Ante-Nicene Fathers (Volume 3) - XVII - Book III of The five books against Marcion

Required reading
Ante-Nicene Fathers (Volume 3) (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Book III of 'The five books against Marcion'.

My summary
This week Tertullians demonstrates that the Jesus Christ was prophesied about in the Old Testament and is therefore the true Christ, as opposed to the Christ of Marcion.

Firstly Tertullian discusses the importance of prophecy and that Marcion's ignorance of it is similar to the Jew's misunderstanding of the prophecies of Christ.

Then Tertullian teaches us that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies relating to the Christ's:
(i) first coming;
(ii) second coming;
(iii) incarnation;
(iv) virgin birth;
(v) annointment;
(vi) humiliation;
(vii) death;
(viii) receiving of the blessings of David;
(ix) acceptance of the Gentiles;
(x) apostles and their success and suffering;
(xi) millennial kingdom.

What grabbed me
I wouldn't agree with all of Tertullian's interpretations of Old Testament texts.

But Tertullian did bring out some good examples of typology of Christ in the Old Testament.

For example, in relation to Jesus' death he said: 'First, I shall offer a full explanation of the types. And no doubt it was proper that this mystery [Christ's death] should be prophetically set forth by types, and indeed chiefly by that method: for in proportion to its incredibility would it be a stumbling-block, if it were set forth in bare prophecy; and in proportion too, to its grandeur, was the need of obscuring it in shadow, that the difficulty of understanding it might lead to prayer for the grace of God. First, then, Isaac, when he was given up by his father as an offering, himself carried the wood for his own death. By this act he even then was setting forth the death of Christ, who was destined by His Father as a sacrifice, and carried the cross whereon He suffered.'

The testing of Abraham with Isaac is indeed a good picture of Christ's death.

Next week's reading
Commence Book IV of 'The five books against Marcion' by reading Chapters 1 to 13.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.