70. When those who hand on the mysteries of Mithras
of Scripture spoken about Christ, He is strong as a giant to run his course!
And when he introduces Asclepius raising the dead and curing other human ills am I not to say that he is imitating the prophecies made about Christ on this subject in this instance too?
But since I have not yet repeated to you a passage of this sort which indicates that Christ will perform these acts, I will have to remind you of one, from which it will be possible to understand how the Word foretold even to those who were destitute of the knowledge of God, I mean the Gentiles, who though they had eyes did not see and though they had intelligence could not understand, who worship things composed of wood?, that they would abandon these things and hope in this Christ.
[A quotation from Isa. 35:1-7 follows.
This Christ sprang up as a fountain of living water in the land destitute of the knowledge of God, the land of the Gentiles; he also was manifested to your race and healed those who were from birth physically maimed and deaf and lame, causing one to leap and another to hear and a third to see at his word.
And he raised the dead and gave them life and by his actions challenged the men of that time to recognize him.
Those who saw these events taking place alleged that it was a magical illusion, and indeed they dared to call him a sorcerer and a deceiver of the people.
But he used to perform these acts in order to persuade those who were likely to believe in him that even if anybody who had some bodily defect turned out to be an observer of the doctrines delivered by him he would raise him up whole at his Second Coming after he had rendered him immortal and immune from corruption or sorrow.
70. When those who hand on the mysteries of Mithras relate that he was born from a rock and call the place a cave
1Ps, 18(19) :6.
2Ps, 113:12-16 (115:4-8); Isa.6:10.