"This gate will remain closed, for the Lord God of Israel has entered through it" (Ez 44:2).

Isaiah's prophecy had foretold the wondrous coming of the Messiah in the womb of a virgin of Israel, but there were also other announcements that mysteriously evoked the Savior's mother, her childbirth, her virginity and the place of the Messiah's birth.

Isaiah had first prophesied a miraculous and painless birth: 

"Before she was in labor she gave birth, before the pains came to her she was delivered of a boy. Who has ever heard such a thing? Who has ever seen such a thing?" (Isaiah 66:6-8).

Prophecies had also been given about the perpetual enclosure of a gate reserved for the Lord: "The man brought me to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east; it was shut. The Lord said to me, 'This gate will remain closed; it will not be opened; no one will enter through it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it; it will remain closed." (Ez. 44:1-2). "She is a well-enclosed garden, my sister, O betrothed; a well-enclosed garden, a sealed spring." (Ct 4,12).

The prophet Micah also foretold Bethlehem's messianic destiny: "And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are not the least of the clans of Judah, for from you will be born the One who is to reign over Israel. Its origins date back to ancient times.

That is why she will be abandoned until the time when she who is to give birth will have given birth" (Mi 5,1-2).

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