XPost: alt.religion.christian.adventist, alt.religion.christian.boston-church,   
   alt.religion.christian.baptist   
   XPost: alt.religion.christian.biblestudy   
   From: perfectlyInnocent@as-if.com   
      
   Matthew relies on the Septuagint for the assertion that the Messiah's   
   mother was to be a virgin (Matthew 1:23).   
   http://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spexecsum.htm   
   It's called an interpretive translation. The context speaks of this   
   birth as a recognizable sign.   
      
   Also, when Matthew quotes the Old Testament verse, "out of Egypt I   
   called my son," it is with the uncontested understanding of the time   
   that there's a parallel between the Messiah's life and the Jewish   
   people.   
      
   Consider the following:   
      
   PARALLELS BETWEEN THE MESSIAH AND HIS PEOPLE   
      
   (1) The one like a son of man in Daniel 7:13,14 receives his kingdom   
   at the end of time. In the angelic explanation, the saints are said to   
   take possession of the kingdom (Daniel 7:22,27). The parallel is so   
   pronounced that it suggests to many critical scholars that the   
   heavenly being is simply a representation of the saints. They endorse   
   our position. Jesus identified Himself as this son of man (Mt 26:64   
   cf. Lk 19:11,12).   
      
   (2) The promise of a king given authority over the nations to rule   
   them with a rod of iron is a Messianic prophecy but it will be   
   fulfilled by those who overcome trials on earth (Ps 2:7-9 cf. Rev   
   2:25-27, 3:21, 20:4).   
      
   (3) The Messianic work described in Daniel 9:24 is stated as if to be   
   fulfilled by the people. Actually, Christ with the cooperation of His   
   people was to accomplish this within the stated time limit.   
      
   (4) The Hebrew grammar surrounding the term "its end" in Daniel 9:26   
   is ambiguous. The term may be applied so that the flood of armies   
   comes against the Messiah (thus fulfilling Daniel 11:22) or against   
   the sanctuary, which stands for the people.   
      
   (5) Christ is the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, yet the expression:   
   "My servant" also represents His people (Isaiah 49:3, 42:19). Study   
   Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:5-7, 52:13-15.   
      
   (6) The parallelism between the Messiah and His people appears to have   
   been obvious to NT writers: Matthew states that the return of the   
   Christ child from Egypt was a fulfillment of prophecy and proves it by   
   quoting, without explanation, a comment made by Hosea that refers   
   exclusively to the exodus experience (Mt 2:15 cf. Hos 11:1).   
      
   As the New Testament writers do not explain their principles of   
   interpretation, it would only be blind prejudice to condemn their   
   conclusions.   
      
   Eugene Shubert   
   http://www.everythingimportant.org   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)