Chapter 136

¹ And for this reason he says: “and to seal up vision and prophet.”

² For since he himself was present as the fulfillment of law and prophets—for the law and the prophets were until John—it was necessary that the things spoken by them be sealed up, so that at the coming of the Lord all of them, being loosed, might be illumined, and the things sealed up and unable to be known might be easily recognized, and the things bound of old might now be loosed by him.

³ As the Lord himself said to the rulers of the people, who, when they saw him performing mighty works on the day of the sabbath and healing every disease and every infirmity, were indignant; but he said to them: “Hypocrites, each of you looses his ox and his ass from the manger and leads it away to water; but this woman, who is a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for eighteen years, ought she not to be loosed on the day of the sabbath?”

⁴ As many, then, as Satan had bound and ensnared, these the Lord, when he came, loosed from the bonds of death, binding the strong one who was against us, and setting humanity free; as Isaiah also says: “Then he shall say to those in bonds, Come forth, and to those in darkness, Be illumined.”

⁵ And that the things spoken of old through law and prophets were all sealed up and remained unknown to men, Isaiah says: “And they shall give the sealed book to a man who knows letters, and they shall say to him, Read this; and he shall say, I cannot read it, for it is sealed.”

⁶ And necessarily so; for it was needful that the things spoken of old through the prophets be sealed up to the unbelieving Pharisees, who supposed they knew the letters of the law, but be opened to those who believe.