God resides in eternity (Isa. 57:15; Ps. 90:2). Time is an invention of God (Gen. 1:14). God sees the past, present, and future all at once. Nothing is hidden from His sight (Heb. 4:13). All things are present to God.
Isaiah’s prophecy of the Virgin Birth had both a near and far fulfillment. However, Isaiah’s prophecy of the Virgin Birth teaches us much more than “God is an eternal being.” Each moment in history is unique; however, we can see important patterns, themes, and connections. Prophecy teaches us how to see God’s mysteries and eternal purposes. For example, the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ was always a part of God’s eternal plan. God was always going to both save us and share His life with us. As we learn from Isaiah 7:14, a virgin was going to conceive and bear a son, who shall be called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”
Around 734 BC, the Kingdom of Israel was divided into two separate nations: the Northern Kingdom (called Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (called Judah). At that time, Assyria was the primary international threat to the region. During the time of Isaiah the prophet, King Rezin of Aram (Syria) and King Pekah of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) formed a coalition against the Assyrians.[1] Rezin and Pekah wanted to force King Ahaz of Judah to join their coalition, but King Ahaz refused.[2] Ahaz believed that the Assyrians were too powerful. Together, King Rezin and King Pekah then went to war against Judah and King Ahaz. They planned to depose King Ahaz and install a more cooperative puppet king in place of King Ahaz, who was, most significantly, a king in the line of David.
The Lord instructed the Prophet Isaiah to meet King Ahaz at the site of the upper pool in Jerusalem. (Isa. 7:3). Isaiah was instructed to tell King Ahaz to “be calm [and] have no fear (Isa. 7:4). Aram and the Northern Kingdom (Israel) had planned evil against the Southern Kingdom (Judah), but God said, “It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass” (Isa. 7:7).
Thereafter, the Prophet Isaiah asked King Ahaz to “[a]sk for a sign for yourself from the Lord your God” (Isa. 7:11), but King Ahaz refused (Isa. 7:12). Despite King Ahaz’s refusal, Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14).
In the immediate context, the Prophet Isaiah was speaking of the birth of his son, “Maher-Shalal-hash-baz” (Isa 8:3). Isaiah’s wife, “the Prophetess,” was going to conceive and give birth to a son (Isa. 8:2-3). Before Isaiah’s son would learn to speak and cry out “my father” or “my mother,” Assyria was going to destroy Aram (Syria) and weaken the Northern Kingdom (Israel). In 732 BC, the threatened coalition of nations against Judah was going to be destroyed by Assyria, the world’s superpower.
Probably unbeknownst to King Rezin, King Pekah and King Ahaz, the prophecy of the Virgin Birth had both a near and far fulfillment. The Hebrew noun ʿalmâ can mean a “young woman” or “virgin.”[3] Isaiah’s wife was a “young woman.” Mary, the mother of Jesus, was an actual physical virgin, meaning a woman who had never had sex. Further, God’s revelation is progressive in its disclosure of God’s mystery and truth. At Matthew 1:20-23, we read:
But when he [Joseph] had thought this over, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN WILL CONCEIVE AND GIVE BIRTH TO A SON, AND THEY SHALL NAME HIM IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
Therefore, Matthew’s gospel reveals to us that the prophecy of Isaiah had both a near and far fulfillment. Unlike the near fulfillment, the far fulfillment was going to be a miraculous virgin birth. When first spoken, Isaiah’s message to King Ahaz was very important for thousands of people in the Mideast, but the far fulfillment was far more consequential for all humanity. Such prophecies teach us about the eternal nature of God, but the prophecy of the Virgin Birth also teaches us about the eternal purposes of God. Jesus Christ controls history, and the ultimate fulfillment of prophecy is “God with us.” However, as stated earlier, while there are important themes, patterns, and connections in history, every moment in history is also unique. In examining the near and far fulfillments of Isaiah 7;14, we see the uniqueness of the two fulfillments. For example, Isaiah’s wife, the Prophetess, was a young woman, but she was not physically a virgin at the time of the conception and birth of Isaiah’s son. At Isaiah 8:3, Isaiah wrote, “so I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son.” In my opinion, this verse clearly implies sexual relations resulting in conception. However, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was said to have “been betrothed to Joseph, [but] before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:18). The double fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy does not require that each fulfillment be a mirror image of the other.
Through the prophecy of the Virgin Birth, God reveals His eternal nature, but God is also revealing that each moment in history is unique. God’s salvation of Judah from her enemies was an important message, but God’s salvation of humanity from sin has even greater significance and implications. “God with us” is a grand, overarching theme of history, which includes our daily lives and eternal future. God solved the problem of sin and human rebellion through Mary’s virgin conception and Jesus’s birth, together with Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection. From the beginning, God has had an eternal plan and purpose for humanity; however, God’s plan and purposes are most often revealed progressively. It is impossible for us humans to learn and understand everything at one moment in time.
[1] “Isaiah.” Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Volume 4. Gen. Editor, John Walton, et al., Zondervan Academic, 2002, pp.39-41.
[2] Ibid.
[3] “H5959 – ʿalmâ – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (nasb20).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 4 Nov, 2025. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5959/nasb20/wlc/0-1/>.
