And again, in other words: ‘Woe to those who draw their iniquity with a long cord and their transgressions with the harness of a heifer’s yoke: who say, Let his speed come near; and let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it. Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put light for darkness, and darkness for light; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!’ Thus, you showed great zeal in spreading throughout the land bitter, dark, and unjust things against the only blameless and righteous Light sent by God.

FOR HE APPEARED DISTASTEFUL TO YOU WHEN HE CRIED AMONG YOU: ‘It is written, My house is the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves!’ He also overturned the tables of the money-changers in the temple, and exclaimed, ‘Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you pay tithe of mint and rue, but do not observe the love of God and justice. You whitewashed tombs! Appearing beautiful outwardly, but are within full of dead men’s bones.’ And to the Scribes, ‘Woe to you, Scribes! For you have the keys, and you do not enter in yourselves, and those who are entering you hinder; you blind guides!’

SINCE YOU HAVE READ: Trypho, as you yourself admitted, the teachings of our Savior, I do not think I have acted foolishly in adding some of His brief sayings to the prophetic statements. So, wash and cleanse yourselves, and remove iniquity from your souls, as God commands you to be washed in this laver, and be circumcised with the true circumcision. We would also follow the physical circumcision, the Sabbaths, and all the feasts, if we did not understand why they were commanded to you—specifically, because of your transgressions and the hardness of your hearts. If we patiently endure everything plotted against us by wicked people and demons, so that even amid unimaginable cruelties, death, and torments, we pray for mercy for those who inflict such things upon us, and do not wish to retaliate against anyone, just as the new Lawgiver commanded us, then how is it, Trypho, that we would not observe those rites that do not harm us—speaking of physical circumcision, Sabbaths, and feasts?

"We are confused about this, and understandably so, because while you endure such things, you don’t follow all the other customs we are now discussing."

THIS CIRCUMCISION IS NOT: however, necessary for all men, but for you alone, in order that, as I have already said, you may suffer these things which you now justly suffer. Nor do we accept that useless baptism of cisterns, for it has nothing to do with this baptism of life.

Therefore, God has announced that you have forsaken Him, the living fountain, and dug for yourselves broken cisterns that can hold no water. Even you, who are circumcised according to the flesh, need our circumcision; but we, having the latter, do not require the former.

For if it were necessary, as you suppose, God would not have made Adam uncircumcised; would not have had regard for the gifts of Abel when, being uncircumcised, he offered sacrifice, and would not have been pleased with the uncircumcision of Enoch, who was not found because God had taken him. Lot, being uncircumcised, was saved from Sodom, the angels themselves and the Lord sending him out. Noah was the beginning of our race; yet, uncircumcised, along with his children, he went into the ark.

Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High, was uncircumcised; to whom also Abraham, the first who received circumcision in the flesh, gave tithes, and he blessed him: after whose order God declared, through the mouth of David, that He would establish the everlasting priest. Therefore to you alone this circumcision was necessary, in order that the people may be no people, and the nation no nation; as Hosea, one of the twelve prophets, declares.

Moreover, all those righteous men already mentioned, though they observed no Sabbaths, were pleasing to God; and after them, Abraham with all his descendants until Moses, under whom your nation appeared unrighteous and ungrateful to God, making a calf in the wilderness: therefore God, accommodating Himself to that nation, ordered them also to offer sacrifices, as if to His name, in order that you might not serve idols.

Which command, however, you have not observed; indeed, you sacrificed your children to demons. And you were commanded to keep Sabbaths, that you might retain the memorial of God. For His word makes this announcement, saying, 'That you may know that I am God who redeemed you.'

IN ADDITION: you were instructed to avoid certain kinds of food to keep God in mind while eating and drinking, since you were likely to drift away from His knowledge, as Moses also states: ‘The people ate and drank, and then indulged in revelry.’ And again: ‘Jacob ate, was satisfied, and became fat; and the beloved one rebelled: he grew fat, thick, and large, and abandoned God who made him.’ Moses tells you in Genesis that God allowed Noah, being a just man, to eat any animal, but not flesh with blood, which is lifeless.” As he was about to say, “as the green herbs,” I interrupted: “Why don’t you understand this phrase, ‘as the green herbs,’ in the way God intended, meaning that just as God provided herbs for human nourishment, He also permitted animals for meat? But you argue that a distinction was later made to Noah and that we don’t eat certain herbs.

Your interpretation seems unlikely. First, I won't dwell on this, though I could argue that every vegetable is food and suitable for eating. Even though we choose between herbs and don’t eat all of them, we avoid some not because they are common or unclean, but because they are bitter, poisonous, or thorny.

However, we consume all herbs that are sweet, nourishing, and good, whether they are marine or land plants. Likewise, God instructed you through Moses to abstain from unclean, improper, and aggressive animals.

Yet, while you were in the desert eating manna and witnessing all the wondrous acts God did for you, you made and worshiped the golden calf.

Thus, he rightly declares, ‘They are foolish children, lacking faith.’

FURTHERMORE: God commanded you to keep the Sabbath and imposed other laws on you as a sign, as I have already explained, because of your unrighteousness and that of your ancestors. He states that to protect His name from being profaned among the nations, He allowed some of you to remain alive. These are His words as recorded by Ezekiel: ‘I am the Lord your God; follow My laws, keep My judgments, and do not participate in the customs of Egypt; honor My Sabbaths; and they will be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.

However, you rebelled against Me, and your children did not follow My laws, nor did they keep My judgments to do them, which, if a person does, they shall live by them.

But they polluted My Sabbaths. And I said I would pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness to express My anger against them; yet I did not do it, so that My name would not be completely profaned in the sight of the heathen. I led them out in front of their eyes and raised My hand to them in the wilderness, stating that I would scatter them among the heathen and disperse them through various countries because they had not followed My judgments, had despised My laws, polluted My Sabbaths, and their eyes were focused on the practices of their fathers.

Therefore, I also gave them laws that were not good and judgments by which they shall not live. And I will make their own gifts impure, in order that I may destroy all that opens the womb when I pass through them.’

"And so you may learn that it was because of the sins of your own nation and their idolatries, and not because there was any necessity for such sacrifices, that they were also commanded. Listen to what He says through Amos, one of the twelve: 'Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! What will the day of the Lord be for you? It will be darkness and not light, like when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him, or he goes into his house and leans his hand against the wall and a serpent bites him.

Won't the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, very dark with no brightness in it? I have hated, I have despised your feast-days, and I will not take pleasure in your solemn assemblies; even if you offer Me your burnt-offerings and sacrifices, I will not accept them, nor will I regard the peace offerings from you. Take away from Me the noise of your songs and psalms; I will not listen to your instruments.

BUT LET JUSTICE ROLL DOWN LIKE WATERS: and righteousness like an unfailing stream.

Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness, O house of Israel?' says the Lord. 'You carried the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Raphan, the images you made for yourselves.

Therefore, I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,' says the Lord, whose name is the Almighty God. Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, those notable persons who have taken the lead among the nations to whom the house of Israel comes.

Pass over to Calneh and see, and from there go to Hamath the great, then down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory greater than your territory? You who put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror, who lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches, who eat lambs from the flock and calves from the stall, who sing frivolous songs to the sound of the harp and like David compose songs for yourselves, who drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest oils but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.' And again, by Jeremiah: 'Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.' And again, by David in the forty-ninth Psalm, He says: 'The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken and summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, perfect in beauty, God has shown Himself. Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before Him, and around Him a tempest rages. He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that He may judge His people: "Gather to Me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for He is a God who judges. Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.

I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or for your burnt offerings, which are ever before Me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all that is in it.

Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.' But to the wicked, God says, 'What right have you to recite My laws or take My covenant on your lips? You hate My instruction and cast My words behind you. When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers.

You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. You sit and testify against your brother and slander your own mother's son. When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you.

But I now arraign you and set My accusations before you. Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you. Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor Me, and to the blameless I will show My salvation.' Accordingly, He neither takes sacrifices from you nor commanded them initially because they are necessary for Him but because of your sins.

Indeed, He acknowledged the temple in Jerusalem as His house, not because He needed it, but so you would not worship idols. And Isaiah affirms this: 'What house will you build for Me?' says the Lord. 'Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool.'"

"But if we do not admit this, we might fall into foolish beliefs, as if it were not the same God who existed in the times of Enoch and all the others, who were neither circumcised in the flesh nor observed Sabbaths or other rituals, even though Moses instructed such practices; or as if God did not desire every group of people to continually perform the same righteous actions. To suggest otherwise seems ridiculous and absurd.

THEREFORE: we must acknowledge that He, who is always the same, has commanded these and similar practices because of sinful people, and we must declare Him to be benevolent, all-knowing, self-sufficient, righteous, and good.

But if this is not so, tell me, sir, what you think about these matters we are investigating." And when no one responded: "Therefore, Trypho, I will proclaim to you, and to those who wish to become converts, the divine message I heard from that man. Do you see that the elements are not idle and keep no Sabbaths? Remain as you were born. For if there was no need for circumcision before Abraham, or the observance of Sabbaths, feasts, and sacrifices before Moses; then there is no need for them now, because, according to the will of God, Jesus Christ the Son of God has been born without sin, of a virgin descended from the line of Abraham.

For when Abraham himself was not circumcised, he was justified and blessed because of the faith he placed in God, as Scripture tells us.

Furthermore, Scripture and the facts force us to admit that he received circumcision as a sign, not for righteousness. So, it was rightly recorded that the soul not circumcised on the eighth day would be cut off from his family.

Additionally, the inability of women to receive physical circumcision proves that circumcision was given as a sign, not as a work of righteousness.

For God has also given women the ability to observe all things that are righteous and virtuous; yet we see that the physical form of males is different from the physical form of females. Still, we understand that neither is considered righteous or unrighteous merely because of this, but [is considered righteous] due to piety and righteousness."

"Now, gentlemen," I said, "it is possible for us to show how the eighth day possessed a certain mysterious significance that the seventh day did not have, and which was revealed by God through these rites. But lest I seem to stray to other topics, understand what I say: the blood of that circumcision is obsolete, and we trust in the blood of salvation; there is now another covenant, and another law has gone forth from Zion. Jesus Christ circumcises all who are willing—as mentioned above—with knives of stone; that they may be a righteous nation, a people keeping faith, holding to the truth, and maintaining peace. Come then with me, all who fear God, who wish to see the good of Jerusalem. Come, let us go to the light of the Lord; for He has liberated His people, the house of Jacob. Come, all nations; let us gather ourselves together at Jerusalem, no longer plagued by war for the sins of her people. ‘For I was manifest to those who did not seek Me; I was found by those who did not ask for Me;’ He declares through Isaiah: ‘I said, Behold Me, to nations that were not called by My name. I have spread out My hands all day long to a disobedient and contrary people, who walked in a way that was not good, but followed their own sins. It is a people that provokes Me to my face.’"

THOSE WHO JUSTIFY THEMSELVES AND CLAIM TO BE SONS OF ABRAHAM WILL BE EAGER: even to a small extent, to receive the inheritance along with you. As the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of Isaiah, cries out, portraying them: ‘Return from heaven and look from the place of Your holiness and glory. Where is Your zeal and strength? Where is the abundance of Your mercy? For You have sustained us, O Lord. For You are our Father, because Abraham is unaware of us, and Israel has not recognized us.

But You, O Lord, are our Father; deliver us, for Your name has been upon us from the beginning. O Lord, why have You made us stray from Your way and hardened our hearts so that we do not fear You? Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your inheritance, that we may inherit for a little while Your holy mountain. We were as in the beginning when You did not rule over us, and when Your name was not called upon us.

If You would open the heavens, trembling would seize the mountains before You; and they would melt, as wax melts before the fire; and fire would consume the adversaries, and Your name would be shown among the adversaries; the nations would be thrown into disorder before Your face. When You do glorious things, trembling will seize the mountains before You. From the beginning we have not heard nor have our eyes seen a God besides You, and Your works, the mercy You will show to those who repent.

You will meet those who act righteously, and they will remember Your ways. Behold, You are angry, and we have been sinning. Therefore we have gone astray and become all unclean, and all our righteousness is like the rags of a woman set apart; and we have withered like leaves because of our iniquities, and the wind will carry us away. And there is no one who calls upon Your name or remembers to take hold of You; for You have turned away Your face from us and have given us up because of our sins.

And now return, O Lord, for we are all Your people. The city of Your holiness has become desolate. Zion has become like a wilderness, Jerusalem a curse; the house, our holiness, and the glory which our fathers blessed, has been burned with fire; and all the glorious nations have fallen along with it. And in addition to these misfortunes, O Lord, You have held Yourself back, remained silent, and have humbled us greatly.’

AND TRYPHO ASKED: "What are you saying? That none of us will inherit anything on God's holy mountain?"

AND I REPLIED: “I do not say so; but those who have persecuted and still persecute Christ, if they do not repent, shall not inherit anything on the holy mountain.

But the Gentiles, who have believed in Him, and have repented of the sins they have committed, shall receive the inheritance along with the patriarchs, the prophets, and the just men descended from Jacob, even though they neither keep the Sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the feasts. Surely, they shall receive the holy inheritance of God.

For God speaks through Isaiah like this: ‘I, the Lord God, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, and will strengthen You; and I have given You as a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out those who are bound from the chains, and those who sit in darkness from the prison-house.’ And again: ‘Lift up a standard for the people; for, see, the Lord has made it heard to the end of the earth.

Say to the daughters of Zion, Behold, your Savior has come; having His reward, and His work before His face: and He shall call it a holy nation, redeemed by the Lord. And you shall be called a city sought out, and not forsaken. Who is this that comes from Edom? in red garments from Bosor? This one who is beautiful in apparel, going up with great strength? I speak righteousness, and the judgment of salvation. Why are Your garments red, and Your apparel as from the trodden wine-press? You are full of the trodden grape.

I have trodden the wine-press all alone, and of the people there is no one with Me; and I have trampled them in fury, and crushed them to the ground, and spilled their blood on the earth. For the day of retribution has come upon them, and the year of redemption is present. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I considered, and none assisted: and My arm delivered; and My fury came on them, and I trampled them in My fury, and spilled their blood on the earth.’ ”

AND TRYPHO SAID: “Why do you choose and quote whatever you wish from the prophetic writings, but do not mention those that explicitly command the Sabbath to be observed? For Isaiah speaks like this: ‘If you turn your foot away from the Sabbaths, so as not to do your pleasure on the holy day, and call the Sabbaths the holy delights of your God; if you do not lift your foot to work, and do not speak a word from your own mouth; then you shall trust in the Lord, and He shall cause you to ascend to the good things of the land; and He shall feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.’ ”

AND I REPLIED: "I have overlooked them, my friends, not because these prophecies are against me, but because you have understood, and still understand, that although God commands you through all the prophets to do the same things He also commanded through Moses, it was because of the hardness of your hearts and your ingratitude towards Him that He repeatedly declares them. This was so that, even then, if you repented, you might please Him and neither sacrifice your children to demons, nor be involved with thieves, nor love bribes, nor seek revenge, nor neglect justice for orphans, nor ignore the rights of widows, nor have your hands full of blood. 'For the daughters of Zion have walked with arrogance, making gestures with their eyes and flaunting their attire.

They have all turned aside,' He exclaims, 'they have all become useless. There is none who understands, not even one. They have practiced deceit with their tongues, their throat is an open grave, the poison of snakes is under their lips, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known.' So, just as these things were commanded to you at the beginning because of your wickedness, similarly now, due to your constant wickedness or even your increased inclination towards it, He uses the same commands to remind or inform you of it.

But you are a people stubborn and without understanding, both blind and lame, children in whom there is no faith, as He Himself says, honoring Him only with your lips, far from Him in your hearts, teaching doctrines that are your own and not His. For, tell me, did God wish the priests to sin when they offer sacrifices on the Sabbaths? Or those to sin, who are circumcised and perform circumcision on the Sabbaths; since He commands that on the eighth day—even if it falls on a Sabbath—those who are born shall always be circumcised? Or couldn’t the infants be circumcised one day before or one day after the Sabbath, if He knew it is a sinful act on the Sabbaths? Or why did He not instruct those—who are called righteous and pleasing to Him, who lived before Moses and Abraham, who were not circumcised in their flesh and observed no Sabbaths—to keep these laws?"

AND TRYPHO REPLIED: "We heard you presenting this point a little while ago, and we have paid attention to it; for, to tell the truth, it is worthy of attention. However, the answer that is most commonly given—namely, that it seemed good to Him—does not satisfy me. For those who cannot answer the question always fall back on this."

THEN I SAID: "Since I bring both the proofs and their teachings from the Scriptures and the facts themselves, do not delay or hesitate to believe me, even though I am an uncircumcised man; you have so little time left to become converts. If Christ returns before you do, your repentance and tears will be in vain, for He will not listen to you. Jeremiah cried out to the people, ‘Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart.’ So do not sow among thorns or in untilled ground, where you cannot bear fruit. Know Christ; the good, rich, and fertile unplowed ground is in your hearts. 'For behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'that I will visit all those who are circumcised only in their flesh; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the sons of Moab. For all nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts.' Do you see how God does not mean the physical circumcision, which is given as a sign? It is of no use to the Egyptians, the sons of Moab, or the sons of Edom.

But even if a man is a Scythian or a Persian, if he knows God and His Christ and keeps the everlasting righteous decrees, he is circumcised with the good and useful circumcision, and is a friend of God, and God rejoices in his gifts and offerings.

But I will lay before you, my friends, the very words of God when He said to the people through Malachi, one of the twelve prophets, ‘I have no pleasure in you,' says the Lord, 'and I shall not accept your sacrifices from your hands: for from the rising to the setting of the sun, My name shall be glorified among the Gentiles; and in every place, a sacrifice is offered to My name, even a pure sacrifice: for My name is honored among the Gentiles,’ says the Lord, ‘but you profane it.’ And through David, He said, 'A people whom I have not known serve Me; as soon as they hear of Me, they obey Me.'"

LET US GLORIFY GOD: all nations gathered together, for He has visited us. Let us glorify Him by the King of glory, the Lord of hosts. For He has shown grace to the Gentiles as well, and He values our sacrifices more than yours. Why do I need circumcision when God has witnessed me? Why do I need that other baptism when I have been baptized with the Holy Ghost? I believe that by mentioning this, I could persuade even those with limited understanding. These words have not been crafted or embellished by me, but David sang them, Isaiah preached them, Zechariah proclaimed them, and Moses wrote them. Are you familiar with them, Trypho? They are found in your Scriptures, or rather not yours, but ours. For we believe them, but you, although you read them, do not grasp the spirit in them. Do not be offended or reproach us for the physical uncircumcision with which God made us; and do not find it strange that we drink hot water on the Sabbaths, since God governs the universe on this day just as He does on all others. The priests, as on other days, are commanded to offer sacrifices on this day, and there are many righteous men who have not performed these legal ceremonies, yet they are witnessed to by God Himself.

ATTRIBUTE IT TO YOUR OWN WICKEDNESS THAT GOD CAN EVEN BE ACCUSED BY THOSE WHO LACK UNDERSTANDING: of not always instructing everyone with the same righteous laws. For such regulations seemed unreasonable and unworthy of God to many people who had not received grace to know that your nation was called to conversion and repentance of spirit, while they were sinful and suffering from spiritual disease; and that the prophecy announced after Moses's death is everlasting. This is mentioned in the Psalm, my friends.

And it is clear that we, who have been made wise by them, confess that the statutes of the Lord are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, because even when threatened with death, we do not deny His name.

Moreover, it is evident to all that we who believe in Him pray to be kept by Him from foreign, that is, wicked and deceitful, spirits, as the word of prophecy figuratively declares by personifying a believer. For we continually beseech God through Jesus Christ to preserve us from the demons opposed to the worship of God, whom we once served long ago, so that, after our conversion by Him to God, we may be blameless.

We call Him Helper and Redeemer, whose name even the demons fear; and today, when they are exorcised in the name of Jesus Christ, crucified under Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea, they are defeated. It is thus clear to all that His Father has given Him such great power, by which demons are subdued to His name and to the purpose of His suffering.

BUT IF SUCH GREAT POWER IS SHOWN TO HAVE FOLLOWED AND TO STILL BE FOLLOWING THE DISPENSATION OF HIS SUFFERING: how great will it be that follows His glorious advent! For He will come on the clouds as the Son of man, as Daniel foretold, and His angels will come with Him. Here are the words: ‘I watched until the thrones were set; and the Ancient of days sat, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool.

His throne was like a fiery flame, His wheels like burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. Thousands upon thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The books were opened, and the judgment was set. I then watched the voice of the great words which the horn speaks: and the beast was defeated, and its body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. The rest of the beasts were taken away from their dominion, and some life was given to the beasts for a season and time.

I saw in the vision of the night, and, behold, one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven; and He came to the Ancient of days, and stood before Him. And those who stood by brought Him near; and He was given power and kingly honor, and all nations of the earth by their families, and all glory, serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not be taken away; and His kingdom will not be destroyed.

My spirit was chilled within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of those that stood by, and inquired the precise meaning of all these things. In answer he spoke to me and showed me the judgment of the matters: These great beasts are four kingdoms, which will perish from the earth and will not receive dominion forever, even forever and ever. Then I wanted to know exactly about the fourth beast, which destroyed all the others and was very terrible, its teeth of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, made waste, and stamped what was left with its feet: also about the ten horns on its head, and of the one which came up, by means of which three of the former fell.

That horn had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things; and its countenance excelled the rest. I watched that horn waging war against the saints and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of days came; and He gave judgment for the saints of the Most High. The time came, and the saints of the Most High possessed the kingdom. I was told about the fourth beast: There shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which will prevail over all these kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, and will destroy and make it thoroughly waste.

The ten horns are ten kings that will arise; and one will arise after them; he will surpass the first in evil deeds, and he will subdue three kings, and he will speak words against the Most High, and will overthrow the rest of the saints of the Most High, and will expect to change the seasons and the times. It will be delivered into his hands for a time, and times, and half a time. The judgment sat, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

The kingdom, the power, and the great places of the kingdoms under the heavens, were given to the holy people of the Most High, to reign in an everlasting kingdom: and all powers shall be subject to Him, and shall obey Him. Thus is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was possessed with very great astonishment, and my speech was changed in me; yet I kept the matter in my heart.’

WHEN I STOPPED: Trypho said, "These and similar Scriptures, sir, compel us to wait for Him who, as the Son of man, receives the everlasting kingdom from the Ancient of days. But this so-called Christ of yours was dishonorable and inglorious, so much so that the final curse contained in the law of God fell on him, for he was crucified."

THEN I REPLIED TO HIM: “If it weren't already stated by the Scriptures I have quoted that His appearance was humble, that His lineage was not revealed, that the rich would suffer death for Him, that by His wounds we are healed, and that He would be led like a sheep; and if I hadn't explained there would be two comings of His—one when He was pierced by you, and a second when you will recognize Him whom you pierced, and your tribes will mourn alone—then I might have been speaking vaguely and obscurely.

But now, using the content of the Scriptures considered holy and prophetic among you, I try to prove all of this, hoping that some of you may be part of the remnant saved by the grace of the Lord of Sabaoth for eternal salvation.

Therefore, to make this clearer to you, I will mention other words spoken by the blessed David, where you will see that the Lord is called the Christ by the Holy Spirit of prophecy; and that the Lord, the Father of all, has brought Him from the earth, placing Him at His right hand, until He makes His enemies His footstool; this has been occurring since our Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven after rising from the dead, as time moves toward its culmination; and the one Daniel foretold would rule for a time, times, and half a time, is already at hand, about to speak blasphemous things against the Most High.

But you, not knowing how long he will rule, have a different view. You interpret the ‘time’ as a hundred years.

But if this is true, the man of sin must at least reign three hundred fifty years for us to count the term ‘and times’ as only two times. I have said all this to you as a digression, so you may finally understand what has been declared against you by God: that you are foolish children; and of this, ‘Therefore, look, I will proceed to remove this people, and I will remove them; and I will strip the wise of their wisdom, and hide the understanding of their prudent men;’ and may stop deceiving yourselves and your listeners, and learn from us, who have been taught wisdom by the grace of Christ.

The words spoken by David are: ‘The Lord said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool. The Lord will send the rod of Your strength out of Zion: rule in the middle of Your enemies. With You on the day of Your power, in the beauties of Your saints. From the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten You. The Lord has sworn, and will not change His mind: You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The Lord is at Your right hand: He has crushed kings on the day of His wrath: He will judge among the nations, He will fill with dead bodies. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore He will lift up the head.’

"And," I continued, "I am aware that you interpret this psalm as if it referred to King Hezekiah; but you are mistaken, and I will prove it from these very words immediately. It is said, 'The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,' and, 'You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek,' along with what comes before and after. You would not dare to claim that Hezekiah was either a priest or the eternal priest of God; but these expressions show that this is spoken of our Jesus.

BUT YOUR EARS ARE CLOSED: and your hearts are dull. For by this statement, 'The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek,' God has declared Him with an oath (because of your unbelief) to be the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek; that is, just as Melchizedek was described by Moses as the priest of the Most High, and he was a priest for those who were uncircumcised, and he blessed the circumcised Abraham who brought him tithes, so God has shown that His everlasting Priest, also called Lord by the Holy Spirit, would be the Priest of those who were uncircumcised.

Those among the circumcised who approach Him, that is, by believing in Him and seeking blessings from Him, He will accept and bless. And that He will first be humble as a man and then exalted, these words at the end of the psalm show: 'He shall drink from the brook along the way,' and then, 'Therefore He shall lift up the head.'"

TO FURTHER CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU HAVE MISUNDERSTOOD THE SCRIPTURES: I'll remind you of another psalm, inspired by the Holy Spirit and spoken to David, which you claim refers to Solomon, who was also your king.

However, it also refers to our Christ. You confuse yourselves with ambiguous language. For where it states, ‘The law of the Lord is perfect,’ you interpret it as the law given by Moses, not the one to come after Moses, even though God declared He would establish a new law and covenant.

When it says, ‘O God, give Your judgment to the king,’ you insist this psalm refers to Solomon because he was king, but the words clearly indicate the everlasting King, meaning Christ. Christ is King, Priest, God, Lord, angel, man, captain, stone, a Son born, first suffering, then ascending to heaven, and returning in glory with an everlasting kingdom, as proven by all Scriptures. To clarify, I'll quote the Psalm: ‘O God, give Your judgment to the king and Your righteousness to the king’s son to judge Your people with righteousness and the poor with justice.

The mountains will bring peace to the people, and the little hills righteousness. He will judge the poor and save the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor. He will endure as long as the sun, and as long as the moon through all generations. He will come down like rain on mown grass, like showers watering the earth. In His days, righteousness will flourish, with abundance of peace until the moon is no more. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.

Ethiopians will bow before Him, and His enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and the distant isles will bring tribute; the kings of Arabia and Seba will offer gifts; all kings will bow down to Him and all nations will serve Him; for He delivers the needy who call out, the afflicted with no one to help. He takes pity on the weak and the needy and saves the lives of the needy. He will redeem them from oppression and violence, and His name will be honored before them.

Long may He live! May gold from Arabia be given to Him and people pray for Him continually; may they bless Him all day long. May grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops flourish like Lebanon and thrive like the grass of the field. May His name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through Him, and they will call Him blessed.

Praise be to the Lord God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.’ The Psalm concludes with, ‘The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.’ While Solomon was a famous and great king who built the Jerusalem temple, none of the psalm's predictions apply to him. No kings worshipped him; he did not rule to the earth's ends; his enemies did not bow and lick the dust before him.

Furthermore, I dare to mention what's written in the book of Kings—that he, influenced by a woman, worshipped the idols of Sidon, something which the Gentiles who know God through Jesus refuse to do, enduring torture and death rather than worship idols or eat food offered to them.

AND TRYPHO SAID: “I believe, however, that many of those who claim to confess Jesus and are called Christians, eat meats offered to idols and insist they are not harmed by this.” I replied, “The fact that there are such people professing to be Christians, acknowledging the crucified Jesus as both Lord and Christ, yet not teaching His doctrines but those of misleading spirits, makes us who follow the true and pure teachings of Jesus Christ, more faithful and steadfast in the hope He announced.

For the things He predicted would happen in His name, we see happening right before us. He said, ‘Many will come in My name, dressed outwardly like sheep, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.’ And, ‘There will be divisions and heresies.’ And, ‘Beware of false prophets, who will come to you dressed outwardly like sheep, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.’ And, ‘Many false Christs and false apostles will arise and deceive many of the faithful.’ Therefore, there are and have been many, my friends, who, coming in the name of Jesus, taught people to speak and act in impious and blasphemous ways; and we name these after the originators of their teachings and opinions. (For some in one way, others in another, teach to blaspheme the Creator of all things and Christ, who was foretold by Him as coming, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with whom we share nothing in common, since we know them to be atheists, impious, unrighteous, and sinful, confessing Jesus only in name, instead of worshiping Him.

Yet they call themselves Christians, just as certain among the Gentiles inscribe the name of God upon the works of their own hands and partake in sinful and impious rites.) Some are called Marcians, some Valentinians, some Basilidians, some Saturnilians, and others by different names; each named after the founder of their belief, just as each philosopher, as I mentioned before, takes the name of the philosophy they follow, from the name of the founder of that particular doctrine.

Consequently, because of these events, we know that Jesus foresaw what would happen after Him, as well as due to many other events which He predicted would affect those who believed in and confessed Him, the Christ.

For all that we suffer, even when killed by friends, He foretold would happen; so it is clear that no word or action of His can be criticized.

Therefore, we pray for you and all others who hate us, so that you, repenting with us, may not blaspheme Him who, by His works, by the mighty deeds still performed through His name, by the words He taught, by the prophecies made about Him, is the blameless and in all things faultless, Christ Jesus; but, believing in Him, may be saved in His second glorious coming, and not be condemned to fire by Him.”

THEN HE REPLIED: "If what you say is true—that it was foretold Christ would suffer and be called a stone, and that after His initial appearance, where it was proclaimed He would suffer, He would return in glory as the final Judge and eternal King and Priest—then show if this man is the one of whom these prophecies were made."

AND I SAID: “As you wish, Trypho, I will come to these proofs you seek in the appropriate place; but for now, allow me first to recount the prophecies. I wish to do this to prove that Christ is called both God and Lord of hosts, and Jacob, in parable by the Holy Spirit; and your interpreters, as God says, are foolish, since they claim that reference is made to Solomon and not to Christ when he brought the ark of testimony into the temple he built.

The Psalm of David is this: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains; the world, and all who live in it. He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He who is clean of hands and pure of heart, who has not taken his soul in vain, and has not sworn deceitfully to his neighbor: he shall receive blessings from the Lord, and mercy from God his Savior.

This is the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Lift up your gates, rulers; and be lifted up, everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty in battle. Lift up your gates, rulers; and be lifted up, everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.’ Therefore, it is shown that Solomon is not the Lord of hosts; but when our Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, the rulers in heaven, under God’s appointment, are commanded to open the gates of heaven so that He, who is the King of glory, may enter and, having ascended, may sit at the right hand of the Father until He makes His enemies His footstool, as shown by another Psalm.

For when the rulers of heaven saw Him with an unappealing and dishonored appearance, and without glory, not recognizing Him, they inquired, ‘Who is this King of glory?’ And the Holy Spirit, either from the person of His Father or from His own person, answers them, ‘The Lord of hosts, He is this King of glory.’ For everyone will agree that none of those who presided over the temple gates in Jerusalem would dare to say concerning Solomon, although he was such a glorious king, or concerning the ark of testimony, ‘Who is this King of glory?’

In the diapsalm of the forty-sixth Psalm, a reference is made to Christ: ‘God went up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing to our God, sing; sing to our King, sing; for God is King of all the earth: sing with understanding. God has ruled over the nations. God sits upon His holy throne. The rulers of the nations were assembled with the God of Abraham, for the strong ones of God are greatly exalted on the earth.’ And in the ninety-eighth Psalm, the Holy Spirit reproaches you and predicts that He whom you do not wish to be king will be King and Lord, both of Samuel, and of Aaron, and of Moses, and, in short, of all the others.

THE WORDS OF THE PSALM ARE THESE: ‘The Lord has reigned, let the nations be angry; it is He who sits upon the cherubim, let the earth be shaken. The Lord is great in Zion, and He is high above all the nations. Let them acknowledge Your great name, for it is fearful and holy, and the honor of the King loves judgment. You have prepared equity; judgment and righteousness have You performed in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at the footstool of His feet; for He is holy.

Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among those who call upon His name. They called (says the Scripture) on the Lord, and He heard them. In the pillar of the cloud He spoke to them; for they kept His testimonies, and the commandment which He gave them. O Lord our God, You heard them: O God, You were propitious to them, and yet taking vengeance on all their inventions. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.’

AND TRYPHO SAID: "Sir, it would be good for us if we obeyed our teachers, who laid down a law that we should have no interaction with any of you, and that we should not have any communication with you on these matters. For you utter many blasphemies by trying to persuade us that this crucified man was with Moses and Aaron, and spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; then that he became man, was crucified, ascended to heaven, and comes again to earth, and ought to be worshipped."

THEN I ANSWERED: "I know that, as the word of God says, this great wisdom of God, the Maker of all things, and the Almighty, is hidden from you.

Therefore, out of sympathy for you, I am striving as much as possible for you to understand these matters that seem paradoxical to you; but if not, that I may be innocent on the day of judgment. For you will hear other words that appear even more paradoxical; but do not be confused, rather remain even more eager listeners and investigators, disregarding the tradition of your teachers, since they are proved by the Holy Spirit to be unable to perceive the truths taught by God, and prefer to teach their own doctrines.

Accordingly, in the forty-fourth [forty-fifth] Psalm, these words are similarly referred to Christ: ‘My heart has brought forth a good matter; I address my works to the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. More beautiful than the sons of men: grace is poured onto Your lips: therefore God has blessed You forever. Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O mighty One. Continue in Your fairness and beauty, and prosper and reign because of truth, meekness, and righteousness: and Your right hand shall instruct You marvelously.

Your arrows are sharpened, O mighty One; the people shall fall under You; the arrows are fixed in the heart of the King’s enemies. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of fairness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness; therefore God has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions. [He has anointed You] with myrrh, and oil, and cassia, from Your garments; from the ivory palaces, where they made You glad.

Kings’ daughters are among Your honored ones. The queen stood at Your right hand, dressed in garments embroidered with gold. Listen, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father's house: and the King shall desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, they shall also worship Him. And the daughter of Tyre [shall be there] with gifts. The rich among the people shall seek Your favor. All the glory of the King's daughter is within, clothed in embroidered garments.

The virgins that follow her shall be brought to the King; her companions shall be brought to You: they shall be brought with joy and gladness: they shall be led into the King's presence. Instead of your fathers, your sons have been born: You shall appoint them rulers over all the earth. I shall remember Your name in every generation: therefore the people shall praise You forever, and ever and ever.’"

"It is not surprising," I continued, "that you hate us who hold these opinions and accuse you of having a continually hard heart. For indeed, Elijah, speaking with God about you, says: 'Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life.' And God answers him: 'I have still seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' Therefore, just as God did not unleash His anger because of those seven thousand men, He has not yet passed judgment now, knowing that some of you are becoming disciples in the name of Christ and turning away from the path of error. These disciples are also receiving gifts, each according to their worth, enlightened through the name of Christ. For one receives the spirit of understanding, another of counsel, another of strength, another of healing, another of foreknowledge, another of teaching, and another of the fear of God."

TRYPHO SAID TO ME: "I wish you knew that you are out of your mind, expressing these sentiments."

AND I SAID TO HIM: "Listen, friend, for I am not mad or out of control; but it was prophesied that, after Christ's ascent to heaven, He would deliver us from error and give us gifts. The words are: 'He ascended on high; He led captivity captive; He gave gifts to men.' Therefore, we who have received gifts from Christ, who has ascended on high, prove from the words of prophecy that you, 'the wise in yourselves, and those who consider themselves understanding,' are foolish, and you honor God and His Christ only with words. But we, who are instructed in the whole truth, honor Them both in actions, in knowledge, and in heart, even unto death. But you hesitate to confess that He is Christ, as the Scriptures and the events witnessed and done in His name prove, perhaps because you fear persecution by the rulers, who, under the influence of the wicked and deceitful spirit, the serpent, will not stop putting to death and persecuting those who confess the name of Christ until He comes again, and destroys them all, and gives each what they deserve."

AND TRYPHO REPLIED: “Now, then, provide us the proof that this man who you say was crucified and ascended into heaven is the Christ of God. For you have sufficiently demonstrated through the Scriptures you previously quoted that it is stated in the Scriptures that Christ must suffer, return with glory, and receive the eternal kingdom over all the nations, every kingdom being made subject to Him: now show us that this man is Him.”

AND I REPLIED: "It has already been proven, gentlemen, to those who will listen, even from the facts you have acknowledged; yet so you don't think I am unable to provide the proof you seek, as I promised, I will do so at an appropriate time. For now, I will return to the topic I was discussing."

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAMB THAT GOD COMMANDED TO BE SACRIFICED FOR THE PASSOVER WAS A SYMBOL OF CHRIST: Those who believe in Him anoint their houses, meaning themselves, with His blood, according to their faith. You all understand that the creation God made—specifically Adam—was a house for the spirit that came from God. I prove that this command was temporary. God does not allow the Passover lamb to be sacrificed anywhere other than where His name was declared, knowing that after Christ's suffering, the days will come when even the place in Jerusalem will be handed over to your enemies, and all sacrifices will stop.

The lamb that was ordered to be completely roasted symbolized the suffering on the cross that Christ would endure. The lamb is roasted in the form of a cross: one spit goes through from the lower parts up to the head, and one goes across the back, where the legs of the lamb are attached. The two goats ordered to be offered during the fast, where one was sent away as the scapegoat and the other sacrificed, similarly represented the two appearances of Christ.

In the first, the elders of your people and the priests laid hands on Him and put Him to death, sending Him away as the scapegoat. In His second appearance, you will recognize in Jerusalem the one you have dishonored, who was an offering for all sinners willing to repent and keeping the fast Isaiah speaks of, breaking the violent agreements and following the other precepts he lists, which those believing in Jesus do.

Additionally, you know that the offering of the two goats, required to be sacrificed during the fast, was only allowed in Jerusalem and nowhere else.

"And the offering of fine flour, gentlemen," I said, "which was required to be presented on behalf of those purified from leprosy, was a symbol of the bread of the Eucharist. This celebration, our Lord Jesus Christ established in remembrance of the suffering He endured for those purified in soul from all sin. This allows us to thank God for creating the world and everything in it for the sake of humanity, for delivering us from the wickedness we were in, and for overthrowing principalities and powers through Him who suffered according to His will.

THUS: God speaks through Malachi, one of the twelve prophets, as I mentioned before, about the sacrifices presented by you at that time: 'I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord; and I will not accept your sacrifices from your hands: for from the rising of the sun to its setting, My name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure offering: for My name is great among the Gentiles, says the Lord: but you profane it.' So He then speaks of those Gentiles, namely us, who in every place offer sacrifices to Him, such as the bread of the Eucharist and the cup of the Eucharist, affirming that we glorify His name, while you profane it.

The command of circumcision, instructing them always to circumcise the children on the eighth day, was a symbol of the true circumcision. This is where we are circumcised from deceit and sin through Him who rose from the dead on the first day after the Sabbath, that is, through our Lord Jesus Christ. The first day after the Sabbath, while remaining the first of all the days, is also called the eighth according to the number of all the days in the cycle, and yet remains the first."

MOREOVER: the prescription that twelve bells be attached to the robe of the high priest, which hung down to the feet, was a symbol of the twelve apostles, who rely on the power of Christ, the eternal Priest; and through their voice, the whole earth has been filled with the glory and grace of God and His Christ.

Therefore, David also says: 'Their sound has gone forth into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.' And Isaiah speaks as if representing the apostles when they say to Christ that they do not believe in their own report, but in the power of Him who sent them.

And so he says: 'Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have preached before Him as if He were a child, as if a root in a dry ground.' (And what follows in the order of the prophecy already quoted.) But when the passage speaks as from the lips of many, 'We have preached before Him,' and adds, 'as if a child,' it signifies that the wicked shall become subject to Him, and shall obey His command, and that all shall become as one child.

Such a thing as you may witness in the body: although the members are counted as many, all are called one, and form a body.

Indeed, a commonwealth and a church, though consisting of many individuals, are essentially one, called and addressed by one name. In short, gentlemen," I said, "by listing all the other appointments of Moses, I can demonstrate that they were types, symbols, and declarations of things that would happen to Christ, of those it was foreknown would believe in Him, and of things that would also be done by Christ Himself.

But since what I have now listed seems sufficient to me, I return to the order of the discourse.

AS CIRCUMCISION BEGAN WITH ABRAHAM AND THE SABBATH: sacrifices, offerings, and feasts began with Moses, it has been shown that these practices were commanded due to the hardness of your people's heart. Likewise, it was necessary, according to the Father's will, that they should end in Him who was born of a virgin, from the family of Abraham, the tribe of Judah, and the line of David—in Christ, the Son of God, who was announced as coming to the entire world, to be the everlasting law and covenant, as the earlier prophecies indicate. We, who have approached God through Him, have received not a physical but a spiritual circumcision, which Enoch and those like him followed. We have received it through baptism, since we were sinners, by God's mercy; and everyone may equally obtain it. But since the mystery of His birth now requires our focus, I will discuss it.

Isaiah stated regarding the birth of Christ that it could not be described by man, as previously quoted: ‘Who can describe His generation? For His life is taken from the earth: for the transgressions of my people He was led to death.’ The Spirit of prophecy declared that the birth of Him who was to die, so that we sinful humans might be healed by His wounds, was such that it could not be described. Furthermore, to give those who believe in Him the understanding of how He came into the world, the Spirit of prophecy, through the same Isaiah, foretold it would happen like this: ‘And the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask for a sign from the Lord your God, from below or above. And Ahaz replied, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord. And Isaiah said, Listen then, house of David; is it not enough for you to challenge humans, and why do you challenge the Lord? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Look, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and his name will be called Immanuel. He will eat butter and honey before he knows to reject evil and choose good; for before the child knows good or ill, he rejects evil by choosing good. Before the child knows how to call father or mother, he will take possession of the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria in front of the king of Assyria. And the land will be abandoned, which you will struggle to endure due to the presence of its two kings. But God will bring upon you, your people, and your father's house days that have not yet come since the day Ephraim separated from Judah with the king of Assyria.’

Now it is clear to everyone that in the line of Abraham according to the flesh, no one has been born of a virgin or is said to have been born of a virgin except our Christ. But since you and your teachers claim that in Isaiah's prophecy it does not say, ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive,’ but rather, ‘Look, the young woman shall conceive and bear a son,’ and since you interpret the prophecy as if it referred to Hezekiah, who was your king, I will attempt to briefly counter this point and show that the reference is to Him whom we recognize as Christ.

"In every way, I will be found innocent if I earnestly try to convince you by providing evidence. But if you remain stubborn or indecisive due to the death that Christians face and refuse to accept the truth, you'll be the cause of your own troubles. You deceive yourselves by thinking that because you are descended from Abraham by flesh, you'll fully inherit the blessings promised by God through Christ. No one, not even those of Abraham's lineage, has anything to hope for except those who share Abraham's faith and understand the mysteries. I say that some commands were given to you concerning the worship of God and the practice of righteousness, while others were given regarding the mystery of Christ because of the hardness of your people's hearts.

GOD REVEALS THIS IN EZEKIEL WHEN HE SAYS: 'If Noah, Jacob, and Daniel asked for sons or daughters, the request would not be granted to them.' And in Isaiah, He speaks similarly: 'The Lord God said, they will go out and look on the bodies of those who have sinned. Their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be a spectacle to all flesh.' So you must remove this hope from your hearts and strive to understand how forgiveness of sins and the hope of inheriting the promised blessings can be yours. There is no other way than to know this Christ, be cleansed in the fountain Isaiah mentioned for the forgiveness of sins, and, from then on, to live sinless lives."

AND TRYPHO SAID: "If it seems like I'm interrupting these matters, which you say must be investigated, still the question I want to ask is urgent. Allow me to go first."

AND I REPLIED: "Ask whatever you wish, as it comes to you; and I will try, after questions and answers, to continue and complete the discussion."

THEN HE SAID: "Tell me, then, will those who lived according to the law given by Moses live in the same way with Jacob, Enoch, and Noah, in the resurrection of the dead, or not?"

I REPLIED TO HIM: "When I quoted, sir, the words spoken by Ezekiel, that 'even if Noah, Daniel, and Jacob were to beg for sons and daughters, the request would not be granted to them,' but that each person shall be saved by their own righteousness, I also mentioned that those who lived by the law of Moses would be saved in the same way. For what in the law of Moses is naturally good, and pious, and righteous, and has been commanded to be done by those who follow it; and what was appointed due to the hardness of the people's hearts; was similarly recorded and done by those under the law.

Since those who did what is universally, naturally, and eternally good are pleasing to God, they shall be saved through this Christ in the resurrection equally with those righteous people who came before them, like Noah, Enoch, Jacob, and whoever else there may be, along with those who have known this Christ, Son of God, who existed before the morning star and the moon, and chose to become incarnate, and be born of this virgin from the family of David, so that, through this plan, the serpent that sinned from the beginning, and the angels like him, may be destroyed, and that death may be scorned and overcome at the second coming of Christ Himself, by those who believe in Him and live acceptably—and be no more: when some are sent to be punished eternally in judgment and condemnation of fire; but others shall exist without suffering, without decay, without grief, and in immortality."

"But if some, even now, wish to live according to the laws given by Moses and yet believe in this Jesus who was crucified, recognizing Him to be the Christ of God, and that it is granted to Him to be the absolute Judge of all, and that His is the everlasting kingdom, can they also be saved?" he asked me.

AND I REPLIED: "Let's also consider together whether one can now observe all the Mosaic institutions."

AND HE REPLIED: “No. For we know that, as you mentioned, it is not possible to sacrifice the lamb of the Passover anywhere, or to offer the goats required for the fast, or, in short, to present all the other offerings.”

AND I SAID: "Please tell me yourself some things that can be observed; for you will be persuaded that, even if a person does not keep or has not performed the eternal decrees, they can certainly be saved."

HE REPLIED: "To keep the Sabbath, to be circumcised, to observe months, and to be washed if you touch anything prohibited by Moses, or after sexual intercourse."

AND I SAID: "Do you think that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, and Job, and all the others equally righteous, as well as Sarah the wife of Abraham, Rebekah the wife of Isaac, Rachel the wife of Jacob, and Leah, and all the others, up to the mother of Moses the faithful servant, who observed none of these statutes, will be saved?"

AND TRYPHO REPLIED: “Weren't Abraham and his descendants circumcised?”

AND I SAID: "I know that Abraham and his descendants were circumcised. I previously explained in detail the reason why circumcision was given to them; and if what has been said does not convince you, let us examine the matter again. But you know that, up to the time of Moses, no one who was righteous actually practiced any of these rites that we are discussing or received any commandment to observe them, except for the commandment of circumcision, which began with Abraham."

AND HE REPLIED: "We know it and admit that they are saved."

THEN I RESPONDED: "You understand that God, through Moses, gave you all such ordinances because of the hardness of your people's hearts, so that by the sheer number of them, you would keep God constantly, and in every action, before your eyes, and never begin to act unjustly or impiously. He instructed you to wear a fringe of purple dye, so you would not forget God; and He commanded you to wear a phylactery, with certain characters we consider holy, engraved on very thin parchment. These were meant to encourage you to maintain a constant remembrance of God; but, at the same time, they revealed that in your hearts, you do not even retain a faint memory of God's worship.

Yet, even with these reminders, you were not dissuaded from idolatry. During the time of Elijah, when God counted those who had not bowed to Baal, He said the number was seven thousand; and in Isaiah, He rebukes you for sacrificing your children to idols. But we, because we refuse to sacrifice to those whom we once sacrificed to, endure extreme penalties and find joy in death, believing that God will raise us up through His Christ, and make us incorruptible, undisturbed, and immortal. We understand that the ordinances given due to the hardness of your people's hearts do not contribute to the performance of righteousness and piety."

AND TRYPHO ASKED AGAIN: "But if someone, knowing this is true, after recognizing that this man is Christ, and has believed in and obeys Him, wishes to observe these [institutions] as well, will he be saved?"

I SAID: "In my opinion, Trypho, such a person will be saved if he does not try in every way to persuade others—specifically, those Gentiles who have been led away from error by Christ—to observe the same practices as himself, claiming that they will not be saved unless they follow them. This is what you did at the beginning of the conversation when you stated that I would not be saved unless I observe these rules."

THEN HE REPLIED: "Why did you say, 'In my opinion, such a person will be saved,' unless there are some who claim that such a person will not be saved?"

"There are such people, Trypho," I replied, "and these do not dare to have any interaction or offer hospitality to such individuals; but I do not share their view.

HOWEVER: if some, due to weak-mindedness, want to observe the institutions given by Moses, expecting some virtue from them, which we believe were established because of the hardness of people's hearts, along with their hope in this Christ, and wish to perform the eternal and natural acts of righteousness and piety, yet choose to live with the Christians and the faithful—as I mentioned earlier—without compelling them to be circumcised like themselves, or to keep the Sabbath, or follow any similar ceremonies, then I believe we should join them and associate with them in all matters as relatives and brothers.

But if, Trypho," I continued, "some of your people, who claim to believe in this Christ, compel the Gentiles who believe in this Christ to follow the law given by Moses in every respect, or choose not to associate closely with them, I similarly do not approve of them. Yet, I believe that even those persuaded by them to follow the legal system along with their confession of God in Christ might still be saved.

Furthermore, I believe that those who have confessed and recognized this man as Christ, yet have reverted to the legal system for some reason and denied that this man is Christ, without repenting before death, shall not be saved.

Additionally, I hold that those from the seed of Abraham who live according to the law and do not believe in this Christ before death shall likewise not be saved, especially those who have cursed and continue to curse this very Christ in the synagogues, and reject everything by which they could gain salvation and escape the vengeance of fire. For the goodness and loving-kindness of God, and His boundless riches, consider righteous and sinless the person who, as Ezekiel tells, repents of sins; and considers sinful, unrighteous, and impious the person who falls away from piety and righteousness to unrighteousness and ungodliness.

Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ also said, 'How you are found, in this way will I judge you.'"

AND TRYPHO SAID: “We have heard your thoughts on these matters. Continue from where you left off and conclude your discourse. Some of it seems paradoxical to me and completely lacking proof. When you say that this Christ existed as God before the ages, then that He chose to be born and become man, yet that He is not man born of man, this claim seems to me not only paradoxical but also foolish.”

AND I REPLIED: “I understand that this statement seems to be contradictory, especially to your people, who are often reluctant to understand or follow God's requirements, but are quick to follow those of your teachers, as God Himself states. Now surely, Trypho," I continued, "the proof that this man is the Christ of God does not fail, even if I cannot prove that He existed before as the Son of the Creator of all things, being God, and was born a man by the Virgin.

But since I have surely proven that this man is the Christ of God, whoever He may be, even if I do not prove that He existed beforehand and chose to be born a man with the same emotions as us, having a body, as the Father willed; it is only in this last matter that it is fair to say I have erred, and not to deny that He is the Christ, even if it appears that He was born as a man from men, and nothing more is proven than this, that He has become Christ by choice.

For there are some, my friends,” I said, “among our people, who admit that He is Christ, while believing Him to be just a man from men; with whom I do not agree, nor would I, even if most of those who now share my opinions said so; since we were commanded by Christ Himself to trust not in human doctrines, but in those proclaimed by the blessed prophets and taught by Himself.”

AND TRYPHO SAID: "Those who claim he was a man, chosen and anointed, and then became Christ, seem more reasonable to me than you who express these opinions. We all expect that Christ will be a man born of men, and that Elijah will anoint him when he comes. But if this man appears to be Christ, he must certainly be recognized as a man born of men; yet because Elijah has not yet come, I conclude that this man is not the Christ."

THEN I ASKED HIM: "Doesn't Scripture, in the book of Zechariah, say that Elijah will come before the great and terrible day of the Lord?"

AND HE ANSWERED: "Certainly."

"If therefore Scripture compels you to acknowledge that two advents of Christ were foretold,—one where He would appear suffering, dishonored, and without beauty, and the other where He would come glorious and as Judge of all, as has been made clear in many of the previously mentioned passages,—should we not believe that the word of God has announced that Elijah shall be the forerunner of the great and terrible day, which is His second advent?"

"Certainly," he replied.

"And, accordingly, our Lord in His teaching," I continued, "proclaimed that this very thing would happen, saying that Elijah would also come. And we know that this will take place when our Lord Jesus Christ comes in glory from heaven; whose first appearance was preceded by the Spirit of God in Elijah as a herald through John, a prophet among your people; after whom no other prophet appeared among you. He cried, as he sat by the river Jordan: ‘I baptize you with water for repentance; but He that is mightier than I shall come, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry: He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire: His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean His threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into the barn; but the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire.’ And this very prophet your king Herod had imprisoned; and when his birthday was celebrated, and the niece of the same Herod by her dancing had pleased him, he told her to ask for anything she wanted.

THEN THE MOTHER OF THE GIRL PROMPTED HER TO ASK FOR THE HEAD OF JOHN: who was in prison; and having asked it, [Herod] sent and ordered the head of John to be brought in on a platter. Therefore also our Christ said, [when He was] on earth, to those who were claiming that Elijah must come before Christ: ‘Elijah shall come, and restore all things; but I say to you, that Elijah has already come, and they knew him not, but have done to him whatever they chose.’ And it is written, ‘Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them about John the Baptist.’"

AND TRYPHO SAID: "This statement also seems paradoxical to me; that the prophetic Spirit of God, which was in Elijah, was also in John."

TO THIS I REPLIED: "Do you not think the same thing happened with Joshua the son of Nave (Nun), who took command of the people after Moses, when Moses was ordered to lay his hands on Joshua, and God said to him, 'I will take some of the spirit which is in you and put it on him?'"

AND HE SAID: "Certainly."

"As I say, just as God took the spirit from Moses and placed it on Joshua while Moses was still among men, God was also able to let Elijah's spirit come upon John. This was so that, just as Christ appeared humble at His first coming, the first coming of the spirit, which remained pure in Elijah like that of Christ, could also be seen as humble. For the Lord said He would fight against Amalek with a hidden hand, and you cannot deny that Amalek was defeated. But if it is said that only in the glorious coming of Christ will war be waged with Amalek, how great will the fulfillment of Scripture be, which says, 'God will fight against Amalek with a hidden hand!' You can see that the hidden power of God was in Christ the crucified, before whom demons and all the rulers and powers on earth tremble."

AND TRYPHO SAID: "You seem to me to have come from a significant conflict with many people about all the points we have been investigating, and therefore you are quite prepared to answer all the questions posed to you. So, answer me first how you can demonstrate that there is another God besides the Maker of all things; and then you will show, further, that He chose to be born of the Virgin."

I REPLIED: "First, allow me to quote certain passages from the prophecy of Isaiah, which refer to the role of forerunner fulfilled by John the Baptist and prophet before our Lord Jesus Christ."

"I grant it," he said.

THEN I SAID: "Isaiah foretold John's role: ‘And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord he spoke: Let there be peace and righteousness in my days.’ And, ‘Encourage the people; priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and encourage her, because her humiliation is accomplished. Her sin is annulled; for she has received from the Lord’s hand double for her sins. A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the ways of the Lord; make straight the paths of our God.

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough way shall be smooth; and the glory of the Lord shall be seen, and all people shall see the salvation of God: for the Lord has spoken it. A voice of one saying, Cry; and I said, What shall I cry? All people are like grass, and all the glory of man like the flower of grass.

The grass withers, and the flower falls away; but the word of the Lord endures forever. You who bring good news to Zion, go up to the high mountain; you who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Lift up, do not be afraid; tell the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord comes with strength, and His arm comes with authority. Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. As a shepherd He will tend His flock, and will gather the lambs with His arm, and cheer on her that is with young.

Who has measured the waters with his hand, and the heavens with a span, and weighed all the earth with his fist? Who has weighed the mountains, and put the valleys into a balance? Who has known the mind of the Lord? And who has been His counselor, and who shall advise Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him? Or who showed Him judgment? Or who made Him know the way of understanding? All the nations are counted as a drop in a bucket, and as dust on the scales, and shall be regarded as nothing.

But Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor the beasts enough for a burnt offering; and all the nations are considered nothing, and insignificant.’ ”

WHEN I FINISHED SPEAKING: Trypho said, "All the words of the prophecy you quoted, sir, are unclear and don't effectively prove what you're trying to argue." I replied, "If the prophets had not ceased, so that there were none in your nation, Trypho, after John, it would be evident that what I say about Jesus Christ might be considered ambiguous.

But since John came first, calling on people to repent, and Christ, while John was still by the River Jordan, came and ended his prophesying and baptizing, and also preached Himself, saying that the kingdom of heaven is near, and that He must suffer many things from the Scribes and Pharisees, be crucified, rise again on the third day, appear again in Jerusalem, and eat and drink with His disciples again; and foretold that between His first and second coming, as I mentioned before, priests and false prophets would arise in His name, which indeed has happened; how can these things be ambiguous when the facts support them? Moreover, He mentioned that there would no longer be any prophet in your nation, and that people recognized how the New Testament, which God previously announced His intention of introducing, was now present, meaning Christ Himself; and He expressed this in the following terms: 'The law and the prophets were until John the Baptist; from that time the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

And if you can accept it, he is Elijah, who was to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'"

JACOB THE PATRIARCH PROPHESIED ABOUT TWO COMINGS OF CHRIST: In the first, He would suffer, and after this, your nation would have neither prophet nor king, while the nations who believed in the suffering Christ would await His future appearance. For this reason, the Holy Spirit revealed these truths in a parable, though not clearly. It is said, "Judah, your brothers praise you; your hands will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will worship you. Judah is a young lion; from the beginning, my son, you have risen.

He rests like a lion, and like a young lion: who will rouse him? A ruler will not depart from Judah, nor a leader from his descendants, until what is stored up for him arrives; and he will be the desire of nations, tying his foal to the vine, and his donkey's foal to the vine's tendril. He will wash his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will sparkle with wine, and his teeth will be white as milk." Furthermore, in your nation, there were always prophets or rulers from the beginning until Jesus Christ appeared and suffered, a fact you cannot shamelessly deny or prove otherwise.

While you claim that Herod, during whose reign He suffered, was an Ashkelonite, you still acknowledge that there was a high priest in your nation.

Therefore, you had someone presenting offerings according to Moses' law and observing other legal ceremonies, as well as a succession of prophets until John, even when your nation was exiled to Babylon, your land ravaged by war, and sacred objects taken away. There was always a prophet who was leader and ruler of your nation, for the Spirit in the prophets anointed and established your kings.

However, after the manifestation and death of Jesus Christ in your nation, there has been no prophet, and you ceased to exist under your own king. Your land was devastated and left desolate like a shelter in a vineyard. Jacob's statement in Scripture, "And He shall be the desire of nations," symbolically referred to His two comings and that the nations would believe in Him. This is now clear, for those from all nations who are pious and righteous through faith in Christ anticipate His future appearance.

The phrase "binding his foal to the vine, and the ass’s foal to the vine tendril" was a prediction of both the works done by Him at His first coming and the faith the nations would place in Him. They were like an untamed foal without a yoke on its neck until Christ came and sent His disciples to teach them. They accepted the yoke of His word and endured hardships for the good things He promised and they expected. When our Lord Jesus Christ planned to enter Jerusalem, He asked His disciples to bring a specific donkey and its foal from a village called Bethphage, and He rode into Jerusalem on it. This fulfilled a prophecy in precise terms, proving He was the Christ. Despite all this, you remain hard-hearted. It was foretold by Zechariah, one of the twelve prophets, in these words: "Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; shout and declare, daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your King will come to you, righteous, bringing salvation, meek, and lowly, riding on a donkey, and the foal of a donkey."

THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY AND THE PATRIARCH JACOB BOTH MENTIONED A DONKEY AND ITS FOAL: to be used by Him, and He asked His disciples to bring both animals. This was a prediction that you of the synagogue, along with the Gentiles, would believe in Him. The untamed colt represented the Gentiles, while the harnessed donkey represented your nation. You have the law given by the prophets. Moreover, the prophet Zechariah foretold that this same Christ would be struck, and His disciples scattered, which happened. After His crucifixion, His disciples were dispersed until He rose from the dead and convinced them that it had been prophesied that He would suffer. Convinced, they went into the world and taught these truths. Thus, we are strong in His faith and doctrine, persuaded by both the prophets and those who worship God worldwide in the name of the crucified One. Zechariah also said: "O sword, rise up against My Shepherd and against the man of My people, says the Lord of hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and His flock will be scattered."

"And the statement written by Moses and prophesied by the patriarch Jacob, 'He shall wash His garments with wine, and His vesture with the blood of the grape,' meant that He would cleanse those who believe in Him with His own blood. The Holy Spirit referred to those who receive remission of sins through Him as His garments; He is always present in power among them, and will be visibly present at His second coming. The Scripture mentions the blood of the grape deliberately because Christ's blood comes not from human lineage, but from the power of God. Just as God, not man, produces the blood of the vine, Scripture predicted that the blood of Christ would come not from human lineage, but from the power of God. This prophecy, gentlemen, which I repeated, proves that Christ is not merely human in origin, born in the ordinary way of humanity."

AND TRYPHO REPLIED: "We will remember your explanation if you support this argument with more evidence. But for now, continue your discussion and show us that the Spirit of prophecy acknowledges another God besides the Creator of all things. Be careful not to mention the sun and moon, which, as written, God has given to the nations to worship as gods. Often, the prophets use this way of speaking, saying, 'your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of lords,' often adding, 'the great and strong and terrible [God].' Such expressions are used not because they are truly gods, but to teach us that the true God, who made all things, is the only Lord over those considered gods and lords. To convince us of this, the Holy Spirit spoke through the holy David, saying, 'The gods of the nations, considered gods, are idols of demons, and not gods;' and He condemns those who worship them."

AND I REPLIED: "I would not present these proofs, Trypho, by which I know those who worship these idols and similar things are condemned, but instead, I will offer proofs that no one could object to. They will seem strange to you, even though you read them every day; from this, we understand that, due to your wickedness, God has withheld from you the ability to understand the wisdom of His Scriptures. Yet, there are some exceptions to whom, according to the grace of His patience, as Isaiah said, He has left a remnant of salvation, lest your people be completely destroyed, like Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore, pay attention to what I shall cite from the holy Scriptures, which do not need to be explained, only listened to."

MOSES: the blessed and faithful servant of God, states that He who appeared to Abraham under the oak in Mamre is God, sent with the two angels to judge Sodom by Another who remains always in the supercelestial places, invisible to all people, interacting personally with none, whom we believe to be Maker and Father of all things. For he says: 'God appeared to him under the oak in Mamre, as he sat at his tent door at noon. And lifting up his eyes, he saw, and behold, three men stood before him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent; and he bowed himself toward the ground, and said;' (and so on;) 'Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward the adjacent country, and beheld, and, lo, a flame went up from the earth, like the smoke of a furnace.' And when I had finished quoting these words, I asked them if they had understood them.

AND THEY SAID THEY UNDERSTOOD THEM: but that the passages presented provided no proof that there is any other God or Lord, or that the Holy Spirit says so, besides the Maker of all things.

THEN I REPLIED: "I will try to persuade you, since you understand the Scriptures, about the truth of what I say: there is, and it is said there is, another God and Lord subject to the Maker of all things. He is also called an Angel, because He announces to people whatever the Maker of all things—above whom there is no other God—wants to communicate to them." And quoting the previous passage again, I asked Trypho, "Do you believe that God appeared to Abraham under the oak in Mamre, as the Scripture states?"

HE SAID: "Truly."

"Was He one of those three," I asked, "whom Abraham saw and whom the Holy Spirit of prophecy describes as men?"

HE SAID: "No; but God appeared to him before the vision of the three. Then those three whom the Scripture calls men were angels; two of them were sent to destroy Sodom, and one to announce the joyful news to Sarah that she would bear a son. Having fulfilled his mission, he went away."

"How then," I asked, "does the one of the three who was in the tent, and who said, 'I shall return to you later, and Sarah shall have a son,' seem to have returned when Sarah had a son, and to be identified as God by the prophetic word? But so you can clearly understand what I mean, listen to the words Moses used; they are these: 'And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian slave woman, whom she bore to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac, and said to Abraham, 'Cast out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman will not share the inheritance with my son Isaac.' And the matter seemed very upsetting to Abraham because of his son.

BUT GOD SAID TO ABRAHAM: 'Let it not be upsetting to you because of the boy and the slave woman. Listen to everything Sarah tells you, for through Isaac shall your descendants be named.' Have you understood, then, that He who said under the tree that He would return, since He knew it would be necessary to advise Abraham to do what Sarah wished, came back as written; and is God, as the words declare, when they say: 'God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous to you because of the boy and the slave woman?'" I inquired.

And Trypho said, "Certainly; but you have not proven from this that there is another God besides Him who appeared to Abraham, and who also appeared to the other patriarchs and prophets. You have shown, however, that we were wrong in believing that the three who were in the tent with Abraham were all angels."

I REPLIED AGAIN: "If I could not have proven to you from the Scriptures that one of those three is God, and is called Angel because, as I already stated, He delivers messages to those whom God, the Maker of all things, wishes [messages to be delivered], then regarding Him who appeared to Abraham on earth in human form, just like the two angels who came with Him, and who was God even before the creation of the world, it would be reasonable for you to hold the same belief as is held by the entirety of your nation."

"Certainly," he said, "up to this moment, this has been our belief."

THEN I REPLIED: "By returning to the Scriptures, I will try to convince you that He who is said to have appeared to Abraham, and to Jacob, and to Moses, and who is called God, is distinct from Him who created all things—numerically, I mean, not distinct in will. For I assert that He has never done anything that He who made the world—above whom there is no other God—has not wanted Him to do and to be involved with."

AND TRYPHO SAID: "Prove now that this is the case so that we also may agree with you. For we do not understand you to claim that He has done or said anything against the will of the Creator of all things."

THEN I SAID: "The Scripture I just quoted will make this clear to you. It goes like this: 'The sun had risen on the earth, and Lot entered Zoar, and the Lord rained sulfur and fire on Sodom from the Lord out of heaven, and overthrew these cities and all the surrounding area.'"

THEN THE FOURTH OF THOSE WHO HAD STAYED WITH TRYPHO SAID: "It must therefore be said that one of the two angels who went to Sodom, and is called Lord by Moses in the Scripture, is different from Him who is also God and appeared to Abraham."

"It is not solely on this basis," I said, "that we must fully accept that the Holy Spirit refers to another as Lord besides the One regarded as the Maker of all things; not only based on what Moses said, but also on what David said. For it is written by him: ‘The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool,’ as I have already mentioned. And again, in other words: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of justice is the scepter of Your kingdom: You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness: therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.’ If, therefore, you claim that the Holy Spirit calls another God and Lord, besides the Father of all things and His Christ, answer me; for I am prepared to demonstrate to you from the Scriptures themselves, that He whom the Scripture calls Lord is not one of the two angels that went to Sodom, but the One who was with them and is called God, who appeared to Abraham."

AND TRYPHO SAID: “Prove this; for, as you see, the day is advancing, and we are not ready for such challenging responses; since we have never heard anyone investigating, searching into, or proving these matters; nor would we have tolerated your conversation if you had not referred everything to the Scriptures: for you are very enthusiastic about providing evidence from them; and you believe there is no God above the Maker of all things.”

THEN I REPLIED: "You are aware, then, that the Scripture says, ‘And the Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I truly conceive? For I am old. Is anything impossible with God? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.’ And shortly after: ‘The men rose from there, looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham went with them to see them off. And the Lord said, I will not hide from Abraham, my servant, what I am doing.’ And again, soon after, it says: ‘The Lord said, The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sins are very grievous. I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to their cry which has come to me; and if not, I will know. The men turned away from there and went to Sodom. But Abraham stood before the Lord; and Abraham came forward and said, Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?’"

Having said this, I thought it unnecessary to repeat all the same words again, having already written them before, but I will provide those by which I proved the point to Trypho and his companions. Then I continued with what follows, where these words are recorded: ‘And the Lord went His way when He had finished speaking with Abraham, and [Abraham] returned to his place. Two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom;’ and what follows until, ‘But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and closed the door;’ and what follows until, ‘The angels took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and his daughters' hands, the Lord being merciful to him. When they had brought them outside, they said, Save your life. Do not look back or stay anywhere in the area; escape to the mountain, lest you be swept away.’ And Lot said to them, ‘I beg you, O Lord, since your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown great righteousness by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. Look, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is small: there I can be safe, since it is small; and any soul shall live.’ And He said to him, ‘Look, I have accepted you in this matter too, not to destroy the city you have spoken of. Hurry and save yourself there; for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.’ Therefore, he called the name of the city Segor (Zoar). The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Segor (Zoar). And the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities and all the surrounding area."

After another pause, I added, "And now, have you not perceived, my friends, that one of the three, who is both God and Lord and serves Him who is in the heavens, is the Lord of the two angels? For when the angels proceeded to Sodom, He stayed behind and spoke with Abraham in the words recorded by Moses; and when He departed after the conversation, Abraham returned to his place. And when He came to Sodom, the two angels no longer spoke with Lot but He did, as the Scripture shows; and He is the Lord who received commission from the Lord who remains in the heavens, the Maker of all things, to bring upon Sodom and Gomorrah the judgments described in Scripture: ‘The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.’"

THEN TRYPHO SAID WHEN I WAS SILENT: “It is clear that Scripture compels us to acknowledge this; however, there is a matter about which we are justifiably puzzled—specifically, regarding what was said about [the Lord] eating what was prepared and placed before him by Abraham; and you would agree with this.”

I RESPONDED: "It is written that they ate; and if we believe that it says the three ate, and not just the two alone—who were really angels, and are nourished in the heavens, as is clear to us, even though they are not nourished by food similar to what mortals use—(for, regarding the sustenance of manna that supported your fathers in the desert, Scripture says they ate angels' food): if we believe the three ate, then I would say that the Scripture which states they ate has the same meaning as when we say fire has devoured all things; but it is not necessarily understood that they ate by chewing with teeth and jaws. Therefore, we should not be confused about anything here if we are familiar, even slightly, with figurative expressions, and able to understand them."

AND TRYPHO SAID: “It is possible that the question about the manner of eating can be explained in this way: the manner in which it is written that they took and ate what Abraham had prepared. Now, please continue to explain to us how this God who appeared to Abraham, and serves God the Maker of all things, being born of the Virgin, became a man with the same passions as all, as you said before.”

THEN I REPLIED: "Allow me first, Trypho, to gather some more evidence on this topic, so that you, by the large number of them, may be convinced of its truth, and afterward I shall explain what you ask."

AND HE SAID: "Do what seems good to you; for I shall be thoroughly pleased."

THEN I CONTINUED: "I intend to quote Scriptures to you, not because I am eager to make a clever display of words, for I have no such ability. It is only God's grace that has been given to me for understanding His Scriptures. I urge everyone to freely and abundantly partake in this grace so that they may not, due to lacking it, face condemnation in the judgment that God, the Maker of all things, will hold through my Lord Jesus Christ."

AND TRYPHO SAID: “What you do is worthy of the worship of God; but you seem to me to pretend ignorance when you say that you do not have a supply of clever words.”

I REPLIED AGAIN: "Let it be, since you believe so; yet I am convinced that I speak the truth. But give me your attention, so I may now present the remaining proofs."

"Continue," he said.

AND I CONTINUED: “It is again written by Moses, my brothers, that He who is called God and appeared to the patriarchs is called both Angel and Lord, so that from this you may understand Him to serve the Father of all things, as you have already admitted, and may remain firm, persuaded by additional arguments. The word of God, therefore, written by Moses, when referring to Jacob the grandson of Abraham, speaks thus: ‘And it happened, when the sheep conceived, that I saw them with my eyes in the dream: And, behold, the he-goats and the rams which leaped upon the sheep and she-goats were spotted with white, and speckled and sprinkled with a dun color.

And the Angel of God said to me in the dream, Jacob, Jacob. And I said, What is it, Lord? And He said, Lift up your eyes, and see that the he-goats and rams leaping on the sheep and she-goats are spotted with white, speckled, and sprinkled with a dun color. For I have seen what Laban is doing to you. I am the God who appeared to you in Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to Me.

Now therefore arise, and get out of this land, and go to the land of your birth, and I will be with you.’ And again, in other words, speaking of the same Jacob, it thus says: ‘And having risen up that night, he took the two wives, and the two women-servants, and his eleven children, and crossed over the ford Jabbok; and he took them and went over the brook, and sent over all his belongings.

But Jacob was left behind alone, and an Angel wrestled with him until morning.

And He saw that He was not prevailing against him, and He touched the broad part of his thigh; and the broad part of Jacob’s thigh grew stiff while he wrestled with Him. And He said, Let Me go, for the day is breaking.

But he said, I will not let You go, unless You bless me. And He said to him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. And He said, Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel shall be your name; for you have prevailed with God, and with men you shall be powerful.

And Jacob asked Him, and said, Tell me Your name.

But he said, Why do you ask My name? And He blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of that place Peniel, for I saw God face to face, and my soul rejoiced.’ And again, in other terms, referring to the same Jacob, it says the following: ‘And Jacob came to Luz, in the land of Canaan, which is Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.

And there he built an altar, and called the name of that place Bethel; for there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother Esau. And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and Jacob called the name of it The Oak of Sorrow. And God appeared again to Jacob in Luz, when he came out from Mesopotamia in Syria, and He blessed him. And God said to him, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.’ He is called God, and He is and shall be God.” And when all had agreed on these grounds, I continued: “Moreover, I consider it necessary to repeat to you the words which narrate how He who is both Angel and God and Lord, and who appeared as a man to Abraham, and who wrestled in human form with Jacob, was seen by him when he fled from his brother Esau.

They are as follows: ‘And Jacob went out from the well of the oath, and went toward Haran. And he arrived at a spot, and slept there, for the sun had set; and he gathered some of the stones of the place, and put them under his head. And he slept in that place; and he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, whose top reached to heaven; and the angels of God ascended and descended upon it.

And the Lord stood above it, and He said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and of Isaac; do not be afraid: the land where you lie, I will give it to you, and to your descendants; and your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth, and shall be extended to the west, and south, and north, and east: and in you, and in your descendants, shall all families of the earth be blessed.

And, behold, I am with you, keeping you in every way you go, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done all that I have spoken to you about. And Jacob woke up from his sleep, and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How awesome is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

And Jacob rose up in the morning, and took the stone which he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it; and Jacob called the name of the place The House of God, and the name of the city formerly was Luz.’ ”

AFTER I HAD SAID THESE WORDS: I continued: "Allow me, furthermore, to show you from the book of Exodus how this same One, who is both Angel, and God, and Lord, and man, and who appeared in human form to Abraham and Isaac, appeared in a flame of fire from the bush and spoke with Moses." And after they said they would listen cheerfully, patiently, and eagerly, I went on: "These words are in the book titled Exodus: 'And after many days the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel groaned because of the works;' and so on until, 'Go and gather the elders of Israel, and you shall say to them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, I am surely observing you, and the things that have happened to you in Egypt.'" In addition to these words, I continued: "Have you noticed, sirs, that this very God whom Moses speaks of as an Angel that spoke to him in the flame of fire, declares to Moses that He is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob?"

THEN TRYPHO SAID: "We don't get this from the passage you quoted, but only that it was an angel who appeared in the flame of fire, while God talked with Moses; so there were actually two beings together, an angel and God, who appeared in that vision."

I REPLIED AGAIN: "Even if this were true, my friends, that an angel and God appeared together in the vision seen by Moses, as has already been shown to you by the previously quoted passages, it will not be the Creator of all things who is the God that said to Moses that He was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Instead, it will be He who has been shown to you to have appeared to Abraham, serving the will of the Maker of all things, and also executing His plan in the judgment of Sodom. So, even if it is as you say, that there were two—an angel and God—anyone with the slightest understanding will not claim that the Maker and Father of all things, having left all heavenly matters, was visible on a small part of the earth."

AND TRYPHO SAID: "Since it has already been proven that He who is called God and Lord, and appeared to Abraham, received from the Lord, who is in the heavens, what He inflicted on the land of Sodom, even though an angel had accompanied the God who appeared to Moses, we will understand that the God who spoke to Moses from the bush was not the Creator of all things, but He who has been shown to have revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; who also is called and recognized as the Angel of God the Creator of all things, because He conveys to men the commands of the Father and Creator of all things."

AND I REPLIED: "Certainly, Trypho, I will demonstrate that, in the vision of Moses, the same One who is called an Angel, and who is God, appeared to and spoke with Moses. For the Scripture says this: 'The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the bush; and he saw that the bush was burning with fire, but it was not consumed. And Moses said, I will turn aside and see this great sight, for the bush is not burned. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, the Lord called to him out of the bush.' In the same way, the Scripture refers to Him who appeared to Jacob in the dream as an Angel, then states that the same Angel who appeared in the dream spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God who appeared to you when you fled from Esau your brother;' and again mentions that, in the judgment that befell Sodom in the days of Abraham, the Lord inflicted the punishment as the Lord who dwells in the heavens did;—in the same way here, the Scripture, in announcing that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, and later declaring Him to be Lord and God, refers to the same One, whom it asserts by the many testimonies already quoted to be minister to God, who is above the world, above whom there is no other God."

"I will give you another testimony, my friends," I said, "from the Scriptures, that God begat a Beginning before all creatures, a certain rational power proceeding from Himself, who is called by the Holy Spirit as the Glory of the Lord, the Son, Wisdom, an Angel, God, and then Lord and Logos; and at another time, He calls Himself Captain, when He appeared in human form to Joshua the son of Nun. He can be called by all these names, since He serves the Father’s will and was begotten of the Father by an act of will, just as we see happening among ourselves: when we express a word, we bring forth the word, yet not by division, so as to lessen the word remaining in us when we express it.

JUST AS WITH A FIRE: which is not diminished when it kindles another, but remains the same; and that which is kindled by it, likewise, exists by itself, not reducing that from which it was kindled. The Word of Wisdom, who is God begotten of the Father of all things, and Word, and Wisdom, and Power, and the Glory of the Begetter, will testify to me when He speaks through Solomon the following: ‘If I will declare to you what happens daily, I will recall events from everlasting and review them.

The Lord made me the beginning of His ways for His works. From everlasting, He established me in the beginning, before He made the earth and the deeps, before the springs of waters issued forth, before the mountains were established. Before all the hills, He begat me. God made the country, the desert, and the highest inhabited places under the sky. When He prepared the heavens, I was with Him, and when He set up His throne on the winds, when He made the high clouds strong, and the springs of the deep safe, when He laid the foundations of the earth, I was with Him arranging.

I was the one in whom He rejoiced; daily and at all times, I delighted in His presence, because He delighted in the completion of the habitable world and delighted in the sons of men.

Now, therefore, O son, hear me. Blessed is the one who listens to me, and the mortal who keeps my ways, watching daily at my doors, observing the posts of my entries. For my ways are the ways of life, and my will has been prepared by the Lord.

But those who sin against me trespass against their own souls; and those who hate me love death.'"

THE SAME MESSAGE: my friends, was expressed by the word of God written by Moses. It shows us that God speaks in the creation of man with the same intention, as follows: ‘Let Us make man in our image and likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the crawling creatures on the earth. And God created man: He created him in the image of God; male and female He created them. And God blessed them and said, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and have dominion over it.’

So you won’t change the meaning of the quoted words or repeat what your teachers claim—that God said to Himself, ‘Let Us make,’ just as we often say to ourselves when planning something, ‘Let us make;’ or that God spoke to the elements, like the earth and others we believe man was made from, with ‘Let Us make,’—I will quote again the words by Moses himself. They clearly show that [God] was speaking with someone distinct from Himself and also a rational Being. These are the words: ‘And God said, Behold, Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.’ By saying ‘like one of us,’ [Moses] declared that there are a number of persons associated together, and they are at least two.

I do not claim that the belief of the heresy among you is true, nor that its teachers can prove that [God] spoke to angels or that angels crafted humans. This Offspring, truly brought forth from the Father, was with the Father before all creatures, and the Father communed with Him. Scripture through Solomon makes it clear that He whom Solomon calls Wisdom was begotten as a Beginning before all His creatures and as Offspring by God. This is also confirmed in the revelation made by Joshua the son of Nun. Consider the following from the book of Joshua to make this clear to you; it is this: ‘When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing opposite him. Joshua approached Him and asked, Are you for us or for our adversaries? He said to him, I am the Captain of the Lord’s host: now I have come. And Joshua fell on his face to the ground and said, Lord, what do you command your servant? The Lord’s Captain said to Joshua, Take off your shoes; for the place you are standing on is holy ground. Jericho was secured and fortified, and no one went out of it. And the Lord said to Joshua, Behold, I give Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men.’

AND TRYPHO SAID: "This point has been convincingly proved to me through many arguments, my friend. It remains, then, to prove that He became man by the Virgin, according to the will of His Father; and that He was crucified and died. Also, clearly prove that after this, He rose again and ascended to heaven."

I REPLIED: "This, too, has already been demonstrated by me in the previously quoted words of the prophecies, my friends. By recalling and explaining these passages for your benefit, I will try to lead you to agree with me on this matter. The passage from Isaiah, 'Who shall declare His generation? for His life is taken away from the earth,'—does it not seem to you to refer to One who, without descent from men, was handed over to death by God for the sins of the people? Of whose blood Moses, as I mentioned before, used a parable to say He would wash His garments in the blood of the grape; since His blood did not come from human lineage, but from the will of God.

And then, what David says, 'In the splendors of Thy holiness have I begotten Thee from the womb, before the morning star. The Lord has sworn, and will not change His mind, Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek,'—does this not tell you that He existed from of old, and that God, the Father of all, intended Him to be born of a human womb? Speaking in other words, which have also been previously quoted, he says: 'Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom.

Thou hast loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy companions. [He has anointed Thee] with myrrh, and oil, and cassia from Thy garments, from the ivory palaces, whereby they made Thee glad. The daughters of kings are in Thy honor. The queen stood at Thy right hand, clad in garments embroidered with gold. Listen, O daughter, and look, and incline your ear, forget your people and your father's house; and the King shall desire your beauty, for He is your Lord, and you shall worship Him.' Therefore, these words explicitly testify that He is recognized by Him who established these things, as worthy of worship, as God and as Christ.

Furthermore, the word of God addresses those who believe in Him as being one soul, one congregation, and one church, as if to a daughter; it addresses the church which has arisen from His name and shares His name (for we are all called Christians), as clearly stated in the following words, which teach us also to let go of our old ancestral customs, when they say: 'Listen, O daughter, and look, and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house, and the King shall desire your beauty, for He is your Lord, and you shall worship Him.'"

HERE TRYPHO SAID: "Let Him be recognized as Lord, Christ, and God, as the Scriptures declare, by you Gentiles, who have all been called Christians from His name; but we, who are servants of God who made this same [Christ], do not need to confess or worship Him."

TO THIS I REPLIED: "If I were to be argumentative and careless like you, Trypho, I would no longer continue speaking with you, since you seem unwilling to understand what has been said and are only ready to give an argumentative response. However, since I fear God's judgment, I do not express an inappropriate opinion regarding any of your nation, about whether or not some of them might be saved by the grace of the Lord of Sabaoth. Therefore, although you act wrongfully, I will continue to respond to any proposition you bring up and any contradictions you make. In fact, I do the same with all people of every nation who wish to explore this subject with me or ask me about it. Accordingly, if you had paid attention to the Scriptures I previously quoted, you would already understand that those who are saved from your nation are saved through this man and share in His fate, and you would not have questioned me on this subject.

I will repeat the words of David that I previously mentioned and ask you to understand them instead of acting wrongfully and encouraging each other to merely contradict. The words David speaks are these: ‘The Lord has reigned; let the nations be angry: He sits upon the cherubim; let the earth be shaken. The Lord is great in Zion, and He is high above all the nations. Let them confess Your great name, for it is fearful and holy; and the honor of the king loves judgment. You have prepared equity; You have performed judgment and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God and worship the footstool of His feet; for He is holy. Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among those who call upon His name; they called on the Lord, and He heard them. In the pillar of the cloud He spoke to them; for they kept His testimonies and His commandments which He gave them.’

Moreover, from the other words of David, which I quoted earlier, and which you incorrectly claim refer to Solomon because they are inscribed for Solomon, it can be proven that they do not refer to Solomon, and that this Christ existed before the sun, and those from your nation who are saved shall be saved through Him. The words are these: ‘O God, give Your judgment to the king, and Your righteousness to the king's son. He shall judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, and shall save the children of the needy, and shall abase the slanderer; He shall endure with the sun, and before the moon, throughout all generations;’ and so on until, ‘His name endures before the sun, and all tribes of the earth shall be blessed in Him. All nations shall call Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things: and blessed be His glorious name forever and ever: and the whole earth shall be filled with His glory. Amen, Amen.’

You might also remember from other words spoken by David, which I mentioned before, how it is declared that He would come forth from the highest heavens, and return there, so that you may recognize Him as God coming from above, and as a man living among men; and it is declared that He will come again, and those who pierced Him will see and mourn Him. The words are: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky shows His handiwork. Day speaks today, and night shows knowledge tonight: They are not speeches or words whose voices are heard. Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the sun, He has set His dwelling; and He, like a bridegroom coming from his chamber, will rejoice as a giant to run his course: from the highest heaven is His going forth, and He returns to it, and no one shall be hidden from His heat.’”

AND TRYPHO SAID: "I am troubled by so many Scriptures that I do not know what to say about the Scripture which Isaiah writes, where God says that He does not give His glory to another, speaking like this: ‘I am the Lord God; this is my name; I will not give my glory to another, nor my virtues.’"

AND I REPLIED: "If you spoke these words, Trypho, and then remained silent without any ill intent, not repeating what came before or adding what follows, you must be forgiven.

But if you did this to cast doubt on the passage so that I might say the Scriptures contradict each other, you are mistaken. I will not dare to imply or state such a thing. If a Scripture that seems contradictory is brought forth, and if there appears to be a reason to say it is contrary to another, since I am fully convinced that no Scripture contradicts another, I would rather admit that I do not understand what is written and strive to persuade those who think the Scriptures are contradictory to hold the same view as myself.

God knows your intent in presenting this difficulty.

But I will remind you of what the passage states so that you may recognize from this very point that God gives glory only to His Christ. I will take up some short passages, those related to what Trypho mentioned, and those connected in order. I will not repeat those from another section but only those joined in one. Please give me your attention. The words are these: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God who created the heavens and made them firm, who established the earth and what is in it, and gave breath to the people upon it, and spirit to those who walk in it: I, the Lord God, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand and strengthen You; and I have given You for a covenant of the people, for a light to the Gentiles, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out those who are bound from chains, and those who sit in darkness from the prison.

I am the Lord God; this is my name: my glory I will not give to another, nor my virtues to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass; new things I announce, and before they happen, they are made known to you. Sing to the Lord a new song: His sovereignty is from the end of the earth. Sing, you who descend into the sea and continually sail on it; you islands and inhabitants of them. Rejoice, O wilderness, and its villages, and the houses; and the inhabitants of Kedar shall rejoice, and the inhabitants of the rock shall shout from the mountaintops: they shall give glory to God; they shall declare His virtues among the islands.

The Lord God of hosts shall go forth, He shall destroy war completely, He shall stir up zeal, and He shall cry out to the enemies with strength.’" And when I repeated this, I said to them, "Have you noticed, my friends, that God says He will give glory to Him whom He has established as a light of the Gentiles, and to no other; and not, as Trypho claimed, that God was keeping the glory for Himself?"

THEN TRYPHO ANSWERED: "We have understood this as well; continue therefore with the rest of the discussion."

AND I: returning to the discussion where I had paused earlier, when demonstrating that He was born of a virgin and that His birth from a virgin was foretold by Isaiah, quoted the same prophecy again. It is as follows: 'And the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God, either from the depths below or the heights above.

But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord.

And Isaiah said, Listen then, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to challenge people? How then do you challenge the Lord? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign; Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat butter and honey; before he knows or prefers evil, he will choose the good. For before the child knows ill or good, he will reject evil by choosing good.

For before the child knows how to call 'father' or 'mother,' he shall take possession of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, in the presence of the king of Assyria. The land shall be forsaken, which you shall endure with difficulty because of the presence of its two kings.

But God shall bring upon you, and upon your people, and upon your father's house, days that have not yet come since Ephraim separated from Judah, with the king of Assyria.' And I continued: 'Now it is clear to all that in the line of Abraham according to the flesh, no one has been born of a virgin or is said to have been born of a virgin, except this our Christ.'"

AND TRYPHO REPLIED: "The Scripture doesn't say, 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,' but rather, 'Behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son,' just as you quoted. The entire prophecy actually refers to Hezekiah, and it has been proven that it was fulfilled in him according to the terms of this prophecy. Moreover, in the myths of those known as Greeks, it is written that Perseus was born of Danae, who was a virgin, after Zeus descended on her in the form of a golden shower. You should feel ashamed when you make claims similar to theirs, and instead say that this Jesus was born as a man from men. If you can prove from the Scriptures that He is the Christ, and that due to leading a life that conformed to the law and was perfect, He deserved the honor of being chosen as the Christ, that's acceptable. But do not attempt to speak of incredible phenomena, lest you be found guilty of speaking foolishly like the Greeks."

THEN I SAID TO THIS: "Trypho, I wish to persuade you, and everyone else, of this: even if you speak worse things in ridicule and in jest, you will not sway me from my firm resolve; I will always use the words you believe support your views to demonstrate what I have stated, alongside the testimony of the Scriptures. However, you are not acting fairly or truthfully by trying to undo those things about which we have consistently agreed; namely, that certain commands were instituted by Moses because of the hardness of your people's hearts. For you said that, because of His living according to the law, He was chosen and became Christ, if indeed He were proven to be so."

AND TRYPHO SAID: "You admitted to us that He was both circumcised and followed the other legal ceremonies commanded by Moses."

AND I REPLIED: "I have admitted it, and still do: yet I have admitted that He endured all these not as if He were justified by them, but fulfilling the plan which His Father, the Maker of all things, and Lord and God, wanted Him to complete. For I admit that He endured crucifixion and death, and the incarnation, and the suffering of as many afflictions as your nation placed upon Him. But since you again disagree with what you recently agreed to, Trypho, answer me: Are those righteous patriarchs who lived before Moses, who followed none of those ordinances which, as the Scripture shows, began with Moses, saved, and have they attained the inheritance of the blessed?"

AND TRYPHO SAID: “The Scriptures force me to admit it.”

"Similarly, I ask you again," I said, "did God command your fathers to present the offerings and sacrifices because He needed them, or because of the hardness of their hearts and tendency to idolatry?"

"The latter," he said, "the Scriptures likewise compel us to admit."

"Similarly," I said, "didn't the Scriptures predict that God promised to provide a new covenant in addition to the one given at Mount Horeb?"

HE REPLIED THAT THIS: too, had been predicted.

THEN I SAID AGAIN: "Wasn't the old covenant given to your fathers with fear and trembling, so that they couldn't listen to God?"

HE CONFESSED IT:

"What then?" I asked. "God promised that there would be a new covenant, not like the old one, and said it would be established among them without fear, trembling, or lightning. It would reveal the kind of commands and deeds that God knows to be eternal and appropriate for every nation, and which commandments He gave, adapting them to the hardness of your people's hearts, as He also declares through the prophets."

"To this also," he said, "those who love truth and not conflict must surely agree."

THEN I REPLIED: "I don't know how you speak of people very fond of strife, since you yourself were often clearly acting in this very manner, frequently contradicting what you had agreed to."

AND TRYPHO SAID: "You attempt to prove an unbelievable and nearly impossible thing; that God chose to be born and become man."

"If I set out," I said, "to prove this through human doctrines or arguments, you wouldn't put up with me. But if I frequently quote Scriptures, and many of them relate to this point, and ask you to understand them, you are being stubborn in acknowledging the mind and will of God. If you wish to remain like this forever, I would not be harmed at all; retaining the same opinions I had before I met you, I will leave you."

AND TRYPHO SAID: "Look, my friend, you mastered these truths with much effort and toil. Therefore, we must carefully examine everything we encounter to agree with the things that the Scriptures compel us to believe."

THEN I SAID TO THIS: “I do not ask you to refrain from striving earnestly in every way to investigate the matters in question, but when you have nothing to say, do not contradict what you said you had admitted.”

AND TRYPHO SAID: "We will endeavor to do so."

I CONTINUED AGAIN: "Besides the questions I just asked you, I want to ask more, because with these questions I will try to bring the discussion to a quick conclusion."

AND TRYPHO SAID: "Ask the questions."

THEN I SAID: "Do you think that anyone else is considered worthy of worship and called Lord and God in the Scriptures, except the Maker of all, and Christ, who through so many Scriptures was proven to you to have become man?"

AND TRYPHO REPLIED: "How can we accept this, when we have conducted such a thorough investigation to determine if there is anyone other than the Father alone?"

THEN I SAID AGAIN: "I must ask you this too, so I can know whether or not you have a different opinion from what you admitted some time ago."

HE REPLIED: "It isn't, sir."

SINCE YOU INDEED ADMIT THESE THINGS: and since Scripture says, ‘Who shall declare His generation?’ shouldn't you now consider that He is not the seed of a human race?

AND TRYPHO SAID: “How then does the Word tell David that from his descendants God will take to Himself a Son, establish His kingdom, and set Him on the throne of His glory?”

AND I SAID: “Trypho, if Isaiah's prophecy, ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive,’ was directed not to the house of David but to another of the twelve tribes, the matter might have some difficulty. However, since this prophecy pertains to the house of David, Isaiah has explained how what was spoken by God to David in mystery would happen. But perhaps you are not aware, my friends, that many sayings were written obscurely, or parabolically, or mysteriously, along with symbolic actions, which the prophets who lived after those who said or did them explained.”

"Certainly," said Trypho.

IF: therefore, I can show that this prophecy of Isaiah refers to our Christ and not to Hezekiah, as you claim, will I not also compel you to doubt your teachers, who assert that the explanation given by your seventy elders with Ptolemy, the king of the Egyptians, is false in certain respects? Some statements in the Scriptures clearly reveal their foolish and vain views, but they claim those were not written as such. Other statements, which they believe they can twist to fit human actions, they assert do not refer to our Jesus Christ but to someone else they favor in their explanations. For example, they have taught you that this Scripture we are discussing refers to Hezekiah, and I promised to show they are mistaken. While they are forced to agree that some Scriptures we mention, which clearly show that Christ was to suffer, be worshipped, and called God, do refer to Christ, they claim this man is not Christ. Yet, they admit that He will come to suffer, reign, and be worshipped as God; I will show this opinion to be absurd and foolish. But since I am urged to first respond to what you said in jest, I will do so, and then address the rest.

"Rest assured, Trypho," I continued, "that my knowledge and faith in the Scriptures are strengthened by the false miracles said to have been performed by the one called the devil among the Greeks, similar to those done by the Magi in Egypt and by the false prophets during Elijah's time. For when they claim that Bacchus, son of Jupiter, was born from Jupiter's union with Semele, discovered the vine, was torn apart, died, rose again, and ascended to heaven, and they include wine in his rituals, do I not see that the devil has imitated the prophecy announced by patriarch Jacob and recorded by Moses? And when they say Hercules was strong, traveled the world, was born of Jove and Alcmene, and ascended to heaven upon his death, do I not see that the Scriptures about Christ, ‘strong as a giant to run his race,’ have been similarly imitated? And when the devil presents Æsculapius as a raiser of the dead and healer of all diseases, can I not say that he has also imitated the prophecies about Christ in this matter? However, since I have not quoted such Scriptures to you that speak of Christ doing these things, I must remind you of one such passage: from which you can understand that even to those without knowledge of God, like the Gentiles, who ‘having eyes, saw not, and having a heart, understood not,’ worshiping wooden images, the Scripture prophesied they would renounce these vanities and hope in Christ.

IT IS WRITTEN: ‘Rejoice, thirsty wilderness; let the wilderness be glad and blossom as the lily: the deserts of the Jordan shall blossom and be glad: the glory of Lebanon was given to it, and the honor of Carmel. And my people shall see the exaltation of the Lord, and the glory of God. Be strong, weak hands and feeble knees. Be comforted, faint in soul: be strong, do not fear. Behold, our God gives and will give retributive judgment.

He shall come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. The lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the stammerers shall speak clearly: for water has broken forth in the wilderness, and a valley in the thirsty land; and the parched ground shall become pools, and a spring of water shall rise up in the thirsty land.’ The spring of living water that flowed from God in the land lacking the knowledge of God, namely the land of the Gentiles, was this Christ, who appeared among your people and healed those who were maimed, deaf, and lame from birth, causing them to leap, to hear, and to see by His word.

Having raised the dead and given them life, His deeds compelled people of that time to recognize Him.

But though they saw such works, they claimed it was magic. They dared to call Him a magician and a deceiver of the people.

Yet He performed these works and convinced those destined to believe in Him. For even if someone has a physical defect, if they observe His teachings, He shall raise them at His second coming perfectly sound, after making them immortal, incorruptible, and free from grief."

WHEN THOSE WHO DESCRIBE THE MYSTERIES OF MITHRAS CLAIM THAT HE WAS BORN FROM A ROCK AND CALL THE PLACE WHERE BELIEVERS ARE INITIATED A CAVE: don't I see that they have imitated Daniel’s statement about a stone cut from a great mountain without hands? They have also tried to imitate all of Isaiah’s words. I must repeat Isaiah's words so you can understand this. They are: ‘Listen, those who are far off, to what I have done; those nearby will know my power.

The sinners in Zion are removed; fear will seize the impious. Who will tell you about the everlasting place? The person who walks in righteousness, speaks truthfully, hates sin and unrighteousness, keeps hands clean from bribes, closes ears from hearing unjust judgment of blood, and shuts eyes from seeing unrighteousness will dwell in the lofty cave of the strong rock. Bread will be given to him, and his water will be sure. You will see the King in glory, and your eyes will look far ahead.

Your soul will diligently pursue the fear of the Lord. Where is the scribe? Where are the counselors? Where is the one who counts those who are nourished, the small and great people? With whom they did not consult, nor understand the depth of the voices, so they did not hear. The people have become depreciated, and there is no understanding in the listener.’ It is clear that this prophecy refers to the bread our Christ gave us to eat in remembrance of His becoming flesh for His believers, for whom He also suffered; and to the cup He gave us to drink in remembrance of His own blood, with giving of thanks.

This prophecy shows that we will see this very King in glory, and it clearly states that the people who were foreseen to believe in Him were also foreseen to diligently pursue the fear of the Lord.

Moreover, these Scriptures clearly say that those who claim to know the Scriptures and hear the prophecies have no understanding. And when I hear, Trypho," I said, "that Perseus was born of a virgin, I understand that the deceiving serpent also copied this.

I AM FAR FROM RELYING ON YOUR TEACHERS: who refuse to admit that the interpretation made by the seventy elders who worked with Ptolemy, king of the Egyptians, is correct. They attempt to create another interpretation. I want you to notice that they have removed many Scriptures from the translations made by those seventy elders with Ptolemy, which prove that this man who was crucified was clearly presented as God, man, and as being crucified and dying. But since I know that this is denied by all of your nation, I will not address these points. Instead, I will continue my discussion using the passages you still accept. You agree with those I have presented, except you dispute the statement, ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive,’ and argue it should be, ‘Behold, the young woman shall conceive.’ I promised to prove that the prophecy referred not to Hezekiah, as you were taught, but to this Christ of mine, and now I will provide the proof.

HERE TRYPHO REMARKED: "We ask you first to tell us some of the Scriptures which you claim have been completely cancelled."

AND I SAID: "I shall do as you wish. From the statements that Esdras made about the law of the Passover, they have removed the following: 'And Esdras said to the people, This Passover is our Savior and our refuge. And if you have understood, and your heart has accepted it, that we shall humble Him on a cross, and then hope in Him, then this place shall never be abandoned, says the God of hosts. But if you do not believe Him and do not listen to His declaration, you shall be mocked by the nations.' And from the words of Jeremiah, they have removed the following: 'I was like a lamb that is brought to the slaughter: they plotted against me, saying, Come, let us put wood on His bread, and let us erase Him from the land of the living; and His name shall no longer be remembered.'

Since this passage from the words of Jeremiah is still written in some copies of the Scriptures in the synagogues of the Jews (as it was only recently removed), and since these words show that the Jews planned to crucify and kill the Christ Himself, He is both shown to be led as a sheep to the slaughter, as Isaiah predicted, and is here depicted as a harmless lamb. But being challenged by these words, they resort to blasphemy. Again, from the words of the same Jeremiah, these have been removed: 'The Lord God remembered His dead people of Israel who lay in the graves; and He descended to preach to them His own salvation.'"

HERE IS THE TEXT TRANSLATED INTO MODERN ENGLISH:

"And from the ninety-fifth (ninety-sixth) Psalm, they have removed this short phrase from the words of David: ‘From the wood.’ For when the passage stated, ‘Declare among the nations, the Lord has reigned from the wood,’ they have left it as, ‘Declare among the nations, the Lord has reigned.’ Now none of your people has ever been said to have reigned as God and Lord among the nations, except for Him who was crucified, of whom the Holy Spirit also affirms in the same Psalm that He was raised again and freed from the grave, declaring that there is none like Him among the gods of the nations: for they are idols of demons. But I shall recite the whole Psalm to you, so you may understand what has been said. It is as follows: ‘Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, and bless His name; proclaim His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all the gods. For all the gods of the nations are demons, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and beauty are in His presence; holiness and magnificence are in His sanctuary. Bring to the Lord, O you countries of the nations, bring to the Lord glory and honor, bring to the Lord glory in His name. Take sacrifices, and enter His courts; worship the Lord in His holy temple. Let the whole earth be moved before Him: declare among the nations, the Lord has reigned. For He has established the world, which shall not be moved; He shall judge the nations with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be glad; let the sea and its fullness shake. Let the fields and everything in them be joyful. Let all the trees of the wood be glad before the Lord: for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth.’"

HERE TRYPHO REMARKED: "Whether the rulers of the people have erased any part of the Scriptures, as you claim, God knows; but it seems unbelievable."

"Certainly," I said, "it does seem unbelievable. For it is more terrible than the calf they made when they were content with manna on the earth; or than the sacrifice of children to demons; or than the killing of the prophets. But," I said, "it seems to me that you haven't heard the Scriptures that I mentioned they had taken away. For those that have been quoted are more than enough to prove the points in dispute, in addition to those we still have, and that shall yet be presented."

THEN TRYPHO SAID: "We know that you quoted these because we asked you. But it doesn't seem to me that this Psalm you quoted last from the words of David refers to anyone other than the Father and Maker of the heavens and earth. However, you claimed that it referred to Him who suffered, whom you are also eagerly trying to prove to be Christ."

AND I ANSWERED: “Listen to me, please, while I speak about the statement the Holy Spirit uttered in this Psalm. You will see that I speak without sin and that we are not truly deceived. In this way, you will be able to understand many other statements made by the Holy Spirit. ‘Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, everyone on earth: sing to the Lord, and bless His name; proclaim His salvation daily, His wonderful deeds among all people.’ He calls all the people of the earth, who have learned of this salvation, that is, the suffering of Christ by which He saved them, to sing and give praises to God the Father of all things.

They should recognize that He is worthy of praise and reverence, and that He is the Creator of heaven and earth, who accomplished this salvation for humanity, who also was crucified and died, and was deemed worthy by God to reign over all the earth. This is also clearly seen in the land into which He said He would bring your ancestors; He speaks thus: ‘These people will go after other gods and will abandon Me, breaking the covenant I made with them that day.

I will forsake them and turn My face from them; they will be ravaged, and many evils and afflictions will find them. They will say on that day, because the Lord my God is not among us, these troubles have found us. And I will definitely turn My face from them on that day, because of all the evils they have done, turning to other gods.’”

IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS: we also see that the name of God Himself, which He says was not revealed to Abraham or Jacob, was Jesus and was revealed mysteriously through Moses. It is written: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, 'Tell this people, Behold, I send My angel before you to guard you on the way and bring you into the land I have prepared for you. Pay attention to Him and obey Him; do not defy Him. For He will not pardon your rebellion, for My name is in Him.'" Understand that He who led your ancestors into the land is called Jesus, first known as Auses (Oshea).

If you grasp this, you will also see that the one who said to Moses, "for My name is in Him," was Jesus.

Indeed, He was also called Israel, and Jacob's name was changed to this as well. Isaiah shows that those prophets sent to deliver messages from God are called His angels and apostles. Isaiah says at one point, "Send me." It is clear to all that the prophet whose name was changed to Jesus [Joshua] was strong and great.

If we know that God revealed Himself in so many forms to Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, how can we be confused and not believe that, according to the will of the Father of all things, it was possible for Him to be born as a man from the Virgin, especially when we have such Scriptures that clearly show He became so according to the will of the Father?

"For when Daniel talks about 'one like the Son of man' who received the everlasting kingdom, isn’t he hinting at this very thing? By saying 'like the Son of man,' he showed that He appeared and was a man, but not from human seed. Daniel also spoke in mystery of the stone cut out without hands. The phrase 'cut out without hands' indicates it’s not a human work, but a work of the will of the Father and God of all things, who brought Him forth.

WHEN ISAIAH ASKS: 'Who shall declare His generation?' he means His descent cannot be declared. No one born of man can have an undetermined descent. When Moses says He will wash His garments in the blood of the grape, doesn’t this signify what I have repeatedly told you is an obscure prediction, namely, that He had blood not from men; just as the blood of the vine comes not from man, but from God?

When Isaiah calls Him the Angel of mighty counsel, didn’t he foretell Him to be the Teacher of those truths which He taught when He came to earth? For He alone openly taught those mighty counsels which the Father intended for all those who have been and will be well-pleasing to Him, and also for those who have rebelled against His will, whether men or angels. This is when He said: 'They shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness.' And, 'Many shall say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten, and drunk, and prophesied, and cast out demons in Your name? And I will say to them, Depart from Me.'

Again, with other words, by which He shall condemn those unworthy of salvation, He said, 'Depart into outer darkness, which the Father has prepared for Satan and his angels.' Again, in other words, He said, ‘I give you power to tread on serpents, scorpions, scolopendras, and all the might of the enemy.’ Now we, who believe in our Lord Jesus, crucified under Pontius Pilate, when we exorcise demons and evil spirits, have them subjected to us. For if the prophets declared obscurely that Christ would suffer and afterwards be Lord of all, it wasn’t understood by any man until He convinced the apostles that these statements were clearly related in the Scriptures. Before His crucifixion, He proclaimed: 'The Son of man must suffer many things, be rejected by the Scribes and Pharisees, be crucified, and on the third day rise again.' David predicted that He would be born from the womb before sun and moon, according to the Father’s will, and made Him known as Christ, as God strong and to be worshipped."

TRYPHO SAID: "I admit that your arguments are strong enough to persuade someone, but I want you to provide the proof that you promised. Go ahead and show us how you prove that this passage refers to your Christ. We claim that the prophecy is about Hezekiah." I replied, "I will do as you ask.

But first, show me how it is said of Hezekiah that before he knew how to say 'father' or 'mother,' he received the power of Damascus and the treasures of Samaria in the presence of the king of Assyria.

It will not be conceded to you, as you want to explain it, that Hezekiah waged war with the people of Damascus and Samaria in front of the king of Assyria. The prophetic words say, 'Before the child knows how to say 'father' or 'mother,' he shall take the power of Damascus and the treasures of Samaria in front of the king of Assyria.' If the Spirit of prophecy had not added, 'Before the child knows how to say 'father' or 'mother,' he shall take the power of Damascus and the treasures of Samaria,' but had only said, 'And shall bear a son, and he shall take the power of Damascus and the treasures of Samaria,' then you might say that God foretold he would take these things, since He knew it in advance.

But the prophecy includes this addition: 'Before the child knows how to say 'father' or 'mother,' he shall take the power of Damascus and the treasures of Samaria.' And you cannot prove that this ever happened to anyone among the Jews.

Yet we can prove that it happened in the case of our Christ. At His birth, Magi from Arabia worshipped Him, coming first to Herod, who was ruling your land and whom the Scripture refers to as the king of Assyria because of his ungodly and sinful nature.

You know," I continued, "that the Holy Spirit often announces events through parables and metaphors, just as He did with the people in Jerusalem, often saying to them, 'Your father is an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite.'"

AT THE TIME WHEN KING HEROD WAS VISITED BY THE MAGI FROM ARABIA: they told him they had seen a star in the sky indicating that a King had been born in his country, and they had come to worship Him. Herod learned from the elders of his people that it was written about Bethlehem in the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the princes of Judah; for out of you shall come the leader who will shepherd my people.’ The Magi from Arabia went to Bethlehem, worshipped the Child, and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. However, they did not return to Herod because they were warned in a revelation after worshipping the Child in Bethlehem.

Joseph, the husband of Mary, initially wanted to break off his engagement to Mary, thinking she became pregnant through relations with a man, i.e., through fornication. But in a vision, he was instructed not to leave his wife. The angel who appeared to him told him that what was in her womb was of the Holy Ghost. So, he was afraid and did not leave her. During the first census in Judea, under Cyrenius, Joseph went up from Nazareth, where he lived, to Bethlehem, which was his ancestral home, to be registered, as his family belonged to the tribe of Judah, which was settled in that area. Then, along with Mary, he was instructed to go to Egypt with the Child and stay there until another revelation told them to return to Judea.

But when the Child was born in Bethlehem, because Joseph could not find lodging in the village, he stayed in a cave near the village. While they were there, Mary gave birth to the Christ and laid Him in a manger, and this was where the Magi from Arabia found Him. I have shared with you,” I continued, “what Isaiah foretold about the sign foreshadowing the cave; but for the benefit of those accompanying us today, I will remind you of the passage.” Then I repeated the passage from Isaiah I have already written, adding that the words stirred those who presided over the mysteries of Mithras, incited by the devil, to claim that they were initiated by him in a place they called a cave.

When the Magi from Arabia did not return to Herod as he had asked, but instead went back to their own country by another path, following the command given to them; and when Joseph, Mary, and the Child had gone into Egypt as revealed to them; since Herod did not know which Child the Magi had visited to worship, he simply ordered all the children in Bethlehem to be killed. Jeremiah prophesied this, speaking by the Holy Ghost: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and much wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted because they are not.’ Therefore, because of the voice to be heard from Ramah, i.e., from Arabia (there is presently a place called Ramah in Arabia), wailing would fall upon the place where Rachel, the wife of Jacob called Israel, the holy patriarch, has been buried, i.e., upon Bethlehem; while the women mourn for their own slaughtered children and find no consolation because of what has happened to them.

Isaiah's expression, ‘He shall take the power of Damascus and spoils of Samaria,’ predicted that the power of the evil demon residing in Damascus would be overcome by Christ as soon as He was born, and this has been shown to have occurred. For the Magi, who were ensnared into committing evil deeds through the power of that demon, showed their revolt from that dominion by coming to worship Christ, a dominion Scripture has identified as residing in Damascus. Moreover, that unjust and sinful power is rightly called Samaria in parable. None of you can deny that Damascus was, and is, in the region of Arabia, though now it belongs to the area called Syrophoenicia.

Thus, it would be proper for you, sirs, to learn what you have yet to perceive from those who have received grace from God—namely, from us Christians—and not insist on upholding your own doctrines that dishonor those of God. This is why this grace has been given to us, as Isaiah says, speaking in this manner: ‘This people draws near to Me with their mouth and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; they worship Me in vain, teaching the commands and doctrines of men. Therefore, behold, I will proceed to remove this people, and I shall remove them; and I shall take away the wisdom of their wise men and bring their understanding to nothing.’ ”

IN RESPONSE: Trypho, who was somewhat angry but respected the Scriptures, as was clear from his expression, said to me, “The words of God are holy, but your interpretations are mere inventions, as is evident from what you have explained; even blasphemies, for you claim that angels sinned and turned away from God.”

TO GET HIM TO LISTEN TO ME: I responded in a calmer tone: "I admire your piety, sir, and I hope you hold the same regard for Him to whom angels are reported to minister, as Daniel states. One like the Son of man is brought to the Ancient of days, and every kingdom is given to Him forever.

But I want you to know, sir," I continued, "that it is not our boldness that led us to embrace this interpretation, which you criticize.

I will provide evidence from Isaiah himself, for he asserts that evil angels have resided and do reside in Tanis, in Egypt. Here are his words: 'Woe to the rebellious children! Thus says the Lord, You have taken counsel, but not through Me; and made agreements, but not through My Spirit, to add sins to sins; who have sinned in going down to Egypt (but they have not sought My counsel), that they may be helped by Pharaoh and be sheltered by the shadow of the Egyptians.

For the shadow of Pharaoh will be a disgrace to you, and a reproach to those who trust in the Egyptians; for the princes in Tanis are evil angels. In vain will they labor for a people that will not benefit them, but will instead be a disgrace and a reproach to them.' Furthermore, Zechariah recounts, as you yourself have told, that the devil stood at the right hand of Joshua the priest to resist him; and the Lord said, 'The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you.' And again, it is written in Job, as you mentioned, how the angels came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them.

It is also recorded by Moses at the start of Genesis that the serpent deceived Eve and was cursed. And we know that in Egypt there were magicians who tried to replicate the mighty power displayed by God through His faithful servant Moses. And you know that David said, 'The gods of the nations are demons.'"

AND TRYPHO REPLIED: "I noted, sir, that you are very keen to be secure in all respects, since you hold fast to the Scriptures. But tell me, do you truly believe that this place, Jerusalem, will be rebuilt? Do you expect your people to be gathered together and made joyful with Christ, the patriarchs, and the prophets, both the men of our nation and other proselytes who joined them before your Christ came? Or have you conceded this point just to seem to have the upper hand in our debates?"

THEN I REPLIED: “I’m not so miserable a fellow, Trypho, as to say one thing and think another. I previously admitted to you that I and many others hold this belief, which you are certainly aware of; but, on the other hand, I indicated to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and are true Christians, think differently.

Moreover, I pointed out to you that some who are called Christians, but are godless, impious heretics, teach doctrines that are completely blasphemous, atheistical, and foolish.

But to show that I’m not saying this just to you, I will prepare a statement of all the arguments that have passed between us, as best as I can, in which I will record myself as admitting the same things I admit to you. For I choose to follow not humans or human doctrines, but God and the doctrines delivered by Him. For if you have encountered some who are called Christians, but do not admit this truth, and dare to blaspheme the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, go to heaven; do not think they are Christians—just as one, if he would rightly consider it, would not accept that the Sadducees, or similar sects like the Genistæ, Meristæ, Galilæans, Hellenists, Pharisees, and Baptists, are Jews (do not listen impatiently when I tell you my thoughts), but are only called Jews and children of Abraham, worshipping God with their lips, as God Himself declared, but their hearts were far from Him.

But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are sure that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be rebuilt, adorned, and expanded, as the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare.

ISAIAH SPOKE ABOUT THIS PERIOD OF A THOUSAND YEARS: "There will be a new heaven and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, they will find joy and gladness in what I create. For, behold, I make Jerusalem a place of rejoicing, and My people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and be glad in My people. The sound of weeping or crying will no longer be heard there. There will be no longer young people who die prematurely or old people who do not live out their days. For someone who is a hundred years old will be considered a youth, but a sinner who reaches a hundred years will be accursed. They will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit and drink the wine. They won't build for others to live in or plant for others to eat. For like the days of the tree of life will be the days of My people, and the work of their labor will be plentiful. My chosen ones will not labor in vain or bear children destined for misfortune, for they will be a seed blessed by the Lord, and their descendants with them. Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will say, 'What is it?' Then wolves and lambs will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the serpent will eat dust as its food. They will not harm or destroy each other on My holy mountain," says the Lord.

We understand that the phrase, "Like the days of the tree of life, so will be the days of My people; the work of their labor will be plentiful," subtly predicts a thousand years. Since Adam was told that he would die on the day he ate from the tree and did not complete a thousand years, we see the connection. We also recognize that the phrase, "The day of the Lord is like a thousand years," relates to this topic. Furthermore, there was a man among us named John, one of Christ's apostles, who prophesied through a revelation given to him that those who believe in Christ would live in Jerusalem for a thousand years. Afterward, the general and eternal resurrection and judgment of all humanity would occur. As our Lord also said, "They will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be like the angels, the children of the God of the resurrection."

THE PROPHETIC GIFTS ARE STILL WITH US: even today.

Therefore, you should understand that the gifts that were once among your people have been transferred to us. Just as there were false prophets during the time of your holy prophets, there are now many false teachers among us, whom our Lord warned us to be cautious of.

Thus, we lack nothing, as we know He foresaw all that would happen to us after His resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven.

He said we would be put to death and hated for His name’s sake, and that many false prophets and false Christs would appear in His name and deceive many—and this has happened. Many have taught godless, blasphemous, and unholy doctrines, claiming them in His name, and have taught, and are still teaching, those things that come from the unclean spirit of the devil, which were put into their hearts.

Therefore, we are very anxious that you are not misled by such people, since we know that everyone who can speak the truth but does not will be judged by God, as God testified through Ezekiel, when He said, ‘I have made you a watchman to the house of Judah.

If the sinner sins and you do not warn him, he will die in his sin, but his blood I will require at your hand.

But if you warn him, you shall be innocent.’ For this reason, we are, out of fear, very intent on speaking with people according to the Scriptures, not out of love for money, glory, or pleasure. No one can accuse us of any of these vices. Nor do we wish to live like the rulers of your people, whom God reproaches when He says, ‘Your rulers are companions of thieves, lovers of bribes, followers of rewards.’ Now, if you know certain among us to be like this, do not, because of them, blaspheme the Scriptures and Christ, and do not strive to give false interpretations.

YOUR TEACHERS HAVE VENTURED TO REFER THE PASSAGE: 'The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool,' to Hezekiah, as if he were asked to sit on the right side of the temple when the king of Assyria sent to him and threatened him, and he was told by Isaiah not to be afraid. Now we know and acknowledge that what Isaiah said happened; that the king of Assyria ceased waging war against Jerusalem in Hezekiah's days, and the angel of the Lord killed about 185,000 of the Assyrian army.

But it is clear that the Psalm does not refer to him. For it is written, 'The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool. He shall send forth a rod of power over Jerusalem, and it shall rule in the midst of Your enemies. In the splendor of the saints before the morning star have I begotten You. The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.' Who does not admit, then, that Hezekiah is not a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek? And who does not know that he is not the redeemer of Jerusalem? And who does not know that he neither sent a rod of power into Jerusalem nor ruled in the midst of his enemies, but that it was God who turned away the enemies from him after he mourned and was afflicted? But our Jesus, who has not yet come in glory, has sent into Jerusalem a rod of power, namely, the word of calling and repentance meant for all nations over which demons held sway, as David says, 'The gods of the nations are demons.' And His strong word has led many to abandon the demons whom they used to serve, and by means of it to believe in the Almighty God because the gods of the nations are demons.

And we mentioned before that the statement, 'In the splendor of the saints before the morning star have I begotten You from the womb,' is made to Christ.

FURTHERMORE: the prophecy, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son," was spoken about Him. For if the one to whom Isaiah referred was not to be born of a virgin, of whom did the Holy Spirit declare, "Behold, the Lord Himself shall give us a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son?" If He were also to be born from sexual intercourse like all other first-born sons, why did God say He would give a sign not common to all first-born sons? But the true sign, meant to be made trustworthy to humanity—that the first-born of all creation should become incarnate from the Virgin’s womb and be a child—this He anticipated by the Spirit of prophecy and predicted, as I have repeated to you in various ways, so that when it happened, it would be recognized as the work of the power and will of the Creator of all things; just as Eve was made from one of Adam’s ribs, and all living beings were created in the beginning by the word of God.

But you dare to distort the interpretations given by your elders who were with Ptolemy, king of Egypt, since you claim that Scripture says, "Behold, the young woman shall conceive," as if great events were meant to occur because a woman conceives through sexual intercourse: which indeed all young women, except the barren, do; but even these, God can cause to bear children, if He wills. For Samuel’s mother, who was barren, bore a child by the will of God; as did the wife of the holy patriarch Abraham, Elisabeth who bore John the Baptist, and others like them.

You must not assume that it is impossible for God to do anything He wills. Especially as it was predicted to occur, do not dare to distort or misinterpret the prophecies, since you will harm only yourselves, and not God.

SOME OF YOU TRY TO INTERPRET THE PROPHECY: "Lift up your gates, rulers; and be lifted up, everlasting doors, that the King of glory may enter," as if it also referred to Hezekiah, and others interpret it as Solomon; but it can't be proven to refer to either of them or any of your kings. It refers only to our Christ, who appeared without beauty and without glory, as Isaiah, David, and all the Scriptures state; who is the Lord of hosts, by the will of the Father who gave Him the honor; who also rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, as the Psalm and other Scriptures declare when they call Him the Lord of hosts.

You can easily be convinced of this by the events happening before your eyes. For every demon, when exorcised in the name of this very Son of God—who is the Firstborn of all creation, who became man through the Virgin, who suffered and was crucified under Pontius Pilate by your nation, who died, who rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven—is defeated and subdued.

But if you exorcise any demon in the name of any of those who were among you—either kings, righteous men, prophets, or patriarchs—it won't be subject to you.

Yet, if any of you exorcise it in the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it might be subject to you. Your exorcists, as I have said, use trickery when they exorcise, just as the Gentiles do, employing fumigations and incantations.

But that they are angels and powers whom the word of prophecy by David commands to lift up the gates so that He who rose from the dead, Jesus Christ, the Lord of hosts, according to the will of the Father, might enter, the word of David has also shown; which I shall repeat for those who were not with us yesterday and for whose benefit I summarize many things I said yesterday.

And now, if I tell you this, even though I have repeated it many times, I know it's not absurd to do so. For it's ridiculous to see the sun, moon, and stars continually following the same course and bringing about the different seasons, and to see the computer asked how much two times two equals, because he has often said they are four, not stopping from saying again that they are four; and equally, other things confidently accepted are continually mentioned and accepted in the same way; yet that he who bases his discourse on the prophetic Scriptures should ignore them and refrain from continually referring to the same Scriptures because it's thought he can present something better than Scripture.

The passage by which I proved that God reveals there are both angels and hosts in heaven is this: "Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the highest. Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts."

THEN ONE OF THOSE WHO HAD COME WITH THEM ON THE SECOND DAY: named Mnaseas, said, "We are greatly pleased that you are willing to repeat the same things for our sake."

AND I SAID: "Listen, my friends, to the Scripture that prompts me to act this way. Jesus commanded us to love even our enemies, as was predicted by Isaiah in many passages, which also contains the mystery of our own regeneration, as well as the regeneration of all who expect that Christ will appear in Jerusalem, and who earnestly strive to please Him by their works. These are the words spoken by Isaiah: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word.

Say, our brethren, to those that hate you and detest you, that the name of the Lord has been glorified. He has appeared to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord who gives recompense to the proud. Before she who labored gave birth, and before the pains of labor came, she brought forth a male child. Who has heard such a thing? and who has seen such a thing? Has the earth brought forth in one day? and has she produced a nation at once? for Zion has labored and borne her children.

But I have given such an expectation even to her who does not bring forth, said the Lord. Behold, I have made her who gives birth, and her who is barren, says the Lord. Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and hold a joyous assembly, all you who love her. Be glad, all you who mourn for her, that you may suck and be filled with the breast of her consolation, that having suck you may be delighted with the entrance of His glory.’"

AFTER QUOTING THIS: I added, "Listen then to how this Man, who the Scriptures say will come again in glory after His crucifixion, was symbolized both by the tree of life said to have been planted in paradise and by events that would happen to all the righteous. Moses was sent with a rod to lead the redemption of the people; with it, he parted the sea while leading them. With the rod, he saw water gushing from the rock, and when he threw a tree into the bitter waters of Marah, he made them sweet.

Jacob, by putting rods in the water troughs, caused his uncle's sheep to conceive, so he could obtain their young. Jacob also boasted of crossing the river with his rod. He claimed to have seen a ladder with Scripture declaring that God stood above it. We have shown from the Scriptures that this was not the Father. Jacob poured oil on a stone in that place, confirmed by God who appeared to him, that he had anointed a pillar to the God who appeared to him.

We have also proven through many Scriptures that the stone symbolically announced Christ, and that the anointment, whether it was oil, stacte, or any other sweet balsam, referred to Him, as the word states: 'Therefore God, even Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy companions.’ All kings and anointed beings received their share of the titles of kings and anointed from Him, just as He Himself received the titles of King, Christ, Priest, and Angel, among others, from the Father.

Aaron’s rod that blossomed declared him to be the high priest. Isaiah prophesied that a rod would come forth from Jesse’s root—this was Christ. David says the righteous man is ‘like a tree planted by the channels of water, yielding its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither.’ Again, the righteous are said to flourish like the palm tree. God appeared to Abraham near a tree, as written, near the oak at Mamre. The people found seventy willows and twelve springs after crossing the Jordan.

David proclaims that God comforted him with a rod and staff. Elisha, by throwing a stick into the Jordan River, recovered the iron part of the axe with which the prophets' sons were cutting trees to build a house for studying God's law and commandments; similarly, our Christ, by being crucified on the tree and purifying us with water, has redeemed us from the worst offenses we committed and made us a house of prayer and adoration.

Furthermore, it was a rod that revealed Judah to be the father of Tamar’s sons in a profound mystery."

AFTER I HAD SPOKEN THESE WORDS: Trypho said, “Do not think that by asking my questions, I am trying to challenge what you have said; I just want to understand more about these matters I am asking about. Tell me, then, how, when Scripture states in Isaiah, ‘A rod will come forth from the root of Jesse; and a flower will grow from the root of Jesse; and the Spirit of God will rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety; and the spirit of the fear of the Lord will fill Him.’ You acknowledged to me,” he continued, “that this refers to Christ, and you claim He is pre-existent God, who became incarnate by God’s will and was born as a man by the Virgin. How can He be shown to have been pre-existent when He is filled with the powers of the Holy Spirit, as Isaiah lists them, as if He were in need of them?”

THEN I REPLIED: "You have asked very wisely and sensibly, for indeed there seems to be a difficulty; but listen to what I say so you can understand the reason for this as well. The Scripture says that these listed powers of the Spirit have come upon Him, not because He needed them, but because they would find their fulfillment in Him, meaning they would be complete in Him, so that there would be no more prophets in your nation following the old tradition: and you clearly see this fact.

For after Him, no prophet has risen among you.

Now, to know that your prophets, each receiving one or two powers from God, did and spoke the things which we have learned from the Scriptures, pay attention to the following comments of mine. Solomon had the spirit of wisdom, Daniel the spirit of understanding and counsel, Moses that of might and piety, Elijah that of fear, and Isaiah that of knowledge; and so it was with the others: each had one power, or one combined with another; also Jeremiah, and the twelve prophets, and David, and, in short, the rest who existed among you.

So He rested, meaning He ceased, when He came, after whom, in the period of this arrangement accomplished by Him among men, it was necessary that such gifts should stop from you; and having found their rest in Him, should again, as had been predicted, become gifts which, from the grace of His Spirit's power, He gives to those who believe in Him, according to how He considers each person worthy of them. I have already said, and say again, that it was prophesied that this would be done by Him after His ascension to heaven.

It is accordingly said, 'He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, He gave gifts to the sons of men.' And again, in another prophecy it is said: 'And it shall come to pass after this, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and on My servants, and on My handmaids, and they shall prophesy.'"

NOW: it is possible to see among us women and men who possess gifts of the Spirit of God; it was prophesied that the powers listed by Isaiah would come upon Him, not because He needed them, but because these would not continue after Him. And let this be proof to you, namely, what I told you was done by the Magi from Arabia, who, as soon as the Child was born, came to worship Him, for even at His birth He possessed power; and as He grew up like all other men, by using the appropriate means, He fulfilled each stage of development, was sustained by all kinds of nourishment, and waited for thirty years, more or less, until John appeared before Him as the herald of His coming, and preceded Him in baptism, as I have already shown.

And then, when Jesus went to the river Jordan, where John was baptizing, and stepped into the water, a fire was kindled in the Jordan; and when He came out of the water, the Holy Ghost descended on Him like a dove, as the apostles of this Christ of ours wrote. We know that He didn't go to the river because He needed baptism, or the descent of the Spirit like a dove; just as He submitted to be born and crucified, not because He needed such things, but because of the human race, which from Adam had fallen under the power of death and the deceit of the serpent, and each one had committed personal transgression.

For God, wishing both angels and humans, endowed with free will and able to act at their disposal, to do whatever He enabled them to do, made them so that if they chose the things acceptable to Him, He would keep them free from death and punishment; but if they did evil, He would punish each as He saw fit. For it was not His entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, which we have shown was prophesied, that made Him Christ, but it provided men with proof that He is the Christ; just as it was necessary in the time of John for men to have proof, that they might know who is Christ.

When John remained by the Jordan, and preached the baptism of repentance, wearing only a leather belt and clothes made of camels’ hair, eating nothing but locusts and wild honey, people thought he was Christ; but he cried to them, ‘I am not the Christ, but the voice of one crying out; for He who is stronger than I will come, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry.’ And when Jesus came to the Jordan, He was considered to be the son of Joseph the carpenter; and He appeared without attractiveness, as the Scriptures declared; and He was considered a carpenter (for He worked as a carpenter among men, making plows and yokes, by which He taught the symbols of righteousness and an active life); but then the Holy Ghost, and for man's sake, as I previously stated, descended on Him in the form of a dove, and there came from the heavens a voice, also uttered by David when he spoke, representing Christ and what the Father would say to Him: ‘You are My Son: today I have begotten You;’ the Father saying that His generation would occur for men when they became familiar with Him: ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten you.’

THEN TRYPHO REMARKED: “Be assured that our entire nation is waiting for Christ; and we acknowledge that all the Scriptures you have quoted refer to Him. Furthermore, I also admit that the name of Jesus, by which the son of Nun was called, has greatly inclined me to adopt this view. However, we are uncertain about whether Christ should be crucified so shamefully. For anyone who is crucified is said in the law to be accursed, which makes me very skeptical on this point. It is quite evident that the Scriptures declare that Christ had to suffer; but we want to know if you can prove to us whether it was by the suffering condemned in the law.”

I REPLIED TO HIM: "If Christ was not meant to suffer, and the prophets had not predicted that He would be led to death because of the sins of the people, and be dishonored and scourged, and counted among the transgressors, and like a sheep be led to the slaughter, whose generation, the prophet says, no one can declare, then you would have good reason to wonder. But if these are to be His characteristics and distinguish Him to everyone, how can we do anything but believe in Him most confidently? And won't all who understand the writings of the prophets, whenever they hear that He was crucified, say that this is Him and no other?"

"Lead us on, then," said [Trypho], "with the Scriptures, so we might also be persuaded by you; for we know that He should suffer and be led like a sheep. But show us whether He must be crucified and die in such a disgraceful and dishonorable way, by a death cursed in the law. For we cannot bring ourselves even to consider this."

"You know," I said, "that the prophets expressed their messages through parables and symbols, as you acknowledged to us; making it difficult for everyone to understand most of what they said, since they hid the truth in this way. This was so that those who are eager to discover and learn it might do so through much effort."

THEY REPLIED: "We admitted this."

"Listen, then," I say, "to what follows; for Moses first showed this apparent curse of Christ by the signs he performed."

"Which signs are you talking about?" he said.

"When the people," I replied, "fought against Amalek, and the son of Nave, named Jesus (Joshua), led the battle, Moses prayed to God, stretching out both hands, and Hur with Aaron supported them throughout the day, so they wouldn't fall when he became tired. If he let any part of this sign, which resembled the cross, drop, the people were defeated, as recorded in the writings of Moses; but if he maintained this position, Amalek was increasingly defeated, and victory belonged to the cross. It was not because Moses prayed that the people were stronger, but because, with one named Jesus (Joshua) leading the fight, he made the sign of the cross. For who among you doesn't know that prayer, combined with lamentation and tears, with the body prostrate or with bended knees, most effectively reconciles with God? But neither he nor anyone else prayed in this manner while sitting on a stone. Nor did the stone symbolize Christ, as I have shown."

AND GOD: through Moses, reveals another way the mystery of the cross is powerful, as seen in the blessing Joseph received: ‘His land is blessed by the Lord; for the seasons of heaven, the dews, the deep springs from beneath, the timely fruits of the sun, the coming months, the heights of the everlasting mountains and hills, the ever-flowing rivers, and the fruits of the earth's abundance. Let the blessings from Him who appeared in the bush come upon the head and crown of Joseph. Let him be honored among his brothers; his beauty is like the firstborn of a bull; his horns are like those of a unicorn: with these, he will push the nations from one end of the earth to the other.’

No one could claim or prove that the horns of a unicorn symbolize anything other than the type that represents the cross. For one beam stands upright, with the highest point raised into a horn, as another beam is fitted onto it, making the ends appear as horns joined to the main horn. The part fixed in the center, where those crucified hang, also stands out like a horn; it looks like a horn joined and fixed with the other horns. The phrase, ‘With these he will push the nations from one end of the earth to the other,’ signifies what is currently happening among all nations. Through the power of this mystery, people from all nations have been moved, that is, stirred in their hearts, turning from worthless idols and demons to serve God. But this same figure is shown for the destruction and condemnation of unbelievers; just as Amalek was defeated and Israel was victorious when they left Egypt, by means of Moses' outstretched hands, and the name of Jesus (Joshua), after whom the son of Nun was named.

It appears that the symbol and sign set up against the serpents that bit Israel were meant for the salvation of those who believe that death was declared to come later to the serpent through Him who was to be crucified, and salvation for those bitten by the serpent who turned to Him who sent His Son into the world to be crucified. The Spirit of prophecy through Moses did not teach us to believe in the serpent, as it shows that he was cursed by God from the beginning; and in Isaiah, it tells us that he shall be slain as an enemy by the mighty sword, which is Christ.

UNLESS A PERSON: by God’s great grace, receives the ability to understand what the prophets have said and done, merely being able to repeat their words or deeds will not benefit him if he cannot explain their meaning. Won't they surely seem contemptible to many if shared by those who do not understand them? For instance, if someone asks you why, though Enoch, Noah with his sons, and others in similar situations—who were neither circumcised nor kept the Sabbath—pleased God, yet God later required through other leaders and the law, after many generations, that those who lived between the times of Abraham and Moses be justified by circumcision, and those after Moses be justified by both circumcision and additional ordinances like the Sabbath, sacrifices, libations, and offerings—God will be spoken poorly of unless you demonstrate, as I have already said, that God, who foreknew, was aware that your nation would deserve expulsion from Jerusalem, and no one would be allowed to enter it. (For you are distinguished only by physical circumcision, as I mentioned before.

Abraham was declared righteous by God not because of circumcision, but because of faith. Before he was circumcised, it was said of him: ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Therefore, we, in the absence of physical circumcision, believing God through Christ, and having the beneficial circumcision of the heart, hope to be seen as righteous and pleasing to God, having already received His testimony through the prophets' words.) Furthermore, God will be slandered unless you show that you were commanded to observe the Sabbath and present offerings, and that the Lord allowed a place to be called by God's name, so that, as has been said, you would not become impious and godless by worshiping idols and forgetting God, as you always appear to have been. (I have previously explained that God commanded the Sabbaths and offerings for these reasons; however, for those who came today, I want to repeat nearly everything.) If this is not the case, God will be slandered as lacking foreknowledge and not teaching everyone to know and perform the same righteous acts (since many generations existed before Moses), and the Scripture would be untrue, which states that ‘God is true and righteous, and all His ways are judgments, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.’ But since the Scripture is true, God always desires that even you are neither foolish nor self-centered, so that you may obtain the salvation of Christ, who pleased God and received His testimony, as I have already said, by presenting proof from the holy prophetic words.

For [God] presents to every race of humanity what is always and universally just, along with all righteousness; and every group understands that adultery, fornication, homicide, and similar acts are sinful. Even though they all engage in such behaviors, they cannot ignore the awareness that they act unrighteously when they do so, except for those who are possessed by an unclean spirit, corrupted by education, by wicked customs, and by sinful institutions, and who have lost—or more accurately, extinguished—their natural understanding.

WE CAN SEE THAT SUCH INDIVIDUALS ARE UNWILLING TO ENDURE THE SAME THINGS THEY IMPOSE ON OTHERS AND CRITICIZE EACH OTHER WITH GUILTY CONSCIENCES FOR THE ACTIONS THEY COMMIT:

Therefore, I believe our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ spoke truthfully when he summed up all righteousness and piety in two commandments: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself.' For the person who loves God with all their heart and strength, being filled with a God-fearing mind, will honor no other god; and since God desires it, he would honor the angel who is loved by the same Lord and God.

The person who loves their neighbor as themselves will wish for them the same good things they desire for themselves, and no one wishes harm upon themselves.

Consequently, someone who loves their neighbor would pray and strive for their neighbor to have the same benefits they have. No other being is as close to man as another similarly-disposed and rational being—man.

Therefore, since all righteousness has two aspects, one concerning God and the other concerning humans, whoever, according to Scripture, loves the Lord God with all their heart and strength and their neighbor as themselves would truly be a righteous person.

But you have never been shown to possess friendship or love towards God, or the prophets, or yourselves. Instead, as is clear, you are continually found to be idolaters and murderers of righteous people, even laying hands on Christ Himself; and to this day, you remain in your wickedness, cursing those who prove that this man who was crucified by you is the Christ.

Moreover, you mistakenly believe that He was crucified as if He were hostile to and cursed by God, which belief is the result of your irrational thinking.

For even though you can understand that this man is Christ from the signs given by Moses, you refuse to do so; furthermore, thinking we lack arguments, you raise whatever question comes to mind, while you yourselves struggle for arguments whenever you encounter a well-established Christian.

"Tell me, wasn't it God who commanded through Moses that no image or likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth should be made, yet He also instructed Moses in the wilderness to make the bronze serpent as a sign for those bitten by serpents to be saved? Yet He remains free from unrighteousness. Through this, as I mentioned before, He revealed the mystery, showing that He would break the power of the serpent that led to Adam's transgression and would bring salvation to those who believe in Him, who was foreshadowed by this sign—the one who was to be crucified—from the fangs of the serpent, which are wicked deeds, idolatries, and other unrighteous acts. If this is not the case, then give me a reason why Moses made the bronze serpent as a sign and instructed those who were bitten to look at it, and they were healed; even though he had been commanded not to make any likeness of anything."

ON THIS: another of those who came on the second day said, "You have spoken truly: we cannot give a reason. For I have often asked the teachers about this matter, and none of them gave me a reason: therefore continue with what you are saying; for we are paying attention as you reveal the mystery, because of which the doctrines of the prophets are falsely slandered."

THEN I REPLIED: "Just as God commanded the sign to be made by the bronze serpent, and yet He is blameless; even so, though a curse exists in the law against persons who are crucified, yet no curse lies on the Christ of God, by whom all who have committed things worthy of a curse are saved."

THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE IS UNDER A CURSE: as written in the law of Moses: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law.' No one has fully followed all these laws, and you can't deny this; some have followed them more and some less. If those under this law are cursed for not meeting all the requirements, how much more are all the nations cursed for practicing idolatry, corrupting the young, and committing other crimes? If the Father of all wanted His Christ to take on the curses of everyone, knowing that after being crucified and dying, He would raise Him again, why do you argue about Him, who willingly suffered these things according to the Father’s will, as if He were cursed, instead of reflecting on your own faults? Even though His Father allowed Him to suffer for humanity, you did not act in God’s will by doing this.

You were not righteous when you killed the prophets. Let none of you say: If His Father wanted Him to suffer so that the human race might be healed by His wounds, we have done nothing wrong. If you truly repent of your sins, recognize Him as Christ, and follow His commandments, then you can claim this; for, as I said before, remission of sins will be yours.

But if you curse Him and those who believe in Him and kill them when you have the power, how can you not be held accountable as unrighteous and sinful people, altogether hard-hearted and lacking understanding, because you laid your hands on Him?

THE STATEMENT IN THE LAW: "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree," confirms our hope which depends on the crucified Christ. This is not because the one who has been crucified is cursed by God, but because God foretold what would be done by you all, and by those like you, who do not realize that this is He who existed before all, who is the eternal Priest of God, and King, and Christ. You clearly see that this has come to pass. You curse in your synagogues all those who are called Christians from Him; and other nations effectively carry out the curse by putting to death those who simply confess themselves to be Christians. To all of them, we say, you are our brethren; instead, recognize the truth of God.

While neither they nor you are persuaded by us, but strive earnestly to cause us to deny the name of Christ, we choose instead to submit to death, fully assured that God will reward us with all the good He has promised through Christ. In addition to all this, we pray for you, that Christ may have mercy upon you. For He taught us to pray for our enemies also, saying, "Love your enemies; be kind and merciful, as your heavenly Father is." We see that the Almighty God is kind and merciful, causing His sun to rise on the unthankful and on the righteous, and sending rain on the holy and on the wicked; all of whom He has taught us that He will judge.

THE PROPHET MOSES DID NOT ACT WITHOUT PURPOSE WHEN HUR AND AARON HELD UP HIS HANDS UNTIL EVENING: Likewise, the Lord remained on the tree almost until evening and was buried at nightfall; then on the third day, He rose again. David spoke about this event: ‘With my voice, I cried to the Lord, and He heard me from His holy hill. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.’ Isaiah also described how He would die: ‘I have spread out My hands to a disobedient and opposing people, who walk in a way that is not good.’ Isaiah also foretold His resurrection: ‘His burial has been removed, and I will give the rich for His death.’ In the twenty-first Psalm, David refers to the suffering and the cross in a mysterious parable: ‘They pierced my hands and my feet; they counted all my bones.

They stared and looked at me; they divided my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing.’ When they crucified Him, they drove in the nails, piercing His hands and feet, and those who crucified Him divided His clothes, casting lots for what they wanted to take, each receiving according to the lot's decision. You argue that this Psalm does not refer to Christ because you are completely blind and fail to understand that no one in your nation called King or Christ has ever had his hands or feet pierced while alive or has died in this mysterious manner—namely, by the cross—except for Jesus alone.

I WILL REPEAT THE WHOLE PSALM SO YOU CAN HEAR HIS RESPECT FOR THE FATHER AND HOW HE DEDICATES EVERYTHING TO HIM: praying to be saved from this death, while also revealing in the Psalm who rises against Him and showing that He truly became a man capable of suffering. It goes like this: 'O God, my God, listen to me: why have You forsaken me? The words of my sins are far from my salvation. O my God, I will cry to You during the day, and You will not hear; and at night, it's not due to a lack of understanding in me.

But You, the Praise of Israel, dwell in the holy place. Our ancestors trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You and were delivered; they trusted in You and weren't ashamed.

But I am like a worm, not a man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. All who see me laugh at me; they speak with their lips, they shake their heads: 'He trusted in the Lord; let Him deliver him, let Him save him if He desires him.' For You are the one who took me out of the womb; my hope from my mother's breasts: I was entrusted to You from the womb.

You are my God from my mother's belly: don't be far from me, for trouble is near; for there is no one to help. Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls surround me. They opened their mouths against me, like a ravenous and roaring lion. All my bones are out of joint and scattered like water. My heart has turned to wax melting within me. My strength is dried up like broken pottery; my tongue sticks to my throat; and You have brought me into the dust of death.

Many dogs have surrounded me; the assembly of the wicked have surrounded me. They pierced my hands and feet, they count all my bones. They look and stare at me; they divided my clothes among them, and cast lots for my garment.

But don't take away Your help from me, O Lord: listen to help me; save my soul from the sword, my only one from the hand of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth, and my humility from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare Your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation, I will praise You. You who fear the Lord, praise Him: all you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him. Let all the descendants of Israel fear Him.'"

AFTER SAYING THESE WORDS: I continued: "Now I will show you that the whole Psalm refers to Christ by explaining the words once more. What is first said—'O God, my God, attend to me: why have You forsaken me?'—foretold what Christ would say. For when He was crucified, He spoke: 'O God, my God, why have You forsaken me?' And what follows: 'The words of my transgressions are far from my salvation. O my God, I will cry to You in the daytime, and You will not hear; and in the night-season, and it is not because I lack understanding.’ These, as well as the actions He would take, were predicted.

On the day He was to be crucified, He took three of His disciples to the hill called Olivet, across from the temple in Jerusalem, and prayed: 'Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.' And again He prayed: 'Not as I will, but as You will;' showing that He truly experienced human suffering.

But lest anyone say He was unaware that He had to suffer, He quickly adds in the Psalm: 'And it is not because I lack understanding.' Just as God was not ignorant when He asked Adam where he was, or Cain where Abel was; but these questions were to reveal the true nature of each person, and so that through Scripture we might gain knowledge of all: similarly, Christ demonstrated that ignorance was not on His part, but on theirs, who believed He was not the Christ and thought they could kill Him, believing He would remain in Hades like any mortal."

What follows—"But You, the praise of Israel, inhabit the holy place"—indicates that He is to do something praiseworthy and astonishing, as He is going to rise from the dead on the third day after the crucifixion; and this He has received from the Father. I have already shown that Christ is called both Jacob and Israel; and I have proven that it is not only in the blessings of Joseph and Judah that things related to Him were announced mysteriously, but also in the Gospel, it is written that He said: "All things are delivered to me by My Father;" and, "No one knows the Father but the Son; nor the Son but the Father, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him." He has revealed to us everything we have understood by His grace from the Scriptures, so that we know Him to be the first-begotten of God, existing before all creation; also to be the Son of the patriarchs, since He took on flesh through the Virgin from their lineage and accepted becoming a man, lacking in appearance, dishonored, and subject to suffering.

ACCORDINGLY: He said, when talking about His future sufferings: "The Son of man must suffer many things, be rejected by the Pharisees and Scribes, be crucified, and rise again on the third day." He referred to Himself as the Son of man, either because of His birth by the Virgin, who was, as I mentioned, from the family of David, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham; or because Adam was the father of both Himself and those earlier figures from whom Mary is descended.

We know that the fathers of women are also the fathers of the children their daughters bear. Christ called one of His disciples—previously named Simon—Peter, since he recognized Him to be Christ, the Son of God, by revelation from His Father: and since in the records of His apostles, it is stated that He is the Son of God, and because we call Him the Son, we understand that He originated before all creation from the Father by His power and will (since the prophets' writings refer to Him in various ways as Wisdom, the Day, the East, a Sword, a Stone, a Rod, Jacob, and Israel); and that He became man through the Virgin, so that the disobedience that began with the serpent might be undone in the same way it started.

Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having received the serpent's word, brought forth disobedience and death.

But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy when the angel Gabriel announced to her the good news that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her, and therefore the Holy One born of her is the Son of God; and she replied, "Let it be to me according to your word." By her, He has been born, to whom we have demonstrated so many Scriptures refer, and by whom God destroys both the serpent and those angels and humans like him; yet grants deliverance from death to those who repent of their wickedness and believe in Him.

THE NEXT PART OF THE PSALM IS THIS: where He states: ‘Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You, and were not disappointed.

But I am a worm, and not a man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.’ This shows that He acknowledges them as His fathers, who trusted in God and were saved by Him, and who were also the ancestors of the Virgin, by whom He was born and became man.

He predicts that He will be saved by the same God, but does not boast of accomplishing anything through His own will or power. For when on earth, He acted in the same way and replied to one who addressed Him as ‘Good Master:’ ‘Why do you call me good? One is good, my Father who is in heaven.’ But when He says, ‘I am a worm, and not a man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people,’ He prophesied the things that truly exist and happen to Him.

For we who believe in Him are everywhere a reproach, ‘despised by the people;’ for, rejected and dishonored by your nation, He suffered the indignities you planned against Him. And the following: ‘All those who see me laugh me to scorn; they speak with the lips, they shake the head: He trusted in the Lord; let Him deliver him, since he desires Him;’ this too He foretold would happen to Him. For those who saw Him crucified shook their heads, each one of them, and distorted their lips, and twisting their noses to one another, they mocked Him with the words recorded in the memoirs of His apostles: ‘He said he was the Son of God; let him come down; let God save him.’

WHAT FOLLOWS IS: "My hope from my mother's breasts. From birth I have relied on You; from my mother's womb, You are my God because there is no other helper. Many young bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls have encircled me. They opened their mouths against me like a ravenous and roaring lion. My bones are poured out and scattered like water. My heart has turned like wax, melting within me. My strength is dried up like a broken piece of pottery, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth." This foretold what would happen; the phrase "My hope from my mother's breasts" is explained this way.

When He was born in Bethlehem, as I mentioned before, King Herod, after learning about Him from the Arabian Magi, plotted to kill Him. By God's command, Joseph took Him with Mary and went to Egypt. The Father had decided that He would be put to death, but not before reaching adulthood and declaring the word that came from Him.

But if anyone asks, "Could God not have put Herod to death instead?" I preemptively answer: Couldn't God have simply removed the serpent at the beginning so it never existed, rather than saying, "And I will put enmity between him and the woman, and between his descendants and hers?" Could He not have created a multitude of humans at once? Yet, knowing it would be good, He created both angels and humans free to choose what is right.

He appointed periods of time for them to exercise free will. And because He knew it would be good, He made both general and specific judgments, while protecting each one's freedom to choose.

Hence, Scripture says at the destruction of the tower, and the division and alteration of languages: "The Lord said, 'Look, the people are one, and they all have one language; and this is what they have begun to do. Now nothing they plan will be impossible for them.'" The statement "My strength is dried up like a broken pottery shard, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth" was also a prophecy of what He would endure according to the Father's will.

The power of His strong word, which always countered the Pharisees, Scribes, and teachers of your nation who questioned Him, ceased like a strong spring whose waters are turned off when He chose silence and gave no reply in Pilate's presence, as mentioned in the apostles’ writings, so that Isaiah's words might be fulfilled: "The Lord gives me a tongue, that I may know when to speak." Again, when He said, "You are my God; do not be far from me," He taught that all men should hope in God, who created everything, and seek salvation and help from Him alone; and should not think, like others do, that salvation comes from birth, wealth, strength, or wisdom.

Such have been your practices: you made a calf and consistently showed yourselves ungrateful, murderers of the righteous, and proud of your ancestry. For if the Son of God clearly states that He relies not on being a son, nor on strength or wisdom for salvation, but that without God He cannot be saved, even though He is sinless, as Isaiah declares that He committed no sin, including in His speech (for He did no wrong or deceit with His mouth), how can you or others hope to be saved without this hope, and not realize you are deceiving yourselves?

THE NEXT PART OF THE PSALM SAYS: "Trouble is near, for there is none to help me. Many calves have surrounded me; fat bulls have encircled me. They opened their mouths at me like a ravening and roaring lion. All my bones are poured out and dispersed like water," and this was also a prediction of the events that happened to Him. On the night when some from your nation, who were sent by the Pharisees, Scribes, and teachers, came upon Him from the Mount of Olives, those whom Scripture referred to as butting and prematurely destructive calves surrounded Him. The phrase "Fat bulls have encircled me" was said in advance about those who acted the same way as the calves when He was brought before your teachers. Scripture described them as bulls because we know that bulls are the creators of calves. As bulls are the progenitors of the calves, your teachers caused their followers to go to the Mount of Olives to capture Him and bring Him to them.

The phrase "For there is none to help" also indicates what took place, as there wasn't even one person to assist Him as an innocent individual. The expression "They opened their mouths at me like a roaring lion" refers to the king of the Jews at that time, named Herod. He was the successor of the Herod who, when Christ was born, killed all the infants in Bethlehem born around the same time, because he thought that among them would be the one of whom the Wise Men from Arabia spoke; for he didn't understand the will of Him who is stronger than all, how He had commanded Joseph and Mary to take the Child and go into Egypt and stay there until they received a revelation to return to their land. And they stayed there until Herod, who killed the infants in Bethlehem, died and Archelaus succeeded him. He died before Christ came to the assignment on the cross given to Him by His Father. When Herod succeeded Archelaus and received the authority designated to him, Pilate sent Jesus to him in a gesture of respect, bound; and God, knowing this would happen, had spoken: "And they brought Him to the Assyrian, a present to the king."

Or, He may have meant the devil as the roaring lion against Him: whom Moses calls the serpent, but in Job and Zechariah he is called the devil, and Jesus addresses him as Satan, showing that his name comes from the deeds he performed. For "Sata" in the Jewish and Syrian language means apostate, and "Nas" is the term from which he is called by interpretation the serpent, according to the interpretation of the Hebrew term, forming the single word Satanas. For this devil, when Jesus rose from the river Jordan, at the time the voice said to Him, "You are my Son: this day have I begotten You," is recorded in the apostles' memoirs to have tempted Him, even saying to Him, "Worship me;" and Christ answered, "Get behind me, Satan: you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." Just as he deceived Adam, he hoped to cause trouble for Christ too. Furthermore, the statement “All my bones are poured out and dispersed like water; my heart has become like wax, melting within me,” predicted what happened to Him that night when men came against Him to the Mount of Olives to arrest Him. In the memoirs said to be composed by His apostles and others, it's recorded that His sweat fell like drops of blood while He was praying and saying, “If it is possible, let this cup pass:” His heart and bones trembling; His heart being like wax melting inside Him: so we can understand that the Father willed His Son to truly undergo such sufferings for our sake, and we may not claim that as the Son of God, He did not feel what was happening to Him. Additionally, the expression “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue clings to my throat,” predicted, as I mentioned earlier, that silence when He, who proved all your teachers unwise, gave no answer.

"And the statement, 'You have brought me into the dust of death; for many dogs have surrounded me: the assembly of the wicked have encircled me. They pierced my hands and my feet. They counted all my bones. They looked and stared at me. They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing,'—was a prediction, as I mentioned earlier, of the death to which the synagogue of the wicked would condemn Him, whom He calls both dogs and hunters, saying that those who pursued Him were both gathered together and diligently trying to condemn Him. And this is recorded to have happened in the memoirs of His apostles. And I have shown that, after His crucifixion, those who crucified Him divided His garments among them."

"And the part of the Psalm that follows—'But You, Lord, do not take away Your assistance from me; pay attention to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword, and my only-begotten from the hand of the dog; save me from the lion’s mouth, and my humility from the horns of the unicorns'—was also information and prediction of the events that would happen to Him. For I have already shown that He was the only-begotten of the Father of all things, being uniquely begotten as Word and Power by Him, and later becoming man through the Virgin, as we have learned from the writings. Moreover, it is also predicted that He would die by crucifixion. For the passage, ‘Deliver my soul from the sword, and my only-begotten from the hand of the dog; save me from the lion’s mouth, and my humility from the horns of the unicorns,’ indicates the suffering by which He would die, namely, by crucifixion. I have already explained to you that the ‘horns of the unicorns’ are a representation of the cross. And the prayer that His soul should be saved from the sword, the lion’s mouth, and the hand of the dog, was a request that no one should take possession of His soul: so that, when we reach the end of life, we may make the same request to God, who can prevent any shameless evil angel from taking our souls. And that souls survive, I have demonstrated to you with the example that the soul of Samuel was summoned by the witch, as Saul requested. It seems also that all the souls of similar righteous men and prophets came under the power of such beings, as can be inferred from what happened with that witch. Therefore, God through His Son teaches us, for whom these things seem to have been done, always to strive earnestly, and at death to pray that our souls do not fall into the hands of any such power. For when Christ was surrendering His spirit on the cross, He said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit,’ as I have also learned from the writings. He urged His disciples to surpass the pharisaic way of living, warning them that if they did not, they could not be saved; and these words are recorded in the writings: ‘Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.’"

THE REST OF THE PSALM CLEARLY SHOWS THAT HE KNEW HIS FATHER WOULD GRANT HIM EVERYTHING HE ASKED FOR AND WOULD RAISE HIM FROM THE DEAD: He encouraged all who fear God to praise Him because He showed compassion to all races of believing men, through the mystery of His crucifixion. He stood among His brothers, the apostles—who repented for abandoning Him during His crucifixion—after He rose from the dead and convinced them that He had spoken of His suffering before it happened and that the prophets had foretold it. While living with them, He sang praises to God, as noted in the apostles' memoirs. The words are as follows: ‘I will declare Your name to my brothers; in the midst of the Church, I will praise You. Those who fear the Lord, praise Him; all descendants of Jacob, glorify Him. Let all the descendants of Israel fear Him.’

It is mentioned that He changed the name of one of the apostles to Peter and that this occurred, as well as changing the names of two other brothers, the sons of Zebedee, to Boanerges, meaning sons of thunder. This foretold that He was the one who called Jacob Israel and Oshea Jesus (Joshua), under whose name the survivors from Egypt were led into the land promised to the patriarchs. Moses predicted that He would arise like a star from Abraham’s descendants, saying, ‘A star shall arise from Jacob, and a leader from Israel,’ and another Scripture says, ‘Behold a man; the East is His name.’ Thus, when a star appeared in the sky at His birth, as noted in His apostles' memoirs, the Magi from Arabia recognized the sign and came to worship Him.

"And that He would rise again on the third day after the crucifixion is written in the memoirs when some of your nation, questioning Him, said, 'Show us a sign;' and He replied to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign shall be given them, except the sign of Jonah.' Since He spoke this in a mysterious way, it was understood by the audience that after His crucifixion He would rise again on the third day.

He showed that your generation was more wicked and more adulterous than the city of Nineveh; for when Jonah preached to them, after being cast up on the third day from the belly of the great fish, and said they would all perish after three (in other versions, forty) days, they proclaimed a fast for all beings, men and beasts, with sackcloth and earnest lamentation, with true repentance from the heart, and turning away from unrighteousness, believing that God is merciful and kind to all who turn from wickedness; so that the king of that city himself, along with his nobles, put on sackcloth, remained fasting and praying, and obtained their request that the city should not be overthrown.

But when Jonah was upset that on the (fortieth) third day, as he proclaimed, the city was not overthrown, [God] used the example of a gourd that suddenly sprang from the earth, under which Jonah sat and was shaded from the heat, to teach him a lesson. The gourd had sprung up suddenly, and Jonah had neither planted nor watered it, yet it provided him shade. When it withered away, Jonah was grieved, and [God] showed him that he was unjustly displeased because Nineveh had not been overthrown. [God] said, 'You had pity on the gourd, for which you did not labor or make it grow; it came up in a night and perished in a night.

AND SHOULD I NOT SPARE NINEVEH: the great city, where more than 120,000 people live who cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle?'"

EVEN THOUGH ALL THE PEOPLE OF YOUR NATION KNEW THE STORY OF JONAH: and even though Christ told you that He would give the sign of Jonah, asking you to repent of your wicked deeds at least after He rose from the dead, and to mourn before God like the Ninevites did, so that your nation and city might not be captured and destroyed, as they have been; yet not only have you not repented after learning that He rose from the dead, but, as I mentioned before, you have sent chosen and ordained men throughout the world to declare that a godless and lawless heresy came from one Jesus, a Galilean deceiver, whom we crucified, but whose disciples stole him by night from the tomb, where he was placed after being taken down from the cross, and now deceive people by claiming that he has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven.

Furthermore, you accuse Him of teaching the godless, lawless, and unholy doctrines you speak of to condemn those who confess Him to be Christ, and a Teacher from and Son of God. Besides this, even when your city is captured, and your land devastated, you do not repent, but dare to curse Him and all who believe in Him.

Yet we do not hate you or those who, because of you, have developed such prejudices against us; but we pray that even now all of you may repent and receive mercy from God, the compassionate and long-suffering Father of all.

"But that the Gentiles would repent of the evil in which they led erring lives when they heard the doctrine preached by His apostles from Jerusalem, and which they learned through them, allow me to show you by quoting a short statement from the prophecy of Micah, one of the twelve minor prophets. It goes as follows: 'In the last days, the mountain of the Lord shall be revealed, established on the top of the mountains; it shall be exalted above the hills, and people will flow to it.

MANY NATIONS WILL GO AND SAY: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; they will enlighten us in His way, and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge among many peoples and rebuke strong nations far off; they will turn their swords into ploughshares and their spears into sickles.

Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore. Each man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be none to fear, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it. For all people will walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever. And on that day, I will assemble those who are afflicted, gather those who are driven out, and whom I had afflicted; I will make those who are afflicted a remnant and those who are oppressed a strong nation.

The Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, and forever.'"

AND WHEN I HAD FINISHED THESE WORDS: I continued: “Now I am aware that your teachers, sirs, admit that the entire passage refers to Christ; and I also know that they claim He has not yet come. Or if they say He has come, they argue that His identity is still unknown; but when He becomes manifest and glorious, then it will be known who He is. And then, they say, the events mentioned in this passage will happen, as if there has been no result yet from the words of the prophecy.

O unreasoning men! Not understanding what has been proved by all these passages—that two comings of Christ have been announced: the first, in which He is depicted as suffering, inglorious, dishonored, and crucified; and the second, in which He will come from heaven with glory, when the man of apostasy, who speaks against the Most High, will dare to commit unlawful acts on the earth against us Christians, who, having learned the true worship of God from the law and the word that went forth from Jerusalem through the apostles of Jesus, have sought refuge in the God of Jacob and God of Israel.

We, who were once filled with war, mutual slaughter, and every wickedness, have throughout the earth, each transformed our weapons—our swords into ploughshares, and our spears into tools for farming—and we cultivate piety, righteousness, philanthropy, faith, and hope, which we have from the Father Himself through Him who was crucified; and each of us sits under his own vine, that is, each man with his own married wife. For you know that the prophetic word says, ‘And his wife shall be like a fruitful vine.’ Now it is clear that no one who believes in Jesus can be terrified or subdued throughout the world.

Though we are beheaded, crucified, thrown to wild beasts, put in chains, burned, and suffer other forms of torture, we do not give up our confession; instead, the more such things happen, the more others in larger numbers become faithful and worshippers of God through the name of Jesus. Just as if one should cut away the fruit-bearing parts of a vine, it grows again and yields other flourishing and fruitful branches; the same thing happens with us. For the vine planted by God and Christ the Savior is His people.

But the rest of the prophecy will be fulfilled at His second coming. The expression, ‘He that is afflicted [and driven out],’ i.e., from the world, means that, as far as you and all other men have power, each Christian has been driven out not only from his own property but even from the whole world; for you permit no Christian to live.

Yet you say the same fate has befallen your own nation.

Now, if you have been cast out after defeat in battle, you have suffered such treatment justly, as all the Scriptures bear witness; but we, though we have done no such evil acts after we knew the truth of God, are testified to by God, that together with the most righteous and only spotless and sinless Christ, we are taken away from the earth.

For Isaiah cries, ‘Behold how the righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart; and righteous men are taken away, and no man considers it.’

IT WAS SHOWN THROUGH SYMBOLISM: even in the time of Moses, that there would be two comings of this Christ, as I have mentioned before, this is evident from the symbol of the goats offered for sacrifice during the fast.

Moreover, what Moses and Joshua did also symbolically announced and foretold the same event. For one of them, holding out his hands, stayed until evening on the hill, his hands being supported; this reveals a symbol of nothing other than the cross: and the other, whose name was changed to Jesus (Joshua), led the battle, and Israel was victorious.

This happened with both these holy men and prophets of God, so you can understand how one of them could not bear both mysteries: meaning, the symbol of the cross and the symbol of the name. For this has been and always will be the strength of Him alone, whose name every power fears, being greatly tormented because they will be destroyed by Him.

Therefore, our suffering and crucified Christ was not cursed by the law, but He showed that He alone would save those who do not turn away from His faith.

And the blood of the Passover, sprinkled on each man’s doorposts and lintel, saved those who were rescued in Egypt, when the firstborn of the Egyptians were destroyed. For the Passover was Christ, who was later sacrificed, as Isaiah also said, ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.’ And it is written, that on the day of the Passover you seized Him, and also during the Passover you crucified Him. And just as the blood of the Passover saved those who were in Egypt, so also the blood of Christ will save from death those who have believed.

Would God, then, have been wrong if this sign had not been placed above the doors? I do not say that; but I assert that He announced the future salvation for humanity in advance through the blood of Christ. For the sign of the scarlet thread, which the spies sent to Jericho by Joshua, son of Nun, gave to Rahab the harlot, instructing her to tie it to the window through which she let them down to escape from their enemies, also showed the symbol of the blood of Christ, by which those who were once harlots and unrighteous people from all nations are saved, receiving forgiveness of sins, and no longer continuing in sin.

BUT YOU: explaining these things in a simple and earthly way, attribute much weakness to God if you merely listen to them and do not explore the power of the words spoken. Even Moses would be considered a transgressor this way: he commanded that no image of anything in heaven, on earth, or in the sea be made; yet he made a bronze serpent, set it on a pole, and instructed those bitten to look at it, and when they did, they were saved.

Will the serpent, which God cursed and destroyed with the great sword as Isaiah says, be understood to have saved the people at that time? Should we accept these merely as your teachers say, and not as symbols? Shouldn't we instead see the pole as resembling the crucified Jesus, since Moses, with his outstretched hands and Joshua, achieved victory for your people? This way, we will understand what the lawgiver did without abandoning God when he persuaded the people to have hope in a creature through which sin and disobedience began.

The blessed prophet did and said this with much wisdom and mystery; nothing spoken or done by any of the prophets can justly be criticized if one knows their deeper meaning.

But if your teachers only explain why female camels are mentioned here and not there; or why so many measures of flour and oil are used in offerings, and do so superficially, without daring to address the important points worthy of investigation, or if they command you not to listen to us or engage with us, won't they deserve to hear what our Lord Jesus Christ said to them: "Whited tombs, appearing beautiful outwardly, but inside full of dead men's bones; which pay tithe of mint and swallow a camel: you blind guides!" If you do not disregard the teachings of those who exalt themselves and wish to be called Rabbi, Rabbi, and if you approach the words of prophecy with the same earnestness and understanding, willing to endure the same suffering from your own people that the prophets did, you will gain nothing from the prophetic writings.

HERE IS THE PASSAGE REWRITTEN IN MODERN ENGLISH:

“This is what I mean. Jesus (Joshua), as I have frequently mentioned, who was called Oshea when he was sent to spy out the land of Canaan, was renamed by Moses as Jesus (Joshua). You neither ask why this was done nor do you seem puzzled about it or inquire deeply. Thus, you overlook Christ; and even though you read, you do not understand; and even now, though you hear that Jesus is our Christ, you don't realize that the name was given to Him not without purpose or by accident. Yet you engage in theological discussions as to why one letter was added to Abraham’s first name; and regarding why another letter was added to Sarah’s name, you have similar elaborate debates. But why don’t you similarly investigate the reason why the name of Oshea the son of Nave (Nun), given by his father, was changed to Jesus (Joshua)? Not only was his name changed, but he was also appointed as Moses' successor, being the only one among his peers who came out of Egypt, leading the survivors into the Holy Land; and as he, not Moses, led the people into the Holy Land and distributed it by lot to those who entered with him, in the same way, Jesus the Christ will gather again the dispersed people and will distribute the good land to each one, though not in the same manner. The former gave them a temporary inheritance, since he was neither Christ who is God nor the Son of God; but the latter, after the holy resurrection, will give us the eternal possession. The former, after being named Jesus (Joshua) and receiving strength from His Spirit, made the sun stand still. I have proven that it was Jesus who appeared and spoke with Moses, Abraham, and all the other patriarchs without exception, fulfilling the will of the Father; He also is the one who was born of the Virgin Mary and lives forever. The latter is the one by whom and through whom the Father will renew both the heaven and the earth; He is the one who will shine an eternal light in Jerusalem; He is the king of Salem in the order of Melchizedek and the eternal Priest of the Most High. The former is said to have circumcised the people a second time with stone knives (which was a sign of this circumcision with which Jesus Christ Himself has circumcised us from the idols made of stone and other materials), and to have gathered those who were circumcised from the uncircumcision, meaning from the error of the world, in every place by the stone knives, namely, the words of our Lord Jesus. I have shown that Christ was declared by the prophets in parables as a Stone and a Rock. Thus, we should understand the stone knives to mean His words, by which many who were in error have been circumcised from uncircumcision with the circumcision of the heart, which God by Jesus commanded those from that time to be circumcised with, who derived their circumcision from Abraham, saying that Jesus (Joshua) would circumcise a second time with stone knives those who entered into that holy land.

THE HOLY SPIRIT SOMETIMES MADE SURE THAT CERTAIN EVENTS: which symbolized the future, were clearly carried out. At other times, He spoke about what was going to happen as though it was happening at that moment, or had already happened. If readers do not grasp this technique, they won't be able to understand the words of the prophets properly. To illustrate, I will repeat some prophetic passages so you can understand my point. When He speaks through Isaiah, saying, 'He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearer,' it is spoken as if the suffering had already occurred. And when He says, 'I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and challenging people,' and 'Lord, who has believed our report?'—these words are presented as if describing events that have already happened. I have shown that Christ is often called a Stone in parables and symbolic language, using names like Jacob and Israel. Moreover, when He says, 'I shall behold the heavens, the works of Your fingers,' without understanding His way with words, I would misunderstand, as do your teachers, who mistakenly think that the Father of all, the unbegotten God, has hands, feet, fingers, and a soul like a physical being; and therefore, they teach that it was the Father Himself who appeared to Abraham and to Jacob.

Blessed are we who have been circumcised a second time with stone knives. Your first circumcision was and is done with iron tools, for you remain hard-hearted. But our circumcision, the second one, which came after yours, cuts us off from idolatry and every kind of wickedness with sharp stones, through the words preached by the apostles of the cornerstone that was cut out without hands. Our hearts are circumcised from evil so that we gladly die for the name of the good Rock, which causes living water to flow for those hearts that by Him have loved the Father of all, and offers water of life to those willing to drink. But you do not understand me when I speak of these things because you have not realized what it was prophesied Christ would do, and you do not believe us when we draw your attention to what has been written. For Jeremiah cries out: 'Woe unto you because you have forsaken the living fountain and have dug for yourselves broken cisterns that can hold no water. Shall there be a wilderness where Mount Zion is, because I gave Jerusalem a bill of divorce in your sight?'

"But you should believe Zechariah when he reveals the mystery of Christ through a parable and announces it with subtlety. Here are his words: ‘Rejoice, and be glad, O daughter of Zion: for, look, I come, and I will dwell among you, says the Lord. Many nations will join the Lord on that day. They will be my people, and I will dwell among you; and they will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. The Lord will inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and He will choose Jerusalem again. Let all people fear before the Lord, for He is raised up out of His holy clouds. And He showed me Jesus (Joshua) the high priest standing before the angel [of the Lord]; and the devil stood at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to the devil, The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Behold, is this not a brand plucked out of the fire?’"

AS TRYPHO WAS ABOUT TO RESPOND AND ARGUE WITH ME: I said, "Wait and hear what I say first: I am not going to give the explanation you assume, as if there had been no priest named Joshua (Jesus) in Babylon, where your people were captives. But even if I did, I have shown that even if there was a priest named Joshua (Jesus) in your nation, the prophet did not see him in his vision, just as he did not see the devil or the angel of the Lord with his own eyes while awake, but in a trance when the revelation was given to him. But I now say that just as Scripture says that the Son of Nun, named Jesus (Joshua), performed powerful works and exploits that foreshadowed what would be done by our Lord, I will now show that the revelation given among your people in Babylon during the days of Joshua (Jesus) the priest was a prophecy of what would be accomplished by our Priest, who is God, and Christ, the Son of God the Father of all."

"Indeed, I was wondering," I continued, "why you remained silent a little while ago when I was speaking, and why you did not interrupt me when I mentioned that the son of Nun was the only one of his generation who left Egypt and entered the Holy Land, along with those described as younger than his generation. You tend to focus on and magnify issues like flies on wounds. Even if one speaks ten thousand words correctly, if there happens to be one small word that displeases you, because it is not sufficiently clear or accurate, you ignore the many good words and latch onto that one small word, eager to label it impious and guilty. This way, when God judges you with the same standard, you will have a much heavier account to answer for your boldness, whether it be through evil actions or incorrect interpretations gained by distorting the truth. For with the judgment you use, it is right that you are judged as well."

TO RECOUNT THE REVELATION OF THE HOLY JESUS CHRIST: I resume my discourse and assert that this revelation was made for us who believe in Christ the High Priest, namely the crucified One. Even though we lived in fornication and all kinds of corrupt conversation, by the grace of our Jesus, according to His Father’s will, we have stripped ourselves of all that wickedness with which we were imbued. And even though the devil is always ready to oppose us and eager to lure everyone to himself, the Angel of God, that is, the Power of God sent to us through Jesus Christ, rebukes him, and he departs from us.

We are like those drawn out from the fire, purified from our former sins, and rescued from the affliction and fiery trial by which the devil and all his associates test us; from which Jesus the Son of God has promised to deliver us again and clothe us in prepared garments, if we follow His commandments; and He has promised to provide an eternal kingdom for us. Just as Joshua, called by the prophet a priest, was evidently wearing filthy garments because he is said to have taken a harlot for a wife, and is called a brand plucked out of the fire because he received remission of sins when the devil that opposed him was rebuked; in the same way, we who have believed in God the Maker of all through the name of Jesus, have been stripped of the filthy garments, i.e., of our sins, through the name of His firstborn Son.

Being fervently ignited by the word of His calling, we are the true high priestly race of God, as God Himself testifies, saying that in every place among the Gentiles, sacrifices that are well-pleasing and pure are offered to Him. Now God receives sacrifices from no one except through His priests.

GOD: anticipating all the sacrifices we offer through this name, which Jesus the Christ commanded us to offer, specifically in the Eucharist of the bread and the cup, and which Christians present everywhere around the world, confirms that they are pleasing to Him.

But He completely rejects those you and your priests present, stating, "I will not accept your sacrifices; for from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is glorified among the Gentiles; but you profane it." Yet now, in your love of argument, you claim that God does not accept the sacrifices of those who lived then in Jerusalem, called Israelites, but is pleased with the prayers of that nation's individuals then scattered, calling their prayers sacrifices.

I also agree that prayers and giving of thanks, when offered by worthy individuals, are the only perfect and pleasing sacrifices to God. For such alone Christians have committed to offer, in remembrance brought about by their solid and liquid food, which recalls the suffering endured by the Son of God. His name has been profaned and blasphemed over the entire earth by the high priests of your nation and your teachers.

But these filthy garments, placed on all who have become Christians through the name of Jesus, God reveals will be removed from us, when He raises all people from the dead, appointing some to be incorruptible, immortal, and free from sorrow in the eternal and unending kingdom, while sending others to the eternal punishment of fire.

As for you and your teachers deceiving yourselves when interpreting Scripture as referring to those of your nation then scattered, claiming their prayers and sacrifices offered everywhere are pure and pleasing, know that you are falsely speaking and trying to deceive yourselves in every way: for, firstly, even now, your nation does not stretch from the rising to the setting of the sun, and there are nations where none of your race have ever lived. There isn't a single race of people, whether barbarian, Greek, or whatever they are called, nomads, wanderers, or herders living in tents, among whom prayers and giving of thanks are not offered through the name of the crucified Jesus.

Moreover, as the Scriptures indicate, at the time when Malachi wrote this, your current worldwide dispersion had not yet occurred.

SO YOU SHOULD RATHER STOP LOVING CONFLICT AND REPENT BEFORE THE GREAT DAY OF JUDGMENT COMES: when all those of your tribes who pierced this Christ will mourn, as I have shown has been declared by the Scriptures. I have explained that the Lord swore, 'after the order of Melchizedek,' and what this prediction means; and the prophecy of Isaiah which says, 'His burial is taken away from the midst,' I have already said, refers to the future burial and resurrection of Christ; and I have often remarked that this very Christ is the Judge of all the living and the dead.

Nathan also, speaking to David about Him, continued: ‘I will be His Father, and He shall be my Son; and I will not take away my mercy from Him, as I did from those who went before Him; and I will establish Him in my house, and in His kingdom forever.’ Ezekiel says, ‘There shall be no other prince in the house but He.’ For He is the chosen Priest and eternal King, the Christ, since He is the Son of God; and do not think that Isaiah or the other prophets speak of sacrifices of blood or libations being presented at the altar at His second coming, but of true and spiritual praises and thanksgiving.

We have not believed in Him in vain, nor have we been misled by those who taught us these doctrines; this has come to pass through the wonderful foreknowledge of God, so that through the calling of the new and eternal covenant, that is, of Christ, we might be found more intelligent and God-fearing than you, who are considered lovers of God and men of understanding, but are not. Isaiah, filled with admiration of this, said: ‘And kings shall shut their mouths; for those to whom no announcement has been made regarding Him shall see, and those who have not heard shall understand.

Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?’

"And in repeating this, Trypho," I continued, "as far as is allowed, I try to do so for the sake of those who came with you today, but briefly and concisely."

THEN HE REPLIED: “You do well; and even though you repeat the same things at considerable length, be assured that my companions and I listen with pleasure.”

THEN I SAID AGAIN: "Would you think, sirs, that we could ever have understood these matters in the Scriptures if we had not received grace to discern by the will of Him whose pleasure it was? This was so that the saying of Moses might come to pass, 'They provoked me with strange [gods], they provoked me to anger with their abominations. They sacrificed to demons they did not know; new gods that recently came up, whom their fathers did not know.

You have forsaken God who begot you and forgotten God who brought you up. And the Lord saw, and was jealous, and was provoked to anger because of the rage of His sons and daughters: and He said, I will turn My face away from them, and I will show what shall come on them at the last; for it is a very perverse generation, children in whom there is no faith. They have moved Me to jealousy with what is not God, they have provoked Me to anger with their idols; and I will move them to jealousy with what is not a nation, I will provoke them to anger with a foolish people.

For a fire is kindled from My anger, and it shall burn to Hades. It shall consume the earth and her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains; I will heap misfortune on them.' And after that Righteous One was put to death, we flourished as another people and grew like new and prosperous corn; as the prophets said, 'And many nations shall turn to the Lord in that day for a people: and they shall dwell in the midst of all the earth.' But we are not only a people, but also a holy people, as we have already shown. 'And they shall call them the holy people, redeemed by the Lord.' Therefore we are not a people to be despised, nor a barbarous race, nor like the Carian and Phrygian nations; but God has even chosen us, and He has become manifest to those who did not seek Him. 'Behold, I am God,' He says, 'to the nation which did not call on My name.' For this is the nation that God long ago promised to Abraham when He declared that He would make him a father of many nations; not meaning, however, the Arabians, or Egyptians, or Edomites, since Ishmael became the father of a mighty nation, and so did Esau; and there is now a great multitude of Ammonites.

Noah, moreover, was the father of Abraham, and in fact of all men; and others were the progenitors of others. What greater measure of grace, then, did Christ bestow on Abraham? This, specifically, that He called him with His voice in a similar calling, telling him to leave the land where he lived. And He has called all of us by that voice, and we have already left the way of living in which we used to spend our days, passing our time in evil after the customs of the other inhabitants of the earth; and along with Abraham we shall inherit the holy land when we receive the inheritance for an endless eternity, being children of Abraham through similar faith.

For as he believed the voice of God and it was credited to him for righteousness, in the same way we, having believed God’s voice spoken by the apostles of Christ and shared with us by the prophets, have renounced even to death all the things of the world. Accordingly, He promises to him a nation of similar faith, God-fearing, righteous, and delighting the Father; but it is not you, 'in whom there is no faith.'"

OBSERVE ALSO HOW THE SAME PROMISES ARE GIVEN TO ISAAC AND JACOB: For this is what He says to Isaac: ‘And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.’ And to Jacob: ‘And in you and in your seed shall all families of the earth be blessed.’ He does not say this to Esau or to Reuben, or to any others; only to those from whom Christ would arise, according to the divine plan, through the Virgin Mary.

But if you consider the blessing of Judah, you will understand my point. The lineage is traced from Jacob and comes through Judah, Phares, Jesse, and David. This symbolized that some of your people would be true children of Abraham, found in Christ; but that others, though children of Abraham, would be like the sand on the seashore, numerous but barren, drinking the water of the sea without bearing fruit. A large number among your people are revealed to be of this kind, absorbing doctrines of bitterness and godlessness, yet rejecting the word of God.

Therefore, it is said in the prophecy concerning Judah: ‘A prince shall not fail from Judah, nor a ruler from his descendants, until what is reserved for him comes; and He shall be the hope of the nations.’ It is clear this was spoken not of Judah, but of Christ. For people from all nations look not to Judah, but to Jesus, who led your ancestors out of Egypt. The prophecy referred to the coming of Christ: ‘Until He comes for whom this is reserved, and He shall be the hope of nations.’ Jesus has come, as we have shown extensively, and is expected to appear again in the clouds; His name, which you defile and strive to have defiled across the earth.

It’s possible for me, gentlemen," I continued, "to argue with you about the translation you endorse, saying it is written, ‘Till the things reserved for Him come;’ although the Seventy did not explain it this way, but as, ‘Till He comes for whom this is reserved.’ But since what follows points to Christ (it says, ‘and He shall be the hope of nations’), I choose not to engage in a mere verbal dispute with you, as I have not tried to prove Christ using Scriptures you do not accept but from those you do, which, if your teachers had understood, they would have removed, like they did with writings about the death of Isaiah, whom you sawed in half with a wooden saw.

This was a mysterious symbol of Christ's future division of your nation, raising those worthy to the eternal kingdom with the holy patriarchs and prophets; but He will send others to the condemnation of unquenchable fire along with disobedient and unrepentant people from all nations. ‘For they shall come,’ He said, ‘from the west and the east, and will sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.’ I have mentioned these things, considering nothing but the truth, refusing to be intimidated by anyone, even if I am torn to pieces by you.

I did not think of my people, the Samaritans, when I communicated with Cæsar, but stated that they were wrong to trust the magician Simon from their nation, who, they say, is God above all power and authority and might."

AS THEY REMAINED QUIET: I continued: "[The Scripture], speaking through David about this Christ, my friends, no longer said that 'in His seed' the nations would be blessed, but 'in Him.' It states: 'His name shall rise forever above the sun; and in Him all nations shall be blessed.' If all nations are blessed in Christ, and we from all nations believe in Him, then He is truly the Christ, and we are blessed by Him. God once allowed the sun as an object of worship, as it is written, but no one has been known to endure death for faith in the sun; yet for the name of Jesus, you can see people from every nation enduring all sufferings rather than denying Him.

For His word of truth and wisdom is more passionate and illuminating than the sun's rays, reaching deep into the heart and mind.

Therefore, Scripture said, 'His name shall rise above the sun.' Zechariah also says, 'His name is the East.' And speaking of Him, he says that 'each tribe shall mourn.' If He shone so brightly and was so powerful in His first coming (which was without honor and beauty, and very contemptible) that in no nation is He unknown, and everywhere people have repented of old wickedness in each nation's way of living, so that even demons were subject to His name, and all powers and kingdoms feared His name more than they feared all the dead, will He not in His glorious coming destroy all those who hated Him, and unfairly turned away from Him, but give rest to His own, rewarding them with all they have hoped for? Therefore, it has been granted to us to hear, to understand, and to be saved by this Christ, and to recognize all the [truths revealed] by the Father.

He said to Him: 'It is a great thing for You to be called my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and bring back the dispersed of Israel. I have appointed You as a light to the Gentiles, that You may be their salvation to the ends of the earth.'"

YOU BELIEVE THESE WORDS REFER TO THE STRANGER AND THE PROSELYTES: but they actually refer to us who have been enlightened by Jesus. For Christ would have testified even to them; but now you have become twice as much children of hell, as He Himself said. Therefore, what was written by the prophets was not about those people, but about us, as the Scripture says: ‘I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; and they shall walk in paths they have not known. And I am witness, says the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen.’ So, to whom does Christ testify? Clearly to those who have believed. But the proselytes not only do not believe, but blaspheme His name even more than you do, and wish to torture and kill us who believe in Him; because in all ways they try to be like you. And again, in other words, He declares: ‘I the Lord have called You in righteousness, will hold Your hand, will strengthen You, and will give You as a covenant for the people, a light for the Gentiles, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out the prisoners from their bonds.’ These words indeed, sirs, also refer to Christ, and concern the enlightened nations; or will you claim again that He speaks to them of the law and the proselytes?

THEN SOME OF THOSE WHO CAME ON THE SECOND DAY SHOUTED AS IF THEY WERE IN A THEATER: "But what? Does He not refer to the law and to those illuminated by it? Now those are proselytes."

"No," I said, looking towards Trypho, "since, if the law could enlighten the nations and those who possess it, what need would there be for a new covenant? But because God announced beforehand that He would send a new covenant, and an everlasting law and commandment, we should not interpret this as referring to the old law and its followers, but to Christ and His followers, namely us Gentiles, whom He has illuminated, as He says somewhere: ‘Thus says the Lord, In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in a day of salvation I have helped You, and I have given You for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, and to inherit the deserted.’ What then is Christ’s inheritance? Is it not the nations? What is the covenant of God? Is it not Christ? As He says in another place: ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I shall give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Your possession.’"

SINCE ALL THESE LATER PROPHECIES REFER TO CHRIST AND THE NATIONS: you should believe that the earlier ones refer to Him and them in the same way. Proselytes have no need for a covenant, since the same law is given to all who are circumcised, and the Scripture says, "The stranger will also join them and be part of the house of Jacob." The proselyte, once circumcised to join the people, becomes like one of them.

However, we who have been deemed worthy to be called a people are still Gentiles, because we have not been circumcised.

It's absurd for you to think that proselytes’ eyes will be opened while yours remain closed, and that you are considered blind and deaf while they are enlightened. It is even more absurd if you claim the law has been given to the nations but you have not known it. You would have feared God's wrath and would not have been lawless, wayward children, fearing to hear God always say, "Children in whom is no faith. Who are blind but my servants? Who are deaf but those who rule over them? God's servants have become blind.

You see often, but do not observe; your ears have been opened, and you do not hear." Is God's commendation of you honorable? Is God's testimony fitting for His servants? You are not ashamed though you often hear these words. You do not tremble at God's threats, for you are a foolish and hard-hearted people. "Therefore, behold, I will proceed to remove this people," says the Lord, "and I will remove them, and destroy the wisdom of the wise, and hide the understanding of the prudent." Rightly so, for you are neither wise nor prudent, but crafty and unscrupulous; wise only in doing evil, but utterly incapable of knowing God's hidden counsel or the Lord's faithful covenant, or finding the everlasting paths. "Therefore," says the Lord, "I will raise up for Israel and Judah the seed of men and the seed of beasts." Through Isaiah, He speaks about another Israel: "In that day, there will be a third Israel among the Assyrians and the Egyptians, blessed in the land that the Lord of Hosts has blessed, saying, 'Blessed be my people in Egypt and Assyria, and Israel my inheritance.'" Since God blesses these people, calls them Israel, and declares them His inheritance, why do you not repent of the self-deception that makes you think you alone are Israel, and for cursing the people God has blessed? When He speaks to Jerusalem and its surroundings, He adds, "And I will bring forth men upon you, even my people Israel; they will inherit you, and you will be a possession for them; you will no longer be bereaved of them."

"What, then?" says Trypho, "Are you Israel? And does He say such things about you?"

"If," I replied to him, "we hadn't already had a lengthy discussion on these topics, I might have doubted whether you were asking this question sincerely. But since we have already come to a conclusion through demonstration and with your agreement, I don't believe you are unaware of what I've just said or that you merely seek to argue. Instead, I think you want me to show the same proof to these people." Seeing the agreement in his eyes, I continued, "Again in Isaiah, if you are willing to listen, God, speaking of Christ in parable, calls Him Jacob and Israel. He says, 'Jacob is my servant, I will uphold Him; Israel is my chosen, I will put my Spirit upon Him, and He will bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He will not struggle or shout, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets: a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; but He will bring forth judgment to truth: He will shine and will not be broken until He has established judgment on the earth. And in His name, the Gentiles will trust.' Therefore, just as all your nation has been called Jacob and Israel from the one man Jacob, who was also named Israel, we, from Christ, who made us children of God, like Jacob, Israel, Judah, Joseph, and David, are called and are the true sons of God, and we keep the commandments of Christ."

WHEN I NOTICED THAT THEY WERE UPSET BECAUSE I SAID WE ARE THE SONS OF GOD: I anticipated their questions and said, “Listen, gentlemen, to how the Holy Spirit speaks about this people, saying they are all sons of the Highest; and how this Christ will be present in their gathering, judging all people. The words are spoken by David, and according to your version, they go like this: ‘God stands in the assembly of gods; He judges among the gods.

How long will you judge unjustly and favor the wicked? Defend the orphan and the poor, and do justice to the humble and needy. Rescue the needy, and save the poor from the hand of the wicked. They neither know nor understand; they walk in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be shaken. I said, You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.

But you will die like men, and fall like any prince.

Rise, O God! judge the earth, for You shall inherit all nations.’ But in the version of the Seventy, it is written, ‘Behold, you die like men, and fall like one of the princes,’ to show the disobedience of people—meaning Adam and Eve—and the fall of one of the princes, i.e., the one called the serpent, who fell greatly because he deceived Eve.

However, my point here is not to focus on this aspect, but to prove to you that the Holy Spirit reproaches people because they were made like God, free from suffering and death, as long as they followed His commandments, and were considered worthy of being called His sons, but they, like Adam and Eve, bring death upon themselves; you may interpret the Psalm as you prefer, yet it demonstrates that all people are considered worthy of becoming “gods,” and having the power to become sons of the Highest; and will each be judged and condemned like Adam and Eve.

Now I have shown extensively that Christ is called God.

"I wish, gentlemen," I said, "to learn from you the meaning of the name Israel." And as they were silent, I continued, "I will tell you what I know, for I do not think it right to keep silent when I know something, or suspect that you do know and deceive yourselves out of envy or willful ignorance. I should not be continually anxious; rather, I speak everything simply and honestly, as my Lord said: 'A sower went out to sow the seed; some fell by the wayside, some among thorns, some on stony ground, and some on good ground.' I must speak, then, hoping to find good ground somewhere, since my Lord, as one strong and powerful, will come to reclaim what is His from everyone, and will not condemn His steward if He sees that, knowing the Lord is powerful and has come to reclaim what is His, he has distributed it wisely, and has not hidden it for any reason whatsoever.

THEREFORE: the name Israel signifies this: A man who overcomes power; for 'Isra' means a man overcoming, and 'El' means power. And that Christ would act in this way when He became man was foretold by the mystery of Jacob’s wrestling with Him who appeared to him, in that He served the will of the Father, and still is God, being the first-born of all creation. When He became man, as I mentioned earlier, the devil—i.e., that power called the serpent and Satan—came to Him, tempting Him and trying to make Him fall by asking Him to worship him.

But He destroyed and defeated the devil, proving him wicked, as he asked to be worshipped as God, contrary to the Scripture; he is an apostate from the will of God. For He replied, 'It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.' Then, defeated and proven wrong, the devil left at that time.

But since our Christ was to be numbed, i.e., through pain and suffering, He foreshadowed this by touching Jacob’s thigh and causing it to shrink.

But Israel was His name from the beginning, which He gave to the blessed Jacob when He blessed him with His name, declaring that all who through Him have sought refuge in the Father make up the blessed Israel.

But you, not understanding any of this and unwilling to understand, since you are the children of Jacob through fleshly descent, believe that you will surely be saved.

But you are deceiving yourselves in this matter, as I have shown in many words."

"But if you knew, Trypho," I continued, "who He is that is sometimes called the Angel of great counsel, a Man by Ezekiel, like the Son of man by Daniel, a Child by Isaiah, Christ and God to be worshiped by David, Christ and a Stone by many, Wisdom by Solomon, Joseph and Judah and a Star by Moses, the East by Zechariah, and the Suffering One, Jacob, and Israel by Isaiah again, and a Rod, Flower, Corner-Stone, and the Son of God, you would not have blasphemed Him who has now come, been born, suffered, and ascended to heaven; who shall also come again, and then your twelve tribes shall mourn.

IF YOU HAD UNDERSTOOD WHAT THE PROPHETS WROTE: you would not have denied that He was God, the Son of the only, unbegotten, unutterable God. For Moses says in Exodus: 'The Lord spoke to Moses, and said to him, I am the Lord, and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as their God; and my name I revealed not to them, and I established my covenant with them.' He also says, 'A man wrestled with Jacob,' and asserts it was God; narrating that Jacob said, 'I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.' It is recorded he called the place the Face of God (Peniel), where He wrestled with him, appeared to, and blessed him.

Moses says that God also appeared to Abraham near the oak in Mamre, while he was sitting at the door of his tent at noon. He continues, 'And he lifted up his eyes, looked, and, behold, three men stood before him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them.' Shortly after, one of them promises a son to Abraham: 'Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old? Is anything impossible with God? At the appointed time, I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.' And they left Abraham.

Again he speaks of them: 'And the men rose up and looked toward Sodom.' Then to Abraham He who was and is speaks again: 'I will not hide from Abraham, my servant, what I intend to do.'" I quoted and explained what follows in Moses' writings, saying, "From which I have shown that He described as God who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the other patriarchs, was appointed by the Father and Lord, and serves His will." Then I added something not previously mentioned: "And so, when the people desired meat, and Moses had lost faith in Him, who is also called the Angel, promising that God would give them enough, He who is both God and the Angel, sent by the Father, is described as saying and doing these things.

Scripture says: 'And the Lord said to Moses, Will the Lord’s hand not be sufficient? You shall know whether my word shall fulfill itself or not.' And in other words, it says: 'But the Lord spoke to me, You shall not cross this Jordan: the Lord your God, who goes before you, He shall cut off the nations.'"

These and similar sayings are recorded by the lawgiver and the prophets; and I believe I have explained enough that whenever it is written, 'God went up from Abraham,' or 'The Lord spoke to Moses,' and 'The Lord came down to see the tower the sons of men had built,' or when 'God shut Noah into the ark,' you should not think that the unbegotten God Himself came down or went up from any place. For the indescribable Father and Lord of all neither comes to any place, nor walks, nor sleeps, nor rises up, but remains in His own place, wherever that is, quick to see and quick to hear, having neither eyes nor ears, but possessing indescribable power; He sees all things, knows all things, and none of us escapes His notice.

HE IS NOT MOVED OR CONFINED TO A SPOT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD: for He existed before the world was created. How, then, could He talk with anyone, or be seen by anyone, or appear on the smallest part of the earth, when the people at Sinai were not able to look even at the glory of Him who was sent from Him; and Moses himself could not enter the tabernacle he had built when it was filled with the glory of God; and the priest could not bear to stand before the temple when Solomon brought the ark into the house in Jerusalem which he had built for it? Therefore, neither Abraham, nor Isaac, nor Jacob, nor any other person saw the Father and indescribable Lord of all, and also of Christ, but saw Him who, according to His will, was His Son, being God, and the Angel because He served His will; whom He also pleased to have born as a man by the Virgin; who also was fire when He spoke with Moses from the bush.

Unless we understand the Scriptures this way, it would mean the Father and Lord of all had not been in heaven when what Moses wrote happened: 'And the Lord rained on Sodom fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven;' and again, when David says: 'Lift up your gates, rulers; and be lifted up, everlasting gates; and the King of glory shall enter;' and again, when He says: 'The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.'

"And that Christ, being Lord and God, the Son of God, and having appeared previously in power as a Man, an Angel, and in the glorious fire as at the bush, was also present at the judgment carried out on Sodom, has been fully shown by what has been said." Then I repeated again everything I had previously quoted from Exodus about the vision in the bush and the naming of Joshua (Jesus), and continued: "And do not think, gentlemen, that I am speaking unnecessarily when I repeat these words often; but it is because I know some wish to say that the power sent from the Father of all, which appeared to Moses, or to Abraham, or to Jacob, is called an Angel because He came to humans (for through Him the commands of the Father have been given to humans); is called Glory because He sometimes appears in a vision that cannot be endured; is called a Man and a human being because He appears in such forms as the Father pleases; and they call Him the Word because He brings messages from the Father to humans: but they claim that this power is indivisible and inseparable from the Father, just like they say that the light of the sun on earth is inseparable from the sun in the sky; as when it sets, the light sets along with it; so the Father, when He chooses, causes His power to come forth, and when He chooses, He brings it back to Himself.

IN THIS WAY: they teach, He created the angels.

But it is shown that there are angels who always exist and are never reduced to the form from which they came. And it has been clearly shown that this power, which the prophetic word calls God and Angel, is not different in name only like the light of the sun, but is indeed something numerically distinct, as I have discussed briefly before; when I stated that this power was begotten from the Father, by His power and will, but not by separation, as if the essence of the Father were divided; as all other things partitioned and divided are not the same after as before they were divided: and, for example, I referred to fires kindled from a fire, which we see to be distinct from it, yet that from which many can be kindled is not made less, but remains the same."

AND NOW I WILL AGAIN RECITE THE WORDS I HAVE SPOKEN TO PROVE THIS POINT: When Scripture says, ‘The Lord rained fire from the Lord out of heaven,’ the prophetic word indicates there were two: One on the earth, who, it says, came down to see the cry of Sodom; Another in heaven, who also is Lord of the Lord on earth, as He is Father and God; the cause of His power and of His being Lord and God.

Again, when Scripture records that God said in the beginning, ‘Behold, Adam has become like one of Us,’ this phrase, ‘like one of Us,’ also indicates number; and the words do not allow a figurative meaning, as those who twist the words try to suggest, who are unable to tell or understand the truth. And it is written in the book of Wisdom: ‘If I should tell you daily events, I would recall them from the beginning. The Lord created me as the beginning of His ways for His works.

From everlasting, He established me at the beginning, before He formed the earth, and before He made the depths, and before the springs of water came forth, before the mountains were settled; He begets me before all the hills.’ When I repeated these words, I added: “You see, my listeners, if you pay attention, that Scripture has declared that this Offspring was begotten by the Father before all created things; and anyone will admit that which is begotten is numerically distinct from that which begets.”

AND WHEN EVERYONE AGREED: I said: "I would now present some passages which I hadn't mentioned before. They are recorded by the faithful servant Moses in parable and are as follows: 'Rejoice, O heavens, with Him, and let all the angels of God worship Him.'" Then I continued with the passage: "'Rejoice, O nations, with His people, and let all the angels of God be strengthened in Him: for He avenges the blood of His sons and will avenge, and will repay His enemies with vengeance, and will repay those that hate Him; and the Lord will purify the land of His people.' By these words, He declares that we, the nations, rejoice with His people—namely, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the prophets, and all of that people who are pleasing to God, as agreed upon earlier.

But we won't accept it for all your nation, since we know from Isaiah that the bodies of those who have sinned will be consumed by the worm and unquenchable fire, remaining immortal, becoming a spectacle to all flesh.

But in addition to these, I wish, sirs," I said, "to add some more passages from the very words of Moses, from which you may understand that God has long ago dispersed all men according to their families and languages; and out of all families has taken to Himself your family—a useless, disobedient, and faithless generation; and has shown that those selected from every nation have obeyed His will through Christ, whom He also calls Jacob and names Israel—and these, then, as I mentioned before, must be Jacob and Israel.

For when He says, 'Rejoice, O nations, with His people,' He gives them the same inheritance but doesn't call them by the same name; when He says they as Gentiles rejoice with His people, He calls them Gentiles to criticize you. For just as you provoked Him with your idolatry, He has deemed those who were idolaters worthy of knowing His will and inheriting His inheritance."

"But I will quote the passage that reveals how God divided all the nations. It goes: ‘Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you; when the Most High divided the nations and dispersed the sons of Adam. He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the children of Israel; and the Lord’s portion became His people Jacob, and Israel was the lot of His inheritance.' And after saying this, I added: 'The Seventy have translated it as, "He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God." But because my argument is not weakened by this, I have adopted your interpretation.

AND YOU: if you confess the truth, must admit that we, who have been called by God through the despised and shameful mystery of the cross (for the confession of which, and obedience to which, and for our piety, punishments even to death have been inflicted on us by demons, and by the host of the devil, with the aid provided to them by you), and endure all torments rather than deny Christ even by word, through whom we are called to the salvation prepared beforehand by the Father, are more faithful to God than you, who were redeemed from Egypt with a mighty hand and a visitation of great glory, when the sea was parted for you, and a dry path was made, in which God destroyed those who chased you with a great force and splendid chariots, bringing back the sea upon them which had been made a way for your sakes; on whom also a pillar of light shone, so that you, more than any other nation in the world, might possess a unique light, never-failing and never-setting; for whom He rained manna as food, fit for the heavenly angels, so that you might not need to prepare your food; and the water at Marah was made sweet; and a sign of Him who was to be crucified was made, both in the matter of the serpents which bit you, as I already mentioned (God anticipating these mysteries beforehand to confer grace upon you, whom you are always convicted of being thankless), as well as in the form of the extending of the hands of Moses, and of Oshea being named Jesus (Joshua); when you fought against Amalek: about which God commanded that the event be recorded, and the name of Jesus laid up in your understandings; saying that this is He who would erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.

Now it is clear that the memory of Amalek remained after the son of Nun: but He makes it clear through Jesus, who was crucified, of whom those symbols were foreshadowings of all that would happen to Him, the demons would be destroyed, and would dread His name, and that all authorities and kingdoms would fear Him; and that they who believe in Him from all nations would be shown as God-fearing and peaceful people; and the facts that I already mentioned, Trypho, indicate this.

Again, when you wanted meat, so vast a number of quails was given to you, that they could not be counted; for whom also water gushed from the rock; and a cloud followed you for shade from heat, and covering from cold, declaring the manner and meaning of another and new heaven; the fastenings of your shoes did not break, and your shoes did not wear out, and your clothes did not wear away, but even those of the children grew along with them."

"Yet after this, you made a calf and were very eager in committing fornication with the daughters of strangers and in serving idols. And again, when the land was given to you with such a great display of power that you witnessed the sun stand still in the sky by the order of the man whose name was Jesus (Joshua), and not go down for thirty-six hours, along with all the other miracles performed for you as time allowed; it seems good to me now to speak of another miracle, for it helps you understand Jesus, whom we also know to have been Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified, rose again, ascended to heaven, and will come again to judge all men, even up to Adam himself.

YOU ARE AWARE: " I continued, "that when the ark of the testimony was seized by the enemies of Ashdod, a terrible and incurable disease broke out among them. They decided to place the ark on a cart yoked to cows that had recently calved, to determine by trial whether they had been plagued by God’s power because of the ark, and whether God wanted it returned to its original place. When they did this, the cows, led by no one, did not go to the place from which the ark had been taken, but instead went to the fields of a man named Oshea—who, as previously mentioned, had his name changed to Jesus (Joshua) and who led the people into the land and divided it among them.

When the cows arrived in those fields, they stayed there, showing you that they were guided by a name of power, just as the people who survived the exodus from Egypt were guided into the land by him who received the name Jesus (Joshua), who was formerly called Oshea."

NOW: although these and all other such unexpected and marvelous works were performed among and seen by you at different times, you are convicted by the prophets of having gone to the extent of offering your own children to demons; and besides all this, of having dared to do such things against Christ; and you still dare to do them: for all of which may it be granted to you to obtain mercy and salvation from God and His Christ.

For God, knowing beforehand that you would do such things, pronounced this curse upon you through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Woe to their soul! They have devised evil counsel against themselves, saying, Let us bind the righteous man, for he is distasteful to us. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own actions. Woe to the wicked! Evil, according to the works of his hands, shall befall him. O my people, your exactors glean you, and those who extort from you shall rule over you.

O my people, those who call you blessed cause you to err, and disorder the way of your paths.

But now the Lord shall assist His people to judgment, and He shall enter into judgment with the elders of the people and their princes.

But why have you destroyed my vineyard? And why is the spoil of the poor found in your houses? Why do you wrong my people, and put to shame the face of the humble?’ Again, in other words, the same prophet spoke similarly: ‘Woe to those who draw their iniquity as with a long cord, and their transgressions as with the harness of an ox’s yoke: who say, Let His speed come near, and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it.

Woe to those that call evil good, and good evil! That put light for darkness, and darkness for light! That put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe to those who are mighty among you, who drink wine, who are strong men, who mix strong drink! Who justify the wicked for a reward and take away justice from the righteous! Therefore, as stubble shall be burnt by the coal of fire, and utterly consumed by the burning flame, their root shall be as wool, and their flower shall rise like dust.

For they would not have the law of the Lord of Hosts, but despised the word of the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. And the Lord of Hosts was very angry, and laid His hands upon them, and struck them; and He was provoked against the mountains, and their carcasses were in the midst like dung on the road. And for all this, they have not repented, but their hand is still high.’ For truly your hand is high to commit evil, because you killed the Christ, and do not repent of it; but far from that, you hate and murder us who have believed through Him in the God and Father of all, as often as you can; and you curse Him without ceasing, as well as those who side with Him; while all of us pray for you, and for all people, as our Christ and Lord taught us to do, when He instructed us to pray even for our enemies, and to love those who hate us, and to bless those who curse us.

IF THE TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHETS AND OF HIMSELF MOVE YOU: it's better for you to follow God rather than your imprudent and blind leaders, who still allow each man to have four or five wives. If anyone sees a beautiful woman and desires her, they refer to the actions of Jacob, called Israel, and the other patriarchs, claiming it isn't wrong to do such things. They are miserably ignorant on this matter. As I mentioned before, some arrangements of significant mysteries were accomplished in each act of this sort.

In the marriages of Jacob, I will explain what arrangement and prophecy were fulfilled, so that you may understand that your teachers never considered the divine motive behind each act, only the base and corrupting desires. Listen to what I say. The marriages of Jacob were symbols of what Christ was about to accomplish. It was not lawful for Jacob to marry two sisters at once. He worked for Laban for one of the daughters; being deceived in obtaining the younger, he worked another seven years.

Leah represents your people and synagogue; Rachel represents our Church. For these and the servants in both, Christ even now serves. While Noah gave the two sons the seed of the third as servants, Christ has come to restore both the free sons and the servants among them, giving them the same honor if they keep His commandments. Just as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women born to Jacob were all sons and equal in dignity.

It was foretold what each should be according to rank and foreknowledge. Jacob worked for Laban for speckled and many-spotted sheep; Christ served, even to the point of the cross, for the diverse and multi-formed races of humanity, acquiring them through the blood and mystery of the cross. Leah was weak-eyed, for the eyes of your souls are extremely weak. Rachel stole the gods of Laban and has hidden them to this day; we have lost our ancestral and material gods.

Jacob was hated by his brother for all time; we now, and our Lord Himself, are hated by you and by all men, although we are naturally brothers. Jacob was called Israel; and Israel has been shown to be the Christ, who is, and is called, Jesus.

AND WHEN SCRIPTURE SAYS: ‘I am the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, who has made known Israel as your King,’ will you not understand that truly Christ is the everlasting King? For you know that Jacob, the son of Isaac, was never a king.

Therefore, Scripture again explains to us which king is meant by Jacob and Israel: ‘Jacob is my Servant, I will uphold Him; and Israel is my Elect, my soul shall receive Him. I have given Him my Spirit; and He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

He shall not cry, and His voice shall not be heard outside. The bruised reed He shall not break, and the smoldering wick He shall not quench, until He brings forth judgment to victory. He shall shine, and shall not be broken, until He sets judgment on the earth. And in His name, the Gentiles shall trust.’ So, is it Jacob the patriarch in whom the Gentiles and you shall trust? Or is it not Christ? Therefore, just as Christ is the Israel and the Jacob, so we, who have been brought out from the body of Christ, are the true Israelite race.

But let us pay attention to the exact words: ‘And I will bring forth,’ He says, ‘the seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah: and it shall inherit My holy mountain; and My Elect and My servants shall possess the inheritance and shall dwell there; and there shall be folds of flocks in the thicket, and the valley of Achor shall be a resting place for cattle for the people who have sought Me.

But as for you, who forsake Me, and forget My holy mountain, and prepare a table for demons, and fill out drink for the demon, I shall give you to the sword.

You shall all fall in a slaughter; for I called you, and you did not listen, and did evil before me, and chose that in which I did not delight.’ Such are the words of Scripture; understand, therefore, that the seed of Jacob now referred to is something else, and is not, as may be supposed, spoken of your people. For it is not possible for the seed of Jacob to leave an entrance for the descendants of Jacob, or for God to have accepted the very same people He had reproached with unfitness for the inheritance and promise it to them again; but as the prophet says, ‘And now, O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord; for He has sent away His people, the house of Jacob, because their land was full, as at the first, of soothsayers and divinations;’ even so, it is necessary for us here to observe that there are two seeds of Judah, and two races, just as there are two houses of Jacob: one begotten by blood and flesh, the other by faith and the Spirit.

YOU SEE HOW HE NOW SPEAKS TO THE PEOPLE: saying a little before: "As the grape shall be found in the cluster, and they will say, 'Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it;' so will I do for My servant’s sake: for His sake I will not destroy them all." And then He adds: "And I shall bring forth the seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah." It is clear then that if He is angry with them and threatens to leave very few of them, He promises to bring forth others who will dwell in His mountain.

But these are the ones He said He would sow and beget. For you neither accept Him when He calls you nor listen to Him when He speaks to you, but have done evil in the presence of the Lord.

But the greatest of your wickedness lies in this, that you hate the Righteous One, and killed Him; and so treat those who have received from Him all that they are and have, and who are pious, righteous, and humane.

Therefore "woe unto their soul," says the Lord, "for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying, 'Let us take away the righteous, for he is distasteful to us.'" For indeed you are not in the habit of sacrificing to Baal, like your fathers, or of placing cakes in groves and on high places for the host of heaven: but you have not accepted God’s Christ. For he who does not know Him, does not know the will of God; and he who insults and hates Him, insults and hates Him who sent Him.

And whoever does not believe in Him, does not believe the declarations of the prophets, who preached and proclaimed Him to all.

SPEAK NO EVIL: my brothers, against Him who was crucified, and do not treat with contempt the wounds by which all may be healed, just as we are healed. It will be good if, convinced by the Scriptures, you are circumcised from hard-heartedness: not the circumcision from the teachings imposed on you; for that was given as a sign, not as an act of righteousness, as the Scriptures compel you to acknowledge. Therefore, agree and do not ridicule the Son of God; do not follow the Pharisaic teachers, and do not mock the King of Israel, as the rulers of your synagogues instruct you to do after your prayers: for if one who touches those who do not please God is like one who touches the apple of God’s eye, how much more so is one who touches His beloved! And that this is He, has been clearly demonstrated.

AND AS THEY REMAINED SILENT: I continued: "My friends, I now refer to the Scriptures as the Seventy have interpreted them. When I quoted them before as you have them, I was testing you to see how you would respond. For instance, I mentioned the Scripture which says, ‘Woe unto them! for they have devised evil counsel against themselves, saying’ (as the Seventy have translated): ‘Let us take away the righteous, for he is distasteful to us;’ whereas at the beginning of the discussion, I added what your version states: ‘Let us bind the righteous, for he is distasteful to us.’ But you were occupied with other matters and seem to have listened without really attending to the words. Now, since the day is nearly over, as the sun is about to set, I will add one remark to what I have said and conclude. I have indeed made this same remark before, but I believe it would be good to consider it once more."

"You understand, then, gentlemen," I said, "that God has said in Isaiah to Jerusalem: 'I saved you in the flood of Noah.' What God meant by this is that the mystery of saved people was revealed in the flood. Righteous Noah, together with the other humans at the flood—meaning his wife, his three sons, and their wives, totaling eight people—symbolized the eighth day when Christ appeared by rising from the dead, forever the first in power. Christ, being the firstborn of every creature, became the leader of a new human race, regenerated by Himself through water, faith, and wood, symbolizing the mystery of the cross; just as Noah was saved by wood when he floated over the waters with his family.

SO: when the prophet says, 'I saved you in the times of Noah,' as I've already mentioned, he is addressing those who are equally faithful to God and bear the same signs. For when Moses had the rod in his hands, he led your nation through the sea. And you believe this was spoken only to your nation or to the land.

However, the entire earth, as Scripture states, was flooded, and the water rose fifteen cubits above all the mountains, making it clear that this was not spoken to the land, but to the people who obeyed Him: for whom He had prepared a resting place in Jerusalem, as previously shown by all the symbols of the flood; meaning that by water, faith, and wood, those who are prepared beforehand and repent of the sins they have committed will escape from the coming judgment of God."

ANOTHER MYSTERY WAS FULFILLED AND PREDICTED IN THE DAYS OF NOAH: which you may not know. It is this: in the blessings Noah bestowed upon his two sons, and in the curse pronounced on his son's son. The Spirit of prophecy did not curse the son who had been blessed by God along with his brothers. But because the punishment for the sin would follow the entire line of the son who mocked his father's nakedness, he directed the curse to begin with his son. In what he said, he predicted that the descendants of Shem would retain the property and homes of Canaan, and that the descendants of Japheth would eventually seize the property that Shem's descendants had taken from Canaan's descendants; and they would plunder the descendants of Shem, just as they had plundered the sons of Canaan.

Listen to how it has occurred. You, who are descended from Shem, invaded the land of the sons of Canaan by God's will and took possession of it. It is clear that the sons of Japheth, by God's judgment, have in turn invaded you and claimed your land. It is written: 'And Noah awoke from the wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him; and he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant; a servant shall he be to his brothers. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. May the Lord enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the houses of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.' Thus, as two peoples were blessed—those from Shem and those from Japheth—and as the descendants of Shem were decreed first to possess Canaan's dwellings, and the descendants of Japheth were predicted to later receive the same possessions, with Canaan's people handed over as servants to both; so Christ has come with the power given to Him from the Almighty Father, summoning men to friendship, blessing, repentance, and unity. He has promised, as has been shown, that there will be a future possession for all the saints in this land. Therefore, all people everywhere, whether bound or free, who believe in Christ and recognize the truth in His words and those of His prophets, know that they shall be with Him in that land and inherit everlasting and incorruptible good.

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE: Jacob, being a representation of Christ, married the two servants of his two free wives and had sons with them. This was to show in advance that Christ would accept not only those among Japheth’s descendants, who are from Canaan, but also those who are free, making their children equal heirs. We are like these heirs, but you cannot understand this because you cannot drink from the living fountain of God but instead from broken cisterns that hold no water, as the Scripture says.

These broken cisterns, which hold no water, are teachings created by your own teachers, as the Scripture states explicitly: ‘teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ They deceive themselves and you, thinking that the everlasting kingdom will definitely be given to the dispersed descendants of Abraham, according to the flesh, even though they are sinners, faithless, and disobedient to God, which the Scriptures have shown is not true. For if it were true, Isaiah would not have said: ‘Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.’ And Ezekiel stated: ‘Even if Noah, Jacob, and Daniel prayed for sons or daughters, their request would not be granted.

No one will die for another’s sin, but each will be accountable for their own sin. Each will be saved for their own righteousness.’ Isaiah also said: ‘They shall gaze upon the carcasses of those who have transgressed: their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched; they shall be a horror to all people.’ Our Lord, according to the will of Him who sent Him, the Father and Lord of all, would not have said, ‘They will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.’ Furthermore, I have shown earlier that those foreknown to be unrighteous, whether human or angelic, are not made wicked by God’s doing, but each person, by their own actions, becomes what they will ultimately be.

"But to prevent you from claiming that Christ had to be crucified and that those who wronged Him had to be from your nation, and that things couldn't have been different, I mentioned briefly, in advance, that God, wanting men and angels to follow His will, decided to create them with the freedom to choose righteousness. They were given reason so they could know who created them and understand that they now exist thanks to Him, although they did not exist before; and with a law so that they can be judged by Him if they do anything against right reason. We, both men and angels, will be proven guilty of sin unless we repent beforehand. If the word of God predicts that some angels and people will definitely be punished, it is because it foreknows they will be unchangeably wicked, not because God made them that way. Therefore, if they repent, all who desire it can receive mercy from God: and Scripture declares that they will be blessed, saying, 'Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin;' meaning, after he has repented of his sins so that he may receive forgiveness from God. Not like some of you deceive yourselves, and others like you, by saying that even as sinners, knowing God will mean that the Lord will not charge them with sin. We have evidence in the single failing of David, which occurred due to his pride, and he was forgiven when he mourned and wept, as it is written. If even such a man was not granted forgiveness without repentance, and only after this great king, anointed one, and prophet mourned and humbled himself, how can those who are impure and utterly lost, expect that the Lord will not count their sin if they do not weep, mourn, and repent? This one failing of David, regarding Uriah's wife, demonstrates that the patriarchs had many wives not for fornication, but so that a certain dispensation and all mysteries might be fulfilled through them. Since if it were permissible to take any wife or as many wives as one wants, as your people do all over the earth, wherever they settle, taking women under the name of marriage, much more would David have been permitted to do this."

WHEN I HAD SAID THIS: dearest Marcus Pompeius, I finished.

THEN TRYPHO: after a brief pause, said, “You see that it was not our intention to discuss these topics. I admit that I have been particularly pleased with the conversation, and I believe that these others share my opinion. For we have discovered more than we anticipated, more than we could have hoped for. If we could do this more frequently, it would greatly aid us in studying the Scriptures. But since,” he said, “you are about to depart and expect to leave soon, please remember us as friends when you are gone.”

"For my part," I replied, "if I had stayed, I would have wanted to do the same thing every day. But now, since I expect, with God's will and help, to set sail, I urge you to put all effort into this very important struggle for your own salvation, and to be earnest in valuing the Christ of the Almighty God more than your own teachers."

AFTER THIS THEY LEFT ME: wishing me safety in my voyage and protection from every misfortune. And I, praying for them, said, "I can wish nothing better for you, sirs, than this: that, recognizing in this way that intelligence is given to everyone, you may share our opinion and believe that Jesus is the Christ of God."