Cyprian, Messianic Prophecies & Christ’s Hypostatic Union Pt. 2

Here’s the link to the first part: Cyprian, Messianic Prophecies & Christ’s Hypostatic Union.

I cite from the rest of St. Cyprian’s treatise where he quotes verse after verse from both testaments to prove that the prophets announced our Lord’s Deity, Humanity, vicarious death, resurrection, physical, heavenly ascension, physical, bodily return to the earth to judge all flesh, and his spiritual marriage to his spiritual Bride, the Church. All emphasis is mine.

19. That Christ is the Bridegroom, having the Church as His bride, from which spiritual children were to be born

In Joel: Blow with the trumpet in Sion; sanctify a fast, and call a healing; assemble the people, sanctify the Church, gather the elders, collect the little ones that suck the breast; let the Bridegroom go forth of His chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Also in Jeremiah: And I will take away from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of the joyous, and the voice of the glad; the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. Also in the eighteenth Psalm: And he is as a bridegroom going forth from his chamber; he exulted as a giant to run his course. From the height of heaven is his going forth, and his circuit even to the end of it; and there is nothing which is hid from his heat. Also in the Apocalypse: Come, I will show you the new bride, the Lamb's wife. And he took me in the Spirit to a great mountain, and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Also in the Gospel according to John: You are my witnesses, that I said to them who were sent from Jerusalem to me, that I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him. For he who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom is he who stands and hears him with joy, and rejoices because of the voice of the bridegroom. The mystery of this matter was shown in Jesus the son of Nave, when he was bidden to put his shoes from off him, doubt less because he himself was not the bridegroom. For it was in the law, that whoever should refuse marriage should put off his shoe, but that he should be shod who was to be the bridegroom: And it happened, when Jesus was in Jericho, he looked around with his eyes, and saw a man standing before his face, and holding a javelin in his hand, and said, Are you for us or for our enemies? And he said, I am the leader of the host of the Lord; now draw near. And Jesus fell on his rice to the earth, and said to him, Lord, what do You command unto Your servant. And the leader of the Lord's host said, Loose your shoe from your feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground. Also, in Exodus, Moses is bidden to put off his shoe, because he, too, was not the bridegroom: And there appeared unto him the angel of the Lord in a flame of fire out of a bush; and he saw that the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will pass over and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed. But when He saw that he drew near to see, the Lord God called him from the bush, saying, Moses, Moses. And he said, What is it? And He said, Draw not near hither, unless you have loosed your shoe from off your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy ground. And He said to him, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. This was also made plain in the Gospel according to John: And John answered them, I indeed baptize with water, but there stands One in the midst of you whom you know not: He it is of whom I said, The man that comes after me is made before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. Also according to Luke: Let your loins be girt, and your lamps burning, and you like to men that wait for their master when he shall come from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they may open unto him. Blessed are those servants whom their Lord, when He comes, shall find watching. Also in the Apocalypse: The Lord God omnipotent reigns: let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give to Him the honour of glory; for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

20. That the Jews would fasten Christ to the cross

In Isaiah: I have spread out my hands all day to a people disobedient and contradicting me, who walk in ways that are not good, but after their own sins. Also in Jeremiah: Come, let us cast the tree into His bread, and let us blot out His life from the earth. Also in Deuteronomy: And Your life shall be hanging (in doubt) before Your eyes; and You shall fear day and night, and shall not trust to Your life. Also in the twenty-first Psalm: They tore my hands and my feet; they numbered all my bones. And they gazed upon me, and saw me, and divided my garments among them, and upon my vesture they cast a lot. But You, O Lord, remove not Your help far from me; attend unto my help. Deliver my soul from the sword, and my only one from the paw of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion, and my lowliness from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare Your name unto my brethren; in the midst of the Church I will praise You. Also in the cxviiith Psalm: Pierce my flesh with nails through fear of You. Also in the cxlth Psalm: The lifting up of my hands is an evening sacrifice. Of which sacrifice Sophonias said: Fear from the presence of the Lord God, since His day is near, because the Lord has prepared His sacrifice, He has sanctified His elect. Also in Zechariah: And they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced. Also in the eighty-seventh Psalm: I have called unto You, O Lord, the whole day; I have stretched out my hands unto You. Also in Numbers: Not as a man is God suspended, nor as the son of man does He suffer threats. Whence in the Gospel the Lord says: As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in the Son may have life eternal.

21. That in the passion and the sign of the cross is all virtue and power

In Habakkuk: His virtue covered the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise, and His splendour shall be as the light; there shall be horns in His hands. And there the virtue of His glory was established, and He founded His strong love. Before His face shall go the Word, and shall go forth unto the plains according to His steps. In Isaiah also: Behold, unto us a child is born, and to us a Son is given, upon whose shoulders shall be government; and His name shall be called the Messenger of a mighty thought. By this sign of the cross also Amalek was conquered by Jesus through Moses. In Exodus Moses said to Jesus: Choose you out men, and go forth, and order yourselves with Amalek until the morrow. Behold, I will stand on the top of the hill, and the rod of God in mine hand. And it came to pass, when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when Moses had let down his hands, Amalek grew strong. But the hands of Moses were heavy; and they took a stone, and placed it under him, and he sat upon it and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, on the one side and on the other side; and the hands of Moses were made steady even to the setting of the sun. And Jesus routed Amalek and all his people. And the Lord said to Moses, Write this, that it may be a memorial in a book, and tell it unto the ears of Jesus, that I may utterly destroy the memory of Amalek from under heaven.

22. That in this sign of the Cross is salvation for all people who are marked on their foreheads

In Ezekiel the Lord says: Pass through the midst of Jerusalem, and you shall mark the sign I upon the men's foreheads, who groan and grieve for the iniquities which are done in the midst of them. Also in the same place: Go and smite, and do not spare your eyes. Have no pity on the old man, and the youth, and the virgin, and slay little children and women, that they may be utterly destroyed. But you shall not touch any one upon whom the sign is written, and begin with my holy places themselves. Also in Exodus God says to Moses: And there shall be blood for a sign to you upon the houses wherein you shall be; and I will look on the blood, and will protect you. And there shall not be in you the plague of wasting when I shall smite the land of Egypt. Also in the Apocalypse: And I saw a Lamb standing on Mount Sion, and with Him a hundred and forty and four thousand; and they had His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. Also in the same place: I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have power over the tree of life.

23. That at mid-day in His passion there should be darkness

In Amos: And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, the sun shall set at noonday, and the day of light shall be darkened; and I will turn your feast-days into grief, and all your songs into lamentation. Also in Jeremiah: She is frightened that has borne children, and her soul has grown weary. Her sun has gone down while as vet it was mid-day; she has been confounded arid accursed: I will give the rest of them to the sword in the sight of their enemies. Also in the Gospel: Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth even to the ninth hour.

24. That He was not to be overcome of death, nor should remain in Hades

In the twenty-ninth Psalm: O Lord, You have brought back my soul from hell. Also in the fifteenth Psalm: You will not leave my soul in hell, neither will You suffer Your Holy One to see corruption. Also in the third Psalm: I laid me down and slept, and rose up again, because the Lord helped me. Also according to John: No man takes away my life from me; but I lay it down of myself. I have the power of laying it down, and I have the power of taking it again. For this commandment I have received from my Father.

25. That He should rise again from the dead on the third day

In Hosea: After two days He will revive us; we shall rise again on the third day. Also in Exodus: And the Lord said to Moses, Go down and testify to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow; and let them wash their garments, and let them be prepared against the day after tomorrow. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai. Also in the Gospel: A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonas: for as Jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

26. That after He had risen again He should receive from His Father all power, and His power should be everlasting

In Daniel: I saw in a vision by night, and behold as it were the Son of man, coming in the clouds of heaven, came even to the Ancient of days, and stood in His sight. And they who stood beside Him brought Him before Him: and to Him was given a royal power, and all the kings of the earth by their generation, and all glory obeying Him: and His power is eternal, which shall not be taken away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed. Also in Isaiah: Now will I arise, says the Lord; now will I be glorified, now will I be exalted, now you shall see, now you shall understand, now you shall be confounded. Vain will be the strength of your spirit: the fire shall consume you. Also in the cixth Psalm: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my fight hand, until I make Your enemies the footstool of Your feet. God will send the rod of Your power out of Sion, and You shall rule in the midst of Your enemies. Also in the Apocalypse: And I turned and looked to see the voice which spoke with me. And I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the candlesticks one like the Son of man, clothed with a long garment, and He was girt about the paps with a golden girdle. And His head and His hairs were white as wool or snow, and His eyes as a flame of fire, and His feet like to fine brass from a furnace of fire, and His voice like the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and His face shone as the sun in his might. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, and said, Fear not; I am the first and the last, and He that lives and was dead; and, lo, I am living for evermore and I have the keys of death and of hell. Likewise in the Gospel, the Lord after His resurrection says to His disciples: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.

27. That it is impossible to attain to God the Father, except by His Son Jesus Christ

In the Gospel: I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father but by me. Also in the same place: I am the door: by me if any man shall enter in, he shall be saved. Also in the same place: Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them. Also in the same place: He that believes in the Son has eternal life: he that is not obedient in word to the Son has not life; but the wrath of God shall abide upon him. Also Paul to the Ephesians: And when He had come, He preached peace to you, to those which are afar off, and peace to those which are near, because through Him we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father. Also to the Romans: For all have sinned, and fail of the glory of God; but they are justified by His gift and grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Also in the Epistle of Peter the apostle: Christ has died once for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might present us to God. Also in the same place: For in this also was it preached to them that are dead, that they might be raised again. Also in the Epistle of John: Whosoever denies the Son, the same also has not the Father. He that confesses the Son, has both the Son and the Father.

28. That Jesus Christ shall come as a Judge

In Malachi: Behold, the day of the Lord comes, burning as an oven; and all the aliens and all the wicked shall be as stubble; and the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord. Also in the forty-ninth (or fiftieth) Psalm: God the Lord of gods has spoken, and called the earth. From the rising of the sun even to the going down thereof, out of Sion is the beauty of His glory. God shall come manifestly, our God, and shall not keep silence. A fire shall burn before Him, and round about Him shall be a great storm. He has called the heaven above, and the earth, that He may separate His people. Gather together His saints unto Him, those who arrange His covenant with sacrifices. And the heavens shall announce His righteousness, for God is the judge. Also in Isaiah: The Lord God of strength shall go forth, and shall break war in pieces: He shall stir up contest, and shall cry over His enemies with strength. I have been silent; shall I always be silent? Also in the sixty-seventh Psalm: Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered: and let those who hate Him flee from His face. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish: as wax melts from the face of fire, thus let the sinners perish from the face of God. And let the righteous be glad and rejoice in the sight of God: and let them be glad with joyfulness. Sing unto God, sing praises unto His name: make a way to Him who goes up into the west. God is His name. They shall be put to confusion from the face of Him who is the Father of the orphans, and the Judge of the widows. God is in His holy place: God, who makes men to dwell with one mind in a house, bringing forth them that are bound with might, and equally those who provoke unto anger, who dwell in the sepulchres: God, when You went forth in the sight of Your people, in passing into the desert. Also in the eighty-first Psalm: Arise, O God; judge the earth: for You will exterminate among all nations. Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: What have we to do with You, You Son of David? Why have you come here to punish us before the time? Likewise according to John: The Father judges nothing, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honour the Son as they honour the Father. He that honours not the Son, honours not the Father who has sent Him. So too in the second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may bear the things proper to his body, according to those things which he has done, whether they be good or evil.

29. That He will reign as a King for ever

In Zechariah: Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King comes unto you: just, and having salvation; meek, sitting upon an as that has not been tamed. Also in Isaiah: Who will declare to you that eternal place? He that walks in righteousness, and holds back his hands from gifts; stopping his ears. that he may not hear the judgment of blood; and closing his eyes, that he may not see unrighteousness: this man shall dwell in the lofty cavern of the strong rock; bread shall be given him, and his water shall be sure. You shall see the King with glory. Likewise in Malachi: I am a great King, says the Lord, and my name is illustrious among the nations. Also in the second Psalm: But I am established as a King by Him upon His holy hill of Zion, announcing His empire. Also in the twenty-first Psalm: All the ends of the world shall be reminded, and shall turn to the Lord: and all the countries of the nations shall worship in Your sight. For the kingdom is the Lord's: and He shall rule over all nations. Also in the twenty-third Psalm: Lift up your gates, you princes; and be lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord strong in battle. Lift up your gates, O you princes; and be lifted up, you 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. Also in the forty-fourth Psalm: My heart has breathed forth a good discourse: I tell my works to the king: my tongue is the pen of a writer intelligently writing. You are lovely in beauty above the children of men: grace is shed forth on Your lips, because God has blessed You forever. Be girt with Your sword on Your thigh, O most mighty. To Your honour and to Your beauty both attend, and direct Yourself, and reign, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness. Also in the fifth Psalm: My King, and my God, because unto You will I pray. O Lord, in the morning You shall hear my voice; in the morning I will stand before You, and will contemplate You. Also in the ninety-sixth Psalm: The Lord has reigned; let the earth rejoice; let the many isles be glad. Moreover, in the forty-fourth Psalm: The queen stood at your right hand in a golden garment; she is clothed in many colors. Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father's house; for the King has desired your beauty, for He is your Lord God. Also in the seventy-third Psalm: But God is our King before the world; He has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: And when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and have come to worship Him. Also, according to John, Jesus said: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be in trouble, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate said, Are you a king, then? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I might bear testimony to the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice.

30. That He Himself is both Judge and King

In the seventy-first Psalm: O God, give Your judgment to the king, and Your righteousness to the king's son, to judge Your people in righteousness. Also in the Apocalypse: And I saw the heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He who sate upon him was called Faithful and True; and He judges justice and righteousness, and makes war. And His eyes were. as it were, a flame of fire, and upon His head were many crowns; and He bare a name written that was known to none other than Himself': and He was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven followed Him on white horses, clothed in linen white and Clean. And out of His mouth went forth a sword with two edges, that with it He should smite the nations, which He shall shepherd with a rod of iron; and He shall tread the winepress of the wrath of God Almighty. Also He has on His garment and on His thigh the name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Likewise in the Gospel: When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He shall sit in the throne of His glory; and all nations shall be gathered together before Him, and He shall separate them one from another, even as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He shall place the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at His left hand. Then shall the King say unto them who shall be at His right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which is prepared for you from the beginning of the world: for I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and you received me: naked, and you clothed me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer, and say unto Him, Lord, when saw we You hungry, and fed You? Thirsty, and gave You to drink? And when saw we You a stranger, and received You? Naked, and clothed You? And when saw we You sick, and in prison, and came unto You? And the King, answering, shall say unto them, Verily I say unto you, In as far as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. Then shall He say unto them who shall be on His left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which my Father has prepared for the devil and his angels: for I have been hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I have been thirsty, and you gave me not to drink: I was a stranger, and you received me not: naked, and you clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and you visited me not. Then shall they also answer and say, Lord, when saw we You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and have not ministered unto You? And He shall answer unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have not done it to one of the least of these, you have not done it unto me. And these shall go away into everlasting burning, but the righteous into life eternal.