An Article of Faith
The 14-point Apostles' Creed, which is accepted by NCAY as a biblically accurate summary of the basic tenets of the Christian/Messianic faith, states:
- 1. We believe in Yahweh-Elohim, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth (Eph.4:6; 1 Cor.8:6; Ps.86:10; 145:3; Rev.1:8; Heb.11:3; Gen.1:1-3; Neh.9:6; Ac.17:24-26).
- 2. We believe in Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), His Only Begotten Son, our Master (2 Pet.1:16-18; Jn.10:30,36-38; Col.1:15,17-19; 2:3,9; 1 Cor.8:6).
- 3. He was conceived by the power of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) and born of the Virgin Mary (Mt.1:18-25; Lk.2:8-11).
The Saviour Was Miraculously Conceived
The doctrine of the Virgin Birth is that by the power of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), Mary, the mother of the Saviour, Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), supernaturally conceived and bore Yah'shua (Jesus) apart from sexual intercourse with her husband Joseph.
The Meaning of 'Virgin' in Biblical Times
A virgin (Heb. bethulah, lit. 'one separated') signifies a woman who has never been united to a man in marriage and has never had sexual intercourse (Gen.24:16; Dt.32:25; Judg.21:12; 1 Ki.1:2; Est.2:2-3,17; Lam.1:18; 2:21) [1]. The Greek equivalent, parthenos, can apply to both single men and single women (Mt.25:1-12; Lk.1:27; Ac.21:9; 1 Cor.7:25,36-28). According to the Torah, a man who seduced an unbethrothed or unmarried virgin had to give her father 50 silver shekels, had to marry her (if her father gave permission), and was not allowed to divorce her for as long as he lived (Ex.22:16-17; Dt.22:28-29). But a betrothed virgin, who was viewed as already belonging to a husband, was to be stoned to death if she did not scream when sexually attacked. Her failure to scream would denote consent and would thus have made her an adulteress (Dt.22:23-24; cp. Mt.1:18-19). The fact that a a betrothed virgin was regarded as being 'owned' by a husband also explains why Joel 1:8 speaks of "a virgin" as wailing or lamenting in sackcloth over "the ba'al (master, lord, owner, husband) of her youth".
The 144,000 Virgins
Virginity is highly prized by Yahweh and by men and women of Elohim (God). The Cohen Gadol (High Priest) in Israel was only permitted to take a virgin wife (Lev.21:10,13-14; cp. Ezek.44:22) [2] and for the same reason the Great Cohen Gadol (High Priest), Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), must only have a "virgin" as his allegorical or spiritual "Bride" in heaven (Rev.21:9; Heb.7:26; cp. Eph.5:25-30). Accordingly, the apostle Paul was deeply concerned about the purity of the Corinthian congregation, desiring to present it "as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor.11:2-6, NRSV). This Bride of Messiah is composed of 144,000 Ruach/Spirit-anointed and Torah-obedient believers, referred to as "the general assembly (church) of the firstborn (Chavurat Bekorot) who are registered (enrolled, written) in heaven" (Heb.12:23, NKJV/AENT/HRV), the children of the first resurrection (Rev.20:5-6) who will live on the earth during the Millennium, the "royal priesthood" (1 Pet.2:9), who individually and corporately maintain their spiritual 'virginity' or holiness (set-apartness) by remaining separate from the world system and who, by emunah (faith), keep themselves morally and doctrinally pure through complete surrender to Messiah and obedience to the mitzvot (commandments) (Rev.14:1,4; cp. 1 Cor.5:9-13; 6:15-20; Jas.4:4; 2 Jn.8-11). These are a separate body of believers from those disobedient qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) who are, as a result, the children of the second resurrection and must remain disembodied until their eventual resurrection, in parallel with the wicked, at end of the Millennium.
A Young Woman Will Conceive..
Mary, the mother of Yah'shua (Jesus), is a type of the 144,000, representing what a pure virgin bride is supposed to look like. Although the Hebrew word bethulah means 'virgin', another term ('almah) appears at Isaiah 7:14:
"Behold, the virgin ('almah) will conceive (become pregnant) and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel ('El/God is with us')" (Is.7:14, ESV)
Bethulah and 'Almah
The word 'almah means 'maiden' ('young woman' - NRSV) and can, it is claimed, apply to either a virgin or a non-virgin. As evidence for this claim, more liberal scholars point out that it is applied to Rebekah (Rivkah) before marriage when she was also called a "virgin (bethulah)" in Genesis 24:16 & 43. The pre-Christian/Messianic Septuagint (LXX) translation of Isaiah 7:14 uses the same Greek word, parthenos, as in the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament) when showing this passage found final fulfilment in connection with the virgin birth of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). Both Matthew and Luke state clearly that Yah'shua's (Jesus') mother Mary (Miriyam) was then a virgin who became pregnant through the operation of the Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) (Mt.1:18-25; Lk.1:26-35). Therefore 'almah, which used biblically, whilst referring specifically to a 'maiden' or 'young woman', is always to one who is unmarried and sexually chaste, virginity being one of her characteristics.
Advent of Politicised Liberal and Feminist Scholars
This understanding was never in doubt for over two millennia until modern liberal (sceptical, atheistic) scholars started attempting to 'demythologise' the Bible, i.e. call into question and remove its supernatural content and substitute in humanistic explanations. Accordingly, many modern feminist theologians with a Marxist political and social agenda reject the virgin birth account on the grounds that Mary was 'raped' by the Ruach (Spirit) - and thus by Elohim (God) Himself - in order to 'demonstrate' the power of men over women in the patriarchal society which they so passionately hate and vehemently oppose. (For more on biblical male/female rôles in, see the Sex, Marriage and Romance website).
The Miraculous Conception
In Matthew 1:18-25 Mary discovers she is pregnant "with the child of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) before they (she and Joseph) lived together" (Mt.1:18, NRSV). Though the considerably older Joseph, wrongly assuming that his betrothed wife had been unfaithful with another man, yet anxious to spare her because of his great love for her, decided to divorce Mary quietly (and so save her from being executed for adultery), a malak (angel) told him that Mary's child had been conceived supernaturally by the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) and that the child, whom they are to name Yah'shua (Yeshua, Jesus), "will save His people from their sins" (Mt.1:21, NRSV) (see Salvation). Immediately following this account, Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14: "Behold, the virgin (Heb. 'almah; LXX Gk. parthenos) shall conceive and bear a son" (ESV) to demonstrate that Yah'shua's (Jesus') miraculous conception fulfills ancient prophecy.
The Appearance of Gabriel
In Luke 1:26-38 the malak (angel) Gabriel appears to a virgin (parthenos) named Mary (Miriyam) and tells her that she will conceived and bear a son named Yah'shua (Jesus). She replies astonished:
"How can this be, since I am a virgin (lit. 'I do not [sexually] know a man')?" (Lk.1:34, NRSV)
Gabriel responds:
"The Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) will come upon you ... therefore the child to be born ... will be called Son of Elohim (God)" (Lk.1:35, NRSV)
While the Matthean passage shows how Yah'shua (Jesus) fulfilled the Isaianic prophecy, the Lukan passage connects Yah'shua (Jesus) with the Davidic kingship.
Passages on Yah'shua's Earthly Father and Mother
While other passages in the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament) mention this miraculous birth, a number of verses affirm Yah'shua's (Jesus') having human parents without attempting to distinguish between the biological or legal in much the same way we do not when referring to the parents of adopted children (Mt.13:55; Mk.6:3; Lk.4:22; Gal.4:4). Thus Joseph is the 'father' or adoptive parent of Yah'shua (Jesus). But it is these passages that are seized upon by the sceptics in an attempt to prove that both Yah'shua's (Jesus') parents were involved in the conception by claiming, without any concrete evidence, that the Virgin Birth story was inserted later.
Hindu Incarnation Myths
The sceptics are also keen to point out that 'incarnation' is common to other religions apart from Christianity, particularly those of India. According to the teaching of Brahmanism, Vishnu, one of the triad of supreme gods, became incarnate as a human being many times, his best known incarnation being his ninth, in which he appeared as Krishna (lit. 'the black one'). After achieving various heroic exploits, such as the avenging of the murder of his parents, and the slaying of the serpent Caliga, he was put to death by being shot with an arrow, leaving behind him the prediction that 30 years after his death the iron age would begin.
The Incomparible Incarnation of Yah'shua the Messiah
But the resemblance of these Eastern incarnations is altogether superficial. Those were temporary, Yah'shua's (Jesus') was permanent. In those, the incarnate pagan god practices every vice known to man without shame whereas Christ's life was sinless and a perfect model for imitation. Puerile, vulgar, unspiritual, degrading, and limited in scope, the incarnations of other religions cannot for a moment compare with the splendour of the Incarnation of Messiah, the aim of which is to atone for sin, to destroy the power of evil, and to raise the whole human race into fellowhip with Yahweh-Elohim.
Why Christian Incarnation is Reasonable
and Harmonious With the Best About Yahweh
The Virgin Birth was the visible manifestation of the Incarnation of Elohim (God) as man. It is important not just because it is taught in Scripture but because it is itself intrinsically reasonable and in harmony with the highest and best ideas about Elohim (God) and man. The Incarnation:
- 1. Harmonises with the idea that man is made in Elohim's (God's) image;
- 2. Reveals Yahweh's love more effectually than any other kind of revelation;
- 3. Is the most adequate way thyat we can imagine of atoning for sin;
- 4. Is designed to make sinless perfection possible, not at once, but in due course;
- 5. Achieves most perfectly the supreme end of religion, which is complete union between the worshipper and the divine object of worship; and
- 6. Emphasises human solidarity and brotherhood as one Body.
SUMMARY
A Sovereign Act of Yahweh
The 'Virgin Birth' - or more accurately, the 'Virginal Conception' - involved neither a human father nor, indeed, the cooperation of Mary. From His mother, Yah'shua (Jesus) was born as a man; but by the creative act of the Ruach (Spirit), His was a new humanity, the starting point of a new race, the "Second Adam" (1 Cor.15:45-47).
The Genesis Parallel
There is a direct parallel to the Creation narrative in Genesis where we read:
"In the beginning Elohim (God) created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void (Heb. tohu wa bowu); and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) was hovering (Heb. raqaf - 'flutter', 'move', 'vibrate', 'shake', 'brood' [3]) over the face of the waters" (Gen.1:1-2, NKJV).
The Divine Seeding
As the Ruach (Spirit) operated on the dark, empty, formless and devoid-of-life earth following the rebellion of Lucifer and his wicked angelic beings to begin the re-formation of life, covered with water as the earth would later be again following the Flood of Noah to destroy a generation of wicked human beings, so the dark and formless womb of Mary is now acted upon by the Ruach (Spirit) again to bring forth a unique life by virgin conception. Thus the word raqaf carries a sexual connotation too as it is involved in Divine Seeding.
Bringing Elohim into the Creation Through Incarnation
The rôle of the Ruach (Spirit) in Creation is to connect the Creation to Elohim (God) who is separate from His Creation. This is a fundamental difference from pantheistic religion which maintains Elohim (God) is in His Creation and is therefore in some way the Creation itself. Out of such a false doctrine has arisen the great error and blasphemy that man, by virtue of being a part of the Creation, is somehow a 'god' (or 'goddess') him- (or her-) self, along with every other life form. The great Mystery and Wonder of the Virgin Conception and Incarnation is that the Infinite Elohim (God) has personally and uniquely entered into the Creation, not as a whole, but in one location in time and space as a Divine Man in the Person of His Son.
A Cardinal Doctrine of Truth
The Docrine of the Virgin Birth (Conception, Incarnation) is central to the Atonement, work of the Cross and therefore Salvation of man. As such, then, it is a cardinal doctrine of "the emunah (faith) which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3, NKJV) and is non-negociable. That is why it is placed third in the Apostles' Creed and is foundational to the Messianic Evangelical revelation (Olive Branch 11:1-4; 21:1-6).
Endnotes
[1] The only apparent exception, which is seized upon by sceptics and liberal scholars, is to be found in chapter 2 of the Book of Esther where the young women whom King Ahasuerus has already bedded in his search for new wife - who are referred to as bethulot - are clearly not virgins. However, if as Messianic Evangelicals claim, this book is a much later Pharisee composition, as well has having been redacted at least once, and was not (as is known from the Dead Sea Scrolls) to have been a part of the Tanakh (Old Testament) canon of Scriptures (see The Babylonian Carnival: Origins of the Purim Festival and Origin of the Canon: 1. The Tanakh/Old Testament), then it is quite possible the Hebrew words bethulah and 'almah by that time had changed in meaning (as is known to have happened with other words like torah over the centuries) or had been altered, such mutilations being known to have taken place in the anti-Christian Masoretic text. In every other reference, as with Rebekah (Gen.24:16) and the 400 young women (bethulah) of Jabesh-gilead "who had never slept with a man" (Judg.l21:12, NRSV), bethulah always refers to a virgin. An additional claim by liberals that a related term, bethulim alone had the specialised meaning of 'virginity' in a legal context is pure speculation. Thus the one 'exception' in Esther 2, a book of dubious origin, does not 'prove the rule'.
[2] This was also true of Aaronic cohenim (priests) in general: "They may choose their wives only from among the virgins of Israel or the widows of the cohenim (priests). They may not marry other widows or divorced women" (Ezek.44:22, NLT - also Lev.21:7,13-14).
[3] The Heb. raqaf (rachaph) is only used in two other places in the Tanakh (Old Testament), viz. Jeremiah 23:9 (of 'shaking bones') and Deuteronomy 32:11 (of an eagle 'hovering over her young')
(21 October 2019)
CBS023
|
