** Ezek. 44:2 - Ezekiel prophesies that no man shall pass through the gate by which the Lord entered the world. This is a prophecy of Mary’s perpetual virginity. Mary remained a virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus. **
This is an interesting notion, and one that is not necessarily void of scriptural merit. Yet when the verse is viewed in greater context, “Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.
It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.” (Ez. 44:1-3), it appears that there is an exception made for the prince— which would have been Joseph’s ancestor(s). Yet the concept holds true that no one is allowed to enter thru the same gate because the prince is apparently only allowed to sit at, or near, the gate.
And also we must remember that in the preceding chapter of Ezekiel the notion that the vision Ezekiel was receiving was intended to be the eventual plans for a building are made clear, (Ez. 43:10-11):
“Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.”
Nevertheless, in the apocryphal book of 4 Ezra, (a.k.a. 2 Esdras), Zion is revealed to the observer first as a woman.
4 Ezra 9:38-47, 10:1-48:
"…] I looked back with mine eyes, and upon the right side I saw a woman, and, behold, she mourned and wept with a loud voice, and was much grieved in heart, and her clothes were rent, and she had ashes upon her head. Then let I my thoughts go that I was in, and turned me unto her, And said unto her, Wherefore weepest thou? why art thou so grieved in thy mind? And she said unto me, Sir, let me alone, that I may bewail myself, and add unto my sorrow, for I am sore vexed in my mind, and brought very low. And I said unto her, What aileth thee? tell me. She said unto me, I thy servant have been barren, and had no child, though I had an husband thirty years, And those thirty years I did nothing else day and night, and every hour, but make my, prayer to the Highest. After thirty years God heard me thine handmaid, looked upon my misery, considered my trouble, and gave me a son: and I was very glad of him, so was my husband also, and all my neighbours: and we gave great honour unto the Almighty. And I nourished him with great travail. So when he grew up, and came to the time that he should have a wife, I made a feast.
And it so came to pass, that when my son was entered into his wedding chamber, he fell down, and died. Then we all overthrew the lights, and all my neighbours rose up to comfort me: so I took my rest unto the second day at night. And it came to pass, when they had all left off to comfort me, to the end I might be quiet; then rose I up by night and fled, and came hither into this field, as thou seest. And I do now purpose not to return into the city, but here to stay, and neither to eat nor drink, but continually to mourn and to fast until I die. …] I will not go into the city, but here will I die. So I proceeded to speak further unto her, and said, Do not so, but be counselled. by me: for how many are the adversities of Sion? be comforted in regard of the sorrow of Jerusalem. For thou seest that our sanctuary is laid waste, our altar broken down, our temple destroyed; Our psaltery is laid on the ground, our song is put to silence, our rejoicing is at an end, the light of our candlestick is put out, the ark of our covenant is spoiled, our holy things are defiled, and the name that is called upon us is almost profaned: our children are put to shame, our priests are burnt, our Levites are gone into captivity, our virgins are defiled, and our wives ravished; our righteous men carried away, our little ones destroyed, our young men are brought in bondage, and our strong men are become weak; And, which is the greatest of all, the seal of Sion hath now lost her honour; for she is delivered into the hands of them that hate us. And therefore shake off thy great heaviness, and put away the multitude of sorrows, that the Mighty may be merciful unto thee again, and the Highest shall give thee rest and ease from thy labour. And it came to pass while I was talking with her, behold, her face upon a sudden shined exceedingly, and her countenance glistered, so that I was afraid of her, and mused what it might be. And, behold, suddenly she made a great cry very fearful: so that the earth shook at the noise of the woman.
And I looked, and, behold, the woman appeared unto me no more, but there was a city builded, and a large place shewed itself from the foundations: then was I afraid, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Where is Uriel the angel, who came unto me at the first? for he hath caused me to fall into many trances, and mine end is turned into corruption, and my prayer to rebuke. And as I was speaking these words behold, he came unto me, and looked upon me. …] And he said unto me, Stand up manfully, and I will advise thee. Then said I, Speak on, my lord, in me; only forsake me not, lest I die frustrate of my hope. For I have seen that I knew not, and hear that I do not know. …] He answered me then, and said, …] This therefore is the meaning of the vision which thou lately sawest: Thou sawest a woman mourning, and thou begannest to comfort her: But now seest thou the likeness of the woman no more, but there appeared unto thee a city builded. And whereas she told thee of the death of her son, this is the solution: This woman, whom thou sawest is Sion: and whereas she said unto thee, even she whom thou seest as a city builded, Whereas, I say, she said unto thee, that she hath been thirty years barren: those are the thirty years wherein there was no offering made in her. But after thirty years Solomon builded the city and offered offerings: and then bare the barren a son. And whereas she told thee that she nourished him with labour: that was the dwelling in Jerusalem. But whereas she said unto thee, That my son coming into his marriage chamber happened to have a fail, and died: this was the destruction that came to Jerusalem."
Was sex created by God, and given to man and woman? Did He bless and ordain sexual relations between husband and wife, within the bounds of the marriage(adultery is a sin, of course!) Did He say that any particular form of sex was forbidden(some would suggest,sodomy, oral sex,bestiality, same sex, sex, and of course incest). And the belief that catholics cannot have oral sex, to the point of ejaculation(what about the female?), is that based on the story of Onan, who was commanded to sleep with his brother’s wife, to give her a child, but “finished” outside? Would this be a sin of disobedience, or sexual immorality? And is it really important how, or how often couples have sex, whether it is one position only, with the lights out, only in the bedroom; or whenever the mood hits them(discreetly, of course), in places other than the bedroom. Is this an attempt to justify Joseph, POSSIBLY, not having sex with his wife, Mary? Matthew does say, that he waited until after Jesus was born to have sexual relations with her(could have been a year or more later!) I have to agree with the poster, who said, that this issue has nothing to do with our salvation, or eternity, but it is fun to debate it
