THE_PROMISE
The Virginity of the Virgin (Universal Spiritual Conception)
Neville interprets the 'Virginity of the Virgin' as a universal spiritual truth, where every individual, male or female, is the virgin who unknowingly…
Related Bible passages
- Isaiah 7:14
- Isaiah 54:5
Related ideas
VirginImmanuelHoly SpiritSon of GodVirgin BirthSpiritual ConceptionDivine SonshipSymbolismMystical Experience
Blake On Religion
Now he comes to discuss the story of the “Virginity of the Virgin.” For are we not told in Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The word Immanuel means “God is with us.” Listen to it carefully: “She will conceive and bear a son, and call his name Immanuel.” The child will be given the name as a token. The child is not the great event; the child will be given a name and is the token of deliverance. The child himself is not the deliverer. The child is simply the sign of an event taking place. Now Blake writes one single little verse and he speaks of it as the “Virginity of the Virgin.” You are the virgin, whether you be male or female, I am the virgin, we are all the virgin. I didn’t know what was happening to me any more than you will know what is happening to you. He puts it in four little lines: “Whate’er is done to her she cannot know, And if you’ll ask her she will swear it so. Whether ‘tis good or evil none’s to blame: No one can take the pride, no one the shame.” So we said in the story: “How can this thing be, seeing that I know not a man?” And through the centuries thousands of columns have been written condemning the act, for it was out of wedlock and they take it on this level. It is not on this level. You are the bride of God, as told us in Isaiah 54:5: “For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name.” So the one who made me is going to sire me, without my knowledge, without my consent. So “Whate’er is done to me I cannot know, And if you’ll ask me I will swear it so Whether it is good or evil, none’s to blame: No one can take the pride, no one the shame.” No one can take the pride when I confess openly I gave birth to a child out of wedlock. For no one sired that child and no one can claim he sired it. Now whether it was a shameful thing to perform — well, the world must judge. Whether it be good or evil, well, who knows? But one thing I know: no one can claim they did it, therefore “No one can take the pride, no one the shame” — if it’s shame. So the prophecy was made and he writes in four little lines the story of the “Virginity of the Virgin.” He is telling every being in the world that they are that virgin. And you will be sired by the Holy Spirit, and you will produce in visible form an infant, just as told us in the Gospel. Having produced it you stand amazed because how could you produce it in such an unnatural way? It doesn’t happen in a natural way. Therefore, you were the virgin who conceived unknowingly, for she said: “How can I conceive, how can I have a child seeing I know not a man?” Then you are told the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the child will be the child of God. But it will only symbolize an event that is taking place, and you will be the son of God. In that act you were the child, who symbolized your acceptance. But the son of God is also God the son, and the son of God is made to say: “I and my Father are one.”
Neville interprets the 'Virginity of the Virgin' as a universal spiritual truth, where every individual, male or female, is the virgin who unknowingly conceives a divine son by the Holy Spirit. This conception is a mystical, non-physical event symbolizing the individual's acceptance and realization of being the Son of God, a token of deliverance, and a fulfillment of the prophecy that 'your Maker is your husband.'